AN: Here goes! I'm glad that I mapped this story out! IT's much easier to write when I have something to consult. In other news: I've planned out a sequel to my story Tease Me, so be sure to watch for that, or check out Tease Me if you haven't already.
"I'm going to ask you again, and pardon me if my patience is waning, but I'm really really pissed that I'm turning human. Now..." Damon leaned towards the man, "How is Klaus involved in this?"
They'd been in the library of the boarding house all night, but so far the warlock had done nothing but dodge Damon's questions with snide remarks and loopholes. He was getting seriously annoyed, but hadn't physically hurt the man yet; Elena was still there...but that would have to change.
"Elena, you need to leave." He said.
Elena shook her head. "No, I'm staying." She said. She knew full well what to expect from Damon, but she wanted to be there to try to stop him from going too far; something she hadn't figured out how to do quite yet. Damon turned to her, and she could see the annoyance on her face.
"Elena, now isn't the time for this."
"For what? Me to stop you from torturing him?" she said, defiant.
"No, for you to be here while I do. Leave or watch, but I need answers." He said flatly. Elena knew who he was, and that was something she needed to remember. Elena looked at him, slightly put off.
"No."
"Fine." Damon turned, smashing his elbow into the back of the man's immobilized hand, hearing his scream as the bones broke. Elena flinched
"Damon!" she said, pleading and alarmed.
"Not now, Elena." He looked back to the man. "How is Klaus involved?" he repeated, annoyed. He didn't feel nearly as threatening as he should; Stefan's eyes weren't as fierce as his. He watched the shivering man think, then speak.
"I owe him a favour."
"What kind of favour?" Damon said, looking him in the eye.
"A big one; the kind it's hard to repay."
"Yes, I get that." He sneered. "Tell me something useful."
"I was going to trade her for Klaus' pardon." He said, eyeing Elena over Damon's shoulder.
"Good. These are the kinds of things you should be telling me." Damon said, patting him harshly on the shoulder. "Now, how is the switch reversed?" The man laughed, and Damon tilted his head. Elena looked away, not wanting to see Damon's reaction. She hated seeing this side of him, and she wasn't sure if she should stay or leave. She heard the man scream again as Damon pressed down on the broken bones, and she left. Damon heard her go, and he smiled at the man.
"Now you're really in trouble." He said. "I suggest being very very nice to me right now."
The man looked up. "You can't! You'd have to kill more people than we did originally, and you'd need two witches of equal power to me; something not very common." He sneered. "And you'd need the original spell. I'm sure you won't find it in my Grimoire." He said. Turning to look at the book sitting across the room.
"These pages?" Damon said, picking up the manila envelope off the desk behind him. The man's face confirmed it. "Little piece of advice: next time blindfold your hostage." The envelope was full of empty pages; On their way back Elena had insisted that they give the real ones to Bonnie, so she could try to decipher them.
"Regardless of you having the pages or not, you're doomed. I've already told Elijah that I have the girl, and he has told Klaus." The man gloated, and it was Damon's turn to laugh.
"Really? You're an idiot. Elijah has no interest in breaking the curse or in working with Klaus. If you're expecting some paranoid original vampire to come here and save you, you're very stupid...and I can't have stupid people around." He said, standing. "It irks me." The man looked at Damon, realizing what he was implying.
"But I told you—"
"What I needed to know." Damon said. What he didn't know is where he'd hide the body...finding places had gotten a lot harder lately.
"Elena" Elijah said, standing in the doorway of the boarding house. She glared at him, not having expected him to be there.
"Yes?"
"Are the brothers here?" he said, referencing Stefan and Damon.
"Stefan is." She said. She wasn't sure if she should tell him about the switch or not; she'd let Damon decide that. "He's in there." She said, referencing the library. Elijah smiled.
"Thank-you."
He walked past her and into the library, turning the corner as Damon finished wrapping the warlock in a sheet. "Stefan." Elijah said, approaching him.
"Elijah" Damon replied, waiting to see what he wanted before explaining the switch...if he ever explained it to him.
"I'm here to talk to you about Damon."
"What's he done now?" he asked, tying the sheet snugly around the body.
"He took something of mine; something very important. Where can I find him?"
Damon grinned. "Right here."
Elijah looked at the sheet, tipping his head. "Interesting."
"No" Damon said. "we switched bodies. This is the idiot who was responsible." Elijah's face was indiscernible for a moment as he thought.
"I imagine that's why you smell somewhat human...?" Damon nodded, Elijah continued. "That's unfortunate...you don't have much longer left."
"Thanks for reminding me." Damon said, annoyed. Elijah looked at him for a moment.
"You know, I could have you switched back." Damon looked at him, remembering the warlock that worked for Elijah.
"in exchange for Elena, right?" Damon said. Elijah nodded.
"And for your cooperation. My warlock is far more powerful than this bumbling fool was; he would be able to do it with much more ease." Damon shook his head and opened his mouth to speak. He was stopped by Elena.
"I'll do it." She said. Elijah smiled.
"That's more like it."
Bonnie knocked on Luca's door, not wanting to have to confront him after channelling his energy. Luckily, he didn't answer; it was his father.
"Bonnie Bennett. I have some serious questions for you." He said. Bonnie shifted uncomfortably.
"And I need your help." She said. She pulled the page-protected sheets from her bag, handing them to him. "I'll trade you this for your help." She watched him eye the sheets, weighing his options.
"Fine. Come in."
Elena turned to Damon, who was lazily leaned against the desk in the library. Elijah had left, giving them the night to talk about what had just happened before he returned the next day with an outline of what was going to happen. Damon hadn't been impressed.
"Damon, this doesn't have to be a bad thing." She said.
"Really, Elena? He wants to sacrifice you."
"Yes Damon, I know." Hearing this was repetitive, but at least Damon had waited until Elijah left to question her judgement. "But we have enough time to come up with some semblance of a plan." She said. She knew that Damon enjoyed scheming, and that he was notably good at it.
"Elena, even I'm not sure how to plan around this." He said. "I don't think it's even possible."
"Damon, there has to be a way." She said.
"I know, I'm just not sure what it is." He said. "I can give you blood, but that's weak at best. I'm not even sure I'd be able to heal a papercut right now, let alone keep you alive with it."
"I know." She said "I think we should talk to Bonnie. It's a stretch, but she might be able to figure something out"
"Not likely." He said.
"Not likely" she glared at him. "But there's a chance." He loved that about her, her fire. He'd thought it was gone when she'd made the original deal with Elijah, and seeing her want to find a loophole gave him determination. He'd protect her, there had to be a way.
"I need to talk to Linda"
"They've been switched?" Jonas said, pulling one of the pages out of the protector.
"Yes, and they're already deteriorating."
"That's to be expected." He said.
"How long do they have?" she asked.
"That depends. The longer they're left in each other's bodies, the longer it will take them to get back to their normal strength when switched back."
"How much longer? Days?" she asked.
"No, months. For every week they're in a switched body, they'll need a week to let their body 'turn back'. It's a long process, as their blood will be too weak to restore them right away."
"What the..."
"Switching vampires is one of the cruellest deaths possible, and it's also one of the hardest hits to a vampire's system. Whomever did this was definitely looking to kill them." Bonnie realized why; Elena.
"So they could get to Elena?"
"Most likely, or they wanted to kill the Salvatores." He said.
"They're under your protection, though." She said. "Shouldn't you be switching them back?"
"I wish it were that simple. I would have to kill several people to switch them back at this stage; something I'm not willing to do."
"What do you mean 'at this stage'?" she said, eyeing him.
"If I wait until they're human, I don't have to sacrifice anyone at all."