[2x11; By the Light of the Moon]

"Are you ready?"

Lucy gave Bonnie a nervous look at her question. Was she ready to siphon this curse from the moonstone and potentially have this vicious Klaus guy hunt them all down? No. Was she ready to siphon the curse from the moonstone and save her sister's life? Yes.

"I'm ready," she sighed, grabbing the moonstone from Bonnie's hand.

"Just be careful," Bonnie advised her. "Take breaks. Too much magic will—"

"—overwhelm me," Lucy finished, having heard it before. "Got it."

Lucy wrapped her hands around the moonstone—which eerily matched the stone in her locket—and concentrated. Nothing happened; her hands didn't glow and she didn't feel that small rush of adrenaline she felt every time she siphoned magic from something.

She closed her eyes and tried again with the same result.

It was like the moonstone had no magic in it at all.

"Uh, Lucy, are you going to siphon the curse?" Bonnie asked impatiently.

"I can't, Bonnie!" Lucy exclaimed, slightly hysterical. "Nothing's coming out. It's like there isn't anything in there."

"No, no, that's impossible," Bonnie shook her head, grabbing the moonstone back from her. She concentrated and felt magic pulsing through the stone. "I can feel the magic."

"I couldn't," Lucy insisted. "Which means…"

"It's spelled against siphoners," Bonnie said flatly."

"Great."

Bonnie slipped the moonstone into her bag and gave Lucy a small smile, seeing how guilty the younger girl looked. "It's not your fault, Luce. I'll just have to find a way to de-spell it myself."

Lucy frowned. "I'm so sorry, Bon."

"Don't be," Bonnie grabbed Lucy's hand and squeezed it. "Seriously. Come on, we should go tell Elena what's going on."

"Are we still testing her?" Lucy wondered.

When Bonnie nodded, Lucy followed Bonnie out of her room and into Elena's, both of them not bothering to knock. Elena was sitting at her window seat, diary in her lap, with a severely grouchy look on her face.

"Hey," she grumped, standing up and walking over to them. "What's up?"

"I can't siphon the curse from the moonstone," Lucy told her straight away. There was no point in beating around the bush. She had failed, plain and simple.

Elena's face was blank, no sign of surprise, relief, or anger. "So, what now?"

Bonnie sighed and pulled the moonstone out of her bag, handing it to Elena. It was all part of the test she, Lucy, and Jeremy had planned to see if Elena would leave to try to get herself killed again.

The day before, while they were all trying to get the moonstone away from Katherine, Elena had her own mission. She had recruited Rose to take her to visit Slater to see if he could get in touch with Klaus. She wanted to hand herself over so that Klaus wouldn't hurt any of her family…killing herself in the process.

Needless to say, no one was really happy with her actions at the moment.

"Since Lucy can't siphon the curse, I have to see if I can figure out a way to remove it myself," Bonnie told Elena. "If the spell is gone, the stone becomes useless."

"And, according to Katherine, Klaus becomes vengeful," Elena added, pursing her lips.

"Maybe," Bonnie conceded before adding, "If he finds out."

Lucy nodded in agreement, pointing at Bonnie for emphasis.

"Bonnie, can't this wait?" Elena asked, exasperated. "Stefan is stuck in the tomb with Katherine. We've got to get him out."

"Stefan wants us to focus on this," Lucy stated, though she wanted Stefan out as much as Elena.

"Well, don't listen to him," Elena argued. "He thinks that he's protecting me but he's wrong."

Lucy and Bonnie shared a look before Bonnie said to Elena, "We're taking Stefan's side on this one. We're not gonna let you get used in some creepy sacrifice ritual."

As Bonnie ripped the moonstone out of Elena's hand, Lucy added, "I want Stefan out of the tomb as much as you, Elena, but you're life in on the line. Stefan will be there when we figure this out."

Elena gave Lucy an unhappy look but Lucy wasn't going to be swayed. What she said was true and she believed every word of it.

Jeremy popped his head into the room. "What are you guys arguing about?"

Bonnie shrugged, looking at Elena. "We're not arguing about anything," she put the stone in her bag and hopped off the bed. "I need a coffee."

"I'll join you," Lucy said, her and Bonnie both giving Jeremy pointed looks as they left the room. It was up to him to cover the last part of their test.

When they got downstairs, Bonnie went to work on casting a barrier spell that would only affect Elena. It must have been an easy spell because she put it up within a minute, impressing Lucy. She was always so amazed by how great Bonnie was at magic.

"Come on," Lucy ushered Bonnie into the living room to wait for Elena. "She'll probably be down any minute."

Lucy was right, after a minute or so went by, Elena came rushing down the stairs. Bonnie and Lucy popped out in front of her.

"Where are you going?" Bonnie asked her casually.

"Um," Elena gulped. "to see Stefan."

Lucy scoffed lightly and crossed her arms over her chest.

"You're lying," Bonnie claimed, both of them seeing right through her.

Elena shook her head. "No, I'm not."

"Really?" Lucy smirked at her. "Tell your face."

Elena narrowed her eyes at both Lucy and Bonnie. "Are you serious?"

"She took the moonstone!" Jeremy called, walking down the stairs holding Bonnie's bag.

Elena gaped at them. "How did you—"

"We tested you," Bonnie pursed her lips. "and you failed."

Lucy frowned at her older sister; could Elena not see how her death would affect everyone? Didn't she care how much they all loved her?

Elena looked from Bonnie's face, to Jeremy's, to Lucy's; she scoffed and tried to defend herself. "Klaus killed Katherine's entire family just because she crossed him," she said firmly. "I can't let that happen."

Bonnie shrugged and stepped aside—Lucy doing the same—allowing Elena to walk past them. Elena did; she walked down the rest of the stairs and opened the front door, only to be stopped by the barrier Bonnie put up.

She tried to push pas the barrier several times but was unable to do so. She turned to Bonnie, an angry look on her face. "What did you do?"

"It's for the best, Elena," Bonnie assured her.

Elena sighed, aggravated, and stormed back upstairs.

"You trapped her in your house?" Stefan asked Lucy, not able to believe the information that she and Damon had just given him.

Lucy rolled her eyes. "It's for the best. Trust me."

"Elena's on a martyr mission that rivals your greatest hits," Damon told Stefan. "You should be glad the witch and I are getting along."

Lucy glared at Damon. "Her name is Bonnie, dick." She shook her head and turned back to Stefan. "We brought you some things."

Damon held up the bag where he had the things that he gathered for his brother. "Care package," he declared, giving the bag to Lucy to drop behind the seal. "Candles, lanterns, and Twitch brought you lunch."

Lucy shook the bottle of blood she pulled from the bag. "The butcher sends his regards. I think it's cow blood this time."

She went to hand Stefan the bottle but he refused it. "Give that to me and I'm just gonna have to share it with her."

Lucy threw her hands in the air, exasperated, as Katherine appeared and waved at her and Damon.

"Yeah," Stefan agreed with her annoyance.

"You know, you three are surprisingly calm considering Klaus will hunt you down and kill you if you mess with his little plan," Katherine observed, crossing her arms over her chest.

"I've been dead before, I got over it," Damon shrugged casually.

"Speaking of the moonstone," Stefan said, giving Lucy a questioning look. "Did you—?"

"No," Lucy sighed, anxiously playing with the bracelet Stefan got her. "I was unable to siphon the curse from the stone."

"But Bonnie's on it," Damon told Stefan, nudging Lucy's arm in support. Lucy appreciated it, surprised by his behavior. "After we deal with the moonstone, we'll figure out a way to get you out."

"Ah, don't worry about me," Stefan said calmly. "Just make sure Elena's safe."

Lucy nodded seriously. "We're on it."

"Yeah, I have next shift," Damon groaned. "Hey, how much should I get paid by the hour? I'm thinking fifty should do it."

"You'll do it for free and you'll like it," Lucy retorted. She gave Stefan a small smile. "Be careful in there."

Stefan grinned back at her. "Stay safe."

Lucy nodded, her heart clenching, and followed Damon out of the chamber.

The day passed quickly, with Lucy looking carefully through her grimoire to see if there was anything that could help her get Stefan out of the tomb. She knew that she promised Stefan that she'd focus on the moonstone, but Bonnie was taking care of it. She was out with the new witch—or warlock, as he liked to be called—in town, Luka. Apparently, he and his father collected grimoires from around the world and he knew of a spell that could destroy the Sun and the Moon curse within the moonstone.

So, with that taken care of, Lucy wanted to get Stefan out of the tomb. However, she was coming up blank. There was absolutely nothing in her grimoire that came close to the strength of the tomb spell.

It frustrated the hell out of her.

"Hey," Elena knocked on Lucy's open door and stuck her head into the room. "Do you know what's going on downstairs?"

Lucy nodded, having heard the commotion that was Jenna trying to get their mom's historical society files out of the closet for some author that was writing a piece on Mystic Falls. "Jenna's looking for Mom's stuff," she told her sister. "I just hope she doesn't mess up my system."

"I'm sure you'll fix it if she does," Elena chuckled. "Come on, let's go see if she needs help."

"Fine," Lucy shoved her grimoire off her lap and climbed off her bed, following Elena downstairs. When they reached their storage closet under the stairs, they found Jenna kneeled next to three open boxes.

"Hey, how are you doing there?" Elena greeted her while Lucy waved with a smile.

"Oh," Jenna sighed happily, handing Elena a box with a smile. "perfect timing."

Lucy peered into the box, seeing that it held some photo albums. "Jenna, this is the wrong box," she informed her aunt. "You're looking for Mom's files from the historical society, right?"

"Yeah," Jenna confirmed, taking the box back from Elena and handing her a different one. "I got roped into helping Mrs. Lockwood. And by roped, I mean very excited to participate."

Lucy furrowed her eyebrows, confused by Jenna's change of tone. She went from annoyed to happy, like she wanted to be polite. Her unspoken question was answered when Jenna shut the closet door and revealed that Elijah was behind it.

Lucy choked on her saliva, confused on how Elijah was standing right in front of her and Elena. Last she knew, Damon had killed him with a coat rack.

"What the hell?" she hissed under her breath as Elena gasped, shocked by Elijah's presence as well. She knew that Elijah was still alive, but why was he in their house?

"Hey, I'm Elijah," Elijah smiled pleasantly at them.

Lucy just gaped at him, blown away by he looked the same, yet completely different as the man in her memories. The Elijah she saw always had long hair and dressed in clothes that had to be centuries old. He was always polite and courteous in her memories like he was now, but having seen him when he beheaded Trevor, she knew he had a sadistic side.

The thing that shocked her the most that he was alive, though. How was that possible? She saw his body desiccated.

"Elijah's in town doing research on Mystic Falls," Jenna informed her nieces, grabbing the box from Jenna.

Lucy hummed, wearily watching as Elijah walked toward them, hand extended. After Elena hesitantly shook his hand, Lucy did the same to keep appearances for Jenna.

"It's a pleasure, girls," he said, his lips slightly quirked into a smile.

"So, you're welcome to stay here and rummage through this stuff or Elena, Lucy, and I could help you load it into your car," Jenna offered nicely. Lucy smiled at her, though on the inside, she wanted to run.

She didn't want to confront Elijah yet, she was still so shocked that he was alive.

"Yeah, or I can get someone to pick it up tomorrow?" Elijah shrugged casually.

Jenna chuckled. "Also a good plan."

"Well, thank you so much for inviting me into your home, Jenna," Elijah said graciously as he and Jenna walked to the front door. "And girls—" Lucy and Elena turned around as he called for them. "—I hope to see you both again sometime soon."

Lucy nodded shakily, her heart racing. As Elijah walked out the front door, she was already rushing up the stairs to check on Jeremy, Elena on her heels. She was afraid that Elijah had hurt him—he beheaded a man for crying out loud!

"Jeremy!" she called as she and Elena stopped outside his room, frantically knocking on his door.

She went to turn his doorknob when someone grabbed her hand, stopping her. She gasped when she saw that it was Elijah who did so, not Elena. Lucy backed away from him and the door, sighing anxiously when Elijah held out a finger to tell her and Elena to stay quiet.

Jeremy's door opened and Elijah flinched out of sight.

"Hey," Jeremy pulled his headphones down around his neck. "What is it?"

"Uh, Jenna was just asking us to get you to help her with the boxes," Elena spoke up for her sister.

"Oh," Jeremy nodded. "Yeah"

Jeremy didn't even notice Elijah as he walked out of his room and down the stairs to help Jenna. After watching their brother leave, Lucy and Elena slowly turned back to Elijah.

"That was a wise choice," Elijah said calmly.

Elena narrowed her eyes at him and grabbed Lucy's hand. "What do you want?"

"I think it's time we three have a little chat."

Lucy and Elena shared a worried look and Lucy nodded, pulling her hand from Elena's. "Um, yeah," she walked to her room, just across the hall from Jeremy's. "In here is fine."

Elijah looked around Lucy's room, finding it charming for a girl her age. It was neat, like he always remembered Luciana being, and her favorite color was splashed here and there—blue, just like Luciana. What made him almost lose his breath was the corner of the room dedicated to painting. An easel was set up on a clear sheet of plastic, holding a half-finished painting, and multiple painting were hung up on the walls around it, all done by Lucy herself. It astounded Elijah how much Lucy and Luciana were the same.

Lucy painted just like his baby sister had—just how Niklaus showed her—but even better with her older age and better supplies. He knew his brother would be blown away by Lucy's talent, just as he was delighted by it.

Elijah quickly composed himself, knowing that he was coming off as strange to Lucy and Elena. "Please, forgive the intrusion," he told them, turning to Lucy's dresser where pictures of herself with her family, Caroline, Bonnie, Matt, Alaric, and Stefan littered the surface. "I mean your family no harm."

"Um, you're alive," Lucy stated dumbly as Elijah sat on her window seat.

"Yes, for centuries now," Elijah deadpanned, glancing at Elena. "I ran into your sister yesterday."

Lucy sharply turned to Elena. "What?"

"I'll explain later," Elena placated Lucy before facing Elijah. "Why did you kill those vampires when they tried to take me?"

"Because I didn't want you to be taken," Elijah replied simply. "Klaus is the most feared and hated of the Originals but those that feat him are desperate for his approval. If word gets out that the doppelganger and reincarnation exist, there'll be a line of vampires eager to take you both to him…And I can't have that."

Elena gave him a confused look. "Isn't that exactly what you're trying to do?"

"Let's just say that my goal is not to break the curse," Elijah answered.

"So, what is your goal?" Lucy spoke up. If Elijah didn't want to break the curse, why was he here? It couldn't be for a little sibling bonding.

"Klaus' obsessions have made him paranoid," Elijah stated bitterly. "He's a recluse. He trusts only those in his immediate circle."

"Like you?"

If Elijah and Klaus were both original vampires, didn't that imply that they know each other? You can't have two different set of original vampires if one was made before the other…

Elijah hesitated at Lucy's question and then shook his head. "Not anymore."

Elena cocked her head thoughtfully. "You don't know where he is, do you?" Elijah shook his head. "So, you're trying to use us to draw him out."

"Well, to do that, I need you to stay put and stop trying to get yourself killed," Elijah told Elena pointedly.

"How do I know you're telling the truth?" Elena asked sharply.

For Lucy, it was like she knew that she could trust him. It was the same with Katherine, though she knew that trust could be misplaced. She couldn't put all of her trust in Elijah, just in case he decided to pull a Katherine and do something that would make her regret it.

"Well, if I wasn't being truthful, all your family would be dead and I'd be taking both of you to Klaus right now," Elijah said plainly. "Instead, I'm here, and I'm prepared to offer you two a shared deal."

Lucy perked up, intrigued—she knew from her memories that Elijah didn't welch on deals. "What kind of deal?"

Elijah stood up. "Do nothing," he said, walking over to Lucy's bookcase to study the titles on the shelf at his eye level. "Do nothing. Live your lives. Stop fighting. And then, when the time is right, the three of us shall draw Klaus out together and I shall make certain that your friends remain unharmed."

"And then what?" Elena asked cautiously.

Elijah turned away from the bookshelf to face them. "Then I kill him."

Lucy raised her eyebrows. "Just like that?"

"Just like that," Elijah nodded. "I'm a man of my word, girls. I make a deal, I keep a deal."

"How are you going to be able to keep everybody safe?" Elena crossed her arms over her chest.

"You know, I notice you have a friend, Bonnie, is it?" Elijah tilted his head. "She seems to possess the gift of magic. I have friends with similar gifts."

"You know witches." Lucy assumed that his witches included Luka, the new guy in town that was currently with Bonnie, trying to de-spell the moonstone. She guessed that was now a dead end.

"Together we can protect everybody that matters to you both," Elijah proposed. "So…do we have a deal?"

Lucy pursed her lips, thinking quickly. She knew that Elijah didn't back out of deals—he said so himself. But the Elijah she knew from her memories was kind and honorable, which was skewing the way she looked at him now. But if he could save Elena, she had to take the deal.

Plus, if Elijah had powerful witches on his side, she could ask him to get Stefan out of the tomb. She didn't know if he would allow that but it didn't hurt to ask…

"I'll agree to your deal," Elena told Elijah, thinking that it was the best-case scenario for everyone. She noticed that Elijah didn't include keeping her safe in the deal but it didn't matter to her—all she wanted was her friends and family safe.

"Wonderful," Elijah nodded before looking at Lucy for her agreement.

Lucy lifted her chin. "We need you to do one more thing for us."

Elijah's lips quirked into a grin and disappeared so quickly that Lucy wasn't sure he smiled at all. "Are we negotiating now?"

"Yes," Lucy said confidently, knowing that it would impress him more. "We need you to lower the seal on the tomb under the church."

"The tomb where Katerina Petrova is sealed inside?"

Lucy nodded. "The very one. Stefan Salvatore is stuck with her. He's Elena's boyfriend, and my best pal, so that makes him on both of our lists."

Just like Lucy predicted, Elijah was impressed by her negotiating skills. "And if I do this, we have a deal?"

"Yes."

"Well, then," Elijah smirked, holding out his hand for her to shake; Lucy firmly took it. "we have a deal."

Lucy pressed her lips together, not sure at all if this was the right thing to do. For right now, though, Stefan was going to be okay and that was enough for her.