A/N:

This is me disclaiming and unowning.

Go check out the playlist on my profile. Really though, it's all about the vibes.

Also, the delay in this chapter being posted is ALL FanFictiondotnet's fault. The site was being retarded for a few days, but it's back now... Functioning and in my heart.

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Last time, on 'De Anima':

"Well come on," she said, beckoning me to follow her," It's a long story…"

…………………………………………………………………………………………….

I followed her, seeing no other choice. If I was going to ensure Bella's safety, I would have to understand their story. But help them? I couldn't fathom how they thought I could do that. Can't? The blond's words echoed in my head, Or won't? I approached the sunken family room, not sure which of the two was the truth.

The décor was questionable. Not that it wasn't tasteful or gaudy or even suspect, it was questionable in that it seemed exactly the way I had pictured a typical rich family would have furnished their home. It was human, but too perfect. Long, neutral, modern couches sat against stark white walls, elaborate track lighting laced the ceiling, their spotlights calling attention to abstract paintings that hung perfectly throughout the room. From this viewpoint I could see the floor-to-ceiling windows were framed on each side by drawn curtains of luxurious silk. Black leather club chairs with titanium legs sat two-by-two, opposite the couch. A chaise was abandoned in the corner, a hanging lamp illuminating its perfect creaminess next to a lacquered table.

They took their places without question, the blond-haired man, Carlisle, and the brown-haired woman claiming the northernmost pair of club chairs. The pixie-girl haired girl pulled her mate by the hand, settling them into the chaise-lounger, him sitting behind her and eyeing me the entire time with strained caution. The burly man heaved himself onto the couch, throwing his feet on the side farthest from the blond. He smiled up at her as she looked down at him from her perch on the armrest, rolling her eyes.

"Feet, Emmett, "the brunette woman scolded, eyeing the worn boots that were dangerously close to ruining the finish of the sofa.

"Esm—" he protested.

"FEET!"

"Alright, Ma. Geez," he sat up, putting his feet on the ground in front of the couch, scooting closer to the blond. He shrugged his shoulders at me as I stood farthest from them, at the entryway to the room.

"Moms, you know? She can't help it. She's just really stressed," he said jovially.

"Edward," Carlisle said ignoring him, "I know you don't need to sit, but…"

He motioned to the set of chairs next to him. I nodded, taking the furthest from him, leaving an empty space between us.

I gave the room one last sweep for any telling thoughts. Still nothing that even suggested of a threat. I noted the most convenient exits as Carlisle began to speak.

"My name is Carlisle Cullen and this is my family."

"My wife…" he lifted his hand, intertwined with the brunette's at his side.

"…Esme," he said it softly, in a voice seeping with affection.

"And my children," he continued, "They were the ones speaking to your Bella, but not to harm her or to warn her…"

"Then why?" I growled.

"—To look for you!" the blond practically screeched, "Alice saw you arrive almost a month ago… We got tired of waiting!"

"Rosalie!" Esme trilled. She played the role of a mother quite well.

The girl huffed, folding her arms in front of her chest, allowing Carlisle to continue.

"Like I was saying," he said, eyeing the blond, "These are, for all intents and purposes, my children. Alice… Jasper…Rosalie… Emmett."

He pointed them out one at a time, as if I hadn't already picked up their names.

"Yes! Fine! Your children." I said irritably, "So you sired them then?"

The brunette woman gasped, placing a hand over her heart, "Heavens no!"

"Carlisle hasn't had a drink like… Ever," Alice chirped from the chaise in the corner, bursting with pride, "None of us drink though. Vegetarians and all that, it's the new rage."

I would have rolled my eyes -- popculture and all of its affected language was permeating even the immortal lexicon? – but I was too shocked at her admission.

"I found them, one at a time, all of them in varying states of disrepair. Well, in their human forms at least. We move from time to time, before any of the humans become suspicious. I am a doctor here in Forks, a surgeon. The constant cloud-cover keeps us hidden most days."

"You don't feed?" I demanded shocked, easily gleaning over the other parts of the story. "At all?"

"Well of course not, Silly!" Alice said matter-of-factly, "We have to eat something! Animals. Big game and elk, mostly."

"So you don't feed on humans?"

"No," the meathead said from the couch, "And from the looks of it, neither do you."

I recoiled at his accusation. How could he have possibly known that?

"For all you know." I deflected, "You underestimate my prowess at your own detriment."

"I never said you didn't hunt, kid. I'm just saying you don't hunt human."

I listened to his thoughts, he was more inquisitive than I would have assumed despite his jovial manner. His mind was the only one in the room that wasn't absolutely laborious to listen to. He was brave, that much I could surmise, and he was sure that they would come out of whatever was dealt to them.

However, he made one mistake. He took the mythology surrounding the Volturi as a gift. He thought that surely there was no way the reality could meet the expectation, while the others regarded the shroud of mystery as a burden. Even Carlisle had no estimation of how the Volturi had grown and strengthened. We were beings of legend in our world, nobody defied us because everyone assumed we were invincible. I knew first-hand that we were not. Our coven was riddled with insecurities and struggles for power, but I would not tell that to the Cullens. No, I had to have some secrets… I only knew that if I had to choose between the three --The Volturi, The Cullens and Bella – I would pick her. But between the Volturi and the Cullens? That choice was not so clear.

"But you don't…" Alice said softly from across the room," I know you don't."

"And how could you possibly know that? Did you see it in one of your visions?" I mocked her.

She pouted at me with her hands on her hips, "No, I didn't see it in one of my visions, though that would be just as credible."

I scoffed.

"Your eyes," the blond sighed dramatically.

My eyes? I had noticed before that they had brown eyes that varied only slightly on the color spectrum from chocolate to hazel to amber, but I had not given it much thought. I had never seen any of our kind with eyes like mine. I had always assumed it was a defect in me. Like my ability to read minds or Jane's ability to inflict pain, just one of the many things that marked me as different from the others.

"The color?" I questioned warily, "Brown? Because we don't feed on humans?"

"Exactly," Alice chirped up again, "See? You don't belong with them. You belong with us!"

"Alice!" Carlisle warned her, "Let him decide where he belongs."

"Or who he belongs to," the blond bitch quipped. I really was beginning to tire of her.

"I don't belong to anyone," I said glaring in her direction, "I am my own master. I come and go as I please. I do what they ask when it suits me, but I am never forced into doing that which I do not want to do. It would do you good to remember that, girl."

"Then why do you choose to be one of them?" she said, standing up, "If you are your own master then why do their beckoning? Why kill other vampires for them when they did nothing to you?"

I shook my head, her fake indignation was just as transparent as her intellect.

"Even in our world, there should be order," I hissed through ground teeth, " Our invincibility, our curse, doesn't give us the right to run at will, unchecked. We didn't create the world, did we? We have no right to light it on fire, just to watch it burn."

"And what did we do?!" Jasper asked irately, moving out of his chair just as the blond had, "Why are they coming for Alice when she did nothing wrong. We don't hunt humans, we don't make ourselves known, we don't sire new vampires. What offense could they possibly raise against us?"

"I don't know," I said honestly, "They only told me to send word to Volterra once I found you. I know nothing else."

"Then why did you come here?!" Jasper yelled, his voice raising still, "If you're still with them, then why?!"

I felt my own rage build inexplicably and the haze returned, causing my mind to cease and stumble. How dare he speak to me that way, I had not been spoken to in that tone for all of my years. I wanted to attack. I wanted to lunge at him and rip his legs from his body and I did not know quite why. I tried to steady myself, just for a single moment, just to think and breathe. Why was I here? Auburn waves of hair, deep brown eyes, pale skin… It all flashed through the breaks in the fog.

Yes, I remembered, Bella.

"The girl," I said finally, admitting it to myself just as much as I was admitting it to them.

"We have no intention of harming Bella, Edward," Esme assured me," None of us. Alice saw you arrive and we just couldn't understand why you hadn't sought us out yet."

"And then I started seeing Bella all of a sudden," Alice piped up, adding to the explanation, "which was surprising to say the least – I didn't take her for your type – but we put two and two together and we figured at the very least, it would lure you out into the open."

She was telling the truth as far as I could tell, her mind and her words were mirror images.

"You have no intention to harm her?"

A chorus of 'no's and frustrated groans rang throughout the room. I turned to Carlisle.

"You swear it?"

"On my family. I swear."

I stood, addressing the entire room, "I will take your word for it, but I swear on her life that if you harm her, I will return. I will repay the debt."

I sighed," I'll leave Forks. I will not tell the Volturi that I found you. I will leave your family in peace."

I turned around, but I heard Alice's tinkling voice heavy for the first time.

"It's not enough, Edward. You have to help us."

"Help you?" I asked bewildered, turning back around, "How could I possibly help you more than I already have? I told you, I will not lead the Volturi here. You have the chance to run. Take it."

I hissed out the final words, it was the only choice they had if they wanted to survive. The Volturi always got what they wanted.

"They'll just keep chasing us," she said with pained eyes, "Even if you run, too. They'll find us and then they'll find you. You know they won't stop. It's us they want."

"I can take care of myself."

"For now," she said, "but what happens when they have all of us? What happens then? Even you won't be able to hide from them."

"What do you mean, Alice?" I asked, finally allowing myself to say her name. I didn't like her this way, I liked her better when she was optimistic.

"They want all of us, Edward. Well, those of us with abilities."

"Your visions?" I asked rhetorically, the waves of comprehension came quickly, one after the other.

She shrugged," It would help them in some way wouldn't it?"

"And you don't want to go?"

I knew her answer, I knew all of their answers, before they said the words. I had helped the Volturi in this way before, gone on missions to help collect the vampires that would strengthen their claims to sovereignty over the vampire world. Never had anyone refused. In fact, most leapt at the chance. To be one of us, to live in our world, it was an honor. An honor and a curse, for it they wanted her, they would stop at nothing to have her. I knew as well as she did, maybe even better, that there was no way they would leave her in peace.

"Edward, we're different. We don't feed. Why would I want to be a Volturi? What could they possibly offer me that is better than this?"

I knew that she wasn't referring to our lush environment. She was referring to her home. Her family. Love. It was almost enough to pity her.

"I'm sorry," I said, moving toward the door again, "I cannot help you with that."

"Edward, please," she said, her voice thick with desperation.

I shook my head, trying to keep out their thoughts. All of emotions and words coursing through them was overpowering. The meathead brunette, frustration. The blond, I told you so. The kind-hearted woman, broken-hearted. The wavy-haired boy, Anger. The man, disappointment. The only thoughts that were not dejected, we not absolutely sure of my resolve was the girl, Alice.

She grabbed my hand, falling to her knees, "Please, Edward. Please! I can't be one of them, I couldn't bear it. I would die first. Please, don't let them take me. You're my only hope."

I reached down, trying to pull her up by the arms, suddenly unafraid of touching her, wanting simply to comfort her. I gathered her shoulders between my hands, trying to look her in the face.

"Alice, why do you think I can help you? Why are you doing this? Do you understand what you're asking me for? You can see the future. Surely, you can see that they will not accept my betrayal, that whether I stand with you or not, they will still want you. You must know how all of this will end…"

"Alice's visions change," Carlisle interjected, "They can only predict what will happen given the state of everyone's mind at exactly that moment. The minute it changes… So does her vision."

"And what does that have to do with me?!" I released the girl, walking to the other end of the room, pacing from wall to window.

"We don't know." Jasper said, his voice softening for the first time.

"I cannot fight against them," I said after a moment's pause though the words formed and spilled out on their own, "They may not be my family, but they were my companions once, the way that the members of this coven are yours. How can I betray them for you? I hardly know you. I hardly just learned your names."

I didn't owe them anything. Who were they to me? They were nobodies. They were nothing. Their thoughts screamed their expectations. Give up everything I knew? My safety? My solace? For them?

"And I suppose that if I don't help you, you'll use the girl against me?" I said reverting back to my suspicions. They seemed too well intentioned.

"No, Edward. We won't."

Carlisle said it suddenly; it was almost cold. Rising from his seat he seemed dejected, yet he offered a hand to me nevertheless. I took it, grasping it firmly in my own, searching his eyes for hidden truths that maybe his mind would not express.

"I'll keep my promise," I said, releasing his hand, "I will not tell them you were here. I have no intention of returning to them, so your secrets are safe with me."

"Thank you, Edward. I understand how insurmountable that first step into a new direction seems. I left Volterra once too."

I nodded my head, I remembered it now. Aro and Caius mentioned that one of the new coven was an old friend.

He walked me to the door as we left the fretting thoughts of the others in the living room.

"Leaving," I said suddenly, turning to him before I made my exit, "Was it worth it? Do you ever regret it?"

He pulled back the heavy wooden oak, the cold air of fall whipping all around us, his flaxen hair fluttering only slightly in the wind. He shut his eyes for a moment, his face the picture of tranquility. A small smile adorned his face as he lost himself in his thoughts.

"I lived a hundred years of torture before I found them. I would live one hundred more if it meant just one lifetime with them. I suppose to have had happiness this long is more than any being, human or not, could ever ask for. Ever dream of…"

He opened his eyes, pinching the bridge of his nose in a familiar way.

"I hope you find what you are looking for," he said honestly.

"I hope that your family finds a way through this," I responded in turn.

He nodded with a tight smile as I walked through the door, back into the night.

"Goodbye, Edward."

"Goodbye, Carlisle."

………………………………………………………………………………………………

The door shut behind me, yet something held me back. I paused for a moment, turning back to the house, trying to tune out the voices that still rang clearly in my head. They were strategizing, grasping at straws from the sound of it. The brown-haired woman, Esme, her mind was the worst. I had never known such sorrow in our kind. I saw her replay a scene in her mind. It was a cliff overlooking a quarry, there was water nearby, the slates of grey broke in shards all around. The viewpoint overlooked the cliff's edge and then suddenly the clear colors of the memory streaked in moving lines and faded into black.

"Edward."

I whipped around, caught off guard. Jasper was standing there, the white light from the house creeping through the windows in the door he shut behind us.

"I can't, Jasper. I am sorry, truly, I am."

"Do you love her?"

He didn't have to say her name for me to know whom he was referring to.

"She has nothing to do with our world. Loving her or not, it makes no difference."

He ignored my protests, taking a step closer still.

"Do you love her, Edward?"

To deny it now would be futile. He was sure of my answer in his mind.

"Yes, I love her."

"Then help us, Edward, because I love Alice too."

I knew not what I was doing, not what I was agreeing to, not even why I did it, but he swept away my last ounce of defiance with those words and then too quickly, in the single beat of a heart, I was with them.

"I can make no promises. I will tell you what I can, I will vouch for you, but that is all that I can do. Even then, it may not be enough."

His thoughts screamed of victory… Of gratitude… But I knew it was premature.

"Keep your 'thank you's, Jasper. We know not what awaits us on the other side of this unknown…"

A/N: Oh Snap! Edward finally met the Cullens! The whole 'Take-Alice' thing was something from BD that I totally understood. Her power is the best out of ALL of 'em.

Oh, and BT Dub, I'm getting off front street. I can't pretend I don't love and want the reviews. So go ahead, clickity click… Thus, the next chapter.