A/N: and here is chapter fourteen. I must say, I've enjoyed most of your guesses about what was going to happen. Several were right. Several were wrong, yet your ideas often make inspiration strike^^

Anyway, thank you for leaving your reviews and enjoy the chapter.

o.O.o

Chapter Fourteen, Dog Teeth

When I woke up again, my head was aching and the road to consciousness came slowly and painfully. The light was bright, too bright almost and when I managed to crack an eye open, I regretted it immediately. I woke up in a room that was not familiar to me.

Not in Elena's room, not in my own. For a moment the breath in my throat stilled and got stuck there almost painfully. The last time I'd woken up in an unfamiliar room, I'd gotten stuck into someone else's body. Which was why I slowly moved my hand until it lay beside me on the yellowish pillow, in my line of vision.

The skin still had that olive hue and that still-healing abrasion from where Elena's body had fallen against the bleachers decorated the back of the hand. I let out a shaky breath. At least this body was familiar to me.

Subtly, I turned my head around. The room was well-lit, the walls lined with several boring paintings and the high-paned windows, which were lined with beige-gold. After several seconds, staring around inconspicuously, I deduced I was alone and swiftly sat up.

My muscles ached and my head pounded, and my hands came up to my temples, a low groan escaping from my throat. I vaguely remembered someone creeping up on me, remembered my head hitting the ground when someone hit me, and my fingers ventured to my mouth, rubbing over the gums.

I didn't think I felt the pressure of fangs, nor did I taste or crave blood (or I thought I didn't), which, at least, made my shoulders sag in relief.

My eyes flitted through the room again, hoping to find some details and I moved forward until I could throw my legs over the edge of the bed. The air was slightly dank and smelled of mildew.

My cheek felt hot, raw, and painful and the slight coolness of the room felt almost pleasant. I moved to the edge of the bed, pushing myself up to my feet, trudging around quietly I cataloged the room in my mind. There was a ceramic washtub, with an old, rickety table snugged up against it.

There was a bottle of water on top of it and something that looked like a lunch box was settled beside it. I ignored them and moved towards the door, the only one, and my hand reached out for the door handle and—

The door slammed open and a girl I recognized stepped into the room, pushing me back onto the bed. Annabelle Zhu stared at me through narrowed eyes, "Sleeping beauty awakens."

"What do you want from me?"

"I want you to shut up and remain there on the bed!" She snarled back and I inhaled sharply.

The last time someone told Elena to shut up she'd received the king of the bitch slaps of all time and I curled my legs beneath my chin, wrapping my arms tightly around my calves. My eyes flitted over the Asian girl. She was clad in a snug-fitting leather jacket with Martens boots and faded blue jeans. She looked like an ordinary girl and I ground my teeth together.

"I don't understand," I muttered, and she glared at me, her fingers flexing.

"You know what I am?"

"Yes."

"Then you should know what I can do."

"I do," I agreed softly, "I just don't understand what you'd want from me."

"Damon opened the tomb." She muttered, more to herself than to me, and flinched.

"Your mom."

I closed my eyes and let my head drop in my hands. How could I forget that the dead in Mystic Falls almost outnumbered the living?

"How do you know that?" She asked sharply.

"Damon," I admitted softly. "I'm rather surprised he didn't let all the vampires out."

"Of course, he didn't," Anna growled. "He's a fucking child. Resentment makes him act out."

"He's a pain," I agreed. "And I'm sorry. You must miss her."

"You don't seriously think I'm going to talk to you about my mother, do you?"

"No, you want to what?" I asked pressing my lips tightly together, hands fisting into the comforter. "Offer her my blood. Bleed me dry?"

Her eyes widened in surprise, "Well, aren't you well informed?"

"What do I have to do with all of this?" I asked, my knuckles turning white. "Who my blood relates to, should not define me. It's not fair."

"I decided long ago since it was Gilbert blood that put her there, it would be Gilbert blood that would awaken her."

"And that I look like Katherine, is just a bonus?" I sarcastically snarked.

"It makes our revenge feel that much sweeter."

"You can't," I whispered. "You can't kill me."

"Can't I?" She asked coldly.

"Well, yes, you can, I suppose," I admitted and wondered how much she'd even known about the Originals. She did know where Mikael had been hidden and I breathed out harshly. "I've made a deal with an Original. It needs me to be alive."

"An Original?" Anna sneered.

"Elijah," I muttered, and Anna breathed in noisily.

"One of the vampires who was after Katherine."

"Yes," I agreed.

An oddly serious expression morphed her face. It was a strange look on a teenage girl. Then again, Annabelle Zhu was an ancient vampire, trapped in a teenager's body. Her young almost child-like looks hid away a monster than had been around on Napoleon's birth and perhaps even the discovery of America. "So, you aren't related to Katherine."

"Why would you say that?"

"Katherine would never be this suicidal." Anna shrugged.

"No, I suppose not." I agreed. "But Katherine is okay with the idea of always being alone. Never being able to settle and start a life. I am not. So, I made a deal."

"A deal?" Anna let out a hollow laugh. "Are you stupid? You're a human. No one is ever going to take you seriously."

"Well, thanks for that."

"But, God, Elijah? Really?"

"What choice do I have?" I snapped. "If I don't set the terms, someone else's going to do it for me."

"Right, because of your face."

I nodded, "Well, yeah. Didn't you take me for my face too? Or was it my Gilbert blood alone?"

"Your face played its part," Anna admitted.

"Yeah, because I can help the genetic anomaly that makes me look like Katherine."

"Point taken," she agreed and some of the hostility fell away from her face.

"How do you want to open the tomb? I thought Damon already opened it?"

"Yes," she agreed, and her expression turned thunderous again, "but that arsehole had his witch close the tomb again."

"Why?" I asked, my mouth slacking open. "I thought he liked the idea of setting them free?"

"Because when he didn't find Katherine, he felt betrayed, enraged, and stuck the metaphorical finger to everyone by reinstating the barrier spell and destroying the crystal."

"Oh," I mumbled stupidly. "Then how do you want to open the tomb?"

"That's where you come in," Anna said and reached passed me, opening a drawer of the bedside table. The lamp on the top wobbled dangerously as she rummaged through its contents. She hummed before she straightened herself again and dropped a leather-bound book on my lap. "I'm looking for Emily's grimoire. And I hope you can make more out of this than I."

"You're negotiating with me?" I asked slowly.

"If that's what you want to call it, by all means."

"If I help you, do you promise I will get out of this alive?" I asked and Anna grimaced. "I need you to promise me I get out of this unharmed. No creepy stalker vampire with his obsession with Katherine. No killing me to resurrect your mom, just— I want to go home and live until Klaus breezes in town. Oh, and unless you like my brother, no stalking or hurting him either."

"You have quite a list," Anna observed dryly.

I shrugged, "I don't think I'm unreasonable."

"Perhaps not," Anna conceded, dark eyes flitting over my face for lies and deception. She must have found what she was looking for because she gave a sharp nod and pushed her arm upon her knee, cradling her jaw. "All right, Miss Gilbert, we have a deal."

I tried a tentative smile. "Okay," I grumbled, "I think I know where the Grimoire is."

"You do?" She echoed, sounding a bit more hostile.

"It's not very sanitarily," I remarked. "It's with Damon's and Stefan's father. In his coffin."

"God, was he obvious or what?" She grimaced and jumped to her feet.

"It's what he said, isn't it?" I asked sliding my fingers over the rough leather binding of the journal.

"Yes, it's what he said." She agreed and leaned closer to me. "You're to stay here."

"You can't compel me, you know that right," I said, and Anna shrugged.

"Perhaps not," she conceded, flicking her hair over her shoulder, "but know that if you venture out of this room, you're fair game to the Creepy Stalker Vampire and his friend the Busboy Ben."

I snorted. "Right the bartender. Fine, I'll stay. Is there human food around here?" I asked as Anna made her way over to the door. She turned to me with a frown. "Well, I'm not a vampire. I need to eat. Daily."

"You can go without a meal for a day, sweetie pie."

I grumbled. "So much for hospitality." And the door slammed closed behind Anna's retreating back. I listened as her footsteps faded away and flopped backward onto the bed. Wonderful, out of the frying pan, into the fire. I certainly knew how to make a bad situation even worse (even unknowingly).

Twilight had fallen, when Anna returned to the motel room (I suspected it was the same crappy motel Anna held Elena and Bonnie in, in the original timeline).

With the faint light of the setting sun, seeping in through the crack of the curtains, Anna stormed into the room in a flurry of vampire enthusiasm. Her dark slacks and ankle boots were covered mud and grime, but her expression was jubilant.

I had little time to sort out my feelings as Anna shoed me out of the motel room. Settled behind clouds and the tall copse of trees and mountains, the sun posing no further danger against the two vampires.

Anna's minions, Stalker-type and Busboy Ben remained on either side of me when we ventured out on the dim-lit car park in front of the motel (it looked even cheaper from the outside with paint peeling from the walls and one letter hanging askew from the motel sign). I inhaled gratefully, the first breath of fresh air after an entire day and night cooped up in a musty motel room.

The air was biting, the wind piercingly cold. It made my bones ache, right through my coat and shawl. The walk to the cemetery (for why take a car when you had super-speed at your disposal) was short and before I completely understood, the gleaming rooftops of the houses of the suburban neighborhood were disappearing behind the trees.

Yellow-orange leaves were fluttering around us, drifting from the gnarling branches and the narrow path into the forest was coated dead leaves.

The breeze here was laced with the earthy scent of falling leaves and freshly chopped firewood, the stench of the city far away. I curled my arms tightly around my waist. My hands were cold, my fingers curled into the material of my coat.

"Exactly how do you want to do this?" I asked, squinting miserably into the forest.

"You must have known I would find the original spell, once I got the grimoire, Elena."

"Don't you need a witch?" I asked, our footsteps crunching awkwardly over the thin layer of leaves.

Anna grinned at me. "You didn't think I had that covered?"

I swallowed, slowing down a little, and Creepy Stalker Vampire gripped my upper arm firmly. I winced when he curled an arm around my waist, fingers grazing over my waist and settling on the denim of my pants, drawing circles over my hipbone. I felt uncomfortable and it only became worse when his fingers inched towards the waistband of my denim pants.

"Let go of me!" I snapped but his fingers weren't deterred, having pushed up my top and were now drawing imaginary figures over my skin. I struggled, but when I didn't manage to pry his fingers off of me, I yanked the amulet on my neck open. The sprig of vervain came free with little trouble. "Get your hands off me!" I warned him again.

He gave me a dopey smile. "You look like—"

"Yeah, we've been over this. I look like Katherine. Get off!"

"Noah," Busboy Ben snapped giving his friend a weird look, "let her go."

"I just want to have some fun."

"Well, I don't!" I snapped and whirled around, jabbing the sprig of vervain against his flesh. He gasped, his arms dropping away from me immediately and I took three large steps away from him, bumping into Busboy Ben. "Stop touching me!" I snapped. "God, do you need to get into my personal space every single time?" I continued, breaking the sprig in two. One part in the necklace the other as a weapon. "I'm not Katherine. I'm not going to be. Keep your hands to yourself."

"Nice one Noah," Busboy Ben said and I glared. "You have a way with the ladies."

"Shut up."

I hurried forward, thinking myself safest beside Anna (which amounted for nothing, really) who was looking at me in that amused way of hers.

Suddenly the roots beneath my feet lurched, or I slipped, and I was sent sprawling down, chaffing my cheek against the rough trunk of a thick oak tree. My shoulder jarred hard against it and I gasped but I didn't have long to think about it, because Anna grabbed my arm and yanked me upright again.

My breath came out in clouds of steam and my hand curled tightly around my shoulder.

"I— thank you."

"Hurry up, Elena Gilbert."

"I'm only human, remember," I grumbled and let her yank me further into the woods.

For some reason, Anna took a long way. It was almost pitch dark when we stumbled into the clearing with the ruined church.

Two torches had been set, and the fires danced ominously in the wind. I was slightly grateful, and Anna let go of my arm, trusting with my sight restored, I would be able to follow the flagstone path towards Fell's church.

I stared at it (having only been able to make out one of the walls the last time, I'd been here), peering at the hole where once had been a door. Much of the tower was still intact, reaching up high above me and I swallowed.

"Come on," Anna said, beckoning towards the tomb's entree.

I grimaced. "Right."

The stairs to the lower levels of the church had been mostly hidden from view, the ground opening up rather suddenly to a pair of dusty spiraling, stone stairs.

Creepy Vampire Stalker— right, Noah, stepped up beside me again, his fingers trailing along the back of my neck and somehow that was the last drop. I slapped at his hand (Busboy Ben looked as if he'd been waiting for me to snap with an extremely amused expression). "I swear, if you try that one more time, you're getting the pepper spray!" I threatened irritably.

"But—"

"Noah, leave her alone," Anna ordered coldly.

With a huffy grumble, the man did, his hand dropping away from my back and I let out a grateful sigh. At least the creepy vampire breathing down my neck had now understood the concept of personal space. It didn't stop the cold sweat gathering on my forehead and at the nape of my neck. I should have tried to run.

I wouldn't have been able to outrun or outwit the two vampires in the motel, but in the open air, I might have managed— something. It was too late now though.

I'd taken the last step and stumbled into the large stone room of sorts. Here too, two torches were lit, lighting up the large stone blocking the entrance.

I peered at the pentagram edged into the grimy, dusty surface of the stone, the hairs on the back of my neck standing up. It took the combined strength of Noah and Busboy Ben to move the block of stone and when they managed, Anna quickly moved forward.

So fast she'd become a blur and with a precise shove, Noah stumbled inside the tomb.

"What the— Anna?"

"We need a way to know the barrier is gone." Anna shrugged.

Noah sped up to the opening, slamming hard against the invisible barrier: "Why me?"

"I've had it with you creeping up on the girl," Anna said. "We need her not to be your midnight snack."

"Bitch!" He snapped. It looked rather comically the way his hands pressed against the barrier. It looked slightly like someone pressing his hands against the smooth slab of glass of a window, the skin of his palms turning white as he pushed as hard as he could.

"I still don't understand how you're going to remove the barrier," I muttered, keeping to the side.

"Just wait and see." She shrugged and turned her back to the struggling Noah.

I didn't have to wait long. I wasn't sure how much time had passed when another set of footsteps came down the stairs. I recognized the man moving into the light immediately. News reporter Logan Fell was tall and slight athletically build with short, dark brown hair and green eyes. They were bright with what I assumed was hunger when he looked me up, I fisted the sprig of vervain tightly.

Almost tightly enough to crush it.

"Jenna's niece," he greeted but his voice was strained, and my eyes were drawn to the huddled form Logan had dragged along. It was a dark-skinned woman with curly hair and somehow her presence made a dull ache rise beneath my skin.

"Mrs. Bennett?" I gasped and her head snapped up, dark eyes moving to me.

"Ah, Elena."

I squared my shoulders, expecting some form of pain but when it didn't come I could only stare at her in confusion. Logan helped her across the area, her eyes never leaving mine and it was weird.

The Logan I'd remembered, especially in vampire form, was a dick. A murderer and a monster. A ripper with no control (a lot like Stefan on a blood high in that aspect) who I'd never thought would gently help an elderly lady across a room or an area.

"Hello, Mrs. Bennett," Anna greeted coolly.

"The vampire girl who wants to get her mother out?" Sheila asked in a monotone voice.

"Hm," she agreed and waved in my general direction, "and I delivered, didn't I?"

"Yes, you did." Mrs. Bennett agreed.

"You exchanged me against opening the tomb?" I asked breathlessly and this time when I met Sheila Bennett's cold gaze, I understood. I'd been her bargaining chip. I could only imagine what she would do to me. I suspected I would be paying dearly for fucking up the original timeline as I did. I could feel it in the marrow of my bones. "I see…"

"Yes, I suppose you do, don't you?"

"For what it's worth, I'm sorry." I whispered.

I didn't think it was worth much. Sheila moved forward without so much as a side glance at me and held out her hands, taking Emily's grimoire from Anna's hands.

A shudder ran down my spine and without much else to do I leaned back against one of the walls, pressing my hands between my knees. I didn't pay much attention to Sheila as she drew difficult forms in the dirt ground. At some point, something changed.

I watched the fires rise and I could even imagine the barrier flicker until a strange, hazy glow surrounded me. Magic running hot and wild over my skin and the air started to become oppressive.

I had no idea if that was supposed to happen and could only watch white-faced and voicelessly as Bonnie's Grandmother chanted in what I assumed was Latin. When she slowed her chanting, the invisible barrier holding Noah was gone. He flopped forwards, hitting the ground hard.

My eyebrows furrowed and I stared at Sheila Bennett again. "I thought the spell was too strong?"

"Many things fuel a witch's power." Sheila Bennett gasped, sounding breathless.

"I see."

Anna was next to me a moment later, grabbing a hold of my upper arm. "Well, come on then."

"She's not going." Sheila snapped, her face flushing with color.

"Oh, she is." Anna drolly replied. "You need her. She's your bargaining chip. Now she's mine."

"If you kill her…"

"I won't—" Anna shrugged and pulled me along, "we've already been over this, haven't we, Elena?"

"Apparently," I mumbled, not sure what to do or what to say. I had no idea who exactly was the lesser of two evils. I supposed with Anna, I would live the longest. Or at least, I thought I would and without much struggle, I let her tug me into the tomb.

At least, Anna had the foresight to bring a flashlight, her cool fingers tightly wrapped around my wrist. I wasn't going to lie, I was terrified.

Cobwebs, grime, and dirt decorated every surface. The ground beneath my shoes was a soft, muddy sort of dirt and crunched with every step we took.

The whispering started a second later and when the flashlight swept across the grayish-gaunt, sunken faces of so many vampires I flinched.

"She has to be here," Anna mumbled and my heartbeat accelerated. We moved deeper and deeper beneath the church, through the maze that was the corridors, making out the tomb.

Every so often, empty holders with the remains of wax candles in them were hung on the walls. I wasn't sure why they were there, nor did I understand the wrought-iron gate we passed when we moved even deeper into the tomb.

My fingers had gone cold and my breathing had quickened. "You're not going to kill—"

"No," she sighed, "I made a deal, I'll stick to it."

"So, she'd help you get your mom?"

"A Bennett witch dropping the spell her ancestor placed. Very biblical don't you think?"

"Sure," I muttered. I remembered what had happened the first time Sheila had done the spell. She'd died in her sleep. Perhaps that would happen again. I supposed it was horrible for me to think that, but I was terrified of what she would unleash on me. I guess I was a bad person.

"Mama!"

A sharp tug at my arm made me tumble to the dirt ground and the flashlight flickered perilously.

I'd have never recognized Pearl. Skin sunken and ashen, her entire body covered in a thick layer of dust, she was propped up against the wall. Her hair was so matted, it didn't look like hair anymore. And then her eyelids fluttered open, red eyes rolling up to stare at both me and Anna before her gaze fixated on me.

"Ka-therine."

"No, I'm—"

"Doesn't matter," Anna muttered and yanked me closer, pressing my wrist against her lips.

I knew what was to come. Or I thought I. knew. I squeezed my eyes closed, waiting for the pain. It was not unlike accidentally cutting yourself while cutting vegetables. It was fast, the initial sting only registering after a second and my eyes popped open.

I watched with a morbid sort of fascination as blood welled up from the pale flesh of my inner wrist. I shuddered when Anna pressed the limb against her mother's unmoving mouth.

Pearl's skin was cold and leathery, her lips were rough, parched and for a moment nothing happened. My blood trickled slowly down her wilted skin and the bodice of her old-fashioned blouse. But then Pearl regained some strength and her teeth scraped over my skin.

Pain, much like when the angry dog sunk his teeth into my ankle and refused to let go when I was eight. It seared up my arm and jolted down my spine and I let out a low whine, bordering on a scream. Pearl's body was quickly regaining a healthier color and I was quickly starting to feel faint. Really faint and I started to struggle in earnest now.

"Stop!" I gasped. "Please, stop!"

"Mama—"

"I can't— please stop!"

And then the pressure against my wrist was gone. Pearl was clutching her head and gasping, rasping. As was Anna and for a moment I had no idea what happened. They just dropped, holding their heads and were moaning.

The whispers reared up around us as did a new set of whispers. A chanting set of whispers and I snatched the flashlight of the ground, sweeping it around the tomb, over the sunken, ashen faces, until it landed on a tall dark-skinned man. I recognized him immediately.

Tall, really tall, with short-cropped dark hair and eyes that rolled into the back of his head when he did magic. Jonas Martin swept into the chamber, his arms raised, his fingers curled towards the sky. He dropped his arms, look straight at me.

"Mr. Martin," I managed, clasping my fingers over my still bleeding wrist.

"Elena Gilbert," he greeted, "the girl who knew too much."

"Right—" I mumbled, eyes flitting over the two fallen vampires and I struggled to get to my feet.

"Elena," he smiled, "Elijah needs you safe, are you coming?"

I stared at the two vampires again. At the immortal teenage girl who'd waited over a century to get her mother back and felt a stab of guilt run through me. What wouldn't I do to get my parents back?

To see my mum (who was still alive) or even my dad (I hadn't seen my dad in five years). In the original timeline, they died, lost in the purgatory of the other side. And as much as the ache in my wrist — and my whole body — annoyed me, I didn't think they deserved to die either.

"We can't leave them here."

"Elena."

"No, I—"

"The barrier will remain ineffective for five more minutes," he told me authoritatively, "that would be enough time for you and your mother to leave this town. And I certainly would recommend leaving, because if you don't, we will be forced to take you all out of the equation."

"But, Mr. Martin -"

"Get moving, Elena," he told me without even a second glance back at them and pushed me away. Out of the chamber and down the narrow, twisting stone corridors.

Mr. Martin towered out over me, his hand hot against my shoulder, and his magic fluttering against my skin. The beam of the flashlight was narrow, only showing the dirt-rock floor.

I let out a soft exhale when the rectangle opening to the outside world came in sight. My heartbeats were coming quickly now, for as much as the outside world would mean freedom, it would also mean Sheila Bennett and I wasn't looking forward to her seeing her again. Even with the safety blanket that was Jonas Martin marching behind me.

"Ah, there you are. The vampire girl?" Sheila asked as Mr. Martin and I stepped out of the tomb.

"Incapacitated for the moment. They should have enough time to get out." He shrugged and then his expression turned cold and serious. "I'm taking her."

Sheila Bennett shook her head. "No!" She gasped. "I need her."

One hand raised and Mr. Martin whirled through the air, hitting the back of the stone that previously had blocked the tomb. Her other hand clamped around my wrist and she tugged me closer.

"I didn't— Wait— I—"

"I know it wasn't you!" Sheila snarled and the walls trembled along with her anger.

"I don't understand," I whispered, still feeling slightly faint and Sheila gave a sharp tug at my arm.

"My granddaughter—" she gasped, her knuckles turning pale when a pale set of hands gripped her face. With a snap, Sheila's head was wrenched to the side. An unwilling scream tore from my throat and Sheila Bennett tumbled to the dirt with a slacked expression. She was dead.

To be continued...

A/N: And— did many of you expect that? I do wonder. Like always, let me know what you all thought about this! I wasn't sure about Anna's characterization. She didn't strike me as someone who was deliberately cruel, but I do think she would have tried going for Gilbert's blood either way.

As for Sheila's death, whenever I plan things, I realize many people who died in the series, still die in this story. Of course, that's not a promise for future chapters...

Anyway, let me know what you all think. Like always, I'd love to hear your thoughts.