AN: Here it is! Sorry about the distance between chapters, but it's getting hectic around here (I'm in finals season, and I have a lot of papers/exams to write. Yay university lol!) also, the cheer team is doing lots of extra practice for nationals, so when I get a chance I write a little at a time. I hope you enjoy!

Damon woke to a searing pain! His chest was on fire, and it felt like molten lead was being poured down it! He could feel his chest heaving, and for the first time in over a century, he took a breath that he needed. He was straining and trying to cough, and he threw himself forward, chunks of black matter and blood spewing onto the seat across from him. He could feel black ooze riding up in his throat, and he tipped his head down, the thick liquid slowly draining out of his heaving chest.

"Damon, what's happening?" Stefan said, shifting away from the bloody mess. Damon only coughed harder in response, and he shook his head from side to side, sending strands of the black ooze flying across the cabin of the train car. It hurt. Finally he threw his head back, struggling to stabilize himself as he exhaled shakily, then inhaled. He closed his eyes as he felt the cold sensation of the breath, and he could have cried. His lungs were human.

2 Days Later

Elijah sat comfortably in a large red leather armchair, waiting for Klaus' arrival. He knew that he'd come to London; the doppelganger was too unique of a gift for him to stay in hiding. He'd worked so hard for this; Klaus' death. Stefan may have stolen the dagger, but Elijah was resourceful, and he smiled as he felt the steel blade of his own dagger in his coat...Elena would have to do the honours, unless one of the brothers turned first. Damon was fairly close, of course Stefan's body was much weaker and the change was affecting it rapidly. Lucky Stefan, he'd probably have another month or two before the changes caught up with him; Damon's body was strong enough to fight off the affects for quite a while.

Jonas was looking stoically out of the front window, waiting for the Mercedes that he knew would pull up. He spoke, not turning from his position. "He knows to bring Daphne?" he asked.

"He needs her; she's the one who will be most familiar with the spell. There's no way that he'll ruin his chances of ending the curse." Elijah was sure of this, Jonas not so much. Daphne had been sending him bits and pieces of what had happened since she'd been taken, and his view was starting to change. He could feel the pleading in her flashbacks, and his resolve towards killing Klaus was starting to shake. One thing that would have to be dealt with was Elijah, and it would be nearly suicidal to try to kill him. Jonas knew he was only so powerful, and many of his spells didn't do much against an original. Damon and Stefan were in no shape to take on a normal vampire, let alone Elijah, and as much as Elena tried to be useful, she couldn't help in this situation. They'd have to figure it out, and they'd have to do it fast. He could feel Daphne's presence coming towards them, and they didn't have long.

Jonas closed his eyes and focused on Damon, Elena, Stefan, and Daphne. He'd try his best to form a plan in their heads, and he was already sending them flashes of what he was piecing together. HE could feel Daphne connect with him, and she started adding in bits and pieces of her own. They'd do it, together.

"They're going to kill Elijah" Daphne said.

"With what? Your father isn't strong enough, and even if there are vampires with them, they'll be useless."

"My father is asking for our help...your help." She said.

"Why would he do that?"

She smiled. "Because I've been sending him images of how happy I am. If I send a mental picture, he knows I'm telling the truth. It's impossible to lie in flashbacks."

Klaus smiled, but shifted uncomfortably. The one thing they needed, an original-killing dagger, they didn't have. Undoubtedly Elijah would have one waiting for him, and he'd have to confront the vamp to have a hope of killing him. He didn't know who Daphne's father had with him, but he hoped that they'd be cooperative. Klaus may be an original, but he wasn't invincible, despite what the myths about him said.

"What's wrong?" she asked, her deep brown eyes looking up at him, questioning.

"I'm not sure how we're going to diffuse this situation." He said.

"Here" she took his hand. "I can show you what we're planning." She closed her eyes again, and his vision was clouded with images of the quickly evolving plan. He was genuinely surprised; the motley group of them were putting together a plan that could definitely work.

"20 Minutes, Sir" His driver said, the window between the front and back of the Mercedes now open.

"Wonderful Nathaniel."

Twenty minutes to understand the plan, and to tell them what his role would be. It was time to think.

Jonas walked slowly down the hall, not wanting to seem more eager than necessary. He'd been sent to check on Damon; Elijah wanted to know how close to human he was, but it was also a very vital chance to start to switch the two of them back. He opened the door, not bothering to knock.

"What do you want?" Damon asked.

"Just checking on you." He said. Elena was in another room, and both of the brothers looked at him eerily. "Elijah wants to know how affected by the switch you two are." He said.

Damon raised an eyebrow in an expression that looked downright odd on Stefan's face. "If I were any more human, I'd be eating a steak and complaining about my investments." He said. Jonas reached towards him, placing a hand on his head against Damon's shifting away, and closed his eyes. From what he could see, the majority of his organs had turned already, and it would be a matter of days until he was fully human; until he aged. Jonas did the same to Stefan, discovering that his body was still vampiric, although he had no abilities left. He'd last longer than Damon at this rate. Jonas looked up and kicked the door shut.

"What are you – "

"I'm going to switch you back"

Damon looked at him quizzically. "What changed your mind?"

"My daughter. I'm sure you've seen from the images we've been sending you what we intend to do."

"Kill Elijah" Damon said. "Why switch us back?"

"I get the feeling that you'll be a lot more helpful in your own bodies."

"Not necessarily" Stefan said. He'd seen how his body was deteriorating, and he'd been thankful that Damon's was so strong. Overall, he didn't know why he was helping them. "What's in it for me?" he asked.

"If I'm correct, you're trying to save Katerina, right?" he asked. Stefan nodded, amidst Damon's glaring at him. "If you help kill the only person foolish enough to want Klaus dead, he's definitely in a position to forgive her." Stefan decided to think about it. What could he really do to stop the switch? The answer was nothing. He'd die if he didn't switch back, and there was a higher chance of living if he was in his own body. Either way, switching back was better. He'd hurt Elena enough, and taking his brother from her would be too cruel.

"Fine. I'm in." He said. "But, if we switch back, what'll happen to Damon? His body isn't near human yet, but he isn't really a vampire."

"If the switch completes fast enough, Damon's body will heal to its full vampiric strength." Stefan nodded, but Damon sat forward.

"What do you mean by 'if it completes fast enough'?"

"We'll have to bind Elijah to you two as a sacrifice; if he's killed before you (Damon) start to age, you'll live."

"And if we don't kill him in time?"

Jonas just looked at him, and Damon understood. This was the epitome of what he was; kill or die. It was beautiful. Damon looked up at him.

"Let's go." He said. Jonas understood what he meant, and he pulled out a small knife, starting to chant and slicing his hand open. The blood dripped in the silent room, and Jonas' chants were whispered, hoping to stop Elijah from hearing him. Slicing his hand was risk enough; Elijah would probably smell the blood.

Jonas moved his hand over Damon's head, letting the red liquid drip onto his forehead. It smoked as it hit Damon's skin, and Damon shook his head, not wanting to make a sound from the pain. Jonas did the same to Stefan, who sat in silence and bore the acidic feel of the blood. He held a hand over each brother, and they slowly fell into a deep trance as he chanted, slumping over and falling asleep. When they awoke, they'd only have so much time before the switch killed them; what Jonas hadn't told them was that the transition period between the bodies only lasted a few hours; that's all they would have to kill Elijah.

Jonas took out a small piece of thread that he'd stolen from Elijah's suit. He ripped it in half and dropped a piece into the blood on each of the brother's heads, sealing Elijah as their sacrifice. Now it was time to wait.

Elena sat in the large room that she'd been sent to with her knees drawn up to her chest, her head resting on them. She was focusing as hard as she could on the images floating in her mind, and she wanted to know every detail. If they were going to kill Elijah, she wanted to be a part of it, no matter how small. Thinking about the plan stopped her from thinking about what would happen if they didn't kill Elijah; her death, and undoubtedly the death of Damon and Stefan. She hadn't seen Damon since the train, as they'd been driven in separate cars, but as she'd passed the cabin where the brothers had been staying she'd seen the blood covering the seats, and she knew it had to be Damon's.

Right now was one of the times that she sincerely wished that she had some kind of ability; something that could help save two of the people she cared about most, but she was coming up empty. Stefan and Damon had saved her so many times, and she could count the times she'd done the same on one hand. It made her sick to think that Damon could die without her doing anything to stop it. As long as she had the flashes in her mind though, she knew he was alive.

Elijah watched out the window as the Mercedes pulled up to the large house, smiling. Even with the barrier between the front and back of the car, he could see three people in the car. Nathaniel, Klaus' human driver, Klaus himself, and a young woman whom he could only assume was Jonas' daughter. He knew that Klaus could see him, and he held his smile back; he was so close.

He looked away as he smelled blood, Jonas' blood.

"Jonas" he yelled. The warlock stalked out of the back hallway, coming in to the living room. "You're bleeding." He said.

"I had to knock the brothers out; they were planning to kill you." He said. Elijah seemed to deem this an acceptable answer.

"How long will they be out?"

Jonas looked at him, emotionless. "Long enough."