Chapter 29

Isabella hardly waited to clear the bottom of the stairs before turning to Carlisle. "Tell me you figured out what's happening to her?" She barked out the question, clearly agitated.

Carlisle frowned, "Yes and no. I think I understand what is happening to her. I just don't have any idea how it's possible."

"Well, spit it out." Isabella demanded, crossing her arms. Her outward anger masking her very real fear for the girl.

"There is something virulent and aggressive in her blood venom that is systematically breaking down her cellular structure. Her cells are literally being cannibalized by this... well if she were human, I'd say she was poisoned, but poison doesn't work on vampire physiology. Whatever it is, the effect it's having on her body is devastating." Carlisle said with a defeated sigh. He looked sad and at a loss for what to do next as he reached up to pinch the bridge of his nose. He took a deep pointless breath to clear his head and organize his thoughts before continuing. "I wish I had better news, I know she means something to you. What I can extrapolate based on what Bree told us, those injections that Joham's gave her are likely the source of her condition. That is if she was telling the truth about everything."

Eliza bolted upright rigidly, her face completely clouding over with a dark look. Jasper winced slightly at the strength of emotion pouring off of Eliza. But Edward spoke up first. "She wasn't lying. Or at least she believes everything she told us was true. Her thoughts have been rather chaotic, but they cleared up for a while after she fed. The clarity is already fading though. She has some weird ideas about us, and was absolutely convinced that our yellow eyes meant that we cannibalized other vampires." He seemed relatively ambivalent, but the rest of the room stared at him with startled, confused, and offended glares. He didn't seem to notice or care as he continued.

"She's a timid creature, afraid of her own shadow. Although she skulked around her master and overheard a bit of his conversation, she clearly wasn't able to reason out that they were lying to her. She has no idea what he was really injecting her with. The only thing saves her from being as bad as those other mindless newborns is that she had no reason to question what they told her." His voice held a twinge of resentful disdain for the girl, as if she were an unpleasant thing he was forced to think about against his will.

He paused again, this time he looked up at Carlisle and frowned. His gaze purposefully and pointedly evading Isabella, showing his displeasure with her over her thoughtless and insensitive attack, and with the demeaning injury that her supposed daughter subjected him to. "That's not all, when her thoughts were focused on that vampire Aliyah something occurred to me. I… think this Aliyah has some sort of ability to compel or mesmerize, maybe even literally implant thoughts into the minds of others."

Carlisle had his tilted inquisitively as he listened to his son elaborate on the poor girl's thoughts. Although he frowned at the slightly aloof way he spoke about her. He glanced at Isabella who was listening to Edward with the intensity of a concerned parent. He wasn't sure Isabella had even absorbed his son's clear disdain for the girl, but he was glad that she didn't seem to be reacting to it. Edward on the other hand only could see his Bella staring at him with rapt attention. He smiled, reveling in what that meant, she was beginning to come back to him. He puffed his chest out slightly before finishing his thought. "When those newborns attacked. They were all thinking the same thing, kill the Denali."

A puzzled look crossed Isabella's face. "Of course that's what they were thinking, that was their goal right? They were all thinking about how they were going to kill the yellow-eyes?"

Edward shook his head with a slightly smug look. "No, you don't understand. It was more mechanical than that. They were all repeating the same thing over and over in their heads, 'Kill the yellow-eyes. Kill the Denali.' It was like an army shouting cadence."

"That level of training is impossible with a newborn army." Jasper interjected.

"That's alarming, but wouldn't that make them too single minded?" Irina asked no one in particular.

"Exactly, an army can't function if all of its parts are the same piece. Think of Chess... no Checkers. Even though there are only two types of pieces the game wouldn't function without the King's ability to move backwards. Not only is it impractical, it's foolish to commit any kind of force to an engagement without a plan of action and a chain of command." Jasper sounded almost offended as he expounded upon his point.

"There was a leader, I took off his head near the beginning of the fight." Eliza said in rebuttal of Jasper's argument.

"And it's not like they had a collective mind right?" Jacob added, wincing at the glares directed at him by most of the vampires, Edward especially. Jacob met Edward's glare with a silent dare, but Edward broke eye contact before anything escalated. Edward shook off the momentary distraction and continued.

"No, I didn't get a sense that they were connected, but nonetheless they were all extremely single minded... well for except for the one in command. It was as if they were singular in purpose, and a little hollow." Edward addressed everyone's questions, and looked at Irina and Jasper directly, but he again pointedly avoided looking at either Jacob or Eliza.

"I'm not sure I follow Edward." Carlisle replied looking thoughtful.

"When someone, anyone, thinks about a task normally it isn't particularly ordered, even with us. There are usually a dozen other things that can pop up, worry for friends or comrades, connections to parts of their past, or perhaps a glance at a tree that catches their attention for a moment. None of that crossed any of their minds. Nothing except for the task at hand. They was completely focused on a singular thing, which was eliminating their enemy. Again the girl and their leader were the only ones that seemed to have clear thoughts outside that repeated command." Edward surveyed the assembled group with pride plainly evident on his face.

"Aww, look at how proud he is, like a prancing dandy pretending to be a peacock. Do you feel useful you selfish prick? Or do you have some more insults for that poor sick defenseless girl in there?" Eliza sneered at Edward, who glared at her with a look that would've killed an elephant if his gaze were lethal.

Isabella shot her a warning glare, though Eliza could feel a trace of amusement through their connection. Edward lasted all of five seconds before growling out. "At least I can do more than run errands and protect worthless..." He couldn't think of an insult good enough to describe the pointless danger that girl represented. "You selfish, conceited, uppity bitch!" Venomous spittle flew from his mouth as he screamed at her. His voice rattling the panes of glass separating the room from the forest.

Isabella stepped forward, deliberately interposing herself between the two of them, although she was at the point of throttling him herself. She kept her arms crossed and looked at Edward, and simply raised a single eyebrow. She didn't say anything but the implied threat was clear.

"You say another word and Emmett and I will throttle you." Rosalie directed her thoughts loudly and purposefully at Edward, reinforcing the implied threat from Isabella. Inwardly he was more startled by his sister, than Bella. But he didn't let it show

Edward glared at Isabella, but any confrontation was cut short when Carlisle stepped between them. He put his hand on Edward's shoulder and pointed toward the door. His face was impassive, but he was furious with his son's behavior. He was happy that Esme wasn't in the room or she would've scolded him openly. "Perhaps you should take a step back. Go out for a bit and feed, get some fresh air, and clear your head."

Edward glared up into Carlisle's face for several moments before his shoulders slumped slightly in assent. Without another word he turned and headed out the back door, though he couldn't help looking one more time at Isabella and Eliza before he blurred away from the house.

Carlisle turned to Isabella, "I'm sorry for that. Edward has been a little... off the past few days."

Isabella nodded slowly, "I admit I don't particularly care how 'off' he feels. If he goes off Eliza like that again, I'm not sure if I'll intervene." She sighed and threw a slightly reproving look towards her daughter. "That being said, I do apologize for Eliza's rudeness."

Eliza nodded a little bit, and managed to look at least partially ashamed. "My apologies. I'll try not antagonize him anymore. I just couldn't take what he said about Bree." Carlisle nodded in acknowledgement of the apology, and gave her a soft smile when she mentioned her defense of the girl.

Isabella turned back to Carlisle, "How long until her body fights whatever this is off?"

Carlisle shook his head slowly, "That's why I pulled you down. Her body is losing the fight. As I said before the effect on her body is devastating. I'm sorry to say that her systems are shutting down one by one. Those grey lines you can see on her skin, they are a symptom of her condition."

"But we gave her blood and the grey faded. She showed improvement." Isabella protested, Eliza looked surprised at the direction the conversation had taken, and slowly stood up and moved around the couch to stand next to Isabella.

"It's unfortunately only a stopgap measure. You saw how the lines began to sharpen again even in the short time we talked." Carlisle spoke with the same solemn tone as before, his fingers again rubbing the bridge of his nose. "This substance coursing through her body is acting like a fast acting and very lethal toxin."

"So how do we draw this shit out of her?" Isabella asked, realizing then how important the girl's well being had become to her. She couldn't figure out why, but she felt very protective of this perfect stranger.

Carlisle shook his head again, "We can't. Whatever it is, it hasn't just been introduced into her body. From what I can put together from my examination and the story she related to us, the toxin has been built up over a number of weeks. I'm guessing that last injection was the straw that broke the camel's back. Or to put it another way one big overdose, combined with the repeated exposure... I'm truly sorry but there is nothing I can do for her medically. Honestly, I've never seen a compound like this, one that seems to actively fight our natural defenses. I can't understand how it could be overwhelming her venom, which is usually stronger than any bacteria, virus, toxin, or parasite that I know of. If I had gotten to her after her first or second injection, and had a single clue what the toxin was synthesized from, then maybe... But now, there is simply no time to produce an effective counteragent. I wish I could help her, but I'm afraid she's going to die."

Isabella ran a hand over her face and scowled, that was the one thing she definitely did not want to hear. She felt helpless, and if there was anything Isabella truly hated it was feeling helpless.

"I think I'm a little lost, what the hell did Joham do to her!?" Eliza's voice was edgy.

Isabella turned away from Carlisle, and looked at Eliza. In the same instant she formed a full link and replayed Bree's entire story. Eliza took several moments to process what she was shown, organizing the events into a logical explanation of the conversation her mother had just had with Carlisle. Then she relayed the stuff that happened while Isabella was upstairs.

"Bree's a vampire, they were all vampires. What possible reason would he have to inject them with anything? I mean really, vampires are like the most static creatures on the planet. What on earth could he be injecting them with that would do that to her?" Eliza asked her mother, since Carlisle seemed to be at a loss.

"None of this makes sense." Isabella said with a tone of frustration. Eliza nodded a little in agreement but didn't have a reply. Isabella shifted on her feet a few moments before she turned to pace the length of the living room floor, from the doors to the kitchen to the stairs.

Isabella paced in silence for a few seconds, her head alternating between starting at the floor and the ceiling. Then she started to speak softly to herself, her voice speculative. "Think. What do we know? To start, Bree was being lied to about the injections. At least in part."

Eliza nodded and responded as if Isabella had directed the comment at her. "And the part about protection from sunlight is total bunk. What about the strength part? Could whatever he was using really augment the strength of a newborn?" She shifted left and right as she considered it, and then began to pace in the opposite direction of her mother.

Eliza and Isabella began to walk with the same stride. Then their footfalls, the subtle movements of their hands, even minute twitches in head movement and eye moment seemed to synchronize, creating the very eerie illusion that they were in fact identical. To everyone observing, they looked like a pair of shifting mirrors crisscrossing paths like a kaleidoscope. If it weren't for the seriousness of the situation, Emmett and Jacob would've been laughing openly, as it was there were several smiles on both sides of the room.

Isabella huffed slightly as they paced, shoulder brushing shoulder as they passed by in opposite directions. "I.. guess it's possible." she allowed, though doubt reflected in her voice. "Did they feel like they were any stronger to you?"

Eliza frowned. "You know… I was actually going to say that it seemed kind of like the opposite was happening, I mean… we're good. But those newborns went down almost too easily. I didn't notice any significant change in their strength either way, but they did seem a touch... I don't know... sluggish." She said with a thoughtful note in her voice.

"That could've been from inexperience." Jasper added trying to contribute. Both women stopped in place and snapped their heads in his direction. Jasper couldn't tell whether they were irritated by his interjection, or whether it was surprise because they'd completely forgotten about everyone in the room. After a moment they both nodded simultaneously in silent acknowledgement of the possibility of his suggestion.

Isabella stayed in place for a moment nodding a little, rubbing a thumb and a forefinger together in front of her mouth, an action she didn't realize that Eliza had chosen to do at the same time.

Emmett looked over at Jacob who was smiling widely and whispered, "this is starting to wig me out dude."

"I know, they're creepy." Jacob agreed.

"Shhh, let them think." Leah snapped at them, before turning back to watch her Eliza pace.

Totally ignoring the exchange and Jasper's interruption, Isabella responded to her daughter's observation. "I had the same thought. It seemed almost too easy. So was he just lying to them for the sake of vindictive pleasure? That doesn't fit. He had to have some reason behind it."

There was no pause as Eliza answered her mother's question with an angry scowl. "Because of his research. He's always doing trial and error. But that begs the question, what is he trying to study now? And why switch to experimenting on vampires instead of hybrids?"

"Hybrids of what?" Carlisle interjected with a curious frown.

Both Isabella and Eliza ignored him as if the question hadn't been asked, the breaks between revelations growing shorter, and the pacing picking up in speed. Isabella was replying to Eliza before Carlisle had even finished his question. "It's more than that… what would he be doing with wolf shifters, and Children of the Moon?"

Eliza picked up the dangling question, as soon as her mother stopped talking "Where would he get them? I thought the Volturi had hunted the Children of the Moon to extinction way before our time."

Isabella looked pensive as she took that in, responding before the room could absorb the question. "I thought so too. Though I suppose it's always possible that some slipped through the cracks. What if one managed to keep itself from spreading the plague? Then found a place to stay safely tucked away, perhaps in a remote corner of the world. It could've existed without drawing attention to itself for centuries. That leaves the wolf shifters, how did he find them? As far as I know the Quileute are the only wolf shifters in the world."

Again Eliza continued the thought immediately after Isabella finished. "We know there are a handful of jaguar shifters in both Africa and South America. We have scattered reports of other animal shifters in Asia and Australia so that's not beyond the realm of possibility either. You're right this is the only territory I'm aware of that has verifiable wolf shifters. I haven't heard of a pack being based anywhere else. So if they aren't from here, where did he find so many? I have a hard time believing that our intelligence is that lacking."

There was a momentary pause as Isabella hesitated midstride, a sudden connection to something Jacob had said suddenly made sense. She spun to fixed Jake with curious stare. "You said the wolves you killed tonight smelled different?" He was caught off guard by the abrupt shift and the out of the blue question, so it took him a moment to nod.

Isabella's follow up question was immediate. She took a step forward, her hand swung up and she extended one dangerous looking finger in his direction for emphasis. He raised an eyebrow, unsure if she was interrogating him, or threatening him. "This is going to sound weird… but could the smell have been artificial?"

Jacob looked puzzled as he turned that thought over in his head. After a long moment he slowly began nodding. A nod that became more sure as he considered it. "That's.. actually the perfect way to describe it. They didn't smell natural."

Eliza looked at her mother in shock, "You don't think…?"

Isabella turned to face Eliza "Yeah… I do. Somehow he's figured out a way to induce it. To replicate the effect of a shifter." Her tone betrayed her own pure shock at the thought. "But… why would he do that?"

"Because he could?" Eliza replied immediately, her voice was speculative, "Werewolves and shifters are pretty much the only beings on the planet that have evolved specifically to be the natural enemies of vampires."

Isabella nodded, then resumed her pacing, though the quickness of her strides had hastened somewhat. "I'm not sure what he'd need fake wolves for, well except for the obvious. After the trouble they gave me in the sewers I could see how they would be appealing as hired muscle against other vampires."

Eliza continued the thought "Which brings us to the Denali… why them? What would he gain by exterminating them? As far as I know they pretty much keep to themselves. Unless, of course, he had some sort of specific grudge against them…" She trailed off, glancing doubtfully at the Denali.

Tanya started to shake her head, but Isabella started to speak before she, or any of the Denali, could respond. "They weren't just after the Denali, they were after the Cullens too. Or at least from what Bree overheard, they had planned to. That is if we hadn't taken them out in Seattle. Only why would he go after both covens?"

Eliza frowned, "We… know they have their diet in common, and they were really specific about killing the yellow eyes…" She slowly shook her head, doubt filling her voice, "But I don't see how their diet would be something he'd find particularly offensive or threatening."

"You're right… I don't imagine that he would." Isabella stopped mid-pace, again, and lifted her head slowly meeting Eliza's eyes "You stay more up to date on some of the politics than I do. Who would you say are the most powerful covens in the world?"

Eliza's eyes rolled upward as she started to rattle off places as if reading from a list, "After us, I'd say the Tokyo Coven, St. Petersburg, Chicago, Mexico City, Recife, Cairo, and Montreal. We're kind of unsure of the status of the Hong Kong and Taipei covens. They tend to clash so much that it seems to change on a monthly basis. But those are probably the current top ten.

Isabella nodded slowly "So why would why would they bother attacking these smaller covens? It almost doesn't serve a point."

Eliza looked up to meet her mother's eyes. "It's possible he's just using the attacks as a convenient way to kill off experiments… but what if it's more like he's playing an elaborate game of Chess?" Isabella tilted her head curiously at Eliza's statement, wordlessly inviting her to continue.

Jasper looking between them gasped, then Eliza shook her head solemnly. "What if he's just clearing the board?"

Isabella frowned and considered that, "Clearing the board… What do you mean?"

"You take out your opponents first before they can mount a defense. I mean, our covens have been connected for a long time, and together we would match one of those bigger covens." Jasper sounded disgusted, and his expression confirmed it. The rest of the room began to whisper in hushed tones, using vampire speech to keep their conversations private.

Eliza frowned and narrowed her eyes speculatively. "Jasper's got a point. I think Joham wants as many pieces off the board as possible so he can have a clean slate for whatever he's planning. The troubles, here, on the east coast, in the south. I'm willing to bet they're happening in Africa and Asia too. But you know how hard disturbances and deaths are to track in Africa, and how closed down the media is in Asia. We've only been sent there twice when things got really out of hand."

Isabella nodded slowly at the unfortunate feeling of tumblers clicking into place, as if Eliza's hypothesis was the key to a complex lock. "We don't know what his motivations are. I'm not saying you're right…but.. I think… we ought to get the word out to all the covens we can. See if the Volturi Council can collate information for us." Isabella looked distracted while she considered the idea.

Eliza looked over at Carlisle, after a sheepish glance at her Mother, "Do you have a phone we could borrow?"

Isabella caught the glance and raised an eyebrow at her daughter. "Left it in your pocket during the fight again didn't you?"

Eliza sighed and nodded in embarrassment. She hadn't wanted to admit that her phone got shattered in the fight. This would make the 18th phone that she'd broken in a fight.

Alice stepped forward and tossed her phone lightly to Eliza with a little bit of a nod. Eliza didn't hesitate and punched in the numbers "Hey, this is Eliza, I need to speak to Aro, immediately… Okay then let me talk to Marcus or Caius" Eliza spoke with authority, her voice conveyed her impatience and the severity of her urgency.

She was put on hold for nearly a minute before Eliza brightened, "Hey Uncle C!" She said with a happy smile, completely counter to her previous dour expression. Then she turned and stepped out of the room onto the deck overlooking the river and the thick forest that brushed up against that side of the house. Several of the vampires around the room looked a bit appalled at her completely informal address to one of the most powerful vampire leaders in the world.

For once Isabella paid no attention. While Eliza spoke quickly to Cauis with a renewed sense of urgency; Isabella had returned to pacing, the knuckles of her fist resting against her lips and a frown of deep concentration twisted her face into a frightful scowl.

Eliza returned a few minutes later, and tossed the phone back to Alice "Caius flipped the fuck out when I told him about the Children of the Moon. So Aro had to take over, I think he must've just gotten off another call with Demetri though, because he sounded a bit upset when he took the phone."

"Why?" Carlisle asked.

"Uh... Demetri had just reported the complete destruction of the Mexico City coven. No known survivors. So this is as big as I thought. He also agreed that we would start contacting the other covens immediately, and actually volunteered to follow through with that." She sounded a little surprised, and in truth the fact that Aro volunteered to do anything worried her to no end.

"Wow, I'd hoped it was... that news gives your theory some credence. Though I'm still not sure what the purpose is." Isabella let out a frustrated sigh as she began to pace again, then started to talk to herself as if there was no one else there "What's your game Joham? What're you after?"

"I think we need to figure out why his interests seem to have shifted from hybrids to full vampires." Eliza said with a frown, she leaned her hip against the couch while she regarded her mother thoughtfully.

"Excuse me," Carlisle spoke up louder this time stepping forward slightly to get their attention. "You say this Joham experimented on hybrids. Hybrids of what exactly?"

Isabella didn't stop her pacing, she didn't even glance over at Carlisle as she replied absently "A vampire hybrid. A half vampire, half human."

"That's… not possible." Carlisle said, glancing back and forth between Eliza and Isabella.

"I assure you it is." Eliza said with a raised eyebrow and a level voice.

It was Eleazar that came around to stand beside Carlisle and was shaking his head, "I don't think so. It's not possible to partially convert someone. I know that Marcus tried several times to see if he could halt the conversion process once it was started, all his attempts failed though. So I don't think it's something that can be done."

"It's got nothing to do with interrupting a conversion process. Joham figured out how to make a hybrid." Eliza replied, her tone getting somewhat edgy.

Carlisle let out a visible sigh, his tone filled with respectful doubt "I'm sorry I just don't see how it's possible that something could be half vampire, half human."

Isabella stopped her pacing to look up at Carlisle with an irritated glare, then sighed with the same impatient irritation. Yet when she spoke her tone was soft and surprisingly kind. "That's because I doubt it would occur to you. You're curious and intelligent and probably one of the top doctors in the world. But you're far too compassionate and ethical too even contemplate some of the atrocities that Joham's committed in the name of science. Joham is under no moral or legal restriction. To give you an example, he makes Josef Mengele look positively benevolent. He is a real life psychopathic mad scientist, complete with delusions of godhood." She paused thoughtfully for a second, before finally delivering the explanation that was eluding Carlisle. "He has discovered that vampire males can impregnate human females."

The silence that fell over the room was absolute, as if Isabella had told them that the world was ending the next day. Utter shock painted every vampire's face with a different expression. Some held rage, others terror, a couple pain or pity. The wolves were all surprisingly calm, which only added to the feeling of disquiet that the news brought to the room.

"He… what?" Carlisle finally said in total befuddlement, his eyes wide with shock. "I… a… what? A vampire and a human?" Eleazar who stood right beside him had the same astounded expression.

"A hybrid is the product of a union between a vampire male and a human female. As you're well aware, a female vampire's body cannot adapt to allow the changes necessary for a pregnancy. Which Joham deduced was why vampire reproduction was believed to be impossible. It turns out that vampire males still have the capacity to pass on viable genetic material to a human egg, and a human female body can obviously support those changes that a vampire cannot." Isabella said, her voice cold, clinical, and dispassionate.

Carlisle looked like his brain was struggling to catch up with the sudden shock. His voice came out in a strained tone, "I don't see how that's… physically possible. Vampires and humans shouldn't be compatible, we have a different numbers of chromosomes. Then there's the instinctual side of things, that kind of intimacy would be like a lion and a mouse trying to mate."

Isabella's reply was still detached, and deadly serious. "I assure you, it's quite possible. What's conceived is neither vampire nor human, but a blending of the two. The hybrid grows inside the mother at a pace that is far faster than a normal human baby."

"The first problem lies in the fact that the hybrid child needs a lot of blood to help it's accelerated growth. If a supply of blood isn't given to the mother, the fetus feeds on her since she's the only available source. Secondly, the human body is simply not designed for a hybrid pregnancy, a simple kick can be fatal, since the unborn child can easily break bones because it has the strength of a vampire." Isabella continued, and every eye in the room was on her.

"Once the child is big enough, or the mother dies of exsanguination or injury; the hybrid will claw its way out of the womb in order to survive." Isabella shuddered a little bit and looked away.

It was Irina that spoke up first, her shoulders trembling and her voice a mess of chaotic emotions; horror, fear, and total sadness. "Immortal Children."

Isabella was quick to shake her head in disagreement, "No, not Immortal Children. They're hybrids. They have heartbeats, they age to maturity, they grow up, they learn… if they're given the chance."

"That's… that's... he's a monster, he's creating abominations!" Tanya said, clutching her hand over her mouth, looking as if she might be ill. Her eyes were wild, frightened, and above all angry.

Isabella caught Eliza's slight flinch, though with her back to most of the room, no one else caught it. She also heard a very soft growl coming from Leah, who was scowling at Tanya who seemed oblivious due to her mounting rage. Isabella affixed Tanya with a dangerous glare. Her voice was deceptively soft, hiding her own fury over Tanya's willful ignorance. "How do you figure that?"

Tanya stared at Isabella, as if she couldn't understand why it was even a point of contention. "Half vampire, half human? It's grotesque, it's an abomination of life. Impregnating human females? They kill their own mother!"

Isabella's voice was flat, "You've never killed a human in your life? Ever?"

Tanya was starting to lose control over her emotions, her voice began to take on the grating tone of a banshee screech. Her anger trumping any reason, she strode forward several steps aggressively towards Isabella. "That's different, and you know it! For once I absolutely agree with the Volturi. They should all be destroyed and their creator most of all! There's no comparison between us and those perversions of nature!" She spit out the last of her tirade as if she was uttering the most vile of curses.

Isabella was nodding while Tanya ranted, and replied the moment she paused. "You're right. We make a choice to kill when there are other options. We are rational beings, they're babies who's only thought is of survival."

Tanya's voice got so loud and full of emotion, she could barely be understood. "How can you stand there and defend it? My... our mother was killed for creating an Immortal Child. This atrocity of life is so much worse. These... these... monsters have no place in our world!"

Everyone in the room was taken aback by the sheer vehemence and vitriol in Tanya's voice. Isabella was prepared to retort when Eliza shook her head slightly and brought her up short.

Eliza briefly met her mother's eyes, and Isabella could see the extreme hurt she was in, she could also feel the waves of pain and rejection coming through their connection. When Eliza spoke though, her voice was piercing and absolutely glacial. "We should have let you fucking die, you ignorant bitch."

She didn't bother looking at anyone as she walked up the stairs clearly headed back toward Carlisle's office, her head lifted with pride.

There was utter silence in the room. Isabella's fist was starting to shake, her gaze fixated on Tanya's face. Tanya was stunned, and so confused that her anger had entirely abated. She had no clue how close to death she was in that moment. It was a pack member of all things that saved her. Isabella's attention was distracted by the rapidly increasing growl that was emanating from Leah's throat.

Isabella reacted instantly as she took in Leah's shaking form, shouting at Jacob with an urgency that couldn't be mistaken as anything other than a demand. "Jacob! Get her the hell out of here! Now!"

"Shit." Jacob said slowly, but had started to move the instant his name was mentioned. He grabbed Leah by the neck and shoulders, half picking her up, half throwing her toward the door. Isabella beat him there and jerked open the door in time for Jacob to drag Leah through it. Jacob managed to throw her over the porch and into the yard as Leah let out a snarl of rage. Her clothes burst into tatters as she transformed before she'd even hit the ground. Jacob followed a second later, as he split his jean shorts, shifting into his own wolf form.

Leah's small grey body was lithe and tense as she circled around Jacob's much larger russet form. She snarled again, a low growl purring deep in her chest. She snapped at her old friend once in warning, and he stood tall in an attempt to sway her with his authority. The growl deepened even more and she charged, a blur of grey slamming into Jacob's hulking body. He had braced for the impact, but they still tumbled into the forest beyond the yard in a whirl of teeth and claws.

Isabella sighed and looked at Tekali. "Extra clothes?"

Tekali rolled her eyes and glanced at one of the other pack members who was eagerly watching the two wolves brutal fight. Then she turned to the young pack member who she recognized as Kyle, one of many she had met the other evening. Kyle couldn't tear his eyes away from the battle though, so he merely held up a bulging backpack.

Tekali managed a wry smile, "Figured visiting a home with a bunch of vampires, we'd need some extras."

"What the hell is going on?" Tanya demanded loudly.

Isabella had managed a wry smile at Tekali's preparedness, before turning to face Tanya head on. "Which part? The part where you just called my daughter an abomination? The part where I'm restraining myself from ripping you in two where you stand? Or the part where Jacob's also keeping Leah from ripping you apart?" Isabella's voice was dead calm, but anyone could hear the fury behind it. She didn't feel the need to add that Jacob was letting Leah vent her fury, and wasn't in any danger from her, the viciousness of the fight already toning down , though from the vampire's perspective it seemed like Jacob and Leah were still going at it.

"Y... you said that hybrid's have heartbeats. She's didn't." Tanya countered defensively, uncowed by the implied threats behind Isabella's words.

"Eliza is a vampire now, but wasn't always." Isabella replied.

"And you said hybrid's kill their mothers." Tanya continued.

"They do. She did. Eliza is special though." Isabella replied.

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Eliza walked up the stairs, her head held high. When she was out of view she headed towards Carlisle's office her shoulders slumping. It wasn't often she let things get to her. But the comments down there, calling her a freak and abomination; hurt her more than she expected.

There was a reason Eliza wasn't social around other vampires; even among the Volturi. It wasn't because she didn't like to have people around. When given the chance, she love to be social. She genuinely enjoyed being in the company of others, but around her own kind there was always too much judgment. Most outsiders wouldn't associate with either of them because they were Volturi, and other members of the Voltrui tended to avoid them as if they were freaks.

Isabella's reputation had been cemented early on after a series of nearly rabid attacks on several Volturi guards during the time between her arrival and the start of her formal training. Then, after Isabella bonded with Eliza, they were both basically ostracized. Isabella didn't seem to care. She hardly noticed how the other coven members, and various guards, treated her unless they had joined her in one of the training rooms. Eliza did notice that they were a part of the whole but really separate, though it didn't usually bother her. However, being condemned so violently and with so much hate, felt oddly different.

The chance to go to school, the chance to make friends, made Eliza happier than she ever imagined she could be. Leah was a whole other matter that was confusing, and amazing, and Eliza was really enjoying time with her. She had always accepted the fact that she was different, but this blatant and ignorant rejection struck a nerve she didn't realize was sensitive. Eliza had just started to turn over these new feelings in her mind, when she heard her Mom shout at Jacob followed by a few thuds which moved quickly outside. Those sounds were then replaced by growls and the distinct sound of two wolves fighting. She smiled inwardly at Leah coming so quickly to her defense.

A part of her wanted to go down and check on things, but decided it was probably better to let things cool down first. If the situation really got out of hand, she knew her mom would tell her. Well... that or she'd start racking up a massive body count, but that was a warning in and of itself because Eliza would feel it if Isabella got that angry.

Eliza headed back into Carlisle's office. Esme was kneeling down next to the girl, lightly stroking her hair. Bree looked up when Eliza walked in, a blood bag held to her lips with very shaky hands. Eliza scanned the girl's body to check if anything had changed, and noticed the blood wasn't having as much of an effect as before. She moved forward and crouched down beside Esme, who shifted over a bit to give Eliza more room, then she gave Bree as bright a smile as she could, even though her concern could clearly be seen in her eyes. "How're you doing hun?"

Bree smiled a little bit between spasms, "I'm okay, w..where d..did your m..mom go?" Her voice sounded like she had been dunked into a bath of ice cold water.

"She's downstairs talking to Carlisle, She'll probably be back to check on you in a few minutes." Eliza said reassuringly.

"Does he k..know what's w..wrong with me?" Bree asked quietly, trying to control the fear in her voice. She took another moment to finish up the bag of blood as she trembled, before dropping it into the trash next the couch. Eliza noticed that she'd already gone through most of their emergency supply already.

Eliza shook her head a little bit. "Not yet, but I'm sure they'll figure it out." She kept her voice gentle and attempted to reassure her again. Eliza noticed that the lines on Bree's face were even darker than before, and with each passing second they seemed to be deepening in color.

Bree managed a small smile, at the expression that Eliza couldn't quite hide on her face, "How do I look?"

Eliza bit her lip gently a moment before replying with a small smile. "Moderately horrible." She ignored Esme's reproving look as she met Bree's eyes.

A shudder of pain went through Bree's body before she managed to flash a very small smile back at Eliza, "Only moderately?" When Eliza smirked slightly Bree smiled a little wider. "That's what I thought."

Eliza couldn't help but be impressed by the girl's sense of humor while she was laying there hurting and wracked by pain. Eliza's heart went out to the girl, and she wished there was something more that she could do for her.

Without warning, Bree's whole body seized again lightly, and a shudder ran through her causing her grunt softly from the shock at the intensity of the pain. When the wave of pain ended, and she looked up at Eliza. In a small voice she asked. "It's bad isn't it?"

Eliza hesitated a moment, and knew this wasn't the same kind of answer she'd wanted a few moments earlier. She didn't want to freak Bree out, but she didn't want to lie to her either, she'd been through enough lies to last a lifetime. Eliza started to reach out to place a hand on Bree's shoulder, when the skin on her neck and cheeks began to turn black. "Yeah... it's bad."

"I... don't want to die." The girl said, in a voice so plaintive that it made Eliza's heart weep. She seemed to be struggling to hold on to consciousness as another violent seizure shook her entire body.

"You won't sweetheart. We'll figure out something. I promise." Eliza told her, which caused Bree to attempt a smile, but she couldn't hold onto it since her body wouldn't stop shaking. After a moment it was clear that the constant trembling was a sign that she was heading into the final stages before death.

Esme glanced at Eliza with a helpless look, whispering so that Bree couldn't hear. "She doesn't have long I think." Eliza looked at her impassively, but inside she felt like screaming.

"Mother, she's getting worse. She's shaking non-stop! The skin on her arms and legs is beginning to turn black. We have to do something!" Eliza's called to her mother's mind desperately grasping for an answer, any answer.

"Try giving her some more blood, see if we can slow down the process at all." Isabella's said sounding a bit distracted. Her attention was then diverted back to whatever situation she was wrapped up in.

"I've tried, we're down to only two more packs and it's done nothing. She's barely conscious at this point. What can I do?" Eliza's replied shakily.

Once more Esme gave her a worried look, but Eliza ignored it. A great anger welled up deep inside Eliza; the helpless rage was focused on the girl, but there was more to it. It was all about Joham's, and his retched crimes, this tangible connection to her past pressed in on Eliza, which made her even more determined to find him and put him in the worst hell she could imagine. The girl hadn't done anything to deserve this fate, she was nothing more than a runaway turned into another of Joham's twisted experiments. Bree never had a chance. She reined in her anger as she connected to her mother again. Their thoughts running together. Her mother was puzzling over Joham's actions as she tried to figure out what he had done to the girl.

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"It looks like they're done." Tekali said, watching the two wolves began to separate.

When neither renewed the attack, Tekali said calmly, "Kyle go take them some clothing." Kyle slipped out the door and hopped over the porch ledge. The two wolves glanced at the house and then retreated further into the forest so that they would be concealed enough to shift and change.

"Mother, she's getting worse. She's shaking non-stop! The skin on her arms and legs is beginning to turn black. We have to do something!" Eliza's called, desperately begging for an answer..

"Try giving her some more blood, see if we can slow down the process at all." Isabella's was still distracted by Tanya, even though she didn't want to be.

"I've tried, we're down to only two more packs and it's done nothing. She's barely conscious at this point. What can I do?" Eliza's replied shakily. This got her attention.

Isabella knew her daughter felt a kinship with this girl, someone who was another victim of Joham's experiments, she could hear the emotion in her daughter's tone. Isabella began to pace rapidly back and forth along the floor. Oblivious of Tanya's continued presence. Then she saw Jacob and Leah return through the door in her periphery. Leah came in looking calmer, but she still had a bit of a scowl on her face, which deepened when she looked at the vampires again, but she managed to control herself.

Isabella paused her pacing just a moment and took a small steadying breath. Panicking had never done her any good. She began to pace again, talking out her thoughts to herself. "What did you do to this girl you son of a bitch? What did you put in her?"

"Why the switch from hybrids to vampires? What made you change?" Isabella shook her head quickly discarding that line of thought, realizing that the why of it didn't matter at all. She changed tacks. "No, that doesn't matter. What did you put in her?"

Carlisle started to interject, "It doesn't-" but he was cut off by a quick growl from Isabella who didn't even break stride as she paced. No one else made a move to speak, they were all a bit afraid of her literally biting their heads off.

"He spent years mixing chemicals with vampire venom and injecting them into hybrids. We know that. But why would he do that to vampires?" Isabella frowned, resting the knuckle of her index finger against her lips, her fist closed as she continued to pace, keeping up a conversation with herself.

"That couldn't be what he injected into her. We know what happens when vampire venom ends up in another vampire's body. It hurts like hell but then the body breaks it down." Isabella continued to stride back and forth across the floor. "And he was doing all the tests to find out what effects venom has in hybrids. So it makes no sense that he'd inject venom into vampires. He knows what the effect is…"

Her eyes widened in realization "Hybrid venom. That's what he's using! After years of failures he must've reversed the experiment. Hybrid venom, probably mixed with shit I can't imagine, in newly changed unwitting vampires."

"But what does he get from this?" Isabella stomped her foot in frustration, the wood floor beneath her cracking slightly, although she didn't even acknowledge the damage from her outburst, her stride barely stuttered from the change in step. "What in the hell is hoping to achieve?"

Isabella was walking toward the back door when she suddenly stopped. Her gaze transfixed on her own reflection caught in the slightly mirrored glass. She stood stock still as a cascade of connections fell down into an understanding that exploded in her mind.

"He's trying to use hybrid venom to change a vampire." Isabella felt the click of understanding from her daughter too.

"Do what to a vampire?" Carlisle's voice echoed from over her shoulder. This time his question was a relevant one. Isabella slowed to a stop as a terrible suspicion began to form in her mind.

"I'm not sure what… his goal is…." Suddenly she understood what he was trying to do. The revelation caused a surge of emotion from her daughter. It took her a half second to realize it was forcing Eliza to come to a decision of some sort. The substance of that choice drifted through their connection a half second too late, as Isabella felt her daughter begin to move.

"Eliza! NO!" she shouted with as much force as she could through the mental link, and in real life as she started to blur toward the stairs. She'd made it only two steps when she felt an explosion of pain in her neck.

The last thing she remembered as blackness quickly closed in, was a scream from upstairs. Her legs giving out as she hurtled toward the stairs. Then she felt Alice's arms beneath her shoulders, catching her as she fell. Alice's black hair framed her pale face as she appeared above her, looking down with obvious panic written all over her features. The last thing that crossed her mind before the black took over was that that expression didn't belong on her angel face.

She managed to mumble as she succumbed to blackness, "She's so grounded."

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Author's notes

1) Woohooo chapter! It's a long one O_O

2) I am astounded by the amount of people that PM'd me (and some that put in their reviews) asking me not to kill Bree. Apparently alot of people feel bad for the poor girl. All I can say is, I read it and am fairly certain what I want to do with her.

3) Thank you to DarkBella for her wonderful story guidance and ideas. Hopefully they're really shining through.

4) Thank you to Samantha Minuet for her amazing prose and all her hard work in editing and such. This chapter started out with about half as many words as it has now. We're kind of a dangerous combination together. We kind of prod each other along in this whole endeavor, and very rarely do we seem to shorten things.

5) Sharp Eye'd Shoutouts go to Gnurd for recognizing that I was using a Word's With Friends board rather than a scrabble board. Gnurd and StrugglingHero both recognized that the chess move I described doesn't work. Both of these events happened in previous chapters.

6) Please remember that Eliza and Isabella are not "normal" vampires, there are some physiological differences that we have yet to explore.

7) I am REALLY proud of this chapter. alot of exposition but hopefully done in a way that keeps everyone interested. There is not much Alice in this chapter and for that I'm sorry. but she'll not be in the background long!

8) I have talked to one person about Japanese culture I wouldn't mind another opinion or two to go over some questions I have since my understanding of the culture is non-existent. (And understanding the culture does not mean you watch alot of anime :P )

9) We passed 500 reviews in under a month O_O That's freaking AWESOME. Thank you ALL for reading and reviewing. Please please continue to read and review. It helps us so damn much.

Next Chapter: Memories