"As a long-time member of the historical society, I am especially proud to be kicking off this day of festivities. Thank you, volunteers. Tonight, we turn off our town's lights and flare up our lanterns in honor of the night of illumination started by our founders 150 years ago. Here's founding family member Tobias Fell with a history lesson." Carol said and was was met with an applaud. The town had gathered to prepare for the Night of Illuminations, including Caroline, Bonnie, and Shiloh. The three were hanging lanterns from the trees.
"So when you did the spell to send Vicki away, did that get rid of Anna, too?" Caroline asked.
"I wish. All I did was block the magic that was helping Vicki get a physical foothold here. Jeremy's still got a direct line to the other side, and as long as he wants to see Anna and she wants to see him, she's still here." Shiloh said.
"Okay, you don't think I can actually resist commenting on that." Caroline said.
"There. You commented." Bonnie said.
"Bonnie..." Caroline said.
"Hey, Jeremy isn't still into Anna. Bonnie, trust me, you have nothing to worry about." Shiloh said.
"Well, I don't think Bonnie should be okay with this." Caroline said.
"I'm a thousand times not ok with it. I just don't know what to do about it." Bonnie said.
"I'm not one to give advice about relationships seeing as the only serious relationship I've ever had ended horribly, but Jeremy is a good guy." Shiloh said. "And that's why he won't do what Damon did."
"Speaking of." Caroline said, Shiloh turned around to see Damon's car pull up next to them.
"Greetings, Shiloh, Barbie. Witchy. I think you got your voodoo wires all crossed when you got rid of Vicki Donovan." Damon said.
"What do you mean, why?" Bonnie asked.
"Because I'm pretty sure I just got spit-roasted by Mason Lockwood's ghost." Damon said.
"What? What happened?" Shiloh asked.
"And why would you think that?" Caroline asked.
"Maybe because he chained me to a chair and shoved a hot poker in my chest. Let's just say I'm having déjà vu." Damon said.
"I thought you said that ghosts couldn't physically interact with people." Caroline said.
"They can't." Bonnie said.
"Yeah, well, I don't have time for a vengeful Lockwood. When I kill someone, they're supposed to stay dead. Whatever you screwed up, fix it." Damon said.
"What are we gonna do?" Shiloh asked.
"You, are gonna stay out of it. If Mason Lockwood is after me, he'll be after everyone who conspired against him. That includes you." Damon said.
"And Bonnie and Jeremy." Shiloh said.
"Bonnie has to fix it." Damon said. "You don't. Please, pup, just stay out of it. For me."
"Matt, we should talk to him." Bonnie said, spotting said teenager across the road.
"Be careful, Damon. Deal with your brother issues." Shiloh said, following Caroline and Bonnie over to Matt.
"Matt!" Bonnie called.
"Hey, guys. What's going on?" Matt asked, eyeing Damon's car as it drove off.
"Damon was just attacked. By a ghost, he thinks it's Mason Lockwood." Shiloh said.
"We think maybe it's not." Bonnie said.
"Who else would it be?" Matt asked. Bonnie gave Matt a pointed look.
"We need to know if... if she's still around? If you're still seeing her." Bonnie said.
"I haven't seen Vicki, I swear. I sent her back like you told me to." Matt said.
"Are you sure? Because she has just as much reason to haunt Damon as Mason Lockwood does." Bonnie said.
"She's gone, Bonnie. If she was here, I'd know it." Matt said.
"Why do you think it's Vicki and not Mason?" Caroline asked.
"Because if any ghost other than Vicki Donovan has a physical foothold on our side, then that means Damon's right and something has gone really, really wrong." Bonnie said.
"Great, another problem. Just what we needed." Shiloh said.
"I've had enough of this ghost stuff to last forever. So you guys can leave me out of this one." Matt said, walking away.
"I feel so sad for him. It took a lot for him to send his sister away." Caroline said.
"Yeah." Shiloh agreed.
"So much strength as a man." Caroline said.
"I've got a ghost problem to deal with, Caroline. Save the Jeremy lecture for later." Bonnie said.
"Just let me talk to Jeremy, he and Anna weren't that close anyway. He thought she was bad for a while, remember." Shiloh said.
"Yeah, I remember. I just don't get why he won't let go." Bonnie said, grabbing her bag. The contents of her bag fell, scattering on the ground. Bonnie bent to pick it up but before she could, a gust of wind blew the pages open.
"Did that seem kind of witchy to anyone else?" Shiloh asked.
"More ghost?" Caroline asked. "Okay, please tell me that's a recipe for witch cookies."
"It's a manifestation spell. It's used to reveal veiled matter." Bonnie said.
"What's veiled matter?" Caroline asked.
"Ghosts." Bonnie said.
"So, we found Casper the friendly ghost?" Shiloh asked.
"Maybe it's the witches trying to fix my mistake." Bonnie said.
"If it's a witch ghost, do we have to go back to that creepy house?" Shiloh asked.
"The witches aren't there anymore." Bonnie said.
"Thank God for that." Shiloh said.
"But we still have to go back." Bonnie said.
"Joy." Shiloh said sarcastically.
oOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOo
"So this is where you brought Jeremy back to life?" Caroline asked
"Yeah. Sorry, I know it's creepy, but we needed a private place around here to do the spell." Bonnie said.
"Hmm. There's no chance it's haunted by the hundred dead witches who were horrifically burned to death in this very spot, is there?" Caroline asked.
"Yeah, they're mean." Shiloh said, looking around cautiously.
"They're not here anymore. And they made it clear they were never coming back." Bonnie said.
"Right. A pinkie swear?" Caroline asked.
"Let's just get started." Bonnie said, handing the girls candles to place around the room.
"Remember when our biggest problems involved boys and clothes?" Caroline asked.
"No." Shiloh replied. The two went about lighting the candles they had placed around the room.
"Ready? Do you need me to do..." Caroline began, turning back to Bonnie who was already casting the spell. "Right. Okay." Wind began to pick up inside the room, blowing everything around and frightening Caroline. "Bonnie, I don't like this. Bonnie..."
"Don't worry, I'm sure it's part of the spell." Shiloh said nervously. Suddenly, another hand grabbed Bonnie's.
"Oh, my God. Is that your...?" Caroline said.
"Grams." Bonnie said, shocked.
"What's going on in here?" Everyone turned to face the new addition.
"Lexi." Shiloh said, rushing up to stand in front of her.
"Hey, Shy. I got here as soon as I could." Lexi said.
"Bonnie, we have to go. Stefan. Text me, let me know if you guys need any help." Shiloh said.
"Help? What's going on now?" Lexi asked as the two girls left the house.
"Ghost." Shiloh said.
"Mystic Falls, great to be back." Lexi said.
oOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOo
The blonde vampires quickly located Stefan in town. Lexi marched up to him immediately. "Hi." She greeted.
"Lexi, what are you doing here?" Stefan asked.
"I came to help. Intervention time for you, buddy." Lexi said.
"Just leave me alone, okay?" Stefan said.
"Now what kind of a friend would I be if I didn't help you out of this mess you're in?" Lexi said.
"I don't want your help." Stefan said.
"You know, you say that every time. 'I don't want your help, I don't want to get better, leave me alone.'" Lexi said.
"Well, maybe you should listen this time." Stefan said.
"Or maybe I should do this." Lexi grabbed his head, slamming it against a car window.
"Lexi!" Shiloh exclaimed, looking around to make sure nobody saw.
"We had to get him somehow, didn't we?" Lexi said.
"We could use vervain or something? You had to brutally beat his head off a car in public?" Shiloh said.
"Relax, Shy. I'm a pro at pulling Stefan back by now. I know what I'm doing." Lexi said, grabbing Stefan and lifting him over her shoulder with ease. "Let's go."
"Where?" Shiloh asked.
"To jail of course." Lexi said.
oOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOo
"Klaus really did a number on him, huh?" Lexi said, watching the unconscious Stefan sitting, tied to a chair.
"You're one to talk, you almost bashed his head in." Shiloh said. "But I guess no humanity Stefan kinda deserves it."
"Well, it's gonna take a while to convince him to turn it back on. I have to warn you, it's not going to be pretty." Lexi said.
"Never thought it would be." Shiloh said.
"Let's get started then." Lexi said, kicking Stefan lazily. "Wake up, sleepyhead." Stefan slowly raised his head, waking up from the forced sleep. "How you feelin'?" Lexi asked.
"What is this? Let me out of here!" Stefan said, struggling to get out.
"Shh. Inside voices, please. I'm trying to get inside your head." Lexi said.
"Shiloh. Get rid of her, please." Stefan said.
"Sorry, Stef. No can do." Shiloh said.
"First step, drying him out. Starve away the blood lust. Strip away the temptation." Lexi said.
"This isn't going to work, Lexi. You can't do this." Stefan said.
"You heard the not pretty part?" Lexi asked Shiloh.
"I know. Whatever we need to do to get him back." Shiloh said. Lexi nodded, looking into Stefan's eyes.
"How long is this gonna take?" Shiloh asked.
"Could take days, weeks, months, even years. Every time it's different." Lexi said.
"All we can do is wait? Isn't there something we can do to speed this up a bit?" Shiloh asked.
"There is, but it's kinda gruesome.
"We have to bleed him out, don't we?" Shiloh said.
"Yup, faster the blood is out of his system, faster he desecrates, better for us." Lexi said. "You sure you wanna do this?"
"I'm sure." Shiloh said.
"Then grab a stake, we're gonna be here for a while.
oOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOo
"I'm starving. I'm starving. I'm starving! Let me out! Let me out. Please let me out." Stefan pleaded.
"He's hallucinating." Lexi said.
"Let me out!" Stefan yelled.
"He did that last time we got him off human blood." Shiloh said.
"Usually his hallucinations are things he feels guilty about." Lexi said.
"I should've killed you the first time you tried this." Stefan growled.
"In case you forgot, I'm older. Which means stronger. So you could've tried to kill me. And failed." Lexi said.
"I don't know if I can stand Stefan like this for months." Shiloh said.
"It'll be hard, but it's the only way." Lexi said.
"Shouldn't we get Elena to help?" Shiloh asked.
"Yes, please. Let me see Elena." Stefan said.
"Not gonna happen, Stefan. Not yet at least. I don't know if she can handle all of this yet. We'll talk to her later." Lexi said.
"Shiloh, Shiloh. I'm hurting. Please help me." Stefan begged.
"Don't listen. Shut him out." Lexi said.
"We're trying to help you, Stefan." Shiloh said.
"I'll do anything. I'll change. I promise." Stefan said.
"It's a lie. He'll say anything right now." Lexi said.
"Shiloh, I'm sorry. I'm sorry. Just make it stop. Please, just make it stop." Stefan said.
"You have to separate yourself from your emotions. Don't let him play on them." Lexi said.
"Hey, look at me. Look at me." Stefan urged. "Please, please. I'm your friend, I helped you adapt, I helped your sister. Please, Shiloh. I'm your friend. Please, help me."
"I am helping you, Stefan." Shiloh said.
"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 let my brother kill Caroline when he tried. You know he would've killed you too, right! He doesn't love you, he never will." Stefan spat.
"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 said, driving a stake into his stomach. "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."
"I will rip you apart, Lexi!" Stefan yelled.
"Try it." Lexi shrugged, pulling the stake out and stabbing it back in again.
"This is gruesome." Shiloh shuttered.
"Try being in my place." Stefan said.
"Quit fighting me, Stefan. I know you're in there." Lexi said.
"Not anymore, Lexi." Stefan replied.
"You know you say that every time. Until I make you feel again." Lexi said, stabbing him with the stake again.
"You wasted your whole life taking care of me. And you're stupid enough to keep coming back. I get it, you don't have many friends, but Shiloh, why are you doing this? You could be out living your life instead of wasting your time here." Stefan said.
"I'm not wasting my time, Stefan. I'm gonna help you." Shiloh said.
"You aren't helping me." Stefan said.
"Yes. I am. And when you're back to normal, broody Stefan, you can make it up to me." Shiloh said.
"I think that's enough for one day." Lexi said.
"Same time tomorrow?" Shiloh said.
"Why are you doing this to me?" Stefan asked.
"Because we're your friends and we love you." Shiloh said. "And somewhere deep down, you love us too, Stefan. You just forgot."
"So we're gonna make you remember." Lexi added. "Come on."
"See you tomorrow, Stefan." Shiloh said, following Lexi out of the jail.
"So, after seeing this, you still want to help?" Lexi said.
"Yeah, I do. For Stefan." Shiloh said. "And for Damon."