Disclaimer: I do not own Twilight. I do own Arianna and Gabriel, though. Thanks to my beta, CrystalRaindrop!

Never Too Late — Chapter Ten

Previously ...

"Arianna!" I cried, and I let the tears course down my cheeks as I fought against the part of me that begged to let her go, or to take her life, as I had been trained to do for so many years. "Arianna! Please! Arianna! Look at me!"

Her eyes turned to mine than, and my heart broke further.

Red.

All I saw was red. Just like before. I knew what she was ... but I didn't know how. Her heart beat. She bled. She blushed. It was impossible. But I knew what I was seeing.

And I saw, in my arms, a girl I loved more than anything, in the form of the existence I had sworn to slaughter without mercy.

September 11th, 2038 - Saturday — 10:25 AM ( Gabriel POV )

"Arianna!"

In that moment, I was more afraid, and more willing to forgive than I ever had been. My mind, running a million miles an hour, was telling me one thing, and one thing only: Kill the enemy. Kill her. But my heart was telling me to let it all go — to forgive and forget, and to ignore the fact that the girl I was falling in love with was the one I wanted to destroy.

I cried out loudly, the tears still streaming down my face, when Arianna shrieked — it was a loud sound; shrill. It was the same sound that the Vampire — even in my thoughts, hate laced the word — who had killed my mom had uttered. It was the same animalistic cry that every one of their kind let loose before they hunted, before they killed. And here, in front of me, was a young woman, still a girl, really, straining against me. She wanted to kill, to take blood, and my heart was throbbing, begging for me to forgive her, to let it all go ... to love her despite everything.

But as she broke free from my arms and ran toward the girl — who had, only seconds before, frozen at Arianna's cry — I knew I couldn't. I knew that I had only seconds to take her down, to kill her.

And it hurt. God, it hurt so bad.

But I ran forward, and I pulled out my dagger — jewels glittering on the handle, the clean blad shining in the sun — and with a cry of pain as my heart shattered, I sank the soft metal into her skin.

She cried out; the little girl screamed, and I took Arianna into my arms, running as fast as I could, moving her away from curious eyes, away from those she wanted to kill.

As I ran, I thought, and with each thought, the tears came faster. Arianna's blood — so warm; how could she be a ... a vampire? — flowed freely from the wound I had created. She whimpered in pain, her hands once again tearing against me. Her eyes were shut tight, but I could see that she, too, was crying, and as her tears fell and mixed with the blood — her blood — covering my body, I cried out. My voice echoed through the forest; it pierced the heavens, and reached every ear that was willing.

It hurt. It hurt more than anything. More than anything. More than my mother's death. More than being abandoned by my father. More than this life, which I had come to curse.

It hurt, because I loved her more than anything. I wanted nothing more than to love her forever, to make her mine.

But I had to kill her; I knew that now. As soon as I moved far enough away, I would be forced to tear her into pieces, and to burn those pieces to ashes.

The thought alone made me cry out once more; I stumbled, and I fell forward. My body hit the ground hard, and I could feel the gashes, and the breaking of bones in the same moment that they began to heal.

I could see Arianna, my dagger in her hand, crying softly as she stared, wide-eyed, at the blade in front of her. I noticed her eyes were emerald once more; the red had faded as she stared in horror at the blood covering my blade — a reminder of what she had almost done.

Almost.

But I still couldn't forgive her.

I stumbled to my feet, my hand pressing against the large gash in my side that had been created by my fall, and moved forward slowly, carefully. She turned to look at me, and her eyes, so wonderfully innocent, met mine.

"Gabriel!" she whimpered, and her hands, shaking now, dropped the knife she was holding. "Gabriel ... "

I couldn't stop myself, and before I knew what I was doing, I was leaning down, taking her into my arms. But with my free hand, I was picking the knife up once more.

She was a Vampire. I didn't know how. I couldn't understand. Her eyes were green, her skin was warm, her heart pumped blood — it was impossible. But I knew what I had seen; she was one of them. I had to kill her, to rid this world of her stain.

But my fingers trembled around the knife.

"I love you," I whispered, and I pressed first my hand, and then the dagger, against her skin. "I'm sorry. I'm so sorry. I love you, Arianna."

Her eyes were terrified, and dancing with tears as she looked at me. Her whole body was shaking so hard, and her sobs were loud, hysterical. I knew, looking into her eyes, that she had never attacked anyone before today. I didn't know how that was possible. But the way she was looking at me, her soft, terrified gaze begging me silently not to kill her, told me everything I needed to know. She'd never attacked before. She'd never taken a life.

So why did she have to die?

I tried not to think about what I was doing.

"W-what are you?" she whispered, and her voice was small, scared, and it brought everything back, everything that I was trying to forget. "S-so fast ... so s-str-strong."

"I am a Vampire Hunter," I whispered, and my voice was hard. "I am a Vampire Hunter, and I have sworn, on the name of my mother, to destroy every single one of you."

I tried to block it out as I tore the dagger away from her skin and raised it in the air, preparing to strike. I let my tears fall freely.

"I will forever love you," I whispered, and then I let my hand fall.

( - Edward POV - )

I was running through the forest, not caring as the trees reached out and tore at my skin. I was following her scent; I was trying to find her. Her blood had been spilled, so the scent was strong. It was everywhere. But it was stronger here. All around me now, the smell of her blood called to me, begged me to find her, to free her, to comfort her after what had befallen her. She had found her singer; one of the few people on the face of this Earth whose blood was so very nearly impossible to ignore, to shy away from.

She had almost killed for the first time.

And it had probably killed her, knowing how close she had come to taking such an innocent life.

I cried out loudly, letting the forest, the trees, feel my frustration, my anger — anger at myself, for not making it in time, for not being able to stop what was happening, for not being there for her, as I promised I would be.

Beside me, Bella was sobbing. She ran as I did, and we, together, stumbled across another trail, this one stronger. We turned, and ran faster.

And then we saw her, and we saw him, and we saw our baby girl's life being ripped away.

"I will forever love you," he whispered, and his eyes, his gaze, his voice, was full of antient sadness ... and then, his hand fell.

The blade never touched her skin.

I can't honestly say that I was the one who saved my baby girl, though ... because I wasn't. His hand was shaking far too badly, and the knife hit the ground beside her still, pale body. I couldn't have reached her in time. If he hadn't been too terrified to take her life ... I couldn't have saved her.

As this relization hit, I cried out in pain; the sound tore from my chest, feral and deadly. I flew forward, and knocked him back; he jumped away from me, moving faster than possible for a human as he wiped blood from his mouth, from where my fist had made contact with his skin. His eyes were hard, but I could see the pain, the fear, dancing in them as the tears slowly slipped from his eyes.

"Vampire!" he yelled, and the dagger, still clutched in his hand — pale now, from gripping the jewel encrusted metal so hard — was thrust out in front of his body as the gash on his cheek healed before my eyes. He wiped the blood away once more, and his eyes flashed dangerously.

"I'll kill you!" he roared. "All of you! I'll never stop hunting you! Ever."

"You killed my daughter!" I yelled, for though I hadn't actually seen the blade touch her skin, I had seen the blood, and I had heard her heartbeat, slow and unsteady.

"No, I didn't!" he yelled, and then a look I couldn't understand — how could he possibly feel relieved that he hadn't killed her? — washed across his face. "I didn't kill her. I missed her heart; she still lives, but only barely."

I lunged then, anger seeping through every inch of my body. I wanted nothing more than to kill him, to rip him to pieces, to tear him in half, to make him feel the pain he had made my baby feel. But he was fast; very fast. Almost as fast as me.

Almost.

My fist came in contact with his body, and he was thrown back so hard that the tree he hit into broke in half; he moved quickly to his feet, though, staggering, bleeding ... healing. I moved quickly, not wanting to give him the time to move, to fight back. I reached out, my hand stretched forward, one movement away from tearing his heart from his chest.

"Daddy!"

But the voice of my angel stopped me; it was tired, weak — but most of all, pained, and afraid ... afraid for the boy in front of me, the boy that had tried to take her life.

"Daddy! Daddy, don't hurt him ... please!"

In the one second that she spoke, he moved, and the dagger he held embedded itself into my skin.

"Edward! Oh, God ... Edward!"

Bella's voice washed over me, but I barely heard her, for the feelings that coursed through me were like nothing I'd ever felt before. I couldn't move, I couldn't breathe, and pain was ripping through every inch of my body, worse than anything I'd ever felt before.

What the hell was happening?

I sank to the ground, my golden eyes wide, and he stood before me, gasping for breath, bleeding ... victorious. He spit the blood from his mouth as he took a step back. I turned my eyes from him, to stare into the eyes of my beloved. She was sobbing tearless sobs, holding onto our child, her hands shaking from the need to run to my side. I shook my head no; I couldn't let her near him; I didn't want her to be hurt. With everything in me, I wanted her to be safe, and I wanted Arianna to be safe. And she seemed to understand. I could see the anguish in her eyes; I could see the painful longing, the need to run to me, to be by my side.

But still, she didn't move.

My eyes snapped shut once more as the pain flew through my body again; I cried out in anguish, having never felt this before. Oh, God, what was happening?

Gabriel laughed then, but I could still see the torment in his eyes. He had hurt Arianna, he had hurt me, and in hurting us, he had hurt Bella. But he hadn't killed; he couldn't kill us.

And then, as if he was answering my desperate thoughts, he spoke.

"You can't move, can you? Hurts, doesn't it?"

I wouldn't have answered even if I could have. I wouldn't have given him the satisfaction of knowing how very much it did hurt. He continued, his eyes gleaming with the victory of having captured me.

"In less than a few minutes, the pain will become too much to bare. Your body is slowly burning from the inside out." His eyes were hard as he spoke, his words rough. But the torment was still dancing just behind the victory. "Soon," he continued, and the carefully fabricated facade fell; he looked terrified, horrified at what he had done. "Soon, you will die."

"No!"

But the agonized, pained protest didn't come from my lips.

And the next thing I saw was Bella running out before me, her eyes livid as she sobbed fearlessly. I felt hands on me then, soft, warm, and I knew my baby girl was touching me. I closed my eyes, not wanting to watch as my wife, the woman I loved more than anything, attacked the man — no ... boy — who had done this to me.

"Daddy."

Her voice was soft, and she, too, was crying. So much pain ... so much. Everyone was crying, breaking, hurting. I wished I could stop it all ... but I couldn't. This pain was the one thing that I couldn't protect the two most important people in my life from.

"Daddy, don't die. Daddy, please ... " she sobbed, and her tiny, shaking hands reached out to wrap around the dagger in my chest, and with a cry — beautiful, though pained — that broke my heart, she tore it from my skin. I cried out, my eyes flying open.

Oh, God, it hurt. It hurt so much. It was so much worse than anything I'd ever felt. It was worse than my change, and worse than the pain Jasper had let leak through when Bella had been pregnant with Arianna. So much worse, it burned my skin, tore at me, and made my body shake so bad I couldn't speak. I couldn't move; I only lay there, writhing in pain, wishing it away.

"Daddy, please don't die," Arianna begged again, and her tears splashed, warm and wet, on my skin. Her tiny hands, trembling, pressed against my chest.

And then the pain was gone. The wound was gone. The burning, the tearing, the shaking ... it was gone.

I looked up at Arianna, and she was smiling sadly. She knew what she had done by healing me. She knew what I was going to do ... who I was going to kill. Her tears spilled over, and I kissed her cheek softly, brushing the tears away wtih my hard, cold lips. With a heart-wrenching sob, she grabbed my hand in hers, and her gaze was desperate, begging.

"Daddy, don't hurt him. Please, Daddy ... please ... "

"I'm sorry. I have to."

"I love him, Daddy. Please!"

"I'm sorry," I whispered again, and this time, my voice was soft, comforting. But she fell to her knees and sobbed into her hands, unable to do anything, unable to stop me ... unable to save the one that she — I had to force the word, even in my mind — loved.

"I'm so sorry," I murmured once more, and then I jumped to my feet, my eyes darting around quickly, searching for my love, my only.

And then I saw her.

She was only a few yards away, running so fast it seemed as though she was flying. But she wasn't nearly as fast as me, and therefore not as fast as the boy she was fighting against. Her eyes held anger, desperation, and I knew she was fighting for me, and for Arianna ... and I couldn't let her do it alone. So as I bit back the pain that still slowly washed through my body, I ran and took my place by her side.

It was where I belonged. It was where I wanted to stay.

Forever.

September 10th, 2038 - Saturday — 1:12 PM ( Gabriel POV )

As soon as I had seen the male Vampire — Edward, was it? — coming toward me, I had fled. I was a coward, but I knew I couldn't fight against them both and win.

Anger seeped through my body once more.

Arianna had betrayed me! She had healed him — I don't know how, but she had. She had healed him, so he could join the other in fighting against me ... in killing me. She had healed him, and, in healing him, she had forfeited my life.

And then, the anger slowly faded, and was replaced by feelings I didn't even want to try and explain.

I had betrayed her first.

I had tried to kill her. God, I had tried. But my hands had been shaking so badly that the dagger had missed it's mark, and it had plunged into the ground beside her; I had missed her heart. My hesitation had saved her life, and I wasn't sure if I was glad of it or not. I loved her. I truly did. But could I forgive her, and in forgiving her, could I put behind me all the pain that had been caused by her kind?

I wasn't sure. I didn't know. I wanted to. I wanted to forget everyone, everything, and take her away with me. I wanted to stay by her forever, to be with her, to love her until the end.

But I didn't know if I could.

"Dammit!" I screamed, and I pounded my fist on the metal wall; I felt the pain, sharp and quick, run through my body, and I clenched my teeth against yet another scream that wanted to erupt from my lips. Damn it! Damn it all! Why ... why did I have to love the one I had sworn to kill? I yelled again, and I threw myself back onto my bed. My hands tore at my pillow, and I roughly pressed it over my head. I didn't want to see. I didn't want to feel. I hated this ... this feeling of helplessness that overtook me.

I had been in their house, their home! I had been standing before so many of them, and yet not recognized them!

I knew why, of course — it was their eyes. None of their eyes were red, as a Vampire's should be. Instead, they were various shades of gold, beautiful shades. But I had seen them move, and I had seen them fight, and I couldn't deny what they were.

They were Vampires.

There was a knock on the door then, and I growled, throwing the pillow across the room before stalking to the door to open it.

Before me stood a young boy — he couldn't have been older than ten or so. He was trembling as I focased my glare on him.

"M-master Ceres w-wishes to see y-y-you, sir!" the boy squeaked, and then he ran off. I watched him stumble along the cold, hard floor, and I could barely remember a time when I was as small as him. I had, of course, not been here at that point in my life, but I had known of the hunters, and had vowed to become one of them.

"Well, I've gotten my wish," I reflected bitterly, and I slammed the door behind me as I walked forward.

If had never lost my mother that day, I wondered idily, who would I have become? What would I have become? Would I be here today, mourning a love that could never be? Would I have ever met Arianna?

I knew that, even though I now knew what she was, what she had always been, I wouldn't have traded the time I had been allowed with her for anything. Those days — too short — had been the best of my life since coming here. Instead of pain and hate, those days had been filled with love and acceptance.

I sighed, shaking those thoughts from my mind as I turned the final corner and walked forward into the conference room. There were no windows; the only light came from several dim candles, but I could still make out the form of my master, standing in the corner.

"Gabriel," he whispered, and in saying my name, he said everything he wanted to say. I bit my lip and bowed down before him.

"Master, I have discovered a coven of Vampires living nearby."

Ten words. Ten simple words.

Yet ten words was all it took to tear my life apart.

Master Ceres smiled happily, breathing out a sigh. He turned to me then, and his eyes were glowing in the candle light. His hands clasped together, and now, in this moment, he seemed more majestic, more powerful, than ever before. He was so different now, then when we trained. When we were fighting, he was our teacher. In this room, he was our leader.

"Prepare your men. Choose only the best, the strongest."

He turned away from me then, but I could still see him smiling in the shadows.

"We will attack at twilight."

I paused briefly, unsure of what to do, what to say. I knew that, if we fought against them, we would win ... but we would lose, too, because not everyone would survive. I probably wouldn't survive. And it scared me to think that my death might not be a bad thing at all.

I bit my lip and bowed shortly before turning my back on the man I almost considered a father. I whispered numbly two words that sealed my acceptance, my fate. My future ... in which Arianna no longer existed.

"Yes, sir."

And then I walked away.

Wow. Please, don't hate Gabe. You don't hate him, do you? I'm sorrrrry ... but things will get better ... maybe? And please don't hate me, either!

NOTE: Sorry I didn't update yesterday! I fainted, and I had to stay overnight in the hospital, and then my mom made me lay down for like ... eight hours. So I just finished this, and now I'm posting it. Please don't hate me! ALSO! I'm freaking out about this ... and the next few chapters. Suggestions, ideas and opinions would be nice! Do you still actually like this story?

Please Review! ( I'll update tomorrow, if I can! )

NEXT CHAPTER:

"Bella, how?" he whispered, and his voice broke as the ancient pain broke through and flooded all around us. "I love you with everything that I am. I have shown you that for over thirty years now. And you still doubt me. You still doubt my love for you. How can I believe that you love me the same way that I love you, if you still, every day, every time I touch you, doubt me?"

"Edward, I — "

But I couldn't continue. I began sobbing tearlessly, and his hand dropped from my face. I immediately felt empty as he moved away from me, and I wrapped my arms around myself, desperate to keep myself in one piece.