"Isobel"

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"Do I have to help with the float?" Chris asked as she followed Caroline into the school.

During their slumber party, Caroline had told the witch about the float that was being built for Founder's Day and she had already roped in Elena, Matt, Bonnie, Tyler and various others to help.

"Because you're my best friend in the whole world." Caroline smiled at Chris.

Her response made the caramel haired girl laugh softly as the blonde linked arms with her as they walked down the halls.

"All right, fine. I'll help." Chris said making Caroline hug the girl closer.

"Yay!" the blonde cheered as the two girls laughed.

They entered the cafeteria to see that some of the students were already inside along with Alaric who was handing papers to the students.

Elena and Stefan then walked into the room making Chris look over at them and smile.

"Hey, I'm gonna go over there." Chris told Caroline as she gestured to her sister and friend.

Looking over, Caroline nodded.

"Okay, but don't even think about escaping you duties, because if you do, I will hunt you down." Caroline warned.

"Got it." Chris nodded as she walked over to Elena and Stefan.

"Hey. So, how was your night with Caroline?" Elena smiled at her sister.

"Oh, it was great. She decided to go with a Gone with the Wind theme this year. She thinks it'll match up with the battle of Willow's Creek." Chris said.

"How does she figure that?" Stefan asked curiously.

"It's Caroline." Elena shrugged.

Suddenly, Alaric walked over to the trio making them turn to the man who had a tense look in his eyes and seemed very scared, angered and tired.

"Hey, Mr. Saltzman." Elena greeted.

"Come with me. We need to talk." Alaric told them.

Curious and worried, the trio followed the teacher/vampire hunter out of the cafeteria.

(Later…)

Damon strode into the history classroom to see Alaric, Elena, Stefan and Chris inside waiting on him.

"Damon, thanks for coming." Alaric said.

"Sorry I'm late. My dog ate my…uh, never mind." Damon let the joke fall.

It was then that he noticed the tension in the room and how the Gilbert sisters were both sitting in desks, holding hands.

"What's with all the furrowed brows?" the raven asked.

"I saw Isobel last night." Alaric announced.

"Isobel is here? In town?" Damon asked as Alaric nodded.

Damon looked over at Elena, feeling concerned that her vampire mother was in town to cause some trouble.

"Did you ask her about Uncle John? Are they working together?" Damon started asking questions.

"No." Alaric said.

"No they're not?" Damon questioned.

"No I didn't ask." Alaric corrected.

"What about the invention?" Damon asked him.

"Didn't ask." Alaric responded.

"Did she know about the tomb vampires?" Damon asked as he started to get a bit annoyed with the lack of information he was receiving.

"I don't know." Alaric sighed.

"Did words completely escape you?" Damon sniped.

"No, I was a little too distracted by my dead vampire wife to ask any questions." Alaric snapped.

"What did she want?" Damon turned to Elena.

"She wants to see me, Damon." Elena told him.

"Alaric is supposed to arrange a meeting. We don't know why or what she wants." Stefan spoke up.

"You don't have to see her if you don't want to." Damon told the doppelganger.

Stefan gives him a confused look at the concern his brother was showing Elena while Chris tried to ignore the slight jealousy she felt.

She needed to be there for her sister at the moment and stifle any feelings she had for Damon.

"I don't really have a choice." Elena said.

"She's threatened to go on a killing spree." Alaric told him.

"Oh! I take it that's not okay with you guys." Damon said as everyone, including the teen witch, gave him annoyed looks.

"I want to do it. I want to meet her. If I don't, I know I'll regret it." Elena said as she looked at Damon.

"I'm going too." Chris said as she gave her sister's hand a comforting squeeze.

Elena turned to her and smiled knowing she would feel better if she had her sister sitting next to her when she faced her biological mother.

(At the Mystic Grill…)

Elena and Chris sat at a table in the center of the room, both waiting a bit nervously for the female vampire to make her appearance.

Stefan was also in the Grill, but he was at the pool table, pretending to be playing.

"Can you hear me?" Elena speaks lowly making Stefan's head pick up while Chris sipped her soda.

"Thanks for coming. I'm nervous." Elena confessed making Stefan and Chris smile at the 17 year old.

"I'm happy that you're here. That you're both here. I love you." Elena smiled as she held her sister's hand.

"I love you too." Chris said as the two sisters glanced over to see Stefan mouth the same words to Elena.

Suddenly, a woman with black hair pulled up into a ponytail with silvery blue eyes dressed in a black outfit walked over and took a seat in front of the sisters.

"Hello Elena." The woman greeted as she stared at her.

"You look just like her. It's eerie." She commented.

Chris stared at her in surprise and also felt a b it of hope when she hear this.

"You've met Katherine?" Elena asked.

"She found me after I turned. Genetic curiosity, I suppose. She would be fascinated by you. And you too, I suppose. After all, you look exactly like Alexandra." Isobel said as she turned her head to the caramel haired girl.

Elena tensed up at that as she gripped her sister's hand tighter.

"Is that how you walk in the sun?" the brunette asked as she stared at the pendant the woman wore.

"Katherine helped me obtain it." Isobel said.

"Who's my father?" Elena asked her.

"Not important. He was a teenage waste of space." Isobel dismissed.

"Does that mean you're ashamed of being with him?" Chris asked.

Isobel gave her a smirk while the witch simply stared at her, not letting the vampire faze her in any way.

Cera and Agatha were also standing behind her, glaring coldly at Isobel, looking as though they were trying to murder the vampire with their eyes alone.

"A name would be nice." Elena said.

"It would, wouldn't it? You ask a lot of questions." Isobel stated.

"Why did you compel that man to kill himself? Right after he told me to stop looking for you?" Elena asked.

"Dramatic impact. I wish it would have been more effective." Isobel sighed.

"Does human life have so little meaning to you?" Chris asked.

"It means nothing to me. It's just part of being what I am." Isobel said indifferently.

"No it's not. I know other vampires, that's not true." Elena shook her head.

"Your new boyfriend over there by the pool table? Stefan Salvatore. Why Stefan? Why didn't you go for Damon? Or are you enjoying them both like Katherine did?" Isobel asked.

This made Elena and Stefan look at her, shocked while Chris was angered and noticed her glass was starting to shake.

"But then again, if you did do that, I suppose you would break poor Alex's heart. After all, she was madly in love with Damon. I wonder if you love him as well." Isobel smirked at the witch.

Clenching her fist, Chris glared at her as she tried not to let herself lose control of her powers or use them on the vampire in front of her.

"Why did you want to meet me? It can't be just to catch up." Elena said.

"Because I'm curious about you. But the real reason is; I want what your uncle wants. Johnathan Gilbert's invention." Isobel revealed.

"How do you know about our uncle?" Elena asked as Chris gave the vampire a suspicious look.

"I used to spend a lot of time here when I was younger. John had a crush on me for years. He was the first one that told me about vampires." Isobel told them.

"Well, that was very stupid of him." Chris commented.

"So, what made you want to be one?" Elena asked.

"It's a very long list of reasons, Elena. All of which I'm sure you've thought about." Isobel said.

"No." Elena denied.

"That was your first lie. It's inevitable. You're going to get old, Stefan won't." Isobel stated the facts.

Elena looked over at Stefan, both looking sad at that while Chris continued to glare at the woman sitting in front of her.

"Forever doesn't last very long when you're human." Isobel said.

"I'm sorry, but I don't have what you're looking for. Chris." Elena said as the two sisters stood up.

As they stood, Isobel grabbed Elena by the wrist making Chris and Stefan tense up as the vampire started to walk over.

"Sit down and tell your boyfriend to walk away. I want the invention." Isobel said.

"I don't have it." Elena told her again.

"I know that, but Damon does and you're going to get it for me." Isobel told her.

"He's not going to give it to me." Elena said.

"Then the blood will be on your hands." Isobel stood up from her seat.

"It was nice meeting you, Elena." Isobel said as she then leaves the Grill.

Tears then fall down Elena's face and Chris was quick to hug her sister, to comfort her in any way possible.

"That bitch needs to be killed." Cera stated.

"Now, now. Every mother cares for her child. Even if she's now a monster, she'll always do whatever she can to protect her child. Even if her methods are unorthodox." Agatha said.

Cera turns to her mother in disbelief as Stefan walks over to the sisters.

"Mother, are you really defending that woman?" Cera demanded.

Agatha hummed as she faded away in a swirl of lights.

"Oh, no you don't. You cannot do that when I am yelling at you." Cera ranted as she faded into a swirl of lights.

Chris let go of Elena to let Stefan pull his girlfriend into a hug while the young witch was confused as to what her mother and grandmother were talking about.

Just then, Bonnie walked into the Grill and saw the tears on Elena's face.

Unsure of what do to or say, Bonnie simply walks off.

(At home…)

Lying on her bed, Chris goes through her spell book, looking over the pages of spells and potions when she suddenly finds a spell on home to locate a witch.

She wondered if she could use it to find someone else like a friend or family member.

There was also a truth spell and a spell to summon a ghost and to destroy a ghost, but it needed to be read by a ghost.

Jeremy then walked into the room making her look over at him as he shut the door and threw himself onto her bed.

"What's wrong?" she asked him.

"Anna hasn't been answering my calls. You two are close. Do you know where she is?" Jeremy turned his head over at his sister.

"No, I haven't seen her in a while. The last time I did was at the pageant, but I didn't talk to her. Did you two get in a fight?" Chris asked.

"No, that's it. We didn't get into a fight. Well, a small disagreement, maybe, but that's it. I just really need to talk to her." Jeremy sighed.

He moved over until he was lying beside his sister, staring at the spell book, curious as to why she was looking through it.

"Hey, why do you have this out?" he asked her.

"I-I don't know. It's just… I thought maybe this would help me think." She said as she let her brother flick through the pages.

Jeremy stopped on a page on vampires and he looked at it curiously which made Chris look down at it, wondering why there was a page about them in the book.

"So, I guess vampires do exist." Jeremy commented.

"Um, yeah. Jeremy, why are you do obsessed with vampires lately?" Chris asked him.

Hazel eyes met hazel eyes, the girl curious as to the look her brother was giving her.

"I'm going to ask you a question and I want you to answer me truthfully." Jeremy sat up.

Hearing how serious he was, Chris sat up as well as she looked in her brother's eyes.

"Okay." She nodded.

Taking in a deep breath, Jeremy looked at her.

"Are vampires real?" he asked her.

She froze at that, but she took in a deep breath as she nodded.

"Yes. They are." She confirmed.

He didn't look surprised at all, as if he already knew this, but he still wanted to ask more questions.

"And Vicki was a vampire." Jeremy said.

"She was. She attacked us, Jeremy. Stefan had to kill her. He had no other choice. She was wild and dangerous. She almost killed me. I'm so sorry. I didn't want to keep this from you, but Elena asked Damon to make you forget." Chris started to get a bit frantic as she explained.

Jeremy pulled his sister into his arms, hugging her to his chest to try and calm her down before anyone else heard her.

He was furious at Elena for what she had done, but what he couldn't believe was that she allowed their baby sister to be pulled into these dangers.

Chris may have been born a witch, but her life wouldn't be in danger right now at such a young age if it weren't for Elena.

"I'm not mad at you. I'm just worried." Jeremy sighed as he hugged his baby sister.

She sighed in relief as she returned the hug, lying her head on his chest.

"I'm sorry." She whispered.

(The next day…)

Elena told Chris that Bonnie knew about Isobel and wanted to talk to them, so they were heading off to the classroom at the moment.

Walking inside the room, they saw Bonnie had Emily's spell book with her and was reading a passage.

"Hey! Thanks for meeting me. I wanted you to see this." Bonnie said as she holds up the book.

"Is that Emily's spell book?" Elena asked as the sisters walked over to sit next to the witch.

"I've been going through it since Grams died. Check this out." Bonnie said.

"What is it?" Chris asked as she sat down.

The picture was then shown to the sisters making them stare at it curiously.

"That's the vampire compass." Elena stated.

"Yeah, according to Emily, Johnathan Gilbert never actually succeeded in inventing anything. Emily secretly spelled them all with magic. Compass, rings and the mystery device you told me about." Bonnie informed.

She then showed them the picture of the device.

"Yeah, that's it. Well, a part of it. Damon only has the one piece." Elena said.

"Emily pledged her loyalty to Katherine, but she couldn't stand by and watch innocent people get killed. This was the only way she could think of to help. To let Johnathan Gilbert believe that he'd actually invented these devices." Bonnie said.

"Does it say what it does?" Elena asked.

Bonnie looks at the pages, reading them over and she gains a look of confusion as she then looks at the sisters.

"Are you sure this is what Isobel wants?" the witch asked.

"Yeah, I'm sure. Why?" Elena asked.

"Bonnie, what's wrong?" Chris asked her.

"This is a weapon. Against vampires." Bonnie said shocking them.

(Later on…)

Caroline found Chris and pulled her over to the float as they watched the boys build it while the girls looked at the plans.

"Okay, why are you so distracted?" Caroline asked the girl.

"Huh? Oh, sorry. It's just…a lot of family drama is going on." Chris sighed.

"Uh oh. Does this have anything to do with creepy Uncle John?" Caroline asked.

"No. well, he is part of it. It's just…I have no idea how to explain it without getting a headache." Chris shook her head.

Looking over at the float, she saw a man she didn't know walk over while Matt was under it, fixing the motor.

As Matt pulled himself out, his arm was still under as the man then jumped down on the plank, sending the plank down on top of Matt's arm.

Everyone gasped in shock when they saw what happened as the blonde jock yelled in pain.

"Oh my god!" Caroline gasped.

"Matt!" Chris cried.

"Get this trailer off! Come on guys, help me!" Matt yells.

Tyler quickly rushes over with his friend's trying to lift it up, but it was too heavy, so Stefan walks over and helps them lift it up off of Matt's arm and quickly pulled him out.

Looking around, Chris found Elena was standing with Isobel and knew that the vampire was the one responsible for this.

Caroline and Chris quickly run over once Matt is free.

"Caroline, call an ambulance." Stefan tells her.

Looking up, he saw Chris give him a worried look and he stood up as he placed a hand on her back, leading her away.

"What's wrong?" he asked her.

"Stefan, Isobel is here." Chris said.

This made his tense up as he looked over to where Elena was, but couldn't find Isobel anywhere.

"Where is she?" Stefan asked.

"She was right there." Chris said.

"You stay here. I go help Elena." Stefan told her as he walked off.

Sighing, Chris ran her fingers through her hair as she walked over to Caroline just as the blonde got off of her phone.

"The ambulance is saying in 15-20 minutes." Caroline reported.

"That-That's not good. We need to get him there now." Chris shook her head.

"I have my car. I can take him to the hospital." Tyler said as he walked up beside her.

"Caroline can take me." Matt insisted.

"I didn't drive." Caroline told him.

"I'll wait. It's fine." Matt said.

"Matt!" Chris said looking at him in surprise.

"You will not wait, okay?! You need to see a doctor, Tyler is driving. End of story." Caroline said firmly, leaving no room for discussion.

"Fine!" Matt snapped knowing he was defeated.

"Go!" Caroline told Tyler.

"I'll bring my car around." Tyler said as he quickly ran off.

Matt then looks at Caroline while Chris glances around for Stefan and Elena, feeling worried when she found them missing and saw that Jeremy was gone as well.

"Has anyone seen Jeremy?" she asked.

"Uh, no." Matt shook his head.

"I'm going to find him. I'm sorry, Matt." Chris said.

"It's fine. Just go." Matt told her.

Nodding, Chris ran off to find her brother, worry consuming her when she couldn't find him.

Rushing home, Chris ran inside.

"Jeremy! Are you home?" she called as she ran up the stairs.

Jenna stepped out of the kitchen when she heard her niece arrive, confused as to why the girl sounded scared.

Pushing open her brother's door, Chris looked inside the room, but didn't find him and that made her worry even more as she pulled out her cellphone and dialed his phone.

"Come on, come on, come on." She muttered.

When the phone kept on ringing, she whined as she then walked out of the room, almost running into Jenna.

"Hey, what's going on?" the strawberry blonde asked her.

I just-I can't find Jeremy anywhere. And-And he's not picking up." Chris said.

"Calm down. I'm sure he's just out with Anna. Don't worry. He's a big boy after all." Jenna said.

Nodding reluctantly, Chris walked off as she heard her phone ring and saw her sister's picture on the screen and held it up to her face and she answered it.

"Hey, what's going on?" she asked as she rushed down the stairs.

"Isobel has Jeremy. Bonnie used a spell to deactivate the device, so we're going to have a trade." Elena informed her.

"Damon gave you the device?" Chris asked as she walked out the door.

"Surprisingly, yes. We're going to the town's square now. Hurry up." Elena told her.

"I'm on my way." Chris said as she hung up and walked outside.

Making her way to the square, the caramel haired girl looked around cautiously for anyone following her that may be working for Isobel.

Since it was now night time and no one would be around, this gave the young witch the perfect opportunity to use her powers if she had to.

She made it to the square to find Elena was already there as Isobel arrived.

"Where is the device?" the vampire questioned.

"Where is my brother?" Elena asked her.

"This isn't a negotiation. Where is the invention?" Isobel demanded.

"Where is my brother?" Elena asked again.

"Do you really think that I came alone?" Isobel asked as a man and woman stepped out from the bushes, flanking her.

"Did you really think that I came alone?" Elena asked as Stefan and Damon arrived, standing behind Isobel, ready to attack if they had to.

Chris then walked over, standing beside her sister as she crossed her arms and Elena smiled smugly at her sister as Isobel looked aggravated.

"For god's sake. Call home." Isobel said.

"What?" Elena asks.

"Call home and speak to your brother Jeremy." Isobel told her.

Elena then pulls out her phone and dials the number, Chris watching her curiously, hoping their brother was safe.

"Jeremy, are you okay?" Elena asked when he answered the phone.

"I'll be home soon, all right?" she told him.

She then hangs up as she looked over at Isobel, a bit of hope in her eyes as she looked at her mother.

"You were never gonna hurt him." Elena said.

"No, I was going to kill him. Don't look for any redeeming qualities. I don't have any." Isobel told her coldly.

"But you took a risk with Damon. How did you know that he was gonna give it to me?" Elena asked.

"Because he's in love with you." Isobel stated.

Damon looked nervous while Stefan glanced at his brother, upset while Chris clenched her teeth in anger.

She knew that Damon's reaction to Isobel's words meant that she was telling the truth.

Strangely enough, it didn't hurt as much as she thought it would.

Walking over to Isobel, Elena then hands over the device.

"Thank you." Elena said.

"For what?" Isobel asked confused.

"For being such a monumental disappointment. It keeps the memory of my real mother perfectly intact." The amber eyed girl said.

"Goodbye, Elena. As long as you have a Salvatore on each arm, you're doomed. Katherine was smart. She got out. But we all know that you're not Katherine." Isobel then leaves with her two minions.

Stefan then walks over to Elena while Damon leaves, Chris watching him go with a curious expression.

"Chris?" Stefan asks making her look at him.

The witch shakes her head as she then walks off, feeling a bit lighter and happier than she had been in a long while.

When she got home, she found John was in the kitchen, sipping tea.

Hearing the door open, he looked over to see his niece and she walked over to the table, sitting down beside him.

"Hey, what's going on with you?" John asked.

"I just found out the guy I love is in love with my sister." She informed.

He looked surprised at this as he stared at her, wondering if she was going to start crying as she confided in him.

"Oh, honey, I'm so sorry. I know what it's like when the person you love doesn't return those feelings." He said.

"I'm not sad. I mean, I'm hurt, but I'm also relieved." She laughed as she buried her face in her hands.

"It's weird, right? For months now I was wondering if he returned my feelings and now that I know he doesn't, I'm happy. I can now move on. And I'm happy." She smiled.

John gave a sigh of relief at this seeing that she truly didn't seem bothered at all and was beaming happily, almost as if she were glowing inside.

"Well, I'm happy for you. Besides, I'm sure this guy isn't worth any tears at all. Now you can find someone else who can make you happy and love you. You deserve that much." John said as he brushed his niece's hair back.

"Well, I'm gonna go to bed. Night." She stood up.

"Good night." John called.

Just as Chris walked inside her room, she heard Elena come home and rush up the stairs, possibly to check on Jeremy.

Agatha then appeared in the room to see her granddaughter changed into a red tank top with white cotton pants that had tiny red hearts on them to sleep in.

"You know. I'm happy to see you taking this heartbreak so well." Agatha said as she bounced on the bed.

"I'm not heartbroken. I'm really okay with this. Sure, I still love Damon, but not like I used to. Sure, a part of me will still have those feelings, but that's normal. Not now I'm happy with knowing the truth and not having to deal with all this confusion and pain." Chris gave a true smile as she lay in her bed.

The old witch gave her a curious look, but seeing as the girl appeared to be fine, she shrugged as she watched Chris flick her finger in the light switch's direction and the light turned off, darkening the room.

Settling down in bed, Chris allowed herself to relax as she fell asleep.

A few minutes later, the window was opened and Anna climbed inside, smiling sadly as she watched her once best friend sleeping.

Waling over to the bed, she left a note on the pillow where she was sure that the girl would find it and then she left.

To be continued…