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Part V- Togetherness
Chapter 4- Hard Decisions and training begins-
"No," growled out Jared, shaking in his anger "This is not our problem. We are not responsible for what happens to those leeches. They can go to hell, for all I care."
Sam sighed, but nodded his head in agreement "I am sorry Bella, but Jared is correct. Our responsibility is to protect La Push, and only La Push from vampires. We phase to protect our land and our people. We are not responsible for what happens in anywhere outside La Push."
I turned to look at him, annoyance visible in my eyes "So, you mean to say that even if a few 'innocent humans' die because of vampires, the creatures that we are meant to destroy, it would not make much of a difference to your life? Am I getting that correct?"
Sarcasm was dripping through my voice as I raised my eyebrow in question.
Sam sighed "You know it is not like that."
"Then how is it like? Explain it to me." I scoffed "Because as I see it, there are innocent humans made prisoner in that castle, who do not deserve to be there. They do not deserve to be tortured, and they do not deserve to be stolen of their lives. It is as fucking simple as that."
"Yeah, life is not fair- get used to it." Jared scowled "I did not ask to become a shape shifter, yet here I am. I did not ask to be able to turn into an animal to save other humans from vampires, but I did not get any choice there, so like I said before, this is really not our problem. We cannot leave our land unprotected to help a bunch of leeches. It is one of their mate, great, they jump in the fire to save that girl's life. As selfish as it sounds, why should we risk our lives for them?"
"Get your head out of your ass, Jared" I frowned at him "What if this was Kim instead of that nameless faceless girl? Would you still say the same thing?"
He glared at me "Don't you dare bring her in this. She is an imprint."
I gave out a short bitter laugh "That just proves my point. You do realize that their mating is similar to our imprinting, right? If you cannot see Kim in danger, or I cannot imagine Paul being in danger, how could Jasper sit back and relax while his mate is in danger?"
"But he is a leech." He scoffed at me, as if that would have made any difference. For all supernatural creatures, or at least the ones that we knew of, mating followed pretty much the same rules. It was instant and forever. Just the names of this connection were different for each creature. We called it imprinting, while they stuck to mating, and mating or imprinting, however you refer to it, was a life changing event for whoever it happened, and I knew well that if something were to happen to Jasper's mate, he never would be the same again, and could even try to kill himself.
Technically speaking we may be mortal enemies, and this may really not be my battle in the first place, but after knowing and spending time with Paul, my mate, I really could not wish such miserable pain of losing your mate forever on anyone.
"What is it to you?" he scowled at me "I understand that you like playing family with those precious leeches of yours, but you cannot expect us to join into this suicide mission. I have no pretentiousness of being noble, thank you very much."
"I wasn't expecting it from you, asshole." I cussed at him. I did not want to, but I just could not help it. "I was just informing you, who is a part of my pack, that this is what they told me. They saw a vision and asked for our help, as simple as that. I told them that I would talk to my pack and the elders, and so here I am."
He scoffed, but did not say anything, and I gave him a disgusting glare before turning to look back ahead. How had I ever thought that Jared and I were friends, was beyond my understanding, or maybe, the circumstances that we had passed through changed us in some way, but whatever, I guess this is a part of growing up. Friends become strangers and people you had never expected to be friends with, turn out to become important in your life.
"Bella," Billy sighed "Please refrain from fighting when you are in a tribal meeting. At least pretend for us that there is unity in the pack."
I looked at my feet, trying to avoid seeing the disappointment in his face. Billy, Harry, Quil Sr., Levi and Old Ms. Ateara were all in attendance in this last minute announced tribal meeting at Levi's house, and so far all we had achieved was my telling them of Alice's vision and the meeting with Jasper and Carlisle Cullen, followed by Jared shouting that it was completely ridiculous that they expect help from their mortal enemies.
"Billy is correct," said Levi "We need to know more before we take our decision. What plan have they thought of for killing their royalty and saving those girls lives?"
I straightened in my seat, as I started to answer his question "Carlisle Cullen had lived a while in Italy with them before he moved to the country and changed his first companion, and so he knows the ins and outs of the castle. He has offered to make a map of the castle for them to have a plan of the attack, also Alice, Jasper's sister who saw the vision, can help in telling them where exactly the dungeons are, and the best way to get to them. Carlisle Cullen also knows of the powers that those vampires hold, and the best way to protect their lives if push came to shove."
Levi nodded his head, a look of contemplation on his face "I see,"
"Jasper has also agreed to conduct training, if we agree to help them. He has a lot of experience fighting vampires."
I did not think of elaborating on his experiences during the southern vampire wars. He could fight, and that was all what was important. He was not the same heartless man that he had been during that period, and so it made no sense to attach that image to his impression. It made no sense to make the council wary of his presence even before they had met him.
"I see, they have thought this through," whispered Levi, more to himself than to anyone else in the room.
"How many vampires would there be?" Billy questioned.
"Around twenty one or twenty two," I repeated the answer that had been answered to me.
He nodded his head "And will there be other vampires joining them?"
"They are trying to get help from their old friends." I said indecisively. I did not have any exact answer for that question.
"I think this is a waste of time." Quil Sr. said, taking a smoke of his pipe. "I agree with them," he pointed at Jared and Sam "It is stupid to ask the help of your mortal enemies. Why would we help them? They should instead try contacting others of their kind."
"Quil," Old Ms. Ateara chided softly, but sternly "Or maybe, they thought that we would be mature enough to set our priorities straight, but looking at you, maybe not."
I hid my laugh as Quil Sr. pouted and Old Ms. Ateara just shrugged in return.
"But what about the consequences of their mutiny," Harry asked "Fighting the leaders of your community comes with its consequences. Being an ally in their mutiny could prove dangerous for us too. I don't wish any harm to fall over our tribe."
"It will not." I said as confidently as I could. I did not know how true or how false my words were, but I would make sure that our tribe would not be affected by this decision….. by my decision.
"You don't know that," said Harry "Vampires are known to be vengeful creatures. We cannot take the risk of even one of them seeking revenge."
"I agree with Harry," said Billy.
"And how do we know that there will be revenge executed?" asked Levi "We cannot predict that something like that would occur. Haven't we been wrong in our predictions before?" he turned to look at Harry and Billy "We didn't expect a girl to phase, yet here we are. We didn't expect anyone of this generation to phase at all, and more importantly, all three of us- Ephraim, Quil and I had thought that our children would definitely phase. They were direct shape shifter descendants, yet they did not phase, and neither did their children. And so, we cannot truly predict any of these things, and what is the guarantee that the Cullens won't retaliate?"
"What do you mean, Levi?" asked Billy worriedly.
"They are seven of them, against our four. Losing a mate is a big loss, and we are safe because of a treaty. If Jasper is killed in the fight, or loses his mate before they can reach Italy due to the lack of help, they can always blame us for not helping them. It is irrational but not impossible. We need to tread carefully here."
"What do you suggest then?" asked Harry, shifting on his seat.
Levi sighed, turning towards Old Ms. Ateara "Have the spirits visited you lately?"
I stared at Old Ms. Ateara waiting for her answer. It had slipped my mind these past few days that Old Ms. Ateara could talk to the spirits of our ancestors, and they guided her as an when guidance was required, and so, she had been the one to call Levi and Ellen from Seattle when I had first phased, at the guidance of the spirits.
She smiled a small all knowing smile "Nothing. I guess they believe that our decision will be the correct one to take, and so have stayed away from influencing our decisions."
Levi nodded his head "Hmm, This makes me wonder if this was what Ephraim had meant when he had told me to keep phasing. He had said that I would know when the time comes. I wonder if this threat is what he was talking of."
"But shouldn't the crisis have been linked to our own tribe for that matter?" I asked confused. Why would our spirits tell Levi to keep phasing if the crisis wasn't even linked to our tribe? It felt strange to me.
He shook his head, a smile on his face "Not necessarily, all Ephraim had said was that your pack would need my guidance, and fighting such a huge number of experienced vampires will not be easy. You will need all the guidance and experience that you can get."
"You cannot be serious." Jared scoffed "Does anybody even care of what we think? This is our life which is being put at risk, and for what- to save a human who will be changed into a bloodsucker because her mate is already one. This is ridiculous!"
"Sit down Jared Cameron" Levi said, leaving no space for arguments. "Nothing is decided as of now. We are just thinking of what we should do, and like Bella said before, nobody will be forced to fight if they don't want to, and contrary to what you think, every human life is important, and don't forget there are eleven other girls too in that prison. What their royalty is trying to do is a misuse of their power, and if I choose to fight, I will be fighting to end that wrong that they are committing."
"Let's not get ahead of ourselves here, Levi," said Billy "What about La Push? We cannot leave it unprotected. What if this is a trick of the Cullens? How can we trust that they are saying the truth?"
"I could see that they were telling the truth." I whispered from my place. Jasper's face….. I had never seen a man look more vulnerable before. I had no doubt in mind that they were saying the truth.
"What reason would they have to lie?" asked Levi, almost as if reading my mind "Don't forget, Dr. Cullen had removed the venom out of Bella's body after the attack, saving her life. If they meant to harm us, why would they do so? I don't think they are lying, but if you still have doubts over their motives, we can talk to Dr. Cullen and then think of what we should do ahead."
Billy and Harry looked satisfied by Levi's words, while Quil Sr. just huffed in response. He knew that the council worked on majority, and if majority said yes to help the Cullens, his opinion would either way be of no use.
I took a deep breath, deciding to say what I had in mind. Irrespective of what the elders decided, my decision had been taken.
"I am going to be fighting."
I decided to keep it as simple and to the point as I could. There was no need for elaboration here.
I shut my eyes tightly, hearing the expected uproar from those around me, especially Sam.
"You cannot be serious, Bella." He shouted at me. "I understand that you feel like they are your friends, but risking your life is not a joke. Do you even realize how dangerous this is? Whatever they say, there is a very high chance that their royalty will win. They are their leaders, and haven't they themselves said that this Volturi is filled with extremely powerful leeches."
"I have made my mind, Sam." I stated, choosing to look into his eyes, to make sure that he knew how serious I was about this.
And in a way, I knew that I was absolutely serious of this, and would not be changing my mind, no matter who said what. This was not a decision taken in haste. Even after my initial thoughts of believing that I had no choice in the matter, I had at length thought this through. I knew that this was what I wanted. I was ready to fight these vampires. I knew how big the risk was, but I was ready to take it.
"Think about mom," Sam tried changing my mind "Think of how this will affect her. Don't you remember how upset she had been after your injury?"
I sighed audibly "She knows. I told her about this, and in a way she has given me her blessing."
He looked taken aback at that "You can't be serious."
I just nodded my head at that, the memories of the past few hours invading my mind.
I had had a sleepless night for once. For hours I had twisted and turned on my bed, thinking of what should be done ahead. I was so confused. A big part of me knew that this was what was supposed to happen. It was morally correct to save another's life, especially when I had the power to do so, but another selfish part of mine, was reluctant. I was only sixteen. I could die in this fight, or could end up with severe permanent injuries, in a best case scenario. Was I ready for something like this? I had hardly started to live my life. Was it selfish to think of myself? Those girls needed the help desperately, but was it fair to my family or to Paul, to do this to them?
How does one decide between what is right and what is wrong?
"Bella," Allison had called from the door of my room "I heard you move in your bed. Are you having a sleepless night?"
I sighed in the darkness, glad that she was not able to see my face. I was afraid that I had tears rolling down my eyes.
It was stupid. I did not even know why I was crying.
"Yeah…. Just a lot on mind," I finally murmured.
"Do you want to share it with me?" she softly whispered.
I shook my head in the dark, croaking out an "I am fine."
She sighed, but did not protest "Okay, if you change your mind, I am downstairs in the kitchen, preparing hot cocoa for myself. I don't think I will be sleeping again, now that my sleep has been interrupted. If you want some, come down."
With that she left the room, leaving me alone to my thoughts.
A few minutes later, when the scent of warm cocoa wafted through the room, making my stomach grumble. I sighed, realizing that my unconscious decision of not eating dinner properly had come back to haunt me. I quickly got up from my bed running a hand through my hair and over my face, before making my way towards the Kitchen.
"Here you go," Allison said, handing me a steaming cup of cocoa, sitting opposite me on a pulled out chair.
I quickly sipped through my drink, avoiding looking into her eyes. She had always been able to read me well.
"Is this about Paul?" she tentatively asked.
"Mom," I gave her my best annoyed look "I said I don't want to talk about it."
She gave me an apologetic look "Sorry, was just trying."
We sat in silence for a minute or two before she dramatically sighed, making me look up at her in confusion.
"I miss the days when I was one of your best friends, and you used to tell me everything. Now it feels like pulling teeth out. Life was so much easier when you were all kids."
I rolled my eyes, knowing well that she was over exaggerating to make me open up.
"You can't make me feel guilty for this, mom. I am not a kid anymore. I am not going to 'feel bad' and tell you everything." I said smiling.
"Damn it!" she slammed at the table, her eyes telling me that she was just being playful "I wish you were still that innocent little girl who could be convinced of anything with mere puppy dog eyes."
I laughed at that "yeah, I remember. I have spilled so many secrets because of that."
She took my hand in hers "But seriously, I am here to listen. You know you can tell me anything."
I nodded my head in reply. I was glad for that.
She did not say anything ahead; letting me think, or rather letting me form the words in my head. Either way I guess we both knew that I would end up telling her everything. I had never been good at hiding things from her.
"Mom," I finally said "How do you know what the right decision is?"
She shrugged "You always know it in your heart. What feels right is right, at least ninety percent of the time."
I nodded my head, taking her words in.
"Why do you ask?" she finally asked, when I did not say anything ahead.
"I am confused." I whispered "Someone came to me asking for help. I want to help but what if helping them means putting my own life at risk. How do I decide then?"
She was quiet for a few minutes "What kind of help?"
"A matter of life or death" I answered simply.
She looked shocked for a few minutes, before she composed herself again.
"I don't know about others, Bella," she said softly "But I believe that if you have the power to save someone's life, you should."
"Even if it means, putting your own life at risk?" I questioned in surprise.
She nodded her head "Everyone has a duty to fulfill in life, Bella. Some have it tougher than others. I am guessing this has something to do with you being a shape shifter, correct?"
I nodded my head in agreement.
She sighed "In that case, you should do your duty. Fulfill the purpose you were meant to fulfill. Does it feel correct in your heart?"
"I think so," I whispered.
"Then I don't need to ask any more questions, Bella"
Nothing more needed to be said. I knew that not only had she cleared the confusion in my head, but had also sort of given me her permission to do so.
"Bella," Sam pulled me out of thoughts, back to the meeting with the elders "I can't believe this. I will talk to mom. You are being irrational and….."
"No," I interrupted "I know what I am doing. I am sure of this. I am not a kid, Sam. I can think for myself."
I was not even angry at him. I knew why he was behaving so.
"But," he started to protest.
"Sam," Levi interrupted him this time around "She has a right to take a decision for herself. Bella," he turned to look at me "Are you sure of this?"
I nodded my head confidently.
He sighed, nodding his head "Okay then, you have our permission." "I don't know about Sam and Jared yet, like I said they have a choice to say no, but I too will be fighting with you and the Cullens. I cannot sit back and see something like this happen. This is a clear misuse of power, one I will not stand for."
I nodded my head, a small smile on my face.
"I need to call Jasper. I assume we will have to leave for Italy as soon as possible."
He nodded his head in answer, before telling that he would be the one to call Carlisle Cullen instead, and I should go home and prepare for the training that was to happen before we left.
I nodded my head, leaving Levi's house, walking through the woods to reach my house.
"Bella," Sam's voice called after me. I stopped and looked at him, hesitantly.
"What are you going to tell Paul?"
I rose my eyebrow in confusion "I have not thought about it, why?"
That was one tough bridge to cross. I had no idea of what I would be telling Paul. I needed time to think of this. He would sure rightfully be difficult to convince of my leaving.
"I will have to tell Leah something, right?" he winked at me.
I gave him a bright smile, hugging him lightly "Thank you,"
He shook his head "I may not like them, but I know that what their leaders are doing is wrong, and someone needs to protect my sister, correct?"
I punched him lightly in the chest, his eyes smirking with mischief.
"I hope we live." I said softly.
"I hope so too." He sighed, a few minutes later.
X-X-X-X-X-X
"And these are Garrett and Maggie," said Jasper, as I nodded my head in acknowledgement. The clearing where we were currently was filled with vampires that were here to help the Cullens in their mission. The clearing though was a big one, looked extremely small at the moment, from all the people occupying it, but Jasper had explained to me how many of those who were here wanted to defeat the Volturi more than help the Cullens in saving those girls.
I guess they were holding true to the saying – 'The enemy of my enemy is my friend.'
Either way, it was more the merrier for us in this mission.
Though it had only been twenty four hours since Jasper and Carlisle had come asking for our help, they had successfully managed to call for a few vampires for help too, in this short amount of time. Jasper's brother Peter and his wife Charlotte were here, who were coincidentally with Garrett and his mate Maggie at that time, and had offered to come with Peter to Forks. Maggie was originally from the Irish coven in Ireland before she joined Garrett in living the nomadic life, and so with one call of hers, her old coven Siobhan and Liam too joined in, and with them came another nomad named Alistair who was visiting them at the moment. Then there were the Romanians- Stefan and Vladimir, who had several millennia old enmity with the Volturi and were always willing to fight with anybody ready to challenge them, and lastly there were their Denali cousins from Alaska. Not all of them- just the ones named Eleazar and his mate Carmen. The three sisters, which included their head of the coven- Tanya, had refused to join. And of course, from our side there was me, Levi and Sam. Jared had refused to join, volunteering to protect La Push in our absence, which in a way was a good thing for us. We did not need him causing fights here, amidst all these vampires. We knew that we were severely outnumbered, but we also knew that our actual fight was one much bigger than that between vampires and shape shifters, and here at this point of time we were all on the same side.
And so, our renegade army now consisted of three shape shifters and eighteen vampires, quite a total I would say.
Today was our first and last practice, or informative session to be honest, before we left for Italy in the evening in Carlisle's private jet. According to Alice's latest vision, though the decision of which girls would survive and which would not was already made, the action on them was yet to be executed, and so we needed to act fast.
At the moment though, we were being informed on which vampire in the Volturi held which power.
"Jane holds the strongest power out of all of them," said Carlisle, gaining the attention of everybody in the crowd "And she is also the one we should worry most about. Her power is frightening, even to experienced vampires. She holds the ability to create an illusion of pain. Not real pain- just an illusion, but enough to make anyone fall to the ground and cry out, begging for it to end. It is similar to being burnt alive."
"Is there a way to stop her?" asked Levi "Maybe something that can reduce the effect of her power?"
Carlisle sadly smiled, shaking his head "No, nothing. There is no way to avoid or reduce her power, and so she is the first hurdle on our way. Her brother Alec, who is an equal part of the witch twins, is equally difficult to overpower. His power is an exact opposite of Jane's; while she can cause pain he can numb your senses. When he uses his power on a person they are unable to feel anything. He can block a person's senses, rendering them completely useless in a fight."
"If you are trying to convince us on why we should not fight, I would say that you are doing an amazing job at that." muttered Sam, rolling his eyes. I mildly nodded my head in agreement. With every word spoken my trepidation was increasing.
Carlisle shrugged, ignoring Jasper's glare "I just want to be honest with you. I don't want to lie and force you into something that would cost you your life. In my belief it is always better to know what you are agreeing to get into."
Eleazar laughed a short laugh from his place in the clearing "You are wrong Carlisle, very very wrong. There is one way in which Jane can be stopped, as well as defeated. Her ability to create the illusion of pain doesn't work on a mental shield, and as I see it, not only do we have a mental shield on our side, but also a physical shield."
Now it was everyone's turn to stare at Eleazar- a few with confusion in their eyes, and a few looking suddenly extremely relieved.
"What is a shield?" asked Levi, a question that was sure on my mind too.
Eleazar though ignored Levi's question, turning to look directly at me, before looking at Edward Cullen out of everyone in the clearing.
"Can you read her?" he asked.
Edward shook his head reluctantly "No, but I thought it may have been something to do with her being the first female alpha, though I had had no problem in reading Ephraim's mind.
Eleazar nodded his head, looking even more convinced than before.
"Is Bella a shield?" asked Jasper surprised.
Eleazar nodded his head once again "A very strong one at that, possibly the strongest in human form that I have ever met. It is a pity that she could never be one of our kind, she would have been invincible."
"Will someone tell me what is going on?" I said frustrated "Don't pretend like I am not here. What is a shield?"
"It is the ability to block any and all kinds of psychic powers that act on invading the mind," said Jasper grinning "It is like this- that if you don't want someone using their mental power on you, they will not be able to."
"But how will it make a difference?" I mumbled confused. I was still unwilling to accept of what this could mean.
"It means that you are the only one on whom Jane and Alec's powers will not work." Levi spoke out "Their powers affect the mind of a person, and on you these powers are useless." He looked at Carlisle "Am I correct?"
Carlisle instantly nodded his head.
"But how," I asked shakily "I am a shape shifter."
Eleazar sighed "Yes, your physical shield may not be as strong as it would have been in case you had been like us, but your mental shield is still very strong." He was quiet for a few minutes "Let's try out something. Can all of you phase?"
I turned to look at Levi for an answer. We had agreed to come for this meeting in our human form, so as to not intimidate or appear as a threat to the vampires around. On his nod, the three of us quickly ran to the trees surrounding us to phase into our wolf form.
We soon walked out in a line, our coats shining underneath the glare of the rare sun. We then stood facing Eleazar, waiting for him to speak ahead.
"Now Bella, I want to see if you can protect the other shape shifters in this clearing."
'How' was the biggest question in my mind, I hadn't even known that I could do something like this a few minutes back.
He cleared his throat in an unnecessary human gesture "Close your eyes and try to look deep in your unconscious,"
I tried following his orders, ignoring every other sound around including Sam and Levi's thoughts.
"Try searching for a wall. It will hurt at first, but don't give up."
Almost on cue, a throbbing headache overtook my senses, but knowing how important this was I kept going on.
It was almost like meditating as I concentrated on searching for this wall that he was speaking of. I was about to open my eyes and contradict that he was wrong, when all of a sudden I felt that I had reached a kind of blocking. I wouldn't call it a wall exactly, but a kind of big boulder that is blocking everything behind it.
"She has found it," said Edward "I can read it in Sam's mind."
"Good, Bella" I faintly heard Eleazar say "Now try to extend that wall to cover your fellow wolves."
I tried to lift the boulder that lay in my head, but unwillingly gave up when the throbbing headache threatened to leave me crippled.
I opened my eyes again, sweating and exhausted.
"It was a good try," praised Eleazar "I am sure that with some practice you will be able to shield Levi and Sam as well, if not any of us. I don't think as a shape shifter that will be possible for you. Being the alpha will also come helpful for you in protecting your pack."
I nodded my head hesitantly. I did not know what I had enrolled myself for. I kept reminding myself that this was for the good of another.
"Carlisle," grinned Jasper "Till I have heard Jane and Alec could not fight without their powers."
Carlisle nodded his head in agreement "They thought it was unnecessary to learn to fight."
"So, if their power stands useless it will be a piece of cake to end them" said Eleazar, clapping his hands together in excitement.
"So let me get this straight," said Siobhan "The wolves kill Jane and Alec, and what about the rest?"
She turned to look at us and Levi nodded his head. He had agreed to it on our behalf. We would be the ones to kill the so called witch twins.
"Except Caius and Felix, the rest of them are average fighters. It won't be very difficult once the witch twins are dead," said Carlisle.
The rest of us took his words in, nodding our heads.
"Bella, I would like to help you in lifting your shield," said Eleazar "I believe that though the time is less, we can work on it to protect at least the three of you."
I nodded my head in agreement, as Carlisle discussed the details of when we would all be leaving for Italy. Soon the clearing cleared out, with only me, Eleazar and Edward staying back- Edward so that we could be sure that the shield was being lifted and moved.
"Okay now," spoke Eleazar "Close your eyes and try to find your shield."
I sighed but did as he said. We had a long way of training to go before tomorrow's sun rose.
