Author's Note: I'm sorry it's taken me so long to update. I had a really hard time getting this chapter just right, and I'm still not 100% happy with it, so any feedback will be especially appreciated. Love it or hate it, let me know, but be constructive in your comments. How can I make it better? And as always, I will be more than happy to provide further clarification if and where it's needed. If you see any glaring mistakes, please let me know, and I will fix it.

The book that Bella mentions in this chapter is The Hero with a Thousand Faces by Joseph Campbell, published in 1949. It would have still been considered brand new at the time Carlise gave it to Jasper, a very treasured gift for the avid reader we all know our favorite Major to be.

Disclaimer: If you recognize it, it belongs to Stephenie Meyers. Enough said.

The house was spotless. All of her children and grandchildren were accounted for and doing well, or at least as well as possible. According to Alice, Tanya and the other Denalis were only minutes away, and Esme was anxious to play hostess. Hearing Carlise approach from across his study, she gave her husband a warm smile. "I'm so proud of Jasper right now. He handled the mess with Cassandra last night exceptionally well." Her maternal pride was obvious in the way she spoke.

"Yes. I think they've both learned some valuable lessons. Let's just hope that this hunt goes as well." Carlise added his own approval, laced with a word of caution. "On a different subject," he began and grinned slyly at his mate, "We still have some time to spare before our guests arrive."

"Carlise! We don't have that long!" Esme gasped with a short laugh, guessing what was to come seconds before Carlise leaned in to kiss her lips.

Tanya will arrive at any moment now, and she's going to have all of the Denalis with her. So whatever it is you and Bella are doing over there in that cottage of yours, knock it off and get back over here. Now. Alice kept trying to reach Edward with her thoughts, but she could tell that he was ignoring her from the lack of a response and her continued vision of Edward missing the Denali's arrival. Since Jasper and Cassie weren't going to be there to greet their guests, it was only right that Edward and Bella make more of an effort to show up in time. Or at least that's what she thought.

Surprisingly unknown to Alice, Nessie had fallen into a merciful sleep at some point between the incident with Cassie and the broken ballerina and Edward and Emmett returning from cleaning up the mess that the newest Cullen had created. And Edward and Bella needed this moment with their peacefully sleeping daughter to remind themselves of what it meant to be a family and to be parents responsible for another life.

"Hey Edward, can I ask you something?" Bella asked quietly as the two of them sat close together watching their daughter sleep.

"You can ask me anything, you know that." Edward whispered back to Bella.

"Well, it's just that Jasper gave me this book about mythology and how similar myths are seen in virtually every culture and every society that has ever existed. The exact versions of the myths differ of course, but the basic premises are the same. Jasper said that the book was the first gift that Carlise ever gave to him when he and Alice joined the family, and that he had enjoyed it and thought that I would like it as well. Anyway, I was trying to figure out where we fit into all of it. Common mythology, I mean. For example, in the flood myth. If vampires were created with or evolved along side of humans, then how did they survive the flood that's so critical a part of all these mythologies?"

Edward laughed shortly at his darling wife. How soon she forgot the sort of creature that she had chosen to become. He remembered the book that she was talking about very well. It was one of the things that he and Jasper had bonded over during that first year he and Alice had lived with the Cullens. It had sparked many conversations like this one between the two adopted brothers and their surrogate father. "My dear, Bella, as much as Carlise and Jasper would love you for asking that question and opening the door for a religious versus cultural and historical significance debate, there is actually a very simple solution to how vampires survived the Great Flood, if indeed there was one."

"You can't tell me that Noah invited them onto the ark."

Edward laughed again, this time a bit louder than before. "No, Bella, if that were the case, then there wouldn't have been anything left alive from which to re-start the Earth's population. But you seem to be forgetting something very important here. We don't have to breathe, and we have almost endless patience. I imagine that vampires survived by holding their breath. We're also excellent swimmers, so some could have simply swam alongside the ark. Water can't kill us, after all. The whole not eating thing for 40 days would have been difficult, but clearly they managed to adapt and didn't eat Noah as soon as he stepped out on to dry land. They would have had to have waited at least two or possibly three generations before allowing themselves to feed. I'm sure that by that point they knew that once they started eating, they wouldn't be able to stop anytime soon. It's kind of ironic, really. It would have taken immense control to survive and not feed for that long, more than even you or Carlise possess. It would have been so difficult, that I can't even fathom it."

"So, that's it, then? They held their breath and starved themselves for a couple generations? It seems so simple."

"Yes, well, we can be simple if given the chance." Bella laughed at her husband's joke and leaned in to kiss him. "And thus ends yet another philosophical discussion." He mumbled as he returned her kiss.

"Just promise me you'll find the time to tell me everything that there is to know about mythology and other not fully human creatures of the world."

"Promise." Edward mumbled between kisses.

Unfortunately, that was as far as things progressed thanks to an untimely interruption courtesy of Alice's thoughts that were practically screaming in Edward's head. Two minute warning, Edward! And I can promise you that if you miss this, you will live to regret it, and I'm talking an entire new wardrobe of custom fitted designer clothing. That means at least three days of doing nothing but standing still while a French speaking, bald guy takes all of your measurements and then pins scraps of cloth to you…

"As much as I would like to finish this, Love, the Denali's are only two minutes away, and according to Alice we'll regret it if we aren't at the main house by the time they arrive." Edward whispered as he stole one last kiss.

"Edward…" Bella started hesitantly.

"What is it, Love?" He asked calmly as he offered his wife his hand to help her stand.

Bella accepted the hand with a genuine smile. "Has Alice seen anything else to indicate why they're here? Maybe Eleazar has been in contact with the Volturi, and…" She looked uncertainly over at their sleeping, precious baby girl.

Edward's eyes grew wide at Bella's implied question. "Stop that!" He ordered. "Alice would know if it was something like that."

"But what if…maybe…?"

"Hush. Banish those thoughts from your mind right now. Nothing like that is happening here. Nessie, our daughter, is safe. The Volturi aren't going to get anywhere close to her."

"But Aro…"

"Bella."

"But…"

"Bella! Enough already. Do you trust me?"

"Yes, of course."

"Good. Then trust me that nothing like that is going to happen, ever. Ok?"

"Ok." She finally said with a sigh. "I'll wake Nessie and meet you at the main house in twenty seconds."

"Alright, I'll see you there."

"They're here," Alice called out to the rest of the family shortly after sending the silent threat to Edward. Carlise was the first to appear from upstairs, followed by Esme, then Rosalie and Emmett, right as the prodigal couple, and their tired eyed child came through the back door.

"Jasper's still out with Cassandra." Carlise said as he looked around his family.

It wasn't really a question, but Alice felt the need to answer anyway. "Yes. They'll be gone most of the day. Jasper decided to work with her on her ability. After last night…well

…you know."

All eyes turned toward the front door at the sound of five vampires approaching. "You may come on in, Eleazar." Carlise spoke through the still closed door, knowing that his friend would have no trouble hearing him.

"I can see that we were expected." Eleazar chuckled as he led the Denali clan through the front door of the Cullen home.

"Only since last night. You must have been very indecisive with your choice to come see us." Alice corrected.

"And you're blocking me now." Edward added with a serious look.

"Oh, come now, there will be plenty of time for business later." The oldest Denali protested, feeling as if he were on trial. And perhaps he was. He didn't often visit just for the fun of it. And this visit did come with a hidden reason, but that was something that he dared not dwell on with both Edward and Alice so close and so focused on him. He needed to discuss matters with Carlise first, before bringing the rest of the Cullens into it. And he counted on his own clan members to help him distract the other Cullens long enough for him to do just that.

"You must forgive my children. They're just a bit anxious with Cassandra still so new to our world and the continued controversy regarding Renesmee." Carlise interjected on behalf of his family while reaching out to embrace his dear friend. Eleazar accepted the embrace with a grin, thus beginning a round of hugs, shoulder punches, and cheek kisses exchanged between the two clans.

"Oh, Carmen, you must see my new curtains. Rosalie, will you join us?" Esme gushed excitedly, leading the way for the two clans to break-up into smaller groups until at last only Carlise and Eleazar were left in the family room.

"I suspect that Alice foresaw this as well…" Eleazar mumbled to himself.

"She told me that there was something very important that you wished to discuss with me. She claims never to have seen any of the details, but I'm not sure that I believe her. I suspect that she saw quite a bit of what you're about to say, but she shared none of it. I hope that it's nothing too awful…" Carlise trailed off.

"I will be honest with you. It's pretty bad, old friend. And if Alice has already seen it, then it will only make this that much more difficult." Eleazar admitted.

"Perhaps we should go to my office."

"Yes, that would be good."

Carlise motioned for Eleazar to take a seat across the large oak desk from him as the two men entered his home office.

"Thank you. Now how are you doing, my dear friend? I hope that Cassandra is getting along well and adjusting easily. I regret that I haven't been able to visit before now. When you told me what you were considering, I must admit that I wished I could have been here for it, but unfortunately I was called away about that time."

"You're avoiding the subject. But no matter. Cassandra is doing well for the most part. It hasn't been nearly as bad as it could have been. Even so, there have been a few rough patches, but Jasper and Alice are handling the situation extremely well. Tonight was…difficult. She killed a human, an illegal immigrant, if the evidence that Edward and Emmett described when they returned from cleaning up the body is any indication. It forced Jasper to take her out of the house for a day of father-daughter hunting."

"That would explain his absence earlier."

"Yes. And you might also be interested to know that Jasper believes Cassandra possesses some sort of mirror ability. We don't know the full extent of it yet, but apparently he witnessed a rather impressive display of it after her…slip earlier."

"I'm not surprised that she has begun to display an ability. In fact, I would be surprised if she didn't have one. She is a Cullen after all. I just wish she weren't so young. Otherwise, I would be thrilled with the revelation that she's a mirror and it would change everything that I'm about to tell you. But unfortunately, as a newborn, she won't be any help in this situation, mirror or not."

"Perhaps, you should explain."

"Very well." Eleazar took a deep breath and began the long account of why he had chosen now to visit the Cullens. "As you know the Volturi still consult with me from time to time about certain newborns, who they believe to be especially gifted. They took advantage of this recently, and I was called to Volterra to attempt to define a rather unique vampire's ability. He's new to the guard, but has shown immense promise. He's what I would call a magnet. I…I misjudged him at first. He's far more powerful than I gave him credit for at the time. Magnet abilities come in all types, and his so far advanced, it's frightening. And ordinarily, I would never be bringing something like this to your attention, but I fear that your clan may be in danger. You see, he attracts, or more accurately steals, other abilities, and he's able to manipulate them for his own uses. As an example, if he were within proximity to Kate, he would be able to attract her ability to himself, and shock anyone he could touch with just as much force as Kate herself would be able to. He could further manipulate Kate's ability to the point that she wouldn't even be able to shock a common house fly. When he left her, Kate would still retain her ability, but she would be noticeably weaker for some time. Once he comes into contact with an ability, he retains it. He can recall it and use it at any time he chooses. And the next time he crosses paths with the vampire he stole it from, it will be easier for him to manipulate them. Since I left Volterra, he has acquired Demetri's tracking ability and learned to use it in conjunction with his own magnet ability. He no longer has to be in proximity to another vampire to steal and manipulate their ability. He has made no secret of finding gifted vampires around the globe and stealing more talents than we can catalogue in one sitting. You can see why I think this ability is so dangerous to you and your family. It's only a matter of time before Aro commands him to attack, for lack of a better term, your clan. He'll start with Edward, and then Alice, and then Jasper. And the instant that Bella lets down her shield, he'll attack her as well. I'm not even certain that Nessie will be safe from his magnetic attraction. The good news is that he probably won't be able to steal Cassandra's ability. For one thing, Demetri has never met her, and therefore, he and by proxy, this new vampire won't be able to track her. For another, Cassie's mirror will simple reflect the magnet back, like solar rays off a glass surface, there will be nothing for it to attract but a distorted reflection. And reflections cannot be captured. But all of that is thought for a different time. I fear I must warn you that this magnet ability also enables him to be a grand torturer. There are countless ways in which he can manipulate another vampire's ability. So much so, that the one who possess the ability can no longer trust it. He could trick Demetri into thinking that he had located someone, he truly had not found. He can fool Alec into blinding the senses of the brothers instead of the guard member who was attacking them. And similarly, trick Jane into torturing the brothers instead of the attacker. I can only imagine what he could do to Edward and Alice. Aro will stop at nothing to ensure that they someday join the guard."

"Why would the brothers allow the kind of actions you've described? Surely they see the danger in this newborn." Carlise protested.

"Oh, they see it alright. And as long as he remains loyal to the Volturri, he will allowed to thrive. They could always justify the unintentional torture of your family as testing the range of his abilities. You said yourself that they tried a similar test when human Bella went to Volterra to retrieve Edward not long ago."

"Yes, they did." Carlise admitted sadly, remembering what Alice and Edward had told him about Aro and Jane's attempts at using their abilities on Bella. "What do you suggest we do? You would not have come all this way, and told me all of this without having some kind of plan in mind to stop this newborn threat."

"Well, I do have a theory. But it's complicated. As I stated earlier, he'll likely try to lash out at Edward or possibly Alice first. He'll be able to use Demetri's ability to tap into either of their unique mental imprints. After he's latched on to one of them, he'll be able to make Alice see false visions or make Edward hear false thoughts. The challenge is how to get whichever one of them he attacks free from his control. Bella should be able to use her shield to protect them, but only after his influence on their abilities has been neutralized. It'll take some work, but with enough practice, Alice and Edward should be able to learn certain signs that will alert them to the fact that their abilities are being manipulated. Then they can isolate that manipulation, and allow Bella to shield only that which is un-manipulated. Jasper will be able to help as well, he can keep everyone calm throughout the process, and that calm may just be the key to success. I know this is a difficult decision for you, and what I'm suggesting will be extremely difficult, and perhaps even a little dangerous, but it is the only way to protect your clan."

"This is all very overwhelming." Carlise said slowly, trying to process everything.

"I know. But it will be better if we can make some definitive decisions on how to proceed. It will help Alice to be better able to alert us if something won't work as we intend it to work."

"How do we know Alice will be able to see anything at all? If what you say about this newborn is correct, then she may become essentially blind when Aro orders an attack against her. And more importantly, how do we know that your perception of how strong he is isn't being manipulated?"

"Aro ordered him not to manipulate me while I was there. He wanted an honest and impartial assessment. But rather or not he followed orders, we don't know. But consider, perhaps he didn't see any value in my ability. He made several comments to that effect. That my ability was so weak it wasn't even worth his time and effort to steal it. I never mentioned my plans to voyage here to the brothers, so they would have had no reason to try and trick me into believing anything other than the truth."

"You do know, friend, that I can't be asked to make this kind of decision for the others."

"I do realize that. I only ask your permission to speak with them as honestly as I have with you."

"You have my permission." Carlise granted, meeting his friend's eyes. As if on cue, there was a loud knock on the office door. "Do I even have to ask who it is? You may enter." Carlise said with a serious chuckle.

It didn't take long for Jasper and Cassie to come across a pair of bobcats by the river and even less time for each of them to drain one. Jasper hadn't even realized that he was thirsty, but apparently the drama of the last few hours had taken its toll on him. "Feeling better now?" he asked, watching the girl closely.

"Yes. I think I am a little better." Cassie admitted slowly. "And I'm sorry again for everything."

"I've been there, Cassie. I know, and it's ok. We're expecting guests today, but I think that we can spare a few hours for training just the same. And I was thinking that we could concentrate on that little surprise ability of yours. It'll give you something to focus on besides your thirst. What do you think?"

Cassie smiled and nodded her head enthusiastically. "Yeah, I think that's a good idea! I've had enough of the other stuff you call training, and I am kind of excited that I finally have an ability like you and Alice."

"Yes, I imagine that you are. Now the trick to developing an ability once you discover it is to take it one aspect at a time. So, let's start with the range of your reflection capabilities. For instance, can you reflect everything at all times or is there a limit to the type of things you can reflect or when you can reflect things? It's likely that most of your reflection occurs on an unconscious level, so we'll also have to work to see how much conscious control you can exercise."

"Ok. How do we do that? It's not like I really know how I did it before."

"Well, before, it resulted from you being emotionally charged. Sometimes an ability like yours can get carried away and explode during times of extreme emotions, and that means you have a lot less control over it during those times. So, I think that we should stay clear of trying to re-create that. Instead, let's take a different approach. I have a theory that you should be able to control your ability in the same way that the person you're reflecting controls their ability. So, if you're reflecting me, you just concentrate on replicating and sending out whatever emotion I'm making you feel. I like to picture it as a cannon. Take the emotion, and form it into a cannon ball, then load the cannon and point it in my direction and fire. You ready to try it?"

"I'm ready." Cassie said with a cheesy grin.

"Good, I'll start with something easy. Calm. Feel it yet?"

"Yeah." Cassie said and scrunched up her face in concentration. "I don't think I can package it like you said, though. It's like the calm itself is keeping me from concentrating enough."

"Alright, that's fine. Probably, even to be expected." Jasper said patiently. "Let's try something a little more charged. Happiness."

"Oh." Cassie said, surprised, as a wave of joy swept over her. "I think I can work with this." She scrunched up her face again in concentration, causing a small laugh to escape Jasper at how cute it made the girl he loved as a daughter look. "There." She finally breathed. "Did I do it?"

Jasper took a step back as he felt the happiness overtake him. "Oh, yes, you did it all right. Try to keep it going." Jasper said as he tilted his head to the side and sent a fresh wave of emotion to Cassie. After a few minutes, he asked, "Are you getting any of this? Feeling anything that I'm sending you?"

"It's hard to describe. But no, I don't think so. It's like I absorb it, and as soon as I send it back, it's gone." She shook her head easily.

"Hmm…." Jasper thought to himself for a minute and then without warning changed the emotion that he was sending to Cassie to anger.

Cassie gasped at the sudden overwhelming madness, but after a few seconds, she felt it leave her and head back to Jasper.

He wasn't surprised that Cassie had been able to reflect the new emotion back to him, but he couldn't suppress the growl that came as a natural reaction to the anger as it came back to him like someone punching him in the gut. He immediately cut off the stream of emotion that he was sending to Cassie, leaving both of them drained from the effort of treating their abilities like polar opposite magnets.

"I think that will do for the day." Jasper finally said. "We've learned some important things that we can use in future training."

"Yeah. I'm exhausted after that. Let's go home and see our cousins. Do you think they'll like me?"

"I'm sure that they will." He said with a smile.

Back at the Cullen home, Jasper watched as Cassandra ran up the stairs to her room. He could hear Nessie intercepting her in the hall, and asking if she was ok. He smiled with fatherly pride at Cassie's reassurances and subsequent apology to her best friend.

"So, uh…what's going on here?" He asked, noticing the group in the living room for the first time. Within seconds, Jasper was handed a video game remote and ordered to pick a character and partner with Edward against Emmett and Garrett in a battle of wits and reflexes.

True to Alice's vision, Tanya and Kate had insisted on taking her on a shopping spree in Port Angeles, stating that Forks just didn't have enough variety, but even out of town, it didn't take long for the trio to grow restless and uneasy with each other. They were all thinking the same thing, that whatever Carlise and Eleazar were talking about, it would change everything for the extended family of Cullens and Denalis.

"Ok, Tanya, Kate, I get it. This whole shopping trip was just to get me out of the house while Eleazar talked to Carlise. But the game's over now. Neither of you are really into this whole shopping experience anyway, and I just saw that Eleazar and Carlise are going to want to talk to the rest of us very soon. I think it's time to go home. Oh, and I need to call Jazz on the way." Alice announced as they were coming out of the fifth shop they had visited and Tanya was still the only one to buy anything. The other two women quickly agreed with Alice's decision and they turned around to head back to the car. Alice pulled out a small silver colored cell phone, and dialed Jasper's number from memory as they walked.

"Hello, Alice." Jasper's deep voice greeted her on the other end of the line.

"We're on our way back now. Has Carlise called for us yet? Oh, no, he hasn't. But he will be soon." Alice babbled in her usual happy way, able to answer her own questions before Jasper could.

Jasper smiled to himself as he listened to his wife's easy sing-song voice. "Any hints on the big secret yet? Carlise turned on the radio, and Eleazar's practically whispering, so there's no chance for me to listen in. Not to mention that Edward, Emmett, and Garrett kidnapped me to be the 4th in an energetic Wii battle royale."

"Sorry, no, no hints. I probably won't see anything until just seconds before they tell us."

Jasper could hear the lie in his wife's voice, but knew that she must have a good reason for not telling him what she saw. "It's ok, darling. It's probably best that we all find out everything at the same time."

"It's little worrisome, actually."

Jasper could hear the distress and double meaning in his love's voice and wished for nothing more than to be able to give her a big hug and tell her that it would be ok. "Well, try to think about something else, like maybe us getting away for the weekend."

"Jazzy, this weekend is a big blur, I don't think it'll be a good chance for us to get away no matter how much we want to. I think we might have only a small window of alone time, and even then it doesn't look like it'll be much fun. Whatever our fearless leaders have to tell us is going to interrupt everything."

"I'm not going to let it interrupt us, Alice. I promise. Cassie and I had a little talk after our hunt and I think that she's past the worst of her newborn phase. She's ready to be away from us for a couple of days and I plan to take full advantage of the situation."

"From the flashes I'm getting now, it looks like it's me ruining our alone time, not you. I know you'll make every effort to let us enjoy some time away from the family, but it's not going to happen. There's something…" Alice started, but her voice trailed off.

"What's going on, Alice? What do I need to know about this weekend? Whatever it is, I'm here."

"No, not now…" she continued cryptically. She didn't want Jasper to worry about anything, so she quickly changed the subject, and the new vision that filled her mind gave her just that opportunity. "Oh, Jazz, I'm so proud of you!" She cried excitedly.

"Where did that come from? And more importantly, why? I know I haven't done anything recently to make you say that, so what will I be doing?" Jasper smirked at her enthusiasm.

"You'll find out soon enough, naturally, but it's something that we've both been waiting a long time for."

"Tell me, Alice, please."

"Oh, no fair. You know I can't resist that tone. I can tell you officially now that you've conquered your bloodlust."

"Are you sure? How do you know?" Jasper's apprehension was hard to miss.

"Oh, I shouldn't have said anything. Just know that it's going to happen, Jazz, soon. You'll prove to everyone just how far you've come, and that even the most blood crazed vamp can become a vegetarian once and for all."

"Alright, I trust you. I love you. See you soon."

"37 and a half minutes and counting. Love ya." A smile crossed Alice's face as she closed the silver cell phone.

Exactly 37 minutes and 26 seconds later, Alice met Jasper, Edward, and Bella in front of the door to Carlise's office. They arrived just in time to hear the last few words exchanged between the two men.

"You do know, friend, that I can't be asked to make this kind of decision for the others." Carlise was saying.

"I do realize that. I only ask your permission to speak with them as honestly as I have with you." Eleazar responded.

"You have my permission." Carlise granted.

At these final words, Edward took the initiative and knocked loudly on the office door.

"Do I even have to ask who it is? You may enter." They heard Carlise say with a serious chuckle. As the four children entered his office, Carlise turned back to Eleazar. "By the way, what's his name?"

"Winston. His name is Winston."