A/N: Okay, so I'm not sure how this chapter will turn out but I thought things were moving a little too quickly and wanted to slow them down a bit. I hope it flows with the story alright. There is a purpose in it, though, I promise.

KARI

I was standing in the center of a circular room. There were no windows and only one door. My heart was pounding in my chest as I stood simply staring at the door. It felt like I was waiting for my destiny to walk through the door.

After a few seconds of staring, I got sick of waiting and ran to the door. I tried to yank it open but it was locked.

"Damn It!" I yelled and went back to the center.

I had to find a way out. The only question was how? I didn't even know where I was. My heart began pounding faster as I heard the lock on the door click. The door opened and in walked Edward. He had an evil twisted smile on his face. He pulled the door shut behind him and relocked the door.

I started to panic at that point. I was locked in the room, alone, with the monster Edward. I backed myself into the wall as he came closer to me. He walked until he was right in front of my face. He took one finger and traced my jawline with it.

"Don't be afraid." he whispered. "I won't hurt you, much." he smirked.

"Please leave me alone." I begged.

"I don't think so. Besides, I know how much you enjoyed what I did last night." he replied.

I felt him rub himself against my inner thigh. I forced down the bile that was rising in my throat. Knowing I couldn't physically hurt him, I spat in his face.

"Stupid bitch!" he yelled and backhanded me.

I fell to the floor of the room.

"You will learn to respect me." he said then kicked me in the stomach.

Once I got my breath back, he yanked me back up by my wrists. I let out a whimper of pain mixed with fear. He pinned me to the wall and pressed his lips to mine with a bruising force. He moved down to my neck and I continued to beg him to stop.

Suddenly, I was no longer pinned to the wall. Edward was in the center of the room, crouching to attack himself. That confused me. I sank to the floor and, not wanting to see the fight, buried my face in my hands. I heard growling and the sounds of limbs being ripped off. I didn't want to see it so I didn't look up to see who was winning. Then I smelled fire and looked up to see Edward standing in front of me.

His eyes were full of nothing but love and regret. He scooped me up into his arms. His skin was cold against mine but it didn't bother me much.

"It's okay, the monster's gone forever." he whispered.

I smiled and snuggled closer to his chest. I felt safe with this Edward. I knew he'd protect me from everything. I guess his cold skin was effecting me more than I thought. I shivered slightly. A minute later, a blanket had appeared around me out of nowhere. I simply pulled it closer around me as Edward carried me to a place where I'd always be safe.

My eyes fluttered open. I felt the heaviness of a blanket on me. I smiled. The decent Edward really was in there somewhere. I just had to find him.

I thought about the dream and knew right away what it meant.The two Edwards were fighting for control of the one body. Right now, the evil Edward was winning but good Edward was trying to fight through. I slightly prayed that good Edward would win. He had to win. Then maybe things could be okay again.

EDWARD

I walked up to Alice's and Jasper's door. I hoped she was still there. As I knocked I tried to block out her carefully concentrated thoughts. I had a hard enough time trying to figure my own thoughts out, I didn't need anyone elses right now.

A couple seconds later, Alice answered.

"I knew you'd come back." she said with a smile and stepped back to let me in.

I walked over to the couch as she shut and locked the door. I took a deep breath. It wasn't very often anymore that I apologized but I did when I knew I was wrong. The hard part was admitting that I was wrong.

"I'm sorry." I said. "It was wrong of me to walk away like that. I know you were right."

Alice looked at me with sympathy.

"No, I was wrong to bring it up." she said. "I know you still have your issues with that night. I had no idea, though, how bad things were for you."

"You could've known. I haven't even told Bella what I saw that night." I told her.

"Your secret's safe with me." she replied.

"You were right, though. I mean about needing a change." I explained. "It's not going to be easy. Especially without the support of the family. I'm not sure I can go all the way back to what I was. I think the war's changed me too much. It's broken me into too many pieces. I don't htink the y could all be put back together again. I want to try but I have to start small. And I need a lot of support from you."

"Okay." Alice nodded. "As long as you keep trying, I will support you."

"I don't think I could give up the girls, yet." I said. "I need that outlet. I'm sorry."

Alice nodded again. I knew she didn't want that anymore but she knew that I couldn't just stop things cold turkey. This has been my life since the war began. It took a lot to turn me into what I am now. It would take a lot to turn me back to who I was.

"And as far as going back to the all animal diet. I'm willing to try, under one condition." I said.

"And that is?" Alice asked.

"I'm going to be using Kari to curb my cravings for human blood."

"Fine, but I have a condition for that."

"What?"

"I want to be there when you do it. I want to be able to make sure that you don't take too much. And since it will weaken her, I want to make sure you don't take advantage of her in that state."

"Fine."

"I'm proud of you for trying." Alice told me.

"Thanks." I said.

"By the way, I saw something concerning you and Kari, while you were gone. You wanna see?"

"No, I want to watch things play out on their own."

Alice nodded. I rose from the couch to leave but she grabbed my wrist.

"Can I go talk to her?" Alice asked.

"You won't help her get away?" I did trust her.

I just knew when Alice felt strongly about something, she pulled out all the stops. Alice let out a sad chuckle.

"Unfortunately, with the world being what it is now, this is the safest place for them to be."

I pulled the key to Kari's cage out of my pocket and handed it to her.

"Thank you." she said and slipped the key into her pocket. "Where are you going anyway?"

"Out for a practice hunt. I suppose. I still have some thinking to do."

"About Kari."

I nodded. She gave me one of her all knowing smiles as I stepped out of the room.

KARI

I wasn't sure how long I sat in the dark contemplating Edward before the lights flicked on. My heart skipped a beat. I prayed it wasn't Edward. Or at least not Edward the monster.

I turned to find Alice standing in the doorway. She walked in, shutting and locking the door behind her. I wasn't sure if I should be scared or not. So I backed up a little in the cage trying not to show too much fear.

"It's okay." Alice said. "I'm not here to hurt you."

She pulled a key out of her pocket and walked to the cage.

"I thought Edward was the only one with the key?" I said.

"He is." Alice answered. "This is his key."

I started to panic a little. Edward wasn't going to be happy when he found out, Alice had taken his key. He wouldn't be happy to know Alice was talking to her without permission. I opened my mouth to say these things as she gestured me out off the cage. She cut me off,

"Don't worry. I got his permission to talk to you."

I crawled out of the cage. Still unsure whether or not, I should be afraid. Her demeanor seemed friendly but you could never tell. She led me over to the bed and gestured for me to sit.

"I have some things, I need to say." she told me. "If you don't mind listening, that is."

"I don't really have a choice, do I?" I said. "Mistress Alice says listen so that's what I have to do. Am I right?" I waited for her to hit me for the sarcasm I used. She never did. She simply shook her head.

"That's not how I want it to be." she responded. "If you don't want to listen then I'll just go."

Was this some kind of joke? Did she really mean what she said? Or was she going to hurt me the first chance she got? I looked into her eyes. I saw only love, consideration, and concern. Somehow, I knew I could trust her.

"I'm listening." I stated.

"First, I want to tell you how much I deeply regret what I had to do to your sister. I'm so very sorry." she said.

She sounded so sincere. I saw all that sincereity inher eys when I looked at them.

"If my family wasn't around, I wouldn't have done it." she continued. "I don't believe humans should be used as slaves and food. I'm afraid of how my family would react to knowing that. I don't want to be cast out."

"I understand." I said.

I really did. Family was important and it was hard to lose them. I knew. The lose of my family still burned brightly in my head. The thing that stood out most was Edward's voice giving his permission.

Alice seemed to know what turn my thoughts were taking.

"I'm so sorry." she said. "My family killed your family. Their probably the last people you want to talk about."

"No, Alice." I said. "It's not your fault. It was my own stupidity that go them killed."

"No, Kari, that wasn't stupid, it was brave." Alice stated like a proud parent. "To stand up to six vampires, led by Edward, without showing a single ounce of fear."

"Fat lot of good it did!" I yelled suddenly angry. Not at Alice but myself. "If I hadn't hid them, maybe we woudl've all been, okay."

"That's not true." Alice stated. "Edward makes it a point to take at least one member of every family we raid."

"Why?"

"That's something he can explain better than I can. I knew he was going to take you, for his own, from the moment you walked in that living room, even before you started defying him. I could tell by the way he was studying you. He hasn't looked at anyone like that since Bella. But had you all been obidient little dogs, as my family likes to say, then it was possible that one or more of them would've ended up with a fate worse than death. Believe me, it may not have seemed like it but Edward was showing them mercy because it was what you wanted." she explianed.

"But why would he care about what I wanted?" I asked. "He just wants to control me."

"You don't know him the way I do." she answered. "The war has changed and reshaped us from what we use to be. We still hold a lot of hate. So much happened in the war and all of us lost ourselves. Luckily, thanks to a girl Jasper brought home, I found myself. Edward's fighting to find himself. It's a tougher fight for him than the rest of us though. He has so much hate and anger and no one else to unleash it on.WHich brings me to the next thing I wanted to talk to you about. Don't give up on him."

"What do you mean?"

"I know you see the good side of fughting through. You may be the only one that could get it out of him totally. You just have to keep helping him fight."

"And how do I do that?"

"Keep fighting him. Don't ever give in. Then he'll find, not everyone can be broken. He may also see that broken things can be put back together. You just can't give into him."

I nodded. I had no intention of ever doing that. Now, I had new conviction. I could save Edward by not letting him win. I could save other inoccent people too but Edward was the only one who seemed important. Alice continued talking. I could tell she didn't like to stick to one subject for long.

"Also, I want you to know that I'm here for you. If you need someone just send one of the girls to me and I'll come." Alice said. "I take care of everyone. And that includes you."

I nodded. I could tell from the look in her eyes that she meant what she say. It was nice to know I had a friend who would take care of me.

"Why don't you tell me about your family?" Alice asked after a moments silence.

"Why?" I asked contemplating telling her about my sister, Dierdre.

"Because I heard talking about the loss of people you care about helps." she replied. "I also know it's true from experience."

"Well, and please keep this between you and I, I haven't lost all of them." I said. I felt I could trust her with this information.

"What do you mean?"

"My parents had their oldest child at fifteen. My older sister, Dierdre is now thirty and lives in Palmer, Alaska with my aunt. She went there after she graduated to study theater. She got pregnant during her second year. My niece, Katherine, is now ten. My sister still finished getting her degree. She married her boyfriend and got a job at the local high school. Two years later, she had my nephew, Nathan, who is now five."

I didn't know why I was telling her all of this. I was just giving her amunition if she ever got mad at me. Somehow, though, I knew it would stay our secret.

"And she's expecting her third in three months." I finished.

"Well, when we decide to go to Alaska, I will do the best I can to keep, Edward and the family away from them."

"Thanks, Alice." I said. She smiled at me and pulled me into a hug. When we pulled apart her face broke into a smile. "Hey, Edward, how did it go?"

Edward. That surprised me. I didn't even hear the door open. I hope he didn't hear too much about what I just told Alice. I was afraid to turn around. I didn't know which Edward would be standing there. As long as Alice stayed in the room with me, though, I knew I'd be safe.

"Good." he replied. "But I need something to wash down the horrid taste."

I wasn't quite sure what he was talking about. Alice was nodding her head, though, so I assumed it was okay.

"Well, we didn't discuss how we were going to do it." Alice stated.

"I've already thought of that." He walked to the dresser and beckoned to Alice to follow.

He pulled something out of the drawer and showed it to her. They both stood blocking my view.

"Should we tell her what you're going to do?" Alice asked.

"It would be less painful for her if she did it willingly." Edward responded.

"And do you want it to hurt?" Alice questioned.

My heart was pounding in my chest. I didn't know what they wanted to do but it didn't sound pleasant. If they needed my consent, I wouldn't give it to them. That's all there was too it.

"No." Edward answered Alice.

That surprised me. Wasn't the sole purpose of my being here for his entertainment? I thought he enjoyed my pain.

"Kari," Alice turned back to me as Edward slipped whatever it was it his pocket. "Like I said earlier, Edward wants to change. The first step to his change is to once again stop seeing humans as food. He just had his first animal hunt in a year. But in wasn't enough. He's been drinking so much human blood now that he craves it more. We need you to curb the craving."

"You want me to let him drink from me?" I asked. "You want me to help him."

I couldn't believe Alice would ask me to do something that directly connected to him. Defying him was one thing because that helped me too. This would help him but hurt mean. Not to mention, leave me completely vulnerable to him for a good twenty four hours or so.

"Yes." Alice answered. "I'll be here the whole time. I'll make sure he keeps it in check. I'll kill him if he tries to touch you, while you're week. Besides, he still has to follow the one week order from the doctor."

"And I follow those orders." Edward said. His voice was soft and sweet. It wasn't the monster's voice. "I swear, I won't hurt you."

He went and sat on the bed next to me. I took a look into his eyes. There was no anger or hostility. I felt like he was trying to tell me if I said no, then he wouldn't do it. That's what made me ask the obvious question,

"Why don't you make me?" I hope I made it sound like a sincere question. I didn't want to think about what he would do if he thought it was sarcasm.

"Because taking it forcefully is very painful for the victim. If they are willing then it isn't so bad." Edward explained. "And let's not get into this right now but I really don't want to hurt you more than I have to."

I was bewildered by his statement but I let it drop.

"What do I have to do?" I asked.

Something inside told me it would be okay. I don't know why I felt I could trust Edward. Perhaps, it was his eyes. I liked the beautiful butterscotch color they were. I'm guessing it came from feeding on animals. His was being so kind but I didn't sense any reason to think it was phony. Maybe, Alice was rubbing off on him.

"I need your wrist." he said. As he pulled the object out of his pocket. It was a dagger.

I took a deep breath and held my left wrist out to him. Alice grabbed my right hand, reassuringly. I watched as Edward dragged the point of the blade across my wrist. I flinched slightly from the pain and squeezed Alice's hand. When the blood started pooling on the wound, I had to bury by head in Alice's chest. The sight of blood made me queasy.

I felt some slight discomfort as Edward began sucking from the room. I felt weaker with every bit that he took from me. It did hurt a little but i cringed my teeth from the pain of it. Alice stroked my hair and whispered that he was almost done.

I wasn't sure how long it lasted but when Edward finished he released my wrist. I let it fall limply next to me. I felt weak and dizzy. I watched dazed as Edward walked over to another drawer and pulled out a box. Then came back to the bed.

"I didn't make it deep enough to need stitches." he said.

Too weak to hold myself up, I laid back down on Alice's chest. I was concious as Edward tended to the wound. The the exhaustion took over. \

EDWARD

I quietly thanked Alice for being there as I put the first aid kit back. I almost took too much. In fact, I think she let me take a little more than I should because she was trying to watch me and comfort Kari.

"How long do you think before Bella comes home?" I asked as I walked back to the bed.

"A few hours, why?" Alice replied.

"I want Kari to be comfortable while she rests. But i can't risk Bella walking in when she out of the cage again." I answered.

I hated Bella and her jealous tendencies. Besides, she was probably out screwing someone right now. So what was so wrong with what I did? She was so hypocritical.

"If you want to let her have the bed. I'll sit outside and distract Bella when she comes home. That way you can move Kari." Alice answered.

"Thanks." I said.

She helped my lay Kari down and cover her up.

"I want tell Katya to get her some better clothes." I said.

I no longer had an interest in the reason she wore next to nothing. Well, I did but I wouldn't force her again. I didn't think I'd force her to do anything again. She was just to sweet and beautiful.

Alice went to sit outside for Bella as I watched Kari sleep. I realized as I watched her, Alice helped open the door but I was changing for the beautiful and brave girl laying in my bed.

A/N: Okay, I think this ending is better. Don't worry. Bad Edward will be back every now and then. I hope it didn't seem to random. I'm sorry for the sucky dream at the beginning. It was the best I could come up with. Also, Dierdre and her family will be important, later. So that wasn't random or anything. This chapter was to basically show the friendship forming between Alice, Edward, and Bella.