Disclaimer: I do not own Twilight or Kingdom Hearts!
Chapter Seven
"So let me get this straight," Rosalie said, twirling a blonde curl around her finger. "There is a voice in your head? A woman's voice that's been telling you what to do?"
Bella nodded, hesitantly. Her cheeks pinked and she nibbled on her lower lip.
After sending a quick letter to the safe house with a little person called a Moogle, Rosalie had bartered a room on Sid's ship. She was now a pair of canary diamond earrings short, but at least she was able to intrigue a part of Sid's mind that loved all things shiny. It had been more than an hour now and she stayed quiet as Sid took his ship into the air.
And now, Rosalie was staring at Bella. She had listened for the better part of the hour to what Bella had to say. It had started off from where Edward had left her in woods.
"You know," Rosalie said with a blank face. "I have half a mind to get that perverted old man to turn this thing around and take us back to Traverse Town!"
Bella stood her ground and clenched her fists. "No."
Rosalie sneered. "What the hell do you mean, no?"
"You heard me," Bella said with a replica sneer of her own. "I'm not going back to Traverse Town. I have something to do. I have to do something real important. I can feel it in my very being, Rosalie!"
Turning her back on the blond vampire, Bella walked out of the room that Sid had allowed her to stay in, an empty bowl in one hand. A sudden gust of wind ruffled her hair and Rosalie blocked her way to the kitchen.
"Get out of my way, Rosalie," Bella said with clenched teeth.
Growling, Rosalie took a predatory step forward. "We are going back to Traverse Town and that is final!"
It was in that second that Sid had decided to stick his head out of the pilots pit. He grinned and glanced between Bella and Rosalie with child like abandon.
"Woo," he cheered and sang. "Cat fiiiiiiight!"
"Shut up!" both Rosalie and Bella yelled at him simultaneously.
Sid's eyes widened before he ducked his head back in quickly. Bella tried to walk around Rosalie, only to be blocked again. And again
Bella got a glint in her eye and she set the bowl on the floor by the wall. Just as she reached full height the Keyblade appeared in her hands and she crouched, ready to fight. Rosalie threw her head back and laughed.
"Y-you can't be serious-OOF!"
Rosalie found herself flung across the hall and into the kitchen, with wide eyes. She was on her feet instantly, her eyes still wide and her hands clutching at her sore stomach. Where had all that strength come from? From Bella? But she was just a human!
"Did you just kick me?" Rosalie shrieked at Bella in disbelief.
"I did," the brown haired human confirmed through still clenched teeth. "I won't fight you, but if I have to - I will defend myself from you."
The vampire watched, still struck with disbelief at Bella's kick to her stomach. The Keyblade in Bella's hands disappeared in a shower of sparks. Bella then picked up her bowl and walked into the kitchen to place it into the dishwasher.
"How did she do that?" Rosalie whispered to herself.
Although she would never admit it out loud - to anyone, other than Emmett - she was hurt. Mentally, not physically.
She was a vampire after all. She had enough strength in her index finger to do push-ups with an elephant or two on her back! The question had never crossed her mind before - any of the Cullen's minds - but was Bella even human?
Don't underestimate Isabella, Rosalie Hale…
Rosalie gasped and looked about her at vampire speed. Bella walked out of the kitchen with a glass of water and watched with a frown as the blond vampire began to look increasingly paranoid and just plain freaked out.
"What?" she gasped and then turned to Bella. "Did you hear that?"
Smirking, Bella walked passed her to the room that they would be sharing.
"I didn't hear anything," Bella said with a laugh. "Maybe you're hearing voices, Rosalie?"
She growled at the human's back and followed her into the room. Bella sat cross legged on the bunk bed and sipped at her glass while Rosalie stood over her, glaring.
"I'm not fucking hearing voices!" Rosalie growled.
Of course not. I am most certainly not a voice from someone's demented fantasies….
Rosalie squeaked. "There it was again!"
"That is who I was talking about," Bella said quietly. "Believe me now?"
The blonde remained silent and still as a statue. Her eyes darted around the room suspiciously. She looked like she was thinking heavily. Bella rolled her eyes and finished her glass of water. She set the glass on a small side table and looked up at the vampire, just as Rosalie looked down at her.
"What are you?" Rosalie blurted.
Looking up at Rosalie, Bella gave her a confused and queer look.
"What are you talking about?"
"Are you human?" Rosalie asked instantly, again.
"Of course I am," Bella said dryly. "Don't be stupid."
Rosalie sneered, "I'm not being stupid, you little bitch! Didn't Edward even explain to you the details of our vampire bodies? What you did to me - kicked me in the stomach and sent me flying a few feet - is supposed to be physically impossible!"
The brown haired, brown eyed human looked up at the blond haired vampire with wide eyes. Not even bothered by Rosalie's cursing insult, Bella blinked.
"Well…" she whispered to herself. "Shit… I mean, I forgot."
"What do you mean, you forgot?" Rosalie demanded.
"Ed- He did tell me," Bella began to explain. "He didn't really give me specific details, but I sort of got the gist of it. He did put a dent in Tyler's car. He did tell me that the only thing that could pierce the skin of a vampire's was another vampire's teeth."
"And that's all?"
Bella nodded slowly.
Rosalie hissed. "Leave it to the fuck-ward to leave shit out."
Her side of her mouth was twitching and Bella was aching to giggle at the insult that had no doubt been meant for him. A snicker escaped out. She sucked it back in. Bella watched as Rosalie crossed her arms with a irritated scowl.
"He was right about those things," Rosalie said grudgingly. "Only another vampire has the power to tear another vampire to pieces. Just like we did James back in Phoenix."
Bella couldn't help but unconsciously running a finger over the crescent shaped scar on her arm. Rosalie watched. She held back a curse and quickly looked away before the human could catch her staring.
She continued on. "And that's just it. Only vampires are able to physically hurt vampires. And fire too, of course. What you did to me is just physically impossible! If an eighteen wheeler hit me at 200 mph I wouldn't even have a scratch on me… Well, my clothes would probably be torn to shreds."
Bella blinked. "Wow."
Rosalie scoffed. "Is that all you have say? 'Wow'?"
"Oh, I'm so sorry!" Bella said in an exaggeratedly apologetic voice. "Should I have bowed down to the super strong vampire and kissed her feet?"
Rosalie rolled her eyes. "You've really grown a pair of balls, haven't you? Anyway, an explanation would be nice."
"I don't have one, Rosalie. I really don't know how I was able to do that."
I think I may be able to offer some kind of explanation…. It is only a theory, though, so please just take it into consideration and not as fact…
Bella and Rosalie perked up. Bella with interest and Rosalie with a flinch.
"I cannot believe I am about to listen to a disembodied voice in my head," she muttered to herself darkly.
Well, I believe that -
In was in that moment that someone knocked on the door. They both turned just as Sid stuck his head into the room. He wore a rakish grin on her face that brightened his whole demeanor.
"Hello, ladies."
"What do you want, old man?" sneered Rosalie automatically.
Sid's grin quickly disappeared and his mouth twitched. Normally, Sid was a snaky and sarcastic son of a bastard with a mouth as foul as a sailor's. But around these girls, it seemed that he just could not find in himself to be… himself.
Under Rosalie's scrutinizing gaze, he wanted to scurry away. There was something predatory about this blond haired beauty. Her extremely pale skin and white teeth seemed to rub him the wrong way. And it tickled at his memory…
She wasn't normal, that was for sure. Or at least that was what his inner being was hinting at him.
And she was just plain scary.
He was almost certain that if she wanted to, Rosalie would be able to tear him to pieces with her bare hands. Sid tilted his head to the side in thought and his grin was surely, but slowly making a reappearance. His inner 'devil' conscious was springing up onto his shoulder and pulling on his earlobe with a toothy and perverted smile. 'Being torn to pieces by a beautiful woman would sure be a good way to go, pal…'
Sid was suddenly brought out his thoughts and he squawked in surprise. Rosalie had taken the front of his shirt in her fisted, little hand and yanked him forward with a snarl.
"Rosalie!" the brown haired girl called Nia exclaimed.
"What do you want, you perverted old fool?" Rosalie growled. "I'm gunna bash that disgusting Chester-the-molester grin off of your face if you don't explain quick enough!"
"Eh," Sid chuckled hesitantly and then gulped. "I-I was just going to ask you girl's if you had a specific place you were headed to…?"
Rosalie let go of his shirt and he stumbled back a few steps. He hadn't known it at the time, but the blond had actually managed to pull him up onto the tips of his toes. Sid watched as Rosalie turned to look at Nia. The brown haired girl called Nia returned the look before setting her brown eyes on him.
"We'll get back to you on that okay?"
Sid nodded and made a quick exit. The door slammed shut behind him. Sighing in satisfaction, Rosalie took a seat on the bed across from Bella's.
"Where were we?" Rosalie said aloud.
As I was saying previously, I believe that your new found strength has to be the doing of your new status as a Keyblade wielder…
"You mean that weird ass sword that Bella keeps on popping out of nowhere?" Rosalie murmured, more to herself than to the voice of the woman.
Yes, you would be correct… that is one theory. I just came up with another… If it turns out that it is not the effect of the Keyblade, then it is a possibility that Isabella is not the problem. The problem would be you, Rosalie. You, and quite possibly the rest of your family…
Both Rosalie and Bella gasped. They turned to look at each other in alarm.
There is a possibility that you and your family could be turning human…
Silence was dominant in the small living cabin for a few seconds. Rosalie and Bella stared at each other, not exactly seeing each other but quietly mulling over the thoughts in each other's heads.
The blond vampire was the first to recover.
"Bullshit!"
Bella rolled her eyes. "Let's hear your opinion or theory, then?"
Rosalie crossed her arms over her chest and spoke briskly . "I don't have a theory for this foolish conversation. I just have my opinion -"
"Yay," Bella muttered under her breath darkly.
"- and there would be no way that that particular theory would be able to happen!" she exclaimed. "That would impossible! Impossible!"
"Well, why the hell not?" Bella asked, rising up in defense of the feminine voice that had spoken to them both. "I could have sworn a week ago that it was impossible for a person to have been taken to another world, right?"
Huffing to herself unnecessarily, Rosalie sat down on the small twin bed that would be hers. It wasn't as if she needed it, but it still gave her comfort that she would have some kind of sanctuary to snuggle into. It took a few quiet minutes for Bella's words to sink in.
She was afraid to admit to herself, but it was possible that they were in fact turning human. After all, before Carlisle had turned her she had believed that vampires had been a myth. And now that she had been sucked into a swirling black vortex and spirited to another world, who's to say that vampires couldn't be turned back into humans?
"I miss my husband," Rosalie sighed into the pillow, closing her eyes and turning her back to Bella.
She tensed as she felt her bed dip behind her. Bella sighed as she snuggled into Rosalie's back, her forehead leaning against the blond vampire's shoulder.
She missed Edward.
You are both exhausted. Get some sleep, Isabella and you should rest up as well, Rosalie. When Isabella wakes we - well, actually you both - will inform Sid that we are trying to visit an older gentleman by the name of Yen Sid… Sweet dreams…
The Next Day…
"Today is the day!"
Alice grinned an impossible grin. Both Carlisle and Edward were sure they could hear the tearing and creaking of metal from the way she grinned. Emmett grinned like his sister and clapped his hands together in child-like abandon.
Edward rolled his eyes and gritted his teeth at the random thoughts of the three members of his family. His father was eager to see and hold his wife in his arms. Emmett was eager to do … other activities. He grimaced and gagged mentally as Emmett went as far as to think in detail about what he wanted to do to Rosalie, his sister.
"You disgusting pig," Edward muttered in disgust. "I hope we don't see Rosalie for a while yet. That way you can pleasure your own self to blindness."
Carlisle's lips thinned and they twitched wildly. He tried to keep a disapproving frown onto his face, but he was fighting a losing battle. Sniggering loudly, Alice covered her mouth with a dainty hand. They guessed rather quickly to themselves that Edward must have seen something in Emmett's mind.
Emmett looked sideways at Edward and sucked his teeth. "No one told you to stick your nose in my thoughts, bro."
Edward sneered. "I wasn't anywhere near your thoughts. You're projecting your desires without even knowing it."
Today is the day! Oh, I can't wait to see my Jazzy! It shouldn't be too long now, where is that spiky haired kid with his pet duck and pet dog…?
That was Alice, obviously. Edward waded through her thoughts and came across one that did not seem familiar to him. It was of a spiky haired teen. He looked to be about fifteen and he was holding an oddly shaped weapon. Was that a sword?
Beside the teen boy were two beings that absolutely boggled his mind. The largest duck he had ever seen in his life was walking alongside the boy, and it was wearing a shirt. On the other side of the teen was a dog fully clothed.
Guessing that Edward must have also taken a look into her mind, Alice grinned at him.
"I know," she said with excitement. "It's so weird! But I can't help but feel excited!"
This grabbed Emmett's attention. Edward was grateful of that. The burly vampire had abruptly stopped all the extremely pornographic thoughts in a nanosecond.
"Excited about what?" Inquired Emmett. "Come on! I want in on this!"
Alice squealed in anticipation. "You're just going to have to wait, Em! But I guarantee you that it will be worth it!"
"AWW COME ON!"
"Emmett Cullen! That was my ear, young man!"
"Sorry, Dad…"
"Sorry, Daddy…"
"HEY! SHUT YOUR PIE-HOLE ED-STROGEN!"
"FUCK YOU, EMMETT!"
Before the two boys could launch at each other they were suddenly grabbed by the back of their collars. Carlisle dragged them out of the stands with an outraged and furious look upon his face. Edward and Emmett glanced sideways at each other in shock and fear. Never in their lives had that ever seen their father so furious.
Watching with wide eyes and a delighted grin, Alice followed after her father and two brothers with glee radiating from every pore. She was very certain that if her Jazz was here he would be soaking up her happiness like a sponge… But he wasn't.
She frowned sadly and sighed.
Catching each other's eyes, Alice's grin returned with a vengeance and she wiggled her fingers at Emmett and Edward with a giggle.
"You're in trouble!" she mouthed to them silently before smothering another snigger with her fist.
Emmett flipped her the bird and Edward sneered as their father proceeded to drag them out of the coliseum, to the coliseum square. They were abruptly and unceremoniously thrown on all fours onto the square floor.
"Just what has gotten into you two?" Carlisle said quietly, his voice drenched in venom.
All three of them flinched at the way his voice dripped with dangerous warning. When Carlisle was angry, there was no escaping his wrath if you were the focus of it. His anger was almost as scary as their mother Esme's. Almost. Not quite.
Carlisle paced back and forth in front of them. He was a blur to the human eye. With one hand on his chin and the other wrapped around his chest, Carlisle stopped and frown down at them with a disappointed glint in his eye.
"Your mother and I have taught you boys better," he said to them. "Unfortunately, I will have no other choice but to inform your mother of your behaviors as soon as we are reunited."
Edward bowed his head in defeat while Emmett rose to his knees and took on a prayer position. Emmett crawled to Carlisle and pleaded.
"Nooo!" he cried. "No, Dad, no! Please! Mom's going to take away my Xbox!"
Rolling his eyes, Carlisle swatted at Emmett's head. It sounded as if someone threw a stone brick down onto a concrete sidewalk.
"It's for your own good, Son," Carlisle said, sounding sympathetic. "Take it like a man. Now, lets get back into the coliseum before the humans begin to arrive and take our seats."
Emmett rose to follow after Carlisle and Edward made to do so also. Until Alice grabbed him by the arm and pulled him back. Edward gritted his teeth in actual pain as he glared down at his height challenged sister.
"What the hell?" he growled at her. "Were you trying to rip my whole arm off?"
Alice rolled her eyes. "Don't be such a drama queen. I didn't even pull your arm that hard!"
His glare darkened. "What do want?"
"I just thought that you would enjoy the show," Alice grinned.
She grabbed him by the same arm and dragged him behind a gold leg of one of the golden statues. Edward growled as they waited. Alice had positioned them so that she was in front and he was in back of her. They peered out sideways and watched the golden entrance doors.
"What show are we waiting for exactly?" Edward asked quietly, annoyed.
He was tired. Not physically, of course, but mentally. He was missing Bella so much. Edward had anticipated that he would miss his love, but he didn't anticipate that it would actually hurt. His un-beating heart ached so bad that it almost felt physical. Edward was sure that if any of this had ever happened, he would sank into quiet despair somewhere in his room.
As he thought more and more about Bella, Edward was suddenly distracted by the opening of the doors. His eyes widened.
There, dressed exactly as he had seen from Alice's vision, was the spiky haired boy. On either side of the boy was the duck and the dog. They were much more peculiar looking in person than from the vision.
They watched as the trio walked toward the entrance to the coliseum and walked in. Alice pulled Edward along with her and they quietly slipped in behind them.
Phil was standing on a stone chair as he fixed the sign beside the door that led to the coliseum ring. He was trying to make sure that it was straight, which both Alice and Edward could tell with their vampiric eyesight that it was far from straight.
"Um…" the boy said aloud to Phil's hairy back.
Without turned around Phil sighed with satisfaction. "Good timing. Give me hand, will ya?"
Phil motioned to large square stone. Again he didn't bother to turn around.
"Move that pedestal over there for me," the red haired satyr commanded. "I gotta spruce this place up for the games!"
Alice snickered loudly In her mind. With one hand Edward covered her mouth before she would give them away. They both watched in silence as the boy looked over the pedestal before trying to push it. It didn't budge an inch and Alice was suddenly over come with a few shakes.
A warm and wet something brushed against his palm. Edward pulled a disgusted face and yanked his hand away from her mouth.
"You licked me!" he yelled in disgust.
Alice whined as the trio turned and spotted them. Phil turned and glared at them all. Well, he glared at everyone who wasn't female.
"What are you guys doin' here? You ain't Herc!"
Phil hopped off of the stone he had been standing on and looked mainly at the three newcomers. Edward and Alice watched as he waved them off and began to walk toward the trio of new faces.
"This here is the world-famous Coliseum -" Phil began to explain. "Heroes Only, kid!"
With another hand gesture, Phil motioned to them. "Those two know the spiel of it all. I've got my hands full preparing for the games, so run along pipsqueaks!"
Alice snickered loudly at the pout that was forming on the boy's face as Phil dismissed them so rudely. Phil rolled his eyes at the boy's face and sighed.
"It's like this, kid," Phil said as he fisted his hands and put them on his hips. "Heroes are coming from all over to fight ferocious monster right here in the Coliseum."
The duck chose this moment to finally talk. "You've got heroes right in front of you!"
Edward blinked in surprise, while Alice cooed silently.
"That is so cute!"
"Yup," the dog spoke too, placing his hands onto the boys shoulders. "He's a real hero chosen by the Keyblade, hyuck!"
"And we're heroes, too!" the duck quaked.
Alice gasped in surprise.
Keyblade? That's right, the Keyblade! Her thoughts whispered. Edward turned to his sister in surprise. He had no idea what a Keyblade was. But his sister did? With a soft nudge of his power Edward tried to invade her thoughts and he found that his sister had suddenly began to sing a song on repeat.
My thong, thong, thong, thong, thong….
He grimaced. That was a song he could definitely do without. And an image.
"You're hiding something," he hissed.
Alice ignored them and they turned their attention back to the others. Phil had suddenly began to laugh out loud, slapping his hands onto his knees.
"That runt?" Phil laughed. "A hero?"
The boy looked affronted. "What's so funny? I've fought a bunch of monsters!"
Phil continued to laugh on so hard that he began to hack cough. He leaned against the pedestal that the boy had been unable to move.
"You couldn't even move this pedestal!" Phil hacked out before composing himself.
Edward couldn't help but agree with the satyr. There was no way this kid would be able to fight in the games. And besides, if Phil let this kid into the games Emmett would most certainly cry like a baby over the unfairness.
On second thought, Edward wondered to himself with a growing grin, it wouldn't be so bad.
"If you can't even move this…" Phil put all his weight into pushing the pedestal and not to their surprise, he couldn't move it.
"Then you can't call yourself…" he grunted as he turned and tried to push with his legs. "… A hero!"
"Err," Emmett suddenly stepped forward, surprising them all. "Let me get that for you."
Alice and Edward watched in glee as Emmett picked up the stone pedestal with one hand and placed it into the corner.
"Where did you come from?" Edward asked loudly.
Emmett pretended to scratch an itch on the back of his neck. "Err, I had to go to the little boy's room?"
"Nice try," Alice grinned. "Now try again, Emmy."
He bowed his head with a pout. "Fine, I followed you guys when I saw that you didn't follow after me and Carlisle."
A grunt of strain suddenly caught the three vampire's attentions. They all glanced at each other at human speed, for the benefit of the three newcomers, and then looked down. Phil stood on the tips of his hoofs and had his small hands around one of Emmett's arms.
The satyr looked to be trying to feel the muscles on Emmett's arm.
"You've got yourself some heavy duty guns, kid," Phil whistled in appreciation when he pulled back his hands. "Hard as rock, kid, hard as rock."
Emmett grinned. "You have no idea."
Phil glanced back at the three newcomers before turning his attention back to Emmett. He was also sporting a grin of his own.
"What do ya say to entering the games then, kid?" Phil suddenly asked, drawing gasps from all in the tiny room. "I didn't see it before, but you might just have the look of a hero after all."
"Hey!" the duck squawked in outrage. "What about Sora?"
"Yeah," Sora yelped loudly. "What about me?"
Emmett's grin widened. "Hell ye-"
"NO!" both Alice and Edward suddenly yelled out in unison.
They both grabbed onto either one of Emmett's arms and began to drag him out to the coliseum square. Alice turned at the last minute and waved to Phil with smile.
"Sorry, Phil!" Alice waved cheerfully. "But my brother is going to have to take a rain check on doing the hero stuff. See you from the seats!"
As soon as they were able to drag their brother out to the coliseum square, they released him. Emmett turned to them with a pout on his face.
"Come on!" Emmett whined. "Why can't I?"
Edward sucked on his teeth. "You know why. We have more important priorities to keep in the forefront of our minds and being a coliseum hero is most certainly not one them, Brother."
They watched as Emmett bowed his head with a frown. He nodded quickly before giving an unnecessary sigh. Emmett scratched the back of his neck and shuffled his feet.
"I know… I just didn't want to pass it up," he said quietly. "I mean, when was the last time someone asked me to be a hero and fight monsters? Uh, never."
Actually feeling sorry for his brother for the first time that day, Edward smiled. He clapped a hand on Emmett's shoulder and began to lead him back to the coliseum seats. Alice pranced away before them to join their father.
"Cheer up, Em," he said quietly. "You never know… When all this mess is over and we find everyone, maybe we'll be able to come back and you could do the hero bit…"
Looking sad, Emmett looked off to his right with a pout.
"Yeah, maybe."
Edward patted his shoulder again and walked off after Alice. He could hear the heavy footfalls of Emmett's steps as his brother followed behind him. A look over his shoulder confirmed that his brother was indeed followed behind him. He would have to keep an eye on Emmett. There was no telling if maybe the childish vampire would maybe turn tail and run to Phil.
He had been so preoccupied with Emmett that he had not noticed Alice. Edward turned just as his sister pounced on him sideways. Her legs wrapped around his waist while one arm snaked around his neck to cover his mouth. Edward glared darkly at the much younger vampire before he stumbled forward as Emmett walked right into his back.
"What's the fucking hold up, man?" Emmett whined. "We're going to miss the show!"
Alice placed a manicured finger over her lips. "Shhh… Listen."
Both males tensed. All three of them were standing in the shadows near the entrance to the coliseum seats. Well, really Edward and Emmett were the only ones standing, while Alice had wrapped herself around Edward. If she were just two feet shorter it would look as if Edward were toteing a toddler on his hip.
There was a covered, VIP seating box for the heroes just before the entrance. They could make out the faint voices of two men. One was familiar while the other was not.
"That little punk is your next opponent, okay?" said the unfamiliar voice. "Now, don't blow it. Just take him out."
"The great god of the underworld is afraid of a kid?" the familiar person asked, his voice laced with sarcasm and amusement.
"Cloud," they all breathed together in unison.
Cloud chuckled. "Sorry, but my contract says -"
"I know!" the unfamiliar person shouted. "You think I don't know! I wrote the contract! It says you're only required to kill Hercules in the tournament. But you've got to fight that kid to get to him!"
Alice's hold on him tightened as the unfamiliar person's voice rose and Edward hissed. Not in discomfort, but in anger. So this is what Cloud's business was on this world. The cat was out of the bag, so to speak. He had signed a contract with a man known as the 'god of the underworld' to kill another man named Hercules.
And now he was being ordered to kill someone else. A kid just a few years younger than his beautiful Bella.
This was unexceptable.
"Hey, it's like that old red haired goat says," the unfamiliar man said to Cloud, his voice switching from angry to joking in a second. "Rule 11: it's all just a game, so let loose and have fun with it!"
Emmett growled behind him and Alice huffed, laying her head onto his shoulder. Edward's growl mingled with his brother's. How dare this person talk so lightly and happily about ending the life of a child!
"I mean, a casualty or two along the way is no big deal, right?" the 'god of the underworld' chuckled. The crunching of the coliseum gravel told them that Cloud had obviously walked away.
"Geez," the god of the underworld sneered. "Stiffer than the stiffs back home. Still, suckers like him are hard to come by…"
Gravel crunched for a second time. He was gone. Alice released Edward from her hold and hopped down. She crossed her arms and frowned sadly.
"So that's why Cloud is here," she said sadly. "He signed some contract with the god of the underworld to kill some guy named Hercules."
"And now that guy is making him kill that Sora kid," Emmett said with a blank look upon his face. "What are we going to do?"
"Nothing."
Both Alice and Emmett turned to Edward with thunderstruck expressions. Emmett was the first to recover and he did so with anger. Edward heard both his words and his thoughts.
"You can't fucking mean that, bro!" He can't fucking mean that, not even he can be that black hearted… Than again he hasn't been acting like himself, like old Edward since he made us leave Bella. I told Jasper we should have made a family vote to rename him Douche-ward…
Edward hissed and exposed his teeth. "I do mean it!"
"How could you!" Alice shouted in outrage. You asshole! "He's just a child!"
"And it's none of our business!" Edward shouted back. "If you had to chose between some kid we just barely met and Jasper, WHO would you chose, Alice?"
His sister turned her face away from him and launched herself into Emmett's arms for comfort. Emmett glared at him darkly.
Jasper…
"That's right, Alice," Edward said quietly. "And I would choose Bella. Just like Carlisle and Emmett would choose Mom and Rosalie."
They were silent for a few human seconds before Edward decided to speak again.
"Cloud is our only way off of this world," Edward said quietly, glaring down at his feet. "If we go against his plans to- to kill this Sora kid… than we won't have a way to get to the rest of our family… I'm sorry."
"You should apologize to the kid, Edward," Emmett whispered before he gathered a sorrowful Alice in his arms.
Edward watched as they walked to the coliseum stands. He growled before he delivered a punch into the stone wall beside him. It cracked under his fist and he watched as a crumbled hole appeared in the place where his fist had connected.
"Oh, Bella," Edward sighed.
He put his back to the wall and let his body slide down to the ground. Edward laid his head onto his knees. He knew he was being an asshole, as Alice had said in her thoughts. A douche, like Emmett had thought. He was willing to sacrifice a boy and his two abnormal friends so that they're family would be reunited.
"Oh God," he moaned. "Am I doing the right thing? I don't know what I'm doing! Oh, Bella.. I need you. I love you."
"Edward!"
He raised his head and watched as Alice ran toward him at vampire speed. Her previous mood seemed to have been forgotten and replaced by one of elation and relief.
"Oh my God! Oh my EFFING God!" she squealed.
He sprang to his feet and approached her at the same speed.
"What happened! What's the matter?"
"He beat him! He actually did it!"
"What? Who?"
"Sora! Sora beat Cloud! Cloud didn't kill him!"
They ran together toward the coliseum seats and stopped just at the entrance that looked down toward the coliseum battle ring. Cloud and Sora stood in the middle of it. Cloud stood from his kneeling position and looked toward Sora. The talking duck and dog were running toward Sora to congratulate him.
"Oh thank God," Edward breathed out. "Oh Thank G- HOLY SHIT!"
Just as Cloud was about to stand from his position a huge monster suddenly barreled out of no where. It's three heads barked and growled down at Cloud, Sora, Donald and Goofy. Down at the bottom most seats that were the closests to the coliseum ring, Carlisle and Emmett looked on in disbelief.
"RUN!" Edward bellowed down to the people who were in the battle ring. "IT'S A CERBERUS! RUN!"
Just as they all began to run the monster reared it's head, preparing to launch down at the four people in the battle ring, Edward saw a flash of red hair.
"HERC!" Phil yelled out from the other side of the coliseum seats.
"Phil!" The man named Herc yelled back at Phil. "Get them out of here!"
"Come on!" Edward grabbed onto his sister's upper arm as their father and brother ran toward them at the exit. "We're going!"
"What?" his sister cried out in outrage. "We have to help that guy!"
"Sorry, little sister," Emmett apologized as he slung her over his shoulder and ran with her to the coliseum square. Edward and Carlisle followed after them.
"No! We have to help!"
"No, Sweetheart!" Carlisle said sternly to his daughter, willing her to listen. "This is not our fight, Alice."
Sora and his two friends barged into the square. Phil was right behind them, panting from the exertion. Cloud walked calmly after them. He nodded to the Cullens. They were just about to walk toward him when Alice suddenly stiffened.
"Wait!" she whispered. "Give them a moment!"
They looked at with confusion, but stood their ground anyhow. The three Cullen men watched as Sora approached the broody looking Cloud.
"Hey, are you alright?" Sora asked, genuinely concerned for the spiky haired man.
"Yeah," Cloud said, his answer devoid of emotion.
"So…" Sora tried to sound nonchalant, but it failed. "Why did you go along with him anyway?"
The blond haired man sighed and blinked at the boy with a frown. "I'm looking for someone. Hades promised to help.
Cloud grimaced and his tone of voice turned bitter. "I tried to exploit the power of darkness, but it backfired. I fell into darkness and I couldn't find the light…"
"You'll find it!" Sora said confidently. "I'm searching too."
"For your light?" Cloud asked.
Sora nodded with a small smile. Edward looked down at his shoes and closed his eyes. It seemed that Sora and Cloud had something in common with him. Carlisle laid a hand on his son's shoulder and gave it a gentle, fatherly squeeze.
Cloud suddenly began to walk toward them. Just as he passed Sora, he gave some parting words. "Don't lose sight of it."
The blond, spiky haired man finally looked toward them. "I think we can all agree that it is finally time for us to get off of this world..."
Carlisle Cullen nodded with a grimace. "We couldn't agree more."
A/N: I'M SOOOOOOOOO SORRY THAT IT TOOK THIS LONG TO UPDATE! I'VE BEEN SO BUSY WITH WORK AND SCHOOL! Please review and tell me what you think! - JMMendiola
