JUNE 21ST
11:30 AM
T.J. POV
When Bertram and Wilfred arrived, all of us felt a little anxious.
FLASHBACK
The black stallion and white tiger burst from the forest and trotted into the back yard. They both eyed all of us before they changed back. Bertram was grinning openly but Wilfred was stiff and his eyes scanned our group.
"Hello, hello." Bertram waved.
"Bertram." I said with a nod. "Didn't think one could be a horse animagus but it seems to suit you well." I murmured and he grinned even more.
"Judging from the green eyes, you must be Thomas." He said and I nodded once. I glanced at my mate and noticed that she had tensed up slightly. I patted her shoulder and she calmed down. I looked behind me at my boys who were peering at the new arrivals with intrest. I turned back to Bertram when he started speaking. "I'm also going to guess that it was you who told all of them that we were coming?" He asked.
"Partially." I answered.
"Oh that's right, one of you is a mind reader." He murmured and our group exchanged looks. Their intell must be very good. Bertram eyed all of us before his eyes landed on Edward.
"Bertram," Wilfred said in a warning tone, speaking for the first time since they got here. Bertram turned to him and rolled his eyes.
"Alright alright, don't get your panties in a bunch." He waved him off and a few of us snickered at the look on Wilfred's face. "Anyway, you know who we fought and why, correct?"
We all nodded before Carlisle spoke.
"We didn't think that they would come here," He said. "We have some files from one of their members along with a laptop but-"
"She wasn't just a member." Wilfred interrupted and we satred at him.
"Excuse me?" Carlisle raised his eyebrows. I did a quick scan of the future and his answer was a little unnerving.
"I said she wasn't just a member." Wilfred said. "I know that she has several fake identities, but her real name is Jenna Parkinson and her family is the one that founded the group over 200 years ago. She was sort of like the princess of their kingdom. Her father, Alexander Parkinson, is the one who ordered all of those men to come here despite being told not to."
"Told by your boss right?" I asked as I noticed that several people turned to glare at Makhai.
"Yes," He nodded. "Our employer has a lot of power here in the states along with other families but he was the one who told the leader of the Lions to back off when he heard about the plot against your family."
"Why would he help us?" Embry frowned. "Not trying to sound ungrateful but this is a little suspect."
"He respects you," Wilfred said honestly and we all frowned slightly. What did we do that made him respect us? "He knows all about you." Wilfred explained when he noticed our frowns. "He's knows your tribes history," He nodded to us wolves. "He knows about the Volturi and what they tried to do."
"He said that even though you knew that the trial was just for show," Bertram began. " You kept it together and you made it a little entertaining. At least that was what he thought when we were provided a memory of what happened."
"Provided by whom?" Carlisle asked.
"One of the 'witnesses' for the Volturi is a friend of ours," Wilfred murmured and we all raised an eyebrow. "He sometimes plays mole for us if we ask. We didn't ask him to do it this past time but he heared the whispers about what was going to happen so he tagged along. He sent us a message later along with his memory of the event."
"Would you have helped us?" Edward asked sharply and we turned to him. "If your friend was able to get a message to you during the trial, would you have helped us?"
Some of us looked like they wanted an answer to that question but the rest of us frowned at Edward, thinking what had possessed him to ask that question. Wilfred and Bertram narrowed their eyes at him, their postures rigid. There was a tense silence that was broken by Bertram.
"If the evidence showed that you were guilty, and if you were unrepentant about your crimes, then no, we wouldn't." He said seriously. "However, if you were proven innocent, which you were, and if the Volturi were adamant on destroying you, which they were, then yes, we would help you."
"We don't make it a point to save everyone who cries for help," Wilfred added. "If we can help, we'll help but sometimes you need to let others sink or swim on their own. I know that sounds harsh but that's reality."
"But back to the Lions," Bertram murmured as some of us frowned at Wilfred's comment. I did think that he said it harshly but he had a point. "Our boss lead the opposition against Parkinson's idea to come here but Parkinson did it anyway. His big excuse was that his daughter was supposed to report in despite the fact that she was on a 6 month vacation. Tell me, what happened to her?"
"She's dead," A small voice piped up and we turned to the sound. It was Henry who spoke.
"And how do you know that little one?" Wilfred asked him softly as he frowned slightly. He clearly didn't understand how Henry knew about what happened to her.
"I was the one who did it." Henry murmued. "She died giving birth to me."
Wilfred's eyes went wide as did Bertram's.
"You're her son?" Bertram asked.
"No," Henry shook his head. "I said she gave birth to me this," He grabbed Rosalie's hand. "Is my mama, not Jenna Parkinson." He said holtly with narrowed eyes.
"My apologies." Bertram held up his hands in surrender. "I didn't mean to upset you." Henry nodded to him though he still looked miffed. "If you don't mind my asking, are you a hybrid child? Your heartbeat suggests that you are."
"You can hear my heartbeat?" Henry asked in surprise and Bertram smiled at him.
"Horses have very good hearing." He replied.
"So do Tigers," Wilfred murmured as he looked at the children. "I take it that you don't want anyone to know about them?" He gestured to the kids and we all nodded. He cleared his throat and held up his hands. "I, Wilfred White IV, do swear on my life and on my magic that I will not willingly reveal any information I have learned and will learn here today from the Olympic Coven, The wolf shifters of the Quiluete tribe, or their friends without their express permission. So I say it, so mote it be!"
There was a large flash of light that pulsed through the area, signalling that his oath was geniune and accepted. Bertram followed next.
"I, Bertram Narcissus Black," He began. "Do swear on my life and on my magic that I will not willingly reveal any information I have learned and will learn here today from the Olympic Coven, The wolf shifters of the Quiluete tribe, or their friends without their express permission. So I say it, so mote it be!"
Another light pulsed through the area.
"Your middle name is Narcissus?" I asked Bertram who nodded. Narcissus, in Greek mythology, was a hunter and was exceptionally proud, at least in the way he disdained those who loved him. The goddess Nemesis, heard tale of him and sought to teach him a lesson. She lead him to a pond so that he could see his reflection, something he promptly fell in love with. He stayed there until his dying day. His name was where the word narcissism was derived from.
"My father did it in tribute to his sister, Narcissa, who lives in the U.K." He answered and I frowned. There was only one Narcissa that I knew of in the U.K. and last I checked, she only had sisters.
"You're not talking about Narcissa Malfoy are you?"
"She's my aunt." He murmured.
"But how is that possible," Embry asked, frowning. He, like me, was a fan of the Harry Potter series and while we don't expect it to be one hundred percent accurate, that still didn't mean we believed that it was wrong. "Cygnus and Druella Black only had three daughters, there was never a mention of them having a son."
Bertram's face had darkened through out Embry's sentence.
"Yes well, my father, along with my aunt Octavia, was deemed unworthy of being apart of the Black family." He said darkly and all of us frowned. "The basics of this story ladies and germs is that my father didn't want to join the dark lord and my aunt didn't want to be married to Lord Crabbe. What was done to them was just as bad if not worse than what happened to my aunt Andromeda."
He paused and took in a deep breath.
"The year was 1975," He continued. "My father turned 17 years old and my aunt was 14 at the time. My charming grandfather thought that my father was going to join the dark lord once he reached his majority. My dad refused outright and was giving an ultimatum, join the Death Eaters, or be cast out."
"If he was cast out, he wouldn't be able to keep his surname." Esmerelda frowned. "So how is it that you have the name Black?"
"I have the name Black because my father wasn't cast out," Bertram said. "He was forgotten."
We all frowned except Esmerelda who gasped.
"They didn't." She breathed.
"They did." Bertram nodded grimly.
"I'm sorry but what did they do?" Carlisle questioned.
"There's a charm called the Fidelius charm," Esmerelda said. "It's a very complex and powerful charm that allows someone to hide anything with the help of a secret keeper, someone who knows the secret, no matter what it is. It could be a house or a book or a person."
Embry and I had stared at each other with wide eyes. We both knew what the charm could do before Esmerelda explained it but if Bertram was implying what I think he was, this was a very messed up situation. I glanced at the others and they looked horrified. They were obviously thinking the same thing.
"Who was the secret keeper?" Embry and I asked Bertram at the same time. Normally we would have laughed at each other for doing so but this was serious.
"Lord Orion Black." Was the response.
"If that's the case, then your family should have been remembered." I said. "He died in the late 70's along with his youngest son, Regulus."
The Regulus in our group looked startled but made no comment.
"When the secret keeper dies, the secret is revealed." Embry added to my comment. "At least that's what it says in the description of the charm though it's a bit weird in regard to what happened with the Potter's."
"Normally you two would be right," Bertram began. "But Orion combined family magic with the charm so the next Lord Black has to be the one to reverse the the effects."
"And since Sirius was the last of the Black family males, and since he didn't know or pass the knowledge on to his successor," I murmured as my head started to spin.
"Then it wouldn't be reversed." Embry finished, eyes wide in horror.
I shifted nervously and I couldn't help but think about what it would be like if my family forgot who I was. I shuddered at the thought, that would have been horrible. Not to mention that they wouldn't be able to get help from anyone because they wouldn't be remebered. I wonder how they worked it out here.
"So your family was stuck," Esmerelda said. "But I'm guessing that since they came here, everything got better?"
"A little." Bertram shrugged. "While America is a part of the ICW, the International Confederation of Wizards, basically the United Nations for magic users." He explained when he saw the confused looks that some people sported. "While they are apart of that, they don't particularly like the British magical goverment and society. They feel that they're too backwards and well, stupid. Despite all of that, when they heard the story from my dad and my aunt, they were welcomed here with open arms."
He paused and a small smile crept onto his face.
"As far as anyone is concerned in the UK, Octavia and Cassius Black do not exists," He went on. " Here, they do. My dad and his sister basically gave up their British identities but kept their names when they became American citizens. They said that while it was sad to give up everything else, they were not giving up their names. It was rough for them but they're ok now."
There was a small beat of silence that was broken by Tristan.
"Why did you want to meet us so badly?" He asked Bertram.
"Well," Bertram said slowly. "Like my boss, I respect all of you and...I wanted to let you know that some of us are um related."
All of us blinked at him except for Wilfred.
"Come again?" I said.
"I said some of us are related," He replied. "Those of you that have Black blood running through your veins at least."
"Hey now, Black is a very common surname," Jacob pointed out. "Just because we have that name, doesn't mean we're related."
Several of us nodded in agreement and Bertram sighed before he reached into his jacket.
"Don't worry," He said when he saw that a few of us had tensed. "It's just a roll of parchment." He pulled his hand out and held up an aged piece of paper that was rolled up. He threw it away from him and it unrolled by itself before it floated about 5 feet in the air. It then started to expand until it was roughly the size of a barn door.
"Those of you who drink blood should hold your breath." Bertram said as he drew his sword and cut his hand using the bottom of the blade. The vampires, more specifically the ones who drank human blood stiffened. Bertram walked over to the enlarged paper and threw some of his blood on it. Nothing happened at first until some words and designs started appearing on the paper.
Upon further inspection I realized that it was creating a family tree and not just any tree, but the Black family tree. At the top of the paper there was the Black family crest. It was a black shield that was filled with a white sword at the bottom, two white stars in the top corners and a white stripe that pointed upwards in the middlie of the shield. Above the shield was a human skull with another star above it. On the sides of the shield were two black dogs standing on their back legs, each with a paw on the sheild, both wearing fierce expressions. Both of them had a piece of a scroll in one of their bottom paws. The scroll had the words 'Toujours Pur'. It was that Black family motto that translated to 'Always pure' in French.
I already knew most of these names, as did Embry, but there were names on here that we hadn't seen before like Eduardus or Kristoff or Marietta.
"They were all cast out." Bertram murmured as he examined his hand and I raised an eyebrow at him. "The names you're looking at, they were cast out of the family."
"Cast out for what?" Carlisle asked without taking his eyes off the paper.
"Various reason's," Bertram shrugged. "Like him," He pointed to the name Eduardus. "He got cast out for being a squib."
"What's a squib?" Several people asked.
"Someone who is born into a magical family but posesses no magic powers." Bertram explained. "It's the opposite of a muggle born. Someone with magic powers born to a non magical family."
"He got kicked out for not producing magic?" Carlisle asked, horrified.
"Pretty much." Bertram nodded. "For a pure blooded line, producing a squib is very taboo. Oh look there's me!" He pointed to his name which was connected to Cassius Apollo Black and Lucretia Guinevere Nero, his parents. There was also another name, Artemis Dorea Black connected to them. "That's my sister." He offered when he saw us look at the name.
I looked at the name Octavia Ursula Black which was next to Narcissa Lyra Malfoy and saw that she was married to Claudius Caesar Nero. They have three children; Artorius Mathias Nero, Tiberius Andrew Nero, and Drusilla Bellatrix Nero. The last name Nero was very familiar for some reason. I was going to ask Bertram about them later.
"Now let's see, ah here we go," Bertram continued and pointed at a woman named Isla Black. "She got kicked out for marrying someone who was not apart of the magical world. Here," He pointed to Cedrella Black and her husband Septimus Weasely. "She married a pure blooded wizard but since he was a member of the light and in their definition, a blood traitor, she got kicked out of the family. I think that's hypocritical because she," He pointed to Dorea Black and her husband Charlus Potter. "And her," He pointed to Calidora Black and her husband Harfang Longbottom. "Married members of the light but got to stay in the family."
"Well to be fair," I began. "The Potters and the Longbottoms were far more respectable than the Black family. If I remember correctly, their families were well established in the time of Merlin himself, maybe even before." I glanced at Embry for comformation and he nodded at me. "It would have been social and political suicide if they ejected those women from the family." I turned back to Bertram. "I may not like the European pure blood agenda and politics but I know how they work."
"I know that," He muttered. "But if they were so set in their ways they should have just done what they did before." He sighed before turning to all of us. "Can anyone tell me if they notice anything strange about this tree?"
"You have all the disowned members on it." Embry said and Bertram nodded.
"This is different from the one in number 12 Grimmauled place, mainly because of that but it works all the same." Bertram said. He turned back to the tree and pointed to Marius Black. There was his name and a few blank spots underneath. "He is one of your links to the Black family. When he got cast out, he used whatever money he had on him along with some favors he called in to get here to the states. He moved here to Washington and met a young woman named Elizabeth Young of the Makah tribe."
My jaw dropped, Emily said that her great-grandma's name was Elizabeth and that she married a man with no name when she told her some of her family history. Her daughter, Martha, ended up marrying Ephraim Black.
"You're pulling our legs." Jacob muttered though he looked like he didn't buy what he just said.
"Give me your blood then," Bertram said. "Give me your blood and throw it on the parchment. The worse that could happen would be that you have a cut."
Jacob hesitated and I scanned the future. Nothing bad was going to happen but there was going to be a huge surprise.
"Do it Jacob," I said and he turned to me. "It'll be alright. Just use your claws, it'll do the trick."
There was nothing in the world that could pierce Jacob's skin except his teeth and his claws. He had done that as an experiment awhile ago, to see if it would work and it did.
He nodded reluctantly and he extended his claws on his right hand.
"Just to warn you," Bertram started. "When this works and it will, this will appear on your arm." He rolled up his left sleeve to reveal a tattoo of the Black family crest. It was basically the same thing except the dogs weren't there at all, there was a dagger going through the shield with the skull serving as the end of the handle. The scroll wrapped around the handle of the dagger and it had different words now. Instead of Toujours Pur it read Fils de maison des Black. "It will appear on those who have the same blood. The inscription reads Son of house Black."
"Er what if you're a female?" Leah asked, speaking up for the first time since the start of this meeting.
"Then it will read Fille de la maison noire." Bertram replied. "Which means Daughter of house Black."
"What about the children?" Tanya demanded as she grabbed our boys who looked excited. I had told her about my family line and and showed her the family tree early on in our relationship. She knew that through me that the boys were apart of the Black and Uley lines. Now, with this revelation of us being related to wizards and us getting new tattoos, she would be a little defensive. While she wasn't against tattoos in general, she did not want the boys to get any while they were young. I agreed completely, much to the disappointment of the twins.
"They'll be fine," He told her firmly and the boys pouted. "They'll get it when they're of age. Though whether it will be their physical or chronological age, I'm not sure. Their heritage makes it a little difficult to be sure on that part."
Tanya didn't looked entirely convinced but nodded anyway.
Jacob nicked the plam of his hand and threw his blood on to the parchment. The names on the parchment shurnk as more names were added in connection to Marius Black but also to Phineas Black, son of Phineas Nigellus, who was thrown out of the family for supporting the idea to give magical rights to non magical people.
We all watched in awe as the dots were connected to Jacob Black Sr. He was the son of Phineas Black and Kilala Longfree. This was not known in our tribe because our records only went as far back to Thomas Uley, Quil Ateara I and Jacob Black Sr. Anything before was either hidden or lost, but now we had information of how the line really started.
We turned to Marius and Elizabeth and saw that they had four children. Three boys named Jonah, David, and Wayne along with their only daughter, Martha.
I galnced down at my arm when I felt it start to burn a little. The tattoo of the crest was starting to appear very slowly. I glanced at the other wolves that share Black blood with me (Jake, Leah, Seth, Collin and Brady). They were getting the tattoo as well. It was over in less than a minute and I examined it before I looked back to the paper.
"This explains so much," I murmured and everyone turned to me. "Why the Black family has always been the strongest of the lines in La Push, it's because of the magic in our blood."
"But we can't-" Jacob began but Embry cut him off.
"Produce magic but you're still strong," He said. "T.J. is right, that's why that line is superior. I know it doesn't make sense because none of you can do magic but maybe that the magic in your blood combined itself with the wolf gene, causing it to grow stronger. I mean you got a double dose of Black family magic despite one of the sources being 'magicless'."
Jacob snapped his mouth shut and went back to examining his tattoo.
"How come we don't have the motto?" He asked Bertram.
"Because magic recognizes you as a member, not a pure blood fanatic." Bertram answered. "It still makes you legitimate members of the family though, just off a different branch from them." He jabbed his thumb towards the likes of Walburga and Orion Black, the parents of Sirius Orion Black and Regulus Arcturus Black.
My eyes glazed over for a moment before I turned back to the others.
"Uh Jake we need to get to La Push," I said and he turned to me. "Jared, Danielle, and Derek just got their tattoos and their starting to freak out. Larry just got his so expect a call from Kiara." He nodded at me and began talking to the others. I turned to Bertram and Wilfred. "You two better come with us. And bring that with you." I pointed to the family tree.
Bertram nodded in agreement but Wilfred nodded reluctantly. He obviously wanted to head back home but he didn't want to leave Bertram alone.
"Let's head out." Jacob said after he gave Nessie a hug and sprinted away. Bertram and Wilfred followed in their other forms. One by one, we left after we hugged our mates or children before we ran to La Push.
END FLASHBACK
It took some time to calm Jared, Danielle, and Derek down but when we did, we explained the situation and showed them the tree. They were shocked along with the others to discover the origins of the Black family. They were even more shocked to discover that we had ties to England. Leah and Seth had some distant relatives there but they never met them, they just knew of them. The council was excited to have more knowledge about the family lines. Bertram said that he would get any journals he had that had any information on the Black family and those who were cast out. That way they could know who else we were related to.
Before they left, I asked Bertam about his cousins. He said that Artorius was his boss and the head of Nero Enterprises. And that's where I heard the name. The company was a massive empire that dealt in weapons, medicine, and all sorts of stuff. At least in the human world, I didn't ask what they did in the magical world. They said that they would stay in contact and that if we needed anything, we could just ask.
We had called our friends who stood by us over to talk and let them know what happened.
FLASHBACK
Our friends appeared in the back yard of the mansion. Esmerelda had sent them messages and portkeys that would bring them here if they wished to come. They didn't fall down but they looked a little weirded out by the means of transportation. Everyone accepted their invitations except for Amun which wasn't all that surprising.
"Welcome friends." Carlisle said. "I see you all got here fine."
The others nodded and we exchanged hellos.
"What's all this about?" Randall asked but he was looking passed us.
"We have some introductions to make." Carlisle murmured and many foot steps headded towards us. The hybrids came out, then the Snakes and the Sobeks. Tanya brought out our boys, Embry and Irina brought Sasha. Rosalie and Emmett came out with Henry. As they did this, we let the others know who was who. Our friends were shocked to see more hybrid children, especially when Embry and I introduced our children. They didn't ask out right but I could tell that they were curious about how they were our kids. The kids themselves were polite to everyone. Tristan and Erik walked over to the Romanians.
"Hiya, I'm Tristan." My oldest son said.
"And I'm Erik." My youngest one added.
Both of them held out their hands and I grabbed Tanya's wrist when she made a move in their direction. She glared at me but I just smiled at her before glancing back to my friends and my boys.
"Hello children, I am Vladimir." Vladimir shook Tristan's hand before taking Erik's.
"And I am Stefan." Stefan repeated the process.
Both of the boys cocked their heads to the left and adopted thoughtful looks.
"You know," Tristan began. "Our uncle Embry and our uncle Jacob have nick names for you two."
Tristan, what are you doing? I demanded mentally as I glanced at Jake and Embry who both looked worried.
Don't worry daddy, He replied. I know that you hate it when uncle Jacob and uncle Embry make fun of your friends so we're going to call them out on it.
Yeah daddy, don't worry. Erik murmured.
I smiled at the two of them as they continued. This was really nice of them.
"Do they now?" Stefan raised his eyebrows before glancing at Jake and Embry. Vladimir did the same thing and my brothers shifted nervously.
"And what would they be?" He asked my boys.
"We're not entirely sure what they mean," Erik said. "But they call you Dracula one and Dracula two."
"We don't know which is which," Tristan added before they could speak. Jacob and Embry went a little pale and the others just stared at my sons. Tanya looked mortified and I stifled a laugh at the looks on everyone's faces. "But that's what they say. Do you know what they mean?"
The Romanians smiled.
"I believe it has to do with the way we talk." Vladimir said.
"And the idea of us being like the character of of Count Dracula," Stefan added. "A character that we created with Bram Stoker, not that anyone knew that."
We all raised an eyebrow at them.
"What?" Vladimir shrugged. "We got the jump on the idea and made a killing in the market before someone else could."
"It was a very good deal." Stefan agreed.
"So you're not mad at them?" The boys asked in unison, looking slightly disappointed. Jake and Embry narrowed their eyes at the boys.
"Should we be?" The Romanians asked back with both eyebrows raised.
"Er," Was the reply.
"No we are not angry," Vladimir murmured.
"We have been called worse things," Stefan replied.
"Things we will not repeat here." They both said together.
The boys nodded and walked back over to us. They looked a little put out but made no comment. I glanced around the area.
Everyone looked interested in the older hybrids especially the Amazonians who froze in their spots when they laid their eyes on Zeus, Phobos, and Deimos. The three hybrids slowly made their way to them and I couldn't help but smile. I already knew that they would be mates but it was nice to see it in person.
When the last of our group (Athenadora, Sulspicia, Felix, Heidi, Santiago, Demetri, and Tabitha) walked out all conversations stopped.
"This is unexpected." Peter drawled with Charlotte nodding in agreement. They along with the others had narrowed their eyes at Demetri, Felix, Heidi and Santiago who had joined us not to long after what happened at the castle. He didn't want to fight for Aro anymore and he got out of Italy as quick as possible. He came here because he had no where to go.
They didn't pay that much attention to the wives who seemed to panic slightly when eyes were laid on them.
"What are they doing here?" Vladimir spat as he glared at the afformentioned vampires. Stefan was glaring at them too but he didn't say anything.
"Vladimir, they are our friends." I said and several people snorted. "They left the Volturi and they are here to help fight what's left of them."
While some people looked dubious the rest raised an eyebrow.
"What do you mean, what's left of them?" Siobhan asked. I turned to Esmerelda.
"Mind helping me out here?" I asked and she nodded.
Like with Makhai's memories, we were transported in to the memory itself.
"This is a memory of what happened in Volterra." Esmerelda said as our friends looked around. "What happened here is why we called you."
Our friends watched in fascination as the scene played out. It started with us entering the elevator. A few people snorted at what Embry said but Irina smacked him in the back of the head. He pouted at her but she just glared at him. Several people narrowed their eyes at Antonio but didn't say anything. They looked at Felix curiously when he defended us.
"What did you say?" Mary asked when Embry and I started arguing in Quiluete.
"We were basically arguing about Embry's lack of control," I shrugged and Embry rolled his eyes at me. "And that is Tabitha chewing us out for being over protective." I said as the memory showed us looking at our cousin.
The memory showed us enter the throne room. Then came the next scene where the kings came in. All jaws dropped when Demetri and Felix declared that they were retiring.
"You really did leave?" Srefan asked Felix and Demetri incredulously. The others had the same looks on their faces.
"We had good reason's." Was the stiff reply from the two of them.
"Indeed," Vladimir murmured as he eyed Tabitha before he turned to me. "Is this what all this is about?"
"Keep watching." I said as the discussion between Caius and I came up. Tanya grumbled under her breath and the boys growled when he insulted me. I just shrugged it off.
"That's the best that they can come up with?" Allistair said, speaking for the first time from his spot up in a tree. He looked even more nervous than when he came here the last time. "You couldn't be replaced, so they had to keep you?"
Felix and Demetri shrugged as the fight was shown. All the jaws from our friends dropped at what they saw. Their eyes were almost popping out of their skulls. After it was done, no one said anything for a long time. They looked like they didn't believe what they saw but they knew we wouldn't lie to them.
"You depleted their forces in less than 5 minutes," Vladimir said slowly, breaking the silence, as he walked towards me with Stefan trailing behind. They didn't look angry, instead they looked even more incredulous than when they saw that Felix and Demetri did leave.
"Which is a feat that no one has been able to do, ever." Stefan continued.
"You allowed their weapons to survive," Vladimir went on.
"And you just left the rest alone?" Stefan finished and I shrugged. When it was put like that, it sounded really stupid.
"Our main priority was to make sure that no harm came to them," I pointed at the last group that came out of the house. "I knew there would be a fight but I wasn't going to over do it. While I despise Aro and Caius, I have no personal vendetta against them whereas there are many people in the world and several people here who do." I waved my hand around. "Look, we didn't tell you this to ask for your help to fight, we told you this to warn you that things are going to get nasty." I paused and glanced at everyone. "Those two are going to be very desperate and they'll call in every favor that they can think of to try and get back at us, we just wanted all of you to know what was what and, if you wanted too, you could warn other people you may be friends with."
"We are staying." My Romanian friends declared.
"We call for renforcements and check with our sources if need be." Vladimir murmured.
"But we are not leaving." Stefan said firmly.
"We're staying too." Charlotte said simply and Peter nodded.
"So will we." Siobhan said with the rest of her clan nodding along with what she said.
"Do you even need to ask?" Mary said dryly.
"I'm not going anywhere anytime soon." Randall added.
"We will stay." Zafrina said as she stood next to Zeus. The other Amazonians just nodded without looking away from their mates. Allistair said he would stay, mainly to make up for what happened the last time.
Now all we had to do was train and wait.
END FLASHBACK
We explained how we got our powers to our friends. They were very intrigued with the story and asked us lot's of questions. The training was interesting, especially with Esmerelda's help.
FLASHBACK
"Watch what I do and repeat after me." Esmerelda told Angela. She had taken a liking to Angela and taught her some things that she learned over the years. "Animus locomotum." She waved a hand and the marble and metal statue she conjured glowed before it began to move. Angela repeated the process and produced the same results.
"These will act like vampire replica's," Esmerelda explained. "They're at the same consistency as anyone of you," She waved towards the vampires. "They will simulate our enemies, complete with all the basic vampire abilities." She looked at us. "Well give it a whirl." She murmured. "Or are you just going to stand there all day?"
I shrugged and stepped forward as did Embry. The others hung back and watched. I heard the instrumental of Undead by Hollywood Undead in the background which was being played on Henry's radio, juke box combo that he built when he was about a week old.
"Attack." Esmerelda and Angela said and the statue swung at me. I caught the swing with one hand and punched the statue with the other. The action caused the statue to fly back with one arm ripped off. The statue jumped up and charged at me. I threw the limb that was in my hand at the statue's head. The force and speed that the staute was travelling at, along with the force and speed at which I threw the arm at, caused the arm to shatter and the head to snap off.
I turned to Embry who was rolling around laughing along with a few others. I saw that he had ripped of all the limbs of his statue but kept the head on and left it to lie on it's back. It was flopping around like a fish.
"It's not that funny Levitas," I said. Embry had decided that it would be cool if we all had code names. We thought he was being stupid but after some thought, we all warmed up to the idea. I call Embry Levitas because it was were the word Levitation was derived from. Jacob became Behemoth, because of his size and strength. Leah became Tempest because her favorite play to read was William Shakespeare's The Tempest, which sort of played with the idea of teleportation. Seth was known as Armory. Brady became Wildfire, Collin became Earthshaker, Matilda became Riptide, Tabitha became Hurricane and I became Second Sight.
"Oh yes it is," He gasped between his laughter before jumping to his feet. "Where's your's?" He asked before looking at my downed statue. "You dealt with that in what, two moves?"
"Pretty much."
"Well," Esmerelda said. "That was interesting now let's see how you deal with more." She snapped her fingers. The two statues righted themselves, complete with limbs and other apendages. Then more appeared out of thin air. I did a quick head count, there were 20 this time around.
"I'll take the 10 on the left," Embry told me and I looked at him.
"And I'l take the 10 on the right." I nodded before we both rushed forward with fierce snarls. I leapt into the air, arms raised, claws extended, back arched before gravity did it's work and brought me back down. I brought my hands down, and smashed through the first statue that crossed my path. I raked my claws across another statue's neck, slicing the head off. I grabbed the statue's arms and ripped them off. I smacked several statue heads off with them. I shoved both of them into one statue before I pushed it down and stomped on it's neck.
I had one statue left as did Embry. I grinned as a thought came to me.
"Hey Levitas," I called and he looked at me as we circled the last of our enemies. "Double whammy?" I asked when we stopped moving and were on opposite ends of each other
"You're on." He grinned, catching on to the Power Rangers reference.
Both statues charged at us. We shoved them back and they hit each other, standing back to back. I spun on my heel, jumped up, and brought my foot up to kick my statue in the face. Embry did the same thing. My foot went through the statue and connected with Embry's foot. The statues crumbled to the ground as Embry and I stood there.
"You're aim was off," I commented as I brought my foot down, I heard a small round of applause behind me. "You leaned two inches to your left, any further and all you would have done was hit your opponent instead of crushing their head."
"He's right daddy," Sasha commented from her spot near a tree. All the kids were sitting close to her and watching us too. They were the ones clapping. "But other than that you did good."
"Just good?" Embry said looking offended and Sasha rolled her eyes.
"Don't look at me like that," She murmured. "Nobody's perfect."
"You did good daddy," Erik told me and Tristan nodded in agreement before he spoke.
"You could have been faster after your initial attack," He said. "But you get brownie points for using limbs for weapons. Speaking of weapons, how come you didn't use yours?"
"I don't use my weapons on easy opponents," I explained. "And it's been awhile since I've gone hand to hand on anyone."
He nodded with a thoughtful look on his face.
"So when do we train?" Henry asked excitedly. The other kids looked excited at the idea.
"You are not fighting!" Several people hissed and I sighed. A few of the kids deflated while the others looked miffed. I walked over to them and sat down before pulling my boys into my lap. I patted the spaces next to me and the other kids scooted closer.
"While that could have been said better," I said with a glare towards my family. Some looked sheepish others looked defiant. "I have to agree with that idea."
"Dad!" My boys cried and the other kids voiced their displeasure.
"No, listen to me." I pressed. "Listen. I know that all of you want to play your parts but we are not letting you anywhere near this fight."
"So what, we have to sit around on our asses and wait?" Henry demanded.
"Henry Matthew Cullen!" Rosalie screeched. Emmett tried to look stern but his goofy ass grin ruined the image.
"Not now mama," Henry murmured to her with a dismissive wave. "I need a quick answer. Besides, it was daddy who taught me how to talk like that." Emmett's grin disappeared as Rosalie rounded on him and began to punch him repeatedly.
"Idiot- Big dummy-What were you thinking?" Were some of the things she said in between punches. Emmett couldn't really respond except in yelps and groans. Henry let out a full belly laugh at the sight. He and Emmett had been trying to get each other in trouble for a while now by playing pranks on other members of the family. The other kids helped them out from time to time. Sometimes I helped Emmett because it would have been funny to get Henry. Sometimes I helped Henry out of obligation as his godfather and other times I just stayed out of it.
"Well, oh godson of mine," I began. "That's essentially what you have to do. But don't fret," I added when their faces fell. "Maybe you can help your aunt Alice find something stylish for all of you to wear?" I grinned as my boys, Henry and Sasha paled. I felt bad for dragging my boys and my niece into this with Henry but hey, it's funny to watch them run away from Alice. Speaking of Alice, she was jumping up and down and squealing in delight.
"No!" The kids, apart from Nessie, yelled before they ran in different directions.
"Henry! Sasha! Tristan! Erik! Get back here!" Alice yelled. "Jazzy, grab them!"
Jasper sighed as he ran after his godsons who phased and yipped as they ran around.
"Is this really the time for this?" Vladimir asked me.
"There's always time for fashion!" Alice yelled as she made a grab for Henry.
"Uh uh, you are not dressing me up as a leprechaun!' He said as he dodged her hand.
"I was not going to dress you up as a leprechaun!" Alice shrieked.
Ugly green jacket, ugly green bowler hat, ugly green pants, Tristan put in our heads. All you were missing was a cauldron filled with gold coins and a shillelagh! Amy, help me! He ran to hide behind his imprint who glared at Jasper, daring him to come closer. Erik ran to Angela and hid behind her. Sasha did the same with Poseidon and Henry stood next to Esmerelda as Rosalie was still smacking Emmett around. Nessie didn't run around but she did move closer to her parents, laughing hysterically at the sight of her 'brothers' and 'sister' running around.
"You can help pick something out for our parents," Sasha suggested when Alice pouted, and I barely fought the urge to roll my eyes. So young and so naïve, did she really think that could work?
"Enough of that," Embry said. "Let's get back to training, and get something to eat."
This is not over daddy, Tristan warned me with narrowed eyes which was mirrored by Erik, and Henry. We'll get you back.
Do your worst son. I thought with a smile.
END FLASHBACK
That's what it's been like for the past few weeks. There were a few attempts by rogue vampires who tried to go after our families. They never made it past the state line.
Mary, Randall, and Maggie were imprinted on by Derek, Danielle, and Jack when our brothers and sisters joined the training sessions. Their imprints were frantic when their mates had to go through their ascension. Neither of them hunted in those three days.
The reaction from the group as a whole varied. Those who ascended welcomed the vampires with arms wide open. The new wolves, the ones who were still learning to control themselves, spoke out against the unions while the older wolves welcomed them.
The parents handled it better than my uncle Kevin did but they still had their reservations about the bonds that were made.
Siobhan and Liam didn't really mind so much but they were worried about the living arraignments as Jack was still a minor and they lived in Ireland. The others congratulated the newly mated couples.
Jack could manipulate light meaning he could alter the light to make himself invisible or create illusions, absorb light and gain strength from it, and shoot beams of light out of his hands. Danielle could manipulate sound. She could make you hear something soft and beautiful or loud and harsh. Derek could absorb any type of energy and use it to enhance any object he touched. Basically he took the energy and channeled it into something else. While he could use any type of energy, the strongest type that he's used so far is spirit energy. He could even take many objects and combine them into one piece, something that has all the strengths of each object he used, but none of the weaknesses. He could mold them into any shape he wanted, and size it anyway he wanted it. He helped cut back production time in the forge.
Aro and Caius had demanded that a few covens join them. Some of them did, others told them to fuck off. Some of them survived the attacks by the Volturi, some didn't but overall they were gaining numbers. Caius went so far as to create his own army of newborns which he had transported in a cargo plane with Alec on board, making sure that they coudn't wreck it. I couldn't help but laugh at the desperation that he was showing. We had added newborn fighting techniques to the training sessions because the majority of our friends never encountered them before. It was very eye opening for them.
I wanted to smack the shit out of Vladimir and Stefan when I caught them making out a will over these past few weeks. I had nothing against them making a will, but who they had made their beneficiary. They made me the heir to their fortune in the event of their deaths. They even left stuff to the kids. I fought with them on this but they were very stubborn about it.
I knew that they were going to die soon. Either during the battle or after it was finished. When Aro and Caius were dead, they would follow. It pained me to accept it as they were my friends, but they didn't want to live after they had gotten their revenge. Makhai was the same way. Speaking of him, he and his kids actually had a better relationship. I mean, they weren't hostile or wary of each other but it could never go past that. Mainly because it would take a while to work through those issues and because Makhai was going to do the same thing as Vladimir and Stefan.
Now we were right on the Canadian border, waiting for or enemies to show up.
"They're here," Collin said. "I can feel them." He added. Allistair, Benjamin, and Poseidon nodded in agreement. I nodded to them and drew my weapon. The others did the same.
"Stick to the plan," I began after I summoned my armor. "The kings don't die until the end, everyone else is fair game."
The group nodded. We had an even more impressive force this time. We had Esmerelda's wolves, Makhai's servants, our packs, our friends, both vampire and shifter alike and even more powers than what the Volturi possessed. They were ridiculously, and hopelessly, outgunned.
The first newborn broke through the tree line, signaling that the fight had begun. Our group snarled as one and rushed forward.
3rd Person POV
The newborn army, which consisted of roughly 50 vampires, lasted for about 10 seconds. With the combined powers of Thomas, Collin, Benjamin, Seth, and Brady, they never stood a chance. Some died by Seth's spirit bullets, which he shot out of his gatling gun that he constructed. Others were burnt from the inside out thanks to Brady. Others fell into a sink hole provided by Benjamin and Collin. Thomas blew their heads off like he did with Chelsea, her mate, Renata, and Corin.
When Thomas spotted Aro and Caius he formed a sphere around them and lifted them into the air.
"You naughty boys will get your chance to play after you've had a long time out." Thomas told them over their shouts to let them out. Thomas flashed away to offer help if needed.
Vladimir and Stefan had circled their claimed targets; Alec and Jane. While they hated Aro and Caius (They could understand what Marcus was feeling so they never really had anything against him) but it was these witch twins that helped destroy their brothers, sisters, and murdered their mates. They would have attacked them even if they couldn't shield their minds, but thanks to Isabella (They had refused to call her Bella, stating that to shorten such a beautiful name cheapened it) they could do that and take their time.
"Hello Jane," Stefan smirked. "How does it feel to be so close to your death?" Jane hissed and bared her teeth.
"And Alec, is that how you feel?" Vladimir grinned when Alec scowled at him.
The Romanians stopped moving and charged at their targets with crys of 'For Ana!' or 'For Camelia!'
Alec had given Vladimir a bit of a fight but since he couldn't use his gift, and since Vladimir was a natural born fighter, he was pinned down in no time.
Vladimir was on Alec's back and held down his arms while Stefan played with Jane.
Jane was called many things by many people. Bitch, witch, sadists, to name a few but no one ever called her scared. At least not to her face. Now though, for the first time in her immortal life, she felt true fear as one of the last Romanian coven members taunted her.
"What's the matter little witch, not so confident now?" He hissed at her.
Jane never has been and will never be a fighter. She was so sure in her ability that she never learned to fight. The only one who had stopped her before was that Swan girl (Cullen girl, whatever) but she was sure she would be destroyed by her masters or made a slave at the very least.
Stefan had enough of savoring his meal and decided to dig in.
Alec struggled to get to his feet as he saw his sister hoisted off the ground by her throat. Vladimir laughted at Alec's struggle before he leaned forward to whisper in Alec's ear.
"Just as I was unable to save my Camelia, you will be unable to save your sister."
Alec thrashed around when Jane screamed after Stefan started yanking her fingers off, one by one.
The Romanians laughed a cold, triumphant laugh as they tortured the twin vampires. It was a very chilling sound to those who heard it.
The vampire clans that came with the Volturi did one of two things. They either ran away or fought. One vampire in particular, the leader of the Egyptian coven, was looking for Thomas, to get back at him for humiliating him the last time he came to America. He saw his target with his back turned and decided to attack, leaving his 'mate' to fend for herself.
This proved to be the biggest mistake he made since Thomas, without turning around, caught Amun's hand and snapped it off. Amun yowled loudly as he clutched the crystalized stump where his hand used to be. He got hit with a field made of spirit enegy, and was thrown back.
Thomas slowly turned around and glared at Amun through his mask. He held up Amun's hand.
"Stand down, or next time it will be your head." He growled at the raging Egyptian vampire before throwing the hand away. Thomas had told Benjamin and Tia that their old coven mates would side with the Volturi. They said that if we wanted to give them a chance to surrender, we could though they doubted that Amun and Kebi would give up.
Amun shot to his feet and bolted towards Thomas who sighed through his nose. Amun swung at Thomas with his good hand and lost that arm before Thomas punched his head off. Kebi had saw this and was conflicted. Despite what others thought, Amun was not her mate, he was her master. He chose to change her because she would do whatever he wanted, regardless of what it was. Part of her felt like a weight was lifted off of her shoulder but a part of her wanted to avenge her creator.
She reluctantly rushed towards Thomas but she was stopped by a very irritated strawberry blonde who tackled Kebi to the ground and started to strangle her.
"Don't even bother," Tanya snapped at the struggling vampire. "You'll join your mate soon enough unless you surrender."
"I-I surrender," Kebi gasped and Tanya slackened her grip slightly but didn't get up. Kebi eyed the vampire on top of her in appreciatation. If she wasn't bound to that damn dog, Kebi would try to bed her. She would sleep with many women to please Amun over the centuries. At first she was uncomfortable with the idea but grew to enjoy it just as much as when she was with a man. The vampire before her was very, very attractive and had the softest hands that she ever felt.
As if sensing what she was thinking, Tanya narrowed her eyes at Kebi.
"Not gonna happen." She said firmly. "I already have a mate. I don't need a slave."
Kebi flinched at her words but nodded her head. Tanya stood up and dusted herself off. She offered a hand to Kebi without looking at her as she surveyed the battle. There were no injuries or casulties on their side but the opposing force had been decimated. The clans had numbers but that was all they had. They had no power and no fighting skill. Their attempts at fighting were laughable.
Kebi accepted her hand gratefully and pulled herself up.
Thomas walked over to his mate and wrapped his arms around her. Tanya leaned into his embrace. He narrowed his eyes at Kebi but said nothing. He turned to the kings of Volterra. He moved the sphere to the middle of the field and placed them on the ground. As the remaining group of the Volturi's forces were pushed towards them, Thomas spoke.
"Did you honestly think that you were going to win this?" Thomas demanded of the two kings as he dropped his field.
"Even though we lost, no one will follow you." Caius hissed.
"We didn't do this to be followed, we did this because you wouldn't leave us alone!" Thomas hissed back. "Was that too much to ask from you?"
"You needed to be watched," Caius snapped. Aro was being quiet and still, mainly because he couldn't believe that he lost everything. His army, his guard, his wife etc. He was hoping against hope that he would at least kill as many of the Cullens and their allies but they all barely had a scratch on them. "You were getting too strong."
Thomas scoffed and looked at his family and friends.
"Does anybody have anything to say to the angry king and the greedy king?" He asked them. They shook their heads in the negative. "Makhai!" He barked and the Greek immortal steps forward breathing harshly as he eyes the Aro and Caius with pure loathing and rage.
"Oh look who it is," Caius sneered. "The vampire who fell in love with a werewolf whore and had an abomination for a child," He smirked viciously as Makhai stopped walking before he added. "Oh wait the thing never made it to term now did it? I imagine it would be difficult to do that when it was ripped from it's mothers womb."
Makhai was shaking so badly that it looked like he was going to break down. The others in the area just gawked at Caius, not believing that he had the nerve to mock a dead woman and her child. And to her mate no less! Jasper was staggered by the amount of hate that he was feeling from Makhai. He was breathing hard and clutching his chest. Alice tried to help her mate but was at a loss as to what she should do.
Just as Caius was about to say more, Makhai pounced on him, yelling obscenties at him in many languages he learned over the years. Caius thrashed around, trying to get away but Makhai held firm and smashed his face in repeatedly.
Aro had still not moved so Thomas decided to speak up and do something that was going to be very uncomfortable.
"Hey Aro, there's something that I don't understand," He said. "What really happened to your sister?"
Aro's eyes snapped to Thomas' face and narrowed. Thomas' friends and family stared at him with raised eyebrows. All except for Edward and Esmerelda, who wore a grim expressions. Tanya looked at Thomas worriedly, wondering where he was going with this.
"That is none of your concern," Aro said coldly.
"I'm just curious," Thomas shrugged. "I mean, you and your ilk allowed so many people to live after you destroyed their homes and their families yet, there is no mention of anyone being blamed for what happened to her. Which makes me think that you really don't know who did and haven't been able to figure it out, or you just didn't care about your sister at all."
"I loved my sister!" Aro screamed at Thomas who shrugged his mate off and took a step forward. Tanya tried to pull him back but he held up a hand to stall her protests. "I have always loved her-"
"Well you have a funny way of showing it," Thomas cut him off with a growl. He knew he was pushing it, but he needed to do this. "Had it been my sister, I would have leveled mountains, I would have parted the seven seas, I would have done anything to find those who took her from me. I would not sit on my ass and collect gifted vampires for my empire!"
"Do not speak of what you do not understand!" Came Aro's shrill reply. He was growing angrier by the second. How dare this dog question him about his sister!
"Then help me understand it," Thomas pressed. "Help me understand why your sister was killed and help me understand why nothing was done."
"She didn't deserve to die!" Aro said hysterically as he began to pace. "She was a good person, she could make you feel happy, no matter what the situation."
He continued to ramble on as Esmerelda and Tristan, who was being hidden along with the other kids, searched his mind. It was hard to muddle through thousand of years worth of memories, despite Aro having a well organized mind, but with a joint effort, they were able to find memories with Aro's sister, Didyme.
There were sweet moments, mostly with them when they were younger. But what got interesting was when they caught memories of Didyme and Marcus trying to leave the Volturi.
Aro desperately tried to pursuade his sister to remain but she shot him down. The next memory made their blood run cold.
Daddy! Tristan thought frantically to Thomas. He and Caius are behind Didyme's death! They did it so they could keep Marcus!
On the outside, Thomas had no reaction but on the inside was a different story. To say he was shocked was an understatement, he was not expecting something like this!
He tried to scan the future, to see what would come from this line of questioning, but couldn't come up with anything as there were different scenarios involing the two kings and he couldn't get a lock on it.
Edward was standing stock still, his entire being tense with surprise and anger. He was surprised that Aro would do such a thing and angered that he waltzed around like he was someone to admire and be molded after! Like someone who was the moral compass of the supernatural world.
"Show them," Edward spat through his teeth at Esmerelda. "Show them the memory."
Everyone stared at him for a moment, even Makhai who had grounded Caius' head into dust. They were wondering what was going on.
Esmerelda nodded tightly as she waved her hand. The scenery changed as they were all swept into a memory.
It was almost comical that both Aro's, one in real time and one from the memory, were pacing in synchronization. The major differences were that the Aro in real time looked crazed and muttered to himself. The Aro in the memory looked sad and dejected.
"Pacing back and forth will not help with our problem Aro," A voice snapped at him. The memory shifted to show Caius sitting in a chair across the room. "We need to take action and we need to do it fast. You know what must be done."
Both Aro's stopped pacing but for two different reason's. The memory Aro glared at Caius and the Aro in real time looked at the memory in horror.
"No!" He screamed and began waving his arms frantically, trying to swipe at the memory. "Make it stop! Make it stop!"
A jet of green light struck him in the back of the head and he fell to the ground. Everyone turned to Esmerelda who had her hand outstretched, and eyes narrowed.
"He'll wake in a moment, but let's finish this first," She murmured and turned back to the memory. The others followed suit.
"I will not do it." Memory Aro snapped. "It's-it's wrong Caius."
"I thought you were willing to do anything so we could succeed in our goals," Caius demanded as he leapt out his chair. "I thought you were willing to do what was necessary."
"Necessary?" Aro said incredulously. "How is it necessary to kill my sister?"
Several people watching the memory gasped while others tensed up. They couldn't believe what they were seeing.
"You said we need Marcus did you not?" Caius asked.
"Yes but-"
"And he is not going to stay now is he?" Caius cut off Aro.
"Well no but-"
"And apart from us, who else does Marcus listen to?" Caius again interrupted.
"Didyme but-"
"If she was out of the picture, we would be the only ones he would counsel with," Caius said softly. "That is, if we could make sure he didn't kill himself, perhaps we should talk to Chelsea?"
Aro in the memory stared at Caius in disbelief. Caius turned to him and growled.
"Do you have any other ideas?" He hissed and Aro shook his head. "Do you want to lose Marcus?"
"No but I do not want to kill my sister!" Aro snarled at him.
"Keep your voice down," Caius snapped. "And I don't like this any better than you but sacrifices must be made so we can stay in power!"
Aro looked at him, disgusted, betrayed, before he turned away from Caius. Caius just shook his head at Aro.
"We either lose both of them, or one of them," Caius told Aro quietly. Aro didn't look at him. "Marcus is more important to our cause than Didyme-"
He was cut off by Aro wrapping his hand around his throat and slamming him into the wall.
"Both of them are important," Aro said in a whisper. "Didyme is my flesh and blood. Marcus is her mate. This idea is going to destroy our family."
"But without him, we won't be able to read our enemies or know if there are traitors in our midst," Caius gasped out. "Are you willing to lose what we have built just so they can be happy?"
Aro growled in his face before throwing Caius away and began pacing again. Caius slowly stood up and waited.
After what seemed like an eternity, Aro stopped pacing and slowly turned to Caius. His face was contorted in agony and his eyes shined with venom.
"Make sure she feels no pain," He sniffed. The ones viewing the memory couldn't help but let their jaws drop, even the ones who knew that they made that decision. Aro looked so broken here, which was something that they hadn't seen before. "And make sure it cannot be traced back to us."
"I will do so," Caius nodded. "And you will make sure that Chelsea can get to Marcus?"
"Yes," Aro nodded dejectedly. "Perhaps Corin can help too."
Caius nodded and headed towards the door. He paused just before he could reach the handle.
"She won't feel a thing," He said. "You have my word."
And with that, he left the room before Aro could reply not that he was going to. He was currently on the floor, in a fetal position, clutching his hair tightly and shaking like a leaf.
"I'm sorry," He whispered over and over again before the memory disappeared.
Those who watched the memory blink owlishly, glared at the broken form of Caius, gaped at Aro who was starting to wake up, or just stood rooted in their spots.
Aro grunted as he got to his feet. He looked around at the group surrounding him. He was about to say something when he got smacked by an invisible force.
The group jerked in surprise except for a few people. Those who moved looked around for the source of the attack. They didn't have to look far as a figure shimmered into view in front of Aro who was rubbing his cheek.
Aro looked at the figure with wide eyes, it was the last person he thought he would see. His brother and fellow king, Marcus.
"Broth-" Aro began before Marcus lunged at him, screaming incoherent abuse at his former friend. Aro begged for forgiveness in between blows but his pleas fell on deaf ears as Marcus continued to throttle him.
Another figure shimmered into view. It was Bertram Black, who had a grim expression on his face. Thomas had asked him to find Marcus and bring him to the battle. He was supposed to keep Marcus out of it but after what he saw, there was no way he was going to stop the enraged vampire.
"Tanya," Thomas spoke over the noise without taking his eyes off the scene. "You and a few others should take the kids home, we'll finish up here."
Part of Tanya wanted to protest but that was squashed down by her motherly instincts. She felt the kids had seen enough fighting for today so she nodded and turned to Esmerelda who waved her hand.
The children appeared next to their parents, all wearing grim looks. Their parents scooped them up and began leaving. The other people that appeared were Athenadora and Sulspicia. Both of whom, were sobbing over what they saw. They loved Didyme like a sister and couldn't believe that it was those two monsters that did it!
"Jasper go with them," Thomas said to his friend without looking at him. "It must be killing you to be here."
"I-"
"Do I need to sic the boys on you?" Thomas said as he slowly turned to Jasper and raised an eyebrow. He knew how much the twins loved Jasper and he knew Jasper loved them like they were his own children. The boys would always ask questions about the war and would sometimes fall a sleep in the room that he and Alice shared after Jasper was finished with his stories.
With a strained sigh and a reluctant nod, Jasper started leaving with Alice in tow.
After 10 minutes of wailing, screaming and grunting, Aro, the king of greed met his end at the hands of Marcus, the broken king, who was lying on the ground and calling out to his dead mate.
The group bowed their heads in respect for Didyme, the women who lost her life because of greed and lust for power. They also bowed for Marcus, who suffered for over 3000 years, and was denied the right to join his mate in the next great adventure.
Sorry for the delay but I was having trouble with the battle scene and with some of the other flashbacks but I am very happy with this chapter. I hope you will be too. Let me know what you think.
Yours truly,
Capt. Hazard