[2x20; The Last Day]
"Tonight is the full moon," Elijah declared, looking around the library where Lucy, Joel, Stefan, and Elena sat. "We should assume that Klaus is prepared to break the curse."
"Lucy said that the Sun and the Moon curse is fake?" Stefan spoke up curiously. "That it's actually just a curse placed on Klaus."
"Klaus is a vampire born of a werewolf bloodline," Elijah explained his brother's origins. "The curse has kept his werewolf aspect from manifesting. But, if he breaks it, he'll be a true hybrid."
Damon walked into the library, a grumpy look on his face. "Then why are we letting him break the curse? We can kill him today," he claimed, looking at Elena pointedly. "With Bonnie."
Stefan sighed. "Damon…"
Elena glared at the oldest Salvatore. "No, Bonnie can't use that much power without dying."
"I'll write her a great eulogy."
"It's not an option, Damon!" Elena snapped.
"All right," Joel spoke over the glares Damon and Elena were sending each other before turning to Elijah. "how do we break this curse?"
"Well, the ritual itself is relatively straightforward," Elijah said. "The ingredients, so to speak, you already know."
"The moonstone and my locket," Lucy volunteered, holding her locket tightly between her fingers.
Elijah nodded. "A witch will cast a spell to unlock the magic within the moonstone and your locket so you can siphon the curse out of them," he told Lucy her part of the ritual. "Once you have siphoned the curse, you will give your blood. A witch will then use your blood and the power of the full moon to continue the ritual. Klaus, being both werewolf and vampire, will sacrifice one of each."
"And where do I fit into it?" Elena asked quietly.
"The final part of the ritual," Elijah opened the box that he had brought with him to the Boarding House. "Klaus must drink the blood of the doppelganger to the point of death."
Lucy and Joel winced as Elena nodded in acceptance and took Stefan's hand. "And that's where you come in."
Elijah pulled out an old vial filled with red liquid. "This is an elixir that I acquired some five hundred years ago for Katerina," he informed everyone. "It possesses mystical properties of resuscitation."
"So, I'll be dead?"
"And then you won't," Elijah finished.
"That's your plan? A magical witch potion with no expiration date?" Damon scoffed at Elijah before turning to Elena. "You want to come back to life, what about John's ring?"
"The Gilbert rings only work on humans, Damon," Lucy sighed, biting her lip. "Elena's a doppelganger."
"Odds are, the ring won't work," Elijah added.
"I'll take those odds over your elixir," Damon snapped at Elijah, looking at Elena once more. "What if it doesn't work, Elena?"
"Then I guess I'll just be dead," Elena stated blankly, shrugging her shoulders.
Joel let out a large exhale at the mention of Elena dying and Lucy bit her lip nervously. Damon looked over at Stefan for help but Stefan just shrugged; his opinion was clear—this was all Elena's choice.
Damon shook his head in disgust and left the room.
Elena sighed and asked Elijah, "Do we know if Klaus has everything he needs to do this? Does he have a werewolf?"
"Klaus has been waiting to break this curse for over a thousand years," Elijah knew his brother would be prepared. "If he doesn't already have a werewolf, my guess is by tonight, he will."
Lucy stared down at her sketchbook, eyes narrowed in focus. She concentrated on the lines she drew, making sure that her strokes were light enough that she could erase mistakes without a mark.
Elena's face slowly came into focus; Lucy made sure that she got her sister's smile lines just right. This drawing had to be perfect.
Her anxiety was through the roof. She wasn't worried about herself—all she had to do was donate a couple drops of blood—no, she was terrified for Elena. She didn't know if she trusted Elijah's elixir and if it didn't work like Damon suspected, Elena would be dead forever. She wouldn't be coming back.
Lucy couldn't lose Elena, she just couldn't. She loved her older sister so damn much and it broke her head just at the thought of Elena dying. Jeremy, Joel, and Lucy had already lost their parents, they couldn't be without Elena, too.
"She looks good," Lucy looked up as Joel walked into the kitchen where she was hiding. He looked at her sketch with a fond smile. "Elena's gonna love it."
"If she's alive to see it finished," Lucy mumbled, moving onto Elena's hair. She made sure her lines were straight, copying Elena's signature hair style.
"She will be," Joel's voice was confident as he sat at the table next to her.
Lucy shook her head; she couldn't understand how Joel was acting like this wasn't going to be one of the worst days of their lives. Their sister was going to be sacrificed by Klaus and they were putting all their faith in an elixir that was five hundred years old.
"How are you so positive about this?" she asked him. "I feel like I'm falling apart."
"I don't know," Joel shrugged, giving her a small smile. "I guess I have hope that Elena will live. Don't get me wrong, Lou, I'm scared. I'm so scared that we're gonna lose Elena but I can't dwell on it. Because if I do, I wouldn't be able to be strong for you and Jeremy."
"You don't have to be strong for us."
"Yeah, I do," Joel insisted and Lucy's eyes watered at the passion in his voice. "And I don't mind because I love you guys. If I can't protect Elena from this, I can at least be strong for you and Jeremy so I can protect you."
Tears dripped from Lucy's eyes as she leaned toward Joel and wrapped her arms around him. "I'm scared," she cried into his shoulder; Joel tightened his grip on her. "I'm so scared. I'm always scared."
"It's okay," Joel murmured into her hair. "I'm here. Everything's going to be okay, Luce."
"I don't want Elena to die."
"I know…" he rubbed her back soothingly and Lucy was reminded when their dad did the same thing to her when she was upset. "I know…"
A loud thunk coming from the front of the house caught their attention. The surprise caused Lucy's cries to stop and she wiped her tears as she pulled away from Joel's embrace.
"What was that?" she asked her brother.
As if the universe was answering her question, they heard Jenna's loud voice. "Get out!"
Lucy and Joel exchanged a wide-eyed look and jumped up from the table, rushing from the kitchen to the foyer. They arrived to see that everyone was already gathered and Jenna was aiming a crossbow—Lucy didn't even know where her aunt got that—at Alaric, who had his hands up defensively.
"Jenna, put the crossbow down, okay?" Alaric coaxed her. "It's me."
Jenna glowered at Alaric. "Stay away from me."
"What's going on?" Lucy asked, looking from Alaric to Jenna and hoping that Alaric wasn't still possess by Klaus.
"It's me, Lucy, I swear," Alaric declared, looking around the room. "He let me go. Klaus let me go."
"Prove it," Damon dared him, tilting his chin up.
"Okay, uh," Alaric looked to Jenna to prove himself. "the first night that you and I spent together, Jeremy walked in right when I was about to—"
"It's him," Jenna cut him off, looking mortified.
Lucy grimaced while Joel groaned in disgust.
"Why did he let you go?" Stefan spoke up wearily.
"He wanted me to deliver a message," Alaric informed everyone. "The sacrifice happens tonight."
"So, you don't remember anything that happened?" Stefan asked Alaric after they ushered him into the living room so they could question him.
"No," Alaric shook his head. "It's like I blacked out and woke up three days later. Katherine was there."
"She's under compulsion," Joel told him. "Damon snuck her some vervain but she can't leave until Klaus tells her she can."
"Where is Damon?" Elena asked, noticing Damon's absence.
"He went upstairs," Lucy told her.
Elena nodded and got up from her chair, leaving the room to, presumably, speak to Damon.
Alaric looked back at the others. "So, what else did I do?"
"Let's see," Joel crossed his arms over his chest. "You attacked Bonnie, you spilled the beans about everything to Jenna, and you also threatened her with a knife."
Alaric bowed his head, squeezing his eyes shut.
"It wasn't you, though," Lucy comforted him. "Klaus was in your body. You had no control over anything."
Alaric gave her a grateful smile but he didn't look convinced.
Next to her, Stefan suddenly stiffened. He stood up and used his vampire speed to race out of the room, leaving everyone to stare at his seat in confusion. Only seconds later, they heard a loud commotion coming from upstairs.
Lucy, Joel, Alaric, and Jenna were already on the move; they ran upstairs and followed the noise, entering Damon's room. They were greeted with the sight of Damon plunging a large shard of wood into Stefan's chest.
As Stefan slumped to the floor, groaning in pain as his lungs collapsed, Lucy siphoned magic out of her locket. Holding up a hand, she made Damon fly across the room, several feet away from Stefan. Not letting up, Damon screamed in pain as Lucy gave him a never-ending aneurysm.
"Get out!" Lucy yelled at him. "Get out of here!"
"What the hell did you do?" Alaric asked Damon as Lucy turned her eyes away from him, her magic depleted.
"Get him out of here!" Elena glowered at Damon as she rushed to Stefan's side.
Alaric reached down to help Damon up but Damon struck out at him like a wild animal, causing Alaric to flinch back. Damon slowly walked out of the room, still glaring at Stefan.
Lucy dropped to her knees on the other side of Stefan and ignored the blood pouring out of his chest as she gripped the end of the stake protruding out of him. She quickly pulled it out, making soothing noises as Stefan groaned loudly at the pain.
"Joel, go get some blood bags from the basement," Alaric ordered him. "Go!"
"Yeah, okay," Joel nodded and sped away in a blur.
Stefan collapsed in Lucy's lap as Elena leaned forward and held his face in her hands. Lucy made sure he was comfortable as possible while Elena comforted him, soothing him with reassurances.
"I'm so sorry."
"It's okay. It's okay."
Within moments, Joel was back in the room with two blood bags in his hands. He quickly handed them to Elena, who opened one and held it to Stefan's lips. By the time he was done with the first bag, his stomach was healing and he was able to sit up out of Lucy's lap.
Stefan took the second bag and drank the blood quickly, throwing it on the floor when it was empty.
"Are you okay?" Lucy asked him quietly, hoping that his wound was fully healed with all the blood he consumed.
"I'm fine," Stefan assured her. "Thank you," he looked at Alaric, Jenna, and Joel as he added, "All of you."
"Yeah, well, we'll be downstairs," Alaric excused them awkwardly.
Lucy rubbed Stefan's back and stood up, leaving with the others. As Jenna and Alaric started flirting awkwardly, she and Joel quickly left.
Lucy laid her head on Jenna's shoulder as they sat on the couch in their living room, staring blankly at the movie they were supposed to be watching on the television. The sweet scent of Jenna's vervain and rose perfume comforted her and calmed her down, though she was still anxious about the upcoming night.
Elena had vampire blood in her system now; she would come back for sure, but she'd be a vampire. Everyone knew how much Elena didn't want to be a vampire, so Stefan took her on a little date before the sacrifice went down. Joel and Alaric had gone to the Grill to talk to Damon and Lucy and Jenna decided to watch their favorite movie.
"She's the Man just isn't the same when I'm worried about my sister's life," Lucy sighed, throwing some popcorn into her mouth.
Jenna made a noise of agreement. "Tell me about it. Hey," she sat up, making Lucy's head fall off her shoulder. "Can you explain how you happen to be related to Katherine, Klaus, Elijah, Elena, and Alaric all at the same time?"
"It's complicated, I guess," Lucy sighed but continued, not wanting to leave Jenna out of anything more than she already had. "I was born into Elijah and Klaus' family but because I was reincarnated to be part of the Petrova line, I was born a few years after Katherine in 1477. My name was Lucia then and I was killed when I was fifteen because I was a siphoner."
Jenna nodded, now understanding exactly what Lucy was.
"I was born again because Elena was," Lucy continued. "And I'm a siphoner now because I guess I still have the genes that I shared with my first mother, who was a witch. I'm guessing that if you looked at my blood, I'd share DNA with each of my siblings and Ric."
Jenna shook her head, bewildered. "It's just so weird," she confessed. "You've had three different lives."
"It is weird," Lucy agreed. "I mean, there are moments where I forget where I am or who I'm with. One time I thought that Joel was one of my other brothers, Kol, and I couldn't figure out that he wasn't who I thought he was."
"Wow," Jenna grabbed Lucy's hand and squeezed it tightly, seeing the upset look on her niece's face. "Have you told anyone about this?"
"No, we've got a lot more to deal with right now. My screwed-up head isn't exactly a priority of mine," Lucy grimaced. "And, I don't know, I just feel like this isn't something I can talk about."
Jenna sighed at Lucy's confession and wrapped her arms around Lucy's shoulder, bringing her in for a comforting hug. Lucy snuggled her face into Jenna's cardigan, glad that her aunt was there for her.
"I'm sorry, Luce," Jenna spoke into her hair. "You can always talk to me, okay? I'm always here for you. I love you so much."
"I love you, too," Lucy sniffed, pulling away with a small smile.
Jenna giggled and Lucy joined in, both of them quieting when Jenna's phone started to ring. Jenna picked it up and answered it with a casual greeting, though her expression soon turned down into panic.
"Elena, what's wrong?" she asked urgently, causing Lucy to give her a questioning look. "What? All right, I'm on my way."
As Jenna hung up, Lucy asked her, "What did Elena want?"
"She said she and Stefan are in trouble," Jenna told her. "Come on, let's go."
Lucy nodded and hurriedly followed Jenna out of the house. Jenna was locking the door when Lucy heard a male speak up from behind her.
"Hello, my dear."
Lucy whipped around and gasped when she saw Niklaus standing in front of her. He looked different from her memories, his hair shorter and modern, and he was wearing a red button-up and black jacket.
He was smirking and it sent chills down Lucy's spine.
"Jenna, run!"
Lucy reached for her locket but everything went black.
When Lucy woke up, her head pounded and everything was pitch black. The only thing she could hear were crickets and the gentle sloshing of water. She could feel cool grass under her cheek but she couldn't figure out where she was.
And then, there was light. Fire erupted around Lucy and she could finally see where she was. She had been at Steven's Quarry too many times not to recognize it at first glance, even if it was still too hard to see even with the fire.
Lucy gasped when she laid her eyes on Jenna curled up on the ground a few feet away from her. She slowly got onto her hands and knees, gasping in pain from the ache in her head, and crawled over to Jenna.
"Jenna?" she whimpered, tears already blurring her eyes. "Jenna, are you okay? Jenna!"
Lucy pressed her fingers to Jenna's neck, trying to find her pulse; there was none.
"Jenna, no!" a sob ripped from her throat as she laid her head on Jenna's. "I'm so sorry."
Her chest ached as she grabbed Jenna's cold hand, wishing that she would squeeze back in reassurance. Jenna didn't move, though, and Lucy could swear that her heart was breaking in half.
She loved Jenna so much and she couldn't help but think she hadn't spent any time with her lately. She couldn't remember the last time they had a game night or spoke about their shared love of rom-coms or had boy talk. She had been so preoccupied with everything that was going on that she let her family slip through the cracks and now Jenna was gone. She'd never hear her voice again.
"Jenna!" she suddenly heard Elena's voice. "Lucy!"
"Elena," she cried, looking up to see her sister running toward them. "She's dead. Jenna's gone. I should have—I should have—"
"Shh," Elena rubbed her back soothingly as she teared up herself. She looked at Greta and asked, "He killed her? Why? I did everything that he asked!"
Lucy and Elena jumped as Jenna let out a loud gasp and sat up, looking around wildly.
"She's not dead," Greta grinned in satisfaction. "She's in transition."
Lucy's sigh of relief was cut off and she lowered her head in realization. Sure, Jenna was alive and that was great but it also meant that she was going to be a vampire. Something had happened that made Klaus want to punish them because Jenna was supposed to be Klaus' vampire sacrifice.
Either way, Jenna was going to die tonight.