"Katherine, stop!"

Stefan's desperate plea rang out through the underground chamber and her mouth twisted into a cruel smile.

"Why should I? Once I kill her we can be one big, happy family. Won't that be nice?"

There was no sincerity behind her words, but their effect on him was immediate. His eyes widened and he took a tentative step forward.

"Katherine, please. I'm begging you."

"It didn't have to be this way you know," she pouted. "All I wanted was to be with you."

"If you kill her, I swear to God it will never happen. It will become my life's purpose to hunt you down and I won't stop until you're dead."

"Oooo, Stefan. Such mean words." Katherine laughed humourlessly at his threats and tightened her hold on the girl in her arms. Elena struggled against her, desperate for freedom.

"It's nothing personal," she whispered coolly into her ear, "but you have something I want." With one sharp twist, she snapped her doppelganger's neck and let her body drop to the floor.

It was worth it, she thought, watching Stefan's eyes widen in shock. Now he would finally understand how she felt after waiting 147 years only to find him in the arms of a lookalike replacement.

"Elena?" Stefan's hands caressed her doppelganger's face and then drifted across the broken bones of her neck in disbelief.

Damon tore down the stairs and took stock of the grisly tableau in front of him. The way Stefan was hunched over Elena's body could only mean one thing... Irate, he turned his attention to Katherine.

"How did you possibly put yourself in this situation twice?" she sneered at him. "Didn't you learn your lesson the first time?"

Crying out in rage, he flew at her and pinned her to the nearest wall with his arm at her throat. His every muscle strained with the restraint it took not to kill her.

"I guess even time can't make a man any less of a fool," she taunted, stroking a hand down his cheek.

"Why her?" he demanded, his voice little more than a growl.

"Because she was in the way," she shrugged easily. "You know that I never let anything stand in my way, Damon. Not even you."

He bared his fangs at her, but she pushed him off easily.

"Oh come on, boys. It's not that bad," she teased, circling them, "I force-fed her some of my blood before you got here. Come morning you'll have her back and then you get to make a choice."

Both brothers gaped at her in shock.

"Turn her, or kill her? It'll be fun watching you fight it out."

Smiling victoriously, she escaped up the stairs before either of them had the wherewithal to follow.

With her departure the tomb went quiet.

"You think she was telling the truth?" Damon asked, breaking the heavy silence.

Stefan snapped out of his trance long enough to look up at his brother and nod solemnly.

"It's Katherine," he answered flatly.

Katherine loved to spread misery and suffering everywhere she went. What better way for her to do that, than to take the one person they both cared about and turn her?

Damon raked his hands through his hair and turned to the nearest wall. Howling in frustration, he struck it with his fist hard enough to leave a sizeable crack in the stone. This time Katherine had gone too far. Taunting them was one thing, but hurting Elena... For that he would hunt her down and stake her even if it took another century and a half to do it.

Lost to his grief, Stefan quietly got to his feet with Elena's body in his arms and solemnly carried her back to the house.

Author's Note: Hello there ladies and gents! This is my first sojourn into the Vampire Diaries fandom. I'm hoping to get a lot of feedback on characterizations and such so I can put together the best fic possible for you guys :) This story is one that has been in my head for a few months now and I'm anxious to get it to paper. It IS a Delena fic but there will be some Stephan & Elena scenes throughout because I just don't think it'd be believable otherwise.

Any thoughts or feedback you'd like to offer would be much appreciated!

Until next time,

Langus