Growing Wings

Twilight Fanfiction

Michiyo Ichimaru

Beta: I Love Edward Cullen 162

Chapter Twenty

Collision

Laying my head in Edward's lap, he instinctively began stroking my hair. It was such a comforting feeling. When I was with Edward, I could always count on him to ease my distress. Right now, I needed that warm, fuzzy feeling more than ever before. Emmett and Jasper had left the house to take up spots outside so they could watch for the werewolves and warn us before they got here. Even though we had the plan, there was a need for us to be prepared ahead of time for it to work smoothly, Carlisle told us earlier. Now we were anxiously waiting for the warning to get back to us.

As Jasper had suspected, they wouldn't reach us until the darkest hours. Esme had reflected on whether or not it was planned on their part. It sounded like the sort of thing a werewolf might want. But I couldn't imagine it impeding us much, regardless. Still, I couldn't deny that it sounded like their kind of planning. Toying with the hem of Edward's pants gently, I looked up at him, reveling in his beautiful face and emotional eyes. Even if I had the chance to go back and change whatever I wanted to, I'd still want o be here with Edward more than anything else. You can't have it all, but I got the next closest thing.

Suddenly there was a sharp chilly air as the door flew open and slammed shut. "They're here." Jasper hissed. "About five minutes until they'll be banging at our door. Everyone, line up in front of the entrance. Esme… wait behind and open the gate as quickly and discretely as you can. Then we'll force them down and let the real fight begin." He was grinning a bit wider than usual and it was a little discerning.

Everyone scrambled to get in position, and just in time. We all hit our spots as we heard the first splintering blow against the door. I gasped, but clenched my throat to silence it as quickly as I could, hoping it would go unnoticed. Edward held my hand and squeezed it gently. Maybe I expected it. After all, when it came to me, there wasn't a single thing that Edward seemed to miss, even if he couldn't read my mind. Taking the comfort for what it was worth I told myself not to jump at the next crashing sound I knew would come.

I wouldn't have… if it hadn't been the second blow that knocked down the door.

My reaction was too slow. Edward was leading me, as we began the steps to herding the werewolves to the place we wanted them. Just as Jasper expected, they were so enraged that they didn't seem to think twice about us possibly having formed a plan. If they had, they weren't being cautious to avoid any trap they thought we had laid for them. Everything about their attack seemed purely bent on rage… it didn't look thought out or rational at all. Now, although I had expected them to fall for it, I hadn't expected them to act so… careless, almost.

But their speed was working to their advantage. One of them was intent on going after me. I did the only thing I could do and leapt back in the direction of the gate. I hadn't expected Esme to open it so quickly to be falling into the labyrinth, but the next thing I saw was the dark caverns and the gate was already locked shut again. As instructed, I tried to lead the fight. The werewolf I was fighting was hard to see because it almost seemed to be avoiding the lights. It had also become more intelligent. It wasn't following my plans exactly anymore.

However, once our fight intensified, I gave a swift kick that sent the werewolf flying down the left path. We had gone past one intersection. Now I just had to keep him here and keep moving in that direction until he didn't know where he was anymore. When we reached the end chamber, I'd have to end the fight…

The werewolf looked a little panicked now, from what I could see of his movements. It's head moved back and forth rapidly, as if trying to figure out where it was and were it had come from to end up here. Already I had confused it, and I couldn't let this opportunity pass me by. This time when we collided, I drew my legs up to my chest and pushed back away from me, sending him flying once more. I almost landed on my head, but was able to quickly flip so I landed on my feet. A little haphazard, but working all the same.

I heard the werewolf's terrible howl and my insides cringed. In this cramped space it sounded so loud and pained. For as viciously as it attacked, I was curious as to why I was still unscratched. My training hadn't even been completed. I was a mediocre fighter at best and blocking required quick reaction skills that I hadn't developed yet. And this was a beast capable of knowing how to do GREAT damage.

So why hadn't it touched me even once?!

This shouldn't have been such an uneven match in my favor. I heard the gate shut behind us and knew that someone else had entered. Still frightened, I knew I had to hurry before this werewolf got its senses back. I closed in for a spinning throw. Grabbing its fur, I threw it past the final barrier and followed behind as quickly as possible. I heard the lock click behind us and I looked around for my opponent. My last attack had thrown him right into the first pool of light cast by the burning torches.

My opponent… was Jacob.

I wasn't hurt… because he couldn't hurt me.

I had hurt him… without question.

A number of thoughts raced through my head in accordance to my sudden realization. Jacob transformed back into his human form before my eyes. "Wanna talk about it?" he chuckled, trying to hide the sad look on his face. There was nothing but bitterness in how this had to end. But I realized that I did want to talk with him if only for the reason that maybe we could end our friendship on a better note than the last horrible argument we shared after this terrible war between us had been declared the only way we could settle things the right way. I wanted that.

"Yeah. Jake, I'm sorry about the things I said before you left." I apologized, holding out my hand to him. Jacob smiled and accepted it gladly, shaking it, a huge grin plastered on his face. Although I was glad to see him smiling again, I was surprised to see that it didn't last long before it turned into that same forced smile.

He shrugged, glancing at the ground, towards his feet. "Aw, well… we all know how this is gonna end, anyway. You're gonna best us no matter what. That tactician of yours was here to plan everything out for you, wasn't he?" His lips slowly curled into a sneer. But I hardly noticed his change in expression. In fact, I was much more interested in the change of his appearance… something new…

I laughed bitterly. "You forgot so soon, did you?" I couldn't hide the snarl in my voice. "You're lying Jacob! All this time, although the werewolves have been purposefully acting dumb - maybe too dumb to be natural - you've all been up to something." The lock broke and Jacob sighed.

"Well that's not nice…" He muttered. "You're right, Bells. But it wasn't my idea, really it wasn't! I wanted to play fair! Still… Sam was convinced that you guys would be well prepared in advance to take all of our strengths and turn the tables in your advantage. Guess he was right. But, I still didn't like the idea of doing anything like that. The only part of the whole plan that I had anything to do with was that I was supposed to purposefully take you on and not let you out of my range or sight."

Pointing at him accusingly, I pushed harder. "Well, I'm sure you know what it is, so why don't you tell me?!" He flinched. I had no idea that I could sound so demanding and forceful. But this new information possibly put all my friends in danger. And I was clueless, feeling hopeless and helpless and worthless. When he didn't answer, I shouted again. "Jacob!!"

"Alright!!" He shouted, looking away again. "Alright already, no need to get snappy. It's not like I thought it was important. To be honest, you guys are the better strategists. I never thought it would work anyway. The lie part was in saying that 'we all know how this is gonna end'. The others are all so optimistic. And I know it wasn't just that tactician. You all worked together, didn't you…?" He paused for a second. "Just like a family. Right?"

My words caught in my throat. "Yes. Yes we did. We ARE a family, Jacob." He smiled.

"I thought so. We used to be like that too, ya know. Before all this talk of war and enemies, we were just like a normal family, the thing I wanted most. But now… it's not the family I loved so much anymore. Everyone just cares about how this fight turns out and preserving the name. Well family isn't about names! It isn't about race or blood or nothin' like that! But now the family I did have is lost… they lost sight of what I wanted out of this whole mess. I never wanted this! But that was what made it okay! And now… look at what it's become… Sam did this all by himself. No one else was allowed in on it at all."

Jacob slumped on the floor in defeat. He was hurt by something that was much greater than I… the thing I considered so precious… my family… his family betrayed him. That feeling of being alone and empty was on him, like I had once felt when I thought Edward had abandoned me. Just like then, I felt it was the duty of the last friend standing to make a difference.

"Then find a family that really loves you." I said smiling, holding out my hand to him. "If you believe what you said about family, then we're the people who love you the most after them. And if they refuse to see your feelings, you're always welcome here. I don't care about stupid races or wars… it's always been about those I care about. You'll always have a chance to take the title of best friend and put it back on if you want it."

Hesitantly, he took my hand. "I know who won this war." I grinned.

"We did."

I opened the lock like Esme showed me. The Cullens were all waiting up top for us, smiling. "Oh, I just knew you'd bring him back!" Alice grinned, hugging Jacob in the midst of her festive giggling attack. Jacob scowled for a second, but it quickly turned into a smile. I looked to Edward to see what he had to say. He wrapped his arms around me and smiled.

"You back to stay this time?" Jacob nodded, exchanging a civil look with Edward. Things were cooling down between the two of them. "Well, the war is over. We sent the other wolves packing. They didn't believe us when we told them that Jacob probably wouldn't come back when he found out a treaty was made. It wasn't like we knew why, but we just had a feeling that Jacob would be staying without any complications getting in the way." He smiled. Carlisle shook his head.

"It's too soon to start celebrating. Their plan wasn't entirely stupid. Sam informed the Volturi about us and our connection to Jacob. He probably told them a number of other unkind things that won't look good to them. We can be expecting a visit from them, at the least." At the least meaning it was probably going to be a fight. Sam had planned on them interfering and beating us for the werewolves so they could be the ones to lead the negotiations.

Not a bad plan at all. Luckily for us, the Volturi worked on a slower schedule, at their own pace, driven by their own desires. The only question was… when would this collision of power versus our humble family take place?

Knowing the Volturi… we knew nothing at all.

A/N: Ah, my writer's block seemed to vanish for a while, because this chapter seemed easier to write. Maybe that's because it's bad… I dunno. I just really got into it. Plus, I'm really psyched to get into the battle with the Volturi. It's possible that that fight will be the end of this story. Then I might take up a sequel if I don't come up with an idea for another multi-chapter fic before then. Oh! And we're going to see the return of two amazing allies I borrowed from another fandom. Alucard and the first Draculina (her name WILL be mentioned! XD) will return in the Volturi saga. So I hope you enjoyed this chapter and will review!! Until then…

Michiyo Ichimaru