["We don't think you're stupid, Kai. You have little impulse control, but you do have some." Jo points out before looking over at their two guests. "Thank you for coming."
Stefan nods as they make their way inside, keeping himself between Kai and Buffy.]
We have absolutely zero reasons to trust you, so I think you should probably just quit while you're ahead, and let's just get this over with.
( Kai takes a generous step back, letting Stefan come to - his girlfriend's? rescue. )
I see Valerie's far in the rearview. Literally.
( He looks from Buffy to Stefan. )
Hey, I'm the first person to tell you why you shouldn't trust me. But whatever's rattling around up there feels a lot like impulse control. I don't want to kill, siphon, maim, or murder any of you. Even you, Stefon. But, go ahead. Don't just take my word for it.
( He presents his head, leaning forward a bit. Awkwardly. )
[It's true, and Stefan is going to do just that, pushing forward and slipping into Kai's mind, to whatever safe space his mind palace chooses to take. He can do that and remain standing, but Kai collapses back onto the bed and Stefan does his best to remain focused in the dreamscape.
It's because of that he doesn't notice that Jo also collapses suddenly. Not until he turns and scans the space and sees that she's also standing there with him.]
Uh ...
["I did not voluntarily hitch a ride here," Jo says, holding up her hands. "Did you accidentally catch us both?"]
( Stefan takes the three of them to the sitting room of the Salvatore mansion, circa 1994.
That's right, the three of them, because Kai is sitting by the fireplace and looking at Stefon - and his sister. )
Unless he was trying for us both, but you were across the room and not underhand. My theory? We're still one in the same. Separate in body, but not in mind. What's the old movie, I feel like there was an old movie, one body, two personalities. Or, maybe two brains. The man with? I don't know, but, Jo's clearly hitched a ride.
[And with that, Stefan will withdraw, bringing them all back to the real world because this is going to require a much larger conversation. He rubs at his eyes while Jo and Kai begin to come to, and sighs.]
They're still linked. They're just not in the same body anymore.
[Jo blinks awake and looks over at Buffy with a small smile, then back at her husband. "I'm fine."]
( Alaric was hovering over her brother, while Buffy had been holding her hand. Buffy squeezes her hand before giving Stefan her attention. )
Or, mind. I can't read hers, not that I need to. ( A pointed line to Ric. )ever again.
("Linked, how?" Buffy asks, helping Jo as she sits up. "Like Elena's sleeping spell? Kai's sleeping spell? Except, neither of your are asleep and you were... both asleep?")
Anything we do to Kai happens to Jo, and I assume vice versa.
[You don't have to sound so annoyed about it, Stefan. But he does. He sounds very, very annoyed. He then glances to Jo.]
What do you want to do about this?
[Jo shrugs as she pushes into a sitting position. "I don't know. There's probably more we have to figure out but we should probably let other people know."
Stefan nods.]
Right. Because there's a lot of people who hate him coming to Mystic Falls.
[And they wouldn't want someone to kill him and accidentally kill Jo in the process.]
Me being linked to Jo, super-mom, probably will nip those murderous tendencies in the bud. Kind of like how being linked, nipped mine. Truly a new lease on life. What am I going to do with it.
( He taps a finger to his lips.
"How about I start the, what does Caroline call them, phone tree, for the linking news," Buffy says, seeing as how frustrated Stefan was. "Give everyone a beat. Kai, don't get into any trouble, Jo -" Buffy winces. "Now we know. Answers are answers, even if we don't like them.")
I will handle telling everyone. You guys can figure this out.
[Stefan waves his hand on Jo and Kai's direction.]
I'd just keep him away from Bonnie or Elena at minimum.
["That's the plan," Jo nods. "We'll be in touch once we decide what to do." Before they go, Jo reaches out and catches Stefan's arm. "I'm not asking you to leave Tyler out, but I know that once you tell Tyler -"
Stefan shakes his head.]
I'm not leaving Tyler out.
[So however Liv finds out is up to Jo. Jo sighs before nodding. "Okay. Alright, I'll ... I'll figure it out."
And with that, Stefan will reach for Buffy's hand and they will make their exit. They can decide whether they'll spend the night in Williamsburg or just drive home to Mystic Falls after Stefan opens another group chat.
And so will Jo. "Give me a second to do this and then we will ... figure everything else out."]
("Okay, we have a plan," Buffy tries, but Jo barrels on, trying to decide what happens with her family by proxy. Buffy frowns, but waits for Jo's hand to let go, following her boyfriend out.
Buffy thinks Mystic Falls. He should be near home. And he needs rest.
Kai holds his hands up. )
Everybody remembers that I didn't do anything. Just keeping score, reminding everyone of the facts. Ric, bolster your wife. Bye, Stefon! Buffer!
( The door closes behind Buffy and Kai leaves them all to their chats. )
[After she gets the chat going, she turns back to Kai and holds up her hands as she takes a breath.]
Okay. Here's what we're going to do. We are going to be extending our stay here through the New Year. Once everyone is gone from Mystic Falls, we'll go home and see if we can get to the bottom of why this is happening.
[She looks over to Ric.]
Does that work for you? The girls aren't coming home for the holidays anyway.
("I think it's in everyone's best interests to keep Kai as far away from them as we can," Alaric answers. "And until than, we test what we can. We answer what we can.")
I'm good with that, not that I have a say. But, my only, only requests. Big Christmas ham. Something festive. And fireworks. Christmas. New Years. Like we used to do as kids. Maybe a lake.
[He's lucky if he gets the ham. Jo hesitates, before continuing.]
We'll see if we can get another room, so you don't have to sleep here.
[One she will absolutely spell to track his comings and goings but she'll be honest she needs some privacy or she and Kai will truly drive each other crazy.]
Can I handle space and privacy. I don't know. I handled it for over ten years in a prison world alone. I think I'll be able to handle it in the same room. For a few weeks.
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everyonelives2025-10-11 07:15 am
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Stefan nods as they make their way inside, keeping himself between Kai and Buffy.]
We have absolutely zero reasons to trust you, so I think you should probably just quit while you're ahead, and let's just get this over with.
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I see Valerie's far in the rearview. Literally.
( He looks from Buffy to Stefan. )
Hey, I'm the first person to tell you why you shouldn't trust me. But whatever's rattling around up there feels a lot like impulse control. I don't want to kill, siphon, maim, or murder any of you. Even you, Stefon. But, go ahead. Don't just take my word for it.
( He presents his head, leaning forward a bit. Awkwardly. )
Do what you gotta'.
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It's because of that he doesn't notice that Jo also collapses suddenly. Not until he turns and scans the space and sees that she's also standing there with him.]
Uh ...
["I did not voluntarily hitch a ride here," Jo says, holding up her hands. "Did you accidentally catch us both?"]
I'm strong, but I'm not that strong.
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That's right, the three of them, because Kai is sitting by the fireplace and looking at Stefon - and his sister. )
Unless he was trying for us both, but you were across the room and not underhand. My theory? We're still one in the same. Separate in body, but not in mind. What's the old movie, I feel like there was an old movie, one body, two personalities. Or, maybe two brains. The man with? I don't know, but, Jo's clearly hitched a ride.
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Stefan tips his head to the side as he considers them both.]
So working theory is anything I do to Kai happens to Jo, right? So say I do this -
[A flash of vamp speed, a move to twist Kai's arm behind his back, hard, only releasing when he sees Jo give a twinge of pain in response.]
... Great.
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Inside, Kai's about to protest, but he's grabbed up and detained. As he's released, he shakes out the hurt arm. )
For the record, my theory was a little more - mental, but, great. Just great. We're linked-linked. Like, Bonnie-Elena linked.
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[And with that, Stefan will withdraw, bringing them all back to the real world because this is going to require a much larger conversation. He rubs at his eyes while Jo and Kai begin to come to, and sighs.]
They're still linked. They're just not in the same body anymore.
[Jo blinks awake and looks over at Buffy with a small smile, then back at her husband. "I'm fine."]
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Or, mind. I can't read hers, not that I need to. ( A pointed line to Ric. ) ever again.
( "Linked, how?" Buffy asks, helping Jo as she sits up. "Like Elena's sleeping spell? Kai's sleeping spell? Except, neither of your are asleep and you were... both asleep?" )
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[You don't have to sound so annoyed about it, Stefan. But he does. He sounds very, very annoyed. He then glances to Jo.]
What do you want to do about this?
[Jo shrugs as she pushes into a sitting position. "I don't know. There's probably more we have to figure out but we should probably let other people know."
Stefan nods.]
Right. Because there's a lot of people who hate him coming to Mystic Falls.
[And they wouldn't want someone to kill him and accidentally kill Jo in the process.]
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( He taps a finger to his lips.
"How about I start the, what does Caroline call them, phone tree, for the linking news," Buffy says, seeing as how frustrated Stefan was. "Give everyone a beat. Kai, don't get into any trouble, Jo -" Buffy winces. "Now we know. Answers are answers, even if we don't like them." )
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[Stefan waves his hand on Jo and Kai's direction.]
I'd just keep him away from Bonnie or Elena at minimum.
["That's the plan," Jo nods. "We'll be in touch once we decide what to do." Before they go, Jo reaches out and catches Stefan's arm. "I'm not asking you to leave Tyler out, but I know that once you tell Tyler -"
Stefan shakes his head.]
I'm not leaving Tyler out.
[So however Liv finds out is up to Jo. Jo sighs before nodding. "Okay. Alright, I'll ... I'll figure it out."
And with that, Stefan will reach for Buffy's hand and they will make their exit. They can decide whether they'll spend the night in Williamsburg or just drive home to Mystic Falls after Stefan opens another group chat.
And so will Jo. "Give me a second to do this and then we will ... figure everything else out."]
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Buffy thinks Mystic Falls. He should be near home. And he needs rest.
Kai holds his hands up. )
Everybody remembers that I didn't do anything. Just keeping score, reminding everyone of the facts. Ric, bolster your wife. Bye, Stefon! Buffer!
( The door closes behind Buffy and Kai leaves them all to their chats. )
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Okay. Here's what we're going to do. We are going to be extending our stay here through the New Year. Once everyone is gone from Mystic Falls, we'll go home and see if we can get to the bottom of why this is happening.
[She looks over to Ric.]
Does that work for you? The girls aren't coming home for the holidays anyway.
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I'm good with that, not that I have a say. But, my only, only requests. Big Christmas ham. Something festive. And fireworks. Christmas. New Years. Like we used to do as kids. Maybe a lake.
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[He's lucky if he gets the ham. Jo hesitates, before continuing.]
We'll see if we can get another room, so you don't have to sleep here.
[One she will absolutely spell to track his comings and goings but she'll be honest she needs some privacy or she and Kai will truly drive each other crazy.]
Can you handle that?
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( He's being glib, but he means it. )
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[And with that she will send Ric to manage the logistics and manage the group chat. This is going to be a long holiday.
But maybe it could be worse.]