A/N: I appreciate your continued support and all your reviews, favs, and follows! Glad I can still shock some of you with my little twists and turns. As promised, here's the next chapter.

As always, I don't own Twilight, Stephenie Meyer does.

EPOV

"No!" Bella gasped, swaying on her feet slightly. "It can't be…it…it just can't-"

I reached out to steady her before pulling her into my arms. "Shh, Bella, it's alright." We were standing in the middle of the hall with really no place to sit, so I slid down the wall and pulled her into my lap.

"He's lying, Edward," she mumbled as she shivered violently. "Caius is dead. He's dead…he's dead."

Carlisle looked down at my angel with worried eyes, his lips pressed together in a firm line. "Edward, I can give her something to calm her down-"

"No. Just give her a few minutes." I rocked her back and forth, trying to soothe her as best I could. She never had opened up about what transpired between her and Caius and I wasn't sure she ever would.

Carlisle nodded and turned his attention back to the viewing window in an attempt to give us a little privacy while Bella continued to mumble under her breath unintelligibly.

I gently ran my fingers through her hair and pulled her face up toward mine so that I could look into her eyes. "Angel, listen to me. I'm going to go in there and talk to James. I need to know what the fuck is going on, okay?"

Carlisle lowered himself to the floor and pulled Bella under his arm in a fatherly gesture. "I'll stay with her. You go." He nodded his head toward the door. "Marcus is due here shortly. He and William are dealing with Eric. I'll make sure Marcus stays out here with Bella once he arrives."

Nodding my thanks, I quickly stood and made my way inside the room, making sure that the door was sealed behind me. Emmett flanked me, standing just off to my left while Alice remained in the corner of the room in case she was needed. I pulled a chair over to the table and sat directly opposite James as he glared back at me, our standoff intense. Unfortunately I had played this game before; the first one to speak…lost.

The minutes ticked by, the air thick with tension as we waited to see who would break first.

"You're so fucking clueless, Masen," James finally sneered. "You think you've won something? That you somehow have the upper hand now that you have me here?" He chuckled darkly, shaking his head in disgust as he tapped his fingers mindlessly against the tabletop. "You have no idea what you're up against."

"Enlighten me then," I retorted snidely.

"Caius-"

"Caius is a fucking tool!" I shouted, pounding my fist against the table. I closed my eyes and tried to rein in my temper. Anger would get me nowhere with this delusional idiot. "You seem to forget…I've met Caius before."

"Not like this you haven't. He's different…changed-"

"Changed how? What the fuck did you do?" My eyes bored into his as my mind reached outward, infiltrating every permeable cell, delving deep into his memories as the room around me disappeared.

James stood in a control room of sorts, surrounded by computer screens depicting live feeds of various sectors of the facility. Staring at the screens with three guards awaiting instruction by the door, he suddenly lifted a finger and pointed at a screen two rows down and to the left.

"There," he mumbled. "Caius and Aro…retrieve them." The soldiers quickly departed and the control room blurred and morphed into a lab very similar to our own.

Caius lay on the table, screaming and pleading for someone to save him as James circled around him. "You're pretty far fucking gone, Caius. What good would it do me to save your pathetic sniveling life?"

"I have information," he sputtered, blood bubbling from the corners of his mouth and running over his lips and chin. The craters left from the missing chunks of flesh oozed crimson fluid as his very life force poured out onto the sterile floor.

James chuckled darkly as the room shifted again.

A huge blue mass flashed passed me, tossing James into the nearby wall, his impact followed shortly by an inhuman screech. James struggled to regain his footing but was unable to stand.

"Fuck!" he roared, staring down at the sliver of bone protruding from his ankle. "What the hell is wrong with you?"

"Don't patronize me, you imbecile," a gravelly voice spat from the darkened corner. "You seem unwilling to face facts, James. I. Don't. Need. You."

"I created you, Caius!" James shrieked.

A sinister growl erupted throughout the dimly lit room, rattling the table and chairs situated in the corner. "You created nothing. Your delusions of grandeur are amusing albeit extremely irritating."

The owner of the voice finally stepped out of the shadows, revealing a hulking deformity…a truly grotesque mutation. "I keep you around because my appearance can be somewhat…unsettling. So, I'll let you keep up your little charade, but know that I'm always watching."

I jerked back in my chair, the image of Caius burned into my brain. James narrowed his eyes and smirked at me. "Huh, Caius was right…you do have some kind of freaky mind ability. What did you see exactly? You saw Caius, right? That fucking monster…"

While I mulled over this new information, my stomach rolled, churning acid until I leapt from my chair and hurtled toward the nearest waste basket. Landing on my knees, I heaved the entire contents of my stomach. I gulped greedily for air, but no matter how hard I tried, I couldn't seem to speak a single word in response to James' allegation.

Having witnessed the entire odd exchange, Emmett had finally had enough. He swung his arm out and James flew from his chair, smacking the wall with a sickening thud and landing in a heap on the floor. Instead of rushing to anger, James merely rolled onto his back, cackling maniacally as he tossed his head back and forth. "Fools…the whole lot of you…fools."

"You okay, Ed?" Emmett asked as he helped me up from my kneeling position next to the trash can. "What the fuck is going on, man?"

I stood on trembling legs and swiped at my mouth with the back of my hand. "He's telling the truth, Em. Caius is alive…sort of."

"Fuck," Emmett moaned and stomped his foot like a toddler throwing a tantrum. "I'm getting real fucking tired of all this bullshit. What happened to the days where you just killed the bad guy, had a parade in your honor, and went home to a celebratory screw from your wife?"

"You were never married, Em."

"Pretense is still the same," he mumbled.

Finally feeling a bit more in control of my faculties, I moved toward the door. "I need to see Marcus and talk to Bella."

"What do you want me to do with this jackass?" Emmett asked, tipping his head back in James' direction.

I sighed heavily as I ran through various scenarios in my head before settling on a course of action. "I want Carlisle to tranque him, but not too much. I need him somewhat lucid, but not to a point that he could escape."

"What the hell have I got to escape back to, Masen? You think I want to run?" James laughed condescendingly. "I'd prefer that you lock me in here."

"And I'm supposed to believe that, you sick fuck?" I jeered.

"Believe what you want, Masen. Makes no difference to me," James shrugged. "But know this…Caius is coming. His transformation made him absolutely insane and he is set on destroying all of you."

"Why, James?" my pixie sister inquired from the corner. "Why is he set on destroying us?"

"Yeah, who peed in his fucking Wheaties?" Emmett added.

James eyes glazed over as he stared at Alice blankly. "His mind isn't all there and there are recent events that he can't remember. He actually thinks his brother, Aro, is still alive and being held prisoner here, although I happen to know he saw Aro ripped apart with his own eyes. My men weren't able to reach them fast enough. Caius almost died as well, but luckily I was able to save him."

"Luckily, huh?" Emmett huffed, his voice dripping with sarcasm. "Yeah, that worked out well for you. Should've let the fucking weasel die."

"Well you know what they say about hindsight…" he mumbled.

I headed toward the door, intent on getting to my Bella. I cast Emmett a worried glance as I passed. "Don't take your eyes off him. I'll send Carlisle in a few minutes. Maybe I'm being paranoid, but I just don't trust him."

"No, no, I get what you mean," Emmett agreed as he scowled in James' direction. "Go talk to Marcus and we'll babysit this stupid fuck until Carlisle gets here to knock his ass out."

"Thanks," I whispered before heading out the door. I met Carlisle in the hallway as he strode toward me with a syringe in his hand, almost running right into me in his haste to get back to James' cell.

"Hey, where's the fire?" I asked, steadying him with an outstretched hand.

"Sorry," he mumbled. "I have the sedative you wanted but you need to go. Marcus sent me to bring you back to Bella-"

"Wait…what about Bella?" I shouted, my voice raising an octave as fear curled its icy fingers around my heart and squeezed.

Carlisle gazed at me sympathetically. "I wanted to come and get you, but she refused. She said you were where you were needed most-"

I shoved past Carlisle and sprinted through the corridors. I wasn't exactly sure where she was in the compound so I stopped at the next intersecting hallway. Closing my eyes, I cleared my mind, hoping that our connection would lead me to her. Sure enough, I soon felt the unmistakable pull towards my little suffering mate and, like a bullet from a gun, I was off.

My feet swiftly carried me down three more corridors, two left turns and then a quick right, bringing me directly to Carlisle and Esme's personal quarters. Rosalie, Didyme, and Esme were all crowded around my angel patting her shoulders and smoothing her hair, all while whispering words of comfort in her ear.

As soon as she spied me in the doorway, Bella was off the bed and in my arms; a quivering mass of terrified girl. "Tell me he was lying, Edward," she pleaded. "Tell me James was full of shit and you let Emmett pull him apart. Tell me!"

My eyes darted around to the sad faces of the other women in the room. They all looked at my angel with varying degrees of despair and remorse. I carried Bella over to the bed, sitting gingerly on the edge as she clung to me for dear life. "I'm sorry, angel, but James was telling the truth. Caius is alive."

Bella shook like a leaf dangling precariously to a branch, her warm tears soaking the fabric of my shirt. "I d-don't understand. H-how?"

I stroked her back softly while I tried to come up with the best to relay this information, but no matter how many times I reworked it in my head it always sounded bad. "From what I saw in James' memories, Caius and Aro were attacked by the small horde of Dreg that we had cornered off in Sector 12. Aro was torn apart and Caius would have been killed too had James not found and retrieved him."

Rose huffed loudly as she crossed her arms in front of her chest. "So, dear old Uncle Caius is alive. Fan-fucking-tastic-"

"Not just alive, Rosalie…changed."

Her eyes widened at my declaration and, for the first time, she seemed truly alarmed at the news. "Changed how?"

"That's the part I need Marcus for," I replied. "Although he didn't out and out say it, I think James used the stored vials of Bella's blood to heal Caius' wounds and, in doing do, initiated the same transformation your father underwent."

"Jesus, I can't believe that worked!" Rosalie exclaimed as she began to pace the room. "I mean it barely worked with Daddy and he has way more DNA markers in common with Bella than Creeper Caius."

I sighed heavily. "And therein lies the problem. It didn't work per se…not like it did with Marcus anyway."

"What the fuck does that mean?" she shouted. I really hated it when Rosalie's petulant streak reared its ugly head. "What aren't you saying, Edward? Stop beating around the fucking bush already!"

"Rose!" Didyme admonished. "Calm yourself! You aren't helping."

"I swear I'm not trying to be obtuse. I'm still just trying to wrap my head around this, too. What I saw…I'm not even sure I can describe it properly."

Marcus appeared in the doorway, having heard every word I said, and leaned against the wall, his eyes filled with concern. "Edward, perhaps we should talk first about what you witnessed and then discuss it with everyone else. Maybe I can help fill in the blanks."

"Alright," I agreed as I stood and settled Bella back down into my vacated chair. "I'll be back in a little bit, angel." I dropped a quick kiss to the top of Bella's head before following Marcus out of the room and down the hall. I thought we were headed for the lab, but Marcus bypassed the lab and headed straight into the kitchen. Marcus strode over to the pantry, rooting around until he finally emerged triumphant, clutching a bottle under his arm and grabbing two glasses from the cabinet to his left.

I sat at the table and watched as Marcus poured two fingers of scotch into each glass, sliding one glass across the table toward me.

"You look like you could use this, son," Marcus mumbled. He tossed back his own drink and watched me carefully as I merely sipped at the deep amber liquid. "So…my brother is alive."

"Yeah," I sighed. "He's alive and kicking." I quickly relayed every snippet of information I had gathered from James' memory as Marcus sat stoically, absorbing everything I offered. After I finished, I slumped back in my chair, defeated and weary.

"You know, Emmett said something back in James' cell about missing the old days where you killed your enemy and moved the fuck on." I rubbed the back of my neck and closed my eyes. "I'm tired, Marcus. I get that we need to be here…that we need this compound, but fuck…"

"I know, son. I understand completely," Marcus replied. "But we can't give up the compound. There's just too much here. Our future is here…in this place…in one form or another."

"Then I want to end this, Marcus!" I growled, banging my fist on the table and causing our glasses to rattle. "Tell me about your own transformation…what it's done to you physically. I get that Caius is different, but I need to know-"

"You want me to tell you how to kill my brother?" Marcus interjected with a raised eyebrow.

I nodded slowly, watching Marcus' face for signs of anger, but he remained stoic; his face emotionless as he regarded me silently.

"You can't kill him," Marcus finally stated firmly.

"Listen, I realize what I'm asking. He's your brother…I get it-"

"No, you don't get it," he huffed. "It's not that I don't want you to kill him. As I've said before, he and Aro hurt my family…my daughter. I'll never know the true extent to which my brother abused Bella and a part of me never wants to find out. In the familial sense, my brothers were already dead to me long before this mess occurred."

"Then what do you mean I can't kill him?"

Marcus pushed away from the table, his chair legs scraping loudly on the tile floor, and slowly rose from his seat. "Join me by the sink and I'll explain."

My scotch forgotten, I swiftly followed Marcus over to the sink and watched curiously as he reached into the drawer and pulled out a sharp knife, the metal gleaming from the bright overhead lights.

"Now, listen to me carefully," he sighed. "I know this is crude and abrupt but it's the only way I can show you."

"Marcus, what the fuck are you talking about-"

He suddenly leaned over the sink and pulled the blade from one side of his neck straight across to the other, a deep gash emerging as the blade sliced through skin and muscle clear down to the bone. Deep blue blood splashed to the bottom of the sink as Marcus finished his cut.

"What the fuck!" I shouted, clamping my hand over the gaping wound and looking around desperately for anything to stem the blood flow. My mind was reeling as I had just watched Bella's father damn near decapitate himself.

Marcus reached up and wrapped his fingers around mine, tugging my hand away from his throat. "Edward, it's alright," he whispered hoarsely. "I'm okay."

I pulled my hand away in utter shock and backed away slowly, shaking my head in disbelief. This just wasn't fucking possible. By all rights Marcus should be dead. For fuck's sake, we were pretty damn durable now but far from indestructible. That sort of injury should have been a game-ender.

"Edward…relax, please," Marcus pleaded as he approached me slowly. "I can hear your heart beating a mile a minute." Reaching down, he grasped the bottom of his shirt and used it to wipe across his neck. Once the blood was cleaned away, I could see that his neck was now smooth and unmarred. Even with my perfect eyesight I couldn't detect a single trace of the gash that had been present mere seconds ago.

"What the…I don't understand." I continued my backward motion until the back of my legs bumped into a chair and I sat heavily, my eyes never leaving Marcus. "How did you do that?"

Marcus sighed and reclaimed his seat across from me at the table, pouring himself another glass of scotch. "That's what I was trying to tell you. Since my transformation, my body has continued to mutate. My ability to regenerate is one hundred fold of any of your abilities. Injuries heal almost instantly."

Jesus. This was way out of my fucking league. "So when you say I can't kill Caius-"

"I'm saying that I'm not sure he can be killed."