Very short chapter, mostly a filler. Thank you all for your lovely words of encouragement about my thesis and the chaos that comes with it. I had a few moments away from it and wanted to keep the story moving.

Gaybe

Bella stepped to the side and bent backward, watching Yomiel's ax swipe the air. It caught the end of her hair, and she watched the strands flutter to the ground. Bella pulled herself upright and jumped over her brother's foot as he tried to kick out her legs. Yomiel swung at her again, and she barely missed the sharp edge, but he was successful in knocking her to the ground. Bella rolled over to avoid being decapitated, and Yomiel's ax got caught in the concrete from the force. She got to her feet and waited for him to free his ax. He clicked his teeth at her, unimpressed, and Bella shrugged.

"I would rather beat you because I am better than you," she said flatly. "Not because you cannot control your weapon."

"Do not patronize me!"

"Yomi, why are you here?" she exasperated.

"Elisheba the ever righteous one," he grunted, yanking his ax free. "Always eager to prevent a fight than fight for what belongs to her. You are an embarrassment to our kind."

"As opposed to a selfish, narcissist brat who cannot accept her purpose in this world is to sit still and watch." Bella pointed her sword at Yomiel. "You are fighting a battle that does not concern you," she said.

"You deserve death," he hissed.

"I deserve nothing but peace," Bella sighed. "Yet you all refuse to grant me this."

"Be happy you still breathe."

"Please, Yomi, I do not want to kill you."

"It is too late for your righteousness now, Elisheba. The rules are set. To the death is the requirement."

"Very well."

Yomiel and Bella stood on opposite sides of the courtyard. It was so easy to forget her siblings wanted her dead. Still, she was always the sentimental one, a curse of her humanity, she imagined. Bella lowered her sword. She dragged the blade across the stone and took her stance. Yomiel crouched low and banged the bottom of his ax against the ground three times. What little wind that blew through the yard stopped. The air grew thick. Bella grimaced at the spike of rage that flew through her system. Rosalie was awake. She shut out her, hopefully, soon-to-be fiancée and focused on the task at hand.

Yomiel rushed across the courtyard with his ax high in the air. She could taste the magic radiating from his body. She knew the ax was a distraction, and Bella flicked her wrist. The grass from the courtyard shot forward and wrapped around Yomiel's ankles. She grabbed his ax with her bare hand to keep it from crashing into her skull as Yomiel lost his balance. As blood trickled down her wrist, Bella took her sword and sliced at Yomiel's knees. He grunted in pain, and the grip on his ax weakened. She ripped the ax away from him and threw it on the ground. She bent forward in Yomiel's face and sighed.

"The lessons we taught you as children were not to isolate you or tease you. It was to teach you, and yet, you remain the impulsive one. Thinking one step ahead with anger and not patience," she said. Bella jammed the blade into Yomiel's side and twisted. She added, "And just like our sister, you never could admit I am your better in every way."

Bella removed her sword from his side and waved her hand. The grass receded, and Yomiel fell to his knees. That time, he did cry out in pain. Bella kicked him on his back as he took his free hand to staunch the bleeding at his side. Bella sheathed her sword and picked up Yomiel's ax. It took little time for her magic to overpower her brother's, and once she had control, she glanced at Yomiel. His blood dripped down to the concrete. She stared at him, emotionless, and placed the tip of the ax at his throat.

"As pride is your sin, it will also be your downfall. You and our siblings made a personal decision to send me to Hell before I could ever walk on Earth. It is with great pleasure I introduce first-hand what the depths of Hell can do to an angel," she said.

Bella lifted the ax and decapitated Yomiel in one clean sweep. His head rolled to the side, and his skin turned an ugly yellow color. Bella got down beside him and shoved her hand into his side through the hole she already made. She completely detached herself from her actions as she ripped Yomiel's heart from his chest. The still bleeding heart was warm in her grip. Bella closed her eyes and sighed. She was mentally committed to what needed to be done. Still, she hoped she could maintain what little aspect of compassion she had left whenever all was finished.

Until then…

"I condemn and damn this soul for all eternity," she said, opening her eyes. "May it never find peace."

Bella squeezed the heart until it was nothing but mangled flesh and let it fall to the ground. She waved her hand at her sword, and it vanished from sight. Bella knew it would be nearby, ready to be called again, and she stood. She rolled her neck and picked up the ax. Its weight was calming as she placed it on her shoulder. Bella turned to the temple, where she was sure another sibling waited. Bella closed her exhaled. Deep down, she knew Yomiel was allowed to go first because he was the weakest. They knew he would never make it past. It was as insulting as it was amusing. Bella snorted. If her siblings were playing to strengths, her next battle wouldn't be magical at all. It would be hand-to-hand—her weakness. Bella scowled and glared at the sky.

She knew exactly who would be next.

"Isabella shut down on me," Rosalie said flatly.

"When you say shut down?" Emmett asked.

"It means there is only this cold emptiness."

"This was never going to happen on Earth." Charlie turned to the side and added, "Was it, Alice?"

Alice looked up and found the entire family/coven looking at her. She smiled bitterly and said, "I was forbidden to mention it. And I mean, Isabella physically forbade me from speaking about. She wanted to ensure I had no other choice."

"She knew we would be against it," Esme said.

"For good reason!" Jane exclaimed. "She's up there alone, and we're stuck down here."

"As much as it pains me to admit it, it doesn't matter," Charlie said. "The amount of magic it would have taken to get all of us, let alone one of us, through that door would have weakened her immensely."

"Wait, what door?" Seth asked.

"My father told me the door to Heaven is not one but many," Charlie said. "No door is the same. In this instance, her home is specifically created for her kind and her kind alone."

"Look," Rosalie said, "Let's just focus on the right now. We're here, she's there, and there's nothing we can do. Plus, we have bigger issues like re-establishing the Volturi so the vampire world doesn't collapse on itself. We promised Angela and her family we would get her home once all was said and done. The rest of us have to find a new place to live as Forks is out of the question now. It isn't the first time Isabella's left us alone, and I doubt it'll be the last."

There was a long stretch of silence before Alec asked, "How can you be so calm about this? I thought you'd be angry."

"I AM!" Rosalie shouted. The group took a step back when Rosalie threw her arms in the air. "I'm fucking furious! But there's nothing I can do, Alec! Nothing! My mate is up there alone, fighting for her life, and we're stuck down here. I'm stuck down here! This is the one moment where I wish I was something more than a vampire so I could break through whatever damn door is up there and help her, but I CAN'T! She could die at any moment, and I'm helpless to stop it. I'm hurt and annoyed and pissed and scared. I'm afraid I may never get to marry her or have a family or do weird, crazy shit like go to the fucking Grand Canyon and be cheesy like the other couples!"

Rosalie ran a hand through her hair and kicked at the base of the mountain. A large crack formed, and she hung her head.

"So, please, can you guys just… give me a break?" she asked softly. "Let me focus on what I can control."

Emmett came up behind her and put a hand on her shoulder. "What do you want to tackle first?" he asked.

Rosalie took a deep breath and turned to him. She cleared her throat and said, "Let's handle the Volturi thing while we're here. It should take us at least a month to get everything settled. Jane and Leah will head back to Forks with Angela. Seth, you and Alice handle the letters and formal announcements to call all the Coven heads to Italy to discuss the new laws. Em, can you- you, Esme, and Charlie will help me rebuild the castle while Marcus and Demetri handle preparing a new court. That sound good?"

Everyone gave short nods, and Rosalie took off toward the castle without looking back. Her vision blurred from unshed tears, causing her to slow momentarily, and she let out a shuddering breath. She heard the others catch up to her and ignored them. Rosalie focused on cutting off her emotions from Isabella. She buried them back where they were when Isabella was gone the first time. She picked up speed and ignored the worried glances Esme and Alice gave her.

Bella shivered at the emptiness in her veins and let herself catch a breath. Rosalie. Bella shook it off and entered the temple. She lowered the ax to the floor and cocked an eyebrow.

"Rafi."

"Elisheba."

Her brother had no weapon. He preferred his bare hands, and she pursed her lips at the lightning sparking off his knuckles. Bella flexed her fingers.

"You ready?" he asked.

Bella took her stance and narrowed her eyes.

"Ready."