[VD] Ch 22: The Necklace Is Destroyed

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"Alright, I'm heading home. Talk later." Jack waved goodbye to Bonnie.

"Yeah, see you," Bonnie replied with a smile, then turned to join Caroline.

That night, the three girls gathered at Elena's house for a rare sleepover. They were supposed to enjoy a carefree evening—do nails, gossip, relax—but when they dug through Bonnie's bag, they found the necklace.

"Jack, did you sneak the necklace back into Bonnie's bag?" Elena's voice carried over the phone while Jack was at his kitchen table, eating a sad instant dinner.

"What? No. Last I checked, it was in my coat upstairs. Hold on." He zipped up to his room in a blur with the Rabbit Talisman.

His pockets came up empty. The necklace was gone. "Damn it. That has to be Emily's doing. Where are you guys? I'll come over."

"We're at Elena's," Bonnie said. "You should come here."

"On my way." He threw on a coat and drove over.

What he didn't expect was that, while he was on the road, the girls decided to hold a séance—an actual attempt to summon Emily. 

By the time Jack pulled up, Bonnie was already walking out the front door.

"Hey, Bonnie!" he called.

But "Bonnie" didn't answer. Instead, she flicked her hand, slamming Elena's door shut behind her as she strode away.

"…Emily?" Jack muttered, suddenly uneasy.

Emily shot him a glance and casually hurled him back with a wave of her hand. By the time he struggled to his feet, she was gone.

Jack rushed inside and found Elena and Caroline pale and shaken.

"What the hell just happened? How did Emily end up possessing Bonnie?" he demanded.

"We thought… since she's Bonnie's ancestor, maybe she had something important to say," Caroline explained. "So we tried a séance."

Jack pinched the bridge of his nose. "And did she say anything?"

Elena hesitated. "She said… 'I can't let him have it. It has to be destroyed.'"

"Last time Bonnie was possessed, she ended up at Fell's Church, right?" Jack asked, remembering the conversation they'd had earlier.

"Yeah. Emily led her there in a dream," Elena confirmed.

"Send me the location. I'll check it out." Jack hated admitting it, but with his terrible sense of direction, he needed GPS just to find the place.

Caroline quickly texted him the pin.

Even with directions, his road-idiot curse hit again. By the time he finally arrived, he stumbled onto a brutal scene: Damon, skewered on branches, hanging like a macabre trophy. Emily had thrown him like trash.

Perfect timing. Jack activated the Rabbit Talisman, stake in hand, and lunged straight at Damon.

"Sorry—I can't let you kill him," Emily said coldly, flinging Jack away once more.

Just then Stefan arrived, hauling Damon down.

"Emily, aren't you afraid he'll get the necklace? Why stop me from killing him when it'd solve everything?" Jack demanded.

"What's wrong with this world? Who is hating who? Dammit."

"...He once saved my family. I broke our pact when I betrayed him. I can't stand here and watch him die," Emily answered.

She stooped and began tracing a sigil into the dirt with a stick, her voice calm but firm. "Stefan, the people of this town don't deserve such suffering. They should never know of this darkness."

"What do you mean?" Stefan asked, baffled.

"I'll make you regret this, Emily," Damon spat, ignoring his brother.

"I won't let you release them," she shot back.

"Them?" Stefan turned, eyes narrowing. "What are you hiding, Damon?"

"That's none of your business," Damon growled.

"Emily, tell me what he's done," Stefan pressed.

"To save her, I had to save the others," Emily said.

"He wants to free everyone trapped in that church?" Stefan said in a low voice.

"Save one, save them all," Emily confirmed.

"I don't care about them. I only want Katherine," Damon said flatly.

"Damon, you can't do this. There are twenty-seven vampires locked away in there!" Stefan snapped.

Jack let out a sharp laugh from the sidelines. "God, Stefan, you're pathetic. You actually trusted him? You seriously told Damon Bonnie had the necklace? And I bet when Elena called you for help, you went ahead and spilled everything to him, didn't you? You're beyond saving."

"You brothers are so toxic."

Damon ignored him and turned back to Emily. "They already know too much. When the truth comes out, they'll burn your descendants along with us. Trust me—don't destroy the necklace."

But Emily's mind was set. "No. Things are different now. I won't release them."

She lifted the stick, began chanting, and fire burst to life within the magic circle.

Ignoring Damon's pleas, Emily tossed the necklace into the flames. It shattered instantly.

Elena and Caroline rushed over just in time to see it happen. Stefan held them back, keeping them from getting too close to the blaze.

As the fire died down, Emily lowered her head. When she looked up again, Bonnie was back—confused and shaken.

Before anyone could react, Damon, furious, lunged and sank his fangs into her neck.

"You bastard!" Jack roared, kicking Damon off her with a brutal blow.

Bonnie crumpled, but Jack caught her.

"She's still breathing," he checked quickly, but her condition was so bad.

"I can save her," Stefan muttered, biting his wrist to offer his blood.

"Not like that." Jack grabbed his arm, pressing his other hand to Bonnie's wound. The Horse Talisman's magic surged.

Thank god he'd kicked Damon off in time. Bonnie wasn't drained, just weak. Within seconds, the wound closed and her eyes fluttered open.

"It's okay. You're safe," Jack said, helping her to her feet.

He turned on Stefan and Damon, stake already in his hand. "The necklace is gone. That means you've got no reason to stick around. Unless you're so sick of this world you'd rather leave it entirely."

"We'll be gone in two days," Stefan said quickly, dragging Damon away before things escalated further.

Jack exhaled, then looked back at the others. "Alright. Everyone's fine. Let me drive you girls home."

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