Chapter 33: Going Under

"Obviously, it's not going to be particularly...comfortable. But if we can slow your heart rate down enough, you'll slip into a trance-like state."

"Like being hypnotized." Jeremy crossed his arms, leaning against the counter and studying the veterinarian.

"Exactly. You'll be half transformed. It'll let us access your subconscious mind."

"How slow does her heart rate need to be?" Scott glanced up at his boss.

"Very slow."

"Okay, well, how slow is very slow?" Damon countered.

"Nearly dead. Or, in this case, doubly dead."

"It's safe, though, right?" Caroline leaned forward.

"Do you want me to answer honestly?"

"Yes," Damon snapped. "Elena, come on, seriously. How many more of these strangers are we gonna trust? Who exactly is this guy?"

"I'm a veterinarian," the man grinned in a way that made Elena certain there was some joke they weren't getting.

"Yeah," Damon snorted. "You've said that already. Whatever you can do, whatever you know already didn't help our little mutual magical friend, though, did it?"

"What?" Elena glanced between the pair. "Who are you talking about it?"

Stiles tuned out the arguing. It felt - he wasn't sure how it felt. To be back in it again. Surrounded by the supernatural. Technically, he had never left. Hedid spend the summer studying magic, after all. Not that it had helped at all, just like Damon said. Could he really make any difference, do any good, being there? He didn't know. But he owed it to Heather to do this.

Glancing over at Scott, he felt something twist. It wasn't being around the supernatural that felt different. It was being a foot away from his best friend and feeling like he didn't even know the person standing there. Speaking of which -

"When did you get a tattoo ?" Stiles gaped.

Scott looked startled. Since their confrontation in the hall, Stiles hadn't said two words to the werewolf.

"Uh, yeah, Derek did it. I mean, I asked him to. I kind of needed something permanent. Everything that's happened to us... everything just changes so fast. Everything's so, uh... Ephemeral."

Stiles snorted. "Studying for the psats?"

"Yeah."

"Nice."

For just a second, just a few strands of words passed back and forth, it felt normal. Like how they used to be. Scott's lips twitched into a smile, but it faded when Stiles turned stiffly away.

"Look, if it feels too risky, you don't have to do this," Derek nodded, loud voice bringing the

pair back into the conversation. "We'll understand."

Elena's answer came in the form of a deep breath and a hand on the side of the tub.

"Elena -"

"Damon, stop. Stop trying to protect me at the expense of everyone else around us. I was

taken, but I survived . Come on, I've almost drowned twice and I'm still here."

"Technically, you did drown the second time," Damon lifted a finger.

"You think I really want to be held underwater after that's how I watched my parents die? After that's how I died? But this is our only option and I need to this. For Tyler. For their friends. For me. After everything we've been through? I'll survive this too. But Tyler and the others, might not. And now, what, they might be kidnapping normal human teenagers? We have stop them. And - and I need to know what they did to me."

There wasn't room for argument as Elena promptly pulled herself over the side and sank slowly into the water, gasping and shivering.

"Damon," Deaton prompted.

"What? If Elena wants to do this, fine. But I'm not holding my girlfriend underwater."

There was a long silence. No one dared to volunteer for the task under Damon's stare.

"Stefan?"

Her voice was soft, shaking against the cold and emotions and - was this really the first time she had spoken to him directly since he left months ago?

The vampire in question didn't speak, but rolled up his sleeves and took his brother's place. He ignored the biting words Damon spat at him. He ignored the memories that had come crawling back at the sound of her voice around his name. He ignored the way her skin felt underneath his touch. Ignored how some small part of him wanted to do this, to punish her.

He couldn't ignore the way the blood rushed into the veins surrounding her eyes, darkening them - or how she bared her fangs and lunged at him - or rather, at the surface.

"Get her back under." Deaton's voice was steady against the splashing and Jeremy joined Stefan, pushing at his sister's legs. "Hold her."

"Damon, a little help," Jeremy glared at the vampire.

"Nope. You and Stefan can kill the love of my life all by yourselves. That way I can rip yours and the doc's hearts out when this fails. No pesky guilt for me."

"If you really thought she was in danger, you'd be stopping us," Jeremy spat out the water that had splashed into his mouth. "Vampires can't drown."

"Alright, fine." Damon bent over, gripping his girlfriend's torso and arms while the others struggled against her shoulders and legs.

After what felt like a lifetime, Elena's body stilled underneath their hold and she floated upward on her own, face barely breaching the surface.

"Now, remember, only I talk to her. Too many voices will confuse her and draw her out. Elena? Can you hear me?"

"Yes. I can hear you."

The brothers shared a surprised glance.

"This is Dr. Deaton. I'd like to ask you a few questions. Is that alright?"

"Yes."

"I want to ask you about the day you were taken with Boyd. I want you to remember it for me in as vivid detail as possible, like you're actually there again. Can you tell me what you see? Is there some kind of building? A house?"

"It's not… it's not a house. It's stone. I think marble, maybe."

"That's perfect. Can you give me any other descriptions?

"It's dusty. Empty. Like an abandoned building?"

Elena started to stir, swallowing and breath coming in hard.

"Elena? Elena?"

"Someone's here. They think - he thinks I'm Katherine."

"Who?"

"Deucalion. He - he loved her. He's doing something - no - no - he's hurting me." Elena began to thrash under the water.

"They're just memories, Elena. You won't be hurt by your memories."

"His hands - his - claws. I can feel them, in my neck. He's checking - checking if I'm her. He's angry. He's angry -" she twisted her head away, nearly knocking it against the side of the tub.

"Remember, just memories. Just relax. Relax." And Deaton sighs when the girl finally stops writhing. "Good. Now tell us what you see. Tell us everything."

The storage room swims into focus and Elena feels the claws on her skin but no - no - just memories and she's supposed to say what she sees, not feels. But what she sees is worse. Her own memories picked apart, the pages of her life torn open until he finds her. Katherine.

"You must be Elena." - "How is this possible? How do we look exactly alike?"

"Hello, Elena. Did you enjoy your little rendezvous with Stefan this morning?"

"Hello, Elena. Come to watch me wither away?"

Incision after incision. Page after page. Cutting. Ripping. Finding any shadow of her doppelganger and watching it like some old home movie.

Every day he did this. Until she stopped screaming. Stopped struggling. Stopped understanding.

Remembering.

Every day she woke up like it was the first day in captivity. Every day she struggled against the vervain in her veins and her restraints. Called out for help. Listened for anyone. Anything beyond the darkness and confusion.

"But I can't control it. Neither of us will."

"I hear one of them. He's talking about the full moon, about being out of control when the moon rises."

"Is he talking to Erica?"

"I think so, I can't.. I can't see her, I ca… I can't see either of them."

"Can you hear anything else?"

"They're worried. They're worried what they'll do during the full moon. They're...Worried that they're gonna hurt each other."

"If they're locked in together on the full moon, they're gonna tear each other apart," Derek clenched his jaw.

"Elena, we need to find them right now. Can you see them?"

"No."

"Do you know what kind of room it is? Is there any kind of marker? A number on a door? A sign?"

"He's back. He… He…"

"It's alright, Elena."

"No. He's here. I don't want to see again! I don't want to forget!"

"Just tell us -"

"It hurts, it hurts. It always hurts."

"This isn't working," Damon leaned forward. "Elena, wake up!"

"No," Derek advanced on the vampire. "She's right there. Elena, where are you?"

"I can't see. It's too dark."

"Just tell us where you are." Derek growled.

"You're confusing her," Deaton glared at both boys.

"I can't see! I can't breathe! Something - I - can't - breathe -"

"Wake up, Elena!" Damon grabbed the girl's arm.

"Where are you?" Derek repeated.

"Her heart rate." Deaton pushed back against Derek. "She could go into shock."

"She can't die, remember." Derek shot back.

"Derek, stop." Scott stepped forward.

"Elena, where are you? What did you see?!"

Elena came around, flopping limply against the larger Alpha's back. They were in a cramped storage room and she could smell vervain somewhere nearby. Her neck was still screaming from when he had snapped it at the apartment but she paid her pain no mind, using her speed to leap away from her attacker and make a pass for the nearest exit. She didn't notice the Alpha standing on the other side of the doorway, or the needle in his hand. Her body slumped to the cold concrete, head lolling to one side. Eyes rolling into the back of her head, she watched as the boy she had just met was carried across the room and tossed into -

"A vault! It's a bank vault! I saw it! I saw the name. It's, uh... Beacon - Beacon Hills First National Bank."

She sat up and reached for the edges of the tub, slipping as she went to push herself up. Stefan took her hand and arm to help, Damon coming around the other side with a towel. As Elena steadied herself, Stefan seemed to realize what he was doing and let go like there was fire instead of water on her skin. Deaton wrapped another towel over the one Damon had slung around her shoulders.

"It's, uh... it's an abandoned bank," she continued, "and they're keeping them locked inside, inside the vault."

"Why would the Alphas lock them in a vault during the full moon?" Isaac rubbed his arms.

"Maybe that's why they took Heather." Stiles shrugged. "They, like, pit Betas against each other during the full moons and see which one survives. It's like werewolf thunderdome."

"But Tyler wouldn't turn," Caroline glanced at her friends. "He's a hybrid now. He doesn't lose control on the full moon."

"Unless they've found a way to make him," Jeremy handed his sister another towel. "Or are using him for something else."

"Either way, Erica, Boyd, whoever else is there," Elena shook her head, "they're all in danger."

"Then we get them out tonight." Derek nodded.

"Be smart about this, Derek." Deaton sighed. "You can't just go storming in."

"If that woman got in, then so can we."

"Wait," Elena lifted a hand, squinting. "Tyler."

"You already told us Tyler was in there," Caroline shook her head.

"No, I mean, I know, but - he - he wasn't in the same vault as Boyd. He - there was another vault. And another girl."