She's Come Undone

Mystic Falls High School
[Elena arrives at school and walks among a crowd of high school students outside. Caroline, Bonnie, and Matt meet her.]


 * Caroline: Elena, you're here. I got valedictorian! You can help me write my speech.


 * Elena: Pass.


 * Caroline: Come on, we're graduating this year, this is it! We need to soak up every second before-

[Elena comes to a halt.]


 * Elena: Wait. Something's not right. I don't want to be here.

[Damon shows up behind Elena.]


 * Damon: What is wrong with you? Don't you wanna be with your friends? Graduation parties, caps, gowns, you know the drill.

[Elena rolls her eyes.]


 * Elena: What is this...

[She looks around - all of the students in the schoolyard have disappeared.]


 * Elena: We're not really here, are we? We're in my head.


 * Damon: Relax. I just wanted to show you all of the things that you've been missing out on since you took the giant leap over the cuckoo's nest.

[Elena drops her bag.]


 * Elena: The last thing I remember...


 * Damon: Let me guess: prom? Beautiful dress, gorgeous hair, you trying to murder Bonnie? It's a good thing I was there to take care of you.


 * Elena: You starved me. You and Stefan-


 * Damon: Yeah, well, we had to keep you weak so I could bring you here. See, the way I figure it is, if I can make you nostalgic, then you're already halfway to getting your humanity back.


 * Elena: It's not gonna work, Damon.

[Damon sighs.]


 * Damon: Well, there are other ways to provoke an emotional response.

Salvatore Boarding House
[Segue to Damon in the cellar at the boarding house, concentrating. He returns to the here and now when Stefan arrives behind him.]


 * Stefan: You still have her locked in the safe? You've been in her head for an hour. What, still nothing?

[Damon says nothing, but instead approaches the safe.]


 * Damon: How you doing in there?

[He unlocks the safe and opens the door. Elena is inside, weak and apparently barely conscious. Damon pulls her out.]


 * Damon: Come on.

[Elena falls to the ground and Damon crouches down in front of her.]


 * Damon: Is the old you ready to come out and play?


 * Elena: Go to hell.

[Damon makes a face, smiling tightly.]


 * Damon: Okay. Back you go.

[Damon puts Elena back into the safe and locks it.]


 * Damon: [to Elena] We can do this the nice way, or we can do it the other way...but either way, we're not stopping until you turn your humanity switch back on. So I'm gonna let you think about that, and I'm gonna come back for you in a couple hours, or a couple years...because all we have is time.

[Damon pats the safe twice. Stefan, silently observing this entire sequence, looks troubled.]

[Later in the day, Caroline storms into the house, talking to Stefan while she looks around for Elena.]


 * Caroline: Where is she? I wanna see her.


 * Stefan: We're not letting anyone see her, that's the whole point. Isolation leads to misery leads to emotion.


 * Caroline: She's been here for days. She hasn't improved at all?


 * Stefan: Look, she doesn't want to, Caroline, not yet. She's devastated; she lost her brother, she-she attacked her friend, she killed an innocent woman.


 * Caroline: You said that you knew how to help her.


 * Stefan: I did say that. We are.


 * Caroline: What, how? By torturing her?


 * Stefan: It's not torture, it's an intervention. The only chance we have with her is to provoke her, to trigger something. Fear, anger, self-pity, anything.


 * Caroline: Let me talk to her. Before any more interventioning. If she's weak, she can't hurt me. Please, just let me try.

[Stefan still looks reluctant but they go down to the cellar.]


 * Stefan: Good luck.

[He leaves. Caroline looks at Elena for a few moments, sympathetic. She withdraws a bottle of blood from her pocket.]


 * Caroline: I brought you something. It doesn't have any vervain in it, I swear. I just figured a little blood might help you think straight.

[She approaches Elena, holding out the bottle after she opens it. Elena pauses for a moment before seizing on the bottle and drinking it desperately.]


 * Caroline: For the record, I don't agree with what they're doing. I mean, I agree that you need to turn your humanity back on, but I don't think that making you suffer is the way to do it. That's not who you are.

[Elena spins the empty bottle on the stone floor.]


 * Elena: What makes you such an expert on who I am?


 * Caroline: Because we've been friends forever.


 * Elena: I tried to kill you, Caroline. I'm not exactly BFF-material anymore. You should move on.

[Elena continues to spin the bottle on the floor until Caroline reaches out suddenly and stills it.]


 * Caroline: I am not going to give up on you.


 * Elena: This annoying, clingy thing that you're doing-- did it ever occur to you maybe that's why both your boyfriends skipped town? I mean, I know that Tyler said he was running for his life, but maybe he was running from you. And Klaus? I mean, let's just say it: nobody likes a tease. [Caroline rolls her eyes, making an exasperated sound.] Hey, I'm not judging. Might be nice to have a bad boy ruffle those perfect feathers.

[Caroline tries to keep it together.]


 * Caroline: You're in pain, you're lashing out, I get it. But you can't stay this way forever. We're about to graduate, and start new lives! And you deserve-


 * Elena: Are you seriously talking about high school graduation? Caroline, do you realize how pathetic you're gonna look in that cap and gown, pretending to be human while your mom fake-smiles and just counts down the minutes until you leave town so that you can stop being a reminder that her daughter is a repulsive, blood-sucking control freak monster?

[Caroline, losing her patience, stands up and turns away.]


 * Elena: It's really too bad Stefan stopped me before I put you out of your misery, but hey, here's to second chances.

[Elena vamp-speeds over to Caroline to attack her. Caroline holds her off while Elena growls, teeth bared.]


 * Caroline: Elena.

[Elena doesn't let up, so Caroline snaps her neck. Elena falls to the floor. Stefan returns, standing behind Caroline. She speaks without looking at him.]


 * Caroline: Do whatever you have to do. [She turns and looks at him.] I'm gonna be upstairs.

[She walks past Stefan and leaves.]

Mystic Grill
[Rebekah is stacking empty shot glasses at the bar when Matt approaches her. She downs one more before he makes it over to her.]


 * Rebekah: I was wondering if you were gonna say hello or keep ignoring me.


 * Matt: I was working. I see you compelled the bartenders again.


 * Rebekah: I'm celebrating. My brothers and I have parted company. Elijah and Nik have run off to New Orleans, chasing god-knows-what, and I am finally free.


 * Matt: Yeah, I heard about that.


 * Rebekah: Did you hear that I lost the cure to Silas? I was [holds fingers an inch apart] this close to the life that I always wanted and then, poof...gone in a heartbeat.


 * Matt: I'm sorry. I know how much you wanted it.


 * Rebekah: Please, I know you were planning on stealing it for Elena. I never had a chance, did I?


 * Matt: I meant what I said, but if you wanna feel sorry for yourself, go ahead.

[He gets up and starts to leave.]


 * Rebekah: Why don't you stay and have a drink?


 * Matt: I can't, I've gotta go meet Caroline.


 * Rebekah: Are they still keeping Elena trapped in the Salvatore mansion? I happen to like her just the way she is. It's tragic that they're trying so desperately to fix something that isn't broken.


 * Matt: Elena was my friend long before she was your mean-girl sidekick. So if you're upset that you lost the cure and your brothers ditched you, why are you still in Mystic Falls? Some of us don't have the option of leaving, some of us are broke, and failing all of our classes, and stuck here. So why don't you take your freedom and get the hell out of town? I would.

[He leaves. Rebekah stands still, affected by his words.]

Salvatore Boarding House
[Caroline is talking on the phone with Bonnie. The shots alternate between Caroline walking in front of the boarding house and Bonnie at a table in a diner.]


 * Caroline: Bonnie! Where have you been? I've left, like, ninety million messages.


 * Bonnie: Studying French. We still have final exams, remember?


 * Caroline: Ugh, don't remind me. Look, this whole thing with Elena...it's about to get brutal, and I know that she's not your favorite person right now, but I could really use you over here.


 * Bonnie: For what, moral support? Or so you can check up on me?


 * Caroline: Moral support! And maybe just a tiny check-in to make sure that Silas isn't playing any more pesky little mind games with you.


 * Bonnie: I'm fine, okay? Silas doesn't control me anymore. And I think I'll pass on the invite. I-Elena tried to kill me. I'm not quite ready to forgive and forget. I'm gonna call you later, okay? I gotta go.

[Bonnie hangs up.]

Diner
[Katherine sits down across from Bonnie at the table and picks up a menu.]


 * Katherine: Lying, scheming, and a secret rendezvous with moi? Not very Bonnie Bennett-y, especially when Elena needs her favorite witch.


 * Bonnie: This has nothing to do with them. This is between you and me.


 * Katherine: All right, well, luckily for you I've got some spare time on my hands. You said you have an offer that I can't refuse? Well, by all means-what do you have in mind?

Salvatore Boarding House
[Damon noisily sets down a fire extinguisher and Elena startles awake, groggily finding herself strapped down in a chair on the main level of the house before a closed curtain. Stefan walks around the room, which is dimly lit.]


 * Damon: Good, you're awake. Thought you could use a little sunshine.

[Stefan pulls the curtain back a little, allowing a ray of light to creep closer to Elena. She looks down at her hand.]


 * Damon: Looking for this?

[He holds up her daylight ring in front of her. She reaches for it as much as the bonds on her wrist will allow, but Damon pulls it away.]


 * Damon: Oh, you know the rules: bad girls don't get nice jewelry.

[Stefan lets go of the curtain, shutting out the sun again. Elena speaks impassively.]


 * Elena: You took my ring. I'm devastated. And bored. Can I go back to solitary now?


 * Damon: No. I kinda like you in the hot seat. Whenever you're ready, brother.

[Stefan reaches for the curtain again.]


 * Elena: Am I supposed to be scared?


 * Stefan: You will be. And when you are, focus on that fear. It's the key to getting your humanity back.


 * Elena: You're not gonna burn me.


 * Damon: You don't think so?


 * Elena: No. And even if you do manage to get my emotions back, I'll remember all this, and I'll hate both of you for it.

[Damon and Stefan share a look.]


 * Damon: Tsk. Worth the risk.

[Stefan pulls the curtain wide and the sunlight starts to burn Elena's hand. She yells in pain, struggling in her chair. Her arm ignites into flames for a few seconds before Damon puts it out with the fire extinguisher and Stefan lets go of the curtain.]


 * Damon: Bet that feels better, huh? How about a little gratitude, or any human emotion whatsoever, and we can stop this?

[Elena, still gasping and straining against her bonds, mumbles something.]


 * Damon: I didn't quite catch that.


 * Elena: I said, I'm gonna kill you.


 * Damon: Bingo! See? There's a little rage. I should've figured that'd be the first emotion that came out of you. I tend to pull that out of people.

[Stefan crouches down in front of Elena.]


 * Stefan: Elena, look at me. We don't wanna do this, okay? You can stop this right now. It's your choice.

[Elena laughs.]


 * Elena: It's kind of funny, actually-- you being the one to pull back the curtain. I bet part of you enjoys it, since, you know, I dumped you and all.

[Damon crouches next to Stefan in front of her.]


 * Damon: Wow. That was downright vindictive. See? I think now we're breaking through that tough candy shell and getting into the ooey-gooey rich center of your humanity. This is good. [to Stefan] I think we should shine some light on the subject.

[Stefan gets up and goes to the curtain.]


 * Elena: Let me guess...this is gonna hurt you a lot more than it hurts me?


 * Stefan: Look, I know what you're going through. After all you've done, you're afraid to face the guilt you'll feel if you turn your emotions back on. Only way we can help you is to make the alternative hurt even worse.

[Elena laughs at him softly and closes her eyes. Stefan wrenches back the curtain, Elena's face starts to burn and she screams in pain.]

[Outside the boarding house, Caroline and Matt talk. Caroline hears Elena's scream coming from inside.]


 * Caroline: We have to keep talking. If we don't keep talking, then I won't be able to stop myself from listening in, and I can't stand to hear Elena in pain.

[They come to a stop in a patio area; Caroline sits in a chair and Matt leans against a half wall.]


 * Matt: Well, what do you wanna talk about?


 * Caroline: I don't know. Anything. [She pauses.] I ordered you a cap and gown.


 * Matt: You did?


 * Caroline: I just figured that you'd forget, so I ordered yours when I ordered mine. And I got one for Elena, too.

[Matt starts to move closer to Caroline to sit in another chair.]


 * Matt: It's gonna work. We're gonna get Elena back.

[They hear a door open across the way, and see Rebekah inside through some glass doors, carrying a brown paper bag.]


 * Caroline: What the hell is she doing here?

[Inside, Rebekah withdraws a takeout box from the paper bag when Matt and Caroline come inside.]


 * Rebekah: Hi. I don't mean to interfere. It's just, I happen to know all they keep in this house is blood and booze, so I brought a peace offering. Burgers?

[Matt approaches her and takes the box, smiling slightly.]


 * Matt: Thanks.


 * Caroline: Yeah, we can't really entertain right now, but thanks for stopping by.


 * Rebekah: I think I might stay. Matt mentioned that he was failing classes and needed a study buddy.


 * Caroline: You're failing? Wh-why didn't you ask me to help you study?


 * Matt: Well, I didn't exactly ask her.


 * Caroline: Well, what classes are you failing?


 * Matt: I'm not failing, I'm just...really, really behind in history...and Italian, and math...


 * Caroline: Matt!


 * Matt: This year's been a little distracting.


 * Rebekah: We could both help. All hands on deck-- that's the motto around here, right?


 * Caroline: We don't have a motto. [to Matt] Look, if you need to study, we're gonna study. I'm gonna go home and I'm gonna get my flash cards, and my study guides, and some energy bars. This is gonna be good.

[Caroline gives them two thumbs up and leaves.]


 * Rebekah: You dated that?


 * Matt: She likes projects.

[Outside, Caroline reaches her car but drops her keys. She crouches down to get them when she hears a rustling noise nearby. She stands back up slowly and warily.]


 * Caroline: Who's there?

[She turns round to see Klaus standing right behind her.]


 * Caroline: Oh, my god.


 * Klaus: Hello, Caroline.

Diner
[Katherine and Bonnie are still sitting at their table. A waitress stops to refill their coffee.]


 * Katherine: Okay, let me get this straight: you want me to hand over Silas' tombstone? What makes you think I even have it?


 * Bonnie: I know you took it from the island. You're a scavenger; you'd never leave it behind.


 * Katherine: So, you're working for Silas now, huh? Running errands for the big, bad immortal?


 * Bonnie: I didn't switch sides. In two days, there'll be a full moon. Silas wants me to harness its power to drop the veil between our side and the Other Side. He wants to take the cure, and then he wants to die. I said I'd help him and I've been hiding from him ever since, buying time.


 * Katherine: Time for what?


 * Bonnie: You don't need to worry about it. You just need to bring me the tombstone.


 * Katherine: It's a hunk of rock. What do you even want with it?


 * Bonnie: The less you know, the better. Silas is psychic; he can get into people's heads, read their minds, make them see things that aren't really there. I'm taking a big enough risk just talking to you.


 * Katherine: Okay then. How do I know that you're not him?


 * Bonnie: You don't, but I'm not.


 * Katherine: And what makes you so sure that I'm not him?


 * Bonnie: Because he can't get into my head anymore, because I am the only one who can see his true face.


 * Katherine: What's in it for me?


 * Bonnie: Bring me the tombstone, help me stop Silas from unleashing hell on earth. Believe me, I'll make it worth your while.

Salvatore Boarding House
[Elena is still shouting in pain from the sun burning her skin. Stefan leaves the curtain open for a few seconds longer then closes them. Elena gasps in relief as her wounds heal.]


 * Damon: You're gonna thank me for this. After you turn it back on, you'll realize life with no emotions blew.


 * Elena: You know what else blew? Being sired to you...going every day believing that I was in love with you. I remember every horrible moment of it, and you, so scared that it wasn't real. Well, guess what-- it wasn't. You were right. So go ahead, keep trying to get the old me back. Who knows? Maybe Stefan and I will give it another go.

[The brothers take this in for a moment, brushing off her cruelty with indulgent though perhaps hurt expressions. Suddenly Elena breaks free of the bonds on her wrists, vamp-runs toward the window and pulls one of the curtains off the rod, exposing her to the sunlight. She immediately bursts into flames and starts screaming. Damon grabs the fire extinguisher and puts her out while Stefan pats her down frantically. Elena lies on the floor, coughing and laughing while her skin heals.]


 * Elena: I am the girl that you love. You wouldn't do anything to actually hurt me-- you just proved that. So what do I really have to be afraid of?

[The brothers share a look. Not much later, they walk out onto the front lawn, Damon taking a swig of bourbon from a bottle.]


 * Stefan: So, that went well.


 * Damon: Every other vampire turns it on, no problem. You kill, you feed, you do all the awful things that a vampire does, and then when you're done you turn it back on. Why is she being so stubborn?

[Damon punctuates the end of his sentence by throwing the glass bottle at the front of the house angrily.]


 * Stefan: Because she has nothing to come back to. Her home's gone, her family's gone, she alienated her friends, she destroyed her relationships--


 * Damon: No, she wants to come back. Scaring the hell out of her should've worked. She's smart. She knows we're not gonna hurt her.


 * Stefan: All right, so we get somebody else. Somebody who really will hurt her.


 * Damon: Who?

[Stefan moves his head, hinting tacitly at who he's thinking of.]


 * Damon: Katherine?


 * Stefan: Think about it: she's the reason Jeremy's dead, right? So if anybody's gonna provoke an emotion, it's her.


 * Damon: So we call her and then what, beg her to help us out of the kindness of her own heart? Are you kidding me?


 * Stefan: Katherine was just abandoned by Elijah. She has nothing, she has no one. We invite her into our house to come torture Elena? There's no way she's gonna turn that down.

Woods
[Caroline is walking with Klaus.]


 * Caroline: Everyone said that you were gone for good.


 * Klaus: It's true. But I never meant to go without saying goodbye.


 * Caroline: You don't owe me an explanation. You're moving on-- by all means, go.


 * Klaus: Well, that's just it, isn't it? I never had any intention of moving on. The truth is, I've tried to stop thinking about you, and I can't.

[Caroline starts to push past Klaus.]


 * Klaus: Come to New Orleans. What are you afraid of?


 * Caroline: You! I'm afraid of you.


 * Klaus: Wouldn't it be more accurate to say you're afraid of yourself, your darkest desires? Elena was right, wasn't she? Deep down, you long to have your perfect feathers ruffled.


 * Caroline: How do you know what Elena said to me in that cell?

[Klaus suddenly pins her against a tree.]


 * Klaus: Then again, there's so much to be afraid of, isn't there? Like what I'll do to you if your friend Bonnie doesn't come out of hiding. Where is she?


 * Caroline: Silas.


 * Klaus/Silas: [shouting] Where is she?! She's not at home, she's not anywhere. Bonnie is playing games with me, and I don't like it. [He leans in close to speak into Caroline's ear.] Tell her I'm looking for her. Tell her to come out of the shadows. Tell her that this-[he stabs Caroline in the chest with a stake]-is only the beginning.

[Gasping, Caroline falls to the ground, unconscious.]

Salvatore Boarding House
[It's night-time. Matt is sitting on a couch, using a translator app on his phone while Rebekah pours herself a drink. He speaks clearly into the phone.]


 * Matt: What time will Caroline return from the train station?

[He taps a button and the phone repeats his sentence back to him in Italian.]


 * Rebekah: Well, that's handy. Sort of a cheat, though, isn't it?


 * Matt: Not everyone's had a thousand years to learn everything about everything.

[Rebekah takes his phone to look at it.]


 * Rebekah: Not sure how good I am at modern Italian. I was fluent in the 12th century, but languages have a way of evolving.

[Matt takes his phone back.]


 * Matt: So can you help, or not?


 * Rebekah: [smiling] Of course I can. Don't be cranky, I was just teasing.


 * Matt: I'm sorry, I just don't wanna get left behind while all my friends go to college and I'm the only repeat-senior.


 * Rebekah: The only reason that you are failing is because you're preoccupied with training doomed hunters and dealing with Elena's drama. You need better friends...like me. I could compel you good grades and a scholarship.


 * Matt: I don't wanna do that.

[Matt lies down on the couch.]


 * Rebekah: Why not? Everyone needs an advantage in life. I could be yours. When you convinced me to save April Young's life at the prom...I realized that I could be a better person, and I'm grateful for that. So, let me give you some advice: take advantage of what I'm offering you. Make something of yourself. And for the record, anyone who leaves you behind is a fool. I wouldn't.

[Suddenly the front door opens and Katherine walks in.]


 * Katherine: What a beautiful sentiment.

[Damon enters the room.]


 * Damon: Seriously? You can't knock?


 * Katherine: Sorry. I didn't realize we were standing on formalities.


 * Rebekah: What the hell are you doing here?


 * Katherine: You didn't get the memo? I'm here to talk some sense into poor, emotionless Elena.


 * Matt: [to Damon] Are you out of your mind?


 * Damon: You got a better idea, prom king? Unless you want me to lock you up in there with her, I suggest you shut up. Let the adults handle this.

[Katherine and Damon leave the room. Matt gets up to go outside.]


 * Rebekah: Well, looks like the lunatics have taken over the asylum. Where are you going?


 * Matt: I'm calling Caroline. There's no way we're letting that psycho in there with Elena.

Woods
[Caroline's phone is on the ground buzzing with Matt's call. She wakes up after it stops, putting a hand to her chest - there's no stake there. She sits up and frantically runs through the woods when Matt appears out of nowhere and stops her. Caroline gasps in fright.]


 * Matt: Caroline! Where've you been?


 * Caroline: Matt, we have to get out of here.


 * Matt: No, Caroline, wait. It's okay.


 * Caroline: No, it's not okay. Silas is out there and he made me think that it was Klaus--


 * Matt: What are you talking about? What's Silas want with you?


 * Caroline: He's trying to get to Bonnie. Do you know where Bonnie is?


 * Matt: If I knew where she was, I wouldn't bother with you. [Matt/Silas grabs Caroline's throat.] Now get me Bonnie or I'm going to kill someone. Maybe I'll start with your mother.

[Matt/Silas releases Caroline roughly and she runs away from him. She runs up the stairs to a door into the boarding house but she runs smack into Klaus/Silas.]


 * Klaus/Silas: No one in the house can help you. Find Bonnie or I'll kill the person you love the most.

[Klaus/Silas tosses Caroline down the stairs and she falls, screaming. She gets up and vamp-runs to her car, pulling out her cell phone. It rings and her mom picks up.]


 * Sheriff Forbes: I know, I promised I wouldn't work too late-

[Caroline hurries into her car.]


 * Caroline: Mom, I need you to get home and lock all the doors right now.


 * Sheriff Forbes: What?


 * Caroline: Don't let anyone inside-- not even me because I have a key so I can let myself in. Do you understand?


 * Sheriff Forbes: What-- what's going on?


 * Caroline: Just do it, okay? I'm on my way.

[She hangs up and puts the car in reverse. She starts backing up but sees in her car's rearview camera a figure standing behind her. She slams on the brakes and turns her head to look out the rear window, but there's no one there. A shadow passes on front of the car right before Caroline whips back around to see the rearview camera's screen is still person-less. Suddenly Silas appears in his true form right outside her car door's window and she screams. Throwing the car into drive, she speeds out of the driveway.]

Salvatore Boarding House
[Katherine opens the door to the safe in the cell to reveal Elena sitting in it.]


 * Katherine: Oh, honey, you look awful.

[She pulls Elena roughly out of the safe. Elena is still weak and merely falls out onto the floor.]


 * Elena: What the hell are you doing here?


 * Katherine: Your boyfriends invited me. They wanna know if you still have a heart.

[Katherine grabs Elena, pushes her up against the wall and plunges her hand into Elena's chest cavity, grabbing Elena's heart.]


 * Katherine: There it is. Your bodyguards won't let me kill you, but I can rip your throat out so I don't have to listen to you whine.

[Katherine steadily lifts Elena up with her hand in her chest until she releases her and Elena's feet touch the ground again.]


 * Katherine: But first, satisfy my curiosity: what did you tell Elijah back in Willoughby?

[Katherine moves across the cell to wipe the blood off her hand with a towel.]


 * Elena: That's why you're here? He dumped you, didn't he? Now you're just looking for a scapegoat.

[Katherine approaches Elena once again.]


 * Katherine: Tell me what you said to turn him against me, or I will feed you your own eyeballs.

[As she says this she pulls on Elena's eyelid.]


 * Elena: I didn't have to say anything. Look at you: self-obsessed egomaniac on the run for five centuries. What good would you be to anyone? You're the definition of damaged goods. No wonder Elijah left you.


 * Katherine: Yeah, I've done some pretty horrible things to survive, but unlike you-[she pins Elena to the wall by the throat]-poor, delicate Elena, I don't turn it off. I deal with it. You wouldn't last a week as a vampire without everyone fawning over you.

[Katherine shoves Elena into the safe and locks it, but pauses with her hand resting on the lock.]


 * Katherine: But I'd love to see you try.

[She unlocks the safe and leaves the cell. Upstairs, Katherine tosses back a shot of bourbon and pours herself another while Damon sits on a sofa nearby.]


 * Katherine: All that pain and torture, I've worked up quite a thirst.


 * Damon: It didn't have anything to do with the fact that Elena called you out on your recent boy trouble, could it? Sorry, I couldn't help but overhear.


 * Katherine: Did you ever think Elena would've been better off if she'd never met you?


 * Damon: Are you trying to get a rise out of me? 'Cause my emotions are fine. I love Elena. I despise you.

[Katherine walks over to the sofa and sits next to Damon, placing her arm on top of its back behind him and playing with Damon's hair.]


 * Katherine: Mm, so romantic, so doomed to fail. You know, as soon as she goes back to her old self, she'll go straight to Stefan. That's the tragedy of you-- you never get the girl.

[Suddenly Stefan enters the room.]


 * Stefan: She's gone.


 * Damon: What?


 * Stefan: Elena's not in her cell. I'm gonna check the grounds. Find out what she did.


 * Katherine: Oops. Did I forget to lock her in? Let's just say I've lost interest in Elena's recovery. I'd rather watch her tear through an orphanage. Imagine trying to come back from a spiral like that.

[Matt walks into the room with Rebekah.]


 * Matt: Elena's gone? What happened?


 * Damon: Donovan, you're coming with me.


 * Rebekah: Why should he?


 * Damon: Because Elena's hungry and missing. For once, his life might actually have purpose.

[Damon summons Matt with a crook of his finger and Matt follows him out of the room.]

Forbes Residence
[Caroline is at her front door, talking on the phone while she unlocks it and lets herself in.]


 * Caroline: Bonnie, why aren't you answering? Silas isn't going to just give up. You're the only one that can stop him. Call me.

[She hangs up. Her mother steps into the hall.]


 * Sheriff Forbes: Caroline, what's going on?


 * Caroline: Mom, don't come any closer. Stop.


 * Sheriff Forbes: What's wrong?


 * Caroline: I don't know how to tell if it's really you. What if this is another trick? He can get in my head, and he would've known that I called you...


 * Sheriff Forbes: Okay, Caroline...it's me, it's your mother. I don't know what's happening, but everything's gonna be okay, all right? You just need to talk to me.

[Caroline says nothing but pulls out her phone and dials a number. It starts ringing, and a moment later the phone on Liz's belt starts ringing.]


 * Sheriff Forbes: [answering it] Hi, how's it going?

[Caroline breathes a sigh of relief and hugs her mom.]

Woods
[Elena shuffles weakly through the woods until she hears a car approaching behind her. She turns and waves her arms at it, loses her balance and falls to the ground as the headlights of the truck blind her. She shields her eyes as the driver gets out and walks toward her.]


 * Elena: Please, help-- [She sees that it's Matt.] Matt. Thank god you found me.

[Elena's face starts to vamp-out and she growls as she stands and moves toward him.]


 * Matt: Elena, stop. I know you don't wanna do this. I know you don't wanna hurt me.


 * Elena: I'm a vampire, Matt. The thing about vampires is that we need to feed.

[She moves aggressively toward him again, but Matt throws out his hands and backs up.]


 * Matt: No, but you're more than that! You're my friend! You're my oldest friend. You're the girl that I've loved longer than I can remember. Whatever wall you wanna put up, I know that still means something to you.

[The veins disappear from around Elena's eyes. She reaches out a hand to his face.]


 * Elena: Deep down, it probably does mean something. But I'm really hungry.

[Her face vamps-out once again and she sinks her teeth into his neck.]

Forbes Residence
[Caroline and her mom are sitting in the living room.]


 * Caroline: Bonnie hasn't called back yet. I just don't understand why she hasn't called.

[Someone rattles the front door handle, startling them both. Bonnie shouts through the door as Caroline gets up to go to it.]


 * Bonnie: Caroline!


 * Caroline: There you are.


 * Bonnie: What's going on? [Caroline pauses.] Are you all right?


 * Caroline: I've been calling you for hours.


 * Bonnie: I'm sorry. I came as soon as I got the message. [She continues to rattle the door handle.] Caroline, let me in. Let me help.


 * Caroline: How do I know it's you? Silas keeps getting in my head, attacking me. He says he wants to know where you are, he threatened my mother.

[Her mom comes into the hallway.]


 * Sheriff Forbes: Caroline?


 * Caroline: Mom, just stay there.

[Bonnie sees that the person Caroline thinks is her mom is actually a hooded figure. She starts rattling the handle more urgently.]


 * Bonnie: Caroline, that is not your mother!


 * Sheriff Forbes/Silas: What's going on?

[The front door finally flies open. When Caroline looks back again, she sees the hooded figure.]


 * Caroline: Oh, my god.


 * Silas: Did you really think you could hide from me, Bonnie?


 * Bonnie: I'm here now. What did you do to her mother?


 * Silas: She's right where you left her.

[Caroline's eyes widen and she runs from the hall.]


 * Caroline: Mom? [She sees her mom lying on the floor.] Mom!


 * Silas: I thought you and I were on the same side.


 * Bonnie: The full moon isn't for two more days. I've been gathering my strength, preparing myself.


 * Silas: You're the only one who can do the spell, so I can't hurt you, but I can hurt the people you love. You do understand that, right?


 * Bonnie: I understand. I will do your spell, I will drop the veil, and I will help you die, I promise. Just don't hurt my friends.

[In the other room, Caroline feeling for a pulse in her mother's neck, which is covered in blood. She bites into her wrist and holds the wound over her mom's mouth.]


 * Caroline: Oh, god. Please. Please, please, please...Mom.

[In the hallway.]


 * Silas: Your promise is binding, Bonnie. If you break it, you have to answer to me.


 * Bonnie: I won't break it.


 * Silas: Then you should leave this house right now. And the next time I come looking for you, I expect you to be waiting.

[In the living room.]


 * Caroline: Come on. Come on, open your eyes, Mom. You need my blood in your system, come on, Mom! Please Mom, wake up! Mommy! Mom!

[In the hall, as Caroline pleads with her mother in the next room, Bonnie and Silas leave the house.]

Woods
[Elena gives Matt, who is lying on the ground, a light kick with her foot.]


 * Elena: Oh, come on, I barely drained an artery.

[Matt's eyes open and he looks up at her blearily.]


 * Elena: Come on! Get up, I'm hungry. My head's fuzzy, I can't think straight. I need more.


 * Matt: [softly] Elena, stop.


 * Elena: But you're so good!

[She pulls him up off the ground with vampire speed, but Stefan arrives and pulls her off him. Matt sinks to the ground against the truck.]


 * Stefan: Hey, hey, you're cut off.


 * Elena: Let go of me!


 * Stefan: Stop it.

[Damon arrives and pulls Matt up off the ground.]


 * Damon: Enough! You are acting like a little spoiled brat, you know that? You think that we can't punish you. Maybe not. But I can sure punish him.


 * Matt: [weakly] Elena.


 * Elena: Seriously? You think this-


 * Damon: Shut up! I'm done playing nice. Turn your emotions back on right now, Elena, or so help me god, I will give you something to be sad about. I will kill him right here in front of you.


 * Stefan: Damon.


 * Damon: Don't "Damon" me. She doesn't love anyone? Fine. Prove it. And if I'm wrong, what difference does it make? One less busboy.


 * Matt: Elena.

[Elena and Damon stare each other down.]


 * Elena: You're bluffing.

[Damon snaps Matt's neck violently. Elena gasps loudly, her mouth hanging open in shock. She walks closer, her eyes glistening.]


 * Damon: How about now? You feel anything now? You angry I just turned your buddy into roadkill? Or are you sad that the guy that everybody loves is just a bag of bones? Remember when he was a little kid, huh? Warm heart, big goofy smile, his whole life ahead of him. I guess it was a good idea that he was wearing this.

[Damon kneels down and lifts Matt's hand - he's wearing the Gilbert ring. Elena falls to her knees and takes Matt's hand into her own, crying.]


 * Elena: Oh, my god, Matt.


 * Damon: You feel that weight lifting off your chest? That's joy, because your friend isn't dead. That's emotion, Elena. That's humanity.

[Elena is openly sobbing, tears streaming down her face.]


 * Damon: You're gonna be okay.


 * Elena: No...


 * Damon: Look at me.


 * Elena: No, no, no. It's not okay.


 * Damon: Elena.

[Elena gets up and Damon follows her.]


 * Elena: What have I done?


 * Damon: Hey, it's okay.

[Elena is pacing and grabbing at her head.]


 * Elena: No, no. What did I do? I-I almost killed him-Matt, I almost...And Bonnie, and Caroline, I just-

[Damon tries to put an arm around her but she pushes him away.]


 * Elena: No, no, I mean, that woman, the waitress, I actually killed that waitress--

[Stefan moves toward her but she resists.]


 * Elena: No, I killed that waitress!

[Elena punches through the window of Matt's truck, sending glass everywhere as Stefan and Damon try to restrain her. Stefan holds her arms on front of her.]


 * Stefan: Hey, hey, look at me, look at me. I know this stage, okay? The emotions are overwhelming you. You just have to focus on one thing, okay?


 * Elena: [crying] No, I can't, I can't--


 * Stefan: You just find that one thing inside of you that makes you strong. It's in there, just latch onto it. Channel everything you're feeling into that one emotion. Find the thing inside of you that makes you wanna live. Elena, let it in. Let it in.

[Elena calms down and stops sobbing. She seems to find a focus.]


 * Stefan: That's good. That's it. That's it, just breathe it in. Blow everything else out. That's good, that's good.

[Elena starts to yell in pain, clutching at her head, but only for a few seconds. Damon reaches a hand toward her.]


 * Damon: You okay?

[He smiles tightly.]


 * Elena: No. I'm not okay. But I'll get better.

[She walks away; the brothers watch her go.]

Forbes Residence
[Caroline is unpacking supplies from her mother's emergency medical kit. She pulls out a syringe.]


 * Caroline: Okay, this'll work.

[She jabs the needle into her own neck, draws her blood into it, then plunges it into her mom's chest, straight into her heart.]


 * Caroline: Mom? Mom? Open your eyes. Come on, wake up! You have to wake up! You have to see me graduate! [She checks her pulse again.] I swear we could just-I swear I'll get you out of this town, and find you a nice man, and...

[She sobs over her mom's hand. Suddenly her mom opens her eyes and starts coughing.]


 * Caroline: Mom! Are you okay?

[She pulls her up into a sitting position, then laughs with relief tinged with hysteria. They embrace.]

Salvatore Boarding House
[Matt gasps awake lying on a sofa, groans in pain and rubs his neck. Rebekah is seated on a sofa opposite him. Matt starts to sit up.]


 * Rebekah: I've never actually seen that ring in action before. Does it hurt?


 * Matt: You mean getting my neck snapped or coming back from the dead? 'Cause they both hurt like hell. Did it work?


 * Rebekah: Well, it looks like Elena's emotional floodgates have been burst wide open, so she'll be back to her dull, sympathetic self in no time. Here.

[She offers him a glass of water and he takes it.]


 * Rebekah: It was a brave thing to do.


 * Matt: She saved me from drowning at the bottom of that river. I'm just doing what I can to pay her back.


 * Rebekah: There aren't enough apologies in the world for the part that I played in this. Running you off the bridge, Elena becoming a vampire to save you. If you don't want me to cheat you into college, fine. We'll do it the hard way, but-- Matt, I will spend every day until graduation trying to find a way to pay you back.

[Matt smiles slightly, and Rebekah smiles back.]

Diner
[Katherine walks to a booth where Bonnie is sitting.]


 * Katherine: I am perfectly aware that tombstone isn't just a hunk of rock.


 * Bonnie: No kidding.


 * Katherine: And it got me thinking, all big spells require a source of power, a recurring element, like...a full moon, a comet. But that tombstone is filled with the blood of your ancient relative Ket-soo-yay or whatever.


 * Bonnie: Qetsiyah.


 * Katherine: She was powerful enough to create the Other Side, so maybe if you have her blood, you don't need a full moon to drop the veil. Maybe you can do it whenever you want. The thing I can't figure out is, why do you wanna drop the veil at all?


 * Bonnie: I have my reasons.


 * Katherine: And again I ask: what's in it for me?


 * Bonnie: You'll get the one thing you want most in this world: freedom. Survival. Never having to run from anyone again. Once I drop the veil, I can speak to Qetsiyah. She created the spell that made Silas truly immortal, invulnerable to any weapon. You'd like that for yourself, wouldn't you? I can give it to you.


 * Katherine: [smiling] Bonnie Bennett, we have a deal.

Salvatore Boarding House
[Elena sits near the fire when Damon approaches and wraps a blanket around her. Stefan is also in the room.]


 * Damon: Hey. Here you go. How you feeling?


 * Elena: The pain's still there...the grief and the shame. But I get it now. Shutting it off-- it's a cheat. I mean, you put up this wall and shut out everything that makes you who you are. Nothing affects you, nothing matters. But things do matter, things that happen that can't be undone. And now I know that there's something I need to do about that.


 * Stefan: Elena, what you need to do is rest. Take it easy for a couple of days. Maybe even a couple of years. Here.

[He offers her a glass of whiskey but she ignores it and starts folding up the blanket.]


 * Elena: I-- I'm done resting. I have to get ready. There's so much that I have to do.

[She starts to get up but Damon puts a hand out to stop her.]


 * Damon: Whoa, hey. What are you talking about?


 * Elena: Think about it. It's so obvious. Go back far enough, there's one person who brought us to this, who ruined our lives. Look at you two. Everything that's happened to you, she did that! She brought Klaus to Mystic Falls, she turned Caroline into a vampire-- she killed my brother. It all comes down to her. Katherine. Okay? Stefan said to focus on one thing, so I did. I focused on hate. And I hate her so much.


 * Damon: I don't think that's what he meant...


 * Stefan: Elena, Katherine's not worth your time. Even if you spend ten minutes of your life hating her, she wins.


 * Elena: Not if I kill her