Outfits in the external link 

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

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

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 6.13 "The Day I Tried to Live", in Tyler's dorm room, 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 it would make your head spin, only it caused her physical pain this time.

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."

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.

Kai: (voice over from 6.12 Prayer for the Dying) "It'll eat away at her sanity until it drives her mad, or she turns her emotions off, or both."

Tyler and Nicola stood at the door on either side of the boundary.

"So, it's not just when you're alone or when you're dreaming, is it?" Tyler asked. Nicola slowly turned to face him, shaking her head. "Can you see them right now?"

The first touch of the boundary made the memories and the branding spell worse, making Nicola pull back, turning away in anger and frustration.

Kai: (voice over from 6.12 Prayer for the Dying) "What's worse than a crazy, emotionless, set-to-kill vampire?"

From 6.14 "Stay", in the Grill, Nicola sat 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.

Sarah sat down next to Nicola, showing the pictures to her. She laughed nervously.

Nicola laughed, sighing.

Enzo: (voice over from 6.14 Stay) "Let's just say that I'm opening a door that none of you thought of opening."

From 6.14 "Stay", in the Grill, Kaylin and Enzo were talking.

"Letting there be no more secrets, between your family and everyone else who deserves to be a part of it," Enzo told her. "But there might be a few unorthodox ways of doing so."

From 6.16 "The Downward Spiral", outside the rave warehouse, Kaylin and Enzo were talking.

"I think I figured out what you're up to," Kaylin told him. "You found out about Sarah Salvatore. I don't want her to get hurt, Enzo."

"I won't hurt her," Enzo told her.

"Then let me take it over from here," Kaylin told him.

From 6.15 "Let Her Go", in the prison worlds' underground tunnel, Lily walked toward Bonnie. "Who are you?"

"Who are you?" Bonnie replied.

The light pulled Bonnie toward the eclipse.

From 6.15 "Let Her Go", in the boarding house, Lindsey, Tory, Kacie, Damon and Bonnie were sitting at the table.

Stefan and Kaylin were standing behind Damon.

Kaylin paused the video to get a clear view of Lily, looking at her in recognition and shock. "Oh, my God."

"What?" Lindsey asked.

Stefan, Damon and Kaylin looked at each other, at a loss.

Stefan looked at Bonnie. "That's our mother."

 From 6.16 "The Downward Spiral", in the boarding house, Stefan, Damon and Kai were talking.

"There are only two prison worlds in existence," Kai told them. "Mine, and the one created in 1903 for locking up your mom and her closet full of crazy pants."

Damon pushed Kai against the wall.

"Tell us how to get her back," Stefan told him.

"Your mom's a Ripper, okay?" Kai asked.

From 6.15 "Let Her Go", in Jo's Apartment, Alaric and Jo were talking.

"I'm pregnant," Jo told him.

Alaric showed her the engagement ring. "Marry me."

They embraced.

From 6.15 "Let Her Go", in the Forbes House, Caroline and Eliza were talking.

"You're talking about flipping the humanity switch," Eliza told her.

"I just need the pain to be gone," Caroline told her.

Eliza started to cry. "Mom is dead, Care. Jeremy is gone. I can't--I can't lose you, too, Care." Caroline was trying to find a way to turn it all off. Eliza walked toward her instantly, holding her arms. "Caroline, don't, please." Caroline closed her eyes in concentration. Eliza looked at her desperately, knowing that she couldn't stop her, crying. "Please don't leave me alone."

Caroline opened her eyes, completely void of emotion, smirking slightly. "I already did."

From 6.16 "The Downward Spiral", in the girls' dorm room, the girls were talking.

"If anyone tries to flip my humanity switch back on, I'll become your worst nightmare," Caroline told them.

From 6.16 "The Downward Spiral", at the rave, Elena, Alex, Eliza, Cristian and Liv were talking.

"Caroline is going to snap, Eliza," Alex told her. "You are her sister. You are her only family left. If anyone can get an emotional response out of her, it's you."

From 6.16 "The Downward Spiral", at the rave, Caroline and Eliza stood at the bar.

"Mom died, and you turned it off because you couldn't handle the pain," Eliza told her. "But what about my pain?"

"Stop," Caroline told her. 

"You're gonna turn it on one day, and everything you put off from feeling since Mom's funeral, it's gonna eat you alive, just like it was eating me alive," Eliza told her.

From 6.16 "The Downward Spiral", in the rave, Alex, Elena, Tyler, Eliza, Nicola and Kaylin were standing together.

Caroline called Nicola. "You should be asking, 'What the hell are you going to do to my sister, Caroline?'

Kaylin closed her eyes in defeat and guilt.

Nicola looked at Kaylin in denial. "Sarah Salvatore?"

"Your sister is alive and well, and Stefan's been keeping it from you and your dad since the day you were born, and he forced Kaylin into a promise about waiting to tell you until your little branding hex was taken away by Kai," Caroline told her.

"Caroline, what the hell are you doing with Sarah?" Kaylin asked.

"I'm going to kill her," Caroline told them.

From 6.16 "The Downward Spiral", in the rave, Kaylin and Nicola were talking.

"It's way too late for apologizes, Kaylin," Nicola told her. "I've taken so much from all of you. I can't take any more. This is it."

Kaylin looked at Nicola in guilt, nodding in understanding, saddened. "I know."

From 6.16 "The Downward Spiral", in the Skull Bar, Elena, Alex, Kaylin, Nicola, Caroline, Eliza and Tyler were talking.

"I pushed Eliza to push you," Alex told her. "It's not her fault. It's mine."

"It's about sending a message to anyone else who dares to try to bring me back," Caroline told them.

From 6.16 "The Downward Spiral", in the basement of Whitmore Medical Center, Liam was cutting into Sarah's chest, making her scream in agony.

Caroline: (voice over from 6.16 The Downward Spiral) "If Nicola wants to save her sister's life, and if Alex wants to save Stefan from the pain of losing Sarah..."

From 6.16 "The Downward Spiral", in the Skull Bar, Caroline held one glass toward Nicola and the other toward Alex. "All they have to do is shut their humanity off."

Later, Nicola took a deep breath, closing her eyes, trying to find a way to turn it all off.

Alex nodded to herself, closing her eyes, trying to find a way to turn it all off.

Eliza and Tyler were on the phone with Caroline, in the basement of Whitmore Medical Center.

Eliza shook her head in denial. "No. No, no, no, no. Alex! Nicola!"

"Alex," Tyler told her. "No! Nikki, no!" 

Nicola and Alex opened their eyes, looking completely numb.

Caroline smiled.

From 6.16 "The Downward Spiral", in the basement of Whitmore Medical Center, Kaylin took Liam's hands, breaking them, pushing him onto the floor. She continued to feed Sarah her blood. "Everything's gonna be okay."

Kaylin pulled out her phone, walking toward the doorway to make a call.

Nicola's voice was on the other line. "Hello?"

"She's going to be okay," Kaylin told her.

 "I can still see everything that Kai did to me, but it's more like a movie than it is my life," Nicola told her.

Kaylin sighed in realization, shaking her head in denial. "Nicola, don't you dare tell me that you both shut it off."

Nicola shrugged nonchalantly, smirking. "Okay. I won't."

Alex was lying on the bar in front of Nicola.

Nicola handed the phone to Alex.

Alex took it to talk to Kaylin. "We both shut it off."

Alex hung up, putting the phone down.

The shot pulled back to reveal that Caroline was still sitting on the floor, leaning against the bar underneath Alex, smiling.

Nicola took a drink. Alex continued to lie on the bar. Caroline continued to sit on the floor, leaning against the bar.

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

Same Night 

Day One 

Night - Salvatore Boarding House - Living Room 

Nicola walked into the house. 

Stefan was sitting down in a chair, looking at Nicola in confusion. "What are you doing here?" 

"I live here," Nicola answered with honest sarcasm. 

"You haven't been back in this house since the Travelers created the anti-magic spell, and not even after Kai took the spell away, because you couldn't stand the sight of me, Damon or Kaylin," Stefan told her.

"Yeah, but right now, I need something," Nicola told him. 

"First, I need you to tell me something," Stefan told her.

"Sure," Nicola told him. 

"How was the rave?" Stefan asked. 

"Oh, you know, loud, lame, rave-like," Nicola told him. 

"Anything I should know, or anything you'd like to talk about?" Stefan asked. "Like the fact that you  and Alex turned your emotions off?" 

Nicola smirked. "Kaylin told on me. Shocker. Don't judge. I needed the pain to be gone, and it is. Well, emotional, not physical. Which is why I am here. Kai, oh, Kai, where are you? I know you're here." 

Kai walked into view. "How did you know where I was?" 

"Oh, nothing special," Nicola told him. "Went to the hospital where my long lost sister now resides until she heals enough to go back home, and spoke to Jo while I was there. She led me here." 

"Why were you talking to Jo?" Kai asked suspiciously.

"Well, if it's not obvious," Nicola told him. "I wanted to find you so that you can take this stupid spell away once and for all so I never have to think about it again." 

Nicola slowly stepped toward Kai.

"And how can I be so sure that you won't kill me as soon as I take the spell away?" Kai asked. 

"That is a very good question that I figured you would ask, which is why I asked Caroline and Alex to stay there with Jo," Nicola told them. "I told them that if I called with bad news that they could kill Jo." 

Kai looked at Nicola skeptically. "You're lying." 

"Am I?" Nicola asked. "Why don't you get into my head like you're so good at doing, and figure it out for yourself when you take the spell away?" 

"She's pregnant, Nikki," Stefan told her. "Call Caroline and Alex, tell them to back off." 

"Oh, she's pregnant," Nicola told them sarcastically. "Just like Gale was when she was pregnant with my older sister Sarah when Damon killed her, and when everybody thought that Sarah had died along with her." She looked at Stefan. "Only come to find out that Sarah didn't die, did she, Stef? You found a way to save her, adopted her out of town, and kept an eye on her her entire life while the rest of us, not even me, had the slightest clue." She looked at Kai. "It happened to Sarah. What happens if it happens to Jo and Ric's baby?" 

"You are ruthless without your humanity," Kai told her. "When I was in your head, all I saw was compassion about your friends and family and what you would do to protect them." 

"Ironic, coming from you, since you're the one that turned me into this," Nicola told him. "This is what you wanted to happen when you put the hex on me. You wanted me to lose my mind, turn it off, and have me stuck with this spell, which would only get worse and worse until I started killing people just to take my mind off of the mind-numbing pain. What's worse than a crazy no-humanity, set-to-kill vampire, right?" Kai didn't answer. "Now take the damn spell away, before I call Caroline and Alex and tell them to kill Jo and make sure the baby is dead along with her, and before I start tearing people's heads off in the streets. Oh, I should say 'start tearing more people's heads off in the streets'. See, the spell attacked my mind on the way in here, and it drove me so crazy that I fed on this couple so hard that their heads fell off." Nicola looked at Stefan. "Do you think I'm a Ripper because I'm a Salvatore, or because of the spell? Maybe I'm more like you than I ever thought, Stefan. Which is ironic, since you are the one to blame for all of this. If you had just told me about Sarah, all of this could be avoided." 

"I know, Nikki, and I'm sorry," Stefan told her.

"Not sorry enough," Nicola told him, turning to face Kai, rushing toward him, gripping his throat, pinning him against the wall, transforming. "Now take the spell away!" 

"Okay!" Kai told her. "Just call Caroline and Alex, tell them to let Jo go." 

"Take the spell away first, and then we'll talk," Nicola told him. Kai didn't answer. Nicola let him go, backing away. "This isn't a negotiation, Kai. You take the spell away, Jo and her baby live. You don't, you all die." 

Kai sighed, walking toward Nicola, putting his hands on her head, saying the same chant that he did to put the hex on. "Phesmatos navaro pulsus sanguinox. Phesmatos navaro pulsus sanguinox. Phesmatos navaro pulsus sanguinox." 

The pain was like before, unbearable, making Nicola scream.

------

Flashback - Earlier That Night

Night - Whitmore College Medical Center - Hallway 

Jo was walking out into the hall to see Nicola. 

"Hey, Jo," Nicola told her. "Have you seen Kai lately?" 

Jo turned to see Caroline and Alex standing behind her, smirking. 

------

Now 

Night - Salvatore Boarding House - Living Room 

Kai continued the spell to take the hex away, making Nicola scream. "Phesmatos navaro pulsus sanguinox. Phesmatos navaro pulsus sanguinox. Phesmatos navaro pulsus sanguinox." 

------

Flashback - Earlier That Night 

Night - Whitmore College - Campus 

Nicola was feeding on the couple she had mentioned earlier, feeding so hard because of the spell that she ripped their heads off, letting their bodies fall to the ground carelessly.

Kaylin approached Nicola, looking at the bodies. "Nikki..." 

Nicola wiped the blood away from her lips, turning to face her. "Kaylin." 

"We need to talk," Kaylin told her.

"Damn right, we do," Nicola told her, putting a hand on Kaylin's shoulder nonchalantly. "You see, I'm going to pull a you, and make you, Stefan and Damon sit through a little family meeting with the help of Alex and Caroline. How does that sound?" 

Kaylin looked at Nicola in confusion. 

Nicola smirked.

------

Now 

Night - Salvatore Boarding House - Living Room 

Every single memory that had been branded into Nicola's head was replaying itself, only in reverse as Kai continued to take the spell away. "Phesmatos navaro pulsus sanguinox. Phesmatos navaro pulsus sanguinox. Phesmatos navaro pulsus sanguinox."

Nicola breathed deeply in relief, looking as if a weight had been lifted off of her. "Does that..."

Kai took his hands away from her, backing away. "It's done. The spell's gone." 

Nicola looked up at Kai, smirking, regaining composure. "There. You did your part. You saw your sister with Caroline and Alex. I'm done with you. Go save her." 

Kai didn't need to be told twice, walking out of the house, closing the door behind him.

Nicola breathed heavily, smirking, turning to face Stefan. 

"Even without your humanity, you're still honorable?" Stefan asked.

"I guess you can call it a family trait," Nicola told him. "Speaking of family, where is Damon? I was hoping we could have a little family meeting. By the way, where do we keep our weapons?" 

"Pardon?" Stefan asked.

"Crossbows, vervain grenades, all that Hunter crap Jeremy was into that I almost got into because of you and Damon?" Nicola asked. Stefan shook his head. "Ah. Yes. The throne." Nicola walked toward the cupboard throne, opening it to reveal all the weapons. Stefan rushed toward Nicola, trying to stab her with a vervain syringe. Nicola caught his wrist. "You didn't really think that would work, did you?" She laughed, twisting Stefan's arm behind his back, making him groan in pain, making him inject the vervain into his own neck. "Like I said, Stefan, I want to have a little family meeting. But it looks like Damon's not gonna make it." 

Stefan fell unconscious.

Nicola smirked, gathering the weapons into a bag, rushing outside of the house.

-------

Outside 

Kai was walking away from the house. 

Nicola appeared in front of Kai, surprising him. 

"What?" Kai asked. "Nicola, you said that I could go." 

"Yeah, I did, but I'm not gonna hurt you, because I need something from you," Nicola told him. 

"What else could you possibly want?" Kai asked. "I took the spell away." 

"Right," Nicola agreed. "And now, I want you to do a boundary spell for me, and then I'll tell Caroline and Alex to let Jo go without a scratch. Okay?" 

Kai looked at Nicola in confusion.

Nicola smirked.

------

Worlds Colliding (The Vampire Diaries)

------

Day Two

Morning - Whitmore Medical Center - Sarah's Hospital Room 

Eliza sat at Sarah's bedside when she started to wake. "Whoa. Easy." 

"Where am I?" Sarah asked.

"You're at Whitmore Medical Center," Eliza answered. "I'm Eliza Forbes." 

"Last night..." Sarah trailed off.

"You had a little bit too much to drink," Eliza told her. "I found you passed out on the quad." 

"I sort of remember that," Sarah told her. "It was like a spring break kickoff rave." Eliza nodded. "I should get home." 

"Actually, Dr. Laughlin said you need to sit tight," Eliza told her. "They need to look after you for a while. You lost a lot of fluids last night. Okay?" 

Sarah nodded, taking a moment to think. "Why are you here?" 

Eliza looked at her in confusion. "What?" 

"You said that you're the one who found me," Sarah told her. Eliza nodded. "I mean, thanks for bringing me here, but why did you stay?" 

Eliza hesitated, thinking about how to answer. "I don't really have anywhere else to go right now." Sarah looked at Eliza in confusion. Eliza shook her head. "It's not something that you should be worried about. It's just my drama." There was a moment of silence. Eliza took a deep breath, breaking through the quiet. "I'm gonna go get a coffee. You want something?" 

Sarah nodded. "Whatever you're having." Eliza nodded, standing, walking toward the door. "Hey, Eliza?" Eliza stopped, turning to face Sarah. "Thanks for sticking around."

Eliza nodded, walking out of the room.

------

Hallway 

Alaric, Jo and Eliza were walking down the hall. 

"For the record, I am not okay with turning my hospital into a supernatural holding cell," Jo told them.

"Okay, look, it's the first day of spring break," Alaric told them. "The campus is like a ghost town." He looked at Eliza. "Beside, Caroline's already threatened to turn you into a vampire and make you turn it off, so this is probably the safest place you can be right now, Eliza."

"Not so sure about that if Caroline, Alex and Nicola could use my life as a bargaining chip against Kai for him to take the branding spell away from Nicola last night," Jo told them.

"Either way, we need to keep Sarah out of harm's way until Kaylin's blood is out of her system," Alaric told her. "Unless, of course, you want to invite another Salvatore vampire to our wedding." 

Jo stopped walking.

Alaric and Eliza turned to face her.

Jo looked at Alaric. "I'm starting to think that eloping is the way to go." 

Alaric chuckled. "Yeah. Yeah, me, too." 

"Look, she's being compelled to forget last night," Eliza told them, turning to the coffee machine, getting two cups, one for herself, one for Sarah. "And soon, she'll be back at Duke, safe with no idea what happened and no one the wiser." 

Alaric looked at Eliza sympathetically. "How are you doing... with... everything?" 

Eliza looked down, nodding. "Been better." There was a long moment of silence. Eliza looked at the coffee in her hands. "I better get these back to Sarah before they get cold." 

Eliza walked away, leaving.

Alaric and Jo watched Eliza go with guilt they didn't have to feel. 

"I feel so bad for Eliza," Jo told him.

Alaric sighed sadly. "Yeah. Me too."

Jo thought for a moment, looking at Alaric. "Huh. Duke. That's not bad. It's a little obnoxious but kind of in a cute way, you know? Little Duke." 

"Whoa," Alaric told her. "Wait. We're thinking baby names?" 

"You haven't been?" Jo asked. 

"No," Alaric told her. "I have. No. I have. I totally have." 

Jo tilted her head, unconvinced. "Name one." 

Alaric sighed, looking away, trying to think, looking at Jo. "Josette Jr." 

Jo smiled. "Get out of here." She kissed Alaric. "I have rounds." 

Jo and Alaric walked in separate directions, leaving.

------

Salvatore Boarding House - Library 

Damon was hitting things with a fire iron. 

Elena was watching him.

Liv walked in. "Damon, what are you doing?" 

"Looking for a healthy outlet for my rage," Damon answered, hitting a lamp, making it fall to the floor, making it shatter. "I haven't found it yet."

Liv sighed. "Alex without her humanity is one artery away from Alex the Ripper, and every day that goes by is one year of guilt waiting for her on the other side. Caroline has her humanity off."

Damon nodded in agreement. "Nikki has her humanity off, and Nikki is already more of a monster than Caroline has ever been. And now, I can't get hold of Stefan or Kaylin." 

"Yeah, well, not to add to our growing pile of bad news, but we didn't just lose Alex and Nicola," Liv told them. "With Stefan missing, we lost our chance to spark Alex's humanity. We all know that he is her emotional trigger." 

Damon held the iron toward Liv.

Liv was tempted to take it. 

Elena saw the look on her face, taking the iron away from Damon before Liv did. "Yeah, I don't think so." 

"Aw," Liv complained, seeing a video camera, picking it up to look at Lily on the screen. "Why did you have to take it away from me? Because I was seconds away from using it on this. Who is that, anyway?" 

"This is Lillian Salvatore," Damon answered. 

"Your mother is alive?" Elena asked in shock. 

"Yep," Damon answered. "Turns out she's been in a prison world snapshot of 1903 for over a century." 

"Your mother is alive," Elena told him emotionally. 

"Oh, yeah," Damon agreed. "Alive and well, not in the pine box that I thought I buried her in in 1858. And apparently, she's a vampire, and not just any kind of vampire, either." 

"Damon, your mother is alive!" Elena told him excitedly. 

"She's a Ripper, Elena," Damon told her, turning away from them. "It makes perfect sense. Stefan was always such a Mama's boy." 

Damon turned to them, giving them a look, getting an idea.

"What?" Elena asked. Damon gave them a significant look. Elena looked at him in realization. "You want to bring your mother back?" 

"No, I don't want to, I need to, even if I'm not the one who wants to do it," Damon told them. "Stefan and Kaylin would never let me live it down if I just left her in there to rot. And honestly, even if I'm angry with her right now for leaving her kids, I would do anything to get my mother back. I just need to ask her why. Why she never came home. Why she stayed away. And if I see that she deserves to be saved, then we save her. And I might know a few witches that could help." He looked at Liv. "But you have to talk to three of them. Bonnie, Tory, Lindsey. And you might have to talk to Kacie, too." 

"Why?" Liv asked. 

"A, you have to talk to Bonnie because the last time Bonnie saw me, she almost killed me," Damon answered.

Liv smirked, shaking her head. "Oh, how I would pay big money to see that." 

Damon gave  Liv a sarcastic look. "B, you're Tory and Lindsey's best friend. They'll listen to you long before they'll ever listen to me. C, Kai wants Kacie to know how sorry he really is for trying to kill her over there in the prison world. Just talk to them, Liv." 

------

Lockwood Mansion - Foyer 

Liv was standing outside. 

Bonnie was standing at the door. "I'm not helping you." 

Bonnie tried to close the door in Liv's face. 

Liv opened it again. "Ow." 

 "I hate Kai, and all of you know that," Bonnie told her, gesturing from herself to Kacie. "And the first thing Damon did when I got back was throw him in both of our faces to fake apologize." 

"Yeah, and then he real apologized for being a dick, and you tortured him with your magic to show him exactly what Kai did to you over there in the prison world," Liv told her. "Which must have been really entertaining. Can you do it again so I can see this time?" 

Kacie couldn't help a smile, returning to seriousness. "And here you are, less than 24 hours later, asking all of us to work with him, no doubt because Damon put you up to it. I don't care if he's changing into someone who has actual emotions and is feeling guilty for what he's done to all of us in the past, because he deserves it. He cut my head off, sewed my head back on very badly, and left a fading scar. He shot Bonnie in the stomach with an arrow, he strangled her, he gutted her, he left her to die over there in the prison world. I don't trust him, and I don't like him, and I don't want to see him again." 

"Kacie, we need Kai to get to 1903," Liv told her. She looked at Lindsey and Bonnie. "And we need Bennett blood to do the damn spell. Bonnie, Lindsey, since Bennett and Davis blood are pretty much one and the same since they both come from the same bloodline, We need one of or both of you to do the spell." 

"If I promise to help you guys, will you just drop it?" Lindsey asked.

"Probably," Liv answered. "Although..." She looked from Bonnie to Kacie to Tory. "I think you're gonna want to join them." They looked at her in confusion. "Can't forget, Tory, little miss ray of sunshine, that you are also related to Lily Salvatore since she is Stefan, Damon and Kaylin's mother, and Nicola and Sarah's ancestor" 

"And more with the distant relatives," Tory told them in annoyance. 

"Come on," Liv told her. "No matter how distant she is, Tory Donovan, she is still your blood, even if you haven't met her. Aren't you even a little curious to meet her?" Tory didn't answer, but that was answer enough. Liv looked at Bonnie and Kacie. "And stick with me, Bonnie Bennett and Kacie Lockwood. I might just have the answer to all your prayers." 

Bonnie, Kacie, Lindsey and Tory looked at Liv curiously. 

Liv smiled. 

------

Diner

(Song:) Life Is Good - Toy Bombs 

Bonnie, Lindsey, Tory, Kai and Kacie were sitting together at a table. 

"You want the 1903 Ascendant," Kai told them. "Well, sure, just let me reach in my pocket and pull it out." 

Kai felt around his pockets. 

"If you're sincerely looking for a way to make up for the hell that you put Bonnie and Kacie through, this is it," Lindsey told him.

"Okay," Kai told them. "The problem is the Gemini kept the existence of the 1903 prison world a secret for generations. So to find the key to that particular jail cell, I'd have to navigate ancient texts, undo layers of magical cloaking spells, and..." He felt his pocket. "Wait. Oh, that's weird." He pulled out the 1903 Ascendant, chuckling. "It was in my pocket. When Stefan, Kaylin and Damon told me about Mama Salvatore, I started looking, and if I wanted to..." Lindsey reached for the Ascendant. Kai took it out of her reach. "I could get her out. As newly minted leader of the Gemini Coven and all, I don't even need a celestial event to zap us there." 

Kai set the Ascendant on the table.

"Okay," Tory told him. "So what's the catch?" 

Kai looked at Kacie. "I'll go if you go." 

Kacie looked at Kai in confusion. "What?" 

"Yeah, I mean, I need help with the spell, which obviously, Bonnie, Lindsey and Tory are not so happy about doing, but they're doing it anyway, so they have to go, Kacie," Kai told her. "So why don't you come with?" 

"And why would I want to go?" Kacie asked. Kai didn't answer. Kacie looked at him in curious suspicion. "Is this the whole you wanting to apologize to me for trying to kill me and only fixing the damage that you did to me over in the prison world so that you could try to convince Bonnie to let you out?" 

"Pretty much," Kai answered. Kacie looked at Bonnie, Lindsey and Tory in annoyance directed at Kai. "Come on. It could be fun. You know, 1903, the--the Gilded Age. Didn't you ever dream about time travel? I mean, I have a lot to apologize for, and what I did to Nicola was one of the many, but taking away the hex was a step in the right direction, even if she did make me do it." Kai looked from Bonnie to Kacie. "And what I did to you two in the prison world..." He looked from Tory and Lindsey. "And being the reason that I nearly got the two of you stuck over there in the prison world when Olivia attacked me without your bodies, and, uh, to where that no one would be able to see you, and to where you couldn't touch anything could have driven you guys crazy. So you guys can think of it as an apology." 

Bonnie and Kacie exchanged a look.

Lindsey and Tory looked at Bonnie and Kacie knowingly. 

(Song Ends)

------

Whitmore College - Dorm Building 

Stefan and Kaylin were just waking up, looking around in confusion. 

"Stefan?" Kaylin asked.

"What the hell is going on here?" Stefan asked.

"Take a wild guess," Kaylin told him, standing. 

"Nikki?" Stefan asked, standing.

Nicola's voice answered for Kaylin. "Nikki." 

"What are we doing here?" Stefan asked.

Nicola stepped into view. "I brought you here. Or should I say, we brought you here?" 

"We?" Kaylin repeated.

"Yeah," Nicola answered. "We." 

Caroline and Alex walked into view, standing on either side of Nicola.

"You should know that this isn't my first choice," Caroline told them. "My first choice was to audition for my role in the musical, but this is the next best thing." 

"We saved you from being a vampire without humanity, singing about heartbreak," Alex replied.

Stefan looked between them in confusion. "What's the next best thing?" 

Nicola smiled. "Oh, this is the most amazing thing, Stefan. See, I don't have the hex or my humanity anymore, so that means that I don't have the physical or the emotional pain anymore, and for the first time, I actually feel alive and like I can finally be me again, except one big thing." She looked from Stefan to Kaylin. "This all started with your mistakes. I'm drowning in your mistakes." 

"And, if you really think about it, all of the bad things that has been happening for the last three years was because you two and Damon returned to town, which set off a whole chain reaction," Alex added. 

"And I warned all of you that if anyone tried to do anything to get me to turn my emotions back on, that I would become your worst nightmare," Caroline told them. "See, I thought it was revenge enough to try to kill Sarah, and get Nicola and Alex to turn their humanity off and turn them into a worse monster than any of us, but Nikki wanted something... more." 

"This is seriously about revenge?" Kaylin asked.

"Yes, it is," Nicola answered. "See, when you turn it off with a set mind, or if you already have it turned off and someone or something does something to you that you can't really let go, then you do anything you can to kill that person or thing, or destroy it." She looked at Kaylin. "You did it with Klaus, even when you were in love with him, mainly because Rosalita's mind control was pitting the two of you against each other." She looked at Stefan. "You did it with Silas. Enzo did it with you and Damon until you killed him. And we all know that once a vampire gets that into their heads, they won't stop until they do." 

"So, I guess that means you should be worried, guys," Alex told them.

Stefan and Kaylin turned around, rushing away, looking as if they ran into a barrier. 

Nicola smiled. "You can't leave. See, when we blackmailed Kai to take the spell away, I also told him to put a boundary spell on this building. So that means you're stuck with us until the spell wears off, which is at sunset. You have until then to either fight and survive, and kill us before we kill you... Or you can die." Stefan and Kaylin turned to face them, looking at Nicola in confused shock. Nicola looked at them in complete seriousness, expressionless. "This is the monster you made me become. And now I'm out for blood." 

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

Salvatore Boarding House - Living Room 

Kai, Bonnie, Lindsey and Tory were standing together, bundled up for cold weather. 

Kacie and Liv were sitting nearby, bundled up for cold weather. 

Lindsey was cutting her hand with a knife that was big and sharp enough to cut off someone's head. 

"Damn," Kai told her. "Crocodile Dundee called. He wants his knife back." 

"Yeah, you know, he's no longer a thing, and neither is that joke," Lindsey told him.

"Ouch," Kai told her.

Damon walked closer, bundled up. 

Lindsey let her blood drip onto the 1903 Ascendant.

Elena walked closer, bundled up. "Is this presentable attire by 1903 standards?" 

"Whoa," Tory told her. "Who said you're coming?" 

Elena looked at Tory. "To meet the woman who gave birth to the two epic loves of my life?" She scoffed. "Me." 

"Powerful as I am, there's a limit to how many people one witch can transport with this spell," Kai told her. 

"Right, which is why there's four of you," Liv told them. "Shall we?"

"Fine," Damon told them. "Let's go get Mama." 

Kai, Bonnie, Tory and Lindsey were holding the Ascendant. Kacie took one of Bonnie's hands, and one of Tory's.

Kai and Tory's hands started to glow red, making them pull back abruptly.

"What the hell did you do to me?" Tory asked.

"That wasn't me," Kai told her cautiously.

The others looked at them in confusion.

"Let's just get this over with," Tory told them.

 Elena took Damon and Liv's hands.

Kai, Bonnie, Tory and Lindsey started to chant. "Sangiema meam et nos mundo carcerema. Sangiema meam et nos mundo carcerema."

The Ascendant clicked, the wheel rotating. A bright, blinding white surrounded Kai, Bonnie, Tory, Lindsey, Kacie, Liv, Elena and Damon, sending them over to the 1903 prison world.

The light faded.

------

1903 Prison World 

Day - Woods 

Kai, Bonnie, Tory, Lindsey, Kacie, Liv, Elena and Damon were suddenly in the middle of the woods with snow pelting down around them.

"Well, isn't this a picturesque slice of Hell?" Damon asked. 

Liv looked at Elena and Damon. "You guys go ahead. Bonnie, Kai, Tory and Lindsey will start the locator spell on the Ascendant."

"But Kai just had the Ascendant," Elena told them. "Why do we have to find another one?" 

"Elena..." Liv trailed off.

"The Ascendant can't travel between worlds," Kai explained. "Which means we got to find its mirror image here in 1903." 

"Page 10 of the world-jumping rule book," Tory told them. 

Damon looked at Elena. "Shall we?" 

Elena looked at Liv, Bonnie, Tory, Lindsey and Kacie. "I don't want to leave you guys alone with him." 

"We'll be fine," Kacie told her. 

"He's good now, remember?" Bonnie asked sarcastically. "New leaf." 

Damon and Elena walked away.

Kai walked closer. "New leaf? You believe me?" 

"Hell, no," Kacie answered. "Damon and Elena need to meet his mom alone." 

"Now shut up, and help us find the Ascendant," Tory told him. 

Kai looked between them.

Bonnie, Liv, Tory, Lindsey and Kacie exchanged a look.

------

Real World

Whitmore College - Medical Center - Sarah's Hospital Room 

Sarah was sleeping in her bed.

Eliza was standing in the doorway, watching her. 

Tyler approached her. "Hey, Eliza." 

Eliza looked at Tyler. "Hey." 

Tyler looked at Sarah. "How is she?" 

"Fine," Eliza answered. "Kaylin fed her vampire blood and compelled her to forget everything that happened last night, and now we just wait for it to pass out of her system before we send her packing her bags straight back to Duke." There was a long moment of silence. Eliza sighed. "It's my fault." 

"And how is that?" Tyler asked.

"I listened to Alex," Eliza answered. "I pushed Caroline, and Caroline retaliated by making Alex and Nicola turn their humanity off, and now they're an inseparable team of blood and death." 

"You were just trying to get your sister back," Tyler told her. 

"Yeah, and because of that, I made you lose your girlfriend," Eliza told him. "Why are you even here, talking to me?" 

"I just wanted to make sure Nikki's sister was okay," Tyler answered. "She is gonna turn it on one of these days, and she may or may not want a relationship with her long lost sister when the time comes."

"How can you not be angry right now?" Eliza asked.

"Oh, I am angry," Tyler told her. "Just not at you, and not at Nikki, not at Alex, hell, not even at Caroline. I'm angry at the people you started this with lies and torment. Stefan, Kaylin, Damon and Kai. They're the ones that did this." 

"Kaylin didn't know that Sarah was alive, otherwise she would have told Nicola," Eliza told him.

"No, but she never told her that she may have or not have had a sister," Tyler replied. 

"Kaylin saved her life last night," Eliza told him.

"You're right," Tyler told her. "Kaylin was the one who compelled Zach to forget that he had a girlfriend and a kid before Damon killed her so that Zach wouldn't have to live with that pain, and helping him move on with Nikki's mother so he wouldn't be alone, and helped the birth of Nicola along, thinking that Sarah was dead. Stefan had known this whole time that Sarah was alive, and he hadn't told anyone, not even Kaylin, Damon or Nikki. Kaylin finds out weeks ago that Sarah was alive, but Stefan forced her into a promise that she couldn't tell anyone else other than Nicola, and she couldn't even tell her until after the hex got taken away, but Caroline beat her to the punch. I'm not saying that Kaylin is the one to blame for all of this, but I'm not saying she's entirely innocent, either." 

"I know that, Tyler," Eliza told him. She looked at him for a moment. "Aren't you afraid that we're never going to get Caroline, Alex and Nicola back?" 

Tyler shook his head. "No. I have complete faith that we'll get them back. Caroline always bounces back. Alex had her humanity off at a dimmer switch once, and she actually turned it all the way off another time, but we got her back, and we'll get her back again, even if we have to do it the hard way. And Nikki? Somehow, she always makes it through the worst part and comes through it even stronger than before. I have no doubt in my mind that she'll do it again. And knowing Nikki, she'll probably forgive everyone that had a helping hand in getting her humanity back." 

Tyler smiled a small smile, thinking about Nicola's passion for her friends and family. 

Eliza looked at Tyler in realization. "Oh, my God." Tyler looked at her in confusion. "You're totally in love with her, aren't you?" 

Tyler hesitated for a moment, thinking about how he really felt, realizing that he did, nodding. "Yeah. I think I am." Eliza smiled a small, sad smile. Tyler looked at Eliza for a moment. "Eliza? Are you okay?" 

Eliza pushed away from the door way in annoyance and exasperation. "God." She turned to face Tyler. "Will everyone just stop asking me that? Will they just stop doing that?" 

"Just stop doing that?" Tyler asked.

"Acting like they are afraid to leave alone like they're afraid I'm going to break," Eliza answered. "Stop asking if I'm okay. I am not okay, but I'm not going to break, either." 

"No one ever said that you were going to, Eliza," Tyler told her.

"No, but they keep acting like it," Eliza told him. "They keep acting like I'm already gone into that spiral that I went into after Damon, Bonnie and Kacie died. I'm trying so hard not to, but my mom is dead. My sister's humanity is off, and I don't know how to get her back, and I'm afraid that if I try, she'll do something worse than what she did before." 

"I know, Eliza," Tyler told her.

"No, you don't know, Tyler," Eliza told him. "I lost everything, but I have to keep going, otherwise I am going to fall apart." 

Tyler looked at Eliza sympathetically for a moment, stepping forward, wrapping his arms around her.

Eliza looked as if she was trying not to cry, returning the embrace with tears in her eyes. 

------

Alaric's Office 

Alaric was writing down baby name ideas onto a note pad. His phone rang. He answered. "Okay. So, I've got a few. You ready?" 

Jo's voice was on the other line. "Actually, I thought about it." She was in Whitmore Medical Center, in the hallway. "And anyone named Alaric should not be allowed to name another human." 

"Uh, I didn't name me," Alaric told her. 

"True," Jo allowed. "Okay, you can have veto power." 

"Good," Alaric told her. "Well, then I veto Duke." Jo chuckled. Alaric looked at his list. "Uh, let me call you right back." 

Alaric hung up, looking over the list of names thoughtfully.

------

Tory's Old House - Foyer 

Cristian, Luke and Ryan walked toward the front door. 

"You think that's all of it?" Ryan asked.

"Should be," Luke answered.

Cristian looked at Luke. "Remind me again why you needed my help in moving your and Tory's stuff out while leaving Lindsey and Ryan's stuff here while you're a hybrid and Ryan's a werewolf, Luke." 

They chuckled.

------

Outside 

Enzo was waiting by a car, leaning against it.

Cristian, Luke and Ryan walked outside. 

Cristian looked at Enzo. "What are you doing here?" 

"Since I'm pretty sure of where Stefan and Kaylin are, I'm really wishing hybrid boy Luke has enough werewolf venom to threaten but not kill to get Nicola, Alex and Caroline to back down so we can vervain them enough to get them to the Salvatore cellar without further drama," Enzo answered. "Cristian, I would very much like your help, with your age in vampirism has you stronger than the rest of us. Though, both of you better be careful with those tempers, mates. We don't want to kill them, just save them. Should any accidents occur where they die, I'm sure you'll follow swiftly after."

"Damon really spent five years in a cell with you without killing himself?" Ryan asked.

"A fellow smartass," Enzo told him. "I can see why Lindsey Davis loves you so much, Ryan Thompson." 

"You know, what are you even doing here, asking for their help with Caroline, Nicola and Alex?" Ryan asked. 

"Stefan and Kaylin have been MIA since last night, and neither of them are answering their phones," Enzo told them. "Now, who do you think could possibly be behind that?" 

"Okay, I understand you wanting to help Kaylin, but why do you want to help Stefan?" Ryan asked. "I thought you hated him." 

"Oh, I do," Enzo told them. "But I decided to give up the best form of revenge against Stefan." 

"Why?" Ryan asked. "For Kaylin? Did the torture queen finally bring you down to a man who just gives up when she tells you to?" 

"Oh," Enzo told him. "Got me there. Yeah, I'm just a guy wanting to apologize to Kaylin for being a royal pain in the ass here recently and even willing to give up revenge against her brother, the man who killed me and tried to kill me again, and to reunite their family, while you're at home, ticking off your life milestones. Lindsey, death, ghost, life, Lindsey, werewolfism, possibly a kid or two, death. Say, if you did have a child with Lindsey, you'd have another Tory Donovan running around. A creature, half-werewolf, half-witch, stronger than both with a temper to match. Heh. Sounds lovely. But no one's asking for your help, Ryan." 

Luke looked between them. "Ryan, did you two seriously fight this much when you were on the Other Side and time was running out?"

"Yes," Enzo and Ryan answered together. 

Cristian raised his eyebrows, looking away, looking at Enzo, sighing. "Fine. Luke, Ryan and I'll help. We're going to go in and capture Alex, Caroline and Nicola and save Stefan and Kaylin. But we're gonna have to make a pit stop at the Salvatore Boarding House and borrow some of their weapons." 

Enzo smirked. "I like your thinking, Cristian Hunter." 

Ryan sighed,  shaking his head.

------

1903 Prison World 

Day - Salvatore Estate - Living Room 

Elena and Damon were exploring.

"Can we just take a second to acknowledge how insane it is that we're standing in the house that you grew up in?" Elena asked. She looked at the picture on the fire place mantel, picking it up. "Aw, you were so adorable." 

Damon walked closer. "Oh, thanks. Except that's Stefan." He picked up another picture. "This..." He looked at the picture of two young boys, one looking about one years old, and the other looking about eight, holding a baby. He had his thumb over the eight year old. "Is me." 

"Is that Kaylin?" Elena asked. "The baby?" 

"Yep, that's lil' sis Kaylin," Damon answered. "All right. Tory, Lindsey, Bonnie, Liv and Kacie get the Ascendant, we find my mother, we go home." 

"Are you going to give her another chance?" Elena asked. 

"Maybe," Damon answered. "If I see that she deserves it." 

"Deserves it how?" Elena asked.

"Like, say, I don't know," Damon told her. "If I see a woman that's different from the woman that eviscerated a boatload of people."

"Stefan and Alex were Rippers," Elena told him. "Kaylin was a torture queen.  Nicola got hexed. You never gave up on them." 

"Which is why I'm reevaluating a second chance," Damon told her. "Even if she was blood-binging through Europe while Stefan, Kaylin and I carried the loss from 1858-1903. It's not exactly maternal, but she is still my mother. Like I said before, Stefan and Kaylin would never forgive me if I left her to rot over here, and I want answers to why she abandoned us." 

They heard Lily's voice from behind Damon. "Damon?" 

Damon turned to face Lily."Hello, Mother." 

Lily looked at her son in complete shock.

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

Lily no longer had her red jacket and hat on, revealing a white floor-length gown, tending to the fireplace. "There was a time I marked days on a calendar." She walked toward Damon and Elena, who were sitting on the couch. "I gave up after a few years." She poured them some tea. "But judging by your bizarre attire...." 

"You've been in here for over a century," Elena told her. 

"Yeah, I would have come by sooner, but I thought you were safe and sound in the family crypt," Damon told her. "My bad." 

"Well, technically, I did die in 1858 after a nurse in the TB ward fed me vampire blood," Lily told them.

"And you never thought to stop by and clear things up?" Damon asked. 

Lily didn't answer, turning away, putting the tea kettle down.

"How did you end up here... Mrs. Salvatore?" Elena asked. 

"'Mrs. Salvatore'?" Damon repeated in a whisper.

"I don't know what to call her," Elena told him in a whisper. 

Lily walked closer. "Please call me Lily." She sat down. "It was October 31, 1903. I had just arrived in New York harbor. The night sky was alive with this beautiful, shimmering light, and out of nowhere, a coven of witches attacked. And when I woke, they were gone. Everyone was gone. That night, the sky danced with colors again, and it's done so every night since."

"It's called a prison," Damon told her. "You must have pissed off a lot of people." 

"That life seems like forever ago," Lily told them. 

Damon held a blood dropper. "You on a diet?" 

"I depleted every slaughterhouse within walking distance and every butcher shop along the hellish trek from New York to Mystic Falls," Lily explained. She picked up a jar of blood. "This is the last of the blood here." She chuckled without humor. "Two drops a week just to stay awake." 

"That sounds miserable," Elena told her.

"I manage," Lily told them. She looked at Damon. "I heard you, Stefan and Kaylin turned during the war." 

Damon nodded. "Mm-hmm." 

"Your father must have been horrified," Lily told him, taking a sip of tea.

"He was, even though he was the one who killed us," Damon told her. Lily looked at him in shocked confusion. "And then Stefan ripped his throat out." 

Lily chuckled in surprise, using her hand to cover the smile. "I apologize. That's cruel to laugh. But good for Stefan, especially after what your father did to you." Damon nodded. "I truly hated that man." 

"Oh, I know you did," Damon told her. "So much so that you left your kids with him, faked your own death, and went out to join the Ripper coalition." 

Elena gave him a look.

"Well, it's nice to see that you've grown into yourself, Damon," Lily told him. Damon smiled. "How are Stefan and Kaylin?" 

Damon's smile faded.

------

Real World 

Whitmore College - Dorm Building

(Song:) I Won't Let You Down - OK GO  

Stefan and Kaylin walked toward Caroline, Nicola and Alex.

Caroline, Nicola and Alex slowly circled around them. 

"So, what's it gonna be, guys?" Caroline asked. "You gonna fight and survive and kill us before we kill you, or are you just gonna let yourselves die?" 

"I'm not gonna hurt you, guys," Stefan told them.

"Neither am I," Kaylin told them. 

"Aw, why not?" Caroline asked. "Maybe because you hurt little niece Nikki too much within the last 19 years of her life?" She looked at Stefan. "Or maybe because you're so in love with Alex, and partly because she can't die thanks to the link to your sister's old lover?" Kaylin rolled her eyes. "Or maybe because you feel bad about my mom, and you don't want to hurt me more than I already am not. Or maybe because you just don't have it in you?" 

Kaylin smirked, looking between them. "You think we're scared of you three? We're older than all of you. Caroline, Alex, you've both been vampires for two years." 

Stefan shook his head. "Nikki, you've been one for a little over half a year. Me and Kaylin? We've been vampires for 148 years. We're stronger than all of you, and you know it." 

"Is that right?" Alex asked.

"You think I'm going to be scared of you because you're a Ripper?" Stefan asked. "Who do you think invented the word? Alex, come on. I know you better than this. This is not who you are."

"You should know that I turned it off for you, Stefan," Alex told him. "To save Sarah for you, to save Nicola's life for you." 

Stefan sighed, looking at Nicola. "Nikki, we don't even know if that's who you really are. We don't know if you're really a Ripper. Have you fed since last night, before Kai took the spell away? Have you even tried? How do you know that ripping that couples' heads off wasn't just a side-effect of the hex?" 

"I guess we should find out, right?" Nicola asked.

"We can take care of ourselves against the three of you," Kaylin told them.

Nicola picked up the bag of weapons. "That's why I brought the bag of toys." 

Nicola took out a vervain grenade, pulling the clip out, tossing it toward Stefan and Kaylin. 

The miniature bomb exploded, making Stefan and Kaylin fall to the floor and slide away, their burned faces already trying to heal.

Nicola walked toward them, breaking a piece of wood off of the stairwell railing, holding it up for Kaylin to see, kneeling next to her. 

Alex and Caroline held Stefan back as he healed, restraining him, making him watch.

"Be a good boy, Stefan," Alex told him.

Nicola looked from Stefan to Kaylin, smiling. "You know, I always wanted to do that. Show you two just how much that your and Damon's existence had made my life explode into a trillion, tiny little pieces that I just can't seem to pick up." 

Nicola staked Kaylin in the stomach, making her groan in pain.

"Nikki, you're feeling anger," Stefan told her. "That's good. It means you want to feel." 

Nicola pulled the stake out. "No. It just means that I want you dead." 

Nicola raised the stake to stake Kaylin in the heart. 

"Nikki, I'm sorry," Kaylin told her. Nicola stopped. "I'm sorry we ruined your life." 

"And now I'm gonna end yours," Nicola told her, trying to stake Kaylin in the heart. 

Kaylin caught Nicola's arm, biting it, making her groan in pain, flipping her onto the floor next to them, sitting up, staking her in the stomach to keep her pinned down. 

Caroline let go of Stefan, pushing Kaylin into the far side of the room, into the wall, making her fall to the floor. She knelt next to Nicola, taking the stake out of her stomach. 

Alex kept Stefan restrained, smiling. 

Kaylin stood.

Caroline stood, using vampire speed and strength to throw the make-shift stake into Kaylin's arm to keep her pinned to the wall, making her groan in pain.

(Song Ends)

------

1903 Prison World 

Woods 

Kacie and Liv leaned against the nearby shack, watching Kai, Bonnie, Lindsey and Tory as they started the locator spell to find the 1903 Ascendant. 

Kai looked at Bonnie, Lindsey and Tory. "You have really nice palms." 

"What the hell happened earlier when you touched me?" Tory asked.

Kai smirked. "I was wondering when you were going to ask that."

"I'm so not in the mood for games, Kai," Liv told him. "Just tell us what happened."

"Apparently, people like me can tell if other people are like them," Kai told them. "You know, siphoners."

"What are you saying?" Bonnie asked.

"I'm saying that Tory is not just a Doppelganger, witch or wolf," Kai answered. "She's a siphon, like me." The girls looked at him in shock. Kai looked at Tory. "How do you think you were so much stronger than Lindsey and Bonnie when they had been practicing witchcraft for years before you found out that you were even a witch?"

Lindsey looked at Tory in realization. "You were siphoning magic from your Doppelganger and werewolf side all this time to create more magic without even realizing it."

Kai nodded.

Bonnie, Lindsey and Tory looked at each other, unsettled, going back to casting the spell.

Kai looked at Kacie. "Hey, Kacie, remember when I told you that story about me cutting off my own head with the guillotine, and it left a scar for years?" Kacie didn't answer. "Well, obviously, I don't have it any more, which means you won't have to have that scar forever and you won't have to wear scarves for the rest of your life. In fact, you might not even have to wait for years for the scar to fade, since you heal faster than I do." 

Kacie looked at Bonnie, Lindsey and Tory. "Just start the spell." 

Bonnie, Lindsey and Tory nodded, closing their eyes, starting the spell. "Phesmatos tribum nas ex viras sequitas sanguinem. Phesmatos tribum nas ex viras sequitas sanguinem." 

"Do you know why I'm here?" Kai asked. 

Bonnie, Lindsey and Tory continued their spell. "Phesmatos tribum nas ex viras..." 

"Because my guilt keeps me up at night," Kai told them.

Bonnie, Lindsey and Tory continued their spell. "Phesmatos tribum nas ex viras sequitas sanguinem." 

"I don't--I don't expect any of you to believe me, but I need you to give me one more chance," Kai told them. 

Bonnie, Lindsey and Tory continued their spell. "Nas ex viras sequitas sanguinem. Phesmatos tribum nas ex viras sequitas--" 

"Hey!" Kai told them, angrily, grabbing Lindsey and Tory's arms forcefully. "Listen to me!" Liv pushed away from the shack, pushing Kai off of Lindsey and Tory. Kai looked shocked by what he did. They saw that Kai had drew blood when he had grabbed Lindsey and Tory. "Sorry. I--Oh, my God. I didn't--I didn't mean to do that." 

"But you did it anyway," Lindsey told him. "Because even if you're telling the truth, the old you is still inside of you." 

"The Ascendant is this way," Bonnie told them, leading them into the woods.

Kacie gave Kai a look, following Bonnie.

Kai started to follow Bonnie and Kacie until he realized that Liv, Lindsey and Tory weren't. "Aren't you guys coming?" 

"No," Tory answered. "I just realized that I wanted to meet my distant cousin or whatever she is now, not later. Liv and Lindsey can come with me, but you can't." 

Liv waved sarcastically. "Bye, now." 

Liv, Lindsey and Tory turned around, walking away, leaving in the opposite direction that they were in. 

Kai looked from Bonnie and Kacie to Lindsey and Tory in confusion, turning to follow Bonnie and Kacie.

------

Salvatore Estate - Living Room 

Damon, Elena and Lily were talking.

Lily looked at Damon and Elena hopefully. "I'm going home?" 

"Yep," Damon answered. 

"Why?" Lily asked. "I thought you hated me." 

"I don't hate you, even though I should," Damon told her. "I just... I wanted some answers, and I got them. Stefan and Kaylin want you to come home. I want you to come home." 

Lily smiled. "So do I. But why now? After all this time?" 

"Because we just found out about you being here," Elena answered. 

"And you're willing to give me a second chance?" Lily asked. 

"The last memory Kaylin has of you is a vision of an angel telling her that everything's gonna be okay," Damon told her. "I can only assume that's because you paid a visit to your children in their sleep." 

Lily nodded. "I did, the night of my funeral." 

"Then why didn't you stay?" Damon asked.

Lily hesitated. "The blood lust. I was afraid that I would hurt you. And I never wanted that." 

"Then you should come home now, since there's no reason for that to happen since we're all vampires," Damon told her.

"Of course," Lily told them. "I'd love nothing more than to go home and be reunited with my children." 

Damon tapped the table. "Pack your bags." 

Damon and Elena stood, walking around the couch.

"Wonderful," Lily told them, chuckling, standing. "I'll alert the others." 

Elena and Damon stopped in confusion.

"Hmm?" Elena asked. 

"You'll alert who now?" Damon asked.

"You knew so much about me, I assumed you're heard of my traveling companions," Lily told them. 

Damon took a step toward her. "What traveling companions?" 

------

Cave 

Lily led Damon and Elena inside to where a table with five desiccated vampires, looking at them with bloodshot eyes. "Everyone... meet my son Damon." Lily turned to face Elena and Damon, looking at Damon with a small smile. "He's here to take us home." 

Elena and Damon exchanged a confused, concerned look, looking at the five desiccated vampires sitting at the table and Lily. 

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

Real World 

Whitmore College - Dorm Building 

Ryan, Cristian, Enzo and Luke walked into the dorm building with guns in hand.

"Luke, are you sure they're here?" Enzo asked.

"Trust a hybrid that has a great sense of tracking," Luke told them. "Shut up and listen." 

They listened.

------

Lounge

(Song:) Black Widow - Cage the Elephant 

Stefan was pinned to the wall by two stakes shoved through his wrists and into the wall.

Kaylin was tied to a pool table.

Nicola was standing next to the table, pouring vervain water all over Kaylin's face, making her skin burn and sizzle, making her scream. 

Kaylin turned her head away, breathing heavily, her skin healing. 

Nicola grabbed Kaylin's head, turning it toward the ceiling to make her look up, turning the vervain water bottle upside down to put the top of it into Kaylin's mouth, holding her mouth closed around the top of the bottle so the vervain water would pour directly into Kaylin's mouth, holding her mouth closed so that Kaylin couldn't spit the vervain water out, making her drink it painfully as it seared the inside of her mouth and throat as the vervain water made its way through her system. Kaylin groaned in agony, unable to scream with the water still being poured into her mouth and with Nicola holding her mouth closed, struggling to break free, but was severely weakened by the vervain ropes burning into her skin and keeping her tied to the table, and with all the vervain water that was now in her system. Once Nicola was sure that Kaylin was forced to drink it all, she let Kaylin go.

Kaylin coughed, gasping for breath. 

Nicola smirked. "Stings, doesn't it?" 

Kaylin breathed heavily, trying to heal and catch her breath. "Since when did you get to be such an expert at torture?" 

"By watching you, the torture queen," Nicola answered innocently. "I only learn from the best, Kay." 

"Listen to yourself, Nikki," Stefan told her. "This is not you, okay?" 

"It is now," Nicola told them, pulling a large knife out of the bag of weapons, inspecting it. 

"Oh, yeah?" Kaylin asked. "And what would Tyler think of the new you?" 

"I don't care," Nicola told her, stabbing Kaylin in the heart with the knife, twisting it, making her groan in pain, pulling it out.

Kaylin breathed deeply, watching her wound heal.

Stefan struggled. "What about Sarah, huh? The girl that you turned your humanity off to save. Your sister, Nikki. You saved her life, and she is still alive." 

"Sarah was alive for 20 years, and I never even knew she existed, thanks to you, Stefan," Nicola told him. 

"All right, you've had you're fun," Stefan told them. "Now let us go." 

Alex stood in front of Stefan, smiling, tilting her head. "Oh, come on, Stefan. There's no such thing as too much fun." 

"Why are you doing this, Alex?" Stefan asked.

"Because everyone knows you're my emotional trigger," Alex answered, tearing his shirt open. "And I don't want to come back just yet." 

"Did you like being locked up and tortured to get your humanity back?" Stefan asked.

Alex ran her hands over Stefan's chest. "Oh, I love it when you talk dirty to me." 

Caroline rolled her eyes, looking away. "It must be so exhausting, over thinking everything, denying your own urge to kill, and just be done with theme." 

A girl with a sports bag over her shoulder walked in. "What are you doing?" 

"What are you doing?" Caroline replied. "It's call Spring Break." 

"It's called practice," the girl replied. She looked from Stefan pinned to the wall by stakes to Kaylin tied to the pool table. "Are they okay?" 

"They're fine," Caroline told her. She gasped, getting an idea, looking at Nicola. "Let's revisit the whole Ripper thing for a second, shall we? Remember how we wanted to test the theory about the couple last night, to see if it was because of the spell, right?" 

Nicola smiled, knowing what she meant, walking toward the girl. 

"Hey," Kaylin told her, struggling against the vervain ropes futilely. "Hey! Where are you going?" 

Nicola grabbed the girl, pulling her in front of Stefan and Kaylin with the girl whimpering and shaking the whole way, looking at Kaylin. "You think I don't know anything about you? You taught me how to control my blood lust, remember?" She turned the girl to face her, compelling her. "Stand still and don't scream." 

"What are you doing?" Stefan asked. 

Nicola smirked. "The thing that you keep resisting. You didn't even want to risk on feeding on an alive, fresh victim, because you were too scared that you couldn't stop, and you taught me to be afraid of that. Now watch me let it go, and become the thing that you were too scared to become." 

Nicola transformed, biting the girl's neck, feeding hungrily. 

Stefan struggled against the stakes in his arms uselessly. "Nikki, stop!" 

Nicola pulled away. "Why? You never did." She looked from Stefan to Kaylin. "Even when all you wanted to do was protect me from the dangers that were my life, because you two and Damon created them, all I did was get hurt. All I did was get kidnapped, or held captive, or almost killed, or lied to, or anything else at all. And it was all because of the three of you. This is the animal you made me become. You reap what you sow, guys. Now rot in it." 

Nicola bit the girl's neck, feeding hungrily, looking as if she wanted more and more by the second, and as the time went by, she fed more forcefully than before.

Stefan struggled against the stakes in his arms uselessly. "Nikki!"

Kaylin struggled against the vervain ropes uselessly, making them burn her skin.

Nicola fed so hard the girl's head fell off her body. She let her body and head fall to the floor, looking at Stefan and Kaylin with blood drenching her lips and chin. "Guess we have our answer, now, don't we?" 

Caroline and Alex smiled. 

Stefan looked horrified. 

Kaylin looked resigned, struggling worse than before.

Nicola smirked.

Alex seemed to hear something, pressing her finger to her lips. 

Cristian, Ryan, Luke and Enzo walked in with guns raised.

Caroline, Nicola and Alex had disappeared. 

Stefan and Kaylin were still restrained. 

"What are you guys?" Kaylin asked. "The 'A' Team?" 

"Hello to you, too, gorgeous," Enzo told her, lowering his gun to his side, walking toward her. "And here I thought you were in some sort of trouble. How mistaken was I?" He stood next to her, looking her over on the pool table. "The types of scenarios I could imagine right now." 

"Hilarious," Kaylin told him sarcastically. "Just get me off of here." Enzo raised a hand toward the ropes around her wrists. "Wait."

Enzo stopped, looking at Kaylin curiously. "Let me guess. Vervain ropes." 

"Well, obviously, duh," Kaylin told him.

Enzo smirked, reaching into the bag of weapons to find a knife, using it to cut the binds around Kaylin's wrists, helping her sit up.

Kaylin groaned in pain, rubbing her wrists.

"You all right?" Enzo asked.

Kaylin nodded unconvincingly.

Ryan, Luke and Cristian walked toward Stefan, looking at the stakes in his wrists to keep him pinned to the wall, seeing his shirt ripped open.

"Let me guess," Cristian told him. "Alex?" 

"Yep," Stefan answered. 

Luke and Cristian pulled the stakes out of his wrists, making him groan in pain. 

Ryan looked at the dead girl's body without her head attached. "Alex?" 

"Nope," Stefan answered. "Nikki." 

"Whoa," Ryan told them. 

"Yep," Stefan agreed.

Luke handed Stefan's jacket to Stefan. "Cover up, Fabio." 

Stefan pulled on his jacket. 

Enzo cut the vervain ropes off of Kaylin's ankles.

"My knight in shining armor," Kaylin told him.

"Was that sarcasm or seriousness?" Enzo asked.

"I'll get back to you on that," Kaylin told him. Enzo smirked. Kaylin tried to stand, weak from the vervain torture, nearly falling. "Whoa." 

Enzo helped Kaylin stand.

"All right, let's get rid of the body, get the girls locked up and get out of here," Cristian told them.

"We can't," Stefan told them.

"What?" Ryan asked.

"Nikki blackmailed Kai to putting a sun-set boundary on this place," Stefan explained. "Their whole rule is that we fight and survive, and kill them before they kill us, or we could just let ourselves die. That means we're up against three vampires without remorse that want to kill us until sunset." 

"Well," Cristian told them. "That's just great." 

A vervain grenade rolled through the open doorway toward them.

Luke noticed it. "Uh, guys..." 

The others noticed it.

"Bollocks," Enzo told them.

Ryan sighed, rolling his eyes. "Great."

Luke, Ryan, Cristian, Stefan, Kaylin and Enzo rushed away. 

The vervain grenade exploded, throwing them through the air without actually hurting them, landing in different positions and places. 

Kaylin and Enzo were lying on the floor a few feet away from each other, breathing heavily.

"Let the games begin," Enzo told them.

Kaylin was too tired and worn out to react. 

(Song Ends)

------

1903 Prison World 

Cave

(Song:) Wonderful Waltz - The Morrie Morrison Orchestra 

Lily started to play some old-fashioned music. 

Damon and Elena were nearby, looking at the desiccated vampires.

"These vampires have been trapped here with you the whole time?" Elena asked.

Lily nodded. "We went everywhere together. They happened to be on the boat that night. Poor souls." 

"These poor souls don't happen to have the same affinity for rolling heads, do they?" Damon asked.

"On the contrary," Lily answered. "These people saved me from that part of myself. I was banished here because I was a monster. I drank with no remorse from whatever human I could sink my teeth into. But locked in this cage, I was forced to confront the animal that I had become." She fixed the clothing of one of the desiccated vampires. "And as we ran out of resources, my friends sacrificed their rations for me, and I knew if I drank everything, as every bone in my body demanded, there wouldn't be enough to wake them. So I learned to control my bloodlust. For them. These people made me feel human again. I'll fetch the last of the blood so we can revive them." 

Lily walked past Elena and Damon, leaving. 

Elena paced forward, next to one of the vampires, moving her finger back and forth in front of him to see his eyes follow the movement. 

"Not only is she a Ripper, she's an insane Ripper," Damon told her in a whisper. 

"Or maybe she feels responsible for them," Elena told him. 

"What?" Damon asked. "Are you kidding me? She has a vampire dollhouse." 

"I thought you said that you wanted to save her because you wanted to give her another chance," Elena told him.

"No, I said that I wanted to save her," Damon told her. "I said that I would see if she deserved a second chance." 

(Song Ends)

------

Woods 

Liv, Lindsey and Tory walked through the woods.

"So, since Bonnie and Kacie are not really looking for the Ascendant, we have to," Liv told them.

"Uh-huh," Tory answered.

"And you're completely fine with them getting their revenge on Kai and leaving him here to rot?" Lindsey asked.

"Why?" Tory asked. "Do you actually want to take the risk of taking him home and having him turn his a super psycho killer again?" 

Liv scoffed in answer. "Hell, no." 

"All right, then," Tory told them. They approached a house. "Here. It's here." 

"The Ascendant?" Liv asked.

"Uh-huh," Lindsey answered. She looked at Tory and Liv. "Let's go get it." 

------

Inside 

Tory and Lindsey walked into the house to see that it was completely dark. "Incendia." 

Every candle in the room was magically lit, along with the fire place. 

Liv walked inside.

Lindsey followed the pull to where the Ascendant was lying on a table, picking it up. "Found it." She turned to Liv and Tory. "Let's find Bonnie, Kacie, Damon, Elena and Lily and go back home." 

Liv smiled. 

------

Woods 

Bonnie, Kacie and Kai were walking through the woods. 

"Spell feels stronger," Bonnie told them. "The Ascendant must be around here somewhere." 

"Why would the Ascendant be here?" Kai asked. 

"I don't know," Kacie told him. "We didn't put it here." 

"If neither of you think I'm capable of change, why spend an entire day with me by bringing me out into the middle of nowhere?" Kai asked. "Kacie, I could use my magic against you and cut your head off all over again, and gut Bonnie while I'm at it. Your friends, your family would never even hear you scream." 

Kacie turned to face him. "Because maybe you're right. Maybe deep down, there's a part of us that believe there's a sliver of good in you." 

Kai chuckled. "And you'd be right." He walked past them. Bonnie and Kacie exchanged a look. "Looking, looking, and nope. They didn't hide the Ascendant in a random pile of--" Bonnie took the large, sharp knife from before, stabbing Kai in the back, making him groan a scream of pain, making him fall to the ground. Kai tried to crawl away. "Oh, God." Bonnie stabbed him in the leg. "Bonnie!" Kacie knelt next to them, forcing Kai to roll over to face them. "What are you doing?" 

"Gaining your trust, and stabbing you in the back," Bonnie answered. "Feels pretty sucky, doesn't it?" 

"Bonnie, please don't," Kai told her. 

"Don't what?" Bonnie asked. "Don't leave you here all alone, drive you to the point of wanting to end your own life?" She hit him in his chest. "I almost killed myself because of you! And everything you've done to our friends."

Bonnie handed the knife to Kacie.

Kacie took the knife, holding it up for Kai to see. "Does this look like this could take your head clean off like you took mine off with a hatchet? But this is a prison world, right? So you shouldn't be able to die as long as you have someone to reverse the damage." 

"Kacie, please," Kai told her. "Believe me. I've changed." 

"We know," Bonnie told him. "So have we." 

Kacie raised the knife to slash into Kai's throat and decapitate him. 

The knife hit nothing but snow.

Kai had disappeared. 

Bonnie and Kacie looked around in confusion, but Kai was gone. 

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

Cave 

Lily had the last of the blood jar, feeding one of the desiccated vampires. "Time to wake up." 

Damon approached her from behind. "Mom?" 

Lily turned to face him. "Yes?" 

"It's almost time to go," Damon told her.

Lily nodded for a moment, looking at the man next to her. 

------

Real World 

Whitmore College - Dorm Building 

Stefan was walking alone in a dark hallway with a gun as protection. 

He could hear a vampire rushing around him, looking around. 

Alex was heard giggling, but she wasn't seen. "Stefan..." 

Stefan looked around. "Alex?"

Alex rushed toward Stefan, pushing him against the wall, making him drop the gun. "Hey, there." Stefan tried to inject her with vervain. Alex caught his wrist, smirking. "Aw. You weren't really gonna vervain me and lock me up and torture me until I got my emotions back on, were you?" 

"Actually, yeah, I was," Stefan answered. "I was planning on locking you up, and pushing until I broke through. That was your plan with Caroline last night, right?" 

Alex scoffed, smiling. "God. Is that really what I sounded like? Maybe Caroline did me a huge favor." 

"This isn't you, Alex," Stefan told her.

"Oh, come on, Stefan," Alex told him, leaning closer. "If you ask me, control is so overrated. She smirked, looking over every inch of him. "Our way is so much more fun." 

"Let us go," Stefan told her. 

"Why?" Alex asked. "Are you thinking about giving in, letting go, breaking code?" 

Alex had blood on her hand, smearing a little over Stefan's lips.

Stefan transformed at the taste of blood, giving Alex a look. "Stop."

"Come on, Stefan," Alex told him. "Just let go. I promise it will feel good." 

Stefan looked at Alex for a moment. 

Alex smirked, leaning closer to kiss Stefan deeply to distract him, putting a vervain grenade into his hands, pulling away, pulling out the clip.

Stefan looked at her in surprise.

Alex smirked, rushing away.

Stefan threw the vervain grenade down the hallway of the dorm building, making it explode. He looked around to see that Alex was already gone.

------

Elsewhere 

Ryan, Luke and Cristian were walking the hallways alone, guns raised.

They heard the explosion in the distance, looking around.

A vampire rushed around them, making them look around.

Caroline appeared behind them, smiling. "Hey, guys!" 

Ryan, Luke and Cristian turned to face her.

Caroline had a vervain grenade in her hand, pulling the clip out, tossing it toward Cristian, Ryan and Luke. 

The miniature bomb exploded, throwing Cristian, Ryan and Luke through the air, making them fall to the floor and slide away, their burned faces already trying to heal.

------

Elsewhere 

Kaylin had heard the bombs, looking around. "All right, that's enough. No more games, Nikki!" 

Nicola rushed toward Kaylin, throwing Kaylin to the floor, pinning her there, grabbing her by the throat, strangling her. "'No more games'? Really? Those words are hilarious when they're coming out of your mouth, Kaylin." 

Kaylin pushed Nicola's arm to the side, grabbing her head, headbutting her, kicking her off of her, rushing to stand. "I don't know how many times I have to say I'm sorry." 

"You can say it as many times as you want, Kaylin," Nicola told her, circling around her slowly. "I really don't care."

Nicola rushed toward Kaylin, pushing her against the wall. Kaylin gripped Nicola's throat, pushing her against the wall next to them, making them switch places. Nicola pushed Kaylin away from her, toward an end table, making her fall to the floor and the table topple over. 

Kaylin stood, rushing toward Nicola, gripping her throat, trying to inject her with vervain. "Enough!"

Nicola caught Kaylin's wrist, twisting her hand until it broke, making her drop the syringe. "How many days did we spend training in my room so that I could be prepared for pretty much everything? You taught me all of your moves, Kaylin. You're fighting against your student who has no remorse, while you're trying everything you can to not hurt me, because you care too much." 

Nicola took out a stake, staking Kaylin in the chest, but missing her heart. 

Kaylin groaned, looking down in pain. "You missed." 

"No," Nicola told her. "I just wanted you to know fear like you hadn't before. Death by your sister. You told me once that we were sisters, didn't matter how we were related by blood. And now that's gone. And you have no one to blame but Stefan, Damon and yourself." 

Nicola took the stake out, grabbing Kaylin by her head, turning around, using vampire speed and strength to throw her across the room, making her fall to the floor. 

Kaylin rushed to stand, looking toward the window just as the last of the sunlight faded into darkness. She looked at Nicola. "So, what are you going to do now? Sun's down. The barrier's down, and you still haven't killed me, and Caroline and Alex haven't killed anyone, and none of you have taken off yet. So what are you going to do now, Nikki? Because it looks like someone could use a little time out in the cell at home, where you belong."  

"I don't belong anywhere, and I don't belong to anyone," Nicola told her. "And you lost your right to tell me what to do long before I was even born." 

"You're only saying that now because of what you just found out," Kaylin told her.

"Maybe," Nicola told her. "But do you honestly know how stupid I was to care that much for you, for Stefan, and for Damon, after all that you put me through, that I didn't know about? What else should I know, Kaylin?" 

"Nothing," Kaylin told her. "And you can believe me, whether you want to, or not, but I just want to help you. This is going to destroy you once you make it through to the other side." 

"Uh-huh," Nicola told her sarcastically, looking away. Kaylin rushed toward her. Nicola rushed away, standing in the spot where she had been just a second ago. Kaylin was standing in the spot where she had been just a second ago. "You're not going to lock me up, dry me out, and torture me until I get my emotions back on. I think you tortured me enough already." 

Kaylin took a deep breath, holding her wound. "You were never gonna kill us. You just wanted revenge." 

"Exactly," Nicola told her. She looked up. "And it sounds like Caroline and Alex already took off. Smart girls." She looked at Kaylin. "Now it's time for me to do the same." 

Nicola threw the stake in her hand into Kaylin's stomach.

Kaylin groaned in pain, looking down at her new wound. She held her wound, looking up.

Nicola had disappeared. 

Kaylin backed away slowly into the wall behind her, breathing heavily, slowly lowering to the floor, pulling the stake out of her stomach, leaning her head back against the wall in guilt, looking away toward the window, resigned and guilty. 

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

1903 Prison World 

Night - Outside 

The Northern Lights were on display.

------

Salvatore Estate - Foyer 

Liv, Tory, Lindsey, Elena, Damon and Lily were dressed for the cold, getting ready to leave. 

Lindsey looked at Lily. "Your vampire menagerie's gonna have to take the next train out. We're down a witch." 

"You want to leave them behind?" Lily asked. "No. You--you can't save me without saving them." 

"We'll come back, Mother, promise," Damon told her. "Let's go." 

"As much as I am looking forward to us getting to know each other again, I fear that I--I can't truly be myself until we've retrieved the ones that I'm leaving behind," Lily told him.

Damon nodded. "Oh." 

Lily looked at Liv, Tory and Lindsey. "When will we be coming back?" 

"Soon, but don't worry," Tory told her. "This prison world's not going anywhere." 

Liv looked outside. "Guys, look outside. Is that the Aurora Borealis?" 

Bonnie and Kacie walked in. 

"Also known as our ticket out of here," Kacie told them.

Bonnie looked at Tory and Lindsey. "You got it?" 

"Yeah," Lindsey answered, holding the 1903 Ascendant up for them to see. 

"Okay," Elena told them.

They started to leave.

------

Outside 

 Bonnie, Tory and Lindsey stood in a circle. Elena held onto Bonnie's shoulder. Damon and Kacie held onto Tory's shoulders. Liv and Lily held onto Lindsey's shoulder. 

Lindsey cut her hand, letting her blood drip onto the Ascendant.

Bonnie, Tory and Lindsey started to chant. "Sangiema meam liber nos ex carcerema. Sangiema meam liber nos ex carcerema." Kai was walking closer weakly. "Sangiema meam liber nos ex carcerema." 

"Hey!" Kai called. 

Bonnie, Damon, Tory, Kacie, Lindsey and Liv looked toward Kai, smirking.

The bright, blinding surrounded them, bringing them home.

Kai started to breathe heavily, falling to his knees, looking around in despair, realizing that he was trapped.

------

Real World 

Night - Cristian's House - Study 

Cristian was sitting at the desk. 

Liv walked in. She was not happy.

"Liv, hey," Cristian told her. "How was the prison world?"

Liv gave Cristian a look. "Cold."

"Judging by that expression, you heard what happened today," Cristian told her. 

"Yeah, you think?" Liv asked, walking up to him. "This is bad." 

"What?" Cristian asked. 

"I'm in love with a hero, martyr idiot," Liv answered, pushing Cristian in the chest, making him groan in pain. "You, Luke and Ryan could have died today." 

"As opposed to any other day?" Cristian asked. 

"This is different, Cristian," Liv told him. "Yes, I know that you could easily kill Caroline and Nicola if you really wanted to, but guess what? They nearly blew you, Luke and Ryan up with a vervain grenade. They could have killed you. My sister, Alex, tried to kill you." 

"Relax," Cristian told her. "Ryan's fine. Luke's a hybrid that can survive--"

Liv rolled her eyes. "Yeah, I know that Luke's a hybrid that can survive explosions, but Ryan is just a werewolf that can easily die from an explosion."

"Well, Luke, Ryan and I got got far enough away that it didn't blow us into trillion tiny little pieces," Cristian told her.

"Is that supposed to make me feel better?" Liv asked. Cristian chuckled under his breath. Liv hit him in the chest again, her voice cute and complaining. "Stop laughing." 

Cristian chuckled. "I'm sorry." 

"No, you're not," Liv told him.

Cristian stood, leaning against the desk next to them, looking at Liv. "You're right. I'm not. I don't know how many times I have to go in to these things to save our friends' asses for people to get that this is who I am. I save people. I hurt those who try to hurt us." He took Liv's hands, pulling her closer. "Now, if I remember right, you used to say that you loved that part of me. In fact, that was just a few months ago." 

"I know, and I do, but we just lost Eliza and Caroline's mom, Cris," Liv told him. "We lost Caroline the next day. She nearly got that Sarah girl killed to force Alex and Nicola to turn it off, and now they're gone, too. I can't lose you right now, Cris." 

(Song:) Hypnotic - Zella Day 

Cristian pulled Liv even closer, kissing her slowly, pulling back after a moment. "And you're not going to." 

Cristian kissed Liv deeply, pulling away after a moment. Liv smiled, finally relaxed, wrapping her arms around his neck, kissing him, rushing him back into the wall behind him, kissing him, pulling his leather jacket off. They pulled away, looking at each other for a moment, smiling. Cristian rushed Liv back into the dresser on the other side of the room, setting her on top, pulling her leather jacket off, kissing her deeply, pulling her shirt over her head, letting it fall to the side. Liv pulled away, pulling his head over his head, letting it fall to the side, sliding off of the dresser, standing in front of him, kissing even more deeply than before. 

(Song Ends)

------

1903 Prison World 

Cave 

Kai was walking through the cave, having a lantern in hand, limping slightly, looking around. "Where do they keep the food?" He turned to see the vampire that Lily had been feeding earlier, jumping. "Oh, crap." He decided to take a closer look. "Who the hell are--" 

The vampire gripped his throat, making him scream out and drop the lantern.

------

Real World 

Salvatore Boarding House - Living Room 

Enzo and Kaylin walked into the house.

"Did you seriously have to bring me home?" Kaylin asked. 

"Nicola tried to have you exploded into a billion pieces and spent the day torturing you and trying to kill you after Stefan told you that Sarah is alive and well after 20 years of him lying to you and he forced you to keep the secret from Damon and me, and forced you to keeping the secret from Nicola until Kai was able to take the hexing spell away, only Caroline told her first, and made her turn her humanity off," Enzo told her. "And then Caroline, Nicola, and Alex just vanished, and Stefan is most likely sulking somewhere knowing that all of this is his fault. I figured you'd need the company." 

Kaylin smiled a small smile. "I appreciate it, Enzo, I do. But I just..." 

"Just nothing," Enzo told her.

Kaylin smiled a small smile. 

------

Kaylin's Room 

Lily was sitting at Kaylin's desk, looking at the flashing lights on the computer screen that resembled the Aurora Borealis from the 1903 prison world. 

Stefan and Damon were also in the room. 

Stefan was going through Kaylin's clothes, gathering some for Lily. "These look about right, don't they?" 

"You don't have to pretend to be okay with me, Stefan," Lily told him. "I heard about what happened to you and Kaylin from Damon. Because of this girl, your family, Nicola, with her humanity off."

"I'm fine," Stefan told her. "Just trying to help you."

"And it's not Nikki's fault," Damon told her. "It's Stefan's."

"Thanks, Damon," Stefan told him sarcastically. "Well, since I'm home, Kaylin should be home soon. This is her room. When she gets here, she can help you atone to this new lifestyle." Lily looked at the computer again. "Oh, whole world runs on those things. Sooner you learn them, the better." 

Lily stood. "Maybe you could teach me." 

"Yeah, sure," Stefan answered. "Maybe I can give you a tutorial after we finally get things back in order. Which could take a while." 

Kaylin walked into the room slowly, looking at Lily in surprise. "Mom?" 

Lily smiled a small smile. "Kaylin." 

Damon looked between Kaylin and Lily, nodding to Stefan. "I believe they have some catching up to do." 

Stefan nodded, putting a hand on Kaylin's shoulder, walking out of the room, leaving.

Damon followed Stefan, leaving. 

Kaylin looked at Lily, smiling. "Hi." 

"You seem rather happy to see me," Lily told her.

"What did you expect?" Kaylin asked.

"Damon's hostility, or Stefan's skepticism," Lily answered. 

"Yeah, well, believe me when I say that I am a lot of things, but I am not my brothers," Kaylin told her. "You're my mother. I can't actually... hate you." 

"I heard what your father did to you and your brothers," Lily told her. "Shooting them, impaling you, killing you and making you become vampires, before Stefan killed him. I'm truly sorry." 

"Dad was a dick," Kaylin told her. Lily chuckled. "I mean, I'm going to Hell just for saying this, but he deserved it." 

"Yes, I suppose he did," Lily told her. Kaylin sniffled, looking down. There was a long moment of silence. Lily slowly walked closer. "Stefan and Damon told me what a person of this family did to you today. Her name's Nicola?" 

Kaylin nodded. "Yeah. Damon did something bad a long time ago that effected her today, after all of what we already put her through, and Stefan lied, and made me promise to lie, and she just found out about all of this, and turned it off, and now she wants revenge..." Lily looked at her in confusion. Kaylin sighed, chuckling without humor, shaking her head. "It's a very long story." 

"Well, it's a story that we have time to tell when you feel like it," Lily told her. "I'm here now, Kaylin." Kaylin nodded, looking away. "You were right." Kaylin looked at her in confusion. "The night of my funeral, an angel did visit you. Me. I had just turned, and... I wanted to see my children... But when I leaned down to whisper into your ear, the hunger surged. All I could hear was the pulse in your veins, all I could smell was the blood. So I fled. For your sake. And no matter how deeply you felt my absence, it is half as deep as I felt yours." 

Kaylin nodded, looking away, not knowing how to react to that. "Good to know." 

Lily placed a hand on Kaylin's cheek, pulling it away. 

Acting on impulse, Kaylin wrapped her arms around Lily, two tears falling down her cheeks. 

Lily smiled slightly in surprise, returning the embrace. "What was that for?" 

Kaylin pulled away, sighing. "It's been a really long, painful day, and I needed it." 

Lily wiped a tear away from Kaylin's cheek. "I'll let you get some sleep." 

Kaylin nodded. 

Lily walked out of the room. 

Kaylin turned to watch her go, thinking for a long moment.

Enzo walked in, acting weirdly around Lily. "So that was Mama Salvatore." He looked at Kaylin curiously. "Are you crying?" 

Kaylin shook her head, wiping her cheeks. "No." Enzo stepped closer. Kaylin smiled, giving up, giving him a look. "Nikki spent the entire day torturing me and trying to kill me today and I just got reunited with my long lost mother and she just told me that she left us all those years ago because she didn't want to hurt us, and everything that is happening to Nikki right now is partially my fault because I didn't tell her the truth long before now, and karma is a bitch. Of course I'm crying." 

Enzo stopped in front of Kaylin, using his thumb to wipe the tears away. "You are a mystery indeed, Kaylin."

Kaylin smiled a small smile. "I don't want to talk about it anymore, Enzo." 

"Then what would you like to talk about?" Enzo asked.

Kaylin sighed, taking a moment to think. "Well, see, a good thing to talk about is that fact that you got into Sarah's life, and you tried the most difficult and out-of-the-box ways for her to find out about vampires, and to try to reunite her with her long lost family, A, because you were trying to save our relationship with Nikki because she would be with her sister, B, because you want Damon to know that Stefan had lied to us the past 20 years, which is revenge enough against Stefan, and C, because of me." 

"Is that really so hard to believe?" Enzo asked.

"Yeah, actually," Kaylin answered. "No one's really done anything like this for me before, and taking the risk of sounding like one of those corny girls that has no idea what they are getting themselves into... thank you." Enzo smiled a small smile, leaning closer to kiss her. Kaylin gripped his wrists. "But you try to kill anyone I care about again over petty reasons like an elaborate scheme to impress your girl, I will..." 

"Kill me," Enzo finished softly. "We'll see about that." 

(Song:) Bloodstream - Transviolet 

Enzo kissed Kaylin slowly for a long moment. 

Kaylin pulled away. "What was that for?" 

Enzo smirked, using her words to her mother against her. "It's been a really long, painful day, and I needed it." 

Kaylin smiled, kissing Enzo. The kiss became passionate. Kaylin pulled away, leaning her forehead against his, breathing deeply, opening her eyes, looking up at Enzo, smiling. Enzo smiled, pulling her closer, placing a hand on either of her cheeks. Kaylin wove her hand through his hair, pulling him even closer. Enzo placed a hand on the small of her back, pulling her closer, taking her jacket off, laying her on the bed behind her, kissing her, sitting up, pulling his shirt off, kissing her. For a moment, they just looked at each other, both of them smiling slightly, breathing just a little heavily. Kaylin rolled over him, kissing him, pulling her shirt over her head, letting it fall to the floor. Just sitting there, looking down at Enzo, she ran a hand through her hair to pull it back, kissing him again. 

(Song Ends)

------

Downstairs - Kitchen 

Elena was here, looking at the picture of Young Stefan, Young Damon and Baby Kaylin. 

Damon walked closer. "Should probably check the inventory of the blood cooler before Lily wakes up." 

"You have her eyes," Elena told him. 

"You brought that back?" Damon asked.

"It's the only baby picture of my boyfriend, my ex-boyfriend and my frenemy/their sister in existence," Elena told him. "Of course, I brought it back." 

Damon took the picture away from her. "Give me that." 

"I liked seeing that side of you today," Elena told him, wrapping her arms around his neck.

"What side?" Damon asked. 

"A mother's son," Elena answered. "Even when you were skeptical and downright hostile sometimes, you still tried to get the answers to your questions, and you always tried to see something good in her. Look, I know that she's not the woman that you remember, but give her some time." 

"You're lucky you're so adorable, because your eternal optimism is super-annoying," Damon told her. 

Elena smiled. "Well, I happen to know from experience that it's never a waste of time to look for the good in someone." 

"This woman left her kids to go be a den mother to a family of vampires," Damon told her. "I think we're gonna be looking for quite a while." 

"Well, then it's a good thing we have forever," Elena told him. 

(Song:) You're Mine (The Chase) - Meiko 

Damon and Elena kissed slowly for a long moment, pulling away. The next time they kissed, it was more passionate and less hesitant. Damon set Elena onto the kitchen counter, kissing her deeply, pulling the collar of her shirt down, kissing her neck, pulling her closer. 

------

Kaylin's Room 

Kaylin and Enzo were lying on her bed, the only thing covering them being a sheet, kissing, pulling away, looking at the other. 

"Tell me what's on your mind, Kaylin Salvatore," Enzo told her.

Kaylin gave him a look. "You know what." 

"Four guesses," Enzo told her. "Sarah, Nicola, Lily, Alex or Caroline." 

"All of the above," Kaylin answered. "My mom's back." 

Enzo acted weirdly when talking about Lily. "I bet you're thrilled about that."

Kaylin smiled a small, thoughtful smile, turning to face Enzo, lying her head on his arm, using her finger to trace the lines on his chest. "We know how to bring Alex and Caroline back, because we know their emotional triggers. Stefan and Eliza. We just have to get hold of them long enough to bring them back before things get more out of control. But Nikki...." She shook her head. "We know the emotional trigger is not gonna be Stefan, Damon or me. It could be Tyler, but if Caroline is willing to turn Eliza into a vampire and make her turn it off to make sure that she stays emotionless, what will Nikki be willing to do to Tyler?" 

"That's a very good question," Enzo told her.

"And one day, Nikki will turn it on, and if she's the one who did something to Tyler, she will never forgive herself," Kaylin told him. 

"Why are you so sure that her emotional trigger would be Tyler?" Enzo asked. 

"What do you mean?" Kaylin asked.

"She turned her emotions off while she was on the phone with Tyler, so why would she turn her emotions back on for Tyler?" Enzo asked.

Kaylin gave him a look. "I hate it when you're right." 

"I'm always right," Enzo told her.

"In your dreams," Kaylin told him. Enzo smirked. Kaylin was thinking, something dawning on her. She looked at Enzo in realization. "Oh. My. God." 

Enzo looked at her in confusion. "What?" 

"Sarah," Kaylin told him.

"Sarah?" Enzo repeated.

"Think about it," Kaylin told him. "All of this started when she found out that she could have had an older sibling from Kai, right, when he gave her the hex? He only told her that because he knew it would destroy us. So all of this time, Nikki's reaction to the hex, it was branching out from the revelation that she had an older sister." 

"Right," Enzo agreed. 

"And then Caroline uses who's life to make her turn it off?" Kaylin asked.

"Sarah," Enzo answered.

"Her sister," Kaylin told him. "All of this started with Sarah. Nikki's revenge today was mostly about Sarah, about lying to her about her sister. She turned it off to save Sarah's life." 

"So Sarah should be Nicola's emotional trigger," Enzo finished. 

Kaylin smiled at the revelation. "It's Sarah. It has to be. Sarah could be the one that can bring Nikki back, and you already know her, and we can get her to trigger Nikki's emotions and bring her back. And you knew that if we got Tory, Sarah and Nikki to meet that it could save her, and save us, and that's mostly why you started all of this in the first place." She hit Enzo in the chest teasingly, getting excited. "You're a genius." Enzo smiled at the reaction. Kaylin rolled Enzo onto the bed, smiling, giggling. "You can help us bring her back."

"I'd be happy to oblige," Enzo told her.

Kaylin smiled, kissing Enzo deeply. They continued to kiss.

(Song Ends)

------

Lockwood Mansion - Living Room 

Lindsey, Bonnie, Kacie and Tory were standing together in the Lockwood Mansion. 

"So, how are Luke and Ryan after today?" Kacie asked.

"Good," Lindsey answered. "They just went back to the old house to finishing moving everything out. It was never really our home, anyway. Well, Luke and Tory are moving here, but Ryan and I are staying there." 

Bonnie smirked. "You're gonna have a house alone with Ryan? How are you even gonna pay for it, Lindsey?" 

"How do you think that we paid for it before?" Lindsey replied. "Luke had to compel the Realtor for it, and even though this house is huge, we just want our own place." 

They chuckled. 

"So what's up?" Tory asked.

"I just wanted to thank you for helping me and Kacie find closure today," Bonnie answered. 

"You know that there is a crazy lady that wants to open that prison world up more than anything, right?" Tory asked. 

"But we're never going back there, right?" Kacie asked. 

"No, we're not," Tory answered.

"Good," Kacie told them.

Bonnie looked at Lindsey and Tory. "Because I have something for the two of you, a gift from 1992. I was gonna give it to you guys yesterday, but we didn't have time."

Bonnie pulled out a box from her bag.

 "That's not what I think it is, is it?" Kacie asked.

"Tory, Lindsey, if it wasn't for your guys' notes on the map of Nova Scotia, I would have never remembered there was magic on that island," Bonnie told them. "And without your guys' help from the necklaces, there's a good chance that I wouldn't be here today, and that I wouldn't have been able to send Damon and Kacie back over to you. So, from my '92 road trip, I got you guys a little something."

Tory took the box from her, opening it to reveal the Cure. "The Cure. The Cure to vampirism." 

"Why are you giving us this?" Lindsey asked. "We're not even vampires." 

"Because my mom's surprisingly happy as a vampire, and because I have full faith that we'll get Caroline and Nicola back to normal the old-fashioned way," Bonnie answered. "But mostly because I knew that you two wouldn't play favorites, because your favorites wouldn't even want this because Luke and Kacie would be miserable as werewolves, Elena didn't want it before, and Stefan didn't want it before, and Caroline didn't want it before, and Kaylin didn't want it before, and neither did Damon, Cristian or Liv. And Nicola would most likely want it if her humanity was on, but she was sick before she turned, and she was a Potential of becoming a Hunter, so why would she take that risk? And Klaus compelled Alex not to take it because if she turned human, then so did Klaus because of the link. But now, who knows? Things are different now, people are different now. Their choices might be different now. I mean, while I was gone, you two were the ones that kept everyone alive. You saved everybody... repeatedly." They smirked, chuckling. "And you saved me. Even though it'll be useless to you, I know that you two deserve this choice. So I know that whoever you guys choose to give it to, they must deserve it. Ask who wants it. Find out who doesn't. Narrow it down for yourselves and give it to the one that you guys think should have it most. It's up to you." 

Bonnie turned around, walking out of the room, leaving.

Kacie smiled a small smile. "So what do you say, sister Tory? Lindsey? What are you guys gonna do?" 

Tory shook her head. "I have no idea what to do, Kacie."

Lindsey and Tory exchanged a look, knowing that they had the choice to make one of they friends human again if their friends wanted to. 

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

6.18 "I Never Could Love Like That" Trailer

(Song:) He Could Be the Devil - Gregg Mandel feat. Paul Otten 

From 6.18 "I Never Could Love Like That", in Kaylin's room, Kaylin and Enzo were lying in bed.

Kaylin sat up in boredom, giving Enzo a look. "What aren't you telling me?"

From 6.18 "I Never Could Love Like That", in the kitchen of the boarding house, Kaylin and Enzo sat at the kitchen table.

Lily was on the other side of the table, looking at Enzo. "I'm sorry. Have we met before?"

From 6.18 "I Never Could Love Like That", in the Skull Bar, Caroline and Alex were on stage, singing, standing at two mic stands.

Nicola was sitting in the crowd, amused by Caroline and Alex's performance and the crowd's reaction.

Enzo: (voice over from 6.18 I Never Could Love Like That) "I'd say it's a good idea to get her to flip her switch back sooner rather than later."

SAVE THE DRAMA

From 6.18 "I Never Could Love Like That", in Skull Bar, Alex, Nicola, Caroline, Tyler and Matt were talking.

Caroline flipped a coin, covering it up with her hand, looking at Alex and Nicola. "Heads I kill Tyler, and tails, I kill Matt."

Alex shrugged. "Sounds good to me."

FOR YOUR FAMILY

From 6.18 "I Never Could Love Like That", in the dorm building, Stefan, Kaylin, Enzo and Sarah were talking.

"She turned off her humanity to save your life," Stefan told her.

"And now you think that I'm the only one who can save hers now?" Sarah asked.

From 6.18 "I Never Could Love Like That", in the Skull Bar, Tyler looked at Nicola. "Kill me now." He took Nicola's wrist, pulling a broken makeshift stake in her hand, the jagged part pointed at himself. "I said do it."

Sarah, Kaylin, Stefan and Enzo walked in.

Nicola looked from Caroline and Alex to Matt. "Seriously? You guys knew who my real sister was before all of this? Was there a single soul on this earth who didn't know before I did?"

Nicola looked at Sarah, Kaylin, Stefan and Enzo expressionlessly.

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.