Elowen blew a raspberry as she plopped herself onto the couch in the library in between Toby and Damon. They each had a glass of bourbon in their hands, and Elowen reached over to pluck Damon's drink from his hands.

"Hey!" He protested.

Elowen ignored him and drank some of it before handing it back. He snatched it from her hand in annoyance.

"You don't even drink. What was that for?"

"It's been a long day."

Veronica walked in and saw that they were drinking.

"Ooh. Alcohol. Gimme."

Damon rolled his eyes. "No."

"I thought you were supposed to be the fun brother."

"I am, but you're annoying."

"Weren't you just complaining about turning the wrong triplet because you want a friend with dodgy morals?"

"Maybe if you dye your hair another color other than the tacky blonde you've got going on, I'll give you a chance."

"You'll have to stop calling me Barbie Wannabe."

"I can think of other names. Trust me."

Toby snorted. "Then how come I only ever get wolf boy?"

"You want another nickname? Fine, Jacob."

"Really? Jacob? That's the best you can do? You can do better than comparing me to a Twilight character."

Veronica had poured herself a drink and now she was walking over to take a seat on one of the armchairs across from Damon, Toby and Elowen. She took a sip from her drink.

"You know, I'm kind of glad vampires don't really sparkle. I always thought that part was full of crap."

Katherine walked into the room at that moment and went to go pour herself a drink. She knocked back the first one and then poured herself another.

"All that pain and torture. I've worked up a sweat."

"Whoa," Veronica blurted when she saw Katherine. "You're like a hotter version of Elena."

Katherine smirked, her eyes flickering to Elowen. "Not the first time I've heard that one. You are?"

"Veronica. Human. In this mess because of Damon."

Damon grumbled. "Will you ever let that go?"

"Nope."

Katherine took a sip of her drink, a look of recognition flashing through her eyes. "Do you happen to have a brother? Tall, curly hair, sexy?"

Veronica frowned. "How do you know my brother?"

"Let's just say… we briefly crossed paths once."

Before Veronica could ask her to elaborate, Stefan came rushing into the room.

"She's gone."

Toby looked over at him. "What?"

"Elena's not in her cell. I'm gonna check the grounds. Find out what she did."

"Oops. Did I forget to lock her in?" Katherine asked rhetorically. "Let's just say, I've lost interest in Elena's recovery. I'd rather watch her tear through an orphanage. Imagine trying to come back from a spiral like that."

xxxx

"Caroline's been leaving me a dozen messages telling me to call her," Josiah said as they parked in front of Caroline's house. "I hope she's okay."

"I'm sure everything's fine," Bonnie replied. "It's probably just stuff about Elena."

"How do you think that's going, by the way?" Angel asked. "I know nothing about this humanity switch thing."

"My guess? Elena's still not back," Josiah said as he got out of the car. "If she was, we'd know."

The three of them walked up to Caroline's front door. Josiah reached out to open it, but found that it was locked. He furrowed his eyebrows.

"That's weird."

Caroline came around the corner a second later to see who it was.

"Caroline!" Josiah called out. "Why's the door locked? What's going on?"

Caroline breathed a sigh of relief when she saw Bonnie. "There you are."

She started walking towards the door, but suddenly stopped.

"Caroline? Are you alright?" Josiah asked as he watched her carefully.

"I've been calling you and Bonnie for hours."

"I know, and I'm sorry. We came as soon as we got the messages."

He rattled the doorknob again.

"Caroline, come on. Let us in. Let me help."

"How do I know any of you are you? Silas keeps getting into my head, attacking me. He says he wants to know where you are. He threatened my mother."

Sheriff Forbes came out into the hallway.

"Caroline?"

Caroline looked over her shoulder. "Mom, just stay there."

From over Caroline's shoulder, Bonnie saw that it wasn't really Sheriff Forbes. She took over trying to open the front door, urgently turning the doorknob back and forth.

"Caroline, that is not your mother!"

"What's going on?" Not Sheriff Forbes asked.

Bonnie quickly used her powers to burst the door open. Caroline looked over her shoulder and saw the hooded figure standing there instead of her mom. Her eyes widened.

"Oh my god!"

"Did you really think you could hide from me, Bonnie?" Silas asked.

Josiah and Angel were still out on the porch, both of them staring wide eyed at Silas. Josiah's eyes flickered to Caroline, and he tried to walk towards her, but Angel's hand shot out and grabbed Josiah's arm to stop him.

"I'm here now," Bonnie said. "What did you do to her mother?"

"She's right where you left her."

Caroline ran from the hall and back into the living room.

"Mom?"

She saw Sheriff Forbes on the ground, unconscious, and started to panic.

"Mom!"

Josiah tried again to go towards Caroline, but Angel wasn't letting him go.

"Dude, I know she's your girlfriend, but this guy can kill you."

Josiah struggled against Angel's grip. "I don't care! Dude, let me go!"

Angel reluctantly let go of Josiah, but when he rushed past Bonnie, her hand shot out to grab the back of his shirt.

"Bonnie! Come on!"

Silas glanced over at him, but went back to Bonnie.

"I thought you and I were on the same side. You're getting other people involved now?"

"The full moon isn't for two more days," Bonnie replied. "I've been gathering my strength, preparing myself. Josiah and Angel are just backup. They mean no harm."

"You're the only one who can do the spell, so I can't hurt you, but I can hurt the people you love. You do understand that, right?"

"I understand. I will do your spell, I will drop the veil, and I will help you die. I promise. Just don't hurt my friends."

From inside the living room, they could all hear Caroline crying as she rushed to make sure Sheriff Forbes was okay. It pained Josiah the most to hear her like that, and he wanted nothing more than to go help her, but Bonnie wasn't letting him go.

"Your promise is binding, Bonnie. It applies to your two friends, too, since you dragged them into this. If any of you break it, you'll have to answer to me."

"I won't break it."

"Neither will I, man." Angel shook his head frantically, still frozen in his spot on the patio. "You have my word."

Silas turned his gaze onto Josiah, who was looking towards the living room in worry. Bonnie had to shake him to get his attention. He finally looked at Silas.

"As long as you leave Caroline alone, I'll do whatever the hell you want me to."

"Good, then you should all leave this house right now, and the next time I come looking for you, I expect you to be waiting."

Josiah looked at Silas in disbelief. "You want me to leave? Are you serious?"

"Josiah," Bonnie mumbled. "We don't have a choice."

"But-"

"Caroline will be okay."

Josiah looked at Bonnie and then back at the living room helplessly.

"I'm sorry, Care," he whispered, before letting Bonnie lead him out of the house.

xxxx

Elowen and Veronica had stayed at the boarding house while Stefan, Damon and Toby all went out to look for Elena. Stefan found her first. She was seconds away from sinking her fangs into Matt's neck, but Stefan pulled her off of him and pushed her against a nearby tree.

"Hey, hey. You're cut off."

Elena struggled against him. "Let go of me!"

"Stop it!"

Toby arrived with Damon in tow. Toby walked over to Matt and pulled him off of the ground.

"Enough! You are acting like a little spoiled brat, you know that? You think that we can't punish you. Maybe not, but I can take a page out of Damon Salvatore's book, and punish him instead."

"Elena," Matt mumbled weakly.

Elena scoffed. "Seriously? You think this-"

"Shut up! I'm done playing nice. Turn your emotions back on right now, Elena, or so help me god, I will give you something to be sad about. I will kill him right here in front of you."

"Whoa." Damon reached out for Toby. "Careful, wolf boy."

Toby shied away from Damon. "Shut it. She doesn't love anyone? Fine. Prove it, and if I'm wrong, it'll really blow to be someone named Matt Donovan right now."

Elena and Toby stared at each other for a moment. Elena scoffed.

"Please. You don't have it in you."

"Oh, I don't?"

"No. You're bluffing."

Without missing a beat or hesitating, Toby snapped Matt's neck. Elena gasped loudly, her mouth hanging open in shock. She pushed Stefan away and walked closer, her eyes glistening with tears.

"How about now, huh?" Toby asked. "You feel anything now? You angry I just killed one of your oldest friends? Or are you sad that the guy everybody loves won't live to see graduation? Remember when he was a little kid? Warm heart, big, goofy smile, his whole life ahead of him. I guess it was a good thing that he was wearing this."

Toby knelt down and lifted up Matt's hand, revealing that he was wearing the Gilbert ring. Elena fell to her knees and took Matt's hand from Toby, holding it in her own, and crying.

"Oh my god. Matt," she sobbed.

"You feel that weight lifting off your chest? That's joy, because your friend isn't dead. That's emotion, Elena. That's humanity."

At this point, Elena was full on sobbing with tears streaming down her face.

"You're gonna be okay, Elena."

Elena shook her head. "No."

"Elena, look at me."

"No, no, no! It's not okay."

"Elena."

Elena got up and Toby quickly followed her.

"What have I done?"

"Hey. It's okay."

Elena was pacing back and forth, grabbing at her hair and shaking her head.

"No, no. What did I do? I- I almost killed him. Matt. I almost… and Bonnie, and Caroline. I just-"

Toby tried to wrap his arms around Elena reassuringly, but she pushed him away.

"No, no! I mean, that woman, the waitress. I actually killed that waitress."

Toby tried again, but resisted him.

"No, I killed that waitress!" She yelled, turning to smash the window of Matt's truck. Shards of glass were sent flying everywhere. This time, Toby wasn't taking no for an answer. He reached out and grabbed her, restraining her from doing anymore damage. Stefan chose this moment to step in and help.

"Hey, hey, look at me. Look at me. I know this stage, okay? The emotions are overwhelming you. You just have to focus on one thing, okay?"

Elena shook her head. "No, I can't. I can't."

"You just find that one thing inside of you that makes you strong. It's in there, just latch onto it. Channel everything you're feeling into that one emotion. Find the thing inside of you that makes you wanna live. Elena, let it in. Let it in."

Elena must've found something to focus on, because she stopped sobbing and started to calm down. Toby slowly let her go.

"That's good. That's it. That's it, just breathe it in. Blow everything else out. That's good."

Elena let out one last yell, clutching at her head. Toby reached out and placed a gentle hand on the small of her back.

"You okay?" He asked softly.

Elena shook her head. "No, I'm not okay, but I'll get better."

As Elena turned to leave, Toby nodded at Stefan.

"Thanks."

"No problem."

With a loud sigh, Toby started to follow after Elena. Damon turned to Stefan.

"Glad that's over."

Stefan lightly shook his head. "Let's just get back home."

"Agreed."

xxxx

Katherine had messaged Bonnie a couple of hours later. Josiah was still with her, not wanting to be alone after having to abandon Caroline, and Angel didn't like the thought of leaving Bonnie by herself, so he was with her as well. They met her at the diner from before.

"I am perfectly aware that tombstone isn't just a hunk of rock," she said.

Bonnie scoffed. "No kidding."

"And it got me thinking, all big spells require a source of power, a recurring element, like… a full moon, a comet, but that tombstone is filled with the blood of your ancient relative Ket-soo-yay or whatever."

"Qetsiyah," Josiah lightly corrected.

"She was powerful enough to create the other side, so maybe if you have her blood, you don't need a full moon to drop the veil. Maybe you can do it whenever you want. The thing I can't figure out is, why do you wanna drop the veil at all?"

Josiah and Bonnie shared a glance. Bonnie shrugged and faced Katherine.

"We have our reasons."

"And again I ask. What's in it for me?"

"You'll get the one thing you want most in this world. Freedom. Survival. Never having to run from anyone again. Once I drop the veil, I can speak to Qetsiyah. She created the spell that made Silas truly immortal, invulnerable to any weapon. You'd like that for yourself, wouldn't you? I can give it to you."

Katherine smirked. "Bonnie Bennett, we have a deal."

xxxx

Elena was sitting in front of the fire back at the boarding house. Toby came up behind her and wrapped a blanket around her. Elowen was seated on the couch in between Stefan and Damon, and Veronica was lounging across from them. Janus was sprawled out next to her. He had been in the room with Adriana all day, but she let him out a little while ago.

"How are you feeling?" Toby asked as he walked over to the drink cart to pour Elena something.

"The pain's still there… the grief and shame, but I get it now. Shutting it off… it's a cheat. I mean, you put up this wall and shut out everything that makes you who you are. Nothing affects you, nothing matters. But things do matter. Things that can't be undone, and now I know that there's something I need to do about that."

Stefan sighed. "Elena, what you need to do is rest. Take it easy for a couple of days. Maybe even a couple of years."

Toby came back over to Elena and offered her the glass he made for her, but she ignored it. Instead, she started folding up the blanket Toby had given her.

"I'm done resting. I have to get ready. There's so much that I have to do."

Elena started to get up, but Toby put out a hand to stop her.

"Whoa, hey. What are you talking about?"

"Think about it. It's so obvious. Go back far enough, there's one person who brought us to this, who ruined our lives. Look at Stefan and Damon. Everything that happened to those two, she did that! She brought Klaus to Mystic Falls, she turned Caroline into a vampire. She killed my brother! It all comes down to her. Katherine. Okay? Stefan said to focus on one thing, so I did. I focused on hate, and I hate her so much."

"I don't think that's what he meant…"

Damon scoffed. "That bitch isn't worth your time."

"It's true," Veronica spoke up. "Don't give the mean girl attention. It's what she wants. I would know, I used to be the mean girl. If you spend even ten minutes of your life hating her, she wins."

Elena shook her head.

"Not if I kill her."

xxxx

The first thing Josiah did when he got home was call Caroline. She picked up the line after the second ring.

"Oh my god, Caroline. Is your mom okay?"

"She's fine," Caroline sighed in relief. "I gave her some of my blood."

Josiah sighed. "Thank god. Look, I'm really sorry for just bailing on you. Silas-"

"I know. I heard, and I don't hold it against you."

"Well, you should. It was a shitty thing to do."

"Jo, you didn't have a choice. Just, be careful, okay? Whatever Bonnie's planning could get you into serious trouble."

"I'll be fine, I promise. Look, it's late. You and your mom should get some sleep, okay? I love you."

"I love you, too. Goodnight."

"Night."

xxxx

Angel walked Bonnie up to her house. They reached the front door. Bonnie smiled up at him.

"You didn't have to take me home, you know. I would've been safe. Silas can't hurt me anymore."

Angel sighed. "I know, but after tonight, you can't blame me for being a little spooked. I just wanted to make sure you were okay."

"Well, thank you. I appreciate it."

"Do you think your dad would mind if I stayed over to keep an eye on you?"

Bonnie laughed. "Maybe a little. Look, Angel, seriously, I'll be fine. I'll see you later, okay?"

She turned to unlock the front door and she pulled it open when Angel opened his mouth again.

"Would you maybe want to go out sometime?" He asked quickly before she could make it inside. Bonnie paused.

"You know, after this whole Silas thing is over. Maybe after you graduate, or something. Only if you want to."

Bonnie turned back towards Angel with a shy smile. She nodded her head.

"Yeah, I'd like that."

Angel smiled back. "Really?"

"Really."

"Okay, great. I'll, uh, see you later."

Angel turned to walk away, but Bonnie stopped him.

"Angel?"

He faced her again. "Yeah?"

Bonnie bravely got on her tiptoes and gave Angel a chaste kiss on the cheek.

"Thank you for today. I told you having a vampire bodyguard would come in handy."

Angel chuckled. "Please, I had my tail in between my legs the second real danger showed its face. It was pathetic."

"No, it was just…"

"Pathetic."

Bonnie laughed. "Goodnight."

"Goodnight."

Bonnie turned towards the front door again and Angel made his way down the porch. Angel glanced over his shoulder to watch Bonnie enter the house, and once the front door was securely closed behind her, Angel left.