A/N: Are you ready?

I'm gonna continue putting the disclaimer here just be sure that everyone is aware of where this story originated.

This story isn't 100 % mine. I have transformed it into a story from an interactive story app called Choices (an app I am completely obsessed with atm) and the creators are Pixelberry Studios.

So here's my disclaimer: I don't own the characters or the plot of this story. All recognizable content belongs to their respective owner. No copyright infringement intended. Names and places have been changed for the purpose of Fanfiction.

{Chapter 25}

Rosalie, Alistair and I gathered closer around Iris's hologram, our faces illuminated by its blue glow.

"I know you were very young, Alistair, but do you not even recognize my voice?"

He looked down at the ground. "I … your voice is—"

Iris closed her eyes and began to sing. "I told my love a story with no end … I gave my love a baby with no crying, and then…"

I saw a single glistening tear fall down his cheek. "Mother … it's … it's you!"

Rosalie stepped between. "Hold up. What in the name of fork-exec is going on here?"

Iris turned to her. "You see, I was human once. My name was Esme. Carlisle was my husband, and Alistair … was my son."

I stared at her incredulously. "Why didn't you tell us any of this?"

"I didn't have access to memories of my former life until very recently. Had I known before I'd have—" The hologram stuttered erratically. Iris seemed to be struggling to maintain her composure.

"Iris? You okay?" I asked worriedly.

"I don't have much time. I need to tell you how to access the Lernaean Gate," she said hurriedly. "Do you recall the device you used on the rooftop of The Ethereal?"

"The portal gun?" I asked.

"That gun was an experimental prototype of a far more powerful machine. The Lernaean Gate is an advanced prismatic hyperpermeator housed at a facility to the north."

I blinked. "Advanced prisma … what?"

Rosalie groaned. "Prismatic hyperpermeator. Pay attention."

"It can safely transport all of you home. Or to another location, should you wish," Iris continued. "You'll need to bring the large prism that was activated at the Hostiles' Stronghold last night."

Alistair frowned suspiciously. "The Island's Heart? How did you know we…?"

"I detected energy levels consistent with the presence of a major crystalline lattice in your vicinity."

"Sounds about right," I mumbled, feeling incredibly stupid surrounded by the geniuses standing before me.

"The Lernaean Gate requires a power source of incredible magnitude. The 'Island's Heart,' as you call it, should be sufficient. Bring the prism to the MASADA facility approximately one-quarter mile off the tip of the northern peninsula. I can promise you that there, once and for all, you'll finally be able to leave El Jardín behind."

I approached carefully. "But aren't you on Cullen's side now?"

Rosalie agreed. "Yeah, last I checked she was into blinding people at spectacularly sucky moments."

Alistair turned his glaring, fiery eyes my way. "Irrelevant. She's clearly not lying or attempting to manipulate us."

"Dude. You can't seriously be buying this!" Rosalie said disbelievingly.

Iris looked understanding. "Carlisle activated a part of my programming that prevents me from acting against him. However, I choose to see your departure from El Jardín as beneficial to all involved parties."

"So you can't come with us?" Alistair asked.

"I cannot."

"And that's … that's it? You're all that's left of my mother, and I'm never seeing you again?" he continued, torn between anger and sadness.

"I can't tell you how sorry I am that I couldn't be part of your life, my … Alistair. Though I didn't have the opportunity to be a mother to you, I can certainly say that I'm proud of the steadfast and forthright young man you've become."

Rosalie leaned over to me. "More like bred fast and uptight, am I right?" she whispered.

"Rosalie," I reprimanded disapprovingly at her joke.

"What? Too soon?"

"It seems I must terminate this connection shortly. Please hurry to the facility. It won't be safe to travel that way much long—" Iris struggled to continue speaking. "Goodbye, Alistair. I love you very much."

Alistair stepped toward her. "No! Mother, wait!"

The hologram faded and the terminal went dark.

I walked up to him and placed a gentle hand on his shoulder. "Alistair, I'm so sorry."

"She died when I was only two … I never thought I'd remember what her face looked like." He lowered himself to the floor and buried his face in his hands, and then they turned into fists. "My megalomaniac of a father brought her back as an automaton, a mere servant! The next time I see him he'll have hell to pay."

Just then, the sound of distant growling reached our ears.

"Uh-oh," I said and looked around. "Where's Furball?"

Rosalie pointed. "The sound's coming from inside that hole."

Inside a partially collapsed wall, there was a narrow, cave-like space. At the far end, Furball was crouched and ready to pounce on a small crystalline fragment.

A green fire flickered along the surface of the crystal.

"That shard looks like it's got an evil spirit trapped in it," Rosalie said and stared at it cautiously.

I had seen that kind of light before. It was just like the light that had surrounded Victoria when she was possessed.

"Stand back, little guy," I told Furball, and then I tentatively reached out and poked the shard with my index finger.

The flames instantly receded, and I was able to pick it up without harm. I put it into my pocket as I was sure it was best if I held onto it until we were able to figure out what was up with the crystals.

Alistair crossed his arms and looked at me. "And how exactly did you know to do that?"

I hesitated since I hadn't told anyone about Victoria's possession yet. "Uh … wild guess? We should head back to the others," I said, quickly changing the subject.

The three of us and Furball headed outside, and as we walked out of the shelter, I noticed movement in a nearby thicket of trees.

Alistair stopped walking and looked at the spot. "Clearly, something's over there."

"Get ready."

"For what?" he asked me with wide eyes.

I locked eyes with him. "To either fight or flee," I said seriously. Edward had rubbed off on me in the sense that I was always ready for the worst.

We prepared ourselves for whatever rampaging beast that was approaching, but we all relaxed when we realized it was Jacorel who came running out of the bushes with a laugh.

"Ha! Another miss!" he called over his shoulder.

Benjamin was running close behind him. They seemed too engaged in whatever they were doing to notice us.

"You think you're so fast! Eat this!" Benjamin said and threw a seed pod at the young Kaarii king, who deftly dodged it.

With a wry grin, Jacorel pretended to look around for cover, intentionally leaving himself open.

Benjamin picked up another pod and pegged him in the chest.

"Oh! How dare you! I am the elyyshar!" Jacorel exclaimed and dramatically fell to the forest floor.

Benjamin grinned. "It's official. I, Benjamin Rafael Santiago, have caught them all!" With heavy breathing, he sat down next to Jacorel.

I noticed Rosalie was getting ready to clear her throat, but I stopped her. She shrugged and headed back toward the beach.

Alistair followed, and after picking up Furball in my arms, I did the same, allowing my best friend to have his moment with the Kaarii king that was obviously special to him.

A little while later, the entire group and several Kaarii were gathered around me on the beach.

"So apparently this 'Lernaean Gate' can get us home, but we'll need the Island's Heart to power it," I told them, finishing off the story that Iris had told us.

Emmett looked hesitant. "Home? Already? B-but I was kinda enjoying myself…"

Peter agreed. "Yeah, we worked hard to get this vacation and I think we should see it through!"

"Uh, pretty sure it was given to us for free," Benjamin pointed out.

Edward crossed his arms with suspicion written all over his face. "Real question is if we can actually trust Robomaid now that Cullen's reprogrammed her?"

"My money's on no," Rosalie interjected.

"What's so bad about this place anyway? I like it here!" Peter said, once again full on the 'stay team.'

Kate looked unimpressed. "Peter, how many times have you almost died in the last week?"

"Uh, think I lost count," he admitted.

"I trust her," Alistair spoke up.

Edward frowned. "You do?"

"My father may have made her into what she is now, but even he couldn't take away her humanity. She wasn't lying to us. She clearly wanted to help."

Everyone paused and reflected over Alistair's words.

"You can't know for a fact that she was telling the truth. An AI with unlimited database access is not someone you wanna trust," Rosalie cautioned.

Tanya nodded. "That's a good point … but if there's even a slim chance we can get home, I think we should try."

"Tanya's right," Victoria said. "Who knows when we'll have another opportunity like this?"

Jacorel looked disappointed. "So you are leaving, then?"

Benjamin looked sadly at him. "I guess so."

"I'll be sorry to see you go, but I suppose I must accept that your destiny is larger than Kaanu."

"And you're okay with us taking the Heart?" I asked carefully.

He nodded. "Of course. I will accompany you to ensure that it returns to Elyys'tel. The northern reaches are dangerous. It is different there."

Rosalie gaped at him. "So this is the un-dangerous part of the island? Great."

"I will arrange for several of our best warriors to come along as well."

Garrett smiled, looking more pleased than he had been for a long time. "Alright. So we're doing this."

"Alice hasn't said anything," Leah pointed out, raising her brow at the tour guide who was sitting in the sand a short distance away, looking very sad.

"You alright, Alice?" I asked her.

"Oh! I'm fine," she said, attempting a smile. "Everything's great! We're going home! Yay!"

I narrowed my eyes slightly. "Alice, are you worried about your job?"

She startled. "Wha—No! Why would I be worried about…?"

"Come on," I said, wishing she'd cut out the bullshit. "We all know you do more around here than just lead tours."

Her smile fell. "Well, it doesn't seem like I've been doing any job particularly well. Everything on El Jardín's falling to ruin."

"Perhaps, but you've still been a very good guide to us," Leah said, actually complimenting the slightly older woman.

Alice gasped. "Really?"

Leah nodded. "Yes. And you fight well."

Alice's expression became pleased. "I guess … I do, actually." She stood up and seemed to shrug off her melancholy. "Thanks, you two. I feel a lot better now."

Leah gave her a rare smile. "You're welcome."

Edward shook his head. "I think the island's finally gettin' to me … I just thought I saw Wednesday Addams over there give someone a pep talk."

Leah shrugged nonchalantly.

Just then, Harrvel arrived with a group of Kaarii scouts. "Like the ever-roaming constellations themselves, the Catalysts journey toward a new horizon!" he exclaimed with a grin. He removed the Island's Heart from a satchel and handed it to me. "Good fortune on the path ahead, friends. You will always be remembered by our people."

"I wanna go, too!" Sether cried out.

"The Catalysts' path is leading them away from our people, Sether," Emilyne told him patiently.

"But I'm a Cat-a-liss, too!" the boy insisted.

"You are a little boy who's about one more word away from not eating supper," Emilyne said angrily, quickly losing her patience.

Sether immediately quietened down.

"We owe so much to you, Catalysts. May your stars guide you."

"Cat-a-lissus forever!"

Garrett got into action. "We should make whatever preparations we need and then get some rest. We'll head out first thing in the morning."

Edward saluted him. "Aye aye, Cap."

I rolled my eyes at him, and his response was to throw his arm around my shoulders and kiss my temple, which caused me to laugh softly and lean into him.

The next morning, we set out on our journey northward.

As we crested the foothills of a mountain range, the temperate sea breeze gave way to a noticeable chill.

One of the Kaarii scouts suddenly stopped and pointed into the distance. "Much snow up ahead!"

I looked toward the distant slopes and saw gleaming snow running all the way down to the shoreline.

"It will be very cold soon. We must prepare," Jacorel said ominously.

"But this is a tropical island!" Victoria exclaimed in confusion.

"How far north did we walk, anyway?" Peter inquired.

"It must be a time anomaly," Tanya explained. "Maybe an ice age from thousands of years ago"

The scouts produced rolled blankets and offered them to us.

"You will need this," a female with a wolf mask said.

"Uh, sure. I'll take one," Rosalie said, and put the blanket under her arm.

"Tosskal," Benjamin said in the Kaarii language. "Thank you," he translated for us.

"It's something, at least," Kate said optimistically.

"Much appreciated," Garrett agreed.

There were too many of us for everyone to get a blanket, and soon, I noticed my breath turning into clouds of steam in the air, and my teeth began to chatter. My Kaarii warrior clothes didn't do anything to keep the cold out.

"Bella, you need a jacket!" Tanya exclaimed.

Edward immediately came up behind me. "She can have mine," he said and slung his jacket over my shoulders, leaving him in only a black t-shirt, but he didn't appear bothered by the cold.

"Are you sure?" I asked. "I don't want you to freeze."

"I'm fine, Princess," he insisted and cupped my face gently before leaning down to kiss me.

The jacket was much too big for me, and I had to roll up the sleeves, but Edward's body heat lingered in the fabric and made me feel toasty warm. "Well, okay, if you insist. But if you get too cold, you have to tell me. We can trade back and forth."

With most of us bundled up, we proceeded toward the frozen landscape ahead.

As we trudged forward, the snow underfoot became thick enough to crunch with each step. Cold winds drove clusters of falling snow into our faces.

"This is just miserable," Alistair groaned.

"Freakin' ice age around here," Peter called over the loud winds. "What's next, some kinda meteor impact?"

"Don't give the anomalies any ideas, Gronk!" Edward called back to him.

The only one who seemed more chipper than ever was Furball. He repeatedly ran ahead, then stopped and waited for us to catch up.

"Well, at least he's in his element," I mumbled, secretly pleased to see him so happy. Suddenly, Furball froze, and I looked at him in surprise. "What's wrong, little guy?"

"Someone's there," Leah replied for him, her eyes directed toward a lone silhouette standing amid the white haze.

"Uh, hello?" I tried calling to it.

There was no response.

"Who's there?" I tried again, slightly more aggressive this time.

A small circle glowed red near the figure's face, accompanied by a wisp of smoke.

We were finally close enough to see who it was, but when we were, I wished we never had.

Edward's face got dark, his eyes fiery, as he glared at the man in front of us. "McKenzie," he growled.

Atop his military jumpsuit, the man wore an intricate steel exoskeleton. He took another drag from his cigar and fixed Edward with his stern gaze.

"Edward. How long's it been?" he asked calmly.

Edward gritted his teeth, and I slowly moved to his side. "Not long enough, you fucking—"

"Your family's disappointed in you, Masen," McKenzie interrupted him. "First you sold American arms to a Kharzistan dictator, and then you resisted arrest and took yourself off the grid."

"What do you want, McKenzie?"

Commander McKenzie grinned. "You, Masen. I'm here to bring you in."

"Edward, who the hell is this dude, anyway?" Peter asked, his face full of shock.

"I think he's his old commander," Rosalie replied quietly.

"Had to break the news to your mama myself. 'Sorry, ma'am. Your son betrayed his country and endangered his fellow soldiers,'" McKenzie continued. "And then I held her as she cried hysterically. Least I could do."

Edward's jaw was clenched, his hands were in tight fists, and his eyes glowed with hate. His breath was shallow and he looked ready to attack. "Don't. You. Dare."

"That all you got, boy?" McKenzie taunted. "Lyin' around in a hammock's made you soft."

Edward took a step forward, unable to remain still any longer, but I softly placed my hand on his back to keep him with me. I doubted it would be beneficial to anyone if he jumped McKenzie right then. "We both know what happened, McKenzie. What you did. You killed him."

McKenzie shook his head and let out some smoke from his cigar. "Edward, while I'd love to catch up on old times, I'm gonna need you to come with me if you don't want your new friend to get hurt," he threatened and glanced at me, obviously having noticed my proximity to Edward and that I was wearing his jacket, and his calm tone made it even more sinister.

"Bella, we should be able to take him if he's on his own—" Leah started, but was interrupted by McKenzie's outcry,

"Arachnid! Into position!" He signaled, and a series of armored Hummers came roaring over a nearby ridge. Soldiers emerged from the vehicles and began to move into formation, readying their rifles.

Edward stepped in front of me in protection, but I wouldn't have it. He then angled his head to whisper to me. "Princess, it's me he wants. Take the others and get out of here!"

I shook my head. "Edward, I can't just let him take you. He could kill you!"

"Are we really doing this right now?" Kate asked me and I glared deadly at her.

"Shut the fuck up, Kate! If it had been your boyfriend, you wouldn't have been so fucking quick to let people take him from you, would you?"

She held her tongue, that was best for her or I would have hit her. I turned back to Edward. "Edward, I'm not leaving you."

Edward looked completely devastated. "Dammit, Princess … why you gotta make me feel weak at a time like this?"

I saw in the corner of my eye how Peter quietly scooped up several handfuls of snow. Garrett and Rosalie followed his cue and did the same.

"Now!" he cried out.

The three of them pelted the still readying soldiers with hard-packed snowballs.

"Everybody, run!" Garrett yelled.

"Scouts, protect the Catalysts' retreat!" Jacorel ordered his Kaarii.

The scouts drew spears and rushed forward to engage the soldiers.

We all used the momentary distraction to scramble toward a nearby ravine. As we rounded the mountain slope, we nearly ran off the edge of the cliff.

Benjamin lost his footing and he struggled to throw his weight backward.

"Benjamin!" Jacorel called out in fear.

I grabbed onto him and managed to steady him before he started falling.

"Ohmygod! Thanks, Bella!"

Tanya peered over the edge. "That's a really long fall."

The bottom of the chasm was lost in darkness hundreds of feet below.

"Dudes, there's a path around the edge!" Emmett exclaimed and pointed. He started running and moved as fast as he could up a narrow walkway, the sound of several bottles clinked in his messenger bag. Everyone followed.

Edward glanced back the way we came. "They're gainin' on us! Keep movin', Princess!"

The snowfall became heavier as we ascended. A wrecked aircraft came into view, its wings balancing precariously atop two adjacent cliffs.

As my gaze returned to the walkway, I noticed someone rounding a corner ahead.

"Well, well … don't I just feel like the Pied Piper," the woman said with a pleased smile.

"You," Edward said through clenched teeth.

"You know her, too?" I asked him.

The woman grinned at me, and through her sunglasses, I could see her wink at me. "You might say Wolf and I go way back." She reached over her shoulders and unsheathed two katanas. The tech-enhanced blades radiated waves of heat, causing the Cliffside to weep melting snow as she moved closer. "Here, kiddie kiddies," she taunted.

"I don't like her," Rosalie said with a sneer.

"Uh, little help here, guys?" Emmett asked as the woman approached him.

"Douse her!" I told him, remembering he had a bag full of bottles.

"But I've only got my good stuff on hand," he insisted.

"Just do it!"

He reached into his bag and pulled out a champagne bottle. "I hope you like Chateauneuf du Pape! 'Cause I do." He sabered open the bottle, causing foam and liquid to spray at the woman.

She gasped and tried to shield herself with her katanas. Popping sounds came from them as the champagne coated them. A cloud of hissing steam rose and blinded her.

I heard a series of heavy thuds, and I realized that someone was approaching behind us.

"Told McKenzie I wasn't going to kill any of you," the intimidating man said. The hulking brute pointed one of his mechanical fists toward the mountain slope. "Guess I lied." The power fist stroke the rock face with a deafening crack, causing the walkway to tremor beneath our feet.

Fissures formed in the slope, and huge chunks of stone rolled down toward us.

"We gotta cross! Head for the plane," Garrett called out.

"But that thing looks like it could fall at any minute," Benjamin yelled.

"If it was gonna fall, it would've already," Garrett insisted. "Everybody, come on!"

"Awww. Leaving so soon?" The woman with the katanas asked as she had gained her wits again. She redoubled her approach and touched a disc near the center of her suit. It caused her to become nearly undetectable against the cliff. "Don't worry. When it happens, you won't see a thing."

As the cloaked katana wielder and hulking brute converged, we all rushed onto the wings of the plane.

Gunfire started to ring out across the chasm, causing us all to duck instinctively.

"There are more on top of the mountain!" Alistair observed.

McKenzie and his soldiers stood on the summit, their automatic rifles pointed at us.

"Crap! We're sitting ducks!" Peter cried out.

Leah dropped onto the cab of the plane and used her heel to bash open a rusted boarding door. "Inside! Now!"

We quickly jumped through into the gutted interior of the plane. Leah remained beside the door, standing guard.

I heard McKenzie's voice from outside. "Gas 'em, Mouse!"

A few moments later, a masked figure dropped onto the nose of the plane and smashed the front windshield. He hurled a series of canisters inside, and violet-colored gas drifted out of them, threatening to quickly fill the cabin.

"Oh, no! I don't have a cannon this time," Tanya said and looked around the plane for anything of use.

"There's gotta be something in here," I said, searching everywhere, including the dashboard. "Here!" I flicked a lever labeled 'Emergency Oxygen Masks.'

Panels popped open in the ceiling, and masks on rubber tubes descended over the passenger seats.

As the toxic gas rose, everyone took a seat and put on masks.

I looked around and saw Peter struggling to open a wall-mounted first aid cabinet.

"How the hell are you supposed to get this to—" he grumbled.

"Peter, what do you need in there?" Kate asked him.

Through a window in the cabinet, I saw a glistening amber figurine, and I understood why Peter was so determined to open it. He had found his idol.

Finally, the door swung open and a crumpled note fell out. 'Found this during the excavation. Silas should be interested in it. Don't show it to any of Cullen's people. –Henry.'

"Odd place to stash it," I commented. I reached in and took the idol and held it out to Peter, actually wanting him to touch it so that I could see what was in his future.

The world melted away in a wash of rippling colors.

I was suddenly in an airport waiting area. Peter and Garrett were standing next to a pile of luggage.

"Heck yeah, bro. One tropical island vacation comin' up!"

"Can't wait," Garrett smiled and clapped Peter on the back. "Hey, you find out yet?"

Peter looked uncomfortable. "Uh, nah. They'll probably email me tomorrow or somethin'."

"You got this, Chen," Garrett encouraged. "I talked to those NFL guys about you."

"You did?"

Garrett nodded. "Yeah. They were like, 'so what do you think of Sixty-Eight? He any good?'"

"And?"

"I told them the truth. They aren't gonna find a better run-blocking guard at any school in the state."

Peter smiled. "Wow. 'Preciate it, brah! I dunno, maybe I do have a shot!"

Garrett looked over Peter's shoulder. "Oh, wow. Is that Rosalie Hale?" A short distance away, Rosalie unzipped her black duffle bag and broke out her laptop. "So she's coming to El Jardín too. I haven't seen her since—"

"Sophomore year," Peter finished dejectedly.

An uncharacteristic sadness crept into Peter's expression. Garrett didn't seem to notice, though.

"No way! Garrett Gayle is coming too?" Benjamin exclaimed as he approached.

"Really? He is?" Tanya asked as she also came up.

Several other students flocked over to Garrett. His confidence and assured ease seemed to immediately dazzle them.

Peter watched as if from a completely different world. His phone suddenly lit up with a new email. "It's from them!" he exclaimed.

"Dear, Peter Chen,

Our draft scouts were glad to make your acquaintance at the Hartfeld Varsity mixer!

As I'm certain you're aware, we're limited on the number of athletes we can consider for the 2017 NFL College Draft.

While we won't be able to include you on our list, we wish you the best of luck in your future endeavors.'

The sound of cheering and laughter came from the group surrounding Garrett.

Peter's gaze fell to the floor.

The vision grew dim.

I was yanked through time and space and the inertia brought me to the edge of nausea.

When I stopped, I found myself in an unfamiliar laboratory.

Several of my friends were gathered around a computer terminal. Peter stood near a steel double door.

Edward looked over at him. "Big Guy, you comin' or not? Portal's almost ready to go!"

Peter shook his head sadly. "Ain't nothing for me back home."

A muffled explosion shook the room. The double door cracked open slightly.

"They'll be inside soon!" Leah exclaimed.

A trap door opened in the floor and everyone began climbing down. Kate waited on the ladder and looked up through the hatch.

"Peter, what the hell? Come on!"

Peter walked over to the terminal, squinted at the screen, and then tapped something. "It's been real, guys."

"Pet—"

The hatch snapped shut.

Another detonation finally knocked the double doors off its hinges. Three soldiers entered the lab.

"Surrender or be neutralized."

"Screw you!" Peter yelled.

As the soldiers readied their rifles, Peter ran headlong at them. He plowed down the group like a bunch of rag dolls, sending bodies and weapons clattering across the floor.

Peter turned to run through the door, but a towering figure blocked his way.

"Heh. Like your style, kid!"

"One side, jerkface!"

"That's my line!" The titan of a man deployed both mechanical fists into Peter's chest, and he was thrown across the room, crashing heavily against the opposite wall.

Peter slumped to the floor, gasping.

"You gonna tell your friends to come out or do I gotta make you fly again?"

Peter smirked. "You're too late. Gonna suck to have to tell Cullen you blew it again, huh? He probably wouldn't even waste a cryo tube on a loser like you. Just scrap you … for spare … parts."

Peter's chuckle turned into choking as he was held against the wall by his throat. He gasped in vain for breath and, finally, his head dropped forward.

And then I was exactly where I was moments earlier.

"Good god," I mumbled to myself.

The violet gas continued to billow through the cabin, but since we all had the masks on, it did nothing to us.

"Unless we can make this thing fly, we should probably get ou—" Benjamin started, but was unable to finish.

The screech of metal grinding against metal assaulted my ears. Leah peered out the door and her eyes widened.

"She's cutting apart the wing!"

"There's a door on the other side!" Alice told us. She pointed at a rusted door on the opposite side of the plane's cabin.

We forced the door open and climbed out into what seemed like a cloud of snow. A heavy blizzard made it impossible to see beyond a few feet.

The plane lurched violently beneath us.

"Go! Before it gets cut down!"

Everyone tried to carefully balance their way across the other wing, struggling to shield themselves from the biting cold and blasting wind.

"Form a chain!" I told the others.

We concentrated and steadily made our way across the icy wing. Finally, our feet arrived at snow-covered stone.

"We made it!"

Behind us, the woman's superheated sword sliced through the last of the wing. A loud rumble filled the air as the plane careened into the shadowy abyss.

Bullets whizzed through the densely falling snow around us.

"Get back here! Playtime isn't over yet!" The woman yelled gleefully from the other side.

"Dammit! We can't get across!" the hulk-man said angrily.

"Now's our chance! We can lose them in the blizzard!" Alice told us.

We found our way up the other side of the chasm and arrived at a wide plateau. Though it was difficult to see, I managed to discern voices over the wind.

"Garrett? Anyone?" I heard Kate from next to me.

"You guys there? Please say something." Victoria's voice reached me from my other side.

"Follow my voice! Come to me, Catalysts!" Jacorel said from ahead, and I started walking toward the sound.

"Jacorel? Where are you?"

Gradually, we all began to find each other.

Once reassembled, we held on to each other and hurried to put distance between ourselves and the chasm.

A large crate poked out of the snow ahead.

"Is that…?" I started.

"It must be cargo from the plane!" Tanya said.

Words were printed on the metal box, but there was too much ice to be able to read them.

I used the sleeve of Edward's jacket to brush away the thick layers of snow and ice.

Tempus Transglobal Tech.

"W-what?" Tanya exclaimed.

"Tanya … isn't that the name of your mother's company?" Alistair asked.

Tanya frowned angrily. "Why would they be sending equipment here?"

"I dunno, but we should keep moving. This storm doesn't look like it's going to let up," I said carefully.

We continued on through the blizzard.

Eventually, we lost track of how much time we'd spent wandering.

I'd given Edward his jacket back to give him the chance to warm up a bit, but I was already chilled to the bone.

"Uh, guys? There's something over there!" Benjamin suddenly said and pointed.

Ahead in the distance was a strangely welcoming building.

A sign half-buried in the snow read 'Elysian Lodge Resort.'

"Another resort? All the way up here?"

"We're … saved!" I breathed out. The prospect of getting inside and out of the blizzard made me thankful for anything.

"Or so one would hope," Alistair said but looked unconvinced.

A/N: So Carlisle made a holographic servant of his late wife, and she's telling the gang that there's a way for them to go home. Obviously, it won't be easy to get to the complex, and even less so now that Edward's old C.O made himself known.

Sounds like a total douche, doesn't he? Taunting Edward like that with how he comforted his mother, and then he threatens Bella! It's even more understandable why Edward hates him now!

Is the gang saved for the moment at the Lodge Resort? What do you think?

Leave your thoughts with me, I will take good care of them ;-)

Until next time,

Stay Awesome!

Teaser, Chapter 26

"Any sign of those soldiers chasing us?" I asked.

"Blizzard chased them off," Edward said from the couch. "I think we're in the clear."

Rosalie looked slightly troubled as she twisted her cup in her hands. "I've heard whispers of those 'Arachnid' people on the web, man. They're serious. You were … one of them?" she asked warily.

Edward sighed and ran his hands through his hair agitatedly. "Yeah. One of their pilots. We were supposed to be helping people … I had no idea what McKenzie was doing behind the scenes."

"Edward…" He turned to look at me worriedly, and I just knew he was expecting me to break it off with him because of his association with those 'Arachnid' soldiers. I would never do such a thing, though, because he wasn't like those people. "How did they find you?"

He exhaled sharply. "No clue. Always figured it was a matter of time, but never would've guessed they'd find me in the middle of all of this lunacy."

I sat down on the couch next to him and grabbed one of his hands in mine, choosing my next words carefully. "Edward, they're out to hurt us. We have to know how they found you."

Rosalie nodded in agreement. "Yeah, man. We gotta know how they tracked you."

Edward squeezed my hand. "I wish I could tell you. Honest. But I've got no idea."

"Damn. And I thought I had enemies," Rosalie mumbled contemplatively.

"Look, I'm sorry they found us. I know this one is on me." He looked right at me. "But I ain't gonna let them hurt you. I swear it. I swear it on everything."