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Rosalie's POV

Esme lead the way as we followed my idiotic brother's scent. Must he continuously speed off without us? It was annoying the first time, and it was just getting ridiculous now. It was bad enough he was so infatuated with Bella before, now he is completely obsessed, and an obsessed Edward does not equal good things in the long run, because I know he is bound to do something stupid.

Thunder rumbled in the distance. I watched the dull grey clouds turn darker as they floated gracefully above us. A storm was on its way. Emmett would normally be pleased by this news, because it meant a baseball game, but he didn't even seem to notice.

Again thunder roared in the clouds. A light drizzle began sprinkling down on us. I grimaced at the thought of it raining harder, and water soaking through my thin jacket and onto my shirt; normally I wouldn't care, Alice restocked all our closets once a week, for every lost shirt I would probably gain two, but this one was one of my favorites, one of the ones I had continuously saved from Alice's grasp so I could keep it.

I laughed inwardly at such a trivial thing for me to worry about, let alone bring up, at a time like this.

A time like this? What should I be worrying about then? The Volturi have let us go, Bella is with Carlisle, Jasper, and Alice, Edward is on his merry way there, and hopefully by the time we reach them Edward and Bella will be past their apologies. Then we can go home, Edward with us - I frowned - and Bella, too; as long as Edward comes back and stops his moping.

Emmett sighed, running his fingers through his curly hair. I looked at him questioningly. It was not a usual action for him; I wondered what had caused it. He caught my eyes on him and smirked, showing off the dimples that I loved.

"It's good to have them both back," he explained. "But Edward, he overreacts. And Bella," he chuckled, "she's always luring in trouble, which doesn't help Edward's little problem." I had to agree with him on that. "I just hope that they get a break once they're together again. It seems like they've been through a lot these past few days, probably these last few months, too..." He trailed off in thought, laughing to himself, because of course there was something he found amusing in all of this.

I had to admire Emmett in the way he was genuinely caring toward Edward and Bella. That is one of the reasons I love him I suppose, because he was different than I was. For being such a strong guy on the outside, Emmett was such a softy on the inside, and I have always known that. But to worry about them the way he does despite the trouble they have caused, that was surprising to me. Was I that self-absorbed that I couldn't feel any form of sympathy toward my brother and the girl he loved?

I thought about that for a minute. I admit that Edward was right when he believed I was jealous of Bella. But it was her humanity that I craved for, and what vampire wouldn't be jealous of her for having something as precious as life? Especially someone like me, who had every hope and dream taken away, every human wish snatched and burned. Bella was clueless about what she was asking of my brother, to change her into one of us. It was ridiculous because she failed to see the consequences. She was too naive, too set on living an eternity as a monster, and much too unappreciative of what she already had; which was a chance at a normal human life. A life with a husband that could grow old with her. A life where she could have children, grandchildren… And even an afterlife in a brighter place than any vampire was set to go. Bella had given no thought as to what she was sacrificing to become a part of our family.

But as I thought about that I realized that I did sympathize for them on a level.

Bella had been attacked, her family and friends had been murdered, and she was changed into one of us. She was now of our kind, not by choice, but by force.

We had left Forks months ago, and our departure could have altered her thoughts. Perhaps, with us away, giving her more time to think without any distractions or temptations, maybe she had finally come to understand the cruel consequences of being a part of the vampire world. For all I knew, Bella got over dreaming to be an immortal, and had moved on. If that was true then her humanity was stolen from her just as much as the rest of us had ours so unfairly taken away, and with that I could indeed feel sorry for her.

And for Edward as well, because I had to give him credit for being the only one to side with me on Bella's transformation. He understood that her uncanny acceptance to our lifestyle was wrong, and he had done what he could to make Bella see what she was failing to. Although I personally blamed him from the very beginning - leave it to Edward, who had been the odd one out for years, to do something as unheard of as falling for a human - I was glad that he had finally got up and left Forks. It was pathetic that he hadn't entirely forgotten about his human girlfriend though, and had kept himself away from us to grieve for the rest of eternity, leaving Esme heartbroken, Carlisle distraught, and Emmett bored.

I also agreed with Emmett in the hopes that Edward and Bella got a break from all this drama, too. Once things calmed down for them, things would calm down for the rest of us. It was irritating having to constantly chase those two - both of them somehow repeatedly managed to bring about some kind of problem, which the family as a whole had to deal with. Not to say that I would let anything happen to Edward, or even Bella now for that matter, but still, it was annoying and all I want is for things to go back to the peaceful, normal state they were in before Bella had ever come to Forks. Things were simply easier then.

Some things could not be helped though. Emmett had the personality to oversee a person's mistakes, unlike me. Besides, Emmett lived for danger, for excitement, while I didn't want him anywhere near it. So of course we would never see eye-to-eye on situations like these. He would do more than just forgive Edward and Bella if he was hurt, he would thank them for the fun.

Esme smiled softly at him. "It will be nice to have the whole family back together again. Those two were gone for much too long."

It was pointless, I suppose, for me to dwell on holding a grudge against anyone at the moment. Plus, Esme's smile, Emmett's laughter, they were things I had truly missed these past months, and I was thrilled to have them back. I was, however, a little miffed that it wasn't me who could create those expressions of happiness in them...

My thoughts were interrupted by a shift in direction, a sudden shift, much too sudden.

Edward had stopped following the Volturi's old path. Why? He randomly decided to go in a completely different direction? I knew the effects this was having on him but this seems too weird even for him to be doing. Edward's one and only goal this whole time was to find Bella and then go to her. We found her, we had a direct lead to her, and he runs another way? It didn't add up.

"Oh crap!" Emmett shouted. I watched his eyes widen as some realization struck him.

"What?" I asked him, a strange feeling clenching at my stomach; fear maybe. Emmett never looks this serious unless the situation is severe.

"Don't tell me you can't smell that?"

And then, suddenly, I could. Memories from a day much like this one came to me; a thunderstorm; unwelcome guests interrupting our baseball game; and this scent. It was Victoria. Edward had crossed her scent, as we did now, and he went after her on his own, revenge for Bella no doubt.

Esme gasped. "He can't fight her alone. Not if she has others." Her eyes widened with the thought of any number of newborns battling against Edward.

I knew it. I knew this would happen. "That idiot," I growled.

Edward's POV

There are so many things in my life, in my existence that I regret - this was not one of them. I know my family won't like the fact that I ran off on my own...again. Esme will be out of her mind worrying over me. Rosalie will be furious. Emmett will be irritated that I would head to a fight without him. But Victoria had to be stopped. She would never leave Bella alone, not until she avenged her mate. Now she had a newborn army on her side, or at least what's left of it, how ever many that might be. I doubted she had many left, and I didn't care if she had hundreds left. She had to be stopped; I would stop her; I would kill her.

She deserved to suffer for what she has done to Bella, to all the people of Forks. Who knew Victoria was capable of going to such extremes?

I admit that a year ago, when she first showed up with James's little nomadic coven, I was not paying much attention to her thoughts. If I had known the range of a threat she posed then I would have finished her off back then too, and I would have saved thousands of lives. But I didn't. All of this was my fault. I had placed Bella in my world, and then left her unprotected. I had forbid Alice to even think about searching for her future, from seeing Forks. If it weren't for those things, we could have prevented all of this. The only thing I could do now, to apologize, is to rid the world of Victoria once and for all.

As her scent grew more potent I kicked up my speed, moving faster than I ever thought possible.

In the distance, thunder howled, and I felt the weightless raindrops dripping from the sky bounce off my skin. It was raining, in Forks, no surprise there - though technically I was beyond the town's borders.

Then, after what felt like an agonizingly long time, I finally heard her. Victoria's mind was locked in my grasp, and I wouldn't let it go.

As soon as I heard her, she heard me, and her mind raced though ideas that might help her escape me. As my scent caught up to her she quickened her pace. All she thought about was getting away, finding an escape route, but she knew I could read her every thought, and that strategy was a waste of time.

I smirked, already certain that victory was mine, and there was no doubt, even in her mind, that it was. There was no hope for her. I was gaining speed, closing in on her, and she only had two options - either she keeps running, in which I will easily catch up to her; or she turns and fights, in which I will tear her apart in a matter of seconds.

She will die no matter her decision, and she knows that. So why not just get it over with, I thought. Just stop this running, it's pointless. "Turn around and fight," I finished out loud.

Hearing my voice, Victoria swung her body around, snarling viciously in my direction. We had yet to see each other face to face. I was still keeping tabs on her through her head. She planted her bare feet firmly to the ground as she crouched, waiting for me.

As she came into view I halted my advance. My face was composed, under control. I communicated with her silently, my deadly gaze piercing straight through her, telling her that her death would indeed be on my hands, and that I would enjoy every minute of it.

For a minute I thought that might be too sadistic of me, too much like Victoria herself. What was the phrase - Two wrongs don't make a right? But as quick as the thought came, it vanished. Victoria deserved what was coming for her. And although I had no thought to actually torture her, I would be happy to watch her burn.

Victoria glared at me, showing her venomous teeth. Her pitch black eyes were wild, just like her hair. Her thoughts were chaotic, jumbled, startled. She hadn't been expecting to get caught, especially by me. She was scolding herself for leaving her group of newborns, they could have been useful right about now. I listened, slightly amused by her alarm and frustration.

The fiery vampire in front of me edged back, preparing to flee.

"It will do you no good to run," I told her softly.

Her eyes narrowed.

Victoria shifted a few inches to the right, testing me, and I followed her movement automatically, while at the same time sliding forward. She hissed.

I watched her picture various methods of escape, from abruptly wheeling around and dashing away, to finding refuge up in the trees, jumping from branch to branch. That sure would have made quite a chase I admit, but it would not have saved her.

She then debated on the right attack; should she lunge right at me, a direct hit and take it from there? Should she dance around with me, attempt to hit me from the side? Pray that somehow I will be caught by surprise? - I laughed at that one.

After all she has succeeded in doing - creating a massive newborn army, wiping out an entire town, turning Bella into the very thing I had so desperately been trying to protect her from - why couldn't she think up anything that was more realistic? It was truly pitiful that the more we stood here scowling at one another, the more weak her plans got, and the more repetitive they became. She was already running out of ideas, and the ones she had thought of were absolutely ludicrous. Somehow that didn't quite add up with Victoria's personality. I knew she was no fool, so why did she think like one?

I took a prominent step forward, thrilled at her growling response. I was eager to keep her from retreating. If she ran it would just waste more of the precious time I could be spending with Bella, keeping with the pretense that Bella wanted me around at all.

The thought of Bella turning me away tormented me. It was the obvious thing for her to do, but when did Bella ever do what I expected her to. My assumptions were always wrong with her. Was I actually hopeful that I was wrong about her reaction this time as well? Yes, of course I was. I wanted her to forgive me. I wanted to spend every moment with her. Heck, I'd want to be with her even if she was angry at me. Just seeing her beautiful, innocent face was enough. She could ignore me, and my apologies. She could hate me for what I've done as she should. She could rip me limb from limb and burn the pieces, yet, I would be smiling in those flames, happy and at peace that death was brought to me by the hands of an angel, of my angel.

Victoria stepped to the side, unable to keep still any more. As she moved left, I moved right. We circled each other rhythmically, like our bodies were moving to the same slow beat. Her eyes zeroed in on the almost unnoticeable steps I took every few seconds that brought me closer to her.

I didn't head straight in for an attack, as I wanted to, I was too curious to see what she was doing. It seemed to me like she was dragging our confrontation on longer than necessary while she attempted to find a way out, to save herself. "It won't work," I responded to her thoughts. Again she was thinking up the strangest, least practical of ideas. There was no basis her plans were forming on.

I was beginning to get irritated with her endless, chaotic thoughts of escape.

I lunged at her.

She dodged quickly, hopping to the side in one fluid motion. I turned on her again, my feet moving in rhythm with hers.

Victoria made no effort to attack me, she was merely on the defensive. Her panic-stricken eyes were locked on every movement my body made. She never turned her back on me to run, which was wise on her part. My eyes lit up as my opponent's last move pinned her against a rocky mountain side.

With a complacent smirk on my face, I coiled, but just as I was about to spring at my prey, something slipped in Victoria's head.

I stared at her, still in my offensive position. Waiting. Listening.

Victoria, realizing what had made me pause, let those same thoughts run through her head again, and I was stunned.

There is no way I could have missed this. Why had I not seen? How had I not heard?

Victoria growled, not at me, but as a greeting, toward the newcomers. I listened to their footsteps carefully, upset that I hadn't heard them until now, or even their thoughts.

Two vampires edged slowly into view, red eyes intent on me, not missing a single movement I made. Their teeth were bared threateningly. Their skin glistened from the light rainfall.

Victoria watched my smug expression falter, and then fade. She shot me one last panicked look - a look that was purposefully more fake than every look she had given me so far - and then she grinned wickedly, not bothering to act anymore, letting all her thoughts loose.

My eyes widened. She had been blocking the truth from me. That's...impossible. I would have noticed. I should have noticed. Yet...I didn't. I cursed at myself. I had been too confident that nothing would interfere with what I wanted, too busy keeping Victoria distracted so she wouldn't run, when really it was her who had been distracting me, stalling, waiting for her support group.

Victoria cocked her head to the side knowingly, her mouth now turned up in a sickly sweet smile.

I grimaced. Victoria was much better than I gave her credit for, and she knew this, and used it against me. All this time I had thought I had her cornered, that I would win this easily, almost effortlessly... But it wasn't me who was on top of things. Victoria was playing me this whole time. And now our positions were reversed; I was the one cornered. But unlike her, I had no newborns to back me up.

Bella's POV

I slipped into the tiny clearing, coming back from my quiet hunting trip. It hadn't been as quiet as I would have liked though; the thoughts that plagued the back of my mind felt the need to constantly make their appearance, and it had me worrying over things I was trying so hard not to even think about.

I hated carrying the burden of protecting the people I cared about from a ruthless vampire set on killing me. It's not that I didn't like protecting my friends, I just wished there was nothing that they needed protecting from, especially if I was the cause of the danger. I really did not want to bring my problems onto anyone else. Despite the fact I already had...with the massacre and all...

Immediately I noticed something was different. The tension in the air wasn't what I was expecting to come back to. When I left everyone finally seemed more at peace. Carlisle's presence had calmed my friends, made them more comfortable, helped them. I was grateful for that. But now everything seemed like it was back the way it had been before the Cullens arrived.

All attention was focused on Alice. Jasper was standing by her side with a concerned look on his face.

Ben waved me over when he spotted me. I quickly made my way toward them, stopping next to Jessica. My friends faces only showed confusion. I was paying more attention to Carlisle and Jasper, who's expressions would be more significant to me in this kind of situation. My stomach sank. I did not like the looks on their faces. Something was wrong.

Alice's eyes were distant and concentrated when she spoke. "Something's wrong." Her voice was thick with worry as she confirmed my exact belief.

An uneasy feeling bubbled in the pit of my stomach, stabbing away at every nerve in my body.

"No. What is he thinking?" Alice looked toward the east frantically. I followed her gaze wondering what was out there. I watched her golden eyes widen, her mouth parted as if she were about to speak. I leaned forward eagerly, anxiously. Jasper squeezed her hand, which brought her out of her trance. Her teeth snapped together and her eyes darted to me; the look in them was fearful.

"What is it, Alice?" I whispered. I had already guessed at who she was seeing; the look she directed at me proved my assumption was correct.

"Edward..."

I stiffened. My friends glanced at me, Angela being the only one to look worried; the other's had a mixture of confusion, remembrance, and annoyance - Mike especially looked irritated - but I didn't have time to wonder about that.

"What about him, Alice?" Carlisle asked coolly. His voice was calm but his expression gave away how stressed he really was.

Alice's eyes widened even further. "Victoria," she murmured furiously. My breathing stopped, my body became numb as I waited. "He's outnumbered."

There was a short pause. Everyone was leaning closer to Alice subconciously, lured in by the anticipation. As Alice searched ahead, trying to find more information on Edward, fear engulfed me. Picturing Edward and Victoria going head to head was bad enough, but now there were more on Victoria's side, more who were against Edward. This couldn't be happening. I pleaded to Alice in my head to let this be some sort of misunderstanding, some kind of mistake.

Finally Alice finished, speaking all we needed to hear. "He won't win." Her jaw was clenched.

"We need to go," Jasper said immediately. He had Alice's hand in his and was already moving east, the rest of us keeping up behind them. We were running at top speed. Alice was leading but she was awfully quiet. I don't think I've ever been around a silent Alice before, and it bothered me. All I could think about was what she had seen about Edward. Obviously he wouldn't be ok, not if we didn't get to him in time. Would we get to him before it was too late? It wasn't already too late, was it? No, we weren't too late, we couldn't be. There had to still be a chance to save Edward, and I would gladly take it, even if it meant sacrificing myself to do it.

I glimpsed at Alice. She was concentrating. Was the future changing now that we were on our way to him? Was it changing in our favor?

"Dr. Cullen?" Eric asked cautiously, being the first to break the silence of our run. "This Victoria woman, who is she?"

"A nomadic vampire we encountered about year ago," Carlisle answered. "She has proven herself to be very dangerous. We should not have underestimated her," he murmured. There was a quick pause. "And call me Carlisle," he added.

"Don't you remember when Bella was telling us and the Denalis her story?" Ben asked raising an eyebrow at Eric, knowing he did. A vampire's memory was picture perfect, so it was odd Eric would ask Carlisle a question he already knew the answer to.

Eric nodded like it was obvious he remembered. "I know. She said Victoria was after her for revenge on her mate. I got that, but Bella edited a lot, I could tell." He was right, I did. He looked back to Carlisle. "What makes Victoria so hard to beat?" he asked.

Her fire-like hair shimmering around her face, her fierce crimson eyes watching me, waiting for the perfect chance to sink her teeth into my skin. The feline fury I knew she had boiling inside her, just waiting to be released. Those were the things my human memory had saved about Victoria. Those were the things that made her terrifying to me, that made her unbeatable in my eyes. But had I ever stopped to really think about it logically? Were my memories making her seem stronger than she truly was?

No, I didn't think so...

Victoria was bright. She knew what she was doing, and she did it well. That's what made her lethal. That's how she managed her newborns. That's why Edward was in trouble.

"To be honest with you, Eric, none of us had paid much attention to Victoria until now,"

Carlisle answered with a hint of remorse in his tone. "After we defeated James she just seemed to disappear, and we didn't think she would come back. Although she is back now, it's been nearly a year since her very first appearance. From that I would assume she has a strategic mind since she's been planning for months; she is patient apparently, which helped her succeed with her plan because she waited for the opportune moment to strike. She doesn't rush into things. Also, from what Esme and Rosalie had described of her when they were giving her a false lead away from Bella and her father, she was quick on her feet, she was swift to escape. Putting pieces together I believe we can quite accurately assume that Victoria is as dangerous as James was, possibly worse at this point, considering she is being driven by vengeance rather than a cursory desire."

More dangerous than James? I thought about that one for a bit. I looked down at my hand. The scar James had left had multiplied, there was now another one right above it from where Victoria pierced my skin just before Jacob came and scared her off. It didn't take me long to agree with Carlisle, he was beyond right; Victoria was definitely more of a threat than James had been.

"Bella," Alice addressed me. Everyone froze as she spoke. There was complete silence as we ran, waiting for Alice to continue. "Bella, Angela, Ben, Mike, Jessica, and Eric, all of you need to go help Edward."

Mike and Jessica exchanged a look, seeming to be in agreement over something. Eric seemed to be conflicted over something.

"What about you?" Angela and Ben asked for me, questioningly.

"There's no time to explain," Alice replied, her words rushing out. She came to a stop near an abnormally wide tree. She pointed north-east. "Head that way, don't stop," she ordered. "You will come across Edward's scent, and Victoria's - follow their trail. Don't stop," she repeated. "And listen to me." She stared directly at me, pleadingly. "Stay together. You must promise me that you won't separate. I don't care what happens. Promise me."

I stared at her, confused by her tone, yet fearful as well. When I realized she was waiting for me to answer, I spoke. "I promise, Alice."

"Good." She took a deep breath. "Now the six of you need to go."

"But what about you, and-"

"Carlisle, Jasper, and I will take a different route," she explained without letting me finish my question. She was already walking away, Jasper in tow. "We need to meet up with the others," she said grimly, without turning to face us. "We'll meet up with you...but you need to hurry." Her head snapped in our direction one last time. "And remember to keep together, as a team." She nearly growled. My eyes widened slightly at her tone.

Her and Jasper then darted off, Carlisle right behind them. Neither one of them questioned Alice, and I wouldn't either. Alice knew what she was doing, and I would follow her orders without a second thought.