Katherine's POV
"You're leaving?"

I raised an eyebrow at Elena as she picked herself off of the bed and studied herself in the mirror.

"Yeah, I just got a text from Stefan. I need to be there."

I got off the bed as well.

"I don't want you to do this." I said quietly, walking behind her and placing my arms around her waist.

For a minute she closed her eyes and leaned against me, but the moment was over quickly.

"No, I'm going to help them fight this thing, Katherine. If I didn't, and I just stayed safe, I would never be able to forgive myself."

I chewed on my bottom lip as Elena turned around and faced me, placing a hand on my cheek.

"I just worry." I mumbled, looking down at the floor.

"You've never seen anything like this, I promise you."

I looked up and made eye contact.

"This is not Klaus, and this is not Silas. This is way more than you've ever faced, and none of you are ready for it. Especially not a new vampire like you."

She pondered my words for a minute, and then let go of my face and turned away from me.

"I'm sorry, Katherine. I have to. We may not be ready, but we have to try."

I sighed. Vampire Elena was a stubborn little bitch.

"Fine. Go. But I'm coming with you."

She whirled around.

"What? You can't come! They all think you're back in wherever you were."

"New York. Not important. I'm coming."

She crossed her arms over her chest.

"No. I can tell you right now, they don't want Katherine Pierce at their meeting."

I crossed my arms as well, staring at Elena in the exact way she was standing.

"Do you want Katherine Pierce at their meeting?"

She shifted uncomfortably, avoiding meeting my eyes.

"I mean, they don't know we're involved or anything. They think we're mortal enemies. And you can be a little... Harsh at times."

"Harsh?" I raised an eyebrow.

"Not harsh... You're just very blunt... And I really don't think they appreciate... Anything you do."

I shook my head.

"Elena, do you actually think I give a crap about what any of them think? I'm Katherine fucking Pierce. And I'm coming. You can't stop me."

Before she could protest, I was out of her bedroom door and walking down the stairs.

After a bit, she came outside after me.

I took her hand in mine, squeezing it lightly.

"I'm sorry." she whispered into my ear.

"I just don't know how they would react to you."

"They're not going to react well, I'll tell you that. But I can help all of you. I can help you fight the thing."

She nodded slightly.

"Are you okay with me doing this now?"

"No. I'll never be okay with it. I'm worried about you. But I would feel better if I was fighting it with you."

She smiled at me and kissed me lightly on the lips.

I shivered as tingles ran up my spine from the contact.

"I love you." she murmured against my lips as she reached in to kiss me again.

I loved her too, I truly did. And I wanted to say I loved her back, say that I would always love her, for eternity.

But I couldn't. The truth was I wasn't ready to say that. I still regretted everything I had done, leaving her, and everything I had done after I left her.

She was ready to let me know that she loved me, but I wasn't ready to let her know I loved her.

So I didn't respond, simply let her kiss me, and make me feel like the luckiest girl in the entire world.

If she was upset about the fact that I didn't say I loved her back, she didn't show it.

She took my hand and smiled at me.

"Let's go."

We arrived at the Salvatore mansion hand in hand, but as soon as we reached the front door, we were standing at least a foot away from each other.

"Remember you hate me." I said to Elena as she rang the doorbell.

She glanced at me and we shared a small smile as Stefan opened the door.

He looked delighted to see Elena, but as soon as he saw me, his expression changed.

"Katherine?"

"The one and only!" I said, pulling myself into an exaggerated bow.

Stefan's eyes flickered from Elena to me.

"What's going on? Why is Katherine here?"

Elena opened her mouth, but I cut in.

"Well, after you so rudely left me in the forest with a broken neck, Elena found me and with the little bit of kindness left in her heart for her doppelgänger, she took me to her place where I learned of this demon we are fighting, and realized I could help."

Stefan looked extremely confused, but he snapped out of it and opened the door to both of us.

As we followed Stefan into the house, Elena looked at me pointedly.

"What? You're a shitty liar." I said, only loudly enough for Elena to actually pick up on.

We entered the living room where the whole gang was assembled. They were all reading old books that were falling apart at the seams.

The room included Caroline, Bonnie, and Damon, everyone that was important in Mystic Falls.

"The werewolf and lame ass human couldn't make it?" I said loudly.

They looked up from their intense circle of reading.

"Katherine is here to... Help us." Stefan said with gritted teeth.

"What?" came a chorus of unhappy cries from the group.

Elena stepped next to me.

"Guys, she's seen this demon thing before. She knows about it, and can help us."

The unhappy faces were clear about how they felt about me being here, but once Elena spoke, they begrudgingly nodded me into the circle.

"So, Katherine. You've seen this thing before?" Bonnie said, placing her old book down on the coffee table.

I nodded.

"What was it like?"

I told them.

There is chaos. No one is in their right minds. Everyone runs, everyone screams. They are all just trying to escape. But no one came escape. No one is safe.

Rain falls and lightning cracks, making the scene even more ominous. Tear stained faces contort with fear. Mothers grip their children to their sides, lovers give each other their last kisses.

And those who aren't terrified are the effected. The ones who have been possessed, made mindless, killing monsters. They hold axes, light fires to buildings, are covered in their friends and families blood from head to toe.

They kill everyone they find. Their eyes are blank and hollow, the humanity once inside gone.

The streets are stained with rain and blood. Dead bodies lie on the ground, screaming people not bothering to check on them as they run away from people they once knew.

And over it all: a menace. A phantom, something of nightmares. It is black and cold and just looking at it sends shivers up the spine. It is a shadow, with glowing eyes that bear into a soul.

Occasionally it moves from their post in the sky. It comes down, close to an unsuspecting victim.

All it has to do is make eye contact with someone. Once those terrifying glowing eyes meet terrified normal ones, your soul is twisted, your mind gone.

And it doesn't stop.

I finished my story and stared at the ground.

The whole room was silent.

I didn't even realize I was crying until Elena placed a hand on my shoulder.

"Katherine? Are you okay?"

I looked up at her. She was worried, clearly.

I nodded, wiping the tears from my face.

"There's no way to stop it. It just infects and infects until it feels its work is done. And then it leaves." I said.

Caroline broke the silence.

"Then we need to prepare."

"We don't even know when it's coming, though. We just know it comes every hundred years." Damon replied.

"A hundred years and a solar eclipse." I said.

"You didn't know that?"

Everyone in the room exchanged worried glances.

"What? Am I missing something? When's the next solar eclipse?"

Elena cleared her throat, as if it was difficult for her to speak.

"Two days."