Chapter 1: Liberation

Disclaimer: Not mine, just borrowing!

Katherine wakes up to the sweet smell of blood. It's been so long. She knows she's in a stasis of sorts, one that's caused by blood deprivation. She wonders how long it's been since she was locked below the church. A hundred years, a thousand maybe? Maybe it has only been a few days, but it feels like eternity. She's so thirsty. She misses Damon. She was so stupid to believe she was in love with Stefan. It had taken years for her starving mind to realize Stefan was just a cheap comparison to Damon. Sometimes if she thinks hard enough, she can believe she hears his distorted voice calling out for her.

"Katherine! Katherine?" He always called out in her imagination. She never responded to him. Her Damon was dead, gunned down by his own father. The man calling out for her was merely an illusion, one brought on by lack of blood. It disgusted her that she looked forward to hearing his voice

Her thoughts were suddenly cut off by the sound of stone moving. The…entrance? She can see a small amount of light from her position. Who would ever want to come in here, with hungry vampires? A female voice.

"He needs leverage. "she said, her voice eerily familiar. It, it almost sounded like her voice. Words she couldn't hear. She's so weak, and so very hungry. Katherine wonders if a hallucination can be sustenance. She wonders if her mind got tired of using only Damon and decided to do a new trick.

A male voice, this one familiar in a way that made her heart ache, "May I?" and then the sound of something being lifted. Sudden light everywhere, making her wish she could move her arms so she could shield her face. It was beautiful in a way and Katherine wondered if she was finally dying.

"What is that?" the female (a human female, Katherine can hear the blood rushing in her veins) asks.

"They can sense you. Now, where is she?" The man responded, and Katherine's heart fluttered. That voice…Damon? Her heart flutters but she resists the urge to cry out. She's hallucinating again, she tells herself. Damon is dead and using what is left of her strength on a mirage would do no good. She tunes out of the conversation until she hears another familiar voice, one she has never imagined before.

"Elena?" It says, but her heart hurts because even though that's not her name that's Stefan's voice, and it's like a floodgate has opened. The Girl-Elena- breathing, Damon's rage, Stefan's desperation she can hear it all. Is this real? They really came for her? She swallows dryly and tries to call out, but the words won't rise from her parched throat.

"SHE'S NOT HERE!" Damon screamed and threw something against a wall. It smells like blood, but Katherine can't even care because this is real, they came for her. Damon came for her. She hears Stefan explain the tomb is going to close and panic fills her. She can't do this, not again.

So, she uses all her energy to say one word," Damon…"

Damon cocks his head and ignores Elena's pleas to leave the tomb as he hears a whisper he would have missed if he wasn't a vampire. "Damon…" The voice-so different from Elena (How could he have ever compared them to each other) calls. His heart stops.

"Katherine?" He calls out experimentally, not daring to hope.

A soft sigh then, "Damon…"

He pushes Stefan and Elena away from him, following his beloved's voice till he comes to a woman wearing a familiar dress with her face in the shadows. Slowly, he swallowed and pulled her face towards the light. He can't describe the joy he feels when he sees her ashen face. "Katherine." He spoke softly, and she had never looked so beautiful as he cupped her face in his hands. She leaned into the caress weakly muttering.

"You aren't dead." She said, her voice a mere whisper, and Damon's heart broke a little more. Had she sat in this tomb for all this thinking he and Stefan were dead?

Damon shushed her softly and lifted her. "I'm not. It's okay Katherine, you're safe." He cooed in her ear. Though she was heavily desiccated, her eyes were still sharp, and they took in Stefan with a twitch of her lips. Stefan looked shocked to see her, and Damon hated him for that. He had thought that she hadn't been in here, in pain for 145 years?

"Damon, who is that?" Elena asked, and Damon watched as Katherine's eyes widened and she tried to get away from him. Damon held her tighter and moved so her hair was covering his face.

"What is it, Katherine?" He asked her, his voice soft in her ear.

A hand pressed softly to his cheek and Katherine looked at him and Stefan, her eyes not quite looked at Elena, instead somewhere Damon couldn't follow as she answered, "Doppelgänger."

Her words broke off and her head lulled back suddenly. Damon made sure she was secure in his arms before turning to Stefan and Elena. He said nothing, but merely nodded his head to Stefan before flashing out of view. Elena turned to Stefan in confusion, only to see the ghost of a smile on his face. Maybe, I finally have my brother back. Stefan thought, his mind full of old memories.

"Stefan?" Elena asked, reaching out to touch him. Stefan shook his head, dispelling the thoughts before grabbing her and zooming out of the tomb.

A/N: What's up? I hope you enjoyed the revamped version of Tomb-Bound. I'm sure you guys are wondering why I touched this. Well, I have another chapter planned, and a chapter after that. I hope Katherine isn't too OOC, but keep in mind she isn't quite the manipulative bitch we all and love. Please let me know what you thought, I appreciate feedback!

I am, therefore I spread,

Pain