Disclaimer: I do not own Twilight. I do, however, own every single Britney Spears CD ever. (I don't care what you say, I freaking love her.)

A/N: Hey! Long time, no talk.

I am sorry that this took 2 and a half weeks to get out. But, I had some… personal trouble (I won't go into detail) and it delayed the typing of this chapter. So, forgive me?

Some of you guys were a little put off by the lack of a Quote Hunt in the last chapter (*cough*Mandi*cough*cough*) so I am going to make it up to you guys in this chapter!! I will be putting TWO quotes in here for you to find. And, as always, details are at the bottom.

Also, I couldn't reply to ALL of your reviews, so if I didn't get to you and you feel dejected, send another one! Who knows, I might get to it this time. :) You guys are all superdy-duper mixed with all kinds of awesome so don't think that I don't want to reply! Really, I do. I just don't have that much time. Which would you rather have: a chapter or a review reply?

I vote for a chapter.

ATTENTION!!! I have a missing Beta! She has gone AWOL and I haven't talked her in about a week. She mentioned something about going to Hawaii but I thought she was getting back on Sunday. Anyways, if you happen to know Portland Writer's whereabouts, it would be greatly appreciated if you would divulge the information to me!

As a result, this chapter was NOTT Betaed. Ignore the mistakes please!

Now, Indulge Your Curiosity, Loves, with CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR!!

"So I'll watch the matches, turn to ashes.
I'll watch the matches, turn to ashes.
I can tell as you turn, I smell the sulfur so clear.
And fire's a beautiful sound.
And the wings that you burn turn to ashes my dear.
And ashes just fall to the ground.
Yeah , we're only ashes"

--"Only Ashes" by Something Corporate

Chapter Twenty-Four

EPOV

(Shows the last little bit of last chapter from his

POV and then it continues on.)

I watched on in awe as my Bella held up as impressive shield, rendering the entire Guard immobile.

If I had ever doubted her power before, I certainly didn't now.

The power emanating from her was palpable. I didn't need Jasper's emotion-sensitive gift to tell me just how effective and strong it was.

I could, literally, feel the power surging from her in thick, overpowering waves.

I wanted so bad to be able to go to her and tell her how proud I was of her for being able to hold her own against the most elite of my kind but I was filled with a sort of reluctance—a sense of wariness, if you will—about approaching her.

She had made it obvious, before, that this power of hers was extremely deadly and require a lot of concentration and energy to control. I didn't want to risk making her falter and become the cause of a massacre.

She would never forgive herself and, quite frankly, I would be pissed off at myself for being so utterly careless and jeopardizing her safety.

Through my Mark—which still felt as though it was connected to Bella's incredibly powerful life-force—I could feel a sort of dwindling sensation as though something was being sucked away but I dismissed it as nerves from the tension of the whole situation.

"You guys need to go." Bella spoke to us as she clenched her eyes shut as though she was concentrating hard on something. I had a feeling that her control on her shield was slipping and she didn't want us around for that.

"I want you to run as fast as you can and get out of here. Don't stop to get your personal affections, I will take care of that, just go now!" She started out at her normal speaking voice, but by the end she was almost yelling in her haste to get us out of the room and to safety.

Perspiration was budding up around her dark hair line as she fought for the control that was slipping from her; quickly.

From the thoughts running through Carlisle's mind, he, too, knew that Bella was losing it and that we needed to get out of this room.

Carlisle quickly conceded and pushed our family swiftly through the horrendous marble archway that marked the entrance of the Execution room.

We all immediately started running, not wasting any time, in an effort to escape the place.

"What are we doing?" Esme cried, stopping in the middle of the hallway. The rest of our family halted around her. "We can't just leave Bella in there by herself!"

"She's right. I can't leave Squirt like that no matter what she says or how easily she could yank my balls off." Emmett agreed, his eyes darting back in the direction we had just come before glancing at his crotch.

Ah, some things will never change.

"Alice…?" Esme prompted, looking over at Alice's glazed over eyes beseechingly, waiting for consent to haul ass back to the Execution room and save her daughter.

I was touched by the love my family felt for my Beloved.

"Oh, no." Alice whispered and something in those two words pulled at my long still heart. I felt the same odd dwindling sensation that I had experienced earlier from my Mark suddenly intensify, ten-fold.

I knew something was terribly wrong.

I chanced a glance into the hazy swirls of Alice's chaotic mind to see what she was seeing.

The vision was swirling in and out of focus telling me that it wasn't absolute, but still a possibility. I could see Bella's crumpled form lying on the white marble floor of the room I had just left. A future me was leaning over her, blood on my hands, while I yelled for Carlisle.

"I never would have let us leave her…" Alice mumbled. "I thought she was following."

"It's fine but we need to get back there now!" I roared, not wasting any time.

Our family took off, this time running towards the danger in order to protect one of our own.

I pumped my legs faster and faster, covering the wide expanse of the turret room in a fraction of a second as my body moved me at a speed that would probably be blurred even to a vampire.

Alice and I were the fastest of our family, so we made it to the room first, bursting through the door before pausing and taking in the sight before us.

I could see glimpses of visions flashing through Alice's mind and changing as fast as a girl changes clothes. It was dizzying.

There were dozens of pissed off, lethal vampires strung out on the wall, but not nearly as immobile as before. I figured that as Bella's energy ebbed and receded that her shield became less effective to those in its confines.

We needed to get Bella, fast, and then get the hell out of here.

Waiting around for the "gap" that we had been hoping would some how appear was no longer an option in our grandiose escapes plan. We needed to go.

Alice seemed to know exactly what I was thinking because she rushed forward and grabbed onto Bella, partially because she was going to drag her out of this room if necessary and partially to keep her upright so that the vision of her lying on the floor would not become a reality.

"Why are you still here?" Alice hissed, and tried to drag Bella towards our family whom had, in the mean time, gathered in a loose semi circle around the doorway ensuring that no one got in and no one got out without having to deal with them.

"I need to stay… my shield won't let us get far if I go with you." Bella's words slurred as she fought to push them though her reluctant lips. She wasn't going to last much longer.

I didn't have time for her pathetic protests. I would simply carry her out of here. She was in a seriously weakened state right now, to begin with. Plus I had a feeling that I wouldn't receive much resistance.

"No, you are coming with us." I spoke, letting a tone of finality leak into my words as I reached out to pick up my angel.

But it would seem that fate and lady luck were not on my side today.

Just as my fingertips were about to brush the soft skin of Bella's arm, a vision—crystal clear and more potent than ever before—flooded Alice's mind causing her to with drawl her hand to keep from crushing Bella's delicate arm.

The vision showed a bright eyed Bella smiling as she stood in front of a large wooden door. But the most shocking part of the scene was not the location—even though the familiar scenery was easily recognizable—but, rather, it was her glowing, crimson eyes that shocked me into a stupor, temporarily freezing my entire being.

The vision had been so painfully clear that it left no doubt in my mind that this was going to happen and it was going to happen soon. That much was obvious.

I was pulled back from my over-analyzing when I felt the warmth from Bella's arm slip away from my fingertips.

With a resounding thud Bella hit the ground in a heap much like the one from the vision Alice had had earlier in the hallway.

Oh, no.

I was down beside her in a second, my hands fluttering uselessly over her unconscious form.

But the damage was already done.

Bella's shield dropped as soon as she had hit the floor, releasing all of the Volturi guard to the ground. I feared for our lives for a moment before a small whimper escaped my love's lips, drawing my attention straight back to her face.

"Carlisle! Carlisle!" I called out, the sense of déjà vu hitting me hard as I realized that this was exactly the same as in the vision Alice had experienced back in the hall way.

The same vision we were trying to prevent.

The words had barely left my lips before a familiar smell—a strong over-powering smell—filled my nostrils as I breathed in the heady scent. I was no longer tempted by the smell of Bella's blood but that didn't mean that everyone else was as desensitized as I was.

In a matter of seconds the entire room was in an uproar. The less controlled members of the guard were flinging themselves at Bella, trying to get to her freely flowing blood, as my family formed a circle around Bella and I, protecting us from their attacks.

"Carlisle!" I called out again as hysteria set in and I realized that I had no idea what to do. Years and years of medical school had never prepared me for what to do in the presence of an emergency such as this.

I was simply… frozen.

"Edward, her pulse is weakening." He pointed out as her pressed a cool palm to the crown of Bella's head, examining the laceration.

"I know… I can hear it." I told him as I closed my eyes, tuning out the sounds of the growls around me and focusing solely on the sound of Bella's heart. A sound that was as familiar to me as my own voice. I lived for the strong sound of her heartbeat pulsing, alive in her chest with all the life she has left.

And right now, that wasn't much.

I listened as the steady thumping broke from its constant rhythm and became disjointed and significantly slower.

It was enough to send my stomach plummeting to my feet.

Oh, God, I was losing her.

"Do something!" I yelled at Carlisle. "I cannot lose her like this! Not now! I just found her again!"

A loud snarl ripped through the entire room, silencing the fiasco that had ensued when Bella had begun bleeding.

"Stop!" A cry resounded from the far side of the room.

Before I could comprehend why exactly everyone had stopped moving and were eerily calm, a cloaked figure came hurtling through the masses of bodies surrounding my family and I.

I chanced a glance away from Bella's unusually pale face to see who had calmed the room far better than Jasper ever could have.

"Is she alright?" The cloaked figure asked, pushing the hood away from his face to reveal a very concerned Marcus.

"Perfect." I hissed sarcastically, not quite sure if I could trust Marcus.

His thoughts seemed innocent and he certainly didn't act as dominating or controlling as Aro and Caius did. But… they always say that it is the quiet ones that you have to look out for.

And being a mind reader, I can attest that the quiet ones really are trouble.

"It is fine, young Cullen. You can trust me. I only have Bella's best interest at heart." He shot me a small smile as he bent down and ran a hand along the crease of Bella's arm causing me to emit another hiss.

"Trust me, Edward." Marcus mumbled.

"Why should we trust you? For all we know you could have some super power that is killing her!" Emmett growled making a move towards Marcus before Jasper's arm shot out to atop him.

"Now, Emmett, do you know, for a fact, that he is killing Bella?" Jasper, always the voice of reason asked as he tested Marcus' emotions, finding only sincerity and worry for Bella's safety.

"No… but he is Volturi royalty so can we trust him?" Emmett kept trying to argue but Jasper had taken away his main point.

"Yes, we can." I answered as I surfed through Marcus' thoughts.

There was nothing amiss in his head and no one was that good at hiding their thoughts.

No one.

He was telling the truth.

"I trust you." I told him, giving a slight, curt head nod in his direction letting him know that I really don't want to believe him but I didn't have any reason not to.

"I understand your hesitation but we don't have much time, her life is dwindling and slipping as we speak. Something needs to be done soon or else we will lose her." Marcus quickly changed the attention from him to Bella's crumpled form, her head still bleeding.

As Carlisle and Marcus checked over Bella to make sure that there was no other damage that would keep us from being able to move her, I took a look around the room.

Everyone, aside from my family and Marcus, were standing in various positions but with the same blank look on their faces.

"What did you do?" I whispered as I took in the sight of the Amazon-like Heidi holding Demitri by the arm—almost as though she was holding him back from something—while Demitri had his arm pulled back as though he was going to punch someone out. But, oddly enough, he wasn't anywhere near me or anyone else that he would want to punch. Instead he looked like he was trying to lat Caius out.

That would have been golden to see.

Apparently Bella had made a few friends here who were willing to fight for her. That was good for her.

"I simply took away their emotions. Without their emotions they have to will to fight, no drive to do anything. They simply just exist." Marcus explained when he finally answered my question.

"How? I thought your power was to sense relationships?" Carlisle asked as he slowly moved Bella's unconscious form onto her side so that he could check to make sure her back wasn't broken.

"It is. But like our dear Bella here, there are other… facets to my power. I am no one trick pony, old friend." Marcus snickered as he pulled of his robe and gently lifted Bella's head, making a pillow for her head to rest on.

"So you took their emotions away? That is interesting." Jasper tested the room around him only finding nine energy signals. "Very interesting."

"I have never had to use it before. I would even venture to say that Aro probably forgot that I could even do it. It isn't exactly the most useful power out there so he just overlooked it." Marcus looked at Jasper, taking in his scars and the southern air about him. "A solider. What war my friend?"

"Civil war, sir. Confederacy." Jasper answered proudly. "Among other newborn wars in the south… but those aren't worth remembering." He added the last part a little less proudly than the first. I knew he wasn't proud of his prior lifestyle and it showed when he talked about it.

"Great war, the civil war was. Sorry, but losing was the best thing to happen to the south." Marcus answered with a small smirk on his face as he went over to one of the members of the guard and took their robes off of them, laying them over Bella like a blanket.

"I sort of agree, to an extent… however, I don't think now is the time argue over the semantics of a war. We need to help Bella out." Marcus, once again, drew everyone's attention back to the task at hand: saving Bella's life.

I hadn't let go of her hand since I had knelt down to check on here and now, judging by the temperature of her hand, that probably wasn't the smartest idea ever.

Her hand was clammy and shaking yet I couldn't bring myself to let go.

It felt—to me—as though if I let go that I would be letting go of my hope and my hope was all I had left.

But in the back of my mind, I knew that as her heart beat slowed even more with each pump of the weakening ventricles, she drew closer to death.

"Carlisle, what is wrong with her?" Esme asked tentatively as she stepped forwards and brushed some stray hairs out of Bella's face.

"Well, from what I can tell she has some severe head trauma no doubt from when Aro threw her into that wall but it was amplified when she hit it again on the ground. I guess I am not surprised since this is Bella we are talking about, but it was just her luck that she hit the same spot on her head both times." Carlisle let out a humorless chuckle at the sheer oddity of Bella and her "luck."

"Well that is nothing too major, right?" Rosalie asked as she held onto Emmett's massive hand, staring down at my Bella.

Please don't be dying. Ugh. Don't die, don't die, don't die. I will chant it a million times if it would ensure that you would live. Edward needs you, Bella. And… hell… you aren't too bad of a friend… for a human of course.

Rosalie's abnormally sweet thoughts floated through my mind, shocking me.

I turned towards her a shot her a slight smile letting her know that I heard her thoughts and appreciated them. She simply nodded in return, thinking, don't expect a repeat performance, Ed.

I want to growl at the nickname but before I could, a soft mumbling came from Bella as her small hand tightened around my cold stone one.

"Love?" I asked as her eye lids fluttered.

"Bella, can you hear me?" Carlisle asked as he knelt down next to me, everyone around us on pins and needles to see what would happen.

"Ye…yeah." She breathed so softly that even I could barley hear her.

"Do you feel any pain? Any dizziness at all?" Carlisle slipped into doctor mode, asking all of the proper question that you would expect of someone being examined.

"Hell yeah." Bella let out a small breathy laugh as her eyes opened slightly, cringing at the light coming from the bright fluorescents of the pristine white room.

"Where? Your head, your back… what hurts?" Carlisle's hands carefully tilted Bella's chin back so that she could breathe more easily.

"My head hurts and I guess, from the smell, that it is bleeding. And everything is blurry and unfocused. I can only tell who is who based on hair color and height." Bella let out another breathy laugh before her entire frame was wracked with a cough that must have caused her pain because she started crying after just a few small coughs.

"I am so pathetic!" She cried, trying to hold her breath in an effort to keep the tears in but they still managed to leak out and race down her cheeks, disappearing into her hair.

"You are not pathetic. I would probably be bawling like a freaking baby if I were you." Emmett exclaimed as he flexed his muscles for some odd, self involved reason.

"The big bad Emmett? Crying? Neve—" Bella's sarcastic comment was cut off by another bout of intense coughing.

I felt helpless as I sat there and held her to me. I couldn't think of anything I could do to sooth her or take the pain away. It killed me to be useless.

"It is okay love. Deep breaths, stay with me." I whispered into her ear as she tried to control the coughing.

"She isn't going to make it much longer." Marcus whispered with a tone of reluctance in his voice.

"What?" I whisper cried at him, my entire body shaking right along with Bella's. Why is it always us that have these problems? All these near death experiences? Would fate never leave us be?

When Bella's coughing increased to the point where she rolled over and vomited blood onto the floor next to me, I knew Marcus was right. She wouldn't make it much longer.

"Where is the hospital?" I asked as I frantically clung Bella closer to me.

"It won't be of any use." Carlisle sighed. "Too much of her energy was lost. Her shield took anything she had left in her. I don't think she could get that energy back, even if she tried."

"So what?" Esme asked, looking up at Carlisle with worried eyes as she patted Bella's back in a very motherly gesture.

"There are only two options now…" Marcus began, giving me a meaningful look.

"No… no… NO!" I cried.

"Edward, son, it is either change her or watch her die. It is your choice. But you better decide soon because her time is running short and if you are going to change her, her heart needs to be beating to pump the venom through her veins."

"No! I will no damn her to this half life!" I cried as I wildly clutched a coughing, convulsing Bella against my chest.

"Alright, this is your decision. What do you want to do? Wait it out and bury her here? Or do you want me to put her out of her misery and end her pain now?" Carlisle offered with a mischievous glint in his eye. But I ignored it as I jumped up and cradled Bella to my chest, angling her away from Carlisle.

"I won't let you kill her!" I yelled half out of my mind with worry and panic.

"So we sit and let her die." Carlisle conceded.

"No, she won't die." I exclaimed hysterically, hissing at everyone around me. "I won't let her!"

"Then change her. That is the only way to prevent it, Edward." Alice stepped forwards cautiously. "I have looked into every possible outcome and they all result in death except for that one."

"It can't be." I cried tearlessly.

"I'm so sorry Edward but you knew that it would happen eventually." Alice apologized as I felt my body shake from the force of another one of Bella's coughing fits.

"Bella, love, you are d-d-dying." I choked out as I buried my fame into her blood soaked hair, not even marginally tempted by its call. "There isn't anything we can do."

"Liar." She got out in between the coughs.

I sat in stunned silence from her accusation.

"What do you mean?"

"You know—cough—as well as I do that—cough—there are other options." She wheezed as a fresh trail of blood bubbled over her lips and ran down her chin.

"I can't." I hung my head, knowing that I was fighting a losing battle but I needed to keep fighting.

"You can. I believe in you." She coughed out again.

"Bella, I…"

"Hush now and hear me—cough—out, Edward." She smiled a weak smile up at me, her angelic features shining though the gore that marred her face.

When I didn't answer right away, she took this as an affirmative that I was going to listen.

"My heart and soul are already yours. If you chose to let me die here, then I can respect that decision. And, if you chose to let my heart spend its last beats pumping your venom though my veins then I can respect that decision, too. But I don't want to influence you choice by injecting my opinions. I am yours to keep or to let go." She coughed a sad little cough and drew a ragged breath.

"Edward, you should change her." Marcus spoke up for the first time in a while.

I looked up at him surprised by the sincerity in his voice.

"Think about it. It isn't just about you. You are not the only one who will be affected if she dies. Your family would lose a sister, a daughter, a lover, a best friend, and I would lose a great friend too. Your decision will change everyone around you, keep that in mind." He spoke with conviction breaking down the last of my walls and making up my mind.

"Is everyone's happiness worth saving her?"

As Marcus' last comment hung in the air, I dropped to my knees, Bella still in my arms, looking up at me with bleary eyes.

"I love you." I said, kissing her warm lips, taking in the feeling for the last time: savoring it.

"I love you, too." My angel replied, her eyes closing peacefully.

I kissed my way down her jaw bone and across her throat before I reached her pulse point.

I muttered one last 'I love you' before I sunk my teeth into the long column of her delicious throat.

A/N: QUOTE HUNT!

Remember, there are two quotes for you to find. And you get one sneak peak at the next chapter for every quote you find. So… (if my basic math skills are working correctly) that means TWO little snip-its of the next chapter if you leave a SIGNED review with the correct song and quote!

The first one is by Katy Perry.

The second is by the Hush Sound.

Thank you!!!

Sorry if the grammar and spelling is terrible, it wasn't Betaed. Oopsie!

Oh, go add my MySpace. The link is on my profile. We can chat it up!

Much love,

Chey