Katherine was as friendly as usual.

"Look who's dumb enough to come back," said Katherine when she saw Alaric.

"Well," he said, "somebody had to invite hi— them in." He looked behind as Damon and Maddy came up. Maddy, of course, had already been granted entrance, but Alaric still said, "Damon, Maddy, come on in?"

"Are you trying to get me killed?" asked Katherine sharply as they went in.

Damon slammed her against the wall. "I gave you vervain, now I'm here to collect. I got it from here, Ric."

"You sure?"

"Yeah, get back in the house. Keep Elena from handing herself over."

Alaric took his leave. Katherine looked at Maddy, and the vampire had a sinking feeling that Klaus had told Katherine about how he knew that the two had slept together.

Damon didn't figure it out. "I need to know where Klaus is keeping his werewolf."

"Why?" asked Katherine. "What are you going to do?"

"My brother is being stupid and trying to get a postponement," said Maddy, shaking her head.

Katherine looked genuinely concerned. "No. You can't interfere, Damon. Klaus will kill you and everyone you've ever met. That includes your sister and your darling little brother."

"I just need to delay this thing," said Damon.

"No. No way."

"You should like this. It's going to buy another month of your pathetic life."

Katherine made a face. "Right. Except that I'm not the vampire he's planning on sacrificing."

Maddy frowned. "Wait, if you're not the vampire that's going to be sacrificed, then who—?"

Katherine tried not to look smug as she revealed, "He's got Caroline Forbes and Tyler Lockwood. Therefore, I'm in the clear."

"Of course," said Maddy. "That's the whole reason you turned Caroline and why you made Tyler trigger his curse. For fuck's sake..."

"Hey, hey, hey," said Katherine as Damon advanced to her angrily. "I'm just trying to stay alive long enough to get myself out of here."

Damon pursed his lips. "What if I told you Elena had vampire blood in her system?"

"What?!" cried Katherine.

"Courtesy of Damon," noted Maddy, looking at her brother, who was overjoyed with Katherine's shock. "Imagine how much fun that will be competing with Elena for Stefan's love for, I don't know, forever."

"The tomb," Katherine blurted out immediately. "He's got them in the tomb."

"Thank you for being helpful," said Maddy. "Damon... I don't like this. I don't want you to do this."

"So you'd rather Caroline and Tyler die?"

"No, Caroline is a sweetheart and Tyler is my stepson." She ignored the strange looks the other two vampires cast. "What I'm going to do is get a different werewolf and a different vampire and offer them to Klaus."

"Damnit, Mads, that's not what I want! I want the ritual cancelled!"

"Katherine knows more about Klaus," said Maddy. "Tell me, Katherine, how long will it take Klaus to figure out that we were the ones who forced him into another month as half of a hybrid?"

"About two seconds," said the eldest vampire.

"We should try something else," said Maddy desperately. "If we can get another witch, maybe the vampire blood can be removed from Elena's system, or something. Damon, please."

"No," he said, shaking his head. "I'm rescuing Care Bear and Lockwolf whether you join me or not. Waste your time if you want, but I'm not joining you."

Maddy let out a frustrated grunt as Damon sped off. "So," said Katherine before she could leave, "does he not know?"

The middle Salvatore tried to ignore her. "I don't know what you mean."

"Please, it's not that hard to figure out that you went and screwed his best friend."

"Shut up, Katherine," she muttered. "Or I'll tell Klaus you're on vervain."

"Doing that would be very stupid, because then I'd just tell him who gave it to me, and Damon would be dead."

Maddy huffed, slamming the door as she left the apartment.

She'd gone into Charlottesville, grabbing a random young blonde woman (in case Klaus had certain requirements for the vampire in the sacrifice) and knocking her out while she started to dial every one of her old friends' numbers to see if they knew of any werewolves. Since the majority were human, they weren't very helpful. Every time she thought she was about to find out about another werewolf, it ended up being a dead end.

"Damn it," she whispered. "There has to be someone else..." she figured that maybe she'd just have to convince Klaus to use one of his backups.

The sun had already set, and she knew she was running out of time. She grabbed the woman, taking her back to Mystic Falls, where she went straight to Alaric's apartment and knocked on the door when she heard Klaus's muffled voice inside.

He went silent. Maddy waited until Klaus opened the door, surprised to see her there. He leaned in the doorway, raising a brow and not allowing her to see into the apartment. "Hello, love, I don't recall ordering any food, but..."

"Use this lady instead," said Maddy. "As your vampire. You can turn her and she'll be ready for tonight."

"And why would I do that?"

"Because I just found out that Caroline Forbes hasn't been answering calls all day, which leads me to believe that you kidnapped her. And since she and Tyler Lockwood are so close, I imagine you must have him, too. His mom's mysteriously in the hospital and her son is nowhere to be found after he checked in to visit her earlier. I know you have a backup, so use them, not Tyler. I'm begging you, please."

"I'm not sure if you're clever, or stupid," said Klaus, grabbing onto the unconscious woman's arm. "I'll go with clever. It's far wiser to be giving me different options to kill to save your little friends. Really, your brother has the wrong idea, wishing for me to postpone."

"I wouldn't ask you to do that," said Maddy. "I kinda like being alive, so..."

"Hmm." He looked over her, not hiding the way his eyes fixated on her breasts. "Repeat what you said earlier."

"Um... which part?"

"The part where you begged me to use someone else for the ritual. I'd like to hear you beg again."

She blushed. "What?"

Klaus ran his tongue over his lips. "You heard me, love. Beg."

Katherine, who was watching them, didn't dare breathe. But the way she was looking at Maddy suggested that she better do what Klaus was asking of her.

"Please," she said quietly, feeling embarrassed. "Please use someone else instead."

"You didn't use the word 'beg.'"

"I'm begging you."

"Say it like you mean it."

Maddy was starting to get incredibly frustrated. Klaus wasn't even smirking, but she knew he was amused. Perhaps what irritated her most was the fact that he seemed so serious, almost disinterested in what he was making her do.

"Klaus, please," she said, feeling like she might cry just from the burning shame and the anger she felt, thinking he might reject her plea, and then they'd lose Caroline and Tyler if Damon didn't manage to rescue them. "Please, I don't know what else you want me to say, but I'm begging you not to kill them." Not wanting to give away the fact they had a plan to potentially keep Elena alive, she added, "I'm already going to lose one friend tonight and my brothers are going to be so distraught, and—"

"Well," said Klaus, allowing a smile to come to his face, "I was going to ask you to get down on your knees and beg me that way, but you're clearly about to burst into tears. Your offer has been accepted, since your brother has already ruined my plan to use the other two."

The color drained from her face. "What are you talking about?"

Klaus stepped back, and revealed that Damon, with his neck snapped, was laying on the floor. "He came here asking me to postpone the ritual again. He told me he rescued my werewolf and vampire and killed my witch. He was oh so disappointed to hear that I had backups. Though, thanks to you, another member of your little friend group is going to be spared."

Maddy frowned. "What are you talking about?"

"You see, just before you arrived, I was convincing Katerina to call Jenna, pretending to be Elena, so that I could take her and turn her. But this woman will do just fine."

"Let my brother go," said Maddy. "You're still going to have your ritual tonight despite his attempts."

"Actually, I think I'm going to have him stay here. That way, he cannot get in my way again. I can smell the vervain on you, therefore, I cannot compel you, but..." he pulled her inside, and shoved her into Katherine's hold. "I can compel her." He looked into Katherine's eyes. "Make certain Madeleine and Damon do not leave this house. Use whatever methods necessary."

He tucked his hand under Maddy's chin, tilting her head up to look into his eyes properly. "I suggest you be a good girl, that way Katerina needn't hurt you." He then smirked. "Actually, one more thing. I want you to be able to be compelled. You'll have to forgive me for this, love." He looked into Katherine's eyes again. "Bleed her of the vervain."

Katherine, despite not being compelled, couldn't disobey. She nodded, and immediately pushed Maddy down into a nearby chair, ripping off the handle and stabbing it into her abdomen, making her cry out in pain.

"That's more like it," said Klaus. He checked the time. "I'm off, then." He wiggled his fingers at them before vanishing, the door slamming shut behind him as he took the unconscious woman with him.

"Sorry," said Katherine half-heartedly as she pulled the stake out. "But I have to."

"I know," said Maddy, gritting her teeth. "Just... can you use a knife or something instead? The wood hurts way more. How isn't Damon dead? Why did Klaus just snap his neck?"

Katherine pursed her lips. "You're not gonna like what I have to say." She went to the kitchen, retrieving two knives and handing them to Maddy. "You pick where they go."

Biting her lip hard, Maddy stabbed them into her own legs. "What's wrong with Damon?" she asked, trying not to wince.

Katherine went over to Damon, lifting up his arm, and revealing a werewolf bite. "My guess is Tyler Lockwood gave this to him when he was escaping."

"No," whispered Maddy, ripping the knives out and rushing over to him. "No, no, no... no! Oh my god... oh no..."

Just then, Damon woke up, gasping loudly. "Damon!" Maddy said, pointing at the wound. "What the hell?"

He groaned. "I'm not even gonna ask why you're here..."

"I gave him a different woman to use as a vampire. He was gonna use Jenna because you rescued Caroline and Tyler. Oh my god... if I'd just gone with you..."

"You would have been bitten instead," muttered Damon as he sat up. "Fuck... I'm guessing we're not supposed to leave, huh?"

"Katherine's supposed to be bleeding me of vervain, too," said Maddy dejectedly. "Damon, we should call Stefan."

"No. He can't know. He's gonna be worried enough about Elena because of what I did... this is it."

Katherine tried to change the subject. "So that's what a werewolf bite looks like."

"Yep," said Damon.

"It's not that bad."

"Will be."

Katherine frowned. "So that's it? You're just... going to die?"

"Well, that depends. You know anything about a cure?"

She shook her head, and Damon said, "Me, either. Well..." he got up, rolling his sleeve down. "I have to go. There has to be another way to keep Elena alive."

"No!" said Katherine. "If you leave, he'll know I'm on vervain!"

"Not if we make it believable," said Maddy, grabbing one of the knives and stabbing it into Katherine's abdomen.

The vampire cried out, shoving Maddy aside. "What the hell?!"

"There," said the youngest vampire glad to see a massive blood stain on Katherine's shirt, "now it looks like I retaliated to the best of my abilities and oops, Damon got away, too bad you couldn't go outside to get him back here."

"Thanks, Mads," said Damon. "But you—?"

"One of us has to stay," she said. "Go and save her. Maybe Katherine will be cooperative enough to participate in a brainstorming session for finding a cure for you."

"Hang on," said Katherine as Damon started to leave the apartment. "One hundred and forty five hears and no last good-bye?"

"You don't get a goodbye," said Damon, coming back only to pull his sister into a tight hug. "Just... in case we don't see each other again."

"This isn't goodbye," she said, biting her lip hard when the reality hit that he just might die and she wouldn't get to see him. "We're gonna find a way, okay?"

"Okay," he whispered, though he didn't really believe her.

He pulled back, kissing her forehead before speeding away. Maddy chewed harder on her lip before sitting back down in the chair. To make them even, Katherine stabbed the knives back into Maddy's legs, making her groan out in pain.

"There has to be a cure," said Maddy breathlessly, once Katherine figured that maybe they should drain her blood into a bucket as proof that she bled a lot. "Nature is fond of its balance. Maybe werewolf blood would work?"

"No," said Katherine. "I doubt it, it's the venom that causes the infection. Besides, if werewolf blood cured werewolf bites, we'd know that by now."

Maddy tilted her head, looking out the window. "It's been awhile already. Almost morning. They should be done, right? Did your compulsion end?"

"Do you see me zooming out the door?"

Maddy rolled her eyes. "Forget I asked."

"What's the deal with you and Klaus?" asked Katherine. "What the hell was that whole 'beg' thing you had going on?"

"I have literally no idea. Maybe the Originals just think I'm cute or something."

"Originals, plural?"

"Elijah mentioned something."

She had no idea that she'd just made Katherine jealous. She suddenly stabbed the knife into her harder than before, slicing through her leg and making more blood leak out.

"What the fuck was that for?" asked Maddy, staring at her in disbelief. "I'm letting you mutilate me to save your ass!"

"Forgive me," said Katherine sarcastically. "I forgot the princess is supposed to get all the good things in life."

"So, me talking about Elijah triggered you? Were you two a thing in the past?"

Katherine glared at her. "Something like that. Did you sleep with him, too?"

"No, I didn't." She smirked slightly. "But we both wanted to."

Instant regret, Katherine nearly cut off her entire leg. "Son of a—" Maddy swore as a giant stream of blood flowed into the bucket.

"Oops," said Katherine innocently. "The knife slipped. You really get around, don't you?"

"Please, honey, don't slut-shame me. We're both women. Let's not give the patriarchy any points."

"Fine. What was it about Alaric that drew you in though? He looks so... messy."

"He's sweet. I trusted him."

"Right, because you're a frigid bitch unless you really trust someone."

"That's rude," hissed Maddy, annoyed. "It's not that, I just felt comfortable with him and made a choice that I was fine with."

Katherine wiggled her eyebrows. "Well, how was it?"

"We're not besties, so we're not doing this."

"Missed opportunity with Elijah, really, he's wonderful in bed. Did Alaric even make you finish?"

"Uh, yeah, he did, he's a vampire hunter and a history teacher, he's educated enough to know how to make someone climax, it's honestly not that hard."

"Hmm, I've met plenty of educated men who had no idea what they were doing."

"You're screwing the wrong type of 'educated' men, then."

Maddy's phone started to ring. Katherine made a beeline for it, and answered Damon's call. "Maddy speaking," she said sweetly.

"Everything was ruined," he said angrily. "Bonnie and Elijah were just about to kill Klaus when Elijah turned on us and disappeared with his brother. Who's a full hybrid now, by the way!"

Katherine went rigid. "No. No, no, you've got to be kidding me!"

"Let Mads go. They're not here, Katherine, they're long gone. You're gonna be stuck in there for a little longer while we figure out what to do."

"What about Elena?" asked Maddy urgently. "Is she okay?"

"She hasn't woken up yet, but we did a spell. If and when she wakes up... she won't be a vampire."

"How the hell did you manage that?"

"John Gilbert made a trade. His life for hers."

"Oh my god."

"I know. Never expected the guy would be so eager. Jenna's in tears, she doesn't know whether to thank him or to punch him for having been such a dick just for him to go out in a heroic way. How can you hate a guy that sacrifices himself for his daughter?"

"Guess I don't get to cut him in half then. Is Bonnie okay?"

"She's fine, too."

She bit her lip, realizing she needed to tell him that she and Katherine had made no progress. "Damon..."

"I know, Mads," he said quietly. "I figured that there was no cure."

"Did you tell Stefan yet?"

"I will at John's funeral."

"And when is that gonna be?"

"Not tomorrow morning, but the day after."

"What? Damon!"

"Trust me, I'll last. It was such a small bite that the infection is spreading really, really slowly. I'm gonna make it until then. But in forty-eight hours time... I'm definitely gonna be dead. It's okay. I feel alright, only a bit tired. Just come back, Mads."

"You can't leave me here!" cried Katherine, grabbing onto Maddy when she tried to exit.

"Ow," said Maddy, pushing her off. "Katherine, stop! You heard Damon, Klaus is gone. I appreciate you being cooperative, maybe we can have Bonnie remove the compulsion that keeps you from leaving. But I have to go, my brother... he's dying. You don't want Stefan to go through that alone, do you?"

Katherine made a face. "You are just as manipulative as me sometimes, Maddy. Fine. Go. But I'm going to make sure to tell Klaus everything if he comes back before you free me. If I'm gonna go down for letting you go, you're going down with me."

"Deal," said Maddy. "Wouldn't expect anything less. Damon, where are you?"

"The old witch—"

She rushed out, getting there just as he was asking if she heard him.

Elena woke up not long afterward. Maddy had been in charge of catching John Gilbert when he took his last breath. Damon was right, there no more hating him.

The funeral took place the day after John died. In between, Maddy had been working hard to try and find a cure, all to no avail.

The three Salvatores joined the rest of the friend group in the Mystic Falls Cemetery to support Elena, who was clutching a letter that John had left for her. She couldn't stop crying, and Maddy almost wished to rip off her vervain necklace and compel her not to feel so sad. She didn't like seeing how hurt she was. She'd died, come back to life, lost her father, after having had to watch her mother burn to death. Not to mention that Klaus could never know she was still alive, or the consequences would be catastrophic.

"We're going to head back to the house," said Stefan once the service was over.

"I think I'll skip the coffee and tea cakes," said Damon.

Stefan was stunned to hear this. "Damon, she needs us right now. All of us."

"And then what's the plan, Stefan? The curse is broken. How does one go about killing an all-powerful wolf vamp and his two-faced older brother?"

"I have no idea."

"We'll figure it out," said Maddy, taking Damon's hand. "Please, tell him."

Stefan was confused. "What is she talking about?"

Damon lifted his sleeve, showing the growing infection near where the bite originated. "Tyler Lockwood bit me. It's actually more of a nip, really, but there it is."

"Katherine and I tried to brainstorm cures," said Maddy. "But we came up empty handed. We don't know witchy stuff."

"We'll find something," said Stefan. "A cure."

"There's no cure."

"We kept Elena human, right?" said Stefan. "We found the way when there was no way. Hey." He made Damon face them. "We're gonna do this."

"You want to do something for me?" asked Damon. "Keep this from Elena. Last thing she needs is another grave to mourn."

He put a hand on each of their shoulders, then walked away.

The two siblings went to back home, planning to change out of their funeral clothes before they began their desperate search. When they arrived, they found Damon in the living room, his daylight ring on the floor. He was just about to begin burning when Stefan tackled him into the shade.

"Damon!" said Maddy angrily. "Are you kidding me? That was your epic goodbye at the funeral?"

"Get off of me!" he hissed to Stefan.

"You're not doing this," said the younger brother.

"Just did," said Damon, trying to swat Maddy away as she forced the ring back onto his finger. "You know what happened to Rose, Stefan."

The two younger siblings shared a look, before yanking Damon up and dragging him down to the cellar, tossing him inside and closing the door.

"I don't care," said Stefan. "You're not dying today."

Damon looked at them, not impressed. "What's the plan? A miracle cure? Good luck with that one?"

"I've had Bonnie researching since yesterday," said Maddy. "There has to be something..." she then frowned. "Wait... Elijah said he didn't know about the cure because it can't kill an Original. I'm guessing they're not weak enough to get bitten in the first place. But we know one of the Originals is part werewolf. And now possesses a bite that's lethal to vampires. Do you think—?"

"No," said Damon, though he started to cough, and turned on his stomach. "No, Mads, no! You're not... not gonna go back there..."

"If anyone knows, it's Klaus. I don't care what I have to do, I'll find out what he knows."

"Stefan!" hissed Damon when he saw the youngest Salvatore nodding. "Don't you dare let her—"

"I'm going with you," Stefan told Maddy. "We're gonna ask him together."