CHAPTER TWENTY SIX   /   ACT TWO

Family Ties

                             Angelina brushed her hair and pulled it back into a ponytail as her reflection in the mirror stared back at her. It had been days since the carnival, and she and Stefan had been teaching Caroline the ins and outs of vampirism ever since the incident. They had only shown her a glimpse of what they had gone through as she had yet to find a daylight ring so she could be properly taught.

Bonnie's reaction was less than favorable after they all told her what had happened to her. But they weren't expecting anything else from her. The two hadn't spoken in days, so there was no one else to give her the authority to walk amongst everyone else as usual.

So, in place of the Bennett witch's absence, she and Stefan had done everything they could to assist their friend, and they were just about to venture to the newly turned vamp's house to offer more comfort. Angelina exhaled and placed the brush on the counter before exiting the bathroom and entering Stefan's bedroom, where she had spent the night before, leaving the room and quietly descending the stairs, where the sound of voices grew louder and louder.

She recognized the voices as Damon's, Stefan's, Elena's, and, surprisingly, Alaric's. She hadn't paid attention to a single word they said until Alaric mentioned a certain werewolf family.

"Now why would I know anything about the Lockwood's?" He said, and she came to a halt at the first step behind a wall, where no one could see her eavesdropping on their conversation.

"Well, you wouldn't," Damon began. "But you're dead- not dead, vampire wife might."

"Isobel's research, from when you guys were at Duke together," The Gilbert spoke up. "You said she had spent years researching this town."

"Isobel's research here- Mystic Falls, was rooted in folklore and legend." The vampire hunter responded. "At the time, I thought most of which was fiction."

"Like that amazing vampire story." Damon taunted him.

"Aside from vampires, what else?" Stefan continued the conversation, ignoring his brothers jokes.

"The lycanthrope."

Angelina drew her brows together and crossed her arms, recognizing the word lycanthrope as werewolf.

"Wait, like werewolves?" Elena quizzed.

"No way, impossible." The eldest Salvatore denied. "Way too Lon Chaney."

"Is it?" Stefan challenged.

"I've been on this planet 160-some odd years, I've never come across one. If werewolves exist, where the hell are they?" He explained and Angelina chuckled to herself at his blatant ignorance.

"Well, why do you suspect the Lockwood's?" Alaric asked.

"Because vervain didn't effect the Mayor on Founder's Day, but the Gilbert device did, and it effected his son, Tyler."

"And according to Angelina, at the carnival his uncle Mason exhibited an inhuman amount of strength." His brother added. "It suggested some sort of a supernatural entity."

"We were hoping that Isobel's research could help us figure out what it is." Elena said, hoping to be granted permission to look into her research to learn more about the werewolves.

"Well, all of her things are still at Duke." Alaric cleared his throat as he rested his back on the couch. "I mean, her office is still there. She's technically still missing."

"So, can we get access to it?"

"I mean, I don't know."

"Ric, we need to know what we're dealing with." Damon said. "If this wolfman thing is true, I've seen enough movies to know it's not good. It means, that Mason Lockwood is a real life Lon Chaney, and that little Tyler punk may just very well be Lon Chaney Jr., which means, Bela Lugosi- meaning me, is totally screwed."

"Fine.. I could try and see if we can get in," Alaric offered and the vampire clapped his hands together and rose from his chair. "I'm sure we could get in somehow."

"Perfect!" He exclaimed whilst both Elena and Stefan copied his movements. "Then is everyone ready?"

"I can't go," Stefan crossed his arms. "Angelina and I are still helping Caroline, and-"

Just before he could complete his sentence, Angelina stepped out of the darkest and revealed herself to the group, attempting to pass off as she had just been coming down the stairs and happened to overhear their conversation. "Um- I'm gonna go with Damon this time."

"You were listening.. that's not creepy at all." The eldest Salvatore remarked as the four turned their heads in her direction.

Stefan frowned, tilting his head to the side in confusion. "What about Caroline?"

"I'll be there to help her tomorrow." Angelina answered, shrugging gently. "You go without me this time, okay?"

Her unexpected change of plans may have been abrupt, but it wasn't illogical in her thinking. It wasn't that she didn't want them to know about werewolves; in fact, she couldn't care less. The Lockwoods, on the other hand, were the ones that worried her the most. After her brief, unpleasant altercation with Mason at the carnival, they were no longer safe to be around. Especially if he was working with her sister.

It wasn't just the Lockwoods who were forcing her to drive her friends away from learning more about then; it was also Isobel's research. She was like a mad scientist preoccupied with a certain topic before she turned. As in supernaturals. She was confident there was something about doppelgängers in there somewhere, and while it was evident that she and Elena were doppelgängers, she didn't want them to find out anything more than just that. For the sake of their own safety.

As a result, she needed to keep an eye on them at the office.

"Alright, I guess." He nodded in understanding, though he still remained skeptical about her sudden decision change.

"I could go with you, y'know if that's alright." Elena offered and Stefan gave her a sidelong glance and then grew silent as he stared at her.

"No thanks, um.. I think I'll be fine alone." As he peered down at her, his response was abrupt, and his eyes were frigid. The brunette's face softened and a frown fell upon her, increasing the tension, which was shortly relieved by Damon clearing his throat to break the awkward silence.

"Well then," He rubbed his hands together. "Is everyone ready?"

"Yup, I am." Alaric stated as he began to leave the boarding house, followed by Damon and Elena, whilst Stefan and Angelina remained behind.

"You sure you'll be alright alone?" Angelina stepped closer to him.

"Yeah, I'll be fine." He shrugged and wrapped his arms around her waist, and she wrapped hers around his neck. "I was planning on asking Bonnie if she was willing to give her a daylight ring."

"Yeah, well good luck with that." She chuckled, resting her head on his chest as he rested his chin on her forehead.

Angelina's smile widened as she tightened her embrace with him. Despite the fact that it was painfully evident, neither of them had stated whether or not they were dating. It seemed strange to her to think of him as her boyfriend. She had imagined there was a slim chance they'd meet again after she left Mystic Falls in 1864, let alone fall in love all over again. Not that she ever stopped.

The more she considered it, the more she began to overthink it. Did he ever stop loving her, even if he was blinded by anger for her fleeing after the raid?

She shook off the feeling and pulled away from him, gazing into into his eyes as the corner of her lips curled into a smile to which he returned.

"I should probably go." She whispered to him and he nodded, pecking her on the lips before letting go of her. "I'll see you later, alright?"

"Be safe." He said and grinned, and she spun on her heel and walked out of the boarding home, attempting to hide her smile and the crimson patches of blush on her cheeks. She exiting his home to see Alaric's car parked out front with the three of them standing outside waiting for her.

Damon noticed Angelina's beaming eyes as she closed the door behind her and immediately put two and two together. "What's got you all smiley?" He taunted her, despite already knowing the answer.

"Oh nothing."

                             "How you doin' back there?" Damon sarcastically inquired of Elena as he shifted his gaze to the back seat, where both doppelgängers were seated next to each other. One staring out the window, oblivious to the conversation, while the other glared Damon down.

When Elena failed to respond, he continued on which everyone in the car could tell only aggravated her more. "You know, this whole pretending to hate me thing is getting a little silly."

"I don't think she's pretending." Alaric scoffed and glanced in Damon's direction. "You did kill her brother."

"There is a huge asterisk next to that statement. He came back to life." The vampire defended himself.

"Yeah, thanks to a ring that you didn't know he was wearing." Elena retorted.

"Why are you so sure I didn't know?"

"Did you?"

"Yes."

"You're lying."

"Elena, I saw the ring! Big tacky thing; it's hard to miss."

"Let me just take the time to name the millions of different places I'd rather be right now." Angelina threw her head back onto the back of her seat repeatedly and moaned dramatically.

"You're the one who insisted on coming." Damon pointed at her.

"Starting to regret that now."

The car fell silent again and Angelina continued to gaze out the window into the sky, watching as birds flew by along the trees blocking her view. She had to admit, it was nice to be able to go on a short road trip. Last time she had one was when she was knocked out in the back of Damon's car with Elena driving into Mystic Falls, which was not exactly fun.

"Hey, Ang," Elena began and she shifted her head in her direction, nodding for her to continue. "I came to wake you up, your weren't in your room this morning.. did you spend the night at the boarding house?"

The Petrova opened her mouth to speak, but no words came out as she was struggling to find the words. No one had known about her and Stefan's relationship except Damon. It wasn't that they were ashamed of their relationship; it was just that there was so much drama surrounding them, from Elena kissing Damon to Katherine wreaking havoc among then, and Caroline turning, that announcing to everyone they were together wasn't at the top of their priority list.

"Yeah.. I did." She finally spoke, though her answer was hesitant.

"Angelina's a frequent house guest actually." Damon turned his head back to them, and they both rolled their eyes. "Though she seems to only spend time with Stefan.. hmm."

"Well, Stefan's much better company, and a much better friend than you." She snapped back.

"Oh, yeah of course." He teased. "You two are just a couple of best friends."

Angelina bit her tongue, deciding not to fight back as it would aggravate her even more. Elena, who sat there with a bewildered expression on her face, pondered deeper into Damon's emphasis on couple. But she reluctantly shrugged off his statements and tried to forget about the conversation; she knew he was nothing more than a tease looking for a reaction from either of them.

Even yet, she couldn't help but wonder if there was something more going on.

                             The four stolled into Duke together, admiring the exterior, which was adorned with statues, furnishings, huge bookcases brimming with nearly every book, and a warm, inviting fireplace on the other side of the room. The lobby was noticeably quieter than Angelina had expected; there was scarcely anybody else in sight besides them.

"So, Isobel was officially employed by the Anthropology department, given that most paranormal phenomena is rooted in folklore." Alaric proceeded to explain, leading them to a room in the corner with junk in every corner and a young woman, oblivious to their presence, digging through drawers.

"Excuse me, hi," He greeted her and she shifted her gaze towards the group. "I'm Alaric Saltzman, I called earlier."

"Yes, of course." The woman smiled and shook his hand welcomingly. "I'm Vanessa Monroe, research assistant.. comparative folklore." She introduced herself.

"Uh, let me just grab Isobel's keys."

"I'm sorry," Alaric apologized and turned towards the group. "These are my friends Elena, Angelina, and Damon. I hope this isn't too much of an imposition."

"Please," She shrugged it off and gave him a warm reassuring smile before pointing towards a door next to them. "Isobel's office is right through there.. she was one of my first professors; I'm a grad student, she was brilliant. One of the reasons I went into folklore." She walked over to the desk, which was only a few steps away, and began checking the drawers for a pair of keys.

"I have to ask... has there been any news?" Her tone became solemn, referring to her sudden "disappearance".

"No. No, I'm afraid not." The hunter answered and Vanessa sighed as she walked towards the locked office door, inserted the key into the doorknob, and opened it to discover a gloomy, empty room drenched in sunlight streaming in through the windows. The five of them entered the room, dispersing into various places and thoroughly inspecting every inch of the cluttered space.

"I'll grab the light, feel free to look around." She told them before walking off and leaving the three of them alone.

A few minutes passed and neither of them had found a thing regarding the Lockwood's or werewolves in general. Though Angelina's search hadn't exactly been thorough.

"Where'd she go?" Damon spoke up, only now realizing that Vanessa hadn't returned from turned on the lights.

Angelina's heart skipped a beat as she turned around and saw Vanessa standing on the opposite side of the room, holding a wooden crossbow. Before anyone could react, she shot the arrow straight at Angelina, triggering gasps from the rest of the group who watched in shock. Except unfortunately for her, the doppelgänger caught the arrow in her hands, and rage welled up within her.

"What the hell?!" She seethed before throwing the arrow back in the direction of Vanessa, though she instead aimed for the wall next to her. Just as she was about to lunge at her, Damon wrapped his arms around her waist to hold her back whilst Alaric dragged Vanessa out off the room and Elena took the crossbow from her hold.

"Let go of me, Damon!" Angelina flashed her fangs at him but he remained unfazed at and instead tightened his grip on her.

"Calm down, and I will." He answered and she rolled her eyes before taking a deep breath, gradually calming down with each passing second and he eventually let go. Evidently still annoyed, she marched out of the room to where Elena and Alaric sat with Vanessa, interrogating her.

"Care to explain why you just tried to impale me with a wooden arrow?" She retorted.

"I'm sorry, I freaked, okay?!" The research assistant exclaimed "It's just not possible, Katherine and Angelina Pierce can't be alive and Damon Salvatore died in 1864! Okay? I read Isobel's research."

"Well, then you should know just how possible this is." Alaric responded.

"I'm Elena Gilbert, Isobel's daughter, and a descendant of Katherine and Angelina." Elena introduced herself. "And this Angelina Pierce, who you just shot at."

"You're lucky I'm feeling nice to day." Crossing her arms, the Petrova cocked her head to the side as she eyed her up and down.

"So.. you are alive.." Vanessa mumbled under her breath.

"Look, we need your help." Elena continued on. "Okay, we need to see all of Isobel's research, anything related to Mystic Falls."

"..Fine." She exhaled before rising from her chair and walked towards a shelf cluttered with various objects, grabbed a box off of the top, and set it on the desk. "This box tracks you and Katherine's arrival to Mystic Falls in April of 1864."

"A little bit stalker-ish." Angelina whispered to herself and dug through the box. "Is this all of it?"

"All that I'm aware of."

After a few more minutes of searching and searching no one had found a thing. Though still, she wasn't searching thoroughly. If they eventually did find something related to the ritual, to Klaus, or anything about her past, she had no idea how she'd be able to stir the attention off of that and onto something else. Or how to just destroy the information altogether.

"Hey guys," Alaric spoke up as he read through a book filled with old drawings and worn out pages. "Check this out." Everyone soon migrated towards Alaric and gathered in a circle around the book, gazing at the illustrations.

"There's no record of werewolf mythology in Mystic Falls." Vanessa told them. "But here are some records of the lesser known legends."

Angelina's eyes narrowed and leaned forward, her eyes immediately traveling to old Aztec writings, which roughly translated to "The Curse of the Sun and the Moon". As she read the book, her heart skipped a beat and she rested her palms on the table.

"That right there," Vanessa pointed towards the writings. "It's Aztec, it says 'The Curse of the Sun and Moon'. It explains one origin of the werewolf curse traced through Virginia. The short story, 600 years ago, the Aztecs were plagued by werewolves and vampires. They terrorized the countryside, made farming and hunting impossible. Until an Aztec Shaman cursed them, making vampires slaves to the sun and werewolves servants of the moon. As a result, vampires could only prowl at night, and werewolves could only turn on a full moon."

"When the full moon crests in the sky, whosever unlucky enough to fall under the werewolf curse turns into a wolf."

"Can they control the transformation?" Damon inquired.

"If it were a choice, it wouldn't be called a curse. Werewolves will attack humans but instinct and centuries of rivalry have hardwired them, to hunt their pray of choice. Vampires."

"Well, if werwolves were hunting vampires, I'd know about it." He replied arrogantly.

"Not if there aren't that many werewolves left alive. Hundreds ago vampires hunted them almost to extinction."

"Why would they do that?" Elena pondered on her words.

"To protect themselves. Legend has it that a werewolf bite is fatal to vampires."

Angelina's eyebrows drew together and she adjusted her posture. Out of everything she knew about werewolves, she was completely unaware of that significant detail. But the more and more she thought about it, the more she began to worry.

"I have to make a call." She abruptly raised her voice and left the group to stand out in the hallway for privacy as she pulled out her phone from her pocket and dialed Stefan's number. If he and Caroline had succeeded in convincing Bonnie to give her a daylight ring, there was no doubt the blonde would've wanted to spend the entire day out until nightfall.

"Hello?" Stefan's voice emitted from the phone as she placed it by her ear.

"Hey, Stef." She ventured further down the hall. "How're you and Care?"

"We're fine." He replied. "Bonnie finally gave her a daylight ring and I taught her some control, then we went to the swimming hole. Tyler Lockwood threw some party there."

"Are you still out?"

"Yeah, we're cleaning up."

"Listen, um- be careful, alright? It might sound crazy but we've learned some stuff about werewolves here."

"What's up?"

"Werewolves turn on a full moon, and apparently when they've transitioned they hunt. They hunt vampires. I don't even know if this is true, but tonight's a full moon and we'd be dumb to ignore it."

"I'll be careful." He told her and she relaxed her shoulders, not all, but most of her worries fading away.

"Thank you," She smiled. "I gotta go now, love you Stef."

"Love you too." He answered the phone and then hung up. She exhaled deeply and stuffed her phone back into her pocket before returning to the office, where everyone else was still huddled around the table, sifting through heaps of papers.

Angelina dug through the box labeled "Pierce" next to Elena, who was flipping through an old book. As she combed through the files, she noticed a little, faded photograph of herself and her sister from 1864 out of the corner of her eye. She admired the photo, the corners of her mouth twisting into a smile. Elena's gaze shifted from the book to the photograph, then to Angelina, noticing the grin on her face.

"Hey, Vanessa?" Elena drew the attention of the research assistant, turning her head towards her. "Have you done any research on doppelgängers?"

The doppelgänger glanced at Vanessa and then at Elena, frowning at her inquiry and listening in though playing it off as if she wasn't paying attention.

"Well, the word means a lot of different things to different cultures." She answered. "But typically, a doppelgänger is a living, breathing double of oneself."

"Did Isobel have anything that'd explain the link between me and the twins?"

"That's all she had on them, unfortunately.." Elena sighed in defeat, failing to dig up any further information about their connection. "..But I can tell you that doppelgängers usually torment the people they look like, trying to undo their lives. It's not exactly uplifting."

All of a sudden, everyone's gaze was drawn to Angelina. The Pierce grimaced and rolled her eyes before scoffing and refocusing her attention to Elena. "Don't worry, I won't try to hurt you, Elena."

"Unless you give me a reason too." She mumbled under her breath.

"I just wanna know why we look alike." Elena brushed off her words, continuously staring at the photo and pondering over her question.

"Head scratcher, isn't it?" Damon teased from the other side of the room.

"Do you know something or are you just being yourself?" She snapped at him.

"Here we go again.." Angelina dropped the photo back in the box and threw her head back in annoyance.

"Well, 'if' I know anything, I'm not gonna tell you, not with that attitude." The raven haired vampire continued on, coming closer to both the doppelgängers.

"That's good, Damon." Elena said. "And this is coming from someone who wants to be my friend, but you know what? Friends don't manipulate friends. They help each other."

"Awkward." Angelina whistled, whilst Alaric attempted to conceal his laugh.

                             It had already become dark out when the four of them left the university together, ready to go home as they had already done enough research.

To Angelina, the day was successful. While them finding out about the Sun and Moon Curse wasn't exactly ideal, it was better than them finding out about Originals, or the ritual, or Klaus. Not that there are many records of them anyways as their era was over 1000 years ago.

Elena and Alaric stepped inside the car, and just as Angelina set her hand on the door handle, the raven haired vampire set his hands on her shoulder to stop her from entering.

"Ang," He spoke and she turned around to face him. He then held a large, old book in front of her, with the word "Petrova" engraved on the spine. "I did a little bit of digging, came across this book."

Angelina took the book, though her expression remained blank as she flipped through the pages.

"You originally came from Europe?"

"Bulgaria." She specified, her eyes remaining on the book. "Katherine and I, we were born in Bulgaria."

"And Petrova was your real name?"

"Yup. Katerina and Annelise Petrova."

"Why the change?"

"Can't risk getting exposed." She shrugged, which was half the truth, and shut the book closed. She reached for the door handle again but was put to another stop when he grasped her wrist.

"I get it, you're angry with me for what happened with Stefan, and you have every right to."

"Oh, I don't have a right to be angry, Damon. I'm angry with you because I'm petty." She snatched her arm out of his grasp. "But, I love Stefan, and you hurt him. And while he and I may be together now, I know it still hurts him. So if you wanna be on good terms with me, apologize to him."

Damon stayed deafeningly silence as she opened the car door, stepped inside, and slammed the door shut in his face. She reopened the book and flipped through the pages again, dismissing her "small chat" with her friend. Her mind was racing with several things at the same time while she stayed mute.

Her finger came to a halt as she flipped, and her gaze fell on an old drawing of her family. In one hand painted image, there has her mother, father, sister, and herself. She stared blankly, her mind wandering back to her childhood recollections. None of them, though, seemed to be as joyful as she remembered when she was younger. All she could gather was pain, misery, and neglection.

As she peered down at the sight of her father, she couldn't help but feel enraged, no matter how hard she attempted to conceal it. Her anger would be her downfall, just as her sister warned her. Despite her best efforts, she took her father's rage with her wherever she went, and it ate her alive.

Angelina became lost in the world around her, disregarding the other's discussions. She was so lost that it took her a few moments to notice a single tear welling up in her eyes, running down her cheek, and landing the picture of her. She sat there watching the tear stretch out, staining the paper, before closing the book and wiping the tears from her eyes.

Katherine, though, was correct. The only thing that kept her from erupting in rage was Stefan, and she was grateful for that.

But how long would that really last until it all fell apart?

AUTHORS NOTE

ima ruin angelina and carolines friendship in season three or four. you wont know how, or why, or who causes it, but it's gonna happen.

lol this is such a long chapter and i think the first chapter that included the entire episode