The Departed
Months before Vampires, Werewolves, Witches, and Hybrids. Everything was normal as Elena's radio alarm clock went off at 6:45 in the morning. She turned up the music and got out of bed. She pulled her hair up into a ponytail and danced a little in front of her mirror. She grabbed her pom poms and threw them onto the window seat where her cheerleader uniform was laid out. After changing into her uniform, Elena walked downstairs and into the kitchen, where her Aunt, Jenna, was making coffee. "Hey," Jenna greeted her niece.
"Jeremy locked himself in the bathroom again. Does he think we don't know what he's doing in there?" Elena questioned, looking at her aunt, smiling.
"He's fourteen. They don't think," she argued, and Elena grabbed the coffee pot, but Jenna took it back. "Hey! You'll get me in trouble." Elena's mother, Miranda, walked into the kitchen.
"Good morning," Miranda said, looking at her younger sister and daughter.
"Morning, mum," Elena replied, and Miranda kissed her daughter on the cheek.
Elena wakes up in a hospital bed the same night and looks around but closes her eyes, sleeping while Meredith and Bonnie are outside her room, observing her. "She's gonna be fine. She got a little banged up today, hit her head, but it was just a slight concussion, nothing to worry about." Meredith informs the Bennett Witch.
"But she collapsed, there was blood," Bonnie argues.
"Honestly, Bonnie, she's okay. She's just… she's been through a lot. Is there anyone you want to call?" She asks her, and Bonnie looks at Elena, knowing Damon and Matt need to know.
Damon and Matt continue driving towards the Atlantic, planning to dump Klaus' body when Bonnie calls them from the hospital. "You did what?" Damon snaps, putting the phone on speakerphone.
"I took her to the hospital. When you find your best friend unconscious, you call 911," Bonnie snaps, glaring through the phone.
"Not when you have a parade of Vampires at your disposal!" He argues, seething angrily at the Witch.
"Every remaining Original, Hybrid, and Lorilei are gonna want Elena dead to stop Alaric. She's a sitting duck in there," Matt reasons, keeping his eyes on the road.
"Well, Meredith wants to keep her here for observation," Bonnie informs them, rolling her eyes at them.
"Bonnie, get Elena home, we're on our way," Damon tells her, hanging up on her. "Have I told you lately how much I appreciate you not being the dumbest human on Earth?"
"You know one of us needs to keep moving, right? If Klaus really is the sire of your bloodline, we need to keep his body hidden before Alaric finds him, kills him, and we all end up dead." Matt suggests.
"Our life is one, big, proverbial coin toss," he muses, looking at the blond human, who looks back at him.
Meredith enters her office at the hospital and is startled by the sight of Alaric sitting at her desk. "Hello, Meredith," Alaric greets her.
"What are you doing here?" Meredith asks him.
"I'm Elena's guardian. I thought it was strange I didn't get a phone call," he comments.
"How did you find out?" She wonders.
"I have eyes and ears everywhere now," the immortal Vampire Hunter replies. "It's funny, the people of this town are actually good at their jobs when you allow them to be. Speaking of, you are a little too good at your job." Alaric gets up and opens a mini fridge, pulling out a rack of test tubes filled with Vampire blood. "But that's because you cheat. So, I found your stash of Vampire blood." Alaric opens the test tubes and starts pouring the blood onto her desk.
"No, stop it! No, don't do that, stop it!" Dr Fell shouts as he empties the last tube of Vampire blood on her desk.
"The Council will be in touch with the medical board to have your license suspended," Alaric informs her. "Mayor Lockwood and Sheriff Forbes are being relieved of their duties. I'm getting this town back under control." He takes Elena's medical folder out of Meredith's hands. "And you will be releasing Elena to my custody." Alaric signs the paperwork and hands it back to a distraught Meredith before exiting the office and walking towards Elena's hospital room, but when he enters, he finds the bed empty.
Meanwhile, Bonnie walks Elena, wrapped in her arms, through the front door and helps her into the house. "Couch," Bonnie tells her as Abby walks over and helps.
"I'm fine. I just...I want something to eat first," Elena tells them.
"We're on it, as soon as we make sure no one is lurking in the closets," Abby assures her before walking upstairs, and Bonnie leads Elena to the couch.
"All right, couch, now!" Bonnie instructs her best friend.
"Uhh, I told you I'm fine," Elena groans, and Bonnie ignores her, grabbing a blanket off a chair and following Elena.
"Doctor says rest, you rest," she argues. Elena sits on the couch, and Bonnie covers her with the blanket. "Now, what can I get you? Do you want some tea, maybe some vodka? Both will help you sleep." Elena stares at Bonnie as she sits on the couch by her feet. "I know, I'm being smothering. It's what I do."
"No, it's-it's nice," the Doppelganger assures her.
"I'm thinking-maybe tea with vodka," the Bennett Witch jokes, making them both laugh, and Bonnie gets up, leaving Elena on the couch, who looks at a photo on the end table of her and her parents and one of her with her cheerleader uniform on.
Matt and Elena walked across the school grounds, holding hands with Bonnie walking beside them. "Caroline Forbes told me that my ponytail lacked 'zhuzh'," Elena commented, making her boyfriend laugh.
"I don't even know what that means," Matt laughed.
"It means Caroline is driving Elena crazy, as usual. So, as I psychically predicted, flare jeans are making a comeback," Bonnie announced.
"That doesn't make you psychic, Bonnie. It means that you watch too much Top Model," Elena argued, rolling her eyes.
"Say what you want, but I've got a bad feeling about the bonfire tonight." She told her.
"It doesn't matter because I can't go," the brunette cheerleader replied, and Matt turned around, looking at her. "I know, but Jenna's in town and my parents want to do family night."
"You have to go. See if you can sneak out," Matt suggested, making Elena smile, and Matt kissed her. "Gotta see Coach Tanner. Love you." Matt left, and Bonnie looked at her best friend.
"You didn't say it back," Bonnie stated, looking at her.
"What?" Elena asked, frowning.
"You know what. You can't string him along, Elena. If you're not into it anymore, just tell him," she warned her.
Elena wakes up, finding Matt has returned to town and sitting beside her. "Where is everyone?" Elena wonders, looking around.
"Bonnie got a call from the Sheriff, she had to get Abby out of town. What were you dreaming about?" Matt asks hers.
"Sophomore year," she replies.
"Seems like forever ago," he mutters.
"It was. I'm sorry that I strung you along. I should have figured out what I wanted and just been honest about it. I'm now making the same mistakes with Stefan and Damon. It's not right what I'm doing to them either, I – I have to let one of them go," the Doppelganger mumbles, still feeling a little out of it from her nap.
"Which one?" the blond quarterback wonders. Damon enters the house and quickly walks across the room towards Elena, who gets up from the couch and walks towards him. They embrace.
"Damon," Elena mutters, holding onto him.
"Hey," Damon replies, smiling.
Jeremy and Alexis go to the Mystic Grill, needing to get out of the house for a while with everything going on. They volunteered to get everyone something to eat while they planned their next move, as Lorilei isn't coping very well at the moment. A guy walks over from behind the counter, handing them several bags of food each. "Thanks man, tell the kitchen we appreciate them staying open for us," Jeremy says, handing over some of the bags to Alexis, who pays for their food when Alaric comes up to the bar and puts down two bottles of beers and looks at him.
"We need to talk," Alaric demands, glaring at the young McKnight Witch. "Alone."
Elena lies on the couch again while Matt and Damon cook in the kitchen, letting the Doppelganger rest. "I'm being over coddled. I feel completely fine," Elena grumbles.
"You're on house arrest. You're supposed to be coddled," Matt argues.
"Wouldn't it be smarter if we just got you the hell out of town?" Damon questions.
"And do what? Go on the run for the rest of my life? No thank you," Elena retorts, getting up. "And I'm not an invalid. I'm done with the couch." She leaves the room, letting Matt and Damon talk.
"So, you're just gonna let her call the shots?" Matt asks the blue-eyed Salvatore.
"Letting her make her own decisions," Damon argues.
"Even if they're wrong?" He questions.
"Nothing wrong with free will, Matt. Trust me, you don't realise that till you lose it," the older Salvatore brother replies.
"Damon," Elena calls, and the two men look towards the front doorway. The front door is wide open, and Elijah is standing before Elena.
"Elijah," Damon says, glaring at the Noble Original.
"Hello again," Elijah replies, looking at them.
Meanwhile, Alaric and Jermey sit at the counter in the Mystic Grill as Alexis stands away from them, too scared to move, especially because she doesn't want anyone to get hurt. "I need you to tell me where they're keeping Klaus' body," Alaric requests.
"I don't know and even if I did, why would I tell you?" Jeremy snaps, thinking of Alexis, Jenna, the Originals, Lorilei, Edward, and the Pack, who have been more like family than Elena.
"Elena's association with Vampires nearly got her killed again tonight, Jeremy. Does that even register with you?" He asks him.
"Of course it does. But I don't care," the youngest Gilbert snaps.
"Well, she can't seem to cut them out of her life or yours, but I can. And with your help, I'll get rid of all of them. Find out where Klaus' body is being hidden, I'll kill him, all his siblings, and when I die, Vampires will no longer exist," the immortal Vampire Hunter explains.
"But the only way for you to die is if Elena dies," Jeremy argues, looking at Alaric.
"Then lock me up. Have Bonnie put a spell on me like she did Klaus," Alaric suggests. "Let Elena live a long, healthy human life and when her life is over, mine will be too." He pulls out the indestructible fake White Oak stake. "This stake is the one weapon on Earth that can kill them. I'm gonna get Klaus either way, Jeremy. Be on the right side of this."
Elsewhere, Elijah, Matt, Damon, and Elena are together in the kitchen. "All we need is to take that stake away from him. Once he's been disarmed, the weapon's in my possession, my family will scatter to the ends of the Earth and Alaric will follow us." Elijah suggests.
"And you'll just run?" Damon asks, sitting beside Elena.
"We've done it before. Klaus and Rebekah spent the better part of a thousand years evading my father. What's another half century while Elena is able to live out the rest of her natural life?" He argues.
"We've finally stopped him, Elijah. After everything that he's done to us, I can't just let you bring him back." Elena snaps, making Elijah look at him.
"I give you my word, Elena. I will not revive Klaus within yours nor even within your children's lifetimes. Perhaps that will finally teach him some manners," the noble Original assures her.
"Why should she trust you? All you've done is screw her over," Matt argues, glaring at Elijah.
"And for that, I am deeply ashamed. But know this, she could have been dead the instant I walked through that door tonight, so Elena, I leave it to you to make the decision whether to trust me or not." Elijah retorts.
"Not! Hello? Did that concussion give you brain damage?! His lunatic siblings will kill you the first chance they get!" Damon snaps, glaring at the noble Original.
"Rebekah, Kol, Finn, and Lorilei will honour the terms. If you return Klaus' body to us, Elena will come to no harm." He promises, and Elena looks between Damon and Matt for help. "Do we have a deal?"
"No! No, no, no, no! Did I mention no?" The blue-eyed Salvatore growls.
"Elena, it's up to you," Matt tells her.
"Oh, come on!" Damon groans.
"Why do you want Klaus' body?" Elena asks Elijah.
"He's my brother. We remain together," Elijah replies.
"We have a deal," she sighs, and Elijah nods; though he plans to release Klaus, he's not going to let Klaus retaliate for now, but after everything that's happened, they can't be held unaccountable.
Caroline and Tyler walk into the Lockwood manor as Liz and Carol wait for them in the parlour. "Mum?" Tyler calls out.
"In here!" Carol yells, and Caroline and Tyler enter the room.
"Mum?" Caroline questions, surprised to get the call to come with Tyler to his house.
"What's going on?" Tyler asks the Mayor and Sheriff.
"Alaric outed us to the Council. He told them everything. The whole Council knows what you are," Carol informs them.
"He's got them looking for Klaus and then they're gonna come looking for you. You can't be here when they do," Liz warns them.
"What are you saying?" Caroline asks her mum.
"You both need to get out of town," she tells them.
"I pulled together some cash and Liz will get you some new identification and we'll get school records…" Carol informs them.
"Woah, wait a minute, you want us to run?" Tyler questions, looking at his mother.
"We can't protect you anymore," Liz argues.
"Well, we can't just pack up and leave!" Caroline exclaims.
"If you stay, you're going to end up dead. You don't have a choice," Carol tells them, and Caroline looks over at her mum, exasperated. Liz shakes her head, indicating that there is no other choice.
Jeremy and Alexis drive back to the Original mansion. The young Gilbert boy thinks about what Alaric asked him to do earlier, and Alexis looks at him as she drives. "So what are you gonna do?" Alexis asks her boyfriend, plucking up the courage to ask.
"What I wanna do is run in that house, grab Elena, and get her out of there and away from them and let the cards fall as they will." Jeremy replies, sighing as he looks out the window.
"So why don't we?" She questions, happy to kidnap Elena and kill Alaric, so their family could be safe.
"Good luck getting her past all the Vampires in there. Even if I wanted to help, I have no idea what to do next," he argues.
"I think I might have an idea," the youngest McKnight replies, causing Jeremy to look at her confused.
Alaric stays at the Mystic Grill at the bar when his phone rings, seeing Jeremy's name appear on the screen, and he answers. "Yes?"
"I know where Klaus' body is," Jeremy lies, looking at Alexis as they pull up out the front of their house.
"Good. Tell me," Alaric replies urgently.
"Damon's on his way to bury him in the woods off Route 12. I'll text you with the specifics," he tells him, getting out of the car. Blake storms out of the house, heading towards him, having overheard him and not knowing about the plan.
"Thank you, Jeremy. You're doing the right thing for your sister," the immortal Vampire Hunter says, smirking.
"I know," the Gilbert boy replies, looking at Alexis before hanging up. Lorilei pulls Blake back as Stefan, Edward, and Kol walk over. "He bought it."
Tyler and Caroline are studying together at his house, and the blond Vampire paces around the room anxiously. "We can't just leave town," Caroline snaps.
"Yes, we can," Tyler argues.
"But our friends need us," she retorts.
"And our mothers need us to stay alive," he tells her, getting up and walking towards Caroline. "Look, the Pack, the Originals, and Lorilei are gonna do whatever it takes to protect themselves, but this is our lives." Bobby bursts into the room and rushes towards the blond Vampire, pulling her into a hug.
"Bobby!" The blond Vampire exclaims, returning to the hug.
"I was so worried about you," Bobby mutters. "When Phoebe received the text from Carol about what Alaric did, the others have been put on house arrest, but I sneaked out. So let me help protect you."
"I'll go anywhere with you. I mean, if we have to spend the rest of our lives running, I will run with you. But, first, I have to help our friends," Caroline argues, looking at him, and Bobby looks at her and Tyler.
"I'll get stuff together and meet you at the cellar in two hours," Tyler tells them.
"Deal!" She agrees, smiling at Bobby. "Are you sure about coming with us?"
"I would rather stay with you. I mean, if everything goes to plan, we won't have to run for long," Bobby assures her, leaning towards her. She kisses him sweetly.
"We've got to travel light, so what do you need?" Tyler asks his ex-girlfriend, who thinks about it.
"Just Bobby. Maybe a curling iron," Caroline jokes, laughing and kissing Bobby again. "Oh, I have to tell Blake!"
"I'll call Blake and Phoebe, okay? Two hours, don't you dare be late," he warns her, warning her.
"Okay. We get it," Bobby grumbles. "We'll see you in two hours." Caroline pulls him into another kiss.
"Please stop kissing in front of me," the first Hybrid moans. Caroline smirks at her boyfriend before they both run out of the room.
Damon and Bonnie exit an elevator at a storage facility far enough away from Mystic Falls after having to stop and return to help out at the Gilbert house. They walk over to a storage unit the blue-eyed Salvatore was able to compel himself earlier to stash Klaus' desiccated body without any questions. "You know, I'm not half way out of Virginia and Elena sells our souls to the Originals?" Damon grumbles.
"It was her call," Bonnie argues.
"You know what else is her call? Everything bad ever," he retorts, glaring ahead.
"Where's the body? As long as it's unspelled, Alaric is one Witch away from finding it, and Lorilei can find it immediately." She warns him, walking beside him.
"Hidden. I was gonna use Unit 666, but figured that would be a little obvious. So…" the older Salvatore brother says, and they stop before a unit. "1020. Mini fridge, a couple bird cages, a box of old Playboys." Damon opens the unit's shutter door. "One beef jerkified Original." Bonnie walks towards the casket, opening it to see Klaus' chained, desiccated body lying within; suddenly, Klaus' eyes open, and he looks at them, spooking them a little. "Oh, creepy."
"I need a minute," the Bennett Witch orders.
"Just jam the Witch locator, bat signal or whatever and get on with it, Bonnie," Damon snaps.
"Elena lost Jenna and Jeremy to him, and Alaric because of him. Tyler's a Hybrid, my mother's a Vampire. Could you give me a minute to just appreciate the sight of him like this?" Bonnie asks him. Damon looks at her and leaves, closing the storage unit door. Bonnie waits a few seconds before leaning over the casket and looking down at Klaus in the casket. "You should burn in hell. But if you die, so does my mother and my old friends. What am I supposed to do about that?"
Stefan sits in the living room at the Original mansion with Lorilei, the Pack, the McKnight twins, and the Originals. Everyone is on edge with Klaus missing and desiccated because of Damon and Bonnie. Lorilei is a complete mess; she barely talks, just staring at the floor as Rebekah holds her hand and Edward sits by her feet. Alexis storms out of the room, heading into the kitchen, and Stefan follows her into the kitchen as they finish talking about the plan to get Klaus' body back and stop Alaric. "Stefan, can you make sure that Alaric doesn't lay a hand on Jer?" Alexis requests, and Stefan walks towards her.
"Jeremy will be fine. Between all of us, we'll have the strength in numbers to disarm Alaric," Stefan assures her, but she still looks scared. "Hey, what's wrong?"
"I just want all of this to end," she confesses. "I don't want my sister to lose the only person she's ever loved. I don't want to lose anyone else, I don't want anyone else to lose someone."
"Well, I promise we will all do everything in my power to make sure that we all come back," he promises her, soothingly rubbing her arm. Edward comes into the room, feeling his sister's sadness.
"Why do I suddenly feel the need to cry?" Edward asks, looking at his little twin sister, who looks at her brother. "Now I'm extremely annoyed."
"You have that effect," Alexis mutters, rolling her eyes.
"Rude. But I will let it slide," he replies, smiling. "Elijah just told us that we're ready for the next phase of the plan." Stefan and Alexis storm out of the room, leaving Edward alone, who watches them before heading for the leftovers, rubbing his hands together as he sneaks more food into his mouth.
"Get in here, Ed, now!" She shouts from the living room, and he quickly stuffs his face. "Stop eating! You. Are. Full!"
Damon is relaxing on a couch in a unit on the phone with Stefan, teaming up with the Originals to stop Alaric because he doesn't want to die if Alaric can figure out a way to do it, but they don't know what Esther did to the fake White Oak stake. "Bonnie just left," Damon informs his little brother. "Rebekah should be here soon to pick up the body."
"I've got Caroline and Elijah in place. Jeremy is gonna lead Alaric to us," Stefan replies, sitting in the living room with everyone around him.
"You just had to come up with a good plan, didn't you?" He grumbles.
"What would you have done, Damon?" The former Ripper argues.
"Grabbed her, gagged her, threw her in a well," Blake mutters, making Stefan look at his girlfriend.
"Agreed. Anything to stop her from agreeing and trusting Elijah," Damon snaps.
"You know she'd just hate you for it, right?" Stefan questions, frowning as he wants his brother to be happy.
"Yeah, but she'd be alive and she'd hate me. Thus, the eternal difference between you and me, brother," he retorts.
"As soon as we get the stake, hand over the coffin and get out. Alaric's got half the police looking for Klaus' car," the former Ripper warns him.
"Will do," the blue-eyed Salvatore replies, and the elevator bell dings. "Gotta go, the Original sister is here." He hangs up and walks out of the unit. "It's about time, sexy Bex." Alaric appears from behind Damon and grabs his former best friend in a chokehold.
"Where's Klaus?" Alaric demands.
"How did you find me?" Damon questions, struggling.
"Oh, you'd be amazed at how competent law enforcement is when it's not corrupted by vampires. Now, where is Klaus?" He snaps.
"In a storage locker. There's only about a thousand of them, have at it," the older Salvatore brother grunts, losing air from the tight chokehold. Alaric breaks Damon's neck before placing him on the ground and walking off to begin his search for Klaus' body.
Meanwhile, when Matt enters the room with a cup of tea and a plan to keep her safe, Elena sits at her window seat. "Mm, thank you," Elena mutters, taking the cup from her ex-boyfriend and sipping. She scrunches up her face in disgust, not enjoying the taste. Matt sits in the chair beside her, seeing the look on Elena's face.
"Sorry, I over-honeyed. I suck at tea," Matt apologises, making Elena laugh. "So, Stefan?" He wonders, looking at her as he never understood why she was enthralled with the former Ripper.
"He saved my life, you know. I never told you that. The night that my parents' car went off the bridge, Stefan was the one that saved me," she explains.
"So, do you feel like you owe him or something?" He questions, frowning.
"No, it's not that. It's – after the accident, I kind of felt like I didn't know how to live anymore, like I didn't want to, but then being with Stefan...it just...somehow I figured it out. And that's what love should be. You should love the person that makes you glad that you're alive," the Doppelganger informs him, smiling.
"So then, what's the problem?" The blond quarterback asks her, though he has a few guesses in mind.
"The problem's Damon," Elena replies, smiling softly. "When I'm with him, he just consumes me. And I knew that I couldn't love them both. I knew that it was wrong, but when I choose one, then I'll lose the other. And I don't want to lose anyone else. Not even you. I - I just - I wish that I had my mum here to give me some advice." Elena sips her tea and looks out the window as Matt stares at her, shocked at her confession. he isn't sure what to do as he looks at the girl he once loved and sees a new side to her, a side he's seen before. Katherine Pierce.
Elena walked away from the bonfire party in the woods outside Mystic Falls as she talked on the phone with her Aunt Jenna. "Hey, it's me," Elena said.
"Your dad is making me play Pictionary. I suck at Pictionary," Jenna grumbled.
"You do. You're terrible," Grayson agreed, smiling at his sister-in-law.
"Bite me, Grayson," she snapped, glaring at him.
"Listen, do you think someone could come pick me up?" Elena asked them.
"Oh, having second thoughts about ditching family night?" The red-haired woman questions.
"Here," Miranda muttered, and Jenna handed her the phone. "Elena, everything okay?"
"Matt and I got into a fight," Elena informed her mother. "He was talking about college and marriage and all the stuff that he always talks about and I just, I couldn't."
"He doesn't really care about that yet, honey, he's just trying to figure out how you feel about him right now." She assured her daughter, hearing the stress in her voice.
"I don't know how I feel," the young brunette replied, frowning.
"Yes you do. You're just afraid to say it," Mrs Gilbert argued.
"Yeah, but I don't want to lose him," Elena told her.
"You're not gonna lose him, honey. You're setting him free," Miranda assured her, and Elena stood on the side of the road thinking.
Elena finds herself waking up in the passenger seat of Matt's pickup truck as he drives them away from Mystic Falls. "What's going on?" Elena asks groggily, frowning.
"It's the only way I was gonna get you in this truck," Matt argues, keeping his eyes on the road.
"The tea. You drugged me?" She questions, glaring at him.
"I'm sorry, Elena, but you're right, okay. You don't have any parents to tell you what's right or wrong, you've got me and Bonnie and a bunch of vampires fighting a war you shouldn't be in the middle of." He retorts.
"What the hell is going on, Matt?" The Doppelganger asks him.
"I'm getting you out of town, Elena. It's the only way to keep you safe," the blond quarterback replies. Elena looks at him in shock, not wanting to leave Mystic Falls.
Alaric breaks off another lock of a unit and opens the doors to several of the storage units in his search for Klaus' body. After being unable to find Klaus' body in any of them, he hears the elevator bell ding again and Rebekah coming out of it. "Damon!" Rebekah shouts. "Damon, where are you?" Alaric slowly pulls out the fake indestructible White Oak stake and begins stalking towards Rebekah's voice as she searches for Damon. "Damon, this isn't funny." The blond Original walks down a storage unit line while Alaric searches for her. Rebekah continues walking down a row and is suddenly grabbed from behind by Damon, who covers her mouth so she won't scream. He pulls her back so they are hidden behind a unit.
"Rebekah. Shhhh," Damon mutters. Alaric continues searching for Rebekah but stops in front of the storage unit 1020 and sees that the lock has been broken off. He opens the unit door, but Klaus' casket is gone.
In another part of the warehouse, Rebekah and Damon are wheeling Klaus' casket to a car, but Alaric comes out of nowhere, grabbing the blond Original and slamming her head against her car, then throwing her to the ground. Damon rushes at Alaric but kicks the older Salvatore brother out of his way. The immortal Vampire Hunter opens the casket and pulls out the fake indestructible White Oak stake. Klaus' eyes fly open, and Rebekah rushes to get up. "No!" Rebekah screams.
"No, don't!" Damon shouts, getting up,
"No! No! No!" She yells as Alaric stakes Klaus in the heart, making him gasp. Damon grabs Rebekah, who continues screaming and crying, and Alaric turns around.
"Next," Alaric growls, staring at the blond Original.
"Rebekah, run. Run!" Damon shouts, pushing Rebekah towards the opposite direction, and she rushes off, fearing for her life. Damon rushes towards Alaric to distract him, but the immortal Vampire Hunter throws him to the ground and rushes off searching for Rebekah.
Later, Damon sits on the floor in the storage units, calling Stefan, who is in the woods with Jeremy, waiting for Alaric, who hasn't shown up. "Damon," Stefan answers, looking around for any sign of Alaric.
"Bad news, brother. Alaric staked Klaus. He's dead," Damon informs his brother, who stares wide-eyed.
"I feel okay, do you feel anything?" He asks. Jeremy looks at him in shock, putting the pieces together.
"No," the older Salvatore brother answers, frowning.
"Lorilei theorised that it could take up to at least an hour before the effects take place," the former Ripper informs him.
"Yeah or Klaus was lying about being the sire of our bloodline," Damon retorts, annoyed.
"Well, if he wasn't lying, an hour is not enough time to get you all the way back to Mystic Falls," Stefan warns his older brother.
"For us to have our epic goodbye, Stefan?" He muses, smirking, trying to play off his worry.
"Not us, brother. You and Elena," the younger Salvatore brother corrects him, smiling.
"Well, I guess you'll just have to say goodbye for both of us, won't you? Call me if you cough up a lung," the blue-eyed brother replies before hanging up.
Stefan hangs up the phone after his brother, looking at Jeremy, who receives a text from Bonnie. "Stefan. Elena's not at home," Jermey announces. "Matt, he's getting her out of town."
"It's gonna be fine. Klaus was lying, we're all gonna be okay," Stefan assures him, but he doesn't really believe that when Caroline and Elijah show up.
"What happened?" Elijah asks, but Stefan doesn't reply.
"Stefan?" Caroline asks, looking at him.
Jeremy calls Matt, needing him to turn around after talking with Stefan, Caroline, and Elijah for the next phase of their plan. "Got it, Jer," Matt replies before hanging up.
"We have to go back," Elena tells him. "Listen to me, Matt, if Klaus is the one that turned their bloodline, then they're all gonna die." Matt doesn't reply, and she shouts at him. "We have to go back, Matt!"
"Elena," he sighs.
"What?!" She shrieks.
"Damon's not with them," the blond human informs her.
"What?" The young brunette woman yelps, looking at him in shock.
"He's a hundred miles out of town. I can keep driving to him, or I can turn around and go back to Stefan. It's your choice," Matt tells her, and Elena sits in the passenger seat, contemplating what to do.
Damon's phone rings as he walks into the storage unit. He sees that Elena is calling him, and he answers. "Let me guess. Calling to see if the Grim Reaper's paid a visit?" Damon wonders, smirking, playing off his fear.
"How are you feeling? Are there any symptoms?" Elena asks him, frowning.
"Not yet. But I'm sure we'll have a laugh when we find out that Klaus is a big, fat liar," he assures her, shrugging it off, not wanting her to worry about everything.
"Yeah, I'm – I'm sure we will," she stutters.
"Hey, where are you?" The blue-eyed Salvatore wonders, hoping to see her again.
"Matt's taking me home," the Doppelganger tells him.
"To Stefan," Damon mutters.
"Not just to Stefan, Damon. To Bonnie, to Abby," Elena corrects him.
"Ah, I know, I get it. So, since I'm possibly a dead man, can I ask you a question?" He wonders.
"Yeah, of course," she replies.
"If it was just down to him and me and you had to make a choice who got the goodbye, who would it be?" The older Salvatore brother asks her, and she starts choking up.
"I loved him, Damon," the Doppelganger tells him. "He came into my life at a time when I needed someone, and I fell for him instantly. No matter what I feel for you, I - I never unfell for him."
"Yeah, I get it. Stefan, it's always gonna be Stefan," Damon mutters, heartbroken at her choice, even if she never outright says it.
"I can't think about always. All I can think about is right now. And I care about you, Damon, which is why I have to let you go. I mean, maybe if you and I had met first," Elena confesses, continuing to string Damon along, planning on getting Stefan back no matter the cost.
"Yeah, maybe," he replies glumly.
"You're gonna be fine. You hear me," she assures him, her voice growing stronger. "You're gonna be okay, and I'm gonna see you soon." Alaric appears behind Damon, who senses him, looking up at his old friend.
"Real soon. Goodbye, Elena," the blue-eyed Salvatore mutters before hanging up. "I see you're still pissed. I take it Goldilocks gave you the slip." Alaric rushes towards him and punches him in the face.
Caroline runs down into the cellar, crying after hearing about Klaus' death, hoping to find Bobby or Tyler. "Tyler! Bobby!" Caroline shouts, stopping in the middle of the cellar. "Oh my God." Bobby and Tyler enter after her.
"Caroline?" Bobby questions, looking at her confused
"Bobby! Oh my God," she cries as she rushes towards him, and they embrace.
"Hey. Sorry, we were just with Alexis," he informs her. They pull apart but stay close to each other; he notices how upset she is. "What happened?"
"Klaus died. He's dead," the blond Vampire tells them.
"You're going to be fine, Caroline," the grumpy Hybrid assures her.
"No, it's not me that I'm worried about," Caroline argues.
"There's no point. I'm a lost cause, but you're strong and you have a beautiful future ahead of you. And when you make it through this, just live your life for me, okay?" Bobby requests, and they kiss passionately as Tyler watches awkwardly, wishing he was anywhere else. Caroline kisses Bobby on the cheek as they hold each other for a long time. Suddenly, Tyler falls to the floor, coughing and clutching his heart. Then, he stops and stands up, looking at Caroline and Bobby, who watch nervously.
"Do you feel anything?" Tyler asks them, who shake their heads.
"No, I feel fine," Caroline replies.
"Same," Bobby adds, frowning.
"I need you to get out of here. I don't want you to watch me die," Tyler tells him, needing them to leave.
"No, we're not leaving," Caroline snaps, looking at her friend as he falls to the ground in pain again, and Caroline and Bobby kneel beside him.
"We're staying," Bobby promises him.
"No," Tyler snaps.
"Yes!" Caroline yells.
"You run. Or I'll make you run," he argues.
"We're not leaving," Bobby repeats, and Tyler looks at them and then begins transforming into a wolf, making Caroline get up.
"Go!" the first Hybrid shouts. Bobby grabs Caroline as she cries and rushes them out of the cellar.
Blake is on the phone with Caroline once Bobby stops far enough away from the old Lockwood cellar. They call Blake, who is still on house arrest, with the rest of the Pack. "You too, Care," Blake replies before hanging up and looking at the others at Klaus' mansion.
"What now?" Alexis asks her, and Blake grows teary-eyed. "It's Tyler, he um… he's…" Phoebe gasps, looking at her in shock and grief.
"No! You're lying!" Phoebe shouts, choking up and growing angry. She waves her arms around, hitting things and smashing them onto the floor. "You're lying! Tell me you're lying!" Her claws scratch across the wall, and her parents stop her, holding her down.
"Phoebe! Stop this!" Diana snaps, tightening her hold on her daughter.
"No! You're wrong! This wasn't supposed to happen!" She yells, her eyes glowing yellow.
Elijah stands in the woods, waiting for Alaric to show up, when Rebekah appears behind him, still in tears. Elijah turns around and sees his little sister in tears, crying. "He's gone, Elijah," Rebekah sobs. "There was nothing I could do to stop it." They walk towards each other and embrace.
"Tyler Lockwood is dead, but the rest survived. You said that Niklaus turned their bloodline," Elijah questions, frowning.
"I thought he did," she argues, pulling away.
"It wasn't me, it wasn't Kol," he retorts, wondering how the Hybrids are still alive or the Salvatore brothers and Caroline.
"It wasn't me, Elijah. It was Niklaus, I'm sure of it," the blond Original tells him.
"Then how are they still alive?" the noble Original wonders. He then thinks about Lorilei, his former ward, the woman he saw devastated at the news of Klaus.
Bonnie slowly walks down into the old Lockwood cellar, looking around and finding it empty, but she can feel the presence. "I know you're here," Bonnie snaps, and Tyler emerges from the shadows.
"I must say you really did that spell brilliantly. I didn't think you had it in you," Tyler replies, smirking at the young Witch.
"I did it to save my friends and my mother, Klaus. Not you," she argues, glaring at the Original Hybrid, who has taken over his first Hybrid's body.
"The spirits won't be happy with you," he warns her.
"The spirits don't get to tell me what to do anymore. I'm done getting pushed around by all of you. I did it because I wanted to," the Bennett Witch retorts.
Stefan walks through the woods and answers his phone, seeing it's Rebekah on the other end. "Hello?"
"You're alive. Congratulations," Rebekah replies, smiling.
"Rebekah…" Stefan mutters.
"Elijah spoke to Elena. Her and Matt should be arriving back in town any minute," she informs him.
"Yeah, he told me that. He also said you two would be long gone out of town by now," he replies, frowning.
"That's the problem. Elijah says we have to run, that the hunter will keep coming after us, but I don't want to run anymore, Stefan. I spent my whole life running," the blond Original argues.
"What are you talking about? Rebekah don't do something out of grief," the former Ripper warns her.
"I'm sorry, but Klaus is dead. There is nothing else to do. If my brothers and I are going to survive, we need to get rid of Alaric and the only way to get rid of Alaric…" Rebekah replies.
"Rebekah, no," Stefan shouts, but she hangs up the phone.
Elena looks at her phone, sees the battery dying, and turns to Matt in the driver's seat. "I need to call Bonnie, but my phone is dying," Elena states, and Matt takes out his phone.
"Here. Use mine," Matt replies, handing over his phone as they drive towards the Wickery Bridge.
"Thanks," she mutters, looking up for a second and seeing a figure standing in the middle of the road. "Matt, look out!" Lorilei steps out onto the road in front of the truck, and Matt swerves to avoid the Siphon, sending the vehicle flying over the guardrail and into the water below.
"You're not worth keeping alive," Lorilei mutters, glaring into the water as she thinks about the Doppelganger. But the spell she wished to use was pointless now; with Klaus gone, they couldn't start a family anymore.
Elena woke up in the water under Wickery Bridge, coughing as her dad tried to start the car. She began to panic. "Dad?! Dad!"
"We're gonna be okay. I promise," Grayson assured her.
"Dad!" Elena shouted as the car sank and they were submerged in the water.
Alaric continues beating Damon badly as blood runs down the blue-eyed Salvatore's face and the immortal Vampire Hunter throws him to the ground, and Damon stays there. "You're not gonna fight back?" Alaric questions, looking at his former friend.
"You're kind of invincible, Ric," Damon argues.
"Don't call me that," he snarls, kicking Damon in the face. "We're not friends.
"We were," the older Salvatore brother replies.
"Well, our friendship was part of the problem," the immortal Vampire Hunter argues. "It's what kept me weak. It's also why it took so long for the real me to break through and now I'm gonna break you." Alaric punches Damon in the face, knocking him backwards.
Damon lay in the middle of the road in the woods by the bonfire party, waiting for his next meal. Suddenly, he heard a familiar voice as Elena was on the phone with Bonnie, not too far away. "I know Bonnie, you're right. You and my mum both are," Elena said. "I just can't bring myself to tell him. At least not tonight. I'll call you later." She hung up, and Damon appeared in front of her.
"Katherine," Damon growled, looking at the Doppelganger.
"No - um - I," she stuttered, looking behind her to ensure he wasn't talking to someone else. "I'm Elena."
"Oh, you – you just look… I'm sorry, you just really remind me of someone. I'm Damon," he introduced himself, hearing her heartbeat.
"Not to be rude or anything, Damon, but it's kind of creepy that you're out here in the middle of nowhere." The young brunette woman remarked, frowning.
"You're one to talk. You're out here all by yourself," the blue-eyed Salvatore argued, smirking.
"It's Mystic Falls. Nothing bad ever happens here," Elena replied, smiling. There was a pause, and she began talking again. "Got into a fight with my boyfriend."
"About what? May I ask," Damon wondered, looking at Elena.
"Life, future, he's got it all mapped out," she told him, shrugging.
"And you don't want it?" He asked her.
"I don't know what I want," the high school girl replied sadly.
"Well, that's not true. You want what everybody wants," the older Salvatore brother argued, stepping towards her.
"What, mysterious stranger who has all the answers?" Elena questioned.
"Hm, well, let's just say I've been around a long time. I've learned a few things," Damon assured her, smiling.
"So, Damon, tell me. What is it that I want?" She asked him, and he moved closer towards her.
"You want a love that consumes you. You want passion, an adventure, and even a little danger," he told her, and Elena looked at him in surprise.
"So, what do you want?" the young brunette woman wondered. Damon hesitated momentarily, and Elena's parents honked their horn and drove closer. "It's my parents." The older Salvatore brother moved even closer to her when she turned around.
"I want you to get everything that you're looking for, but right now I want you to forget that this happened. Can't have people knowing that I'm in town yet," the blue-eyed Salvatore compelled her. "Goodnight, Elena." He left her alone as she looked out at the empty road, frowning before walking to her parents' car.
Damon lies on the ground, and Alaric stands over him. "Is that all you got?" Damon croaks, looking at his friend.
"Not quite," Alaric replies, getting down and trying to stake Damon, but the blue-eyed Salvatore grabs it and throws Alaric off of him before getting up and hitting him in the face.
Matt's pickup truck keeps sinking to the bottom of the river under Wickery Bridge, and Elena wakes up, looking over at Matt; his eyes are shut, and Elena turns his face towards hers and starts shaking him, desperately, having flashbacks of her parent's death.
Grayson tried opening the car door, but it wouldn't budge, and he attempted to break the window open with his elbow while Elena watched hopelessly.
Elena continues vigorously shaking Matt as she yells his name, but he won't wake up. Then she tries opening the door, but it won't open. The Doppelganger tries breaking the window with her elbow.
Grayson kept trying to break the window open, and Elena called her dad, who turned around and grabbed Elena's hand. He shook his head, indicating to her that there was no way out. She nodded and said she loved him, unaware of Stefan swimming towards the car, trying to save them.
Stefan dives into the water and swims up to Matt's window as Elena desperately tries shaking Matt so he'll wake up.
Stefan looked into the driver's window at Grayson, who shook his head and pointed to the back seat at his daughter. Stefan swam to the back window, looked inside, and saw Elena. The younger Salvatore brother was startled by how much she looked like Katherine.
Stefan rips Matt's door off and swims over him towards Elena, who shakes her hand and points to Matt. Stefan shakes his head back at her and continues trying to get Elena out, but she persists in getting Matt out first. Stefan and Elena stare at each other for a moment, and he struggles with the thought of leaving her because he doesn't want her to die if he can help later on, and if he saves Matt, he might not make it back quick enough to save Elena as well. But he abides Elena's wishes, grabbing Matt and swimming back to the surface, and Elena takes a few final breaths, shuts her eyes and becomes lifeless.
Alaric and Damon continue fighting. Damon grabs Alaric's wrist, and the stake falls out of his hand. Alaric starts feeling weak. "What's happening?" Alaric questions, frowning.
"Oh no," Damon mutters, looking at his friend.
"What's happening?" He repeats, falling to his knees, and Damon kneels with him, cradling him in his arms.
"No. No, no, no, no. Ric, Ric! You are not dead. You are not dead," the older Salvatore gasps and Alaric starts desiccating and then dies as Damon shakes his body and tears start glistening in his eyes, knowing that not only has he lost his best friend, but he's lost Elena, too.
Jeremy walks downstairs from his old room at the Gilbert house, promising to meet Elena and Matt once they get back into town. He leaves a voice message for Matt as they're late. "Matt, man, where are you guys? You should have been back by now." Jeremy stops suddenly when he spots Alaric standing in the hallway.
"Jeremy," Alaric says, and the Gilbert boy puts his phone down.
"Haven't you done enough? And how'd you even get in here?" Jeremy asks his former friend.
"I don't know," he replies. "I just wanted to say goodbye and it kind of happened."
"Ric?" The Gilbert boy questions, looking at him in shock.
"I just wanted you to know that I'll always be here to look after you, Jeremy. That you'll never be alone, okay? I promise," the ghost Vampire Hunter assures him.
"I don't understand," Jeremy mutters, pausing momentarily. Then, it hits him, and he realises what must have happened. "Oh my God, you're a Ghost. But if you're dead, that means Elena…"
At Mystic Falls Hospital, Damon bursts into the hospital after learning about Elena's fate as Stefan sits beside her below in the morgue with Elena's body lying on a stretcher, confused about why Lorilei would try to kill the Doppelganger, but after Klaus' death, the Siphon was practically comatose. Stefan frowns and gets out his phone, seeing a few texts and missed calls from the Pack and Alexis, who warn him about Lorilei disappearing. "Where is she?" Damon demands, storming towards the reception desk, who spots him and walks over to the Vampire.
"No, Damon, wait," Meredith snaps, looking at him as he stares at her.
"Where is she?!" He shouts, and she grabs him, stopping him.
"You need to know, when Bonnie brought Elena in here earlier tonight, her injuries were worse than I let on. It wasn't a concussion, it was a cerebral hemorrhage, bleeding of the brain," she explains delicately.
"What are you saying?" The blue-eyed Salvatore questions, frowning.
"She was so worried, I didn't want to tell her, but I – I helped her. She needed my help," Dr Fell tells him, looking at the Vampire, who realises what she means.
"You what?" Damon snaps, glaring at Meredith. Meanwhile, in the morgue, Elena's body remains lying on the stretcher when suddenly, she bolts up back alive, gasping for air.