"It doesn't matter what I show you," Alice hissed, appalled. "Even when you see," she snatched her hand out of Aro's, "you still won't change your decision."
Aro watched curiously as Alice turned around to face her family. "Now," she whispered.
Bella glanced up at Renesmee who was already mounted on Jacob's back. "Take care of my daughter" she whispered to him.
With a light growl, Jacob turned around on the spot and sprinted into the distance. Renesmee glanced behind her worriedly but then averted her attention back to their route out of the field to safety.
Caius addressed Santiago sternly. "Get them," he commanded.
Alice turned her attention back to Aro with an uncharacteristic scowl. Without warning, she spun around and her leg kicked backwards. Her foot collided painfully hard against Aro's chin, sending him flying away from the ground and into the crisp, snow-filled air.
Eli gasped, trembling where she stood with her hand over her mouth, her grip on Marcus tightening considerably. Marcus and Caius both turned their heads from Aro's figure above them to Alice in horror, soon joined by every other Volturi guard.
Half way through the air, Aro managed to right himself again so that he landed feet first into the snow. He used his hand to slow himself as he slid across the ground and stood back up straight again. Eli sighed of relief, only just realising she'd started breathing once again.
Alice made to escape but was instantly detained by two of the lower Volturi guards in dark cloaks. She struggled against them, but their combined strength forced her to stay rooted in the same position.
As much as Eli wanted to rescue her, she knew that Alice had committed an unprovoked attack on Aro, so there was no way she could defend that unlike with Irina.
"Take her away," Aro ordered.
"Let her go!" Carlisle yelled.
Carlisle started for Alice, easily fighting off two more guards as he went which sent one of them spiralling horizontally into the distance. Just as he leapt in the air, Aro launched himself at him from the opposite direction in an attempt to prevent him from reaching Alice.
Aro eventually landed crouched on the ground, but when Carlisle's decapitated body hit the ground in a crumpled pile beside her, Eli cried out Carlisle's name, sinking to her knees. Caius helped his mate up to her feet and held her closely with Marcus, both of them following their instincts and purring continuously against her neck.
Meanwhile, Aro glanced down at Carlisle's head in his hand, mortified at himself, but he didn't have time to act further before Felix lowered the flaming torch over Carlisle's remaining body in front of Alice. This wasn't how this was supposed to happen. Carlisle was not supposed to be executed at the hands of him. His Eliana would never forgive him.
All in unison, Carlisle's coven and witnesses came charging at them, their eyes set on revenge against the Volturi. Aro, with no other choice in the matter, held his hands out in front of him, commanding the Volturi guard and witnesses forward.
Eli watched on as the Hamamatsu coven, Ukrainian coven, French coven, and all of their guards ran into battle, a battle she'd been assured wouldn't occur. She started forward only to be held back by Marcus. Confusedly, she glanced up at him, venom tears still in her eyes, but he gravely shook his head while he and Caius shielded her closely from either side.
As soon as the two sides collided, it was an instant bloodbath with wolves and vampires alike being fought to their death with ease. Eli watched as the Cullens took out her own guard, as Rosalie pulled off one of their heads, unable to do a thing about it.
The moment she saw one of those wolves attack Andrey and pull his head off like a plastic doll just as Nadiya let out an ear-splitting scream and Sofia almost broke into tears from where she was fighting alongside Lillie, Eli turned to Aro.
"Aro, please, do something, stop this," she begged in a desperate whimper.
Aro couldn't say anything since his head was solely pounding with guilt, only continuing to watch on at this battle from the sidelines.
Jasper and Demetri fought against each other, Jasper dealing a painful punch to the side of Demetri's face. However, Jane, who had been pacing around the side, attempted to focus in on Jasper, to no avail.
Alec watched her struggle and let go of the nomad he was fighting down to attack Bella, the source of the shield. He leaped at her and the pair of them rolled messily through the snow.
"Bella!" Eli called out as she was pulled closer to Marcus' chest.
With Bella's shield gone, Jasper began quivering in agony. Demetri shoved him in the chest which caused him to sink to his knees. Felix took the opportunity to easily restrain Jasper's arms behind him while Demetri sliced his head off with his hand.
Alice screamed just as Eli whimpered out at the loss of yet another loved one. A loved one she'd been assured would stay safe and wouldn't be harmed in this trial.
After Emmett fought off Tobias from the Hamamatsu coven, he ran at Alec and slammed him backwards into the ground. With a foot on his neck, he detached his head while sending his body flying across the field.
"No, Alec…" Eli's lip trembled in shock, her voice barely above a whisper anymore. There were just too many people to count.
Another wolf flew at Afton this time, his head being torn off with a high-pitched snap as if he was made of the most brittle substance in existence.
Eli gasped. "A-Afton…"
Jane took the opportunity to step in front of the wolf's path only a second before that wolf began squirming and writhing in pain on his back in the snow. Just as the wolf tried to get away, Felix surrounded his arms around his neck, effectively crushing him to death.
Unable to take it anymore, Eli hid her face in the safety of Caius' chest. "Make it stop, p-please, make it stop…" she sobbed.
A loud rumbling sound crashed through the field as the ground violently shook under their feet. Marcus and Caius both looked up from their little mate to the source of the sound, Eli following suit.
An incredibly large sinkhole had formed in the ground, one that definitely couldn't have formed naturally. Body after body was hurled into it, inevitably falling into the burning hot depths below.
Bella grabbed Henri from the French coven around the shoulders and sent him falling down with a single kick to the stomach. Two wolves suddenly attacked Chelsea, which sent her plummeting to her death.
"C-Chelsea, no…" Eli stuttered in complete shock.
During Edward and Demetri's continuous fight, Demetri had managed to push Edward backwards into the sinkhole. Eli wasn't sure what made her more upset; the loss of Edward or the smirk on Demetri's face.
Completely unprompted, Edward's form came flying back through the gorge, smashing through the rocks that tumbled into him and threatened to force him back down. He came straight for Demetri and tore his head off his shoulders in one swift movement.
"No, Demetri…"
Alice fought her way towards Jane, somehow throwing every enemy she encountered out of her path. Jane's attempt at running did nothing since Alice caught up with ease and grabbed her by the throat, a strangled echo escaping her lips. She dragged her by the scruff of her neck towards an awaiting wolf who instantly tore her to shreds, her head tearing clean off her body.
"B-but Jane…" Eli whispered weakly.
Darting her gaze around, Eli's focus settled on Bella, who was being pinned down by one of the lower guards, her head so close to being detached from her body.
She didn't even realise what she was doing. One moment, she was in her mates' arms, the next she was sprinting across the battlefield to save Bella with her cloak billowing behind her.
Eli launched herself straight at the guard, sending them skidding through the cold snow. With one simple unplanned movement, the guard's head was ripped off his shoulders and tossed into the distance along with the countless other severed bodies.
There was no time to think though. Before she even had a chance to react, a few of the Cullens' allies saw Eli unguarded and alone, taking the opportunity to attack. She was ambushed from all sides, seemingly with no escape.
Eli tactically used her gift to dissolve some of their limbs, but she had to be careful since she saw that Bella was also trying to defend her in return and didn't want to harm her in the process. But there were just so many, she was trapped.
Aro, Caius, and Marcus all ran into the battle at full speed as soon as they saw their mate hurling herself into the face of danger. Even with four people fighting off the Cullens' allies, it was only just enough, Eli taking out the last one with a foot on her chest and a light tug on her head.
Just when they thought it was over, one of the shape-shifter wolves clamped his teeth around Eli's neck, wrenching her away from her mates.
In a movement too fast for anyone to react to, her head was torn clean for her shoulders and thrown directly into one of the small fires, engulfed in the orange flames into ash...
I'd never seen Aro pull away from someone's hand so quickly before, or have such a look of horror and fear in his eyes. The first thing he did was turn around to gaze directly at me in panicked relief. Using the bond, I pushed forward as many calming emotions as possible, but even that seemed to make minimal difference. Whatever he'd been shown, I was so glad I couldn't see it for myself.
Aro's eyes darted between everyone across the battlefield including the Cullens, Carlisle, Bella, and Edward in particular, and each of their allies. His gaze seemed to linger on the wolves for a moment, his face taking on an expression I'd never seen before.
"Now you know," Alice pulled Aro out of his seemingly dark thoughts, "that's your future. Unless you decide on another course."
⊱ ────── {.⋅ ✯ ⋅.} ────── ⊰
Author's note: Omg this chapter was so emotional. I'd be lying if I said I didn't cry when writing in Afton's death. I just hope I delivered on the whole traumatic battle scene, and Eli's surprise death at the end of it.
Again, you can see this whole battle scene has some similarities to how it was in the movie, except instead of doing that rat smile after decapitating Carlisle, Aro glances at his head mortified at himself because he's supposed to be all sentimental and obsessed with Carlisle so I thought it would be unrealistic of him to purposefully murder him.
I spent a lot of time planning this chapter, and I know it's kinda short, but I just hope I delivered and your traumatised enough heheh.
Anyway, thank you so much for reading, be sure to leave some feedback because I love to hear your thoughts, stay safe, and ily lots!