A/N: I actually quite like this chapter. I'm unsure where I want to finish this story, but I have at least one more chapter in my head planned. It's just finding time to write it. Luckily for you guys, I had time tonight ;) Anyway, I hope you enjoy.
And just think - it's like.... 24 hours pretty much until 20th! :D Yeah, I have midnight showings. I'm happy.
Chapter Song – Get Out Alive – Three Days Grace
If I stay it won't be long
Till I'm burning on the inside
If I go I can only hope
That I make it to the other side
If you want to get out alive
oh, run for your life
Battle
I stood frozen, unable to move. Composure fell apart around me; Edward let out a cry of outrage, echoed by Alice. Blake fell apart completely, and phased. He went to attack Aro, but was stopped by the massive wolf body of Jacob, and from the way he bowed under the body; I guessed Jacob was using an Alpha command. The Volturi guard wasn't silent either. They moved into an attacking stance when two enormous wolves materialised in front of them. Jacob pushed Blake back, behind the line of vampires, still trying to calm him down. It was then that Rosalie let out a high pitched scream, and fell to the floor, twitching.
"Jane," I heard Edward curse, and I realised that Jane was using her 'gift' to hurt her. I collected enough composure to throw my shield out to cover my family. Rosalie stopped twitching and Esme and Emmett ran over to her and helped her up. As Esme rushed past me, I noticed the dead look in her eyes. I looked around, and saw the same look in everyone's eyes. Either we left now, and never came back, or we would die.
"Interesting company you keep, Carlisle," Aro said conversationally, as if nothing had just happened.
"The term 'family' has many different branches, Aro. Both Jacob and Blake are part of our family. Blake is the grandson of Charlie." Charlie looked puzzled by the reference to any sort of relationship between him and the wolf in front of him.
"He doesn't remember, does he?" I asked Edward sadly.
"It appears his mind is also shielded from me. I guess you got it from him. But yes, I assume that he doesn't remember." I looked at Charlie, studied his face, but there was no recognition in his eyes. He had no idea who I was, and I felt my world fall apart again.
"Dad..." I started, but stopped when I felt a slight pressure to my shield. It was aimed directly at Edward, and I turned to face Jane. "Do you mind?" I sneered. She glared, but the pressure stopped. I turned back towards Charlie, who looked confused at the interaction Jane and I just had. I couldn't find the words to explain anything, and I sighed. The Volturi guards were still in an offence position, and I was concerned that whatever words I used may spark a fight we wouldn't win. I turned to face Blake and Jacob, and was shocked to see Jacob in human form again.
"Maybe we should just leave. There's nothing for us here," I said, admitting defeat. In my peripheral vision I saw the guards relax for the most part.
"Is that what you want, Bella?" Jacob asked me. Blake whined beside him, and I knew it wasn't what he wanted.
"No, it's not. But I don't want to die either." I didn't bother keeping my voice down, because I knew they would be able to hear, whispering or not. I turned to face Aro, and he was smiling. "We've got our answers, we'll be going now." The smile on Aro's face grew and if I had any blood running through my body, it would have turned to ice.
"I'm not sure it will be that easy, my friend," a voice said, Caius. "Werewolves are to be killed. You may leave, but the wolves must die." A feral snarl escaped me, which was returned by another sharp pressure on my shield, again directed towards Edward. Anger like I'd never felt before flared in me, and I felt a change in my shield. Suddenly, Jane was whimpering in pain on the floor. All eyes were on me and I realised that I had, somehow, reflected Jane's gift back towards her. The Volturi started to look uneasy.
"We're all leaving," I repeated. I watched as Aro quickly glanced towards one side of his guard, and stood still as a statue as they formed a block between us and the door. It appeared we wouldn't be leaving without a fight. There was still uncertainty coming from the Volturi, but I could tell they thought they would win. I was sure they would. I turned to Edward, and lifted my shield from me alone. I'm sorry to do this to you, I love you. He nodded, and I continued. We're not going to go down without a fight, but I want you to try and get out. Look after Blake for me. Try getting Charlie to go with you.
"I'm not leaving without you, Bella," Edward whispered, pulling me close to him.
"You have to. Someone has to tell our story, right?"
"We will, together." I shook my head, no longer having optimism.
"Bella, we're in this together, remember? If the Volturi will not let us leave together, we'll fight together, and if need be, we'll die together. But it's not our day to die," Emmett said with vindication.
"Brave words, Emmett. It doesn't appear your family agree with your... optimism, however," Aro leered. I have an idea; cover me I thought to Edward. He nodded, and that was taken as a cue from both sides. Emmett charged for the biggest built, Felix, and they were soon bouncing off of the walls, breaking whatever they hit. Rosalie went for the small brown haired girl who had lunged for Esme. Alice and Jasper took on Alec and Jane, who were defenceless as my shield was up and protecting my family from them. Carlisle and Edward was protecting me from any attacks that I couldn't see. Jacob had phased and was attacking random members of the guards with Blake, trying to get to near Aro. The Denali clan were fighting for their own well being as well. Kate's offensive gift was coming in handy, and no one could have hold of her for long. Fighting raged beside me, but I stood perfectly still, concentrating on Charlie. Aro's eyes were on me, I could feel them boring in, but I wasn't going to get distracted.
"Dad," I called out, in my head. I had an idea; Jacob said that Blake and Quil could interact mentally. They had the same gifts Charlie and I had, so why couldn't we? I just didn't have time to perfect it, and I was going on pure instinct. "Dad, listen to me." Charlie's eyes focused on me, a shocked expression on his face. I smiled. "You can hear me, can't you?" He nodded.
"I hope whatever it is your doing Bella is working, because I don't know how much longer I can hold these off," Edward called. Fear gripped me, and I knew I had to try to get Charlie to join us.
"Dad, can you respond? Just concentrate on me, really hard, and think like you are talking to me."
"Why do you keep calling me 'dad'?" Charlie replied mentally. I sighed, relieved. I couldn't explain, so I just thought. I thought of all the memories I had of Charlie. The times we went on holiday together. When I came to live with him; the days out, the fishing, the cooking, the laughter. I remembered all the times Edward came round, and Charlie's dislike towards him. I remembered the argument about being pregnant. I told him what really happened, about turning into a vampire. I talked about leaving, and where I went. And then I told him about Blake, about what he had told me, and about what I wanted, what I needed. I kept my eyes closed, trying to block out the sounds around me. It was difficult; I kept hearing vampire flesh being torn, and with every screech, I wondered whether it was my family, or the Volturi. Charlie was getting these concerns as well, as they tinted what I showed him.
I do not know how long we stood there, with me showing him everything I could remember. I heard my name called many times, but I couldn't respond. I felt more pressure on my shield, and I reflected it in the same way as before. Jane often let out small gasps of pain, but she soon gave up. There was a moment when there was a cloaking feeling over my shield. I guessed it was Alec trying to blind us, but I reflected that too. It was messy, and I had to get angry, which I could feel was confusing Charlie. It was like our minds were connected; he could see what I wanted him to see, but when there was sudden emotion or thoughts, he'd get those too. And visa versa, which was how I knew I had been successful at repelling Alec, because there was a sudden fear from Charlie.
Once I had finished telling him everything, there was silence in our minds. He was still trying to process what I had said, and I was hoping he'd believe me. Suddenly, "Why can't I remember you? If you are my daughter, I would remember. I could never forget anything as important as that. And why would you lie to me, and fake your own death and..." There were a lot of unanswered, and painful, questions Charlie was asking. I explained that human memories fade if they're not replayed or thought upon after changing. I lingered on my human life, not wanting to completely let go. I gently explained why I betrayed him, why I lied. Edward being a vampire was something I couldn't tell him for his own protection, to save him from this.
"I'm sorry you ever had to be dragged into this, Charlie," I whispered aloud. There was such regret in my voice that Charlie started towards me. He stopped, conflicted. I smiled wistfully, and continued talking to him mentally. "After Edward left me, you did that a lot. You'd come forward, wanting to embrace me, but unsure whether it would be beneficial for me. You did everything you possibly could for me, Dad." I recalled those painful months after Edward left me. Every day Charlie would be there, trying to encourage me to get back on track. He was so understanding towards me, accepting my distance moods. I remembered the moment Sam Uley took me home after finding me in the forest, and showed him the effort he put in to finding me. I thought about Harry, and how Charlie felt after Harry's death; how we supported each other and worked as a family.
Then he thought of something: I remember... green. The forests of Forks rushed into my head, with blood marks everywhere. On the floor was a large puddle of dried blood, and there was a trail leading deeper into the forest. Footprints, which looked like that of a bear, were seen on the sight. Jacob was there, holding a small baby. Charlie collapsed on the ground, sobbing. Sue Clearwater was comforting him, but to no avail. It was the place where I 'died', where Jacob and Edward had worked together, as a team, to cover up my transformation. All of that heartache... And you were alive. There was anger, but happiness too. More memories came from Charlie: my funeral. Everyone was there, and everyone was crying. Jessica was holding Mike's hand, and they were both silently sobbing. Angela was placing a flower on my grave, trying to be brave, but broke down before reaching her chair. Ben rushed forward to comfort her. Jacob and Blake walked up, and Jacob placed a picture of me and him on my grave, before kissing Blake's head and sitting back down with Charlie. Both Jacob and Charlie were inconsolable.
Another one: the night the Volturi came. Charlie was asleep when he heard the howls of the wolves. Not again, he had thought. He walked out toward the bathroom, and past my room. He froze when he saw my bedroom door was open. He never opened the door, because he couldn't bear to look inside. Nothing had changed since I had left. There was a shadow in the window; a girl. His heart skipped a beat. 'Bella?' he had called out. The girl turned around, with bright red eyes. Fear gripped Charlie, but so did a pair of hands from behind. Cold hands covered his eyes and mouth. He tried to breathe, but couldn't. He tried to struggle but couldn't move. 'She's not here,' the girl, Jane, from in my room had said. 'We'll just take him and go back to Aro. This human will be able to tell us what happened. Then we'll just... snack.' I shuddered at how close my father came to dying.
"I'm sorry," I said, aloud again.
"Its okay, Bells." My heart soared at the use of his nickname for me.
"Come back with us," I thought. He started to reply, but at scream of sheer heartache and pain came from the back of the room. All fighting ceased, and fear griped me. There was a burst of triumphant laughter, but it didn't come from any of my family. I spun and saw the look of horror on most of my family's faces. There was one face missing. Desperately, I spun around, looking for the face I wanted to see, that I needed to see. That's when I felt the round object roll onto my leg.
I looked down, and saw the short, black spiky hair lying loosely around the detached head. Edward's arms were quickly around me, but I fell down, screaming Alice's name over and over again.