A/N: Hello, everyone! This chapter may appear to be a bit of a filler but I felt as if there needed to be some tying up of loose ends before the final chapter. Admittingly, battle scenes are not my forte but I will do my best to make the last chapter worthy of the finale. As always, thank you for reading and for your support!
Chapter 30
For a few moments, nothing could be heard throughout the open field of the once proud but now destroyed village that had belonged to the Quileute tribe except the pounding of Bella's heart as her eyes clashed with the last being she had ever expected to see again. Her sharp eyes watched the nomadic vampire with caution as he walked over at a human's pace to stand next to Jacob.
Memories that she assumed had been lost during her fateful change after her near fatal encountered with Victoria came flooding back with a vengeance to the forefront of her mind. The way the unmerciful dark clouded sky had raged with thunder and lethal strikes of blue lightening forked across the sky. The way a seemingly random cross breeze had stirred up and sent her scent directly to James. The nearly impossible to follow set of events that moved far too quickly for her human mind to comprehend. The trip back to Phoenix with Alice and Jasper. Alice's vision of her old ballet studio. Her successful and foolish evasive movement to sneak away from Jasper and Alice. The attack and the bite she received from James after her body had been broken during his sick and sadistic game. Edward sucking the venom out. Emmett and Jasper successfully shredding his body and throwing the cracked and torn off limbs into a fire. The way Alice stayed by her side with Edward and Carlisle, refusing to leave even though she had been tempted by her blood. Her hand flexed instinctually as she recalled the pain of the bite, her hand automatically coming into a fist and then released.
"My, oh my. Look at what we have here. The Prodigal hybrid has finally graced us with her presence." Laurent all but sneered out causing Alice to growl deep in her throat.
"Jacob, please tell me you weren't stupid enough to make a deal with Laurent." Bella sighed out as she rubbed her temples in annoyance.
"There was nothing stupid about it, Bella. We both desire the same goal. I had no way in hell of overthrowing this Volturi organization but could with his assistance and guidance. Likewise, he needed my help to avenge those who had wronged him and had been the reason why he lost his coven leader and member. That was our plan initially. However, we both soon realized that we could do so much more together. We could wipe out the world and build a new, built the way we saw fit with mentalities and mindsets properly instilled at a young age to live the way that would be best fitting with our ideals" Jacob explained as he crossed his arms tightly against his chest, his dark eyes no longer showing an ounce of care and concern for the person he at one time would have done anything for, been whoever she needed.
"I don't understand. You were there with me. You moved to attack Victoria, and she landed a critical blow. How on earth does that play into your scheme? You are part of the reason why she is dead!" Bella argued back as her mind filtered through the memories of the experience, hopeful that something would stick out, something would help provide light to her question. Nothing was adding up.
"Oh, how naïve you are. It was part of the plan all along. I was to lead you to her. I sacrificed my father to help justify why I would have acted so irrationally and moved to attack. She did exactly as previously decided and knocked me unconscious, thus rendering the mental link between Sam and I useless. The only flaw in the plan was that Victoria should have been able to kill you. We greatly underestimated your abilities and speed as a new shifter and I didn't believe you would have had the ability to throw aside your self-preservation to the extent that you would have risked your own life and phased to kill her in the manner that you did. I also had not expected that Sam would have allowed the treaty to be broken and allowed Alice to change you. It then became necessary to regroup with Laurent once we had confirmation from Sam that the change had been successful and we needed a new angle. That is when this plan was set into motion and here we are." Jacob explained as he grinned at Bella's obvious spike of anger as his words and their significance began to sink into her.
"At one time, I would have stood here and done all I could to try and convince you just how wrong you are. I would have done all I could to get you out of this dark place that you are in but I see now that you are right. You have gone down a path that I cannot get you back from. You have allowed yourself to be manipulated and twisted to the point of no return." Bella sighed with a hint of sadness in her tone as her eyes lifted to the sky, pausing only to take in what was clearly an attempt to calm her emotions. Alice shot a worried glance to her, as she knew that this bond was the hardest one yet that Bella would have to disunite for the sake of fate. Bella lowered her eyes and locked them once more with Jake, " But I refuse to stand here and let you continue with this plan. You have no right to try and be the author of fate for these children. I will do whatever it takes to ensure that their freedom of choice in the matter is protected. This assimilation of culture is morally corrupt, just as you are." Bella finished as she strengthened her stance and squared her shoulders, her eyes closed in concentration as she thought about her ancestors, her own father, Seth and the rest of the tribe, all those who had fallen for sake of fate's grand design.
"Are you mental? Look around you! You are surrounded by powerful newborns. You have no chance in hell in getting through them to have a shot in defeating me. They are stronger and faster than all of your family, except for you. You are finally even matched with the majority of them" Jacob yelled, causing the newborns around him to hiss and get into their own battle stances, ready to attack at the word.
Bella did not immediately respond. She felt the combination of fire and ice coursing throughout her body. Her thoughts moved from those who had fallen to those who still remained. Her thoughts moved to her family, and to her mate, her imprint, her very reason for existing. Fueled by a burning and desperate desire to protect those special few, she knew that it was time.
"You are correct. We may be evenly matched in many ways. But… Are they even one tenth as pissed off as I am?" Bella growled out as her shot her eyes open, her eyes rapidly flickering between her custom ocher and jade.
"What the hell is wrong with your eyes? What's going on here?" Jake growled as he took in the new development, concerned at what the meaning behind it all may be.
"I am going to do what I should have done all those weeks ago. It ends here." Bella snapped and moved forward with a new and heightened degree of speed, her eyes locked on the target and this time there wouldn't be anyone to interfere.
The smell of gasoline and burning corpses filled the tense air as the Cullens valiantly fought against the newborns, but in vain. They had not been expecting to be facing off against newborns and Bella found herself cursing their terrible misfortune. The Cullens and Denalis were strong but the newborns presented a unique challenge. They were indeed quicker, fiercer and the worst of all, acted without any fear of death. Bella skidded to a stop as her eyes remained locked onto Jacob, both panting for breath as a sheen layer of sweat covered their bodies.
Bella flinched as she heard Esme's hiss of pain as she took a rather sharp blow from a newborn before Carlisle could intercede, and the spiderweb like cracks stretched out against the right side of her face. The sound of shattering porcelain brought Bella's eyes momentarily to her left, where Alice had sunk her fangs into the neck of a newborn, effectively removing his head from his body, his corpse thrown haphazardly into a fire burning nearby by Jasper. Alice met Bella's gaze, her obsidian eyes locked for just a moment with her mate's, concern reflecting clear as day. Bella knew that they were in above their heads without a doubt, and while she knew it was not her fault that this was happening, she knew she was to blame as to why the family had gotten involved.
Bella quickly turned her attention back to Jacob who was glaring at her with nothing but hatred in his eyes.
"Is this truly the best you can do? I'm just getting warmed up." Jake sneered before phasing and Bella let out her own growl as she clenched her fists tightly together.
Bella couldn't respond even if she wanted to. Her mind was reeling with emotions of not just her own but those around her, causing her to fall down to one knee. Ghostly memories of past battles forged by the disdain for the two supernatural groups haunted her mind, floating up as nothing but fluid memories of unknown origins before dissolving back into the past where they should have been laid to rest. Overcome with these phantom reminiscences and ancient history, Bella only was beginning to realize just how deep these bonds of hatred were; bonds that she would have to sever.
Her flickering eyes roamed around the carnage around her, her heart sinking further into the pit of her stomach as she watched the true casualties of this war fall one by one by the hands of her own family, forced to fight against their own kind. As her senses still remained attuned to Jacob expecting an attack, she finally allowed her eyes to fully take in the battle field and knew she needed to end this and she needed to end it now. Her family was suffering along with the newborns and she realized that fighting was not going to solve the issue. The only problem was that she did not know how to summon the power she felt just beneath her skin, the power she knew she needed to take out Jacob and sever his control and influence over the newborns. It was the only way she could think of to put an end to it all.
'God fucking damnit. I need to get control of this situation and utilize my undiscovered potential that I can feel practically seeping out of my pores but I can't seem to tap into it. What am I doing wrong?'
Her contemplation was cut off as she sensed the incoming threat and launched herself off of the ground, twisting in the air and narrowly avoiding what could have been a lethal gash to her neck but had moved just a tad too slow. Jacob's dagger like talons had sliced through the delicate skin of her neck, breaking through a couple layers of her skin. Bella's hand automatically came up to her neck, feeling her life supply ooze out of the gash momentarily before closing on its own accord.
She heard Alice scream out her name in terror from across the battlefield and moved her blood laden fingers down her neck and back to her side as her eyes snapped to Alice's. She was going to confirm that she was okay when suddenly her world began to crumble before her eyes. From behind Alice, a newborn with wild black hair and blazing red eyes snarled as he leapt down from a nearby burning tree. Bella tore herself away from her fight with Jacob and found her feet moving on their own accord, her bloodied hand reaching out as she screamed out Alice's name.
Alice turned her back to see the newborn midair, mere inches away from her neck. Her ocher eyes widened in surprise as it was clear that the newborn had made a snap decision while she had been distracted and unfortunately had not been able to receive any warning visions. Her arms came up in a feeble attempt to brace herself, knowing full well that if the newborn got his arms around her, it was over.
Bella watched in horror as time seemed to move in slow motion. She watched as Jasper appeared from behind Alice, effectively evading and maneuvering around a horde of newborns, taking his hands and shoving Alice away, her body tumbling and skidding across the snow and frozen ground by several feet. She lifted herself up with her hands and her head shot up as her confused gaze locked onto Jasper. He provided a smile at Alice, who shook her head and jumped to her feet with a neat and controlled flip of her body. Jasper then stood still; his eyes locked onto Bella who was still rushing as fast as possible in his direction. She felt a wave of calm come over her and heard his soft comforting southern drawl reach her ears.
" Take care of her." Jasper smiled and allowed himself to be sacrificed to the newborn who sunk his teeth into Jasper's neck, effectively removing his head from his body. His now lifeless corpse collapsed to the ground.
Bella skidded to a stop, and felt her legs give out from under her. Her head hit the ground as she was overcome with grief and pain, her fists clenched as she delivered sharp blows to the ground, her breaths coming in and out quickly. She was only vaguely aware that the fighting around her had stopped. The newborns stood still and took in the sight around them, along with the Cullens and the Denalis who were in a state of shock to see Jasper fall in battle. Esme ran forward and wrapped her comforting arms around Alice who relentlessly screamed out Jasper's name, her brain not willing to accept what her eyes had witnessed.
"Let me go, I need to get to her!" Alice cried out in desperation as she fought against Esme's strong but loving embrace as she felt her mate's visible distress.
"I am sorry my dear but I am afraid I can't do that just yet. Bella appears to be out of sorts and she would not want us to allow you near her until we know she is in the right state of mind" Esme tried to soothe and only gripped Alice tighter.
"What is this?" the newborn who had slain Jasper shouted at the direction of Jake, " You said that the golden eyed vampires were murderous, selfish and a danger to us all but this one just sacrificed himself and did not turn on me. This other one over here is showing very strong almost human like emotions. What else have you misled us about?"
Bella barely heard this interaction as she felt her muscles spasm beneath her skin, her venom pooling and dripping out of the corners of her mouth and onto the snow. The flickering sensation of her eyes had sped up immensely and she felt an odd tightening sensation of her teeth. Her senses were flooded with the power of her ancestors. Memories of her childhood, time spent with her father, with Jacob and the tribe. Memories not of her own of young shifters feeling the fear after their initial phase, the disorientation and loss of will to the alpha. Memories of venom flooding through veins of those close to death, those of her family that Carlisle had saved. Memories of her own imprint as a human at an asylum, apparently there against her own will, writhing in pain as her change was taking place. Memories of previous battles, lost lives, shattered porcelain pieces burning feebly in a fire, of shifters and tribe members holding and mourning the loss of their loved ones, slaughtered by the cold ones.
Jacob seemingly aware that this was the opening he was looking for shot forward and barred his teeth, aiming to sink them into Bella's unprotected neck but was halted in his movements as a line of the remaining five newborns moved forward and created a barrier of resistance in front of Bella, crouched in a purely defensive state. The newborn that had been the death of Jasper took a tentative step forward from the other remaining four, his crimson eyes challenging that of Jacob.
"What a move of pure cowardice. There is no honor in your actions. We will not let you through to her." The newborn hissed, causing the Cullens to look at him with wide eyes. Jacob retreated behind a tree and phased back, pulling on a pair of frayed denim shorts as he walked back around, his gaze hard and challenging.
"You belong to me. You were created to serve and obey the commands that I order. You will know your place or you shall be removed. Do not be mistaken, I will have my desired army and we will create more to take your place if need be." Jacob growled back, causing the newborns to hiss in anger.
"Be careful pup, we are not as easily disposed of as you say and we are not as dispensable as you seem to think. So please, go ahead and try to get through us if you want to get to her. I don't know what the future holds but it is clear that you have deceived and lied to us. You warped the truth for your own advantage but our role in your game ends here. We are curious as to who this young woman truly is and desire to know if she can provide us a better future than you can. I am only sorry to know it took one of them to sacrifice themselves for us to see the truth." The newborn countered and Jacob huffed and paced around, looking for Laurent who had seemingly retreated and was nowhere in sight. Jacob cursed his name and crossed his arms against his chest, begrudgingly accepting that he was no match for the newborns by himself.
A few moments of silence passed by as Bella struggled in vain to get a grasp on her emotions. She felt the familiar sensation within her subconscious and her eyes shot open and her head lifted as she looked up from the ground expecting to see Taha or Aurelius but was stunned to see an almost mirror copy of herself, staring back at her with a cautious and understanding smile. Bella heard the heartbeat and realized that this was her back in a full human state. She watched as her copy extended a hand palm up and fingers extended. Bella moved her hand forward until their palms were resting against each other, fingers intertwining.
"I don't understand, who are you?" Bella asked in confusion, her eyebrows furrowing in thought.
"I thought it would be obvious. I'm you. Or rather, what you could be if you stopped fighting so hard against yourself."
"Take a look around. This is the reason why I've been struggling so hard against this. Every time I make a decision to try and embrace this, someone pays the price. It started with Charlie. Then Jake's dad, Seth, the tribe and all the innocent bystanders. Now all the newborns who were added into this not by their own desire or choice… and Jasper." Bella choked on her fallen brother's name unable to stomach the loss.
'You cannot control their fate, only our own. Their own was predetermined just as ours was. While it's hard to understand and accept, you have to. Jasper especially would not be happy to know that his sacrifice was in vain. As you can see, you have not yet lost me. I'm still a part of you and always will be, no matter what you become. You will not lose yourself but you may lose more than you can accept if you don't allow ourselves to be who we always were destined to be.'
Bella did not reply but found herself nodding in acceptance realizing that this entire time that unknown voice in her dreams was her own. She had the strength the entire time but had masked it with her own fear and doubts, afraid of loosing herself in the process, unable to see that the only thing there had been to lose was everything to gain.
"It is time to believe in yourself, in us. Just let go of the control you are trying to hold onto. Just be."
It was at this moment that she felt a strong sense of completion fill her being as she seemed to mold back into herself, her remaining amount of humanity accepting both her shifter and vampire components. Bella lifted herself from the ground, her eyes still closed. She felt her body beginning to complete the change. Her canines lengthened and dropped, the tips sneaking past her lips and ending just past her bottom lip. Her nails grew as well, creating talons and replacing where her nails had previously been.
"What the fuck are you?" Jake roared as he watched with wide and confused eyes. The family looked at Bella with awe, taking in the visible appearance changes that had taken place. The newborns looked at Bella and nodded coming into a silent agreement before stepping aside, effectively removing the barrier from the two fated from the beginning of time to forge a bond only to have to eventually sever it.
"I am the creator of new beginnings. The liberator of these chains that bind us all. The piece of hope that will see us through whatever dark times lay ahead. The author and creator of a new fateful story." Bella replied strongly, her eyes opening revealing a stunning shade of silver with crimson around the iris, " And your place in it is just about done."
