"Who are you?" Enzo asked, completely stunned by what he had just seen.
It was one of the most brutal massacres he had ever witnessed in his hundred-something years of life.
"We are the Bennett Clan," Bonnie said proudly, making the family name clear, "the American branch."
Enzo looked at Bonnie, his mouth falling open.
"Beautiful..." he said in shock.
"Thank you?" Bonnie smiled at him, a little awkwardly.
"Do you want to go back to the cage?" Nik asked, his eyes narrowing with a promise of violence.
"Sorry, I didn't know you were married," Enzo apologized awkwardly, looking at Nik with a guilty expression.
"I'm not, the idiot is my overprotective brother," Bonnie replied with a laugh, punching Nik in the arm.
"Owww," Nik whined dramatically.
"Shut up, you're a vampire, something like that doesn't even hurt you," Bonnie raised her fist at him, then looked back at Enzo and smiled. "By the way, my name is Bonnie, and I'm single."
She winked at him, and Enzo blushed.
As a man who had been captured long ago and hadn't lived through the modern era, it was very strange for him to see a woman taking the initiative.
--++---
Meanwhile, in the school infirmary, Rebekah was holding Tyler by the throat while Elena and her group stood in shock.
Damon tried to fight Rebekah, but had all the bones in his body broken and was now regenerating on the floor.
At that moment, he realized once again that either Elijah had been holding back in every beating he gave them… or Rebekah was older or more powerful than Elijah.
He honestly didn't want to know.
"So Nik, I think to create more hybrids you need to use the doppelgänger's blood," Rebekah said with a smile.
"I think you're right, sister," Klaus replied, forcing Tyler to drink his blood before snapping his neck.
Stefan stood to the side, extremely tense. He had tried in every possible way to prevent Klaus from discovering Elena was alive, but failed.
Unfortunately, Klaus had found out, and luckily, Rebekah had the idea that creating hybrids required Elena's blood.
Tyler woke up, and Klaus looked at him.
"So what are you going to do?" Klaus asked with an amused expression. "He'll go insane and die, but you already know, don't you? If your blood lets him complete the transition, he won't die… and he won't go insane."
Tyler dropped to his knees as soon as he came back, gasping for air as if he were drowning on land.
His eyes were different.
Wild.
Confused.
Hungry.
"I… I… what did you do to me?" his voice came out weak, almost like a growl.
Klaus tilted his head, observing like a scientist watching an experiment.
"I gave you a choice."
Damon let out a dry laugh from the floor.
"Funny… I don't remember him voting."
Rebekah ignored him, crossing her arms, clearly curious.
"Now comes the interesting part."
Tyler held his head, staggering.
"It… it hurts…"
Stefan approached slowly.
"Tyler, listen… you need to feed. Now."
Tyler looked at him… and for a second, it seemed like he was about to attack.
Elena stepped forward, despite the obvious danger.
"Tyler, look at me."
He hesitated.
His gaze fell on her.
And then… something changed.
Instinct… recognized her.
Klaus smiled slowly.
"Perfect."
"No!" Stefan tried to stop him.
But it was too late.
Tyler lunged.
Fast.
Elena didn't move.
He stopped inches away from her, trembling… fighting himself.
"I… I don't want to…" he said, his voice breaking.
Elena raised her wrist, steady despite the fear.
"Then trust me."
Damon widened his eyes.
"Oh sure, excellent plan—"
Tyler bit.
Time seemed to stop.
Klaus watched, completely focused.
Rebekah tilted her head slightly, analyzing every detail.
Stefan tensed, ready to act.
Tyler drank.
For a few seconds… far too long.
Until—
he pulled away, panting, falling backward.
Silence.
Total silence.
Then his body started reacting.
Spasms.
Pain.
But… different.
There was no total loss of control.
No madness.
Tyler took a deep breath… once… twice…
And then his eyes returned to normal.
Confused.
But… alive.
Klaus smiled.
Slowly.
Satisfied.
"It worked."
Rebekah let out a small laugh.
"Well, that solves a lot."
Damon leaned against the wall, still recovering.
"Great… now we have hybrids. Because vampires and werewolves separately weren't already enough of a problem."
Stefan looked at Tyler.
"How do you feel?"
Tyler looked at his own hands, as if he couldn't believe it.
"I… I can hear everything… feel everything… but…" he looked up. "I'm in control."
Klaus took a few steps forward.
Now there was no rush.
Only possession.
"You belong to me now," he said calmly.
Tyler frowned, still trying to understand.
"What?"
"I created you," Klaus replied. "And that creates a bond."
Rebekah smiled slightly.
"He'll do whatever you tell him. No matter what."
The mood changed instantly.
Elena stepped forward.
"No. He's not yours."
Klaus looked at her… and this time, there was something colder in his gaze.
"Everything that exists… can be mine, if I want it."
Damon muttered:
"Someone really needs to work on that self-esteem…"
--++--
Nik, Bonnie, Caroline, Jeremy, Anna, Pearl, and finally Enzo decided to travel across the country and go to California to visit Sheila and Abby in Beacon Hills.
The two welcomed the group warmly and noticed that Bonnie was starting to like Enzo, so they had a talk with him.
They made it clear that although the Bennett clan had a good relationship with vampires, they would not forgive him if he hurt Bonnie—and they made it very clear that Nik would kill him.
After the visit, they returned to Mystic Falls and were surprised to find the town full of hybrids, so they decided to stay low-key.
Not draw attention for now.
Nik wanted to ensure Hope's birth would happen, so he made sure Hayley stayed in town.
Yes, Silas' cult was still 100% active, even though Nik and Jeremy had already killed him.
According to Nik's mother, if the ritual didn't awaken Silas, it would awaken the other immortal.
Amara.
Apparently, aside from magic—which she didn't have for not being a witch—her immortality granted her the same abilities as Silas.
The only difference was that she was more useless… but had no less potential.
Nik's mother had made it clear she was no longer needed as the Anchor, since the Other Side had become a real domain, not a pocket dimension.
And as Tessa said, after Nik was born, she let go of her grudge against Amara. So she decided to release her before the ritual and handed responsibility over to Nik.
Apparently, Tessa also dealt with Silas' soul, offering it to Lucifer because of the problems Silas caused by impersonating him and nearly starting a new war with Heaven.
--++--
Nik observed Amara's newly resurrected body and placed his hand on her head. At the same time, thousands of illusions began attacking him.
They were almost at Silas' level.
Nik sighed and created spells in his mind to block the illusions.
Amara woke up.
"Who are you?" she asked, her voice fearful and guarded.
"I am Nik Bennett, son of your former master," Nik said, even as the illusions intensified in his mind, making him scream in pain—until he quickly calmed himself with mental spells.
"No, don't hurt me," she began to beg.
"I won't, but you'll have to do something for me," Nik said, using his psychic vampire abilities to show her Katherine's body, bedridden and helpless.
"She is your doppelgänger, but she's incapacitated. I want you to take her place and pretend to be her until she wakes up."
--++---
Nik walked through the cemetery and opened a mausoleum, finding the mummified body of a vampire.
"Well, if it isn't grandpa," Nik said.
The vampire opened his eyes, filled with hatred.
"Ohh, I look a lot like my father, don't I?"
The vampire said nothing, but his face twisted with rage.
"I have information for you," Nik said, placing his hand on Mikael's head and transferring knowledge. "Your beloved daughter is alive. In a few days, some idiots will release you so you can kill my father. I want you to let him kill you. If you do that, I'll create a loophole for you to come back and hunt whoever is making your daughter suffer."
Nik made it clear in Mikael's mind who he was—and that he could bring him back.
The vampire said nothing, but his eyes made it clear he accepted.
--++--
It didn't take long for Stefan to get the information from Rebekah—and for Klaus to punish her for it.
But they came.
All of them.
Elena, Damon, Stefan… and Amara pretending to be Katherine.
They went after Mikael and found exactly where he was.
"You were right, Katherine," Stefan said, eyeing her suspiciously.
"I told you," Katherine (Amara) replied, perfectly mimicking her mannerisms as Nik had taught her. "Now let's wake him up so he can kill Klaus."
--++---
They woke Mikael, and as planned, he and Klaus fought—and Klaus killed Mikael.
That same day, Mikael went to the Other Side and ended up exactly where Freya was lying in the world of the living, inside a prison for witches.
He widened his eyes at the deplorable state of his daughter, and a tear fell from his eyes.
At that exact moment, a spiral pulled him away, and he appeared in another city, alive, lying on the ground with a letter on his chest.
"I told you I could bring you back. I didn't wake Freya. Your wife sold her to her family, the Hanzen. The moment she wakes, their leader, Dahlia, will come for her. Good luck. —Nik Bennett"
--++--
Caroline was shopping around town with Amara, since Caroline had decided Amara's clothes were terrible and took it upon herself to fix her wardrobe.
That's when a hybrid confronted them.
"Katherine, Klaus wants to know how you escaped and wants you to return to your punishment," the hybrid said confidently.
"Ummm no," Caroline answered for Amara. "She's not going back, and tell Klaus to leave everyone alone. The town isn't his."
"You asked for it, blondie. Klaus likes you and doesn't want you hurt, but you're not giving him a choice," the hybrid growled.
"First, I have my own man, and I don't care whether he likes it or not. Now go away, mutt," Caroline said mockingly, waving her hand dismissively.
Amara watched everything from behind Caroline. Despite being immortal, she didn't have Caroline's physical strength, since the magic that transformed them was different.
Not that Amara couldn't turn the hybrid into jelly with her mental powers—stronger than any vampire.
But she had a kind nature.
The hybrid lunged at Caroline, but to her, everything moved in slow motion.
She simply dodged the first strike, grabbed him by the throat, and lifted him.
"How? I'm a hybrid, I'm superior to you, you're just a vampire!" he choked.
"You're just arrogant. Being a hybrid doesn't make you more powerful than all vampires—it just gives you control over your wolf side and the strength of a vampire. In the end, your wolf isn't that strong—equivalent to a 200-year-old vampire, and with the vampire side, let's say 220. And me? I'm equivalent to 1000 years. You never had a chance," Caroline said, bored. "I was going to tell you to warn Klaus to leave us alone, but you're not going to survive."
The hybrid still tried to understand.
His eyes wide.
Breathing failing.
Mind… too slow to catch up.
Caroline didn't even look irritated.
She looked… bored.
"Last chance," she said, tilting her head slightly. "Walk away and pretend you never saw us."
The hybrid growled, even while being held by the throat.
Mistake.
A serious mistake.
"You think you can face Klaus?" he spat, even without air. "He'll rip your head off—"
Crack.
The sound was sharp, and the body fell to the ground… while the head and part of the neck remained in Caroline's hands.
Silence.
She looked down for a second… then wiped her hands as if she had dirtied them with something inconvenient.
"I really tried," she muttered.
Amara stood behind her.
In shock.
Not because of the act.
But because of how natural it was.
"You… didn't hesitate," Amara said quietly.
Caroline shrugged, picking up a shopping bag as if nothing had happened.
"He was already dead the moment he decided to attack us."
A pause.
She looked at Amara.
"And you could've ended him in a second."
Amara looked away.
"I don't like that."
Caroline sighed.
"Then get used to liking it."