Review responses:

Sarcasm15Key: As I'm sure you've guessed, that'll be a next story plot line, but I too am really looking forward to diving into her past some more. Thanks for the love!

Bornkiller9: Thanks! This is kinda meant to be where I deviate from cannon, at least in regards to Damon. Hopefully it's working, considering what I have planned for him in the next story. I'm also super stoked for what's to come and the next story! Appreciate the continued support!

We're getting there, and the tension keeps rising. Sorry to do this again, but it'll be another few weeks before I upload the next chapter. It should come out on the 26th if all goes to plan. I've almost got this whole story finished but I don't want to rush it out and get ahead of myself. I've also started plotting out all my season 3 stuff, and just finished my rewatch to refresh my memory. Man what a great season! But Season 2 is also damn good. I'll be sad when it's over, but I'm so hyped to start the next story too!

And since I forgot to in the last chapter, I'm going to give a shout to the story, 'Heart's Destiny'. I started reading it yesterday since it was May 4th, so you guessed it, it's a Star Wars story, and I just found myself really enjoying it. It's published by author, 'JadeSphera' and is a collaboration with, 'WarmNyota_SweetAyesha'. It's not terribly long, so if you're feeling the Star Wars spirit, then check it out!

Chapter 41: The Backups

After calling Scarlett to make sure she was still safe – and making her promise not to come out of the witchy house for anything, until they all came to get Bonnie tonight – Sarah hadn't been left with much else to do in her bed. Other than try and get out so she could find Damon that is. Visibly she'd healed, but it still hurt to move. Another hour or two and it would be like nothing had happened, but she didn't have that time to waste when it came to Damon. Too much could go wrong in just an hour.

So climbing off the bed, she kept one hand on her aching chest and got up. It was another effort pulling off her cloths, but what she had one was stained in blood and she wouldn't get away with it in public. So she painstakingly changed her bra before putting on a button up casual shirt – which was easier to get on and off than anything else – carefully pulled on her leather jacket, and was then good to go.

Until she found Jenna waiting on the other side of the door.

"Crap," groaned Sarah, conveniently giving her an out for the most recent stab of pain that hit her in the chest.

"Get back on the bed," Jenna said plainly.

"Look, Jenna, I can't just sit around here while everything's going on," Sarah began to argue, while hunched over with an arm wrapped around her stomach. Not her most threatening or convincing of stances. "Stefan's off with Elena, Scarlett and Jeremy are in hiding with Bonnie until tonight, and Damon's… Well, I don't know what Damon's doing but that's the problem – I have to find him before he does something stupid."

"How much trouble can he get into in a few hours?" asked Jenna.

Sarah cocked an eyebrow. "Before I could finish telling you, he'd have found trouble. Or he would have made it himself. It's usually the latter."

"Well, he'll have to fend for himself for once," Jenna said as she pushed Sarah back into the room, watching the vampire wince as she followed her in and closed the door behind her. "Which, to be frank, he deserves for what he did to you."

"It was an accident," hissed Sarah defensively as Jenna escorted her back over to the bed. Obviously she could have taken Jenna, even in her weakened state, but to risk fighting her would mean to risk hurting her since it would be an all or nothing kind of attack. And Sarah really didn't want to hurt Jenna, at least not so soon after she found out about everything. So she let her play the nurse and sit her down on the bed.

"Besides, if I ignored his cries for help every time he hurt me, then he'd be dead by now." Her mind flashed back to one nasty incident in particular. One when she'd been the one doing the damage to him, in spite of his pleas. "I just need to talk to him, Jenna, in person."

Folding her arms, Jenna boldly responded with, "All right, then, we'll both go and find him."

Sarah was up on her feet so fast that she then found herself hunched over from the sharp pain that turned up her insides. Taking a second to regain herself, she straighten with a raised hand in objection, while the other held her outwardly healed chest. "No. Jenna, you have to stay here for you own safety. It's too dangerous outside the house, what with Klaus and everything."

Jenna smiled sweetly and sympathetically as she tilted her head. "You can't have it both ways, Sarah. Until you're fully healed, we either both go, or both stay."

"I am fully healed." Her argument was quickly broken down though when Jenna pressed her finger to the point where Sarah'd been stabbed and she winced. The skin might look like it'd been healed, but even Jenna could tell when she pressed against it that it was too soft and that if she pressed hard enough she'd probably break the skin. There was still a lot of internal healing to be done, most likely because of the wood that had slid past her heart – effecting her healing and making it more drawn out than usual. It was really starting to annoy Sarah.

"You know," scowled Sarah. "I really don't think this whole caring mom act works for you."

"Good thing I'm not your mom then," quipped Jenna with a grin.

"Amen," muttered Sarah before spotting her phone screen lighting up from her bedside table. She'd put it there when she'd been getting changed, and grabbed it now to answer a call from Damon.

"Damon–" Sarah greeted, fully ready to lunch into a speech about not being angry with him for what he'd done to her, when he cut her off. It was stuff like that that made it hard for her to remain not mad at him for what he'd done. Okay, she was a little mad. But she'd get her own back, at some point down the road.

"–Gonna have to skip the apology, Sis, I need your help. Stefan's not answering his phone and I've got a way to delay the ritual until the next full moon."

"Damon…" Sarah repeated, though more concerned this time.

"No, no, no, it's not what you think. I'm not trying to halt the whole thing permanently, just delay it so the vampire blood can get out of Elena's system," Damon explained.

"And how are you going to do that?" asked Sarah curiously.

"I'm taking Klaus' werewolf out of the equation."

"You're going to kill his werewolf?"

"I was, but then Katherine told me it was Tyler Lockwood, and I figured everyone would be even more mad if I did that."

"Holy crap!" exclaimed Sarah with wide shocked eyes.

"What is it?" asked Jenna, missing out on the conversation as she stood in front of Sarah, waiting tensely.

"I think Damon's finally making some personal growth."

"Ha, ha," Damon replied dryly.

"So did Katherine tell you anything else that we should be taking with a grain of salt?"

"Yeah, she said the vampire Klaus is planning to use is Caroline. But don't worry, he's keeping them both in the same place so we can spring them both at the same time. Then it's just a case of keeping Lockwood and Scrappy away from Klaus until the full moon sets," Damon explained.

"Not your worse plan," Sarah admitted.

"I knew you'd like it," grin implied in his voice.

"I wouldn't go that far. I mean, what about when Tyler changes. One bite and we're dead?"

"Let's just deal with one problem at a time please," groaned Damon. "He's keeping them both at the tomb by Fell's Church. I'll meet you near there in a few."

Then as an after thought, he added, "Are you okay to help with me this. 'Cause if you're still healing or mad then I can–"

"I'll be there, Damon," Sarah promised. No malice or ill contempt in her voice. Just a genuine promise to be there for her brother. And she could only imagine how uncomfortable it was making him feel right now. But that was what one was supposed to do for one's family. "See you in a few." And with that she hung up.

She then turned to Jenna with an apologetic look. "Sorry, Jenna. I've got to go and help Damon with something – and before you say anything your staying here."

Jenna moved to the door, folding her arms in defiance. "If you're going to leave without me then you'll have to get past me."

Sarah smirked back. Even in the short time she'd been talking to Damon, she'd felt her strength and control returning. It still wasn't perfect, but it was enough to get her past Jenna. She sped over to her, stepping around her in a blur of motion, and was out the room at vampire speed before Jenna even knew what had happened.

On the wind behind her as she raced out the front door to the garage, she could faintly hear Jenna shouting out, "Oh, come on!"

Returning to the teacher's apartment, Leiah walked in to find Katerina pouring coffee into a mug. Klaus had followed her in, closing the door behind them, when both came to a stop.

"Everything okay?" asked Katerina from the kitchen island as she finished pouring.

Klaus was looking around, a near missable frown on his face, while Leiah's eyes narrowed on the troublesome vampire before them. "Katerina, stay perfectly still for me," ordered Leiah, watching as she froze. Cup of coffee in one hand and a jug in the other, her muscles twitching as she tried to remain in the position she'd been when Leiah had ordered her.

It wasn't hard to miss. When you'd been around as long as Klaus and Leiah, you noticed the subtle differences. Between a vampire who's compelled and one who's pretending. Like Katerina was right now.

Looking to her brother with raised brow, Klaus smiled back. It was mildly annoying, but they could still have their fun with her. After all, she couldn't leave until Leiah permitted it, which meant until she said those words, Katerina would have to continue to act like she was compelled. Which could be entertaining in itself. Especially if they didn't let on that they knew.

"Have you ever considered becoming a barista?" asked Leiah playfully, taking out her phone for another short photoshoot with Katerina as her model. "It would suit you." Katerina rolled her eyes, of which Leiah got a good photo of. "Smile," she then ordered, watching Katerina perk up as she took another photo.

"That's a good one," Leiah said, admiring her most recent work as she saved the two pictures. "Anything for you, Nik?"

Klaus thought for a moment, tilting his head up. "Some coffee would be nice."

"Coming right up," Katerina said as she handed over the cup she'd already poured, playing her part as barista well.

"Thank you, Katerina," Klaus said as he took the cup with a grateful smile. She then turned to walk away and pour herself another cup, only for Klaus to act as if something else had just occurred to him. "Actually, there is one more thing you could do for me." Katerina turned back around to face her Original Masters. "Could you take off your bracelet for me?"

Katerina was stunned for a moment, but soon recovered and took it off, laying it down on the kitchen island. "Now, could you walk over to that window and stand in the sunlight?" asked Klaus with a grin which his sister reciprocated.

Katerina stared back in horror. "But…I'll burn."

"Do as he says," Leiah commanded, smirking as she saw the dilemma pass over Katerina's face. Either she revealed that she was on vervain and no longer had to obey them, or she tried to continue this charade in hopes that soon she'd get her window to escape. However, since the two Originals knew this, she'd only get that chance when it benefited them. Or rather, when the benefits of her escaping outweighed the amusement gained by her continued torment.

"Remember, Katerina. I compelled you to do everything I say," Leiah reminded her. "At least until you leave here that is."

Realising it was a risk she'd have to take, Katerina turned as if against her will and stepped into the sunlight. Without her daylight bracelet to protect her, she was screaming from the second she stepped into the view of the sun. Her skin quickly blistering all over while Klaus sipped at his coffee and Leiah took a few photos of Katerina's momentary sunburn.

Patches of red were growing all over, her skin heating up so much that soon it would catch a light and she would burn. But still Leiah didn't say a word. Slowly stepping around as she took more pictures. Smirking as Katerina forced herself to remain in the light, to make it seem like she was still under their compulsion. It had to be said, she held out longer than Leiah had expected, but then again, this was Katerina Petrov. This was one determined woman who knew how to survive.

"All right, I think I have everything I want," Leiah said a she straightened, glancing down at her phone. "Nik?"

"Oh, I stopped caring ages ago," Klaus replied casually, taking the fourth sip of his coffee as smoke began to drift up from Katerina's exposed skin while she continued to scream.

"In that case…you can move into the shade." Katerina then flew by Leiah as she threw herself into the shaded corner of the room. Literally throwing herself against the wall before collapsing to the floor. Pulling her legs in when they threatened to stretch out into the sunlight. It was only once her skin was healed and she'd caught her breath, that she realised she was now trapped in this corner of the room, unable to exit without getting burnt, as a ray of sunlight blocked her path. That was, unless Klaus and Leiah returned her bracelet to her. Which they might do, after she helped them. And after that little display, there was no question of her doing what they said, just so she could keep up her own illusion of pretending to be compelled.

"Feeling better now?" asked Leiah mockingly, while Katerina glared up at her. Leiah took it as a sign that she was back to normal. "Good, cause we've got a little job for you," declared Leiah as she switched from her photos to a keypad on her phone. She then turned the phone around, holding it out to Katerina. "We're going to need you to make a little phone call for us. That is, unless you feel like being involved in Niklaus' ritual tonight."

The truth was that Katerina had been their back up vampire should things go wrong. But with her now on vervain, and the two Originals knowing that the second she was allowed to leave she'd run, she'd become more hassle than she was worth. If they took her out the apartment she'd be free from their control. Inside, she still had to play along. And why risk loosing her when they could keep her and get another vampire anyway.

Taking the phone regrettably, Katerina held her fingers above the touch screen as she asked, "Who am I calling then?"

Klaus then told her who to call.

The internal healing was more or less done now, however, there was still a slight limp to Sarah's movements as she walked through the forest. She'd hoped it would fade in the next few minutes as she spotted Damon making his way towards her. She didn't want him spotting it and feeling any more worse about himself. Because when he was hating himself that was when he could do the most stupidest and destructive actions of all.

"Hey, how you feeling?" Damon asked as he joined her at the entrance to tomb. The one they'd originally sealed Katherine in.

Sarah nodded back, "I'm fine." She then looked down the stairs that lead into the tomb. "So they're down there?"

"According to Katherine, that's where Klaus is keeping them," Damon said, looking down also.

"Kinda odd that he didn't leave–"

"A guard," finished a male voice from behind, as Sarah and Damon turned to find a handsome man making his way out from behind a tree. "Out of curiosity, which is it your here to save? The Blonde, or the wolf?"

"Both actually," Sarah answered, staring down the smug man opposite her and Damon. At a guess she assumed he was Klaus' witch. Which meant he wasn't going to be a push over. He was more than likely just as powerful as Jonas had been, which meant even for Sarah and Damon, this might not go so well.

"Well, perhaps you can exchange your brother for the blonde," offered the witch with a smirk. "But I'm afraid the werewolf stays with me."

"No exchanges, no deals. We'll just be taking what's ours," Damon replied with a forced smile before he charged.

An example of his bad decision making when he was blaming himself for something. With someone as powerful as this witch, they had to be smart and think through all their moves. But after this morning, Damon was looking to be punished, and would do stupid things like running at an all powerful witch, knowing full well how it would end.

Before he could even clear half the distance he dropped to his knees, the witch holding up his hand as he stared intently at Damon. He grunted in pain, hands going to his head as he hunched over.

And that was when Sarah fell prey to her achilles heel. Her family. When her family was threatened, or anyone she loved for that matter, much like Damon, she could throw caution to the wind and do something stupid,. Even if there was only a chance that it would work and that she would suffer. She went to flank the witch a vampire speed, but barely made it two steps before finding herself int he same position as Damon.

"Did you two really think you stood a chance against me? A witch who's loyal to Klaus? You're barely over a century old and that's nothing compared to my power. Klaus wouldn't have taken me in otherwise. Believe me, not even a vampire three times your age could–" He was cut off as a shot torn through the air.

His hold on Damon and Sarah broke and they lifted their heads as the sharp dagger like pain in their head vanished. Before them the witch had collapsed to his knees. A growing stain of blood over his left breast and more drooling from his mouth. Behind him, to Sarah's surprise, was Matt. Stood with a gun and looking down the sight.

"Matt?" breathed a confused Sarah as he lowered the scope from his eye.

Meanwhile, Damon took his chance to finish the witch off for sure. Rushing back up to his feet and grabbing hold of the witch's head, as a bone snapping crack filled the air.

With the threat eliminated, Damon let the witch's body drop to the ground, as Sarah stood up from behind him. Both now eyeing Matt as he stepped forward.

"Matt, what are you doing here?" Sarah asked.

"Where's Caroline?" demanded Matt, looking solely at Damon.

"Not a great time to start playing hero," Damon mocked, ready to turn away. Sarah was also ready to snap at him, since Matt had just saved their lives after all, but she stopped, as did her brother, when Matt cocked the rifle and took aim at Damon.

"Where is she? And what did he do to her?" Matt asked, nodding down to the dead witch.

"It's a long story, Matt," said Sarah with a sigh. Now really wasn't the best time for this. It was hard enough trying to help Jenna get to grips with everything but now they were going to have to deal with Matt too. "All you need to know is that he," she gestured to the witch, "Kidnapped her and we're here to save her."

Matt had his suspicious blue eyes on her now, though the end of his rifle was still pointing at Damon. He looked confused, though determined. Determined to save Caroline which she admired. It was just unfortunate that he'd gotten wrapped up in all this when he did. It was even more unfortunate that while he was looking at Sarah, Damon rushed him, grabbed his gun and knocked him out with butt.

"Damon!" snapped Sarah as she glared at him.

"He's not dead," Damon replied as if that was enough to defend his actions. He then began releasing the bullets from the gun, letting them drop to the ground before he discarded the weapon. Only before he walked away he bent down, picking the bullets back up.

Frowning at her brother, Sarah approached, watching as he held them up for her to see. "Wooden bullets," Damon murmured. "He knows about us."

"Well, if he hadn't, he would now," sighed Sarah as she ran a hand threw her hair. This day was certainly not getting any easier. "Look, we'll deal with him later. Right now, we need to get Caroline and Tyler. We'll grab Matt on the way back out, come on," declared Sarah as she began making her way down into the tomb. Damon following her after shoving the wooden bullets into his pocket.

The entrance to the tomb was sealed over by the large stone once more, so the two of them had to move it before they could get inside. Something which obviously didn't go amiss, as when they entered they found Caroline and Tyler already looking towards the entrance.

"Damon? Sarah, thank God," exclaimed Caroline after some initial confusion.

"Don't be too grateful, we come with bad news too," Sarah said as she knelt down beside Caroline.

"You're boyfriend's outside with a rifle loaded with wooden bullets," snipped Damon as Sarah broke the chains holding Caroline in place.

"What, Matt?" exclaimed Caroline in shock, as surprised as Sarah and Damon.

"Matt knows about you?" Tyler asked Caroline from across the tomb, chained up to his own side of the wall.

"No, I–"

"It's all right, Caroline," Sarah soothed her as she helped her up to her feet. "We'll talk to him later and sort this all out."

It was only then as she turned around, she realised that Damon was bent over in front of Tyler. The two silently glaring at each other. And it wasn't hard for Sarah to guess what was going through her brother's mind. "Damon…"

"You know, everything would be so much easier if I just killed you," snarled Damon, as Tyler stared back up at him.

"Damon, no!" shouted Caroline in a panic. Unable to run forward and stop him as Sarah held onto her arm.

"But I've already screwed up enough for one day," Damon sighed as he grabbed ahold of Tyler's chains. He didn't break them immediately however, instead staring at them before his eyes flicked back to meet Tyler's. "Don't make me regret this," he warned, before then snapping the chains.

"Is there somewhere you can hide until the morning?" Damon asked as he stood up, Tyler follow suit after rubbing at his wrists.

"My family's cellar. I can lock myself up there," suggested Tyler.

"I'll help him," Caroline offered eagerly.

"We'll help you get him there and we'll take Matt too. I think this will give you and him plenty of time to talk," Sarah said pointedly, watching as Caroline gulped. It wasn't something she'd been wanting to do, much like Scarlett when she'd been keeping her secret about Mason with Jeremy. But now that it was out in the open, Caroline had to talk to Matt about the supernatural and hopefully convince him to keep it all to himself.

Although with each passing second, Sarah kept feeling like tomorrow was going to be a whole other battle.

They made there way back up to the surface, by which time night had fallen. The moon already hanging in the sky.

"Matt!" Caroline cried out, running to her boyfriend who was groaning as he came too. She helped him sit up, leaning him against her as she checked him over. Once she had, her gaze swung over to Damon who was approaching with Sarah and Tyler from the tomb entrance. "Did you hit him?!"

"Did you already forget the part about the gun and the wooden bullets?" Damon snapped back.

"By which he means, he's sorry, Caroline," Sarah interpreted for her brother, who only snorted in turn.

Then came a groan from behind, and they turned to find Tyler hugging his stomach as he hunched over. "Tyler…?" Caroline said quietly, as the werewolf began to growl, looking up at the full moon. His teeth looking more like fangs now than they had a moment ago.

"Oh, no," Sarah said quietly as Tyler fell against one of stones, clutching at his chest as he let out heavy breaths.

"It's starting," Tyler panted, before pushing off the stone and charging on in the direction of his family cellar.

"Grab boy wonder and let's go," ordered Damon, following Tyler as Sarah helped Caroline lift Matt. Once he was on his feet, he grabbed his rifle and began to follow the group as they made their way through the woods.

"What's happening? Is he okay?" he asked, pointing ahead to Tyler as they broke into a jog.

"Not exactly," Caroline said nervously from alongside him.

"Should we be taking him to a hospital or something?"

"Matt, trust us, ignoring the pain he's going through, this could get a whole lot worse for us unless we get him to that cellar," Sarah warned over her shoulder as they passed Tyler and Damon, taking the lead at the group. Tyler was slowing now, hunching over and staggering every few steps. They were running out of time.

After a half a mile or so, Damon's phone started buzzing. He answered it, falling back behind the group while still keeping pace. "Bad time, little bro," he said into the phone, and knowing it was Stefan, Sarah began to listen in.

"What the hell are you doing?" growled Stefan anxiously from down the phone.

"Saving the day. I figured you'd understand. Just tell Elena to stay put," Damon instructed.

"She's already gone, Damon," replied Stefan as Damon came to a stop, Sarah doing the same up ahead as the rest of the group looked back at them both. "Klaus came. He took her."

Damon grimaced, fighting back the urge to scream in frustration. "I'll take care of it."

"Damon, there's more. Sarah and–"

"Sarah's with me," Damon quickly answered, now in even more of hurry after hearing that Klaus had Elena. "Don't worry, Stefan, I won't let anything happen to her or Elena. Promise." Without another word he hung up, eyes going straight to his sister. And she could see in his blue eyes, the sight of a man who didn't think he was going to make it through the night.

"Damon, what are you–?" she'd begun to ask slowly, only to be cut off by Tyler's agonising scream.

She turned along with everyone else, finding Tyler on his knees, hair beginning to sprout all over as his already canine teeth sharpened. Matt was shouting out Tyler's name in concern, but Caroline held him back from getting to close. Then Tyler reared up, hands bent back and twisting around as they started the painful reshaping into paws. His fingers crushing in on themselves – only to pop back out as if rejecting the change. His body had become a battle ground, twisting and turning and tugging and pulling as it turned from human into animal.

The same horrific transformation that had happened Scarlett so many times. Only Sarah had seen it at its worst before. Both now and back when Scarlett first turned. All those months ago in her uncles trailer. Her necklace made the change more manageable and quick, and watching Tyler now she could visibly see the torment Scarlett would have to go throw without her necklace. It made everything easier for her, not just allowing her to avoid the change on the full moon, but to avoid the pain. The word curse had never been so true in her eyes.

"I don't know if I can hold it off. You have to get out of here," Tyler said in between laboured breaths, hunched down on all fours before his back arched inwards creating a more animal like shape. That was until it popped back out and it began to arch outward as Tyler screamed.

"Tyler, it'll be okay," Caroline said soothingly, stepping towards him until Sarah yanked her back.

Tyler's head flipped up once more and he shouted, "Go!" at them all.

"You've got time. We're almost there, just–" Caroline protested in as calm a voice as she could.

"It's happening faster," growled Tyler. His voice giving away away how much he was struggling to stay in control.

"Tyler, it's okay," Caroline repeated as Tyler's head dropped again. Only this time when it lifted back up his nose was more pointy, ears more sharp at the tip, and his eyes had turned bright yellow with black backgrounds.

With a roar, he lunged for his nearest target, Caroline. Sarah quickly shoved her behind her and out the way, as Tyler tackled her instead.

She fell to the ground, the animal part of Tyler now having free rein as it thrashed about on top of Sarah. The others were screaming out her name, but she was too focused on keeping Tyler out of bitting range. Pressing her hands against his chest, she pushed back with everything she had but it just wasn't enough. Her injure was holding her back, still not completely gone. And Tyler's half formed claws digging into her arms weren't helping, as his snapping fangs descended inch by inch towards her face.

Then he was gone from in front of her. Damon tackling him off and rolling off to the side as Tyler found his way on top of him now. "Damon!" Sarah cried out, watching her brother move his head from side to side as Tyler bit at the air where he'd been. He was barely able to hold Tyler back himself, his hands pressed up against Tyler's shoulders.

Pushing herself up, Sarah got ready to charge when a stabbing pain shot through her, bringing her back down to one knee. The tussle with the witch and now this wasn't helping her healing any. Her heart had been touched by wood and while it had not been a killing blow it had obviously done serious damage. Enough to maybe temporarily slow down her healing, so that even now she could feel her insides breaking up from where the stitching of tissue hadn't been complete.

Then came the dreaded sound. A sound Sarah knew only because of how often she'd done it herself. The sound of teeth breaking into flesh.

She looked up, ready to scream when she saw Tyler flying through the air, Damon having kicked him off. "Damon?" Sarah said as she watched him up jump back up.

"I'm fine," Damon said definitively as he pulled his sister up. Once he had her close to him, he look back to see Tyler was once again hunched over, as his muscles shimmered around his body, changing more and more into the wolf.

"Get out of here! I can't…hold on…" He was fighting a losing battle, and they all knew it.

"Get to the Lockwood cellar. If it held him in, it'll keep him out," Damon said to Caroline and Matt before looking to his sister, still held close with his hands on her shoulders. "You and I, we're going to run. If he follows us, I'll hold him off until you get away."

"Damon–"

"Don't argue with me!"

"But Damon, what if he gets into the cellar," protested Sarah, looking back in concern to Caroline and Matt.

Grimacing for a moment, Damon then reached into his pocket and fished out the wooden bullets he'd confiscated from Matt. "If he gets in, use these," he said as Matt took the bullets and loaded them into his rifle. "It should buy you a couple of seconds. Now go. Go!"

Looking back for one last look at Tyler, Caroline then gripped Matt's arm and ran off towards the cellar at vampire speed.

"You ready?" Damon asked, still holding Sarah as they both looked to the shifting Tyler on the forest floor.

"Yeah," Sarah nodded, holding on to her brother as they speed away as fast as they could. Her mind was racing, still recovering from the scare of Damon being bit. But it wasn't getting much of a chance to breath as they ran through the woods, constantly looking back in case a completely changed Tyler was chasing after them. There might not have been any sign of him but neither of them stopped until they reached the town again – and even then they ran for a few blocks before ducking into an alleyway to catch their breath.

"All right. That should be us safe now," Damon said in between breaths, peeking out the alley to see if there was a black wolf racing down the road after them. Thankfully, there wasn't.

"Do you… Do you think Caroline and Matt will have made it to the cellar?" asked Sarah, hunched over with her hands on her knees. She couldn't wait to be properly healed again. This slowly stitching hole next to her heart wasn't doing her any favours.

"Not my concern right now," Damon said sharply as he turned back to his sister. "Right now, I need to go and talk to Klaus."

"Are you Insane!" exclaimed Sarah, straightened up against the wall behind her.

"Now that I've freed his werewolf, he's got no reason to continue the ritual. He can let Elena go and try again next month," explained Damon.

"Yeah, and he'll figure that out on his own. So why tell him and get killed for being the messenger?" hissed Sarah, hand going to her aching chest.

Damon flinched. His lips going tight as his serious blue eyes held Sarah's heated gaze. "I have to do this Sarah. There's no time to take you home, so just…" When he didn't know what else to say he stepped forward and wrapped his arms around his little sister. His lips pressed against her forehead in a short but affectionate kiss.

"Just go home, sis. Let big brother take care of this."

"Damon…?" Sarah whispered as he pulled away, but then he vanished out into the street, racing off in a blur. Unfortunately for him though, Sarah knew where he was going, where Klaus' base of operations would most likely be. So once she recovered from what was obviously a farewell speech, she raced off after her brother, determined as ever to save him from himself.

He was trying to be the hero and it didn't suit him. He wanted to punish himself for what he'd done to her and Elena. He felt he deserved it. Maybe he deserved something, but not this. Not death. That was the easy way out, and her brother had usually been one for taking that option when it arose, rather than face the consequences of his poor decision making skills. But that was why he had his brother and sister. To pull him back from these dips in sanity. Because they were always there to pull him back from the edge and save him. Just like Sarah would now.

She raced into Alaric's apartment building and up the stairs to an open door, spotting Damon already in the room. She went to follow him inside but found a frustrating force blocking her path. It was only then she realised, she hadn't yet been invited in by Alaric, and therefore couldn't follow Damon inside. He was on his own against them. Leiah leaning back against the kitchen island. And Klaus sat with his back to them all, facing a computer screen.

"You'll forgive me for not inviting you inside, Sarah," Klaus said, the grin implied in his voice. "Unfortunately it's not my place."

"Though that's probably for the best," said Leiah, appearing in front of Sarah with a playful grin. Full aware of the fact that she was still stood behind the invisible wall, protecting her from anything Sarah might do to her. Not that she could do much against an Original, but it would have been nice to know that she could have at least protected Damon from her.

"You wouldn't want to get involved in a thing like this anyway," Leiah cautioned in her own playful way. Reaching out as if to touch Sarah's cheek before her hand froze, again just behind threshold. She smiled fondly, lowering her hand as if deciding against it, before then leaning against the frame which Sarah could not cross. "You know how these rituals go. Always bloody, always messy."

"Always being postponed," added Damon to Leiah's list, his eyes on the sat down Klaus and ignoring Leiah since each had their back to the other.

"Didn't we already have this conversation?" said Klaus tiredly, still not looking around.

"Yeah, but that was before I rescued your werewolf and vampire and killed your witch," Damon shot back, as Klaus rose for his chair and finally turned.

"Excuse me?" snarled Klaus with a stern look as he advanced on Damon.

Grinning, Leiah glanced back for a moment at Damon and Klaus, before turning back to Sarah. "Your brother's not very smart is he?" On this occasion Sarah couldn't find a compelling reason to argue with her. Especially when she too was thinking the same thing about her brother.

"If you want to kill me, go for it. I don't care," Damon said as he stared down Klaus boldly.

"Damon!" Sarah hissed anxiously from outside the room, trying to get him to stop but unable to do anything other than talk.

"It was all me," he declared firmly. "No one else. Not my sister, not my brother. Just me."

Klaus considered this for a moment. A near missable smile touching his lips, before his eyes flicked over to his own sister. "Leiah," he said simply.

Apparently knowing exactly what her brother was wanting, Leiah glanced off to the side, looking at something outside of Sarah's view from the door. "Katerina, please go into the other room. And remember, no eavesdropping. It's rude." Sarah hadn't even realised the bitch was there until she saw her cross the room and into another, closing the door behind her.

"I've heard about you," Klaus said, that unsettling smile of his still in place as he stepped towards Damon. "The crazy, impulsive vampire in love with his brother's girl."

"Actually, according to my sister, I'm not in love with her," Damon corrected with a smirk.

Klaus smirked back. "Well, she is quite smart your sister." At that Damon's smirk dropped back to a frown. "Or so I've heard," Klaus added, glancing off towards Sarah and his own sister as he stepped back towards the table he'd been sat at. Before anyone could then add anything to the conversation, Klaus hit a button on his laptop and a video began to play. It was one of a woman screaming in pain, but other than that Sarah had no idea what it was about. A chair was blocking her view of the screen, so she was only getting the audio. But from the grins on both Klaus and Leiah, she knew it couldn't be good.

"In case you didn't already know, like normal wolves, werewolves tend to travel in packs."

At Klaus's words Sarah's heart jumped, her eyes widening in horror as she recognised those screams of agony. The screams of a werewolf in the middle of their transformation. The screams of a female werewolf. And there was only one female werewolf in Mystic Falls.

"No," Sarah gasped, her mind instantly going to Scarlett and trying to work out how Klaus could have possibly gotten his hands on her.

"Need a closer look?" Klaus offered Damon, disconnecting his phone from the laptop and throwing it over to him with the video still playing. Trying to play it casually, Damon held Klaus' gaze for a moment before his eyes flicked down the to the phone in his hands.

He watched in silence for a moment, and Sarah watched him as she braced herself against the door frame. Her jaw tight as her heart pounded against her chest, and the first sight of anxious tears began to form. "Damon…?" Sarah breathed out almost silently, almost not wanting him to answer for fear that she was right and that it was Scarlett's screams she was hearing.

He remained silent. Until his shoulder's seemed to relax a little. "It's Jules," Damon said, gaze flicking up to Klaus. He'd obviously been enjoying their turmoil considering the smirk on his face. Nevertheless, Sarah still let out a huge sigh of relief, the tension leaving her body as she relaxed against the door frame.

"It was a good thing she came back to town with Tyler. Otherwise we would have had to use the cute one," pointed out Leiah as she turned back to Sarah with a flirtatious grin. "And none of us would have wanted that."

Sarah snarled in response, knowing she was referring to Scarlett, but it only succeeded in making Leiah giggle.

"You see," began Klaus, as he started to walk around Damon. Every so often throwing a glance towards Sarah as well. "When you spend a thousand years trying to break a curse, you learn a thing or two. First rule, always have a backup. Backup werewolf." He gestured with one hand. "Backup witch." He gestured with the other.

Damon grimaced, and Sarah held her breath. A similar panic flooding her again as Damon finished Klaus' list with, "Backup vampire."

"I've got that covered too," said Klaus gleefully, as Damon swiftly turned towards the door.

"Sarah, run–" he was cut off as Klaus grabbed him from behind, snapping his neck.

"Damon!" Sarah cried out, knowing that if she fled the Klaus would just use her brother in his sacrifice. However, the point was quickly rendered mute as Leiah charged out of the Alaric's apartment and shoved Sarah agains the hallway wall. "Told you it would get messy." And with that Leiah snapped her neck too, plunging her into darkness.

When she then came to later, Damon was standing over her. She was being held up by his arm while the other held a blood bag to her lips. "Come on, drink up, Sis. You're going to need you strength." She obliged, taking in as much blood as she could. Feeling her strength renew as the blackness around her vision cleared and she sat up on her own. But as she did so, she realised, she hadn't been moved from where Leiah had killed her. She and Damon were both still in Alaric's apartment building.

"Katherine?" Sarah asked, unsure why the name was the first on her lips as she looked up to her brother.

"Don't worry, Sarah," came the slick voice from the doorway to Alaric's. Sarah turned to find the doppelgänger still stood inside the apartment. "I'm still here," she said with a little finger wave.

But that only confused Sarah all the more as she turned to Damon. "But…why didn't he take any of us? He needs a vampire for the ritual and he has three right here." She looked around, still confused and now feeling disorientated as Damon helped her up to her feet.

"I don't know. He must have something else planned," suggested Damon.

"He does," answered Katherine as both Salvatores turned to face her. "I'm sorry. I had to. He would have known that I was on vervain if I didn't do it," Katherine then said, her eyes flicking between the brother and sister.

"Do what?" asked Damon slowly, he and his sister frowning in concern. If it had Katherine worried, then it couldn't be a good thing.

"They made me call her to lure her out. He needed another vampire," Katherine explained while still not giving them an answer.

"Who did you call?" Sarah demanded, that panicked feeling returning to her for the third time in what felt like a matter of seconds. Katherine looked her square in the eye. Something which probably passed for sorrow and regret, swirling inside her in cold harsh brown eyes. "Who did you call, Katherine?" Sarah repeated anxiously.

Katherine took in a slow breath, and then answered, "Jenna."

Sarah could only stare back in shock as it all played through her head, how Klaus and Leiah would have done it. It would have been easy. All Katherine had to do was pretend to be Elena, and then give Jenna some spiel about needing her help right away. Jenna would leave in a panic, forgetting all about Katherine and her identical voice, and walk right into Klaus' arms. And then he'd have his vampire, once he turned her that was. Which he probably already had.

"I can fix this," Sarah found herself saying through heavy panicked breaths, an absent hand running through her hair.

"Sarah…" Damon said softly.

"I can save her," she insisted ignoring him, quickly thinking of how she could. Klaus needed a vampire. She could provide him with one, herself. The only reason he hadn't taken her was because he had Jenna. But if she showed up, she could trade herself for Jenna. Sacrifice herself in order to save Jenna, her friend. Unless he knew something she didn't. But what would that be?

It didn't matter, Sarah already had a back up a plan on how to get around that problem, as she raced down the hall towards the stairs at vampire speed.

"Sarah, wait–!" Damon shouted from behind, but Sarah kept going, down the stairs and out into the streets of Mystic Falls. She had to save Jenna. She might have failed in everything else she'd tried to do today, but she would not let Jenna die. Not like this. She would save her best friend.

She just hoped there was enough time for her to get what she needed.