" Previously on The Vampire Diaries..." " I wrote you a letter." "I'm not okay with never seeing you ever again." " Don't walk away from your family." " You know what?" "Growing up, out of all my friends, I was the only one whose family didn't have a legacy in Mystic Falls." "That could've changed everything for me." "The Maxwell heirloom and the tuning fork, those things fit together to make the hammer that swings inside a bell." "When properly assembled, this bell becomes, like, a mystical" " super-bell." " You let them go." "You knew all along I'd have to kill people for Cade." "Evil people and murderers." "These girls are innocent." "Exactly." "No!" "One day, you're going to realize that you don't even remember what happiness is." "Until then, just stay away from me." "Your humanity is gonna flood back." "You'll be consumed with guilt for kidnapping" "Ric and Caroline's children, for selling your brother's soul to Cade, for killing Tyler Lockwood." "I'm not the thing inside your head you have to fear, Damon." "You are." "Good morning." "That was thoroughly unconvincing." "What are you up to?" "Oh, you know, just... motivating." "Translation:" "you are still in bed, moping about Stefan." "Guilty as charged." "Why are you breathing so heavy?" "I'm jogging." "I needed to get out, clear my head." "What's on your mind?" "Enzo." "I need your advice." "You want to grab breakfast?" "I'm the last person you should be asking for relationship advice." "My fiancé turned Miss Mystic Falls into a vampire just to spite me." "So, no, I am not going anywhere." "Fine." "Breakfast in bed it is." "How do you like your eggs?" "Are you really here right now?" "Damon?" "Wait, Damon's here, too?" "Get down here, Caroline." "Now." "Hey, mister, I'm sorry." "Please, just wake up." "Aren't you a little young to be drinking?" "You." "You did this to me, and now you're making jokes?" "It's Violet, right?" "Just relax." "Everything's gonna be okay." "That's what Caroline said." "But look." "You're angry." "I get it." "You feel like I forced you into this." "Believe me, I can relate." "My brother forced me into making a deal with the devil, so that I would turn innocent girls like you into monsters so they'd do... terrible things like this." "This... this isn't fair." "But life isn't fair, Violet." "See, I gave you a choice." "You didn't have to kill these people, but you did." "You chose to feed." "And that makes you the perfect offering for Cade." "What does that mean?" "It's a little hard to explain." "Probably easier if I just show you." "What do you think happened to him?" "I'm guessing Sybil happened." "But the real question is:" "what did she do to his brain this time?" "Only one way to find out." "Can you jump us both in there?" "Will you let me go back to bed if I tell you I can't?" "Not a chance." " What was that?" " I don't know." "I..." "It was just fire and pain." "Then that's what Damon's feeling." "Look." "He's suffering." "Wait, do you hear that?" "Well, looks like we have a rat in the cellar." "Are you annoyed?" "I always thought that was just your resting face." "Let me guess." "Damon's not feeling well." "What did you do to him?" "I gave him what he wanted." "I flipped his little humanity switch back on." "Then why is he a zombie?" "Well, I guess his mind couldn't handle all those memories and feelings rushing in all at once." "But don't worry, I can fix him, as long as I get what I want." "You're crazy if you think we're letting you out of this cell." "You'll mess with our heads, too." "That's the beauty of it..." "You don't have a choice." "Pay the price or prepare to have a catatonic best man at your wedding." "If you're still getting married, that is." "I know it's looking a little bleak." "What do you want?" "Hey, Sheriff." "Knock it off." "I'm a civilian now." "I hope civilian life treats you better than that girl in the alley." " Who is she?" " Violet Fell." "She was a contestant in the Miss Mystic Falls Pageant yesterday." "Where's the actual sheriff?" "Halfway to Duluth." "Jenkins turned in his badge this morning." "Didn't think a small town like this came with so many homicides." "One second." "This isn't a good time." "Well, this phone call's not gonna make it any better." "I need the bell." "I just had my dad take it out of town to hide it." "Why?" "Because I'm gonna give it to Sybil." "What?" "That's crazy, Care." "I know." "But Sybil basically fried Damon's brain, and now she's the only one who can fix him." "We have to give her what she wants." "What she wants is the only weapon that can kill her." "I mean, if we give it to her, how are we gonna stop her?" "I have no idea." "All I know is that Damon is trapped in his own mind, and his mind is a volcano of pain and suffering." "Yeah, well, maybe that's what he deserves." "You don't mean that." "Yeah, actually I do, Care." "I'm standing at a crime scene right now where a bunch of people are dead." "And one of them is Violet Fell." "What?" "Oh, my God." "Matt, I'm so sorry." "Are you?" "'Cause no matter how many innocent people die, all anyone's ever concerned about is Stefan and Damon." "You're right." "I'm worried, okay?" "I know how messed up everything is right now." "And if you won't do it for them, please, do it for me." "You weren't kidding." "It's all fire and brimstone in here." "This is gonna be a lot more complicated than I thought." "Okay, here's the deal." "Consciously, Damon believes that he is in hell." " What?" " For some reason," "Damon thinks that's where he belongs." "Well, how do we change his mind?" "Well, that's a question only Damon can answer." "So I suggest you go in there and ask him yourself." "Once you figure out what's holding him back," "I should be able to repair the damage." "We already tried going into his head, remember?" "Didn't go well." "Yeah, that's 'cause you went through the front door." "But lucky for you, I can get you in through the back." "Into his subconscious." "All right, ladies, grab on." "Guess the inside of Damon's head looks a whole lot like the outside." "Okay, come on." "Shouldn't take long." "Good morning." "Welcome to the Salvatore Boarding House." "Do you have a reservation, ladies?" "Um, I'm not sure." "Do we need one?" "I'm afraid so." "The house is at maximum occupancy." "We're looking for Damon Salvatore." "Well, that's easy." "He's right behind you." "I take it back." "This might take a minute." "Mr. Salvatore was a bit of a hero during the war." "Yeah." "We know all that." "Um, but where is he... right now?" "You do understand I meant the Civil War." "Hold on a sec." "You're Henry." "Damon told me he saved your life during the war." "So where is he?" "I'm going to have to ask you both to leave." "Now!" "Damn it." " What was that about?" " How are we supposed" " to know?" " Well, what did Damon say?" "He didn't say anything," " because he wasn't there." " That's impossible." " It's his mind." " You're the one who did this to him." "So un-impossible it." " Fast." " Believe me," "I'm trying." "But if you guys can't find Damon, then there is nothing I can do." "Maybe I can help." "Sorry, I was eavesdropping." "Stefan." "Hello, Caroline." "I told you to stay away from me." "What are you doing here?" "I made a mistake." "I'm here to convince you to marry me." "Nah." "Honestly," "I'm just here because, when you killed me last night," "Cade and I had a little chat, and it turns out hell needs more souls than I've been providing." "And it's time for Damon to do his part." "Just wake Damon up so he can earn his keep, and we're good." "We are trying." "More like failing." "You do know what he's doing, right?" "Damon's humanity is on, which means that he's all emo and afraid of owning up to what he did when it was off." "When we were kids, he used to hide out every time we did something wrong, until I'd find him and tell him everything was gonna be okay." "So, all you need to do is find out where he's hiding in there, and do the exact same thing." "By the way, why are you helping them?" "I need the Maxwell bell before my sister uses it against me." "So I'm willing to play ball with whoever can deliver it." "Well, I'll see what I can do." "In the meantime, fix this." "All right, you heard the man." "Well, he's not at his favorite bar stool drinking imaginary bourbon to wash his guilt away, so now what?" "Damon's in here, all right." "If this is his subconscious, that means he's responsible for everything that happens, including... this animal attack." "All we have to do is follow the clues," " and they should lead us right to him." " At which point we do what?" "Just blindly forgive him for all of the hideous things he's done to us over the years?" "I forgave him before." "I could do it again." "Say that once more, with feeling." "Hey, guys." "Vicki Donovan?" "Yeah," "Caroline Forbes." "Last time I checked, that's my name." "Are you guys here for lunch?" "Follow me." "That's... creepy." "But on the bright side," "Damon bit Vicki in that exact spot, you remember?" "Uh-huh." "Follow the clues." "Matt." "Hey, what's going on?" "I thought you wanted me to take the bell out of town." "I told the Fells I'd help pick out a plot for their daughter." "I've done it before, so... _" "Is this really why you brought me back?" "Huh?" "To kick my teeth in for something I can't change?" "No, it isn't, but, while you're here," "Dad, do you even remember Vicki?" "Honestly, I try not to remember." "I blame myself for what happened to her." "You're not the only one responsible." "What if I told you the person that killed Vicki was suffering right now?" "And that that bell could either save him, or make sure that he keeps being punished?" "I say let him suffer." "I mean, it's weird, right?" "If I built a world in my own mind," "I would make it a happy place, unicorns required." "But Damon killed Vicki, so why would he want her hanging around?" "She's leaving." "Come on." "Let's follow her." "I don't think we're the only ones working this case." "I forgot how pretty she was." "I'll tell you what." "I'll talk to Vicki, you talk to your mom." "Oh, no." "She's not real, Bon." "I know." "But if I were you, I'd still have some things to say." "Hey, Vicki." " Wait up." " What's going on, Bennett?" "You need more ketchup?" "I'm off the clock." "You haven't seen Damon Salvatore" " by any chance?" " No." "Got to go." "Are you sure?" "Maybe he had something to do with that bandage on your neck?" "Okay, now you're officially pissing me off, so why don't you just come out and say what you really want to say?" "I thought that he'd maybe..." "There." "You happy?" "Is that what I think it is?" "A hickey?" "Yeah." "So slut-shame me all you want, but this didn't come from Damon Salvatore." "I've never even heard that name in my life." "Hi, Mom." "Hey, sweetie." "Something wrong?" "Oh." "I'll take that as a yes." "My finely-honed detective skills tell me this is probably about a boy." "Uh, you're right." "Uh, Damon Salvatore." "Which one is he?" "I know." "It's all a little confusing." "Damon was, um is in the Founder's Council, and he's sort of your best friend." "Or he became your best friend." "Honey, I'm sorry, but I have no idea what you're talking about, or who Damon Salvatore is." "Um..." "Damon is a vampire." "The one behind your so-called "animal attack."" "How do you know about that?" "Mom, really, it's fine, okay?" "I need to find Damon just as bad as you do, so I was thinking maybe we could team up." "What do you say?" "I'd say the vampire" "I've been looking for is my own daughter." "Caroline?" "Bonnie, find Damon." "I'm warning you, Bonnie." "Stay out of this." "Thanks for the call, Matt." "I've been waiting a long time for this day." " I'm not doing this for you." " Whatever." "All I care about is that you're willing to destroy my sister." "But you get brownie points for letting me know that she's currently unable to defend herself." " Just tell me how this works." " It's easy." "Once your dad finishes welding the bell back together, you or he rings it 12 times." "There's got to be more to it than that." "What are you not telling me?" " Why do we have to ring it?" " I know." "It's a silly rule, but your bloodline forged it, so your bloodline has to do the honors." "I mean, at least, if you want to kill a siren or keep Damon trapped in that mental hell of his." "I can't let you do that, Matt." "Oh, and Ripper tip: if you're plotting to murder someone, you should probably keep a lower profile." "Since when do you care about people dying?" "Since about an hour ago when I decided I needed that bell." "Wait." "Why do you want the bell?" "Long story short..." "Cade needs more souls, and your sister's better at making deals than you are." "I doubt that." "I bet I could offer you something better than Sybil." "Do tell." "That's not good." "Mom, why are you doing this to me?" "Because you're a vampire, Caroline." "I'm ashamed to know I raised the monster that's killing the people I'm supposed to protect." "No!" "I told you, Damon is the one who's doing it, not me!" "Stop saying that name." "Mom, please!" "No, you know it!" "Just stop hurting me for one second and think." "Damon..." "Salvatore." "Stefan's brother." "Stefan Salvatore doesn't have a brother." "I checked the town records." "Damon died a long time ago." "So please just accept the truth, and this will all be over." "I'm telling you the truth." "And I'm not leaving here until I find Damon." "Damon is dead!" "No!" "No!" "You are!" "What?" "You got sick and you died, Mom." "And you want to know who was there for you the whole time?" "It was Damon." "Stop it, Caroline!" " Stop making excuses." " Believe me," "I never thought I would see the day." "Damon was a monster, and he did terrible things to me and my friends, and I used to hate him for that." "So why are you enduring all this pain and all this suffering for him?" "Because he was the only person who truly understood how much it hurt to lose you." "And as strange as it sounds, that made me forgive him for everything else." "Good-bye, Caroline." "Mom, wait." "Mom!" "Mom!" "Mom!" "Mom!" "I was almost really worried about you for a second." "And then I got over it." " What just happened?" " Well, Stefan was right." "Forgiveness is the key to reaching Damon, but just not yours." "I hope your friend has better luck." "Hey, sweetie." "I didn't know if you would be here." "Wow." "You even... you even got the sweater right." "You okay, child?" "Look like you've seen a ghost." "I need your help, Grams." "This should help quiet your mind." "Now what's all the fuss about?" "My friend's in trouble." "I need you to do a locator spell." "Magic, huh?" "You know what I say..." "Always comes with a price." "Now, who exactly are you looking for?" "Damon Salvatore." "Name doesn't ring a bell." " Is he related to Stefan?" " They're brothers." "Oh, then forget about it." "I do not get involved in vampire business." "And I suggest the same for you." "It's way too late for that." "Pretty much all of my friends are vampires now." "I'm even in love with one." "Bonnie Bennett, are you trying to kill me?" "I've never been this happy, Grams." "I'm so close to the life I've always wanted." "Please help me find Damon, so I can get back to it." "Now, that's cheating." "You know your happiness means everything to me." "But rules are rules." "I'm gonna need something that belongs to Damon if you want me to find him." "He wrote me a letter once... he was trying to apologize to me." "It must be around here somewhere." "Have you gone soft, child?" "This is my house." "And it's Damon's head." "That means if you're willing to help..." "Deep down, Damon wants me to find him." "But if he ever wants me to know what this says, he's gonna have to read it to me himself." "Come on." "Concentrate with me." "Matt." "What's going on?" "We were just outside talking about how Stefan needs to send more souls to Cade, so I offered him a couple thousand." "By tonight." "And then I said that sounds too good to be true, and Seline said, "Follow me."" "And now you're all caught up." "You want those souls?" "All you got to do is make sure that bell rings." "12 times, to be exact." "That wasn't part of the deal." "Oh." "Did I forget to mention the fine print?" "Well, you all know that the bell is capable of destroying a siren." "What you don't know is that it does it with hellfire." "The world Cade created is really a massive psychic imprint of the moment of his death." "He was burned at the stake." "Which means his domain is pretty much a ball of fire." "And the tuning fork disrupts that energy." "And when it gets amplified by the striker and bell, it rips a hole open, straight to Cade." "Sounds dangerous." "I like it." "You have no idea." "You see, when the door between this world and Cade's gets cracked open, the hellfire it unleashes doesn't just wipe out any siren in its proximity, it wipes out everything, for miles." "In this case..." "All of us and Mystic Falls." "I plan on being long gone before that happens." "So... what do you say, Stefan?" "Would this entire miserable town be enough souls for you to betray my sister?" "Would you stop that?" "It's annoying." "Not to mention it shows a complete lack of confidence in Bonnie." "I have 100% confidence in Bonnie." "I'm not sure the feeling is mutual." "I shouldn't be telling you this, 'cause I snatched it out of her head, but..." "Who am I kidding?" "It'll wound you deeply, so it'll be fun." "If Bonnie was really your bestie, don't you think she would have told you that she's planning to give Enzo the cure?" "She wants to give the cure to Enzo?" "She asked for my advice." "We just... got a little distracted." "Always the case when it comes to the things she wants, isn't it?" "Are those her feelings or yours?" "Does it matter if you had to ask?" "You shouldn't be here, Bonnie." "Damon, is that you?" "Please leave." "Or I'll make you." "Why, that siren is evil to the core." "You're not destroying our town." "Aren't I?" "Because it's caused me nothing but trouble, and the emotional hold it has over Damon is worse than a Hallmark card." "You're forgetting one small detail." "You need a Maxwell to ring that bell, and I'm not touching it." "Hmm." "Oh, yes, you are, Matt." "And when you do cause the deaths of all those innocent people," "I get to mark your do-gooder soul for Cade." "It's a win-win." "Stay away from him." "I'm sorry." "Who are you again?" "If you compel me, you're making the choice for me, and all that blood will be on your hands, not mine." "So how badly do you want me to go to hell?" "Pretty badly." "So here's the deal." "The choice is yours, Matt, but you have to follow your heart." "What's that supposed to mean?" "It means that if you don't want to ring that bell, you have to forgive Damon for killing your sister." "And if you can't, then you have to ring that bell 12 times by the top of the hour." "No excuses." "See you, Matt." "I told you to go!" "You can't make me leave." "Damon led me to this crypt because he wanted me to find a way to save him." "You can't save him, Bonnie." "Damon killed me... that makes me the only one that can ever forgive him for that." "Damon's done a lot of things, Tyler." "Things he's gonna have to spend the rest of his life atoning for." "And I know that's scary, but I believe he can do it." "He just has to believe he can." "Damon Salvatore is dead, and if you ask me, good riddance." "I'm sorry, Tyler." "That's not how this place works." "And I just figured out how it does." "Hey, you okay?" "You need to get Stefan back here." "Why?" "Because in Damon's mind, he lived and died as a human being." "He never became a vampire." "That's the only way he can imagine keeping the people that he loves safe." "So what?" "So our forgiveness isn't what matters." "Damon needs to talk to Stefan." "Just so we're clear, you calling me isn't why I'm here." "I'm on a tight schedule, so please, no talking." "Any luck with that bell?" "Work in progress." "Any luck with my brother?" "Work in progress." " This is some kind of trick." " Don't worry." "All you're gonna find in there is the truth." "Seriously, Damon?" "Graveyard?" "Could your subconscious be any more generic?" "That was a joke." "Look, I just wanted to drop in to let you know we're cool." "Whatever you think you did to me, whatever's holding you back, it's fine." "Why don't you just get your ass out here and go back to work." "Hello, brother." "Sweet gargoyle, bro." "You know, you probably shouldn't be wandering around here all alone." "There's a killer vampire on the loose in my head." "Why don't we just cut to the chase, huh?" "I'm here to forgive you, Damon." "You must not have gotten the memo." "You see, Bonnie helped me work through my issues." "And you have the reason for your visit backwards." "Okay, then." "Enlighten me." "You're not here to forgive me, Stefan." "You're here so I can forgive you." "Can't you just..." "look, I don't know, can't you find a way to forgive Damon?" "Not in the next ten minutes." "Probably not ever." "Look, I just..." "I need you to get out of here." "Go to the cops and save as many people as you can, okay?" "There's no reason that both of us have to die." "Me running is the whole reason we're in this mess, Matt." "Here's the difference, Dad." "I want you to abandon me this time." "'Cause when I ring that bell, all hell's gonna break loose, literally." "Leaving you and your sister was the biggest mistake of my life, and I'll be damned if I do it again." "No, Dad, you'll be damned if you don't." "Maybe!" "Maybe, but if you want to ring that bell, Matt, you're gonna have to go through me." "Don't you get it, Dad?" "I will go through you." "I'm compelled." "I'm ringing that bell!" "Unless you kill me." "What?" "What?" "No." "No, no, no, no, no, no." "You have to kill me." "No matter what you do, I'll keep coming." "I'll probably kill you in the process." "Please, Dad." "I'll die a hero." "My life will mean something." "I'm not laying a hand on you, son." "You've been a crap father my whole life." "Why stop now?" "You're kidding me, right?" "Think of all the ways that you have ruined my life for the last century..." "Including the fact that I'm working for Cade right now because of you..." "And you seriously believe that you're the one who should be forgiving me?" "You're right." "I'm a monster." "But like I said I forgive you." "I have nothing to apologize for." "Then why are you here, Stefan?" "Huh?" "Why are you always there to straighten me out when I go off the rails?" "Come on, man, you're not here for Cade." "You're here because you blame yourself for turning me in the first place." "Apparently, I still do, too." "At least until today." "I officially forgive you." "Shut up!" "I forgive you, Stefan." "Why aren't you healing?" "Remember that vampire I was warning you about running around in my head?" "Well, it's not me." "It's you." "It's always been you, Stefan." "So, for the last time," "I forgive you for making me what I am." "I absolve you of all the death and destruction" "I've caused as a result." "And you want to know why?" "Because you're my brother." "And I love you." "And there's nothing you could do to ever change that." "We'll see about that." "You want to forgive me for something bad, Damon?" "Well, how about this?" "I'm about to burn Mystic Falls to the ground." "What the hell are you talking about?" "Hell is what I'm talking about." "So before that beautiful brass bell rings, forgive me, Damon..." "I dare you." "And while you're at it, forgive me for coming here and trying to save you." "Forgive me for having the tiniest shred of guilt about leaving you to die with everyone else, for not seeing that the only way to get rid of you is to let you go up in flames with the rest of the damn town." "Come on, Dad!" "Do something!" "Bonnie?" "Bonnie!" "Seline has the bell." "You lied to me." "Yeah, sorry." "That was my bad." "Oh, come on." "Don't look at me like that, Caroline." "This is what you wanted, right?" "Till death do us part." "You're right, little brother." "I can't forgive you for destroying our hometown." "'Cause I ain't gonna let it happen." "Come on, Dad, do something, please." "Dad, get up!" "Nine!" "This thing is heating up!" "Ten!" "You're gonna have to kill me." "Dad, come on!" "Eleven!" "I'm so sorry, Matt." "I forgive you." "Let's hope that one doesn't count." "How are you feeling, sport?" "Like I just had my head rammed into a giant metal object." "Hashtag you're welcome." "Your dad was looking pretty rough, too." "I put the hell bell in the back of his truck and sent him on his way." "You're not gonna do anything stupid like chase after him, are you?" "Well, since Stefan compelled me to ring the bell by 9:00," "I'd say we're in the clear." "For the record, it's hard to thank you for something that's pretty much your fault." "Hey." "Matt." "I'm sorry about Vicki." "I know you'll never forgive me for what I did, but..." "I should have told you this a long time ago." "Let me guess, your emotions are back on, huh?" "Yep." "It's gonna be a bumpy ride." "Well, you did just save my father and pretty much the entire town, so that counts for something in my book." "Does that mean we're good?" "Not by a long shot." "But you keep earning it the way you did tonight," "I'm not ruling anything out." "Fair enough." "Need a lift?" "Nah." "Got to stop by the police department." "I hear Mystic Falls needs a sheriff." "Always did like the sheriffs in this town." "Wow." "You really can't take a hint." "Actually, I can." "So before you try tearing me down again," "I am fully aware that Damon means more to you than I do." "Then why are you here?" "Because I love you," "Stefan." "The other you." "The good you." "But this quarter of a man I'm staring at isn't you." "Not even remotely." "So if Damon is the answer to getting your humanity back, and not me, fine." "I will do whatever it takes." "And we will love each other forever or we won't." "And we'll make our relationship work... or we won't." "But either way," "I'm getting you back." "Hey." "Hey, stranger." "Looks like I'm interrupting a reflective moment." "It's fine." "I'm reflecting on the good things..." "For a change." "I wish I could say the same thing." "What you did while you were under Sybil's control wasn't your fault, Damon." "You didn't have a choice." "Dear Bonnie..." "I am a coward." "I should be saying this to your face, not writing this letter, but..." "I know if I do, you'll talk me out of running away from all my problems." "You're gonna make me face a future without Elena." "Then you're gonna help make me the best man that I can possibly be." "The same way she did." "And I'm absolutely terrified of failing you both." "So I'm leaving." "Because I'd rather let you down once than let you down for the rest of your life." "And I hope it's the happiest life." "Because you, Bonnie Bennett, are an amazing woman a mediocre crossword puzzle player and my best friend." "With great love and respect Damon." "Got to admit, it's a hell of a letter." "I'm so sorry I left." "It won't happen again." "Why am I here exactly?" "You are aware that I just tried killing you." "Can we stop, please?" "With the snarkiness and the attitude and the petty revenge schemes." " It's exhausting." " I don't know." "Can we?" "Well, if Damon and Stefan Salvatore can make amends, then anything's possible." "Okay." "I'll give it a shot." "If you apologize for screwing me over with Cade." "Me apologize to you?" "You're the one that turned me into cannibal, and sold my soul into servitude, and then abandoned me for over a century." "You're right." "And I'd do it all again." "Because you've always been the weak one." "Fine." "Screw forgiveness." "My beautiful children." "Still broken after all these years." "Cade." "In the flesh." "How are you here?" "The bell rang 11 times." "One shy of visiting hell upon this Earth, but enough for me to pay a visit." "We can do better." "We'll work together." "That won't be necessary." "I'll handle it from here." "What are you doing to us?" "!"