Disclaimer: All publicly recognizable characters, settings, etc., are the property of Stephenie Meyer, Joss Whedon, and Konami. The original plot is the property of the author. The author is in no way associated with the owners, creators, or producers of any media franchise. No copyright infringement is intended.

My editing team: Simaril, Mary-Alice-Brandon-Cullen, I.T.P, and JaspersDestiny.

Chapter Thirty-Four – The Fight

Ella watched as everyone parted for the night and saw Carly and Daniel walking hand-in-hand to the second floor. She knew that they wouldn't part tonight. They needed each other.

Just like I need my Carlisle.

She turned to the still-kneeling Carlisle beside her and reached for his hand.

"That was a good speech."

"Thank you." She leaned her head on his shoulder.

"Ready to go to bed?" he asked in a soft murmur.

She hummed an affirmative reply and let him help her up to her feet. She would follow her own advice, she decided, and think about nothing but the present. Upstairs, she smiled at Carlisle as she pulled him in with her to the soft bed they had shared since arriving at Almond Manor and simply curled into his embrace.

Carlisle noted that she fell asleep as soon as her body intertwined with his. She was tired, and he was glad that she had the opportunity to sleep. Alice had predicted that the enemy would arrive at dusk, so they had all decided to sleep in the next day. The last day wouldn't be dedicated to practice or preparations; it would be dedicated to rest.

He knew that if he let his mind wander, it would go straight to what they were about to face, so he forced his thoughts in a different direction, one that was much more pleasant. They would take a few years off, he decided, as off as Ella's duties would allow them. He wanted to ask her to marry him, and he felt a tingle of warmth in his body when he pictured her in a white dress walking down the aisle toward him. In his mind, he had made a commitment equal to marriage the night they first made love, but his human side needed the religious ceremony as well, to bond her to him in yet another way. He wondered if he should ask her before their children were born and felt another rush of warmth. Their children. It was a concept he never thought he would be entertaining. He should have known better, he told himself. Just because something hadn't been known to happen, it didn't mean it was impossible.

A miracle, fate, he cared not for the reason for it. He embraced it. He could hardly wait to be able to feel his children moving inside her, kicking, announcing their presence in a more tangible way. Now that he knew what to look for, he could distinguish the sound of their hearts beating from that of Ella's heart; it was a steady, rapid pulsing of two tiny hearts.

Closing his eyes, he breathed her scent in and cleared his mind of all but the sounds of the hearts beating. He would protect them with his life, he vowed, and he would do everything in his power to make sure that it wouldn't take his life to do so. He never wanted to leave Ella alone.

o.O.o

Carly, Daniel, and Elizabeth stood on the thick carpet in the basement. They each wore white cotton shirts and pants and were barefoot. Each of them had a silver piece of jewelry on them: Carly wore star-shaped earrings with the letters E and C intertwined together; Elizabeth had a pendant bearing her initials, which was surrounded by leaves of the almond tree; Daniel had an intricate Celtic knot pinned to his shirt on the left side. The silver jewels represented their family, their strength, and their bonds. It was both for protection and for enhancement of their inner powers.

Ritualistic candles that had been carved, blessed, and lit, now stood on almost every flat surface in the room. The scent of incense that had been burning for the past twenty-four hours to purify the room from any remaining bad energy still lingered in the air. Herbs were organized on several trays according to their order of use. A sword, blessed twice and forged under a full moon, lay at Carly's feet, its blade dull, for it was not meant to cut in the physical plane. The chalice—a ceremonial goblet—stood on one side of the sword, and Carly's wand laid on the other; fire and water, balanced.

The tools had all been consecrated prior to the ceremony and had not been touched by anyone but Carly herself. She picked up the sword and carved a pentagram in the wooden floorboards that had been installed specifically for the purpose of this spell. She surrounded the star with a circle, connecting each of the five corners, and gave Elizabeth a nod.

"North to south, east to west, a circle of light here I cast," Elizabeth began. "Mother to daughter, daughter to son. A circle of one."

"At this time, between day and night, we seek wisdom and sight," Daniel continued. "Our hearts are pure. Our will is true. A circle of two."

Carly raised the sword in the air. "Goddess of life, give us your blessing. Protector of light, guard the path we are taking. Power lives free. A circle of three!"

A circle of light rose from the carving Carly had made in the wood. It shone in the darkness, and then the light dissipated, leaving but a shimmer behind it. This was the first step of many. The circle would help them concentrate the energy within them, and it would also protect them against evil. This basic casting erected a magical equivalent of a fortress wall around the group.

"Now we are ready to start the fun stuff. Let's start with fire." Carly smiled. "From dusk and until the moon is gone, this fire I make will glow bright as the sun. As light grows weak across the sky, I call the flames from air to fly. Burn no flesh, no feather, no tree. As I wish, so mote it be."

Fire erupted in the middle of the circle, bright and warm, but the floorboards beneath it were undamaged.

"Through oceans and rivers and beyond the mountains tall, hear my summons, hear my call," Elizabeth said, looking into the fire. "From cloud and from earth, from wind and from storm, the waters I bring shall harm no form. As water falls and thunder roars, I call thee to protect these halls. Goddess of ocean, river, and sea, as I wish, so mote it be."

Around the burning fire, through the crevices formed by Carly's carving, water began to flow. First, the pentagram was formed, and then the circle around the group was filled as well. Perfectly balanced and magical as they were, the fire and water coincided without affecting each other.

Daniel took a deep breath and closed his eyes before speaking his part of the summoning. "From desert plains and ancient caves, on mountain tops and forest ground, I plea the land, the dirt, the sand to bound. Heed my will and carve a trail, guide us to live, to thrive, to prevail. Mother of nature, I plead thee, as I will, so mote it be."

The wooden floorboard beneath their feet vanished. There was now warm sand under their toes, silky and smooth.

"Last but not least, let's summon the air," Carly said and placed her sword on the sand. They joined hands and began to chant the last summoning spell.

Once all four elements were properly summoned, it was time for the most complicated spell any of them had ever cast. It was also the most important one, for it was more than likely that this would be the pivoting point of the battle.

As they gathered the herbs into the cauldron in their proper order, chanting their memorized lines, the magical energy around them began to swell. Herbs burning in a beautiful green flame, they held hands and finished the protection spell together, their voices rising to the sky.

o.O.o

They stood at the edge of the property that belonged to the Almond family, four fierce warriors dressed in black. As the elements were summoned inside the house, they prepared for battle. Just as Carly had told them before they had left, a surge of power went through them. It was followed by a deafening thunder—Carly's idea of signaling to them that the first part of the protection spell had been cast.

"She doesn't do things small, does she?" Jasper murmured.

"That's my Carly." Ella grinned. "She never does things halfheartedly."

"They're coming," Alice said quietly. "I can hear them."

Wrapping both hands around the Vampire Killer, Ella said, "Good. It's time to finish this."

The four turned-Slayers came first, emerging from the thick forest that surrounded Almond Manor. Dirty, wild, growling, they charged at them. Jasper was knocked back by a powerful kick to his chest, but he recovered quickly. When his assailant, whom he recognized easily from Alice's sketch as Consuela, went after him again, he evaded.

Consuela was quick and agile, and her body still retained memories of her Slayer training. She rushed toward Jasper with a punch. He tried to grab her arm and throw her back to the woods, but she surprised him by landing on her feet, wrapping her other hand around his wrist, and throwing him into the trees.

Alice saw Jasper disappearing between the trees and kept one ear attuned to the noise coming from that direction. Her opponent was the youngest of the turned Slayers, Amana. She was blocking her vision, but it wasn't as bad as with Ella, so Alice could still rely on her gift in the battle. Ignoring the pang of sorrow at having to kill such a young opponent, Alice decided to administer the killing bite as quickly as she could; she charged and went for Amana's neck.

Realizing that she was facing a much more skilled opponent than she had been prepared to face, Amana backed up into the forest. This wasn't her fight; this was her opportunity to flee while her masters and enemies were preoccupied. She would use her newfound stealth ability and the keen sense that had been enhanced by the change to make her escape.

Alice did not pause to think; she immediately darted after the turned Slayer as she tried to flee the battle. She might not have wanted to kill a thirteen-year-old girl, but the monster that that girl had been turned into could not be allowed to survive.

o.O.o

Ella swung the Vampire Killer and sliced through her attacker, removing the arm off the Russian slayer in a lightning-fast motion.

Iskra howled in pain and, just like a wounded animal, tried to attack Ella again. Her speed, enhanced by the change her body had experienced, allowed her to gain the momentary advantage on her enemy, and her claw-like strike hit Ella's arm.

As the nails dug into her flesh, Ella caught Iskra's wrist and used the opening to send a powerful kick into her stomach. The vampire immediately released her hold on Ella's arm and growled. She lunged again, feigning a strike to Ella's side. As Ella defended, Iskra crouched and tried to sweep her feet from beneath her.

Ella was almost disappointed with her enemy's strength; the kick was well-aimed, but it wasn't nearly powerful enough to even move her. She crouched and kicked the Slayer in the head. The sound of the strike echoed around the forest like thunder, accompanied by the sickening sound of bone cracking.

Carlisle found himself struggling against Clair. The black-haired Slayer was fast, attacking him with a flurry of hand strikes and kicks. He noted that although Alice and Jasper were out of sight, he could hear their fights continuing in the forest. They would not be able to help him.

It took every bit of concentration on his part to keep Ella in his peripheral vision, even as he attempted to throw Clair over his head and gain time to recuperate. Clair's body soared through the air, and she landed in a tree, sending splinters and birds flying. In the moment's reprieve, he saw that Ella was fighting the Russian turned-Slayer and noted that it was almost as though she was playing with the girl.

As Clair raced from between the trees and demanded his full attention again, he realized that he hadn't seen Esme or any of the three other males. He had a bad feeling about it.

Ella finished Iskra off with a pang of sorrow. The girl's life had ended the moment she'd been bitten, but Ella still found herself regretting having to be the one to finish the job. She saw that Carlisle was still fighting the Irish Slayer and that he was having difficulty in dealing with her. She was about to turn to help him when something slammed into her. She hissed as she felt pain shoot through her shoulder.

Distracted by her hiss, Carlisle missed Clair's next attack and found himself on his back, holding back the turned Slayer merely inches away from his neck.

At that moment, Alice and Jasper appeared from between the trees, both of them thrown into the clearing. They were followed by two male figures, the hybrid vampires Alice had seen in her vision.

Clenching her teeth and biting back the pain, Ella swung the battle cross and decapitated the vampire that had attacked her, noting that it was another of the turned slayers, Amana. Her head flew somewhere between the trees, but Ella wasted no time watching where it went. She headed toward Carlisle. The inhuman growl coming from her was the only warning that Clair had before Ella pummeled her fists into her side.

Carlisle used this opportunity to dispose of the turned-Slayer in two quick motions. He was standing by Ella's side the second Clair's head flew off her shoulders.

"Where are you hurt?" he asked, his eyes darting up and down her body, followed by his hands, checking her for injuries.

"It's nothing serious," she said and swatted his hands away. "I just bruised my shoulder. Honestly, I'm okay."

He could smell her blood, and his mind clouded. She was hurt. Her blood was spilled. Someone would have to pay.

"Help Alice," she told him. "I'll give Jasper a hand."

He wanted to argue, but she was already running toward the trees. Cursing under his breath, he ran to Alice. He kicked the male vampire off her, getting a short, "Thanks," in response.

The angry male, Mitch, was already on his feet and running back toward them, a mighty growl erupting from his demon-like features.

Carlisle and Alice reacted at the same time, moving in opposite directions to flank their attacker.

Mitch made a split second decision and went after the smaller of his two targets. The little bitch proved to be harder to catch than he initially assumed. She dodged every punch he threw at her, crouching when he kicked high and jumping in the air when he kicked low. He also had to keep track of the other target. The male came at him every time the female evaded. Mitch calculated quickly after his third kick missed its mark.

He kept the female in his peripheral view and turned his attention to the male. He punched him in the side but earned a kick to his torso immediately after. The female jumped on him from behind, attempting to go after his neck, but he grabbed her by her hair and threw her off and into the male he was fighting.

Mitch hadn't accounted for one thing—The Slayer. When his chest was suddenly pierced by a long piece of metal, he howled in pain, and in the next instant, his head went flying off his shoulders with another swipe of Ella's battle-cross-turned-sword.

"We need to go back," Carlisle said, his eyes savoring the beautiful sight of his soul mate.

"The leaders can't be too far," Alice agreed, "and I don't like having Jasper out of my sight."

Ella simply nodded and darted back out of the tree line.

When they emerged from the forest, Carlisle saw Jasper appear on the other side of the field, unharmed. Before Alice could make a move to reach him, the two missing leaders of their attackers came into the field as well.

The smile on Carlisle's face when he saw Esme and Adrian make their appearance was nothing short of predatory. He wouldn't make the same mistake twice. This time, Esme was not going to walk away from the battlefield. This time, he was going to destroy her. He could see Ella wearing a cold smile. Her gaze was focused on the leaders as well. He could almost feel her vibrating with the desire to kill them, to make them pay for the pain their actions had brought to those she loved.

"Not bad," Adrian said as they approached. "Those half-a-brains actually did some damage." His eyes traveled to meet Ella's, and he sent her a smile that had once caused shivers to run down her spine. "Hello, Isabella. It's been a while. Have you missed me?"

"Didn't I kick your ass already?" She smiled, showing nothing but boredom on her face. "Guess your ass really missed the kicking. Don't worry. I'm ready to make sure it gets a good whooping." She held the silver cross in one hand and focused on channeling her emotions toward it. If there was ever a time to make good use of the Vampire Killer, it was now.

Adrian laughed. "Haven't you learned a thing, little girl? Metal can't hurt me." He cocked his head to the side and glanced at the vampires around them. "Hanging around damaged vampires..." He tsked.

"Damaged, my ass," Jasper murmured as he slowly edged forward. Something wasn't right, he thought. The cocky bastard was feeling too smug, too confident for someone who had just had all of his army destroyed.

On the other side of the clearing, Esme wore a similar smug, cocky smile. "Is that what you've come down to, Carl? A human Slayer?"

Letting the insult pass, Carlisle allowed himself a glance at Ella. Her stance was confident, her face calm and composed. There was no trace of pain in her, and he prayed that her injury was truly nothing more than a small bump to her shoulder.

"I think I might be doing you a favor, after all," Esme mused, "ridding you of your pathetic existence. Too bad you were never vampire enough to have me."

Carlisle laughed. It was a mirthless sound. "You really are as stupid as you look, aren't you? Building an army to get me? Haven't you learned your lesson last time?"

Esme smiled. "Oh, but I have. I most definitely have."

o.O.o

Carly gulped air as her spirit returned to her body. Taking flight, disassociating the consciousness from the body, was risky, but it wasn't as though she could call Ella and ask for an update on the battle.

"What did you see?" Elizabeth asked.

"They killed their army," Carly replied, leaning on Daniel to gain her equilibrium. "The leaders, Esme and Alucard, have just arrived. I don't like it, though. There was something dark lingering between the trees not too far from them, and the leaders were much too confident."

"Maybe there's something Alice didn't see," Daniel said. "Here, drink." He pressed a glass of water to her lips. She was as pale as a ghost, but he knew that she wouldn't want to hear it.

"Thank you," she said when she was done. "They didn't have time to light a fire and finish off the ones they dismembered. I think we should start with that and go on from there."

Elizabeth wanted to protest—Carly was not only pale, but she was also shaking—yet it wasn't time for it. "Let's burn those motherfuckers."

Carly raised a brow and nearly chuckled. She had never heard Elizabeth curse before. She let it go, however, for there were more important things to take care of.

They sat in the circle, their faces lit with the light of the magic fire burning in the center of it, and began the chant that each of them had memorized in the preceding days.

"Goddess of moon, stars, and sun, send fire to finish what has begun. Mistress of deserts, seas, and sky, send flames to burn that which was sentenced to die. Protect the warriors who carry love in their heart, shield them from evil with your mystic light. Goddess, we plead thee, as we will, so mote it be."

o.O.o

The lightning came from clear, starry skies, striking the middle of the forest where the warriors had left their enemies in tatters. Ella and Carlisle each had a smile flash across their faces when both Esme and Adrian showed the first sign of nerves at the sight.

"How do you like the show, Al?" Ella asked. "Enjoying the pretty colors?"

"You will die today, you meddling bitch," he spat through gritted teeth. "I will enjoy choking the life out of your miserable corpse."

Adrian roared with anger and darted toward her at the same time as Esme took on Carlisle.

"Two problems with your logic, little Al." She ducked his incoming punch and landed one of her own. "First, you can't choke a corpse. It's already dead."

He tried catching her, attempting to wrap his hands around her neck, but she was too fast. She had improved, he noticed. The last time he had fought her, she was nothing more than a scared child. Never mind, he told himself. She would just prove more of a challenge for him until he killed her.

"Two"—she slipped from his grip again—"you are too old, too slow, and definitely too stupid to kill me." She began a chant in her mind, one that she didn't remember reading, as she kept her eyes locked on him.

"My name is Adrian! You will scream that name when you beg for mercy. I can smell your fear. I can hear that pathetic heart of yours beating twice as fast. You know I'm going to kill you."

"You will not touch a single hair on my body," she told him, raising the cross. It elongated and morphed before his very eyes, shaping itself into a longsword. The metal shone in the night, the magical power concealed within it shimmering beneath the surface. "You will never harm me or those dear to me."

He wavered, his confidence leaving him for the first time in his existence. It wasn't only her weapon that was glowing; it was she, as well. Her eyes became the clear blue of her father's, her hair paled to the blonde of her mother's, and her lips turned the color of blood.

"I killed your mother," he screamed, the panic trickling into his tone, "and by the devil, I will kill you, too!"

Ella's eyes never left his as she spoke in the voice of the first Slayer. "From the devil you come, to the devil you shall return. What you send to the world, to you is returned threefold."

He screamed as her sword sliced through him, a long, keening sound that was part rage and part pain. Flames erupted from the cut she'd made across his chest, and he fell to his knees.

"May the devil have no mercy on your soul," she told him in her own voice, her skin still shimmering.

A moment later, nothing but dust remained where he had knelt.

Suddenly, she could hear everything around her so clearly. She saw that the enemy had brought more with them, a second wave. These were weaker, though, newer vampires. Jasper was already making his way through the third or fourth by the time she lifted her gaze to him. Alice was holding her ground as well, she noted, but it was Carlisle who drew her eyes the most. He was engaged in a fight with Esme.

Ella never remembered making her way to the other side of the field, or speaking words that sent chills down the spines of every vampire who heard her. "A creature of evil, raised by the dark, you will forever bare my mark. What you send unto the world, to you is returned threefold."

Carlisle watched her as she made a clean cut across the chest of the women he'd once hated fiercely. Now he felt nothing toward her, no hate, no pity. Esme had brought everything on herself, and his only care was that Ella, his soul mate, his reason for existence, was safe at last.

A moment later, all three Cullens found themselves unable to move, unable to look away from Ella. She had a shimmering aura of light around her, as though she had pulled the rays of the moon itself and made a cloak out of them.

"Three millennia of cycles have come to an end. The evil that walks this earth is now dead." She raised her sword to the sky, her voice not quite her own. It was stronger, echoing throughout the forest. "A millennia for magic, a millennia for fear, a millennia for death. I am the one sent forth to start a new cycle, one of life and power and health. Thrice you prevailed, but now your power has paled."

The dozen vampires that were left of the second wave screamed when Ella plunged the sword into the ground, sending rivers of light across it. Like molten lava, the rivers flowed and burned every enemy, leaving nothing but light and dust in their wake.

With her hands on the hilt of her sword, Ella called out the last words of a spell that had been in her blood since the first magic. "From mother to daughter."

Inside the house, Carly stood with her ceremonial sword raised. "From daughter to son."

"What has been foretold—"

"—has now begun."

"Goddess of magic, Mistress of life, hear my plea." Their voices combined into one and could be heard in both the clearing and the basement. "As I will, so mote it be."

Blinding light filled the earth. The field, the trees, the house, the basement, everything was flooded, and everyone was rendered blind.

"And so, it had begun," a bodiless voice whispered, unheard by all. "A new bloodline to be born and to rule the new world."

When the light was gone, everyone collapsed to the ground. For the first time in their existence, even the vampires were rendered unconscious.

What do you think about the awesomeness that is Ella in this chapter? And what about Carly? She seems to be developing into an awesome witch, isn't she?

Last chance to guess what Ella and Carlisle are going to have :)

Thank you all very much for reading. The epilogue will be up on Thursday, 25th, which also happens to be my birthday. There will be no teasers from the epilogue, but I always love to hear what you think about the chapter, so don't be shy about clicking the review button.

Have a wonderful week, and I'll see you soon.

Alley Cat.