"Damon. I can't leave you alone for a second, can I? I said tend to the little brat, not try to take off with her," Katherine purred, moving in on Damon. Her movements were slow and calculated- trying to close the distance between herself and Elena. Her little imitator wasn't going anywhere. Katherine was sickened that Damon would even try to save the girl. It was just so rude.

But Damon knew her too well; he noticed her circling movements and placed himself directly in front of Stefan and Elena. He was now her sole roadblock to ridding herself of the girl; and despite her fondness for him, her intriguing little bloodthirsty toy, she had no qualms with hurting him.

Katherine struck out, meaning to grab his neck, but he deflected- and suddenly, she was airborne. Her body hit the rock with a slam as she fell to the ground; a few of her ribs had been broken. She growled her displeasure while she waited for them to mend themselves.

"Now, that wasn't very nice," Katherine hissed, righting herself. Now she had to punish Damon for that, too. His pitiful attempts at thinking for himself were starting to irritate her.

"Well, you know what they say. It isn't 1864 anymore, Katherine. Chivalry is dead," Damon replied, smirking, waiting for her next assault.

Damon had lost the stake he'd brought along, but he wasn't afraid. She may be older, which always meant stronger- but fighting for someone always carried more strength than fighting for yourself. Besides- there was more than one way to kill a vampire.

Elena didn't know what to do. Stefan was still unconscious, and Damon was brawling with Katherine. It was impossible to tell who was winning- they moved so fast that all Elena could distinguish was Damon's distinctive growls, Katherine's kitten-like hisses, and the ever-present sound of snapping bones- a sound she'd heard more times then she ever wished she had.

So she was stuck, like a deer in headlights, frantically looking back and forth from Stefan to Damon, unsure of what to do.

And then, all of a sudden, Damon paused to turn to her. His hands were around Katherine's neck, and her fingers were like claws, scrabbling at his arms and drawing blood, trying to escape his grasp.

"Elena, what the hell are you waiting for?" Damon screamed. "I'll take care of Stefan, just run!"

And in that moment, Elena trusted him. Trusted him enough to leave Stefan's side, and run for her life. She pushed herself up off her knees and broke our running as fast as she could- she was halfway down the passageway, outside to freedom, she could even smell fresh air- when she stumbled over something and sprawled to the floor, scraping her hands as she landed.

Elena got back up again, grasping for what she'd tripped over- and her hands met something smooth, and almost cylindrical- except for the sharp, pointy edge. A stake.

Elena glanced into the night, feeling cold air on her face- and then she looked back into the darkness, still able to hear the sounds of the two vampires, fighting to the death. Damon's alone, she thought panic rising. Completely defenseless, with nothing but his own hands and teeth.

And even though Elena trusted that Damon would, somehow, come through for her, and save Stefan- she didn't trust him to save himself. And she didn't want him to have to. He had come to save her- who would she be if she just left him now?

With an air of grim determination, Elena changed direction, and began running back into the darkness, back to her death, to save someone she loved, again.

Elena got to the entrance, the stake she had found shoved in her back pocket. Katherine was the first one to notice her; she now had Damon by the throat, his eyes in the back of his head. Choking a vampire wouldn't kill them, but it would render them unconscious. But upon seeing Elena, Katherine dropped him, and in seconds had Elena pinned against the wall.

"You," Katherine growled, the full extent of her insanity clear in her cold, dark eyes, "You are the reason for all of this. I wanted to play with you. Have some fun with you. But now, you get your wish: I'm just going to kill you, because you're more trouble than you're worth."

Katherine grasped the collar of Elena's shirt with her thin hands, raising Elena above her head, against the wall.

"Don't get me wrong Elena, it was very nice meeting you. But I think you've worn out your welcome."

Elena looked past Katherine's head, to Damon, who was on the ground, trying to get to her. But Katherine had done more damage than Elena had realized; Damon's left shoulder was ripped open, all the way to the bone, exposing muscle and dripping blood. His left ankle was bent at an unnatural angle, and various other cuts and bruises marred his body.

Elena looked Katherine dead in the eyes, preparing her final last words.

"Yes, Katherine. I believe I have. And believe me, the pleasure was all mine."

And before Katherine could react, Elena had grabbed the stake from behind her, and shoved the sharp piece of wood under Katherine's ribcage, directly through her heart. Whether Katherine's slow response was due to being weak from Damon's blows, or just because she had been curious as to what Elena was about to do, Elena would never know.

All she knew was the relief she felt as she fell to the ground, free of Katherine's grasp; and the confused look on Katherine's bloody face as she, too, fell to the ground, clutching her chest, as she died. Elena couldn't stand that look- it was one of many disturbing, bloody memories of that night she would have gladly allowed Damon to erase from her mind. She squeezed her eyes shut, trying to rid her mind of the images herself, through sheer force of will.

When Elena finally opened her eyes, She looked up to see Damon, staring at her in disbelief, his eyes going back and forth between her and Katherine's body. She also saw Stefan, who was now fully awake, pulling on his restraints as they burned his wrists- and also staring at Elena and Katherine.

Elena wanted to say something- anything- but the moment seemed beyond words. She had killed her first vampire. She had killed the vampire. She- Elena Gilbert- had managed to save them all. But not without Damon's help.

She looked up into Damon's clear, blue eyes, trying to communicate with him how thankful she was, how much he had done to help. But she didn't know if he had caught her message, because the moment was broken by Stefan.

Stefan had cleared his throat, but he was still gaping at Elena.

"What- what happened?"