A/N: Next chapter. Sorry I lied about the publish date. Hope you like it. Thank you to those who have reviewed, it really motivates me more. Enjoy.

Chapter 14

"Well, this isn't how I imagined it." Elena stated next to him as they looked around the surrounding area.

"Nor me." Stefan replied, his mind reeling as his eyes darted around taking everything in. When he held Elena's hand not a moment before and closed his eyes, forcing himself into his brothers mind, he expected…well he didn't exactly know what to expect.

As soon as he opened his eyes, they were assaulted by the rays of the sun. It took him a moment to adjust to brightness before he was finally able to look around. They were transplanted in a wood area surrounded by bright green trees whose leaves tickled his face as the wind blew through them.

"Where are we?" Elena asked, dropping his hand and taking a step forward.

The area looked somewhat familiar though Stefan couldn't figure out why. The pattern of the trees, the dirt path they were on, the smell of wild flowers not too far away sent his senses into over drive.

"I've been here before." He muttered more to himself then to Elena.

"Makes some kind of sense doesn't it?" She said. "We are in Damon's mind, I think."

Stefan wasn't really listening to her however as he took a few steps down the dirt path, placing his hands along the banks of the trees as he did. He felt Elena's presence behind him, following him as he continued on, the further he went the more familiar things became.

Until they came to the end of the path and pushed their way through low branches of the trees, their leaves blocking the view.

"Woah." Elena stated astonished. "Where are we?"

Stefan froze where he was, looking at the large mansion nearby. The white of the paint made the building look as if it were glowing and ethereal, but it looked exactly the same to Stefan as it did over 150 years ago.

"Home." He said softly.

"Home?" She asked confused.

"My home. Damon's home." He answered taking more steps towards the house. Everything felt and looked different even though nothing was changed. The house, the grounds, the woods they had just exited was just the same as it had been in that time. But the changes in the current world just emphasized the changes from whence he came.

Though not needed Stefan made a point to take as deep of breaths as possible, reveling in the cleanliness of it. The sun shone brighter above them without all the smog and pollution that had covered the world over the last century. Even the grass beneath his feet felt different as they walked. More firm, more natural, less soggy and fake as grass was made to feel now.

It made his heart ache for his time. The time when Damon wasn't just his brother, but his best friend.

He watched Elena as they walked around the property to the front of the house. She was fascinated by everything around her, reaching out to touch whatever was in her reach, smelling the flowers that lined the property. She appeared to be in absolute bliss at this opportunity to see where the two other vampires had come from.

It was when they rounded to the front of the house and Stefan paused at the large circular dirt road that lead up to the large white columns that surrounded the front entrance that he took notice of how alone they were. They had not passed a single person or animal. Not even the soft chirps of the birds that had always surrounded the area as a child was heard.

"Where's the other people?" Elena asked. "If this is a memory than-"

Before Elena could finish her thought a soft rustling nearby stopped them both in their steps. Neither vampire had even a chance to blink before the sound of the front door shutting reached their ears. Quick as possible they ran up the few stairs and stood right outside the double wide doors, Stefan's hand holding gently to the knob that was in reality long gone.

Would they be able to get in? Does the laws of the real world that dictates vampires apply here? Everything was so real, Stefan had to keep reminding himself that he was actually in his brother's mind and it was all fake, all a memory built by his brother.

Steeling himself he made the decision to just try, standing there wasn't going to do any good. So with abated breath, Stefan carefully turned the knob and pushed the door open, allowing the two vampires to see into the interior of the mansion. Neither moved, standing in the door way, waiting for something, anything to happen.

When nothing did and everything was still, it was then that Stefan let out the breath he had been holding and lifted his foot slowly and placing it on the other side of the doorframe. Feeling no resistance or barrier he stepped further into the foyer eyes hungrily soaking in his surroundings.

"Who is this?" Elena asked, breaking Stefan out of his own thoughts. He looked over to the left, spying the painting that hung on the wall there. His heart beat faster and ached in pain as he stepped next to Elena, taking in the woman in the portrait, exactly where it had always sat.

It was of a woman with beautiful raven black hair set in perfect curls around her head. She had piercing blue eyes like Damon's that Stefan had spent his late childhood and teenaged years staring into. The details of the painting were exact as if he were looking at the real thing. Everything from the little white specks of missing blue in the eyes, to the vibrant violet color of her dress and the pale cameo that sat nestled at the top of it.

"Stefan?" Elena said softly and he turned to look her in the eyes, seeing the sad and concerned look in them and hating it.

"It's my mother." Stefan said softly. "Lilly Salvatore."

"She's very beautiful." Elena commented, placing her hand softly on his arm. Stefan let out a small laugh, the heaviness of seeing the portrait lifting from his chest.

"Of course you'd say that." He said teasing her, and missing the blush that he knew would have been there had she still been human. "She's the female version of Damon, in a lot of ways."

"He looks almost exactly like her yes, but I can see her in you too Stefan." She said firmly, taking a step closer to the portrait. "You have the same eyes and brooding forehead."

He crinkled his brow at her, raising one skeptical. "She has blue eyes Elena." He pointed out as if it were obvious, slightly put out when she rolled her eyes at him.

"They share the color but you share her eyes. They're soft and caring and wise. Damon's eyes are always piercing and masked, unless he's being an ass or trying to hide something then they're mischievous, but still, you do look like her. "

Stefan stared at the painting, eating up every detail, trying to see what she saw, and a small smile cross his face when it finally appeared. He couldn't believe after all this time he had never seen it but then again, as desperately as he wanted to see a physical resemblance with his mother, his entire life he had always been slightly afraid too.

Damon always mocked that Stefan had been blind about their lives as humans, and Stefan had vehemently denied it for about the first century of their lives. But with age, even when one is trapped in an ageless teenaged body, comes wisdom of some sort and the time Stefan had spent brooding and trying to ignore his real nature and brought up a lot of ugly truths and even now he had trouble facing.

His father had hated Damon. Always had. And not only did the man that he respected and looked up to hate his brother, the person Stefan loved above all others, but he was perversely cruel to Damon. No amount of brooding ever brought up the answer to the burning question of 'why', and Stefan knew better than to ever inquire with his brother about it.

Damon had put up a brave front while they were human, even as others were encouraged to keep away from him. Damon had no friends that Stefan remembered strongly. On rare occasions he would be able to come upon Damon when he thought he was alone, and Stefan would get a glimpse behind the mask that his brother frequently kept and see the sadness and loneliness behind it.

Footsteps from up above startled Stefan out of his thoughts as he looked up at the celling where the footsteps were. They had stopped as quickly as they started and no other sounds were heard in the house aside from the two vampires slow beating hearts and shallow breaths.

"That could be the person we saw before." Elena said turning her head towards the stairs. "Those lead up to that hall?"

Stefan nodded and stepped past her, reaching out and grabbing ahold of the banister, something he had done thousands of times during his short life as a human. It felt the same as it did back then, slightly cold, smooth and solid. Made of the finest wood in the south. His father had been proud of the simplicity of it. How it fit with the rest of the room.

Lifting his foot, Stefan stepped up on the first stair gingerly, the way he would if he were really in a house that was over two centuries old. But the stair held firm and hard, not even a squeak emitted from it as it took on Stefan's weight.

It wasn't real. He reminded himself, climbing the stairs higher as they circled around the wall. He paused every few feet to look at the photographs that neatly, in an orderly fashion lined the walls as the ascended. Photography was in its infancy back when he was alive, but his mother had been fascinated with the object, and his father, always wanting to please his wife had allowed her whatever she wanted, including a photographer. He remembered how she would spend hours setting up a scene, making sure everything was perfect, dressed to perfection and then hold him, or pose him and Damon the way she wanted to capture the image. Back then it always took forever, or what felt like it.

"Wow." Elena exclaimed as they came to the top of the stair case. Stefan looked up from the floor, pausing at the painting in front of him.

It was a portrait of Stefan and Damon, painted in 1852. Stefan had been five years old at the time, but he remembered it being painted. It had taken forever but he hadn't minded as the portrait was of 12 year old Damon, sitting under a tree in the spring sunshine reading a book to Stefan. He couldn't remember the name of the book, and if he were honest it didn't really matter. The only thing that did was that he was sitting on his brother's lap, as he leaned lazily against a tree. If he closed his eyes, Stefan was sure that he could still feel Damon holding on tightly to him, trying to keep him still as their mother painted them. He could almost still smell the sweet spring flowers and the soft breeze that would cause bumps on his arms.

His mother had been particularly fond of her painting.

"We should go down the right." Stefan said softly, turning away from the portrait, not quite understanding why such a beautiful memory felt so painful at the moment.

He didn't even wait for Elena as he made his way down the familiar hall, not bothering with any of the closed doors. This felt more normal, more like he expected it would be like. A hall with closed doors, most likely locked. But Stefan knew nothing about this would be as cliché as it should be.

They turned left down another hall once they reached the end of the one they were traveling, a somewhat slow trek as Elena stopped at everything to look at or touch. He could see from her widened eyes that she was taking everything in, categorizing everything that surrounded her. He could see the questions she was filing away for a later, more appropriate time, a time where Damon would be the one to answer for her. To fill in the gaps of her knowledge and fill her with even more questions.

In what felt like no time, and too much time, they came to the end of the hallway, stopping them in their tracks. The door to Damon's bedroom and the surrounding wall was covered in vines of Virginia creeper that seemed to move and pulsate with life blocking the way.

"I'm going to hope that this is new." Elena said standing next to him. Stefan nodded his head and took a hesitant step up to it. The vines seem to pulsate harder the closer he got, but something inside of him told him that what he needed to get his brother back was behind that door.

Stefan took the final step up until only a foot or so was between him and the plant. Without hesitating he reached out quickly, grabbing ahold of a branch and pulled it away from the door. It left gaping hole in the vines giving Stefan a moment of hope only to be dashed as it quickly was covered with more of the Virginia creeper.

Snarling his frustration Stefan attacked the plant, using his vampire speed to his advantage as he ripped and shredded and tore the vines away from the wall, allowing him towards the door, only to be shoved away quickly with such strength that a plant shouldn't have and the door covered up once more in a blink of an eye.

With one last final burst of strength, Stefan pushed himself up from the floor and launched himself at the plant, attacking it with all the vigor he could muster. He ignored the painful slaps and snaps as the twigs and vines attacked him back, his only goal was to get into that room. But with one final brush, the vines pooled together and pushed Stefan away from them, launching him down the hall landing hard on his back.

He was dazed for a moment, confusion clouding his mind from the bump on the head when a loud thump and a hiss next to him brought him back, seeing Elena on the ground in the same position as he. It seemed the vines wouldn't even let her pass.

With a hiss and a groan from the healing wounds sustained, the two of them got up and approached the plant again. It had gone back to its dull pulsing that it was in before, fully covering the door and wall once more, guarding whatever lie beyond tightly.

"How do we get past this thing?" Elena asked quietly next to him. Stefan shrugged, not having an answer.

***((***((******

Frustration raged inside of her. They were so close and yet she felt like they hadn't even scratched the surface. Stefan was standing sullenly next to her, staring at the plant with blank eyes and all Elena wanted to do was to reach out and slap him into action.

It made no sense, nothing here did. The inside of Damon's mind was the home he had as a human. That in itself didn't make any sense to her as she knew he didn't care much for his human years. Damon had never shared specifics but she could tell that the two Salvatore's had had very different upbringings. Stefan seemed to look at their shared past as a time of sadness and loss, while Damon viewed it in anger and wanting to forget it. However the moment she saw the plantation house, and heard Stefan's mutter of it being his home, Elena knew that Damon would never be able to let it go.

"What are we going to do Stefan?" She asked annoyed at his lack of action, though she understood he was probably as frustrated as she was. Stefan gave her a quick glance before shrugging his shoulders and looking back down at the wooden floor beneath their feet. "There has to be something Stefan. This can't just be it." She huffed. "Let's go try…"

Whatever she was going to suggest though was caught in her throat as she turned around to find the path they had come down and had just been shoved to blocked off. She watched as Stefan quickly reached out for the wall that matched the others and poke, prod, than start banging to tear it down. But it wouldn't budge. They were trapped.

"How did…what…I don't know." She said tiredly leaning against the wall. She felt the emotions in the pit of her stomach start to grow, causing her to ache and it rose up into her chest. It hurt and there was nothing she could do to stop it as the tears came sliding down her pale cheeks and she slid down the wall to the floor.

Bringing her knees up to her chin she took deep gasping breaths as the tears she felt poured out and the sobs took over. She had felt so close to Damon, she could still feel him all around her and all she wanted to do was to reach out to him and hold him. She had so much to tell him that she hadn't yet, so much to show him. She had so much love for him that it physically hurt to have him so far away from her.

She could honestly say she had never felt so much anger towards anyone than she did for Katherine. Elena normally took the blame for herself but this, this was all Katherine. She had taken over her body and mind and played with her life. She had broken Damon's heart and drove him away from her. If the bitch wasn't dead already Elena would gladly kill her again and again. She had felt pity over Katherine's torture when Klaus had caught her when he came to Mystic Falls. But that would be nothing compared to what Elena would do to her if she were still alive.

She cried her heart out, allowing the tears to fall down her face and fall where they may, on the floor, on her clothes, wherever. She felt a gentle feather like touch wrap around her shoulders and her wrist, and a warm feeling of comfort began to crawl under her skin.

She looked up from her knees, thinking it was Stefan she froze as she met his startled eyes from across from her. Her eyes darted to his hands, which were frozen to his side as he watched her. Looking down to her arm where she still felt the feather like touches she tensed as she saw the vines from the door wrapping themselves gently around her. They felt strangely warm and comforting as she fought down the fear that felt like crushing her.

Gently, the leaf at the end of the vine birthed forth, full and bright red. It rose slightly higher, cupping her chin gently, cradling its soft webbed network of veins against her soft skin. It stayed that way for a few moments as the last of her tears fell down her cheeks and dropping down to her chin where the leaf collected it.

When the last tear was collected, the leaf folded in on itself and the vines untwisted the way they came, pulling away from her just as gently as they drew back to the door. Elena stood up quickly next to Stefan, watching eagerly as the all the leaves on the vines turned into a bright shade of red and a bright light from behind shimmered through the breaks getting brighter until Elena had to shield her eyes.

Before long the entire area was surrounded by bright white light that felt hot like the sun. Elena covered herself up as much as possible from the rays, afraid she would burn, wondering what would happened if she died within Damon's mind. Would she die in real life or would she just be kicked out of his mind. Questions kept running through her head as she sat hunched on the ground, waiting for whatever would happen to happen.

"Elena." Stefan voice said softly, but she didn't look up, afraid of the white light blinding her sensitive eyes. "Elena..."

She looked up then, slowly at first then fully once seeing the light had receded and she was able to see around her again. She stood up from her hunched position and looked around her. They were in the same hallway as before, everything the same except the hall was unblocked and the vines had changed.

Behind them light seemed to shimmer and continue pulsating making the bright red leaves brighter. But sticking out from the wall of vines were six tear drop shaped crevices. Elena took a hesitant step towards the nearest one, and reached her hand out to feel the crevice with her finger tips. It felt soft and smooth and alive like human skin.

"You have to find the pieces." A young boy's voice from behind them spoke. The two vampires turned around at the sudden appearance. There, standing regally was a young boy of about 8 years of age. He stood with his back straight and arms behind him. His hair was raven black, shining slightly as the light from behind the vines seemed to reach out for him. The boy was dressed in attire that Elena figured must be from Damon's time, but what struck her the most were his eyes. The same shape, the same shade, the same pierce.

"Damon." Stefan said astonished next to her. She looked toward her friend, seeing his eyes wide and saddened at the boys' appearance before them. It was easy to see it was Damon, but it felt wrong, he felt wrong. The same warmth and comfort she always felt when she was with Damon didn't radiate from the boy before her. The leaves to her back felt more of Damon's presence then the apparition.

"Yes, and no." The boy said clearly with the corner of his lips pulling up in the half grin they were both very familiar with.

"I don't understand." Stefan said softly. Elena watched as he kneeled down in front of the apparition in awe and confusion.

The boy in front of him smiled brightly. Not the same mischievous one he had before but one of great fondness and elation as he stood in front of Stefan's kneeled form.

"I'm sure you'll figure it all out soon Stefan. You are very intelligent." The boy said, excitement radiating from him. The boy seemed to tremble and his arms twitched as if he wanted nothing more than to bring them around.

"My intelligence has nothing on your cleverness Damon. I've always marveled you for it, as long as I could remember."

That seemed to give the boy what permission he sought as he quickly wrapped his arms tightly around Stefan's neck, holding him close as he laid his cheek on his brothers shoulder. Elena watched as Stefan hesitated for a moment, only a moment, before wrapping his arms around the boys back and holding him tightly closing his eyes, clearly enjoying the moment.

It was too quick however as the boy pulled back from Stefan and looked deliriously happy between the two of them as another burst of bright light poured out from behind the vines, blinding them once more. Elena covered her eyes tightly and waited for whatever should happen next.

She stood there silently, breathing hard as her skin felt like it was burning before it finally cooled and stopped a few moments later. She waited a beat or two before lowering her hands and allowing her eyes to adjust to the dim light of the room. It was different.

Instead of the hallway with its white walls and blue trim surrounded by various pieces of art and knickknacks, they appeared to now be in some kind of library. Tall bookcases surrounded them, covering every wall. Old fashioned filing cabinets littered around the room amongst comfortable looking chairs and sofas.

Turning herself around and around she tried to take in everything around her from the high vaulted ceilings to the warm fire places that were lit and burning brightly. The windows appeared dark but she could swear she could almost feel the sunlight coming from them.

Finally turning her attention to Stefan at her side, she frowned as she saw the saddened look that crossed his handsome features as he stared at the empty space in front of him where the young Damon shaped figure had been just a moment ago. Her heart ached for her friend, knowing that he had longed for over a century to have his brother back as it was before.

"Stefan…" She started next to him, but no words came next. What words of comfort could she offer?

She didn't have much time to think on that in any case as a loud rumbling sound came from the opposite side of the room. Stefan leapt to his feet from his kneeled position and took a step back, watching with the same wide and cautious eyes that she viewed with.

"That's the vampire." The young voice startled them from behind. The two quickly turned to face him again, and with a glance in Stefan's direction Elena could see the slight elation on his face. "He's not usually so tamed."

"We had to put him to sleep to get in so we can find Damon." Stefan told him and the boy nodded.

"I know." He said simply and walked away from the two vampires and over to a sofa by one of the fire places. The boy gingerly sat down, obviously at ease in his current environment. Elena not knowing what to do followed the boy, sitting down on the opposite sofa, feeling the hairs on her arms raise at the real heat that seemed to come from the fire.

"You look like him, but you aren't the Damon we're looking for, are you?" she asked him as Stefan came around to stand behind her. The boy smiled at her, obviously pleased with her intelligence as he shook his head.

"What makes a person is their soul, or essence that inhabits a body. Humans have a need to name everything and the essence that inhabits this body called Damon." The boy explained to them with his back high and ridged and hands neatly clasped in his lap.

"That's…kind of deep." Stefan stated, obviously as bewildered as Elena felt.

The boy let out a light laugh that sent a flutter through Elena's chest. He waived his arm slowly indicating the surrounding area. The case upon case of books and files. Thousands upon thousands. "Damon soaks up knowledge. He loves it, it makes him feel alive."

"And this is all Damon's knowledge? Everything he knows?" Elena asked in awe as she took another look around.

"This room is Damon's memory, or how he sees it anyways." He lifted his hand straight in the air and a book suddenly came flying towards it, slowing so the boy could easily grab ahold of it. He placed the book on his lap and opened it to a random page. From Elena's angle it seemed to be pictures as he turned pages showing more and more. "You can't really see memory by just looking inside of you. Everyone pictures something when they try to remember something and such. This is how he sees his."

"I can see that." Stefan said. "He always loved books, and the place is very clean."

"Ok, but if this is just what he sees his mind as, and you aren't really Damon, then where is he. How do get to him? How do we help him?" Elena said frustrated. The information fascinated her and if it were any other time she would love to explore everything there but they were here with a purpose.

Within a blink of the eye the book on the Boy's lap disappeared and he scooted himself closer to the edge of the seat. "Damon, the one you seek, is behind the door of vines."

"And how do we get through the door?" Elena asked him. The boy opened his mouth to speak but before he could a loud angry growl echoed around the room from the bars of the Vampire. Fear trickled through Elena, hoping that it wasn't waking up. When it appeared the creature was still asleep she turned her head back towards the boy, jumping slightly as space where the fireplace had been disappeared and the door of red Virginia Creeper with the bright light behind it took its place.

Standing up from the sofa she turned towards Stefan who didn't seem to notice as he stared searchingly at the boy. "He's behind the door isn't he?" Stefan asked, though it seemed rhetorical. The boy nodded his head at him. "How do we open it?"

"You must find the pieces to unlock the door." The boy stated simply. "When a person meets someone who deeply affects their life, a piece or a shard of sorts of their soul is left with them of the person. They make up a part of their soul that is filled by the person who holds it."

"And how do we do that?" Elena asked, feeling her stomach sink at the enormity of the task that seemed to be before them.

The boy stared at them searchingly. It made Elena shudder and feel like he was looking into her own soul, seeing what shards were missing within herself. She can't imagine anything like what the boy was talking about, but at the same time, it made sense. Seeming to have found whatever it was he was looking for, the boy nodded again and reached down to the coffee table in front of him and picked up a book that Elena hadn't even noticed was there before.

"Leaving a shard isn't something a person does consciously, but this should help you your journey." He told them holding the book out.

Stefan took it from him carefully and held it to his chest as if it were the greatest treasure, and Elena supposed it was in some way to him, and to her too. But her frowned deepened as she turned back to the boy who was not Damon and saw the saddened look on his beautiful face.

"I must warn you, the task you are taking is important. I am but a shadow of Damon, one of so many you'll encounter inside this mind. Damon is not in control." The boy looked over at the shiny red vines with saddened eyes. "His heart has been broken and if he were human he would have died."

"But he's not." Elena said simply, and the boy turned to look at her, blue eyes hard and piercing.

"No he is not. With the beast within him he is unable to. But he had locked himself away, hiding from the pain that he feels."

"And we want to help him! We want him back, we don't want him to hurt anymore." Elena exclaimed and the boy nodded his understanding.

"The beast will keep his body alive, but Damon is fading and soon will be lost behind the door until his body is eventually freed. If you fail you won't be able to try again. He knows you're here and he will lock the door forever."

"Then we won't fail." Stefan stated firmly. "I'm not going to lose my brother to his own mind. I will fight for him."

The boy smiled again. It was beautiful and sad. "He loves you Stefan. Please do what is right for him no matter the outcome."

With that the boy vanished from sight leaving the two vampires alone once again. It was all surreal. It all felt like some kind of weird dream that Elena couldn't wake up from and felt so real. But she shook the thought out of her mind and turned back towards Stefan who still held the book tightly to his chest.

"What did he mean by what is right for him?" She asked tiredly, not liking the hard look from Stefan.

"He meant if we fail to get Damon back, then we should help him be free."

***(((***)))***