Thanksgiving was already around the corner.

"So, Caroline invited us to a 'Friendsgiving' thing at the Salvatore House," said Vivianna, coming over to Kai and holding up an invitation. "We're assigned to bring dessert."

"Huh?" said Kai, poking his head out from the kitchen. "Who assigns something for us to bring? Honestly, I expected her to tell us to cook the entire meal."

Vivianna shrugged. "I don't know. Point is, we're bringing dessert. The others who were invited are gonna provide the others stuff. We have a few days to figure out what we're gonna make and how long it's gonna take to make it. This is kind of our big cooking debut, so..."

"Well, I can make apple and pumpkin pie from scratch," said Kai. "You should whip up a Czech dessert or something."

She raised a brow. "I know I have Czech blood and speak the language, but I wasn't exactly raised on those traditions. I don't know any Czech desserts. Even less how to make them."

"Perfect time to connect with your roots, then. See how good an online recipe turns out."

"Woah, woah, woah, if we're gonna show them our kitchen skills for the first time, I'm not sure I want to rely on an online recipe that I've never tried before."

"You said it yourself, Vivi, we have a few days before Thanksgiving. Why not find one today and practice it?"

"Did you forget our big mission that's happening tomorrow? We're going into the 1903 prison world... I don't exactly have time to practice anything. Tomorrow, there's that, then the day before Thanksgiving, I'm breaking the Gemini Merge Curse."

Kai nodded. "Okay, then I'll take care of dessert. You be badass and focus on your spell."

She grinned, and he narrowed his eyes. "You didn't want to cook in the first place, did you?"

"I would have been fine if we were asked for an actual dish. When it comes to dessert... you're better. And if there's a cooking mishap, we can blame you, entirely."

"You're not getting sex for a week because of that comment."

"It's okay, I can cope. We've been doing it every other day anyway. You're the one that said it's a good workout."

"Hey, you're the one that wanted to test the tea out."

"The tea's working great, we know that. Last time, my period was done and over with in one day. No cramps whatsoever. Then this month, no bleeding, no pain. This is the best fucking birth control I could have ever asked for."

"One major question I have," said Kai as she started preparing herself a snack. "How didn't you know about this earlier?"

"Travelers don't use herbs in magic. That's all Traditional, I couldn't hope to incorporate that into any spell. I don't know herbal remedies the way you witches do. It's gonna be a lot to learn once I'm able to do Traditional Magic. Speaking of... any progress on that spell?"

Kai winced. "I'm not as good at spell-writing as you. I have like, a rough idea of how it can be broken, but I'm not entirely sure it's gonna go down well. We're talking about changing the way you do magic. The way your body inherently allows you to exhibit your abilities. Sociopathy seems a lot easier to remove from the mind. And the Gemini Merge Curse is a lot simpler than this. You understand how the Merge Curse was made in the first place. But I have nothing to go off of so that I can help you do Traditional Magic. It's gonna take time. Maybe til Christmas."

"Well, I think I can manage until then," said Vivianna. "It'll be my present." She winked, kissing his cheek. "So, it's all finalized. Your plan for when we're in 1903 was reviewed by the Salvatores, Bonnie, and Elena, and they're all on board. Thing is, they want to bring in some extra muscle in case the Heretics prove to be a problem. We're talking about six vampire-witch hybrids. A Traveler, a siphoner, a Bennett witch, and two vampires aren't gonna cut it against those six. We're betting that Lily Salvatore might believe right away that the boys are her kids, but in the event she has doubts... well, we want to be safe."

Kai pursed his lips. "Well, who else do they want to bring?"

"So... Luke, Liv, and Jo have to stay with the Ascendant in this world. Alaric is obviously gonna be there for moral support. But they're thinking Tyler Lockwood might be someone to bring. He's strong, and he has a personal connection to Liv. I guess Damon's paranoid Luke and Liv might leave us behind like they did when this all went down in the first place. Luke made Liv stop her spell, and so Damon, Bonnie, and I ended up in 1994."

"But you don't seem to want that."

Vivianna wrung her hands. "I haven't crossed paths with Tyler Lockwood at all since... he was hosting my brother. And I know I would've had to see him at Thanksgiving. I was mentally preparing for that. But now I have to see him sooner. I'm not sure how I feel about that."

Kai hummed. "What if we have him and Liv come by tonight? Before we go on our mission. Give me a chance to bond with my sister, and give you a chance to kind of... dissociate Tyler from Julian."

Vivianna gulped. "Well... that's better than any idea I could have. So let's do it."

Kai ended up making New York style steak, while Vivianna put together a salad and some baked potatoes. At exactly seven o'clock, Liv and Tyler knocked on their door.

"We brought cheesecake," said Liv, stepping inside more comfortably than Tyler. After all, she'd been spending nearly every day there. "Um... Kai... Vivianna... this is Tyler."

"Hi," said Kai, who'd of course already met him. He shook his hand, then turned to watch as Vivianna slowly approached Tyler.

"Hey," she murmured, waving, and quickly taking the cheesecake from Liv before darting into the kitchen.

The two siblings and the wolf all shared a look, before Kai gestured toward the living room. "Let's relax over here for a bit."

"She looks terrified, Kai," whispered Liv when they heard Vivianna starting to set the table (loudly). "Are you sure we should be here?"

"I think she needs the closure," said Kai. "Besides... well, she agreed to it."

"Look, man," said Tyler, "I don't want to butt into your relationship, but are you sure she didn't just agree to it because she didn't want to make you mad or something?"

"Tyler," said Liv in a warning tone.

"Our relationship isn't like that," said Kai, blinking several times. "I... I really don't think she would have said it just to keep me happy. I don't get mad at her. I can't, really. I started to feel things for her before I stopped being a sociopath. It doesn't make sense in my head to ever get mad at her."

"I'm guessing she thought she'd be ready for it," murmured Liv. "But she's actually not."

"Dinner's ready," said Vivianna from the kitchen.

The three walked in, finding that she was already seated, starting to pile things into her plate so she wouldn't have to look up.

"This is some great steak," said Tyler once they started to eat. He had absolutely no clue how one should go about seeing the sister of the man who briefly inhabited him. "Where did you uh, get the recipe?"

"Prison world," said Kai between bites. "Found a cookbook, had a whole trial and error phase with it until I realized the exact ingredients I should be adding to give it this really rich flavor."

"Usually, I prefer them more medium," said Tyler. "Being a wolf and all. But this... medium well, almost well, it's actually really fucking good."

"Vivi prefers it almost completely well-done," said Kai, eyes flickering over to Vivianna, who was still staring at her plate. "So um, Tyler, what are you actually studying at Whitmore?"

Tyler managed a weak laugh. "I'm not really studying anything specific. Just taking a few interesting classes. Playing football and lacrosse to tire myself out."

"If running at four in the morning was a sport, he'd be doing that, too," mentioned Liv. "Um... Vivianna... are you gonna enroll soon?"

"I don't know," she said in a small voice. "I'm... I'm sorry, I can't do this." She left her plate where it was and rushed to her room, slamming the door shut behind her.

"Let me go and check on her," said Kai. "Sit tight." He got up quickly, and went in, finding her sitting on the bed, holding a pillow, and sobbing.

"Vivi," he said gently. "I'm sorry... I shouldn't have pressured you into doing this."

"You didn't pressure me," she said miserably. "I thought I was ready. I thought enough time had passed. But I didn't— I didn't really get to grieve either of them properly. With Maria, I guess it was different. I didn't watch her die. I didn't have to see her in pain. She and I were close, but she wasn't in my life as much as Julian had been. I had to... I had to get over it all so quickly because we had to survive and I couldn't afford to break down."

"You don't have to bottle it up anymore," said Kai, kneeling in front of her and taking one of her hands. "Let it out. Vivi, just let it out."

She brought the pillow up, covering her mouth hard to muffle the scream she let out, before leaning forward so that Kai could wrap his arms around her. He rubbed her back gently, before sitting up, and tucking his hand under her legs so that he could cradle her properly.

"It's okay," he whispered. "I'm right here, I've got you."

"My brother is dead," she whimpered. "He's dead and he never got to meet you, never got to see how happy you make me. He and Maria never got to have kids. Julian's never gonna be here to be an uncle if we have kids... I've missed him so much. I didn't get to say goodbye. I never got to..."

"You can say goodbye," said Kai, stroking her hair. "I'm sure Tyler won't object... he was the owner of the last face your brother wore. He can come in here, close his eyes, and let you say your goodbyes."

She nodded. "Y-Yeah... I'd really like that."

Kai let go of her briefly in order to go to the kitchen, and explain to Tyler what he needed him to do.

In the room, Vivianna was staring at the wall, reliving her last memory of her brother.

Markos had smiled at them. "That's because you haven't set foot inside my kingdom." He faced the woman beside him. "The spell the Travelers cast across Mystic Falls eliminates spirit magic, so while my people continue to have access to the Earth's purest magic, your friend Tyler will be stripped of everything the witches did to him, first his hybrid side, then his vampirism, and with no vampirism to keep him alive, he'll just be a boy with a werewolf gene, who happened to break his neck."

Realizing what was going to happen, both Vivianna and Julian started to scream. But while being restrained, they were no match for the Travelers who were now forcing Julian over the border. Vivianna let out a horrified screech as she watched her brother's host body die, and screamed once more when she was thrown at Markos's feet.

He slammed his boot into her face to kick her down. "Let that be a lesson to you. You are not welcome to live with us. You may live, and suffer, and remember what you've done." He chuckled. "Of course, you likely won't live very long. The witches will overpower a lone Traveler easily. And, of course, by yourself... your magic will be quite limited. So limited, in fact, that you'll be reduced to being a mere human within a few years. Enjoy your misery, Vivianna."

"Vivianna?"

She looked up as Tyler entered the room. She quickly brought up her sleeve to wipe her eyes and cleared her throat as he came to sit next to her, letting his head hang a bit once he closed his eyes. He offered her his hand, and she took it hesitantly.

She started to speak in Czech, for the sake of keeping her message private, since this wasn't actually Julian.

"I remember how we used to fight when we were younger," she said. "I remember how we used to be jealous of the attention the other would get from our parents. I remember one of your first spells with Traveler Magic was to make a slide over the stairs so that I wouldn't have to walk down them. And I remember the day that our parents died, you promised me you were always going to be there, in ways they would no longer be able to."

She started to sniffle. "You promised you'd walk me down the aisle. You promised you'd be there the day I graduated from college. You promised you'd throw me my bachelorette party and have it be full of strippers and booze. I recall that when I asked you why you'd have strippers, you said they'd actually be for you, and not for me.

"And you promised that when the time came, you'd be there to help me start my own family. You said that you'd help me find a place to live. You'd help me get furniture. You'd always be there to babysit if I needed a break from motherhood. And now, I'm going to have to do it all without you. At least I learned to be a good cook from Maria. But there was so much you still had to teach me. There was so much our parents taught you that I was too young to remember. You were supposed to pass that along. And now you're not here. And I don't know how to cope.

"I want to be so, so angry that you're gone. But I can't help but feel happiness, knowing that you and Maria aren't separated, even in death. I feel happiness knowing you both likely found peace together. And maybe are even watching over me right now. I miss you, Julian. I want more than anything for you to be here right now. But I know I can get through it. Because I had you for twenty-two years. And now, it's your turn to relax."

She looked over at Tyler, who had opened his eyes once he sensed she was done talking. He opened his arms, offering to hug her, and she leaned in, resting her head on his shoulder, and taking several deep breaths as he rubbed her back.

"Thank you," she told him. "For giving me a chance to say goodbye. I needed that."

"I know I'm not your brother," he said. "But Liv is probably gonna be your sister-in-law soon. And considering how things are going between her and me... I might be a part of that family, too. If you ever need to talk... I'm here for you. Just know that."

_

That had definitely improved her mood for the mission the next day.

"This world was made in October," said Kai, once everyone had gathered in the woods of Mystic Falls. "It was cold. Snowy. So I'm pretty sure the jackets are a good idea. Everyone has one, right?"

They nodded, starting to slip them on.

"Remember the plan," said Stefan, looking around to make sure everyone understood. "As soon as we get in there, Elena's booking it to Nova Scotia. Kai and Bonnie need to find the new Ascendant. Vivianna, Tyler, Damon, and I are going to start looking for my mom, Valerie, and the other Heretics. Chances are, they're in Mystic Falls, since my mom knew the house would be there. But we aren't completely sure. They could have gone their separate ways. We're not staying in there too long. Just the time it takes for Elena to come back with the cure. Whoever isn't back by then, in terms of the heretics, isn't gonna get out with us. So we gotta hope they're all together."

They nodded. Liv, Luke, and Jo linked hands, the Ascendant in Kai's palm. Bonnie used a small knife to cut into her hand, letting her blood drip over it. From there, everyone who was going in put their hand under Kai's. Jo put hers on his shoulder, instead, since she and the twins were sustaining the spell from the outside.

"Sangiema meam et nos mundo carcerema," chanted Bonnie quietly, before the Parker witches joined her. "Sangiema meam et nos mundo carcerema."

There was a fuckton of snow.

They appeared in a clearing in the forest, with snowflakes falling all over them. Obviously, Kai's first instinct was to tilt his head back, sticking his tongue out to catch the snowflakes.

"Isn't this a picturesque slice of hell?" muttered Damon as Stefan, Tyler, and Vivianna looked around, taking in their surroundings.

"Be back in around twenty-two hours," said Elena, before zipping off.

"Let's get started on the Locator Spell," said Bonnie, extracting a map of 2012 Mystic Falls and setting it over the snow. "If we're lucky, the Ascendant will be in the same place as the Heretics."

Stefan led the way toward the old Salvatore House once Kai and Bonnie had knelt down, starting to chant.

"Definitely don't feel too great being back here," muttered Damon once they approached the estate. "Too many bad memories."

"Let's just hope we don't have to be here too long," said Stefan, opening the door for them.

The lamps were lit inside the house, which seemed to be a good indication that someone was living here. They heard nothing outright, and simply crept from the entrance hall into the foyet, where a fire was burning.

"Oh, great," said Damon, going over to the mantle, where there were pictures of him and his brother when they were kids. "Nice to see she kept these up."

"I'm taking these," said Stefan, grabbing the pictures and putting them in his pocket.

"What for?" asked Tyler curiously.

"Because Elena and Caroline aren't here," said Stefan. "And I think they'd like to have these."

"So, you and Caroline?" asked Vivianna, tilting her head.

Stefan blushed, as if not wanting to say anything in front of Tyler. "It's okay, man," said the wolf. "We're not together anymore. Speaking of, why didn't she want to come?"

"She's doing me a gigantic favor with Enzo," said Stefan. "He's been bothering someone I happen to want to keep safe, and she agreed to pitch in."

"Are you sure it doesn't have anything to do with V-Card Val?" asked Damon, wiggling his eyebrows.

"Is that heretic girl the first woman you slept with?" inquired Tyler.

Stefan turned even redder. "Um... well, yeah. Caroline didn't have a problem with that. She knows it was a very minor thing before I even turned."

"Sure," said Damon. "Control freak Caroline definitely didn't have an issue with it."

"Can we focus?" said Vivianna. "If your mother is here, where might she be? Her old room, or something? If the heretics are still up and about, they may have put up Silencing Spells for privacy. That may be why no one's approached us."

There was a shuffling sound outside, and the door opened. They all got in defensive positions, before seeing it was just Bonnie and Kai.

"Ascendant's somewhere in this house," announced Kai. "Which means the heretics are probably here, too."

"Then why hasn't anyone come up to us?" asked Tyler. "Wouldn't they at least be able to sense they're not alone?"

The door opened again, and they all turned to see a woman walking in, holding firewood. She looked incredibly confused until her eyes fell on the two Salvatore brothers.

"Damon?" she whispered. "Stefan?"

Damon's eyes widened in shock. He hadn't been expecting her to recognize them. "Hello, mother," he said.

Lily slowly moved closer, before dropping the firewood into a nearby bin. "You look so grown up," she mentioned, though there was a clear hesitation when she reached her hand out for them to shake. "Would you all like some tea?"

"Um, sure," said Stefan, not wanting to be rude.

She smiled, and went into the next room, returning with a kettle full of water and a tray filled with teacups and saucers. She took the firewood, and started a proper fire before placing the kettle inside to start boiling the water.

She laid the teacups and saucers out, and returned to the kitchen to fetch some tea bags, which she counted before setting on the tray.

"There was a time I marked days on a calendar," she told them, once she started pouring the water into the cups. "I gave up after a few years, but, judging by your bizarre attire..."

"You've been in here for a long time," said Stefan, sitting right beside his mother. Damon sat on the other side of his brother, while the others piled onto a nearby couch. "Over a century."

"Yeah, we would have come by sooner, but we thought you were safe and sound in the family crypt," said Damon with a fake smile. "My bad."

"Technically," said Lily, dipping a tea bag into each cup, "I did die in 1858, after a nurse in the TB ward fed me vampire blood."

Damon held up his hands. "And you never thought to stop by and clear things up?"

"So," interrupted Vivianna, sensing the tension. "Lily, why don't you give us your version of what got you in here?"