All was well. Or so it seemed.

Maddy had thought everything would be just fine after they shoved Katherine in the tomb with the moonstone (which was a bad idea, in her opinion, but she hadn't been able to voice it in time, considering Damon was the one who took her in while Stefan checked on Elena, and while Maddy cleaned up the room at the Lockwood Mansion).

The next day, they found out that things actually weren't so great. Caroline informed them that Tyler had triggered his curse. Apparently, Katherine had compelled Matt and another girl, having them attack Tyler and make him so angry, that he'd end up killing him. Unfortunately for that girl, the compulsion ended because of her death.

Then, they'd found out that Elena was gone. Jeremy claimed she hadn't come home that night, but Stefan thought she'd made it back safely.

"This has Katherine written all over it," said Stefan once Maddy and Damon met him at the high school, where Bonnie and Jeremy were working on a Locator Spell.

"Katherine's in the tomb," said Damon. "Trust me; I'm the one who shut her in."

"Did you?" asked Stefan.

"Hey," said Maddy. "Let's not be accusing each other. If Damon says he shut her in, he shut her in."

"She did say something though," muttered Damon. "I thought she was lying. She said Elena's in danger."

"What?" cried Stefan. "And you didn't think you should ask her to elaborate?"

"Everything she says is a lie. How am I supposed to know if she's gonna start spouting out the truth?"

Maddy sighed. "Maybe we should go and ask her about it."

"No, no," said Damon. "Let me tell you how that's gonna go: We're gonna go ask her for help, she's gonna negotiate her release which we're gonna be dumb enough to give her and she's gonna get out and kill us! This is exactly what she wants!"

"Then we just have to hope that Bonnie finds her," said Maddy. "How about you go and check on her progress before we decide to go up to that evil bitch? Damon and I can gather weapons at the house. Whoever took Elena must have something to do with Katherine. If it's a vampire, they're over five hundred years old, and we need to be prepared."

The siblings split up. Damon and Maddy went to get the leftover weapons they had from Alaric, and had reloaded them all with mini stakes before returning to the school and putting the weapons in the trunk of Damon's car. They made their way to the geography classroom, where they could hear familiar voices.

"You two go back to your house just in case," Stefan was telling Jeremy and Bonnie. "I'll call you the minute I find her."

"Well, you can't do this alone," said Jeremy.

"He's not," said Damon as he and Maddy popped their heads in. "Let's go."

Stefan raised a brow. "You're both coming with me?"

"Yep," said Maddy. "Three young vampires against an older one lead to better odds of survival."

Stefan was clearly grateful, but he kept himself composed. He called shotgun, working as a navigator with the instructions Bonnie had given him. Maddy was left in the back seat, leaning onto the two in front of her and watching the road ahead of them.

"So, we've got a lot of compressed air pistols, and these little bottles that seem to be vervain grenades," said Maddy. "Plus, those sleeves. I like them, they're cute."

Damon snorted. "You know, if Ric wasn't taken, he'd marry you on the spot for calling his weapons 'cute.'"

Maddy made a face. "Are you mocking me? They are cute. So tiny and efficient, yet still so deadly. How much further? I'm bored."

"About eighty miles," said Stefan. "Who do you think too her?"

"Maybe Katherine has an evil twin sister," said Maddy.

"I hope it's her fraternal twin," said Damon. "I don't know. Just someone from Katherine's past, whoever she was running from. They got the wrong girl."

Maddy raised a brow. "That's a difficult mistake to make. Any vampire would know that Elena is human. Mortals might mistake her for Katherine, but vampires, especially ancient vampires like the ones we might be dealing with... they'd know better. Which means they might have wanted Elena, not Katherine. It could be a trap for us. Someone could already know that we have Katherine in the tomb."

"At least we're stocked up on weapons," murmured Stefan. "Hey... thank you for helping me. I know you don't like Elena, Mads. And Damon—"

"Can we not do the whole road trip bonding thing?" he said. "The cliche of it all makes me itch."

"You always were prone to rashes when we were kids," said Maddy solemnly, nudging Damon's shoulder. He reached his hand back and pinched her to get her to let go.

"Come on, Damon," said Stefan. "We all know that you being in this car has absolutely nothing to do with me anyway."

Damon huffed. "The elephant in the room lets out a mighty roar."

"Well, it doesn't have to be an elephant. Let's talk about it."

"Yes, you probably should talk about it," Maddy suggested. "Bottling it up has never been anyone's strong suit."

"Just get it out," Stefan goaded. "I mean, are you in this car because you want to help your little brother save the girl that he loves? Or is it because you love her too? Hmm? I mean come on, express yourself. I happen to like road trip bonding."

Damon was getting irritated. "Keep it up, Stefan. I can step out of helping as easily as I stepped in."

"No, you see, that's the beauty of it. You can't. Especially because then Maddy would be the one driving."

Damon groaned as Maddy high-fived Stefan.

"We're getting close," said Stefan, after another short while of driving. "Jeremy said there's an access road just past mile marker six."

Maddy opened a blood bag she'd put in the back seat, and reached around to put it on Damon's chest, raising the straw and shoving it into his mouth. He grunted appreciatively, and Stefan looked back at her as she opened one for herself and started to drink.

"If you want some, just ask," said Damon.

"I want some," said Stefan.

"Aw, that's so sweet," said Damon. "You're gonna be all big and strong and save your girl, but don't worry, Lils and I've got your back. It'll be fine."

"I'm not joking," said Stefan. "I've been drinking a little every day. I'm slowly increasing my intake and building up my strength."

Maddy raised a brow, handing him her blood bag and letting him finish it. "And Elena's alright with that? Last I heard she was pissy about it."

Stefan sighed before admitting, "I've been drinking hers."

"Hmm, how romantic," said Damon. "Since we're road trip bonding, remember the days when all you lived for was blood? You were the guy who ripped someone apart just for the fun of it."

"Hey," said Maddy in a warning tone. "We don't bring those days up unless he wants to talk about it. You don't shove someone's past in their face, those memories are traumatic for him."

"No, it's okay, Mads," said Stefan. "He wants to talk about when I was more like him."

"Yes, Stefan, exactly," said Damon. "Back when you put blood into me so I could be a big bad vampire. I wonder if Elena would be so quick to open her veins to that guy. By the way, what happened to that guy? He was a hoot."

"I guess he found something else to live for." He flicked his hand. "Turn here." Damon did so, and they continued to follow the road, until Damon pulled over to the side, and parked.

"The house should be just beyond those trees," he said, wanting them out of earshot. "Are you sure you want to do this?"

"Yeah," said Stefan as they got out, and starting to gather the weapons from the trunk. "I'm certain I want to do it."

"Because if we go into that house," continued Damon, "we may not come back out."

"God, don't remind me," muttered Maddy, tucking one of the pistols into her waistband. "If we die saving this girl, I'm going to find our father and haunt you alongside him."

Stefan seemed okay with dying to save Elena. "So noble, Stefan," said Damon.

"I can't think of a better reason to die," said Stefan. "But if you want to stay here, I'll totally understand."

"Um, hello," said Maddy as Stefan led the way to the house. "Maybe it's better to die saving your darling sister who practically raised you?"

Stefan turned to face her, walking backwards. "Yeah, but you're not in danger, are you, Mads?"

Maddy and Damon both made faces before starting to go after him.

As they approached the house, they could hear one male voice, one female voice, and Elena. The only heartbeat they could hear clearly was Elena's, which meant the other two people in there were vampires. The three siblings had an understanding that they needed to cause some sort of distraction, because it didn't sound like things were going too well in there.

They broke in through a window, allowing the glass to shatter and alert the vampires inside. They went their separate ways around a grand staircase.

Maddy remained upstairs, while Damon and Stefan sped around the three individuals. The man pushed Elena into the arms of the woman across from him, who didn't seem to be working him, if one could judge by the hateful way she stared at him, tears filling her eyes.

"Rose?" said the man gruffly as Stefan sped up to join Maddy.

"I don't know who it is," Rose said shakily.

"Up here," called Stefan, making the man speed up, though he couldn't see Maddy and Stefan, who'd ducked into one of the upper rooms.

"Down here," Damon said from the lower level.

The man started to move back down the stairs, and Stefan fired his weapon, leaving a stake through the man's hand. He removed it slowly, seeing that Rose and Elena were gone. Stefan and Maddy knew that Damon had taken them to safety when they saw their heads poking out of the upstairs room across from them.

"Excuse me," said the man sharply. "To whom it may concern, you're making a great mistake if you think that you can beat me. You can't. Do you hear that?" He grabbed onto a coat rack, breaking a piece of it off to use as a stake. "I repeat, you cannot beat me. So I want the girl, on the count of three, or heads will roll. Do we understand each other?"

Elena burst out, standing at the top of the stairs, crossing her arms as if hiding something. "I'll come with you, just please don't hurt my friends. They just wanted to help me out."

The man sped up the stairs, appearing in front of her and causing her to flinch. "What game are you playing with me?"

Elena tossed the vervain grenade into the air, and it exploded immediately. The male vampire yelled out, his face starting to burn. Before he could get to Elena, Stefan burst out, starting to fire stakes at him with the compressed air weapon.

Maddy flung herself from the top railing, landing on the man's shoulders and tucking her ankles together, squeezing her thighs together as hard as she could to choke him. He grabbed onto her legs, and tried to throw her off, as if to use her as a shield. But by then, Stefan had already stopped firing.

He jumped at the man as Maddy grabbed onto the railing and pulled herself off. The two vampires tumbled down, and Maddy quickly grabbed the coat rack stake, tossing it to Damon, who caught it, and sped forward, catching the man by surprise as he staked him to the wall. Immediately, desiccated grey veins rose in his face.

Upon seeing this, Rose sped out of the house. "Just let her go," said Elena before Damon could pursue her. The two smiled at each other, and just when Maddy thought that Elena might actually go and hug Damon, she ran into Stefan's arms instead.

Maddy took a step back, patting her brother on the shoulder, acknowledging the hurt look on his face as Elena merely mouthed a 'thank you' to him.

They were fairly quiet on the drive back, after Elena told them what she'd learned from Rose about the doppelgänger being the sacrifice to break the Curse of the Sun and the Moon. Elena was exhausted, and fell asleep on Stefan's shoulder in the back seat. Maddy curled up in the front seat, looking at Damon, who resisted every urge to look back at her, because he knew his feelings would burst out if he did.

They dropped Elena off at her house, before driving to their own. "Why didn't you stay with her?" asked Damon once they went inside, and he was pouring them all a drink.

"We need to talk," said Stefan.

"Yeah, we do," said Maddy, sensing Stefan wasn't about to discuss what they'd spoken about on the ride to get Elena. "I was right— they did want Elena, not Katherine. Didn't it feel too easy? I squeezed my fucking thighs hard enough to rip off a human's head. All my strength went into that chokehold and that dude didn't even wheeze. He was so much stronger than us, I could feel it, and somehow, we managed to kill him? It doesn't make sense."

"Well, we worked together," said Stefan. "We're stronger as a unit. And... on that note... we're only going to be able to keep Elena safe if we're not fighting each other." He looked at Damon. "We let Katherine come between us. If we let that happen with Elena, we're not gonna be able to protect her."

"That's what I've been saying," muttered Maddy, though her comment was masked by Damon saying, "Yes, Stefan, I've heard it all before."

"Hey," said Stefan. "I'm sorry."

"About what?"

"For being the guy who made you turn one hundred and forty-five years ago."

Damon brushed it off. "Enough Stef, it's late. Don't need to rehash that."

"You know what? I've never said it out loud. I guess I just need to say it and you need to hear it. I'm sorry. What I did was selfish. I didn't want to be alone. I guess I just needed my brother."

He faced Maddy. "It's why I turned you even when Damon refused. Even when he brought up all the reasons that we should let you live out a human life... I didn't want to be without my sister. I wanted both of you. So I turned you. Stabbed you and let you die."

Maddy half-smiled. "It was my choice, Stefan. I asked you to."

Damon gave a sigh. "This is getting too sentimental. Goodnight." He walked out, leaving the other two alone.

"We should probably get to bed soon," said Maddy once she heard a door close. "It's been a long day. Tomorrow, we should try to find out more."

"Think you got any vampire contacts that might come in handy?"

Maddy shrugged. "I don't know. I have a few friends, but they're all younger than us. I highly doubt they'd know anything. Besides, it's a risk asking around about anything. They might be spies for whoever Katherine is running from. How else did this person find out she wasn't in the tomb? It wasn't like we put it on a billboard. The only people who knew about it were in this town. Us. Hell, I wasn't even here. Someone could have tracked the text you sent me. Anyone and everyone could be spies. So... I say we go to the tomb and talk to Katherine."

Stefan frowned. "That doesn't sound like a good idea. You can't go in there, Maddy."

"I can't, no. But we have more vervain grenades. If anything, we'll wait a few days, though that risks us not finding out in time to keep your little girlfriend safe. If she's weak enough, I can go into her mind and find out everything she knows."

They both tensed suddenly, sensing another presence. A figure sped in, and they immediately turned to stand back to back.

"Who's there?" asked Stefan loudly.

Rose walked in from another room. "I'm not here to hurt you," she said.

"Then why are you in my house?" asked Maddy.

Rose smiled at them. "I know of you, Stefan. Lexi once told me that you're one of the good ones."

His jaw went slack. "You knew Lexi?"

Apparently so. "Trevor was my best friend," said Rose. "For five hundred years years I have lived with one person and he's gone and I don't want to run anymore because I don't have anywhere else to run to."

Maddy sighed. "Look, this place isn't actually a 'Boarding House' anymore, we just haven't changed the sign. We're not letting a stranger live with us. If you really need the help, we can find you a place elsewhere—"

"I don't need your help," said Rose. "But I think you need mine. Elijah may be dead but this isn't over."

"Elijah, the man from the house?" Maddy asked.

Rose nodded. "What do you mean 'it's not over?'" asked Stefan as Rose moved closer to them.

"It isn't over," repeated Rose. "The Originals, they'll come for her. They have to. They're doing it for him."

"For who?" asked Stefan.

"Klaus."

"And who's Klaus?" asked Maddy.

Rose pursed her lips. "I think this might be a conversation better had when your brother and Elena are here. So that I don't have to repeat myself too many times."

Maddy sighed. "Alright, then. Pick any of the rooms on the downstairs level. The ones on the right end of the hall have nicer showers."

"Thank you," said Rose. "I appreciate it."

Stefan looked at Maddy, as if wondering why she'd allowed Rose to stay.

"I've heard that term before," said Maddy. "The Originals. They were the first vampires. It's sort of in the name. Rose is older than us, and definitely more willing to talk than Katherine is. She'll give us information. We need to make an ally of her."

The next morning, Stefan called Elena, having her come by as soon as she was available. Albeit surprised to see Rose, she relaxed when she realized she was there to help.

"Okay, you have to understand I only know what I've picked up over the years," Rose began. "I don't know what's true and what's not true. It's the problem with all this vampire crap. But Klaus, I know he's real."

"Who is he?" asked Elena.

"He's one of the Originals," said Damon. "He's a legend."

"From the first generation of vampires," Stefan explained.

"Like Elijah?"

"No," said Rose. "Elijah was the Easter bunny compared to Klaus. He's a foot soldier. Klaus is the real deal."

"Apparently, Klaus is the oldest," said Maddy.

Elena tried not to look overwhelmed. "Okay, so you're saying that the oldest vampire in the history of time is coming after me?"

"Yes," said Rose and Maddy, while Stefan said, "No."

"What they're saying is," said Damon, "I mean, if what she's saying is true..."

"Which it is," cut in Rose.

"And you're not saying it so I don't kill you..."

"Which I'm not."

"Then we're looking at a solid maybe."

"It's a 'yes,'" Maddy said, crossing her arms when her brothers glared at her. "What? She should know the truth, she's the one in danger."

"Look, Elijah's dead, right?" said Stefan. "So no one else even knows that you exist."

"Not that you know of," said Rose.

"Yeah, Elijah could have told someone as part of his backup plan," Maddy piped up.

"That's not helping," hissed Damon.

"Look," Stefan started again, "I've never even met anyone who's laid eyes on him. I mean, we're talking centuries of truth mixed with fiction. We don't know if he's real. For all we know he could just be some sort of stupid bed time story."

"He's real, and he doesn't give up," said Rose. "If he wants something, he gets it. If you're not afraid of Klaus, then you're an idiot."

Damon wiggled his fingers. "Alright, we're shaking. You made your point."

Elena got to her feet. "Where are you going?" asked Stefan.

"School," she replied. "I'm late."

"Let me grab my stuff, I'll go with you," he offered.

"It's okay," she said. "I know where it is."

She left the house, and Damon whispered to Rose, "She's in denial."

"I don't think she is," said Maddy. "She might just feel more comfortable distracting herself and pretending her life is normal. I told you to let her be, but you didn't, and now the poor thing is being hunted. She doesn't deserve that."

"What do we do now?" asked Damon. "While Stefan's at school, that is."

"You, find out as much as you can about the Originals," said Maddy. "I'm going to get Elijah's body. Maybe I can hack into his phone and find out if he has Klaus in his contacts. We could locate him and see if he's nearby, or if we have time. If need be... we message him as Elijah to not arise suspicion."

"Be careful," said Damon. "And don't you dare take my car."

"Ew, I'm not taking your car," said Maddy. "Your steering wheel is covered in crumbs from how much you snack while driving. I'll be back soon enough. If Elijah's body happens to be gone, we'll know the Originals are close by."

She was glad to have some time alone, listening to music and trying to figure out a way that they could get out of this alive. Maybe Bonnie could do a spell to have Elena change her appearance, and then they could get her a new identity. Maybe they could just all go their separate ways and check in every few weeks via an online Scrabble game.

She pulled up to the house, hearing nothing inside. She put her car in park, and walked right out, going through the main entrance.

Elijah was gone. Her heart skipped a beat when she realized that he wasn't there. The stake that'd been used to impale him was intact and on the floor. He was nowhere to be found.

"Great," she mumbled as she texted Damon. "Just great. No Elijah, no phone."

She resigned to leaving the house altogether. She walked back out to her car, muttering about how she just wasted her time coming here.

"I don't think it's a waste."

She whirled around, finding Elijah standing there.