Bella wasn't sure what happened. One second Emmett was there, standing in Carlisle's office, staring at the paintings on the wall. The next, he was a sudden blur, and the entire house sounded like it was about to cave in. In a flash, Bella was following him up the stairs, realizing it was his feet that were making such noise – as well as another pair. Edward met them at the landing.
"You don't really think…" Her husband trailed off, unable to say whatever it was that Emmett was pondering.
Emmett nodded. "It's the only explanation. Don't you see?"
"Come on." Edward motioned towards the room down the hall. "Let's see what Carlisle has to say."
Bella knew better than to ask what they meant; she'd hear it soon enough. She followed them into Esme and Carlisle's room, feeling a twinge of deep upset and fear when she saw Carlisle and Esme lying side by side on the bed. Guilt, too, that she was standing here, entirely healthy, with her husband at her side. Carlisle sat up in bed, unembarrassed and sad.
"Carlisle," Emmett said, his voice half excited and half terrified. "I think I know who they are."
Carlisle perked up at that, sliding off the bed and standing next to his wife, still refusing to let go of her lifeless hand. "Tell me," he said, quiet yet strong.
Emmett spoke just as Jasper and Rosalie entered the room, looking bewildered.
"AMC," he said, as if it were something so simple they ought to have figured it out long ago. "Aro, Marcus, and Caius. The Volturi. They're the ones behind this. They have to be."
Everyone in the room froze as the idea lingered in the air. Jasper looked suddenly betrayed and Carlisle horrified while everyone else looked entirely aghast. Could it be possible? Had they found whoever was causing all this to happen?
"It's plausible," Carlisle said, ever the scholar, "but what proof do we have?"
"Fuck proof!" Emmett cried. "It makes sense! It has to!"
"Let's try to think it through first, Emmett," Jasper suggested gravely. "The two options for languages on the AMC website are English and Italian. And didn't you say something about their headquarters being in Europe, Bella?"
She nodded. "It was in that article from when they first built the labs."
"That doesn't mean anything," Carlisle said, his voice making it sound almost as if he didn't want to believe them.
Rosalie gasped, sudden remembrance on her face. "I read something about their American liaison being a Demetri something-or-another. Isn't there a Demetri –"
"In the Volturi," Bella cut her off with a sigh.
"But would they really do that?" Carlisle asked. "To us? To anyone?"
"They did try to kill us all, remember?" Jasper pointed out carefully.
"Yes, but they wouldn't go about poisoning others of their kind on purpose, without reason…"
"Maybe it wasn't on purpose," said Edward. "I mean, they are a laboratory."
Rosalie scowled. "Laboratory or not, they've caused this problem and they'll need to fix it. Screw research, let's go bang down the door and find out what they're really about."
"Enough!" Carlisle held up his hands and sighed. "Buy the plane tickets. We'll take it from there." He only had to shoot a look at Edward before the man left the room, presumably to follow the silent orders the doctor had given. Bella followed after giving Carlisle a sympathetic smile.
"So," Emmett said, rubbing his hands together, "when do we leave?"
"We don't," Carlisle replied, reaching under the bed to tug out a small overnight bag. "Or rather, you don't. You're staying here."
Emmett had just enough time to stop his jaw from dropping, figuring now was not the time to pitch too big of a fit. "But why? I want to help."
Carlisle sighed, his eyes gazing over his wife. "Someone has to stay with her and Alice. I have to go. I'm the only one Aro will truly trust." He zipped open the bag and walked to his closet, returning with a selection of shirts and trousers. He continued as he placed them in the bag. "You and Rosalie will stay with them. Jasper, Edward, Bella and I will go."
"P-pardon?" Rosalie stuttered, her eyes opening wide.
"I think I'll go pack," Jasper murmured and stepped of the room as quickly as he could.
"Come on, Carlisle, you need me. Us," Emmett quickly corrected, feeling his ex-wife shooting him daggers.
"You're both temperamental and revengeful," Carlisle said, slipping a pair of loafers into his bag. "Rosalie is easily distracted and Emmett, you can't keep your mouth shut. My apologies to the both of you, you know I love you dearly, but…this is about your mother. Your sister. We need to do all we can to save them. Is that understood?"
Emmett grunted his reply and Rosalie bit back her own huff to mumble, "Yes, Carlisle."
"Thank you," Carlisle said, zipping his bag up quickly. "You know I would stay if I could but…I have to do all I can to save them."
"We understand," Emmett muttered gruffly. "Go. We'll take care of them. Don't you worry."
But even though his bag was packed, Carlisle remained standing next to the bed, his lips twisted in a fretful frown as he looked down at his wife.
"Do you really think it's them?" Bella asked, throwing a hairbrush and some extra socks into the bag she was packing for herself and her husband.
Edward scraped his hand through his hair, his fretful habit. "I do. Of course, there is some uncertainty, but the signs are pointing to it. The best thing for us to do is confront them. And hope they can solve whatever it is they've done."
"But…all of us?" He could hear the worry in her voice, and he went to sit on the bed, taking her hand in his.
"Bella," he said gently, "we have strength in numbers. If we all go, we have a better chance of getting what we want. What we need to hear."
She nodded, then moved to the bedside table, picking up a framed picture that continually rested there – Edward and Bella holding a small girl between them, their daughter, a grinning little mixture of the two beautiful immortals. She bit her lip and looked over at him. "Should we call…?"
Edward shook his head. "No need to worry her. We'll be home soon enough with the cure."
He didn't need to voice the I hope part.
"We'll be leaving soon, if we want to make it to the airport on time," he announced. "I'll bring this bag downstairs. Bring the others when you're done?"
She nodded and leaned over to peck her husband's lips quickly before letting him leave. He carried the suitcase out the room, stopping as he made his way down the second story staircase and heard something that made him wince slightly.
"We are going to find the cure. We have to. You have to make it. If you don't…I can't be here without you. I can't. I won't."
Edward paused in Jasper and Alice's doorway, staring at his tall, gentlemanly brother standing over his sprite of a sister lying motionless on the bed. Jasper's face was hard to take in, his pain so barely masked by his general look of stoicism. Edward couldn't know how the man felt, but he could guess; not too long ago, he too had left the woman he loved behind. Though in his case, it was with certainty he would never see her again. The doubt lingering in the air was even more troubling this time around.
"I'll only be gone a short time," Jasper thought, carrying on his silent adieu with his wife. His voice carried only when, broken and soft, he murmured an "I love you" towards her and made his way to the door, his face betraying no surprise at Edward standing there.
"The car service will be here soon," he announced. "Are you packed?"
"Hmmm." Jasper reached down to zip up a small overnight bag, filled with unfolded shirts haphazardly thrown in; Alice's absence was making itself known.
Neither of them said anything as they left the room, each of them taking their time to look back at the girl on the bed – sister, wife, and friend – before heading down the flight of stairs. Carlisle was already there, also trying to hide his upset with a blank face, but his hands constantly tightening around his satchel gave him away.
"The car is here," Carlisle announced, nodding his head to the front door. "Is Bella ready?"
The woman appeared on the stairs, carry another small bag. "I'm here. Are we going?"
Carlisle turned, calling through the house for Emmett and Rosalie. The two appeared in separate doorways, both looking sullen.
"Try not to break anymore windows," he said, making an attempt at humor and failing. "We'll call when we land in Italy."
"Good luck," Emmett replied half-heartedly.
"We'll take care of them." Rosalie nodded at Carlisle and Jasper.
No hugs were exchanged, and no more words said. Wishes of luck and reminders to stay safe…everything seemed unnecessary under their stress. The foursome silently left the house and got into the small limousine that was waiting for them outside, silent still as they drove to the small airport where their private jet was waiting. Edward manned the controls of the Gulfstream, taxiing out as everyone settled in their seats.
"How long will it take?" Bella asked as she strapped her seatbelt across her lap – unnecessary, but habit.
Across the aisle, Carlisle looked up from the notepad he had laid in front of him. "About four and a half hours to get to New York, then nine or so hours to get to Italy. I hope you brought a book."
She smiled at his feeble joke, the second time he had done so in one day. He was trying to get by, really he was…but they could all see it was a struggle for him. Just as much as it was for Jasper, who sat in the seat in front of Carlisle. His pale hands were gripping the armrests, and his eyes stared blankly ahead at the cockpit where Edward sat. The engine rumbled as the readied for takeoff, and Bella leaned her head back against the seat rest, missing sleep immensely.
The entire house seemed pervaded by the upset that had left – a surprise to Emmett, who had hoped the emotion would leave with the wounded husbands. It seemed to be almost the opposite. Now, along with the sadness that seemed to come from every square inch of the house, there was the added discomfort that came from being shut in the same house with his ex-wife. Not that he wasn't too upset about that; though he wouldn't admit it to her, his conscious…and other parts of his anatomy…knew Emmett was still very much into Rosalie. She, on the other hand, could barely stand the sight of him. Their time spent in the same room was short, and their conversations were shorter. She had little patience for him these days.
That didn't stop him from seeking her out. To purposely annoy her? Yeah, a little. She was cute when she was flustered. But it was mostly to see her, to be near her.
To be a total fucking pansy, huh?
So? Maybe he was. But she was a bitch with a stick up her ass. And he had to figure out how to get it out for once and for all.
Emmett checked in on Esme for a brief moment, sadly reassuring himself that she had not changed. Her eyes were still shut, her body motionless. He thought for a moment what he would feel if it were Rose lying on that bad. He had no claim to her anymore. Would he feel anything?
Of course you would, idiot. Yeah, he'd feel a lot of things. But he realized he'd probably feel a lot of guilt too. She didn't want his feelings. Should he stop them? Could he stop them?
No, the desire to go to her was too great. He bent down to kiss his mother's cold cheek before leaving the room, following the pull he couldn't deny down the hall.
Rosalie was in Alice and Jasper's old room, sitting on the bed. The dark-haired girl was just as still as Esme, and her head was in Rosalie's lap. Rose was holding a silver-handled brush, smoothing it gently through Alice's hair, completing the simple, sisterly gesture with a slight frown on her face. Emmett paused in the doorway, watching until Rose lifted her head.
"I…" She stuttered, and he could tell she was embarrassed at being caught. "I figured she'd be upset if we didn't try to keep up appearances."
He smiled. "You're probably right."
Rosalie brushed through one last strand before readjusting Alice on the bed, folding her lifeless arms over her stomach. "Did you check on Esme?"
He nodded. "She's the same."
She set her lips and slid off the bed. "Okay. I'll leave you two then."
"Rose," Emmett started, reaching out for her arm as she passed him. But she was too fast, zipping out the door into the hallway, giving him a look he couldn't quite read.
"No, Emmett. It's not going to fix itself just because things are shitty."
She walked away, leaving him to puzzle over her difficult-to-understand girl-speak. By the time he had figured it out, she had already gone out to hunt, leaving him a two-worded note on the hall table that he quickly tossed in the garbage.
The flight was just as quiet as the ride has been to get them there, and after the short stop in New York, Bella moved up to the cockpit to sit with her husband. Edward was fiddling with the dials and switches that dotted the board, and she watched his long pale fingers work, half-thankful that he was there next to her, half-guilty that she had him still.
"How are they?" Edward asked quietly.
Bella shrugged. "As well as they can be, I guess. They're just waiting."
"We all are."
"Well, hopefully Emmett was right and we aren't flying to Italy for nothing."
He shook his head. "No, not for nothing. I have a feeling this is it. How can something that weakens the strongest be created by humans? I mean, no offense, but all the signs point to the Volturi."
"And if it isn't them?"
"If it isn't them…well, hopefully Carlisle's old ties with Aro will help us find some answers. Maybe they'll be able to figure out who is really behind this. Or make a cure."
"A cure? Do you think it's as simple as that?" Bella asked and watched as Edward pointed the plane down the runway. He reached overhead for the radio, informing the tower they were ready for takeoff and receiving his all-clear. The silence again settled around them as he pushed in on the throttle, speeding the plane faster and faster until he pulled up and out into the sky.
"Well? Could a cure really be made?" she prompted him again.
"Here's my logic: the labs were testing the bears with some sort of chemical. Whatever it was, the side effects are devastating for our kind. But every chemical has a cure. For every action, there –"
" – is an equal and opposite reaction, I know." She sighed. "I just don't see how it can be as easy as all that."
Edward shook his head. "This is the Volturi. Nothing is going to be easy."