The Vampire Diaries
Season 3: Episode 3
The End of the Affair
"Stefan's the 'only comrade' you have left? What the hell? Your wife is literally right by your side. What is she if not your comrade?" The aggressive line of questioning comes from none other than the insufferable doppelgänger herself. Klaus and Åse both have to take deep, calming breaths before even thinking about responding to her. Klaus is the first one to speak out of the two. "She is not my comrade because she is much more important to me. Åse is my other half; she completes me." Åse sent a sweet smile to Klaus as she pecked his lips. She then turned serious as she looked at Elena. "You would know how special we think each other are if you knew basic definitions. Comrades are merely friends that participate in a similar activity. Klaus and I are much more than that." At the insult there were a few snickers from the Originals side of the room. Elijah and Finn could be seen with almost proud faces seeing that knowledge was being used to undermine instead of violence.
With no one knowing how to respond the screen ended up turning back on.
The first scene to be shown is the SUV that the two Originals and Stefan have been traveling in while hunting for werewolves.
As the car comes to a stop Klaus steps out and says, "Welcome back to Chicago, Stefan." Klaus leaves the car door open as he holds out one of his hands. Åse takes hold of her husbands hand as she elegantly steps out of the car. She can be seen wearing a pair of black lace-up heels with an open toe, black skinny jeans, a black shirt loosely tucked into her jeans that goes up to her neck but has the sides purposely left missing so that her side-boob is exposed, and a thin black leather belt with a small gold finishing on the front.
The two Originals walked hand in hand to a warehouse door as Stefan asks, "What are we doing here?" Klaus moves to open the door as he responds to Stefan. "We know how much you loved it here." He drapes an arm across Åse's shoulders as he gazes out at the Chicago skyline. Looking over at Stefan, Åse has a teasing smirk on her lips as she says, "Bringing back memories of the good old Ripper days." The younger vampire looks between Åse and Klaus as he sets his hands on his hips. "Blacked out most of them. A lot of blood, a lot of partying. The details are all a blur." "Well that is a crying shame." Klaus says as he lightly shakes his head. "The details are what makes it legend."
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1920s
The screen changes to show a flashback of the time when Klaus, Åse, and Stefan were in Chicago. Klaus' voice continues as a voiceover.
"Word was the Ripper of Monterrey got lonely, so he escaped to the city for comfort. It was prohibition. Everything was off limits then, which made everything so much more fun."
A car from that time period pulls to a stop and parks. It is zoomed in on and to a lot of the rooms surprise there was a woman moaning in the backseat. What some didn't expect though was to see Stefan pull away from her. The woman was now dead in the backseat of the car as Stefan had blood dripping off his lips.
Ripper Stefan breathes for a few seconds before looking over to the dead woman and picking a flower out of her hair and putting it into his suits breast pocket. He takes a second to compose himself afterward before getting out of the car. He shuts the car door and then nonchalantly straightens his jacket and lightly wipes the blood from his mouth before walking off.
The Mystic Falls side of the room, except Damon and Stefan, had shocked looks on their faces. They had only seen a small amount of Ripper Stefan, but even then it was never this nonchalant. Damon was only not shocked because he had seen his brother like this. Stefan on the other hand was trying to avoid looking at he screen altogether. He didn't like this side of himself, and he never would.
Or so he thought.
Stefan walks up to the back of a building and knocks on a door. He is quickly let inside and led through a set of red curtains. Moving through the curtains it is revealed to be a bar full of people drinking, talking, and dancing. The Ripper leans on a nearby banister as he watches the woman on stage performing. He and the woman make eye contact and she speaks into the microphone. "Look who my eyes have just spied, ladies? Looking for a good time, Mr. Salvatore?" Stefan speaks up over the music. "Save me a dance, Gloria." He walks down a few sets of stairs and is about to grab a drink from a waiter passing by when a blonde woman swoops in and grabs it first.
Rebekah, having recognized herself, perks up at seeing her first interaction with Stefan.
The blonde quickly starts to walk away when Stefan speaks up. "Ooh. Please, help yourself." The woman slowly turns around as she replies, "Oh, I always do." She takes a few steps towards Stefan as she speaks in a quieter tone. "Careful, Mr. Salvatore." Looking down at his lips she smirks to herself before leaning in, almost within kissing distance. She licks the very edge of Stefan's lips before leaning into his ear and saying, "Your still wearing your date. She's lovely." Swiftly turning away the woman is stopped when Stefan gently grabs her upper arm saying, "No, no, no. Who are you?" She only holds up a finger to her lips and lets out a quiet "Shh." before walking away.
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The screen changes back to show the present. Both Klaus and Åse sporting small smiles at the city at night.
Klaus is the first to break the silence. "Chicago was magical." Stefan pushes off a nearby wall seemingly not interested. "Yeah, well, I'll take your word for it. Like I said, I don't remember most of it." As the vampire walks away the Originals share an annoyed look before Klaus says, "Ready to get down to business, then?" He closes the warehouse door as Stefan asks, "Why am I still with you? We had our fun. Your hybrids failed. I mean, don't you want to move on?" Åse sends a look full of hate towards Stefan. One of which he definitely took a step or two back from. Seeing this interaction Klaus pulls Åse to his side, the one further away from Stefan, as he responds. "We're going to see my second favorite witch. If anyone can help us with our hybrid problem, it's her." Åse rolls her eyes at this but has an almost unnoticeable smile on her lips.
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1920s
The screen changes again to show another flashback.
The same blonde woman who spoke with Stefan is now dancing with a man on the dance floor. She looks away from the man when she hears loud boisterous laughter from across the room. Seeing a group of men acting as if they are the only ones there she decides to interfere.
"Sorry to crash the fun boys, but some of us actually came here to hear the music. Not you." When the men turn around to see who was speaking to them she comes face to face with Stefan Salvatore. "I am so sorry, sweetheart. Are we offending you?" Stefan is leaning languidly against the bar top as the blonde walks up to him. She traces his face with her pointer finger as she speaks. "It would take a lot more than a baby face like this to offend me." As soon as she's finished she starts to walk away. Stefan, however, sets his drink down and goes after her. "Hey, hey." When she turned her head to look at him he continues. "You ever going to tell me your name?" "Sure. When you earn it. Now do Gloria a favor and stick a sock in it."
As much as the Mystic Falls residents have come to not like the Originals they do find Rebekah's interactions with Stefan amusing. Even the other Originals themselves have small looks of amusement in their eyes.
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The screen changes back to show the present state of Gloria's bar.
Stefan walks in first. Klaus and Åse trailing behind him. Watching Stefan look around the bar Klaus asks, "Looks familiar doesn't it?" "I can't believe this place is still here." The Originals and Stefan lean up against a section of railing observing the empty bar. Distantly, they all hear a door open and turn their attention towards the noise. Coming around a dimly lit corner is a woman. She speaks up when she sees who exactly is in her bar. "You gotta be kidding me."
Klaus and Åse step away from Stefan as they walk closer to Gloria. "So a hybrid walks into a bar, says to the bartender—" Almost immediately Gloria stops him. "Stop. You may be invincible, but that doesn't make you funny." Åse turns her head into Klaus' neck hiding her light laughter. Klaus looks down at her and just shakes his head fondly.
Stefan steps up to the three of them which causes Gloria to nod her head at him. "I remember you." "Yeah. You're Gloria." With the slightest bit of hesitation he says, "Shouldn't you be..." Gloria is quick to respond. "Old and dead? Now if I die who's going to run this place, huh?" Turning his gaze away from Åse, Klaus looks to Stefan and says, "Gloria's a very powerful witch." Åse rolls her eyes at this. Klaus, as if he could already tell what his wife was thinking, moved his hand that was around her waist to the back pocket of her jeans. When he sees she's about to turn and look at him he moves closer so he can whisper in her ear. The witch and vampire in their presence don't hear what Klaus says, but by the smirk on Åse's lips it can't be anything appropriate.
Gloria looks between everyone present before she speaks. "I can slow the aging down some. Herbs and spells. But don't worry, it'll catch up to me one day." Klaus doesn't move his gaze away from Åse as he addresses the younger vampire in the room. "Stefan, why don't you go and fix us up a little something from behind the bar." Stefan looks at the Original for a second or two before nodding his head. "Yeah, sure thing."
As soon as Stefan walked away Klaus and Åse both look towards Gloria. Åse looks at the witch with a smirk on her face as she says, "You look ravishing, by the way." Gloria waves her off. "Don't. No amount of compliments from you will get you anywhere, Scarlet." The smirk is instantly gone from Åse's face.
The name and Åse's instant mood change caught everyone's attention.
Mystic Falls residents were mainly curious. They had never heard the name "Scarlet" used and it hadn't been mentioned in what they were watching either. Bonnie looked to be deep in thought but she still couldn't remember why the name sounded vaguely familiar.
On the Originals side of the room they looked both angry and stunned. The angry ones were Åse, obviously, and Klaus. The other Originals were in shock because they couldn't believe someone would throw Åse's true title in her face like that.
Klaus' easy-going attitude was gone in a flash. He took his hand out of Åse's back pocket and moved behind her to rest his hands on her shoulders. Slowly, Klaus moved so his lips rested right against the shell of his wife's right ear. Quiet enough so that Gloria and Stefan couldn't hear them Klaus told her, "We can't kill her yet, love. She still has a use as of right now." Åse's tone was filled with hate as she said, "I could do it just fine. We don't need her." Klaus leaned his head on the side of Åse's as he responded. "I know you could, but you don't have to." The hybrid pulled away but kept his hands firmly on his wife's shoulders. Åse took a deep breath in and slowly let it out to show she was at least trying to calm down.
Gloria, seeing that she was out of the clear for now, started talking after letting out a sigh. "I know why you're here. A hybrid out to make more hybrids? That kind of news travels." She led the two Originals to a nearby table as she spoke. Klaus and Gloria sat in chairs while Åse was pulled onto Klaus' lap. "So what am I doing wrong? I broke the curse." Stefan is seen listening in as Gloria responds. "Obviously you did something wrong." Åse sharply looked up from her nails to glare at the witch. "That why he's asking you. Don't state what we already know." Wearily, Gloria looks between the two Originals in front of her. "Look, every spell has a loophole, but a curse that old... we'd have to contact the witch who created it." Klaus and Åse share matching smirks before he responds to Gloria. "Well, that would be the Original Witch." Åse finishes his thought by saying, "She's very dead." Gloria says a quick "I know" before she continues. "And for me to contact her, I'll need help."
As Stefan is preparing drinks he sees a picture hung up on the wall.
Gloria looks between Klaus and Åse as she says, "Bring me Rebekah." Sharing a quick glance with his wife Klaus says, "Rebekah. Rebekah is a bit preoccupied." Without hesitation Gloria keeps pushing. "She has what I need. Bring her to me." As Åse is about to blow up on Gloria all three at the table are turning towards Stefan as he asks, "What is this?" He is holding the picture he found behind the bar. Åse gets off of Klaus' lap as he goes to respond. "Well, I told you Stefan. Chicago's a magical place." Stefan looks back down at the photo before showing it to Klaus as if he didn't already know what it was. "But this is me. With you."
The picture made everyone on the Mystic Falls side of the room start freaking out. Stefan couldn't believe it. He had actually spent time with the Original Hybrid and consequently his wife. Turning to the two Originals Stefan asked the only thing he could "Why?" His question had everyone looking between Klaus, Åse, and Stefan. They were all wondering how this would play out.
Surprisingly, Åse was the one to speak to Stefan first. " Why what Stefan?" With desperation clear on his face the younger vampire is almost pleading with her when he asks, "Why don't I remember the two of you? I know I said I blacked out during my Ripper days but I would remember meeting two of the Originals." Klaus turned to face Stefan with a blank expression. "You don't remember because I compelled you to forget us, Stefan." Now confused Stefan could only ask a simple "Why?" Before Klaus even opened his mouth Åse was speaking. "We can't have people that we keep alive remember us, Stefan. We're legends, remember? The monsters the supernatural world are too scared to even speak about. Leaving you in the know would have left us with a weakness, and we can't have that now can we?"
The Originals looked at Åse in shock at her quick thinking. They had only known Åse and Klaus to not care who saw them and their reputation. They believed that they two of them reveled in the fear that they created. They aren't completely wrong, but they aren't fully right either.
What nobody but Åse herself knew was the other part to Stefan's compulsion. She was determined to keep that to herself until it was shown on the screen. She knew that the reaction and consequences would be glorious.
The scene changed to show an old apartment building. Inside the building Damon and Elena could be seen walking down one of the hallways as Elena starts talking.
"Stefan could live anywhere in Chicago and he chose this?" A couple steps ahead Damon answers her as he stops at a door. "There used to be an all-girls high school around the corner, but it shut down for attendance issues. Weird."
As unfortunate as it was Åse did want to laugh at the older Salvatore's remark. However, she maintained her stoic features and only squeezed her armrest to show her acknowledgment.
Elena look up at Damon intently as she says, "If your trying to scare me into giving up and going back, it's not going to work." Damon tells her to "Shh." So he can listen inside the apartment. When he hears nothing he breaks the door handle and pushes the creaky door open.
As he takes a few steps inside he ominously says, "Here we are. Stefan's second personality home."
Åse openly rolls her eyes at this. The Ripper is not Stefan's second personality, it's who he truly is. He was just never taught how to control himself. That's why he goes on "Ripper binges." She just wants the truth to come out already so Nik can have his friend back.
Elena walks further into the apartment looking stuff over. "Pretty obvious he hasn't been here." Damon passes by her saying, "Tour is not over yet." The vampire makes his way to an open floor to ceiling shelf in the kitchen and starts to feel around the edges on one side. What sounds like a lock clicking out of place makes Elena look at the shelf confused. Damon looks back at the doppelgänger and nods her inside to the secret room he just opened.
Seemingly not understanding the situation, Elena just sees the bottles of booze and says, "Stefan hid his alcohol. What a monster."
Klaus and Åse share at glance. They know exactly what Damon was trying to show the doppelgänger.
Damon briefly looks at Elena before he turns back to the secret room saying, "Look harder." Elena steps further into the room and glances to her side at the wall. "It's a list of names." Damon hums in approval but doesn't say anything further so Elena can figure it out herself. After a several seconds of silence pass she comes to a realization. With a look of slight fear on her face she says, "These are all of his victims?" As she keeps looking at this list it seems to only get longer. Without changing his tone Damon asks her, "Still handling it?"
During the entire scene Stefan had kept his head down not wanting to see anyone's reactions. He was ashamed of his Ripper self. He hated being like that and just wished that part of him would go away.
No one on the Mystic Falls side was saying anything. They were all too stunned because of what they had just learned. In Stefan's opinion the silence was worse than almost anything they could have been saying to him. If they verbally attack him he can defend himself, but the silence? It was like he could feel how scared of him they were, and he hated it.
The Originals really weren't fazed by the information. Klaus and Åse obviously because they knew about it already, but also because all of them, except maybe Finn, had done much worse than just create a long list of their victims names.
Looking away from Stefan's list, Elena turns to Damon and with judgement in her tone asks him, "What were you doing in the 1920s? Paving the way for women's liberation?" Now back in the living room the vampire doesn't look at her as he says, "I was around. Chicago's a big city." He turns so he can see the doppelgänger to continue his explanation. "Stefan was a cocky ripper douche. But I could avoid him and still indulge in a few Daisy Buchanans of my own." He finishes his sentence with a smirk and Elena just looks at him with disgust.
The vampire starts walking away and towards the door. When Elena realizes what he's doing she asks, "Where are you going?" Without looking back Damon says, "His old stomping ground." There was no hesitation when she said, "I'm coming with you." Damon already has the door slightly opened as he tells the doppelgänger a stern "No. You stay here and whip up an actual plan. I'll come back when I find him." Elena can only let out a sigh as Damon leaves.
The scene changes back to the warehouse where the two Originals and Stefan started out.
Walking through an open doorway Åse and Klaus are seen several steps ahead of Stefan, who is still holding the picture he found, as he starts asking them questions. "This doesn't make any sense. Why don't I remember you?" The hybrid doesn't spare Stefan a glance as he responds. "You said it yourself, that time had a lot of dark holes." In a slightly louder voice Stefan keeps his questions coming. "No, if you knew me, then why haven't you said anything?" Åse can be seen clenching her jaw and fists in anger. Klaus sees this and immediately grabs one of her hands to at least somewhat ground her. Still not looking at Stefan, the Original keeps moving forward as he talks. "I'm a little busy right now. Memory lane will have to wait."
Finally losing any composure, and possibly sanity, he may have had, Stefan grabs Åse's free arm and yanks her back towards him and puts her in a headlock. Not expecting this, Klaus whips around at vampire speed and sees the position his wife is in. With his only clear emotion being rage he growls out a very angry, "Let. Her. Go." Not even moving an inch Stefan asks a stern, "What the hell is going on? Answer me." With only a beat of silence to show his hesitation he quickly adds on, "Or I swear to God I'll rip her head off."
Everyone in the room had been silent up until this point. When Stefan proclaimed that he was going to kill Åse the woman herself couldn't keep it together anymore. She let out a burst of laughter that soon had Kol following her lead.
While everyone on the Mystic Falls side looked at them while they were clinically insane the other Originals didn't look the least bit fazed. Klaus gazed at his wife fondly as she laughed with his brother without a care in the world.
Sobering up after their laughing fit, the two Originals wiped any tears away as they quieted down their giggles. Åse calmed down first and spared the Ripper a glance before she turned back to look at the screen and spoke. "If you think that you could ever kill me you better think again. You'd have better luck finding a good doppelgänger." Kol looked back back at his sister-in-law as he nodded his head. "Exactly what I was thinking, dearest Åse." The woman let the term of endearment slide, but also let him see her shaking her head at him to show her disapproval.
Klaus' face contorts to show even more anger. The hybrid looks to his wife to see that her eyes are closed and her breathing had gotten heavier. He knows that she isn't scared, so there was really only one other option. She was absolutely pissed and was reeling in her anger so she didn't kill everyone within a miles radius. Klaus was about to speak up again when he hears his wife's voice first. "Niklaus, don't."
Any signs of amusement from the Originals was long gone. They all knew that Åse never used Klaus' full first name. It was always Nik or Klaus. She only used his full name when she was angry at him for something, which wasn't very often, or if she was in a situation where she needed him to really listen to her.
Immediately Klaus' attention is snapped to his wife. Her eyes were still closed but as soon as she can feel him looking at her she opens them. Looking back at him were the most beautiful, glowing, blood red eyes he has ever seen. Åse's voice was tense as she spoke, and she was teetering on the edge of letting go of her control just so she could kill Stefan. "Go fetch two people off the street so I kill them and not Salvatore." Klaus can only nod in acknowledgment before he is speeding away.
As soon as Åse hears that Klaus is out of the warehouse she throws her head back crashing it into Stefan's nose. Being disoriented he loosens his grip on her and she easily slips out of his hold. Turning around to face the young vampire she sees him slightly bent over holding his nose as it bleeds while he is looking up at her. Åse stares Stefan directly in the eye as she starts to slowly walk forward. In this moment she is the epitome of a predator stalking her prey.
Stefan brings his hand away from his still bleeding nose as fear washes over him. It is painted clear on his face that he is scared for his life. Åse keeps walking forward and doesn't bother to hide her glowing red eyes. Without warning Åse speeds closer to Stefan faster than he has ever seen before. The Original has him in a death grip by the throat against a nearby wall. She holds him so that his feet are no longer touching the ground and his airway is restricted. Looking up at him with a sadistic smirk that does nothing to hide how angry she is Åse starts to speak. "You think you're hot shit because your still here pretending to be the Ripper." Stefan's eyes go comically wide at Åse's statement. However, she doesn't dwell on the fact as she keeps talking. "You are nothing compared to me. I have lived 10 lifetimes. I have killed tens of thousands more people than you ever have or will. The only reason you still live to see the light of day is because you, Ripper, are the secret weapon that not even Klaus knows about." As she was talking Åse slowly lowered Stefan so that his feet were touching the ground again. Åse's face loses her smirk to show only her anger as she stares through Stefan and into his soul. She tilts her head slightly to the right as if she's contemplating something before her smirk comes back full force. Plunging her free hand straight into his chest she grabs his heart and laughs as he screams out in pain. As her eyes keep their blood red glow Åse speaks in a deadly whisper as Stefan continues to gasp in pain. "If you so much as think about harming, maiming, killing, or even touching myself or Klaus, I will kill everyone you've ever known and them hunt you down to the ends of the Earth just to watch you writhe in pain as I make you suffer the consequences." Åse doesn't even have to ask for verbal conformation because Stefan was already nodding his head. With a quick "Good" from her she finally pulls her hand out of his chest.
Stefan crumples to the ground and Åse turns away while looking at the blood now coating her left hand. She rolls her eyes but then perks up when she hears her husband speeding back to where she and Stefan were at. Coming to a stop about 10 feet away Klaus has a hard grip on two pedestrians, one boy and one girl, each with a matching bloody bite mark on their neck. Looking up at his wife Klaus smirks before he nods between the two people he was holding. "Found some of your favorites, my love." He pushes the boy forward as he says, "B negative," then he pushes the girl "AB positive." Åse's eyes have a feral look to them as she watches the humans start to freak out. "Have I told you how much I love you?" Klaus looks down as he smiles to himself and laughs slightly. "You have, but I wouldn't mind hearing it again." Åse lets out a quiet laugh. Still watching the humans she whispers out "Σ' αγαπώ." (I love you).
By this point Stefan has sat up and is leaning against a wall, but is still recovering. Klaus has moved out of the way and stands closer to Stefan but still several feet away. Åse was now circling the humans as they start to continuously beg for their lives. She comes to a stop behind the humans and smirks to herself before saying one word. "Run."
Immediately the humans are running to try and find an escape. Åse gives them a good 10 seconds before she speeds off after them. Stefan, in all of his fake Ripper glory, tries as hard as he can to keep an impassive look on his face. Especially when he hears the screams of the humans as Åse chases them before she inevitably tears them apart.
Not even five minutes later Åse casually strolls back to the area where Klaus and Stefan are waiting. Stefan's eyes go completely wide when he sees Åse's appearance. There is blood pooling from her mouth, dripping onto the front of her shirt and coating it almost completely. It's splattered up and down her arms and legs. The worst part is her hands. Åse's hands were covered in the dark red liquid all the way up to her wrists and the blood dripped as she walked.
Everyone looked at the screen with different emotions.
The people of Mystic Falls look horrified at what Åse had done. She had absolutely slaughtered those people without remorse. It even seemed like she was wearing their blood as a trophy.
The Originals had varying opinions. Finn heavily disapproved, Elijah looked on blankly, Rebekah nodded her approval, Kol looked like he was about to start cheering, and then there was Klaus. The Original Hybrid turned to his wife, leaned down to her ear and spoke so no one else could hear, "You are the most beautiful woman to have set foot on Earth." Åse turned to face him with a small genuine smile that no one else could get her to wear. She leaned in closing the small distance between them and kissed Klaus hard and passionately. When they both pulled away Åse whispered in the same tone that Klaus used, "I love you, Niklaus Mikealson."
Klaus walked up to his wife not minding the blood at all as he pulled her into a hug. Not moving from the hug, but pulling back slightly, both Originals look into each other's eyes.
A distorted voiceover of the two Originals starts playing as the scene stays the same.
Klaus: Is everything alright now, my love?
Åse: If your asking about me being calm, then yes. However, I do believe some information about Stefan would prove useful to you.
Klaus: What do you mean?
Åse: In the 20s you compelled Stefan to forget about us, but now he's trying to figure that out.
Klaus: Yes, I already know this.
Åse: Let me finish, Nik. I never told you, but I went back and removed the compulsion.
Klaus: WHAT?!
Åse: I said, Let. Me. Finish. Niklaus. Now, as I was saying. I did remove your initial compulsion. However, I replaced it with my own.
Åse could be seen wearing a smirk the Devil would be scared of.
Klaus: What absolutely diabolical thing did you do this time, my love?
Åse: I told Stefan to hate his Ripper side. To believe that it is a second personality that he should want to get rid of. That it would be better to think that drinking human blood was morally wrong for him as a vampire. I also made sure to add that he shouldn't remember us Originals until I removed the compulsion.
Klaus had a perplexed look on his face.
Klaus: It seems like a lovely revenge plan, but why did you do it? What was the purpose if we were never going to see him again?
Åse: You know I never liked him, but his Ripper tendencies made him tolerable. I just wanted to do something before we had to leave. In all honesty I was bored.
Klaus: Of course you were. Why are you telling me this now? There has to be a reason.
Åse: There is a very large reason actually. It has to do with why your hybrids aren't working.
Klaus' eyes immediately hardened.
Klaus: What did the vampire do?
Åse: He has kept information from us. The truth is that the doppelgänger is alive.
Klaus looked to be absolutely fuming. He went to pull away from Åse but she held firm on his biceps. Making sure he was looking at her she kept "talking."
Åse: I know you are angry, but Nik you need to listen to me. The doppelgänger may be alive but we need to let things play out here in Chicago. It would raise too much suspicion if it didn't. Stefan will find out that he's been compelled, it will eventually get removed anyway. However, instead of him crawling back to the infestation that is Mystic Falls he will now be on our side.
Klaus looked to be in complete awe of his wife, but he made sure to ask something to clear things up.
Klaus: How do we know we can trust him?
Åse: That's the best part, Nik. The only real ties he has in Mystic Falls are his brother, Damon, and that fucking doppelgänger. Looking through his head I saw that his relationship with his brother has been strained the entire time they have been vampires, but they are still family. I also saw what his feelings for the doppelgänger were. Since his mind was so clouded over with my compulsion it made almost his whole personality change. The way he feels for the doppelgänger would most likely go away instantly when the compulsion is taken away and he realizes how much of an annoying, selfish, brat she truly is. Basically, the compulsion is removed, we have our own personal Ripper.
The room was completely silent.
That is until Kol and Åse burst into yet another one of their laughing fits.
Klaus was admiring his laughing wife while also silently praising how smart she is.
The rest of the Originals all looked quite impressed with Åse's plan even though it started out unintentional.
The Scooby Gang all looked astonished. The moral, patient, and understanding vampire they had all come to know, and in some cases love, wasn't really who Stefan was. Elena couldn't handle it anymore and started yelling. "No! That's not true! She's lying!" Her shrill voice made all of the supernaturals in the room cringe. All laughing had immediately ceased and was quickly replaced by deadly glares. The worst of them being from Klaus. Yet, Åse didn't look angry. If anything she looked to be amused by the doppelgängers accusation.
The two sides of the room were in a stand-off with one another. Everyone, except Åse, was silently holding a stern gaze with someone from the opposite side. The silence was broken after several seconds though when a low, dark laugh echoed through the room. All eyes collectively turned to the source of the noise. What they saw was Åse with her head slightly tilted down and to the right as her blood red eyes started to glow. Åse looked up and directly at Elena without an ounce of emotion on her face. Down in one of the seats in front of her she heard a quiet "Oh shit" that she knew was from Kol.
Åse stood slowly from her seat and started making her way over to the insufferable doppelgänger. Nobody on the Mystic Falls side moved to help. They already knew that they wouldn't survive if they got in the Originals way.
Once Åse was standing directly in front of Elena she just stared down at her for a few seconds to unnerve her. When she was successfully squirming in her seat Åse reached out at vampire speed and pulled the girl up by her throat. She wasn't squeezing so that the girl couldn't breathe, not yet at least, but just enough so that she was upright and rooted in her place. Looking over her copied facial features she started to speak in a low tone that cut through the silence like a knife. "You doppelgängers never learn do you?" Elena opened her mouth to try and respond but Åse beat her to it. "Ah, ah, ah. No talking unless your spoken to." Åse had also started to squeeze the girls neck so she had a little less air to breathe. Without waiting the Original kept talking. "You're all the same. In every sense of the word really. Same face, same body, same manipulative tendencies." Elena had tried yet again to speak up for herself, but this time it angered Åse. The clench of her hand around the doppelgängers neck was visible this time as she said, "What did I tell you about not talking." It may have sounded like a question but it most certainly was a statement. Åse's anger slipped off her face though at her next statement. She knew it would make everyone think about what multiple generations of the doppelgänger have done. She looked Elena straight in the eye and said, "But the most striking quality of every wretched doppelgänger to walk this Earth is their uncanny ability to accuse and drag everyone around them into their problems and get them killed in the process."
Åse's statement made everyone who had encountered or even just heard about a doppelgänger sit in contemplation. Or in Kol's case act like an immature child and laugh at everyone else. Åse had kept squeezing Elena's neck as she was talking until the girls face was purple and she was on the brink of passing out. However, when she was finished she unceremoniously dropped the barely conscious girl back into her seat and walked away.
As she made her way back to her seat the room was still silent and no one made any move to talk so the screen turned back on.
What they all forgot though because of the drama was the first real display of Åse being a hybrid.
The voiceover ceased and Klaus looked at his wife with pure awe written on his face. He moved his hands so that he was holding her face and his thumbs caressed her cheeks. Klaus pulled her into a passion filled kiss that could only be filled with his love and admiration for her. Pulling away after almost a full minute Klaus leaned his forehead against his wife's. Both of their eyes were closed as they relished the moment they had together.
Soon enough they pulled apart and looked over to Stefan who was now standing up against the wall but still looked to be in slight pain and covered in his own blood. Klaus smirked at the sight of the vampire and wrapped an arm around Åse's shoulders as he asked, "How did my lovely wife take out her revenge on you, Stefan?" The younger man looked between the two now standing mere feet in front of him slightly nervous. He clear his throat lightly before saying, "She choked slammed me into the wall," he turned to gesture the the indent in the concrete that Åse wasn't aware of "held me up off the ground while threatening me, and then plunged her hand into my chest and squeezed my heart until it felt like it would explode." Stefan let out a heavy sigh as he thought about what Åse said though. "You think you're hot shit because your still here pretending to be the Ripper." He didn't know how she knew, but he was immensely scared that he was going to die within the next day or two.
As Klaus listened to Stefan list off what Åse had done all he could feel was pride. When the younger vampire was finished Klaus wore a smirk before he just nodded his head saying, "Well, you did deserve it." Stefan didn't retaliate. Instead he looked between himself and the only female around noticing all the blood they had on them. Glancing over at Klaus he asked, "Before we get on with whatever we're doing, can we change? I think all this blood would attract some unwanted humans." The Originals just shrugged before everyone went to go clean up.
The next scene showed everyone cleaned up. Stefan had come out in a different shirt but noticed that Åse and Klaus wore the same clothes. However, they didn't have a speck of blood on them. He disregarded that for now though because he was already on extremely thin ice.
As they all met back where they started Åse spoke up. "You said you wanted answers, correct?" Stefan could only nod his head in reply. Klaus wrapped an arm around Åse's shoulders as he said, "Let's just say we didn't get off to a brilliant start. To be honest, I hated you." Åse spoke up with a blank look on her face, "I absolutely loathed you."
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1920s
Another flashback pops up on screen
Stefan is immediately seen in a booth at Gloria's bar biting into a woman's neck and feeding on her. Rebekah is then seen swooping into the booth on the woman's other side and also feeding from her neck. After only a few seconds Stefan's hand creeps over and caresses Rebekah's shoulder. Both vampires pull away from the woman and meet in the middle for a kiss. When Stefan starts to trail kisses down Rebekah's neck he finds the necklace she's wearing. He pulls away, lightly holding the necklace as he says, "It's beautiful." With their faces only mere inches apart Rebekah breathily replies, "A witch gave it to me. Supposedly it's magical." Stefan lifts his hand and uses his thumb to caress the Original's cheek. "And is it?" Rebekah smiles as she answers. "It brought me love, didn't it?"
Just as the two were leaning in for another kiss a man pulls Rebekah up by her arm saying, "It's late, Rebekah. We're leaving." Harshly pulling her arm back Rebekah sternly says, "Get off me." Stefan quickly gets up out of the booth looking ready to fight this man. Sparing a quick glance at Rebekah he asks, "Who is this guy?" Rebekah puts herself in between the two men. Settling a hand on Stefan's chest she tells him, "Stefan, don't. He'll kill you." Leveling her gaze she is seen to be looking straight into the eyes of the man who grabbed her. His face is shown and it is her brother, Niklaus Mikealson. "Nik's a lot stronger than he looks."
Stefan has settled his arm around Rebekah's shoulders as Klaus starts to speak. "So this is the famous Stefan Salvatore we've been hearing so much about. She was right. He does have funny hair." The younger vampire gives a light smile at the obvious jab at him. Klaus loses his carefree attitude in an instant and looks to Rebekah as he says, "We're bored. We wanna go." Rebekah takes a step forward saying, "Then go without me. I'm not your wife." Klaus' jaws clenches at his sisters statement. "No, you're my sister, which means you have to do as I say." As he finished talking he grabbed Rebekah again and turned her so that he was holding her close to his chest. This left Rebekah looking away blankly as the men stared each other down.
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The screen changes back to the present.
Klaus is still standing with his arm around Åse's shoulders as she inspects her nails. Stefan looks to Klaus as he speaks. "Your sister? So I knew another Original vampire?" Klaus starts to turn his body so he and his wife can start walking away. When their backs were turned Åse raises her voice to say, "If you can't handle it, then don't ask."
The group of three had soon made their way to an area of the warehouse where a group of coffins were set out.
All of the Originals who had coffins, everyone except Åse and Klaus, started glaring at the screen and barely contained their growls of disgust and hate.
Åse and Klaus split apart and walk to separate coffins.
Where Klaus is at, he lifts the coffin revealing a desiccated Rebekah. Klaus looks over his little sister with a light smile on his face. He reaches into her coffin and brushes a thumb over her cheek.
The act of care Klaus gave to his desiccated sister surprised the other Originals. It seemed like he truly cared about them by the look he had on his face.
Stefan had come up next to Klaus as the Original watched his sister. He looked between the two before he said, "I don't recognize her." Without looking at him Klaus responds. "Don't tell her that. Rebekah's temper's worse than mine, and almost as bad as Åse's."
While the two men had been talking Åse could be seen at another one of the coffins. She had opened a coffin that held a young man, just slightly older than Rebekah, who had fluffy brunette hair, dark brown eyes, and a slim yet strong face. The woman bent down so that she could rest her arms flat against the edge of the coffin and rest her chin on her arms. For several seconds Åse just stayed in that same position staring at the desiccated face of Kol Mikealson.
Eventually she raised herself back up so that she was standing. Åse chose to look further down at the dagger placed right where Kol's heart is. She made no move to remove the weapon, but her usually stoic features broke for a mere second showing how much she wished the man laying desiccated in front of her was walking around alive. Quickly she tore her gaze from the dagger and looked back to Kol's face. Åse raised one of her hands and gently poked Kol nose. She knew he hated when she did that and could practically see how his face would scrunch up every time. With an almost imperceptible smile Åse spoke in a whispered tone that neither of the men would hear. "I'm sorry it had to be this way. I promise it was always to keep you safe. When he is dead you will be able to wake, but not before. It's too much of a risk. I wish it could be different, but that's not the way of life for us Mikealson's is it?" Åse let out a dry, quiet laugh before noticing Klaus and Stefan quieting down. "I'll see you soon enough, Kol. Always and forever, right?" She stepped back and quietly closed Kol's coffin before walking over to Stefan and Klaus.
The other Originals looked stunned. Both Åse and Klaus, who were known to only show their true emotions to each other, had shown love and care to the youngest Mikealsons.
Kol turned around in his seat to face Åse. The face looking back at her reminded her of the young boy that lived in the village and visited her excitedly wanting to practice magic together. In a quiet voice that hadn't been heard from Kol in a long time he asked, "You included me?" Åse didn't let her face display her emotions but she spoke with care knowing how touchy this subject is. "Of course I did. You may not have been there that day, but you are a Mikealson. You deserve to be included." Kol didn't want to get his hopes up by looking to his brother for approval, but he did anyway. Sparing a small glance at Klaus he was met with his crystal blues eyes staring back at him. With a nod in Kol's direction Klaus silently agreed with his wife. This made a wide smile work its way onto Kol's face.
The rest of the Mikealson family watched the interaction with intrigue. They were seeing different sides to their brother and sister-in-law. Maybe they had been too hard on them in the past?
Having heard Klaus' comment about her temper, Åse walked up behind him, slipped her hands into both of his back pockets, and rested her chin on his shoulder as she teasingly whispered in his ear, "You love my temper and you know it. It can be quite helpful, especially when any extra aggression is used in the bedroom." Stefan can be seen on the far side of the coffin with a grimace in his face. Klaus lets a smirk rest on his lips as he reaches back to rub up and down the sides of Åse's thighs. "Right you are, my love."
The two pull away so that Klaus is now standing between Stefan and Åse at the side of Rebekah's coffin. Klaus moves forward and grabs the hilt of the dagger in his sisters chest and pulls it out. "Time to wake up, little sister."
It had been several minutes and Rebekah still wasn't awake. "Any day now, Rebekah." Glancing over at a pacing Stefan Klaus says, "She's just being dramatic." Stefan is obviously annoyed with his whole situation as he comes to stand by Klaus once again. "Look, why don't you just tell me what the hell is going on? I mean, you obviously want me here for a reason, right?" Åse can be seen rolling her eyes from her place leaning against Kol's coffin. "Well, you have many useful talents." "Do I?" Klaus finally turns away from his sister to look Stefan in the eye. "In fact, I learned some of my favorite tricks from you."
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1920s
The screen changed to another flashback at Gloria's bar.
Stefan and Rebekah are sitting close together on one side of the booth with Rebekah under Stefan's left arm and Klaus is sitting on the other side with his arms resting on the back of the booth. "So, Stefan, enlighten me. What makes you worthy of an Original like my sister? She's pure vampire and you're no more than a diluted bloodline." "Don't listen to him, Stefan. Nik's an elitist." Klaus merely smiles and listens to Stefan's next question. "And where is the rest of your family?" Instead of Klaus answering a female voice spoke up from behind them. "Well, let's see." The woman the voice belonged to made her way into the booth and sat right next to Klaus and leaned into his side. She wore a black flapper dress with matching heels. She had her hair in a similar tight updo as Rebekah's, and dark red lipstick that stood out against her lightly tanned skin. "We killed most of them." Klaus looked down at the woman with an amused smirk on his lips. Stefan looked between the woman and Klaus with an eyebrow raised. Seeing his confusion Klaus decided to clear things up. "Stefan Salvatore, meet Åse Mikealson. My wife and another Original vampire." Stefan is clearly surprised but decides not to say anything after noticing that Åse's intense and unmoving stare was judging his every move.
Rebekah breaks the silence by saying, "They didn't kill everyone though." Stefan looks down at Rebekah before glancing at the rest of the table as he asks, "And you're okay with that?" "Well we all had the chance to choose a side." She looks to her brother and sister-in-law as she says her next words. "I chose the right one, eventually." Rebekah grabs her brother free hand and gives it a comforting squeeze.
Out of nowhere a brunette man comes storming up to the table of supernatural creatures. He looks to Stefan and raises his voice when he asks, "Where the hell's my wife?" In a condescending voice Stefan says, "I don't know. I give up." This only made the man angrier. "Think you're so tough? Hiding in your bar, drinking your liquor. A telephone call to Chicago P.D. might set you straight." Everyone at the table shared a look before bursting out into laughter.
Stefan sees a woman walking up a set of stairs nearby and calls out to her. "Lila? Lila, please, come here for a second." The man turns and sees that it's his wife walking up. "Oh, thank God. Come on, we're leaving." The Ripper stops the couple from leaving immediately. He looks directly in the mans eyes and compels him to sit down at the table. Lila sits next to Stefan and the man takes Åse's spot after she moves to sit sideways in Klaus' lap.
Staring into Lila's husband's eye Stefan removes the woman's glove. He then pulls out a switchblade making Åse and Klaus share an intrigued look. Rebekah leans in and jokingly tells him, "Stefan, don't be mean." Lila's husband nervously asks, "What the hell are you doing?" Stefan watches the husbands reaction as he holds Lila's wrist over an empty glass and cuts her wrist so she bleeds into the cup. When he was satisfied he turned to Lila. "Thank you so much, Lila. Why don't you go and bandage that up?" He turns back to the husband and says, "I'd like you to join me for a drink." Stefan pushes the glass of Lila's blood in front of her husband. "What kind of sick freaks are you?" "I said drink." The Originals all watch intently to see what happens. The man picks up the glass of his wife's blood and takes a small sip of it. As he is putting the glass back down Stefan speaks up. "I didn't catch your name." "Go to hell." This causes Klaus to laugh and Åse to let an amused smirk rest on her lips. "You want another sip?" The man quickly gives his name after that. "Liam. Liam Grant." Stefan lets out a satisfied "Liam Grant" as he leans back in his seat. "Have another sip, Liam." Åse has picked up another glass, but hers is full of champagne. She clinks her glass with Liam's and smirks at the man as she takes a sip of her drink. Liam brings his glass to his lips with a shaking hand. Stefan leans forward in anticipation as he says, "Finish it." Everyone at the table lets out laughs as Liam finishes his wife's blood with a mortified look on his face.
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The screen changes back to the warehouse.
Klaus and Åse are walking in front of Stefan leading him somewhere. "I was your number one fan." "Why should I believe any of this?" Before he answers, Klaus turns to compel a security guard. "When she wakes up, tell her to meet us at Gloria's bar. Then volunteer your carotid artery and let her feed until you die." The Originals are already walking away as Stefan catches up to the guard. "Where you going?" "You think I'm lying, Stefan? We knew each other. You trusted us with one of your secrets. Now we're gonna prove it to you." With furrowed eyebrows Stefan asks, "How?" Åse turns around keeping her same pace as she walks backwards. "We're going to your old apartment."
The scene shows Elena sitting in Stefan's apartment reading one of his old journals. She shuts the journal after reading several pages and sits there looking to be in deep thought. She is suddenly broken out of her trance when she hears movement and voices outside of the door. Klaus' is the first voice to be heard. "What a charming little homestead."
Outside the door the Originals and Stefan can be seen walking up. Klaus looks down to grab the door handle but notices that there isn't one. Without moving his head he looks to Åse out of the corner of his eye. She does the same and gives a nod that only he can see. By that small interaction she knows that Klaus wants her to be on full alert for whatever may happen inside the apartment.
Klaus pushes the door fully open and lets Åse walk in first. She takes a few steps into the room before she says in a low voice, "Do you feel that?" Turning around to look at Stefan who is hovering in the doorway she darkly asks, "Is anybody here?"
Elena is seen holding Stefan's journal tightly to her chest with a terrified look on her face. When she hears Ase's voice though she looks slightly confused.
Stefan slowly makes his way into the apartment as he starts talking. "It's been vacant for decades. People must break in all the time."
Elena is now huddled in a corner trying as hard as she can to not be noticed by the three individuals.
Stefan continues to look around the apartment but is wary of Åse and Klaus. "Why'd you bring me here?" Klaus turns to Stefan as he answers. "You friend Liam Grant... the one who drank his wife's blood... I never could figure out why you wanted his name." This made Åse look to him with an eyebrow raised. She knew damn well that Klaus knows why Stefan asked for that mans name. He knows the ins and outs of a Ripper like the back of his hand. Åse catches Klaus' eye and he lets her see the smirk on his face telling her all she needed to know. "And then you told us your little secret, it was all part of your special little ritual."
Hearing this, Elena looks to her right at the long list of names Stefan kept in the hidden room.
Stefan looks down as he says, "To write it down." Åse takes a few menacing steps towards the Ripper as she speaks. "And relive the kill over and over again." The vampire quickly gets uncomfortable with the way Åse is looking at him and turns his gaze away. Klaus takes this opportunity to walk into the kitchen to where the secret room is. He pulls open the door and says, "You believe me now?"
Stefan makes his way over to the room. Elena can be seen standing stock still and clutching Stefan's journal so hard that her knuckles were white. Inside the room Stefan glances over the alcohol bottles before he looks to the right and sees Elena.
Outside the room Åse and Klaus can be seen standing next to each other with their backs turned away from Stefan. A close-up on their faces though showed that both of their eyes were red just like Åse's are when she shows her vampire face.
The distorted voiceover from earlier is back again.
Åse: The doppelgänger is in that room.
Klaus' jaw clenches in anger. Åse grabs one of his hands to try and at least ease that anger.
Klaus: And you're sure that we can't just walk right in there and kill her.
Åse: I'm absolutely sure, Nik. As unfortunate as it is I believe she may be the key to solving our hybrid problem. The only thing is, if we deal with her now Stefan would never be on our side. We have to wait just a little bit longer.
Klaus: As long as you're sure.
Åse: I always am.
The voiceover went away and Klaus brought Åse's hand that he was holding to his lips and kissed the back of it.
After Stefan stared at Elena for several seconds he called out to the two Originals. "Look what I found." They turned around and saw that Stefan was holding a bottle of alcohol. "1918, single malt." Klaus steps up to take a closer look at the bottle. "My favorite." The hybrid takes the alcohol and turns away beckoning Stefan to follow him. "Let's go and find someone to pair it with." Stefan doesn't move for a second thinking that he'll be that last one out of the apartment. However, he notices Åse staring at him from her spot against the kitchen counter. She silently points to the apartments door telling him to get out. Stefan knows that Åse has information on him and seems to think that she is keeping it from Klaus. So, he decides to just follow her silent command to leave before she can do anything else harmful to him.
Once Stefan is several paces away and almost outside the apartment Åse moves to the secret door. She starts to close the door, but just as there was only a couple inches left to go an evil smirk makes its way onto her lips. Åse moves so that she can speak into the crack of the door. In a deadly whisper she says, "I know you're there doppelgänger. Stefan may have protected you today. You will not be so lucky in the future. You may not know who I am, but the vampire with you will. Tell Damon Salvatore that if he or anybody from Mystic Falls interferes with Klaus and his hybrids that the Gravedigger will come for retribution." As she finished she backed away and slammed the secret door shut so hard it shook the walls.
The residents of Mystic Falls all shared wary looks. Åse had been showing more violent tendencies the longer she was on screen and they didn't want to witness what it looked like if the Gravedigger were to be unleashed.
The scene changes to show Elena behind a wall in the apartment holding a knife. She hears someone approaching the apartment door and inhales sharply. When Damon walks in she relaxes slightly but immediately starts to berate the vampire. "Finally, I called you an hour ago." Damon tosses a bag into her chest as he says, "Make yourself presentable. I know where Stefan's gonna be tonight." In disbelief Elena tells him, "I was practically discovered by Klaus and you're worried about what I'm wearing?" Now sitting on a couch Damon says, "I had an hour to realize what a bad idea it was to leave you alone... process it, and move on." A few seconds of silence go by before he asks, "Are you okay?" Elena says a quick "Yeah," but she avoids his eyes as she says it. The vampire notices and furrows his brows in confusion. "You aren't telling me something. What is it?" Elena looks up to him with scared eyes as she contemplates what to say. When she figures it out she speaks in a small, terrified voice. "Someone knows that we're here." Damon's eyes immediately harden and he stands up to take a step closer to Elena. "I don't know who they are but it's a woman and she knows we're here. She said 'doppelgänger', she said your name, and she mentioned Mystic Falls." Damon brought a hand to his face and rubbed his jaw. In a tense voice he asked, "Is there anything else?" Elena nodded. "Yeah, she said a name. Gravedigger." Damon's hand falls away from his face as a shred of fear passes over his features. "Are you absolutely sure that's the name she said?" "Yeah, she said not to interfere or the Gravedigger will come for..." The end of her sentence trailed off as she tried to remember what the woman had said. Damon was staring at a nearby wall as he spoke up. "Retribution. The Gravedigger will come for retribution." Elena looks over to him confused. "Yeah, how'd you know?" Incredulously, Damon looks at Elena as he says, "Everyone in the supernatural world knows about the Gravedigger. Everyone also knows that they have a signature for retribution. And apparently now we have to deal with her."
The vampire scrubbed a hand down his face before waving Elena off. "Get dressed. You're all road-trippy and gross." Trying to forget their previous conversation Elena asks, "You know where he's gonna be?" "Yes, with Klaus, and now probably Gravedigger. So I'll distract them and you deal with Stefan." Elena nods her head as she lets out a sigh. "Okay. Thank you." Damon stares intently at Elena as he gets up off the couch. "You're gonna have about five minutes, tops... before that hybrid freak or the Gravedigger rips my heart out. So, please... tell me you can do this." "I can do this."
The room had started to shake when Damon called Klaus a "hybrid freak." Everyone on the Mystic Falls side of the room looked around scared because they didn't have a clue what was happening. The Originals though were all turned and faced toward Åse. This caught the Scooby Gang's attention. When they looked over they saw Åse's vampire face fully out with her eyes glowing a brighter red than they had ever seen.
As the shaking of the room increased to a severe level Klaus finally took control of the situation. He gently grabbed his wife's face and brought her in for a kiss. Slowly the room began to go back to normal. Everyone was still looking at the female Original but all she was looking at was her husbands face. Klaus looked into Åse's eyes and she knew what he wanted. In their heads they started their own conversation. "My love, I am here, and I am okay. Alright? Everything is fine." Åse nodded her head as she responded. "I know, darling. Thank you for grounding me." "Of course." Klaus moved back to his seat next to Åse and held her hand just to stay in contact. Åse didn't look at anyone as she spoke her next words. "If anyone ever speaks ill about my husband you will have much more to worry about than a small earthquake."
The scene changes back to Gloria's bar.
Gloria serves three beers for the two Originals and the Ripper. Impatiently, she looks between Klaus and Åse and asks, "Where's Rebekah?" Klaus chooses to grab his wife's hand before she can take any form of revenge on the witch. "She'll be here. We can't just conjure her on demand." Once Gloria walks away Klaus turns to Stefan. "What's with you? I thought Chicago was your playground." Stefan sets his beer down as he glances at the hybrid. "This is why you asked me to be your wingman?" Åse can be seen rolling her eyes at the word "wingman." Klaus just leans over and kisses her temple knowing exactly what she's thinking. "Because you liked the way that I tortured innocent people." "Well, that's certainly half of it. And really the only reason Åse liked you." Stefan looked confused before he shook it off. "What's the other half?" Klaus had three glasses in front of him. He grabbed the bottle that had been brought from Stefan's apartment and poured them each a glass as he talked. "The other half, Stefan... is that you used to want to be my wingman."
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1920s
The screen flashes back to Gloria's bar in the twenties.
Klaus and Stefan are at the bar doing shots. Stefan talks as Nik takes a shot. "They're jealous. Your family wants you dead because they can never be what you are." Solemnly Klaus asks, "What, an abomination?" Stefan leans in as he gives his answer, "No..." What the two don't see is Åse walking up behind Klaus. She gently leans against his back as she wraps her arms around his neck. "A king." She leaves a kiss on the side of his neck and he lightly smiles at her words. Stefan looks up at the female Original and agrees with her. "She is exactly right. A king." This seems to bring Klaus out of his dampened mood.
As Stefan is taking a drink he looks up at a higher platform in the bar and sees Rebekah already looking over at him. Klaus and Åse see his turned gaze and moved their heads to see what he's looking at. When they turned back Klaus speaks. "My sister fancies you, you know. But I should warn you... Rebekah doesn't do anything half-speed." Åse speaks up from her place still behind Klaus. "That includes falling in love." Klaus nods his head. "Exactly. So just be careful. She's totally mad." The three of them let out a laugh before Stefan moves to take another drink. "I appreciate the advice." Klaus signals for another two drinks before he talks. "And when the point comes where she inevitably leaves you... she can't help it, it's just who she is, don't let your heart do anything stupid." The two men nod at each other. Stefan looks down at his drink then back to Klaus when he starts talking. "You know what? You're a good friend, Nik." He turns to look at Åse to say something to her but she beats him to it. With a light smirk she says, "Acquaintances. We're good acquaintances." Stefan just nods and raises his hands slightly in surrender. "I'm glad I met you both."
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The screen changes back to the present.
Klaus raises his shot glass to Stefan and says, "To friendship." Stefan lifts his glass and clinks it with Klaus'. Åse rolls her eyes again before slamming her shot back and grabbing the bottle to fill her glass again.
The scene changes to Klaus pouring the last of the alcohol from Stefan's apartment into a larger glass. When he's done Stefan continues pushing for answers. "So I'm confused. If we were such great friends... then why do I only know you as the hybrid dick... who sacrificed my girlfriend on an alter of fire?" He chose not to insult Åse to avoid making her angry, but it seemed that he still did. She slammed back the alcohol that was in front of her and then squeezed the glass so that the pieces shattered everywhere. As she was about to stand and rip Stefan's head from his body Klaus rested an arm around her shoulders and pressed a hard kiss against her temple. When she was calm enough he backed off to look at her face. She nodded at his look and the hybrid turned back to Stefan. "All good things must come to an end."
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1920s
Another flashback in Gloria's bar comes on screen.
Stefan and Rebekah are seen slow dancing on the dance floor. Åse and Klaus are far away in a secluded booth that is mostly in the shadows.
Klaus has Åse straddling his lap as he holds her by the hips and they are intensely making out. Åse slowly starts grinding on her husband and his hands fall to hold her ass. He moves his head as he starts to kiss down her neck. Åse's right hand just barely slips past Klaus's belt when he bares his fangs. He is just about to bite down when the yelling starts.
"It's the police!" "Chicago police!"
As the bullets start flying Klaus and Åse look to each other with determined faces. They get out of their booth and go and try to find Rebekah.
Stefan and Rebekah are hiding behind the bar. The younger of the two looks down and picks up one of the bullets off the floor. "They're using wooden bullets. They know." Rebekah looks at the bullet like it had been directly shot at her. "That means he's here." "Who? Who's here?" Klaus and Åse are getting closer and calling out for the blonde Original. "Rebekah?" "Come on, we gotta go, sweetheart." Rebekah gets up from behind the bar and gets pulled in between the two older Originals.
Stefan follows after them not knowing what was happening. "What the hell's going on?" Rebekah keeps looking back even though she's being dragged forward. "Stefan." Before either of the two could say anything else Åse and Klaus both call out a loud "Go!" Stefan sees that Rebekah had accidentally dropped her necklace and was going to pick it up when Klaus grabbed him. Klaus and Åse were now standing in front of him as he looked between the two extremely confused. Klaus was the one to speak for them. "I'm sorry, but the fun has to end here." "What are you talking about?" Immediately compelling him, Klaus says, "You must forget Rebekah, my wife, and me. Until I say otherwise, you never knew us, Stefan." Coming out of the compulsion he continues. "Thank you. I had forgotten what it was like to have a brother." He pats the vampires shoulders then speeds away.
However, Åse was still standing there. Just as Stefan was going to ask something she steps up and takes Klaus' compulsion away. It is not seen how, but it is obvious when Stefan says, "Åse?" Quickly Åse says, "Yes, that's me, but I don't have a lot of time so I have to make this quick." She looks into his eyes and starts to compel him herself. "I want you to forget everything good about being the Ripper. I want you to believe that it is wrong for you to be drinking human blood. You should think that the Ripper is a dark part of yourself that can't be fixed. You must also forget about Rebekah, Nik, and myself. Until I say so, you never knew us, Stefan." As soon as she finished she was gone.
Stefan looked to be in a daze before he looked around saw the chaos surrounding him and decided to walk away.
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The screen changed back to the present.
Looking at Klaus, Stefan said, "You compelled me to forget." Klaus stared ahead as he responded. "It was time for Rebekah, Åse, and I to move on. Better to have a clean slate." Both Åse and Klaus downed another shot because they knew the real reason they had to run away. Stefan was insistent in figuring out the reasoning behind his compulsion. "But why? You shouldn't have to cover your tracks." Klaus looks over at the young vampire with a blank face not saying a word. Åse can be seen glaring at her empty glass. "Unless you're running from someone." In a low, slightly angry voice Klaus turns away as he says, "Story time's over."
Stefan sees movement out of the corner of his eye and looks over to see Damon nodding him over. Making an excuse to get away he says, "I need another drink. A real one." Klaus doesn't spare him a glance as he waves him off. Åse grabs one of the bottles from behind the bar and pours a significant amount into both hers and her husbands glasses.
The scene changes to outside the bar.
Damon just walked out the back door when Stefan speeds his older brother into the side of a car. Holding him by his shirt collar he aggressively asks, "What is wrong with you?" "What is wrong with you? You kill Andie one day, save my life the next. Are you good, bad? Pick one." Frantically, Stefan tells his brother, "Klaus almost saw Elena today. Get her out of Chicago." "She's not going anywhere until she's got you checked into vampire rehab. Trust me, I've tried. And oh yeah, I think it's a little late for figuring out Elena's in the city." With a bewildered look on his face Stefan asks, "What the hell do you mean?" Damon takes a step closer to get in his brothers face. "What I mean is that the pretty brunette you're sitting with at the bar threatened Elena, me, and the whole freaking town of Mystic Falls if anyone messes with Klaus' hybrid plan." Stefan backs off to take a couple deep breaths. In a quiet voice he asks, "She could do it." Damon throws his hands up slightly in exasperation. "Yeah, I know. She called herself Gravedigger." Stefan could be seen nodding his head. "You knew that's who she was but still didn't try to leave?" The younger brother whips his head up to look his brother in the eye. "I can't leave Damon. She knows I'm not really full Ripper." Damon looked as if he stopped breathing. "How the hell does she know?" "I don't know. But that's not the worst part." "How is that not the worst?" Stefan stared at Damon for a few seconds, not fully ready to drop this bomb on his brother. He lets out a deep exhale as he says, "Her name is Åse Mikealson. She's Klaus's wife."
Damon fully turns away at this new piece of information. He runs his hands through his hair almost wanting to tear the strands out completely. Stefan tries to slightly divert the topic of conversation back to Elena. "Elena is the key to everything. Klaus can't know she's alive." "What?" "She was supposed to die in the sacrifice and she didn't. Now Klaus can't create any new hybrids. His witch is seconds away from figuring that out. Åse doesn't seem to have told him because I'm still alive. Tell Elena to go home and forget about me." Damon glances out of the corner of his eye. "Tell her yourself."
The scene changes to back inside the bar.
Damon sits down on Klaus' right side because Åse was already on his left. Without looking at the black haired man Klaus says, "I see they've opened the doors to the riffraff now." "Oh, honey, I've been called worse." Åse can been seen in her seat twirling a cocktail umbrella between her fingers. Klaus speaks up from the middle of the three. "You don't give up, do you?" "Give me my brother back and you'll never have to see me again." "I am torn. You see, I promised Stefan I wouldn't let you die... but how many freebies did I really sign up for? And clearly you want to die, otherwise you wouldn't be here, so..." Damon tosses a hand up before letting it fall back to the bar top. "What can I say? I'm a thrill seeker." Klaus nods slightly with a fake smile on his face. All of a sudden he reaches out and grabs Damon by the throat.
Outside, Stefan is walking up to Elena.
"You shouldn't be here." "Where else would I be?" "What do you want? Damon won't be able to distract them for long." Elena lays a gentle hand on Stefan's cheek. "Come home." She then moves closer and pulls Stefan into a hug. He doesn't return the favor. As Elena savors the feeling of Stefan in her arms she pulls out a syringe presumably filled with vervain.
Just as she was about to stab him with the syringe Stefan speeds out of her grip and holds her arm away from him. "How much clearer can I make it?" He squeezes her arms hard enough to make Elena drop the syringe to the ground. "I don't want to come home."
Back inside Klaus is lifting Damon so his feet are no longer on the floor.
Damon tries to say something but it comes out unintelligible. "Oh, dear, what was that?" Åse was watching from her seat at the bar but brings her attention to Klaus when he looks over his shoulder at her. "Could you toss that little umbrella over here, love?" She nods as she quite literally throws the small wooden umbrella like a dart. Klaus moves out of the way in time, but since he can't move, Damon's shoulder gets stabbed harshly by the small object.
Klaus yanks the umbrella out with his free hand and hold it to Damon's neck. "I'm a little boozy, so you'll have to forgive me if I miss your heart the first few tries." Damon seems to let out a light laugh but it immediately goes away when Klaus stabs him in the stomach. "No, that's not it." Åse speaks up from her spot. "I think it's just a bit higher, my love." He turns his head so he can smile at his wife, "You know, you are absolutely right. Thank you." Åse gives a light smile in return. "Of course." Klaus turns back around and stabs Damon in the area just next to where his heart is. "Oh. Almost." Damon gasps for a few breaths before he can speak. "You want a partner in crime? Forget Stefan. I'm so much more fun." Klaus fakes a thinking face for a second or two. Then he proceeds to throw Damon into a table across the bar.
Klaus walks over and breaks a chair leg as he says, "You won't be any fun after your dead." The hybrid was standing over Damon with a stake ready to use when suddenly the stake was on fire. Klaus had an annoyed look on his face as he said, "Really?" Gloria spoke up as she stood at the entrance to a back room. "Not in my bar. You take it outside." Damon tries to sit up but Klaus pushes him back to the floor. The click of Åse's heels on the floor turns both of the mens heads. Coming to crouch next to her husband and beside Damon Åse wears a smirk on her face that unnerves Damon. "You don't have to negotiate your brother's freedom. When we're done with him, he won't wanna go back." Klaus laughs as he stands up knowing the true meaning behind his wife's words.
Back outside Stefan is several feet away from Elena trying to explain things to her.
"Klaus is obsessed with siring these hybrids. The second he knows you're alive, he'll figure out why it's not working." As if not fully hearing what Stefan was stressing to her Elena says, "I know you're trying to protect me, but I can't let you do it. Come with me, please." Stefan glances away in complete disbelief. "What do you expect if I do, huh? It's never gonna be the same, Elena." "I know that." "I don't think you do. I've left bodies scattered from Florida to Tennessee. Innocent people. Humans." Trying to seem strong Elena keeps persisting. "Lexi found you like this before, in the '20s, and she saved you." "And you know what I did after that? I spent 30 years trying to pull myself together. To a vampire, that's nothing. To you, that's half your life." With a slightly more stern tone Elena says, "I can't give up on you, Stefan." "Yes, you can. It's done. That part of my life is done. I don't wanna see you. I don't wanna be with you. I just want you to go." Stefan walked away after he was done talking and didn't look back.
The room was in yet another silence.
Elena looked to be on the brink of tears. She had realized that either way, compulsion or no compulsion, she would no longer have Stefan. However, there was a small part in the back of her mind trying to remind her that there was still another Salvatore brother.
Stefan himself was just staring down at his hands. He truly didn't know what to think. To him it sounded like what he said on screen was to hurt Elena enough so that she would finally leave him alone. In his opinion that was probably the only method, other than death, that would work. It's not that he approved of what he did, just thought it was the most effective. He didn't know what he approved of anymore. He didn't even know if he wanted Åse's compulsion removed.
The scene changed back to the warehouse.
Klaus and Åse are walking back to where the coffins are being stored. They walk up to Rebekah's coffin and see she's no longer in it, but also nowhere in sight. Behind the coffin is the dead security guard bleeding out onto the floor. Åse walks out of the way and over the Kol's coffin. She gracefully hops up onto the coffin and sits back to watch whatever happens. Klaus sends her a playful glare that she just smirks at. Calling out to his sister Klaus says, "Rebekah, it's your big brother. Come out, come out, wherever you are." Klaus turns in a circle and almost when he makes it back to where he started, Rebekah is speeding in front of him and slamming him into a set of metal shelves. She stabs him with her dagger as she spats out, "Go to hell, Nik."
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1920s
Another flashback comes on screen.
Klaus calls out to his standing sister. "Hurry up, Rebekah." He opens the car door he is next to and sees Åse already inside. He seems to let out a slight breath of relief when he sees her. Turning back to his sister he says, "Let's go." "He'll be here any second." Klaus leaves the car door open as he walks over to Rebekah. "Do you wanna die? We've been found. We need to move." Rebekah angrily replies to her brother. "Not without Stefan." "Stefan's not coming. We have to disappear. He'll draw to much attention. Let him go." With tears in her eyes Rebekah asks him, "What did you do?" Åse steps out of the car and comes up next to her husband. "We did what we had to, Rebekah." Klaus nods before he says, "We don't have time for one of your tantrums." He grabs her arm and starts to pull his sister along. Rebekah yanks her arm away. "I don't want to run anymore, Nik. All we do is run. I want to be with Stefan." Klaus and Åse share a look. Åse speaks first. "Fine. Then choose." Klaus finishes her thought. "Him or us?" Rebekah nods her head just slightly as she closes her eyes.
Klaus starts to turn away as he says, "That's what I thought. Get in the truck. Let's go." As he and Åse were walking away Rebekah speaks up. "Goodbye, Nik. Åse." This stops the two in their tracks. They both look down before they close their eyes and let out a breath. Rebekah is turning so that she can leave when she is grabbed by the shoulders from behind. Åse holds the blonde in place as Klaus stabs his sister in the heart with her dagger.
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The screen changes back to the present.
Åse has jumped off of Kol's coffin and is standing by Klaus. Klaus moves so that he can pull the dagger Rebekah stabbed him with out of his chest. After he drops the weapon on the floor he looks back at his sister. "Don't pout. You knew it wouldn't kill me." "No, but I was hoping it would hurt more." Rebekah starts to walk off and Klaus and Åse follow after her. "I understand that your upset with us, Rebekah... so I'm gonna let that go, just this once. I brought you a little peace offering." Klaus looks to Åse to give Stefan the queue to come in. Rolling her eyes she calls out, "You can come in."
Stefan walks in with a blank face obviously still not recognizing the Original. Rebekah looks at him with a smile. "Stefan." Klaus looks to Åse again and nods towards Stefan. The other two vampires catch this and wonder what's happening. Åse exhales as she starts walking over to Stefan. She looks into his eyes and says, "Now you remember." As Stefan is remembering Rebekah looks between the husband and wife. "It was Åse that compelled him? I thought it was Nik?" Åse doesn't look over as she responds, she still upset that Klaus had been stabbed by the dagger. "Well obviously you were wrong." Just as Rebekah was going to say something back they all turned at the sound of Stefan's voice. "Rebekah."
The younger vampire was looking at the blonde Original with a genuine smile on his face. Åse also observed that his body looked less tense. She could already see his old mannerisms snapping back into place. Klaus and Åse stood a few feet away so Klaus called out to the vampire. "Stefan." When he turned their way Stefan let out a laugh.
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1920s
The screen went into another flashback.
Stefan and Klaus were sitting at Gloria's bar when Stefan called over the photographer. "Hey, buddy, take a picture of my brother and me." This would be the picture that Stefan found behind the bar earlier that same day.
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The screen went back to the present.
Stefan looked genuinely happy as he said, "I remember you two. We were friends." He looked over at Åse as he said, "Acquaintances." Åse nodded her head at the correction. Klaus walked up and put a hand on Stefan's shoulder. "We are friends." He looked past the younger vampire and to his sister. "And now the reason your here. Gloria tells me you know how to contact the Original witch." In a mocking tone she says, "'The Original witch'?" "What do you have that Gloria needs?" Rebekah brings a hand up to her neck, as if reaching for a necklace, but there's nothing there. "Where's my necklace? What did you do with it? I never take it off." "I didn't touch it." "We need to find it." "Tell me that's not what she needs. Tell me that's not what she needs, Rebekah!" Rebekah storms over to her coffin and throws out anything inside of it looking for the necklace. When she doesn't find it she flips the coffin over and onto the floor.
Then the screen goes black.