a/n: quite a few people got the trivia questions right last chapter! The quote was originally by Winston Churchill, and the supernatural show that used it was Teen Wolf ;) anyway apologies for the long wait! thank you as always for all your wonderful reviews, and I hope you enjoy the latest installment!

SALEM

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Silas eyed Damon speculatively from the doorway, where he stood with Katherine by his side. "What are you doing here, brother?"

"Don't you dare," Damon's voice was low, "What have you done with him?"

"And whom exactly might you be referring to?"

Damon's hands curled into fists, and Elena hastily reached forward to place a warning hand on his elbow. Either he didn't care, or was too far gone to feel it. "My BROTHER, you face-stealing, mind-altering, jackass! WHERE'S STEFAN?"

"It's interesting that you believe I stole his face," Silas mused thoughtfully, taking a step into the house. Katherine scurried in after him, looking frightened. "When, really, you have the story all wrong."

Damon's jaw was clenched, "What the hell is that supposed to mean?"

He treated them to a secretive smile, one that sent shivers racing down Elena's back. "You are aware of my history, yes?"

"Which bit?" Damon sneered, "The part about Qetsiyah? Or the part where I kill you so that you become a mere footnote in history?"

Silas smirked, folding his hands behind his back and nodding at Katherine to shut the door behind them. She did so, keeping her head down and meekly taking a seat on the couch next to Lucy—who, in any case, did not appear to be aware of the proceedings taking place in front of her.

"I was a warlock," he began, "An extremely powerful one, if I do say so myself."

"Modest, too," Elena muttered under her breath, to which Damon snorted and Silas glared. "Continue, oh great warlock," she demurred, giving him a mock curtsy. "Forgive me for interrupting."

Katherine lifted her head to look at her doppelganger with wide eyes, but Silas' anger seemed to fade and be replaced with faint amusement.

"I created the spell for immortality," he remarked offhandedly, "With the help of Qetsiyah. And as you all know, the only reason she agreed was because she was in love with me and hoped that I would make her immortal as well."

"But you screwed her over," Damon said, waving a hand across the room. "Hence the mess you've made in trying to outsmart the monster you created."

Silas ignored him. "I was in love with another woman who I wished to spend an eternity with.. Qetsiyah was furious, naturally. She murdered the woman I loved and then made the cure for immortality. The rest should be familiar to you. I was imprisoned in that cave with the cure, as she hoped that I would take the cure and die—forever being trapped on the Other Side so she could finally be with me."

"You don't honestly think she still wants you, do you?" Elena asked flippantly, "I mean, not after everything you've done."

He tilted his head, "The Five were created to find me, shove the cure down my throat, and kill me. As you can see, Qetsiyah was willing to go to great lengths to get me back."

"We don't care about your women problems," Damon growled, "What does this have to do with Stefan?"

"I'm getting to that part of the story," Silas answered delicately. "So, as I'm sure you know, nature doesn't allow a witch to coexist as a vampire."

Elena and Damon exchanged a glance, both thinking of Bonnie's mother.

"It's why I needed Bonnie—the help of a witch—because I had lost my magic when I became immortal."

"But you still have powers," Damon interjected, proving that he wasn't as oblivious to the story as he appeared to be. "The ability to mess with people's minds, make them see what you want them to see."

"Yes," Silas agreed, but didn't elaborate. "Bonnie, as a descendant of Qetsiyah, was a powerful witch. I knew she would be able to tap into enough power to destroy the veil separating our world from the Other Side." He shrugged, "And once that distinction ceased to exist, I would be able to take the cure, die, and be reunited with the woman I loved instead of being trapped with..."

"The woman you scorned."

Silas glanced at Damon, "Right."

"So you followed us off the island," Elena began counting on her fingers, "Convinced Bonnie to kill 12 witches to finish the Expression Triangle, emptied out the blood banks of all the local hospitals—"

"I hadn't had a drop of blood in over 2000 years," Silas retorted, "What did you expect?" When no one answered him, he continued. "With a little help from the blonde vampire...what was her name?"

"Caroline Forbes," Damon responded stiffly. "You know, the girl you forced to become a mass murderer."

"Right," Silas said again, looking pleased. "Yes, well, Caroline saving Bonnie's life and killing the linked witches completed the Expression Triangle, and I had everything I needed to destroy the veil." He paused, "I'm not sure how much you know of what happened afterwards."

Elena crossed her arms, "Are we getting to the part that involves Stefan?"

"Even though the Triangle was complete, I still wasn't in possession of the cure," Silas explained, "So I went to Klaus and threatened him with the white oak stake, telling him to bring me the cure. He refused, so I used my abilities to make him believe I had embedded a piece of the stake into his back. Needless to say, he was in unbearable agony."

"How were you able to fool an Original?" Damon's eyes narrowed, "You make it seem like you have no powers, and yet..."

"He shouldn't have been so easy to fool," Silas snapped back, whirling around. "He should've known the white oak stake was indestructible, yet his mind was weak enough to believe I had somehow broken a piece of it off. It's his own fault for being so gullible, so...human."

"Caroline helped him," Elena frowned, "He called her for help and she inadvertently made him realize it was all in his head." She scuffed her boot back and forth along the carpet absentmindedly. "Katherine had the cure, of course. Not Klaus. She was using it as a bargaining chip for her freedom. She offered it to him in exchange for information about a plot brewing against him in New Orleans."

Silas listened carefully before continuing, "It was his brother that I eventually took the cure from. Elijah was in possession of it, as Katherine had handed it over to him. He offered to give it to Rebekah if she could live a day as a human, and I was able to fool him into thinking I was his sister dearest."

"But Bonnie came to her senses," Damon pointed out, "About helping you."

"She tried to hide from me," Silas raised his voice, for the first time looking truly angry. "That was foolish of her. She had already promised to destroy the veil; she shouldn't have tried to go back on her word."

"So you tormented Caroline to find her."

"Bonnie came to Caroline's house that night, and recognized that I had used my abilities to disguise myself as the sheriff. I thought I had convinced her to follow through on our plan...it was only later that I realized she wanted Qetsiyah to help her kill me."

Damon straightened, now clearly paying attention. "That's what she was trying to do in the basement of the school—when she found the center of the Triangle." His gaze hardened, "I was there when she turned you to stone, when she finally stopped you."

Silas' expression flickered, "An impressive show of power, I will admit. But then she went and got herself killed, didn't she?" His eyes glinted, "And it was all for nothing."

"Don't say that," Elena hissed, her fingertips pressing into her skin as she fought to control her emotions. "Don't you dare say that."

"I came back to life after she closed the veil," Silas murmured, now getting to the part of the story that Damon and Elena had been waiting for. "Stefan had been driving towards the quarry to dump my body. He didn't realize what had happened till he got out of the car and found that my body bag was empty, filled with nothing but rocks."

Damon suddenly turned away, looking stricken, "I should've gone with him."

Silas' face contorted cruelly, "Perhaps so. But you were too busy with your new girlfriend to give a damn about Stefan, weren't you?"

"Don't," Elena said to Damon, holding up a hand so that he wouldn't retaliate. "We need to hear the rest of the story." She took a deep breath, composing herself. "So he realized you weren't there anymore," she prompted, "Then what?"

"I made myself known," Silas' voice changed, becoming more dramatic now that he knew the room was hanging onto his every word. "I took the form of you, actually, Elena."

Elena blinked several times, "Why me? Are you...another Tatia doppelganger?"

He gave a short laugh, "Stefan thought the same thing. But no, I am not. I revealed my true self to him, just as I've revealed my true self to all of you."

"And when exactly did you do that?" Damon demanded, "We haven't seen you in anything other than this mask of my brother's that you've been parading around town."

Silas tilted his head, "And you still haven't gotten it? Pity, I thought you were the smart one, Damon."

"No," Elena breathed, arriving at the horrifying conclusion at the same time that it hit Damon. "You're not...no, it's impossible!"

"Funny thing about nature," Silas commented blithely, "There always needs to be a balance. I couldn't just be immortal, you know. There had to be a loophole."

"Which was what?" Damon asked roughly, his voice thick with barely suppressed rage. "What have you done with my brother?"

"There had to be a doppelganger...a shadow self...so that I could never truly die." Silas met Damon's gaze, "Stefan."

Elena stormed forward then, past Damon. "What you're saying is ridiculous," she raged, "Stefan is Damon's BROTHER. They grew up together, they became vampires together, they've—"

"Destined, perhaps," Silas interrupted, "To become a vampire."

Katherine finally stood up, her face horrified. "You mean to say," she choked out, "That you killed him?"

Silas frowned, "Of course not. I told you before he was...safe. And I meant it."

"You never said that, all you would tell me is that he wasn't dead!"

"And wasn't that good enough?" Silas shot back, "You should be thanking me on bended knees that I didn't kill him!"

"Silas, I'm only going to ask you this one more time," Damon said in a deceptively calm voice, "Where is Stefan?"

"Safe."

Elena grabbed Damon's arm suddenly, panic washing over her features. "Oh my god."

"What?" He looked around wildly, "What is it?"

[Jeremy pointed, kneeling down onto the ground. "See these fresh tire tracks? Someone was here just before us...And see this? Someone already dragged something heavy up to the edge. I guess he must've already finished the job...It doesn't look like a woman's footprints. It looks like another guy. See how it's similar to Stefan's?"]

"When me and Jeremy went to go look for Stefan at the quarry," Elena stumbled over her words, fear causing her heart to constrict until she felt like she couldn't breathe. "He...see, he notices stuff now, because he's a Hunter."

"Elena, you're not making any sense," Damon's brow was furrowed as he looked at her, grasping her shoulders. "What are you talking about?"

"He noticed," she said again, trembling violently. "The marks on the ground...he said it looked like something heavy had been dragged up to the edge already and shoved off. So I thought...I mean, we thought Stefan had already gotten rid of Silas..."

Damon's eyes darted quickly back and forth, the grip on her shoulders becoming almost painful as he arrived at the same conclusion she had. Katherine gasped a second later, clapping her hand over her mouth. "You didn't!" she cried out, "You said he was safe!"

Silas laughed out loud, "Well, he's in a safe...if that counts."

Elena's lips felt numb and she had to force the words out, "You...locked him in a safe...and...shoved him into the quarry...to drown?"

"He's a vampire, you see," Silas answered cheerfully, "So he can't die."

The look on Damon's face was beyond murderous. "No," he said slowly, "He'll just drown repeatedly, desiccating away from lack of blood, while you took his place so that we would never know he was gone."

"That was the general idea, yes." Silas said crossly, "But apparently I didn't do as good a job of playing my doppelganger as I thought."

"Damon knew," Elena cut in fiercely, "As soon as you dropped by the house with the news about Bonnie. He knew."

[Damon narrowed his eyes, "What do you mean by 'that witch'? I've never heard you refer to Bonnie by anything other than her name before."

"You won't be needing to think of nicknames for her anymore...Well, except for what you plan to write on her gravestone, of course...I was thinking 'loving daughter, friend, witch...has a nice ring to it."

"What the hell is wrong with you?" Damon hissed, "You're not even going to stay to help us find a witch to bring Bonnie back?"]

"Did he?" Silas asked unconcernedly, "Katherine figured it out once we hit the road as well." He shrugged, "What can I say? I just don't have Stefan's patience in dealing with you lot." He leaned conspiratorially towards Damon, "Between you and me, can I just say that I think Mystic Falls breeds its very own brand of utter stupidity?"

"I'm going to go rescue Stefan," Damon responded flatly, "Then we're going to come back and kill you."

Silas took a seat, lounging backwards into the cushions. "Believe me, nothing would give me greater pleasure than being able to find peace with the woman I love. But, as you know, the cure for immortality is gone, thanks to your boneheaded girlfriend over there."

Elena gritted her teeth, "Now you're blaming your existence on me? You're the one that was stupid enough to ask for true immortality, it's time for you to deal with the consequences."

"I have been dealing, sweetheart," Silas said condescendingly, "For 2000 years."

Katherine abruptly lurched forward and grabbed Damon's wrist. "Silas wanted to find Lucy because she's a Bennett witch—another descendant of Qetsiyah. He wants her to help him create another cure for immortality. Then he wants to drink it after she lowers the veil."

Damon closed his eyes, massaging his temples with two fingers. "Let me get this straight," he said finally, "Your whole plan is basically the old plan, just with a different witch?" He shot a glare towards Lucy, "Did you agree to this?"

"She's been..." Katherine's voice petered out, "Well, I don't know exactly. Silas did something to her. Screwed up her mind somehow."

"So you're saying that she's going to go along with the plan, even though it's going to unleash hell on earth?" Elena said disbelievingly, "Silas, you can't do this!"

He tilted his head at her, looking genuinely confused. "I would've thought you would be able to see my perspective this time around, Elena. Isn't your best friend trapped on the Other Side as we speak? Don't you want to free her?"

"Yes, of course I want to bring her back! But I would never agree to what you're planning, Silas." She narrowed her eyes at him, "Never."

"Well, it's going to happen," he said blandly, "Whether you agree with it or not. And, in case you two are getting any bright ideas, I'll be keeping all of you captive until the plan has reached completion."

"Right," Damon scoffed, "Come on, Elena. We're leaving." He took a single step towards the door, but Silas moved faster than the blink of an eye. When Elena saw Damon again, he was resting in a heap on the ground, his neck clearly broken.

"Next time it'll be a stake to the heart," Silas warned, pointing towards the sofa. "Take a seat next to your human doppelganger, Elena. None of you are going anywhere any time soon."

She didn't move, "But what about Stefan?"

Silas waved a hand dismissively, "Trust me, he's not going anywhere either."

"But...but..." Elena sputtered, "He's DROWNING!"

"Yes, drowning," Silas agreed coldly, "Not dying. Take a seat."

"He's suffering, I can't just—"

A stake appeared in his hand, poised inches away from her heart. "Speak again, and it'll be the last thing you do." Elena fell silent. Silas stared at her for a long moment before stepping away, back towards Lucy. "Place a spell on the door," he ordered her, "So no one can leave."

Katherine's shoulders slumped forward, clearly dismayed. "Silas, this isn't necessary."

"Oh, I think it is."

Lucy raised both hands towards the door, her eyes glazing over as she performed the spell. A simple golden light streamed from her fingertips and ran alongside the edge of the front door, zipping in a rectangular pattern several times before there was a loud pop! and the light faded away. "It is done," she intoned, "No one may enter and no one may leave."

Silas smiled, satisfied. "You two go upstairs," he said to Elena and Katherine. "Lucy and I will be in the basement, working on the spell for the cure."

Elena hesitated, glancing down at Damon's crumpled form. "What about him?"

"Take him upstairs with you, or leave him lying on the ground. It doesn't much matter to me."

She pursed her lips and hauled Damon to his feet before blurring up the stairs and into the first bedroom she could find. She gently laid Damon on the bed, and turned to see Katherine enter the room behind her, looking slightly out of breath from racing up the stairs. "Thanks for coming."

Elena paused, listening to the sounds downstairs. When she was confident Silas was out of hearing range, she nodded. "Damon saw your clue hidden in the soap. Good thinking."

Katherine smiled faintly, "I knew Damon would figure it out." Then her smile faded, "What now?"

"I have no idea," Elena patted her pockets and pulled out her cell phone. "Luckily I still have this, so we can call Caroline to tell her to rescue..." She paused, her eyebrows deepening into a frown. "Damn."

"What? Is it dead?"

She shook her head, "It says no signal. That's odd. It was working fine outside."

"Must be part of the spell," Katherine remarked gloomily, "No outside communication."

Elena scowled, moving toward the only window in the room and raising up the glass so they could get some fresh air. She wistfully pressed her hand against the net, her skin hitting an invisible barrier. She sighed, "Lucy is certainly thorough."

"She's a good witch."

"Must be why Silas wants her," Elena turned away from the window, but halted when she heard a rustling from outside. It was very faint, and she almost certainly wouldn't have heard it without her enhanced senses. "Someone's out there."

Katherine hastily backed away from the window, "Oh god, we're going to die in here, aren't we?"

Elena tuned her out distractedly, "No one can get in, remember?" Then she lowered her voice so that no human would be able to hear, and no supernatural creature either—not unless they were listening for it. "Who's out there?" she asked, barely moving her lips, her voice coming out in the barest of whispers.

Another rustle, then...

Tyler.

Elena's mouth dropped open as the familiar figure stepped out from behind a tree in the distance, his finger raised to his lips. He raised his cell phone in her direction, a questioning look on his face. She shook her head, trying to signal to him that her phone wasn't working. She squinted, watching as a contemplative look crossed his face. "What do you want me to do?"

"Stefan is in a safe at the bottom of the quarry," she whispered, and she saw him tilt his head towards her so that he could hear. "Get back to Mystic Falls. Tell Caroline and Jeremy what's going on. We're going to need help to get out of this mess."

When she was done, he nodded, flashing her two thumbs up to show that he had gotten the message. She made a shooing motion with her hands, urging him to get away before Silas or Lucy noticed anything was amiss. He nodded again and then sped off down the road, disappearing from sight almost immediately.

"What was Tyler doing here?" Katherine murmured, almost at Elena's ear. "Did you bring him with you?"

"Long story," Elena sank down onto the bed, next to Damon's unconscious form. "Tyler found us on the highway when we were on the way to Salem. He had been spelled by some witches, according to Lucy. He must've snuck out of the house when you and Silas arrived." She trailed off thoughtfully, "I wonder when he woke up."

["This is what I can tell you...The boy has been spelled. He was sent to find those who sought him out."

"There must be some mistake...We weren't seeking him out, that was Caroline."

"He was sent where he was needed most...whatever purpose he may serve may not be clear now, but it shall become clear in time."]

"It doesn't matter," Katherine said anxiously, "As long as he gets to Stefan before it's too late."

"And as long as he gets help before it's too late," Elena closed her eyes, rubbing her hands across her face. "All our fates rest in his hands now."

NEW ORLEANS

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Caroline woke up groggily, fumbling on the nightstand to look at her cell phone. Her eyes twinged painfully as the bright light hit her irises, and she squinted at the blaring time on her phone. 3:07 AM.

The knocking on her door became more insistent, and she turned to stare at it in confusion. "Jeremy?" she hissed at the door, "What are you doing?" She stumbled out of bed, haphazardly throwing on a silk bathrobe and flipping on the light switch before pulling the door open.

And then promptly attempted to slam the door shut.

Klaus threw an arm out to stop her, "Caroline, we have to talk."

"Whatever you have to say, it can be said in the morning," she snapped, pushing against the door with all her strength. Unfortunately, it didn't budge.

"I'm taking a great risk even coming here to speak to you," Klaus hissed, "There are things going on here that you don't understand!"

"Yes, you've mentioned that before," Caroline said grumpily, giving up on the door and moving away with crossed arms. He hastily let himself in, shutting the door quietly behind him and then flipping off the light.

"Hey! What are you—"

"Shh!" There was a click and then a tiny flame appeared across the room, illuminating Klaus' face. She moved closer, squinting until she could see the cigarette lighter in his hand. "No one can know I'm here," he murmured, "It would put your life and the life of anyone you care about in grave danger."

Caroline glared, "Then maybe you should leave."

"I know you're upset." Klaus hastily held up a hand as she took several furious steps towards him. "No, hear me out, Caroline. I'm not insinuating that you're jealous, and I don't mean to imply that you're upset with me for sleeping with Hayley. I know you're not any of those things." He glanced quickly up at her, "Because for that to be true, you would have to care for me. And I know you don't."

She didn't reply.

"But we are friends." He hesitated then, "Or we were, in a manner of speaking. And friends shouldn't keep secrets from each other."

Caroline stared at him, lost in thought as she watched the tiny flames from the lighter dance across his face, shadows flickering in and out of his eyes as he spoke. "I didn't come here for you," she finally said, her voice void of emotion; detached. "I came here because my friend needs help. Bonnie didn't deserve to die and we need those witches to help us. Her idea from last night was a good one. I hope you didn't come here to talk me out of it."

Klaus' face fell, proving that was indeed why he had come to her door at three in the morning. Inexplicably, Caroline felt a fresh surge of rage. "Get out."

He looked up at her, anger flashing in his gaze. "I'm trying to save you, Caroline! You don't want to be here, trust me!"

"Trust you?" She repeated incredulously, "God, I can't even look at you right now!"

Klaus grabbed her wrist as she turned away, hauling her back towards him until they were inches apart. "Marcel doesn't like things he can't control," he snarled, "Therefore, he does not like you. He and his minions will be at every corner, watching your every move. He can never know that you were here to get his witches to practice magic. He will kill you without batting an eyelid, I've seen it happen. Caroline, please—"

"No, no, let go!" She snatched her hand out of his grasp, but didn't move away. She could feel the flame near her face, heating her skin. "I'm not scared of Marcel, and I'm not scared of Sophie, and I'm sure as hell not scared of you! I need to do this, don't you understand? I need to do this for Bonnie, because she's my best friend, and she died to bring Jeremy back to life, and we've all lost so many people, and—and I can't..." A sob escaped her lips, "I can't let everyone down, don't you see?"

Then she broke down completely, her hand clamped over her mouth to stifle her sobs. After a second, there was a click as Klaus let go of the lighter, and then they were standing in complete darkness. She blinked once, and she saw Klaus's silhouette move away, towards the door. Then he paused, his back to her. She could see the tension in the way he held his shoulders, hunched together. He didn't want to be here, that much was clear.

"Go," she whispered, the tears making her voice thick. "Starting tomorrow morning, Bonnie will follow around Marcel when you're not around. She'll be with him whenever he's with his little inner-circle and she'll be with him whenever he's alone. One way or another, she's going to find out how he's controlling the witches. And once she does, we'll have something they want. Then they'll have no choice but to help us."

"Caroline..."

"It's a good idea," she swallowed against the the gnawing pain in her throat that came with unshed tears. "You didn't disagree with it in front of Elijah, so don't come to me in the middle of the night and try to get me to change my mind!"

"That's not what...that's not why—" He broke off, sounding frustrated. "Why won't you ever listen to reason!?"

She gritted her teeth, her eyes beginning to shimmer. She didn't want to cry in front of Klaus; she refused to show him any more weakness. "And why won't you ever listen to me when I tell you to leave?"

She couldn't see his facial expression, but she felt the sudden whoosh of air as he blurred away from the door until he was towering over her. She looked up at him, only able to see his eyes glistening in the darkness. "Caroline," he breathed her name, almost a sigh. Then he wrapped his arms around her in an embrace, one hand resting against her head. Before she had time to process what was happening, he was gone, as if he had never been there in the first place.

Caroline took an uncertain step towards the door, her fingers finding the lock and turning it until she heard a satisfying click. She had just reached her bed and gotten under the covers when her phone buzzed loudly, and she nearly jumped out of her skin. She grabbed it hurriedly, glancing only briefly at the unknown number. "Hello?"

"Care?"

Her eyes widened with shock, "Tyler?"