Twilight

Chapter Six

Danny backed away, stumbling over the brush behind him. He couldn't tear his eyes away from Bella's.

"Uh—"

"You—" Bella started, her voice hoarse. "We passed through her!"

"I—um—"

Danny was saved when a long, drawn out scream ripped through the forest, forcing both them both to wince and cover their ears. Only moments later, a worried Edward was by their side.

"Bella," he said, closing the space between himself and his girlfriend to stroke her hair. "Love, you're safe now."

She allowed herself to be pulled into his cold hug, but her eyes never left Danny. When Edward released her, she seemed to have lost the will to speak.

"We must leave—I don't know how many Volturi are here," Edward said in a harsh whisper.

"Jacob—"

Edward cut her off with a nod. "The remaining Quiluete tribe has been invited to stay at our house."

"The remaining—?" Danny began hesitantly.

Edward couldn't look him in the eye. "I couldn't dismantle either Jane or Demitri before they fled. Embry attacked Jane as she ran—I couldn't stop him—"

He broke off, leaving both Danny and Bella to assume what had happened. Bella couldn't stop a choked sob from rising to her throat.

"How did you get to safety so quickly?" Edward asked, desperate to change the topic.

Bella's brown eyes met Edward's and, not before glancing at Danny, she opened her mouth. Danny couldn't stop the fear from rising from his stomach. In a moment of pure panic, he invisibly duplicated himself and overshadowed his newest friend, desperate for a diversion.

Edward watched with horror as his girlfriend's eyes rolled back into her head. The Danny in Bella's body closed his eyes and fell backwards, hoping that Edward would catch him before he hit the ground. Edward's reflexes were sharp—he caught his girlfriend in his arms before she fell more than a foot.

"Bella!" he cried. Taking her body in his arms, he carried her to the clearing where his coven and the werewolves were recovering from the attack.

"Edward, what happened?" Alice gasped when she saw the body in Edward's arms.

The coven circled Edward and his girlfriend in concern.

"E-Edward?" Bella spoke softly as her eyes fluttered open.

"What happened?" Edward asked her desperately.

Bella's brows furrowed in confusion. "I don't know…," she said, burying her face in Edward's shirt. Glancing up at him, she asked, "What was I talking about?"

Confident in her swift recovery, Edward gently set Bella down on her feet. Keeping a tight hold on her shoulders to steady her, he replied, "It doesn't matter now, darling."

"Where's Danny?" she asked, glancing at the coven.

Edward's eyes widened and he spun, searching the area. "Oh, no."

Alice and Rosalie closed their eyes at the same time.

"What is it?" Bella asked, worried by the lack of response. "Where'd he go?"

"Bella," Edward whispered. Suddenly he was flanked on both sides by Jacob and Quil. The Cullens and the remaining members of the Black family surrounded them, standing together.

"I think," Jacob said for him, "that Danny's the least of our problems, now."

Bella spun when maniacal laughing broke out from the forest. Beautiful vampires lined the forest, appearing behind trees and bushes.

"More Volturi," Alice whispered, tensing.

Bella looked down when Edward's hand snaked around her own. She shuddered when he whispered into her ear, "There are too many."

All of them smiled together, dangerous toothy smiles. Leading them, Bella could see a bruised Jane and a broken Demitri. Her heart sunk to her feet. She knew there was no chance. They were sorely outnumbered.

"Give them up and we won't have to fight," was Jane's only words.

"There's only Bella, now," Edward answered bravely. "And you can't have her."

"I beg to differ," Demitri answered for his partner.

"But where did the little boy go?" Jane asked, suddenly worried.

"What do you want with him, anyway?" Alice growled.

The didn't receive a direct answer. "Where is he?"

"We don't know—he ran away! Just please, leave us alone!" Jasper shouted, his voice cracking with fury. "You've done enough damage!"

Demetri, Jane, and their followers drew nearer. "We have our orders," was the solemn reply.

Jacob growled beside Edward, and Bella drew back behind him, shaking with fear. The growling instigated a final laugh from the Volturi and they crouched, ready to spring an attack. Jane raised her hands, her sharp nails pointed at them. With a giggle, she leapt straight at Edward, her teeth wide and razor-like.

Edward tensed further, ready to defend, but froze in surprise when a blast of green light shot her down. She hit the ground hard and left a trail in the dirt where she rolled to her feet. She panted, grabbing at her burnt arm where she had been hit. At once, all attention was on the source of the blast—a scrawny dark boy hidden by the forest shadows. His eyes glowed fiercely and his hands were clenched so tight that they, too glowed an eerie green.

His voice, familiar and strange at the same time, echoed in everyone's ears. "Nobody move."

A/N: You can thank SpartanCommander for this update. S/he PMed me and was like, "wtfplzupdate" (exaggeration, of course. In reality, they actually gave me really great suggestions for this story.) Really, I don't know what to say to the fact that my least favorite fic I've ever written has the greatest review/chapter ratio. I'm getting really annoyed at this story because the more I think about it, the more I feel like the people from Twilight are no competition at all for Danny--he could kick all of their butts at once from here to the Ghost Zone. Why should I even bother writing about their interaction?

In any case, you guys are really encouraging. Thanks for all the great reviews!