Chapter 6 ━━ Badass Witch Is Back!

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Bonnie is doing the locator spell for the Ascendant inside the boarding house since she needs time to do the spell alone, while Damon makes paper aeroplanes out of the newspaper and throws them in the front yard. 

Lorna is trying to do a simple spell to gain her magic back, sitting on the porch and Kai is just sitting next to her, watching her do the spell. There are feathers spread all over the floor around them.

"Ocoros Mecante, Aleora Subsitos. Olo Santire, Dis Et Brav."

She sighs as she realises that it hasn't worked. "It doesn't feel right. Maybe these magic chants have expired?"

Damon drops the newspaper on the floor. "Maybe you're just out of practice and you suck at magic now."

"Ignore him, Lorna. Pretend he's a white-noise machine. That's how I used to tune out my siblings. I grew up with a ton of little sisters and brothers. You know, all of them constantly yammering." Kai comes closer to her. "But it taught me how to focus." He leans directly into her face like he's about to kiss her where she freezes at her spot. God.

"Easy there, big brother! She doesn't know you. At least buy her a drink." Damon intertwines, making Kai crack a smile.

Lorna closes her eyes and calms herself down. She takes a deep breath and opens her eyes, before starting to chant the spell.

"Ocoros Mecante, Aleora Subsitos. Olo Santire, Dis Et Brav."

"I think you should listen to Taylor Swift. Shake it off." Damon mocks. "You're better as a vampire than a witch, yeah?"

When she is about to give up, suddenly a feather levitates in front of Damon, giving her hope and a bright smile. Then she uses her magic to levitate several more.

"Oops! Looks like the badass witch is back!" Damon watches on with shock and amazement as Kai smirks at the blonde.

Zach is throwing an eclipse party at the boarding house. Damon is talking to Liz Forbes, who is showing him a picture of baby Caroline.

"May I call you Liz?" Damon asks her.

"Sure." Liz smiles.

"Your daughter is so adorable." Damon says looking at the picture of the small blonde girl.

Liz giggles. "Yeah, Caroline's high maintenance, but she's worth it."

Near them, Zach takes a Polaroid picture of Gail.

"I'm so getting rid of that photo! Stefan, come, take a picture of Zach and me." Gail requests Stefan.

"Sure." Stefan nods.

"Thanks, Stefan." Zach thanks him and Stefan takes the camera from Zach and snaps a photo of the two of them together.

"And now, back to my cravings." Gail grabs a cupcake off of a table and peels the wrapper off as Zach mingles with the rest of the guests where Stefan notices two distinct puncture wounds on her arm.

"Hey, what happened to your wrist?" Stefan asks her.

Gail looks confused. "...I don't know."

Damon is still talking to Liz nearby, and Stefan notices them, realising Damon fed on her and compelled her to forget. Liz is holding a device in her hand.

"So, how does this thing help us watch the eclipse?"

Damon takes it from her. "You put it in between you and the thing that is too hot to look at." He puts it between Liz and himself. "Ah, it works."

Liz laughs. "My husband would get a kick out of you. We should invite over for dinner sometime."

"Damon? What did you do to Gail?" Stefan interrupts them.

"Is everything okay?" Liz asks.

"Looks like the jig is up." Damon compels Liz. "Hey, look at me. Go home. Forget you ever met us."

Stefan yanks his arm and drags him aside. "How the hell did you feed on Gail? She's on vervain."

Damon scoffs. "Yeah, in her coffee. I swapped it out last week. Same for Zach."

Stefan sighs. "These people are my friends. Zach is family. They trust me."

"And they'll trust us both! Look, no feeding inside the house, right? Snatch, eat, erase. It's all completely functional, Stefan. I told you, it's a new start!"

Damon turns to walk away, and Stefan snaps his neck before he can leave.

They're inside the Salvatore boarding house watching Bonnie, who is still working on the spell with a map of the entire United States. As she does the spell, Kai's blood travels across the length of the country.

"Phasmatos Tribum, Nas Ex Veras, Sequitas Sanguinem. Phasmatos Tribum, Nas Ex Veras, Sequitas Sanguinem." Bonnie chants.

"The spell's moving towards Virginia. That can't be right." Kai says.

"Mm-mm, the spell's working. It's showing me Mystic Falls. It feels so... close." Bonnie turns toward Kai and holds up her hand. The candles' flames intensify around them. "It's right here."

As soon as she touches Kai's chest, the candles' flames go out completely. Kai reaches into his pocket and pulls out the real Ascendant, which is made of silver and gold-coloured metal. "Very good."

"That's the Ascendant?" Lorna asks.

"The one and only." Kai says.

"Thanks for the mind games, jackass." Damon speaks.

"It was just another little test. To make sure Bonnie's magic was precise enough for the spell. I do believe you're ready. Pack your bags - we're going home." Kai announces.

Lorna smiles brightly at the mention of going home. That means she's going to meet Stefan once again!

Damon awakens on the floor of a shed after healing his snapped neck. He lifts his head to see Stefan leaning against the doorway and groans.

"So, here's what I don't get, Damon. Why'd you insinuate yourself back into my life and then cheat, and lie, and break all the rules?" Stefan asks with a disappointed voice.

"Well, one, because I knew you'd be mad. Believe it or not, I like being here, Stefan." Damon stands up and staggers toward Stefan, but when he comes into contact with the daylight, his hand starts to burn.

"OW! Ahhh!"

"You get your daylight ring back when you decide to behave. Now, answer my question: Why did you come back here?" Stefan questions.

"Because I missed my brother. I want to have a connection to my humanity, Stefan. I wanted to feel something again. And when I decided to come back home, it all came rushing back, just like I hoped it would." Damon answers

"Oh, congrats. Now what?" 

Damon groans. "Come on, man. Let's just hit the road, you and me, huh? I'll let you drive my car, I'll get you off this vegan diet, teach you how to feed again. It'll be great, Stef. Huh? What do you say? Come on! Trust me."

"Yeah, I can imagine a road trip with you. I can imagine you feeding on innocent people and, uh, leaving a trail of bodies behind. I can imagine you making me drink human blood, and laughing at me while I suffer." Stefan says in his serious face.

Damon rolls his eyes. "Way to be an optimist, Stefan."

"Just looking at the facts, Damon. 1912, you convinced me to drink human blood again, which is why I became a Ripper. In 1942, you almost pushed me off the rails again because you were so damn needy. 1977, you left my best friend to die after I sent her to come to help you. And now, I'm finally happy. I have a new life, I'm doing well, and, uh, you just can't handle that, can you, Damon?" Stefan asks.

"I'm not trying to screw up your dumb new life." Damon says.

"You don't have to try, Damon. All you have to do is exist. Because no matter what I do or where I go, you will be with me forever, trying to destroy every single thing that I've built. I don't know why I thought this time would be any different. I wanted it to be different. You just keep failing." Stefan sighs.

"Guess that's a no on the road trip, huh?" Damon asks.

"That's a NO on the road trip." Stefan confirms.