twenty-two. home
Whitmore College, Commons Area
Stefan's lifeless body is lying on a three-seated couch. The whole room is deafeningly silent, except for Rosie's pathetic soft cries while Caroline has dry tears evident on her lovely face. The duo are waiting for Elena and Damon's arrival. Honestly, unlike Rosie, Caroline didn't expect that would happen; how Tyler/Julian just easily pinned Stefan to the parked mini-van and ripped his heart out of his chest without hesitation, but vengeful anger. However, Rosie already sensed something like that would happen, though she remained uncertain earlier on whether her senses will come true or not.
Seeing her ex-lover's desiccated form like this, Rosie can only pray silently that Bonnie and Luka have figured out a way to bring people back from the other side, including Enzo (just to make him happy and leave them alone), and especially Stefan himself. Otherwise, who is Rosie Kartwright without Stefan Salvatore? Caroline sighs tiredly when she sees her friend remaining to cry and she grabs a box of tissue nearby before she uses two dry tissues to wipe Rosie's running tears for her. Though that's when Elena rushes in, trailed after by Damon and April. The chestnut brunette finds her ex-boyfriend's cold body and sits on the coffee table in front of the form.
"Oh my God. Stefan!" What has happened? How did it come to this?
A gasp of pure shock escapes April Young at the sight of him, "Oh no."
"We didn't know where to bring him, and we just couldn't leave him outside." The blonde told them. And Rosie can't seem to go on anymore.
April shakes her head a little, "What happened outside, exactly?" From the way they look at it themselves, there seems to be a bloody-now-dry hole in the middle of his chest, in which his significant heart is supposed to be.
Who would have the nerve to rip Stefan's heart out? Apart from Rosie...
The caramel brunette shakes her head, "This can't be happening."
Damon looks at his own brother's lifeless body, disconcerted, in horror and disbelief, bubbling with his own fury, "Somebody ripped his heart out."
"Bonnie has a plan, right? She-she said that she could bring people back." Rosie said; neither of them responds, "Tell me that she can bring him back!" Otherwise, how is she going to live on in this wretched life without him?
April slowly nods in an awkward manner, "Luka has a plan. Don't worry."
"We'll bring him back." I hope. Damon nods a little for reassurance, "Come on. Let's get away from prying eyes." He starts getting Stefan's cold body from the sofa with Caroline and Elena's aid while Rosie continues to cry.
Without Rosie or anyone's awareness, Stefan's ghost is actually present around the room, in which he is watching them from the other side. He has been observing between his own lifeless body and the love of his life, who he feels nothing more than to touch her and even hold her, hug her and comfort her that he will come back. I will come back for you. But it felt like not so much as a good idea as anyone thought it would be. Probably because the worst thing that can happen on the other side can occur at the most unexpected times, and Stefan's not sure he'll be able to survive that.
Still on the other side, there is suddenly a rumble and trembling. No. This can't be it. Stefan tries to prop himself leaning on a column. It doesn't work, as he is being dragged through the hall in direction of a window, where he will be sucked into oblivion. He's lifted up in the air and he tries to hold himself at a wall corner. Right when he's about to not hold it anymore, a young woman-- a ghost reaches out and grabs him by the wrist, "I got you!"
She's able to pull Stefan out of the unknown danger which awaits any supernatural soul, and he looks surprised to see that the woman is his blonde best friend, Lexi, "Looks like I've now saved you from both metaphorical darkness and actual darkness. I think you owe me a beer."
Alexia Branson. Always the true hero for Stefan Salvatore.
****
Whitmore College, Bonnie, Caroline and Elena's Dormitory Room
An upset, amidst-grieving Damon kicks a wooden chair and breaks it.
"Damon, stop." Luka Martin advised desperately to get him to calm down while defending his frightened, hopeless sister closely next to him now.
He has a long metal rod that he uses to break a flower vase on the mantle above the unlit fireplace. He turns around and points at Bonnie, with her own brother beside her, with the metal rod, "You said you both had a plan."
"Uh, yeah, we had a traveler who knew the right spell." Luka snapped in defense, "Until she hit a bump in the road, thanks to the doppelgängers."
"This isn't their fault!" The vampire pointed out furiously in his own defense, along with his brother's; how could it be the trio's fault?
"We didn't lose her. She was sucked into oblivion like everyone else on the other side. Unless you want to be next, I suggest you put the rod down." Now, Luka strictly demanded at him with attitude out of his annoyance.
A scoff of disbelief escapes Damon, "Then find another one!" ASAP.
"It's more than just knowing the spell. Markos was able to come back because dozens of travelers were willing to sacrifice themselves in order to overwhelm me. I doubt they'll be willing to do that for a bunch of supernatural strangers. Don't you think?" Bonnie reminded him, annoyed.
Damon is still pointing at her with the rod, "You know who needs motivation?" He gets dangerously close to her with the rod pointing at her neck, "You need motivation because if the other side goes away, everyone we know there, including you, goes away with it." And he can't have that.
A scoff of disbelief escapes Luka also, "Tell us something we don't know."
Bonnie slowly shakes her head in denial, "Do you think I want to die?"
"My brother is over there." The poor vampire pointed out desperately.
"I know that!" The vulnerable Bennett girl retorted in return, "We know."
Damon lowers the rod and he throws it across the spacious room in frustration, "So is Alaric, and so is your grams." Their loved ones...
"And Jesse, and Lexi, Mason Lockwood, and so is Ben." Luka resumed on.
"We know that, Damon." Bonnie slowly nods with her arms folded.
Enzo, who remains present around the anchor and the witch, clears his throat, "Let's not forget who else is at the top of the search and rescue list."
The Martin witch sighs in a tired manner, "Your best friend's here. Say hi."
Damon quickly turns around in the direction where Enzo is, though he cannot see him, "Well, if it's not Mister Butterfingers himself. How'd it feel to have your only hope of coming back literally slip through your fingers?"
"Hello to you too, grumpy pants. Tell him to play nice. I have a plan."
"Are you serious? You found another traveler?" The freshman asked.
"Well, then get on it!" Damon told the invisible ghost impatiently.
"I'm already on it, mate. You still need someone to do this coming back from the dead spell. I assume you still have a witch or two in your pocket."
"More or less."
****
Road
Caroline, Elena and Rosie are prudently watching, out of sight, as a speeding black car is driven by Luke with Liv by his side, trying to run away as fast and far away as they can from Mystic Falls. The trio of girls are clearly pissed off that Liv and Luke murdered Agnes in that 'car crash' amidst trying to kill Stefan or Elena. If they wouldn't have done so, Tyler/Julian wouldn't have ripped Stefan's heart out, and Rosie wouldn't have been very upset.
"They think we're not following them because Markos stripped the town of spirit magic. They think we died." The Forbes girl scoffs, "Okay, go."
On cue, Caroline and Elena vamp-speed to their places; the latter stands in the middle of the road that Luke slams on the brake in shock and the tires squeal as the car comes to a full stop, just inches from hitting Elena, who looks unamused, calmly controlling her anger over the duo. Otherwise, the two would've been dead already with their neck broken, or worse, but they require a witch or two to do the spell to get people on the other side back.
Elena stares at them wearing a smirk while Caroline stands behind the car. Liv catches sight of Rosie, who walks up to the vehicle that suddenly feeling guilty of doing this to the twins, Liv takes off her seat belt with no arguments and gets out of the car and walks toward Elena. Caroline walks toward the front of the car along with Rosie, who clearly doesn't want anything to do with either of the blonde twins, but she forces her to do so.
"A little tip. If you're going to flee the scene of the crime, take back roads." Elena spoke the obvious, "I mean, duh. Who doesn't know that?"
"Do you guys really want to do this again?" Rosie begun with attitude.
"She means the part where you try to kill a doppelgänger. There's no point. Stefan's already dead." Elena informed the blonde twins, "Good for you."
Liv looks at Elena and then at Rosie. She sighs and walks up to the older girl, who she expressed at, "I know you don't believe me, but I am sorry."
"Good because you're going to help bring him back." Rosie simply replied.
"Look. I get what you need from us, but if all doppelgängers are alive again, the travelers can restart their spell. Witch magic goes bye-bye, and all you vamps, you're goners." Liv turns back to Caroline and Elena, "I'm serious."
"They're not going to have a chance to start again because in order to bring Stefan back, we're going to have to kill them, a lot of them, including Markos." Rosie announced clearly in determination, "It's that simple."
"We can't help you. Rosie, we're sorry. Even if we wanted to, our coven would kill us." The younger Parker twin implied as an ultimatum.
"I'm sorry, but do you remember the time when Stefan saved your life?" Rosie recalled in a forcing manner, "Hmm. Time to return the favor."
"I know he did, but--"
"We can't risk it." Liv quickly interrupted him, defending themselves.
Rosie sighs, expecting their next plan to go smoothly, which it does; Caroline vamp-speeds over to break Luke's neck, his body falling on the street. It was Rosie's desperate plan all along that if either of the twins declined, one of them has to die because Luke and Liv are very protective of one another. She knows it's harsh, but Rosie thinks it's time to not let emotions get in the way when she wants something, and that's bringing Stefan, the love of her life, back to the land of the living from over there.
"No!" Liv quickly rushes up to him.
"Your brother's officially on the other side. Think you can risk it now?" Caroline snapped in defense of her and her own best friends.
"Liv, we're sorry." Rosie echoed Luke's short apology earlier.
****
Mystic Falls City Limit
Two men prop up the Mystic Falls' city sign, which reads 'Welcome to Mystic Falls, Virginia. Population 6,930.' There are travelers disguised as other people on the street, walking into Mystic Falls at the same time as a Sheriff's car rides in the opposite direction to investigate the scene. Markos stands on the road, hands behind his back, smiling that his plan is going smoothly as expected. He turns around and faces the Sheriff, "It is a good day, Sheriff."
"Maybe for you. It took me all night to evacuate the ten-mile civilian radius around the Town Square." The middle-aged blonde woman pointed out.
Without the leader of the travelers' awareness, Isaac is in the passenger seat of the Sheriff's parked car while 'Melissa' is in the back seat, watching them.
"Gas leak. Very clever. We appreciate your cooperation." Markos spoke.
"It will keep our residents away for now but certainly not forever."
"I'm sure we can think of something if we put our heads together."
Sheriff Forbes quickly notices the two young men with shovels meddling with the city's big wooden sign, "Why did they move our sign?"
"Our desire was to end spirit magic everywhere. As you can see, we hit a snag. Nevertheless, this is our home now, and just to keep things simple, we've reset the official border of Mystic Falls to where the spell begins, right there. That should be simply clear for you." The European man explained.
"Of all the small towns to call home, you probably shouldn't have picked one full of vampires." The sheriff mentioned as an ultimatum for him.
"You think I'm afraid of vampires? Maybe you think your friend Isaac or your daughter can come save the day." Markos slowly starts walking with her, "Let me give you an example of why that would be unwise."
A young man opens the door to a black van on cue. Another man takes Julian, who remains disguised as Tyler, a young hybrid, out of the van harshly under strict orders of Markos. He has metal chains on his hands, caught moments after he murdered a doppelgänger out of vengeful anger for his wife's demise. The two passengered traveler men are holding Tyler/Julian in front of Markos and Sheriff Forbes, which horrify the both of them.
"Tyler!" The sheriff called out in pure horror as she watches the scene.
"Oh, that's not Tyler anymore. That's Julian, the traveler who betrayed his people when he killed the doppelgänger and stopped the spell. A big, scary werewolf-vampire hybrid, and yet a little vervain, a touch of wolfsbane, and here you are-weak and all mine." Markos retorted wickedly. Pathetic.
"You think you're some great leader because you pillage a helpless town? That makes you king now? Sorry, your highness, but I don't buy it." Julian mocked him, "And I never will. I'd rather end up dead. Just like your wife."
"That's because you haven't set foot inside my kingdom." Markos earns a truly puzzled look from Tyler/Julian and he slowly turns around, "The spell the travelers cast across Mystic Falls eliminates spirit magic, so while my people continue to have access to the Earth's purest magic..." He turns to face Julian again, "...your friend Tyler will be stripped of everything the witches did to him, first his hybrid side, then his vampirism, and with no vampirism to keep him alive, he'll just be a boy with a werewolf gene, who happened to break his neck. Which I have nothing to worry about, really."
"No, no! No!" The men holding him try to hold him tighter as Julian tries to break free from the strong metal chains, "Don't do this! No! No! Stop."
They force Julian to cross the city limit where he loses his vampirism, he blinks his eyes while he's in pain, showing his gold werewolf eyes and then they turn back to normal dark brown. Then, his sharp fangs come out and then disappear. Julian gasps in pain as his skin starts to burn. His head moves to his left in a quick motion, breaking his neck. He falls to the ground while a terrified Liz watches while both Isaac and 'Melissa' are horrified.
"Oh my God."
****
Whitmore College, Applied Microbiology Classroom
Jeremy, Matt and Melissa/Minerva are in the front of the classroom by the teacher's desk while Damon walks towards them, starting to discuss the plan regarding the resurrection of their loved ones and elimination of the travelers. Perhaps killing two birds with one stone, it should be known as?
A tired sigh leaves Melissa/Minerva, "Okay, how are we going to do this?"
"Class is in session. First assignment-Anti-magic perimeter. Gilbert, whataya got?" The blue-eyed vampire begun, "Be a good and useful one, please."
"I walked around Mystic Falls this morning to see where my hunter instincts disappeared." The seventeen-year-old high school senior begun.
"Meaning what, your biceps shrunk, and your brain got smaller?" Damon snapped which earns him an annoyed look from the banshee sophomore.
"He means, 'be more specific'." The Devon girl sugar-coated the mockery.
"Okay, meaning that I have a supernatural urge to kill vampires, so wherever I hated you less, there was no magic." Jeremy did as he's told by her.
They all look down at a laid out map of Mystic Falls, which has a big red circle drawn on it to determine the specific limits of the anti-magic area.
"Hmm. The cemetery's right outside of the no-magic perimeter, a couple of un-populated areas other than that." The brilliant sophomore stated.
"Hey, Mins, not everyone can see the map." Caroline spoke up on the other line of the phone call which is on speaker of Matt's cell phone on the table.
"Yeah, don't forget about us." Elena piped in as a reminder for their friends.
"Matt." Melissa/Minerva simply mentioned as his own cue.
"I'll send you a picture right now." Matt takes a picture of the whole map and sends it to his blonde ex-girlfriend's number; sent!
Caroline receives the picture to which she shows it to both Elena and Rosie, who are standing by her sides while they remain on the street. Liv is carrying Luke's lifeless body in the back seat of the parked car they were driving.
"We should be there." Rosie remarked with determination.
"Nope. You should not be." Damon replied protectively on the other end of the line, "You are on witch duty because without Crazy-locks, no one's rising from the dead. So next order of business: mass murder. Quarterback?"
Matt brings in another set of maps which Melissa/Minerva thanked him simply and begun, "Okay. We got these from the Sheriff. Apparently there was some truth to her evacuation story. There's a major gas line that runs underneath the town. Now if it did leak, it could be deadly, as in a massive explosion kind of deadly. Which in this case is perfect, for you." The killers.
"We can't blow up our hometown." The bus boy stated as a reminder.
"Says one of the only people left in this group who can actually live there." Damon uttered with a mischievous roll of his mesmerizing icy blue eyes.
"We're not blowing up our town. We just need to lure enough travelers to one spot." A trap, Melissa/Minerva surmised, smiling at her own easy plan.
"Yeah. Yeah, you're right." Elena sided with her as she nods her head.
"How? We can't lure anyone anywhere stuck out here." Caroline voiced.
"And that's where your mama comes in." Damon told the blonde freshman, "She will convince them to gather somewhere inside. Meanwhile, these two geniuses at seven will turn on the gas, let it leak. We'll have about ten minutes before anyone can smell it. You two clear out. Boom! Travelers gone, resurrection spell starts, loved ones return. Good? Any questions?"
"Class dismissed." Melissa/Minerva smiles triumphantly by this plan.
****
Mystic Falls Cemetery
Bonnie and Silas are both holed up in an old mausoleum, as he teaches her the specific spell to bring them back from the other side, "Az vezat esvet."
"Az vezat esvat." The nineteen-year-old freshman repeated after him.
"Esvet, not -vat. I feel like I'm teaching calculus to an infant." He scoffs.
"I'm sorry. I'm a little nervous about unleashing a plague onto humanity."
"Ooh! I've been upgraded to a plague? Oh. How biblical and fitting, seeing as I probably will kill a lot of people in an epic, all-inclusive way once I'm out of here." He earns an angry, all-knowing look from the young former witch before him in more of a cute manner, "Oh, speaking of, how is my shadow self? Is it a crime for someone so good-looking to be so sad all the time?"
"For you, probably. But what would you know about being so sad?" Luka Martin steps into the old mausoleum to defend his sister from the ghost, "Ironically, you were one of the main reasons why he ended up that way."
"Oh, goody. Wonder Twin is here. I wondered when you were going to show up to stand up for your long lost sister." Silas fakes a smile for them both.
"What about you? How's Alexandra?" Bonnie reluctantly mentioned her, the exact unpleasant woman who slit her own father's throat right in front of her and the entire town square, for that matter, during the late celebration.
"I couldn't find her when I made it to the other side. Something tells me that my obsessive ex-fiancée has something to do with it." The dead witch said.
"It was a trick question. She was already sucked into oblivion." She stated.
"Which serves her right, which sucks for you." Luka fakes a smile in return.
The former ancient immortal frowns in disappointment, "Well, that sucks."
"Just teach us the damn spell." Bonnie hissed at him out of resentment.
From the land of the living, Elena, Melissa/Minerva and Liv walk into the crypt to speak to Bonnie and Luka, all of them unaware of the ghost of Silas' presence but Melissa/Minerva-- as a banshee, who gasps in true surprise.
"What?" Elena quickly turns to her in concern and alarm.
"Stefan?" Melissa/Minerva mentioned hopefully as she stares at him.
"Hey." Silas replied anyway, which incurs an annoyed eye-roll from Luka.
"Stefan's here?" Elena asked hopefully as well as she looks at the twins.
"It's Silas. He's the traveler that's going to get us out of here." Bonnie said with a simple nod, "Thanks to Enzo, learning the spell as we speak."
"Thanks anyway." Melissa/Minerva told him with a small smile on her face.
"Well that's no way to talk to the perfect specimen of man." Silas voiced.
"Okay. Well, I'm going to go call Damon, and let him know that we're ready." Elena walks out of the old mausoleum as she pulls out her cell phone.
Later, Melissa/Minerva, Bonnie, Luka, Silas and Liv remain in the old mausoleum before Bonnie walks out the open door to speak to Enzo outside while Luka and Silas trail after her, leaving Liv and Minerva to light the dozen of candles inside, preparing to start the resurrection spell now.
"Olivia." Her sophomore roommate called out once they have finished.
"Yeah, all good?" The blonde witch turns to her with genuine gratitude.
Melissa/Minerva hums a little hesitantly, "Listen, I volunteered to...join the operation massacre, if that's what you considered good, assuming they know the difference between a water-main and a gas-main." She shrugs.
"What?" Liv asked in shock and disbelief as she looks at her wide-eyed.
"Elena volunteered first because Damon wanted to do it. I don't trust that she'd be able to do this, so if anything goes wrong, I can--"
"What, and you're just telling me this now?" The blonde snapped.
"Listen...I wanted to spare you the gory details, and then I figured, well, I'll be lying, and then the whole point of saving the universe would be moot because you'd be pissed. So here it is; blowing the place up needs someone to trigger the explosion, okay? So-to-speak." The young banshee explained.
"I know that, and I figured they already have the daredevil signed up for that, Minerva, but you? You're staying here, with me." Liv asserted strictly.
"No." Melissa/Minerva firmly said, "Liv, I want to bring Luke back, for you." She's going to rescue Luke, Ben, probably Mason Lockwood also, Tyler...
Liv shakes her head in denial, "You're going on a suicide mission."
"Technically, only half a suicide mission because we're going to be bringing people back from the other side and I'm going to be with them." She nods.
"Well, what if something goes wrong? Plus, your mom doesn't even know--"
"Alright. This is my choice, okay? I need you to respect it." Minerva asked.
The older girl looks away for a moment, "That was a low blow."
Melissa/Minerva nods, "I will make it back to you, Olivia. I got to go."
"You have to be quick once you pass through her, okay? That place is imploding and taking everyone with it." The young witch warned her.
"I will, Liv. Which means that I'm going to be fine. Luke will come back for us, and I'm going to find him and bring him back." Minerva embraces her friend into a warm hug with an advice, "You stay strong, Olivia. I love you."
Olivia returns the warm embrace as well, her eyes closed, "I love you."
Melissa/Minerva turns and speed-walks away without turning back, heading toward Damon in the distance who has been waiting for her in his parked Camaro. Once she gets close enough, the icy blue-eyed vampire gets out of the vehicle and opens the back door for her to find the unconscious form of her original body, which she planned to inhabit for this dangerous mission; the banshee gets in to sit next to the body, holding the head with one hand.
She takes a deep breath and lets out a shaky sigh of nervousness, "Okay, let's do this." She grabs the ruby pendant of the necklace she's always wearing since the possession for her own rescue, her hazel eyes closed as she chanted the spell under her breath, "Jaryakat a zem daryeet acza." With that, her own original body's eyes open to reveal jet-black-coloured eyes and Melissa/Minerva falls unconscious in her own seat, confirming the passenger spell for her to come back in her own original vessel for now.
****
Mystic Falls, Virginia
Right outside of the town's city limit, Damon and Minerva are waiting for the signal from Liz as they are sitting right on top of his parked Camaro. Damon drinks from a glass bottle of bourbon, sensing Minerva's fear of the plan, which he mentioned, "If you change your mind, you can always stay here."
"No. I want to do it." The nineteen-year-old banshee said stubbornly.
"Why? I can find your roommie myself." The smug vampire shrugs.
"Well maybe I want to prove everyone that I'm not a coward. And don't pretend that you're not doing this for your precious Rosie." She mentioned.
"And for my little brother, because they're my family." He admitted.
"Aww, you love them." The caramel brunette pointed out, smiling.
"Does your cousin know that you're doing this?" He mentioned in return.
Minerva sighs and goes to sit in the passenger seat of his parked car. Damon contemplates it before he too, trails after her to take his seat as the driver. Once they both have their seat belts on safely, Damon is about to drive-- step on the pedal when Elena suddenly gets in the back seat of the vehicle.
"What the hell are you doing?" The older vampire asked with a frown.
"The question is: what are you doing, Minerva?" Elena demanded.
"Liv told on me. Shocker." The young banshee said sarcastically.
"If you die, who am I supposed to bicker with, huh?"
"Save your fake concern. Get out of the car." Minerva defensively spat.
"She's right, Elena. Go." Damon encouraged his ex-girlfriend in concern.
"You said to respect your choice and I did. Now, I need you to respect mine." Elena said stubbornly, referring to her conversation with him earlier on.
"I respect that your choice is a bad one. How's that?" Her friend snapped.
"Oh, like yours is any better." Elena scoffs at her in disbelief.
"That's not how this works, Elena. The second we cross the border, you're going to feel everything. You're going to drown all over again. It's going to take you back to the night you died as a human." Damon warned her.
Elena nods her head, "I know what I signed up for, you guys, and I'm all in."
Minerva and Damon hesitate and the latter contemplates his next move.
"What are you staring at? Drive." Elena asked her ex in an obvious tone.
Grinning along with Minerva, he turns the key in the ignition and they drive off towards Mystic Falls in top speed. After crossing the border into town, Damon, Minerva and Elena speed toward the Grill as quick as possible.
"Hurry! You two have to die while you're still vampires, or--"
Elena suddenly starts choking on water, interrupting Minerva.
"No!" The horrified banshee notices the liquid.
Damon slams his foot down on the pedal and starts driving more quickly; he cries out in frustration when he isn't moving as quick as he'd like. Both Minerva and Elena look over at Damon, clearly terrified by the moment.
"Oh my God." Minerva gasped.
"I know." Damon takes their hands as they come up to the Grill.
They brace themselves for impact, before their car crashes through the glass window at the restaurant. Soon after, the whole building explodes in flames.
****
Mystic Falls Cemetery
Outside the same old mausoleum, Bonnie stands alone, waiting patiently to do her role as the supernatural gateway anchor to the purgatory. Suddenly, a dozen of travelers' ghosts surround her, as they make their way to the other side after their planned massacre in the local Mystic Grill restaurant.
"We meet again. We can do this all day, Bonnie. Your friends kill me and I come right back through you. I look forward to the déjàvu." Markos touches Bonnie and passes through her, as Liv continues the spell inside the crypt.
After the last traveler passes through her, Minerva's ghost quickly comes running up to her, "Bonnie! Oh, my God. I can't believe I'm actually dead." On her way to the other side; how the void is...undescribable. Cold. Dark.
"Minerva! Oh my God, it worked? You're...?" Her close friend trailed off.
"Dead, yes. Did Elena and Damon...? Where are they?"
Bonnie doesn't know what to say until Damon spoke up, "We're right here." He speed-walks up to them with Elena's ghost by his side from the suicide.
"Okay. When you guys pass through me, you're going to wake up with your bodies on the other side. I need you to get back here as fast as you can."
"Okay." Damon replied in determination with a simple nod of his head.
Minerva touches Bonnie's left arm first and she flashes over to the charred remnants of the Mystic Grill restaurant, trailed after by Damon and Elena.
Minerva sees her lifeless body still in the car, burnt beyond recognition. Turning away from her corpse in horror, Minerva starts to hastily search for Stefan or Luke while she surveys the room which is in bad shape and sees a quick look at Damon's mutilated, badly-burnt body on the floor, looking around with no traces of the person anywhere, to which she proceeds to search for the two ghosts-- or any other lifeless loved ones desperately.
Minerva halts when she spots the sheriff's foot, "Liz?! No. No. No. No."
A burnt heavy ceiling beam traps the victimized woman to the floor. She tries to lift it from her, but she struggles with the weight until Damon, Ben and Alaric show up to help. Once they lift the beam together, they move another burnt object underneath it to keep it from falling back down.
"It's good to see you guys." She smiles at them and Alaric laughs slightly.
The ghost of the Original nods, "Yeah, and I've got a new buddy too."
"It's nice to see you, Minerva." The ghost of Benjamin McKittrick greeted.
Suddenly, the blonde woman wakes up and starts moaning in agony.
"I think she's going to be okay." The former teacher assured her, "It's just, you guys don't have much time. You need to go, now." Back to life.
"No." Minerva affirmed as she resumes to search for Stefan or Luke while Damon desperately searches for Stefan or Elena right by her side.
"You have to go, all of you. Come on." Alaric warned as he follows them.
"I can't find Stefan. Where the hell is he?" Damon asked in a panic.
"You go. I'll search for him--"
"I'm going to search for Luke. Damon, I think Ric can find Stefan--"
"No, I'm not leaving without him!" Damon interrupted the girl.
"At least let us help you." Minerva offered the frantic young man.
"This place is falling apart." Ben reminded them as an ultimatum.
"I can't leave without him, Ric. I have to bring him back." Damon said, desperate and determined enough to do this for a certain woman.
"I'll find him!" His best friend affirmed as they make it to the cemetery.
"Bonnie!" Minerva finally found her instead, fortunately.
"Thank God." The Bennett girl sighs in relief at the sight of them.
Alaric trails behind the trio. Bonnie grabs her ex-boyfriend, Ben, before she does the same to her former teacher by the arm and they disappear back to the mortal land, safe and alive once again. Afterward, both Damon and Minerva asked her in unison with a rushed tone in their frantic voices.
"Where's Stefan?"
"Where's Elena?"
"They made it through." Bonnie answered, nodding.
"Okay." Damon mirrors her as he nods a little.
"Come on. You first." Bonnie grabs her close friend, but nothing happens, "Damon?" She grabs him this time, when nothing happens as well.
She backs up and tries again on Minerva, though still, nothing happens.
"Well, would you look at that." Damon grins sarcastically at the pair.
Minerva looks at her own close friend in horror and denial, "Oh my God."
****
Elena rushes into the old mausoleum and finds that the spell has stopped now; both Liv and Luke are gone, along with the candles, "No. Oh my God. Liv!" She looks around for the blonde witch with no success, "No, no, no. Bonnie! We need to find them. We need to start the spell again. Please."
Bonnie steps into the crypt, "We can't! That was our one shot. I'm so sorry." Considering both Damon and Minerva remain on the other side, now dead.
"No! But Minerva and Damon are on the other side, we have to--"
"Elena..." Bonnie has a hard time containing her emotion, "It's too late."
"No." Elena starts to cry hysterically, repeating 'no' over and over again, over the arising denial of losing their own close friend and her ex-lover.
"He's here. You can say goodbye." Alone, the Bennett girl leaves the crypt.
Minerva urges Damon to do so with a genuinely sympathetic smile before she leaves the crypt to walk over slowly to Isaac and Caroline, who are grieving her tragic demise together. Minerva has hot tears welling up in her hazel doe eyes as she helplessly watches them and feeling really upset that they can't see her. Meanwhile, Stefan is sitting on a picnic table all alone, clearly upset. Suddenly, Rosie comes to comfort him and Stefan spoke.
"I lost them both...Two people I've known longest in this world...both gone."
His emotional ex-lover slowly nods in understanding, "I know."
"Lexi never came out. Neither did Markos. I know that's not a coincidence. It was, uh, her, unfinished business. And Damon—uh—he finally had everything he wanted, thanks to you. He was happy. He should be here."
Stefan puts his head in between his legs and starts to cry, "This isn't fair."
Rosie wraps her warm arms around him with genuine sympathy and equal sense of loss, "I know, it's not." She strokes his back as he cries silently.
****
Minerva walks up to Bonnie and rests her left hand on her best friend's right shoulder; Bonnie turns around in surprise, for a split second thinking it's Jeremy or Luka, and looks at her. A speechless and deeply upset Minerva only embraces her, rubbing her back that even though they're going to die, they're dying together. They remain entangled for a moment, until they are approached by Damon, who had just said his goodbye to Elena, while the supernatural purgatory's disintegration comes to a head at this point.
"This place is going down." The lifeless ghost of the banshee stated.
Huge holes of light poke through to the supernatural purgatory, while the winds blow all around them that makes the frightened Minerva takes her sacrificial close friend's cold right hand to entwine their fingers.
"It is. I'm sure there are a million people we'd rather be with right now, but..." Bonnie takes Damon's right hand as well to entwine their fingers.
"A couple thousand, at most." The caramel brunette joked.
A huge orb of bright light rips through the tree-tops of the woods.
"Do you think it'll hurt?" Bonnie wondered aloud.
The fabric of reality itself starts to shatter, leaving nothing but light.
"I don't kn--" Before Damon can finish his sentence, the light engulfs the trio into nothingness-- nothing remains left behind.