The End of the Affair
It's been an interesting few weeks for the new Pack; making Hybrids still doesn't seem to be working, and the Pack have searched all over the country for answers, but Klaus doesn't care so much about it with Lorilei, his new Pack and Stefan by his side. The Ripper seems to be warming up to them, spending more time with the pack members that travel with them. Over the last 2 weeks, Lorilei has gotten a few phone calls from Maddox about willing small packs nationwide wanting to become Hybrids, and Klaus is all too happy to bring them along until he finds the answer to their problem. The group is getting bigger as some of the pack members have stayed with their new Alpha while the others have moved to Mystic Falls, helping with the beginning construction of the new pack den's home for the ever-growing family. The large group of Werewolves, a Hybrid, a Vampire and a Siphon, make their way to the windy city of Chicago, needing to find a Witch that is willing to help them, especially with Klaus and Lorilei in the mix.
At Mystic Falls at the Salvatore Boarding House, Damon walks into the parlour room, making himself a drink when his phone rings, and he gets it out of his pants pockets. "You're interrupting my drink." He answers the phone.
"Miss me?" Katherine asks in a phone booth somewhere.
"Where are you?" Damon questions, not that he cares, but if he wants his Brother back, he could always trade her for Stefan.
"Lurking outside your window, pining away." She replies, looking around, not wanting to get caught anywhere near Klaus.
"What do you want?" The older Salvatore demands, growing bored of the conversation.
"I'm homesick. What have I missed?" The Petrova Vampire asks him.
"Well, Stefan's still Klaus' little prisoner and Elena still thinks she can save him, and no one's thought about you since you left," Damon tells her harshly.
"And what about you?" Katherine questions, smirking. "I'm sure now that you've given up on your brother, you're plotting some sort of way of moving in on his girlfriend."
"I didn't give up on him. I just don't know where he is." He replies, wanting to get his little Brother back, and she hums to herself, smirking. "But you do. Are you trailing them?"
"A Hybrid who wants me dead and his sidekicks who are off the rails? I couldn't be further away." She lies, looking out at the window.
"Which means you know exactly where they are." The baby Vampire realises, pouring himself another drink.
"All I know is that Klaus pitched a fit once his Hybrids didn't work. Now he's looking for some answers." The Vampire Doppelganger replies. "And he bought himself more wolves along the way.
"How do you know that?" Damon asks her, wondering how she could possibly know all of that if she wasn't trailing them.
"Spend 500 years running, and there will be a few people along the way that are looking out for you." Katherine answers vaguely.
"Is that what you're doing? Looking out for my Brother?" He questions, not believing her as she's one of the most selfish people he knows besides himself.
"Maybe, maybe not. I'm conflicted." She replies, playing coy with the angry Salvatore, loving to annoy her ex-lover.
"Where are they?" The older Salvatore demands, growing frustrated at her little tricks and stops himself from hanging up on his annoyingly selfish and manipulative ex-lover, Katherine Pierce.
Meanwhile, in Chicago, several cars pull into a warehouse on the city's outskirts. Klaus, Stefan and Lorilei get out of the vehicle at the front with a few others from some of the packs they've encountered while travelling around the country. "Welcome back to Chicago, Stefan," Klaus comments, moving his arm around Lorilei's shoulders, making sure the white wool cardigan covers her shoulders from the chilly night as she's only wearing black leggings, slippers and a sports bra and her hair in a messy bun due to how late it is and how long they've been on the road.
"What are we doing here?" Stefan asks him, looking back at the rest of the Pack that joined them.
"I know how much you loved it here. Bringing back memories of the good old ripper days." He replies, squeezing Lorilei's arm as she yawns, considering it is nearly midnight once they arrive from North Dakota with their pack members in tow. However, some of the Pack have already headed for Mystic Falls to help begin construction on the Pack's new den by an old mansion that Klaus has his eye on, and Lorilei has already called the builders for the tough job ahead.
"Blacked out most of them. A lot of blood, a lot of partying. The details are all a blur." The Ripper says, opening the door to allow the truck with the Original Family caskets inside.
"Well, that is a crying shame. The details are what makes it legend." The Original Hybrid comments, moving out of the way to allow the lorry carrying his undead family inside the warehouse, driven by Cole, a Werewolf from the Pack from Spokane, as Robert and Martin help him navigate the open warehouse doors.
"Word was the Ripper of Monterrey got lonely, so he escaped to the city for comfort. It was prohibition. Everything was off-limits then, which made everything so much fun." Klaus comments, looking at the conflicted Salvatore as the Pack quickly unpacks the original family in their coffins. Lorilei casts a few Spells before heading for the closest hotel with enough rooms for the large group.
In the 1920s, Stefan was in Chicago, having little fun away from others, minding his own bloody business. The Ripper sat in the back of a car, making out heavily with a young woman, but stopped, overcome with bloodlust, biting into her neck, drinking her dry, killing her. Stefan pulled away from the dead girl's neck, breathing heavily, calming himself down from his blood-induced haze, and glanced at the young deceased woman, smoothing out his hair and took the tiny pink flower from her hair, placing it on his jacket before smoothly got out of the car, removing the blood from his lips.
Stefan strolled toward the secret bar, looking around at the people walking along the street, unaware that a Vampire was on the prowl, still hungry and came to the side door of a building, knocking before the door opened. He stepped inside, already hearing the music.
Stefan strolled inside the secret bar, slapping the guard's shoulder, coming into the main room, and looking around with a smirk at all the humans that could be his next victim as they enjoyed the music and alcohol. The singer and owner of the place on the stage at the front of the room spotted the Ripper. "Guess who my eyes have just spied, ladies? Looking for a good time, Mr Salvatore?" Gloria announced, pointing at the man as he stepped down the stairs onto the dance floor.
"Save me a dance, Gloria," Stefan replied, going to grab a glass of champagne from a passing waiter, but before he could take it, a gorgeous blond woman took it off him. "Ooh. Please, help yourself."
"Oh, I always do," Rebekah remarks, getting closer, licking the corner of his lips. "Careful, Mr Salvatore." She whispered in his ear, vamping out. "You're still wearing your date. She's lovely." She went to leave, but he caught her arm, stopping her.
"No, no, no. Who are you?" He demanded, and she made a sign to tell him to shut up before leaving, making him wonder who she was.
"Chicago was magical," Klaus says and moves away, leaving Lorilei as she gets out her phone, searching for nearby hotels that can house their large group for a few nights while they sort out their Hybrid problem.
"Yeah, well, I'll take your word for it. Like I said, I don't remember most of it." Stefan replies, looking at the couple, wondering why he is still with them, but he doesn't mind their company, as they seem to have grown on him. Stefan likes being around them, not feeling like such a monster around other so-called monsters.
"Ready to get down to business, then?" Lorilei asks them, looking at the Ripper and Hybrid, who look back at her as she pulls her hair out, shaking it around. "But we are getting a hotel first. I need my beauty sleep."
"I know love. We're almost done. I promise." Klaus assures her seeing how tired she is from their long travel and having a small child to help entertain her with so much energy is exhausting.
"Why am I still with you two?" Stefan asks the couple, though he doesn't want to return to Mystic Falls for a few reasons, not all of them being about Elena, who he doesn't doubt is still trying to find him. "We had our fun; your Hybrids failed. I mean, don't you want to move on? You have a pack now."
"We're going to see my fourth favourite Witch. If anyone can help us with our Hybrid problem, it's her." Klaus says, looking at his gorgeous Siphon girlfriend as she gets their large group rooms at a hotel.
The morning comes, and in Mystic Falls, Elena sleeps in her bed, unaware of the unwanted guest in her room next ot her and snuggles into the chest when she suddenly wakes in surprise. "Rise and shine, sleepy head." Damon coos, startling the Doppelganger.
"Aah!" Elena jumps, looking at the older Salvatore sitting on her bed. "What are you doing?! Get out!" She grabs her pillow.
"You know you were dreaming about me. Explains the drool." He jokes, gesturing to his shirt.
"Ugh. Oh, my God." She grumbles, looking at her alarm. "6:00 am, seriously?" The Doppelganger looks at him. "So you really have nothing better to do at 6:00 am?"
"Fine, don't come with me to bring Stefan home. See ya." The older Salvatore replies, getting up.
"Wait. wait, wait, wait. What?" The teen brunette questions, looking alert. "What are you talking about? Where is he?"
"Windy city." Damon informs her, smirking.
"He's in Chicago?" Elena asks him. "Well, how do you know?"
"It came to me in a dream." He jokes. "I was naked. You would have loved it. Start packing." He goes to her dresser, rifling through her drawers.
"Is he okay?" She asks him, moving onto the edge of her bed.
"Well, let's just say he's not there to meet Oprah." The Vampire jokes, opening her underwear drawer and taking out a pair of red panties. "Ooh. Put these in the "yes" pile." Elena gets up and takes it from his hands, putting it back in the drawer and rolling her eyes at him as he leaves.
Elena and Damon sit in his car for the 11-and-a-half-hour drive to Chicago to hopefully find Stefan. "I sure hope we find him 'cause it would suck if the last memento of Stefan was that crappy old necklace." Damon teases her, watching Elena fiddle with the vervain necklace hanging around her neck.
"It's an antique, Damon. Like you." Elena jokes, making the Vampire roll his eyes at her little jab, and she smirks at herself, so he grabs a diary from his backseat.
"Read this." He tells her, handing over the journal. "Paints a pretty little picture of Stefan's first experience in Chicago."
"It's Stefan's diary." She states the obvious. "I'm not going to invade his private thoughts." She rejects the book. "
"You need to be prepared for what you're about to see." The older Salvatore warns her, remembering the darkest parts of his little Brother.
"I've seen Stefan in his darkest periods. I can handle it." The naive Doppelganger replies, and Damon rolls his eyes, opening the diary as he drives.
"Here's one. March 12th, 1922." Damon starts reading, changing his voice into a more mocking version. "'I've blacked out days. I wake up in stranger's blood, in places I don't recognise, with women I don't remember.'" He looks at Elena with a mock, shocked face. "Ahh! I'm shocked! Stefan's not a virgin?" She takes the journal from his hands, rolling her eyes and suppressing a smile.
"Eyes on the road, grandma," Elena rolls her eyes, opening the diary.
"Fine. Back to my game. Tell me if you see a Florida plate." He replies, looking around as she reads the diary entry.
Gloria sang in her bar as a waiter poured more champagne into the glass mountain while Stefan drank with his friends, laughing loudly over the music as Rebekah danced with her date but stopped and stomped over to Stefan and his loud friends. "Sorry to crash the fun, boys, but some of us actually came here to hear the music. Not you." Rebekah snapped at them, growing annotated.
"Oof. I am so sorry, sweetheart. Are we offending you?" Stefan joked, making his fake friends laugh, and she stepped toward him, touching his face and silencing the men.
"It would take a lot more than a baby face like this to offend me." She whispered in his ear and went to leave, but he stopped her again, grabbing her arm.
"Ahem. Hey, hey. You ever going to tell me your name?" He asked her, leaning toward her, away from his friends.
"Sure. When you earn it. Now do Gloria a favour and stick a sock in it." The Original Vampire purred and walked back onto the dancefloor with her date.
Klaus and Lorilei walk into the same bar the day after arriving in Chicago with Stefan, seeing it dead. "Looks familiar, doesn't it?" Klaus asks the Ripper.
"I can't believe this place is still here," Stefan replies, looking around at the empty room and seeing the change in decor.
"It really hasn't changed," Lorilei mutters, glancing around in disgust, not wanting to stand in the ugly bar in her black designer jeans, heels with her white and black checkered top with flowing sleeves, curled half-tied hair, and bright red lips. "I really don't want to be here." She gets out her compact mirror, but before looking at herself, she spots the old Witch approaching them.
"You got to be kidding me," Gloria exclaims, seeing the Original Hybrid, Vampire and Siphon in her bar.
"So a Hybrid walks into a bar, says to the bartender…" Klaus jokes, smiling, but Lorilei covers his mouth.
"It wasn't funny last night. It isn't funny now." Lorilei warns him, moving her hand away from his mouth with a warning look.
"Agreed. Stop. You may be invincible, but that doesn't make you funny." Gloria agrees with the Siphon and spots Stefan. "I remember you."
"Yeah. You're Gloria. Shouldn't you be…" Stefan questions, looking at the woman, who is very much alive and still looks good for how long she's been alive.
"Old and dead?" She finishes, seeing how uncomfortable he is. "Now if I die, who's going to run this place, huh?" She gestures to her bar.
"I'll take it off your dead hands." Lorilei grins at the Witch, who looks at the Siphon, trying not to snap at her.
"I'm sure you would." Gloria grins at her, fighting back a curse; though she does like the younger woman, her instincts as a Witch are battling back.
"Gloria's a very powerful Witch," Klaus informs Stefan, earning a scathing look from his girlfriend. "But not as powerful as Lorilei."
"Better," Lorilei smirks, seeing a little fear in the Original Hybrid's eyes, which makes her a little too happy.
"I can slow the ageing down some, Herbs and Spells. But don't worry, it'll catch up to me one day." Gloria explains, looking at the Ripper, who nods, not really caring.
"Stefan, why don't you go and fix us up a little something from behind the bar." Klaus tells him, and the Ripper nods, moving over to the bar and leaving the others alone. "You look ravishing, by the way." He tries smoothing things over but earns two looks from the Witches.
"Don't." She warns him.
"Really don't. For your own safety." Lorilei warns him and moves closer to his ear. "And for that thing that you like. Because you most certainly aren't getting it tonight."
"You can't be serious?" Klaus questions, looking at his girlfriend, who glares at him in a warning.
"I know why you're here. A Hybrid out to make more Hybrids? That kind of news travels." Gloria says, stopping the couple from arguing, and they sit down at the nearest table.
"So what are we doing wrong? I broke the curse." He demands, looking at the older Witch, not noticing Stefan listening and Lorilei growing uncomfortable.
"Obviously you did something wrong." She corrects him. "Look, every Spell has a loophole, but a curse that old… We'd have to contact the Witch who created it. I'm surprised you didn't suggest that Lorilei."
"Well, that would be the Original Witch. She's very dead." The Original Hybrid tells her, hating talking about his dead Mother and discreetly takes Lorilei's hand under the table.
"And I don't think the Ancestors would appreciate me trying to talk to any of them. The last time I tried that, I almost ended up blind. Witches are such bitches." Lorilei adds, squeezing her boyfriend's hand for support.
"True. And for me to contact her, I'll need help. Bring me, Rebekah." Gloria instructs the Hybrid, gaining a look from the Siphon as she wonders what the older Witch really wants with the Original Sister.
"Rebekah. Rebekah is a bit preoccupied." Klaus replies, not wanting to wake his Sister, scared of how she'll react to many things that have happened.
"She has what I need. Bring her to me." She tells them, and as they talk, Stefan fixes some drinks when he finds a picture on the wall, looking at it in shock before taking it off.
"What is this?" Stefan demands, waving the photo around, gaining the attention of the others, and Klaus gets up from the table, strolling toward the Ripper.
"Well, I told you, Stefan. Chicago's a magical place." Klaus replies, looking at it, and Lorilei looks at Gloria before joining them.
"But this is me. With you." He argues, showing the Hybrid the picture of the two of them in the 1920s.
"That's the last of it," Edward announces, placing the last of the boxes into the newly finished loft room for Jenna, having moved them from Lorilei's apartment building after packing up all her things from the Gilbert House.
"Thank you, Jeremy, Edward," Jenna says, moving around the room, amazed at the new space, the whole house having been renovated thanks to Lorilei, as the house hadn't seen a lick of paint for years.
"No problem, Aunt Jenna," Jeremy assures her.
"Do you want any help unpacking?" Alexis asks her, pocking her head into the room.
"No, I'll be alright," Jenna tells them.
"We'll leave you to it then. I've got a shift at the Grill." Jeremy tells her, leaving the room with the McKnight twins.
"Do you think she'll be okay?" Edward asks him, knowing it's been a lot for the young Gilbert and Jenna.
"I hope so." He replies, and they head downstairs to a knock at the door.
"I'll get it," Alexis offers, having the day off, and Edward is working later at the bookshop. Alexis opens the door to see Alaric looking a little nervous.
"Is Jenna here?" Alaric asks her politely.
"She is. But she doesn't want to see anyone," She informs the history teacher, closing the door, and Jeremy looks at her thankfully.
"Thank you," Jeremy mutters, grabbing his bag. "I'm gonna go around the back." He heads through the kitchen to the backdoor, heading to work.
"Poor boy," Edward comments, looking at his Sister.
"You're the same age, Eddie," Alexis reminds him, walking into the living room and turning on the TV, needing to relax.
Elena and Damon later arrive in Chicago in the evening, and the older Salvatore takes the Doppelganger to an old deserted apartment building; he takes her to his younger Brother's old apartment. "Stefan could live anywhere in Chicago, and he chose this?" Elena questions, looking at the peeling wallpaper in the building hallway.
"There used to be an all-girls high school around the corner, but ti shut down for attendance issues. Weird." Damon jokes, looking at the brunette.
"If you're trying to scare me into giving up and going back, it's not going to work." She tells him they stop in front of Stefan's apartment door.
"Shh." He replies, looking at her over his shoulder before breaking the door handle and opening the door. "Here we are. Stefan's second personality home." They enter the dreary-looking, dusty, and abandoned apartment.
"Pretty obvious he hasn't been here." The Doppelganger states, looking at the tidy yellowish room.
"Tour is not over yet." The Vampire informs her, moving further into the apartment toward a bookshelf in the wall and fishes around for the hidden latch, opening the secret door to reveal a room behind the bookcase that holds shelves of alcohol.
"Stefan hid his alcohol. What a monster," Elena jokes, looking at the older Salvatore Brother as he steps into the hidden room.
"Look harder." Damon corrects her, making her come inside, too; she steps next to him and sees the long lists of names on the side wall from floor to ceiling.
"It's a list of names." She mutters, seeing hundreds of names scrolled onto the wall and Damon hums in agreement. "These are all of his victims?"
"Still handling it?" He asks her, leaving the hidden room away from his younger Brother's past kills.
"What were you doing in the 1920s?" The brunette teen questions, looking at him from the secret room. "Paving the way for women's liberation?"
"I was around." The Snarky Vampire replies, looking around the room in distaste. "Chicago's a big city. Stefan was a cocky Ripper douche. But I could avoid him and still indulge in a few Daisy Buchanas of my own." Elena looks at him in disgust, scoffing at him, stepping out of the hidden room.
"Where are you going?" Elena asks him, seeing him leaving for the apartment door, going somewhere in mind.
"His old stomping ground," Damon answers, opening the apartment door, needing to at least know his Brother is there.
"I'm coming with you." She announces, stepping toward him, wanting out of the apartment.
"No. You stay here and whip up an actual plan. I'll come back when I find him." He tells her before leaving her alone in the apartment, and she looks around at the apartment's yellowing walls and peeling wallpaper.
Stefan and Klaus arrive back at the warehouse with Lorilei behind them on the phone with the contractors for the new building. "This doesn't make any sense." Stefan snaps, storming after the Original Hybrid. "Why don't I remember you?"
"You said it yourself; that time had a lot of dark holes," Klaus replies, avoiding answering him, working himself up to wake his little Sister again.
"No, if you knew me, then why haven't you said anything?" He demands, following him through the warehouse.
"I'm a little busy right now. Memory Lane will have to wait." The Hybrid argues, but Stefan grabs his arm, stopping him from going any further.
"What the hell is going on? Answer me!" The Ripper sneers, looking at him, feeling betrayed by him.
"Let's just say we didn't get off to a brilliant start. To be honest, I hated you." Klaus answers him, looking at his old friend and removing Stefan's hand from his arm.
Stefan hungrily drank blood from a brunette woman in Gloria's bar when Rebekah joined him in drinking the lady on the other side of her neck. The pair pulled away as the Ripper spotted the necklace around the blond Original's neck, one he would later give to Elena. "It's beautiful," Stefan commented, touching the jewellery.
"A Witch gave it to me. Supposedly it's magical," Rebekah replied, smiling at the fond moments of her distant past.
"Is it?" He asked her, disregarding the barely unconscious woman between them.
"It brought me love, didn't it?" She questioned, lovingly smiling at the man in front of her, but their moment was interrupted when Klaus, in a white suit, stormed toward the couple and snatched his little Sister's arm, trying to pull her away from the Ripper.
"It's later, Rebekah; we're leaving," Klaus announced, pulling her to her feet.
"Get off me!" The young Original snapped at her big Brother, and Stefan stood, going to intervene.
"Who is this guy?" Stefan demanded, looking between the siblings.
"Stefan, don't," Rebekah warned her lover. "He'll kill you. He's a lot stronger than he looks."
"So, this is the famous Stefan Salvatore. I've been hearing so much about?" Klaus questioned, looking at the Ripper, not seeming impressed. "You're right; he does have funny hair." He glanced at his Sister, who looked back at Stefan. "I'm bored. I want to go."
"Then go without me; I'm not your girlfriend." She snapped at him, stepping away from her older Brother.
"No, you're my Sister, which means… You have to do as I say." He reminded her, and Stefan looked between them in shock, seeing a slight resemblance to each other, but he couldn't help but be a little scared for some reason at the older Vampire, almost sensing the hidden wolf deep within.
Klaus finishes explaining the first time he met Stefan in the 20s in Chicago with his baby sister. "Your Sister. So I knew another Original Vampire?" Stefan questions, looking at the Original Hybrid, and they come into the warehouse containing coffins holding the Original Family.
"Well, I want it done soon. I understand that Hank, but you've done more with less. Don't make me come down there." The Vampires hear Lorilei on the phone in the other room with the contractor. "Good. Thanks, Hank. I want the pack house done before you start on the old mansion." She hangs up the phone and steps into the warehouse. "What'd I miss?"
"I apparently knew his Sister. I dated his Sister." The Ripper informs her, and she looks at them in surprise.
"Interesting." She remarks, and Klaus opens one of the coffin lids, revealing a desiccated Rebekah lying comfortably inside. Lorilei and Stefan see Klaus's smile at seeing his little Sister and lightly touching her face.
"I don't recognise her," Stefan remarks, looking at the blond Original Vampire.
"Well, don't tell her that. Rebekah's temper is worse than mine," Klaus warns the young Vampire.
"That I can't believe," Lorilei comments, watching him take out the dagger from her chest and hand it over to her, and Stefan watches the Siphon mutter a spell before the object disappears into thin air.
"Time to wake up, little Sister. Any day now, Rebekah," He coos softly, but nothing happens, and he looks at the other two standing there. "She's being dramatic."
"Pot, kettle," She mutters, earning a smile from Stefan and Klaus.
"Look," Stefan plucks up the courage to ask, "why don't you just tell me what the hell is going on?" He finally asks. "I mean, you obviously want me here for a reason, right?"
"Well, you have many useful talents," Klaus replies, being a little too vague.
"Do I?" He questions, looking at his somewhat friends.
"In fact, I learned some of my favourite tricks from you," The Original Hybrid replies, smirking.
Klaus sat at a table in Gloria's bar with Stefan and Rebekah as the night passed, and the Supernaturals' trio got to know each other. "So, Stefan, enlighten me. What makes you worthly of an Original like my Sister?" Klaus questioned, looking at Stefan, trying to make him uncomfortable. "She's pure Vampire, and you're no more than a diluted bloodline."
"Don't listen to him, Stefan." Rebekah told him, trying to ease the young Vampire. "Nik's a elitist."
"Hmm. And where's the rest of your family?" Stefan asked, wondering for pure curiosity.
"Well, let's see. Um… I killed most of them." Klaus replied, lying but not entirely as he thinks of his brothers, unfaithful mother, and terrifying father.
"But not all," Rebekah added, smiling at her big Brother.
"And you're okay with that?" Stefan asked his lover, surprised at the calmness of her demeanour.
"Well, we all had the chance to choose a side. I chose the right one, eventually," She answered, thinking of her questionable past that got her there and touched her older Brother's hand, trying to convey her apology when a man stepped up to their table, interrupting their chat.
"Where the hell's my wife?" The man demanded, unaware that they were all deadly Vampires.
"I don't know. I give up," Stefan joked, looking around, already knowing the answer.
"You think you're so tough? Hiding in your bar, drinking your liquor? A telephone call to Chicago P.D. might set you straight!" The man shouted, trying to threaten them, making the Originals laugh, and Stefan smirked, calling the woman over to the table.
"Lila? Lila, please. Come here for a second," He called for her, and a meek woman walked over to join them, clearly compelled.
"Oh, thank God. Come on, we're leaving," The man sighed, trying to take his wife away, but Stefan stopped him, compelling the man.
"Oh, no, no, no, no, no. No. You're sitting," The Ripper compelled the man, making him sit beside Klaus, and Lila sat next to Stefan before he took off her glove and took out a knife.
"Stefan, don't be mean," Rebekah giggled, watching.
"What the hell are you doing?" Lila's husband demanded, looking between the three Supernaturals, and Klaus seemed intrigued, watching the Ripper cut Lila's wrist, and the blood poured into a glass.
"Thank you so much, Lila. Why don't you go and bandage that up," Stefan told her, and Lila got up, leaving as he compelled the man. "I'd like you to join me for a drink." He gave the glass with blood from his wife to the man.
"What kind of sick freaks are you?" The man demanded, looking at them.
"I said, drink!" He ordered the human, and the man sipped his wife's blood, spluttering at the taste. "I didn't catch your name."
"Got to hell," The human replied, gagging at the taste of Lila's blood, and Klaus laughed, watching them.
"Do you want another sip?" The Ripper questioned, threatening the man.
"Liam Grant. Liam Grant!" He answered, almost screaming.
"Have another sip, Liam," Stefan compelled him, and Liam obediently drank the blood again. "Finish it." Klaus laughed as he watched the young Vampire and the human.
"I was your number one fan," Klaus replies, and Cole, Martin and Brandon come into the warehouse with a human, who thrashes around in Cole and Martin's hold, having found the man about to rape a poor young girl.
"Why should I believe any of this?" Stefan questions, looking at the Original Hybrid, who moves toward the man.
"When she wakes up," He compels the disgusting human, "tell her to meet us at Gloria's bar. Then volunteer your carotid artery and let her feed until you die. And you will stand there completely still until she wakes up."
"Where are you going?" Lorilei asks him, moving toward the Werewolves, needing to talk to them about something.
"He think's I'm lying." The Original Hybrid replies, and she looks at him. "You and I knew each other, Stefan. You trusted me with one of your secrets, and now I'm going to prove it to you."
"How?" Stefan questions, looking at him.
"We're going to your old apartment," Klaus answers.
"Hang on, Klaus, we've got a problem." Lorilei announces, making them stop.
"And that is?" He asks her.
"We were staking out Gloria's bar like you asked us and we saw a dark-haired Vampire go inside. We think it was Damon Salvatore." Brandon informs them.
"I thought you said you'd sorted your brother out?" The Original questions the Ripper.
"I thought I did." Stefan answers, growing worried about what will happen next.
"Keep an eye on him," Klaus tells the Werewolves. "I promised you I would not hurt your Brother. I keep my word."
"Thank you." He replies, and Lorilei looks at the pack members, who nod in agreement before heading out with the others.
"We need Damon off our backs." Lorilei comments, looking at the Werewolves and Vampires, who nod. "I know Klaus agreed not to hurt your Brother, but I never agreed. Am I allowed to make him stay away?"
"Just don't kill him." Stefan agrees, though he knows he can't always save his Brother, especially with Damon sniffing around town.
Damon steps into Gloria's bar, looking around at the modern interior, and spots the elderly Witch behind the counter. "Well, look what the wind blew in. Last I heard, you hated this place," Gloria remarks, looking at the dark-haired Vampire.
"Gloria." Damon greets her, strolling toward her. "Damn! If I knew you were going to age like this, I would have stuck around."
"I always did like you better. But I see your Brother is still running in the wrong crowd," She remarks, glancing at him.
"You've seen him?" He asks her, glad the trip was well-spent.
"With Klaus and Lorilei. Bad combo," The Witch warns the young Vampire, knowing them both from her long past.
"You know where they went?" The older Salvatore brother questions, needing to find his little Brother and get him home.
"They'll be back here later tonight. They're out running a little errand for me," Gloria answers vaguely.
"Gloria…" Damon mutters, touching her hand. "Don't be a tease. What kind of errand?" She moves her hand away.
"I don't think so. You may be cute, but you're still a Vampire," She replies and goes to another part of the room.
Elena stays in Stefan's apartment after Damon leaves to find his Brother as she reads his diary, trying to pass the time. "April, 1922. Lexi found me last night, and dragged me off the train tracks. Thinks she can make me care again." Stefan writes in his journal, and she turns the page, looking at another passage. "June, 1924… Lexi's driving me crazy. More animal blood, more misery." She turns another page. "1935…cravings are there, but it's easier. Lexi's on to her next project… Getting me to laugh." She smiles, thinking of her boyfriend's laugh and hears someone approaching, but it isn't Damon; it's Klaus, Stefan and Lorilei. Elena jumps in surprise as they come to the apartment door, finding a place to hide, and the Original Hybrid spots the lock broken before kicking the door open and entering the dreary apartment.
"What a charming little homestead. Do you feel that?" Klaus asks as the others step into the apartment behind him. "Is anybody here?" Unaware that Elena is hiding in the hidden closet behind the bookcase.
"It been vacant for decades," Stefan answers, smelling the air which reminds him of his girlfriend. "People must break in all the time. Why'd you bring me here?"
"Your friend, Liam Grant, the one who drank his wife's blood…" He replies, and Elena hears them, looking at the long list of names, spotting Liam Grant written in front of her. "I never could figure out why you wanted his name. And then you told me your little secret." He moves toward the bookcase on the other side of the room. "It was all part of your special little ritual."
"To write it down." The Ripper adds, looking at the Hybrid in surprise.
"And relive the kill… Over and over again," The Original Hybrid finishes and opens the hidden door. "You believe me now?" Stefan steps into the secret closet to see the list and turns his head, barely able to contain his surprise when he sees Elena standing there, looking at him with hope, and he stares at her.
"Look what I found," Stefan says, making Elena look at him in fear, but he takes a bottle from the shelf and gives it to Klaus, relieving the Doppelganger. "1918. Single malt."
"Let's go and find someone to pair it with," Klaus suggests, taking the bottle; Lorilei smile as she takes it.
"I'm not a Vampire, but I'll have a bit if you don't mind boys." Lorilei comments, watching Stefan close the closet before leaving. Elena stays behind the wall, waiting with a vervain dart, when she hears someone else coming, but it's luckily just Damon.
"Finally! I called you an hour ago," Elena exclaims, storming toward him, and he gives her a bag of clothes.
"Make yourself presentable. I know where Stefan's going to be tonight," Damon informs her, sitting on the dusty bed.
"I told you that I was practically discovered by Klaus, and you're worried about what I'm wearing?" She questions, getting angry at the Vampire.
"I had an hour to realise what a bad idea it was to leave you here alone, process it, and move on. Are you okay?" He asks her, seeing her a little shaken up from the encounter.
"Yeah," The Doppelganger answers reluctantly.
"Okay, good." The older Salvatore Brother replies. "Get dressed. You're all road-tripy and gross."
"So you know where he's going to be?" Elena asks him, needing to talk to Stefan away from Lorilei and Klaus.
"Yes, with Klaus and Lorilei. So I'll distract them, and you deal with Stefan." Damon tells her, having a poorly formulated plan.
"Okay. Thank you," The Doppelganger smiles softly at him.
"But you're going to have about five minutes tops before those freaks rip my heart out. So please, tell me you can do this." He asks her.
"I can do this," The human assures him, though she isn't too sure herself.
Lorilei walks into Gloria's bar, having needed to talk with the contractors again and sees Klaus and Stefan at the bar while Gloria gives the men two beers and hands her a whiskey on the rocks. "Where's Rebekah?" The Witch asks them.
"She'll be here. I can't just conjure her on demand," Klaus assures her, looking at Stefan. "What's with you? I thought Chicago was your playground."
"So this is why you asked me to be your wingman?" Stefan questions him. "Because you liked the way that I tortured innocent people?"
"Well, that's certainly half of it," He replies, slinging his arm around Lorilei's shoulder as she sits beside him at the bar.
"What's the other half?" The Ripper asks, intrigued by the answer.
"The other half, Stefan, is that you used to want to be my wingman," The Original Hybrid answers with a smirk.
"You're not going down memory lane again?" Lorilei grumbles.
Klaus and Stefan sat at the bar at Gloria's, chatting way into the night. "They're jealous." The Ripper assured him. "Your family wants you dead because they can never be what you are."
"What? An abomination?" Klaus questioned, frowning a little as he sipped his drink.
"No. A king." Stefan replied, making the Original smile, and he chuckled.
"Look at us. Two sad orphans. My Sister fancies you, you know." He remarked, looking at the young Vampire. "But… I should warn you Rebekah doesn't do anything half-speed, including falling in love. So just be careful. She's totally mad."
"I appreciate the advice," The Ripper smirked, thinking of the gorgeous blond Original.
"And when the point comes where she inevitably leaves you… She can't help it; it's just who she is. Don't let your heart do anything stupid," The Original Hybrid warned his new friend, not wanting to lose another.
"You know what, you're a good friend, Nik. I'm glad I met you," Stefan smiled, feeling as free as ever with him and Rebekah.
Klaus smiles at his old friend and raises a shot of tequila. "To friendship," He smirks, downing the liquid and placing the glass on the counter.
"So I'm confused. If we were such great friends, why do I only know you as the Hybrid dick who sacrificed my ex-girlfriend on an altar of fire?" Stefan questions, and Lorilei doesn't miss the way he talks about Elena.
"Ex-girlfriend?" Lorilei whispers, looking at the Ripper, who nods; she remembers how he looked back at his old apartment and smiles, seeing how Stefan has changed since he left Mystic Falls.
"All good things must come to an end." He replies, thinking of the past.
Stefan and Rebekah danced on the floor of Gloria's bar, and Klaus watched them with a fond smile when suddenly he felt something wasn't right, as policemen entered the room, shooting everywhere. Rebekah and Stefan hid behind the bar to avoid getting hit, and the Ripper took one of the bullets off the ground, seeing it wasn't an ordinary one. "They're using wooden bullets. They know," Stefan announced, showing the bullet to his lover.
"That means he's here," Rebekah muttered, fear showing on her face.
"Who? Who's here?" He asked her, cupping her face, trying to scare away the fear in her eyes.
"Rebekah!" Klaus shouted for his little Sister. "Come on, we've got to go, sweetheart." She got up, finding her older Brother, and he took her arm, pulling her away.
"What the hell is going on?" Stefan asked them, looking between the siblings.
"Stefan!" Rebekah yelled after him. "
"Go!" Klaus ordered his Sister, making her leave, and her necklace fell to the floor; seeing this, Stefan went to pick it up, but Klaus stopped him. "Stefan. I'm sorry, but the fun has to end here."
"What are you talking about?" Stefan questioned, looking at his friend, but it went silent as the Original compelled him.
"You must forget Rebekah and me. Until I say otherwise, you never knew us, Stefan." He compelled his only friend. "Thank you. I had forgotten what it was like to have a brother." He disappeared, leaving the Ripper alone in the bar, but not before picking up the necklace that fell from around Rebekah's neck, unaware that he was being watched.
"You compelled me to forget?" Stefan questions, looking at the Original Hybrid in shock.
"It was time for Rebekah and I to move on. Better to have a clean slate," Klaus lies a little, not wanting him to know why they really left.
"But why?" He asks him. "You shouldn't have to cover your tracks… Unless you're running from someone."
"Storytime's over," The Original Hybrid declares, sensing a newcomer stepping into the bar. Stefan turns his head, spotting Damon walking inside, who makes a sign at him, and he turns to look at Klaus.
"I need another drink. A real one," The Ripper fibs, needing to talk to his Brother, going outside with Damon.
"What is wrong with you?!" Stefan shouts at his older Brother as he comes out of the bar to join his Brother.
"What is wrong with you? You kill Andie one day; you save my life the next." Damon argues. "What are you good, bad? Pick one!"
"Klaus almost saw Elena today. You have to get her out of Chicago." He warns him, not wanting to see either of them for their own safety.
"She's not going anywhere until she's got you checked into Vampire rehab and on the mend. Trust me. I've tried," His Brother replies, growing annoyed at his Brother.
"She is the key to everything. Klaus can't know that she's alive," The young Brother tells him, though he knows Lorilei already does, which doesn't change anything for now.
"What are you talking about?" Damon asks him, not getting it.
"She was supposed to die in the sacrifice, and she didn't, thanks to Lorilei. Now Klaus can't create any new Hybrids. His other Witch is seconds away from figuring that out. Tell Elena to go home and forget about me." Stefan warns him out of loyalty to them, but Damon doesn't say anything immediately.
"Tell her yourself," He informs him and watches his Brother look at Elena, but is surprised to see the look in his eyes, which isn't what he expected, so he decides to go inside to join Klaus and Lorilei at the bar.
"I see they've opened the doors to the riff-raff now," Klaus remarks as Damon sits on his other side.
"Oh, honey, I've been called worse," The sassy Vampire replies, smirking.
"I don't doubt it," Lorilei mutters, earning a chuckle from her boyfriend.
"You don't give up, do you?" Klaus questions, looking at the older Salvatore.
"Give me my Brother back… You'll never have to see me again," Damon replies, needing his Brother again at home with Elena, though he doesn't want them to get back together.
"Well, I am torn," He remarks. "You see, I promised Stefan I wouldn't let you die, but how many freebies did I really sign up for?" He wonders. "And clearly, you want to die; otherwise, you wouldn't be here, so…"
"What can I say? I'm a thrill seeker," The younger Vampire retorts and Lorilei grows annoyed, standing from her bar stool and using her magic to strangle Damon, sending him to his knees as he struggles for air.
"This enough of a thrill for you?" Lorilei questions, giving Stefan enough time with Elena outside.
Stefan stands outside Gloria's in the parking lot with Elena, still not feeling that spark he had with her as he looks at her. "You shouldn't be here," Stefan warns her, knowing what Klaus may do to her if he finds out that she's alive, and Stefan needs to wait until Lorilei finds a way to work around the Doppelganger being alive.
"Where else would I be?" Elena asks him, looking at him pleadingly.
"What do you want?" He questions, staring back at her. "Damon won't be able to distract Klaus and Lorilei for long." Elena plucks up the courage, moves toward him and touches his face, but he flinches away.
"Come home." She pleads with him and takes him into a warm embrace, but again, he doesn't feel anything for her and feels her about to stake him with a vervain dart. And stops her, catching her wrist and hurting her.
"How much clearer can I make it?" The Ripper questions her, not wanting an answer. "I don't want to come home! I don't want to come home to you!"
Lorilei stands over Damon as Klaus watches with her high heel in the young Vampire's chest, making him wince. "Oh, dear, what was that? I'm a little tired, so you'll have to forgive me if I miss your heart the first few times." Lorilei sneers as she raises her foot and plunges her heel back into his chest.
"Ohh! No, that's not it." Klaus chuckles and watches his girlfriend try again. "Ohh. Almost."
"You want a partner in crime? Forget Stefan. I'm so much more fun." Damon remarks, wheezing through his mouth as Lorilei presses down on his chest.
"You won't be any fun after you're dead," He replies and gets up from his seat as Lorilei steps away; he snaps the leg off the stool about to stake the young Vampire, but Gloria burns the piece of wood with her magic. "Really?" The Original Hybrid looks at his girlfriend, who points at Gloria. "Really?"
"Not in my bar. You take it outside." Gloria snaps at them, and Klaus glances at Damon.
"You don't have to negotiate your Brother's freedom. I know for a fact that he doesn't want to come home." Lorilei informs him, surprising the Vampires.
"Klaus is obsessed with siring these Hybrids. The seconds he knows you're alive, he'll figure out why it's not working." Stefan warns his former girlfriend.
"Look, I know you're trying to protect me," Elena replies, "but I can't let you do it. Come with me, Stefan, please."
"And what do you expect if I do? Huh?" He asks her. "It's never going to be the same, Elena." He tries to get her to realise they will never be together again or that it will be the same again, even if he has a small amount of restraint with blood now, thanks to Lorilei and her spells.
"I know that," She assures him, trying to get him home with her.
"I don't think you do." The Ripper argues. "I've left bodies scattered from Florida to Tennessee. Relatively innocent people. Some humans."
"Lexi found you like this before. In the twenties, and… And she saved you." The doppelganger reasons, but she doesn't see the big picture.
"And you know what I did after that?" Stefan questions, looking at her, not understanding how she can be so disillusioned. "I spent 30 years trying to pull myself together. To a Vampire, that's nothing. To you? That's half your life."
"I can't give up on you, Stefan," Elena tells him as if she has no control, but he has a guess it's because she's becoming another Katherine Pierce.
"Yes, you can." He replies, groaning a little at her eagerness. "It's done. That part of my life is done. I don't want to see you. I don't want to be with you. I just want you to go." He has the last word and walks back into the bar, passing his Brother without a word and joining Lorilei and Klaus.
Lorilei pulls Stefan aside, creating a silencing spell around them so that Klaus can't hear them and sees the upset in his eyes. "How was seeing Elena again?" She asks him, smiling at seeing the surprise in his eyes.
"I don't know why I'm surprised that you know she was here," Stefan replies, sighing. "It was different. I didn't feel a thing. I told her I didn't want to go back with her."
"That's nice to hear. I told your Brother the same thing." She informs him, making him look at her in surprise again.
"Thank you," He smiles at her, and they head back to Klaus, who looks at them suspiciously but doesn't question them yet.
Elena sits in Damon's car, looking out the window as she thinks about what Stefan told her and touches her necklace, deep in thought, when Damon joins her. "You okay?" Damon asks her, seeing her face.
"Just drive," Elena replies, not wanting to discuss what happened between her and Stefan.
Klaus walks into the warehouse full of his family's coffins to see Rebekah's empty and the man dead on the floor, but there is no sign of his little Sister; he is glad he didn't let Stefan or Lorilei come inside with him. "Rebekah… It's your big Brother. Come out, come out, wherever you are." He calls out to her, and she rushes at him, using a piece of pipe to stab him through the heart since Lorilei took it from him and hid it away from everyone, even herself.
"Go to hell, Nik!" Rebekah yells at him in anger.
Klaus and Rebekah rushed out of Gloria's bar and stopped next to a car on their way to escape the city from the man hunting them down. "Hurry up, Rebekah. Let's go," Klaus pleaded with his Sister, who stood in the middle of the street, waiting for Stefan, who won't ever turn up for another 90 years.
"He'll be here any second," Rebekah argued.
"Do you want to die?" He questioned, looking at his little Sister. "We've been found. We need to move."
"Not without Stefan." She replied, watching the streets for her lover.
"Stefan's not coming." The Original Hybrid informed her, making her look at him in shock. "We have to disappear. He'll draw too much attention. Let him go."
"What did you do?" The young Original demanded, glaring at her older Brother.
"Come on. We don't have time for one of your tantrums," Klaus snapped at her, growing scared.
"I don't want to run anymore, Nik! All we do is run. I want to be with Stefan." Rebekah cries, fed up with running all her life from her father with her Brother and wanting to be loved.
"Fine. Then choose. Him or me." He demanded, but she didn't answer. "That's what I thought. Get in the truck. Let's go." He turned back to the car, getting the door for her.
"Goodbye, Nik," She said, breaking her older Brother's heart as he turned around to face her, rushed behind her before she could run to be with Stefan again and drove the dagger through her heart, catching Rebekah as she fell into Klaus' arms.
Klaus takes out the piece of pipe from his chest and throws it on the ground away from him, glaring at his Sister. "Don't pout. You knew it wouldn't kill me." He snaps at her, getting annoyed at his Sister.
"Yeah, but I was hoping it would hurt more," Rebekah snaps back at him, growing angry at being daggered again.
"I understand that you're upset with me, Rebekah… So I'm going to let that go. Just this once." Klaus assures her, though he is happy to see his little Sister again. "Brought you a little peace offering. You can come in." Stefan enters the room, surprising the younger Original and Lorilei steps in after him, moving toward Klaus.
"Stefan…" She gasps, looking at him, seeing his modern-day clothes, though the young Original ignores the brunette woman as Klaus runs toward Stefan, compelling him.
"Now you remember." He compels the Ripper, who remembers everything from his past with the two Originals in Chicago 90 years ago.
Stefan looked at the photographer, stopping him from moving on as they stood in Gloria's bar. "Hey, buddy, take a picture of my brother and me." Stefan called the man and took Klaus by the shoulder for the picture.
Stefan glances at Klaus and Rebekah, remembering everything about them and their time together. "I remember you. We were friends," Stefan mutters, staring at the Original Hybrid.
"We are friends." Klaus corrects him, and Stefan smiles at him, nodding, though it still feels strained; he knows he and Lorilei are friends, considering she's been helping him with his bloodlust. Klaus looks at Rebekah, moving toward his girlfriend, hanging his arm around her shoulder, which doesn't go unnoticed by his Sister. "And now the reason you're here. Gloria tells me you know how to contact the Original Witch."
"The Original Witch," Rebekah repeats, looking at her half-brother in surprise.
"What do you have that Gloria needs?" He asks her, and she touches her neck, missing the feeling of the piece of jewellery.
"Where's my necklace? What did you do with it? I never take it off!" She shouts, searching her coffin for the piece of jewellery.
"I don't know. I didn't touch it," The Original Hybrid tells her, looking at Lorilei, who shrugs but discreetly glances at Stefan, who catches her stare and nods, confirming her suspicion.
"We need to find it, Nik. Now, I want it back!" The young Original screams, throwing the coffin to the floor.
"Tell me that's not what she needs, Rebekah!" Klaus yells at his Sister, and Lorilei stops him, calming him down a little.
"It's fine. I'll help Gloria find it." Lorilei assures him.
"Who the hell are you?" Rebekah asks, glancing at the sharply dressed woman.
"I'm Lorilei McKnight." She introduces herself, smiling friendly at the angry blond Vampire.
Damon stands in his room at the Salvatore House as he's on the phone with Katherine after returning from the Gilbert house. "Okay. You were right. He was there," Damon tells his ex-lover.
"I'm always right." Katherine smirks. "Let me guess… It ended in tears and heartbreak."
"Where are you?" He asks her, wondering where she's hiding herself away.
"Why? Do you want to come rub sunscreen on my back?" She teases him, lying through her teeth.
"I'm thinking Europe, Italy, maybe, or Spain." The older Salvatore Brother guesses. "You were always a sucker for those lazy afternoons."
"Keep guessing, Damon. Bye-bye," The Vampire doppelganger hangs up the phone and laughs as she steps out of the phone booth, revealing she's also in Chicago.
Katherine strolled onto the dancefloor to pick up Rebekah's necklace on the floor but saw Stefan walking toward her, disappearing and watching him take the chain. Then, a man walked up behind the young Vampire. "Hey, kid," The strange man greeted the Ripper, who turned around to look at him. "Chicago P.D."
"I'm not afraid of you," Stefan replied, showing no emotions.
"Oh, I'm not here for you," He told him, smirking at the young Vampire and showing a drawing of Klaus and Rebekah. "Have you seen these two?"
"I've never seen those people before in my life," The Ripper answered, the compulsion working.
"Wrap it up, boys. We're through here." The Vampire Hunter ordered the policeman, looking at Stefan before leaving with them as Katherine watched her ex-lover holding Rebekah's necklace in his hand, and then she went.
