Pairings: Jasper/Krista. Neville/Luna. Ethan/Susan.
Warnings: AU Universe. OC characters. Some character bashing. Non-canon. Mature scenes. Violence.
Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter and Twilight and any of the characters, but the OC characters belongs to me
Chapter Ten: Forks
ante bellum
(before the war)
XXXXXX
Susan Bones and Hannah Abbott were present at the morgue when one of the police officers of Seattle had the unfortunate duty to show the three of them down. The lot of them have probably drawn straws, and he had gotten the shortest of the pick.
Krista and Ethan sighed as they exchanged looks with each other; they recognised those looks on the faces of the Intelligence agents. Even Jasper who had his fair share of dealing with either traumatised or disturbed agents due to a mission having gone wrong could tell that they wouldn't really like hearing what is going to come out of Susan and Hannah's mouths.
"So what do you have?" Ethan was the first one to speak, also silently throwing up a silencing ward around them to prevent anyone from eavesdropping on them.
Apart from his eyes getting lighter when he'd seen Susan, he made no show that his mate's presence had lightened him. The same goes for Susan. Most Nightshades' agents were professional when on the field, and they knew when there is a time and place to show affection—and out on the field on a mission of this calibre definitely isn't one of them.
"We have close to eighty deaths alone for the past year." Hannah sighed, handing over a rather thick folder to Krista who took it with a frown and flipped through it. "I have to dig deeper, but I'm pretty certain that this army has been in the making for two years at least. And there are at least twenty to thirty disappearances for the last two years."
"We did detailed autopsies and checks on every single body that was found dead that is still in the morgue." Susan looked exhausted, and her eyes looked bloodshot. If she had been doing this for the past three days that it took Krista, Ethan and Jasper to get to Seattle, then it is no wonder.
"Mundane vampires." Hannah added helpfully, glancing at Jasper as she did so before turning back towards Krista. "Didn't you mention before that there is a vampire coven currently residing in Forks? You sure it isn't them?"
"No. That particular coven doesn't feed on human blood." Krista answered with a shake of her head. "It's the height of idiocy if you ask me. Feeding on animal blood is good and all when it comes to whatever morals they have, but it will never really keep them full. They're more prone to snapping and giving into bloodlust than vampires who feed on human blood and could control their hunger."
"Especially if they have the misfortune to end up running into their Singers." Jasper pointed out grimly; and the four Nightshades' agents present nodded solemnly.
It is a rare occurrence to have a mundane vampire to run into their Singer—a human whose blood sings to them so much that they will never be able to resist the allure of their scent and blood. Jasper is lucky so far that he hadn't run into someone like that—and even if he does, he had practiced and taught himself for the past century to control his bloodlust and gift so that he probably wouldn't snap if he runs into one.
"Anyway, things are spiralling out of control." Susan warned them. "You need to hurry up and settle this. It's already caught the attention of the humans. You don't want things to get worse; especially with how this country is with the supernatural."
"Yeah, we know." Ethan sighed, scratching at the back of his head and exchanging looks with his partner. "So about the matter we asked you to look in?"
There were several long moments of silence as Susan and Hannah exchanged nervous looks with each other. Finally, Susan let out a long exhale as she turned her attention towards Krista.
"I need you to promise that you'll stay calm…"
XXXXXX
It was six months after the Salem War; and honestly, Krista already had quite enough of the clean up.
For awhile, it seems to her like the aftermath and the clean-up after that will never end, what with having to deter the humans from chasing after the Downworlders as well as protecting those of the Downworld and fixing the fey lines that the Salem War had nearly destroyed—no thanks to the idiotic actions of the Salem Sect.
"Justin, he okay?" Krista nearly barked at the startled and confused Intelligence agent who is currently comforting the terrified child in his arms—a young werewolf that is currently living in a mundane town. Hence why two Enforcers and two members of Intelligence were sent out.
Most Nightshades agents were sent out in either pairs or teams of four these days. Even the Enforcers never go on a mission alone without their partner, with how the situation with the mundanes in America is after the idiotic actions of the Salem Sect.
"Yeah. He's still alive." Justin told Krista, even as he let Ernie check the terrified werewolf child over. Honestly, he is relieved at least that with this child, they at least managed to make it in time before the idiots they call mundanes kill the child just for being in the wrong place at the wrong time, and ended up getting bitten by a werewolf on the night of the full moon.
This child is no doubt a mundane, and his parents likely have tried to protect him from the village, from what they knew from the reports that were sent before they were sent on a rescue mission.
"You're witches, aren't you?" One of the villagers tied up spat at Krista and Ethan, glaring daggers at them. "One of those abominations."
"Can't you mundanes come up with something new to call us?" Krista muttered, irritated. "I'm getting sick of hearing the same thing day in and day out."
"You're just nothing but freaks!"
Justin and Ernie froze in terror even as waves of fury swept over them like a tidal wave. The child in Justin's arms stiffened and hid his face in his chest, seeking comfort and protection after having witnessed his parents' murder by the enraged villagers when they have discovered what he is.
"Uh oh." Both Intelligence agents heard Ethan mutter even as he stepped away from Krista who had a blank look on her face. But if their experience with the Salem War had taught them anything, it is that the blanker and politer that Krista is, the angrier she is.
"You bunch of morons…have no idea just who you've pissed off." Krista said in a low voice.
One moment, all is quiet and still. The next, the few villagers who were still alive after the four Nightshades' agents have gone through them started screaming at the top of their lungs, causing the remaining three agents and the werewolf child in Justin's arms to flinch and cover their ears.
The screams were full of pain, and Justin and Ernie both flinched as they heard the breaking of bones as one after the other, the villagers' spines were snapped, before being followed by the rest of the bones in their bodies.
The only one that wasn't given the same treatment is the hunter that had been the one to gather the rest of the village to go after the young werewolf child and killed his parents for just doing what any parent worth their salt would.
"Stop it! Just stop it!" He shrieked, eyes wide with terror and horror as he witnessed the sheer terror that is happening before his eyes, even as one villager after the other dropped dead as a result of Krista's spell.
"Did you stop when his parents begged you to stop?" Krista hissed with fury. "Did you stop when you tortured the child just because he is a child of the moon? Did you stop when he begged you to spare his parents, and you killed them before his eyes? Did you? So why should I stop when you didn't?"
"He's an abomination! He deserved nothing but death!" The hunter spat.
Krista kicked him around the face, before pressing his face down to the ground with her boot, her eyes cold. "Then you can go the same way that you killed those of our people," she said. "May you burn in Hell."
With a snap of her fingers, the hunter then started burning, and the screams begun.
Ernie, Justin and even Ethan backed away immediately, even as the blue-white flames consumed flesh and hair—with the smell of it distinctive in the air, before the fire spread to the bodies of the villagers around him.
As soon as it had begun, it is over.
Ethan sighed. "Well, at least we made it in time," he said, looking at the child in Justin's arms.
Both Justin and Ernie nodded; what else could they say anyway?
Feeling a tug on his clothes, Justin looked down at the child within his arms. "What's wrong?"
"Where am I going? What am I going to do now?" The child whimpered.
"We're going to take you with us." Ernie answered, exchanging concerned looks with Justin. They definitely can't just leave a werewolf child who doesn't understand his true nature out on his own like this. If the hunters don't get to him first, one of the other werewolf packs in the wild will should he go feral.
The child gave a weak smile and nodded.
All four agents stiffened at that moment; and as one, have their weapons out and looking towards the same direction—towards the nearby house.
"Who's there?" Ethan demanded. "Come out now."
There were several long moments of silence before a tall blond man stepped out from behind the house. He dresses well, and seems to be a doctor of some sort with that medical bag that he had with him.
But it is his golden eyes and the vampire scent coming off him in waves that causes all four Nightshades' agents to stop in their tracks.
Ernie frowned, lowering his sword. "The hell are you?" he demanded.
That was Nightshades' first meeting with Carlisle Cullen.
XXXXXX
Jasper winced at the waves of anger practically rolling off his mate as they made their way up a long winding path through the small sleepy town of Forks. And after what Susan and Hannah have reported to them earlier before they've headed off to the nearest airport to return to Italy, it is no wonder.
The death of a vampire in Seattle about two years ago.
The sudden increase of wolf shifters in the Indian reservation of La Push.
And now the mess that is the newborn army in Seattle.
And ironically, all these incidents linked back to one coven—or rather, one human.
Honestly, they're lucky that the humans haven't stumbled upon the truth of the supernatural yet, and that they haven't gotten themselves exposed, with how careless this idiotic vampire coven had been, and the risks they have been taking with exposure over one stupid mortal girl.
Jasper can understand why Krista is furious. Ethan is as furious as she is, judging by how tight he is gripping the steering wheel of the car as he drove. And honestly, Jasper is none too pleased himself.
As a vampire, especially one living in Sin City, he knew better than anyone else the rules of their world. The most ultimate one being that their secret must be kept, no matter the cost. They can never risk exposure.
Even back during his time in the southern army, Maria had made sure he knew that. Even she knew better than to risk exposure of their world. Turn or feed on humans all you like, she had said. But make sure that no human ever survives to talk about them.
Thus, Jasper can understand just why the two Enforcers were so furious.
"What do you think of the situation in Seattle, Jasper?" Ethan was the first one to break the silence, though his voice was still tinged with anger.
Jasper blinked at suddenly being addressed. "Well, the situation is bad definitely," he said. "Ten newborns alone are enough of a threat for even an entire coven of vampires. But if there's about twenty to thirty of them at one go, it'll be a danger even to Enforcers."
Both Krista and Ethan can definitely agree to that. Back when they were tasked with taking out the southern army, they had trouble with just half the number. What makes newborns so dangerous isn't because of their insane strength, but because they're still functioning on instincts alone, it makes their movements unpredictable. Hence why Jasper had quite the reputation to his name when assisting Maria as her second-in-command for so many years.
Even now, Krista and Ethan both still hear of whispers about the 'God of War' every now and then.
"This situation is pretty delicate." Krista agreed, rubbing her forehead. "We have to control it to stop it spiralling out of control. I'm surprised the army or even the usual group of human hunters that we have to deal with haven't come down yet. They're always right behind whenever there is a place with even a whiff of supernatural activity."
"Even for hunters, they can't handle an entire newborn army. They're not stupid enough to do that. And they know that a situation of this calibre will have Enforcer involvement." Ethan reminded his partner. "And after what happened the last time, they're not insane enough to test the waters with Nightshades."
Jasper gave an amused grin whilst Krista only gave an amused snort.
While Nightshades doesn't really like the human hunters, they do tend to work together from time to time—especially when they've run into some rogue hunter some fifty or so years ago that takes delight in hunting down every single Downworlder that crosses their way, whether they've done anything or not.
And according to Krista, said hunter then had the misfortune of running into Theodore Nott and Blaise Zabini when they're on their way back from a mission. The two Enforcers actually sent the remains of the hunter back to the headquarters of the hunters, with a note basically warning them of any actions in hunting down their own.
This generation of hunters however, Jasper knew, had more common sense and brains, and seemed to have hashed out some kind of peace agreement with Nightshades, with the standard protocol being to inform Nightshades if there's some kind of Downworlder activity. Jasper knew as well that the hunters have been keeping tabs on the remnants of the Salem Sect for Nightshades.
"All right, we're approaching." Ethan announced as he turned the car up into a driveway after driving through a long stretch of road filled with nothing but trees and more trees. It is really a quiet town, with almost nothing happening, if one doesn't count the fact that a coven of vampires is currently calling this place home.
"It's a nice place for a vampire abode." Jasper blinked in a very human-like fashion as he took in the sight of the beautiful, sprawling estate. A far cry compared to the modest apartment that he has above his clinic in Sin City. Though on the days when Krista is back in town, he stays with her and vice versa.
He has as many of his things and books over at Krista's apartment as much as Krista has her things at Jasper's. It came to such a point that some of their friends have even started asking why they both aren't even married yet, since they are already mated.
"Yeah, they seem to like large and beautiful homes for some reason." Krista informed Jasper wryly. "Not a good idea, especially if they want to stay inconspicuous in a small town like Forks. Having such a large and obviously expensive looking mansion is simply asking for questions from curious humans."
"Why would they even need such a large space to begin with?" Ethan grumbled, applying the brakes after reaching the end of the drive. "I've been hearing of the complaints from the Memory Reversal Squad for the past half century. They're not exactly happy having to chase them all over the country."
"It's not my fault." Krista grumbled. "That's why I've been meaning to come down for nearly two years now, but something always cropped up whenever I mean to make the trip down."
"Yes, I heard of it from Alicia." Jasper nodded with a grin. "It's come to such a point that there's even a permanent squad that always takes the cases revolving around them."
Krista managed a wry smile at her mate. "All right, let's get this over with," she almost growled. "It's been two years in the making. I had quite enough of cleaning up their messes."
"Count me in." Ethan grumbled.
All three got out of the car, with Krista adjusting the strap of her bag that is currently hanging from one strap over her left shoulder—with all three staring up at the sprawling white mansion. All three exchanged looks before they started walking up the pathway to the doors, knowing perfectly well that all the vampires in the house could hear them, and thus, they didn't bother to mask their scents or any sounds they made.
Jasper winced however when he heard simultaneous growls from both Krista and Ethan when they caught the fresh scent of a human being present within the premises.
Oh boy. This coven is dead meat for having pissed off the two Enforcers whom they shouldn't piss off to begin with. And the Seattle situation isn't exactly helping in the least.
Krista raised a fist and knocked on the ornate doors of the mansion.
There were several long moments before the door opened, and a beautiful woman with golden wavy locks falling down to her shoulders was standing at the entrance. Krista made no sign that she recognised Rosalie Hale from that night when she'd given Carlisle assistance when he'd made the decision to turn her.
"Can I help you?" Rosalie asked Krista, looking from one to the other, though her eyes widened a slight fraction when she laid eyes on Jasper, realising that he's a vampire.
Over Rosalie's shoulder, Krista spotted at least five other vampires—most likely the rest of the coven, along with…
"Nightshades." Ethan fished his identity card out of his pocket, nudging Krista in the side to do the same, which she did grudgingly.
"Ethan? Krista?" Carlisle Cullen spoke in wonder and with slight concern and fear, with the bronze-haired vampire—Edward or something, staring at his 'father' oddly. Jasper could feel the waves of concern and fear washing from him, and immediately locked his mind shields in place like how Krista and even Andromeda have taught him.
"It's been a long time, Carlisle." Ethan spoke with a light sneer on his face, eyes going to the only human in the room. The pixie-like vampire automatically moved to shield her—as if doing so would protect her, much to the two Enforcers and Jasper's disgust.
"And I'm afraid that this isn't just a social visit." Krista took over from her partner, her eyes flashing murder. The more that she learned about this particular coven and the more that she see, the angrier she felt.
"Uh… Why don't you come in?" The woman who seemed to be Carlisle's mate with how close that she is standing next to him offered, an uneasy look on her face.
A very uneasy silence fell in the room when Ethan, Krista and Jasper entered the house, with the door closing shut behind them. Carlisle cleared his throat uneasily. "Uh… So what brings you both here from Sin City?"
There were intakes of breath from the other vampires in the room when they realise what their sire was trying to tell them in as little words as possible, whilst the only human in the room only stared at them with confusion, blinking doe-like brown eyes at them.
Krista studied the human carefully, her lips curling as she did so.
Plain brown hair and eyes, and nearly as pale as any vampire. There is nothing interesting about this human at all, so why in the name of the Morrigan is an entire vampire coven breaking one of their most sacred laws for her?
"Maybe you can tell us, Carlisle." Ethan said pleasantly even as Jasper leant against the wall behind the two Enforcers, arms crossed over his chest, feeling rather amused. He didn't miss the wary looks that the vampires in the coven gave him, and the looks that they gave the numerous scars that they could see littered the skin on his arms.
"Sorry?"
"Would you like to explain?" Krista's voice was low and threatening even as she glared daggers at Carlisle Cullen who swallowed nervously, suddenly feeling like he's done something very wrong. "Maybe you would like to explain to me about the sudden rise of supernatural activity in these parts for the last two years? Or perhaps you would like to explain to me why I've been hearing from some of my informants that one of my informants has somehow ended up dead at your hands? Or maybe, you can start explaining to me as to why a human is in the know about us—" Every single pair of eyes in the room swivelled towards said human who blushed and tried to hide behind her hair—a submissive act that only serves to cause the three from Sin City to dislike her further despite never having spoken a word to her yet. Rosalie Hale however looked delighted—and in the coming days, they would be pleased to have an ally in the blonde, "—and yet somehow, she's still alive and human."
For several moments, Carlisle was speechless, even as his coven stared at him with confusion—clearly wondering why Carlisle seems to be so worried about them. True, they're from Nightshades. But they can't be that dangerous, can they?
The glare from Krista Potter is enough to melt steel.
"Well? Start. Talking."