She could not even begin to explain how much she loved the power. There were so many vampire qualities that she relished in. The super human strength, enhanced senses, and the ability to move at incredible speeds were a few of the reasons that she enjoyed this so much. In some ways, Elena never wanted this night to end.
Damon watched as the version of himself, slowly stood up from the grave. He could see two single teardrops run down both sides of his cheeks. Damon stared at the single red rose, lying on top of the gravesite. The tombstone read : Elena Gilbert: Beloved Daughter, Sister, Niece, and Friend. April 11th 1993- February 19th 2011. Damon watched as the other version of himself started talking. I must really be crazy. Now I am talking to myself Damon thought. "Goodbye, Elena. I will always love you. I have to leave Mystic Falls now." Damon's voice began breaking. "I can't be the better man Elena. I- I have to go now. I have to go kill someone . I- can't do this anymore. I can't be-" he paused. "I can't be that man anymore. I can't be the person that you brought out in me, the one hidden so far inside of my soul. I can't be that Damon. I can't be the Damon that you knew, the Damon that you-. He choked on the last word. "I can't be the person that you loved, well that I think you did. I always hoped that you would. I guess now I'll never know for sure" he said. Suddenly, there was a sound from behind. Damon and his dream counterpart both jumped. They turned simultaneously and were shocked at what they saw.
It was already a few minutes past 4:30 am. Elena rushed back to the creek as fast as she could. Katherine was already there. She looked annoyed. "You're late" Katherine announced. Elena nodded her head. "I was looking for the other ring. I guess I lost track of time" Elena explained. She did not even know why she was bothering to explain herself to Katherine, of all people. "Well, I didn't find it" Katherine said, calmly. Elena was angry. "What is wrong with you?" she yelled Then Elena did something she never thought she would do. She ran over and slapped Katherine across the face as hard as she could. Katherine had not been expecting this. She grabbed Elena and threw her against a tree. Every bone in Elena's back seemed to be on fire. By the time that she recovered, Katherine was long gone.
Damon stared in disbelief at the scene that was unfolding before his eyes. Damon was looking at the ghost of Elena as she crossed the cemetery and walked toward him. Damon stepped out from where he was standing and began to walk closer to her. The figure of Elena walked straight over to the dream version of Damon. Damon had momentarily forgotten that no one else could see him. Elena looked almost exactly the same as she did in the real world. The figure seemed to become more solid, the closer she walked to him. Elena stopped right in front of dream Damon. "Damon I'm here. I've heard what you said. I want to tell you that you can do this" she said. Elena gently stroked Damon's cheek with her hand. "I can't Elena. I don't know how to go on from here" he said. Damon was shaking slightly, but enough that it was noticeable. Elena placed both hands on his face. "Damon you have to let me go. You can be the better man. You can still be the person that I know you are capable of being. You have the strength inside of yourself" she said. Damon slowly shook his head back and forth. "No Elena, I can't. I don't even want to" he said, stubbornly. Elena reached up and kissed him on the forehead. She looked at him straight in the eyes. "You can do this" she said. Damon did not protest any longer. He ran his hand over her arm. "I have to go now" she told him.
"No, don't go" Damon pleaded. There was such sadness in his voice. "I need you, Elena. You can't leave" he said. He sounded nearly hysterical. Elena looked at him one more time. Then she gently kissed his soft lips. The kiss was brief but so sweet. Elena wrapped her tiny hand around his. "I love you too" she said. Then within the next few seconds, she was gone. There was nothing but a small misty shadow left in her wake. "Goodbye Elena", Damon whispered into the wind.
Elena had to find the ring. The time was quickly passing. It was now five o'clock. Elena noticed that with each passing hour her senses had become sharper and sharper. She was now faster, stronger and more sensitive to sounds, movements and smells than she had been when she started out on this search. Elena felt so much different she had before .She was confident that she would succeed in this task. She didn't have any other choice.
Damon stood in the middle of the graveyard still in shock at what he had seen. He looked back and forth between where his counterpart stood and the place where Elena had been standing. He honestly could not believe everything that had happened. Damon's mind tried to piece together everything that had happened. He had come to say goodbye to Elena. He had gotten to touch her and talk to her. Elena had finally acknowledged the one thing that he had wanted to hear for so long. Her strength gave him strength. He could go on now. He had to go on now. There was no other choice for Damon. He took a deep breath and began on his new journey. Damon knew now what he must do. He must leave. He must save her. He had to. There was no other choice.
The whole world seemed to be spinning around Elena. Elena had begun to cry a little bit. She looked at her watch. It read 6:10 am. How could this much time already passed?She had looked everywhere. She had looked in the trees, under rocks, and in the dirt. Elena was a total mess. She was covered in dirt from head to toe. No matter what she did, she could not find a solution. However, she was determined not to give up. It did not matter how tired she was. It did not matter that every bone in her body ached. It did not matter that this all seemed hopeless. Elena would not give up. She refused to give up and allow him to die.
There had to be a way out of this nightmare. Damon was fighting with everything that he had. The ghost of Elena left. Damon was still standing in the middle of the cemetery, staring off into the distance. Suddenly Damon looked up at the sky. "I did it Klaus! Is this what you want? I conquered the nightmare! I've won!" he shouted at the sky. Damon's counterpart had not moved at all since Elena left. It was in this moment that Damon realized what had happened. He had been controlling the dream. It appeared as though, the Damon in the nightmare only acted upon what he thought, what he felt. For all intents and purposes this was real. He was going to have to convince this Damon to move on before he could leave. Damon was trying to figure out how to convince the dream Damon to leave. Then he had an idea. He thought that maybe if he accepted that he could still a good person, then the other Damon would be able to move on as well. He turned around. He walked to Elena's grave one last time. Damon bent down and began speaking to it. "You're right, Elena. You've always been right. I can be the better man. I will be the better man. I love you Elena. Goodbye" he said, ever so gently. Suddenly the dream world seemed to dissolve around Damon. Damon opened his eyes. He was back inside of the basement. He had conquered the nightmare. Now he had to figure out a way to get out of the basement and find Elena in time.
Elena heard something move behind her. Quickly she spun around. "Who's there? Katherine?" she asked, unsure of what she had heard. "Elena," she heard a familiar voice say. She turned and saw Damon standing there. "Damon what happened? How did you get out? Are you ok?" she asked in rapid succession. Damon grabbed her by her shoulders. "I'll tell you everything later. Right now you have to do something. You have to take off that necklace. It will kill you. A spell has been put on it to allow you to burn in the sun, just like vampires" he said, forcefully. Elena looked stunned. "What?" she asked. "That's impossible" she protested. Damon shook his head, slowly. "It's true, Elena. You have to take the necklace off." He looked at her watch. It read 6:20. "We only have a few minutes. We have to get back before it's too late" Damon said sternly. Elena looked down and began to cry. "I couldn't do it Damon. I only found one ring" she sobbed. Elena reached into her pocket and took out the silver ring. Instead of responding, suddenly Damon grabbed the necklace from Elena's neck and pulled. Nothing happened. It would not come off.
Damon was surprised that he could not get the necklace off, however he was more surprised at Elena's reaction. Elena pulled back very quickly. "No!" she shouted at Damon. This was the first time that Damon really noticed how Elena looked. She was covered in dirt. She looked pale and exhausted. Despite everything, there was something different about her. It was as though she had this new energy about her body. Power seemed to be coursing through her. "Elena we have to get back to the house. We have to go now" he said, sounding nearly panicked now. Elena was frightened. She was confused. She did not seem to know what was going on. "Damon what's happening to me?" she cried. "I can't take the necklace off but at the same time I don't want to" she admitted. Elena was pacing around the woods. They did not have time for this. Damon grabbed Elena by the wrist. She was sobbing now. "I- I don't understand Damon. I want to go back home. I don't want to do this anymore. I can't help it though. I love this. I want this power. I don't want to be without it. Please Damon, please help me" she pleaded. Damon turned to her and stroked her hair. "You're going to be alright Elena. You just have to come with me" he said. Elena shook her head. "I just can't" she sobbed.
"Shh Elena. Come here" Damon said. Then he gently picked her up in his arms and began running to the house with her. There was only one minute till sunrise when they returned. As a precaution, Damon took the ring out of Elena's pocket and slipped it on his finger. He had expected, all of the doors to be locked. Damon could not take a chance on burning in the sun. "I'm just going to have to borrow this, Stefan" Damon said aloud.
Damon opened the cellar door and they went in. Alaric and Luka were not in good condition. The smell of blood hit Elena like a ton of bricks. She actually nearly felt dizzy from it. Suddenly, Stefan and Bonnie were awoken from their nightmares. They both looked around very confused. "Elena? Damon?" Stefan asked, wondering what was going on. "Yeah we're here Stefan. I have something to give to you" Damon said. Damon walked over to Stefan, took off the ring and handed it to him.
Then Stefan seemed to remember everything that had happened. "Wait a second, what about you? Where's your ring?" he asked, concerned. Damon took a deep breath. When he spoke, his voice was shaky. "Elena only found yours" Damon said, trying not to sound too defeated. Damon did not want to think that these few moments might be the last he saw his brother.
"How did you get out?" Stefan asked.
"I let him go" Klaus answered. "I knew that he wouldn't survive anyhow, so I figured there was no harm in not giving him what he wanted, to attempt to save the girl he loves. It was a nice attempt, I must admit. "Now I believe that it is 6:30. It is now time to open the doors and watch at least one vampire burn" Klaus said, happily.
Suddenly, the lights went out. There was a rush of cold air. Then a door slammed shut. Quickly Klaus turned the lights back on. Everyone was confused as to what had happened. Then Damon looked down sawn that his ring had been placed in his hand. "Hello again, Klaus" a voice called out from behind them. Everyone turned to see Katherine standing in the back of the room. "Ah, the lovely Katherine makes an appearance again. You really do like saving the day don't you? You of course, just do it for your own glory though" Klaus said, arrogantly. Katherine smiled, devilishly. "Well you would know all about that Klaus. You're the master of it. I'm just surprised that you didn't catch onto the necklace earlier. It obviously never worked for Charlotte, seeing as she is dead" Katherine said.
Everyone looked back and forth between the two as though at a tennis match. "I suppose that you must have a warlock of your own to have pulled the little stunt with the lights" Klaus said.
"Witch, actually" Katherine corrected. "Why don't you bring out your man behind the curtain or are you afraid of being found out?" Katherine asked. Klaus did not respond, immediately.
"Well, I'm certainly not afraid". Klaus called out into the house. A few moments later, a man opened the door and walked down the stairs to the basement. It took a few minutes before someone finally realized who he was. It was Elena who spoke first. "I saw you at the hospital. You're Matt's father" Elena said, sounding shocked. The tall man with dirty blond hair looked at them all. "Yes, I am and you killed my daughter" he said simply.