Carlisle should have known that Jane would pull a stunt like this with her gift; she never failed to do so in their visits, but most of the time she either went for Edward or Emmett.
He hadn't expected her to choose the worst possible target, nor for things to take such a violent turn.
But, to be fair, he should have known this would happen with Jasper talking to the Volturi like that.
~~~~~~~~~
The wave of pain that hit Jasper was such a deep and intense pain that it brought him to his knees with a choked gasp. It strangled him and rattled his insides without mercy, blaring from each corner of his existence until there was nothing but agony in the world.
Fingers dug on the ground as the fire grew and grew and grew until madness threatened to take over his mind.
Then it stopped.
Bella's anger and streaks of hope and relief letting him know she was using her gift. He looked up and his gaze locked with Jane's. The world muddled and something raw ripped his insides as he felt Alice's emotional signature receive such whiplash of pain that it almost rattled his own emotions like an earthquake.
She didn't scream. Didn't shout.
But the single little noise of both surprise and pain that left her was enough to end the little remaining control he had. A bomb went off somewhere inside and red took hold of him. It wasn't him. It wasn't The Major.
It was something so much more worse. So much more red. Dark. Raw. Death .
It ripped and tore. Submerging the world into a piercing ringing and darkness.
The South's Terror.
They pounced at Jane and slammed into her with unforgiving force. Arms around her crushing her ribcage with a resounding crack that echoed like a deafening snap in their ears.
Alec snarled and grabbed them from behind. They snatched his emotional signature and gave it a twist. Piercing pain into it and making Alec drop to the ground with a silent scream. They poisoned him with pain. Fear. Panic. Drowning him into nothing but a sea of utter madness. Hysteria.
Rage was peeling their skin off and so they strenghtened the poisonous emotions in Alec. A snake of horror and unforgiving agony latching onto Jane's own emotions, filling her with fire and acid, the kind of fear newborns would feel towards a berserker Major.
They pushed such fear into them that it poisoned their entire emotional signature; like a vile snake, it crawled down their throats and choked them without mercy, making them curl on the ground with a pathetic whimper.
They wanted them to die of madness. Tear their minds apart with a poison no one but them could feel.
They approached Jane and straddled her against the ground, grabbed Jane's shoulders and pushed hard against them just so, until they snapped the wrong way, so that they would have to rip her arms off in order to heal her correctly.
When Caius and Marcus tried to get close, they tore their wrist open, the acid of their blood filling the place. That halted them. They were as silent as death but the smile adorning their face could have made even Aro step back. They held their bleeding hand close to Jane's face, black blood dripping on her cheek.
-Alice's ours. The Cullen's are ours .- They told with the ease of someone speaking about the weather. But the possessive undertone could have sliced the thick atmosphere open.
Heat crawled under their skin, filling them with such an overwhelming sense of bloodlust and desire for death that their venom burned in their veins, their gift lashing out twice as hard. Jane's screams and Alec's whimpers filled them with a familiar glee. The urge to kill was strong, and they didn't bother to hide it.
In fact.
They made sure to broadcast exactly how much their desire to kill the Volturi was consuming them right now. The rage and the bloodlust that teetered on the edge of insanity. Red flashing in their vision, and venom flooding their mouth. They were burning in Hell, and they were taking them with them.
-We don't like when what's ours' threatened.- They told as blood began dripping closer to Jane's mouth.
-There's no need for that. I'm sure we can-
-No!- They snapped glaring at Marcus. An axe of hatred slamming down upon the air making more than a few flinch.- We dun't give a damn 'bout any of yer stupid ass dim witted deals or agreements. Ya can shove those up yer ass for all we care. They're as filled with lies as yer so called coven. We want y'all gone now an' we dun't wanna see any of ya gettin' anywhere near any of 'em for the rest of yer miserable lives. Go fuck with someone else we dun't give a flyin' fuck.
-That's-
-We'll shove our arm down her throat. Wonder how much pain will she be able ta inflict when she's too busy drinkin' her own brother ta death. We've always wondered how much pain can it come from a vampire whose killed its entire coven.
If his attitude from before hadn't done so his words from now flared red flags all over the place. Because while the Volturi didn't seem surprised the Cullens knew for a statement of fact that neither Jasper nor Jor would ever say something so... that . Jor could have questionable morals but he would never say something so, so that.
The way he held himself was also wrong, it didn't fit neither Jasper nor Jor. Jasper was stiff while Jor was way too relaxed.
This one was withdrawn but also tense and kind of restless. As if impatient for the other shoe to drop so he could have an excuse to kill someone. The hatred and overwhelming bloodlust in the air. The near intoxicating out of place giddiness. Murder intent. Rage.
It was similar to that night.
When the wolves came for them.
Jasper did told Carlisle about it. That sometimes it felt as if that wasn't quite him nor The Major but something far from their reach. Different. Both of them but also neither of them.
A possible third one but not quite.
But that had been enough to make Carlisle aware of the fact that there could be a third personality somewhere in there.
-That won't be necessary. We will be taking our leave.- Aro said. He looked fascinated for some weird reason.- Carlisle, if you change your mind about him, give me a call. I will be more than happy to have him.
Carlisle, despite the situation, felt more unnerved with Aro's carefree attitude than he was by the suffocating bloodlust and murderous intent in the air.
-We will be taking our leave.- He repeated again turning back to not-Jasper/Jor.- If you please would be so kind as to release them; I'm afraid I still need them.
Not-Jasper/Jor didn't yield.
In fact, he looked like he was honestly considering slaughtering Aro for even having the audacity to talk to him. He even shifted his position so he was ready to leap.
Alec was still writhing on the ground, and Jane sounded like he was at the verge of a breakdown.
The fact that he had taken down two of the strongest members of the Volturi in such a short amount of time was unnerving but not surprising at this point.
-Let them go.- Carlisle ordered, fighting to keep calm under that eerie crimson gaze that pierced his soul.
A guttural growl was Carlisle's answer; he looked like he would rather kill Carlisle instead, and Emmett and Edward couldn't help but inch closer to Carlisle in case not-Jasper/Jor was to attack.
-I'm not telling you again. Let them go.- Carlisle's voice came out sharper, resolute.
Not-Jasper/Jor's shoulders squared up for a moment before following the order, cleaning the blood off Jane's cheek with his sleeve quite aggressively before sticking his hand into his mouth for a moment.
The odd action acquired meaning when his now soaked in venom claws took a swing across Jane's now clean cheek, earning a cry from the Volturi member in question.
After that, he stepped back, glaring at Carlisle with the force of a thousand hurricanes; a silent snarl on his face showing just how sharp his fangs were, and just how pissed he was.
Marcus grabbed Alec, and Caius grabbed Jane.
He followed Aro with the gaze of a hunter.
But even when the Volturi were gone, he still looked on the verge of committing mass murder.
He looked like the perfect picture of what he was: a black blood from the Southern Wars.
̶B̶̶u̶̶t̶ ̶s̶̶o̶ ̶m̶̶u̶̶c̶̶h̶ ̶w̶̶o̶̶r̶̶s̶̶e̶̶.̶
His glare was turning out to be more skin crawling than anticipated. His shoulders were drawn back, and his entire stance was stiff and alert, threatening and intimidating like nothing any of them had ever seen, and Carlisle was starkly reminded of the creature he had taken in.
Was he really capable of controlling him? Them?
Because, right now, it didn't feel like he had any control at all over this situation.
And Alice, sweet, wonderful Alice, climbed down the steps without an ounce of fear or wariness as she approached him. Not-Jasper/Jor's attention fell on her immediately, but just for a moment before his attention went back to Carlisle, and Carlisle alone.
For her part, Alice knew that this wasn't her Jasper nor The Major, not entirely at least. But she had met this one enough times to understand how he worked, he had one simple way of reasoning.
You were either someone to protect with his life or someone that needed to be torn to pieces. There was no in between.
Jane and Alec had threatened them, and he had retaliated. If Carlisle hadn't asked him to stop, she had a feeling he wouldn't have hesitated to turn Jane.
This one was... much like The Major conditioned to dismember first and ask questions later. It was kill or be killed.
-Hey, hey, you did good.- She said softly as she approached him, reaching out to touch his face; his only reaction was a low warning growl.- Look at me.- She pressed, trying to get him to take his attention off Carlisle without success; she knew he was pissed.
Pissed that he had been asked to let the threat escape once again.
-You did good, love. I'm safe. You are safe. Everyone is safe.- She assured him, keeping her voice low and soft as her thumbs stroked his cheeks.
He still refused to tear his glare off Carlisle.
-Carlisle did what was right. Killing any of them would have done nothing but win us the Volturi's wrath. You know that that wouldn't have been a smart move.
-We can take 'em.- His voice was sharper than a blade and cold enough to rival the arctic. It was enough to make even the toughest of men hesitate.
Alice didn't let it bother her.
She knew he would never hurt her and therefore, she had nothing to fear, no matter how out of it he may sound or look at the moment.
-You may be able to take down armies on your own, may have taken down a couple, but most of Volterra consists of highly skilled vampires with unknown gifts. You are one regardless of your skills, not even you can take that many.
Silence was her answer but the look he gave her told her what he thought about her words.
-You were the one who told me that those who let their ego lead them in battle are the ones who end up dead first. Isn't that a bit contradictory now? You are gonna end up dead, and I swear to God Jasper Whitlock, that if you get yourself killed, I'm gonna find a way to bring you back and kill you myself.
That got her a reaction. He glared at her with the might of a storm, and she glared back at him with all the anger she could muster. She held his face between her hands and stood her ground against his piercing gaze and dangerous growl; against the aggression in the air, and the bloodlust oozing off him.
Even if she was mad, deep down she was terrified of the idea of losing him. She hadn't waited so long for him just to let him go and get himself killed over the greater good. As if that damned vision hadn't wrecked with her enough.
He seemed to sense her fear because the murderous glint in his eyes flickered off. It was like a switch had been flipped: his shoulders dropped, and he leaned into her touch. The suffocating pressure in the air from his negative emotions dissipated—it was like getting a breath of fresh air after being kept underwater for too long.
-'M sorry.
-It's okay; it wasn't your fault. You were just trying to protect me.- Alice soothed, hoping that her love and comfort would help him relax by overshadowing whatever emotions the others were feeling.
They dropped their head on Alice's shoulder as they fed on her emotions. They still felt on edge from the fact that they let someone who threatened his Alice escape. Who attacked their Alice.
But Carlisle said no.
And while that threatened to send them into overdrive, they were fighting to keep themselves calm despite their screaming instincts. Carlisle knew what he was doing, he always knew what he was doing, and Alice was right.
They couldn't take on a gifted army.
At least not without sacrificing their sanity in the process.
So they tried to focus on Alice's positive emotions; on the hand resting on the back of their head and the hand touching their arm.
They had to keep calm.
They had to trust Carlisle's judgment.
Carlisle always knew what was better, they needed to remember this.
~~~~~~~~~~
Watching Alice stand her ground with such fierce glare against Jasper when he wasn't in his right mind would never not be mesmerizing.
There was no fear in her stance at all. She was fierce and deadly, going as far as threatening him when he looked so ready to murder someone.
God, Emmett had been more than ready to intervene despite the fact that he had seen enough of these situations to know Alice was safer than anyone while approaching Jasper on kill mode.
Bella though, had never seen it and had been more than ready to intervene, that if Edward hadn't grabbed her hand. He shook his head at her.
She's safe.
Were his words with his sole gaze. No one but Alice could approach him when he was like that and come out unscathed.
As expected Alice did to snap him back.
It was like watching a kitten taming a lion.
And it was at that moment, as he yielded to Alice and dropped his head onto her shoulder, that Bella understood it.
Jasper may be the deadliest vampire in the house.
But Alice was the most dangerous one.
She was safer than anyone on the planet.
~~~~~~~~
Carlisle had brought Jasper to his study to patch his wound up once he had calmed down and was back to, well, Jasper . Unlike humans a black blood wouldn't stop bleeding unless one makes it stop and the last thing Jasper's body needed right now was bleeding out.
The silence in the room was quite thick, and Jasper was looking anywhere but at Carlisle.
He knew the situation had escalated in the worst way possible, and still, part of him couldn't help but find fascinating the fact that anyone could take down the Volturi's twins.
Still.
He couldn't praise that course of action.
He hadn't taken Jasper here only to patch him up, there were a few things that needed to be addressed.
-Jasper, do you remember what happened?- He needed to be aware first of who he would have to address with this issue in the first place.
His answer was a shrug.
-That's not an answer.
-... I do remember. Kind of. I... saw it happen. But I didn't wanna stop it so I let it happen. I'm sorry.
"Dun't ya dare apologize for protectin' what's ours."- Came The Major's hiss.
Carlisle for his side sighed.
-I understand why you did what you did, but you have to understand that you can't use your blood to threaten whoever pisses you off. Aro may have let you go for now, but no one can be sure he won't come back.- Carlisle said as he began bandaging his wrist.
-We wouldn't have needed to attack anyone in the first place if that bitch had kept her damn gift to herself.- Jasper snapped. The Major flickering on the surface.
-That still doesn't make it right. You protected Alice, but threatening Jane with your blood was irresponsible. Keeping up hurting Jane and Alec with your gift, even after they were both incapacitated, was uncalled for and unnecessary; so was scratching Jane and challenging Aro the way you did.
His scoffing was what ended up giving Carlisle the last bit of courage he needed to grab Jasper's jaw and sharply force him to meet his gaze.
Jasper growled in warning as his fingers curled around Carlisle's wrist; his gaze intense and dangerous.
Still.
Carlisle didn't let it intimidate him. Jasper should know by now that he had long ago gotten over his glares. He refused to let his own son control him in such way.
-Listen here, you know perfectly well that killing or harming people just because you can is not an option, nor is threatening them with your blood. Your blood is dangerous, and it's your job to be responsible with it and not make such stupid decisions.
Carlisle's voice was firm, and he refused to let the sudden familiar darkness that took over Jasper's eyes manipulate him. The Major would also have to learn to deal with him. Carlisle was tired of having no control whatsoever over his own son. At this rate he would end up getting himself killed.
Jasper and The Major may be more experienced than everyone in the house when it came to fighting or how the vampire world worked, but Carlisle was still older than them. He was the adult here, and like it or not, it was his job to keep the vampires in his family in line.
Especially this one; if it was falling on him to reform The Major, then Carlisle needed to make sure he would yield to his authority, he needed him to listen, both of them, the three of them, it didn't matter, he needed them to listen. If he wanted to keep them alive he needed them to listen and stop going against his word.
-Also, I am your father, and I will not tolerate any kind of disrespect from you, and that includes growling, glaring, or staring me down. And if I tell you to do something, I expect you to do it. Jor, you may have been a major out there, but here, you are part of a family. You do not act on your own.
He tightened his grip on The Major's jaw when this one tried to pull away with a low growl. The grip Jor had on his wrist tightened, and his injured hand reached out, aiming for Carlisle's hand; Carlisle grabbed it before he could reach his goal, his grip on Jor's wrist firm but careful.
Carlisle could tell he was agitated with the situation; he was confused, and even a bit surprised.
He tried to keep himself calm and projected as much calmness as he could. He needed him to understand that, while there may be an edge of anger in him, there was no need for Jor to be afraid of him, if he was even afraid of him, still, Carlisle felt better letting him know he wasn't gonna beat him or harm him in any other way.
Because while Jasper may have come to a sort of understatement that Carlisle would never harm him Jor clearly still saw them as a threat.
And God knows what the third one would be like. But that one he could worry about it later, right now he needed to deal with Jor.
-I believe I have made it clear before that I'm the one in charge here, and as I'm the one in charge, it's your job to obey me. You may be older and more experienced than the others, but that doesn't give you the right to act by yourself. If you keep this up you are going to end up dead. What do you think that would do to Esme? Rosalie? Bella? Renesmee? Alice?
Carlisle knew he had him when Jor avoided his gaze. Shoulders dropping as well as his hands.
The Major who felt his gut twist uncomfortably.
Because the coven leader was right. As much as he wanted to tell himself he could take Volterra he couldn't. He was powerful but he wasn't that powerful. And if he died...
It would kill Alice.
Esme. Rosalie. Bella. Renesmee...
Jasper .
Thus, he swallowed the venom that had accumulated in his mouth as the rage inside him dissipated.
-I... I'm sorry.- For the first time in his life he felt... strange. It was a feeling he couldn't quite place.
-I don't want an apology, I want you to assure me that you truly understand the weight of the consequences of what your reckless behavior could cause.- Carlisle said.
At the silence he got he sighed.
-Jor, you are part of this family too, whether you like it or not. I know you haven't had an easy life but I want, I need you to understand that you belong with us the same as Jasper does, you are important to us and we care about you. I care about you, and because I care about you I will do anything and everything in my power to keep you safe, even from yourself, even if at times that makes you hate me. I don't care if you don't like me, my job is to keep you safe and safe I will keep you. You understand me?
Carlisle released him and The Major stared at him as if he had grown another head.
The Major who felt an odd heat pool in his chest. It wasn't anger. Nor bloodlust. This one hurt but it wasn't a bad hurt. It was a strange kind of warmness. Painful. But nice.
It kind of reminded him of the first time the angel hugged him.
And he hated it.
Because that was a dangerous feeling that directed at the wrong person could cost them their life.
He had trusted Maria and look what that won them. If the one vampire who turned them was capable of those things what stopped the one who didn't turn them from being worse? What if it was some kind of plan? Now that they knew who was The Major they wanted to make him lower his guard.
But he hadn't lied to them so far.
His fingers curled into fists. This was a mistake. A mistake he wouldn't be able to turn back from if he took risks.
But he could have killed them when they were at their weakest. Not even the angel could have taken on a coven of six, much less when one was still a newborn.
What had stopped them from killing them?
The coven leader could have kept to himself the fact that animal blood was poisoning them. But he didn't. He even was attempting to find some other way for them to feed.
Could he be trusted? They had always been there for Jasper, even when it wasn't Jasper, when they hadn't known he wasn't alone in his own head.
Could he truly trust this coven? Carlisle?
"Find the place inside where there's joy, and the joy will burn out the pain."
The angel's words came back to haunt him and he bit his tongue.
He found a place. Outside . Where there's joy and pain doesn't exist.
Here .
With these domesticated vampires and their odd antics. He loved this place. He was happy here.
They were happy here.
And he was tired of denying it. Tired of attempting to break it apart.
-Ah understand.- For the first time in his life his compulsion didn't leak into his voice. He didn't use his gift to push on the emotional signatures around him.
And rather than unnerving it felt liberating. Right . Like for the first time in his life he was able to breathe.
-Ah promise I'll try ta be less... hostile, 'm sorry if it doesn't seem lac it at some point.- He muttered. His throat felt funny, like a burning knot was stuck somewhere.
He wasn't quite sure what to make of the odd feeling nor was he sure what to make of the coven leader standing up with sadness staining his emotions.
All he knows is that arms wrap around him. His muscles lock as a reflex as the pool of heat in his chest strengthens. His throat is burning but it isn't thirst. He doesn't know what it is. Why is it there?
-I know you will be trying, that's enough for me. If it doesn't work it's alright, no one's going to hold it against you. We will always be here for you no matter what. You don't have to be scared anymore.
It wasn't until Carlisle said those words that The Major acknowledged it.
The fact that behind all the blind rage and unprovoked attacks. The anger. The mistrust.
It was all one big wall to hide the pain and the fear.
Fear about how all of this could become a lie in a second. Lose it all. Where they could get hurt. He didn't want more pain. Didn't want more anger . He just wanted some goddamn peace.
Because he was tired of fighting. Of the anger. Of the pain.
Of Jasper hurting.
He wanted it all to stop.
And he had found it. The perfect place for them.
The angel had been right all along.
There was nothing to be worried about. Nothing to fear. They were safe here.
Safer than they could have ever been anywhere else.
And thus he wrapped his arms around Carlisle and relaxed into the hold.
Finally.
They were home.