Old Lockwood Cellar
September 27, 2010

"So tell me again what Bonnie said to you about the text Elena allegedly sent her before she went off on this fool's errand." Damon called from just outside the chamber that he as a vampire was prohibited from entering. Damn interfering with witches, he thought unhappily. He couldn't help being a vampire and yes, he would admit that he has done things to others that were outright wrong, but he was trying to find someone that didn't deserve the animosity witches had towards his kind.

"You'd think they would cut a guy a break, just for a good cause." Damon said.

"Did you say something?"

"No Ric, I didn't… So did either you or Jeremy find anything in the forbidden chamber?" Damon responded. Trying to move this along is like herding cats, Damon thought irritably. When Ric had called earlier and explained to him that Elena had not showed up for school or even come home last night he first thought that Stefan had tried to one up Klaus. But his little bro had been stalking Klaus's hybrids as he claimed to keep them from finding where they had stashed the coffins. Which made a logical sort of sense and Stefan lately was acting outside his usual norms and that was taking in account his forays into ripperville, Damon thought.

"Hey Earth to Damon?! Didn't hear what I said?" Ric called, moving closer to the entrance.

"NO! I didn't and hey do you mind with the damn flashlight!" Damon said, covering his eyes.

"He said that I just found Elena's cell phone in here but nothing else." Jeremy called from behind the light source.

"Fuck! Where the hell is she?" Damon growled.

"I don't know Damon I thought we were doing alright when we found Elena's locked car, but now I don't know. Could've Klaus done something with her?" Ric asked.

"I don't know, I asked Stefan, and he suggested maybe she skipped town to get away from Mystic Falls." Damon responded.

"That doesn't sound like her she wouldn't just up and leave without telling at least someone." Jeremy said.

"Well, we are going to have to think of some cover story. I'll go meet with Carol and see if we can discreetly look for someone. I have a terrible feeling that this is going to blow up on us if we are not careful."

"What the hell Damon? This is my sister you're talking about?"

"Easy Jer… Damon meant nothing by that." Ric said. Jeremy in response pointed the light directly at his guardian before finally relenting with an irritable curse he pushed pass them both and headed towards the exit.

"Whatever! All I know is that every time a vampire gets involved with my sister, my family seems to always end up paying for it." Jeremy said as he stalked away.

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Old Witch House Interior:
October 10, 2010

"Aperta sunt mihi, et ostende mihi occulta! Aperta sunt mihi, et ostende mihi occulta! Aperta sunt mihi, et ostende mihi occulta!" Bonnie chanted repeatedly. The candles she'd lit earlier suddenly roared with greater intensity before they extinguished with an abruptness that worried Bonnie. Still feeling somewhat hopeful she tried anyway to open the coffin but no surprise the lid still refused to open.

"Why won't you open?!" Bonnie yelled at the coffin. Bonnie sighed before reluctantly returned to her grimoire Bonnie was worried and she knew from experience that her emotions can have adverse affects on a witch's magic. The last two weeks had been hard for everyone, and a part of Bonnie felt that some of it was her fault.

Elena was still missing and maybe with exception to Stefan everyone was trying to find out what had happened to her. She knew something was wrong when she found a text message from Elena the day she disappeared, but she didn't actually get to read it until the next morning. Her stupid cell phone battery had died while she'd been busy with hiding Klaus's stupid coffins. So it had come as a total surprise when Elena had not showed up at school. Nor did it help that not even two days later when Tyler of all people stopped her in school and said that Klaus wanted to talk about something.

It had initially scared her that Klaus might be onto what she and Salvatore brothers were up to, but they were being so careful so she knew it wasn't the case. Still, it came as total shock to learn from Klaus of all people that he and Elena had a just made a deal with getting his sister back for the return of his sister. But even as she was coming to terms with that first part of the deal between Elena and Klaus, he dropped a bomb on Bonnie when he informed her that Elena was supposed to be making a blood donation to him and he was looking for her. Shaking her head, Bonnie closed her grimoire and froze.

"What the?!" She blurted, then caught herself. At least someone had their head in the game or in this case a bunch of dead witches, she thought as she inched towards the door. They had sensed an unwanted presence in the immediate area and had hidden the coffins from sight. That could only mean one thing, and the words 'Oh shit' danced in her head. She was expecting Damon and Stefan to show any time, but they hadn't made an appearance yet.

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Old Witch House exterior
October 10, 2010

"These hybrids, really bringing the neighborhood down." Damon smirked, then examined the bloody heart still in his grasp and then at the newly dead hybrid at his feet before returning his attention back to his younger brother.

"You didn't say anything to Elena about the coffins, right?" Stefan asked.

"No, Stefan! Seriously, is that all you can think to ask Stefan? We still haven't found a single clue where Elena is! Hell, Klaus of all people manipulated Bonnie into performing a locator spell on her best friend and they still didn't find any trace of her. Aren't you at the least bit concerned? And don't give me the bullshit line that you felt nothing but your overdriving need for revenge? Oh, and to answer you question the answer is a big fat no."

"Well, that's good to hear. But let's just say that I'm a little concerned about the little arrangement that Elena had made telling none of us. What the hell was she thinking about giving back Rebekah? That is the last thing we want."

"Oh, I don't know. Maybe she was doing it to protect her brother, and after the stunt you pulled recently, don't be so judgmental." Damon responded, not withholding the venom in his voice.

"Oh… Yeah, that's all well and good. But what about the part about offering to donate her blood for each one of her friends and anyone she cared about? So naturally she needed to be off the vervain to donate a pint or two. How do we not know that Klaus just decided he needed to keep her all to himself? By now he could have compelled her to be his compliant doppelgänger who is more than happy to offer a vein."

Stefan knew he was venting, but he really didn't care having grown bored with their latest Elena drama. He effortlessly picked up then threw the deceased hybrid over his shoulder. "And let me guess the reason he pressured Bonnie to do a location spell on Elena's whereabouts was to give him an alibi. Who else has the means of putting a cloaking spell on Elena's whereabouts?"

"Is that even possible?"

"How the hell should I know? Go ask Bonnie, Now if you excuse me I need to find a place away from here to dump our recently departed friend. Go see if she's made any progress with that one mystery casket."

30 Minutes Later

Stefan watched from the doorway with some level of self gratifying mirth as he took in the spectacle of his older brother's futile attempts to the one casket they couldn't open. Not that he hadn't tried the very same thing earlier, but he knew after watching Damon repeatedly striking the one locked casket with a now very beat up shovel and nothing to show for it they needed to move on.

"You're wasting your time. It's magically sealed so won't open." Stefan chided.

"Did you bury the body?" Damon asked. Then mainly out of frustration, he swung the shovel one last time before dropping the damaged shovel to floor, leaning against the casket. Which to his bitter dismay, despite his best efforts, he hadn't even so much as chipped any of the black paint off its metal's surface.

"Well, considering, since you ruined the only decent shovel we had around here. I would say no, but I found an abandoned well so that should be more than adequate. So where is Bonnie?"

Damon pointed towards the exit he was standing in front of. "She left about ten minutes ago. She need to get to school but she said that she wanted to look through one of her Gram's grimoires."

They stood in silence, each of them privately weighing their available options. Damon was the first to break their shared reprieve. "Alright, Klaus has six siblings. Thanks to Elena, Rebekah is now with Klaus. There was one dead kid in the old world, one dead kid in the new world, which just leaves Elijah and two others. Three sleeping originals, four coffins. So, who the hell is in the locked box? More importantly, why would it be locked in the first place?"

Stefan approached the casket that held their shared interest. "If I could guess that whoever it was had to have been someone important. For instance, the youngest sibling that died, the Original Witch herself, or hell maybe even the remains of first Petrova doppelgänger Tatia was her name, right?"

"Why do you think they would bother to cart around the remains of Tatia? That doesn't make very much sense? I could see in the case of the mother and dead little brother, but why her?" Damon asked, running his hand over the casket as if that could help reveal its secrets.

"From what Elena had learned from both Rebekah and Elijah they used Tatia's blood for the Immortality Spell right?" Stefan paused, considering his wording. "Thanks to Elena we also know that Klaus and Elijah had a love triangle centered on her and I can't right now remember which brother accidentally killed her supposedly just after they were first turned. Maybe there is something about the remains that is of a concern to the Original Family?" Stefan asked. He knew he was reaching, but something about this casket had been bugging him ever since he'd taken the four of them from Klaus. It still brought a smile to his lips to when he initially got the idea from Katherine of all people to get mad at the one person who had taken everything from him.

"Yeah, but wouldn't her remains be nothing but bones at this point? She'd died like a thousand years ago, right?" Damon asked. "Unless a doppelgänger's remains don't decay like everyone else, or maybe a witch preserved the body with some sort of spell?" Damon added.

"Perhaps, but do you notice anything else that makes this casket stand out amongst the others?" Stefan said. Pulling his frame upright as he caught a firmer glimpse of a realization that had been plaguing him for days now.

"What do you mean?" Damon said, his gaze sweeping over the other caskets, looking for a detail he missed earlier. "Well, besides the fact the others look more modernish and this one looks like it came from the late 1800s." Stefan's head snapped around and he stared at his brother with an idea forming.

"I… I think you're right, Damon. Let's just table the idea that it is Tatia in the box. Hell it could be one of the three we've been discussing. When I was with Klaus over the summer, he talked constantly about how his family had helped to establish New Orleans. What are the chances that in the late 1800s one or more of the Originals briefly returned to their former stomping grounds and retrieved the said remains and then placed it in a casket from that time period?"

"Would sort of make sense. After all, you and I can't seem to stop coming back to this place either." Damon pointed out while privately enjoying his brother's reaction, then his mood grew more somber. "But then why seal it with magic? It could explain why we and they can't open it if that is the case."

"That brother is the million dollar question. Now while your thinking about that, I'm going to check around and see if anyone has either seen or heard about the whereabouts of Elena. She couldn't have just vanished into thin air, leaving no trace." Damon said as he stepped towards the door.

"You know, none of this is gonna do us any good if Klaus's hybrid friends find our hiding place, right? They need to go away." Stefan declared just as Damon was halfway out the door. Damon as he had expected stopped and looked at him as if he had grown another head.

"Oh yeah, that's a great idea, Stefan. Why don't you just ask them to pack their bags and take a long rest while we are at it? How about trying to keep the peace? Don't attract attention to the real thing we are trying to hide. Not to mention we or should I say I have to figure out what happened to Elena. Don't you even care about her welfare anymore?" Damon chewed out.

"What for? Protecting Elena is your problem now. See, I'm not compelled by Klaus to do that anymore.." His brother answered so nonchalantly Damon wanted to snap Stefan's neck out of frustration.

"But getting back to Klaus and his little hybrid army. I'm not gonna play defense when I have what Klaus wants. He does what I say, or I dump his family to the bottom of the ocean." Stefan continued.

"And then he kills you and everyone you know like, I don't know...me!" Damon's voice thundered. The cool self assured look on his younger brother's face didn't help ease Damon's growing uneasiness. This was almost worse than his bouts of Ripper driven bloodlust, Damon thought.

"No, he's bluffing. His family means more to him than anything else."

"What in your short, circuiting brain of yours makes you so sure about that?" Damon demanded. He knew he should have left when he had the chance, but his brother was acting too crazy even for him.

"Well, I don't know Damon. I mean, I guess there's only one way to find out, right? Call his bluff." Stefan responded and started for the exit himself, but Damon blocked him in.

"The only way to call someone's bluff, Stefan, is to be willing to lose everything if you're wrong." The cool, unassuming smile Stefan returned would've stopped his heart if he wasn't technically deceased already. They both separated and went their own ways Damon had to talk with someone about Elena and the Hybrid issue but hopefully they are a little better emotionally balanced this his own little brother.

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Mystic Grill
October 10, 2010

Damon stood just inside the Grill's front entrance looking for a familiar face of someone. If he could talk to anyone about it right at the moment, Ric would have been his preferred individual, but his most recent text exchange had indicated that his friend was busy finishing up grading assignments. Damon shuddered inwardly, wondering for the hundredth time why his little brother was putting himself through such hell as attending High School. Fortunately, he had better places to spend his time. If he was being honest with himself, the Grill had grown on him. It was a good place to grab a snack in both types of varieties he thought mildly. Although perhaps his favorite spot was sitting right at the bar sampling their rather impressive distilled spirits selection. He briefly considered grabbing a quick drink when he spotted another person in his rather small list of humans he could talk freely with, sitting in a secluded booth. But before he could take a step closer, he realized she wasn't alone. Not that that fact stopped him, of course. One thing he loved about being a vampire was the supernatural hearing sensitivity, it made every vampire instant eavesdropper.

"Caroline… Honey, what's wrong!? You should be happy it's your eighteenth birthday today! Didn't I once hear you claim that your birthday as everyone's favorite day of the year?" Liz Forbes asked her daughter. Damon was surprised. Other than knowing Elena's and maybe Ric's birthday he hadn't bothered to learn about anyone else. Being a vampire had changed his perspective on celebrating said dates. Although he knew back when his brother still cared and probably had memorized everyone of Elena's friends' birthdays too.

"Yeah, and now, it's just a reminder that technically, I'm dead. Look, I didn't even like 17. And the only point to being seventeen is to get to eighteen. It's a filler year; I'm stuck in a filler year."

Damon could help not to feel a pang of regret in the part he played with her transformation. It had been his blood after all that had been in her system when she died, but at least Caroline was doing better than the Donovan's sister turned out, he reflected still listening in to their conversation.

"Oh Honey! You're not stuck. I know a lot has changed in your life just in the last year but-"

"Understatement of the century, Mom!" Caroline interrupted. "First, I learned vampires existed and then found out that you and the other founding member families already knew about them. Then I get turned into one by the evil clone of my best friend who was sacrificed to break a thousand year curse for an ancient vampire who is now using Elena as his personal blood bag to build up an army of werewolf-vampire hybrids like he did to Tyler."

"I know Honey and I want you to know that I'm doing everything that I can to find Elena too."

Damon taking that as his cue to join their conversation stepped out and greeted them both.

"Hello Sheriff Forbes and Caroline I was just on my way over to talk to you about Elena and few other matters as well. If you don't mind, that is?" Damon started as an informal greeting. He had to suppress a smirk as his friend Liz nearly jumped out of her skin. Her daughter hadn't been too surprised she probably had sensed him earlier.

"Oh… Sorry Damon… hello!" Liz said, still trying to catch her breath. The look Elena's friend was giving him only amused him, but he needed to be serious for Elena's sake and as much as he hated to admit for the good of Mystic Falls. When the hell did that happen? He wondered.

"I guess that's my cue to leave." Caroline said, picking up her belongings and sliding out of the booth.

"Honey, this-" But her daughter cut her off. "No, really mom this is important. I'm just going to hang out at home. Please call me if you get any news about Elena."

"I will, Honey." Liz offered her daughter the best reassurance she could before Damon took her daughter's seat. Liz waited until she was absolutely certain that her daughter had actually departed the Grill's premises before she redirected her attention to the vampire now sitting across from her.

"What do want to know Damon?"

"That's what I've always liked about you Liz. Perpetually ready to get to the point." He said with a genuine smile on his lips. He had grown to respect and count her as one of his few friends. Liz knowing her friend choose instead to wait for him to begin.

"After you called, I went out to the Old Lockwood Cellar and checked out the chamber with all the cave drawings you'd mentioned. It should be of no surprise to you, but I didn't find any evidence of foul play. But regrettably from the amount of shoe print tracks going in and out of the cell, I can't actually confirm that she ever left the cellar. Nonetheless, I have a team of my deputies working a search grid radiating outward from the cellar's entrance point. My last status report from them hasn't changed from their previous check in, but I'm still hopeful."

Damon restrained his need to slam a fist into the table. He'd hoped that when Alaric, Jeremy, and he had been out there they might have missed something. His blue eyes studied his friend, looking for any sign that she might be hiding something, but Liz's obvious concern and her known dedication to her job. Quickly relieved him of any sense of betrayal or deception from her. Still, he was angry and wouldn't have been out of character of the Original Hybrid for him to have kidnapped her and hidden his involvement with ease.

"Thanks Liz, I really do appreciate everything your doing. But with Stefan off on his personal vendetta against Klaus, my hands are somewhat tied trying to find Elena and keeping all out war between my brother and Klaus erupting." Damon responded.

"I wish I could do more. Considering the circumstances I would normally file a missing persons report by now, but since the supernatural is possibility my hands are tied with the founders council." Liz stopped speaking Damon could feel her inner turmoil. "Did you know I went to school with her mother? It just breaks my heart to think what that poor girl has gone through in her brief life." Liz choked out before dipping her head towards her chest. Damon's face was grim, and another benefit from being a vampire was the ability to suppress their emotions. He knew it was most likely purely a survival response, but his kind had abused that would be a gift. If he hadn't met Elena, he seriously doubted anyone else could have reawaken the small part of his humanity.

"I know Liz. We're both doing all we can at the moment. We just need to hope for the best." Damon offered. She looked up, and even he wasn't enough of an ass to comment about the redness in her eyes.

"I know Damon… Now what is the other matter you brought up?" Liz said, clearing her throat trying to dislodge the sudden lump in her throat.

"Klaus's hybrids are out of force doing who knows what, and I just wanted to give you a head up that Stefan has unilaterally decided he doesn't appreciate having them around so be on alert for bodies showing up."

Liz sighed and looked meaningfully into Damon's blue eyes. "Thanks for the heads up Damon is there anything you can do to help control your brother?"

Damon let out a harsh laugh and shook his head. "I'm doing what I can and will promise you that I will do my best to clean up after my baby bro." Damon responded, it occurred to him the irony of what transpired earlier today and frankly he didn't want Liz or anyone else poking their noses into the Old Witch House and the secrets the dead witches were hiding for them. Deep down in Damon's undead heart he knew his brother was hiding something on the ride over to the Old Witches House. He had been on his phone talking to someone. When he confronted his brother, he simply ignored Damon until he gave up. Having nothing further to say, Damon stood up, ending their discussion.

Liz stopped him with a sad smile. "So I'll see you at the Founders council tonight at the Founders' Hall. They are having a meeting just after a charity drive for the renovation project for the Wickery bridge, and they are still looking for donations." She asked pointedly.

"Let me guess, a certain acting mayor of Mystic Falls whose conveniently hosting this charitable event put you up to it?"

"Not even going to lie to you, mister Salvatore. But considering you and brother are for better or worse are the oldest remaining members of the founding families, it couldn't hurt to support a good cause." Liz smiled sweetly at him.

"I'll be there for the council meeting and as for the charity, I guess I'll bring my checkbook as well." Damon offered.

"Thank you, Damon, and I guess I'll be seeing you tonight. Oh… before I forget I'll only be able to attend the council meeting. So you and Mr Saltzman will have to make do without me."