NARRATOR: Previously on The Vampire Diaries:
-Silas. -Hello, my shadow self.
STEFAN: Every time I close my eyes...
...I can feel myself drowning in that safe...
...and I need to make it stop.
KATHERINE: My body is breaking down.
There is one enemy that I can never escape: time. Goodbye.
-What are you doing? -I'm dying of old age.
-Stefan-- -Hey, you're Katherine Pierce.
Suck it up.
The good news about having vampire blood in your system...
...is that's step one to creating a new vampire.
This is step two.
(YELLING)
He's gonna tear my head off. Elena, please.
CAROLINE: No! Jesse, just stay with me.
Caroline, I'm so sorry.
Why does it say "12144"?
-What do you care? -Because I was 21051.
You were an Augustine vampire?
(DAMON COUGHING)
I'm sure Augustine will be thrilled to have you back.
NEWSMAN (ON TV): And that's the state of the world from your hometown TV news station...
...on June 11th, 1953.
Good night, Mystic Falls.
DAMON: Hey.
I'm looking for Joseph Salvatore.
JOSEPH: You found him.
Love what you've done with the place.
If this whole boarding-house thing doesn't pan out...
...you can turn it into a high-class brothel.
I'm glad you got my telegram.
I haven't heard from Stefan, but I hope he'll be here soon.
-When was 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.
Well, there's always time to be a better man.
Yeah, not sure I got one of those in me.
(DAMON GRUNTS)
Sorry about the vervain, Damon. Money was too good to pass up.
(JOSEPH GRUNTS THEN GASPS)
Well, now I won't have to pay him.
(GROANING) Who the hell are you?
I'll be your doctor from now on.
(GROANING)
What are you doing to me?
Just a little vervain.
What the hell are you doing to me?
Vervain. To keep you calm.
Wes? Why am I here?
I lost a test subject last night.
And you're gonna replace him.
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 will 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.
What kind of sentimental idiot writes down everything they feel?
Is this what the prophecy meant when it said all the doppelgängers...
...were drawn together like magnets?
Because if it is, I want my money back.
I'm trying to make sure you don't slit your wrists.
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?
-I'm trying to make sure you don't kill yourself. -How?
Since you're still having your little panic attacks.
-I'm fine. -Yeah, of course.
You are the picture of mental health, Stefan.
After being locked in a safe...
-...at the bottom of a quarry. -I am dealing with it.
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?
So does this mean you want to live?
No, it means that I can't work with people who can't give me 100 percent.
(KNOCK ON DOOR)
And so I may have called for backup.
-What are you doing here? -I'm your sober sponsor...
-...and I heard that you needed help. -Really?
And I got my mom to drop off something for us to use.
Don't worry, I sanitized it.
(KNOCK ON DOOR)
-Aaron, hey. -Hey.
-So you heard? -Heard what?
That Jesse's dead.
He killed himself last night.
Uh, campus security came by to tell me.
Oh, my God.
I'm so sorry.
Yeah.
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.
I get it.
After everything you've been through, everything that you've lost...
...I would've wanted to start over too.
-How do you hit the reset button? -Me?
Uh, heh, 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.
So if you're not here about Jesse, uh, why are you here?
I don't wanna bother you, especially right now.
My day's not gonna get any worse, so, uh, go ahead.
Okay, well, um, last night you told me that Wes was your legal guardian.
Yeah, since, uh, this past summer.
After my Aunt Sara died.
You see what I'm talking about?
Everyone around me ends up dead.
My sunny disposition makes me so many friends.
I'm sorry.
Go ahead.
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 it kind of worries me, you know?
I know how bad the timing is, but I just....
I was hoping you could help me find Wes.
Yeah.
Yeah. Uh, I think I know a place that we can look.
Just so you know...
...it didn't end well for the last Augustines.
You're inviting bad karma in by holding me here.
Is that what you told Dr. Whitmore?
DAMON: Huh. Dr. Whitmore wasn't much for conversation.
As much as I would like a free checkup...
...you're gonna let me go.
That's a good try. I'm wearing vervain.
(DAMON GROANS)
You know, most people would buy me dinner first.
This isn't a personal matter, it's for the advancement of science.
-What the hell are you talking about? -You're a vampire.
Your blood heals others, your body heals itself.
You'll regenerate parts of internal organs after I remove them.
How I got this amazing body has nothing to do with science.
So running-- Aah!
(DAMON YELLING AND GRUNTING)
You talk too much.
I see you Augustine freaks are still at it.
Eye exams and that sort of thing.
Jesse was proof that my research goes far beyond that.
I trained him to crave vampire blood instead of human blood.
Now I'm ready to take my research to the next level.
It doesn't make sense why Jesse would kill himself.
So you believe what campus security told you?
Why, do you know something else?
Don't you think it's weird that both of your friends committed suicide...
...before the first semester was even over?
Yeah, of course I think it's weird.
I mean, Jesse loved it here. He had a huge crush on your friend.
And Megan had all these plans for her life.
Which is why none of this makes sense.
Aaron, look, I found Megan's body the night that she died.
She was murdered.
And Wes forged her death certificate.
-You saw her death certificate? -I did some digging.
Wes is part of something much bigger than anyone even realizes.
Let's find him first. I wanna hear his side of the story.
Oh. Um....
You know, when you said that Wes was probably doing research...
...I didn't realize it would be here.
-At Whitmore House. -Oh, yeah, this place is like his second home.
-Hmm. -What are you waiting for? Come in.
So who owns this place?
Not to sound like a douche, but technically, I do.
Yeah, it's part of the Whitmore trust I inherited when my parents died.
Yeah, don't hold that against me.
Usually, when people find out my name's Aaron Whitmore--
Hold on, your last name's Whitmore?
So you, like, own this school?
--that's what they think.
That's my dad.
Grayson Gilbert was one of the best doctors the Augustines ever had.
(ELENA GROANS)
AARON: What the hell?
I'm glad he didn't live to see this.
I spent three months drowning in this thing. What the hell were you thinking?
I was thinking...
...it's time for you to deal with the source of your PTSD.
You're not just sublimating your feelings about what happened to Jesse?
Feelings? What feelings would I have about my best friend...
...killing the guy I was crushing on?
He was out of control, and Elena did what she had to do.
No, Elena did what she thought she had to do.
Just like she also thought that Damon was good boyfriend material.
You see where I'm going with this?
Anyway, aren't you a drama major?
What do you know about PTSD?
Well, I know that you tried to deal with it your own way...
...and you failed.
So now...
...we're gonna try it my way.
You know that this is kidnapping, right?
-That was more like a tranquilizer. -Oh.
Okay. Uh, what is going on here, Wes?
I had to make sure Megan's death didn't draw attention to my work.
Oh, to your work? Your work?
You study infectious disease transmittal.
I study vampires.
-What? -They exist, Aaron.
And Elena Gilbert is one of them.
That syringe I used on her had vervain in it.
Think of it as an anti-vampire drug.
It's one of my safety measures.
Where did all this stuff come from?
This work has been going on for generations, in secret.
Your family pioneered it.
Your dad trained me in it.
And after your father died, the Whitmore trust continued to fund my research.
-Why didn't you ever tell me about this? -You never needed to know before now.
I meant to tell you this on your birthday.
This is what your family fought for...
...and believed in, Aaron. Consider it your legacy.
DAMON: Come on, Elena, wake up.
(GROANS)
Hey.
-Hi. -Damon? Are you--?
I'm fine.
Wes injected you with vervain.
Maybe when it wears off, we'll be able to break through these.
What the hell is going on? Why are you here? Why am I here?
Wes is carrying out the grand Augustine tradition:
Getting his kicks off vampire torture.
Did he tell you that?
He didn't have to.
I've been here before.
Someone in my family sold me out to the Augustines in 1953.
Every day, this nutjob, 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.
He kept me in this very cell.
Don't think I haven't appreciated the irony.
-How long were you here? -Five years, give or take.
Damon, how did you not go crazy?
Believe it or not, I made a friend.
(DAMON GRUNTS)
ENZO: Welcome.
Dr. Whitmore never gets tired of watching us vampires heal.
But he gives us one glass of blood per day...
...just enough to keep us alive.
Pick yourself up, soldier.
My name's Enzo.
He was a soldier in Europe during World War II.
How did he end up here?
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.
He'd been here for 10 years by the time I joined the party.
You're doing it wrong.
You're living for the moment.
-You need to live for the future. -What future?
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: Yeah.
I can see it.
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.
People are full of surprises.
Hey.
I am so, so sorry I got you caught up in this.
Hey. Hey.
Look at me.
Hey.
But I promise you...
...I will get you out of here.
Okay?
I'll get you out of here.
STEFAN: Caroline?
-Do you even know what you're doing? CAROLINE: Yes. Well, it's in my textbook.
Let me find it.
Have you two ever, um...? Ahem. You know.
No, I don't know.
Oh, come on, you know.
-Have you? -Oh, my God. Katherine....
Seriously? Ugh.
That wasn't exactly a yes or a no.
-We are friends. -Your loss. He's great in bed.
Oh, God. I'm so not listening to this.
Here. Okay, Stefan. Prolonged exposure therapy.
"In vivo exposure gradually introduces elements of prior trauma...
...e.g. physical objects, circumstances of duress...."
Okay, yeah, yeah. Got it, got it.
Stop talking. You're giving me a headache.
(PANTING)
Caroline? Caroline?
CAROLINE: I'm just trying to help Stefan understand--
KATHERINE: This book isn't helping.
I can't breathe.
(GASPING)
You are right about one thing, he needs to get over the root of his problem...
...because right now, the score is safe 1, Stefan 0.
So how do you help the guy who always comes to the rescue?
Stefan's a hero. It's who he is at his core.
He can't always come through for himself, but he can for everyone else.
I've got an idea.
(DAMON YELLS)
Damon, how did you survive all those years?
MAN (ON TV): We return to the season's most exciting....
DAMON: Enzo's friendship kept me alive.
He gave me a reason to hang onto my humanity...
You much of a sports fan, Damon?
DAMON: ...even when I thought I'd be a prisoner forever.
ENZO: No, neither am I.
Any other interests? Fine wines, travel, cars?
I'm partial to Jaguars, myself.
Convertibles. The kind you take on a Sunday drive to impress a pretty girl.
Ever done that?
-Once or twice. -Oh, come now, gotta be more than that.
Well, the girl I was trying to impress was more of a horse-and-carriage type girl.
What, just one girl?
Never met another one like her.
Well, fair enough.
(GROANS)
What about you?
Any pretty girls?
Ah, too many to count.
Actually, there was one.
Her name was Maggie.
Where'd you meet her?
Heh. Here, of all places.
She was working for Dr. Whitmore.
Charming.
Oh, she was. Very.
She was kind to me.
She used to sit here in the hallway, taking notes while she observed me.
That's how you fell for her?
Well, she was also stunningly beautiful.
Ah.
You have to understand, 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?
Yeah.
When she finally realized what was going on here...
...she couldn't bear it.
So she said she was sorry...
...and she left.
Well, you know, unh...
...never really would have worked, anyway.
You're a vampire, she's a human.
Relationship would have been doomed from the beginning.
You need a more positive outlook, mate.
(DOOR OPENS)
Who's next?
-21051, you seem to have more energy. -I take that as an insult.
I'm far more energetic than my neighbor, here.
-Can't believe you didn't notice. -I'll return, then.
(ENZO GRUNTING AND YELLING NEARBY)
(PATSY CLINE'S "WALKING AFTER MIDNIGHT" PLAYING ON RADIO)
(ENZO GROANING)
DAMON: Why are you doing this to us?
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.
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.
Points for optimism.
But unfortunately, Stefan doesn't even know this place exists.
But you were here for five years.
Yeah, and the first year I 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.
Yeah, but you did escape. How did you do it?
They let us out of the basement once a year.
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.
Half starved from living on a glass of blood a day.
Chained up like animals.
This shindig is where Dr. Whitmore got to show all of his Augustine friends...
...what he'd found in his research.
Mrs. Fell has generously offered her hand for the purpose of this demonstration.
Please observe.
DAMON: He let his guests drink from us...
...to demonstrate the healing power of vampire blood.
WHITMORE: Dermal layer is completely healed. No nerve damage, no muscular damage.
-See for yourselves. -Ha, ha.
But on the plus side, that's how Enzo came up with his plan.
Well, the thing about our daily ration of blood...
...is there'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 around again...
...that one vampire will be ready to fight.
-You sure that would work? -I'm sure I can only try it with your help.
We've just got to choose between us.
All right, Damon.
We're gonna play scissor-paper-stone to decide.
Paper covers rock.
All right, then, a win's a win, you'll lead the way.
Here's my ration.
Now, we've got 364 days to get you ready for the party.
Cheers.
DAMON: Cheers.
So did it work?
More or less.
How did you get out?
Doesn't matter, Elena.
I got strong, I got out.
Wasn't pretty, all you need to know.
Here, another birthday present.
This belonged to your great-grandfather.
It's a safety precaution for use in vampire research.
Anna Ruby Campground. That's where my parents died.
WES: I know.
It wasn't an animal attack, was it?
I found them, Aaron.
I found you next to their bodies.
As soon as I saw them, I knew that vampires had attacked them.
Ugh.
That's why I continued your father's work.
So this could never happen again.
I hope you'll join me.
(WES GROANING)
KATHERINE: So try not to be mad at me.
(MOANS)
I got in here while you were unconscious.
Then Caroline locked us inside.
It was the only way.
Let me out of here. Caroline!
(BANGING)
I know it's a little extreme.
But the baby-steps approach wasn't working.
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.
(GASPING)
Caroline, get me out of here before I hurt her.
That's the whole point, Stefan.
You need to get over your PTSD triggers.
Okay? Or else you will kill me.
You're risking your life.
I'm already dying, you idiot. You're the one who wants to keep me alive.
It's my turn to help you now.
I can't be in here. Please.
You're Stefan Salvatore. Suck it up.
No. No. No.
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.
You don't wanna know, Elena.
Why? Do you think that I'm gonna judge you?
Damon, I love you.
I love you and these people tortured you for five years.
Whatever you had to do, I don't care.
All right.
The Augustines' next party was in 1958.
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.
Ladies and gentlemen, as it is almost midnight, I think it fitting...
...we toast the new year with a glass of vampire blood.
Wouldn't you agree?
(BONES CRACKING AND DAMON GRUNTING)
Now you see it.
(SCREAMING)
(GUESTS SCREAMING AND SHOUTING)
MAN: Run! Run!
(MAN YELLS)
Damon, we gotta get out of here.
Damon, now! Let's go.
(SIZZLING) (DAMON & ENZO GRUNTING)
DAMON: Vervain.
Come on, pull, you can do it.
Enzo trusted me with his life.
The fire was getting out of control. I would've burned or they would have captured me.
There's no way I would've ever gotten another chance to escape.
So I chose to save myself.
(BOTH GRUNTING)
Damon.
I'm sorry, Enzo.
Damon, please.
Then I knew if I was gonna save myself I had to stop caring about Enzo.
So I turned off my emotions.
No, no, don't leave me here.
Don't go. Please!
Damon!
DAMON: And I left my friend to die.
Please, don't leave me! Damon!
Damon!
Damon! Damon!
After that, everything was fine.
(DAMON SIGHS)
Everything was fine.
-How's it going in there? STEFAN: I can't breathe.
(PANTING)
I feel like I'm dying.
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 about the fact that she chose Damon over you...
...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.
(KATHERINE GASPS)
I'm gonna kill you.
Good. Yeah, get it all out, Stefan. I think this is healthy
Although, don't forget you loved me before you hated me.
Any reason you chose to have this conversation with me locked in a safe?
Yes. So that I could show you that the safe isn't the problem.
How could you say that to me?
The problem is you're not facing your real issues.
The death that 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 into the present, shall we?
In this moment...
...are you going to feed on me...
...or are you going to save my life?
Fight it, Stefan.
Fight it.
I'm here.
I'm with you.
We're together.
It was so quiet, I got worried.
See? You made it out alive.
-What the hell is this place? ELENA: Aaron?
Great, mini-Wes.
I had no idea what Wes was doing. I didn't know there was a basement.
-You have to help us. -I wanna know the truth.
When you met me at Megan's memorial, you asked me a bunch of questions.
(BULLET CLANGS)
Slick hands, cowboy.
Well, I've never used a gun before. And I've never killed anyone, either. Unlike you.
What are you talking about?
Wes said a vampire killed Megan.
-And you thought it was Elena? -No.
Megan was inside this house. I hadn't even been invited yet.
Wes also said that a vampire killed my parents.
-Maybe that was you too. -No. Aaron, that's impossible, I--
-Why would you be so interested in me? DAMON: Calm down.
Why would you pretend to be my friend?
-She's a vampire. -Not the one that killed your parents.
That was all me.
What did you just say?
-Start talking. -Damon, what are you doing?
In 1958, after the fire, Enzo was dead.
So I had to take all my revenge plans solo.
DAMON: Yeah, I see it. I can see it.
After I take out the entire Augustine society, I'll kill every member of the Whitmore family.
Boo. I said use your imagination.
Except one person.
I'll let that person grow up.
And start a family.
And then I'll start killing Whitmores again.
And 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.
That's exactly what I did.
How many Whitmores have you killed?
Since 1958?
I lost count.
When was the last one?
Damon, when was the last one?
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.
-But we were together a few months ago. -Starting the summer of our lives.
I had no idea.
Told you it wasn't pretty.
No!
A little help here!
I mean, I know I'm a vampire, but this thing is really heavy.
Stefan?
Hello?
You know, for the record, I, uh, only broke one of these.
It was an ugly chair. You're better off without it.
STEFAN: So I guess you were right all along.
It was easier for me to focus on my physical pain than the breakup.
I need to move on.
So you admit it.
I do know what I'm doing.
To be honest with you, I never know exactly what you're doing, Katherine.
Well, Stefan...
...sometimes I don't either.
Like right now.
For example.
Hey, Elena, uh, I'm probably gonna stay at my mom's tonight.
I think I am officially homesick.
So I'll let you know when I'm--
(MOANING AND PANTING NEARBY)
KATHERINE: Stefan.
Oh, my God.
Call me as soon as you get this.
I'm sorry you had to find out about your parents like this.
I found out that I've been lied to my entire life.
What the hell is going on? Are their friends gonna come after me?
-I mean, do I need to drop out? WES: You'll be fine.
Just go to school, live your life. Talk to you soon.
(GROANING)
Oh. Guess I had that coming.
Elena.
Elena?
Elena? Elena?
(MAN HUMMING PATSY CLINE'S "WALKING AFTER MIDNIGHT")
(ELENA GRUNTING)
What's happening?
MAN: Ah.
Welcome.
I'm 12144.
My name is Enzo.
(CONTINUES HUMMING)
ENZO (SINGING): Out in the moonlight
Just like we used to do
I'm always walkin'
After midnight Searchin' for you ght