Hey, I'm back! Sorry for the long wait, I've really been neglecting this story recently...Well summer holidays start on Wednesday so soon this will be all I'm doing. Wow, that sounded a little sad..-.- Never mind. Enjoy!

April

April couldn't get rid of the grimace on her face as she stared down at Emmett's grave.

She looked up at Alice, who looked sympathetic.

"Come on." She said, plunging her shovel into the grass. With her vampire speed and strength, she had nearly finished before April joined in. With only a few powerful thrusts, her shovel hit something solid. April swore she saw Alice grin, but couldn't be sure of it in the darkness. Alice jumped down into the grave onto a tiny space beside the broad space where the coffin was, and started clearing away the thin level of dirt on top of it. It was an elegant black coffin with gold swirls around the edges, and with Emmett's name engraved on the top. With a deep breath, Alice reached over to the side of the coffin and slid her fingers across it, cleanly breaking the locks.

"Ready?" she looked up at April, who nodded. With a heave, Alice pulled the lid up to reveal the contents of the coffin. On the soft velvet lining inside of the grim coffin was...

Nothing.

April gasped and Alice cried out, swearing loudly. They started yelling at the same time, bewildered and confused.

"Where the hell is he?" Alice screamed.

"Be quiet!" April shushed her. "The groundskeeper has probably already heard us!" With a swift motion, she closed the coffin and leapt out onto the grass.

And that's when she heard it.

It was a low buzzing noise, but as April paid more attention she thought she could make out a few words. Instantly, she panicked. Someone's coming! She thought. We don't have time to clean this up! But after seeing Alice's puzzled expression in reaction to April's alarmed one, she realised that she was the only one that could hear the noise.

"Do you hear that?" she whispered to Alice, who quickly shook her head. The buzzing seemed to get louder, and the words were clearer.

Carlisle - Esme - Edward - Rosalie - Jasper - Alice - April - Bella.

Frowning, April looked around. She knew that this voice was in her head, but knew it couldn't be Lyreco.

Bella

With wide eyes, April realised that she was hearing Emmett's thoughts. So that means...He's here! She thought in triumph.

"What, April?" Alice demanded.

"I can hear Emmett!" April squealed in joy.

"Hear him? What -" she stopped, realising. "Oh. Oh. But...Where is he?"

"Right here." April pointed down to Emmett's coffin, frowning. Alice slowly pulled the coffin open again, and gasped in shock. Where there had been nothing, Emmett's pale and unmoving body now lay. April put a hand over her mouth to stifle a cry, and staggered back a step. It hurt to see her brother like this: Dead. Swallowing the lump in her throat, April shook her head in disbelief.

"How is that possible?" she whispered.

"It's some sort of power. I guess someone really didn't want us to find him." Alice answered. She pulled out the body bag she had brought with shaky hands and nodded to April, who prepared to pick up her dead brother. After a few deep breaths, she gave up, shaking her head apologetically at Alice.

"I'm sorry. I - I can't." Alice nodded understandingly, and easily scooped Emmett's unmoving corpse up into her arms, wincing as she noticed the purple scar around his neck.

Usually, the pieces of a vampire's body had to be burned for them to be killed, but somehow Francesca, an Aeterna, had managed to kill Emmett simply by decapitating him. Without breathing, Alice slipped the body into the bag and zipped it up as quickly as possible.

"Hmm. You're not as stupid as you look." a familiar voice came out of the shadows, and both vampires whirled around to face the speaker. All they could see was darkness, which was strange for their excellent sight.

"Who's there?" Alice called.

"Of course," the voice went on. April noticed that it was distinctly female. "I never counted on one of you being able to hear the dead." April froze, realising too late who it was. Before she could warn Alice, the person stepped into the dim light, a smile on her crimson red lips. Her chocolate brown hair fell in curls to her waist, and she wore a tight leather jacket with jeans and black boots.

In a horrified tone, April whispered, "Francesca."

Alice

Alice stood frozen for an entire second before springing into action. She had noticed how Francesca's eyes kept flicking to the body bag that now held Emmett's corpse, and moved right before the Aeterna could. In a single burst of movement, she thrust her shovel at Francesca and lifted the long body bag, racing away through the dim, empty graveyard. April was quick to follow, cleverly taking another route parallel to Alice's.

Alice could barely hear Francesca's light footsteps as they flew across the deserted street, dodging poles. She knew that Francesca was getting closer, and forced her feet to move faster. They passed a few people just outside their houses, but no human would see them speeding by at this rate.

Suddenly, April appeared from the shadows and slowed so that she could become behind Francesca. Before Alice could yell a warning, April ripped something out of her pocket and plunged it into Francesca's back, earning a blood-curling scream. Alice shivered and stopped in her tracks, turning to look at Francesca's body. The Aeterna doubled over in pain and staggered forward, coughing. After a few seconds of shaking, she fell to the floor, face-down.

A dagger with a detailed silver hilt stuck out of her back, in her stomach. No blood seemed to spread around the wound, but it was obviously buried quite deeply in her back. To her amazement, Francesca wasn't getting back up.

"What the hell?" Alice gasped, astounded. She thought that Aeternas couldn't be killed!

"That," April nodded to the dagger. "Was especially made to kill Aeternas." Alice's eyes widened.

"So...She's dead?" April shook her head.

"It didn't go in her heart. She'll probably be up pretty soon, so it'd be best to kill her now -" she was interrupted by Francesca, who leapt up. Immediately she yanked out the dagger, flinching. Alice was already running, still carrying the black body bag. She heard Francesca quickly following but when she turned back she couldn't see April, but only a furious face with blood red eyes chasing after her.

Bella

Bella woke up to Jasper's furious voice.

She quickly sat up, wiping sweat off of her forehead. Looking around the plain room that had become so familiar to her, she saw no trace of Jasper. Frowning, she hopped off the wide bed, tossing the sweat-dampened sheets off to the side. Stretching and yawning, Bella ran a hand through her tangled mess of hair, tucking it behind her ears. With sluggish steps, she walked to the end of the small room and pushed the door open, peering inside. Jasper looked up as she entered, holding a phone to his ear. Bella could just barely hear the buzz of a voice on the other line.

"Just pass over the damn phone, April!" Jasper snapped. He tapped his fingers on the sofa impatiently, ignoring Bella. She slowly sat on the chair opposite from him, watching him intently.

"Alice, you can't!" he yelled into the phone, making Bella wince. "No, Alice, he'll kill you!" Alice replied loudly, but Bella still couldn't make out what she was saying.

"Please." Jasper's voice broke, and he clutched the phone with both hands.

"Please, Alice, you can't do this." he whispered, his voice barely loud enough for Bella's hearing. She was desperate to know what was going on, as obviously it seemed like Alice would be killed, but didn't want to disturb Jasper at that moment. The room became silent for a second, no one breathing. This time, she could clearly hear what Alice said.

"I'm sorry, Jasper. I love you." Again, there was silence. With a broken expression, Jasper lowered the phone, crushing it slowly in his iron grip. He finally looked up to Bella, who sat patiently.

"What's going on?" she eventually murmured, worry in her expression. Jasper put his face in his hands, taking a deep breath. "Jasper?" Bella's voice dropped into a whisper. Still, he didn't reply. Frustrated, she stood and hurried to the desk where she found the hotel room's phone. Dialling the number she had memorised, she waited patiently.

"Jasper -"

"It's Bella."

"Oh."

Bella rolled her eyes at April, but sobered instantly when she remembered why she had called.

"What the hell is Alice doing?" she demanded. "Jasper just got off the phone with her and he won't tell me!" April didn't answer, and Bella had to say her name several times before she returned.

With a sigh, April said, "We - Alice and I - are going to an Aeterna. You know who they are now, right?" she didn't stop for Bella to answer, but rushed on. "We've found a certain vampire named Lucifer that we think can..." She paused. "Do things to help us." she finished quickly, a hint of nervousness in her voice.

"Lucifer? April, what can he really do?" Bella snapped.

"Sorry." April quickly hung up, leaving her furious and open-mouthed. Hanging the phone up, Bella turned to Jasper, who still sat frozen on the sofa.

"We need to go after them." She said in a low voice. Jasper looked up, and she flinched at his agonized expression. He shook his head in defeat, standing. Walking up to the large window, he looked out upon Spokane, sighing.

"We can't." he said. "I have no idea where they are. Lucifer could be anywhere on the planet, and Alice is obviously heading to that place." Bella stared at him in disbelief. Is he giving up? She thought in rage. Jasper turned around as he sensed this, a cautious look on his face.

"We can't just let them die!" Bella yelled. "We have to do something!" She fought the calmness that Jasper sent her, glaring. With shaking hands, Bella stormed into the bedroom, slamming the door behind her. Changing faster than she ever had, she pulled on loose jeans and a long-sleeved blue shirt, topping it with a dark jumper. She roughly yanked her long hair into a ponytail and pulled her shoes on, shoving her phone into her pocket. Sprinting, she hurried back into the other room, opening the front door.

"Where're you going?" Jasper demanded. Bella scowled, eyebrows narrowed.

"If you won't help Alice, I will." she spat, pushing past him. He showed no resistance, but instead letting her rush past him. Bella didn't bother with the elevator, but instead burst into the stairwell, clutching tightly onto the rails as she carefully ran down the stairs. When she reached the bottom, she entered the lobby, dodging annoyed visitors and employees. Bella ignored them, stepping outside into the cold and pulling out her phone.

She scrolled down her contacts and pressed call as fast as her thumbs could go, pressing the small phone harshly to her ear. Of course, she didn't really expect him to pick up his cell phone, but Bella could still hope. Swearing under her breath, she began to walk when he didn't pick up, dialling him again. Again, there was no reply. Furiously, she shoved the phone back in her pocket, walking quickly down the sidewalk. She didn't know where she was going, but continued in that direction.

Cars honked and tall buildings loomed above her, looking down upon strangers who passed her. But Bella wasn't intimidated by any of this; instead she blocked it out, continuing her directionless strides. As she turned a corner, she walked right into someone. She felt their ice cold skin where their fingers brushed, and stepped back automatically. Looking up at his face, Bella gasped.

"You called me." Edward murmured. She found that she couldn't reply, but stood frozen, haunted by his crimson irises. She looked away, clearing her throat nervously.

"I need your help. Alice - uh - she -"

"I know." Edward cut her off. Bella muttered an 'oh' and looked back up to him, instantly regretting it as his eyes caused her to flinch.

"So could you help me find her?" she said, cursing herself for showing how edgy she was around him. Edward nodded solemnly, holding her gaze. After a few moments in silence, he looked away, blinking several times.

"Come on. This way." he started walking and Bella had to run to keep up with him. As they rounded a corner, he stopped, causing her to run straight into his concrete back. Wincing, she jumped back, peering around him to see what had stopped them. Sucking in air, she stepped to the side, getting a better view of the dreaded person that stood in their way.

Edward had stiffened, and took a defensive position in front of her. With a snarl, he said,

"Francesca."

April

"We're nearly there." April informed Alice, who sat beside her in the speeding car. When she didn't reply, April looked to her right and saw Alice frozen in her seat, her eyes wide as if she were seeing something that wasn't there. Looking back to the road ahead, April fought the urge to panic. She hadn't yet gotten used to Alice's visions. Idly, she looked up to the mirror in between the front two seats and gasped as she saw someone in the backseat.

She lost focus for a moment and the car swerved wildly. April managed to pull onto the side of the road, making way for other cars. She turned around in her seat, facing the intruder. She relaxed only slightly when she saw Lyreco in his ever-so-slightly transparent form, watching the grey shadows that danced around him.

"Lyreco." She sighed. "You scared me." He shrugged nonchalantly.
"You need to go back." He then demanded, eyes narrowing. He pulled the sleeves of his black shirt down slightly, as if he was cold.

"No way!" April scoffed. "If you came to convince us not to go -"

"That's exactly why I came -"

"-then don't bother!" she ignored his interruption, finishing. "There's no way you're stopping Alice and I when we're this close." Lyreco sighed, shifting in his seat.

"Alice can go on, of course. But you need to go back." He said, averting his gaze.

"Why?" April was confused.

"Well – Lucifer will kill you." Lyreco said simply. April shook her head, noticing idly that Alice had come out of her vision.

"And what about Alice? I guess it's okay if she dies." April said sarcastically.

"Alicia." Lyreco warned. "Just -"

"What's it saying?" Alice asked, unable to hear him but assuming that April was speaking to a ghost. Lyreco glared at Alice, causing April to laugh. Alice was oblivious to Lyreco's anger at her.

"I am not an 'it', thank you very much." He snapped.

"He is a little annoyed with you." April smiled. Alice looked around, and decided to face the seat next to Lyreco.

"Sorry." She muttered. She then turned back to April. "Hey, enough chit-chat with the dead. Let's get a move on." With a grim and unwilling nod from Lyreco, April sped forward, slipping into a lane on the highway. They drove in silence, Lyreco remaining in the back seat. Alice pointed to the turn and April sped as she rounded the corner, continuing as the road disappeared and they were surrounded by trees. She finally stopped where the car could go no further, and everyone climbed out.

"All I know is that it's somewhere around here." Alice called. She had strayed away, searching for some sort of secret entrance. April looked to Lyreco, who stood quietly beside her.

"Do you know where it is?" she asked him, looking up into his misty grey eyes. Hesitating, he nodded slightly.

"Well, it would be helpful if you told us." April said. Again, Lyreco didn't answer for a few moments, not wanting to let April endanger herself.

"Please?" she tried. She was surprised when he easily gave in, telling her to follow him. April called for Alice, who appeared instantly and followed her through the trees. Eventually, they found a bulky boulder between a few bushes.

"Under here." Lyreco gestured to it. April wrinkled her nose.

"Under there? Ew." With a shudder, she pushed the boulder aside easily, uncovering the dark hole beneath. Alice stood beside her, peering down into the darkness. Even with their outstanding sight, all they could see was black down there. April looked to Lyreco, who nodded. With a deep breath, April jumped first, quickly beginning her plummet to the bottom. It was a surprisingly long fall, but eventually she hit the rock ground with a soft thud.

Unharmed, April stood, looking around. She couldn't see a thing, not even her pale hand in front of her face. She heard Alice landing behind her, and turned to face her. Slowly, she reached a hand out and grasped Alice's, not wanting to be separated.

Out of the darkness, April saw Lyreco very clearly. Frowning, she thought to him,

How can I see you down here?

You see me through your mind. You don't need light. He explained, his voice ringing in her mind.

"Let's go." April whispered to Alice, taking slow steps forward.

You wouldn't be able to give us some light, would you? She thought, looking at Lyreco. He shrugged.

I can, but only you will see it. April nodded, and the hole was suddenly illuminated by bright, floating globes of light.

"I can see, Alice, so just stick with me." She murmured. Alice whispered a reply, and they began walking toward the direction Lyreco pointed. April noticed that they were in a huge cave with high ceilings and many passages.

I'm glad I've got you here to help. She sent Lyreco. He nodded in acknowledgement, pointing in another direction. April followed, tugging Alice along behind her. A gasp from Lyreco was the only warning before a figure jumped out from the shadows, facing April with narrowed black eyes.

She trembled slightly, unable to look away from the horrifying eyes. It seemed that the pupils had covered the man's whole eyeballs. Alice noticed her shaking and squeezed her hand.

"What is it, April?" she whispered. Swallowing, April looked to Lyreco, asking silently who this haunting man was. He mouthed back to her: Lucifer.

And there you go, your third Aeterna! (I think). I hope you enjoyed the chapter, but honestly I think it wasn't very good...Long, maybe, but a little rushed.

Please review with honest opinions! :D

-LB-