Do Not Go Gentle
The following day, Klaus is lounging around in the living room and working on an abstract painting on an easel as Edward tries reading, not paying any attention to him. "I thought Lorilei told you to stop painting in the living room, brother?" Elijah asks, strolling into the room.
"She did," Edward replies, making the brothers look at him. "He's showing that he wears the pants in their relationship. It's not working."
"Edward…" Klaus mutters, glancing at the McKnight male, who smirks back at him, and the Original Hybrid turns to his older brother. "He's hanging around Kol too much."
"That's what Lei says," he retorts, making the Mikaelson brothers look at him. "I'm going to my room. I know where I'm not wanted." Edward gets up with his book and heads out of the room. "By the way, Jenna texted you earlier Elijah."
"What?" Elijah exclaims, looking for his phone on his person, but can't find it.
"It's on the coffee table!" The older McKnight twin shouts from the top of the stairs. Elijah leaps towards the coffee table, finds his phone and checks it to see a few missed calls and text messages from Jenna.
"I've got to go!" he yells, racing out of the house and passing Rebekah as she walks inside. She finds Klaus going back to his painting.
"What took you so long?" Klaus asks his little sister.
"Alaric didn't want to hand over the stake," Rebekah replies, Esther, pretending to be her daughter and showing him the other fake stake. "Luckily, I'm quite the charmer."
"That's it?" He wonders, turning towards her.
"The last of the White Oak stakes that can kill us," she informs him, making Klaus frown, but he pushes it aside for now. "Do you want to do the honours or shall I?" Klaus puts his paintbrush down, taking the stake from the imposter before throwing it into the flames in the fireplace. The burning fire flares up around the stake, letting it burn. "Well that's that then."
"Pack your bags, we're leaving," the Original Hybrid announces, springing it on her out of nowhere.
"Today?" The Original Witch asks, looking at Klaus in shock at the sudden announcement, mainly because it will ruin her plans.
"Why not? There's nothing keeping us here," Klaus argues, shrugging. "Lorilei said she's fine with it with everything going on in town lately. We'll grab the Doppelganger and be off by sunset."
"But tonight is the Decade Dance," Esther retorts, making Klaus look at the Witch wearing his sister's face.
"So?" He questions, looking at her surprised.
"So, I'm Head of the Committee, we have to go," she argues, needing him at the school for her plan to work.
"I'm not going to any dance," the Original Hybrid tells her, but then Lorilei bursts through the door.
"We're going to the dance," Lorilei announces, looking at her boyfriend, who glances at her. "Alexis and Edward somehow volunteered me as a Chaperone for the dance. If I have to go, so do you."
"Okay, fine. One last hoorah," Klaus agrees, looking at his girlfriend.
"One last hoorah, Nik," Esther repeats, looking at him.
"Got anything vintage?" Lorilei asks, smiling and moving towards Klaus.
"I think I've got something," Klaus muses, letting her pull him away from his canvas.
"Don't think I don't notice you painting in here, and I'm going to make you pay for it." She warns him, and Klaus laughs. Esther watches the two abominations, her plans still buzzing around her head.
Later, Damon is on the phone with Alaric, who is at Klaus' family house, though the older Salvatore brother doesn't know. "Where've you been? I've been calling you all day," Damon grumbles, frowning.
"Yeah, sorry about that," Dark Alaric replies, strolling through the casket room space. "I just needed to get my head together."
"So I take it Rebekah got the stake?" he asks, hoping for good news since the Originals' time frame for the Scooby Gang to return the fake stake after they tried to kill Finn is up.
"I don't know. I woke up alone. There's no sign of it," the alter ego lies, looking around, glad the place is empty as Elijah is preoccupied with Jenna. Edward is at the school with Alexis and Jeremy after trying to avoid helping Caroline with the decorations. Kol has gone on a bit of an adventure since saving Jeremy, and Klaus and Lorilei have gone out to the Pack Den for a secret meeting, leaving Rebekah and Dark Alaric.
"Lovely. What now?" The blue-eyed Salvatore wonders.
"Well, I think I need to get out of town—somewhere secluded," Dark Alaric tells him. I keep blacking out, which means I'm still a threat to everyone."
"I don't know if right now is the best time for you to be going on a spirit quest, Ric," Damon argues, not wanting his only friend to leave town, mainly because of the darker alter ego.
"It's just for a couple of days. I'm stocked up on Bonnie's herbs, so I should be fine," he assures him. "I gotta go." He hangs up before Damon can say anything else. Disguised as Rebekah, Esther walks into the room as Alaric finishes his call with Damon, needing to get the plan underway.
"Quite the cunning liar," Esther remarks, looking at the Dark Alter Ego.
"Well Damon is too arrogant to think his only friend would betray him," the alter ego replies, shrugging and looking at the room filled with open caskets.
"Just as Niklaus would blindly accept an invitation from beloved sister, unaware that he is heading to his own death," she says, smiling and dipping a silver dagger in a glass bottle of white oak ash.
"Did you give him the stake?" Dark Alaric asks, looking at the woman.
"He burned it without hesitation," the Original Witch informs him, thinking they have the upper hand.
"So where's the real one?" He wonders.
"You'll get it when it can no longer be used against me in this body," Esther tells him, opening a coffin revealing Esther's body, having moved it from the basement.
"So how do you…?" The dark alter ego questions, looking at the powerful Witch.
"How do I return to my true form? With a little magic and some help from a Vampire Hunter," she explains, handing Dark Alaric the silver dagger, and he readily stabs her in the heart, making her collapse on the floor. A few moments later, Esther gasps and wakes from inside the coffin.
The pre-checking of the Decade Dance begins as Caroline walks through the gym hall, which is currently being decorated for the 20s theme. Caroline has the pink clipboard that Bobby got for her as a joke because she's in charge of the preparations, as Rebekah is currently missing. Caroline walks straight past Elena, who watches her old friend as she goes over to Blake, Edward, Alexis, and Jeremy as they help decorate. "So, Alaric is trying to pull himself together, why is that a bad thing?" Bonnie asks over the phone.
"I just…I wish there was something I could do," Elena mutters, picking up a chandelier. "Where do you want me to hang this thing?" She asks, glancing at Caroline, who looks back at her.
"You know what, if Rebekah wanted to hang this monstrosity she should have shown up to do it herself," Caroline grumbles, handing the chandelier to a student who passes by. "Just no!" Caroline spots Edward and Jeremy hanging up stars to the ceiling as Bobby holds the ladder. "What are you doing? You can't just hang them! They're supposed to trickle down."
"Trickle, duh!" Edward jokes, looking at his sister's boyfriend, who laughs.
"Look at them all bromancy," she remarks, looking at Alexis and Blake, who laugh.
"I'm surprised Eddie even turned up to be honest," Alexis comments, looking at her twin brother. "He must have been bored at home."
"Apparently Lorilei kicked him out after she went to get a costume for tonight," Caroline informs them, making Alexis smile.
"That will be interesting," Blake comments, glancing at Alexis.
"She needs to get out and relax, and I may have signed her up for Chaperone duty last minute because I remember Klaus saying how he enjoyed the 20s." Alexis explains, smiling.
"You're a good little sister," Caroline says, smiling and pulling her into a side hug that Blake happily joins.
"I need someone," Edward randomly announces, making Jeremy look at his girlfriend's older twin brother.
"Yeah, you do," Jeremy readily agrees, making Edward turn to him with a glare.
"I don't need someone in a relationship to say that to me," he grumbles, leaning backwards on the ladder.
"You do need someone though," Bobby argues, making Edward turn his glare towards the gloomy-looking Hybrid.
"Again, someone with a special someone should not say anything," the older McKnight twin groans, jumping down from the top of the ladder. "Lex! Your boyfriend is bullying me!" Edward runs towards Alexis, who brings him into a hug.
"Oh dear, Eddie, what did he say?" Alexis asks, unbothered by her brother's playfulness.
"Never mind that, just dump him," he grumbles, tightly hugging his sister. "We should be lonely together."
"Yeah, I don't think so. We'll find you someone soon, I promise," the younger McKnight twin assures her twin brother.
Stefan walks into his shared room with Blake, checking himself in the mirror as Blake does her makeup with her hair in rollers. "Hey…" Stefan mutters, smiling, kissing her head. Blake looks at him, smiling back at him.
"Hey back at ya," Blake replies, smiling. "Kiss me before I put my lipstick on." She leans closer, and they quickly kiss.
"Very romantic," he teases her, sharing a laugh.
"What can I say?" She jokes, leaning in for another kiss. "What do you think of my dress?" She asks, pointing at the blue flapper dress hanging up.
"I like it, where did you get it?" The former Ripper wonders, smiling.
"A vintage store a few weeks ago, Caroline suggested it," the red-haired Hybrid replies, smirking. "Kinda like you, vintage."
"Funny," Stefan fake laughs. "But I guess, if the jokes don't end, I won't take you in my vintage Rolls Royce." Blake looks at him in awe, jumping up and wrapping her arms around him, giggling. "I take it you like the vintage car?"
"Oh, I love you, and the car," she assures him.
"Glad to hear it," he retorts, wrapping his arms around her waist.
"Slow dance, every one of them is for you," the Hybrid promises him, kissing him softly. "Now I need to finish my makeup, and we can ride around in the Rolls Royce before the dance."
Meredith walks down the hospital hall and turns around, looking behind her to see if someone is following her. However, the hall is empty, but when she turns around again, Damon is standing right before her, surprising the Doctor. "Don't do that; it's not funny!" Meredith snaps at him.
"Oh, come on, it's a little funny," Damon argues, smirking at the woman.
"What do you want, Damon?" She asks him, annoyed with him already.
"I need medical advice. For a friend," he tells her. "Alaric, you remember him, right? About six foot two. Tried to hack you into pieces."
"How is he? Are those herbs that Bonnie made for him working?" Dr Fell wonders, looking at the older Salvatore brother.
"I don't know," the blue-eyed Salvatore retorts, showing a glass of herbs. "Can they work if he doesn't take them? I found these in his loft untouched." They share a look of worry for Alaric.
Esther and Dark Alaric walk into the old cemetery toward the Salvatore tomb, hiding from everyone while continuing their plan. They still don't know that their White Oak stake is entirely fake. "Why are we here?" Dark Alaric asks the Original Witch.
"Long ago on this spot my son tore my heart from my chest. The violence of my death marked this ground for all time," Esther explains, smiling as she looks around.
Dark Alaric and Esther enter the tomb. She stands before an already prepared bowl, and Alaric is on the opposite side, facing her. "I'll need your ring," Esther instructs him.
"Now, why would I give you the one thing that protects me from death?" Alaric questions, still not trusting the Original Witch.
"I will give you all the protection you need. However, the stake will burn up in the body of its first victim. If you are to kill all of my children, I will need to bind the protective magic in your ring to the stake, thus rendering the white oak indestructible," she explains, and Alaric gives the Original Witch his ring. Esther drops it into the bowl and begins chanting the spell, making flames burst up from the bowl as the ring melts. Esther stirs the molten metal with the white oak stake and then turns it upside down, letting the metal pour and cover it, fusing it with the white oak. "The ultimate weapon for the ultimate hunter."
Meanwhile, Jeremy finishes getting ready at the McKnight house and knocks on Alexis' bedroom door. There isn't an answer, which worries him. "Lex? Are you in there?" Jeremy asks, knocking again.
"Yeah!" Alexis shouts, opening the door and revealing herself in a red flapper dress. Jeremy gapes at her in shock. "You like?" She twirls around, smiling.
"I love it," he mutters, trying to catch his breath.
"So, I was thinking, we only have to go for an hour or two to make an effort, afterwards, we'll have the house to ourselves," she suggests, wiggling her eyebrows at him, making him chuckle.
"I like the sound of that," the youngest Gilbert muses, smiling at his girlfriend.
"I bet you do," the blond McKnight laughs.
"Do we have to go to the dance?" Jeremy questions, and Alexis looks at him funnily. "I take that as a 'no'?"
"It took me nearly three hours to do my hair. We are going," Alexis scolds him. "Come on, we have a dance to go to." She holds his hand and drags him down the hallway, and Edward closes his door behind him.
"I can't wait to spike the punch bowl again," Edward giggles, making the couple look at him as he holds his flask. "It's vodka this time."
The Roaring 20s Dance is in full swing inside the high school gym hall, with many students dancing to the music. Bonnie walks up to Matt, who is mindlessly restocking the drinks table with ice as Edward openly pours the vodka into the punch bowl. "Have I told you how amazingly awesome you are?" Bonnie asks, needing a favour from her friend.
"Yeah, I'm one of the good ones, I know… Why the compliments, what else do you want?" Matt wonders.
"I know that you and Elena have been getting closer lately…" She remarks, looking at Jamie for support.
"And your point is...?" He questions, frowning.
"One way or the other she is pretty much spoken for," the Bennett Witch tells him.
"Elena is my friend, Bonnie. I'm just looking out for her," the blond quarterback argues.
"And I'm just looking out for you. Because sometimes the people who love her get caught in the crossfire," Bonnie warns him, and Matt spots Tyler walking through the crowd with Phoebe in a green flapper dress.
"Who the hell is that with Tyler?" Matt wonders, frowning, and Caroline walks by, dragging Bobby behind her.
"Come on, you promised me one dance," Caroline groans, smiling.
"Yeah, I know, but seriously, this song?" Bobby grumbles, looking at the others.
"Yeah, you might enjoy yourself," she jokes, earning a smile from the glum Hybrid.
"Edward McKnight, I see you!" A teacher shouts from across the room, making Edward jump before running away. "Get back here now!"
"I don't want detention!" Edward yells, running out of the gym with the teacher storming behind him.
"I hate my brother sometimes," Alexis grumbles, dancing with Jeremy as a slow song comes up next.
"If he's in trouble, that means your sister has to take him because he promised he wouldn't get caught. Means he's grounded for the weekend," Jeremy argues, making her smile.
"Good idea. The whole house to ourselves, since Aunt Jenna is with Elijah for the weekend," she retorts, smirking, and Jeremy cringes at the thought of his aunt and Elijah together for the weekend.
"Please don't say that again," he groans, shaking his head, trying to shake the thoughts out of his head. Blake and Stefan finally arrive, having driven around Mystic Falls in the Rolls Royce for a while and maybe stopped for a makeout for half an hour.
"Teach me some moves," Blake suggests, dragging him towards the dance floor.
"Oh no, no, no, no. I blacked out for most of this decade, remember?" Stefan argues jokingly.
"Nice try!" She laughs, taking his dance as another romantic slow number comes on, and they dance slowly near Bonnie and Jamie, who are slowly dancing.
"Bonnie seems happy," he comments, making Blake look at her.
"She seems to be working on it," the red-haired Hybrid remarks.
"I've been meaning to talk to her. Apologise," the former Ripper says, looking at the Bennett Witch.
"Yeah, you should, although I wouldn't expect her to forgive you. Or Damon," Blake jokes. "Because it's not like she would send you both on your asses."
"Funny," Stefan fake laughs. "But, true."
"I know you want to be nice, but she was trying to kill all of us," she argues. "And let's be honest, Bonnie seems to be doing okay with the fact that she failed terribly."
"Nice way of thinking about it," he agrees, smiling, continuing to dance as another slow song starts.
"Can we please leave?" Lorilei asks, looking at Klaus as they walk inside, pressing down on her golden flapper dress.
"We've barely walked inside," Klaus argues.
"You didn't even want to be here in the first place," she snaps. "I hate school dances."
"Well, Bekah forced us both to be here. Let's just deal with it," he retorts, smiling and holding his hand out for his girlfriend. She takes it, and Klaus leads her onto the dance floor.
"I wish my high school days were better, like the twins," the Siphon muses, and Klaus smiles, dipping her. "Okay, now you're just showing off." Damon shows up after discovering Alaric hasn't been taking his herbs and is possibly Dark Alaric doing something to endanger every Vampire on the planet. He walks over to Stefan and Blake, needing to talk to his brother, dressed normally, standing out a little, and he's overly scared of Klaus and Lorilei after failing to kill the Original Family and Lorilei.
"We need to talk," Damon announces, making Stefan look at his brother, who gestures towards the door leading to the hallway. Damon walks out with Stefan and Blake outside, and Jeremy spots them, following after them, accidentally bumping into Bonnie and Jamie dancing.
"Sorry, uh. Hey, Bonnie," Jeremy greets her awkwardly. He has not talked to her since they broke up and began dating Alexis.
"Why are you still wearing your ring? Didn't Elena tell you?" Bonnie asks him, noticing the Gilbert ring on his finger.
"Yeah, I know all about Alaric. But Lorilei fixed it, no turning into a crazy Vampire Hunter," he assures her, leaving them to find Blake, Damon, and Stefan.
"Ex-boyfriend?" Jamie questions, watching Jeremy leave, and Alexis walks past them.
"Yep," Alexis says. "Excuse me."
"That's not awkward at all," he mutters, looking at the blond McKnight.
"That's his new girlfriend," Bonnie informs her date.
Blake, Stefan, and Damon are talking out in the hallway. "If Alaric is sick then it's your Bonnie's fault," Blake remarks.
"She tried medicine, she tried magic," Damon argues.
"Why didn't you try getting him off vervain, compel him?" Stefan wonders.
"What? To pretend to be Alaric?" He snaps. "The guy that we know is gone. We're talking about someone who not only hates Vampires, but Vampire sympathisers. Which makes one of his most obvious targets: I don't know, Elena!"
"What makes you think he'd go after Elena?" Blake questions. "She's just a Doppelganger."
"So wait, what are you suggesting we do?" Stefan asks his brother.
"I'm suggesting that we put him out of his misery," Damon snaps.
"You're so kind," Blake retorts, and Jeremy joins them, having overheard their conversation.
"What the hell are you talking about?" Jeremy asks, looking between them.
"Oh come on, It's what he would want. It's a mercy killing," Damon argues.
"You are out of your mind!" He snaps.
"Jeremy…" Alexis mutters, joining them out in the hallway, knowing that Jeremy still kinda cares about Alaric on some level. Jeremy turns around and leaves, with Alexis following after him.
Elena goes outside for some fresh air, spotting Jeremy and Alexis talking. "Jer, stop…" Alexis groans. "I can't run in high heels."
"I know Alaric has been on the other side of everything, but at the beginning he was looking out for us, now I feel like we should be doing the same for him," Jeremy explains, and Elena overhears them.
"What are you talking about?" Elena asks. "No one is gonna hurt him." Jeremy turns around and starts walking away, but she grabs his arm, stopping him. "Hey. Hey… Look at me. I promise."
"Elena!" Esther shouts, making Elena turn around to see Esther standing before her. This surprises Jeremy and Alexis, seeing as the Original Witch is supposed to be in a magical coma in the Mikaelsons' basement. "If you wish to help your friend Alaric, I suggest you come with me."
"Jeremy, go inside and get Stefan and Damon now!" she orders her little brother, who runs inside with Alexis, who glances back at her.
"I mean you no harm. But willingly or not, you will come," the Original Witch assures her, and Elena follows Esther. After a moment, Damon, Stefan, and Jeremy hurry out of the school, but Elena has already gone with Esther. Suddenly, Damon and Stefan stop, while Jeremy continues walking until he stops, but they don't follow him. A line of salt goes around the school, spelt to stop all Supernatural creatures from exiting.
"Salt. It's the binding agent for her spell," Stefan comments, looking at the ground.
"We're trapped here," Damon states, frowning.
Meanwhile, Bonnie and Jamie are alone in a dark classroom. "You had all kinds of moves out there," Bonnie muses, smiling at Jamie as they have some alone time.
"Oh yeah, I was just, you know...trying to make a good impression," Jamie retorts, leaning closer to her.
"Well, consider me impressed," she tells him, leaning closer.
"Your friends seem pretty cool," he remarks.
"Yeah, they're the most important thing in the world to me," the Bennett Witch replies, smiling.
"Though you gotta admit this whole circle of people it's kinda crazy," the human comments. "I mean there's Vampires, Werewolves...ex-boyfriends with magic rings. I mean I'm just a normal guy."
"A normal guy wouldn't have said yes to a date with me," Bonnie argues, looking at him.
"Yeah, that's true," Jamie jokes and Bonnie plucks up the courage to kiss him. They start making out when Damon barges in, turning on the light and ruining their moment.
"Sorry to spoil your seven minutes in heaven. We have a problem," Damon announces unapologetically.
Elena and Esther arrive at the old Mystic Falls cemetery, walking towards the Salvatore tomb. "You'll forgive me for taking you from the dance this evening," Esther Comments. "That's the burden of being the Doppelganger, I'm afraid. Your blood is a potent binding agent for a Witch's spell."
"Just please don't hurt Alaric," Elena pleads with Esther.
"She's not hurting me," Dark Alaric assures her.
"Ric!" She exclaims, moving towards him, but stops when she senses something is different about him. "What's going on? What are you doing with him?"
"I'm going to remake him," Esther states, smiling softly.
"Remake him?" The Doppelganger questions, frowning.
"Make him strong, fast, like my children. Indestructible. For one final time I'm going to tap into the dark magic I used a thousand years ago. Like my husband Mikael before him I will make Alaric into a true hunter, a Vampire to end all Vampires," she explains smugly.
"You can't create another Original. What if he turns out to be an even bigger monster than your children?" Elena argues.
"He won't know that he has embraced his darkest aspect; his hatred for them will become more pure and uncompromising. In death that hatred will be magnified," Esther tells her.
"You don't know that, you don't know anything about him," she snaps.
"That is where you're wrong," the Original Witch retorts. "Each time he died with that ring during his brief journey into death I was there on The Other Side. I spoke to him, I nurtured him knowing that every death brought him closer to his true self. Vampires took everything from him. Now he's getting his vengeance."
Meanwhile, back at high school, Caroline and Bobby slowly dance in the gym while Klaus and Lorilei stare at each other, enjoying slow music. "I wanted to ask you something," Klaus announces, making Lorilei look at him confused.
"Okay, what is it?" Lorilei wonders, smiling at him, though she's wondering what's happening in his head.
"I-I was…" He stutters, stopping himself, surprised at how nervous he is, but he wants to do this now before he backs out again because he wanted to do it before at the ball, but his stupid younger brother got himself killed.
"What is it?" She asks, frowning. "You seem nervous about something."
"I'm not nervous," the Original Hybrid argues defensively.
"Okay. Okay. What is it?" The Siphon wonders, stroking his arms caringly.
"I wanted to ask you something important," Klaus confesses, making Lorilei grow nervous.
"Okay…" Lorilei mutters, looking at him nervously. "You have my full attention." Klaus pulls away from Lorilei and digs into his inside jacket pocket, and Lorilei watches him. "Oh God. Oh God." Klaus takes out a velvet box. "Oh God."
"I know we haven't been together for a long time, but it's been the best time in my entire life. We've had ups and downs, which apparently is normal," he chuckles, and Lorilei looks at the velvet box, listening to him. "I've never felt this way before about anyone, ever. I did have to ask for permission from Elijah, which was incredibly awkward by the way." He opens the box to see a golden ring with a sizable diamond and a rose encasing. "When I saw you in that hospital bed, it made me realise how much you mean to me, and every time you've stuck by me, it means the world to me. We've been through a lot together, and I know we're going to be through a lot more, knowing the Scooby Gang. I want to spend eternity with you."
"Oh God. Oh God. Oh God," she gasps, moving her hand to cover her mouth in shock.
"Are you going to keep saying that?" The Original Hybrid questions, looking at her, and Lorilei steps away, making him frown. "What's wrong?"
"I never thought I would ever get married," the older McKnight confesses, making Klaus smile. She steps towards her and holds the box out to him.
"Neither did I, but then I met you," Klaus tells her, and Lorilei holds her hand out to him, both unaware as everyone watches them. "I love you." He takes out the ring and places it on her finger.
"I love you, too," Lorilei replies, wrapping her arms around his neck and kissing him softly. "You didn't technically ask."
"Will you marry me, Lorilei McKnight?" He asks her.
"I will," she answers, kissing him again as the crowd around them claps.
Lorilei and Klaus go outside, wanting a moment of privacy after their engagement, and the fact that Edward keeps asking about planning the wedding drives the newly engaged couple crazy. Klaus takes out his phone as he walks with Lorilei, wanting to share the news with his family, though most of them aren't there with them, especially Rebekah, who practically forced him to come to the dance. "Rebekah, call me back immediately. We only came to this dance because you begged me to, and now you're nowhere to be found. And I proposed to Lorilei, which you really wanted to be at, that you begged me to do it at the dance." Lorilei laughs and walks ahead, spotting the salt line and stopping.
"You've got to be kidding me," Lorilei groans, and Stefan walks up behind the couple.
"Your mother is back," Stefan announces, making them turn to him in shock.
Stefan leads Lorilei and Klaus into a classroom with several candles lit. Bonnie chants while Damon, Jamie, Jeremy, Alexis, Blake, and Edward watch. "She does this all the time, right?" Jamie asks, frowning.
"What's taking so long?! All boundary spells have a loophole," Klaus groans, and Matt enters the classroom.
"Remember, she's a child," Lorilei mutters, earning a glare from Damon.
"People are walking right out of the dance, past the barrier," Matt states.
"Matt and I can leave, we can stop Esther ourselves. We just gotta find out where she is," Jeremy suggests.
"It's suicide, Jeremy," Stefan argues, and Klaus angrily rushes over and grabs Jamie by the throat, starting to strangle the new human.
"Suicide would be disappointing me!" Klaus sneers.
"Nik, stop!" Lorilei shouts, moving towards Alexis, who holds out her arm for her big sister, who takes some of her magic.
"Let him go!" Bonnie yells, and Lorilei grabs a map of Mystic Falls and takes blood from Jeremy, who willingly gives her his hand.
"Not until you get us out of here," Klaus snaps.
"Ah, don't be stupid, Klaus. Bonnie doesn't give a damn about us," Stefan reminds him. "The only reason she's helping us right now is to save herself and Elena. You start killing the people she cares about, she'll tell us all to go to hell." Klaus lets go of Jamie, and Lorilei tries pinpointing Elena's location.
Meanwhile, Esther lights candles inside the Salvatore tomb and prepares for the spell to turn Alaric into an Immortal Vampire Hunter. "Ric, this isn't what you want. It's not who you are," Elena argues, looking at her friend and teacher.
"You don't know who I am, Elena," Dark Alaric argues. "You only know the weakest parts of me, the man who lost his way befriending vampires instead of killing them."
"You don't mean that," she replies, shaking her head in denial.
"They're all monsters. The blood of their victims is on my hands," he snaps.
"When you are ready," Esther announces, looking at the Vampire Slayer.
"No Ric, please don't," Elena begs. "Don't do this. I won't help you, I'm not gonna give you my blood, you're gonna have to kill me!"
"That won't be necessary," she argues, gesturing towards Elena, and a cut opens up on her hand as blood starts pouring out. Esther harshly grabs Elena's wrist and holds it above the bowl, pouring the blood inside. "Drink. And let it be done."
"No, Ric, please. Don't. No!" the Doppelganger sobs and Alaric drinks the blood in the bowl before putting it down.
"Is it finished?" Alaric asks, looking at the Original Witch.
"Not just yet," Esther replies before suddenly staking Alaric with the fake white oak stake.
"No!" Elena screams, watching him crumble to the ground.
In the classroom, Lorilei stands over the map at the teacher's desk as she tries to find Elena, but something blocks her attempts when Klaus and Damon enter.
"Have you finally worked it out, Badass Witch? I mean, we have two Witches and neither of you seem to be able to find Elena," Damon remarks, earning a glare from the Siphon.
"Do I have to do this with him lurking over me?" Lorilei questions, looking at her fiancé.
"Ignore him, I do," Klaus retorts, making Damon glare at the Original Hybrid.
"Good plan," she agrees, making Damon glare at her. "I normally do that, but his presence is overly annoying right now."
"You do know that I am here right," Damon grumbles, folding his arms like a child.
"Yeah, but it's more fun ignoring you," the Siphon argues, and she begins chanting. "Phasmatos Tribum Nas Ex Veras, Sequita Saguines, Ementas Asten Mihan Ega Petous." The blood forms a circular pool but doesn't move, making Lorilei huff. "Esther is fighting me."
"Esther couldn't possibly have this much power. Unless she's channeling something," Klaus reasons, looking at his fiancée.
"A hotspot?" Lorilei questions, looking at him and an idea forms between them.
"Get the humans ready. I know where she is," he announces.
The dance is over in the gym hall, and Caroline, Bobby, Tyler, Phoebe, Stefan, and Blake are discussing the plan to stop Esther. "They're at the old cemetery. Jeremy and Matt are headed there right now," Stefan announces, checking his phone.
"You let them go?! They're gonna get themselves killed!" Caroline exclaims, worrying about Jeremy.
"I didn't have a choice, Caroline. We're useless right now stuck in here," he argues.
"Hey, she'll be fine. Elena always manages to find her way through this stuff. It's like her superpower," Blake remarks, making the Supernaturals chuckle.
"Yeah, well I'm just as worried about what Esther is up to. She led Klaus here for a reason," the former Ripper reasons. "If she succeeds in whatever she's doing -."
"- Klaus could get killed. And we could die along with him," Tyler concludes, looking at Bobby, Phoebe, and Blake.
"No one is gonna die, okay?" Stefan argues, looking at his girlfriend. "Bonnie is still looking for a way around the boundary spell. It's not too late." Stefan holds his hand out for his girlfriend, who takes it, and they leave together.
"So, best case scenario: Bonnie gets us out of here, we can at least go home and spend the rest of the night not worrying about dying," Caroline suggests, looking at Bobby, who smiles at her.
"Well, this isn't awkward," Phoebe mutters, looking at Tyler, who smirks.
"Come on, let's leave these two alone," Tyler suggests, holding his hand out to Phoebe, who smiles, takes it, and twirls around before heading out.
"They are really embarrassing," Bobby jokes, making Caroline laugh. "So, I was thinking, as we're stuck here, care for another dance?" Caroline looks at him funny.
"But there's no music?" Caroline argues, but Bobby grabs his phone and plays some music. "Nice idea."
"Thank you, I try," he retorts, and she wraps her arms around his neck as the song plays.
"This is nice. With all the drama around here, it's getting really annoying," she comments, and Bobby smiles. "I really like you."
"I really really like you," the moody Hybrid replies, and Caroline leans in closer, kissing him on the lips sweetly. "Wow."
"Wow," the blond Vampire repeats, smiling at him.
Alaric lies on the ground of the Salvatore tomb, and Elena pulls the fake white oak stake out of his stomach. "He'll wake soon," Esther assures the Doppelganger. "When he does he may for a time be his old self. If so, you can say your goodbyes before his transition is complete."
"You said you wanted to undo the evil that you created, but this… This is just as evil!" Elena snaps, glaring at the Original Witch.
"Alaric will never be what my children became. I have granted him enough power to complete his task. Then when the time is right, he will die," she informs her.
"How, if he's immortal?" The Doppelganger yells.
"All you need to know is that when this is over we will have rid the earth of Vampires once and for all." The Original Witch argues.
"Yeah, but you'll be killing the good along with the bad, you're no better than Klaus!" Elena snaps, glaring at Esther.
"Am I not? I desire a world where you and your loved ones will not suffer at the hands of Vampires." Esther questions.
"Don't you dare use other people as an excuse for what you've done," she exclaims angrily.
"You should draw comfort knowing that some people are not placed where I was," the Original Mother retorts. "Some don't know the torment of the Other Side. Though they were made Vampires, they might remain pure. They would know peace. Which is all any of us can hope for." Esther hears a noise and walks out to find Matt and Jeremy pointing a rifle and a crossbow at Esther.
"Don't move!" Jeremy snaps.
"Where's Elena?" Matt asks, and Elena comes outside.
"Jeremy!" Elena cries, seeing her little brother.
"Let her go," he demands.
"How foolish of you, to risk your lives in defense of those who will kill you. But if that is your choice," Esther snaps, using her powers and making Jeremy and Matt turn their hands, pointing their weapons at each other.
"Matt! Matt, drop your gun!" Jeremy shouts.
"I can't! I'm not controlling it!" Matt argues.
"Esther, stop it!" Elena pleads, and Alaric awakes, standing up and stabbing Esther from behind, temporarily his old self.
"Oh my God. Where's my ring? Tell me what happened," Alaric asks, looking at the others, who look back at him in shock.
Klaus and Damon stand outside the school near the entrance of the gym hall, hearing the music inside, but pay it no mind. "You know this is your fault," Klaus remarks, glancing at Damon. "You set us on this path when you released my mother. I wonder if revenge will prove worth the cost."
"Oh, I'm done with revenge. As far as Esther; we've stopped her before, we'll stop her again." Damon argues.
"We're strange bedfellows, you and I. You know, all of this, reminds me of mine and your brother's time together in the Twenties," he muses.
"You say that like I'm supposed to care about those stupid memories," the older Salvatore grumbles, growing annoyed.
"Well, there were moments. Real friendship. Brotherhood. Like now," the Original Hybrid retorts, and Stefan and Blake walk over to them.
"Well, he already has a brother. Not to be, you know, territorial or anything," Damon argues.
"Oh no, of course, the Salvatores. And their unshakeable bond. I wonder what'll happen when Elena finally makes her choice. Will we see you shake just a little bit? Oh wait, that's never going to happen," Klaus retorts, and Blake can't help but laugh as Lorilei comes out of the school.
"It's done. Esther's not fighting me any more. The boundary spell is broken," Lorelei announces, and Klaus tests the boundary with his arm and sees his fiance is correct before rushing away.
"Thank you, Lorilei. For everything," Stefan says, walking away with Blake.
"Can we go home now?" Edward asks, looking at his big sister, who wraps her arm around him.
"Yeah, let's go home," Lorilei agrees, walking away.
"Can I see the ring again?" He wonders, making her laugh.
Elena, Alaric, and Jeremy are still talking inside the Salvatore tomb. They are glad Esther is gone but worried about Alaric. "Damon's here," Jeremy announces, looking at them. And Klaus took Esther's body."
"Does he know about the stake?" Alaric wonders, looking at Jeremy.
"Yeah, he had a laugh, and that she tried to turn you into a weapon and failed. What's going on?" He asks.
"Listen Jeremy, I'm not gonna complete the transition. My dark side was dangerous enough as a human. I can't be a Vampire," the Vampire Slayer informs him.
"So, what, we're just gonna lock you in here and let you die?" The youngest Gilbert questions, but Alaric doesn't answer. "No, no we can't!"
"Listen, Jeremy, it's the right thing to do, okay? After everything that's happened, after all that I have done. Maybe I had it coming," Alaric argues, and Jeremy turns around, walking away.
"Hey, wait, Jer… Alaric this isn't your fault," Elena reasons, and Jeremy stops, turning back around.
"Please, you guys let's not make this any harder than it already is. You two should go. Damon's here. He'll make sure it'll all go down the right way," he assures them, and Jeremy starts walking. "Hey, hey…"
"Don't. Don't give me some crap speech about how I need to be the man of the house. Because I'm not moving back in after you die," Jeremy argues.
"Okay, I won't," the history teacher agrees, hugging Jeremy before he walks away. Alaric turns towards Elena, seeing the tears in her eyes.
"This is all my fault. You moved out, you gave me your ring back, you didn't want any part of this and I, I forced you to stay and take care of us." Elena mutters tearfully.
"Don't do that, okay. Taking care of you and Jeremy has been-has been the closest I've ever come to the life I always wanted," Alaric argues, and Elena hugs him, crying. "You should go." Elena walks out of the tomb, with Alaric following behind her, and sees the others gathered outside with lit candles scattered around them. Alaric smiles a little at the sweet moment, and Elena walks to Damon, standing with him, Matt, Bonnie, Jeremy, and Meredith, who are all crying. Alaric tears up and goes into the tomb, closing the gate behind him. Lorilei arrives with Edward, Alexis, and Stefan walking up, making the others turn around.
"What the hell are you doing here?" Damon snaps, glaring at them.
"I'm here to help," Lorilei informs them.
"We don't want your help," he sneers.
"Very well, I mean, I could make sure he doesn't turn into a Vampire, but sure go with the idea that nothing bad will happen," she retorts, earning looks from the Scooby Gang.
"What do you mean?" Elena asks, looking at the Siphon.
"I can siphon the Vampire blood from his system, keeping him human," the older McKnight explains, and Damon rolls his eyes, scoffing.
"You can't do that, I already asked Bonnie about it," Damon argues, and Lorilei laughs.
"She can't. I can," Lorilei corrects him, raising her hand and showing the reddish mist around her hand.
"I don't believe you," he snaps, and Jeremy walks towards his girlfriend, who hugs him closely.
"Fine, but it's not about what you want; it's what Alaric wants," she argues. She tries moving towards the tomb, but the blue-eyed Salvatore blocks her path. "Fine." Lorilei turns around and walks away.
Klaus stands in the room with the five coffins that once housed his family; only one is closed. He pulls the dagger out of Rebekah and puts it on the table, wondering how his mother found them when Lorilei hid them. He moves towards Esther's body in another coffin, wanting to have one last word with her before the others come home. "Your trap failed, mother," Klaus sneers. "I live and I will go on living. Let your beloved spirits try to preserve you again, I dare you to come after me! I will build an army so big, no one will ever touch my family. Our survival will haunt you through eternity. You will never destroy us!"
"Are you serious talking to a corpse?" Lorilei questions, walking up to her fiancé and wrapping her arms around his waist.
"I needed to get that off my chest," he argues, closing the lid.
"It was sweet that we mentioned everyone," she muses, smiling.
"Our family is important," the Original Hybrid retorts, smiling back at her.
Meanwhile, Bonnie and Jamie arrive at her front door, standing there, unaware of what's happening at the old cemetery with Alaric and the others. "Thanks for the ride home," Bonnie comments.
"No problem. You know there's nothing you could have done, right?" Jamie questions, looking at the inexperienced Witch and trying to assure her.
"I know. But it doesn't make it any easier," she argues, shrugging.
"I should have said this before, but thank you for protecting me," he replies, smiling.
"Apparently, it's what I do," the Bennett Witch jokes.
"You really are pretty amazing," the teen compliments her.
"Sometimes I think I'd settle for just ordinary," Bonnie retorts.
"You said your Dad's out of town, right?" Jamie questions, and she nods. "You gonna be okay by yourself?"
"No. I don't think I am," she replies, and he hugs her.
Matt goes behind the bar at the Mystic Grill with the lights off and pours five shots as Jeremy, Alexis, Tyler, and Phoebe sit down at the counter, and Matt holds up his shot glass. "Mr Saltzman," Matt saults.
"Alaric," Jeremy mutters, raising his glass.
"To the best history teacher," Tyler says, making Alexis and Phoebe raise their glasses with the boys. They clink their glasses and drink. Jeremy wipes away a tear, and Alexis wraps her arms around his shoulder, wrapping her arm around his back.
Elena returns to the High School, agitated, as she cleans up Alaric's Vampire Hunter gear from his old classroom. "We can handle this later, you know," Damon comments, watching her from the doorway.
"No, I'd rather get it over with now before some janitor comes to clean out Alaric's stuff and realises the history teacher was a Vampire Slayer." Elena argues, packing away his things aggressively.
"Elena. Hey, Elena, please," he mutters, walking towards her.
"I can't, Damon. Okay?" she snaps. "I can't think about the fact that I don't have anyone to take care of us any more or that I've lost another friend, I just, I can't think about any of it."
"I want you to come with me," the older Salvatore tells her.
"I'm not done!" The Doppelganger argues.
"Hey, please," Damon mutters, taking her hand and pulling her towards the empty gym hall.
Stefan and Blake return to the Pack Den, quiet enough not to wake the others, as it's past midnight. "Do you think your brother will be okay?" Blake asks, stepping into the elevator with her boyfriend.
"I think he's going to be completely self destructive," Stefan retorts, frowning as he thinks about Damon.
"That sounds about right," she muses, looking at him.
"I want to be there for him, but I've got a feeling he's with Elena," he argues.
"Yeah, I wouldn't want to watch my brother fawning over my ex either," the red-haired woman jokes, earning a look from her boyfriend. "I have seen my sister do it though."
"What, Onyx? She's so little?" The green-eyed Salvatore questions. "And innocent." Blake looks at Stefan, annoyed.
Damon returns to relieve Meredith, and he sits outside the Salvatore tomb with the fake White Oak Stake and a bottle of whiskey when Meredith walks up to him. "I gave him a sedative. He'll fall asleep first. He'll go comfortably," Meredith informs him.
"Well...I offered to snap his neck, put him out of his misery but...he didn't take me up on it." Damon argues, looking behind her into the tomb.
"You seem surprised," she retorts, frowning.
"Well, you just think a guy so used to dying, wouldn't want to drag it out," he argues, taking a swig from the bottle of whiskey in his hands.
"Well, it was nice of you to give him the option," Dr Fell muses.
"Hmm...apparently my choices have been a little controversial lately," the older Salvatore brother retorts.
"You shouldn't leave him alone in there," Meredith tells him.
"That's what he wants," Damon argues.
"Is it really what you think he wants?" She questions, walking away, and Damon watches her before entering the tomb.
"Aw, Ric," he pouts.
"Is this the part where you give me a dream? Rainbows and rolling green hills?" Alaric teases his best friend, who rolls his eyes at him.
"I was drunk when I told you that," the blue-eyed Salvatore grumbles and Alaric laughs.
"Yeah and I told you I'd use it against you," he argues, chuckling.
"Damn you. Sorry I killed you. Twice," Damon apologises, making the both of them laugh.
"So I have to actually die to get a real apology out of you," the dying man retorts.
"Drink," he tells him, offering Alaric the whiskey bottle.
"Actually, I've been thinking about cutting back," Alaric replies and a tear rolls down Alaric's cheek.
"Ha, yeah! This stuff will kill ya," the older Salvatore brother fakes a laugh, taking another swig from the bottle. Another tear streams down Alaric's face, and he takes the bottle and has a drink.
Meanwhile, Bonnie and Jamie lie on top of her bed covers, asleep, when she wakes up. She rises from the bed when she notices something at the top of her bed and sees Esther standing there. "Your sisters need you to finish what I started, Bonnie," Esther tells her, and Bonnie suddenly wakes up from her dream.
"Bonnie, hey, hey, I think you're having a bad dream," Jamie states, and Bonnie nods, returning to sleep.
Damon sits beside Alaric, who is now unconscious and breathing heavily, before stopping. Damon drinks the last of his whiskey in the bottle, puts it down, and exits the tomb. While outside, he spots Bonnie walking blankly towards the tomb with the full moon in the sky. "What are you doing here?" Damon asks her, but she doesn't show any signs of noticing Damon. "Hey, Bonnie… What, are you sleepwalking or something? Bonnie?" Bonnie turns around and lifts her hand in the air towards Damon and gives him an aneurysm; he clutches his head, falling to the ground and screaming in pain. "NO! Bonnie! No!" Bonne enters the tomb, looking down at Alaric's body, then stabs her palm with the fake White Oak stake and puts her palm against his mouth. Unaware, Alaric starts drinking, wakes up, and reveals Vampire's teeth. He pulls Bonnie closer, biting her neck and drinking from the Bennett Witch before throwing Bonnie's body to the floor, getting up and holding the fake White Oak stake, still unaware that it is a phoney as Dark Alaric steps out of the tomb, planning to kill the Original family.