This story forced me to write it and I came close to killing them all. A lot of Alice angst and pain. I don't own any of the Cullens, they are all Stephanie's. Please read and review and sorry if you don't like what happens. Enjoy!
The piercing scream that filled the air hit the Cullens like a wall of ice. It was Alice, they knew that instantly but their happy-go-lucky psychic had never sounded like that before and there was something very wrong with that lovely girl sounding as though all the happiness had been sucked out of the world. Jasper and Alice had gone hunting the day before and were expected to be on their way home now. But as Emmett, Edward, and Carlisle cautiously ran to the source of the pain, they knew something horrible had happened. The blazing fire, with what was clearly vampire remains, crackled and roared. Alice just stared at the orange and blue murderer, her eyes dead, she didn't scream anymore, she couldn't make a noise. She looked more lifeless than the vampire in the fire. Carlisle stared horrified at the fire, his son was in there, and his son had been killed. Edward was dry sobbing as he knelt down next to Alice who hadn't moved or even acknowledged their arrival. Growling sadly, Emmett watched with a pained expression as his little brother burned and his little sister mourned.
"Alice," Edward whispered, his chest still heaving with sobs. Alice didn't seem to hear him, she didn't seem to even seem to realize that she was alive; she just kept her eyes on the fire. Emmett suddenly picked her up, she didn't protest, she didn't even blink as she was carried away. Carlisle shook his head as Edward stood, suggesting they follow.
"Give me a second." Edward nodded and followed Emmett and a still coma like Alice. Carlisle turned to the fire, growling softly but it didn't last long, his voice broke and the sobs broke free.
At the house Emmett took Alice to Jasper and her bedroom and laid her gently down. She didn't say anything but curled up into herself and stayed that way for nearly three days. No one tried to convince her to move or come out or even eat; they knew Alice's heart had been in that fire. And the entire Cullen house hung heavy with sadness and pain of losing is youngest son. This time there was no empathic vampire that could send calming feeling to his family, no dancing girl whose smile could brighten the lowest mood. The other Cullens had not realized until that moment how much Jasper and Alice brought to the house.
No one spoke, no one made any noise, especially Alice. Normally the small vampire's singing or humming could be heard throughout the mansion but now the grave silence just reminded them of their loss. Esme was inconsolable and Carlisle called in sick, Emmett didn't laugh or joke and Rosalie couldn't bring herself to look in the mirror and see the familiar features she'd once shared with her brother. Edward sat moodily in his cottage, trying to find a way to fix his sister and heal his own hurt. Bella paced back and forth in the other room, she and Jasper had grown close and now he was gone and it didn't seem real, no it did, it seemed too real. Bella had never lost someone she loved, she'd never really had to say good bye and this time, she never thought she'd have to. Nessie had found consolation in Jacob's warm arms. The entire wolf pack mourned the loss of the best fighter of the Cullens. Still it bothered all the others that they didn't know what happened. Alice had yet to even say a word and there was no proof at the death sight other than the scent of unidentified vampires. Why would vampires come and kill Jasper but spare Alice, it made no sense. It was nearly a week later when Esme forced Alice to drink blood they'd stolen from the veterinarian's office and despite the fact that she put of a fight to drink, the Alice they all knew and loved was gone and it was very unlikely that she would come back.
A month went by with Alice only drinking when she was forced to, she no longer hunted, no longer laughed that beautiful laugh that sounded like wind chimes, no longer floated down the stairs greeting her family like she hadn't seen them in years. Jasper had brought so much life to the odd little vampire that now that he was gone she merely existed. No tears could fall for the murdered soldier, but the grieving that Alice and the rest of the family experienced was far more evident than that of humans. Alice's skin had lost its glow, it was ashy and dull and her short, brown hair was limp and listless. It seemed as Alice's entire body had realized that it's other half was gone.
It was one night 7 weeks after Jasper died that the family was surprised with light, airy steps on the staircase. Alice had finally come out of the room that had been her tomb for so long. Her eyes were black and blank but a small smile flittered on her lips.
"Hi," she murmured, far from her once joyful song greeting, but it was a start. Bella smiled gently at her, a little afraid to say or do anything at the risk of pushing her sister further into her near comatose state. So instead they let Alice do as she wished, none of them interfering or trying to change anything. It was like a ghost was now wondering around the Cullen mansion, she didn't speak much or really do much of anything. But at least she wasn't cooped up in the bedroom. A couple more days had passed and it seemed like the dream of Alice was coming back as she sat down at the piano and began barely touching the keys and started playing a song. It didn't take long for the Cullens to realize that it was the song Jasper would sing to her when the two of them went into the library alone. Edward kept a very close ear on his sister's thoughts, most of which were just of Jasper, how Jasper looked when he was standing in the kitchen or reading on the stairs. Alice hardly seemed like Alice without Jasper on her arm. It had always been Alice and Jasper, when they showed up on the door step announcing that they were moving in, well that had been Alice, they were linked arm in arm. It was very rare that the two were separate, even in the house. Even if they weren't physically attached at the arm, they had an emotional connection that no one, even Carlisle and Esme shared. It was thought to be unbreakable. Alice stared at the chair that Jasper had frequently occupied; no one had sat in it since he died. They were so used to it being taken that they didn't even bother sitting in it now. A smile haunted Alice's pale face, not even Edward dared tried to determine what she was thinking about.
More days passed and Alice stayed in her ghost like state, Esme tried to bring her out, even Edward gave it a shot but no one could bring Alice back to life.
"Hey Alice, want to go shopping with me in L.A. Saturday?" Rosalie asked, figuring if anything could bring Alice out of it, the idea of shopping would.
"No, thanks, I'm going to be somewhere Saturday." Every single eye was on Alice, that was the longest sentence she had spoken and she had plans!
"Where are you going?" Bella asked? Nessie watched her aunt carefully, searching for any signs of the old Alice.
"I don't know. The vision wasn't clear." Edward looked up surprised,
"You've been having visions?" Alice nodded. "How come I can't see them?" he asked worried.
"I put them in the back of my mind, they aren't important." Edward didn't push the subject any further seeing that it made Alice uneasy. As the week passed they watched Alice for any new developments only to find the same, distant figure wandering the house. On Friday however something changed, Alice seemed very eager and maybe a little excited.
"Alice," Jacob asked as they all hung out in the living room. Alice looked up waiting for the rest. "Who killed Jasper?" All the Cullens glared furiously at him and Emmett even hissed. Alice actually let out a soft chuckle at her brother.
"It's all right Emmett." Emmett turned to her sadly. "I need to tell you all what happened." Carlisle, who was closest to her, put his hand on her arm.
"Darling, you don't have to talk about it if it's too painful." Alice smiled in agony.
"Of course it's painful Carlisle, that's how we know its love." They all looked at the small girl as they had never looked at her before. A soft smile still hung on her lips. "That day," and just like that it was gone. "We were almost home," the grief and heartache that shone in her eyes made Carlisle had to look away, not being able to handle his "daughter's" anguish. "And Jasper suddenly went really tense, I've never seen him panic like that." She studied the pattern of the chair she was in. "He started growling and got into a fight stance telling me to run home as fast as I could." She shook her head, "I know he knew I wasn't going to leave him because he kissed my hand and told me he loved me." Her voice trembled and her lip quivered. "Maria, and 5 huge others, I've never seen anyone that big before, they were nearly twice Emmett's size, stepped out to where we were. We both knew what was about to happen, but Jasper, my beautiful Jazz, wasn't going to go down without a fight." Alice flinched seeing something no one else could. "One of the big guys grabbed me, it was like struggling against a….I've knew felt something so strong. They began circling Jasper, looking at him like he was a piece of meat." At this Alice put her tiny hands over her eyes, taking a deep breath. Carlisle draped his arm around her shoulder, she smiled gratefully at him. "Maria said she'd been looking for him for years and never suspected to find him with a coven. He probably could have escaped if I hadn't been there. He could have jumped up in the trees and gotten away, but he wasn't going to leave me." The family stared at Alice who looked more miserable than they ever thought possible. "Maria moved so fast I don't think even Jazz saw her. She snapped his neck." Her voice cracked and her fingers traced over the fabric of the chair. "I didn't even get to say good bye, all I could do was watch as she murdered the love of my life." Alice would be sobbing if she could have. She took a moment to gather herself before looking at Carlisle mournfully, "I'm going to Italy, that's the vision I had." There was an instant uproar of protest. Alice just sat calmly, not letting their words or pleas make her change her mind.
"Alice, you went to Italy to save me, you know how stupid it was when I did it. How could you do that?" Edward asked grabbing his sister's hands.
"Oh Edward, I'm not going to get myself killed. I-I'm going to join them." The family all stopped suddenly, staring horrified, "Aro has always liked me." She said softly.
"NO!" both Edward and Bella cried.
"What would Jasper want you to do?" Emmett asked.
"Jasper is not here." Alice snapped, "I don't have a choice anymore." She softened. "Everything reminds me of him, I can't stay here. I love all of you so much, but it hurts too much, this chair, the piano, the library, even the staircase. I just can't be around here anymore." She looked around sadly as her family looked at her desperately.
"We can move, we don't have to stay here, we can go somewhere, you don't have to go to Italy." Carlisle looked frantically at his brokenhearted daughter.
"No, it's not just the house; it's all of you too. I mean you are all so much a part of Jasper's life. He was Emmett's sparring partner, Carlisle's confidant, Edward's link to everyone's emotions, the person Bella went to when the blood lust got a little hard to handle, and Rosalie's twin." Rosalie flinched at the pain that spread through her. "I can't deal with being around any of you anymore." Again her voice broke and she buried her face in her hands. Edward pulled her tightly into a hug.
"I love- we love you so and we miss Jasper too. Please, I'm begging you, don't go to them." He forced her face to look at his, "you are my little sister and I can't lose my favorite little freak." A smile flitted on Alice's face but left quickly.
"If you lost Bella, I mean really lost her, would you stick around?" Edward flinched and met eyes with Bella in that moment he knew what his sister was going to do was the exact same thing he would do. He turned back to Alice and grasped her hands and kissed her cheek tenderly.
"We will be very sad to see you go." Carlisle stated. Esme pulled her tightly into a hug.
"This will always be my family." Alice whispered in her ear. "And you were the best mother a girl could ask for." Esme whimpered softly into Alice's hair.
The next few days were excruciating for all of the Cullens, Alice had packed a few outfits but she left most for Bella claiming she could use some style. Rosalie stayed distant, wincing every time she saw Alice. Carlisle mourned for what he knew Alice, their happy, playful, dancing Alice would become. Then Saturday came and Emmett was nowhere to be found. Alice stood with her bags and the rest of the Cullens were lined up near the door. Bella pulled Alice in a tight hug,
"I'm going to miss you so much." She murmured, "Our hearts may not beat anymore but that doesn't mean they don't break." Alice looked at her and nodded. Rosalie threw her arms around Alice,
"I'm going to miss my shopping partner." She whispered sadly. "Please be careful." Alice pulled away playfully flicking Rosalie's hair. Edward was next, squeezing her fiercely.
"You can move back into your old bedroom now." She claimed, smiling softly at her brother.
"No, that will always be your bedroom. If you decide to come back in a 500 hundred years it will still be your room." Alice hugged him tighter. After saying her final goodbyes to Carlisle and Esme, Alice headed out to her Porsche. She jumped back slightly when she opened the driver's side door to find Emmett sitting there. His normal goofy, playful expression was now cold and pleading.
"Get in the car." He ordered and she was too stunned to argue. Emmett drove rapidly down the highway not breathing or speaking. Ten minutes passed and Emmett inhaled deeply before saying, "I know Jasper isn't here anymore, but if he was, he'd never want you doing this." Alice studied her hands with no interest waiting for Emmett to continue. "This is stupid, and I never thought of you as the dumb one in the family."
"I know Emmett, but I need them," Emmett's eyes shot off the road and onto Alice, appalled. "Just trust me. I have to do this." Wincing, Emmett nodded, not really understanding but knowing that Alice knew what she was doing. When they pulled into the unloading bay of the airport, Emmett put the car in park and pulled her into a hug and Alice wrapped her arms securely around him.
"I love you, Mary Alice," he whispered, his voice full of pain and longing.
"Take care of them," she replied kissing his cheek delicately. "I love you too." As she got out of the car, she couldn't take her eyes off Emmett's honey comb colored eyes, knowing that in just a few short hours that hers would be stained crimson and a human would be dead. "And you take care of my car too." Emmett grinned and revved the engine. "Bye."
Once on the plane Alice had time to think about what she would be doing in Italy other than drinking human blood. She would be putting all morals that she had learned from Carlisle and throwing them out the window. She would be doing what Aro had always wanted her to do, telling them the future they wanted to hear. When she arrived in Italy it was dark so she went straight to where she knew the Volturi lived. Taking the same path she had the last time she was in Italy it didn't take her long to find herself in a dim hallway being approached by a human girl.
"Can I help you?" Alice could hear the suspicion and fear in her voice but she smoothly replied,
"Tell Aro, Alice Cullen is here to join your family. Uh, with one condition." Alice clarified when the girl started walking away. "I'll tell Aro when I see him face to face just what that condition is." The girl nodded curtly and continued, leaving Alice in the hall. She looked down at her Versace dress, sighing knowing that soon, her wardrobe would consist of a long black, boring cloak. It didn't take long for the human girl to come back and she seemed rather breathless, but didn't waste any time.
"Aro will see you now." Alice smirked,
"I know." And followed the girl into the main room where the entire guard seemed to be expecting her.
"Alice, my love." Aro greeted kindly. Alice nodded stiffly, keeping her head high.
"Aro, Marcus, Caius," Marcus looked at her as though she were a feather that had blow by, not really caring whether she was there or not. Caius who had never really liked any of the Cullens stiffened slightly but showed no other sign that she was even there. Aro however smiled widely and held his arms out as though greeting an old friend.
"And what is this condition, my dear, Alice?" Aro asked. But his eyes widened as her thoughts revealed what she wanted.
"That's right Aro, Maria, dead."
TBC…
I know I ended it very cruelly but I promise, I will update as soon as I can. Please read and review.