Bringing Out The Dead
Elijah stands before Klaus, wiping the blood off his hands with his white handkerchief after killing Daniel. "You look surprised to see me," Elijah remarks, looking at his younger brother. "So it wasn't you that removed the dagger from my chest?"
"You look like you could do with a drink," Klaus replies. "And we have a lot to discuss, so shall we?" Elijah grows angry with his brother and attacks him, sending the Original Hybrid flying through the glass door. "Easy. We just finished renovating," Klaus rushes at Elijah, who crashes into a table, breaking it. "You know you have every right to be mad at me. But I kept my word; I reunited you with our family." Elijah attacks him again and knocks Klaus against a coffin. He opens the one next to it, showing their younger brother, Kol, and undaggers him, rushing to Elijah and holding him against a closed coffin by his throat. He holds the dagger up threateningly. "Don't make me do this to you again, Elijah!"
"Come on. Use it. I dare you. You'll have Kol to deal with," Elijah snaps, and Klaus lowers the dagger as he thinks about his destructive little brother.
"Mikael is dead," The Original Hybrid states, releasing his grip, and Elijah stands up, surprised.
"What did you say?" He asks, looking at his younger brother in shock.
"I killed him. With his own weapon. He's gone Elijah. Forever," Klaus informs him, a small smile spreading across his face for a second before he wipes it off.
"Why do our family remain in these coffins? Finn for over 900 years, Kol for over a century," The suit-wearing Original questions, pointing to their brothers.
"Because of Damon Salvatore," Klaus tells him. "He holds the one thing keeping me from freeing them. There are things that you do not know about our past, Elijah. Our mother's death. Things I never wanted you to know but I'm ready to tell you now. I only ask that you remember the oath of loyalty you once swore to me." Klaus goes to a small table with a miniature urn and removes the lid. He dips the dagger inside and then walks over to Kol's coffin.
"What are you doing?" Elijah asks him, watching Klaus dagger Kol again.
"Always and forever. I need you to stand by my side. Be my brother. Help me destroy Damon and I promise you our family will be whole again," He promises and closes Kol's coffin lid. Lorilei comes downstairs in her pyjamas, having heard the crashing.
"Go back to bed!" Lorilei shouts up the stairs at the teenagers who keep creeping toward the top of the stairs. "I said bed. Now!" Lorilei storms into the room, looking at Klaus angrily before it turns into a bright smile when she notices Elijah. "Elijah?" She runs into the room, jumping and wrapping her arms around his neck as he wraps his arms around her waist. As they hug, Klaus glares jealousy at them. "You're awake. Thank God. I missed you."
"I missed you, too, Dear Child," Elijah mutters, hugging her tighter.
"Can we go to bed now?" Klaus grumbles, glaring at them with his arms folded childishly. Lorilei and Elijah pull away and look at the grumpy Original Hybrid.
"What's your problem, Nik?" Lorilei asks, looking at her boyfriend. Elijah looks between them, not knowing what is happening between his brother and former charge.
"He's jealous!" Edward shouts from the stairs, making the Originals and Siphon look at the door.
"I said go to bed! Edward! Alexis! Jeremy!" She shouts, moving towards the door to see all three teens in the middle of the stairs. "You have school in the morning!"
"Is that her siblings and the Gilbert boy?" Elijah questions, pointing towards Lorilei in surprise.
"Yes, that is indeed her siblings and the Gilbert boy. It's been a long few months," Klaus replies, looking grimly at his older brother.
"As much as I've missed you, I need to go to bed," Lorilei tells the Originals before heading up the stairs. "I don't hear the doors closing!" Lorilei moves up the stairs and hears three slams of the teens' doors. "Nik! Bed now!"
Elena comes downstairs to see Alaric combing through the cupboards at the Gilbert residence. "Morning," Elena greets him.
"Thought we had aspirin," Alaric asks, frowning as he searches the cupboards.
They're in the vitamins," She tells him, noticing a nearly empty whiskey bottle and an empty glass next to it on the kitchen counter. "You're hungover."
"Yeah, sorry about that. It was a bit of a weird night," he retorts guiltily.
"I told you you don't have to feel guilty about inviting Meredith over here," The Doppelganger assures him.
"Oh I know. And I thank you for that. But I do feel guilty for whiskey dialling her at two in the a.m," the history teacher confesses.
"No you didn't," Elena gasps, looking at him.
"Oh, yes I did," Alaric retorts.
"Oh, was she cool about it?" She asks, curious about the answer.
"Well, as soon as these aspirin kick in and I remember the conversation, I'll let you know," He replies, and the doorbell rings. Sheriff Forbes is waiting outside, holding a plastic evidence bag. Elena opens the door and sees Liz walking out onto the porch, followed by Alaric.
"Sheriff Forbes, hi. Is everything okay?" The Doppelganger asks her.
"This is an unconventional conversation we're about to have. So I hope you'll protect me on it," Liz tells them, looking at Alaric and Elena.
"Of course," Alaric agrees, and Elena nods.
"I assume you both heard our medical examiner was murdered the night of the Wickery Bridge fundraiser." She questions.
"Yeah. Brian Walters. Why?" He asks.
"We've been investigating. Someone drove this stake through his heart," The Sheriff explains, holding up the evidence bag with the stake in it.
"That's one of ours. I mean this is one of a set from your parents' lake house," The Vampire Hunter tells them, looking at Elena.
"That's why I'm here," Liz replies. "I haven't told anyone but forensics ran it for prints and found only one clean set." She looks at Elena. "Yours."
"What?" Elena gasps in shock.
Elijah walks downstairs the following day; his new room is most likely thanks to Lorilei, which reminds him of his New York apartment. Elijah enters the kitchen to see three teenagers sitting at the island, enjoying their breakfast fruit bowls as Lorilei stands at the stove, cooking. He can't help but smile as he watches her, glad she's doing better and not alone anymore. "Where is my bedroom!" He hears his little sister coming into the kitchen. She looks at the three younger teens and Lorilei before spotting Elijah. "Elijah!" She exclaims, jumping into his arms, who happily accepts the hug. "You're finally awake!"
"Hello, Rebekah, I'm surprised you're not daggered still," Elijah remarks, looking at his little sister.
"Oh, if Elena had her way she would," She retorts angrily and moves to the island, sitting beside Alexis. "The evil little Doppelganger. If it wasn't for Lorilei, I would have stayed daggered."
"We wouldn't let that happen, Bekah," Lorilei assures her, putting breakfast burritos on the teens' plates. "Do you want anything, Lijah?"
"Yes, thank you," Elijah smiles, joining his sister. "I've missed your food."
"Ah, is that a breakfast burrito I smell?" Klaus asks as he enters the room and sits beside Jeremy at the island.
"It is. Wait your turn," Lorilei laughs, handing out all the food to everyone before setting up a plate for herself and sitting beside Klaus. The group seems almost like a makeshift family, which wells up Elijah's heart, missing this, though he looks at Klaus and Lorilei in the corner of his eye, still unsure what's going on with them.
Damon later walks through a meadow outside Mystic Falls, talking to Elena on the phone after Sheriff Forbes' visit. "So you're the prime suspect, huh?" Damon questions.
"She doesn't think that I did it," Elena argues. "She's just trying to find out why somebody used one of my family weapons to kill a Council Member."
"Well why don't you just ask Ric if his dirty little Doctor had access to the weapons," He retorts.
"You're on speaker phone, dick," Alaric snaps.
"I'm just sayin' first suspects usually the right one," Damon retorts. "Don't get so defensive."
"Brian Walters was killed days ago, alright?" He argues. "I didn't show Meredith this stuff until last night!"
"It wasn't Meredith," Elena adds.
"But Brian Walters was her ex-boyfriend and Ric saw them fighting that night," Damon argues, thinking of the party.
"It's not Meredith! Okay? I refuse to believe that your luck with women is that tragic," She assures her teacher.
"Who else knows about your secret little slayer stash?" Damon asks as he waits.
"Who doesn't? Got weapons everywhere, here, the school, my loft, your car," Alaric replies.
"It's Klaus or Lorilei. It has to be, they're screwing with us," He growls angrily.
"What if it was someone else? We don't know who it was," Elena argues.
"Right, well, if we don't know who it is we need to find out. But not now, I got to go, you'll know more later," The cocky Vampire tells them as he sees someone approaching.
"Hey, where are you?" Alaric asks him.
"Tea with an old friend," Damon replies before hanging up as Elijah stands before him. "Elijah. My favourite Original, back from the dead. Clean up nice." He looks at the suit-wearing Original with his hair nicely cut and wearing a new suit.
"You left something in my jacket pocket," Elijah replies, pulling a note from his breast pocket.
"Oh, yeah. 'Dear Elijah, let's get together, plot the destruction of your brother, XOXO'," He jokes.
"Damon," the suit-wearing Original greets him. The Original dislikes the man, especially after talking with his younger siblings this morning.
"Was I right to undagger you or are we gonna have a problem?" The older Salvatore questions, looking at him.
"I'm here, let's talk," Elijah replies plainly.
"I'll start with an easy question. Any idea what kind of Klaus-killing weapon could be magically sealed in a mystery coffin?" Damon asks him, still wanting to kill Klaus, but doesn't realise Elijah is playing him.
Abby, Bonnie and Matt hide away in the secret cave, moving through the tunnel toward the opening. "Slow down!" Abby snaps, trying to keep up.
"Keep up, we don't have much time," Matt warns them, feeling terrible about being dragged into this mess.
"Sorry Matt, but I didn't have a choice," Bonnie argues.
"It was a choice, Bonnie. You made it, and now we have to live with it," he retorts. "You told Klaus where the coffins were, and he took them—all of them except this one." The locked coffin comes into view as they get further along the tunnel.
"That's the one that's sealed?" Abby asks, looking at it.
"Yep. Fortunately it seems to be the one he cares about most," Matt replies, glaring at it.
"Aren't you coming inside?" She wonders, looking at him, who stands at the entrance.
"I can't stay, and don't worry. Vampires can't get in. Damon had to compel a couple of Lockwood gardeners to bring the coffin in," He tells them.
"This is a bad idea," The older Bennett mutters, looking at the sealed coffin.
"Look, if you're really the key to opening up that coffin, I think it's a pretty safe bet you're on Klaus' hit list. So I suggest you hideout here and figure out a way to open up the damn thing," The blond quarterback warns them.
"I told you, I don't have any powers," Abby argues, looking at him and her daughter.
"And I know you believe that. But time's ticking," He retorts. "Won't be long before Klaus calls his Hybrids to find that coffin and kill all of us. So dig deep, Mrs Bennett. Scrape out whatever magic you have left." The human walks away, and when he comes outside, he sees Elena waiting at the front of the entrance to the cave. "What are you doing here?"
"Bonnie told me that you guys would be here. I need to talk to you," Elena replies.
"Well, there's nothing to talk about. I'm late for my shift at the Grill," The former boyfriend tells her, not wanting to get too involved with this mess already.
"Did you hear about the medical examiner?" She asks him, trying to find out who killed him if it isn't Klaus.
"Why would you think I'd know?" Matt asks her.
"I just wanted to know if you'd heard anything," The Doppelganger replies.
"Well, believe what you want, Elena," He mutters, rolling his eyes.
"I don't want to believe any of it, Matt," Elena retorts glumly.
"But you had to ask me anyway," The blond quarterback argues.
"Matt…" She mutters, looking at him.
"Did you ask Damon...if he killed anybody lately?" Matt questions, but Elena doesn't answer, and Matt signs, leaving her alone.
Meredith meets Caroline in the hallway at Mystic Falls Hospital to talk about her patient, the blond Vampire's father. "Are you Caroline?" Dr Fell asks, looking at her.
"Yes. Dr Fell, hi! Elena told me you helped out my dad," Caroline replies, having only talked to Elena once when it involved her dad.
"Did. Do you think you can get him to be a little more grateful? He spent half the night threatening to get my medical licence revoked for saving his life," Meredith retorts her frustration at Mr Forbes to his daughter.
"Yeah, my dad's a little set in his ways. He spent his whole life hating Vampires, so…" She apologises to the Doctor.
"So... he's not psyched about it being Vampire blood that healed him. Yeah, he made that clear. I'm sorry. My bedside manner sucks, on no sleep," Dr Fell tells her.
"So, can I take him home?" The young Vampire asks, wanting to see her dad.
"I signed his discharge papers late last night, just to shut him up." Meredith tells her.
"Oh, I...he didn't call or anything," Caroline mutters.
"That's gotta be hard," She comments. "When your dad hates the one thing you can't change about yourself," Caroline looks at her in surprise. "I make it my business to know who the Vampires are in this town. Medical curiosity. I don't blab."
"Yeah, we've had our ups and downs," The blond teen remarks, though it has been challenging.
"Tell your dad I said "you're welcome"," The Doctor says before leaving.
"Thanks," Caroline replies, walking along the hallway to find Elena waiting for her, but she passes her, wanting to find her dad.
"Caroline? Hey, Care!" Elena calls after her, but Caroline ignores her as she spots Blake waiting further down the hallway. Elena sees them talking and can't help but feel she is losing all of her friends who want to protect her.
"That was fast," Blake comments, looking at the distressed blond Vampire.
"Yeah, he's not here," Caroline tells him. "He was already discharged. And she seems perfectly nice by the way...a little intense, maybe." She starts calling her father on her phone.
"Okay, but I mean, he can't have gotten far without a ride," She assures her new friend. Caroline suddenly lowers her phone from her ear and looks blankly. "What?"
"I hear it," The blond Vampire tells her, using her super hearing.
"I hear it, too," The ginger Werewolf mutters. "Is that?"
"My dad's phone," Caroline agrees, hastily walking to a medical supply room. She opens the door, and they walk in, passing numerous shelves to the back of the room to find Bill's dead body sitting upright on the floor against a shelf with a knife in his chest. Caroline rushes to her dad's side, kneeling beside Bill frantically. "Dad! Dad?"
"Oh my God," Blake mutters, looking at the carnage.
"Don't be dead, don't be dead, don't be dead! Oh my God!" She yelps, panicking, and she pulls the knife out, dropping it on the floor. "Daddy!" Blake watches and realises something as she looks at the blood on the knife.
"Care… Didn't Meredith say he has Vampire blood in his system?" The Werewolf questions, looking worried about her new friend.
"What?!" The blond Vampire exclaims as she looks at Bill, who suddenly jolts awake.
In the secret cave, Bonnie looks at the signs that Klaus and his family left behind on the rock walls. "Is this the only Grimoire you kept?" Bonnie asks, looking at her mum and the book.
"It was the only one I needed. So...what is all of this?" Abby retorts, looking at her daughter and the wall.
"Family history. About a mother, who loved her children so much, she couldn't bear the thought she might lose them. So she turned them into Vampires. One of them is Klaus," She replies, turning back to the sealed coffin.
"The one you're trying to kill with whatever is in that coffin?" The older Bennett asks, still trying to catch up on everything she's missed, and she nods. Bonnie looks at the open Grimoire on top of the coffin. She notices a page has been torn out.
"There's nothing in here that's going to help us. I've seen most of these spells. What was this?" The inexperienced Witch asks, seeing another one.
"It's the spell I used to seal Mikael in the tomb. I burned it and tried to get it out of my head. Didn't work though," Abby replies. "Wait...Do you see this?" She points to a spell on the page.
"It's a sealing spell. We're trying to open something… Not seal it shut," Bonnie argues, looking at it.
"No. Right here. On this side. It's a blood knot," She tells her, pointing at the symbol. "It means to bind it you need two generations. A bloodline. Like...two keys to a safety deposit box."
"So...unbinding it, would reverse the spell. Unseal it. If we did it together," The young Bennett replies, still learning her spells.
Damon comes home and goes into Stefan's room with two shirts in his hands, hoping to see his brother, but he still isn't there. Damon walks back downstairs, needing someone to help him with his little dinner with the Originals tonight and calls someone he knows will help him. "Hey, get dressed. We're going out," Damon says when Alaric answers the phone.
"Yeah, sorry, not interested," Alaric replies. "And why do you think I don't have something to do?"
"When do I care? And I didn't ask. Elijah and I have scheduled a very old-fashioned sit-down with me and Klaus. I say go with something black. Makes us look all villainy," He retorts.
"Klaus won't make a deal, Damon," The Vampire Slayer argues.
"He didn't have to. All we're doing is buying a little time to give our Wicked Witches a chance to pop the top off the coffin," The older Salvatore replies.
"So, that's your, uh, plan? Stall Klaus?" Alaric questions, not understanding. "If you didn't go postal on his Hybrids, then maybe we'd have some options. So you unleashed an Original to help him out?"
"Undaggering Elijah was smart, Ric. Are you kidding me?" Damon snaps. "After what Klaus did to him? He's in vengeance mode. It's perfect."
"There's nothing smart about trusting Elijah, Damon," He warns him. "He screwed us over the last time he promised to help us kill Klaus. And the way you've been acting, I trust him about as much as I trust you."
"Hm. Well I guess that goes both ways, doesn't it?" The cocky Vampire retorts. "And I know this is about me kissing Elena. Just remember, if it wasn't for Klaus, Stefan would have never become such a dick and that kiss would never have happened. So get ready and get happy. We're going to negotiate a fake truce and I don't want your attitude screwing it up."
After finding him in the medical supply room, Caroline and Bill are alone in a hospital room before he wakes up after becoming a Vampire. "I compelled the nurse to stay out of this room. You'll be safe here," Caroline tells him.
"My wound is completely healed. I need something to eat," Bill replies, feeling the need for blood.
"Daddy, why don't you just come lay down and just relax?" She asks him, seeing how jittery he is.
"I can't. I'm too wired and my pulse is racing. It's the effect of my body wanting to transition," He argues.
"Well, maybe Doctor Fell can give you something," The blond Vampire suggests.
"She's done enough," Mr Forbes snaps, and Blake enters the room.
"I called your mom," Blake tells her.
"Thanks," Caroline mutters.
"Mr Forbes, did you see your attacker?" She asks, looking at him.
"I didn't see anything. Tried to sneak out the back exit and someone came up from behind," Bill tells her.
"Look, we'll figure this out, but in the meantime we need to get you some blood," Caroline adds, not wanting to lose her father.
"I'm not going to drink any blood," He argues fiercely.
"You have to. You died with Vampire blood in your system," She retorts. "If you don't feed and finish the transition into a Vampire then you'll die."
"I understand how it works," Mr Forbes replies. "And that's what I'm prepared to do. Now, get me out of this hospital. I smell blood everywhere." He storms out of the room.
It's almost time for the Original dinner party, and Alaric puts his weapons on the table before he heads to meet Damon when Elena walks into the house. "What are you doing?" Elena asks, looking at all the weapons.
"Taking inventory. Did you bring it?" Alaric asks her, not looking up.
"You mean, did I steal evidence from a crime scene? Yes," She replies, giving him the knife that was used to kill Bill, wrapped in a cloth. He unwraps it and looks carefully at it.
"You're right. It's a match," he confirms. "This is from a crawl space in the foyer. Which means Meredith knew where it was."
"That doesn't mean she stole it," The Doppelganger argues, and he shows her some other stakes.
"This is from the loft. These are from the duffel in Damon's car," the Vampire Slayer explains, showing her the different ones.
"Identical to the one that killed Brian Walters," Elena mutters in horror.
"Damon's car was at the Wickery Bridge fundraiser," Alaric tells her. "So was Meredith. And that was the night her ex-boyfriend, the medical examiner, was killed. The one who called her psycho."
"Well, she was trying to save Bill Forbes. Why would she turn around and try to kill him?" she reasons.
"I don't know what to think either," He replies. "You know, but... we'd be idiots to ignore all these facts."
"So what should we do?" The dark-haired teen asks her friend, and Alaric picks up the knife.
"Well... Get this to the police. Then you should probably be with Caroline," the history teacher suggests.
"I'm sorry, Ric. Please be careful," Elena pleads with him and takes the knife before leaving, and Alaric sighs before heading out to Klaus' Mansion.
Elijah opens the front door to Damon and Alaric, seeing how uncomfortable the pair look as they look at the extravagant mansion. "Niklaus, our guests have arrived," Elijah announces, and Klaus comes over with Lorilei on his arm.
"Damon. Alaric. Elijah tells me, you seek an audience," Klaus remarks, glaring at the two men. "Very bold. Let's discuss the terms of our agreement like civilised men, shall we?" They move into the dining room with the table set and food already waiting for them. Damon cringes when he sees Rebekah and Stefan also there waiting for them.
"It's better to indulge him," He warns the men.
"I didn't come here to eat, Klaus," Alaric grumbles. "Fact, I didn't want to come here at all. But I was told I had to cause you would hear us out."
"Well, we can sit and eat, or I can reach down your throats and pull out your insides. The choice is yours," Klaus threatens them, and they sit at the table. Lorilei smirks, seeing how uncomfortable Damon and Alaric are as they sit with the three Originals, former Ripper and Siphon. Everyone eats, trying to enjoy it, but it's so uncomfortable that Alaric can't stomach it as he plays with his food. Damon pours himself some wine, noticing it's just them and wonders who cooked this meal. "You lost your appetite?" Klaus asks, looking at Alaric and noticing his behaviour.
"Eat. I thought we agreed that we would leave the grumpy Ric at home," Damon jokes, looking at his best friend, who takes a bite of the roast lamb dish.
"That's the spirit. Isn't it nice?" He muses. "Seven of us dining together? Such a treat. Is this what you had in mind when you pulled the dagger from my brother?"
"Well, I know how he felt about you, so I figured the more, the merrier," The cocky Vampire retorts, playfully winking at Elijah.
"Well, Elijah and I have had our share of quarrels over the century. But we always make it through," The Original Hybrid argues, looking at his brother.
"Kind of like you and Rebekah, right?" Alaric retorts, looking at the blond Original, who glares at him.
"If you're referring to the fact that Bekah knows Nik killed their mother, he's already come clean to Elijah," Lorilei informs them. "Who took it remarkably well."
"I mean. I did stab you when you weren't expecting it," Rebekah argues, looking at her brother. "I might do it again."
"Thank you for the warning," Klaus grumbles, looking at his girlfriend for help.
"Good luck, Klaus," Stefan laughs, looking at his friend, who glares back at him.
"Hey, Stef, remember when you killed dad?" Damon snarks, looking at his little brother, who looks back at him. "Might want to dial down the judgement until dessert."
"We're here to make a deal, Damon," Alaric reminds him.
"Doesn't mean we need to kiss his ass for seven courses," He argues.
"I'm just saying we have a long evening ahead of us. Pace yourself," The Vampire Hunter warns him.
"This is going to be a long night," Lorilei grumbles, earning a laugh from the Originals and Stefan.
Elena comes to the Forbes house outside to find Blake and Caroline on the front porch. "Hi, Care, I heard what happened to your dad, how are you?" Elena asks, earning looks from the Vampire and Werewolf.
"What are you doing here, Elena?" Caroline asks, looking at her former friend.
"I came to see how you're doing?" She replies, frowning at the hostility in her friend's voice.
"I don't want you here, Elena," The blond Vampire snaps. "I don't want you here."
"Caroline…" The Doppelganger mutters.
"I think that's your cue to leave," Blake sneers, glaring at Elena, who cowers as she sees the golden glow in her eyes.
"Call me," Elena replies before leaving and trying to hide her tears.
"Are you okay?" She asks, looking at Caroline, seeing how upset she is still after her breakup with Tyler, her dad getting killed and learning Elena was hiding something from her.
"I'm okay. Did you hear back from Tyler yet?" Caroline asks, hearing that Tyler had gone with a few other Hybrids who wanted to find a way to get rid of the Sire Bond, though most of them don't feel the effects of the bond after a while.
"No. But we get messages from the others. Everything seems to be going okay. Do you think Dr Fell did it?" The ginger Werewolf asks, looking at her.
"I don't think so," She replies. "What about you? Who do you think it is?"
"I think we have a serial killer around here. And it's not a Vampire or Werewolf or Hybrid," Blake retorts, looking at her.
"So, you think it's a human?" the young Vampire questions, looking at her new friend. "And who do you think it is?"
"I have no idea. I don't know many people here, remember?" she laughs. "How are you holding up with your dad?"
"I'm okay. My mum's in there sitting with my dad. And I don't think they've been in the same room this long since I was ten years old," Caroline muses, looking at her front door.
"It must be hard. I don't think my parents have ever argued. They're very lovey-dovey," The Werewolf grumbles; though she loves her family, it's so sickening to watch. "I hope I never get like that with Stefan."
"I'm sorry? Did you say you and Stefan?" She asks, looking at the strawberry blond to see her blushing badly.
"What? No!" Blake exclaims. "I did not."
"You so did," The blond Vampire laughs, feeling slightly better. "I think it's sweet. You must like Stefan a lot."
"I do. He understands me, and I sound really corny, I know. But he does. And I've seen him at his worst and helped him through it because I care about him. A lot," she replies. Looking at her, she sees Caroline close to bursting into tears.
"I can't just let my father die," Caroline states. "You know, I'm… I'm gonna force him to feed."
"Hey...he doesn't want to, Caroline," The ginger Werewolf reminds her. "The only thing your dad has is his choice." Caroline bursts into tears, sobbing.
"I hated him so much for what he did to me. So much. Now all I want to do is save his life," She tells her through her tears.
"Of course you do, he's your dad," Blake assures her friend.
"I don't know how I am going to deal with this. Losing him," The young Vampire cries, hugging Blake.
"You'll be okay. You're a strong person, Care. You'll be okay. You have your friends and family. You can push through this," she promises, hugging her friend back when Matt shows up after getting a text from Jeremy about what's happened.
"Hey," Stefan greets both girls.
"Hey," Caroline sobs, getting up and hugging him.
Back at the Original Mansion, the dinner party is still getting awkward between everyone at the table. "Stefan. Where is the lovely Elena tonight?" Elijah asks, still getting the information from his months in the coffin.
"I don't know or care. Ask Damon," Stefan replies, making Klaus, Lorilei, Rebekah and Stefan laugh.
"I'm sorry, you've missed so much," Klaus tells him.
"Yeah, see, Stefan and Elena broke up and he's now dating Blake. She's a Werewolf, a part of our Pack," Lorilei informs him. "We really need to catch you up."
"One more word about Elena and this dinner's over," Damon announces, glaring at the Originals and Lorelei. Klaus smiles cheekily and puts a finger to his lips as a promise to keep quiet about Elena.
"You know what, probably best just to keep Elena in the do-not-discuss pile," Alaric suggests nervously.
"You're probably right," Klaus agrees.
"Yeah," Stefan smirks, looking at how nervous both Alaric and Damon are around them.
"It's just the allure of the Petrova Doppelgänger, still so strong. What do you say, brother? Should we tell them about Tatia?" Klaus asks, making Rebekah scoff and Lorilei frown, having heard Elijah's side of the story a long time ago.
"Now why should we discuss matters long since resolved?" Elijah asks his younger brother.
"Please, it was my bedtime story for a few weeks when we lived in New York," Lorelei argues, looking at her former guardian.
"Well, given their previous shared affection for both Elena and Katerina, I think our guests might be curious to learn about the originator of the Petrova line," Klaus suggests, looking at his brother.
"Well, we're not going anywhere Elijah. Please, do tell," Damon agrees, looking at the others and taking a sip of wine.
"When our family first settled here, there was a girl named Tatia," Elijah tells them the story. "She was an exquisite beauty. Every boy of age desired to be her suitor, even though she'd had a child by another man. And none loved her more than Niklaus."
"I'd say there was one who loved her at least as much," Klaus argues, looking at his brother and then at Lorilei, who rolls her eyes as he takes her hand, kissing her palm. Elijah looks at the couple, still not sure how he feels about them together, as he knows his brother well and worries about Lorilei in the long run.
"Wait a minute. So you both loved the same girl?" Stefan asks, looking between Elijah and Klaus.
"Our mother was a very powerful Witch," Elijah explains. "She sought to end our feud over Tatia, and so she took her. Klaus and I would later learn that it was Tatia's blood that we consumed in the wine on the night where our mother performed the spell, which turned us into Vampires. Tatia wouldn't make a decision between the two of us, so for a time, Niklaus and I...grew estranged. Harsh words were traded; we even came to blows, didn't we, brother?"
"But in the end we realised the sacred bond of family," Klaus adds, looking at his brother.
"Family above all," He replies, and they raise their glasses, looking at their sister, who does the same before all three Originals look at Lorilei, too.
"I told you your mother was a mega bitch," Lorilei retorts, smirking and raising her glass.
"Family above all," Klaus repeats, and they clink their glasses together.
Meanwhile, in the secret cave below the old Lockwood cellar, Abby and Bonnie stand on either side of the sealed coffin, holding each other's hands and chanting a spell. After a minute, Bonnie pulls her hands from Abby's and looks at her. "You're not trying!" Bonnie snaps angrily at her mother. "We've been at this for over an hour."
"The spirits are angry with me. For leaving you," Abby reminds her. "Maybe they didn't want me to have my powers again."
"I had all of those dreams for a reason," She argues. "The spirits wanted me to find you because you're my mom. It's not them, it's you. You won't open yourself up to it. You know Dad never talked about you? And neither did Grams. I had no memories of you. So you know what I use to pretend? That you were dead. It was easier to do that than to wonder why you never came back for me." Abby looks at her with tears in her eyes as she talks.
"There is no way I can tell you how sorry I am for what I did," the older Bennett replies tearfully.
"Yes, there is. You can help me," The young Bennett Witch retorts, placing her hands over the coffin again and reaching out for Abby's hands. Abby takes her hands, and they begin reciting the spell again. The candles around them flare up with a deep rumbling coming from them, and after a moment, the candles return to normal, and everything goes quiet. Bonnie goes to open the coffin when the lid rattles, but it still won't open. "It almost worked. I have to call Damon tell him that we're getting closer. I'll be right back."
"Okay," Abby mutters as Bonnie leaves the cavern while she stays behind. She hears a thud behind her and looks at the coffin. She walks over to it and reaches out to open it, but it opens by itself, and all the candles flare up, making her gasp in shock.
Damon receives a text from Bonnie and scans it.
BONNIE:
Getting closer. Need more time.
"So, why don't we move this evening along and discuss the terms of this proposal?" Elijah suggests, wanting to move forward.
"That's very simple. Klaus gets his coffin back; in exchange, he and the Original extended family leave Mystic Falls forever. Me, Stefan, and Elena live happily ever after. No grudges," Damon demands, making Stefan glare. He was not going to come back to Elena or Damon.
"The deal sounds fair, brother," He agrees, looking at Klaus.
"I don't think you understand. Elena's Doppelgänger blood ensures that I will always have more Hybrids to fight those that oppose me. I will never leave her behind," Klaus argues, getting up and starting to pace. "Let's say I do leave her here, under your protection, what then? How long before one of you turns her into a Vampire? Or worse, how long before she dies caught between our feuding? You see, each one of you truly believes that you're the one that can protect her, and that is simply a delusion. Gentlemen, the worst thing for Elena Gilbert is...you." Damon gives him a weak smile, then looks at Alaric.
"I'm gonna get some air," Damon announces, getting up.
"Let me deal with this," Elijah tells him, getting up and following Damon, leaving Klaus and Stefan alone.
"All this talk has made me thirsty, Bekah, would you mind?" Klaus asks, looking at his sister, who nods, gets up and heads out of the other doors.
"This is really awkward, isn't it?" Lorilei mutters, looking at the others, and Rebekah returns with a blood-filled decanter.
"Please enjoy," Rebekah smiles, sitting back down. Stefan takes the jug of blood, making Alaric nervous.
"Stefan, do you think that's a good idea?" Alaric asks him, watching the former Ripper.
"I'll be fine," Stefan replies, taking a sip. "Delicious. Aged to perfection."
"Well, I guess the only reason you agreed to this evening, Klaus, is to drive a wedge between me and my friends," Alaric sneers, glaring at the man who possessed him some time ago.
"Oh no, you two are doing that well enough on your own," Klaus argues. "Because of Elena, Damon's gonna lose his brother and he'll only have himself to blame." Damon and Elijah re-enter the room, Damon looking a little uncomfortable.
"What do you say, Klaus? It's time for you to put something on the table. We've made our offer, now you counter," Damon suggests, glaring at the Original Hybrid.
"Okay. I offer Elena's future happiness," He tells them. "You see, what she needs right now is to be rid of you lot. And to fall in love with a human, maybe that nice football player, you know the blond one?" Rebekah glares at her older brother at the mention of her crush.
"Matt Donovan? Really?" Stefan scoffs, thinking of the blond quarterback.
"Yeah, why not? They'll marry, live a long and fruitful life, and pop out a perfect family." The Original Hybrid argues.
"And continue the Petrova bloodline. Every few hundred years, you'll have a new Doppelgänger to drain and never run out of Hybrids, right Klaus?" Alaric snaps, glaring at him.
"Consider it a small return on my investment in her well-being," Klaus argues, though he knows his compulsion for monthly blood still holds. "See, after you hand me back the coffin, I'll ensure her safety for the rest of her natural life. You know it's what's best for her." He gets up and walks towards Damon. "So, what do you say, Damon, hmm? Do we have a deal?" Damon starts walking to meet Klaus.
"What are you doing?" Alaric asks nervously, and Klaus angrily holds his hand out to Damon, who grabs his hand.
"Nice try, Klaus. But no deal," Damon declines, and Klaus breaks his arm. He kicks the young Vampire's leg and breaks it as well. The Original Hybrid pushes Damon's hand into the fireplace, burning him. Alaric attempts to rush over to him, but Elijah intercepts and pushes him against a wall. Lorilei sighs, taking a drink of her wine as Rebekah smirks, enjoying the show. The two women look at Stefan, who seems to be enjoying his dinner, not bothered by Klaus's abuse of his brother.
"So dramatic," Lorilei mutters, making Rebekah and Stefan laugh.
"What are you doing?" Alaric groans as Elijah presses the history teacher hard against the wall, and Klaus continues to hold Damon's arm over the open flames, burning his arm badly. "Stop!"
"Now, bring me my coffin before I burn him alive," Klaus demands, glaring at them.
"We'll get it," He agrees reluctantly.
"Go with him, brother," The Original Hybrid demands. "You keep him honest. And when you return, I will make good on my promise to you and I will hand over our family."
Caroline enters her bedroom and sees her dad standing in the middle of the room. "Hey," Bill greets her softly.
"Hey," Caroline replies, and he points to a trophy on Caroline's dresser.
"Your first day at regionals," He says, looking at it.
"Yep. I was afraid to join the squad, but you talked me into it." She replies, smiling fondly.
"You had nothing to be afraid of," Mr Forbes assures her. "You were so much better than all those other girls." Bill slowly sits down on Caroline's bed.
"How are you feeling?" The blond Vampire asks him, concerned for him.
"I'm tired," Bill replies.
"Can I get you anything? Or um...do you want me to call Steven?" Caroline offers, trying to be helpful and preoccupy her mind.
"No, no, we haven't spoken in a while. Just call him when it's over, and the dust has settled, would you?" he asks her, and she nods, kneeling before her dad and taking his hands.
"Listen, listen to me. I know that you think you made your choice, but you can change your mind," She argues, not wanting to lose her father. "You know, you are strong enough to handle being a Vampire. I mean, you're the strongest person that I know."
"Oh, Caroline, my strength is all in my beliefs. Becoming a Vampire is wrong, people aren't supposed to cheat death. It's just what I believe. Please respect that," Mr Forbes begs her, and she lets go of his hands, standing up and starting to cry.
"God. How can you hate who I am so much?!" The young Vampire sobs and Bill gets up, gently grabbing her face. Liz approaches the doorway, listening to them.
"Oh, no, no, no, sweetheart, I don't hate you, I love you. You're strong, you're beautiful, you're good. And even after everything that has happened to you, you are exactly who your mother and I hoped you'd grow up to be." Bill tells her with so much love.
"Please don't leave me, Daddy. Please...please don't leave me. Daddy just don't leave me." Caroline begs him, and Bill hugs her, petting his hair to give her a sense of comfort.
"Shh. Parents aren't supposed to outlive their children, Caroline. It's okay," He assures her, kissing the top of her head as she continues to cry. He catches Liz looking at them, and she even has tears in her eyes. "This is life. This is what it means to be human."
Klaus keeps Damon's arm over the flames as everyone waits for Alaric and Elijah to return. "Go ahead and kill me. I know you'll do it when he brings the coffin," Damon groans through the pain, and Klaus pulls Damon out of the fireplace.
"Well, that was pathetic," Lorilei sighs. "Where's that fight from a few nights ago when you tried to kill me?" Klaus glares, remembering how he felt when he got that call, and he pushes Damon, who pushes back. Suddenly, Elijah and Alaric re-enter the room next to the door, the suit-wearing Original holding a silver tray with a cloth covering something.
"Elijah...why haven't you left?" Klaus asks, looking at his older brother.
"Where are your manners, brother? We forgot dessert," Elijah replies, taking the cloth covering to show two silver daggers.
"What have you done?" He snaps, thinking of Lorilei possibly being in danger if his brothers awaken.
"What have you done?" the older brother counters. "You see, I've learned not to trust your vulgar promises, Klaus. We're doing this on my terms now." Suddenly, Kol enters the room, making Rebekah jump from her chair. She moves towards Lorilei, who looks at her as Klaus pales almost at the sight of his chaotic younger brother.
"Kol…" The Original Hybrid gasps as he looks at him as he stalks towards him.
"Long time, brother," Kol replies, smirking evilly as he moves towards Klaus, who keeps backing away. Their older brother, Finn, suddenly appears, and he grabs a dagger from the silver tray and stabs Klaus through the hand.
"Finn, don't!" Klaus shouts as he tries to rush away but runs into Kol. Lorilei jumps to her feet behind Rebekah.
"Nik!" Lorilei shouts, seeing him get stabbed by another dagger by Kol. "Rebekah let me go!" She tries getting to Klaus, but Rebekah holds her in place, not wanting her to get hurt while her brothers scuffle.
"I'm not letting you get hurt," Rebekah mutters, looking at her and holding her behind her as Kol pulls the dagger out, making Klaus fall back into Finn's arms. Finn restrains his younger brother, and Elijah looks at Damon and Alaric.
"You're free to go. This is family business," Elijah informs them, making them leave. Stefan stays because of Lorilei, knowing she won't leave Klaus or Elijah any time soon, as she glares at the two new Originals.
At the Forbes house, Bill's dead body lies peacefully in Caroline's bed as his daughter clutches his hand and cries. Caroline can't stand losing her dad, who she could talk to before becoming close with her mum. Liz later comes into the room with tears in her eyes and looks at her daughter, who looks back at her; both hate to lose him.
Damon and Alaric walk away from the mansion into the woods, heading for the old Lockwood cellar, needing to talk with Bonnie and Abby. "Ah, you were right about Elijah," Alaric comments. "Undaggering him was a smart move."
"Wow, actual acknowledgement of a job well done. You're going soft, Ric," Damon remarks, looking at his friend. "So, I guess I shouldn't thank you for saving me from Klaus?"
"Shut up, you don't get to thank me until we know that it really worked," He argues, still unsure if Klaus really will die tonight.
"You could have left me there," the older Salvatore retorts. "Klaus would have killed me, and you wouldn't have to worry about Elena." His phone vibrates, and he looks at it to see it's Elena and declines the call.
"I didn't do it on your account," The Vampire Hunter replies, shrugging.
"I love her, Ric," Damon confesses, making Alaric look at him in shock.
"I know you do. But she's still my responsibility," Alaric argues, and Damon looks at him before walking away.
Damon and Alaric enter the old secret cavern, looking for Bonnie and Abby. "Let's hope big Witch and little Witch got that coffin open," Damon remarks, walking down the steps.
"Something's gotta make this night worthwhile," Alaric replies, and they come to see Bonnie lying on the ground, unconscious. "Bonnie?" He crouches down, checking on her. "She's still breathing."
"Mama's still breathing, I can hear her," He tells her, looking at Abby, who is also lying on the steps unconscious.
"Coffin's open," the history teacher states, seeing the once-sealed coffin open but nothing inside.
"Well, it's not gonna do us any good. Whatever was in it is gone," The cocky Vampire remarks grimly.
Later, Elena and Matt walk up to her house, both coming back from the Mystic Grill, after Matt talks to Elena about what's happened at Caroline's. "Thanks for walking me home," Elena says, still feeling a little glum about being sent away from Caroline's place.
"Are you doing okay? This has to bring up a lot for you," Matt asks, concerned for his ex-girlfriend.
"We've all lost a lot," She replies, suppressing a yawn at how late it is.
"It's this town, it's messed up. None of us should have to live this way," He argues, and they walk into the house, seeing the lights are all off.
"Rice must be asleep," The Doppelganger remarks and tries turning on the lights, but they don't come on. "That's weird."
"Electricity must be out," The blond human tells her, and they walk into the kitchen. Elena opens a cupboard and grabs two flashlights, handing one to Matt.
"Here," Elena says as he takes it, and she turns on the flashlight. "I think I have some candles over there." She walks over to the other side of the kitchen and sees a puddle of blood. "Oh my God!"
"What the hell?" Matt exclaims. Elena moves her flashlight beam into the hallway, finding bloody handprints on the wall. Elena and Matt grab knives to defend themselves.
"Matt?" She calls out, and they follow the bloody handprints out of the kitchen to the front of the house. They go upstairs with more handprints on the wall. Elena gets to the top of the stairs and looks around carefully as if someone might jump out from somewhere. She spots Alaric lying in his bedroom doorway with a knife through his stomach. Elena can't help the gasp that escapes her mouth and rushes over to the Vampire Hunter with Matt right behind her. "Ric! Oh my god, oh my god, oh my god!" Elena goes to pull the knife out, but Alaric screams, and Matt stops her.
"No, leave it in! Leave it in! He's lost too much blood. I'm gonna call 911," Matt tells her, panicked, and Elena grabs Alaric's face, looking at him.
"Ric, look at me. Who did this to you?" Elena asks.
"I don't know," Alaric groans through the pain. Alaric only remembers returning from the secret cave with Damon after he dropped Alaric off, and everything goes blank.
"Oh my God, there's a lot of blood, Matt!" She exclaims, looking at him in fright.
"I know, I know, Elena. I know," Matt replies, panicking, getting out his phone, and dialling the emergency services.
"You have to kill me," Alaric mutters weakly.
"What?" Elena asks, looking at him as if she didn't hear him.
"Elena, you-you have to kill me," He repeats, and she grabs his hands, seeing that he's still wearing the Gilbert ring.
"Wait, wait, wait, Matt, hang up, hang up. He's right," she tells him. "If he dies a supernatural death, then he'll come back to life and he'll be healed."
"But, how do you know who did this is supernatural?" Matt argues, hanging up the phone.
"That's what he's saying, we don't but... I'm the Doppelgänger," Elena retorts, taking the knife she took from the kitchen. "That makes me supernatural."
"Elena! No, this is messed up!" He snaps.
"He's dying, Matt!" She shouts, stabbing Alaric in the chest, killing him.
Blake comes home after walking through the forest from Caroline's house, letting her be alone with her dad. Once she enters the Den, she notices it's really late and heads straight up to her room, wanting to get some sleep. She hears a cough and turns to see Bobby standing there, trying to look imposing. "And where do you think you've been?" Bobby asks.
"I was with Caroline," Blake replies. It's her dad." She sees her friend's face drop as he understands that, having lost both his parents when he was younger, he still has his siblings.
Back at the Gilbert residence, Elena sits next to Alaric's dead body. Matt comes up the stairs and kneels beside her. "He's still out?" Matt asks her, and she nods. "Caroline called. Her dad died. Do you want me to stay with you? Until he wakes up?"
"Please," Elena begs. "I can't lose any more family." She starts crying, and Matt comforts her in his arms.
Elena soon calls Sheriff Forbes, who answers as Caroline lies in bed, texting Blake and Bobby about everything. "I looked into it, Elena," Sheriff Forbes tells her. "Meredith Fell was called into surgery six hours ago. She's been in there ever since."
"She has an alibi?" Elena asks, still in shock.
"Iron-tight in an operating room full of witnesses," She informs her, not really wanting to deal with her right now after losing her ex-husband.
"Then who could it be?" the Doppelganger wonders.
"I don't know. But the attack on Alaric makes this the third member of the Founders' Council, and we just cleared our only suspect." Liz informs her. Alaric suddenly wakes up and starts coughing. Elena rudely hangs up her phone and rushes over to him, grabbing his hand. "Nice talking to you, too."
Meanwhile, at the Original Mansion, the Original brothers crowd around Klaus as Stefan and Rebekah stand before Lorilei so she won't attack Finn and Kol. "I like what you've done with the new place, Nik," Kol comments, strolling towards him. He picks up a vase and throws it into the painting on the wall behind Klaus.
"I wanted it to be for all of us," Klaus argues. "A place we could all call home. A place we could all be a family. None of us would ever have to be alone again."
"Well you're right, none of us will be," Elijah counters, glaring at his younger brother.
"You're staying behind," Finn adds.
"We're leaving you, Nik," Kol snaps. "Then you will be alone. Always and forever."
"If you run, I will hunt all of you down," Klaus exclaims. He doesn't want to lose his siblings after all this time, working hard to ensure they're all safe.
"Then you'll become everything you hate. Our father," Elijah argues.
"I'm the Hybrid! I can't be killed! I have nothing to fear from any of you," He shouts angrily.
"You will when we have that coffin," he retorts, and the Vampires hear the front door open, making them turn around as Esther walks inside. Everyone gasps in shock, apart from Stefan and Lorilei.
"Mother?" Rebekah gasps as Esther walks towards Klaus, who avoids looking at her with guilt and anger. Lorilei tries moving towards Klais, but Stefan stops her.
"Look at me!" Esther demands. "Do you know why I'm here?" With tears in his eyes, Klaus still does not look at her.
"You're here to kill me," Klaus mutters.
"Niklaus, you are my son and I am here to forgive you. I want us to be a family again," She replies, looking back at her other children.