DISCLAIMER: ALL CHARACTERS ARE OWNED BY SM

PREVIOUSLY: "Begin" Cauis was the one who spoke and in that moment, I realized that it was going to be the longest sixty seconds of my life.

The second the words came out of Cauis's mouth, Simone immediately attacked. I watched in horror as he lunged forward but Bella quickly jumped upwards, avoiding his grasp but her movement was too slow for the vampire. He jumped towards the direction she was moving.

She looked when he suddenly appeared above her and his balled fist came down on her, not even attempting to restrain his strength.

I wanted to close my eyes, dreading for the worst that could happen but I couldn't tear my eyes off the scene in front of us, afraid that the next time I open my eyes, Bella would be…

I let out a hiss, trying to clear my thoughts and dared myself to focus. His arm only connected to air. I heard the gasp from several of the onlookers including my own. Simone's thoughts were filled with confusion. He moved his head from side to side to look for her.

Bella was suddenly behind him and used his distraction to her advantage. His head snapped to her direction but it was already too late. Bella had clasped her hands together and raised her arms above her head and with all her strength, slammed her fist to his back like a sledgehammer. He crashed to the center of the chamber leaving a crack on the floor.

It wouldn't be a surprise if the unsuspecting humans outside would hear that noise but right now, the witnesses inside the chamber was oblivious to the outside world.

All of that happened in just three seconds and there was still fifty-seven seconds remaining. Everyone in the room had frozen, much frozen than what vampires normally can. Bella easily landed a few feet away from where he fell, alert and ready if he decides to attack again but Simone didn't attack.

My eyes darted immediately towards her fists. The impact would have crushed the hands of an ordinary human, but there was no sign of any damage or even blood from her hands. It didn't even appear to have hurt her and the relief I felt was instantaneous.

Aro's usual carefree demeanor was slowly replaced with uneasiness at what just happened and I couldn't help but smirk when our eyes met.

Looks like your memory of her doesn't do her justice. I shrugged but the tone of his mind made me feel uneasy.

I knew beforehand that he didn't want Bella to die but he had already accepted the possibility of her death like a scientist would when he knew that there was always the probability of his experiment to fail. He knew his experiment was too ambitious by letting her fight one his guards. After all, the Volturi prided themselves of having the best of the best in their ranks, even to the lowest of their members.

He had used my memory of Bella fighting James as a basis of what she was capable of. He knew that Bella would be easily exhausted by facing someone clearly out of her league so he wasn't expecting this.

He returned his gaze to Bella and was now examining her with new eyes and I followed his observations.

She was not paying attention to her spectators and instead, her eyes where focused on the fallen figure who was slowly standing up.

Her heartbeat only raised a small portion when she attacked but it was now as steady as a clock ticking. Her breathing was even and there wasn't a hint of exhaustion on her features, a far cry from when she had escaped James' first attack which left her breathless in just a few seconds.

That was when I really looked at her. Her physique has changed. It was not obvious to an unobservant eye but to a vampire, the difference was obvious. Bella has been training and her training was paying off. Just thinking about the way that she escaped his first attack and how she had instantly appeared behind him made me see that her speed and strength has drastically improved.

Simone faced her and went into a crouch with his teeth barring and red eyes wild with anger. The attack was not able to do any much damage to a vampire like him but his pride was another story. He did not expect her to be that fast or that strong or to even make a hit.

A growl rumbled from his chest but he did not move to attack. He didn't want to make the same mistake again. He was a fool to have underestimated her and he did not want to make a fool of himself twice in front of the Volturi. They were already eyeing him in disgust by the weakness that he had shown and their thoughts were far from forgiving.

Whatever the outcome of this fight, he was already doomed.

Bella stepped on her side without breaking eye contact with him. He instinctively mirrored her steps and now, they were slowly circling each other.

My focus returned to reading his mind and I could hear the hesitation there. He was now unsure of what to do. His frustration was slowly building up when he couldn't read what she was going to do next. I saw Bella through his mind and I could see her looking at him with calculating eyes. She was prepared to whatever he was going to do.

"So, tell me… what made you join the Volturi?" Bella asked him out of the blue and the vampire in front of him stopped in his tracks.

"What?"

"I'm curious. Is it for protection? Prestige? Their ideals? Is it out of fear?"

"What is it to you?!" He spat, trying to avoid answering the question. Aro was amused with the scene in front of him.

"It's just that, you're just so eager to please your masters. Yet, you were also afraid of them when Aro warned you not to kill me." Bella stated a-matter-of-factly.

"You do not disobey the Masters!" He almost shouted. He wasn't happy being interrogated in his own turf by an outsider in front of his superiors.

"I'm sure you're dying to prove yourself to them, to show them that you have what it takes to stand beside your Masters there in front but you never got a chance did you?" Bella's voice was calm and taunting.

The conversation was meant to prolong the fight. Bella was intentionally talking her way through her sixty seconds and he didn't even realize it. Bella's words stuck to him and I heard the confirmation in Aro's mind.

When he had joined the Volturi, he had shown such enthusiasm that Cauis took a liking at him especially when he was so desperate to gain their favors that he would do everything that was asked of him. He did prove himself useful when the Volturi would be punishing other covens but when stronger and more skilled and gifted vampires came, he was suddenly pushed in the backseat and with vampires like Jane and Alec, or even Felix and Demetri, his chances of rising from his rank, was crumbled.

"Huh! I bet if I join the Volturi I won't have a problem gaining their favor. I don't even have to be a vampire to do that" Bella pointed out. Several reactions could be heard from the chamber.

I was mortified at her suggestion, even Alice was at a loss at what Bella was saying. The rest of the vampires where gasping in disbelief. I could hear a hiss coming from some of the guards besides the Trio, especially from Jane. They didn't like Bella's idea at all.

Aro however, perked up from Bella's suggestion. His mind was reeling. He could truly see her potential now. She was strong and gifted as a human, how much more if she was to become one of us and one of them. The thought gave Aro so much delight that he didn't bother to hide the sickening grin on his face.

"You have no place in the Volturi!" Simone shouted angrily. Bella had struck a nerve but she just shrugged and calmly walked backwards, putting some distance between them. She knew she wouldn't be able to hold off the fight any longer.

"Are you sure? Because your Master doesn't think so" Bella tried again and this time he turned his head and Aro didn't even hide the smile from his face. Simone stood with his mouth hanging open.

No! No! No! I can't let this happen! They can't consider a human in the Volturi! He was in denial.

"I think they see me as someone of more value to them than you I guess." Bella shrugged nonchalantly.

Some of the guards in front where snorting.

"The human's right, if she can distract him like that then no wonder he couldn't get past his rank" Felix made a show of whispering to Demetri beside him who only sneered. Simone whirled his head to look at Bella in confusion.

"Fool, you fell for her distraction. You just wasted twenty precious seconds of the fight." Demetri was clearly not happy with how this guard was acting.

Wait? What? And then he saw it, Bella's calm and confident expression earlier was replaced by an apologetic look on her face but she was still as alert as ever.

"Sorry about that"

The next thought I heard from him was pure outrage. My body shook and I felt Alice's grip in my arm tightened when his mind turned blank and we all saw the look on his eyes. Aro, Cauis, and Marcus straightened from their chairs while everyone was on edge. We knew that look all too well, it was the look of a vampire giving in to his senses. Bella was merely a prey and he was a predator and there was no stopping him now.

He dove straight towards Bella with arms arching back with the intent to rip her throat out but Bella easily jumped out of the way and then they were dancing.

To a human eye, they would only be able to see streaks of blur here and there but to all that was watching inside the chamber, the scene was as clear as day. We could see the exact moment that she pivoted her left foot, carrying with her, her body as she turned to avoid his teeth. We could see him abruptly turn when his hands missed Bella's torso by mere inches. It was fascinating and scary to watch at the same time.

It was vampire versus human with vampire attacking and human evading. He would attack her but she would simply turn at the last second or jump towards the other direction, each time trying her best to dodge his advances until the time was up.

Ten seconds left and his frustration was skyrocketing. His angry growl reverberated towards the chamber sending chills to anyone who was listening. "I'm going to kill you! And I'm going to make your precious vampire watch as I drain every last bit of blood from you" He spat angrily and I froze at his threat. My eyes turned towards Bella in horror and I suddenly saw a change in her expression and her movements. She was going to fight him head on. Because of his comment, Bella was now set on attacking. She ran directly towards him and it was his turn to disappear in front her.

Bella planted her left hand on the floor and twisted her whole body around, aiming a kick towards where Simone appeared just behind her but he caught her leg easily. He made a move of biting her but she placed another hand on the ground and using her strength, she kicked her free leg directly towards his face.

Her feet connected to his cheek, turning his head away from the leg that he was about to bite. He snarled at her attack and instead of releasing his grip, she threw her straight to the wall in anger.

Bella somersaulted midair, landing feet first on the wall, avoiding being smashed. The force was enough so she would have the momentum to spring her body towards the waiting vampire. Bella threw a punch midair but he caught it easily with his hand the moment she landed on solid ground. He raised his other fist towards her face but Bella caught it as easily as he did.

Both were on their feet, pushing and pulling. They were trying to overpower the other and none of them were budging but I could now see the strain on Bella's arms. She was holding her ground but exhaustion was starting to seep in her body and I could see sweat forming on her forehead. Simone saw this and he licked his own lips unconsciously. He was so close to her now and I could smell her scent on his mind. He wanted to taste her and it was only a matter of seconds.

My hands balled into fists in anger, seeing she was at a disadvantage. He was a vampire. He could go on and on with this fight without tiring but no matter how strong she was, she was still a human and she would be exhausted. She won't be able to last long. He no longer cared about what his masters would do to him after this. She humiliated him in front of them and she was going to pay.

As if sensing what he was about to do, Bella stopped pushing and the sudden shift threw him off balance. Bella grabbed his one arm with both her hands and twisted it towards his back. Planting one foot in the small of his back, she used that as a leverage and in one final show of strength, pulled the arm away from his body with one metallic screech. The vampire screamed.

"Enough" Cauis barked. Her sixty seconds was up and I realized that I had stopped breathing towards the end.

A/N: Finally found the time to open my laptop! Whew. Here you go...