Disclaimer: I, of course, do not own The Vampire Diaries, The Originals or any of the characters that may appear throughout this story, with that said, I hope you all enjoy!

The unlikely duo had been driving through a small town called Willoughby when they had found Katherine's hiding place, completely by accident.

Elena had pulled over, making the executive decision to feed, because she was starving after losing the contents of her stomach, yet again, after leaving the last town they'd stopped in.

Somehow – Elena wasn't really sure how, she'd never gotten her meal so the few hours between had been a bit of a daze – they had tracked Katherine down and sat in a diner. After the revelation that Katherine was expected at a meeting soon, Elena smirked at Rebekah and began to take any items from Katherine that she believed would make her more believable in her masquerade as her doppelgänger.

Neither of the elder vampires seemed to notice that anything was wrong with her despite her head feeling like it was being split in two. She felt like she could throw up any second, even though she'd just thrown up in the bathroom, in the midst of perfecting her Katherine-esque makeup.

She paced the gazebo in an – admittedly poor – attempt to keep her nausea at bay. By the time Katherine's 'friend' was due to arrive, her sickness had slowly waned and her headache had worn off slightly, apparently the pacing was helping.

"Katerina."

Elena whipped around to face the direction of the voice and supressed a small gasp at seeing the eldest Original across from her.

"Elijah… You're a little late aren't you?" She recovered from her shock and tried to channel her inner Katherine. Elijah smiled at her a little and took a step closer to her. He fingered the lock of color in her brunette locks and she couldn't help but notice how pale he looked.

"You colored your hair. I like it."

Elena smirked and tilted her head; he placed his hands on her waist.

"Thank you. It's actually gonna-" Elijah's lips slanted over Elena's, effectively cutting off what would have been a remarkably Katherine-like speech.

Elena found herself unable to supress the small gasp of surprise that escaped her lips when she felt his lips land on hers. She felt the remnants of her headache gradually melt away, and her sickness faded until it was non-existent. With a small moan of relief, her arms wrapped around the Original's neck and she threw herself into the embrace without abandon – anything to keep the sickness away, she would later reason to herself.

His hands tightened fractionally around her waist and his tongue parted her willing lips. Their tongues met and she felt her lust (one of the only things she truly felt) coil in the pit of her stomach.

Eventually, Elijah pulled away from her, placing a few quick, chaste kisses on her lips before pulling his mouth away from hers completely, her arms fell from around his neck, although his hands remained on her hips, his complexion suddenly looking more like Elena remembered.

"It's an interesting little town you've chosen to settle in." Elena didn't respond, only tilted her head, waiting for him to continue. "So… Do you have it with you?"

She was unable to hide the curiosity that tainted her mind and she had to know what he wanted.

"Do I have what?" A small smile graced his features and he tilted his head at her also.

"The cure? Do you have it with you?" Elena shook her head slowly, a smirk creeping onto her features. Elijah quirked a brow.

"It's in a safe place." She placed her palm on his chest and had noticed him glance at her hand; at her daylight ring. She prayed he wouldn't notice. "Why don't I go and get it? And then I'll bring it back?" Without waiting for a response she walked past the Original, but he grasped her wrist and pulled her back against his chest.

"Where is Katherine, Elena?"

They stood in a small alley-way that Elijah pulled them into upon realising her deception. Elena leant against the wall bored while Elijah spoke with Stefan.

"If anything whatsoever happens to Katerina, I will descend upon Elena." Elijah hung up the mobile and Elena rolled her eyes, scoffing.

"You're both idiots."

"Excuse me?"

Elena finally turned to look at Elijah, who had his back to her, she let out a noise of exasperation. "What happened to you Elijah? I thought you were supposed to be a man of honor, yet you've been hooking up with Katherine this entire time?"

"Well, I suppose this man of honor always shared a connection with Katherine. She contacted me when she learned about the cure; we thought we could be of mutual use to one another."

Elena chuckled.

"Of mutual use?"

Elijah hummed in an affirmative.

"Please. You fell for her trap just like every other one of those idiots."

Elijah waited for a beat before replying to her, after taking a deep breath. "You underestimate me, Elena," He turned to face her. "I know who she is, I know what she has done." Elijah walked back past her and she noticed his skin had paled in color again.

"And you think she's changed? She's playing you. She lied to you Elijah."

"She didn't lie to me about your transformation." Elena raised an eyebrow at Elijah's calculating gaze. "You're not just a vampire though, are you?" He dropped his gaze for a second before he had looked back at her. "There's something else. You…you're n0t yourself." His brow furrowed and he gazed at her for a second longer.

Then he took several small steps closer and she gave him a small shrug, waiting to see what Elijah was going to come up with.

He had tilted his head.

"You've abandoned your emotions. Why?"

"My brother is dead."

Elijah straightened away from her; it had almost been a flinch.

"Your girlfriend killed him." Elijah blinked several times in, what seemed to be, genuine surprise and dropped his gaze from hers.

"You didn't know?" Elena's voice was laced with a small undertone of curiosity that had Elijah's gaze returning to hers. "Of course you didn't."

"She lied."

Elena rolled her eyes.

"I hate to say I told you so, but… duh!" Suddenly, Elena felt the nausea return in full force and she spun away from the Original, bracing her arm against the wall to steady herself.

"Elena? Are you okay?"

While she attempted to battle off the sudden bout of sickness, she heard him take a few steps closer to her and held up a dainty hand in a gesture for him to stop approaching. He did.

"Elena?"

"I'm fine, just a little nauseous. It's been going on for a while now." He took a few cautious steps closer, wary of deception, yet he couldn't deny how pale she was.

"Elena. You're a vampire; you shouldn't be getting sick…"

She felt him lay a gentle hand on her back and, just like that, she felt her sickness fade until it was only a small thrum in the pit of her stomach.

She slowly steadied herself, using the wall as leverage and turned to face the Original. His hand drifted to her waist when she turned and he went to lift it away, but she placed her hand over his and held it in place for a moment before she took hold of it.

"You make it go away."

His complexion yet again began darkening as she took hold of his hand. "You feel it too. Don't you? The sickness?" He nodded slowly, hesitantly, almost as though he afraid to tell her that he was weaker than was usual for him.

"Yes."

That was all he said. Nothing more, no elaboration on what it was like for him, how badly he felt it. Just a simple conformation.

It was then that she realised what being with him was doing to her.

She could feel her emotions beginning to stir beneath the surface, struggling to break free from her hold on them.

Elena dropped his hand like he had burnt her and disappeared, 0nly to reappear on the other side of the alley, only his compulsion keeping her there at all.

"Stop it! Stop doing that!"

He turned to face her and she watched him swallow, steeling himself, before quirking a brow and shrugging his shoulders a little.

"I am afraid I do not know what you mean, Elena. I am not doing anything."

She shook her head in denial and she took a step away, mirroring his step closer in a parody of a dance.

"Don't lie to me! I know what you're trying to do; it won't work!"

He stepped closer again, Elena stepped back again, only to meet the end of her compulsion; she couldn't go any further than there.

He moved closer until he was only a few steps away from the doppelgänger.

"I assure you, Elena, I am not doing a thing to you." He tilted his head and took another step closer. "But I do know why you are upset. You are starting to feel again, and you don't want that. Do you?" Elena shook her head vehemently and ghosted past the Original to the other side of the alleyway.

She was so lost in her inner turmoil, watching the paling Original, that she hadn't noticed the sounds behind her until it was too late and two hands grabbed each of her arms and pulled her away. She let them…

Until they reached the end of the alley of course and then the compulsion kicked in.

Then she started to struggle against the hands holding her, not wanting to, but being unable to stop.

"He must've compelled her."

Damon's voice was in her right ear and she saw Elijah nod.

"I did."

Elena's attention snapped to the Original and she continued to struggle, even as he walked closer to her.

"She is unable to leave this alley, no matter how crudely you attempt to pull her away." Elijah took another step closer to the doppelgänger, who ceased her struggling momentarily once the Salvatore's stopped pulling at her. As soon as the brothers recommenced their attempts to pull her from the alley she began fighting them immediately.

The nausea had come back in full force, her head had felt like someone was drilling through the base of her skull and she could swear she felt the color drain from her skin.

"Gentlemen, if you wish for Elena to make it from this alley any less scathed than she is I recommend you release her this instant."

"Damon…"

Elena's voice was quiet and strained as she fought to resist the sickness creeping up on her.

"Elena…."

"Please, Damon…"

The hand on her right arm slowly, reluctantly, loosened and there was been a small moment of pause before the hand on her other arm released her.

Elena stumbled forward a few steps before promptly hurling her guts up by the wall.

Then his hand was on the small of her back again; his other held her long brunette locks out of the way of the blood. Once that bout of sickness had ended, she had realised that his hand had been rubbing small circles into her back, slowly easing the sickness away.

"Well, isn't this just sickeningly sweet."

Elena groaned, standing from her crouch, she wiped her mouth with the back of her hand.

"It's definitely sickening." She quipped as she turned to face the blonde, and studiously ignored Elijah's concerned gaze and the feel of his palm that still rested on the small of her back.

"What is going on with the pair of you anyway? Don't even deny it Elijah." Rebekah cut off Elijah's protest before he had a chance t0 form it. "You look white as a sheet, and she's been chucking her guts up the entire time I've been with her. You're vampires for Christ's sake! Neither of you should bloody be sick at all!"

Elena opened her mouth to speak, but she saw Rebekah shake her head quickly and hold up a hand to stop her words.

"No! Don't you even try and bloody deny it either! You are bloody well sick and that's the end of it!" Elena shut her mouth and glared at the blonde.

"Unless you've been bitten by a blimmen werewolf? No?" Both of the vampires glared silently at the blonde in front of them and she quirked an eyebrow before continuing.

"Then we need to find out why you're sick, Elena, 'cause, whatever the bloody hell it is, you're making my brother sick too!" Rebekah gestured towards Elijah, who still been stood by Elena, his hand on her back.

"Rebekah, I was already sick before I saw Elena here."

Elijah spoke to his sister softly, yet firmly and she rolled her eyes.

"Elijah?"

Briefly, because of the softness the voice had spoken with, Elijah initially thought the voice to be Elena's. Then he looked to his right and saw Katherine staring back at him.

"Elijah? What are you doing with her?"

"Katerina."

Elijah's voice was tinged with resignation and Elena took that opportunity to slip away from his side.

Stefan and Damon glared at her. "Well you seem rather chummy with an Original who threatened to kill you." Damon's tone was condescending and his glare irritated.

"Elena, come with us. We'll find a way to make you better. You'll be safe with us, Elena." Stefan's tone was soft and compassionate; Elena rolled her eyes.

"I am perfectly safe by myself, Stefan. I feed when I want to feed; when I need to. I kill when I have to. And I don't let my emotions get in the way of what I need to get done; unlike the two of you." Elena's tone was amused and she smirked as she spoke.

"My emotions get in the way?" Damon sounded incredulous and Elena nodded.

"That is why you are here, isn't it, Damon? Without your pesky emotions, you wouldn't be here at all; you wouldn't be wasting your time on trying to save someone who doesn't need to be saved." Damon shook his head vehemently.

"This isn't you Elena! The you that I love doesn't kill people when they don't need to."

Just as Elena was about to respond, a woman rounded the corner, intent on walking through the alley that was occupied by the six vampires.

"Oh! I'm sorry!" She paused and hesitantly gestured towards Elijah's end of the alley. "Do you mind if I…?" Elena smiled kindly, falsely, and nodded turning to gesture past her.

"Of course not. Please." The girl hesitantly walked past Stefan and Damon and quickened her pace.

In less than a second, Elena pinned the girl against the wall and sunk her fangs into her neck. She pulled away after she felt the rich, coppery blood strengthen her and she turned the girl so that her back was against Elena's front.

Then she licked her lips, and smirked at Stefan and Damon's faces.

"Are you going to leave me be or not?" The girl in her arms whimpered and struggled feebly against Elena's hold.

The Salvatore's exchanged glances.

"Elena…you know we can't." Stefan's tone was soft, in an attempt to calm her down she was sure. Elena pursed her lips and nodded.

"Okay."

Then she let the girl go. When Elena had attacked her they had wound up further down the alley meaning the girl had further to run towards Stefan, Damon, and her safety.

She made it about 5 steps before Elena snapped her neck and she fell to the floor in a disorganized heap.

Elena was tempted to laugh at their faces.

"That's one body you're responsible for. If you don't stop there'll be a second and third and… I'm sure you know how to count. Don't you?"

Elena saw Damon open his mouth to reply, but before he could someone else spoke.

"Elena?"

She turned to see Elijah staring at her with his lips parted slightly. He looked at the body at her feet before looking back into her eyes. His gaze was open and expressive for once and she could see the disappointment, the despair, in his eyes.

"What?"

He continued to look at her with large, sad eyes.

"Oh don't look at me like that! I didn't kick your puppy for heaven's sake! I was making a point, Elijah."

He frowned slightly and shook his head.

"You didn't need to kill an innocent woman to do so!" His voice had risen considerably. "Christ, Elena! Why?"

"Do you really think they'd listen if I had asked nice and sweetly; like you obviously still expect from me? What's wrong with you, Elijah? When did you become so naïve?"

He scoffed incredulously and shook his head.

Suddenly he appeared in front of her, glaring down at her.

"Naïve? You think I am naïve? Not once since we met earlier today have I pretended that your compassion would have remained untainted since the last time we spoke!" Elijah's tone continued to rise and he was just short of yell when he continued speaking. "I knew you would have changed! But I guess I had just hoped that you wouldn't have reduced yourself to...this! To killing innocent people just to attempt to prove a point!"

"Innocent? You think she was innocent? If that is your only problem, then take a closer look at her! Note how she smells of fear, terror, blood! Blood that isn't hers! She was a killer, Elijah! And if you can't see that then you are naïve!" Elena began to yell at the vampire inches from her and Elijah glanced at the woman by their feet, then back up at Elena.

He opened his mouth to reply, but Elena cut him off with a shake of her head.

"But you know what Elijah? If she was an innocent I still wouldn't care! I would have killed her anyway if I had needed to!" Elijah snapped his mouth shut and stared at the doppelganger in front of him mutely for a moment.

"Get out of my sight."

Elena scoffed at him. "I'm sorry?"

"I said, get out of my sight! I cannot be near you when you are like this, Elena!" His eyes bore into Elena's and his voice took on a hypnotic tone as he compelled her. "You are free to leave this alley."

"I am free to leave this alley." Elena tonelessly murmured his compulsion back to him.

"Now leave." He sounded almost reluctant to compel her away.

As soon as the compulsion had broken, she brushed past the Original and walked to the end of the alley.

As the Original yelled at her, she felt herself steadily growing weaker and was growing increasingly so as she walked away. She rounded the corner at the mouth of the end of the alley and fell against the wall.

Elena collapsed against the solid brick in a fit of gut-wrenching coughs. She covered her mouth with a hand and, when she had a small pause in the coughing, she pulled it away, only for her to notice a spatter of blood on her palm.

"Eli-" The Originals name was cut off by another bout of coughing and her vision went spotty as her head began to spin.

Just as her coughing bout ended, she felt herself begin to fall forward, only for a strong arm to grasp her around the waist, stopping her graceless descent towards the concrete.

She was lowered slowly and the arm holding her gently turned her, so she was on her back. Before the face above her was given a chance to come into focus, her vision blurred completely, and she had passed out.