Chapter Seventy-Nine: Into the Wild

One Year Ago

Atticus Shane runs through the woods, fleeing. A man with tribal face paint chases after him. Shane comes to a stop on a large pile of rock and spots a cave entrance. Relieved, he runs to the shelter and looks behind him. His pursuer is nowhere to be found. He turns on a flashlight and enters the cave, observing his new surroundings. The walls are marked with strange writings and he notices a large hole in the middle of the cave.

Present Day

Shane stands on the beach, looking on at the island as the others unload from the boats on the shore. "Congratulations." He says to himself. "We made it."

The others continue to unload, each with varying expressions of uncertainty and curiosity on their faces as they take in their new surroundings.

Damon sharpens a knife and looks up at the approaching Professor. "Couldn't they have hidden this cure in Hawaii? Where the hell did you take us?"

"Two hundred miles off the Nova Scotia mainland. If you recall, the whole point was to hide the cure on the world's most obscure, desolate island."

"Oh yeah? I thought the whole point was that no one found Silas, the oldest, deadliest freak in the world."

"Yeah, that too." He holds up a bottle of sunscreen to Damon. "Sunscreen?"

"Is that a joke?" Damon asks, unamused.

"Right."

Stefan ties a knot of rope, while Rebekah glares at a passing Elena. "You know, you're not really helping." He says.

"You're perfectly capable of tying a knot."

"You giving Elena the evil eye, it's not really helping."

"She killed my brother, tried to get you to put a dagger in my back. She's lucky all she's getting is the evil eye."

"You know I can hear you, right?" Elena asks.

"You know I don't care, right?" Rebekah shoots back. Elena stops walking and flashes towards Rebekah, grabbing her neck and aiming the white oak stake at her chest but Rebekah flips her over and pushes her to the ground. "Go ahead, try and kill me. But then you'd have to face your real problems. Like the fact that Stefan invited me here, himself. I guess he likes me again." She walks off.

Stefan offers a hand to help Elena up, but she ignores him and storms away. She shoves the white oak stake into her bag.

Damon walks up to her. "Looks like someone forgot her team-building exercises."

"I'm not apologizing for not wanting her here."

"You know Stefan just brought her here to make it seem like he's moving on. He wants you to think that he's over you, and he wants me to think that I can't get under his skin."

"You know, you're right." She says. "With any luck, I'll only have to tolerate her for a few more days, and then we'll find the cure and I'll never have to deal with her again."

"Human Rebekah…" Damon ponders. "I can't imagine her without fangs."

Elena looks at him. "You know, you've never talked about what you'll do with the cure, once we find it. Will you take it?"

"I don't like to speculate." He avoids the question.

Bonnie snaps a picture of Jeremy's tattoo with her phone. "Sorry, if there was a less awkward way to do this, I would."

"Doesn't bother me," Jeremy tells her, making her smile.

"These symbols must have been left for the hunters, so they can find the cure. And this must be the story of Qetsiyah and Silas. According to Shane, Silas asked Qetsiyah for help making a spell for immortality. She helped make him immortal, only to learn that he planned to use the same spell on another woman, not her. When she found out, she freaked."

"So, Qetsiyah killed the other woman?"

"Yeah. Silas was immortal. She couldn't kill him. So she trapped him in a cave, and buried him alive instead."

"Does it say anything about the hunter's purpose in all this?"

Shane walks up behind them. "I was wondering when you'd ask. Qetsiyah created a cure for immortality, and then she buried it with Silas, hoping that he'd take it and die, and end up on the other side with her for all eternity. But he wouldn't give her the satisfaction. So, many centuries later, her descendants created the hunters to find him, cure him and kill him. You know what? I'll explain on the hike." He jerks his head towards the woods. "Come on. We gotta get going."

Klaus stands in the living room, eyes glued to the burnt corpse of his little brother.

Tyler walks in and spots the hybrids look of grief. "Morning, sunshine. You look pathetic."

"Only until Bonnie's spell locking me in here wears off," Klaus tells him. "Then I'll look different; angrier perhaps. Or I won't look like anything because I'll have gouged your eyeballs from their sockets."

"My friends will be back with the cure by then; so, I could shove it down your throat and make you mortal."

"I'm an Original. What makes you think my entire vampire bloodline won't be cured along with me? I.e., you."

"You know what I think? I think that's impossible. I think the moment you stop being a vampire, our whole blood connection to you is broken, and your sire-line ceases to exist." Tyler explains. "So, whatever happens to you; happens only to you, which means I can kill your ass and no one else has to die. Although, I am still debating just how to do it."

Klaus flashes towards the teen but the barrier stops him. "I recommend drowning. There's nothing quite like the feeling of someone fighting for something as basic as human breath. And let me tell you, your mother was a fighter." He smirks at the look of hatred on Tyler's face.

Trinity and Allison walk down the street.

"So, what the game plan this time?" Allison asks. "It didn't exactly go well last time we tried this and I don't think we can just kidnap anyone who won't listen to us."

"We did not kidnap Lydia," Trinity clarifies. "we rescued her; and she fainted. It wasn't like we could just ask for directions to her place then."

"All I'm saying is; we're probably not going to get that lucky again."

"We'll try talking to them first. Ask some questions and hope they listen, if that doesn't work…I have a plan B."

"So what's plan B?"

"Something I really don't want to do."

"And that 'something' is?"

Trinity sighs. "If they don't know about their ancestors and don't believe me…I can make them. I can force them to shift. I can force them to shift and show them the past. That kind of thing will be frightening and invasive and is absolutely the last resort. They might be more likely to resent me than follow me if I were to do that."

Allison nods. "I get what you mean, but it might be better than letting them find out on their own or risk shifting in public."

"Which is why it's the last resort," Trinity says. "If they have to shift, better it be in a controlled environment where they won't be hurt and can't hurt anyone else."

Allison nods and agreement as they continue to walk, a silence settling between them. "So, how are you doing?" She asks. "Not just what the Queen stuff, but you."

"Um," Trinity shrugs and sighs. "I don't know, I've kinda been focusing on Haven; haven't really had the time to do anything else."

"Well, what would you be doing if you weren't a Queen?"

"I found out that someone was kind enough to compel the principal into thinking that I've been healing from surgery out of state, so school has been taken care of. All my other friends are out looking for the cure so," Trinity furrows her brows. "that's something."

Allison raises an eyebrow. "I take it you have thoughts?"

Trinity rubs her lips together. "I just think that everything is going a little fast. Too fast."

"What, you don't want them to take it?"

Trinity shakes her head. "It's not that, it's…" She sighs. "There's not enough information, and the information that is there isn't very promising. Combine that with everyone seems willing to ignore caution as they look for it and it makes me feel on edge. Like everything is going to be worse if they do find it."

"What do you mean?"

"Well, the first red flag is that a lot of witches hate vampires or at least find their existence troublesome; they think that they're an abomination of nature. If a cure existed, why wouldn't they take the chance to use it? What was stopping them? On top of that, what the witches did say was that should the cure be found; an ancient evil named Silas will unleash hell on earth, but everyone but Kol believes it's just some scary story. Y'know, never mind the fact that we're all supernatural creatures that are just scary stories to most of the world. " Trinity rants. "I mean, a year ago they didn't even believe that werewolves existed; now they're dismissing another possible threat just because they haven't seen it yet? The oldest people we know are only a thousand years old, which is still incredibly young to the rest of the supernatural world. We know that shifter and witch history is older than them. What's even crazier is that no one knows how the cure would affect them. I know that I explained, quite drunkenly I remember, but I really am worried about it. What if they take it would they just turn human or would time catch up to them? And is it a physical thing that needs to be ingested, applied, or a ritual to restore humanity?"

Allison stares at her. "So I take it you have a lot of feelings about the cure."

Trinity runs her hand through her hair and shakes her head. "If there is a cure, I respect their choice to take it; but that doesn't mean that they aren't being incredibly reckless. I mean, most of them are hundreds of years old and they didn't spend that time being very kind to the world. They all have enemies and taking the cure doesn't make them go away, it just leaves them vulnerable and…"

"And you don't think you'll be able to protect them," Allison concludes.

"I think that everyone is expecting to find the cure and get a happy ending but that just doesn't happen for us. It's always one thing after the other, and just when we think that things are getting better there is always something to prove us wrong, something even worse than what we were dealing with before. Trinity wrings her hands. "And usually I'd be there." She says. "I'd be right there with them, ready to help, ready to fight. But it's not just about me or us. I have responsibilities now. Bigger than school and the mystery of the week. People rely on me now, and they're only going to get bigger and…" She takes a deep breath and releases it. "I can't let that touch you guys. I can't bring that…curse upon our people." She quickly wipes away a falling tear and sniffs before clearing her throat. "And I'm pretty sure my best friend and ex are sleeping together. So, there's that; 'cause that's a very healthy thing we do, apparently." She gives a self-deprecating chuckle. "God, I hope we get a shifter that's a good therapist."

"Wow." Allison raises her eyebrows. "That was a lot." She nods. "There's a lot to unpack there. But we're gonna do it."

"Okay?" Trinity drags the word out.

"You've already done half the work. You accepted that you can't change your friends' minds about the cure, but you are focusing on the things you can change; hence how hard you've been working on preparing us for our roles in Haven. You're not cursed, you just have shitty luck, but not everything has been bad. One of the things that happened to you was meeting Katherine and can you look me in the eye and tell me that you regret being with her?" Trinity doesn't meet her eyes. "Thought so, as for you and your best friend dating your exes…" Allison trails off. "Yeah, I got nothing. Are you sure?"

"Everyone was kinda rushing to leave when I stopped by to pick up some of my things. I could smell her on him. I'm sure." Trinity says, remembering how fast she got out of there once the information had sunk in.

"Well, that sucks," Allison says. "But," she holds up a finger. "this does give you the chance to try and be with someone who hasn't tried to kill your friends."

Trinity shakes her head. "I'm not ready for a relationship."

"Who said anything about a relationship? Just have some fun, let loose a little. No strings attached."

Trinity shakes her head. "I don't know."

"Well, who knows how long we'll be looking for council members and where we'll have to go. You're hot, there's bound to be plenty of opportunities. All I'm saying is that you should at least consider it."

Shane checks his phone as the group continues to hike. "Satellite phone lost its signal."

"Well, that's a good sign." Damon says sarcastically.

Elena looks around. "Is anyone else a little creeped out?"

"So then leave." Rebekah says. "Out of everyone, your presence is the least necessary."

"Please don't start." Stefan pleads.

"I'm merely stating the facts. Jeremy has the spell on his body. Bonnie is the witch that unseals the cure. Shane is the human compass. You and I have the tombstone, which does god knows what. And Elena has no point."

"What about me?" Damon asks.

"You have a nice behind." She answers, making him smirk.

Night has fallen and the group continues to hike with the aid of flashlights.

Shane looks around with his headlamp. "Centuries after Qetsiyah died, there were these miners who were excavating a well on the island. Suddenly went mad. They bled themselves dry. No apparent reason. So, the legend spread that these miners, in exchange for a drop of their blood, saw visions of their lost loved ones in the well they were digging. The word traveled and explorers sought out the well to see if the legend was true."

"So, the well was magic?" Bonnie asks.

"Well, you know, some people believe the voices of lost souls were just a wind vortex whipping through the caves, and visions were caused by inhaling the island's poisonous plant life."

Elena looks at him. "And what do you believe?"

"I believe in magic. My wife and my son died within months of each other. And so…I decided to try the well out for myself."

Flashback: One Year Ago

Shane finally finds the well. He takes out a knife and cuts his palm, letting his blood drip down.

"I offered up my blood and I waited."

He continues to hold his bleeding hand over the well when he suddenly hears whispering voices echo around the cave. He looks around nervously. "Hello? Hello?"

"Atticus?" A soft voice asks.

"Caitlin." Shane says, recognizing the voice. "Caitlin? Caitlin?" He calls before taking his gear and beginning to rappel down the well. The whispers continue echoing around him. Panic grips him and he loses his grip on the rope, falling the rest of the way to the well floor. He shouts in pain, grunting as he tries to regain his breath.

A woman stands above him. "Hello, Atty."

"Caitlin."

"I saw my wife. I saw her eyes, her smile."

Flashback Ends

"My blood let me see her again." He finishes.

"Yeah, got it. Don't eat the poisonous flowers." Damon continues walking, the others following behind him.

"Wait. Stop. Stop! Stop." Shane calls. The others cease their movements and look at him. "Is everybody paying attention?" He picks up a large rock. "Our first lesson in survival." He tosses the rock, triggering a net trap that swings up into the trees. "Stay together. Keep your eyes open."

The group begins to walk again with more caution in the steps when Jeremy, the last in the group, stops. "Ugh, I'm out of water."

"Here." Elena offers. "Take mine."

"A magic well? Seriously?" He asks quietly.

"I don't know. I mean…" Elena trails off. "We've all lost someone. The chance to maybe see them again? I kinda get it."

Jeremy smiles sadly and takes a sip of his water while Elena turns and follows after the others. A branch snaps in the distance and his attention snaps to see a man with tribal paint on his face, aiming an arrow at him.

"Jeremy!" Elena cries. She flashes over and pushes him out of the path of the arrow. The man reloads his bow but suddenly he grunts and falls to the ground, a hatchet in his back. Elena runs back over to look at their downed attacker. "What the hell just happened?"

Jeremy joins her, looking at the body. "Somebody just saved my life."

The group, all together again, arrive at a clearing in the woods.

"What is this place?" Stefan asks.

"According to island lore, a group of college kids came here for spring break. A few weeks later, they were all found dead, completely drained of blood." Shane explains.

"Well, tragic for them, brilliant for us. Who sleeps where?" Rebekah casually asks.

As the group sets up the site, Damon talks to Shane. "Well, that's lovely. There's a mystery man with a hatchet lurking in the woods and we're just gonna camp?"

"We're safer here than we are hiking in the dark."

"Let's just keep going. You know? Get the cure. Get in, get out. Where is it?"

"How stupid do you think I am?" Shane asks.

"Stupid enough to raise an immortal witch, so I'd say…incredibly."

"You know, I'm shocked you even want the cure, considering you've got the most to lose once Elena's human." He walks away.

Elena watches him leave and gets up to talk to Damon. "Shane doesn't know what he's talking about."

"Yeah, well we'll find out tomorrow."

"Do you really think that I'm gonna take this cure, break the sire bond, and fall out of love with you?"

"No. I'm saying we don't know. And if we find it tomorrow, we will."

"This cure is gonna change so many things. Jeremy's not gonna want to kill me anymore. We're finally gonna get rid of Klaus. Bonnie's mom isn't gonna be a vampire. And anyone who wants to take this cure is gonna have that option. Caroline, Stefan, you. If you want it." She smiles at him.

"No, I get it. Everything changes tomorrow. It'll be all unicorns and rainbows."

"No, not everything. That's what I'm saying. Damon, not my feelings for you." She kisses him. After a moment they pull apart and she caresses his face. Damon wraps her in his embrace.

Caroline walks through the back door and sees Tyler. "You're still here? What are you doing?"

"Gloating." He pours himself a drink.

Klaus emerges from the living room and walks as far as he can within the confines of the spell. "Hello, Caroline."

She glares at him for a moment before looking back at Tyler. "Come home. Don't stoop to his level."

"He destroyed my life. I plan on being present for every second of his misery until I can kill him myself."

"Fine. You can gloat and multitask. This place is a disaster. Starting with a horrific burnt corpse." She finds a table cloth in a cabinet and she and Tyler use it to cover up Kol's body.

Klaus watches them with a slightly tortured expression. "Tyler's mother is dead. So is my brother. We're even." He looks at Caroline. "Call Bonnie. Get her to let me out of here."

"I will never, ever, help you." She says.

"How quickly you forget the part where I saved Tyler from the misery of being a werewolf. Or the night your mother invited me into her home to save the life of her precious daughter."

"How delusional are you? You killed his mother. And let's not forget that we're standing in a house where Elena's aunt Jenna used to live. Or did you think that your charm would make us forget how you killed her, too? You know what? No. I am not going to engage in this. You are not even worth the calories I burn talking to you."

Suddenly Klaus flashes to pick up a nearby floor lamp, which he uses to impale Caroline.

"No!" Tyler cries out.

Klaus swings Caroline over to his side of the magical barrier and bites her neck. She falls to the floor. "Now, that was definitely worth the calories." He smirks.

Trinity and Allison look at the building in front of them.

"This the place?" Allison asks, looking at the 'Trikru Athletics' sign.

"Feels like it," Trinity says, opening the door and walking in. Upon stepping inside, the two inhale and look at each other.

"You smell that?" Allison asks.

Trinity nods. "There's more than one shifter in this place. Definitely more than I expected." A lips twitch into a small smile. "Hopefully, this is our lucky day."

They walk up to the receptionist who looks at them with a smile. "Welcome to Trikru Athletics, how may I help you?" A blonde woman greets them. Her eyes briefly them, noticing their lack of gym wear or bags with them before she looks at them with a little more interest.

Found shifter number one, but not the one we're looking for. Trinity thinks, looking at the woman. "We were just passing by and thought this place looked interesting." She looks at her name tag reading 'Niylah'. "Is it okay if we look around a bit?" She smiles.

Niylah stands and walks from around her desk. "We close in a little under an hour, but I'm sure we can squeeze in a quick tour. Are you new to the area?"

"We're just passing through," Allison says, as Niylah leads them into the gym area, looking at the people spread either still working out or some cleaning the equipment. In the center of the room a large man with long braids and another blonde, though darker than Niylah's, woman spar in an octagon.

Trinity's eyes trail over the occupants in the room before turning to the woman. "So Niylah, turn into any cool animals lately?" At her words, all movement in the room stops. She looks around at the people staring at her, including Allison who briefly shows surprise show in her eyes before schooling her features. "Hello," She says louder. "My name is Trinity Clairborn."

A brown-haired woman steps out of an upper room and makes her way down the staircase, while the man and woman exit the octagon. People step away from their equipment and Niylah looks at them in shock.

The woman reaches the end of the stairs and walks towards them. "Clairborn?" She asks and looks to Allison. "And you?"

"Allison Rayne."

She looks at them; cool calculation shining in her green eyes. "My name is Alexandria Woods."

Trinity looks at her and tilts her head. "Just Woods?" She asks, knowing this is who she is looking for.

Lexa lifts her chin. "We changed our name…" she says. "But we did not change our core. We are still the Brave."

"Can we go somewhere a little more private? We need to talk."

Stefan sits in front of the fire with the headstone in his hands.

Rebekah sits down next to him. "Well, seven of us and no one thought to bring s'mores." She looks at the stone. "What are you doing with that?"

"We're a day away from finding the cure. I'm not letting it out of my sight." He says.

Rebekah grabs onto Stefan's arm at the sound of animals calling out in the dark. "Did you hear that? I swear this place is haunted."

Stefan puts his hand on top of Rebekah's. "Um…you're crushing my arm."

"Okay." Rebekah chuckles. "You got me. I'm a scaredy-cat."

Stefan furrows his brow. "You do realize you're an Original vampire, right?"

"Which is precisely why you should stop teasing me. I'm very powerful." She tilts her head. "What are you gonna do when Elena becomes human and comes running back to you? You said that you'd take the cure to be with her. You'd have children and grow old. Is that still true?"

"Well, why do you want to take it? Aren't you the perfect vampire?"

"Isn't it obvious? It's all an act, Stefan. Being a vampire is miserable. I would give anything to be human. Normal."

He nods. "If I take the cure…it wouldn't be for her. It'd be for me."

Rebekah nods in agreement

Shane picks up a lamp as Bonnie enters the shed. "I've been staring at pictures of Jeremy's tattoo and there's no spell." She says.

"Expression doesn't require a written spell. Just think of it as a way of accessing magic that already exists inside you. You just have to want it bad enough."

"And I'm just supposed to trust you?"

"Bonnie, listen, I taught you Expression so that you could access the cure. I'll be right there with you the whole time, I promise."

Damon enters behind Bonnie. "You didn't answer the trust part."

"All right." He says. "Let me put it this way; you need me to help you through it, Bonnie. Because as you've demonstrated; Expression can get messy. Believe me when I say I've seen it get a lot worse."

"How much worse?" Damon asks.

"When we lost our son in the car accident, my wife kind of lost it. She tried to resurrect his body using magic."

Bonnie looks at him. "Your wife was a witch?"

"She was a powerful witch. And incredibly undisciplined."

"And you never thought to tell me?"

"I just didn't want to scare you. The truth is, she tried to bring our son back using Expression, and it overwhelmed her, and she died."

"You taught me the same magic that killed your wife!?"

"Yeah, but look, the upside is I've learned the warning signs, all right? I can keep Expression from consuming you."

"Downside is, you turned her into a bomb that only you can dismantle." Damon says.

"Don't you think I know how this ends? I came here to raise Silas so that he could bring back the dead, but you're never gonna let that happen. The second I point to a cure, you're gonna kill me. Now Bonnie has to keep me alive so I can keep her alive."

Jeremy lies awake in his tent when he sees a shadow pass over him. He sits up with his flashlight, when suddenly a man appears next to him, covering his mouth.

"Oh my god! Oh my god!" Caroline says as Tyler settles her down on the sofa.

"Hey, hey. Look at me. Look at me. I can fix this."

"How? The only thing that can heal me is his blood! Oh my god…"

"I know. I'll fix it." He tells her. Caroline nods and he stands to face Klaus. "She'll die if you don't heal her."

"Okay." He bites into his wrist and extends his arms, palms up. "Beg me to save her life."

"Is this what you want? To remind me that I'm powerless against you? Fine. You win. I'm nothing. Now save her. Please."

"I'm sorry, mate. I didn't quite catch that."

"Please."

"Please…"

"Please save her life."

"See, now I think you're just telling me what I want to hear. I mean, you did call me pathetic earlier. And wouldn't it be more pathetic of me to help now; knowing that hours ago, you announced your plan to kill me in a manner in which you're debating because you want it to have a certain amount of flair? I'm just asking."

"I'll be your slave again. I'll do whatever you want. Just help her."

"No." Klaus denies.

"Get me out of here. I can't even look at him." Caroline says.

Tyler helps her up. "Come on."

Klaus watches them leave with an unhappy look on his face.

Trinity and Allison look at the woman behind the desk finished explaining why they were searching for her.

"So why the name change?" Allison asks.

Lexa's face falls into a heavy expression. "My people have always valued strength. It is no secret. When no leader was called to place after the passing of Laylah, the clans-" She stops. "The people under noble families continued to operate independently. The house of Kahn chose the strongest among them to lead and represent among the other houses. Soon one rose to lead. He was strong and smart. But he was cruel; ruthless…he was a monster. He was eventually killed, but the damage was done. His rule fractured the clan. Those who followed him, who followed his teachings; and those who didn't. We changed our name to Woods in an effort to remove his stain."

"What happened to his followers?" Trinity asks.

"They are still around. I am unsure of the official numbers. They do their best to stay under the radar but with your rise to power and they're not being approached for a council member…" Lexa trails off. "I fear they may make their presence more noticeable."

"We all have a lot to think about," Trinity says. "We should put a pin in this, get some rest."

Lexa nods and they rise from their seats. "If you wish, we could meet tomorrow."

"Will other shifters be there?" Allison asks.

Lexa nods. "We should exchange information. I'll notify you of a time and place."

"Thank you."

In the morning, the other's search for Jeremy.

"Jeremy!" Elena calls before turning to Bonnie. "Did you find anything?"

"He's not on the trail."

"His gear's still here." Shane holds up a bag.

Stefan and Rebekah enter the clearing. "He's not at the quarry, either."

Damon looks around. "Let's split up."

"I'm gonna stay and try a locator spell." Bonnie says.

"Okay." Shane nods. "I'll stay here. I'll make sure she's safe."

"I'll stay here and make sure you're not lying." Damon tells him.

Elena looks at Stefan and Rebekah, who glance at each other. "Fine. We'll keep searching the island."

Damon nods and walks off. Stefan and Rebekah turn around and start walking as well. Elena follows after them.

Back in the shed, Shane checks his phone for signal again, fruitless once again.

Damon walks in. "Thought it didn't work."

"Yeah. I'm just- just checking the signal."

"So you can call someone? Like whoever took Jeremy?"

"This place has a habit of getting to you, doesn't it?" He shoves his phone at Damon's chest. "See for yourself."

"I'm done trusting you." He flashes Shane down onto a chair. "Where's the cure?"

"You know that magical well I was telling you about? Silas and the cure are buried deep below it."

"So, you've seen it?"

"No. But you could say I heard it from a reliable source."

Flashback

Shane looks up from his place on the ground. "Caitlin. How is this happening?"

"You're bleeding."

"Oh my god." He breathes in awe. "Oh my god."

"No. It's good. It's okay. It's what's keeping me here."

Present

"If a single drop of blood can give you a vision, could you imagine what two liters could do?" Shane asks.

"What does your dead wife have to do with a cure?"

"She's got nothing to do with a cure, but she has everything to do with Silas."

Flashback

"I'm so sorry I let things get out of control. I should've stopped you."

"Sweetheart, it's okay." Caitlin tells him. "You wanted Sam back as much as I did. What if you had a second chance to bring us both back?"

"I can't, baby. I'm not a witch."

"We have a witch. His name is Silas. If you set him free, he'll help those who have helped him."

"Set him free from- from what?" He asks.

"He's entombed in the caves below us, but it's impossible to get him out without a spell. You need to get the spell."

Flashback Ends

"And that's when she explained everything that I had to do." Shane stands up. "Complete the hunter's mark to access the spell and empower a descendant of Qetsiyah to perform it."

Damon shoves him back down onto his seat. "Bonnie Bennett's related to this crazy-ass witch?"

Outside, Bonnie kneels at the campfire with one of Jeremy's shirts. She closes her eyes in concentration and flames erupt in the pit. She tosses the shirt into the flames and waits few moments until the flames start to spread beyond the pit, and lead a path out into the trees. She stands and begins to follow the flames out into the woods, the wind blowing through her hair, the sound of whispering voices in her ears.

"Jeremy! Jeremy!" Elena calls.

Rebekah rolls her eyes. "Why don't you yell louder? Maybe we haven't drawn enough attention to ourselves already."

Elena looks at her. "I'm sorry, and how are you helping?"

"I'm stronger than you and faster than you and I'm quite certain I can charm the islanders a lot easier than you."

"Not disagreeing on the easy part."

"All right, we get it. You two hate each other. Can we just keep going, please?" Stefan asks.

"I tried to be her friend, but somehow, I ended up with a dagger in my back because I'm the evil one." Rebekah tells him.

"Technically, you didn't achieve evil status until you killed me." Elena walks into a tripwire, setting off a trap. Rebekah flashes over and stops it, saving Elena from being impaled.

"Nice catch," Stefan says.

"Thank you."

"No, actually, thank you," Elena tells her. "This thing would've killed me."

"I don't care what happens to you either way. But if you're gonna die; it might as well be epic."

"I'm gonna go back and check on Bonnie, see if she found anything. Be careful." Elena heads back towards camp.

Rebekah swings the trap out of the way and continues on, Stefan following her with his eyes.

"So you have the rock, hunter, Bennett witch. What about the dozens that died in sacrifice? Where do they fit into all this?" Damon asks.

"As you can imagine, that was not an easy pill to swallow."

Flashback

Caitlin, it's me, the guy who refused to serve a meat course at our wedding. I can't- I can't orchestrate three massacres."

"It isn't like that. You're merely leading these people so Silas can bring them back from the dead."

"Why? Why should they die just to be resurrected? That doesn't make sense."

"The spell that brings me back requires a witch to channel an extreme amount of mystical energy. Energy that doesn't occur in nature."

"Yeah, because it isn't natural. I'm sorry, Cate. I just- I can't do that to innocent people."

Caitlin caresses his face. "Can you feel my touch?"

"How is this possible?"

"Because you believe it is possible. You believe that you can see me again. You don't have to take a single human life yourself, Atticus. All you have to do is convince someone to believe that it is possible that they can see a lost loved one again. And they'll do it for you." She tells him as he sobs into her hand, reveling in her touch.

Present

"Which is how you manipulated the pastor to blow up a farmhouse full of people."

"He just wanted to see his wife again."

"We need three massacres. Fire at the Young farm. Holiday hybrid slaughter. What mass blood-letting am I forgetting?"

"You're not."

"You're not finished. Is that why you brought us all out here in the middle of nowhere? To complete massacre number three?"

"It doesn't work that way, Damon."

"I think you need to tell me where this magical well is."

"You know I can't do that."

Damon looks over at some rope on the ground. "Oh, I know. I know." He claps Shane's shoulder and walks away.

Shane watches after him, stoically unbothered by the altercation.

Caroline lies crying on Elena's bed, Tyler nearby attempting to comfort her. "It's getting worse. I'm sorry."

"No. It's my fault." He tells her. "I'm sorry."

"No. You didn't do any of this."

"I unsired the hybrids and turned them on Klaus. I should've just left it alone."

"You freed them, Tyler. People put their faith in you because you're a leader. Don't forget that."

"Then you trust me?"

Tyler carries Caroline from the bedroom and into the living room, laying her down on the floor. Klaus turns around and looks at him. "You want to be in control, Klaus? Here. Now you get to be in control of her life. If you want her to die, fine. But then you can sit here and watch her die yourself." He leaves the house.

Caroline looks up at Klaus, who approaches her. "Nothing personal, love. If I cure you, that means victory for him. Don't worry. It won't be long now."

Caroline; breathing heavily in pain and exhaustion, closes her eyes.

Trinity and Allison drive to the address Lexa sent them, a large private property deep within the woods.

"So, if all goes well; we'll be leaving with a Council member. Maybe a few more shifters than we expected." Trinity says.

"While also possibly inheriting a potential civil war between a split clan. Also clans?" Allison asks. "I thought it was a bloodline thing."

"Not every shifter is descended from the royal bloodlines," Trinity explains. "Our genetics go back to the first shifters and it's a tradition for us to be a part of the council."

"Nothing like good ol' nepotism." Allison quips.

Trinity chuckles. "It bothered me too. But it's not just sharing a bloodline to make you eligible or ineligible to be on the council. When our ancestors were blessed with shifting, some they made a plea to bless their people as well. They wanted their people to just as strong as they were. Even when they stepped down from their roles as leaders, people still followed them; they were figureheads. They all had people they cared about. Some they were close to, some were loyal and good allies. So they took them under their care. Made them a part of their house; you don't necessarily have to be of the bloodline to serve, but it was a hell of a head start."

"So, why was I chosen? Lydia, I get. She's a genius and built to run shit, but me?"

Trinity smiles. "I wouldn't doubt yourself. When this started happening to you, you could've rejected it. You could've run to someplace that no one would ever find you, could ever discover your secret. Instead, you accepted it. You followed your instincts because you knew that everything you were experiencing was real. That what others would excuse as stories were true; and you haven't hesitated ever since. I don't know if you realize this, but you're kinda my right hand. You still have a lot to learn but so do I. So do all of us. But this is something that we're going to do together. Grow together. For ourselves and our people. Don't doubt your worth. What's needed to lead, it's in you. We wouldn't be here if it weren't. It's why I was lead to Lexa Woods of Trikru. Not Kahn."

They sit in comfortable silence for the rest of the ride before finally arriving. They make note of the several cars around the property as they walk to the door.

"Here goes." Allison says, pressing the doorbell.

The sun has fallen as Damon continues to interrogate Shane. "Where's the cure?"

"Does it matter? I think we both know you'd rather just torture me. Torture gives you a sense of control, especially with your relevance slipping away." Shane tells him, watching as he calmly breaks a metal rod in half. "And look at you. Here you are, hours from Elena breaking her sire bond. You're starting to freak out a little bit. Listen, you want my advice? Leave. Go. Don't put yourself through this." He is quickly met with strikes from the rods. "Agh!" He cries out in pain. "Fine. Okay. Let's say her feelings for you are real. How does that end? She's human. You're a vampire." Damon strikes him across the face this time, making him groan. "It's doomed, Damon. See, you're not torturing me, man. You're torturing yourself by helping them find the cure."

"I could kill you. Then no one would find it."

"We've established that you can't kill me without sending Bonnie off the deep end. You can leave the island. Have a modicum of self-respect. Don't stay here and watch Elena walk away from you."

"Right. Because if I'm not here, then I can't get in between you and whatever you're planning with Silas. Well, I'm not that easily manipulated, professor. And there is one flaw in your logic." He bends down to Shane's ear and whispers. "I don't give a crap about Bonnie Bennett." He grabs Shane by the head when he is suddenly pushed away by Elena.

"What is wrong with you!?" She asks angrily, Damon ignores her and leaves the shed. She turns to Shane. "What did you say to him?"

"Your boyfriend's a maniac, Elena."

She unbinds him from the chair and glares at him. "Stop messing with my friends." She leaves, not seeing Shane smile as works circulation back into his hand. She follows Damon outside. "Shane is the only thing that's keeping Bonnie safe, and you try to kill him? And you wonder why Bonnie hates you."

"I don't wonder, Elena, because I don't care. I don't care about her. I don't care about some lame-ass cure for vampires, either."

"How can you say that right now?"

"Because I don't want you to be cured." He tells her.

She shakes her head. "I'm not fighting with you about this anymore. Being human isn't gonna change my feelings for you."

"Fine. Say they're real. Say you've become human and you still love me. Then what? You grow old. You die. I stay a vampire. Face reality, Elena. We don't work."

"So, things aren't easy and you're just gonna push me away now? That's what you do, Damon. You think that you don't- you don't deserve something, so you ruin it. I'm not gonna let you pull that this time." She tells him. He turns and begins to walk away. "Take the cure with me." She calls after him, making him stop. "That's how much I know this is real. That's how certain I am that I'm going to love you even after this is all over. Take the cure. Be human with me. We can be together. Grow old together. This doesn't have to be hard anymore."

He stays facing away from her. "That's not me, Elena. That's Stefan. You know, I used to miss being human. Now I can't think of anything more miserable on Earth." He walks away.

"Haven't we been through here before?" Stefan asks Rebekah as they hike through the woods.

"It all looks the same to me." She says, stepping on another rock and unknowingly triggers another trap. A spear flies towards her but Stefan flashes her out of the way, and hits a tree instead.

They gasp and Rebekah leans on the tree behind her. "Thanks, but that wouldn't have killed me."

"Sorry. Force of habit." His hand lingers on her waist, his face close to hers.

"Don't be a tease. Elena could be lurking somewhere in the woods."

"Did you mean what you said? About a cease-fire?" He asks.

She steps away and begins walking. "Why do you all assume that I hate Elena so much?"

"Well, I mean, you did run her off a bridge."

"You all seem to forget that Elena's death was the only way to save my family. To get revenge for Trinity. I did the same thing that every one of you would've done to protect the people that you love. And before you cast me as the bad guy, maybe you should remember that Elena's helped to kill not one, but two of my brothers. Maybe we're not as different as everyone's making us out to be. Jeremy's not here. I'm going back." She turns and walks away. Stefan watches after her with a pensive look on his face.

Elena checks inside her tent. "Bonnie?" She calls but doesn't receive an answer. She checks the shed but finds that it is also empty. She walks outside and sees Rebekah and Stefan. "Where is everyone?"

"What are you talking about?" Stefan asks.

"Well, Bonnie's not here and Shane's stuff is all gone."

"Oh my god," Rebekah says, flashing over to her bags. "The tombstone's gone."

Caroline lies on the sofa. "If you don't feed me your blood, I'll die." She rasps.

Klaus avoids looking at her. "Then you'll die, and Tyler will have learned his lesson the hard way."

"How could you do this to him? To his mom? To me?"

"I'm a thousand years old. Call it boredom."

"I don't believe you."

"Fine. Then maybe it's because I'm pure evil, and I can't help myself."

"It's because you were hurt. Which means that there is a part of you that is human."

Klaus approaches her and sits on the table next to the sofa. "How could you possibly think that?"

"Because I've seen it. Because…I've caught myself wishing that I could forget all the horrible things that you've done."

"But you can't. Can you?"

"I know that you're in love with me. And anybody capable of love is capable of being saved."

Klaus gazes at her with glistening eyes. "You're hallucinating."

"I guess I'll never know." Her breath catches.

"Caroline?" Klaus asks, as her breathing begins to weaken and fade. He watches, torn as the woman her cares for suffers before finally lifting her into an upright position and sits behind her. He bites his wrist and holds it to her mouth. He smooths hair as she begins to drink, holding her close.

Rebekah rifles through the bags inside Elena's tent, breathing heavily with a panicked look in her eyes.

Elena walks in. "What are you doing in my tent?" She asks.

Rebekah flashes over and grips her by the throat. "Where's the tombstone? What have you done with it?"

"What are you talking about?"

"Like it's not bloody obvious? All you people ever do is betray me and here you go again!"

Stefan enters the tent. "Let her go. She didn't take it."

Rebekah looks at him before releasing her, glaring at him. "Was any of this real? Or was it just a ploy to distract me while Shane ran off with the tombstone?"

"You think I would do that? You think I would let some psychopath run off with the cure? Every single moment of my last 146 years has been ruled by the pain of being a vampire." He says, Elena looks at him before quickly looking away. "And this cure ends that. It ends the guilt, and it ends the suffering. And you really think I would jeopardize that?"

"Fine. You didn't take it. But that doesn't mean I trust her." She glares at Elena, who returns it.

Finally, Elena bends down and lifts up some material; taking the white oak stake from under it. "I didn't take it, but here." She holds it out. "Consider this a peace offering."

"Don't you get it, Elena? There is no peace. We're all screwed."

"Exactly, Rebekah. We're screwed. Bonnie's gone. Shane's got the tombstone. Jeremy's missing. Who knows if Damon's coming back. So, us three, right here, this is all we've got. So we're either in this together…or it's over. For all of us." She holds the stake out once again. After a moment, Rebekah takes the stake from her hand.

Shane runs through the woods with the tombstone in hand. He meets a man, who leads a bound and gagged Jeremy along with him. "Jeremy. That was a bit of a scare yesterday." He turns to the man. "Thanks for fending off his attacker."

"His attacker?" The man asks, confusion on his face.

"Jeremy was attacked by an islander. I assumed you were his hatchet-flinging guardian angel."

"No, that wasn't me."

"Well, then I guess there's somebody else on this island who's desperate to keep our hunter alive." He says.

Bonnie stumbles upon the scene. "How did I get here? What the hell's going on?"

"I see your locator spell worked," Shane says.

"The path behind me-"

"Magically disappeared?" Shane gestures to the man. "You can thank the talents of Massak. He's a witch. Should you try to escape, he'll ensure that you never find your way back. So, the gang's all here. Silas awaits."

Damon walks through the woods when he is suddenly pierced in the arm by an arrow. He groans in pain as he pulls it out. "You gotta be kidding me." He says, before being attacked and thrown to the ground. He pushes the man off him and they rise, continuing to fight each other. Damon manages to pin the man down, straddles his back and pulls at his head before noticing the man's hand on the ground has the hunter's mark on it. "You're one of the Five!" The man takes the opportunity of Damon's shock to escape his hold, flipping him over and snapping the vampires' neck. He stands up and looks at the body at his feet.