I can see a change

I can see a change in you

I see it coursing through your veins

And it is a shame

Oh it is a shame on you

I barely recognize your face

And I don't like what I'm seeing lately

Oh I don't like who I'm seeing lately

Chapter 6: Complications

Alice POV:

"No. No no no no no. No! NO!" It couldn't be true. It just couldn't. Aro was lying. It's what he does. But the look on Liam's face told me otherwise.

Would Bella really turn off her humanity if she believed I was dead? I thought about what I would do if somehow she was killed, permanently. I wouldn't want to live anymore. I would find a way to kill myself and end my suffering.

But Bella, Bella didn't have that option. So she flipped the switch. I sank to my knees.

"D-do you think he was telling the truth?" Carlisle asked tentatively, glancing worriedly at me.

"Unfortunately, we'll be finding out soon enough." Colt said grimly. I closed my eyes, trying not to think of what Bella may be doing right now. He left the room, probably to start tracking bodies.

"Ok. Ok ok. We need to think on the bright side alright? Bella is free now. We can find her and bring her home." Liam said hopefully for his and my benefit.

"Yeah and how do you expect on doing that?" Jasper interjected, his voice tight. "She's stronger than you Liam. You know that. And now with no emotions and on a vampire diet? There's no way in hell we're getting her back."

"Jasper!"

"I'm sorry Esme. There's no point in sugar coating what we all know to be true."

"Well then what do you want us to do Jasper? Sit and watch? Our Bella is still in there. She's just hurt and in pain. All we need to do is get her to want to feel again." Rosalie offered up to the group, but Jasper shook his head again.

"Once you flip the switch there's no turning back. Trust me. I've dealt with countless humanity free vampires. They're vicious Rosalie. They don't care if you used to be a friend or a foe. They will kill you if you stand in their way."

"God damn it Jasper! This is Bella we're talking about here! Not a fucking nameless soldier! She's our family. We will bring her back." Emmett had grown furious at Jasper's attitude and was beginning to growl in a threatening manner.

"Then what's your plan Emmett? Please tell us. I'm sure we'd all like to know." Jasper and Emmett were advancing on each other, finally Carlisle stepped in.

"EVERYONE CALM DOWN! NOW!" Rosalie pulled Emmett back and whispered soothing words into his ear. Jasper stepped back, reigning in his emotions. "Now I know you've had experience Jasper, but now is not the time for making choices we can't go back on. Emmett is right. Bella is family. I know it won't be easy, but we have to at least try. Try and get her back. All we need is a good plan. So let's all calm down, and think."

"Alice? Are-are you alright?" Liam bent down to check and make sure I wasn't going catatonic. I shook my head no. I didn't want to be around anyone. Especially if they were planning on ways to take down my mate. But I had no will to move. Luckily Liam knew what I needed and cradled me into his arms, carrying me back to my room. "No one's going to hurt her Alice. I'll make sure of that."

"Thank you Liam. For everything."

"Bella is where she is because she protected my mate. She took care of her when I didn't. So of course I will be there for you when she can't." He placed me on the bed gently, handing me one of Bella's shirts before I had the chance to ask. "I promised her that I would bring her back if she turned it off. I already failed on one of my promises to her. I won't fail again." He looked at me with pain and love in his eyes, and then got up to leave. I'm sure to plan with the others.

I rolled over to my side, taking a deep breath and soaking myself in Bella's scent. I worried about her. And not about how many people she would kill or that shit. No. I worried what would happen when we did finally get her emotions back on. I would always forgive her no matter what she did. But could she forgive herself?

"What was it about? Caius?"

"No. No it was just memories. The people I killed." I moved over to place my chest against her back and calm her down from the nightmare. I rested my chin on her shoulder and kissed her neck lightly for support.

"That was a long time ago Bella. You can't dwell on it. You can't dwell on any of it."

"But it wasn't. It was still me Alice. And it's still inside of me."

"Yes but you have control. And you have me. I will always be there to make sure you're in control." She relaxed slightly in my arms, her shaking had stopped. "Come on. You need your sleep. Come back to bed love."

"You doing ok?" Rosalie was standing in my doorway, watching me with a concerned eye. I sat up, pulling myself out of my memories.

"Yeah. I guess." She came in and sat down next to me, still scrutinizing me for any sign of danger. "Why are you here? Is something wrong?"

"Alice, we got word of something that could possibly be Bella." I waited for her to continue, but she didn't. She was the one waiting for me. Probably concerned I may not want to hear.

"Go on Rose. I know it won't be pretty. Just tell me."

"There are some bodies showing up in Ukraine. All drained of blood, quite violently. The location fits with where Aro was when he called. They're going to keep tracking, hopefully finding a pattern of some sort. Once they find one, Liam's going to get her. Carlisle thinks the best way is to somehow knock her out and keep her sedated until she gets back here. After that, really that's uncharted territory. We'll figure it out from there." I listened quietly, it was as good of a plan as any. I noticed that Rosalie spared me the gory details, and I appreciated that.

"Ok. Ok. Can you tell me when there's more news?"

"Yeah. Sure thing. Um, actually Liam is leaving tonight for Europe so he's closer. I think he wanted to say goodbye to you before he left."

"Oh. Alright can you send him in?"

"Yep." Rosalie stood up and went to go get Liam. He walked in a few moments later, dressed and ready to go.

"Hey kiddo." I giggled at his choice of words.

"Excuse me. I'm the older one here. Shouldn't I be saying that to you?"

"Ah. You're right. It's hard to remember sometimes when you're so damn short." I laughed some more, he always knew how to get me to laugh. But I abruptly stopped when I remembered why he was here. He quit grinning and pulled me into a tight hug. "I'm going to find her Alice. I got this."

"Just stay safe ok? I can't lose you both." We parted and he grabbed his bag that he left at my doorway.

"I will."

Liam POV:

The plane ride over was tense. I hated not being able to call home and check up on Bella's whereabouts. What if she already moved out of Europe? The second we landed I called headquarters for the latest.

"What's the news?"

"She's making her way through Europe pretty fast. You were right, it's like she's getting hungrier the more she kills. The bodies are piling up Liam. We have to do something quickly before it gets any worse. This doesn't look good and it opens way for another court case."

"I'll take care of it Colt. Just keep me updated. Where were the last ones found?"

"It looks like near the border between Austria and Italy."

"Well shit. What are the odds that she's making her way towards Volterra?" Colt let out a dry laugh on the other end.

"Probably pretty high. But why would she go there? What would an emotionless vampire want to do there? It was abandoned wasn't it?" I sighed, things just got really complicated.

"Not quite. I'll call you when I get there." I hung up before he could ask questions. "Well here we go."

Thank god for fast cars, I was making up time. I had an advantage in the fact that I didn't have to stop and kill every once in a while. If luck was on my side, I would beat Bella.

Volterra was sunny as usual, but once again the benefits of being a hybrid payed off. I made my way through the city as fast as possible without drawing attention. I didn't smell any fresh spilled blood nearby, which was a good sign. I descended into the tunnels with ears perked. It was dead silent and I couldn't tell if that was a good thing. Finally breaking into the ancient throne room, I found I wasn't alone.

"Ah. Liam! I was wondering when you'd join the party." Bella was lounging carelessly in Aro's old seat, feet up and a lazy smile on her face. Her eyes, of course, were blood red.

"The party?" I wasn't exactly sure of her intentions, but I knew they were not good.

"Come on now. You didn't think I'd kill him without you, did you?" She had a small blood coated blade in her hand and used it to point to the corner behind me.

"Marcus." Bella let out a ruthless laugh at my reaction. "Bella you don't have to do this. You know he's not on their side. Not anymore."

"But he was, wasn't he. And you're going to help me kill him."

"Why would I do that?"

"Simple. Because you want to." I looked to Marcus again, he was quietly sitting where Bella had him chained. "Admit it Liam. There's something inside of you that wants him dead. Give into it."

"So that's your plan? You want me to turn off my humanity with you? You want me to roam the Earth by your side, killing everything in our path?"

"No. I want you to be free like me. You can do what you want after that. That's the beauty of freedom."

"You're not free Bella. You're doing exactly what Aro wanted you to. Bella, Alice is alive. I can call her right now and prove it. Come home. You can see her again, I promise." I thought my words would spark something, anything really. But the name did nothing to her. Like she didn't even recognize it.

"Do you think that matters to me now?"

"You love her Bella. I know you can't remember what that feels like, but you do. Please just come home. You'll see."

"Love. Ain't that a funny little thing? Love makes people so weak. I can see that now. Look at poor Marcus here. Look at what love did to him." She got up from the chair, slowly approaching him and I. "Lost his one true mate. Now he's just a shell of a man. A pathetic excuse for a vampire." I moved to protect him.

"Are those your words, or Aro's? You know for someone who claims to hate him so much, you sound a lot fucking like him." Maybe anger was the way to get her back, if love couldn't do it.

"Aren't you listening? I don't hate anyone anymore. I don't love anyone anymore. I don't feel anything." Her eyes were dilating with the upcoming kill.

"Don't do this Bella. You know what it'll do to me." She pondered me for a minute or so. Wait, was I getting through to her? Was the key to getting her back her care for me? "Please Bells. For me."

"You know what's funny? I think I was waiting for you to rescue me. You just keep failing me don't you? Well, you're useless." Before I even realized what she meant, she was in front of me, eyes black for the kill of me. At least it was a quick neck snap.

A/N: Don't you worry. Explanations will come in due time. Didn't anyone notice the absence of dear Marcus from the stories? ;)