"What are you looking for?" After discovering that the ring was causing some personality changes in Rick, Alyssa decided to get proactive and have Rick checked out by the doctor.
"I don't know." Dr. Fell answers, looking at the screen. "A tumor, vascular anomalies, anything physical that might explain his behavior. If it's medical, I can treat it."
"And if it's not?"
"Well, then we'll deal with that too."
A technician slides Alaric inside the machine. Alaric stares at his reflection in the mirror placed above him.
"When did you suspect him? That it was Alaric who was killing all of those people?"
"It was after he told me about his ring. I remembered a story my grandmother had told me about Samantha Gilbert and her secret journal. I don't know if you know this, but we Fells are notorious busy-bodies."
Logan Fell came to mind, but she did mention that. "But then, why did you protect him?"
"Because I'm a doctor, I don't like to see someone hurt by something they have no control over. And because when he and I first met,t I felt like...I don't know, I- I just want to help him."
Alaric continues to stare at his reflection in the mirror in the MRI machine. His reflection glares down at him, but Alaric is not making the same expression. Alaric starts to panic. Meredith talks to him over a speaker.
Meredith asks, "Everything alright in there?"
Alaric closes his eyes and opens them. He stares at his reflection again. Its expression is the same as his. "Yeah. Yeah, everything's okay."
After the scan, Alaric is in a regular hospital room, getting ready to leave. Alyssa comes in.
"Meredith says that everything is normal."
"Yeah, well, everything is normal because nothing is wrong with me. I didn't kill Brian Walters, I didn't kill Bill Forbes, and I sure as hell didn't shove a hunting knife into my stomach."
Alaric looks down at the ring, the only thing he hasn't picked back up. "Or I did, and I've gone insane, just like your ancestor who wore that ring."
"I've called Bonnie. A Bennett witch made the rings, so maybe a witch can reverse the damage." Alaric pushes the ring towards Alyssa.
"Take it. I don't want it anymore." Alyssa takes the ring and looks at Alaric.
Damon enters the room. "Are you ready to ditch this House of Horrors? Off, you look terrible."
"Yeah, let me...let me check outta here." Alaric leaves the room.
"Now that we know his condition isn't medical, I'm going to enlist our favorite resident witch to look into it. She and Caroline went back to Abby's to try and help her with the whole vampire thing."
"Before you do, we have a stop to make."
Construction workers are restoring the Wickery Bridge, and townspeople are there for the restoration fundraiser when they arrive with Alaric and Meridith.
Alyssa looks at him incredulously. "This is the stop we had to make? Rick could snap and go psycho any minute, and you stopped to sightsee." She looks at Rick, "no offense."
"None taken." He looks at Damon, "Why are we here?"
"We're not here to sightsee." Damon looks at Rebekah, who is speaking to Carol Lockwood.
"Rebekah's up to something. She's been snooping around in places she shouldn't be."
"And I should care why?" Alyssa asks.
"Aren't you the least curious about why our Barbie Original is so interested in the bridge restoration?" Damon asks.
"No, Damon, not really." She answers.
"I'm with her." Rick agrees.
"Ric, the world can't stop just because you're an accidental psycho killer," Damon commented.
"Do you have any tact whatsoever?" Meredith asks.
Carol approaches them. "Alaric, I'm glad you're here. Did you bring the sign?"
Alaric looks at her, confused.
"The restored Wickery Bridge sign. The history department promised me you'd have it today."
"I- I don't have the sign, it slipped...it slipped my mind. I've been...busy."
"Well, it's not an emergency. We'll um- unveil it when the bridge is complete." Carol leaves.
Alaric looks at Meredith. "Get me outta here."
"My pleasure."
"I'm gonna stick around for a bit." Damon is looking at a redhead who looks back at him and smiles.
"You know her?" Alyssa asks.
"That's Sage."
"Sage from 1912? What is she doing here?"
"I don't know." Damon walks over to Sage.
"Damon Salvatore, my favorite student."
"Sage, my hottest teacher. What are you doing here?"
"I'm just passing through."
"Please," Alyssa joins them after telling Alaric she would catch up with him later. She wanted to know who this Sage person was and what she was doing in Mystic Falls. "Nobody just passes through Mystic Falls." She watches Carol as she makes her speech.
"And you care why?" Sage asks.
"Because you're a vampire," she looks at Sage, "and I make it a point to know everyone that passes through my town."
"Your town?"
She turns to her and introduces herself, "Alyssa Gilbert."
"A member of the founding family. Explains the smell of entitlement." She spots Rebekah as she walks over. "Speaking of."
"Look what the cat dragged in," Rebeka says.
"Easy there, Rebekah," Damon says. "You know she used to beat men for sport."
"She always was quite common," Rebekah responds.
"Rebekah. What a happy surprise."
"What are you doing here, Sage?" Rebekah asks.
"Well, I heard Finn was finally freed from that casket your rageaholic brother Klaus carted him in."
"Mmm, Finn, you just missed him. He left town and didn't tell a soul where he was going."
"He probably went looking for me."
"Wait?" Alyssa looks at Sage, putting the pieces together. "You and Finn?"
"Yes," Rebekah looks at Sage. "She's rather obsessed with it. It's a shame he completely forgot about you."
"I doubt that."
"No? Cause he didn't seem to mention you. Sorry, you came all this way for nothing. Have a nice life." Rebekah leaves.
"God, I hate that elitist Original bitch."
"Really? I kind of like her." Alyssa says, watching her before leaving.
Alaric is in the dining room, reading through Meredith's file on him. When Alyssa walks in, he tries to hide it.
"You don't have to hide it." Alyssa shrugs off her jacket. "Meredith told me everything. You really shouldn't be reading that."
"Ah, it's the truth, restraining orders and all. My life in a series of police reports."
"I have no room to judge." She sits down across from him. "But I can be surprised."
"Yeah, well, I was stupid when I was younger. But listen, it's not like these guys didn't have it coming. I mean, this guy here broke a beer bottle over a bartender's head. This guy hit his girlfriend. This guy, okay, this guy was just a douche."
"Everyone needs to find a way to deal with their dark side." She says.
"Some people meditate. I became a vampire hunter."
"Maybe I should try that whole vampire hunter thing."
Her phone rings, and she gets up to answer it.
"Caroline?"
"So, Abby thinks Bonnie can reverse the damage of the spell. I guess this same thing happens to witches obsessed with dark magic. They lose control and start acting out their darkest impulses. I will hang back here with Abby, but Bonnie's leaving now."
"Thanks, Caroline."
"Bonnie wants to talk to you." Caroline hands Bonnie her phone and goes to help Abby pack up some herbs. Bonnie takes a deep breath and starts to talk.
"I need a personal effect of Alaric's, something he wore before he started wearing the ring."
"Okay, yeah, I- I'll get it. Bonnie, I'm so sorry for everything; thank you for doing this."
"Be ready to do the spell as soon as I get there. We have to work fast. I'll see you soon."
Bonnie hangs up very quickly.
"Good news? The bad news?" Alaric asks when she gets off the phone.
She turns around and walks back over to the table as Elena comes in.
"Bonnie thinks that she can help you with a spell."
"Well, it's worth a try," Elena says.
"But she needs something that you wore before you put on the ring. Something personal."
Meredith walks into the kitchen.
"Well, there's uh- there's my wedding ring. It's at the loft." He says.
"That's a good idea."
Alaric starts to get up, but Meredith pushes him back down.
"I think it's better if you stay here with me."
"Oh, you and your tranquilizers. It's in the dresser by the kitchen. It's in...an aspirin bottle," probably covered in cobwebs."
"Okay." Alyssa turns to Elena. "You're coming with me. Just in case."
Elena looks at Meredith and Alaric before following her out.
They walk upstairs to Alaric's loft and are surprised to see Stefan leaning against the doorframe.
"Stefan," Alyssa says, passing by him as she goes to open the door.
"Alaric told me you'd be here."
Elena asks, "What are you doing here?"
Alyssa enters the apartment, and they follow.
"I did a little more digging on Samantha Gilbert." He closes the door behind him and turns on the lights. "Founding families were always pretty good about destroying their records, but I found several newspaper articles. It seemed she killed two people while she was in the institution. A nurse and a guard."
"So, she was a psychopath." Alyssa says, walking over to the drawer, "We get it."
"She was under suicide watch. No personal effects, no jewelry."
Elena looks at him, "Wait, so, you're saying that the violent behavior can still happen even if the person isn't wearing the ring?"
Stefan nods.
Alyssa starts looking for the ring where Alaric said it was.
"What if Bonnie's spell doesn't work? What are you going to do with him?" Elena asks as she starts to help.
"I'm not going to do anything, Elena. I will keep looking until we find something to help him." Alyssa's response.
Stefan says, "You don't know how long this has happened. Might be too late."
"As long as there's something left to save, I will try." She replied.
"You can't put that on yourself. "Stefan says. "Not everyone is your responsibility. Not everyone can be saved."
She looks at him, "I know, but that doesn't mean I stop trying."
Elena opens up the last drawer. Inside are photos of the dead bodies of Bill Forbes and Brian Walters, newspaper clippings, and other stuff about the murders. "What is that?"
Alyssa picks up one of the pictures.
"Pictures of his victims."
Alyssa helps look in the draw. Alyssa sees an envelope with Jeremy's name on it. She opens it and takes out the papers inside. She reads the note attached to all the other papers. "Jeremy, if anything happens to me, continue my work. You have the other ring; let the ring make you strong. The council must be cleansed before the work can begin."
Stefan takes the papers from her. It's the Founders Council roster. "Looks like some sort of hit list."
"Alaric didn't write this," Elena says.
"Who else would have written it, Elena?" Alyssa asks and then tears up the note that Alaric wrote for Jeremy and continues to search for the wedding ring in the drawer. She finds the aspirin bottle, opens it, and tips the ring into her hand. She looks at them, "I got it. Let's go."
Elena and Stefan enter the house, but Stefan grabs Elena's arm. He signals for her to stay and moves into the house. Alyssa smells the blood, too, and keeps Elena close by as Stefan goes into the kitchen and sees the shards of ceramic and blood on the floor. Alaric comes downstairs, wrapping a towel around his hand and looking cheerful.
"Hey there."
Alyssa pushes Elena behind her. "Where's Meredith?"
"Oh, she got called into the hospital for a last-minute surgery, but she'll be back later."
She nods and looks at Alaric's hand. "What happened?"
"Oh, I...I broke a coffee cup and sliced my hand open, trying to pick up the pieces. Did Stefan catch up with you?"
"No." Alaric takes another step down the stairs.
"Did you get my ring?"
"I couldn't find it."
Alaric comes down the stairs.
"Yeah, well, my place is a bit of a disaster. I guess I'll have to go get it."
Alaric looks down at the bloodstained knife lying on the floor. They look down at it, too, then back up at Alaric, who is staring at them. Alaric is about to go for the knife when Stefan grabs him from behind and puts him in a sleeper hold.
"Don't hurt him!" Elena tells him.
"I'm trying not to."
Alaric passes out. Stefan lays him down on the floor. He seems to hear something and stands up. He looks up the stairs.
Stefan looks at Alyssa. "Stay with her."
Alyssa nods and stays down the stairs with her until Stefan comes down with Meridith, who's covered in blood.
"Is she okay?"
"She will be."
She looks down at Alaric. "What do we do with him?"
Stefan picks him up, "I got him."
"Abby says that all the dying and coming back to life might have chipped away at Alaric's psyche, making it easier for the darkness to take hold," Bonnie tells Alyssa, holding up a glass container full of dry herbs. "These herbs are the binding element of the spell. He needs to take them twice a day." She puts it down on the counter.
Alyssa goes over and picks up the container.
"I'll get you more. Abby and I are going to work on the garden."
"How is she doing?"
"The transition's been hard, but I think she'll be okay. Eventually, I will go back and stay with her for a while. It'll give us a chance to work things through."
Alyssa puts down the container and slowly approaches her. "I'm sorry, Bonnie. I didn't want this to happen. If there were anything that I could do to make it different, I would have. I wish I didn't have to do that."
"I know."
"I'm going to go check on Ric."
Damon was still with Ric when she went up, so she went to her room to make a call. She made a call. Jeremy answers on the other line.
"Hello?"
"Hey, stranger."
"Hey, are you checking up on me?"
"Do you need checking up on?"
"Well, I'm not flunking any of my classes. Yet. And I got a dog."
"A dog, huh? I thought you swore off dogs."
"I decided to give it another chance. I know you're not calling to talk about my dog."
"I just wanted to hear your voice."
"Okay. Hey, can I call you later? I'm actually on my way out with some friends."
"Yeah, of course, Jer. Go out, have fun, and um- I miss you."
"Yeah. Yeah, I miss you too."
Jeremy hangs up. Damon exits Ric's room, and Alyssa meets him in the hallway.
"How is he?"
"He's Ric, for now. How's Jeremy?"
"Having a normal life."
Stefan comes up. A look passes between Stefan and Damon, which Alyssa catches. "I know that look. And I'm not a fan," she looks between them.
"This is good news," Damon says.
"That'll be a first." She folds her arms. "So?"
Damon and Stefan shared another look before they went inside her room. Stefan shuts the door, and Damon tells her about Rebekah and how she had been asking to see old milling records that the Salvatores owned.
"That's why she was talking with Mayor Lockwood? Why would Rebekah care about some old records?" Alyssa asks.
"Cause it turns out that there was another oak tree that grew after the original one was burned. They used it to build the wickery bridge." Stefan says.
"Only Sage double-crossed me and told Rebekah what I was planning, and they burned it," Damon said.
"How is this good news?" asked Alyssa.
"The good news is that the historical signs are made of the same white oak as the Wickery Bridge, and we have it." He says.
She puts it together. "They think all the wood burned. We have a weapon."
"Game's back on," Damon says. "Let's go kill some Originals."