Disclaimer: I do not own TVD or anything associated with it.

Thank you so much to everyone that commented, followed, or added this story (or me!) to your favorites list! I appreciate you guys so much! This chapter is pretty long. I know what you are all waiting for and it's coming! Probably next chapter ;) Enjoy! Reviews are not only welcomed but loved!

Sorry for any typos. I did most of this tonight after the kids went to bed :/

Elena's POV

We pull up to meet Matt, who is already waiting on us outside the abandoned house I met Jeremy at earlier this week. So, this is it. Tonight is the first move we make to get Damon and Bonnie back. Though I've tried to squash it down, hope builds in my chest. This is real, it's really happening. I take a deep breath and get out of the car.

"Hey, Matt, thanks for doing this on such short notice." I say, giving him a brief hug. I am so grateful that he continues to be a part of my life, even after everything that's happened. I wouldn't have blamed him if he wanted to leave it all behind.

"No problem, Elena. Are you sure about this, though? I mean, taking on all these witches?"

I don't answer him. "So, where are you guys headed?"

He sighs, I'm sure in response to my lack of response about what we're taking on, but I don't know what to say. Yes, I know the risk we're taking. Knowing that just doesn't change anything.

"Not sure yet. Someplace out of the way. I'll text you."

His eyes dart around through the trees and I frown. It's clear his choice to stay in this life has had an impact on him, though, made him a little paranoid. I can't really blame him, I guess. And maybe it is better that he doesn't say where he's taking Liv out loud. You never know who may be listening…

I nod and motion for Liv to get out of the car, which she does with slight hesitation. She's obviously not completely on board with this whole thing. I know it has to be hard to be left behind, especially when it comes to her brother. But I'm glad she realizes that her being there would only serve as a distraction. If she'd been stubborn, I was fully prepared to knock her out and have Jeremy stash her in the cellar at the boarding house. My heart sinks a little at that thought, envisioning the home I can no longer visit. One thing at a time, though. We'll figure that out once we get this taken care of.

I watch Liv as she walks past me to Matt's truck and, just before she reaches it, she stops and turns towards me, placing something cold and surprisingly heavy in my hand.

"I'm sorry… about Damon." I can see tears form in her eyes and her voice breaks on his name, like mine has so many times when I cry his name out at night, begging him to come back to me. "I really tried."

I open my hand to a beautiful, shimmery orange stone set in between two opposing curved pieces of silver.

"This is my sunstone amulet. It will protect you from magic tonight. I don't have any for the others but… I just wanted to give it to you."

I smile and start to thank her but she walks away before I can speak, clearly not ready to have a full on heartfelt moment with me. I did try to kill her the other day so I don't take that personally. I watch them drive off and get back in my own car, click my seatbelt in place, and take a deep breath. Okay, let's do this.

Damon's POV – One month ago

"I thought you said those freaks couldn't leave the forest!"

I slam the door to the tiny hut we all pile into and wish there was a lock on it. I guess Tessa didn't feel the need to put one on here when she made this place, however she did that.

"Can't you lock this place down or something?" Bonnie says, mirroring my thoughts.

"They shouldn't be able to leave the forest. And I can't spend any energy trying to keep them out if they somehow do escape because I'm spending it all contacting Jeremy so we can leave for good."

"We?" I say as everything clicks into place. "That's what you're getting out of this, isn't it? You're coming, too."

Tessa and Katherine exchange looks.

"Yes. We all are."

"How do you think we all ended up here together, Damon? By chance?" Katherine says, hoisting herself up on the table and tilting her head to the side.

"I thought Bonnie's grandmother made a deal with Psycho Witch."

Tessa glares at me.

"She did." Katherine cuts in front of Tessa. "When I died, I was sucked into Oblivion, aka here. Tessa showed up after a while and offered a solution. She said she'd made a deal with Bonnie's Grams that, in exchange for her life force, she'd bring little Bonnie back to the land of the living. She knew once The Other Side collapsed, Bonnie would die and Jeremy would do anything to get her back, which meant he'd find a witch to help from their side, something we needed to get back but didn't have access to. Now, we will." She looks at me and purses her lips. "We just didn't realize she'd bring a friend along."

"So, why is she helping you come back?"

"I was feeling generous that day." Tessa says, smiling.

I don't believe that for a second. "Yeah, right."

Her grin disappears. "Okay, how about this? It doesn't concern you. Katherine and I have come to an agreement and I'm bringing her back along with you, Bonnie, and myself."

Elena's POV

We try to hide our cars as best we can by parking off the side of a dead end dirt road close to where the abandoned house is. Alaric pulls his weapons bag from the car and meets us all in a circle, handing out grenades and pouches filled with the herbs that should mute the coven's magic. I take Liv's necklace from my pocket and latch its delicate clasp, securing it around my neck. The stone is heavier that you'd expect, cool against my skin, and it makes me nostalgic, reminding me of my vervain necklace. Even though it was given to me by Stefan, it had so many memories of Damon attached to it… like the night he told me he loved me and then compelled me to forget. How long ago has that been? It feels like a lifetime.

"Okay. Does everyone have their protective herb pouches and muting herbs?" Alaric asks, looking at each of us in the circle as we nod in confirmation. "We'll have to be quick." He sighs. "Okay, let's do this."

Stefan and Caroline take off first with Jeremy tailing them. Hopefully, their speed will give them time to take care of some of them before Jeremy gets there. I know why he's doing this; there's no way in Hell I'd let them do this without me when I have so much at stake here… but it doesn't make it easier knowing he could get hurt… or worse.

Enzo, Alaric, and I share a look but no words need to be said. I nod and take off in the direction of the house, pushing myself with everything I have. The wind whips my hair back and I smile, loving the feeling of freedom that comes with running as fast as you can, nothing holding you back but your own limitations. I can hear Enzo and Alaric on my heels and I push with even more force, wanting to get there first. They are both older than me but I engorged myself on so many blood bags before we left that it's given me extra strength and it allows me to keep ahead of them. The edge of the forest is approaching quickly and I stop abruptly, causing Enzo and Alaric to barely miss colliding with me.

"Now I see why Damon had a thing for you. You've got spunk." Enzo smirks, eyeing me.

"Shh." I say, and nod my head to the left. Just outside the side door of the house stand two witches, surveying the forest.

I look back at Alaric and give him a small smile. Awareness creeps into his eyes and I dart out of the woods before he can protest. Within a second, I'm between the witches. I shove my hand into the face of the first, sending him flying, before pinning the second against the side of the house. She raises her hand but I've already grabbed a handful of the muting herbs and I blow them in her face. It takes me a second to realize this girl can't be more than sixteen years old. Fear registers in her eyes before she starts to go limp and my heart sinks.

"Don't worry, I'm not here to hurt you." I whisper, hoping she hears me before darkness overcomes her.

I lay her on the ground as quickly and easily as I can and turn towards the next one before my head explodes in pain. I try to focus enough to grab the muting magic herbs but I can't see, I can't think of anything but the overwhelming burning inside my head. I feel something cold beneath my knees and then my stomach and the side of my face… I must have fallen. My head swims. I just wish I could pass out already.

Elena. Get up. Fight. I think it's him. Or, at least, I want to believe it's be him, here with me.

But I can't fight, I can't move, I can't do anything. I just want the pain to stop. I just want it all to be over.

I can feel warm tears leaking from under my eyelids in surrender, leaving tracks down my face, washing away the grime life has put there. How many tears would it take to cleanse me completely? How much would wash away the guilt and pain and loss? How much salt would it take to scrub away the thoughts of death and hopelessness? When glass shatters, it can't be made whole again, not completely, because between all the bigger pieces are the fragments that disintegrate into nothingness. Anyone who attempts to glue it back together only ends up bloody from cuts and disappointed from the realization that something they once depended on has been rendered useless. I think that's true of me. Maybe I can't be made whole again. After breaking so many times for so many reasons, I've finally shattered. And I can't be fixed, I can't be cleansed of all the heartbreak that follows me through life, I can't be saved or made useful again.

"Bloody hell."

I hear movement to my left and it takes me a second to realize the pain is gone. I open my eyes just in time to see Enzo break the neck of the second witch. He slumps to the ground, his dead eyes looking right at me. I feel sick to my stomach.

Someone grabs my arm and pulls me to my feet. Alaric. He's furious.

"What the hell was that, Elena?"

I look from him to Enzo and yank my arm from him. Hurt flashes across his face and I hate myself for it. But I don't have any answers for him so I ignore his question.

"How long was I down?" I sneak a look at his face, hoping he's at least willing to still talk to me.

"Not even 30 seconds." He answers coldly.

I peek inside the house and see no one, but I can hear several pairs of footsteps running towards the front door where Stefan, Jeremy, and Caroline are.

"Go help them out front. We can get in and get Luke."

He doesn't move.

"Seriously, Alaric. We got this."

"I'll make sure she doesn't try anymore kamikaze attacks." Enzo says, looking into my eyes.

What is he talking about?

Alaric nods, obviously appeased by that, and takes off to help the others. I ignore Enzo's glare and step into the house, looking for anyone inside, but everyone upstairs must have gone out front. I flash down the stairs and hesitate at the opening to the basement. Inside, three witches stand around Luke, who is unconscious and bleeding slightly from the head. Blood rushes towards my eyes and I can feel hunger pushing me to feed but I force myself to block it out.

They stand in defensive positions, obviously aware of what's going on around them. Candles line the room, giving them even more to draw on to add to what I assume is already a considerable amount of power, seeing as they are older and most likely well practiced. I can hear grenades going off upstairs and I pull my own out. Enzo and I share a look as I pull the pin and throw it into the center of the room.

Immediately, they drop. I sneak in, noticing that the one closest to the explosion has black burn marks marring her face with pieces of glass stuck in the wounds. I hesitate, wanting to heal her with my blood, but Enzo pushes me towards Luke with a look of confusion. While I pull off Luke restraints, he takes a moment to sprinkle some extra muting herbs on their faces, ensuring they are out and powerless. He does the same to Luke, correctly guessing that Luke won't be too happy to see us.

Luke starts to stir when I lift him up, glancing around the room in confusion before settling his eyes on me. His heart beats a jagged rhythm and he tries to back away, tripping over one of the unconscious witches. He stares at her burnt face for a minute and scrambles towards a corner, holding his hand out. I'm assuming he's trying to incapacitate us, unaware that we've muted his magic, and stares at his useless hand in horror. I raise my hands, palms outward.

"Luke, we're here to help you. Liv asked us to come get you."

He shakes his head fervently. "No. Liv doesn't trust you. She wouldn't do that."

I scowl. "Well, to be honest, I don't much trust her, either. But, we are helping her." I lift the sunstone pendant as proof. "She gave this to me to protect me from magic. She gave us herbs to protect us and to mute the magic of your coven…" He raises his eyebrows. "Well, your former coven."

Enzo sighs. "Listen, mate, we don't have time for this. We've got a battle going on upstairs and we need to get you out of here before the wicked witches wake up. Got it? You can trust us or not, but your magic is muted so, either way, you're coming with us." He grins. "Try to fight and I have no qualms in knocking you out."

He nods weakly and stands, still eyeing the bodies in the floor.

"They'll be fine. Enzo's right, we need to go."

Enzo grabs my arm as I walk past him and, for a moment, I expect some spiel about what I did earlier. Instead, he surprises me and grabs Luke's arm as well.

"I'll take this one back to the house. You go help them. Okay?"

I nod and start to walk again, but he doesn't release me. I look back at him and his deep brown eyes bore into mine. Here it comes.

"What you did earlier was stupid. I don't know why you think dying will solve anything—" I open my mouth to respond but he cuts me off. "And don't say you went in there thinking you might come out because you didn't. You think Damon would want you to die? You really want him to come back to a world without you in it?" I stop, taken aback, and shake my head. "Then be smart and stop trying to get yourself killed because, with or without you, I'm bringing him back." He releases me and stalks off with Luke in tow without another word.

It takes me a second to shake off the feeling Enzo's words left and head upstairs to everyone else. Once I do, I slowly walk towards the front door and look outside, trying to catch a glimpse of who is where. What I see makes my stomach drop. There aren't just five bodies in the field like there should have been. I look over them all but I lose count of the dark masses covering the lawn when my eyes sweep across one with familiar blonde hair. Without thinking, I open the door and run towards her, reaching her limp body just as Stefan does. His expression kills me, reminding me so much of the one I see in the mirror.

"Is she—?"

"No. She's alive, but barely." He looks into my eyes. "There weren't just ten, Elena. They must have had another coven coming because they came in from behind us and caught us off guard, twelve or more of them. Caroline…" His voice breaks. "She was already on the ground, passed out, before I even realized. We are out of everything, we're out of herbs and grenades. I don't know how many of them are left. Alaric lured some away from us."

"Oh my God, where's Jeremy?"

He shakes his head. "I don't know. I'm sorry, Elena. Did you get Luke?"

I nod. "Enzo took him back to the house. Get her out of here. I'll find Jeremy and Alaric and meet you back there."

He grabs Caroline, her head falling limply to the side, and he's gone before I can blink. I race around the heaps of people lying across the grass in search of my little brother, praying I've not lost him again. Finally, I see movement and speed towards whoever it is, relief washing over me and I see familiar brown eyes.

"Jeremy!"

"Elena… I'm sorry. There were too many—"

"Don't. We have Luke. Just get out of here, get back to my car, and wait for me. Okay?"

He nods and I help him stand, pushing the smell of the blood seeping from his head out of my mind. He takes off into the woods somewhat unsteadily and I run towards the back of the house where Stefan said Ric had lead the others. When I reach him, he's sitting among the bodies of the two we'd taken out earlier and several more, his head in his hands.

"Are they—?"

He nods. "I ran out of herbs and grenades. I didn't have a choice."

"It's okay, Ric—"

"No, Elena, it's not okay. These were people with families. They were right to defend against us. I used to do the same thing. And, tonight, I became the monster I used to hunt."

"No, you didn't. You defended yourself while trying to save someone else."

He laughs humorlessly. "Yeah, I killed five people to bring two back from the dead."

"And to save Liv and Luke's lives. They would have been sacrificed for that spell."

"Yeah." He says, dropping his head, obviously not convinced. "Did everyone else make it out of here?"

"Um, yeah. Caroline is in pretty bad shape and I should go check to make sure Jeremy made it back to my car. He was pretty banged up."

He nods and stands, looking back on the faces of the people whose lives he'd taken, before walking into the cover of the trees. I know this has to be hard for him to go through, being something he used to hate and maybe still does. He lost his wife, twice, Jenna, Damon… he even lost himself for a while. I can still see the exhaustion etched on his face and I can't believe I'd been blind to it until now.

I follow him into the woods and listen to the song of the katydids, the rustle of leaves beneath my feet sometimes followed by the snapping of twigs. Alaric is beside me, now, but neither of us talks until we reach the car. Jeremy is, thankfully, in the back seat resting. I'll give him some blood to heal him later. For now, I know I need to talk to Ric. He must sense it, too, because he speaks before I have the chance.

"What were you doing back there, Elena?"

I drop my head but answer honestly. "I don't know."

"You could have gotten killed."

"I know."

"You've talked about nothing else but bringing Damon back for the past 3 months…"

"I know."

"And, now, when we're so close, you're going to do something stupid like that?"

"I know, Alaric! I know!" I snap. "Yes, it was stupid! No, I don't know why I did it. I want Damon back more than anything…. But his death changed me, just like becoming a vampire did, just like losing Jeremy did, or my parents, or Jenna, or Bonnie, or any of the people that I have lost! One by one, with the Gilbert ring, your deaths changed you into someone else. Well, one by one, the deaths of the people I love have changed me, too. I feel broken and I'm not sure Damon and Bonnie coming back will magically cure that… but I want it to. I want to be whole again."

"So, you think dying will help?"

"No. I don't want to die. I didn't run into that because I wanted to die, even though I've thought of how much easier it would be to just let it be over. I ran because I want to keep moving forward, because I don't like standing still for too long and for a million other reasons that I can't explain to you because I don't understand them myself. I can't turn off my emotions because I wouldn't care about getting Damon and Bonnie back... but, sometimes, I like to be numb for a little while, to pretend like I can't feel because it hurts so damn much."

He nods for a second and then laughs.

"Damon would have killed you for doing that, you know?"

I smile a little. "I know. I can almost hear him now."

"What the hell were you thinking, Elena?" He says in his best Damon impression.

I laugh. "You know, he actually threatened to break my arm once, when I convinced Rose to take me Richmond so I could hand myself over to Elijah."

"He also took an arrow in the back for you, even though you were mad at him at the time."

I feel my smile fade. "He always looked out for me, sometimes more than I wanted him to."

"Yeah, well, now I'm taking over for him until he gets back. So, you try anything else like what you did tonight and I'll lock you in a safe until this is all over. Understood?"

Damon POV – Present Day

Tessa swears she's contacted Jeremy and that his hunter/finding Bonnie instincts have kicked in and led him to the little witch, Liv, that was supposed to get me out in the first place, which doesn't inspire much confidence to begin with. I say, she said that a while ago and we've still not had anything notable happen, so I think some wires got crossed. And whatever has gone wrong, I wish she'd fix it because I'm tired of this place already. I feel like I've spent more time here than I ever did on Earth. Plus, I'm sick of looking outside and seeing those creepy Wanderers skulking about right at the edge of the forest. A couple of times they've actually tried to leave. One actually made it a few feet but was pulled back by some kind of invisible bungee cord or something. I'd really rather not wait and see if they figure out a way to get rid of whatever is keeping them there.

I push back the curtains covering the one small window in this rinky-dink little shack and look outside at the monotonous brown that covers everything. I shut it back and plop down on the bed, closing my eyes. Honestly, I don't think being out here for eternity would be much better than being inside the forest. At least, inside, you forget who you are. Out here, it's just endless time that you can use for nothing else but remembering the people you love and miss. It's torture all by itself.

I think of Elena and the last time I saw her, crying in the floor of that dusty mausoleum. All my life, all I wanted was to be loved and admired the way that Stefan was. Our father only saw disappointment when he looked at me, Katherine used me to make Stefan jealous, Stefan has always hated me to some extent, and for good reason… but Elena… after all the wrong choices I made, she still saw something in me worth loving. She was the only person that ever made me feel like maybe there was something redeemable in me.

I imagine her soft brown hair and kind eyes, the way she smiled when we danced together at the Miss Mystic Falls pageant, how she leaned into me the first time we kissed on her front porch, holding onto my hand. I can see her now, running towards the… is that the old abandoned witch house? This isn't a memory. What is it? I watch her strike a man in the face, pin a young girl and throw something in her face. Don't worry, I'm not here to hurt you, she says. The girl goes limp and she lays her down before turning, only to be forced to the ground by the man, who I'm guessing is a witch. She falls to her knees and then to the ground.

Elena. Get up. Fight! I yell at her but she doesn't seem to hear me. Tears slide down her face and I can see her give up.

"Damon!"

I sit up in bed and look around at Tessa, Katherine, and Bonnie, who are all staring at me in shock.

"What the hell just happened?"

"You were yelling something about Elena."

"She… she's in trouble, I think."

Bonnie's mouth drops open. "You saw her? For real?"

"Yeah. I was just thinking about her and, then, I saw her… it was like a memory but it couldn't have been because it never happened. How is that possible? I'm not even a witch."

Tessa frowns slightly. "There's only one other reason I'm aware of that would allow you to make such a connection with someone on a different plane. Twin flames… I believe you call them 'soul mates'."

Elena's POV

When we get back to the house and get everyone cleaned up and healed, we explain to Luke what's going on. Apparently, they've kept him pretty out of it since they captured him nearly four months ago. Matt's text said he took Liv to Caroline's dad's cabin, which is kind of ironic since Luke was there not long ago to try to hide Stefan and I from the travelers. I told Matt to bring her here; I'm sure they are ready to see each other again.

Luke takes another bite from the sandwich I made for him after realizing he wasn't going to be much help without something to perk him up. Enzo suggested alcohol.

"So, let me get this straight. My lovely sister agreed to help you raise two people from the dead in exchange for my life… but you only wanted to save my life because I didn't restore her magic yet."

"Pretty much."

"Wow. Thanks for your concern about my health."

I unintentionally break the glass in my hand. "You're the reason Damon is trapped over there to begin with. So, no, I wasn't super concerned about your well-being. You're lucky your sister is still alive."

Enzo chuckles behind me. "She did almost tear her throat out the first time she saw her. It was really… quite beautiful."

I glare at him and Caroline scoffs from the couch before resuming her second blood bag. Luke gapes at us.

"And you want me to help you? No." He stands.

As if perfectly timed, Matt and Liv walk through the door. Before anyone can blink, I flash to stand behind Liv, twisting her hair in one hand and tilting her head to the side, my fangs bared. I hear several gasps and 'Elena!'s around the room but I ignore them and keep my eyes locked on Luke.

"Do we really have to relive the whole 'either you help us or your sibling dies' thing?" I say.

He doesn't respond so I open my mouth and go to bite her neck.

"Okay! Okay!"

I release her and push her towards him, ignoring the expressions of the faces of my friends that range from concern (Stefan) to outrage (Caroline) to amusement (Enzo).

"We're doing this tomorrow before your ex-coven decides to find you and snatch you from us. Do your reunion thing and we'll get started on this. One of you can gather the supplies to keep yourself hidden from the coven and the other can work with Jeremy on how to go about getting them back. And let me be clear: If you try to run or pull what you did last time, I will hunt you down. Believe that."

I turn and walk past everyone into the kitchen to get some blood. I can hear Caroline's footsteps behind me.

"What the hell is wrong with you, Elena?"

"What?"

"God, you're like a completely different person! Threatening them when Liv might have been able to convince him to help us instead? Your little suicide mission earlier? Yeah, Alaric told me all about it. He's worried about the lengths you'll go to in order to get Damon and Bonnie back. And so am I."

"I seriously doubt she could convince him to help someone that almost killed her a couple weeks ago. And it wasn't a suicide mission." I say, cutting open the bag of blood and pouring it into a cup.

"It sounded pretty reckless and stupid to me. You know, it seems like on your quest to get Damon back, you're turning into him. These are all things Damon used to do and claim they were for love but they weren't! They were from selfishness."

"Again, should I remind you of how you snapped Luke's neck in cold blood to get Liv's help in order to bring Stefan back? How's that saying go? People who live in glass houses..?"

I down my drink and sit it on the counter before walking past her into the living room.

"So, where are we? Liv, are we back in magic business?"

She scowls but nods. I do feel kind of bad for threatening her… again. But, apparently, no one wants to help me otherwise. God, I'm starting to sound like Klaus… or Katherine. I shudder. I don't want to be like them.

"Okay, do you guys need supplies?"

"Yeah, we need some for the cloaking spell, but we don't know what we need for the other spell. Jeremy said something about one of us going into a trance to communicate with a witch they have on their side."

I nod. "Okay. Well, I'll take Liv to get supplies and you stay here and work on that. Sound good?"

Everyone nods and we head out to my car in silence. Once the doors are closed and my car is on, I turn towards her and place the sunstone amulet into her hand.

"Thank you for this. I'm sorry… about threatening you… and biting you the other day. I know you think I'm ruthless, but I just want what you wanted when you did that spell months ago. I want my family back. Even if they aren't blood, that's what they are to me."

I know she doesn't trust me, and I don't blame her, but she nods slightly and I take that as a step in the right direction. Let's just hope I don't have to threaten her life any more.