The Cell

Salvatore Boarding House 1953
''[It's night-time. The TV is playing.]''


 * Voiceover (on TV): And that's the state of the world from your hometown news station on June 11, 1953. Goodnight Mystic Falls.

[A maid turns off the TV and is cleaning up in the boarding house when Damon enters.]


 * Damon: Hey. I'm looking for Joseph Salvatore.


 * Joseph: [walking in] You found him.


 * Damon: Love what you've done with the place. If this whole boarding house thing doesn't pan out, you can always turn it into a high class brothel.


 * Joseph: Glad you got my telegram. I haven't heard from Stefan yet, but I'm hoping he'll be here soon. When's the last time you two spoke?


 * Damon: Well, he doesn't call, he doesn't write. Of course, neither do I. In all fairness, I am the one that abandoned him on a train platform in the middle of World War II.


 * Joseph: [pouring a drink] Well, there's always time to be a better man.


 * Damon: Eh, not sure I got one of those in me.

''[Damon, looking away, grabs the drink from Joseph's hand while he grabs a syringe from the table and stabs Damon's wrist. Damon goes dizzy.]''


 * Joseph: Sorry about the vervain, Damon. The money was too good to pass up.

''[Even though he's still dizzy from the vervain, Damon gathers strength, spills the liquid on the floor and stabs his glass into Joseph's neck. He groans and falls to the floor. An unknown man enters the room.]''


 * Dr. Whitmore: Well, now I won't have to pay him.


 * Damon: [groaning] Who the hell are you?

[The man picks up the syringe, refills it.]


 * Dr. Whitmore: I'll be your doctor from now on.

[He injects it into Damon's neck again.]


 * Damon: [Faintly] Uhh.. What are you doing to me?


 * Dr. Whitmore: Just a little vervain.

[Damon groans and falls to the floor.]

Augustine Cell
[In the present day, Damon opens his eyes to see Dr. Maxfield injecting him with vervain.]


 * Damon: What the hell are you doing to me?


 * Dr. Maxfield: Vervain. To keep you calm.


 * Damon: Wes? Why am I here?


 * Dr. Maxfield: I lost a test subject last night, and you're gonna replace him.

[He closes the gate to the cell.]

Salvatore Boarding House
''[It's daytime. Katherine is writing down in a diary with a slightly irritated look on her face.]''


 * Katherine: "Dear diary, so here I am alive. Stefan saved me from killing myself. Now he's got me on suicide watch. He says it would be therapeutic for me to write down my feelings about the fact that I'm dying and there's nothing I can do about it. Deep thoughts, mortal coil, blah blah blah. My hand's tired."

''[She tears the page out from the diary, crushes it and throws it behind her. Stefan is pacing in front of her in the same room.]''


 * Katherine: What kind of sentimental idiot writes down everything they feel? Is this what the prophecy meant when it said that all the doppelgängers were drawn together like magnets? Because if it is, I want my money back.


 * Stefan: I'm just trying to make sure you don't slit your wrists.


 * Katherine: Well, this whole neurotic granny vibe, doesn't exactly make me want to live. Do you really have nothing better to do than stand there all day and watch me write in cursive?


 * Stefan: I'm trying to make sure you don't kill yourself.


 * Katherine: And how are you going to do that? You know, since you're still having your little panic attacks?


 * Stefan: I'm fine.


 * Katherine: Yeah. Of course. You are the picture of mental health, Stefan, after being locked for three months in a safe, at the bottom of a quarry.


 * Stefan: I am dealing with it.


 * Katherine: I know. I mean, I heard you "dealing with it" earlier today in the library. It sounded like you freaked out and broke a chair, maybe even two. How are you supposed to help me stay alive if you can't even help yourself?


 * Stefan: So does this mean you want to live?


 * Katherine: No. It means I can't work with people who can't give me one hundred percent.

[There is a knock at the door.]


 * Katherine: And so, I may have called a backup.

[Stefan opens the door to find Caroline standing outside, smiling.]


 * Stefan: What are you doing here?


 * Caroline: I'm your sober sponsor, and I heard that you needed help.


 * Stefan: Really?


 * Caroline: And I got my Mom to drop off something for us to use.

''[She moves aside to reveal the Pierce & Franklin safe that Stefan was locked in. Stefan stares at it.]''


 * Caroline: Don't worry. I sanitized it.

Jesse And Aaron's Room
''[There is a knock on the door. Aaron opens in to find Elena standing outside.]''


 * Elena: Aaron. Hey!


 * Jesse: Hey. So, you heard?


 * Elena: Heard what?


 * Aaron: That Jesse's dead. He killed himself last night. Campus security came by to tell me.


 * Elena: [With a guilty look on her face] Oh, my God. I'm so sorry.

[Aaron moves away from the door to let Elena in.]


 * Aaron: What's up with this college? It's supposed to be different. I came here to start fresh, get away from all the crap in my past.


 * Elena: [Closing the door] I get it. After everything you've been through, everything that you've lost, I would want to start over too.


 * Aaron: How do you hit the reset button?


 * Elena: [surprised] Me? I-- I haven't reset anything. All my problems, they've followed me here. Come to think of it, I'm probably not the right person to be getting advice from.


 * Aaron: So, if you're not here about Jesse, uh, why are you here?


 * Elena: I don't wanna bother you, especially not right now.


 * Aaron: My day's not gonna get any worse, so, uh, go ahead.


 * Elena: Okay. Well, um, last night, you told me that Wes was your legal guardian.


 * Aaron: Yeah. Since past summer after my aunt Sara died. You see what I'm talking about? Everyone around me ends up dead, and my sunny disposition makes me so many friends. It's-- I'm sorry. Go ahead.


 * Elena: Um, the thing is my boyfriend Damon went to talk to Wes last night, and no one's really seen or heard from either of them since and that kind of worries me, you know? So I-- I know how bad the timing, is but I just-- I was hoping maybe you could help me find Wes.


 * Aaron: Yeah. Yeah. [getting up] I think I know a place where we can look.

Augustine Cells
[Damon is sitting inside his cell on the floor with his back against the stone wall and Dr. Wes is watching him writing things down from outside the gate.]


 * Damon: [Saying in a tired, annoyed voice] Just so you know, didn't end well for the last Augustines. You're inviting bad karma in by holding me here.


 * Dr. Maxfield: Is that what you told Dr. Whitmore?

[Damon groans.]

Doctor Whitmore's Lab 1953
[Damon is strapped to a gurney and Dr. Whitmore walks in.]


 * Damon: [voice-over] Dr. Whitmore wasn't much for conversation.

''[It is revealed that the man from the flashback at the beginning of the episode is Dr. Whitmore. He then checks Damon's eyes with a flashlight and checking his stomach.]''


 * Damon: As much as I would like a free checkup, [trying to compel Dr. Whitmore] you're gonna let me go.


 * Dr. Whitmore: (smiles and pats Damon on the shoulder) That's a good try. (shows Damon his watch) I'm wearing vervain.


 * Damon: [sounding annoyed] You know, most people would buy me dinner first.


 * Dr. Whitmore: This isn't a personal matter. It's for the advancement of science.


 * Damon: What the hell are you talking about?


 * Dr. Whitmore: You're a vampire. Your blood heals others, your body heals itself. You'll regenerate parts of internal organs, (he picks up scalpel) after I remove them.


 * Damon: Listen. How I got this amazing body has nothing to do with science, so running-- aah! [Dr. Whitmore stabs him with the scalpel in his eye.]


 * Dr. Whitmore: You talk too much.

''[Dr. Whitmore unstraps Damon and he falls on the floor.]''

Damon's Cell

 * Damon: So you Augustine freaks are still at it, eye exams and that sort of thing?


 * Dr. Maxfield: Jesse was proof that my research goes far beyond that. [smiling] I trained him to crave vampire blood instead of human blood. Now, I'm ready to take my research to the next level.

Whitemore College
[Elena and Aaron are walking together.]


 * Aaron: Just doesn't make sense why Jesse would kill himself.


 * Elena: So, you believe what campus security told you?


 * Aaron: Why, do you know something else?


 * Elena: Don't you think it's weird that both of your friends committed suicide before the first semester was even over?


 * Aaron: Yeah, of course I think it's weird. Jesse loved it here, he had a huge crush on your friend. Megan had all these plans for her life.


 * Elena: Which is why none of this makes sense. [they stop walking and Elena stand in front of him] Aaron, look. I found Megan's body the night that she died. She was murdered, and Wes forged her death certificate.


 * Aaron: You saw her death certificate?


 * Elena: I did some digging. Wes is part of something much bigger than anyone even realizes.


 * Aaron: [confused] Let's find him first. I want to hear his side of the story.

[He walks away and Elena follows him.]

Whitmore House
''[Aaron opens the door. Elena realizes she can't enter without being invited in.]''


 * Elena: Oh, um...[he enters the house] you know, when you said that Wes was probably doing research [she stands at the entrance of the house] I didn't realize it would be here [she looks at her feet] at Whitmore House.


 * Aaron: Oh, yeah. This place is like a second home.


 * Elena: Mmmhmm.


 * Aaron: What are you waiting for? Come in.

''[Still a little apprehensive, Elena takes one step and it works. She can enter the house.]''


 * Elena: So, who owns this place? [She closes the door.]


 * Aaron: Not to sound like a douche, but technically, I do. [She gives him a confused look.] Yeah. It's part of the Whitmore trust that I inherited when my parents died. Yeah, don't hold that against me. Usually when people find out that my name's Aaron Whitmore--


 * Elena: Wait. Hold on. Your last name's Whitmore? So you, like, own this school?


 * Aaron: That's what they think.

[Elena looks around and notices a framed picture with a plaque that reads "Whitmore House - 50th Anniversary Commemoration" and a man in the picture catches her attention.]


 * Elena: That's my dad.

[Wes walks into the room behind them.]


 * Dr. Maxfield: Grayson Gilbert was one of the best doctors the Augustines ever had.

''[Elena turns away from Wes to look at the picture again and he uses this opportunity to stab her in the neck with vervain. She falls on the floor.]''


 * Aaron: What the hell?


 * Dr. Maxfield: I'm glad he didn't live to see this.

Salvatore Boarding House
[Caroline and Stefan stand in front of the safe, which is now lying on the library's floor.]


 * Stefan: I spent three months drowning in this thing. What the hell were you thinking?


 * Caroline: I was thinking it's time for you to deal with the source of your PTSD.


 * Stefan: And you're sure you're not just sublimating your feelings about what happened to Jesse last night?


 * Caroline: [turning away from him] Feelings? What feelings would I have about my best friend killing the guy I was crushing on?


 * Stefan: He was out of control, and Elena did what she had to do.


 * Caroline: No. Elena did what she thought she had to do, just like she also thought [she faces him] that Damon was good boyfriend material. Now you see wher I'm going with this?


 * Stefan: Anyways, aren't you a drama major? What do you know about PTSD?


 * Caroline: [smiles] Well, I know that you tried to deal with it your own way and you failed, so now...[she opens the safe door]...we're gonna try it my way.

[Stefan stares at the open safe and then at Caroline.]

Whitmore House
''[Wes and Aaron are in a bedroom. Wes unlocks and opens a closet.]''


 * Aaron: You know that this is kidnapping, right?


 * Dr. Maxfield: That was more like a tranquilizer.


 * Aaron: [in disbelief] What? Okay. Uh, what is going on here, Wes?


 * Dr. Maxfield: I had to make sure Megan's death didn't draw attention to my work.


 * Aaron: [sarcastically] Oh, to your work, your work? You study infectious disease transmittal!


 * Dr. Maxfield: I study vampires.


 * Aaron: What?


 * Dr. Maxfield: They exist, Aaron, and Elena Gilbert is one of them. The syringe I used on her had vervain in it. Think of it as an anti-vampire drug. It's one of my safety measures.

''[He turns away again to look into the closet. Aaron is still visibly confused. Wes opens a safe inside the closet and it contains several wooden stakes and a folder, among other things.]''


 * Aaron: Where did all this stuff come from?


 * Dr. Maxfield: This work has been going on for generations in secret. Your family pioneered it. [Aaron sits on a chair.] Your dad trained me in it, and after your father died, the Whitmore trust continued to fund my research.


 * Aaron: Why didn't you ever tell me about this?


 * Dr. Maxfield: You never needed to know before now. [He turns to take the folders out of the safe.] I meant to tell you this on your birthday. [Holding the folders.] This is what your family fought for and believed in, Aaron. Consider it your legacy.

[He offers the folders to Aaron.]

Augustine Cells
[Damon, lying on the floor in his cell, sees Elena in the cell next to his.]


 * Damon: [to himself] Come on, Elena. Wake up.

''[Elena, who's on the floor, groans, moves around and open her eyes. She looks around and sees Damon.]''


 * Damon: Hey.


 * Elena: Damon? [She desperately tries to get up and reach Damon.] Are you---


 * Damon: I'm fine. Wes injected you with vervain. Maybe when it wears off, we'll be able to-- [grabs the cell's bars and tries to shake them] uhn -- break through these.


 * Elena: [sitting up] What the hell is going on? Why are you here? Why am I here?


 * Damon: Wes is carrying out the grand Augustine tradition. Getting his kicks off vampire torture.


 * Elena: Did he tell you that?


 * Damon: He didn't have to. I've been here before.

[She looks at him concerned.]

Doctor Whitmore's Lab 1953
[The flashback shows a montage of different scenes of Dr. Whitmore opening Damon's body and pulling out body parts.]


 * Damon: [voice-over] Someone in my family sold me out to the Augustines in 1953. Every day, this nut job Dr. Whitmore tortured us, cut into us, took pieces of our eyes out, pushed us to every limit he could imagine, and he had quite the imagination.

Augustine Cells

 * Damon: Kept me in this very cell, and don't think I haven't appreciated the irony.


 * Elena: How long were you here?


 * Damon: Five years, give or take.


 * Elena: Damon, how did you not go crazy?


 * Damon: Believe it or not, I made a friend.

Augustine Cells 1953
''[The flashback shows Damon being thrown into his cell by Dr. Whitmore. The guy in the cell next engages in conversation with Damon.]''


 * Enzo: Welcome. Dr. Whitmore never gets tired of watching us vampire heal, but he gives us one glass of blood per day, just enough to keep us alive. Pick yourself up, soldier. [He gets closer to Damon, bars in between them, and he offers his hand.] My name's Enzo.

Augustine Cells

 * Damon: [standing up] He was a soldier in Europe during World War II.


 * Elena: How did he end up here?


 * Damon: Dr. Whitmore was working in a battlefield hospital when he discovered Enzo was a vampire, so he drugged him, locked him in a coffin to ship him overseas.

Augustine Cells 1953
[The flashback shows Enzo drinking his daily glass of blood.]


 * Damon: [voice-over] He'd been here for ten years by the time I joined the party.

[Damon chugs down his glass of blood.]


 * Enzo: You're doing it wrong. [He takes a small sip off of his glass.] You're living for the moment. You need to live for the future.


 * Damon: What future?


 * Enzo: The one where you get your revenge. For instance, in my future, my revenge will start with killing Whitmore's dog and mailing it to his house postage due. Go on. Picture your revenge. Use your imagination.

''[Damon, who is lying on the floor, lets his glass drop and smirks. He sits up weakly, and grabs a rock from the floor.]''


 * Damon: I can see it.

[He starts to carve on the cell's rock wall.]

Augustine Cells

 * Elena: Damon, Wes knew my dad. They worked together. He said that my dad was an Augustine, too. I know that my dad was a vampire hunter, but he was also the town doctor. He was kind and gentle and loving. He wouldn't be part of a place that would cut your eyes out.


 * Damon: People are full of surprises. [Elena buries her head between her arms, laying face down on the floor.] Oh, hey. [He approaches the bars that separate them.] I am so, so sorry I got you caught up in this. [He reaches for her hand.] Hey. Look at me. Hey. [She looks up.] But I promise you I will get you out of here, okay? Okay? [She holds his hand with both of hers.] I'll get you out of here.

[They both nod and she smiles.]

Salvatore Boarding House
[Stefan is locked inside the safe, looking around nervously.]


 * Stefan: Caroline! Do you even know what you're doing?


 * Caroline: [muffled] Yes.  Well, it's in my textbook.

[Caroline is standing near the safe, flipping through the pages of a textbook entitled "Clinical and Practical To Conquering Fear".]


 * Caroline: Let me find it.

[Katherine is watching her with crossed arms, a curious but mischievous expression on her face.]


 * Katherine: Did you ever, um...ahem...you know...? [looks at her meaningfully as she starts to pace toward her.]


 * Caroline: [looks confused] No, I don't.


 * Katherine: Oh, come on, you know. [suddenly smirks at her] Have you?


 * Caroline: Oh, my god! Katherine, seriously? [scoffs in disbelief.]


 * Katherine: That wasn't exactly a yes...or a no.


 * Caroline: We are friends.


 * Katherine: [quickly] Your loss. He's great in bed.


 * Caroline: Oh, God. I am so not listening to this. [She looks back at her textbook, then suddenly points to something on the page.]  Here! Okay, Stefan. Prolonged Exposure Therapy. "In vivo exposure gradually introduces elements of prior trauma, e.g. physical objects, comma, certain aspects of duress, comma--"

''[Inside the safe, Stefan is starting to freak out. Outside, an annoyed Katherine closes the book.]''


 * Katherine: [walks ahead from her] Okay. Yeah, yeah, yeah. Got it, got it, got it.

[Inside the safe, Stefan is turning his head left and right and panting.]


 * Katherine: [muffled] Stop talking. The words that are coming out of your mouth are giving me a headache.


 * Stefan: Caroline? Caroline!


 * Caroline: [muffled] I'm just trying to help Stefan understand what I'm doing.


 * Katherine: Acting like a school teacher isn't going to make him feel any better.

''[Stefan gets no response and starts to hit the sides of the safe in a effort to escape, looking anxious and scared. He starts to sweat profusely.]''


 * Stefan: [breathes heavily] I can't breathe. I can't-- [Stefan continues to gasp for air, before quickly passing out.]

[Outside the safe, Katherine and Caroline don't notice what's happened to Stefan.]


 * Katherine: You are right about one thing. He needs to get over the root of his problem. 'Cause right now the score if safe - one, Stefan - zero. So how do you help the guy that always comes to the rescue? Stefan's the hero. That's who he is at his core. He can't always come through for himself, but he can always come through for everyone else. [Looks thoughtful, then smiles at Caroline] I've got an idea.

Augustine Cells
''[Damon continues to be lost in his thoughts, a mirage of images flashing before his eyes relating to his earlier imprisonment: getting injected with vervain, then tortured and hit by Dr. Whitmore. Beside him, Elena is standing up in her cell with her arms through the bars; he is doing the same.]''


 * Elena: Damon, how did you survive all those years?

Augustine Cells 1953

 * Damon: [voice-over] Enzo's friendship kept me alive, he gave me a reason to hang on to my humanity...

''[Enzo is standing up, his arms through the bars. Damon is huddled on the floor of his cell, deeply in pain after all the torture.]''


 * Enzo: You much of a sports fan, Damon?


 * Damon: [voice-over]...even when I thought I'd be a prisoner forever.


 * Enzo: No. Neither am I. Any other interests-- fine wines, travels, cars? [looks at Damon, who still too pained to answer] I'm partial to Jaguars myself, convertibles, the kind you take on a Sunday drive to impress a pretty girl. Ever done that?


 * Damon: [pauses, then wills himself to speak] Once or twice.


 * Enzo: Oh, come now. Got to be more than that.


 * Damon: Well, the girl I was trying to impress was more of [stops, in pain] a horse and carriage type girl.


 * Enzo: What, just one girl?


 * Damon: Never met another one like her.


 * Enzo: Well, fair enough.


 * Damon: [moves over on his back, grunting in pain] What about you? Any pretty girls?


 * Enzo: Eh, too many to count. [Pauses, looking more serious] Actually, there was one. Her name was Maggie. [smiles.]


 * Damon: Where'd you meet her?


 * Enzo: Here of all places. She was working for Dr. Whitmore.


 * Damon: Charming?


 * Enzo: Oh, she was. Very. [looks away, smiling] She was kind to me. She used to sit here in the hallway taking notes while she observed me.


 * Damon: [in surprise] That's how you fell for her?


 * Enzo: Oh, she was also stunningly beautiful.


 * Damon: Ah.


 * Enzo: You have to understand she-- she wasn't part of the torture and the experiments. For the longest while, she didn't realize that Dr. Whitmore was doing more than just observing my behavior. I didn't have the heart to tell her. I was just so glad of her company, you know?


 * Damon: [sympathetically] Yeah.


 * Enzo: When she finally realized what was going on here, she couldn't bear it. So she said she was sorry, and she left.


 * Damon: Well, you know, [turns over on his stomach to look at him] never really would have worked anyway. You're a vampire, she's a human. The relationship would have been doomed from the beginning.


 * Enzo: You need a more positive outlook, mate.

''[Damon smiles at him, only for him to rise to his feet immediately after hearing a door open. It's Dr. Whitmore walking in front of their cells and holding his keys. He stops and looks at the two of them.]''


 * Dr. Whitmore: Who's next?

[Damon and Enzo look at him tensely, saying nothing as Dr. Whitmore does another sweeping glance.]


 * Dr. Whitmore: (looks to Damon) 21051, you seem to have more energy. (Walks over in front of his cell, preparing to unlock it.)


 * Enzo: I take that as an insult! [Grabs the bars, rattling it angrily for a moment] I have far more energy than my neighbor here.

''[Dr. Whitmore pauses, then walks over to Enzo's cell.]''


 * Enzo: I can't believe you didn't notice.


 * Dr. Whitmore: Your turn then.

''[Dr. Whitmore unlocks the cell, grabbed Enzo firmly, and carried him out of the cell to be experimented on. Damon looks on in shock before hitting the bars once in anger and pacing in his cell. He hears Enzo's screams of pain, prompting him to pace some more until he sits down in his cell and holds the bars. Finally the lights are turned off in the cells. Some time later, Dr. Whitmore returns using a flashlight for light and roughly throws Enzo in his cell without a word or another glance. He starts walking out of the cell area.]''


 * Damon: Why are you doing this to us?!


 * Dr. Whitmore: (stops and looks at Damon) Because, 21051, I'm seeking out the smallest indivisible unit of your biological makeup, and once I can understand you from a cellular level, I can put you to use.

''[Dr. Whitmore walks away, leaving an angry and frustrated Damon looking on in his cell.]''

Augustine Cells

 * Elena: [in concern] Oh, my God, Damon. Okay. Stefan is gonna figure this out. When you don't come home and no one hears from me, he will-- he will find us.


 * Damon: Points for optimism. But unfortunately, Stefan doesn't even know this place exists.


 * Elena: But you were here for 5 years.


 * Damon: Yeah, and in the first year, I'd thought he'd rescue me. He didn't. Once I escaped, there was no point in giving him more to feel guilty about, so I never told him what happened here. I never told anyone.


 * Elena: Yeah, but you did escape. How did you do it?


 * Damon: They let us out of the basement once a year.

Augustine Party 1957
''[Several people are grouped together at a New Year's party, mingling with each other and drinking. Enzo and Damon are in the far back, locked in a cage to watch.]''


 * Damon: [voice-over] Every New Year's Eve, the Augustine people had a little cocktail party with a vampire buffet on the side. We were weak from vervain injections...

[Enzo and Damon's cage is opened, then Enzo is pulled out and taken by Dr. Whitmore.]


 * Damon: [voice-over] ...half-starved from living on a glass of blood a day, chained up like animals. This little annual shindig is where Dr. Whitmore got to show all of his Augustine friends what he'd found in his research.

''[Dr. Whitmore grips Enzo's wrist and cuts it deeply with a knife, letting the blood flow into glasses. Afterwards, he puts Enzo back in the cage and reaches out to a nearby woman with his hand.]''


 * Dr. Whitmore: Mrs. Fell has generously offered her hand for the purpose of this demonstration. Please observe. (He cuts Mrs. Fell's hand with a knife across the palm, causing it to bleed.)


 * Damon: [voice-over] He let his guests drink from us to demonstrate the healing power of vampire blood.

''[Mrs. Fell hesitantly drinks from a glass of blood, prompting Dr. Whitmore to grab her hand to show the rest of his guests.]''


 * Dr. Whitmore: The dermal layer is completely healed, no nerve damage, no muscular damage.

''[Mrs. Fell's hand is immediately healed, causing the audience to clap in amazement and wonder. Enzo and Damon watch from their cages.]''

Augustine Cells

 * Damon: But on the plus side, that's how Enzo came up with his plan.

Augustine Cells 1957

 * Enzo: [holds up a small glass of blood] Well, the thing about our daily ration of blood is that it's barely enough for one vampire to survive on, but if one vampire were to drink two rations every day for the next year, he'd be able to build up his strength so that by the time New Year's Eve comes round again that one vampire will be ready to fight.


 * Damon: Are you sure that will work?


 * Enzo: I'm sure I can only try with your help. We've just got to choose between us.

[The two look at each for a minute, then Damon nods his head and sets down his glass of blood.]


 * Enzo: All right, Damon. We're gonna play scissor, paper, stone to decide.

[The two of them play three rounds until Damon draws paper and Enzo draws rock.]


 * Damon: Paper covers rock.


 * Enzo: [resignedly] All right then. A win's a win. You'll lead the way. [holds up his glass of blood to Damon] Here's my ration. Now we've got 364 days to get you ready for the party. Cheers. [passes the glass to Damon between the bars of their cell.]


 * Damon: [takes the blood] Cheers. [Pauses, then drinks the blood down.]

Augustine Cells

 * Elena: So, did it work?


 * Damon: [looks serious, deep in thought] More or less.


 * Elena: How did you get out?


 * Damon: It doesn't matter, Elena. I got strong, I got out. It wasn't pretty. All you need to know.

[Damon releases his hands on the bars and walks to the back of his cell, Elena leans against the wall.]

Whitmore House
''[Aaron is flipping through the notes on his family. Dr. Wes walks up to him holding a small box.]''


 * Dr. Maxfield: Here. Another birthday present. [Aaron puts down the notebook, then picks up the box on the table where Wes had put it. He opens it and sees a watch.] This belonged to your great-grandfather. It's a safety precaution for use in vampire research.

[Aaron looks at it, then becomes distracted when he noticed a headline on a newspaper article beneath the notebook with the headline "Fatal Animal Attack at the Anna Ruby Campground".]


 * Aaron: Anna Ruby Campground. That's where my parents died.

[He puts down the watch to pick up the newspaper article.]


 * Dr. Maxfield: [quietly] I know.

''[Aaron stares at the newspaper, then notices files of his parents when they were killed. He looks at it intensely, seeing the extent of their horrible injuries.]''


 * Aaron: It wasn't an animal attack, was it?


 * Dr. Maxfield: I found them, Aaron. I found you next to their bodies. As soon as saw them, I knew vampires had attacked them.

[Aaron continues to look at the pictures, distressed and disgusted at what he was seeing and hearing.]


 * Dr. Maxfield: That's why I continued your father's work. [points to the pictures] So this could never happen again. I hope you'll join me.

''[Aaron stares at pictures, lookng incredibly tense. He then turns around and punches Wes in the face, causing him to fall to the ground. Without looking back, he grabs some weapons out of Augustine's safe, including a gun and wooden bullets, and leaves the room, getting the watch on the table as he went.]''

Salvatore Boarding House
[Stefan is rousing in the safe.]


 * Katherine: [muffled] So, try not to be mad at me.

''[Stefan blinks up his eyes groggily, seeing the roof of the safe in front of him. He groans and is slightly disorientated, turning his head in confusion.]''


 * Katherine: I got in here when you were unconscious, and then Caroline locked us inside. It was the only way.

[He finally notices Katherine beside him, and immediately starts hitting the roof of the safe in a panic.]


 * Stefan: Let me out of here! Caroline!

[Caroline is standing outside the safe.]


 * Caroline: I know it's a little extreme, but the baby steps approach wasn't working.


 * Katherine: See? That's why I need you not to get mad at me because when you get mad, you get anxious and violent and you rip people's heads off, but I'm gonna help you fix that.

[Stefan ignores her, looking around in a frenzy and desperately hits the safe for it to open.]


 * Stefan: Caroline, get me out of here before I hurt her!


 * Katherine: That's the whole point, Stefan. You need to get over your PSTD triggers, okay? Or else you will kill me.


 * Stefan: [breathes heavily] You're risking your life.


 * Katherine: I'm already dying, you idiot. You're the one who wants to keep me alive. It's my turn to help you now.


 * Stefan: [still breathing heavily] I can't be in here. Please.


 * Katherine: [leans closer, smiling a little] You're Stefan Salvatore. Suck it up. [moves away and lays on her back next to him.]


 * Stefan: [in an anxious daze] No, no, no.

Augustine Cells
''[Elena and Damon are leaning against their cells, back-to-back at the front of them. Both look serious and tense.]''


 * Elena: [frustrated] Wes is gonna come back down here, and we'll both be the newest Augustine experiment. You have to tell me how you got out of here, Damon.


 * Damon: You don't want to know, Elena.


 * Elena: Why? You think I'm gonna judge you?

[Damon doesn't say anything, looking away in slight irritation.]


 * Elena: Damon, I love you. I love you, and these people tortured you for five years. Whatever you had to do, I don't care.


 * Damon: [softly] All right. All right. [louder] The Augustines' next party was in 1958.

Augustines' New Year's Eve Party 1958
''[Damon is locked in a cage along with Enzo, just like he had been in 1957. Though, this time, Damon looks stronger and more determined.]''


 * Damon: [voice-over] I'd been drinking Enzo's rations for an entire year. I mean, he kept a few drops here and there so he wouldn't desiccate, and as he starved himself, I got stronger from all the extra blood just like he said I would.

[Damon looks at Enzo, who smiles slightly in anticipation.]


 * Dr. Whitmore: (walks between the crowd toward the cage) Ladies and gentlemen, as it is almost midnight, I think it fitting that we toast the New Year with a glass of vampire blood, wouldn't you agree? (He unlocks the cage, allowing Damon to step out. He then closes shut the cage and locks in Enzo.)

''[While Whitmore is locking the cage, Damon forcibly pushes his hand through the cuffs, breaking the bones in his hand while doing so. As Whitmore looks at him, he notices his hand is free. Damon holds his hand up as it immediately heals while he stares at Dr. Whitmore threateningly.]''


 * Damon: Now you see it.

''[He furiously grabs Dr. Whitmore's head with both hands and digs his thumbs into his eyes, destroying them and causing him to bleed profusely. Whitmore screams in pain, then Damon buries his fangs into his neck to drain him and finish him off.]''

''[The guests scream in terror and begin to run, one of them tipping over a candelabra and causing the rug it falls on to start burning. Damon pays no heed to the fire, and kills all of the guests one-by-one by either biting them or breaking their necks. The fire grows even stronger and at this point, Damon is covered with the blood of his victims.]''


 * Enzo: Damon! We got to get out of here! [looks at the fire in panic, then back at Damon] Damon, now!

''[Damon rushes to him, grasping the bars in order to break them. Enzo does the same, but both are "burned" by the bars.]''


 * Damon: Vervain!

[They try several times to break the vervain-laced bars of the cage, but the vervain is too strong for them to maintain their grip.]

Augustine Cells

 * Damon: [looks upset] Enzo trusted me with his life. The fire was getting out of control, then I would have burned up, or they would have captured me again. There's no way I would have ever gotten another chance of escaping.

[Elena peers closer at him between the bars, looking stunned.]


 * Damon: So I chose to save myself.

Augustines' New Year's Eve Party 1958
''[Damon and Enzo try again to break the bars, but once again the vervain is too intense for him to make any progress. Damon stops altogether, observing his surroundings and backing away as he repeatedly shakes his head. He then stares back at Enzo, looking sad.]''


 * Enzo: Damon.


 * Damon: I'm sorry, Enzo.


 * Enzo: Damon, please.

[Damon backs away more, shaking his head.]

Augustine Cells

 * Damon: And I knew if I was going to save myself, that I had to stop caring about Enzo. So I turned off my emotions.

[Elena says nothing, looking disturbed.]

Augustines' New Year's Eve Party 1958
[Damon looks back at Enzo again as the fire rages on, looking emotionless and free of conflict this time.]


 * Enzo: [shakes his head in desperation] No. Don't-- Don't-- Don't leave me here.

''[Damon doesn't say anything. Holding his gaze on moment longer, he slowly turns his back and begins to walk away.]''


 * Enzo: Don't go! Please! [hits the cage in anger] Damon!

''[Damon doesn't even pause or look. He just keeps walking.]''


 * Damon: [voice-over] I left my friend to die.


 * Enzo: [look behind him again, frightened then back to Damon.] Please don't leave me! Damon! Come on! Damon! Damon! Please!

[Reaching the exit, Damon shuts the door behind him as the fire continues to spread in the building.]

Augustine Cells

 * Damon: [closes his eyes for a moment, then opens them] After that, everything was fine.

[Elena is stunned speechless, shaking her a little in disbelief.]


 * Damon: [lowly] Everything was fine.

Salvatore Boarding House
[Caroline is still standing near the safe, looking at curiously.]


 * Caroline: [overly cheerful] How's it going in there?


 * Stefan: [breathing heavily] I feel-- I feel-- I feel like I'm dying.


 * Katherine: [casually] So I've been using this time to think. I think there is actually a little bit of truth to this doppelgänger prophecy. I think you're still in love with Elena. I think you're miserable over the fact that she chose Damon over you [flicks her fingers on Stefan's chest] and that you wanna get out of this one-horse town and as far away from their happiness as possible, and yet somehow, you keep finding excuses to stay in Mystic Falls. I think I'm just that latest excuse.


 * Stefan: [grabs Katherine by the neck, choking her] I'm going to kill you.


 * Katherine: [struggling to breath] Good. Yeah. Get it all out, Stefan. I think this is healthy,...[gasps for air as Stefan tightens his grip on her throat]...although don't forget you loved me before you hated me.


 * Stefan: Any reason why you chose to have this conversation with me locked in a safe?


 * Katherine: Yes! So that I can show you that the safe isn't the problem.


 * Stefan: How could you say that to me?


 * Katherine: The problem is you're not facing you're real issues. The death you felt in the safe, the pain of dying over and over again? It's easier for you to focus on the physical pain than the emotional heartbreak of Elena leaving you. Your problem is you're not in touch with the reality of the moment, so let's bring you back to the present, shall we? [Moves her head to side when Stefan starts to let go slowly, leaving her neck bare to him.] In this moment, are you going to feed on me or are you gonna save my life?

''[Stefan's extremely close to her neck, his fangs coming out as he fights the urge to feed on her. Katherine doesn't move, but breathes heavily. Stefan hesitates, the veins around his eyes disappearing as he tries to stop himself.]''


 * Katherine: Fight it, Stefan, fight it! [softly] I'm here. I'm here. [grabs his face with both her hands as she looks into his eyes] I'm with you. We're together.

''[Stefan is calming down now, but Katherine still has her hands on her face. She starts to draw closer to him, getting dangerously close to kissing Stefan. He doesn't pull away, but before anything could happen between them, Caroline unlocks the safe. Katherine quickly pulls apart from Stefan and looks away.]''


 * Caroline: It was so quiet, I got worried.

''[Stefan stands up to get out of the safe and offers his hand to help pull Katherine out. She takes it, but quickly withdraws it the moment she stands up and pushes her hair back nervously. Stefan walks over towards Caroline but is still staring at Katherine with a confused expression on his face. Finally looking back to a worried Caroline, he gives her a reassuring smile.]''


 * Caroline: [smiles brightly] See? [hits Stefan's shoulders playfully, then hugs him] You made it out alive!

''[Stefan doesn't fully respond to his friend's hug and is instead staring at Katherine behind her. They two stare at each other differently than they did before.]''

Augustine Cells
[The door leading towards the line of cells where Elena and Damon are at opens, causing Aaron to emerge before them.]


 * Aaron: What the hell is this place?


 * Elena: [standing up quickly] Aaron?


 * Damon: Great. Mini-Wes.


 * Aaron: [looks around him] I didn't know what Wes was doing, I didn't even know there was a basement down here.


 * Elena: Aaron, you have to help us.


 * Aaron: I wanna know the truth. When you met at Megan's memorial, you asked me a bunch of questions.

[He tries loading a gun with wooden bullets, but drops some as he does it.]


 * Damon: Slick hands, cowboy.


 * Aaron: Yeah? Well, I've never used a gun before,...[looks to Elena]...and I never killed anyone either unlike you.


 * Elena: What are you talking about?


 * Aaron: Wes said a vampire killed Megan. [aims a gun at Elena.]


 * Damon: And you thought it was Elena?


 * Elena: No. Megan was inside this house. I hadn't even been invited yet. You just--


 * Aaron: Wes also said a vampire killed my parents. Maybe that was you, too.


 * Elena: No, Aaron. That's impossible--


 * Aaron: Why else would you be so interested in me?


 * Damon: Calm down.


 * Aaron: Why else would you pretend to be my friend? [looks to Damon, the gun still pointed at Elena] She's a vampire!


 * Damon: Not the one that killed your parents. That was all me.

[Elena stares at Damon in shock while a stunned Aaron lowers the gun.]


 * Aaron: What did you just say? [Moves over to stand in front of Damon's cell, pointing the gun at him] Start talking.


 * Elena: Damon, what are you doing?


 * Damon: [looks serious] In 1958, after the fire Enzo was dead, so I had to take on my revenge plan solo.

Augustine Cells 1953
[The flashback is back to when Damon and Enzo are talking about their revenge plans and Damon had started carving his initials into the rock wall of his cell, as well as the year, before dropping the stone: D. S. 53 ]


 * Damon: Yes. I can see it. [turns around and leans on his back] After I've taken out the entire Augustine society, I'll kill every member of the Whitmore family.


 * Enzo: Boo! I said use your imagination.


 * Damon: [looking excited] Except one person. I'll let that person grow up, start a family, and then I'll start killing Whitmores again. And then I'll take out the generation after that, leaving only one person to carry on the name, and then I'll take out the generation after that and so on, and so on, and so on.  [slowly smirks.]

Augustine Cells

 * Damon: And that's exactly what I did.

[Elena can't say anything, completely disturbed.]


 * Aaron: [shakily] How many Whitmores have you killed?


 * Damon: Since 1958? I lost count.


 * Elena: [tensely] When was the last one?

[Damon doesn't respond.]


 * Elena: [angrily] Damon, when was the last one?!


 * Damon: A few months ago. Her name was Sara. Had to go all the way to Charleston to find her. It was a weekend trip. You didn't know.


 * Elena: But we were together a few months ago.


 * Damon: Starting the summer of our lives.


 * Elena: [looks disgusted] I had no idea!


 * Damon: [tilts his head] Told you it wasn't pretty.

[Aaron shoots Damon in fury, causing him to fall to the floor.]


 * Elena: No!

[She kneels down and stares in horror at an unconscious Damon, bleeding profusely from his head.]

Salvatore Boarding House
''[Caroline is alone, trying to lift the safe to take it out of the house. She struggles, and stands up in frustration.]''


 * Caroline: A little help here! I mean, I know I'm a vampire, but this thing is really heavy! [looks around as she gets no response] Stefan? Hello!

''[In another room, Stefan's by himself as he moves a broken chair out of the way near the fireplace. He picks up leg of the chair, then looks up to see Katherine watching him with crossed arms.]''


 * Stefan: You know, for the record, I, uh, I only broke one of these. [holds up the leg of the chair.]


 * Katherine: It was an ugly chair. [Starts to walk up to him] You're better off without it.

[Stefan nods, then Katherine bends over to pick up another leg of the broken chair.]


 * Stefan: [resignedly] So I guess you were right all along. It was easier for me to focus on my physical pain than the break-up. I need to move on.


 * Katherine: [playfully] So you admit it. I do know what I'm doing. [smirks at him as she walks closer.]


 * Stefan: To be honest with you, I never know exactly what you're doing, Katherine.


 * Katherine: [smiles, amused] Well, Stefan, sometimes...I don't either. [hands him the broken leg.]

''[Stefan looks at her for a moment, then takes the leg and throws it across the room with the rest of the broken chair. There's silence, and Katherine is still standing in front of him. She hesitates, but moves even closer to Stefan to the point they're only inches apart.]''


 * Katherine: Like right now...[She starts to stare at his lips for a moment while Stefan looks a little confused at her statement, then starts to caress his chest]...for example.

''[Stefan doesn't pull away, instead looking at her hand on his chest and then back at her. They stare at each as Katherine slowly moves closer to him, stopping to make sure Stefan wouldn't push her away. When he starts to drift closer to her, Katherine proceeds and the two kiss each other softly. After a moment, she pulls away and stares at him quesioningly. Immediately, Stefan pulls her back and kisses her more firmly, causing the moment to intensify into a passionate make-up session.]''

[The scene then shifts to Caroline, who is sitting on top of the safe with her phone to her ear to leave a message.]


 * Caroline: Hey, Elena. I'm probably going to stay at my Mom's tonight. I think I am officially homesick. So I'll let you know when I'm-- [breaks off, looking confused as her vampire hearing picks up sounds of intense kissing and gasps of air.]


 * Katherine: [faintly in a moan] Stefan...


 * Caroline: [looks shocked and horrifed] Oh. My. God. Call me as soon as you get this!

Whitmore House/Aaron's Dorm Room
''[Wes and Aaron are having a conversation by phone. Aaron is in his dorm, pacing in frustration while Wes is at Whitmore house straightening things up.]''


 * Dr. Maxfield: Look. I'm sorry you had to find out about parents like this.


 * Aaron: What I found out was that I've been lied to my entire life. What the hell is going on, Wes? [sits down on his couch] Their other friends gonna come after me? I mean, do I have to drop out?


 * Dr. Maxfield: You'll be fine. Just go to school, live your life. [picks up a notebook of files] Talk to you soon. [Hangs up.]

''[Aaron hangs up and puts the phone down. He looks at his great-grandfather's watch for a moment, then puts it on his wrist.]''

Augustine Cells
[Damon is still lying on the ground, blinking open his eyes and groaning in pain.]


 * Damon: Oh...[touches the wound on his head] Guess I had that coming. Elena? [gets no response, causing him to look around] Elena? [immediately stands up in panic when he doesn't see her in her cell] Elena! Elena!

Doctor Maxfield's Lab
''[Elena wakes up, still disoriented. She tries to register her surroundings as she hears cheerful humming. Elena tries to move, but realizes she's strapped to a gurney. She attempts to break the constraints, but doesn't succeed.]''


 * Elena: What's happening? [struggles against the restraints again.]

''[A man is strapped to a gurney beside her. He looks at her.]''


 * Enzo: Ahh. Welcome. I'm 12144. My name's Enzo.

[Elena stares at Enzo in shock, then quickly looks horrified as she realizes where she is and who she's there with.]