A/N: I appreciate your continued support and all your reviews, favs, and follows!

I realize it's been two weeks since my last update, so here's a little recap. James has been captured and Jasper has taken on James' likeness, implanting himself in James' place deep in enemy territory. During James' interrogation, he dropped the bombshell that he is no longer in control of that portion of the compound and that Caius has been transformed into something else altogether and is now running the show. While Edward tries to figure out where to go from here, Marcus informs Edward that he has every reason to believe that Caius is indestructible. Marcus explains that Bella's blood has done something different to him and Caius due to their shared DNA markers. He then demonstrates his own immortality by nearly taking off his own head. Poor taste, Marcus…

Again, I apologize for the delay and I hope you enjoy. As always, I don't own Twilight, Stephenie Meyer does.

EPOV

My hands shook, sloshing amber colored liquor onto the table. I raised the glass to my lips and took a large gulp; the liquid fire burning its way down my throat and into my belly.

"Jesus…I'm sorry, Edward," Marcus sighed while he continued to clean the blue blood from his hands with a wet towel. "I probably could have gone about that better."

I nodded jerkily and took another sip, still trying to wrap my head around what the fuck just happened. "So, you really think Caius is…what…indestructible? Immortal?"

"Something like that," he muttered as he refilled his own glass and took a sip. "During my own transformation, my mind fractured…like pieces of my memory were missing. I knew who I was and what I was doing here, but the recent events after the fever decimated the human population were missing."

"So you didn't remember us at all? When we brought Bella back to the compound or anything from that time?" I had honestly figured as much, but I wanted to make sure.

He shook his head no and took another sip of his scotch. "When I woke up, my mind was a jumbled mess. You were all strangers…even my own daughters. The only person I recognized was Didyme."

"She took you away," I nodded. "She said she thought she could help bring you back…and she did. But how?"

Marcus quickly averted his eyes and cleared his throat, seemingly uncomfortable with my line of questioning. "It was a…uh…mate thing," he mumbled, suddenly finding the bottom of his glass extremely interesting.

I had a good chuckle at his expense. "A mate thing, huh? Sounds incredibly scientific." My humor evaporated quickly as I thought back to Caius and our current situation. "From what I saw in James' mind, your brother is insane. He may have been well on his way before his transformation, but now…" I just shook my head. "None of this makes any sense and to be perfectly honest, if what you say is true then what the fuck can we do?"

Our conversation was cut short by pounding footsteps racing down the hall toward the kitchen. Emmett came skidding to a stop in the doorway.

"Edward, your communicator…" he gasped, pointing toward me ear.

Fuck, I hadn't realized I'd switched it off. "What's going on?" I asked, reaching up and tapping the small device so that I could hear everyone.

"Sarge? Are you there?"

"Jasper? Is everything okay?" The tenor of his voice sounded tense and worried, not at all like my usually laid back and overconfident brother-in-law. I was immediately out of my chair and on alert, snapping my fingers at Emmett and motioning for him to get everybody in here. Interpreting my instruction, he darted back out of the room.

"Fucking finally. Listen, I sent the first set of guards away just like we planned, but another set took their place. Ed…I get the distinct impression I'm being held prisoner here. What the fuck is going on?"

"Damn it," I muttered. "I was hoping we would have more time to figure this out. Listen Jazz, James was being held prisoner. The abridged version…Caius is back. He underwent the transformation, but it fucked him up. He's…fuck Jasper…he's a monster," I breathed, running my hand through my hair while I paced around the kitchen table in circles. "James was just a front."

"Fuck."

I could hear Jasper breathing heavily on the other end, obviously digesting the information I had just relayed.

"Alright, I'm open to suggestions."

My head snapped toward the open doorway as the rest of our crew spilled through, almost tripping over one another. Bella immediately made her way to my side and grasped my hand in an ironclad grip. Alice sat in the nearest chair, her face pinched with worry, while Carlisle took the chair next to her, draping a comforting arm around her shoulders and pulling her in to place a kiss on the top of her head. Everyone had their communicators on the open frequency so that we all could hear and take part in the conversation, although for the most part everyone deferred to me.

"This is really your call, Jazz," I sighed, watching my sister intently. "Esme can come and pluck you out right now." Jasper sighed heavily and I could tell he was pacing his room. "Or you can stay put for a while longer and I can go try and dig up some more information from James. Again…your call."

"Leaving now wouldn'thelp, now would it? Hmm…I really think I need to stay put. Maybe see if I can get some intel on Caius."

A lone tear trickled down Alice's cheek as she hung her head in resignation. Carlisle held her tighter and stroked her hair soothingly, trying to keep her calm.

I slumped down into a chair and pulled Bella into my lap. "Alright, then here's what you need to know. His mind isn't all there, Jasper. I can't be sure what exactly he remembers. Also, he's huge and incredibly deformed."

"Deformed how?"

"Think the Incredible Hulk, but blue…and on steroids." Everyone's eyes turned to me at that little admission.

"Awe, fuck me. And let me guess…he and James weren'tbosom buddies."

"You could say that," I mumbled as I squeezed Bella's waist. "Here's the thing…I don't know where Caius is. What I do know is that he's somewhere he can't be seen by the soldiers and residents on that side of the compound. I got the impression from James that no one else really knows about Caius."

"Then how the hell am I supposed to find him?"

"I don't think that's going to be a problem, Jazz. I'm pretty sure he'll find you." At that my pixie sister finally broke. She sobbed loudly before removing her communicator and tossing into onto the table. Before anyone could stop her, she was out of her seat and running down the hall, her sobs echoing behind her.

"I'll go," Esme whispered, switching off her own communicator so they would have some privacy and headed out after Alice.

"Damn it, was that Ali?"

"Yeah," I sighed. "Sorry, Jazz. She's just really emotional right now. She isn't mad or anything. Just really worried."

"I know. Just…please take care of her for me. I'm doing this for her…for all of us."

Jasper's voice cracked on that last word. I knew this would be hard for them and I truly hoped that we could get this shit resolved sooner rather than later. I couldn't imagine being away from my own mate for more than an hour, let alone an indeterminable amount of time.

"I promise we're all looking after her. Esme's with her right now." I kept running over the conversation with Marcus in my head. "Listen, Jazz…there's something about Caius you need to know. Marcus thinks that he may be more resilient than the rest of us."

"More resilient?"

"Yeah, as in impossible to kill." Bella and Rosalie both gasped in unison while Emmett cursed under his breath.

"Are you fucking serious?"

"Unfortunately," I sighed. "So be careful if you see him. You were at camp with James so you remember how he acts. Be the asshole, but don't provoke Caius to violence. Got me?"

"Yes, Sarge."

Rosalie suddenly leaned forward in her seat, her forearms resting on the table. "Hey, I have an idea. Jasper do you think you could sneak out? Change into say…Eric, or a guard or something?"

"I'm not sure I can get past the guards without drawing suspicion. Why? What are you thinking?"

"If I could get you to the main security control room, Esme could pop me in there." Emmett was about to object, but Rosalie shot a scathing look in his direction and pursed her lips. Satisfied that he was going to keep his mouth shut, she continued on with her idea. "If I could get access to the main controls, I could tap into their feed and then maybe we could find Caius from here."

"That…is an excellent fucking idea, Rose."

"Why thank you, Jasper," Rosalie beamed.

Bella bounced on my lap and thrust her hand in the air like a second grader answering a teacher's question. Her movements did nothing for the already excited state of my poor cock, but she didn't seem to notice. Completely fucking oblivious…

Carlisle chuckled at her exuberance. "Do you have something to add, Bella?"

"Yes, yes!" she exclaimed, wiggling about. "Why make Jasper sneak passed the guards? Esme can pop Rose into James' bedroom and then Rose can carry Jasper through the outer wall into the hallway that runs behind his room. Since there's no door on that side, it shouldn't be guarded."

"Brilliant, baby," I whispered into her neck, planting a kiss behind her ear and running my hand up her thigh. She giggled and shifted some more, reaching down to lace her fingers with mine.

"Hell yeah," Rosalie piped in. "Then we can just wait for Jasper to reach the control room and pop over there."

Emmett crossed his arms and kicked the leg of the table. "I don't fucking like it," he grumbled under his breath.

"Well tough shit!" Rosalie snarked back, leaping to her feet. "I'm going to find Esme and then we're going. There's no sense in waiting." She stomped from the room like a child being punished, shoving Emmett's shoulder on her way out.

"Damn it, what is it with these women," Marcus sighed, earning a smack to the back of his head from Didyme, the resounding thwack echoing throughout the kitchen.

"Ha!" Emmett guffawed. "At least I'm not the only one disciplined like an untrained house dog."

"Alright, enough!" I barked, trying to direct everyone's attention back to the matter at hand. "Now, let's talk about Caius. I need suggestions." My eyes narrowed in on Marcus, hoping he would have the answers I needed. "We still don't know exactly how he's controlling the Dreg. I'm going back to James after this meeting is over, but in the meantime, I need someone to talk to Eric. See if he can give us any insight."

"Eric's still sedated. William has figured out a way to disable that chip and remove it. He's working on Eric right now," Carlisle interjected. "Marcus and I can speak with him after we bring him around. The sedative I gave James should be wearing off soon, so you can talk to him."

"Okay…now onto the tougher question," I sighed. "If Marcus is right and Caius is now invincible, how do we get rid of him?" Blank faces stared back at me as my gaze traveled from person to person.

Marcus opened and closed his mouth several times, before finally shaking his head. "I've got nothing."

"Can't we just lock him up?" Emmett asked as he shrugged his shoulders.

"For how long, Emmett? Forever? Not the best idea," I replied hesitantly. "What if he escaped? No…we need something more permanent."

After several long moments, Didyme tilted her head to the side as if she were trying to work something out in her mind. "Can we shelve this discussion for a few hours?" she suddenly asked with a twinkle in her eyes. "I have a little idea, but I need some time figure out the logistics."

I pinched the bridge of my nose while Bella ran her hands through my hair. "Alright Didyme, we'll wait for you."

I had barely gotten the last word out of my mouth before Didyme was out of her chair and rushing from the room, throwing a quick thank you over her shoulder.

"Didyme has a little idea…God help us all," Marcus mumbled under his breath.

I eyed Marcus inquisitively as Bella giggled at her father. "What is that supposed to mean?" I asked suspiciously. Fuck, I was just grateful that someone had some sort of plan because I was completely tapped out.

"Little idea?" he scoffed. "Nothing that comes out of that woman's brain is little." Bella giggled again and nodded enthusiastically at her father's words. "She literally had a hand in every experiment we've run down here. That woman thinks nothing but big."

"That's a good thing though, right?" Emmett grinned. "I mean…this is starting to sound like one of those cliché questionnaires. Who would you rather be trapped on a deserted island with…Kate Upton or Bear Grylls? Who better to sort out this problem with Caius than Didyme?"

Having grown up without a mother, Emmett was very protective over the women in his life. He had grown to love Esme for her mothering tendencies and now it appeared Didyme had been honored by joining the ranks as well. To him, they walked on water.

"You're right, Emmett," Marcus sighed. "My apologies, I meant no disrespect. My mate is an incredible woman. I only meant that her little idea could very well include time travel and quantum physics, the likes of which you've never seen. I suspect you will need a translator for her explanation."

"Jesus, Esme! Holy fuck! Warn a guy before you just pop in, will you?"

Jasper's sudden shriek reverberated through the communicators, causing everyone to wince in pain.

"Fuck, Jazz, lower your damn voice!" I snarled. "I take it Esme and Rosalie made it to you without incident?"

"Yeah, Sarge…they're here. I'm going to change and, as soon as Rosalie gives me the damn directions, I'm going to try to make my way to the security control room."

"Understood," I replied. "Change your frequency setting on your communicator and check in once you've gotten the girls safely to the control room."

"Yes sir."

I sighed, changing the frequency on my own communicator. "I need to go speak with James. Emmett, you coming?"

"Hell yeah," he snickered, eager to partake in any activity that allowed him to flex his telekinetic muscle. "I need a good distraction since Rosie's off playing spy."

"Can I come too?" Bella asked, fluttering her eyelashes at me dramatically while pouting her lips.

I chuckled at her cuteness and stood up with her still cradled in my arms. "No need for the theatrics, Bambi. You can come too."

"Bambi? Who the hell is Bambi?" she asked with all seriousness, looking back and forth between me and Emmett as she wriggled out of my arms.

"Ah for fuck's sake," Emmett muttered. "Bambi's a deer…you know what? Nevermind. Conversation for another time." His chair legs scraped the floor loudly as he pushed away from the table. "Let's go scare the shit out of James."

"We're going to talk to James, Emmett…just talk," I muttered as we headed out the door. "You are not allowed to turn him into hamburger meat. Understood?"

"Yes, Sarge." His face was crestfallen as he turned down the hallway toward James' cell.

Bella walked next to me, snuggled into my side with her arm wrapped around my waist. She had been considerably clingy since finding out about Caius, not that I minded that. I wanted her with me every second of every day, but I worried what this was doing to her emotionally and how it might affect her pregnancy.

"You okay, baby?" I whispered as I dropped a kiss on the top of her head.

She nodded her head quickly and squeezed me tighter around the middle. "Yeah, just ready to be done with this shit already. I know this will probably sound awful, but I had really hoped that Caius was dead."

"I know, sweetheart, me too." She had no idea how much I had wished for Caius' death. And not some quick and painless one either. I was hoping for something more along the lines of him being torn apart slowly, eaten while still alive. Maybe that made me the monster, but I couldn't find it in me to care.

We sidled up to James' cell and peered through the viewing window. It appeared as if James had just woken up from his Carlisle induced nap. He sat on the side of the cot in the corner of the cell, scrubbing his face briskly with his hands.

"Bella, I want you to stay right here," I whispered, pulling her hand up to my mouth and kissing her palm. "You'll be able to see me and Emmett the whole time okay?" She nodded in agreement and stepped to the side so she would have an unobstructed view through the window.

Taking a deep breath, I engaged the door and stepped through with Emmett following close behind. The door closed silently behind us, sealing us inside.

James immediately turned his head in our direction and snickered under his breath. "Well if it isn't my two favorite assclowns. Come to put me back to sleep? I'll admit I was sorry to wake up. I was having the most wonderful dream about that sweet girl of yours riding my cock-"

"James, you're living proof that evolution can work in reverse," Emmett retorted snidely.

"Enough!" I barked, pulling a chair towards James and plunking down into it, leaving me directly at eye level with the twisted fuck. "I need information and you're going to give it to me."

"Why don't you just look in my head? That's what you do, right?" he jeered at me condescendingly.

I chuckled darkly, watching with amusement as James began to fidget under my scrutiny. "I could take a quick peek inside that puny brain of yours, but the more I have to root around for the answers I need, the more damage I seem to cause. The choice is yours."

James seemed to consider his options for a brief moment before he finally sighed dejectedly and leaned back against the wall, kicking his feet back up on the cot. "Fine, what do you want to know?"

"Where is Caius?" I blurted, hoping the abruptness of my question would trigger some memory in James' mind that would lead me to the creature's location. Instead, I got…nothing. "Where does he hide? I get the distinct impression that the other people you're holding hostage don't know who's really running the show over there. So, he has to hide somewhere."

"I honestly don't know," James mumbled. "He's always there…always watching." James was telling the truth. I only picked up snippets of memories where Caius was already in the room that James had just entered…always lurking in the shadows.

"That's pretty fucking cryptic," Emmett snorted. "How can he possibly always be watching?"

"The Dreg," James answered. "He can see everything through them-"

"We know all about the mind control chips," I huffed, pinching the bridge of my nose in frustration. I didn't want to reveal too much of what we had learned through Carlisle's super sleuth abilities, but I needed James to stop beating around the fucking bush. "What I can't understand is why you relinquished control of those chips over to Caius. You were in control of the Dreg…you could have contained him."

"You idiot," James sneered. "Caius destroyed the chip transmitter. No one is under my control anymore. You still don't get it. You have no fucking clue what you're up against. Caius can control the Dreg because he is one of them."

"Come again?" Emmett coughed, his eyes wide with disbelief.

"Caius isn't like us. Whatever your bitch's blood did to him…it made him more Dreg than human."

My mind whirled with the possibilities, dredging up everything I had gleaned from my encounters with these people turned aberrations. The fever had decimated any prior memories and emotions. They were merely empty rotting shells of their former selves, driven by a carnal need to feed and consume, enhanced by speed and strength. They were us, but with the human component completely erased; so similar and yet so completely different. Caius…he was the bridge between the two.