A/N:::: AU. Alternate Universe. It's a term most fanfic writers and readers are familiar with. A certain aspect or several aspects of the cannon story are altered in a large or subtle way, naturally creating a different and unfamiliar storyline. But what if AU was taken to the extreme? What if almost everything changed? Not just a new pairing or a slight twist in the course of events... but what if everything in the story was turned on its head? Would fans still love the story? Would their favorite characters remain their favorite? Or would readers find themselves so utterly pissed that they're ready to hunt down this new author, tear her limb from limb, and toss her into a bonfire?

That's what I wanted to know. So I decided to write a story just like that. I have taken all the main characters from Twilight (along with several minors) and put them in entirely different situations than we find them in Stephanie Meyer's books. Their origins, pasts, friendships, and loyalties have all changed. The only thing I kept the same was the basic makeup of their individual personalities. I wanted them to remain (deep down) true to themselves and who Stephanie meant them to be. However, they may have a long road to travel before discovering who they really are.

A few facts and warnings: I will be changing up narrators. As of now, I only plan on doing that once per chapter to keep it from getting too confusing. But unlike Steph's books, I'd like there to be more than one perspective (if you don't count Midnight Sun). Before each chapter, I will post one song that fueled my writing. I love music, and usually there is one or two songs that really are responsible for the feel of a chapter I'm writing. If you love music, I definately encourage you to look up the "song of the day" and give it a listen before/during/ or after reading the chapter. Just a bonus... it's not required, lol. Lastly, I'm giving this sucker a fairly high rating. It's my first maturely-rated story. I'm a Christian, I have morals, and I like to fancy myself a fairly decent person... but in light of taking Stephanie's world for a spin... I thought maybe "holy crow" had to be one of the first things to go. There will be language, and there will be some mild lemons. (But no literary pornos... I'm sorry, I don't have the stomach for writing that kind of detail... only reading it HA!)

If you hate AU, if you hate alternate pairings, if you hate messing with cannon, if you hate CHANGE-- this is not the story for you. Please hit the back button and continue browsing the awesome selection of fanfics. However, if you like to be surprised... if you enjoy the unexpected, seeing your favorite characters put to the test, and screwing with the status quo... then I urge you to read, review, and most of all-- enjoy. Thanks for reading.

Final note: The narrator of each chapter will normally be identified early on in each chapter, but in chapter one I wanted to keep it a secret until the very end. You haven't missed anything-- just keep reading until the end, and it should be clearer. There will be many mysteries and holes in this plot that will remain unanswered until later on in the story. Thanks for your patience :)

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Time.

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"Haunted" by Poe.

There is a certain relief in change, even though it be from bad to worse! As I have often found in traveling in a stagecoach, that it is often a comfort to shift one's position,

and be bruised in a new place.

~Washington Irving

There is no comfort in the inability to die. There is only imprisonment. There is only thirst. There is only the torturous and endless passing of time. For me, there was only the stone floor, which I knew was cold though I could not feel the chill. There was the constant dripping of water that patted against the stone from the low ceiling. I cannot even imagine how many of those drips I had heard over my time here. Several billion? A hundred times that much? You would think that over all these years my ears would have become accustomed to its whisper, but in truth each drop was like a pin prick to my brain.

Why wouldn't they let me die? Why wouldn't they just kill me? Tear me apart piece by piece and throw me into the flames? I'd heard of them doing it before, though I had yet to witness it. Was my crime worthy of a punishment so much worse than death? Surely Hell couldn't be worse than this form of eternal damnation. What I had done never felt like a crime. It never felt wrong. It felt pure. It felt wonderful. And even after all these maddening years, it was the only thing holding me together.

A small chink in the stone wall winked at me with the sunshine that pierced through. The sunlight streaked through the darkness like a glittering spear. I couldn't reach the wall or the shaft of light, chained as I was to the center of the small dungeon. But I could almost touch the place where the sunlight stabbed the stone floor. I lay on my stomach and stretched my fingers as far as they could go towards the tiny pool of light, grunting in frustration. I should be able to tear these chains in two as a man tugs a stray yarn from his clothing. But the Volturi knew how to tame their prisoners. It was constantly seen to that I had hardly enough blood in me to lift my head, let alone break my bonds or bust through walls. I remembered being strong once. I recalled pulling trees from their roots and tossing them into the distance like a javelin. I could bring down an entire moose without thinking about it. It was like pouncing on a kitten. That was a long time ago. Back when there was animal blood flowing through my system. It always left me a little unsatisfied, but the dissatisfaction never reached my unbeating heart. I always felt content, like I was making due with the hand I'd been dealt. The discomfort of thirst for human blood then was nothing compared to my nightmare now. Now I was existing on only a few meager gulps of human blood a week. The blood was more delicious and tantalizing than anything that comes from the wild, but it only served to ignite a fire within me that I couldn't extinguish. It drove me mad... the desire for more, and the repulsion of what I was doing. The blood I was given, the life essence of some poor soul from the streets of Italy, would send me into a typical feeding frenzy. But then there would be nothing left for me to drink. It was like an alcoholic getting one long sip of whiskey before watching the bottle shatter on the floor.

A vampire can't cry. So I could only screw up my face into a twisted mask of grief as I tried with one last heave to reach the shaft of light. I wanted nothing more than to see it sparkle off my fingertips. Just for an instant. I collapsed into a frustrated, shuddering heap, my fingers just an inch shy of the day glow. I couldn't cry. I couldn't sleep. There was no way to loose myself other than slip into insanity. I just lay there for a long while, watching dejectedly as the shaft of light in my cell slowly faded. I closed my eyes and prayed for relief. I prayed for a daydream that could save me from this timeless waking. I was desperate to recall the face. The hair that caught the sunlight, the eyes that glittered out from a creamy face, the laughter that shook me to the core. I wanted to feel those hands that had vanished from my life so long ago... the warm hands that were never afraid to touch the iciness of my marble skin. Sometimes, in my best moments, I swear I can still feel them.

I still didn't understand how that was a crime.

When I opened my eyes again, the ray of light was back. Only now it was dull and blue: a shaft of moonlight. It's funny how time surprises me constantly in here. Just when I think I have a hold on it, it slips through my fingers and changes at a different rate than I expected.

My vampire strength may have faded long ago... but my senses hadn't. I could smell him right before I could hear him. He smelled like long and wild grass, ocean breeze... and human blood. His approach was silent; I didn't hear him until he was right outside my cell.

"I was wondering when you'd come again," I whispered into the silence.

Only vampire ears could hear my small voice over the cry of the crickets outside.

"I can't stay long," his deep voice leaked through the chink in the stone wall, his form blocking out the moonlight as he hovered just outside. Walls are no obstacles to our kind... scaling a stone wall is as easy as strolling down a street.

"Duty calls?" I asked dryly.

"My coven is on high alert tonight," he explained. "They won't explain why, but I know they need me."

"The Volturi guards did seem a bit on edge this morning," I pondered quietly. "I wonder if they're worried about the same thing."

"My leader wouldn't tell me much of anything," he confessed. "Only that my skills were needed. I probably shouldn't even be out here tonight, if the Volturi are indeed on alert. I could be spotted."

I nodded, though he couldn't see me. "Then why are you here?"

Silence. "Sometimes I just need to be."

I sort of smiled. These were the times I came closest to relief. I'm not sure how long ago it was when my strange companion first began appearing just outside my cell. As I said earlier, time plays tricks on me. It was he who had stabbed a small hole in the stone, just big enough for our voices to pass in the slightest whisper that my captors could not hear. He would come only in the dead of night, and only on rare occasions. He came from a coven to the North, though his accent was American, like mine. He said he'd been in Italy a long time though, following his mate's desire to live in the hills of Europe with a coven she had been invited to join. Aside from that, I knew next to nothing about him. He never spoke of his past, or of his coven. He would just come on quiet nights and cling to the wall outside my tower, speaking in soft tones of little nothings here and there. He was always sure to steer most of the questions in my direction, forcing me to tell my tales in order to keep him interested, to keep him nearby. I was terrified of losing him, the only friendly presence I had encountered in all my years in this prison.

We never once spoke of the most obvious topic... my escape. He never offered to break me from my cell, and I never asked. I figured it was out of love for his mate. The Volturi were brilliant. They would discover his identity. And the Volturi were ruthless. They would kill his coven. They would make him watch. I shuddered. I knew the feeling all to well. I knew the sickening dread of watching your world crumble beneath you, your life falling to pieces, and your friends and loved ones dissolving into flame... all because of you. I would not wish that feeling upon anyone, let alone the quiet voice of comfort that visited me like a full moon every month or so.

"Have they fed you recently?" he asked. "You seem pretty desolate this evening."

He didn't mean it to be funny, but I chuckled dryly anyway. Why would I be desolate? "How can you tell?" I asked.

"I just can."

"They fed me this morning. That's why I'm desolate. I feel best when I'm the thirstiest. I hate it when they force that vile human blood down my throat." There was only silence behind the wall, so I pressed on. "I don't understand how you can drink that."

I could hear him sigh wearily. "It's the lifestyle I lead."

"You reek of it."

There was an edge to my voice, but it didn't seem to bother him. "That's because I drink a lot of it."

"For your coven? For your purpose?"
"I need to stay strong."

"Why?" I dared to ask. "What are you?"

Another pause. "A nightmare. That is all you need to know."

"I think I already knew that." I tried to see him through the hole in the wall. I thought perhaps I could see the hint of his skin in the moonlight... or maybe I was just imagining it, desperate as I was. "How many have you killed today alone?" I asked after a moment.

"Why does that matter?"

I didn't reply, and he sighed again. "You're feeling curious tonight. Did I pick a bad night to come?"

"No," I replied quickly. I didn't want him to go. I always felt calmer when he was near. The moonlight outside flickered as he shifted on the wall. He seemed anxious. Was it funny that I could tell just by the movement of his shadow?

"What is your name?" I asked him. I asked each time he came to visit, and each time he simply answered my question with another question.

"Why a human?"

I blinked in surprise. This had only come up once before. It killed me to think it. "I asked your name," I tried again.

"I killed three humans tonight alone," he replied bluntly. "Do you really want to know more about me? The one who loves humans as you do?"

I swear I suddenly felt cold. Vampires never feel cold. "Why are you doing this?" I whispered.

He didn't answer, he only shifted again. I could suddenly sense his fear spiking through me. It was as if his emotions traveled on the wind. Or perhaps my kind are just that perceptive.

"They're coming!" he hissed. I could hear the growl rumble deep inside him. I weakly pushed myself off the floor and crouched warily.

"Who's coming?" I demanded.

"Be ready," he replied coarsely. "And you may yet survive this." I could hear him push off the wall, and suddenly the shaft of moonlight was once again piercing the floor before me. I sat fuming, my mind in a whir and my emotions now in turmoil. The second my mystery companion vanished, I was always left with this odd feeling of withdrawal from the peace that he created for me. I always felt more alone than ever. This time, I was also left with the bitter aftertaste of his fear, his anger, and his monstrous thirst for blood. Not human blood. Vampire.

When nothing came exploding through the wall or the iron door behind me, I finally allowed myself to settle back into a more relaxed position. It was exhausting just crouching for those few moments. My knees trembled as I wrapped my arms around them and pulled them to my forehead. Unable to sleep, I simply shut my eyes and prayed again for a dream. A quick moment of release, of the mirage that could momentarily deliver me from these shackles. Then it came. The human with the eyes of sunshine. The vision as clear and real as if I was standing right there, as if this memory had taken place only yesterday. Time plays tricks on me.

My face screwed up in pain again. I watched as those eyes laughed lovingly at me, hair sparkling in the daylight more than my skin ever could.

That bright smile bit down on a cherry lower lip, and the voice spoke out to me just as it had so many years ago. It gushed with love, laughter, and gentle play. "So serious...."

I couldn't cry. Not really. But I could sob. I pressed my forehead firmly against my knees and squeezed my eyes as tightly as I could as the name escaped my cold lips in one desperate sob. "Edward...."

And that was when the door behind me burst open.

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A/N:::: So????? Love it? Hate it? Please let me know. I'm not the type to beg for reviews, but in this case I'd love to know your thoughts on this idea of mine. This story is just beginning, and I plan on taking our characters for quite a ride. Normally my chapters will be a bit longer than this, but I wanted to make this one short and sweet to capture your attention. Hopefully I did. Thanks so much for reading you guys. And "Nightfall" fans... my new chapter is almost done. I just had to get this one up while it was in my head. Thanks so much for your patience. Love you guys 3

--Tiki--

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