Outfits in the external link 

From 1.01 "Pilot", night in the woods, over the fog-covered forest floor.

Luke: (voice over) "Previously on Worlds Colliding (The Vampire Diaries)"

From 6.02 "Yellow Ledbetter", in the prison world's street, Damon, Kacie and Bonnie walked down the street.

Damon: (voice over from 6.02 Yellow Ledbetter) "Where the hell are we?"

Damon showed them the newspaper.

Bonnie read the date. "1992."

From 6.04 "Black Hole Sun", in the prison world's boarding house, Damon, Kacie, Bonnie and Kai were talking.

"To get home, we'll harness the power of the eclipse using a mystical relic," Kai told them. "It's called an Ascendant."

From 6.05 "The World Has Turned and Left Me Here", in the prison world's underground tunnels, Kacie rushed toward them, forcing the Ascendant into Damon's hands, pushing him into the light.

Damon looked at Bonnie and Kacie.

Eliza: (voice over from 6.06 The More You Ignore Me, the Closer I Get) "What about Bonnie and Kacie?"

Damon was brought up into the light. With a bright flash, he was gone.

Damon: (voice over from 6.06 The More You Ignore Me, the Closer I Get) "They sacrificed themselves for me."

From 6.07 "Do You Remember the First Time?", in the prison world's underground tunnels, Kacie, Bonnie and Kai stood in the circle of light created by the eclipse.

Bonnie put the Ascendant in Kacie's hands.

Kai used magic to pull Bonnie down next to him.

The light pulled Kacie toward the eclipse.

Kacie: (voice over from 6.07 Do You Remember the First Time) "She sacrificed herself to save me."

From 6.10 "Christmas Through Your Eyes", in the prison world/real world scene, Bonnie stood at her small tree outside the high school, and Lindsey stood at the big tree in Town Square.

Lindsey: (voice over from 6.09 I Alone) "She's all alone."

Lindsey looked at her tree. "We miss you, Bonnie."

Bonnie looked at her tree. "I miss you guys."

From 6.09 "I Alone", in the prison world, outside the Gilbert House, Damon and Elena were talking.

"I'm sorry I compelled away the memories," Elena told him.

Damon placed a hand on her cheek, smiling. "We'll make new ones."

From 6.12 "Prayer for the Dying", in the medical center, Elena kissed Damon passionately. 

From 6.11 "Woke Up With A Monster", in the pouring rain on campus, Stefan and Alex were talking, soaked.

"Alex, you're probably one of the people that I trust most in this world," Stefan told her.

Stefan and Alex smiled, kissing passionately, holding onto each other, the raining continuing to fall.

From 6.11 "Woke Up With A Monster", in the library of the boarding house, Nicola used her sword to point at Stefan, Kaylin and Damon. "I will overcome this, some day, but it's not today. So, just stay the hell away from me."

From 6.11 "Woke Up With A Monster", outside the boarding house in the pouring rain, Nicola and Tyler stood in front of his car, bathed in headlights, soaked.

Nicola seemed to feel dizzy and weak and overwhelmed enough to where she looked as if she would fall, holding his arms to keep standing. "I can't--I can't be here right now." She looked at Tyler, shaking her head. "Just get me out of here."

Nicola started to cry, unable to fight against it, crumbling.

Tyler pulled Nicola to his chest, holding her, letting her cry as the rain continued to fall around them, standing in the light of the car's headlights.

From 6.12 "Prayer for the Dying", in Alaric's Loft, Kai was tied to the table.

Kaylin leaned forward against the table, looking at Kai. "What exactly did you do to Nicola?"

From 6.11 "Woke Up With A Monster", in the cafeteria, Nicola was sitting on the floor, tied up with vervain ropes.

Kai was sitting in front of her, putting a hand on the side of her head, using magic to cause her enough pain for her to let her guard down again so he could show her her memories, making her scream.

Kai: (voice over from 6.12 Prayer for the Dying) "I branded all of the bad memories into her mind with a spell, burned them into her subconscious."

From 6.12 "Prayer for the Dying", in Tyler's dorm room, Nicola sat in the dorm room alone, sitting on a chair, sighing, holding her head, having her eyes closed, having a series of flashbacks playing through her head at a speed it was a blur.

Kai: (voice over from 6.12 Prayer for the Dying) "The longer that she has that branding hex on her, the worse the visions will get. Soon, that's all she will be able to think about."

From 6.12 "Prayer for the Dying", in Alaric's Loft, Kai was tied to a table.

Kaylin stood next to him.

"It'll eat away at her sanity until it drives her mad, or she turns her emotions off, or both," Kai told her. "And now, tell me. What's worse than a crazy, emotionless, set-to-kill vampire?"

From 6.08 "Fade Into You", in flashback to the woods, Young Jo and Kai were chanting.

Jo: (voice over from 6.08 Fade Into You) "In our coven's tradition..."

From 6.08 "Fade Into You", in the dorm building, everyone was sitting at the table.

"The twins merge their strength," Jo told them.

"The weaker one dies," Lucas told them.

From 6.12 "Prayer for the Dying", in the Grill, Olivia, Lucas and Joshua were sitting at their table.

"I know that I'm stronger than Olivia, so that means I will win if we merge," Lucas told him.

"One will absorb traits from the other," Joshua told them. "Both of your souls will unite into a new being."

From 6.12 "Prayer for the Dying", in the park, Lucas and Kai were performing the merging ritual.

Jo was trying to stop them. "Lucas! Don't!"

Lucas and Kai fell unconscious.

From 6.12 "Prayer for the Dying", outside the Grill, Olivia and Joshua were talking.

"Lucas is gone," Joshua told her. "He merged with Kai. Kai won."

Olivia started to cry, sobbing as she let the truth that her brother was dead set in.

From 6.12 "Prayer for the Dying", in the park, Jo was holding Lucas' body.

Kaylin stood nearby.

They heard Kai's voice. "You win some, you lose some." Kaylin turned to face Kai. Kai smiled. "Except for me. I always win."

Kaylin rushed toward Kai.

Kai disappeared into the night.

Kaylin looked around the park, realizing that she, Jo and Lucas were the only ones left. 

------~------

Day One

Prison World 

Morning - Salvatore Boarding House - Kitchen

(Song:) Check Yo Self - Ice Cube & Das EFX 

Bonnie turned on the music. She was cooking pancakes for breakfast. She walked toward the table, sitting down, taking a calendar off of the table, crossing out another day on the calendar.

The date was February 5th.

"Happy Birthday, Bonnie," Bonnie told herself sadly.

Bonnie angrily threw the calendar into the fireplace nearby, watching it burn, looking away sadly, starting to eat.

(Song Ends)

------

Worlds Colliding (The Vampire Diaries)

------

Real World 

Salvatore Boarding House - Garage 

Jeremy was weightlifting. 

Eliza pulled her car in front of the garage, carrying balloons and decoration out of the car, setting them down on the ground, looking at Jeremy. "Hey. You want to, uh, give me a hand, please?" 

Jeremy placed the weight onto the pegs. "I don't know. That depends." He sat up. "You gonna keep keeping secrets from me?"

"No," Eliza answered. 

Jeremy stood. "Then I'll help you." 

"Then you are on decoration duty," Eliza told him, smiling. "It's Bonnie's birthday. She would have wanted us to spend it celebrating by cooking her favorite foods, watching her favorite movies."

"So, we're throwing a birthday party where the guest of honor never shows up, while you're in denial about your mom, and beating yourself up about her almost dying last night?" Jeremy asked. Eliza looked away, sighing. "That's not depressing." 

"I'm not beating myself about it," Eliza told him. 

"I'll pretend that I am celebrating that you finally are a halfway believable liar," Jeremy told her.

"Okay, fine," Eliza told him, putting her hands on her hips. "Then I'll pretend that I am celebrating that you are going to art school. Oh, wait. We can't, because I found your application in the garbage. I guess that's why they call it pretending." 

"Touche," Jeremy told her. 

"Jer, you wanted to go more than anything a year ago," Eliza told him. "What's different now?" 

"What's different now?" Jeremy repeated. "You're kidding me, right?" Eliza shrugged slightly. "Okay, how about the fact that we lost Bonnie, Kacie and Damon, and you fell into a spiral, and I was trying and succeeded in helping you climb back out, only to find out that they were in an alternate universe, and that your mom is dying of cancer. Besides, the only class I'm passing is study hall. They'll never let me in." 

"Jer, I've seen your portfolio," Eliza told him. "You're good." 

"Doesn't matter," Jeremy told her. "After everything that's happening right now, it's got me worried about everyone, and I'm not leaving because of it." 

"You're worried that I'll fall into the spiral again?" Eliza asked. 

"Well, it is your mother's life on the line," Jeremy told her. "You'll be an orphan, and you won't have your best friend standing by your side." 

"I'll have Caroline, Alex, Elena and Kacie," Eliza told him. "I already promised to Mom and to Caroline that I wouldn't fall that far again." Jeremy tilted his head at her, unconvinced. Eliza sighed. "Besides, Caroline's gonna make sure that I won't."

"Good," Jeremy told her. "Then I'll be staying here and helping her make sure that you don't." 

Eliza sighed. "Jeremy..." 

"You know, if I didn't know any better, I would think that you're actually trying to get rid of me," Jeremy told her, stepping closer until he was standing within inches from Eliza.

"Of course not," Eliza told him. "It's just... you've always wanted to get away from here, and I don't want that to change because of me, or because of the next psychopath that comes knocking on our door. I will be here with Caroline, because she needs me, and you will be off living your dream. Isn't that better for everyone this way?" 

Jeremy didn't answer, looking thoughtful yet worried. 

Eliza smiled a small smile, kissing Jeremy gently, sweetly.

------

Inside - Living Room 

Caroline was in the living room, on the phone. "Mom, I'm not calling to check up on you, okay? I'm just about to start making Bonnie's birthday cake and want to make sure that your recipe called for three eggs instead of four, right?" There was a cake on the table already. "All right. I'm just a phone call away in case you need any--" Her mom had already ended the call. "Bye." She hung up, gasping when she saw Miss Cuddles the teddy bear sitting on the table. Alex, Kacie, Elena and Eliza walked closer. "Is it just me, or do her eyes follow you around the room?" 

Elena looked at the bear. "Hmm. It's definitely you." 

"I haven't seen Miss Cuddles in 12 years," Caroline told them.

"Well, that's the bear Bonnie sent back from 1992," Kacie told them. "I guess she lost the original." 

"No, she didn't lose her," Caroline told them. "I took her." She turned the bear around, turning to face Alex, Kacie, Elena and Eliza. They looked at her in confusion. "Yeah. When Bonnie and I were little, we got in this huge fight, so to get back at her, I bear-napped Miss Cuddles. And then I didn't want Eliza or Mom to come home and find out, so then I buried her in the woods." Eliza looked at her in slight surprise. Alex and Kacie tried not to laugh. "I even left some M&M's to mark the spot where I left her, but something must have eaten them." 

"Well, I'm pretty sure that Bonnie is over it by now," Eliza told her.

"Miss Cuddles isn't," Caroline told them. "She's out there, all alone, like Bonnie. You know what? I'm gonna go find her." 

"You're gonna what?" Elena asked.

"Yeah," Caroline answered. "It's Bonnie's birthday." 

Caroline grabbed her jacket.

"Wait, wait," Alex told her. "Caroline, you and Eliza have been going through a lot lately. Do you think that maybe you're just a little confused about what you're actually upset about?" 

"Yes, probably," Caroline answered. "But our mom's dying, and our best friend is stuck in an alternate universe, and her bear is in a hole in the woods, and there's only one of those things that we can do anything about." 

"Right," Eliza told her. "I'm with you on this one, Care." 

Caroline smiled a small smile.

Caroline and Eliza walked out of the house. Alex and Elena exchanged a look, following them.

Kacie hesitated, grabbing a bottle of alcohol from a nearby table, following them. 

------

Kitchen 

Lindsey was in the kitchen, looking at the cupcakes, smiling a small smile. "Happy Birthday, Bon-Bon." 

Ryan walked closer. "Hey, Lindsey." 

Lindsey turned to face him. "Ryan? Hi." 

Ryan looked at the cupcakes. "Ooh. You think we could sneak one before the party?" 

"I think Caroline might kills us," Lindsey told him.

Ryan picked up a cupcake. "It's worth the risk." Lindsey smiled, taking a bite of the cupcake. "Come here." 

Ryan wiped some frosting from Lindsey's lips, licking his fingers. 

Lindsey smiled a small smile, looking up at Ryan. They smiled, sharing a slow, sweet kiss.

Tory, Liv, Cristian and Luke walked in, carrying birthday balloons and decorations, placing them down on the floor.

Tory looked around. "Well, I gotta agree with Little Gilbert on this one. This is going to be depressing." 

"Tory, get over it," Liv told her. "This is for Bonnie, for crying out loud. This is a small piece of repayment that we could give her for all the times she had saved our asses." Lindsey sighed, looking away, placing the cupcake down. Liv noticed, looking at her knowingly. "Still beating yourself up about not being able to help Bonnie get free?" 

Lindsey shook her head. "Nope." 

Luke raised his eyebrows at her, unconvinced. "Lindsey, you are one hell of a horrible liar."

Lindsey sighed, relenting. "Okay, maybe a little bit." 

"Well, it doesn't matter," Cristian told them. "One day, we are going to find a way to free Bonnie from the prison world. And Lindsey and Tory are gonna save her, because, like they have proved time and again, saving people is what they do best." 

They heard Kai's voice call out. "Hello?" 

"No," Tory told them. "That's impossible, because why would he..." 

Liv closed her eyes, hoping. "He didn't. He's all merged, he's packed, and he's on his way to Portland."

Kai walked in. "Ooh. Forgot how massive this house was." He smiled. "Yum. Cupcakes. Sorry. Am I interrupting something?" 

Cristian and Luke turned to face Kai, standing in front of the others.

"What are you doing here?" Cristian asked.

"Funniest thing," Kai told them. He looked at Tory and Lindsey. "I need your help." 

Kai took out a letter. 

Tory and Lindsey exchanged an annoyed look.

------

Later 

Damon, Kaylin and Stefan had come to join the group. 

"Why would we give a letter to Jo?" Cristian asked.

"I haven't been able to find her using a locator spell, and you know, good on her, because under normal circumstances, I'd be super jazzed to gouge out her belly button," Kai told them, licking the frosting on the cupcake with his finger. He looked at Tory and Lindsey. "And then, I thought, 'But, wait, Jo's not strong enough for a cloaking spell yet'. Which means you two are hiding her with magic."

"And we're hiding Olivia, too, so you can't find them," Tory told him. "See, even if you're more powerful than before, at least we can still do a simple cloaking spell to keep them hidden from you."

"Which leads me to believe that you two know exactly where Jo and Olivia are, otherwise, you wouldn't have been able to cloak them, and that is why I need your help," Kai told them.

"Why would they help you, Kai?" Stefan asked. 

"Well, in case you haven't figure it out by now, I'm a sociopath," Kai told them. Kaylin pretended to be shocked. "I know. Shocker. I like being a sociopath. You know, I'm not burdened by things like guilt or love. So, then this merge happened with my brother Lucas, and I won, which was great, because I absorbed his ability to do magic, but now I can't stop thinking about how Lucas died, how Olivia's life is ruined. For some horrible reason, I can't shake how badly I feel about it."

Kai sighed in frustration. 

Kaylin looked at him in surprise. "You feel bad?" 

"Yes," Kai answered. "So when I absorbed Lucas' magic, I must have gotten some of his qualities or something like empathy. So, I Googled how to process emotional pain, and they said if you write everything down in a letter and burn it, you'll be healed. So I started writing, and this water literally started pooling in my eyes. Has that ever happened to you? Like--like water just--just oozing out of my eyeballs like I'm some alien creature excreting fluids."

Luke looked at him in amusement. "You mean you cried."

Kai pointed at Luke. "Yes. And all I could think about while writing the letter was Lucas, just like when I'm looking at you, Luke, because you two have nearly the same names, and... and after that was done, I burned the letter, and the feelings--oops--were still there. So, I really feel strongly that Jo needs to know how sorry I am for destroying our family, but let's face it, guys, all right? I mean, Kaylin, you of all people should be willing to look past the questionable things that I've done to see that there's--there's good somewhere in me. You did it with Klaus and Enzo."

Cristian, Stefan, Damon and Tory looked at Kaylin. Kaylin was annoyed, looking away.

Stefan raised his eyebrows slightly.

Damon smirked slightly in amusement. "Okay. I think we're done here. Come on." 

"Actually, what if there's something he can do for us in exchange?" Kaylin asked.

Stefan and Damon looked at Kaylin in surprise.

Kaylin smirked, getting an idea. 

------

North Carolina 

Duke University - Car

Enzo was in the driver's seat.

Matt was in the passenger seat, hanging up his phone.

"What did the she-wolf say?" Enzo asked.

"There," Matt told him. "She bought it. Happy?" 

"I'll be happy once I know for sure that your little hybrid girlfriend Kacie doesn't know about this," Enzo told him. "Along with your precious werewolf-witch cousin Tory." 

"Because you know that they could kick your ass, and possibly kill you," Matt told him.

"Precisely," Enzo answered. "But, if they don't have the element of surprise, don't you think I would be able to kill them? It would probably be best not to take that chance, don't you agree?"

Matt didn't answer, changing the subject. "So I'm guessing you didn't bring me out here to watch you perv out on some co-ed."

"It's not just some co-ed," Enzo told him, looking toward Sarah in the park they were idling in. "Meet the real Sarah Salvatore, the hothouse flower of Nicola's sister that Stefan's been keeping a secret all these years, meaning she's also a really distant relative of your cousin just like the rest of that family."

"Why do you even care?" Matt asked.

"Because Damon thinks he killed Sarah, and instead of absolving him, Stefan's been using Damon's guilt to keep him in check," Enzo answered. "And, furthermore, just to keep it a secret from Damon, he didn't even tell Kaylin, who stood helplessly by as Damon killed Sarah's mother with her inside her tum, thinking she was dead. And, most importantly, he didn't tell Nicola. He didn't tell Nicola that she had a sister in Sarah. She doesn't even know Sarah exists. Imagine the kind of pain, betrayal and anger that must bring if she ever found out." 

"That's why you're doing this?" Matt asked. "You're gonna make me help you tell Damon, Kaylin and Nicola? Like you said, it'll destroy Nicola. So I help you destroy them, or what? You're gonna kill me? Then go ahead and kill me." 

"I don't want to kill you, Matt," Enzo told him. "I just want you to do a few simple tasks." 

"Screw you," Matt told him. "I'm not gonna be your bitch for the rest of my life. You know, on second thought, I think I will ask Tory and Kacie for help." 

Enzo grabbed Matt by the throat. "I don't want to kill you, or Kacie and Tory, but I will, the ray of sunshines they are. Oh. Look at that. Very brave. I admire your tolerance for pain. Does that run in your family? Because Tory also has a very high tolerance. Just wondering if your mother shares your pain threshold. Took a drive down to South Carolina to take a peek at mama Donovan. Quite a dish, that one." Matt tapped his hand. Enzo released him. Matt coughed, gasping for breath. "Good. Now it's settled that you can't tell two of the most powerful creatures in Mystic Falls without signing your own mother's death sentence, I think it's time for you to get to know Sarah Salvatore." 

------

Mystic Falls, Virginia

Salvatore Boarding House - Living Room 

The group was talking.

Kai examined the Ascendant. "Sad attempt at iron welding." 

"We tried to fix it," Luke told him.

"We can't bring Bonnie back with this," Kai told them.

"I thought you were the all-powerful leader of the Gemini Coven now," Liv told him in mock.

Kai showed Lindsey and Tory the broken Ascendant. "I destroyed this so that you two couldn't use it again." 

"Well, can we use that hunk of junk to send a message at least?" Damon asked. "It is her birthday." 

Kai looked at Damon in surprise, slightly guilt. "It is?" 

Kaylin smirked, getting an idea to make him feel enough guilt to get him to help them. "Yeah. It's really sad. I mean, old Bon-Bon, she's gonna be getting all dressed up for a party no one's even gonna show up to. I mean, wonder if she even knows it is her birthday, or do all the days just blend into one vast sea of misery? I wonder."

Damon nodded in agreement. "You know what else I wonder? I wonder how long it would take for your little branding spell on little niece Nikki to drive her to turn her emotions off and kill everyone in sight. Nikki won't even come see us, and every time she sees one of us, she always tucks tail and runs." Stefan and Tory looked at Kaylin and Damon, knowing what they were doing, smirking. "I mean, the only thing that Nikki been guilty of is too much love and loyalty to her family that, admittedly, destroyed her life. Nikki doesn't deserve all of this pain, and grief, and suffering, and anger, and betrayal..." 

Kai seemed to be getting more and more guilty, looking at the Ascendant. "One of the crown wheels survived. That's a positive. Plus, I am mega powerful." He looked at Tory and Lindsey. "And, if the three of us are working together instead of against each other, nothing can stand against us." 

"Yeah," Tory agreed. "We just don't know the spell, otherwise we would have done so a long time ago."

"Well, lucky for you, I do know the spell," Kai told them.

"I assume you still have Bonnie's necklace that you took to get over here," Lindsey told him. Kai sighed, taking out Bonnie's bone necklace, handing it to Lindsey. Lindsey took it. "Good."

"What do you want to say?" Kai asked. 

"Well, I mean, if Bonnie needs magic to get out, we just need to tell her where to find some," Ryan told them.

Tory and Lindsey exchanged a knowing look, smiling. 

Kai looked at Stefan, Damon and Kaylin. "After we find a way to help Bonnie, I'm pretty sure that I can find a way to break the branding hex I put on Nicola." 

Stefan, Damon and Kaylin exchanged a slightly smug, subtle look, knowing that they found a way to make Nicola better.

------

Whitmore College - Tyler's Dorm Room 

Olivia was holding a white dress, crying, sitting in front of Nicola. "I was gonna wear this for the merge ceremony. It's the dress I would have died in." She threw it away. "How could Lucas do this?"

"He didn't do this to you," Nicola told her. "Kai did, and he's going to finish what he started by killing you and ever other Gemini. So, please explain to me why you ditched your dad to fend for himself and came knocking on my door when you should have gotten the hell out of here." 

"Just haul ass out of here like my dad?" Olivia asked. "Live out the rest of my life wondering, 'Is today the day that Kai finds me?' You say that I should have taken off with my dad. You're wrong. I should have just done the stupid merge. At least then, Lucas and I would still be together. All our lives, we've never been apart. I don't know how to do this."

"I'm so sorry, Olivia," Nicola told her. 

Olivia cried. "I can't run, Nicola. Kai took my entire life. Just like he took your entire like. There's nowhere for either of us to go."

Nicola looked at her in realization. "And that's why you came here. You know that I hate Kai, and you know that you could have possibly talked me into helping you get revenge."

Olivia stood, walking closer. "It wouldn't be revenge just for me about losing Lucas, Nicola. It would be revenge for you about him telling this giant family secret to you in the worst way possible, destroyed your relationship with Stefan, Damon and Kaylin, and left you little images in your head that you can't turn off when you see them, or if you're alone, or in your dreams. If we deal with him, then maybe all of that goes away." 

"'Maybe'?" Nicola repeated. "So you're saying that there's a chance that if Kai dies, I'm stuck with these images forever. Try to inspire less confidence, Olivia." 

"Okay, I'll admit that death might not make all of that go away," Olivia told her. "But that's why we force Kai to undo the spell before anything is done."

"And then?" Nicola asked. 

"And then I want you to help me kill Kai," Olivia answered.

Nicola looked at Olivia cautiously for a moment. 

------~------

Salvatore Boarding House - Living Room 

Kai, Lindsey and Tory were working on fixing the Ascendant while the others watched.

"Okay, so we know that Jo stored her magic in a hunting knife," Stefan told them. "Bonnie sent hers over with Miss Cuddles. What receptacle of magic am I not thinking of?"

"Let me give you a hint," Lindsey told them. "Scorned immortals." 

"Katherine?" Kaylin asked. 

"Older," Tory told them.

"Silas?" Luke asked.

"More psychotic," Tory told them.

"I don't know," Liv told them. "Silas was definitely psychotic."

Ryan looked at Tory and Lindsey in realization. "Rosalita, Qetsiyah and Ovisona." Lindsey looked at him, winking. "Their blood is on Silas' headstone. It's filled with magic, and it links her to the two of you. And, paired with the necklaces that were originals theirs, it can practically do anything."

"Yep," Lindsey answered. "So, in Bonnieland, that means that an island off Nova Scotia is a big magical battery waiting to be tapped. We just need to remind Bonnie of that." 

"And what reminded you, Lindsey?" Ryan asked.

"Well, let's see, Ryan," Lindsey told him. "Magic, link, prisonary world." She looked at Kai. "Facing off with utter psychopaths."

"Oh, thank God," Kai said in relief, looking from Lindsey to Ryan. "You two together is so nauseatingly sweet that it is still totally revolting to me. Finally, a familiar feeling. Lucas didn't take me over completely." 

Jeremy walked in, looking at Kai. "What the hell's he doing here?" 

Kai looked at Jeremy, smiling. "Hi." 

------

Woods 

Caroline and Eliza were digging up the ground.

Alex, Elena and Kacie were watching them.

"You know, if you were gonna stick around to keep an eye on us, your best friends, you could have at least brought a shovel," Caroline told them

Alex sighed, leaning against a tree, a bottle of bourbon in hand. "Nah. I'm not big on digging." She held up her hands. "Calluses." 

"So you've never buried or dug up corpses, not even once?" Kacie asked. 

"Sorry, but I'm an old-fashioned gal," Alex told her. "I was raised to believe that men dig the graves and the women have the babies." 

Eliza looked up in amusement. "You're gonna quote Buffy?" 

"Why not?" Alex asked. "And if I do say so myself, you're a little bit behind. One or both of you should be the ones quoting Buffy, and I should be the one quoting the other, brunette Slayer named Faith. One of you can be Cordelia, Willow, Tara.

"How are you, Alex?" Elena asked sarcastically, testing her. "I mean, really?"

"Five-by-five," Alex answered.

Elena smiled.

"Well, you two have tried to kill us before," Caroline told them, returning to digging. 

"Hey, we had our humanity off, okay?" Elena asked in defense. Caroline smirked, continuing to dig. "So, do you guys really think that finding a teddy bear will make everything right in the world?" 

"You know what?" Caroline asked. "You are right. This is such a waste of time. I really should be at Whitmore after a full year, trying to bury myself in distractions so I don't have to think about it. Oh, better yet, I should be convincing everybody I care about that I don't care, so that they will leave me alone and not worry about me." 

"Ooh," Alex told her. "Ouch." 

"Look, if you think we're insane, we get it," Eliza told them. "I probably am, but nobody is forcing you to be here."

"We should probably stay, keep an eye on you, you know, in case you guys have a psychotic breakdown," Kacie told them.

Eliza smiled to herself. 

------

Salvatore Boarding House - Living Room 

The group was talking.

Jeremy looked at the others. "People don't just change like that." 

"People usually don't merge with their siblings, either," Ryan replied.

"Uh, for the record, I would have been fine with any of Lucas' qualities," Kai told them. "You know, the hair, the whole gay thing... You know, maybe not the height, actually."

"You seriously buy this?" Jeremy asked. 

"Look, I'm not saying that we have to like him, but if there's a way for us to tell Bonnie how she can get out, and if he'll take the spell that he put on Nicola away before she does something that she can't take back..." Cristian trailed off.

"We should trust a guy that changed personalities overnight?" Luke asked. 

"Think of it like Elena in reverse," Kai told them, pouring himself some alcohol. "You know, she was human, pure, dating the good Salvatore while her sister Alex was dating the bad one. Then they both became undead blood vacuums, and while Alex remained mostly the same, Elena stopped caring about right and wrong, and started dating the bad one, hurting Alex in the process, which led Alex and the good one to each other." 

"That's not how it happened," Stefan told him in annoyance.

Kai took a drink. "Hmm. I'm sure I missed a detail or two, but I'm just paraphrasing what Kacie told me in the prison world." 

"Speaking of, there's a witch over there we'd like to save," Tory told them. "So why don't you get your Gemini jumper cables and help us fix that thing?" 

"And then help Nikki afterward," Damon added. "You know, take back the damage that you did to her."

"Okay," Kai told them. 

Lindsey, Kai and Tory went back to work. 

------

Whitmore College - Tyler's Dorm Room 

Olivia sat on the floor, chanting, a single lit candle in front of her. "Phesmatos physium calva. Phesmatos physium calva. Phesmatos physium calva."

Nicola stood nearby. "What are you doing? Olivia, come on. Talk to me. What are you doing?" 

Olivia stopped. "When Lucas and I were kids, we used to play hide-and-seek. We figured out a way to cheat by using a spell to see through each other's eyes." She continued to chant. "Phesmatos physium calva. Phesmatos physium calva. Phesmatos physium calva."

Olivia's eyes took on a weird silver glow.

------

Salvatore Boarding House - Living Room (Through Kai's Eyes) 

Tory and Lindsey stood on the other side of the table as Kai, all three continuing to fix the Ascendant.

Damon stepped closer. "Come on, guys. You done yet?" 

"Damon, you, Stefan and Kaylin are the ones that have us working with a psychopath," Tory told him. "It's gonna take some time."

"Tory, you're doing this on your own free will," Kaylin told her. "So is Lindsey."

"Yeah, because it's a way to save Bonnie," Lindsey told her.

Stefan nodded. "And Nikki." 

"And Nicola," Tory agreed. 

Kaylin nodded.

------

Whitmore College - Tyler's Dorm Room  

Olivia pulled out of the vision, looking at Nicola. "The bastard's at your house."

"Why the hell would he be there?" Nicola asked.

"I have no idea," Olivia told her. "Of course, Kaylin, Stefan and Damon would find a reason to get Tory and Lindsey work with him."

Olivia stood. 

"Look, Olivia," Nicola told her. "I know how pissed you are right now. I get that probably more than anybody, but--"

"But what?" Olivia asked. "I'm just supposed to live with it? Get through it? Something tells me you didn't just punch a wall after Damon killed your dad. That's one of the things that you see probably most, right?" Nicola sighed, looking away. "The more time that passes, the worst the branding spell is going to get, and the only one who can take it away is Kai. Help me find him, and we can force him to take it away, and then we kill him."

"Olivia, stop," Nicola told her. "Like it or not, Kai is your leader. You kill him, your entire coven dies. You, your dad, Jo." 

"We're dead anyway," Olivia told her. "He'll kill his way through the coven, our friends, the guy at the drive-through who screws up his order. At least this way, I can take him with me."

Olivia walked past Nicola, opening the door, walking out into the hall.

Nicola turned after her. "You know what? You're right." Olivia turned to face her. "I didn't just punch a wall after Damon killed my dad. I tried to kill him to get revenge for my dad. But if I'm really being honest with myself, I wasn't doing it to get revenge for my dad. I was doing it so Damon would end my life, so I didn't have to live with the pain anymore. And that is exactly what you're doing. Olivia, it ended horribly for me when I tried to do what you're trying to do. And I can't let you do that." Nicola tried to walk past the doorway, being stopped by an invisible barrier. "Oh, you gotta be kidding me." She looked at Olivia. "Seriously?" 

"I'm sorry, Nicola," Olivia told her, turning around, walking away.

"Olivia, wait," Nicola told her. "Olivia!" 

Nicola tried to step past the barrier. She held her head in pain, seeing a flash of memories that had been branded by Kai, attacking her mind at a rate so fast that it made her head spin, only it caused her physical pain this time.

The boundary spell was only making the branding spell worse, just by contact.

Nicola backed away from the barrier, holding her head, breathing heavily. "I hate this spell." 

------

North Carolina 

Duke University - Park 

Sarah was taking some pictures, the camera shutter clicking. She tried several attempts to throw her empty water bottle in the trash from some distance, picking it up and trying again. 

The bottle bounced off toward the bench that Matt was sitting on.

Matt smiled. "I got it." He stood, picking the water bottle up, throwing it away for her. "I'm guessing you're not here on a basketball scholarship." 

"That's not a regulation trashcan," Sarah told him, turning around.

"Hey," Matt told her. "I saw your camera. I'm thinking about buying one. You like it?" 

Sarah turned to face him. "It gets the job done. What kind of photography are you into?" 

Matt shrugged slightly. "A little bit of everything." 

"Okay," Sarah told him. "Well, it has good color reproduction, nice tonal range. Um, you'll want to shoot raw if you don't want the highlights to get clipped, and..." Matt nodded slightly in confusion. Sarah realized why. "You have no idea what I'm talking about, do you?"

"No," Matt answered. "No, I don't. Sorry." 

"Well, don't feel bad," Sarah told him. "You went for it. It's not your fault you went with the second most common pickup line guys use when they see a girl with a camera." 

"Oh, yeah?" Matt asked. "What's the first?" 

"They offer to pose for some very tasteful nudes," Sarah answered. "Look, I'm really flattered, and I'm sure you're a nice guy, but..." 

"No, it's okay," Matt told her. "I get it." 

"Good luck with your photography," Sarah told him. 

"Thanks," Matt told her.

Sarah walked away.

Enzo appeared behind Matt. "You truly have an epic lack of game. How in the world Kacie Lockwood ever fell for it, I will never be able to understand." 

"She didn't fall for anything," Matt told him, turning to face him. "We knew each other when we were kids."

"And she tried to kill herself when an Original hybrid sired her to kill you, so I guess that professes true love," Enzo told him. 

"I tried, okay?" Matt asked. 

"Really?" Enzo asked. "Grunting at her would have been more effective. Now I've got to get you back on track. All right. Give me your jacket, your wallet, and your cellphone."

------

Mystic Falls, Virginia

Salvatore Boarding House - Living Room 

The group was talking.

Lindsey looked at the others. "So, we can't send us back physically, but we can probably send a part of us back."

"Probably?" Ryan repeated. 

"You remember that movie, 'Ghost'?" Lindsey asked. "Okay. Well, Bonnie's gonna be Demi Moore, because she's the alive one, obviously, and, uh, we'll all be a collective Patrick Swayze, the ghost."

"Oh, how much does that suck about Patrick Swayze?" Kai asked. 

"Will she be able to see us or not, Lindsey?" Luke asked.

"I don't know, Luke," Lindsey told him. "I've never done this before." She looked at Kai and Tory sarcastically. "Have you guys done this before?" 

"Nope," Tory answered in the same sarcastic tone.

Kai smirked. "Maybe I wrote you two off too soon. Seems you guys are more like me than I suspected, just without the murdery impulses and with the sympathetic and saviors-of-the-world tendencies." 

"Shut up, Kai, and help us do the spell," Tory told him. She looked at Stefan, Kaylin, Jeremy, Cristian, Luke and Ryan. "Can you guys stay here and keep an eye over our bodies? Not all of us can go over there." 

"I'm still going," Damon told them.

"So am I," Liv told them.

They nodded.

Lindsey cut her palm, letting her blood trickle over the half-way fixed Ascendant, making it click, releasing itself. She looked at Damon and Liv. "So, let's all just take a deep breath, right? Close our eyes." Damon and Liv closed their eyes. "And..." 

Kai held a hand toward either Tory and Lindsey.

Lindsey and Tory shook their heads, beginning the spell without touching anything, closing their eyes. "Phesmatos tribum invocio caveum, miscero mundio." Kai seemed amused, closing his eyes, joining in. "Phesmatos tribum invocio caveum, miscero mundio."

------

Prison World 

Salvatore Boarding House - Living Room 

Damon, Liv, Lindsey, Tory and Kai looked around as the scene changed slightly.

"What happened to the pool table?" Damon asked.

Liv realized they were in the prison world. "Oh, my God." 

They saw Bonnie sitting at the table.

Lindsey approached her. "Bonnie? Bonnie!" Bonnie didn't answer. "She can't hear me." 

Damon tried to touch something, his hand passing through. "And we can't touch anything, either. Nice spell, Lindsey."

"Lindsey told us that they couldn't send us over completely, dumbass," Liv told him. "Hello, no celestial event."

Damon gave Liv a sarcastic look.

Bonnie was watching the video recorder. 

Video Damon was on the screen. "This place is my own personal hell."

Bonnie smiled a small smile. "Drama queen." 

Damon walked toward her. "Hey." 

Liv smiled. 

Bonnie flipped to another video.

Video Kacie was on the screen. "Reporting to you live from Retro World, I'm Kacie Lockwood. Joining us today in the studio are special guests, Damon Salvatore and Bonnie Bennett!" 

The screen showed Damon and Bonnie standing behind Kacie.

Bonnie stopped the video recorder, pouring herself a glass of bourbon. 

Damon looked at her in shock. "No." 

Tory looked at Damon in confusion. "What?" 

"The bottle of bourbon is the oldest one in the house," Damon told them. "Bonnie, Kacie and I made a pact if we couldn't take being trapped here alone for one more day, we'd... we'd kill that entire bottle. Then we'd kill ourselves."

Tory, Liv and Lindsey looked at them in shock, looking at Bonnie in denial.

------~------

Real World 

Salvatore Boarding House - Living Room 

Damon, Liv, Lindsey, Tory and Kai woke up in the real world, either lying on the floor, couches or chairs.

Luke, Ryan, Kaylin, Stefan, Jeremy and Cristian looked at them in curiousness.

"Wait," Jeremy told them. "What happened? Why are you back here?"

They stood. 

"I don't know," Tory told them. "Spell must require too much magic. We lost the connection."

"Then reconnect," Damon told them. 

"It's not that easy with two people," Kai told them, pointing to his bleeding nose, gesturing to Lindsey's bleeding nose. "You see this blood? I'm guessing that's not a good sign." 

"Our magic must have cancelled each other out," Lindsey told them. "You know, being that Kai is Gemini, and we're witches born from Traveler bloodlines that have tried to kill each other... repeatedly."

"What did you guys see?" Ryan asked. 

"Bonnie is going to kill herself," Lindsey answered. 

Luke stood in shock. "What?" 

"Can she do that?" Jeremy asked. "Can she die in the prison world?" He looked at Kai. "I mean, Kacie didn't die, and you cut her head off."

"Yeah, and I also sewed Kacie's head back on," Kai pointed out. "I must have done it before her body died for good. I mean, I couldn't die. Of course, it was my own personal solitary confinement. Didn't want me to end my sentence early by killing myself. Ooh, I tried every method in the book." He chuckled. "You know, that's ironic, because I also tried to cut my own head off. I drove down to DC, because there was this museum that has an actual guillotine. But that was years ago, and like Kacie, I had a scar for the longest time, but that healed a while ago, and--" 

"We get it," Cristian told him. "If Bonnie doesn't have someone over there who can undo the damage that she does to herself, dead means dead." 

"We have to stop her," Lindsey told them. "We have to give her hope, send her a message somehow."

"How?" Liv asked. "She couldn't hear us." 

"But we could strengthen the spell enough to at least touch something," Lindsey told them. "We could find an Atlas, or a map, or something, write down what we're trying to get to her, and then just have to get her to see it."

"So, all we need is to get you three to crank up your witchy-woo, don't we?" Kaylin asked. "So you can make physical contact."

Kai sat down on the couch. "All while sending some of you and the three of us back over there? Sure. Yeah." He looked at Tory and Lindsey. "Why don't we reanimate your dead parents for a tea party while we're at it?" Tory raised her eyebrows at him as if to ask, oh, really? Kai changed his attitude due to Tory's attitude. "Sorry. Insensitive." 

"What if it's just us going back over there?" Tory asked.

"That might work," Lindsey told her. "Focus all of our magic on just us. It might be enough of a boost that we could physically interact if we can hold the spell."

"And if you cannot?" Luke asked. 

"The magic overwhelms us, and we can't pull ourselves out," Kai answered. "We'll be stuck over there for eternity. Tory, Lindsey, this one's all yours, girls."

"You're helping," Lindsey told him. "Or did you forget that you're the reason why that Bonnie's stuck over there in the first place?"

Kai conceded. "Fine."

"Then you better be planning on coming back," Kaylin told them.

"Why?" Kai asked. "Just so that I'll heal Nicola?"

"No, smartass," Kaylin answered. "Because I don't want Tory and Lindsey stuck over there. Tory's still our family, no matter how distantly, and Lindsey's our friend."

Stefan nodded in agreement. Damon shrugged, trying to act as if it wasn't agreeing though he was.

Tory smiled slightly, smirking knowingly. "I completely get Stefan and Kaylin and Nicola being that way about me as their distantly related family, Damon, but the way that we fight all the time..."

"Don't get used to it," Damon told her.

Tory smirked. Stefan and Kaylin chuckled.

"Tory, be careful," Stefan told her.

Tory nodded.

Ryan looked at the girls worriedly. "Tory. Lindsey."

"Don't," Tory told him. "I don't know how many times that we have to go through this when you and Luke realize that you cannot stop us from wanting to help people, Ryan."

"Luke, Ryan, we'll be fine, I promise," Lindsey told them. "This is Bonnie we're talking about. We can get through to her, we save Bonnie's life. Do you trust us?"

Luke nodded. "Yeah. Yeah, I trust you."

Tory took Luke's hands in her own. "And I'll make it back to you, Luke. Ryan, Lindsey will make it back to you."

Liv looked at them worriedly. "Tory. Lindsey."

 Lindsey smiled reassuringly. "And we'll get back to our favorite vampire best friend, Liv. I promise." 

------

Woods 

Caroline and Eliza were still digging.

Elena, Alex and Kacie stood nearby.

Alex looked at the ground. "Hey, is that an M&M?" 

Eliza turned toward her hopefully. "Where?" 

Alex pointed at the ground. "Right there." They followed her gaze. "Little to the left, little to the left. Right there. Right--Oh, sorry. It was just a leaf." 

Caroline turned to face Alex in annoyance. "Is this funny to you?" 

"Well, we are in the middle of the woods, searching for a teddy bear buried in a shallow grave by a nine-year-old version of you," Alex told her. "You know, I could either be thinking that it's funny, or I could be thinking that you need to be distracted and think about something other than this. Or is this the distraction?" 

"You're drunk," Elena told her, walking closer. "Give me that." 

Elena tried to take the bottle.

Alex pulled it out of her reach. "No, no, no. You have more ground to cover." 

"You're a bitch," Caroline told her in annoyance. 

"Bitch, huh?" Alex asked.

"Yeah," Caroline answered.

"Oh, hey, at least I don't try to hide it," Alex pointed out. "Unlike some people."

Alex took a drink. 

"Seriously?" Eliza asked.

Alex pulled the bottle away from her lips. "Oh, you sound angry." 

"We're not angry, okay?" Caroline asked. "I'm just annoyed, because we are going through a highly emotional situation right now, and you're just sitting there, mocking us."

Alex looked at Elena and Kacie, nodding. "Definitely angry. You know, you look angry, too, Eliza." 

"I'm not angry, okay?" Eliza asked. 

"Well, you should be, Eliza," Kacie told her. "Both of you should be. Your mom is dying, one of your best friends is stuck in some netherworld, and you're sitting here trying to make it all better by finding a stuffed animal. Do you want to know how I kept going through the pain of everyone that I lost? It wasn't just because I kept a tiny piece of them on standby, preventing myself from moving on, guys. It was because I found a reason to get angry enough to move on. Eliza, Caroline, you two need to get angry enough to move on, or at least to prepare yourself to move on." 

Alex sighed. "Because getting angry is probably so much better than becoming so numb and indifferent to everything around you, like you did when we lost Damon, Bonnie and Kacie, Eliza. At least when you're angry, it gives you a charge, something to take out everything on."

"But when you were like you were, there was nothing," Elena told her. "You were barely human, Eliza." 

"Why?" Eliza asked. "Will getting angry make either of us feel any better than going to that place again?"

"No, not at first," Kacie answered. "And there is always going to be that piece of you that feels the pain, no matter how angry you get."

"So you're saying that there's no hope?" Eliza asked.

"No, I'm saying that this anger that I know that you have in you, it will make you strong," Kacie answered. "It will make you strong, but you cannot let it get out of control.Just get angry." Caroline took their words seriously, pushing Kacie back. "That make you feel better?"

"No," Caroline answered.

"Try again," Kacie told her. 

Caroline pushed Kacie. "Screw you!" 

"That's good," Kacie told her. "Get it out." 

Caroline tackled Kacie to the ground.

Eliza picked up the shovel, rushing to use it to push Elena's legs out from under her, making her fall down to the ground on her back.

Elena pulled Alex to the ground with her.

Alex, Elena, Caroline and Kacie laid on the ground.

Eliza took the bottle, taking a drink. 

Kacie used her arm to push Eliza's legs out from under her, making her fall down to the ground on her back.

"I cannot believe you just did that," Eliza told her.

Kacie smiled.

"Well, Caroline started it," Alex told them. Eliza smiled a small smile. "Felt good, though, didn't it?"

Caroline smiled. "Maybe a little."

They sighed, looking up at the sky. 

"I miss this, you know?" Eliza asked. "I miss the time when it was just us. You, me, Bonnie. All of the snowball fights, all of the piles of leaves we would jump into during the fall, the times that we were able to go to the beach together in the summer, lying just like this in the spring, looking up at the sky and watching the clouds roll by, or watching the starry night. I miss all of that." 

Alex sighed. "So do I." Her smile slowly faded. "And now it's all gone."

Elena nodded sadly in agreement. 

They continued to watch the clouds roll by in the sky above them. 

------

Salvatore Boarding House - Living Room 

Kai, Tory and Lindsey were doing the spell as everyone else watched. "Phesmatos tribum..." 

Kaylin looked at Damon. "I didn't know you, Kacie and Bonnie had a death pact." 

"It was my idea," Damon told them. "I thought of it after we watched 'The Bodyguard' for the billionth time." 

Stefan nodded in acknowledgment.

Kai, Tory and Lindsey continued their spell. "Phesmatos tribum..."

"I never thought she'd go through with it," Damon told them. 

Kai, Tory and Lindsey continued their spell. "Invocio caveum. Phesmatos tribum invocio caveum, miscero mundio."

Damon walked out of the room.

Liv looked at Tory and Lindsey worriedly for a moment, turning around, walking out of room in the opposite direction. 

Kai, Tory and Lindsey started to fall unconscious for the spell. 

Luke and Kaylin caught Tory as she fell, lying her on a nearby couch.

Ryan and Cristian caught Lindsey as she fell, lying her on the opposite couch as Tory.

Stefan and Jeremy caught Kai as he fell, lying him in a nearby chair. 

------

Whitmore College - Tyler's Dorm Room 

Nicola was going through every exit that she could think of in the room to try to get out. She tested one of the windows with her hand, unable to pass through. She closed her eyes in pain, once again getting a rush of memories that were attacking her mind due to the boundary spell making the branding spell worse, groaning in pain, looking down.

------

Flashback - 6.04 "Black Hole Sun"

Prison World 

Day - Salvatore Boarding House - Living Room 

Damon spoke to Kai, Kacie and Bonnie. "When I saw Uncle Zach again, I couldn't look at him without remembering that I ruined everything. So it was a relief when I got to kill him." 

------

Flashback - 5.13 "Total Eclipse of the Heart"

Night - Salvatore Boarding House - Cell 

Nicola was still chained to the wall, leaning against the wall, sitting on the ground. Her arms were still bleeding. She breathed heavily, looking up at the wall.

------

Flashback - 5.13 "Total Eclipse of the Heart" (When Damon showed Nicola what happened in 1.05 "You're Undead to Me" as a form of torment)

Salvatore Boarding House - Basement 

Zach and Nicola ran toward Caroline. 

Nicola held Caroline's shoulders, looking at her father worriedly.

Zach kept the cell door closed. "Get her out of here, Nicola Run, Nikki! Nikki, run!" 

Nicola and Caroline ran away. 

Damon forced the door open, stepping outside, snapping Zach's neck, letting his body fall to the floor.

Present-Day Nicola was watching, free of blood, weakness and pain. "No!"

------

Flashback - 1.17 "Let the Right Ones In"

Night - Woods 

Nicola held a hand to her head weakly, barely able to stand after the day's events, the tomb vampires torturing her, feeding on her and compelling her. "Stefan?" She could barely keep her eyes open, starting to fall to the ground. Stefan caught her in his arms, looking at the blood from her wounds, lost in a trance. Nicola noticed, trying to pull away. "Stefan..." Stefan noticed that blood was on his fingers, slowly licking it away. Nicola looked away weakly, closing her eyes. "No, Stefan, don't."

Stefan transformed, fighting the urge for as long as he could. "I'm so sorry, Nikki."

Nicola struggled weakly. "Stefan, Stefan!" Stefan, unable to resist the urge any longer, bit Nicola on her neck, feeding. "Stefan! Stefan!"

------

Later 

It was after Stefan had killed Fredrick, looking at Nicola hungrily, stalking toward her, transformed. 

Nicola slid back against the tree behind her, unable to move. 

Stefan tried to attack Nicola.

Damon appeared in between them, keeping Stefan back.

------

Now 

Day - Whitmore College - Tyler's Dorm Room  

Nicola groaned in pain, pulling her hand away from the boundary in the window. "Damn it." 

Nicola turned around, taking a chair, throwing it across the room to the doorway to see if it would pass through the boundary.

The chair hit the invisible barrier, shattering into pieces, falling to the floor. 

Nicola looked at the door angrily, exhaling. She suddenly held her head in pain, as if the spell was getting worse without her having to touch anything, because she was alone. 

The flashes of the memories were blurring past at a blinding speed, never-ending. There were voices from different people from her family or talking about her family from the visions to go with it, too many voices playing at once to tell them apart, enough to make anyone go mad.

Nicola closed her eyes, holding her head, trying to push the memories away.

They seemed to be getting worse with each passing moment. 

Nicola breathed heavily, reeling, slowly backing into the wall behind her, slowly sliding down to the floor, wrapping her arms around her knees, closing her eyes, lying her head against her knees, looking as if she was at the breaking point. 

------

North Carolina - Duke University - Park 

Matt sat on a bench at a bus stop, freezing.

Sarah approached him. "Hey, Ansel Adams." 

"I have no idea who that is," Matt told her.

"Where are you trying to go?" Sarah asked.

"Virginia," Matt told her. "Mystic Falls." 

"Virginia?" Sarah repeated, pointing at the bus stop sign. "This is a campus bus. It has, like, five stops. The farthest you're gonna get is the Lenox Hospital." 

"Great," Matt told her sarcastically. "My buddy bailed on me, and my phone and jacket are in his car." 

"This is why I don't visit animal shelters," Sarah told him. "Come on. I'll show you where you can catch a real bus."

Matt stood. "Oh, that'd be great. I'm--I'm freezing out here." 

"There's a cafe on the way," Sarah told him. "We'll get a coffee, and you can warm up."

"Too bad my wallet's in my jacket," Matt told her. 

"How were you planning on paying for the bus?" Sarah asked.

Matt smiled. "Charm." 

Sarah laughed. "Yeah. In that case, I'll buy you a bus ticket to go with that coffee." 

"Thank you," Matt told her.

"Come on," Sarah told him, leading the way away.

Matt followed her.

------

Mystic Falls, Virginia

Salvatore Boarding House - Parlor 

Liv walked in, getting something to drink.

Cristian walked in. "Liv? You okay?"

"My two best friends, Tory and Lindsey, are going over to the prison world, and there is a chance that Kai is screwing us over as we speak, and there is also the very slim chance that he is being completely sincere," Liv told him. "But, with our luck, if Kai is being that sincere, then that means that something will go horribly wrong, and they will be stuck over there for the rest of eternity, and then Kai can't reverse the branding spell that he put on Nicola, and if it keeps going at the rate that it's going, then she's gonna turn off her humanity sooner rather than later, and then, even then, the spell won't be gone. She'll just get angry enough to start killing people to take her mind off of it. Tory and Lindsey and Nicola are on the line here, as well as many lives if Nicola goes down that road. No, I'm not okay, Cristian. I am completely freaking out."

Cristian smiled a small smile, leaning against the counter next to Liv. "Sorry I asked." 

Liv sighed. "I'm sorry. I'm just..."

"Freaking out," Cristian finished. "Yeah, I gathered as much. But, Luke and Ryan are standing right by Tory and Lindsey. They're gonna be fine." 

"You know what?" Liv asked. "I love you, Cris, but this whole you being smarter than me is getting really annoying." 

Cristian smiled. "You're just jealous." 

Liv smiled. "Yeah, maybe you're right. Maybe I am. But even if you're smart enough to believe that they will be fine, I'm smart enough to know that there is something that is always gonna be there to throw a wrench into any and all of our plans."

Cristian shrugged slightly, shaking his head. "Don't you think by now, that would be a given?" 

Liv gave Cristian a sarcastic look, smiling slightly, sighing. 

------

Sun Parlor 

Damon stood in the sun parlor, grabbing the oldest bottle of bourbon, the same one that Bonnie was drinking in the prison world. "Suicide bourbon. Kacie, Bonnie and I made a pact we'd drink this together. That's what I'm gonna do." He took a sip. "To you, Bonnie." He walked toward the door, trying to walk out, but he walked into a barrier. "What the hell?"

------

Kaylin's Room 

Stefan and Kaylin were talking. 

Kaylin hung up her phone. "She won't answer."

"Of course she won't answer, Kaylin," Stefan told her. "What else would you expect a hexed vampire to do after what we did?" 

"You mean, after what we did 20 years ago, a year before she was born, and that she just found out from a sociopath who wanted revenge, and, boy, he sure got it," Kaylin told him, texting on her phone. 

"It doesn't change the facts, Kaylin," Stefan told her.

"I know that it doesn't," Kaylin told him, looking up, putting her phone away. "But to undo the branding spell, we have to get her over here so that Kai can take the spell away, even if she doesn't want to see us. After he takes the spell away, all of this will finally be over."

"Kaylin, no one ever said that taking the spell away from Nikki will magically make her forgive us for everything," Stefan told her. "She's still going to be hurt, angry and betrayed, and she still might even hate us."

"I know this, Stefan," Kaylin told him in annoyance. "I'm not stupid. Which is why we need to tell her about Sarah after the branding spell is taken away, and, I don't know. Find some way to help them meet. And then, it's up to her what she decides to do with the fact that she has a sister out there, alive and well. Where is she, by the way? Like, three hours away from here? I mean, Stef, I have seen you do some shady stuff, but this puts it up at a whole new level." Stefan gave Kaylin a look. Kaylin sighed. "Perfect. Well, then, I should bring her here sooner rather than later." 

Kaylin walked toward the doorway. 

Stefan turned after her. "And how are you going to do that when Nikki flees every time one of us even tries to talk to her?" 

"I figured that telling her that we found a way to save her from herself would be a good place to start," Kaylin told him with honest sarcasm, turning to walk out of the room, only to find herself trapped in her room by another boundary spell. "What the hell?"

------

Prison World 

Salvatore Boarding House - Living Room 

Kai, Tory and Lindsey were in the prison world again.

"Okay, 1992," Tory told them. "Let's do this."

"Where's a stupid map?" Kai asked.

Lindsey found an atlas, testing to see if she could touch it. She was able to pick it up. "It's working."

"Hurry up and find Nova Scotia," Tory told her, walking closer, handing her a pen.

Lindsey took the pen, flipping through the atlas. "Nova Scotia. Got it." 

Lindsey took the cap off the pen with her teeth, writing a note into the atlas.

The Island - Tombstone - Power

Tory and I'll help get you out :) 

Lindsey drew a heart, capping the pen, looking at Tory. "You got Bonnie's necklace?"

"Oh," Tory told her, taking Bonnie's necklace out of her pocket, handing it to Lindsey.

Lindsey left the atlas open, setting it onto the table, looking at the necklace in her hand. 

Kai suddenly groaned in pain. "Uh... guys..."

Lindsey and Tory looked toward him. 

Kai's shirt was gathering blood. He suddenly disappeared. 

The prison world started to shake. 

The necklace fell through Lindsey's hand, landing on the floor.

"What the hell is happening?" Tory asked. 

"Something's happening to Kai, and we're just here, unable to touch anything, because part of the connection of the spell broke when... that happened," Lindsey answered. "And Bonnie won't be able to hear us, either." 

"But we'll be able to get out, right?" Tory asked.

Lindsey sighed. "I have no idea." 

------~------

Real World 

Salvatore Boarding House - Living Room 

Kai was still lying in the chair that Stefan and Kaylin had put him, waking.

Olivia drove a fire iron through Kai's stomach.

Ryan and Luke walked toward the doorway quickly when they saw what was happening, just now returning to the room. 

Jeremy walked into the room front the opposite side. "No! What are you doing?" 

Another magical barrier kept Ryan and Luke from entering the room.

"Oh, you gotta be kidding me," Luke told them. 

Olivia used magic to throw Kai and Jeremy across the room. 

Kai laughed. "Dang, sis. That was harsh."

"Shut up," Olivia told him angrily, using magic to cause Kai pain. "Phesmatos--" 

Kai used magic to throw a fork into Olivia's neck, making her scream. 

------

Parlor 

Liv was listening to what was happening, sighing. "Why did I have to say anything and jinx us?" 

Cristian looked at Liv for a moment, turning around, walking toward the doorway only to be stopped by another boundary spell. He sighed. "Oh, come on." 

------

Living Room 

Kai stood, grabbing an alcohol bottle, laughing. "Ah. It's all coming back to me, Olivia." Olivia pulled the fork out of her neck. "You know, the charge..." 

Ryan and Luke exchanged a look, looking at Tory and Lindsey's unconscious bodies on the couches. 

Kai splashed Olivia with the alcohol.

"Stop it, Kai!" Olivia told him.

Kai splashed Olivia with the alcohol. "That races through your bones..." 

"Stop it!" Olivia told him. 

"At the prospect of watching someone burn to death?" Kai asked, throwing the glass bottle away, smiling. "I really missed that feeling." 

Kai took a burning candle, walking toward Olivia.

Luke tried to step past the invisible barrier to no avail. "Just let me in, Olivia!" 

"No, Luke!" Olivia told him. "You and Ryan need to stay back." She looked at Kai. "Just kill me, Kai. You already killed my best friend. So just do it. Get it over with."

Kai struggled to kill her, but he obviously couldn't do it. "Why can't I do this? I don't care about you. Why can't I kill you? Come on, Kai, do it. Do it." He hit himself on the head in anger repeatedly, yelling. "Come on! Kill her!" 

Olivia used magic to throw a fork into Kai's chest. "Motus!" 

Kai fell to the floor.

Luke noticed a table nearby him with silver ware on it, picking up a butter knife, using vampire speed and strength to throw it into Olivia's shoulder, making her fall to the floor.

The pain and distraction was enough time to make her lower the spell in front of them momentarily.

Jeremy and Ryan took advantage instantly, running forward.

Jeremy quickly grabbed the Ascendant.

Ryan took the fork out of Kai's chest, grabbing Kai's arm, pulling it over his shoulders. Jeremy did the same with his other arm, all of them running out of the room. 

Luke tried to rush into the room.

Olivia raised her arm toward Luke, using magic to reestablish the boundary spell to keep him out. 

-----

Sun Parlor 

Damon could hear what was going on, but was confused. "Luke. Ryan. What the hell is happening?" 

------

Living Room 

Luke could hear Damon, answering, knowing he could hear. "Olivia is trying to kill Kai." 

------

Hallway 

Ryan and Jeremy helped Kai toward the kitchen.

------

Kaylin's Room 

Stefan and Kaylin could hear what was going on. 

Stefan looked worried. "What about Tory and Lindsey?" 

------

Parlor 

Liv and Cristian could hear what was happening. 

Liv hit the boundary worriedly, angrily, but couldn't get past. "Olivia, come on! If you kill Kai, Tory and Lindsey are trapped over there in the prison world forever!" There was no answer. "Olivia!" 

------

Kitchen 

Jeremy and Ryan lowered Kai to the floor.

"Bring Tory and Lindsey back," Ryan told him. Kai breathed heavily, wounded. "Now." 

"Ryan, look at me," Kai told him. "I'm half-dead, and Tory and Lindsey are never gonna forgive you if I bring them back before they get Bonnie to know what they want her to know." 

"Isn't there a way to know when Tory and Lindsey are ready?" Jeremy asked. Kai nodded. "Good. Then Ryan and I are gonna find a way to get Olivia to drop the boundary spells on the vampires and Luke so that one of them can heal you. Then you're gonna bring them back when they're ready." 

Kai smirked, chuckling weakly. "And don't forget about releasing little niece Nikki from the pain I caused her." 

Jeremy nodded. "Exactly." 

Ryan and Jeremy exchanged a look, walking away. 

------

Prison World 

Salvatore Boarding House - Living Room

(Song:) Keep Going - Rachel Yamagata 

Lindsey and Tory walked toward Bonnie. 

Bonnie was still sitting at the table, drinking the suicide bourbon. "Cheers to making it this far." She started to cry. "Okay. Think it's time I cut myself off." 

Bonnie stood, angrily throwing the bottle toward them to the floor, making it shatter. She took the video recorder, walking past them without seeing them, leaving the room.

Lindsey looked at Tory. "Let's go." 

Tory nodded.

Lindsey and Tory followed Bonnie. 

------

Real World 

Woods 

Alex, Elena, Eliza, Caroline and Kacie were sitting on the ground.

"Well, I think I got all the catharsis out of this what I'm gonna get," Caroline told them. "Let's go home."

Caroline and Eliza stood. 

"All right," Kacie told her. 

Alex, Elena and Kacie stood.

Elena looked at the ground. "Wait a minute." She pointed at it. "What is that?" 

Eliza chuckled. "Shut up."

"No, no, no," Elena told them. "I'm serious. Is that an ear?" 

Eliza followed her gaze. "Oh, my God." 

Eliza walked over, digging up Miss Cuddles, looking at Alex, Elena, Caroline and Kacie, laughing. 

"I'm sure we can clean her up, make her good as new," Alex told them.

"Yeah," Elena agreed. The bear's head fell off of its body. "Oh, wait." 

They all started laughing.

Eliza started to cry.

Caroline looked at Eliza sympathetically, her pain starting to make her cry. "Hey." 

"I'm sorry," Eliza told them.

Alex, Elena, Kacie, Caroline, Eliza embraced with Caroline and Eliza crying. Alex, Elena and Kacie held them comfortingly. 

------

Whitmore College - Tyler's Dorm Room 

Nicola was still sitting on the floor, leaning against the wall, her arms wrapped around her knees, her head lying on her knees. She heard footsteps approaching.

She heard Tyler's voice. "Nikki?"

Nicola looked up instantly, relieved. "Tyler." 

Tyler walked closer to the room. "I know it was probably stupid to think that you would show up at your own house for Bonnie's birthday party, but I tried to call you, and..." 

Nicola stood, rushing in front of Tyler to stop him from coming into the room. "Do not come in here."

"What's wrong?" Tyler asked.

"Olivia trapped me here," Nicola answered. "And if you come any closer, you're gonna be trapped, too."

Tyler looked at her in confusion. "What?" 

Nicola nodded. "She wants to kill Kai, and she doesn't care if it leaves me with this branding spell for the rest of eternity." 

"Nikki, I don't care if I get trapped in there with you," Tyler told her. "I can see it in your eyes. You've been tortured by the memories, haven't you?" 

"Can you call it torture when they're all blurring into one?" Nicola asked.

"Yeah, that sounds a lot worse," Tyler answered.

"Yeah, well..." Nicola trailed off. Tyler raised his hand to the boundary. "Tyler, don't!" 

Nicola raised her hand to the boundary, making it spark. 

The contact triggered another series of horrible memories. 

Nicola groaned in pain, taking her hand away from the barrier, holding her head, turning away from him.

"What the hell was that?" Tyler asked. 

Nicola sighed, slowly lowering her hands to her side. "The boundary spell she has on this place is making the branding spell Kai has on me worse by about a billion times."

"So, it's not just when you're alone or when you're dreaming, is it?" Tyler asked. Nicola didn't answer. "Is it?" Nicola slowly turned to face him, shaking her head. "Can you see them right now?" Nicola didn't answer, looking away. Tyler sighed in frustration. "I'll be right back." 

Tyler turned around, starting to walk down the hall.

"What are you doing?" Nicola asked. "Ty, where are you going?" 

Tyler turned to face Nicola. "To go to Olivia and Kai, get them to release their damn spells on you."

"You know as well as I do that they're not gonna do that," Nicola told him. "Not until they're satisfied that they get what they want." 

"I don't care," Tyler told her. "I am getting you out of there, and I am ending this right now."

"You're gonna get yourself hurt," Nicola told him. "I'm not letting you go." 

"You don't have a choice while you're stuck in there, do you?" Tyler asked, turning around, walking away, leaving. 

"Tyler!" Nicola told him, walking closer to the boundary. "Ty, wait!" The first touch of the boundary made the memories and the branding spell worse, making her pull back, turning away in anger and frustration. "Damn it." 

Nicola turned to face the door, sighing. 

(Song Ends)

------~------

Salvatore Boarding House - Library 

Olivia searched for Kai around the house. "Kai! Get out here!" She pushed a table to the floor. "You can't hide from me!" 

An arrow shot through Olivia's shoulder from behind, making her fall to her knees.

Jeremy had been standing behind her with a crossbow. 

Ryan appeared next to Olivia, holding her in a choke hold until she passed out, but not enough to hurt her. "Sorry. You didn't give us much of a choice." 

Ryan laid Olivia's unconscious body on the floor. 

------

Parlor 

Liv and Cristian had been listening.

Liv walked toward the doorway, lifting her hand to test the barrier. Her hand passed through. She walked out of the room.

Cristian rushed out of the room. 

------

Sun Parlor 

Damon had been listening, walking out of the room quickly.

------

Kaylin's Room 

Stefan and Kaylin had been listening.

Kaylin walked out of the room quickly.

Stefan followed more slowly.

------

Prison World 

Salvatore Boarding House - Garage 

Bonnie walked into the garage.

Lindsey and Tory followed her.

Bonnie closed the garage door, walking toward Damon's car, starting the engine, sitting down, starting to cough at the engine smoke. 

Lindsey knelt next to her, trying to touch her, but couldn't. "No! Come on. You don't want to do this. Just turn off the car, Bon. You can't die." 

Bonnie started the video recorder. "It's probably a waste of time even recording anything, but... Lindsey, Tory, whoever... If you find this, and if you figure out how to work this stupid thing, please tell everyone that I'm sorry." 

"Bonnie," Lindsey told her.

"Tell them that I tried," Bonnie went on. "I really tried to make it work. Um..." She started to cry. Lindsey started to cry at her pain. Tory watched them with her own pain, tears in her eyes. "You know, I just miss too much. I miss saying hi to strangers, ordering dinner in a restaurant, laughing with my friends... But, um, spending every day here alone with no one to talk to, going weeks without speaking, it's just... the loneliness. It's--I can't take it. And I only know one way to turn it off. I'm sorry." Lindsey tried to lay a hand on her arm, but her hand passed through. "Lindsey..." Lindsey looked surprised, thinking that Bonnie knew she was there, but Bonnie didn't. "I know that I'm your only family left, and I'm sorry that when I die, you'll be completely alone. But, I... I wish you're living your life with no regrets. I hope you fight for the life you want, and don't ever give up on yourself, and stay strong." Lindsey started to cry harder. "And tell everyone else to stay strong, too." Bonnie seemed to consider something. "Something my Grams said." She coughed. "Stay... strong." 

Bonnie continued to cough, seemingly changing her mind, struggling to stand.

Tory tried to push the button to open the garage door, but without being able to actually touch anything, she couldn't.

Lindsey tried to encourage her on though Bonnie couldn't hear her. "Come on, Bonnie. Get up! Come on." She turned to Tory hopefully, standing. "I know that we tried to do the spell to be able to touch anything already before coming here, but we need to try it again. Please." She started to cry harder. "We can't let this happen." 

Tory nodded. "We're gonna try again."

Lindsey and Tory tried to take each other's hands to channel each other's powers, but their hands passed through each other. They sighed, exchanged a look, nodding. They closed their eyes, beginning the spell again. "Phesmatos tribum..." 

"Gotta stay strong," Bonnie told herself. "I'm not gonna die in this place. I have to keep going." 

Lindsey and Tory continued their spell. "Invocio caveum..." Bonnie gasped. "Miscero mundio. Phesmatos tribum invocio caveum, miscero mundio." Bonnie fell to the ground, coughing. "Phesmatos tribum invocio caveum, miscero mundio."

Lindsey and Tory gasped when the felt a change, opening their eyes. To make sure that the spell had worked, they hesitantly took each other's hands to channel each other's powers.

And their fingers locked together.

Lindsey and Tory sighed in relief.

Tory closed her eyes, starting the spell, which was stronger than before, easier than before, holding one of Lindsey's hands.  "Phesmatos tribum invocio caveum, miscero mundio. Phesmatos tribum invocio caveum, miscero mundio. Phesmatos tribum invocio caveum, miscero mundio."

Lindsey tried to open the door, and this time, she was able to.

The door raised open.

The sunlight poured over Bonnie, Lindsey and Tory. 

Bonnie laid weakly on the ground, looking at the sunlight in relief.

Lindsey and Tory looked at Bonnie in relief, smiling. 

------

Real World 

Salvatore Boarding House - Foyer 

Tyler walked into the house. 

Kacie walked toward him. "What are you doing here?" 

"Trying to find Kai and Olivia," Tyler answered.

"Not a very good time right now, Ty," Kacie told him.

"Yeah, I know that they're having a big fight," Tyler told her. "That's not why I'm here." 

"No, I mean that you have something else to worry about," Kacie told him.

"What do you mean?" Tyler asked. "What else could there possibly be to worry about other than my girlfriend falling apart?" 

"How about our sister Tory potentially being trapped over there in the prison world because of the people that did that to Nicola?" Kacie asked.

Tyler looked at her in confusion, processing. "What?" 

------

Kitchen 

Kai was still sitting on the floor, still wounded, nearly unconscious.

Jeremy knelt next to Kai, keeping pressure on his stomach. "Need a vampire in here."

Stefan, Kaylin and Damon walked in. 

Kaylin hit Kai in the face, trying to wake him up. "Kai, hey! Damn it." 

Kaylin knelt next to Kai, biting her wrist, feeding him her blood.

Kai started to wake up. 

------

Living Room 

Kacie led Tyler into the living room.

Ryan, Luke, Elena, Alex, Liv and Cristian were already there.

Tory and Lindsey were still unconscious.

Ryan walked closer to Lindsey. "Lindsey. Hey, Lindsey." 

"Tory," Luke told her. "Tory, wake up."

"Guys, wake up," Cristian told them. "Guys." 

Kacie sat on the couch next to Tory. "Tory, wake up."

Tyler sat on the other side of her, next to Luke. "Tory, wake up." 

------

Kitchen 

Stefan looked at Kai. "Bring Tory and Lindsey back. Now." 

Kai tried to catch his breath, nodding, closing his eyes in concentration. "Phesmatos tribum invocio caveum, miscero mundio. Phesmatos tribum invocio caveum, miscero mundio. Phesmatos tribum invocio caveum, miscero mundio."

------

Living Room

Tory and Lindsey woke up.

"Oh," Liv told them in relief. "Tory... Lindsey..." 

Tory sat up, holding Luke's arms as if to prove to herself that she was back in the real world. "Luke? I'm okay." 

Lindsey looked at Ryan in relief, nodding. "We're okay, Ryan."

Kacie looked at them in worry. "Bonnie, is she..." 

"We saw her," Lindsey told them. "She--Bonnie's gonna be okay." 

Elena smiled, looking at them in relief. 

Tory still held one of Luke's arms. 

Kacie smiled in relief, wrapping her arms around Tory and Tyler. 

Lindsey smiled, leaning her head into Ryan's shoulder, holding him. Ryan stroked her hair soothingly.

Tory and Lindsey exchanged a winning, relieved look, knowing that they had saved Bonnie's life, and that she was going to be okay. 

------~-----

Night - Salvatore Boarding House - Living Room 

Jeremy was standing in the living room, cleaning up the broken glass. 

Eliza slowly approached him. "Hey." 

Jeremy turned to face her. "Hey." 

"So, I heard about what happened today," Eliza told him. "Heard that you were pretty busy." 

Jeremy nodded in acknowledgement. "Yeah. Yeah, that I was." 

Eliza sighed, shaking her head. "I should've been here." Jeremy looked at her in confusion. "I should've been here for Bonnie." 

"You didn't know," Jeremy told her. "How could you possibly know?" 

Eliza shook her head. "It doesn't matter." She picked up Miss Cuddles. "You know, I get it. I get what she was going through, why she would want to end it, feeling trapped and alone. Every day is the same. Disappointment, misery. You go to sleep and wake up and do it all over again. But she's not the only one that's trapped." 

"You want to leave?" Jeremy asked. 

Eliza shook her head. "No. I can't leave Mom, and I can't leave Caroline. But once it's all over, yeah, I think that I might want to leave this place. But not now. It can't be now. I have a reason to stay. But you don't. I know that you want to leave, and I know that you want to stay here for me, but it's okay to move on. Bonnie decided to save herself, and, by the sound of what Tory and Lindsey tell me, Bonnie wants all of us to do the same. I might not be able to leave yet, but that doesn't mean that you can't. Go to art school. We'll all help you. Just... just find the life that you want." She smiled sadly, looking down. "And be happy."

"What about you?" Jeremy asked. 

Eliza looked up. "I'll be fine. I promise. Just get out of here. And don't look back."

Jeremy sighed. "Eliza..." 

Eliza exhaled shakily. "Once all of this is said and done... When Mom.... when she goes, and if Bonnie gets back or not, and Caroline and I find our way without each other again, I'm not going to want to be here, Jeremy. I will find my way to you. It's just not going to be now. But I want you to go now, and fight for the life that you want, and not waste another second on me. I cannot be the thing that holds you back. Promise me." 

Jeremy hesitated, stepping closer until he was standing within inches of Eliza. "I promise you." 

Eliza smiled sadly.

Jeremy wrapped his arms around her, holding her. 

Eliza returned the embrace, leaning her head against Jeremy's shoulder. 

------

Whitmore College - Tyler's Dorm Room 

Olivia was lying on the bed, waking up, looking around to see that Nicola was the only one in the room. "How did I get back here?" 

"Well, Tyler showed up here, and I told him what you did with the boundary spell and how you made sure that it made the branding spell worse so I wouldn't have been able to find a way out," Nicola told her. "And, despite my better judgement, he raced over to my house to make you lower the boundary spell and make Kai take away the branding spell, only to find you unconscious and that you had nearly killed Kai. Kai was nearly dead, and was barely strong enough to bring Tory and Lindsey back from the prison world, so he definitely wasn't strong enough to take this branding spell away. So he's healing up, trying to regain his strength so that he can follow through on his word to Stefan, Damon and Kaylin. Tyler brought you back here, to the room that you trapped me in, and here you are, trapped, and still wounded from your little suicide mission, and it looks like you're about to die. So, here's how it's gonna go. You lower the boundary spell to let both of us out of here, and I'll give you some of my blood to heal you and let you go, even after all that you and your family did to everyone around here."

Olivia stood. "Nicola, I'm sorry about the boundary spell. I didn't know that it would make it worse on you. "

"Yes, you did, Olivia," Nicola told her. "Otherwise you wouldn't have done it in the first place. You knew that if I was in my right mind that I would have found a way to get out of here, and so you cranked up the insanity so I wouldn't be able to. And, now, thanks to your spell and you nearly killing Kai, I don't just see things when I'm alone, or when I'm dreaming. I see them every freaking minute, even while I'm standing here, talking to you. But I guess that driving me crazy doesn't really make that much of a difference to you, and neither does being the reason that Tory and Lindsey were nearly stuck over there in the prison world without their bodies. Doesn't matter if they had used to be your friends, right? Or that Tory's our family, too. Guess you double-cross everyone you're close to. So, you can either lower the barrier and let me heal you, or you can just leave us in here with an on-the-edge vampire with a bleeding, vulnerable witch. Which do you prefer?" 

Olivia sighed, turning toward the door, closing her eyes, whispering a spell under her breath.

A breeze blew past them.

Olivia opened her eyes, turning to face Nicola. "It's done."

Nicola looked at her for a moment, picking up a glass, biting her wrist, letting her blood drip into the glass, handing it to Olivia. 

Olivia took the glass, slowly drinking. Her wounds healed.

"If I were you, Olivia, I'd pack up and leave town," Nicola told her. "Because it looks to me like no one wants you here anymore. Maybe that would be different if you didn't double-cross the people that have been trying to help you." 

Olivia turned around, raising her hand to test the boundary, her hand able to pass through. She walked out of the room, never looking back.

Nicola watched her go, sighing.

------

North Carolina 

Duke University - Enzo's Car 

Matt sat back in the car with Enzo. 

"So?" Enzo asked. "How was your little coffee date?" 

"What was the point of this?" Matt asked. 

"You were a test," Enzo answered. "I wanted to see what kind of a person the last remaining human Salvatore really is. What kind of person she is? Well, she spurned your comically inept attempts to charm her, and yet proved to be a good Samaritan when you needed assistance. On a scale of one to ten, I'd say her purity ranks about 9.5. Quite different from her family, wouldn't you say? A real ray of sunshine." 

"So?" Matt asked. "What are you going to do with this new info? If you do anything to hurt Sarah in any way, when Kaylin finds out, you know that she will kill you herself." 

"Oh, I'm very well aware that Kaylin would," Enzo told him. "But, see, my goal isn't to hurt Sarah. It's to tell her the truth."

"Truth?" Matt repeated. "Truth about what?" 

"About her family, of course," Enzo answered. "But, then, you can't really tell her about them unless she knows about the truth about what is really out there, all the things that go bump in the night, without making her lose her edge, now can you?"

"So, what?" Matt asked. "You're just gonna tell her about vampires, and then tell her about Stefan, Damon, Kaylin and Nicola?" 

Enzo smirked. "Something like that. And I want it to be a surprise, which is why I told you to tell no one. Because, if I remember right, isn't your cousin Tory somehow related to Sarah somehow?" 

"Then why tell me not to tell Kacie?" Matt asked. "Why threaten my mom? If you want to be the good guy for once, then why are you making everything seem like it's the wrong thing?" 

"It wouldn't be me that is the problem," Enzo told him. "Imagine what Nicola's reaction would be after she finds out that she had a sister she never knew she had, and she had been living three hours away for 20 years, alive and well? How do you think she will take that?" 

"Which is why you're going through all of this?" Matt asked. "So that they'll be less drama, or more drama?" 

Enzo smirked. "I guess we'll just have to wait and see." 

Matt didn't seem to like this. 

------

Mystic Falls, Virginia

Salvatore Boarding House - Damon's Room 

Damon stood in his room.

Elena stood in the doorway. 

"So, Jer's applying to art school," Damon told her. "Hmm." He smiled to himself. "Might want to compel him a decent portfolio, because he ain't that great."

"Don't be mean," Elena told him. "He needs to move on with his life, and so does Eliza. And so do I." 

"I'm not sure I'm a fan of that transition," Damon told her.

(Song:) Time - Mikky Ekko 

Elena walked toward him. "Look. I've... made some huge mistakes in my life. Being with you wasn't one of them, and, yes, I had Alaric compel away my love for you, and, yes, I did love Stefan once, and, yes, I did hurt him and Alex both so much when I turned to you. The night I died, Matt was driving me back to Stefan, and yet I found my way back to you. Damon, I somehow always find my way back to you. It doesn't matter if I have memories or not. It doesn't matter if I'm a vampire or not."

"You're just saying that because you can't change what you are," Damon told her.

"No," Elena told him. "I don't care what human me would have done, because she's not here. I am. And if the past is a place without you and me together, then stop living in it." 

Damon looked at her with slight awed admiration. "Yeah." 

Damon kissed Elena passionately for a moment, pulling away. Elena smiled, kissing him passionately. The longer that they kissed, the more passionate it became. 

------

Living Room 

Alex walked into the living room to see that it was still a little bit of a mess with glass, table, cakes and cupcakes.

Stefan was the only one cleaning it up now. 

Alex scoffed softly, shaking her head. "Unbelievable." She walked closer to the table to see the fallen-over cupcakes, smiling sadly. "Happy Birthday, Bon-Bon." 

Alex took off her jacket. 

Stefan followed her gaze, standing behind her. "I might be able to salvage one if you're interested."

"I don't think Bonnie would want us to let cupcakes go to waste," Alex told him.

Stefan looked over the damage of chocolate cupcakes, finding one that wasn't destroyed, holding it toward her.

Alex smiled a small smile, but instead of taking the cupcake away from him, she took a bite out of it. 

Stefan smiled, using his thumb to wipe the frosting from her lips, licking his finger.

Alex smiled a small smile.

"You know, we never talked about the fact that you kissed me," Stefan told her.

"And you kissed me back?" Alex replied, taking a bite of the cupcake. "Yeah, I know. That's the whole point of kissing, so you don't have to talk about it." 

"Right," Stefan told her. "Well, I just wanted you to know that I'm good with that." 

"Yeah?" Alex asked.

"Yeah," Stefan answered. "We're good. Right?" 

"Really good," Alex answered, taking the cupcake from him. "Was this the talk?" 

"Pretty much," Stefan answered.

"Perfect," Alex told him. "Because it has been a very long last past three years." 

Stefan looked at Alex in slight confusion. 

Alex smiled a small smile, kissing Stefan passionately. Stefan placed a hand on her cheek, the other on the small of her back, pulling her closer. Alex set the cupcake on the table, pulling away, smiling a small smile. She wrapped her arms around Stefan's neck, hopping up, wrapping her legs around his waist. Stefan held her, rushing out of the living room.

------

Stefan's Room 

Alex backed away toward Stefan's bed, leading Stefan with her by his hand. Stefan placed a hand on either of her cheeks, looking at her for a moment. Alex smiled, kissing him more deeply that before, lying back on the bed, pulling him with her. 

------

Parlor 

Jeremy was sitting at a table with the first-year admissions application to Santa Fe Art School, thinking, considering about applying, and exactly how to apply to it.

Liv stood in the doorway a few feet behind him, smiling a small smile, leaning against the door frame. She looked as if she would miss him, but also as if she was happy for him, that he was getting out of Mystic Falls and getting the life he wanted. 

------

Forbes House - Living Room 

Caroline sat in an armchair, sewing the original Miss Cuddles' head on again.

Eliza approached her, offering her a drink.

Caroline quickly drank it all at once.

Eliza offered her own glass to Caroline.

Caroline smiled, taking the other glass. 

------

Salvatore Boarding House - Stefan's Room 

Stefan and Alex laid in bed together, lying with a blanket covering them. 

Alex looked at Stefan's sleeping form, taking his arm, pulling it around her, lying her head on his chest, smiling a small, relieved and reassured smile, closing her eyes, falling asleep. 

------

Prison World 

Salvatore Boarding House - Living Room 

Bonnie drank a glass of water, discovering her necklace on the floor, walking toward it confusion, kneeling to the floor, picking up her necklace. She stood, noticing the atlas on the table where Lindsey had left it, standing, placing her glass of water aside, picking up the atlas, reading the note that Lindsey had left for her. 

The island - Tombstone - Power

Tory and I'll help get you out :) 

There was still a heart drawn next to the note. 

"Nova Scotia?" Bonnie asked. She smiled. "Lindsey, you're a genius." 

------

Day Two

Prison World 

Morning - Salvatore Boarding House - Outside 

Bonnie put her backpack on, walking toward Damon's car, getting inside with the atlas in her hand. She put her shades on, starting the car, driving away, leaving the Salvatore Boarding House to go to Novia Scotia and find the tombstone and find her way back home. 

(Song Ends)

------~------

6.14 "Stay" Trailer

(Song:) Goodbye Man - Robin Wynn 

From 6.14 "Stay", in Tyler's dorm room, Nicola opened the door. She stopped when she saw a box on the floor in front of the door, looking at it in confusion, pulling the box into the dorm, opening it, pulling out a picture.

It was the same picture that Sarah had been explaining to the crowd at the Duke Art Auction while Stefan and Alex had been watching.

Nicola, still confused about how they got there, turned it over, looking at the photographer's name on the back of the picture frame.

Sarah Nelson.

From 6.14 "Stay", outside the Grill, Jeremy, Alex, Liv and Elena were sitting together.

"I'm moving to a new town, starting a new life," Jeremy told them.

From 6.14 "Stay", outside the Grill, Jeremy and Eliza were talking.

Eliza smiled, walking down the steps toward him. "I just needed to say goodbye to you before you left tonight.

ONE CHAPTER ENDS

From 6.14 "Stay", in the high school principal's office, Liv, Alex and Elena were talking to the principal.

"Jeremy has had a rough time here," Elena told him. "That's part of the reason why we want him to go."

"Yeah," Alex agreed.

From 6.14 "Stay", at a bus stop, Jeremy and Alaric embraced.

ANOTHER BEGINS

From 6.14 "Stay", in the Grill, Nicola was sitting at the bar.

Sarah stood nearby.

Nicola looked at Sarah in surprise. "You're Sarah Nelson?"

"What's your name?" Sarah asked.

"Nicola," Nicola answered.

"Hi, Nicola," Sarah told her.

Later, Sarah and Nicola were sitting at the bar together.

Sarah was showing her pictures on her camera.

"You like darkness?" Sarah asked.

"Believe me when I say that is all I see," Nicola told her.

From 6.14 "Stay", in the Grill, Tyler and Nicola were sitting at a table.

"Nikki, you're barely hanging on by a thread," Tyler told her. "Just let me help you."

From 6.14 "Stay", in the boarding house, Alex, Elena, Liv, Jeremy and Alaric were talking.

"You deserve a normal life, Jer," Alex told him.

Alex, Elena, Jeremy and Liv embraced for a long moment.

WORLDS COLLIDING (THE VAMPIRE DIARIES)

Elena and Alex were sitting on a bench in black dresses. Kaylin and Nicola were sitting in two chairs on either side of them in black dresses. Stefan and Damon stood behind them, wearing black suits.