She could smell Elijah's blood the second she stepped out of the car. Elena's heart hammered against her ribcage as her panic rose.

Bonnie stood outside the double entry doors, waiting for them. Her eyes grew wide when she saw her best friend, and she clutched at Elena who was approaching like a hurricane. "You have to wait-"

"She's hurt him! I can't- I can't." Bonnie's grip barely registered on her radar as she barreled past, throwing the doors open.

The entire foyer was painted in red, the gruesome sight almost enough to stop her. Her eyes landed on Elijah splayed out on the ground. He looked dead, but thank God no grey veins decorated his complexion. He was just unconscious, his thready pulse faint. His other siblings laid on the floor along the periphery, dagger handles erect from their chests. Elena ran inside as the witches made their last futile pleas for her to wait.

The door slammed shut as soon as she was over the threshold, and she heard the locks engage. Her eyes darted around the room again for the adversary behind this trap. Elena knew she was caught, but it was a necessary fight. She needed to be here regardless of her personal safety, because he needed her. She stood at Elijah's feet, keeping his body protected behind her. Two sets of fists pounded at the doors from outside, Sophie and Bonnie trying to fight their way in.

"They're worried about you. How sweet."

The voice drifted down from the top of the staircase, and there she was. Her Original double.

"You sound jealous," Elena said, her eyebrow rising in a challenge.

"Not jealous, just - perturbed. He promised to love me forever once and yet now he denies me. But it's okay." Tatia descended the stairs, her long violet gown trailing behind her. "I punished him and still got what I needed. He tastes delicious."

"You're sick," Elena spat out, her stance growing defensive as the other came closer.

"And now who's jealous?" She stopped only inches from Elena, her fingers grasping her jaw and raising her chin. "He will come around, once he realizes that you love them both - that you could be Klaus's salvation. And he'll remember how it was between us, once his vision isn't clouded by you."

"I don't think so," she gritted out.

"So much more feisty than I ever was. No wonder Klaus was intrigued." Tatia looked amused. "I could see everything between you - the way you kissed him, how you nearly let yourself go before you remembered everything. That says a lot, don't you think? That the attraction was still there, when you thought you despised him?"

"Maybe it's the curse of your bloodline," Elena countered sarcastically. "Some fickle flaw we were all doomed to inherit from you. But I can tell you this - I know I love Elijah most. And I never would have left his side if Klaus hadn't handed him an ultimatum. But I attribute that to you - you ruined Klaus, a thousand years ago, and you haven't given up. He's as he is, because of you."

Elena felt Tatia's fingers digging into the column of her neck and she fought to pull them away as the elder duplicate seethed between clenched teeth. "You think you understand, but you don't. I held out hope for Elijah, and those hopes were dashed when Niklaus wished to court me. And then Elijah ruined me, our marriage. He took advantage of my affection for him." Her grip tightened. "I died, because he couldn't leave me alone. The least he could do now is let me live, by his side, as we both wanted then. And you will not get in the way."

Elena's tiptoes were barely on the floor as Tatia's narrowed eyes flashed. "You can't - you can't kill me-" she croaked.

Tatia smiled before hissing, "Watch me."

"Tatiana, no -"

Elijah's rasping voice sent chills down her spine and the butterflies loose in her stomach. She finally had all of her memories to go with it that voice. And they were so close to what Elena had hoped would be their ultimate reunion. But it still wasn't meant to be.

"Let her go."

Elena's toes scraped against the floor and she wished she could see him. Instead she was forced to watch Tatia shaking her head.

"I'm tempted to dessicate her until you forget her." A burning started in her throat as Tatia spoke the words and her veins pulled beneath her skin. She stared at Tatia with widening eyes, watching her skin take on a grey pallor.

"No," she gasped. How was Tatia doing this? Elena's body was on fire, all of her nerve endings twisting. She imagined this was how it felt as the stake plunged in, and she could barely stand it any longer. She tried to twist out of Tatia's grip unsuccessfully.

"Stop!" he protested weakly, and she heard his heaving breaths as he dragged himself to a standing position. "Tatia, don't punish her because of me... I've been a fool."

Tatia's face was twisted in concentration, one that was reminiscent of Bonnie's in the midst of a difficult spell, and that was when the realization dawned on Elena - her ancestress was a witch. Elijah stepped into view and he yanked at Tatia's shoulder, trying to break her trance.

"If you stop this madness, I will make Elena leave," he murmured into her ear. "Tatiana, please. I lashed out before, but we can resolve this. I was upset at what you disclosed. At the chance we lost."

Her double's face faltered at the words. "You're lying. To save her."

"No. I want..." He let his fingers trace over Tatia's shoulder, and the bile rose in Elena's throat. "...to be with you."

"You do?" There was a faint tremble to Tatia's voice, the vulnerability that she couldn't disguise. The hint of the human girl, who innocently thought she was alone in the tide pool. Who couldn't imagine Elijah Mikaelson would pursue her.

"Yes. I know now that it's futile to fight against what draws us together." He didn't meet Elena's gaze as his voice trailed off, and she couldn't breathe. Was she just a face - a replica - all of this time? A lie?

"How do I know you're not lying?"

Her hand tightened on Elena's throat again and Elena saw grey dots swirling at the sides of her vision. But her consciousness was the least of her concerns. If he was going to leave her... oh God. She didn't care if he was doing it for her benefit or not. The thought of going on without him was enough to kill her. She wanted to close her eyes, but she couldn't look away as his lips pressed upon the column of Tatia's neck, sweeping away stray dark waves. Tatia's eyelids fluttered at the sensation of long-awaited affection. Elena wanted to think this was a ruse, but he gave no clue. She began to wonder if he'd lost his mind.

"I give you my word... as long as you walk this earth, I will stay by your side." He placed another kiss below her ear before he straightened, and this unnecessary foreplay was going to drive Elena over the brink. "But my brother deserves to be happy as well. You cannot harm Elena."

The original lovers stared at each other for one heavy moment, and finally Tatia's grip loosened and she lowered Elena to the floor. Her color receded to normal, and the physical ache left her body. Her hand instinctively rubbed at her throat, the choking sensation lingering... but she couldn't be sure if it was from the spell or the fact that Elijah was leaving her.

"You're trapping him," she exclaimed once she found her voice. "How can you be so desperate to keep him like this?"

"Elena," Elijah said, as Tatia smiled beside him. "It's my choice."

"How can you say that?" she railed. "After everything we've fought for? I don't want you to save me!"

"It's over, Elena. Too much has happened. Klaus's mark is on you... I can't get past that." His gaze didn't reveal anything but disdain as he looked at her. He turned to Tatia. "Let us say goodbye. Alone."

Tatia studied him for a moment, then she nodded. Somehow she trusted him, despite the venomous glance she threw at Elena before she stepped away.

Elijah moved close then, his gaze dark.

"She's in your head, or she's pulled some trick," Elena whispered. "Elijah, please. You can't tell me that you choose her over me?"

"You have to leave. Return to Klaus. That's where you belong."

His face was determined, and she was ready to throw herself at him, anything to knock sense into him. "I came back for you. I love you." She drew in a shaky breath. "I've remembered everything, and I am so sorry for the way I treated you. Maybe it was beyond my control, but it was still brutal for you."

That was the first she saw his stoic exterior falter, and hope flickered in her soul. Maybe this wasn't the end.

He glanced around before he pressed a dagger to her hand, then swiftly tucked it inside her jacket. He kissed her forehead, and her eyes drifted closed. His hand held onto hers for a last moment, his thumb tracing a circle against her skin, as though he needed her to remember his touch. As if she could forget. "Go," he whispered. "Back to my brother."

When she glanced up at him, Elena could see his desire in his gaze. She would be his again, no matter his words. But she now had a task. She took a deep breath as she allowed him to push her through the doorway, his fingertips meeting invisible resistance. Sophie and Bonnie stared at her, and she felt on the verge of a breakdown. But she braced herself.

"I need to call Klaus," she said.

oOo

"It took forever for me to find this place. Gives new meaning to 'off the beaten path.'"

She looked up from her menu to see the blonde hybrid sitting across from her.

"I wasn't sure you were going to show up," she said nervously. His countenance was as cool as marble, hiding the tides of emotion below.

"I haven't offered my assistance yet."

"I know." She straightened in her chair. "But you didn't have to come either, after everything that happened."

"I suspect your opinion of us hadn't changed, then?"

"Klaus," she reproached softly. "Please, don't."

His jaw set as he twisted the end of his napkin, preoccupied. Or maybe just resisting the impulse to go on a rampage. "You can't fault me for my hope."

"No, I can't. And I'm sorry that I can't let myself give in to you." She chewed at the inside of her lip, the room temperature climbing as those moody blue eyes fixated on her. She was tempted to fan herself with the menu but she didn't want him to know how much he still affected her. "I-I know you care for me. But I can't act like Tatia did, despite whatever traces of her live on in me."

"I don't want Tatia," he retorted. "Even if you now possess her memories. To be completely honest I almost wish you didn't."

"But you see her when you see me."

He shook his head, a faint rueful smile passing over his lips. "How have you forgotten already that I lived inside your mind? I know you, Elena. Far more deeply than I ever knew Tatia."

She swallowed, knowing that his gaze could see right through her. She cleared her throat as the server returned to take their order. It was a welcome diversion. Elena waited until the young man was gone again before she took a sip of her water. Klaus now sat back in his chair.

She let out a long exhale, which drew his attention back to her. "It's funny that you don't care about her, because she's been resurrected."

"What?" he hissed, and now he was lunging over his half of the tiny cafe table. "That's impossible."

"Apparently not. She tricked Sophie into bringing her along when she brought you back. And in order to become permanent, she had to take the blood of someone who wanted her here."

"She won't ever find that. I'll slam the door in her face."

She winced a little, and recognition darkened his gaze. From her expression alone he had gleaned the course of events. And he couldn't completely hide the pain from her, that once again Tatia chose Elijah, because Elena understood Klaus just as well as he understood her. His voice was quiet with disappointment and long-standing rejection. "Well, that's a surprise."

"I don't think it was willing on Elijah's part," she offered meekly. "She attacked him. And daggered your siblings again."

"How are you aware of all of this?"

"Because I went home, and she was there, and it was a bloodbath. She intended to torture me, but somehow Elijah convinced her to let me go." He grimly stared at her, silent, and she blinked back tears. "He told her he would stay with her. She has some sort of spell in place to keep anyone from leaving."

"So Sophie Devereaux continues to carry out her designs. If we kill the witch-"

"No," Elena said vehemently, noticing the raised eyebrows of the patrons at the next table, and she lowered her voice. "No. Tatia is a witch, Klaus. She's done all of this herself."

His eyebrows narrowed. "How do you know this?"

"Because she started to dessicate me."

She was interrupted by the waiter returning, and she gave him a weak smile as he set their food and drinks in front of them. Thinking of her veins burning under her skin made her burger and fries look infinitely less appetizing. Still, she dipped a fry in ketchup and popped it in her mouth - an attempt at normalcy as well as to distract from the other unpleasant memory.

Klaus pretended to be engrossed in cutting up his steak, and Elena noted he was a little too zealous with the knife. "If she's all-powerful, as you suggest, I don't see why you've sought me out," he remarked in a nonchalant voice.

"Because your blood is needed to bring her down. Sophie determined that from the spell she used to bring her through. She was attached to you until she took Elijah's blood to survive. And Elijah gave me this." She held the dagger just above the table's edge so he could have a momentary glimpse.

"Any why do you expect me to help, after rejecting me? If Elijah is stuck with her..." He paused, eyebrows raised, and she could feel the familiar fury rising in her, at how he always seemed to hold the upper hand. How he could manipulate any situation into getting what he wanted - in this case, her. He popped a piece of steak into his mouth, hiding a smirk.

But instead of lashing out with anger, she leaned forward with her own fake saccharine smile. "You know that it doesn't matter, whether he and I are together or apart. I won't ever forget that you allowed him to remain trapped."

His chewing slowed as she stared him down, and he sighed.

"Besides," she added, "I can't imagine it sits too well with you to allow someone else to torture your siblings. You're the one who is supposed to punish them, not anybody else. And especially not her - she doesn't have that right after how she betrayed you."

Klaus frowned as she twisted the manipulation back around. He knew she was playing on his flaws, and with the truth. She couldn't help but feel a bit smug. She didn't have to plant the insecurities in his head, and she was showing she was sometimes better at his game than he was. A begrudging spark of pride lit his eyes.

"Bravo," he said. "You found the buttons to push. I guess you may be more like Tatia than I'd like to admit."

She refused to show him how his words stung, keeping the same pleasant expression on her face. "Or perhaps you," she suggested. "After living in my head for so long. You've been the master of manipulation, after all." She sighed, feeling her facade splinter at the way his face fell the instant the words left her mouth. "Why are we fighting like this?"

"Why not? You had my heart. Twice. And you've ripped it out both times."

She blinked hard, not able to pretend anymore. He hadn't wanted to fall for her. She hadn't wanted to give him false hope. And yet here they were. Elena was beyond exhausted, and she didn't know how much further she could trudge on. Just looking at Klaus reminded her of how long the road had been already. "What can I do, so that you'll help?" she asked, her tone tinged in desperation.

"Nothing," he replied quietly, in such a way that one would think he'd come to terms with it. But Elena knew better - she was able to sense the iciness. "There's nothing you can do. Don't contact me again."

His chair scraped loudly as he stood, and he threw his napkin down, then some money. Her eyes were wide and she felt the blood pool to her cheeks. The other diners glanced in their direction, sensing the abrupt negativity. She wanted to drop to her knees and beg him, offer him anything if he would just help her - but her voice wouldn't work. And she knew she couldn't offer him the one thing he wanted, because it would betray Elijah. Even if they never spoke of it again, she wouldn't be able to live with herself. Mistakenly kissing him had left her distraught enough.

Klaus stared at her silently, his face sour in spite of her pleading eyes, before turning and stalking away. He was her only hope, walking out the door.