Chapter 36 – Reunions

"Emmett!" I shouted again as I ran towards my vampire brother.

But I didn't have to run for a moment longer, because in a flash he was with me, and I couldn't help but gasp from his icy embrace.

"I'm so glad I found you, Bella," he murmured while he held me.

"How did you get free?" I asked as I pulled back to look at him.

"It doesn't matter; I just knew I had to get back to you. I'm sure this is one of the hardest things you ever had to go through."

"Huh?" I asked confused. "I mean, having you gone and the imminent battle is a little stressful, but…"

"What? No, I meant having your vamp boyfriend killed in front of you. I know you're still hurting, and you need me…right?" he asked unsure by the obvious lack of mourning pain on my face.

"Um…no, Em, that's sweet, but…"

Suddenly Emmett went flying backwards, and Edward appeared, standing protectively in front of me. "What are you doing here?" he asked aggressively. "Did Chelsea get to you?"

Before I even had a chance to react, Em recovered himself and stood before us, completely flabbergasted. "Wha- You're alive?" he asked, and then took a step closer and leaned in just enough to make it clear he was sniffing him. "Literally. How the hell are you alive? Like alive alive. You even have a fucking heartbeat."

"Don't change the subject. Did Chelsea get to you?" Edward snapped at him.

"Chelsea? I don't know any Chelseas," Em replied confused, but he couldn't get over the topic of Edward's new state of being. "How is it even possible that you're human again? It's a miracle or something."

"Nah, that's not Edward," Seth joked from somewhere behind me. "That's his descendant Eric. Looks just like him, huh?"

Emmett stared and then nodded absently. "It's incredible. Kind of sick that you're messing with your late boyfriend's great grandkid though, Bells."

"I'm not my grandson!" Edward shouted at him. "Carlisle invented a vampire cure, I took it and it worked. Now, back to you!"

"A cure for vampirism? That's incredible, Carlisle's a genius. That's going to change the world," Em said in awe.

"But he only made one dose, and it'll take decades to make another," Seth busted his bubble.

"Oh…well, that's not as cool then, but still cool you're alive," Em said to Edward, but when Edward just crossed his arms irritated, Em cleared his throat. "Okay, what do you want to know?" he asked cagily.

"Where are Maria and her bodyguards?" Jasper jumped in. I looked over at him and noticed Carlisle and Alice standing there as well, and all of them were looking at Emmett with concern.

"Uh…I had to get back to my sister…'cuz, you know, I thought she was in pain and all, so I…uh…got away."

"How?" Edward fumed.

"Fuck, how do you think?" Emmett retorted, abruptly becoming angry and defensive.

"You killed them. Fucking wonderful," Edward said exasperated. "Do you have any idea what you did?"

"Look, I'm not happy about killing anyone, but they wouldn't let me go. What else was I supposed to do? I don't know why you're so pissed anyway; you've all killed thousands of vampires in your time."

"Yes, except when Maria doesn't return to Florida, the vamps there are going to go out and look for her," Jasper explained evenly. "She was an important vampire to the leaders. They'll be sending trackers out to find her."

"Which means there will be less vampires drinking from the bank to be poisoned, and more vampires out and about to potentially find us before we're ready," Edward added. "How did you know to look for Bella here in Austin anyway?"

"I didn't know. I went back to Alaska, and because nobody was there I then decided to try Washington."

I gasped. "You saw dad?"

"No. It was so strange, but the village was empty. So I went down to the emergency safety pits and found some of the women and kids, but there were only two wolves there to protect them. Paul thought he was tough and could attack me, but I knocked him out and so Jared peed himself and finally told me that dad was leading the rest of the people to Austin to help you in some revolution, or something."

"Dad's coming here?" I said shocked. "How is he going to get here without getting himself and everyone else killed?"

"I'm not sure how he did it, but he's only about an hour out. I passed them a few minutes before I arrived here. Come to think of it, I didn't see any vampires on my trip out here at all. That's strange, right?"

"Not necessarily," Alice answered casually. "Except for the colony in Phoenix, most of the vampires between Washington and here are stage threes. They aren't capable of putting up too much of a fight."

"I will go inform Aro that new humans and wolves will be in the city," Carlisle excused himself.

"Who's Aro?" Emmett asked curiously.

But we had more important things to discuss. "Is he going to kill my people?" I asked in a panic.

"Aro doesn't care who the nightly sacrifice is, so that's going to be something the humans here decide," Jasper told me.

"Let's hope there are still some criminals in the jails," Seth mumbled.

"This could actually be a great opportunity for more human mating," Alice said, sounding happy and unconcerned about anything. "People from Washington could end up breeding with people from here. Oh, the repopulation process is already starting," she squealed.

"Or there could end up being a civil war if the introductions and initiations aren't done carefully," Jasper argued. "These people have different customs, different ways of handling various situations. I'm sure their battle strategies oppose as well. We'll need to keep control of them during the training process up until after the battle. It's the only way we'll keep the peace long enough to actually win this."

"What training do they need?" Seth asked confused. "I mean, they're all just humans. How much can they do in a vampire battle?"

"For one, their scents will distract the invading vampires," Jasper explained. "They'll have to fight their natural hunting instincts while fighting us."

"And they need to be trained to use the weapons Carlisle made," Edward added. "Not everyone is going to fight, but we'll need as many abled bodied men as possible."

"Abled bodied men?" I asked insulted. "I think you forget that I was, and probably still am, the best archer around. Many of those weapons are aimed and fired like a bow, so I think I'll be the one training the men and women alike on how to use them properly."

Both Edward and Emmett shot me a disapproving look.

"Oh, do you disagree?" I asked them.

"I think we have enough men to handle the battle," Edward said pompously. "You can just hang back with the women folk and protect the kids."

Emmett snickered, so I just got pissed.

"You know, humanity must have really done a number on your short term memory, because it wasn't that long ago that I not only trekked across the country, went up against multiple vampires, and infiltrated a mating colony, but I also easily took down a mature wolf. I think this particular woman can handle herself better than any man here…and by any man, that includes you," I told Edward with as much attitude as I could muster.

He chuckled darkly. "You think so?"

"Oh, I know so. You see, I also remember your attempts at shooting a bow, and well…you sucked."

"I only sucked because that's what vampires do," he joked, but kept his tone serious. "But if you're really as confident in your skills as you say, I propose we have a little competition right here and now. Before your people get here, let's decide this once and for all."

I cracked a smile. "What do you have in mind; arm wrestling?"

"No." He turned and looked at Jasper. "Jaz, go find me a couple bows and some kind of target. I'm sure the people here have something we can use."

"No problem," Jasper said before flashing away. He was back within a few minutes with bows in hand. "This will be the target," he said while pointing at a stack of hay. "Six arrows each."

Edward took the arrows from Jasper and split them between us. "Bulls-eye is in the center there, where the stacks meet. The one with the best score wins."

"Wins what?" I asked to clarify.

"I win, you stay back with the other women, you win…you stay back with the other women," he mumbled.

I laughed once. "I don't think so. I win and I get to fight with all the other decent human archers, of both sexes."

Edward rolled his eyes. "Fine. But you're not going to win," he said carelessly. Without even seeming to aim, he shot off his first arrow like it was child's play, and it zoomed right through the 'bulls-eye'. "Here's a little secret - I only pretended to have a hard time with it before…mainly because I liked the way you'd press yourself against me when you were trying to help."

I scowled at him. "You played me?"

He shrugged. "I just wanted to get laid."

"Not cool, bro," Emmett grumbled.

"Bella, a vampire can stroke a bubble without popping it. Do you really think one couldn't pull back on a stick without accidentally breaking it?" Edward laughed.

"Well, you're not a vampire anymore," I said bitterly before aiming for my first shot. I wasn't as quick with it as Edward was, but when I let go of my arrow it found its way right to the bulls-eye just as Edward's did.

"That-a-baby!" Emmett cheered for me.

"That was awesome, love," Edward agreed. "But in a battle you can't take that long to fire," he said before pulling back for his second shot.

"Hold on!" I stopped him. "Every shot we should move back…You know, to make it a little harder."

He smirked, and if I wasn't so focused on winning, I would have melted. "Fine. Let's move back." We shuffled back a yard, and just like his first shot, he didn't waste time with aiming but still landed another bulls-eye. "See? You just need to trust your instincts and go with it. You waste way too much precious time with overthinking everything; in a battle that could mean the difference between life and death."

I didn't reply, I just shook my head at him and took my aim. Another perfect shot.

Three more perfect shots later, I got frustrated. "This is pointless. We're just going to end up tying, and then what?"

"Do you forfeit?" Edward asked smugly.

"No way in hell."

By our fifth shot we had moved so far from the target that it was finally getting slightly difficult, but because Edward was so arrogant, he refused to slow. It only took one heavy gust of wind to knock his arrow off course just enough for it to land three inches off the center of the target, and it was just the break I needed. I knew how to shoot in wind. I could shoot in rain, snow, hail, just about anything. Emmett had taught me well, and there was no way I'd make the same mistake Edward did.

"You got this, Bells!" Emmett shouted supportively.

Edward made some smartass remark, but I didn't listen. I refused to let him sidetrack me from my goal. I was born to be an archer, and there was no way I'd let my boyfriend's chauvinistic over-protectiveness stop me.

I pulled back on the bow, adjusted slightly to account for the wind, and then let go. For a brief moment I closed my eyes too nervous to watch the outcome, but it only ended up being a blink because I wanted nothing more than to watch my arrow bust through the target's center…and that was exactly what happened.

The crowd around us erupted into cheers, and I couldn't help but feel incredible. The following perfect sixth shot was just the icing, because there was no way Edward could have beat me at that point. I won. Fair and square. And Edward could do nothing but accept it – no matter how much he protested.

"I don't care if you won, you're not doing it!" he said sternly.

"Bella, you were awesome," Em jumped in. "Just like I knew you would be…but I agree with Edward. You shouldn't be at the battle."

"No. I won and I'm going to fight," I said stubbornly. "If Edward can't beat me, then no man can. It would be stupid to not have my skills put to use."

"No," Edward said again.

"Well, it's not up to you. We made a deal, I won, so I'm fighting." He crossed his arms and shook his head at me, so I exploded. "God, it's not like I'm going to be on the battle ground in the middle of everything! I'll be as safe as any other human. Safer even."

"It's not going to happen!" he shouted at me. "I won't let you anywhere near there."

"I don't need your permission!" I retorted. "I am not your possession. You don't own me; therefore you don't get to tell me what I can and can't do!"

He gritted his teeth, and then shook his head ever so slightly. "Fine," he said, surprisingly calm, but I should have known there was nothing worse than a 'calm' Edward. "Do what you want. But I'm not going to hang around and watch you get yourself killed," he said evenly before turning and walking off.

My heart jumped. "Edward, wait, where are you going?" I called after him. But he didn't stop, he didn't even pause.

I wanted nothing more than to chase after him, but Emmett caught my arm. "Let him go cool down. He's just worried about you, that's all. He'll come back."

I thought back to all the other times Edward had stormed off, and I took a deep breath. Of course he'd come back. He always came back. But I absolutely hated when Edward was upset, even if it was for a ridiculous reason, however I didn't really have time to focus on it. Not even a minute later, the city's human population received a major increase.

"Bella?" I heard a familiar voice call to me. I looked over and saw my dad searching through the mass of people, and the second his eyes found mine, a flood of relief overcame him. "Bella, thank god you're safe," he told me as he rushed over and hugged me tightly.

"I can't believe you're here," I mumbled into his shoulder. "I wasn't sure if I'd ever see you again."

"Bella, I'm so sorry," he cried. "I should have never talked to you the way I did…I can't believe I just let you go again…I'm so sorry. I should have listened, I should have..."

"Dad," I stopped him. "Everything is fine."

"I just…I should have gone with you when you left," he added emotionally.

"You're here now," I assured him.

"Hey dad," Emmett said casually, as if there was nothing strange about the situation.

Charlie looked up at Emmett as a vampire for the first time, and he gasped. Was it out of fear, or shock, or something else entirely, I had no idea, but he didn't freak out or curse him the way I was expecting. But he did reach his hand to his face, and a single tear fell down his cheek. "I'm so sorry, Em," he whispered brokenly. "I don't know what else to say…I'm just…sorry."

Emmett nodded understandingly, though I had no idea what he understood because personally I was baffled as to what was transpiring between them. But that was ok. It wasn't my moment and I didn't need to be in the middle of it. As long as they didn't try to kill each other I was fine with whatever state their relationship would be in moving forward.

All I wanted to do at that moment was find Edward. I refused to back down on the battle, but I certainly didn't want to be separated from him either. I felt like there was a strange distance between us lately, both physically and emotionally, and that scared me more than any battle ever could. What wasn't he telling me? Why was he pulling away? I didn't have any idea, but I was going to make damn sure that I figured it out.