Unwanted Truths

"Sorry to tell you, honey, but he's not here," The werewolf said from outside the cage after Jules had left, grinning at Astra with malicious intent. She glared right back, half of her face caked in blood from the bullet wound on her temple. "You can keep on talking to him though, I'm sure he'll hear you eventually."

"Vampires have their own tricks, you know."

A sob from Caroline on the opposite side of the cage caused his attention to turn to her, allowing Astra to silently test the chains that were holding her down. She could feel that they had injected her with vervain, leaving her muscles heavy and burning. She tried to fight against the pain that kept her down, but it had been a long time since she had been forced to endure vervain's side-effects for vampires.

"How many vampires are in this town?"

Caroline didn't answer him, refusing to look at him as he sat waiting for an answer. He didn't wait long before he lifted a small green squirt gun, the strong smell of vervain making Astra try to warn Caroline. She wasn't able to get a sound out before the liquid was fired at the girl, cries of pain filling the trailer as her blonde's skin burned on contact.

"Why are you doing this to me?" Caroline yelled in demand as she kicked at the bars of the cage. Astra shifted around on her side of the enclosed space, hissing in pain as the wooden bullet rubbed against her heart again. Fear gripped her as she desperately tried to calm down, wishing that Elijah would come quickly.

"You're a vampire," The man answered, kneeling before the cage. He began to load long wooden sticks, around the size of a toothpick into a black tube. "Why not?" He finished, holding up the tube and aiming at Caroline. Astra growled loudly in outrage and lashed against the bars and chains, her fangs coming out. She could hear some of the chain links loosen as she struggled, the bars creaking against the assault she was placing on them.

The wolf turned his attention to her instead of Caroline, re-aiming his weapon. Astra hissed and bared her fangs right before he blew into the tube, firing the wooden sticks out the end facing her like darts. Astra screamed in pain as they embedded themselves into her neck and shoulder, the searing pain forcing sound from her voice box before she could stop it. Caroline flinched at the sound of rage and pain, cowering away in the corner. The wolf huffed one last time before he turned to leave, closing the door to the trailer behind him.

Astra panted against the overwhelming pain, trying to push it away. Her head was still throbbing from the bullet that had been put in it, even though it had fallen out already, her chest, neck and shoulder were on fire with the wood that was lodged in them, and she could barely breathe against the chain stretched across her throat.

"I…I can help you," Caroline said hesitantly from her place. "I can take the wood out." Astra looked over to the girl from the corner of her eye, her violet eyes falling on the blood and bullet holes that she had as well.

"Do it," She agreed, the words barely making it past her lips. Caroline shuffled closer until she was kneeling beside the other blonde, moving her hair aside to look at the long sticks of wood that protruded from her skin. "Just pull them out." Caroline nodded her head and took one of the sticks between her thumb and index finger, pulling it quickly. Astra hissed in pain but didn't protest, the process repeating until all six of the projectiles lay on the floor. Caroline was looking for anymore, moving her hair away, when she spotting a thin silver chain around the woman's neck, the necklace disappeared beneath her shirt.

"Are you alright?"

"Thank you," Astra gasped out, feeling the injuries already beginning to heal themselves. Caroline moved back, giving the other some space, and looked at her.

"Thank you, for trying to save me," she offered back, reached down to her leg to try and pull out the bullet at the man had fired into it when Jules had walked in. She whined in pain as she pulled it from her thigh, seeing Astra watching her through her hair.

"Elijah is coming," She said quietly, barely audible.

"Stefan and Damon will be, too, I'm sure," Caroline said back, looking around to bars to try and find some way to open the doors. She also needed to find a way to get Astra out if she could open the cage, she wasn't going to leave her here. She may work for Elijah, but she couldn't treat her badly because of that reason alone.

"Caroline," Astra began softly. "I need you to break the chains on my arms, they've already been weakened." Caroline looked down at the thick chains that encased Astra's arms and pinned her back against the far side of the cage, feeling doubt at the thought of breaking them. "Try."

Astra knew that she needed to find a way to leave before Damon or Stefan got to the clearing with Tyler, she couldn't face them yet. She didn't know if Elijah was ready for her to be revealed. If she got her and Caroline out in time, she could have Caroline go and stop them from coming so she didn't need to worry about running into them.

Caroline placed one foot on the side of the metal that surrounded them and took the chains in her hands before she pulled. The metal links ground against each other, beginning to stretch out. Caroline pulled harder, nearly lifting herself off the bottom of the cage in the process. Astra clenched her teeth in pain as the chains tightened around her arms before a single link snapped, freeing her limbs. Caroline fell back against the other side of the cage, the broken chain still in her hands. Astra smiled tiredly, causing Caroline's chest to swell with pride.

"Good work, kid," She praised in a breathless voice. Her arms came around from behind her back, quickly rolling her wrists to remove the cramped feeling in them. The both of them froze at the sounds of voices outside the trailer, one of which was distinctly familiar to both women.

"Stefan," Caroline said with a smile beginning to appear on her lips. Astra inhaled carefully and lifted her hands to the chain stretched across her neck and began to pull, clenching her teeth in pain as her chest injury was pulled and the bullet shifted again. She growled in anger when the chain refused to give way. Caroline moved to at that moment and began to assist, pulling on the chain as well. With the added strength the metal broke, several links flying around the caged space they were in.

"There's a lot of them," Astra said suddenly, listening quietly. "I can hear them moving around the woods. You're friends aren't going to be any match for an entire pack of wolves," She whispered as she looked over to Caroline.

"Stefan's good at peace talks, don't worry," Caroline assured, moving to the side of the cage to once again try and reach for the lock to open the door. A third voice soon came through the walls of the trailer, muffled but understandable. Astra closed her eyes as she tried to mentally prepare herself for what was to come that night. Caroline paused to listen as well, looking in the direction of the voice.

"Damon Salvatore."

Astra moved over to where Caroline was beginning to once more stretch around to the lock, just out of her reach. There would have to be another way, they weren't going to be able to pull that lock. Astra began to rattle the cage, trying to hear for a weak spot that she could use to her advantage to pull it open. She froze and groaned in pain as the bullet moved in her chest, cutting her heart slightly.

"Are you alright?" Caroline asked in worry. Astra tried to breathe carefully, placing her hand over the injury that was causing all the trouble. She was still weak from the vervain, but it didn't influence her as much as any other average vampire.

"The bullet's moving against my heart," She explained, leaning against the side of the cage as sweat began to bead on her skin. Caroline began to panic, fretting with her hands moving around to try and figure out if she could do something to help. Movement at the entrance drew her attention away, Tyler Lockwood appearing a couple feet away.

"Tyler!" Caroline gasped in relief, "There's a latch, there's a latch on the door and I can't get to it!" The boy didn't move, causing Astra to look up to see the reason for his pause. She had thought she had understood that they were friends, but apparently she had misheard. "Tyler?"

"She's with him," Tyler finally said, motioning to Astra. The blonde growled at him in return and moved to lean against the back of the cage, her feet against the door. Tyler looked shocked at the sudden movement, watching as she prepared herself. Astra gave no further warning before she collected her strength and kicked both feet forward, busting the door clean off its hinges. Caroline gasped in surprise, jumping at the loud bang that accompanied the action.

"Move the door," Astra instructed the other vampire, placing a hand against her chest as the bullet pressed further into the injury on her heart. If it moved any further in it would pierce the organ and kill her. Caroline didn't hesitate to do as she had been instructed and pulled the metal door up and onto the top of the cage. Astra could smell the blood that was being shed outside the trailer and pulled herself out of the cage, baring her newly grown fangs at the puppy that stood in her way. Tyler flinched and ducked to the side.

If she was going to deal with Damon and Stefan she wasn't going to be doing it from behind Elijah's protection.

Stepping into the doorway of the trailer, she looked out at the scattered bodies of werewolves. Stefan Salvatore lay in pain on the ground with a werewolf above him, the stake in their hand covered in the eternal teenager's blood. Astra felt her anger ripple and ran at the wolf faster than any could see, digging her hand up through the soft underside of his jaw and into his skull with practiced ease, killing the man instantly as his feet lifted from the ground. A hush fell over the clearing at the appearance of the newest opponent, Damon and the werewolf that had tortured Caroline and herself stilling in their brawl.

"How many vampires does it take to wipe out a werewolf pack?" She asked in an eerily calm voice. Stefan shifted around from his place at her feet, trying to look up at her. He knew that voice. Pulling her hand from the man's head, Astra let his lifeless body drop to the floor, his blood painting her arm. "From past experiences, just one."

One of the wolves ran at her, a stake at the ready and a cry of outrage passing his lips at the sight of his fallen comrade. Astra twisted her torso and nailed a punch to his jaw, turning his head to fast that it snapped his neck in several places. Gripping his jaw in her hand, she pulled at his head until it tore free from his shoulders and threw the large chunk of werewolf at the man that was running up from alongside where Damon was. Blood sprayed across the field, causing the man to scream and fall back as the head collided with his chest. Astra staggered as the pain in her chest bloomed, leaving her breathless.

"You can barely stand," Jules commended from where she was holding a gun toward Caroline, who stood in the doorway with Tyler behind her, both frozen. "Not very good at protecting the girl, I'm sure that your Elijah would be ashamed of you," Jules said with a mocking smile, causing Astra's body to tense in anger.

"Not particularly."

Jules swung the gun over to where the new voice had come from, firing off a shot. The wood on the tree to the side of Elijah flew off in splinters, leaving the vampire completely unharmed. He looked lethal with his scowl in place, hands at his sides. To anyone else he would have looked completely relaxed, but Astra could see the deadly calculation and perfectly tense muscles that would move him just in time for the kill. He wasn't wearing his suit jacket, instead showing the rolled up sleeves of his black dress shirt that revealed the tense corded tendons in his forearms. He came to play.

Before Jules could fire another shot off Elijah had knocked the gun away and dug his elbow into her back until she fell to her knees in pain, shocked at the speed of which he was able to move. "You've touched what belongs to me. Worse, you've injured her," Elijah growled down into her ear, leaving her in fear as she tried to regain herself.

He turned his attention to another mutt a couple of yards away, who raised their hands in surrender, dropping the stake they were holding to the ground. Elijah faintly noticed when they cowered away into the trees and ran off.

Astra felt relief flood her at the sight of Elijah there, before her knees gave away beneath her. A hand steadied her, gripping her arm firmly, but gently. She faintly realized that it was Stefan that was stopping her from completely collapsing to the ground. He seemed hesitant to touch her, as though she was going to disappear it he tried to speak with her, tried to prove she was real.

"Release her," Elijah ordered as he stepped up to where they were standing. He pulled her back to her feet as gently as he could, looking to Jonas over his shoulder as he did so. Astra noticed blearily as the warlock nodded his head before he closed his eyes in concentration. A couple of yards away, Damon leaned against a tree in shock. His eyes met her own, blue clashing with amethyst. He looked too shocked to understand just what he was seeing. The betrayal and anger that she knew was bound to come was yet to register within him at the sight of her with Elijah.

The werewolves around the clearing began to cry out in pain, clutching at their heads as Jonas' spell took hold of them. Astra couldn't look away from Damon as he tried to comprehend just what it was that he was seeing before him. She opened her mouth to say something, not sure what, before an excruciating pain tore a scream from her instead.

Elijah's hand dug deep into her chest cavity, bones splintering around his fingers as they tore through her sternum toward her heart. Her scream mingled with the cries of pain from the wolves and the protested yells of Caroline, Stefan and Damon. Astra gripped at Elijah's arms as he groped around inside her chest painfully before he finally found what he was looking for. He was as gentle as he could be with his hand in her chest as he eased the bullet away from the organ keeping her alive before he pulled his hand from her chest.

He looked over to where the wolf that had been the cause of her pain laid on the ground, still conscious after Jonas' spell, and raised the bullet in his bloody hands; he wanted the man the know what was to come. Astra gripped at his shirt and leaned heavily against his other arm as she tried to stop herself from falling to the forest floor.

"Thank you," She gasped out against his arm, the relief of having the bullet removed overpowering the agony at having his hand tearing into her chest cavity to get it. Elijah took one last look over at the wolf, threat and promise held within his eyes, before tossing the bloody bullet down into the dirt and bending to lift Astra into his arms. Her head fell against his shoulder, her own bloodied hands falling limp over his form as her body finally succumbed to the fatigue of nearly dying.

"Wait, Elijah," Stefan called as the Original began to walk away, looking quickly over at his paralyzed brother.

"I've upheld my promise to Elena," He called back, never once faltering in his stride as he moved off in the direction that he had come. All eyes fell to the woman that was being carried in his arms, her bloodied face barely visible through her hair to them. Her arm hung limp over Elijah's arm, her hand completely painted in blood from protecting Stefan from the wolf. He soon disappeared before their eyes, running off and leaving Jonas to finish what he had started.

I would like to say one thing that is bothering me. I know that some people may not like the way I write this story; flashing between past and present every other chapter, and I can understand if you let me know respectfully. But when I get a review that says it's annoying and tells me to stop and change it, that's just gunna piss me off! I write this story because I love the show, I love to write and I enjoy hearing the feedback that I get from others. In my classes at school I have never had a teacher tell me my work is annoying and to stop writing like it, because that can get them fired. How high and mighty must you think you are to speak about someone else's work in such a way? Constructive criticism is fine, but it's also where I draw the line. Insulting my work in such a way is disgusting for myself and any others who have received such a review. I write the way that I think best suits my story; don't like it? Tough! That's too fucking bad! I'm not going to change the way that I write because 'it's annoying'.

Anyway, sorry for all of my other reviewers and fans of the story, you are not the one who I was writing this for. I suppose one could say I needed to vent. Thank you to all that reviewed, I have updated just as I said I would.

Damon and Stefan are finally here! They know she's alive—so to speak—and now is when things really heat up! In many ways…