My only excuse is the truth: I've fallen out of love with this story. It's difficult to continue without that, but for you, my loyal readers, I promise I have been trying and will continue to do so. After this, there's only 1 chapter left and I promise to have it out asap.

TW: Violence

"But firefighters are still no closer to knowing what exactly caused the fire, or exactly how many fatalities we can expect. Though the blaze is finally extinguished, making sure the building is safe for entry is the next priority so that those who need help can get it. One thing that can be confirmed, is that the fire was contained to the one warehouse and thankfully hasn't spread to others nearby. More news as it comes. Back to you, Sha-"

The breakfast cereal felt like sawdust in my mouth. I had no appetite, but Esme had insisted I eat something before we resumed any kind of training. The dried residue of sweat clung to my scalp and chest, serving as a reminder of what lay ahead.

The 10 o'clock news was reporting a fire in Seattle. No one knew what had started it, but everyone agreed that this was what Bella and Jasper had planned. We just hoped they weren't inside.

The silence of the blank television no longer masked the sounds of the house: Esme pottering in the kitchen, keeping her hands busy from fretting. A thud, thud thud thud from outside as Emmett sparred with a tree. Carlisle, upstairs in his office, rifling through papers. Alice sat crossed legged in the corner of the living room, her eyes closed, framed by the trees through the wall to ceiling windows. A low vibration could be heard through her headphones, muffled in her ears. I could hear Rosalie pacing behind me, her steps slow and measured as she swept from one side to the other.

Aside from Alice, Edward was the only Cullen I could see from my vantage point. He stood by the couch I was seated on, the remote in his hand as his gaze penetrated the blank screen; his thoughts clearly elsewhere.

My heart beat had returned to its usual speed after the vigorous exercise; my cheeks burning less after being flushed. In contrast, the rest of the family looked well put together despite the practice that had taken place. My hand shook with muscle spasms. I grasped the spoon tighter, trying to ensure the metal didn't tap against the ceramic and draw attention to it. The practice had already been stopped because of me, I didn't need them to notice how sore the sit down had made me or they'd change their minds altogether.

I brought the full spoon to my lips and took another torturous mouthful, needing strength.

The practice lasted through the night and well into the morning. First, it consisted of demonstrations from Emmett, Edward and Carlisle, utilizing the knowledge they had accumulated over the years both from their own experiences and what they'd learned from Jasper. Then, it was a series of one-on-one drills, with each arrangement of pairs possible. It was evident I wasn't as skilled as the Cullens, but I'd told Jake I was a quick learner and I'd held my own.

Don't let them come at you from behind. Don't let them get their arms around you. Stay nibble, it'll confuse them. Go for the head, not the limbs. Do not hesitate.

But the practice was frustrating. I fought each of them twice – bar Esme who'd refused to go against me out of fear of hurting me – but it was evident that the men were all going easy on me. In a teeth-grinding moment, I called Edward out, but he insisted he wasn't reducing his skill or strength for my benefit. Except, I'd watched him against the others and it was blatantly obvious. Rosalie and Alice had been the only believable fights, though I suspected they were also treating me with some care.

My last drill had been against Emmett. Preparing to fight him for the second time, I strategized to exploit the weaknesses I'd learned from observing him.

Don't let them come at you from behind. Don't let them get their arms around you. Stay nibble, it'll confuse them. Go for the head, not the limbs. Do not hesitate.

Again, he'd been going easy on me, but my light footwork had started to irritate him and in a moment of accidental vexation, he'd managed to grab me by the throat and slam my body to the ground. The shock of the impact caused me to cry out as my tailbone absorbed the shock on the solid ground.

Both Edward and Carlisle refused to continue after that. At least until I'd had a break.

I scooped another mouthful.

The wolves chose to leave during this recess, wanting to re-group and practise together after the eight hours we'd shared. They'd be back before 8am.

The clock was ticking and there had still been no contact from Bella or Jasper, nor a vision to indicate their wellbeing.

I swallowed. My oesophagus strained with the effort and I had to concentrate on not regurgitating. Edward took the bowl from my hands, evidently realizing I couldn't stomach any more.

I wiped my now empty hands on the sports leggings Alice had loaned me before standing, ignoring the tickle of aches that threatened to step in. I looked expectantly at Edward, standing with the porcelain in hand. He looked at me right back, a stubborn set to his brow that raised my hackles.

He sighed. "No more."

My heart fell but my anger rose. "Why?"

"Because," he said, with a lilt of something that I took as patronisation, "you need to rest – you're exhausted."

"No I'm not," I argued. Pointlessly – because his face didn't change.

I tried to switch tactics, even though I knew he could see right through me. And that was another thing that probably gave the truth away; I wasn't currently strong enough to block him out.

I tried regardless:

"It's a waste of time – time that should be on training me to fight."

"You can't fight if you collapse from sleep deprivation."

I huffed unceremoniously and dramatically threw my hands out, letting them drop to my hips with a sharp slap on either side. "I'll sleep when I'm dead."

He scowled. "That's not funny."

The lick of shame that swept through my body acting like water dousing a flame. Acknowledging that small amount of delirium made me consider whether I was more exhausted than I let myself consider.

"Do you really think I'll be able to sleep?"

He raised his eyebrow. "You're exhausted," he again pointed out, as if he needed to reiterate the fact that we both knew was obvious.

"That's not the point!" I spat. "I won't sleep if I'm worried or feel under-prepared, which is exactly how I'm feeling right now," His eyes narrowed as I looked back at him. "Please, just one more round and then I'll sleep," I pleaded. "I'll even have Carlisle give me a sedative so I do."

His finger and thumb went to the bridge of his nose as he contemplated my compromise. After an impatient minute, he sighed and relented: "One more round."

I darted forward and kissed his cheek rapidly before running outside – before he could change his mind. Returning to my spot, I jumped on the balls of my feet and shook out my limbs, getting the blood pumping as the others gathered.

Don't let them come at you from behind. Don't let them get their arms around you. Stay nibble, it'll confuse them. Go for the head, not the limbs. Do not hesitate.

-o0o-

The sleep I'd had was restless. Four hours of semi-conscious tossing and turning that was just enough to feel rested, but barely. At 5am, when the tiniest ounce of light started changing the sky from a black to navy, I knew I couldn't sleep any longer.

The house was silent; everyone lost in their own thoughts that I had no time to speculate about, too frantic was my mind. One thing we all had in common was the occasional glances at Alice, waiting for her to see something.

At 6am, the birds started singing.

At 7am, Jake arrived looking just as tense as everyone else. Sam followed him and proceeded to go over the strategy, again.

At 8am, Alice's eyes glazed. When she came back to herself, her face was grim. She looked towards the door and the air stilled as the first flurry of snow began.

It was 9am when the forest began to move.

-o0o-

You could hear them before you saw them. The collective of pounding feet echoed around the space like thunder ricocheting off the trees; the stampede shaking the air and dusting snowflakes from their resting place. It started as nothing more than a faint rumble.

The plan had worked it seemed, the noise resonating from the north – from the direction of the forest, nowhere near the hub of town activity.

I could hear my heartbeat speeding up in time with the rising noise and impending doom. I was almost certain everyone could hear it – even the newborns currently hurtling themselves towards the sound of it. Though we suspected it could have been either Edward or me they were tracking, I was almost certain it was me. And if it hadn't been me, the sound of my heart was attracting them now.

I was stationed at the back of the group, between Esme and a human Seth. The plan was for the wolves to close in behind the group, wiping out as many as possible from the back while we met the front line. But Jake had refused to have someone he didn't trust with me. As his imprint, it wasn't something Sam could disregard, but the wolves needed the element of surprise. So Seth had volunteered as the compromise – and was to shift only at the last second if the newborns broke the front line which consisted of the rest of the Cullens, thirty feet in front of us.

The sound was crescendoing and my nerves were fit to burst. My hands were already clammy and my chest ached with frightful anticipation.

My fighting mantra played on a loop in my head: Don't let them come at you from behind. Don't let them get their arms around you. Stay nibble, it'll confuse them. Go for the head, not the limbs. Do not hesitate.

I froze at the sight of the first one bursting through the bracken, dead center, an animalistic snarl erupting – a harrowing noise that set off the yet unseen ones following not too far behind.

Only a second had passed before its torso hit the ground; its head dropping from Emmet's hand a second later.

The brief sense of relief barely had time to rise before another burst through, then another; and soon the entire front line was engaged in a fight.

Esme took my hand as I watched it rage, bringing me back to the present as the breaths fell free-fall from my mouth. It was like a dance, somewhat hypnotizing in spite of the severed heads and ripped limbs. The movements were sharp, lithe and unhesitant all round. Emmett tore the head from one and threw it in the direction of another just exiting the trees, smacking into its face with a force that knocked its head clean off its shoulders. Alice seemed to fly – I was convinced her feet didn't so much as touch the ground as she moved from one to the next, ripping at heads with fluid precision. Carlisle's distinct actions were much the same and I was vaguely reminded that doctors were equally capable of taking a life as they were at saving one.

Whilst it seemed we had the upper hand, the stream of oncoming newborns seemed never-ending. Body parts littered the ground but it didn't phase the monsters as they burst through in fits and starts. Suddenly, the steady stream seemed to speed up, and where one had trickled, two, sometimes three poured out simultaneously. Esme let go of my hand, now having no choice but to join as one managed to pass through the front line.

A series of cries rippled from somewhere in the distance and Seth's vibration told me the wolves had closed in. But the element of surprise set off survival instincts in the newborn's ranks, and their fighting style became more frantic and unhinged.

Seth leapt and shifted midair, downing a newborn and sinking his teeth into its jugular, before cutting off another as it beelined in my direction.

What happened next was unavoidable, I knew. I'd asked to be a part of this and there was now no escape. I anchored my feet, attempted to calm myself and braced.

Then one was hurtling towards me.

I know instinctively that this would be it. Everyone else was engaged with their own opponents – there was no one who could save me from this, not this time. It was coming for me, and I felt like I was staring down the barrel of a gun.

Don't let them come at you from behind. Don't let them get their arms around you. Stay nibble, it'll confuse them. Go for the head, not the limbs. Do not hesitate.

The vampire, who used to be a man (I couldn't think of him with any humanity to do what needed to be done), had sparkling red eyes, filled with desire and bloodlust, teeth bared and was coming at me head on. I took the weight off my feet. Watching, attempting to calculate, I counted to three as it raised its arms to grab me, then I darted to the side, too quick for him to switch direction. I twisted beneath his arm, catching the wrist of his right arm as I did so and used my momentum and his confusion to tear the limb from its socket. It snarled in rage and pain as the sound of tearing flesh filled both our ears. I barely had time to do more than toss the limb aside before it came at me again. I jumped around it again, landing behind and kicking the back of its knees causing it to stumble. In that split second, I wrapped my arm around its neck and squeezed as hard as I could.

It raged as it fought. With its legs unbalanced, it was unable to find a solid footing, but that didn't stop it from thrashing its upper body. I had no choice but to grab onto my own wrist to keep it stable in the chokehold, squeezing with all my might. But that left its left arm free and frantic.

The arm snapped back and the hand latched onto the outside of my left thigh. It used its nails to claw into my leg, puncturing in patterns of jagged crescents. I gritted my teeth against the pain as I tightened my arm, muscles pulsing.

The sound of the first ligament tear shouldn't have fuelled me the way that it did – but it's what helped summon enough strength to rip the rest of the head away from the body and let it fly haphazardly away from me. The pressure on my legs ceased and I stepped out of the clutches, barely paying attention and the headless remains slumped forward. I felt the blood rush to the punctures and knew the moment the pooling blood escaped before the warmth of it trickled down my leg. Eyes, which didn't have much of a target, zoned in on me from all directions.

My blood now made me the prime target.

One saving grace was the diversion I now provided. The newborn's attention was lost in a mist of thirst, providing enough distraction for the Cullens and wolves to slash and slaughter. But everyone on that field who cared about me registered the danger I'd just been placed in.

My attention was caught by movement at my side: a dark haired female heading straight towards me – I could see the reflection of saliva on its tongue, even from here. As it neared, I tried to use the same trick as before, but its hand snatched my arm, jolting me towards it. It dived towards my neck with its teeth. With a start, I yanked my head back, the force of which had me careening backwards. The vampire followed in my wake, knocking us to the ground. I didn't feel the air leave my lungs, or the bite of the snow as my back hit the hard earth – too focused on fighting off the vampire who had me in such a vulnerable position. All tactics left me as I batted at its face, doing anything I could to stop hands and teeth going anywhere near my throat. Tossing my head left and right, I registered what we'd landed beside and a plan – my only plan – formed.

With great difficulty, I kicked my legs out, doing whatever I could to lock it around the vampire's. As my leg found its mark, I shoved upwards and rolled. My hands went to its neck and I grabbed it tight. I pulled the head towards me then smashed it back against the boulder. Once, twice. On the third strike I heard the skull crack. Once more and the brain shattered; the fight evaporating with it.

Bile role at the sight, enough to pull my attention and miss the next attack. Something slammed into my side, careening me to the ground with enough force to splinter something in my shoulder. Before I could gather my senses, a blur of russet shot across my field of vision and then the weight was gone. I turned my head to the ground and vomited.

The tears cleared enough for me to see Jake's wolf form tear into the vampire until it was bits and pieces scattered like confetti.

My head was swirling.

Jake looked towards me and I tried to smile, reassure him. He bared his teeth and pounced, taking down another vampire I hadn't heard or seen approaching me from behind.

Jake's protection gave me enough time to get it together. I took a breath and made to stand, only to be knocked again, this time by Jake. Jake in his wolf form was a lot larger and much heavier than a vampire. I couldn't stop the scream that flew from my mouth at the impact.

Another vampire had tackled him, but soon enough Jake was up and overpowering his new victim.

As I went to stand again, my gaze landed on Edward, across the field from me. Our eyes met. My scream had him looking to find me.

And with the decision to check on my wellbeing, he'd completely abandoned his own.

I watched in horror as the newborn he'd been overpowering until that point took advantage of Edward's wavering attention.

"Watch out!" I screamed across the grass, heart in agony. But it was too late.

Edward's reaction wasn't fast enough and the vampire tackled him to the ground, its teeth ready and without hesitation. Edward's eyes widened as the vampire latched onto his neck, face scrunching in pain as he fought to save his neck, literally.

"DAD!" I cried, scrambling my feet to find my grounding and get to him – I had to get to him!

Then she appeared.

I was too focused on Edward to see exactly where she came from, but there she was, reeking of chaos and hatred and a love so deep it brought the promise of impending death. The vampire was torn away from Edward and then immediately torn apart. Another attack came but she dispatched that one just as fast, giving Edward enough time to get to his feet, hissing at the sting of the bite.

When she straightened she looked deadly. Flecks of snow speckled her hair as the fight and breeze tossed it around in a violent dance. She studied Edward and he studied her – so many words wanting to be said but no time to do so.

"Mom," I sobbed out, overwhelmed with gratitude and confusion – and already so exhausted. Her attention snapped to me.

I felt like I was dreaming. My mind was lost in a blanket of comfort that the sight of her wrapped me up in, safe and secure.

Her eyes were sharp as they darted to various parts of me, taking it all in: the mud on my clothes, the tension in my shoulder as it throbbed, the blood trickling from the wounds at my leg.

She made to step towards me but stopped abruptly, looking over my shoulder. Her eyes hardened and jaw clenched.

I spun, anticipating the impending attack… and my heart dropped into my stomach. It wasn't a newborn – well, not just a newborn.

Her signature fur blended into the landscape which only made her red hair stand out like a beacon. The sharp eyes turned from Bella to me. A feline smirk framed brilliant white teeth. "You smell delicious," she purred. "Kill her."

The newborn licked his lips and pounced, teeth bared and glistening with venom. My arms shot up in time allowing for a preventative distance, but the force of his attack knocked me back onto the solid group, rattling my lung and potentially shattering a rib. My shoulder screamed in protest and I think I did too.

I heard enough to know there were words being shouted, but I wasn't paying attention in order to make them out, not when my shaking arms were the only thing stopping a newborn vampire's teeth from ending my life. Its eyes were wide and inhuman, the red irises framed in a web of red veins marrying the white. Its snarls were so close to my face, the sheer force of the noise as it tore from its throat caused venomous spittle to fly from its mouth.

Its head was ripped to the left and then it came away from the body, the torso a dead weight in my hands.

A sob escaped me.

The body was removed and then Edward was lifting me to my feet, wary of my injured body. I was shaking, both with adrenaline and tears. He pulled me into his chest.

"It's okay," he soothed. "We're almost there."

I lifted my head from his chest to take in what he meant. Newborns were still appearing but the numbers had seriously dwindled. The stragglers were easy picking for the fighters on our side and few enough that Edward was able to offer me this comfort. Snarls from vampires and wolves rebounded through the trees, though they couldn't be seen. I registered those I could see, my heart calming with each familiar figure until the absence of one particular person clenched that vital organ.

"Where is she?" I asked desperately, checking –and hoping – that I hadn't missed her. "Where is she?!"

"She went to end this," he replied, softly.

There was only one direction Victoria would have fled in her evasion and I bolted that way, following the fresh scents of freesia and smoked spice. Edward was on my heels, but it wasn't to stop me. My legs ached, too tired and only moving thanks to the adrenaline. Pain like fire tore through my shoulder and back and my arms moved in sync with my steps.

I flew onto the cliff top – memories of our last encounter in this very stop vaguely replaying – and took in the scene. Only once my mind caught up to what my eyes were seeing did I register that the noise I'd been expecting wasn't the near silence we stood in.

My mom's back was to me, chestnut hair blowing faintly in the wind. At her feet, blanketed in the snow was a body. The flaming red hair streaked in the snow, standing out like a beacon. I made the decision then and there that I would never use that shade of burnt orange in any of my future artwork.

Edward stepped away from me, moving tentatively until he was close enough to lay a hand on her shoulder. Her body sagged at his touch and she leaned in to him, the relief as palpable as the fighting energy that seeped from her in an instant. It felt rude to interrupt so I waited.

Edward moved first. He bent at the knees, peering intently at Victoria's still form. I didn't know what he was looking for – reassurance? After a moment in his thoughts, he tossed the body over his shoulder… then bent to pick up the head by its hair. I looked away, not wanting to see the dead expression, keeping them closed until I heard his footsteps recede completely.

When I opened them again, my mom was watching me.

"Renesmee," she breathed, and came towards me. My stillness broke, as did my composure when we met each other halfway. Sobs wracked my body as I cried into her neck – in grief, in pain, in relief. The emotional turmoil I'd collected and entombed over the past 48 hours – heck, the last few weeks – broke free. The battle was over and my mom was here. I was physically touching her. Only now could I admit there was a part of me terrified I'd never see her again, or worse: actually get the news she was dead.

I still had no idea how everyone else fared by the house – it was too much for me to consider, too consumed by my selfish bubble of just the two of us. Our life had been turned upside down in the span of a few months but we'd faced it together. There was no telling what else needed to happen or where else we'd go from here; but here, together, that was all that mattered.

As my mind worked through each one of these thoughts, she just held me, stroking my hair and shushing me in the way she'd done for as long as I could remember.

"I love you, Mom," I said into her shoulder.

I felt her kiss my hair. "I love you, too."