"Looks like we're on our own." Marina said.
"Marina, can you take Elena home?" Damon asked. "I think it's time I had a talk with my brother."
"Whoa, if you're going to confront him, I'm staying." Terra said.
"What for?" Marina asked.
"I want to see if what we were thinking earlier is true." Terra said. "If anything happens, let me know and I'll be at Elena's in a flash."
"Okay." Marina said. She and Elena left. Terra stayed outside while Damon went in.
A few seconds later, she was shocked when they both went flying out of the house. Damon grabbed a branch, but Terra was faster and levitated it to her hand. "No way. If you two even think of killing each other, I'm going to ground you so hard that you won't be able to move for a week." They both looked at her. "That sounded a lot less dirty in my head."
"Fine, you take the lead on this one." Damon told her, reluctantly getting up. He suddenly felt a pain in his leg and went down again. He looked and saw that the branch was in his leg now.
"That's for trying to attack your brother." Terra said. She turned to Stefan. "Why did you stop Damon from killing Klaus?"
"Not to mention steal his family."
"Piece by piece Klaus took everything from me. I'm doing the same to him." Stefan explained.
"Why did you screw it up?" Damon asked.
"I did it to save you." Stefan said.
"I knew it!" Terra said.
"No way!" Damon seemed to be in shock.
"How'd you know?" Stefan asked her.
"Because I knew that there was no way you would screw up unless your brother was in danger." Terra said. "When we were fighting those hybrids, I heard their thoughts. They were going to kill Damon."
"Is that true?" Damon turned to his brother. Stefan nodded.
"I'll leave you guys to sort your issues out." Terra started to leave, then paused. She used telekinesis to remove the branch from Stefan's leg, then walked away from the guys.
Back at home, Vanessa and Lea looked up as Elena and Marina came in the door. "How'd it go?" Marina was sitting on the couch.
"You don't wanna know." Marina told them. "How's…"
"He's awake." Vanessa said.
"Ric, hey! When did you return to the living?" Elena asked.
"Just a few minutes ago. How is Jeremy?" He asked her.
"Hating me. Hating life. Hating like someone having a family dinner with somebody dying before dessert." Elena said. Suddenly, he started coughing. "Are you okay? Oh my god!"
"Something is wrong! The ring…" Suddenly, he collapsed.
"Ric, hey!" Elena said. "Uh, guys…"
"What the hell happened?" Marina asked, seeing him on the floor.
"Something's wrong with the ring. It didn't heal him." Elena said.
"We better call the paramedics." Vanessa said. "To be safe. We can use our powers on the way there."
A few minutes later, the paramedics showed up. "What happened?"
"He got hit by a car and... he is coughing up blood."
"Get his vitals."
"Pulse pretty weak. Looks like internal bleeding. We gotta get him outta here."
"Let's move!"
"Let's not. Say we did." The girls turned to the door and saw Klaus' hybrid friend from earlier. "Why don't you two meet us at the hospital?" Lea knew he was using compulsion on them. Then she got angry.
"What are you doing?" Elena asked.
"You can still save his life, Elena. Here- take my blood." He stood just outside the door. "I can't get in. You gonna have to invite me."
"No. Why are you doing this?"
"Klaus asked for his family. You didn't deliver." Ric was still coughing. Vanessa, Marina, and Elena immediately went to his side, but Lea remained close to the door.
"Ric! Oh my god! I'm right here."
"Hang in there, Mr. Saltzman." Vanessa said. Marina was checking his pulse.
"He is gonna die. Come on, invite me in, Elena." Suddenly, he was hit from behind. Jeremy was standing behind him.
"Jeremy!" Elena ran over to him.
"He´s not dead yet." Jeremy said. He started to pass by them, when a hand grabbed his arm.
"No, I'll deal with this asshole myself." Lea said.
"Really, I can…" Jeremy began, then froze. The glare and fury behind Lea's gaze was so intense that he stepped back.
"Both of you get back and shield your eyes." She said in a voice so cold, they both stayed back.
"You have done enough damage to my friends." Lea said, as the hybrid struggled. "Incedia Grande!" Instantly, he was engulfed by flames. By the time the fire died down, there was nothing left of him. Everyone, including Vanessa and Marina were surprised.
"I'm not happy about that, but sometimes there aren't any choices." Lea said.
"He's not doing so good!" Vanessa called to them.
"We´ve gotta get Alaric to the hospital now." Jeremy realized. Everyone nodded.
As the others carried him out, Elena stopped Lea. "Hey, why did you stop Jeremy?"
"Because if I hadn't killed the hybrid, he would have." Lea said. Elena seemed surprised. "Hate, anger, it can make you do some really dumb things. The last thing I wanted was for your brother to become Klaus' number one target."
Now Elena was worried. "He really would've gone that far?"
"Hey, none of us are trying to scare you, Elena, but I'm worried about him too." Lea said. "He's a good kid, but with all this going on, I'm not sure he's safe. Come on, we better help the others out."
After a couple of hours, Vanessa, Jeremy, and Alaric were leaving the hospital. The others had stayed behind to help Elena clean up the remaining ashes outside. "So, the ring brought you back to life, but it didn't heal you. Does that mean it's broken?" Jeremy asked.
"I don't know. It's never happened like that before. I guess I have Damon's blood to thank for the fact that I'm still walking."
"And my powers. If I hadn't used my healing spell, there's a good chance your heart might have stopped before we got there." Vanessa told him.
"Well, thank you."
"Damon said to say you owe him a drink." Jeremy said. Vanessa rolled her eyes.
"You should wear this." She said, handing her teacher an pendant with some kind of orange stone in the center.
"I'm not sure I should be accepting this."
"In case the ring really is defective, this should give you immunity to the supernatural beings that try to kill you." Vanessa explained. He looked at the pendant, then put it on.
"A few years ago, I'd probably think you were just some crazy student of mine."
"Well, you're the best teacher we've ever had." Vanessa said. "And I know Elena's really worried about everyone right now."
"Yeah, but that's just who she is. She always worries about everyone." Jeremy said. Even Vanessa could tell something was off about this. He started to leave.
"You should talk to him." Vanessa said. "I'll meet you back at Elena's."
"I don't…"
"Hey, you're his legal guardian. If anyone knows what to say to him, it's you." Vanessa said.
As she left, she heard her phone ringing. She looked at it and answered. "Hello?"
"Vanessa, where are you?"
"Oh, shoot! I'm sorry, Joe, I…I can't make it." Vanessa said.
"Do you not want to go out or something?"
"No, it's just…It's the Gilbert family. I promised I'd help them." Vanessa said. "Jeremy's going through something and Elena's kind of freaked out about what's been happening."
"She found out he got fired." Joe said, realizing.
"That, among other things." Vanessa said. "It's really got everyone worried. I need to be there to help her get through these family changes. Can we meet next weekend?"
"Of course we can."
"Thank you. And can you not tell the other guys, I'm sure Terra and Marina will want to tell them in person."
"I get it, Vanessa, really. Being there for your friend is important, too. I had a friend that went through something similar with their family. If you need any advice…"
"Thanks, Joe. You really are the best boyfriend I've ever had." Vanessa said.
"Anytime, girlfriend." He hung up. Vanessa felt great and nearly jumped twenty feet into the air. Then she noticed and ran off.
Back at the Gilbert house, Elena finished rinsing blood out of the rag she'd used. Apparently, when Lea cooked the hybrid, it left a huge mess on the porch, full of ashes and blood. The rest of the girls had helped her clean the mess. Marina and Damon showed up then.
"Did you get rid of him?" Elena asked.
"Yeah."
"What about Alaric?"
"Took care of him, too. He'll be fine."
"Lea just got off the phone with Vanessa. He's okay." Marina told her.
"How are you?"
"I think we got most of the blood off the porch." Elena said. "Thanks for you're help, by the way."
"Hey, we were kind of responsible for that mess." Marina pointed out. "Besides, we'd always help you."
"Everything's going to be okay."
"I have to tell you something." Elena said. "I made a deal with Klaus. I gave him Rebekah."
"What? No. No, no, no you did not do that! She's gonna come here and try to kill you!"
"No she won't. Klaus won't let her because he needs me." Elena pointed out.
"Relax, Damon. We won't let her near Elena." Marina added.
"And suddenly you trust him?"
"No I don't trust him. But what other choice do we have?" Elena said. "I don't trust Stefan. Do you think he's just gonna give up the coffins?" Marina looked away. Terra had told all of them what happened at the house, but none of them had gotten around to telling her yet.
"My brother is- sort of running his own show right now." Damon told her.
"And my brother almost chopped off someone's head!" Elena said. "The only reason he didn't is because Lea killed him first."
"Still not happy about it." Everyone turned and saw Lea in the doorway. "But if Jeremy had…he would've crossed the line, and I am sick of fighting my friends."
"Hey, no one's judging you." Marina told her. "Still, I'm worried about him."
"Me, too." Elena admitted. "None of this is right. He's only sixteen. He shouldn't have to live like this. There has to be another way. We have to fix it."
"We will." Damon said. He walked over to her and grabbed her so she was facing him. "Hey- Elena. Hey. We will! Okay?" She nodded. Lea looked at them. She was worried about Jeremy as much as the others were. But it was clear to her that as long as he was in town with them, he wouldn't be safe. That's when the idea came to her.
"I think I know what we have to do." Lea said. The group looked at her. "But it's going to be hard."
"We're right here." Marina said, taking Elena's hand. She nodded.
"So, what is it?" Elena asked.
A few minutes later, the group had gone over the plan. Marina and Terra headed upstairs with Elena and Damon. Elena knocked on Jeremy's door. "Hey. Can we talk?"
"What did I do now?" He asked.
"I've been thinking about what you said earlier. About how we should pack up and go..." Elena began.
"Elena, I didn't mean any of that." Jeremy told her.
"But you were right. You shouldn't have to give up a normal life just because of me." She said. Damon, Terra, and Marina walked in then.
"What's going on?" Jeremy asked.
"Your sister thinks we should have another one of our talks." Damon said, sitting down next to him.
"Right now, it's the only way." Terra said. Jeremy nodded, trusting her as much as he trusted his sister.
"Here's the thing, Jer. You go out of town for a while- a long while." Damon said, compelling him. "You're gonna stay with some nice family friends in Denver, you're gonna be at a new school, you meet new girls, living girls. You're to drink a few beers, taking your class. You do whatever you want." Alaric and the others walked in.
"Tell him he's gonna leave Mystic Falls behind and never think twice about it." He said. Damon glanced at Elena. She nodded, giving her approval.
"You're gonna leave Mystic Falls behind and never think twice about it. You'll have a better life, Jeremy."
Marina led Elena out of the room. "Are you okay?"
"Not really." She admitted.
"I know you're doing the right thing here."
"You weren't there the first time we compelled him." Elena said. "He was so mad when he found out."
"It's hard, watching your sibling leave to go on their own for a while." Terra said, entering Elena's room. "You must be going through so many emotions right know." She sat next to them.
"Yeah, mostly guilt, though." Elena said.
"If you ever want to talk, you know Marina and I are here for you." Terra said.
"Thank you."
In the hallway, Lea was with Damon. "You're not worried, are you? About what happened last time?" Lea asked. Elena had confided in her about how they compelled him to forget the supernatural before and his reaction when he found out.
"No, of course not." Damon told her. Lea raised an eyebrow, knowing he was lying. "Well, at least not for Jeremy, anyway."
"You should talk with her." Lea said. "She likely feels bad about it, even though she did save her brother." He looked at her. "Why are you still standing here, go for it."
"I don't even know what to tell her."
"Hey, a wise person once told me that sometimes being there for someone is enough." Lea pointed out. He smiled, remembering when he'd told her that. "Now go." She said, smiling. She walked toward the staircase.
Terra entered Jeremy's room. "Hey, Terra."
"Hey, Jer. How are you doing?"
"Well, I'm heading out of town for a while."
"I know." Terra said. "I just figured you'd want this back." She held up the amber pendant by the chain. "It must've fallen off while you were at the hospital. Vanessa found it in the parking lot. She just gave it to me."
She handed it to him. "I swear, I will never lose it or take it off while I'm gone." Jeremy told her.
"That's good to hear." Terra said. "Cause you never know what you'll run into out there." Jeremy laughed. "I'm serious, Jer."
"I know." He said. "So, how come you're up here?"
"I'm here to support you guys through this change. I know how hard it is when a sibling moves out of town."
"You know, you never talk about him much."
"Well, we still stay in touch with each other." Terra said. "Not very often, though."
"Terra, you coming?" She heard Lea calling.
"Be right there." Terra said. "I'll tell you more about him sometime." She told Jeremy. Then she headed downstairs.
"Well, this wasn't a very productive day." Lea said.
"True, but at least no one ended up dead." Vanessa pointed out. The group was silent for a moment.
"Do you think we're making a mistake?" Terra asked. "Should we back out of this deal?"
"No way." Lea said. "Klaus crossed the line today."
"I know, that's why I'm worried." Terra said.
"We can do this, guys." Marina pointed out. "We're here to protect this town, its people, and our friends. It's never supposed to be that easy. We can do this."
"She has a good point. We've been through challenges before, this is nothing we can't get through if we're together." Terra said. Everyone agreed.
"Well, we should get going." Vanessa said.
"Actually, Marina and I decided to stay behind, given all the things that happened today." Terra said.
"Okay." Lea said. "See you tomorrow, girls." She and Vanessa left the house.