"Previously on The Vampire Diaries..." "I'm moving to Dallas." "I'm leaving today." "Which is why I've hired a nurse to come with me." " What?" " Do you have a better idea?" "Me." "I will fix this." "Stefan, I promise you." "I have a way to take down Rayna." "A pile of bricks called the Armory." "The Armory is a black hole of lies." "No!" "You're not supposed to die for me, Bon." "Neither is my brother." "Which is why I have to take myself out of the equation." "You'll never have to worry about me again." "Welcome to New Orleans." "Freya, Stefan needs a favor." "A mystical vampire huntress stabbed you with her magic sword." " Stefan." " Klaus killed her." " But surprise, surprise..." " She regenerates." "and won't rest until you're dead." "No matter how far I run, this wound acts as a beacon, drawing her to me." "Well, I can't cure the wound, but this salve will mask it signal." "What do you want?" "Just looking for a bite." "You're a vampire." "And you're lunch." "Shouldn't he be turning all gray?" "All the other ones turned gray." "Unless of course you missed." "How many vampires have I killed in the last few days?" "A lot, but who knows how many you would have killed if you hadn't missed a third of the time." "He's got a thick jacket on." "I can't see exactly where his heart is." "Outerwear?" "That's your excuse?" "You gonna stand there and brag all day, or you gonna help me load him into the truck?" "We got to get him out of here before the..." "Julian's other vampires get suspicious?" "Too late." "Touch it and die." "Actually, why don't you die anyway?" "You saved our lives." "Yes, I did." "Which means you owe me one." "You ever heard of a vampire named Stefan Salvatore?" "You mind just paying attention to the road a little bit more?" "Well, I could, but then I might miss the world's largest ball of yarn coming up on the left." "And there it goes." "Not quite sure what I was expecting." "Well, that was the last of Freya's herbs, which means it's only a matter of time before they wear off and Rayna can track me." "Good thing we're on our way to get more." "Are we?" "Because it sure feels like we're on our way to the world's largest waste of time." "We have to take back roads to avoid being spotted." "Mm-hmm." "You've only been running a few days, Stefan." "Think of it like it's an adventure." "I don't want an adventure." "Just want to get these herbs and have a nice quiet home-cooked meal with my girlfriend." "Then do what?" "Pay bills?" "Talk about your day?" "Ugh." "Well, you don't actually enjoy this, do you?" "Mmm." "There's a certain constant in the lack of constants." "And once you accept it, it's invigorating." "We're here." "What is this place?" "Well, according to Freya, all the herbs witches use are stored here." "Just in case something happens to them." "All of them?" "Yeah." "Well, I hope you know what this particular herb looks like." "And why is that?" "Because witches are very fond of their herbs." "Oh, good, you're up." "How's Bonica magica?" "Not great, but... good enough to make sure you never call me that again." "Ooh..." "Someone's cheery." "Well, I'm a man with a plan." " Which is?" " A secret." "Does it have to do with killing Rayna the huntress?" "I'll never tell." "But... yes." " Good." "How can I help?" " You can't." "This is the Damon only show." "It's Damon versus Cray-na." "Because that one gets you right back in Hell." "You don't even know how to kill her." "But you know who might?" "Don't even think about it." "Enzo's been calling me nonstop." "Probably to apologize for yesterday." "I bet if I go back to the Armory," "I can find out more info." " What the hell?" " Look around, Bonnie." "I'm not here for the filmy hospital pudding." "You almost died in that place." "And I'll never let that happen again." "Promise me you will stay out of this, Bon." "No one needs to get hurt for me anymore." "I can handle Rayna." "Here's where we stand." "I've killed five of your friends because they couldn't tell me where Stefan Salvatore was." "I sure hope you can." "You two, watch and learn." "The key is to treat them like you would a wild animal." "Respecting the danger but recognizing that they're beneath you and that they serve a purpose." "For example, this one will provide information." "Tell me everything you know about Stefan Salvatore, or I'll send you to Hell for eternity." "Barking up the wrong vampire there, sister." "Stefan's antisocial, not many friends." "Actually, no friends at all." "But I hear he has a very handsome and charming brother." "You might want to talk to him." "Yeah, a stupid brother." "Seems foolish of you to come back here." "I know, right?" "To be honest..." "I'm not that brave." "However, I did have a shockingly effective ally tell me that you were here." "What the hell did you do?" "It's okay, Damon's a..." "Aw, you almost said "friend." How sweet." "His brother is a friend." "And that's the only reason I'm helping him." "And the world yawned." "Get rid of this thing." "Anything else?" "Yeah." "You know where I can get a buzz saw?" "Ugh." "Here we go." "They're my girlfriend's." "And given the fact that you two look exactly alike, you should be able to fit in them." "What's next?" "It puts the lotion in the basket?" "It wouldn't have to if it just stayed dead." "Bit of a pickle here, Ray." "I got big plans." "You buy a time-share?" "Kind of, actually." "But I can't go on vacation until I do something about you." "See, I can't relax and sip Mai Tais while you're out hunting my brother." "And every time I kill you, you just Phoenix back to life." "It's a dill." "Well, why don't you just let me kill your brother, then you can do whatever the hell you want." "Tempting, truly." "But I kind of owe him." "Family, am I right?" "That's why you and I have to put our heads together and come up with a plan B." "You want me to go against my very nature because he's your family?" "Pretty much." "Funny thing is... family's the very reason this is my nature." "My father envisioned a world without vampires." "I will not rest until I see his vision through." "So what do you propose we do?" "Rub each one on your wound and hope for the best?" "I don't know, you're a witch, why have you never heard of this?" "It is strange." "Botanically, I am very well-versed." "There's wolfsbane." "Vervain." "Senna." "Witch hazel." "And this fun little guy..." "Mm, that one I know." "The witchy hallucinogen?" "The one borderline recreational herb." "Stefan, I misjudged you." "You actually do have fun." "I did it once." "What was her name?" "Really?" "There has to be a her?" "With someone like you, there's always a bad influence." "Well, her name was Rebekah." "Let's just say she was a lot to handle." "Course she was." "And that's why she's not in the picture." "See, you prefer small town girls who want to settle down." "Who are easy to handle." "I don't think anyone's ever called Caroline Forbes" ""easy to handle."" "And as thrilling as this therapy session is..." "I think I found it." "Or where it used to be." "Lovely... a dead end." "What is it?" "Night, night." "You actually came." "I'm shocked." "So did it grow back, or..." "No, actually, I had to reattach it." "But thank you for your concern." "Less concern, more curiosity." "Well, at least you're thinking of me." " I take you received my messages." " I did, and I'm not stupid enough to think that your apologies were anything other than a tactic to get me here." "But here I am." "Fair warning," "If you try to disable my magic again, you'll wish I only cut off your hand." "I see Damon's obscenity is rubbing off on you." "It's quite pathetic, really." "You know, you following him around like some high school groupie." "Mm, I forgot... you two used to be friends." "And now you have none." "Oh, you think you're friends?" "Lorenzo." "You must be Bonnie Bennett." "I'm Alex St. John." "Welcome to the Armory." "I'm sorry for Enzo's behavior yesterday." "He wasn't following proper protocol." "I asked him to call you back here." "Might've gotten off on the wrong foot." "The wrong foot?" "Or..." "Not funny." "I don't know." "It's kind of funny." "Rayna Cruz is a common enemy." "We should be working together to fight her." "But you don't want to fight her." "You want her captured." "So I think you know a lot more than you're letting on." "Makes it hard for me to trust you." "Fair." "Why don't you come with me?" "This room contains everything the Armory has gathered on Rayna Cruz." "List of victims, her lineage, the spell used to create her." "And, most importantly, the shamans that gave their lives for her." "The Eight Everlastings." "You mean Two Everlastings." "The other six look pretty "lasted."" "There should be three preserved corpses." "We lost another one?" "Did you know about this?" "Why wasn't I told?" "It must have just happened." "Damn it." "I take it from her subtle shift in attitude that's a bad thing." "Every time Rayna dies, one of the bodies decays." "We've lost quite a few this past week, and if we lose all of them, Rayna dies for good." "So... hunting vampires is your identity." "Your fundamental "this is who I am..."" "in a nutshell." "You ever wonder if there's a way to change that?" "No, I don't." "Because there's not." "I used to think that." "Look, I'm selfish." "Narcissistic, prone to unnecessary bouts of violence..." "Tell me again why I shouldn't be killing you." "Because I changed." "I mean, temporarily, as it were, but it happened." "Just took the right person." "Maybe you haven't found the right person." "I don't need a vampire matchmaker." "But thanks." "Well, I mean, have you ever even tried?" "Has there ever been a..." "Mr. Hunter?" "Huh?" "Oh." "There has been." "I see." "Hmm." "Never mind." "Looks like I don't have to pretend I care." "You have five seconds to tell me exactly what's happening or you're not leaving here alive." "I'm sorry." "Did I hurt your feelings by lying about my true intentions for being here?" "Feels crappy, doesn't it?" " What did you do?" " I didn't do anything." "Damon, on the other hand..." " Is an idiot." " Why?" "Because he's finally taking care of the problem you couldn't?" "No, because every time Rayna dies, she comes back stronger!" "Except for that last one, right?" "She won't be stronger when she's dead for good." "Why do we even want her alive?" "You know, I wouldn't worry about that." "I'd worry about this." "This is the spell those shamans used to create her." "And..." "Just... read it." "Great Spirit, we call upon you in this moment of need." "They live on within you." "The sword." "It has linking magic." "It creates a bond between Rayna and her victims." "We knew that." "Well, that's not all." "Shamans didn't want her going to her eternal rest with any unfinished business, so they added an extra addendum." "The scars are a fail-safe." "If Rayna dies... so does anyone she's marked." "Stefan has one of those scars, doesn't he?" "I'm not happy about you going against my wishes." "But I do suppose that me lecturing anyone on respecting authority..." "Where's Rayna?" "In the woods." "In a moderately shallow grave." "You know, I got tired of digging," " but it should do the trick." " You have to dig her up." "No way!" "She'll flame to life underground, suffocate... poof." "Final life over." "Hunter's problem solved." "Rayna can't die again." "Pardon me?" "The wounds from her sword... it's linked her to her victims." "If Rayna dies one last time... so does Stefan." "There you are." "What did she do to me?" "Apologies." "I haven't had visitors in years, and then, all of sudden, two in a matter of days." "I spoke with her while you slept." "Somebody beat us to the punch." "Came in and took all the herbs." "Well, we need more." "Unfortunately, there is no more." "That herb is rare for a reason." "It has strong anti-magic, and therefore anti-witch, properties." "Let's just say that this isn't from a bad laser peel." " There has to be more somewhere." " There's not." "Witches eradicated it from the world a century ago." "This was the only source." "I did have a shockingly effective ally tell me that you were here." "So there are good vampires and bad vampires." "Yes." "Kind of." "It's complicated." "And this is a bad vampire, one that killed your sister?" "Yes." "But that was a long time ago and, like I said, I'm not helping him." "Again, it's complicated." "Because you're helping his brother... who's a good vampire." "Exactly." "So this good vampire... does he feed on people, too?" "Does he kill them?" "Stefan..." "I mean, not right now, but..." "It's complicated?" "The thing is, I've just spent the past few days with you learning about how much you hate vampires and what they did to your town." "I do." "And yet, you just helped one of them take down a vampire-killing machine." "That doesn't sound complicated." "Penny, you have no idea what I've been through in this town." "You're right." "I don't." "But I do wonder how much of it you went through because you never took a real stand." "At a certain point, it stops being the vampires' fault that the town is like this... and it starts to be yours." "Here we go." "Come on." "Where the hell are you?" "Come on." "Be alive." "Be alive." "Bottles are a go!" "Mmm..." "Whoo!" "Diapers also a go." "Like, go away with them." "Ugh." "Sorry." "Oh... ugh..." "Oh..." "Hey!" "Hey." "Is this a bad time?" "I guess that's relative." "I mean, I'm not on the run from a supernatural huntress." "How are you?" "Oh, I've been better." "Looks like it might actually be a while before I can visit." "Turns out those herbs are a little more rare than we thought." "Oh." "Yeah." "Hey, that's totally okay." "Honestly, there's a chance there was a little bit of contamination going on, so maybe it's not the worst thing." "Hey, listen, I was thinking, um..." "I've been on the run with Valerie for the last few days and without those herbs, I'm not going to be able to slow down." "But maybe you could tag in?" "I know being on the run seems awful, but it could be fun." "We could go to Europe." "See the world." "Just you and me." "What do you think?" "Stefan..." "I-I just..." "I just want to see you, Care." "I want to see you, too." "But... it's kind of a war zone over here right now, and..." " Alaric really..." " He needs you." "Mm-hmm." "Yeah." "Yeah, I get it." "Ah..." "Well, we'll-we'll figure it out once this huntress thing is over." "Yes." "We will." "So, out of curiosity, what are your feelings about Dallas?" "Dallas." "Uh..." "I hadn't really thought about it." "Well, it's not a terrible place to live." "And, you know, the babies are here." "Backup!" "I need backup right now." "And more diapers." "I'm sorry, Stefan." " I gotta run." " I get it." "I love you." "I love you, too." "She's staying, isn't she?" "Looks like it." "We'll figure something out." "Stefan..." "Hey..." "What's-what's wrong with me?" "What's happening?" "Please be alive." "Stefan." "My... chest..." "Stefan?" "Stefan!" "Come on." "Drink." "No." "Damn it." "Stefan." "Breathe!" "Come on, Rayna." "Breathe..." "I can't siphon it." "It's not working." "Breathe." "I said..." "Breathe!" "Thank God." "Uh-oh." ""Uh-oh" is right." "What the hell are you doing?" "You said she gets stronger each time she comes back to life." "Damon can't kill her." "He's walking into a fight he can't win." "The Armory is on their way to Mystic Falls." " They'll be there soon." " Not soon enough." "She's connected to an Everlasting." "Maybe I can" " weaken it." "And her." " And maybe that will kill her and Stefan too." "If I do nothing, she'll kill Damon." "You're willing to kill for him?" "Do you really think he cares that much about you?" "Yeah." "I do." "You have no idea what he's planning, do you?" "You want to talk about Mr. Huntress now, huh?" "Turns out I'm very interested in this particular moment." " He was a vampire." " Well, what do you know, vampire-human affairs are my specialty." "They were mine, too, they don't work out in the long run." "Considering I staked him." "Go ahead." "Run." "I don't mind chasing a second Salvatore." "If I could maybe get, like, a..." ""I just saved your life" head start, huh?" "You better take it." "On second thought..." "Don't say I never offered you anything." "Well... if I could kill you, this would be a much fairer fight." "Your brother's dead, no matter what." "All you've done by saving my life is gotten yourself killed." "Don't worry." "I don't miss." "Fire!" "Apparently, neither do they." "Thanks." "Rayna is officially in captivity." "Where's the Bennett witch?" "Learning how little her friend cares about her." "I don't recall telling you to let her go." "Well, I thought we needed her help with Rayna." "Yes, Rayna was the first priority." "Bonnie Bennett is a close second." "Ah." "Looking for a bottle to celebrate?" "I gotta say, I'm impressed." "Got your text." "I didn't think you'd be able to kill her." "Actually, my exact message read:" ""She's taken care of."" "Yeah, she's taken care of." "Yeah." "What, so you didn't kill her?" "I did." "A number of times." "Turns out, she only has eight lives." "The last one's the problem." "Turns out that if she dies for good, everyone with that scar on your chest does as well." "So we can't kill her." "No." "But the good news is the Armory has her, and they're not gonna let her escape." "Except for that time they did." "Look, I know it's not ideal, okay?" "It's what we got." "Caroline's staying in Dallas with Ric and the kids." "Sorry to hear that, brother." "But I saw that coming." "You don't get it," " do you?" " What?" "As long as I have this scar, Rayna will hunt me." "This isn't about just you and me anymore." "There's kids involved." "I'm not gonna put them in danger, which means that I can't be with my girlfriend as long as Rayna is alive." "And you just told me she can never die." "So we have to figure out another way to get rid of her, or we need to get rid of this scar." "That's a good plan." "For you." "What is this?" "We both know these last few months have been impossible for me." "I've been walking a tightrope." "Falling off constantly." "I'm not a good brother when I'm not with Elena, and when I'm not a good brother, people get hurt." "So you're just gonna run away?" "Nope." "I'm gonna stay in one place." "Desiccated right next to her." "Yeah." "I saved your life." "Time and time again." "I chose you." "I sacrificed everyone and everything for you." "You're just gonna turn your back on me now?" "We're vampires." "It's temporary, Stefan." "I'll see you again." "Listen to me." "If there's even a fraction of you that cares about me, your brother, your family, then you will not walk out that door." "Save a good bottle of that bourbon for me, brother." "We're gonna need it to sort all this out in about 60 years." "Really not the best time, Matt." "This won't take long." "I don't want to have to kick you out of here, but I will." "Yeah, I know you will." "And there's nothing I can do to stop you." "Because you're a vampire, and I'm a human." "I've been thinking a lot about that lately." "About my place in this town." "My home." "Whenever vampires are here, humans will always be at their mercy." "Whatever laws we pass, you can break." "Whatever lives we build, you can destroy." "We don't stand a chance against you." "That stops today." "Excuse me?" "Vampires need to leave Mystic Falls... for good." "All of you." "Look, I appreciate whatever moral crisis you're going through right now, but this is my home." "I'm not going anywhere." "This is footage from the Grill today." "Of Damon doing some very not human things to Rayna." "I've got footage of you, too." "Hundreds of hours from the town surveillance system." "Now..." "I don't want to show it to anyone or expose you." "You threatening me?" "Yeah." "I am." "And I hate that." "I hate that I have to threaten my friend because he's a vampire." "I hate that I'm friends with vampires at all." "This isn't about me." "Or you." "This is about our home, which has been destroyed time and time again." "This is the only way to break that cycle." "You have until the end of the day." "Damon, too." "_" "_" "Hey, buddy." "So I know this is a crappy way to do this, but... hey, I'm a crappy person, so I guess it fits." "By the time you read this," "I'll be desiccated in a coffin next to Elena." "And I won't wake up until she does, so I guess this might be my official good-bye." "I'm not gonna get lame or mushy, but... you deserve the truth." "I'm telling Stefan that the world is a better place without an Elena-less Damon." "That it was best for everyone that I was gone." "I'm sure he'll see through that." "Because, to be completely honest," "I don't give a damn about the world." "The truth is, I'm not in a good spot." "Hell, I'm miserable." "And I have been ever since she left me." "Before her, I didn't know what it was like to be happy." "To be fulfilled." "To be complete." "But now I do." "And now that I know that feeling, to live without it?" "There's no point." "So that's it." "Nice knowing you." "You weren't even gonna say good-bye." "Enzo told me that you asked him for Elena's coffin." "He told me what you were planning." "I didn't believe him." "I thought... if Damon desiccates until Elena wakes up," "I'll never see him again." "He'd never do that." "Look, I wrote you a letter and I gave to Stefan..." "Are we friends?" "Of course, Bonnie." "We don't actively try and kill each other anymore." "No, I'm not doing that." "No insults." "No jokes." "Are we friends?" "I know why you wanted to do this in a letter." "So you could desiccate in peace, imagining whatever reaction you wanted." "Me reading it and thinking, "Huh." "I'm really gonna miss him."" "Well, too bad, because that's not my reaction." "This is." "I am not okay with this decision." "I'm not okay with you choosing yourself." "And I'm not okay with never seeing you... my best friend, ever again." "This hurts me." "This hurts... this hurts me..." "Hm." "And as you desiccate, and as you feel the pangs of hunger as the blood drains from your body, that's what I want you to remember." "That you hurt me." "Bon..." "listen to me..." "No." "No." "You don't get to say good-bye." "Damon." "Wake up." "I need you." "Wake the hell up!" " We gotta go." " Why?" "She's back." "And the scar, it opened up; it's burning." "She's not gonna stop until you're dead." "Tyler, it's Stefan." "My scar opened up;" "I don't have much time." " I need you to warn Caroline." " Okay, I'm on it." "But you should be running." "I'm way ahead of you." "I never want to hear the name" ""Stefan Salvatore"" "ever again." "how one stupid decision can turn your life into something that you don't recognize." "Thank you, Bonnie." " Damon." " When's the last time you talked to your fiancée?" " What the hell do you want?" " Stefan's being hunted again, and it's only a matter of time before Caroline's the bait that's used to lure him out." "My name is Caroline." "I have an urgent message for Stefan Salvatore." "I'll be back before you know it." "23 minutes." "That's just enough time for me to get in, take out Little Miss Stabby Pants," "Oh, turn, turn, turn." "We apologize for the inconvenience..." "Oh, that's not good." "You've been poisoned with werewolf toxin." " Get up." " You're helping her?" "All right, I did it." "He's out." "Now I never see you again, right?" "Have a nice life." "Ah..." "I don't know about you, but..." "I'm exhausted." "I feel like there should be champagne or something." "Yeah." "You finally got me." "Here I am." "I'm totally not taking credit, by the way." "I mean... you came to me." "You were safe." "In the wind." "You played it smart." "Then you got dumb on me." "What happened?" "I mean, okay, we know what happened." "I took someone that you love." "Damon... and Caroline." "Guess that makes two people." "Just out of curiosity, which one of them brought you here?" "Her or him?" "Fine." "Keep your secrets." "You'll need something to keep you company in Hell." "Or... there is a Plan B." "But I know how you feel about making choices." " Plan B?" " Yes." "Because, believe it or not," "I don't actually want to kill you, Stefan." "That doesn't make any sense." "Just take my word for it." "I know you don't deserve that mark, but somebody else does." "What if I were to tell you there's a way for me to transfer it to somebody a little bit more deserving?" "It should've been Damon all along." "You know this as well as I do." "You want to pit us against each other." "Nice try." "Except it wasn't her idea." "It was mine."