A/N - I have no excuse. But here it is. Better late than never, right? Thank you for reading, feedback of any kind is always appreciated! Also my beta is the most patient and most thoroughly awesome beta ever.

From the outside, it would seem the days before the full moon were spent productively. Elena, Damon, Stefan and Katherine seemed to form some kind of alliance to fight against an impossible force. They all behaved themselves and managed to keep the fighting and bickering to a minimum. Real plans were made and were in the process of being carried through.

But there was subtle undertones of something else; something they couldn't control. The emotions and the feelings and the chemistry between the group was omnipresent. Katherine was always stealing glances at Stefan when she thought no one was looking. Damon would find any excuse to touch Elena and she never attempted to brush him off. Stefan was trying his hardest to focus on the task at hand and ignore the strange dynamic, but Elena could tell at least part of him wanted to surrender to Katherine's advances. Sometimes she wondered if it would just be easier to let everyone have what they want. But what everybody wanted was too complicated to even acknowledge.

"So starting tomorrow, we have to be on guard," Stefan said at dinner a few days before the full moon. "Klaus will be here any day now, so let's go over the plan one more time."

"Klaus rolls into town, looks for you and Katherine," Damon said, looking bored. "You two assist him in the details, and if you have any opportunity at all to sabotage his plan without him realizing it, you will do whatever possible to do so. Elena will be hiding underground in the Vlach bunker. So glad that little piece of real estate could come in handy for us. When Klaus is prepared to start the process, Katherine will get Elena. Elena has the stake. When Klaus is in transition, Elena stakes him. Sounds pretty simple to me."

None of this sounded okay to Elena. And something wasn't sitting well with her.

"I don't get it," she blurted out. Three vampire heads turned in her direction. "What am I missing here? Klaus only became a hybrid because he killed me. How will this final curse happen if I'm still alive? Doesn't my very existence kind of ruin this plan?"

Damon cleared his throat. Stefan and Katherine looked uncomfortable. She knew the news wasn't good. "It doesn't matter, Elena. Once he became a hybrid, the doppelganger is no longer needed. The very fact that you're still alive doesn't stop him from executing the curse. And if for some reason you're not able to kill him when he's in transition, then, well..."

He didn't want to finish the sentence. He refused to. Katherine sighed and did his dirty work for him.

"You will die instantly as soon as Klaus finishes the transition. Just another exciting trait of the doppelganger. The non-Vlach vampires will survive, but we won't have any power like the Vlachs," Katherine said. "They will be all powerful-capable of anything. Next to them, we'll be nothing. It's embarrassing, really. Then the Vlachs will go to work. There will be a war. An epic war that humans have no chance of winning. It will last years and the Vlachs will eventually rule the werewolves will be captured and Klaus will make a new hybrid dynasty. A pretty picture, isn't it?"

They were all silent as they processed this information.

"I'm thinking the only way we can pull this off is if Damon hides with Elena in the bunker," Katherine said. She was looking at Stefan as she said this. Elena knew she was thinking what they'd do together without Elena and Damon around to bother them.

"I don't need a baby-sitter!" Elena said, annoyed and getting angrier by the second.

"He wouldn't be a baby-sitter. Klaus doesn't need to know Damon's here. If he just sees me and Stefan, he'll think we've been putting his plans in place together. That's what we need him to think. If he sees Damon, he'll think we're up to something."

"Let's not kid ourselves," Stefan interrupted. "Klaus isn't stupid. The odds that this plan will even work are very low. How is Katherine going to get to Elena in time? Elena, are you strong enough to plunge that stake into him at exactly the right time? Just prepare yourselves. Let's be smart. Damon, I think Katherine is right. Tomorrow morning, you and Elena need to head to the bunker. We'll give you enough food for a few days. Keep your phone on you. We'll text you once Klaus arrives."

"Fine," Damon said, looking sideways at Elena.

"Fine," Elena said, wondering why, if the fate of the entire world was on her shoulders, she was still getting butterflies in her stomach just thinking about spending that much time with Damon.

In the morning, Elena awoke with a new sense of purpose. Stefan was, of course, not in the bed they shared together. She didn't look for him, nor did she look for Damon. Instead, she put on some headphones and walked around the property, trying not to think about the impossible task ahead of her. There was plenty of time yet to freak out. At this moment, she thought about Mystic Falls. About Alaric and Jeremy and Bonnie and Caroline. How she'd give anything to just be eating a cheeseburger at the grill, free of all these obligations and emotions.

On her walk, she ran into Abby, who was getting ready for her daily sunbathing adventure. They nodded and exchanged pleasantries, and Elena was off again. After growing so close so quickly, Elena felt bad about blowing her off now. But it was about to be every man for himself, and it was all out of her hands.

When Elena finally strolled back to her room, Stefan was waiting. He was sitting on the bed, reading one of the ancient books from the library. Seeing him on the bed like that, watching him do something so innocent...it all came back to her for a fleeting moment. She approached him and put her hands on his shoulders.

"Where have you been? It's time for you and Damon-" Elena put a hand on his mouth. He took the hint and put his arms around her. For the next 20 minutes, they tried to block out the white noise of their relationship. They both tried to pretend it wasn't the last time they'd be together. They tried to return to that pure place the relationship started from; the space in their hearts reserved for each other. But it wasn't the same. Stefan and Elena both knew it wasn't the same, and it never would be again. Although she was sad about this, Elena looked forward to going home and starting over. That is, if she managed to stop the apocalypse from happening.

After they'd gotten dressed, he gave her a soft kiss and said, "Love you."

"Love you," she said. She meant it. No matter what happened, she would always love him in some small way.

"Are you ready for this?"

"No," she said.

He smiled sadly. And then Katherine chose that moment to stroll in without knocking, Damon trailing after her.

"Now that you two are finished saying your goodbyes-ahem-we need to get you out of sight," Katherine said, not looking pleased at all. "Stefan, come with me. We'll be the Klaus Welcoming Committee. Damon and Elena, go to the bunker. There should be plenty of food and such down there for you guys. You know the drill. Only come out when I come to get you."

Elena wondered who exactly put Katherine in charge, but it wasn't worth arguing over. She gave Stefan one last awkward hug, and she followed Damon to the bunker. The two of them were quiet as they walked with a purpose.

The bunker was underneath the estate and it wasn't much to look at, although it did seem comfortable. There was a small bathroom, a few sofas, two twin beds, a tiny kitchen, refrigerator and freezer. There was a radio but no TV. A few magazines, all ancient and yellowing, sat on an unstable oak table. Elena wondered what the hell she was supposed to do with Damon down here. She had a feeling playing Words with Friends on her cell phone wouldn't go over too well.

"Well, this will be fun," Damon finally said. "What shall we do first, take a nap together? Oh, wait, you just took a nap. So to speak."

"Shut up," Elena muttered, embarrassed. "Let's just...talk."

"Talk?" Damon asked, his eyebrows raised. "Talk about what? The impending doom of the entire world as we know it, or those Coldplay tickets you won't get to use when you get back to Mystic Falls because all the humans will all be dead?"

Elena sighed, but stayed on course. She had plans for this extended stay. Plans that included finding out the truth once and for all.

"I was thinking more along the lines of you, Damon. We're down here for who knows how long, maybe it's time to get to the bottom of things, don't you think?"

"I'd rather sit here in silence for two days," he said. "What is it that you want to know, anyway? Nothing about me is exactly a secret."

"Katherine. I want to know about Katherine. Are you two together?"

Damon chuckled. "What do you think?"

"I don't know. I thought you were repulsed by her, but then you come all this way together and you let her manipulate us into thinking you're together...not that I could blame you, I guess. You spent more than a century looking for her. That kind of devotion is hard to compete with, Damon."

They were sitting on opposite sofas, facing each other. She non-subtly looked into his crystal blue eyes to gauge his reaction. He looked...mad. Annoyed. Frustrated.

"We're going to be in here for a long time," he said. "Days, maybe. Do you really want me to talk about who I'm devoted to?"

She wanted to say yes, actually. Instead she said nothing. Let him sweat it out. But he took the same approach and neither of them said anything for an uncomfortably long time.

Eventually Damon gave up on trying to keep himself occupied with a 1985 issue of Road & Track and collapsed on the sofa to take an unnecessary nap. Elena listened to a French talk show on the radio and again pondered the state of her life. Occasionally she'd stare at Damon until she made herself look away. As usual, she thought about finally letting go of Stefan and moving on to Damon. It would be interesting, that was for sure. But the rational part of herself-which did still exist somehow-thought that maybe neither one of them were right for her. At the end of the day, they'd still be vampires and she'd still be human.

One way or another, she was going to figure this out. Even if it killed her.

24 hours passed down in the bunker. Elena eventually was bored enough to sleep, and many hours later she woke up to the smell of Damon cooking lunch. They had chicken breasts and salad and talked about everything except their impending doom and their feelings for each other. They found an old Monopoly set on top of the refrigerator and played a couple of ruthless games, all of which Damon won. Elena forgot what it was like to have fun with Damon. He made her smile.

"I wonder what's happening out there," Elena said after losing her fourth game of Monopoly. "Klaus has to be here by now. I wish I could be out there doing something productive. I'm sure you're not enjoying baby-sitting me."

"Yeah, well, we need the element of surprise if we're going to shut this guy down," Damon muttered.

Elena thought about Abby and her daily sunbathing quest. She thought of Olivia and Gabriel and how accommodating they'd been since she and Stefan arrived.

"What are you thinking about?" Damon asked. He actually looked like he cared.

"I'm just wondering what will happen to the Vlach vampires if I do actually manage to kill Klaus."

"From what I understand, the Vlachs will turn back into humans."

"That's it? I was expecting them to burst into flames or something dramatic like that."

"Make no mistake, Elena...the Vlachs turning human would be a huge blow to vampire culture and history. They are the largest sect in the world. They have Originals. They go back hundreds of years and have been planning this takeover for almost as long."

"And we just happen to be here for it," Elena said, not comfortable at all.

Damon looked at her closely. "Do you think that's any kind of coincidence? Stefan knows more than you give him credit for, Elena. He's known exactly what was going down here for a long time."

"I don't understand...how does it benefit him? What does he get from the Vlachs turning into humans?"

"In that twisted mind of his, he thinks he can restore the Vlach society single handedly. Well, not exactly single handedly. He'd want his vampire girlfriend assistant by his side while he put back together an entire community of broken vampires."

"That's...why I'm here?" Elena couldn't believe how stupid she was. Why did she listen to Stefan? Why did she ever trust him? All he wanted to do was turn her into a new version of Katherine. It was infuriating.

Damon moved from his perch on the bed to sit next to her on the sofa. He put his arm around her and she leaned into him. She needed the comfort. How dumb could one person possibly be?

"It's not your fault. You got swept up in Stefan's plans, that's all. He can be very persuasive. And he does love you. Very much. Just not in the way he did in the beginning. But I need you to know two things, Elena. Look at me."

She hesitantly looked at him. His blue eyes mesmerized her.

"Number one, you don't have to continue the cycle. When we're done here, you can go back to Mystic Falls and never speak to him again. It's that simple. Number two...you can and you WILL defeat Klaus. You're not just some small town hot high school girl who just fell off the hay baler. You're the doppelganger. You have the power to defeat him. You and Katherine are connected to whatever spiritual entity started this thing in the first place. You will defeat him. And maybe Jenna's death wouldn't be in vain. Maybe your parents' car accident will have some kind of meaning. Maybe everything you've dealt with for the past couple of years-me included-were all for a reason. You can do this. And don't think for a second that you can't."

Elena was overwhelmed. She didn't say anything, just clung to him tightly. And when she felt him looking at her with that primal look in his eyes, she gave into it. They kissed right there on that sofa in the underground bunker in France. She knew it wasn't the most opportune time to be making out with her soon to be ex-boyfriend's brother, but she needed him. Elena needed Damon in a way she couldn't explain but also couldn't deny. They kissed and kissed and maybe if the whole world wasn't resting on her shoulders, she would have let it happen.

"Wait," she said, tearing herself away from his lips. "Wait, Damon. I can't...I'm sorry."

She watched him as he tried to compose himself for a moment.

"You don't need him, Elena. He's not right for you." He moved an errant hair behind her ear and she shivered.

She knew that. She didn't owe anyone anything, and especially not after what she was about to do. But it didn't feel right. She should at least say her good-byes to Stefan, although that was merely a formality at this point.

"I know...I know, Damon. But I can't do this. Not yet."

Damon sighed. "I know. It's always going to be Stefan. Damn it, I know that! But he's not-"

"Shut up for a second! It's not always going to be Stefan, okay? It's over. We both know it's over. But Damon, as much as I want to be with you, I can't...I can't be with a vampire. I won't. You need to know that."

Damon let a myriad of emotions pass by his face before he settled on confused.

"What if that wasn't a problem?"

"What are you talking about? It's always going to be a problem."

"What if it was possible for a vampire to turn human? What if someone IS willing to do it for you, Elena? What if someone was willing to take the chance?"

"The chance to be human?" She asked, now at full attention, her heart beating fast and loud.

"The chance to be human."

"How is that...even possible?"

"It's possible, let's just say that."

Elena was overwhelmed yet again. How could he even be saying this? What if it actually came true?

"Damon, why...how...why would you do that?"

He grabbed her, not kindly. As he looked deep into her eyes, he said, "I'd do it to be with you. I'd do it because I never wanted to be a vampire. I'd do it because it was never my choice. I'd do it because I miss being human so much, it physically hurts. I'd do it because I don't want to be immortal anymore. I want my soul back. I want to be with you and have a family and die with you. Can you handle that, Elena? Can you deal with someone putting it all on the line for you? Because I will. Just give me that chance."

And before she could answer him-or cry, or scream, or kiss him-both their phones started vibrating and Katherine materialized in front of them. "Sorry to interrupt what was surely a fascinating conversation, but the end of the world is about to start. We need you, Elena."

"I'm ready," she said, and she was. Even though all she wanted to talk about or think about was the bomb Damon just dropped on her, it was time to kill a hybrid. She and Damon followed Katherine quickly out of the bunker. Damon squeezed her shoulder and for a brief second, she gave him a tiny smile. They'd have things to talk about later.

As they stepped out of the bunker, Elena was expecting to see explosions and screaming vampires and sirens and overturned cars...but there was nothing. There was an eerie silence as a cool breeze floated through the night. It didn't feel right. But she followed Katherine's steady pace with Damon close behind her. The glow from the luminescent full moon gave all the light they needed to follow the path.

"You're going to have to be as quiet and still as possible until it's time to go," Katherine whispered as they neared the huge, sprawling lake. "Klaus' back will be turned. There are a lot of Vlachs surrounding him and you'll have to be stealthy. Stefan has done his best to distract him but you have to do the rest. I will hang back and do whatever I can. I don't physically have the power to do anything, but I can send...vibes or something. You got it?" She handed Elena the stake. Elena took it, trying not to think of anything else but sticking it square in Klaus' heart.

At the lake, the scene was intense. It seemed like every one of the Vlachs surrounded Klaus. There was a fire in the middle of everything, making it smell like a simple campfire instead of the end of the world. Klaus was shirtless and chanting something. Stefan stood by him, mystified and anxious. Katherine gave Elena one last nod and ran off to join Stefan. They stood together with Klaus enraptured by the whole ordeal. Stefan took Katherine's hand and she grinned at him. Elena didn't notice.

"You can do this," Damon whispered. "You have everything you need to do this. I believe in you."

Elena nodded. She waited for Katherine's signal that Klaus was in the stages of his transformation. Finally, Katherine whistled loudly. And Elena ran. She ran as fast as she could, stake in her hand. And before she could even get near Klaus, she felt strong hands trying to pull her back, grab her, punch her, stab her, pull her hair-but she didn't let it stop her. Katherine, Stefan and Damon fought back her vampire attackers. Klaus was so in tune with his transition that he didn't notice what was happening.

Elena was wounded. Bleeding. Hurting. But again she paid no attention. To her left, she saw Abby fending off the vampire attackers. To her right, Olivia and Gabriel were doing the same. And again she had no time to think about why they were helping. Surely they must have known what would happen to them if she succeeded in killing Klaus.

Finally she reached him. He was groaning and moaning and screaming and writhing in pain already. She held up the stake and drove it into him, but it did nothing to stop him. It only seemed to annoy Klaus, actually. So she tried again, this time plunging it in his back. It penetrated, but again nothing happened. Stefan, Katherine and Damon looked helplessly on as she tried over and over to stake this monster to death.

Klaus grabbed the stake from her after her sixth or seventh attempt and stared deep into her eyes. With a heavy hand, he knocked her to the ground, then kicked her in the stomach. She felt herself losing consciousness. Everything was going black and she could feel nothing. It would be so easy to close her eyes...

"If something happens," she remembered Katherine saying a few days ago, "shake it off. You're the doppelganger, not some innocent doe-eyed helpless thing. Get up, shake it off, do it again. You can kill Klaus. It's in the prophecy, Elena. Don't let anything stop you."

Elena struggled to get up, even though all around her chaos was mounting. The Vlachs were stepping on her, screaming at her. Damon and Katherine and Stefan were trying to pry them off, but there was too many of them. Elena looked up to see something; anything that would bring her back. She found it in Damon's face. He looked so completely and utterly terrified. She knew she couldn't let him down.

She closed her eyes for a split second and channeled everything she had inside her. Katherine's vibes. Her parents' senseless deaths. Damon willing to be human for her. Even though she could barely move an inch, she sprung up and plunged the stake once more in Klaus' back. And this time, she had help. She felt a hand on top of hers, gripping the stake harder than she thought possible. This time, the stake pierced Klaus' heart. He turned around, getting one last look at Elena and her assistant.

"Elena? Elijah?" Klaus muttered before he fell to the ground.

"Hello, brother," Elijah said, and Klaus gasped one last breath.

Stefan and Damon ran to Elena and held her up before she collapsed again. All around the estate, the Vlachs were screaming and crying. Elena couldn't watch what happened as they all changed from vampire to human. The sounds were unbearable. Everyone was in complete agony, including her. And she was the one who caused it.

Before she was whisked away inside the manor, she found Elijah standing by the lake, gazing out at the water.

"I made you a promise, Elena. I wasn't able to fulfill it before. But I like to keep my promises."

"Thank you," she whispered. "I don't know what else to say."

"Thank you should be sufficient." She hugged him. He clung to her before he hesitantly let her go.

Katherine, Stefan, Elena and Damon went back inside, trying to ignore all the screams of anguish coming from the Vlachs. No one outside of Rennes would ever know what happened there; what Elena just did for all humanity. No one would ever know how close the human population came to a war the likes of which no one had ever seen. And that was okay with her. The Vlachs would be just fine. She would be just fine. How did she know that for sure? Damon stood next to her as they looked out the window at the mayhem outside. He squeezed her hand and she leaned into him, even though it hurt more than she could possibly were going to be different now. They were going to be better than she could ever imagine.