The group of the witch, the vampire, the werewolf, and the human doppelganger were back in Damon's blue Mustang as they headed towards Gloria's bar. Emily couldn't help but anxiously bounce up her right back in the backseat. The Radkova witch had changed into a cute yellow sun dress but Emily was beyond nervous as they got closer and closer to bringing Stefan back home.
The Radkova witch was so nervous because she didn't want to ruin this once chance that they finally had. Emily, of course, believed in herself but there was still this thought in the back of Emily's head that Damon was right that Stefan wouldn't willingly come back to Mystic Falls with them.
That single thought frightened the Radkova witch greatly. Emily only wanted her boyfriend back, so she wasn't sure what she would do if she didn't succeed tonight.
The Radkova witch was so lost in her thoughts that she didn't notice the hand coming in contact with her knee until she felt it and tried to flinch away from the touch. Emily quickly relaxed, though, when she turned to her right and saw Tyler's calming face.
"Are you okay?" The Lockwood werewolf worriedly asked as he squeezed Emily's knee.
Tyler was anxious himself but he could see how anxious the Gilbert girl was as well. The Lockwood werewolf could practically feel the nerves coming off of Emily's body if her shaking knee wasn't any indication.
Emily shot the Lockwood werewolf a small smile. "I'm fine," the Radkova witch promised before she murmured, "just nervous."
"Are you sure?" Tyler inquired as he gave the Radkova witch's knee another comforting squeeze. "We could always try this again on another day," the Lockwood werewolf offered.
Emily instantly shook her head as she quickly shut down that idea. "I appreciate you wanting me to feel comfortable but we really don't have another shot at this," the Radkova witch mentioned. "It has to happen now," Emily stated.
While in a perfect world, Emily would have loved to prepare herself better for this plan of theirs but the world was far from perfect. The Radkova witch knew this would be their only chance of getting Stefan back. No one knew how long Klaus planned to stay in Chicago, so they definitely didn't want to lose this chance before Klaus pulled Stefan into another state to continue with his hybrids.
"I wish I could do more to help," Tyler mumbled with a deep frown displayed across his face.
"You are," Emily quickly promised. "You are helping just by being here," Emily continued as she placed her palm on top of the werewolf's hand that was on her knee and gave it a short squeeze.
"If you're sure..." Tyler hesitated as he looked into the Gilbert girl's green eyes with his brows tightly furrowed together in worry.
"I am," Emily swore as she shot her best friend a small smile. "I have to be," the Radkova witch quietly mumbled to herself.
The Radkova witch was quite nervous that she was going to fail, that was the one major thought on Emily's mind. Emily had been progressing in her magic and she was becoming a strong and power witch but Emily was still nervous about the small chance that she wouldn't be able to get Stefan down with her magic.
Whether it be because her magic wouldn't be able to knock Stefan out or because she didn't want to hurt him, Emily wasn't sure. However, Emily knew, despite her worries, that she wasn't going to give up. The Radkova witch kept reminding herself this was their one chance in bringing Stefan back home. Emily just hoped it would be enough.
It was another fifteen minutes of silence in the blue Mustang before the Salvatore vampire slowly parked his car behind the back door of Gloria's Bar. Damon put the vehicle in park before he turned around in his seat until he was staring at the Radkova witch and the Lockwood werewolf.
"I'll bring Stefan around front," the Salvatore vampire informed Emily. "Wait ten minutes and then come out," Damon ordered before he muttered, "that should be enough time for me to get Stefan away from the hybrid freak."
"Ten minutes," Emily repeated the time as she nodded her head in confirmation. "You got it," the Radkova witch uttered.
The Salvatore vampire turned around in his seat before he pulled Elena into a slow and passionate kiss. Damon pulled away before he glanced at each face in the Mustang. "Let's make this count," the blue eyed vampire muttered before he quickly exited the Mustang and closed the door behind him.
The Salvatore vampire jogged his way around Gloria's bar to enter the building like any normal customer at the front. Damon kept repeating the plan in his head. All he needed to do was to get his brother away from Klaus until Emily came out before Damon had the hard task of distracting the original hybrid.
Emily's green eyes were immediately drawn to the burnt orange numbers that centered the Mustang's radio after Damon's exit. "Nine minutes," the Radkova witch mumbled as she watched the numbers change from eight thirty-three to eight thirty-four.
The Radkova witch could practically hear her heart pounding in her ears as she kept her gaze locked on the time. It was like a bomb was counting down before it would go off in Emily's chest.
Elena quickly turned around in the passenger seat until she was looking to her twin sister after she heard how loud Emily's breathing was. "Are you okay?" The human girl worriedly asked, "are you ready for this?"
The Radkova witch forced herself to take a deep breath before she shot Elena a small smile. "I'm as ready as I can be," Emily admitted.
Elena reached over the backseat and grabbed her twin sister's hand before she gave it a tight squeeze. "Everything's going to be okay," the human girl murmured as she tried to comfort Emily as best as she could before Elena vowed, "we'll get him back."
The Radkova witch flipped her palm over before she squeezed Elena's hand back. "I hope so," Emily mumbled with a tiny hint of doubt in her voice. It didn't exactly help that everyone was counting on her.
Seven minutes.
"You got this," the Lockwood werewolf exclaimed as he jumped into the conversation. Tyler gently brought his hand up to the Gilbert girl's back before he began rubbing his palm across the area.
"Stefan loves you more than anything," Elena reminded her twin sister. "You guys are literally the IT couple everyone wishes they were!" The Gilbert girl exclaimed with a wide grin stretched across her face.
That single thought caused Emily to chuckle in amusement before Elena quickly joined along as the Gilbert twins shared a series of giggles together. Meanwhile, the Lockwood werewolf uncomfortably froze at Elena's words but neither of the sisters noticed.
"What I mean, if anyone can bring Stefan back, then it's you," Elena continued as she told her twin sister with a small and comforting smile displayed on her lips.
Five minutes.
"He would be stupid not to follow you back to Mystic Falls," the Lockwood werewolf exclaimed. "If I was Stefan, I would never even think about leaving your side," Tyler murmured before he leaned over and placed a peck onto the crown of Emily's head.
Elena couldn't help but roll her brown eyes at the Lockwood werewolf. The human girl, of course, liked Tyler. It was hard not to when they practically grew up together. Elena just found it quite annoying that Tyler thought he would ever have a chance with Emily. It was never going to happen. Everyone saw that expect for Tyler apparently.
Elena ignored the Lockwood werewolf and his obsession with Emily as the human girl focused her gaze solely onto her twin sister. "You got this. You are an unstoppable force," Elena confidently uttered. The Gilbert girl chuckled before she stated, "if you can soften up Katherine, the devil of all vampires, then you can corral anyone."
Three minutes.
Emily softly chuckled before she looked over to her twin sister with a small smile. "Thank you," the Radkova witch murmured as she squeezed Elena's hand. Emily released a deep breath before she slowly nodded her head. "I needed this," Emily murmured.
It was no surprise by how well Elena's words helped the Radkova witch. Emily always felt better whenever she would have her sister's support and confidence. Emily just needed to hear that someone believed in her like how much Elena believed in her. It gave the Radkova witch the extra push she needed.
"Of course," Elena murmured. "I'll always be your number one fan," the human girl teased with a playful smirk displayed across her lips.
The Gilbert twins shared a few chuckles together before Elena spoke up once more. "But in all seriousness, you got this," Elena began, "I know you don't want to hurt Stefan but you have magic on your side." Elena lightly shrugged her shoulders as she stated, "if worse comes to worse and Stefan doesn't want to listen, you always have your magic to convince him."
Emily nodded her head in agreement. "Yeah, I know," the Radkova witch murmured. "I don't want to but I'm willing to do everything in my power to bring him back," Emily swore.
The Radkova witch hated the idea of using her magic against someone she cares about (especially after her emotionless period) but Emily would do it if she had to. While this wasn't life or death, it was still a very important and difficult situation. They all knew if Stefan stayed any longer with the original hybrid, then Stefan was going to get worse and it would be harder to get Stefan back to his regular self.
Sixty seconds.
"It's time," the Lockwood werewolf quietly announced to the Gilbert twins when he saw that there was less than a minute left until it would be exactly ten minutes since Damon had left.
Emily quickly looked over to the radio and realized that the Lockwood werewolf was right, her time was up. The Radkova witch released a shaky breath before she nodded her head. "Alright, let's do this," Emily mumbled.
"Come here," Tyler murmured before he wrapped his arms around Emily and pulled her tightly into his chest. "Be careful out there," the Lockwood werewolf ordered. "Stefan is dangerous," Tyler reminded the brunette girl.
"I'll be fine," Emily mumbled. The Radkova witch forced herself to ignore the jab that was shot towards her boyfriend. Emily had already tried to explain to her best friend that they were all dangerous in their own way but she didn't have time to argue about that right now.
The Lockwood werewolf placed a lingering kiss onto Emily's temple before Tyler told her, "if you need anything, just shout and I'll be there."
Emily nodded her head in agreement before she whispered, "okay."
In reality, though, Emily wasn't going to do such a thing. The Radkova witch refused to put anyone else in anymore danger than they already was by being here in Chicago. Emily would rather take the brunt of an attack than call for help when it came to Klaus.
The Radkova witch could see the worry in Elena's brown eyes. Emily wished she could comfort her twin sister but she couldn't right now when she had a job that needed to be done. The Radkova witch reached for Elena's hand before she promised, "I'll be back soon."
"Be careful," Elena desperately begged as she tightly squeezed her twin sister's hand.
Elena tried her best to keep her emotions off of her face but it hard when she was extremely nervous. It wasn't that Elena didn't believe in Emily, that was far from the truth. It was the Klaus aspect that frightened the human girl. Elena could only hope and pray that the original hybrid didn't spot Emily or they were all majorly screwed.
"I will," Emily promised as she shot her twin sister a lazy and relaxed grin as she hoped that the emotions reached Elena to calm her nerves. The Radkova witch took one last look at Elena and Tyler before she quickly exited the backseat of the blue Mustang.
The Gilbert girl forced her body to take slow and deep breaths as she made her way around the bar to where Damon had to told her to meet him. Emily felt racked with nerves until she finally spotted Stefan, who looked to be in a heated conversation with Damon. It wasn't the ideal situation but it gave Emily that extra boost she needed to continue pushing forward instead of turning around like her body was begging for.
"You need to leave," the Radkova witch heard Stefan tell Damon as she walked up to the Salvatore brothers. "You have to get Emily out of Chicago now!" The younger vampire snarled as he roughly pushed Damon against the brick wall of the bar, "Klaus almost saw her today!"
While it was never a good sign when the Salvatore brothers were arguing or fighting, Emily took it as a positive indication when she could hear the care in Stefan's voice. It meant he wasn't completely gone like Damon had originally thought.
Damon rolled his blue eyes as he easily pushed his brother off of him. "Emily is a stubborn one," the blue eyed vampire reminded Stefan. "She's not going anywhere until she's got you checked into vampire rehab and on the mend," Damon stated with a smirk.
Stefan immediately shook his head before he glared across at his brother. "She is the key to everything!" The green eyed vampire exclaimed before he mumbled with pain all throughout his voice, "Klaus can't know that she's alive."
The way the conversation was going quickly peaked Emily's interest. "What do you mean?" The Radkova witch asked as she announced her arrival to the Salvatore brothers. Emily had this bad feeling in her chest and she knew whatever Stefan had to say wasn't a good thing.
While Damon had known the Radkova witch was there the whole time, Stefan swiftly turned around in shock at the familiar and comforting voice.
Stefan felt his breath come out heavy and shaky as he stared across at the one person who owned his heart. The younger Salvatore vampire wanted nothing more than to take Emily in his arms but Stefan knew it just wasn't practical. It was just going to hurt more in the long run.
Stefan quickly looked away from the Gilbert girl before he did something stupid in the name of love. Instead, the green eyed vampire stared solely at Damon, so he could keep focused on the topic of hand.
"She was supposed to die in the sacrifice and she didn't," Stefan told his brother as he pointed his index finger over to Emily without looking over at her. Stefan released a humorless chuckle before he muttered, "hell, Elena didn't either apparently from what I saw today."
A fierce glare immediately appeared on Damon's face at his brother's words. "She did die," Damon snapped, "It was fucking hell and you weren't there. You don't understand the pain we all had to go through while you were becoming besties with Klaus."
Emily quickly crossed the parking lot until she was standing next to her sister's boyfriend. The Radkova witch placed a comforting hand onto Damon's shoulder to calm him down. "I brought her back," Emily announced to Stefan as she looked over to him.
Stefan's green eyes went from Emily's hand on his brother's shoulder to Emily as he absorbed what she was telling him. Stefan didn't like the sound of that at all. He was no witch but Stefan knew how dangerous bringing someone back to life was.
Stefan wanted nothing more than to interrogate his girlfriend about everything that happened when she brought Elena back from the dead. He wanted to make sure Emily was okay and if the witches done something to her or if she was dying because of it.
However, Stefan forced himself to reign in his emotions before he could ask. The Salvatore vampire knew they had bigger things to worry about right now... like the original hybrid inside the bar behind them.
"Doesn't matter now," Stefan absently muttered as he waved his hand in a careless manner. "Klaus can't create any new hybrids with them alive," the younger Salvatore vampire explained as he spoke only to his brother. Stefan couldn't even stomach looking to the Gilbert girl in the eyes or he just might break.
Stefan pointed behind him towards Gloria's Bar as he continued, "his witch is seconds away from figuring out the truth." The green eyed vampire slowly shook his head before Stefan mumbled, "you need to take her home, Damon, now and forget all about me."
Damon, once more, rolled his blue eyes at his brother, this time in annoyance. Damon found it quite irritating how Stefan refused to acknowledge Emily like it would somehow make her go away. "How about you be a man and tell her yourself," Damon suggested before he turned to look over to the Radkova witch.
The blue eyed vampire patted Emily on her shoulder before he sarcastically muttered, "have fun." Damon gave his brother a warning glare before he walked away from the vampire and witch couple and headed into Gloria's Bar. Damon wasn't a religious man but he really hoped and prayed that everything would work in their favor tonight.
The parking lot of Gloria's Bar quickly became tense with silence as Stefan watched his brother walk away while the Radkova witch focused only onto him.
"Stef," the Gilbert girl softly called out as she took a couple of steps forward until she was standing directly in front of the Salvatore vampire. Emily slowly brought her hand up before she laid it softly onto her boyfriend's lower arm.
Stefan immediately flinched at the touch and quickly took a step back to break the contact. Stefan crossed his arms over his chest to stop himself from touching the Gilbert girl before he mumbled, "you shouldn't be here."
Emily released a humorless chuckle. "Where else would I be?" The Radkova witch asked as she tossed her arms up in the air before they roughly fell back against her thighs.
"You never gave up on me," Emily reminded the Salvatore vampire as she took three small steps forward until she was standing in Stefan's personal space before Emily continued as she asked, "so, why should I give up on you, huh?"
Emily shook her head before she softly murmured, "you are it for me, Stefan."
The Radkova witch forcefully unraveled Stefan's arms away from his chest before Emily grasped the Salvatore vampire's hand. Emily was honestly a little surprised that Stefan didn't even put up a fight when she moved his limbs. It was an extra boost of confidence that told Emily that Stefan wasn't as closed off to her as she had thought.
The Salvatore vampire knew he should pull away from Emily but he couldn't as their fingers slowly fell into place with one another. "Maybe that's the problem," Stefan mumbled as he stared down into the Gilbert girl's green eyes. "I shouldn't be your future," Stefan stated as he shook his head, "not with everything I have done."
Emily brought the Salvatore vampire's hand up to rest over her beating heart. "I don't care about any of that," the Radkova witch swore. "I just want you," Emily murmured.
"You're wasting your time." Stefan muttered as a deep frown rose onto his face.
"I'm not," Emily immediately denied.
Stefan tightly squeezed the Gilbert girl's hand in his own as if he was trying to remember the feeling for the future. "I can't come back," the Salvatore vampire mumbled.
"Yes, you can," the Radkova witch exclaimed as she grabbed Stefan's free hand in her other one. "Fight," Emily desperately begged. "That's what you have always told me to do, so why aren't you?" The Radkova witch inquired as her brows pulled together.
Stefan leaned his forehead down onto the Gilbert girl's temple before he released a heavy sigh. "I'm fighting," the Salvatore vampire whispered, "I'm fighting to keep you safe."
Stefan leaned back before he brought his palm up to the Gilbert girl's face. "I wish you would realize that," the green eyed vampire mumbled as he stroked Emily's cheek. Stefan released a small tsk before he muttered, "but with you here in Chicago... it's going to all for nothing if Klaus finds you."
"Then come home," Emily quickly argued as she placed her palm over Stefan's hand that was on her cheek. "We can fight this together, as a team," the Radkova witch exclaimed. "We have a whole group behind us," Emily reminded her boyfriend before she stated, "we can defeat Klaus together like we always do with our enemies."
Stefan released a shaky breath as he shook his head before he mumbled, "I'm sorry but I can't."
The Salvatore vampire refused to go back to Mystic Falls. Stefan knew Klaus would just follow them there and that would put Emily back in danger with the original hybrid. Stefan didn't care if Emily hated him for the rest of her life. He refused to be the reason for her death.
"I'm sorry, too," Emily whispered as she felt warm tears slide down her cheeks. The Radkova witch shot Stefan a sad smile as she brought her hands up to either side of Stefan's face. "I'm sorry," Emily repeated before she brought her lips to connect with Stefan's cold ones.
Emily absolutely hated herself right now. She didn't want to do it but she had to. While the Salvatore vampire was distracted by the kiss, Emily focused her mind on the cold, the frostbiting cold. Emily thought about the ice running through her veins before the Radkova witch felt the coldness take over her hands and creep up Stefan's face.
The Salvatore vampire swiftly pulled away from Emily's lips and ripped her hands off of his face when Stefan felt the pain crawl up his body. "Please, don't do this," Stefan desperately begged as he looked down to the Radkova witch's icy hands, "I don't want to hurt you."
"Neither do I," Emily mumbled as she watched as icicles appeared from her palm. "But I will do whatever is necessary to bring you back home," the Radkova witch exclaimed before she pulled the center and largest icicle from her hand to use as a weapon.
Stefan used his enhanced speed to run behind the Radkova witch before she could attack him. "You need to leave now," the Salvatore vampire ordered. "I know you think you're helping but you're not!" Stefan exclaimed.
"Klaus is obsessed with siring hybrids," the Salvatore vampire stated. Stefan shook his head as he mumbled, "the second he knows you and Elena are alive, he'll figure out why it's not working." Stefan threw his hands in the air in frustration before he exclaimed, "I'm trying to stall him but I can't do that with you here!"
Emily quickly turned around when the Salvatore vampire moved somewhere different in the parking lot with his enhanced speed for a third time. "I get it," Emily softly murmured as she melted the icicles with the flame on her fingertips after she noticed how on edge Stefan was by the ice.
The Radkova witch slowly moved closer to Stefan as if she was approaching a newborn deer. "I know you're trying to protect me but Klaus is going to figure out either way," Emily argued. "You said it yourself, his witch is going to find out why his hybrids aren't working," the Radkova witch mentioned.
"Wouldn't it be better to get in the front of this thing before he finds out the truth?" Emily inquired as she tightly grasped the Salvatore vampire's hands in her own.
"It's not going to fix anything!" Stefan huffed as he ripped his hands away from the Radkova witch. "Even if I did come back," Stefan mumbled as he shook his head, "nothing will never be the same again, not with me, not with us."
"You don't think I know that?" Emily asked as a frown quickly appeared on her face. "I know things won't be the same," the Radkova witch mumbled before she stated, "we both have gone through some horrible crap this summer."
"I don't think you do," Stefan uttered before he released a humorless chuckle. "I've left bodies scattered from Florida to Tennessee," the Salvatore vampire recalled before he stressed, "innocent people, Emily! Humans!"
Emily immediately rolled her green eyes at the Salvatore vampire. "Join the club, Stefan," the Radkova witch muttered. "I've killed innocent people, too," Emily reminded her boyfriend as she threw her hands up in the air in frustration. "It sucks and it's horrible but it happens," Emily softly murmured.
The Gilbert girl released a heavy sigh as she stared across at Stefan with sadness all throughout her green eyes. "You fought for me, to bring me back, so I'm going to do it for you, too," Emily insisted. "Lexi did it before and now I'm going to do it."
The Salvatore vampire released another humorless chuckle as he took slow steps to close the space between Emily and himself. "You know what I did after she found me, huh?" Stefan inquired as he twitched his head to the side. "I spent the next thirty years trying to pull myself together," Stefan informed the Radkova witch.
Stefan let out a cackle as he shook his head. "To a vampire? That's nothing," Stefan muttered before he pointed his index finger at the brunette girl and continued, "but to you? That's half your life wasted."
"It's not wasting my life when I want to do this!" The Radkova witch argued as she pushed onto Stefan's chest. "It's my choice and I choose you," Emily exclaimed as she slowly grasped the Salvatore vampire's hands in her own. "I choose to not let you go through this alone," Emily whispered as she slid her hands up Stefan's abdomen. "I choose to fight for you," Emily added as she wrapped her arms around Stefan's neck.
"I love you," the Radkova witch slowly murmured. "Please let me help you," Emily desperately begged before she leaned up and placed her lips onto Stefan's cold ones.
Stefan felt his body relax for the first time all summer as he tightly held onto the Gilbert girl's waist while he kissed her with as much emotion as he could muster. The kiss was filled with passion and roughness that expressed the love and want their was between the Salvatore vampire and the Radkova witch.
However, like all good things, it had to come to an end.
Stefan knew he couldn't do this. He needed Emily to leave and get as far away from him as possible. The Salvatore vampire had to force himself to push Emily's waist to put some space between them.
"I'm done with you. I'm done with that part of my life," Stefan muttered as he took a step back towards the bar behind him. The Salvatore vampire shook his head as he muttered, "I've burnt my bridges in Mystic Falls. I'm never going back there."
The Radkova witch's brows deeply furrowed as tears clouded her green eyes. "You don't mean that," Emily mumbled with a quiver of her lips as she stared across at the Salvatore vampire.
Stefan felt his heart break into tiny pieces as he watched the Gilbert girl's face crumble in front of him. It was hurting Stefan so much to do this but he had to put an end to this for once and for all. The Salvatore vampire needed Emily to let him go, so he would be able to protect her.
It pained Stefan to do so, but he knew the only thing he could do to really end this was to lie straight to Emily's face. Maybe then the Gilbert girl would finally listen to him.
"I used you," the Salvatore vampire stated as he began his web of lies, "you were something fun while it lasted." Stefan carelessly waved his hand as he muttered, "you were just a filter in my very long life."
Stefan had to bite down on his tongue to keep his own tears behind his eyeballs. The Salvatore vampire took a deep breath before he put the nail in the coffin as he proclaimed, "I don't love you."
The Salvatore vampire didn't even wait to see Emily's reaction before he swiftly turned around. Stefan just knew it would absolutely crush him if he had to watch the Gilbert girl's face fall at his words.
Stefan could feel his hands shake against his thighs as he headed back into Gloria's Bar. It pained Stefan so much to say those things to the love of his life but he had to. Stefan couldn't have the Radkova witch sniffing around Klaus if he was ever going to be able to keep her safe. Stefan would gladly have Emily hate him rather than her to be dead at the hands of the original hybrid.
Emily felt her legs buckle underneath her as she watched the love of her life walk away from her. The Radkova witch had no control of her body or magic as Emily's bare knees fell onto the concrete ground and an angry thunder rolled above her. There was certainly no stopping the tears and the sobs that racked from her body.
Emily felt absolutely lost. This was not what she suspected to happen when Katherine told her about Klaus and Stefan's whereabouts in Chicago. Emily thought she would be able to convince Stefan to come back to Mystic Falls with her - or worst come to worst, she would have to use her magic.
However, this? This wasn't on the Radkova witch's bingo card. Emily felt like there was a string around her heart. It felt like Stefan had just ripped it out of her chest and now he was pulling it with him.
While the Radkova witch was deeply hurt by what Stefan had said, Emily knew they were all just lies. Anyone in the world could see the love between them. That wasn't something that could just disappear.
Emily would admit, she did believe it for about half of a second. However, then the Radkova witch thought back how Stefan held and kissed her only a few minutes ago. It would be hard to fake all that.
It didn't mean that Stefan's words didn't break her heart. It pained Emily to hear the love of her life say that he didn't want to be with her anymore and that she was just some sort of game for him.
The Radkova witch honestly didn't know where she was supposed to go from here. Emily had tried everything she could to get Stefan back but in the end, he didn't want anything to do with her or Mystic Falls.
What could Emily do when the one person she has been searching for didn't want to be saved?
