The next day in Mystic Falls High halls, Stefan approached Echo, "Hey, you ok?" Echo closed her locker and looked at the vampire. She and Zheko have been debating about telling Stefan about his brother possibly being tortured for the past 60 plus years. However, they are unsure of Stefan's feelings toward his brother. The girl gives him a half smile, "Just had a lot on my mind." Echo looks around for her twin and sees him heading into the classroom. Gripping her books to her chest, she moves to head into class with Stefan following.

Before Zheko had reached his locker, Vickie had stepped into his path. "What's with you? I thought we had something going on between us, what happened?" Vickie was frustrated that one of her toys was not paying attention to her anymore. She was used to being able to have sex with Jeremy then pilfer whatever drugs he had on him. But now, he has stopped wanting anything to do with her. Zheko shakes his head, "Look, this is the last time I will say this. I'm not interested in you anymore. I'm clean and want nothing to do with you or drugs so just leave me alone."

Vickie scoffs, "So, what? Now, you're too good for me?! Is that it?!" Her yelling has caused the majority of the student populace to pay attention to the drama unfolding. Zheko rolled his eyes, "Vickie, I pity you. You would rather stay high than get your life together. Hell, I know for sure that your younger brother Matt, is the only adult in your life and he's not even an adult. You're even a grade below us which is pretty fucking sad. So, get your shit together before you have nothing left."

Vickie didn't say anything else but everyone could tell she was hurt. It happened before anybody could stop it, Vickie slapped Zheko across the face, "Fuck you, Gilbert!" Zheko glares at the junkie, "Like I said...Not interested." He sidesteps Vickie and walks to his first class. He could hear Vickie crying to her brother, Matt, about being bullied. But Matt saw the whole thing and was only comforting Vickie so she'd stop making a scene. Days like this made Matt wonder why he stayed in this small town.

Stefan could tell Echo was not fully present during the day, as well as her twin. He also noticed Caroline and Bonnie kept giving him side glances. He wondered if they knew about him being a vampire. Stefan couldn't exactly ask them. That would expose himself and his brother. That is another thing, Stefan has not seen his brother in so long and wonders why he hasn't shown up in Mystic Falls yet. His thoughts were interrupted by the final bell.

The twins rushed out of the school, got on their bikes, and headed home. They were going to research Whitmore college, the Whitmore house, and Wes Maxfield. Zheko was able to find the blueprints of Whitmore House complete with the cellar schematics. Echo was surfing the dark web for weapons; guns, ammo, explosives, as well as body armor, "I found someone in Richmond with what we need. He needs to get rid of them fast so we can probably talk him down a few grand. Luckily, we have access to the trust Grayson left already." Zheko nodded, "We can skip Friday and head up there. But tomorrow is our parent/teacher conferences. I want to be here for Jenna after she gets Tannered."

The following morning the twins watch as Jenna debates how to wear her hair. Echo walks past her, "You look nice. Parent/teacher conference?" Jenna grabs her hair like she's putting it into a ponytail, "What do you think? Up or down?" "Sexy stewardess," Echo answers for the ponytail. Jenna drops her hair and it doesn't cooperate and looks unkempt. Zheko answers this time, "Boozy housewife." "Up it is. You guys seem to be in better moods," Jenna ties her hair in a ponytail and turns to face the twins. "We feel good today and we're going to run with it," Echo heads downstairs. Zheko hangs back a moment, "We finally can be ourselves."

Classes flow smoothly for the twins. Caroline had tried to get Echo to try out for cheerleading again but Echo was not feeling it. Bonnie even tried but no luck. "Guys, I'm sorry but I'm just not into cheerleading anymore. I have no passion for it anymore," Echo tells her friends. Caroline was going to throw a fit but Bonnie pulled her back, "It's okay, Elena. We understand. We thought we would ask though." Echo smiles and says, "I don't go by Elena anymore. It's Echo from here on out. Zheko used to call me that when we were little since he is older, I'm the echo." She laughed at her own joke. Caroline and Bonnie seemed to believe that excuse and left it at that.

Echo and Zheko were standing by Tanner's classroom door listening to him talk down to aunt Jenna. When Tanner proceeded to insult Jenna about her lack of parenting skills the twins burst into the classroom. "Mister Tanner, do you have kids?" Zheko asked. "What does that have to do with anything?" Tanner stood straighter, trying to seem taller than Zheko and appear intimidating. Echo rolled her eyes, "Everything. You preach to parents about not knowing how to raise their kids when you have no idea what you're talking about." The twins didn't give Tanner a chance to respond. They spoke in unison, "Come on aunt Jenna."

Jenna tried to hold back her angry tears, "Thanks you guys. I'll see you at home. I'm going to stop and get some take-out from the Grill." Zheko hugged his aunt, "Sure aunt Jenna. Don't listen to that jerk. He has no idea what it's like to take care of anyone besides himself. I don't even think he has ever had a pet." Jenna snorted as she was hugged by Echo, "Zheko's right. Tanner will forever be alone with the way he treats others." Jenna nodded, "Alright, you two. I'll see you in a bit." Jenna got in her car and left. The twins rode back to their house to do homework and go over the plan for Augustine.

Friday rolls around, Echo and Zheko were on their way to Richmond. They had driven Miranda's car so they had somewhere to store everything. The dealer did in fact need to get rid of the firearms, ammo, and some explosives before he had to leave to his home country. Zheko was able to talk the dealer down from $15,000 to $12,000 for everything. With the money exchanged and handed over, everything was loaded and the twins were heading back to Mystic Falls without incident.

While the twins were gone for the day, Jenna was cleaning out the master bedroom for herself. She had been staying in the room but it didn't feel like her room. So, she spent the day removing Grayson and Miranda's stuff and cleaning. When the twins got home, Jenna asked Zheko to put some of their parents' stuff in the attic. In one of the boxes was the personal journals that Zheko was looking for. He found past journals but not Grayson's own journals. Now he has them in his hands. Zheko flips through the newest one and finds what he has been looking for, "Echo. I found Damon. 21051..." "What's the date?" Echo responded. Zheko's face lost all color, "May 23, 2009. The sick bastard had removed a lung and then left Damon strapped to the table so he didn't miss family game night. I'm glad he's gone!"

Echo was in the kitchen cooking dinner when the doorbell rang. She wiped her hands off as she walked to the door, "Oh hey, Stefan. What's up?" Stefan rubbed the back of his neck, "Um, hi. Are you okay? You weren't at school today, so I thought I'd stop by and see how you're doing?" Echo smiled, "We're okay. Would you like to come in?" "Sure," Stefan cautiously stepped over the threshold. He could smell the food cooking, "Smells amazing. What're you making?" The twins took pride in the food they cooked, Echo especially, "Creamy Garlic Chicken. You're welcome to stay for dinner." Stefan smiled back, "I'd love to."

During dinner Stefan noticed the twins had a couple of tattoos that matched. On their right wrist was "Jeg frykter ikke døden" which he roughly translated to "I do not fear death" in Norwegian. The other matching tattoo was on their right shoulders. A skull with a crow perched on it and a banner below the skull. The words "The Expendables" written inside the banner. Stefan wanted to ask but was cut off by Jenna excusing herself.

"Now that it's just us. There's something we want to ask you, Stefan," Zheko set down his fork. Stefan set his fork on his plate and leaned back in his seat, "Sure, okay." Echo wiped her mouth with her napkin, "We, as members of the founding families, have the knowledge of this town's true history. Including you being what you are. Now, we're not going to turn you over to the council so you can relax." The twins had noticed Stefan stiffen then looked like he was about to run. "I'm not sure how I should feel about you guys knowing," Stefan crossed his arms. Zheko cleared his throat, "Well, what we wanted to ask may be quite personal." Stefan braced himself for them to ask to turn them, but what Echo asked stunned him, "When was the last time you saw your brother?"

Stefan was not expecting that. He actually had to take a moment and think, "I don't know. A few years back." The answer disappointed the twins. Zheko pushed for the real answer, "How many years is a few? When was the last time you had eyes on Damon?" Stefan felt really uncomfortable at this point, "At the Boarding House in the early 50's. Why? Why do you want to know about my brother?" The twins stood from the table, gathered the dirty dishes, and moved into the kitchen to clean. Stefan followed them wanting an answer.

While Echo washed the dishes, Zheko went to get Grayson's last journal and handed it to Stefan. He waited while Stefan read the last few entries. If a vampire could get sick then Stefan would be vomiting the contents of his stomach from what he just read, "What kind of sick joke is this? What does this have to do with my brother?!" His voice started to raise as he thought over what he read. Zheko answered, "We believe 21051 is Damon. Echo and I have been planning to crash Whitmore House and get them out. Whether it is Damon or not, no person deserves to be treated like that. You can either go with us and help or you can stay here. Either way, we leave in the morning."

Stefan left after that. He has a sinking feeling that his brother may be the vampire Grayson was torturing earlier in the day of his death. If it is Damon, then Stefan would feel no guilt for not being able to save Grayson. Stefan had exchanged phone numbers with the twins before leaving and so he picked up his phone and called Zheko, "Alright, I'm in."

AN: Fanfic logic when it came to the money spent on firearms. The twins revealed they know about Stefan sooner than later. Damon's rescue is the next chapter.