A/N: thank you to everyone who's been reading and reviewing, your support here and on twitter means so much to me! for those keeping track, there should be about 3 more chapters after this one. "Through the Looking Glass" will start getting updated regularly after I finish this fic, since I want to get this one done before the new TVD season starts :) enjoy!

SALEM

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Damon sleepily opened his eyes, a smile forming on his lips when he saw Elena lying next to him. His smile faded, however, as he studied the paleness of her skin and the dark circles under her eyes. She looked utterly exhausted, even in sleep.

He turned around slowly, intending not to jostle the bed as he got out so that she could continue resting. When he had successfully flipped to his left, however, he nearly leapt out of his skin at the sight of Elena lounging in front of him. She smirked at him when she saw his reaction.

"What the—" He sputtered before scrambling out of bed, "What the hell is going on here!?"

Katherine popped both eyes open and grinned over at Elena, the two of them exchanging a high five as Damon scowled at them, realizing he had been played. "Hey there, sleepyhead," Elena greeted, getting out of bed and kissing him sweetly on the cheek. "How are you feeling?"

Damon unconsciously rubbed his neck, feeling the lingering sensation of an ache that had healed. "So I get my neck snapped, and you two suddenly decide to become BFFs and play a prank on me?" He glowered at Elena, "Your boyfriend?"

She giggled, in a suspiciously good mood given the current circumstances. "Just a harmless prank," she reassured him, standing on her tiptoes and brushing her lips against his until he begrudgingly returned the kiss. "There isn't exactly a lot of entertainment when you're locked in a house with no form of outside communication, anyway."

Damon looked at her sharply, "Locked in?"

"Silas and Lucy are in the basement doing the spell to make another cure for immortality," Katherine supplied, raising herself on her elbows so she could answer him. Damon gazed at her, realizing why he had thought Elena looked different. "What?' she asked self-consciously when she noticed him staring. "Don't look at my hair, the humidity in this place is ridiculous!"

"Humanity really doesn't agree with you," he said after a minute, his frown deepening. "Are you sick or something?"

"She's just tired," Elena said, and Damon was surprised to detect a note of sympathy in her voice. "Silas has been dragging her cross country with barely any sleep or food. And she's probably been in a constant state of fear—believe me, I get it."

If Katherine was surprised to hear Elena speak on her behalf, she didn't show it. Her eyelids drooped sleepily as she murmured something unintelligible in response. Damon's brow furrowed, "Did she say something about Lockwood?"

"Oh yeah," Elena perked up, though she lowered her voice at the same time, shooting a paranoid glance at the door. "Tyler escaped before Lucy put the spell on the door! Me and Kat saw him by the window when we got up here, and I was able to tell him to go get help—"

"For Stefan, right?" Damon interrupted forcefully, "You better have told him to go rescue Stefan!"

"I did, I did," she responded hastily, knowing that he was on edge. "I told him where Stefan was, and to let Caroline and Jeremy know what was going on."

"Good," he closed his eyes and leaned back against the door. "I didn't mean to yell at you."

"I know," she stroked his shoulder, giving him a worried smile. "Are you sure you're okay? You were out of it for a while."

"It takes longer to heal when you haven't been drinking enough blood," Damon explained, trying to recall when he and Elena had last fed. "Silas have any blood bags lying around?"

"Not that he mentioned," she said, keeping her tone light despite the situation. "He's not a very good host."

"Yeah, doesn't seem like it," Damon agreed, "I think even Klaus and Elijah were better at the whole wining and dining thing."

She patted his chest with a grin, "Well, you be sure to tell them that the next time you see them."

He heaved an exaggerated sigh, "Well, if nothing else, at least we have a back-up blood source."

Elena looked confused for a second, before her eyes widened as she realized what he was talking about. "No," she said firmly, "Don't even joke about that, Damon. We're not going to feed on her!"

He glanced over Elena's shoulder to make sure that Katherine was still sleeping. "She's practically wasting away, anyway. How long do you really think she can survive without food?"

"Long enough," Elena replied evenly. "Tyler will come through, I know he will."

Damon's mouth tightened, "He wouldn't exactly be my first choice if I was sending out a rescue brigade."

"We don't know what he's been through since he's been on the run," she chastised, "Have a little faith, Damon."

NEW ORLEANS

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Jeremy lay on his side, resting his head against his elbow. "Thanks for staying with me tonight."

Bonnie smiled back at him, though her expression was tinged with sadness. "Don't thank me. I wanted to." She reached out for his face, but stopped short when her hand was an inch away. She let her arm fall silently back to her side.

"I know," he whispered, "I wish I could touch you, too." He halfheartedly let his index finger run down the curve of her shoulder, watching as his hand went through her as if she wasn't there at all. Jeremy sighed, flopping back down onto the bed. "It's not fair."

"Life's not fair," Bonnie agreed, turning onto her back so that she was mimicking his pose. "It's weird, you know," she mulled, "I can feel the bed I'm lying on, but it doesn't feel like a bed at all...it feels more like a cloud, or maybe like some feathers..."

Jeremy absentmindedly scrunched the sheets beneath his fingers as he listened to her describe her otherworldly experience, and a sudden thought occurred to him. "Can you at least feel other ghosts?"

Her voice sounded confused when she answered, "You mean, can I feel their presence?"

"Yes, no..." He hesitated, "No, that's not I meant. I mean...can you feel them?"

Bonnie involuntarily shivered—a human reaction, more than anything—as she remembered Kol earlier that night. "I didn't think so," she finally said, realizing that Jeremy was waiting for her response. "But then...yeah, I guess you can. Sometimes."

"Sometimes?" Jeremy echoed, sounding uncertain. "Like when?"

"Like when you want to?" She shifted uncomfortably, "Can we talk about something else?"

"Hey," he abruptly turned to face her, his tone becoming serious. "I know you, and I know when you're being evasive. What's going on, Bonnie? Is there something I should know about?"

"No, it's nothing."

Jeremy sat up, now looking angry. "Haven't you done this enough?" he demanded, "Keeping secrets because you think you're protecting everyone? Isn't this how we got into this mess in the first place!?"

Bonnie sighed, also sitting up so that she could face him. "You have a lot going on," she said quietly, "I didn't want to worry you, especially when there's nothing you can do about it."

"Nothing I can do about what?"

She took a deep breath, debating how much to tell him. One look at his face, however, was enough to convince her that he wouldn't be satisfied with anything less than the truth. "Kol," she admitted, "I can feel him."

Jeremy tensed instantly, and even in the darkness, she could see the muscles bulging from underneath his shirt. "You saw Kol?"

"Earlier tonight. When you guys were looking for Caroline near Bourbon Street." Bonnie drew her knees up to her chest, knowing what Jeremy was thinking. "He didn't hurt me. Not physically, anyway. It's not like he can."

Jeremy's jaw was clenched, "I'll kill him."

She smiled in spite of herself, "He's already dead. That's kinda the whole point of this, remember?" She gestured between them as she spoke, watching as his face fell. "Don't worry, Jer. I can take care of myself. What's the worst he can do to me?"

"I don't even want to know," Jeremy muttered in response, rubbing his hands over his face. "Promise me you'll be careful. Kol is out for vengeance, and I just know that he's going to—"

"JEREMY!"

He jumped, nearly knocking over the bedside lamp as he ungainly fell out of bed, somehow getting twisted in the covers. "Care?" he shouted as he stumbled towards the door, his fingers fumbling with the light switch. "Are you okay?"

"Just open the door!"

Now that he could see, he hastily slid open the lock and pulled the door open to see a disheveled-looking Caroline on his doorstep. Her hair was in a messy ponytail, she was sans makeup, and she was wearing a large T-shirt he didn't recognize over an unflattering pair of sweatpants.

Something was very wrong.

"Caroline?' he asked cautiously, taking a step backwards into his room so that she could come in. "What's going on?"

"We have to go," she stammered, hurriedly closing the door behind her and grabbing his forearms. "Jer, we have to go back to Mystic Falls right now!"

"Mystic Falls!?" Jeremy exclaimed, glancing over at his bed and frowning when he noticed that Bonnie was no longer there. "What are you talking about? We're here to get help from the witches, remember?"

"The...the witches?" Caroline came to a standstill, the only movement coming from her eyes as her pupils darted back and forth frantically, almost as if she was looking for an escape route. "Oh god," she whispered after a few moments, "What are we going to do?"

He took her by the elbow and guided her to his bed without any resistance, momentarily taken aback at the utterly lost expression in her eyes. His own nervousness kicked in at the thought of what could have possibly driven her to act this way.

When she was seated, he reluctantly crouched down on the ground in front of her. The difference in their heights was so much, however, that he was still nearly at her eye level. When she met his gaze, he gently reached out to touch her knee. "Okay, Caroline, tell me what happened."

"Tyler," she answered blankly, "He called."

Jeremy felt a spark of annoyance, "You want to go running back to Mystic Falls just because your boyfriend is back?"

"No!" Caroline cried out vehemently, "It's Stefan!"

"Oh, Tyler found Stefan? That's great news! I bet Damon and Elena are so..." He trailed off, belatedly realizing that her current state of emotional well-being wasn't an appropriate reaction to the situation. "Is he..." Jeremy swallowed, his throat suddenly dry. "Is he dead?"

She shook her head, her eyes filling with tears. "Silas, he..." Her voice was hoarse as she forced herself to continue, "He locked Stefan in a safe and tossed him into the quarry to drown...th-that's where he's been all this time. Drowning."

Jeremy stared at her, horrified. "Drowning? Over and over again?" He fell back on his heels, his mind conjuring up repulsive images of what they would find when they pulled Stefan out of the water. "How...how did Tyler find him?"

"He didn't," Caroline folded her hands now, apparently very interested in examining her nails. "Damon and Elena are trapped in Lucy's house. Silas is there, and so is Katherine. Tyler managed to escape."

"Trapped!?" Jeremy shot to his feet, "With Silas? Why didn't you mention that before!? We need to get to Elena!"

"But what about Stefan!?"

Jeremy opened his mouth to respond, but a shadow in the corner of his eye caught his attention and he turned to see Bonnie standing near the door, her eyes pleading. "What about our plan to find out what Marcel is hiding?" she asked him desperately, "This is my only chance—our only chance!"

"Oh god, I don't know what to do," Jeremy sank down onto the bed next to Caroline, grabbing his hair roughly as he buried his face between his knees. "How can we be everywhere at once? It's impossible."

"We can't," she said bleakly, "We have to choose."

"We're going to have to split up," Jeremy realized, "You can go back to Mystic Falls for Stefan, and I'll go to Salem to find Elena, and—"

"No," Caroline gripped his wrist, "We're not splitting up."

[Elena turned to look at Caroline, "You'll keep him safe?"

"Of course," their eyes met briefly, the old threads of friendship sputtering back to life. Caroline's gaze grew serious, "With my life.

"Well, hopefully it doesn't come to that," Damon interrupted. "Klaus will protect you from the witches...and if nothing else, at least Elijah is down there. He'll make sure nothing happens to you two."]

"What?" Jeremy demanded angrily, "Why not?"

"Strength in numbers," she snapped back, "We're sticking together, deal with it."

"Well then, what's your bright idea?" He rose to his feet, throwing his arms out in exasperation. "Because we don't exactly have a lot of options here, Caroline!"

She looked up at him, towering above her—and her mind inexplicably flashed back to Klaus, looming over her in almost the exact same manner. "No," she responded slowly, "We do have options." She met Jeremy's gaze, "There are people here. People who will help us."

Jeremy snorted, "What people, Caroline? They want to see us out of this town, don't you get that?"

"I know," she said as she stood up with a renewed sense of purpose, "But you're underestimating them."

He met her gaze, his tone harsh. "They're not our friends."

"Maybe not ours," Caroline agreed, "But Klaus and Stefan share a bond that neither of us will ever understand. As for Elijah...he cares for Katherine and Elena. It's time to tell him the truth about what happened with the cure."

"No," Jeremy refuted immediately, "We swore that would keep Katherine's humanity a secret. It's Elena's only trump card—the threat of Klaus was the only reason that Kat wasn't wreaking havoc!"

"I know, but now they're both in danger. What do you want to do, Jeremy? Honor your sister's wishes or save her life?"

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4:19AM

Klaus opened his door and stared at Caroline, growing increasingly worried as he took in her appearance. His gaze lingered on her shirt, however, and he felt a stab of annoyance. "You're coming to me for help wearing Tyler's clothes? Do you take me for a fool, Caroline?"

Her mouth opened in shock, then closed again as she looked down at what she was wearing. She grasped the hem of the oversized T-shirt and stared down at it as if she'd never seen it before. "I didn't...I didn't realize..."

She was telling the truth, that much was clear. He leaned against the side of the door, trying to hold onto his earlier anger. "The last time I saw you—an hour ago, I might add—you were throwing me out of your room. Tell me why I should listen to you now?"

"Because..." she began, her watery gaze flickering away as her fingers tugged nervously back and forth along the hemline of her shirt. "Because I...I don't have anyone else to turn to."

Klaus heaved a sigh, fully knowing he was going to regret this decision later. "Alright," he said begrudgingly, stepping backwards and opening the door further. "Come in, Caroline."

She did, her eyes darting around the room and fixating on a small lamp in the corner, the only source of light in the otherwise darkened room. She walked towards it, almost as if in a trance. "Do you remember when I called you last week?"

He stared at her hard, wondering if she was intentionally trying to piss him off. "You mean when you asked me to find Tyler for you? That particular phone call?"

Caroline turned around suddenly, her eyes wide. "Forget about Tyler, I know where he is now. This is about Stefan."

"Yes, you mentioned that he was missing and I told you that he had probably left Mystic Falls rather than stick around and watch his brother romance his former girlfriend." When she looked surprised, he shrugged. "I remember all of our conversations, love."

She swallowed, taking a step away from the lamp and towards him. Darkness flickered over her features as she neared him, her hand outstretched as though she was going to touch his chest, though she stopped several inches away. "Silas is back, and he's forcing Lucy Bennett to create another cure for him. Damon, Elena, and Katherine are trapped by a spell in Lucy's house...in Salem."

Klaus gaped at her.

"And Stefan," she took a deep shuddering breath, "Is locked in a safe at the bottom of the quarry in Mystic Falls. Silas left him there to drown. Tyler is on his way there now, but he's going to need help. Who knows what Stefan will be like after desiccating in a box all summer..." She shivered miserably, "I can't even imagine."

"You want me to leave New Orleans?" Klaus had lowered his voice, and she nearly had to strain to hear him. "Right in the middle of...everything that's happening?" Caroline's eyes flashed and she started to take a step away from him, but he grabbed her wrist to stop her. "No, listen to me," he hissed, "For once in your life, will you just listen!?"

"Are you going to help him or not?" she hissed back, "I would've gone straight to Elijah, but I thought—I thought—oh, forget it!" She angrily yanked her arm out of his grasp, but he blurred to the door to block her exit. "Let me go."

"Not until you hear me out, Caroline."

She actually stomped her foot, "We're wasting time!"

"I can't leave," Klaus grabbed both her wrists this time, effectively stopping all her movements. "Sophie won't let me, and neither will Elijah for that matter." He used his hold on Caroline's wrists to bring her closer, until she was only an inch away. "Sophie has control over Hayley—and my son—and that's why I'm playing along with this whole Marcel charade. Once he lets me in on the secret of how he's controlling the witches, Sophie will be able to break his hold over them and she'll let Hayley go."

Her expression didn't change. "We already agreed that Bonnie was going to follow around Marcel, so you can't use that excuse."

Klaus groaned, letting go of her and clenching his hands into fists. "Why can't you understand? I've spent all this time convincing Marcel that I'm back for good—it'll be too suspicious if I just go running back to Mystic Falls! And Elijah...he's not going to leave either. He cares more for this baby and Hayley's fate than I do. Elijah is desperate for family, for a legacy. He won't let anything or anyone get in the way of that."

Caroline straightened, finally seeing the proverbial light at the end of the tunnel. "Not even for Katherine?"

"Elijah already chose family over Katherine. Why else do you think he is here in New Orleans, and not with her?"

She smiled calmly, "But what if I told him that his precious Katerina was back?"

Klaus looked confused, "Back where?"

"Back human."

The floorboard behind them creaked, and Klaus whirled around, flinging open the door. Elijah stood there, clearly having heard every single word.