"She seriously looks like you?" Caroline asked, glancing at Elena as they drove to the salon.
"Exactly like me," Elena confirmed.
"That's creepy."
"That's the curse of being a Petrova doppelganger. We all look exactly alike, all the way back to the first one, Amara."
"How did it start?"
"Nothing truly immortal can exist, but the spell that was used to turn Silas and Amara made sure there was no way to kill them, without them taking a potion of some kind. As a result, nature spawned the shadow selves, people who could die for them since they can't be killed otherwise."
"Wow. So changing your hair is pretty much the only way to tell you two apart."
"If Katherine cuts her hair to match me, I'm gonna shave my head," Elena joked.
"Elijah will love you no matter what you do to your hair." Caroline reached over and tugged lightly on Elena's hair as she spoke.
"Come on. Let's go make me look at least somewhat different from my predecessor," Elena said as the car came to a stop.
When Elena approached the front desk, the hair dresser looked up from her writing.
"What can I do for you?" she asked in a friendly voice.
"I'd like to cut my hair, to here." Elena indicated her chin.
"That's a lot of hair."
"I've had it long my entire life, so I think it's time for a change."
"Alright, this way." She smiled and showed Elena back to her chair. "Would you like me to shampoo your hair as well?"
"Um, no, thanks. Just a cut and style."
"Okay. Last chance to back out." The stylist draped the cape around Elena's neck.
"Let's do this."
As the scissors snipped through her hair, Elena felt a sense of relief. The less she looked like Katherine, the less Damon would try to pursue her now that Katherine was in town again. He needed to be free of her, free of them both, if she was going to be completely honest with herself. What he needed now, was to meet a nice girl who called him out on his crap and who wouldn't end up breaking his heart.
"Wow. Can't believe I'm saying this," Caroline said at one point, "but you look even better with short hair."
"Thanks."
The stylist finished shaping the hair around her face and stood back.
Spinning the chair around, the stylist asked, "What do you think?"
Elena examined her reflection and smiled. "It looks great."
After paying, the girls left the shop and headed towards the Grill.
"Tonight's the full moon, isn't it?" Caroline commented on the drive over.
"Yeah. Sheila and Bonnie are currenlty preparing for a spell they plan on performing and Tyler'd better be getting ready for tonight."
"What's the spell?"
"They're trying to see if they can get an exact location on Amara, so we can find her when we start dealing with this whole situation."
"How important is it that we kill her? Does she have to die?"
"Killing Amara will save everyone, herself included, a whole lot of problems. She's the anchor for a spell that created the Other Side and there's a crazy amount of trouble tied to that. So, if she dies, the Other Side and all of that goes with her. Amara has experienced nothing but pain, so to her, death would be a mercy. Hell, she wants to die."
"Poor girl, to have nothing to make her even try to live," Caroline said sadly.
"Yes, it is," Elena agreed. Even at her darkest moments upon returning to the land of the living, she still wanted to be there for the people she loved, so for Amara to want death, she had to be truly in a bad state of mind.
"So what happens after that?"
"We fight the next fight and the next."
"Will there ever be peace?"
"Once we deal with Malivore, there should be more moments of calm, I think. But there will always be another battle to endure. It's the way life works. The only endless peace we find is when we die. But, as long as we fight together, we can be happy."
"Come on, enough depressing stuff. That'll keep for another day. What you need, is a giant bowl of ice cream." Caroline wrapped her arm around Elena's shoulders and they headed towards the Grill.
Elena glanced at the sun sinking towards the horizon.
"We've got time. Once the sun sets, then we'll worry about what happens tonight."
Pulling out her phone, Elena sent a text to Tyler.
Get ready. The moon will rise soon.
"Texting Elijah?" Caroline teased.
"No. Actually, I was texting Tyler, reminding him of his impending doom."
After dropping Caroline off at home, Elena pulled out her phone again to text the wolf.
Are you in the dungeon? The first time is hard to judge when things will happen, so you need to be safe.
Crap! Forgot!
That's why I texted you earlier.
Damn it. Damn it. Damn it!
I just left Caroline's. I'll meet you on the way.
Putting her phone into her pocket, Elena hurried down the street. A few moments later, Tyler came jogging up beside her, his bag slung over his shoulder.
"Got your gear?"
"Yes."
"Good. We might need it, just in case we don't get it to the dungeon."
"Don't let me hurt anyone," Tyler begged.
"Come on. We've got to get you out of town. We should be able to contain you there." Elena glanced over her shoulder at the full moon rising towards it's apex. "You should have gotten out here before it got this far."
Tyler's leg broke and he cried out in pain.
"Damn it! Come on, we need to hurry."
"I should have come out here when you first texted me," Tyler hissed. "Sorry, Elena."
"Yeah, don't worry about hurting me. I'm a witch. I can take you down."
"What about the vampires? Caroline's not out is she?"
"All the vampires in the area know to be indoors tonight."
"Good." He screamed again as his other leg broke.
"We're not going to be able to make it." Elena stopped. "We're going to have to try chaining you up here. If we keep going, you're gonna turn out here in the open and humans will likely be killed."
Elena stopped and opened up the bag while Tyler stripped out of his clothes, down to his shorts and together, they started chaining him up.
Before they could get the one manacle around his wrist, it twisted into an inhuman shape.
"Get back!" Tyler snarled as his teeth elongated.
He snapped at her and Elena jumped out of the way.
Lifting her hand, she muttered a spell and Tyler slumped against the tree. While he was out, Elena took the chance to finish strapping him down to his shorts.
"If this doesn't hold, I swear to God, Tyler, I'm gonna fry your brain."
Elena then drew a circle around Tyler and cast a barrier spell tied to the moon. Once the moon reached a certain point, the barrier would lift and hopefully, Tyler would be in human form by then, so there would be no danger from him.
Just as she finished, another wolf howled in the distance and Elena looked around, trying to figure out where the sound was coming from.
"I just hope whoever's out there doesn't try taking a bite out of me," Elena muttered as she sat down on the ground beneath a nearby tree.
The howling grew closer and Elena stood up, looking around, trying to figure out exactly where the sound came from.
She spun, only to come face to face with the leaping wolf, then she found herself pushed to the ground with Elijah standing over her, holding his arm. He bared his fangs, preparing to attack, but Elena caught his arm and cast a sleeping spell over Mason, then set up a similar barrier around him that she put around Tyler.
"I think that's Mason Lockwood."
"Pity he couldn't have locked himself up better."
It was then that she realized the arm Elijah was holding had a small chunk taken out of it. "You were bitten!"
"I'll be fine. A day of fever and hallucinations, then the poison is out of my system. I'm an Original, remember? There's only one thing currently in existence that can destroy me."
"Right, white oak."
"But it would be best if I was off the streets until I'm healed. A thousand years provides a lot of material for my mind to twist into living nightmares." Elijah stared at her for a long moment, worry and fear taking turns being the dominant emotion on his face.
"You know I heard the stories after you went to New Orleans in my other life, Elijah. I know terrible darkness lurks inside your mind." Elena cupped his cheek. "I'm not afraid and I'll be there for you while you heal."
"What about them?" He nodded to the snarling wolves that were now staring at him.
"The spell will hold until after the moon starts to set. They should be back in their human forms by then."
"Come on. We'd best get going before the madness makes it impossible for me to be restrained. I know I have some time before that happens, but I'd rather not push it."
Elijah thrashed on the bed, sweat pouring from his every pore as he cried out. He'd been struggling for hours now and there seemed to be no end in sight.
Wanting to see if there was something she could do, Elena reached out and touched his temple. Before she could stop herself, she found herself tumbling into a stark, white hallway lined with doors. At the end, there was a red door and from behind it, she heard Elijah shouting.
Whether it was his own doing, or what was done to him, Elena wasn't sure, but she did know one thing. Whatever was behind that door, it had to be terrible to make the man she love scream that way.
Elena took a deep breath and squared her shoulders. She knew from rumors about the darkness within him. Now, it was time to face it for herself. She knew he could be a monster. Hell, she'd seen it for herself in her last life. Though, only when he was nothing other than strong, powerful, completely in control, never when he was compromised like he was now.
When Elena entered the room, she found herself in a dark forest, surrounded by the dead and dying. Upon closer inspection, she saw that their throats had been torn out, as though a vampire had attacked them.
"Elijah?" Elena called.
Suddenly, she found herself face to face with Elijah, though this one was nothing like she'd ever seen him. With his long hair and ancient clothing, she knew where she was. She was in his earliest memories, before he'd learned to control himself.
When he saw her, his face twisted and he launched himself at her throat, fangs bared.
Reaching into herself, she found the strength to fry his brain enough for him to drop her.
He stepped back and they were in a new memory, this one of Elijah once again surrounded by the dead, though his clothing and hair had changed. He looked around at the bodies surrounding him and fell to his knees, horror at his actions making him hang his head, his hair hanging in his face.
Over and over again, this happened, so much so that after several hours of witnessing his pain and the lives he'd taken. Elena realized exactly where they were. They were in the place where Elijah hid the things that he was ashamed of, things he didn't want to admit that he'd done, even to himself.
"Elijah. Listen to me. I know you've done monstrous things and I know you're ashamed of them. That's why they torture you so badly now. Because the shame gives the memories power over you. But I want you to know that I know what you've done, that there's as much blood on your hands as there is on Klaus's, but that doesn't change how I feel. I love you. Come back to me."
Seconds later found Elena found herself sitting beside Elijah and he stared at her, his sweat slicked face tortured.
"I'm sorry," Elijah whispered, terror etched into every feature, breaking through the venom coursing through his veins.
"I knew what I was getting myself into," Elena assured him, stroking his face gently. "Rest now and know that I believe even the best people can have days where they do horrible things. Whether it's on accident, or because they think they're doing the right thing, makes no difference. I still think you're a good person."
"Do promise?" he mumbled.
"I swear it." Elena kissed his cheek and tucked her head under his chin. "I'm not going anywhere. You're stuck with me."