twenty-one. promised land
Salvatore Boarding House
A middle-aged man, who's harboring a passenger inside of him, is helplessly restrained down to an armchair in the middle of the parlor room; Damon sprays water in his face to wake him up, "Wakey wakey. Mister..." He grabs an ID tag from the man's shirt and read it, "Sikes...Head of corporate accounts." Whoever he is, he's one of the many leads to be his urgent aide.
The traveler tries to speak, but the vampire also has his mouth bound, "Oops. Sorry about that! Yeah. Can't have you mumbling any of those annoying traveler ditties. It's a sure migraine. So, here's the deal. My brother and my two exes have all been kidnapped by travelers and I can't seem to find them anywhere. I mean, like, poof, gone. Right. So besides a completely clueless hybrid in my basement and a cave full of sleeping travelers, I've got nothing to go on except you. So I'm going to need you to tell me where I can find your leader, Markos." Damon sits on the double seated couch just before the main door opens behind him and he already knows who it is without even looking behind him, "What's up, Team Meryl Streep?"
Caroline and Isaac share a tired look just before April Young speaks.
"Liv and Luke aren't answering any of our..." She trailed off when she sees who Damon has captive in the living room, "Oh my God! Mister Sikes?"
"You know him?" The eldest vampire in the room looks at the human, unsurprised considering both humans in the room are local residents here.
"Yeah! He helped me open my first savings account! He gave me a lollipop." When she was almost thirteen, April recalled aloud, when life was simpler.
"Well, unfortunately, Mister Sikes here is occupied by some low-life traveler. I saw him and his buddies chanting in the town square last week. I also know that Markos and your traveler comrades are planning some big, flashy spell to undo some super-boring, ancient, witch curse. And where that sucks for us; it just happens to undo all witch magic, i.e. kill, me, him and my sexy blonde frenemy here." Damon gets up to get close with the man once more.
Isaac simply shrugs, "I can be sexy too, you know."
The perky blonde vampire spoke up to the familiar man, "If you know where Markos took Stefan, Rosie and Elena, you need to tell us." ASAP.
"Yep. Sorry. You're going to have to speak up." Damon mocked him, knowing full well that he can't speak with his mouth restrained, "Hmmm. Nope. Didn't quite catch that either." He takes the iron poker by the fireplace and pierces the man's leg with it, causing the traveler to mumble in pain and April to cringe, "I think he's trying to say something." Damon takes the cloth out from his mouth aggressively, "Come on, sweetie pie." Speak.
"Speak." The twenty-one-year-old college junior demanded.
"It doesn't matter where Markos is. Nothing you do can stop him now."
****
Travelers' Camp
Markos and the other travelers have an extremely weak Rosie chained up to the wall and her trembling wrists are bleeding badly from being cut; buckets are catching the doppelgänger blood as it falls in. Stefan and Elena, however, are kept elsewhere in the compound as they are also writhing in agony, extremely weak from their own doppelgänger blood loss as well.
Both Markos and Agnes walk into the private room in which Rosie is being held significant captive in with a glass of water in the latter's hand. Agnes, who is actually feeling sympathetic for the poor hybrid, tips it up to Rosie's lips and she takes a drink of the clean and fresh water from the glass. After a second passes, she coughs up little drops of blood that land on her face.
"Yo-o-u hav-ve enou-gh blo-ood." An unsteady Rosie retorted weakly.
The European man wipes the blood from his beloved wife's face for her.
"Let me go." The vulnerable hybrid desperately pleaded with them.
Markos takes a sharp knife and slits Rosie's left wrist right down the middle, causing her to scream out, "I'll have enough when you can no longer speak."
He turns and leaves the room as Agnes stares at her in genuine sympathy to which Rosie weakly shuts her doe eyes in defeat when the woman shuts the door for them to be left alone together and she switches the light on.
Agnes intentionally removes the strong metal chains and the lock that binds Rosie to the wall. Before Rosie can crumple to the floor, Agnes catches her, who trembles in fear and the effect of the massive amount of blood loss. Rosie would've blacked out if it wasn't for Agnes to let her drink from a few stolen human blood bags to heal and to be energized as the traveler advised her to immediately escape when Rosie is finally able to stand on her own.
"But what about--" Rosie gasps in shock and backs away from the woman when the door opens again to find Stefan and Elena, both weak as well.
"Shh. You three need to leave, now. Go." Escape.
****
Small Shop/Salvatore Boarding House
After escaping the travelers' camp thanks to Agnes, Stefan, Rosie and Elena, who are now finally energized, have holed up at a derelict small shop to use the old payphone to call Damon, who remains safe at the boarding house.
"Seriously? Collect calls are still a thing?" The elder brother commented.
"Yeah, well, you know what could have saved you the cost of this phone call? You finding us. How long have we been gone?" The younger one asked.
"Four days." Being the duration when Minerva Devon is behaving strangely as well, to which he has yet to speak to her about it so if he isn't so busy.
"Four days?! Four days and you couldn't track us down? What did you think? We were having a nice spa getaway?" Stefan snapped and Rosie smiles.
"Woah! Woah! Woah! I've been searching twenty-four/seven, okay? Maybe if you would've been a little more perceptive, you wouldn't have gotten yourselves doppelnapped." Damon snapped back at his feisty brother.
"Duh." April, who remains at the parlor room with him, added on.
Suddenly, something quick barrels against the wooden wall of the shop, shattering an old window in the store Stefan is leaning on while making his phone call, which Damon mentioned, "What the hell was that?"
"Travelers drained us of our blood, so we're having to do a little hunting."
"You have Rosie and Elena participating in squirrel slaughter?" He guessed.
"Believe me. Neither of them are happier about it than I am." Stefan said.
"Ain't that the truth." The Kartwright girl spoke up, grinning adorably.
"Mhmm. Rosie will shoot your eye out." The elder vampire brother spat.
"Do you want to talk to her, or are you still pretending you don't want to hear her voice?" The younger vampire brother asked reluctantly.
"Don't psychoanalyze me, Stefan. Where are you? I'll come get you."
"I have no idea where we are. We're in the middle of nowhere. Listen, we'll make our way back, but Markos drained most of all our blood — and considering the kinds of spells he was able to do with just a little bit of it..."
"Yeah. I know...Find Markos; kill Markos; save Mystic Falls from becoming traveler home. It's going to be a busy day for me, Stefan. Time to strap on the hero hair." The impulsive elder brother declared in a heroic manner.
The intuitive younger brother smiles, "I'll get them home safely, alright?"
"Get all three of yourselves home safely, brother. I'd hate to have to kick their asses for losing you." Damon hangs up and just as he sits the cell phone down, he is struck in the middle of his muscular chest with a widdled piece of sharp wood by the remaining ghost of the easily-forgotten Enzo.
A gasp of true shock escapes April, who's horrified, "Oh my God."
Enzo tilts his head as he wondered aloud, "Forgetting someone?"
"Ugh, you've got to be kidding me. BONNIE!" Damon called out loudly.
Bonnie Bennett steps into the parlor, "He said you agreed to the promise of bringing him back. And since Rosie's not here, you're still a part of it."
"Ah. You're paraphrasing. She said, quote; 'We will find a way'." Enzo said.
Bonnie turns to the impatient ghost and rolls her clear eyes, "Whatever."
"Well, it's easier said than done then, isn't it?" April reminded them.
"Hello! Still here. And I know what she said." Damon proclaimed.
"Remind him that he doesn't have a very good track record for keeping promises."
"Please stop talking." The supernatural anchor snapped at the ghost.
"The other side is on the brink of collapse. I plan on pestering all of you until I'm safely returned to the land of the living."
"You need to fix this before I lose my mind." Bonnie demanded strictly.
The stressed-out, impatient Damon hissed, "Hey! I'm sorry. I've got three missing doppelgängers; I've got a traveler that wants to rid our town of magic; and I've got the friendly banker, Mister Sikes, in the coat closet. So your escape from the netherworld is going to have to wait 'til tomorrow."
Enzo becomes increasingly angry that he picks up a glass bottle of bourbon and chucks it into the lit fireplace, causing the flames to climb up the wall.
"Uh, I think he wants to be penciled in for today." April nods a little.
"Then you two bring him back." The vampire asked the two teenage girls.
"What?" Bonnie and April asked in unison out of confusion, frowning.
"Liv is cooking up a spell to pull you back from the other side before it goes 'kaboom'. So whatever you're doing, just include Enzo in it. Easy."
Neither of the girls answer him. Instead, Bonnie looks down at her shoes and avoids making eye contact with anyone, while Damon only continues.
"You hear me, Enzo? Just hitch a ride with Bonnie. Okay. See? There. Delegating. I feel better."
"That's not a great idea." Before Bonnie can explain further, her young hunter lover quickly comes in through the main front door as if on cue.
"You called?"
"You...I need you and your x-box buddy to run an errand for me. Come on, let's go." Damon simply demanded the seventeen-year-old senior.
Jeremy and Damon take off, leaving Bonnie, Enzo and April alone.
The impatient ghost snapped at the anchor with attitude, "Well? What are you waiting for? Ring up your little witchy friend and get her over here."
****
Road
Rosie, Stefan and Elena are miserably walking along a desolate road, trying to make their unknown way back to Mystic Falls. They see an eighteen wheeler about to pass by that they try to get the driver to pick them up, but they failed, and Rosie sighs heavily as she watches the vehicle drive by.
"God. I feel like an idiot!" The youngest out of the trio complained.
"Well, you already are, so." The hungry caramel brunette shrugs.
"Ditto." Stefan gives the Kartwright girl a 'Be nice' look.
"Hey, do that thing again; the vamp thing." Rosie requested them.
"No." Stefan and Elena replied in unison, annoyed by the action.
"I don't want to do that, come on. You know it's embarrassing." He added.
"And it gives me no greater joy than to see either of you humiliate yourself." Rosie told them, which earns her a tired look from the younger vampire.
"I'm not doing that." The chestnut brunette voiced defensively.
"Come on. It's the only thing keeping me sane right now." Rosie turns to the much younger doppelgänger with a weak smile, "I dare you to do it."
The Gilbert girl weakly smiles in return, "No."
"What, can't take a little harmless dare?" Rosie teased.
"I'll do it." Stefan tries to speed off using his vampire abilities, but he hardly gets a few feet before his ability stops working, "Happy?"
"It was funnier the first time." Rosie commented, unimpressed.
"Yeah, well...you were delirious the first time." Her ex-boyfriend stated.
"How many, uh, you know...are we suppose to have before we get our strength back?" Elena asked them as she looks around for any animal.
"Uh...more than we've had, that's for sure. I'll let you guys know if I see a damn buffalo." Rosie told them weakly, "You're welcome."
"This is just depressing." Elena shakes her head.
Rosie scoffs, "Your whole life is depressing. You should be used to it by now."
"And even more depressing that I'm still stuck with you." Elena retorted.
The caramel brunette smiles adorably, "You know you love me."
"More depressing than walking for miles and not knowing where you're going while being left out of the loop you two created?" Stefan spoke.
"Oh, I'm sorry. Were you talking to us?" Rosie sarcastically uttered.
Elena laughs along with her, "I didn't think so."
"Hilarious." Stefan fakes a smile for the both of them.
"Okay, to answer your question, no...probably not more depressing than that." Rosie literally answered him, "But I'm pretty sure that was more of a rhetorical question that should've been left unanswered...Oops."
Elena and Rosie laugh again together.
"Damon is in full-hero mode today." Stefan changed the subject.
"I'm sure he was thrilled about that." The nineteen-year-old girl spoke.
"I don't know...he had the whole 'savior of the universe' voice going on." Stefan reported with a little shake of his head, tired of his own brother.
A scoff of disbelief escapes Rosie judgmentally, "Yeah, good luck with that."
Elena nudges her side playfully, defending their own ex, "Rose, come on. You know I like that voice. You know, maybe this whole thing is a sign."
"A sign of what?" Rosie asked.
"My blood can literally destroy him. If that's not a sign that we're in a toxic relationship--"
"Our blood. Alright? Our blood. Don't hog the blame." Rosie interrupted her, trying to assure her as they stopped, "Look, we're vampires; we're a toxic species. Whether you want to blame it on magic or Biology, it's just who we are. When a human gets ravenously hungry, they eat a double cheeseburger." She averts her gaze to the former ripper, "We kill people. And some of us are more extreme than others, but that's just who we are."
"How come you are so much better at controlling it?" Elena asked her.
"Because I'm so much worse when I don't. I'm only going to say this once because I hate repeating myself. You and Damon are miserable without each other. So if you want to be with him, just be with him. Look, when humans want to break free from complicated relationships, they go to therapy. Vampires get a pass. Okay?" Rosie explained and Elena nods.
"Okay...said the hybrid who broke up with him." Elena mentioned.
"I accepted that he's not the one for me, because I've found the right one." Rosie avoids eye contact with the man he's referring to as she leads the way.
Stefan doesn't fail to blush at his ex-lover's choice of sweet words before he and Elena resume walking along the road side by side after Rosie.
****
Restaurant
The Parker twins, Liv and Luke, meet up at a rundown restaurant to discuss their next move, both overly concerned about Rosie's condition and what their coven needs them to do as their responsibility against the travelers.
"I ordered us waffles. I figured our last meal wouldn't be complete until we poured liquid sugar all over our food." The elder one told him.
The younger one fakes a smile for her, "Hmm...my ray of sunshine sister."
Liv tries to get his attention by lowering his menu, "The coven's pissed, Luke. You were supposed to hide Rosie, Stefan and Elena from the travelers and you practically delivered them on a silver platter. Good job."
"O-oka-y. How was I supposed to know that 'Casper the English Ghost' would be a complication? I mean, he's that bump on the road." He argued.
"That's not the point. We were never supposed to let things get this far. We got sucked into some stupid, 'let's be friends', trap. Minus Minerva, that is." Who's been behaving strangely, from what she's observed these few days.
"Hmm. Speaking of Minerva, tell me I'm not the only one who noticed how strange she's been acting these days. You don't think that..." Luke trailed off.
"...that she's harboring a passenger? We'll deal with that later. For now--"
"These people are nice. Okay, you know that when we met Minerva, more than I can say for our screwed up family." The more liberal twin told her.
The steel utensils sitting in front of Luke begin to shake violently and he also gets a sudden headache, a pain infliction spell, making him cry out.
"What are you doing?"
"It's not me. Like I said, the coven is pissed." For being irresponsible.
"Fine! I'll listen."
Finally, the headache lifts and the silver-wear stops moving.
"We were supposed to keep the doppelgängers from falling into Markos' hands...We failed. We can't let them succeed in taking away our magic. There's only one move left: we have to kill Stefan and Elena." Liv declared.
"And what about Rosie, huh? What's your move?" Her brother asked.
The elder blonde one gives him a serious look, "Not a scratch on her."
Luke looks around to make sure no one is listening in, "Yeah..."
****
Road
"I think I just hallucinated a unicorn. That's just great." Elena said.
"Maybe Caroline's nearby?" Stefan joked, "Or it's 'cause Rosie's here."
Rosie rolls her big doe hazel eyes playfully at the mention, "Hilarious."
"Ha. If Caroline was here, we'd have a fully catered buffet on the side of the road, and a rainbow." The Gilbert girl spoke, "You know how that goes."
"Two rainbows." Her ex added with a peace sign that the girls chuckle.
"That's funny." The chestnut brunette mentioned, a toothy grin shown on her face, "You know, when we were younger, I couldn't decide what was more annoying: the control-freakiness, or her delusional positivity. Right now, honestly, there isn't a single person I wish was here more." Really.
"Ditto." The caramel brunette uttered.
"Control-freakiness never really bugged me." Stefan admitted.
"Yeah, but you didn't have to build a barbie castle with her in second grade."
"That's true. But I do know this; if Caroline Forbes was here right now, we would all be laughing." The girls' ex-boyfriend declared confidently.
"We are so pathetic." Elena remarked as she averts her gaze between them.
"You know what? Let's put on our best Caroline Forbes hat, shall we?" Rosie stops walking and holds out both of her arms in the air, "Alright universe! Enough screwing around! We're ready for the good stuff! Theme dance, or block party maybe?" She may not be the best at imitating the cute blonde.
Stefan, who's watching them both playing around, sees a car approaching them from behind Rosie and Elena, "You've got to be kidding me."
"What?" Rosie asked that she and Elena turn around and see the car.
"Oh my God. That is so weird." The youngest one mentioned.
"I know, right?" The eldest one replied with furrowed thick eyebrows.
Elena raises her thumb to hitchhike, but Rosie, who has a mischievous idea, makes her put her hand down. She turns around, adjusts her tank top to show more cleavage in front of them both, flips her wavy caramel hair, before she turns back around, throwing her jacket over her shoulder. Then she sticks her left thumb up in a sexy manner. The car pulls up, as if on cue.
"Ooh." Elena cooed; she and Stefan share an impressed look before Rosie leads them to the car in which they see an extremely familiar traveler woman, Agnes, in the driver's seat, alone in the black four-seated car.
"Huh. Not what I was expecting." Rosie mentioned, a little disappointed.
"Alright. Let's cut to the chase." Stefan catches the driver, Agnes' gaze, and tries to compel her, as if not recognising her, "You're giving us a ride."
"You're officially an ignorant idiot." Agnes defensively snapped at him.
"Excuse me?" The eldest vampire amongst the trio scoffs.
"Who do you think freed you three last night?" Agnes retorted in a strict manner, which leaves the three doppelgängers looking truly puzzled.
Rosie slowly nods her head in an awkward, embarrassed manner, "Oh."
Agnes rolls her clear hazel eyes in burning annoyance, "You're welcome. What are you three waiting for? Get in. They're coming for you." Travelers.
****
Salvatore Boarding House
Damon picks up sharp pieces of broken glass on the floor of the parlor room, trying not to overthink about April, Bonnie, and Enzo at the moment since he is putting his true faith about the resurrection on Olivia Parker.
"Ahh! Great. I'm going to add 'carrying' to the list of things you can't do well, but that's okay. You can repay me with your salary from the Grill...if you want to work a couple thousand years." The smug vampire mocked him.
"Why don't you do us all a favor and start dating Elena again?" Matt suggested casually, remaining unfazed about the mention about their ex.
"Just put her on the pool table." The blue-eyed vampire asked and the loyal bus boy lays one of the female travelers' bodies on the table in obedience.
Isaac and Caroline walk back in through the open main front door.
The former spoke, "What the hell is going on? Who are all these people?"
"Traveler husks. They've passengered themselves into the beautiful citizens of Mystic Falls, like your buddy Mister Sikes." Being the head of corporate accounts, Damon turns back to Matt and Jeremy, "You two make yourselves useful. Patrol the town; call me if you see anything weirder than usual."
"And what are you planning on doing with all of them?" Isaac asked.
"Well, Markos put them in a cave. I'm hoping he wants them back, duh."
"That's smart." The twenty-one-year-old vampire sarcastically replied.
"You think drawing Markos to your house is the best idea?" Caroline asked.
"It's the only idea! Unless your body snatched ex-boyfriend in the basement can help us. Which he's too stubborn to do so." The eldest one snapped.
"Oh yeah. Well that's Tyler for you. You just can't shake him." Isaac joked.
"Julian is not Tyler. Therefore, he has no reason to help us. So until we figure out a way to get Tyler back, he's just extra baggage." She declared.
"Isn't he always?" Her sarcastic partner in crime remarked.
Caroline gives him an angry look, "Are you on my side or what?"
"You're the one who's been dragging me around, honey." Isaac teased.
"There's no shame in giving up. I mean, your partner in crime here is right, Blondie. Aren't we all a little sick of Tyler?" Damon sided with the junior.
"You know what? Your whole 'too cool to care' thing is really starting to get old. Don't think for one second that I believe your mood has nothing to do with Elena." The Forbes girl told the older vampire with her arms folded.
"Spare me the unsolicited relationship advice."
"Fine! Just keep your torture happy hands away from Tyler until Isaac and I figure something out. I don't abandon the people I care about." She spoke.
****
Agnes' Mazda 3, Road
After being picked up by the leader of the travelers, who freed them at their camp, the four are heading their way back to Mystic Falls in Agnes' silver Mazda 3, both Rosie and Stefan seated in the back while Elena is next to the driver in front. The traveler has already told the trio about another specific traveler — Maria — heading to the small town on her own in her own individual car from the camp to be with her traveler husband — Julian — who remains inhabiting Tyler Lockwood against the hybrid's own will.
"It was too risky to haul you out of there, so we had to circle back." The powerful fifteen-hundred-year-old traveler witch reported to the trio.
"Won't they kill you for helping us out?" Stefan asked the young woman.
"Markos wouldn't kill me even if he tried." Agnes, being the mentioned man's wife, scoffed, knowing how in love the young man is with her alone.
"Yeah, because you're his wife." Elena recalled the known fact, "Who he conceived a daughter with. Speaking of which, where is she anyway?"
"Melissa's already waiting for me in Mystic Falls. We have another of our own trusted traveler ally to cloak our house for you to stay in for the time being. I'm taking you three to her." For safety, Agnes informed them all.
"Your husband will kill that traveler woman Maria for sure." Rosie predicted.
"Yes, he will, which is why we need to make sure they don't get to us before she gets to her husband. I assume you know where he is?" Agnes asked.
"Well, seeing as how he's permanently passengered into one of our best friends, yeah. Markos said that you are his family..." Elena trailed off.
"Mhm. But why are you helping us? Isn't this like, crossing him?" Rosie said.
"I'd prefer to leave that question unanswered." The eldest woman spoke, knowing well enough that her daughter has possessed the body of another banshee and is actually planning to passenger herself in the body of Cassie.
A tired sigh leaves the sarcastic Rosie, "All the more reason to trust you." Their own savior, who they have no idea on what her intentions really are.
"Like I said, I only want Maria's husband back and I'm helping. My husband is focused on breaking the curse, so that the travelers can settle permanently in your hometown. We will have a head start if we can get to Julian before Markos starts the spell." Agnes explained in a calm tone.
"We're not just going to let you take Tyler." Rosie shakes her head.
"Tyler is gone. There's only Julian now and he belongs with Maria. Once the spell starts, magic will be stripped away layer-by-layer. Tyler's body will turn from hybrid, back to werewolf, then finally he'll just be dead. And her husband along with him. So leaving him behind is not an option." Agnes announced in a loyal manner that the duo in the back seat share a look.
****
Whitmore College, Bonnie, Caroline and Elena's Dormitory Room
Bonnie shuffles her belongings into a big cardboard box, April and Luka watching her does so, while Caroline talks, "So Julian is trapped inside Tyler forever, or until he dies. So, I was thinking...what if he does die? You know, maybe that's how we do it! That's how we get him out! Maybe. Hopefully."
"Bonnie..." Luka Martin gently mentioned to get his sister's attention.
April gives the blonde an 'Are you serious?' look, "You want to kill Tyler?"
"He'll go to the other side and then, when Liv does the spell to help Bonnie and Enzo, Tyler can come back too." The positive freshman pointed out.
Bonnie doesn't say anything as she just continues to pack the room up.
"And speaking of, shouldn't you two be, like, preparing, or talking to Liv? Or doing anything other than packing up our dorm room?" Caroline asked.
"Bonnie." Luka called out once again, more assertive and stern this time in his tone, to get her serious attention while the two other girls watch on.
"We have to be out of here right after finals, which I might skip, due to the potential extinction of magic in the place where I was spending my summer break." The supernatural anchor spoke up as a reminder to the trio.
With initial hesitation as she glances between them, April managed to ask her, "You mean, you-- as the anchor, will be destroyed along with it?"
"No, we'll find a way to prevent you from dying." Luka declared protectively for his own sister, "Every spell has a loophole. We just have to figure it out."
"There is nothing to figure out." She's dead, Bonnie denied him assertively.
"But I think the other side falling apart is slightly more pressing than late housing fees. Don't you think so, Luka?" The blonde vampire compared.
Bonnie grows more frustrated that she aggressively tosses one of the boxes, which piques her blonde best friend's suspicion, "There is no spell...I made it up. The other side is collapsing and everyone in it, including me, is going away for good." Caroline is strangely speechless, "So no. I don't think you should kill Tyler." Bonnie storms out, though the unseen Enzo has been listening to the conversation the whole time from a corner in the room.
Luka, who watches his sister go in frustration, lets out a genuinely tired sigh and trails after her out the wide open door of the dorm room, leaving April and Caroline alone to contemplate what was said, along with Enzo himself.
****
Mystic Falls Town Square
The travelers are chanting in unison, beginning the magic purification spell all across Mystic Falls, while disguising as townsfolks that they are pulling out vials of blood, busting them open in their hands. As the events transpire, Elena, Rosie, Stefan, and Agnes drive through the town square, the three doppelgängers genuinely horrified at the sight of the passengered people.
"Home sweet home." The powerful traveler witch declared.
Rosie quickly notices as Elena remains visibly starved from the blood loss, and sees the veins in Agnes' neck throb, that she spoke, "I don't mean to be rude, but would you mind if I drained your carotid a few ounces? Sorry."
"Nice, Elena." Rosie sarcastically mentioned as she looks away from them.
"I'm untouchable, thank you very much." Agnes demanded defensively, "We're two blocks from home. Would you mind holding out, considering I saved your lives?" Elena looks away from the offended driver in shame, "Keep a low profile. This is exactly where Markos doesn't want you to be. If a traveler spots you, you're going right back to that camp." Drained of blood.
Suddenly, Liv is standing in the middle of the road, with her hand held out.
"Look out!" Elena shouted in alarm that the driver gasps and stomps down on the brake in pure shock, to which the car comes to a screeching halt.
Rosie furrows her thick dark eyebrows, "What the hell is she doing?"
"Trying to kill us...just a wild guess." Elena considered aloud.
The blonde, dedicated young witch hints at Rosie to get out of the car, which the caramel brunette awkwardly does in confusion, slowly approaching her who has a grave look on her face before Agnes flips the car in reverse and hits the pedal. The car lunges backward a few feet, but Luke Parker stands behind the car, with his right hand outstretched as well.
"Liv, what are you doing?" Rosie asked anxiously in pure horror.
"Get out of the car!" Her vampire ex-boyfriend warned the other two.
Agnes quickly takes off her seat belt and tries to get out of the car, but the doors won't budge and the anxious Elena demands her to unlock them.
"I did!" The older woman snapped back, overwhelmed with pressure.
"Liv, stop it!" The caramel brunette shouted protectively.
"I can't, sorry."
Suddenly, the pedal pushes itself down and the vehicle moves forward; Agnes tries hitting the brakes, but nothing happens. The car continues moving forward, until it almost hits Liv. Instead of striking her, the front end of the car completely smashes in on itself, just as it would in a car crash which makes Rosie gasp loudly and covers her mouth in shock and horror.
After the 'accident', Elena and Stefan are both discombobulated, but fine. Agnes, on the other hand, is in much worse shape which horrifies the three survivors. The woman is unconscious and blood streams from the traveler witch's head that a sympathetic Elena tries to wake her up by shaking her.
"Oh my God." Rosie gasped and shakes her head at the horrible sight.
Stefan has made his way out of the vehicle, in which he is cornered by Liv and Luke, the latter who flings him against the car; Elena hears the commotion and gets out. With Stefan down, the older twin starts in on Elena, telekinetically breaking her left leg that the blonde spoke.
"I'm sorry. I really am. We need to make the doppelgänger blood useless. One of you needs to die." Besides the special Kavanagh doppelgängers.
"Liv, please don't. Don't hurt them." Rosie pleaded desperately.
With one of her legs broken, Elena kneels on the ground, holding her body weight up with one of her arms. She is sent flying into the concrete when Liv breaks her arm in half while the twins ignore the pathetic pleads from Rosie.
"It doesn't matter which one, really." Luke added on.
The equally cornered Stefan tries to pull himself off the car, but Luke pushes him right back into it telekinetically, "Do it, Liv, come on!" Kill one of them.
"No! Please--"
Liv ignores Rosie, "No hard feelings...just following our coven's orders."
All of a sudden, Stefan manages to break free and Luke is unable to pin him back down. His magic seems to have stopped working due to the magic purification spell performed by the passengers nearby around the park.
"Liv! Liv! What's happening?!"
"Oh my God." Rosie gasped in realization, "It's starting."
"I don't know!" The older twin shouted back to her brother.
"Elena, come on!" Rosie shouted for the doppelgänger to hurry.
The youngest doppelgänger gets up on her feet and twists Liv's arm in retaliation of her own defense, "What? Did your magic sputter out?"
"Hurry up!" The pressured Rosie called out impatiently.
"Luke, it's started. The spell's started." Liv stated, in which dozens of travelers have gathered around the park and are chanting in unison.
"We trusted you!" Elena asserted to the blonde twins in betrayal.
"It doesn't matter. You're going to be dead any second." Liv warned her.
Suddenly, the doppelgänger trio's daylight rings stop working that their skin starts to burn; Stefan called out to Elena and Rosie, who do the same.
"Our rings aren't working!" The caramel brunette stated in alarm.
"Get inside! Run! Now." Luke ordered, that the three vamp-speed away, watching them from afar as they quickly run into the Mystic Grill restaurant.
Matt Donovan runs into them as he works, "Elena! Hey! What happened?"
"Our rings aren't working." His vampire ex-girlfriend answered in alarm.
"What?!"
"We need to stay clear of the sun. The whole town square is filled with travelers. We've got to get out of here. Now." Rosie informed him in a panic.
"The tunnels! They're in the stockroom. Come on. Let's go." Matt implied.
As the gathering travelers are around the town square, chanting, many of them have blood dripping from their nostrils, ears or mouth inexplicably.
****
Underground Tunnels
Elena, Rosie, Stefan, and Matt are escaping through the tunnels. As they run, the nineteen-year-old vampire suddenly starts choking on water, reminding her of the day she became a vampire, when Matt's truck fell into the river under Wickery Bridge by accident the previous year ago, which makes the shocked Rosie to call out to her anxiously in pure horror.
Stefan suddenly cowers in agony; he touches his abdomen and his hands become covered in his own blood, reminding him of the night he became a vampire, when he was shot in the gut by his own father and left for dead. Rosie is about to retort when her breath hitches as she feels instant pain on her neck by her sensitive throat, reminding her of the tragic day when her throat was mercilessly torn out by Katherine and she coughs out blood.
A light gasp of shock escapes Matt by their condition, "Oh my God." He quickly holds onto his poor ex-girlfriend protectively, "What's going on?"
"The spell unravels the witch magic. It's spreading and without the magic, we're all as good as dead when we were human." Stefan struggled to say.
"Alright. Come on, let's keep running. Maybe we'll stay ahead of it." Matt said and grabs his ex tighter to run while Rosie and Stefan help each other.
Rosie continues to cough out blood, getting more weak, "W-Wait."
"No, we are not stopping until we get you three out of these tunnels."
"W-W-What about Da-Damon?" Rosie ignores the heroic human.
"He'll take a shortcut through the woods. Once he reaches a clearing to the road, Jeremy will pull up." Matt assured them, quickening his pace.
****
Whitmore College Parking Lot
Matt pulls out some fresh blood bags that are stored in the trunk of his car and the starving Elena sighs loudly in relief, "Thank God. You're a life saver."
"These are all of the blood-bags I can get my hands on." Her ex-lover said.
Rosie nods a little, grateful for this, "That should be enough. Thank you."
"Thanks. Between the four of us, that'll last a day." Elena added on.
"Then what?" Her loyal ex-boyfriend asked with the intention to aid them.
"That's a tomorrow problem. Right now, we've just got to outrun the spell, regroup in about a thousand miles and figure out a game-plan." Stefan said.
Rosie releases a shaky sigh, nervous about the idea, "Okay."
Another black SUV pulls up, this time carrying Damon and Jeremy.
"Are you okay?" Elena asked her own brother in deep concern.
Damon looks bewildered that after a second, Elena comes over and kisses him passionately and both Stefan and Rosie look away from the duo.
"What was that for?" The icy blue-eyed vampire asked.
"I had a really crappy day and I needed it. I thought I was never going to see you again and I couldn't think of a worse way to die." Elena expressed.
"Well I guess today is your lucky day." Her vampire ex-boyfriend uttered.
Rosie spoke up as an urgent reminder for them, "So, outrun the spell?"
"Jeremy, head back with Matt. We need eyes and ears in Mystic Falls." Stefan turns to Damon and Elena, "You guys take Jeremy's car. Rosie and I are going to wait here for Minerva, Caroline, Isaac and Bonnie." Luka, April.
"I'll call you in a few hours, Jer." Elena called out.
"Be careful." The seventeen-year-old hunter advised them.
Later, Caroline, Isaac, Rosie, and Stefan remain waiting on Bonnie and Luka near a parked black mini-van, being as patient as they possibly can.
"Ugh, where are they? They were right behind me!" The blonde said.
"Notice that the key word is were." Her childhood best friend highlighted.
Caroline rolls her turquoise eyes in annoyance, "Shut up, Isaac."
"Luka said he's got an idea on how to get people back from the other side, Caroline, it's not exactly a simple algebraic equation they have to solve under a minute." Isaac defended most especially the younger witch twin.
"Yeah, good things come to those who wait, I get it." The Forbes girl said.
"I'm going to find out what's taking so long." With the twins, Stefan is about to go when Rosie quickly holds him back because Melissa, in her original body, suddenly shows up-- as if she just walked out of the dormitory building and walks up to them with Cassie trailing after her close behind.
A genuinely relieved sigh leaves Cassandra, "Thank God. Are you alright?"
"Uh, yeah, we are." Stefan, along with the rest-- besides Cassie, seems utterly puzzled with his thick eyebrows furrowed of her selected company.
"Um...Cassie..." Rosie trailed off, awkward and hesitant to ask her on this.
"Why the hell are you with someone who's clearly not your daughter? Unless you can't tell the difference, Cass." Isaac snapped with a reminder, which earns him a relatable look from both Rosie and Stefan at that.
"That's what I'm trying to tell you. The last thing I remembered when I woke up on someone else's couch, was when somebody knocked me out. I wouldn't be here if it wasn't for Liv and Luke; they did some sort of reversal spell on Melissa and Minerva, after she was kidnapped and possessed in the first place, and she was planning to set my body up for her own mother." Agnes, Cassandra explained to them with a desperate tone of her voice.
"Until there was a bump in the road, thanks to Liv and Luke." Literally, it was them-- more specifically, Liv, who murdered Agnes, Rosie recalled calmly.
Isaac slowly walks up to his own aunt, "So where is Minerva now?"
"I'm right here, Isaac." Melissa spoke up, which truly surprise and puzzle them all-- besides Cassie alone, "Yeah, you can thank Liv and Luke for this. They retaliated by casting a powerful spell to transfer my soul in the body of the one who was possessing me, and they broke her neck. Well, my neck of my own body, if that makes sense. So now, Melissa's gone, the travelers lost their leverage to our advantage, and I have two bodies that I can jump into whenever I want, at my own limit, with this pendant they gave me."
Minerva, who's actually in Melissa's body, takes out a brand new, extremely unfamiliar necklace with a ruby diamond pendant from her jacket pocket.
Rosie shakes her head a little, remaining truly puzzled by this, "Why?"
"Let me guess. Your reputation precedes you as a Kavanagh doppelgänger, and you need to be protected. This way, with a different face, you're in the clear. No one's coming after you." Isaac considered aloud about his cousin.
Melissa/Minerva nods her head, smiling at them, "What do you think?"
"I think this is insane." Caroline spoke up, her clear turquoise eyes wide, "Minerva, you can't just take over someone else's body-- someone who's actually...a trusted person to our current enemy. Oh my God. You're right."
"Which gives us extra points, while Markos is still left with zero. Hmm. I can just kiss one of those twins for this plan." Isaac commented in amusement.
A cute giggle escapes Melissa/Minerva by their reaction, "Thank you."
Not for long afterward, Julian, in Tyler's body, speed-walks up to them, "Melissa. I'm looking for Maria. I heard she brought you back to Mystic Falls."
"Uh...yeah, she did, and so did my mother." Agnes, who she has no idea where she ended up now, Melissa/Minerva gulps nervously at this moment.
The caramel brunette shakes her head, "We haven't seen Maria, sorry."
"I did." The powerful banshee, with a guilty and torn expression, admitted the truth from what both she and her mother saw earlier in their town.
"Did they tell you where she was headed? 'Cause my wife can't stay there. The town's completely overrun." 'Melissa' looks down at her own feet, "What's the problem? Did she tell you where she was headed, or what?"
"Melissa, what happened out there?" Rosie asked in genuine concern, playing along to call her by the false name in front of their new audience.
"Listen, uh, you're not going to see Maria again." Melissa/Minerva begun guiltily, truly uncertain how to speak in her own vessel's mannerism.
"What are you talking about?" Tyler/Julian questioned desperately.
"She's dead...I'm sorry. Somebody broke her neck." Melissa/Minerva revealed reluctantly, definitely expecting an unpleasant reaction.
She tries to comfort him, but the man recoils angrily, "Don't touch me."
"It wasn't their fault." The young banshee defended the doppelgängers.
"It's true. We weren't the ones that killed her." Rosie piped in defensively.
"Well, someone's going to pay for it." Tyler/Julian pushes the banshee.
"You really do have a short temper, don't you?" Melissa/Minerva hissed.
"Hey! Hybrid or not, I said it wasn't us. Grieve somewhere else." Rosie protectively snapped at him, holding her banshee descendant safely close.
Stefan stands in front of the two women, "What she said. Get out of here."
"Look at me...my wife's dead. I'm in somebody else's body. I've got nowhere to go because my own people are trying to kill me!"
"You're not alone, Julian. Look at me. These people are all I've got now that my mother is dead. My father is a stubborn lunatic and he's influenced the rest of our people. We can't let him get to us now that we have each other. Listen, we're going to find a way to stop this spell and even if Mystic Falls is gone, we're going to find a way to save ourselves, alright?" 'Melissa' spoke.
Isaac sneaks behind him and attempts to snap his neck, but he catches him in the act. Stefan lunges toward him that Rosie shouted at him to stop, too late when he tries to pin him to the van when Julian has the upper hand.
Tyler/Julian aggressively reaches into Stefan's chest cavity and pulls out his heart; Melissa/Minerva instantly lets out an instinctual piercing scream as a death announcement, which causes them all at a close distance to cover their own ears in excruciating agony while Stefan's skin starts to desiccate, before he falls to the pavement; dead right before their horrified eyes.
Rosie cries once she stops as Caroline gasps while Julian only runs off.
"No, no, no, no, no. This can't be happening." The Kartwright girl sobbed.
"Oh my God! Oh my God." A hysterical Caroline gasped in pure shock and horror as Isaac holds her close to him in a comforting, warm manner.
Rosie, in a horrified panic, rushes over to her ex-lover and holds Stefan's lifeless body in her arms, repeating 'no' as she starts to weep on the ground.
Melissa/Minerva gasps as she watches her in genuine sympathy, her clear hazel eyes forming with hot tears, blurrying her vision, "I'm so sorry."
****
Whitmore College Dormitory
"What the hell happened? Agnes was the only one who was willing to help us who knew the spell." Bonnie reminded the underrated ghost, puzzled.
Enzo has witnessed the mentioned traveler witch being swept away into oblivion on the other side earlier, "The great beyond happened. And it's going to keep happening, so we need to find a way out of here and fast."
Luka looks behind him and sees Stefan, as a ghost, standing there, who he mentioned in deep sadness; Enzo also turns around, though sees nothing.
"What?" Enzo notices that both twins can see something he can't.
Bonnie looks behind the ghost as well when Stefan called out her name.
The witch shakes his head in denial, "No. No, this can't be happening."
"Please tell me that you've figured out a way to bring us all back. Please." Her dead ex-boyfriend pleaded with them desperately, "I have to get back."
Luka looks up at him with genuine sympathy, "I'm so sorry, Stefan."
"We lost it...I'm sorry." Bonnie expressed before both of her shoulders are hold on to and he passes through to the other side; she cries out in agony.