The same night, at midnight...
Caroline was still lying unconscious in the hospital bed, and she shot up in bed.
She got up out of bed, and she left her hospital room, seeing a nurse at the reception.
"Excuse me. Where is everyone?" Caroline asked.
"It's the middle of the night, hon."
"It is? Well, have you seen my mom?" Asked Caroline.
"She left after dinner with your boyfriend. And then your friend Ellie stopped by."
"She did? Yeah, she did. But she said her name was Katherine. Can I just get something to eat?" Caroline asked her.
"Breakfast comes around 7:00."
"But I'm hungry." Said Caroline.
"You should go back to sleep."
Caroline signed, and she walked back towards her hospital room before her face twisted in disgust.
"What is that smell?" Caroline asked.
"Back to bed."
The nurse walked away, and Caroline followed the smell, which led her to the room facing hers, where she saw a blood bag hanging.
"What are you doing in here?"
Caroline spun around, seeing the nurse.
"I don't know." Caroline tells her.
"You need to go back to bed."
Caroline walked into her room, and the nurse closed the door.
Caroline pulled the blood bag from under her housecoat.
She put her mouth around the small tube, and she took a small amount, and she gagged and threw it onto the floor.
She got off the bed, and she picked it up, drinking it again.
The next morning at the Mystic Falls High School Annual Carnival, which was being held at school...
Bonnie and Ellie talk.
"I mean, Katherine looked just like you and Elena. It was freakish."
"She is our ancestor. Hey, I moved the student booths into the cafeteria." Said Ellie.
"Your vampire ancestor. And she didn't just resemble you... like a family member would. She was you."
"I... I... I don't know. I can't explain it, okay? It's creepy. That's all I've got." Ellie says.
"Well, how do you know she's not still out there pretending to be you or Elena."
"I don't. But I could sit here and be tortured by not knowing... or I could get these prizes to the ring toss." Ellie tells her.
"Have you talked to Damon since he killed Jeremy? Or tried to kill Jeremy?"
"No, Bonnie, I haven't. And not going to, either. Anyway, I don't wanna talk about Damon or anything vampire-related. Okay?" Ellie asked.
"Copy that."
"I'm human. And I have to do human stuff; otherwise, I'm gonna go crazy." Said Ellie.
"I'm sorry; I'll focus. We have to make Caroline proud. Or she will kill us. Literally. I don't know how she does this all the time."
"Because she's not human, obviously." Ellie chuckled.
With Jeremy and Stefan, they stood inside the school...
"It's the same as the bracelet Ellie gave you."
"It protects me from compulsion." Jeremy said.
"Vervain is toxic to vampires."
"You mean, like, poison?" Jeremy asked.
"It's very poisonous. It'll keep them out of your head."
"But why vervain?" Asked Jeremy.
"I don't know. There's certain natural herbs and roots and other elements... that are harmful to vampires."
"Like a stake through the heart?" Jeremy asked, looking at him.
"Right, but it has to be wood."
Jeremy smiled.
"You're pretty confident in yourself... telling me all the different ways I could kill you."
"Jeremy, if I thought you wanted to kill me, we'd be having a much different conversation."
"And Damon is the one that deserves it." Jeremy says.
"I want you to forget about Damon, all right? He's a hundred times stronger than you... and right now he's not stable. You gotta try to move forward."
"I was killed by a vampire and brought back by a magic ring. How do you move forward from that?" Jeremy asked, staring at him.
"Today, we have a little nice distraction courtesy of the slave driver, Ellie. Hello, Ellie." Stefan said, wrapping his arm around her shoulders.
"Hey, um, Jeremy..."
"Yeah, yeah, I set up the goldfish toss. All 300 goldfish. It's gonna be epic." Jeremy says, smirking at Ellie and slamming his locker.
Stefan cleared his throat, and Ellie signed, leaning against the lockers.
"Yeah. He's gonna be all right. He's just been through a little bit of an ordeal."
"I was hoping this carnival would reel him back... into the land of high school teenagers." She says.
"Oh, is that what we're doing here?"
"Yes, we all are. We're gonna be super boring students who live in a world... where the V-word is not uttered." She tells him.
"Got it."
"Then later, you're gonna take me to the Ferris wheel. We're gonna ride to the very top, you're gonna kiss me. And my heart will flutter like a normal girl. Do you see a running theme here?"
"Yeah. No. I'm seeing it. I... I'm liking it. But I have a quick question. Um, what do we do about Damon?"
"Uh, no D-word, okay? Mm. That has been deleted from the list of topics that we can discuss." She tells him.
"Unfortunately, Katherine showing up has him in a little bit of an odd place. A little off-kilter. Kind of dangerous. Who knows what he's up to?"
With Damon, he visited Carol...
"I understand John Gilbert left town. Have they found the vampire that attacked him?" She asked.
"Sheriff asked me to take the lead on that. And I promise you, I will get to the bottom of it."
"Which brings me to my next subject. With Richard gone, I'll be acting as interim mayor until the elections. And I'm going to need someone to spearhead the Council. I'd like that person to be you." She says.
"Whatever you need, Carol. As a founding family member, it's something that's close to me... I would be honoured to help keep this town safe from vampires."
They turned around as they heard two males laughing. She shuts the doors to the office.
"Is it safe to talk?"
"It's my brother-in-law, Mason. He's still visiting. I just don't want him to hear us. He didn't want any part of the Council when he lived here, and I see no reason to bring him into it now." She tells him.
Damon used his vamp hearing to eavesdrop on Tyler and Mason's conversation.
"What was that, like seven?" Tyler asked.
"Six. I don't count the last one. You crawled it." Mason says.
"What?" Tyler asked, staring at him and scoffing loudly.
"I think Grandma Lockwood actually passed you. In her walker." Mason chuckled.
"Okay. Shoes off. Mud. My mom. A no-go." Tyler tells him.
"So, all this anger and aggression you were talking about. You notice the difference when you exercise?" Mason asked.
Tyler scoffed. "Dude, I played three varsity sports. I work out four times a week and run three. I'm gonna say no."
"You have episodes? I mean, what happens exactly?" Asked Mason.
"Starts out normal. I mean, I get angry. Typically, over nothing. It started when Ellie and I broke up. You know, I'm an angry guy. It just amplifies, and then I go off." Said Tyler.
"That's probably because you loved her, and you still do. You blacked out?" Mason asked, sitting down, looking at him.
"Yeah. It's like I go blind with rage." Tyler says, throwing Mason a water bottle.
"Is there a pattern? Like, once a month? Only at night?" Mason asked.
"All I know is that I lose myself. You know. For that time, I became something else. And I hate it." Tyler says.
Back with Damon and Carol...
"More tea? Damon?"
"Oh, yes, please. Thank you, Carol." He smiled.
Caroline was sitting up in her hospital bed, the sunlight shining into her room, and she placed her fingertips into the light...
She pulled her hand back as it burned her. She did it again, and she grunted.
Matt entered a second later, holding a tray of food.
"Your mom said you're not eating."
"It's gross." She said, shaking her head.
"It's hospital food. It's supposed to be gross."
She watched him lean in to kiss her, and she met him halfway, noticing his lips were in the sunlight, and she pulled back.
"She also said you're getting released tomorrow morning."
Her head snapped to look at him.
"Morning? I need to get out tonight." She tells him.
"No. The carnival is gonna happen without you, Caroline. I know it's hard for your neurotic personality to process... but Bonnie, Ellie, and Elena have it."
"I'm not neurotic."
"Yeah, you are, but it's cute, so..."
"Look, it's not about the carnival. Okay? It's just that this place is really depressing." She tells him.
"That's because you're sitting in the dark."
"No, don't!" She shouted, moving off the bed, and she leaned against the wall.
"What the hell?"
"Just close it. Please?" She asked.
"What's wrong with you?"
"Close it." She said, glaring at him.
"I'll just come back later, okay?"
She watched him leave her room, and she whimpered and slid down the wall.
Later, Stefan found Damon at home pouring blood into a glass...
"Would you care for one?"
"No. Thank you. Not hungry. Just ate." Said Stefan.
"Aren't you worried that one day all the forest animals are gonna band together... and fight back? I mean, surely, they talk."
"I'm just happy that's a blood bag and not a sorority girl... supplying your dinner." Stefan says.
"I like this. You're walking on eggshells around me... because you think I'm gonna explode. It's very suspenseful. Is Ellie worried too? I bet I'm your every conversation."
Stefan rolled his eyes.
"Absolutely not. I mean, Ellie doesn't even wanna mention your name. Have you heard from Katherine?" Asked Stefan.
"I think the Lockwoods have a family secret. Because the Gilbert device affected them, but vervain didn't. They're not vampires. They're something else."
"Is this your new obsession?" Asked Stefan.
"Oh, you'd rather some unknown supernatural element... running rampant in our town. Fine. I'll drop it."
"We haven't seen the last of Katherine. You do know that, right? We have no idea what she's up to." Stefan tells him.
"Pfft. Sure, we do. She came back to profess her undying, eternal love for you. I'm gonna let you deal with her. Because I have more important things to do... like explode."
Back with Caroline, she put her jewellery back on...
She grabbed the necklace Ellie had given her, and she clipped it around her neck. She placed it on her skin, and it burned her.
She groaned, and she threw it onto the floor in the hallway.
The nurse walked in from last night, and she picked up the necklace.
"That's pretty."
"Yeah, my friend gave it to me." Caroline says.
The nurse placed the necklace on the table and walked out, and Caroline took a few more sips of the blood.
She looked in the mirror, and veins appeared under her eyes. She touched her face softly.
Her hand clamped over her mouth, and she groaned, and her fangs appeared.
She shouted in pain, and the nurse ran back in.
"What's wrong?"
Caroline grabbed her, and she pinned the nurse against the wall.
"You can't tell anyone. You can't tell anyone!" Caroline shouted, and she accidentally compelled the nurse.
"I can't tell anyone."
"You'll do what I say?" Caroline asked.
"I'll do what you say."
"Good. Because I'm starving."
Not even a second later, Caroline bit into the nurse's neck.
Back at the carnival with Bonnie and Ellie...
Elena walked over to them.
"The ring toss is out of Bart and Homer dolls... and Team Jacob tees." Elena tells them.
"Okay. I'll grab some from the Science Club. We also lost a speaker in the karaoke booth." Ellie said, signing loudly.
"Hey, all good, Ellie. Take a beat; look around you; this is a huge success." Bonnie tells her.
"You mean I can do more than just wreak vampire havoc?" Ellie asked.
"Go figure." Elena and Bonnie says.
The three of them chuckled.
Ellie saw a guy who worked for the carnival.
"Hey, uh, Carter, right? You're with the carnival." Ellie says.
"That'd be me." He says.
"Great." Ellie smiled.
"Wow. What you need, beautiful?" He asked, looking over at Bonnie.
"Oh, um, what do you know about karaoke speakers?" Bonnie asked.
"Why don't you show me the problem?" He asked.
"Yeah, Bonnie, show him the problem."
Elena smirked after saying that. Ellie winked at Bonnie.
Bonnie smiled.
"Okay. Come on." Said Bonnie.
With Mason, he made his way into his brother's office. He looked around; it was like he was looking for something...
He checked the bookcase, then the drawers, when Tyler walked in.
"What are you doing?"
"Huh? Nothing. Just killing time. Waiting for you." Mason says.
"You looking for something? What?"
"Yeah, actually. You know where I could find any family artifact stuff? The heirlooms?" Mason asked, looking over at him.
"Blow through your trust fund already."
"I did that when I was 22. No, I'm just looking for this old piece of my mom's. My dad gave it to her when they got married. It has sentimental value. Probably passed down to your dad. Should be in the house somewhere." Said Mason.
"What's it look like?"
"It's a moonstone. It's about the size of a hockey puck. Old, ugly. Minimal monetary value." Said Mason.
"Hey, man, whatever. Um, ask my mom, I guess."
"Cool. I'll do that. You ready?" Mason asked, nodding his head at Tyler.
Tyler stopped at the door, and he looked around his father's office.
Back at the carnival, Jeremy was at a food truck when Damon saw him...
"Jeremy. So good to see you alive."
"Aren't you a little old for a high school carnival?" Jeremy asked.
Damon took some of his popcorn.
"About 150 years too old."
"You're pretty funny, cracking jokes when I could... I don't know. Tell Stefan that you tried kissing Ellie last night against her will. Or blow the whole lid off this thing by telling someone what you really are. Just you. Not Stefan." Jeremy tells him.
Damon grabbed Jeremy, and he pulled him away from the food truck.
"Please tell me that is not a threat."
"Maybe it is." Jeremy says, showing him the ring.
"Oh. This is what we're not gonna do. We're not gonna walk around like we're invincible... when it's this easy for me to end you."
Jeremy coughed, and Damon let him go.
"If you wanna tell people what I really am, go ahead and try. I will shove this ring so far up your ass... you'll really have something to choke on."
He threw the ring at Jeremy, and it hit him on his forehead.
Later, with Caroline, she tried calling Matt but got his answerphone...
Caroline: "The doctor said I'm good as new. He signed me out. He said I didn't have to wait until morning. So call me when you get this."
She hung up, and she looked at the nurse, who had a white bandage on her neck.
"It's dark; thank God. Um, I am so sorry about that. Okay. Now, what's the story?" Caroline asked, standing in front of her.
"My husband likes to get kinky."
"Yes. Good. I'm gonna take off. I'm the committee chair for the carnival. I'm worried it's a complete disaster. God bless Elena and Bonnie, but they don't understand the word "fabulous." Like me and Ellie. Once again, I am so sorry about that... and if you could just forget that I bit you... that would be great because I'm going to." Caroline says.
"Forget what?"
"I don't know how that works, but it's brilliant." Caroline said, smiling, and she left.
Back at the carnival, Tyler was doing arm wrestling...
Stefan walked over to Damon, who was watching.
"Uh-huh. You're lurking."
"I'm observing." Damon says.
"More like obsessing."
They watched Tyler win the match.
"He's got strength." Said Damon.
"He's got a triple-letter varsity athlete. Of course, he has strength."
"And still in love with your girl. Heard him talking to Mason." Damon tells him.
Before Stefan could answer, they saw Mason walk over to Tyler.
"I bet I can take you." Mason says.
"Enter the uncle." Damon says.
"Bring it on, surfer boy." Said Tyler.
"This is ridiculous." Stefan tells him.
They watched the arm wrestle, and Tyler struggled to move Mason's arm. Mason won the match.
"All right. He's the champ. Who wants to go next?" Tyler asked.
"Hey, Stefan wants a go." Said Damon.
Tyler waved him over.
Stefan signed. "Yeah, sure. I'll, uh, give it a shot."
"Go, Stef. Get him, Stef." Damon says.
Stefan stood in front of Mason on the other side of the table.
"My brother over there thinks I can beat you. I'm not so sure." Stefan tells Mason.
Mason and Stefan locked hands.
"Your brother's wrong. You are probably correct." Mason smiled.
The bell dings, and the arm wrestling begins. They held the strain, Stefan frowned, and Mason was able to move his arm.
Mason easily overpowered him, and he won the match.
Stefan walked back over to Damon.
"You didn't put in any effort at all."
"Yeah, actually, I did." Stefan tells him.
"Come with me."
Stefan looked back at Mason, who had easily won the next match, and he followed Damon.
"Is he...?"
"No, it wasn't that kind of strength. It was more than human, if that makes any sense." Stefan says.
"What is up with that family? If they're not vampires, then what the hell are they?"
"Ooh, uh, maybe they're ninja turtles?" Stefan asked.
"You're not funny."
"Or, no. Zombies. Werewolves." Stefan says.
"No comedic timing at all."
Stefan smiled, and he saw Damon looking around.
"What? What are you up to?" Stefan asked, looking at him.
"Since this is reality and there's no such thing as werewolves or combat turtles..."
"But I said ninja turtles, actually." Said Stefan.
Damon walked over to Carter.
"Hey, you." Damon says.
"I have a name."
"Yeah, I don't care." Damon said, putting his hands on Carter's shoulders.
"Wha...?"
"I need you to pick a fight with someone. Kid named Tyler Lockwood." Damon said, compelling him.
"Damon, don't do this." Stefan says.
"It's just an experiment." Damon tells Stefan.
He turned back to Carter.
"Get him mad. But don't back down, no matter what he does. Okay?" Damon asked, compelling him.
"I won't back down."
"I know you won't." Damon said, watching him walk away.
"You do realise somebody's gonna get hurt."
"Someone's gonna get mad. As in rage." Damon tells him.
"Why? What's that gonna accomplish?"
"That Tyler kid is incapable of walking away from a fight. Let's see who intervenes. Maybe it's the ambiguously supernatural mystery, uncle." Said Damon.
Damon walked away, and he walked down the corridor. He heard heels clicking, and he turned to see Caroline...
"Oh, hey, blondie. They let you out."
"I remember." She says.
"What do you remember?"
"I remember how you manipulated me. You pushed me around. Abused me. Erased my memories. Fed on me." She says.
"You're crazy."
"The memories have been coming back. In pieces." She tells him.
"You can't remember. It's impossible. I mean, unless you were becoming a..."
She smiled. "I have a message from Katherine. She said, "Game on."
"Wait."
She grabbed him, and she shoved him down the corridor.
Song: Currency of Love, Silversun Pickups