"Are you sure this will work?" Lea whispered. She, Marina, and Vanessa were concealed with the invisibility spell, hiding behind a wall.
"Of course it will." Vanessa whispered back. "Will you stop being skeptic?"
"I don't know, she was really…" Marina began.
"Shh! She's coming!" Vanessa whispered. The entire room went silent.
Everyone stayed quiet and waited until Caroline closed the door before they all came out of hiding and Vanessa's spell broke.
"Surprise!" The group shouted, startling Caroline.
"What are you guys doing here?" Caroline asked them. Elena, Bonnie, and Matt were with the girls.
"Well, you blew off school and missed our work of birthday art, so..." Elena explained.
"Change your clothes, we are going to the falls." Bonnie said. "S'mores, camp fire."
"Cake, like when we were little."
"Except for the tequila!"
"Yeah, I've still sworn off drinking." Lea told him.
"Thanks, guys. Really, but, I'm just not feeling my birthday this year." Caroline said.
"I'm sorry, what? You already claimed your birthday as everyone's favorite day of the year." Bonnie pointed out.
"Yeah, and now, it's just reminded that technically, I'm dead." Caroline said.
"I knew this would happen. She'd been feeling pretty down the past couple days." Marina said.
"Look, I'm not even 17. And the only point to 17 is to get to 18, it's a failure year, I'm stuck in a failure year."
"You're not stuck Caroline." Elena told her.
"Yeah I am, but it's okay. It's all good, I will be fine. But I just need some time to get used to it." Everyone looked at her.
"Okay, well, I think I have another idea." Elena said.
A few hours later, Vanessa and Lea had helped Care change into something warm and the whole group was walking around the forest in the dark.
"Ugh!" Lea almost tripped over another root. "I wish Terra were here so she could direct us to where we're going."
"Why isn't she here, anyway?" Bonnie asked, wondering why she hadn't come to their party.
"She's holding down the fort." Vanessa told her. "She wanted to make sure everything would go okay." Especially after this morning, she'd wanted to add, but couldn't say it in front of Elena, since the five of them had sworn not to tell her.
I understand. She heard Bonnie thinking. She looked at her, surprised. "I can only use it for short phrases right now, thanks to Terra's training." Bonnie told her. "I can't read minds, though."
Finally, the group entered a tomb. "Here it is." Elena said. The others had brought flashlights so they could at least see. Lea channeled a small flame to her hand to provide light.
"This is creepy, even for us." Bonnie said.
"No, Caroline was right. Technically, she is dead. Sorry." Elena added when Care flinched. "But you don't need a birthday, you need a funeral. You need to say goodbye to your old life so then you can move on with your new one."
"You always come up with the brightest ideas, Lena." Marina said.
"Okay." Caroline said. "Here lies Caroline Forbes."
"Cheerleader, Miss Mystic Falls, third grade hopscotch champion." Elena said.
"Friend, daughter, perfectionist." Bonnie added.
"Mean girl, sometimes." Matt said. "no offense."
"none taken." Caroline said.
"Uh, technically we didn't meet you until you were a vampire, so there's nothing we can really say." Vanessa pointed out. Everyone looked at her. "I'll be over there." She walked away.
"She was 17, and she had a really good life. So rest in peace, so that she can move forward. That's what you really need. What we all really need. Amen, or cheers or whatever." Elena said. "Bonnie?"
Bonnie used her powers to light the candles. "Nice. Okay, make a wish."
A few hours later, the group was still sitting around. Marina had gotten a message from Terra saying that things were okay so far. Klaus had shown up, but for the most part, things seemed normal.
"Was that Terra?"
"Yeah, everything's okay, though." Marina told them.
"Caroline, what are you doing?" Elena asked.
"What? Nothing."
"Okay, you're a bad sober liar, and an even worse drunk liar." Elena pointed out.
"I might have texted Tyler." Caroline admitted.
"Caroline..." Elena began.
"What? I'm frail."
"Hey, she's kinda going through the motions, Elena." Marina pointed out. "And with everything that's happening, I don't really blame her."
"Same here." Lea said. "I've struck out at least three times in the past week alone."
"Is it because your blind date ended badly?" Vanessa asked.
"If by badly you mean practically setting the table on fire…" Lea said. "Relax, I ran out before I could." She added, noticing the horror on the group's faces.
"And I thought I had issues." Caroline said, still in shock.
"Still, after what he did…" Elena said.
"Give her a break." Bonnie said, interrupting her. "You can't control what everyone does all the time."
"Wow."
"Sorry, I know it's Caroline birthday, funeral or whatever but, I just feel it's really wrong to compel Jeremy to leave town."
"I'm doing it to protect him, Bonnie." Elena pointed out. "I want to give him a chance to have a quiet normal life."
"He should be able to choose how he wants to live it, you're taking his choices away." Bonnie said.
"You have no idea how close he is to losing it, Bon." Lea said. "He almost killed someone."
"Why are you defending her?" Bonnie asked.
"Because it was our idea!" Vanessa said, getting to her feet. "Besides, if you still like him, you should be happy that he's still going to be alive, no matter where he is! If he stays here, he could very well end up dead!" Everyone was surprised. No one had ever seen Vanessa get so angry or lose her temper until now. Nearly half the candles had been blown out thanks to a strong gust inside the tomb they were in.
"Bonnie, you can't tell him." Elena said.
"Why? Are you gonna compel me not to?" Bonnie asked.
"I could very well erase your memory if I wanted to." Marina said. The other witches knew she was lying, but the rest of the group didn't.
"You know, you guys are ruining a perfect funeral." Matt pointed out.
"I'm sorry. I'll just go sleep it off or something. Happy birthday." She got up and left the tomb.
"Okay, we all have to calm down." Vanessa said. "We're usually not this tense."
"Maybe it's the full moon or something." Marina guessed. "It's rumored to cause erratic behavior sometimes."
"Yeah, except we're witches, Marina, not werewolves. Or mermaids." Lea pointed out.
"Hey, just saying." Marina said, putting her hands up.
At the party, Terra was looking at the model of the bridge again. She seemed a little sad while she looked at it. She felt a hand come down on her shoulder. "Are you okay?" She looked up to find Damon looking at her, concerned.
"Yeah. I just keep wondering what could've happened that night. If the rest of us had been with Marina, maybe we would've had a chance of saving Elena's family." Terra said.
"It was lucky that she was there at all." Damon pointed out. "Besides, at least Marina tried to save them."
"I know, but if we hadn't been out looking for that other girl…" Terra sighed. "Sorry, it's just, I hate when I can't help when I know I have the power to."
"It always sucks when stuff like this happens." Damon said. "Come on, walk with me." She followed him down the hallway.
"I still feel bad about it sometimes." Terra said.
"It's okay. You know, you remind me of me. Before I turned, I wanted to help everyone I could." She looked at him, slightly surprised. "Then I joined the war and you know the rest from there."
"You always fought for what you believed in, though." Terra pointed out. "You're much braver than I am."
"I'm not that brave. Lea still scares me." Damon told her. "She could set me on fire if she wanted to."
"She wouldn't do that." Terra said. "You know, they say that in most cases the toughest people are just trying to cover their vulnerability." He stopped and turned to face her. "Lea's afraid to get hurt again. Sure, she tries dating, but she's always the one to end it because she doesn't want to get her heart broken."
She looked around and noticed there was someone in the hallway with them, so she switched to telepathy. I'm sure you can understand how she feels, always scared of rejection.
"Yeah, I do understand." Damon said. Suddenly, Terra nearly fell to the floor. He reacted fast and caught her. "You okay?"
"Yeah, but I just picked up on your brother." Terra said. "He's planning something and I'm not sure it's good."
"I know what you mean." Damon said. "Ever since that sneak attack this morning, we've been all been a little stressed."
"I can't believe I'm saying this, but I don't trust him right now. Not in this state." Terra told him as he helped her regain her balance. "We need to find Klaus and convince him to stop this before it goes too far." As soon as she was on her feet, she almost fell again.
"I've got you." Damon said, catching her in his arms.
"The negative energy's too strong." Terra said. "I won't be able to reach them." He knew she meant telepathically and watched as she tried to move.
"Just hold onto me." Damon told her, holding out his arm. Terra took it and they started walking down the hallway, slowly.
Back in the woods, Marina, Lea, Elena, and Matt were looking for Caroline. Vanessa had secretly followed her after she'd left with Tyler. Now she was kneeling by her side, but wasn't sure her powers would be enough to save her.
Meanwhile, the other four were still looking for them. "Caroline!" Matt called.
"Great, we've been abandoned." Elena said. "Okay, we're going back to the party, I don't trust them, she could get back together with him."
"Okay, look, Elena, as much as we love you and all, you're taking this a little too far." Lea said. "It isn't Ty's fault that he's sired to Klaus."
"Besides, I was eavesdropping earlier and he doesn't want to follow Klaus' orders anymore." Marina added.
"We need to find Care, I'm getting worried." Lea said.
"Caroline!" Matt called. Suddenly, a strong wind blew toward the group.
"Did you hear that?" Lea asked. Marina nodded.
"Hear what?" Elena asked.
"I didn't hear anything." Matt asked.
"Vanessa." Marina explained. "She's using her Voice of the Wind spell. She's saying she's with Caroline."
"Can you lead us to her?" Lea asked. The wind blew around her again before heading toward the forest. "That way. We follow the direction of the wind."
Suddenly, Elena was gone and Matt was on the ground.
"What just happened?" Marina asked. Lea got up and channeled another flame to her hand. She gasped and nearly threw it to the ground, but Marina used maneuvered the water from the water canteen she brought to the party with her to put it out.
"Thank you." Lea said. "I saw the image more clearly this time. Stefan took Elena."
"Did you see where they were going?" Marina asked.
"No." Lea said. "But we can't just leave the others here."
"What are we going to…" Then Marina's pendant glowed faintly. It was slightly faint, but she could feel Elena's presence. "I know where they're going!" She told Lea. "Help Vanessa, I've got to help her." She ran as fast as she could out of the woods.
Back at the party, Damon was calling Elena. Terra was next to him. She wasn't surprised to hear Stefan on the other end. "Hello Damon, she is a little busy right now."
"Why the hell have you the Elena's phone?" Damon asked, sharing a worried glance with the Earth Guardian.
"I'm making my next move. Let me ask you something. What Klaus is gonna do if he can't make anymore hybrids?" Stefan asked.
"What?" They heard Elena say on the line.
"Stefan, leave her out of this." Damon said. "Stefan? Stef!" The line went dead. Terra closed her eyes and tried to search for Elena, but she got blocked.
"Damn it!" She groaned in frustration.
"I thought you could trace people anywhere."
"Normally, yes." Terra said. "But I have a major blind spot if people are near water. Like if they're in it or if they're on a boat or something close to it…"
"Like Wickery Bridge." Damon said, cutting of her explanation. Before he could say anything else, Terra had run off down the hall. He used his powers to catch up with her just as she entered the room Klaus was in.
"Klaus, we need a word." Terra told him.
"Give us some privacy." He told the hybrids. They left the room. "What can I do for you?"
"Stefan isn't backing down. He just kidnapped Elena." Terra said.
"I fail to see how this is my problem."
"Look, I know my brother more than anyone." Damon said, stepping into the room. "And I have no idea how far he's willing to take this. So if he says blink, I suggest you blink." He walked out of the room. Terra remained behind.
"Look, I'd listen to him if I were you. You don't know how far gone he is." Terra said. "And if you don't, the girls and I will destroy each and every one of your hybrids, including Tyler." She turned and walked out of the room.
Marina finally made it to Wickery Bridge. She could see a car in the distance. For some reason, it was parked. Soon enough, she could see a pair of figures near it. She couldn't hear what they were saying, but from their body movement, it looked like they were arguing.
She waited until Stefan got into the car and drove away before walking over to Elena. "Elena?" Elena turned around, startled. Marina could see she was torn somewhere between fear and sadness. "It's okay, it's just me."
"Marina, thank goodness."
"Come on, let's get you off this bridge. Take my hand." Marina said. They slowly walked off the bridge in the direction they'd come from. "I'm sorry I don't have a car."
They sat down at the bank of the river. "Here, drink this." Marina said, giving her a bottle of water. "It'll help."
Elena took a small sip. "What's in this, anyway?" She asked.
"I…I can't tell you. All I can say is that it will help you feel like yourself again. No offense, but you're in shock right now." Marina said.
Elena laughed a little. "How did you know I'd be here?"
"I have a weird version of Terra's tracing ability. I can find people if they're close to bodies of water. Lakes, rivers, streams, even the little park fountain." Marina told her.
"And once again, you're the one to save me."
"Technically, it was Terra that saved you. She and Damon are the ones that talked to Klaus." Marina said. She took out her phone and called him.
"What is it?"
"It's Marina. I'm with Elena."
"Oh. How is she?"
"Her ex just tried to re-create one of the worst moments of her life." Marina said. "How do you think she is?"
"Right. That was stupid."
"I hate seeing her like this, and I know things are probably awkward with you guys, but we need a ride back to the Gilbert's house." Marina told him.
"Did she mention anything?" He asked, sounding worried about something.
"No, up until her kidnapping, we were at Care's party." Marina said. "We mostly talked about Jeremy." She tried not to think about the argument.
"I'll be there in a few minutes."
"Thank you." Marina said. She walked back over to Elena. She was staring out at the water.
"You know, it's funny. Until that night, I never knew how destructive water could be." Elena said as she sat down next to her. "The worst that ever happened before was the basement flooding."
"You know, even if you did go over, you probably wouldn't have…" Marina broke off. Elena touched the amulet the girls had given her for her birthday. She never, ever took it off.
"Do you ever wonder how different things would've been if you could have helped them?"
"I hate being unable to help people." Marina said. "I even tried to revive them with my magic, but it was still too late or maybe it doesn't work underwater, but I still wish I could've saved them."
"I still wish they were here sometimes." Elena told her.
"I know."
"And just when things couldn't get…this is the worst thing he's ever done to me."
"Elena, breathe." Marina said. "I get it, okay. It's not like I was always the happy, cheerful girl you know."
"It's a lot to deal with."
"Hey, you're not alone in this." Marina told her. "I know what it's like to feel scared and hopeless, but you still have me. You still have the others. You're not alone."
Elena embraced her then. Marina returned it, bringing her arms around her friend. She didn't need to look at Elena to know she was crying silently. They stayed in each other's arms until a familiar blue car pulled up.
Terra got out. "Someone call for a ride?"
"Yeah. Help me get her in the car. She's really shaken up about this." Marina told her. The three of them got into the car.
"She's really freaked out." Marina said as they were heading home. Damon briefly glanced at them in the rearview mirror. Even though she was asleep, he could see Elena shaking.
"Is there anything we can do?" He asked her.
"I don't know."
"Well, she won't rest easy, that's for sure." Terra said. "I'm going to try something my cousin taught me." She closed her eyes and felt the energy of her element surround her. Then, she directed the energy toward Elena.
In the backseat, Marina could see her start to relax slightly. Terra opened her eyes, feeling the element leave her as she did. "What was that?"
"A calming spell, it helps relax anyone after they've gone through something as terrible as she did tonight." Terra explained.
"Wow, we could've used that a few chapters ago." Damon commented.
"I didn't have time to practice it then." Terra pointed out. "I wasn't even sure I could do that until just now. Plus, there are circumstances. I can't just use the spell anytime I want."
"Well, looks like it worked." Marina said, looking at Elena. She was still asleep, but she looked more peaceful than she did a few seconds ago. She'd also stopped shaking.
They finally pulled up to Elena's house. Marina woke her up gently, then started to go inside. "You coming?" She asked Terra.
"Yeah." Terra said. "I just need to check on something."
Marina headed into the house. She wasn't trying to eavesdrop on their conversation, but she heard them talking outside.
"Thanks for picking me up." Elena said.
"Anytime. You're gonna be okay?"
"I will survive. Somehow I always do."
"You know Stefan won this round for us today. He pushed Klaus to the edge and Klaus blinked."
"Well his methods sucked." Elena pointed out.
"That would be an understatement." Marina said, stepping outside.
"Still, we needed it. Klaus had been calling on the shots and Stefan beat him at his own game. He was the better villain."
"Don't seem so impressed."
"Well, I can't help be a little proud." He looked at her, concerned. "Really, tell me, are you gonna be okay?"
"I guess. It's not like I'm alone here." Elena said, glancing at Marina. She turned back to Damon. "Look, You can't kiss me again."
"I know."
"I can't. It's not right."
"I know that. Just not right now. Good night."
"Good night, Damon." Elena headed inside. Marina followed her. "Please don't ask."
"I wasn't going to. Whatever happened between you two will stay between you two." Marina said. "Besides, after what you've been through tonight, you need a little space."
"Thanks, Marina."
"Come on, let's get some sleep."
The next morning, Terra, Elena, and Jeremy were out on the front porch. Elena was hugging her brother. "You know you're going to have to let me go at some point."
"I know." Elena said, releasing him. "Be careful."
"I will be." Jeremy said, looking at the two of them. He turned to Terra. "I promise."
"Just make sure to stay out of trouble, kid." She told him, hugging him. "Promise to check in with us every now and then."
"It's only going to be a few months." Jeremy pointed out.
"Remember, I'll be able to tell if you're in trouble." Terra said. They all laughed and Jeremy started heading for the car. That's when Terra noticed Bonnie heading over to him.
"What are you doing here?"
"I came to say goodbye." Bonnie told him, embracing him. Then he got in the car and left. Elena headed inside. Terra was about to follow, but she heard Bonnie call her telepathically.
"I wasn't sure you were coming." Terra told her.
"I wanted to apologize for last night." Bonnie said. "You guys were right. The person I was really mad at was me, and I kind of took it out on you. I don't remember everything I said, but it was probably bad."
"Yeah, but sometimes love makes you say stupid things." Terra pointed out. "Besides, he'll be back as soon as we finish cleaning up this mess they started."
"How is she?"
"I don't know, but I get what she's going through. I'm only staying a few days to help her get used to this." Terra said. "I don't want her to shut out the world like I did when mine left for Harvard."
"It's a good thing she has friends like you guys. You've been a better one to her than I have." Bonnie said.
"You know, she's still inside."
"Actually, I think I should go." Bonnie said. "I'm not sure if I'm ready to talk to her yet." She looked toward the door to make sure Elena wasn't listening. "I had another dream."
"I understand, but when you should tell her soon." Terra pointed out.
On Wickery Bridge, Elena and the other girls were waiting for Matt. He finally showed up. "You're not gonna jump, are you?" He joked.
"Thanks for coming. I was just thinking about what you said, about us being stuck." Elena said. The witches had come to support her.
"I was buzzed, Elena. I can't be responsible for judgment." Matt said.
"I feel stuck, Matt." She admitted. "I feel like, I'd been holding on to the girl who was supposed to die here with her parents. The girl who had a normal life, and who wasn't in love with vampires."
"To be fair, none of us knew about the vampire thing at first." Lea pointed out. "Besides, it's accidents like this that can change people."
"You're not that girl anymore." Matt added. "It's okay if you want to let her go."
"Is it? Cause I feel like I disappointed her a little like, if I disappointed them. My parents." Elena told the group. Marina put a hand on her shoulder.
"For my two cents, as a guy who knew that girl, you're doing better than you think." Matt said. "Here lies Elena Gilbert. A girlfriend, and an amazing friend." He tossed a small bouquet into the river. Elena watched as it travelled downstream.
"Oh my God." Vanessa said. "Look." They all glanced over the river and saw that a rainbow had formed in the distance, almost close to the waterfall nearby.
"Usually rainbows symbolize a new beginning." Marina explained.
"This won't be easy." Elena said, thinking of how they still had to deal with everything.
"You really think we'd be here if it were easy?" Terra told her. "Besides, you've really stepped up from the girl we knew a year ago."
"And I know your parents wouldn't think any differently of you." Vanessa added. "No matter who you turned out to be."
"And I'm here if you need me." Matt pointed out. "No matter what happens, I've still got your back."
"Thanks, everyone." Elena said. She looked back out at the river, knowing somehow, they'd all make it out of this mess okay.