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From 1.01 "This is the Part Where You Run", there was a shot of the school.

Emma: (voice over) "Previously on Worlds Colliding (Legacies)."

From 1.02 "Some People Just Want to Watch the World Burn", outside the school, Lindsey and Ryan stood at the gate.

Lindsey turned to look out through the bars of the gate, and as she was speaking, there was a flash of Rae losing control to Rosalita in 1.01, the dragon in 1.02, and the gargoyle in 1.03. "How are we supposed to protect them from a monster inside Rae's head and from stuff that's not supposed to exist?"

From 1.01 "This is the Part Where You Run", in the werewolf facility, Madison/Owen and Hope/Landon kissed.

Madison: (voice over from 1.02 Some People Just Want to Watch the World Burn) "Landon and Owen were inside the walls of this school because of us."

From 1.01 "This is the Part Where You Run", in the library and on the bus, Owen was seen looking at the knife.

Madison: (voice over from 1.02 Some People Just Want to Watch the World Burn) "Owen had access to the knife he stole because of me."

From 1.02 "Some People Just Want to Watch the World Burn", in the woods, Emma tossed the knife to Rafael. Rafael stabbed the knife into the dragon's throat.

Alaric: (voice over from 1.03 We're Being Punked, Lyla) "Whoever wields it has the power to save the world."

From 1.03 "We're Being Punked, Lyla", in Lindsey/Ryan's office, Alaric looked at Kaylin, Nicola and Lindsey. "Or end all life as we know it."

From 1.03 "We're Being Punked, Lyla", in the woods, Rafael smirked, shaking his head. "There's nothing going on between me and Emma."

Landon looked at Owen. "Did you believe that?"

Owen shook his head. "I didn't believe that."

From 1.03 "We're Being Punked, Lyla", in Town Square, Hope, Emma, Madison and Josie were walking.

Emma looked pensive. "I wonder where Rafael, Owen and Landon are right now."

Madison smirked knowingly. "Mm, why is that, Emma? Is it because you might have a little hate/interest thing with Rafael."

"What the hell are you talking about, Madison?" Emma asked.

"You looked jealous when Josie mentioned Lizzie having dibs on Rafael, and we've seen the way that you bickered with him," Madison told her. "You can't deny it this time."

Emma scoffed. "I can deny it every time. I don't like Rafael."

"Just because you deny it doesn't mean that we buy it," Madison teased.

From 1.02 "Some People Just Want to Watch the World Burn", in the school, Ariara and MG were talking.

"You really think that it could make Lizzie like me?" MG asked.

"Nothing can make her like you," Ariara answered. "But it might make it a little clearer if she ever could."

MG nodded in understanding and agreement. "What about you? You're totally crushing on Josie, Ariara."

"I don't need a relationship like you do now," Ariara told him. "I'd rather not be in one right now. But yes, I admit it. I do like her."

From 1.03 "We're Being Punked, Lyla", in the school library, Ariara scoffed softly. "I'm not crazy, Lindsey."

"No, you're not," Nicola agreed.

Tory, Luke, Lyla, Kacie and Mikayla walked in.

"But you do have some issues with control and mentality because of what you are, and we wanted to come and help," Kacie told her.

Mikayla chuckled. We might have found something that could finally help Ariara get control back, even a fraction of it."

Ryan raised his eyebrows in surprise. "Really?"

"Really," Kacie answered. "It took forever, but we think we might have found something that can help so Ariara can shift without losing complete control, even if it'll be hard at first."

"Kacie and Mikayla need to help Ariara with control," Tory agreed. "I mean, with the way things are going, monsters that we didn't know that existed showing up, we might need Ariara's animal form sooner rather than later."

From 1.03 "We're Being Punked, Lyla", in Ariara/Emma's dorm room, Ariara was sitting down in front of Mikayla and Kacie as they sat in front of her, facing each other in a circle of three.

"How are you doing?" Mikayla asked.

"You mean with not being able to shift for two years without losing complete control, or the slight manic mind?" Ariara asked. "I mean, because of the three different animalistic personalities and instincts in my mind and not being able to turn into them. Plus watching war all my life and having to watch my kingdom and family be wiped out? I miss being able to shift. And I've gotten used to the golden eagle, serpent and lion inside me fighting and making my mind a little manic all my life. Especially given the war and losing everything."

From 1.02 "Some People Just Want to Watch the World Burn", in the woods, Tory and Hope started to chant with Emma, reading the spell off the paper, while Rae used her power to hold off the fire that the dragon was blowing at them.

Ryan: (voice over from 1.02 Some People Just Want to Watch the World Burn) "What you did and got Tory and Hope to do, in the woods was a death spell. We can't do black magic, Emma."

From 1.02 "Some People Just Want to Watch the World Burn", in Lindsey/Ryan's office, they were talking with Emma and Danny.

Ryan looked at Emma. "It gets inside your heart and it poisons your mind. Where did you even get this spell, or any of them?"

"I don't know," Emma admitted. "They would... just pop into my head."

"Like the visions I see just pop into mine?" Danny asked.

The four of them, after that connection, realized where the spells were coming from and why Emma was having such a tough time with dark magic again. "Rosalita."

Emma started to cry. "I'm sorry."

From 1.03 "We're Being Punked, Lyla", in the street, Rae's eyes were glowing with Hellfire, breathing heavily with the effort that it took to fight Rosalita and keep her locked away, raising her head to look at the sky, releasing Hellfire to shoot into the sky to release most of the darkness she needed to to keep Rosa weakened, literally shining with fire light. Danny watched her in awe, though he was very worried about whether or not if she was in pain or if it could do more harm than just hurt her. After a long moment, Rae could finally release enough of the darkness to get Rosalita under control, looking at Danny, her eyes and veins still glowing with Hellfire, though the glow was slowly fading. Rae managed a small smile before she nearly fell from exhaustion.

Danny: (voice over from 1.03 We're Being Punked, Lyla) "And if you push everyone away enough to where you have no one, and you lose control because you have no one to help you anchor yourself, then you'll lose control of Rosalita, and it will hurt everyone. So by pushing everyone away to protect us from you, you realize that you could be putting us in danger of Rosalita in case you lose control of her because you won't let us help you?"

Danny instantly walked forward to catch Rae in his arms. "It's okay. I got you, I got you. Let's get you back there."

Rae, very emotional, holding onto him just as much as he was holding her to make sure she didn't collapse, had tears in her eyes, whispering. "Thank you."

From 1.03 "We're Being Punked, Lyla", in the woods, Rafael walked toward Landon and Owen. "So let's do what we gotta do here, then let's go back to school."

Landon gave them a tired look. "They don't want me and Owen there."

Rafael's tone of voice made it clear that he wouldn't take no for an answer. "I'm not going without you two."

Owen, Landon and Rafael reached out, clasping hands before hugging each other tightly. Rafael clapped them both on the backs.

Rafael: (voice over from 1.03 We're Being Punked, Lyla) "All in."

From 1.03 "We're Being Punked, Lyla", in the bus, MG had caught Kaleb feeding on Dana. "Kaleb? What are you doing?"

Kaleb was concerned about being outed for his rule breaking, sighing, walking over to MG. "Look, we homies, right? And I ain't hurting anybody. So, secret's ours?"

From 1.03 "We're Being Punked, Lyla", in the woods outside the boarding school, Dana called for her friend from inside her car. "Sasha, what are you doing?"

Dana suddenly jerked in fear when something large fell onto the roof of her car with so much force that it made a huge dent in the ceiling. She suddenly saw something off screen, screaming in terror over the sounds of snarling nearby.

-~-

Flashback/Dream

Kiesha'ra

Night - Safe Zone

This was during a time when Ariara was trying to stop the war in her kingdom, even if she had to marry the enemy to do so through an arranged marriage.

The one she was supposed to marry from the enemy line was named Xavier. He had come to meet with Ariara in a safe place that was not involved in either side of the war so they could discuss what they needed to do without conflict.

"What do you want, Xavier?" Ariara asked.

Xavier collapsed gracefully onto one of the large pillows that lined the room. "I decided that you and I should talk. Sit down, Ariara. I'm not going to hurt you or whatever it is you Natas are currently thinking."

Ariara forced herself to sit, still unnerved. "Talk?"

"After our people suggested that we marry to mend the bridges between our two people, we were thrown out of the hall quite abruptly," Xavier explained. "And in all likelihood, the same will happen tomorrow unless we have some discussion prior."

Ariara tried to keep the tremor from her voice, speaking slowly. "Continue."

"Did you know there are four guards outside your door, Ariara?" Xavier asked. Ariara looked at him in surprise. "I thought not. They're all incompetent, really, or I wouldn't be here, but it would have been tricky to catch you alone tomorrow. And since you're the only one in your group who has demonstrated any sense, besides your siblings Arlette and Acilino Nata, you seemed like the one to talk to."

"It's late, Xavier, and I am very tired," Ariara sighed, uneased and impatient. "What is it you want to talk about?"

"About life, and about death," Xavier answered. "About the fact that my people mean more to me than anything else, and I would do almost anything to end this foolish war. I want to talk about the world, and most specifically, about you."

"Me?" Ariara asked.

Xavier sighed heavily. "Of course you. You are Ariara Nata, the prodigal soon to be queen, born of golden eagle, lion and serpent. Your grandparents were in a war with each other before their marriage ended the war and joined their two lines, and the same when their son, your mother, Acquilina, born of eagle and lion, and she married your father, a serpent named Ahish Nata, to end another faction of the war, to end another faction of the war, to make the three lines of your kingdom, especially when they had you, your brother and your sister, Acilino and Arlette Nata, may Acilino rest in peace. If your grandparents and parents could end wars with their marriages, then if the proposal for us to do the same is even to be considered, I would like to know what I would be getting myself into."

"I believe you already expressed your opinion on that subject," Ariara told him dryly, in a frosty queen tone. "You said 'no way in hell', which is my sentiments exactly."

"And I believe my first reaction is probably still correct," Xavier agreed, as if he had accepted a compliment. "It's worked before, but it's never worked with our lines, so that is no doubt why it has never been tried. I'm not saying I'll go along with it, but it does have some potential."

Ariara still thought that the idea of this was impossible, but she was still willing to do anything to save her kingdom and end the war. "And what exactly do you think you are 'getting yourself into'?"

Xavier flickered his gaze down Ariara's form. "If it was just your body, Ariara, I would agree very quickly." Ariara couldn't help a light blush. "But one doesn't chose a life's partner for form, and the simple fact is that your mind comes as part of the deal, and that is a part of you that, despite years of musing over it, I have yet to fathom."

"Years?" Ariara repeated.

"I thought I understood you, once," Xavier explained. "Beautiful and arrogant and blind to suffering, yet I heard of your mind state because of the three creatures you are born from, conflicting inside of you, and because of this insane war. And I had almost learned to hate you, but then I heard that the pristine Ariara Nata had knelt in the blood and filth of the battlefield and held my brother's hand and sung to him so he would not die alone, your sister Arlette Nata by your side. It made me think that perhaps you might have a heart and that you weren't completely insane after all. The first time I saw you, Ariara, it was a year ago. I was 16. I had just lost the first of my brothers in an attack. Someone, I don't remember who, told me you had just turned 15. For your birthday, my brother died. I rode a horse to the castle, and I found myself at your beside. I meant to kill you."

"And why didn't you?" Ariara asked, standing in challenge. "You would not be able to kill me."

Xavier sighed. "Sit down, Ariara. Do you have even the faintest idea how beautiful you are?" He closed his eyes, as if picturing the memory. "You were 15. Only a year younger than I was." He shook his head, opening his eyes. "I remember thinking you were as striking as the chaste Greek goddess of the hunt. I was young. And I wasn't a killer--not then, anyway. I had never killed before, and I couldn't start by destroying something so exquisite. I reached out to touch your cheek." Ariara was trapped in his story, as they looked each other in the eyes. Xavier reached out, brushing fingertips over the soft skin of Ariara's cheek. "You cried out in your sleep and pulled away from me. And then I saw the cut on your cheek, right here. Your arm had another slice, like you had been in a fight." As he spoke, he traced the phantom injuries, which had long since healed. "For a moment, I wanted more than anything just to take you into my arms, but you had pulled away from me once already, and I was afraid of frightening you. I told myself I hated you." His voice remained gentle despite the words, as he trailed fingers through Ariara's hair. "But it wasn't true. You weren't responsible for the fighting. You weren't able to stop it any more than I was."

"Why are you telling me this?" Ariara asked, barely above a whisper.

Xavier knelt before Ariara, whose breath hitched sharply in surprise, but stayed still. "You didn't start this war, Ariara, none of the Natas did, and neither did I, or my family. It's been going on for so long it's meaningless, so long that no one even knows why it started to begin with. People fight because they don't know what else to do. People fight because their leaders fight, and then their leaders are killed, so they have more reason to go on." His hands touched Ariara's as if he could not help but reach out. "Ariara, my sister is carrying a child. She was white with fear when she told me. It's an event that should bring joy... but everyone in my family just remembers one of your soldiers plunging his knife into my oldest sister's swollen belly." Ariara started to speak, but Xavier put a finger against her lips. "No apology is necessary from you, Ariara." He continued to run a finger through her hair. "I am going back to the royal hall tomorrow evening. My mother, sister and guards will not be there to argue with us, and neither will the other Natas, left alive anyway, may Acilino rest in peace. Ahish, Acquilina, Arlette. I wish that you'll be there, and that you'll listen to what I have to say. What they're suggesting, it might work. I'm just asking you to give the idea a chance." Ariara hesitated, not knowing if she could trust him. "Please, Ariara. You sang to my brother of peace and faith, even when Arlette told you not to, even after he had killed your brother Acilino. I can't believe that you aren't as desperate for those things as I am. Just... try."

Even though Ariara was still uncertain, she was still desperate to do anything to stop the war, even give this a chance, nodding slowly. "I will try."

Xavier sighed in relief, leaning closer to kiss her on the cheek, much to her surprise. "Thank you. If you turned around right now and left, neither my guard nor I would stop you."

"And afterward?" Ariara asked.

Xavier closed his eyes for a moment, opening them again. "I wish we can end this war with peace, not a bloodbath. I've reached the point where I honestly think I would slit my own wrists if I thought it would end the fighting. Unfortunately, the palace guard would not react well to losing its last prince, and again we would have a slaughter on our hands." He shook his head, finishing bluntly. "You are attractive, Ariara, and I don't know if I could ever love you. But maybe I could, eventually. I do like you, though, even when I look into your eyes, and no matter how stunning they are, I think only of your warriors murdering my loved ones. Since you recoil every time you accidentally find your own gaze locked with one of my own or any of my people's, I suspect you feel much the same way. Even if you like me, even if you care for me, you don't trust me enough to love me. Do you?"

Ariara's voice became detached. "No. I like you, Xavier. I can admit that. I care about you. But I don't trust you enough to love you. Not yet. I don't know if I ever could. Are these statements going somewhere?"

"I wanted to make sure there were no misunderstandings between us before I asked my next question," Xavier answered, standing, walking toward Ariara, who braced herself to keep from flinching. "I have considered our options, and elected to attempt the least bloody first." He went down on one knee. "With the understanding that there may never be anything between us but a shared desire for peace, and my word that I will never force upon you any duty beyond the political expectations of the position, I implore you, Ariara Nata, to agree to be my wife."

Ariara's heartbeat could be heard skipping a beat, and for several seconds, her voice caught in her throat, knowing that she would have to answer now to stop the war, and before she became queen, a million thoughts going through her head about what would happen if she said no, which would result in more battle, or if she said yes, and a battle could still go on. "I don't know how in the world I could convince my protectors, my parents and Arlette to back my decision. But even if I said yes, and we become one and try to unite kingdoms, the ones in our kingdoms that still want war could rebel. We're already losing control of the kingdoms, Xavier."

"Yes or no is all that matters," Xavier told her. "We'll work out the details later and get the kingdoms back under control. And if we can't, we'll die trying."

Ariara took a deep breath, swallowing hard before she answered. "Yes. I agree."

Xavier stood, taking Ariara's hand as he did, laying a gentle kiss on her hand, putting a ring on Ariara.

Ariara looked nervously from the ring to Xavier. "How are your people likely to take the news? My main concern is that someone might attempt to kill you if I try to take you back to my palace and acknowledge you as my fiance. I hope I won't be dodging weaponry when you make the announcement here."

"Neither of our people will like it," Xavier agreed. "They'll think we're more than a little crazy. More than you already are." Ariara smirked sarcastically. "There will be those who will worry you are going to put a knife in me one night, and vice versa. But you're beautiful, and there's no reason for them to think I'm not madly infatuated even if you are from the rival kingdom. That being so, my people frankly cannot afford to take the announcement badly. One can be skinned for harming my wife or her personal guards, which for you will include your own personal guards from your kingdom. They'll be wary of picking fights with your soldiers, at least for a while."

"And you?" Ariara asked. "You could die more than I could. I'm three creatures, if I have to remind you."

Xavier chuckled, shaking his head. "I don't need reminding, princess. But thank you... for the yes. But if anything, we should see if anything like this is possible between you and me."

Ariara frowned in confusion, until she realized what he meant. Xavier placed a hand on her cheek as they looked each other in the eyes uneasily, seeing if this was even possible, both tense but knowing they liked each other, cared for one another, they relaxed slightly. Xavier placed a gentle kiss on her lips, and Ariara could return the kiss a little. They could clearly feel the chemistry and something ignite inside, kissing a little more deeply, even passionately, pulling away after a moment awkwardly.

Ariara pressed her lips together, looking down. "So... I would say that something like this is possible, between you and me."

Xavier chuckled in amusement, agreement. "Indeed. We may be able to prove everyone wrong after all, Princess Ariara Nata."

"And if we can't?" Ariara asked. "If this is all for nothing, and even trying our hardest to unite these kingdoms... what if we get hurt or worse because of it?"

"Then at least we tried," Xavier answered. "Even if it ends all in bloodshed and loss... even if it ends up a bloodbath, at least we tried to stop it."

Ariara was only a little reassured, knowing that they were risking everything by trying to save everyone, nodding in agreement, still incredibly worried, not just for her kingdom, her people, but for Xavier as well.

-

Reality/Now

Day One

Night - Salvatore Boarding School - Ariara/Emma's Dorm Room

After seeing flashes of a dream that were far less pleasant than the memory of Xavier, Ariara sat up, jolting awake, breathing heavily as she tried to calm herself down. 

Emma had brought Kacie into the room to help Ariara after the nightmare. "Aunt Kacie, Aunt Mikayla, Ariara had another nightmare."

Kacie instantly made her way to Ariara, sitting down next to her, reaching out to hold her shoulders and calm her down. "Ariara? It's okay. I'm right here."

Ariara was breathing heavily in relief to see one of her adoptive mothers, nearly crying, trying to fight back tears. "Kacie? Where is Mikayla?"

"She left to hide the knife, remember?" Kacie asked. Ariara now did remember, nodding, nearly a mess. Kacie showed Ariara her phone which showed Mikayla on a video chat. "But I was talking with her before Emma came and got me so that you can talk to Mikayla, too."

"Emma went to get you?" Ariara asked.

"Yeah, she did," Mikayla answered in concern. "Ari... Ara, are you okay?"

Ariara shook her head, struggling to keep her emotions reigned in.

Kacie stroked her arms to calm her down, comforting her. "Shh, it's okay. Are you having these nightmares a lot lately?" Ariara nodded. "Who was it you saw this time?"

"Xavier," Ariara answered. "I saw him... die all over again. And my parents, brother and sister. Acilino and Arlette."

Kacie looked at her sadly in sympathy. "I'm so sorry, Ariara. Are you okay?"

Ariara shook her head, trying to keep from crying. "Is there some reason I should be? I just want to sleep. I don't want to dream, because all I see then are the people I have lost. I don't want to smell the stench of death and decay and rotten blood. I don't want to hear the wet sputter of someone trying to breathe past pain. I don't want to see dying children whenever I close my eyes. That was my entire life. War. Death. And I couldn't stop it. Not until everyone was dead, and I was almost killed with everyone else. And I would have been killed with everyone else if it wasn't for you and Mikayla finding me, Kacie. Maybe I should have been."

Mikayla shook her head worriedly. "No. Don't you even think that, Ariara. You are here because there's so many people who care about you now, and because there's something out there for you that is greater than you can possibly imagine."

"How do you know that?" Ariara asked.

Mikayla gave her an amused look to try and make her feel better. "You are a literal princess, Ara. You were supposed to be queen, and you got so close to becoming queen. If that says anything... bigger and better things are meant for you. And that you will get them eventually, Ari. I promise."

Ariara was very reassured by this, nodding, no longer crying.

Kacie pulled her into an embrace. "Ari... Come here, Ara."

Ariara and Kacie embraced tightly for a moment, both emotional, as they were both looking at Mikayla on the phone screen.

Mikayla looked at them sadly. "I wish I could be there with you. Just to hug you, Ariara."

Ariara managed a chuckle, still trying to calm down. "It's okay, Mikayla. I know that protecting the knife is just as important. And either way, you and Kacie are somehow always there for me. Even when you're not here."

Kacie held an arm around Ariara's shoulders, stroking her hair to calm her down, while Ariara and Mikayla both put a finger to the screen to make it seem like they touched fingers in a sentimental way of being close even if they weren't.

Emma watched them sadly from the door.

-

Worlds Colliding (Legacies)

-

Salvatore Boarding School - Kitchen

MG had just padded down to the kitchen in the middle of the night, where he walked over to the large steel refrigerator, opening it. Inside the fridge were shelves of blood donation bags with the Salvatore "S" printed on them, and MG grabbed one as a snack, closing the door.

Kaleb was revealed on the other side of the door, jumping at his friend in greeting. "Boo."

MG did a little mini scream, taking a deep breath to steady himself, glaring at Kaleb for embarrassing him. "Come on, man."

Kaleb couldn't help but laugh in amusement, clapping MG on the shoulder good naturedly, walking past him toward the sink. "Sorry, bruh. Too easy. Oh..."

When Kaleb moved past him, MG realized that he was wearing street clothes and not pajamas, frowning in confusion. "Where were you?"

Kaleb had his back turned to MG, wiping his lips with a nearby dish towel. "Just got a little peckish. Went out for a midnight snack."

MG frowned, conflicted between his desire to support his friend and his concern about him breaking the rules and hurting humans. "Oh."

Kaleb turned to face MG, noticing his expression. "We good?"

MG put on his best poker face, nodding. "Yup. All good."

Kaleb nodded in return, starting to walk out of the kitchen. "Good. Night, then."

MG looked over at the counter near the sink, unnerved when he saw that the dish towel had a large spot of blood on it from when Kaleb cleaned himself up.

-

Day Two

Morning - Salvatore Boarding School - Grand Hall

The students had gathered in the grand hall, where Lindsey, Ryan and Matt were standing at the podium to update them on recent events.

"Given our recent influx of monsters, Sheriff Matt Donovan and we have decided we need to take drastic action," Ryan explained. "Please give him your full attention."

Matt took Ryan's place at the podium, glancing toward Tory, Luke, Lyla, Kacie and Ariara by the side of the room. Tory, Luke and Kacie rolled their eyes. Lyla looked upset to know that the cousin to her mother, her second cousin, didn't want much to do with them just because of what they were.

Matt sighed. "Like Ryan was saying, local girls Dana Lillen and Sasha Stoteraux didn't come home last night." Photos of Dana and Sasha were passed through the aisles of students by Kaylin and Nicola. "Dana sometimes skips town for a few days to party, but this is a first for Sasha."

Matt, jaw clenched with worry, stepped aside.

Lindsey stood at the podium. "Thank you, Matt." MG, seated near the front, looked over at Kaleb, who was seated on his left, with a suspicious expression. "Now, while the knife is away with Mikayla Labonair-Lockwood, and things are quiet on her end, it won't hurt to assume the worst. If Dana and Sasha happened to be found by monsters..."

Kaleb noticed MG's stare, rolling his eyes, whispering to him under his breath. "Dude, if you don't stop mugging me... you heard Ol' Blue Eyes. Dana has a history of running away."

"I saw you feed on her," MG told him.

"Yeah, feed," Kaleb agreed. "Not kidnap. MG, I'm telling you, vampire to vampire, this ain't on me."

They returned to paying attention to the speech.

"Now, we'l need a few of you to volunteer to go to Mystic Falls High under the guise of an exchange program meant to improve relations between our schools," Ryan explained.

Lindsey looked at Emma and Danny in the pews in front of them before speaking. "Which, unfortunately, is necessary, given recent events. Now, we give you permission to compel them, to gather materials for locator spells, because any information we can get will make a difference."

Lizzie, with a look of determination, stood up, buttoning her blazer, turning to face the fellow students. "Well, I guess that I can set aside my differences with Dana for a day... because that is what heroes do." She turned around to face Lindsey and Ryan. "So I volunteer as tribute."

Kaylin, standing with Nicola at the back now, rolled her eyes, clearly exasperated by Lizzie's dramatics. "She battles one gargoyle, and suddenly she's Mother Teresa. I may have a thing for dramatics, and Kassandra does too, but Lizzie's dramatics is just... cringy."

Nicola tilted her head. "Kaylin. She's a teen. She'll grow out of it like Caroline did."

"You sure about that?" Kaylin asked.

"Just hush," Nicola told her.

Kaleb turned toward MG, giving him a look. "You're gonna be real embarrassed when I prove you wrong." He stood to volunteer. "I'm in."

MG, wanting to keep an eye on Kaleb and get the chance to get closer to Lizzie, stood. "I'm in, too."

Hope stood to volunteer. "I'd like to help."

Madison stood up. "Me too."

Rae, Kaylin and Nicola looked at Hope and Madison in surprise. "What?"

Hope and Madison smiled at their reaction.

-

Gymnasium 

Kaylin, Nicola, Hope and Rae were having a workout, training session.

"Who are you two, and what have you done with Hope Mikaelson and Madison Fell-Mikaelson?" Kaylin asked.

Kaylin quickly ducked to avoid a strike from Hope, spinning so they were facing each other from the opposite direction.

Hope rested her sticks on her shoulders when not in uses, shrugging nonchalantly. "I never got to go to a real school. I've always wanted to know what it's like to be normal for a day instead of being a tribrid loner."

Madison rested her sticks on her shoulders as well, sighing. "I was supposed to go to normal school before my parents died, and I found out that I was a Banshee, when Kol and Eliza saved me. Maybe I'd like to go someplace where I'm not the girl of death."

The five girls continued to spar.

"Yeah, well, those are two beds that you both made for yourselves," Nicola told them. "And not just you and Hope, Madison, but Rae, Emma, Danny and Ariara, too."

Rae smirked. "We're not looking for a social lecture, Aunt Nikki."

"And it's not like you have any room to talk," Kaylin added. "You used to be the queen of lonerville before I popped into your life, and most of the time, you still are."

Rae spun to try and side kick Nicola, aiming for her stomach, only for Nicola to block her with her sticks.

Kaylin swung one of her sticks at Madison overhead, only for Madison to pinch that stick between both of hers, shoving it away from her.

Kaylin, Nicola, Hope, Rae and Madison faced each other in like a pentagram shape, each holding both of their sticks up in preparation, sharing a smirk and mischievous look, before launching into a fury of strikes against each other, each of them preventing the others from getting a hit in, each girl doing a spin to try and take the others off guard to get a hit in, but all ending up blocking each other in a very good, well rounded training match.

Rae looked at Hope and Madison. "So you two still like Landon and Owen, even after everything that's happened with them, because you know that deep inside, it's not their fault, but you're still pissed because for whatever the reason, even if they don't know why, they betrayed us."

Madison rolled her eyes. "Stay out of our heads, Rae."

Kaylin and Nicola smirked.

"But it's not as bad as Emma thinking that she doesn't like Rafael, when she's clearly drawn to him even if she thinks it's because she hates him," Rae mused curiously.

Hope gave her an amused look. "Okay, Rae, seriously. Like Madison said. Stay out of our heads."

Rae shrugged innocently, sassily, smirking. "I'm sorry if I can't help but overhear your, Madison and Emma's thoughts about Owen, Landon and Rafael and just have to bring it up, Hope."

Madison nodded sarcastically. "Oh, okay. So how's it going with you and Danny? You still trying to push him away when you two are clearly fallen for each other?"

Rae blushed slightly. "Okay, I'm done."

"Good," Hope told her. "Thank you."

Kaylin and Nicola chuckled.

"Speaking of Landon and Owen, we have a plan to try and make sure that we keep an eye on them and see if they know anything more," Nicola explained. "They'll be going with Hope, Madison, Lizzie, MG and Kaleb to the old high school that me, Kacie, Eliza, Lindsey, Ryan, Tory, Luke, Stefan, Kaylin, Elena, Liv, Alex, Caroline, Bonnie, Jeremy and many others of Mystic Falls used to go to, while Tory, Luke and Lyla are gonna be helping Matt with the investigation. Kacie, after helping Ariara with the shifting issue that Eliza, Mikayla and Kacie found an answer to, will most likely help Tory, Luke, Lyla and Matt to make sure that Luke doesn't go off on Matt for treating Tory and Lyla badly, even though Matt is Kacie's ex-boyfriend. And Kaylin's, technically."

"For like two weeks, so..." Kaylin trailed off, a little defensive.

"Awkward," Madison told them.

Kaylin chuckled. "Yeah."

"Kaylin, you actually went to high school?" Hope asked.

"Stefan made me the first time when I was trying to make sure that I would be a good little vampire in Mystic Falls because of Nikki, but that didn't last long," Kaylin explained. "And the second time, your dad actually made me go because I was supposed to keep an eye on Alex and Elena, all because of Rosalita's mind control was pitting us against each other and making us do things to hurt each other."

"What a bitch," Rae told them.

The five of them laughed.

"What about Rae, Emma, Danny and Ariara?" Madison asked. "Are they not going to the school with us? I know that Josie's not even though me and Lizzie are going because she has to study for classes, but Kaleb and MG are still going, so..."

"Kaylin, Lindsey, Ryan, Kacie, Mikayla and I think it will be best if Emma, Danny, Rae and Ariara stay close to school and out of public school right now," Nicola admitted. "I mean, Emma's still trying to get over her black magic stint, and Danny's still having issues with visions and losing control because of Rosalita in their minds, not to mention what she can make you do, Rae." Rae nodded in agreement. "And Ariara is focusing all her energy into using the treatment that Eliza, Kacie and Mikayla found so that she can finally be able to turn without fear of losing complete control."

Hope, Madison and Rae nodded in understanding and agreement. Kaylin and Nicola continued to spar with them, as they were all getting better.

"Can we stop now?" Hope asked. "Please."

"Yeah, I mean, it's like all of us are equal right now, but we know that if Nikki wouldn't hold back that she could slaughter all of us in a second flat, so..." Madison trailed off.

Rae smirked. Kaylin and Nicola chuckled.

-

Outside Field

Like the girls inside were training, Lindsey, Ryan, Emma and Danny were training outside, with staffs, and with Ryan, Emma and Danny using werewolf moves and speed.

Emma paused for a second. "So what's the plan with Landon and Owen? Do they, like, go here now like Rafael?"

"Why?" Danny asked. "You still thinking about murdering them?"

Lindsey swung her staff at Ryan. Ryan blocked the move with his staff, spinning to swing his staff at Danny. Danny ducked, twisting Ryan's staff away with his own staff, swinging at Emma. Emma raised her staff to cross block Danny's.

"There's a knife that sat dormant for centuries that started attracting mythical creatures the day that Owen and Landon took possession of it," Lindsey told them.

Danny tried to side strike Emma, but Emma did a front flip to dodge it, causing them to swap positions.

"I'd say there's a lot we need to learn about them," Ryan told them.

Emma deflected Danny's strikes with such speed that she was able to outwit him, spinning Danny around so she could try and wedge his neck between her staff.

Danny got free before Emma could defeat him, spinning around Emma so that he could put his staff over Emma's neck, defeating her instead, looking at Lindsey and Ryan. "And then what? We kick them to the curb?"

As Lindsey swung at Ryan with her staff, Ryan caught her arm, spinning her around so that he could do a playful restraint from behind her, but Lindsey casted a silent spell that flipped Ryan over her head to the ground, putting her staff to his chest to defeat him. Emma and Danny smiled at how badass but sweet their parents were. Ryan smiled proudly of his wife, as Lindsey smiled and offered him her hand. Ryan took it, letting Lindsey help him up.

Lindsey looked at Emma and Danny to answer their questions. "Then we decide to do what's best for the people of this school."

"Any idea what to do with them while we search for the missing mean girls?" Emma asked.

Ryan smirked knowingly. "As a matter of fact, yes. Kaylin and Nicola do."

Emma and Danny nodded.

"So you guys are letting me and Emma stay here?" Danny asked.

"And Rae and Ariara," Lindsey answered. "Emma, Danny, you're both still fighting off Rosalita's influences over you two. The dark magic, the visions and episodes of aggression and PTSD. Rae's still struggling to control the bitch inside her. And Ariara's taking Eliza, Mikayla and Kacie's treatment to another level lately so that she can finally turn without fear."

Emma and Danny nodded. "Right."

"So, yes, you, Rae and Ariara will be staying here, so you two and Rae don't lose control because of Rosalita, and so that Ariara can keep up with Kacie, Mikayla and Eliza's treatment," Ryan answered. "Emma, Danny, don't worry. Josie's staying too, and so is Rafael. Landon and Owen are going with Hope, Madison, Lizzie, MG and Kaleb to the school."

"What about Kaylin and Nikki?" Emma asked. "Or Aunt Kacie, Aunt Tory, Uncle Luke and Lyla?"

"Kaylin and Nicola are gonna get Owen and Landon to go to the school with Hope, Madison, Lizzie, MG and Kaleb," Lindsey answered. "Kacie is gonna help Ariara with the treatment she, Mikayla and Eliza found, but if Ariara wants to do it alone after awhile, Kacie will help Tory, Luke and Lyla, who will be investigating with Matt."

"But Matt basically alienated Aunt Tory and Lyla, even though they're his family, and he broke up with Aunt Kacie like two decades ago because she was a hybrid," Danny pointed out. "And Uncle Luke has always wanted to pay him back for those."

"True, but if Kacie's there, then there will be less likely of a fight between Luke and Matt if he treats Kacie, Tory or Lyla wrong," Ryan agreed. "Emma, Danny, don't worry. If it comes down to it, Lindsey, Kaylin, Nicola and I will go help them if we have to."

Emma and Danny nodded in agreement. "Okay."

-

Owen/Landon's Dorm Room

In a room that was being set up for either a brief or permanent stay for Owen and Landon, they were getting dressed. Rafael, in his school uniform, walked in to talk to them.

"Did they say anything about us?" Landon asked.

Rafael sat down on the steamer trunk in front of them, looking anxious. "No, not yet. Everybody's been talking about some missing girls from your old high school."

"Well, do you think they're gonna kick us out?" Owen asked anxiously.

Rafael smiled weakly, gesturing to their clothes. "Kaylin and Nicola gave you some clothes. I think that's a good sign."

Owen pulled on  a black and white plaid jacket. "Yeah, that used to belong to Kaylin's brothers Stefan and Damon, the distant uncles to Nicola, and Rae's direct uncles. Oh, yeah, and from 1993."

"Luke and Ryan did say that they could look through their old clothes or some of Danny's to see if we could fit any, though," Landon added.

Rafael gave them a look. "Come on, guys. We have all been places where nobody has wanted us before. You know the drill."

Knowing that Rafael was right, Owen and Landon nodded in understanding, agreement.

Owen sighed. "Yeah, keep our heads down, make ourselves useful, don't pick fights."

"Exactly," Rafael answered. "Lan, Owen, we need today to go well."

"No, Rafael, we need this to go perfect, otherwise Owen and I are as good as gone," Landon told him.

Kaylin and Nicola appeared in the doorway, ready to get going on with the day's plans.

"Hey, Landon, Owen?" Kaylin asked. They turned to face them. "Ooh. You two suiting in Stefan and Damon's clothes pretty well, huh? Sorry, I would've gotten something more modern, but of course, they have all those clothes, and we were stuck with their old ones."

Owen nodded in understanding. "Yeah, we get it, Kaylin. It's still pretty cool to get to see and wear some of Stefan and Damon's clothes, though. I mean, if they are anything like you, Rae and Nicola, they've got to be pretty cool."

"Damon would like to think so," Nicola answered. Kaylin smirked. Owen smiled. Landon and Rafael chuckled. "Stefan was more toned down. Kaylin and Damon were like one side of the Salvatores, and Stefan and I were the other side. Not all of us were heroes all the time though, but most of the time we were better after Rae was born. Even if Kaylin, Rae and I became part of the Mikaelsons-Fells-Forbes, so on. And the Davis-Thompsons and Nata and Lockwood-Labonair and a lot of others by the names of Dumaine, Harris, Gerard, Rayvnne, Castle and Grey became part of this big Frankenstein family."

Owen nodded. "Right."

"Anyway, I think you and Landon could be of some use today, Owen," Nicola told him.

Landon, Owen and Rafael looked at each other, realizing that this was their chance to keep Owen and Landon at the school.

-

Mystic Falls High School - Outside

(Song:) Better This Way - The Get Up Kids

The bus for the Salvatore School had just arrived in front of Mystic Falls High School, where it immediately caught the attention of all the students outside.

The cheerleaders were at morning practice, could be heard. "Mystic Falls, we got claws! On the field you'll hear us roar! RAWR!"

MG, Kaleb, Hope, Madison, Lizzie, Owen and Landon stepped down from the bus. All of them had a badass walk down, except for Landon, who looked really awkward. Even more students were staring at them now, which wasn't unnoticed by them. Lizzie tried to work the attention to her favor by strutting purposefully down the sidewalk, pretending not to see the onlookers. Madison rolled her eyes.

Landon, not paying attention, walked right into Lizzie, knocking her off balance, ruining her moment. "Sorry! Sorry."

(Song Ends)

Landon looked bashful , especially when Connor and his jock friends started laughing.

Lizzie glared at Landon in annoyance. "I was making an entrance, mophead."

"Sorry, I just had a flashback to my freshman year here," Landon admitted.

Lizzie stopped walking, giving Landon a mutinous look. "Girls are missing, so get your wedgie trauma in check, or leave."

Lizzie turned to face the rest of the group, who had gathered around so they could have a huddle before school.

Owen stood nearby Landon. "He's fine now. Let it go."

Lizzie returned to the task at hand, assigning tasks to each member with a serious expression. "Okay, here's the deal. Landon, Owen, you talk to any of the people you still know from when you were here." Owen and Landon opened their mouths to speak, but Lizzie ignored them, turning to Hope, who already looked frustrated. "Hope, you try to not deliberately alienate the entire student body." Hope shot Lizzie an offended look. Madison rolled her eyes. "Madison, with your killer looks and your personality, you could really be popular in like a second if you tried to be, so try to be to get us the information that we need." Madison sighed. "MG, Kaleb, Madison and I will save the world."

Madison rolled her eyes. "This isn't a contest, Lizzie."

Lizzie took on a serious and dramatic tone of voice. "You're right." She took Madison by the hand. "It's a mission for two heroes and their league of..." She looked at Hope, Owen, Landon, MG and Kaleb. "Whatevers."

Kaleb, unimpressed by the debate, scoffed, throwing his hands up. "Yeah, screw that. I work alone."

Kaleb quickly walked toward the school, with a reluctant Hope, Madison, Owen and Landon following suit.

Lizzie turned to talk to MG, whose face lit up at the sight of her. "MG, I need your compulsion skills. Would you like to be the Robin to my Batwoman?"

MG's excitement was slightly dimmed by his urge to correct her on her comic book reference. "Actually, Batwoman doesn't have a Robin, she--"

Lizzie was already bored with the conversation, cutting him off, patting MG condescendingly on the shoulder. "Metaphor, nerd." She put her left around around MG's shoulder so she could steer him toward the school. "Let's go."

-

Salvatore Boarding School - Dining Hall

Emma had not changed back into her school uniform after training with her family, but was now in normal clothes, sitting at a table in the dining hall to eat with the remaining students of the school, but she was sitting alone at a table, studying a book.

Rafael had just gotten a plate of food, scanning the room for anyone he could sit next to. He saw Emma, walking over to join her.

Emma looked up to see Rafael, looking startled that he was coming to sit with her, frowning in confusion. "You know, the wolves usually eat outside."

Rafael hadn't yet learned about the social hierarchy of the school, seeming to not be concerned about it anyway, simply shrugging, sitting down. "I'd rather hang with you."

Emma blushed a bit, looking down at her food. "Even after what I almost did to Owen and Landon?"

"Kaylin, Nicola, Tory, Luke, Lindsey and Ryan explained to us what was going on with you that day," Rafael explained. "About Rosalita reaching outside her cage in Rae's mind to try and make you addicted to dark magic and that's why you acted out in the way you did. They said that she could do something like that to Danny, making him see things and lash out. That true?" Emma sighed, nodding. "I'm sorry about that, Emma."

"You have nothing to apologize for, Rafael," Emma told him. "I do. Even with Rosalita in my head, I... I don't know. She almost turned me into a killer like she's done with countless others before."

"Yeah, but she didn't," Rafael agreed. "That's gotta count for something, right?"

Emma was relieved that he thought that, managing a small smile. "Yeah. I didn't see you at the assembly."

"Kind of still figuring my way around this place," Rafael admitted. Emma nodded in understanding. "Why didn't you, Rae, Danny and Ariara ditch like Owen, Landon, Hope, Madison, Lizzie, MG and Kaleb to go play detective?"

"Because of what we were just talking about," Emma answered. "Rae, Danny and I need to get a handle over ourselves and the effect that Rosalita has on all of us, and we can't do that if we're in public school, risking all kinds of exposure." Rafael nodded in understanding. "Ariara, she's had trouble shifting for the last two years since her kingdom was wiped out, and because the three creatures inside of her tend to make her a little out of it. Her adoptive mothers, my Aunts Mikayla and Kacie, came back to help Ariara deal with that, and that's what Ariara's doing right now, using a treatment that Aunt Mikayla, Aunt Kacie, and Madison's adoptive mother Eliza found that could help her."

Rafael was stunned. "Wow." Emma chuckled in agreement. "What are you working on?"

"Well, I'm actually working on offensive spells for class," Emma answered. "They only teach defensive magic here, but I personally think that the curriculum needs to evolve." Rafael looked at the spell work warily. "Don't worry, it's not black magic, or dark or whatever. Nothing involving Rosalita." Even though that statement reassured him and made him relieved, Rafael also looked bewildered. "What?"

Rafael looked nervous, trying to shrug it off. "Oh, nothing."

Emma, amused, gave him a look. "What?"

"I'm still trying to wrap my head around this being a normal conversation here," Rafael answered.

They both laughed.

Emma, realizing how overwhelmed he must be, nodded in understanding. "Got it. So, meaning you're happy to be back?"

"I'll be happy when I know that Owen and Landon can stay," Rafael answered.

Emma thought back to what her family had been talking about during training, looking down, a little concerned. "And then what if they can't?"

Before Rafael could respond, a tall werewolf boy named Jed appeared behind Emma, immediately ordering her out of the way. "Bounce, werewitch. Rafael and I need to have a little chat."

Emma was fed up with reactions like this from "pure" werewolves that treated her, Hope and Danny like this.

Rafael was appalled by Jed's rudeness, refusing to be bossed around by him. "As soon as Emma and I are done."

Jed scowled, angry that he was already disobeying his orders. "Actually, newb, I'm your alpha. You're done when I say you're done."

Rafael stood in defiance, turning to face Jed, taking a bite of his apple, facing off with him as he stood on the other side of Emma.

Emma, looking from Rafael on one side of her to Jed on the other side, not wanting to get in the middle of their argument, quickly stood, looking down at her wrist as if she was checking her watch, despite the fact that she wasn't actually wearing one, just being sassy and sarcastic. "Well, would you look at the time? As fun as this hurricane of toxic masculinity is, I have to go."

Rafael, still not willing to submit to Jed's demands, looked at Emma, smiling a small smug smile. "I'll walk you."

Emma looked shocked when Rafael picked up her books for her and carried them himself. Rafael led the way toward the exit. Emma gave Jed a smug, sarcastic look, following Rafael. Jed was appalled and offended, while he and his lackeys watched Emma and Rafael leave.

-

Hallway

(Song:) Numb - Declan J Donovan

Emma and Rafael were walking together as Rafael carried her books for her.

"You know, you didn't have to do that," Emma told him. "Not after what I did."

"Yeah, but that wasn't exactly your fault, was it?" Rafael replied. Emma managed a small smile. "Why do you shut everybody down the way you do?"

Emma shrugged. "It's a long story, okay?"

"Has something to do with that Riley Grey guy that you told me about at the bonfire party?" Rafael asked. Emma was surprised, turning to face him. "You told me that Riley sacrificed himself to save you, Hope, Danny and Madison, and that he would have done the same for Rae. And you said that it was your fault, but why? Why do you act like you don't feel anything?"

Emma took a deep breath, trying to explain. "The first spell that Rosalita projected into my mind was the spell that we used to take in the Hollow that led to Riley having to take it out of us to save us and kill himself. That was the first time that that bitch got into my head with dark magic and she wanted someone to die because of it. Because of me."

Rafael looked completely stunned. "Emma..."

Emma took a deep breath. "So yeah. If that hadn't happened, I would have grown up a lot differently and wanted everything else that everybody wanted instead of ending up like this. But it looks like I always take too much and always screw up. Everything everybody needs, I'm not. Guess I'll always be loveless. 'Cause these scars, they'll only leave me and anyone else that gets too close numb. I'm paying for my own mistakes, and that's why I've given all my feelings away."

Rafael was completely shocked, at a loss for words for a moment. "I don't know what to say."

Emma took her books from Rafael, starting to back away. "There's nothing else really to say. Don't worry about me, Rafael. I'm already a sinking ship. I'm not gonna let anyone else get hurt because of me."

Emma turned around, walking away. Rafael watched her go in shock, now knowing why she didn't let anyone get close, and seeing how much pain she was in when she was pretending not to feel anything.

-

Hope/Rae's Dorm Room

Rae was sitting down on her bed, listening to music through her headphones. She heard Danny's thoughts outside the room before he could even knock on the door, both of whom who had not changed back into their uniforms after training either. "Come in, Danny."

Danny walked in, smirking. "Kinda creepy when you can hear my mind from the hallway before I'm even about to let you know I'm there."

Rae smirked, sitting up, taking out her headphones. "You've known me since we were kids, and that's what you find creepy?"

They both laughed lightly.

"Yeah, guess it's up to interpretation," Danny told her.

"Or you trying everything in your power to make me feel better and laugh," Rae told him.

Danny chuckled, closing the door behind him. "Yeah, maybe a little."

Rae smiled. "I thought so."

Danny walked closer, sitting down with Rae. "Why? Is it working?"

"Kinda," Rae answered.

"Oh, kinda?" Danny repeated in amusement.

Rae couldn't help a little laugh. "Yeah."

"Why just kinda?" Danny asked.

Rae returned serious, sighing. "Because it's been a hard day."

"You mean with Rosalita?" Danny asked. Rae nodded. "It's been so long since you locked her up, Rae. So much time. Of course it's gonna be hard."

Rae sighed, shaking her head. "Not just hard, Danny. Nearly impossible."

Danny gave her a look. "Remember what I said. Nothing is impossible when you're Rae Salvatore-Mikaelson." Rae managed a small smile. "Even after all these years, with Rosalita inside you, and you trying to push me away, I still like you, Rae. You're always on my mind, and I'm guessing you know that because you're a mind reader." Rae hid an embarrassed smile. "I don't care if you blow up like dynamite, okay? And right now, we're all still just pawns in Rosalita's game. You can't win for losing. But I think we can win."

"Really?" Rae asked. "Because Rosalita turned our families into monsters before, and they've gotten better, but sometimes, they still did the wrong things for the right reasons. More often than not. They cut her off repeatedly when they've killed her, but she always came back to make things worse, and then we cut her off by locking her away in me, but she can still reach out and torment me, and you, and Emma. God knows who else. She's still winning, Danny."

"So we just have to beat her at her own game," Danny told her. Rae scoffed as if she thought that was impossible. "I'm serious. Our families were able to forgive and forget and start over and became an even bigger and better family together. That's how we beat her before, and that's how we'll keep beating her. We've all walked through literal Hellfire to get here, Rae. We've still got the upper hand."

"You really think so?" Rae asked.

"Yeah, I do," Danny answered. "The Rosalita game, the hurt game, whatever she wanted to call it, it was all about trying to turn everyone against each other and to throw blame, and give each other the worst pain, or she would amplify that pain by a hundred. But after she was gone, and after she was locked away, most of us could get love, even if we got scarred. It's insane, but we got out of it better before she came back as a spirit."

"Yeah, and then we lost so much more after," Rae pointed out.

"But we still got through it," Danny countered. "Like I said. Can't win for losing in the hurt game."

"I don't know, Danny," Rae admitted. "I mean, with Rosalita inside, it feels like I'm always drowning in the dark. I tried my best to light a burning heart, but you can't start a fire without its burn, and she burns everything in her path. And I like you, too. So much. You know that. I just... I don't know if I can be with you without hurting you because of her. I'm sorry that I can't, because I want to."

"You haven't even tried," Danny pointed out.

Rae sighed. "It's just that every time you get close, I feel you're trying to save a broken soul. And I'm tired of fighting the literal demon within me. I'm starting to think it's a war that I might never win."

"Rae..." Danny trailed off.

"I just don't want you to get hurt," Rae told him. "Or get literally burned with Hellfire, because then you're done for.  I could be the literal death of you, Danny."

Danny shook his head. "You could never be the death of me, Rae."

"You don't know that," Rae stressed.

"No, but I believe in you," Danny told her. "And I'm not giving up on you."

Danny and Rae looked at each other emotionally with tears in their eyes, as the two shared an embrace.

(Song Ends)

-

Mystic Falls High School - Hallway

Hope and Madison were walking down the hallway with Landon and Owen following so they could point out the school around them to help, as Hope and Madison looked very bored.

"This is the senior hallway, where I spent much of my formative years stuffed in every locker," Landon told them nervously.

Owen patted one of the lockers with the palm of his hands, tugging at the lock. "Except this one. That one doesn't open. I was kind of popular, but not much since I was a foster kid growing up."

Landon continued the tour. "On your left, you'll find the bathroom. It's where I had my first kiss with a toilet--"

Hope had reached her limit with the awkward rambling, cutting Landon off with a very sarcastic smile. "I'm sorry, does the fact that Madison and I aren't openly hostile to you two make it seem like we're back to being friends?"

Owen was clearly taken aback by the rude response, trying to shake it off. "Uh, sorry. I just... I was going for effortlessly natural." 

Landon and Owen stopped walking for a moment to try and have a face to face conversation with Hope and Madison, but they continued to walk, so they had to jog to catch back up with them.

"But this is all just making me really nervous," Landon told them. "Like the school, and seeing Connor, and me and Owen being with you two."

Madison just tried to stay focused on the task. "Shouldn't you two be talking to... anyone you know?"

Owen chuckled. "That's easier said than done. There is no way Dana's clique is talking to Landon, unless you two have a spell that will make him retroactively cool... And they don't really know me, that much, and I didn't get along with them, so..."

Hope rolled her eyes. "Well, Madison and I will talk to them, then."

Landon shook his head in disagreement. "It's even worse for you, trust me. You have no idea how human high schools work. You're the new girls. Might as well be radioactive."

A young teenage girl named Cheryl walked up to them, looking at Hope and Madison sympathetically. "I'm sorry, you two look traumatized. Are these losers bothering you?"

Hope, seeing an opportunity to both insult Owen and Landon and for her and Madison to get information that could help their mission, immediately put on her best mean girl act. "They keep trying to get us to buy their mixtapes."

Cheryl winced. "Gross. Well, we're going to lunch. You hungry?"

Madison looked at Owen and Landon, smiling sweetly at them having been proved wrong and that Lizzie was right that she would have been immediately accepted by the popular girls if she tried. "Famished."

Cheryl, Hope and Madison walked away, leaving Owen and Landon to watch them walk away with exasperated expressions on their faces.

-

Woods

Tory, Luke, Lyla and Kacie had just met up with Matt in the woods.

Matt sighed. "Seen Tory and Luke recently, managed to piss them off again, but been a while since I've seen you and Lyla, Kacie."

Kacie smirked sarcastically. "Mm, I wonder why that is. Hi, Matt."

Lyla looked at him sheepishly, innocently. "Hi, Matt."

Matt took a deep breath. "Hey, Lyla."

"Why don't you like us?" Lyla asked.

Matt was taken aback by the blunt but hurt question from his second cousin.

Luke glared at Matt. "It's not that he doesn't like you, Lyla. He hates all supernaturals."

"Even the ones that try their best to do the best," Tory agreed.

Luke nodded. "And even the ones that are his family."

"We just wanna be family," Lyla told him in a hurt tone.

Matt sighed, not knowing what to say to that.

Kacie crossed her arms. "You better make this fast. Ariara said that she could handle the treatment Mikayla, Eliza and I found for her alone."

"But you wanna make sure that Ariara can handle it," Tory finished. "We get it, Kacie."

Luke gave Matt an annoyed look. "Most of us do, anyway."

"Why don't you just tell us what you found?" Tory asked.

"Gladly," Matt replied, leading them toward where they found Dana's car, which was overturned by whomever attacked them. "Jogger called it in." He circled around the car to examine the rear bumper. "Yeah, the plates match. It's Dana's car."

Luke walked around the car in order to look for any clues as to what happened to the young girls, seeing a large splatter of blood on the driver's side doors, turning to look at the others, giving them a sarcastic look, using humor to try and diffuse the tension before more was added. "Think it's safe to say she's not a runaway."

Tory looked away, making it clear she was frustrated by the thought of more human deaths caused by supernatural creatures, feeling somewhat responsible for whatever was behind Dana and Sasha's disappearance. She noticed a bloody smear on a nearby tree trunk, walking toward it, noticing tracks in the dirt trailing away from the car. "Guys."

Matt looked at Kacie. "You said the creatures were after the knife that you had sent far away with your wife Mikayla."

Kacie bristled at Matt's accusing tone of voice, replying defensively. "They are, and we did. Mikayla has it far away."

Lyla frowned. "This don't make sense."

"Rarely anything makes sense in our lives, Lyla," Tory told her.

They continued to walk through the forest, looking for more evidence, when they suddenly caught the sight of a body laying behind a bush ahead of them, stopping in their tracks.

Luke groaned at the thought of the girls behind dead. "Ah, damn it." He pulled Lyla away to avoid her seeing the body. "Lyla, come here."

"I can handle it, Dad," Lyla told him. "I see worse things when I'm not wearing my bracelet and can hear thoughts. Bad thoughts. And see bad things."

Tory gave her a look. "Which is why we tell you not to take off the bracelet."

Lyla gave her mother an innocent look in return. "I don't wanna wear the bracelet all the time, Mom."

Kacie chuckled.

Luke sighed. "Whatever the case, it still doesn't make sense."

Matt walked toward the body, frowning grimly when he found that it was indeed Dana, whose skin was colorless and whose body was sprawled on her back on the forest floor. He crouched down to examine the body for a moment, before shooting Tory, Luke and Kacie a hard look. "Actually, it's starting to make perfect sense."

Tory frowned, walking toward Matt to look for herself. "What is it?"

"What?" Luke asked.

Kacie walked closer.

Tory sighed, seeing two tell tale puncture wounds on the right side. "A vampire bite."

Lyla looked toward them in surprise. "What?"

Luke turned her away. "Lyla."

Lyla rolled her eyes. "Dad."

"You gotta go back to school," Luke told her.

Lyla scoffed. "What? No. I wanna help."

Matt gave them a look as if he thought that the students from the school were involved.

Tory gave Matt an annoyed look. "Don't look at us like that. I know what you're thinking, and it's not true."

"How do you know that, Tory?" Matt asked.

Tory scoffed, getting really fed up with this attitude from her cousin. "You know what, Matt?"

"Don't make me come over there and kick your ass," Luke told him.

Kacie tried to stop the bickering. "All right, all right. We're all tense here. Give it a rest."

Lyla nodded. "Aunt Kacie's right."

Kacie sighed. "We should call Kaylin, Nicola, Lindsey and Ryan here. They need to see this."

-~-

Mystic Falls High School - Gym

Lizzie and MG were in gym, wearing workout clothes. Lizzie was sitting on the floor next to a girl named Jill who was doing crunches, while MG was holding her feet down.

MG tried to make conversation in hopes of learning something about what happened to Dana and Sasha. "Nice form. You're one of Dana's friends, right?"

Jill continued to do her crunches. "Jill." Lizzie made it clear that she was eavesdropping on their conversation while she was doing toe touches. "And my friendship with Dana doesn't define me." MG frowned in confusion. Jill laughed, stopping what she was doing. "That was a joke." Her smile fell as she returned to her workout. "Of course it does."

MG smiled awkwardly. "Cool, cool." He looked up to find Lizzie giving him a look that said 'get on with it already'. MG looked at Jill, trying to compel her. "Tell me where Dana and Sasha are, and we'll get out of your hair."

Lizzie was still listening in, unable to help but rudely interject toward one of the girls who bullied her. "More like split ends."

Jill turned toward her with a scathing expression. "Shut up, Saltzman." She looked at MG. "And why are you all up in their business?" MG and Lizzie share an alarmed look, uneasy. "Are all of you private school kids this creepy?"

Lizzie looked at MG with a frantic expression, expecting him to turn the conversation back around.

MG had no idea what to do, having not expected Jill to be on vervain or otherwise uncompellable. "Uh..."

The coach blew the whistle to signal the end of class. "Okay, that's it. Hit the showers."

Everyone stood to do as they were told. Jill was relieved to have the opportunity to get away from MG and Lizzie as everyone cleared out of the gym, leaving Lizzie and MG.

Lizzie gave MG a look. "Compulsion fail." She turned to ruefully watch the students head to the locker rooms, disappointed with their lack of progress. "Hope and Madison are probably doing a victory lap by now." She turned her attention back to MG, looking at him questioningly. "What is with the performance anxiety?"

MG was still sitting on the floor, looking dumbfounded. "I think you're distracting me."

Lizzie scoffed, looking down at her gym clothes. "I'm wearing polyester."

MG couldn't help but reveal his adoration as he stood up. "And you're totally pulling it off."

Lizzie groaned, grabbing MG by the shoulders. "Get your head in the game, MG." A vibrating noise was heard, and MG pulled a smart phone out of a hidden location. Lizzie looked at him in surprise. "You have the school phone?" She wrinkled her nose in disgust. "Where were you keeping it?"

MG looked at Lizzie with an exhausted exasperation. "It's Lindsey and Ryan. They trust me." When Lizzie stepped closer to him to look at the phone's scream, which read Davis-Thompson, MG was once again distracted by his crush on her, smiling dopily. "You smell like gummy bears."

Lizzie gave MG a look, nodding to the phone. "Answer it."

"Okay," MG agreed, answering the call, putting it on speaker. "Hello?"

Lindsey, Ryan, Kaylin and Nicola were walking through the school hallway to go meet up with Tory, Luke, Lyla, Kacie and Matt in the woods. Alaric was nearby, walking toward them.

Lindsey held the phone on speaker. "We need to talk to everyone."

MG looked at Lizzie apprehensively. "We split up..."

Lizzie, annoyed that MG sold her out, slapped him on the shoulder.

"Lizzie, we told you to work together," Alaric scolded.

"In order to conquer, we had to divide, Daddy," Lizzie told him. "So, looks like you're gonna have to trust your own gene pool for once. Sorry to disappoint."

"Look, we're about to tell you three things, all equally horrifying," Ryan told them. "So, we need you to keep your cool. Can you both do that?"

MG and Lizzie looked at each other, nodding.

"Of course," MG answered. "No problem."

"Okay," Lindsey sighed. "One, Dana is dead."

Lizzie and MG shared an anxious and shocked expression.

Alaric looked at them in surprise. "What?"

"Yeah," Kaylin answered. "Keep up, Ric."

Alaric rolled his eyes. "Kaylin."

"Doesn't matter how many times you 'Kaylin' me, I'm not gonna change," Kaylin told him.

Ryan ignored her, speaking through the phone. "Two, a vampire killed Dana."

MG's eyes widened in alarm.

"Three, Tory, Luke, Lyla and Kacie just told Matt that we had nothing to do with it, so we need to know right now that we are right," Nicola told them. "Have either of you heard anything about the vampires at our school feeding?"

Lizzie frowned, shaking her head. "No."

MG immediately thought of Kaleb, but trying not to reveal that truth, laughing nervously, weakly protesting. "Nah. We're not supposed to. Everyone knows that."

This seemed to satisfy the adults, but Lizzie saw right through MG's awkward response, giving him a look.

"Okay, good," Lindsey told them. "We'll call you back when we know more."

"And we expect all of the kids to be with you when we do."

MG hung up the phone.

Lizzie turned to give MG a look. "You're a horrible liar. Spill."

MG looked at Lizzie nervously as they were basically inches apart.

-

Hallway

Owen and Landon were walking together. Hope and Madison joined them, walking together. Madison was wearing a headband with a pair of cat ears.

Hope shrugged. "Hey."

Owen looked at Madison and the headband she was wearing in amusement. "Let me guess. Pigtails spilled her guts and confessed to kidnapping Dana and Sasha. Case closed?"

Madison gave him a look. "Her name is Cheryl, and not exactly. But she did invite me and Hope to try out for the cheerleading team."

Landon scoffed, looking at them as if they lost their mind. "Who are you two right now? And what is that thing on your head, Madison?"

Madison smirked. "It's a gift, from Cheryl."

Owen laughed darkly, unable to believe what he was seeing. "You're better than this, Madison."

Hope rolled her eyes. "Relax, Eeyores. Dana gave it to Cheryl. It's potential locator spell material. Plus, even though Sasha and Connor are dating, Dana was sleeping with him behind her back."

Landon scoffed. "Yeah, some clue. Everyone at this school knows Connor is a dick."

"Come on, Landon," Hope told him. "Adultery, missing girls? It's like every TV show that old people watch. A 'crime of passion', I think they call it."

Owen was not convinced, stopping where he was, giving them a serious look. "I know Connor. Landon and I both do. He's made our lives a living hell, but he's not a killer. Trust me."

"Trusting you two is what got us into this mess in the first place," Hope replied.

Madison rolled her eyes. "For the love of God, Hope, back off."

Owen was relieved to have some kind of defense from one of them. "Thank you, Madison."

"We still don't know what you or your brother are, Owen, but Rae saw in your thoughts that you weren't wanting to lie or to run, and that some part of you two were telling the truth," Madison told him. "We just have no idea if we can trust you two if you can do things without realizing what you're doing. Because you saw what happened when you stole the knife. What if something happens like that again, only worse?"

"And somehow that's our fault?" Landon asked.

"It's nobody's fault, Landon," Hope told him. "We just can't take a risk here."

Owen and Landon both knew they were right, hurt by not having trust, but knowing that they had a point, sighing. They turned to watch Connor, wearing his varsity jacket, as he walked into a nearby classroom.

Madison tried to lighten the mood. "So, do you want to play 'good cop' or 'bad cop'? Because I don't think 'emo cop' is a thing."

Owen gave Madison an amused look. "Oh, very funny. But while you two were off making friends, we did some sleuthing of our own."

Landon pointed at a girl walking down the hall who had blonde hair and was wearing a mismatched blue paisley handkerchief around her neck that clashed with the red and white sweater she was wearing. "Scarf in the Virginia heat? Sounds like a lead, I think they call it."

Hope, Madison, Owen and Landon walked down the hallway to follow the girl to get some information on who had been feeding on her.

-

Woods

Kaylin, Nicola, Lindsey and Ryan met up with Tory, Luke, Kacie, Lyla and Matt, where they were making sure that Lyla was getting back to school and away from the body, though she was not happy about it.

Matt was arguing with his cousin about who could be responsible for Dana's death. "They're vampire bites, Tory!"

"I could see that, Matt," Tory told him defensively.

"If they said they didn't do it, they didn't do it," Lindsey told him.

Tory was unable to look Matt in the eyes, clenching her jaw, walking away from him.

Matt trailed after Tory angrily. "No, actually, it's just the beginning. Because now, I have to put a 17 year old girl in this body bag, then lie to her parents about what actually killed her. Or maybe you guys forget what it's like to be on this side of that conversation."

Nicola turned to face him incredulously. "It's not about sides. And if me, a vampire Huntress, can see that, why can't you?"

"Because you're still a vampire either way," Matt answered. "And there aren't sides? Tell that to Dana."

They walked toward the space where they had left the body. Matt looked down at the ground with the intention of gesturing to Dana's body to emphasize his point. They were shocked to find that her body had vanished, with only her blood stained sweater there to show she was ever there at all.

Ryan frowned. "What the hell?"

"You said that she was right here, right?" Kaylin asked.

"Right here," Luke answered.

"Where the hell did she go?" Kacie asked.

They all exchanged a worried look.

-

Mystic Falls High School - Outside - Stoner Pit

(Song:) Flit It Inside Out - Danny Ayer

The blonde student was in what was the Stoner Pit behind the high school, leaning against the wall while Kaleb leaned over her. "I thought you said you were gonna have lunch?"

Kaleb reached out, loosening the handkerchief around her neck, revealing the bite marks where he had already fed on her. "Yeah, well, uh, one of us is." He compelled her. "Don't be afraid."

Kaleb transformed, baring his fangs, opening his mouth to feed on her.

Madison, Owen, Landon and Hope walked closer.

"Let her go," Hope told him.

Kaleb stopped what he was doing, turning to find Madison, Owen, Landon and Hope standing behind him, looking at him sternly. Annoyed, he turned back to the girl, compelling her, fixing the handkerchief. "Date's over. It's not me, it's you. Now, forget this ever happened and get back to class."

The girl smiled, silently walking away.

(Song Ends)

Lizzie and MG, now back in their regular clothes, walking closer from behind Madison, Owen, Landon and Hope.

Lizzie sighed. "Great, Madison and Hope are already here."

Kaleb didn't seem surprised to see the others, but it was clear that he felt betrayed by MG. "I thought we were cool, bruh!"

"Don't 'bruh' him," Lizzie told him. "Second place or not, we know you killed Dana."

Madison looked at Lizzie in shock. "Wait, Dana's dead?"

"Kaylin, Nicola, Lindsey and Ryan said that Tory, Luke, Kacie and Lyla found her dead from a vampire bite," MG explained, giving Kaleb a knowing look.

Kaleb became more agitated by their accusations. "I didn't kill her, so y'all need to get the hell outta my face."

Kaleb rushed away.

Lizzie, resting her hand on Madison's shoulder, her hand glowing red as she siphoned some magic from her, thrusted her other hand out toward Kaleb to cast a pain infliction spell on him, making him scream in pain and clutch his head, dramatically leading the others toward him. "Come on, guys. Let's go. It's hero time."

Lizzie and Madison walked toward Kaleb.

Hope rolled her eyes, walking around Owen and Landon to follow Lizzie and Madison. "To the Blondemobile."

Owen, Landon and MG followed the girls until they were standing with Kaleb.

"Not so fast, Kaleb," Madison told him.

Kaleb was still recovering from the effects of the spell, looking up at the others as he caught his breath. "I told you, all I did was feed. Torture me all you want, but my answer's gonna remain the same, because I didn't kill Dana."

Landon was looking behind the group, in shock. "Uh, he's right."

Everyone turned toward Landon with a questioning expression.

"What, so you're a mind reader like Rae now, Landon?" Owen asked.

Landon shrugged, gesturing in the direction he was looking. "Cal lit a hunch."

They all turned to follow Landon's gaze, seeing Dana, who was still pale and sickly looking, and stumbling out of the woods and falling to her knees, as they all looked at her in shock.

-~-

The group had taken Dana to the picnic tables near the parking lot.

Dana was sitting down, explaining what she remembered about the previous night. "We were on the way to graffiti that mill at your school. It was a harmless prank. But then, I got snatched. Next thing I remember, I woke up in a ditch." She was clearly exhausted, taking a deep breath. "So enjoy it while you can, Lizzie. I'm sure I look like crap." She reached up with the intention of scratching the back of her neck, only for her hand to come upon the swollen and bruised side of her supposed vampire bite right under her right ear. She was immediately alarmed. "Oh, my God. What is that?"

"It's..." Hope trailed off, looking for a lie. Dana looked up at Hope, desperately seeking an answer. Hope was unable to think of a believable lie, looking around for assistance. "Someone help me out here."

The rest of the group paused awkwardly.

Lizzie spoke up. "It's... the mother of all hickeys. You're fine, Dana. You're just a--a little slutty."

Dana, offended, scoffed before she realized where she was and what she was doing. "I don't even like any of you. I should be talking to the cops."

Dana stood up.

Landon blocked her path awkwardly. 'I can't let you do that."

Hope, realizing this was going to be a problem, raised her right hand, closing it into a fist, casting a sleeping spell. "Ad somnum."

Landon, still feeling awkward, sidestepped away from Dana as she collapsed to the ground. "I mean, she can't let you do that."

Owen looked at Kaleb. "So you didn't kill her. You freaking turned her?"

Kaleb scoffed. "Turned her? You think I want to sit and listen to that for all eternity?"

"Well, someone did," Madison told them. "Meaning that we have a transitioning vampire on our hands." She gestured to Dana's sleeping body to emphasize her point. "So what are we gonna do with her?"

Overcome by a sudden Banshee vision, Madison's eyes glowed silver. She saw spider webs around all over, looking around in confusion, and then she noticed like a water fall of black goo raining down around her. Completely confused as to what the vision meant, Madison looked around, not knowing how to put the pieces together since this was the first vision she had had for a creature like this and not knowing how to stop whoever's death was coming.

Owen noticed her distraction and her glowing eyes, concerned. "Madison? What's going on?"

"She's having a Banshee vision," Hope answered. "Meaning someone's going to die. Madison, who is it?"

"You know my visions don't work like that, Hope," Madison told her. "But I see... spider webs... and black goo just raining down."

"Well, what the hell is that supposed to mean?" Landon asked.

Madison shook her head in absolute confusion. "I have no idea."

-

Salvatore Boarding School - Hallway

Rafael was walking down the hallway with his backpack slung over his shoulder. He was about to go up the steps to the second floor.

Jed appeared on the landing, blocking his way. "Foster kid. I've been looking for you."

Rafael, not wanting to get into it with the rest of the werewolves, smiled fakely, trying to back out of it. "I'll catch up with you later. I've got to get to class." He turned to go in the opposite direction, only to have this path blocked by two other wolves. Realizing he wouldn't be getting out of this easily, he sighed, turning back to Jed. "Look, uh, Jed, right? I don't want any problems."

"Neither do we,' Jed told him. "We just want to initiate you into the pack, okay? The process is simple. You triggered your werewolf curse this month, which means you killed somebody recently. Maybe on purpose, maybe not." This conversation was visibly affecting Rafael, who clenched his jaw in an attempt to reign in his anger. "All you gotta do is tell us the story. That's our rite of passage."

Rafael shifted his backpack's strap. "Yeah, I'm not really a pack kinda guy."

Jed was losing his patience, lightly smacking Rafael on the chest with the back of his hand. "You still don't get it, do you? You don't have a choice. You can either submit, or you can bleed and then submit. It's your call."

Rafael looked as if he was about to hit Jed, but he turned with the intention of jumping down the stairs. Jed grabbed Rafael by the lapels before he was able to do so, throwing him over the balcony at the top of the steps. Rafael landed flat on his back, groaning in pain, with Jed and the other two wolves jumping down to continue the assault. One of the wolves picked Rafael up off the floor under his arms, getting him in a shoulder lock, preventing him from being able to break free. The other wolf punched Rafael three times in the face. Rafael ended up getting out of the lock by elbowing his restrainer in the face, lunging forward to get out of their hold. Jed kicked Rafael so hard in the face that he flew backward and landed on his back again. Rafael tried to get up, but the three wolves circled around him, kicking and stomping all over his shoulders, chest and stomach.

Emma, Danny and Rae, having heard the commotion, walked into the hallway, seeing Rafael being assaulted.

Emma was worried, but annoyed because she had told him that she didn't want to be involved with people because of her past.

"Hey!" Danny told them.

Jed ran up to Danny, kicking him in the gut. Danny jumped up, kicking Jed down, slamming his head against the wall, turning around to throw him down.

Wolf 1 tried to attack Emma. Emma grabbed a lamp from nearby to use it to hit him over the head, spinning in the air to kick him down to the floor.

Wolf 2 tried to attack Rae. Rae ducked, punching him in the face, using psychic energy to throw him against the wall, making him fall.

Danny and Emma used pain infliction on Jed and the other wolf that Emma was fighting, making them scream and hold their heads in pain and fall to their knees.

Rae used mind control on the three wolves. "Enough!"

The three wolves were visibly angry when they recovered.

Jed punched Danny one more time, walking by Rafael to kick him one more time in the head for good measure. "To be continued."

Jed and his lackeys, all scowling, walked away.

Danny was breathing heavily from anger at seeing Jed and his wolves and how they always treated him, Emma and Hope, and he was clearly in the midsts have having one of the Rosalita-related visions, as his eyes glowed gold and he struggled not to lash out.

Rae looked at him worriedly. "Danny."

"Rae, get him out of here," Emma told her. Rae nodded, getting Danny away. Emma turned to check on Rafael, kneeling next to him, instinctively putting a hand on his back. "Rafael, are you okay?"

Rafael, all worked up from the fight, not wanting to hurt Emma, pushed her hand away from him, turning around to reveal that his mouth was bleeding and his eyes were blazing gold from anger. "Get off of me! Just stay away from me."

Emma jerked back instinctively, watching as Rafael got up and limped away in concern.

-

Mystic Falls High School - Parking Lot

Owen was leading the rest of the crew back to the Salvatore School's bus, where he opened the back door so MG, who was carrying Dana's unconscious body, could set her inside of it.

The others had explained to Landon and Owen about the transition, who both looked exhausted.

"So let me get this straight," Landon told them. "Dana died with vampire blood in her system, so she came back to life, and now she's in transition, and she needs to feed or die?"

MG just deposited Dana into the bus, nodding in agreement. "Nailed it, bro. Easy decision, right?" He looked down to see a while, fibrous substance on his hand, frowning in confusion. "Huh."

MG wiped the substance off his hand, smearing it onto the bumper of the bus.

"All right, so we give her some human blood," Kaleb told them. "It's that simple."

Hope gave Kaleb a look. "Not everyone wants to be supernatural. Some people just want to be normal."

Lizzie chimed in with feigned empathy and concern. "Dana's traumatized, you guys. This is a huge decision. Maybe we should give her a day or two..."

Madison gave Lizzie a look. "She'll be dead in a day if she doesn't feed."

Lizzie dropped the nice act, shrugging. "Oops. I suck at math."

"You should tell her the truth," Owen told them. "My guess is that she'd be psyched to be at a place like your school. I know I would."

Landon nodded in agreement.

Kaleb glanced at his friend. "You're awful quiet over there, MG."

"I'm a feminist, bruh," MG told him. "I'm not gonna tell Dana what to do with her body." Owen leaned against the back door of the bus. "Owen's right."

They all nodded in agreement, looking at Lizzie.

Lizzie knew that this was the right thing to do, groaning, rolling her eyes in annoyance. "Ugh, fine. Okay. But, to be clear, she is not joining drill team."

Hope took a deep breath, casting a counter spell to wake Dana up with a flick of her fingers. "Surgere."

Dana groggily sat up as if she had just woken from deep sleep. "Did I pass out?" She groaned, closing her eyes, almost swaying in her seat. "I don't feel so well."

Hope looked at her sympathetically. "We know how you feel. And it's okay. You're just hungry."

"Anorexia was sophomore year," Dana told them. "This is something else."

"You'll feel better after you feed," Madison told her. "I promise."

Dana braced herself with one hand as she continued to sway nervously. "Oh, shut up! For real. Even thinking about eating makes me want to."

Dana heaved, vomiting a large amount of black goo onto the sidewalk. Everyone's noses wrinkled in disgust, jumping backward.

Kaleb looked down in repulsion. "Oh, damn! What'd that girl eat?"

Dana continued to hurl up the black goo, much to everyone's horror.

"I think her soul just got on my shoes," Lizzie complained. "Ew."

MG covered his mouth with a gag, stumbling backward. "I think I'ma be sick, too."

Landon was pressing his back against the door, closing his eyes against the sight of Dana's vomit, groaning as well. "Is this normal?"

Owen was completely in shock. "She's puking her guts out, literally. Dana. Dana!"

-~-

Dana was laying in the puddle of her own black goo vomit, but instead of a whole body like there was before, Dana was just reduced to a body shaped piece of skin, hair and clothing. The Salvatore School kids were standing around her body, looking disgusted by the sight and concerned about what actually happened.

"Should we call Tory, Luke, Lindsey and Ryan?" Hope asked. "Kaylin, Aunt Nikki, Aunt Kacie?"

"Yeah, because whatever did this is not a vampire," Madison answered. "It's got to be another monster from the knife. That's why my vision was the way that it was, before this happened."

Kaleb, suspicious of Owen and Landon, and eager to clear his own name, looking at them questioningly. "Well, maybe the monsters have been right in front of us all along."

Owen and Landon immediately took offense to the accusation.

"What?" Landon asked. "Are you serious?"

"Hey, none of this started happening until you two showed up and stole that knife, which is exactly what the other monsters came here to do," Kaleb told them. "You saying it's a coincidence?"

Owen nodded. "Yeah. Yeah, I am." He looked around at the rest of the group, looking for back up. "You believe us, right?" Hope, Lizzie and MG could not look Owen and Landon in the eyes, staring at the ground. Madison looked at Owen and Landon a sympathetic expression, though like she had said earlier, she didn't know about what they could trust in case something like that happened again. Owen and Landon were both visibly hurt, taking one last look at Madison and Hope. "Got it. Say no more."

Owen and Landon walked toward the school. Madison and Hope watched them go in guilt, not knowing what to believe.

-

Salvatore Boarding School - Backyard

Danny was seeing flashes of visions of what Rosalita had put into his mind, triggered after the fight earlier and because of her reaching out into his mind. He held his head in pain, knowing that she was tormenting him after he was helping Rae so much in revenge, angrily screaming, lashing out with magic that took down an entire tree.

Rae ran closer to help calm him down. "Danny. Danny!"

Danny looked at her, out of embarrassment and shame, furious at himself, the visions and Rosalita. "Get away from me right now, Rae."

Rae reached out to gently grab Danny's right arm to turn him to face her. "No, I can't do that until you calm down." She used her mind control on Danny, placing her right hand on his chest, rubbing it comfortingly. "Calm down. Close your eyes and breathe." She closed her eyes, still rubbing his sternum with her fingertips. "Breathe. Just like me." Danny was able to do so, calming down. "Good. Breathe." The two took several more deep breaths together before Danny's heart rate finally started to slow down to a healthy level, and he was no longer seeing the visions in his head. "Good. That's more like it."

They both opened their eyes, meeting gazes.

"I help you, you help me," Danny said. "Kinda poetic." Rae chuckled a bit. "Rosalita did this to me after the fight triggered the visions to get back at me for helping you." Rae nodded sadly. "But you could still get it to stop. Guess practice with Kaylin, Nikki, Aunt Tory, Lyla and my mom will do that to you." Rae managed a small chuckle. "I didn't mean to scare you."

Rae shook her head. "No." Danny looked away. Rae moved her head to keep his gaze. "You can't scare me, Danny. Like you said. You help me, I help you. I'm not letting her do this to you again. I promise."

Danny nodded, reassured but still upset. Rae was just as worried.

-

Inside - Common Room

Rafael was struggling to calm down, but not having to lash out like Danny did because of losing control because of Rosalita, letting out a yell of frustration to calm down, throwing a chair against the wall, making it break and fall.

Emma heard him from the hallway, appearing in the doorway. "Raf. Raf."

Rafael looked embarrassed for her to see him like this, actually able to calm down. "I'm sorry I snapped at you like that, or I scared you."

Emma scoffed. "I don't scare easily. And I get why you snapped earlier. I'm sorry that that happened to you. Normally, my dad and Uncle Luke can make sure that Jed and the wolves don't act out like that, but they're gone with Mom, Aunt Tory, Kaylin, Nikki, Kacie and Lyla, so of course Jed and his wolves took advantage. Dad and Uncle Luke can stop them most of the time, but when they're gone, they can't, so if they don't get back before Jed tries again, you're dead if you don't submit. It's just the way that Jed does."

"You're the one talking about making change, right?" Rafael asked.

"I meant adding an elective, not launching a revolution," Emma told him.

Rafael sighed. "Emma..."

"Jed's an alpha, okay?" Emma asked. "You're a wolf. That makes him think that he's in control. And he and his wolves hate me , Danny and Hope for not being pure wolves. They taunt us and bully us relentlessly, and they would do the same to Aunt Tory, Uncle Luke, Aunt Kacie and Aunt Mikayla and Little Lyla if they thought that they could get away with it."

Rafael was stunned by this point of view. "Emma."

"Look, I know what I said earlier, that I don't want to get too close to anybody because of what I did and what I do, but..." Emma trailed off. "I don't want anything to happen to you, Rafael."

Rafael and Emma looked at each other sadly, not knowing what to do. Even though they were both fighting whatever they could have been feeling for the other, they were undeniably drawn to each other.

-

Old Mill

In the woods, Ariara and Josie were walking together toward the old mill.

"So Kacie, Mikayla and Aunt Eliza really did find a cure for you?" Josie asked.

"Not technically a cure, but basically yeah," Ariara answered. "This treatment was found so that I could be able to get back in touch with myself, find a center between the three animalistic natures inside of me, find a balance of mind, so that I don't have to lose control again and so that I can shift, and not wear this bracelet all the time that stops me from shifting."

Josie smiled. "That is amazing, Ariara." They embraced, smiling. "I'm so happy for you." They pulled away, walking up to the old mill. "That's why we're here, right? So you can practice shifting and the treatment?"

Ariara nodded. Together, they walked into the mill.

Ariara was suddenly distracted by something above Josie's head. "Josie." Josie didn't hear her the first time, looking around. "Josette."

Josie turned to face her. Ariara pointed up to the rafters where they both were horrified to see the whole upper floor covered in spiderwebs. They slowly made their way up the stairs to investigate further. They saw Sasha covered up in cobwebs, looking as if she was sleeping soundly.

Josie realized who it was. "It's Sasha." When Josie tried to free Sasha from the webs, Sasha opened her eyes, screaming, scaring Josie so badly that she stumbled backward away from her and landed in a corner full of cobwebs, struggling as hard as she could to break free. "Ariara."

Ariara turned to face her. "Are you okay?" 

"No," Josie answered, trying to pull free with no success. "Ariara, I think I'm stuck." Ariara immediately grabbed her by the wrists with the intention of pulling her out, only to fall back into more of the cobwebs when she pulled too hard. Josie frowned when it was revealed that Ariara was stuck now too. "Ariara?"

Josie and Ariara grunted and groaned as they tried to break free, realizing that they were stuck, looking at each other with panicked expressions.

-

Mystic Falls High School - Boys's Bathroom

Landon was in the boys's bathroom, where he leaned against the sink, taking a deep breath, running his hands under the cold water, using it to rinse off his face, clearly anxious about the accusations against him and Owen by the Salvatore School kids.

-

Hallway

Owen was walking down the hallway alone, pensively, sighing. He sensed the presence of someone nearby, startled to find that Connor was standing to his right, staring at him with a creepy, blank expression. Unnerved, Owen continued to walk down the hallway. Connor was following him.

Owen lost his patience, raising his arms. "What?" When Connor remained silent, Owen, frustrated, stormed toward him. "All right, come on. Let's get this over with. What's it gonna be? Because you're not getting the upper hand on me. No, I would rather pay you back for the things you did to me, so what do you want? Toilet bowl, trash can, bloody nose? Say something, you idiot!" Owen scoffed, turning to walk away, but he turned back, furious. "No, you made my life miserable. You don't get to pretend I don't exist."

Owen reared his hand back, punching Connor hard in the jaw with a right cross. Connor was effected by the blow, but when Owen looked down at his hand, he was shocked to find a large piece of Connor's flesh on his knuckles, repulsed, looking up, stunned to find a large, spider-like pincer popping out where Connor's skin had been torn off, revealing that Connor was not really Connor at all. More pincers appeared from the hole in "Connor"s face. Owen started to run down the hallway.

Landon walked out of the bathroom. "Owen?"

Owen grabbed Landon by the shoulder on the way to the door. "Come on."

Landon saw Connor. "Oh, my God."

Landon followed Owen out of the school at a run.

-

Parking Lot

Hope, Madison, Lizzie, MG and Kaleb were cleaning up the evidence of Dana's death. MG was ripping pages out of a comic book to use to wipe the goo off of his shoes while Lizzie hosed the remnants of Dana's liquefied organs off of the pavement. Hope and Madison cleaned off their hands with washcloths.

Kaleb walked up behind the girls, making another disgusted face. "Nasty." He started to back away. "Yeah, so, um, I'm out of here. But, little piece of advice? Landon and Owen could be in there right now, eating fools. So, I'll holla."

Kaleb gestured around at the group, turning around, walking away.

Hope, Madison and Lizzie all rolled their eyes.

Hope sighed. "Come on, guys. If it's not Owen and Landon, then what else could it be?"

MG went back to cleaning up his shoes, frowning when he noticed something on the page he was using to wipe off his shoes, stricken by an idea. "Spider. A big spider. An Arachne, if you want to get specific."

MG smoothed out the page, holding it up to show the girls. On it was a very large spider creature.

Lizzie took the page from MG, looking at it, scoffing, hanging it back. "This is nerd porn, not real life."

MG was excited about the discovery he just made. "So were dragons and gargoyles. The writer bases her comics off of Greek lore. An Arachne was originally a beautiful woman who was cursed by a jealous god and turned into a giant spider. Uh, all it wants to do is be human, so it wears the skin of its prey to pass. Oh, my God. It's--it's fangs are huge, so they could pass for a vampire bite. And its bite liquefies its victims. Plus, Madison said that she saw spider webs in her Banshee vision, and I found a web in Dana's hair."

Lizzie looked at Madison.

Madison was on board with MG's theory because of her vision and because it proved that Landon and Owen didn't do it. "That would explain my vision, and why it couldn't follow the knife out of town. An SUV-sized insect can't exactly hitch hike unless it inhabits the body of someone."

"Who?" MG asked. "Sasha, maybe?"

Lizzie looked at Hope and Madison. "My money is still on your boyfriends."

Hope gave Lizzie a look. "They're not our boyfriends."

"And Landon and Owen aren't the monsters," Madison agreed.

Lizzie sighed. "If we had something from it, we could do a tracking spell..."

Landon and Owen ran up to them.

Owen held up the piece of flesh he had punched off Connor's face. "Would its face work?"

-~-

Woods

Lyla, Tory and Lindsey were trying to do a tracking spell to track down Dana, chanting, using Dana's bloody sweater that had been left on the ground for the locator spell.

Nicola sighed. "Come on, come on."

Ryan hung up his phone. "Emma and Danny aren't answering."

Kaylin hung up. "Neither is Rae or Hope or Madison."

Kacie hung up her phone. "Or Ariara."

"I'm sure they're fine," Luke told them. "Relax."

"Really not in the mood to be told to relax, Luke," Ryan told him.

They listened to Tory, Lindsey and Lyla chanting for the spell for a moment before resuming talking.

"What about Owen, Landon, Hope, Madison, Lizzie, Josie, MG and Kaleb?" Nicola asked.

"They're not answering, either," Kaylin answered.

The others sighed in agreement. "Nope."

Ryan tried to call his kids again, finally getting an answer from Danny. "Danny? Hey. Where are you, Emma and Rae right now?"

"Right outside with Rafael," Danny answered. "Rae had to calm me down from a Rosalita-vision/losing control scene."

"Yeah, after Jed and the wolves threatened Rafael to join the pack since you and Uncle Luke weren't here," Emma agreed.

"What?" Luke asked. "I'm gonna kill those kids."

Lindsey gave him a look. "Luke." She spoke to her kids worriedly. "Emma, Danny, you okay?"

"We're fine, Mom," Danny answered.

"Rae, are you..." Nicola trailed off.

"Been doing better than I have been for the past two years," Rae answered. "I'm fine."

Kacie sighed in relief. "All right, good. Good. Have you guys seen Ariara?"

"Josie and Ariara left a while ago to go to the old mill so that Ariara could practice her shifting and the treatment from you, Aunt Mikayla and Eliza, Aunt Kacie," Emma told her.

"All right, well can you go tell them what's going on?" Ryan asked. "I don't think Ariara knows."

"Yeah, we can go tell them," Danny answered. "How's the search going?"

"Slow as hell," Luke answered, bored but comedic.

Danny chuckled in amusement. "Right."

Tory looked up. "But I think Lindsey, Lyla and I just got a hit."

Lindsey stood. "Looks like she headed back to the high school."

"Okay, great," Nicola told them. "Let's go."

"Rae, be careful," Kaylin told her.

Rae nodded in agreement. "I will, Mom."

"Just get to Ariara and make sure she's doing okay," Kacie told them. "Fill her in."

"We got it, Aunt Kacie," Danny told her.

"Emma, Danny?" Ryan asked. "Are you..."

"Better now, that Rae helped me," Danny answered. "Don't worry, Dad."

"It's our job to worry about both you and Emma, Danny," Lindsey told him.

Danny chuckled. "Mom, I'm fine."

Lyla stood up to speak into the phone. "Bye, Danny. Bye, Emma. Bye, Rae. Bye, Rafael."

They chuckled. "Bye, Lyla."

The adults smiled. "Bye."

-

Old Mill

Up on the second floor of the old mill, Josie and Ariara were still trapped by the spider webs, struggling.

Josie looked at Ariara. "This is bad. Whatever spun this, it's gonna come back and it's gonna eat us."

"Can you siphon anything from here?" Ariara asked. "I mean, you, Lizzie, Lyla, Tory, you're all siphons. Tory and Lyla can siphon magic off of themselves because of being tribrids, but you and Lizzie have to siphon off of other things since you don't have magic of our own."

"No, there's nothing here that I can siphon from," Josie told her. "This place isn't like the school, where there's magic that runs through the walls. Siphoning the magic from the school walls works on small spells, but here..."

"Okay, can you siphon from a creature like me?" Ariara asked.

"I mean, theoretically, yeah, since I can siphon from witches, vampires and wolves, and Madison as a Banshee," Josie answered. "But my hands are stuck." She got an idea. "Unless..."

Josie quickly leaned forward to kiss Ariara, who clearly was taken by surprise, though she kissed back for a few moments, and their lips glowed bright red as Josie siphoned some magic from Ariara. After a moment, Josie, overwhelmed, stumbled backward into the webs.

Ariara was dazed, looking over at Josie. "That was unexpected."

Josie thought that meant Ariara didn't like it, immediately becoming apologetic. "Sorry."

Ariara, who actually did like it, smiled weakly. "Don't be." She snapped out of her daze. "Uh, did it work?"

Josie, still overwhelmed by the magic and the kiss, could only whisper her response. "I don't know. The room's still spinning."

They heard footsteps approaching, turning their heads as best they could to try and see who it was.

Ariara called out to try to get some help. "Hey, hey! We're trapped up here!"

"Connor" walked in. 

"Connor?" Josie asked. "Connor" turned to face them, revealing that half of his face had now fallen off, revealing the Arachne wearing his skin, scaring the two girls. "Whoa!"

The skin started to fall off in pieces as the Arachne took its true form, much to Ariara and Josie's disgust.

The Arachne jumped onto one of the support beams, climbing it up to the second floor, leaving Ariara and Josie panicked.

Ariara used all of her strength to try and break through the webs, but was unable to. "He's coming. Josette, now would be a good time for some magic."

Josie turned herself as best as she could so she could aim her fire spell at the Arachne. "Ignarious!"

The spell sent a fireball toward the Arachne, which hit it and caused it to burst into flames and fall off the beam on which it was climbing.

Ariara sighed in relief. "All right, I think you got him." To their horror, the Arachne stirred on the floor, making an angry trilling noise as it tried to recover from the blow. "Or we just pissed him off."

The Arachne, now in its full true form due to Connor's skin and clothing being burned off by Josie's fireball, stood on all eight of its legs. Its face was burned and raw. Its eight black eyes were staring at Ariara and Josie with a furious expression as all of its pincers clicked and screeched in warning.

-

Woods

MG, Lizzie, Owen, Landon, Hope and Madison were running through the woods toward the school, running into Rafael, Emma, Danny and Rae on the way, as they all looked at each other in surprise and spoke over each other.

"What are you guys doing here?" Landon asked.

"What are you guys doing here?" Rafael replied.

"We're tracking a monster, an Arachne, back to the school, after it killed Dana," Hope answered. "And yes, Dana is dead, long story. Gross one."

"What are you guys doing?" Madison asked.

"We were heading to the old mill to check on Ariara and Josie," Rae answered.

"Ariara's there trying to get a control of her shifting," Emma explained.

The others exchanged a worried look.

"What?" Danny asked.

"The old mill is where we tracked the Arachne," Owen answered. "We gotta go."

Lizzie and Madison became immediately worried for Lizzie's twin and Madison's adoptive step cousin. "Josie."

While Hope, Rae, Emma, Danny and Madison became immediately worried for Hope, Emma and Danny's adoptive cousin, and Rae and Madison's adoptive step cousin. "Ariara."

They all ran down through the woods to get to the old mill in hopes of saving Ariara and Josie. MG's school phone started to ring.

MG looked at the screen, seeing that it was Lindsey calling, immediately panicking, handing the phone to Lizzie. "It's for you. No way I'm telling Lindsey and Ryan what we're about to do."

Lizzie groaned, looking at the ringing phone in her hands. "I suck at lying." She looked at Landon, tossing him the phone. "You're great at it."

Landon tossed the phone to Owen. "He's better at it."

Owen scoffed, handing the phone to Hope. "You're the tribrid truth teller."

Hope passed the phone to Madison apprehensively. "You're one of the main heroes here."

Madison passed it to Rafael. "You do it."

Rafael scoffed, passing the phone to Rae. "I'm not pissing Lindsey and Ryan off, and definitely not Kacie, Kaylin, Nicola, Tory and Luke. You do it."

Rae handed the phone to Danny. "Lindsey and Ryan are your and Emma's parents."

Danny and Emma rolled their eyes at all of them.

"Fine, we'll all do it," Emma told them, taking the phone, answering, putting it on speaker for them all to hear. "Hi, Mom. Rae, Danny, Rafael and I just met up with Hope, Madison, Lizzie, MG, Landon and Owen while we were on the way to check on Ariara and Josie. How's it going with Kaylin, Nikki, Aunts Tory and Kacie, Uncle Luke and Lyla?"

Lindsey was standing with the adults outside the Salvatore School bus outside Mystic Falls High School, having the phone on speaker, nodding sarcastically. "Oh, good."

"We thought we'd call, check in, see how things were going," Nicola told them, testing to see if the teens would tell them the truth.

Madison did a fake smile to try and sound as innocent as possible. "So good."

"Really?" Kaylin asked sarcastically. "Define good, Madison, because we don't think that involves us tracking down Dana's body to the glove department."

Inside the bus, they were looking at what was left of Dana's body (skin, hair and clothing), which had been shoved into the glove compartment.

Lizzie tried to talk them out of trouble. "Listen, Kaylin, it's fine. We cracked the case. It's a spider, but like a big, huge, nasty spider." Madison realized Lizzie was doing nothing to help their case, sighing. MG gave Lizzie a look to indicate he would like for her to leave him out of it. "And MG's comic books know how to kill it."

Luke scoffed in exasperation. "Comic books? Really?"

Tory took a deep breath, trying to get them to stand down in the kindest voice. "Guys, listen to me. Whatever you're thinking of doing, don't. Okay?"

"Just tell us where you are, and we will be right there," Kacie told them. "And where is Ariara?"

The kids were intent on doing this on their own.

"I'm sorry, Aunt Kacie," Rae told her. "You guys are gonna have to trust us for once."

Emma hung up. All the teens looked at each other, impressed by each other's strength of will in this issue.

Madison nodded. "Let's do this."

-

Old Mill

Ariara and Josie were still stuck in the Arachne's cobwebs, anxiously looking down at the first floor in hopes of anticipating the creature's next move.

"I think he's still out there," Ariara told her. "Josette, if you get me free, I can shift and I can tear that thing apart."

"You don't even know if that will work, Ariara," Josie told her anxiously. "You've been doing good with Kacie, Mikayla and Aunt Eliza's treatment, but you haven't done the complete shift since you started it."

"It's either that or we die, so get us out of here so I can kill that thing," Ariara replied.

They heard a screeching noise, looking up to find the Arachne standing on a platform on the third floor of the mill. Josie screamed in terror. The Arachne leaped across the edge, landing directly over Ariara and Josie's heads, which only caused Josie to scream louder, panicking at what she believed was their impending deaths.

Landon, holding a long pipe that had been painted yellow, leaped into the mill, distracting the creature by shouting at it and catching its attention by hitting the pipe against the metal railing toward the entrance. "Hey, douchebag!"

Owen took the pipe from Landon to throw it at the Arachne to distract it from Ariara and Josie. "Hey!"

The Arachne turned to Owen and Landon angrily. Landon went pale at the sight of the monstrous creature in front of them. They both backed away.

Rafael, MG, Hope, Rae, Emma, Danny, Madison and Lizzie walked in, standing next to Landon and Owen.

Hope glared up at the spider. "I hate spiders."

Ariara and Josie looked down at Rafael, MG, Hope, Rae, Emma, Danny, Madison, Lizzie, Landon and Owen with absolute relief that their friends/family came to save them.

Ariara looked at Josie. "You need to get us out of here."

Josie, overwhelmed, tried to think of what to do. "Crap, crap, crap, crap, crap." She leaned forward to kiss Ariara for a few short moments, siphoning more magic from her in the process. She pointed her right hand toward the webs. "Uanascar."

The spell shredded the cobwebs restraining Josie's arms. With her now free, she was able to perform the same spell in order to remove the cobwebs from Ariara's wrists as well. They both ran down the stairs to join the others downstairs.

Ariara took off her bracelet, pointing at the door in determination as she walked toward the Arachne to confront it. "I need all of you outside now."

They realized what she was about to do, all worried about her losing control but seeing how sure she was about doing this, how she looked confident and ready for battle, backing out of the mill to the safety of outside, even though they voiced their concern about her shifting. "Ariara..."

(Song:) Kill Somebody - YUNGBLUD

Ariara's eyes/animal form:

Wings while in animal form/human form:

Claws/Talons:

As Ariara focused all her energy into the shift, her eyes turned golden yellow for the color of the eagle she was, with snake slit pupils. Long pointed horns started to grow from her head as pure golden eagle wings, shimmering and glowing with magical energy, started to grow from her back before her body transformed into the shape of the lion, with a serpent tail moving around freely. Everyone watched outside in absolute shock, never having seen her shift before, since she hadn't been able to control it for two years. Animal!Ariara roared fiercely at the Arachne, who screeched in return, trying to attack Animal!Ariara. Animal!Ariara could easily evade the attack, flying up with her wings to tackle the spider against the wall on the second floor, using her serpent tail to bite into it and poison it repeatedly as she roared in its face, starting to tear it apart with her claws and canines. The girls slowly walked in to see if they needed to help Ariara change back into human form, when Ariara ripped open the Arachne with ease, making its yellow/orange blood like goo explode out of it and splatter all over her and the other girls.

-

Outside

MG, Rafael, Owen, Landon and Danny had brought the spiderweb covered Sasha, laying her gently on the ground. They turned around, seeing Lizzie, Josie, Madison, Ariara, Hope, Rae and Emma walk outside, all covered in the yellow/orange goo like blood, all with serious expressions on their faces. They all looked exhausted and were too tired to be embarrassed by their current appearance. MG, Rafael, Owen, Landon and Danny were stunned to see them like that. Ariara was relieved to finally have some form of control over her three animal sides, smiling tiredly in victory.

(Song Ends)

-~-

Night - Salvatore Boarding School - Outside

The adults were with Sasha as they prepared to send her home after compelling or mind controlling her.

"Was she bitten?" Kaylin asked.

"No," Nicola answered.

Tory mind controlled Sasha. "You're gonna be fine. There was a party in the woods. You and Dana had the time of your lives. But, on the way home, you guys were attacked by a mountain lion. You survived and Dana didn't. There was nothing you could do."

"Dana's dead?" Sasha asked in shock.

"Just take it all away," Luke told her. "Tell her not to feel anything."

Ryan gave Luke a look. "You can't mind control her not to grieve."

"I'm helping her," Luke replied.

Kacie looked at Tory. "Tell her that it's gonna hurt. It always will. Tell her that some days will be harder than others, but eventually, she'll remember the good times she had with Dana, too. Tell her to hold onto those, because it's the key to getting through this."

Lindsey looked down sadly. "We all went through this enough to know how it works."

They all nodded sadly in agreement.

-

Gym

Emma and Rafael were outside of the gym, where Rafael was pacing back and forth. Inside the gym, Jed and the other werewolves were playing a game that seemed to be a cross between kickball and basketball involving a medicine ball.

Emma looked at Rafael with concern. "Are you sure you want to do this? I mean, with Dad and Uncle Luke back..."

Rafael nodded, though it was obvious he was still not fond of the idea. "You saw what they did to me when Luke and Ryan are gone. And with monsters coming in every which way, they might be gone a lot more from now on. I don't think going 'lone wolf' is an option anymore. Do you?"

Emma gave him a look. "Don't look at me. I'm a twin, so most of the time, I'm with Danny, or with Hope, Rae, Madison, Ariara and Lyla. Even if I look alone, I don't do things solo. I'm just not a pack kind of girl."

Rafael nodded in understanding. "Look, after Cassie died, I thought Owen and Landon were the only pack that I'd ever have. I didn't think that I needed anyone else. Be honest with me. Is... this school, these people, keeping Owen and Landon here... worth it?"

"This place is flawed," Emma admitted. "Every single person here is cursed in some way, whether it's blood or just life. Everyone has issues of their own that they're dealing with. But, most of them help each other. Every single person here, they look out for each other. So yeah, it's worth it. But you don't have to join Jed's back. When Aunt Mikayla gets back, you can talk to her about becoming a Crescent Wolf, if you want. Like me, Hope, Danny, Dad, Lyla, Aunt Tory, Aunt Kacie, and Uncle Luke."

Rafael considered Emma's words seriously for a moment. "I might take you up on the offer about Mikayla's pack. But right now, I need to look out for myself and get through this right now."

Emma nodded in understanding. 

Jed threw the ball at one of the wolves with such force that the target fell to his stomach on the floor. The ball rolled over and landed at Emma and Rafael's feet.

One of the wolves called out to them to get the ball back. "Little help?"

Emma picked up the medicine ball with ease, tossing it to Rafael.

Rafael caught it, impressed. "Medicine ball. Jed and his boys play for keeps."

With one final look at Emma, Rafael walked onto the basketball court to return the ball. Jed, looking at Rafael apprehensively, especially seeing Emma behind him a ways, wandered over to Rafael, not sure what to expect. The other wolves congregated around them as well in anticipation for whatever was about to happen.

"Foster kid," Jed greeted. "You back for more?"

Rafael took a deep breath. "I killed my girlfriend. It was an accident. I was behind the wheel and I lost control. When I woke up, I was in the hospital. Landon and Owen had to tell me that she was dead, and I don't know anything else." Emma looked down, sympathetic but not sure if she wanted to get too close still. Rafael looked at Jed with a blank expression. "Am I part of the pack now?"

"Take a knee," Jed told him.

Rafael frowned, not knowing what he meant. "What?"

"If you're gonna submit to your alpha, you take a knee," Jed told him. Rafael seemed to be silently debating whether or not he should have done it, looking back at Emma, who was still standing on the sidelines. Emma rolled her eyes, shaking her head. Jed laughed, stepping back. "No, I'm just playing. It's your ball." Jed tossed the ball to Rafael. "Do this, Rafael. You're in the next round."

(Song:) Jaws of Love - Jaws of Love

The game resumed. Emma, relieved there was no more bloodshed, walked out of the gym. Rafael turned to watch her go, looking at her sadly.

-

Outside - Backyard

Danny was sitting alone, skipping rocks along a fountain of water.

Rae walked closer, in pajamas now that she was clean of goo and ready for bed. "Danny."

Danny looked up. "Hey, Rae. See you look better."

"Yeah," Rae agreed.

"Did Kaylin and Nikki give you a talk?" Danny asked.

"Yeah, but they were more easy since we saved the day, and because I was able to help you today, like you've been helping me for two years," Rae answered.

"Well, told you before," Danny told her. "I will fight for you. Even if I have episodes like today because Rosalita's trying to make me pay for getting through to you and to make my life a living hell. She can beat me until I'm black and blue for all I care, but I'm not turning my back on you. I just want to stay with you, like I needed you to stay with me two years ago instead of drifting away."

Rae sighed. "We drifted just to survive the states that we were both in, Danny."

Danny nodded in agreement. "I know. But we made it to the other side, didn't we? Like we always do. I told you before that we could beat the dark, and that I would wait for you. 'Cause I'm not giving up on you. Even when I'm down to my last breath, even when we think there's nothing left, even when nobody else believes... I'm not going down that easily. So, please, don't give up on me. So whenever you're ready... you'll know where I'll be."

Danny started to walk away.

Rae caught his arm before he left, lightly gliding her hand down his arm to his hand, causing Danny to look at her in surprise. "I don't want Rosalita to win this time. I just want you. I'm not running away this time."

Stunned but relieved, Danny smiled. "Finally."

Rae laughed, leaning closer to kiss Danny passionately, much to his shock, but Danny returned the kiss in kind happily. They continued to kiss sweetly, both smiling contently to make it to this point again.

Kaylin had been walking outside to look for Rae, stopping when she saw Rae and Danny kissing, backing away behind a wall so she wouldn't interrupt their moment. She smiled, proud of Rae finally letting people back in. "That's my girl."

Kaylin chuckled, turning around, walking away.

-

Gazebo

Owen was sitting alone in a gazebo at night, overlooking the water and the reflection of the moon and the stars in the water.

Madison walked closer in her pajamas, sitting down across from him. "Hey."

"Hey," Owen replied. "See that you're no longer covered in goo."

Madison chuckled barely. "Yeah. Ariara actually managed to get control, with little help from us girls. Me, Rae, Hope, Emma, Josie, Lizzie."

Owen nodded. "That's good."

"Yeah," Madison agreed. Owen looked down. Madison looked at him sadly. "Look, I'm sorry for earlier. About--"

"About how the entire team turned against me and Landon?" Owen asked sarcastically. "Yeah. That was fun."

"I am sorry," Madison told him. "It's just that, after everything we've all been through, it's hard to know who we should trust. If you trust the right people, you can rise so high, but if you trust the wrong person, no telling how hard you'll fall, especially in our lives."

"I get that, Madison," Owen told her. "But you and Hope and Rae even said that it wasn't my fault or Landon's."

"And we meant that," Madison agreed. "I don't know why Hope was being a bitch to you and Landon all day, Owen, but I was just... trying to make sense of it all. We don't know if something will happen again like it did with the knife, if it will be worse or not. We don't know anything about either of you, but we're trying to figure it out."

"Thank you, for believing in me, even if you don't know if you can trust me yet," Owen told her. "I don't deserve it."

"Yes, you do," Madison told him. "Or, well, I want to believe that you do."

Owen chuckled. "That really matters to me."

"Why?" Madison asked.

"'Cause you really matter to me," Owen answered.

Madison was surprised. "Really?"

"Really," Owen answered. Madison and Owen looked at each other for a moment, clearly drawn to each other, like they would kiss again, but didn't, pulling away. "I'm sorry. I shouldn't..."

Madison stood. "No, I'm sorry. I should go."

Owen sighed. "No, you don't have to."

"I do," Madison told him. "It's fine, don't worry."

Owen stood. "I know I did something wrong, Madison, but... I'm trying to make up for it."

Madison sighed, turning to face him. "I know, Owen. And I know that it's not your fault."

"So you don't like me anymore?" Owen asked.

"I do," Madison answered. "But I was so quick to believing those things 'cause truth is, it hurt less to think that I didn't really like you, but I do, and I need to learn to trust you again, but to also trust me with you."

Owen nodded in understanding, managing a small smile. "So is that a maybe?"

Madison chuckled, smiling a bit. "A definite maybe." She turned around, starting to walk away. Owen made a silent cheer motion, doing a little dance. "I heard that."

Owen stopped, acting cool, embarrassed, chuckling nervously, waving bye to Madison as she walked away. 

-

Lakeside

Landon was sitting on the edge of the dock at the lakeside, skipping rocks over the lake's surface.

Hope walked up behind him to join him. "So much for my plan to spend the day as a normal teenage girl." She sat down next to Landon. "You and Owen did good back there."

Landon nodded. "Yeah. Felt nice to be part of the team, until you all accused us of being monsters."

Hope frowned, knowing that he had a valid point, giving him an apologetic look. "I'm sorry. It's just gonna take us some time before we can trust you again and find out why all this happened."

Landon nodded sarcastically. "Yeah, we got that. Repeatedly." He took a deep breath. "So let me lay this out for you all at once. Owen and I don't know why we were drawn to that knife any more than we can explain why a super sized spider inhabited the body of a kid who used to bully us in high school. We don't know why creatures we've only read about in books are making cameos in Mystic Falls. I don't have an explanation for any of this. And let's be honest, neither do any of you. So, as far as I can see, we're supposed to be in this together. And this morning, all I wanted to be was sitting here, part of this, spending time with you. But all day long, you ridiculed me and Owen and then you hung us out to dry when it mattered." He stood, looking at her pointedly. "You wanted to know what it's like to be normal. Congrats, Hope. You're officially normal."

Landon walked away, leaving Hope to feel guilty and ashamed for her behavior toward Owen and Landon.

(Song Ends)

-

Salvatore Boarding School - Madison/Josie/Lizzie's Dorm Room

Alaric had come to talk to the twins to scold them for the day's activities, particularly Lizzie. "Kaylin, Nicola, Lindsey, Ryan, Tory, Luke and Kacie specifically asked you to wait."

Lizzie was sitting on her bed, raising onto her knees so she could move closer to him. "I know, but--"

"There are no 'buts', Lizzie, okay?" Alaric asked. "Being a hero is not more important than being safe."

Lizzie frowned. "I'm not a hero, Dad. The only reason I was trying to be is because that's how you, Kaylin, Nicola, Lindsey, Ryan, Tory, Luke, Mikayla and Kacie, and Aunt Eliza, are always treating Hope, Rae, Emma, Danny, Madison, Ariara and even Little Lyla. Let's be honest. They're better at it than I'll ever be."

Alaric was frustrated and exasperated. "Hope, Rae, Emma, Danny, Madison and Ariara are no the goal. They are a cautionary tale. And the reasons why we all trust them are the last things I'd ever want the two of you to experience. Because they and even Lyla, they all went through things that neither of you can possibly understand. I don't want that to happen to either of you. Now go to bed. I love you. Sort of."

The three of them embraced.

-

Lindsey/Ryan's Office

Lindsey and Ryan were giving Emma and Danny a lecture.

"You could have all been killed today and Ariara could have lost complete control," Lindsey told them. "This is why we founded this school. That's why there are rules."

Emma sighed. "Well, the only reason why we're alive today is because we broke the rules. Today, Josie did a spell that saved her and Ariara, a spell that everyone would have known if the school taught us offensive magic. And then, Ariara shifted, even before we were completely sure that she was ready, to kill that monster before it could kill us. And she did it better than we thought she would. And Ariara could turn back with help from me, Madison, Rae, Hope, Lizzie and Josie."

"The past couple of days have proven that you cannot protect us from everything," Danny told them. "We have to start learning how to protect ourselves."

Ryan, overwhelmed, couldn't help but chuckle darkly. "Oh, God, is this the moment they talk about when parents lose all control?"

Emma and Danny sighed. "Dad..."

Lindsey sighed, nodding. "All right. We will take it under consideration. Okay?"

"Now get some sleep," Ryan told them. "We'll see you two in the morning."

Lindsey and Ryan embraced Emma and Danny as they returned the embrace, all saying, "I love you."

Emma and Danny started to walk out together.

Danny looked at Emma, impressed. "Where did that come from?"

Emma smirked. "I guess I felt like launching the revolution."

-

Kitchen

MG and Kaleb were in the kitchen.

Kaleb was shouting at MG. "You sold me out!"

"Yeah, I know," MG told him. "Lizzie caught me lying, and I--I just crumbled."

Kaleb was just more mad. "What? Dude, you gotta know who you stand with. And it can't be with some girl who thinks she's too good to give you the time of day. Vamps before tramps, remember?"

MG stammered nervously. "Yeah." He thought about this further, shaking his head. "No. Look, I appreciate the rhyme, but don't disrespect her like that. We got enough monsters out here as it is. We cannot become one of them."

Kaleb scoffed in disbelief, frustrated and exasperated. "You're a puppet, MG! Lizzie Saltzman's, and Kaylin, Nicola, Lindsey, Ryan, Tory and Luke's little puppet."

MG started to get riled up. "No, I'm not."

"No?" Kaleb asked. "Then it doesn't bother you that Lizzie bosses you around, and you just take it, right? Even today! They couldn't even let the vamps out on our own. They had to send the witches and the Banshee to keep an eye on us. Hell, they even make rules about how we're supposed to eat!"

MG, having reached his limit of patience, raised his voice, pointing to the fridge. "There's blood bags in that refrigerator right there!"

Kaleb was tired of fighting with someone who obviously didn't agree with him, giving up, walking out of the room.

-

Foyer

Kaleb had just walked into the hallway, where he was stopped by Matt. "Evening, officer. Let me guess. You're here to give me a medal."

Matt glared at him, unamused. "Actually, I'm here to ask you a few questions."

Kaleb frowned in feigned confusion. "About what?"

"About why half the Mystic Falls cheerleading squad's wearing scarves around their necks," Matt answered.

Tory and Luke walked closer from behind Kaleb.

"Walk away, Matt," Tory told him. "We'll handle this."

Kaleb, now angry, turned toward Tory and Luke with a scathing look. "Oh, don't pretend like you're on my side when you're the ones who told him. The Sheriff's your cousin, Tory, so I know how he would find out. Question is, who told you? Lizzie? MG? Hope, Madison, or Landon and Owen?"

Luke smiled a tiny smirk, satisfied that Kaleb had ratted himself out. "Actually, you just did, you poor, dumb, jackass. We had our suspicious, but we could never confirm them."

Kaleb, now anxious, tried to mask his fear with aggression. "So what are you gonna do about it?" He turned his back on Tory and Luke to look at Matt. "'Cause I know you ain't locking me up."

Kaleb transformed, baring his fangs, trying to attack Matt. Tory easily mind controlled Kaleb into unconsciousness, making him fall to the floor.

Matt looked exhausted and somewhat jaded, giving them a tired look. "Tory, Luke, I've been doing this too long. If your kids are a threat, I'll be coming for them."

Tory gave Matt a hard look. "If you threaten our kids, Matt... we'll be the ones coming for you."

"Now get the hell out of here," Luke told him.

Matt frowned grimly, heading out of the school.

-

Outside

Ariara and Kacie were sitting together, while Ariara was in pajamas.

Kacie was holding the phone that they were using to video chat with Mikayla again. "I don't know if we're proud or exasperated or all of the above, but the kids defied a direct order so that they could defeat a monster on their own today. And Ariara was able to completely shift to kill the monster on her own, and with help from Hope, Rae, Emma, Madison, Lizzie and Josie, was able to turn back, while Danny, Landon, Owen, Rafael and MG were there to help."

Mikayla smiled. "Wow, seems like I missed a lot. I'm proud of you, Ariara, though you kids should've listened."

Ariara shrugged. "Well, me and Josie aren't the ones that disobeyed, since we were the ones that were already at the mill about to be eating when Hope, Rae, Emma, Madison, Lizzie, Danny, Landon, Owen, Rafael and MG showed up, but... I'm glad that I got to shift. And it's because of you, Mikayla, and Kacie and Eliza."

Kacie and Mikayla smiled. "Aw."

"Yeah, so, we know why it's so quiet on your end," Kacie told her. "The monster was an ancient body-snatching spider."

Mikayla was in a cabin, surprised by the revelation, nodding in amusement. "Wow, that's a new one." She heard the sound of wood smashing, standing up to investigate it. "Hang on a sec."

"Listen, why don't you come home?" Kacie asked. "We were wrong. Nothing's coming your way."

Mikayla slowly pressed herself against the wall, peering her head around the corner, where she saw a slimy black creature standing in the main doorway, raising her eyebrows in shock, getting ready to hang up the phone to deal with it. "Hold that thought."

Mikayla let her eyes glow gold, smirking, lowering the phone from her ear to her side.

"What?" Kacie asked.

Mikayla hung up, putting the phone down, turning to face the creature, transforming into her wolf form to deal with the monster to attack, roaring at the creature.