Hotel Encounter

Disclaimer: I do not own Twilight or Maximum Ride. No copyright infringement intended.

Max PoV

A hand clamped over my mouth.

In a second, I had snapped awake.

Fight! That was the first thing I thought. I thrashed in the grip of my captor. My eyes flew open. The rest of the Flock were being held, too.

Crap! That was the second thing I thought.

"Jazz!" a woman in the background hissed. "Calm them down! Edward, explain. They're panicking."

No duh! I wanted to yell. We've been captured!

The first time in a hotel for weeks, and we'd been caught. What does this tell you about modern security?

My eyes roamed the room, trying to take it all in. Angel was being held by a woman with caramel hair. Iggy was silently struggling against a man with unruly honey-coloured hair. Nudge was stock-still in the arms of a woman with long golden locks. Gazzy was unsuccessfully thrashing against the arms of a man with fair blond hair. The biggest man I'd ever seen was holding Fang. A man with red-brown skin was pinching Totals mouth shut. Off to the side, a tiny woman with short, spiky black hair stood protectively in front a girl who looked about fourteen, and had bronze-coloured hair that was exactly the same shade as the hair of the man next to her. The woman holding me had almost waist-length mahogany hair.

And then I looked closer. They were all stunningly beautiful, and had chalky white skin, except for the man holding Total. I stayed perfectly still.

Something was wrong with these people. First, Angel hadn't felt them coming- surely she would have felt the evil intent. Second, from what I could tell, they seemed to have no body heat. The hand over my mouth was as cold as ice. Third, we were all really, really strong, and I could see Iggy and the Gasman throwing their weight against the men holding them. They didn't budge.

I looked down at the hand covering my mouth. Cold or not, perfect or not, I would fight. I prepared to pull back and latch my teeth into her hand.

Then the man with bronze hair spoke.

"I wouldn't recommend it, Max. You'd just break your teeth."

The flock and I froze. How did they know who I was?

"I'll explain. But calm down first."

And suddenly, I was calm. I fought against it for a second, but it was no use.

He smiled.

"She's calm, Bells. Let her speak."

The fingers over my lips peeled back, but the grip on my arms was strengthened.

I swallowed.

"Ow." I mumbled.

The man chuckled. "Gentle, Bella. They're stronger, but not less breakable."

The woman holding me looked distressed. "Sorry," she said, looking truly apologetic, and the hold on my arms loosened.

"Let us go." My voice wavered.

"We will. But first, we need to get away from this room." That was the man holding Gazzy, perhaps the oldest.

"Why?" I asked belligerently.

"Because in one minute and forty eight seconds, less pleasant visitors than us will open that door," answered the little woman with black hair. "And they are not people you want to meet."

My eyes narrowed. "How do I know this isn't a trap?"

The woman holding me – Bella – grinned, revealing perfect white teeth.

"You don't."

"One minute and thirty seconds." interrupted the small woman. Then her eyes widened. "No, the receptionist decided not to interfere. We're down to twenty eight seconds. Plan B"

The Flock was swung up into the arms of their captors.

Except me. Bella was looking a bit afraid.

"Edward-I can't be that close." She whispered, looking down, as if she hated to admit it. He stroked her hair.

"Take Nessie. I'll get Max. You've done very well."

She smiled a little, then turned and picked up the younger girl.

Edward. Nessie. Strange names, I thought. The bronze-haired boy snorted.

"Nudge, Fang, and Gasman. We have strange names?"

I looked at him, wide eyed. His lips tightened, as if to say, Oops.

Then the wind was rushing past my face, and my surroundings blurred.

Then I was being set down. Funny. I didn't remember being picked up.

The room we were in now was very similar to the one we had been in a second before. The beds were made, except for two singles. And the curtains were drawn, unlike the ones in our room.

In the corner stood the Flock. I walked over swiftly.

"Everyone alright?" I asked quietly. They nodded.

I turned so I stood in front of my family, to find our captors lined up before us.

I took a deep breath.

"Who are you people?"

The man with fair blond hair stepped forward, his arm around the caramel haired woman's waist.

"We are the Cullens." He replied.

I quietly noted that the group seemed to have split off into partners- the honey-blond man with the tiny black-haired woman, the perfect blonde with the enormous dark-haired man, the fair blond man with the caramel-haired woman, the bronze-haired man with the mahogany haired woman, who had one to hold the hand of the young girl, who stood close beside them, who in turn had an arm stretched behind her to clasp the fingers of the dark-skinned man.

I scowled. "Individuals."

The woman with black hair instantly replied;

"Alice." Her partner hesitated for a fraction of a second, then said;

"Jasper." The big man boomed;

"Emmett," and the blonde woman at his side added;

"Rosalie." The caramel haired lady spoke;

"Esme." The fair haired man continued;

"Carlisle."

"Edward," the bronze haired man said.

"Bella," added the mahogany haired girl.

"Renesmee," trilled the youngest. The man at the back grinned and said;

"Jacob. And I'm not a Cullen."

That confused me, but I didn't let it how. I saw Edward smirk, as if he were reading my thoughts. The smirk disappeared. I surveyed them again.

They were all inhumanly perfect. It wasn't right. Then I noticed- they all had coal-black eyes, except for the girl, whose peepers were a pretty shade of chocolate brown. I wondered what the relationship that held them together was. Because of the perfection, they could have passed for a family, but the difference in eye colour made me wonder. Had they stolen her from someplace else? Edward stiffened, looking murderous all of a sudden. Barely a second had passed.

"Jasper!" Alice and Edward said his name like a command, like a warning.

"Sorry," he said, moving infinitesimally.

Alice's lips moved quickly, as if she was speaking to him, but no sound came out.

Bella chuckled, then addressed us.

"Your friends downstairs are not happy."

"How do you know?" I asked, astounded.

Bella quieted and looked at her feet.

"Do you know who they are? Who sent them?" I pressed.

Unwillingly, she murmured; "Something called Itex."

Simultaneously, the breath whooshed out of us.

Itex. Already. How did they know?

The Cullens recoiled, except Jacob.

"What is their problem?" Fang muttered to me, his eyes still on the grouping before us, but too low for them to hear.

Smiles quirked up the corners of some of their mouths.

"They're safe. Let's go." Rosalie's words were directed at Carlisle, who seemed to be the leader. He sighed quietly. "Alice?" he asked.

"I think it would be best to wait till morning. If we leave, the people will come in. They're using a … heat detector, in front of the doors. To check if the Flock is in any of the other rooms. We should be able to make the temperature of the room appear cooler."

I blinked in shock. How did they know what we called ourselves?

Angel tugged at my sleeve. I leaned down so she could whisper in my ear.

"They know lots about us. And they have a secret. And they-" a blank look crossed her face. Then she looked upset. "I can't hear them anymore!"

"Oops." Bella sighed. "I forgot what she could do. Sorry."

Angel frowned. "There's a wall. A wall I can't cross."

I stood up again, looking at the bronze-haired man, and spoke one word.

"Explain."

Edward looked over at Carlisle.

"They've seen their fair share of strange things. I think we can trust them."

With a start, I realised the subtext to his words.

'Shall we tell them the truth?'

Carlisle nodded gravely. "I think they can keep our secret."

"Good. And Jasper - go. Now. It's rude to kill guests."

Esme cleared her throat. "Let's all go. Bella, do you think you can do it? Maybe you, Edward, Nessie and Jacob could stay and tell them. Can you?"

Bella's mouth twisted as she considered the odd question.

"Yeah. Alice, am I okay?"

The tiny woman answered immediately. "If you are careful, then yes. Take no risks."

Bella nodded, looking a lot happier.

Esme smiled. "Be strong."

And then they were gone.

I looked around, shocked. They had just… disappeared? Just like that?

"Not quite." Edward again. How did he manage to guess what I was thinking?

He sighed. "Bells, let them in. They will be more at ease." She scowled, then replied;

"Not Renesmee." Edward shook his head instantly, and her scowl disappeared.

Angel gasped. "They just reappeared! What-" she suddenly looked frightened. "No!" she whispered. "Really? Swear on it?"

They nodded in unison.

"Will you hurt us?" Angel asked very quietly.

The reply came instantly.

"No."

Renesmee moved closer to Bella, reaching up to press her palm to her cheek, while burrowing her own face in the older girls hair. On closer inspection, Bella did appear closer to a teenager than a woman, maybe seventeen years old. Edward looked about that age too, but Jacob was maybe mid-twenties.

"No," murmured Bella quietly, "Momma still has you safe." Her arms wrapped around Renesmee protectively.

The Flock and I gawked. Had she said Momma?

"Perfectly sound question." mused Edward. "Yes, she did."

Whaat?

"So-but-how-what?" I choked out. Next to me, Fang wore a slightly shocked expression that meant he was so stunned he was about to fall over.

"You were wondering earlier about familial relationships. This is Renesmee Cullen. Her name is a mix of her grandmothers names. Esme and Renée. Esme is my adoptive mother. Renéeis Bella's birth mother. And Nessie," He placed a hand tenderly on the girls head. "Is our daughter."

"But aren't you, like, seventeen?" Bella and Edward exchanged a glance. "The truth." I added.

He hesitated, then said; "Bella is twenty. Renesmee is three. And I am one hundred and twenty years old."

Our jaws hit the floor.

"Time means little to us." Bella said quietly.

When I could speak again, I asked;

"And what are your kind?"

Renesmee turned around so she faced us, chocolate eyes solemn. Then Bella, Edward, and Renesmee answered as one.

"Vampires."

The four of them stood watching us, not moving an inch, not making a sound.

We stayed very still for a few minutes.

Fang spoke. "Will you hurt us?" he asked, his low voice rough.

They answered in unison again.

"No."

We relaxed slightly. "Don't you need to, you know, drink blood?" Iggy asked.

"Yep," replied Renesmee.

We stiffened again.

"Speak for yourself." Jacob muttered, grinning.

"Strictly animals only. We are one of the two covens who live this way. All of the others have no qualms about killing humans. Or changing them, for that matter." Edward answered softly. "It took a lot of persuasion for me to even consider changing Bella." His arm around her tightened. "But in the end I had to."

"Had to?" I asked suspiciously.

Bella stroked her daughters head, and then spoke again. "I was eighteen. At our home in Forks. We had arrived home from our honeymoon several weeks ago." I noticed wedding rings glinting on their pale hands. "I was human, and pregnant with a half-vampire child. In three weeks I had reached full-term pregnancy. Carlisle was out, trying to get the human blood my body was craving." Her voice became very quiet. "But I bent the wrong way, and my baby's placenta detached. She needed to get out of me immediately. When she was free, I began to die. I had lost too much blood, my womb was gaping from the violent caesarean, and my spine was broken. So Edward changed me…" Her voice faded.

"Whoa." Total muttered.

Jacobs eyebrows flew to his hairline. "He speaks!" It was not an exclamation of shock or disbelief, but of delight. He crouched. "Hey, little cousin."

"He doesn't look like you," Nudge pointed out, a bit pale, looking at Jacob. "Are you a vampire?"

Jacob snorted. "Over my dead body. Literally."

"Jake!" yelped Nessie.

"So what are you?" Nudge asked him curiously.

"You were thinking of something akin to Jacob and his family before." Edward answered for him, gesturing at Gazzy. I exchanged a look with Fang, who was just as confused as I was. "You called them… Erasers?"

That did it. Erasers had been our enemies for too long. Fang and I pushed the Flock behind us, standing protectively in front them and preparing to fight.

Renesmee reacted to us, crouching and pulling her lips back over her teeth. A feral snarl escaped from between her bared teeth.

Bella reacted instinctively to her daughter, also slipping into a half-crouch and growling ferociously, arms spread to protect her child.

Jacob began to quiver. At first I thought it was from fear, but a smile was plying across his face, as if to say, Come get it.

Edward was the only one who remained still.

"Half man, half wolf, you said. Thought, rather. But Jacob is different from these Erasers of yours. Werewolves-sorry, shapeshifters-live to protect. They are not bloodthirsty. They exist solely to keep their families from danger. Danger like us." He smiled, but it was not a friendly smile. His lips pulled back over his teeth so they glittered in the dim light, white, perfect- and sharp. It was a menacing smile.

"Questions?" He asked politely.

"Why did you save us?" I fired off. Only now did we begin to slide out of our defensive poses.

"Carlisle's idea. He sees in you a bit of us-never quite fitting in, always running, always having to lie and deceive. I heard your attacker's thoughts. After relaying them to Carlisle, we decided to intercede. And here we are." He shrugged.

"Stories say vampires have powers-do they?" Fang asked quickly.

"Some of us do. In our coven, the gifted ones are Jasper, Alice, Nessie, Edward and myself." answered Bella.

"Cool!" Gazzy crowed. "What can you do?"

Bella smiled a bit at his ecstatic response.

"Jasper controls emotions. Edward's gift works in much the same way as Angel's. I can protect others from any power that works inside the mind. Alice can see the future. And Renesmee… Well, it's hard to explain. If you want, she could show you."

"Umm," I answered. "Does it make bad stuff happen?"

Edward laughed. "Hardly. It's like a combination of our gifts, but reversed. Nothing potentially life-threatening."

I hesitate, and glanced at Fang. He gave the tiniest shrug.

"Okay," I said cautiously.

Renesmee smiled and stepped forward, her hand outstretched towards me. I couldn't help but flinch.

She smiled, and said soothingly, "I don't bite." Behind her, Jacob burst into muffled laughter. She turned her head to scowl at him, leaving her hand in the air, and said crossly; "Okay, I do, but I won't bite them. Promise!"

That created a bit of tension.

Then she turned back to me and smiled kindly. "Don't freak out." She said, then took a step forward, just close enough for her fingertips to touch my face. Her touch was not cold, as I expected it to be, but pleasantly warm. Then I gasped.

Right before my eyes, I could see a man. His hair was brown, with streaks of grey, and his eyes were the exact same shade as Renesmee's. He was wearing a police officers uniform, with a badge that identified him as Charlie Swan, Chief of Police. He had wrinkles and laugh lines around his eyes and mouth, and his expression was tender and loving. On his lap was a picture of a smiling woman with short brown hair and brown eyes, sitting on a bench in the sun, a small girl on her lap. The girl looked about five, with chocolate brown eyes and shoulder length brown hair.

The man was gesturing to the photo proudly, explaining something. Knowledge flashed into me-this was her human grandfather, with a photo of her human grandmother and mother as a child. Through the strange picture, I could see the Flock looking at me anxiously, but the others were relaxed. Renesmee's brown eyes and Edward's black ones were both glazed over, seeing what I was seeing.

I refocused on the picture. Suddenly it zoomed in on the little girls face, and then was compared to another memory.

This memory frightened me. I wasn't sure why. It was another face, for a moment twisted in pain, then relaxing into an adoring smile. The face was covered with sweat, ravaged by pain, with blood smeared on her forehead and cheeks, and more blood trickling quietly from the corner of her mouth. The picture was horizontal, as if the blood-covered woman was lying down. She was very pale, and her dark hair was lank.

Through the memory, I saw Edward pull his wife closer, twisting their fingers together. Bella stroked his cheek anxiously and whispered something to him. He responded quietly, and she looked sympathetic and wrapped her arms around him, offering silent comfort.

Looking back at the picture, I saw that the woman's eyes were the same colour as Renesmee's. With a shock, I realised who it was. I heard Nessie's trilling voice in my head.

My first memory of my mother. This was shortly after I was born, when Mom was still human.

The picture faded.

Out loud, she said; "I think I should show you this, so you can better understand us."

This memory was in motion. Running at supersonic speed through a forest, and I could smell something. It wasn't a very nice smell, but all the same, the memory followed it.

There were two people running with me-I didn't need to look to know it was Bella and Edward. I could see every leaf on every tree, and every insignificant insect on every leaf. I could feel a heat-the source of the smell was very close. Simultaneously, we stopped.

Then, as one, we sprang.

Everything was suddenly very fast. I caught flashes of trees, of animal hide, and of the two others.

Suddenly, everything was still again.

In the background of the memory, I could see Renesmee's parents crouched low over the necks of two deer. I could hear sucking sounds, and a slow, rhythmic swallowing.

In the foreground, I saw a dead deer. The memory eyes bent over the throat of the doe, then lurched forward gracefully. Through the memory, I felt teeth close on the deer's neck, slicing through it easily. A hot, warm, substance rushed down my throat.

I tried to break away from the memory, gagging.

Nessie leaned forward, not letting me go.

Listen! I heard her cry. Listen to me! I wanted to show you that so you could see there is no malice. We are merciful killers. Those deer felt nothing. It is to nourish only! We choose not to take from humans so we can hold onto whatever essential humanity we retain. We do not want to be feared and abhorred. We feel, we love, we fear. We are more humane than some I could mention.

A new memory arrived.

Row upon row of black and grey cloaks, walking forwards steadily. At the heart of the formation stood three pitch black cloaks.

Aro. Marcus. Caius. Renesmee thought the words bitterly. Those are the names of the vampires at the centre. I met them once. Caius hated us. He was angry when Aro decreed that my family and I were allowed to live. They thought I was a taboo-one of the immortal children. But our friends testified against it, and we were allowed to continue our non-normal lives. They are the Volturi. I hate them. The memory became tinged with fear and anger.

Through the memory, I saw Edward chuckle.

"Only criminals need fear the Volturi, Nessie. We did nothing wrong. It was a misunderstanding, nothing more."

"We aren't criminals." Nessie said quietly, removing her hand from my cheek. "Proper royalty would not send a firing squad. They would triple check the information, and not let prejudices influence the final decision. Like they did."

Edward sighed. "No argument."

Barely a minute had passed. Finally I rasped out;

"Wow."

"What happened?" Fang asked, gently touching my shoulder.

"Memories. She showed me memories." I whispered.

"You are all very tired," Bella said kindly, "It's a lot to take in. You can rest, if you want." She gestured to the beds behind her. "We do not need them."

Looking at the Flock, I could see they were dead on their feet. Something about the conversation had left us drained.

"Yeah," I said quietly. "That would be nice."

Within minutes, the Flock had crashed on the beds.

I had too, but I couldn't sleep. We didn't have a watch tonight, because Bella and Edward had assured us they did not need sleep, and would wake us if anything happened.

On the other side of the room, I could see Renesmee and Jacob sleeping on the two other beds, chests rising and falling peacefully.

Around me, Angel, Gazzy, Nudge, Iggy, Fang and Total were asleep too. Out of the corner of my eye, I could see the two vampires on the couch. They were sitting very still, arms wrapped around one another. Mostly they were quiet. Once, Bella gave a deep sigh, almost a moan. Edward had pulled her closer and murmured into her hair; "I know, love, I know." I wondered what the subtext to this brief exchange was.

But I still couldn't get to sleep.

At about half two, they began to speak.

"What do you make of them?" Bella sounded very awake.

Edward sighed. "I don't really know." He sounded equally alert.

"They're very protective… very on guard. Tense. Wary." murmured Bella

"Mmm. The relationship between the two oldest…" I tensed. He was talking about me and Fang. "I don't understand it very well. Max knows that she loves him. More than sibling love. But she won't accept it. I think she's afraid of emotions like that. She doesn't want to let anyone in… But the boy. He loves her a lot. More than he will tell her. More than he will ever express to her. He's afraid, too, but not of emotions. He's afraid of her. He knows talking about love will hurt and upset Max, and he can't stand doing either of those things. As much as he longs to tell her, he won't. Not knowing that it will pain Max. A very odd relationship. Inside, they both want it to work out. Inside, they both doubt the love of the other. Inside, they both desperately need each other. A very, very odd relationship. Wanting, fearing. I think they will get over the obstacles eventually. Lord knows our obstacles didn't stop us, and ours were considerably larger than theirs."

They both chuckled. "'Love burns high when thwarted by obstacles.' Shakespeare said that." breathed Bella. "I know what he meant."

"Definitely." Edward laughed quietly.

They continued to talk in hushed tones, and eventually the sound of their low, melodic voices lulled me to sleep.

That night, I dreamed of a group of chalky skinned people, glowing in the sun. The dream was set in a small, circular meadow, and the nine people were wearing clothes from an earlier century. They had their backs to me-standing in a tense row, waiting for something.

Then three others appeared in front of them. These people were menacing. They wore long black cloaks with hoods that shrouded their faces. The nine people took one half-step forward, sliding into semi-upright crouches. I reached out to pull them back. I knew-somehow-that this was not a fight they would win.

Slowly, slowly, the three in black reached up to lightly grasp their hoods. For a second they paused, and then, with a casual twitch of their hands, flicked the hoods back. I muffled a scream, but the nine others did not react. The cloaked strangers had no faces-the fronts of their heads were perfectly blank, smooth and immaculate, like white eggs.

Then, very slowly, they extended their arms. I knew something very bad would happen soon. Suddenly, I was blinded by white light, so bright it hurt my eyes. I screamed.

I sat up in the hotel bed. It was morning, and the sun was steaming through the open windows. The Flock was still sleeping soundly. I got out of bed, rubbing my eyes. The two beds in the corner were made up. And, apart from us, the room was empty. For a wild second, I wondered if it had all been an elaborate dream. Then I saw a pristine white envelope on the desk. Cautiously, I flipped it open.

Max, itread.

Sorry we had to leave without warning, but Alice said it would be very sunny today. I had hoped to talk more with you and the Flock, but we really do need to go. You and your family thoroughly fascinate us, so we will be keeping tabs on you. Next time you are in trouble, there is a good chance we won't be far behind. Edward will stay open to your minds. Nessie would also like to learn more about you. Be friends, even. Stay alert for the creatures of the night, though. We are everywhere, and very few of us are friendly, unfortunately. 'Keep flying' is all I can say now. Trust yourselves. Trust each other. Some futures are certain, and some are not. Some lead to destruction, some lead to peace. Choose the road you take carefully. You are good people. I believe you will choose the right road.

Regards,

Bella Cullen.

I folded the letter carefully away, a small smile on my face. With a bit of luck, our outlook had twisted from negative to positive. Well, luck, a werewolf, and nine chalky vampires. It amused me that life still had things up its sleeve that could surprise us, actually.

Keep your mind open, Max, the Voice chimed in. It's the only way you'll ever learn.

"I'm learning," I murmured. "I'm learning."

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