but oh what a year

[patrols]

Comments

[telegraphs]

Something that could be loosely translated to 'fight hellfire with hellfire,' but it's incomplete, like, it's only one of two components.

( He grabs a magnifying glass, then sits back, rubbing his lips. )

That doesn't make any sense. A king of Hell, which, fits, can be bested in fusion. In fusion of what. What and what. Is there anything in that one in English?

[geminated]

Maybe.

[She heads back to her stack, before her head tips up curiously.]

Stefan said something about a knife or a journal. Possibly related to the Maxwell Bell.

[She pulls out her phone and calls Tyler, putting him on speaker in the middle of the table. But while she's waiting for him to answer, she goes back to the stack of books she was digging into.]

Usually for a ghost, don't you need the remains of it? I know he's like ... a super ghost but technically still a ghost.

[telegraphs]

Yeah. For some. For certain kinds, burning the remains. But, what if burning his remains - created something.

( He pulls another book onto the pile and flips across a few pages.

Tyler answers.

"Hey, Liv," he says, knee deep in the Maxwell journal he'd found. )

[geminated]

Maybe. Or maybe we need to combine the two?

[But she'll distract from that question when Tyler answers the phone.]

Hey. I've got Beck here. He found something about hellfire in one of his books. Did you find that Maxwell journal?

[telegraphs]

( "Only that the bell was meant to protect from the supernatural, but the right influence could corrupt it. Maybe that's his interest in it?" Tyler asks, switching to speaker and setting it down on the desk. )

What if the two were already combined. There are creatures in every pantheon whose own parts are the only weapon that can pierce them. Arcadius is powerful enough for nature to balance out.

[geminated]

If only we had a Maxwell to ...

[ ... Oh. Liv grimace briefly, before addressing the question to Tyler.]

Do you think he'd talk to us?

[Peter Maxwell had fallen off their radar after Matt's death, but if they needed to dig into the history of the Maxwell Bell, he'd probably be the one to ask.]

[telegraphs]

( "He's not mad at us, long as we keep Damon out of it, I think he'd want to save... We're saving more than just the Salvatore's, right?" )

And, every soul Cade wants for himself, which, sounds like at one time was a hundred and that was in a day, so. Sounds like.

[geminated]

This doesn't feel like it's going to stop with just the Salvatores, or Mystic Falls even.

[Liv slumps slightly in her seat.]

I'm not really a signs girl, but I don't think a Slayer shows up for nothing. Not according to anything I've read.

[telegraphs]

Believe it or not, there wasn't some big cosmic reason. We don't have any midatlantic presence and this was a good central dot on a map.

( But, maybe there's more to it. Tyler pulls a file that's handed to him.

"Peter Maxwell had an old storage unit. It's in Matt's family's name. I can probably get us into it with the right credentials." Tyler says. "Or, yeah, we reach out to Maxwell. Explain things." )

[geminated]

We're at the library so we're not far. I can go talk to him.

[He doesn't think he'll really listen to her, but she'll try.]

Want to meet us there, or do you want to keep digging?

[telegraphs]

Was that to me or him?

( "She's talking to me. You're the librarian, right?" )

Beck.

( "Yeah, let me see if digging gets us anything else, and if I find it, I'll meet you there." )

[geminated]

Okay. Keep us in the loop and be safe.

[She hangs up the phone before looking up at Beck.]

Want to keep digging here, or want to go see a guy about a really old bell?

[telegraphs]

Maybe there are answers about that bell that could help a second round of digging.

( As, he stands. )

But, first, I must see a man about a horse.

( After stacking his books up and relieving himself, he meets her back in the doorway of his office. )

So where is this Peter Maxwell, anyway?

[geminated]

Not far from here. Down by the clocktower.

[She slides her hands into her pockets as she leads the way out to her car.]

His son was recently killed as part of all this, so I think he'll want to help. Just ... leave any mentions of the Salvatores out of this. I don't think he's feeling quite so charitable to them.

[telegraphs]

Check, we stay on topic. Watchers are good at that. Regimented.

( He follows her to her car after locking up for the day. )

[geminated]

[And off they go. They talk to Maxwell, who is able to provide more context about the bell, and how it could possibly be connected - and more to the point, that his ancestor may have crafted a weapon before he was sealed away by a Bennett witch.

Liv thanks him for the information, before heading back to the car.]

Okay. We need a team meeting. Get your Slayer on the phone and I'll call Tyler.

[telegraphs]

OK, I'll just get my slayer on the phone.

( Getting inside the car, he dials Lindsay's number again. )

[patrols]

[Her phone rings and she briefly glances at the caller ID before answering. Damon and Stefan aren't far, so they can probably hear, but she doesn't put it on speaker right away.]

Did you find anything?

[telegraphs]

Several somethings. A weapon made of Hellfire crafted from the bones of Arcadius. And a bell, that if fallen into the wrong hands, could unleash Hellfire on everyone we hold near and dear. So, it's just another Tuesday.

( Sometimes, it's nice to talk about the dire things with Lindsey. What's that about? )

Liv is calling for a team meeting. The station, I assume, with Stefan's continued refusal of sunlight protection?

[patrols]

Yeah, he's not going anywhere. I think he's worried that if he leaves Cade will take him back.

[And that's not what he wants, and Lindsay is inclined to respect that.]

But glad to here this may be a problem I can stab. I was starting to feel like I was spinning my wheels.

[telegraphs]

He might just. Leave him there, then. Smart moves.

( He respects that, a lot, and this probably is the first break in, oh, these two could be friends. )

Isn't that just the American justice system?

[patrols]

Hah. I'll let them know you're coming. We'll see you in a bit.

[The American justice system is entirely fucked though, so he's not wrong.

She hangs up and moves back to the brothers to catch them up.]

The nerd squad seems to have had a break. They're on their way over with the info to catch us up.

[More to Damon than Stefan, who has taken to being in his own head. He still hasn't put his ring on.]

If we need to leave, is he going to be okay in there?

[unforgivably]

You tell me. I'm not the psychologist and I didn't think my brother had a deathwish.

( But, frustration aside. )

If the angle of the sun holds, he'll be fine. The faster we figure this out, the faster Stefan can brood properly. In his house with a stiff drink.

[patrols]

Is there someone in town who doesn't hate him? Or at least likes him enough to keep him from walking into the sun of his own accord?

"I'm not going to walk into the sun," Stefan replies flatly, because yes, he can hear her. Lindsay sighs as she looks back to him.]

Forgive me if I don't take you at your word. You've been through a huge shock and you've done a lot of terrible things recently. It's a lot to process. I'd feel better if there was someone here.

[unforgivably]

Caroline Forbes wouldn't let him.

( If they're talking about it. )

And I wouldn't let him. On our good days.