It was around seven that same day when the door to the Gilbert residence knocked loudly. Sighing, Elena walked back down the stairs and opened it. Seeing Damon, she frowns deeply. "You're ignoring me," he irritably states, stepping into Emily's view point as she looked over from the couch and paused the movie.

"The six missed calls? Sorry. My phone is dead," Elena coldly replies.

"Hey, what's going on?" Emily asks, approaching them. Damon, who was glistering with rain water, opens his mouth to speak, but Elena beats him to it as she faces her sister.

"You mean other than the fact that he turned my birth-mother?" she angrily states. Emily is taken aback with the fact that Elena knew. When exactly did she find out?

Stefan had told her. He had to.

"Oh," Emily utters as Damon rolls his eyes impatiently. Elena's eyes slowly widen at her sister.

"And of course, you already knew that!" she exclaims in frustration.

"Okay. I don't have time for this. Is Stefan here?" Damon asks, tone urgent. The girls face him.

"No," replies Elena as Emily studied him, growing concerned with his clear tension as he eyed around nervously. Elena notices it too. "Why? Is something wrong?" she asks.

"He went out in the woods and didn't come back. I can't get him on his phone. I figured he was here with you," he replies, his phone already in hand as he tried Stefan again. Elena does the same, bringing it to her ear.

"…It's going straight to voice-mail. Where could he be?" she warily asks. Damon sighs.

"Okay. I gotta go," he said, hasting towards the door.

"Damon, wait!" Elena called. "What's going on?" she asks worriedly.

For some reason, Damon glances at Emily, and she could see he was really concerned.

She then nods.

"Okay. We'll help you look," she said, picking a coat from the hooks behind the door and putting it on.

"No. You can't come. Not where I'm going," he said, shaking his head and opening the door.

"Damon, what the hell is going on?!" Elena insists. He ignores her and steps out. Elena also grabs a coat and rushes after him in the rain. Her sister follows suit and closes the door behind her. "Damon!" Elena called through the storm. He opened his car door as he said:

"Get back in the house, Elena!"

He gets in and closes the door. Elena hops into the back, and Damon turns to glare at her. Emily joins them in the front. Damon faces her as well. "Are you kidding me?!" he scowls.

"Drive and talk," Emily calmly told.

As though running out of time, Damon irritably complied.

XXX

"All twenty-seven?!" Elena asks in utter shock and fear. Emily mirrored her reaction, for she was just as taken aback by the news.

"Not all. Pearl said some left town. What the hell is she doing?! In what way does she think I'll be inclined to work with her when she kidnaps my brother?!" Damon yells, gripping the car wheel till his knuckles turned white. Emily had never seen him so worried. She opens her mouth to assure him, when Elena asks:

"Work with her and do what? Exactly?!" she asks. Damon sighs, too worked up to explain.

"She wants him to tell her who's on the council, and to stop supplying them with vervain," Emily explains for him. Her sister looked all the more confused.

"Wh-"

"Many of the founding families are members of a council trying to rid the town of vampires. Damon supplies them with vervain to keep himself and Stefan away from any suspicions."

"So, they don't know what…you really are?" Elena asks.

"No. And if you wanna keep your boyfriend alive, you'll make sure it stays that way," Damon firmly says. Elena takes this into consideration as Damon parks at the edge of the woods. "Stay here," he says.

Regardless, Elena gets out of the car before Emily can finish calling her name, forcing the later to follow after her.

It was heavily raining, and they were all drenched within minutes.

Damon hears Emily calling her sister aloud, and turns to Elena angrily. "Get the hell back in the car!" he yells.

"No, I'm coming with you!" she stops opposite him, utterly persistent.

It was Stefan.

Stefan.

She had to help get him back.

"You're not going anywhere unless you wanna get killed!" Damon retorts.

"And what are you gonna do all by yourself?!" Elena shoots back.

"Damon. She's right. You can't do this alone," Emily says. Damon faces her, refusing to listen.

He wasn't just gonna sit idly by and wait for back up that sure as hell wasn't two human girls.

"For the love of god. Stay here, and stop holding me back!" he exclaims, turning on his heel and climbing up the slop. "I mean it!" he yells over his shoulder, spotting Emily pull Elena back firmly by the arm.

Damon lets her deal and heads on.

"Let me go!" Elena demands, pulling her arm free and heading to storm after him. Out of patience, Emily grabs Elena, and slams her into the car, pinning her arm behind her back. "What are you doing?!"

"Pull yourself together and stop this crap! There's nothing you can do!" Emily yells.

"…I love him, Emily!" Elena yells back, tears welling up in her eyes alongside rain the two continued to blink away. Emily sighs, releasing and turning her, then grabbing her by the shoulders.

"He's his brother. He won't come back without him."

XXX

A few minutes later, Damon reappears from the trees, and Elena immediately gets out of the car and towards him. The skies still cry heavily as the darkness falls.

"What happened?! Where is he?!" she frantically asks.

"They have him. I can't get in," he replied, looking devastated.

"Why not?!" Elena pushes.

"Because the woman who owns the house is compelled to not let me in," he replied with evident frustration.

"I can get in," Elena starts walking. Damon blocks her path as Emily holds her back.

"You're not going anywhere," she said.

"Let go!" she rips her arm free, and glares furiously at her sister.

"Will you please stop acting so dumb?! That's a house full of vampires, and you're a blood bag walking in!" Damon strictly tells. Elena purses her lips, both semi-convinced and frustrated.

"Why did they take him?" Emily asks. Damon glances at her, a true fear in his eyes that made her heart race.

He flashbacked to what he'd seen: Stefan dragged out on his knees, in tears, bleeding, and screaming as one of the vampires shoved a stake into his side. He would have ripped them limp from limp if he could get in…

The vampire who'd attacked them the night before, Fredrick, he mused that he would drain Stefan of his blood first, as happened to him and all the others vampires sealed in the tomb

before he would kill him…

"Revenge. They want revenge," Damon uttered grimly.

"We gotta do something," Elena pled.

"You think!" Damon snaps at her, refusing her right to worry more than he.

"Okay, let's just get in the car and think. Let's go," she guides Elena back inside, and Damon follows to the wheel, thoughts racing for a solution.

…He got it…

Once inside, he immediately starts the car. "Where are we going?" Emily asked from beside him.

"I know what to do," he said.

XXX

They arrive at Mystic Falls High, in search of Alaric Saltzman, the vampire-hunter with a life-preserving ring.

"Stefan's in the house," Elena explains, stood opposite him in his classroom, whilst he reluctantly sat at his desk and listened, wary of Damon in the corner, someone he still hadn't forgiven for turning his wife,

but couldn't resent, for he made it clear that the choice was Isobel's,

and if that wasn't true,

why hasn't she come to find him?

"Damon's a vampire. He can't get in. We need you. I would go, but..." Elena glares at her sister behind her, who was seated on the table of one of the front-row classroom desks.

"But I won't let her. For obvious reasons," Emily crosses her arms, gazing firmly back at Elena. Damon smirks from leaning against the wall between two windows, water pouring down audibly against the glass from outside. "Damon told us about your ring, mister Saltzman," Emily says, approaching the man calmly. "Since we're not sure whether or not it functions just for you…we need your help."

Alaric inhales from the pressure, constantly glancing at the threating Salvatore in the room. "Mr. Saltzman. Please. It's Stefan," Elena tries. Alaric rises from his seat, eyeing her sympathetically.

"…I'm sorry, Elena. But it's not my problem," he says, disappointing the sisters, and angering Damon.

"That's a shame. Because the woman in charge of the crowd can help you find your wife," Damon said, pushing off the window and walking towards them. The girls doubt the truth behind his words, and Emily is almost certain he is lying, as Alaric, who shot him a menacing glare, said:

"You're lying." Damon stops by Emily.

"Am I?" he retorted. Elena looked to him in shock.

Was he really aware of a way to contact Isobel?

"Why don't you ask her for yourself?" Damon says. Alaric studied him carefully. Damon gave no signs of foul play, and the sisters were simply staring back, awaiting his reply. He says nothing. "Coward," Damon pushed, then faced the other two. "Come on, girls."

Getting his game, Emily guides Elena, who was reluctant, out with them.

Just at the door, Alaric calls back: "Alright, wait

…I'll go…"

XXXXX