Edward and Seth run through the corridor on the right until they can no longer hear Esme and Jake. The silence is heavy, and Seth's thoughts deeply concern Edward. The boy feels unbelievably guilty for letting them take Anne from him. The scenarios he paints in his thoughts are dark, and he wishes to put some positivity in them, but he knows how difficult it can be to think you lost the person that matters the most to you.
They finally reach a door. This one is different from the others with its imposing massive size.
—Can you hear them? Seth asks, worried.
—Yes. They are inside. Edward answers. His look is severe and angry with the thoughts inside their heads.
—We have to go in. Seth analyzes the metal door. The others opened as soon as they got close, but this one seemed designed not to take guests. There are no handles, and he can hear the humming of the machines inside but no voices.
—All right. Edward says, thinking of a plan. —Let's take some distance and hit it with all we got.
They walk away, and Seth transforms to use his full strength.
—On three. Edward starts the count down. —One.
—Two. Seth continues in his thoughts.
The structure shakes violently, throwing them off. The ground seems to move beneath their feet.
—What was that? Seth asks.
—One more time. Edward says. —One. Two. Three!
They hit the door with a loud bang. It moves just a little, bending in the middle.
—Again. Edward says, taking even more distance. —Hit with your side and throw your body forward.
Seth nods, and they do a countdown again. One. Two. Three!
They hit it again, and the metal cracks loudly before one of the doors fall to the inside of the room. Seth transforms back into a human. He just wants to be able to hold her the second he sees her face.
The dust floats around for a moment before revealing a laboratory full of machines. Two vampires are in front of a large glass tube, guarding it. A little deeper into the room, a man in a lab coat is behind an electronic panel with his perfectly white hair brushed back and his eyes full of satisfaction. When he sees them, his long thin lips open in a smile.
—Welcome, welcome! He claps happily. Seth scans the room, looking for Anne until he finally lays his eyes upon the glass tube in front of the panel. The thing is tall and has countless cables coming out of it, and inside, Anne's body is floating, like she's asleep, all of the wires converting on her body.
—It's a pleasure to meet you, Edward Cullen. The man looks delighted like he's meeting his idol. His exaggerated expressions make him even more disgusting to Edward. —How's little Renesmee?
—Shut up. Edward is full of anger. —You did this. Hearing a man like him say his daughter's name sends chills down his spine. He can feel the madness inside his mind, even if he's hiding his thoughts.
Padrone taps his finger on his temple —Nice mind reading, but I know your trick. You won't read me. He keeps his mind a mess until the very last second before speaking. Edward can only hear random meaningless thoughts inside it up until the moment he says something that makes sense.
—What did you do to Anne? Seth asks, feeling his body shake in anger. The man seems to be conducting some type of experiment on her.
Padrones strokes his chin, thinking. —You're one of the shape-shifters. He smiles again with a little light shining in his eye. —She called your name, you know? The poor little thing has been through so much. She should know better than wait for miracles. He choose the words that would cause the most pain to Seth.
—Get her out of there right now. The boy can feel every fiber of his body shaking. This is the vampire responsible for all of this, and Seth can only picture ways of killing him painfully right now.
—If I do that, she'll die. His smile subdues, and his words sound more severe. —Her genetics are terribly shabby. Her parents should've killed her when she was born. He looks at the tube, actually appearing sad for what Anne was.
—Are we supposed to believe that? You're hiding your thoughts from me. Edward points to Raffaello and Giannini. —You didn't even say what's your goal to your partners.
—Belive… my thirst for knowledge. If she dies now, I won't get what I want.
—And that is?
Padrone doesn't answer, and Edward can't make sense of his thoughts. The scientist just grins, elongating his lips, making him look like a snake.
—I'm not waiting anymore. I'm getting her out and then ripping off your head. Seth transforms and runs towards Padrone. Raffaello gets between them, but Seth doesn't stop. He goes straight for his neck.
Seth can even feel his teeth touching his clothes but can't grab onto his limbs as Raffaello moves out of the way, avoiding the attack. The vampire moves again to catch him, and Seth jumps away from him.
—Here, doggy, doggy! Raffaello mocks Seth, provoking him to fight. He runs towards him, trying to hit a punch. His fists move quickly, but Seth can avoid them reasonably easily. Raffaello is fast, but Seth has seen him move before. He's almost glad he started a fight; Seth was planning on killing him too.
Giannini charges against Edward. His will to fight is less than half of Raffaello's, but he has his own reasons. Edward can read his thoughts, so it's easy to fight him, especially when the man has a minimal will to do so.
Edward can hear the conflict in Giannini's thoughts. His eyes keep going back to the glass wall behind Padrone, where a red-haired vampire is lying down in a bed.
—You don't have to kill the girl. Edward is not talking to Giannini, he's eyes are on Padrone. The man is concentrated, watching the monitors beep, uninterested in what Edward has to say.
—It's too much work to keep her alive. Besides, I told you, she shouldn't be alive. I'm doing her a favor.
Seth looks back at Edward, still avoiding the dull punches from Giannini. He doesn't seem to be in trouble so Seth can concentrate on the vampire before him. Raffaello is violent and reckless as he attacks Seth without rest, enjoying the thrill.
—C'mon mutt, I didn't even break a sweat! His speed is impressive, but so is Seth's. The fight is even.
The ground shakes again. Raffaello looks at Gianinni and back at Padrone. Edward can hear one word in his thoughts.
—Cinque? Is she causing the structure to shake? Padrone does not react to Edward's words, but Raffaello is somehow distracted.
—Continue. Padrone says without raising his eyes from the monitors.
Seth takes advantage of Raffaello's distraction and goes for his arm. He grabs it, and Raffaello punches his face with all he got, making him let go before ripping it off.
Another shake, and another. The tube moves side to side, dripping some water on the floor this time. Seth holds his breath as Anne's body shakes inside the tube until it gets stable again.
—Done! Padrone grabs a small square disk that pops out of the machine. and types something in the device, making the shakes calm down. —You two, finish the job and leave.
Raffaello is completely distracted now, looking at Padrone and back at Giannini.
—What about Mirania? Giannini asks, looking at the woman behind the glass wall.
Padrone shrugs. —Kill the girl, and she should be fine. I'm not the one who wants her head.
—You're not going anywhere. Edward doesn't know what's in that disk, but he knows there's something to do with Renesmee. He can't let him leave with that information.
—Watch me. Padrone opens a fake wall behind him and disappears inside. Giannini starts to attack Edward more eagerly, stopping him from following the mad scientist.
—You don't want to obey him. Edward can hear how much he hates Padrone.
—He'll kill Mirania if I don't. Giannini looks back at the glass again, his eyes full of worry and fear.
A loud cry distracts Edward. Raffaello hit Seth in the ribs, and they could hear his bones cracking.
—Seth! Edward can't shake off Giannini, although he can avoid his punches easily. Raffaello stops moving one more time when the shakes come back, looking away.
Seth takes the chance and jumps over him. Mouth over his head and hind legs on his body. He uses his strength to rip off Raffaellos head right off. His body falls limp on the floor, and Seth spits it out far away.
The shakes are back, but they feel different now.
—Shit. Giannini walks away from Edward, going straight for the panel.
—Cinque compromised the building. He types in something in the computer, and the water in the tank starts bubbling more intensely.
—We have a problem. He's staring as the bubbling gets more and more intense. The device indicates Padrone separated them both, and Mirania can't control the girl anymore. She's trying to get out.
—What did you do? Seth screams as the machine gets louder by the second, like it's about to explode until the glass finally breaks. The water spreads through the floor, and Anne's body falls on the metal platform. The thinner cables are gone, but the thick metal one is still firmly attached to her neck.
—Anne! Seth runs towards her, but Edward stops him. Seth can see his wide-open eyes as if he's afraid of what he's seeing.
The girl stands up, holding the cable on her neck and pulling it out in one try. The blood runs down her back, but she seems unbothered by it. She's standing up, looking at the floor with empty eyes.
—She's not… herself. Edward says, listening to her thoughts. He had never seen such a strong image of someone's thoughts. Usually, they are just words he can use to paint a rough picture, but Anne's mind is extremely loud. It's almost like he can see her pain passing through her head like a movie. The blood, the death, the fear, and the sadness. It's just like she can do the same as Renesmee.
He looks at Giannini, reading his thoughts and unable to believe what they mean.
—What have you done? He asks, triggering further the guilt and making him look away. Edward knows now he was there when they killed her parents to use her in experiments so that they could get what Padrone wanted.
Anne raises her head to the voices in the room. Her eyes are out of focus as she scans the room. Her attitude changes and she steps down the platform, eyes on the glass, and runs across the room to the vampire behind the glass wall. She bangs on the glass repeatedly, trying to break it.
—Calm down. Giannini grabs her arm.
—Let her go! Seth runs to them.
Anne doesn't utter a word; she doesn't even look at him before punching him in the chest, sending him flying across the room.
Her hand falls to the side of her body. Her fingers are purple and swallowing; all broken. She doesn't react to the pain and resumes the banging with the same broken hand. Seth is frozen in place.
—What's happening? He's never seen such an expression on her face before. She may look unbothered to others, but he can see the pain in her eyes. She's suffering.
—She's in some sort of trance. Edward says, looking at Giannini standing up. —She wants to the woman behind the glass. As far as I understood, she is responsible for the death of her parents. She beheaded them in front of her. Giannini's thoughts are evident and graphic. He's not trying to hide anything.
The girl finally breaks the glass cutting her already broken hand. The blood drips on the floor, mixing with the water and glass. Giannini stans up and reach for her, but Seth transforms and throws his body on him, pushing him away.
Edward runs to her, hoping to speak to her will help. If Giannini's thoughts are correct, he can't touch her, or she'll absorb his powers as she did with Renesmee now that she's hurt.
—Anne! Can you hear me? If you keep this up, you'll kill yourself. She looks at him, eyes still lifeless.
Her mind is still loud and confused, but her body moves with purpose, without a doubt. She seems to think about what to do about his presence there and decides to attack him using her good hand to land a punch, but Edward can avoid it easily, not because he can read her thoughts, but because she's just as fast as a regular human. When she can't catch him, she takes a few steps back, going around, towards the opposite wall.
A few moments ago, she was strong enough to send Giannini flying across the room, but now she's nothing but a weak human.
When she steps away, Edward thinks she'll calm down, but the girl bends her body forward, like a runner, and comes at him with the speed of a vampire. Edward is so surprised he can't move; she'll hit him. Or so he thought.
Anne can only run a few feet before they hear her leg break, making her lose balance and roll across the room, lending by the broken glass. Her leg is swallowing like her hand and turning red right away.
—Anne! Seth returns to his human form, running to her aid. Giannini just observes the scene. She's not as dangerous if she doesn't absorb a vampire's power. She can't fight with her own abilities without breaking her body.
Seth holds Anne by her shoulders, hugging her. He waited for this moment when the smell of her skin would spread through his body, making him whole again. Her body is cold, but she doesn't smell like a vampire anymore. He refuses to let go of her, even when he feels the pressure in his stomach.
He looks down, feeling the sharp pain spreading like fire. Anne shoved a long piece of glass through his skin, cutting her broken hand again.
—Anne… He can feel the blood coming up to his mouth. She pierced an internal organ, and now he's bleeding internally. Her eyes are still empty as she looks down at the blood coming out of his wound.
She removes the glass to stab him again, and Seth holds the glass. The deep cut in his palm is painful, but it will heal. Anne's wounds however show no signs of healing. Her leg is double its normal size, and the skin around her fingers is dangerously dark. The bracelet he gave her is hanging by a thread, covered in blood.
Seth feels dizzy for a moment after losing all that blood, loosening his grip enough for her to crawl away towards the vampire on the bed. She drags her body towards Mirania right behind her, reaching to use the bed as support to stand up.
She looks frail and thin. Nothing like the imposing figure in her mind. Her deep dark circles and fragile-looking limbs had the life sucked away from them by Padrone's experiments to connect their minds.
Giannini walks over, but Edward stops him. —Wait. He says calmly as he can hear her thoughts calming down. She's coming back to reality.
Anne grabs Mirania by her hair, making her open her eyes. The protuberant bones on her face move slightly as she tries to smile.
—Wake up, slowpoke. She says calmly. Anne's eyes are back to reality.
The bleeding finally stops, and Seth stands up, looking at them. Anne is still with Mirania's hair in her hands, her body shaking as the tears roll down her eyes.
—You should've killed me too… The pain in her voice seems to rip Seth's skin open.
—I'm sorry. I hoped to save you at least. Mirania's voice is weak, and her eyes scream remorse. Edward can hear the words she's too afraid to say because she doesn't believe she deserves it. She wants to ask for forgiveness.
—I want to kill you.
—You're too good for that. Emily raised you right. Mirania's smile fades away. —I won't ask for forgiveness. My life is yours if you want it.
The girl avoids Mirania's gaze for the first time, her body still shaking. She holds her hair tightly one last time before finally letting go and falling on the floor, defeated.
—Anne! Seth goes to her, holding her again. —Anne, can you hear me? He puts her face between his hands, observing her eyes still full of tears.
—Seth… Edward. You're here. Seth hugs her more tightly, relieved to see she's herself again.
—We came to get you —Edward says. —all of us.