Thank you to the 34 people who reviewed and saved kittens. Oddly my mother is allowing me to get a new kitten next week. Somehow I believe these two events are conected. So I thank you for my new cat.
Why hasn't Dante recognised the Titans yet?
Because he would have only glimpsed them on television. When human he was more into the outdoors(hence he was "hiking" when killed) so he wouldn't have paid much attention to what went on in the city. Vampires find their human memories hazy and not up to their high clarity standards apparently, so he wouldn't likely remember the titans, people he hadn't ever met, unless he tried very hard. And why would he bother?
When will Jasper and Raven kiss again?
Wait your patience eh? They can't kiss all the time, thats not dramatic. Everyone would be all "there they go again, kissing passionatly. Oh look, Raven is all shocked about her loss of control. We're not, this has happened ten times in the last two days" and thats not as fun as "Oh my Azar! He kissed her! This is...is... so...so...so unexpected! Raven is as shocked as I am! What is the world coming to! Demon and vampire do not kiss!!!!!!"
See my point?
Are Jasper and Raven in lurvvveeee?
No. She's known him for like three weeks, what are you people thinking? She loves him about as much as I love homework. But she likes him as much as I like chocolate and the word luftwaffa. And she lusts him as much as I lust Jackson Rathbone(when the twilight studio isn't dressing him and styling his hair like a dyke), Captain Jack Sparrow and the Graverobber from Repo! the genetic opera. Which is helpful since Jackson is Jasper(almost)
Not many questions this week. Keep the reviews rollin' Sorry once more for the late update, but if you'll care to check, you'll see that this chapter is over 7,000 words!
Raven Roth
When we returned the room fell silent, and it took a lot of control to ignore the awkward silence that followed. It seemed no one wanted to move in case it trigged either Jaspers rage or my condemnation, while at the same time each and every person or vampire in the room wanted to know what happened in the forest and why.
Jasper stood against the furthest wall from me, naturally separating himself. For some reason he was smiling faintly, and the most likely reason I could think of was the absence of Alice and Dante.
"Robin, Edward and Bella have gone to talk to Charlie." Cyborg informed us, his one eye boring into me like a drill. He was concerned, oddly stern, and he had reason to be. I hadn't spoken with him in a while, I was unusually (even for me) withdrawn from the Titans, and was spending whole days with a vampire divorcee. But he didn't know about Alice's 'prophecy'. I chose to think of it that way in my mind, because it fit what I had come to know prophecies as- Dark, evil-intending visions that wrecked havoc on me.
Jasper and I were bonded by Alice's insanity, since we were the only two people who could really see it. She needed help. Trying to pair everyone up in neat packages to ease her guilt. She was weak, taking the easy way out with Dante rather than trying harder with Jasper. She didn't deserve him, so maybe that was a good thing.
"And if he refuses to listen?" I asked, bending my head down so my bangs fell across my forehead, drawing into myself. So many sets of eyes on me... I needed to go home, where I could retreat to my room and meditate for hours with no questions asked and no interruptions. I was confused, with other people, and myself. Time traveling for no reason and these feelings about Jasper...
"We'll head home anyway. Titans east can't look after two regions for much longer, they're gettin' tired." He replied, still with that look of concern and suspicion on his face. Starfire bit her lip in worry, an annoying habit she had picked up from Bella, who she was spending way too much time with.
"But... she must come! We will keep her safe from that mean woman Susanahh!"
I scowled despite myself, and Beastboy giggled nervously. Rosalie smiled, exposing perfectly white, yet blunt teeth. Her initial dislike of Starfire's beauty had been overshadowed by an Esme-like motherly fondness.
"Don't worry 'fire, they'll convince him." Emmett grinned. He too liked Starfire, but for different reasons. The Tameranian princess still looked worried, something which only Robin would be able to fix. I wasn't sure what was going on with those two, but she seemed to think there was something. Even before my trip to Forks she started showing me the evidence- magazine articles on how to figure out if a boy likes you, various apparently chivalrous, things Robin had done for her, and other things I had no idea about. It made me feel uneasy. I wasn't the only one who was acting strangely. Choosing to take cover as my boyfriend rather than the cover we usually would use, brother and sister. Going for four hour runs down Forks highway in the pouring rain and cold, shirtless. Something was up with him.
"Where are Alice and Dante?" Jasper asked suddenly. His imposing figure as the only man standing up, with his broad shoulders and rapidly darkening eyes, and hard voice in combination forced the mood of the room down even lower. Beastboy froze. He often did that when the vampires spoke suddenly, something to do with frightened animals and instinct.
"Out." Rosalie answered softly. It sent shivers down my spine to hear her speak that way. Jaspers eyes flicked downwards, and didn't move back up and he folded his arms tightly across his chest, thinking deeply again.
I was gladly distracted from musing over his face by a pack of half naked, russet-skin, very muscular males appearing outside the house, along with the one lone female off to the side, Leah. I blushed, but only for a second, at the strangely high number of good looking males that I was surrounded with. They didn't look very happy. In fact, half of them looked like they were expecting a fight.
They were Jacob's brothers and sister, his wolf pack, and they were staring inside the living room directly at me. Jasper and Rosalie both narrowed their eyes at the exact same time. If I didn't know better, I would completely believe the lie that they were twins.
Jacob motioned for us to come outside, his face so serious I felt worry grow in my chest and my senses picked up. What more could possibly go wrong?
Outside it was cold, and the wind picked up like an ominous sign that the next words out of Jacob or Sam's mouth would be some unexpected horror...
"We've come to thank you." Sam announced solemnly. The entire pack bowed their heads to me in unison as I stood there in embarrassed shock. I had only been doing my job. What anyone else would have done if they were able. I didn't do it for Emily or Bella, I just saved them because I had to.
"It was nothing." I said quickly. I wished I had kept my uniform on, thus my hood, instead of taking it off incase Jasper recognised it. My face was so visible. I felt exposed, the wind whipping my cheeks pink.
"You could have died. We just wish to extend our thanks. We are forever indebted to you." Sam replied, his tone ringing with a distinct finality I hadn't really heard before, nor ever wanted to. The other members of the pack, even the younger ones I had never seen before gave the occasional fervent nod, as if Emily or Belle were each their lover. It was the pack mentality, that made every loved one a single werewolf had ever known important to the entire group. It was the most dangerous way to live I could think of, not that they had a choice. One single death would cause them all to grieve. And since they would live forever if they wanted, it would be less than a hundred years before they fell into some kind of horrible depression. That much loss would be too much for them to bear, over and over again.
"I don't want you in my debt. Please just forget about it." I said hollowly. People found it difficult to extend gratitude to a person who didn't want it. Hopefully werewolves were the same.
"We can't. You saved Emily... you saved me." Sam shook his head unashamedly. I expected some kind of taunt to come from Rosalie but she was silently watching from the front doorway, one eyebrow raised. I nodded. It was the only way to shut this group of strangers up. They didn't owe me anything, and I doubted I would ever want to ask them for assistance, but I didn't have to tell them that. If it would leave things be, I would accept their gratitude.
"Your welcome then." I muttered. Now the younger wolves grateful looks disappeared, and with some relief they all clamped their hands over their mouths and noses and shot meaningful glances and Sam and Jacob.
"Jacob, How can you hang around here so much?" Leah asked in disgust.
"He'll put up with anything to be around Bella." The irritating one, Paul, replied. Jacob ignored them. Sam, the only other wolf without a hand over his face bowed his head one last time.
"We'll be going now." He said. Several relieved sighs rung out, and with a cry of 'border patrol units' from Sam, every young man or women transformed into a huge wolf, each with separate marking and colors, but all with large intelligent eyes that seemed to speak exactly what they were thinking. I could practically feel Beastboy's fascination radiating off him.
"I'm gonna try that." He said, his voice ecstatic. Before I could yell at him, he leaped forward off the front decking and phased in mid-air, his body becoming huge and then forming into that of a green wolf in a few split seconds.
There were a few terrified yelps from smaller wolves who had no idea what was going on, but Sam moved curiously forward. He and Beastboy seemed to be communicating with their eyes and suddenly Beastboy made some kind of noise, a yelp that could only be described as joyful.
"What the hell is that boy doin'?" Cyborg asked, bewildered, coming up behind me.
"How should I know?"
"I don't know. Read his mind." Cyborg replied, as if this were obvious. I shook my head as Beastboy turned around to stare at us with his big green eyes. Somehow they seemed begging.
"She can read minds?" Rosalie hissed behind us. We ignored her.
"I promised I would never do that to anyone." I said stubbornly. I shouldn't compromise on it, even for perfectly innocent causes.
"But he wants to talk to you." Cyborg pointed out softly. Beastboy yelped in agreement so I sighed and focused on him, trying not to delve into the details of his mind and just hear his immediate thoughts. It was difficult: suddenly I was inside his head and I could sense things I shouldn't. Memories of Terra, for instance.
Hey Rae
His thoughts were still very much human, and very much as irritating as his voice.
"My name is Ra-ven, for the last time." I said to the giant Wolf in front of me. His head was at the height of my chest, and I could swear he was smiling obnoxiously.
"It's like Edward all over again." Rosalie muttered behind me. "No idea what they're talking about."
Sure sure. Hey, can I go run with these guys? Robin won't mind, I'll be back real soon.
"He wants to go running." I told Cyborg wearily. He laughed.
"Let him then. Sounds like fun."
Gratefully I left Beastboy's mind and with Cyborg's words he yelped and sprinted over to the pack. He was fast. They took off into the forest, the small black wolf at the front, Beastboy tailing close behind. They were gone in a few seconds.
"That was weird." Emmett laughed, turning around and heading back inside. Rosalie followed, and so did Cyborg and I. Inside I felt shaky.
"Uncomfortable?" Jasper asked just as I was about to step inside. He nailed it, without even feeling it. My barriers were still up but somehow he was reading it on my face.
"Its difficult to deal with others emotions as well as your own." I replied sharply. Those wolves and their gratitude were too much. I wasn't used to thanks for saving people. The citizens of Jump were flaky. You would save them one day, and then they'd be criticizing how much money you spent in the process the next.
Jasper smiled, his eyes warming as he leaned against the side of the house watching everybody trickle past back to the living room.
"I know. We both have that in common. It was hard for me, having it suddenly happen, but you must have been able to do it your entire life am
I right?"
I nodded, but waited for everyone to go inside and the door to click shut before I spoke.
"Its what really made me dangerous. Not my powers. Even if I wanted to be good and never use them, which I did, I had no choice. Anytime I felt something, my powers would react and hurt someone. That's why they trained me not to feel." I said, again giving away too much. It seemed so easy to tell him things, they just slipped out naturally before I could think.
"That's idiocy." Jasper said, his eyes narrowing. I was surprised by his reaction. No one had ever acted angrily to that information before. Sympathetically, at best, or worst, if you looked at it different ways. "How did they expect you to learn how to feel later on?"
"They didn't." I answered simply, my voice hard. "They expected me to die, you know that."
With that I walked inside, before he could ask more about it. I didn't want him to know the intricacies of how I murdered my own father.
There was nothing to do after that but wait for Robin to return with the happy couple and news. On one hand, if everyone came back it would severely hamper my quest for peace in the name of figuring out my 'new' powers, but on the other I felt as though I couldn't leave the vampires.
You couldn't leave him if you tried.
The words Alice wrote in her letter haunted me. What if they were true? For some reason I felt the urge to carry the crumbled piece of stationary around in my pocket, like a talisman or something. I hated her vision of the future, but was it possible I liked it a little as well? That maybe there was a part of me that wanted a chance to hope for a different life?
I sat down and closed my eyes, trying to block out the conversations going on around me. No one tried to include me, and for that I was grateful. They talked about mundane things, like if Rosalie and Emmett would go to Jump if they had the chance, or what us humans would like for dinner. Starfire started asking naive questions before too long, and I felt a small pinch of jealousy when Rosalie was the one to answer them. Certainly, they were questions vampires should answer. I surely couldn't tell her why vampires were so beautiful, like she wanted to know. But it felt wrong to have Rosalie talk to her like she was a child with learning difficulties. Starfire wasn't stupid, and she wasn't going to be Rosalie's replacement child. And Rosalie wasn't going to be her replacement best 'girlfriend' if I had anything to do with it. As soon as I figured out what was wrong with me lately, I would have to have a long conversation about Robin or something similar with her.
I could feel eyes on me, but I couldn't tell whose they were. Mine were closed as a precautionary measure. If I looked like I was sleeping or meditating people would be less likely to talk to me. After an hour maybe, of sitting curled up in the corner of the couch so I wasn't touching anyone, I opened them and found it was dark outside.
These windows were so large and clean I could see down the drive. Headlights would be easy to spot, and I found myself staring into the narrow pathway between the trees. I needed an answer.
Was Bella coming or not?
I supposed it wouldn't be that bad. I could just pretend there were no vampires in the tower. I could stay in my room like usual, reading or meditating. Though I doubted reading would feel the same after this morning. It seemed like so long ago, but the memory of Jasper reading over my shoulder, his breath on my cheek, was still excruciatingly fresh. It would be hard to ignore him. No doubt they would all look in on trainings.
I swallowed hard at the very thought. Shimmering vampires and their simpering human watching me try and keep up physically with my team. Hopefully they wouldn't tag along to real call-outs. They would all cause too much attention. They were so hard to ignore.
Oh Azar. My early morning cups of herbal tea. Vampires never slept. When I woke up there would be none of undisturbed peace I was used to. The feeling that no one else on earth was awake as I watched the sunrise, when I could be alone, but not feel lonely. If they came, when I woke up it would seem like nothing special, because no one had moved since I went to sleep. They would have carried on throughout the night, and the sunrise would just be like a rotating screensaver in a day that never ended to them.
I noticed that it was 12:02. In about ten hours we would be on our plane. I wondered when Beastboy would be back. Hopefully before Robin. I wasn't sure if our all knowing leader fully trusted the wolves enough for them to be alone with Beastboy, in such numbers at least. He was probably having a lot of fun now. If he could tap into that network of thoughts and converse with the other wolves while they were changed it would be like a whole new world for him.
At some point Alice had skipped into the room, sans Dante. She glanced at Jasper every few seconds, and there was no way a vampire like him hadn't noticed it yet. Ridiculously, Alice had already changed her outfit, this time to a beaded black dress that was much too flashy to be worn around Forks. No one spoke to her.
The sound of tires crunching over gravel woke a dosing Starfire and made me straighten up. The answers to my questions where finally here.
Robin and Bella walked in, both looking like they had seen better days. In other words, absolutely exhausted. Edward quietly pulled the door closed behind them.
"So...?" Emmett asked. He had been patient up until now.
"We're going." Edward muttered. I noticed Bella's eyes were red-rimmed and puffy. She stared at the ground, avoiding everyone's curious glances in her direction, breathing heavily, like she had a cold. Edward looked brooding and Robin uncomfortable. "Bella will be staying here tonight." Edward added darkly, before stalking upstairs with Bella on his arm. For once, she wasn't clinging to him. She seemed like she wanted to get away, but didn't know how. Resigned.
"What was that all about?" Rosalie hissed at Robin the moment I heard the bedroom door upstairs shut a few moments later. Robin sighed.
"Charlie was... upset. Obviously we couldn't tell him why we needed to take Bella out of school and out of home-" He sat down, apparently exhausted. "-so he said he wouldn't let her leave, even when I said she was in danger. He seems to think Edward is trying to take her away permanently, and for some reason we're helping him, like he bought us out or something." Robin paused and looked to the Titans, too tired to be offended by accusations of corruption. I grimaced. Somehow I had known the Police Chief would not let his daughter go without explanation. Unfortunately, there was no way to explain the situation without letting him in on the entire existence of creatures beyond his comfortable knowledge of reality. It would collapse his entire world if he knew.
"So you just left?" Emmett asked casually.
"We had to. Charlie was rattled. He was threatening to get out his shotgun and call the Mayor of Jump on us. I pointed out Bella was 18, and could leave home whenever she wanted, but that just made him even angrier."
"Is Bella feeling sad for her father?" Starfire asked, concern evident in her voice and jewel-green eyes. I glanced at her. She was frowning up at the stairs, absentmindedly playing with a long strand of flame-bright hair.
"She wanted to talk to him more, but Edward pulled her away. I don't think it helped. She doesn't want to come to Jump with us."
"Great." Rosalie sneered, tossing her silky blond curls over her shoulder. "More moaning to live with. Emmett, we are definitely not going."
"Fine." He muttered dejectedly with a grimace.
"Is it alright if I use the computer? I need to book our flights." Robin asked tiredly. Rosalie nodded with a roll of her eyes. The faster we were out of her perfect golden hair, the better for her.
"Thanks. Team, get to bed. I'm hoping for an early flight."
"I'll call Bee and let her know we're comin' home." Cyborg said, retreating down the hall, apparently towards the phone. Though my face remained blank, inside I felt a chip of worry. Where was I meant to sleep? The past few days I had been uncconscious.
Starfire bit her lip once again and suddenly ran to Robin unnervingly fast and hugged him tightly. Eyes popping in confusion and the rib-cracking pressure, Robin was rendered speechless.
"Goodnight Robin." She breathed quietly, oddly shy. The moment was awkward for me, if not everyone else in the room.
"Uh ...goodnight?" Robin spluttered, meeting my eyes briefly with a questioning look. I shrugged but I thought I knew what was happening. Starfire had finally decided to stop waiting for Robin to make a move. I hoped he would respond, or Starfire would be heartbroken.
Starfire smiled at Robin, and then the vampires.
"Goodnight everyone." She said much louder, and then she skipped up the stairs to wherever she usually slept.
"Raven needs a bed." Jasper pointed out dully, breaking the silence that ensued. Robin breathed out the air he had been holding in out of relief.
"I'll give her mine." Alice said quickly. I watched her out of the corner of my eye in shock. Why would she do that? What did she want from me?
The others stared at her in suspicion as well, but she ignored them and danced to the bottom of the stairs, gesturing gracefully towards me to follow with her left hand. I noticed there were no rings on it.
"Beastboy went with the wolf pack." I told Robin, a small amount of desperation seeping into my voice as I half hoped he would snap and tell me we had to go and get him. Instead Robin shrugged. I thought he would eventually, it makes sense for him to do it before we leave.
I had no choice but to walk up the stairs behind Alice, as no one said anything to stop it. I put up extra mind barriers in case. It was clear Alice wanted to talk to me for some reason and for all I knew she could have more than one vampire gift.
When we reached the landing she led me into her room, the one she had previously shared with Jasper. The difference now was his maps and any other sign that he had lived here were gone. This room was now exclusively Alice's, redecorated in a few short hours to embody her style. It now smelled like her scented stationary, and it gave me a sick feeling.
"I like the clothes you picked out by the way." Alice said, her voice confident, yet still soft. As if she had done nothing wrong, and we were friends. "I could lay some more out for tomorrow if you like."
I ignored her out of incredulity. The bed was all I was interested in. By the looks of it, it had never been slept in. It was just a prop, like the rest of this house.
"I hope I haven't offended you Raven." Alice said, turning slowly to look at me. Her face was angular and curious, and she was wringing her small hands slightly.
"Offend isn't the right word. But you have tried to complicate and twist things I would rather you left alone." I replied in monotone. I didn't want to talk with her. I wanted to meditate. To find out why I had traveled back in time to Jasper. It was a still-burning fervent desire.
"I'm sorry for that. But my visions were clear. And half of them have already happened." She said unapologetically. Like it was fact. Like she was frustrated with me.
"Which ones?" I asked almost sharply, losing some control over myself.
"You kissed him. I saw it."
"He kissed me!" I retorted, keeping my voice even, though it was raised again.
"You kissed each other at the exact same time." She smiled slightly. "And passionately at that." She added as an afterthought. Why was she smiling like that? I glared at her perfectly elfin face. The demon in me wished her skinny limbs were as snap-able as they looked but I knew they were tougher than steel. "And you tell him things you know you shouldn't."
A feeling of shame was creeping through me. She knew. About what I was. She had seen me tell Jasper in one vision or another.
"You'll accept it sooner or later. I'm just sorry Jasper is feeling so conflicted about you and me right now-"
"How sweet of you." I muttered sarcastically. Alice smiled wryly.
"He's a wonderful man Raven. I don't see why you wont admit you want him."
"If he's so wonderful, why did you give him up so easily?"
Alice's smile died slightly.
"Because I saw how much happier he would be with you over me. And how much happier I would be with Dante over him. We clung to each other when we were all alone, and I know we were meant to be together for a time, because I brought him to the Cullens, and away from bloodshed but that time has passed. Now we both have to move on."
I said nothing and stared at the ground. I was tracking dirt on the spotless carpet.
"I'll leave you to sleep." Alice continued. "But just think about what you're trying to get away from here. You'd make each other so happy."
And with that grandiose statement, she left the room, closing the door as gently as if an infant were sleeping inside. I sat down on the bed, which bounced a little. It was too comfy and expensive for a bed that was never meant to be used.
What was I running away from? If I really thought about it, I liked Jasper. I didn't love him, but maybe if I spent more time with him, reading or talking, maybe then that would change. He was beautiful. He was a gentleman, and he was intelligent. My head was unusually clear when I was around him, so I knew this wasn't like my infatuation with Malchior under the influence of incense in my closeted bedroom, or the naive crush I had briefly had on Aqualad.
I needed meditation. Lately, it seemed that had become my new mantra.
I folded my legs up into the lotus position and closed my eyes firmly, trying to forget whose room I was in, and who it used to belong to.
Jasper Hale
"What was that back there?" I ground out, trying not to look directly into her golden eyes, or even at her pale impish face framed by her shockingly dark hair. She danced down the stairs like her behavior was ordinary and sane.
"Excuse me?" She asked innocently, slowing and looking up at me. Rosalie sighed and rolled her eyes, settling down on the sofa next to Emmett. A late night football replay was playing quietly on the flatscreen and Robin had gone to bed after booking tickets to jump with instructions wake him up by seven at the latest. I would be glad to leave.
"Don't be pretentious. Raven. What did you say to her?"
Alice had been smart enough to talk quietly enough so we couldn't hear her upstairs, but it had become incredibly awkward when Raven's voice carried down into the living room, nearly shouting "he kissed me!" I could still feel the dirty looks Rosalie was sending me. Inwardly she was furious. Emmett was just disappointed. My brother's worst fears had come true and they were tearing the family apart. I wondered vaguely if I disagreed with Raven or not. I seemed to remember her face being suddenly close to mine before I decided kissing her would be a good idea.
"You seem to care an awful lot about the girl when you apparently don't even like her." Alice answered smugly.
"It's not your place to comment." I said, straining to keep control of myself. It wasn't a good move to get me riled up in a house full of sleeping, breathing humans. I could hear heartbeats throughout the house, out of time with each other, hammering fast even in sleep. Hopefully Edward wasn't listening to my thoughts or he would get in an even worse mood when he finally came downstairs.
"I just want to hurry things up a bit. It's maddening. The visions are still coming in, and you're not doing a thing to make them happen." She replied. Rosalie snorted.
"Do you really expect him to? If I were him, I would stay as far away from that gothic bitch as possible!"
"Don't be crass Rosalie." Alice snapped. "She's just guarded."
"That's just another way of saying she's hiding something." Rosalie replied aptly.
My throat was burning. I felt my muscles tighten, ready to spring. There was nothing I could really do but clench my fists.
"It's not going to happen Alice. You can't pair me up with her because you feel guilty." I wanted to influence her emotions so she wouldn't feel so smug, but I couldn't bring myself to do so.
"Why are you two so stubborn? ...and for no reason." She shook her head in frustration. I growled.
"You need to leave. Go see your new boyfriend or something until I'm gone!"
"I won't. Dante and I have all the time in the world, but if you keep dawdling, Raven will slip through your fingers!" Alice hissed.
"Let it go Alice!" Emmett suddenly barked, twisting around furiously. It was clear he had been using the television as a distraction, and it hadn't worked. "Why won't you listen to him!? Or even her?! They don't want to be together!"
Emmett's anger had redirected from Raven to its rightful place; Alice. The woman who caused this.
"It's going to be alright Emmett." Alice said calmly, blinking.
"Not if you push them together." Emmett said sadly. "It will rip us all apart."
Susanahh (Last name unknown)
Braxton's face was etched with anger once more as he stared down our five-strong newborn militia. It had been nine-strong this morning, but that was before the fight.
"What was this over?" He asked quietly, his deep voice sharp with a deadly promise. I hoped they would all be alive when this argument was over, we didn't have enough time to change any more humans. I didn't have the selection I liked as it was. We had no time to carefully select talented humans to make gifted vampires as we once had, now we were just picking anyone up off the street.
It had been a total surprise that Braxton had changed his mind and wanted to continue my plan after the fight with the Cullens. He had said that would be the last time we would confront them, but the detachment of his head and limbs from his body seemed to have affected him in a way I had not anticipated, and thus he had suddenly become as invested in killing Isabel Swan as I was. It warmed my cold insides to know how much he wanted to help me now. The vengeful fire burning in me was still unstoppable. Memories of my older sister plagued my every hour, reminding me why her killers had to pay.
Temperance was the first to reply to Braxton's question. If I remembered correctly, we had picked her up outside of a movie theater while she waited for a ride home. Though she had dressed like many other teenagers seemed to: in dark clothes and darker expressions, she had been easy to convince. One admiring look from Braxton was all it took to deceive her and for her to believe that her mother couldn't pick her up and had sent him instead, like he told her. All these girls were the same on the inside, no matter how they dressed. I would have liked to change someone smarter.
"Jillian kissed Xander when she thought I had gone." She said, a thin glint of defiance in her eyes. Xander had come out of the movie theater a few minutes after Temperance, and had subsequently been lured into my car with my revealing blouse and the encouragement of his wolf-whistling, ape-like friends. Now I supposed he was dead. For the second time. A shame.
"So you killed them both?" Braxton probed, his scarlet eyes flashing. I liked it when he got mad. I wanted to see him the same way when he cornered Edward Cullen, ripped off his head and gave it to me so I could torment the human.
"Yes." Temperance admitted fearfully, looking up briefly into his eyes, frozen. Really, she should thank us for changing her. She was so much prettier this way. Now her cropped hair actually suited her face, and all her human fat had been melted away by Braxton's venom.
"If you so much as touch another vampire on our side, I will personally dismember you and burn the pieces!" Braxton hissed, slapping her across the face with so much force it sounded as if the forest cave we were sheltering from the rain in was collapsing. The muscled newborn, Dustin, flinched. Obviously his muscles had come from hours alone in his room with some weights, not from actual fights. He may have to be replaced. He doesn't have the right temperament.
Temperance skidded back and managed to keep a straight face. She nodded and Braxton let his hand fall to his side, satisfied with her for now.
"Odd isn't it? How Temperance only killed two of you, yet there are four less newborns standing before me than this morning when you went hunting." Braxton said coldly, eyeing the remaining three newborns standing in line. It couldn't be Dustin, anyone of the other newborns would rip him to pieces before he acted. It had to be either Juda or Lucy. The fierce couple I was pleased to have changed. However, they fought with everyone but each other.
"Darren took the human I wanted, and then Lily tried to convince me it was his in the first place." Juda answered in a rush of words, his bright red eyes darting from the mouth of the cave, to Braxton, to Lucy, to me.
"So you killed them both?" Braxton asked, a little bored now, but beautifully so. I couldn't blame him. The dynamics of this particular group of newborns played out like a soap opera.
"I helped." Lucy said unwillingly, sharing a look with Juda.
"Jesus...IF ANY OF YOU DECIDE TO KILL AGAIN SOON, LET IT BE BELLA SWAN YOU SHRED TO RIBBONS!" he roared. I decided to intervene, before he went to far and our little army suddenly dwindled again.
"My love, please calm down. I'm sure it won't happen again." I said soothingly, reaching for his hand. "And besides," I added angrily, remembering a time when Victoria had comforted me by holding my hand. "Bella is mine and I will be most displeased if they touch her."
"Your right." Braxton muttered coolly, kissing the back of my hand. "Temperance, go check on the humans." He ordered. Temperance nodded mutely and streaked off further into the cave where some more humans were transforming. Every now and then screams would echo down to where we were, letting us know they were still there.
Braxton held me in his arms, his hands up the back of my new blouse. I had given my nightdress to one of the newborns. Too often they got their clothes much too stained with blood during the hunt.
"Not long now." He breathed in my ear.
"Just as well." I breathed back. "While I was out hunting Caius called."
"He did." Braxton said, more of a statement than a question, sounding worried again.
"Yes. He wanted to know why we are taking so long. I told him we have to build our army up again. He told me that is the area Victoria failed, and I ought to stop trying in case I do the same." I hissed at the memory. How dare he make such suggestions about my sister! If he was not Caius of the Volturi, I would incinerate him for even suggesting Victoria's death was her own fault.
"Maybe we should hurry then." Braxton said, looking down at me, his dark hair falling handsomely over his eyes.
"Maybe." I agreed, suddenly realizing that any anger at Caius was wasted. He simply wanted Bella dead as much as I did. The sooner the better.
Another shriek echoed throughout the cave, desperate and inhuman, setting off a chain reaction of deeper, more masculine screams of agony.
"The rest should be done soon." Braxton said conversationally, looking over his shoulder into the darkness from which Temperance was emerging, dragging with her a struggling girl with wild ruby-red eyes, deathly pale skin and blood-caked curls the color of autumn leaves.
"The rest should be done soon." he says. They're not cakes Braxton. Jeeeezzz.
Though, I'm starting to quite like these rogue vampires. They make me laugh and fear for peoples lives at the same time. Much more than I like the Cullens. hmmm I'm not sure if thats a good thing because one side has to lose their little fight. Well see what happens.
You'll notice I put a reference to one of Staphanie Meyers crrrraaaaaaaaazzzzzzyyyyy(I yell this) theories. According to her the venom (and her refusual to have ugly vampires) does some kind of acidic eating away of body fat when you are turned into a vampire. Yes, the same venom which allows her vampires no unsightly fangs and erections.
So I put in Temperance, who used to be super fat, just for fun. My question for readers, and twilight lovers(doubtful any of them are still reading) is how is only skinny beautiful? Stephanies desision says to me that the vampires are not goodlooking unless they're stick figures, yet she claims that the vampires have been hawt for hundreds of years. Well, hundreds of years ago, when all the sexy ladies were the huge ones, her vampires would have seemed hidious. You've all seen the naked paintings of the size 16's. Alice would have seemed like some glittering street urchin. And in whatever dynasty China a while back, their perfect dainty feet would have seemed freakishly ginormous to the locals, meaning they wouldn't be seen beautiful back then either.
My point is, the only place these vampires are good looking is westernised areas, right now. So they would have only just been seen as goodlooking. So Stephanie Meyer's idea that the Vampires look pretty to lure in prey is just an excuse to make sure her vampires are sexy as hell in her eyes, and then deny thats the reason by making it "scientific" by using words like "Evolved" She does this all the time, trying to make her vampires seem logical. I'll probably rant more on this tendancy of hers later. But only because it's infuriating.
So finally another Chapter. Hope you like it. Review either way. You know the drill people, Review or I kill myself.
Just a little suicide joke. No need to cry about it.
Oh you don't care if I die?
Fine then. Everytime you don't review, your grandparents have sex. Even if, like mine, there dead.
So review or I die and your grandparents get intimate. I think you all know what to do. I'll just continue trying to kill the fly in my computer room with my bare hands while I wait. Shouldn't be too hard.