Hi all!
I hope you all had a nice Xmas and New Year. Welcome to 2017!
Thanks to JaneyGWF for her continuing beta services!
I hope you enjoy the chapter, please as always let me know what you think!
When they crashed through the wall into a long hallway, Maura immediately tried to work out where to go, but her senses let her down. Her sense of smell was rendered completely useless by the overpowering stench of burning substances and smoke that pervaded the air. The house was creaking alarmingly above them, hiding any sounds, and her telepathy didn't include direction. She could mentally hear people crying out in fear, but she didn't know where they were.
As she started to dash forward in a random direction, she felt Jane pull her to a sudden stop, her eyes closed in furious concentration. "Wait, I think I see them. There's some kind of basement below us, and I can see movement down there. I think there's a human, four vampires and I'm guessing the rest are hybrids."
Jane opened her eyes and grabbed Maura's hand, pulling her towards a doorway that led downstairs. They moved at top speed, knowing they would be hard pressed to get everyone out before the building collapsed, and also remembering the two Volturi guards outside watching for just such an eventuality. They had smashed through a wall out of the Volturi's line of sight, but that didn't mean they had gotten in undetected.
As they reached the doorway, they quickly understood why none of the vampires had managed to escape. The door and its frame were made of reinforced high grade steel. Maura's borrowed engineering knowledge quickly assessed the structure, and she determined that the room would be able to withstand the force of a newborn vampire's attack. It was sealed and secured, and neither Jane nor Maura had the time or skill to try and pick the locks. Maura turned away from the door, her eyes pleading with Jane to find another path into the room.
Jane nodded and led the way through the house, her eyes closed again as she looked for more options. She suddenly stopped in the centre of a large parlour, her focus on the floor beneath her feet. She quickly bent down, drawing back her arm and delivering a powerful punch to the wood panelling. It splintered easily beneath her massive strength, and Jane started clearing debris, trying to access the next layer of flooring.
Maura heard the house above them starting to disintegrate, the sounds of fire and destruction drawing closer every second, and moved next to Jane to help. They yanked pieces of wood, metal and plastic out of the floor with wild abandon, until they reached another level of reinforced armour. However, these sheets of metal were designed to be impenetrable from the basement, not from this side, and the pair managed to loosen the attachments, prising the metal away from the support beams.
Maura felt like her brain was about to overheat. There were too many thoughts, too many feelings, and she wasn't sure which ones were hers. She could hear Jane's calm mental voice, focussed on her task and on the people they were trying to save. But she could also hear young voices, panicked and afraid. She could hear older voices, resigned and regretful. She could hear her mother's voice, trying desperately to provide comfort to others even as she gave up hope.
Maura knew this wasn't the time to master her mental talents, so she instead tried to supress them and focus on her physical actions. However, since she had accepted that her powers wouldn't kill her and opened her mind to their existence, she had been gradually picking up more and more from others, and the flood of foreign sensations proved harder to stop than they had been to start.
First it had been Jasper's empathy, letting her feel Jane's sharp anger and Betty's overwhelming fear. When they had crossed highways in their frantic dash towards the Cullen property, she had picked up the general unease from the humans, which she now understood to be an aftereffect of the subconscious network's disappearance. The outside feelings had started to work on her own equilibrium, making it hard to stay calm as Betty continued explaining their disturbing circumstances.
Then she had accessed Edward's telepathy as well, and started hearing Betty's thoughts. She saw the devastation of the vampire wars she described, she saw the cold violence of the Volturi, and she saw the truth of where the future was heading on its current course. Betty had been very careful to avoid any thoughts of the potential future involving Jane and Maura, focussing almost entirely on the bigger issues, but she could feel how much Betty needed them to believe her words and take whatever actions she hoped for.
Maura knew the guilt she was feeling was all her own, however. She still felt guilty for her part in the current state of events, even though in hindsight there was nothing she could have done differently. She didn't have enough information to navigate vampirism without causing harm to those around her, and she had been manipulated into staying near the people she loved. It was all unavoidable, but she still felt incredibly guilty, especially when she looked at Jane. Her beautiful, forgiving friend, who was now a motherless vampire determined to stick by her side no matter what it cost her.
Jane had stuck close by her side physically throughout the current situation, steering her through a solid wall and into a burning house in an attempt to help, despite Maura's attempted attack only minutes earlier. She was acting fearlessly and selflessly as always, throwing herself at danger on the hope that she could save someone else pain. Maura tried to draw on Jane's steady calm, ever the level-headed first responder, as there were too many other emotions fighting for her attention and she needed something to anchor her, to focus her mind enough to get through the current crisis. There would hopefully be time to fall apart later.
She definitely felt the need to fall apart. She had no idea why she had attacked Jane. She had no idea what she was feeling or thinking. She felt like she had no solid sense of self. She felt like her mind and personality would fall apart at the smallest test, leaving a stranger she didn't know in her body. Worse, she had no idea what to do, she just felt lost. She desperately needed to be alone, and take the time to think it all through, but there simply hadn't been time to stop. She knew she had to keep going, so she tried to push all her confusion aside and focus on her actions, relying on Jane to steer her in the right direction. Whatever else happened, she still trusted Jane implicitly.
When they had cleared a big enough space to drop through, they glanced at each other for a moment before Jane stepped out of the way, allowing Maura to drop down into the basement. She heard Jane continue to pull away metal, increasing the size of the hole, but Maura's attention was immediately drawn to the sight of her mother, surrounded by young children, doing her best to comfort them as the room shook and filled with the noise of the house collapsing around them.
Maura couldn't help her relieved cry as she lunged forward towards the group. "Mother!"
Constance looked up in disbelief, before her expression turned to joy and gratitude. She got up as quickly as she could without hurting the children and practically fell into Maura's arms, her arms grasping desperately at the form of her daughter. "Darling! Are you alright? Frankie called, he told us what happened! I was so worried, I didn't think I'd ever see you again!"
Maura wasn't sure how to respond, since she really didn't feel alright, but she suddenly felt safer in her mother's arms. "I'm okay, mom."
Constance's arms tightened, obviously hearing the grief and pain in Maura's voice. "Is Jane here too? Is she alright?"
Maura hugged her mother for another few precious moments before pulling away and nodding. "She is upstairs, clearing more space to get out. We'll need to jump out through the ceiling."
Quickly glancing around, Maura realised she would have to carry everyone out herself. The four vampires Jane had seen had obviously been incapacitated by the Volturi before being sealed in. Maura recognised Emmett, Rosalie and Esme, and assumed the fourth was the police officer that had been bitten during the raid that had started this mess. Their limbs and heads were all bound in some kind of binding mechanism, clearly designed for restraining vampires. It involved lots of metal plates and high strength chains, and the whole thing was secured by a heavy duty lock. They were alive and intact, but seemed to be completely immobile, even unable to talk past the steel gag.
Before Maura could move away, Constance put a hand on her cheek, her eyes inspecting Maura's expression carefully. "Darling, what's happened?"
Maura felt a huge simmering ball of emotion throb in her chest, wanting nothing more than to tell her mother everything and have her fix it somehow. Instead, she resolutely pushed her feelings away with a tight smile. "It can wait. We need to get out, now."
Maura flitted over to Esme, quickly examining the locking mechanism. She quickly decided to try and release them after they got out of the building and away from the Volturi, as the device looked like it would be hard to release. She could hear the fire in the walls around the room, as well as in the room above, and knew they had barely minutes before this room would be engulfed. Smoke was already leeching into the room from somewhere, the acrid stench making the children start to cough.
Moving back to her mother, she picked her up in a careful hold before jumping through the hole in the roof that Jane had widened. It was now adequately wide to fit a vampire carrying two passengers. As Maura flew through the hole, she saw Jane jump down behind her.
Maura put Constance down, glancing around the room and quickly realising they couldn't get back to the hole they had made coming in. "Wait here. We'll get everyone up, then get out together."
The next few minutes were a flurry of activity as she and Jane jumped up and down repeatedly, grabbing people and carefully pulling them out of the prison that was intended as their tomb. Constance kept all the young hybrids together, her calm voice reassuring them despite the swirling smoke and crackling flames. There were eighteen hybrids, with apparent ages between ten and fourteen. The oldest were helping Constance with the young ones, but they all looked terrified. Everyone who needed to breathe had started coughing due to the dense smoke, and the heat was climbing rapidly.
Finally Jane and Maura managed to manoeuvre the four vampires out of the hole, still locked in their restraints. Jane immediately closed her eyes again, trying to find the safest way out of the parlour. Maura moved to organise the hybrids, getting some of the bigger ones to work together lifting the captive vampires. They were all more than willing to help, especially when Constance guided them. Maura marvelled at the way her mother had apparently become a source of comfort to these lost children, especially considering her continued insistence that she was a poor example of a mother. Maura smiled sadly at the proof that Constance was perfectly capable of being maternal and nurturing when the occasion called for it. However, instead of dwelling on the situation she pushed aside any maudlin thoughts and focussed on Jane.
Jane opened her eyes, her furrowed brow an indication of the difficulty ahead. "Okay, I think our best option is the front wall. The others are cut off by the fire. I'll go first, followed by Maura. We'll try to keep the Volturi occupied while the rest of you run. Get to the forest, and then keep going. Run at least a few miles into the trees, then stop when you find somewhere a bit defensible. We'll follow you as soon as we can. Everyone understand?"
The hybrids all nodded, all gathering around the vampires they were carrying, or in the case of the youngest, hanging on to the hem of Constance's shirt. Maura spared a quick glance for her mother, full of yearning and grief, before she turned to Jane and nodded. Jane gave her a quick smile, full of bravado, before she turned and sped towards the front wall.
Maura was right on her heels as they crashed through the wall, immediately finding themselves face to face with the two Volturi guards, one male and one female. Both of them wore bloodthirsty expressions as they lowered their hoods, clearly excited about the prospect of a fight.
Before Jane and Maura could move, both Volturi suddenly vanished. Maura whipped her head around, frantically trying to locate them, and felt a fist solidly connect with her chest. She found herself flying back toward the house, a burning wall in her path. There was barely time to twist in the air and take the impact on her shoulder before she hit, ashes and burning debris falling over her.
She immediately shot to her feet and leapt back through the opening, realising her clothes were on fire. She rolled on the ground, managing to put out the flames, before feeling another hammer blow to her face. She flipped through the air again, this time towards the forest. She hit a tree and crumpled to the ground, feeling cracks emanate across her face and down her neck. She couldn't take many more hits like that.
As she looked around again, trying to find her assailant, she could hear the metallic squealing associated with a vampire taking extreme damage. A moment later, she heard Jane scream, and immediately ran towards her friend. As Jane came into sight, her face pressed into the ground, a hand grasping at her throat as something invisible held her arm behind her back, Maura felt an iron grip around her own throat and another hold down her arms.
Suddenly, Maura realised her mistake. One of the Volturi must be using some sort of mental power to conceal their presence, both visual and mental since Maura couldn't hear their thoughts. She reached in her mind for the one Cullen defensive power she hadn't already activated, Bella's shield.
The effect was immediate. She could instantly see the Volturi holding Jane down and choking her, as well as the arm around her own body. She tried to use her offensive power on the female holding Jane down, but her emotions were too scattered to give the assault much intensity. Instead of falling away from Jane in pain, the Volturi woman simply turned to glare at Maura, before returning her attention to Jane, cackling in psychotic glee as she twisted her arm further. Jane yelled again, her free arm flailing aimlessly since she still couldn't see her attacker.
Maura felt the hand around her throat tighten, and her skin started to squeal in protest. She desperately struggled against the Volturi uselessly, unable to gain any leverage in her current position.
She heard the voice of her assailant in her ear as he yelled to his companion. "Stop playing and burn her already! Aro said they're dangerous, finish her off!"
The female Volturi smiled cruelly at Jane before lifting her head to look at the burning house. A nearby wall was engulfed in flames. The fire suddenly twitched and pulled away from the building, building into a floating ball. The Volturi concentrated hard, still smiling as she brought the flaming sphere close to Jane's face. Jane still couldn't see the woman holding her down, but she could see the fire inching towards her. Maura watched helplessly as Jane's eyes closed, unable to do anything but watch and scream.
Suddenly Jane's attacker screamed and dropped Jane, her arms batting at her chest as if she was on fire. The ball of fire sputtered out of existence as the woman lost concentration and panicked. Jane crumpled to the ground, but continued to concentrate furiously. After a few moments, the woman started to smoke as energy crackled in her chest. Jane opened her eyes and launched into motion, hitting the woman with all her strength and propelling her into the air.
The woman exploded in mid-air, throwing them all towards the burning house. The vampire holding Maura was knocked loose and through the wall, leaving Maura gasping and stunned on the ground. Jane grimly shook off the impact and rushed to Maura's side, helping her up and checking over the cracks on her throat with concern. Maura was relieved to see all of Jane's limbs apparently intact and functional, but their attention was quickly drawn back to the last Volturi as he sped from the house, his cloak on fire. He glared at them furiously, but instead of attacking again he sprinted for the trees.
Maura managed to glean a jumble of thoughts and images before he ran out of range. Before she had a chance to try and decipher them, Jane yanked her towards the house, already moving towards the hole they had made when they exited.
Only then did Maura realise her mother and the hybrids hadn't made it out while they were fighting the Volturi. The hole Maura and Jane had made was now cut off by burning debris. Maura could hear the panic in her mother's mental voice, even as she continued to reassure her charges.
Jane didn't hesitate, crashing through yet another wall. The influx of oxygen caused a blowback, but Jane was fast enough to avoid it. She quickly emerged from the hole, her clothes smouldering but with her arms full of passengers, including Constance. Maura immediately followed her path, grabbing as many people as she could before running back outside.
Between the two of them, they managed to get everyone out of the burning building. The group moved a safe distance from the property, a few hundred metres into the forest, before collapsing to the ground. All the hybrids were coughing from the smoke, and more than a few were huddled around Constance, tears tracking clear paths through the soot on their faces. Constance was doing her best to comfort the little ones while coughing frantically herself.
Maura looked for Jane, finding her holding a young hybrid and whispering soothing words. She was a mess, with thin cracks still visible under the soot and grime covering her entire body. Maura felt a fresh wave of guilt for getting her friend hurt again, as well as being unable to help all these people. She had been useless in that fight, needing Jane to save her despite all the amazing powers she had at her disposal. When it counted, she was too unsure of herself to help.
Feeling suddenly overwhelmed, Maura turned from the group with a pained gasp and ran. She heard Jane's surprised yell as she sped away, but she didn't pause to look back. She increased her speed, desperately needing to be alone.