CHAPTER THIRTEEN | DOWN THE RABBIT HOLE

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A NEW ALLIANCE WAS BORN IN THE FACE OF SO MUCH DISASTER. Truth be told, Evelyn couldn't think of a worse pairing than herself, Elena, Rebekah, and, Stefan considering the all they did was bicker. Though, once their new alliance had been formed, it wasn't long before they concluded that Damon had been taken by someone—along with a missing Jeremy Gilbert, Bonnie Bennett and, Professor Shane. It was definitely not a coincidence.

"Tell me you're not serious." Evelyn heard Caroline's voice boom through Elena's phone as the doppelganger paced up on down a short distance in front of Evelyn and Rebekah.

"I wish I weren't. When we got back from looking for Jeremy, Shane and Bonnie were both gone too." Elena spoke to the blonde vampire who was back in Mystic Falls. "Shane needs Bonnie to cast a spell on Jeremy's tattoo in order to find the cure and he managed to sneak them both out from under our noses."

A sigh escaped the Forbes girl at the thought of the mayhem that was currently taking place in Nova Scotia. "Well, where's Damon in all this?"

"We had an argument. I thought he was just taken a walk, but then we went down to the beach we saw signs of a struggle. Meaning somebody probably jumped him and then grabbed him." Evelyn was listening in from over the far side of the beach and the worry in Elena's voice made her blood boil.

"Do you think Shane took him?"

"No, I mean, he's not strong enough to take on Damon, even with the element of surprise. He must have someone, or at least a few someones, helping him." Elena's explanation grew.

"I'm so sorry, I wish I was there to help."

"Well, maybe there's something you can do from home. Shane's looking for the cure and we think we can find him, we have pictures of Jeremy's tattoo but we just can't translate the map."

"Unless you get the hunter's sword from Klaus... I'll find it, don't worry. Just email me pictures of Jeremy's tattoo, I'll find the sword and I'll call you back."

A sigh left Evelyn's lips as she watched the doppelganger slide her phone into her pocket and wander over to Stefan. Evelyn and Rebekah remained seated on a rock just along the beach while Stefan and Elena engaged in a conversation about their situation. The pair knew it would be wrong to listen in and, for once in their immortal lives, they let them have their privacy.

Evelyn nodded her head slowly as a sigh escaped her lips. She hated how Elena managed to have both brothers wrapped around her little finger, despite playing with their emotions. "She still manages, even now, to have a hold over him. She has a hold over both of them."

"She ruins his life, time, and time again yet he feels nothing but love for her? Why?" Rebekah didn't even take her eyes off of the couple in the distance. Evelyn knew that all Rebekah wanted was an epic love, instead, she had been plagued with anything but. "It's not fair."

"Believe me, I know." She rolled her eyes and nodded slowly. She sharply inhaled before she spoke the harsh reality of the situation. "In the end, the Salvatore's will fight endlessly for the love and affection of Elena Gilbert. If you're not her, they aren't interested."

Rebekah pushed her hand inside her pocket to pull out her phone and placed it to her ear as soon as she saw the caller ID. "Hey, it's Caroline. We have the translation of the tattoo. We're emailing you pictures of the map and instructions right now."

Rebekah heard her phone ding and she smiled before putting it back up to her ear. "Got it, thanks."

"Actually, it was me." The voice of Klaus Mikaelson boomed through the speakerphone and left the two girls in utter shock.

"Klaus? You actually helped?" Evelyn scoffed in complete and utter disbelief that Klaus would do anything to help someone other than himself.

"You sound so surprised, Evelyn."

"Why shouldn't she be?" Rebekah firmly stated with an inquisitive tone of voice. "I mean, you don't want me to be human. You don't want any of us to be human. Why would you help us find the cure?"

"Maybe I finally realized the longer I stand in the way of what you want, the longer you'll continue to hate me. Perhaps I want my sister to finally know happiness."

"Fool me once, shame on you; fool me a hundred times—" The blonde was quickly cut off by her brother.

"No more fooling. No more games. I hope you get to live and die, as you wish. There is one more thing, Rebekah. There is only one dose of the cure, you need to find it first and take it, it's the only way you'll—" Before the Hybrid could finish his announcement to his younger sister, the line went dead.

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A short walk on the map provided by Caroline and Klaus caused the four vampires to be stood over a large clearing filled with water at the bottom. "We need to get down and across. Advantage, vampires: all we have to do is jump."

Before Rebekah could even think about jumping down, Elena caused the blonde to stop in her tracks. "Wait. Wait. Maybe you should leave the map behind. In case you fall. You don't want anything to happen to the phone."

"Elena, you sound more concerned about the phone than Rebekah." The brunette vampire sarcastically trailed off with a scoff as the blonde vampire rolled her eyes.

"Are we doing this again? I thought we were a team."

"Guys, we don't have time for this. Elena, you go first. Then, Evelyn, we'll be right behind you." Stefan nodded toward the two girls who then glanced at each other.

Evelyn bit her lip before she and Elena both took a run toward the end of the quarry and jumped off. They fell, what felt like a short distance, and then landed at the bottom and were met with an awkward silence. "Well, this is—"

"Awkward?" The Gilbert vampire chuckled as Evelyn nodded in agreement. "Look, you and I were on good terms before all the Damon-drama. I think maybe we should just think about getting along, at least for his sake."

"For Damon's sake? He isn't the only person that I care about, you know? You've hurt Stefan, too. I don't like the decisions you've chosen to make, Elena, but I guess I can try and be understanding." Evelyn narrowed her eyes toward the doppelganger. "But, don't ever try to use Damon as a way to tame me, otherwise I will rip your heart out."

"Understood." Elena hesitantly nodded as if she fired the fire that burned inside of Evelyn when she spoke about Damon. Eventually, Elena glanced up to the top of the quarry, where Rebekah and Stefan were still stood. "What's taking them so long?"

As Evelyn turned her attention to the two vampires, she noticed Rebekah swift snap Stefan's neck and let his entire body drop at her feet before she sped off. "Why is nothing around here straightforward, huh?" Evelyn groaned. "You tend to Stefan, I'll find Barbie-Klaus and feed her her own eyeballs."

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"I'm gonna kill you," Damon warned threateningly, with his eyes on the Scottish vampire hunter, who moved his hand towards his gun. "And then I'm gonna get to that damn cure and give it to Elena so then I can finally be with the girl that I love."

"Your attachment to your friends will be the death of you." The hunter growled back.

Damon smirked as soon as he heard the footsteps and the increased heartbeat that followed. He could tell exactly who it was. "You don't know my friends."

"Damon, fancy meeting you on this island. Come for anything interesting?" Evelyn smirked and then turned her gaze toward the Scottish vampire hunter. "Oh. So, you must be the guy that jacked my friend. Well, I gotta say, two against one isn't very fair, is it?"

"Make that three," Rebekah announced her arrival as she wandered into the tunnel. At first, Evelyn wanted to snap her neck as revenge for snapping Stefan's, but they had bigger problems.

"Are we gonna dance or play?" The Salvatore eyed up the hunter and then the blonde vampire that found her way beside Evelyn.

"You know he can't hurt me, Damon, not unless he's got the White Oak stake." The Original shrugged.

"Oh, he doesn't. But he's got other toys." The hunter smirked, then shot Rebekah in the chest three times just before she sped at him. She grabbed him by the throat just as he staked her with a bomb full of metal spikes.

The bomb exploded sending several stakes through the female, which rendered her momentarily dead. Evelyn felt the need to try and help the situation by attempting to attack the hunter, but instead, he flipped her over and snapped her neck, which left Damon to fight the battle alone.

He went to attack, only to get shot at and then he ended up tied to a beam by his neck. Stefan's voice boomed throughout the cave just as the hunter dropped down into the tunnel in search of the cure.

"Evelyn!" Stefan gasped out as he saw the unconscious girl on the ground, and then he turned to his brother. He attempted to remove the cord around Damon's neck, but it was stepped in vervain.

"You're wasting time. Just get the cure." Damon cried out as his skin sizzled. "Go!"

"We're not gonna leave you." The doppelganger protested.

"No, we aren't." Stefan turned his head to the girl that stood behind them. "You need to go ahead. We'll be right behind you, go."

Elena hesitantly glanced between Stefan and Damon for a moment and then jumped down into the tunnel. Eventually, Stefan released Damon from the restraints. "Alright. Come on, we need to catch up."

"No, it's okay. I need a minute. I'm only gonna slow you down, go." Damon told his brother, who stood above him. He noticed Damon kept glancing over to Evelyn, who still remained dead. "She only needs one of us."

"And what? You don't care to be that one anymore? You finally decided it was just easier to walk away?" Stefan sighed breathlessly as furrowed his brows.

"There's only one dose of the cure, Stefan. She wants to take it, you want her to. Just do what makes her happy, Stefan."

The younger of the two brothers shook his head in protest. "Thing's have changed. It's not that easy anymore."

"It is right now. Get your ass down that well and help Elena get the damn thing. Come on." Damon watched as his younger brother reluctantly get up then jump into the tunnel.

Rebekah began to regain consciousness while Evelyn still remained out cold. "You're alive." Rebekah looked over to see Damon who was looking over the brunette vampire's body. "Why didn't you go with them?"

"Needed a siesta," Damon muttered back in a low tone while he scooted his body closer to Evelyn's.

"You gave up, didn't you?"

"I didn't give up." Damon groaned while he used his left hand to gently brush the brunette hair out of Evelyn's face. "I just realized you can't control everything, no matter how hard you try. Let's just say I made peace with that fact."

"Peace?" The Original scoffed in utter disbelief. "You love Elena, you always will. If she becomes human, she may not feel the same way about you. You'll never know peace."

"Oh, I'm in love all right. Just not with Elena." He nodded to himself. It was the first time that he had ever admitted to himself the way he felt about Evelyn, but now that he had, he felt nothing but peace.

"It's not Elena? But—" The blonde looked up, slightly confused. "Evelyn. You're in love with Evelyn."

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