"What the hell?"
His words weren't profound, nor were they particularly awe-inspiring. But they had the desired effect.
Everyone froze in place and turned to gape at him in open-mouthed disbelief. Tyler stared back at the scene before him, which was strangely suspended in time.
"Tyler?" Elena finally gasped. "What on earth are you doing here?"
Tyler frowned, trying to clear his head. "I don't know—but I heard this, like, ringing in my head…and I just couldn't stop myself from coming here." He paused and looked around, "Where exactly am I, anyway?"
Katherine turned slowly to face Bonnie, amazement etched on her face. "You called one of your friends here? To die? How very stupid of you—"
"I can't believe I'm about to say this," Elena said angrily, "but I agree with Katherine! Bonnie, what were you thinking?"
Tyler slowly walked towards Bonnie, still looking confused as to what he was doing. Isobel snapped, "For heaven's sake! Take the spell off of him!"
"Not yet," Bonnie said calmly. "Not until he's done his part."
"What's wrong with you?" Elena demanded, brushing by Katherine to stare at her best friend. "You can't just treat people like this! You can't treat them like—like they're your personal toys! That makes you no different from Damon!"
The minute the words were out of her mouth, she bit her lip in regret. She turned to face Damon, who was staring back at her stonily. "That's right, Bonnie," he said coldly. "You wouldn't want to become a cold hearted killer like me, would you?"
"I didn't mean that," Elena said desperately. "Damon—"
Bonnie had gotten up, her arms free of the chains that Tyler had removed. His eyes were oddly blank as he stood slightly in front of Bonnie, facing the room. "Don't you dare compare me to a vampire, Elena," Bonnie warned. "I called Tyler here because I didn't know if you would be coming! The last time I saw you guys, Alaric was dead, Damon was staked, and you were being choked to death!"
"That's a good point," Alaric muttered to Elena. "She couldn't have known that we were all alive…"
"But, that's no excuse!" Elena took a deep breath, trying to calm down. "How are we going to explain this to him?"
"I'll compel him," Damon answered, no longer restraining Stefan, who had reverted back to human form.
"Won't work," Bonnie said briskly. "Compulsion doesn't work on werewolves."
Katherine was standing in the middle of the room, looking positively furious. "Enough!" she shouted. "Isobel, you will pay for your betrayal. No one double crosses me and gets away with it!"
Alaric's gaze dropped to the stake Katherine was holding. She noticed and smiled, letting the stake fall to the ground. "I'm not a fool," she hissed. "I won't kill her now." She blurred and appeared in the middle of Damon and Stefan. "I'll kill her when she least expects it."
She turned to Stefan, launching her body against his. Stefan, already weak, let her slam him into the wall behind them. "My plans for you are well underway, lover," she breathed. "Before long, you'll be craving my touch."
She then turned to Damon, who stared back at her warily. Katherine smiled, a hint of fang showing at her lips. "Don't fool yourself into thinking you can replace me, Damon. I know you'll come back to me." She glanced at Elena, "Sooner or later."
With that, she disappeared.
'''''''''''''''''''''''''''''
"Where will you go?" Alaric murmured to Isobel as they all stood outside Katherine's house, watching as it burned to the ground.
"Not too far," Isobel answered quietly. "There's no point in running from Katherine. She always gets what she wants."
"No," Elena protested. "We can help you! You should go far away, where she'll never find you—"
"So naïve," Isobel interrupted. "Don't worry about me, Elena. I may be your birth mother, but I was never your mom."
"I know," Elena replied, looking down at the ground. "But you helped us. I won't forget."
"Speaking of helping us," Damon interrupted. "I believe you had some sort of deal you wanted to make with me?"
"Not now," Isobel said, staring straight at Damon. "But you owe me a debt. And that, I won't forget."
Damon nodded, accepting her terms. "Well, I can't say it's been a pleasure…but good luck to you, Isobel. You're going to need it."
Isobel smiled briefly, turning to Alaric. "Goodbye."
Then, she too was gone.
Elena let the tears run silently down her face as all of them watched Bonnie control the fire to Katherine's house so it wouldn't spread to the surrounding area.
Stefan was slumped down against a tree, his head in his hands. Tyler was standing some distance away, his face still expressionless. Alaric's arms were crossed as he stared off into the distance where Isobel had disappeared. And Damon stood next to Elena, watching as the tears fell down her face.
"It's done," Bonnie announced, and all of them joined her in staring at the rubble that had once been a house. "It's burned beyond repair. Any spells that might have been placed on it have been erased."
Damon nodded, glancing at Bonnie. "Did you manage to save anything?"
Bonnie smiled slightly, "How did you guess?"
"I figured you were smarter than that. Where is it?"
Alaric looked between the two, confused. "What are you guys talking about?"
Bonnie carefully climbed in the charred remains, digging through what was left. After a few moments, she pulled out a large book and clutched it to her chest. "The spellbook that Katherine had," Bonnie explained. "It belongs to a powerful witch. It'll have…powerful spells."
"Like the spell to uninvite a vampire from your home," Alaric said, understanding. He glanced at Tyler, "And what are you going to do about him? Will he remember anything?"
"I want him to remember." Bonnie hesitated, "He's a werewolf…or he will be, anyway. Don't you think he deserves to know what's going on?"
"Not my decision to make."
"I'll take care of him," Bonnie said quickly. "You guys mind if I head home? It's been a long night."
"Are you sure you're okay?" Elena asked, finally speaking.
Bonnie nodded, but didn't meet her gaze. "See you guys later." They watched as she took Tyler's hand and led him out of the woods.
"Well, looks like my little bro needs to replenish his blood supply," Damon announced after a few minutes, "I'll take him home." He picked up Stefan and called back, "Alaric, you take care of Elena, okay?"
He sped off without a backwards glance.
'''''''''''''''''''''''''''''
Elena stood outside the Salvatore mansion. It was late into the night, probably almost daybreak. She had let Alaric walk her home, and had waited a sufficient amount of time before taking off towards the boarding house.
She had a feeling that both brothers were pissed at her right now, each for different reasons. But, she still needed to see them.
Elena didn't bother to knock, knowing that the door would be open. It creaked loudly as she opened it, and she winced. Shutting it quietly behind her, she walked into the living room, half expecting to see Damon there.
But he wasn't.
Frowning, she walked into the library, but all was silent there as well.
"You shouldn't be here. It's dangerous."
Elena gasped, whirling around to see Damon. Her heart beat wildly, and she grabbed the table behind her to steady herself. "You—you scared me."
He tilted his head, "I didn't mean to." He smiled, moving in closer, "Though, you're the one sneaking around my house…"
"I just…wanted to see if you guys were okay," Elena said, disconcerted as she looked up into his eyes.
Damon didn't move, clearly enjoying her discomfort. "We're vampires. We bounce back," he said simply. "Stefan is out hunting. He refused to drink any of the blood packets I have."
"That's good," Elena said with relief, "I guess Katherine didn't break him after all."
"Katherine said something about having plans for him that were 'already underway,' whatever that means," Damon replied. He reached up and delicately brushed her hair out of her face. "I wouldn't worry about it, though," he murmured.
Elena gripped the table behind her even more tightly. She was fully aware that Damon could hear her heartbeat respond every time he touched her. No doubt that was why he was currently smirking, watching her every reaction. She turned to go, when she remembered, "Um..Stefan wasn't too angry was he? When he found out I drank your blood?"
Damon shrugged, an odd expression on his face. "He hasn't mentioned it."
"Thank god," Elena said, relieved. "Please don't tell him I fed you my blood, okay?"
Damon glanced over her shoulder, some emotion—regret?—sliding across his face. "I don't have to."
Elena felt her heart drop as she turned around to see Stefan standing in the doorway, clearly having heard every word.
