Because the Night/Transcript

NEW YORK CITY, 1977
[Two people are walking arm in arm down a city street at night, apparently returning home from dinner.]
Woman: You were right.
Man: I told you.
Woman: It was really good.
Man: Yeah? I'm glad you liked it.
Woman: Yeah, thanks for inviting me.
Man: Do it again next weekend?
Woman: If you're lucky.
[They stop walking when they see a body lying face down on the sidewalk, arms at odd angles.]
Woman: Oh god. Is he... do you think he's dead?
Man: I don't know. [Hesitantly the man approaches the body. He turns back to the woman.] Stay there.
[When he turns back around, the body has disappeared. Behind him the woman screams. He turns around and runs to her.]
Man: Oh my god.
[The woman's neck is bloody. Suddenly there is the sound of objects falling behind the man and he stands and turns, but no one is there. Hearing footsteps behind him, he turns around again to see their attacker.]
Man: [nervously] You're that serial killer, aren't you? The Son of Sam?
[Damon comes into view, blood running down his chin.]
Damon: [nodding] Son of Giuseppe, but close enough.
[Damon vamp-runs at the man and ravages his neck, dropping him when he's finished. Nonchalantly he leaves the bodies and walks away.]
[TITLE CARD]
NEW YORK CITY, PRESENT DAY
[Elena and Damon walk down a crowded street.]
Elena: You dragged me all the way to New York because you were feeling nostalgic?
Damon: No, I dragged you to New York because in a matter of three days, you managed to piss off everyone in Mystic Falls. A little more difficult to do in a city of millions.
Elena: I was hungry.
Damon: You were reckless.
Elena: Emotionless. There's a difference.
Damon: Look, all that matters is that when I lived here, I fed like crazy and had a blast and went undetected for years.
Elena: So... we're just here to have fun? [She stops walking, forcing Damon to stop and face her.] What's the catch?
Damon: There's no catch. Look, you wanted out, I got you out. You wanted to feed, I brought you to a city-sized, all-you-can-eat buffet. That's the beauty of New York-- there's so much life that a little death goes unnoticed. [Elena nods and smiles.] Come on, let's go get some lunch.
SALVATORE BOARDING HOUSE AND NEW YORK
[Stefan is talking to Damon on his cell phone. The shots alternate between Stefan at the boarding house and Damon on the streets of New York.]
Stefan: Hey, what do you mean you took her to New York?
Damon: And that tone is the reason I didn't pick up the phone the first twenty times you called.
Stefan: Where is she now?
Damon: Out exploring. Maybe she's eating a hot dog... vendor.
Stefan: So I take it your search for Katherine is off?
Damon: Relax, man. This little joyride is actually a cure hunt. [He holds up the photo of him and Will, then lowers his arm as he looks at the front of an establishment: Billy's.] That vampire that Katherine sent after Hayley was a friend of mine. He lived in the city. Will got vampires fake identities, and I'm sure that Katherine was one of his clients.
Stefan: And Elena's okay with this little field trip? Just yesterday she was living the vampire high life. She doesn't want the cure.
Damon: That's why I didn't tell her.
Stefan: Damon, if she finds out you're still looking for it, she'll bolt.
Damon: I'm aware of that, Stefan. What I'm hoping is that she's gonna be so wasted on booze and blood that she won't even think about it.
Stefan: Don't underestimate her.
Damon: If I can handle you when you flipped your switch, I can handle her. Trust me.
Stefan: Listen to me. She's ruthless without her humanity. The cure is the fastest way to get it back.
Damon: Just be a good brother and keep Mystic Falls afloat for me and let me do my thing. [He sees Elena approaching him on the street, sporting a new hairstyle.] You've got an immortal named Silas to deal with, remember?
[He hangs up while staring at Elena. She smiles cheerfully at him and shows off her new look.]
SALVATORE BOARDING HOUSE
[Caroline is collecting trash from around the house, which is still a disaster after Elena's party. Finding a cup that still has alcohol in it, she thriftily drinks the last sip before tossing it in the bin. Klaus enters the room.]
Klaus: Desperate times, I take it?
Caroline: [not looking at him] What are you doing here?
Klaus: Not judging you, for starters, although if you are determined to get drunk, then perhaps I might recommend something a little more sanitary?
[Maintaining eye contact, Caroline drains another cup and throws it defiantly into the bin she's carrying.]
Klaus: Well, then. You showed me.
Caroline: [returning to her trash collecting] Shouldn't you be out chasing Tyler to the ends of the earth? Or are there still some hopes and dreams you wanna crush around here?
Klaus: Depends. Do you happen to know where the young Brutus is?
Caroline: I know where he's not-- with me. And he gave Matt the deed to the house, so he's gone for good.
Klaus: [nodding and walking closer] Tyler made it his life's mission to kill me. You can't hate me for driving him away.
Caroline: Oh I can, and I do. Now if you don't mind, I'd like to get back to spiraling, so go away.
[They stare at one another until Stefan enters the room.]
Stefan: Actually, I asked him to be here. We need his help. I think Silas is in Mystic Falls.
BONNIE'S HOUSE
[Silas, still in Shane's form, and Bonnie are sitting across from each other in the living room.]
Silas: Okay. Come on. Take a deep breath. [He inhales deeply] And 5, 4--
Bonnie: I can't do this.
Silas: Bonnie, relax, okay? Trust me.
Bonnie: How can I trust you if you won't show me your real face? Don't you think it's a little creepy that you're appearing as my dead professor?
Silas: I told you that I'm Silas, I told you Shane died on the island. I'm trying to earn your trust.
[Bonnie won't look at him.]
Silas: All right. Look. You invited me into your home, right? Why? Why'd you lie to your friends and tell them everything was fine? Why did you convince your dad that you needed Professor Shane's help to control your magic? What am I doing here?
Bonnie: [getting up, flustered] You're in my head. You're making me see things and do things.
Silas: [also rising and putting a hand on her arm] Hey, now. See? Look. I'm strong, but you're a witch, and I can't force you to do anything that you don't already want to do. You care about Jeremy, right?
Bonnie: [nodding sadly] I do.
Silas: Yeah. You were with him, and you promised to protect him, but you failed. And now, in order to bring him back...
Bonnie: I need to get rid of the Other Side.
Silas: You are descended from Qetsiyah, one of the most powerful witches of all time. Only you can complete the triangle and cast the spell.
Bonnie: Completing the triangle means killing 12 people. [she turns and walks away]
Silas: Twelve people you can bring back. [Bonnie turns and faces him again] Bonnie, you can do this-- for Jeremy.
SALVATORE BOARDING HOUSE
[Klaus is pouring himself a drink while talking to Caroline and Stefan.]
Klaus: So some blood went missing from a few hospitals. What about Elena? Don't vampires with their humanity off tend to overindulge in human blood, or were you the exception? [He turns to look at Stefan]
Stefan: It's not Elena.
Klaus: Well, let's say for a moment that it was Silas. I'm struggling to see how this affects me.
Stefan: Look. Silas wants to die and be reunited with his one true love, but he's supernatural, so if he takes the cure and dies, he gets stuck on the Other Side.
Klaus: How Shakespearian.
Stefan: But if he destroys the Other Side altogether, he can take the cure, die, and pass on, but in destroying it, every dead supernatural being will return to our side.
Caroline: That means every werewolf, every witch, every vampire. I wonder how many of those you personally killed. Care yet?
Klaus: [smiling] My interest is piqued. [to Stefan] How do we stop him?
Stefan: Bonnie said Silas needs to complete 3 massacres to do this spell. Before Professor Shane died, he convinced the pastor to blow up the council. Next, he had you kill your hybrids, and now he only needs one more massacre, so if he's here, that's what he's doing. We need to find him.
NEW YORK - BILLY'S
[Damon and Elena walk into a dimly lit bar.]
Damon: Looks about right.
Elena: [sighing] I was promised hedonism.
Damon: Well, it's early. Hedonism isn't a big fan of the sunlight.
Elena: [making a face] Or soap.
Damon: Easy, judgy. Not everybody got a hot new haircut today. [Elena smiles] Give it a couple of hours. This place will be crawling with more punked-out nihilists than you can eat in a decade, trust me.
Elena: How do you know?
Damon: Because I spent most of the seventies here. The Factory was too clean, CBGB's was too high-profile, but Billy's-- Billy's was the underground of the underground.
NEW YORK - BILLY'S, 1977
[A punk-rock band is playing and the crowd is dancing wildly. Damon and Will are talking; Damon throws down two IDs - they belonged to his victims from the earlier flashback.]
Damon: There you go.
Will: [sounding pleased] Two for one. Rock 'n' roll.
Damon: That's the third 5' 7" brunette I've gotten for you, Billy boy. Is it that same client?
Will: She's a runner. Some vampires need more identities than others.
[Damon sees a few people getting into a fight. His eyes vamp-out hungrily. Will turns to see what he's looking at, then looks back at Damon.]
Will: Hey. Be discreet.
Damon: I kill people and give you their IDs, you let me feed in your club. Discretion was never part of the deal. [He smiles]
[Will gets up and walks away, leaving through a door that says 'PRIVATE: STAFF ONLY'. Damon makes his way over to the guys arguing, gets hold of one of them and goes in to feed on him when someone stops him.]
Lexi: Hey.
Damon: Lexi.
Lexi: You're gonna feed on him right here? You're getting sloppy, Damon.
[Damon looks like he still can't quite believe Lexi is there.]
NEW YORK - BILLY'S, PRESENT DAY
[Elena and Damon are still talking.]
Elena: You got Lexied?
[Before he can answer, Rebekah swoops in and slams Damon's head down onto the table they're standing at.]
Rebekah: Following a lead without me? Poor form, Damon.
[Elena looks confused, but Rebekah just smiles at her.]
Rebekah: I have to say I'm a little hurt, Damon. [She finally releases his head.] I thought we made a good team. Not without its fireworks, but what classic pairing isn't?
Elena: Wait. What the hell are you talking about?
Rebekah: Damon's following a lead to the cure. I'm following him. Notice your name never came up.
Elena: [to Damon] You're doing what?
Damon: [with forced nonchalance, to Rebekah] How does it feel to be wrong all the time? I brought Elena here to feed. I mean, Mystic Falls isn't exactly Vamp Xanadu right now.
Rebekah: Right. So you drove 7 hours to New York City?
Damon: Yes, and as I was explaining to Elena, before we were so rudely interrupted, that my history in this city has a particular resonance to her current situation. [looking back at Elena] When I had my humanity off.
NEW YORK - BILLY'S, 1977
[Lexi and Damon are talking just outside the club in an alleyway.]
Lexi: That explains it. Your switch is flipped.
Damon: Ugh. Would you mind? I can't even hear my prey over your constant babbling.
Lexi: You're not even covering your tracks. We heard about you back in Mystic Falls.
Damon: So Stefan sent you? Hmm. I thought we were on the 'off' part of our endless on-again, off-again, eternity-of-misery cycle.
Lexi: Lucky for you he cared just enough to send me. So, why'd you flip it? What traumatic event was too much for Damon Salvatore to handle?
Damon: "Leave It To Beaver." The fifties bored me.
[Damon turns and starts to walk away but Lexi grabs him.]
Lexi: Well, it's the seventies now, and keeping it off is gonna get you caught and killed.
Damon: I'll take my chances. 
Lexi: I won't. I promised Stefan that I would--
Damon: [getting angry] Look. You and Stefan have a thing. I get it. He falls off the wagon, you pick him up. He gets redeemed, you get your Florence Nightingale jollies. Well, I'm not him, and I don't want or need you.
Lexi: Too bad, because you got me.
NEW YORK - BILLY'S, PRESENT DAY
Rebekah: Well, she sounds dreadful.
Damon: She had a Mother Teresa complex.
Elena: So let me guess. After many dark nights with Lexi, she convinced you to turn your emotions back on, and that's exactly what you plan to do with me. Hmm.
Damon: You read the last page of the book first, too? I'm gonna go get a drink. Many drinks.
[Damon walks off toward the bar. Rebekah approaches Elena, who is looking at all the paraphernalia on the walls.]
Rebekah: So you really buy all this?
Elena: Not one bit. I know he's after the cure. I'm not stupid.
Rebekah: Well, let's not say things we don't mean.
Elena: [laughing slightly] Damon's like a dog with a bone. Stefan, too. They won't give up until they find the cure and then make me take it. So I guess I'm gonna have to find it first.
Rebekah: [smiling] You're playing him.
Elena: No. He's playing me. I'm just returning the favor.
SHANE'S OFFICE
[Stefan, Klaus and Caroline enter Shane's office and start looking through his stuff.]
Caroline: What are we even looking for?
Stefan: Well, if Shane really was working with Silas, chances are he was helping him plan his next move.
Caroline: Where, on his evil villain to-do list? 'Steal blood, perform 3 massacres, pick up dry cleaning'?
Klaus: Actually, not to nit-pick, but we evil villains usually use minions to pick up our dry cleaning, that sort of thing.
Caroline: [to Stefan] Why is he necessary again?
Stefan: Well, we don't know what Silas can do, so if we do have to go head to head with him, an Original hybrid who can't die might come in handy.
Klaus: Besides, Stefan and I work well together, or at least we did in the twenties.
Stefan: Well, granted my emotions were off.
Klaus: And that's why you were more fun, just as Damon is probably relishing in Elena's emotionless company in New York.
Stefan: My brother knows what he's doing.
Klaus: Does he? Don't underestimate the allure of darkness, Stefan. Even the purest hearts are drawn to it.
[Caroline looks up from her searching, affected by his words. Stefan laughs him off.]
Klaus: Still, I'm sure it'll all be fine.
Caroline: [recalling herself] I-- I think I found something. [carrying a large book over to the desk] "Symbolic Figures in the Dark Arts." Didn't Bonnie talk about Expression Triangles? Here.
[She points at a large, intricate drawing of a triangle. Stefan reads from the page opposite.]
Stefan: "In some schools of magic such as Expression, human sacrifice can be used as a focus for power. It is rumored that the addition of two supernatural sacrifices compounds the mystical energy, creating an Expression Triangle."
Caroline: [pointing at a symbol in the drawing] Humans-- that was the council fire. [pointing at another symbol] Demons-- Klaus' hybrid failure.
Klaus: Well, I wouldn't exactly call it a failure. What's the third?
Caroline: [bringing clasped hands to her mouth] Oh, no.
BONNIE'S HOUSE
[Bonnie and Silas are talking in the living room in front of the fire.]
Bonnie: You want me to kill witches?
Silas: We've been over this. It's temporary. They'll come back.
Bonnie: What if I'm not strong enough?
Silas: You are strong enough. Look, it won't be easy. Once they realize how strong you are, they'll channel each other one by one using spirit magic till they can strip you of Expression. You have to endure them until all 12 are linked as one.
[A door opens and shuts.]
Silas: Listen, your dad's here. We have to convince him.
[Silas gets up. Mayor Hopkins enters the room.]
Hopkins: Hey. How was the session?
Silas: To be honest, not that great. The meditation isn't really working. Her magic's too strong.
Hopkins: You told me you could help her.
Bonnie: Dad, it's-- it's not his fault.
Hopkins: Not his fault? He's the one who taught you this magic, and now he can't control it.
Silas: Listen, we have an idea.
Hopkins: I'm done listening to your ideas. I want you to get out of my house.
Bonnie: Dad!
Silas: If we just call on the spirits--
Hopkins: I want you out of my house!
Bonnie: Wait!
[Bonnie's anger flares and her magic causes the glass in the windows to explode into the room in shattered pieces. Hopkins and Silas duck.]
Hopkins: What the hell is happening to her?
Silas: This happened to my wife. Expression consumed her. She had no control.
Bonnie: [to her dad, pieces of glass stuck in her hair] I need you to call Mom. We need witches, a lot of them.
NEW YORK - BILLY'S, PRESENT DAY
[The band Dead Sara are performing while the crowd dances. Elena and Rebekah are standing together at a table when Damon rejoins them with drinks.]
Elena: Is this allowed? What would Lexi say?
Damon: Lexi thought the only way I would turn my emotions back on was if I started enjoying my life again.
Rebekah: Do not tell me she took you to Bon Jovi concerts, too.
[They clink their drinks together in a toast.]
Damon: No. Wrong decade. [He drinks his shot.] Lexi was not allowed to feed with Stefan. But I didn't have that problem, [smiling at Elena] and neither do you.
[Damon offers her his hand, and Elena takes it. Rebekah joins them on the dance floor.]
NEW YORK - BILLY'S, 1977
[Damon and Lexi are enjoying the band. Some guy starts bumping into Lexi.]
Lexi: Hey!
[Damon grabs the guy, vamps out and hisses at him, and the guy leaves. Lexi laughs and nudges Damon, who nods at her.]
NEW YORK - BILLY'S, PRESENT DAY
[Elena is dancing and enjoying herself, pulling off her jacket.]
Elena: I'm hungry. [She hands Damon her jacket.]
Damon: Pick.
[Elena looks around and spots a girl grooving by herself. Elena dances her way over and faces her.]
Elena: Don't scream.
[She sinks her teeth into the girl's neck and feeds on her. Elena catches Damon watching her and resumes feeding. Damon approaches on the other side and joins Elena, feeding on the other side of the girl's neck.]
NEW YORK - BILLY'S, 1977
[Damon and Lexi are sharing a victim on the dancefloor. They come up for air and Damon wipes some blood off of Lexi's lower lip, but she pulls his hand off and shakes her head with a little smile. They resume feeding on the girl.]
NEW YORK - BILLY'S, PRESENT DAY
[Damon comes up for air and motions to Rebekah.]
Damon: Your turn.
[Elena keeps feeding. Rebekah comes over, bares her fangs and sinks them into the girl's neck. Damon sneaks off, heading out of the crowd. Elena comes up for air and sees Damon leaving, and purses her lips suspiciously.
Damon opens a door, the music slightly muted in the background. The room he enters is quite cluttered.]
Damon: Ugh. Packrat. Thanks, Will.
[He closes the door behind him.]
A CLEARING IN THE WOODS
[Bonnie approaches a woman standing in the moonlight.]
Bonnie: Is it just you?
[The woman turns around.]
Aja: This place wasn't easy to find.
Bonnie: Figured you wouldn't want to draw attention.
Aja: It'll work. I'm Aja.
Bonnie: You friends with my mom?
Aja: [smiling] I was. After she became a vampire, we didn't have a whole lot in common.
Bonnie: So she's not coming.
Aja: This is witch business. Look, I know you're scared, but I've dealt with Expression before. I know the hold it can have on you.
Bonnie: It's not that. I'm just-- I'm strong. You won't be able to do this alone.
Aja: Oh, honey, who said anything about being alone?
[Other witches surround them in a circle, emerging from the forest into the clearing.]
Aja: There's almost nothing as strong as a full coven, so I brought 11 of my closest friends. Won't be fun, but we're gonna cleanse you. You ready?
Bonnie: [nodding] Let's do this.
NEW YORK - BILLY'S, PRESENT DAY
[Elena and Rebekah are still feeding on the girl. Finally they finish.]
Elena: [compelling the girl] Leave.
Rebekah: [handing Elena her jacket] Looks like Damon gave us the slip.
Elena: [putting her jacket on] Good. Hopefully he'll find whatever he's looking for, and then I can take it.
[Elena walks over to the bar. Rebekah joins her.]
Rebekah: And what if you can't? I mean, he is stronger than you. You know, I could help you. You want the cure off the table, I wanna take it. We could work together.
Elena: Work together? Don't you hate me?
Rebekah: I hated the moral, self-righteous version of you, but this one's not so bad. Maybe it's your new haircut.
Elena: Do you remember what it's like to be human? Weak, fragile? Why would you wanna go back to that?
Rebekah: Because someday, I want a family of my own.
Elena: And that's exactly why I don't want your help. [She downs a shot.] The best part of having no emotions is that I can think rationally. I'll do whatever it takes to get this done. You're the opposite, a pile of neuroses and insecurities, hopes and dreams. You're basically one big emotional variable that I just don't really need.
Rebekah: [after a moment] You just made me miss the old Elena.
[Rebekah leaves the bar. Elena shrugs and hails the bartender.]
SHANE'S OFFICE
[Caroline and Klaus are alone in the office, poring over a map of Mystic Falls. Caroline, with a ruler and a pen, draws lines on the map while she talks.]
Caroline: There's been two massacres. Pastor Young's farm is here, and the old Lockwood cellar, where you spitefully slaughtered 12 of your own hybrids, is here. [She has drawn a line connecting the two locations.] According to the book, the Expression Triangle is equilateral, putting it here.
[Caroline draws another two lines, forming a triangle on the map.]
Klaus: Somebody's been skipping their geometry classes. [Caroline frowns and Klaus takes the ruler and pen.] There are actually two places where the third massacre could be. [He draws two more lines, forming another triangle opposite of Caroline's.]
Caroline: [smiling] Well, you didn't let me finish.
[They continue to look at each other across the desk when the door opens and Stefan enters.]
Caroline: [swiveling around and talking fast] Hey. What's going on? Did you find Bonnie?
Stefan: No, but I talked to her dad. I think I found Silas.
A CLEARING IN THE WOODS
[Bonnie is lying on her back in the center of the circle of witches; Aja crouches over her.]
Aja: Call out to the spirits, Bonnie. Let them in.
[Aja places her hands on the sides of Bonnie's head. Bonnie takes a deep breath and begins to chant.]
Bonnie: Phesmatos tribum-- aah! [Her body jerks painfully.] I can't. It's hurting. It hurts! Oh!
Aja: It's because you've rejected the spirits. [Bonnie whimpers] The Expression's consumed you. Phesmatos tribum nas ex viras...
Bonnie: [in a small voice] I changed my mind.
Aja: Purgal animum sous...
Bonnie: I don't wanna do this anymore!
Aja: Obscarus!
Bonnie: Let me go!
Aja: [to the other witches] She's fighting. I need help. Link with me. Lend me your power.
[The others kneel to the ground and join Aja in the chant.]
All: Phesmatos repallus tantian...
[Bonnie screams in pain and the torches forming a circle around them flare brightly.
All: Maltuscanum anium par vas.
[Bonnie's eyes fly open and are a milky-white color.]
Aja: We need more strength!
All: Phesmatos repallus tantian maltuscanum anium par vas.
[Bonnie continues to shout in pain.]
NEW YORK - BILLY'S, PRESENT DAY
[Damon is still in Will's office, talking to Stefan on the phone and searching the office. The shots alternate between Damon in the office and Stefan walking through the woods.]
Damon: So Silas is appearing as Professor Shane. Wouldn't be my first choice.
Stefan: Well, it would be if you needed to brainwash Bonnie into committing a massacre.
Damon: You need me to come home?
Stefan: No, we got it. How's the cure search going?
Damon: Eh, not great. I mean, it's no massacre in the making, but Rebekah trailed us here. Then in addition to my buddy being a brilliant identity thief, he's also a hoarder.
Stefan: What are you trying to find?
Damon: Will had a repeat customer, 5' 7" brunette. Said she was a runner.
Stefan: Katherine.
Damon: Turns out I was helping her run from me. Ironic. Problem is I'm pretty sure that this filing system goes by birthdate, but I can't for the life of me remember Katherine's.
Stefan: June 5, 1473.
Damon: And that, brother, is why you are the better boyfriend. [He looks in another box.] Well, will you look at that? [opening a folder] It's all her former addresses, including a couple from the last two months. They're mostly P.O. boxes, but hey, it narrows the search.
Stefan: Well, you're welcome. So you headed back now?
Damon: Yeah, tomorrow morning. Gotta keep up the ruse for the terrible twosome outside, pretend like I'm having a good time.
Stefan: And you're not?
[The door opens behind Damon - it's Elena.]
Damon: [to Stefan] I'll tell you tomorrow. [He hangs up.] Sorry, had to get some quiet. Couldn't hear Stefan over The Runaways 2.0.
Elena: Let me guess. He's worried.
Damon: Jealous mainly. He's having acid flashbacks of me and Lexi in the seventies in New York. I'll tell you about it over a drink. Come on.
[Elena still looks suspicious but they leave the room together.]
NEW YORK - BILLY'S, 1977
[Present-day Damon narrates in voice-over while 1977-Will walks through the empty club towards the bar. Damon is lying on the bar with a bottle of bourbon while Lexi stands next to him.]
Present-day Damon: [voice-over] Lexi stuck with me for months: she was partying with me, showing me a good time, but late every night, she'd torture me in the worst possible way.
Lexi: Tell me about her.
Damon: No.
Lexi: What did she look like, what did she sound like? Tell me everything you remember about her.
Damon. Every night.
Will: And that's my cue. You have a nice fight. Try not to break anything. [he leaves]
Lexi: Mmm.
Damon: Every night. [sitting up] Every night, we get wasted, and the second I bottom out, you have to bring up Katherine.
Lexi: Because you loved her, and love is the most powerful emotion. If I can just get you to remember how you felt about her...
Damon: I don't wanna remember. I mean, why do you care so much?
Lexi: Do you remember how we first met? It was 1864. Stefan had just killed your father, made you turn into a vampire, and he was killing his way through Mystic Falls. You hated him. Rightfully so, but before you left, you asked me to help him because no matter what happened, he was still your brother, and you cared about him. Now you need help, and he cares about you. We both do. Let me help you. Tell me about Katherine.
Damon: Talking about Katherine's not gonna help me.
[He jumps down from the bar but Lexi stands in his way.]
Lexi: Why not?
Damon: Because she's not the person I care about.
[Damon gazes at her, and Lexi stares back, surprised.]
Lexi: It flipped. The switch. Why didn't you tell me?
Damon: Because I barely felt it at first, but every night, it's gotten stronger. It worked. [He places his hands on either side of Lexi's face.] You worked.
[Lexi smiles, and they kiss. Damon backs her up against the wall while they continue to make out.]
NEW YORK - BILLY'S, PRESENT DAY
[Elena and Damon are sitting at the bar.]
Elena: You and Lexi? Here, on the bar? [She takes her arm off the bar in disgust.]
Damon: On the bar, on the stage, on the roof. It was a very long night.
Elena: [making a face] Yeah. [She smiles, leans over the bar and grabs a bottle, shaking it at Damon before getting up and walking away.]
Damon: Where you going?
Elena: [turning around] To the roof. I wanna hear the rest of the story.
Damon: [hesitantly] Okay.
[He gets up. Rebekah, listening a few feet away, watches them leave while some guy chats her up. Elena gives her a significant look before following Damon out of the bar. The guy talking to Rebekah reaches out to stroke her hair, but Rebekah slams him down to the ground.]
Rebekah: [to the guy] Excuse you.
[She continues leaning against the wall, hand on her hip.]
SOMEWHERE IN THE WOODS
[Caroline and Klaus are walking through the dark woods. Klaus has his phone out.]
Caroline: I just want to see where we are.
Klaus: You know, when we split up you did have the option of going with Stefan.
Caroline: Yeah? And leave Bonnie's life in your hands? Fat chance. Do you even know how to read a map?
Klaus: Yes, and do you know who taught me? My friend Magellan. [He pockets his phone.]
Caroline: [sarcastically] Wow! You had a friend. Was he drawn to your darkness, too?
Klaus: Actually, I was referring to Damon and Elena when I said that, but clearly it struck a chord with you.
Caroline: It's because it's not true! There is no allure to darkness.
Klaus: [stopping and turning round to face her] Really? So you've never felt the attraction that comes when someone who's capable of doing terrible things for some reason cares only about you?
Caroline: I did once, when I thought he was worth it, but it turns out some people can't be fixed. People who do terrible things are just terrible people.
[Klaus merely looks at her, stone-faced.]
Klaus: We're here, although judging by the lack of witches, here is not the correct location.
A CLEARING IN THE WOODS
[The torches burn bright around the witches' circle. Bonnie is still lying on the ground, struggling against Aja and screaming. Her eyes are still milky-white and her nose is bleeding.]
Aja: Yield to the spirits, Bonnie! You can't fight us!
[Stefan vamp-runs into the circle.]
Stefan: Stop! It's not what you think.
Aja: [angrily] This is no place for a vampire.
Stefan: She's working for Silas.
Aja: Silas?
Stefan: He brainwashed her to kill you.
[Bonnie whimpers on the ground. Aja pulls out a dagger.]
Stefan: Wait. What are you doing?
Aja: If Silas has her, she's lost. We can't save her.
Stefan: Wait.
[Stefan moves toward Bonnie but Aja flings out her arm and uses a spell to weaken Stefan. He grabs at his head and staggers backward to his knees.]
Aja: I have the power of 12 witches. You don't stand a chance!
[Stefan, vamp-speeds away from the circle, backing into a tree and groaning in pain. The witches resume chanting. Klaus and Caroline join Stefan.]
Stefan: They're linked. Bonnie's gonna kill them.
Klaus: Not if the witches kill her first.
[Klaus slams Stefan up against a tree.]
Caroline: Klaus, we need to save her.
Klaus: How? The only way to stop the witches is to kill them, and then Silas gets what he wants.
Aja: [from the circle] Spirits, take her soul. Free her from darkness.
[Aja holds the dagger over Bonnie as Bonnie screams in pain. Suddenly Caroline vamp-runs into the circle and pulls the dagger into Aja's chest, killing her.]
Klaus: No!
[Caroline watches as the witches forming the circle begin to drop dead and the torches' flames burn out. Caroline looks around, shocked by what she's done, but then remembers why she did it.]
Caroline: [approaching her] Bonnie. Bonnie!
[Bonnie opens her eyes - they are still milky-white.]
Bonnie: [smiling eerily] The triangle is complete.
NEW YORK - BILLY'S, PRESENT DAY
[Damon and Elena are on the roof of Billy's talking.]
Elena: It's beautiful up here. I could do this, you know. The Lexi method. Hang with you, party with you. It wouldn't be the worst way to turn my emotions back on.
Damon: I thought you hated emotions.
Elena: I do. Maybe I'm just looking for an excuse to... spend more time with you.
[Walking closer, she takes a sip from the bottle.]
Elena: [smiling] I've never done it on a rooftop before.
[She starts to lean closer. Damon, hesitant, makes a face.]
Damon: You're not missing much.
Elena: [rolling her eyes] You don't have to take the high road, Damon. I'm not sired to you anymore. [She takes hold of his lapels] I want this. You want this.
[Damon gives in and they start kissing. Elena snakes her hand around to Damon's back pocket but Damon slaps her hand away and they break apart.]
Elena: What?
Damon: [pulling out the paper from his pocket] Looking for that? Did you really think that was gonna work, the sex, the temptation, the booze? What, are you kidding me? I invented that trick.
[Damon takes a swig of bourbon.]
NEW YORK - BILLY'S, 1977
[Damon and Lexi are sleeping on the rooftop. The sun starts to rise and Lexi's skin starts to sizzle. Waking up, she vamp-runs out of Damon's arms and seeks refuge in a shaded doorway. She tries to open the door but it's locked, and the door won't budge.]
Damon: [from the mattress] Good luck. Spent all night reinforcing it. It was tough. [getting up and approaching Lexi] Had to be really quiet not to wake you up.
Lexi: [laughing nervously] What is this?
Damon: [standing across from her in the sunlight] Payment.
Lexi: For what?
Damon: Oh, for the last six months of my life, for the nagging, for the self-righteous platitudes. I'm paying you back for six months of you.
Lexi: Your humanity isn't back on, is it?
Damon: Never was.
Lexi: So this was all just--
Damon: A joke! A big fat lie. [smiling] Best part of it is, you believed it. You thought I was like Stefan, a wounded little bird that you could nurse back to health, [he brushes Lexi's cheek and she grabs his hand viciously] but he's a victim. I choose to be this way.
[Damon pulls Lexi's hand into the sunlight and she screams in pain. She pulls her hand back, gasping.]
Damon: Enjoy the day. I hear it's gonna be a scorcher.
[He smiles nastily and vamp-speeds out of sight. Lexi slams angrily against the door, trapped.]
NEW YORK - BILLY'S, PRESENT DAY
[Elena and Damon are still on the roof.]
Elena: So you pretended to have feelings for her just to get her off your back?
Damon: I was willing to do whatever it took. Sound familiar?
Elena: [smiling] Aw. I hurt your feelings.
Damon: Not my feelings. I'm looking out for you because one day, you will flip that switch back on, and all the bad stuff that you did is gonna come rushing back, and it is going to suck.
Elena: So you're saying that you felt bad for Lexi?
Damon: She became a walking, talking reminder of all the awful things I'd done. And I managed to avoid her for decades, and then she just shows up in Mystic Falls to wish my baby bro a happy birthday, and boom-- rush of memories, rush of guilt.
Elena: So you kill her?
Damon: Out of sight, out of mind. Every day that you're like this is the day that you might do the one thing that you can't take back.
Elena: Here's what I don't get. You spent six months trying to get her to fall in love with you just so that you could hurt her. You were spiteful, malicious, borderline evil, and you say that you had your emotions turned off, but those all sound like emotions to me.
Damon: Maybe they were. Maybe hatred was the first one I got back. All the more reason to cure you. That way, we get the normal Elena back without all the ugly stages in between.
Elena: [angrily] I'm not taking the cure, Damon.
[She starts to walk away but Damon vamp-speeds over to block her way.]
Damon: Yes, you are, even if I have to break your neck or tie you up in chains until we find it.
[They stare at each other for a moment until suddenly Rebekah jumps Damon from behind and snaps his neck. She lets him fall to the ground. Elena looks at Rebekah, impressed.]
Rebekah: What was that you said about handling things yourself?
[They smile at each other.]
BONNIE'S HOUSE
[Stefan is sitting on the edge of Bonnie's bed while she sleeps. She starts waking up and Stefan turns to face her.]
Stefan: Hey. How you feeling?
Bonnie: What are you doing here? [sitting up] How'd I get here?
Stefan: What do you mean? I-- I brought you home. The witches almost killed you.
Bonnie: What witches?
Stefan: You don't remember?
[Bonnie raises her eyebrows at Stefan.]
Stefan: [nodding] Whatever the witches did must have messed with your memory.
Bonnie: How did I get off the island?
[Stefan, confused, readjusts himself on the bed.]
Stefan: Wait. Bonnie... what's the last thing you can remember?
Bonnie: I guess I remember being in that cave, and Jeremy was trying to pry the cure out of Silas' hands. Please tell me he got it. [Stefan won't meet her eyes] We didn't get it, did we?
Stefan: Bonnie, there's something you need to know about Jeremy.
A CLEARING IN THE WOODS
[Klaus and Caroline are in the woods. It's daylight. Klaus shoves a shovel into the ground while Caroline sits nearby.]
Klaus: There. Twelve graves for twelve witches. Like it never happened. [He rolls down his sleeves.] Only it did happen, and now Silas has everything he needs to open the gates to hell on earth.
Caroline: You were just gonna let Bonnie die.
Klaus: [walking closer] I know arithmetic isn't your strong point, but one is still less than twelve.
Caroline: [standing up] Yeah, but that one is my best friend.
Klaus: You tell yourself whatever you need to so you can sleep at night.
Caroline: [with dreadful realization] I just killed twelve people.
[She starts to gasp as though about to cry.]
Klaus: Hey. [He places his hands on her arms.] Hey. You look like you're in need of comfort. [Caroline nods, and meets his eyes. Klaus smiles cruelly.] Why don't you find someone less terrible you can relate to?
[Caroline pauses for a moment before turning and leaving the clearing. Klaus turns back toward where he placed the shovel, but then senses someone behind him. With foreboding, he turns around to see Silas, in Shane's form.]
Silas: Thank you. Of the three massacres, this is the one I was dreading.
Klaus: [smiling] Silas, I presume.
NEW YORK - BILLY'S, PRESENT DAY
[It's morning. Damon is getting up, having recovered from his neck-snap the night before. He calls Elena; the shots alternate between Damon on the roof and Elena on a street somewhere.]
Elena: [answering] Morning, Damon.
Damon: Where are you?
Elena: [looking at a piece of paper] The better question would be, where are we going?
Rebekah: [calling over from behind Elena] Sorry, Damon. I think I broke your radio.
Damon: You're in my car?!
Elena: [laughing] We weren't gonna take the bus.
[Elena gets into the driver's seat, Rebekah into the passenger's.]
Elena: I wish this could have gone differently, I really do, but we'll give Katherine your best.
[With a smirk, Elena hangs up, ignites the engine, and drives off into traffic.]
SALVATORE BOARDING HOUSE
[Stefan is on the phone with Damon. The shots alternate between Stefan at the boarding house and Damon on the roof of Billy's.]
Stefan: Damon, what did you do?
Damon: Let's just say it involves a 5' 7" brunette and her blonde accomplice.
Stefan: Please don't tell me this is going where I think it is.
Damon: Wrong fantasy, brother. Unless you're into betrayal and snapped necks. The lead I had on Katherine, Elena stole. [Stefan doesn't say anything] If you're searching for the words to tell me how badly I screwed up, save your breath.
Stefan: I didn't stop the massacre.
Damon: [pausing for a moment, shocked] Guess Silas has everything he needs.
Stefan: Everything but the cure.
A CLEARING IN THE WOODS
[Klaus is still talking to Silas.]
Klaus: I'm sorry, mate. [patting his pockets] Don't have it.
Silas: [smiling] But you know who does, and the last thing you want is for that cure to be used on you, so you bring it to me, and it won't be. You get to live.
Klaus: [laughing] Yeah. With all of my dead supernatural enemies from the Other Side. You know, you don't scare me, Silas, or Shane, or whoever you are.
Silas: But I think I know what does. [Silas pulls out the white oak stake.]
Klaus: Now where did you get that?
Silas: Well, let's just say your sister's mind is a little easier to read than yours. So... care to reconsider my offer?
[Klaus pauses for moment, then vamp-runs toward Silas, but Silas disappears. Suddenly Silas attacks Klaus from behind and stabs him with the white oak stake, and Klaus screams in pain.]
Silas: I missed by an inch, but don't worry. I'm not trying to kill you, not just yet. [He breaks off the white oak stake, leaving the broken tip stuck in Klaus' back.] Just a little something to remember me by. [He pats Klaus on the shoulder and walks away.] I'll be in touch.
[Klaus remains kneeling on the ground, groaning in pain.]
[END CREDITS]
Category:All Season 4 Transcripts