Elena paced nervously in the room, while Ana stayed sprawled on the couch, where she'd been the entire time they were waiting. Hearing footsteps coming from the room entrance, Ana looked up to see an original that she hadn't laid eyes on in over five centuries. Elijah Mikaelson. Ana stood, preparing to be whisked off.

First, the original sped over to Ana, taking in her appearance through his heavy breaths "Is it really you, Ana?"

"In the flesh." Ana said, the atmosphere pausing as everyone waited for Elijah's reaction.

Unexpectedly, Elijah wrapped his arms around the short vampire, smiling warmly as he said "It's good to see you again, Ana. Niklaus will be pleased to hear of your existence, though I do have a question. Why have you never bothered to get in touch and see Niklaus again?"

"I-I... I don't know, 'Lijah. Maybe I was scared that he moved on." Ana murmured, happy to be reunited with her previous, almost brother-in-law.

The original shook his head, pulling away from the embrace "As of today, you have nothing to fear, Ana. Now I know you're alive, I will make sure to deliver you to my brother."

"Ana isn't going anywhere." Elena spoke up, though her voice remained more like a whisper from the other side of the room.

Elijah sped over to the human, taking her resemblance to Katherine before leaning down to her neck and taking a good sniff to check that it was human blood that coursed through her veins. "Human. It's impossible. Tell me, little doppelganger, what makes you think you can dictate where Ana Petrova goes?"

Elena remained still, breathing heavy in the intimidating presence of Elijah. To help her friend relax a little, Ana strolled over and stood beside Elena. Elijah smiled at the vampire's protective attitude.

★·'¯'·★

"Well, we have a long journey ahead of us." Elijah told the two girls, delighted now that he knew there was a chance at Niklaus' redemption "We should be going."

Desperate to escape capture, Elena turned to Rose, Trevor and even Ana, saying "Please, don't let him take me."

"One last piece of business." Elijah said, signalling to Ana to comfort the panicked Elena "Then we're done."

Trevor, taking this opportunity to apologise to Elijah, bowed his head "I've waited so long for this day, Elijah. I'm truly very sorry."

"Oh, no, your apology isn't necessary." Elijah mused, circling the vampire, and Ana instantly cottoned onto what the original was planning to do, gripping Elena's hand.

"Yes." Trevor disagreed, repenting for all those years ago "Yes, it is. You trusted me with Katerina and Klaus trusted me with Ana... and I failed you both."

Elijah nodded at his apology "Oh, yes, you are the guilty one, and Rose aided you because she was loyal to you. That, I honour. Where was your loyalty?"

Ana snaked her hand over Elena's eyes, and she whispered "Cover your ears, if you must."

"I beg your forgiveness." Trevor said to Elijah, his eyebrows knitted inwards.

"So granted." With that, Elijah swiped his hand and knocked Trevor's head straight from his shoulders.

Rose cried out, clutching her chest from the pain of losing her companion, and Elena gasped slightly, but she didn't actually see his head get knocked off thanks to Ana's hand covering her eyes. Ana herself felt a little guilty, knowing it was her sister that ultimately led this man to his death.

Taking heavy steps forward, Rose shrieked "You-"

"Don't, Rose... Now that you are free. Come." Elijah extended two hands, one for each of the girls. While Ana happily took his hand, Elena hesitated.

"No, what about the moonstone?" Elena blurted, and at that point in time, Ana knew that Elena Gilbert just signed her death certificate.

Elijah paused, gazing over Elena "What do you know about the moonstone?"

"I know that you need it, and I know where it is." Elena spoke confidently, but Ana knew that without her vervain necklace, the doppelganger is all talk.

Ana nudged the doppelgänger: an indication to shut up.

"Yes." Elijah stated, waiting for a reply.

Elena, thinking she was being smart by negotiating, nodded her head at Elijah "I can help you get it."

"Tell me where it is. Ana, do you know?" Elijah asked the girl, shifting his gaze to the five hundred year-old vampire.

Elena interjected before Ana could speak, saying "It doesn't work that way."

"Are you negotiating with me?" Elijah asked the doppelganger, turning to look at Rose and Ana in disbelief.

Rose, with tears still glinting in her eyes, spat "It's the first I've heard of it."

"What is this vervain doing around your neck?" Elijah asked, reaching for Elena's necklace, but Ana quickly stopped him.

The original vampire shifted his gaze to his previous sister-in-law, watching the way she protected Elena "It's in the tomb under the church with my sister. Under the ruins?"

"Interesting. I forgot just how protective you can be, Ana Petrova." Elijah laughed, his eyes shooting upwards at the sound of glass shattering "What is that?"

"I don't know." Rose told Elijah, her heart still aching from the loss of Trevor.

Elijah gazed around, not wanting any interference when taking the two Petrovas from the house "Who else is in this house?"

"I don't know." Rose repeated, cautiously watching the two girls opposite Elijah.

Now impatient enough, Elijah grabbed Elena by the arm, whilst gently grasping Ana's hand, and walked up the stairs to the room, ready to leave the mansion. "Move!" He told Rose.

The four of them stood in the lobby, a vampire whooshing past them all every second. Elijah threw Elena to Rose, and left Ana to fend for herself, knowing the vampire would come no matter what.

"Rose." Elijah said for the third time, moving closer to his sister-in-law.

Rose, now fed up of this whole negotiation, snapped "I don't know who it is."

A vampire sped across the perimeter once more, causing Ana's black hair to fly past her face from the gust of wind caused.

"Up here." A voice said, and Ana glanced up to see Stefan Salvatore stood at the top of the steps.

Elijah angrily sped up the steps to find that Stefan had disappeared. Instead, the voice of the eldest Salvatore rang through the lobby, saying "Down here."

Before the Mikaelson could react, a wooden stake rooted itself into Elijah's palm, and Elijah ripped it out, now fuming. Stefan had grabbed Elena whilst Damon had grabbed Rose and Ana.

"Excuse me." Elijah called, pelting the stake down the stairs harshly "To whom it may concern, you're making a great mistake if you think that you can beat me. You can't. You hear that? I repeat- You cannot beat me. So I want both girls on the count of three, or heads will roll. Do we understand each other?"

"I'll come with you. Just please don't hurt my friends. They just wanted to help me out." Elena called, stepping out from the staircase. Ana, however, was being held tightly by Damon, the vampire not letting Ana go. This was Damon's way of repaying not letting the vampire out of the Augustine institute all those years ago.

Clutching the giant stake in his hand, Elijah sped up the stairs to Elena, raising an eyebrow at the human "What game are you playing with me? Where is Ana? I won't leave here without her."

Before Elena could respond, she ripped a vervain grenade from under her arms and threw it at Elijah, momentarily distracting him. Elijah yelled out, his burnt face contorting into an expression of pure rage as he looked at Elena Gilbert.

Stefan came down the stairs, shooting wooden bullets at Elijah as he raced towards Elena. Seeing how ineffective the bullets were, Stefan chose to dive into Elijah, knocking him to the ground and down the stairs. Elijah got up, looming over Stefan, but before he could stake him, Damon drove a stake through the original's heart.

Rounding the corner and finding a desiccating Elijah, Ana cried out "'Lijah! What did you do to him?!"

Damon watched the vampire, completely confused by her reaction "We just saved you from an original vampire, and you mourn him? Ana, he was probably going to murder you."

"Damon, you don't understand. He's the- you know what? Nevermind." Ana exhaled, her heart feeling heavy again as she realised that she won't be seeing Klaus Mikaelson again. "Let's just get back to Mystic Falls."

"You do realise that Rose just sped away?" Stefan said, rising from the ground.

Elena, upon noticing Damon go to speed after her, said "Just let her go."

Smiling at Elena rushing down the stairs, Damon immediately frowned when she ran into Stefan's arms "Hey, come here. Are you hurt? You okay?"

"Yeah, thanks to Ana." Elena exhaled while in Stefan's arms, gazing at her new friend "Funny, we didn't even know each other twenty-four hours ago, yet now I couldn't trust someone with my life more than I trust you, Ana. Thanks."

"Just in a day's work for a Petrova." Ana shrugged off the compliment, putting her hand on Elijah's shoulder as she left the building.

I'll find you soon, 'Lijah, Ana thought.

★·'¯'·★