Three days later, Elena decided to wear the outfit that Lexi and Lee had sent her mostly as a joke. The outfit consisted of black boots, ripped stockings, black studded shorts with a pocket-bag that wrapped around her thigh, a crop top with the text 'Vampire's Sucks' and several throwing knifes that were placed in the pocket-bag.

There were several other types of weapons to but she chose to leave those at home with the jacket that belonged to the outfit, instead choosing to wear one of Jeremy's few button-ups.

"Hey Aunt Jenna." Elena said as she rushed down the stairs and out the door to her bike. "Bye Aunt Jenna."

Elena arrived at the boarding house at the same time as Elijah and Elena couldn't help but be impressed by the car he was driving.

"Is that an Aston Martin One-77?" Elena asked as Elijah stepped out of the dark red car.

"Yes, it is." Elijah smiled at her and shrugged. "Luka recommended it to me."

"You do know that is one of the most expensive cars in the world, right?" Elena walked closer to the car to be able to admire it.

"Is it?" Elijah hummed with a slight smirk.

"You know full well it is." Elena laughed as she watched Elijah take a wooden box out of the car.

Elena and Elijah made their way into the boarding house and joined Stefan in the library.

"Good morning, pretty boy." Elena smirked.

"I am not pretty!" Stefan whined with a pout.

"Uh-hu." Elena hummed.

"Tonight is the full moon." Elijah said after having placed the box on the table in front of him. "We should assume that Klaus is prepared to break the curse."

"Elena said that the sun and the moon curse is a fake?" Stefan looked over at Elijah. "That it's actually a curse placed on Klaus."

"Klaus is a vampire born of a werewolf bloodline. The curse has kept his werewolf aspect from manifesting. But if he breaks it... He'll be a true hybrid."

"Then why are we letting him break the curse?" Damon asked as he walked in. "We can kill him today, with Bonnie."

"Damon..." Stefan sighed.

"No, Bonnie can't use that much power without dying." Elena huffed.

"I'll write her a great eulogy." Damon offered.

"It's not an option, Damon." Elena snapped, getting annoyed.

"All right." Stefan stepped forward before a fight could break out. "How do we break this curse?"

"Well, the ritual itself is relatively straightforward." Elijah said. "The ingredients, so to speak, you already know."

"The Moonstone." Stefan nodded.

"A witch will channel the power of the full moon to release the spell that's bound within the stone." Elijah explained. "After that, Klaus, being both werewolf and vampire, will sacrifice one of each."

"And where do I fit into the whole thing?" Elena asked softly.

"The final part of the ritual." Elijah opened the wooden box and pulled out a beautiful jar. "Klaus must drink the blood of the doppelgänger... to the point of your death."

Damon looked at Elena while Stefan placed a hand on her shoulder but Elena herself was very calm, "And that's where you come in."

"This is an elixir that I acquired some 500 years ago for Katerina." Elijah held up the jar. "It possesses mystical properties of resuscitation."

"So, I'll be dead?" Elena looked at him.

"And then you won't." Elijah smiled gently at her.

"That's your plan?" Damon spoke up loudly. "A magical witch potion with no expiration date?"

Damon turned and looked at Elena almost desperately. "You want to come back to life, what about John's ring?"

"I'm a doppelgänger." Elena reminded him at the same time as Elijah spoke up.

"Those rings only work on humans." Elijah looked at Damon. "The doppelgänger's a supernatural occurrence. Odds are, the ring won't work."

"I'll take those odds over your elixir." Damon snapped then he turned back to Elena. "What if it doesn't work, Elena?"

"Then I'll great Death as an old friend and move on to the next big adventure." Elena shrugged.

Damon looked at his brother and then back at Elena, then he shook his head and walked out.

"Do we know if Klaus has everything he needs to do this?" Elena asked as she turned to Elijah. "Does he have a werewolf?"

"Klaus has been waiting to break this curse for over a thousand years." Elijah murmured. "If he doesn't already have a werewolf, my guess is by tonight, he will."

Stefan smiled at Elena and nodded at Elijah a little stiffly, "I'll go check on Damon."

"You'd think he would understand why I'm willing to do this." Elena walked over to stand by Elijah.

"Why are you?" Elijah asked as he tilted his head.

"Several reasons actually." Elena smiled slightly. "One of them is that I know that if I don't do this my friends and family will be in the cross fire of Klaus's rage. Another reason is that as I see it, no one should be forced to have part of themselves locked away by force just because the people around them can't accept them for who and what they are."

"You know, there's a possibility this elixir won't work." Elijah placed a gentle hand on Elena's face. "I don't want to mislead you."

"I know the chance I'm taking." Elena smiled at him.

Before Elijah could say anything more, they heard Jenna screaming at someone near the front door. they looked at each other and quickly made their way there.

"Get out!" Jenna screamed as she aimed a crossbow at Alaric.

"Jenna, Jenna!" Alaric had his hands up.

"Get out!" Jenna ordered again, crossbow steady.

"Jenna, put the crossbow down, okay?" Alaric pleaded. "It's me."

"Stay away from me." Jenna glared, not believing him.

Damon and Stefan arrived at the same time as Elijah and Elena, "What's going on?"

"It's me, Elena. I swear, okay?" Alaric begged her. "He let me go, Klaus let me go."

"Prove it." Damon demanded.

Alaric turned and looked at Jenna, "Okay, uh, first night you and I spent together, Jeremy walked in right when I was about to..."

"Okay, it's him!" Jenna interrupted and lowered the crossbow and Elena chuckled.

"Why did he let you go?" Stefan asked.

"He wanted me to deliver two messages. One to all of you and one to Elena." Alaric told them.

"What did he say to all of us?" Damon wanted to know.

"The sacrifice happens tonight." Alaric muttered.

"And the message to me?" Elena wondered.

"He said that as long as you come willingly to the sacrifice, he would not hurt anyone you cared about." Alaric looked at her. "And that he wished you didn't have to die."

Elena nodded with a smile, that was something she could agree to without thinking about. Then she turned around and waked back into the library with Alaric, Jenna, Stefan and Elijah following her.

"What I want to know is why Klaus seems to actually feel sorry about Elena dying." Stefan muttered.

"It is quite out of character for him." Elijah looked at Elena with an intense look in his eyes.

"So, do you remember anything that happened?" Stefan asked Alaric as Elena poured herself some bourbon.

"No, it's like I blacked out and woke up three days later." Alaric shook his head. "Kathrine was there."

"She's under compulsion." Stefan explained. "Damon snuck her some vervain, but she can't leave until Klaus tells her she can."

"Where's Damon?" Elena looked around.

"I saw him go upstairs." Jenna said quietly.

Elena smiled at her Aunt and walked up to Damon's bedroom where she found the older Salvatore standing by the window gazing out on the grounds.

"You disappeared." Elena murmured as she walked up to him.

"I don't want to hear anymore." Damon shrugged.

"I need you to understand why I'm doing this." Elena looked at him earnestly.

"Why?" Damon gave a bitter laugh. "It clearly doesn't matter what I think."

"I'll be fine, Damon." Elena reassured him. "I'll drink the elixir, Bonnie will kill Klaus and then all this will be over."

"If it works." Damon muttered.

"It will work." Elena said confidently.

"You think it will work. You want it to work." Damon turned to her. "Why am I the only one who's convinced it won't? There has to be another way."

"There isn't." Elena declared firmly.

"And you're going to die, Elena." Damon looked at her and Elena saw the desperation in his eyes.

"And then I'll come back." Elena informed him. The look he was giving her almost scared her. She had never been scared of Damon before but now when he was panicking and grasping at straws, he really did scare her.

"That is not a risk I'm willing to take." Damon walked closer to her.

"But I am." Elena gently took his hand in hers. "It's my life, Damon. My choice."

"I can't lose you." Damon looked at her.

"You won't." Elena declared and walked towards the door.

Damon sped in front of her, "There is another way."

"What are you..." Elena started to say before Damon grabbed her and started to run towards his car.

"If you're not here you can't die." Damon told her.

"Damon, no!" Elena struggled, trying to get free, feeling the panic creeping up and memories of Tanner and Brady flashing through her mind.

Before Damon can make it out the front door, Elena is pulled from his arms by an angry looking Elijah.

"The only reason I'm not ripping your heart out of your chest is because I made a promise to Elena." Elijah growled lowly as he glared at Damon while Elena was crying in his arms.

"If you hadn't compelled me not to give her any vampire blood, I wouldn't have to kidnap her." Damon glared back.

"But you would condemn everyone else to death!" Elena shouted at him, letting the fear and panic turn into anger. "Do you not care about that?"

"Do I care about our pack? Yes, I do." Damon looked determined. "Would I choose you over them? In a heartbeat."

"Come on, brother." Stefan started to lead Damon out the door. "You need to calm down."

Elena walked into the library and tried to pour herself some bourbon but her hands were shaking too much. Damon grabbing her and not letting go made her have flashbacks to the helpless feeling she got when she was attacked by Tanner and later Brady.

She had barley gotten past flinching away from him, Stefan and Alaric since they shot her with a crossbow and now this? She could feel how her trust in them was slowly being chipped away and if this continued she didn't know what would happen.

"Here, let me." Elijah gently placed his hands over hers and then took the glass and the decanter from her.

"Thank you." Elena murmured as he gave her the now full glass.

"You are most welcome." Elijah smiled at her. "Are you alright?"

"I'm not sure." Elena admitted. "I remembered the other times I've felt that helpless and that was when I was molested by Tanner and then Brady to a lesser degree."

"If you take back your protection, I could kill him for you." Elijah offered, sounding almost eager about it.

"That's very sweet but you don't stop protecting family just because you got hurt by said family." Elena smiled slightly.

"You can change your mind any time." Elijah told her.

"When should I drink the elixir, by the way?" Elena looked at Elijah, trying to get her mind on something else.

"Just before nightfall would be best." Elijah carefully gave her the jar.

"Thank you for trying, even if this does not work, I am very glad to have met you." Elena kissed him on the cheek.

"I really hope it works." Elijah murmured back as Stefan walked in. "I shall see you both tonight."

Elena watched as Elijah walked out, her lips tingled for some reason. After this whole debacle was over, she needed to make a doctor's appointment for all the weird symptoms she had.

"Hey." Stefan pulled Elena into a hug. "I want you to go somewhere with me."

"Stefan, you know I can't." Elena told him.

"It's just for the day." Stefan assured her as he pulled her towards his car.

XOXOXOX

Stefan was leading Elena through the woods on the side of a mountain and Elena was feeling grateful that she had chosen to wear boots instead of heels today.

"Where are we?" Elena asked as she looked around.

"It's a surprise." Stefan smiled. "Just a little bit longer."

"I really want to start asking 'Are we there yet?' repeatedly." Elena smirked. "But I think I like you too much to do that."

"Thank you kindly." Stefan chuckled lowly, then he got a serious look on his face. "Do you really think that the elixir will work?"

"Yes, I do." Elena hummed. "I don't know why but I really believe that it will work."

"I wish I had your confidence." Stefan sighed.

"Oh my..." Elena gasped as they stopped by a waterfall. "It's beautiful."

"Yeah but it's not our end destination." Stefan looked up the mountain. "It's a long way to the top. Let's got, you never know what might come up."

"We're climbing all the way up to the top?" Elena asked wide eyed.

"Oh, yeah." Stefan smirked at her.

"Do you want to kill me before Klaus has the chance?" Elena smiled brightly to show she was joking.

"Suck it up and move that ass." Stefan laughed and started to walk again.

Elena laughed loudly and followed him up along the waterfall.

"What's the best thing about being a vampire?" Elena asked a while later, wanting to have something to talk about and she was curious.

"Ahh, you feel like you can do anything. Be anyone." Stefan responded after he had thought about it for a few minutes. "Beautiful things are more beautiful. Everything's heightened, you just live more intensely, love more powerfully."

"What's the worst thing?" Elena asked. "Besides the blood thing."

"Anger becomes rage. When you're sad, you're in despair. Grief. Loss. I can cripple you." Stefan looked like his mind was far away. "That's why so many of us turn our emotions off. It just becomes... too overwhelming. You know, for a while, for me, the good just wasn't worth the bad."

"You are stronger than you think." Elena looked at him seriously. "You have all this guilt inside you that must be so very heavy but you still haven't turned your emotions off and that is amazing."

"Thank you." Stefan smiled gratefully at her.

Elena walked past Stefan and called over her shoulder, "Come on, slow poke, we're waiting for you now."

Stefan laughed brightly and followed after her, grabbing her around the waist as he came up to her, making her laugh.

Forty-five minutes later they reached the top of the mountain and if Stefan had cheated a little by grabbing Elena at random intervals and vamp-speeding some of the distance, neither of them mentioned it.

"We made it!" Elena threw her hands up in celebration.

"That's nothing if you've climbed Mt. Everest." Stefan smirked.

"Nobody likes a bragger, Stefan." Elena mock glared at him. Then she took in the view and smiled. "Wow."

"Yeah, it is a stunning view." Stefan hummed in agreement.

"Is it weird that I hope the werewolf that Klaus will use in the ritual is Jules?" Elena asked suddenly.

"No, I actually think it would be almost poetic." Stefan smiled darkly.

"Wonder if Kathrine will be the vampire sacrifice?" Elena hummed.

"I hope so." Stefan muttered.

"Stefan!" Elena laughed.

"What?" Stefan shrugged unapologetically. "It couldn't happen to a nicer woman."

"You really do hate her, huh?" Elena asked softly.

"You haven't been compelled so you don't know the feeling but when it happens you have no idea that it is, it's all just normal and stuff." Stefan tried to explain with a shrug. "But then when you become a vampire everything comes back."

"Kathrine compelled you?" Elena placed a hand on his shoulder.

"Yes, repeatedly." Stefan looked at her sadly. "She compelled me to love her and to desire her."

"So what you're saying is that she basically raped you." Elena looked devastated. "How can you even stand to look at me?"

"Elena, you are not her." Stefan placed his hands on either side of her face. "You are like sunshine and happiness, while she is nightmares and pain."

"If Klaus doesn't use her in the ritual, I'm ripping her heart out afterwards." Elena growled and pulled Stefan into a hug. "No one hurst baby Stefan and gets away with it."

"Baby Stefan?" Stefan muffled came for where his face was squished against Elenas shoulder.

"You maybe 162, or is it 163 by now?" Elena muttered before she refocused. "But you were 17 when you died and that is why I declared you my second baby brother."

"Thanks?" Stefan sounded both amused and confused.

"You're welcome." Elena beamed at him as she pulled back.

"We should make our way back." Stefan chuckled softly.

"You should marry Jeremy!" Elena called out with a smirk as they walked, making Stefan stumble. "That way you'll be my brother by law!"

"Elena!" Stefan looked horrified.

"What?" Elena glared teasingly. "Are you saying my brother isn't good looking enough?"

"Well...ehm...that is to say..." Stefan stuttered out then he sighed in defeat. "I've got nothing."

"So, you do think Jeremy is good looking?" Elena had a manic smile on her face.

"Do I think Jeremy is physically attractive? Yes." Stefan admitted. "Would I ever consider dating him? No."

"Why not?" Elena pouted. "You would look good together. Like yin and yang."

"Because that would be like dating Damon." Stefan shuddered in disgust.

"Aww, you see Jeremy as a brother." Elena looked happy about that fact and started to skip down the mountain.

When they reached the car, the sun was setting and Elena was glad that she had brought the elixir with her. She pulled it out of the box and uncorked it and looked into the jar with a raised eyebrow.

"What?" Stefan asked as he looked at her.

"It's sort of shimmering in purple and pink." Elena said, sounding fascinated. "Doesn't smell the best though."

"Bottoms up?" Stefan hummed.

"Bottoms up." Elena agreed and started to drink, when she had managed to drink it all she shuddered. "That tasted weird."

"How are you feeling?" Stefan looked closely at he.

"I don't feel any different except, maybe, a tingle in my stomach." Elena looked at him and mentally thanked Elijah for the elixir.

XOXOXOX

Stefan parked the car at the boarding house and vamp-sped around it to open the door for Elena.