Disclaimer. All publicly recognizable characters, settings etc., are the property of their respective owners. The original characters, ideas and plot are the property of the author. The author is in no way associated with the owners, creators or producers of any media franchise. No copyright infringement is intended. I only do this for fun.

Overwhelming Darkness

A/N: This story is written as a collaboration by both Xo BellaItalia oX and DeathsQueen26. We hope that you enjoy the story and look forward to reading your reviews.

Previously...
(Bella's POV)

Kirk and Natalie nodded taking the kids hands and rushing over to the hidden door within the fire place. As soon as the door was open, Kirk, Natalie, Mika, Nick, Angela and Marcus were inside and the door shut placing a fire in the fire place. It was a feature that let us know, those who knew it was there, that someone was inside the safe room.

I turned to Raoul and nodded signaling that it was time for the others to get into place. I would not let Maria get away from me this time. Taking out the transporter first was our main priority and I could tell that everyone was on the same page.

Just as I exited the room, I felt Mika and Nick place a barrier around the room. I would tell the troops what the plan was as soon as Jasper, Raoul and myself arrived. Raoul knew me well enough that he may have already done so, but I could feel that my prep talk with enforce the fact Maria is to be killed as soon as possible. With her gone, the others would only be headless chickens. I had seen it many of times when fighting the other warlords that we had taken down.

Maria was no different.

Chapter 24

(3rd Person Pov – Out Front Of The Compound – Maria's in the Distance)

Iz, The Major, Raoul, Peter and Charlotte stood at the front while Sai, Jane and Faia were all standing on the walls of the compound near the entrance for the long range attacks. Uri, Angela, Emmett, Rosalie and Demetri were all in the center along with the other fighters. Most were the newborns that were under Maria's command, along with a few in Iz's army. Iz had her shield around her group in order to keep any mental attacks from reaching them. She knew in her gut that Maria was using Carlisle and Esme to try to frighten her, but there was something that Maria wasn't planning on; Iz had the Hispanic Warlord's infamous Major by her side and as her mate.

Everyone could see the fresh mating mark on both of their necks, glistening slightly brighter than the other scars in order to differentiate them from the rest. Emmett smirked when he'd first seen them, but kept his mouth shut. Rosalie thanked him, because she didn't want to see her mate in trouble due to his inability to think before speaking. Emmett also was able to spar with Bella, which she ended up winning and teaching him a few more moves in the process.

Iz stiffened as she felt the familiar pushes against her shield. It felt as though Edward was there, along with Alice. She took a deep breath, taking in the scents of the vampires around her. Four in particular stood out to her.

Just as this happened, a snarl ripped its' way out of her throat as Maria came into view with Edward and Alice on one side while Carlisle and Esme were standing on the other. Christopher was standing slightly behind Maria with about forty newborns who were following behind them as they advanced on the opposing army.

Iz stepped out slightly as she placed her arms behind her back, her posture stiff. Her eyes were engulfed with black revealing just a slight bit of white. Both Iz and Bella were in control, thus, making them even stronger than before. She had finally found a way to work with her monster, at least for a short period of time.

The Major, Peter, Raoul and Demetri all snarled as Maria and her army grew closer. Emmett and Rosalie were both shocked at this turn of events as they took in their former family members on the opposing side.

"Carlisle?" Emmett went to take a step, but stopped, his eyes flickering to his former mother figure. "Esme?" He swallowed thickly. "Why are you with her? She's here to kill Bells!" His eyes were growing a shade darker.

"Calm down, Emmett." Iz called out to him as she stood with a smirk on her face. "They have decided to go against me. If that is their wish, then I shall kill them like the traitors they've revealed themselves to be." She dropped her head slightly as her eyes danced with the inky darkness.

"You're a monster!" Edward hissed as he stared at Iz, pushing Alice behind him. "Why I ever went for a human such as you is beyond me! I should have drained you in the second I smelt you in that class room!" He goaded her, hoping for her to attack in her anger, causing her to make a slip.

However, Iz didn't get even flinch, but instead started to laugh. "Boy, do you still believe that I care what the fuck you think?" She took a step forward as her arms came to her side. "Shall I show you just what you did to me? How I ended up a walking zombie until Jacob came and took me under his wing? I might even show you how he made love to me as you never could, because of how you lacked the control to not kill me in the process. You're weak."

The Major growled at this and was about to lunge towards his mate to stake his claim on her in front of all, especially the cocky mind reader, but his ever faithful Captain placed a hand on his shoulder, halting his attack causing the Major to look back at his second as he shook his head. The Major bared his teeth, but Peter's eyes stayed stern as he projected his calm for the Major to take in.

Finally, as he allowed the tranquility to take over, the Major settled down as he turned his attention back to the opposing army in front of him. Edward was now knelling on the ground with his hands grasping at his head as the memories terrorized him. His eyes were squeezed as tightly as they could and the Major could feel the anguish and pain that was oozing from the weak minded vampire in front of him.

Everyone behind Iz knew exactly what she was doing to the mind reader. Raoul smirked as he watched his boss give the feeble vampire the one thing he had wanted since he had first laid eyes on his Boss; access to her mind.

Angela stood beside Raoul and she narrowed her gaze on the familiar spikey haired vampire across the field. Alice. She had never liked the 'woman' even when they went to school together. There was just something about her that brushed her the wrong way and now she understood why that was.

Maria's screeching brought everyone's attention on to her as she ranted, "You little, puta!" She snarled as her eyes shifted to black. "I shall make you pay for taking my territory from me! Do you know the reason I am known as the most feared Warlord? If not, I shall show you. And I will be taking my Major back at the same time." She purred as her malicious eyes landed on the Major.

Iz snarled at the way she spoke about her mate. Maria snapped her fingers and 10 young kids came out. They looked perfectly fine except from the fact their eyes were bright red.

Iz let out a piercing snarl, along with everyone else in her army. The kids ranged from 7 to 13. Most looked frightened to be there, but the others were completely insane by the crazed look in their eyes.

Jane and Demetri hissed because they had been with the Volturi when the immortal children were around, before the rules were made for changing ones so young. They had seen the carnage one temper tantrum could cause and remembered how many they had to destroy, along with those who would do anything to protect them. The memories of having to separate the creator and child surrounded by the piles of bodies due to the vampire children were something that they would never forget.

"How dare you change children so young!" Iz snarled as she looked around at the children. "I knew I should have killed you the moment I spotted you. Since I am the niece of Marcus Volturi, I have the authority condemn you to death."

With a snap of her fingers, Iz's army rushed Maria's. Iz didn't waste time as she found the teleporter, the one vampire who could ruin everything by transporting Maria away from here before she could be destroyed. This was something that Iz could not allow to happen.

Smirking, she placed her solid barrier around him, causing his gift to become useless. He tried to escape, but with the strength of her shield, he was unable to go anywhere unless it was still inside of the small shield.

Iz began to shrink the barrier until Christopher was unable to so much as move. Her eyes were full of glee as she circled the male that was Maria's second in command. There were fights and metallic ripping sounds echoing all around them, but Iz had her eyes on Christopher, because he was the reason that Maria escaped. Not only that, but he was the one who had been continuously sneaking into her camp, stole Edward and Alice's ashes and took Carlisle and Esme to his she-devil of a sire, who he served without question.

"Did you really think that after all you've done that I wouldn't come to find you and make you pay?" Iz grinned as she stopped in front of Christopher. "I am the ruler of the South and no one can hide from me."

Christopher snarled as he tried to move, but as soon as his finger touched the barrier, it turned to ash. "I'll kill you when I get out of here!" He roared. "Maria will kill you for killing her mate. You will never get away with this!"

"You're her mate?" Iz quirked a brow and blinked a couple of times as a slow grin spread across her lips. "That's funny. She has told my mate that same thing when she turned him, along with every other male she had sired and promoted to high standing ranks within her army."

"YOU'RE LYING!" He screamed and tried once again to teleport but, of course, was unable. "My Maria would never do such a thing!"

Iz sighed and shook her head as she spotted her mate getting ready to fight Maria, his dark eyes narrowed with a malevolent smirk dancing on his lips. She then turned her focus back to Christopher, shaking her head in disappointment. She knew that he did not always agree with Maria's methods, but because of his devotion to her, he never voiced his concerns. It was that same devotion to her that made Iz realize that he could never be taught or made to believe anything different; he was a lost cause.

"Since you obviously won't see reason, I have no choice, but to kill you." Iz sighed. "Such a waste." As she turned her back on the male, the shield tightened again, completely incinerating the teleporting vampire inside.

Maria's eyes were locked on Iz as she noticed that her plan B, her escape route, had been killed. Roaring, the Hispanic Warlord rushed away from the Major and through the group of fighters as they battled.

As she began to weave through the carnage, she spotted Angela and narrowed her eyes, recognizing one of her previous newborns fighting on the opposing throng. She knew she didn't have time to take out the Asian newborn, but grabbed Angela's arm, taking her by surprise and kicked her, causing her to fly backwards as her arm ripped from her body, leaving her practically defenseless.

Feeling his mate's panic and pain, Raoul let out a roar and charge after Maria. Watching this occur, Iz hissed as she rushed forward towards the other approaching Warlord. She knew that Maria was resentful enough to want to take out Angela, because she viewed her as a traitor.

Iz threw a shield around Maria and shoved the other approaching vampires away. Maria was hers. All sides went flying as the shield extended to cover around a radius of about a 10 miles. Iz walked calmly into the shield as she strengthened it. If any vampires went to rush the shield, they would be turned to ash immediately. Her eyes locked with Raoul's and understand clouded around him as he rushed for his defenseless mate and her dismembered arm.

"MOVE BACK!" He commanded and all but three took heed of his warning.

Emmett, Rosalie and the Major were all standing in front of the others. All of the vampires, from both sides stopped to watch the two warlords as they began face off in battle. Everyone that knew of Iz, the Goddess of the South, knew that this was the end of the fight. Her signature move was to pick out the offending Warlord and fight them herself. Sai, Faia, Nitro and Uri were smirking as they watched from the safety behind the shields of Mika and Nick. They could feel their mother fighting and threw a shield around the compound. Nick knew what was to come.

"What do you have to say for yourself?" Iz asked as she circled the last remaining Warlord, giving her a wide birth. "I do have to admit that you were rather good at hiding from me, but fighting doesn't seem to be your strong point." She smirked wider when Maria hissed.

"I trained all my soldiers perfectly." Maria snapped as she readied herself for an attack. "Just because you have a power means nothing. You are nothing without your shield or gifts." Maria wanted a fair fight.

The Major snarled his objection, not liking the thought of his mate's chances of winning having been reduced even the slightest bit. His hands were in fists at his side, cutting into his palms as fresh venom ran down his knuckles.

Iz held her hand up feeling her mate's anxiety through their mating bond. "Do not worry, my mate." She purred, turning her head to look at her Major, turning her back to the Warlord. "She believes that my gifts give me the power to control this vast army, yet -"

She didn't get the chance to finish her sentence as Maria lunged, causing the Major to let out a deafening roar. However, Iz was too fast for the older vampire as she spun and caught the Warlord by the throat. Her black eyes engulfed the whites of her eyes as a sneer appeared on her face. She had no respect for any vampire who would attack their opponent while their back was turned.

Maria's eyes widened for a split second before they were schooled into her usual mask of hatred while in Iz's presence. But it was too late, for Iz had already seen the fear in them before the killer came forth. Tossing the Warlord to the other side, she turned to her restless mate once again.

"As I was saying before being so rudely interrupted, she believes that my gifts give me the power to control this vast army, yet I am a master of fighting, because the key to fighting, as my army knows, is to find any weakness in their opponents fighting skills and exploit it, using them to their advantage."

Iz turned back to Maria who stayed on the other side of the shield. She knew that rushing the Warlord wasn't the best solution. "Yes, I have gifts to keep my family safe, but that is only because I know how to fight. Most fighters have a series of special moves that they use, but I, on the other hand, use none. I copy the fighting skills of others, but mesh them all together to make my own style. Vampire minds are wonderful that way, aren't they?" Iz smirked.

Within the time it takes a human to blink, Iz was in front of Maria and slashed at her, leaving four long gashes across her face. Iz chuckled as she dodged the wild attacks that Maria threw in return. She wondered how this warlord was able to hold onto her territory for so long with the sloppy fighting skills she possessed. Then again, she was never the one to fight, choosing to let others fight in her stead. Iz made sure to point this out as they continued to trade blows, mocking the Hispanic vampire.

It was then that Maria began to give into her emotions as her anger began to take over, causing her to start to slip slightly. Angering the opponent always worked, as Maria was no longer thinking clearly as she let her emotions rule her. Iz knew that is what most vampires did, but it was a dangerous tactic. It was what lead to many vampires' downfalls.

"I will kill you, you puta!" Maria snarled as she rushed Isabella again.

Iz began to grow board of the sparing as she jumped over the last Warlord and kicked her foot out behind her. Iz's foot hit Maria right in the back of the head, sending her head flying clean off of her shoulders and into the side of the shield, incinerating it on contact. The body fell limply to the ground, twitching, because the brain was completely gone.

The vampires on the other side of the shield started hissing and snarling. Raoul motioned for the others to move inside the shield after getting the nod from Iz that it was safe to touch. Most were hesitant until Raoul - with an injured Angela who was tucked under her mates arm with her own cradled against her - were able to move inside without a problem.

Iz threw out individual shields around the remaining enemy, keeping them from entering the safety of her shield. She patiently waited until all her army were inside before she pushed the shield outward, quickly killing the rest of the enemy in mere seconds. They felt nothing as the shield touched them, but Iz was bombarded with their thoughts as they met their end.

Whimpering, Iz finally fell to her knees, bring her shield back as she tried to push the thoughts and anger to the back of her mind. The Major crouched protectively over her, searching her for injuries as he pushed calm into her system. Content that he found none, he wrapped her in his arms, purring softly to her until she finally regained her sense of self.

As Bella came back to herself with her demon locked safely in her mind, she blinked a couple of times while getting her bearings. She opened her eyes and looked up in time to see that Jasper was also now back to himself. She smiled as she allowed him to help her stand and looked around reminding herself that she had killed the rest of the newborns that Maria had brought with her. Bella held the side of her head as she remembered the thoughts of the females and the males. Edward and Alice were not amongst those that she had killed and looked around in a panic, only to calm as she saw them both, as well as Carlisle and Esme being held by Emmett, Rose, Felix and Demetri. Sighing, she scanned the rest of the crowd and saw that many were helping the wounded as though she had already given the order. This caused her to smile, knowing that she had trained her army right.

Turning to Raoul as he helped heal his mate, she spoke, "Get everyone back into the compound in case another wave hits. I don't trust that the Bitch didn't have a backup plan aside from Christopher in case this one didn't work." She turned towards those who were holding the four traitorous Cullen's. "Take them to the lock up. I'll deal with them later." She smirked as she motioned for Faia and Sai to come down from their posts. "I need you to go gather some bags. I also need Uri to call the blood banks and ask for more donations. We only need the ones that are unable to be donated to hospitals."Both nodded as they took off to follow their Boss's orders.

Turning, Bella was about to say something when she felt a prick at her shield. Opening her mind, she let whoever it was enter.

'Momma?' Bella heard Nick's voice.

'Come out of hiding, children, but I will meet you inside.' She also spoke to Natalie and Kirk. That way, they wouldn't think Nick was trying to escape in order to help Bella. Everyone knew that Nick was very protective of his new mother.

Bella took Jasper's hand and walked into the compound while the others cleaned up the carnage. She needed some time with her children and mate.

Jasper was happy that Maria was finally gone, because as soon as she was turned to ash, he felt the ever looming sire bond completely vanish. For that, he would be forever thankful to his mate. No one else ever cared enough to kill the bitch that caused nothing, but pain in his life. No one but his mate, that is. He was finally happy, because he was able to show his mate that he wasn't like Edward. They were both changed in different time periods, thus giving them different values in life, both mortal and immortal.

(~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~)

Author Note – So what do you think? Sorry that its been a while but Bella and I have been busy! Thanks for your understanding and support. What will Bella do to Edward, Alice, Carlisle and Esme? Stay tuned to find out, til then keep reading and reviewing...

~*Dragon*~