Another Villain Returns:

Beth walked into the Salvatore house. "Damon! Stefan!" She called out as she reached the living room. She looked around and didn't see them anywhere. She needed to talk to one of them. Caroline didn't answer her phone and Alaric took off this morning after Damon called him and said something about Isobel being back. He was too much in a rush and hadn't explained much but she needed answers.

"Stefan's gone and Damon's upstairs." Katherine informed her coming into the room. "I believe that he's indecent." She whispered with a smirk. Beth was about to reply with something snarky before she got an idea.

"Oh well then that leaves more time for us to talk." Beth said with a fake smile plastered on her face. Katherine smirked back. Elizabeth was willing to go behind Damon to find out more from her. If it put a wedge in their relationship, she would gladly divulge everything. Right before she could even open her mouth Damon was by Beth's side.

"No need to talk. We've got to go anyways." Damon told Beth, gently pushing her towards the door, while glaring at Katherine. They got outside and got into his car. He made sure she was buckled in before speeding off away from the house. "What exactly was that?" He asked irritated. She just gave him a shrug. "El…."

"You and I both know that Katherine can't be trusted but if she knows something about me or Elijah, I need to know it!" Beth implored him.

"Do you trust me?" He asked calmly. He glanced at the girl next to him. She acted like she did but you could never tell. Katherine knew she was important to him and would probably try to use her against him, which he couldn't let happen.

"Of course, Damon. You're one of the few people I'd trust with my life."

"Then, trust me with this. She might know something but Katherine's a manipulative nasty slut." He said seriously but with a hint of amusement in his voice, that made Beth laugh. "I promised you, we'll find out a different way and we will. Okay?" He looked at her. She could see he was worried and that was the last thing she wanted.

"Okay." She agreed. Damon couldn't help but smile at her. "So, where are we going now? Cause Alaric just took off."

"Well, we're going to get Judgey and Baby Gilbert. Apparently, when Papa Witch died, he gave her back her powers and told her where to get a book to kill Klaus. Plus I know the location of the place where the witches died so we've got a one up." He explained as he pulled up to the Gilbert house.

"You really like your nicknames don't you?" Beth teased him.

"I believe they're a term of endearment, Sabrina." He grinned at her and she rolled her eyes at him as Bonnie and Jeremy came out. As soon as they were in the car, Damon sped off.

xxxxx

Damon opened the door to Jonas' apartment. He slowly puts a hand in the doorway to see if he can enter. Bonnie, Jeremy and Beth walked in ahead of him. "Yep, everyone's dead." He stepped into the apartment.

Beth first noticed all the grimoires in the room. "We should pack up the grimoires."

"She's right. They've spent years collecting them. We should make sure they're safe." Bonnie gave Beth a smile. They both knew how grimoires should be taken care of. Some witches weren't lucky enough to have one like they were.

Damon looked at Luka's burned body on the floor. "You know we could just get another match and cremate him."

Beth glared at Damon for being so blunt when he knew Bonnie knew Luka well. Bonnie spoke up. "Don't be disrespectful. Not to him."

"Fine, I'll bury him."

"What exactly are we looking for?" Jeremy asked the girls.

"According to Luka's dad, one of these contains a spell that'll let one of us harness the energy that's left behind when a witch dies violently." Bonnie explained. Beth knew she was talking about her when she said 'us'

"I didn't know you and father witch were so close."

"We weren't but when he gave me my powers back, he gave me a message. If I can find a spot in town, where the old Salem witches were burned, one of us can harness their energy to use when we need it." Bonnie said.

"Listen, he told you everything. It's only fair that you get the extra witch boost. When you get the power, we can channel each other when it's time to defeat Klaus." Beth smiled at her. If it meant that another friend was protected than she'd gladly give that up. It wasn't like she was helpless. She knew she could take care of herself.

"Thanks." She smiled back at her and gave her a hug.

Damon continues to pick up the books that had fallen on the floor as they pulled back. "Great. We'll have to put that on our list of things to do today. Harness ancient-dead witch power."

"You know where the witches were burned?" Bonnie asked surprised.

"Did I forget to mention that?" Damon smirked. Beth rolled her eyes and walked over to the bookcase full of books.

"Are we going to have to read through every one of these books till we find the right spell?" Jeremy asked.

"Not exactly." Beth said. She held out her hand to the shelf. She knew what they were looking for and it was here. All of the books fell from the case but one opened right at her feet. She bent down and grabbed it and handed it to Bonnie. "It's this one."

"Great. Grab the rest and let's go." Damon told them.

xxxxx

She was waiting for Alaric at the grill. He finally texted her to say they could talk there. Damon, Bonnie, Jeremy and her were supposed to go handle the channeling later after Elena filled Stefan and Damon on her mother. She was looking down and tapped impatiently on the bar, until she saw Alaric sit down next to her. "Hey. I got your message what's up? What happened?" She asked him.

"Well, Isobel outed me to Jenna. She knows that I was lying about her disappearance and I kind of lost my cool and hit John." Alaric admitted, sadly while he ordered a drink. Beth felt bad for him but she couldn't contain the smile she had on her face. She knew that John had it coming to him.

"You hit him? Why am I never there for these things?" She asked herself. Alaric had a wicked punch. She knew that for sure. Hell, he was the one that first taught her how to punch someone properly, much to her mother's dismay. But he thought it was a skill that she should know. "Are you okay, though?"

"Yeah I'll be fine." He assured her even though she knew he was upset. "Listen, until Isobel leaves I want you to stick with Damon or Stefan don't know what her agenda is and I don't want her to bring you into this, okay?" Alaric said. His voice had a type of finality to it. This wasn't the Isobel he knew. She was dangerous and he didn't want her near Beth. This was a time to not argue with him and she knew that.

"Okay, I will. Just…you be careful too." Beth told him. "I know that you think she won't come after you but she's unpredictable. Please don't test her." He agreed.

"I won't." He promised with a small smile. It was pretty much the norm for them to be worried about each other now. As long as she was safe, though he didn't care what happened to him. She kissed his cheek before getting off the stool. "Be careful."

"I'm going to go help Damon and Bonnie with something. I'll call you later." He nodded as she left. She walked out into her car and drove to the Salvatore house where she was to pick up Damon. Her phone started ringing and she answered it. "Hello."

'Hey, Beth, um quick question you haven't seen Matt anywhere have you?'

"No…" Beth said worried. "Why? What happened?"

'Well, I kind of told him about me being a vampire and he flipped. I haven't seen him since last night and he won't answer his phone or anything.'

"What? You don't know where he is? Did he do anything? Oh what if he's hurt? What if he says something" Beth started to freak out.

'I-I don't know! I'm looking for him everywhere! I don't know where he could be!' Caroline replied just as worried. She saw how he freaked out and he was upset. He could do something rash and expose all of the vampires in town. She couldn't let that happen.

"Okay, okay. Just take a deep breath, Care. He wasn't at the grill. I was just there. Where could he be?" Beth asked trying to calm them both down. It was not the time to freak right now.

'I don't know…. wait! He has a catering shift at the Lockwood's today! I'll see if he's there.' She answered back.

"Okay, text me or call me when you find him."

'I will. Be careful.' She said hanging up the phone. Beth knew that she couldn't help her right now. She doubted Matt would answer her calls either but it was worth a try. It was like she thought, he wasn't answering. She threw the phone down in the passenger seat and decided to focus on getting to the house.

Damon, Beth, Bonnie and Jeremy all arrive at an abandoned house. It was practically in the middle of nowhere. For a second, Beth was sure that they had come to the wrong place but it seemed to be familiar to Damon. They got out of the car. Jeremy and Bonnie got out of her car too. "Is this the spot Emily Bennet was killed too?" Jeremy asked as they walked up the huge house.

Damon nodded looking it over. It was exactly how he remembered it, though it had been years. "Founders thought it was poetic burning where the others witches were burned."

"How do you know where the witches were burned?" Beth asked Damon.

"Cause I tried to save her." He said surprising them all. "Emily was just my key to getting Katherine back before I knew what a nasty little bitch Katherine was." Jeremy laughed at that and Beth just smiled at him as they stopped in front of the door.

"Are you sure this is the right place?" Jeremy asked and Damon nodded.

"I'm going to stay out here. Two witches shouldn't be inside at the same time. It'll make it difficult for the spirits to know which witch needs to channel the power." She explained to them. Bonnie looked a bit nervous; it was now or never though. "You sure you want to do this?"

"Yeah, I'll be fine." She assured her and she walked inside with Jeremy on her heels. After glancing at her, Damon walked in too. Beth stood around outside waiting for them. She didn't know how long the spell would take but she couldn't leave without Damon. Bonnie had it covered, Jeremy would stay with her. After a minute, Damon came back outside. "Everything okay?"

"Yeah just the stupid dead witches don't like vampires." He mumbled and Beth giggled at his expression. "It's not funny." She just smiled at him and he rolled his eyes. "So, you think this is really going to work?"

"Yeah, I mean this is the power of a hundred witches. With all of that we should definitely be able to take down Klaus before he even touches Elena." Beth reassured him.

He nodded looking around the house. "Good. As long as Elena is safe."

"I understand." Beth stated simply. Damon raised an eyebrow in her direction. It was obvious to her with the way Damon protected Elena and worried about her. It was different from how he was with Beth. He would protect her too but not for the reason he would Elena. "You're in love her. So you're going to do whatever you can to make sure she's safe from Klaus."

"I will but not just Elena. I won't let him hurt you, El. I promise." He told her. He knew better than anyone Beth was worried about Klaus. He was worried too. He couldn't lose his best friend again. She smiled at him and he let out a subtle cough. "They're taking way too long." He said and he walked closer to the door. "Want to hurry it up in there?" The door slammed in his face. Beth laughed. "Screw you too, Emily. You know, you're all on your own in there." He said as he steered Beth back to her car.

"What about them?"

"They'll be fine. We'll call them later and see how it went." He told her as they got in. Damon's phone rang and he picked it up. "Hello. Elena? Wait…what? Slow down. Okay, we're on our way." He said hanging up as Beth started the car. "We've got to go to the Lockwood's."

"Why? What is it?" Beth asked him worried.

"Well apparently, John has been bit and is now technically 'dead' but he was wearing his ring. So we have to get over there now." He explained quickly.

"Right, great. Who was it? Isobel?"

"That's what they're thinking. Let's just get there before he wakes up." He sighed. They finally got to the Lockwood's where the property was filled with police officers and guests. "Wait here." Damon ordered her while getting out of the car. Beth nervously tapped the wheel of the car while waiting for him. A moment later the back door opened and a body was dropped in. "Go." Damon said getting in the passenger seat. Beth, hoped he knew what he was doing as she took off for the Salvatore house.

"Can't you do this yourself?" Beth groaned as she helped carry John's legs in as Damon carried his upper body. They finally made it home but they were surprised to see neither Stefan nor Elena were home yet. Beth kicked the door close behind her with her leg, while still trying to help Damon with the body.

"I don't want to get blood on the rug. Besides friends don't let other friends carry dead bodies alone." Damon grunted as they moved John into the other room. They finally dropped the body on the floor and moved him out of the way to the side. His shirt and hands were covered with blood. They walked upstairs to look for Stefan and for Damon to change. She walked into the library but no one was in there. Damon quickly walked to where she was.

"What's the matter?" She asked seeing the worried look on his face.

"Katherine switched places with Elena. We think Isobel took her. I need you to stay here and see if she comes back. Please?" He asked knowing that she was going to argue. Beth nodded. There wasn't much she could do to help them, anyways. He was surprised she agreed so easily so he left before she could change her mind.

xxxxx

"Nothing?"

"Nope. She wasn't there. All of Isobel's stuff was there but her and Elena weren't." Damon told her. They had been looking for Isobel and her daughter for hours. They knew from the beginning she couldn't be trusted and now they weren't sure that John even knew what she had planned. Lucky for him he still hadn't woken up yet. They were starting to get worried that she took Elena out of the state. She texted Alaric to tell him that she'd be staying at their house tonight but she got no answer. Suddenly she heard the door to the front opened. "Beth?"

"Give me a minute." She said quietly into the phone while she walked out of the library. She walked into the living room and saw Elena there. She looked a bit shaken up but she wasn't hurt. She let out a sigh of relief. "Elena just came back. She's okay. I'll see you when you get here." She hung up the phone. She gave Elena a hug. "Are you okay? What happened?"

"Yeah, I'm fine. It's a long story." She sighed out. "We should probably wait until they get here." As soon as those words came out, Damon and Stefan walked through the doors. Beth gave her a small smile that she returned and went to hug Stefan.

It was an hour later and Elena had explained everything that happened to her, about how her mom took her to the cemetery and she betrayed Katherine and how she killed herself. Elena was now in the other room with Stefan while Damon was rifling through some drawers in his room. "What are you looking for?" Beth asked him from the doorway.

"Something that could help us. Ah! Got it." He said pulling out some papers. He handed them to her and she took a look. It was a deed to the boarding house. "This is our safe house plan. Once you sign this it'll be yours. No vampires can come in." He smiled. Beth bit her lip, looking down at the deed. "What?"

"I just think Elena should be the one to sign this." She told him. He looked confused. "Klaus is going to be coming after her first and foremost. I'll stay here though, while all of this is going on but her life is in more danger than mine."

"Are you sure?" He asked her stepping closer to her. She smiled handing the papers back to him. "Yeah I'm sure. As long as she's safe than that's what matters."

"No, what matters is that you're both safe. So don't try and do something stupid and get yourself killed, ok?" He looked at her seriously and she nodded. They walked out of his room and went downstairs. They heard Elena and Stefan talking.

"He knows I'm not going to run." They heard Elena say.

"Which is why we need to take some precautions, cause we got played, all of us." He eyed her and put the papers on her legs. Elena looked at them.

"What's this?"

"The deed to our house. It's in Zach's name. As soon as you sign it, it'll be in your name." Stefan told her with a smile. It was obvious him and Damon talked about this earlier. It was the best way to protect the girls because they knew that even an Original couldn't get inside a house without being invited

Elena was still surprised. "You're giving me your house?"

"Isobel had the right idea with the safe house. You'll just stay here till it's all over. That way, you can control who gets invited and who doesn't." Stefan explained with a smile.

"Although, I'll be super pissed if you lock me out." Damon said with a sarcastic smile and Elena scoffed at him. They heard coughing and they all looked behind them at John who woke up and was now sitting up. Damon rushed over to him and picked him up by the collar of his shirt.

"I swear I had no idea what she was going to do. I'm sorry." John let out breathlessly. He turned to his daughter, who stood up. "I'm so, so sorry."

"Damon let him go. He and I need to talk." Elena said. Damon reluctantly put him down but still glared at him. He left the room with Stefan and Beth right behind him. They went into the library so Elena and John could talk. Stefan started to pour them drinks.

"Hey, Bonnie said the spell worked. We're locked and loaded." Damon said putting down his phone and sat next to Beth on the couch.

"At least something went right today." He took a swig of his drink and then a thoughtful look crossed his face. He walked over to them. "Katherine has no idea that Bonnie got her powers back and Isobel has no idea what you guys and Jeremy took Bonnie to do today. We're the only ones that know."

"They don't know the plan." Beth smiled at them and Stefan smiled back. Damon put an arm around Beth's shoulders.

"With Bonnie and our Sabrina here, ready to channel some kick ass powers with hers, that literally makes them our secret weapons." Damon smirked at them. Stefan actually had a smile on his face for the first time that night. She took the glass Stefan handed her and clinked it against his and Damon's. Seemed like everything was going according to plan for once.