The Last Day

Sunlight dappled through the pristine windows in rough-hewn beams into the oldest Salvatore's room as Damon laid motionless on his bed. His icy blue eyes were fixated on the ceiling as his train of thought abruptly stopped to invade an incoming conversation in the living room. He narrowed his eyes acutely as he heard below, Elijah, Stefan, Louise and Elena talking among one another, probably about a plan.

"Tonight is the full moon. We should assume that Klaus is prepared to break the curse."

Damon heard Elijah say in his ever so polite voice. He stubbornly decided he had heard enough and wanted to make himself officially apart of the conversation that Stefan had so kindly left him out of so he hastily got up from his bed to make that thought a reality.

Downstairs in the expansive living room of the Salvatore boarding house sat Stefan, on the brown leather armchair. He was slumped forward, his elbows gently propped upon his spread apart knees, as he listened attentively to what Elijah had to say. Louise and Elena sat on the sofa, engulfed in the conversation as Stefan was.

"Elena said that the Sun and the Moon curse is fake?" Stefan said, look from Elena to Elijah. "That it's actually just a curse placed on Klaus." He wanted to better understand what the Gilbert sisters were getting themselves into and exactly how dangerous this whole ordeal was before agreeing.

"Klaus is a vampire born of a werewolf bloodline. The curse has kept his werewolf aspect from manifesting. But if he breaks it...He'll be a true hybrid." Elijah explained as he stood before the trio, rolling his wrist as he spoke. Stefan turned to look at Elena with a brooding expression, as he watched her absently nod to the news. His eyes flickered towards Louise and he could tell by the look on her face, she was worried as well.

Damon entered through the archway of the living room, he had just to happened to be eavesdropping on the entire conversation and was fully up to par. "Then why are we letting him break the curse?" He expressed with irascibility. He could clearly see there was thick tension from Stefan upon his arrival. "We can kill him today." he went on, flickering his gaze to his younger brother. "With Bonnie." He stated receiving an instantly surprised stare from Stefan.

"Damon..." Stefan warned him in attempted to shush him when a concerned Elena interrupted, bolding retorting Damon's idea.

"No. Bonnie can't use that much power without dying." She proclaimed in her friends defence, shaking her head vigorously.

"I'll write her a great eulogy." Damon factiously responded.

"No, Damon. It's not an option." Louise riposted, tight lipped as she received Damon's angry grimace as he shook his head full of disappointment, ready to argue with her further if need be.

"All right, how do we break this curse?" Stefan asked enthusiastically, trying to change the subject.

"Well, the ritual itself is relatively straightforward. The ingredients, so to speak, you already know." Elijah answered while passing Damon.

"The moonstone." Stefan uttered even toned.

Hearing him speak the word aloud, instantly triggered a memory from Elijah of his brother Klaus. He pictured him vividly in his mind with the moonstone in hand, a sly smile dancing across his lips, he tried to submerge the image with no luck as he began to explain. "A witch will channel the power of the full moon to release the spell that's bound within the stone. After that, Klaus, being both werewolf and vampire, will sacrifice one of each."

Elena's brows furrowed her brows, her mouth forming an 'O' shape in slight confusion. Elena glanced over to her sister as she faintly chimed in. "And where do we fit into it?"

"The final part of the ritual." Elijah stated, walking over to a bookshelf, taking out a wooden box from one of the lower shelves.

He had the item inside the simple box for over a century and never got to use it due to the past altercations with the Petrova doppelgangers. Elijah had high hopes it would come in handy this time round, though there was a possibility it would not resurrect Louise and Elena as it's powers had claimed. He had not yet informed them of Klaus's intentions of draining the life from them, but soon would as the words began to spill from his lips.

"Klaus must drink the blood of the doppelgängers - to the point of their death."

This had gotten Elena's full attention making her look directly at Elijah, fear set in her eyes as Elijah's voice echoed the outcome of the ritual in her head. The room was eerily silent as Elena felt strong hands wrap around her own. She barely noticed it at first but the simple gesture brought her ease. She looked to see Stefan with a distressed expression, thinking of her feelings he tried to comfort her by holding her hand.

Louise, on the other hand, blinked rapidly, taking a deep breath trying to process how she could initially end up dead. She would soon be a corpse and there was no evading it. Louise and Damon locked gaze for a moment before she looked over at her sister.

"And that's where you come in. You said something that will save us both, correct?" Louise willingly broke the silence, trying to calm all frayed nerves. She looked to Elijah with a hopeful, pursed smile.

Elijah began to open the wooden box, delicately flipping the lid and pulled out a dainty, perfect cut crystal bottle. "This is an elixir that I acquired some 500 years ago for Katerina and Viviana. It possesses mystical properties of resuscitation." he informed them. Louise knitted her brows, pursing her lips together, tighter.

"So...we'll be dead?" Elena asked timidly.

"And then you won't." Elijah piped in.

Simultaneously, Louise and Elena glanced at each other before they returned their attention back to Elijah, both wearing identical expression of suspicion.

"That's your plan? A magical witch potion with no expiration date?" Damon questioned in a crude manner before either girls had the chance to speak. He turned to look at his girlfriend as he continued. "You want to come back to life, what about John's ring? We could get you guys rings." Damon crinkled his forehead, quickly trying to explore other options.

"Those rings only work on humans. The doppelgänger's a supernatural occurrence. Odds are, the ring won't work." Elijah knowledgeable stated.

"I'll take those odds over your elixir." Damon ridiculed the whole elixir idea, looking at Louise again, worried. "What if it doesn't work, Louise?"

He asked with intent care watching her briefly close her eyes trying to think of a logical answer. He observed her take a deep breath, exhaling it sharply.

"Then I guess Louise and I will just be dead." Elena answered for her.

"Wha-?" Damon began as he turned to look at Louise to see if she agreed with her sister's outrageous antics. He blankly watched as his girlfriend had nothing to say, she only gave him a simply soft shrug. The blue eyed vampire expressed a dumbfounded look. He shook his head in disapproval, shooting daggers at Elijah as he began to leave the room, having heard enough of this.

"Do we know if Klaus has everything he needs to do this? I mean, does he have a werewolf?" Louise asked in a meek and naïve manner after Damon had left.

"Klaus has been waiting to break this curse for over a thousand years. If he doesn't already have a werewolf, my guess is by tonight, he will." Elijah confirmed conclusively.

Elena swallowed thickly. "So, he's prepared."

Louise peered out the window into the Salvatore gardens where the two Salvatore brothers were currently having a conversation. The conversation looked intense and in that moment, the brunette wished she had super hearing. Damon took another gulp from his glass before he threw the remains away and walked away from his brother.

The seer let out a heavy sigh as she looked down at her hands. She ran her hand over the crystal bottle that held the elixir inside. It sat ever so neatly in it's box. She wished Damon understood why she was willing to do this.

She was aware the elixir may not work, regardless, she was willing to sacrifice herself to protect everyone, she would put them first. Like she said, Klaus was brought to Mystic Falls because of her, no one else needed to be punished, it was as simple as her being the distraction to get his guard down. Louise was then abruptly startled, tearing her gaze off Elijah when she heard a door slam. She turned her head, moving her hand away from the elixir with her brows set in a deep confusion at all the noise.

"Get out! Get out!" She recognised the voice as her aunt Jenna's.

"Jenna!-" Next, she heard Alaric. "Get out!" Followed by her aunt's repetitive plea.

Louise, hearing enough, worriedly made her way to the front door to see what was going on. Elena and Stefan in unison also rushed to the front hallway, the current scene laid out before them; there stood Jenna, with a crossbow in hand, pointing it directly at Alaric, for a reason they had yet to discover. Jenna peered at Alaric with terror evident in her green eyes.

The history teacher had his hands up as he pleaded, attempting to reason with her. "Jenna, put the crossbow down, okay? It's me."

"Stay away from me." Jenna demanded shakily.

"What's going on?" Elena asked, jutting her palm forward trying to soothe the panic.

"It's me, Elena, I swear, okay? He let me go. Klaus let me go." Alaric rushed out just as Damon walked over from down the hall.

"Prove it." Damon offered.

Alaric's gaze flickered towards Jenna and he sighed. "Okay, uh, first night you and I spent together, Jeremy walked in right when I was about to-"

"Okay, it's him." Jenna loudly overlapped Alaric, interrupting him from the brash of embarrassment as her face quickly began to flush a deep red. She lowered the crossbow. The room grew impeccably quiet as everyone looked at the two with raised eyebrows.

"Why did he let you go?" Stefan broke the awkward silence.

"He wanted me to deliver a message." Alaric drew in a deep breath. "The sacrifice happens tonight."

Elena stiffened and Louise inhaled sharply as they both turned around at Elijah, who was less than surprised. As they settled with this news, they brought Alaric into the parlour and Stefan paced in front of the couch, his arms crossed over his chest defensively.

"So you don't remember anything that happened?" Stefan asked with mock suspicion. It wasn't that Alaric wasn't a trustworthy man, Stefan was just curious why Klaus would be so willing to release him.

"No." Alaric confessed. "It's like I blacked out and woke up three days later. Katherine and Vivienne were there.

"They're under compulsion. Damon snuck them some vervain, but they can't leave until Klaus tells them they can." Stefan explained bleakly.

"Where is Damon?" Louise asked with a dipping frown. Clearly the mention of the other Salvatore had her asking of his whereabouts.

Jenna looked to her niece. "I saw him go upstairs."

Louise gave an irritated sight as she got up from the chair, immediately heading up the stairs.

"You disappeared." Louise said rather calmly once she reached Damon's room. Her hand was placed on the doorframe. Damon had heard her light footsteps making way to his room long before she had even spoken, making her presence known.

"I don't want to hear anymore." Damon muttered from his spot at the window.

Biting her lip, Louise looked toward the floor, watching her converse sneakers as she shuffled them nervously. "I need you to understand why I'm doing this."

Damon spun around in one fluid moment, dropping his hands to his sides. "Why?" His blue eyes flashed in anger as he stepped toward her. "It clearly doesn't matter what I think."

Louise let out a heavy sigh, titling her head to the side. It's not like she had any other choice. She wished he could just understand where she was coming from without having to explain it to him a dozen times. Usually he understood her so well.

"I know what I did to you the other night was cruel and I am to blame for pushing you to do something about my cavalier attitude towards the witch's life but I never imagined you'd do this." Damon shook his head in disappointment. "What were you thinking?"

"I was thinking of you!" Louise said, matching his intensity, losing what little control she had left, letting the world fall away from them. "All of you," she amended. "All the lived we're going to risk in the hopes to defeat Klaus. I can't stand it. I won't have all that blood on my hand or yours, for that matter. If I can end it as cleanly as possible, I'll take my chances."

"Do you know why I want to save you?" Damon questioned in a low voice, closing the small distance that separated them. "Stefan has a hero complex, Bonnie is your best friend and she thins this is her destiny, to be the super witch who saves the day. Alaric, minus the guest in his body, is a vampire hunter and thinks you're another innocent life to save. Caroline is a loyal friend and will be there with you, not matter the state of her love life. Your family, well that's a given. But me, did you ever wonder why I'm still here?"

Louise opened her mouth the speak but no words came out.

"Louise," Damon started. "I'm here because I have nowhere else to go. I'm tied to you in ways I don't even understand because you're the only thing keeping me from completely giving up trying to be good. I'm not just fighting for your life, Louise, I'm fighting for mine because it will destroy me to lose you. Saving you mean I don't fall to pieces and become the monster I know exists inside me."

Her eyes softened as she gazed up at him. "I'll be fine, Damon." she stressed. "I'll drink the elixir, Bonnie will kill Klaus and then all of this will finally be over."

Damon's nostrils flared as he let out a small snort of disbelief. "If it works."

"It will work." Damon heard her heart pace quicken as he felt the flare of Louise's defensive anger behind the totally 'fool proof' Elijah's plan that she was so bent up on.

"You think it will work. You want it to work. Why am I the only one who's convinced it won't? There has to be another way." he said more soothingly, fighting the urge to let this conversation rear it's ugly head.

Louise shook her head. "There isn't."

"And you're going to die, Louise."

She shot him a weakly reassuring smile that made his heart fold in on itself. "And then I'll come back to life."

"That is not a risk I'm willing to take." Damon shook his head back and forth dismissively at her absurd notion that somehow that one less-than reassuring phrase could sway his option on the matter.

She took his hand in between hers and fie engulfed his porcelain skin. "But I am." she said; quick and simple. He looked down at her delicate hands wrapped around his and revelled in the way they moulded perfectly around it. "It's my life, Damon. My choice." she urged.

It was just too much; the idea of her being taken from him. He couldn't, he wouldn't let her do this. "I can't lose you."

She penetrated into him with those doe eyes of hers and part of him noticed that he could see his same desperation reflecting back at him; or perhaps that was just what he wanted to see. But she stood her ground and softly assured, "You won't."

"I will." he whispered. "You're so willing to just give everything up? Jeremy? Jenna? Bonnie? Caroline?"

She shook her head. "I am protecting them, Damon. How many times do I have to say that? This is what I have to do. I'm what Klaus needs...nobody can change that. It's how it is. None of you should have to die." Her grip tightened and his face wrinkled in pain. "I will be okay." she said eagerly, trying to convince him. "I promise you."

This time it was Damon's turn to shake his head. "You can't keep that promise. The elixir won't work, Louise." He grabbed her shoulders, giving her a light shake. "Please see that."

She placed two palms onto his large, warm chest; defending herself lightly against his shake. She felt the steady rhythm of his heart pumping beneath it. Here eyes found his. He looked so broken. There was no other way to explain it. He was afraid of losing her. Anyone could see that loud and clear. Unfortunately, there was nothing she could do.

"I have to believe it will work." she mumbled. "I have to put my faith in something."

"Put your faith in Bonnie!" he exclaimed. "She can kill him. She can kill Klaus. You can survive this, Louise."

"No, Damon." she growled, her voice strong and stern. "Listen to me," she was now pleading. "I will come back to you. I am going to wake up and everything will be okay."

And there they were, stuck in this moment they always found themselves in. She gave him one last weak smile before she turned to head out the door.

Damon knew the appropriate action was to let her walk right of his door. She obviously wanted this and had faith in the success of Elijah's elixir. He should have continued his proper methods and remained selfless with her, but the threat of her no longer breathing was too overwhelming. He couldn't sit bac and watch her throw her life away. The possibility of her reawaken was too large a reality for that.

So he threw all of his better judgement aside and flashed to block her from exiting. Her eyes widened as she took in his fragile mental state. And they should have. Because she had seen this side of him many times before and it typically resulted in something extreme; something he usually regretted instantly afterwards.

He was sure this was going to be another of those instances, but he was too desperate to stop himself. He couldn't trust her fate in the hands of someone else and he wouldn't let his sole reason for living this pathetic world fade away. He needed her light; he needed her presence because without it...he would fade too.

He stared at her with eyes that revealed exactly how determined he was at ensuring her survival and declared, "There is another way."

She gazed back at him with a quizzical expression that made her nose scrunch up in such an adorable way that all of his limbs seemed to come unhinged. "What are you-"

But he didn't wait for her to finish. His demon surfaced and he pierced into his wrist before smashing it against her lips. She squirmed beneath him because she would always fight; even despite knowing her attempts were worthless. These were the characteristics he loved most about her; her fire and determination. They were qualities they shared and it made their interaction heated, but their connection powerful.

Damon waited until he heard Louise finally give in and swallow before he removed his wrist from her mouth. There was droplets of blood settled around the corners of her lips and the image was an unsettling reminder of the act he just executed. He had been selfish, something he swore to himself that he would never let his love for her be. But was love ever truly selfless?

The anger radiating from her face was sure-fire sign that Louise believed so. She pulled back her hand and slapped it across the side of his face, an act that had practically become her signature move when he crossed her. She reached back and slapped him a second time as Damon stood there and took what he rightfully deserved. He had been forced into this life the same way he was forcing it onto the girl of his undying affection and as he had already assumed, he instantly regretted it. But still, what was done had already been done. There was no taking it back now.

"How could you?" she asked through heart shattering sobs. He hated seeing her this way; knowing that once again he had managed to force on her just an ounce of pain she constantly, and perhaps unknowingly, supplied him.

"I needed to make sure you survived and don't worry, you can thank me later." He flinched flinched at his statement, already knowing it had been cruel, but the action was too quick for her mortal eyes to register.

Tears spilled from the corners of those very eyes, each one like battery acid eating away at his heart. "You had no right taking that choice away from me."

He attempted to reach for her, but she swatted his hand away. And why shouldn't she? He didn't deserve to touch her after what he had just done. But despite everything, he wanted nothing more than to comfort her.

After hearing Louise's terrorised, pleaful cries from down stairs, Stefan quickly rushed up the stairs. He bust into Damon's room, his eyes immediately widening when he saw Louise who had blood smeared around her lips.

"What did you do?! Huh? What did you do?!" Stefan shouted, aggression behind his tone. He already knew what Damon had done. He had selfishly made a decision for her, a life altering decision. The younger Salvatore was in denial of the thought and wanted to hear his brother fully admit it.

"I saved her life." he finally answered, in what Damon must have thought was bona fide way. He glanced over at Louise as she wiped her mouth with the side of her hand. "She was so bent on dying, at least this way I know she'll come back."

"As a vampire!" Stefan resorted gruffly, looking from his brother to Louise. "She'll come back a vampire!"

"It's better than nothing else." Damon stated desperately, his face switching from a gleam of sadness to pure anger.

The sound of stomping feet filled the air and suddenly Elena was at her sister's side, her eyes wide with horror as she pulled her into the safely of her arms.

"Louise." she breathed into her hair, her hold on Louise tightening ever so slightly. "Oh my God, Lou." Elena seemed to have taken her sister's silence as a mental breakdown as she started rocking her back and forth. An action that might have been soothing if Louise wasn't so focused on the bickering brothers across the room.

"How could you, of all people, take that choice away from her? How could you do that to someone you love!" Stefan shook his head at his brother in disgust.

"Admit it." There was a mocking tone to his voice as the older vampire glared at his brother. "You just wish you had the balls to do it to Elena."

Stefan was at Damon's side in a heartbeat, shoving him so fiercely that he flew across the room and right into a lamp, breaking it upon impact. Damon wasted no time in grabbing the broken lamp's wooden handle and charging at Stefan.

Stefan roughly shoved him aside, slamming several punching to the side of his face which caused Damon to crash to the floor. The older Salvatore's face was covered in blood but that hardly seemed to bother him as she surged forward once again, only this time, driving the makeshift stake through Stefan's abdomen.

"Stop it!" Louise pushed Elena out the way, moving to standing between the two brothers, her hands stretched out between them. Damon raised fist slowly fell as he stared down at her blankly. "You should leave."

She turned away from Damon to trace over Stefan's groaning and bleeding form and she crouched down beside her sister who had taken charge. Elena pulled Stefan's head on her lap before she removed the stake from his stomach. "It's okay. It's okay. You're going to be okay." Elena reassured her boyfriend.

"What the hell's going on?" Alaric's alarmed voice filled the air, followed by his appearance in the doorway and a wide eyed Jenna behind him.

"Get him out of here!" Elena urged in despair after she turned to Damon with a wrathful look on her face, as Damon stonily stared at them. She looked towards her aunt. "Jenna. We're gonna need some blood bags now. There downstairs in the basement. Go get them now. Go!"

After Stefan had gotten some blood into his system, he was fully healed so he went off to clean himself up. Jenna and Alaric were downstairs and God knows where Damon had gone off too. Meanwhile, still in Damon's room, Louise was sat on the floor with her knees pulled to her chest and Elena was creating a whole in the floor by pacing.

"How could he do this to you? Why?" Elena asked aloud, moving from one side of the room to the other with her constant pacing. When she did not get an answer, she paused, moving to sit beside her sister, brown eyes searching Louise's features for any signs of proof that she was angry. "Why aren't you as angry as I am?"

"You seem to have enough anger for the both of us."

"Hey." Elena's hand softly brushed across Louise's arm in soothing pattern until she turned to face her. "I'm here if you want to talk about anything. Anything. I know there must be so much going through your head right now."

Louise shrugged nonchalantly in response. "It doesn't matter anymore, 'Lena. What's done is done."

A frown etched into Elena's features. "Of course it matters."

"It's not like I haven't thought about it before." It was true. She had thought about turning into a vampire more than once. How could she not when Damon had once ruthlessly shoved his blood down her throat as a way to get Emily's grimoire back. Or planning her future with a vampire boyfriend. When vampires were introduced into her life, she knew one day that she would be in danger of becoming one. "But...I- I just thought, it would have been my choice."

Damon had told her time after time that he would find a way to keep her alive and he had. Now she would live whether Bonnie killed Klaus or not. The selfish bastard had kept his promise to her.

Louise sat across her parents grave, Miranda and Grayson Gilbert. To an average person the place would be morbid. To Louise, the place seemed to be appropriate. Tears started to brim to her eyes but she choked them back.

Her finger traced the top of the gravestone. She outlined the golden letters written on the stone.

IN MEMORY

GRAYSON GILBERT & MIRANDA SOMMERS GILBERT

MAY 23, 2009

LOVING PARENTS

Her mind tried to sort itself, but failed in the intervening moments. This was part of the reason why she kept a journal, to keep her thoughts organised, however, the past few days had not warranted use of the pages kept within its bindings. Until now.

"Hey mum, dad." The brunette listened closely for a response she knew wouldn't come. The wind blew and she took that as a note to keep going. "Not much to say right? Honestly. I'm fine."

The word 'fine' did not seem to coherent to her anymore, Louise told herself she's fine everyday, hoping maybe she would wake and she would be. "That's a lie. I'm not fine. Nothing about my life is fine." The tears now rolled down her cheeks. "nothing about my life is fine."

"But you know what already but I need to tell you. See I think you got the easy way out. A car wreck. That sounds better than dying by a vampire - having the life sucked out of you. Sometimes I wish Stefan never saved me. I know that's horrible and you'll hate me for saying that but life would be a lot easier. No Klaus. No vampires. I miss you mum, I wasn't suppose to lose you at this age. It hurts me that you'll never see me graduate, get married, have kids..."

Rooting through the fridge for a blood bag, Vivienne's gaze fell on her prize and she promptly reached for it. Katherine, however, was laying on the floor staring up at the ceiling completely bored out her mind. The sound of a key grinding into the lock made Katherine bolt upright while Vivienne's head snapped toward the door as it swung open.

Furious at the interruption of her meal, Vivienne slapped her lunch on the kitchen counter and stormed towards the front door. She blinked in surprise; he never struck her as the suicidal type. "Look who's dumb enough to come back." Vivienne crossed her arms and cocked her lip, dark orbs assessing him. "So which one is it, you got a death wish or balls of steel?"

A quirk of his lips, Alaric stayed behind the threshold of his apartment and inclined his head to the side. "Well, somebody had to invite him in. Damon. Would you like to, uh, come in?"

With his trademark smirk in place, Damon strutted inside. "Look at that, Vivienne and Katherine Pierce lives."

"Don't sound so disappointed, Damon." Katherine quipped.

Although secretly glad for the extra company, there was a diminutive spot in Vivienne's heart that felt concerned for Damon's wellbeing if Klaus were to come back early. "What are you doing here? Are you trying to get us killed?"

"I gave you vervain, now I'm here to collect. I got it from here, Ric." he called over his shoulder.

Alaric's eyebrows knitted together. "You sure?"

"Yeah, only one of us needs to get blamed for this. Get back in the house. Keep Louise from handing herself over."

"Okay..." Alaric reluctantly turned and walked away.

Katherine's confusion had reached it's peak. "Get blamed for what?"

"I need to know where Klaus is keeping his werewolf." Damon stated.

"Why?" Katherine's eyes squinted in suspicion. "What are you going to do?"

Vivienne's perfectly sculpted brow jumped, nearly hitting her hairline. "Let me guess; no werewolf equals no ritual? You can't interfere, Damon. Klaus will kill you and everyone you've ever met."

Damon robbed Louise of her choice, just like Stefan did him, and ever since he completed his transitions, he'd hated his brother for it. He shuddered, his entire being consumed in agony, at the mere thought of Louise loathing the ground he walked on. His life without Louise would be his version of eternity of misery, and he couldn't have that. He had to fix what he arrogantly and thoughtlessly wrought. "I just need to delay this thing."

Vivienne shook her head, folding her arms across her chest. "No. No way."

"You should like this. It's going to buy another month for both of you."

"Right. Except that we're not the vampire he's planning on sacrificing." Vivienne informed him with a smirk. Damon's brows furrowed and she answered his unspoken question. "He's got Caroline Forbes and Tyler Lockwood. Therefore, I'm in the clear."

"And where'd he get that idea from?" Damon moved towards her but she held her hands up innocently and Katherine edged protectively in front of her sister.

"We're just trying to stay alive long enough to get myself out of here."

It took a bit more cajoling to receive a straightforward response from the Pierce twins so he resorted to bringing up the subject of the Gilberts to seal the deal. "What if I told you Elena had vampire blood in her system?" Wrong twin but it seemed to get the reaction he wanted.

Katherine's eyes bulged out their sockets. "What?!"

"Imagine how much fun that will be competing with Elena for Stefan's love for, I don't know, forever."

"The tomb." The confession burst out Katherine's mouth like an explosion. "He's got them in the tomb."

"Kat!" Vivienne exclaimed at her sister furiously.

Satisficed with himself, Damon smirked. "Thank you."

After a quiet few hours spent in contemplation and a rant to her parents, it was now dark. Louise rose with a little grimace; the cold was not being kind to her young limbs. She stomped her feet lightly, waving her arms to get some feeling back.

All was quiet, no crickets chirping or owls hooting. She should have realised something was off, the air was still and yet full of anticipation.

Moving back to the footpath, she began to follow it back to the entrance. Louise shivered and paused, a chill ran down her spin, as she swore she heard her name called in a lightly-accented voice, carried along the wind. "Louise..."

Pulling her hand from her pockets, Louise whipped around, her gaze scouring her immediate surroundings. Wary now, she took a few steps backward, letting a gabled shriek as something grazed her back. Turning, she saw the gnarled branches of an overhanging tree swaying from the contact with her body. Nothing more. What had that voice been? Her imagination?

Looking down the path, Louise could se she was close to the cemetery gate. She took another quick glance around her, dashing the remaining few feet to the familiar, rusted gates, which hung open all day, everyday. There was simply no need for security; the dangers of Mystic Falls lay in activities of the living, or so most thought.

Grasping the aged, bronzed bars of one of the gates, Louise caught her breath, leaning her forehead against the cool metal and closing her eyes. When she opened them and raised her head, she found herself face-to-face with someone. Louise shrieked.

It seemed almost as if the darkness itself had come to life and was coalescing as she watched, taking on form—human form, the form of a young man. "I'm sorry if I frightened you." He was remarkably good-looking. His face was pale in the artificial twilight, but she could see that his features were cleanly defined and nearly perfect under a shock of light hair. Those cheekbones were a sculptor's dream.

Louise gritted her teeth, eyes narrowing. "Were you following me?"

"You're angry." The man noted. "I said, I was sorry I frightened you."

"I wasn't frightened. I was just startled! Which is hardly surprising, what with you lurking in the dark like that."

"Interesting things happen in the dark…sometimes." He had taken a step closer, and she could see that those eyes were unusual. As if you could look deeper and deeper until you fell into them, and went on falling forever. "I'll admit, you got me all nervous. I thought maybe you'd done something stupid."

Louise frowned, brows furrowing. "Excuse me? Do you know me?"

The stranger smirked. "Did you forget about the dance?"

At this Louise fell even more confused. The brunette took a step back. "I'm sorry, I don't know what you're talking about."

"Oh, that's right. My apologises. " The man chuckled humourlessly. "I was in the body of your history teacher."

Louise's eyes widened and she breathed out. "Klaus?"

"Hello, love."

After a few moments of silence and the two eyeing each other, Louise folded her arms and tried for a disgruntled pose. "So...this is the part where you threaten my family?" Klaus raised a brow. "You know the usual, 'If you don't comply with my demands I'll kill everyone you love."

Klaus tilted his head slightly. "Your heart beat is steady; you're not scared." he stated.

Louise shrugged. "I figured there really isn't any point to be. You're not going to kill me right now, you need me for the ritual, so I know I'm gonna be safe for a small amount of time."

"Where's Maddox?" Klaus demanded as he slammed the door of Alaric's apartment and looked between Vivienne and Katherine wo were sat around the table by the door. "He should be back by now."

"I don't know." Katherine mused, but he was barely paying attention to her.

Without responding, Klaus sat down, taking his phone and plugged it into his laptop, where he watched something the girls couldn't see on the computer screen. Vivienne cocked an eyebrow. "What are you doing? Where's Elena and Louise?"

"I sent them off with Greta." Klaus responded, not looking up from the computer screen. "It's almost time." Just as the words fell from his lips, the door of the apartment swung open, and the original, though surprised, leaned back in the chair and let out a sigh. "I wasn't aware you'd been invited in."

Damon stood behind Klaus. Vivienne quickly moved from behind Damon, pulling her sister with her as she realised that Klaus was about to get real angry, fast. The Salvatore vampire didn't seem at all concerned.

Damon's chest puffed outwards as she stood confidently. "I've come here to tell you that you have to postpone the ritual."

Klaus frowned. "Didn't we already have this conversation?"

"Yeah, but that was before I rescued your werewolf and vampire and killed your witch." Damon shrugged arrogantly.

The original was on his feet in seconds, turning to face the confident younger vampire. "Excuse me?"

"And you can kill me for it. I don't care. It was all...me."

The room fell silent and Klaus grew a small smile on his lips and without tearing his eyes from Damon, he spoke to the two sisters. "Katerina, Viviana, give us a moment."

Simultaneously, Vivienne and Katherine looked at each other and slowly left the room, their eyes still lingering on the two vampires. Damon waited for them to leave before he turned back to Klaus. The original took a step forward as an attempt to intimidate but Damon kept his ground.

"I've heard about you." Klaus started, his voice soft and articulate. "The crazy, impulsive vampire in love with my doppelganger. I knew one of you would try to stop me. It was a just a 50/50 guess on who." He walked away from Damon with a shrug. He clicked the computer that he had been watching moments ago and turned up the volume. Damon watched the screen as a woman yelled, screaming in agony. He wasn't sure what it was but he waited as Klaus chuckled under his breath. "The nice thing about werewolves is they tend to travel in packs. Need a closer look?

Klaus closed the laptop, removing his phone before he tossed it to Damon. The Salvatore vampire narrowed his eyes as he looked at the phone, hearing the nails-on-chalkboard screaming of the woman before realisation struck him. It was another werewolf. He clenched his jaw and tried not to show his defeat.

"Jules." Damon noted bitterly.

"When you spend a thousand years trying to break a curse. You learn a thing or two." Klaus circled Damon like a shark would his prey. "First rule; always have a backup. Backup werewolf. Backup witch."

"Backup vampire." Damon realised and Klaus smiled.

"I've got that covered, too."

With that, Damon's world went dark as Klaus snapped his neck in one quick motion.

In the other room, Vivienne and Katherine were pressed against the door as they listened intently to the conversation in the neck room. The waited for the sound of footsteps to disappear after the slamming of the apartment door before they exited the room to find Damon lying on the floor, unconscious. Vivienne grabbed a blood bag from the fridge before she moved to him, ripping it open and putting it to his lips.

"Hey!" Vivienne said firmly, hitting Damon's cheek lightly. "Damon!" she hissed, slapping his cheek again, this time harder. When he didn't respond, she growled and gave him a few quick slaps in succession.

Damon inhaled softly, still feeling the remnants of the blood in his throat - felt it clinging on his lips. A warm hand lingered on his shoulder before he stirred and the hand moved away. He slowly blinked his eyes open and saw the person who had been viciously attempting to wake him up was Vivienne with Katherine stood behind, arms folded across her chest.

"Ahh. What the hell happened?" He rasped out, his voice rough.

"He's gone." Vivienne informed him, looking directly in his eyes as she slowly moved the blood bag away from him. She actually looked worried and that caused his stomach to twist into knots, but not as much as her next statement: "He went to do the ritual." Before he could open his mouth to say anything else, Vivienne was already talking again. "I'm sorry. I had to. He would have known that I was on vervain if I didn't do it." She looked at him fiercely, a slight hint of anger in her eyes, most likely directed at the action that she had to take.

He exhaled harshly again before bracing his hand on the cold, hard floor and propping himself up. "Do what?"

"Klaus. He made me call her to lure her out. He needed another vampire." Vivienne replied, speaking fast, tension and panic building in her voice.

Damon flickered his eyes to the side for a moment in confusion before meeting hers again. "Who did you call?" he asked, his own voice tight. He could feel the tension mounting in his body, hear the alarm going off. Vivienne didn't reply; only held his gaze as her own breaths began coming quicker. He studied her, her brown furrowing, before his eyes widened slightly. He stared at her for a few more seconds before narrowing his eyes, latching onto her arm tightly, and growling out. "Who did you call?" His eyes then flickered towards the other sister. "Katherine?"

"Jenna." Katherine blurted out. She let out a heavy sigh after finally getting that off her chest. When the name fell from her lips, complete and utter chaos descended upon Damon's already fragile state as he struggled to get to his feet.

"He should have used me." Damon crumbled as he forced himself up from the floor. "Why didn't he use me?" Vivienne also rose to her feet.

"He couldn't." Katherine chimed in. "Damon, he said you were as good as dead."

Damon shook his head, confused. "What does that even mean?"

"What does that mean?" Vivienne repeated, incredulously, her eyes flicking over him with slight concern. She reached out and grabbed his arm roughly. "What the hell is this, Damon?"

He slowly lowered his eyes to where her fingers were gripping his arm. He froze. His veins pulse and his skin bubbled and he instantly recognised what was on his arm. Damon swallowed thickly, his eyes slowly looked back up at Vivienne, wishing the words didn't have to come out his mouth.

"It's a werewolf bite." He met Vivienne's eyes once again and usually they were void of any emotion, but now he could see the fear there.

She looked at him in shock, still gripping his arm tightly. "How did this happen?" she managed after a few very long seconds of silence.

Damon shuddered, trying to push the immediate visions of Rose's painful death behind his mind. "Tyler Lockwood started transitioning in the middle of my little rescue operation. He tried to attack Caroline, but I jumped in front of her and he must have bitten me. I didn't even feel it..." he trailed off. His head was spinning. He felt like he was going to be sick.

Vivienne swallowed the sudden lump that had formed in her throat. "There's no reason to panic." She was holding onto his blue gaze like it was some kind of lifeline, trying to avoid what it meant if Damn Salvatore of all people was frightened.

"I'm not panicking." Damon replied softly, even though every fibre of his being was screaming at him to do just that. Dread filled him as he tried to control his face.

"Where are we going?" Elena complained as she stumbled around in the darkness, eyes squinting as she could barely see with her less-than-standard vision. Louise grabbed her hand just as she was about to trip over some twigs and rocks under her feet.

"This way." The witch in front explained, leading the Gilbert sisters. Greta Martin, that was her name, Louise realised. She'd heard Klaus call her Greta and she remembered Bonnie telling her about Luka and his family.

"You're Luka's sister, aren't you?" Louise blurted out. "I heard about you. He and your father were looking for you."

"Well, they were wasting their time." Great responded flatly. "I wasn't lost."

Inevitably, Elena ended up tripping on a rock and took Louise down. Louise grunted in frustration as she pulled herself back up, dusting off her butt. Suddenly, flames busted all around them, lighting their path. They were standing on rocky terrain at a dead end, and before them, a body was lying on the floor, unconscious. Elena was the first to realise who it was.

"Jenna?" Elena rushed forward, dropping to her aunt's side. "Jenna! Jenna? Hey, hey, Jenna! Jenna!" She used her two fingers to measure her pulse but couldn't find a heartbeat. "Oh, my God. No. Jenna! No!"

Elena's eyes watered as she turned, locking eyes with her sister. Louise's eyes widened as she realised what had happened and she turned around at Greta in disbelief. "He killed her? Why? We did everything that he asked."

Louise's heart raced as she took in what this disastrous event meant. Her beloved relative would no longer be with them for holidays, there would be no more of her famous cups of coffee like the one they had the first day of this crazy, mixed up school year, there would no longer be a budding romance for her and Ric where there are finally no secrets between the two- no, all of this would be gone.

Devastated, Louise barely had time to contemplate the loss that had happened, and why, when, startling her to much degree, the figure jerked harshly upward into a sitting position.

Jenna's eye flew open in confusion and shock. Her hair whipped around her as she turned her head side to side, surveying the sights and doubly noticeable smells. Her eyes were wide as a baby fawn's, alert as they swooped the area, watching for anything threatening. Her muscles were visibly tensed up, ready to spring into action at the slightest hint of danger.

Although this had been something Louise had seen before, she couldn't help but being scared; her loving aunt looked like a caged wild animal, too riled up and unpredictable. Her mind raced with the knowledge of what happened in these last few seconds. Obviously, Jenna had come back to life, after being dead as a doornail.

Greta, the witch, cocked her head in minor acknowledgement, a small and wry smile displayed upon her lips. "She's not dead. She's in transition."

Jenna. A vampire. Her loving, caring, sweet aunt a vampire? No, Louise's mind would not accept that.

Her face bearing the frightening and non-believing expression that was natural for some shocking situation. Louise shook with rage. How dare Klaus do this! After all that has happened. She had agreed to go peacefully with his sacrifice in hopes that all of her loved ones would stay unharmed.

Louise's eyes travelled to a bewildered Jenna, who was still gasping and blinking in dazed alarm.

Poor Jenna. A wave of emotions crossed Louise's mind, muddling her thoughts. Poor Jenna! She could barely cope with knowing that vampires exist, and now that she was, or more likely will be one? Talk about a lot on someone's plate! Oh, God, Alaric! She thought. What would he do now? His second loved one, a vampire? What a tragic happening.

Louise's head snapped toward the witch. "You- you bitch!" The seer spat, unforgiving rage visible in her soft eyes.

"Louise, now you don't want to this..." Greta warned, reading her palms in front of her in case of needed witchery.

"You brought her here, didn't you? You lured her here! You- you- you...Rrrg!" Words didn't come, and so a spiteful Louise turned swiftly onto one heel, turning her back on the wicked witch.

A/N:

Here's another chapter for you guys. Sooo, the sacrifice is about to beginning and soon it'll be the season finale. Who's excited for season three because I am?! Two more chapters left...

Comments are appreciated. :)