It had been nearly twelve years since the trial. The Cullens were living in England, taking advantage of the typically cloudy countryside. The family had moved here only a year ago. A sunny day kept them near the home but buying a ranch had its perks. No neighbors for miles was a big one. Everyone was scattered about doing various activities when the house phone rang. Renesmee, who looked nineteen instead of her true age of eleven, answered. A second passed before the girl called out that the person on the phone wanted to speak to Carlisle. Having taken the day off of work, he was there to take the call. The caller was quiet enough that only Carlisle's side of the conversation was heard.

"This is Carlisle. Hello Tanya, how are you? Oh? Wait, what?! How did it happen? You're completely sure? Thank you Tanya. Yes, we'll make sure to keep in touch." He hung up then turned to face his family who had all gathered in the room. "Stephan and Vladimir are dead."

Esme gasped, bringing her hand to her mouth and there were various mixtures of shock and confusion on everyone else. Edward, having been too engrossed in a game of chess with Bella to pay attention to anything else, asked what happened. Carlisle ushered everyone into the large dining room before he would say anything. The doctor sighed then spoke slowly.

"Kate and Garrett were travelling through Europe and decided to check on the Romanians. When they got there, they found what was left of Vladimir and Stephan. Someone had burned their bodies but left their heads. That's not the worst part." He ran his hand through his hair, taking an unnecessary breath. Garrett found a note under one of them."

"What did it say?" Bella's voice was soft, as if not wanting to interrupt the moment.

"The Volturi will turn against us. Prepare."

Six days later and the Cullens still hadn't been able to decide what the message meant or who could have sent it. Carlisle had contacted all their friends and allies who could be reached by phone. He was sending out feelers, trying to see if anyone had taken credit for killing the Romanians. So far, no one had. The whole family was home, not wanting to be apart after finding out about the Romanian's deaths.

Alice, who had been leaning into Jasper's chest, suddenly gasped and became still as her eyes glazed over. Using his gift immediately, Edward's shoulders tensed as he saw Alice's vision with her. As the seconds ticked by the rest of the family became more and more worried. Alice's visions usually only lasted fifteen seconds or so but this one was already over a minute long.

"They were right, whoever killed the Romanians, they were right. I don't know why I didn't see this sooner. The Volturi are coming. They're going to try to collect everyone and I do mean everyone. Join or die, that's the choice." Alice spoke quickly, agony lacing through her words. She sobbed at the things she was seeing. "No more nomads, no more covens, they want to make one giant clan."

"This won't just affect those of us who have gifts." Edward spoke up, his voice hollow. "They want everyone. It doesn't make sense. There wasn't any warning. What was the trigger? It doesn't make sense! Humans will be affected too. Caius plans on using them like cattle; locked in pens until it's time for the slaughter."

"We can't let them do this. We have to tell people, we have to try to stop this." Esme's voice was soft but determined. This event would likely cause many, many deaths and that was something she was not comfortable with. Looking around she could tell that her children felt the same. Bella grabbed her from off the couch and dialed a number that hadn't been answered in years. As usual, the line rang over and over before going to an automated voicemail.

"Evangeline it's me. Listen, I don't know where you are or what you've been doing but something's happened. Something bad. The Volturi are planning to attack everyone. Every vampire in the world is in danger." Bella sighed then spoke even more quietly into the phone. "If you get this, can you call me back? Or even come to visit. That'd be great. I really miss you Eves."

Three weeks after Alice's vision, Bella still hadn't heard back from Evangeline. The whole family was worried about the woman and even her mate. If Evangeline was swayed to join the Volturi again her gift would be used to further the attack, other vampires wouldn't stand a chance against her power. The family had come to the decision that they were going to search for the two before the Volturi found them. Therefore the Cullen clan, Jacob included, were getting ready to leave. They had all resigned from their jobs, removed themselves from school rosters, and set about making all the preparations to move.

Moving from place to place was extremely easy when you've had years of practice. Being able to load a vehicle with all your things in less than five minutes helped too. This time however the family was leaving anything behind that they didn't need for travel. Alice and Rosalie had been visibly pouting for the last week after being told that they could only bring one backpack full of clothes each. Bella, unconcerned with the luggage restriction, was packing her backpack carefully. Edward was loading things into the car outside.

Suddenly a soft fluttering caressed Bella's thoughts, Evangeline was trying to communicate through their bond. Closing her eyes to concentrate Bella opened the barrier keeping her mind separate and let the connection flow through her. Feelings came first, Evangeline hadn't meant to be away so long and she felt terrible about it. After silently assuring her twin that she wasn't upset, Bella followed the gentle pull on her mind. The woman was suddenly looking through her sister's eyes. Evangeline stood atop a large hill and it was the middle of the night, she seemed to be relatively close to Bella. Less than a mile away from where Evangeline stood she could see Volterra castle. It was completely engulfed in flames and vampire hearing could catch the pained screams coming from inside. Humans fled the city but it looked as though not a single vampire had escaped the castle.

"The Volturi are no more. I'll meet you and the rest of your coven in three days, Quebec." Evangeline's voice drifted through the bond before the image faded and the connection closed again. Bella drifted back into her own body only to feel herself being shaken. The whole thing had taken several minutes. Edward's hands were wrapped around her upper arms, worried face only a foot away from hers. He let out a loud sigh of relief as his wife's eyes snapped open to meet his.

"There you are! I was worried when you didn't move. What happened?" The rest of the family had gathered in the room, looking at Bella worriedly. She quickly told everyone what she had seen and what her sister had said. They agreed that going to Quebec was their best plan of action but cautiously. If Evangeline had truly destroyed the Volturi, there was no telling what she was planning to do after or what her reason was for the slaughter.