A few hours later, Elena was lifting a weight when Damon showed up. "What? Are you going to bench press a vampire?"

"Do you actually know what's happening right now?" Elena asked him. "Stefan called me a human blood bag. He's a completely different person." She was completely taken by surprise when he put his hand on the weight. "What are you doing?!"

"Helping you out."

"Damon, she's going through enough." The voice told him. "Now would you let my niece up before I use force?" He let go of the weight and turned toward the voice's direction.

"Like one obnoxious Salvatore isn't bad enough." Elena said.

"You said it." The voice said.

"Your niece?" Damon asked, still processing what she'd told him.

"I'm surprised you can hear me, too, Damon. Then again, I've gotten to know a lot of Elena's friends, even her vampire ones."

"It's okay, Jenna, I can take it from here." Elena said, surprising him even more.

"Okay, the whole ghost thing aside, what's your plan?" Damon asked her.

"I want to lock Stefan up, at least until this Mikael guy comes, kills Klaus, and the compulsion breaks." Elena told him.

"Compulsion or not, Stefan's high on human blood." He pointed out. "A lot of it."

"You've gotten him off of it before." Elena pointed out.

"This is different. It's not a stint in rehab, Elena. His humanity's gone. Light's out. No one's home." Damon said.

"Then do it for me, Damon." Elena said. "Every single time I look at him, I feel like I'm going to break." She got up. "And I'm not going to give him that satisfaction." She started to leave.

"She puts up a brave front, but she's not that strong. No one is." Jenna said.

"Is there a point?" Damon asked her.

"Look, as much as I don't like this, you're the only thing that's keeping her together right now. Please help her."

"I'd never let anyone hurt her." Damon told her. "You have my word on that."

"For the record, I've still got my eye on you. If you ever hurt Elena…"

"Got it."

A few hours later, everyone was at the group meeting. "I'll lure Stefan away from the bonfire." Elena was explaining. "Then when he's distracted..."

"I'll shoot him." Alaric finished.

"Can't Bonnie just ju-ju him or something?" Damon asked.

"I'm trying to keep Bonnie out of this. I don't trust that Stefan won't hurt her." Elena said. "Even if she does have her family looking out for her. Caroline, are you covered?"

"Yes! I will make sure that the old Forbes jail cell is prepped and ready." Caroline said.

"We're forgetting a key player here." Damon reminded everyone. "Rebekah? Wherever Stefan goes, the blond ponytail tends to follow."

"So that's the girl I saw hanging around you guys." Jenna said.

"And I see you're aunt's back." Caroline said, surprised.

"You hear her, too?"

"We all hear her, Lena." Caroline said.

"Okay, yes, getting back on point here. Rebekah." Caroline glanced over her shoulder to find Jules standing with them.

"She's right, we need to figure out how to keep her out of the way."

"That's your job." Elena said.

"How?! She's an Original. Last time I checked, we're out of daggers." Damon said.

"So then preoccupy her with your charm." Elena said.

"Might have better luck finding the dagger." Alaric said.

"Are ever not going to be mad at me for a day?" Damon asked him.

"Doubtful."

"Stay focused on the plan, guys." Jenna said. "You can't turn on each other if this is going to work."

Tyler entered the room. "Sorry I'm late. What's going on?"

"We need you to raid your mom's vervain supply." Elena told him. "Enough to keep Stefan down for a while."

"You can't do that to Stefan."

"Why not?"

"Trust me, Tyler, it's in his best interest."

"Yeah. It's not in Klaus's." Tyler pointed out.

"But Klaus is the bad guy, Tyler. You know, why are you acting like some freaky, hybrid, slave minion?" Caroline asked.

"Uh-oh." Damon said. Jules got a close look at Tyler.

"Oh, no."

"What is it?" Caroline asked her.

"Klaus made me who I am, Caroline. I owe him everything." Tyler said.

"What is going on?" Elena asked.

"I don't know anything." She heard Jenna respond.

"I'm just going to go." Tyler said. Suddenly, Damon rushed over and stabbed the vervain dart into his neck, causing him to faint.

"What are you doing?!" Caroline asked.

"He's been sired." Damon said.

"What?"

"Sired. He feels loyal to Klaus because Klaus's blood created him." Damon explained.

"Of course. We should've recognized the signs." Jules said. Damon and Caroline turned to her.

"You're sure she's on our side now?" Damon whispered.

"Positive, otherwise she wouldn't be here at all." Caroline pointed out.

"How is he loyal to him, exactly?" Elena asked.

"He'll seek acceptance from his master. It's really rare. But maybe not so much in hybrids." Damon said.

"I guess that makes sense." Jules said. "Werewolves tend to be loyal to their own kind. Since he's planning to turn werewolves into hybrids…"

"So how do I fix him?" Caroline asked.

"Get a new boyfriend." Damon said.

"I'll see if there's anyone that can help us figure something out." Jules told Caroline. "Hopefully Mason will know something."

"Thank you." Caroline said. "I guess I'll take him home now."

At home, Matt was helping Vicki with the ritual. "Concentrate on me, Matty." He cut his hand with the knife.

"This is too weird." Matt said.

"Just focus." Vicki told him. They focused on the spell. Vicki listened to something that appeared to be whispering the instructions to her. "Now say you accept me." She said, repeating what she'd heard.

"I accept you." Matt said. Just then a wind blew around them and the flames rose. Once everything calmed down, the door to the garage suddenly closed. Matt stumbled backward, but Vicki caught him.

"I've got you." Then she realized something. "Did you feel that?"

"Yeah." Matt said. Vicki walked to the door and touched the wood. As a ghost, she couldn't touch solid objects before.

"It worked. It actually worked! I'm here!" Vicki said. The siblings embraced each other.

A few minutes later, Vicki was sitting in front of the candles. "I can feel everything around me."

"The Witch didn't mention this part?" Matt asked.

"Makes sense. Our deal was that she'd help me do what I need to do." Vicki admitted.

"What are you talking about? What deal?" Matt was getting worried and realized that Jeremy and Bonnie were right to be concerned about Vicki.

"Well, if I want to stay here, I have to help her restore the balance." Vicki told him. "Klaus's hybrids can't be allowed to survive."

"You can't kill Tyler, Vicki." Matt said, getting up.

"Not Tyler, Matt. It's Elena who's the key to creating the hybrids." Vicki said.

"It's still wrong, Vic! Ghosts are supposed to help people, not commit murder!" Matt pointed out. Vicki used her ghost powers to knock him back.

"I'm sorry, Matty. But I want to stay." Vicki told him. She disappeared from the garage. Just as Matt got up, he saw a black wisp around her form as she faded. He knew he had to fix this mess.

Back at the bonfire, Elena was watching Damon and Rebekah from a distance. Of course, Stefan just had to come over to her at that moment. "What's that look?"

"What look?" Elena asked, annoyed with him.

"My brother's got his flirt on, and you're jealous." Stefan said.

"I'm not jealous." Elena told him.

"It's all right. Be jealous by all means. I'm sure Damon will be thrilled."

"I'm not jealous, Stefan." She repeated, a little more harshly.

"All right. That's my mistake."

"Whatever. I'm out of here." She walked away from him.

"Well, that was awkward."

"Tell me about it." Elena said. It took her a second to realize that Anna had materialized beside her.

"This must be pretty hard sometimes."

"At least we're doing something about it." Elena said. "I'm glad you're here, though. I might need your help."

"Hey, when you need me, just call. Right now, I need to find Bonnie. It's a ghost issue." Anna explained.

"Okay, meet me at the bleachers in ten minutes." Elena told her.

Inside the school, she found Bonnie and Jeremy talking. "Guys! It's Vicki, I'm afraid something's happened."

"What's going on?" Jeremy asked, worried.

"I think she went through with that spell we talked about earlier."

"Wait, what spell?" Bonnie asked, confused.

"You didn't tell her?" Anna asked.

"I was kind of sidetracked looking out for Vic." Jeremy pointed out. "But I was getting a seriously dark vibe from that ghost girl."

"Okay, what is going on?" Bonnie asked them.

"Vicki called on a witch's dark magic to bring herself back to this world, the world of the living." Anna said. "I'm afraid your blonde friend, the guy, got caught up in it."

"Why didn't you tell me before?" Bonnie asked her, feeling strangely mad at Anna.

"I didn't know what Vicki was up to. I thought she was going to hurt Jeremy, but it looks like she has a different target now."

"This is a lot to take in." Bonnie said. "I'm going to go help Matt."

"I'm coming, too."

"No way, Jeremy. This is way too dangerous. You don't know what dark spirits can be capable of." Bonnie said. "I can at least defend myself, but I don't know if I can protect you, too."

"Then at least let me help." Anna said. "I can try to protect the human while you reverse whatever's causing this."

Bonnie hesitated. Deep down, she knew she trusted Anna, but they had no time left to argue. "Fine. I'll call Matt, but he better get here fast."

"Okay." Anna said. Then she felt Elena calling her. She turned to Jeremy. "I'll see you later." She disappeared from sight and Bonnie walked away to find Matt, leaving him alone.

Outside, she appeared a few feet from Elena. "What are you doing up here?" Anna whispered harshly.

"Relax, I know what I'm doing. I just need back up in case this backfires."

"Are you insane?" Anna whispered, concerned about Elena's mental state. Then it hit her. "Are you drunk?"

"A little."

"Elena! Man, I can't even watch this." Anna said. She sat a few feet away from the drunk human girl. She truly wondered if the Gilbert kids had lost it. She noticed Elena trip a few times while talking with Stefan. Seeing where this was going, she instantly appeared at the ground. Luckily, when she did fall, Stefan caught her.

Anna was still standing nearby. "Next time you get an idea like that, leave me out of it. I've seen a lot of people die doing something like that."

"Sorry."

"Yeah, I'm out of here. Next time you get in trouble, get another ghost to help you." Anna said. "I've got some witch stuff to take care of." Elena watched her disappear.

In the classroom, she found Bonnie talking with a blonde young man. "I'm so sorry. I didn't think she'd do something like this. I trusted her."

"You need to tell me exactly what you did to let Vicki out." Bonnie told him. "So I know exactly how to send her back."

"So this is Vicki's brother?" Bonnie glanced in her direction and gave a small nod. "Well, you're on the right track. If you can reverse the spell that brought her here, you can send her back."

"Okay, here's what happened." Matt told her, explaining the spell exactly as Vicki had told him to do it.

In the car, Elena was waiting for Ric when it suddenly caught fire. He noticed and rushed over to try and help. "Elena! Open the door!"

She tried, but it wouldn't open. "I can't! It won't open!"

"Let's try it together." She heard her aunt say. She still couldn't see her, but with the fire growing, even if she materialized, she probably wouldn't be able to.

Elena tried again and felt a force try to help her break the door with her. It made a small crack in the door's opening, but hadn't broken it entirely. At that moment, Ric returned with a stick and tried to help break it open.

"Okay, at the same time, try aiming for that small crack in the door." Jenna said. They all hit the door again, but it still wouldn't open. "There's something weird about this fire."

"What do you mean?" Elena asked.

"It's like it has its own power or something. I can sense it."

Back in the classroom, Anna was going over the grimore with Bonnie. "I think that's the spell." She pointed to the page they were looking at.

"Are you sure?" Bonnie whispered.

"Positive." Anna said. "I saw Emily practicing it once." Bonnie nodded, then went over to Matt.

"I found a spell that can block whatever magic is helping Vicki." Bonnie told him.

Anna sat by his side, even though he couldn't see her.

Back in the car, Jenna and Elena tried hitting the door again. This time it opened halfway. Elena almost collapsed because of the fire's intensity. "Elena!"

Elena tried to hold on and turned to Stefan. She called his name and he woke up. He grabbed her arm and they got out of the car.

In the classroom, Anna was still sitting with Matt when Vicki appeared. "What is she doing?" Vicki asked.

"Fixing my mistake." He told her.

"Make her stop." Anna knew she was afraid and felt bad for her, but messing with the dark arts had its consequences.

"She's still here." Anna told Bonnie. "Until he lets go of her, she'll still be around."

"No…" Vicki whispered quietly.

"The spell is working Matt. She's still here because of you." Bonnie explained.

"Matt, please."

"I can't let you hurt anyone, Vicki." Matt told her.

"I won't. I'll stop. Just, please, don't make me go." Vicki said.

"It'll be okay, Vicki." She turned and saw Anna. "Just try not to accept any more deals from dark witches." Vicki smiled a little at that.

"I guess I'll be seeing you around the Other Side then." Anna nodded. She was consistently running into her friends sometimes. However, she still hadn't been able to find her mother yet.

"I'm sorry, Vicki." Matt said. "But you shouldn't be here."

"I'm sorry, too." Vicki told him. "I just didn't want to be alone anymore."

"Neither did I. But I have to let you go." Matt told her.

"Who knows? Maybe once my karma clears, we'll meet again." Vicki told him. Then she closed her eyes and disappeared as Bonnie finished her spell.

"Okay, it's over." Anna said.

"Thanks for helping me." Bonnie told both of them. "I know it wasn't easy."

"I'm just gonna go." Matt said, leaving the room.

Once he was gone, she spoke to Anna. "You know a lot about this stuff."

"Well, I spent a lot of time hanging out with Emily in the day." Anna told her. "Look, about this thing with Jeremy…"

"Look, I trust him and everything, but it just seems like you guys have gotten closer." Bonnie told her. "It's like it's grown into something I'm not really part of."

Anna looked at her, understanding what she was saying. "Bonnie, I get it. I like Jeremy and all, but he's with you and I'm dead. I don't want to come between you guys. Even if I were human, I couldn't go after my friend's boyfriend no matter how I felt about him."

"That's pretty big of you." Bonnie said. "And I know it's stupid, but there are times where I think he might have feelings for you."

"You have a right to be jealous, you know. You are his girlfriend." Anna pointed out.

"I don't know. I guess I'm still trying to get used to the ghost thing since I've been away for a while." Bonnie said. "Jer's had more time to practice the mediator stuff than I have."

"Well, he kind of cheated considering I was helping him." Anna pointed out. "I can help you, if you want."

"Thanks, Anna. But I think I should get home."

"Okay."

Back by the car, the group managed to get out seconds before it exploded. "Is everyone okay?" Everyone heard Jenna ask.

"I think so." Alaric said.

"I feel fine." Elena said. She nearly collapsed afterward, though. Ric caught her.

An hour later, they were at the Boarding House. "Give it to me. I can do it." Elena insisted.

"No, let me."

"Damon, come on." Elena said.

"Elena, you almost got barbecued. The least I can do is apply first aid." Damon pointed out. Elena let him help in the end.

"You played your part of the plan really well tonight." Elena told him.

"Oh, yeah?"

"You had Rebekah drooling all over you and your marshmallows." Elena pointed out.

"Yeah, before she skewered me." Damon added. "I thought you were too drunk to notice."

"I was faking most of it." Elena said.

"So was I." Damon admitted. They looked at each other.

"Ready to get going, Elena?" Alaric asked, entering the room.

"Great work tonight, Ric. Sorry about the car, man." Damon told him. Elena turned to leave the room. "And by the way, next time you try something like that, might want to use someone less ghostly for a spotter."

Elena turned around, shocked. "Anna told you?"

"She had to tell someone and she didn't want to worry the others." Damon explained. "She seemed pretty freaked about it."

Elena turned and walked out of the room. They were about to head out the door. "It's okay if you want to be friends with Damon again."

"I don't." Alaric said.

"I think he kind of misses you." Elena told him.

"I believe she's right, Ric." They heard Jenna saying.

Before he could say anything, Stefan caught up to them. "Well you got me tonight. Definitely wasn't expecting that."

"That was the point." Alaric said.

"Yeah. You know, you can hate it all you want, but Elena needs me. I'll always protect her. I think you're both better off having me around."

The group headed toward the door. "Elena, wait."

"Go on. I can handle this." Elena whispered.

Alaric watched them from the next room. "I'm not saying you should forgive him right away, but he means well. You know that." He heard Jenna telling him. "Besides, with all these new vampires showing up, you're going to need each other."

"Yeah, I know."

"So how are you going to be able to work together if you can't stand to be in the same room as him?"

"Are you sure this is just about me and Damon?" Alaric asked.

"I'm worried about Elena." She said. "And I'm worried that your fight could effect her or Jeremy."

"I'm handling the situation as best as I can." Alaric told her. Elena walked him.

"Okay, now we can leave." She pulled the sleeve she'd been training with earlier off and gave it to Alaric. They left the house.

Jeremy was up in his room, calling Bonnie. He got her voicemail again. "Bonnie, come on." He sat down on his bed and sighed.

"Is anything wrong?" Anna asked him, appearing next to him on the bed.

"Did something happen with Bonnie earlier?" Jeremy asked, catching her off guard.

"What do you mean?"

"During the ritual or whatever."

"Well, she was acting kind of distant." Anna told him. "It's weird but I think she's jealous."

"Why would she be jealous? That's ridiculous."

"I know, but it's not the first time I've seen her like this." Anna said. "I think it's because of me."

"Bonnie's my girlfriend, she knows that." Jeremy said. "And maybe we haven't spent much time together lately, but she knows you're our friend."

"And I would never steal someone else's guy." Anna said. "Even if I did like them." Jeremy turned toward her, looking surprised. She seemed surprised herself. "Did I really just say that?" He nodded. She got up and started pacing.

"You like me?"

"Well, yeah. You were the first person who ever noticed me." Anna said. "But I don't want to be that girl who gets between you and Bonnie. Besides, I'm a ghost. I don't exactly belong anywhere."

"Well, I think you fit in just fine." Jeremy told her. Anna smiled. "I think I should talk with her."

"No. That might make things worse." Anna pointed out. "We should both talk to her."

"Okay." Jeremy said. "What a mess." She put her hand on his. Her eyes widened. "What is it?"

"I…I felt that." Anna said. Jeremy grabbed her hand.

"And that's not normal?"

"Well, it's complicated." Anna said. "Sometimes we can feel if a person is touching us, but most of the time, not so much."

"Can you put that in English, please?" Jeremy asked, not understanding.

"The point is, this is not normal. We don't usually feel a person's touch. Apart from the occasional high-five, brief hug, first kiss, whatever." Anna said. She frowned. "Maybe something's wrong in the ghost world."

"Well, Vicki might be gone, but it looks like we've got to fix the mess she made." Jeremy said as Anna pulled her hand away. She nodded, knowing that the real trouble was just beginning.