Disclaimer: I am just borrowing SM's stuff for a second or four-thousand…well, life. But, when I get done, if I get done, I'll put them right back on her shelf. Well, everyone but Edward and Jacob. I call dibs.

THANK YOU THREESIES OMG…LIFE IS WORTH LIVING

Nickjonas'girl4eva: O, don't I kno it. Jasper just strayed from the straight and narrow. And Edward is just…unavailable at the moment. They'll be back.

Meyarose: Your review! The eloquence! The articulation! (bows before you) Oh, great one, teach me your ways. Lol :D

Mattybabe: OOOOOO brussel sprouts AND cookies. Jeeze thnx. Have fun in China. Bring me back a panda, would you:D they're just so darned cute.

Emmi

Kersicca: I bought Bella a taser for Christmas, but she never uses it. No, instead, she just runs around and attracts mortal peril like the world's largest magnet with a paper clip. And, about Edward drinking Bella's blood, a substantial amount would have to be consumed in order to obtain the uber vampirism. Eddie didn't drink that much at all. Josius wants to drain her.o and (leGASP)!!!! I've released rabid platypuses and kangaroos onto an unsuspecting world. BELLA HAND ME THAT TASER! And where the hell is Pjotter. Did you air mail him or snail mail?...maybe he's on backorder. Slicem dicem underwear sound questionable to me…especially if I plan on reproducing ever. Sorry I haven't mentioned alice in a while. You'll find out eventually. Oh and here. (grabs spoon and beams it with a shrink ray, thus making it smaller) VWALA. A spoonette. Better?

Euphoriafalls: bella, apologize right now for beating someone with em's country…She says no. I REALLY shouldn't have let her have that taser. She thinks she's all that now. Anyways, good idea about the josius thing. You can call me Lily T. the vampire slayer from now on.

MelodyCullen: thanks thanks thanks, oh and, thanks. Yes, go right ahead and beat the holy buckets out of Josius with Pluto. IT IS SOOOO A PLANET!

Shinobi ShiniahehWHATERSFACE: love E and B heaps too much to ever write a fic without them. Good luck to you in your Japanese search. I really hope it's three letters or less…

Yourwriter: new reviewer…oH BOY!! Thnx. Me too.

THrushflightEdward'sstalker: Congrats on being the first flame…well, half flame…more like an ember really, but hey, I can take it…For scientific purposes, what didn't you like about chapter uno? Thnx for reviewing.

Thefuturemrs.edwardcullen: that's odd…Edward's with me right now…hmmmm. LIAR LIAR PANTS ON FIRE. What, Edward? You're CHEATING on me?!?! Brb…

Rebeckah: OOOO nother new reviewer. Thanks oodles and kaboodles.

Chapter 12

I sprinted for the deep booming sound, pushing my way past the thick undergrowth of the forest. That machete I had planned to kill Josius with sure would've come in handy right about now.

Mostly, I let instinct lead my thoughts and actions. I had not a clue as to what I would do once I got there – if there was anyone there at all.

How stupid would I feel if I arrived and there were no vampires or werewolves in sight, and the government was…oh, I don't know – experimenting with sonic boom rays or something?

The answer was not stupid at all. I'd feel relieved. Probably give every government official a kiss or three despite their genders and ages.

My mind clung to that ridiculous, unfounded hope even as I pushed harder against the woods.

These trees were normally so peaceful, so tranquilizing. Now, they hindered and obstructed, like hands hell bent on keeping me from saving Edward's life – like hands hell bent on killing him, even if it was indirectly.

The booms were so loud now. Deafness would have been a serious concern if there were not so many countless other things to worry about.

Josius winning. Edward dead. Josius taking over the world. Edward dead. Jacob getting injured. Edward dead.

Somewhere along the way, it had begun to rain. My clothes were already damp.

Up ahead, there was a break in the trees. This was the home stretch, and I booked it.

My feet carried me straight into a scene from my worst nightmare.

Josius, Irina, and the Cullens were matched up against the wolf pack.

I couldn't see much with the rain and the dark, just the pale glow coming from the vampires and the large, burly shapes of the wolves, but I could still make out who was fighting whom.

Jasper was being circled by two snarling wolves, one Seth for sure.

My heart reached out for Seth first. He didn't stand a chance, but then I remembered how he'd ripped Victoria's boy toy to shreds and I swiftly became equally concerned for my brother.

Carlisle, Esme, and Irina, Tanya's red headed partner in crime, were taking on two – Embry and Quil.

Alice and Rosalie were being attacked by three I didn't recognize at all.

Emmett was dueling Paul.

Finally, my vision focused on the battle I was most terrified of.

Edward and Jacob were simply staring at one another, each deducing the moves the other would make. Apparently, Jake had given up on full offenses. It was no use anyway, since Edward could read his mind.

Watching this was tearing me to pieces, ripping out my heart and stomping on it repeatedly.

I cringed and reached out as Edward pounced at Jake. He missed, thank God.

Josius was locked in a battle with Sam. Or rather, was trying to get around Sam, to me most likely, but I'd save him the trouble.

I forced my feet to hurry onto the battlefield. Something furry brushed across my leg, and I looked down. Resting on the grass, in an awkward, distorted position was a tawny wolf. Limbs were arranged in a way that wasn't natural, and blood was pouring forth from a gaping wound in the creature's side.

Moisture welled up in my eyes. I was too late. Someone had already died – trying to defend me. This wasn't worth it. I wasn't worth it.

"Josius, you son of a bitch!" I screamed at the top of my lungs. The ferocious ice in my voice rivaled that of Antarctica.

Through the rain, now coming down in sheets, I could see that Josius pivoted on the spot, turning to glare at me with equivalent fury.

The fighting came to a stand-still for the moment, its participants alternating glances between their opponents and me.

Smoothly, Josius pulled on a cool mask. "Look who decided to tag along," he taunted, "Enjoying the show?"

I strode towards him, crazy or no. He was going to kill me anyway. With my peripheral vision, I could make out a head, quite obviously lacking a body. Raven hair was splayed around it. Kate had been another casualty.

"Here, I am. Take me already!" I cried, "This," I continued, gesturing to the dead wolf and vampire, "was unnecessary."

If I was going to die, I'd give him a piece of my mind first.

My soon-to-be-murderer smirked the same time lightning lit the sky. His eerie expression was serial killer worthy, "That's just a part of the fun," he said casually.

"Bell…Bella!" I heard a familiar voice croak. Turning my gaze, I saw Edward, his topaz eyes closed tightly shut. When they opened at last, his gaze was clouded over, muffled.

"Just let me talk to him!" I beseeched.

"How touching," Josius bit sarcastically, "last words betwixt lovers. How's this, darling? You tell me what you want to say to him, and I'll give him the message after you're dead. Time is money, you know."

This was hell, the deepest circle I was sure. I would die slowly, Josius would become invincible, and Edward wouldn't even know how much I still loved him.

Stealing a glance at Edward, I bit my lip and steeled myself against tears. I wouldn't bow to this monster. "Kill me now then," I dared.

His eyes blazed crimson, "If you insist."

In a flash, Josius was standing in front of me. His face leaned closer towards my neck. And closer and closer. I could feel his lips at my pulse point. My eyes closed.

But the bite never came. Instead, snarls and growls met my ears.

The entire wolf pack had launched themselves at Josius.

Several unsettling crunching sounds were head above the roar of the brawl. A white something was hurled from the clash.

"Stop it," I yelled at the werewolves. They were going to get themselves killed.

The fight persisted, that is, until Cullens eventually pulled the wolves away. Josius was left on the ground. His hand was no longer attached to his body, but he sprang up from the grass as if the amputation hadn't deterred him in the least.

Multiple cracking sounds and excruciated howls surrounded me. It sounded like many bones crunching at the same time. I cringed.

The vampires had caught a bunch of distracted, teenaged werewolves off guard. Then, Josius must have commanded my brainwashed family to cripple them.

Fresh tears poured from my eyes at the sight of Edward violently snapping Jake's hind legs – without batting an eyelash.

The lie I had told Charlie earlier suddenly struck me as ironic.

I was flippantly tossed over someone's shoulder – Josius' of course.

Then, he was lugging me through the forest.

Fruitlessly, I beat against his granite back and tried to wiggle myself out of his grip. Then, I noticed that it was not simply the two of us. Edward was following not a foot behind. My fingers reached out and brushed across his arm, but no sign of recognition, or even of awareness, was visible on his face.

My sobs grew desperate. Due to my position slung over Josius' back, my hair was sopping and tangled from my tears and the rainfall.

Finally, we stopped. The rain had stopped, too, at least where we were, and where we were was a space under a highway bridge, the kind where trashcan fires are lit by homeless people in the winter.

I was violently thrown to the floor, but immediately stood, ignoring the pain.

Josius glanced about him and gestured at the concrete arch above us, "I wanted to take my time with you," he said nonchalantly, "Can't have anyone interrupting. I guess this will have to do."

His words sent shivers down my spine, but I managed to keep my eyes steady in their loathing.

Edward was staring in my general direction, but his gaze was focused more through me.

"Why did you bring him?" I asked fiercely, "To watch?"

Josius knew that helplessly watching me perish would be Edward's ultimate torture.

"Originally, yes," my killer confessed, "But recently, I decided that he should play a much more, shall we say, interactive role."

AN: soooo intense. Painfully intense.