Relatively boring chapter, IMO. But it's got important pieces of plot so it's necessary. No Delena because Elena has no humanity :( But I do dig her tentative friendship with Rebekah, just like in the show.

I remember when I first watched TVD, I was binging to catch up to season 6 that was on tv. I hated no-humanity Elena so much that I quit watching the show for a few days so I could cool down because she was such a raging bitch. My no-humanity Elena won't be sticking around for too long, luckily.

Katherine had really outdone herself, Damon thought idly as he parked his car on the side of the street in the busiest part of town. There were a few random shops, a diner, a bank, and the town hall, all within a block of each other. If there was ever a place to disappear…

"So are you finally going to tell me what we're doing here?" Elena asked, bored.

Damon eyed her carefully then said, "Don't get pissed, but we're here for Katherine."

She looked at him emotionlessly, "Why would I be mad about that?"

He ignored the ache in his chest that missed who she really was and shrugged, "My mistake."

With no further comment, she pressed, "So what's your big plan? How do you even know she's here?"

"A lead of mine." He answered vaguely. "She's here, and it's so small it shouldn't be a problem to track her down using a little compulsion."

She blew out a laugh, "Wow, you really are useless."

And then everything went black as she snapped his neck.

Elena shoved his limp body back into the seat, arranging him so it would seem as if he was sleeping before stepping out of the car. She wondered how she was going to find Rebekah, but she got her answer almost instantly when the blonde appeared next to her, commending, "Nicely done. He really did make it too easy, though."

Elena shook her head, beginning to walk down the sidewalk, "He's hopelessly in love with me. Can you blame him?"

Rebekah dropped the conversation at that, not really caring to continue it. "So how are we going to find her?"

"Well, Damon's master plan was to walk around and look for her, so I'm open to any ideas."

She scoffed, "He really isn't the brightest crayon in the box."

Elena nodded, eying a redhead that was just about to get into her car after a day of shopping, "But first, I'm going to grab a bite to eat."

Damon hadn't fed her like she'd asked, and she was irritable because of it. She hoped that the lack of blood kept him unconscious longer too. Rebekah was already complaining about her wasting time, yammering on about having driven by herself for hours on end, but all it sounded like was an annoying buzz to her hears.

She stood next to the redhead, who jumped when she saw her, placing a hand over her rapidly beating heart. "Sorry, you scared me." She laughed, smiling brightly.

Elena rolled her eyes and muttered, "Yeah, yeah."

She bared her fangs and went in for the kill, but the woman shrieked, "Katherine, what are you doing?"

That stopped her in her tracks, and she pulled back, Rebekah standing at her side. Elena looked at her in amusement, almost enjoying the way she got to play her doppelganger and turn the tables for once.

"You know me?" She questioned with a small smile.

The woman looked at her as if she was a little crazy, "Of course. I know most people around here let you drink from their neck but I asked you to drink from my wrist, remember?" She pulled back her sleeve, exposing the vein.

Rebekah laughed, "Conniving little bitch compelled the whole town."

Now, to find out what they knew and how it could be helpful.

Elena asked, "What's my full name?"

"Katherine Pierce." She answered cheerily, then motioned to her hair. "Love the new do by the way. The red is totally hot."

"Thanks…" She mumbled, picking up the end of a lock that was tinged crimson.

Rebekah cut in, "How do you know Katherine?"

The woman furrowed her brows, "How do I know who?"

The two girls shared a confused look before Elena answered, "Me. How do you know me?"

She shrugged casually, "It's a small town, everybody knows everybody."

Rebekah asked, "So everybody knows Katherine?"

The redhead turned to her, her brows drawn together apologetically, "I'm sorry, I don't know who you're talking about."

Rebekah blew out a breath, "She compelled them to forget all about her unless she was talking to them herself. Clever girl."

Elena ignored her, focusing on the issue at hand, "How long have we known each other?"

She frowned, "Um, it's been a while, I guess, I don't remember."

"Where do I live? Where do I work?" She pressed on.

The woman looked at her funny, "I don't know."

"Who do I spend time with, do I have any friends?"

She smiled, "You said we could all be friends with you, as long as we kept your secret. And don't worry, I'm keeping your secret safe."

A secret? Bingo. "What secret?"

She hesitated, unable to form the words, "I don't know."

Well, it seemed like she served her purpose. After taking a pint or two from her, the two girls began walking through town, stopping at every public place to search for Katherine. The town hall was a bust, the library was dead, the diner was a no-go, not even the police station was of use.

They were both getting annoyed at everyone's lack of knowledge, Rebekah seemingly more so than Elena.

"This is hopeless. She's either already gone once she figured out we were here, or she's dead, and we both know which scenario is more likely."

Elena rolled her eyes, "Quit whining. We're ruling out places and we should have her before nightfall." They walked up to the mailman outside of the post office, loading his truck with mail, and Elena asked, "Do I have any packages here?"

He looked at her in surprise, "What'd you do to your hair?"

She closed her eyes in frustration and hastily answered, "I cut it."

He looked at her incredulously, "In the last two minutes?"

Elena straightened, "I was here two minutes ago?"

The man looked at her as if she was losing her mind but Elena ignored him, turning to Rebekah and sharing a look with her.

"Are you okay Miss Pierce?" The man asked.

She nodded, "I'm fine, um…thanks." She smiled and laughed a little, and he nodded happily before going back to his truck.

When he was gone, Elena turned to Rebekah, "She was just here, which means she couldn't have gotten far. How about you look inside and I'll check the parking lot?"

The blonde nodded her consent and they split up. Elena hurried around to the back, looking through all of the parked cars quickly for flashes of brown hair or anyone that looked like they wanted to murder her. She spotted a woman sitting in her car, her hair dark brown but it was too dark to make out her face. She ducked behind a white truck, peeking around the corner but her anticipation was short lived as the woman stepped out and was anyone but Katherine.

Suddenly she was being painfully forced against the truck, a noise of pain escaping as a hand clamped down around her throat. Her double stood before her, smirking, "I'm impressed. I never thought you'd find me here. Oh well, it's a beautiful place to die."

Before she could move another muscle, Rebekah was there, throwing her off of her to the ground. "I couldn't agree more." She quipped, brushing some hair from her eyes. Elena stood confidently next to her, feeling smug that the strongest vampire there was on her side. "You've chosen a beautiful place to die. But first, we need to talk."

It didn't take much convincing to haul Katherine across the street to a little café that was fairly deserted. Just a few workers and one or two other customers.

Well, it wasn't like Katherine had a choice, and she knew it.

She sat in a booth across from her doppelganger and next to the Original, glaring daggers at them both. "Damon was looking for you for a reason, and I want to know what you have that he wants." Elena demanded.

"Then why aren't you here with him?" She asked curiously. "Surely our lover is better company than her."

"Because I don't trust Damon right now. All he wants is to make me feel, and it's not necessary." Elena hit back.

Katherine eyed her with interest, smiling slightly when it clicked, "You shut your humanity off. How tragic for our boys. Their precious little snowflake of human frailty, gone, nothing but dust in the wind now. What was it that sent you over?"

Rebekah chuckled, "Look at how out of the loop you are. For someone that goes to such great lengths to keep herself informed, you're terrible at it."

Elena repeated, "Now tell me what you have."

She blew out a laugh, "What, Damon didn't tell you yet? Like you're one to lecture me about being out of the loop. I'm surprised he didn't go running his mouth about how evil I am the second Jeremy squealed in that tomb. Though, in retrospect, I should have realized he was wearing vervain. I guess I was just a little preoccupied."

"You were in Silas's tomb?" Elena asked in disbelief. How had none of them noticed her?

She smirked at their confusion, but Rebekah's mind was reeling. She knew why Klaus wanted in the tomb, and now she knew why Katherine wanted in it.

"You stole Silas's talisman." Rebekah stated.

Katherine didn't say anything, she just sat there smiling evilly. Elena frowned, wondering what they were talking about, but decided not to ask until later.

Rebekah continued, "Well come on then, hand it over."

Katherine laughed, "You really need to stop hanging out with all of these idiots. They're starting to rub off on you." When neither of them said anything else, she made to stand, "Well if we're going to be here for a while, I'm going to grab some menus."

Rebekah picked up her fork and stabbed it through her hand, anchoring her to the table as she groaned. "You're not going anywhere."

She grumbled, "Just as charming as your brother, I see."

The blonde sneered, "I'm surprised you remember me at all, seeing as how you were so busy wedging yourself between my brothers."

Elena snapped, "Every second you two waste arguing is another second Damon gains in finding us. He won't stay dead forever, you know, and my guess is he's already looking for us."

Rebekah grabbed Katherine's chin, forcing her to look in her eyes, "Where's the talisman?"

Katherine chuckled, "I'm on vervain."

"Oh, I get to torture it out of you. Fun." She bit out, shoving her face away.

"What do you want with the talisman anyway?" Elena asked.

She turned to face her look alike, answering, "Klaus wants it, I have it. I give it to him, I get my freedom."

Elena sighed dramatically, "You poor victim. Now where's the part where you screw us over and someone dies?"

She shrugged, "I have no reason to screw you over. Believe it or not, people change. I'm not the girl you think I am."

That was almost funny enough to earn a laugh. Rebekah rolled her eyes and used her speed to snatch Katherine's phone from her pocket, then tossed it to Elena while she protested. Elena began looking through the phone while Rebekah said, "I'm sure there's something in that that will tell us where the talisman is."

After a minute, Elena found a meeting scheduled for four o'clock with Em. "Who's Em?"

"A friend." She replied shortly.

Elena smirked, "I guess I'll just have to meet them myself, won't I?" She grabbed Katherine's purse then stood to go to the bathroom to redo her makeup, and when she returned she threw the ugly thing back at her and asked, "What do you think?"

Rebekah grinned, "Not quite slutty enough. You need more eyeliner. And more desperation."

Katherine sent her a glare and Rebekah simply smiled smugly. Elena laughed a little then said, "I'm gonna need your clothes."

She snorted, "Yeah, that's gonna happen."

Elena shrugged, "Fine. Bracelet. Watch. Earrings. Hand them over." She yanked the fork from her hand, pleased at the grunt of pain she made. Katherine begrudgingly stripped off the jewelry, leaving only her daylight bracelet, and Elena slipped it all on. She added, "I'm also really gonna need that jacket."

When she refused, all it took was a strategic grip from Rebekah and she was relenting. Elena was having an infinite amount of fun torturing the woman that lived to make her life hell.

As she took it off, she said, "It'll never work, you know. The hair, the outfit—you'll never pass for me."

"You'll never pass for me." Elena mocked, trying out an imitation.

Rebekah suggested, "Throatier, more man-ish."

Elena scowled as she repeated the phrase, dropping her voice to Rebekah's advice. The blonde woman giggled at the impression and Elena joined her.

Katherine rolled her eyes, "You two are pathetic."

Elena repeated, "You two are pathetic."

Rebekah chimed, "Ooh, perfect, just the right amount of contempt and hidden insecurity."

Elena ran her hands over her outfit, feeling like something wasn't quite right. And she knew exactly what she wanted that would grate on Katherine's nerves even more. "Something's missing." She bent to look under the table, "I need your shoes."

Oh, how deliciously degrading it was, stripping down the five hundred year old vampire in public so she was barefoot, without a jacket, and free from any jewelry.

And by the look on her face, Elena knew she struck a nerve.

One pair of shoes later, and she was on her way to the park to meet 'Em' while Rebekah stayed with Katherine to keep her company.

The waitress had brought them dessert, and she was happily munching on the chocolate cake while saying, "You know, I always envied the legendary Katherine Pierce and her ability to make men fall in love with her. Elijah betrayed Niklaus for you. Trevor too, and then the Salvatore's who worshipped the ground you walked on. And look at you now. So pitiful, you had to compel an entire town to like you." She giggled then said, "Sorry, I shouldn't laugh. It's really more sad than funny."

Katherine glared at her silently, just about to open her mouth when Damon appeared at their table and slid in across from them, stretching his arms across the back of the booth casually. "She found you already? You're losing your touch, Evil One." He smirked at Katherine.

She rolled her eyes, "Oh, bite me. You're the one that let a baby vampire snap your neck."

"Where's Elena?" He asked, ignoring her jab.

Was he pissed? Hell yeah. But he probably should have seen that coming. A night of sex with Elena wouldn't mean anything to her, and he had been a fool for thinking she would ever listen to him. She didn't even do that when she was human.

A dangerous smirk curled at her painted pink lips, "I'd check the morgue by now. Maybe the hospital, police station…" Rebekah narrowed her eyes, grabbed her wrist, and twisted until bones snapped. She cried out but it turned into a laugh, "She was meeting with a friend of mine. You might know him, actually. Dashing Original, impeccable taste…"

"Elijah?" Rebekah asked, surprised. "What's he doing here?"

She confessed, "When I said friend, I meant friend."

Damon and Rebekah simultaneously grimaced and groaned, varying levels of disgust laced in their tones.

"Don't need a play-by-play, Kitty Kat. Where were they meeting?" Damon asked. She stayed silent. He flicked his brows upwards and looked to Rebekah, "Since you obviously know why we're here, and don't want Klaus to have that talisman as much as I don't, why don't you stay here and pry it out of her? I'll go find Elena."

She shrugged her agreement, adding, "She was supposed to meet him in the gazebo by the park."

He nodded and set out to go find her, but not before swiping Katherine's phone. He dialed Elijah's number, which was easy enough to find.

"Katerina?" He answered.

"Younger, hotter—also manlier." Damon quipped.

"Where is Katherine." He ordered, leaving no room for argument.

"Where's Elena?" Damon returned, his tone much lighter.

"Safe. For now. Though whether she remains so or not would depend on Katherine's condition."

Damon pulled a face, thinking of the state in which he found her then answered, "She's fine. Humiliated, but fine. So how about it? Your girlfriend for mine?"

Elijah smiled to himself, "Oh, I think Katherine can handle herself against you."

"Probably." Damon admitted. "But you see, your little sister decided to drop by to have her fun with the Wicked Witch of the West's shiny red shoes. Or rather, I should say Elena did that, seeing as Katherine was barefoot when I saw her."

"Rebekah is here?" He asked more seriously. "Damon, I don't think you understand how much my sister hates Katherine. As soon as she stops being of use, she will rip her heart out."

Damon shrugged, "Saves me the trouble."

"Then I won't hesitate to end your precious Elena. Bring me Katherine, and you can have her back." The line went dead, and Damon cursed, needing to buy some time for Rebekah to get the talisman.

Maybe he would be joining the gruesome twosome after all.

"Come on, Em." Elena mumbled to herself, pacing back and forth along the gazebo. Whoever they were, they were late.

She continued pacing, almost beginning to think that Katherine gave them false information when she heard a man's voice behind her.

"Katerina?"

She turned around, her eyes widening when she came face to face with Elijah. Out of all the people, why was Katherine meeting with him? Well, given that she had the talisman to bargain her freedom with Klaus, it really shouldn't surprise her that she was meeting with Elijah. In fact, it was probably because she wanted him to broker the deal for her so she'd never have to face Klaus again.

"Elijah. You're late." She commented, putting on her best bitch face.

He stepped closer to her, cupping her jaw and smiling a little, "I do apologize, I hope you were not waiting too long."

"Not longer than ten minutes." She said casually.

Elijah again moved closer, and she tried to resist moving away. "Allow me to properly show my regret."

And then he was kissing her. She kissed him back, though inside she was screaming louder than she'd ever screamed. She opened her eyes during the kiss, as if making sure that Elijah was really kissing 'Katherine.' Why would he be kissing her? Sure, like five hundred years ago they were a thing, but that was five hundred years ago when Katherine was human! She was a raging bitch now that was just using him!

She continued kissing Elijah until he finally pulled away and said, "Now, you said you had it with you?"

She furrowed her brows a little, "Do I have what?"

"The talisman, of course."

She nodded, "It's in a safe place." She rubbed her hand along his chest, "Why don't I go and get it? I'll be right back."

She brushed past him and made to leave, but he caught her arm, looking pointedly at her daylight ring, "Where is Katherine, Elena?"

When she didn't answer right away, Elijah grabbed her and flashed them through the park until they were tucked away between two buildings where nobody would find them. Elena rolled her eyes as he roughly released her, leaning her back against the brick wall. His phone began ringing and he answered it, thinking it was Katherine.

Elena smirked when Damon's voice carried through the speakers. So, he wasn't as incompetent as she thought. She listened to their conversation, shaking her head at the genuine concern in Elijah's voice.

He hung up after one last threat about her life, and Elena sighed, "You're both idiots." She turned on her heel and began walking, just to move away from him.

"Excuse me?"

She blew out a laugh, "What the hell happened to you, Elijah? I mean, I thought you were supposed to be a man of honor. And yet you've been hooking up with Katherine this entire time?"

His back turned to her, he shared, "I suppose this man of honor always shared a special connection with Katherine." Unfortunate for him, Elena thought glibly. "She contacted me when she heard about the talisman and my brother's desires for it. We figured we could be of mutual use to each other."

"So you were really going to just hand it over to Klaus for Katherine's freedom? Where do you benefit from that?"

"Katherine earns her freedom and she's able to do as she likes."

She looked at him skeptically, "And that's being with you? I hate to break it you, but Katherine doesn't care about anyone. Once she gets what she wants, she'll leave you just like she did everyone else when they stopped being of use. You're no different. You fell for her trap just like every other one of those idiots."

He smiled to himself then turned to face her, "You underestimate me, Elena. I know who Katherine is. What she's like."

"And you think she's changed? She's playing you. She lied to you, Elijah." Elena didn't know why she was bothering to talk to him about the subject, but she supposed that if he knew the truth then he might be on their side. That, and on the off chance that Katherine truly did care about him, it would drive him away and hurt her.

"She didn't lie to me about your transformation." He stated.

Elena squared her shoulders, waiting for the pity that was sure to come.

"But something else is different. You're not the same." He paused, then connected the dots. "You've abandoned your emotions. Why?"

"Wouldn't you rather know your girlfriend's true intentions? You say she hasn't lied to you, but you must know that she could never truly love you, right? Did you know that the entire time she's been here, she's been screwing other men?"

He came at her then, wrapping his hand around her throat and pressing into the wall, "You're lying."

"Am I?" She choked out. "Then why was a police officer telling me about how great last night was and how he wanted to do it again soon? Or what about the hot councilman I met at the town hall who stopped me to pull me into his office and show me with his mouth just how much he missed me?" She actually wasn't lying, and the sound of human footsteps approaching prompted him to release her. "Just watch."

The groundskeeper for wherever they were appeared, smiling brightly at the sight of Katherine. "Katherine, I didn't realize you were stopping by today."

Elena smiled sweetly and walked closer to him, reading the name on his uniform, "Tell me something, Jeff, am I dating anyone? Have you heard anything about me having a relationship with anyone?"

He frowned slightly before saying, "Well, last week the wife and I saw you out with David, from the diner, remember? My nephew also mentioned that you had spent the night at one of his buddies' houses. From the sounds of it, you've got plenty of romance in your life."

Elena turned to look pointedly at Elijah, who simply shrugged, "They're humans, she was probably just feeding from them."

She raised a brow then looked back at Jeff, "Was I feeding on any of these suitors?"

He let out a laugh, "From what I've heard floating around town, you only feed from men when they're in your bed. And I've seen quite a few of them sporting some nasty bite marks. You should really be more gentle on them, Kat."

"I'll give it a try, Jeff. Thanks for your time." She said, dismissing him. She turned back to Elijah and gave him a pointed look, seeing disappointment on his face.

"She lied…" He said to himself.

Elena looked at him, actually pitying the poor fool. Out of all the people that should know better than to fall for Katherine's tricks, Elijah was up there right next to Klaus.

"I hate to say I told you so, but…duh." Elena quipped, her arms crossed.

She was over this conversation. This situation. This town, these people. She wanted to go back to New York. She never did get to really see all the city had to offer.

Hopefully Damon would be there to 'save the day' sooner rather than later.