Just a little note to readers. We have a new player for Elena, so if herposts seem a little off the time line, she had a lot to catch up with real fast (this really just takes place when talking about the Ouija board scene). But sniffles, I feel un-loved, nobody ever reviews this story!!! Come on people, let me know what you think so I know whether or not to keep trying to piece the posts together or not!!

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As Caroline and Elena talked of the Ouija board Bonnie couldn't help the fear that filled her. Images of Caroline's party flashed before eyes and she shook herself. "I can't stand those things now. Just a board game my ass." Standing up she walked to the window and
looked out. They were going to have to think of something soon because Mary was starting to give up, Bonnie could feel her sister slipping away into her own mind.

Meredith lay in bed, tossing and turning. Suddenly, it was like she woke up. 'I know what to do with Mary. She needs to have someone who loves her in her head...to try to fight the evil out. I need to tell Bons.'

Elena lifted a slender hand, tucking a few loose pieces of golden hair behind her ear as she listened to the others speak around her. She had been quiet lately, but she didn't figure that came as much of a surprise to her friends. She had just returned from the dead, after all, and was still getting used to the idea. Briefly, she turned her head, jewel blue eyes peering out the window, in the direction that her house would be. Her former house, she corrected herself mentally, as she would never live there again. Unless she told her Aunt but... but no. She remembered how scared Aunt Judith had been when she showed up at the window after becoming a vampire. Something that seemed several lifetimes ago. She couldn't do that to her family, as much as it ached not to be able to see them. Not to mention the fact that she would become the local science experiment, if people realized she was back from the dead.

Shaking her head, she turned to look back at the group gathered around her. Worry played at her lips as she looked at Meredith, wondering what could be wrong with her friend. They needed Meredith's cool, level head at a time like this. And then there was Mary, acting rather strange. So many things, all at once. "The ouiji board might work. It has before," she said softly. It had worked when Bonnie had attempted to contact her when she had been... in the afterlife. "But only if Bonnie is a part of it. We'd need her psychic abilities."

Bonnie's eyes widened as Elena mentioned her getting in on the whole Ouija thing. "Oh no.. Don't you remember what happened the last time we used one of those things?" Shivering she shook her head and turned away from the window. Walking towards the upturned trunk where her book lay she picked it up and opened it. Flipping through it she stopped close to the back, she couldn't believe she hadn't remembered seeing the spell earlier. Her Grammy had had it in hers and Bonnie couldn't believe she didn't think to check hers for the spell. "If we're going to travel into my sister's mind we're going to need as many people around as possible just in case something goes wrong. Plus I don't think it would be a good idea having Meredith floating about when we're trying to contact whatever it is in Mary's head. It might mess up something."

She stopped talking for a moment to read a page in the book. "Ok.. This spell places the soul back in the body for a short amount of time like an hour or so. I guess that was used to keep people alive until they got them to like a high priest or a real badass magic user that could zap them back in their body completely. It has a list of herbs I need to get. I wonder if Mrs. Flowers has any of them. She's kooky enough she might have exactly what I'm looking for."

Mary heard the familiar whispers surrounding her like rising water. No, not water, sand. It was a sand older than time. Sand from a time that has been long forgotten.

Stop them! They can't find out secrets, you must stop them! Now, say something to them. Tell them all is well. The voices hissed at her. She frowned and turned a deaf ear on them all. 'Who am I to you? Mary, just Mary.'

She feebly let the sand roll over her head, 'Stop them yourselves. I'll stay here thank you.' Mary remained deep within herself, deep within the sands.

Mary's eyes focused on Elena, "I don't think that would be a good idea. With whatever happened last time to make her act like that...it just can't be good." Her voice was hollow, almost unemotional. Her delicate face was forlorn. "Please release me. My - my wrists hurt.

Elena chewed softly on her lower lip. She could understand Bonnie's reluctance to use the ouiji board again, but she also wondered if it would be the only way. "You're right," she said softly, with a nod of her head. "About Meredith. We can't risk it while she's still... out there." Where ever 'there' may have been. Elena knew what happened in death, but the state of a coma was still a mystery. Her jewel blue eyes lifted to her red haired friend. "Do you think that spell would work? Would put Meredith back in her body?"

Her gaze shifted when Mary spoke, studying Bonnie's sister. There was something in her voice, something that wasn't quite right. "I don't know if that's a good idea," she said. Not until they really knew what was up with Mary. "Is there any other way?" she asked Bonnie. "To look into her mind I mean? Without using the ouiji board. We don't want anything to happen to you after all." And Bonnie would be the focal point of most any spell or some such that dealt with psychic abilities. She noticed that Damon had disappeared somewhere along the line, and lifted a golden eyebrow at Stefan, wondering if he'd noticed where his brother had gone. Safety in numbers was something they desperately needed right now.

Meredith quickly jumped out of bed, dashed over to Bonnie and said, "Bons!! You gotta do the ouija board!! Do it for Mary...after you get Mary better, you can help me." Speaking to the whole room, Meredith continued, "Elena, go get the ouija board. Nobody untie Mary, she's not herself. You can tell by looking at her eyes. Stefan, please go get some candles. Alaric, you go to the hospital and get the necessary supplies please. When Mary's herself, I'll trust her near me while she's holding a needle!" As if suddenly remembering something, she asked, "Has anybody seen Damon??"

Bonnie followed Meredith's voice and smiled. "Mer we have to put you back in your body before attempting to talk to the people in Mary's head. It'll only be temporary I'm sorry to say but to successfully put you back in your body for good I'm going to need my
sister's help whether it be with magic or with medicine. Mary is skilled more in the two M's than I am." Glancing at Meredith's body Bonnie had to push away the wave of despair she felt. 'What if I'm not enough? What if I fail my friends?'

The feeling of self-doubt rubbed her wrong and she mentally shook herself. 'I can't think that way.' Dog earring the page she closed the book and looked from Meredith's body to the door. "Well I'm going to go herb hunting in Mrs. Flower's kitchen." Walking to the
door she stopped briefly to sweep her gaze around the room. "We're going to get through this, we always seem to." Her tone was meant to be reassuring but her fear still showed in her eyes. "Oh and don't untie Mary, I didn't tie her wrist tight enough to hurt her and
she's got the silk pillow case to guard her wrists from further irritation." With that said she made her way down stairs and to the kitchen.

"Why won't you untie me Bon's? It really does hurt." Mary's blue eyes were pouting. She let her hands drop to her lap. "I would untie you," she insisted to the empty doorway.

Elena watched as Bonnie exited, slipping downstairs to check out Mrs. Flower's herb supply. She had no doubt that the woman probably did have everything her friend needed, and so much more. A frown tugged at her lips as she heard a voice - or thought she did. Meredith's voice, almost and yet... she couldn't quite grasp it. "Did anyone else hear that?" she asked. Feel that would have been a better question.

She shook her head, golden hair swishing gently around her shoulders. "I'm sorry Mary, but we really can't untie you right yet," she said apologetically. "Just sit tight for a little more, and then we can get you go. We have to figure this all out, you understand that, right?" She just hoped that Mary, the real Mary was still in there somewhere, and that she could understand why they had to do this to her.

Following Bonnie, Meredith tried to talk some sense into her. "Bonnie, we need Mary...the real Mary. Not the possessed one...if that's what's happened to her. But," Meredith entered a pleading tone into her voice, "Bonnie...you need to use the ouija board and direct it towards Mary. Or, rather, the thing inside Mary. I know what I'm talking about. That thing in there did this to me. I had a dream and my grandfather explained everything to me." Feeling as though she was coming off as crazy as her grandfather was, she took a deep breath, and remembered the dream she'd had.

Stefan listened intently as everyone voiced their opinion on what they should do next. He wondered for a moment where his brother was and turned his gaze toward the window. An image of Katherine and the body in the crypt came to his mind. He wondered if Damon were out looking for her or not. He tried to project his thoughts to see if Damon was near and if so, if he was all right. "You nearby Bro? We should start looking for Katherine soon. I am going to leave here soon to start searching." He waited and listened for a response to his call.

Alaric listened to what was going on around him but his gaze never left Meredith's face. 'Dammit, I wish everyone would just decide on what to do and do it soon. We have to help Meredith come back to her body', he thought to himself angrily. He turned to Stefan and watched his reaction to all that was going on. "Are we doing the right thing to help Mary and Meredith, Stefan?"

Stefan turned to him and shrugged. "Your guess is as good as mine. This is more in Bonnie's department than mine. I gave my opinion on what to do earlier, but if the ouija board is a bad idea then let's go with what Bonnie says." Alaric nodded and looked back down to Meredith's face and stroked her cheek. He felt as if he were going insane with frustration about all of this. He just sighed and decided to trust Bonnie and her spell.

Elena frowned again. It was as if Meredith was there, and not just her body lying still on the bed. If only she had some sort of psychic powers such as Bonnie, but alas, she did not. So she could only wait, and hope for the best. "No, it's not a bad idea," she said, reaching a hand over to take one of Stefan's in her own. "I agree that the ouiji board might be a good idea. It might be dangerous, but what other choice do we have? We need to figure out what is going on inside of her." Her jewel blue eyes drifted to Mary again. So strange it was to think that the girl could have someone or someones inside of her mind. A shiver ran through Elena just at the thought. "But it's up to Bonnie. It's her... mind on the line." Her gaze turned to study Stefan. Just knowing he was there made her feel somewhat better. They had gone through so many things together, they could get through this as well, she was sure of it. "Do you have any idea where Damon went?" she asked him, tilting her head.

Bonnie shook her head as Meredith insisted on waiting for Mary to help. "I can do this on my own but like I said it's not permanent and I don't want you floating around as a spirit while I'm trying to connect with my sister. I'm not going to use that awful board again, I'm going to trance like I tried to do in the crypt." Stepping into the kitchen she went to a cupboard to the back of it, something was pulling her there. Opening up she found out why, Mrs. Flower's stash of herbs and other stuff was there. "The old broad really is a witch, go figure." Moving various bottles aside she found the ones listed on in the book and was surprised to see a rather old looking wooden box in the back. Setting the bottles on the counter she went back for the box, reaching in and pulling it out she felt a small vibration from the box.

"Oh boy, this should be good." Her eyes were alight with anticipation as she set it on the counter beside the bottles and unhooked the latch on the front of the box. Opening it up she gasped at the various shapes and sizes of the crystals in it but what puzzled her was the note in the box. Taking it out she unfolded the note and read it.

Dear Bonnie,

I had a feeling you might need these one day so I found them in my basement and dusted them off for you. You're going to have to be strong there are going to be lives at stake and this is going to take courage and love to make it through this but not just yours. Do not give in to self-doubt, it is a killer on it's own. You have the power in your blood but you take it for granted when you shouldn't. Be safe dear child and let your heart guide you where your head just won't allow.

Mrs. Flowers

P.s. There's plenty of grape juice for you and your friends in the refrigerator. :)

Bonnie folded the letter back up as a smile formed on her face. 'Kookie old lady thanks for everything.' Sliding the letter in her pocket she turned her attention back to the box and looked carefully through all the various crystals. 'These might come in handy.' On a hunch she went back to the cupboard and looked down to find another box, not as quite old, full of colored candles. 'Wow and they're even scented, she thought of everything. Grams would have loved her.' Bending down she picked the box up and placed it right beside the other ones. "Now that I've got the ingredients and then some I need to find something to 'cook' everything in."

Her search led her to the cupboards above the stove. Opening the door she grinned as she took in the various cast iron. 'How does that heavy junk stay up there with out breaking the cupboard? Weird." Pulling a cast iron soup pot down she placed it on the stove and turned the stove on. "Ok the spell requires boiling water." For a minute she question if she was doing a spell or delivering a baby. 'It is very similar, Meredith with be reborn in a matter of speaking.' Opening the refrigerator she by passed the juice, another smile briefly touching her lips, and pulled out a bottle of distilled water. 'Can't go wrong with the sanitized stuff eh?' She was actually beginning to enjoy herself and Mrs. Flower's lil vote of confidence had helped a lot.

Meredith "grr"ed when Bonnie kept insisting on restoring herself. 'Fine then, I'll just go back upstairs and sit there. I won't do anything. Maybe I'll go back to sleep and get another dream!'

Closing the refrigerator door she winced at the anger in Meredith's growl. "You don't have to get 'soo' pissy about it, I'm trying to do you a favor. You're boyfriend is up there worried sick about you and I have in that book a way to get you back into your body for a little while and you're throwing a tantrum." She tsked softly as she popped open the bottle of distilled water. "If I had a guy as hot and as smart as Alaric worried about me I'd be jumping out of my skin, pardon the _expression, to be able to be with him." She giggled at her own joke as she began to pour water into the heating pot. When the jug was empty she tossed it into the trashcan and walked back to the herbs. Opening the book to the page she scanned the list of ingredients and mentally ticked them off to make sure she had all the right ones.

Stefan turned toward Elena. "No, I don't know where he went. Actually I was going to see if I could find him. Hopefully things are under control here so I can leave." Looking her straight in the eyes he said, "Make sure you stay here where it's safe. I don't want you wandering around on your own again. Not with Katherine out there. I will be back as soon as I can."

With that he turned to Matt and spoke to him so softly that only he could hear. "Try to keep an eye on these guys until I get back".

He walked though the door and down the stairs. "I'm going to check on Damon", he said to Bonnie in the kitchen. "Call me if you need me."

He walked through the door and out into the open, projecting his mind to reach his brother. 'Brother. Where art thou?".....

Elena's sapphire eyes widened in protest that Stefan was going to go out there on his own. But she curbed her comments before they left her mouth. He could handle himself, he knew that. "Okay," she conceded with a brief nod of her head. She gave his hand a squeeze. "But be careful. And don't be long." She tried to smile again as he left. She knew he would be careful, that he could take care of himself, but she still worried. If anything happened to him... well she didn't know if she could handle another separation from him..

She sighed a bit, and looked to the others in the room. "I wonder what Bonnie's cooking up down there," she said, a bit wryly. She just wished that things could go back to normal. Well, as normal as her life could ever be again.

Caroline sighed and sat down on a chair. She pulled out a magazine and flipped through it. Eyeing then frowning at the latest fashions knowing in a couple of months she wouldn't be able to fit in them.

"5 months." She sullenly murmured. 5 months gestation then her future was set. The Smallwood's would step down and allow Caroline the platform, but it was something she didn't want. She didn't want to marry Tyler and run a pack of wolves. She didn't want to live her life stuck in this cow dung town.

Calming down, Meredith apologized, "Bonnie, I'm sorry. I'm just worried about everything! Damon is missing. For all we know, he could be with Katherine. Elena keeps popping in and out. Mary's gone loco. Stefan isn't strong enough to be of much help to anyone. Caroline is acting funny. And Mrs. Flowers left all this stuff for you, like she knew you'd need it. Forgive me for being a little bit wary of all this." Walking over to Bonnie, she slowly draped her arms over Bonnie's shoulders.

Bonnie smiled as she felt the whisper of a touch around her shoulder. "Awe Stefan can take care of himself and Damon is a rumbler. Caroline's just a bit different because of her pregnancy, can you imagine being the mother of a werewolf much less Tyler Smallwood's baby, come on that would stress anyone out. Elena was just getting her reality legs back, she'll be ok and Mary, well we're going to work on that as soon as I get you back in your body. I might need you to hold my hand anyways when I trance and you can't do that as a spirit now can you?" Picking one of the bottles up she opened as she thought about Meredith's comment about Mrs. Flowers. "She seems to know things that little old ladies shouldn't. I mean she just came up to the barn that one time and gave everyone but Damon and Stefan juice." Putting the bottle down she pulled the note out of her pocket, unfolded it and laid it on the counter for Meredith to read. "She even left me this note. It's spooky yet incredibly cool at the same time." Picking the bottle back up she walked back to the pot of water and sprinkled a bit of the dried herbs in, her eyes widening as the mixture began to bubble. 'Wonder what this stuff would do with spaghetti sauce.' She thought with a grin as she recapped the bottle.

Meredith sighed as she realized that Bonnie's logic was sound. "Okay, Bons...do with me what you will!" After watching Bonnie putter around for a few minutes, she said, "Bonnie...what is that smile for?? You're looking at herbs!!"

Grinning Bonnie glanced over her shoulder to where Meredith's voice came from. "It's just so cool working with this stuff and this is just the beginning of the spell." She couldn't help the excitement in her voice as she walked back to the herbs and chose the second ingredient. Uncapping that bottle she quickly sprinkled the desired amount into the pot and was greeted by a 'poofing' sound as the mixture began smoke.

It didn't take her long to get to get the rest of the ingredients in there, by the time she was done with the herbs the mixture in the pot was glowing yellow. "Now for the candles." Taking two large white candles and a pack of matches out of the box she placed them on the counter near the pot and lit them.

Walking briskly to the other side of the room she turned off the lights and turned back around to admire her handy work so far. The room was lit only by the two candles and the yellow glow. 'Nice.' Walking back to the cupboards she pulled out a canister of salt and after grabbing the book and one of the larger crystal quartzs she poured a salt circle around her. Setting the salt on the counter she opened the book and began to chant in a monotone voice:

bis anima non tamen
bis corpus non tamen mortuus

tabis tamen ad esse proficisci
transit congita esse suus ducem

transit anima esse suus pulmos
humus bis battuere ad esse suus interiora

Glancing up from the book she watched as the yellow mist from the pot traveled into the crystal, the smoke swirled inside it. Her heart skipped a beat as she felt the vibration of power around her. 'Be strong Bonnie, you can do this.' Looking back down at the book she continued in a stronger voice:

aperire suus oculus ad vidre ubi illa attinere
facere non tamen ille anima nom semper pars

dare vita retro ad hic anima sic purus
vigilanes ille lument cum suus anima

animum erigere suus hic suus vita ad endure
semel plus iungere ille corpus ad ille anima

With the last line said the light in the crystal shot out of it and up to the ceiling, the force of it knocking Bonnie to the ground out of the circle unconscious.

Meredith felt a shock, as though something were traveling up her spine. Then, there was a floating sensation. 'Wow, this is...'

Meredith's eyes popped open, she was laying in Stefan's bed and Alaric was hovering over her..."weird."

Jumping out of bed, she ran downstairs and hugged Bonnie!! "Bons, I love you!!!"

Bonnie's eyes fluttered open as she felt herself being shook "Wha-what happened? Did it work?" Looking up into Meredith's eyes she found the answer. A smile instantly spread itself across her face and she quickly stood up, maybe a little too quickly. Her head started to swim and she began to have trouble focusing. Backing up against the counter she braced a hand on it for balance scattering salt in the process. "Oh geez that was powerful." She heard the water still boiling and reached over, flipping the power off. Looking back up she closed her eyes for a moment then opened them. "Well we've got about two hours to put you back permanently. I don't know exactly what happens if we don't do it in time."

Elena sat on the edge of the bed, wringing her fingers together in a nervous gesture. Very un-Elena like, but she was still adapting to this new life. She didn't like how everyone was split up, how Stefan was away, looking for Damon, and knowing that Katherine was out there. She felt best, safest, most comfortable when he was there with her.

Her lapis blue eyes widened a hint when Meredith suddenly jumped off the bed, rushing out of the room. "Well," she said with mild surprise. "I guess that meant that Bonnie's spell worked." Not that she was surprised; her little pixie friend was proving to be very talented in the realm of mystical ways. "That's one thing down." Only a big ol' list of things left to go.

"Bonnie, slow down!! Don't get up so fast." Meredith was whirling around, giddy with happiness, when she heard what Bonnie said about two hours. "Oh, I don't want to even find out what would happen!! Do you need help cleaning any of this up?"

Bonnie looked down at the scattered salt circle and grimaced. "Yeah if you don't mind." Spotting a broom in the corner she grabbed it and extended it towards Meredith. "You sweep while I pour that stuff out of the pot and put away all the stuff?"

Grabbing the broom, Meredith wrinkled her nose slightly in distaste. Jokingly, she said, "You know I was only asking out of politeness!" While saying this, Meredith swept everything into a nice, neat, big pile. "Bonnie, what do you want me to do with this now?? Do I sweep it outside?? I can't find a dust-bin."

As she was pouring the contents out of the pot and into the sink she nodded to the back door. "I guess you can just sweep it outside. I didn't see a dust pan either." Setting the pot in the sink she turned the water on and squeezed a bit of dish washing liquid into the pot. Leaving it to fill she quickly put the herbs and candles back in the cupboard. She paused briefly, her hand over the box of crystals. "That crystal really came in handy." She said softly picking the box up and putting it away with the rest of the stuff. Turning off the water she left the pot in the sink to soak. Looking around at the kitchen she smiled.

"Well that didn't take long at all. When you're done sweeping meet me up stairs. We have to figure out how I'm going to go into my sister's mind. I'm going to need Damon and Stefan here for protection, so we'll have to wait for Damon to show back up." Grabbing the book she left Meredith to her sweeping and quickly made it upstairs to Stefan's room. Entering the room she gave Elena and everyone else still there a brilliant smile. "Am I good or what?" She couldn't help the feeling of pride she felt. It wasn't everyday a girl got to put a friend's soul back in her body. She looked around the room and noticed Stefan wasn't there anymore. "Hey were did Stefan go? He missed my big spell."

Elena lifted her eyes at the sound of footfalls, coming up the stairs. A moment later, Bonnie emerged through the door. Managing a small smile for her friend, she spoke. "Good job Bon," she said. The little red head was becoming quite good and spells and magic and the like. Which was a very good thing, as Elena wasn't sure how they would have put Meredith back in her body otherwise.

"Stefan?" she echoed, turning her head to glance at the empty space where he had been sitting. "He went out to look for Damon." Her voice was a bit wistful; after their long separation while she had been dead, she didn't like being apart from him, even for small amounts of time. "He'll be back soon." At least, she hoped so. She turned back to her friend, golden hair swishing over her shoulders as she looked around the room. "So what is the next step?" she asked. She knew that they had to figure this Mary thing out.

Katherine couldn't fall back to sleep. She ran her fingers through her hair and stared at the crypt's ceiling. Even in the pitch black she could make out the cracks and dust.
She closed her eyes and sent out a thought to Damon. *I know you can hear me. I don't think you really want to help those "people". I know you better than that, Damon.*

Damon stepped out of the shadows. "And what gives you that idea?" He figured that Katherine's strength would be building back up so when he stepped into sight, he stood into the small square of sunlight steaming into the bottom of the crypt. "I thought we
might have a little chat. You and me, just like old times." It was only about 5 o'clock. He still had two to three hours before the sun set. He took the ring out of his pocket and let the sun's rays catch it and reflect off the dark stone walls. "It might be worth the time." He gave her a sly grin and dropped the ring back into his pocket.

Damon smiled at Katherine after hearing Stefan's mental call and taking from the clarity of it that he was getting close. "Well I guess that you're not in the mood for company now. I'll find you later and we can...talk." He turned and neatly jumped up and grabbed the edge of Honoria's tomb. He easily pulled himself out and slid the cover back over the
hole. Katherine wouldn't be coming out soon. He felt the slight pressure of Stefan's call again. Walking away from the ruined church, he answered. 'I'm where ever I damn well want to be, what do you want?'

Stefan walked towards his brothers mental voice and replied, 'I want to know if you have seen Katherine lately? We need to keep a close eye on her she may find ways to travel during the day from underground. So, have you seen her?' He waited patiently for Damon to reply, continually walking in his direction.

Damon figured that Stefan would head towards him. It wasn't hard to figure him out. He headed towards Stefan as well. 'No, I can't say that I have. Seems like the kitten's taken cover.' Damon didn't really know why he was protecting Katherine's where-abouts.
Something just told him that the information belonging to only him would benefit him in the future. 'I was bored so I checked the crypt, it's still-' he stopped using his mental powers and finished in his own voice as Stefan came into view, "empty."

He stopped walking and lounged against the nearest tree. "Well well, you and me alone in the woods, brings back lovely memories doesn't it..." He rubbed his arm, leering at Stefan. "Left your little queen all alone to fend for herself? Thought you were more
chivalrous than that. Perhaps I should go check on her." He moved his hand from his arm to the nearest branch of the tree. He picked off a leaf and started tearing it apart, small piece by piece. "Ahh, she loves me, she loves me not," he said in a sing song voice, taunting his brother for lack of anything else to do.