What the hell is all this?" Klaus asks as Kol helps Elena carry in several boxes filled with books and files. Elena looks up after setting down a box and brushes the hair away from her face with a huff.
"My research on the Gemini coven, yeah I know, a bit much. But they have a really interesting history-"
"You still haven't explained why we need this or why we need to go to Portland. You haven't even told us which Portland," He throws his hands up in irritation as she smiles apologetically.
"All in good time, my love. But right now, I need you to have someone track down Josette Laughlin M.D., unless you want me to die," she smiles at her own manipulation tactic as he glares, retrieving his phone from his pocket.
"And as if I'd ever go to Maine," she says with offense as she bends, looking in a box. Kol looks up with furrowed brows.
"What's wrong with Maine?" He asks as she meets his eyes with seriousness.
"One word, Pennywise," she whispers the end and winks as he rolls his eyes.
"Last I checked, Jo was in Oregon. And, be discreet, please. The Gemini's are crazy. One whisper about the ascendant and Joshua Parker starts killing off his kids," she shudders as Klaus and Kol send her identical looks of surprise. "I know," she nods and looks back down to her books.
"Alright, we need to find this," Elena holds up a drawing of the ascendant. "It's an ascendant, used to create and enter something called a prison world, ringing any bells? Jo Laughlin has it somewhere in her house, it shouldn't be too hard to get to, she's technically a witch, but gave up her magic. We need to either go to her and work out a deal or just steal it, I haven't decided yet."
"If you know all that, why did you need to bring over all these boxes?" Klaus asks, looking up from his phone.
"Excuse me for wanting to brag. I thought this was a good opportunity to remind you how smart I am. Look at all this, I put this together when I was 12. I'm a genius," Kol opens his mouth to respond, but is cut off as they hear a knock on the door.
Klaus shakes his head at the girl before walking away to get the door. Elena watches closely as Kol looks through the boxes, just as he's about to open another, she taps his shoulder and points towards the stairs, swapping his box as he looks away.
Klaus reenters the room with Bonnie by his side before Kol can question Elena.
"Bon!" Elena greets with surprise and slight panic as she moves quickly across the room, pulling Bonnie into a nearby room. "Whatcha doing here, gorgeous?" Elena asks, giving her a hug while turning her body away from the doorway.
"Remember, grams and I spoke with the ancestors, I texted you," Bonnie smiles with confusion as she pulls away from the hug, Elena nods.
"Right, I forgot. Why don't you come this-" Bonnie stops Elena from pulling her away as the witch looks around, spotting the research through the door and turns back to Elena.
"El, what's this?" She asks casually, raising a brow at her friends' nervous laugh.
"What? Nothing. Why would it be anything, it's just boxes. I mean, how do you even know they're my boxes, you don't. They could be anybody's. You know, Rebekah's, Tyler's, Jenna's, you never know-"
"What is wrong with you?" Bonnie asks with concern, making Elena swallow anxiously and groan.
"Alright, dammit. You know I can't lie to you. You just cannot tell Grams. Okay? I know it's a lot to ask, but if she knows, she will definitely try and stop me," Elena says as Bonnie nods and shrugs. "Um, okay. So there's this coven in Oregon that has a special kind of witch, one that can save me."
"That's it? Why are you so worried about Grams? You know she wants to save you too," Bonnie points out as Elena nods.
"I know. But, it's complicated and dangerous. And I don't want her to have to choose between saving me and doing something she thinks is wrong. Which is why I didn't tell you, because I'm basically putting you in the same situation, just with less information. Which is actually more dangerous-" Elena rambles, gaining a smile from Bonnie as she places her hands on Elena's shoulders.
"Ellie, calm down," she orders as Elena takes a deep breath and nods. "I know." Elena's eyes narrow slightly.
"What do you mean-"
"About the Parkers. About the prison world. And about Malachai," Bonnie admits as Elena's jaw drops.
"Wh-what? How could you possibly-"
"I've known you a very long time, Ellie and you're not as good at secretly scheming as you think you are," Bonnie says with a pitying smile as Elena tries to collect her thoughts. "I knew you were up to something and you weren't exactly subtle when you asked about siphoning."
"How do you even know what a siphoner is?" Elena asks with a head shake as Bonnie smiles in amusement.
"When you told me I was a witch, I freaked. Especially after you told us all about everything that could happen. I wanted- needed to protect you guys, so I looked through everything Grams has. I found some stuff about the Gemini's. Look, you don't have to hide anything from me, Ellie. I know that even though you're impulsive and slightly insane, you wouldn't do anything to put any of us in danger," Bonnie shrugs with a smile as Elena continues staring in shock.
"So, you're okay with this?" Elena asks in a stunned tone as Bonnie nods.
"Yes, but I read something about needing a Bennett witch, do I need to come with you?" Elena shakes her head.
"No, I just need some blood," Elena lets herself be pulled along by Bonnie, still in shock as they reach the kitchen.
"That enough?" Bonnie asks after cutting her hand and letting her blood fill a cup. Elena nods silently before closing her eyes and shaking her head.
"Well, this took a weird turn," she says quietly, making Bonnie laugh. "What did you say you came here for, before you totally blew my mind?"
"Right. The ancestors. Grams and I went to this old witch house or something," Elena nods in understanding, making Bonnie continue. "They wouldn't talk to us at first, but Grams persuaded them. El, they said they knew about you," Elena grabs Bonnie's hand when the witch makes a solemn face. "They told us that some witches were ordered to kill you. That you had broken too many rules and there had to be consequences. We tried to get more information but they left before we could find out who gave the order."
"No worries, Bon. I already know," Bonnie's eyes widen at Elena's quiet confession. Elena takes a deep breath before nodding. "Okay. Everything will be fine. Thank you so much for… everything. You, Bonnie Bennett, are incredible." Bonnie smiles as Elena thanks her before reaching into her bag as her phone rings.
"It's Vic, I've gotta go. I hope you're right and everything is okay. But, just call me if you need me," Elena nods as she walks Bonnie out of the house.
Bonnie stops suddenly, before turning around with hesitance, causing Elena to raise a brow.
"You should call Damon," Elena's brows furrow as she lets out a small, confused laugh.
"Damon? Since when do you and Damon talk?" Elena asks as Bonnie shakes her head.
"We don't. Well, um- I mean, we were just texting," a childlike smile spreads across Elena's lips as a rosy blush covers the witches cheeks. "It doesn't uh- he's just been a little off and it couldn't hurt for you to check on him-" Elena cuts her off with a tight hug and kisses Bonnie's cheek as she pulls away.
"I love you, honey bee. I'm here if you want to talk about... whatever," Bonnie smiles brightly before turning away, leaving Elena with a contemplative smile.
"Good news and bad news," Elena says to Klaus and Kol after making her way back inside.
"What?" Kol asks cautiously as Klaus tilts his head and gestures for her to continue.
"Good news, the Bennett witch psychic detective agency is officially up and running. Bad news, your Mum is still a raging bitch," Elena smiles with a fake cheerfulness as the two brothers stare with equal amounts of confusion and concern.
Elena went on to explain her plans to deal with the original witch to the two very conflicted brothers before telling them each to pack a bag as she had some "business" to take care of, which is how she currently found herself strolling into the Salvatore boarding house with purpose and a bright smile.
"Well, this is a tad glum," Elena comments, coming across Damon as he sits in front of the fireplace with a glass of bourbon and somewhat sad eyes.
"Hi, beautiful" he smiles as she makes her way over to him. He holds up his glass to her as she takes a seat next to him. "Join me for a drink?"
"Why, of course, ocean eyes," she bumps his shoulder with her own as she takes the glass from his hand.
"What possessed you to darken my doorstep this fine evening?" He wiggles his eyebrows suggestively, making her laugh lighty.
"Nice idiom. And it is ten o'clock in the morning," she looks down at the drink as he blows out a breath and smirks.
"Yeah, but I started drinking last night, so it doesn't really count as morning drinking," she clicks her tongue and nods.
"Flawless logic," she says as he looks away, staring into the fire with an expression that makes her anxious. "I just stopped by to see how you are, we haven't really- uh… Look, I'm really sorry," she breaks her nonchalant facade as he looks to her with a raised brow.
"I've been kinda absorbed in my own little world. It happens sometimes, it's just that everything I wanted finally-" she shakes her head, cutting herself off. "No, I'm not gonna make excuses, I'm just sorry."
"It's alright, Ellie. I'm fine. Also, not your responsibility. I'm a big boy, I knew I could come to you," he shrugs as she nibbles her bottom lip and grimaces.
"So… why didn't you?" She asks softly as he laughs at her gentle tone.
"I don't know, I just-" he cuts himself off with a sigh. "Less than a year, Ellie. I've known you less than a year and in that time you've managed to completely change my entire life," he laughs again as she listens intently.
"How did you do that? I came here for Katherine, but by the time we were able to get into the tomb, I barely cared. I let go. Of her, of my past, of the person I was. And now… I'm close with my brother, I'm making friends, ones that I don't plan to kill. I'm having feelings. I'm happy. No, actually not happy. Killing people makes me happy. Here, I'm content." He admits as she smiles at the peaceful look on his face.
"That was never possible before. I've never been satisfied with my life. Not until now, until you. Somehow, you plotted your way into my life and changed me," Elena lets out a groan, making Damon's eyes snap to her with anger and offense. "Oh, I'm sorry. Is me pouring my emotions out to you, bothering you?" She shakes her head and laughs as he glares.
"I didn't change you, Damon. I don't change people, why do you people keep saying that?" She says with frustration. "How many times did I tell you that I just wanted you to be yourself? And you know I didn't change you, you're still the same guy. Just less of a douche," she shrugs before a grins forms on her face. "Still a douche, just less," he shoves with an eye roll and a smile as she laughs and sits back up. "I love you, Day. For who you are," she says simply as he turns to her with a smile.
"No one's ever said that to me before," he admits as she nods softly.
"Yeah, well… you're a dick," he laughs, pulling her into his side.
"I know," he kisses the top of her head as he hugs her.
"So…" Elena starts after a few moments of peaceful silence. "Bonnie or Enzo?" Damon's wide eyes snap to her the second the words left her mouth.
"How did you know?" This time her eyes widened as her mouth opened wide.
"I didn't!" She shouts with a disbelieving laugh as he shakes his head. "But, now I do. Damon," she whines his name with a smile. "You whore," she whispers lovingly as he snorts and rolls his eyes with a smile.
"Yeah, yeah. I'm working on it," he runs a hand over his face in worry as she smirks, wiggling her brows.
"I bet you are," he shakes his head as she leans her head on his shoulder and holds his hand.
Elena enters her house, taking off her shoes and dropping her jacket on the floor before she follows the sound of water running into the kitchen.
"Hi, hon. How was your day?" Jenna asks with a smile as soon as she spots her niece.
"Hello, my favorite aunt. It was good, how was yours?" Elena is quick to step by Jenna's side and take over the task of doing the dishes as Jenna smiles with an odd look on her face.
"It was good," Jenna draws out as Elena smiles wide.
"Well that's wonderful. Wow, Jen. You look beautiful. Are you doing something different with your makeup? You're glowing!" Elena compliments as Jenna's eyes narrow in suspicion.
"What do you want?" She asks as Elena's jaw drops in offense while she scoffs.
"That hurts, Jen. To even imply that for some reason, I'm buttering you up is extremely offensive. Can't a girl just compliment the amazing woman who, while completing college, took over the responsibility of raising two orphans. A saint, is what you are," Jenna continues to stare blankly as Elena rambles, causing the younger girl to sigh. "Too much?" Elena asks as Jenna nods tight-lipped.
"I'm going on a trip," Elena announces cheerfully, throwing her hands up, accidentally getting bubbles in Jenna's hair. "My bad," Elena whispers with a joking tone as she helps Jenna wipe the mess away.
"Like a real trip or a drug trip?" Jenna asks, making Elena smile cheekily.
"Real trip. But, I love where your head's at," Jenna leans back against the counter and crosses her arm as Elena smiles nervously.
"Well… where are you going," Elena raises a brow at Jenna's supportive tone.
"West, then north," Elena answers cautiously as Jenna nods once.
"When and for how long?" Elena's mouth opens in surprise as she shakes her head.
"Wait. What? That's it? I can go, just like that? No persuasion or bribery necessary?" Jenna laughs as Elena's confused tone as she takes her niece's hand, guiding to the nearby table and sitting her down.
"You're almost 18. And believe it or not, I do trust your judgment," Elena makes a disbelieving face, making her smile. "On most occasions. Okay, some occasions. But, you're probably gonna go with or without my permission. So, I would like as many details as possible so that I don't toss and turn all night worrying about you," Jenna looks at Elena with a soft smile, one that Elena returns, still surprised.
"How much time you got?"
"A sociopath? Like a real one?" Elena nods as Jenna runs a hand through her hair with a stressed expression.
"I retract my support. You can't go," Elena laughs and pats Jenna's hand sympathetically. "Too late," she says as the front door opens and Jeremy walks into the house. Elena stands, sending Jenna a smile before making her way over to Jeremy.
"Hey," Jeremy fist bumps Elena as he goes up the stairs, making her laugh and follow him up.
"Younger brother, what are you up to?" She asks, laying on his bed as he takes a seat at his desk.
"Nothing. What were you and Jen talking about? It looked heavy," Elena sighs as she sits up.
"You remember Kai?" Jeremy squints in thought before nodding.
"The "sociopathic love of your life"?" Elena nods and smiles dreamily.
"That's the one," he crosses his arms.
"You finally busting him out?" She laughs lightly with a shrug.
"I thought it was about time. I've kept him waiting long enough," Jeremy stands from his chair and takes a seat next to her on the bed.
"Are you sure this is a good idea?" He asks, masking his concern.
"Probably, not," she grins as he shakes his head. "But, what could go wrong?"
"He could murder you. Actually, he could murder everyone. Horrifically," he smiles teasingly.
"Nobody's perfect," they laugh. "You gonna be okay?" He nods.
"Totally. But, John won't be." He smirks as she groans.
"I think I'm gonna grab my go-bag and bounce before I see him," she pats his shoulder before running out of his room as he laughs.
"Daily phone calls, Ellie," Jenna reminds Elena as she and Jeremy see her out of the house.
"That might be tough, you know, not the best service where I'm going," Elena grins as Jenna sends her a look.
"Smart ass," Jenna mutters as she brings Elena into a tight hug.
"Be good, don't do drugs," Elena pretends to wink at Jeremy, making Jenna roll her eyes and Jeremy laugh as he hugs her.
"What's going on?" John asks, getting out of his car after pulling into the driveway.
"Uh, I can explain," Elena smiles before taking off in a full sprint to her car and locking the car door while cracking the window. "I love you all. Rem has something to tell you, Pops," Elena waves as she speeds off, leaving a confused John and a nervous Jeremy.
"So there's this guy," Jeremy starts after John turns to him. Jenna shakes her head and walks back inside with a smile.
"Let's go team! Who's ready for a road trip?" Elena cheers as she walks into the Mikaelson mansion and drops her bag in the entryway.
"Hello, Elena," Finn smiles as she grimaces at her name but still nods in his direction.
"Finley," she greets as she looks around looking for the other siblings.
"Klaus and Kol are packing, Elijah's in his study, and I believe Rebekah's pouting in her room," he rolls his eyes as she tilts her head in confusion. "It seems she's rather offended you didn't invite her along," Elena nods with realization as she follows Finn into the living room.
"Bex, get your perfect ass down here!" Elena hollers, startling Finn slightly before they hear stomping down the stairs.
"Yes," Rebekah crosses her arms and glares as Elena rolls her eyes.
"I didn't ask you to come because Stefan is coming and I thought you would feel weird. Also, I may have a small surprise for you," Rebekah narrows her eyes.
"What is it?" She asks nonchalantly as Elena shakes her head.
"A surprise. As for the eldests, how do you feel about taking a trip to The Big Easy?" Finn furrows his brows, confused as Elena makes a pitying face. "Right. Box. 900 years. It's New Orleans, home of the Dowager Fauline cottage, aka Freya current place of residence," Elena smirks at Finn's expression as the rest of the Mikaelson brothers make their way into the room.
"I thought you and The Suit could go get her while we're gone. Then when we get back, I'll introduce her to our newest friend. As for you," she turns to Rebekah. "I've arranged for Care Bear to stay over for a while, we wouldn't want you getting lonely in this big house."
"Anything else you've planned for our family?" Klaus asks with amusement. Elena thinks for a second before shaking her head.
"Nope," she smiles brightly at the happy expressions on each of the Mikaelson's faces.
Alright, pro: honesty is the best policy. Con: she looks at me like I'm crazy and scolds me," Elena blows out a frustrated breath as she paces back and forth in front of Jo's porch. "What do you think?" She stops and turns to the four men accompanying her on this trip.
"Well-" Klaus starts before Elena quickly interrupts, making Klaus glare at Damon as he lets out a small laugh.
"It's just that, if I lie she will inevitably find out the truth, then I'll look like an asshole. But, if I don't lie, she definitely won't help and we'll have to threaten her, and again, I'm the asshole," she throws her hands up and looks up miserably.
"Ellie, darling, you've been going 'round circles for the last twenty minutes. Flip a coin for all I care," Kol smiles impatiently as she sighs and Klaus nods.
"I agree, no matter the outcome, you're just gonna decide to be honest. You obviously respect this woman, so if we could get on with it." He gestures to the house as Elena smiles fondly at the group.
"God, you guys know me so well. Let's do this," Elena nods with determination and begins up the steps. Just as she's about to walk up the last step, the door swings open, revealing a surprised and fearful Jo. The woman lets out a shriek, causing the small group to collectively cringe.
"Hi, I'm sorry. I didn't mean to scare you. I was gonna knock," Elena rushes up the stairs with her hands out in front of her in surrender.
"Oh, uh that's okay. You just startled me," Jo places a hand on her heart as she smiles politely, waiting for their explanation. "What did you need?" She finally asks.
"Right. Sorry. My bad. Um, is there any way we can talk inside? It's kinda a big deal," Jo's face becomes wary as she grips the door tighter.
"What's this about?" She asks in a tone, reminding Elena of her mothers 'stern' tone.
"Umm… pris..." Elena trails off in a mumble as Jo raises a brow. "Ugh, okay! It's about the prison world and Kai!" Elena suddenly and loudly blurts. A frightful expression overcomes Jo's face as she attempts to slam the door, only for Elena to stick her hand out, slamming her finger in the door as she does.
"MOTHERFUCK!" Elena shouts with pain and surprise as Jo's eyes widen and Kol rushes to her side, taking her hand in his and examining it. "Oh my god, I think it's broken! And it's my middle, Kol, that's my favorite finger," she cries in physical and emotional pain.
"Let me see," Jo says without thinking as Kol shoots her a threatening look. "I'm a doctor," she says, taking Elena's hand and leading her inside before rushing across the room to her medical bag.
"Ow. Ow. Ow," Elena whines as Jo returns and tries to move the finger.
"Can you-" Jo begins to ask Kol before taking notice of the way all men wait on the porch and groans. "I'm not inviting any of you in," she states and turns to Elena with question.
"I know I freaked you out with the whole Kai thing, but I can explain," Jo wraps her finger as she waits for a reply. "Okay, I want to get him out of the prison world," Jo stares at the girl like she's crazy, making Elena turn to the vampires with a pointed look and gestures to Jo's face.
"Are you out of your mind?" Jo finally breaks her stunned silence as Elena narrows her eyes.
"Yeah, with pain from when you broke my finger," Elena snarks, making Jo roll her eyes.
"You're fine, It's not broken. And you're gonna be worrying about a lot more than just your finger if you try to free Kai. I don't know how you even know about him, but I promise you whatever the reason you want him out, it's not worth the damage he'll cause," Jo warns her in a serious and scared tone as Elena sighs.
"Look, it's complicated. And I know your position on this, but he's getting out no matter what. Which means, it's only a matter of time before he kills your coven. I'm just debating whether or not I could live with myself if you died," Elena admits as Jo swallows thickly with anxiety.
"Who are you?" She finally asks as Elena smiles weakly. "And why are you doing this?"
"Ellie and because I want to," Elena shrugs as Jo scoffs with a small laugh.
"You seem like a nice girl," Elena scrunches her nose. "But, you don't understand my brother. He is evil. If he gets out, he won't just kill me or our coven, he'll kill anyone who gets in his way, but only after he betrays you," Jo says, eyes stingy as she remembers the last night she saw her twin.
"Jo, I understand where you're coming from, I do. But, I have a somewhat unique perspective. I know he can get better. I saw it. He's just broken, and yeah, a little evil," Jo sends her a look and she corrects herself. "Okay, a lot evil. But he wasn't born this way. You know he wasn't always like that. He has his reasons-"
"What possible reason could someone have for murdering four of their siblings?" Jo snaps as the men still waiting on the porch eyes widen.
"He did what?" Damon asks as Elena smiles awkwardly and rubs the back of her neck.
"Oh, did I not mention that?" She tries to play it off as he grits his teeth.
"No, Elena, you didn't mention that. Ever. I would have remembered," Elena laughs slightly and shrugs.
"Huh, weird. Um, you know what, I've got it from here. You guys should probably-" she cuts herself off my pushing the door closed before breathing a sigh of relief. She turns back to Jo with a soft smile.
"I'm sorry," Elena apologizes as Jo raises a questioning brow. "I just showed up and dropped a bomb on your life. I know this sucks, but I have to get him out. And, I know you hate him, which I completely understand. Not to mention, I could have just stolen the ascendant and not told you anything, leaving you in the dark about what your father would do to you, but I didn't. So, if you want to give me some props for that…" Elena trails off with a smile as Jo's lips twitch slightly before she sighs and takes a seat on her couch, gesturing for Elena to do the same.
"How do you know about any of this?" She asks as Elena mentally prepares her usually "I know the future" speech.
"To make a very long and confusing story short, I know the future. Don't ask, can't say. All you really need to know is that I know for a fact that Kai is capable of real change. But, even if he wasn't, he doesn't really have much of a reason to kill people. All he ever wanted was to be coven leader, and if he achieves that, I don't see him killing off the coven he fought for almost two decades to get back to," Elena takes notice of Jo's silence, observing the way her eyes dim, causing her to internally curse. "What if you didn't have to die?" Jo's eyes snap to her with interest. "I've been looking into it, there are countless ways to resurrect people, especially witches. I died once, and was brought back by a potion. To be honest, there were some side effects that luckily, I didn't have to suffer through, but I have more ideas. Like, how do you feel about becoming a vampire?" Elena proposes several ideas, even though she had no plan to execute any of them. She had other things in mind for the siphoner.
"Why?" Elena raises a brow at the woman's question. "Why do you need Kai? Why do you want to help him- why do you want to help me?" Jo clarifies as Elena nods with an awkward smile.
"Um, I may be, kinda, dying…" Elena trails off with a questioning tone as Jo's eyes widen.
"What-"
"Yeah, I mean is it that surprising? We met fifteen minutes ago and I'm already trying to free a sociopathic, potential mass murder." Jo groans slightly as Elena laughs lightly. "And you know witches, they're not really a fan of anything that goes against the natural order. What's more unnatural than a girl with cheat codes to life?"
"And you think he can save you?" Jo asks as Elena observes the hopefulness in Jo's tone, making her smile with a warmed heart.
"He'll have to if he wants out," Elena shrugs.
"And me?" Jo asks. "Why do you want to help me?"
"Because… I care what happens to you," Elena admits shyly as Jo shakes her head.
"But you don't care about the people Kai will hurt?" Jo asks without malice as Elena sends her a look.
"Might," she corrects. "And, I don't know them," Elena adds.
"You don't know me," Jo points out as Elena smiles slyly.
"Yes and no," she responds as Jo's brows furrow.
"Future?" Jo questions, already knowing the answer as Elena smiles more genuinely.
"Future," Elena nods as Jo goes silent and leans back, looking to the ceiling with a faraway expression before closing her eyes.
"This will definitely be the dumbest, most dangerous, and most reckless decision I will ever make," Jo stands, leaving the room for a moment before returning with the ascendant in her hand. Jo takes a deep breath before handing it to Elena. "But for some reason… I feel like I've got to trust you."
"Yeah, that's the Ellie effect. Most people end up regretting it," Elena attempts to joke, hoping to ease the tension. "Thank you, Jo. I can't really promise anything about Kai, but I do promise to try my best to help you," Elena says with a serious tone as Jo nods thankfully.
"You said something earlier about my father," Elena rolls her eyes.
"Right. God, that guy sucks!" Jo smiles at Elena's switch back to immaturity. "He's not gonna like this. And will most likely do everything in his power to stop the merge…" Elena trails off hintingly, Jo nods with a solemn expression once she understands. "You should go get your knife and get to Mystic Falls as quickly as possible. Sheila Bennett and her granddaughter will protect you against Joshua."
"You know Sheila?" Elena nods.
"Yep, we go way back. Her granddaughter's my best friend. They'll help you," Elena takes hold of Jo's hand and squeezes, comfortingly as Jo smiles with gratitude.
Finn gasps awake, immediately bringing his hands to his chest, checking for a dagger, and leaning back against his pillow with a sigh of relief.
He opens his eyes and pushes his covers off. As he sits up his phone beeps, causing him to reach over and pick it up.
The first thing he sees as the screen lights up is Elena's face in the picture she made his screensaver.
The second was multiple texts from her detailing all the ways she would make his life miserable if he screwed things up with "that fox" (her words).
The third was several links to what she informed him was something called pornography. Which, apparently, was different from the book she left him titled, The Kama Sutra.
Knowing Elena, he decided his best bet was to never open those links.
He stood from bed, stretching as he made his way over to the closet. He switched on the light and was met by the sight of several colorful post-it notes placed across his clothing.
He scoffed out a laugh and picked one up.
This one would look great next to her.
Looking at the dark green sweater, he thought she was right. The color would compliment Sage's hair beautifully. He picked up another and rolled his eyes.
Stop wearing this one, it washes you out.
He ignored her warning, pulling the sweater on over his head. He adjusts the sleeves, scratching his arm as he does so. His chest begins itching as he feels something against it. He reaches into the sweater, scratching his body as he reads the hidden note.
Itch power. Why can't you just listen to me?
He immediately pulls it off and tosses it into a nearby trash bin with a sigh, mentally cursing his annoying friend.
Downstairs Caroline helps Rebekah pack for their extended sleepover. Caroline's phone buzzes, she looks down at it and scoffs angrily.
"What is it?" Rebekah asks as Caroline shakes her head.
"Nothing," Rebekah sends her look, causing her to sigh. "Just some girl who thinks she can't take my spot. I swear, the squad doesn't appreciate any of the things I do for them. Yes, okay, sometimes I'm a bit of a hard ass, but that's why we're going to regionals. Do they really believe Rachel could do what I do? Rachel?" Caroline rants as Rebekahs brows furrow in anger.
"They're questioning your leadership?" Caroline shrugs, calming down as Rebekah scoffs. "Are they stupid? You are clearly the most capable girl in this town. How dare this, Rachel even compare herself to you," Caroline smiles at Rebekah's incredulous and disgusted tone.
"It's okay," Caroline nods as Rebekah narrows her eyes.
"No, it's not. Would you like me to kill her for you?" Caroline's eyes widen as she shakes her head, a small smile on her lips.
"No, that's okay," Caroline assures as Rebekah tilts her head.
"Are uou sure? It'd only take a minute. I could make it look like an accident, unless you'd like me to send a message," Caroline bites her lip, suppressing a giggle at the sincerity in Rebekah's voice.
"No, really. That's alright. Just, stay here. We gotta pack, right?" Rebekah meets Caroline's eyes, anger washing away. Rebekah smiles before nodding silently
"So, Caroline Forbes, how did you become such an expert in packing?" Rebekah asks after a few minutes of comfortable silence.
"I don't know. I used to go camping with my dad and when I was old enough to pack my own bags, I wanted to do it perfectly. Hence the Martha Stewart-esque folding," Caroline gestures to the pile of clothes in front of her as Rebekah smiles.
"I don't know who that is," Rebekah laughs as Caroline smiles with embarrassment.
"Right. Well, she's a business woman. Basically the good housewife blueprint. She has a tv show," Rebekah nods in understanding, although still confused.
"You'd think with all the running we did, I'd be better at packing a bag," Caroline laughs lightly as Rebekah tries to continue the conversation. "We always had maids for that. And they always knew how to fold everything perfectly. They also cooked everything for me. Does Martha Stewart cook as well?" Caroline nods with a smile. "Maybe I could learn a few things," Rebekah says, walking into the bathroom as Caroline looks around the room.
"Do you have a boyfriend, Caroline," Rebekah asks, returning to the room and startling the younger girl with the abrupt change of topic. Caroline shakes her head, attempting casual, but is more rigid and robotic as Rebekah chews her bottom lip, working up the courage for her next question. "Girlfriend?"
"Nope," Caroline answers simply as Rebekah nods, turning her face to hide a smile.
"I never had much luck with relationships.
Men, women, it just never worked for me. In my defense, Klaus did his fair share of ending them for me. But, they never lasted. Until…" she trailed off, making Caroline look to her, urging her to continue. "Stefan," Rebekah shrugs as Caroline nods in understanding. "I'm over it now. He just made me think, the most closure I've ever had was their deaths. He's the only relationship I've ever had that hasn't ended in tragedy," Rebekah seems to realize something, something that Caroline was certain was bad, so she spoke up, hoping to distract the vampire.
"Yeah, Stefans great. Before he and Damon came to town, Ellie couldn't stop talking about him. And she was convinced I'd fall in love. She was terrified though, said he had demons that he needed to overcome," Caroline rambles slightly, making Rebekah smile, knowing exactly what she was doing.
"Did you?" Caroline raises a brow at the question. "Fall in love?" Rebekah adds in a joking tone making Caroline laugh.
"No," Caroline answers honestly.
"You've heard about my exes. What about yours?"
"Hmm, that's a good sized list. I tend to fall for people quickly," Caroline admits sheepishly.
"We have that in common," they smile at each other before Caroline looks away, clearing her throat.
"Well, let's see, there was Justin in the 3rd grade, he promised me a lollipop if I became his girlfriend. It ended when he did not deliver," Rebekah laughs as Caroline continues. "I stayed away from boys for a little while after that, his betrayal really did a number on me. Then, there was Mitchell in the 7th grade. I was madly in love with him, until he kissed Christina Hopkins at Bonnie 13th birthday party. He said it was a dare, but he broke my heart. So, Elena got even by breaking his nose. It's still a little crooked to this day," Caroline laughs at the memory as Rebekah smiles at the thought of scrawny, preteen Elena punishing someone so hard their nose broke. "Nothing too serious for a while until my last ex, Wyatt. A douchebag, I mean, with a name like that how could he be anything else. But, I liked him. He moved away last year, I probably should have been more bummed than I was," Caroline shrugs.
"You've never been with a girl?" Rebekah tries to ask casually.
"Once. After Ellie first mentioned she liked girls-"
"Oh," Rebekah interrupts with poorly disguised jealousy, making Caroline's eyes widen as she holds up her hands.
"No, not Ellie," Rebekah releases a quiet sigh of relief. "Just some girl. I had never even thought about girls like that before Ellie brought it up. I was curious," Caroline shrugs, suddenly feeling nervous around Rebekah.
"And?" Rebekah asks, Caroline's brows furrow, making Rebekah smile slightly. "Girls?" Caroline looks away with flushed cheeks before nodding.
"Girls." Rebekah smirks before turning her body towards Caroline's.
"Your heart is beating really fast," Rebekah observes out loud as Caroline lets out a nervous laugh.
"Oh, uh too much coffee, I guess," her breathing almost stopping completely as Rebekah slowly makes her way over.
"I thought Ellie banned you from caffeine," Rebekah states as Caroline swallows thickly.
"Yeah, that. Um, she said this town couldn't survive me anymore hyper focused. But, she's one to talk, right-" Rebekah cuts off Caroline's adorably anxious ramble by pressing her lips to her's.
Caroline hesitantly reciprocates before pulling Rebekah closer, deepening the kiss. Both smile into the kiss as Rebekah backs Caroline into the bed frame, both falling on to the bed when their legs hit the edge.
A few minutes go by before they pull away, breathing heavy and smiles on their faces.
"Hi," Caroline whispers as Rebekah's smile grows larger and she lets out a laugh, Caroline doing the same.
"Hi," Rebekah whispers back, pulling Caroline tightly against her and kissing her again.
Elena smiled down at her phone as she read the caller ID before answering it with a flirty tone.
"Why, hello," she says in a sultry tone, receiving a chuckle from the other end.
"Hello, yourself. Why are you blowing me up? I'm a little busy," Enzo says as she hears groaning and what sounds to be whimpering.
"Right. As much as I'd love to hear you recount your tales of the way you torture your torturers, I really need a favor." Damon sits up in his seat from his spot across her in the private plane with an interested expression.
"Anything for you," she smiles at his flirting.
"Hmm, that's what I like to hear. I'm sending a woman called Jo Laughlin to Mystic Falls. She'll meet the Bennetts while she's there, but she'll need some place to stay and a friendly face. You mind meeting up with her?"
"What's she look like?" Elena giggles and shakes her head as Damon rolls his eyes.
"Gorgeous. But she's feeling particularly vulnerable these days, so if you'd like to keep your manhood intact, be a friendly face, emphasis on the friend."
"Noted. You want to keep me all to yourself, it's understandable," he replies in a sympathetic tone, making her smile.
"But, before you do that, think you could track down a history teacher for me? I think she'll appreciate his company."
"Playing matchmaker are we?"
"Maybe, speaking of, you should check on Bonnie while you're there. I'm sure she'd like that," Elena makes eye contact with Damon as his brows furrow in confusion. "Gotta go, thank you lots, handsome," Elena hangs up the phone as Damon stares at her with suspicion.
"What are you up to?" Damon asks as Elena puts a hand on her chest.
"Me?" She asks innocently as he narrows his eyes, they're interrupted as the pilot makes an announcement and a flight attendant walks in between them.
Elena's phone beeps with a message from Jo, informing her that the former witch is former no more, having located her magical knife and taken back her magic. Elena smiles at the "good luck" added at the end, knowing some small, selfish part of Jo hopes they all get stuck in the prison world.
Elena lets out a small sigh and leans her head back against her seat as she lets her thoughts run with the possibilities that come after rescuing Kai.
"Fuck!" She suddenly shouts, gaining the attention of the entire plane. Stefan stands, immediately rushing to her side as Kol does the same.
"What's wrong?" Stefan asks with wide and concerned eyes as she groans.
"I'm conflicted," she whines as Klaus and Damon each look to her with confusion and Kol grabs a drink from a nearby tray and hands it to her. "Morally," she clarifies. "We need Kai. And Kai needs us," Stefan nods for her to continue as she spirals deeper into her panic. "But, Jo's a good person. Like, really good. And she doesn't deserve any of this. But, neither does Kai. Ugh! This is all Joshua Parker's fault. If the coven wasn't linked to him, I would set him on fire," Elena ends her rant with a deep breath as she tries to calm herself.
"Maybe…" Stefan starts, obviously blanking on a solution as he turns to Damon for help. The older Salvatore only shrugs before picking up his drink and putting it in her empty hand.
"You'd really benefit from a switch right about now," Damon says to Elena, making her roll her eyes and throw back one of the drinks. "Jokes aside, this Kai kid is able to save your life. End of discussion. If I have to choose between you and the good doctor, well I'm guessing everyone here would make the same choice," Damon leans back in his seat as Elena looks around at her group of friends, each nodding or shrugging in agreement. She nods, not exactly happy with not having answers like she's used to, but knowing there's no turning back now.
"I'm going to die!" Elena says dramatically through chattering teeth as she follows the group farther up the mountain.
"Only if you keep complaining," Klaus responds, smiling when she glares at him.
She looks down at the snow with a devious smile and just as she was about to pick up a handful of snow, Damon stands in front of her, shaking his head, making her pout.
"You're already freezing, a snowball fight won't help," he says as she sighs.
"You don't know that," she mutters, walking past him angrily before catching up to Kol and jumping on his back.
"May I help you?" Kol asks as she smiles and whispers something in his ear. He laughs and nods.
"We're here," the witch says as he holds the ascendant to the sky.
"Wow," Elena says as she stares up at the sky. She jumps off Kol's back and pulls him to the ground. They lay on their backs as they watch the green and purple lights dance across the sky.
"If you're done having a moment, I'd really like to get this over with," the witch speaks up, breaking Elena's trance. She glares at the witch before turning to Klaus.
"Who's this guy? I don't like him, where's your other witch?" Klaus rolls his eyes as he grabs Elena's hands, pulling her up and towards the witch as the others gather around them.
"Alright. This is all fairly simple. You stand in a circle while holding hands and I place the Bennett blood on the ascendant, there's a pretty light, you go into it. Got it?" The witch asks with even more attitude than before as the group joins hands.
"If all we needed was the blood and ascendant, why are you even here?" Elena asks as the witch huffs.
"I don't know, ask him," he glares at Klaus, making Elena turn to him with confusion.
"I thought we might need a witch just in case. He needed a touch of persuasion and I needed a little insurance," Klaus states cryptically, although Elena was able to read between the lines.
He does make a habit of threatening loved ones, Elena thinks with a fond smile.
"I love you," she says with a sweet tone, Klaus winks as the witch pours the small vial of Bonnie's blood on to the ascendant before tossing it in between the group.
The ascendant magically opens as a beam of white light shines down, transporting them in a blink of an eye.
The witch looks at the empty spot and sighs, walking over to the spot and picking up the ascendant. He shutters, hugging his jacket closer to him.
"This is bullshit," he says out loud as he begins his trek down the mountain.
Oh," Elena mutters with disappointment as she looks around. "That was a bit-"
"Anticlimactic," Damon finishes for her as she nods with agreement.
"It doesn't matter, we're here and there's snow and we're gonna find Kai! Everything's coming up Ellie!" Elena exclaims with excitement before she sees a snowball fly through the air, hitting Klaus in the face, making her smile wide and laugh.
"Ellie made me do it," Kol immediately snitches, seeing the look of anger on his brother's face.
"Is this true?" Klaus asks, feigning anger as he stalks towards Elena. She shrugs, bending down and scooping up a handful of snow.
"Maybe," she says, squealing and quickly ducking behind Stefan, using him as a shield as Klaus picks up some snow and forms a ball.
"Let's go," Damon sing-songs as he turns his back on the group. Elena and Klaus look at each other with matching smiles before throwing their snow at Damon's back.
Stefan laughs as Damon turns back around.
"I'm not doing this," Damon says with a nonchalant shrug, turning his back again. Stefan kneels, taking a handful of snow and forming a ball before throwing it at the back of Damon's head.
Elena giggles, dropping to her knees and making a pouch with her jacket, scooping snow as fast as she can as Damon speeds to Stefan, pushing him down into the snow.
Kol kneels next to Elena, gathering his own snow as they watch Damon climb on top of Stefan, trying to force feed him handfuls of snow.
"You wanted a snowball fight? Huh, this what you wanted?" Damon questions as Stefan clamps his lips together while trying to get away from his brother.
"No," Klaus says sternly as Kol and Elena look in his direction.
"Yes," Kol and Elena chorused, throwing snowballs as the hybrid.
"We are 1000 years old," Klaus says with closed eyes and a sigh as snow melts across his face.
"And that's how long it's been since you've frolicked in the snow," Elena reminds with a sad smile, hiding her mischievous eyes. "Live a little, Love," he narrows his eyes as she copies his accent and pet name before he seems to instantly appear in front of her.
"Fine," he whispers, as she feels her arms being restricted from behind her. She looks over her shoulder at a grinning Kol, making her gasp dramatically.
"Betrayer," she whispers as Klaus bends down, forming a massive snowball. "I yield," Elena tries to free her arms as he lifts the snow above her head.
"Too late," Klaus smiles as he breaks the brick of snow above her head and watches as her body cringes away from the cold.
A much longer amount of time than the vampires would ever admit passed as they played in the snow before Elena dropped to the ground with her arms out.
"That was fun," Elena smiled up at the sky with heavy breathing. "Okay, I'm bored," she mutters after a moment and holds her hands up. Kol pulls her up and helps brush the snow off her with wandering hands. They wink at each other at the same time before laughing.
"We should head south," Stefan saves, looking down at a compass and pointing south. "In 1994 there was a research facility, there should be cars there," he informs as Elena wiggles her brows with a flirty grin.
"Look at you in Boy Scout mode. You know, it's kinda working for me," she says as she begins leading the group. Stefan pauses for a moment before looking to her with confusion.
"Why?" He asks as she shrugs.
"Who knows, if I found you a pair of shorts, would you consider wearing them?" She asks in a casual tone as he laughs lightly and Damon groans.
"How long are we gonna be here, again?" Damon asks with frustration as Elena's eyes snap to him.
"Hey! Horny, but ultimately endearing banter, was part of the deal when you agreed to be my friend," she reprimands disapprovingly as he shakes his head.
"Yeah, well I should have read the fine print," he adds as she rolls her eyes.
"God! How long have we been walking?" Elena cries as she falls back into the snow.
"Three minutes," Klaus says, looking down at Elena with hidden amusement.
"Just leave me, I can't go on any longer," she whispers in a soft tone, closing her eyes before reopening them at the sound of footsteps in the snow. "Hey! You're just gonna leave me here?" She yells in an offended tone as the vampires continue to trek onward.
"We'd all freeze to death before you stopped being dramatic," Damon calls over his shoulder as she catches up to them.
"You're already dead, Damon. Or did you forget about, tu padre," she smirks as he makes a face.
"Wow, aiming below the belt. Anyone got any duct tape," he quickly throws her over his shoulder as she squeals.
"I do," Stefan answers absentmindedly, causing Damon to pause and set Elena down as they send each other a look before turning to the younger Salvatore.
"Why?" They ask simultaneously, making Stefan shrug.
"This, Kai, massacred half his family. Better safe than sorry," he says as Damon makes a face of agreement.
"About, Kai. Why didn't you tell us?" Klaus asks, making Elena furrow her brows in thought.
"Would any of you have let me come here if you knew?" She asks, making them go silent as she nods. "About what I thought."
"Why do you like him so much? I'm guessing with your history," Damon gestures to Klaus, "he was some sort of antagonist in "OG Elena's" life."
"Right on the money, Ocean Eyes. He was the big bad of "Scooby Gang: The College Years." He screwed with a lot of people," she says with a fond smile, making Damon scoff. "Plus, he's ridiculously hot, like- well, you level," she gestures to the group as Kol grins smugly.
"Any other redeemable qualities?" Damon asks sarcastically as she rolls her eyes.
"Look, you're either gonna love him or hate him, like right off the bat, murder him. And truth be told, I wouldn't blame you. He's a little shit, but we need him. So maybe play nice if you don't want me to go "bye-bye" forever, yeah?"
"Look," Stefan interrupts and points towards a building in the distance.
"I'm driving!" Elena announces, running towards the building before stopping, getting winded almost instantly. "God, I should workout more. No, wait. That's crazy," she mutters to herself as walks up to Kol and wordlessly hops on his back.
"The power's on," Stefan says as he breaks the door handle and opens the door.
Elena waits behind after Kol sets her down, letting everyone enter first. She loves them, but she's seen horror movies.
"Now, we agree that if we see a cute dog, we run the other way?" Elena confirms with the group as Damon shakes his head.
"This is Alaska, not Antarctica," he informs as she shrugs.
"Same shit, different altitude," she says as they make their way through the building, turning on lights as they go. "Should've brought a flamethrower," she mutters before spotting a telephone, diverting her attention as a large smile stretches across her lips.
"What are you doing?" Klaus asks as he and the rest of the group watch Elena kick back on a chair and dial the phone.
"555-HIYA-KAI, isn't that awesome?" Elena laughs as looks down at the notepad next to the phone and dials the facility's number. "Okay, that should do it. I'm not sure if he keeps it on him at all times, but at least he has some idea he's not alone anymore."
"He still has a pager?" Damon asks as he looks around the small kitchen.
"Yep, it might take him a while to get back to us, we could chill here for a bit. I'm hungry, did we bring anything other than blood bags-" Elena's cut off by the sound of the phone ringing, she takes in a breath before picking up the phone.
"Kai Parker?" She pauses for a moment, waiting for him to respond, only receiving light breathing from the other end. "This is Drew, Nancy Drew, I'm a sleuth here to investigate the mysterious deaths of your siblings, if you could answer a couple of my questions, that would be much appreciated," the group looks on in amusement as Elena cringes at her own inopportune use of joking role play.
"No? Makes sense. Look, we're here to spring you, Kai. Meet you Mystic Falls? Salvatore Boarding House, okay?" She quickly says before hanging up and tossing the phone away from her and groaning. "Ugh, that was so stupid. He's gonna think I'm so lame," she whines, making the others laugh lighty.
"He hasn't talked to anyone since 1994, I don't think he'll mind," Stefan says, patting her shoulder comfortingly as she pouts.
"Whatever, let's just go. Hey, have any of you ever been to Nova Scotia?"
"New Orleans? I haven't been there in years," Finn smiles at the wistful sound of Sage's voice through the phone.
"You can tell me all about it over dinner," Finn can imagine the way her brows rose slightly at his uncharacteristically forward approach before a half smile-half smirk spread across her lips.
"Are you asking me on a date?" Sage teases as his smile widens with a light tint on his cheeks.
"Yes, I think I am. Elijah and I are about to leave. We're heading to something called an airplane hanger. Do you feel like joining us on our trip?" Finn asks impulsively, surprising both himself and Sage.
"Send me the details," Sage replies through a smile before hanging up. Finn clears his throat with a somewhat prideful expression and makes his way across the room with a skip in his step.
"A cure?" All four vampires ask with shock laced tones as Elena hums and nods.
"Yup," she shrugs nonchalantly as the men look to each other with varying emotions, paranoia, amused apathy, faux apathy, and hope.
"How could you not have mentioned this? What else are you hiding?" Klaus demands an answer as Elena's head falls back against her chair with a quiet thud. "Answer me," he roars. Elena looks up at him and raises an intrigued brow, not having to say anything for him to calm and roll his eyes.
"Look, I don't really know why I didn't tell you. Just never came up, I guess," she shrugs again as Kol laughs, falling into the seat next to her and puts his arm around her.
"Never came up?" Damon nods with irritation as Stefan remains silent. Klaus paces back and forth across the room, clearing thinking out all the way the cure could be used against him.
"I want to give it to Bekah," Elena says, surprising the group as Klaus's eyes quickly land on her.
"You can't be serious," he scoffs, narrowing his eyes at her when she doesn't reply. "She's not taking it, I won't allow it."
"I don't care what you want, Nik. This isn't about you. For once. She's always wanted to be human. At least I think so. She might not take it, but I want to give her the choice. Her entire life has been controlled by the people around her, when it wasn't you it was Mikael and your mother. She deserves this. I'm not changing my mind," Elena crosses her arms, holding his gaze defiantly before he storms out of the room.
"Not even gonna offer it to me," Kol asks with an offended tone, making her laugh lighty and lean into his side.
"Like you'd ever take it," she says as he shrugs. She sits back up and looks to him with surprise.
"I don't want to be human, but it had some perks," he adds in an easy tone.
"What about you?" She turns to the Salvatore brothers, with an unreadable expression. "Would you take it?"
"Of course not," Damon scoffs, but Elena's eyes remain on the silent Salvatore.
"I… don't know," Stefan says after a few moments of silence as Damon's eyes narrow.
"You don't know? Why would you ever want to be human? You want to grow old, get sick, and die?" Damon questions in a harsh tone as Stefan rolls his eyes.
"It had some perks," Stefan repeats Kol's words, making Elena smile slightly and Damon make a noise of disgust.
"Yeah, it was great not having super strength, or speed, or stamina. Actually, that sounds wonderful. Why don't we all take it?" Damon cheers with sarcastic enthusiasm.
"Maybe we shouldn't talk about this? Right now, we only have access to one dose. Bekah has first dibs. We can talk if she turns it down, okay?" Elena asks, looking at the brothers, smiling when they nod in agreement.
"What do you mean, "right now"?" Damon asks after a moment, making her groan and ignore the question.
Klaus reenters the room with a map, a pen, and a manic look in his eyes. "You said Nova Scotia, do you know where exactly?" Klaus looks to Elena with impatientions, sighing when she doesn't answer.
"Uh- Stefan, hand me your backpack please?" Elena says and Stefan hands her the bag with a confused expression. She looks through the backpack before pulling out a map of her own and tossing it down next to Klaus. "It's not technically Nova Scotia, it's about 200 miles off the coast," she guides her finger along the map. "That's it. But, we need a witch to get the cure. So once we get to Mystic Falls, we convince Kai to help us or we threaten to ditch him."
"Where you've marked this map, that's got to be thousands of acres. How are we supposed to find the tomb?" Klaus asks.
"I have faith in you, Klaus," Elena puts her hand on his shoulder, making him roll his eyes. "You'll figure it out, you've spent the last 1000 years paranoid and cautious. You know how many meticulous plans you've made? You've been training for this your whole life," Klaus sighs with annoyance.
"I'm not a dog," he regrets his words as similar smiles creep across the faces of everyone in the room. "I hate you all," Klaus says, breaking the dam of laughter as he storms out of the room again.
"He didn't mean that, he's just angry," Elena reassures Stefan in a sympathetic tone as he rolls his eyes with a smile. "I'll get it for you," Stefan raises a questioning brow. "The cure, if you want it, I'll get it," she promises with her eyes as he sends her genuine smile and nods, taking her hand and squeezing.
"I know," he responds.
"So… I saw some cars outside, anyone up for street racing?" Elena asks with excitement as the vampires in the room immediately shake their heads.
"No!" They shout together.
Enzo leans against the wall outside of the grill, keeping an eye on the history teacher through the window as he waits for Jo's car.
A taxi parks in front of the grill, causing him to stand up straight and make his way over.
"Dr. Laughlin?" Enzo asks as he approaches a woman matching Elena's very detailed description of Jo as she exits the car with a suitcase
"Yes, hello. Enzo, right?" Jo shakes Enzo's hand with her empty hand as he nods and takes the bag for her. "Ellie said I should meet you here, I'm not really sure why. She was a bit vague," Jo rambles nervously. "And it's uh, Jo. You don't have to call me, doctor. I'm sorry, I'm rambling. I'm usually better under pressure, but um…" Enzo interrupts with an understanding smile.
"It's alright, Jo. I understand… sorta. Why don't you join me for a meal, you must be hungry after your trip," Enzo basically pushes her into the restaurant and sits her down at a table, calling over a waiter before she has the opportunity to protest.
"Thank you," Jo says to the waiter after he takes their order. "So… um, Enzo, I don't really know much about you. Tell me about yourself, how do you know Ellie?" Jo tries to make conversation, failing to conceal her inner turmoil.
"There's really not much to tell, I spent the majority of my life in a cell. Until Ellie saved me," he adds with a wistful smile.
"Yeah, she seems to love that," Jo mutters under her breath as Enzo raises an amused brow. "I'm sorry, that was rude. Ellie's trying to help, she seems like a sweet girl," Enzo's chuckle confuses her.
"I don't think sweet is the right word," he thinks of the many articles she's sent him on medieval torture methods.
"Yeah, whatever word, she's trying to save me. Not many people would," Jo trails off in thought as Enzo leans towards her.
"She told me a little bit about your brother," he informs, making her eyes snap to him. "I don't know much about him, but if Ellie says he's worth saving, I have to believe her."
"Why?" Jo questions with an unreadable tone as Enzo's brows furrow.
"Because she thought the same of me. If she didn't I would still be in hell. She may be young, doctor, but she's isn't stupid, nor naive. You have to trust that she has a plan," Jo nods, taking a deep breath.
"I want to trust her. But, no matter what she's seen, she doesn't know my brother," Jo whispers with concern.
"You think he'll hurt her?" Enzo asks with a protective tone as Jo sighs.
"The first chance he gets," the tension is broken as the waiter sets their drinks down.
"No," Enzo shakes his head. "There's no reason to worry. She can handle herself," he nods, having convinced himself, but clearly not Jo as she leans forward.
"He's dangerous. He's… very dangerous."
"Well, so is just about everyone she surrounds herself with," he shrugs, taking a sip of his drink as Jo narrows her eyes in thought.
"The four guys from the other day, the vampires?"
"Yeah, them included. Technically two original vampires-" Jo interrupts with shock.
"Original vampires?"
"One original hybrid if we're being specific. Then there's Stefan, or The Ripper of Monterey," Enzo whispers with a sinister grin as her eyes widen.
"Wow. What about the other guy?"
"Oh, Damon? He's just a dick," Enzo's comment catches her off guard, causing her to laugh for the first time in a few days.
"How does a teenage girl find herself surrounded by all of this danger?" Jo wonders out loud.
"I'm not sure if she mentioned the whole doppelgänger thing, but it was kind of inevitable," he shrugs as her brows scrunch with confusion. "I for one, am glad she's surrounded by monsters. More people to protect her from the other, worse monsters," Jo smiles softly at his tone.
"And they will? Protect her?" Enzo nods.
"I'm certain."
"How can you be so sure?" She asks with disbelief at his faith in the two original vampires and a serial killer.
"Because they'll keep her safe, the same why I, and I'm sure now, you would," he states as she sighs.
"The doe eyes?"
"Those damn doe eyes," he agrees with a nod as she laughs and leans back in her chair with a smile.
"How did you meet? Or, why did she rescue you?" Jo asks as Enzo smiles.
"That is a long story, love," she shrugs, causing him to take a deep breath. "Damon…" Enzo recounts the tale of how he came to call Damon his best friend, then how he came to call him his greatest enemy before explaining how confused he was when the bold little doppelgänger broke and entered her way into his life and changed everything he knew.
"That is… really intense," Enzo chuckles at her tone as he shrugs.
"Yes, well, eventually we made up. I guess I never planned on staying mad at that asshole," Jo tilts her head at his tone before smiling.
"You care for him," she comments as he shrugs.
"He is my friend," she grins knowingly.
"That's not what I meant."
"I know," he states simply before pointing towards the bar, diverting her attention to a certain history teacher. "Ellie requested I introduce you to that man," Jo's expression contorts with confusion.
"The drunk?"
"The handsome drunk," Enzo attempts to talk Alaric up.
"Why would she-"
"If there is a method to that girl's madness, I have yet to crack the code. All I know is she wanted the two of you to meet and for me to explain to him all of her current plans."
"Why would she-" Jo cuts herself off with a smile and an eye roll as Enzo sends her an amused look.
Elena shoots up from her seat and pushes open the plane's large door, jumping down to the ground and dropping to her knees before emptying her lunch onto the pavement.
"Ugh! Oh, my god. You've had since the invention of flight to learn to land smoothly and that's the best you could do?" Elena yells at the plane as Klaus finishes shutting down the aircraft off and rolls his eyes.
"We got here didn't we? No need to be so dramatic," he makes his way out of the plane and holds out a bottle of water. She snatches it out of his hand and takes a sip, swishing it around her mouth before spitting it on the ground.
"We are never doing that again. Kai pilots from here on out," she looks around them and takes notice of the street they are on. Klaus landed the small aircraft on Main Street in Mystic Falls. "I need some toothpaste," she grabs Klaus's hand and pulls him into the nearest convenience store as the rest of the group follows.
"This is a throwback," Damon says as looks around the small store. He tilts his head and picks up a nearby playboy magazine. "16 years, huh?" Damon comments as Elena nods with a sigh.
"Yep. His wrist must be so sore," she says sadly, making Damon snort as she looks around the store for a toothbrush.
Elena finishes brushing her teeth in the small (gross) bathroom before returning to the group to find Kol pushing displays and shelves over and Klaus glaring at him with annoyance.
"What are you doing?" She asks, making him shrug.
"I'm bored," she nods and walks over to him, pushing a shelf over.
"Okay, let's go," she walks out of the store and across the street to a hardware store.
"What do you need tools for?" Damon asks as she begins searching the store.
"I don't need tools," she mutters, taking a backpack off of a display and unzipping it before finding the paint aisle and filling the bag with several bottles. "Here, hold this," she puts the backpack in his arms before walking away. He rolls his eyes and zips the bag, putting it on his shoulder as he follows her out of the store.
"Are you at least gonna tell me why you need spray paint?" He asks as she sends him a smile.
"You'll see."
Damon parks the car in front of the boarding house as Elena barely waits for him to stop the car before jumping out.
"Kol, come here," she says as makes her way over to the house and she unzips the bag. She positions him in front of the brick wall as she shakes the paint can and climbs on his shoulders.
The group watches as Elena begins spray painting the house.
"Hey, hey!" Damon rushes towards her with confusion as to why she's defacing his home. She ignores him, motioning for Kol to hand her more paint and continues.
This isn't a trap! We're here to rescue you, pinky promise. P.S. Don't stalk us like a creep, just use the doorbell. - Ellie and the vamps
"Ellie and the vamps?" Damon questions.
"We said we wanted to start a band," she grins, looking at the message before running to the front door and yelling. "I call biggest bed!" She suddenly stops and turns back to them. "Or we could all share," she wiggles her eyebrows as Kol catches up to her and throws her over his shoulder, carrying her into the house as she laughs. Stefan shakes his head as Klaus rolls his eyes and Damon sighs.
"How long are we here for, again?"
A scrub is a guy that thinks he's fly
And is, also known as a buster
Always talking about what he wants
And just sits on his broke ass, so," Elena holds a mixing bowl in one hand and a whisk as a microphone in the other as she belts out TLC lyrics at the top of her lungs.
"No, I don't want your number
No, I don't want to give you mine and
No, I don't want to meet you nowhere
No, I don't want none of your time," both pairs of brothers watch Elena from the doorway as she pours different ingredients into the bowl and stirs vigorously while singing.
"Should we do something?" Stefan asks the others as he observes Elena making a mess of the kitchen.
"Why? She seems perfectly fine," Kol says with a smile as he watches her dance around.
"Yeah. Kol's right, this is very in character for her," Damon says in a convincing tone.
"I don't know. For as long as I've known the girl, she has never, not once, picked up a spatula," Klaus says as Elena knocks over a glass jar.
"Oops, no one step in here without shoes," she yells over her shoulder after it shatters, not acknowledging the crowd she's drawn.
"I tried cooking with her once. Never again. I had to do breathing exercises to calm down," Damon rolls his eyes at Stefan's exaggeration before turning his eyes back to Elena.
"Fine. If something's up, what do we do?" Damon waits for an answer as the others remain silent. "Wow. That's really helpful," he says sarcastically before stepping into the kitchen, gaining Elena's attention.
"Ocean eyes! Look at you, the 90's really suit you," she sends him a bright smile before turning her attention to the beeping oven.
"Why, thank you. But as much as I love discussing how attractive I am, um… are you okay?" She turns to him with a confused laugh.
"Of course. Why wouldn't I be?" She tilts her head as the vampires stare at her flour covered apron and the surrounding kitchen chaos.
"Well, you're baking," Stefan steps forward with a gentle smile.
"So?" She asks, putting her hands on her hips.
"Alright, Enough," Klaus steps forward with a commanding tone. "Love, you have been doing… whatever this is, baking and "singing", for the last two days. And I'm pretty sure you've played that song at least forty times. We feel like something's wrong," Elena looks up at Klaus with a blank stare before snorting.
"What could possibly be wrong? We're in the prison world, we're gonna save Kai, we're gonna get the cure, everything is going awesome for me. You guys are obviously just creating drama out of nothing because you're bored," she pats Klaus's cheek before turning back to the oven.
"Right," Damon nods. "So you're definitely not doing that thing where you distract yourself from whatever you're feeling," Damon raises a brow.
"Nope, I just felt like baking," she shrugs as Damon fake laughs with narrowed eyes.
"Sure. Because that's what you're known for. Mind if I have one?" He points down at a tray of obviously ruined cupcakes as he moves closer towards her.
"Of course. It's why I made them," she calls his bluff, watching as he picks one and brings it to his mouth. "Okay, don't. Damn my concern for your well being. Fine, I'm not a great baker. I don't know what I'm doing wrong," she cries out with frustration, pointing to a plate of cupcakes. "These ones are literal rocks, but somehow came out cold. Those burned in the center, but were raw on the bottom. And these," she opens the oven door and points inside. "Literally exploded!"
"Ellie, with all the things you could be distracting yourself with, why on earth did you choose baking?" Kol asks as he unties her apron and helps her pull it off.
"No reason," she mutters, looking down at the mess with a defeated expression. Damon sighs and looks to the others, Klaus shakes his head, causing Stefan to elbow his arm.
"Fine," Klaus sighs loudly as he makes his way to Elena's side and begins clearing off the counter. "We're gonna need more… everything. Did you put yeast in the cake batter?" Klaus asks judgmentally, ignoring the large smile on Elena's face, letting out an oomph when she launches herself at him in a tight hug.
"No, I put it in the frosting," she admits, causing all four sets of eyes to immediately snap to her. "I thought it would make it grow," she shrugs as the four look on with concern.
Finn can't help but stare as Sage watches the jazz musicians with an amazed smile.
The oldest Mikaelson brothers and Sage had arrived in New Orleans two nights ago. They immediately located Freya, but getting into the cottage had been harder than they were expecting, which is why Finn and Sage found themselves in a lively bar, enjoying jazz as Elijah tried to contact his witches.
"I don't know why I waited so long to come back here, this place is as wonderful as I remember," Sage says to Finn as she looks around the crowded bar. She suddenly stops, a frown making it's way on to her lips as she spots a familiar face. "Right. That's why," she mumbles to herself as she leans into Finn, as if planning to protect him.
"If it isn't the beautiful, Sage. It's been a minute since you've set foot in my city," Marcel flashes his pearly teeth as Sage puts on a fake smile. "What brings you to town?" He asks, taking a seat at the booth before turning to Finn. "My apologies, I'm never so rude. Marcel. You are?" Finn opens his mouth to respond before Sage speaks first.
"Finn," she states with a meaningful tone, making Marcel's eyes widen before he composes himself.
"As in, your Finn?" He clarifies, attempting to mask his fear.
"That'd be him," Sage places her hands over Finn's closed fist as he tries to figure out what is going on.
"Marcel. As in Marcellus? Niklaus's son?" Finn questions innocently as Marcel's eyes briefly flash with pain.
"He woke them?" Marcel ignores Finn's question, running a hand over his mouth when Sage nods. "All of them?" He tries to remain passive, but the look of utter panic gives him away.
"Yes, and for good," Sage states with a confidence that makes Marcel take pause.
"Did something happen to Klaus?" He asks, regretting letting his concern show when a look of amusement passes between the couple.
"You could say that," Sage conforms vaguely, confusing Marcel even more as Finn and Sage smile at each other, a certain doppelgänger on both their minds.
"How many of you are here?" Marcel questions Finn impatiently.
"Just the one at the moment, I haven't quite mastered the ability to duplicate myself, you understand," Marcel narrows his eyes at Finn as Sage smiles, fucking Mikaelsons.
"Who else is in town?" Marcel asks sternly, reminding the couple of the man's father.
Deep in the bayou, Elijah steps out of his C class, immediately regretting his choice in shoes as the leather becomes covered in what he hopes is only mud.
He spots a shack a few hundred yards away, very much wishing to call Elena's phone and leave a scathing voicemail. He refrains, making his way to the building and deciding what to open with.
He hopes the girl is familiar enough with Elena's personality to understand why he's there.
"Can I help you?" He immediately turns in the direction of the voice he hears. Hayley Marshall stands a few feet away from him in a stance somewhere between relaxed and attack mode.
"Yes, you can. Elena Gilbert, do you remember her?" He pauses waiting for a response, continuing when she nods with a strange look on her face. "She sent me to check up on you. I'm Elijah, we met briefly before your transition."
"The alpha's brother," he confirms with a nod. "I remember, but I'm not really sure why El sent you. I'm fine, something she knows for a fact," Elijah raises a questioning brow as Hayley takes her phone from her pocket and holds it up slightly. "We texted like 3 days ago, she said she was going on trip and not to worry if I couldn't reach her. She didn't mention you at all."
"I don't understand-" Elijah cuts himself off with a look of realization. He shakes his head and sighs, there's not enough money in the world to fill the judgement jar.
"My apologies, Elena seems to be on a bit of a match making tear at the moment. I'd like to assure you it won't happen again, but knowing her, it will. Most likely very soon," Hayley laughs at his exhausted expression.
"It's okay, her randomness has become something I enjoy about her. It makes death a little less boring," Elijah notices her faraway, somewhat sad expression and decides he doesn't like it.
"You turned for your pack, correct?" She looks up, out of her thoughts and nods. "I assume you've met them."
"I have, they're great," Hayley smiles softly. "Still working on a way to help them. El told me I had to wait a little while, but it's harder than you'd think."
"I understand. What they're forced to go through is inhumane. I'm sure you're doing all you can," she sends him a grateful smile before shrugging.
"I'd like to think so. Thank you, by the way," He tilts his head in question. "For coming out here. It was nice of you to do that for her," Elijah smiles tightly, crossing his arms with a thoughtful expression.
"I owe her," Elijah settles on, not wanting to dwell on all his thoughts about Elena and her mysterious ways.
"Me too," Hayley laughs, smiling when she gets a slight grin from him.
"Where did you learn to bake like this and why the hell have you not done it for me before?" Elena demands angrily, taking another bite of her cupcake and moaning.
"I've been around a long time," Klaus wipes the frosting from the corner of her mouth and brings it to his lips. "You learn a few things," he whispers, licking the frosting away as she stares open-mouthed.
"Consider me seduced," she winks as he grins. A throat clearing sound interrupts their moment, causing them both to look over.
"We're all right here. Standing two feet away. Just letting you know," Damon says, making Elena smile wide.
"Thank you, guys," she throws her arms around each of them before pulling away. "But, I'm not cleaning up," she says, quickly leaving the men and messy kitchen behind.
She wanders through the 1994 version of the boarding house, looking for something else to occupy her time.
She's really bored (also literally dying) and wishes Kai would just show himself already. She's pretty sure he's been watching them for a few days now.
She walks over to the TV and sits down in front of it, putting a tape into the VCR and pressing play. Baywatch, season three. Pamela Anderson's very first appearance.
"Good choice," she hears from behind her, causing her to jump with surprise. She stares at the intruder with wide eyes for a moment before clearing her throat.
"Hi," she greets with a small, shy wave, feeling stupid as he only stares with a tilled head and slightly curved lips from his spot on the chair on the otherside of the room. "Wanted to make an entrance?" She steals her nerves, standing and walking towards him with confidence.
"I saw an opportunity," he shrugs, following her movements cautiously. "You and your boyfriends-"
"Oh, you don't have to pretend you don't know our names by now," she cuts him off with a teasing smile as he raises his brows.
"You knew I was watching," he states as she shrugs.
"Why else would I change in front of the open windows?" His eyes slightly narrow as a smile grows on both their faces.
"I told you I heard a voice!" Damon says as he and the other vampires barge into the room, pulling her behind them. "Jesus, Ellie, when a murder breaks into your house, you call for help," she laughs as Kai's smile turns threatening.
"I think that only applies if they're there to murder you," she says, making the sets of brothers send her a look. She raises her hands in surrender before turning back to Kai.
"These your guard dogs?" Kai asks with amusement at his own joke as Elena smirks, taking hold of Klaus's wrist.
"Just one of them," she responds, pulling Klaus back slightly and squeezing his hand. "Look, we have a lot to discuss vis-à-vis prison breaks and cures for vampirism, but right now…" she trails off, leaving the room quickly before returning with a plate in her hands. "We made cupcakes for you," she smiles as the others roll their eyes.
"So the baking was for him?" Damon asks, causing Elena to look to him.
"Of course it was. When do I bake?" He rubs a hand over his face with a frustrated groan as Elena steps forward to hand Kai the plate. "They're not poisoned, swearsies. Not that you could die anyway," Kai's eyes immediately turn suspicious as he takes a cupcake.
"Thank you," he says with a less than genuine smile, taking a bite and getting a little frosting on his lip. He licks it clean as Elena blinks slowly and swallows. "How'd you know that?" He asks in a casual tone.
"Hmm?" Elena responds distractedly as the other men shake their heads at Kai's obvious manipulation.
"You said "not that you could die anyway," how'd you know I can't die here?" He tilts his head as Elena closes her eyes, snapping herself out of it before responding.
"I'm sorry, I really want to say something clever, but the only words coming to my mind are what, that, mouth, and do," she says honestly as Kai laughs slightly and Kol steps forward, stepping in front of her.
"What she means to say, is it doesn't matter what she knows or how she knows it. What matters is what you'll do to get out of here," Kol grins smugly as Kai raises a mock impressed brow and Elena nods.
"Yeah, that," she clears her throat, staring as Kai stands, running a hand over his clothes.
"What I'll do?" Kai challenges, stepping into Kol's personal space. He extends his arm to touch Kol's shoulder before suddenly grunting in pain as Kol twists his arm behind his back, purposely avoiding the siphoner's hands.
"Keep your hands to yourself, witch," Kol says next to Kai's ear before pushing him forward.
"He's right, no magic leeching until we say so," Damon adds as Kai stands upright, putting his hands out to his side with a laugh.
"Leeching, coming from you?" Kai questions as Elena stands in between the group, separating Kai from the others.
"Hey, none of this is helpful. Let's all just take a breath," Elena inhales deeply, frowning when no one does the same, causing her to raise a brow and try again, this time the vampires reluctantly take deep breaths. "Excellent! Now, why don't we introduce ourselves? I'm Ellie and I'm extremely flexible," she looks around, ignoring the looks her friends send her, prompting them to go next.
"I'm Stefan Salvatore, this is my brother Damon," Damon rolls his eyes at Stefan's introduction before nodding his head once in greeting. "We're Vampires and this is our home," Elena smiles at him.
"Very good, Stef. God, why can you guys be more like him?" Elena asks the others.
"Lame?"
"A kiss ass?" Kol and Damon question at the same time as Stefan rolls his eyes.
"I'm Kai Parker and I want to know what the hell you're doing here," Kai says with an impatient smile, only making eye contact with Elena.
"It isn't obvious? We're here to save you," Kai stares in silence for a moment before erupting into laughter.
"Right, of course you are. Who wouldn't want to save me?" He asks with sarcasm as she rolls her eyes. "You know what I am, you came here voluntarily which means you're in contact with my old coven," he works out as Elena shakes her head. "What would my dad want with me after all this time?"
"Dude, you are way off base here, okay? I'm not here for your dad. I'm not here for anyone but myself," Elena lies, she's not sure he's ready to know she actually wants to help him.
"Then feel free to enlighten me," Elena opens her mouth to respond before Klaus cuts in.
"Ellie, don't-"
"No, it's okay. The truth is," Elena takes a deep breath. "We're from the future. A future where you escaped. And a future where… you and I fell in love," Elena says softly with watery eyes as Kai stares in confusion and the others look away, barely holding in sighs.
"We were madly in love, Kai. We were married, we had a house, a white picket fence, we even had a dog. A chocolate lab," Elena smiles, trying desperately to keep it together as Kai stands, shocked. "We got him before the twins came along," she rubs her stomach as Kai backs away slowly.
"I don't-" she interrupts Kai, moving closer.
"You are my everything and I was yours. I know you don't feel it now, but you will. I mean, you must already feel our connection," she searches his face with pleading eyes as he stares with an open mouth, she takes his hands and whispers lovingly. "We're soulmates."
"Look, uh, you're really pretty-" Elena snorts, cutting him off as she throws her head back with a laugh.
"I'm just fucking with you," she smiles brightly as Kai sighs with annoyance and rolls his eyes.
"Good one, very funny," she winks, releasing his hands and stepping away.
"Thank you, I agree. Alright look, I'll probably- scratch that, definitely spill all my secrets, but right now you're not in control. I am. And I'm making the rules. So if you would finally like to escape this personal hell of yours, please do us the courtesy of shutting up and sitting down," the room remains silent as Elena and Kai stare at each other. Suddenly Kai begins laughing as he steps back, putting more distance between himself and the group.
"That was great!" He tilts his head with a smile. "Very… authoritative," he enunciates, glancing at her lips before his expression changes. "But I'm not an idiot. You clearly need me for something, which means I hold all the power. Not to mention the ascendant, you know, the thing you all need to escape this personal hell of mine," he villain monologues, turning his back as he walks around the room and messing with random objects.
He's so hot, Elena mouths to the group, biting her lip as they roll their eyes and focus their attention back on the siphoner.
"So, I propose we put all our cards on the table so we can get the hell out of here," Kai turns back to them with raised brows, clearly expecting a response. "Please tell me you weren't stupid enough to come here without a way out."
"That's enough," Klaus says in a calm tone before speeding towards Kai, grabbing him by the throat and pushing him down into a nearby chair. "We're done talking. You do what we ask and we allow you to come with us. If not we-"
"Sorry, but did you miss the part about the ascendant?" Kai cuts him off with a smile as Klaus glares down at him. "If I don't leave, none of us do," he shrugs as Klaus grins threateningly.
"We could always take it from you-"
"You think I have it on me? I hid it. Obviously" Kai interrupts again with an eye roll.
"Then I guess we'll just have to find it," Kol steps forward with a smug grin as Kai smiles.
"Then I guess we're gonna be stuck here for a while," he says before looking past the originals to Elena. "Wanna watch Baywatch?"
"Oh, fuck yeah! Got a camcorder? I'll be the Pam to your Tommy," she wiggles her brows as he stares with hidden confusion, causing her eyes to widen in realization "Oh, you poor bastard. You haven't seen it. What year was their wedding?" She questions out loud.
"'95," Damon answers instantly, making the room look to him. "Pam's an old friend," he shrugs as Elena stares.
"Alright, I need you to tell me everything," she says with seriousness before Kai coughs, regaining her attention. "Right, we need to deal with this. But, definitely later," she whispers to Damon, he winks with a nod as she turns back to Kai. "Cards on the table?" Kai nods. "A cure for vampirism exists. I want it and I need a witch. We do have a way out of here, so if you help us, we all go home. Simply enough?"
"How did you get here?" Kai asks, leaning forward as Elena groans.
"Seriously?" She whines as Kai stares up at her. "Fine. Jo had the ascendant, I asked for it, she gave it to me. You ready to help us now?"
"No. I don't believe you. My sister would never, ever help free me. She'd rather die," Kai says with a blank stare, making Elena sigh as she moves to sit next to him, Kol follows, sitting between them and making her smile.
"I'm not lying, Kai. You're underestimating the effect I have on people," she gestures to the group. "You think these guys stick around because of my body, which is perfect by the way, in case you haven't noticed-"
"Sorry darling, but to be honest, I'm actually only here for your body," Elena ignores Kol's joke, only putting her middle finger in front of his face as she talks to Kai.
"I persuaded her. I was honest and told her that I didn't need her help. I could've taken the ascendant and she wouldn't have known, but I didn't. And she believed me because she could see the lengths I would go to help you."
"And that's another part I'm having a little trouble with, why would you want to help me? You don't know me and I doubt the information you could find painted me in a very saintly light," Kai argues.
"What is knowing someone? It's all relative. What's important now is whether you're willing to help. If not, l guess we should settle in. And I'm sure Josh is not totally freaking out by now," she says sarcastically, closing her eyes and leaning back against the couch.
"What are you?" Kai asks after a few seconds of silence.
"A cancer," Elena answers without opening her eyes, although she could feel his glare.
"You don't feel human," he says.
"Cause I'm not. Maybe, I don't actually know. I'm a magical carbon copy, so is Stef," she nods her head in Stefan's direction and Kai's eye brows crease.
"Doppelgängers?" He guesses.
"Ding, ding, ding. I'm not as one of a kind as I look," she finally sits up and turns towards him. "We're doppelgängers of the first immortals, a babe named Amara and a super sexy asshole called Silas," Elena trails off with a small smile, confusing Kai but not the others for obvious reasons.
"The same Silas that is buried in a tomb with the cure, speaking of, feel like helping us so we can get out of this prison?" She asks impatiently as he stands.
"I still don't believe you."
"Jesus Christ!" Elena claims with disbelief and anger.
"You need something from me and by the way these guys keep looking at you expectantly, I'm assuming it's about you? See," he gestures to their expressions. "They didn't seem to care about the cure, which means it's something more important," he trails off with a grin as Kol takes hold of her wrist, Kai's eyes following the movement before he glances at her smugly.
"Damn you're good!" Elena shouts, getting up and standing in front of him. "I didn't really feel like having my life used as leverage, but whatever. I'm dying and the only way I'll live is if someone can take the magic out of my blood," Elena admits as Kai studies her face.
"Fine," Kai says as Elena's eyes narrow.
"What?"
"Okay, I'll help you get the cure and once we get out of here, I'll fix you," he shrugs as the others step forward, shaking their heads in protest.
"No. No way. You heal her now," Damon demands, making Kai smile as Elena stops him from walking closer.
"It's alright. I should be fine for a little while longer, we just really got to get this show on the road," Elena looks around at each of them with a smile.
"Couldn't agree more," Kai says in a cheerful tone as he makes his way across the room, towards the door.
"Where the hell are you going?" Kol asks, causing Kai to turn to him with a smile.
"To pack a bag. Because the second we get the cure, we're getting out of here," he winks at Elena before leaving. Elena blows out a breath as she turns back to the group.
"Are you alright?" Stefan asks, grabbing her hand as she nods.
"Yeah," she answers in a distracted tone. "It's just- to quote myself directly after meeting Klaus," she pats Klaus's chest with her free hand and looks towards the direction Kai left. "I'm gonna fuck that psycho," she says fondly, leaving the men in stunned silence as she skips out of the room.