Sorry I didn't get this chapter up yesterday; I didn't feel good at all. I still don't feel very good, but I wrote some in the story and wound up writing a lot more than I thought. I really hope you enjoy it.

"Ugh." Elena moaned as she woke up. Her joints felt stiff, something that hadn't happened since she'd turned into a vampire.

"Elena."

Her eyes popped open at the sound of Damon's voice. She automatically realized that they were in the basement of the boardinghouse. She didn't know how she had gotten there - especially because there had been so many guests at the party who would've seen someone carrying her down - but she knew that whoever it was who had done this to her put vervain in her system. She had tried, when she was first turned, to drink a little vervain in tea like Damon and Stefan did, but she just couldn't do it. It would burn her throat, sending shocks of pain through her every time she would take a breath. As soon as the vervain went down her throat the first time she gained more respect for every vampire who went could stomach it.

Elena knew that even though a vampire drank a little vervain every now and then, it didn't mean that they were immune to it completely. That was why Katherine had staggered and eventually fallen when Damon shot her with some. You could only take so much vervain before eventually succumbing to it.

"Damon…" Elena said, finding it hard to even speak. "What happened?"

When her eyes finally focused on him, Elena was mortified by the way Damon looked. He was laying on the wall opposite her, his waist bound by chains. There were vervain plants in pots scattered around the room, probably for easy access if one of them tried to escape. Sweat coated every inch of skin that Elena could see on Damon, and his skin had a weird yellow tint to it. Elena vaguely wondered if this was what she looked like.

Looking down, she could see that she had chains, too, but she wasn't sweating like Damon was, and her skin looked like the same color it always was.

"I don't know. When - " Damon began, but he was cut off by banging and screams on the other side of Elena's wall. When Elena looked to the wall and then back at him, Damon said, "That's been happening every couple of minutes or so. I don't know what's over there, and I'm pretty sure I don't want to find out."

Elena couldn't tell what it was either, but she had to agree with Damon that she didn't want to know. Before she could tell him to continue, he did.

"When Katherine yelled for her witch friend, Haylie appeared at the doorway and put you under a spell. I was on her before you hit the floor. I was going to kill her to make sure she didn't come after us again, but a man - another witch, I think - came out from behind her and gave me a shot of vervain. It was even more than I gave Katherine, and I went out like a light. The next thing I knew, I was waking up here. I woke up about an hour ago. Elena, I was so worried about you."

Elena gave him a very small smile to let him know that she was okay. "I'm okay, Damon. Better than you, I think. I think they gave me vervain, too, but I don't think they used quite as much with me. Why don't you just close your eyes and rest a little bit?"

Damon shook his head. "No. If I fall asleep, I'll wake up feeling even worse. I've been in this situation before, remember? I know what it's like. Besides that, I'm not going to leave you awake by yourself to face whatever this is."

"I can take - "

"No, Elena." he interrupted. "You come first, remember? Even before me."

Elena desperately wanted to get up and kiss him, but she knew that even trying would just tire her out. If she hadn't had any vervain in her system, she could probably break these chains without even trying, but it was no use now.

"How sweet."

Both Damon and Elena looked to the door at the same time. Katherine stood just outside, looking in through the barred window. She unlocked the door and stepped in, a giant, evil smile on her face.

Damon got up fast. The vervain may have weakened him, but it didn't take all of his powers away. He reached for Katherine, trying to break the chains at the same time. She moved just out of the way, making a "tisk" sound before laughing. "Silly Damon. Those chains will hold you as long as you have the vervain in your system. And, anyway, I made you. I will always be much stronger than you."

Katherine poked Damon in the chest, forcing him back down on the ground.

"Stop it!" Elena shrieked, gaining Katherine's attention. "Just leave him alone!"

"Oh, poor Elena." Katherine walked over to her side of the room with a fake frown on her face. "Can't stand to see your boyfriend hurt? Well, don't worry. You won't have to watch for much longer. In fact, you might as well say your goodbyes because you won't ever be seeing Damon again once you leave this room."

Elena was so shocked at what Katherine said that she couldn't even think of something witty to snap back at her. Oh well, she thought, snarky comments were always Damon's thing. Instead, she mustered up, "Wh-what are you talking about?"

Katherine just laughed as she walked out the door, leaving Elena to think of her worst nightmares.

[STEFAN'S POV]

There was no way this could be happened, Stefan thought. No way that the girl he loved would ever do such a thing. But every time Stefan opened his eyes, he was forced to face the reality of the situation.

Katherine had changed. Or so he thought. The entire time they had been together, she hadn't shown one sign of her old self. She hadn't tried to flirt or hit on Damon, she hadn't killed anyone, and she hadn't brought her drama to Mystic Falls. For almost three years, it had just been the two of them in love and happiness.

Stefan didn't even know what she was up to, which was the worst part. No, he thought, that wasn't the worst part. The worst part was finding out that the girl he was in love with was really a maniacal mad woman and having her break his heart all over again.

Elena would've never done this to you… A vicious voice in the back of his mind sneered.

He shook it off, just as he had been shaking off other thoughts like that that popped into his mind after seeing that Elena was alive. It was true that Stefan found himself thinking about her when he was bored. He'd even had a dream about her last night, but he didn't think it was because he still loved her. He had been thinking about why those thoughts popped up and finally came to the conclusion that he needed closure. After all, he and Elena had never discussed breaking up or spending some time apart. The relationship had ended when he thought that she was dead, and, now that she was back, he kept finding himself wondering how the discussion would've gone if she had stayed.

Then there was the part of his mind that said that if Damon had never killed her, she never would've run off, and they would still be together to this day.

"Ah!" Stefan screamed, kicking his feet on the wall. He would do this every couple of minutes, needing to get his frustration out.

Katherine had had her witch knock Stefan out so they could bring him down here, in the basement. There were five rooms in the basement: two at the front hallway, two around the corner, and then one, big room down three stairs. That was the room that contained the furnace, so he knew that Katherine wouldn't put Elena and Damon in there. No, she had probably put them right next to each other so that they could hear each other's screams.

Stefan hadn't fed on a human in weeks and Katherine knew that, which was why she knew that they wouldn't need to use vervain on him as long as they reinforced the door. They'd added metal and steel to the outside of the door and vervain to the inside so Stefan wouldn't even try to break it down. He'd spent hours - after he woke up - trying to find a spot that was bare so he could get out of there, but had no such luck.

Suddenly, a shriek from the room next door had Stefan on his feet again. Someone had yelled something, but he couldn't tell who it was or what they were yelling. He was worried that it might be his brother or, even worse, Elena. He would have to make a plan to get out of here - not for himself, but for the two of them.

He was pacing back and forth, trying to think of a plan, when there was a short rap at the door. He looked up to see Katherine's face at the barred window.

"Stefan, sweetheart, I promise I'm going to get you out of here as fast as I can. It won't be long now." she said, actually looking as though she meant it. But Stefan knew better, knew that she could manipulate people just as well as compelling them.

He scoffed, coming as close to the door as he dared, not wanting to get hurt from the vervain. "Just what do you think you're doing here, Katherine? Playing a game? This is no game! You're locking us up, and for what? To play with?"

Katherine actually looked hurt. He had to give it to her, the girl could act. "No, Stefan. I'm not playing a game. There is actually a reason for this, even if you don't believe me."

"What could possibly drive you to chain up your husband?" he shouted, more angry than ever.

"Stefan, please!" Katherine cried. "Just let me explain."

He looked into her eyes for a long time, trying to see if there was any of the girl he loved left. "Fine. Explain." he growled.

She sighed and began, "There's something you should know. Something I should've told you a long time ago, but it just wasn't the right time." She paused, looking at him for what seemed like forever until she finally realized that he wasn't going to say anything back. "Well, as you know, I've lived for a very long time. I have traveled to so many places in that time that I can't even tell you exactly where. But, in an old village in South Africa, I learned something…horrible.

"As you know, doppelgangers are very rare and very special. There have only been two recorded instances of actual doppelgangers. Many people think that there have been more, but all the others were just people who looked similar. Elena and I look exactly alike, yet we're not related, making us true doppelgangers.

"I learned from an old man in the village that there is a curse on doppelgangers. Not one that was put on them, necessarily, but one that just…is. He said that as long as both of them live, they will never have true love."

"Oh, bullshit, Katherine!" Stefan yelled. "We were perfectly fine until you found out that Elena was still alive! And Elena and Damon were fine, too. In fact, we were all happy. That is, until you brought this 'curse' into the picture."

Katherine narrowed her eyes at Stefan, her jaw tightening as she did. "Stefan, you and I both know that's a lie. Ever since she got back, you've been pulling away from me."

"That's not true." Stefan dismissed automatically.

"Really?" Katherine asked, starting to grab the bars of the window and realizing at the last moment that there was vervain on them. She pulled her hand back. "Tell me that you haven't been thinking of her. Look me in the eyes and tell me."

Stefan looked straight into her eyes, not flinching at all. "I haven't been thinking about Elena."

Katherine laughed, turning around and walking two steps before coming back to the door. "I forgot how manipulating other vampires can be. Stefan, you're lying to me."

"And how exactly do you know that?"

"Because I've been in your mind!" she shrieked, banging her hand on the outside of the door. "The night before the party, you were tossing and turning. You usually sleep like a rock. So, I wanted to see what was plaguing you. I peeked into your mind and saw nothing but Elena. You see? You're already lying to me about her! It's already starting!"

Stefan was surprised to think that maybe Katherine could be right. As soon as he had known that Elena was alive, he started thinking about her more and more often. But he would never let Katherine know this. "Whatever, Katherine. Go on with your theory."

Katherine looked sad as she went on. "I didn't believe the man. I found out from neighboring villages the tales of the two sets of doppelgangers. The first pair was female. They both fell in love with the same man and wound up killing each other in order to get him. The second pair was male. Each was in love with their wife, happy and getting ready to have children. They lived four villages apart. A flood killed most of the people in the first doppelganger's village, including his wife.

"Looking for a new place to live, he trekked to the village of the second doppelganger, where he was welcomed with open arms. He didn't know that it was because everyone thought he was the second doppelganger. The first doppelganger was there for only a day before seeing a beautiful woman by the river he was fishing at. She was so beautiful to him that he didn't even realized he had been walking toward her until he was right next to her.

"The woman was the second doppelganger's wife, and, thinking that the first doppelganger was actually the second - her husband - wrapped her arms around him and kissed him. They escaped to the cover of woods to make love. The second doppelganger was out hunting when he came upon them. He was so angry that he killed the first doppelganger without even thinking about it.

"The entire village proclaimed him innocent of the crime because they thought the other doppelganger was the evil version of the second doppelganger. His wife explained to him that she thought it was him and he believed her. They were together until the very end of their lives, when they both died together.

"So, you see? One of us has to die, Stefan." Katherine ended.

Stefan thought about this for a moment. "Katherine, what you just said makes no sense. The first doppelgangers didn't even have love because they killed each other before they could get it. And the second story doesn't add proof that there is a curse on doppelgangers because the first one didn't prove it at all. If anything, you have two really sad tales, but they don't prove that one of you has to die in order for us all to be happy."

"No." Katherine said, her eyes teary and her jaw set. "I thought that if anyone would agree with me, it would be you, Stefan. I'm going to kill Elena. I don't care if the curse is true or not, I am going to kill her because I'm not taking the chance of losing you again."

Katherine turned to walk off, but Stefan ran toward the door and stuck his arm through the barred window, the vervain burning his skin as he did. "No, Katherine." he grunted.

She tried to make him let go, but she wasn't able to without hurting him. "Stefan, let go! You're hurting yourself!" she shrieked.

"No!" he yelled. "Katherine, please, please don't do this. I am begging you."

"Because you don't want her to die?" she asked, defiantly.

Stefan gasped, the vervain now causing the parts of his arms that were exposed to disintegrate. "No. Because I want my brother to be happy. And I want to be happy. Let them go. I'll tell them to leave and never come back. We'll be happy together, you and I."

Katherine looked like she was about to give, but instead shook herself, getting Stefan to let go. He automatically reached for her again, but she moved out of the way. Knowing that it was stupid to stay on the door, Stefan backed up a foot, feeling the pain even more now than before. Just before he fell down he heard Katherine say, "I'm sorry, Stefan, but this is the way it has to be."

[ELENA'S POV]

Elena and Damon sat in the dark for an entire day, both of them getting weaker and weaker as time went on. They tried to talk to each other and play games so that they wouldn't go to sleep because if they did manage to fall asleep, they would wake up considerably weaker, and they couldn't have that.

They'd finally decided that Katherine had to have Stefan pent up in the room next door because there was no way he would allow this to go on. Besides, they had heard little wisps of talking after Katherine had left their cell, coming from two people a little ways down the hall. If it weren't for the vervain and the super thick walls in the basement, they would have heard everything.

Elena felt like she was going to fall asleep when suddenly Damon whispered to her.

"Elena! Elena, don't fall asleep! I hear someone coming."

Elena automatically tried to hear what he was hearing, but she came up short. She gave Damon a wink before closing her eyes and willing every part of her body to portray her as sleeping. They'd already talked about how hard this would be for her because she was so tired, but she had had no idea. Her entire body really did want her to go to sleep, but she couldn't right now. Wait until we get home, Elena told herself.

Elena heard the creak of the door opening and the sound of high heels on the ground.

"Looks like your little girlfriend fell asleep on you." Katherine said to Damon. "Better for her, anyway. She won't be thrashing around when I take her out, so I won't have to hurt her. How are you doing?"

Elena could tell by the tone of Damon's voice that he was doing his famous smirk. "I'm just peachy."

Katherine laughed. "Same old Damon. Well, you don't have anything to worry about. I'm not going to hurt you. Just her. You know, when she's gone, the offer is still on the table for all three of us to be together…"

Okay, that pissed Elena off. She knew that now was the time to act.

Ten minutes after Katherine had gone, Elena had found out that she was strong enough to break her chains. It seemed that Katherine underestimated Elena's strength. She did break them and then held them together to look like they weren't broken, doing the same to Damon's. She and Damon had talked about what they would do the next time Katherine came in. Luckily, she had left their rings on their fingers.

Elena would feign sleeping and, when Katherine had her back turned to her, attack Katherine from behind. She would leap on her shoulders to hold her down while Damon got up and grabbed one of Katherine's heels. He would then stab her with it before grabbing a vervain plant and throwing it on her. Elena and Damon would escape the cell, shutting and locking the door behind them. Then, they would go home and never come back here again.

Elena shot up, throwing herself at Katherine just like they'd planned. Not knowing that Elena had broken the chains or that she wasn't asleep, Katherine was caught off guard and fell to the ground, a loud scream coming out of her. Damon was already up before Katherine hit the ground, grabbing her heel and sticking it as far as he could into her shoulder.

Elena had already grabbed a vervain plant and was dumping it on Katherine when the sound of footsteps filled the hall outside. Damon threw his plant on Katherine, turning as he did. It was then that Elena saw Haylie standing there. She said something in another language and Damon crumpled to the ground.

But Elena had already planned for something like this, even if Damon hadn't known. She'd reached over and snapped the rest of the chain off the wall as Haylie did her spell on Damon. Elena reared back with the chain and whipped it right at Haylie. It hit her with so much force that her skull went inward and she was dead before she hit the ground.

She grabbed Damon under the arms and started to turn him around when Katherine grabbed her ankle.

"I don't think so." Katherine sneered, about to pull Elena's ankle out from under her.

But Elena was in sheer predator mode. By the time Katherine had finished her sentence, Elena's other foot was in the air. She brought it down as hard as she could, affectively breaking Katherine's nose and knocking her out.

"I do think so, bitch!" Elena yelled before grabbing Damon and dragging him out. She was about to drag him upstairs when a thought occurred to her. Setting Damon down gently, she ran to the door next to her old cell.

"Elena!" Stefan let out as she reached the door.

She nodded at him as she unlocked the door. As he came out, she explained, "Damon got knocked out by that witch. I need help getting him out of here."

Stefan nodded and grabbed Damon's arms as Elena grabbed his feet. They moved as fast as they could upstairs. Before Elena could tell him to wait, Stefan climbed through the doorway to the lounge. She heard a sound like something darting through the air just before Stefan fell down limp. A man with a dart-gun stepped into the doorway, effectively blocking her exit. It must be filled with vervain, Elena thought.

Elena had no idea what to do. Both Damon and Stefan were passed out, so she wasn't getting any help from them. She had no weapons on or around her, so there was nothing to do with that. At any moment, this man would bring up his dart-gun and shoot her with vervain, knocking her out, too. Without thinking, Elena did the only thing she could think of: she screamed.

It was a long, loud scream. As she did it, she closed her eyes, willing herself to scream as loud as she could. Nothing of this magnitude had ever come out of her before. She let the scream go on until she didn't have enough breath to continue it.

Opening her eyes, Elena saw that the man with the dart-gun was crumpled on the ground, his ears bleeding. For a moment she was shocked, but then she thought about it. A vampire's muscles are much stronger than a human's are, so it would only make sense that her lungs and throat were strong enough to let out a sound that could deafen humans. But she'd also read somewhere that there was a tone that could send impulses to a human's brain so strong it could kill them. Maybe she had just made that tone.

Elena picked up Damon first, knowing that if Katherine woke up, she wouldn't kill or hurt Stefan. It took her longer than she'd liked - even with vampiric strength - but she got him into the Mustang. When she turned around to go get Stefan, he was already there, making her yelp.

"Sorry. Didn't mean to scare you." he said.

She nodded. "It's okay. So, are you staying here or going with us?"

Stefan reached into his pockets and pulled out the keys to the Mustang. Elena hadn't even thought of that. "Looks like I'm going with. Besides, you guys need a place to stay. If you go back to River Hollows, Katherine will just find you. I know the perfect place."

Elena climbed into the backseat, pulling Damon's head into her lap as Stefan got in and started the car. She barely had time to kiss Damon's forehead before she slipped into a deep, wonderful sleep.

So…? Let me know what you think! Click the little blue button just below… Come on, you know you want to! Lol. =]