Hello, my lovely readers. It has one hell of a long and crazy ride and now we are done…for now. Enjoy the last chapter. On with the show!
Chapter 13: Is it Over?
Elena Gilbert sat on a couch in the Mikaelson living room. She, like her friends, and brother, Jeremy, were still trying to wrap their minds around Kol's revelation. How could he do this to them? Had he even been thinking when he and his girlfriend had decided to pull this idiotic stunt? Damon felt even more furious than Elena and had spent an hour yelling at Kol and Davina. At least they knew this wasn't real. She hoped…
Mikael Mikaelson seemed to be at a loss. He brought them snacks and caffeinated drinks. Caroline found some Disney films to watch, anything that would not shatter the nerves of those who remembered the nightmare of the past twelve plus hours. Damon passed a bag of popcorn to Elena who passed it to Klaus who sat in front of her with Caroline and Rebekah.
Kol kept tapping his knees anxiously while peering at the windows. "What is taking so long?" he muttered under his breath at one point.
"What was that, Kol?" Hayley Marshall asked, coming in from the kitchen with a mug of tea for Elijah. She patted Jackson's arm and ruffled Oliver's hair before sitting beside Elijah on the couch across from the one Elena sat on with Damon.
"Nothing," Kol muttered, peering at the window again.
"You okay man; you seemed spooked." Tyler did not seem to remember what had happened that night and wanted to know why they were stuck watching animated Princesses. "This is lame."
"It's better than being in ten pieces," Liv snapped at him before kissing him.
"Can the PDA. I already feel like puking," Damon snapped. "Hey, Papa Mikaelson, got any more?" he asked, shaking his empty Coke bottle at Mikael.
"No. And, please, do refrain from calling me that, Damon." Mikael Mikaelson gave Damon a withering look before going back to the kitchen to check on his wife. Esther Mikaelson seemed to have had an encounter with a home invader but did not want to go to the hospital because when Mikael mentioned it to his children they all screamed "NO!"
"Anybody up for a drink and snack run?" Damon asked, getting to his feet and yawning.
"You're not going out there by yourself," Elena snapped.
"You're damned right," Klaus added.
Stefan looked confused but got to his feet. "I'll come with."
"We all go together," Rebekah stated, her tone commanding.
"Who died and made her boss?" Tyler inquired and Liv punched him in the arm. Jeremy grinned and got up.
Kol simply stared at the window. "Come on, Kol, you're not staying here. We need our rules guy." Hayley cracked a smile while she and Elijah yanked Kol up from his post.
"I don't feel well. I'd like to stay behind. Mother and Father need someone to… They might need something," Kol argued, trying to pull away.
"What, are you scared of going out on Halloween night, Kol, you want to stay home and watch Belle dancing around and singing?" Tyler teased with a laugh.
Jeremy rolled his eyes because he remembered and kind of got why Kol was freaked out. But they really didn't know what was going on yet and until they did, it would be best if they stuck together. "I'll protect you from the boogey man," he said with a grin.
Kol gave him a withering look. "Like I need your help. I can bloody well take care of myself." Shrugging off Elijah and Hayley, he moved to walk out the door but held back while the others went ahead. Elena found his behavior suspicious but did not know why.
They took three cars to the local grocery store. And Caroline decided to talk Mikael and Esther into coming with them without explaining why. Let them think they were strapped for cash.
Damon and Elena held hands while they walked down the frozen food aisle. "Coffee ice cream?" Caroline inquired, holding up a carton.
"At least five cartons with as many people as we have," Damon called.
Klaus pulled out cartons of ice cream, handing them to Caroline who placed them inside a cart.
"Mini pizzas," Tyler said and everyone looked at him. "I thought we were looking for snacks."
"We are," Liv reassured him, giving the others looks. They knew she did not want to remind Tyler of what he'd been through.
Elijah came from another aisle with bottles of pop and Red Bulls. "Mountain Dew?" Hayley called, holding up two two-liter bottles. "We'll never sleep again. But who wants to anyway?"
"Me," Oliver said, yawning and holding up a hand as he leaned against the cart Elijah was driving. Jackson also looked half awake.
Caroline shook her head. "Trust me. The last thing you want is to sleep right now. Let's go see what other goodies we can find. Elena, Hayley, want to come with me?"
Elena kissed Damon on the cheek. "Where are we going?" she asked Caroline. "Getting something to help us stay wake," Caroline said, giving Hayley a look like they had a secret and Elena wondered when they had gotten so close. She figured that Caroline would tell her later.
"No-doze?" Caroline queried, glancing from Elena to Hayley.
"Sure," Hayley nodded.
"What are you girls doing?" Mikael demanded, coming down the aisle.
Elena quickly grabbed a handful of Midol. "Really bad cramps, Mr. Mikaelson," she groaned.
"Oh. Sorry." His cheeks flared red. "Well, Bekah says that chamomile tea helps, too. Would you girls like me to pick up some?"
"Yes. Thank you, daddy," Rebekah cried from behind him, startling him.
"You're welcome, darling," Mikael slid an arm around her shoulders, kissing the side of her head and then leaving them alone.
Hayley grabbed some bottles of No-Doze and tossed them in the cart. Elena threw the Midol in, too. "Lots of caffeine in those puppies."
"You think the guys will take Midol?" Caroline asked with a giggle.
"If it will keep us awake, then I will take anything," Kol remarked, coming down the aisle and looking at the stock.
Elena looked at Kol. "How did you know what was going on?" she asked. Damon had filled her in during the film festival at the Mikaelson's.
"What?" Kol tried to look innocent.
Rebekah came to stand beside her brother. "It has been a truly wretched night. Let's not begin accusing each other. Our brains have created enough paranoid delusions. Let's just get what we need and go home. Shall we?"
Elena gave Kol a long look and he turned his back on her, walking away. Yup. He was hiding something alright.
"You okay, Lena?" Caroline asked, wrapping an arm around Elena's shoulders and giving her a cheery smile.
"Yeah. I think Kol's hiding something from us," Elena whispered.
"Ya think?" Hayley interrupted, coming closer and looking from the brunette to the blonde. "He's definitely got something to hide. We should pull him aside and get Elijah and Klaus to drag it out of him. One way, or the other."
Caroline nodded. "Sounds like a plan to me."
They met up with the main group to find that Tyler had talked them into getting enough snacks to feed the group who had been at The Falls earlier in the day. "Seriously? Who's going to eat all this food?" Caroline asked.
Klaus, Kol, Tyler, Jeremey, Stefan, Jackson and Oliver held up their hands. "Us," the guys told them.
"Seriously," Caroline moaned, rolling her eyes.
"You get the drunk munchies, Blondie," Damon pointed out as Elena went over to hug him.
Caroline sneered at Damon before turning to Klaus who looked exhausted. Elena felt bad for her friends. Maybe when they got back to the house they should take turns taking naps. Heading to the check-out aisle, Elena would have mentioned the idea but Kol moved away from the group to take a call, drawing her attention. She traded looks with Caroline and Hayley.
"What's going on?" Damon whispered.
"Hmmm." Elena gave him an innocent look.
"You, Blondie and Anger Issues are up to something, what's up?"
"Nothing. I swear." Elena smiled up at Damon who narrowed his eyes at her.
Giving up, Elena took Damon by the hand, leading him away from the main group. "Kol's done something. I don't know what. But he's been acting funny. And you told me he said something about all of us being hypnotized."
"Yeah," Damon nodded, glancing in Kol's direction. "Still seems off to me. Like the cheese in the back of the fridge or Stefan's socks."
"Focus, Damon, why would Kol know this and no one else?" Elena demanded quietly, giving Kol another side-long glance.
"Beats me," Damon replied and then he frowned. "You want to ask him some questions?"
"Sounds like a good idea," Elena replied.
"Fine. Klaus and I can get him to open up." Damon gave her a reassuring smile before taking her hand and leading back to their friends who were ready to go. They got into the back of a car driven by Mr. Mikaelson. Klaus and Caroline were squeezed in the back with them and Kol rode up front with his father.
When they arrived back at the Mikaelson house, Elena and Caroline saw Bonnie waiting for them with Kai. "Bonnie!" Elena and Caroline cried, getting out of the back. Caroline scrambled over Damon's legs to get to her friend while Damon complained about boundaries. "Says the guy who has none," Caroline shot back.
Bonnie began to cry as Elena and Caroline pulled her into a group hug. Elena heard the sound of Liv running up the driveway and yelling her brother's name. "I'm so happy you guys made it out okay," Bonnie was saying as they hugged. "This whole night has been crazy."
"Liv, what is going on with you?" Kai Parker was asking his little sister who could not stop crying.
"He doesn't remember a thing," Bonnie whispered to their friends.
"I know. It's freaky. Right?" Caroline asked Bonnie who nodded. "Tyler, Stefan, Mr. Mikaelson, Jackson and Oliver don't remember a thing. If only we could all have our memories of this night wiped clean."
"Yeah," Elena wasn't sure she wanted to forget yet. They were feeling like there was more to come wouldn't leave. Not yet.
Damon came over to them with Klaus. "Time to go inside and see how long we can live the Day that Won't End." He tried to smile but it looked more like a grimace.
"Right." Elena nodded and followed Caroline inside the house.
When they were all inside, Kol locked the door behind them, peering out the window again. He jumped when he turned to find Elena, arms crossed over her chest. "Kol, what's going on?" she snapped.
"I have an idea," Kol snapped back. "If you will excuse me. There are three Red Bulls and a bowl of coffee ice cream with my name on them."
"Not so fast, mister," Caroline came to stand beside Elena with Hayley. Elijah, Klaus, Damon and Rebekah came to join them.
"Are you all mad?" Kol questioned them, looking at each of them. "I just want to stay awake. Now, get out of my way." Kol tried to push his way past but Klaus caught him by the shirt collar.
"Not so fast, Kol. We're going to have a chat in my room," Klaus hauled Kol behind him and up the stairs. Their parents gave them looks but did not argue.
"I did not do anything!" Kol kept saying when Klaus flung him into a chair and Damon stood in front of him. "You've all lost your bloody minds."
"You're the only one who knows what's happening to us," Hayley reminded him. "The only one. So try a different lie."
"Alright," Kol rolled his eyes. "Fine. I did it. It was supposed to be a prank. Right? A bit of fun. You'd all laugh about it tomorrow. But then… I don't know. I lost control. I probably shouldn't have hypnotized myself, too."
"You did what?" Elijah demanded, seething. "Kol, you have done some awfully stupid things in your time, but this…"
"It wasn't supposed to spin so bloody out of control. And I don't even know what is going on anymore," Kol moaned, shaking his head.
"Well, you had better figure it out before anyone else gets hurt," Rebekah snarled before leaving the room.
Kol looked miserable when his phone went off again. He didn't try to answer it. "Who have you been talking to all night?" Elena asked him.
"No one!" Kol yelled.
"Really?" Damon leaned over, shoving his hand into Kol's pants and digging his phone out. "Is no one's name Davina?"
"Davina?" Klaus uttered, looking confused.
"Who's Davina?" Caroline asked her boyfriend with a look of suspicion and Elena rolled her eyes. This was not the time to get jealous.
"Davina Claire. She lives with Rebekah's boyfriend, Marcel. Her parents are jerks and she had nowhere to go. And she's seventeen. Kol you're involved with a seventeen-year-old?" Hayley gave him a look.
"We're not having sex and she'll be eighteen in a month. That's not the point," Kol got to his feet when the doorbell rang downstairs. Everyone tensed and Kol forced his way out of the room and down the stairs. Mikael had his hand on the doorknob, about to pull it open when Kol yelled "No! Don't Answer the door!" Of course, it was too late.
Kol dropped to the stair he stood on when he caught sight of Davina entering with Marcel Gerard. "Who are you two?" Mikael demanded, blocking the door.
"Daddy, that is my boyfriend," Rebekah exclaimed. "And this is Davina."
"Kol!" Davina called to Kol who came down to get her.
Mikael moved with a confused look on his face but he held his hand out to Marcel. "It's a pleasure to meet you, Mr. Mikaelson," Marcel was saying when Davina crashed into Kol's arms.
"You're okay?" Davina was asking, checking Kol for injuries while Elena and Damon traded looks.
"And that would be the other guilty party," Damon said loudly, gaining Kol's and Davina's attention.
"Guilty? Of what, pray tell?" Esther asked wearily, coming out of the kitchen with a steaming cup of coffee.
"They hypnotized all of us into thinking that we were being terrorized by a bunch of deranged lunatics!" Damon shouted, pointing at Kol and his teenage girlfriend.
"That's not true," Kol shook his head while the others came out from the living room and stared at him. "That's not entirely true. Come on. Let's go into the living room and Davina and I will explain everything," he told them, moving into the living room.
"I think we're going to need snacks for this," Tyler commented. He and Liv went into the kitchen.
Kol and Davina talked in hushed whispers while they waited and the others could only sit, watching them with disapproval. When Tyler and Liv came back with bowls of popcorn and a tray of caffeinated drinks, Kol began to talk. "It all started out as a joke—"
"It wasn't very funny," Elijah interrupted.
"Yes, well, I see that now," Kol snapped at his older brother.
Davina cut in. "We had no idea how it worked. It's really the internet's fault. They talk about all kinds of things you can try at home but you really, really shouldn't."
"Right," Klaus gave a dry laugh in response.
Kol began again. "As I was saying, we meant this to be a bit of Halloween fun. But where these killers came from… I have no idea. It must be some kind of… I don't know what."
"Mass hysteria. We've created a group hallucination. While in the hypnotic state we're all susceptible to suggestion. When one of us sees something, we then cause the group to see the same thing." Elijah's theory made sense. Then again, that could also be part of the hallucination. "It may also have something to do with memories that we have stored away in our subconscious that we were not aware of having."
"Really? So the monsters are real? Or were at some point?" Damon looked less than pleased at the thought. "But I've never seen any of these people in my life. Come on, man, try again. Elena doesn't even have a twin sister. And you don't have another sister. Who the hell knows where those other two chicks came from—"
Caroline suddenly gasped, looking at Klaus. "But the doctor, Cami, she did exist, until a year ago…" Trailing off, a tear ran down her cheek and she looked at her feet.
Klaus took Caroline's hand while the others looked at them. "Caroline and I were having another row. I went to New Orleans to visit Rebekah."
"I remember," Rebekah said, nodding. "You said you met a woman at a café who reminded you of Caroline and you got to chatting her up."
"Yes," Klaus looked at Caroline who squeezed his hand. "I met her. We had coffee. It brought me comfort, talking to someone who was like Caroline, but not her. I asked her to meet me again the next day."
"But then I called him. And we talked all night long. I said I was sorry and Klaus said he was sorry. And he agreed to come back home." Caroline shook her head, still crying.
"Feeling excited to get home, it did not occur to me to text Cami and tell her I would not be coming the next day. She was sitting at the café, at the same table we'd sat at the day before when someone fell asleep at the wheel and ran into her table. She died instantly."
"Oh, my God," Elena put her hand to her mouth.
"That wasn't your fault, Nik," Rebekah whispered, placing her hand on her brother's shoulder.
"No. But it certainly felt like it was," Klaus told them. "I think for a long time I felt like it should have been me sitting at that table, being stood up and then crushed to death."
"Okay. Well, that explains one of our four ladies. But what about the other three?" Damon asked them. "Anyone else do anything they feel badly enough about to make up for people trying to kill them?"
No one held up their hands. Then Stefan's rose. "Seriously?" Caroline gave Stefan a look.
"Yeah. I did something pretty crappy." Stefan looked at the rug. "I met this girl named Tessa this summer that Damon went to Europe with Klaus, Caroline and Elena. She was great. Tall, sexy and up for anything. She seemed great. The only problem was she kind of clung to me. Like really clung, like I could not go anywhere or do anything without her following me around—"
"Wait, are you talking about my cousin, Tessa?" Bonnie interrupted Stefan, glaring at him.
"Yeah," Stefan gave Bonnie a guilty look.
"Jerk," Bonnie muttered, continuing to glare at him.
"Anyway, Tessa started following me around. She would show up at my house and kept calling. Ten, twenty times a night. It just felt like way too much. So I told her that my name was really Silas and that Stefan, my twin, lived in Italy. She should go find him. But she might have a problem since he had a girlfriend. She didn't believe me, so I showed her a picture of Elena and told her that the girl's name was Amara and they lived in Italy together."
"So that's why Tessa moved to Italy," Bonnie shook her head. "Unbelievable."
"And she…" Stefan shook his head.
"She couldn't find this guy. 'The love of her life,' Bonnie said quietly. "That's what she wrote in the note that they found. She jumped off a cliff… But you have to know that Tessa had been battling depression for most of her life and had tried to hurt herself multiple times before that. But I don't think your story helped, Stefan." Bonnie sighed. "But I don't think it's your fault either. Tessa needed help and she didn't want it. She didn't want to live in the real world."
"What about the sisters?" Damon demanded.
Kol's eyes widened. "I think I know." He looked at his siblings as their mother came into the room and he looked up at her.
"I think I know, too, which is why your father and I were a part of this," Esther's eyes filled with tears.
"We have a sister?" Rebekah asked her mother.
Mikael nodded and then shook his head. "Yes and no. Before you, Elijah, Niklaus and Kol were born… We had a daughter, Freya. Your mother had a sister, Dahlia who grew jealous of our family. She had not married or had a child of her own. One day she offered to babysit and your mother took a nap. When she awoke Dahlia was gone and so was Freya. The police did very little to help us. They had so many other children to find. So many children. We joined groups, talked to others, tried therapy. Nothing helped. One day we got a call. After all of you were born and…"
"I was there. Sitting on the staircase. You didn't know it. Mother started crying," Kol said.
"Yes. The police found a car and chased it but Dahlia would not give up what was 'hers.' She drove into a quarry. By the time the police got someone down there, our Freya had drowned. She was only ten," Mikael broke down and Esther held him.
"That's horrible," Caroline said, beginning to cry.
Everyone sat for a time before Elena spoke up. "I have a twin sister. Katherine. She lives in The Mystic Falls Center for the Mentally Ill. When we were little, Kat and I were really close. But then she started drawing these really disgusting pictures of dead people. They creeped all of us out. They were all people who had died and Kat kept saying that they were speaking to her. That they wouldn't shut up. And then one day she took my hand and said that she knew how to make the voices go away. She said we could do it together."
For a moment Elena couldn't speak. "We went into the street and Kat said I had to lie down and wait. I didn't want to but Kat said I had to; otherwise the voices wouldn't stop. She said they'd just keep talking to her. Our mother came outside and started screaming at us to 'Get out of the road.' I saw a car coming and got scared and tried to move but Kat rolled on top of me, pinning me down, saying 'They'll stop now, Lena! They'll stop and we'll be together! Always! Like we promised as babies!'"
"The driver swerved and managed to avoid hitting us. And Kat was sent to a live in The Center. We were five and I haven't visited Kat once."
"I did," Elijah said. "I met her. And I did write a paper about her. And I do regret how I treated her."
"Me, too," Elena mumbled, beginning to cry.
"Okay. So, I think that established where all the crazy was coming from." Damon shook his head. "Whoa."
"There's more," Esther told them. "To deal with our loss, we underwent hypnosis. Trying to rid ourselves of our trauma."
"And this new round opened you up to the suppressed memories," Elijah stated.
"More than likely," Esther nodded.
"But not all of have been hypnotized in the past," Damon argued.
"Maybe we have," Elena argued. "There was a doctor in town the year that Kat got sick. St. John or something."
"Yeah. Damon, remember, Dad made us see a therapist about Mom and we started feeling better," Stefan pointed out.
"I lost a pet," Tyler added.
"I sometimes sleepwalk and eat jam with my hands," Kai told them. Everyone gave Kai odd looks.
"Okay. So how do we end this session of Who Wants to Live in a Nightmare?" Damon snapped.
"One word: Finis." Davina said and they all blinked.
"What's going on?" Damon asked. "Weren't we just at the party?"
"Yeah. How did we get here?" Klaus demanded, looking around him.
"Why do I feel like I haven't slept in a week but want to run a marathon?" Caroline eyed the group.
Elena shook her head and yawned. "I don't know. Hey, what time is it?"
"Like ten o'clock," Kol said, glancing at his phone. "Davina, what are you doing here?"
"I wanted to see how your Halloween was going," Davina said with a smile.
"Boring, love. Let's go see if we can scare someone," Kol suggested.
"Or we could sit here with your friends and family and watch spooky movies." Davina gave Kol a smile.
Elena got to her feet and headed to the kitchen with Damon. "Hey," she said.
"Hey," Damon said, taking a lock of her hair and playing with it.
"I've got somewhere that I need to go for a little while. Will you be okay without me?" Elena asked Damon, sliding her hands around his neck and giving him a sweet kiss.
"Yeah. Just be careful. Weirdos come out on Halloween," Damon warned her, kissing her again.
"I will be. And if I get in trouble, you can save me," Elena teased.
"You bet I will," Damon replied, kissing her passionately before letting her go.
Elena called good-bye to everyone in the living room. They were arguing about what to watch as she walked out into the sunshine. She smiled at the pumpkins on the porch and headed to her car which was parked in the drive-way even though she didn't remember driving here. Getting in, she drove across town.
Standing outside Mystic Falls Center for the Mentally Ill, Elena drew in a deep breath and walked inside. She'd never been here and felt weird, out-of-place. Walking over to the reception desk, she stood in front of it until a young woman set a phone down. She gave Elena a cheerful smile. "Hello, how can I help you?"
"I'm here to visit my sister, Katherine Gilbert." Elena waited while the woman began to click away at her keyboard and then frowned.
"I'm sorry. Katherine Gilbert was released today. Actually she was released last night in the care of one of our doctors," the woman said.
"What?" Elena felt her world twirl.
"Who are you again?"
"My name is Elena Gilbert. Katherine is my twin," Elena said as calmly as she could. "Are you supposed to notify the family before releasing a patient?"
"Doctor St. John said he did notify you," the woman told her.
Elena placed her hands to her temples, walking away quickly and into the sunshine. A little breeze made her hair blow around her. "Hello, Elena," Katherine's voice called from behind her and Elena turned to find Katherine smiling at her. "Incipre."
"No!" Elena shouted and the sky darkened while Katherine pulled her hoodie up.
"I missed you, sis. You'll never out run me. I'll find you. I promised you: Always!" Katherine called after Elena who had already taken off in a sprint.
The End or is it?
Thank you for reading, faving, following and for reviewing.
Peace,
Jessica