Bonjour my sweets! I'm so incredibly sorry for the lack of updates – I suck and you should all hate me etc. HOWEVER, I certainly don't think you should hate the following update because I spent a freaking ridiculous amount of time on it! So please enjoy and I'll talk to y'all at the bottom.

I stared in horror at the small silver gun. "Please." I begged desperately. "Please don't shoot – you can't-"

I trailed off, not seeing any signs of giving in. "Please." I tried one last time, my voice cracking. "Don't- don't do this. For the love of God –"

"Too late, Gilbert."

I realised with absolute horror that nothing I would say would stop this. Fear, panic and everything in between surged through me and I leapt forward, wrenching my arm's out of the guard's grip and lunging, but I was too late. The gunshot rang out through the air, silencing everything else and there was a horrible screech as it hit the intended recipient and a crash as they crumpled to the floor. Blood began to flow from the hole in their chest quickly, too quickly and I stumbled over to them, ripping off my coat and trying to apply pressure to the wound but it kept coming, it wouldn't stop. Blood was getting all over my hands, my clothes, everywhere and it was making me feel sick but I had to keep trying, I had to save them because this was all my fault, it was all my fault…

I could hear shouts behind me but I didn't pay any attention to them – I had to save them, I had to, this wasn't happening…But the light was fading from their eyes and they had stopped breathing. A feeling of dull dread settled in the pit of my stomach as I realised that they were gone and I wasn't going to be able to save them. And then the dread changed. Fury replaced it. I rose slowly, shakily to my feet and turned around to face him.

"I'll kill you." I promised softly before lunging. And then chaos ensued.

3 Hours Earlier

"So captain, what's the plan?" I asked, trotting after him as he walked through the various cells, wincing as he peered into some of them.

"We're going to have to find blood for the others. Obviously, a spare guard would work perfectly well...want to come along and help me find one?"

"Of course." I grinned and he smirked down at me.

"I'm glad. I don't particularly want to let you out of my sight."

I was about to retort some snappy comment about how I had survived perfectly well on my own – well, leaving out the fact that I had been literally brainwashed – when I suddenly heard footsteps. Damon heard them too apparently, because suddenly I was being slammed against a wall that was hidden by shadows, leaving my head spinning. Damon didn't seem to notice my discomfort – he was on full alert, his stance predatory as he waited. Did vampires always move that fast?

The voices belonging to the footsteps slowly came in hearing distance too.

"I don't understand why we're checking on her." One of them was whining. "Why can't we just leave her to rot, like the others?"

"Because the boss said so." The other voice said wearily. "She's so slippery, we have to be positive that she's still here."

"It's a maximum security jail cell, how the hell would she have got out? She's only what, like 19?"

There was silence for a few moments before the complaining started again.

"This is the kid's shift, why have we been lumped with it?"

"He hasn't showed up. Always had my doubts about that boy, him being the sister of the girl and everything. Still, his father's insistent that he's loyal. We'll see."

There was silence for a few moments as they walked towards our former cell, just a few metres from us. I held my breath, waiting for it, waiting for them to discover that we were missing.

It was hilarious when they did.

"Em…Mick?"

It was the whiny one. He sounded unsure now. "Mick, where are they?"

"Don't be ridiculous, they're just…shit. Shit, Clint. Where the hell are they? "

I couldn't stop the grin from spreading across my face. They were looking into the cell frantically. "She's gone. They're both gone!"

The older one – Mick – pulled a cell phone from his pocket, beginning to dial. It was then that Damon stepped out into the light where they could see him. The phone fell to the ground with a clatter.

"Oh, I'm sorry. Did we interrupt something?" He asked calmly and they fumbled for a moment, before the whiny one produced a small gun and pointed it shakily at Damon's heart.

"I'll kill you Salvatore! I have white oak bullets!"

"Not happening buddy." I snapped, stepping out from the shadows and pointing a gun at his.

Whiny voice's – Clint – eyes narrowed when he saw me. "Gilbert!" He hissed, taking a step towards me. I jabbed the gun in his direction and he hastily retreated.

"You're both going to pay for the trouble you've caused." He snarled at me and I rolled my eyes.

"You think so? Please. The LM are going to lose and you know it. You're all just too scared to admit it because you've wasted so much of your lives being brainwashed into believing that its all powerful –"

"You really think? Just you wait Gilbert –"

"Try me, Clint, see what happens!"

"You want me to fucking show you what I could do to you, you little bitch –"

Damon stepped in, rolling his eyes.

"While this has been extremely interesting gentlemen, we really have to run. But you've showed up just in time – we've needed some fresh blood. I mean, I know normally the vampires wouldn't sink to such low standards, but desperate times call for desperate measures, right?"

Confusion crossed their faces as they tried to work out what he meant. As soon as they did, their faces contorted into fury and they prepared to charge at us but before they could run, he had moved so quickly that he morphed into a blur and had pushed them into the cell we had been in previously, slamming the door shut. I tossed him the key and he caught it easily, locking the lock so that they were trapped. "Good luck gentlemen!" Damon said cheerfully, ignoring their screeches and yells as they banged on the reinforced glass. Somehow he had grabbed the gun the whiny one had had, and now kicked it carelessly to one side. He picked up the cell phone that had fallen to the ground and slid it into his pocket before turning to me.

"Right, Ms. Gilbert. I think it's time we fed my brother and get back on track with our plan."

I nodded, spinning on my heel to make my way to Stefan's cell, but then he spoke, sounding so hopeful that I had to turn around.

"Do you remember Stefan?" He asked, trying to cover up his excitement.

I hesitated before answering honestly. "I've met him again." I offered, feeling guilty and something like pain flittered across Damon's face before he nodded again, the hope in his eyes fading.

"Right. Obviously. Come on then. Lead the way."

I followed his instructions, hurriedly making my way to the cell where I had been earlier, finding Stefan standing by the bars with a slight smile on his face. He reached through the bars and grabbed my hand.

"You managed to save the day again." He said hoarsely, holding onto me for a few moments. Tears threatened to brim up in my eyes – God dammit Elena, you had always been a crybaby – and I clutched his cold palm tightly, blinking a few times and trying to smile.

"Hey, maybe we can get to know each other again once this whole thing is over, yeah?" I asked too chirpily, trying to sound strong and ready for whatever crap was inevitably coming my way soon enough. I was beginning to doubt that this thing ever would be over – and even if it did end, what the hell was I going to do with myself then? I was neither a vampire nor a loyal human - all I was, was a messed up girl with daddy issues and a blank memory.

He smiled slightly, releasing my hand. "You'll remember, Elena. We won't need to get to know each other again. We'll just pick up where we left off."

His eyes rested on someone behind me and I turned to see Damon.

"Hello, brother." Damon said lightly, and Stefan grinned at him.

"Damon. Looking dapper, as always."

I held back a laugh. Although his wounds had healed, Damon was still covered in muck and blood was drying into his clothes and hair. I mean, he was still incredibly handsome but you know. He'd looked better.

Damon snorted and responded by reaching past me and grabbing the lock on the door. He squeezed - and then it cracked in two easily. Hang on. Had he just broken that with sheer strength? I stared at him for a minute, my heart thudding. I had never seen this amazing vampiric strength that I'd heard about in person before – not that I could remember anyway. Would he use it on me if I made him angry? Because then I really wouldn't stand a chance -
It's fine, I reminded myself firmly. He's Damon. He won't hurt you. Stop freaking out and get on with it.

Stefan stepped out of the cell shakily and I winced when I saw the cuts and bruises up and down his arms and legs. Damon remained expressionless.

"Right. You saw the two gentlemen – they're in the cell at the back." He told Stefan, handing him the key. "Just make sure to leave some for anyone –"

"Where's Caroline?" Stefan asked, clearly not caring about his thirst.

"Stefan, you need to go drink. We'll find Caroline and –"

"I'm not having anything before Caroline does." Stefan interrupted croakily, narrowing his green eyes at Damon, who sighed.

"Alright then. Come on."

With painful stiffness, Stefan began to make his way down the long row of cells, Damon and I following slowly behind him. Finally we stopped outside one and I peered in to see a small girl huddled up in the corner. Her blonde curls were flat and limp against her head and she was sitting with her arms wrapped around her knees, her head buried in the crook of her elbow. My heart nearly broke in two at the sight. She looked so…broken.

I glanced back at the other two but Stefan was having trouble staying standing and Damon was supporting him. He was able to reach over to break open the lock – again, I winced when it cracked– but judging by his 'Go on then' gesture, coaxing her out was up to me.

I took a deep breath and pulled the door open slowly. It creaked the whole way, but Caroline didn't show any recognition that someone was entering.

"Caroline?" I asked softly, gently putting my hand on her arm as I crouched opposite her. She made no movements at all. I saw her arms were lined with…Jesus, were they whip marks?

I was going to kill the lot of them.

"Caroline." I said a little louder. "It's me, Elena. I mean, I can't really remember…anyway, we can help you. Ok? You're safe now. You just need to trust me."

I realised how stupid that sounded as soon as the words were out of my mouth. Why on earth would Caroline trust me? My father had put her in here after all. In a way, the whole situation was my fault, something I knew would haunt me for as long as I lived. What on earth had I done to earn her trust?

But gradually, her head lifted and her huge greeny blue eyes met mine uncertainly.

"You're safe." I repeated, unsure of what else to do.

And then suddenly she was grabbing me and there was a moment of fear before I realised that she was hugging me tightly. Tentatively, I wrapped my arms around her, helping her stand up through her sobs.

"They…they…said…you…couldn't…your memory…they said you weren't coming for us!" She cried into my shoulder and I murmured soothing nonsense into her ear to try to calm her down.

"I…I'm here now, ok Car?" I whispered, holding her tightly as we stood in the dingy darkness of the tiny room. She nodded, sniffling as she lifted her head and I wiped away the tears from her face with my sleeve before taking her hand and helping her out of there.

As soon as she saw Stefan, she dropped my hand and went to him, embracing him tightly in a way that was so intimate; I couldn't help but feel a dull ache of jealousy at the love they obviously shared. They seemed so in their own little world that I felt guilty for intruding and quickly looked away. The place where my eyes landed however, were Damon's piercing blue ones.

"Did we ever have that?" I asked softly, the question slipping out before I could stop it. Immediately I was worried that the question would upset him in some way, but all he did was thread his fingers through mine and nod slightly and I sighed, resting my head on his shoulder.

Finally, the two lovers released each other – although still they clutched each other's hands – and Damon gestured to the back cell, where the two guards were still banging and screeching.

"Go wild." He said dryly and they stumbled to the back door, where Stefan opened the lock. I caught sight of their faces changing – their eyes turned black, veins appeared around their eyes and their teeth got sharper, the same way Damon had responded – and I tried not to feel terrified. I glanced up at him, where he was focusing intently on what was going on. I looked back to see Stefan abandoning the key and simply breaking the lock on the door like Damon had earlier. The door swung open and I caught a glimpse of the two men's faces before Stefan and Caroline stood in their way, slamming the door beside him. I heard a snarl, a cry of pain and then I snapped.

"Damon." I said in a low voice, breaking his intense concentration. "I think I'm just going to step outside. I don't…I don't really want to hear this. Or see it, for that matter."

"I'll go with you –"

"No." It came out more irritated than I intended so I added a forced smile. "I'm fine Damon. I'll just be outside, ok? I just…I need a moment."

Damon looked worried but he clearly knew better than to try and stop me. "I'll be just in here." He said softly and I nodded, the smile a bit more genuine this time.

I stepped out into the brightness of the corridor again, blinking a few times to let my eyes adjust from the darkness of the jail cells. The thought of what was going on in that jail cell was making me feel…a little horrified to say the least.

"Pull yourself together Gilbert." I muttered to myself. "They're your friends. They're going to help you."

I mean hell, it wasn't like it was an alien concept to me. Vampires drank blood – we all knew that. For some, it made them faint at the knees, but for most of us, it was a pretty normal concept. We had to be used to it – it was going to inevitably happen to us one day.

But I had never seen vampires looking so…feral. The incident with Damon earlier on had shaken me enough, but now Caroline and Stefan…two of the sweetest people (well, Caroline anyway. I was only guessing Stefan, because I couldn't remember him) transformed into…killers.

That's what they are, a tiny voice in my head whispered. Killers. Demons. Monsters.

No, no, no. I couldn't start to think like this, I couldn't. This was the way the Militia wanted me to think and I wasn't going to succumb to that.

I couldn't succumb to that.

I took a deep breath, squeezing my eyes shut and tightening my hands into fists. They're good, they're good, they're good, I chanted to myself over and over in my head. No matter what though, I couldn't get the image of terrified faces out of my head. Sure those guards had worked for the LM, sure they probably would have killed me at the nearest chance and sure, they were probably assholes.

But that didn't mean I wanted them to die. Not like that anyway. Not ripped to shreds until there was nothing left.

Jesus.

I pressed my forehead against the cool stone of the wall, hearing footsteps behind me.

"Damon, I'm fine." I snapped, before sighing. "I just…can I have a minute? Please."

When he didn't reply, I frowned, turning around.

Something that felt like a fist of ice gripped my heart.

My father was pointing a gun two inches from my forehead. There was a crazed, insane look in his eyes and he was practically twitching.

"Dad." I whispered, although I knew it wouldn't register with him now. The way he was looking at me was the way you looked at a stranger.

"The Liberation Militia will win." He muttered in a monotone before cracking the butt of the gun against my head.

I only had time to whimper and feel the searing pain as it spread across my skull and then I fell to the ground, blackness enfolding me.

...o...

I woke up with a thumping headache, and it struck me that I really needed to stop being knocked out by guns. It had happened far too much these past few days. I winced, moving my hand to my forehead to try to massage out some of the pain or something, I didn't know.

Or at least I tried to, until I found I couldn't because my hands were in handcuffs. Wonderful. I presumed I was going to be back in a jail cell or something. How I was going to get out of this one, I didn't know.

Nothing however, could have prepared me for the sight that met me when I opened my eyes.

Hundreds of terrified faces were peering up at me, although it took a minute before they came back into focus. (I guess I was still woozy or something.) But when they did, I realised that I knew most of them from the Pail. So why were they looking at me with such fear and suspicion?

I shakily stood up, a bit freaked out by the circumstances. I was on a stage, in – wait, was this the town square?

Oh God.

This had been where Damon had been earlier on. Which meant…

"Ladies and gentlemen, the traitor of Mystic Falls has woken up! Let the show begin!"

Alaric Saltzman.

I was screwed.

Jeez guys! Elena really doesn't have any luck, does she? Constantly being knocked out by men with guns…poor girl.

This update literally took me ages and I do apologise. I've had exams, and I still do actually but I'm on a week off, so hopefully I'll get the new chapter up soon. I'd say we'll have maybe two left? I was writing and rewriting this one – there was literally a million different ways I wanted to play this, but this was the best way I could get her back to the town square with it being too drawn out. I've been out of the writing groove a loooong time, so please be gentle!

I want to say a huge welcome to the new followers – your reviews brighten my day and I have such loyal readers, even when I'm a sucky updater.

Talk to you soon my darlings,

X

(Oh and hey – who do you think was shot in the beginning? Let me know – I can't wait to see your guesses.)