Author's Note: Hey everyone! Welcome to season 3 of PTL! If you've made it this far, I really appreciate it because I've worked hard on this series and I want people to be able to enjoy it. The two women in the first episode that Stefan and Klaus visit were never given names, so I went ahead and picked some out so it would be easier to write for them. We start to see a very different side of Elowen with this season, and I did my best to not change her completely, but not not change her at all. I hope I pulled it off okay. Now, a reminder for the faceclaims!

Elowen: Victoria Justice

Josiah: Blake Michael

Esmeralda/Eliana: Gina Rodriguez

Sydney: Freema Agyeman

Toby: Rhys Matthew Bond

There is a small introduction of some new ocs later on in this season, but they don't become main characters until season 4. I wanted to say this so you guys wouldn't wonder where they went after they appear the first time. That's all I have to say for this one, so onwards!

xxxx

Elowen, Stefan and Klaus all watched from the distance in the shadows as a woman exited her house through the kitchen door. Klaus made a move to approach her, but Elowen shot her hand out and stopped him.

"Let me do it. She's more likely to let me in."

"Oh?" Klaus quirked an eyebrow. "And why is that?"

"Because I'm a girl, genius. Women are much more likely to be victims of kidnappings, murders or assaults that are usually committed by men. Just let me do it."

Klaus put his hands up in surrender and stepped back. As Elowen stepped forward to go to the woman, a small puppy came running up to her with its tail wagging wildly. This must've been the dog the woman was calling for. She carefully picked him up and made her way up the driveway.

"Is this the little guy you're looking for?" Elowen asked when she came into view. "I found him digging in my yard. I figured I'd start knocking on doors to find his owner."

"Oh, I'm so sorry!" The woman apologized. She walked over and took the puppy from her hands. "He gets out a lot since we have no yard. I hope he wasn't too much trouble."

"Oh, nothing a shovel can't fix. Well, I should get going."

"Wait! Let me at least give you something for bringing him back. My roommate is inside making dinner. Stay?"

Elowen laughed. "You're going to invite a complete stranger into your home just because I returned your dog?"

"Well, when you put it that way…" The woman stuck out her free hand so Elowen could shake it. "I'm Lea."

Elowen shook her hand. "Gwen."

"Nice to meet you, Gwen. See? Now we're not strangers. How about that dinner?"

Elowen smiled. "Well, if you insist."

Lea turned and walked back into the house. Elowen turned to where she knew Klaus and Stefan were and nodded in their direction. Klaus looked mildly impressed that she'd managed to get into the house and silently stalked closer, followed by Stefan.

"Clara, I want you to meet Gwen. She found Rudy for me," Lea said to the woman who was cutting something in the kitchen.

Clara wiped her hands on her apron and reached out to shake Elowen's hand. "Thank god. Sometimes I'm afraid that one day he's not going to come back. I hope you like beef stew, because that's what I'm making."

Elowen smiled again, politely. "It smells wonderful."

Clara beamed. "Thank you!"

Lea had set Rudy on the ground and he went over to where his food was and started eating. Elowen wandered to another room in the house and picked up a picture. She recognized him as the man they were looking for. She mustered up a look of surprise and turned towards Lea, who had followed her.

"Is this Ray Sutton?" Elowen asked, feigning disbelief.

Lea blinked in shock. "Uh, yeah." She finally started to get suspicious. "How do you know Ray?"

"I have a friend who used to work with him back in Pensacola. What are the odds, right?"

Lea forced out a laugh.

"Is he here? I'm sure he'd get a kick out of seeing me."

"Ray's not here. He's on the road mostly."

"Oh, that's a shame. Do you know where he is?"

Lea didn't answer. Elowen quirked an eyebrow.

"I'm not gonna bite. Where is he?"

"Where did you say you lived again?" Lea asked instead. Elowen set the picture back down and dropped her act.

"You're gonna want to tell me where he is. I'll be much more forgiving than my friends will."

Lea ran off towards the kitchen where Clara was. Elowen sighed and casually followed her. Lea must've told Clara what was going on, because Clara was holding out the knife she'd been using to cut vegetables in Elowen's direction.

"Get out," she told her. "Get out before I call the police."

"You really don't want to do that," Elowen deadpanned.

Lea spotted the phone on her left and tried darting for it. With a quick wave of Elowen's hand, the phone went flying across the room. It hit the wall and broke into pieces. Lea gasped and jumped behind Clara for protection.

"Trust me, if you want to live, you'll answer the question," Elowen said in casual tone. "This doesn't need to get ugly."

Clara lunged forward with the knife. Elowen easily dodged it, as Clara's movements had been slowly and sloppy, and seized her wrist. Immediately, ice sprouted throughout her arm and she screamed. When she pulled back, her arm broke off and shattered when it hit the ground. Lea, not knowing what else to do, ran for the front door as Clara continued to scream. Elowen groaned and went after her.

"Why must they always run?" She asked herself as she caught up with Lea. Lea struggled against Elowen's grip, but went slack the second Elowen cast the compulsion spell. The front door opened and Stefan and Klaus appeared on the other side. Elowen grabbed onto Lea's face so she was looking directly at her. "Can my friends come in?"

Lea robotically nodded her head. "Yes."

Stefan and Klaus stepped through as Elowen threw Lea at Klaus. "She's all yours."

Klaus caught her. "Thank you, love. I applaud you for making it this far. Heads would've started flying the second I walked through the door if it had been me."

"Yeah, but it wasn't." Elowen walked past Klaus. "The other one's already dead. There's no way she's still alive after having her arm ripped off."

Klaus nodded at Stefan. "Check."

Stefan walked towards the kitchen and stopped at the entrance. "She's dead," he confirmed.

Lea was sobbing and had started to sob harder upon hearing Clara was dead. Elowen shot her a look of sympathy.

"I told you this didn't need to get ugly. You've got nobody to blame but yourself."

"Now, want to tell me where Ray Sutton is?" Klaus asked as he held onto Lea. She'd stopped struggling, as she must've realized that she was going to die and there was nothing she could do about it.

"He's in Toll," she sobbed. "It's near the border. A bar called Southern Comfort. It's on highway 41."

Rudy had come innocently running out of the kitchen and came over to Elowen's feet. He barked at her and stopped once she picked him up. Stefan had come back from the kitchen and Klaus pushed Lea into his arms.

"Kill this one quickly. We'll be in the car."

Elowen was already out the door and halfway to the car by the time Klaus left. Lea's screams echoed through the house and out into the yard and Elowen clenched her teeth to try her best to not care.

"We're not taking the dog," Klaus told her as she climbed into the backseat with Rudy in her lap.

"I need someone to keep me company while you two are out gallivanting around the eastern seaboard. I'm keeping him."

Klaus scowled. "Fine."

He closed the car door and went around to the driver's seat. They waited for Stefan to come back before they set off for Toll.

xxxx

Caroline was talking to Elena over the phone as her and Josiah walked through the town square. She had Josiah carrying multiple shopping bags that were meant for Elena's birthday party later that night.

"What are you doing?" Elena asked over speaker phone.

"Just shopping for the party you're trying to bail on," Caroline replied with a smile.

"Yeah, and forcing me to carry everything so she doesn't have to," Josiah quipped. Caroline's mouth opened into an 'o' and she hit his arm.

"Hey!"

Elena laughed. "I never said yes to that in the first place."

"You were never going to which is why I planned it anyway. You wouldn't even be getting this kind of treatment if Elowen had been here for her 18th. It would've all gone to her, so be grateful."

Elena was silent for a moment. "... Are there any more leads?"

"Liz said she's got something," Josiah responded. "An animal attack in Memphis. It's the third one this week in Tennessee."

"And you're sure it's a vampire?"

"Yeah, but that doesn't mean it's Klaus."

"But, that's gotta mean something, right? She could still be alive."

"Oh, I have no doubt that she's still alive. It's Stefan I'm worried about."

"What? Why?"

"Klaus made it clear that he wanted a Ramirez witch. He got what he wanted. Stefan? He's replaceable. If he makes one wrong move, that's it. I want to find him just as much as I want my sister back. He's family."

"Alright, well, we've gotta go," Caroline cut in. "I'll see you in a bit."

"Oh, Caroline, wait, just, keep tonight small. Please?"

"Wear something pretty," Caroline said in a sing song voice as she hung up. Tyler and Toby walked up to them shortly after.

"Hey! Are we ready for The Grill?" Toby asked.

"If you help me with these, then yes." Josiah held up the bags. Toby laughed as Caroline hit his arm again, but he still reached over to take some of the load off of him. "Thank god."

"Complain one more time, I swear to god, Jo."

"Or what? You'll do what, Care?"

Caroline gasped in offense and showered Josiah's arms with multiple hits. Tyler and Toby watched on, laughing, as Josiah lifted his hands up to shield his face.

"Okay, okay! Enough!"

"Alright, lay off of him," Tyler said. "I'm hungry."

Caroline stopped and huffed. "You got lucky this time. Let's go."

xxxx

Esmeralda and Alaric stepped into the boarding house. They'd just gotten the new lead from Liz and were going to talk to Damon about it.

"Good morning," Damon said from behind them. Esmeralda and Alaric turned around to find Damon standing there, completely naked. Alaric groaned and immediately looked away. Meanwhile, Esmeralda just put her hands on her hips and rolled her eyes.

"Aw, what's the matter, Ric?" Damon asked sarcastically. "Your girlfriend is enjoying the show. Why can't you?"

Esmeralda grabbed the towel that was hanging over a chair in the living room and tossed it at him. "If I see anything I haven't before, I'll throw a dollar at it."

"By the way, you should learn to knock. What if I was, I don't know, indecent?"

"You're really gonna lecture us about knocking when you don't lock your door? Really?"

"Touche. You can look now."

Alaric peeked through his fingers, saw Damon was covered up and took his hand away. "Sheriff Forbes gave us another location to check." He pulled a note out of his pocket. "Memphis."

"Another dead end, you mean," Damon replied.

"You don't know that."

Damon started walking up to them. "You're right, Ric. This could be the one. After almost two months, this could be the clue that tells us that Elowen and Stefan are alive and well and living in graceland."

"Stop acting like you don't care, Damon," Esmeralda almost snapped at him. "That's what you're best at. When something inconveniences you, you throw a tantrum. Well, guess what? You can't fool me. Even if I wasn't an empath, everyone knows how much you love my daughter and everyone knows you'd never give up on her. Stefan, maybe, but not her. Never her." She took the note out of Alaric's hand and slapped it against Damon's bare chest. "You're going to check out this lead, because we haven't had one in awhile, and you're going to call me if you find something. You understand?"

Damon took the note from her and looked down at it. "I understand," he said quietly after a beat. He looked at Alaric. "Up for a road trip?"

xxxx

Klaus, Stefan and Elowen were all seated in the bar Lea had told them Ray would be. Stefan had already compelled the entire bar and now they were just waiting for Ray to show up, who just did. Klaus got up to talk to him. Stefan and Elowen stayed seated until it looked like Ray was trying to leave.

"I wouldn't do that," Stefan said as Ray bumped into him. Elowen was standing directly behind him.

"Vampires," Ray realized as Stefan pushed him back against the bar counter.

"Well, you got 1 out of 3 right," Elowen commented. Her hands were in her back pockets. "Want to try again?"

"Nevermind that." Klaus turned Ray's attention back to him. "Everybody in the bar is compelled, so don't look to them for help. You're correct in thinking my friend here is a vampire, but me, however, am a different kind of monster. I've got some vampire, I've got some wolf."

"You what?" Ray asked in shock and confusion.

"A hybrid, Ray," Klaus deadpanned. "I'm both. You see, I want to create more of me. Now, you being the first werewolf that I've come across in many a moon, pun intended, Ray! I need you to direct me to your pack. So, where can I find them, Ray?"

"You can't compel me. It won't work."

"No, but I can." Elowen reached out for Ray's wrist, but Klaus quickly seized hers instead.

"Now, where's the fun in that? I don't think it's fair to take Ray's choice in telling us away, don't you think?"

Elowen slowly withdrew her hand. Klaus smiled.

"That's better. Stefan?"

"Can you bring out the darts, please?" Stefan asked the bartender. He started to talk to Ray as he reached into his pocket and pulled out a pouch of wolfsbane. "Tell you what, Ray. We're gonna play a little drinking game, something I like to call truth or wolfsbane." He dumped some of the wolfsbane into his hand and crushed it in his fist.

Klaus's smile turned into a smirk. "Oh, this is gonna be fun, Ray."

xxxx

Damon and Alaric pulled up to the house in Tennessee where the lead led them to. It took a little digging to find the right house, but after that it wasn't too hard. Alaric's phone started buzzing. He looked down at it and ignored the text.

"Esmeralda?" Damon asked.

Alaric nodded his head. "Yeah. She's just getting antsy, that's all. Elowen is her only daughter, after all."

"At this point, she's your only daughter, too. How's life at the house been treating you?"

"It's still a little weird, living there now. Eliana and Sydney treat me good enough, but I know they're both still wary of me. I don't blame them, after what Luis put her through."

"Well, he's dead now. Elowen made sure of that. The house isn't too crowded?"

"I suppose not, but it's been, uh, interesting, going from living by myself to living with my girlfriend, her son, sister and sister's girlfriend, and sometimes her son's girlfriend occasionally. I keep waiting for them to kick me out, but they don't. I guess it's better than the apartment. Being there after Klaus called it his headquarters just doesn't feel right anymore." Alaric looked up at the house as he got out of the car. "It's quiet."

"Yeah, too quiet."

Damon and Alaric walked up to the house. Damon reached the door first. He tested it with his foot to see if he could enter and walked in all the way when he found he could. Alaric came in behind him and closed the door. They both looked around. There were bloody handprints on the wall and a trail of blood that led them into the living room. On the couch, the woman once known as Lea was sitting there, almost as if she were watching tv.

"Ugh," Alaric groaned. "Vampire for sure."

"Stefan for sure," Damon mused as he walked over to Lea's body.

"How do you know?"

"It's his signature. There's a reason they call him The Ripper. Feeds too hard, he blacks out and rips them apart, but then when he's done, he feels remorse. It's the damnedest thing." Damon lifted his leg and nudged Lea's knee with his foot. "He puts the bodies back together."

Lea's head fell off and landed on the floor.

"Back together?"

Damon nodded. "Definitely Stefan."

Damon walked out of the living room and into the kitchen, where he found Clara. With this one, he furrowed his eyebrows. Alaric was right behind him.

"Was this Stefan, too?"

Damon shook his head. "No."

He squatted down and inspected Clara and her missing arm. There was a large puddle of dried blood covering the floor, but no sign of her arm. He stood up and moved to walk away when something crunched under his shoe. Most of the ice had melted, but some bits of Clara's arm had stayed behind. Damon crouched back down and picked up what he stepped on. He placed it in his palm and examined the small piece of what he figured was once a finger, still covered in some frost.

"This was Elowen," he realized. Alaric's eyebrows shot up in shock.

"What? No, she wouldn't do something like this."

"Thanks to our witch friends, she can control ice now." He lifted the frozen part of the finger towards Alaric so he could see. "Does this or does this not look like frostbite?"

Alaric looked at it, but stayed quiet. Damon tossed the finger onto the ground and stood up.

"She's adapting, doing what she needs to do in order to survive. It's what she's best at."

Damon opened the cabinets under the sink and found a tank of gasoline. He took it and returned to the living room. He set it down and then went back to the kitchen to drag Clara's body away and put her at Lea's feet. He picked up the tank and started pouring gasoline over both of them.

"What are you doing?" Alaric asked as he watched on.

"Covering their tracks," Damon responded as if it were obvious. "Clearly they have no interest in staying in the dark, but I do."

Alaric moved out of the way, but a space in the floorboards creaked. Damon stopped and both of them looked down at the ground.

"Hang on a minute…" Damon set down the tank and him and Alaric flipped over the rug that was covering the floor. There was a trapdoor hidden. Damon opened it and saw a room full of chains that were bolted to the wall. "Well, what do you know? Werewolves."

Damon closed the door, stood up, lit a match and tossed it on the floor. They left as the whole living room caught fire.

xxxx

Ray was tied to the wall and had darts that were coated in wolfsbane stuck in his body. Stefan was sitting at a table across the way, stirring another dart in wolfsbane as he prepared to shoot it at Ray. He threw it and it hit him in the neck. Klaus was sitting nearby, watching, as everyone else in the bar went on about their business. Elowen was sitting at the same table as Klaus with her head in her arms. Her eyes were closed, but she wasn't really asleep. She just had nothing better to do. Stefan walked closer to Ray.

"Ray, you can end this right now. Just tell me where your pack gathers for the full moon."

Ray shook his head. "I can't."

"I know, I know. You live by a code and all that, but see, he's not gonna let me stop until you tell me, and I do whatever he says, so, that's the way it goes around here."

While Stefan was busy with that, a woman came walking over to Klaus and stopped right in front of them.

"Hello, mister Klaus. I have some more information for you. You told me to tell you if I saw anything. His brother Damon and another friend were spotted at the farm house."

Stefan had been eavesdropping and obviously, being at the table, Elowen heard as well. Her eyes opened and she sat up.

"Well, thank you, Claudine," Klaus said. "You just tell your friends to keep up the good work."

Claudine walked away as Stefan approached him.

"My brother is still on our trail?" He asked. Klaus stood up. Elowen stayed quiet.

"He's getting closer," Klaus huffed in annoyance. "I'm gonna have to deal with that."

Stefan quickly grabbed onto Klaus's arm as he started to walk away. "No, no, no! Let me handle it."

"Why should I let you leave?"

"Because you'll know I'll come back."

Klaus cocked his head to the side. "Do I?"

"You saved my brother's life. I'm at your service."

Klaus contemplated this for a moment before turning and looking down at Elowen, who was watching them and listening intently. He slowly started to smirk as an idea came to him.

"I'll do you one better." He nodded at Elowen. "I want her to handle the problem."

Elowen's eyes widened and she started shaking her head. "No, I'm the worst possible person to send to do this."

"I know, which is why you're so perfect. This'll give you the chance to prove your loyalty to me. You've been doing a good job so far, but it still feels like you're lacking. Your heart isn't in it. Go, make sure your boyfriend won't bother us anymore."

Elowen started to stand up. "You're putting a lot on the line here. There's a 50/50 chance I won't come back."

"Oh, I'm well aware, sweetheart, which is why I leave you with a warning. If you choose to stay in Mystic Falls, not only will I see to it that your other boyfriend suffers, I'll kill your whole family, Damon included. Are we clear?"

Elowen swallowed hard and nodded. "Crystal."

Taking a deep breath, Elowen turned and left the bar.

xxxx

Josiah and Toby found Jeremy in the library of the boarding house. He'd just lit a joint. Josiah and Toby sat next to him.

"So, what's got you on your spiral downward?" Josiah asked. "Can't be worse than mine."

"You do not want to know," Jeremy replied as he took a hit. He offered it to Josiah, who shook his head. He didn't do this stuff anymore. It just wasn't his life now and he was okay with that. Jeremy then offered it to Toby, who went ahead and took it.

"Oh, come on, how bad can it be? I'm like, your best friend, or whatever, right? Elowen tells this one basically everything." Josiah nudged Toby, who laughed and handed the joint back to Jeremy. "Can't be that hard to do the same to me."

Jeremy took the joint back and considered it for a moment, then leaned closer to them both. "So, I died, right? And Bonnie used magic to bring me back to life."

Both Josiah and Toby nodded.

"The thing is, ever since I came back, I've been seeing… things."

Josiah furrowed his eyebrows while Toby tilted his head.

"What kind of things?" Toby asked.

"Just, things I shouldn't be seeing."

"Like?" Josiah egged on. Jeremy sighed.

"Like…" Jeremy trailed off. Josiah and Toby continued to look at him expectantly. "Like, Anna and Vicki."

Josiah's eyes widened. "Anna and Vicki? Are you sure?"

Toby shook his head in confusion. "Who's Anna and Vicki?"

"Two of his very dead ex girlfriends."

"Oh. Well that's awkward."

"What does Bonnie say about it?"

Jeremy shrugged and leaned back in his chair. "Nah, I haven't told her. I haven't told anybody, except now you guys. Do you mind keeping this on the downlow for awhile?"

Toby immediately nodded. "Yeah, sure, dude. Right?" He looked at Josiah with a look on his face, and finally, Josiah nodded as well.

"Of course, Jeremy. Of course."

Outside, Alaric, Esmeralda and Damon sat on the porch.

"I am every parent's worst nightmare," Alaric said. "I am the chaperone teacher from hell."

Esmeralda snorted. "And what am I? Just some crazy mom who's letting minors drink freely?"

"You're the cool mom trying too hard to be cool," Damon supplied. "I love high school parties."

"Why, hello, birthday girl!" Esmeralda greeted with a smile when Elena came out.

Truthfully, being here hurt a little bit, knowing that she missed her baby's 18th birthday. She had a big party planned. Not exactly one like this, one much quieter, but everyone was going to be there whether they wanted to be or not, even Matt and Tyler if they wanted to come. She would've taken Elowen anywhere she wanted to go and showered her with what she wanted. She knew that Stefan and Damon would've helped, and they probably had more money saved up than she did. Sydney was a good baker and she definitely would've put her skills to work. Just thinking about it made her sad all of a sudden.

"Drink." Elena held her hand out and took Damon's glass. "Jeremy's smoking again."

"Is his stash any good?" He asked as she took a sip. Elena slightly glared at him.

"You're an ass." She looked at Alaric and Esmeralda. "Can one of you talk to him, please? You've become our weird surrogate parents after everything went down and he looks up to you guys." She handed the glass back to Damon. "I'd really appreciate it."

Damon took a sip of his drink as Elena left. "You guys are screwed."

Esmeralda hit his shoulder. "Oh, shut up. These kids just lost the only family they had left. Be nice, would you?"

"So, Ric, what's it like knowing you accidentally adopted four kids?"

Esmeralda lifted her hand to hit him again and Damon raised his hands in surrender.

"Okay, okay! I'll stop."

Damon's phone buzzed and all playfulness left his face. The text was from an unknown number, and usually, he wouldn't care. After all, it just contained an address, except… Except, it was signed '- E' at the end. Elowen. Esmeralda furrowed her eyebrows.

"What's wrong?"

"Nothing."

They both knew that was a lie. Damon stood up.

"I have to go."

xxxx

The address led Damon to a cabin somewhere near the quarry. He carefully walked up the steps and opened the door. Standing with her back to the entrance was none other than Elowen. She turned around at the sound of the front door opening and couldn't help the smile that broke out on her face. Damon sped over and immediately pulled her in for a kiss. She eagerly reciprocated and kissed him back hard and fierce. Damon walked her backwards and knocked her onto the couch in the room. She grabbed hold of the front of his shirt and pulled him with her. His hands were underneath her shirt and in an instant, it was up and over her head. Elowen moaned lightly as he kissed down her neck and her own hands were pulling at the buckle of his belt. She successfully got it off after a few failed attempts and then roughly pushed Damon over so she was on top and straddling him.

"God, I missed you so much," Damon mumbled against her lips as she worked to unbutton his shirt.

"I know you did," she whispered breathlessly, finally pulling his shirt open. She trailed wet kisses up and down his chest, but Damon, losing patience, tugged her back up. He felt his fangs poking the inside of his mouth from the arousal he was feeling and quickly pulled her hair to one side so he could sink his fangs into her. Elowen's mouth dropped open in pain and pleasure.

Soon enough, the only sound that filled the air of the woods were their moans.

xxxx

After it was all said and done, Elowen stood up and started dressing before Damon had time to fully recover from their (very intense) time together. He furrowed his eyebrows as he sat up and started getting dressed himself.

"Where are you going?" He asked.

"I'm not staying, Damon," she told him as she wiggled into her jeans.

"What? No, I just got you back!"

Elowen couldn't look at him as she pulled her shirt on. She winced slightly from the fresh bite on her neck, but other than that, it was fine. She was used to that at this point.

"I'm sorry. I was just sent here to make sure you stopped following us."

"Like hell that's happening."

"I had a feeling you'd say that."

After Elowen was fully dressed, she walked over to the table in the room and picked up what looked like a walkie talkie. She wordlessly opened the front door and walked outside. Damon, still in the process of buttoning up his shirt, followed her out. She was looking up at something, so he followed her line of sight. At the very top of the hill, there was a line of people standing at the edge. It was a long drop down, one that surely nobody would survive if they fell.

"It was really easy to find kids to compel, considering the big party that's being thrown at the house."

"How did you get in and out undetected?"

"I can turn invisible now, remember?" Her eyes went from the students to Damon. "Promise me you'll stop looking for me, or else they'll all jump on my command."

Damon grabbed onto her face. "No."

"There's at least two dozen high school students up there, Damon. Please don't make me do this."

"I will never stop looking for you, you hear me? Never."

Tears filled Elowen's eyes and a few fell as she tried not to cry. "You've got to. You've got to get them all to stop. Caroline, mom, Josiah, dad, Toby, all of them. If you don't, he'll kill you and I can't have that. Please," she begged.

Damon's own eyes started to fill with tears and he glanced back up at the kids on the hill. He didn't give a damn if they all jumped. He knew she knew that, but he also knew it would kill her inside to make them follow her orders. He knew this, but he was Damon, and he was a selfish person by design, and there was no way he was losing her again, which is why he found himself shaking his head.

"I'll tie you up and throw you in the basement if I have to. I will. You're not going anywhere."

More tears fell from Elowen's eyes as she lifted the walkie talkie. She pressed the button to talk into it. "Jump," she whispered and closed her eyes because she couldn't watch. Damon looked up in time to see the entire line of kids walk off the cliff and fall to their deaths. She opened her eyes when she knew it was over. "You have to let me go, Damon."

Damon blinked back his own tears and shook his head again. "No."

Elowen sniffled and got on her tiptoes to kiss Damon goodbye. The way he was looking at her made her heart clench, but it didn't matter, because his eyes fluttered closed and he fell onto the porch, unconscious. Elowen took a few deep breaths, wiped her eyes, and then left.

xxxx

"Okay, come on, I think we need to get you home," Caroline was telling Tyler as she helped him stand. "You're drunk."

"So are you," Tyler pointed out, his words slightly slurring together.

"Yeah, but Josiah's not. He finally got his license, so he can drive you. What happened to Sophie?"

"She bailed on me to bone somebody else."

"Aw, did that put a kink in your master plan?"

"Shut up, Caroline."

They found Josiah with Toby in the library.

"Where did Jeremy go?" She asked. "He was in here earlier, wasn't he?"

"He walked home," Josiah told her. "What's up?"

"I need you to take this one home. He's blitzed."

"I've had my license for two weeks and I'm already the designated driver. Great."

Nonetheless, Josiah hauled himself onto his feet. "Let me let my mom know we're leaving. Come on."

xxxx

Elowen walked back into Southern Comfort just as Klaus snapped Ray's neck. She did her best to put on a brave face and made her way towards the pool table where Klaus and Stefan were. Klaus looked up as she approached and smiled.

"Ah, you made it! You missed all the fun." He walked over to her to close the distance and moved her hair away from her neck as something caught his eye. He quirked an eyebrow at the sight of the bite that was there. "And what's this?"

"Nothing a little makeup can't cover up," Elowen answered vaguely, preferring to not share her sex life with Klaus.

Stefan, however, knew exactly what the bite meant. He wasn't really expecting anything else from his brother.

"Hmm," Klaus hummed, letting her hair fall back into place. He didn't really care where the bite came from, as long as she got her job done. "And how did your little field trip go?"

Elowen wordlessly handed over her phone. It was open on an article that had been posted half an hour ago.

"'Mass suicide of two dozen high school students at Steven's quarry in Mystic Falls. Reasons unknown'," Klaus read aloud. He handed her phone back over. "I'm assuming you got your point across?"

Elowen put her phone in her pocket with a shrug. "Of course I did."

Klaus stepped closer until only a few inches separated them. "Are you absolutely sure about that?"

"Yes."

"Good." Klaus stepped back. "I know you still care for Damon, for your old life."

"I'm not a vampire, Klaus. You can't make me turn it off."

"No, but boy, do you put on a good show. It's almost believable, if you weren't so unmistakingly human. But, alas, I need you and your witch abilities, so it'll have to do."

Elowen glanced at Ray's lifeless body. "You got what you wanted. Are we done here?"

Klaus shrugged. "I suppose so." He extended his hand for Elowen to take. "Shall we?"

Elowen, albeit slightly reluctantly, took his hand. Klaus turned to Stefan.

"Get the body. Let's go."

xxxx

Josiah and Toby stumbled through the front door of the Lockwood mansion, holding Tyler up. Caroline trailed in behind them and closed the door after she came in.

"Help us get him upstairs, will you?" Josiah asked. "You're stronger than the both of us combined."

Caroline rolled her eyes, but took over and grabbed Tyler anyway. Josiah and Toby followed her as she carried Tyler to his room, just in case she dropped him. She didn't. Tyler was already half asleep by the time they got him into bed.

"Mm, I love you guys," he drunkenly mumbled as he slipped into sleep. "So much."

Toby rolled his eyes and patted his shoulder. "Whatever, man. Goodnight."

Him, Josiah and Caroline all walked out of his bedroom and closed the door. Toby pointed his thumb behind him.

"I think I'm gonna crash, too. See you tomorrow?"

Josiah nodded his head. "Yeah."

Toby nodded and disappeared down the hall. Josiah and Caroline started walking back downstairs. They just reached the front door when someone cleared their throat. They both turned and found Carol Lockwood standing there with her arms behind her back.

"Oh, hey, Mrs. Lockwood," Josiah said with a smile. "I was the DD tonight and I was just making sure Toby and Tyler made it home safely. We're just leaving."

Carol nodded. "Of course."

However, before they could make another step, Carol pulled out a vervain dart gun and shot Caroline in the shoulder. She yelled in pain and fell to her knees. Carol shot two more at Caroline, until she was on the ground, face down, unconscious.

"What the hell?!" Josiah quickly got down on the ground to try and help Caroline when Carol shot a dart at Josiah. He yelped, but pulled it out easily, clearly unaffected. Carol faltered at this. She was wrong about Josiah? Toby came down the hall at the sound of Josiah's voice and immediately started rushing down the stairs when he saw Caroline.

"Oh my god. Caroline?"

"Your insane aunt just shot her!" Josiah shouted frantically.

Toby glanced at Carol and saw the dart gun in her hands. He ignored her for the time being and helped Josiah pull Caroline up.

"Get her out of here. Now!"

"I'm sorry, but I can't let you do that."

Carol couldn't believe she was about to do this, but she grabbed hold of one of the flower vases and hit Toby over the head with it. He went down, knocked out cold, leaving Josiah to struggle with Caroline himself. He managed to get the front door open, but a sudden pain exploded throughout his head, as she must've hit him with something, too, and then all he saw was black.