The street
Lexi and Stefan are facing each other with shock covering Stef's face.
"Hi." Lexi smiles
"You're dead." Stefan breathes
"Well, technically, so are you."
"Then how the hell can I see…"
"See me? Yeah, I have no idea. And I have no idea how long it's going to last, so let's get right to the point. You're off the rails. Big time."
"Look, I don't know how you're here, but you need to leave me alone, okay?"
"Now what kind of a friend would I be if I didn't help you out of this mess you're in?"
"I don't want your help."
"You know, you say that every time. "I don't want your help, I don't want to get better, leave me alone.""
"Well, maybe you should listen this time."
"Or maybe I should do this."
Lexi slams his head a gains a car window and he falls to the ground, unconscious from the blow
Abandoned House
Bonnie cries as she looks at her grandmother in awe and happiness
"I can't believe you're here!" Bonnie cries
"Now stop your crying, we don't have time for tears." Sheila instructs
"Nice to see you again, Caroline." Sheila greets the blonde
"Hi, Miss Sheila." Caroline smiles
"A fine mess you've made, honey. The witches told you there'd be consequences to bringing Jeremy back and you did it anyway." Sheila tells Bonnie
"I didn't have a choice. I love him and I... I couldn't just let him go."
"I understand. But you cracked open the door to the other side. There's an old witch over here. She took advantage of it. She took advantage of you, honey. When you did that spell to send Vicki Donovan away, she wedged the door wide open. Giving a free pass to anybody with unfinished business."
"How do you know this?"
"Witches talk. Even on the other side. Who do you think makes all the rules?"
"What does the witch want?"
"That's original vampire business, not yours. I don't want you getting in the middle of that. I'm here because you upset the balance of nature. And it's your duty to set it right. You need to close that door." Sheila commands
Mystic Grill
Elena's on the phone with Caroline while still in the restroom with Anna and Jeremy
"How do we do that?" Elena asks
"Apparently the old witch can draw power from this side because of her talisman." Caroline responds
"Talisman... My necklace?"
"It's some ju-ju power source. And I know you're not going to like this, but Bonnie needs to destroy it."
"I just walked in on Jeremy kissing the reason I'm completely okay with that."
"What?! Are you kidding?"
"I wish. Look, I don't have the necklace. Damon has it somewhere. Text him. I'll call you right back." Elena hangs up and turns to Anna
"Elena…" Jeremy starts
"You need to disappear or evaporate or whatever it is that you ghosts do." Elena spits at Anna
"Hey, it's not her fault."
"You're right, it's yours." Elena says and Anna disappears
"How did this happen?" Elena asks Jer
"I don't know. Okay? I don't know. It just... it did. Elena, please. You can't tell Bonnie."
"Don't worry. I'm going to let you do that. Right after I help her send the ghosts away." Elena walks out and runs into Lexi. She stops in her tracks, surprised
"Looks like today was a good day to be thinking about me, Elena." Lexi smirks
"Lexi?" Elena asks
"Mm-hmm. Come with me."
"Where?"
"Ripper detox 101. Crash course." She catches her wrist
"I…" Elena starts
"I'm sorry, did you not just say how desperate you were for my help in saving Stefan's life?" Elena looks to the restrooms where she just walked out of and looked back to Lexi
"Let's go." Elena and Lexi walk out
Damon's at the bar with Alaric and Mason, sending a text.
"I am never going to hear the end of that damn necklace." Damon complains
"One of you will pay for this, right? Cheers." Mason gulps down the drink
"Let's get to it. I killed you. You want revenge. Get in line."
"Actually, I want an apology." Mason answers and Alaric laughs at this
"Good luck with that." Alaric chuckles
"Don't you have a family to haunt? You know your nephew has turned into a mindless hybrid Minion." Damon informs Mason
"That's why I'm here. To help Tyler."
"Well, sorry to break it to you, buddy, but Tyler can't be helped. At least not while Klaus is alive. Which is, like, always."
"Not necessarily. Not if you found a weapon that could kill him."
"There is no weapon that... What do you know?"
"I know you need to apologize."
"You got to be kidding me." Damon groans
"Are you incapable of remorse? Just apologize!" Alaric yells
"You're right. I didn't have to kill you. I do a lot of things I don't have to do." Damon states and Mason laughs
"That's good enough." Mason shrugs and stands up
"Meet me at the old Lockwood cellar. Bring a shovel. Come alone." Mason instructs
"What, you're going to bury me alive?" Damon jokes
"Don't tempt me." Mason leaves. Damon looks at Alaric
Unknown location
In a dark, cold empty room, an unconscious Aalleeyah is tied up to a chair with vervain chains.
"Time to wake up" Her attacker smirks then hits her across the face. She awakens with a jump and a cry of pain. Her has droops as she spits out blood from her mouth from the vicious hit. Groggily, she raises her head slightly to get a look at her attacker. She pulls a shocked and confused face when she sees who the man is.
"Trevor" She breathes
City Jail
At the jail, Stefan is also tied to a chair while Elena and Lexi look at him
"Klaus really did a number on him, huh?" Lexi asks
"He compelled him to turn off his humanity." Elena informs
"Well, we're just going to have to convince him to turn it back on. I have to warn you, it's not going to be pretty."
"I can handle it." Elena strongly states. Lexi kicks Stefan
"Wake up, sleepyhead." Lexi sings and Stefan wakes up
"How you feelin'?" Lexi questions. He looks down at the chains holding him to the chair
"What is this? Let me out of here!" Stefan angrily screams
"Shh. Inside voices, please. I'm trying to get inside your head."
"Elena. Get rid of her, please." Stefan requests
"No." The girl replies
"First step, drying him out. Starve away the blood lust. Strip away the temptation."
"This isn't going to work, Lexi. You can't do this." Stefan says
"You heard the not pretty part?"
"I heard you." Elena answers. Lexi looks directly into Stefan's eyes
"What are you doing?" Stefan asks as he starts to look not so fine anymore. His hands and arms start to desiccate
"What are you doing, Lexi?!" Stefan screams
"Doing what I do best, sweetness. I'm saving your life."
Old Lockwood Cellar
Mason is lighting a lantern when Damon arrives, shovel in hand.
"I'm surprised you showed." Mason says
"You put a snag in my only other Klaus lead. So I'd say I'm highly motivated." Damon responds
"Mikael? Yeah. That didn't turn out so great, did it?"
"How do you know so much?"
"There's not much to do on the other side but sit around and watch other people screw things up."
"What are we looking for?"
"There's an old Lockwood family legend about a weapon that can kill an original vampire. Like the rest of their secrets, they kept it buried." Mason answers as he tries to break a wall with the shovel but fails.
"Oh, come on, give me the thing. Move." Damon snatches the shovel and using vampire speed, breaks down the world. They both take a peek inside the hole
"Go for it." Mason says
"You first."
"What, you think I'm leading you into a trap?"
"The thought crossed my mind." Mason walks in and Damon follows after him
Unknown location
Trevor has left the room and Aalleeyah is trying to wiggle her way out of the chains. Trevor walks back into the room and she acts normal, like she wasn't doing anything.
"I'm surprised you haven't gotten out yet" Trevor smirks at her unfortunate situation.
"I didn't really feel like leaving" She hisses sarcastically.
"Just to make sure you stay" Trevor pulls out something from his coat pocket and holds it up. Aalleeyah's eyes widen in fear as she eyes the syringe in his hand.
"Is that…"
"Werewolf venom? Sure is" He walks closer to her and she continues trying to get out of the chains before he can inject her
"I hear this stuff won't kill you but it will weaken you incredibly and render your magical abilities useless." He keeps inching closer to her and bends down when he reaches her. He grabs her bare forearm and keeps it still. Slowly, he injects her with the horrifying liquid. Instantly, Aalleeyah feels the effects. Her body feels much weaker and she struggles to keep her eyes open.
"Rest Aalleeyah. I want you to be awake when I torture you" He spits as she closes her eyes
City Jail
Stefan is completely visibly unwell
"I'm starving. I'm starving. I'm starving! Let me out! Let me out. Please let me out." Stefan screams
"What's happening?" Elena asks
"He's hallucinating. That's three months without any blood." Lexi explains
"Let me out!"
"Now he's at nine months." Stefan gets worse and worse as Lexi counts up
"Two years... Five." Lexi continues
"Did I ever tell you how glad I am that you're dead?" Stefan hisses
"Oh. I missed you, too, friend." Lexi sarcastically smiles. Elena's phone starts to ring and she walks outside the cell to answer it
"Hello?" Elena answers the call
"So the necklace isn't where Damon said it would be and now we can't reach Damon." Caroline complains
"Listen, I need you to get Bonnie to hold off on sending the ghosts back."
"What?! But you said you were in full support of getting rid of them."
"I was. I am. Look, Lexi's here and she's helping with Stefan."
"Okay, let's just find it first and then we'll choose between boyfriend ghost dramas." Caroline decides
Salvatore's House
Caroline hangs up and Bonnie looks at her
"What are you talking about?" Bonnie asks, referring to her last statement
"Um...Lexi's back, so Elena wants us to hold off on destroying the necklace."
"You said boyfriend dramas. Plural. What is it, Caroline?"
"Elena caught Jeremy kissing Anna." Caroline confesses
"What?"
"I'm sorry."
"He kissed her?"
"She's got a foothold now, so she probably thinks that she's here to stay. But you and I, Bonnie, we're going to find that necklace. Ok? Okay."
The town's square
There are people everywhere gathering for the night of illuminations. Jeremy is searching for Anna
"Anna! Anna!" Jeremy calls. In his fast pace, Jeremy accidentally runs into Fredrick, the dead tomb vampire.
"Sorry. Hey, man sorry about that." Jeremy apologises as he keeps walking to find Anna
"No problem, buddy." Fredrick says
Carol walks to Alaric
"Have you seen Tobias Fell? He's supposed to do the lighting ceremony." Carol asks
"No." Alaric answers
Frederick joins Anna
"Well, well." Fredrick smirks
"Frederick?" Anna questions, stunned
"If it isn't Pearl's daughter. Little Annabelle."
Carol is on stage and is starting her speech to the town
"Good evening, ladies and gentlemen. Mr. Fell seems to have been detained, so the history department's very own Mr. Saltzman has agreed to fill in." Carol announces and everybody claps. Alaric walks to the stage. Jeremy calls Anna and she turns her head
"Still hanging around the Gilbert kid, huh? I guess you forgot the fact that his family killed you and your mother." Fredrick reminds her as Jeremy runs to them
"There you are. Is everything all right?" Jeremy questions, eying Frederick
"Ask your ancestors." Frederick spits
"What are you doing here, Frederick?" Anna asks as two men join the three
"Well, it's a founder's celebration. And we…" Frederick looks to the two new arrivals
"Have got some unfinished business with the founding families." Alaric then starts his speech
"On behalf of Mystic Falls high school historical society, let's light 'em up." Alaric smiles and the lanterns light up. Everybody screams as the light shines on a dead Tobias Fell, hanging from a tree. Anna looks accusatorially at a smiling Frederick
City Jail
Stefan is in bad shape
"Elena, Elena. I'm hurting. Please help me." Stefan whines
"Don't listen. Shut him out." Lexi coaches
"I am helping you, Stefan." Elena informs
"I'll do anything. I'll change. I promise." Stefan continues
"It's a lie. He'll say anything right now."
"Elena, I'm sorry. I'm sorry. Just make it stop. Please, just make it stop."
"You have to separate yourself from your emotions. Don't let him play on them."
"Hey, look at me. Look at me." Stefan lovingly requests of Elena and she looks at him
"Elena. I love you, okay? I love you. I love you so much. I love you so much, Elena."
"I'm sorry, Stefan, I just don't believe you." Elena says
"You know what? I don't want your help, anyway. I wish I'd never met you. Every single moment that I've spent with you has been a complete and total waste. I should've gone for Aalleeyah instead. At least she isn't stupid" Stefan brutally insults
"You see that? That's the ripper talking. Once he's weak enough, you have to cause him pain. Make him feel things. Anger, rage, anything. You have to make him see past the blood." Lexi shoves a stake into him harshly
"Think of it as a regimen. Day in and day out. Like running the treadmill. Like making coffee. Until he's ready to be saved." Lexi instructs
"I will rip you apart, Lexi!" Stefan yells
"You can't. I'm already dead." Lexi smirks and plunges the stake into his body again
"I can't…" Elena walks out and Lexi watches her
Elena walks out and finds the police and paramedics taking a body
Salvatore's House
Caroline and Bonnie are searching everywhere for the necklace
"It's amazing how much of Aalleeyah's things are still here" Caroline grumbles as they tear the room apart. After checking every place possible, Caroline groans
"Ugh! I give up. It's not anywhere in this room." Caroline complains. Bonnie's starts to ring and she sees that it's Jeremy. Obviously uncomfortable with answering it herself, Caroline answers it for her best friend
"What do you want, Jeremy?" Caroline asks
"Caroline? Did you find that necklace?" Jeremy wonders
"Not yet. Wait, what's going on?"
"Ghosts of the tomb vampires killed Tobias Fell. You might want to find that necklace before they start going alphabetically through the founding families."
"Well, it's not where it's supposed to be. Unless someone took it."
"Who?"
"Well, who do you think?" Jeremy looks to Anna
"I didn't." Anna assures
"She said she didn't take it." Jeremy informs Caroline
"Oh, and you believe her." Caroline rolls her eyes
"I didn't take it, Jeremy." Anna continues to maintain her innocence
"You know what, yeah, yeah, I do believe her."
"You know what, you're an even bigger idiot than I thought. So wake up, Jeremy, before you lose everything." Caroline hangs up
The Town Square
Jeremy turns around to find Anna missing. He looks all around him as Elena rushes up to him
"Jeremy? What happened?" Elena asks
Unknown location
After being passed out for a notable amount of time, Aalleeyah finally regains conciousness. When her eyes open, she looks around and sees the scenery has changed. She is no longer tied to a chair but instead a table.
"Welcome back sleepy head" She looks to her right and finds Trevor fiddleng with some things on a tray near her.
"Why.. are you doing this?" She weakly asks
"You killed me. This my way of revenge" He tells her and pulls something off the tray. Its a sharp knife which he then dips in a jar of, what looks like to her, vervain. He smirks evilly and walks to her. He traces the knife across her cheek and she screams due to the immense amount of a pain. Blood drops down her cheek as he pulls the knife away.
"Where have you been? You almost missed the torture" Trevor asks looking towards the door. Aalleeyah can't see the person because the chains restrict her from sitting up. The other person walks into the room and into Aalleeyah's line of vision
"Rose?" Aalleeyah questions and Rose looks extremely conflicted and Trevor notices this
"Rose, remember what she did to me. She killed me." Trevor reminds her. She breathes out, her face looking as though she's made her mind up. Trevor slowly passes her the knife and she looks at their victim. Walking to stand beside her, Rose looks down at her
"I'm sorry Aalleeyah." She apologises, just before she harshly stabs Aalleeyah in the stomach. Aalleeyah screams as loudly as she could.
AN: Please review :) it would make my day