As I Lay Dying
Lorilei looks around in annoyance at Alaric's apartment, trying to find something for the new Original Hybrid to wear once he changes back to human form. "How can a man have so many clothes?" She huffs as Maddox watches her in amusement. "Are you going to help me or what?" The brunette woman asks him, straightening out her grey blazer jacket that matches her trousers and shiny silver shoes.
"I like watching you struggle a little too much, Lollipop," The Warlock jokes as he sits on the couch, watching her.
"I hate you sometimes, you know that, Maddie?" The McKnight Siphon retorts and grabs some random clothing. "This will do. Stay here. Be a good boy till Luka and Greta get back from my apartment."
"Yes professor," He teases her as she walks out of the apartment, slamming the door on a snickering Maddox, making her way to her car downstairs and putting her hair into a low bun with a white ribbon matching her tee.
Elena gets up early the day after the funeral for Harrison McKnight and looks into Jeremy's room; seeing the teen fast asleep, she moves to Jenna's bedroom with the door closed, glad to know she hasn't lost anyone else. The doppelganger looks at the guest bedroom where John sleeps and sighs, still not having talked to her father since reading the letter; deciding to leave it for another day, she turns to find Damon looming behind her. "That'll get easier. But you knew that," Damon comments, needing to get something off his chest.
"What do you want?" Elena asks him.
"I want to apologise," He tells her.
"Damon…" She sighs, looking at the Vampire.
"Please. Elena, feeding you my blood, I was wrong," The snarky Salvatore apologises.
"Yes, you were," The doppelganger agrees.
"And I know I don't deserve your forgiveness, but… I need it," Damon pleads with her.
"And I need some time, maybe a lot of time," Elena tells him, breaking his heart a little.
"Sure. True. Of course," The older Salvatore agrees and leaves her alone to her thoughts.
Damon returns to the Salvatore house and enters the living room, grabbing a bottle of scotch and pouring himself a drink. He looks at the curtains before opening them, takes a sip of his scotch, and then takes off his daylight ring, coming up with a better option than dying slowly and painfully. He spreads his arms out, embracing the sun as it begins to burn his skin; his sizzling stops as Stefan enters the room, seeing his brother trying to kill himself and pushing him away from the light. "Get off of me," Damon snaps at his brother, growing weaker from the Werewolf venom.
"You're not doing this," Stefan argues, keeping his brother in place.
"Just did. You know what happened to Rose, Stefan," He argues through the pain as his skin heals.
"I don't care. You're not dying today," The younger Salvatore snaps and grabs hold of his brother, using his Vampire speed and throws him into the cellar in the basement, closing the door on him.
"What's the plan, Superman?" Damon questions as he tries to get off the floor.
"I'm gonna find a way out of this," Stefan assures him.
"Oh, right. A miracle cure. Good luck with that one," The older Salvatore retorts.
"I got Bonnie looking for something, anything," The younger brother argues, having some hope for his brother.
"Always the hero, Stefan. Just tell me goodbye, get it over with," The older Salvatore sasses him and coughs up some blood.
"Lie still. Conserve your strength," Stefan advises him and walks away, needing to find answers for his older brother.
Lorilei walks through the woods on her phone, trying to find Elijah on the other line. "I hope you've at least covered him up," She warns the Original as she comes across a very naked Klaus. "Oh God," She turns away as Elijah walks over, and she hangs up the phone. "I hate you."
"Noted," He smiles, and Klaus begins to wake; he blinks, looks up at the sun and smiles when Lorilei throws the clothes at the Hybrid with her back still turned. Klaus looks to see his brother and the strange brunette woman he saw at the Mystic Grill and the quarry. "You've been busy."
"That was amazing. How long has it been?" Klaus asks his brother.
"Almost 2 days. Full moon came and went. You remained a wolf," The Noble Original answers.
"Is it safe to turn around yet?" Lorilei wonders, and the Originals look at her.
"Yes, Lorilei," Elijah tells her, and the Hybrid looks between them, unsure of their relationship.
"Good, I don't want to see your little brother naked," She retorts and turns to see Klaus fully dressed. "I have good taste. Though they were just random."
"Back to me now," Klaus says, making them look at him funny. "I can change at will, then. It's good to know. I remember every single kill."
"Yes, I've been cleaning up your little mess along the way," Elijah retorts.
"Just like old times, brother," He replies with a smirk and looks at Lorilei, who scoffs with an eye roll.
"You've had your fun. I believe we have a bargain," The older brother reminds him.
"That's right. Now, what was it again? Oh, yeah. Wait. I remember. That's it. You wish to be reunited with our family," The Hybrid jokes, but Lorilei sees through it.
"You gave me your word, Niklaus," Elijah reminds him.
"What kind of brother would break his bond? Even though you did try to kill me," Klaus replies and Lorilei steps towards the Original Hybrid.
"He tried to kill you because you are holding your family hostage for no reason except because you're a selfish bastard," Lorilei sneers at him, and Elijah pulls her away from his brother.
"I could have. But I didn't," The Noble Original adds, taking the jacket on the ground and helping his brother put it on.
"You should have. But you didn't," The Siphon mutters, earning looks from the Originals.
"And now no one can, not even you or you. Relax, Elijah. All is forgiven," Klaus assures his older brother.
"Where are they?" Elijah demands.
"You need to lighten up. I'll bring you to them soon enough," The Hybrid replies and walks away before Elijah walks off with his brother; Lorilei stops him, grabbing his arm, making him stop.
"I don't trust him. He might dagger you again," Lorilei argues, looking at him worriedly.
"I know. But I need to find my family," The Noble Original tells her, and they walk off, following Klaus.
Alaric sits in the Gilbert house living room with Jenna, watching the TV while they enjoy their lunch before his phone rings; he looks at it, sees it's Stefan and answers. "Sorry, you've reached somebody who's currently unavailable," Alaric jokes, looking at Jenna.
"I need your help," Stefan tells him.
"Well, you must have me confused with somebody else. You see, I'm not allowed to help, just idly sit by while my girlfriend gets almost sacrificed on an altar of blood," He retorts.
"Damon's dying," The young Salvatore blurts out, stopping the history teacher from moving for a second.
"What?" Alaric questions, not sure if he heard right.
"Tyler Lockwood bit him. We don't have much time," Stefan warns him.
"What do you need?" He asks, looking at Jenna, who looks worried.
Elena and Jeremy arrive at the special screening of Gone with the Wind in the town square with some women dressed for the movie. Elena puts down a blanket for her and her brother to sit on while they wait for Caroline to arrive with the food. "You brought me to see a girl movie," The teen boy questions his sister.
"We had to get out of the house, Jer. This is our 3-hour distraction from reality," Elena retorts, wanting to give Jenna some space and get away from John.
"Is that what we're doing? Pretending like our lives aren't screwed?" Jeremy asks, wanting to be home with his aunt.
"We need to do this, okay?" The doppelganger tells him. "Breathe, eat, sleep, wake up, and do it all over again until one day it's just not as hard anymore." She thinks of the Original Hybrid and his brother lurking somewhere and Lorilei. Elean sits down on the blanket when Caroline arrives with a food basket.
"Hey!" The perky blond greets them. "There you guys are. Who's hungry?" She sits down next to her best friend.
"Are we really doing this?" Jeremy asks the girls.
"Yes, we are really doing this," Caroline answers. "We are going to take a page from Scarlett. We made it through the war. I know you guys went through hell, and my mom knows I am a Vampire, so basically it's like Atlanta has burned. And yet, in spite of everything, we persevere."
"All right," He gives in to the older teens and sits with them. "What are we eating?"
"Something good," She assures him, digging into her basket of goodies.
"I'm not sure this is going to work," Bonnie warns Stefan as she lights the candles around the room in the old Witch's house.
"You've done a seance before, right? Contacted Emily Bennett. Maybe one of the Witches might know how to help Damon," Stefan questions, needing to find something to help his brother.
"Let's just hope they want to," She warns him and casts the spell, but it doesn't work.
"What's wrong?" He asks the Bennett Witch.
"I don't know. Lorilei. I think she did something to me," Bonnie tells him and tries the spell again, and voices are whispering around them.
"Bonnie? Bonnie?" The young Salvatore calls to her as she closes her eyes and opens them.
"Emily," She calls out to her ancestor.
"Why have you come here, Stefan?" Emily asks him, speaking through the young Witch.
"I need your help. I need to know if there's a spell that can heal a Werewolf bite," Stefan requests of the old Witch.
"No. Nature ensures a balance to everything," She tells him.
"Is that true… or are you just saying no because it's Damon?" He asks her.
"Perhaps it is his time to die," The Bennett Witch retorts.
"No. That's not balance. That's punishment," The young Salvatore snaps.
"I will not give you what you want," Emily tells him.
"So you're saying that there's an answer to give?" Stefan asks her. "Please, if you know something, just tell me. Help me save my brother." The connection snaps, making Bonnie scream and falls to the floor. "Bonnie?"
"They don't want us here. They think I'm abusing their power," Bonnie warns him, thinking about what they said about Lorilei McKnight and what she did to her.
"They know something. There's an answer. They just don't want to tell me," Stefan replies, scared of losing Damon.
"Yeah. I heard them say a name," She informs him.
"What was it?" He asks her.
"Klaus," The Bennett Witch answers, and she cries in pain again.
"Bonnie? What's wrong?" The young Vampire yells, holding her.
"They're punishing me for trusting Lorilei. They're angry at us for trusting her!" Bonnie exclaims through the pain.
"Why?" Stefan asks her as the pain subsides.
"They called her a Siphon. They said she's dangerous. We can't trust her," She warns him, and he looks at her worriedly. "She's as dangerous as Klaus. If they work together. They predicted they'll be deadly." Again, she looks at him, and he gulps in a bit of fear.
Carol walks into the Sheriff's office with Liz doing paperwork at her desk. "Carol. Hi. How you feeling?" Sheriff Forbes asks the Mayor and her friend.
"Better, thank goodness," Carol replies.
"That was a terrible fall. Shouldn't you be home resting?" Liz asks her.
"I've been resting, and now I'm ready to get back to work. I need you to update me on where we are with the Vampire situation," She requests.
"Well, there have been some developments, but I'm handling it," The Sherriff assures her.
"Are you? Because I left you in charge of this town's safety, and lately I'm not seeing any results," The Mayor retorts.
"I said I'm handling it," Liz replies.
"Then see that you do, Sheriff, because if you can't, I'll find someone who will," Carol warns her and walks back out of the office.
Stefan finds his girlfriend and friends in the town square and goes to inform them of what is happening. "Look who couldn't resist an epic romance," Elena teases her boyfriend.
"Will you come take a walk with me?" He requests, and she looks at the others, getting up and walking with him.
"You're breaking the rules, you know. Movie night's supposed to be a distraction. Tomorrow we can return to our regularly scheduled drama," She tells him.
"I know. I wish this could wait, but it can't. Listen, um, the other night when Damon was helping Tyler, something happened. Tyler was starting to transform, and Damon was bitten," The younger Salvatore reveals, shocking his girlfriend.
"What? Is it… Is he gonna…" Elena stutters in dismay.
"Yeah," Stefan answers her unasked question.
"Oh, my God. And he came to the house this morning and… and tried to apologise. I practically slammed the door in his face," The doppelganger cringes in guilt.
"He told me not to tell you, but I figured if you wanted to talk to him, I… I wouldn't wait," He warns Elena, knowing there is something between the two, and he'd be a fool to think otherwise.
"Stefan…" She argues lightly.
"It's not over. There might be a cure, but I have to find Klaus to get it," The young Vampire informs her of his only choice to save his older brother.
"No. He's gonna kill you," Elena implores her boyfriend, not wanting to lose him.
"No, he had the chance to kill me, but he didn't. Whatever Damon's done, whatever has led him here, I'm the one that made him become a Vampire in the first place, so if there's a chance for a cure, I owe it to him to find it." Stefan tells her, feeling the overwhelming guilt for turning his brother and not wanting to be alone forever. The loving boyfriend pulls his girlfriend into a hug, almost knowing it will be the last time they will see each other in a long time, if at all. "Go talk to him. Just tell him that there's still hope."
Damon lies in the basement of his house, the Werewolf venom making him weak and beginning to hallucinate. Damon imagines himself in 1864 with Katherine in her old room in the Salvatore mansion. "Mr Salvatore, spying on a lady is a sign of very poor manners," Katherine teases him, looking slyly over her shoulder.
"My apologises Miss Katherine," Damon replies, playing along.
"But since you are here, my corset strings seem to be knotted. I wonder if you can undo them," Katerina entices the naive man.
"Of course," He complies, touching her delicate skin.
"Will you miss me while off defending the South?" The brunette temptresss questions.
"I shall," The naive human replies, distracted by the close contact with the doppelganger.
"Then I hope you will hurry back. I fear I will be lonely with you away," Katherine says in a sultry tone.
"I would think Stefan should be company enough," The older Salvatore son argues.
"Is it so wrong for me to want you both?" Katerina asks him.
"Damon," Elena calls out to him, and he turns back into his present self as he looks at the present doppelganger.
"Elena?" Damon questions, looking at her.
"Don't you see? She was toying with you. All you had to do was say no, walk away. You had a choice," The moral compass tells him as the voice of reason, but with one touch from Katherine, he looks at her, falling back into bad habits.
"Promise me that you will return quickly," Katherine requests, touching his cheek.
"I promise," Damon vows, looking into her eyes, mesmerised.
Stefan walks into Alaric's apartment, hoping to see Klaus, but he's nowhere in sight and spots Katherine sitting on the sofa, waiting as the Warlock guards her. Maddox waits for his boss with the Vampire and hopes the Martins to return along with Elijah and Lorilei. "Hello, Katherine," Stefan greets her, making her get up; Maddox walks out into the room but doesn't move to reveal himself. "Two days, I've been waiting. I'm supposed to be free of Klaus' compulsion by now. He's supposed to be dead," She argues, getting angry, not caring if the Warlock hears them.
"We ran into complications," Stefan tells her, hearing the heartbeat from the bedroom.
"Complications?" Katerina questions.
"Doesn't really matter. I just need to find him. Do you have any idea where he might be?" He asks his ex-lover when suddenly she pushes him against the wall, warning him to be quiet when the front door opens, and Maddox walks out into the living space as Klaus, Elijah, and Lorilei walk inside the apartment.
"Klaus, you're back. Look who decided to come for a visit," Katherine says, playing it off, and the Original Hybrid looks at the youngest Salvatore brother.
"You just keep popping up, don't you?" Klaus muses, looking at the young Vampire.
"I need your help… For my brother," Stefan requests, pleading with the Hybrid.
"Well, whatever it is, he's gonna have to wait a tick. You see, I have an obligation to my brother that requires my immediate attention," He tells him, and Elijah looks at the young Vampire.
"You understand how important family is, or you wouldn't be here. My brother gave me his word that he would reunite me with my own," Elijah reminds him and Lorilei steps towards the Noble Original.
"And so I shall," The Hybrid assures him and picks up the dagger from the side, about to stab his older brother, but something stops him.
"I wouldn't do that if I were you," Lorilei warns Klaus, who looks back at her with a murderous glare.
"And why not?" Klaus asks her.
"Because I can warn every Werewolf within America to hide from you as you try and make more Hybrids." She threatens him, and he looks at her.
"And how would you be able to do that?" The younger Original questions her.
"I own the Society of the False Moon," The McKnight Siphon reveals, surprising everyone apart from Elijah and Maddox. "I can tell them with a single phone call or help you track them down. You keep Elijah un-daggered, and we'll help you."
"I like this proposal. I'm surprised," Klaus looks at his brother, who looks clueless, but steps in front of his ward. Klaus reconsiders, daggering his brother for a second but stepping towards him; Elijah turns around, facing Lorilei.
"Stay with him. He'll need you, and I rest knowing that you're safe," Elijah tells her and looks at his brother. "I understand you'll dagger me regardless, but please let Lorilei join you."
"Of course. I don't see why not," The Original Hybrid replies, looking at the brunette Witch, who seems conflicted.
"Fine. It's not like you're giving me much of a choice, but I can't see you in pain again." Lorilei argues and waves her hand, sending the Noble Original to sleep as Klaus daggers his brother in the heart, and she carefully places him on the couch, taking care of him, which surprises the Hybrid.
"Now, what am I gonna do with you?" Klaus ponders, turning to look at Stefan and taking one of the stakes from the side table, stabbing it through the young Salvatore's chest, making him cry out in pain. "Do you feel that? It's scraping against your heart. The slightest little movement and you're dead."
"He's just trying to help his brother," Katherine pleads for her ex-lover.
"The Witches said you had a cure. Make me a deal. Just give me the cure, and I'll do whatever you want," Stefan begs the power-hungry Hybrid; Klaus lets him fall to the floor and walks over, pouring himself a glass of blood. Lorilei watches as she sits by Elijah, and Maddox stands beside her.
"Trouble is I don't know if you'd be any good to me the way you are now. You are just shy of useless," Klaus muses, looking at the young Vampire.
"Can we please get on with this?" Lorilei grumbles and gets a nudge in the ribs from Maddox as they gain a look from his boss, and the door opens to reveal Luka and Greta as they enter the apartment.
"Are we missing something?" Luka questions, feeling the tension in the room.
"No. Just that Demon got a Werewolf bite, and Steffie is trading his soul for his brothers," She explains with an eye roll and grabs herself a drink. "Anyone else feel like hard liquor?"
Damon looks down at his Werewolf bite as it grows worse, and Alaric walks down into the basement of the Salvatore boarding house, standing outside the cellar door that's holding his best friend. "Well, that looks bad," Alaric comments, seeing the bite mark that's gone chronic.
"It feels worse. My subconscious is haunting me, Ric. Please tell me you have something for that," Damon inquires, looking at his best friend, and he complies, getting a glass of scotch and Damon's ring and placing them on the door window.
"Double shot," He tells him, pouring the Vampire more scotch.
"That's good," The older Salvatore comments and clumsily gets to his feet, taking his ring. "Oh good." He takes the glass. "So my brother sent you for suicide watch?"
"He's just trying to help," The history teacher argues.
"He's doing what he always does, trying to right the wrongs of the past," Damon corrects him and screams in pain as the bite gets more painful. "You should want me dead. I'm the reason Jenna almost got killed."
"She's alive, and I don't blame you for Jenna," Alaric reminds him, and the Vampire takes another drink.
"Oh, sure you do. Let's not forget I turned your wife into a Vampire. You must really hate me for that one," He reasons, trying to anger him enough to end his misery.
"Okay, give me your glass. Neither one of us is drunk enough for this conversation," The best friend argues, and the Vampire gets a dumb idea, getting closer to the window and trying to sloppily strangle him.
"Kill me. Please," Damon begs.
"Screw you," Alaric spits out, trying to catch his breath as he injects vervain into Damon with one of his darts, and the Vampire falls to the floor.
"No. Elena?" He mutters, growing weaker.
"Elena's not here, Damon," The Vampire Hunter argues, unaware that Elena is at that moment parking her car and getting out; hearing a noise from behind her, she turns to find the Sheriff, who puts something over her mouth.
"Don't make a sound," Liz warns the girl.
"I need blood. I need blood," Damon groans as he lies on the ground, and Alaric watches him, deciding to be generous and goes to the fridge, taking out a blood bag for his friend when the Sheriff comes down with her gun drawn.
"Where's Damon?" Liz demands, looking at Alaric, who stares back at her.
"You know, now's not a good time, Sheriff. Trust me," Alaric warns her, but she doesn't listen.
"Sheriff, over here," A Deputy calls from the cellar where Damon is being held.
"I wouldn't go in there," He warns them again.
"I just wanna talk to him," Liz assures him.
"I wouldn't go in there," The history teacher repeats, and she closes the door, going into the cellar, but she doesn't see Damon as he uses his Vampire speed to get behind her.
"Liz," Damon greets her before throwing her against the wall, and she falls to the floor as he escapes.
Caroline, Bonnie and Jeremy try to enjoy the movie in the town's square, but they grow anxious with the news Stefan dropped on them. "All this waiting around for news is ruining Scarlett for me," Caroline sulks when Jeremy's phone rings; he looks to see it's Alaric and answers it immediately.
"Alaric. Hey," Jeremy greets his aunt's boyfriend.
"Tell me you're with Elena," Alaric begs.
"She went to go see Damon. I thought that's where you were," He questions the teacher.
"No, he just escaped. I think he's looking for her, and the cops are after him… Listen, he's in bad shape, Jeremy, so if you find her, get her somewhere safe, okay? I'm on my way," The Vampire Hunter warns him before hanging up.
"If Damon is off the rails, there's nothing you can do to stop him. Let us take care of it," Bonnie suggests after he explains to the girls what's happening.
"You keep doing this. You left me behind before, and guess what. Jenna technically still died. Now I'm going to find my sister. You go ahead, and you try to stop me," Jeremy argues, needing to find his sister and not get left out of the action again if it could possibly cost him the life of a family member again.
Stefan lies on the floor as Klaus drinks from his glass, and Katherine looks between them while the Martin siblings sit by the couch housing the daggered Elijah with Maddox and Lorilei. "I heard about this one Vampire, crazy bloke, always on and off the wagon for decades. When he was off, he was magnificent. 1917, he went into Monterey and wiped out an entire migrant village… A true ripper. Sound familair?" Klaus muses, looking at the young Vampire.
"You've gotta be kidding me. Him?" Lorilei questions, raising some eyebrows. "I teach him to my students. Him. About him. The bunnie muncher?"
"I haven't been that way in a very long time," Stefan argues, returning the attention to him.
"Well, that's the Vampire I can make a deal with. That is the kind of talent that I can use when I leave this town," Klaus reasons as he looks at the young Vampire who tries getting up. "Katerina, come here," He instructs the doppelganger, which complies due to how scared she is of him, and the Hybrid takes her arm, his face morphing into his Hybrid face, eyes turning a burning gold as his fangs grow and he bites into Katherine's arm, making her yell.
"Aah! Aah! No. No… No. No. No," Katherine cries as she looks at her arm, and Klaus bites into his wrist and makes the Vampiric doppelganger drink his blood, and her wound begins to heal. Klaus pulls away, wiping his mouth and lets the woman go, who stumbles away.
"Ahh. Boo," Lorilei pouts to herself, earning a little laugh from the Witches.
"You want your cure? There it is," Klaus announces.
"Your blood is the cure," Stefan summarises in surprise.
"Gotta love Mother Nature," He remarks, holding Stefan's shoulder smugly. "Now… Let's talk, you and I."
Damon arrives at the town square, the Werewolf bite making him sicker as he turns his head, seeing Katherine in a lavender dress. "Katherine," He groans, and the image disappears as Jeremy approaches him.
"Damon," Jeremy calls out to the Vampire.
"Where's Elena? I need to see Elena now," Damon pleads.
"Okay. Let's get you out of here first, all right?" The human suggests, holding him steady as he tries to find somewhere to hide the ill Vampire.
Elena stands in the Sheriff's office inside the courthouse as she's held after the raid at the Salvatore house. "Where's Damon? What did you do to him?" Elena demands.
"Why do you even care? You know what they are, what they do," Liz argues, looking at the teen,
"Look, I understand why you hate them, but you're wrong," She defends her friends.
"They're murderers, Elena. End of story," The Sheriff says, ending the discussion and a deputy enters the room.
"Damon Salvatore was just spotted outside entering The Grill," The deputy announces.
"Wait. You've gotta let me come with you. He's sick. He's… He's not himself," Elena warns them, but the adults ignore her.
"Keep her here," Liz orders the deputy, and they leave the room, trapping the doppelganger inside.
Jeremy helps Damon into the empty Mystic Grill as he gets out his phone to call someone for more assistance. "Hey, it's me. I'm with Damon at the Grill," Jeremy says over the phone when the Sheriff walks in; Damon stands in front of Jeremy when she tries to shoot the Vampire, who speeds out of the way and ends up hitting the human. The youngest Gilbert falls to the floor from the gunshot wound; she rushes over to his side, seeing that he's dead.
"Oh, God. Oh, God," Liz panics and grabs her radio. "I've got a gun victim at The Grill. Get the paramedics here." She looks at Jeremy, not seeing any life in his eyes. "You're gonna be fine. It's gonna be okay." Bonnie and Caroline arrive at The Grill after receiving the phone call and the Vampire hearing the gunshot and smelling the blood.
"Jeremy!" Bonnie cries out for her boyfriend, lying on the floor.
"Mom. Mom, what did you do?" Caroline questions, looking at her friend's brother lying on the ground.
"I was aiming for Damon," Liz tells her.
"He still has his ring," She argues.
"She's human. The ring won't work on him. Caroline…" Bonnie reminds her, close to tears.
"I got it," The blond Vampire assures her, biting into her wrist and putting it in Jeremy's mouth. "Come on, Jeremy. Just drink. Go on, Jeremy. Drink."
"What are you doing?" Liz asks her.
"I'm helping him. Jeremy, drink. Please. Please. Please," Caroline begs, but he doesn't respond, and Alaric rushes in.
"Bonnie, what's going on?" Alaric asks and sees his girlfriend's nephew lying on the floor with a gunshot wound. "Oh, my God."
"I know what i need to do," Bonnie reassures them and looks at her teacher. "I need you to grab him. T-Take him with us."
"No, no, no, no. You can't move him. This is a crime scene," Liz warns them.
"Mom, you let them go," Caroline orders her, and Alaric grabs Jeremy into his arms, carrying him away.
"All right, come here, buddy. I got you. I got you," Alaric mutters as he carries Jeremy out of the Grill.
Elena comes up with a plan and uses a chair to break the window of the Sheriff's office and carefully climbs outside while the deputy has no idea what is happening outside the room.
Klaus puts some of his blood into a vial that Maddox gave him, and Stefan watches him as Katherine retreats, looking around the room of influential players. "There it is. You want to save your brother? How 'bout a decade-long bender? And I have big plans for you when we leave this town," The Hybrid proposes, though it isn't really.
"I'm not like that anymore," Stefan argues.
"Well, that's too bad. You would have made a hell of a wingman," He argues and begins pouring the blood into the sink.
"Wait," The young Vampire pleases.
"Now that's more like it. I want you to join me for a drink," Klaus throws him a blood bag, and Stefan hesitantly takes a sip from the pack. "Finish it. All of it. You do everything I say, and I save your brother. That's the deal." The young Salvatore drinks all of it, and the Hybrid hands him another. "Again." Stefan rips lightly into the blood bag and drinks, staring at the Original.
"God this is growing boring," Lorilei complains, lying her head on Maddox's shoulder.
Bonnie and Alaric arrive at the old Witch's house with Jeremy's dead body; the history teacher quickly carries him into the house. "Is this even possible?" Alaric asks the Bennett Witch.
"There's a spell for it if they'll give me the power to use it," She replies as she sits on the ground, placing Jeremy's head on her legs as she casts the spell the voices of the Witches whisper around them. "No."
"What? What is it?" He asks her.
"They're angry at me for coming back here. They don't wanna help," Bonnie informs him.
"Well, they have to," Alaric argues.
"They said there'll be consequences," She warns him.
"Well, he's just a kid. Tell 'em to shut up," The history teacher snaps, and the Bennett Witch continues to cast the spell; her nose bleeds as she cries.
"Emily. Emily! I know you're there. Please help me. I love him," The young Witch begs, and the whispering stops. "No!" She cries harder when Jeremy's eyes open. "Oh, my God."
"Bonnie," Jeremy mumbles, looking up at his girlfriend and saviour.
"Oh, my God, Jeremy. Oh, my God," Bonnie weeps in joy, seeing him alive.
"What happened?" He asks, looking between them.
"Doesn't matter. You're okay. You're okay," The Bennett Witch sighs in relief and raises her head, looking around the room. "Thank you."
Elena runs through the town square, looking everywhere but stops when she sees the person she's been looking for. "Elena," Damon calls to her.
"Damon," She sighs in relief, seeing him and grabs the Vampire. "Hey, come on. Come on. We have to get you out of here. We have to hide you."
"Where are we going?" He asks her as he pulls into another illusion of himself with Katherine in 1864. Damon imagines himself and his ex-lover running through the town.
"Everywhere!" Katherine exclaims in joy.
"Wait for me. I want to come with you," Damon mumbles and trips, and Elena rushes over to him as he trips in real life. In the hallucination, the Vampire pins the doppelganger against a tree, while in the real world, Elena looks at him in worry, seeing the Werewolf bite taking effect.
"Hey. Hey. Relax. We need to get you out of here," Elena tells him, and like in the illusion, he pushes her against a post.
"You're faster than I thought," Katherine muses in his delusion.
"Why must you always run from me?" Damon asks her.
"Because I know that you will chase," She replies.
"Then let me chase you forever. Feed me your blood," The older Salvatore pleads with the doppelganger.
"I will not feed you, Damon. If you want it, take it," The doppelganger tells him, cutting her neck with her needle. "It is your choice to make."
"I choose you, Katherine," The delusional Vampire murmurs, looking into the brunette's eyes.
"Look at me. Hey. It's Elena. It's Elena," She tries to get through to him, but he's too far into the hallucination.
"Promise me you will not tell my brother," Damon requests of the manipulative woman.
"I promise. It will be our little secret," Katerina assures him, and he leans closer to the doppelganger; Elena grows scared as he approaches her neck.
"No. Damon. No," Elena warns him, trying to push him away.
"I have to… If we are to be together forever," Damon replies, biting into her neck and drinking her blood.
"Damon, stop. You're hurting me. Damon, you don't have to do this. Please stop. You're hurting me!" She begs him, and he stops, looking at the doppelganger.
"Elena," He mutters, looking at her and falls to the floor; Elena tries to hold him up as she holds her neck, looking around her.
After talking with Bonnie, Caroline hangs up the phone and finds her mother is still there with her. "That was Bonnie. Jeremy's alive," The blond Vampire tells the Sheriff.
"I thought I killed him," Liz blurts in relief.
"You did," Caroline corrects her.
"I don't understand," She frowns.
"I explained it to you once. I… I had to make you forget because I was so scared of what you might do. But now… I don't wanna lie. I'm not gonna be afraid of you anymore. I don't want you to be afraid of me anymore. I'm still your little girl," The young blond tells her, pulling her mother into an embrace. "It's me. It's me, mom." Liz cries as she hugs her daughter back.
Jeremy lies in his bed as she talks with Bonnie on his laptop via webcam, Alaric and Jenna wanting him to rest after what happened. "Hey. How you doing?" She asks him.
"Trying to figure out what's wrong with me. Feel different, weird," Jeremy tells her,
"Yeah, you were dead. It'd be weird if you left normal," The Bennett Witch argues.
"Bonnie, I, uh… I don't know how to thank you," Jeremy mutters.
"You can thank me tomorrow. And the day after that. And the day after that. Good night, Jeremy," Bonnie teases him.
"Good night," He laughs, and they end their conversation when Alaric and Jenna walk into his doorframe, showing their faces.
"Hey, kid. We're heading to bed. Need anything?" Jenna asks her nephew.
"Uh, no, no. I think I'm good," The teen declines. "Alaric, um… Thank you for everything today."
"Ah, you can thank me tomorrow… And the day after that, the day after that," The history teacher teases him.
"Dude, come on! I knew you guys were listening," Jeremy yells as they walk away, and he throws something at the laughing adults.
"And the day after that," Jenna jokes with a smile, and they leave for their room as Jeremy shakes his head with a laugh.
Damon lies in his bed at the Salvatore boarding house, sweating and looking deadly pale from the Werewolf bite from Tyler. Elena returns to the bedroom from the ensuite with a damp cloth in her hands for his fever. "Elena," He mutters through his cough, the venom weakening him faster.
"It's okay, Damon. I'm right here," Elena assures the sickly Vampire.
"Elena, get out of here. I could hurt you," Damon croaks, not wanting to hurt the doppelganger.
"No. You won't. I'm here until the very end. I'm not leaving you," The brunette reassures the Vampire.
"Get out of here," He orders and screams in pain before coughing up half his lung as the brunette sits, taking him into her arms.
"Hey, hey, hey, hey. Hang on. Shh. It's okay. It's okay. It's okay," Elena soothes him.
"It's not okay. It's not okay. All those years, I've blamed Stefan. No one forced me to love her. It was my own choice," The older Salvatore argues.
"Shh," She quiets him.
"I made the wrong choice. You tell Stefan I'm sorry. Okay?" Damon requests of her, and she nods, cleaning her neck with the towel and putting her head against his, feeling a little hopeless at that moment.
Lorilei cringes at the mountain of blood bags on the ground as Stefan continues to drink from another one while looking at Klaus. "You're very cooperative. It's almost as if you're enjoying it," The Hybrid grins and gives him another blood bag.
"No one. Not until you give me the cure," Stefan negotiates, pushing his bloodlust away.
"Not until we make a deal. It's your choice, Stefan. You can either remain here living your life in Mystic Falls, or you can embrace what you truly are, leave town with me, and save your brother's life," He counters, and the ripper takes the blood bag, drinking it. "That's the spirit." Klaus takes the vial with his blood and looks at the doppelganger. "Sweetheart…" She looks him in the eye. "Take this over to Damon and come right back," He compels the manipulative survivor.
"You want me to leave?" Katherine questions, knowing the vervain is working.
"No!" Stefan cries out.
"Yes and if I were you…" Klaus tells her, and she takes the vial before disappearing out the door. "I'd hurry." He sits down in his chair, looking at his glass.
"She'll never take it to him. She'll never take it to him," The ripper hangs his head in defeat.
"Dramatic. Love it," Luka mutters, earning a kick from his older sister.
"Please," Lorilei scoffs, looking at her hand, pondering if she could take the venom of a Werewolf with her Siphoning.
Damon lies in Elena's arms as he gets worse, possibly in his final moments. "This is even more pitiful than I thought," He groans through the pain.
"There's still hope," She assures him, still having a little hope about Stefan finding a cure.
"I've made a lot of choices that have gotten me here. I deserve this. I deserve to die," Damon mutters, closing his eyes.
"No. You don't," Elena argues.
"I do, Elena. It's okay. 'Cause if I'd have chosen differently, I wouldn't have met you. I'm so sorry. Done so many things to hurt you," The dying Vampire replies, apologising to the brunette.
"It's okay. I forgive you," The doppelganger tells the ravenette.
"I know you love Stefan. And it will always be Stefan," Damon murmurs, needing to confess before he dies; she takes his and, lying next to him on the bed, puts her head on his chest. "But I love you. You should know that."
"I do," Elena assures him, tears falling down her face.
"You should have met me in 1864. You would have liked me," The Vampire says groggily, and she raises her hand, looking at him.
"I like you now. Just the way you are," She tells him, and he closes his eyes again; the doppelganger plucks up the courage and kisses him softly on the lips.
"Thank you." He smiles, glad he at least got one kiss from Elena before he died.
"You're welcome." She looks at him, conflicted about what she just did.
"Well, it's me you should be thanking," Katherine interrupts their little moment, and Elena looks at her over her shoulder. "I mean, I'm the one who brought the cure." The younger doppelganger rushes off of the bed as Katerina watches her. "I thought you were dead."
"I was," Elena argues as the Vampire doppelganger walks over to her dying ex-lover and sits on the edge of the bed.
"You got free," Damon grumbles, looking at his ex-lover.
"Yep. Finally," Katherine replies and gives him Klaus' blood, ensuring he drinks all of it.
"And you still came here?" He asks her, and the manipulative Vampire touches his face softly.
"I owed you one," She replies and gets up from the side of the bed.
"Where's Stefan?" Elena asks her.
"Are you sure you care?" Katerina questions her descendant.
"Where is he?" The human demands.
"He's paying for this," She informs her, showing the empty vial. "He gave himself over to Klaus. I wouldn't expect him anytime soon."
"What do you mean, "he gave himself over"?" Elena inquires, growing worried for her boyfriend,
"He just sacrificed everyone to save his brother, including you. It's a good thing you have Damon to keep you company. Goodbye, Elena. Oh. It's okay to love them both. I did," Katherine assures the human doppelganger, throwing the empty vial at her before disappearing. Damon starts getting up, feeling better, looking at Elena, wondering where his brother is.
Lorilei stands by Elijah's coffin with Klaus and cups her hands, blowing into them, a glass lotus appears in her hands, and she places it into the coffin with his cold hand. "And what is that?" Klaus asks her, looking at the item.
"A tracking spell. Got a problem with the fact that I don't trust you?" Lorilei replies and watches as two of the men close.
"I suppose, brother, you've been reunited with our family," He says, looking at his older brother as Lorilei places the lid on top and looks at the two men. "Put him with the others. We're leaving town tonight." The humans put the Noble Original with four other coffins, and Stefan receives a text from Elena telling him that Damon is okay and asking the young Vampire where he is, but he doesn't reply, shutting off his phone. "So… Did Katerina make it in time?"
"You won't be seeing her again, you know," Stefan tells the Original.
"Because she's on vervain? I've been around a long time, Stefan," The Hybrid reminds him, looking at the surprised Salvatore. "I rarely get played for a fool. Besides, she won't get far. You'll help me see to that."
"What is it you really want from me?" He asks.
"All will be explained in time. Once we leave this tragic little town," Klaus assures him.
"Then are we done here? Can we go?" Stefan questions, wanting him as far away as possible from his girlfriend.
"Not quite. You see, I have a gift for you," The Hybrid smirks, having other motives, and Maddox brings out a young woman. "Come here, sweetheart. Don't be afraid." He soothes the girl as she stands by them, and the Hybrid looks at the ripper. "See, I wanna make sure you honour our deal… That you'll be of use to me." He bites into the girl's neck, drinking a little of her blood. "I could have compelled her to behave, but a real ripper enjoys the hunt." The Original releases the young blond human, and she runs screaming, but Stefan stops her, viciously speeding in front of her and bites into her neck, drinking her body dry of blood until she's dead, and Klaus watches, amused. "Now we can go."
"God, he is not getting into the car like that," Lorilei groans, looking at the bloody clothes on Stefan.
"Is that what Elijah said to you?" Maddox jokes, looking at her.
"No," She rolls her eyes and looks at the Martin siblings. "You three are staying here." Her statement makes everyone stop, looking at her.
"I'm sorry. But did you just tell my Witches what to do?" Klaus questions, looking at the Siphon.
"I did. I have a few things for them to do in this small evil little town. They can stay at my apartment building while we're away till they're needed," The brunette replies, looking the Original straight in the eye. "I'm much more powerful and knowledgable than these three put together." Greta goes to protest, but Luka stops his sister, shaking his head, warning her.
"I see your point. But I don't trust you," The Original Hybrid rebuts, looking at her, impressed with her.
"I trust her, Klaus," Maddox advocates for her and the Original looks at his trusted Warlock.
"Why?" The Hybrid presses.
"We've known each other since college," He answers and looks at the Siphon.
"They'll be more help for us both if they stay here. I have many contacts and connections that can help with your little Werewolf hunt. And I need someone I trust to look after my siblings," The Siphon confesses, looking at her oldest friend.
"You have siblings here?" Klaus asks her, looking at Maddox.
"Yes. Two. They don't know much about me or the supernatural world as I'd like and I want to keep them safe from the idiot squad." Lorilei explains, and he seems to ponder on the proposal.
"Fair. We'll test-run it for a little while; if we don't find anything then I will need one of my Witches," He adds to the proposal, and she considers it before nodding.
"Fine. I want to head to New York first considering I'm not going back any time soon and I do have an apartment and job that need sorting out." The Siphon suggests, and he agrees.
Jeremy hears a noise from somewhere and wakes up with a start. "Alaric? Jenna?" He calls out but doesn't get an answer and leaves his room. "Jenna? Alaric?" Someone stands behind him, and he turns around, but there is no one there, and he goes downstairs as Vicki walks down behind him.
"Jer," Vicki calls to him; the youngest Gilbert turns again, seeing no one, and enters the kitchen where Anna waits for him.
"Anna?" He questions, looking around, and Vicki is standing there. "Vicki?"
