16. I Was Feeling Epic

Complete story — includes the ending

As Stefan and Caroline attempt to revive Bonnie, Bonnie enters the state between life and death and sees Elena. Enzo comes and tells Bonnie that it isn't her time and she returns to her body. Katherine finally reveals herself to the Salvatore brothers and, even though Stefan stabs her with the dagger made from her bones, she comes back to Damon later, revealing that she can leave hell whenever she wants and that Cade had been under her control since her death. Vicki reveals that she wants to die from the hellfire so as not to return to hell, where she has been residing miserably. Vicki will ring the bell every five minutes until the end of the hour. Matt and the police evacuate the town. Alaric, Caroline, and the twins leave Mystic Falls when Bonnie comes up with a plan to use her magic to reverse the hellfire back into hell, destroying it and Katherine. Damon stays with Katherine in the tunnels under the Armory to make sure she is in hell when Bonnie does this; Stefan comes forward to sacrifice himself instead, and Damon refuses. Damon offers to give up his life instead, telling his brother he loves him and tells him to tell Elena he did it for her. He then compels Stefan to leave. However, Stefan is able to override the compulsion because he has vervain in his system and then hurries back into the tunnels, where he injects a syringe filled with his blood into Damon, making him human. He then takes Damon's place and dies while making sure Katherine is in hell. Both their bodies are destroyed. Stefan visits Elena in the state between life and death, tells her what happened, and then joins Lexi in the afterlife. Some time later, Bonnie breaks Elena's sleeping curse and Elena finally reunites with her, Damon, Caroline, Matt and Alaric and they all attend Stefan’s funeral. Years later, the Salvatore boarding house is turned into a school for supernatural children by Caroline and Alaric with Jeremy and Dorian among the people running it. Klaus donates a lot of money to the school. Matt is awarded with a bench in his honour for saving the town that night and announces that he is running for mayor. Bonnie decides that she wants to travel the world and live her spared life to the fullest. Vicki, Tyler, Liz, Jo, and Enzo are shown watching over the living. Elena has become a medical doctor and sits in front of Stefan’s tomb. She thanks him for everything while writing in her diary; Damon appears and it is revealed they married each other. After having lived their long, happy human lives together, Damon and Elena die and find peace in the afterlife. Elena reunites with her parents, John, and Jenna in the afterlife at the Gilbert family home. Damon reunites with Stefan tearfully at the Salvatore mansion, concluding the series.