A/N: I updated a few hours ago and I want to update again! :D this will be the last update of the day, though!
To Bella: Thank you so much for that very sweet review! That means a lot to me! I'm really glad you like the story, and thanks for recommending it!

So, please review, and enjoy!

Preparing for Battle

I can see them now, I can see the Volturi, lining up to kill us. I know we all die; I know that there is no hope for survival. How? The vision I had. Unless… But I don't dare think of it. I shudder away from the thought, a dream from my human life echoing through the large spaces of my vampire mind: we are climbing up Everest, Mel, Dad, Mom, and several other family members and family friends and I. I am ahead of the group. I feel immortal and tireless; my young body not tiring as easily as everyone else's. I reach the summit and throw my arms up, gazing at the majestic view. I'm on top of the world. Worry gnaws at me after a few minutes: No one else has made it to the top. I turn my back on the royal view and trudge back to the edge, intending to see where everyone is. I stagger back with a gasp. Slowly, hesitantly, I climb down the cliff. Everyone is spread-eagled on their backs; blue lips, pale and cold skin, red fingers. I always look at the eyes last, the wide, glassy, sightless eyes. I collapse on the ground, sobbing. I am all alone, there is no one left alive, though I shake every person, sob out their names, slap their faces. I am sobbing alone on the mountain when the dream ends, leaving me with a sense of great loneliness. The dream reminds me of the present, but I know that I hold the key to changing the course of the battle. The question still hovers in my mind: do I have the courage to do what only I can do?

~*~

We face the Volturi, wary and frightened. There are no jokes, no laughs, no playful bantering. This is real, and this could, would, be our end. We were pitifully outnumbered: ten against thirty. It would be a miracle if we all survived.

"Andrew…" I placed a small, delicate hand against his sleek cheek. "Forgive me? Please?"

"Yes," He caught my hand in his and we gazed into our eyes in an immeasurable moment. The moment was broken by Esme's startled gasp.

"No…" She lurched forwards, held back only by Carlisle's and Edward's grip. I searched through the Volturi, trying to see what frightened Esme. Understanding, and horror, hit me like a metal fist to the stomach. Alice looked weak and tired, the bags under eyes larger and darker than normal. She was defeated, shoulders slumped, eyes with no sign of hope in them. Next to her, in a bag, was what remained of Jasper. His hair spilled over the top. I collapsed on my knees, dragging Andrew down with me. "No! Not Jasper!" I shouted. I struggled free of Andrew's arms and ran into battle, a snarl ripping out of my mouth. The Volturi scum were going to die. I heard the Cullens running after me, yelling challenges to the sky.

"FOR JASPER!"

A/N: The battle officially begins in the next chapter! Sorry, Jasper fans! He had to die. I'm so sorry! Keep reading to the end, please! Review!