Ok so Edward's back and everything's about to hit the fan. Here we go...
Alice fell into a combative stance with fluid ease and Edward's pale lips quirked into a half-amused smile. "The beauty and the harlot confessing their love in the beast's garage." Alice snarled, her lip curling back to reveal her razor sharp teeth, one arm extended behind her to keep Bella in place. "The harlot will fall and the beauty will return to her prince, of course. Because all stories have happy endings where true love is concerned." Edward stepped forwards and Alice took a step back, making sure the human stepped back too.
"You don't want to do this Edward." She whispered not daring to fight her brother and leave Bella so exposed; she needed to stay close to her, to keep her safe. But her instincts told her to neutralise the threat, to destroy Edward before he could even make a move. She settled for continuing to shield her human.
"Oh sweet little foundling. I really do." He whispered. "But you're right, I should wait for our guests." Alice couldn't help but notice her brother was more than slightly unstable. That and the murderous gleam in his dark eyes had given birth to fear in her stomach.
"Guests?" Bella whispered, moving out from behind Alice to look her ex-fiancé in the eye. "What guests Edward?" Her answer came in the form of Jane Volturi stepped into the garage with a strange vampire at her side. He had dark hair and darker eyes at with a single glance from him Bella tensed, one of her hands finding Alice's arm and sliding along her wrist to take her hand.
"Jane and Dante of course." Edward grinned as the newcomers flanked him, both with maniacal smirks on their pale faces.
"Hello again Alice." Jane's smile turned cruel and Alice flinched as pain lanced through her limbs but somehow managed to lock topaz eyes with ruby in a show of defiance. "I don't think you've met Dante here. He has a very interesting power." Edward was watching the young girl with something akin to rapture. "He inspires loyalty in the most opposing people. Your brother for instance. Dante can also place a suggestion into somebody's brain. Like killing the sister who stole his mate." Alice shook her head, confused.
"Why would you waste your time interfering with Edward's love life?" Jane let out a girlish giggle that fit her body but not her voice or nature Alice cringed inwardly at the sound while Edward and Dante laughed with her. Bella's grip on Alice's hand grew a little tighter.
"Because Aro wants him. You and Bella too. But I believe it was Meatloaf who once said that 'two out of three aint bad'. Right?" Alice felt sick; there was no way she could take all three of the vampires alone. Even if Jacob were conscious it would have been a struggle. "You could at least make this interesting for us Alice." White-hot pain shocked through her body again but she refused to cry out. It was Bella who whimpered but Alice shushed her, squeezing her hand with a weak smile. She wanted to tell her it was going to be ok but she knew she'd be lying.
"Just take me." Bella let go of Alice's hand and stepped forwards towards Edward. Edward grinned while Jane and Dante shared amused glances.
"Bella no." Alice protested trying to pull her back but Bella shook her off.
"Leave her alive and you can have me." Alice flitted forwards and placed herself between Bella and her brother, arms outstretched with her back to Edward. Jasper would have killed her for turning her back on the enemy but she needed Bella to see into her eyes.
"Like Hell they can." She hissed with hellfire in her eyes. "I won't let them, Bella I'm not going to let them take you away. Ever." Jane giggled her childish giggle.
"I know why you don't want her to leave and trust me I'd feel the same." Alice turned around slowly to face the child. "She tastes divine doesn't she?" Alice flashed back to the bite marks that marred Bella's back and the old familiar rage resurfaced in her chest. Edward's roar mingled with her own but Edward was always the faster of the two of them. He whirled on Jane in the blink of an eye, before she could even realise her mistake, screaming with the pain she was flooding his body with but tearing her to pieces anyway. Dante gasped in horror, his hold obviously broken and no one noticed when Alice swept Bella into her arms and carried her from the garage.
Outside the dust was speckled with blood; Jacob's blood and Alice stopped suddenly and placed Bella on the ground. "I can't leave Jake in there." She murmured apologetically but Bella nodded.
"Be careful." At vampiric speed Alice pecked Bella on the lips and darted back inside. Seconds later a blurred form fled the garage. Bella had to squint to recognise the form as Dante. Her heart was beating too fast, flooded with adrenalin, the sound echoed in her ears and her brain was subconsciously filling in what was happening inside the garage.
Jane was dismembered on the floor and Alice had managed to pull Jacob to the door but Edward had seen her and… Bella forced herself to stop thinking. As if to confirm her fears Alice's body flew from the garage, landing in the dust. "ALICE!" The name tore itself from her throat when she saw that there was dark blood running down the other girl's porcelain face. Alice struggled to her feet and was visibly unsteady as she turned to face Edward who was calmly walking towards her.
"I'm ok. Bella…car." Edward laughed darkly and Bella saw that his teeth were bloody and his face cracked.
"As if she could outrun me." Alice snarled, wiping blood from her eye stubbornly. "As if you can fight me off when I know your every move."
"Phone on the dashboard. Speed dial one. Carlisle." Bella nodded and darted towards the car as a wild yell ripped itself free from Alice's chest and the tiny vampire flung herself at her brother. Brother and sister grappled in the dirt as Bella fumbled for the phone and a sickening snap sounded as she dialled their father.
"Carlisle it's Edward. He's- they're fighting. We're at Jake's. Hurry." She hung up before the doctor had a chance to answer or to question her. She knew they would be at least ten minutes but her heart knew they needed to be faster; Alice was cradling an obviously broken arm to her chest and Edward's chest had been torn open. She didn't dare cry out again for fear of giving Edward an opening in Alice's already crumbling defences. But she couldn't stop the scream when Edward pounced again pinning his tiny sister to the dusty ground.
"Revenge is sweet little sister." He lowered his ivory fangs to Alice's exposed throat with a smile. "So very sweet."
A ground-shaking roar stopped Edward from biting down. With unbelievable speed Jacob flew from his garage in wolf form, fur rippling and teeth bared. His plate-sized paws thudded home into Edward's chest throwing him off of Alice.
Edward lunged for Jacob, wrapping his marble arms around his furry neck and wrestling the wolf to the ground. The vampire was covered in minor breaks, cracks and bleeding from many places but he wouldn't stop fighting.
Jacob writhed in Edward's grip but couldn't break free.
Alice still wasn't moving.
Bella couldn't just sit and watch. She looked around the inside of the car frantically until her eyes fell upon a Stanley knife secreted in the driver's side door pocket. She didn't understand what use Alice would have for a knife of any kind but it would serve for her plan, half formed as it was.
She vaguely remembered Jacob telling her a Quileute legend of a king and his wives. The tribe was being attacked by a vampire she recalled, flicking the blade out the handle and to save her loved ones the king's third wife had stabbed herself to distract the vampires with her blood.
Bella stepped out of the car.
Her hands shook violently as she pressed the knife to her palm, just above her wrist, until blood welled from the cut and flowed freely to the ground. Edward's nostrils flared and Jacob's eyes shot wide, redoubling his efforts to escape the vampire's grip. Bella cut into her other hand.
Edward flew at her, fangs flashing.
Bella clenched her eyes shut, waiting for the bite and the venom that would flood her body as Edward drained her blood but the pain never came. She opened her eyes slowly and saw that Alice was stood in front of her, breathing heavily with her good arm extended, her tiny hand resting on Edward's chest. Looking closer Bella saw that her hand wasn't on his chest but inside it. "It's over Edward." She muttered as Jacob prowled over to them. "I won't let you have her." Alice swayed slightly but she gripped his long dead heart in his cold fingers, ensuring that he wouldn't move.
"You don't get a choice." He sneered, landing one of his hands around Alice's arm and tightening his grip until the skin cracked. Jacob reared up behind the vampires and closed his mouth around Edward's throat, casting Alice and Bella apologetic looks before snapping his head clean from his neck. The bronze haired head rolled through the dust and Jacob's fur receded as he returned, slowly and gratefully, to human form.
"What were you thinking Bella?" He asked quietly, he could see the tears in her eyes but the blood still oozing from the cuts in her hands worried him more.
"I was thinking of the legend. The third wife." Jacob passed a hand across his russet face, dark eyes closed. Seconds later he reopened them and gently took the bloody knife from Bella's hands before returning to the garage to dispose of it.
"Are you ok?" Alice's voice shook and she was leaning heavily on her car but she was alive. Bella rushed over and enveloped her in a tight hug that elicited a wince from the vampire but Alice only pulled her close when the human tried to release her.
"I'm fine but what about you?" Alice pressed a careful kiss against the human's temple.
"I'll be ok." She whispered. "I'll be ok." Two cars: one black and one red skidded to a stop beside them. Carlisle and Esme exited one while Rosalie, Emmett and Jasper blurred from the other. The Cullen coven stopped and simply stared at the embracing girls with faint smiles before their united gaze travelled to the headless Edward and the smiles fell.
"You're late." Jacob commented as he carried Jane's limbs outside and dropped them unceremoniously beside Edward's remains. He had a limp and pronounced bruises on his head and around his neck but was otherwise fine. He held a book of matches out to Carlisle. "Would you like to do this? He was your son after all." Carlisle nodded his thanks and lit a match. He watched the tiny flame dance for a second before dropping it onto the corpses. The group watched the flames roar into life, devouring the Cullen's first-born son and the Volturi's favourite girl.
"Jake. Put some shorts on."
No I can't let Edward and Jane burn respectfully. I had to break the solemn-ness somehow and Jake was right there...
