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

Ariara: (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 & 1.03, the dragon in 1.02, the gargoyle in 1.03, the Arachne in 1.04, the Dryad in 1.05, the zombies and the Necromancer in 1.06. "How are we supposed to protect them from a monster inside Rae's head and from stuff that's not supposed to exist?"

From 1.04 "I Felt Like Launching the Revolution", in the school kitchen, Kaleb was shouting at MG. "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!"

From 1.04 "I Felt Like Launching the Revolution", in the gym, 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."

From 1.06 "Mombie Dearest", in Alaric's office, Jo and Alaric embrace.

"Are you happy?" Jo asked.

Alaric, overwhelmed with emotion, choked back tears. "Caroline and I haven't been happy in a really long time. But I am happy right now... in the arms of my demon-possessed baby mama."

From 1.06 "Mombie Dearest", in Madison, Lizzie and Josie's dorm room, Josie and Lizzie closed their eyes, and their hands started to glow red as they siphoned the magic from their biological mother. After a moment, she faded into dust, leaving the girls with their hands out trying to reach her.

From 1.06 "Mombie Dearest", in the school hallway, Kacie, Mikayla and Ariara were talking.

"I liked being alone, because I wasn't ready to move on, not after what happened with Xavier and everyone else in my kingdom," Ariara told them. "My family. I'm trying to move on, but..."

"But it's hard," Kacie finished. "We know."

"Come here," Mikayla told her.

Ariara, Kacie and Mikayla shared a sad embrace.

From 1.05 "Malivore", in Mikayla's cabin, Mikayla looked at the Dryad. "The monsters come one at a time."

Later, the others were with them.

"I found myself not far from here, with an urge to possess that knife," the Dryad explained.

"And who told you this?" Tory asked.

From 1.06 "Mombie Dearest", in the cemetery, The Necromancer introduced himself to Alaric, Lindsey, Ryan, Kaylin and Nicola. "The Necromancer!"

Alaric became furious as he glared at the monster in front of him. "If you're the one responsible for what went down today... you're gonna wish you were someone else."

The Necromancer scoffed. "I told you, death cannot hold me."

Kaylin walked closer. "Oh, yeah?" She rushed over to snap the Necromancer's neck, letting him fall to the ground, smirking. "We'll see about that."

Alaric, Lindsey, Ryan, Kaylin and Nicola exchanged a look, looking at the Necromancer's body, smirking.

-~-

Flashback

Kiesha'Ra

Night - Kingdom Battlefield

(Song:) Lovely - Khalid, Billie Eilish

Ariara took a deep breath to steady her nerves, narrowly avoiding retching from the smell of blood spattered on stones, the smell of burned hair and feathers and skin of the dead smoldered in the fire of a dropped lantern. She heard a noise further in the woods, running off to follow the sound, only to stop cold in her tracks, her knees nearly buckling, her breath freezing as she took in the sight of many more dead, this time her direct relation. She started to cry in despair and devastation, falling to her knees, holding a hand to her stomach as she tried not to become sick at the sight of her dead kingdom like this, her stare boring into the bodies around her as she tried to will her family to take a breath and open their eyes, trying to wake up from the living nightmare, her own personal hell.

Kacie and Mikayla had arrived, rushing closer, stopping in shock when they saw the scene before them.

Mikayla looked like she could also be sick from the death and carnage all around them. "Oh, my God. Kacie..."

"I know," Kacie told her. She slowly stepped toward Ariara, who backed away in fear and cursing in her own kingdom's language. "It's okay. We're not here to hurt you. We're here to help you. This is Mikayla Labonair-Lockwood."

"And this is Kacie Lockwood," Mikayla told her. "We came here after a beacon full of power told us that we could find an extremely powerful teen in pain and need here. I'm guessing that's you. Can you understand us?"

Ariara didn't know if she could trust them or not, but seemed to know that they weren't here to hurt her. "I understand you."

Kacie was only slightly surprised. "You speak English. Good. What's your name?"

"Ariara," Ariara answered, swallowing. "Ariara Nata."

"Hello, Ariara Nata," Kacie told her. "I know that this has got to be hell for you, but we can help you. We can take you away from here and give you a good home, somewhere where you're safe."

"Nata is a last name, right, Ariara?" Mikayla asked.

Ariara swallowed the thick lump in her throat as she looked around in despair. "Yes." She looked around the horrors of her kingdom decimated after war, hysterical. "It wasn't supposed to be like this. It was supposed to stop the war. And now it's gone. It's all gone." She held her head in pain as started to lose control, knowing that she was about to shift into her three-animal form, hitting her head repeatedly to try and not lose control. "No, no, no, no, no. Not now. Don't do this now."

Kacie and Mikayla walked closer in concern, confusion. "Ariara..."

Ariara backed away, looking up, her eyes glowing gold and slit. "No, don't! Stay back."

Ariara was so close to losing control, so devastated and out of control of her emotions, shifting and mentality, that she screamed in pain as 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 whipping around.

Kacie and Mikayla watched her in absolute shock, backing away. "Whoa!"

"Okay," Mikayla said. "I see why Ariara's power burned more brighter on the globe beacon thing than anywhere else in the world."

"You think?" Kacie asked sarcastically.

Animal!Ariara was so far lost of control that she barely noticed when the enemy was about to kill her too.

Kacie and Mikayla saw the four men, rushing closer, ripping out the hearts of the four men that were about to kill Ariara in her animal form. They looked at Ariara in complete shock as Animal!Ariara continued to roar in rage, her wings flapping in the wind, and her serpent tail whipping around, nearly hitting and biting into Kacie and Mikayla, who both ducked. Kacie and Mikayla slowly made their way closer, trying to calm Ariara down to bring her back to control.

-

Now

Day One

Night - Middle of Nowhere

On a lonely road not far from Mystic Falls, a silhouette of a female figure walked down the street.

-

Salvatore Boarding School - Library

There was a slow pan around the library, as students all over were writing letters to their dead loved ones.

Ariara: (voice over) "I'm no stranger to death, but that doesn't mean I want to talk about it."

Student: (voice over) "Dear Grandma. I've been thinking of you, wishing you were here."

Ariara: (voice over) "Once a year for Remembrance Day, we're asked to write letters for our lost loved ones."

There was a montage going through different students writing letters, including Rafael, Hope, Rae, Emma, Danny and Madison.

Rafael: (voice over) "Dear Cassie, I miss you every day."

Hope: (voice over) "Dear Mom and Riley..."

Rae, Emma and Danny: (voice over) "Dear Hayley and Riley..."

Madison: (voice over) "Dear Mom, Dad, Hayley and Riley..."

Ariara: (voice over) "We sign our names, fold them up and scatter them through out the cemetery." Ariara dragged her finger across her drawing of the newest monster. "I usually don't see the point in it. Why write to the dead?"

Rafael, Hope, Rae, Emma, Danny and Madison finished their letters, putting them into the bowl of all the other letters students wrote.

Ariara was watching all the students, turning around, leaving the room.

Ariara: (voice over) "I'd rather not think about it at all."

-

Outside

The barefoot unknown girl approached the school.

Ariara: (voice over) "Except lately..."

-

Inside - Foyer

The girl walked in, dazed and confused. Emma and Rafael were walking together, laughing lightly, until they saw the girl.

Ariara: (voice over) "Death keeps knocking on my door."

Rafael looked at the girl in complete shock. "Cassie?"

Cassie turned to look at him. "Raf?"

"Cassie?" Emma repeated. "Isn't that your--"

"My girlfriend," Rafael finished, dropping his bag to embrace the newly brought back from the dead Cassie, crying.

Emma watched them in complete shock.

(Song Ends)

-

Worlds Colliding (Legacies)

-

Cellar

The Necromancer was locked in one of the cells, chained down. Kaylin, Nicola, Kacie and Mikayla were down here with him.

Kaylin swung back an ax as far as she could before slamming it into the Necromancer's head. The ax stayed in his head but did not affect him in the slightest.

"Was that really necessary?" the Necromancer asked. "The Queen of Chicago, the queen of torture's, methods won't work on a creature that can't die or can't feel pain."

Kaylin nodded sarcastically, backing away, raising her arms in a shrug. "Oh, so you know about me. So you know what I can do."

The Necromancer laughed. "Of course. You've brought a lot of death in your day, haven't you, Kaylin Salvatore? Or is it Salvatore-Mikaelson now? Becoming one with a hybrid that brought even more death than you. Klaus."

Kaylin pointed at him. "Watch it."

The Necromancer shifted his gaze over to the other. "And I know about your little niece Nicola. The wife of another Mikaelson, Elijah. The Huntress. Who has nearly got as insane as the sister Kassandra, the broken beast. Nearly as mad as Kassandra, are you, dear? Kassandra and her love Lucien Castle have both been very good for business before and after turning into the insanity beasts. And you've brought a lot of death as well, even though you haven't been around as long as they have. Your father Zach, mother Monica and sister Sarah are waving hello just over your shoulder. Didn't your father die in this very basement? Killed by Kaylin's brother, your ancestor Damon that you grew to love as a brother as well."

Nicola tried not to let him get to her. "Shut up. How do you know about that?"

The Necromancer smirked. "Oh, I can see everything. And then Kacie Lockwood, and Mikayla Labonair-Lockwood, you two may have not have brought as much death, but you've still brought plenty. And you've all lost so much."

Nicola leaned closer. "Say another word and I will rip you apart just as easily as I can rip vampires apart."

Kacie knelt in front of the Necromancer, stabbing him in the leg. "We told you we need answers."

"Why wold I help you?" the Necromancer asked. "You have me in chains. Indignanty will not go unpunished."

"We've been at this for days," Kaylin told him. "Answer our questions or I will peel your skin off like a grape and shower you in battery acid."

The Necromancer pulled the ax out of his head. "A rather grotesque effort, considering it will feel like a delicate tickle of a feather."

The Necromancer simply handed the ax to Kacie. Kacie angrily held up the ax threateningly, standing, walking away.

Mikayla walked over to the table of other torture devices, picking up a blow torch. "All right, let's see how this feels."

Mikayla turned the blow torch on.

Ariara, Hope, Rae and Madison walked in.

"Kacie?" Ariara asked. "Mikayla?" Not wanting to let them see what she was about to do, Mikayla turned off the blow torch. "Kaylin? Nikki?"

"Oh, there you are, lovely girls," the Necromancer told them. "I was wondering if you'd come visit me again. How're your friends, the ones I saw you with earlier, trying to steal an illicit peek at me? Hmm, Emma and Danny are the ones that went through much torment with you teenagers. And Lindsey, Ryan, Tory and Luke. The Davis-Thompsons that went through much with the adults. Little Lyla hasn't been through as much, though she lost much of her family before she could even meet them."

"As we speak, Emma, Danny, Lindsey, Ryan, Tory and Luke are trying to help Rafael, as he's having an emotion reunion with his dead girlfriend," Hope answered. "I assume we have you to thank."

The Necromancer smirked. "Poor thing. Her spirit was clinging to him like a vine in winter. It took barely any effort." Kaylin, Nicola, Kacie and Mikayla put things back on the table. "Just a little wrinkle of the nose, and poof. You're lucky that's all I did. The way you've treated a man of my stature, you should be ashamed."

"Literally nobody knows who you are," Kacie told him in frustration.

The Necromancer scoffed. "That's impossible."

Mikayla ignored him, looking at Hope, Rae, Madison and Ariara. "You think Lindsey, Tory, Luke, Ryan, Emma and Danny can handle things with Rafael? That the Davis-Thompsons have it handled?"

"The Davis-Thompsons have it handled," Hope answered.

"Yeah," Madison agreed. "But we should talk about what to do about Necro-whoever."

The Necromancer looked at Madison curiously, chuckling a bit. "Hmm. The Banshee. The girl of death. A girl of power but not knowing her true potential. Not only a girl of death, but surrounded by death, aren't you? Madison Fell-Mikaelson? The longer you deny that death is part of you, who you are, the harder it will be for you to control or to learn from your... abilities. But the sooner you accept it... the easier it will become."

Madison looked curious and intrigued by what he said.

"Madison, don't let him get to you," Nicola told her.

Madison shook her head. "I'm not."

The Necromancer looked at Rae. "And the psychic immortal that was brought back from the dead by Cade. With the literal She-Devil trapped inside her. Rosalita is a hard one to keep caged inside, isn't she, Rae?"

Rae scoffed, not letting him get to her. "Not nearly as hard as before." She looked at Kaylin, Nicola, Kacie and Mikayla. "We need to talk."

Kaylin, Nicola, Kacie and Mikayla left the cell, closing the gate door behind them.

"If you want an end to this misery, simply bring me the knife and I'll be on my way," the Necromancer told them.

Kacie ignored him, rolling her eyes, looking at the girls. "Come on."

-

Hallway

Hope, Rae, Kaylin, Nicola, Madison, Ariara, Kacie and Mikayla walked down the hallway.

"I take it things aren't going well," Hope told them.

Kaylin scoffed. "He's a diva."

"Far worse than Kaylin or Kassandra or Rebekah have ever been," Nicola agreed.

"So what's the plan?" Rae asked. "I know you don't want to give over the knife, but we can't have him raising the lost loved ones of everyone in this school."

"We will handle it," Kacie told them. "We have questions that need answers."

"Okay, well, I'm not sure that your methods are going to work," Ariara told them. "I mean, I know that Kaylin is an expert in making people talk with torture, but the Necromancer can't die or feel pain, so..."

Mikayla stopped, turning to face her. "Ariara, we said we will handle it. We just need you, Hope, Rae and Madison to stay away from him."

-

Common Room

Lindsey, Ryan, Tory and Luke walked over to where Emma and Danny were sitting with Rafael, trying to help him keep Cassie calm.

"Cassie, is it?" Lindsey asked. "Cassie, I am Lindsey, this is Ryan, Tory, Luke, Emma and Danny, the Davis-Thompsons, and we are here to help you."

"I--I don't understand what's happening," Cassie admitted. "Why am I here?"

"We didn't know what to tell her," Danny admitted.

Ryan looked at Cassie. "Um, well, do you mind telling us the last few things you remember?"

"Um..." Cassie trailed off. "Raf and I were driving home from a track meet. The roads were bad, it was wet, and then dark, and I heard this voice telling me to open up my eyes, and then I was here."

Tory nodded. "Okay, well, listen. This is gonna be really hard for you to understand, but those memories you have are from two months ago."

"You were in a car accident," Luke explained. "You didn't survive, and tonight you were resurrected from the dead."

Cassie began to breathe heavily, looking to Rafael for confirmation, which he gave her.

-

Library

Kaylin, Nicola, Kacie and Mikayla were now going through the library to see what could help.

Rae, Madison, Ariara and Hope walked closer.

"Find anything yet?" Hope asked.

Nicola was on a ladder reaching the highest shelf. "From what Ric and Ryan say, necromancy is everywhere in occult literature. It's a form of sorcery that dates back to ancient Greece."

"Since when did Ric and Ryan turn you into a nerd?" Kaylin asked.

Nicola tilted her head at her. "Kaylin." The others smirked. "Anyway, it involves the ability to communicate with and raise the dead." Nicola climbed down the ladder. "But there is nothing about a specific necromancer."

"So whoever this dude is, he's been erased from history like every other monster that comes looking for the knife," Kacie told them.

"Is there any way to stop him from bringing back dead people?" Rae asked. "Because if this week is any indication, it's kinda becoming a thing."

"Ryan's looking into it, but it might take a minute, because Ric left with Lizzie and Josie to go visit Caroline," Kacie explained.

"Evil never takes a holiday, Kacie," Ariara told her.

"Well, Ric, Lizzie and Josie needed one after what happened with Jo," Madison pointed out. "And I'm worried about them. Do you think they're okay?"

"I think after the week they've had, they needed a vacation," Mikayla answered. "And a therapist, but Lindsey's been everybody's therapist at the school."

Ariara nodded in agreement. "Fair. Okay, Mikayla..."

Kaylin handed books to Ariara. "Take these to Lindsey, Ryan, Tory and Luke for me, would you? Lindsey, Ryan, or Emma and Danny, can get through them fast. The Davis-Thompsons are all pretty much bookworms. Thanks."

Ariara took the books from Kaylin. "Okay."

-

Common Room

Ariara went to go give the books to the Davis-Thompsons, but pausing when she saw them with Rafael and Cassie, talking. Madison, Hope and Rae walked up behind Ariara, as the three exchanged a look.

Nicola, Kaylin, Kacie and Mikayla walked closer to Ariara, Hope and Rae.

Ariara got an idea, turning to face them. "What if I told you that I think I have a better way of getting through to the Necromancer since killing and torturing him won't work?"

Kacie and Mikayla sighed in worry and concern. "Ariara..."

"Kacie, Mikayla, we'll be fine," Ariara assured. "It's not like he can hurt us from the inside of the cell."

"I think that any way we can get through to the Necromancer, we should take," Rae told them. "Since reading his mind won't work either. Tory and I've already tried."

Mikayla sighed. "Okay. Fine. What do you got?"

"We just got to be careful," Nicola told them.

Ariara nodded.

-

Cellar

The Necromancer was still in his cage. He closed his eyes, inhaling deeply. "Ah. Ooh. All of your loved ones have a powerful scent of death on them, but none of them quite like you, Ariara Nata." Ariara slowly walked in, carrying the books. Madison, Nicola, Kaylin, Kacie, Mikayla, Hope and Rae slowly followed. "Uh-huh. It's quite lovely, really. The stench of death on all of you and all your loved ones."

"We thought maybe we could talk," Hope told him, using magic to unlock his chains, letting them fall to the floor.

The Necromancer stood. "Such a puny creature dares to dalliance with the almighty Necromancer?"

"Well, here's the thing about that," Rae  told him. "You don't exist."

"I won't fall for your mind games," the Necromancer warned.

"This isn't a game," Nicola told him. "Let me lay it out for you. You died, you were in a dark place, for what felt like an eternity, until suddenly, you were pulled into the light with a singular, inexplicable mission to retrieve a knife."

Impressed that they knew that much, and intrigued to know more, the Necromancer nodded. "Do continue."

"It's been the same with all the creatures that came before you," Kaylin explained. "A dragon, a gargoyle, an Arachne, a Dryad."

The Necromancer scoffed. "Such creatures only exist in fiction."

Kacie shook her head. "No. They've been erased from history, and so have you."

The Necromancer couldn't help but laugh. "That's preposterous. I'm world-renowned. People tremble at the sound of my name."

"Don't believe us?" Mikayla asked. "Read up."

Madison passed the books between the bars of the cell. "Here. It's all right here for you."

After a moment of hesitation, the Necromancer took the books. 

Later, after reading, the Necromancer was throwing a fit in rage, ripping the books up, throwing the papers around. "No! No! No! No!" He threw his chair. "No! No!" He slammed against the wall. "No! A lifetime's work, my legacy, reduced to something as--as pitiful as a brand of sorcery? Where I am barely a footnote?" Seething, he walked toward the bars of the cell toward where the girls were sitting calmly on the other side, slamming his arms against the bars of the cell. "Who's responsible for this vile affront?"

Ariara stood. "That's what we're hoping you can help us figure out."

The Necromancer took a moment to consider, picking up his chair, putting it upright, sitting down, crossing his legs. "Well, then, I'm all ears."

"Good," Madison told him.

Ariara and Madison looked at the Necromancer in intrigue, but looking numb. Kaylin, Kacie, Mikayla, Hope and Rae exchanged a look.

-~-

Mikayla was pacing outside of the Necromancer's cell. "If you want to get to the bottom of this, we need to know who's communicating with you."

"No one's communicating with me," the Necromancer denied. "My mind is a steel trap."

"But you knew to resurrect Dr. Saltzman's dead fiance right after the Dryad realized how much, and who, Aunt Kacie, Aunt Mikayla, Tory, Luke, Lyla, Alaric and Ariara all lost," Hope told him. "That's why Kaylin, Aunt Nikki, Aunt Kacie and Aunt Mikayla had questions. It can't be a coincidence. You're all coming after the same thing, communicating in some way, so who's pulling the strings?"

The Necromancer stood angrily. "I am no puppet." Ariara looked at him patiently, sitting down in her chair, crossing her legs, sitting next to Madison, Hope and Rae, while Kaylin, Nicola, Kacie and Mikayla were standing. The Necromancer sighed, starting to pace. "It's less a voice, more an instinct. I simply know things."

"Like you know you're here to retrieve a knife and return it to a place called Malivore," Rae stated.

The Necromancer nodded. "If I return the knife to Malivore, I will be free."

"Of what?" Nicola asked.

"The blackness," the Necromancer answered. "The void. The empty oblivion."

Kaylin rolled her eyes, scoffing sarcastically. "Do you ever just say things once? And more importantly, do you know how to get there?"

The Necromancer gazed off. "Only that the knife will lead me."

Ariara showed the Necromancer her journal, which had a drawing of the symbol that the Dryad had shown to her, Kacie, Mikayla, Tory, Luke, Lyla and Alaric, and the symbol that Landon and Owen's mother had a necklace. "I'm assuming you know this symbol."

The Necromancer glared at the symbol, having to take a step back. "It is the sign of the worst existential nightmare. The ultimate hell. The--"

Rae tried not to lose her patience. "You're doing it again. Focus. What does it mean?"

"That symbol represents what you say has happened to me," the Necromancer answered. "It means no one remembers you. No one celebrates you. No one mourns you." He walked closer to the bars separating them. "Loosely translated, it means 'permanent death'."

Ariara took this all in with a glassed over look in her eyes. Madison, Nicola, Kaylin, Kacie, Mikayla, Hope and Rae also processed this.

-

Day Two

Morning - Salvatore Boarding School - Lindsey/Ryan's Office

Cassie was trying to make a call. Lindsey, Ryan, Tory and Luke walked in.

"That's not a good idea," Lindsey told her.

Cassie jumped in surprise. "I need to call my mom."

Emma, Danny and Rafael walked in.

Luke looked at the three teens. "I thought we asked you not to leave her alone."

"I was getting her some clothes," Emma told them.

"And she was cold," Danny told them. "I got her some tea."

Emma gave the clothes to Cassie, and Danny gave her the tea.

"Cassie, this situation..." Ryan trailed off. "I'm afraid, it might not be permanent, and we don't know how fair it would be to your mother right now to hear your voice."

"So you think I'm gonna die again?" Cassie asked.

"We think it's likely," Tory answered sympathetically. "I'm sorry. I understand that this is... an emotional experience for everyone involved."

"And we will be here every step of the way," Lindsey assured. "Is there anything else we can get you?"

Cassie tried not to cry. "I'm hungry. I need a shower."

"That's not a problem," Luke told her.

Cassie looked at Rafael. "And then I'd like to get to the bottom of how you murdered me."

Rafael was stunned and hurt by the way she said that.

-

Cellar

Madison, Nicola, Kaylin, Kacie, Mikayla, Hope, Rae and Ariara were sitting outside the cell.

"Do you remember how you died?" Hope asked.

The Necromancer was pacing inside his cell. "I was wandering the beach of Normandy in the need of a pick-me-up, so I thought I'd resurrect a few GIs to toy with some Nazis."

"I'm glad to hear even evil creatures don't like Nazis," Madison told him sarcastically.

Kaylin smirked in amusement. "Nobody likes Nazis."

The Necromancer went on with his story. "One minute, I'm dancing with the dead on the sand, and the next, there was just blackness."

"But you don't remember who killed you?" Mikayla asked.

The Necromancer shook his head. "No, although that's not uncommon. The subconscious has a way of protecting the mind against the trauma of death. I see it all the time in my line of work."

"But theoretically, that memory still exists," Ariara pointed out. "Right? What if there was a way to access it?"

Nicola raised her eyebrows. "You want to take a walk through his subconscious? No. Mm-mm."

"No, no, no, no," Kaylin told them. "Oh, and uh, no."

"Hell no," Kacie agreed. "Ariara--"

The Necromancer laughed. "Oh, oh, oh. At your own peril, my dears. 'Cause I'm not sure you're quite tall enough to ride the scary rides, huh? I'm sure that even though Tory and Lyla Thompson and Rae here couldn't read my mind from afar, they could use their abilities to breach into my mind from up close."

"Shut the hell up," Madison told him.

Mikayla stood. "Ariara, Rae, no."

Hope stood. "We need to talk, now."

-

Hallway

The girls walked out into the hallway.

"Tell me you're joking, Ariara," Kaylin told her.

Ariara sighed. "Kaylin--"

"No, don't 'Kaylin' me," Kaylin told her. "We have no idea what kind of messed up things are in his head, and I'd really rather not find out by having any of you go in there."

"Mom, we can handle it," Rae told her.

"Yeah?" Kacie asked. "What if you can't?"

"You don't think that we can?" Hope asked.

"I think that all of you are so incredibly strong and gifted," Mikayla answered. "And that you can basically take on anything. But we can't take risks with this. Not with him. He's like a master of mind games, and we don't know what he could do."

"And I really don't want to find out what he could do if one of you ends up getting hurt," Nicola told them. "Okay?"

Madison sighed. "Okay."

"All right, stay here and keep an idea on him," Kacie told them. "Just to keep an eye on him. We can go see if Tory can do the head dive."

"That's an actual thing?" Madison asked.

Nicola nodded. "It is. It just takes a little precision. And with Rosalita in Rae's head, Rosa might screw it up and get someone hurt. But Tory can do it."

"Okay," Rae agreed, looking down, her eyes glazing over as she frowned. "Fine."

-

Gym

MG was laying down, doing bench presses, straining to do so.

Kaleb was spotting him. "Come on, push it."

"Come on, man," MG complained. "It's too much."

Kaleb knelt behind MG's head. "It's not nearly enough. It's them weak ass bunny blood muscles talking."

"Ain't got nothing to do with bunny blood," MG told him. "There's a reason why Lindsey and Ryan have human blood bags or bunny blood bags for those of us who are pacifists or scared to hurt people. Something to do with Nicola, or Kaylin's brother Stefan and his wife Alex. This is just heavy."

"Oh, yeah?" Kaleb asked, standing, picking up the weight easily with one hand, raising it up over his head. MG sat up. "I was on a hunger strike for four days and can still smoke that skinny ass. Think about that. You're right. Lindsey and Ryan do give us a choice, and I respect them for that. I make the choice that makes us stronger. You make the choice that makes you weaker."

Kaleb walked away.

-

Common Room

Rafael was sitting on the couch, with the Davis-Thompsons.

Emma handed the clothes to Rafael. "These are for Cassie when she's done in the shower."

Rafael took the clothes. "Thanks, Emma."

"Yeah," Emma agreed quietly, sighing, sitting down.

"You doing okay?" Tory asked.

Rafael shook his head. "My head keeps spinning."

Emma nodded in understanding. "Yeah. Well, I wish there was something I could say to help, but I..."

Rafael sighed. "It's okay, Emma. I don't know if I know the right thing to say either. She thinks that I killed her."

"Technically, you did," Luke pointed out.

"Though it was an accident," Danny told him.

"Doesn't make her any less dead," Luke told them.

"Luke, you're not helping," Ryan told him.

Rafael sighed. "But Luke's right, Ryan. This guy that brought her back, do you think that we can convince him to let her stay?"

"I'd like to help you out, but as soon as we figure out how to kill him, he's out of here, and likely, her along with him," Tory told him.

"But then another monster will come," Danny told them. "And what if it's worse than this one?"

"Don't you think we should at least think about keeping him around?" Rafael asked.

Lindsey sighed. "I would rather spend a lifetime slaying dragons than have another kid at this school go through what you and Ric, Lizzie and Josie have just experienced at the hands of this creature, Rafael."

"Look, the only advice we can offer you is to find closure," Ryan told him. "When someone is taken from us too soon, it can haunt us forever. Use this time well."

Emma looked at Rafael sadly. "Make your peace with her."

Rafael looked down, nodding in agreement.

-

Cellar

Hope, Rae, Madison and Ariara were keeping an eye on the Necromancer.

Rae was gazing off, hearing whispers in her head from Rosalita, and she seemed in a daze as she walked toward the cell door.

"Wait, Rae," Madison told her. "What are you doing?" Ariara walked toward Rae and the cell, seeming in a daze as well. "Ariara? You're going in there? With him?"

The Necromancer chuckled evilly, knowingly. "With me, the almighty Necro--"

Rae looked at him in annoyance. "Please, can we not do all that again?"

Rae held her hand out to the lock, shaking her hand lightly, using her power to unlock the door to open it.

"You did not just use psychic energy to unlock the damn door," Hope told her.

"Yeah, I did," Rae answered. "Hope, Madison, pull it together. Ariara and I got this."

"But why?" Madison asked. "You two agreed with Kaylin, Nikki, Kacie and Mikayla not to do this."

"You don't always have to do what Kaylin, Nicola, Kacie and Mikayla tell you, do you?" the Necromancer asked. "You have no reason to fear me, I assure you."

Ariara followed Rae into the cell, closing the door behind her. "You're basically the Grim Reaper."

The Necromancer took that as an insult, wincing. "Oh, the Reaper is a carnival sideshow hack! No, you... you dirty your mouth mentioning his name in my presence. Perhaps I should summon your mother to wash it out with soap?"

Ariara glared at him. "No, you leave my mother be. You leave all my family and people be. My kingdom doesn't need to be bothered by the likes of you."

Rae stood in front of the Necromancer, directing Ariara to stand behind him. "Ariara, I stand here, hands on his head. You put your hands on his shoulders." Ariara did as told. "Now open your mind to me. Like lifting a window to let the breeze in."

Ariara closed her eyes, focusing as Rae allowed her to go into his head.

-

Necromancer's Mindscape

Kiesha'ra

Day - Castle

Ariara appeared in the the castle of her home, sitting in the throne that used to belong to her, dressed in the finery that her people had always dressed in, looking around in confusion. Standing up, she noticed she was dressed in the every day wear of her kingdom, as a princess or a queen, gasping in shock, putting her head to her head, feeling her crown. She heard music from a kingdom celebration outside, walking toward the balcony, seeing the celebration outside throughout the kingdom.

Rae walked across the throne room, wearing similar clothes, very confused. "Ariara?"

Ariara turned to face her. "Rae?"

"Where are we?" Rae asked. "What the hell are we wearing?"

Rosalita strut into the room, wearing similar attire because of her dramatic taste, spinning around. "Where do you think you are, Rae? Ariara's kingdom. And this is what the people wore every day, especially for royalty such as Ariara and her family."

Ariara was confused at first. "Tory?"

Rae realized, shaking her head uneasily. "No, that's not Tory, Ariara. That's..."

Ariara realized. "Rosalita."

Rosalita smirked. "Ariara Nata. I would say that it's nice to finally officially meet you, but I don't really give a damn."

Rosalita smirked, taking a seat on Ariara's throne.

The Necromancer walked closer. "Well, I'll be damned." Rosalita smiled. "I mean, both of us are obviously damned, but it worked."

"Of course it worked, old friend," Rosalita told him. "Not only are we in your mind, but Rae is bridging the gap between her mind and yours, giving me enough leeway to go between both."

The Necromancer laughed, taking her hand to kiss. "Hello, Rosalita."

Rae looked between the two incredulously. "You said that you knew of her, not that you actually knew her."

"Well, of course I actually knew her," the Necromancer answered. "Rosalita here was very good for my business for over 2,000 years, always killing people, starting wars and making people kill each other, all over the world, like she tried to do to your loved ones more than once."

"Not everyone was strong enough to overcome such mind controlled wars to the death because not everyone had such strength of willpower or people to love to pull them back from the edge," Rosalita told her, flicking her gaze over to the princess. "Isn't that right, Ariara Nata?"

Ariara looked at her suspiciously, but Rosalita just smirked.

"What the hell are we doing here?" Ariara asked.

Rosalita pointed at the two girls. "You are the ones who invited yourselves along." She smirked, shrugging, rolling her eyes, tilting her head. "Well, actually, I was the one that put the thoughts into your heads and basically gave you the push that you both needed to disobey Kaylin, Nicola, Kacie and Mikayla, so that you two could leave Hope and Madison behind and come into this world here. You two are here in the Necromancer's mind, because of me, and thanks to Rae bridging the gap between her mind and his, I could just stride right on in."

Rae sighed in annoyance, closing her eyes, sighing. "I should've known that you were the one that gave me the idea and made me do it."

"Yes, you should've, but I didn't want you to know, so you didn't," Rosalita agreed. "I love that even when I'm locked inside your mind, I can still keep secrets from you. Just makes my life, even if I'm in captivity, that much more entertaining. How is Emma, by the way? Recovering from the dark magic trip I had her on? And Danny, recovering from the visions I've been giving him to make him lose control?"

Rae and Ariara both glared at Rosalita.

Ariara walked toward Rosalita and the Necromancer, determined to get answers. "What are we doing here? In Kiesha'ra. This is my kingdom, my castle. I was to become queen."

"Oh, yes," Rosalita agreed. "Kiesha'ra. I know all about your kingdom. I spent a good amount of time here back in the day. About 600 years ago. Right before the war started."

"What do you know about my family, my people?" Ariara asked dangerously. "About the war?"

"I know that I'm the one that started it," Rosalita answered.

Rae and Ariara looked at her in shock, causing Rosalita and the Necromancer to laugh maniacally.

"Knowing Rosalita's history with starting wars all over the world, and starting a war with all of your loved ones, you never paused to think that maybe she was the one behind the war of Ariara's people?" the Necromancer asked, causing them both to laugh more.

Rosalita stood, chuckling, stepping down the steps in front of the throne. "600 years ago, your people were thriving, Ariara. The Natas, every other family line. They were so fun and creative and at peace with one another. Back then, your people, your kind, they could live on for at least 600 years or more, since they aged more slowly than that of regular people. And they knew how to have a good time. Parties every day, parades, celebration. They did not know the meaning of holding back. I mean, today, you see people falling for each other and denying what they feel for one another, but your people back then? They didn't know the meaning of that. They were so... carnal. The serpents, they would kiss each other passionately just in greeting, whether they were together or not, and if they liked each other, the sex they could have. Wow!" Rosalita laughed, remembering. "They didn't need love or even a reason to hook up, because intimacy wasn't as... complicated to them as it was to other cultures, they just did what they wanted together, freely. It was magnificent if you're like that sort of thing. They didn't hold back anything on what they wanted or what they felt. That's what I liked about it. There were no inhibitions among the people, given if it was love, desire, drive, even falling for and giving into one's feeling for someone they couldn't really trust, like me. Though the golden eagles, they were as loving and fierce, but they were more reserved and had more self-control, but they would be able to throw down with the best of them. And the lions and the tigers, well, they were beasts in the streets and the sheets. Trust me." Rae gagged at the thought of Rosalita experimenting with the creatures of Ariara's kingdom like that, causing Ariara to smirk lightly, because she hated the idea of Rosalita doing this to her people, even if it was 600 years ago. "But even in a kingdom with that much fun, I got bored. And I wanted to tear it down. So I turned all the creatures against each other. That's why no one knew why your war started, Ariara. Between the Natas, and everyone else. Because it started so long ago that no one could remember, and they couldn't remember that I was the one that started it because I didn't want them to. But I loved watching them tear each other to shreds. So over the years, as the battles waged on, even if the serpents, golden eagles and the lions managed to broker peace, and you were close to brokering a peace with the tigers since your dear Xavier was a tiger before your kingdom was wiped out... well, no one lived for 600 years anymore in your kingdom. They were lucky enough to make it to their 100th birthday if they weren't killed in the war beforehand. And, Ariara, you may have been born before Hope, Rae, Emma, Danny and Madison, but the way you age slowly over time, much more slowly than they did, you're still about the same age as them mentality wise, even if you are a lot more old fashioned and mature because of your kingdom's ways, Nata."

Ariara glared at her in fury. "The fear, the hatred that we learned growing up? The bloodshed, for 600 years? The culture that you loved so much because there was no boundaries of love, hate or anything in between, that was so fun for you because they didn't hold back on anything like fun or intimacy, you destroyed all of that... because you were bored? How many generations that you ruined? How many of my people fallen? And why? Meaningless hatred, the hatred of an enemy without a face, until now. No one knew why we fought, they only knew that we would continue until we could win a war that was too late to win, until we had avenged too many dead to avenge, until no one remembered peace anymore, because they were all dead in the end. All because you took it upon yourself to destroy my home because you were bored of it."

Rosalita smirked simply, nodding as if all of that had been a compliment. "Yep."

Ariara was furious, trying not to let Rosalita bait her.

Rae reached out to help her. "Ariara..."

The Necromancer laughed, pointing at Ariara. "The spirits of your people are all around you."

"Why are you telling us this now?" Rae asked angrily, defending Ariara.

"Because I wanted to see Ariara's face when I told her that I was the reason that she lost everything, all the Natas, her kingdom," Rosalita answered. "Especially after she became part of a family that I ruined nearly just as badly."

Rae looked at the Necromancer. "So why are you messing with us?"

The Necromancer walked toward them. "Frankly, I think you're the ones messing with me. Not you, Rae. I know that all this talk about solving the mystery of Malivore that you, Ariara, Kaylin, Nicola, Kacie, Mikayla, Hope and Madison have been spouting is what you're after, but Ariara? I think you and I both know which mystery you'd love me to solve. You want to know how your people and the rest of the Natas are. Or should I say, where they are? Huh?"

Ariara shook her head. "No. No, I don't."

The Necromancer stopped in front of her. "Sure you do. You want to know if your people and the other Natas are at peace, or if they're suffering, like the good little queen to be you are. Or you were supposed to be." Ariara looked away. Rae looked at Ariara in concern. "Hmm, not to bother. I'm not telling you anything until we've finished our journey. Now, let's get started, shall we? This is my conscious mind. We need to find the door to my subconscious. Look for a hallway to nowhere, an endless staircase. Something like that." They heard the music of the celebration outside. The Necromancer laughed. "Ooh, a second line. My favorite."

-

Outside

Rosalita, Ariara, Rae and the Necromancer walked outside into the celebration of the kingdom, where there was a parade and people dancing through the kingdom, with cheering and laughter. All the people seemed to be covered in blood and death however, to signify the war and the bloodshed and the loss of everyone in the kingdom.

Rosalita cheered, starting to spin around in a dance with the rest of the celebration. "Yeah! How I love the macabre!" Ariara was breathing heavily, looking around, overwhelmed to see her people like this. Rosalita was still dancing, watching Ariara's reaction smugly since she was the one that was making her see this, laughing. "Oh, the dance of death. I wonder, who are the guests of honor?" Rae reached out to comfort Ariara. "Let's take a look." Rosalita walked toward a coffin. "Could be anyone you've lost, Ariara. Xavier, your brother Acilino Nata, your sister Arlette Nata, your parents Ahish and Acquilina Nata, your grandparents. Anyone else. Let's see."

Ariara walked closer to stop her. "No!"

Rosalita laughed, ripping open the coffin. Rae and Ariara walked closer to look inside.

"There's nothing there," Rae told them.

"You're not ready for the truth," the Necromancer mocked.

"No, like, literally, nothing," Rae told them.

The Necromancer turned to look into the coffin, seeing that it was a bottomless pit of black void, looking at Rosalita, Ariara and Rae. "Ah, clever girls. May I present the door to my subconscious? Well done, you three."

Rosalita and the Necromancer shared another evil laugh, before the Necromancer jumped through the black void of the coffin.

Rosalita flicked her fingers, blowing a kiss toward Ariara, magically throwing her through the black void as well, making her scream as she fell into the blackness, Ariara's gown flowing up around her toward the light up above as she fell into the darkness.

Rae reached out to try to catch her. "Ariara!"

Rosalita laughed, thrusting her arm toward Rae gracefully in a dramatic motion, magically sending Rae reeling back. Rae got back to the coffin, but only to see that it looked like a regular coffin with a coffin bed inside. Rosalita and Rae looked around the kingdom, seeing that they were alone and the celebration had disappeared. Rosalita smiled, giggling hysterically in evilness.

-

Reality

Day - Salvatore Boarding School - Cellar

Rae woke up in front of the Necromancer, backing away, holding her head in pain and anger as she groaned.

Hope and Madison steadied Rae. "Rae?"

"I'm glad that's over," Hope told her. "You and Ariara had me and Madison scared."

Madison noticed that Ariara was still in a trance behind the Necromancer. "Why is Ariara not waking up?"

Rae scoffed. "Unbelievable. Rosalita tricked us, again. Hope... Madison... you won't believe what happened in there. Ariara's still in there."

-~-

Rae turned back to the Necromancer. "I'm going back in."

"Rae, I don't think that's a good idea," Madison told her. "You just said that Rosalita and that guy tricked you and Ariara to go in there, so that they could play mind games with you."

"I'm sure that just Rosalita telling Ariara that she's the one behind why her kingdom was at war for 600 years before they were massacred, was not the only mind game that they're trying to play," Hope told her.

"I'm going to be fine," Rae told them. "The Necromancer still has Ariara in his head, and I need to get in there to get her out."

"But Rosalita will still be able to mess with both of you," Madison pointed out. "And she could make you lose control. Both of them could make you lose  control of her."

"So then go get help," Rae told them. "Go get Mom, Aunts Nikki, Kacie and Mikayla. Definitely get Tory, Lindsey and Lyla. Luke, Ryan, Emma and Danny if you have to, yes, even the Davis-Thompsons because they help a lot, but I gotta get back in there and get Ariara out. Even if Rosalita makes me lose control. Tell them what I told you. That she used her mind control to trick us into his head so that they could do all this. But I'm going back in to get Ariara, and you need to go get them in case I lose control when we both come out. Now go."

Hope and Madison nodded, running off to go get the others.

Rae turned to glare at Necromancer, putting her hands on his head again to go inside his head.

-

Necromancer's Mindspace

Kiesha'ra

Day - Castle

Rae appeared in the castle again, once again in the finery clothes from the kingdom, looking around.

Rosalita appeared sitting on the throne, also in the finery still, checking her nails in boredom. "Looking for Ariara? Sorry, Rae. You won't find Nata here."

Rae glared at her. "Go to hell."

Rosalita chuckled sarcastically, nodding mockingly. "Oh, yeah. Good one. Haven't heard that one before. Oh, I may still be the Queen of Hell, but Tory Thompson, Lindsey Davis-Thompson and Bonnie Bennett destroyed my domain, so I'm bringing Hell to all of you, even if I'm still locked away in that cage of a body of yours."

Rae gave Rosalita a glare, walking away across the grand room toward a door, opening it, seeing an endless staircase behind it. "This is a little much, don't you think? And the Necromancer said that he didn't like mind games."

Rosalita smirked, tilting her head. "Oh, but you know that I love mind games." Rae walked down the endless staircase, her gown trailing behind her up the stairs as she did. Rosalita walked down the staircase as well, sweeping around her gown. "Hey, Rae." Rae turned to look at Rosalita in annoyance. "Don't look down."

Rosalita smiled evilly, pushing her hand toward Rae, which magically caused Rae to fall backward into the black void, making her scream as she fell into the blackness, Rae's gown flowing up around her as she fell into the darkness, all the while Rosalita was laughing.

-

Reality

Day - Salvatore Boarding School - Danny/Rafael's Dorm Room

Cassie and Rafael were sitting on Rafael's bed, talking.

Rafael was overwhelmed with guilt. "Cassie, I'm so sorry. Look, I know it doesn't mean much, but I am sorry for my part in the accident."

Cassie shook her head. "It wasn't an accident, Raf. And you know it."

Rafael looked hurt and confused. "Why would you say that?"

Cassie took a deep breath. "Earlier, I couldn't remember anything, but when I was in the shower, pieces started coming back. I have an excuse to not remember. What's yours?" 

"I do remember," Rafael told her. "It was--it was storming, and--and it was raining, and--and the road was slick."

"And?" Cassie asked.

"And I took the turn too fast," Rafael answered. "The one you're always yelling at me about."

"But that's not why I'm dead, Raf, and you know it," Cassie told him.

Rafael started to cry, reaching out to take her hand. "Cassie, no. I love you. I would never hurt you."

Cassie nodded, taking her hand away. "I know that. But if I'm gonna sit here in your fancy new school with those nice people who care about you and help you be your best werewolf self, then you're gonna admit what you did."

Rafael shook his head. "I didn't do anything."

"Why'd you take that turn too fast?" Cassie asked.

"I don't know," Rafael told her.

"Yes, you do, Raf," Cassie told him. "Tell me."

"I didn't mean to," Rafael told her.

Cassie nodded. "But you did. You blamed it on the storm, but think, think about what you did. Think about why."

Rafael was getting more overwhelmed. "I don't know."

"Yes, you do, Raf, you're lying," Cassie insisted. "You're lying."

Rafael lost control of his emotions and anger, his eyes glowing gold as he stood up, growling. "I don't know!"

Rafael held his head, groaning, taking a minute to calm down, breathing heavily. His eyes returned to normal. Cassie looked down. Rafael turned to leave the room, slamming the door closed behind him.

-

Necromancer's Mindspace

Black Void

Ariara was waking up in the black void, looking around, completely alone. "Rae? Lyla?" Her voice echoed three times. "Hope? Madison?" She held her head, not knowing what was going on. "Emma? Danny? Kacie! Mikayla! Kaylin! Nicola! Nikki! Luke! Ryan! Lindsey! Tory!"

Ariara was starting to remember where she was, looking down at her kingdom attire.

-

Elsewhere - Black Void

Rae was getting up from the ground, looking around the black void, unable to see Ariara, calling out. "Ariara?" Her voice echoed three times. "Ariara!" She turned to look at Rosalita on the staircase, glaring. "First of all, ow." Rosalita smirked, floating down from the staircase, causing her dress to breeze around her, as she landed lightly on the floor. "Second, I'm here. I climbed the endless staircase down into the bottomless pit of despair, with the Queen of Hell, so what the hell do you want? Let's call an end to the torture. Okay?"

"Not okay," Rosalita answered. "We're not done yet, Rae. You locked me inside your mind for two years. Two years that I've been inside that cute little head and watching as life passed by, sitting in there, waiting for the perfect moment to come back and destroy everything all over again."

"I knew you let me lock you up," Rae told her. "I knew it."

Rosalita smirked, circling around Rae, causing Rae to turn to face her with every step she took. "Of course I did. You really think that you could lock me away if I didn't let you?"

"Why would you let me?" Rae asked. "You're pissed that I locked you away fro two years. That's why you told Ariara that you destroyed her kingdom and started the war that destroyed her life, right? That's why you keep trying to get Emma addicted to dark magic, and keep giving Danny visions, and messing with my mind and making me lose control."

"Oh, this is so not just about you, Ariara, Emma and Danny, Rae," Rosalita told her. "It's about Hope, Madison, Kaylin, Nicola. Eliza. Kacie. Mikayla. Your entire family. Now, Kassandra and Lucien might not be around so I can't play games with their broken minds, but I can play with yours and Ariara's for now. But watching Lindsey and Ryan be devastated over the state that Emma and Danny have been in, or Tory and Luke so worried about how Lyla's gonna turn out. Oh, it's been a blast. And don't worry. I'm not gonna be the one that is gonna make everyone suffer this time. Malivore is having a grand old time sending monsters that keep messing up your lives, too, isn't it?"

"What do you know about Malivore?" Rae asked.

"I know a lot more than you think," Rosalita answered. "More than any of these stupid monsters or creatures that the big stupid glob keeps spitting out ever since Owen and Landon took the knife."

"How the hell do you seem to know everything and everyone?" Rae asked in annoyance.

"Given the two thousand years I've spent in this world, and watching the world from Hell for a couple years gives a person a good outlook on life," Rosalita answered. "Not to mention I've created so many monsters, so many beings, started so many wars, that it got me to meet so many creatures. And creating them, like I created the Hollow."

"So did you meet Malivore, or did you create it?" Rae asked. "Because it seems that it takes a page from your book on making people forget things."

"Maybe I did create Malivore, or maybe I did just meet it," Rosalita told her. "Who knows?" Rae glared at her. "But you should know, right now, your adoptive whatever she is to you... Ariara... right now, I am making her relive every single loss she's ever had to endure, see every kill on the battlefield and in her home, making her see everyone she's ever loved die all over again in her head. Her mind might be a little sketchy because of her three animal parts conflicting inside of her, and because of the war, but I can make sure that she can lose her mind entirely."

Rae glared at her, shaking her head. "No. No! Ariara!"

Rosalita smirked, laughing, the evil laugh echoing through the black void. Rae was holding her head in pain because of Rosalita attacking her mind

-

Elsewhere - Black Void

Ariara heard the echo of Rosalita's evil laughter, looking around. "Hello? Kaylin? Nicola? Nikki? Tory? Luke? Rae? Hope? Lyla?" Receiving no answer, and seeing everything that Rosalita wanted her to see in flashes of everyone she loved dying in her head, she was getting more and more overwhelmed, calling out for help so that the visions and memories could stop, trying not to cry. "Emma? Danny? Madison? Lindsey? Ryan? Hello! Hello! Kacie! Mikayla!"

-

Reality

Day - Salvatore Boarding School - Garden

Tory and Luke were sitting with Lyla.

Lyla was picking flowers.

"Hey, Lyla, we said that we would talk more about you keep getting yourself involved in monster situations," Tory told her.

"I know, Mom," Lyla told her. "And I know that you and Dad are worried. But I know I can help. And I'm strong enough to help."

"You are plenty strong, yeah," Luke agreed. "But you don't always know what you can do while going up against these things. We just want to make sure that you stay safe, Lyla."

"And I can help make sure that other people stay safe," Lyla replied. "I know that you don't want me involved yet. But both of you wouldn't let anybody stop you from helping the ones that you love."

"Especially Tory, the martyr," Luke agreed.

Tory gave him an amused look, shaking her head. "Luke, not helping."

Luke shrugged. "Just saying. You used to sacrifice yourself on the daily just to save someone. Same with Lindsey and Bonnie."

"Okay, ignoring that part," Tory told him, turning her attention back to Lyla.

Lyla chuckled, smiling. "See? Told you."

"Yeah, but we just want to make sure that you don't follow the same route, because sometimes, not all sacrifices are worth making," Tory told her. "Trust me."

Lyla nodded in understanding. "I don't wanna sacrifice anything, Mom. I just wanna be able to help. And I will if I can."

Tory and Luke knew they couldn't necessarily stop her, sighing. Lyla embraced both her parents, who held her close.

Lindsey, Ryan and Danny walked outside toward them.

"Hey, have you seen Emma?" Danny asked.

"I think she's checking on Rafael," Lindsey answered.

"I guess a lot is going down today," Ryan told them.

"Not nearly as much as every other day," Danny replied.

Kaylin, Nicola, Kacie and Mikayla walked up to them.

"Hey, Tory, can we get your help real quick?" Kacie asked.

"Sure," Tory answered. "What's up? Necromancer stuff?"

"Yeah," Kaylin answered. "Ariara came up with the idea to do a psychic head dive, but we didn't want Rae to do that because of the way Rosalita has control over her powers like that."

Lyla looked up. "Can I help?"

Tory, Luke, Lindsey, Ryan, Danny, Kaylin, Nicola, Kacie and Mikayla all answered, "No."

Lyla pouted.

"Sorry, Lyla, but if we're not letting Ariara and Rae into his head, no way are we letting you into his head," Nicola told her.

Lyla sighed, disappointed. "Okay."

"Hope, Rae, Madison and Ariara are still looking after the Necromancer, so we better get back in a hurry," Mikayla told them.

"Okay," Lindsey agreed. "Tory, if you'll--"

Hope and Madison ran outside, looking for them in a hurry, shouting their names for help.

Exchanging a look, they all ran toward Hope and Madison.

"Hope?" Kaylin asked. "Madison?"

"What is it?" Ryan asked. "What's wrong?"

"Where're Rae and Ariara?" Danny asked.

"Rosalita tricked Rae and Ariara into going into the Necromancer's mind while you were gone," Hope explained. 

"Ariara got trapped inside, and even though Rae got kicked out, she went back inside to get Ariara," Madison explained. "Rae, Hope and I all think that Rae's gonna lose control once she gets out because Rosalita being able to mess with them more when they were doing it."

Nicola sighed worriedly in anger directed at Rosalita. "Come on."

-

Elsewhere

Rafael stormed outside, trying to breathe.

Emma followed him, trying to help. "Raf. Hey, Rafael." Rafael groaned, crying out. "Rafael..."

Rafael turned to look at her, remembering clearly now, completely overwhelmed. "It was my fault. I got pissed because I didn't medal. And then I thought my girlfriend was flirting with the guy that beat me. I got jealous and I picked a fight with her. And then all that--that anger stuff started building up. That stuff that I can't control, Emma." Emma nodded knowingly in understanding. "And then I started yelling at her. And then I took the turn too fast. And she's always telling me not to take the turn that fast. And she was right. It wasn't the storm. It was me. I killed her." Rafael started crying again. "I killed her, Emma."

Emma walked toward Rafael to embrace him in concern and understanding. Rafael held onto her tightly. Emma closed her eyes, leaning her head on his shoulder, taking all of this in, sighing shakily.

-

Necromancer's Mindspace

Black Void

Ariara was still alone, trying to find Rae or a way out, trying to hold herself together even though Rosalita was still sending images through her mind of her dead loved ones, her entire family and kingdom, breaking Ariara down slowly. "Enough of this. I know what you want from me, you want me to admit what I want from you. But you're wrong." She looked around, completely alone. "I'm at peace with my people, my family. Yes, they all died, and I survived, but that was because Kacie and Mikayla saved me and took me in. I've come to terms with it. You're wrong about me. I don't need to know anything. I'm done with this. And with you. So you can stop the visions, Rosalita! I know that this is you. It's not going to break me like you want it to. Rae? Rae, get me out of here! Rae?"

-

Reality

Day - Salvatore Boarding School - Cellar

Ariara was still standing behind the Necromancer, in the trance, crying, as Rae was standing in front of them, facing them, in a trance as well, fighting the urge to lose control while Rosalita was messing with her as well.

Hope and Madison led the others in.

Kaylin reached out to her daughter instantly. "Rae. Come back, okay."

Kacie and Mikayla rushed over to their adoptive daughter. "Ariara."

"Come on," Kacie told her.

"Come out," Mikayla told them.

"Come on out," Lindsey told them. "Rae. Ariara."

Ariara cried out in pain and anguish. Kacie and Mikayla were horrified and worried, trying to bring her back out.

"Rae!" Nicola told her worriedly. "Ariara!"

Tory put her hands on Rae's over the Necromancer's head. "Head dive's over."

"Come on, Tory," Ryan told her. "Get them out. They're scared."

The Necromancer started to smile.

"I'm trying," Tory told them. "Rosalita's keeping them locked in."

"What the hell is she doing to Ariara?" Ryan asked.

"She's making Ariara relive losing every one she's ever loved, making it appear in images in her head," Tory answered. "She's trying to break her, make her lose her mind completely."

Lindsey shook her head worriedly. "No. Rae! Ariara!"

Danny tried to help. "Rae! Ariara!"

"Come on, come on," Luke whispered. "Rae, Ariara, listen to us."

The Necromancer started to laugh.

-~-

Library

Rafael went to talk to Cassie. "There you are. I've been looking everywhere for you."

Cassie walked toward him. "I was wandering. Snooping."

Rafael looked at her sadly in guilt. "Look, I remember. I remember everything."

-

Outside

(Song:) Hurts Like Hell - Fleurie

Rafael and Cassie were sitting by the lake.

Rafael shook his head in regret and self-loathing. "I'll never forgive myself for what I did to you."

Cassie tilted her head. "I'm not trying to punish you. That's not why I called you out. I just wanted you to be honest with yourself about it."

Rafael nodded. "When I first got here to the school, uh, they told me that a lot of guys with my condition, they... have a lot of anger that eats at them. But I'm better now that I know what was causing it."

"Oh, yeah?" Cassie asked. "Then what was causing it earlier today? I knew that you'd never hurt me, but that didn't mean you didn't scare me sometimes. My point is, you had a lot of work that you needed to do on yourself, and you still do, werewolf or not." She kissed Rafael on the cheek. "I forgive you. And you can move on." Rafael took a deep breath. "Now leave me alone for a few minutes. I want to stand in the sun."

They looked at each other sadly, standing. Rafael stood, walking away.

(Song Ends)

-

Necromancer's Mindspace

Black Void

Ariara was still alone in the dark, so overwhelmed with the visions Rosalita was giving her she started to break down, sinking to her knees, her gown spread around her. "Why are you doing this to me? Okay, fine. Yes. I want to know about my people. My family. Kacie and Mikayla said that my family must have died with love in their hearts, and that they should've found peace. But my family, and my people, have been at war for 600 years, apparently because of Rosalita. All our lives, we grew up with fear and hatred in our hearts. So how am I supposed to know if they found peace? I need to know that they're not alone. Because I can't live with myself if they are alone. No one should ever have to be alone like this." She sobbed, putting her hands to her head. "Please."

Ariara took a deep breath, trying to pull herself together and act more like the queen she had meant to be, wiping the tears from her face, determined not to let them do this to her anymore, slowly rising to her feet, turning around, striding through the dark to try and find a way out, ignoring the visions as best as she could.

-

Elsewhere - Black Void

Rae and Rosalita were circling each other.

"Try all you want, but one day, you're not gonna be able to keep me locked away anymore," Rosalita told her tauntingly. "And as soon as you step out of here, you're gonna lose control. You know it, and so do Kaylin, Nicola, Tory, Lindsey, Luke, Ryan, Kacie and Mikayla and your little boyfriend Danny and other best friend Emma. Because I know that Hope and Madison did what you asked and went to go get help as soon as you told them too, and they found them and brought them back by now.  You hear them calling out for you and Ariara, don't you, Rae? All you Salvatores, Mikaelsons, Fells, Forbes, Lockwoods, Labonairs, Davis-Thompsons, Natas. Marcel Gerard, Noah and Caitlin Dumaine, Auria Rayvnne, Riley Grey, Lucien Castle. None of you stood a chance, ever."

Rae was getting so beyond fed up, tears burning in her eyes as she struggled not to let Rosalita get to her, taking a deep breath to release a psychic scream at Rosalita. Rosalita released a psychic scream back at Rae, combining the psychic scream waves as they blew them both back, making them stumble lightly, but both regained footing.

Further away in the void, Ariara heard the screams, holding her head in pain, but she was able to follow the sound of the screams, and finding them, running to Rae's side. "Rae!"

Rae pulled Ariara into her arms. "Ariara..."

Rosalita smirked. "Oh, hey, Ariara."

Ariara glared at her. "Don't 'hey, Ariara' me. Not after what you did to me."

The Necromancer appeared. "I see that we're all getting along."

"Screw you," Rae told them.

"Rosalita, let us out of here," Ariara told her.

Rosalita smirked. "With pleasure."

Rosalita raised her hand, snapping her fingers.

-

Reality

Day - Salvatore Boarding School - Cellar

In the cell, Ariara and Rae both gasped awake.

Sighing in relief, Kacie and Mikayla pulled Ariara into their arms as she cried lightly. Kaylin pulled Rae into her arms. Everyone else sighed in relief.

The Necromancer smirked. "Oops. Mommies are home."

Rae started to walk away out of the cell immediately. "I need to go."

"Rae--" Danny started.

"No, I need to go, now," Rae told them, running out of the room before she could lose control.

Kaylin, Nicola, Tory, Lindsey, Hope, Danny and Madison ran after Rae to go help her.

Kacie, Mikayla, Ariara, Luke, Ryan and Emma were left glaring at the Necromancer.

-

Hallway

MG walked up to Kaleb. "Hey. What's up?"

"What's up?" Kaleb asked.

"If I'm gonna be a vampire, I need to be strong enough to handle everything that comes along with it," MG told him. "What if people get hurt if I'm weak? So I'm gonna feed. Feed on whatever it takes."

Kaleb tilted his head. "Hallelujah. The prodigal son has returned. You want the human blood blood bags in the fridge, or do you want to feed like a real vampire? Because I can teach you to be a real vampire."

-

Woods

Rae was trying to get as far away from the school as she could, gasping from the effort it took to not lose control near the school.

Kaylin, Nicola, Tory, Lindsey, Hope, Danny and Madison  ran after her.

"Rae, slow down," Nicola told her.

"No, I need to get away," Rae told them. "And all of you need to get away."

Tory walked toward her. "We can help you."

Rae held up her hand, which was blazing with Hellfire, as her eyes and veins were glowing with Hellfire, and used mind control to make them stop. "Stop! I'm gonna hurt one of you."

"No, you're not," Lindsey told her. "Come on, just let us help you."

Rae shook her head as she was glowing entirely with Hellfire by now. "You can't help with this, Lindsey."

Rae backed away enough to where she was far enough away from them, having to scream to release the Hellfire in bursts, which exploded up to the sky, as Kaylin, Nicola, Tory, Lindsey, Hope, Danny and Madison all ducked, watching the explosion in shock, but knowing that now it was out of Rae's system, they had a better chance of helping her.

Kaylin tried to step toward her daughter. "Rae, come on. Let us go. We can help you now."

Rae started to cry, shaking her head. "Mom, I'm so sorry. I thought... I didn't know that Rosalita was... I thought that Ariara and I were just helping, but..."

Kaylin shook her head reassuringly. "Rae, it's not your fault. Okay, it's Rosalita's fault. Of course she could trick you and Ariara. The bitch tricks everyone. That's not on you."

Rae sank to her knees as she struggled not to lash out again, crying from the effort that it took to not lose control again.

Tory managed to get free from Rae's mind control, rushing toward her to help her.

Lyla walked closer. "Rae? Mom, I can help."

Tory gestured for her to come closer. "I know you can, and I need your help. It's not just Rae I'm trying to mind control, Lyla."

Lyla ran closer to help. "It's Rosalita, I know. We can do it together."

Tory and Lyla put their hands on Rae's head to mind control both her and Rosalita to calm down, taking all of their psychic power to do it.

Hope walked closer. "Rae, it's not your fault. Madison and I didn't do anything to stop you or Ariara, and I'm so sorry."

"So am I," Madison agreed. "I don't know if it was because of Rosalita or not, but Hope and I could've done something to help you and Ariara. I'm--"

"Hope, Madison, it's not your fault, either," Nicola told them. "You couldn't have stopped this any more than Rae and Ariara, or any of us could have."

Danny walked closer to help. "Rae... you remember what Mom and Aunt Tory figured out could help you? The singing bowl? Or just the sounds?"

"It doesn't work that well, Danny," Rae told him desperately.

"It works well enough," Lindsey told her. "Just humor us for a moment, please. Before you explode again."

Rae cried, nodding, as they all did singing, humming noises that brought Rae closer to control.

Kaylin walked closer to kneel beside Rae, holding her to comfort her. "We didn't want you to get into the dead guy's head because he's a master manipulator. He brought back Ric's fiance, Rafael's girlfriend, a cemetery full of zombies. And I just thought about all the ways in which it could torment you or Ariara. The Nata family, her people, all the people that we've lost. But it wasn't your fault. Rosalita was just using you two for another stupid game of hers."

Hope knelt on the other side of Rae to hold her step sister. "Shh. It's okay. You're not alone. You've never been alone. Don't start pushing us away again, please. You were controlling her so well when you weren't pushing us away. And we can do it again. Just don't let her make you go back to pushing us away, because she knows if you do, that she can have an easier time controlling you."

Rae knew she was right, trying to pull herself together, almost completely calm now due to all of them helping her, and with Tory and Lyla's mind control. "I know, Hope. I won't."

Tory and Lyla let go when they knew that they got Rae under control. Rae sighed in relief, leaning into Hope and Kaylin's embrace on either side of her. Hope and Kaylin helped Rae stand, as they embraced.

Kaylin stroked Rae's hair. "Shh. Shh. It's okay."

Rae closed her eyes and leaned her head on Kaylin's shoulder. Finally, after a moment, Hope, Rae and Kaylin pulled away. Nicola and Madison both embraced Rae as well.

"You're okay," Nicola told her.

Rae nodded, sniffling, no longer crying.

"You good?" Madison asked.

"I am now," Rae answered.

Lyla hugged Rae tightly. "I'm sorry, Rae."

Rae managed a small, sad chuckle. "It's not your fault, Lyla. You and Tory are the main reasons I can get under control again. Besides having Mom, Aunt Nikki, Lindsey, Hope, Madison, Danny, Emma and Ariara to help with anchoring me. Thank you."

Tory nodded. "You're welcome."

Rae smirked slightly. "Lindsey, I know that I used to make fun of the singing thing, but it really worked this time. So thank you, too. And Danny, for remembering that."

Lindsey and Danny nodded in agreement.

"Of course," Lindsey agreed. "I'm just glad that it worked."

Rae still looked like she could cry from losing control like that again, taking a deep breath.

Danny stepped forward. "Rae..."

Rae and Danny embraced, holding each other close. Danny put a hand to the back of her head to comfort her, as Rae held onto him tightly as an anchor.

The others sighed in complete relief that they could fix this.

-

Salvatore Boarding School - Cellar

Kacie, Mikayla, Ariara, Luke, Ryan and Emma were with the Necromancer, glaring at him for what he had done that day, along with Rosalita.

"Want some more?" the Necromancer asked.

"After all the games that you and the She-Devil played on me, the Salvatores, Hunters, Mikaelsons, Forbes, Fells, the Lockwood-Labonairs and the Davis-Thompsons, and so many more like Marcel Gerard, Noah and Caitlin Dumaine, Lucien Castle and Riley Grey, I am in no mood for more games or head trips," Ariara warned, giving him an angry look. "Tell me where my family and my people are. Tell me where the other Natas are."

"I will tell you everything you want to know," the Necromancer told her. "But wouldn't you all like to hear about what I've just learned of Malivore first?"

Kacie, Mikayla, Ariara, Luke, Ryan and Emma glared.

-~-

Woods

Kaylin, Rae, Hope, Nicola, Tory, Lyla, Madison, Lindsey and Danny were walking back through the woods toward the school, passing by the cemetery as they did.

Nicola looked around, sighing heavily. "Normally by now, I'd write my letters, pack my lunch, and head to the cemetery and ring that bell in honor of my dead mother, father and sister, Hayley, Riley, and my ex-boyfriend... who happens to be Kacie and Tory's brother. Tory..."

"Nicola, I don't want to hear another apology from you," Tory told her. "You've apologized enough over the last 14 years, and you know that it's not your fault."

"Nikki, go," Kaylin told her. "We'll handle things here."

"You sure?" Nicola asked.

"Yeah," Lindsey answered. "Even supernatural Huntresses need a day off."

"You could call Uncle Elijah," Hope pointed out. "He usually makes today easier for you, Aunt Nikki."

Nicola chuckled darkly. "Yeah. Yeah, he does."

"It's okay," Rae assured. "We can handle things here. You can go."

"Yeah," Madison agreed. "Actually, um... can I come with you? Because my real parents are buried in the cemetery?"

Nicola nodded in agreement. "Yeah. Yeah, you come with me."

"Madison, are you okay?" Kaylin asked.

"Yeah, I will be," Madison answered. "I'll be with Nikki. Thanks, Kaylin, but I'm not the one that got head tripped by Rosalita and the Necromancer today. Rae and Ariara seem to be okay now though." Rae nodded in agreement. "If I need to, I'll call Mom and Dad. They usually make today easier for me, too."

Lyla looked down. "I know you've all lost a lot." They all looked at her. "I just wish..."

Lyla didn't know how to finish, looking down, but they knew what she meant, knowing that she wished they didn't have to lose so much.

"We know, Lyla," Danny told her sadly.

"We've all made it through," Lindsey told them. "Even through everything."

They all nodded sadly.

Nicola held her hand toward Madison. Madison reached out to take Nicola's hand, as the two walked toward the cemetery together.

"Tory, do you want to go with them?" Kaylin asked. "I mean, Tyler's out here, and so are your mother and Ash and Michael, your other brothers. And Richard, your and Kacie's dad, and Kelly, your aunt."

"Lindsey, Luke, Ryan, Kacie and I had a plan to come out here tonight, later on," Tory explained. "Since Lindsey's mother Courtney and her father Daniel, the reason why they named Danny that name, and Luke and Ryan's mother Emma, the reason why they named Emma that name... are still out here too."

Lyla took Tory's hand. "You guys lost so much."

"Yeah, we did," Lindsey agreed sadly. "But we got a lot in return, too, so don't feel bad, Lyla."

Tory took Lyla's hand, kneeling in front of her. "Don't worry. We can all come back out here tonight."

Lyla nodded in agreement.

Danny and Rae walked along ahead of the others, hand in hand.

"You want to talk about it?" Danny asked.

"Not yet," Rae answered. "But maybe later."

Danny nodded in agreement. "Okay."

Rae remembered what she learned from Rosalita, turning back to everybody. "But I did learn something from Rosalita, about Malivore." They all walked closer to Rae. "She knew the Necromancer from a long time ago, and she's the one that started the war in Ariara's kingdom 600 years ago. And she said that she liked to create things like the Hollow, like Malivore, but she was playing the game, and said that she either created it or just met it a while ago. But whether she created it or not, or behind the creation of it like she was when Aunt Kassandra and Lucien turned into the beasts..."

"You think she's behind the creation of Malivore?" Hope asked.

"Or at the very least connected to it, because she never admitted to being its creator," Rae answered.

Kaylin was stunned, scoffing. "Of course. How else would the bitch be able to ruin our lives while locked away inside Rae?"

-

Cemetery

MG and Kaleb were walking together through the cemetery, as there were people here to memorialize the dead.

Kaleb spread his arms. "All right, we're in Vegas. We're in Vegas, and this here is the all you can eat buffet. All right?" He gestured to different groups of people. "We got the omelet station right here. That there is the seafood tower. Chocolate fountain."

Nicola and Madison were just getting to the cemetery to visit the graves of their lost loved ones.

Nicola saw MG and Kaleb walk by, frowning in confusion.

-

Salvatore Boarding School - Cellar

Kacie, Mikayla, Ariara, Luke, Ryan and Emma were standing outside the cell.

The Necromancer was explaining. "After I left the girls and let Rosalita have her fun with Rae and Ariara, I returned to the scene of my death. I saw a shadow. I felt a searing pain. And when I looked down, there was a knife in my heart and emptiness all around me."

"A knife?" Luke repeated.

The Necromancer stood, pointing at them. "The knife. Interestingly enough, that which I seek is that which did me in. You've got to understand, to be killed by such a trifle of an object, I was curious as to its power, so I jumped out of my subconscious and summoned the spirit of the man who forged the knife in the first place."

"You left Rae and Ariara in there at the mercy of Rosalita on purpose?" Kacie asked furiously.

The Necromancer smirked, unbothered. "Oh, I had work to do, and Rae and Ariara had lessons to learn. Wasn't my fault that Rosalita was the teacher. From this man, I heard the remarkable story of Malivore, created to wipe the scourge of the supernatural off the face of this Earth. Malivore consumed us, erased us. It was permanent death. And it was in Malivore that we were left to perish. Until recently, when the knife started beckoning us to bring it home."

"But why a knife?" Ryan asked.

"Decades ago, Malivore was contained," the Necromancer explained. "Three locks created to seal Malivore shut. The knife is one of those locks. When all three locks return home, Malivore is free to open its jaws of death once again."

"What does that even mean?" Emma asked in annoyance.

The Necromancer walked closer to the bars separating them. "Oh, my dear... let's just hope you're not still alive to find out."

-

Cemetery

Nicola was standing at the Salvatore Mausoleum, not yet wanting to go inside because it was always hard for her considering everything.

Madison was standing at the Fell Mausoleum, taking out her phone, about to make a call to Kol and Eliza, right when she was hit by a Banshee vision. Her eyes glowed silver, and in the vision, her throat looked like it was torn out, and blood was everywhere, dripping all over her skin and clothes. Madison gasped, backing away from the mausoleum, turning around, looking into the reflection of her phone, seeing vampire features on her face; red eyes and veins trailing down, and vampire teeth.

Nicola saw Madison's eyes glowing, making sure no one else saw, running over to her. "Madison? What do you see?"

"Vampire," Madison answered. "Throat ripped out. I think... I think it's here. Somewhere around here."

"How do you know that?" Nicola asked. "Your visions don't usually give us a sense of direction except for when it came to finding Josie."

"I was thinking about what the Necromancer said," Madison explained. "That the longer I denied that death was part of me, who I am, the harder it would be for me to control or learn from my powers. But that the sooner I accepted it, the easier it would become. The night we were looking for Josie, I wasn't trying to fight my vision or the death that I saw or felt. I was actually embracing it so that I could find Josie because I couldn't let her die."

Nicola nodded in understanding. "So if you embrace the vision, embrace the death, you can learn more from the vision and it can lead you right to the source."

"Yeah," Madison answered. "Let's go."

Nicola nodded, as she and Madison ran off.

-

Woods

Kaleb had compelled a young boy for MG to feed on. "Okay, young grasshopper. It's called snatch, eat, erase. All right? I read about it in Lindsey and Ryan's books about Kaylin, and her brothers Stefan and Damon."

"I--I feel bad," MG admitted.

"Don't feel bad, brother," Kaleb told him. "They're food, okay? It's like eating a burger. You feel bad about the cow?"

"Sometimes," MG answered. Kaleb looked away in annoyance. "Lizzie went through this vegan phase, and she... just got me thinking."

Kaleb transformed, baring his fangs, biting into the boy's neck, starting to feed, pulling away, chuckling. "Delicious." MG was already having trouble fighting his urges, breathing heavily, starting to transform. "Come on." MG bared his fangs, biting into the boy's neck, starting to feed. Kaleb backed away. "Yeah, there you go. Oh, all right." MG gripped the boy's shoulders tightly as he fed deeply. "Easy, killer. Okay. Slow down, buddy. That's enough. MG, dude's not that big, okay? That's enough." Kaleb tried to get MG to stop. "MG, okay, calm down. MG, get back."

Kaleb tried to pull MG off, but MG elbowed him in the face, making him fall down, continuing to feed, almost ripping the boy's throat out.

Nicola rushed up behind MG, pulling him off the boy easily with her Huntress strength, snapping his neck, letting him fall unconscious.

Madison ran closer, stopping in shock to see that it was MG who was the vampire that almost killed the boy.

Kaleb looked, looking between MG's unconscious body on the ground, Nicola and Madison, completely bewildered.

-

Salvatore Boarding School - Cellar

Kacie, Mikayla, Ariara, Luke, Ryan and Emma were standing outside the cell.

Mikayla looked at the Necromancer angrily. "So let me get this straight. You left Rae and Ariara inside your freaky twisted mindscape with Rosalita so that she could make Rae lose control, and nearly break Ariara, so you could... what? Stall us?"

The Necromancer smirked. "My apologies for the melodrama, but I needed to buy myself some time."

"To talk to some dead knife maker?" Luke asked sarcastically, bitterly.

The Necromancer turned to pace through the cell. "That, and to retrieve the knife your brother Ryan had hidden behind the stacks in the library, Luke."

They looked at him in shock.

"What?" Ryan asked.

The Necromancer smiled smugly, sitting down in his chair. "Because while Rae and Ariara were trapped in just a small semblance of the blackness I suffered..."

-

Flashback - Earlier Day

Day - Salvatore Boarding School - Library

When Rafael had found Cassie snooping earlier, Cassie, with white eyes, controlled by the Necromancer, had found the knife and taken it.

The Necromancer: (voice over) "Experiencing just an ounce of my agony, amplified by a hundred given the agony that Rosalita was inflicting upon Rae and Ariara at the time... I was busy doing what I do best: Controlling the dead."

Ariara: (voice over) "I don't understand."

The Necromancer: (voice over) "The answer, my darling, is yes."

-

Now

Day - Salvatore Boarding School - Cellar

The Necromancer looked at Ariara. "Nata, I was stalling you, Rae, Kaylin, Nicola, Kacie, Mikayla, Hope, Lindsey, Ryan, Tory, Luke, Lyla, Emma, Danny and Madison, but but so was Rosalita. Rosalita helped me because she knew what I was going to do and she wanted me to do it." He looked at the others. "She knew that by tricking Rae and Ariara to go into my mind, that we could make them both suffer, as she was going to make Rae lose control, and while I was getting the answer that I wanted out of Ariara about her kingdom and the rest of the Nata family, Rosalita was going to torment her with visions of the ones she loved to make her break. She knew that Hope and Madison would go get everyone you all loved, Ariara, so that Kacie, Mikayla, Luke, Ryan and Emma would be so distracted with helping you, and that Kaylin, Nicola, Lindsey, Tory, Lyla, Danny, Madison and Hope would be so distracted with helping Rae, that you couldn't stop me from getting the knife, stalling all of you, just as I'm stalling you now."

-

Flashback - Earlier Today

Day - Salvatore Boarding School - Outside

By the lake, Cassie looked at Rafael. "Now leave me alone for a few minutes. I want to stand in the sun."

A woman in old attire walked toward Cassie, both of them with white eyes, controlled. Cassie handed the knife to the woman, who cast a spell to magically transport the knife away to Malivore.

The Necromancer: (voice over) "Did you know that there's a lot of Bennett and Davis witches buried in the local cemetery that excel in the art of mystical transportation? I summoned a little help to ensure the knife returned to Malivore quickly and without incident."

-

Now

Day - Salvatore Boarding School - Cellar

Kacie, Mikayla, Ariara, Luke, Ryan and Emma stood outside the cell, all in shock, angry.

Emma glared at the Necromancer. "Oh, my God."

The Necromancer stood, smiling. "Come on, look on the bright side. You can get back to the daily grid of your lives. And in moments, when the knife is returned to Malivore, I will be free to find peace." Outside, Cassie turned to ash. The Necromancer looked at Ariara. "As for your kingdom, your people, the rest of the Natas, most of them, even given the amount of killing they have done, since it's all been in vain due to Rosalita behind the start of the war, have found peace. And your family... including your parents, your brother and sister... Acquilina, Ahish, Acilino and Arlette Nata watch over you every day." Ariara was stunned, trying not to get emotional again, as Mikayla and Kacie each took her hand, as they glared at the Necromancer. "But they won't find peace... until you do. Eh, good luck with that, living with all that survivor's guilt."

The building started to shake.

"What the hell is that?" Kacie asked.

The Necromancer smiled. "The knife is destroyed. One lock is released." He gave a dramatic bow. "And with it, so am I."

As the Necromancer raised his arms over his head, he disappeared, leaving Kacie, Mikayla, Ariara, Luke, Ryan and Emma in complete shock.

-~-

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

Ariara was sitting on her bed, looking at the drawings of her family and her kingdom, stunned. Kacie and Mikayla sat with her, comforting her.

"I'm sorry," Ariara whispered. "Today..."

"Was not your fault," Kacie told her. "It wasn't Rae's either."

"Ariara, you didn't have a choice today," Mikayla told her. "Rosalita tricked both you and Rae. And you can't be held accountable for that."

Ariara looked at the drawings more. "She was behind the war."

"What?" Kacie asked.

"Rosalita," Ariara answered. "She was the reason why the war started 600 years ago. She loved how my kingdom was, but she got bored, and she destroyed it with the war that lasted 600 years until it was wiped out. And she was enjoying tormenting me with it, with the visions she gave me."

Kacie looked at her in concern and worry. "Ariara..."

Ariara looked up, now more angry than sad. "We have to destroy her. Get her out of Rae and destroy her like she destroyed everything else. And make sure that she can never do anything like this ever again. Anything like everything she's ever done. To everyone."

Mikayla held her hand. "Klaus, Elijah, Kassandra, Kol and Eliza, they're looking for a way. And to bind the Huntress, and make sure that Kassandra's madness is gone."

"And me and Mikayla, we can join them soon, if you want us, too," Kacie told her. Ariara looked up. "To make sure that whatever Rosalita did to you today... it didn't damage your mind more. We can work with Klaus, Elijah, Kassandra, Kol and Eliza to get the answers that we need, for you, Rae, Kassandra and Nicola."

"But we won't leave you if you don't want us to," Mikayla told her. "Not after what happened today. Not if you don't want us to. Right, Kacie?"

"Right," Kacie agreed.

Ariara considered all of this for a long moment. "Give me some time to think."

"Of course," Mikayla assured.

Ariara took a deep breath. "All I know is... I really need you tonight."

Kacie and Mikayla nodded in agreement. Ariara took both of their hands, tears in her eyes.

-

Library

Nicola and Madison were talking with Kaleb after what happened with MG in the cemetery.

"What the hell is wrong with you?" Madison asked incredulously.

"Madison, we were just having a little fun," Kaleb told her.

"Fun?" Nicola repeated. "By feeding on humans like that?"

"Probably shouldn't be stupid enough to say that in front of a vampire vampire Huntress, dumbass," Madison told him.

"Oh, and feeding on blood bags full of bunny blood or human blood is being a real vamp?" Kaleb asked skeptically. "Nicola, you, Lindsey, Ryan, Tory, Luke and Kaylin talk a real big game about shaping young minds, but you ain't even letting us be who we really are."

"Do you know why I became like I am?" Nicola asked. "And why I take this day off--only this day off--every year? It's because I am honoring my father, mother, and my half sister. My father was murdered by Kaylin's brother, Damon. And he's the one that turned me into a vampire, and Stefan, Damon and Kaylin are the reasons that I became a vampire Huntress, all because they were being 'real vampires'. I love my family, I do, but you don't understand the kind of pain I went through because of them, because of me being a human within a vampire family, and turning into what I am now because of them. And they're not even the worst vampires out there." Kaleb was stunned to know all of this, closing his eyes as if he didn't think about all the kind of pain vampires had caused to people, even the ones they loved most. "Do you even know what a Ripper is? Do you?" Kaleb shook his head. "A Ripper is a vampire who is driven by obsession, who lives only for the gratification of their deepest desires, because when they're being good, when they're being themselves, they are hell bent on denying themselves of those desires. A Ripper will feed until there is nothing left to feed on, and then they'll move on to the next, and the next. And you know how I know all this? Because I am one, and Stefan used to be, and so did his wife Alex, even when we tried our hardest not to be. And if I'm taking bets, Milton Greasley is one too."

Kaleb was overcome with guilt and shock, clearly having a big wakeup call.

(Song:) Walk With You - Janelle Kroll

Madison looked at Nicola sadly.

Nicola looked down, taking a deep breath to calm herself down.

-

Hope/Rae's Dorm Room

Rae was laying down on her bed. Hope was laying down with her, so the two could bond and both relax after the hellish day that they had had. Kaylin sat behind them, stroking her fingers through their hair. They were on video call with Klaus, all of them talking about the the things that had happened recently, and keeping each other updated and in each other's lives. Klaus was clearly worried about his wife, his daughter and stepdaughter, and the rest of his family as the school. given everything that happened, and clearly angry that Rosalita was causing so much mayhem even while locked away.

Ariara: (voice over) "Dear... everyone. I'm no stranger to death, but that doesn't mean I want to talk about it."

-

Madison, Lizzie, Josie's Dorm Room

Madison was sitting alone in the dorm room she shared with the twins, missing them but knowing that they needed their own time away after what happened with Jo. She took out her phone so that she could start a video call with Kol and Eliza, to be close with them even if they weren't here.

Ariara: (voice over) "Once a year, for Remembrance Day, we're asked to write letters to our lost loved ones."

-

Hallway

Nicola walked down the hallway, clearly trying not to think about all the past losses and all the downs that she had had with her family after talking with Kaleb to get through to him. She pulled out her phone, looking at Elijah's contact name, tapping her phone, clicking on his name to call him, knowing she wanted to talk to him.

Ariara: (voice over) "We sign our names, fold them up, and scatter them throughout the cemetery."

-

Ariara/Emma's Dorm Room

Ariara was finally writing her own letter, while Kacie and Mikayla were with her, encouraging her and letting her know that it was okay.

Ariara: (voice over) "I usually don't see the point in it. Why write to the dead?"

-

Foyer

Lindsey, Ryan, Emma and Danny were sitting together, together as a family given everything that happened that day.

Rafael walked in, looking despaired since Cassie was gone again. Emma looked up, seeing Rafael's face, looking concerned. Rafael started to cry. Emma stood, walking over to embrace him. Rafael returned the embrace gratefully.

Ariara: (voice over) "I'd rather not think about it at all. Except lately, death keeps knocking on my door."

Tory and Luke were sitting down with Lyla on their laps between them, arms around each other and Lyla. Lyla looked at them sadly.

Ariara:: (voice over) "Today was a bad one... in a sea of bad days."

-

Cemetery

Everyone was here to scatter their letters across the cemetery. Lit candles were everywhere.

Ariara: (voice over) "I know that if you were here, and you saw the way that I reacted to being tormented, even knowing that it was by a Necromancer and the Queen of Hell trying to break me... you'd be so disappointed in me because we were taught not to react like that. I'm not sure how much damage Rosalita did to me. But I know that she started the war that ended everything for you, my family, and our people. And I know one thing. If there's a way I can make her pay for what she's done, to you and to my other family... the adoptive family... then I will help make sure that she is destroyed. But I don't know if that's possible."

Rafael stood with Luke and Ryan. "She told me she wanted me to be a better man. Luke... Ryan... you two are the best men I've known. Can you help me with that?"

Luke and Ryan looked touched by that.

"I don't know about us being the best men, but thanks," Luke told him.

"And we will definitely try," Ryan answered. "I promise."

Rafael nodded in appreciation.

-

Salvatore Boarding House - Cellar

MG was sleeping in a cell. Kaleb was watching him from outside the bars.

Ariara: (voice over) "I was told today that my people found peace."

-

Cemetery

Kaylin, Nicola and Rae stood at the Salvatore Mausoleum to pay their respects to Zach, Monica, Sarah, and the Salvatore mother Lily.

Ariara: (voice over) "But that my family would never find peace until I found it in myself."

Lindsey, Emma and Danny laid roses on Lindsey's parents and Emma/Danny's grandparents Courtney and Daniel's graves. Lindsey laid an extra one on Grams's grave. Lyla, Luke, Ryan, Emma and Danny also laid roses on Emma and Malik Thompson, Luke and Ryan's parents and Lyla, Emma and Danny's grandparents graves.

Ariara: (voice over) "I hope that was a lie told to punish me."

Nicola, Lyla, Tory and Kacie each placed a rose on Tyler's grave. Nicola closed her eyes in guilt. Lyla touched Tyler's grave, wishing that she could have gotten to meet her uncle. Lyla, Tory and Kacie each placed a rose on Richard's grave, Tory, Kacie and Tyler's father, and Lyla's grandfather. Kacie put a rose on Carol's grave, her mother.

Ariara: (voice over) "God knows I deserved that."

Tory and Lyla placed roses on Amelia, Ash, Michael and Kelly Donovan's graves. Tory's mother, other brothers, and aunt. Lyla's grandmother, other uncles and great aunt.

Madison placed roses on her parents's graves, looking over the other Fell names that she didn't get to meet.

Ariara: (voice over) "Although none of us deserved what Rosalita's put us all through. And we didn't deserve to lose everything that we lost."

Madison, Hope, Kaylin, Rae and Nicola were holding hands. Ryan, Lindsey, Emma and Danny embraced. Luke had his arm on Ryan's shoulder in a brotherly gesture, other arm around Tory and Lyla since Lyla was in Tory's arms, and Tory was holding Kacie's hand. Kacie, Mikayla and Ariara also embraced. They all exchanged a look, together mourning all the other loses they had experienced together, that weren't buried in Mystic Falls, like Hayley and Riley, and others.

Ariara: (voice over) "But if it's true, I'm going to do better. Today I saw a glimpse of what true loneliness feels like."

Danny/Rae, Tory/Luke, Lindsey/Ryan, Kacie/Mikayla embraced since all the couples were upset at the events lately and all the reminders of all the people they had lost.

Ariara: (voice over) "Of what lies in store for me if I don't find my own peace. So I'm gonna get to work on that."

Ariara looked down at her crown in her hands, since it was one of the only reminders left of her family and kingdom, other than the drawings. 

Ariara: (voice over) "I'm glad to know you're with me, but I look forward to the day when you're not. I love you, Natas. Ariara."

Lindsey and Ryan were talking.

"You okay?" Ryan asked. "Lindsey?"

"Yeah," Lindsey answered in a whisper. "It's just days like today... Ryan, seeing how much we've all lost... even Emma and Danny... it's hard, you know? It reminds me of all the times I lost you, too."

Ryan wrapped his arm around Lindsey. "Well, it's okay. You don't have to worry about losing me anymore. And I know loss is part of life, but we're going to try our hardest not to let any one we love lose any more than they have to. Including Emma and Danny."

Lindsey and Ryan looked at each other, smiling slightly, sharing a sweet kiss.

Tory and Luke were walking together, following Lyla through the cemetery as she was running about.

"Kinda hate to admit it, Tory, but Lyla's got your martyrdom down to a T," Luke told her.

Tory scoffed at the teasing remark. "At least whenever I was the martyr, I was doing it in the smartest way I could. Lyla's growing and learning as she goes, but she's definitely got your recklessness, Luke."

Luke smirked. "Yeah, maybe a little. I just want to make sure that she doesn't follow your role of sacrificing everything for the ones you love. It's the quality I love and hate about you, because whenever you do it, you get hurt too damn much."

"Haven't had to do that lately, have I?" Tory replied.

"No, because we all agreed not to let you do that anymore," Luke answered. "It's up to all of us to save everyone, not just you. I lost you too many times because of your martyrdom, Tory. Don't want the same to happen with Lyla."

Tory turned to face him, taking Luke by the hands, leaning her head against his. "Luke. You're not gonna lose me or Lyla. I promise."

Tory reached up to kiss Luke. Their sweet kiss was passionate and deep, and they held each other close, before continuing to follow Lyla.

Kacie and Mikayla were standing together, watching Ariara.

"She'll be okay," Kacie told her. Mikayla looked at her. "Ariara. Even after today."

"How do you know that?" Mikayla asked.

"She's a warrior queen," Kacie answered. "She has what it takes. Just like you, Mikayla. You've been a warrior queen for as long as I've known you."

Mikayla chuckled. "I met you shortly after I lost Jackson, Kacie. During a time when I felt less a warrior queen but more like breaking, or like I was going to kill everyone that had a part in that. It took years after that, of getting to know you, to admit that I had been falling for you for a long time, because I was scared that I would lose you like I lost him. Like I lost Hayley, and we all lost Riley too. All the ones that I lost, they had Crescent wolf funerals, so we can't visit their graves, but we can be with them in spirit."

"Yeah," Kacie agreed sadly. "I miss Hayley and Riley, too, Mikayla. And I told you that you weren't going to lose me like you lost Jackson. Like we all lost so much."

Mikayla watched Ariara for a moment. "Ariara, she may have the warrior queen thing in common with me, but she has the drinking habits and the anger issues of you."

Kacie scoffed at the teasing remark. "Hey."

Mikayla managed a small smile. "But even with all that, she's still just a kid, and I hate Rosalita for what she did to her. On top of killing Hayley."

"So do I," Kacie agreed. "Considering that Rosalita's also the reason why Tyler's dead."

"Being behind our siblings's deaths weren't enough, so she had to attack our adoptive daughter?" Mikayla asked. "And she won't leave Emma and Danny alone either, and definitely not Rae since she's inside her head. I just hope that Klaus, Elijah, Kassandra, Kol and Eliza find a cure for Nicola, Kassandra and Rae soon."

"Me too," Kacie agreed. "And if Ariara says that she's okay enough for us to go and help Klaus, Elijah, Kassandra, Kol and Eliza find answers, not just for Nicola, Kassandra and Rae, but for Ariara too, then..."

"Then we go," Mikayla finished. "But not until Ariara tells us that she's okay enough for us to go."

Kacie nodded. "Hell yeah."

Mikayla looked at Kacie, taking her by the hand. They embraced and shared a kiss. Mikayla leaned her head on Kacie's shoulder as Kacie wrapped an arm around her.

Danny walked over to Rae. "Hey, Rae."

"Danny," Rae replied.

"You doing okay after earlier?" Danny asked.

"Better," Rae answered. "Thanks to all of you." She sighed, shaking her head. "Today, Rosalita brought back all the pain that Ariara and I were both trying to forget. And she screwed us over, again."

"Rae..." Danny trailed off. "Don't start that. Don't close yourself off again, or push people away again."

"I'm not," Rae assured. "Because of you, it was the first time I began to forget that pain, to forget the darkness inside me. You filled some void that I had been letting fester like poison inside me, turning all of me dark... and I was scared of what it was doing to me. And after what happened earlier, I am scared of losing you, too. Of losing everyone, but I'm not going to let Rosalita win again and start pushing people away again. All this, it's beyond us. I'm terrified, Danny, and if I lose you, too, and my family because of this bitch... I would have no one. I would have nothing."

"You're not going to lose me or your family, Rae," Danny told her. "I promise."

Danny and Rae embraced, holding each other close.

Rae had tears in her eyes. "How can you know that?"

Danny leaned his forehead against Rae's as their eyes met gazes. "Just trust me."

Rae managed a small smile, nodding. "I do trust you."

Rae gave Danny a sweet kiss, as the two remained in their embrace.

Rafael walked over to Emma. "Hey."

Emma managed a small smile. "Hey, Rafael. I'm sorry about Cassie."

"Yeah, me too," Rafael agreed. "Guess we're more alike that we thought, huh? You blamed yourself and found yourself responsible for Riley. Guess I was really responsible for Cassie."

Emma sighed. "I'm going to give you the same advice you gave me. Don't blame yourself. I'm sorry, Raf."

"It's okay," Rafael told her. "You, Lindsey, Ryan, Danny... Tory and Luke... you Davis-Thompsons had my back. Thanks, Emma."

Emma nodded. Emma and Rafael walked through the cemetery together.

Kaylin, Nicola, Hope and Madison were walking together. Rae walked up to them.

"Nikki?" Kaylin asked. "You okay?"

"Yeah," Nicola said quietly. "Just a lot of things got brought up today that sometimes I'd rather forget."

"And I'm sorry," Rae told them. "Apparently me and Ariara falling for Rosalita's tricks was actually launching phase one of Mali-pocalypse."

"Stop apologizing, Rae," Madison told her. "It's not your fault, or Ariara's."

"Couldn't have said it any better myself, Madison," Kaylin told her. She looked at Rae sarcastically to make her feel better. "Oh, wait, I already did."

Rae chuckled lightly.

"Yeah, well, at least with the knife gone, maybe we can finally get some quiet around here," Hope told them.

Nicola scoffed a laugh softly. "I wonder if that's possible."

Hope and Madison both stopped when they saw that their bracelets were glowing.

Rae frowned. "What's wrong?"

"Owen and Landon are in trouble," Madison answered.

They all looked at each other in confusion.

-

Triad Headquarters - Surveillance Room

On the monitors, a pit of black goo was visible.

A person with black gloved hands was typing on the keyboard, seemingly rewinding the footage, which showed the knife appearing over the pit, before it fell into the goo, and a bright, white light started to glow before it faded.

The person with the black gloved hand was looking at the picture of Seylah with baby Landon and Owen, turning it over to see their names on the back.