Chapter 16 – At Last

My head whirled and I closed my eyes, grabbing either side of my head. This pain was bewildering. It felt my brain was opening up and my mind was bombarded with hundreds of images. I groaned out loud and threw my head back. "Bella!" Edward kept my body from falling. "Isabella!" Kate sounded like she right next to me. "Edward, let me see her." I gripped at Carlisle's arm. I opened my eyes and all the images flashed past them. My mom and I walking on the pier in California when we went to visit my grandmother for Thanksgiving, my mother in her wedding dress when she was marrying Phil, seeing my dad at the Port Angeles Airport when I was moving in with him, my very used, but new to me truck standing in front of my dad's house waiting for me, the silver Volvo in the school parking lot on the first day of school, the dark-eyed siblings that kept to themselves, the golden-eyed man that asked to go to Seattle with him, the deranged tracker that hunted me, my blue dress at the prom, the cursed birthday party, my depression, Jacob, Paul stalking me as a wolf and my motorcycle. Above all, I saw my car accident. Through my haze, I saw Victoria smiling as she stalked me. Her head snapped up and she ran away. I saw Jacob and Paul pulling me from the truck and taking me to the hospital.

I remember lying in the hospital, when the red-headed nurse entered my room. Victoria entering my room and wearing contacts, smiling offering me her help. I saw her stealing me from the hospital and my asking where we were going. I gasped and picked my head up. "Carlisle?" "Bella, are you all right?" I blinked and nodded. I have never seen Carlisle like this before, besides for the time he was with my sisters. "Bella?" I looked to my other side, "Edward." I stood up and looked down at my body. It was stronger, faster and more durable. I have lived in this body for years and, after waking up, it felt all new to me. I heard Charlie groaned and my anger swelled. I snarled and ran past everyone, ignoring them all. I broke through the bushes and saw her leaning over Charlie. I smelled the fresh blood. "Victoria!" I snarled through my clenched teeth. She looked back at me and smiled, "Well, you figured out who I was." Suddenly, an arm was clenched around my throat. A newborn was holding me. In my anger, I sunk my teeth into its arm and it snarled in pain. It pulled back and my teeth dripped with its still human blood. I turned and kicked the newborn and it staggered back and Emmett caught it. I looked back and looked at Charlie. I went for him, but Victoria caught me by my neck and pinned me to a tree. "You're stronger than I thought." I found myself smiling, "This is ironic. This was how James had Edward pinned in the ballet studio. You know, right before he died. Only real difference is that Edward actually loved me." Her eyes widened and she bared her teeth at me and tightened her hold. "You're not that strong." I looked at her, "I'm strong enough to kill you."

I knocked her hand away and kicked her in her chest. Carlisle was already looking over my dad, "He's been bitten, but we're too late. The venom has infected his system." My eyes widened and looked over my shoulder. Edward, Kate, Irina, Eleazar, Carmen, Emmett, Jasper, Felix and Demetri were dispensing with that last of the newborns. Rosalie and Alice were fighting Victoria, until she ran off. "Tanya, Carmen, Irina, take my dad home. Our home. By the time we get back, he'll be awake." Tanya looked at me, "You're sure?" "Tanya, he's my father. Please?" She nodded and my sisters took Charlie and went home to Denali. I went after Victoria, "Leave her! She's mine!" Demetri, Emmett, Edward, Rosalie and Alice pulled back and I went ahead of them. Victoria stopped in her tracks. I caught the scent of one of the wolves; that stopped her. I tackled her to the ground, but she pinned me. "What makes you think you can defeat me?" I got out of her hold, "Because, even as a human, you couldn't destroy me. You tortured me for more than a month. You re-broke my leg, fractured the ribs on the left side of my body, dislocated my shoulder, fractured my skull and broke my hand. You said that you were being kind, because Edward wasn't fair to James. I asked you who Edward was, but every time I did, he hurt me more. You knew I had amnesia, so that's why you changed me. Your plan was that I would wander for eternity, not knowing who I was. You said you hoped that the Cullens would find me again and it would pain Edward to see that I didn't remember him. You tried to break me, but you failed. I'm still alive, I remember everything and you are going to die."

She leaned into a crouch, but I smiled, "By the way, Edward told me that when he read James' mind, he was glad to be away from the needy little girl. He only kept you around because you had a talent for getting out of bad situations. Besides that, you were just a little toy. Can you guess what his favorite game?" Victoria screamed and ran towards me. Taking a step forward, I extended my arm, throwing it at her, knocking into her head. She fell backwards and flipped onto her feet. We stared each other down and I darted at her, gripping the tops of her shoulders, pinning her down. Her hand came across my face, making me look away. I looked back at her, "My turn," and I punched her in the mouth. She snarled, knocking me off her. I flipped back to my feet. This time, Victoria pounced me and I spun on my foot, lifting my leg upward, knocking her in her torso. I pirouetted on my foot and she caught me around my neck, strangling me. I gasped and saw Edward and Felix making movements to help me. "No," I choked out and I gripped at her wrists. I felt my strength increase slightly. It was from the blood of the newborn. Victoria staggered back on to her knees, as increased the strength of my hold. I could hear her skin cracking beneath my fingers. Victoria groaned through her clinched teeth. "You know what," I released her and threw her to the ground, "I'm going to be merciful. I'm going to let you live with this." I pointed at her wrists, "A constant reminder that you could not destroy me, no matter how hard you tried. But, were I you, I wouldn't look for me or my family again, because I will not show mercy." Victoria looked up at me and I walked away, "Besides, you aren't worth."

I heard Victoria's growl building. She ran after me. I turned and saw her clawed damaged hands coming for my throat. I bent my knees and fell back to the ground she ran into Demetri and Felix. "No! Let me go!" I stood and they were making her kneel on the ground. "Bella?" I looked up and the Cullens were watching me. I smiled, "Go home. I'll meet you there." Emmett smirked, "After all that, there's no way I'm missing this." "Neither am I," Edward smiled. Everyone else left and I looked back at Victoria. She struggled against their hold, "That insignificant, stupid girl ruined my life." I looked back at her, "No, you did. James was stupid enough to take on a large family and you followed him. You saw what it did to him, so what made you think that you were going to be successful." Felix tightened his hold on her and she groaned. "Thank you, Felix." I walked up to her, just glaring. I thought back to all she put me through. The pain I felt, the tears I cried and the times I begged her to just let me die. I thought through my painful transformation as the venom put my battered body together.

Then another memory came to me, the time I saw Aro dispense with a traitor. Felix and Demetri held them down and Aro held the traitor's head. I did the same thing. Victoria glared at me and I smiled. "You do not have the stre….." My hands clamped tightly against her head, covering her mouth until her skin cracked and dust began to fall from my hands. Felix and Demetri did their part and began pulling at her arms. With a loud crack, Victoria's head detached from her body. Felix and Demetri each held one of her arms. Victoria's throat still attached to dismembered head and it was screaming. I looked into her eyes. I shook my head and tossed Victoria's over my shoulder. I began to walk away. "You sure you don't want to keep it as a trophy." I smiled, "Not funny, Demetri." They burned the body and I leaned on a tree, folded my arms and watched. Felix looked at me, "Isabella, that wasn't much of an army." I bit my lip, "I may have exaggerated, but they were still there and untrained."

At the Cullens' house, Felix and Demetri departed for Volterra, after I thanked them for their help. Outside, Felix kissed my cheek, "If you ever get bored with him," I smiled, "You'll be the first I call." They drove away and I watched, "When hell freezes over," I muttered to myself. I rolled my eyes and went inside. Carmen stood at the door, smiling at me, "Tanya called. They're driving home and your dad is beginning to change." I sighed heavily and shook my head, "I can't believe this happened." Esme held my shoulders, "Honey, at least he'll be fine. In a few days, he'll be awake." I shook my head, "still, this isn't want I want for him. Now, I understand why Edward didn't want me to change." Rosalie and Emmett were standing together and she was looking at me. I looked up, "By the way, Rosalie, I'm sorry. I shouldn't have insulted you at home." Her eyebrows furrowed, "It's ok. But what the glass?" I smiled, "Hey, I said I missed." Carmen smiled, "You rarely apologize for things you've done. What's with change of heart?" I looked at her, "More like a change of mind." Carmen looked at me and I smiled, "Cari, not now. Please, not now." She scoffed, "Well, that didn't change."

I groaned, "Fine." I looked at Carlisle, "What happened to me was my memory. It came back. I think it was because of Victoria. When I heard her laughing, it just brought back everything. It was like a floodgate opening and so many things came back at once." Edward took my face in his hands, "You remember?" I smiled, "Everything and I do mean, everything." I looked away and his hands fell. I squeezed his hand and smiled reassuringly. "Bella?" I looked at Jasper, "Yes?" "What caused your accident?" "Victoria. I was driving home and something knocked my car off the road. There was no other car on the road and nothing, besides a vampire is strong enough to knock my truck off its wheels. The truck rolled down the hill and landed on its top. Luckily, I was wearing my seatbelt, but I still hit my head pretty badly." Emmett looked away, "Why was Victoria after you?" "Revenge against Edward, by killing me. As Laurent put it, 'a mate for a mate.' The way she tortured me, I begged her to kill me." I shook my head, "It's better you don't know about any of that. It really wasn't pretty." Carmen sighed, "Do you know how you ended up in Canada?" I bit my lip, "Victoria took me from the hospital, that's why no one saw us; she was too fast. She threw me in the backseat of a car and stuck me with a needle. Before I knew, I was out and when I woke up, I was in a trunk." I laughed, "Being a cop's daughter, I remembered on survival technique. Take apart a taillight and hope she would get pulled over and then make a lot of noise to get the officer's attention."

I didn't want to discuss this any further, because I remembered my screams of pain. I clenched my eyes shut, "I need to hunt." "I'll go with you," Carmen offered. She and I ran outside, into the trees to hunt. After we took down our prey, Carmen and I sat in the treetops, looking out to the mountains. "Is?" "Yes, Care?" "What did she do to you? I promise, it will stay between us." I looked at her, "Ok, it will, for now." I told my sister about my tortuous month, before my life ended and began, again.