AN: Sorry for the dealy, I've been a little (read: a lot!) frustrated by a particular scene a few episodes ahead, so I took a little break. I can see the scene so vividly, but writing it down has become a bit of a challenge. Hopefully I can get past this soon, I'm hoping your amazing thoughts on this new chapter will inspire xoxo 

SLATER'S RESIDENCE

Aella swallowed nervously as Elena knocked on the door Rose had identified as Slater's; her eyes darted around. Something did not feel right. However, no matter how much Elena knew of her connection to her magic, Aella knew at that moment Elena was too focused to care. When Elena was this intent, she was as stubborn as a mule; it was a trait Aella saw as a positive and a negative. Now? As her magic bubbled within her, Aella hated this trait.

"Slater? Slater, it's Rose. Open up!"

After a few minutes of knocking, Aella clapped her hands happily when no one came to the door, "Looks like Slater skipped town. Shall we forget this endeavor and actually go shopping?"

Elena ignored Aella's suggestion, "We didn't come all the way out here for nothing."

Rose forced the door open. As she and Elena entered, Aella glanced up at the sky, "Is this penance for being such a pain in the ass?" When no one answered, she groaned and followed the girls in, only to freeze as Rose let out a sharp gasp. Going against everything her magic was telling her, Aella ran further into the apartment, stumbling as she saw Rose looking down on Slater's dead - well - dead-dead body.

Rose couldn't look away from her friend's body, "I don't think he's gonna be much help."

"Elijah," Aella concluded, stepping next to Rose. She looked at Rose, "I'm sorry."

Rose merely shrugged. Slater was a friend; however, after the death of Trevor, Rose wasn't sure she'd feel a death more agonizing than his.

Elena was already rifling through the papers on Slater's desk, "Elijah must have been looking for something here."

"He's obviously taken anything of importance, E," Aella told her best friend. If Elijah had killed Slater, why leave anything to help them.

"But why kill Slater?" Elena asked the two.

Rose glanced at Slater's work, "Slater was a vampire almanac. Knowing too much information just bit him in the ass."

Aella walked over to the window, suspiciously looking out for Elijah. She knocked on the window as Rose approached her, "Is this what I think it is?"

Rose nodded and pulled open the curtains. Elena frowned at Aella's unanswered question, "What is it?"

"Tempered glass," Rose answered, glancing down at her new ring. "U.V. rays can't penetrate. I used to just come here and watch the day."

Aella watched Rose; the vampire stared out of the window intensely. "It must have been so hard." Rose looked at her with a raised brow, and Aella continued, "So close to normality, yet...."

"Yet, a million miles away too," Rose added sadly. "The price of immortality."

Aella moved back to Elena, leaving Rose alone with her own thoughts. Elena was standing at one of the computers, "Anything?"

The doppelganger shook her head with frustration, "It's password protected. I can't get in."

Suddenly they heard the noise of a doorknob rattling. To Aella's displeasure, the noise was inside the apartment. Rose was immediately at their side, "Stay here."

Rose was gone for a few seconds, enough time for Aella to feel unsure. Moving to follow where Rose had gone, Elena grabbed Aella's arm and hissed, "Rose said stay here."

Aella shook her off impatiently, "Rose is also scared to death of Elijah. If she sees him, she isn't going to come back for us; she will run as fast as she can, as far away from here."

It seemed Elena agreed when she nodded lightly, and Aella followed after Rose. She found the vampire standing in a small hallway, her eyes focused on the small lump trying to make itself as small as possible. Rose finally found her voice, "Alice?"

The lump, Alice, glanced up, and Aella could see her black hair had basically camouflaged her in the darkened corridor. The pale girl let out a sob, "Rose!"

Crying heavily, Alice rushed towards Rose. Aella expected her to fall into Rose's arms, so she was very much surprised when the girl wrapped her arms around Rose and herself and began sobbing loudly, "He's dead!"

Aella's eyes widened, her arms stretched wide as she awkwardly looked at Rose, "She's crying. What do we do?"

"Comfort her," Rose hissed, patting Alice's back.

Aella blanked, "Do what?!"

SALVATORE BOARDING HOUSE

Stefan re-entered the parlor, hesitating when he saw Bonnie on one side of the room while Anna and Jeremy were opposite. He knew he wasn't being told something, but they had more important factors to deal with. He headed to Bonnie and handed her the photograph, "This belonged to Katherine. Found it with her things after I thought she was dead, but it was hers."

He held out the portrait of Katherine, and Bonnie took it, placing it in a ceramic bowl Damon had got her. She dipped her fingers in a glass of water and let the water droplets drip from her fingertips into the bowl. Flames sprouted from the bowl, and Bonnie shut her eyes and began to chant a spell in Latin.

"What will this do?" Damon asked, used to Aella explaining what she was doing along the way.

Bonnie opened her eyes, watching the picture burn, "I can turn the metal into ash. If you blow the ashes on her, it'll incapacitate her for a minute or two. Long enough for you to get the stone and get out."

Suddenly, Bonnie's nose started to bleed, the witch raised her hand to her nose and wiped it away, but Anna noticed it, their gazes locked, but Bonnie shook her head. Then, seeing Damon and Stefan had left the room, she whispered under her breath, "It's for Elena. Do you know what it'll do to Jeremy if she dies? I'm fine."

Anna glanced at Jeremy; she opened her mouth but paused as Bonnie's words finally settled. With a heavy heart, she chose to protect her boyfriend and stopped herself from telling him what she'd witnessed.

Stefan and Damon re-entered the room with supplies for the excursion while Bonnie poured the ashes from the bowl onto an end table.

"Still gotta get the torches," Stefan looked at Damon.

Damon nodded, "Alaric's stake gun's in my trunk." He turned to the witch, "Bonnie?"

Bonnie scooped the ashes into a container. She glanced at Anna and Jeremy when neither said anything; she smiled tightly at them before nodding at Damon, "Ready."

Stefan left the room, and Damon packed a few more things in a bag before he followed Stefan out of the room. Bonnie went to trail after them when Jeremy took hold of her arm, "What are you doing?"

Bonnie pulled her arm from Jeremy's grasp. She glanced at Anna, who made no effort to stop him - or her for that matter. "I'm doing something right," she hissed back at him, remembering the last time Damon asked for a favor, and she lied. "I'm righting a wrong."

Jeremy opened his mouth to argue when Anna placed her hand on his shoulder, "Leave it, Jeremy."

In disbelief, Jeremy looked back at her while Bonnie smiled at the vampire gratefully, "She's not strong enough."

Anna only smiled sadly at him, "It's her choice."

Jeremy sighed heavily before looking back at Bonnie, "Just be careful."

Bonnie squeezed his arm, "I will. Thank you." She glanced back at Anna and repeated her thanks a little more intently, knowing what the vampire had done for her, "Thank you."

Anna nodded sharply, and the couple watched Bonnie leave the room, worried for their friend.

LOCKWOOD CELLAR

Tyler turned on a flashlight as he and Caroline entered the cellar, remembering the last time he was down here with Aella. Caroline followed close behind him, her eyes not needing the light, "Are you sure you're okay returning here?"

Tyler nodded, his throat tightening, "Mason trusted it; it's the only place I know I'll feel somewhat safe."

Tyler shined the beam of light at a part of the cave. Caroline's eyes caught something on the wall; the light seemed to bounce off it. Walking closely, she crouched next to scratches, tracing her hands over the marks, "Whoa. They look old."

Tyler swallowed heavily, "When Aella touched them, she felt the history, the pain, the fear...."

Caroline smiled sadly before she stood up. Tyler shined the light further down the wall at a pair of rusty chains; Caroline picked them up and, with minimal strength, was able to tear them apart.

Tyler sighed heavily with a nod to himself, "Need new chains." He looked at the bolts on the wall, "The bolts could hold." He looked back at Caroline, who understood the prompt. She pulled on the bolts with a little more strength than she had the chains. She remembered the power Mason had and knew something like this couldn't be ignored. When the bolts didn't budge, Tyler nodded, "That's good." Swallowing down his fear, he repeated the two words as if it would make it more believable, "That's good."

SLATER'S RESIDENCE

Elena smirked, glancing around the door as she watched Aella stare down at Alice. It was always amusing seeing Aella around emotional people; the witch was more awkward than usual. As she poured the tea she'd made into teacups, Elena had to stifle a laugh as she heard Aella ask, "Is she going to stop that?"

Rose looked up from Alice, "What?"

Aella bit at her nails, shuffling on the spot, "Leaking."

Rose rubbed Alice's hand comfortingly as Alice tried to regain her composure. The vampire got up and walked into the room where Elena finished the tea; Aella quickly followed. As Rose sat down next to Elena, Aella glanced back at Alice; while she didn't trust the pale girl, she couldn't believe how cold someone could cry that much!

Elena passed Rose a cup, "How is she?"

Aella glanced out again, "Is it physically possible for her to flood us with her tears?"

Rose ignored the witch and answered Elena, "She found him a few minutes before we did. But she's overreacting, big time."

"Her boyfriend just died," Elena rebuked. It seemed Elena's intensity had simmered after seeing Alice's devastation. "There's no such thing as overreacting." Aella opened her mouth to disagree; however, Elena, not even looking at her best friend, cut her off. "You don't count A; you are special."

Rose watched, confused, as Aella smiled gratefully at Elena. To Rose, what Elena had said sounded like an insult. Nevertheless, considering Aella's wide grin, it seemed one of the greatest compliments. She rolled her eyes at the witch and the doppelganger's naivety, "Those tears are for her. She didn't care about Slater."

Elena looked at Rose curiously, so the vampire continued, "She was only dating him long enough to see if he'd turn her."

Aella winced, "Harsh."

"Slater knew." Rose rolled her eyes, "Probably chose her for that very reason."

Aella snorted, "A little nookie-nookie, to get the bloody-bloody, right?"

Rose held back a laugh at the suggestion, while Elena frowned at her friend's tact before she stood and walked out of the room towards Alice with her tea.

Aella took Elena's seat. Rose sipped her tea and admitted, "I have to say, you're the most confusing human I've ever met."

"Thank you," Aella smiled widely.

The action caused Rose to laugh lightly into her tea, "You know, most people wouldn't see that as a compliment."

Aella shrugged with a slight grin, "I think you'll come to realize, Rose, I'm anything but normal."

Rose opened her mouth to respond when her ears caught Elena and Alice's conversation. One minute she was sitting with Aella, then next, Aella felt a slight wind, and the room only occupied herself. Cursing the vampire using her speed, Aella quickly moved to the next room to hear Rose whisper harshly to her friend, "You know that she's not going anywhere near my blood, right?"

Wide-eyed, Aella looked to Rose, "What the hell are you going on about?!"

Rose narrowed her eyes on Elena, "Ask the doppelganger."

Aella turned her gaze on Elena. The brunette shifted on her feet for a few seconds before she confessed, "It's an incentive. Apparently, Slater kept a backup of all his files; we can see what Elijah took."

Aella glanced at Alice happily tapping away at the computer and hissed at Elena, "You're lying to her."

Elena smiled smugly, "Semantics. I said: I may be able to convince Rose to turn her. I never promised her."

Aella shook her head, unsure if she was proud of Elena's deceitfulness or worried. Instead, she nudged her, "Welcome to the dark side, my young apprentice."

Elena just shook her head, "I'm older than you."

Aella smiled a little too wide, "Semantics."

When Elena returned to Alice, Rose turned to Aella, "You're fine with her lying?"

"I'm not her mother," Aella held up her hands. "I'm not telling her to do anything." She followed Elena, reaching her and Alice as Alice shook her head sadly, "Kristen Stewart. God, was he obvious?"

"I knew he was a Twilighter!" Aella exclaimed excitedly. When Alice looked at her with a raised bow, Aella leaned close to her, "He totally tried to act like a James Dean kinda vampire, but I could tell he was a total nerd."

"He was," Alice solemnly nodded. "He had Breaking Dawn's release date marked down in his diary since the news was released. Usually, he loved spoilers, but not with Breaking Dawn."

Aella pouted, "Bummer."

Elena stared at the two in astonishment, "Anyway..." She nodded for Alice to look back at the computer, "Are these all leads to vampires?"

Alice scrolled through the files, "Slater was obsessed. Almost as much as me."

"What about that one?" Rose pointed at the screen as she approached the group. "Cody Webber. They exchanged dozens of emails about Elijah."

Alice seemed to brighten, "I could call him?"

Aella laughed at the suggestion as Elena handed Slater's phone. She choked on her own spit as Elena added, "Tell him that we're trying to send a message to Klaus: The doppelgänger is alive, and she's ready to surrender."

"What?!" Rose and Aella exclaimed, although Aella's was more high-pitched.

"No!" Aella pointed at Alice, taking the phone from the pale girl's fingers.

"Yes," Elena snatched the phone back and handed it to Alice, and dictated again. "For Klaus: The doppelgänger is alive, and she's ready to surrender."

Alice suddenly realized who Elena was, "Oh, my God, I knew I recognized you."

Aella groaned loudly, "Why is everything going wrong?" She went to pull the phone from Alice's hand, but Elena slapped it away and pointed a finger in Aella's face, "Aella, if you stop her again, I'll never forgive you."

The witch paled, stumbling back at the threat, "Elena, this is a bad idea."

Rose agreed with Aella, "If Klaus knows that you're alive, he'll find you, and he'll kill you." When Elena's posture didn't change, the two realized this was her plan since they had left the house. "Which is exactly what you wanted all along."

Aella groaned again. How the hell did she not figure this out?

Elena wasn't affected by the realization but glanced at Aella almost apologetically, "It's either me or my family."

"Why is everything in my life going wrong right now!" Aella suddenly yelled at no one.

The phone in Alice's hand dinged, and the atmosphere became tense as the girl opened the message, "Cody is on his way, and he really wants to meet you."

Rose's eyes closed with a tired sigh while Aella stomped her foot, "That's it! I've decided I no longer want to be an adult." She began stomping her way out of the room, "If anyone needs me, I'm stealing Slater's blanket and pretending I am anywhere except here!"

Elena wasn't phased by the dramatics, while Rose was quick to follow Aella. She was not surprised to see Aella had commandeered a blanket of Slater's and was under it as promised. "We have to call Damon."

"I'm not here."

Rose held back a growl. She marched over to Aella, pulled the blanket up, and stuck her head into the fort Aella created. She stared at Aella, who stared intently down at her hands, "We have to call Damon."

Aella didn't respond, just fidgeted with her hand. When she took a deep breath and looked up at Rose and timidly asked, "Will you use your feminine wiles to stop Damon from killing me?"

Rose stifled a laugh. She knew for a fact that Aella wasn't scared of Damon. Nevertheless, she nodded, and Aella pulled out her phone, handing it to Rose. She swallowed heavily when she heard Damon answer.