If you want to read Huilen's backstory, it has been posted in the outtakes for this story. It might be nice to have a little background on her and Nahuel, but it's not necessary.

We're nearing the end here, folks. There are two more chapters after this. I haven't heard from many of you, but the views and hits tell me you're out there, so thank you for reading.

I'm running out of epic ways to thank palmofafreezinghand and Alice's White Rabbit. I think you all know how awesome they are by now!

Visions Interrupted: Chapter 16 - The Hybrid

We ran for miles and miles, not even really sure what we were looking for. It was as though we were on a road to nowhere; I could see nothing of any of our near futures. The immediate future wouldn't come. Just a few vague and hazy distant futures for each of us. We would definitely find the dhampir—that had to be why I couldn't see. I could see only our distant futures, and it looked like I wasn't going to be getting any clues as to what lay ahead for us or what direction to even go in.

It was a relief to know we'd survive the encounter, but running blindly with little direction was frustrating, especially since time was of the essence. The Volturi could descend on my family at any moment, and I would be none the wiser. We could return home to an empty house and a pile of ashes, if we were lucky enough for the wind not to blow their remains away. Or we could arrive in time and save the day somehow—we just had to find this hybrid I couldn't see first. Or we could arrive after the fact to find that our family had won and all was well, though that seemed an unlikely outcome. Or we could return home to find our family had been killed and the Volturi stayed, waiting for my return. Or they could send Demetri after us and hunt us until the end of time. Anything for Aro to have access to the future. If only he realized just how fallible my visions could be. Yes, if I couldn't save my family, I was going to be in big trouble. I would never have peace or feel safe again. There were so many what-ifs and no answers at all. It was absolutely terrifying.

Kachiri ran between Jasper and I as we searched for the hybrid. We hadn't spoken for hours. I was still pissed at Jasper for trying to convince me to abandon the diet and drink from humans, ostensibly to sharpen my visions and help find the hybrid. This, of course, was bullshit. He didn't believe that and neither did I. So, he used his gift on me, manipulating and persuading me until I almost gave in. But my constitution was stronger than he realized. He may hold influence over my emotions, but I saw the future, and right now, our future was murky due to his actions. He knew how upset and disappointed I was, and he rightfully kept his distance. There were a few instances when my anger waned, but I knew that was Jasper's doing, and then my anger surged, alerting him that I knew he was trying to change my feelings.

It made me wonder as we ran in silence: how often did he do this, and in what context? Did I actually even love him, or did he just make me feel like I did? I had seen his face the moment I woke to this life and assumed he was meant to be my mate. But maybe he was only a means to getting to the Cullens, like I had to meet him to get to them. I shook my head, trying to rid myself of doubt for the time being. This was an existential crisis I didn't have time for at the moment. After we completed this mission, then I could worry about the future for me and Jasper.

Kachiri was the first to scent another vampire because Jasper and I were both a bit lost in our thoughts. "To the west," she muttered, and we all turned that way, following the spicy cardamom aroma. The scent was weak, so it was likely to be an old trail, but we followed it anyway. The trail may intersect with a fresher one farther along. Perhaps this vampire would know something more about Joham and could point us in the right direction. No other vampire scents accompanied this one; however, there was a diluted anise scent intermingled with the cardamom in some places. But my instincts told me the other scent didn't belong to a vampire.

"What is that?" Kachiri asked, wrinkling her nose. Licorice wasn't very pleasant, I had to agree.

"What else would travel with a vampire but a hybrid," Jasper said quietly.

"What if it's Joham?" I asked, worried suddenly. The man sounded deranged. Who knew what he'd be capable of.

"There are three of us and one of him … and a half," Jasper added wryly, making Kachiri chuckle.

I couldn't find it in me to laugh along, so I just kept following the scent, the other two shadowing me. The scent did intersect with a fresher one a little farther down, and we raced after it. The path kept shifting directions, and it felt like it was purposeful—the twists and turns too unnatural to be random. The vampire and the dhampir were aware of us and were sending us on a wild goose chase, trying to confuse us to defend themselves.

The scent was growing stronger all the time, and I pumped my legs as fast as I could. Suddenly, there was no scent at all … it went from being pungent and fresh to completely gone in one stride. Good thing I can stop immediately if I need to because a vampire dropped down from the trees a few yards in front of me. She crouched defensively, growling, ready to attack. Sensing movement behind us, Kachiri and I turned to look while Jasper kept his eyes locked on the growling female.

I still couldn't see, but the anise scent was stronger now, the source still hidden. I moved toward the tall brush where the rustling had come from. The female lunged for me, but Jasper caught her arm, Kachiri catching the other. If this had been any other time, Jasper would have torn her apart for attacking me, and I was certain he wanted to, but she knew about the hybrid and we needed her. I kept walking as she struggled in their grip and parted the brush. Dark, reddish-brown eyes stared out at me. The vampiress wanted to protect him. This had to be the hybrid. I was surprised to see he wasn't a child but a full-grown adult man. His heart was beating and his skin looked pliable, and I could tell he was powerful, just not as powerful as I was.

He knew what I was, and he knew he was at my mercy, so he stayed motionless, just staring at me, his eyebrows pinched together.

"Who are you?" the man asked calmly, and his protector struggled in Kachiri and Jasper's grip, gnashing her teeth.

He'd spoken in Spanish, which thankfully, I was well-versed in. "We aren't here to harm anyone. We just want to talk." The man looked pointedly at his would-be protector, and Jasper and Kachiri let go of her arms. The vampiress smartly decided to stay where she was for now, though she continued to growl. "We've actually been looking for someone just like you."

"Why?" the vampiress snarled. "What do you want from him? He is not a vampire."

"We know. He is a human and a vampire," Kachiri said.

"Is he not the son of Joham?" Jasper added.

"What do you know of that bastard," the young man spat. "Is he coming back? I told him to stay the hell away from me!"

The hybrid's protector leveled him with a serious look. "If he comes back, Nahuel, I'll kill him." She turned away from him and glared at the three of us in turn, snarling, "Unless that monster sent you! Then you'll die too!"

"No, no, no," I rushed to assure them. "Joham didn't send us. We've never even met him before, but if you killed him, we wouldn't object. He sounds evil, raping and killing women in the name of trying to create a new master race."

Nahuel shuddered. The woman glowered and began to speak. "That vampire didn't rape my sister. He charmed her, told her he was an angel, and she was in love with him. She rejoiced to carry his child. But the child was too strong and grew too fast. The birth killed her."

Nahuel looked away, down at the ground, and it didn't take a genius or an empath to know he felt responsible for his mother's death. If the hybrid's mother was the vampiress' sister, then she was his blood relative. His aunt obviously blamed him for the death of her sister, which was pretty messed up. I wondered how she became a vampire. Had Joham changed her? In any case, his aunt's words weren't exactly helping.

"Why are your eyes yellow?" Nahuel questioned, trying to steer the conversation away from his mother's death, no doubt.

"We come from a coven that only drinks the blood of animals," I explained in a matter-of-fact way.

The hybrid and his aunt looked at each other and burst out laughing. The vampiress couldn't catch her breath so she could speak, and she pointed among the three of us.

"Not me!" Kachiri insisted, and she joined in the laughter.

Eventually, they sobered, gasping to recover from their mirth. Jasper scowled deeply, and I'm pretty sure my expression mirrored his.

"Sorry," the vampiress managed to say. "It's just so absurd. I've never heard of such a thing."

"Well, it's a thing, and we do it," I stated firmly.

"I'm sorry," Nahuel said. "Aunt Huilen and I drink animals when the humans are scarce. It's just … not very palatable. I don't know how you choose it."

"It's worth the sacrifice to spare human life. We respect humans. We used to be human, after all." After I said that, I wished I could un-say it. I could tell by the change in their demeanor that they thought I was talking down to them. There were a few beats of silence, nobody quite knowing what to say. It was an awkward pause, and despite his annoyance at their amusement about our lifestyle, Jasper worked to make us all comfortable. He could sometimes be abusive of his gift, and he had used it against me only a few hours ago. But I was grateful for it now as he worked to smooth over the perceived condescension.

The mood seemed to lighten significantly after a few moments, Jasper having been successful. Huilen broke the silence. "How do you even know about people like my nephew?"

"My niece is one."

Nahuel's head snapped up. There was hope shining in his eyes. "There is another … like me? Who is not my sister?"

"Yes, but she's still a child," I said, emphasizing the word 'child'.

Nahuel shrugged. "Only for seven years. What is seven years when you've lived for a century and a half?"

"You were born that long ago?" Jasper questioned. Nahuel nodded.

"So, you're immortal." I said it more as a statement than a question.

"It seems that way. Of course, we've never tested the theory," Huilen added.

"Of course not. But that's good to know. And you aged quickly. Seven years?" Nahuel nodded again, and I breathed a sigh of relief. This was exactly what we needed to show Aro and the Volturi. Hybrids weren't uncontrollable—Renesmee would grow up and be able to live among our kind with ease. "We were so afraid that she would age quickly and die early."

"Well, rest assured," Huilen remarked.

"I would like to meet her," Nahuel said earnestly. "I've never encountered another like myself that was not my sister." His gaze suddenly grew angry and his eyes flashed. "But who is the despicable vampire who murdered her mother with such brutality if he's not my father?"

"It's not like that," Jasper reassured him, pushing calming vibes. "Our brother fell in love with a human. They got married and didn't know a baby was a possibility. The human was turned into a vampire at the birth."

"Yes, Bella is still alive," I added.

Nahuel swallowed thickly, looking away. It must have been hard to hear that while he had killed his mother, this other woman had lived. Huilen rubbed his back in comfort, and I felt Jasper boost those feelings.

"The little girl, my niece, she's in trouble. There is a powerful coven coming to kill her and our family." Huilen gasped and Nahuel stared. I had their attention, so I went on, hoping the rest would convince them to come with us. "The vampires who would kill them think Renesmee is an immortal child—that she will remain a child forever and her thirst will be uncontrollable. If they see you and hear your story, realizing she will mature, they will have to stand down." I gave them my best pleading face. "Please help our family?"

They looked into each other's eyes for a few long moments, seeming to communicate silently.

"We have to help her," Nahuel beseeched his aunt. "She cannot be killed if there's something we can do to prevent it."

"All right, child, we'll go."

And just like that, our party of three became a party of five. Now we had to figure out the quickest, most efficient way to get back to Forks.

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There were no easy answers for our travel situation. Jasper and I were dirty and our clothes were torn and ragged. Kachiri, Huilen, and Nahuel were barely even dressed at all, and none of them owned shoes. There was no time to shop either. We just had to get out of there.

We couldn't run or swim, that would take too long, and even if we could get there fast, Nahuel would slow us down as he still needed rest and air to breathe. The only real option was to fly, but again, the clothes were a problem, as well as the fact none of us had any money. It wasn't like we could just stow away on the airplane.

But, apparently, Jasper thought we could. His plan was to run to Buenos Aires and zip ourselves into luggage, flying back home in the cargo hold. Luckily, everyone had recently eaten, so we didn't have to waste time with that. I tried not to think about who the people Huilen and Nahuel had killed were and tried to block the memory of Kachiri drinking that poacher's blood in the jungle. Drinking human blood was normal, and they felt no guilt about it. Instead, I was the freak for respecting humans as fellow sentient beings.

On the way to the airport, we explained to the three of them what it was like to fly. Nahuel seemed intrigued, and Huilen was noticeably hesitant. Kachiri looked downright terrified. We reminded them that vampires couldn't be hurt, that even if the plane crashed, we'd all be fine. I didn't mention that sometimes airplanes burst into flames. I hoped Jasper and I explained what a takeoff feels like well enough and no one would panic because we couldn't unzip ourselves until we were off the ground, just in case the humans wanted to add one more bag at the last minute.

Let me tell you, I love clothes but stuffing myself into a large duffel of them and getting banged around on the conveyor belts and jostled into the luggage cart and hoisted-slash-shoved into the cargo hold was Not. Fun. Several bags landed on top of mine, and I was extremely grateful to be unbreakable and not need to breathe. Nahuel had left his zipper slightly open; I hoped he'd be okay until takeoff.

It wasn't too long before I heard the roar of the propellers and felt the wheels retract right underneath my case. Once we were airborne, we waited for the plane to level out after takeoff to unzip ourselves. It was going to be a hell of a long time trapped in an airplane cargo hold. Seventeen hours of travel time with one stop. It had been quite the uncomfortable and bumpy adventure into the belly of the plane, and I dreaded doing it again in Dallas.

I poked my head up through a gap in the luggage and smiled at Kachiri, whose head was not so far from mine. "You okay?"

"It is a strange sensation, but I think I will be fine."

"Made all the stranger for being zipped into a suitcase," Jasper said as he peeked out from some luggage on the far side of the plane from us. Nahuel surfaced near us, and Huilen surfaced near Jasper. We all commiserated about the ridiculous experience we just had.

We spent a good portion of the flight to Dallas searching the cargo for suitcases that were connecting on to Seattle. Thankfully, there were five suitably sized cases for us to stow away inside. Unfortunately for those passengers, their bags somehow opened during transit and five people's belongings were scattered throughout the belly of the aircraft.

We'd exhausted our conversation topics, so we all just stayed in our cases for this final leg of the journey. In Nahuel's case, he slept. As for the rest of us, we just thought. Jasper was probably strategizing, coming up with different scenarios of how things might go down and how he would protect me in each one. Or that is what I would have thought before this afternoon. Now, I wasn't as sure of his protection. Kachiri was probably wondering what her sisters were up to and worried about their welfare. And Huilen, well, who knew what she was thinking.

As for me, there were so many thoughts warring for attention in my mind; I felt like I was drowning in anxieties. Was this how Edward felt all the time? No wonder he was so morose and belligerent. I didn't envy his gift. Not that mine was a picnic in the park. As horrible as it was sometimes to see tragic or gruesome outcomes for my family, I was typically able to spare them actually having to go through that particular future. More often than not, I orchestrated every situation so that it would have the best outcome. Nothing was put to chance. Everything was planned.

Which made every day since Bella got pregnant one more day that I didn't know what might happen to us all. I had never once been out of control like this, just letting the chips fall where they may and hoping for the best. Faith was not something I ever needed to fall back on, at least not in my vampiric life. Maybe I was devoutly religious in my human life. Who knew? I had a better understanding now of Bella's choice to keep her baby despite all signs to the contrary. She had faith that everything would turn out all right. That's what I needed to do now. Just have a little faith. But I couldn't remember a time when I ever acted on faith and hope alone. It was like stepping off the edge of a precipice and falling endlessly. Always waiting for the moment of impact. That was how I felt now—the anticipation and fear. How terrifying it must be to be everyone else, never knowing what was going to happen. And now I was just like them—at the mercy of fate.

Maybe Jasper was right. We should have drunk from some humans, then maybe my nerves wouldn't be so shot right now. I wondered if Jasper had anything to do with that. Was he causing me to feel this nervous energy? Or was that my natural state without his influence? Was he bad for me, or good? I had no idea anymore.

It had been over a week since we'd last been intimate. The whole month of Bella's pregnancy was the longest drought we ever had, but this one definitely qualified. And I had only noticed just now. I realized that I didn't miss it. That lust I always felt simmering below the surface, which I thought was normal for mates, was it even real? Or was that Jasper's influence too? I thought of his scarred face and body, considering the reasons he might feel he had to do that lest I find him repulsive. But I could never think that of him. Could I? I didn't even know myself anymore.

If there was anything I could put faith in, it was my visions, and when my gift was working, it worked like a dream. My visions led me to Jasper for a reason. I thought about what had crossed my mind earlier when Jasper tried to convince me to shirk the diet. Was Jasper just a catalyst to get to the Cullens? Was my introduction to them hinged on his presence? Is that what the fates had decided for me?

Did he even care about them at all? Did he care about me? Or was he only with us because it physically and psychologically pained him to drink humans, and we were the best support system he would ever find to help him stay away from that. I had to wonder if he had manipulated me from minute one. Well, maybe not that quickly, but once he realized my visions told me we were meant to be together, he amplified those emotions, creating—and maintaining—our bond.

Was it all just a game to him? He seemed to have a good time interrogating those Brazilians. And he had no qualms about drinking human blood—in fact he was obviously envious of our travel companions' ability to feed without guilt or repercussions. He was more than willing to kill a baby demon. Had the Southern Wars left an indelible mark of violence inside him that clawed to come out? What would life be like with Jasper if everyone died today? He would be stiflingly protective, afraid the Volturi would be hiding around every corner, just waiting to take me from him. It would be a life constantly on the run. I had no doubt that if I lost everything, I would be more easily convinced to drink humans. Why continue when my family was dead—the whole reason I was choosing to do the damn "vegetarian" diet.

Had he then manipulated the Cullens too? I knew he had done it when we first introduced ourselves, but afterward, had he influenced how they each felt about him—solidarity, brotherhood, protection, friendship, love? Had he chosen Rosalie to be his confidante, Emmett for his playmate, Carlisle for his ever-patient and understanding leadership—the antithesis of Maria—and Esme for his source of familial affection? Had Jasper compelled them to feel those ways toward him? Did he orchestrate things to his benefit … like I did?

Jasper never much cared for Edward and steered clear of him, his tendency toward melancholy more than Jasper wanted to bear. I understood that. What I didn't understand was why Jasper didn't just make Edward feel happy. Oh, right, because Edward would know immediately if Jasper tried to manipulate him. But if Edward knows when Jasper is influencing people, there's no way he wouldn't tell me if Jasper was doing it to me, or the rest of them, for that matter. Edward was intensely protective of the women in our family. He was my best friend in the world, the one who understood being a freak, and we stuck to each other like glue. Edward would never be able to just sit back and watch Jasper manipulate me.

So it must all be real—my feelings for him. Maybe he beefs them up, but the feelings have to be there to be amplified. They were my own, not his.

I think.

I could feel the plane dip slightly lower in the sky. We must be close to Washington. Soon we'd run to Forks to face whatever came next. There was every chance we would make it on time and just as much of a chance that we wouldn't.

The future was blank.

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Sorry it's short, but this was the right place to end it.

Just one more chapter and then an epilogue. See you soon!

Acknowledgement: The idea for them to travel in the cargo hold came from The Carnivorous Muffin's fic "Blue Moon," used with permission from the author. If you like alternate universe fics, definitely check it out - it's a different take on the events of Breaking Dawn (and warning: it isn't for people who can't take Edward bashing). But really, you should read it anyway - it's so unique and inspired.