A Bridge Too Far

Save the Last Dance pt 2

3rd Person POV:

Inside the Salvatore tomb at Mystic Fall's Old Cemetary, Ester is lighting candles and preparing for a spell while Evil-Ric and Elena look on.

"Please, Ric, you don't want this... her plan involves you dying," Elena says trying to get even the evil version of Ric to see sense.

"As long as I take all vampires with me, I'm alright with it," he tells her.

"No, no, look this isn't who you are. You wouldn't just be killing the bad ones, what about Caroline, she doesn't hurt anyone," she points out.

"But she can and she has, remember the carnival when she first turned?" He says.

"She didn't know what was happening to her, that's not fair, as soon as she understood what being a vampire meant she learned control better than anyone, even you... this version of you has to know that," she tells him.

"Maybe, but that doesn't un-kill that kid from the carnival, now does it?" he points out.

"Neither does killing her!" Elena snaps at him.

Taking a breath to calm down she tries a different tactic, "Fine, what about Damon, he's your friend, you like him deep down, despite the things that he's done you know there's good in him," she says.

"Yeah, Damon's great when you're a bored alcoholic off the wagon in a small town, but when you're actually trying to make a difference he's only good for dragging you back down," Evil-Ric tells her.

"Please, just think this through, this isn't what you want... it's not who you are. What about Jenna?"

"Jenna?" Evil-Ric asks.

"She was turned, through no fault of her own, there could be more people... more vampires like her out there who haven't done anything to deserve this, think about her," she tells him.

"Jenna was only able to be turned into a vampire and sacrificed because of another vampire... no more vampires = no more innocent Jennas caught in the crossfire," Evil-Ric points out.

"Give it up, Elena. You don't know who I am... you're not going to appeal to some secret innermost part of me. In fact, you only know the weakest parts of me, the man who lost his way befriending vampires instead of killing them," he adds.

"So killing that morgue guy and Caroline's dad, you're proud of that now?" Elena asks.

"Necessary casualties, plus if Caroline's dad had killed her at the end of his little torture session maybe he would have been spared. But his fatherly instincts made him soft, they're monsters, Elena, all of them. Vampires and those that turn a blind eye to them. The blood of their victims is on their hands equally, but soon at least it will no longer be on mine," he tells her.

"We're ready," Esther says turning to them.

"No Ric, please don't. Don't do this. If you do this, I'll lose you, I'll lose Damon and Stefan and Caroline, please I can't lose anyone else... I won't help you, I'm not gonna give you my blood, you're gonna have to kill me!" Elena says starting to panic.

"That won't be necessary," Esther tells her and with a flick of her hand a cut opens up on Elena and she starts to bleed.

Esther reaches for her wrist and holds it above a bowl as her blood pours into it.

"Drink, and let it be done," Esther tells Alaric passing him the bowl.

"No, Ric please, don't.. No!"

Ric drinks the blood not hesitating before putting the bowl back down on the altar.