Elena was asleep when she heard something. She opened her eyes and got up. She looked around her bedroom, but she didn't see anything, which was weird, because she knew she heard something. She stepped out of her room and looked around. Then she heard someone behind her and turned around. She relaxed, realizing it was Alaric.

"You okay?"

"Yeah." She said. "I heard something." That's when Jenna showed up.

"That was us. Sorry." Jenna said.

"Well, I'm going to head back downstairs." He left.

"I'm really sorry about this." Jenna said.

"It's okay, Jenna. Don't worry about it." Elena told her. Yeah, it was a little awkward walking in on him while he was…indecent, for lack of a better word…but she liked that they had a good relationship.

"I know he's been staying over a lot. Are you sure it's okay?" Jenna asked her.

"Seems like things are good."

"They are extremely good."

"Then I'm extremely okay with that." Elena told her. She went back to her bedroom. It didn't take long for her to fall asleep.

The next morning, Elena found Stefan and Damon outside her front door. She let them in. "What's going on?" She asked.

"We went to see Katherine." Damon said. She followed them into the kitchen so they could explain what happened.

Flashback: The tomb

They'd found Katherine sitting in the tomb. "Come back to give me more grief about my actions?" She asked them.

"You could've just told us about the sacrifice."

"You would've killed me even if I had." Katherine pointed out. "Besides, I thought I could handle it on my own."

"We're here about the moonstone." Stefan told her.

"I wish it were that easy." Katherine said. "After you guys left the other day…I threw it into the tomb. I've been looking for it."

"You know it's your best chance against Klaus and you just throw it away?" Stefan looked at her in disbelief.

"I was upset and angry. It's not like I planned on losing our best weapon against that monster." Katherine said.

"How do we know this isn't some kind of trap?" Damon asked her, suspicious of her intentions.

"You're on vervain," She pointed out. "In my condition, it'd probably weaken me even more than I already am. I'll keep looking. When you're ready to help, you know where I'll be." End flashback.

"And you guys believe here?" Elena asked them.

"No, but she's right about one thing: we do need to find the moonstone." Damon said.

"We found out there's a way to remove the spell from it so that Klaus won't be able to break it." Stefan said.

"Really?" This got Elena's attention. "Will it even work?"

"I hope so, considering Bonnie's agreed to help us out." Damon said.

"Even if you manage to find the moonstone in that cave, how do we know Katherine isn't going to betray us again?" Elena asked.

"We don't." Stefan said. "At least we can leave the tomb without getting trapped inside."

"I don't think this is a good idea."

"What choice do we have?" He pointed out, surprised by her reaction.

"What about Klaus?" Elena shot back.

"We'll find him after we get the moonstone."

"Is that before or after that he kills everyone that I care about, including the two of you?" Elena asked them. Neither one of them had an answer. "I don't care about my life if it means you guys lose yours." She left. She knew she had to find some way to stop this from going down.

Jeremy was headed to the school from the parking lot when he felt the wind pick up. As he got closer to the school, he could see other students running to get inside, papers flying all over the place. He walked over to where Bonnie and Luka were talking.

"What's up with this weather?" Jeremy asked them.

"It's probably global warming." Luka told him. "Anyway, I've gotta go. See you later, Bonnie." He left.

"Bye, Luka." Bonnie said, smiling as he left.

"That guy's a little weird."

"No, he isn't." Bonnie said. Before she could elaborate, her phone buzzed.

"What is it?" Jeremy asked, looking concerned.

"Damon." She looked at him. "Come on." They walked toward the parking lot.

"You know, if we keep cutting school, someone's bound to notice." Jeremy pointed out.

"Not if you compel them." Bonnie countered. Jeremy seemed surprised she'd even suggest it. After all, she wasn't a big fan of them using their vampire abilities unless it was a life or death situation. They got into Bonnie's car and left.

Meanwhile, Elena walked into the Boarding House knowing the guys were out at the moment. Rose walked into the room, still wearing her pajamas. "If I get into another mess like this…" She muttered to herself. Then she noticed Elena. "Oh, it's you."

"Sorry to barge in like this." Elena told her sincerely. "I didn't know you were staying here."

"The guys aren't here, you know." Rose said.

"I know. I came to see you." Elena told her.

"Just give me a minute." Rose said. She left the room to change. When she returned, she was wearing a blue tank top with a black cardigan and jeans.

Elena quickly explained things to her. "It's a bad idea." Rose told her when she was finished.

"No, it's not. From what Stefan told me your friend Slater obviously has more information about Klaus." Elena pointed out. "You and Damon just gave up before you got it."

"Because somebody blew up a coffee shop with us in it." Rose said. She shivered. If Damon hadn't pulled her to the parking garage to heal, she would've died. She'd been grateful he saved her, though she was still cautious around him. After all, it wasn't often she trusted humans.

"There's more to learn. We just have to find a way to learn it." Elena said.

"Why are you coming to me with this?" Rose asked her.

"Because you're the only person I know that can help." Elena explained. "If you really meant what you said about helping me out of this mess back when you kidnapped me…"

"I'm not sure the others would agree with you doing this, though." Rose said, looking concerned.

"We're having a disagreement, okay? They're willing to risk everyone that I love and I'm not."

"They're just trying to protect you."

"So what? My survival means nothing if I lose everyone." Elena said. "Slater has to know something that can help."

"They're right, you are determined. I guess there's no way out of this." Rose sighed. "My car's in the garage. Come on." Elena followed her out of the room.

At the Boarding House, Jeremy and Bonnie met with Stefan and Damon, who had just finished explaining the situation to them. "I think I still have a few charms that Grams left." Bonnie said.

"I wish I could help." Jeremy said. "But if I go in there, I can't get out."

"True, but you'll be the only one outside to catch the moonstone." Bonnie pointed out. "The real problem is Katherine."

"Yeah, she hasn't been feeding. We can't trust that she won't accidentally kill us." Stefan said.

"Unless we're on vervain." Damon pointed out.

"Do you still have your bracelets?" Bonnie asked them.

"Yeah, but Katherine's much older. I don't think those bracelets alone will protect them from her." Jeremy said. "Good thing I picked this up from Care this morning." He set a glass jar down on the table, full of vervain plants.

"She took that from the Sheriff?" Damon asked, surprised.

"She takes a couple stalks from her mom's supply every couple weeks, just in case." Bonnie explained. Sometimes, Caroline's planning came in handy, since they never knew when a new group of vampires would show up. She was also helping Bonnie make a few vervain charms to protect the vampires from being compelled by the Originals.

"Okay, but we still need a way to counter her if she does attack us. After all, she used to be immune to this." Stefan pointed out, pulling a small sprig off the plant.

"I think I have an idea." Bonnie said. "Either of you have anything that belonged to Katherine?"

Meanwhile, Elena and Rose were outside an apartment. Rose had knocked on the door, but no one had answered. "I don't think he's here." Rose said.

"We didn't come all the way out here for nothing." Elena said, moving past her. She opened the door with her strength. They both entered the house. Elena looked around.

"I don't think he's going to be much help." She heard Rose say. She entered the same room she was in. There was a grey body on the floor, with a stake in the heart.

"Sorry." Elena told her.

"Just help me get rid of him." Rose said. "We can look afterward."

About fifteen minutes later, they had taken care of Slater's body. Elena looked around and found a lot of research. "Looks like whoever blew up the coffee shop found him and killed him for his information." Elena said.

"Yeah, probably for helping people like us. The guy was a vampire almanac." Rose explained. "Knowing too much information just beat him in the ass." She opened the curtain, letting sunlight in.

"What are you doing?" Elena asked, knowing sunlight could kill Rose.

"Tempted glass, UV rays can't penetrate." The older vampire explained. "I used to just come here and watch the day."

"You know, once we're done here, I could get you a daylight charm." Elena told her.

"That's if we get out of here alive." Rose pointed out. In spite of herself, she smiled. She hadn't expected to start a friendship with Elena, but it looked like things were headed that way.

After a few more minutes of looking, Elena tried to check the computer, but it was password protected. Then she heard something. Rose was closer to the source of the sound. She opened a door and found a girl inside. Elena entered the room and found the two of them hugging.

"Friend of yours?"

"She was dating him." Rose explained. "I've known her a few months."

Back at the Boarding House, Stefan came back to the room. "This was Katherine's. I found it after she first moved out of town." He handed Bonnie an old frame. There was no picture in it when he'd found it. At the time, he'd assumed she'd taken the photo out and brought it with her.

Bonnie put the frame in the bowl. She did a spell and it started to burn. "How's this supposed to help?" Damon asked.

"I found this spell in my grimore. If we throw these ashes on her, it'll incapacitate Katherine if she does attack." Bonnie explained. "But it'll only work for a couple minutes at a time."

Jeremy noticed she had a nosebleed. She didn't see him looking, but she took care of it.

A few minutes later, the group had finished putting the ashes into small bottles. "Okay, I think that's the last one." Bonnie said, setting it on the table.

"I'll get the flashlights from upstairs." Stefan said.

"And I've got a few stakes in my trunk."

"I'll finish up here before we go." Bonnie said. They left, leaving her with Jeremy.

"I saw what happened earlier. Are you sure you're strong enough to handle her?" He asked. He was really concerned about her.

"I'll be fine."

"I don't know, if it happens again, you could get hurt in there."

"And if I don't help, Elena will die!" Bonnie pointed out. "Look, I have to help them. I'm the only one with powers that can get in and out of there."

"Fine. Just promise me you'll be careful." Jeremy said. He felt like he'd gotten closer to Bonnie over the past few weeks, but he also didn't want to complicate things. After all, she was his sister's best friend. "If anything happens, I don't want to have to explain it to Elena."

"I'll be fine, Jer." Bonnie told him.

Back at Slater's place, Elena was waiting in the living room when Rose and the girl-Alice, she reminded herself-entered. Alice went to the island. "How is she?"

"She's okay, though a little shaken up." Rose told her.

"Is she…"

"No. She's human." Rose said. "She was going out with him for a few months now. I think she wanted him to turn her."

"Really?" Elena frowned. She wondered how long she'd be able to be with Stefan. She would hate to have to turn him.

"Sorry this place is such a mess." Alice said, joining them.

"It's no problem." Elena said. "I'm sorry about Slater."

"It's okay, really." Alice said. "Finding him like that was awful, though. So, what brings you two here?" Rose and Elena looked at each other.

"We were looking for help on something important." Rose told her. "Of course, now our only lead's gone…"

"Maybe not." Elena said. "You know he kept records, didn't you?"

"Of course I did." Alice said. "I helped him organize his information."

"Do you know his password?"

"Yes. Mostly because we share an account on the same computer." Alice told them. "Come on, I'll show you."

They went over to the computer. A few minutes later, Alice had pulled up a lot of information. "That's impressive. You should work for one of those computer companies." Rose said.

"I wish. That'd be awesome." Elena quickly noticed a pattern.

"These are all leads to vampires?"

"Slater was obsessed. Almost as much as me." Alice said.

"I don't suppose any of them know anything about protection spells." Elena sighed. She realized there would be only one other way to save everyone.

"What about that one: Cody Webber?" Rose asked. "They exchanged dozens of emails about Elijah." That's when Elena made up her mind.

"I could call him." Alice suggested. Elena gave her the phone.

"Tell him that we're trying to send a message to Klaus," Elena said. "The doppelganger is alive and she's ready to surrender."

"What?!" Rose looked surprised. Even Alice seemed stunned.

"Please, just do it." Elena told her, using her compulsion on the girl.

She went into another room. Rose followed her. "What are you doing?"

"There's no other way to counter the spell Klaus wants to break, so I'm getting his attention." Elena said.

"Are you mad? If Klaus finds out about you, he'll find you and he'll kill you." Rose pointed out. Elena looked at her sadly.

"It's either me or my family. I know what my choice is."

"There has to be another way to save…"

"There isn't, okay? I don't care if I die again as long as everyone else I love gets to live." Elena told her. She left the room.

Outside, the group met outside the church ruins. "Sorry I'm late. I left the grimore at home this morning." Bonnie told them.

"Let's just get this over with." Stefan said. They group headed inside. Damon's phone started ringing.

"Hello?"

"Promise that you won't get angry with me." He heard Rose say on the other end of the line.

"What happened?" Damon asked, concerned.

"I need you to get to Richmond." She told him. "I'm afraid something's come up."

The group made it to the tomb. "Both of you, be careful." Jeremy told them.

"We'll be fine, Jeremy." Bonnie told him.

"I see you've brought back up." The group turned. Katherine was standing in the doorway.

"We can handle this." Stefan said, turning to Jeremy. "Let us know when Damon shows up." Jeremy nodded. Then, Bonnie and Stefan entered the tomb, leaving Jeremy outside.

"Are you sure this is where you threw it?" Bonnie asked Katherine a few minutes later.

"I never forget a location."

"Okay, we better start looking."

Back at Slater's, Elena was waiting for the guys to show up when Damon showed up. "What are you…" She turned to Rose. "You called him."

"I'm sorry, but I can't let you go through with it." Rose told her.

"Are you insane?" Damon asked. "Going on a suicide mission? I thought you were better than this."

"You guys keep trying to save me all the time. Did it ever occur to you that maybe I don't want to be saved?" Elena told him. "I hate what I am, and if I'm going to go out anyway, it may as well be trying to prevent Klaus from killing the rest of you."

"You are a lot of things, Elena, but I never thought you of all people would just give up." Damon pointed out. "The Elena I know…"

"What do you even know about me?" Elena asked. "From day one, all you've done is judge me. Sure, we might be friends, but you've made it clear that if I even slip up on accident, you'd be the one to put a stake through my heart!" Damon seemed surprised that she would even think that. Sure, maybe in the earlier days, he would've, but things were different now.

"Guess you don't know me, either." He said. "How do you think this will effect my brother? Or the others?"

"It doesn't matter. We're all marked for death anyway." Elena pointed out.

"It's no use, she's given up." Rose told him.

"Well, there's no way we're letting her do this. I might need your help."

"Don't worry about me, I've gotten good at fighting over the years." She told him.

In the tomb, the group was still searching. Finally, Stefan caught a flicker of something with his flashlight. "I think I found it."

Bonnie walked over to his side. Sure enough, it was sitting on the ground, right near the corner of the wall. "Okay, be careful. We need to get it out in one piece." She glanced over toward the opposite end where Katherine was standing. She wasn't looking so good.

"Might want to make it fast, I don't think she can hold back much longer." Bonnie told him.

"No problem." Stefan managed to get the rock out and picked it up. That's when Katherine rushed toward him. Bonnie quickly pulled out a vial of the ash from her pocket and threw them at her. Katherine fell to the ground instantly. Then Bonnie grabbed Stefan's free hand and they started running toward the entrance as fast as they could.

"Come on, we're almost there!" Bonnie said as they got closer to the tomb's entrance. Jeremy was still outside when he heard them running. Suddenly, Stefan tripped. The moonstone got thrown out the entrance, but Jeremy caught it.

"Stefan, come on! Get up!" Bonnie said. She helped him back to his feet and they headed out of the tomb.

"You guys okay?" Jeremy asked.

"We will be. Now let's get outside."

Once they were out of the ruins, they stopped to rest. "You have the moonstone, right?" Bonnie asked.

"Yes." Jeremy said, handing it to her.

"Now we just have to find the right spell." Bonnie said. She turned to Stefan. "You okay? You were hurt back there."

"I'll be fine." Stefan told her. Jeremy frowned.

"You're bleeding." He said. Stefan and Bonnie looked at him. Stefan sat down and rolled up the leg of his jeans. Jeremy was right, his knee was bleeding. He knew it must've been when he tripped.

"I'll get him home." Bonnie told Jeremy. "Tell me if you hear anything from Elena."

"Call me as soon as you get him there. There's something I wanted to talk to you about." Jeremy said.

Back at Slater's apartment, Elena was waiting on the couch. "Elena, we have to go."

"I told you already, I have no choice."

"Yes, you do." Before Rose could get any further, a group of vampires arrived.

"We're here for the doppelganger." Elena got up, though she felt scared. She hadn't expected an entire group of them. Rose quickly moved in front of her. Damon came up next to her.

Then, to the entire group's surprise, one of the vampires suddenly fell to the floor, dead. They looked at each other, shocked. Then they saw Elijah.

"I thought he was…" Rose began.

"So did I." Elena said. Damon nodded. While who appeared to be the leader of the vampire group was speaking to Elijah, Rose sped out of the house. Afterward, he killed the remaining vampires, then left. Elena and Damon looked at each other and realized, in their panic, they were still holding each other. They immediately let go.

"Let's get out of here." Damon said. Elena nodded, still shaken.

A few hours later, Bonnie was outside the Boarding House. She called Jeremy. "How are things going by you?"

"Everything's quiet." Jeremy told her. "Still, you guys took a huge risk."

"Like we had much of a choice." Bonnie pointed out.

"Just be careful, okay? I don't want you to get hurt because of all this." Jeremy said. Bonnie didn't respond. "Bonnie? You still there?"

"Look, Jeremy, I appreciate the concern, but…you can't feel that way about me."

"Don't tell me you haven't felt anything recently." He pointed out. "I know this isn't one-sided. If your powers hadn't kicked in, you would have died."

"I can't do this right now, Jeremy. I'm sorry." The line went dead. Jeremy sighed, setting his phone on the nightstand.

Outside, Damon and Elena were on the porch. "Thanks for bringing me home."

"Well, you ride left you. I didn't want to leave you stranded." Damon pointed out.

"She was just scared. She didn't mean to run." Elena said. "And honestly, I don't blame her. Seeing Elijah alive again…" She frowned. "How the heck is he alive, anyway?"

"No idea. Guess there's more to this Original vampire stuff than we know." Damon shrugged. She started to head inside, but he caught her arm. "What you did today was incredibly stupid."

"I'm aware of that, Damon." Elena said. "But I still can't go through with your plan. Everyone we know could be killed."

"So you think suicide is the answer?"

"No, but it's my fault you're all in this mess." Elena pointed out. "Besides, I don't question why you and everyone else try so hard to save me. You shouldn't question why I would try to save all of you." She went inside.

"Bad day?" Jeremy asked.

"I don't want to talk about it." She headed up to her room.