A/N: Okay so I probably should have put this in chapter one, but I'm really not very smart, so here's my belated dedication: This is especially for Amy and Leo. I love you guys. You are like the jam in my doughnut, the chocolate chips in my cookie, the ice cream in my sundae. I it weren't for you, I would probably have jumped out a window by now. Thanks for keeping me sane! xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Chapter 9 – Instructions

Jasper took the envelope. His hands were shaking. Cautiously, he opened it and read the letter. He dropped the letter and looked up; his eyes were burning with fear.

"Jasper? Who was it from? And why did they address you as Jasper Whitlock, not Cullen?" Carlisle was very worried.

Jasper said nothing. He sat down on the couch and put his head in his hands. I could hear him moaning. Edward picked up the piece of paper and read the letter aloud.

"Jasper, It's been a while, hasn't it? Long time, no see. I thought eventually you'd return to me, but you never did. You abandoned me. You hurt me. So now I'm going to hurt you. I have Alice, but don't worry; she's quite safe...for now. I have a couple of 'friends' looking after her. Meet me in Forks Cemetery at midnight tomorrow, we have a few things to discuss. Be there, or your precious Alice will find out exactly how powerful newborns can be."

We were speechless. "It's Maria," Jasper choked. "She has Alice. Maria has Alice."

Maria... my mind delved in an old human memory. Jasper, telling me how he was changed. He was the youngest army general of his time. One night he had met three beautiful women. Too beautiful to be human. Nettie, Lucy... and Maria. Maria, the power hungry vampire who had created an unstoppable army of newborns. And now she had Alice. Anger overwhelmed me and a snarl escaped my lips. Everything was tinted red and I wanted nothing more to grab Maria and crush her bones to dust. I realised that my family must be having similar thoughts as my snarl was echoed by them.

We jumped into action. Nessie and Jacob took the bikes, the werewolves in the jeep, BMW and Land Rover, Jasper in the Porsche, Rosalie and Emmett in my Ferrari, Carlisle and Esme in the Mercedes and Edward and I in the Volvo. A huge convoy, on its way to Forks. It was almost funny to think that once again the danger was situated around that dreary town.

We got back at dawn. Our old house was still deserted, so we set up camp there. Being inside the familiar walls again calmed me and made me feel just a tiny bit positive. Alice would be fine. We would easily stop them. Then a thought came to me which changed everything. I couldn't believe that no one had thought of this.

"Edward! This is it!" I exclaimed.

"What's it? What do you mean?" He tried to read the panic on my face.

"The people in Alice's vision, it was Maria!"

Edwards face was in astonishment as he absorbed this information. Then, as his face turned from shock to agony, I knew he reached the same conclusion that I had.

"But-"

"Edward, I know. If Jasper goes to meet Maria, she's going to kill him."

"Then we won't let him go."

"Edward, we have to. We can't just leave Alice there."

"Well, we have to do something Bella. I'm not just going to sit back and watch my brother die!"

"We go with him then. We help him stop Maria."

"Bella-"

"Edward, I'm not just a useless, fragile human anymore. I can help." I wanted to help.

"I know. I'm just being paranoid I guess. I just can't bear the thought of losing you."

"You won't. I guarantee you. Everything will be fine, it always is."

*****************

It was quarter to midnight. We were already in the graveyard. We had positioned ourselves and we were ready. Mist crept its way across the open space, giving the place a deadly feel.

I glanced around at my family. We would easily stop Maria. This would be a doddle. We had advantages she didn't have.

"Jacob, where are Seth and Leah?" I heard Edward ask.

"I ordered Seth to stay behind. I didn't want him involved in this. And Leah wouldn't leave him."

Okay, so we were two werewolves short, but with seven vampires, eight werewolves and one human/vampire hybrid, we seemed pretty much unstoppable.

The clock on the church tower chimed. The time had come. Out of the trees came Maria, her eyes a startling blood red colour. She was followed by a gang of ten snarling newborns. In the middle of these newborns was someone short, with pixie-like features and spiky ink-black hair. Alice.

A/N: Will the Cullens prevail? Who know? I guess your gonna have to keep reading to find that out! And reviews help too....big hugs to everyone who's already reviewed!

Jaliceforever xxxxx