High Noon

by ReddHerring

A dark telling of what could have been after the events of Eclipse. The Volturi come to Forks and it does not end well. I have tried to stay true to the characters as Stephenie wrote them.

14. Chapter 14

Chapter 14: High Noon

Jasper's Point of View: Rescue Mission

As soon as Corin had volunteered to take me to Alice my mind had shouted out in triumph and then quickly sunk into battle readiness.

It was an attitude that I had developed a long, long time ago, even before Maria had found me and made me her war leader. As soon as I knew a battle was imminent and immediate my battle analysis would click on and overrule all bodily emotion. I suppose that is what made me such an effective warrior during my human life. The ability to put all fear and rage out of my mind and concentrate only on tactics, weaknesses and strategies.

I almost felt thankful to Maria for having encouraged me to hone this skill as a vampire. Otherwise my worry and rage over Alice would rule my body and I would most likely leap among twenty Volturi single handedly, with no plan, and get myself killed.

I kept my eyes straight ahead while my mind constantly calculated battle plans and moves. I trusted Corin, who was a step ahead of me, to lead us safely and secretly out of the castle.

I was normally wary of trusting anyone outside of my family. Sometimes it was awfully convenient to have a brother who could read minds. If there had been any hint of deception in Corin, Edward would have found it.

Half closing my eyes as I ran, I sampled the mood of my guide. There was bold determination and bloodlust, with not a hint of fear underlying the stronger emotions.

I frowned. So Corin did not care what happened to him. That was a dangerous attitude during a battle. One who went into a fight that way was just as likely to be a danger to his comrades as well as to his enemies. Just one more factor to add into my battle calculations.

I briefly allowed my emotions to flood through my mind. My sweet, sweet Alice. If she were killed in the ensuing battle I knew I would quickly emulate Corin's attitude. One way or another, I would not allow myself to survive if Alice were gone. It took all the willpower that I possessed not to let myself dwell on what a life without Alice would be like. After all, if I arrived on the field of battle and she was not alive, I would not live long enough to experience that kind of a life.

Corin led me through what I assumed were back ways and little used short cuts of the castle. We slipped out a large sewage grate, unnoticed, and melted into the dark pre-dawn city.

We paid little heed to keeping ourselves secret now, trusting only to our great blinding speed to keep us masked from any early risers. With a great struggle, I pushed all worries for Alice out of my mind and let the strategist take over once again.

The great wall of the city loomed higher and higher before us as we raced toward it. Corin came to a screeching halt in front of the wall and crouched almost flat against the ground, then his legs acted like a giant spring and he leapt to the top of the wall in one leap. He vanished over the other side.

I didn't slow my steps but I altered my course and ran unerringly for the flat side of a three story house that ran parallel to the wall. The momentum from my rapid gait carried me four steps straight up the side of the house, then I pushed off with both of my feet and spiraled toward the city wall. I landed lightly on my feet in a crouch on top of the wall, then slid like liquid down the other side and was only a step behind Corin.

He led me on a straight path towards the rapidly approaching forest. 'It will be best if we can reach them right as the fight is starting. I don't know many details, only what I could overhear when Aro first learned of the assault.'

I nodded and spoke, never breaking stride. 'Unfortunately, I know all too much about newborns. Once the fighting starts, just try to stay out of their way. If you do come up against one, just dodge, always dodge. They will come at you straight on and try to get their arms round you. All they know how to do is use blunt force.'

We raced on, our breakneck speed never faltering.

'Avoid the Volturi as well, if at all possible. There is going to be a lot of confusion. There always is in a newborn fight. Our main objective is to find Alice and get her out of there. If you are able to reach her, and I am detained, take her and flee. What happens to me is not important.'

I waited until I saw the slight nod of Corin's head before I went on. 'We should slow at the far reaches of the trees so that you can locate them. It would be best if we attacked right after the newborns' first move. That is when the Volturi will be the most distracted'

It was only a short distance to the fringe of the forest. We quickly arrived and slowed to a stop. My cool calculations stopped for a moment as I curiously watched Corin. Edward had seen in Corin's mind how his power had worked and he had shared it with me back in our cell.

Fascinating, really, to think that human writers and story tellers had at least got right even one true character trait of vampires by pairing them with bats. Even if that trait only belonged to one vampire in particular.

I stood watching silently as he slowly turned from the outer reach of the forest inward.

Suddenly he stopped, looking for all the world like an old pointer hound that I distantly remembered owning.

'Found them.' He pointed with a sure, steady finger to a spot a little to our left.

He spared a quick glance up at the sky then nodded to himself. His gaze whipped quickly to me and he grinned. 'The sun will be upon us soon. Shall we?'

As if at his command, the sun's first rays escaped over the horizon and lit our backs.

I nodded curtly, my lips set into a grim line. We stepped carefully into the forest, moving quietly as ghosts. We were careful always to remain downwind from where Corin had located the waiting Volturi.

Then both of us froze like wild animals who hear an unexpected noise. I swore for a moment that Corin's ears even twitched like those of a hare. The noises of battle had unmistakably begun. Without a signal from either of us we broke into a run at the same time.

The battle was not far from us now.

The Volturi had chosen to lie in wait for the invading newborns among the thick trees of the ancient forest. The guard knew what they were doing from long years of practice with newborn vampires. They would not meet them in the open where the newborn's superior strength and quickness might give them an advantage. The Volturi would instead meet the newborns among the tangling undergrowth and giant trees. No doubt they would use their surroundings to attack the newborns with stealth and agility. The newborns' blind, outright strength would matter little under conditions such as these.

We were abruptly among the combatants. A little off to our right Jane had a pair of newborns writhing in pain from her smile as a nameless grey cloak ripped them to shreds.

We doubled our speed and quickly slipped by. If we were to make it to Alice, it was critical that we steered clear of the twins.

Once we were a safe distance past Jane, I lightly touched Corin's arm and he stopped.

'I'll never be able to pick Alice's scent out of all these others. Do you think you could use your power and find her?'

His usual grin slipped from his face and he frowned as he thought. 'I can certainly try. She is so tiny that it may actually work. Though I have never tried to locate a single vampire among so many spread out so far before.'

Corin's eyes squeezed shut and his hands clenched into fists. While he was searching my mind methodically sifted through plan after plan to act as a contingency if Corin could not locate Alice.

Suddenly his broad grin returned. He whispered, 'Found you.'

I found myself grimly returning his grin. 'Lead on.'

We slithered like ghosts through the dark spaces between the trees. Whatever sun there was rarely penetrated into this forest. The towering trees greedily blocked out the rays.

Then Alice's scent hit me like a freight train. My body froze, quivering, as I inhaled her delicious scent. Corin placed a warning hand on my arm. 'If I know Aro, and trust me, I unfortunately know him very well, he will have remained at the fringes of the battle and will be in constant contact with Alice so as to foresee the direction in which the fight turns. He will know by now that we come for her.'

His grin grew impossibly bigger and his eyes burned with a far off intensity. 'I was once in love, the same as you, and she also was forced from me.'

Then he spoke very quietly in a wistful voice and I was not entirely sure if he was talking to me anymore. 'I allowed myself to forget her. And then I met your sister and I remembered. They are so very much alike.'

His eyes snapped up to meet mine. 'I'll give my life to see that it doesn't happen to you.'

He hurriedly clasped my arm and laughed. 'I doubt your lass will be able to give him warning of this, because I've just made up my mind to do it. Move swiftly, my friend.'

His mood exuded peace and a hard resolve. It was a marked contrast to the emotions swirling around us.

Before I could stop him he was gone. I tore after him. A companion sacrificing himself was never a part of my battle plans.

Corin had raced to the tiniest of clearings. My quick vampire mind took in all the details of the scene before I even took my next step.

All three of the leaders of the Volturi were in the clearing. Alice stood by Aro's side. Renata was in between Aro and Caius. I did not recognize the other three vampire bodyguards that stood among them.

Corin had exploded from the cover of the trees in a shower of leaves and bramble. I arrived in enough time to see the surprise on the Volturi leader's faces. He had made a snap decision after all, then.

He sprinted toward them and shouted in a thick Irish accent. 'Faugh a Ballaugh!'

Renata took a razor sharp step in front of Aro. Another part of my mind registered that Aro had never been Corin's target. He knew the Volturi far better than any of us, so he would have been well aware of Renata's power. His teeth tore into one of the faceless grey cloaked guards on the outer edge of the group.

Then just as quickly he was everywhere, his body just the faintest blur of movement even to my eyes. He was providing a most excellent distraction.

I skirted the edge of the tiny clearing and came around behind Alice. I swept her up into my arms, never breaking stride, and darted back into the trees. She gasped in shock. Her wide, startled eyes met mine. Then her arms were around my neck and her face was buried in my chest. I was sure none of the vampires had noticed me until after I had already turned for the relative safety of the forest.

As I raced through the trees I heard the distinctive, screeching sound of metal tearing behind me. I swallowed hard. Every battle instinct that I had screamed at me to go back. It went against my entire being to leave behind a fellow soldier.

But the rational, ever calculating part of my brain kept me running away. He had sacrificed himself so that I could have my one chance. I would honor that ultimate sacrifice only by getting Alice safely away.

I could sense rather than hear the vampires coming after me. Aro would not let Alice go so easily. I risked a quick glance down. Alice still had her face buried against my chest. She was shaking.

Vicious growls tore from my lips. I would carry Alice through the very depths of hell if I had to. I'd be damned if the Volturi would ever touch her again.

Bella's Point of View: Reunion

I'd been lost in Edward's eyes for a long time now. It was totally insane, but we had both completely forgotten where we were as soon as we were reunited and alone together.

I had originally thought that if I ever saw Edward again he would be incredibly damaged. What else was I supposed to think after the short glimpse I had caught of him down in the tunnels?

But the Edward who was holding me…he was as far from damaged as he could be. I rested my head on his shoulder and sighed contentedly. This was my Edward. Loving, brave, strong and in control. He had changed since that fateful day when we were torn apart. But for that matter, so had I. There was a new cool confidence in the way that he carried himself. Yet we still fit together as though we had never been apart.

He pulled away from me and my eyes fluttered quickly up to meet his. He grinned, that amazing half grin that I had fallen in love with.

'I am enjoying myself utterly, Bella, believe me, I truly I think it is time that we made our escape.'

I continued to stare into his deep black eyes. He was hungry, but he would never hurt me. Even if I were still human, he would never have been able to hurt me…

Suddenly I realized that his lips were moving and he had been talking. I shook myself like a dog emerging from water. 'What…'

He let out a long, low sigh. 'This is no time to be dazzled, Bella, we have to get out of here before the Volturi find us.'

Our predicament came back to me like a punch to the stomach. 'We can't leave Jasper and Alice!'

He grabbed my hand and started pulling me back to the ruined elevator shaft. 'Jasper and Corin went to find Alice. Aro took her with the other Volturi to meet the newborn attack.'

I nodded. 'Then we'll follow them and help.'

We stopped in front of the twisted elevator doors and I gasped as I looked down the shaft at the damage that he had done to the elevator. 'Edward!'

He grinned sheepishly and shrugged. 'What did you want me to do? Every second mattered.'

I returned the grin. 'I love you.'

'I love you to, my darling.' Edward was beginning to look dangerously close to losing himself again. I leaned up on tiptoe and kissed the tip of his nose.

'Lets go, oh great destroyer of elevators.'

Amazingly the elevator was still working. I pressed the button and waited until the elevator was one floor below us then jumped through the great gaping hole that Edward had torn through the roof. I jabbed at the button for the ground floor and tapped my foot impatiently.

Edward landed without a sound next to me and took my hand again. He cocked his head to the side and his eyes slid half closed. I frowned. 'What is it?' He shook his head and opened his eyes, he looked utterly confused.

'I am not sure...it was almost like I heard…well no, that's impossible.' My frown deepened and I searched his face for clues of what was troubling him.

Each floor slowly slid by as the elevator whirred down. We could see into each hall, owing to the fact that Edward had ripped the doors free. It was on the third floor that we first got into trouble.

Two grey cloaked guards were waiting for us.

Edward and I stood frozen for the shortest of seconds. Then he gave a brief tug on my hand and I felt myself falling through the hole in the elevator floor that Edward had made earlier.

He was right behind me, but unfortunately, so were the two Volturi guards.

I managed to alight on my feet on the ledge of the first floor hall with Edward right beside me.

Falling and landing gently were so much easier when one was a vampire. The old, clumsy Bella would be lying at a crumpled heap at the bottom.

Edward tugged me down the hall. Our pursuers were not far behind when I skidded around a corner and came to a crashing halt when I slammed against Edward's suddenly motionless body.

I clutched at Edward's arm for support. Coming straight at us were two more grey cloaked shapes. Our pursuers walked sedately around the corner and stopped a few feet away. We were trapped.

I whirled and kept my eyes glued on the vampires behind us while Edward watched the two in front.

My hand groped for his and he squeezed back.

'Well well, what have we here.' Heidi took a short step closer to me. Edward risked a quick glance over his shoulder at her then his head whipped back around to watch the other vampires.

She completely ignored me and spoke to Edward. 'You're not supposed to be out of your cage.' Her eyes raked up and down the back of his body. 'Though I must admit, in the sunlight you look simply delicious.' The tip of her tongue flicked out to run across her lips.

I rolled my eyes. 'Down, girl.'

Her eyes flew to my face as she acknowledged me for the first time. 'Aro will be most displeased with you. I don't think he'll be angry with me at all if I stop you from escaping.' She smirked and her beautiful face turned dark and ugly. 'After all, Aro doesn't like others touching his things.'

She snarled and took another step toward me. 'There will be plenty of time for me to play with the boy after I finish you. If he even knows how to handle a real woman.'

I completely ignored Heidi and risked a glance at Edward. His wild, black eyes met mine for the briefest of moments before we both looked back at our opponents.

'Do you remember everything that Jasper taught you?' I nodded. "Yes.'

I dropped his hand and rotated my body completely to face Heidi and her companion. My back brushed against Edward's. 'I've got your back.'

I felt the slight rush of wind as he returned my nod. "As I have yours.'

I gave Heidi my most sickeningly sweet smile, then raised my hand and gave her my best 'come and get it' gesture.

The world erupted into chaos.

We were outnumbered, but as we fought it was as if we belonged to one body. Every time that Edward had to leave a part of him exposed to an assailant as he dealt with the blows of another, I was there blocking for him.

Whenever an attack of mine exposed a vulnerable spot on my attacker, Edward was there to take advantage of it.

It was as if, finally, Edward and I completely understood one another. I knew all of his weak spots and was able to guard them, just as he knew all of mine. He knew my strengths and gave me the best opportunities to use them, as I did for him.

I would never be able to say how long we fought, back to back, in that corridor against our enemies.

Afterward, I had the time to marvel at Edward. Before, it had always been he who had protected me. He was always crouching in front of me defending me from some enemy. But now we were equal. Edward understood that I was able to defend us as well as he ever had and that we were now partners, and oh how I loved him for that.

Edward and I slowly but surely began to eliminate our foes.

Heidi was the last vampire standing. She was tougher and more experienced than the others had been, and Edward and I were worn down from the long fight.

Edward risked a quick glance at me, and I saw his plan reflected in his eyes in the bare second before he carried it out. I hardly had time to feel nervous.

He feigned an attack at Heidi but leapt to the side instead and for just the briefest of moments he left his throat exposed to her.

She recognized his slip in an instant and dove for him, completely forgetting me as she went in for the kill.

It was as if everything moved in slow motion.

My reaction was based purely on instinct. I pushed all worry and terror from my mind as my arms reached out toward Heidi. Her razor sharp teeth were almost at Edward's exposed throat when my arms wrapped around her from behind.

I could feel her surprise as she froze. My hands continued to move on their own as they brushed against Heidi's hair, coming to rest one on either cheek. My touch against her was almost a caress as I firmly wrenched her head to the side and broke her neck.

Edward was a blur of movement as he collected all the pieces of the defeated Volturi guards. He kicked and threw them all down the elevator shaft. Before he rolled Heidi's body over the edge, he pulled a lighter from her jacket pocket. With a casual flick of his thumb the flame burst to life. He gave Heidi's body the gentlest of shoves, then dropped the still burning lighter in after her.

Edward had already gathered me in his arms when the thick, heady smoke began to rise up the shaft. I was shaking. Heidi and the other guards had been evil, I knew that. The casual way she lured droves of humans to their gruesome deaths was unforgivable.

But it was a different thing entirely to take her life from her. Even knowing that she had deserved to die ten times over didn't make the fact that I had carried out that sentence any easier.

Edward rubbed the small of my back and held me close. I blinked quickly and glanced up into his black eyes. I knew if I was still capable I would be blinking back tears.

I swallowed hard. 'Does…does it ever get easier?'

The corners of his mouth turned into a frown and he spoke softly. 'It never has for me.'

'Even knowing that the person you just killed deserved it?'

He shook his head and cupped my face in his palm. 'No. It never does.'

His eyes slipped away from me as he stared at the wall behind my head, unseeing. 'All those people I killed when I was first turned…I knew they were evil. I knew that if I did not kill them, they would hurt others. I convinced myself at the time that they deserved to die. But…it was never easy after the deed was done. It was the quiet time after the killing that I would begin to doubt myself. What if they would have changed their minds before committing the act? What if they would hurt someone, but then go on and live the rest of their lives to the great benefit of others?'

His eyes slowly returned to me. 'I don't believe it will ever get easier for you, my Bella. And it never should.'

He held me to him for another moment and then gently took my hand. 'I believe its time we found a way out of here.'

Leah's Point of View: Love's Challenge

The Volturi had heard me. I could smell in the wind the exact moment when they shifted their course to intercept me.

I slowly got to my feet and lifted my head high. My eyes were blazing as I faced the spot where I knew they would soon appear. No reason to go out like a chump, Leah. How about I take some of them with me?

Their sickly sweet scent hit me like a brick wall as they materialized into view. All 7 of them stood in a straight line as they slowly advanced toward me. My nose wrinkled up in distaste. What a shame that this horrible odor would be the last thing I would ever smell.

The middle vampire took a step beyond the others and rubbed his hands together. A growl started to form low in my throat as he spoke.

'What a wonderful surprise!' He flashed his sparkling white teeth at me as he chuckled. 'I had no idea that today was going to be so delightful! First we get to visit with our dear old Romanian friends, and now I get to meet you.' He frowned and his head dipped to the side for a moment. 'Such as shame though, that it was the last time we shall ever have the occasion to meet. No matter, no matter. Simply marvelous, a werewolf, here, in old Italy!'

I frowned. This vampire didn't look the 6 others who stood behind him, he looked like the Dracula vamps he had just claimed to have killed. His skin looked like crumpled old parchment and his eyes were all milky.

He glanced over his shoulder at one of the vampires standing behind him. 'What do you make of her, Chelsea? I imagine the relationship between her and the other pack members must be incredibly strong, though I don't believe any others are too close by.'

The one he referred to as Chelsea returned his smile. 'Would you like me to see if I can alter the bond?'

The hackles on the back of my neck rose. I didn't like the sound of that at all.

The old vampire's smile grew so big that I started to hope it would break his brittle looking face. 'That should be a very interesting experiment. Especially since her pack is at such a great distance from her.'

My entire body flushed warmly from a thrill of mingled excitement and dread as a familiar mind finally pushed away the barrier I had erected for myself.

They might not be as far from her as you'd hoped. I didn't need to turn around to know that the giant russet wolf had silently appeared behind me.

The snarl that was slipping from him was enough to make me want to shake in fear, and I even knew I was perfectly safe from his anger. He strode forward and stood shoulder to shoulder with me. I didn't think the ancient vampire could look any more pleased if an elementary school tour bus full of human children had pulled up in front of him.

I didn't think you'd come after me.

I could have sworn that one great eye had rolled back in his head in seeming exasperation. That's exactly it, you don't think. Maybe you should try it sometime before running off and getting yourself into trouble, Leah. I saw a brief flash of my foolish solitary attack on a newborn vampire. My light grey face would probably be scarlet right now if such a thing were possible for a wolf.

All of the vampires were now slowly advancing on us and the old one's eyes were almost dancing in anticipated delight. 'The bond between these two must be strong for him to come to her and face certain death! Chelsea, do you think you can break it?'

Suddenly I felt a weird sensation, not unlike a physical tug. Quicker than I could blink all of my doubts and confusion about Jacob and my newfound feelings for him rushed back to invade my thoughts.

I gulped. It was a bit like drowning. I had too many misgivings about my feelings for Jacob. He had always loved Bella. I had been nothing to him save a member of the audience that had witnessed his tragic love for Bella scene by intimate scene.

I was nothing but an annoyance to the entire pack. It was bad enough for the others to know each others every thought and action, but to have a girl privy to that private information was unbearable.

Not only was it embarrassing for me to see every one of their thoughts, I had worked hard at making my every thought torture to all of them. I went out of my way to cause annoyance and pain. I would never be more than a hindrance to the entire pack, and Jacob could never love me. He barely tolerated me.

I blinked back a great tear. None of that mattered. So what if Jacob Black could never return the love I felt for him. I was still a member of the pack, and I would do my best right now to represent them well.

I squared my shoulders and faced the vampires again. Jacob's strong, reassuring shoulder brushed up against mine to lend me support. I worked hard not to listen to his thoughts, but it was taking all my willpower to crush my feelings of inadequacy.

I would not live long enough to see them take down Jacob, I would die fighting for him.

Suddenly I missed the rest of our pack with a gut wrenching ache. I didn't really wish that they were alongside us right now, but I missed the feeling of unity and support that we all shared.

The ancient one waved his hand in dismissal. 'Oh well, no matter Chelsea. The rest of the pack must be around somewhere, we can experiment on them later. Right now, we have pressing matters to attend to back at the castle. Santiago and his guard will be waiting to meet up with us in the dungeons. Let's finish them.'

Jacob and I both growled ferociously and crouched, shoulders still touching. We were ready to fight. If only we weren't so outnumbered and alone.

A clear, strong voice rang out behind the approaching Volturi. 'But your not alone, Leah.'

I tore my eyes from the Volturi and looked behind them, searching for the owner of the voice. Edward and Bella were walking slowly told us, hand in hand. They must have recognized my call and come to investigate. All my efforts had been in vain, then, I had not been able to warn them away. I glanced quickly at Jacob. I couldn't read any emotion in his stoic wolfy face.

'Jacob?' Bella's eyes were searching the russet wolf beside me. His head dipped in a nod of greeting and he whined softly.

I swallowed hard. Get over yourself, Leah. Now is not the time for jealousy. Now is the time to fight.

There was a flicker of some strong emotion from Jacob beside me, but I did not have time to interpret it as the Volturi chose that moment to pounce on us. They had completely ignored Edward and Bella. They probably thought they could finish us off quickly and then turn to deal with them.

Jacob and I surged forward to meet the oncoming Volturi. We managed to slip unscathed through their initial assault and meet up with Edward and Bella on the other side.

The Volturi came back around and headed toward us again. I coolly assessed the situation. The ancient one seemed to be hanging back just slightly while 2 of the guard hovered close by his side. They didn't seem to be attacking at all, only advancing with the others. The safety of the ancient one must be their top priority, yet at the same time they clearly wanted to confuse us by throwing greater numbers at us.

The combat was fierce. Even though the Volturi had the advantage of numbers, Jacob and I shared a pack mind which helped us immensely in coordinating our attacks. Edward and Bella were moving as if they possessed a similar pack mind, and I knew that Edward could hear not only mine and Jacob's thoughts, but the thoughts and moves of all the Volturi as well. If he could only keep track of everything, we would have a great advantage.

Jacob and I managed to take down 1 of the guards as Edward barked out terse instructions and warnings. Edward and Bella had worked together to take down another, but there were still 5 of them and only 4 of us.

The Volturi had fallen back to regroup, and once again my mind reeled as all of my jumbled up emotions assailed me again. Jacob laid his head briefly against my shoulder, as if he heard my confusion and wanted to give me some of his strength.

Just as it was starting to look like we might have a chance (Jacob and I were very close to taking apart another Volturi), the scents of 2 new vampires assaulted me.

I groaned. We were already tiring, we would never be able to take on 2 fresh Volturi and the ones we were already fighting.

In the second it took my mind to work through the new problem, I heard an exultant hiss from Edward. I didn't have time to consider what that meant as a vampire took a snap at my unguarded left side. But Jacob was there in a flash and deflected the attack.

My attacker hesitated for the briefest of moments. Jacob and I took advantage of that lull in concentration and lunged, ripping great chunks from the distracted vampire. It was now 4 against 6, counting the new attackers.

Then I almost froze. A new voice rang out over the battle. 'Caius is ours!'

A wolfish grin flashed across my face. 6 to 4 now. In our favor.

Jacob lunged for the vampire called Chelsea as the 2 new attackers went for the ancient one and his final protector. Edward was by Jacob's side in an instant to finish Chelsea off.

That left Bella and I to finish off our own. Bella was surprisingly strong and lethal, especially since most of my memories of her involved her falling down or injuring herself.

I risked a glance at her. At least Jacob knew how to pick them, I could at least give him that.

And then it was all over. The ancient vampire's final protector lay in pieces on the ground, and he was cowering in front of the new arrivals.

Bella was quickly gathering up the pieces of the defeated Volturi into a great pile. I moved swiftly to help her and when we were done she pulled out a lighter and set fire to the mound of vampire parts.

I looked up when we were finished with our task and found myself instantly disgusted. The ancient one was pleading for his revolting life.

The smaller of the new arrivals took a step closer to him and knelt so that she was face to face with him. Suddenly I remembered. That was Alice, and the taller male with the honey colored hair standing protectively over her was Jasper. They were all safe. A wave of relief washed over me. It was over. We could all go safely home.

The small vampire spoke, and her voice sounded hollow and dead. 'You took my entire life from me, Caius. And now you have the audacity to plead for yours?'

She snarled at him, and her perky, elvish face twisted in fury. 'Do you want me to tell you your future now, Caius?'

The ancient vampire swallowed hard, his eyes were stuck to the ground, he could not make himself meet hers. 'Please, Alice. I've had such a very long, long life, you can't imagine all the wondrous things…'

Alice laughed harshly and cut him off. 'Frankly, Caius, I don't have the heart to imagine half the things you have seen and done in your life. There's only one thing that I see about your miserable life.' She leaned very close and placed her lips next to his ear as he trembled in fright. 'That it's over.'

Her lips moved so fast that they were just a blur. Her teeth sank into the ancient flesh of Caius' neck and she ripped him to pieces.

When she was finished she stood up slowly, shaking. She pirouetted on one foot and buried her face into Jasper's chest. He held her tight and stroked her hair.

I helped Jacob add the pieces of Caius to the smoldering bonfire.

And then it was all over. There was nothing else to do. I was inescapably facing something that was even more terrifying than an outnumbered assault from the Volturi. Jacob Black knew how I felt about him. He would most definitely not return those feelings. I think I would rather face the Volturi again than face him now.

Suddenly his thoughts vanished. I whirled around to discover him emerging from behind the bonfire in his human form. I wanted to slink away and find a hole somewhere to hide.

As he walked past me he placed a hand on my head and winked at me. 'Go get dressed and join us Leah, we have a few things to discuss and not a lot of time.'

I bristled. What had that wink been about? I knew with an absolute certainty that Jacob knew how I felt about him. Had I really been so horrible before that he wanted to rub my nose in it now?

I closed my eyes briefly and then slunk behind the fire to shift back to human form. I absentmindedly pulled on the simple cotton dress that had been tied to my leg. I usually preferred jeans and t shirts to dresses, but it was much simpler to just carry around one piece of clothing than several.

Damn. I fingered the hem of my dress. There was a giant rip from the hem to my upper thigh. I shrugged and emerged from behind the fire. Oh well, I had nothing to be modest about. And besides, no one here thought about me like that anyway.

My last thought made me wince. I don't think my sarcasm will help me here. It had been my only shield against Sam and Emily's relationship. But the hurt ran too deep for that this time.

Jacob had gathered Bella into an enormous bear hug. I felt like I had been stabbed in the heart. Get a grip, Leah. You're just going to have to get used to this, because I am not going to let you run away. You owe your life to Jacob now, 2 times over. You are going to stay by his side and be the friend that he needs and deserves.

He swung her around as I came to stand at the back of the group. Alice was now leaning back against Jasper who had his arms still tight around her. It looked as if some life was beginning to return to her eyes. I smiled tightly at her. I had always liked the sprightly little vampire more than the others. I fervently hoped she would be ok.

I was a little shocked to see that Edward was showing no jealously toward Jacob and Bella at all.

I had no time to think about that, however, as I received an even bigger shock. Jacob had finally set Bella down and she turned to me, her eyes sparkling and a bright smile on her face. 'I'm so happy for you two!'

I frowned at Bella and studied her warily. Maybe she had knocked her head during the fight. I had no idea what she was talking about.

Suddenly she frowned and her eyes went wide. 'Don't you know?' She whirled on Jacob and glared at him. 'She doesn't know?'

My frown deepened. 'What don't I know?' As if it wasn't bad enough that I was going to have to try to be nice to this girl for Jacob's sake, she was already lording secrets over me that she shared with him.

My gaze flew to Edward. He was glancing from me to Bella to Jacob and then back to me. The corners of his mouth kept twitching up and it looked like he was going to burst out laughing any second.

This was too much for me. I wasn't going to stand around and be the blunt of some unknown joke that they all shared. I would go and find the rest of the pack and wait to return home. I spun around quickly and was about to say to hell with my clothes and shift into wolf form when an arm caught at my wrist.

I glared up into Jacob's smiling face. 'I really don't see anything funny, Jacob Black. In fact, I think your being really horrible right now…'

And then my heart completely stopped. Jacob had rolled his eyes while I started to tell him off and his grin had vanished. Then he had pulled me against him in one swift movement and kissed me.

I was too stunned to return the kiss and I just stared at him as he reluctantly pulled away.

He stared back at me, his eyes penetrating deep into mine. Then he spoke very softly, and it was as if we were the only 2 people left in the entire world.

'If you hadn't had your heart set on being so noble and sacrificing as you raced to your death you would have heard what my thoughts were screaming at you.'

I took a deep breath, realizing only now that I had been holding it since before Jacob had kissed me.

His eyes melted as he continued to gaze into mine. He raised a large hand and swept a stray strand of hair from my face and tucked it behind my ear. 'I said I loved you too, Leah.'

Our lips met again with a force not unlike that of 2 magnets coming together. We only came apart at the loud whistle that Edward let out behind us.

Jacob pulled reluctantly away and leaned his forehead against mine. 'You and me, we're not finished.'

I could only nod, having completely been unable to find my missing voice.

He turned and led me back to the waiting group of vampires. He quickly explained to them that all of their family and friends had come to rescue them and that some of them still remained in the castle.

I looked around us in sudden surprise. The 3 remaining members of our pack had come up silently upon us. I shook my head roughly. I really needed to snap out of it and start paying attention.

The sandy wolf trotted up to me, his tongue lolling and his lips curled up in what I could only describe as a smile. He looked quickly between me and Jacob and rolled his eyes. I gave a quick laugh and pushed him. He pushed back against me. I was so small and his wolf form had grown so large in the past year that he came all the way up to my head. When he pushed against me he had dislodged the ear piece from my ear.

It slowly dawned on me at that point that our ear pieces had been eerily silent for the past half hour. Jacob had finished with his explanation to the vampires and he nodded at me as if he heard my thoughts. 'I think they're in trouble.'

My resolve tightened. So we weren't finished yet. 'We have to go help them.'

Emmett's Point of View: And we all Fall Down

It was easy. Too easy. We had slipped into the city like wraiths. We encountered no opposition from the Volturi. Either the Romanian vamps' distraction had worked…or we were in for one huge ambush.

I was very glad Peter had suggested we all wear sweatshirts so we could raise the hoods to cover our faces in the sunlight. We could have worn cloaks, but we wanted to distance ourselves from the Volturi as much as possible.

I lowered the brown hood of my sweatshirt as Eleazar led us into a little used side entrance. I quickly threw a glance at Rose. She was wrinkling her nose in disgust. A dark, dank sewer tunnel lay before us.

Eleazar flashed a quick grin at Rose. 'Sorry ladies, but this tunnel will give us the best and fastest route to the dungeons.' He gallantly held his hand out for Carmen. She took it and stepped daintily into the sewer tunnel.

Irina shrugged and followed behind. 'Always the odd one out.'

I mimicked Eleazar's gallant gesture to Rose and even bowed. 'Or I could carry you, if you want.'

She rolled her eyes at me and shoved my hand aside and jumped into the sewer tunnel with a great splash. I couldn't keep the smile from spreading across my face. Rose seemed prissy on the outside, but when the cards were down she'd be one of the first to get down and dirty. And besides…I had a much better view when I walked behind Rose and not beside her. I licked my lips and she tossed a smirk over her shoulder at me. Sometimes I was sure she had ESP, she always knew when I was checking her out.

Eleazar led us swiftly and surely down winding tunnels in a path that I was sure I could never remember.

Suddenly Peter's voice carried softly into my ear, announcing that his team was in position. Carlisle checked in soon after that and reported that they had begun their search of the upper castle. Eleazar added his own report and then there was silence as we continued to work our way to the dungeons.

Eventually Rose slowed so that I could catch up to her. She slipped her hand into mine and snuggled against my side as we walked. 'You know, Emmett, these tunnels kind of remind me of Phantom of the Opera.'

I groaned as she laid out all the similarities and then began discussing which actor she thought played the Phantom the best. Oh no. Rose was obsessed with the theater, especially musicals. If we made it out of this alive, she was gonna make me listen to her Phantom of the Opera soundtrack for the next year.

Hmm…get ripped apart by the Volturi, or listen to musical soundtracks constantly? I wasn't really sure which I preferred.

My musings were interrupted when Eleazar held up a hand in warning. We all instantly froze.

He spoke so softly that we could barely hear him. 'Through this grate is the hall that leads to the dungeons. If the Volturi have any of your family down here, they will most certainly have left guards. We must proceed with the utmost caution.'

The air developed a sudden thickness. All of our joking moods were instantly gone and the mood was deadly serious. I lowered my center of gravity and trailed after Eleazar in a hunter's crouch.

We reached the grate and Eleazar lifted it soundlessly and we all passed under. He settled it back into place behind him without a noise and motioned us forward.

Rose's grip tightened on my hand and hers shook slightly. I almost scrapped the whole mission and ran with her from the city. I knew her hand didn't shake from fear for herself, but for me and our family and all our friends. That was a fear I could respect, because I also felt it.

We were nothing but five shadows as we stalked towards the dungeons. Every few feet we paused and would all sniff the air. It was impossible to tell if Volturi guards were just ahead or behind us, their scent permeated the air so thickly. They could have passed by here five minutes or five hours ago and we wouldn't be able to tell the difference.

Then the first dungeon door was in sight. There were no Volturi. We moved from dungeon to dungeon and didn't see any signs of my family or the Volturi. Suddenly Eleazar stiffened. Rose and I were at his side in an instant.

The scene before us blew my mind.

There were scattered pieces of vampire in every direction, some were slowly crawling towards other pieces in the hope of fusing back together. A thick wooden door was lying in the middle of the hall with large lumps underneath it. The door had very obviously been ripped from its hinges and thrown with considerable force.

Most striking of all was the scent that permeated the air in this hall. It was my brothers, Jasper and Edward. I heard a strangled gasp beside me from Rose. Then she flew to the door and hurled it from the vampire bodies it covered.

I was only one step behind Rose. Her shoulders visibly sagged and she let out a sigh of relief. 'It's not them.'

I frantically looked over the pieces of vampire in front of us and knew she was right. Even in this sort of dismembered state, we would be able to recognize our brothers. I placed my hands on Rose's shoulders and pulled her away from the bodies as Eleazar pulled out a lighter and set fire to the pieces.

We walked into the open dungeon and glanced around quickly to confirm that our brothers had gone. They had definitely been here, we could smell that. I closed my eyes as I grimaced. I had no idea if they'd spent the entire time imprisoned in here. I couldn't even begin to imagine what they'd been through.

I came back to myself as Rose tugged on my arm. 'Come on, Emmett.' She murmured. 'Eleazar said this was the last cell to be searched, we have to report in to Carlisle and Peter.' I nodded mutely.

'Our search of the dungeons is complete. We found where Jasper and Edward must have been kept, but it looks like there was recently a fight and they are no longer here.'

After a moment's pause Carlisle's voice came back over the ear piece. 'We are almost finished with our search of the castle floors. We found signs of Alice and Bella but they are not here. We only came across two living guards, but we also found the some burnt vampire remains in a ruined elevator shaft. The fire that burned could not have been set much earlier. I have to believe that none of our family was burned, but I have to admit that the pyre confuses me. We have to assume that the Volturi must have taken them all out to the forest to meet Vladimir and Stefan's diversion.'

My fists clenched involuntarily at my sides. Our worst fears had been confirmed. We now had a horrible choice before us. We could flee and live to possibly fight another day, or we could remain and hope that enough of the guard had been eliminated so that we'd have a chance to free our family by force.

That was, if our family still even lived…The vision of those unidentifiable burnt remains churned a gaping hole in my stomach.

I glanced at my watch and swore under my breath. Much more time had gone by than I had thought. It was noon. As good of a diversion as the Romanian's must have staged, it couldn't possibly last much longer than this.

The silence was finally broken by Carlisle. 'We all knew there was a chance that they would be removed from the castle. The evidence before us suggests that they may have attempted escape on their own, but we cannot be sure of it. Our options are before us. I do not hold anyone except for myself, but I will stay and try to free my family. Stefan and Vladimir must have thinned the ranks of the Volturi. We cannot know by how much, but this will probably be our best and last chance to free them. I will stay and fight.'

Esme stated that she would remain as well. Rose added that she and I were in. One by one, all the other vampires added that they would stay as well.

It was quickly decided that all the groups would meet up with Peter's by the entrance to the castle. The corner of my mouth lifted in a smirk. How ironic that we would be defending the Volturi's own castle against them.

Rose and I held hands as we swiftly followed Eleazar and the others as he led the way to our meeting spot.

And then all hell broke loose.

The world moved in sickeningly slow motion. We had been about to leave the dungeons behind when a mass of grey shrouded shapes materialized in front of us. They took one swift glance at our little group and all immediately crouched into attack poses.

The Volturi had returned to their castle.

Before we could even prepare they attacked. My eyes were still following every movement of their leaps as a familiar, excited voice squawked in my ear. 'We found them! They're all safe and with us! Meet us back at the rendezvous!' I barely registered Seth's voice as I pushed Rose behind me

Two grey bodies collided into mine. I held my ground, barely, as my ears were assaulted by the thunder of vampire bodies meeting all around me. Then all my attention was held by the two guards who were intent on ripping me to pieces.

The pure raw force of my attacks was enough to keep them at bay at the beginning. They only cautiously feinted and tested my defenses. Every time one of them got too close to me I struck with all the force that I could muster.

My senses were alert enough that I could hear Rose's barely audible gasp behind me. Not even a second after her gasp I heard a heart rending howl that competed with the horrible screech of metal tearing as a vampire was ripped apart.

Oh god, was that Eleazar? I didn't have time to ascertain if the ripping sounds came from his body or from his mate, Carmen.

I growled in fury and the next time one of my attackers lunged at me, instead of stepping nimbly back as I had been I lunged forward to meet him head on. The force behind my lunge threw us both back into the wall. I took great pleasure in grinding his head into the stone of the wall. It was interesting, seeing which would give first, his skull, or the thick ancient stone wall. In the end, the stone wall won, for it still stood, and the guard did not.

I whirled in time to see Rose and Irina fighting off my other attacker. At the same time, out of my peripheral vision, I could see Eleazar fighting for his life against three other guards.

I had only the barest of seconds to register what was going on with Eleazar when my attention was brutally pulled back to Rose and Irina. Their attacker had flung Rose bodily down the hall and was on Irina, ripping her to shreds. The guard was finished with her and was advancing on my stunned Rose when Eleazar let out another guttural howl.

The three guards were all around him and he was being torn to shreds. He managed to free his arm and stretched it out pleadingly to me for help.

My eyes met Eleazar's for one agonizing moment. I saw the absolute terror in his. Then his eyes skipped down the hall and he saw the guard quickly advancing on a still stunned Rosalie. He closed his eyes and then vanished under the three guards.

My body was already moving in the direction of Rose before Eleazar had shut his eyes. My last view of him and my act of abandonment had torn a large chunk out of my soul. But there had been no real choice for me. Rosalie was my life. I would turn my back on my entire family for her. Even if only to die at her side.

By the time I reached them he was already on top of her, his fingers curled into talons as he grabbed for Rose's arms to hold her down. She was barely managing to keep him from tearing her apart.

My eyes were burning pitch black as I ripped him from my Rose. The force of my throw hurled him down the hall and into the wriggling mass of grey on top of where Eleazar had made his last stand.

I hauled Rose to her feet and we both crouched side by side. I stole a quick glance at her and our eyes locked. Hers were as deep and dark as my own and there was no hope.

She turned to me and kissed my lips passionately as the Volturi advanced on us. Everything between us was expressed in that simple gesture. We didn't need to say anything.

Edward's Point of View: The Battle is Fought

Jacob handed me his earpiece right before he shifted back into wolf form. The other wolves had followed suit and handed their pieces to a vampire before phasing.

We all sprinted at top speed back to the last place I ever thought I would willingly head toward.

I almost stumbled as I heard my father's voice speak next to my ear. 'Edward? Edward are you really safe!? Is everyone else with you? Are the wolves ok?'

I couldn't speak for a moment, too many emotions were whirling inside me. Luckily, Jasper saved me from having to speak.

'We are all here Carlisle. We're headed back to meet up with you at the castle. What is your position?'

Carlisle's voice came back again, but this time pain flooded his words. 'Eleazar's group was just attacked and we are not sure if any survived, we only received garbled bits of the fight.'

I heard Bella gasp beside me. Alice's thoughts broke into my mind. Eleazar's group? Eleazar is here? But…who was in his group?

'The Volturi are already back, we can try to escape on our own. Just take the wolves and go, save yourselves.'

Jasper's calm voice broke through. 'Peter, we're coming to help. Please let us know where to meet you.'

Peter's voice came back and told us where they were going to make their stand.

I shook my head as we continued to sprint, the city growing ever larger with every second that flew by. Jasper must have guessed that Peter would be with them, and knew that he would likely be the calmest and most likely to let us help. If this was going to come down to an all out battle, we were lucky to have Jasper and Peter with us.

Everyone's minds were preparing for the battle to come when one wolf's thoughts jumped out at me. That bloodsucker Edward must have had a vicious blow to the head or something. I can't believe he didn't try to make Bella stay behind. This is not going to be a pretty fight.

I grinned. I guess I had changed. In my heart, I would forever want to shield Bella from any harm. But I had finally learned to accept that Bella was my partner, my equal. She could protect herself just as well as I could protect her. I would never again leave her behind while I ran off to defend her. We would be together, always, in every way.

The city wall loomed large ahead of us. We had not slowed down or tried to disguise our presence from humans. If anyone saw blurry, vaguely human shapes moving at super human speed, or five impossibly large wolves barreling toward the city, then they would just have to pay for the resulting therapy and move on with their lives.

We all vaulted or scaled the wall. Once over, Jasper led us back toward the castle. He did use some discretion now and tried to stick mainly to back streets and alleyways.

Peter's collected voice came through the ear piece. 'It must have been a smaller, advance guard that attacked Eleazar's group. The Volturi knew that we would be here. The main body of the guard is at the gate. I do not think we can keep them out much longer.'

Jasper's answered calmly. 'Hold them off as long as you can, but fall back if they are going to break through. You know there are certain members among them that can drop you all at a glance. Bella is the only one who will be able to take them down. You have to hold out until we can reach you.'

Peter said that he understood and we were suddenly at a back door of the castle. Jasper was in the lead and he kicked the door in with one massive strike.

Bella took over the lead and I was right by her side. She led us deftly through the winding halls. God, but she was beautiful. I could spend all day watching her run.

I shook my head to clear my thoughts. I couldn't afford to get distracted, I needed all of my senses to be ready for the desperate battle that lay ahead of us.

There was no way around it now. Either the Volturi would destroy all of us, or we would destroy all of them. Only one side would live out the day.

I snuck another glance at my wonderful Bella. Her eyes were narrowed in concentration as she guided as through the castle. Her lower lip jutted out just a bit as well. Her thick, dark hair was sprayed out behind her. I grinned.

We had had nowhere near enough time together…There would never be enough time to sate my deep need for Bella.

My thoughts were ripped away from Bella as thoughts from a dozen other minds leapt suddenly into mine. I hissed out loud. 'I can hear them! The Volturi are right behind them, I don't think they can hold out much longer.'

Peter had been constantly calling out new positions to Bella as we ran. We just kept moving higher and higher. A deep finality settled over me. Peter had just announced that they had been chased all the way onto the roof of the castle. There would be no escape.

And then we could hear fighting above us. Bella crouched and sprung for the catch of a trapdoor above us. A heavy wood panel swung down. Our entire group managed to meet everyone else's eyes for a moment. I dipped my head once. 'Good luck.'

I took Bella's hand and we vaulted upward and out onto the roof together. The rest of our group followed quickly and I had a few seconds to survey the scene. There was Carlisle and Esme, fighting desperately side by side. The Irish were there as well, all three of them. And then there was Peter with Charlotte and part of the Denali coven.

Emmett…Rosalie…

The realization hit me the exact same time as it hit Alice. Our brother and sister were missing.

My face screwed up in agony and rage. No. No, it was impossible. I quickly searched for their thoughts but I couldn't find them. It couldn't be.

With another part of my mind I saw Tanya, Kate and Garrett brought to their knees by Jane's beatific smile.

The Volturi were just toying with them. With the twins on their side, they could defeat my family any time they wished. I risked a quick glance to my wife at my side. Her features were molded into quiet fury.

The vile, twisted thoughts of Aro assaulted my mind. All too easy.

I threw back my head and growled a challenge for the whole world to hear.

I could hear Jasper, then Alice, and then Bella's voices all join mine. The wolves turned their noses up to the sky and howled their challenge as well.

The Volturi turned. They were all clearly shocked by our arrival. Most of their eyes moved over my family and rested on the wolves.

My voice ripped harshly from my throat. 'Bella! Now! You have to take out the twins now!'

As a group we all charged the Volturi. I howled in dismay as the entire world went dark and silent. No no no! Alec was incapacitating us all. Bella could never reach the twins by herself through all of the Volturi! Our help was all for naught.

And just as quickly as it had vanished, the world came crashing back to me.

I blinked and gasped. I gasped again when I heard similar sounds of startlement erupt around me.

But the twins were still standing, how did we have all of our senses?

In the next second I understood why. Bella stood straight and tall, eyes blazing, a triumphant smile lighting up her face. And I heard her! I heard her mind. She had finally perfected her wonderful gift. She was shielding every last one of us.

Aro looked at the twins and then looked at all of us in shock as we all climbed back to our feet off our knees.

There was an entire minute of utter stillness and quiet as both sides processed what exactly had just happened.

That moment of peace was finally broken as I flashed Bella a dazzling smile. 'I love you.' She winked back at me. 'I know.'

And then the battle was upon us. Our side had the best of the positioning. Even though the Volturi had large numbers, they were caught in between our group and the remaining ten members of the failed search party.

The three waves met with an epic crash. All of the Volturi's special powers were rendered useless to them.

Jasper's silent battle cry goaded me into action. For Emmett and Rose!

I ran to meet the coming Volturi, Bella at my side.

We fought side by side, as we had done earlier when we were alone. We ripped through two Volturi and came suddenly face to face with the twins. Alice and Jasper appeared at our side.

Jasper snarled. 'We'll take Alec.' Alice and Jasper were upon Alec in a second. He could not defend long against their attacks and fell.

Bella and I faced Jane. She looked almost scared. 'I…I don't understand. Why aren't my powers working? What have you done?'

I growled at her. 'Not so confident now, are we Jane? Not so easy to face an attacker when you're helpless, is it?'

She glared at both of us. 'No matter, I can still destroy both of you.' She spat at Bella and attacked.

Bella and I worked flawlessly together as a team to counter all of Jane's attacks. It was almost like we were performing some complicated, amazingly fast dance that only we knew the steps to.

Jane fought like an enraged animal, but she had hid behind her power for far too long. Her fighting skills were no match for Bella and I.

I could see the hatred in her eyes as she made her final, fatal lunge for Bella. Bella stepped neatly aside and Jane came crashing into my waiting arms. It was all over for her seconds later. We lit the lighter at the exact moment that Alice and Jasper carried the remaining pieces of Alec to join Jane's.

We stepped away as the twins went up in flame.

The wolves had really taken the Volturi by surprise. They were probably the main reason besides Bella's shield that the tide seemed to have turned in our favor.

We all moved as a group to join back in the fight, when suddenly we were faced with Aro and his special bodyguard. Renata's powers did not confuse and deflect attacks any longer. Her fighting skills were really no match for the four of us.

We advanced as one on Aro. 'Your reign of terror is at an end, Aro.' I hissed his name.

'Too long did you keep me by your side, obsessed with the future.' Alice's small body trembled with her barely suppressed anger. 'You were blind to what was happening in front of you.'

He began to tremble. 'My friends…my friends…I am so sorry for this grave misunderstanding that has occurred between us.'

Jasper's voice, incredibly calm, answered. 'Oh, there was no mistake on our part Aro. The mistake was yours. You never stopped once to consider that some people would rather die on their feet than live on their knees.'

Aro's mouth moved soundlessly as he hastily tried to back away. 'But I gave all these countless centuries of my life to keep our people safe! That is all I've ever done! I gave all that I ever had selflessly to ensure our continued existence!'

Bella frowned, and I could hear the faintest hint of sympathy in her voice. 'I am sorry Aro, but you have abused the power and trust put into you by our people. What I do now, I do it for Sophie and her love, for Corin and for all the other vampires like them. You did not give them a second chance, nor will one now be given you.'

Aro's screams were terrible as we tore his ancient body to pieces.

The battle was winding down all around us.

I saw from a distance the end of the last of the Volturi's leaders. Liam and Garrett advanced slowly and cautiously toward the frail, ancient vampire who had hung back during the entire fight. Marcus's eyes finally opened wide right before the end.

It was as if all this time he had been forced to sit through a very dull movie, a movie that he had had no interest in from the start. But now, it was over, and he had woke with a start, realizing that it was finally time to go. His mouth fell into a smile, and I was certain I heard his mind whisper one soft, loving word before Liam and Garrett tore into him. Didyme.

And then it was all over. Our entire force that had fought on the roof of the Volturi's castle had survived.

Bella smiled tremulously up at me and suddenly I felt myself roughly embraced. Carlisle grinned at me and clapped me on the back. 'Good to have you back, son.'

Esme ran to me and rapidly we were all hugging and talking at the same time.

Off to the side was a small group of about five Volturi guards that had given themselves up. Of course Carlisle had accepted their unconditional surrender. They stood huddled together with the Irish coven keeping a close eye on them.

The wolves had finally calmed down sufficiently to shift back. I turned to approach the wolves to give them my profound thanks when all of a sudden one of the grey shapes broke away from the others.

He ripped out of Siobhan's grasping arms and hurtled straight for Bella.

In the second it took him to reach her I recognized that it was Demetri. He snarled, a sound of pure hatred, as he knocked into Bella and scooped her into his arms. I didn't even have time to think as he hurtled with her toward the edge of the roof. He was going to go over the side with her!

My body reacted instinctively. Everyone else stood as if frozen. I was two steps behind Demetri as he took a flying leap off the side with Bella still in his arms. I didn't break stride as I leapt out into thin air behind them.

My mind recognized that it would be about a twenty five story drop to the ground. I knew Demetri would make sure that neither he nor Bella survived the fall.

We flew through the air toward the ground at a startling speed. Bella's arms stretched out behind Demetri, grasping at me and willing me toward her. Her eyes were terrified.

I flattened my body as much as I could, keeping my arms tucked tight into my side to reduce all air resistance.

I could tell that I was slowly gaining on them, but I didn't know if I could reach them before Demetri drove Bella into the ground and scattered her to pieces.

My brain was working faster than my body was falling. I realized that I was within reach of the stone castle wall and I kicked out with my feet against it. It gave me the boost I needed to catch Bella and Demetri.

My hand brushed against Bella's. I pulled myself down. We were now impossibly close to the ground. There was only one thing to do. I pulled Bella roughly from Demetri's grasp and held her close to me as I quickly situated my body in between her and the ground. I held her protectively in my arms and squeezed my eyes shut tightly. I think she screamed.

And after I had just convinced myself that Bella and I were now equals, here I was, at the very last, putting myself, quite literally, in between her and danger. That was the last thought I had before we hit the ground.