Disclaimer- I do not own Twilight, the Volturi, or the works of Stephanie Meyer. Surprisingly enough, Stephanie Meyer owns the rights to the works of Stephanie Meyer. But Kai and Xanthir are mine, so hands off.

The following piece of writing takes place in the world created by Stephanie Meyer's Twilight series. However, the story will not be focused on Bella, Edward, or any of the other well-known, well-loved characters, but rather two of my own. Don't worry, the canon characters will be appearing. Please don't be put off if it isn't right away.

The story runs parallel to the last book of the series, Breaking Dawn and continues on after the latter's conclusion. At least for the time being.

The story will not revolve solely around the two species that Meyer introduced either. As it is implied that other 'supernatural' races exist alongside 'werewolves' and vampires, I'm taking the opportunity to add some of my own.

Enjoy.

(Oh and for those of you who don't have the patience to find out exactly what the main characters species is, a little hint- they're in the best selling book of all time.)

Prologue.

I've never asked myself the question 'what went wrong?' Never. I know what went wrong, and I lie awake at night, thinking about it all. The memories of that time are so firmly burned into my mind, that to forget them would take a piece of me into the void with them. I know what went wrong. I even know, though a little more vaguely, how it went wrong. No, the question that I ask myself is this.

What could I have done differently?

I'm almost gone now. It's only a matter of time before it's all over entirely. Well, perhaps I should welcome that. But I'll always remember. How could I not?

There are things in this world beyond mans understanding. And its not because man is stupid, or ignorant, or not willing to accept the truth. Its just because its hidden. And its hidden for the best.

Vampires. Werewolves. Shape-shifters. All hidden in the shadows of mans understanding, rendered into folklore and myth by confusion and fear. And then there's me.

I'm a little different.

What could I have done differently?

THE ISLAND OF TEARS

"The most merciful thing in the world, I think, is the inability of the human mind to correlate all its contents. We live on a placid island of ignorance in the midst of black seas of infinity; and it was not meant that we should voyage far." –H.p Lovecraft- The Call of Cthulu

If anyone had chanced to look up that night, the scene would have almost certainly have been misinterpreted. Not that anyone could see so far above them in the darkness, as they hurried on past far below. But had it been daylight, then perhaps one would have seen a young man, in his teens, standing at the lip of the skyscraper, his toes jutting out into empty space, bomber jacket and hair blowing out in the breeze. Ready to fall to his death. Ready to throw his life away and jump.

And had the onlooker really squinted, and had the sun been out, they may have seen a shining figure, the vague shape of a man, standing behind him as if ready to pull him back. And had they been perhaps of the religious persuasion, they would have thought of guardian angels, of luminous messengers, and they would have smiled in relief as the shining, glittering figure touched the young mans arm, and he turned, and stepped away from the edge. But there was no onlooker, no light to see by. And certainly no guardian angel.

And I wasn't planning on falling. At least, not towards the pavement.

'Can you smell something ?' he asked. I looked at him.

'Name it.'

'Sewage.' He sniffed and wrinkled his nose. 'Unpleasant odours'

One of the disadvantages of heightened senses.

'On a roof ?' I shot him a glance. He smiled and shrugged.

'Amazing what can happen these days.'

'Meaning what?' I smirked. 'So, what, some poor confused bastard ends up taking a sh-'

'Kai. Enough.' He turned and regarded me with his scarlet eyes, studying my face. Something flickered across his lips- a look of amusement or exasperation, I couldn't tell which. 'You don't appear to be nervous.'

'Please, Xanth. What is there to be nervous about?' I stretched my arms, breathing in the night air. The sounds of traffic could be heard in the distance, the rushing of air, accompanied by the muted sound of a single horn from some unseen truck. I let out a sigh, dropping my arms to my sides. Stars winked in the corners of my vision-I ignored them, instead concentrating on the sleek, glassy tower, across the street. The lights were still on, and one could just see into the interior- a scarlet walled sanctuary within a transparent building.

'We could mess this up.'

'You mean I could mess this up.'

'Not at all.' He stopped, though for a moment. 'Actually yes. It'll be your fault.'

'Not taking any responsibility then, Xanth?' I asked with a smile. He gave a low chuckle, brushing his blonde hair from his eyes.

'None whatsoever.'

'Dick.'

He rolled his eyes, and then turned his attention back to the skyscraper. I started whistling irritatingly. He shot me a glance.

'Bored?'

'We've been waiting for half an hour, pretty boy. The tedium is drilling a hole in my forehead.' I took my glasses off, rubbing my eyes with my free hand. 'I think I'm going insane.'

He muttered something. It sounded a lot like 'too late.'

'Well, we'll be off this roof soon.' I pointed towards the opposite tower, across the street, a little smaller than the skyscraper we were on. 'Movement.' I pushed my glasses further up my nose.

He shoved past me. The movement would have overbalanced me and sent me hurtling off had I been…different. He peered across at the other building.

Different. That was not a thought I'd like to entertain. I was different before I was myself. Looking back on it, the tedium was crushing. Every day toned in shades of grey. Before I realised who I was.

When I was different, I was like everyone else. Right up until I was sixteen.

And then I recovered.

'What can you see?' I asked him.

'On the nicer floor of the building.' He wasn't even squinting. 'Not human. His movements are too fluid. Besides,' he grinned at me with the sculpted features of a face that had won the hearts of at least a hundred girls, 'No human looks that good'.

I say at least a hundred because I didn't know his age. It could have been a thousand. I'd like to think it was actually less than five, but I'd probably be wrong.

'Do all vampires have their own heads up their collective arse ?'

'No.'

'Just you then'

'I'm merely being truthful'

I shrugged. 'Perspective'

He looked thoughtful for a moment.

'No-one else sparkles like a Christmas fairy when they take a beach trip' I added.

'Touche.'

I could just make out the figure on the 'nicer' floor. My eyesight wasn't that of a vampire, but even I could see the wealth smeared like a veneer over the corridor. That carpet was very thick and very red, and it appeared that there were numerous rectangles lining the wall- I assumed that they were paintings of some kind.

'The Sponsor has a nice little lot, doesn't he?'

'Slight understatement, Kai. We are talking about one of the richest humans in the world here.' He folded his arms, still watching the building. 'He probably just reached into his trouser pocket to buy this place up.'

'And no-one knows his name.'

'We do.' A

'Who are we ?' I asked him. An attempt at being philosophical. He frowned.

'Observers' he answered

'Hunters'

'Soldiers'

'Samplers of fine Italian cuisine'

'Only you, only on Fridays'

'It is a Friday' My stomach rumbled audibly 'Are we grabbing a pizza after this?'

'You can. I'm getting a deer.'

I glanced at him, surprised.

'Since when were you a veggie?'

'Well, multiple murders look bad. Especially if both victims have been drained of blood.'

'Oh. Right.'

'We can grab an escaped convict or something tomorrow.'

'Sure'

'But right now…' He turned and smiled again. 'I think it's time we fulfilled our contract'

'Have you got a bag?' I asked suddenly.

'A what ?'

'A bag. For his head.'

'The volturi aren't that old fashioned.' He was laughing, his red eyes shining with mirth. I shrugged.

'I just thought that as it's our first assignment, we could certainly impress them.'

'Don't try. We 'impressed' them enough at the interview'.

'Fair enough. Well yes. We did break into their headquarters.' I stood to one side, extending my arm out to the building across the street. Far below, the figures people moved between patches of light, the sound of traffic faintly heard. The wind picked up, scattering a single feather across the rooftop out into space.

'Ok. Its time, Kai. Shall we?'

'Ladies first.'

He rolled his eyes and hurled himself into the air. I saw his cloaked body easily clear the distance between the buildings, descending rapidly, billowing, until he met the side of the other tower. A gap of around sixty feet.

I grinned, and followed.

If the omniscient spectator from below could see up into the dark, see every single little detail, then he would have seen my irises behind the glasses change from a dark green to a pure white. And he if he had known, if he had the faintest understanding of the events that were about to unfold, then he would have prayed to his god, and started running.

So there we are, Part One. I started writing this after reading some great fanfiction on this very site. Feedback would be appreciated. And if you aren't a twilight fan, I hope this story can cater to your requests as well.

Thanks.

ZN