A/N:
This is it, you guys! The final chapter of this crazy whirlwind of a story! I loved reading your reviews and how you felt about the different choices. Most of you had the same thought, but only a few of you had a theory very close to what will actually happen.
I'm not gonna reveal anything because, I mean, the chapter is right down there xD
Let's see what Bella chooses!
I'm gonna continue putting the disclaimer here just be sure that everyone is aware of where this story originated.
This story isn't 100 % mine. I have transformed it into a story from an interactive story app called Choices and the creators are Pixelberry Studios.
Disclaimer: All publicly recognizable characters, settings, etc. are the property of their respective owners. The original characters and plot are the property of the author. The author is in no way associated with the owners, creators, or producers of any media franchise. No copyright infringement is intended.
{Chapter 12}
A bodiless, male voice spoke in my ear. The first time I heard it, it had been unfamiliar, but now I recognized it as Cullen's. The words still caused my blood to run cold.
"You don't understand, do you? Of course not. But you will … in time."
The Endless stood before me with pride shining in her eyes.
"In the end, it's up to you to decide who you truly are."
I was back by the lava pool, and Kaanu was speaking to me.
"To be alive is to never know what will happen next..."
I had to choose. But how could I?
If I chose Cullen's path, everyone would get their families back; Alistair would have his mother back, and so would Leah. Edward would get Jazz back. And I would get a life of my own, with memories and a family.
On the other hand, El Jardín would cease to be, and everything we'd gone through here would be lost. Everything we'd worked to stop would come true, and who knew what Cullen planned in that megalomaniac head of his.
Then there was what the Endless had wanted. We could stop Cullen, and I would get to keep my friends forever. I'd get to keep Edward. And we'd be safe … forever … on the island.
But the world would still be gone. Their families would still be dead.
I wasn't sure I could ask that of my friends. I couldn't ask them to give up their dreams, and their futures, just for the sake of me keeping them with me forever. That wasn't fair to them.
I knew in my heart that there really only was one choice I could make with a clear conscience. If I merged together with Kaanu, completed him again and he could depart from Earth, everything would essentially be fixed.
My friends would be together, and they would remember everything. The world would be saved, and they could return to their families. Get jobs and start careers like I'd seen in their futures. Have families.
I just wouldn't be with them.
My greatest hesitation toward choosing that path was Edward. He had already lost so much, and with McKenzie dead, I wasn't sure he could be cleared of his charges. By departing with Kaanu, I would subject him to the pain of losing another loved one. It wasn't guaranteed for him that he could return to his mother and sister in Louisiana. He very well could be arrested the minute they were back in America.
Could I put him through that? Was it too selfish of me to consider keeping everyone on the island for the sake of saving him? For the sake of staying with all of them?
Before I could really make my decision, I was pulled back to standing on The Ethereal's rooftop. The vortex whirled ever faster, like a malevolent clock racing to count down the last, fleeting moments before disaster overtook all.
Next to me, the crystal pillar shimmered peacefully.
I felt a hand on my shoulder, and I turned to look into Edward's worried eyes, and my heart clenched painfully.
"Still with us, baby?" he asked. He had noticed that I had zoned out when I touched the crystal.
I swallowed hard and nodded. "Yeah, I'm … here."
Cullen struggled to rise, but Garrett and James kept him securely pinned down. "If I may … just—" he grunted.
I inhaled to regain some strength and then turned to him. "Let him up," I told the guys, and they released their grip.
Cullen stood and brushed himself off. "Project Janus was designed to purge Earth of time anomalies. It can fix all of this. Leah has given us the chance we needed. All that remains is to allow the process to bring Earth to an optimal state."
I frowned. "What do you get out of it?" I asked as I wanted to know what he had planned.
Alistair glared at Cullen. "That's always the catch," he agreed.
Rosalie scoffed. "Get ready to hear some lies."
Cullen shook his head dismissively. "I always knew you were different, Bella. You have a connection to the Island's Heart. You can drain its remaining energy into the Omega Mech and finish this. The world will be restored, save for ignorance, suffering, and death. Qualities that have limited mankind for eons. It's all a matter of strategically revising Earth's history."
Emmett grimaced. "That sounds bad, guys. Real bad."
"You can't just tamper with history," Tanya exclaimed behind Emmett. "Countless carefully balanced equations have made the world the way it is!"
I agreed with both of them. "You didn't answer my question, Cullen. What do you get out of it?"
He continued to avoid a direct answer. "There will be a difference, yes, but you will remain together. And those you've lost will be returned to you."
Edward froze next to me. "You mean...?"
Cullen nodded. "Your friend Jasper will be alive."
A ragged gasp escaped Edward before he turned to me. "Bella, if that's true … it would mean everything to me."
"Esme, too, would be as she once was," Cullen continued.
Alistair shifted uncomfortably, and I knew Cullen was getting to some of my friends. Benjamin took a step forward in protest.
"Guys, we can't do what Cullen wants! What about Jacorel?!"
Jacorel placed a comforting hand on his shoulder. "Do not be concerned with me, my love. The Kaarii have prepared for this moment for generations."
Benjamin shrugged away from his touch and turned to stare angrily at him. "I'm not talking about the Kaarii. I'm talking about you! I'm talking about us!"
With a gentle pull, Jacorel held Benjamin tight in his arms. "We are joined as one," he said in an attempt to calm him down. "If our bond is meant to last, what happens here will not change that."
A smile was playing around Cullen's mouth. "I can ensure you, all will survive. That's a promise."
"The promise of a snake," Leah spat.
He sighed dramatically. "I suppose skepticism is … understandable. Iris, confirm settings regarding Bella's friends."
Iris folded her arms in a very human manner. "Only if that's what Bella wishes."
I didn't need his assurances. I knew what he was telling me was true because Kaanu had told me as much. What annoyed me was the information he withheld from the others. "There's no need, Iris," I told her. "However, I would like to hear the uncensored plans of what will truly happen if Project Janus is completed."
"Of course," Iris consented. "Project Janus will return the Selected to the beginning of their freshman year at Hartfeld University. El Jardín will not exist, nor any trace of its impact remain. Further, Bella's past will be altered, giving her a family and also placing her at Hartfeld."
The others frowned and exchanged confused glances.
"But that's how Bella's past already is, though," Rosalie pointed out, but Benjamin was the one who had understood exactly what Iris had said.
"But if we go back, won't we lose everything that's happened here?" he asked with despair.
I nodded to confirm his question. "That's exactly what will happen." I locked eyes with my BFF who'd had a large part in my creation. "You won't remember Jacorel. All the relationships we've created here will be lost and forgotten." I shifted and looked at Edward who appeared torn and devastated. I reached up and stroked his cheek. "The love we have for each other won't exist." He grabbed my free hand tightly as if his physical touch alone could keep us together. I smiled and scanned the rest of my friends' faces. "And none of you will remember me."
"You'll be alive," Cullen said as if that made everything else lose meaning. "You'll have your families, and you'll all be together. No one's offering you a better deal than that."
Alistair looked longingly toward Iris's hologram but then sighed deeply. "If the Mech's energy is returned to the Heart, it should reverse the vortex, allowing us to stay on El Jardín."
"Then I say we stay," Emmett insisted with wide, terrified eyes. "The world's gone anyway. Maybe it's okay in another timeline, but in ours, we just gotta accept that we lost it."
"Yeah," Peter agreed quietly. "And I don't wanna try to go home only to have it blow up in our faces again."
Tanya nodded. "We can make a life for ourselves here. We have everything we need."
They appeared ready to throw everything away, and it made me feel hopeful in a way I had no right to feel. "What about everyone you've lost?" I asked. I had to make sure they really knew what they wanted.
"I'd really like to see my family again … and Jazz," Edward admitted in defeat.
James agreed with him. "I promised my ma and sis I'd come back from the war one day. I'd hate for my last word to them to be a lie."
Victoria hugged herself uncertainly. "There were so many things I wanted to do. To see the world, and go on new adventures..."
"I already gave up on all of that once, back when I holed myself up in the ruins," Rosalie said apologetically. "Kinda hard to do it all over again."
"But isn't this what the Endless wanted for us?" Leah asked. "To be safe here forever?"
I nodded. "She spent decades trying to give us that. And now she's gone." I thought back to the last time I saw her. And her warning.
"Cullen will promise everything … then take away the very thing we've fought so hard to protect..."
The memory was impossibly vivid as I saw her crawling toward me and frantically reaching for me with her metal hand. I could feel the heat coming from the lava pool, hear every scrape of the Endless's movements against the jagged stone.
With a start, I realized I was actually there. "This is … real?" I looked at the Endless. "Are you doing this?"
She continued to reach for me. "Let me show you, Bella. All that I've seen. All that I've lived. Every variation of our lives on El Jardín over my 2,139 attempts to save everyone." She struggled to touch my forehead with her intact hand, and then images flickered into being in my mind.
My friends falling in love … working as a team to survive … discovering secrets...
A brilliant flash heralded the beginning of a vision.
I was deep in the woods. From nearby, I heard laughter and splashing. I followed the sound and pushed aside the foliage.
"No way!" Garrett protested from the pool. "That was totally out!"
Victoria laughed. "If it hit the water, it counts!"
They were playing volleyball in the hotel pool, and among everyone, I saw myself, jumping up and down and cheering.
"Yes! That's another point," I cheered.
I staggered back, dazed at the sight. I looked down at my hands, and I saw that one was gloved in red, and the other was of skeletal steel.
I gasped. "I'm … the Endless."
My heart raced in my chest, but the sight of my friends laughing and playing somehow put me at ease.
"I don't remember this happening," I mused to myself. "It must be from another timeline."
Just then, Garrett spiked the ball too hard, and it bounced over the edge of the jungle, nearly at my feet.
"My bad. I'll get it," he apologized with an easy smile. He jogged over, the smile still on his face as he picked up the ball, then he saw me among the trees. "Who are you?" he asked, alarmed.
"Garrett," I said quietly. "It's me."
His eyed widened. "Bella?"
I took a step toward him, but as I did, reality shimmered and rippled. Suddenly, I was standing on a snow-swept mountainside.
A bellowing roar shook the pine trees, and nearby, I saw Tanya and myself, skiing down the slope, with Furball perched on my shoulder.
"Come on!" I yelled. "She's gaining!"
Tanya pushed herself harder while whimpering in fear. "Oh god, oh god!"
The Yeti burst through the treeline, thundering after them.
Another vision. I was watching Kate barely keep her balance as she tiptoed across a narrow catwalk over a sea of magma.
"Almost … there..." she whispered.
With a groan, the metal platform bent toward the blazing lava, and Kate screamed.
Unable to stay quiet, I yelled for her. "Kate!"
"I've got you!" the last person I ever expected to see with my friends said as she dove toward Kate, and tackled her to safety. Fiddler.
"Jane," Kate gasped. "You saved me!"
Fiddler grinned. "Yeah, well, we're even now. So don't expect it to happen again."
A white flash washed that vision away, and another immediately took its place.
"It is a joyous day, brothers and sisters!" Harrvel cheered. "We finally have a new Clockmaster!" He knelt in front of the chair at the center of Clockmaster's workshop.
A dozen Anachronists followed suit.
"We are yours to command, Rosalie!"
Rosalie grinned from her "throne." "Dope."
A loud clang disrupted the image, and then I saw Cullen and Alistair square off against each other with fencing sabers at the edge of a burning building.
"Not bad at all!" Cullen said patronizingly. "Perhaps I underestimated you."
"Your observations regarding me have been summarily wrong, Father," Alistair retorted. "But I'll afford you no time to regret your errors! En garde!"
Another flash.
At the base of Elyys'tel's mighty tree, a battle raged. Arachnid soldiers struggled to defend the city from a horde of Kaarii.
Saraya was at the frontline. "Warriors! Let us slay the Hydra and Spider and reclaim our home!"
The Omega Mech strode across the beach, charging its weapons. Leah glared out from the cockpit. "Let's do this..."
I was transferred up to the platforms outside the throne room, just in time to see Tetra toss Cullen's lifeless body from the branches. Then he strode back toward the hall.
"They're getting close, boss," he said.
A cigar smoldered in the corner of McKenzie's mouth as he lounged on the throne. "Let 'em come. And when they do, we'll burn this damned tree to the ground with them inside it."
Cullen's cloning lab appeared before me. On the surgical table, strapped down with steel restraints was Emry.
"Help! You must help Emry!" the Kaarii man pleaded, but my friends were blocked and couldn't do anything.
"Come on," Emmett said. "There's gotta be a way to—"
Iris interrupted him. "I'm sorry, Emmett. I can't let you do that."
Emmett startled and stared at her. "Whoa! Who the hell are you? How do you know my name?"
I realized it was a timeline in which we never found Iris. In the blink of an eye, I was outside the emergency shelter.
"Sether, where'd you get that necklace?" Victoria asked.
The child showed off the golden key hanging from his neck. "I found it! Do you like it?"
Victoria knelt down to get a closer look and noticed a rune shaped like a dolphin engraved into the side.
The visions started flashing by faster.
Alice sneaking into the plane hanger. "I hate to tamper with private property … but I have a job to do." She set a trail of gasoline alight, and soon the fire engulfed Edward's plane. "There. That should keep them from leaving."
Leah marching briskly down the hall, looking over her shoulder as if to make sure no one was watching, until she reached the ballroom.
"Come on, where is it?"
She walked up to a large painting mounted on the wall, flipped out a pocket knife and slashed it, tearing it away. She reached behind the canvas.
"Found you" She took out a folded note and read it. "This handwriting. It's..."
There's a second Omega Specimen. Whatever it takes, we have to make sure Cullen doesn't get his hands on her.
- S
Clipped to the note was a photo of me.
"He won't, Mom," Leah vowed. "I promise."
A rusty taco truck rumbled down ruined jungle roads with Edward behind the wheel.
"I've got it," he assured. "I've got it!"
Jazz sat in the passenger seat. "You're gonna get us killed! Again!"
"We'll be fine," Edward said confidently. "Ain't that right, Sebastian?" He looked over his shoulder at the giant monster crab in the back.
We were in the MASADA lab.
"Hold on. You're telling me that—" I said while looking between Kate and Alistair.
"For the love of..." Kate rolled her eyes, but her voice was off. She was speaking in a British accent. "Bella, we've discussed this protractedly. I'm Alistair!"
I turned to Alistair's form. "And you're—"
"Kate," he answered. "Can you please just get us out of this nightmare?!"
Everyone stood outside the Rosencraft estate.
"Uh, guys..." Emmett said. "Why is Furball purple?"
Dark storm clouds rolled in over the water where we sat in boats.
"How did he even get up there?" Garrett asked in shock.
"Is he gonna be okay?"
Angelique huffed. "Ugh, just like Janvier … The fool never understands when it's time to let go!"
I watched as Cetus breached the sea's surface again with Janvier riding atop his head.
"Will one of you bloody fools do something?!" he exclaimed.
The ice lake stretched before me.
A figure levitated over the cracking ice, blazing with time energy.
"Run!" Tetra yelled. "That freak's gonna kill us all!"
Peter laughed boomingly, green light sparkling in his eyes.
The lake morphed into Cullen's office.
McKenzie sat behind the desk. "I knew you'd come around eventually." He grinned. "Welcome back … Wolf."
Edward stood stoically in front of him. "What can I do for you, Commander?"
Alistair walked away from the Lernean Gate portal, carrying Tanya's body.
"This is your fault..." he whispered.
Victoria tried to approach him. "Alistair, I'm so sorry … it was an accident."
"Poor Tanya," Benjamin said.
Alistair clenched his fists and gritted his teeth. "Her blood is on all of you, and now your own will be too!" He set her body down on the floor and drew a snake-hilted knife from his belt.
Jacorel sat alone on the shore, weeping as he cradled a fluorescent-colored seashell to his ear. A voice echoed faintly in the shell, a voice from long ago.
"I'll always love you, Jacorel … I'll always love you, Jacorel … I'll always love you, Jacorel…"
Soon, the echo faded away and disappeared completely.
Peter dangled over the side of a sheer cliff, hanging on to Garrett's hand.
"I've got you!" Garrett grunted. "I can pull you up!"
"Bro … I'll just pull you over with me," Peter told him sadly.
"Peter, no!" Garrett protested and shook his head.
"Face it, Gar. I've been dragging you down my whole life. I'm done." Peter released his grasp and plummeted hundreds of feet to the ground.
"Noooo!"
Cullen cut a thick slice of juicy steak and twirled it on his fork. "I must say, it's lovely to finally have a family dinner together."
Across the table, Leah sat perfectly still, her eyes blank. At her temple, an electric device pulsed with light.
"Wouldn't you agree, my dear?" Cullen asked her with a smile.
"Yes, Father."
Sether ran up and hugged Alistair's legs. "I love you, Uncle Al!"
Alistair stuttered uncertainly. "I, er—" Then he smiled affectionately at the boy. "I love you, too, Sether."
An arcade machine flashed 'High Score' while Peter hoisted Benjamin onto his shoulders and carried him around.
"Haha! My boy Benji just crushed the all-time leaderboard!"
Rosalie cheered him on. "Aw, yes. Billy Mitchell who?"
Benjamin grinned. "Couldn't have done it without you guys!"
Tanya sniffed, and a tear rolled down her cheek.
Kate, sitting by her side, wiped it away. "I don't think you're timid, at all," she said. "In fact, you're probably the bravest person I've ever met."
Tanya sniffled. "Really?"
"Really," Kate repeated with a smile.
Edward cocked a gun and narrowed his eyes at Garrett. "You seriously think I'd let you go it alone? I told you. I've got your back for life."
"I know, Edward," Garrett said. "And you know I've got yours."
The two guys embraced and clapped each other's backs. When they pulled apart, Edward grinned.
"But if you tell anybody I said that, I'll kill you myself."
I watched myself raise a glass, surrounded by all of my friends.
"So this toast … is to all of you! You're like family to me, and more than that, you're the best family I could ever hope for."
On the beach, Garrett lifted Kate in his arms and spun her around.
"I can't believe I ever let you slip away."
"I can't believe I ever watched you go."
"Never again," he promised. "I'm yours, Kate. And you're mine."
They kissed, framed by the sunset.
Leah sat up in bed, her eyes filled with racing thoughts. She started to get up when a hand took hers and pulled her back down.
"Where do you think you're going?" Rosalie asked.
"Just … got stuff on my mind," Leah answered with a sigh.
"Then talk to me about it," Rosalie insisted. "I'm here for you."
Leah smiled. "I know." She turned to her side and held Rosalie in her arms.
By the Mayan ruins, James was teaching Victoria to play on his guitar.
"Like this?" she asked and tried a chord.
He smiled proudly. "You're a natural." He showed her a new chord. "So what makes you wanna learn guitar anyway?"
She blushed. "Well, because … I want to write a song for you!"
His smile grew and then he leaned toward Victoria. Their lips met, and the guitar was forgotten.
And then, amid the chaos and possibility, the million different choices, one moment happened over and over.
Edward smiling at me. "I love you, Bella."
"I love you, Bella."
"I love you, Bella."
"I love you, Bella."
"I love you, Bella."
"And I love you, Edward."
Tears burned in my eyes as, in the space of a single moment, I watched myself fall in love with Edward over a thousand times.
The light faded, and I was back in the cavern with the Endless' hand on my forehead. My sobs caused my chest to heave irregularly.
"Are you … sad?" the Endless asked in confusion.
I nodded, but I was unable to speak. I had never felt such happiness as I did when I saw the love Edward had for me shine from his eyes, but it still hurt because I knew what I had to do.
It was the only choice really.
"You've seen everything now, Bella," the Endless said. "You know everything you can know … but this is where my sight ends."
I nodded and wiped away my tears. "I know what I have to do."
With force, I was wrenched back to the present.
Cullen scoffed at my friends as they continued to discuss remaining on the island or not. "I can't believe some of you would simply wall yourselves up and consign the world to its fate. Think for a moment of those—"
Leah's fist collided with his jaw. "You have nothing to tell anyone about selfishness! And in my family, we don't tolerate hypocrites."
Garrett shook his head thoughtfully as he weighed the options. "It's almost impossible to decide this … but it sounds like Cullen's way is for the best, Bella."
With a pained grimace, I shook my head. "Actually, there's a third option," I breathed out and turned my back to them to look out at the cosmos as it whirled around the rooftop. I couldn't look at their faces as I told them this. "I am not who you think I am. You see, the reason I have a connection with the Heart is that I am a part of it."
Edward came up behind me and made me face him. His eyes were confused and scared, but he didn't interrupt me.
"None of you really remember me from before this trip because I didn't exist," I admitted.
Benjamin frowned. "What do you mean? I remember you. We've been besties forever."
I shook my head. "No, we haven't. Those memories are false. Planted there to explain my presence. In reality, I didn't come into being until we were all sitting on the plane for El Jardín. I'm me. I'm Bella, but I exist because of Kaanu, and all of you willed me into being."
"What are you saying, Bella?" Edward asked. "That look in your eyes worries me. It's telling me I might lose you."
I looked away from him, tears once again blurring my sight, but he didn't allow it this time.
"Please," he pleaded. "Tell me."
The words swelled in my throat, and I swallowed hard in an attempt to fight past it. "I-I c-can complete the Heart … by giving myself to it. The world will go back to normal. You will all be okay, and all the timelines will finally merge. I can save you, and your families, and the rest of the world."
"But...?" Edward asked with trepidation.
"But Kaanu and I … will be gone forever."
His eyes overflowed with anguish, and he started to shake his head. "Dammit, Bella … don't you know I'd come after you? I'd find a way! Cross every mile of space to get you back! You belong with me, not Kaanu."
I threw my arms around his neck and held him tightly. "I know," I whispered. "I know."
Cullen slowly crossed the rooftop toward us, and Edward immediately placed himself in front of me. "I know what you are, Bella," he said. "I know you were cheated out of a normal life. If you see Project Janus through, you'll be able to make real memories with those you care about. Whatever you may feel about my methods, draining the Heart is the only means of staying with your friends and restoring the world."
I clenched my fists. "Except I won't stay with my friends will I?" I reminded him. "None of them will remember me, and I still don't know what you will gain from all of this."
Alistair gazed at Cullen coldly. "That's a gamble at best. We know what we're getting if we reverse the energy and stay on El Jardín. We've done well enough for ourselves here, and can do better still. I believe this is where we're meant to be."
I nodded but didn't tell him how I couldn't ask them all to give up everything just for me. My heart felt heavy and my head reeled as I approached the pillar of crystal.
"Time is the soul of the universe. It touches everything and everyone," I recited what I'd told Clockmaster what felt like a lifetime ago.
I lifted my hands toward the crystal pillar. As starlight danced across the countless facets, I paused and looked at my outstretched arms.
"I guess most people spend their lives searching for a purpose," I told the others. "Something to dedicate themselves to." I looked over my shoulder at all of them. "It's a beautiful journey that I'll never undertake. I've only ever existed to serve my purpose. You. All of you."
I allowed the love I felt for them all to show on my face. They needed to know how much they meant to me. I showed them that I wasn't doing this out of desperation or panic, but because I wanted to. Because I believed in all of them.
"I love every one of you so much. Don't you ever forget that."
Benjamin and Edward took a step forward simultaneously.
"Bella..."
I touched the pillar, and a shockwave of time energy surged outward from my body.
"Bella!"
The vortex began to descend toward the rooftop, its spiraling arms winding ever tighter. The building buckled and began to split apart.
"W-what's happening?!" Tanya cried out.
"The hotel's breaking up!" Peter exclaimed in horror.
The Omega Mech, destabilized by the crumbling building, teetered backward and fell over the edge.
"No!" Cullen yelled. "What have you done?!"
I struggled to keep my grip on the pillar as the roof continued to quake under my feet. Edward wrapped his arms around both me and the crystal to brace me against the shaking.
"Just … keep holding on!" he encouraged despite the pain in his eyes. "If I can't go with you, at least I can get you where you need to go," he whispered in my ear. "Just remember … I will always love you, Bella. My heart is forever yours."
He pressed his lips to mine, and then a column of light engulfed the pillar, raising it into the sky.
"Edward—" I said, my tears streaming down my face without stopping. "I love you, too. I always will."
Once again, and for the last time, my world was overtaken by light, but rather than blindness, I felt a vast clarity, like looking out from a mountaintop on a cloudless day.
I was falling. Falling … upward. Every future, every present, and every past seemed to occur simultaneously around me.
Kaanu's presence spoke in my mind, echoing strangely familiar words. "Doesn't feel real, does it? But I am finally on my way."
Confusion took a hold of my mind. "Only you?" I asked. "Not … we?"
Warmth spread through me as if Kaanu was smiling. "It's amazing what love can do. How it can make energy expand and grow a thousandfold. Create things on its own."
"I—" I tried, but I wasn't following. "I don't understand."
"I told you that my energy was only the seed of your creation, Bella. I could not be certain until you merged back with me, but now I can feel it."
"Feel what?"
"By choosing me; by helping me depart from Earth, and doing so to ensure your friends will have a future, the love you have for them caused the energy inside you to grow into its own being. You have returned to me what I needed to depart. The rest is yours."
Something expanded within me, and then I was falling again, much more rapidly than before.
"Good luck, my child."
Kaanu's departing word was the last I was aware of before everything became black.
~~{MEJ}~~
Everyone was gathered outside The Ethereal.
Tranquil stars shimmered where the vortex had once dominated the sky.
Emmett looked around in shock. "We … were on the roof. How did we get down here?"
"A parting gift, I imagine," Cullen grumbled displeased.
Edward gazed up at a dark plume of smoke winding from the hotel's collapsing tower, and silent, heartbroken tears filled his eyes. "Bella..." he breathed out in despair.
Cullen huffed. "Not to worry. We're all going back." He drew a portal gun from his coat and aimed it at the group. "And this time, Bella will make the right choice!"
"He's gonna send us back in time," Tanya gasped.
"Like hell he is!" Peter snarled and, together with Leah, launched forward for the gun, but Cullen had already pulled the trigger.
Nothing happened.
"What?" Cullen said in confusion. "I tested it only yest—" Peter drove him to the ground, and Leah wrested the inert gun from his grasp before tossing it aside. Cullen struggled to reach into a pocket but came up empty-handed. "The crystals! Where … Where are they?"
"They're gone, Cullen," Victoria told him harshly with a glare. "Forever."
Cullen squirmed backward and panicked thoughts played behind his darting eyes. "Th-that's not possible! There were too many! I built everything on—"
The Ethereal's main tower finally gave out and came crashing down with a thundering crash. A huge cloud of dust swept across the area, and everyone hurried to the beach.
"Wait!" Kate suddenly said. "Where's James?"
"I don't think he made it down," Emmett answered with a sad frown.
"Everyone, look!" Jacorel exclaimed and pointed out toward the sea. "The horizon no longer burns!"
"Does that mean..." Benjamin started with cautious hope. "Is the world okay?"
"The anomalies, the crystals, the energy … it's all gone," Tanya observed.
Alistair placed an arm around her shoulders. "And the disparate timelines are finally unified."
"That means James went back to his own time," Victoria said unhappily. "As well as Angelique, and Janvier, and the Anachronists."
As the group looked out across the sea, Furball paced nervously and gazed back at the ruined hotel. A dejected whimper escaped him.
Cullen fell to his knees and began to frantically dig in the sand. "Th-there are more … There must be more crystals..."
"Yo!" Peter exclaimed. "I see ships out there. Two of them, coming this way!"
Edward looked to where he pointed. "Those are American Coast Guard cutters," he numbly told the rest.
Gasping for breath, Cullen fell to his side and began weeping piteously. "No … No, no, no..." His fists clenched tightly. "Damn you, Selected! This island was mine! Now you've taken it … you've taken everything!" He started weeping again. "My dream, m-my ambitions!"
Leah crouched next to Cullen and coldly observed his grief. "Ambition, yes. 'Hard work and thrift' … but not dreams. Dreams come from the heart. They're for those who see the goodness in mankind and want to enlarge it."
"You wanted only to enlarge yourself," Alistair filled in. "And here you are, weeping over handfuls of sand as they slip through your greedy fingers."
"M-mine—"
Alistair shook his head. "You own nothing."
A searchlight flashed across the beach from one of the Coast Guard ships as the first lights of dawn chased away the stars. Soon, the ships were close enough to shore for the guard to send smaller boats to the beach.
"How are we gonna explain this?" Benjamin asked everyone. "Where we've been? What we've seen?"
Edward sighed and ran a hand through his long hair. "Let's just say I have a feeling tomorrow's gonna be one hell of a news day."
Officers disembarked and approached the group. Soon, everyone was brought aboard. The ship departed for the mainland, carrying everyone homeward at long last.
~~{MEJ}~~
Moments passed, and I wasn't certain how long exactly, before I realized that I was still conscious.
"Hello?" I called out.
More time passed by … and nothing changed. But then I started to feel my limbs again, one by one. With a start, I sat up in a bed I didn't recognize. I worriedly looked around, and it became obvious I was in a hotel room.
I threw the duvet off and ran toward a purse sitting in an armchair, assuming it was mine. I dug through it with fervor for any sort of clue that could tell me what was going on, and I found a wallet.
Inside it, I found things I'd never seen before. A driver's license with my picture and the name said it belonged to Isabella M. Swan. I didn't recognize the name, but it felt right. The date of birth read January 1st, 1996, the exact date I thought had been my birthday until I discovered the truth of my existence.
All the information that I found in the purse was new to me, but it also felt right. As if everything was the way it was supposed to be.
I looked at the display of the phone and saw that the date read March 20th, 2018. I had no idea what date it had been back on El Jardín.
My heart started racing as I thought of my friends. What had happened to them? Where was I? Had the world truly been saved? And in that case, where were they?
I hurriedly got dressed and left the hotel. Where would I easiest find the information I needed? A police station, maybe?
The streets I walked on were unfamiliar, but I somehow knew it was Miami, and faster than I thought, I found a police station. Without hesitating, I went inside. I had no idea what I would ask them, or what I would say, but I had to do something.
Two women wearing uniforms were behind the reception desk, and I walked up to them.
"Excuse me, could you help me with something?" I asked them, and one of them turned to me. Her eyes were green and reminded me so much of Edward's it hurt, but they also gave me strength. It made me even more determined to find out what had happened. "I was wondering whether you work with Miami's coast guard?"
The woman blinked. "We do so frequently. Why do you ask?"
"I wanted to know if you've heard anything of a group of people being brought here from the Island of El Jardín. It's a private island owned by—"
"Carlisle Cullen, yes, I've heard of it," she said. "We haven't been informed of the coast guard being needed that far out, though. Are there people in need there?"
I nodded. "I believe so, yes. A group of kids flew there from Costa Rica last year. They were supposed to only be gone a week, but they never returned home. I'm sure they were reported missing."
"Last year?" the woman gaped. "And what makes you think they are still there?"
"I can't be sure," I confessed. "But I need to look at all possibilities. Could you, please, see if they were reported missing?"
She exhaled and looked at me sympathetically. She obviously believed they were all dead. "Sure. Just give me a name and I'll run it through the database."
"Just one name?"
"How many do you have?"
…
…
…
Three days later, I stood at the docks where the coast guard ships were expected to arrive at any moment. The police had been shocked and didn't believe me when I gave them the names of the Hartfeld University students that had gone missing almost a year before.
They believed me even less when I told them the story about Carlisle Cullen being a megalomaniac billionaire who thought he could change history by imprisoning these kids on his island because he thought they were the key.
Not until I fabricated the lie that I had worked for him did they consider sending a rescue team to the Caribbean island. When they called me and told me that they had indeed found a group of people together with Carlisle Cullen himself, I don't think I had ever been that happy before.
I could see it then. The Coast Guard ship was closing in, and Victoria's flaming red hair was like a beacon for me. I could see them all on the deck. They were all there.
The ship docked, and my friends wearily climbed ashore. They looked haggard and tired; happy to be back home in America, but the sadness in their eyes spoke of how aware they were of what it had cost them. They had not yet seen me.
The two FBI agents flanking me went into action and seized Cullen the second he placed his foot on the dock.
"Carlisle Cullen, you are under arrest for kidnapping and abducting with malicious intent. You have the right to remain silent..."
"Is this actually happening?" Benjamin asked as he stared at Cullen being handcuffed under loud protests. "How did they know? We haven't said anything."
I saw that as my cue, and I walked slowly up to them. "Let's say they got a tip from someone close to the issue."
They all whirled around simultaneously in shock, and Peter, who was closest to me, even poked me to see if I was real.
I laughed softly. "Yes, Peter, I'm real."
Garrett gaped at me. "But how? I thought you merged with Kaanu and left Earth."
"I did," I confirmed. "I don't know exactly what happened, myself, but apparently, Kaanu only needed a small part of my energy to be complete. I was allowed to keep the rest, and I was sent back to Earth."
"Whoa," Emmett said and blinked. "You were in space then?"
"I guess I was, but I didn't see anything apart from white light and all the timelines becoming one," I answered him, and then I was enveloped by hugs from all sides, and everyone spoke at once.
"We have Bella back! Oh, I'm so happy, I could cry!" Victoria gushed.
"I am crying!" Tanya said in response.
"This is the ultimate ending of the strangest movie ever," Benjamin cheered and held me just a moment longer than the rest.
Then, I felt a warm hand trace down my bare arm until it entwined itself with my fingers, and my heart skipped a beat as I turned around.
Edward's eyes were disbelieving, but there was also a shimmer of cautious hope there. "Princess, is this for real? I get to keep you now?"
I smiled as tears of joy filled my eyes and caused his face to blur. I blinked them away because I wanted to see him clearly. "I promised you at least a year and a day, Top Gun. If you want to keep me after that, I am yours forever." I reached up and cupped his cheek, and when my fingers touched his skin, he gasped softly as if the touch shocked him.
We collapsed into one another and kissed frantically. His hands on me were tight and restricting, but I didn't care. I didn't want him to loosen his hold. I didn't want him to let me go, ever.
A lot of stuff still needed to be fixed. Cullen had to be charged and put away for good; we had to clear Edward's name, which would be more difficult now that McKenzie and Jazz were dead; and we had to answer a lot of questions from the press, but as Edward's lips moved with mine, I knew that we could handle all of that because there was nothing we couldn't face when we were all together.
A/N:
That was emotional and crazy. Only the Epilogue left now, and I have news for you concerning that. I don't want to force you to wait a week since the Epilogue is so much shorter, and that's why I will post that tomorrow, and I will wait for my big farewell AN until the end of that.
Anyway, I hope you have enjoyed this story despite all it's crazy shit and sometimes over the top dramatics and action.
Since this can technically be seen as the end, I have a question for you that I would love for you to answer!
Since this story is so very complicated, was there anything in particular that you think it could have done without to simplyfy it? Anything at all that you think could be omitted?
Please, share all of your thoughts, and I will see you tomorrow for the Epilogue
Stay Awesome!