A/N
I do not own Twilight, or indeed any of the Twilight Saga. Everything belongs to Stephenie Meyer.

"So it is decided." Carlisle sighed. "We shall stand and fight against the Volturi."

The only response to his words was silence. We stood like statues for what felt like hours, and I gripped Edward's hand tightly in my own.

After some time, Jasper stepped forward uncertainly. "Surely we needn't stand alone? There are others that may fight with us." He spoke swiftly, but his voice betrayed the futileness of the situation.

Edward looked up, an angry look in his eye. "Others we don't need to condemn to death, Jasper!"

Edward's tone was heated, but his face was pained. I had seen this front only twice before, first when James was tracking me, and again when he left me alone in the forest, and I shivered as I realised that a much more permanent separation was on its way. My only response was to grasp his arm even harder.

We all knew that it didn't matter how many vampires we managed to persuade to fight with us; standing before the might of the Volturi was fruitless. We were all going to be put to death.

Our situation angered me. Even Emmett, usually so full of life, stood silent and still. I couldn't let the Volturi destroy my family. I couldn't.

I racked my new vampire brain furiously for an answer; a way for us to survive. We couldn't run, that much was obvious. Even if Demetri was unable to track me, it would be the easiest thing in the world for him to find Edward, or Alice, or even Reneesme. There was no place we could hide, and we could not possibly hope to fight. But I refused to give up. There must be a solution.

Then it hit me. It was so obvious! How could no one else have seen it?

I moved away from the group of motionless sculptures that currently occupied the living room, and darted towards Carlisle. My smile was so at odds to the looks of resignation and sadness that permeated the house that he looked down at me quizzically. Edward stared after me, arm raised but unmoving.

"What is it, Bella?" Carlisle questioned. I flashed a bright grin and grasped his hand in mine.

"I know how we can defeat the Volturi..."

One month later

They entered the field in formation, like a march. The light-grey cloaks that shrouded the guard turned ever darker until it met the deepest black of Marcus, Caius and Aro. The procession folded into a fan, the figures in the centre surging forwards and the guard moving back without breaking step, until the Volturi came towards us in a single line of death.

We stood before them. Me and Edward, Emmett and Rosalie, Jasper and Alice, and Carlisle with Esme. We had made Jake promise to stay far away with Reneesme. As confident as I was in my plan, I wasn't having her anywhere near the battle.

The Volturi procession stopped just a hundred metres away, exactly where Alice had seen them halting weeks before. I smiled viciously.

The Volturi seriously thought they could outwit someone who could see the future? We had them right where we wanted them. I nodded to Carlisle and he slid his hand into his pocket, where a small silver box hosted an unassuming black button. I checked the foliage on either side of the Volturi force, but the equipment we had placed there in preparation was not visible even to my vampire eyes. They were in for the shock of their lives.

Aro stepped forward. If he was surprised to see the size of the force that was ranged against him, he didn't show it. The Denali's had attempted to convince us to let them fight with us, but we insisted that it was unnecessary. We knew from Alice that he had expected at least a dozen others to stand with us; it wasn't hard to find an enemy of the Volturi, but we turned those who offered their services away.

He smiled invitingly, and started to speak.

"Bella! Immortality suits you. I trust everything is well?"

Carlisle walked forward warily.

"Well enough, except for the force you have arranged to kill us all."

Aro's face twisted with false distress.

"There need be no killing today." He walked closer, and reached his arms out as if to bridge the gap between us. "We must destroy the creature that is located here, but we would be very happy to leave your coven alive and whole. Just tell us where we can find it."

Aro's honeyed voice fooled me into believing him for a second, but Edward's growls at the outright lie snapped me back out quickly.

Aro seemed saddened when not one of us stepped forward.

"So be it." With a quick hand motion, he prepared his troops. I nodded at Carlisle, telling him to be ready at my command. "I must say; I would have-"

"Now!" I whispered, and Carlisle pressed the button swiftly. For one agonising moment, nothing happened, then a jet of flame burst from the forest.

Aro barely had time to cry out before he was engulfed.

"Wait! No- AHHHHHHH", then fifty more sprays of fire exploded from the surrounding trees, incinerating the remainder of the Volturi forces. Jasper, Emmett and Rosalie darted back, confused. They were the only ones who had not known about my plan before I had implemented it, although I thought it had gone rather well. The Volturi were dead, Aro was burnt to ashes and we were finally safe.

Later

"It was very simple really."

It was few hours after the defeat of the Volturi, and I lay curled up around Reneesme on the white sofa back at the house. It had taken some time to clear away the remains of the thirty or so vampires that had faced us, and we had had to send messages to Carlisle's numerous acquaintances to inform them of the monumental event that had just occurred.

Then, amid loud congratulations, speculation on the future of the Vampire world, and frequent hugs, Emmett asked me to explain exactly what I had done.

I kissed the top of Reneesme's head, ignoring the admiring stares of my family. I was pleased to see that my embarrassment at being at the centre of attention hadn't changed, despite my transformation. At least I kept some of my former traits.

"The idea just came to me just after Alice warned us about the Volturi. I thought: If we can be destroyed by fire, then we needn't bother with any actual fighting. Humans have been designing new ways of killing each other for years, and one of the weapons they developed was the perfect thing to take down a vampire."

"What?" Emmett shouted, nearly breaking the coffee table with annoyance. One look from Esme told him that breaking her furniture probably wasn't a very good idea. At least if he wanted his head to remain attached.

"Shut up, and I'll tell you." Edward, lying at my feet, laughed. I glared at him until he stopped.

"Where was I...? Oh yes, Flamethrowers."

"Flamethrowers?"

"Yes. Flamethrowers. No need to mess around with any of that fighting lark, when, with the touch of a button, they would be gone."

I winched. That had probably come out colder than I had hoped. Not that Emmett noticed.

"Well done, Bella!" He crowed excitedly, and Rosalie shushed him, but she was smiling too.

Edward moved round to the head of the couch and kissed me lightly while Reneesme hugged my neck.

Carlisle placed his hand on my shoulder. "You have done the world a great service today, Bella. As much as I hate destroying another living being, the Volturi were doing more harm than good."

Emmett jumped up, beaming.

"So, when are we moving to Volterra? Bags the throne room!" We all groaned light-heartedly at Emmett's joke.

He looked questioningly around at his laughing family.

"What? I was serious!"