27: Part Two, Chapter Six

Word Count: 3131; First Published 3 April, 7pm-ish Australian time (AEDT)

And as always, thanks to Ms Meyer for permission to play with her characters and mess up her sand pit.

Unbeta'd


Chapter Six - Disaster

On Friday morning, Jasper came home to shower and change his clothes, ready to spend a day in the hell that was school without Bella. He'd agreed to keep going at least two or three days a week, with Alice collecting his work for him on the other days, for the sake of appearances. And since he'd not gone yet this week, and he definitely planned to spend every second of Monday—the anniversary of Bella's previous deaths—beside his mate, he'd pulled himself away from her this morning to spend a day on the school charade.

Emmett and Rosalie were outside Bella's house right now, and two wolves would be there shortly to relieve them, though Esme would also be spending the day with her. It was all very well to have Sue there to help take care of her, and he certainly had come to respect and even appreciate the Quileute woman over the past few days—it was clear that her care for Bella was very real, and more than just something prompted by the prophecy—but Jasper insisted on a member of his family staying with her too. If something happened that only vampire venom could save her from, he knew full well the wolves couldn't be depended on to contact them.

"Jasper," he heard Alice call from downstairs, though without raising her voice, "let's go. It wouldn't do to be late on one of your few—" She cut off suddenly, with a choked, "No! Oh my god, not now!"

Jasper was downstairs before she'd finished speaking, to find her standing by the door, eyes glazed, Edward's hands on her shoulders as he gazed at her worriedly. He didn't need to focus his gift to feel the panic coming off her.

"What's happening?" he cried. "What's she seeing?"

"I don't—it's too fast, too fragmented," Edward said.

As Alice's eyes came back into focus, she started barking out orders.

"Esme, call Rosalie! We need to go now. It's happening this weekend. I'm not sure when, exactly, but it feels so close!"

"What? What did you see, Alice? Tell us exactly!" The urge to run straight back to Bella's was almost irresistible, but he had to know the details.

"It's all fragments, like Edward said. Normally that means the future's not set, decisions are still to be made, but—they're all fragments of vampires in the forest, most with the snow still thick on the ground like it is right now."

"Who? Victoria? Maria?" Jasper could feel himself going into strategic mode. He had to have all the information before he acted. Acting solely on his desire to be with Bella could be disastrous.

"Victoria and maybe twelve or fourteen others? I think she's bringing them most of the way here through the water, because I see them of them coming out of the sea near Lower Elwha, that's clear, but then there's a flash of them in a clearing I recognise, near the hot springs. That's the same place I saw in the vision of Maria, though. And," her eyes were unfocussed, still concentrating on what she could see with her mind's eye. "I'm still getting flashes of a later fight. I see us fighting in that clearing, but—there's not as much snow on the ground. It's all mixed up."

"That's about fifty kilometres due east of here," Edward observed.

"When, Alice? Can you narrow it down at all?" Jasper asked.

"I can't be sure," she said. "In most of the visions, the snow's as thick on the ground as it is right now. Though there are only flashes of us fighting. And in some of them it's partially melted, like it was before. But you know how sometimes I just get a feeling about the timing? The vision of them coming out of the water—I'm sure it's soon."

"Monday?"

"No. Sooner."

Jasper breathed a sigh of what he knew was irrational relief. Somehow, if it had been on the thirteenth, he would have felt fate was against them.

"It's too late to go to Seattle then, we could miss them," Carlisle said.

"So we go into the forest to the east of here. Fan out, and move through the tree tops. We'll stay between Forks and the hots springs, and try to herd them towards the clearing, away from here. You all remember your training." Jasper looked around. "Don't take the obvious attack, and whatever happens, don't let them get their arms around you."

Esme was on the phone to Rosalie while Jasper strategised. Now she spoke up. "Rosalie and Emmett are already on the way here," she said. "Rose said Jake and Embry are outside Bella's now."

"Okay, I'm going to head over there first, and speak to the wolves. If they're willing, I'll ask for some more to come guard her and the rest to head into the forest. If at least one will come with us, Edward will know what's happening with the rest of the pack. Alice, now we have a plan, can you see any changes?"

Alice's eyes glazed once again as she searched all their futures.

"No-o," she said slowly. "I'm still seeing flashes in that clearing. Nothing I can make out, but I think we're all there. Although maybe those are all later. I'm not seeing anything, not even flashes, of us engaging with Victoria this weekend…it must be the wolves, they must be going to help us, and that's blocking the visions. But the vision of them coming out of the water—Jasper, I think it may have already happened!"

"Okay, I'm leaving now," Jasper said. "Head out the moment Emmett and Rose arrive."

...

Bella woke up to feel Jasper's cool hand against her cheek. "What…?" she trailed off, confused. "I thought you'd left already," she said.

She'd been feeling a little better today, having not taken a chemo tablet since Wednesday morning, but was still exhausted. So when Jasper left this morning she'd gone straight back to sleep, secure in the knowledge that Esme would be there by the time she had to fake taking the morning's tablet for Sue.

"I did," Jasper replied, frowning. Suddenly, she realised how tense he was.

She sat up. "What's wrong?" she asked. "Jasper? What's happened?"

As Jasper explained Alice's visions, and what their plan was, Bella could feel her breath starting to come in shallow puffs. This was not what they'd planned on. They weren't ready!

"But Peter said—"

"I know," Jasper said. "I can't tell you anything more, except Pete wasn't worried about this weekend, and he hasn't called, so I think that should give us confidence."

"Oh, yeah, I guess so." She took a deep breath and tried to relax. "So what do we do?"

"You, stay here, in bed, and try to relax."

She snorted at that, though without humour, but Jasper kept talking.

"Embry and Jacob are outside right now, and Seth and Leah are on their way. That's just for just in case. Sam's agreed that the rest of the pack will head into the forest and help us with a head on attack, to try to keep them all away from Forks."

"You're—you're going?"

"I have to, darlin'. But you'll be safe here, and I'll be back before you have time to worry, I promise."

"It's not me I'm worried about, idiot!" She said, holding back her tears by force of will. "And you shouldn't make promises you can't keep. You don't even know where they are yet. And I will be worried every second you're away." She paused, and took a deep breath. "But I understand you have to go. If anyone can beat them, it's you."

Jasper's smile was a little twisted, and she knew that assessment of his character didn't really thrill him, although it was what would keep them all alive now.

"Yeah," was all he said.

He leaned in and kissed her, his hand cupping the back of her head. She brought her own hands up to slide around his neck, and deepened the kiss. He let her, for longer than she expected. But then he pulled back, and rested his forehead against hers.

"I've gotta go, darlin'," he said, pulling back further and walking towards the window. "Close this after me, 'kay?" he added, as he pulled it open.

"Be safe," she said in reply. But he was already gone.

She got up to close the window, and glimpsed a wolf's red fur through the trees. She sighed and moved back to the bed. She knew she wouldn't be getting any more sleep. Should she go downstairs? She realised she was mildly hungry for the first time all week, although she was still queasy as well. Was Sue there, she wondered? Probably. Or Esme? No, if Esme were here, she would have come up. She must be with the rest of the family.

Please keep them safe, she prayed. She'd never been particularly religious—not in this life—but she believed there was something out there, and she hoped now that whatever it was would look out for her family. "Please keep Jasper safe," she murmured.

She curled up on the bed, discarding the idea of food, or of going downstairs. How long till she heard something? Would Jasper call, when everything was finished, or would he just show up at her window? She refused to think about the possibility of anything else happening. Of Jasper not—no, she wouldn't go there. Everyone would be fine. Except Victoria, and the unfortunate souls she had kidnapped and changed.

Now if only she could will it to be true.

A sudden noise from outside got her attention. What—?

A loud bang, as though something had crashed into a tree, followed quickly by another.

She leapt up and ran to the window.

The forest was vibrating.

Trees shaking, the crashing noises now constant.

The fight had made it all the way here?

Were there far more vampires than Alice had seen?

Were the Cullens—? No, please God, no, they couldn't be dead.

As from nowhere, a face appeared at the window.

Before she could process what was happening, the window had shattered, and a red-haired vampire had her up against the wall, held by the front of her neck, her toes barely touching the floor.

"Finally," she hissed, "Finally, I have you, and your precious mate can't do anything about it."

Bella couldn't breathe enough to get a sound out. In her mind, she was screaming for Jasper. Was he close enough to feel her? No, because she was awake.

It wouldn't matter though, she would be dead before he could get there. She hoped he wasn't feeling her last moments.

"The question," the red-head, who must be Victoria, continued, "is whether to kill you now, and leave you for him, or take you with me? What would be better revenge?" She released Bella slightly, only to ram her back into the wall.

Bella's vision was starting to go black.

She couldn't breathe.

Please God, she thought, but couldn't decide how to finish. She couldn't see any possible way she could survive.

Just as she thought she would pass out, another shaped leaped through the window.

"Let her go, bitch!" It was Jacob, in human form.

Oh god, now he'd be killed too.

Bella felt herself thrown through the air and felt a crunch as her back hit the bookshelf. Books rained down on her, but she hardly noticed them through the pain in her chest. She tried to take shallow breaths, the pain making her dizzy and unable to focus.

No, she realised, that was the blood dripping into her eyes.

Suddenly there was an almighty crash, and a huge hole in the wall where Jacob had been thrown into the hallway.

Almost before she he had landed, she was again flying through the air, this time in Victoria's arms as she leapt for the window.

Everything seemed to happen in slow motion then. She felt the blood spurting out of her shoulder, running down her arm, before she realised that the broken glass in the window frame had slashed through her flesh. Her vision started to turn cloudy with pain and lack of air, as Victoria squeezed her so hard she thought her ribs must now all be broken. And even as she had that thought, she saw Jasper leaping for her, almost from the very edge of the yard as he sped out of the forest, and felt another impact from behind. Jacob must have recovered and smashed into Victoria.

She hit the ground in Jasper's arms instead of Victoria's, but she couldn't breathe properly, and felt a warm liquid bubbling out of her mouth, as she tried.

"No, no, no!" Jasper was saying. All around her, she was vaguely aware of the noise of fighting. Bodies crashing into each other, wolves growling, and Victoria letting out a shriek of anger. Jacob must have scored a point, a small, calm part of her mind thought. The larger part of her focus though, was on her mate.

"Bella, Bella," he was saying, desperately. "Please, please, stay with me, you have to…" and then she felt his teeth cutting into the soft flesh inside her elbow, and then her neck." I'm sorry, I'm sorry," he was saying, his hands now pushing into her shoulder, seemingly trying to staunch the flow of blood. "Please live! God, please let this work."

The pain in her chest with each gasping, wet breath completely eclipsed any pain from his bites, but she couldn't speak, couldn't say a word either to reassure him or simply thank him for being there. She wanted to apologise. She wouldn't survive this, she was certain, and she wouldn't remember him the next time she was born. Not from this life anyway. Look after Charlie, she wanted to say, and, I promise I'll come back. But nothing but gurgles came out, and her vision was starting to go black.

Suddenly, she felt a new pain, first in her arm, just below the flesh ripped by the window, then her neck. What was happening? Had Victoria got her back? No, she could still feel herself in Jasper's arms, still hear him murmuring desperately to her, though she could no longer make out the words. Oh god, she was burning, she was burning from the inside.

She realised her eyes were closed. With a last effort, she opened them, not sure if it was to see Jasper's face one more time, or to try to tell him with her eyes that she was burning, to beg him to douse her in water. But in the long tunnel that her eyes had become, all she saw was three vampires bearing down on Jasper from behind. She tried to gasp out a warning, but nothing would come and her vision was quickly dimming, the feeling leaving her body, even the burning pain becoming something distant. Her last thought was that at least if Jasper died here too, maybe he would get his wish, and they would be together in heaven.

.

Jasper stared down at his dying mate, completely oblivious for the first time in his immortal existence to the battle raging around him, desperately trying to stop the blood from flowing out of her, his venom along with it.

He'd felt the wolves' fear and pain when he was less than half way to meet his family, and whipped around, tuning in as he ran back both to the panic coming from the wolves, and the combination of trepidation and triumph from others whose emotional signatures he didn't know, before he hit on the one he recognised. Victoria! How did she get behind him?

He'd redoubled his speed and come upon the Swan's backyard just as Victoria burst out of the window, Bella clutched against her. He leapt for them, desperately hoping she was still alive, and that he could keep her that way.

He'd bitten inside her elbow first, hoping the venom would heal the gash through which her blood was escaping so quickly, and then her neck, pumping as much venom into her system as he could. Her increased moans told him the venom was moving through her veins, but her gurgling breath told him she didn't have much time.

He was about to bite her again—she needed as much venom as he could get into her—while keeping the pressure on her still leaking wound, when her eyes opened and she stared up at him, and he was suddenly lost in her pain, her fear, and the tiniest bit of hope. Then with a new spike of fear her eyes opened wider and she stared over his shoulder. Before he could react, her eyes had closed again, and as he felt her lose consciousness, he became aware again of the others in the clearing, reacting just too late to put her down carefully, before he was grabbed from behind, and she fell from his grasp. Even as he responded to the new threat, trying to keep himself between her still body and anyone else in the clearing, he felt his arm being almost twisted from his shoulder.

He wrenched it back, and threw the newborn vampire away, knocking down another in the process, but before he could move, a third one was on him. He was desperate to move Bella to a safer position, as well as to bite her again, but could do nothing but try to fend off the newborn vampires who seemed to be coming at him without respite. The four wolves were each fighting as hard as they could but there were simply too many vampires for them to handle. He knew the other wolves would be on their way, alerted through the mind link the pack shared, and prayed that they had made it to within Edward's mind reading distance before turning around.

As yet another newborn leapt at him, he felt, more than saw, movement behind him, and simultaneously realised Victoria was once again radiating triumph, the wolf she'd been fighting—Jacob, he thought—lying unconscious on the ground. Ignoring the threat behind him, he turned back to Bella, reaching out to grab Victoria before she could reach his mate. Too late. Victoria had Bella in her arms and was already retreating when he felt another vampire land on his back, and teeth enter the side of his throat. The last thing he saw was Victoria grinning victoriously, dragging Bella without the slightest regard for her safety, before he felt his head being ripped from his body, and knew no more.

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A/N

Ducking for cover...

Don't worry, the next chapter should be up by next week!

Reviews are love. Or you know, hate, maybe, in this case. LOL. But still love.

(PS TRUST ME!)

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Recs

If you go read them, please leave them a review and tell them I sent you! :)

I feel I need to give you a Jasper-Bella one after that, so… this is a WIP with only 4 chapters so far, but I think it has a lot of promise!

Words in Grey by Wenyuewen

Soulmate AU: Isabella Swan doesn't talk about soulmates and soulmarks. Really she'd rather pretend that the marks don't exist. It's hard to get through life when what should be a romantic promise instead tells Bella without a doubt that her match - Jasper Whitlock - is dead and gone. No, Bella is not interested in fate. (Bella/Jasper) /s/13138659/1/Words-in-Grey

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Another WIP, but this one is being updated pretty fast. There seem to be a lot of Bella-Rosalie stories around at the moment, and this is one that I am enjoying:

And So the Lamb Became the Wolf by UntitledAlsoUnknown

After Edward leaves her, nothing goes quite right for Bella. Her best friend Alice is gone. Her new best friend Jacob leaves her. An accidental twist of fate turns Bella into a shifter, just trying to learn the rules of her new pack. When the Cullens return unexpectedly, Bella imprints on one of them. Bella/Rosalie. T for now, maybe M for later. s/13226943/1/And-So-the-Lamb-Became-the-Wolf

(January 2020 - as I type it's been months since I updated, but if you are reading this now, just so you know, I am still working on it, and plan to start publishing again when I have the rest all completed. It's not abandoned.)