Elena was sitting next to Jeremy on the plane as they travelled back to Mystic Falls. Her initial worry that he would resist going back with her was correct. It was partially her fault. She'd had Damon compel him to want to be in Denver. Well, a part of her had anyway. Jeremy was also defiant by nature. He reminded her of Kol in that sense.
Elena had gone with her initial instincts to not tell Jeremy everything until she got him on the plane. It had been hard enough to get him on the plane as it was. It would have been substantially harder to get him to go if she told him everything beforehand. Once they were on the plane and in the air, she began to tell him. She told him that while she was still her, she was someone else as well, that someone else's soul was now intertwined with who she once was.
Jeremy was quiet for several moments as he took in the information. At first, she was sure he must have misunderstood because what his sister had just said to him was impossible. It was either that or she was messing with him. That wasn't really Elena's style, but he didn't have any other explanation. "You're screwing with me. This is insane even for us."
"I am not screwing with you. I know it's hard to take in, but it's the truth," Elena told him.
"You're telling me that you took over my sister's body. Like possession or something?" Jeremy asked.
"No, not possession. It's hard to explain. I'm still navigating the situation myself. It's more like two souls becoming one. Every moment of being your sister is still there. Everything I felt for you is still there. Everything that made Elena Elena is there. It's just that there is another life there too. I am also someone who lived a completely different life than she did. Those memories and feelings are also there. I am Elena, but I'm also her. At the same time, I'm also someone else completely because those two experiences are intertwined and that has changed who I am," Elena explained.
"Why? Why my sister?" Jeremy asked. He didn't know if he understood even half of this, but if even a small amount of this was true, his sister's body had been invaded by someone else. He wanted to know why and he wanted the other person gone.
"Because she's a doppelganger. Doppelgangers have a supernatural element to their makeup that makes certain things possible that wouldn't be possible in other people," Elena told him.
"Get out of her! I want my sister back! Leave!" Jeremy demanded.
Elena sighed. She couldn't say she didn't expect this reaction. "I am your sister, Jeremy. I'm just someone else too!"
"I don't care! I want you gone! I want my sister back the way she was!" he snapped.
"Jeremy, I know you're upset, but I need you to calm down. It's not that simple. Even if it were possible for me to leave this body, which it's not, I fear there would be nothing left. As I said, our souls are intertwined now. They can't be separated, Elena explained.
"Why should I believe you? For all I know you've taken over my sister's body and just don't want to let her go," Jeremy said.
"This wasn't my doing. This wasn't what I wanted in the slightest. This was due to the actions of a witch that wanted to punish me for things that didn't concern her," Elena said coolly. She wasn't saying she didn't deserve punishment for some of the things she'd done, but Ayana certainly didn't have the right to decide that. She'd taken it upon herself to play judge and jury.
"What are you talking about?" Jeremy asked.
Elena sighed and prepared to explain. "I died over a thousand years ago. When I died, my soul was trapped in my body and my body was sealed magically. When the coffin I was in was finally unsealed, my soul would essentially travel into the body of whatever human doppelganger existed at the time."
"Elena," Jeremy said quietly.
"Yes. The witch in question thought that after being punished so severely, I would do her bidding. She was wrong," Elena said.
"And what exactly did she want you to do?" Jeremy asked.
"She wanted me to destroy what I created. When I lived the first time, I dabbled in dark magic. I used that magic to protect the people I loved, my children. I don't regret doing what was necessary to keep them safe, but I do regret the consequences it cost them. I acted rashly. However, what's done is done, and I'm certainly not going to destroy the only good things I contributed to this world," she said.
"What did you do? What was so bad that some witch decided to punish you this way?" Jeremy asked. For the moment, he was giving her the benefit of the doubt so that he could get some answers, but he still wasn't sure he actually believed half of this.
"I gave my children immortality. I didn't realize the consequences. I didn't realize that I would be condemning them to blood lust. It was a spell that deviated from another witch's spell from centuries prior," Elena said.
"Blood lust? Vampires? You created vampires. You're the Original Witch? But that means…" Jeremy trailed off. He couldn't bring himself to finish his sentence, but he knew what it meant. Elena had told him all she'd learned about the witch that created the Originals. She was their mother. She was Klaus' mother.
Elena decided to finish for him. "I am the mother of the Originals. Klaus is my son."
"Oh, this is awesome. That evil bastard has lived to destroy my family because of you, and now you're inside my sister!" Jeremy snapped.
"Jeremy, I know it's hard for you to believe, but Niklaus is not evil. There's no excuse for the things he did, but they were my fault too. Everything he did was a result of the things I did to him," Elena said.
"Screw that! A lot of people have screwed up lives. It doesn't mean they get to kill people wherever they want!" Jeremy said angrily.
"I never said it did, but it's an explanation," she said.
Jeremy glared at her. "You say that you're still Elena, but if that were true, you would hate Klaus. He murdered Jenna. My sister loved Jenna."
"I did love Jenna, and I still have anger over what happened to her, but I also love my son. You're not a parent, Jeremy. You don't understand what that means. Parents don't stop loving their children no matter what they do. I can be angry at him, but I could never hate him," Elena told him.
"Why did you insist I come back with you, so you could torture me?" Jeremy asked.
"Of course not. It was for your protection," Elena said.
"I was protected in Denver, away from your psycho kids," Jeremy said with a glare.
"None of my children will ever lay a finger against you again. However, I can't be certain about the Salvatores or Bonnie," she said.
"They are Elena's friends. If what you'd said is true, they should be your friends too," Jeremy said.
"I care for all of them, but I am not deluded to who they are. They knew part of the truth, and once they know the rest, they will undoubtedly come after me, and they may use you to get to me. I won't let that happen," Elena said firmly.
"They would never hurt me," Jeremy said. Well, Bonnie wouldn't anyway. He couldn't be sure about the Salvatores. Damon certainly had no problem hurting him in the past, and he wasn't sure about Stefan anymore.
"Maybe not physically, but their stupidity and recklessness alone can be harmful. It's why I am the way I am now. Bonnie opened the coffin, Jeremy," Elena said.
"What? Why would she do that? Did she know what would happen?" Jeremy asked. He couldn't believe that. Bonnie would never hurt Elena that way.
"No, but that's the point. She was convinced there was a weapon in the coffin to take down my son. She had no way of knowing that for sure. She had no way of knowing what was in the coffin. She was reckless, and it wasn't the first time. I don't trust her anymore. I don't trust Bennett witches period. They are the reason for this entire situation," Elena said.
"Great. So, what now? We go back home and pretend everything is normal? Does Ric even know about all of this?"
"He does, but we're not going back to the house. I need to protect you, but I need to protect my children too," Elena said.
Jeremy slowly gaped as he realized what she was telling him. "No way! You can't really expect me to live with him, can you?"
"I'm sorry. I know it isn't ideal, but there isn't another option. We have too many enemies. The best way for me to ascertain we remain safe is if we stay together.
Jeremy jumped up angrily. "No freaking way! I am not living with that psycho!"
Elena leveled him with a firm glare. "Listen to me carefully. This is not a request. You will do what I say. I will not comprise your safety."
"You can't force me to do this! You're not my mother!"
"Maybe not, but I am your family. I am the closest thing you have to a parent. I don't want to force you to do as I ask, but make no mistake about the fact that I can. I know this is a difficult situation. I wish it didn't have to be this way, but it does," Elena said firmly.
Jeremy huffed and started to walk off.
"Where are you going?"
"To find somewhere else to sit for the rest of this damned ride," Jeremy said before storming off.
Elena let him go. She figured it would be better to let him cool off. She could use a bit of that as well, so she shut her eyes and just tried to enjoy the ride.