The Unknown Variable

Connection

"Why is Damon being so stubborn about a stupid pendant?" the witch growled, flinging her hands up in the air. "Well, let's see. You literally just suggested that we give him over to Klaus. A murderous vampire whom we know nothing about and have no idea why he wants Damon. I don't know, Bonnie, why would he not want to cooperate with us." Sarcasm dripped off the vampire hunter's tongue as he gazed at the child in front of him.

"Well, someone has to convince him. That pendant may be the only key we have to stop Klaus from getting to Elena." Caroline shouted as she looked around the room at everyone. "What if we just took it from him?" Elena had a glint in her eye as she made the suggestion. Questioning gazes turned to stare at her.

"Now, hear me out. If Bonnie could do the spell that makes Damon's head hurt, it would give Stefan enough time to steal the pendant from around his neck." Elena seemed to grow excited as every word dripped from her mouth.

"It's worth a shot." Stefan agreed as he gazed at his girlfriend with love-filled eyes.

Horror flooded through Alaric as the words finally registered in his brain, "Are you even hearing yourselves right now? You want to hurt him, and for what a stupid necklace. What is wrong with all of you?" Alaric stormed towards the door; as his hand met the hard cold metal of the handle, a hand tightly came to grip his shoulder.

"Where are you going?" Stefan's voice came out demanding and rough as he kept Alaric in place. "To find Damon and let him know that someone gives a damn about him. Since it's pretty obvious all of you could care less."

"You'll never find him in those woods, Alaric." The confident tone did little to stop Alaric as he headed towards the forest. "Watch me." He called over his shoulder as he broke through the tree line.

"Did you see her?" Jonas started to pack up the items he had used for the spell. "Oh, yes. I know exactly where she is. I just have one matter that needs to be taken care of before I retrieve her." Elijah strode towards the door.

"Why not just go get her now? You said she was the key to luring Klaus out." Jonas let his frustration bleed into his voice as he stared at the Original's retreating figure. Glancing back at Jonas, Elijah allowed a smirk to grace his features.

"There is more than one way to get my brother's attention." He tore out of the building and immediately headed for the woods. It seemed that he had a meeting with Damon Salvatore to attend to.

++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

Damon's feet moved softly against the damp undergrowth of the forest. Glancing behind him, Damon kept moving as he surveyed the land he had just moved through. "Hello?" he called out to the seemingly empty land before him.

It seemed like no one was there, but something told him to be wary. His head shot towards the left as he saw movement out of the corner of his eye. Nothing. Either he was losing it, or someone was trying to mess with him.

"Who in the hell is out there?" Damon moved, so his back was up against a tree as he gazed at the suddenly silent world.

"Damon." A tickle of air brushed his face as he felt someone breathe the word into his ear. Wide-eyed, Damon shot around only to be met with nothing but the greenery that had always been there.

"Damon." The phantom voice breathed into his ear again, yet as Damon turned 180 degrees, he still failed to see the culprit. As Damon searched the forest, a hand clamped down on his shoulder, holding him in place.

Reacting on instinct, Damon turned and slammed the owner against the tree behind him.

"Jumpy, aren't we, little one?" Damon gazed up at the person in front of him. Stefan and Alaric had said they'd killed Elijah, yet he stood staring down at him with an amused grin covering his face. "W-w-Were you following me? Wait...forget that. You were dead." "

For centuries now. I make it my business to keep tabs on those who interest me, Damon, and you have certainly piqued my interest." Elijah pushed Damon, so they stood a few feet apart from each other. "Blackbird."

Damon shot around, looking behind him into the forest. "Did you hear that?" Damon questioned Elijah softly without turning back to look at him.

Elijah raised an eyebrow at the young vampire standing with his back to him. Surveying the world around him, Elijah was met with nothing but the view of an empty forest. "Hear what? Damon, are you alright?" Elijah grabbed the boy's shoulder again, forcing him to turn around and meet his gaze.

"Forget it. Why are you interested in me?" Damon shoved Elijah's hand from his shoulder before taking a step away from him. Elijah's eyes drifted to the pendant against Damon's chest before gazing back up into Damon's eyes.

"That pendant carries the crest of a family I used to know." Elijah chose his words carefully, "For you to have it means more than you could know." "You knew the Mikaelson's?" Disbelief painted Damon's voice as he listened intently to Elijah's explanation.

"I thought you said you did not know where it came from." Elijah growled as he stepped toward him. Fear slowly started creeping into Damon's veins as Elijah kept getting closer.

"I don't. Katherine told me that name. You do know them, though, don't you?" "I did, once upon a time." Elijah admitted to the child gazing questioningly at him.

"Damon!" Alaric's voice called out from inside the forest behind Damon. Turning towards the call, Damon hesitated to answer before calling back out to him. "Over here, Ric." Damon flipped back around only to be met with empty air as Elijah had seemingly disappeared.

"Where were you, man? I've been looking for almost an hour." Alaric huffed out as he came to stand beside his friend.

Gazing up at Alaric, Damon searched the forest one last time before nodding his head towards town. "I needed some air. How about we go get a drink?" "Fine, but then we have a lot to talk about." Alaric through his arm around Damon's shoulder as they made their way towards the town square.

"That is an understatement." Damon agreed as he glanced back to the forest, his gaze landing on Elijah, who had stepped from behind a tree to watch him.