Disclaimer: This starts to encroach on Breaking Dawn territory quite a bit. Stephenie Meyer definitely wrote that better than I ever will. I am using her already brilliant idea.

AN: There's a bit of a cliffy at the end of this one, which is why this chapter is a bit short! So, my apologies for that.

Chapter 9

Clearly, the Volturi weren't in as great a rush as the Cullens thought. Three days passed before they made their final travel decision of exactly when they would arrive and how many of the guard were coming with them. Alice said they planned to fly into Washington by private jet and make their own way to Forks on Thursday.

Bella thought that was annoyingly inconvenient; she had a math test that day.

'I don't think they care,' Alice told her; the closest to annoyed Bella had ever heard her get. She apologised immediately. 'I'm just on edge. With fifteen of them coming, we only just outnumber them and that's with the wolves!'

'Are they going to fight with us then?'

'Yes,' she said, but immediately backpedalled. 'Well, I think so; since I can't see the battle. It must be because the wolves are there. But it means I can't see anything!' she cried out, burying her face in her hands.

Jasper appeared from nowhere to comfort her. 'Her visions keep fading in and out,' he explained to Bella. 'With the tribe involved, we're all but blinded.'

'But we need them,' Bella said.

He nodded, clearly displeased.

'When do the Denalis arrive?'

'Soon,' Edward said, stepping into the living room. He had been out with Carlisle to talk to Sam.

'How did it go?' Bella asked, coming to stand next to him.

With a quick, but clearly not heartfelt smile, he kissed her forehead in greeting. 'They've agreed to be ready, but Sam wants to wait out of sight. Carlisle and I agreed that would be best.'

'It will be the only element of surprise we have. The only thing that stands a chance of tipping the balance with the Volturi,' Jasper agreed.

Bella could read how unconfident they were in that plan. 'And if that doesn't work? What if the Volturi smell them or sense them or something?' Bella asked.

The two male vampires exchanged a bleak look. Alice whined softly into her hands.

Edward snaked an arm suddenly around Bella's waist. 'I don't know,' he admitted aloud.

Bella had never once heard that tone in his voice. It sounded like resignation. Defeat.

Despair.

xxx

Forks, of course, would never know what happened that Thursday. The Volturi were not about to break their own law by feeding from so small a populace and making the national news.

Bella, lacking any brighter ideas and with Alice's vision almost entirely disabled, faked being sick Wednesday night. Thursday morning, when she claimed to be too ill to go to school, Charlie easily believed it. He believed it so much, in fact, that he called the Cullen's house to see if Carlisle was home.

The Cullen patriarch explained, though it had all been arranged for days, that he would be only too happy to come over to the house to check on Bella while Charlie went off to work. He called the Chief shortly after that to tell him that Bella had a fever and though it was probably just a stomach bug, he wanted to take her back to his house for the day to keep an eye on.

Charlie eagerly agreed; more than thankful for Dr. Cullen's kind care of his daughter.

Since this phone call was made in the living room of the Cullen's house with Bella curled up at Edward's side, she had to laugh. Edward managed a smile, but with the looming potential of battle and probably death, it looked rather forced. It also sobered Bella immediately when she saw it. She felt a bit guilty that she was once again deceiving Charlie, and also at how good she was becoming at lying to him.

They planned to meet the Volturi in the field where they played baseball. Alice had managed to get a glimpse of them arriving near sunset, so they decided to spend the whole day out there, allowing Demetri ample chance to track them there and stay out of sight and hearing of the townspeople and off reservation land. Edward brought food and a camp chair for Bella's comfort, but she was too anxious for most of the morning to sit down and too worried to even think about eating. She might not have actually had the flu, but the fear of what was coming left her nauseous.

The Denalis had arrived two days before and Bella had been worried about meeting them. Carmen and Eleazar had quickly put her at ease; they were very similar to Carlisle and Esme in many ways, though many centuries older. Kate had also been quite friendly; Tanya only slightly less so.

Irina had basically ignored her, which was alright with Bella as it meant Laurent stayed away too. It was obvious that being near a human again was a struggle, and yet he was doing pretty well to resist the call of her blood even in the wide open field. His strangely golden eyes were a testament to how much he had changed since splitting from James and Victoria. Laurent had announced to everyone when they arrived that he owed the Cullens for showing him another way and that helping to fight against the Victoria's plans for revenge was the least he could do. Bella thought that was remarkably comforting, but she was staying away from him all the same.

They came through the trees before sundown, when the cloud had drawn in thick but the rain had not yet begun to fall. Alice saw them coming, of course. They moved like there was only air to walk on, black specks detaching themselves from the dark trees of the woods. One, two, three, four...until there were fifteen in total, spread out across the far side of the field in what even Bella knew was fighting formation.

The Cullens and Denalis were ready for them. The addition of six extra members to the group did not even give the Volturi pause. They came forward, moving to within a hundred feet of them; close enough that Bella could make them out clearly in the fading light.

Her heart stuttered in her chest and she caught her breath, knowing every single vampire could hear it. Edward gave her a look from where he stood beside her. There was no fear in his eyes, as there had been for days; only love. She took a deep breath and calmed herself. Behind her in the woods a branch snapped as a wolf paw landed on it. Bella took her strength from that. The Volturi might not yet be able to smell them; the wind was blowing the wrong way.

Carlisle gave Edward a look as he passed him by, stepping forward and away from the group. One figure detached itself from the line of the Volturi; a black cloaked vampire with ink black hair and shinning red eyes. The two stopped less than fifty feet from each other.

'Aro,' Carlisle inclined his head. The wind carried the words away almost immediately, but Bella could just make out the soft voice in which she often took comfort. There was no comfort in it now. Carlisle had made himself clear over the last week; he would not stand for this threat to his family.

'Carlisle, my old friend,' the figure – Aro – spoke. His voice rang clear and cold and Bella flinched. 'It has been too long.'

Carlisle's answer was blown away on the next gust of wind. No doubt the vampires and even the wolves could hear him, but despite the fact that Bella strained her ears, most of what Carlisle said was lost.

But Aro she heard well enough.

'I have had some most disturbing news, my old friend. So disturbing, in fact, that we felt the need to visit you ourselves. I simply cannot believe it to be true.'

This time, she heard the response. 'And what do we stand accused of?'

Aro's eyes went wide, in entirely faked surprise. 'Accused? Not accused! Unless you feel there is something worthy of such accusation?'

Carlisle half turned his head around to look at Edward for the briefest moment. Something must have exchanged between them, but Bella didn't know what.

'You will find my patience is wanting, Aro. I know well that we have been accused of breaking the law and I would call our accuser forth. Surely you brought her with you?'

That clearly surprised Aro. They had hoped that Alice's gift would prove useful, and already it seemed to be so. Bella allowed herself an inward smile. It probably didn't happen very often that the Volturi leader was struck speechless.

After a beat, Aro inclined his head ever so slightly. 'Very well. For you, old friend,' he nodded.

A figure stepped from behind the gathered dark cloaks. The hair was as red as Bella remembered; even brighter now against the drab colours around her. The look on her face was full of spite and misplaced glee. It was clear to everyone that Victoria thought this was her victory. Bella swallowed around the lump of fear in her throat. There was nothing for it now; the Volturi has seen everything in her mind, after all. The Cullens had broken the law and there was only one recourse. And Victoria knew it.

Thank you to those that have stuck with this story until now! I hope you enjoy the climax!