"Mystic Falls..." "I was born here." "This is my home." " And mine." " And mine." "For centuries, supernatural creatures have lived among us." "They were vampires, werewolves, doppelgangers..." " Witches." " And even hybrids." "And then there's Elena." "She's one of us now." "Why am I acting like this?" "There may be one chance to save her..." "Nice ink." "Tell him what the hunter told you the tattoo leads to!" "He said there was a cure." "No one must know about the cure, do you understand?" "The hunter holds the key, and he'll stop at nothing..." "You have any idea what I've been through?" "I spent the last two days chained up by an original vampire." "So you met Klaus?" "I only know him by reputation." "Apparently he's a real monster." "He's a vampire-werewolf hybrid." "Do you know how hard it is to kill them?" "From what I gather, you have to..." "Remove their head, or their heart." "That is, according to lore." "I'm just speculating." "I had to figure out how to do it on my own." "I could have used some of this occult Professor knowledge of yours." "But then again, you've always been slow when it comes to providing answers." "We had a deal." "I'll give you answers about your hunter's mark when it's grown to completion." "In other words, kill as many vampires as possible." "Come on, Connor, why do you think I sent you to Mystic Falls?" "There's no shortage of vampires." "That town's practically infested." "Listen, there's a witch mixed up in all this." "She's important to what I have planned." "I want her to be kept out of harm's way." "Anybody gets in my way-- anybody-- they're dead." "Ok..." "Sure, I'll occupy her myself." "Just do what you do." "And the less I know about it, the better." "Do I have your attention?" "Good." "Then let's talk about vampires." "Dear diary," "I know it's been a while." "A long while." "I haven't needed..." "I haven't wanted to write this stuff down." "But I don't want to say it out loud, either." "The thing is..." "I'm a vampire." "And I hate it." "She's been spiraling since her transition." "There are times I barely recognize her." "But now for the first time in a while, there's hope." "I feel hopeless." "Depressed." "Angry." "But most of all..." "I'm scared." "Somewhere in the world, there's a cure for vampires." "If I can get it," "Elena can be human again." "I can give her back her life." "Part of me just wants to end it." "But then I think of Jeremy, and all that he has left." "So, I need to find a way through this." "No matter what it takes." "So that's what I need to do." "No matter what Klaus asks;" "no matter what lies I have to tell, secrets I have to keep, I'll do it." "No matter what it takes." "How the hell did Connor escape?" "I blame mind-numbing incompetence, but pointing fingers isn't going to help me." "You're going to help me." "Well, he could be anywhere now." "Think, Stefan." "He took the hybrid's head, which means he wants werewolf toxin." "Which means he plans to stay in Mystic Falls to kill vampires." "Which is a pity." "Me being on the other side of the world digging up a dead hunter, you'll have no access to my blood." "And therefore the antidote." "Nevertheless, his tattoo is our only map to the cure, so your task is quite simple." "Find him, catch him, and above all, keep him alive." "He's no good to us dead." "Damon's been looking everywhere for him." "If they cross paths..." "You need to keep Damon in check." "It would be a lot easier if I could just tell him the truth." "You trust Damon with the cure?" "I imagine he prefers Elena the way she is." "Nice try, Klaus, but I trust Damon a hell of a lot more than I trust you." "And I trust no one." "Which is why my sister is lying daggered in a box." "The more who find out about the cure, the more will go after it." "Nations have gone to war over less." "You mark my words-- tell one soul and I will throw the hunter's sword in the mediterranean and we can end this quest right now." "Am I understood?" "Really?" "Jeremy, you're half an hour late." "Get here now." "Uh, Matt?" "Uh, hey, April." "We don't open till eleven." "Oh, sorry." "I wasn't, like, trying to scare you or stalk you or whatever." "I just, um, I came to ask if you've seen Rebekah?" "Why would I have seen Rebekah?" "Oh, I just assumed." "I mean, aren't you guys kind of line a thing?" "Rebekah and I are not a thing." "Well, I mean, I'm worried about her." "She said she'd help me find stuff out about the fire that killed my dad, and then she just disappeared." "Trust me..." "That's the least of your problems." "Oh." "Excuse me." "What are you doing?" "Where's Stefan?" "Ok, good morning to you, too." "He's not answering his phone and he's not here, which, you know, big deal, we've only got a killer vampire hunter on the loose." "I haven't talked to him yet today." "Hmm." "Give me your phone." "Maybe he's dodging me." "Why would he be dodging you?" "Oh, I don't know, maybe the hot, sweaty dance party business?" "I figured you spilled your guilty little guts to him when I left last night." "Ohh, you didn't tell him, did you?" "No, Damon." "I didn't tell him that I got high on blood like some crack head and dirty danced with you." "It was a mistake, ok?" "I wasn't..." "Myself." "And besides, he's already got enough to deal with, trying to get me through this vampire stuff." "Oh, I see." "This is classic shame spiral." "I'm not in a shame spiral." "Oh, you so are." "Newbie vampire remorse?" "Whoof, it's worse than a hangover." "I'm not in a shame spiral, Damon!" "It's Stefan." "Leave a message." "So either he's dodging both of us..." "Or something's wrong." "Sit down." "Sit down!" "Gilbert, give me your cell phone." "Look, at least let April go." "She doesn't have anything to do with this." "She has everything to do with this." "Her and her father." "Plus, she and I have history." "What are you talking about?" "I've never seen you before in my life!" "You kids need to get some vervain." "And don't just wear it as a bracelet where anybody can just take it off." "Maybe then you'd remember our conversation at the hybrid's yesterday." "Our conversation?" "Are you saying someone compelled me?" "!" "Will someone please tell me what he's talking about?" "!" "Compulsion." "Secrets." "Vampires." "If you know so much, then you know our friends are going to come for us." "Oh, yeah, I'm counting on it." "Every vampire that comes for you is another one I get to kill." "Now, who should I text first, hmm?" "Damon Salvatore?" "His brother Stefan?" "Tyler lockwood?" "All of the above." "So we each take a different entrance, hit him at the same time." "Stefan!" "Where the hell have you been?" "Coming up with a plan?" "Yeah, we have a plan." "The plan is I'm going to rip Connor's heart out and I am going to feed it to him." "That's not a plan." "We need to be careful." "Connor has Jeremy and who knows how many other hostages." "Hence the open heart surgery." "Damon's right." "Connor's strong, but he's not going to be able to take all of us." "I called in the hybrids to help, too." "My mom put squad cars blocking the streets." "They're saying it's a faulty gas main." "We're good to go." "Good." "Great." "No cop, no witnesses, no reason to wait around." "All right, hold on, you're not all going." "He shot me like 9 times." "If we're killing him, I want in." "He's got Jeremy, I'm going." "Listen, nobody is going anywhere until I figure out what we're walking into." "Until you figure it out?" "Is that where you've been all morning, out buying bossy pants?" "This guy's known for setting traps, right?" "We'd be pretty dumb to walk into one, especially if he has werewolf venom." "Does he?" "He's had it before." "Fine." "Fine." "You want to take some time to do recon, you get one hour." "But we're going to need some extra help, so where the hell's the wicked witch of the west?" "She can't do magic." "Really?" "Well, call her, tell her Jeremy's life is in danger." "Maybe that'll bring her out of retirement." "I can't believe you wrote a book." "I did." "I wrote three books, actually." "Two of them are just two more to find to display." "Oh, I'm finding them online." "No, no, you're not." "Hey, come on, you promised, remember?" "Right?" "No cell phones, and no Internet during witch therapy." "Here." "This is yours." "Right now I want you to focus." "And I want your undivided attention." "You really think you can help me start practicing magic again?" "Absolutely, I can." "I invited you here because I can." "But you know what, right now, just relax." "Drink your tea." "I got this in Australia when I was backpacking with these aborigine spirit guides." "Trust me, it's better when you smoke it, but I'm trying to be a role model." "Bonnie..." "Listen, the thing is, what I have in mind might come off as a little unorthodox." "Now I'm officially curious." "Good." "Ahh." "What do you know about hypnosis?" "You really think that would work?" "What, you practice witchcraft but you don't believe in hypnotism?" "Bonnie, listen..." "You're afraid to practice magic because those witch spirits convinced you it's wrong." "They threatened your grams and they made you feel guilty." "You just have to confront that fear..." "And that guilt." "And remove it." "Maybe." "I don't think hypnosis would work." "Witches are naturally immune to any sort of manipulation." "Really?" "Well, let me ask you something." "How'd you like to put that earring back on?" "You expect me to care about bloody hostages?" "Well, you should." "Damon does." "So does Caroline, Tyler, Elena." "If any of them get to Connor, then you just wasted a trip to Italy." "I can buy us some time, but Damon's getting antsy." "So if you want Connor alive, you better get your hybrids onboard with my plan." "Who is he talking to?" "Bonnie, hopefully." "Maybe she's decided to make herself useful again." "What is that?" "It's our way in, courtesy of Alaric Saltzman's interest in the Mystic Falls underground railroad." "The tunnels, like the ones in the lockwood cellar." "Yep." "What did you find out?" "I could only make out the voices." "How many hostages?" "Three." "But, Elena, it's Matt." "And April young." "What?" "!" "Those two idiots." "They're like danger magnets." "We have to get them out of there." "Yeah, I just need a little more time." "The clock's ticking, brother." "You know, I could do without the color commentary." "I'm going in these tunnels." "No, you're not." "This guy doesn't know that you're a vampire." "Let's keep it that way." "Well, maybe that's it." "I can offer to trade myself in exchange for the hostages." "No!" "Best case scenario is, now you're a hostage." "Worst case scenario-- he figures you out, kills you on the spot." "Stop treating me like I can't handle myself." "Alaric trained me, and I've been practicing with Stefan." "So what?" "Now you're going to take on a professional killer?" "Bang, you're dead." "Now what?" "Head shot's no good." "It has to be the heart." "So now you're dead." "Huh." "For someone that doesn't want to be like me, you sure are good at it." "My brother's the only thing that's holding me together right now, Damon." "If anything happens to him..." "We'll get him out." "I promise." "He's clearly delusional." "I mean, right?" "All this-- all this talk about vampires?" "I--I mean, he mentioned my dad." "Hey, this guy's a nut job, ok?" "Don't let him get in your head." "What if he knows something?" "Jeremy..." "Did he say anything to you about why he's doing this?" "I don't know." "Maybe." "Maybe I just can't remember." "Let it go." "Jeremy!" "You said we had a conversation yesterday?" "Mm-hmm." "About what?" "We'll get into that." "First, take a look at my handiwork." "Pick up some tips from the hunter's trade." "What is all that?" "The fluid is derived from werewolf toxin." "Trip the wire, bomb goes off, nails deliver a lethal dose into the bloodstream." "And what's the point?" "What do you get out of all this?" "You know, I used to think that there was no "get"." "That I was just supposed to "do"." "Kill vampires." "That was until I realized that the mark held the answer to why I'm the way I am." "The more I kill, the more it grows, and once it's complete..." "I'll learn my story, and-- and all this will have meant something." "Hey!" "We're going to have visitors soon." "You two get in the back." "Get up!" "Move!" "And before you think about any other exits, I got every door rigged." "Got it?" "Stefan's on his way." "This will be over soon." "Will it?" "I mean, haven't we already been here before with Jeremy?" "Isn't this why we sent him to Denver?" "Well, we'll get him out of this and we'll compel him down to the Bahamas." "Maybe he'll find an island girl." "Did you find the tunnel map?" "Got it." "It was in his weapon's drawer with seven stakes, a weird MacGyver crossbow, and the last remaining vervain in Mystic Falls." "So, how about we get this party started?" "Not yet." "Klaus is sending one of his men." "He'll take the front and you and I can take the tunnels." "Since when do we team up with Klaus and the lollipop guild?" "Well, I already told you, Connor has werewolf venom." "We need someone to draw his fire, the hybrids are immune to it, so they're our best bet." "Well, how are you sure he even has werewolf venom?" "Why is Klaus involved, Stefan?" "Oh, stop being paranoid, Damon." "Start telling the truth..." "Stefan." "Why is Klaus involved?" "Did he compel you?" "I am telling you the truth, this is the best way to get everyone out." "What is with you two?" "We're wasting time!" "You know what, she's right." "Screw your plan." "I'll kill Connor myself." "Stefan!" "Why are you doing this?" "Damon had the right idea with the tunnels, but I'm not going to go in there if I can't count on him to do it my way." "If you can't count on him?" "You just vervained him!" "Do you think he cares about April or Matt?" "He'll get Jeremy out for you, but then he'll go right after Connor no matter who gets hurt." "Then I'm coming with you." "You're not coming with me, Elena!" "You need my help!" "What if Connor attacks and you have to defend yourself?" "And what if you kill him?" "The guilt will wreck you." "You don't think that I'm afraid of that?" "Of course I am." "Stefan, I'm barely holding it together." "If Jeremy gets hurt-- we'll get Jeremy out, ok?" "I promise you." "Elena, listen to me, listen to me." "This is the most important thing that I have ever asked you to do." "I just need you to trust me." "Please." "Look, man, this guy is dangerous." "He's highly trained, he's armed" "I can handle myself." "Besides, Klaus asked me personally." "This is a bad idea." "Uh, who are you?" "Who the hell are you?" "Caroline." "Ohh." "You're Tyler's girl." "He told me about you." "I'm Haley." "Well, Haley, that's pretty crazy, 'cause I haven't heard a thing about you." "I've been staying here a few days." "Excuse me?" "I needed a place to crash, Ty's a buddy." "He was kind enough to offer." "I know all of Ty's buddies and I haven't heard about you, so how about we cut the crap?" "Yeah, I don't do teen drama." "Take it up with Ty." "Excuse me." "Dean, you don't need to do this." "Stay out of this, Haley." "I'm going." "Just listen to her, man." "It's suicide." "Klaus told you to take Connor by yourself, and you can't even fight back?" "You have to use "non-lethal force"?" "What the hell is that?" "Klaus gave me a direct order." "It's too dangerous." "That maniac already killed Nate." "You're not a hybrid, you don't know what it's like." "Klaus asks for something, you do it." "Look..." "I'm a hybrid." "I used to do everything Klaus said." "But I don't anymore." "You don't have to, either." "You think you can stand up to Klaus?" "Here, prove it." "Tyler, don't..." "Hello?" "Hey, Klaus." "Tyler." "I hope you're not causing problems." "I can do whatever I want." "I'm not sired to you anymore." "Fair enough." "Though I do happen to know your little secret about your time in appalachia." "What was your friend's name?" "Haley, was it?" "You'd probably prefer I kept that to myself." "I'm sorry, mate." "Are you going to answer or should I just assume you're back to being..." "How did you phrase it?" "Oh, yes." "My little bitch." "Ahem." "Do whatever the hell you want." "That's it?" "You just back down?" "!" "We're closed." "I want you to free the hostages." "I'll free them." "As soon as you give me what I want-- you and everyone like you dead." "What, so your hunter's mark can grow?" "Yeah, I know all about that." "What it means." "What you are." "Listen, you free the hostages and you and I can have a little cat." "Maybe I can tell you about the brotherhood of the five." "That's a weak move." "You must be desperate." "Think about it, Connor." "Klaus saved your life, he needs you alive." "Aren't you the least bit curious why?" "When I was a kid, my dad used to tell me these scary stories about vampires." "They're just stories." "Not to that man out there." "There's something so familiar..." "About him." "Look, this is a messed up situation." "The last thing that you want to do is buy into that guy's craziness." "You're going to be fine." "We're getting out of here." "What is that?" "There used to be an exit through the old wine cellar." "They bricked it over." "So that's it, then?" "We're screwed." "No." "We're not screwed." "There's no sign of anyone." "Stefan's coming at him from the other side." "He'll free the hostages, your job is to get Connor out alive." "And use caution, mate." "He favors booby traps and ambushes." "Understood." "You may be a potential hunter, but you make one move, I will break all 27 bones in your hand." "They're not all bad, you know?" "Some of them, they're my friends." "Friends, huh?" "Yeah, I had a friend like that once." "She got turned by this vampire I was hunting." "He thought it'd be ironic." "What happened to her?" "I didn't want to hurt her." "She promised that she would keep it under control, but..." "A vampire's like a loaded gun." "Eventually it's going to go off." "That's when I got this." "So you killed your own friend?" "Listen!" "If you're going to be like me, you need to understand." "Vampires kill humans." "Hunters kill vampires." "We have company." "Oh, my God." "Shh, shh, shh." "Follow this map." "Get out of here." "Take her to Caroline's so she can..." "Ok." "Stefan!" "That guy's armed." "If you go out there, he's going to kill Jeremy." "No one's killing anyone." "Go." "Connor, you don't have to do this." "Stefan?" "Stefan, call me." "There was an explosion at the grill." "I need to know what's happening." "Damon." "Hey." "Can you get up?" "Oh, where's Stefan?" "I'm going to kill him." "Ow-ow!" "Ow!" "He took your ring?" "Why would he do that?" "Ughh." "Because he's playing us." "All this stalling, getting the hybrids, taking my ring, add it up." "He's either made a deal with Klaus or he's compelled." "Then I need to get in there." "No, Elena, this guy is dangerous!" "So am I, Damon!" "Then you need to be smart." "He doesn't know you're a vampire." "You get as close as you can." "And kill him." "Connor, we can end this right now." "Just put down the gun and come with me." "Sure, come out." "I'll hand the gun over." "Think about this, no one has to die." "I'll tell you everything you need to know." "I don't make deals with vampires!" "Listen to me." "If you die right now, then your whole life, all that killing, it will all be for nothing." "I can give you the truth." "Put down the gun and let Jeremy go." "Please!" "Don't hurt him." "Come any closer, he's dead." "Elena, get out of here." "He's the only family that I have left." "Just--just let him go." "You hear that?" "Your girl's watching." "I will shoot the boy right in front of her!" "On the count of three!" "1... 2..." "Jeremy?" "I'm sorry, I..." "Hey, it's ok." "You don't have to hide it," "I know you're not going to hurt me." "How did this happen, Jer?" "Why did Connor come after you?" "He said I was like him, because I could see his tattoo." "His what?" "His hunter's mark." "It's invisible to everyone but me." "Stefan and Damon didn't tell you about it?" "No." "Who else knows about this?" "Well, that's the thing." "I don't even know." "Apparently I was with Connor all day yesterday, but I can't remember." "Someone compelled me." "I think I know who." "Oww!" "Good work, brother." "It's over, Damon, I have him." "Not after what I just went through." "I had to punch through a boiler room basement into a septic tank to get into this stupid tunnel." "But it'll be worth it." "I'm taking him with me." "That's the thing-- you're not." "I don't know what you're up to or what Klaus has over you, but even if I have to go through you," "I'm going to kill him." "Better back off, Damon." "Why?" "Because Klaus wants him alive?" "This has nothing to do with Klaus, you're just going to have to trust me on that." "Don't want to." "Don't have to." "Not gonna." "You can give him to me, brother." "Run as fast as you can." "You're not going to kill him!" "Why are you protecting him?" "Tell me." "Tell me!" "Klaus will kill anyone who knows!" "Then it has to be good." "Spill it." "Spill it!" "Connor's tattoo is the key to a cure." "The cure for what?" "For her!" "For Elena." "Klaus told you there's a cure for vampirism?" "And if Connor dies, then we'll lose it forever." "I know it's crazy, Damon, but it's hope." "Do you understand me?" "It's her only hope!" "You stay the hell away from my brother!" "Look at you." "So worried about your brother." "And you're the biggest monster he'll ever meet." "You missed." "This isn't working." "It's not you." "I just--I can't get into hypnosis." "Bonnie, what do you think we've been doing for seven hours?" "Wow, that's crazy." "Look, I'm good at this, ok?" "And trust me, you're doing a lot better than you were when you came in this morning." "You know what?" "Proof." "I bet that you can light this candle as easily as I can sign my name." "All you have to do is want to." "I'm sorry." "I just--I can't." "If you can't..." "It's only because you're afraid." "You're afraid of those spirits and what they might do to your grams." "But let me tell you something, Bonnie Bennett-- you're stronger than they are." "You have a power of your own you haven't even approached yet, and you don't have to be afraid." "Of anyone." "Say it." ""I don't have to be afraid."" "I don't have to be afraid." "Now close your eyes." "And mean it." "I don't have to be afraid." "Guess it wasn't good enough." "Oh, I don't know." "Elena..." "I need to bury him." "I killed him, I should" "I should bury him." "Hey." "Hey, come on." "Don't!" "I heard you talking to him." "Making some secret deal with Klaus?" "You said you were going to protect Jeremy!" "Keep me from..." "This." "You said that I could trust you, Stefan." "Elena, it's complicated-- no, it's not complicated, Damon!" "You want to know why?" "Because-- because he's dead now." "You told me to kill him." "So I did." "I killed" "I killed someone." "I k--I killed someone!" "I'm so..." "Sorry." "I can't believe Dean's gone." "We could have saved him." "I apologize." "Am I intruding?" "Caroline, it's not like that." "I keep waiting for you to make up some dumb story so at least I can call you a liar." "Is that now?" "I'll let you two talk." "Thank you, how big of you!" "You have to understand-- no, you don't tell me what I have to do." "I went through hell when I thought you died." "I cried like an idiot, and this whole time, you've been keeping a secret from me about falling for some werewolf in the appalachians!" "I never fell for her." "Oh, please." "Caroline, she saved my life!" "I almost died trying to break the sire bond." "Haley was there for me." "She helped me get through it." "But nothing else happened!" "Then why would Klaus think that?" "Because I'd rather him think that than know the truth." "There are other hybrids that need to be set free." "Haley and I can help them." "But if Klaus found out about what we're trying to do, he'd kill us all." "Hey, Jeremy." "Sorry we're so late." "We had to take this crazy detour." "There was a gas leak." "Yeah, I heard about that." "Yeah, and we had to stop by Tyler Lockwood's house 'cause we had to see Caroline." "We talked to her for a little bit, but now I was thinking maybe we could all go get some coffee." "But the grill is closed." "That's..." "Weird." "You know what, it's ok." "I, uh," "I need to get home anyway, 'cause I'm feeling a little..." "Over it today." "I should probably get home, too." "Oh." "All right, then." "Hey, uh, April." "Did you drop this?" "Oh, that's not mine." "You sure?" "Here, let me see your wrist." "Ah, thanks, but" "I like it." "I think it looks good on you." "You should wear it." "Are you ok?" "Yeah." "I'm just sick of all the secrets, you know?" "Yeah, tell me about it." "What's wrong?" "Nothing." "How is she?" "Angry, full of guilt." "Hasn't said a word to me other than she wants to be left alone." "Is that my journal?" "Had to go through six locks to get it." "Needed something to back up your insanity." "Did you figure out how to tell Klaus you lost a hunter and a hybrid?" "He's on a plane." "Which means I get to live for another six hours." "I got your back." "You know, when he comes to murder you." "Thanks." "Thanks for not saying anything to Elena." "About what?" "A cure that we don't have, can't find, and probably doesn't exist?" "You're welcome." "She doesn't need to know that she killed her chance of being human again." "Alleged chance." "I believe him, Damon." "You didn't hear Klaus' story." "I believed every word he said." "Well, I'll remain a skeptic for now." "So what's your next move?" "He said there was a brotherhood of the five." "Which means there are other hunters out there, and I'm just going to keep looking until I find one." "Sure, Stefan, since you asked," "I'd be happy to go on a suicide mission with you for a potentially non-existent cure." "Not a problem." "Yet a couple hours ago, you were ready to rip my heart out." "Because you were being a pain in the ass." "I just need one thing-- why do you want to cure her?" "What kind of question is that?" "Legitimate one." "You want to cure her because she's a vampire and she's not cut out to be, or you can't love her if she is one?" "I'll always love her." "But she's not supposed to be this person." "I don't want her to be." "Well, if I'm going to ride this fairy tale to its conclusion, let me be clear about one thing." "What's that?" "I'm fine with her either way, brother." "So if we do this, we're doing it for you." "Dear diary, today I did the thing I was most afraid of." "I lost control." "I killed someone." "I used to think the worst feeling in the world was losing someone you love, but I was wrong." "The worst feeling is the moment that you realize..." "You've lost yourself."