Five:


George Parker: What happened? One minute, everything's fine... What went wrong?

David: Nothing went wrong. People change.

George Parker: People change?

David: Yeah, people change.

George Parker: Can they change back?

David: I don't know. I think it's harder.

Pleasantville (1999)


Somewhere in the backwoods of Virginia, around Mystic Falls

Bonnie wasn't sure why she agreed to join Damon, alone, in travelling to the location of the dead witches' house, but she figured if she had to be around one vampire, it was better than two and there was no way she was that comfortable around Stefan and Damon. Being near vampires set off her internal witchy senses, something Caroline bemusedly called her 'Spidey Sense.' Vampires made her skin crawl; they were cool to the touch and had a sucking presence to them that made them stand out from others in a room. Bonnie couldn't tell by sight who was a vampire, but their undead traits and their habits were obvious enough once you studied them long enough.

(And as soon as she touched one, all she saw was death, and blackness. It gave her the heebie-jeebies.)

Of course, while she found Damon to be morally skewed and dangerous, he gave off a different vibe to Stefan, whom she felt the "good guy" act was all that – an act. She didn't trust Elena around him, but the girl was an adult and made her own decisions, so she wouldn't interfere... yet.

"Are we there yet?" called Bonnie, trailing behind the tall vampire, as they trudged through the dense underbrush off the freeway. Damon had text her GPS coordinates to a small hiking path off the interstate, which Bonnie dutifully followed on a rare afternoon off from operating her grandmother's herbal shop. For the past half hour, though, she was following him off the trail and through heavy low-lying tree branches and spiky weeds.

Damon grinned at her from over his shoulder, his leather jacket rubbing and squeaking as he did so. "Almost, Sabrina."

"Bonnie," she muttered, crossing her arms tighter around her body and squeezing her jean jacket tighter. "My name is Bonnie."

"Yeah, yeah," replied Damon, absently, and then pushed through the trees, revealing an empty lot and a dilapidated antebellum. What was once a beautiful turn-of-the-century Southern plantation was now little more than a ruinous mansion. Paint peeled in large chips from the walls, and several overhead beams were missing or collapsed. The front door remained, but many of the first floor windows were smashed out or bordered up.

Bonnie was skeptical. "This is the location?"

Damon sighed. "Bonnie – it's not the house that we're going to; they didn't live there. The ground itself is sacred. This was the location where they were burned – the house wasn't built until much later."

"Right," replied Bonnie, glancing around at the tall, sweeping willow trees and the gnarled, bare branches from a few dead trees that were planted around the house. Some were split from heavy wind or lightning strikes, but overall, the area felt worn and wrecked.

Slowly, the two approached the heavy front door, with Bonnie taking the lead by pushing it open. The door creaked as its heavy weight slowly eased open, and Bonnie suppressed a shiver. She and Damon cautiously stepped into the front foyer, but the few beams of sunlight from broken and rotted side panelling, as well as the crumbling second-floor landing and staircase had Bonnie questioning her judgment in gathering more power to an art she still hadn't mastered.

Irrationally filled with sudden fear, she turned to Damon at her back and lowly asked, "You won't leave me if something jumps out from the darkness, right?"

Damon quirked a grin. "Relax, witchy. I think I'm the most dangerous thing in this house. There aren't any ghosts."

The door behind them slammed shut, making both jump and turn in surprise.

"You were saying?" queried Bonnie from the corner of her mouth as she began to glance around.

Damon, now cautious and wary as well, began to do the same. "Well... I may be the Big Bad, but there's always someone bigger and badder than me."

"Fantastic," groaned Bonnie.

Between her breathing and Damon's soft shuffling, the two began to inch from the foyer to a side door, which Damon gestured she go through. She shot him a dark look in return, clearly asking, are you high?

He rolled his eyes and made the same gesture, although violently now, indicating his annoyance. She barred her teeth at him in response.

A soft breeze filtered through the entrance foyer, and Bonnie felt the hairs at the back of her neck stand to attention. Even Damon froze, his own supernatural sense on high alert. Coming across the breeze were soft whispers, echoes of voices and words Bonnie couldn't make out, but knew were important.

Almost unbidden, she began to follow the voices, through the very same doorway she was reluctant to travel through earlier.

"Bonnie?" she heard Damon ask, his voice holding a cautionary tone, one that bordered on worry.

She ignored him; she continued through the door, which after a small landing, led to a steep wooden staircase. She began the journey down, Damon silently following. At the bottom, another door, rotted and open, led to a small anteroom, filled with candles and left over furniture.

As Bonnie and Damon stepped into the antechamber, Damon hissed; the sunlight filtering in from a broken window at ground level began to burn him, causing the vampire to speed towards a dark corner.

Bonnie glanced at him. "Guess the witches don't like vampires too much."

"Witches in general don't like other supes," responded Damon, watching as his hand healed. "They tend to keep to themselves, but tell them to keep in mind I promised to protect the Bennett line since your ancestor Emily, and have done so dutifully. That should score me some points."

Bonnie quirked an eyebrow in response. "Maybe. Maybe not."

She began walking around the room, getting a feel for it, as the whispers grew louder. Their individual voices were still indistinguishable but there was enough that Bonnie had an idea of what to do. She stopped in the middle of the room, tilted her head to the side as though listening to instructions, and then spread her arms wide on either side of her body.

"Bonnie?"

Damon had taken a step forward, but immediately drew back as Bonnie tilted her head back and opened her mouth – a gut-wrenching noise erupted from her, and the pupils of her eyes disappeared, leaving all white.

Bonnie began moaning, her body shuddering as something invisible coursed through her entire being, from top to bottom. Her hands clenched into fists, her nails digging into the palm of her hands and cutting the skin, dripping blood onto the floor.

"Bonnie!" Damon shouted. "Enough! It's enough!"

The witch in question couldn't stop, and her tremors began shaking her entire body, her moans turning into a high-pitched scream that suddenly cut off as she dropped to the floor.

"Bonnie?!" shouted Damon, racing forward and crouching next to her, suddenly able to be in the daylight again without his ring being rendered powerless.

He touched her shoulder gently, and a hand fluttered to her neck to check her pulse. The young woman lightly moaned, but did not stir.

"I'm going to be in so much trouble," muttered Damon darkly, scooping her into his arms and then using his vampire speed to leave the building. He did not stop until he was at their cars, and without thinking, he placed Bonnie in the backseat of his blue Mustang and drove to the boarding house.

"I hope that was worth it, little witch," murmured Damon as he glanced at Bonnie's still form through the rear-view mirror. "Having that power might help get rid of me from this town, but power always comes at a price."


The first night that Klaus spent at Caroline's was tense, but not tense because of her knowledge of him being a vampire – but rather because the two were discovering a new dimension of their relationship and they were unsure of their footing.

Caroline had led him, by hand and never letting go, into her kitchen and gently setting him at her kitchen table. She then crossed to her cabinets at the sloped ceiling, reaching on her toes and stretching her hand up for a bottle of something above the cabinet. Klaus eyed the flesh of skin revealed between her shirt and jeans.

With the bottle in one hand, Caroline snatched two smaller glasses from the countertop and settled across from Klaus at her kitchen table. Silently, she uncorked the bottle, poured a generous splash of the amber liquid into the two glasses, and pushed one towards him.

He watched as she swirled the liquid around and then downed it like a shooter, her face instantly flushing.

He stifled a smile behind his glass as he raised it to his lips and took a sip. Scotch, he thought, surprised. And a good vintage.

"Alright, sweetheart?" he asked, taking in her flushed cheeks and area around her collarbone.

"Fine," squeaked Caroline, coughing slightly. "It's been a while since I had some of this, that's all."

She shifted in her seat, her eyes rising to his, as she continued speaking. "So. Vampire, huh?"

"Yes," responded Klaus.

"When you were telling me about the Moulin Rouge," began Caroline, a distant look in her eyes as they travelled over his shoulder to an event in their past, "You were telling the truth. You were there at the turn of the century."

"Yes," repeated Klaus, slowly and taking another sip.

"You're over a century old?"

"Physically, I'm twenty-five," supplied the Original cautiously. "That's how old I was when..." he cleared his throat. "Anyway, I've been a vampire much longer than that."

"How long is long?" asked Caroline, settling forward and resting her chin on a propped up hand, as she began to feel more comfortable with the topic.

"Old," chuckled Klaus. "How about you, sweetheart? What happened that had you learning about vampires?"

Suddenly, Caroline's face changed; instantly, it was as though a wall appeared between the two. Klaus recognised it: the wall was her means of hiding something painful that happened to her.

"Caroline?" asked Klaus lowly, eyes narrowed as she refused to answer.

"I met a vampire, only I didn't know he was one," she finally offered, slowly and stiltedly, determined to select the correct words. She shifted uneasily in her seat. "Next question, please."

"We will revisit this, sweetheart," admonished Klaus quietly, eyes catching hers and holding them to demonstrate his seriousness.

Caroline, in response, poured some more scotch into her glass.

The two settled into silence. Being at the edge of town, no cars passed outside of Caroline's apartment and the cemetery across the road ensured there were few animals to generate noise. The silence, however, was not tense or stifling; it was comfortable as the two learned to reacclimatise.

"What is it that Katherine stole from you?" asked Caroline finally.

Klaus looked up from his drink, wondering if he should answer. Having Caroline's help – a second set of uncompelled eyes, as it were – would be a boon. As well, Katarina knew that she was important to him now, and knowledge of how to handle the Petrova would be beneficial for Caroline's sake.

"A Moonstone," he finally said, glancing at the human in front of him. "It was in my possession when we met in England. She stole it from me, and ran. That's when she transitioned into a vampire, as well."

"And it's important to you?" asked Caroline, frowning thoughtfully.

"It's part of a ritual that I wish to complete," admitted Klaus, careful with what information he gave the blonde.

Caroline's eyes widened. "Ritual?"

"I'm not just a vampire, sweetheart," murmured Klaus, eyes catching hers. Caroline stilled, mesmerized by the emergence of the man she knew in Paris, who captured her attention. "I was a werewolf as well. But a curse was placed on me, stopping me from transforming. The ritual – and the Moonstone – would break the curse so I could be both."

Caroline huffed, frowning thoughtfully. "Why was the curse cast on you?"

Klaus resisted shifting awkwardly on the bench. "It's... a story for another time."

"Fair enough."

Klaus reached forward and added more of the scotch to Caroline's glass, then his. He saluted her, and then drank his.

Caroline smiled. "One good thing about being a vampire then: no worries about liver failure."

Klaus laughed. "No, just worries about the sun and being staked."

"But we were out during the day," commented Caroline, interest in her eyes as she spoke. "How does that work?"
"Some stereotypes and myths are true, but for certain special vampires," and with the way he smirked, Caroline could tell her was referring to himself, "We're not challenged by sunlight or stakes like the common vampire."

"Get out!" grinned Caroline. "So – garlic?"

"Myth. I quite enjoy it."

"Holy water?"

"Water is water."

"Coffins?"

"I don't sleep in one, if that's what you're asking," finished Klaus with a waggle of his eyebrows, causing Caroline to let out peals of laughter.

Slowly, as the night progressed, the two of them continued to drink and share stories, staying away from the topic of the Moonstone, the ritual and curse, and the first vampire Caroline came across. Both knew that eventually, they would need to discuss those items, but for now, it was about Caroline and Klaus reconnecting.

As Caroline stumbled from the bench, her legs tangling in each other and a buzz coursing through her body from the scotch, she caught Klaus's eyes as well as his half-crouched position to help her if she face-planted.

"S'long you gonna stay?" she slurred, blinking beadily at him through drunken eyes. "Y'said only fer a few days."

Klaus rose from his end of the table, not even anywhere near drunk or tipsy, and approached Caroline with a smile and spread arms. "I'll stay however long you'll have me."

"Well," began drunk-Caroline. "I s'pect that'll be ferever then."

Klaus couldn't help the grin that spread across his face at Caroline's words – drunk or not, that was how she felt. "Then you'll have me forever," he replied, gently scooping her back into his arms, moving towards her curving staircase to put her to bed.

Maybe it won't be too difficult to convince her, after all, he thought, triumphantly.


Unlike her two friends, Elena spent the day following the dance in bed instead of roaming the Virginian forests or entertaining a long-distance friend. Her night ended with Stefan dropping her off at her house, while Damon had disappeared early on in the night, as had Caroline; Bonnie ended up going home shortly before Elena left as she was working with Professor Shane the next morning.

The night was somewhat romantic. She and Stefan were talking, sharing interests, likes, and dislikes, and laughing at silly jokes. She hadn't got along with another person like Stefan in ages – Matt had only seemed to want to maintain the status quo and it ended up with them breaking up because of it; Stefan was different, worldly, and dangerous. Elena liked it.

So, her day was spent loafing about, thinking about Stefan and daydreaming in bed about how, while Jenna and Alaric got their day started and both disappeared to work at different times. Left alone, Elena made a slow start to her day, taking a leisurely shower, pampering herself by painting her toenails a vivid blue and wriggling them, by watching numerous soap operas, and eating straight from the cereal box.

That was how Stefan found her mid-afternoon, arriving at her front door and ringing the doorbell constantly to display his urgency.

"Stefan?" asked Elena when she opened it. "What's going on?"

"You need to come with me now," he said, ignoring her sweat pants and tight sports bra that doubled as her top for the day.

"What?"

Stefan gently reached forward and tugged her towards him, onto the front porch. Elena stumbled and turned back quickly to grab a pair of sneakers to stuff her feet into, quickly.

"Bonnie and Damon went this morning to the location of the witches' death," explained Stefan in clipped tones as Elena followed behind him. "They were there a few hours ago but Damon just returned with Bonnie. She's unconscious and at the boarding house."

Elena's eyes widened. "Okay, just let me grab my car keys. We'll take that instead of you running around in broad daylight."

"Right."

Elena dashed back inside, grabbed her keys and jotted a quick note to Jenna and Alaric that she was at Stefan's with Bonnie for a brief catch-up. She knew it wouldn't pass Alaric's standards, and that he would question her later about what was going on, but for now it would suffice.

As she drove, Elena peppered Stefan with questions, none of which he could answer. By the time they arrived, a mere ten minutes later, Elena was a bundle of nerves and practically raced through the front doors to find the living room and Bonnie lay out across one of the couches. Damon stood across from her, nursing a tumbler of some dark liquid.

"What did you do?" Elena cried, rushing to her friend's side.

"Me?" asked Damon, insulted. "Why did you assume it was me? I did nothing but watch as your witchy friend did some seriously weird Hogwarts bullshit!"

Elena ignored him and pressed a shaky hand to Bonnie's forehead, brushing back some hair and feeling her cool, clammy skin. "How long has she been like this?"

"About an hour, since collapsing to arriving here and getting you," responded Stefan from the other side of the room, hovering just out of reach but close enough to be part of the conversation. "She hasn't stirred or anything either."

Elena sat back on her heels, on the floor and pressed the heels of her palm to her eyes, exhaling loudly. "Now what?"

"We can sit and wait until Bonnie wakes up," replied Stefan quietly.

Elena sighed, her shoulders slumping forward, her body curling as she leaned forward closer to Bonnie's prone body.

Things had been so simple before the Salvatore brothers showed up in Mystic Falls, thought Elena sourly, despite her conscious attraction to them both. Bonnie was refining her witch skills with her Grams and Professor Shane; Elena was blissfully happy maintaining the status quo among her family by happily plodding along doing the same old, same old; even Caroline had gone on to travel and move past Mystic Falls, only to return and be sucked into its supernatural black hole.

And speaking of, the girls had a training session with Alaric later that they would now have to miss. "I need to call Caroline," muttered Elena, finally rising to her feet and staring challengingly at both Damon and Stefan, especially when Damon made to argue. "No, stop – we were supposed to all meet up later and she'll need to know that it won't be happening now."

"You can use my room for some privacy," offered Stefan, although it was truly a silly and futile offer, as everyone in the room knew that with their superior hearing, Stefan and Damon would hear everything from Elena's end anyway, no matter where she was in the house.

Graciously accepting under the guise of privacy, though, Stefan led Elena up the tiered staircase and to the front of the house's large master, which Stefan had appropriated over the years visiting the Boarding House. With a side and front view of the grounds, Stefan would always know who was coming to visit.

"We'll watch over Bonnie," offered Stefan, shutting his bedroom door behind him as he left Elena alone in the messy and over-stuffed room.

Elena sighed, fishing her phone from her sweats pocket and thumbed through her contacts until she reached Caroline's name. The phone rang several times, and with each pass, Elena became more and more nervous by Caroline's lack of response. She had not spoken or seen her since the dance two nights ago, and although she was not close to Caroline, after what the girl had gone through with Damon made Elena worry.

Finally, the phone clicked and a very sleepy, groggy voice mumbled, "'ello?"

"Caroline?" asked Elena, confirming the sleepy feminine voice was that of her friends, whom she hadn't heard like that ever.

"Oh, 'lena," the voice continued. A rustle of sheets in the background implied Caroline was still in bed. Incredulously, Elena glanced around the dusty and dark room, her eyes falling on an old wind-up bedside clock, which read nearly three in the afternoon.

What the hell? Caroline's a morning person! thought Elena, her eyebrows quirked. "Caroline, are you alright?"

"Mmm, yeah, fine," the woman replied, yawning at the end. "Just getting up now."

"Now?" echoed Elena, blinking in surprise.

"Yeah," continued Caroline, with more rustling in the background. "'Member? My friend was dropping by. We stayed up late last night talking."

"Oh," replied Elena softly. "Well, I'm sorry for waking you up, then, but we have a problem."

"What's wrong?"

Elena began moving around the room, restlessly, and was drawn towards Stefan's large desk, which was littered with open books, and piled, closed books, as well as several uncapped pens and even an old inkwell.

"Bonnie went to the house today to do the spell, with Damon," began Elena, carefully shifting through the closed, piled books to view their titles. Many were untitled, handwritten journals of Stefan's Elena had no wish to read. "Damon said she overtaxed herself and she's unconscious now."

"Where?" asked Caroline, sounding more awake, and breathing slightly heaving as she began walking.

"We're at the Salvatore's," answered Elena.

There was an intake of air on Caroline's end, and some more shifting. Elena's eyes narrowed as she realised the friend was likely still at Caroline's apartment.

"Sorry, I know I interrupted you and your friend," she began slowly. "But it's Bonnie. And we were supposed to meet with Alaric tonight. It's just all this vampire business, and now another vampire in town..."

"Oh, her," replied Caroline. "Damon and I met her the night of the dance. He knows her, so you can ask him about Katherine."

"Katherine?"

"Yeah," continued Caroline, and the clanking and running water in the background had Elena guessing she was making tea. "She and Damon totally have a history. Spoke about Stefan too, she did. And she's a right bitch – I wouldn't trust her at any point in time if I see her again."

Elena hummed, her hand moving across the desk to shift some loose papers away, revealing a square, gold-plated and etched designed case with a clasp. Elena began to pick at the clasp, trying to pop it open absently, something to fiddle with.

"I'll ask when I go back downstairs," she said.

"Where are you now?"

"I'm in Stefan's room," she answered, and ignored the disagreeing noise Caroline made. "Stop that."

A huff on Caroline's end made Elena roll her eyes. "Fine. Look, I'll text you later about rescheduling with Alaric. Are you going to come by later to see Bonnie or not?"

"I'll swing by later, but only for a little bit," replied Caroline carefully.

"Oh," said Elena, again reminded that Caroline had company. "Yeah, we don't want your company getting suspicious about what's going on it town."

Caroline chuckled on the other end of the line, huskily as she cleared her throat. "Yeah, we don't want to tip our hand that there's something wrong with this town and how it's overrun with vampires. Besides, I think he has other plans of his own, so he won't always be around Mystic Falls."

"Okay," replied Elena, trusting Caroline's judgment. "Send me a message when you're on your way."

"Sure. Bye," the woman replied, hanging up.

Elena snapped her phone shut, sliding it back into her pocket just as the clasp on the gold case popped open. Eager to reward herself by opening it up, she was surprised to find a faded, sepia-toned photograph inside, as it was a photograph stand. Unfortunately, Elena's flush of pride in her opening the case soon evaporated as her eyes focused on the figure in the photograph.

The girls' dark hair – black or brown, Elena couldn't tell – was elaborately coiled into small curls and artfully half-piled atop the girl's head. She wore period clothing, a dress with a high lace-covered neck with a sweetheart neckline in a different fabric. The dress's neck accentuated the locket she wore – the same locket Stefan gave Elena.

But what startled Elena the most was the coy, cunning look the girl wore, as her dark eyes stared out at the photographer... and the fact that she was a splitting image of Elena.

Underneath the oval photograph lay cursive script, which read: Katherine Pierce, 1864.

Katherine Pierce, the other vampire in town. Who knows Stefan and Damon, who attacked Damon and Caroline the night of the dance... whom Damon wanted to save from the tomb under the church, Elena thought furiously, snapping the photograph case closed. Her anger began to grow as pieces began to fall into place.

Damon, who had Bonnie still go to the witch's burial site and obtain their power to open a tomb he no longer needed because he knew Katherine wasn't in it. What game is he playing now? She thought, turning to the bedroom door and beginning to walk towards it.

Something was going on between Stefan, Damon, and Katherine and Elena wanted to know what it was.

She threw open the bedroom door and pounded down the stairs, entering the living area red-faced and chest heaving in her anger, which only grew with each step she took. Damon had moved from the sideboard to sit on a couch while Stefan hovered near Bonnie. Both, however, looked up as she approached.

Before either could speak, Elena ground out, "What the fuck is going on? Who the hell is Katherine Pierce, why does she look exactly like me? Why do you have her photograph, Stefan and why did you give me the locket she used to wear? And what the fuck were you playing at, Damon – making Bonnie go through that with the witches when you knew Katherine wasn't in the tomb?"

Stefan's jaw dropped open, as each accusation flew fast and furiously straight from Elena's mouth to both Stefan and Damon, each word more damning than the last. Damon remained lounging on the couch, as Elena's eyes finished her rant on Stefan, demanding answers from him first.

"Uhh," began Damon's younger brother elegantly, eyes darting left and right as he began to gather his thoughts.

"Best answer fast, Stefan, and it better be good," retorted Elena, fisting her hands by her side. While she knew she couldn't beat a vampire in a fight, she wasn't afraid of fighting dirty, no matter how attracted she was to either brother.

When Stefan failed to reply, Damon happily spoke up. "Katherine Pierce was a guest of our family in 1864. She then played the two of us against each other and like fools, making us both fall in love with her while plying us with her blood in case anything happened. Of course, Katherine is a vindictive, cruel bitch who manipulated us and left us to die. Instead, we transitioned into vampires."

"That doesn't explain why she looks like me, or why you made Bonnie go through with everything," snapped Elena, her eyes on Damon.

Damon shrugged. "Bonnie still needed the extra power for the other vampires in the tomb. Mystic Falls has that lovely Council – you know the one that fights all vampires in town, right? Well, instead of just entombing them where they are desiccating, why not actually get rid of them? Or find a way to stuff Katherine inside so we don't have to worry about her anymore? Bonnie still needed that power to manage that."

"Does she know that?" answered Elena tartly.
"Well, I was going to suggest it to her before she lost consciousness, but I don't think she can hear me now," retorted Damon with an eye roll.

"Ugh," Elena groaned, turning to Stefan, her hands on her hips as she effectively dismissed Damon. "And you?"

"Katherine had the locket filled with vervain. She used it as a daily reminder of how to fight the effects of vervain," began Stefan carefully, sensing Elena's patience was running thin. "I have her photograph because I..." he squirmed in his seat. "I used to love her."

Damon snorted.

Elena frowned. Both were still not answering some of her questions. "Why do we look alike? Is this some weird genetic thing?"

Stefan's face lit up, like he was ready to use that as an excuse, while Damon rolled his eyes. Before Stefan could say anything, Damon's eyes had slid to his brother and gleefully answered Elena. "It's because you're a Doppelganger."

Elena blinked. "A what?"

"Dopp-el-gang-er," Damon said again, with relish as he over-enunciated the syllables. "It means you're a physical copy of someone else, like a twin, but from a different set of parents, or even different time, in this case."

"What's so special about a doppelganger?" asked Elena, frowning and moving slowly to sit near Bonnie, who was still lying unconscious on the couch as she began to focus her questions to Damon, the only one who was answering her. "And why me?"

"You're probably related to Katherine somewhere in your family tree, so that's why you look alike," continued Damon with a shrug. "But as to its importance, I don't know. I've never run into another Doppelganger before, but with all the research I've done into Katherine over the years, I know enough about the supernatural world to know about her."

"Are they supernatural?" asked Elena curiously, folding her hands in her lap as she sat still.

Damon shrugged again.

Stefan made a strange noise in the back of his throat, causing their eyes to fly towards him. "In a sense."

At Elena's look, he slowly elaborated. "Lexi," here, he shot a dark look at Damon, "Used to say that there were stranger things in our world than we knew of, beyond vampires."

"Like Doppelgangers," inserted Damon. He glanced at Bonnie. "Witches."

"Or werewolves," quietly said Elena, causing both Salvatores to look at her in surprise.

"What? Werewolves exist?" asked Damon in surprise, sitting up from his lounging position against the couch to peer intently at Elena.

She looked surprised now, blinking and licking her lips nervously. "You didn't know? You're vampires. It seems strange to believe that you exist but other supernatural creatures in literature and pop culture don't exist."

"Huh," replied Damon, slowly sitting back as Stefan shifted uneasily.

"Anyway," he continued slowly, glancing between Elena and Damon warily, "Lexi said that there was something that acted like a beacon for supernaturals. Some type of binding agent that worked to bring supernatural creatures together, or something similar to that."

"And you think that's what a Doppelganger does?" asked Elena with a frown, leaning forward to place an elbow on her knee and to use her hand to prop her chin up. "Then there should be more of us out there. Not just me."

"It's likely there are more, and that' you're considered magical, but that they're rare," supplied Stefan.

"Then excuse me if I don't find it fishy that all of a sudden there is a convergence of vampires in Mystic Falls," called a feminine voice, echoing through the large family room as Caroline stepped through the open doorway and moved directly to Elena and Bonnie.

"When did Blondie get here?" asked Damon, and to which no one answered.

"Thanks for coming," said Elena quietly, aware that both Salvatores could hear her.

"No problem," replied Caroline, her green eyes glancing from Stefan to Damon warily as she stopped beside Bonnie's form. She knelt on the floor and grabbed Bonnie's hand to hold. "Sounds like you guys were getting to the interesting, theoretical part. Don't let my arrival stop you from continuing such a riveting discussion."

Stefan cleared his throat. "That's all I know about Doppelgangers."

"I'm sure we could Google some more," replied Caroline loftily.

"What, Blondie? You think someone's compiled a website pull of data about supernatural creatures and all we need to do is search 'doppelganger' and we'll get all the answers?" sneered Damon.

Caroline lifted her eyebrows. "I don't think we'll find all the information, but we'll find a good place to start looking, don't you think? Most texts are scanned and uploaded to museum servers and online archives, so we can access those online to see if there are any associated words to ancient texts."

Damon blinked. "That's... actually a good point, Blondie."

Caroline gave him a look. "I'm more than just a blonde-haired bimbo, Salvatore. After all, people only see what they want to see."

Damon hummed but didn't speak, leaving Elena to fill the gap.

"That still doesn't answer why me, Stefan," said the brunette, facing the younger Salvatore. "You used to love Katherine, you will have her photograph; I look just like her and you pursued a relationship with me. Is that why you saved me that night? Because, excuse me if that doesn't come across as weird."

Stefan sighed. "When your car when into the water at Wickery Bridge"—Caroline stiffened at the knowledge and turned to Elena, who shook her head—"I didn't know that you looked exactly like Katherine. It wasn't until I saw and your father wanted you saved that I realised. And once you were out of the water, I realised I couldn't leave Mystic Falls until I realised if you were like Katherine or not."

Elena stared. "You... stayed in Mystic Falls... practically stalked me... to see if I was a manipulative vampiric bitch?"

Stefan winced. "It did sound better in my head than out loud, I admit."

Damon laughed. "You think?"

Elena was thunderstruck; her eyes were wide and she was pale. Caroline reached forward from her spot beside Bonnie on the floor to touch Elena's knee gently. Elena looked at her friend, saw her concern, and mumbled, "I—I really need to – to think about this..."

"Elena..." murmured Stefan, ready to step forward as he reached out with a hand.

"No," she said, standing from the couch, raising her voice just as Bonnie groaned and mumbled something under her breath. Her eyes cut to her witch friend. "I need time to think this over, and Caroline and I need to get Bonnie home."

Damon nodded genially from his spot, eyes roving constantly from the three human girls to his brother in a suspicious, curious move. "You know where we are, Elena," he said, just as Bonnie muttered, "What happened?"

"What do you remember, Bon?" asked Caroline softly.

"The witches," she muttered, bringing a hand up to her forehead to press down, just as she began to sit up slowly. Elena and Caroline helped her, easing into a sitting position on the couch. "So much power... they were so angry... at everything."

"Are you okay, then?" murmured Elena.

"I... I think so," replied Bonnie. "But I can feel it. It's like this... this itch under my skin... like a static shock but it's not going away. I can feel the power, like knowing a word on the tip of your tongue but not saying it."

Caroline frowned. "You're going to need a lot of practice to channel that properly."

Bonnie nodded, but it was obvious she wasn't listening as she stared at her hands and slowly flipped them from looking at the back to her palms, flexing her fingers into a fist.

Elena and Caroline shared a look, moving to help Bonnie stand and then begin moving her to the front entrance way and Caroline's car. "Let's get you home so you can rest, okay?" Elena was saying, as Caroline fretted on her other side: "Lots of tea and chicken noodle and Downton Abbey!"

"Sounds good," laughed Bonnie weakly, resting on her friends as they shuffled away from the two Salvatores, who made no move to stop them.

Once in Caroline's car, with Bonnie and Elena in the backseat, Elena tentatively said, "Stefan never answered me."

Caroline hummed her agreement. "I heard." Her eyes met Elena's through the rear-view mirror. She shifted and slowly began, "I, ah... I should mention that before I moved out, on the night of Lexi's death..."

Elena looked from Bonnie to Caroline, who was gripping the steering wheel tightly. "What?"

"Damon came by my mom's," she said quietly. "The night he asked me to help chaperone the dance? He said he didn't trust Stefan's arrival in Mystic Falls. That there was something... off about him that Damon hadn't seen before, and that he didn't recognise."

"Are you saying that Damon doesn't trust Stefan?" asked Bonnie with a frown.

"Well, I suppose," hedged Caroline. "But that does go both ways. They seem to have a history with each other where they either have each others' backs, or they hate each other's guts."

The girls shared smiles at the comment.

"But you think it has something to do with me?" asked Elena, and Caroline sighed. Of course, everything came back to Elena.

"I think there's more to the story than we know, and I think we should look into things," replied Caroline carefully. "Like, the Council. How did they learn about vampires to begin with? What threat did they see in them and werewolves? What really happened that night when they trapped the twenty-six vampires in the tomb? Who's on the Council now?"

Elena made a noise. "But what does that have to do with Stefan? And me? And the Doppelganger and Katherine?"

"I think a lot more than we know," said Bonnie, blinking as Elena turned to her, a wounded expression on her face. "Look, I know you like Stefan, but there's something off about him. And Damon, too."

"But he's always been nice to me," argued Elena, as Caroline slowed to a halt in front of Bonnie's house.

"A lot of people are nice before they hurt you," said Caroline quietly, clearly thinking about her time with Damon, causing Bonnie and Elena to look shame-faced. "Look, Elena," she sighed and turned in the driver's seat to face her friends in the back, "It's not really about you in this sense – I think there's something bigger going on and we're in the middle of it now." A strange look came over her, as if Caroline was thinking of something else. "I just think we're not being told the whole story from anyone and that we need to know more before we make any decisions."

Bonnie unclipped her seat belt and nodded. "As nice as you think Stefan is, 'Lena, it's clear you have the hots for him. And that impairs your judgment."

"And your hating vampires impairs yours," argued Elena back hotly.

"So then we all need to be as impartial as we can, understanding that we have different perspectives and add those together to learn the truth," replied Caroline with an even tone, being peacekeeper. "So, Bonnie, get some rest and Elena, start going through your parents' journals. Ask Jeremy things. There has to be something we're missing."

"Fine," replied Bonnie easily, unlatching the door, and stepping out. "I'll call you guys later. Night."

Elena got out as well, realising Caroline wanted her gone because she had transcended into 'planner mode' and she was close enough to the town centre to meet with Matt at the Grill, so catch Jenna on her way back from Whitmore.

"I'll try to keep my thoughts impersonal," promised Elena gruffly, as she got out. Caroline rolled down the window to speak to her, as Elena stood on the sidewalk.

"Good," the blonde said, "Because I think we're about to step into a shitstorm of epic proportions, Elena, and as good-looking as Stefan or Damon are, you need to think about yourself first."

Elena's disgruntled features softened. Caroline was just looking out for her. "I understand, Care. Thanks for coming over and telling me this. I guess I needed it."

"That's what I'm here for," replied Caroline with a grin. "And look – while I don't trust Damon and Stefan – for obvious reasons – they are both different with you. I just wouldn't trust them blindly without more knowledge. There definitely is something strange going on with Mystic Falls in general, and I think we should know more about the supernatural world before we get further pulled in." She glanced away. "I don't know about you, Elena, but I feel like we're on the cusp of something big happening."

Elena nodded. "Me too."

Caroline gave a wide-grin and waved as the window slid up and she pulled away, leaving Elena standing outside Bonnie's house (although she had already gone grumpily inside, complaining of a headache and needing sleep).

Elena took a deep breath, held it a moment, then let it out. She turned and began walking towards town and then the river, towards the cemetery. She needed some time to think, to suss things out between her feelings and Stefan, even her feelings about Damon (which is never tried to acknowledge), and things she had learned.

Caroline was right: something was coming. And Elena needed to get her head – and heart – out of her ass long enough to prepare for whatever was coming, and soon. She shivered, rubbing her hands up and down her arms. Katherine Pierce was up to something, and Elena was determined to learn what.


TBC...