Disclaimer: I do not own Twilight or Kingdom Hearts. Only the disembodied voice and it's character, I own. Tee hee.
Chapter Five
"There's no time for reunions kids," Charlie said sternly as he watched Aerith kneel down to take a look at Esme's calf wound. "We need to get their mother fixed up in a jiffy before we do anything else."
Yuffie disappeared further into the safe house, but she appeared out of a hallway, toting a large brown leather bag. She handed it to Aerith, who began to sift through it. While Aerith looked through her bag, Bella, Rosalie and Jasper still held eye contact.
Jasper took a small step forward, his face crumbling as if he were in pain. Rosalie on the other hand showed no emotion whatsoever. She merely let her eyes run over Bella's body as if she were looking for any injuries.
And then, not for the first time, Rosalie shocked Bella with her words.
"Bella," Rosalie said blandly, as if she had just bumped into the human at a shopping mall. "How nice to see… you are well."
Bella gaped. This had to be the first time the blond haired vampire had ever said something to her that was not … well, rude. She snapped her mouth shut and watched as Rosalie then moved away from them to kneel down beside Aerith and Esme. She grabbed a hold of Esme's hand and squeezed it to relay some kind of assurance of comfort.
"Bella," Jasper breathed heavily and with a sorrowful whimper. "Bella, I-I'm so --"
"No," Bella said sternly as tears began to fill her eyes. "Don't you dare say you're sorry, Jasper."
Jasper bowed his head and sucked in an unneeded breath. Shame. It filled his body. If he were a human, he would be bawling his head off. He would be crawling on his knees and clutching at Bella's ankles for her to forgive him. Forgive him for trying to make her into a vampire version of a happy meal.
But she won't, his conscious whispered to him. Because you're a monster, Jasper.
Two small hands were suddenly on either side of his face and he froze stiffly. He allowed them to bring his face up.
Sisterly Affection. Acceptance.
Forgiveness.
They radiated off of Bella as she held Jasper's face in her tiny hands. A quiet sob tore itself out of his mouth. Jasper allowed Bella to pull him into her arms and he laid his head onto her shoulder, his arms hanging lifeless at his sides.
"There is nothing to forgive, Jasper," Bella whispered quietly.
As if sensing that Jasper was about to object, Bella grumbled in his ear.
"Will you just shut the hell up," she grumbled. "I don't want to hear any kind of excuse or reasoning that you think will change my decision. You acted out instinctively. I nor anyone else can blame you for something that is considered instinct."
He sighed, a smile slowly appearing on his face. Jasper raised his head and grinned at her. Bella gave him a satisfied smile before tip-toeing to kiss his cool cheek.
"Thank you, Bella," he whispered softly. "Y-you don't know how much your forgiveness means to me…"
Jasper grinned as Bella rolled her eyes up at him. With two fingers she poked him in the ribs softly. He felt it, though it felt barely like a brush of a feather.
"I just told you," Bella said, trying to sound jokingly annoyed. "There's nothing to forgive, Jasper."
She poked him again. "On the other hand…."
Jasper's grin fell as he watched her joking expression turn to anger. "… Leaving me without even saying a proper goodbye. That will take me a while to forgive you for."
He opened his mouth to give her an apology, but Bella took one of her hands and covered his mouth. Jasper's apology came out muffled and he sighed again.
And then he blinked.
Jasper breathed in the scent of her from her hand and he blinked again.
It was gone. The blood lust he had felt before, from the scent of her blood, was gone. Of course, the last time she had cut herself on wrapping paper. But, it still astonished him. Her scent no longer held any thrall for him. Jasper looked down at Bella in awe.
Bella took her hand away from his mouth and patted him on the shoulder.
"It's going to take me a while, Jazz," Bella said with a growing smile. "But I think I'll forgive you eventually."
Her smile widened into a grin. "I fully expect you to grovel… Are you alright?"
Jasper nodded and returned her smile. "I'm fine… more than fine really."
"It's not working."
Both Jasper and Bella turned to Aerith who sighed in obvious frustration. They both watched as Aerith dragged Yuffie to a corner of the room and whispered into her ear as quickly as she could. Bella and Charlie had absolutely no idea what they were talking about.
But Esme, Jasper and Rosalie on the other hand, could. With their super sensitive hearing they heard what Aerith was saying to Yuffie as if the young woman had been speaking loudly to them all.
"It's not working, Yuffie," Aerith said sadly.
Yuffie looked confused. "What do you mean? Cura?"
The woman in the pink dress nodded. "I tried that one first and then I tried Curaga. It looked as if it were working for a moment, but then it just stopped. It's not working, Yuffie. I'm not powerful enough."
Biting her lower lip, Yuffie thought for a moment. And then she brightened up quickly with a squeal.
"I know!" Yuffie whispered, nodding with enthusiasm. "Why don't I go get Merlin and Squ-- eh, Leon?"
Aerith nodded too, her smile appearing on her face. "That's a wonderful idea, Yuffie! Yes, go get Merlin and Leon… I really don't know what Leon would be able to do in this kind of situation, but Merlin would most certainly be helpful to us."
Yuffie sprinted toward the door and slammed it behind her with a startling bang. Everyone watched as Aerith made her way over to Esme and sat beside her.
"Don't you worry, ma'am," Aerith said in her usual soft voice. "Everything is going to be fine. Tell me, are you in any pain?"
Esme sucked on her bottom lip and nodded.
"Yes," he voice wobbled. "W-what was that thing? That thing that bit me…"
"That was a Heartless," Aerith answered.
Charlie's look darkened and Bella sighed.
"They're the reason why we're hear," he said angrily, glancing toward Bella, who nodded. "It was like those little creeps lured us into position and then sucked me and Bella into a gooey black hole."
Bella hesitated before she spoke. "W-when… He left me in the woods, one attacked me."
They all turned to stare at her. Two stares were confused, while three looked suspicious. Jasper rubbed his chin and grimaced slightly at the waves of deep sadness and heartbreak that were coming off of Bella.
"What do you mean?" Jasper asked, though he had a sick feeling that he already knew the answers to all his questions. "Who's he?"
Shaking her head, Bella mirrored his grimace. "Doesn't matter. Anyway, it attacked me and I managed to runaway before it seriously hurt me."
Charlie went slowly to his daughter and clutched her tightly to his side. Bella closed her eyes and wrapped her arms around Charlie's waist.
"Edward?"
Bella flinched at his name being said aloud. Jasper took a step toward her. Giving a hiss of warning Rosalie stood and grabbed at his arm.
Be brave, Isabella…
Opening her eyes, Bella looked toward Jasper.
"Is he Edward?" Jasper asked with a frown.
Rosalie hissed again. "Enough. Now is obviously not the time for this. Later."
Frowning as well, Charlie nodded at Rosalie. Jasper glanced between them all, before nodding his head. The empathic vampire turned and took a seat on the floor in front of his mother. He took her hand.
"All in due time, sweetheart," Esme said so low that no human ear would have never been able to hear it. "We will have your answers in due time."
~*~
Walking into the courtyard entrance of the Coliseum, Edward sat his bottom under a golden statue. Following after him was his sister, Alice. She trailed behind with a sad look upon her face.
"Did you see everyone's clothes?" she whined softly. "They look like Esme's draperies."
Edward rolled his eyes. He sighed as Alice complained on and on about the non-existence of fashion in the world that they were currently in. She had looked as if she were about to cry when she saw that shopping malls were non-existent as well.
"Hey!"
Edward blinked up at Alice who frowned angrily at him.
"Are you even listening to me?"
Edward nodded and then turned away as she went back into her mindless babble. His brows suddenly crinkled as a thought came from Alice. His features softened at the image of Bella from his sister's mind.
Bella had her back to Alice, but when she suddenly turned her brown hair fell around the head of a donkey. Springing to his feet, Edward growled at his sister.
"That's not fucking funny, Alice!" he growled under his breath knowing full well that his sister could hear him.
Alice nodded. "I'm sorry. I was just kind of mad that you weren't listening… I miss Jasper, Edward."
Shaking his head and his anger away, Edward grinned at his sister. "It's only been about half a day, Alice. Besides, when you and Rose would go hunting you would be gone for days."
Sighing, Alice sat at Edward's feet.
"I know," Alice said quietly. "But on those times Jasper and I were on the same planet. Can you honestly say that you don't miss Bella, Edward?"
Sitting back down, Edward refused to answer. Alice grinned. Of course Edward missed Bella. It was a stupid question that Alice couldn't help but ask. Her grin slipped back down to a smile, but then it sprung back to life with vigor at the sight of Carlisle and Emmett coming through to the courtyard.
Carlisle smiled also when he spotted them. Emmett look positively bored. Jumping on the balls of her feet, Alice skipped forward in a way that would have made any ballerina jealous. Their father took Alice in his arms and gave a soft kiss to her brow.
"This place is a fu- err, I mean-- a friggin' bore," Emmett said with a sideways glance at Carlisle.
Alice was nodding in agreement. "For the first time in my un-life, I have to say that I am with Emmett on this one."
"Hey, thanks!"
"Don't mention… Really, don't."
"Awww man, Rosie would have gotten a kick out it."
"Jazz would have thought the apocalypse was upon us."
"Look around you, little sister," Emmett said with utmost amusement. "I think it already is."
Edward rolled his eyes and didn't waste time getting down to business. "There's a small marketplace a few miles away. There was nothing there. Just a bunch of old men selling potteries and rugs. All in all, we found absolutely nothing that would be able to get us off of this world."
"We went down the other path, as you know," Carlisle said to his son. "What we found surprised us immensely. It was a sort of gate way to the underworld, if you can believe that."
Eyes widening, Edward's jaw dropped. "I'm sorry, Father. But can you repeat that again?"
Alice sighed in exasperation. "Didn't you hear him the first time, Edward? Carlisle said that they found a portal down to the -- Wait, what?!"
They both looked at their father incredulously. It had to be impossible! There was no way that Carlisle and Emmett had found some kind of way to … Well, hell. Emmett grinned widely and in a flash his beefy hands were wrapped around both of Alice and Edward's wrists.
"What are you doing, you big oaf!"
Emmett's grin looked as if it could become even more brighter and he chuckled as he dragged a reluctant Alice and defiant Edward to the doors that lead out of the coliseum square.
"Now, now, Emo-ward," he crooned. "That's not a nice word to use. Besides, Rosalie has already used it on me… I'm gunna give you both some proof."
Eyes brightening with curiosity, Alice still looked wary.
"Are we going to be safe going down there?" she asked, peering over her shoulder to look back at their coven patriarch, who was following right behind them with a fatherly smile. "This is Tetarus we're talking about…"
Nodding reassuringly at his youngest daughter, Carlisle took her wrist out of Emmett's and held her hand in his own. "I assure you, Alice, everything will be fine. Emmett and I were not affected by it in the least. I actually don't believe that we were exactly in Tetarus. More like at the gates of it."
Edward pulled his wrist out of Emmett's grasp as the bigger vampire pushed open the doors. There were two different stairs. One was the way that Alice and Edward had taken. It had lead them down to a normal, human inhabited land. They were now being lead down the path that Emmet and their father had taken.
As they climbed lower and lower, the light was diminishing. There was an eerie glow of purple and green that was beginning to come off of their surroundings. The once Greek marbled walls and stairs were turning into a dark dirt colored stone with the same purple and green glow.
When they finally reached the end of the stairs they were silent. It looked as if they had descended into a cave. Stalactites the size of elephants and as long as three story buildings loomed over them.
Alice let go of Carlisle's hand and walked a few steps forward. Her eyes were wide as she took in the sights around her.
"This place…," she whispered. "Is foreboding."
The other three nodded and followed her as she walked to a strange body of water. There was a small row boat that was secured to a stalagmite floating at the water's edge. Alice gasped, taking in the colossal building way beyond the body of water.
"What is that?" Alice asked in fearful curiosity.
Carlisle shook his head, unable to take his eyes off of it. "I have no idea."
"We didn't even go this far into it," Emmett said, his eyes narrowing. "We mostly stayed away from the water. I think we can all agree that it looks demonic, in a way."
Edward took Alice by the arm and dragged her away from the water's edge.
"Noticed it did you?"
They all tensed and turned at the voice behind them. Edward crouched in front of his sister and Emmett growled menacingly.
The stranger was leaning against a stalagmite. His clothes were dark and his hair was blonde. His features were pale and there seemed to be something big strapped to his back, under his cloak.
"That is the underworld's Coliseum," said the stranger with a scowl. "It was made by Hades himself. It's to satiate the violence and blood lust of the… inmates."
They appraised him for a few seconds before Carlisle took the polite step forward.
"My name is Carlisle Cullen," their father said.
He had positioned Alice behind him and had taken a place on the other side of the Edward. Unlike Edward and Emmett, he had stayed in his standing position. Though he did not make any moves to approach the stranger or greet him with a hand shake
"These are my children," Carlisle went on. "Edward, Emmett and Alice. I must say, you are the first human that we have come into physical contact with on this world."
The stranger's face was blank. But he nodded at them in turn.
"I am one of the few humans on this world that is from another," the stranger said to them. He glanced at the Cullen's clothing quickly, but then turned his eyes away from them. "I gather from the way you're dressed that you not from these parts, either?"
Carlisle nodded. "You are correct. We are from a world called Earth."
"Our world was attacked by these black monsters," Alice said from behind the three male vampires.
The stranger nodded again. "The Heartless is what they are called. They also attacked my own world, called Hollow Bastion. Only a handful of us survived. They relocated to a world called Traverse Town for the time being. Little by little we are getting rid of the Heartless vermin that still inhabit our world."
Edward stood out of his crouch and hardened his features.
"How exactly did you get to this world then?" Edward asked, his eyes still narrowed in suspicion.
The stranger finally gave eye contact. His eyes were dark and they showed hardness that any of them had only seen come from Jasper. This stranger had soldier eyes.
"I came by Gummi Ship," the stranger answered. "It is a vessel that was created on my world that can safely transport any being from one world to another. I'm just here for work."
The four members of the Cullen family exchanged smiles and grins. They finally knew that they would be able to get off of this world and go to other worlds. They needed to find their four other missing family members and Charlie Swan.
"I apologize for being forward before hand," Carlisle said slowly. "But I would like to ask if you could take us off of this world. If that is alright with you, that is."
The stranger made eye contact with them again. He looked at them all in turn, his eyes narrowing. And then they widened.
"When was the last time you fed?"
The four Cullens froze. What exactly did he mean? Did he mean in the human way? Or did he mean it in the vampire way?
Alice suddenly gasped and they all turned to look at her. Her eyes glazed and she nearly fell over, but Carlisle held her to his side in concern. When her eyes focused they landed on the stranger.
She smiled and clasped her hands in front of her.
"You've met a vampire before, haven't you?" she asked with a laugh.
The three other Cullen turned to look at the stranger. He nodded, one part of his lip turning up. A smirk was slowly showing on his face.
"Yeah, we were…" the stranger pursed his lips. "I suppose you could have called us acquaintances. His name was Vincent Valentine. I haven't seen him since before the Heartless attacked my world… now answer my question."
"Yesterday," Alice chipped in excitement.
Carlisle, Edward and Emmett nodded in agreement. They had fed before they had left Forks in anticipation of the long journey they would have taken to distance themselves from Bella. The stranger stood up properly and ran a hand through his blonde and slightly spiky hair.
"I suppose I could take you to Traverse Town," the stranger sighed. "that's where I'm going after I do my job. So you vamps are going to have to wait for a couple of days. Maybe only two. Got it?"
"Yes, of course," Carlisle smiled in thanks, looking relieved. "Thank you very much ….?"
The stranger began to walk toward the stairs that would lead them to the Coliseum and they followed after him.
"Cloud Strife. The name is Cloud Strife."
"Thank you again, Cloud."
~*~
She grimaced at her face in the mirror. The dark shadows that were under her eyes implied exhaustion. Which would be right. The events that had taken place in the short amount of time had absolutely exhausted her. Body and mind.
After flushing the toilet and washing her hands, Bella turned the light off in the bathroom and closed the door. She walked down a short hallway to the living room where everyone was gathered.
She stood between Jasper and Charlie, and watched as the man named Merlin kneeled next to Aerith and Esme. He was exactly what his name implied. The old man was dressed in what she supposed was a wizard's clothing and boots. He had taken his pointed wizard's hat off and hung it on a peg beside the door. The man called Leon leaned against the wall beside the door. He wore a frown on his scarred face.
Bella felt the presence of Rosalie behind her. Jasper had inched so close to her that their side were touching.
"This old bastard better be for real," Rosalie hissed quietly, behind Jasper, Bella and Charlie. "Magic, my pale ass."
Bella giggled at Rosalie's words. Charlie nodded at Rosalie with a frown. His eyes watched Leon warily. Jasper said nothing. Like Charlie he was wary of the man called Leon. His eyes would glance between the man and his mother. They would switch from caring to diamond hard suspicion like the switch of a light.
Jasper could feel the emotions of concern coming off of Rosalie, Bella and Charlie. And also from Yuffie, Aerith and the old man named Merlin. The concern was for Esme. And then there was the immense dislike. And it was coming from Leon. Dislike was radiating off of the man. And it was only aimed at the three vampires in the room.
Coincidence? Jasper didn't think so.
They all finally gave their attention to Aerith, Merlin and Esme. Aerith and Merlin placed one hand near where her wound was. Instantly, a green glow was being emitted from their hands to Esme. It spread over Esme's body and their eyes widened.
Their huddled little group all gasped as they watched the wound begin to heal itself.
"This is really tingly," Esme squeaked.
Everyone watched, including Leon, as Esme's wound knitted together perfectly and at a rapid pace. As soon as it completely closed, Aerith and Merlin took their glowing hands away from the healed Esme.
Esme sat up and caressed her healed calf. She hissed and held her leg tenderly.
"The soreness is to be expected, my dear," Merlin said with a jovial smile. "The symptoms are all the same whether you be human, or vampire, like yourself."
Jasper, Rosalie and Esme froze. Bella gasped in horror, while Charlie blinked in disbelief and confusion. In a vampire flash Jasper and Rosalie were standing protectively in front of their mother. They growling in warning at the other humans. Rosalie suddenly looked dangerously toward Bella.
And Bella knew exactly what the blond vampire must have been thinking.
"No!" Bella said vehemently, answering the blonde's silent question. "I didn't! I swear!"
Jasper glared and hissed at Rosalie. "She didn't! Bella would never tell our secret to anyone!"
Charlie turned to look at his daughter with wide, angry eyes.
"You knew?" he asked in disbelief. "You knew what they were and you didn't tell me?!"
"It wasn't my secret to tell, Dad!" Bella exclaimed.
Leon pushed away from the wall he had been leaning against. He unsheathed the weapon that had been strapped to his side and pointed it at the three Cullens. Without a second's thought, Charlie unsheathed his own gun and stood by the Cullen's side.
"I would put that away, if I were you," Leon said with calm anger. "You might hurt yourself."
Rosalie and Jasper hissed, while Esme only looked on with widened eyes. She was still holding her calf with tender care. Charlie sneered at Leon and chuckled darkly.
"Funny," said Charlie. "I was going to say the exact same thing to you, kid."
Leon glared now. "Don't make me hurt you… Old man. And Believe me, I won't hesitate to cut you down like I will to these leeches."
Rage. It was filling her cup to the brim and overflowing. Bella stepped forward with determination to stand in front of the Cullens and her father. She felt the familiar feeling, just like the day before when she had cut down the heartless before they could further hurt her father.
Don't be afraid, Isabella… Show them you mean business…
With her right hand she grasped at an invisible something. With shining sparks her blade appeared out of thin air. Bella ignored the three gasps from behind her, along with the gasps that had come from Merlin, Aerith and Yuffie.
She pointed her weapon at Leon calmly, who eyed the blade in her hand in disbelief. And infuriated anger.
"Say that again, asshole, and then we'll see who exactly gets cut the fuck down."
There was no way Bella was going to let this man hurt her family. No matter what.
TBC
A/N/: Sorry about the TBC. The chapter was just WAY too long and I needed it to be cut in half somewhere. And don't worry, the voice will be explained in the next chapter. Reviews and feedback would be great. Tell me how I'm doing, folks. -- JMMendiola
