Twilight Fan fiction
Transitionals
Disclaimer: I do not, nor will I ever own Twilight. I have used some sentences directly from the book, I don't own them. There are just some descriptions and dialogue that I can't bear to change and or leave out. They were originally and forever owned by Stephenie Meyer.
I can't believe we are finally here. This is the second to last real chapter of Transitionals. After this chapter and the next one, the story will be officially done, and then I will be doing a few outtakes. The time is drawing near, so if you have scenes that you would like from a different POV let me know. It can be from any of the original characters' POV's even Bella's if there is a scene that you'd like that is mentioned but not something that was read. (Like the grocery store scene mentioned in the Cullen's POV. Or maybe the drive up from Phoenix with Carlos.)
As for the Original characters that I am willing to do POV's from, it's simple. If we have met them I will do their POV. So that would be Carlos, Grandpa Ray, Thomas… Ect.
So the POV's I won't do would be any of the Leaders from the Undermining. The leaders of the Rebellion.
With that being said, I have a few questions to answer and some things to clear up before we start this chapter. I can't answer all of them at this point but do not fear. Every answer for the questions are either in the story already or going to be, because of this any questions I don't answer, I'll tell you what chapter you can find the information.
First Question: What happened to Charlie's mom? I can't completely answer this question because it is going to be answered in one of the first few chapters of Transitionals: Breaking Dawn. What I can say, is that she did die. There will be some information in this chapter too.
Second, clearing up some information: Charlie's brother was the oldest so he is the one who continues the legacy line. Charlie's family though all the men were hunters (some daughters too), whether they were a part of the legacy line or not. Charlie's brother was expecting Bella to join the Hunters because at the time he didn't realize his brother wasn't going to join them. That's why he was upset.
Third, clearing up the differences of Humans: Transitionals chapters 10 and 11, Bella talks about Humans. There are the mortal Humans who are from the Human world, and then the Immortal Humans from the Other world. So Charlie, Anna, and Cissy, are all Humans from the Other world. The difference between the two humans are first of all mortal and immortal, but also all Immortal Humans have some form of gift, ability. I hope that helps.
Fourth Question: Hunters are single minded in their path to kill? Hunters are only single minded focused when they Hunt. A Hunt is where they have committed fully to their plans. If they are only partially committed to their plans, it is considered an Attack; so they can choose to stop pursuit. This is why Hunters only commit to their hunts after they have thought through their plans. (Transitionals: Chap 11)
Fifth Question: Where is the Hunter that caused the van crash? The van crash was only an attack, so when it failed the Hunter left to plan his next attack.
Sixth Question: Why aren't all the other Hunters in Washington trying to track down Bella? There are multiple reasons why all the different Hunters in the state aren't going after her. Most of them are waiting for her to be a higher percentage so they could gain more power. Others might be after a rarer Transitional creature. There are far rarer Transitional creatures than Bella is.
I hope this helped answer some of the questions you all have. I always try my best to make sure you all get the answers as best I can without ruining the story for all of you. As always any other questions can be sent to me with a review or a private message.
This chapter is dedicated to my mom and sister who helped motivate me this past week.
Chapter 25
Edward's POV
Grandpa Ray had a plane ready for us, he was going to stay with us at our house at least until Bella woke up. Hopefully that would be soon. I could hardly stand it when she was out for that twenty four hours before. Any longer than that and I was going to go crazy.
During the flight, I remained in the back of the jet, where there was a bed for Bella. Charlie was the only one who joined me. The others set up front in the normal seating; taking care of the girls. More like keeping Anna from coming and giving Bella any more energy. Grandpa Ray had assured us that it wouldn't harm Bella having the extra energy, but none of us wanted to deal with a more normal toddler Anna. Cissy was already behaving more like a normal baby. She was definitely fussier than we were used to.
Usually I didn't mind sitting in silence, that or with music while I remained silent. Sitting beside Charlie though, the both of us watching Bella, I couldn't stand the silence between us. I needed something to distract me.
I hadn't really meant to, but I tried slipping into Charlie's mind.
He sensed me quickly. "What would you like to know?"
I looked over at him, glad to see that he didn't seem to mind the intrusion. I asked the first thing I thought of. "Would you tell me more about your family?"
Charlie's eyes flicked to mine before dropping back to Bella. He leaned forward, resting his elbows on his knees and clasping his hands. "My Father was the oldest of four children, and as the first son born in the legacy line, it was his job to continue it. Since my family had been Hunters for a long time, are legacy line was already in distress."
"Distressed, I thought you said it was destroyed?" I had unintentionally mimicked Charlie's position.
Charlie nodded solemnly. "Last night when I said that my family's legacy line had been destroyed I didn't mean that it was gone. My family's legacy line is hanging by a thread though. What I had meant was that every man in the legacy line was a Hunter and that in a sense had destroyed the line. The men in the legacy line are supposed to contain the magic from the other world."
I nodded, remembering when he had told us that.
"Hunters though can't have that magic, only the magic that the Hunters had created more or less for themselves. Because Hunters don't have the right magic, their Legacy line isn't as strong as it should be."
"So why is it so important for the legacy line to be strong?" A better question came to me. "Why is it so important to have a legacy line?" This only made me start thinking about the Higginbotham legacy line and how it was supposedly affecting Anna.
Charlie seemed to be thinking about the same thing. He closed his eyes and sighed deeply. "The legacy line, is the tether that holds our kind to the other world. There a few different things that can cause the tether to weaken, and if it becomes too weak its hold snaps. Anyone connected with that families legacy line is ripped from the Other world. Their power and their immortality is taken from them, and whatever age they were currently seen as, is what they end up with in the Human world."
I turned from Charlie to look towards the front of the Plane. "So for whatever reason if Anna can't support the legacy line…" There was no way I could handle finishing that question. It was unthinkable that the little girls could possibly end up mortal.
I heard Charlie sigh behind me. "Toby and Tessa didn't have a son, so the Higginbotham line has ended. The line is still strong and it can survive, but it can't be continued, not even if Anna were to have a son someday. Taking care of the line though is going to be hard for her. Legacy lines are meant to continue, after so many years of it not continuing it will be harder for Anna to support it."
The idea of Anna being old enough to have kids was not one I wanted to think about for a while. So I picked up on my next line of questioning. "So was it Toby's job to support the legacy line?"
"The people who are placed as the head of the family support the line."
That surprised me, bringing more memories to the forefront of my mind. "Toby was the head of his family, even though his father was still alive?"
"And his grandfather," Charlie added. "Not many families actually wait until the older generations die to pass on the responsibility given the fact most can't die of old age."
That made sense. "What about Hunters? Did your family wait?"
Charlie leaned back in his seat. "My family did wait. After my dad died, my brother took over the support of our line. It was when he took over that we realized how damaged our line was. Our tether was so destroyed that any more strain would have destroyed it."
He shook his head. "It was one thing to only be able to live to be a hundred but still have powers. My brother is so determined to keep our line in tact that he refuses to ever have children."
I couldn't help the snort. "I'm pretty sure that's a good thing?"
Charlie chuckled too. "Yes, that is definitely a good thing. My brother shouldn't be a dad."
"So what happens after your brother dies, how will that affect you?"
I turned just in time to see the grimace on his face before it vanished. "It will be different for me. As a son of the legacy line, I could continue it, unlike Anna can with hers."
My eyes narrowed slightly with confusion. I really didn't picture Charlie having any more children, especially since they wouldn't be with his mate."
Charlie reached out and rested his hand on my shoulder. "I could continue the line, but there is only one woman I would want children with, and that's Bella's mom, My Renee."
We sat in silence for a moment before I spoke up again. "Sorry, I didn't mean for us to get off topic."
Charlie smiled and shook his head. "That's fine, we'll talk about whatever you want to."
I nodded my thanks. "So you were saying that your legacy line was already in distress."
Charlie picked up his tale easily. "Since my family had been Hunters for a long time, are legacy line was already in distress. My dad saw no reason why he shouldn't continuing the line, it was already damaged. Learning that the Legacy lines could actually snap, and make the families on it mortal humans is a fairly new thing we've learned.
"So when he found my mom, he swept her off her feet. They had only been married a few years when my brother was born. My father started training my brother as soon as he was old enough to listen and comprehend everything he was being told. My mom didn't have a chance to get to my brother's heart before our father corrupted it. He has always been a part of the Hunters, even before he devoted his whole life to them."
"That must have broken your mother's heart," I couldn't help saying, the words just came out.
Charlie nodded. "My mom loved her husband, she didn't agree with what he was doing, but she loved him with all her heart. Six months after he died, she died from a broken heart. I knew my mother was going to give up her immortality and follow after her husband, but I hadn't realized it would be so soon, at the time. I had been upset before, thinking she had abandoned me, making me deal with my brother on my own, but once we found out about Bella, I couldn't help but be glad that my mom never found out."
He shook his head. "After everything she had done to get the two of them to change their ways, finding out that her own granddaughter was a transitional, would have been too much for her. The burden of hiding that from her first born, no matter all the vile evil things he had done…" He didn't have to finish the thought I got it anyway.
Silence again. More silence that was threatening to drown me. I needed another question, but I couldn't bring myself to ask any more about his family. I had already figured out that Charlie refused to even utter his brother's name. The reason why didn't matter, and to ask would be more than rude in my opinion.
Charlie decided to end the silence thankfully. "So, in all of this craziness, have you even been able to tell Bella your life story."
I smiled to myself, remembering that night. "Yeah, I made time to tell her. She's also heard Emmett's and Esme's stories." I turned back to the front of the plane. "Carlisle is looking forward to telling her his. I don't know how comfortable Rose or Jasper feel about telling Bella their stories, and Alice didn't have any memories of being human."
We both fell silent then, I didn't have to read his thoughts to know he was thinking about Alice. We really needed to discuss this with her. Especially if it was true, and she had been a transitional.
Jasper's POV
Trying to keep Anna up in the front of the plane was not an easy task. She wanted to go to the back of the plane and curl up with Bella.
I felt every emotion she was feeling and most of them were negative. She was hurting emotionally. Upset with herself for freezing up when we needed help getting out of the house. None of us were upset with her, though, and we knew Bella most certainly wouldn't be upset with her.
Emmett snatched Anna as she tried once again to sneak back there. "Anna, you need to stay up here with us."
"But Grandpa Ray said it was okay." She pouted.
Grandpa Ray didn't even glance up from his notebook. "I told you that it wouldn't harm Bella for you to pass her some of your energy. I never gave you permission to go back and do so though. Your Aunt Rosalie has made it clear that she wants you to save your energy, so you should listen to her."
Anna's pout deepened and I sensed a tantrum coming on. I reached for her. "Come here, let's do something important."
Anna looked at me doubtfully. "How important?"
With a serious look a leaned closer to her. "So important your Auntie Bella will be happy we remembered to do it before she could remind us to."
That seemed to work. She climbed onto my lap and waited for me to explain.
"We're going to make sure that everyone here knows the feeling for the impostor. "Can you show everyone?"
Anna nodded and pressed her hand against my cheek. I laughed but let her show me the feeling. She then got down and went from one person to the next, even showing Rose and Grandpa Ray a second time.
Before Anna could get down from Grandpa Ray's lap, he grabbed something from his bag. It appeared to be a box.
Anna glanced at it eagerly. "More learning?"
Grandpa Ray smiled, he tapped her nose then pressed one of the two buttons. "Let's see what you remember first."
Anna grinned and set her hand on top of the device. "Okay."
"Go ahead and tell me what you feel."
I watched Anna closely, letting my powers catch all the different sensations that she was feeling.
Anna immediately started naming them off.
"Danger, Family, friends, Grandpa Ray," she giggled at that before continuing. "The cleanup crew. Disaster, Uncertainty, the void."
A sudden flash of heat filled me, not even a second later it was doused with the coldest ice water I had ever felt. It didn't end there though, after the ice had vanished I felt the same sensations as danger but far stronger than anything I had ever gotten from Anna before.
"What was that?" I said before Anna could answer.
Anna and Grandpa Ray turned to me. "The mate bond," they answered together.
I shook my head. That insane feeling was for the mate bond. Why wouldn't it feel like the jolt of electricity that we felt when we touched our mates? I thought it was the same for Bella and Edward.
Grandpa Ray patted Anna's head. "This is what people like Anna feel when they sense the connection working between mates."
My eyes dropped from his to Anna's. "That's what you feel whenever we connect with our mates? Whenever I hold Alice?"
Anna shook her head quickly. "It's only the first real connection."
The more I learned about Anna's powers the harder it was for me to see her as a little kid. I reminded myself that she was only three years old, and yet her ability and her understanding was that of a young adult. To be honest it was slightly terrifying.
Anna went back to working on the sensations and I silently followed along with her. Grandpa Ray had successfully kept her busy for the rest of the flight.
…and Alice didn't have any memories of being human." I caught the last part of Edward's words.
We had all been trying to give Edward and Charlie as much privacy as we could on a plane. We had all heard their conversation despite trying to keep distracted with Anna and Cissy.
Alice curled against my side, so I wrapped my arms around her. Learning about her past from James had been hard on both of us.
I closed my mind and focused carefully so I didn't end up sending my furious emotions out to my family. James was gone, I got satisfaction knowing I had helped Edward destroy him. He was never going to hurt my Alice, or my little sister. Alice and Bella were fine.
Esme's POV
As we walked into the house I couldn't help glancing around in relief. Even though we hadn't been gone long only a few days, it felt like forever. I wanted nothing more than to put everything behind us. I wanted a moment just for all of us to be a family. A moment of peace.
I turned back to glance at my children, and sighed. Our lives were very, very different now.
Rose and Emmett were carrying in their nieces, the two little girls were exhausted.
Cissy was still recovering after using her powers for as long as she had. Anna, she was thoroughly worn out by Grandpa Ray; working on her powers during the flight. Rose and Emmett tried to take the two tired girls upstairs to their room. Grandpa Ray stopped them though.
"I would like to keep an eye on Cissy and Bella." He glanced into the living room.
Rose nodded and led the way.
I stepped back so I was out of their way. My gaze went back to my other children.
Edward had Bella firmly in his arms, keeping her close. Thankfully Charlie didn't seem to mind letting Edward take care of her, even though he was worried about her too. We all were.
Grandpa Ray was certain that Bella just needed time though, so that helped ease some of my worry. Not all, but some.
My biggest concern though was Alice. I wanted nothing more than to wrap her in my arms and take away everything she had heard from that vile man. She never should have found out about her past like she had.
Carlisle wrapped me in his arms and I let him lead me into the living room. We were just about to sit down when we heard a phone ring.
Charlie took his phone from his coat and glanced at it for a second before answering. "What is it, Gi?"
Gi? Maybe she had finally fixed Bella's ring. That would be wonderful.
"Charlie, we have a problem." Gi's voice wasn't distorted like it had been during the last phone call.
Grandpa Ray turned to Charlie curiously. He glanced at his wristwatch and his eyes narrowed.
Gi didn't what for Charlie to ask what the problem was. "The coding was fixed, whoever sent it found a way to get it to work."
"What?" Charlie snapped sharply.
"Whoever was attempting to suppress the powers through the rings, they figured it out. The code is fixed and it's slowly corrupting every ring. So far there hasn't been any powers that it can't suppress."
What else could go wrong? Poor Charlie, and Bella; and all those other families dealing with this. The Rebellion was being hit hard.
Charlie's grip around the phone tightened and he grimaced. "How long before Bella's ring becomes useless?"
Gi's voice tightened and we all heard the sorrow in it. "I'm doing what I can Charlie. I even got Maxwell and Dune to switch their shifts so that someone was always able to keep an eye on Bella's ring. I've pulled all the strings I can, I've called in every favor I could. All we can do now is slow it down."
"How long?" Grandpa Ray caught Charlie's arm and put the phone on speaker so Gi could hear him.
Gi fell silent and I couldn't help worrying that she wasn't going to answer him. She finally said, "Grandpa Ray?"
Grandpa Ray crossed his arms in front of him, his head bowed towards the phone. "Gi, how long before Bella's ring stops functioning properly?"
She answered him shakily. "Given the current speed of corruption of the other rings-and the fact they seem to be going through the families alphabetically-as long as it doesn't speed up I'd give Bella to the end of the year. If we figure out ways to slow it down more, maybe longer."
"Why wasn't I told about this?" Grandpa Ray growled.
"We're trying to keep this information from the rest of the Rebellion, trying to keep everyone else from panicking. And people tend to panic when you're called into help certain branches of the work force." Gi sighed. "It wasn't my idea but I have rules to follow."
"Like the rule you aren't supposed to be on the phone while you're at work," Grandpa Ray shot back.
"I was just calling to update Charlie on the situation." Gi hung up after that.
Charlie pocketed his phone and sighed. "What else could go wrong?"
"You know as a cop you should know not to say that," Emmett teased.
Charlie offered a small smile before taking a seat. He eyes went to his daughter.
Edward had settled Bella onto the couch like all the times before. She probably wasn't going to like waking up there; not again.
Silence fell amongst us and I leaned against Carlisle. He grasped my hand in his and squeezed gently.
"Grandpa Ray?"
We all glanced over at Emmett. He was still holding Anna, while Rose held Cissy.
Grandpa Ray silently motioned for Emmett to continue.
He did. "Bella said that the Undermining doesn't recruit mythical creatures. Well they don't recruit the people they are trying to destroy. So why would they employ a vampire now?"
Grandpa Ray ran a hand over his mustache thoughtfully. "For a while now we knew that the Undermining had reasons to employ vampires, but that they'd eventually turn on them and dispose of them. Once they've perfected their ability to take powers and gifts."
He sighed. "In this case, they knew they couldn't find Bella in Washington. They needed someone who could find her, and who couldn't be claimed as a member officially; otherwise the spell keeping Bella safe here would have blocked even James' gift. I have no doubt that if you hadn't killed James that they would have eventually."
"So there's other vampires that the Undermining are or will try to join them?" Edward didn't even meet Grandpa Ray's gaze. His focus was only on Bella.
"There's a list somewhere, we believe, that has the names of every person that the Undermining wants. Whether it's their powers they want, or them personally."
I shook my head feeling mentally exhausted. "How do you all even know so much? Where do you get all your information?"
Grandpa Ray spared a glance at Charlie before deciding it was alright for him to answer. I highly doubted Charlie was up for more explanations about the Other world. "The other world used to be filled with prosperity. For the most part we were as peaceful as a group our size could be. No world ever knows true peace, though. Despite this the Other world was as close as a world could become to a Utopian civilization. We've fallen very far from that.
"Both sides of this war have their spies and most of our information comes from people willingly enveloping their lives within the other side. They learn what they can, get as deep as they can, to give us as much information as they can. We have spies amongst the Undermining, within the Hunters, and even throughout the people who have washed their hands of the entire world."
He didn't give any more of an explanation, and we all fell silent again.
It didn't take long for the silence to become too much for me. I gave Carlisle a brief kiss before going to make dinner. Someone was going to have to make sure the humans in this family ate, and I highly doubted Charlie would remember. By the time I had something fixed, Anna would sure to be up, and hungry.
Carlisle's POV
Grandpa Ray was diligent with his care for Cissy. Her powers had been strained which was only adding to Cissy's struggles. She needed to rest and most importantly not use her gift. It was hard for her though since as it had been explained to us, her gift itself was instinctual, and she was naturally connecting with who we were assuming was Rose. Being so young made it hard to control her powers which was affecting her recovery.
"Should I leave?" Rose asked again.
Grandpa Ray didn't bother replying. He was sure that even if Rose left Cissy would connect to someone else, and given the options she'd more than likely would connect to Bella. Given the choice between the two, it was better for Cissy to be fast, than shielding. It was less work, and less of a strain for her.
While Rose and Grandpa Ray worked with Cissy, the rest of us were caring for Anna.
I had seen my fair share of tantrums from young children at the many hospitals I've worked at. Especially if they had to get shots.
Anna's though were still considered new for us. Distractions were hard to come up with, and they usually didn't last long.
She had especially been difficult after dinner the night before. Waking up back at our house had surprised her, since she hadn't remembered falling asleep during the car ride home.
Thankfully she had been hungry so she went straight to the dining room with Charlie. We didn't have to start distracting her until after the meal.
Alice had barely caught Anna's intentions before Anna had sprinted towards the couch. Edward caught her, settling her on his lap so she couldn't pass any energy to Bella.
Unlike last night though, Anna wasn't at all content just sitting beside Bella. She also wasn't happy that Charlie was making her eat in the dining room with him. One of our slim attempts to keep Anna's energy to herself.
Right now Anna was working with Jasper. The only distraction that really worked. The two of them were slowly going through everything Anna had sensed the night of the attack, trying to find the traitor. It was slow going since they had to stop so Anna could show Jasper all the sensations that went with a member of her family, or a friend who had been there too.
There were also a few new sensations that Jasper hadn't felt before. Anna would take the time to explain it as best as she could to him.
Her sense of duty was the only thing that kept her working on it with him. We all knew she would rather be attempting to wake Bella up.
Since she was focusing on her powers instead of them just working subconsciously and continuously, Anna was actually having to take naps again.
It was only when Anna was asleep that we were able to settle down and discuss what to do, or get some of our questions answered. I felt a little bad about it, but I was thankful that Jasper was actually using his gift to help tire out the girls.
Anna got up from sitting in front of Jasper and actually made her way to the stairs. Rose left Cissy with Grandpa Ray and followed after her.
"Do you want to sleep upstairs Anna?" She asked after picking Anna up.
Anna shook her head before laying it on Rose's shoulder. They were back downstairs after Rose had helped her into her pajamas.
Rose hummed the lullaby we had heard Bella sing to her, all those nights ago.
Anna was out almost instantly.
Jasper glanced at me, a grimace on his face. "Anna's already catching on, I don't know how much longer I'll be able to get her to sleep before she starts getting upset."
"We'll figure something out," I promised.
Grandpa Ray passed Cissy to Esme and went back to his seat beside Charlie so he could be closer to Bella should anything happen with her transition. As it was he was constantly checking her information box.
"How is her percentage?" I spared Edward a glance, knowing he was worried about it. There was no way Bella had managed to stay under fifty percent. The stress of the situation and her temper, were only two factors that could have easily raised it. Given the fight and the effects of shielding all of us through the house. There really wasn't any way she was still below fifty, and we were going to have to deal with that.
"Sixty-five point eight, as of right now, it is rising though; not very fast but it hasn't stopped as of yet." Grandpa Ray sighed deeply before glancing towards Alice. "I know you've been wanting to ask me something?"
"Your powers actually sensed that? Cool," Emmett explained.
Grandpa Ray shook his head. "My powers don't work that way, I don't know everything, and my powers most certainly don't work on people. It only works with nonliving substances and materials. The only exception is plant life."
He didn't wait for any reply from Emmett, returning his attention to Alice. "Something has been upsetting you, and you'd like to discuss it?"
We all waited for Alice's reply.
Her eyes narrowed slightly startling me. "Ever since we told you what happened at the house, I've been getting startling visions. You and Charlie, and even Edward seem to want to discuss how I am a Transitional, was a Transitional," she corrected.
"What?" Jasper gasped.
We all turned to the three.
Edward glanced at Charlie who stopped Grandpa Ray from answering. He turned to answer instead.
"It was made clear that you were a Transitional, Alice. When… ah, your past was explained, it left no doubt in my mind." Charlie was being careful with what he said and we all could tell. I was thankful that he was trying so hard not to upset Alice anymore, not wanting to mention James.
Alice gave him a reassuring smile, silently asking him to explain.
"How you smelled, your scent was the only evidence we needed. Vampires have a sweet smelling scent to pretty much all of the other species on this planet. So Transitionals smell the best out of all the transitional creatures."
Alice nodded thoughtfully. "So, since I smelled better than Bella, I had to have been a Transitional."
"That's right," Charlie answered.
"But that doesn't make sense," Alice gripped her head and leaned against Jasper.
I hated seeing her like this.
Alice's POV
How could I have been a Transitional? They're the most common Transitional creature. I would have had Hunters and the Undermining after me, and yet according to what James said, it seemed like I was abandoned. I was a Psychic still a rare enough gift from everything I was being told. Why wasn't I hunted? Well, hunted by something besides a vampire. Surely I would have if it was true.
It obviously was true though, Charlie wouldn't lie and it made sense given with what he said.
My mind was whirling with all of this confusion, not even a second had gone by after my declaration of uncertainty.
"Why doesn't it make sense, Alice?" Grandpa Ray asked.
I shook my head unable to explain my thought process. I kept going round in circles with it in my mind. Unable to make up my mind if it really made sense or not.
After who knows how long-I couldn't bother with the time at the moment-I pleaded with Edward in my thoughts for help.
He sighed but focused on the mess in my head. He flinched as I continued to spin the circle continuously.
"Alice?" Esme tried to comfort me by taking my free hand, the one Jasper wasn't holding.
Edward groaned slightly before sighing. "She doesn't understand why it seems James was the only person hunting her. I agree that it doesn't make sense that no one else was going after her. She should have been easy enough to get to, stuck in an asylum."
Jasper growled but I gave him a quick peck to stop him. I wasn't upset with Edward's crassness. He was helping make sense of my mind, which was currently thinking the same things as he was saying, he was practically getting everything from my own mind.
"That's exactly what I'm trying to understand."
Grandpa Ray grasped his chin and stroked his beard thoughtfully. "It's rare but Transitional creatures can go through the transition without anyone going after them."
"Transitional creatures, how many were an actual Transitional, though."
His lack of response was answer enough.
"Transitionals don't go unnoticed, so why was I left alone, because clearly that's what happened. I was purposefully left alone. Hunters wouldn't have so they must have been bought off."
Charlie shook his head. "Hunters are never bought off." He paused then added, "They can be discouraged. Blackmailed in a way, like what I'm doing with my brother. That situation is highly unlikely though. It would be easier to believe that someone was stopping the hunters' attempts, keeping you safe from them."
"But why would someone help me, but leave me in a place like that." For someone to actually protect me from the Hunters but leave me there, knowing what I was, knowing that I wasn't crazy. It was too cruel to believe.
And yet I didn't think of Charlie's suggestion.
"It could be possible that the Undermining left you there. Given the chance if they could harvest Bella's gift from her after the change when it would be stronger, they'd let her finish the transition. That's not going to happen so they try very hard to just get rid of her instead. You on the other hand they might have had reason to believe that they could take your gift without a fight."
Emmett snorted. My thoughts exactly.
"If I had changed naturally I would have seen their intentions and taken off, so that doesn't seem like the plan they would have used."
Grandpa Ray stopped Charlie then. "We don't know why you were left there, Alice. We can only guess, and I'm sorry that I don't have those answers for you. I can try to look into it for you, though."
"Would you even be able to find anything?" The odds didn't seem likely.
Grandpa Ray shrugged. "All I can do is try. I can see if I can track down the place, then see if they still have your file."
"And what if it wasn't a human asylum?" I countered.
"The other world doesn't have asylums," Charlie began. "And if you had been in a facility that he could have mistaken as one, which those are few, he wouldn't have been able to find you. Those places that the Undermining have, that could possible confused as an asylum are only in the Other world's land. It can't be seen unless he was actually brought there. In which case he would have known about the other world then."
"How do we know he didn't?" Rose asked suddenly.
"He's only been hunting in the Other world for a year," Edward answered. "From what I gathered from him, he preferred hunting in their land. If he knew about it back then he would have been there hunting."
That made sense.
"I'm sorry for my interruption," I apologized to Grandpa Ray.
He waved away the apology though. "There's no need to apologize, Alice. I understand, and it's fair to question. What other concerns do you have?"
I shook my head. "To be honest, I'm still trying to comprehend all of this. For some reason I can't wrap this around my head." A thought came to me then. "I think, I really think it would be easier for me to discuss this with Bella. Maybe not all at once, but a few questions at a time?" It sounded more like a question to my ears.
Grandpa Ray nodded and we all fell silent again.
Emmett's POV
I don't recall ever thinking about having kids, back when I was human. I know Rose had. It was one of the many problems she had with what we are. Now, with Anna and Cissy, Rose and I are actually getting a chance of parenthood, however slight it is. Technically Charlie is their Guardian, until Bella turns eighteen.
Anna though, had known that Rose was her aunt since the beginning, something I still found shocking. She knows Rose is her aunt and yet at the moment I can very clearly see why she hadn't mentioned it to any of us. Rose and I were more of authoritative figures now, and she didn't want to have to listen to us.
Truly, Charlie was the only one who had much right to tell Anna what she could and couldn't do. Anna respected Grandpa Ray, and Carlisle and Esme enough to obey them too.
Any time Rose tried to tell her what to do, Anna would grumble defiantly until Charlie asked the same of her. It was really frustrating Rose.
I wrapped my arms around her, and sat us down on the love seat. "Give her time Rose, keep doing what you have been since before you knew."
Rose didn't reply which worried me. The past few days have been stressing all of us out. I didn't know how much more I could take this.
I tried to focus on Grandpa Ray who was working on ways to help train Cissy's powers.
Grandpa Ray was something else. Carlisle was trying his hardest to curb his curiosity, but we all knew that sooner or later he and Grandpa Ray would be talking for an unknown measure of time before Grandpa Ray would have to leave.
I glanced over at Bella and pulled Rose even closer to me. I couldn't even bring myself to look at Edward. He was a wreck, and it was too much to look at.
With nothing to occupy my time I couldn't help overhearing Anna and Esme talking while the little one was eating her lunch.
"Esme?"
Her name seemed to catch all of our attention until we were all listening in.
"Yes Anna?" Esme replied gently.
"Can Cissy and I stay with you?" The question was shocking given the situation. Did Anna know something we didn't know?
"Bella's going to be fine," Edward growled at me.
I didn't bother replying, deciding to listen to Esme and Anna's talk.
"What do you mean Anna? Don't you want to stay with your Auntie Bella?"
"No, I mean when she goes back to school."
The relief that went through the room was nothing compared to the shock.
I never would have guessed that after what we had gone through that Anna would actually decide to be away from Bella. Given the complaining we have heard every single day as she left to eat or to change her clothes, I would have thought she'd want to stay with Bella.
"I would love to have you and Cissy stay with me here while the others are at school."
I knew the Esme was smiling at the idea of getting to have the girls with her. The rest of us were thrilled that the girls would no longer have to go back to the high school. It wasn't a place for them yet. They needed this chance to be kids without school while they had the chance.
Rose sighed in relief and I couldn't help kissing her cheek. "Just a few more months then we can stay with her too."
Rose's POV
More often than not, I was finding myself desperately trying to calm myself as I struggled with Anna. She wouldn't listen to anyone, and seemed to always be seconds away from exploding into angry tears.
Whenever Charlie left for whatever reason, Anna always passed off her energy to Bella. It was completely embarrassing that a group of eight vampires couldn't keep a small child away from Bella.
Even with Edward sitting right beside her, Anna always found some sort of way to have a second to pass energy to Bella. And a second was all it took.
Esme walked down the stairs with Anna, finally asleep with her head on Esme's shoulder. Alice was right behind her with Cissy. The baby was also sound asleep; something I was more than thankful for.
There was no doubt in my mind that I loved the two little girls, but when they were behaving more like the human children, instead of the other world human children, it was very frustrating. The two of them were bringing new meaning to the phrase, little monsters.
"Anything?" Jasper asked as he walked through the front door. The stress had gotten to him, so he left on a quick hunt to clear his mind and help ease the torture. It was times like these a small part of me was glad that I didn't have a gift. It was only a minuscule part though. I really wanted superpowers.
"Nothing yet, the information boxes don't…" Edward's explanation was cut off by a relieved sigh.
Before anyone could question him, Alice answered. "A few minutes now. She's going to be fine."
If I could have cried, I would have from the mixture of relief and all the built up stress.
Unfortunately we weren't as lucky as I thought we'd be. Anna and Cissy both woke up from their short naps before Bella could.
Grandpa Ray leaned over Bella slightly, placing his hand on her forehead. Her information was clutched in his free hand.
"Sorry about this Bella, we needed a room that could hold everyone." Grandpa Ray leaned back so she could see the rest of us.
Bella clearly recognized where she was and we all saw the relief.
Then of course Anna had to ruin the moment with her exhausted attitude. "Your eyes stay open now."
Bella chuckled but stopped suddenly "How long have they been closed?" She tried to sit up.
Grandpa Ray carefully kept her from getting up though. "It's Friday, Bella."
Her eyes widened in surprise, and I couldn't blame her. "What happened?"
"I won't tell you until you calm down. You need to relax Isabella," Grandpa Ray told her sternly.
It took a moment but she did calm down, with or without Jasper's help I wasn't sure.
Grandpa Ray began the story, keeping his sentences as short as he could, taking into account that Bella might still be groggy from her long bout of unconsciousness.
"You're dad called me, before leaving Forks. I made my way to Phoenix as fast as I could. I met up with Duke in Jacksonville and we flew together the rest of the way. I ran with Duke to the safe house but when we got there, it was already flattened."
We all knew what Bella was thinking and Grandpa Ray was quick to reassure her. "Duke wouldn't betray your family Bella, you know that. You should always trust your heart, and your heart knows Duke wouldn't do that. You can ask Anna too. Duke wasn't in the house with any of you."
Bella turned to Anna, who nodded. "It's true Auntie, that wasn't Duke."
"So it was a trick?" Bella asked.
Grandpa Ray nodded. "They used an impersonator, he took the form of Duke. I have a feeling that's how they impersonated Toby too, for the phone call."
Bella's fist tightened. "We knew it was a trick, and yet we still fell for it."
We all had fallen for it, and we all were just as upset with ourselves as she was.
"It's in the past Bella, there's nothing we can do about it, but we can learn from it." Grandpa Ray tried to soothe her frustration.
"How did we survive?" Bella asked after a moment.
We all couldn't help but grin thinking about Cissy and her amazing gift.
Anna pointed at her sister and Grandpa Ray chuckled. "After arriving at the house, I used your information box to find all of you in the rubble. We unburied you, and instead of bodies, we found a group of people who were very much alive."
"I don't understand. How?" Bella gasped.
"Cissy is a connector. She connected to your shield. Her powers kept it up long enough for her family connection to connect to everyone." Grandpa Ray glanced proudly over at Cissy. "You all were all really lucky. The family connection is automatic otherwise she wouldn't have been able to put it up. We also have to be glad that she is part of the legacy line, otherwise she wouldn't have had her powers yet."
Anna smiled at Cissy then turned back to Bella. "The bad guys think we are dead."
That might have been true, but in all actuality we had no idea how long it would be before they realized we were alive. Was it possible that they already knew?
Bella brushed at Anna's hair lovingly. "For a little while, they'll figure it out sooner or later that we survived. Until then though we can enjoy some freedom."
Anna started bouncing and any signs of her acting like a normal human were gone. I didn't have to be Edward or Alice to know what she was planning. In one of Alice's more wilder attempts to bribe Anna into behaving she had suggested shopping in New York City.
"Whatever you're thinking, I doubt we're that free. We should really stay in the state," Bella guessed wisely.
Anna pouted making us all laugh.
Once things had calmed down Bella turned to Grandpa Ray. "Now what happens?"
He patted her head gently. "We are going to have to take things slowly. You're over fifty percent Bella."
Poor Bella. She had been doing so well keeping her transition down, but ever since the attack on her family it had skyrocketed. She was dealing with more and more situations that were just aiding her transition. Personally after everything that we had been through already, I couldn't help but wonder what kind of repercussions there would be if we just decided to change her now.
Bella shrugged, not even phased by the realization. "I knew I would be. What am I at?"
"Sixty-seven point four. But it could have been higher," Grandpa Ray told her.
"Any new developments?"
She didn't seem concerned. Why was she so calm over all of this?
"Not that we've seen. You may find that your energy levels are below normal again." Grandpa Ray got up from where he had taken a seat. "We'll need to keep an eye on it. It would seem though that when it comes to your transition, you are extremely lucky. It could have been a whole lot worse."
Given what we had been told I knew we were all thinking the same thing. If Bella was lucky, then we definitely didn't want that luck to run out.
"May I get up now?"
I didn't know if that was such a good idea, just because she had been unconscious for a while doesn't mean she was rested. Maybe she should lay down for a little while longer.
Grandpa Ray laughed though. "Yes Bella, you may get up."
Edward clearly was thinking the same thing as me and offered his hand to help Bella.
Bella didn't seem to have any trouble though. "Grandpa Ray? You would know if any of the family faked their death, right?" she asked after making sure she was steady.
We all glanced at him curiously. Did some of her family survive, and did you know?
From the way his face fell we knew the answer before he told her. "I'm looking into it Bella, but I haven't found anything that would suggest they survived."
"How are you feeling Bella?" Edward finally managed to ask. The fear and worry that had plagued him the entire time she was out hadn't completely left his face yet. "That last explosion crashed into your shield, hard. We all saw it."
Bella didn't reply at first, instead she glanced at Anna.
Anna attempted to smile innocently up at Bella. "Yes?"
Bella shook her head but smiled anyway. "I'm fine. How's Cissy? Is she okay after all she did?"
We all turned to Cissy and found that she had gone back to sleep, now in Esme's arms. It was her favorite place to sleep and she always took advantage of it.
"She's just fine Bella," Esme reassured her.
"She's been acting more like a human world baby, rather than a human other world baby," Emmett teased.
Bella rolled her eyes and I knew immediately that Emmett wasn't going to let that go.
"And we can't forget that one. She's been acting like a normal three-year-old." He shrugged as if it hadn't bothered any of us. "That's expected though, what with how much energy she's been giving you."
"Thank you Anna." Bella lifted Anna, giving her a hug; and successfully convincing most of us that she really was fine. It would take a little more convincing to get Edward to relax.
Anna hugged her back. "I love you Auntie Bella."
"I love you too Anna. So what are we going to do now?"
I don't know what possessed Bella to ask that. She should have known that it would cause problems.
Alice squealed after seeing what any of us could have guessed. She rocked onto her toes and back to her heels grinning brightly.
"Alice owes me a shopping trip," Anna announced.
We all laughed as Bella sighed and set Anna back down.
It looked like we were going to be going shopping.
Edward though, picked up Anna and passed her to Alice. "You can go shopping with Alice. Your Auntie needs to relax, so she can't go with you."
I couldn't help thinking that both Auntie's needed to rest. I was mentally exhausted. I pushed my needs away, knowing that Bella needed the rest way more than I did.
Thankfully after a moment of thinking it over Anna agreed.
Wanting to let Bella get to a more comfortable spot to rest, we all gave her a quick hug and let Edward lead her out of the house. She could go home and rest and if asked, he could explain what happened while she was unconscious.
"Rose and Alice are taking Anna, Esme is going to keep Cissy." I heard Edward tell Bella.
I guess I really was going on a shopping trip today. It was a good thing I didn't need sleep because I doubt we were going to be back for a while. Not until Anna used up the rest of the energy she had.
Author's Note
Hey everyone, this chapter was really hard to write, there were so many things that needed to be put in, and thankfully it wasn't as long as I thought it would be.
Just because I'd like to keep you all in the loop, and since obviously I've been gone for a while, I'd just like to let you know that the story hasn't been abandoned. I have been dealing with some health issues, which leave me in a state where I can't write.
Now that I'm doing better, I've been working on the stories but I've been struggling with where I was taking Transitionals: Eclipse. Because of that, I'm rereading the stories so it is going to be a little while before the next update for that story.
I only have one question for you guys and that is, Are you looking forward to the Prom chapter from Edward's POV?
PS
I would just like to apologize for any mistakes I might have missed. You find any please let me know. I have three different programs I use to help catch grammar mistakes, switching from first to third person, and so on and so forth, but I end up still missing things. More than I'd like to admit.
Thank you all for sticking with me, until next time,
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