3.13 Sleepwalker

A melancholy Deaver reflects on a dream he's been having with alarming frequency of late. In the dream, Nikki is there. In their living room. She tells him she's returned to him. It's so vivid, so real ...

* * *

Geoff sits up in a vanilla colored bed in a vanilla colored room reading a medical journal. Simone, in lavender silk, crosses the room. He smiles at her over his journal, then goes back to reading. She goes to his side of the bed, and kneels beside him. He turns over to face her. "Geoff, I have something I want to ask you. But I'm... I'm nervous. I think you'll be happy, though." He smiles at her and strokes her hair. "What is it?"

* * *

Evening. Rive stands in front of an elegant townhome, somewhere far form McKennit. She pulls a set of keys from her pocket, and takes a deep breath.

* * *

Night. There's no moon. Gabe and Rachel carry a heavy trunk into a forest clearing. Everything is so silent. Rachel looks like a ghost, and she struggles with her end. She seems uncertain about what they're planning to do, but Gabe is resolute. At the edge of the clearing, they set down their burden. With Rachel's whispered admission that she doesn't want to die, Gabe throws open the trunk.

* * *

With Rachel and Rive elsewhere, Stefan patrols the campus alone in the eerily silent, moonless night. He can't help but think about the centuries old organization of supernatural beings out to kill him on sight -- a thought that intimidates even him. He hears the click of heels behind you and turns around sharply.

Nobody.

"Hello Love." As he turns back, he is just in time to see Lilith's boot just before it slams into his jaw.

* * *

Chase leaves the hospital late, saying good-bye to her lab mate Kayla. With her keys out, she walks briskly towards her car in the inky darkness, watching the shadows for movement. She's half-way there before she sees them.

She's fast. They're faster.

"One of yours took one of ours. It's time to balance the scales."

* * *

The trunk opens. There's a bound and gagged goth girl in it. She's unconscious. Gabe pulls out a jar of powder and hands it to Rachel, ordering her to start the circle.

* * *

Stefan takes a brutal beating at Lilith's hands. Same as it ever was.

* * *

Deaver sits alone, cursing his nightly vision.

* * *

Geoff and Simone stand in the grove, their left hands tied by a blue cord.

* * *

Bannon sits in a carved wooden chair in an underground chamber, his features heavily shadowed by the flickering light from the oversized fireplace. Marie lays an unconscious Chase on the floor at his feet.

Bannon looks at Marie. "Good. Now do it."

* * *

The still-unconscious girl has been tied to a stake. Rachel sits below her, and Gabe stands beside her with a book. Gabe raises a knife as he reads, "Rachel permutandi est pro ea..."

* * *

Stefan and Lilith continue to duel, in the graveyard where they first faced off. As they grapple, Stefan seizes the opportunity to throw some of Zachary's ashes in her face with a viciously whispered reminder. As an enraged Lilith loses her grip, Stefan takes the opportunity to twist behind her, staking her through the back as she explodes in a cloud of dust.

* * *

Marie bites Chase, who wakes up and screams. As she tries to turn her head, Marie forces a bloodied wrist to her face. She's suffocating ... choking on blood ...

* * *

The hiss of a knife against flesh is shockingly loud in the quiet night. Gabe grimly repeats the incantation as blood begins to flow down on to Rachel's head, coating her.

* * *

And in the grove, Rachel looks up at Simone and Geoff: "I now pronounce you... husband and wife." Looking past them, she sees Chase standing in the grove behind them, shocked. "I'm so sorry."

* * *

Deaver continues to talk to himself. "But she's never there when I wake up. Never there."

* * *

Gabe's eyes snap open. It was a dream. Taking a shuddering breath, he checks the clock on the bedside table. It's about 5 am. Still jittery, Gabe sees the jar of powder that he's already created sitting on the shelf on the other side of his room. He goes to it ... and sees that it is half empty.

Moving quickly now, he throws open the trunk. There's nothing in it, and he breathes out, the tension leaving his shoulders. But the relief only lasts a moment. Looking closer, he sees a small piece of ripped, sheer black fabric pinched in the corner of the trunk.

Panicking, Gabe throws on a coat and drags the trunk out of the dorm. He carelessly lugs it down the street until he reaches a small farm on the outskirts of town. He breaks in to the farmer's shed and takes a hatchet, smashing the trunk to pieces before magically setting it ablaze. Wiping down the hatchet, he heads back to town and straight to Rachel's apartment ...

* * *

Rive awakes in an elegant room with a man you've never seen beside her.

* * *

Geoff awakes, content, and reaches a hand out to the empty side of his bed. He's wearing a ring.

* * *

Rachel and Stefan both stir. The clock reads about 5:15. Rachel's hair is beautifully golden again. On the pillow next to her, Stefan face looks like there was a serious rumble.

* * *

Deaver wakes up. This time ... she's there. He locks eyes with Nikki.

* * *

Chase wakes up alone, her eyes a bright yellow.

* * *

Unable to believe it, Deaver reaches for Nikki. There's a super-sweet moment. She explains that the spell in the grove worked, and here she is. She's returned to help him, and to try to atone for her sins. She's the Conrupti that they summoned, and even though the instructions were lost, she was able to make her way home just fine.

* * *

Stefan turns to Rachel. She looks at him with concern and asks him what happened to him. He tells her about the fight with Lilith, and that he finally won. And she tells him how wonderful she's feeling -- completely healed.

Stefan runs his hands through her golden-blonde hair, pulls her towards him, and decides they're staying where they are for the moment ...

* * *

Geoff's place. He sits up in bed, a stupid grin on his face. Looks around. "Simone?" Checks the clock. It's 5:15. Doesn't faze him much. He stands up and pads out of the bedroom.

A breeze ruffles his hair. "Did you lock her out again? You do realize I'd stay home more often if you'd quit doing that, right?" He smiles at the air and continues into the living room. He picks up the phone. Numbers start to dial. "Who are you calling?" Geoff hangs up and tries to dial, but the numbers dial themselves again. There's a knock at the door. "She still outside?" Geoff starts to put the receiver into the cradle, but Freddie takes it from him. The numbers again start to dial.

Geoff opens the door. Chase is standing there.

"Hey. Is everything al-" The door slams shut. "Freddie!" He opens the door. It slams again. "FREDDIE. Chase can come in! Chase can always come in!" He wrenches the door open. "What is the problem with your little ghost brain this morning?"

* * *

Gabe shows up on Rachel's doorstep and bangs on the door. Stefan answers, quickly pulling a shirt over his head. He tells Gabe that Rachel is completely healed. And tells him about Lilith. When Rachel emerges from the bedroom, Gabe confesses his dream to them both. They decide it's time to call a meeting. About then, they realize Chase isn't home. She always calls if she's staying elsewhere for the night, so Rachel checks her messages. Nothing. Hmm. And she's not answering her phone. Neither is Geoff, for that matter. Maybe their dreams were REALLY good.

They call Deaver and all head over to the Boyd Townsend manor ...

* * *

Geoff wakes up in the oddly cheerful McKennit morgue. Still a little groggy, he gets up off the examination table where he's lying.

"Welcome back to the land of the dead. What were you expecting? A cave? You know how I feel about caves."

Chase turns suddenly and kicks Geoff hard under the ribs. He falls backwards, landing against a wooden chair.

"Have a seat. And get comfortable. You're going to be here a while."

Using a roll of medical tape, she secures him to the chair. She lights up a cigarette while she admires her handiwork. The buzz of the smoke alarm interrupts her moment.

"Shit."

Chase quickly knocks the front of the alarm off and disables it. She picks up the phone and calls the desk, reassuring them that everything is fine. They know her, so there are no questions asked.

Geoff confusedly asks her what's going on. When she realizes he hasn't figured it out, she laughs cruelly and goes game faced.

"Don't you get it, sugar? We're going to have a little fun."

Geoff is stunned. Amused, she walks back towards the chair and straddles his lap, getting comfortable.

"Why did you have to be so damn good to me? God, I was still so in love with you. Pathetic, really. And everyone had it figured out. Well, everyone except you. You, who just kept throwing your obnoxious girlfriend in my face every time I turned around. You just loved watching me get twitchy over it, didn't you? And I wanted from you was a second chance. But I had some inane idea that I'd be noble and wait to say anything until after you broke up with Weasel-Face. Which, I thought, was what any intelligent person would do. But you're not always intelligent, are you, Geoff? That's why you're in the chair, and I'm in charge. As usual, you have a really lousy sense of timing."

She runs a finger down his nose. "You've hurt me so badly, sunshine." She takes another drag off the cigarette, and blows the smoke directly in his face. "And now, I'm going to return the favor." She contemplates the glowing end of her cigarette, then looks back at him with a cruel smirk.

Still shocked, Geoff shakes his head and looks at her, not wanting to believe any of this. "Chase. Chase, you don't want to do this. Chase. Come back to me. Please. Chase ..."

She looks at him thoughtfully, gives him a cheerful grin and leans back. "Okay. You're right. Maybe I don't." She takes a last drag and stubs out the cigarette. Getting off his lap, she casually walks to the worktable behind her. She turns to him ... flipping a scalpel through her fingers. All traces of the smile are gone.

"I'll use this instead."

* * *

Rive washes dishes in an elegant kitchen. The man from the dream comes up behind her. "What are you doing? Graciela will take care of that tomorrow. Where's your ring?" Rive turns to him. "I took it off to wash the dishes." He smiles and takes her hands in his. "Never take it off." He picks up a huge diamond ring off the counter, and gets down on one knee. "Rive Kellinger, you still plan on marrying me, don't you?" She laughs. "Of course I do." "Good. Don't know what I'd do without you."

* * *

Bannon sits in his library, watching as several vampires continue putting the Lilith-sized swath of destruction back together. He looks pissed.

Rasmus enters. "Sir."

Bannon turns to his favorite wizard. "Yes?"

"There's been a... a thing."

Bannon gives him a not-very-patient look. "A thing. Could you be a bit more specific."

Rasmus isn't quite sure how to explain, and shifts his weight uncomfortably. "Uh.. a disturbance in reality."

"What sort of disturbance."

"Well, sir, we have a report from William, in the morgue." He stops and gives Bannon with a quizzical look. "Did Marie turn Miss McCallum?"

Bannon now looks faintly surprised. "What?"

"Well, Miss McCallum is at the morgue. A vampire. And she claims Marie sired her while you watched. She has a still-human Mr. VanGarren --"

"-- Dr."

"Excuse me. Dr. VanGarren. With her."

"Has she killed him yet?"

"No, sir. But apparently it's quite messy."

Bannon smiles. "How curious. Has anything else happened?"

Rasmus looks even more distressed. "Well, sir, Eric. He has... uh... well, there's triplets... And no one can find Lilith. Or Simone Boyd-Townsend."

"Rasmus, who is helping Eric at the greenhouse?"

* * *

Deaver opens the door and invites Stefan, Gabe, and Rachel inside. Scrumptious smells are coming from the kitchen, where Nikki is chatting away and cooking.

They all go to the kitchen to discuss, since Doc can't quite bear to let Nikki out of his sight. There's discussion about all of their dreams from the previous night, and how they seem to have come true.

Deaver thinks on it, and says that the most likely culprit is Mab, the faerie queen. The spell can be called off if someone fights Mab for it. You can't kill her, but if a single challenger can beat her, she'll end it. It will only cancel the dreams themselves. Whatever happens now really happens; once the dream is reversed, the consequences of today's actions still remain.

Rachel, slightly embarrassed, reveals that in her dream, she married Geoff and Simone in the grove, and Chase saw the whole thing. Deaver grills Rachel about Chase, and whether she has nightmares. Reluctant to believe that some of the dreams that came true that morning might not have been good ones, she hesitantly tells them that yes, Chase has a recurring nightmare that she's turned by one of the Alumni, and that Bannon is there. And that she then hunts them down, one by one. Concerned now, Deaver calls Geoff's phone. He doesn't answer. They try Chase again. No dice. They finally call Simone ... who is in Milan buying shoes, and has no clue where Geoff might be.

* * *

Back at the morgue, Geoff's shirt is long gone and he's a bloody mess. He has the beginnings of a very nasty black eye. Chase continues to torment him. She notices the wedding ring for the first time. Picking up a now well-used scalpel, she slices the medical tape binding his wrist and grips his wrist. Holding his hand up in front of his face.

"I meant to tell you that your girlfriend has lousy taste in engagement settings. I thought you should be aware. The ones in the jewelry store where she was shopping around were either yawn-worthy traditional or totally tacky. But it looks like you already know that, don't you?"

With a vicious twist, she removes the ring, breaking his finger in the process.

"You're such a pretty boy, Geoff. I like looking at you. Would she like you as much if you weren't pretty? What if she knew all the horrible things you've done? Or did you leave that part out? She probably wouldn't be so hot to marry you if she knew you're a total tweaker. It would be bad for politics. And we both know which one is more important to her. Let me give you a hint: it isn't her little lap dog."

Geoff keeps telling her (and himself) that he's not listening to her, that she isn't Chase. He lunges for her, trying to take advantage of his free hand, but she backhands him across the face hard enough to snap his head sideways.

About then, there's a knock at the door. Chase spins around to see Marie enter with two other vampires.

"Hello Chase. How are you feeling?" She walks over to Geoff. "Nice work. I won't keep you for long. I wanted to officially welcome you to the fold. Sorry I wasn't there when you woke up."

"I have an invitation for you. Dr. Bannon would like to have lunch. It's your official invitation, he said to remind you. We have an offer that I believe has a lot of appeal. You can bring Dr. VanGarren if you wish. We have... more than adequate facilities at your disposal."

Chase accepts the invitation and agrees that Geoff should tag along. She's not finished with him yet ...

* * *

The gang calls the hospital. The receptionist tells Deaver that Chase did check in at work that morning. She remembers it because the smoke alarm went off briefly down in the morgue, and Chase let them know everything was fine. Hearing that, the group quickly gears up and takes off for McKennit General.

William, a morgue attendant, is cleaning a lot of blood off of one of the tables. A LOT of blood. He tells the gang that Chase has left the building, but not much more than that. When they start asking pointed questions, he shrugs them off and tells him they're really not supposed to be back here.

William continues to be unhelpful until Stefan applies a little "persuasion". With his arm wrenched behind his back, he gasps out that Chase is a vampire and she's got a roughed-up Geoff with her. They just left, with Marie, who is Chase's sire.

Their worst fears confirmed, the crew drops William and heads back to Deaver's house to regroup. Nikki is waiting for them there. She reveals what she knows about the alumni ritual. Back at the beginning, Bannon summoned Nikki to discuss his "problem" -- that he wanted an army of strong intelligent vampires, but ones who would follow him without question. Not exactly a hallmark of the breed. So Nikki, who was somewhat well-known for getting people to ... see things her way ... helped him write the initiation ritual, which is a spell that imbues vampires with the desire to follow Bannon's leadership. It was that summoning that brought Zolor's attention to McKennit in the first place, actually. But Bannon is a smart man and had done his homework on how to contain Zolor before he ever called on her to begin with.

Bannon's continued affection for Chase has Nikki worried that he is going to try to make her an Alumni. As a human, Chase would never agree to join his organization because Chase has NO desire to become a vampire. But if she already IS a vampire ... well, Bannon can be very persuasive. And Chase doesn't know the true nature of the ritual.

So the group quickly determines that there is a problem. If they end Mab's spell and reverse all the dreams, then Chase becomes human again, smack in the middle of Alumni headquarters, with an injured Geoff. If they DON'T end it, and soon, the more likely it is that Chase will already be an Alumni by the time they do.

There's a lot of argument about what to do next. Finally, they decide they have to deal with Mab first (especially since they don't know where the Alumni headquarters even ARE, and it would take them far too long to find out). Deaver summons Mab -- it is an easy spell -- and Stefan agrees to meet her in the grove to fight her to get the dreams reversed. She is the picture of demented whimsy, and with an giddy little giggle she happily agrees to meet him there in about half an hour.

* * *

The townhome. Rive sits in front of a 6' plasma TV watching soccer. She looks bored out of her mind. "Honey, Lost is about to start." "It's TiVo'd." "Can't we TiVo this?" "I'm watching it." "But I'd rather watch-" The guy yells, "Hey, fucker, the goal's the other way!" Rive settles back into the couch.

* * *

Gabe wanders to the library, hoping to have the opportunity to bargain with Bannon or anyone else who might show up.

"Gabriel Marelli?" Gabe turns, and sees three vampires standing in the room. "The tide is turning, and you haven't even seen our power. I know you think you've got quite a team there, but come on. There's like six of you. And you've got a slayer and a witch. Well, guess what, we've got a slayer, too. And we've got a lot of witches. Now you have a choice: join us, or die badly. The slayer and the Watcher we'll take too, if they'll come willingly. Let them know they have an option to losing in a bath of blood."

The speaker tosses Gabe a gold coin, and the trio vanishes.

* * *

Chase and Marie work on chaining Geoff to a table in a full blown, well-equipped torture chamber. There are three other vampires lounging about. Marie gags Geoff, just as Bannon enters the room.

Bannon bids them hello, carrying wine goblets. Another vampire follows him with a decanter full of the red stuff. "Miss McCallum. Superb to see you looking so strong." He looks down at the table and raises an eyebrow. "Dr. VanGarren. The man who attempted to blow up my town. Oh how the mighty have fallen." He hands a glass to Chase, another to Marie, and the other vamp pours. "I hope you enjoy your time here. Let us know if there is anything we can do." He raises his glass in a salute, and the three of them take a drink. "Now, while you are settling in, I have a proposal for you, in accordance with our agreement. You are free to accept or decline as you see fit, but for all we will both gain, I hope you do accept."

"But first ..." He heads to the wall and selects a vial of acid off one of the shelves. He tosses it to Chase. "For the chemist. Marie, remove the gag."

* * *

Stefan gets a lecture from Rachel on his way to the fight, all about dealing with the fae and driving home the fact that he can't KILL her -- he can only DEFEAT her. She arms him with a cold iron knife and a kiss and he goes to meet the faerie queen.

The fight is strangely good natured and yet fierce. Mab seems to thoroughly enjoy herself. At least, until the knife comes out. When he knocks her down for the third time, she stays down. Before he can take another swipe at her, she gasps, "Wait a minute! Ya won. You want last night's dreams back to dreams? Go home. Take this." She hands him a small candle and a slip of paper. "Light it and say 'rinne m brionglid, ach amhain brionglid'. When the candle burns out, the dreams will go back to dreams." She looks over at Rachel, and then back at Stefan with sympathy on her sparkly, wild face. "But are ya sure that's what ya want?"

* * *

Rive backs up across the room as the man advances on her. "Please. Please. I don't want to hurt you." "Hurt me?" He laughs. "I'm stronger than you, Rive. Just listen to me. You're not listening. I don't want to hurt you." "No." He lunges at her, slamming her to the ground. She tries to push him off, and can't. He laughs. "You see? You can't hurt me, Rive. Just listen. We're moving back to Boston. If you really loved me, you'd quit school. What do you need it for? We've got plenty of money." "Get off of me!" "Boston. Say it." "NO! Get off!" "Rive!" He backhands her. "Don't do this, baby, come on. Don't fight me."

* * *

Bannon sips his from his goblet in a comfortable chair, listening to Geoff howl then gasp for air. "My dear, I recommend you give him a break before he passes out." With a bit of a pout, Chase puts down the vial. "Marie, the gag." Marie gags Geoff again, muffling his ragged breathing. "Now, my dear. Take a seat." Chase takes the chair across from him while he pours her another goblet of blood. "Have you a minute for my proposal?"

* * *

Back at Rachel's apartment, Stefan lights Mab's candle with mixed feelings. Rachel recites the Gaelic spell. Stefan holds on to her, comfortingly, as they watch the flame slowly begin to eat away at the wax.

* * *

Bannon presents Chase with his offer. "My family is preparing for one last Initiation. One last... soul if you will... to join our ranks with full benefits. Now, as you may have realized, the Alumni consists of over 600 vampires, and we have over 2500 additional vampires at our call. Soon we will make our move, and that number will rise to over 10,000. But the 600 will remain. Our leaders. Our champions. And eventually, the rulers in a new era of the vampire. One city at a time, Miss McCallum, we will take over the world. A new religion for the masses. What I offer you, Miss McCallum, is the final place. The final name on our roster before we take the world for our own." He offers his hand.

* * *

Deaver and Nikki are alone, dancing in the living room. They know that Stefan and Rachel will end the spell any minute. She tells him how glad she is she got to see him again.

* * *

Unable to watch the too-short candle, Stefan takes Rachel back to her room.

* * *

Gabe starts searching the library relentlessly for an entrance to the Alumni underground. He still clutches the coin in his fist.

* * *

Rive lays on the floor. Her fiance straddles her. Her nose is bleeding, and she's crying, struggling against him to zero effect.

* * *

The candle goes out.

----

Rive flings him across the room, before vanishing.

* * *

Stefan watches helplessly as Rachel gasps and then withers before his eyes. He hadn't realized just how wasted away she had gotten. Pale and trembling, with glassy eyes and streaky black-blonde hair, she shrinks in his arms.

* * *

Nikki seizes up suddenly while she and Deaver are dancing. She gasps for air. But strangely, unbelievably, she doesn't disappear. However, she stares straight through Deaver and screams.

* * *

Chase breathes in sharply. The only sounds she hears in the deafening silence are Geoff's erratic breathing and her own heartbeat, suddenly restored. She slowly scans the torture chamber. Bannon still holds his hand out. Marie runs her fingers across Geoff's chest. The other vampires lounge around the room ...