-Chapter 23: Firefight at La Push-

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The blackness was nearly all there was to see, interrupted by the slivers of light as the bodies moved too far out from the group.

And that's all it really was: one gigantic mob of nothingness with crouched, snarling figures making up the fringed edges. No concrete decisions were being made, so the possible outcomes were impossible to see. The only thing to be gained by the vision was the timeframe they would be arriving in.

Very, very soon.

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"I'm surprised you let her come with you," Billy gruffed out from his position against the side of the refrigerator, nodding toward Angela. "Even if she's stronger than our wolves in their human form, what good would it do against vampires?" I could feel Angela's displeasure at basically being called useless, and her frustration that seeped in after she realized he was right.

The tribe had spent an hour discussing the upcoming attack with us, wringing out any information that could help them. I told them the why – that a psychopathic newborn vampire took control of the Volturi and started collecting and destroying vampire covens – but wasn't able to narrow down the specific when.

The time was fast approaching, though, and even with Alice's ability rendered useless, I could almost feel the calm before the storm. The wolves left quickly after the meeting, giving the territory a thorough perimeter sweep. Some of them – Sam included – had stayed behind to guard the council and to stay in communication with me, in case a message needed to be passed quickly.

Angela had explained as much as she was able to her parents. She had opted not to tell them about shape shifters or vampires, but she had told them of her kidnapping and the emergence of her meta-human ability. It had taken convincing on my part, and some demonstration of my telekinetic abilities, to let her come back with me to La Push only hours after she had come back to them.

It was very nerve-wracking for everyone, I could feel.

"Angela will be guarding you and the rest of the council," I told Billy as I glanced at Angela, who frowned and nodded in acceptance. "She'll be able to mask your presence from the vampires."

"Mask?" Billy questioned, sounding unconvinced. "Can she ward off vampires or something?" I shook my head and gestured to Angela, who squinted as she concentrated, disappearing before our eyes. "Holy shit!" Billy's deep voice rose as the six-foot tall girl vanished completely.

"I can make myself – and others, if they are near enough to me – invisible," Angela explained to Billy as she popped back into existence. "They won't be able to smell or hear us, either."

"There are quite a few council members," Billy shifted his weight. "Are you sure you will be able to hide all of us?" Angela bit her lip at his concern.

"No," I answered for her, knowing intimately how short a distance her ability stretched. "But she can move each of you two at a time to a safe location away from the battle. There won't be any scent trails for the vampires to follow, so as long as they can't detect you from where we'll be fighting, you should be OK."

"Should be," Billy frowned and shook his head. "Give it to me straight, Emily; what are our odds of winning?" My eyebrows shot up at his genuine concern.

"We're going to win, there's no doubt about that," I told him honestly. He blew out a breath of relief, but he was still unsure and nervous. "But…it's likely there will be losses on our side. There are just too many people here to protect."

"If only we had the Cullens here as well…" Billy grumbled, and I could tell it took a shot at his pride to admit we needed the help. I made a face and shook my head. The Cullens were still at least six hours away from us, and I doubted they would get here in time to be useful.

"Even then, we would suffer losses," I rebutted. "Before, with the newborn army, we were able to distract them and lead them away from Forks. This time, though, they are specifically targeting La Push. Most likely it will be human casualties, but I wouldn't be surprised if a wolf or two died as well. We will do all we can for the tribe but…" I trailed off.

Billy nodded, his emotions resolute, albeit upset.

Are we good here? Sam's voice carried through my head. I nodded to the midnight wolf.

"Angela already made it to the cottage with Sue and Billy," I whispered, resuming my careful watch of the gently-moving trees. "They're out of mind reading range, so it's safe to say none of the vampires will find them."

It was close to one in the morning and most of La Push was asleep, snoozing away completely oblivious to the warzone their home was about to become. The bitter wind whipped in short bursts, carrying the scent of the sea with it and muting the viscous wet dog stink that covered everything.

I still say we should send at least one wolf to watch over them, Sam repeated his request for the third time, imagining his imprint being ripped apart by a newborn vampire.

"We're stretched thin as it is; you know that," I reminded him again. "Taking a wolf away for guard duty will only give the vampires an even easier time of getting to your tribe." Sam growled but did not argue.

"The perimeter is up," Demetri spoke as he blurred over to us. A low growl reverberated in the Alpha's chest, but Sam didn't react past that. "The Cullens have arrived in Seattle, but they are still a couple hours away." I nodded.

"I have a feeling they won't make it in time," I mused out loud.

Demetri nodded, agreeing with me, before his head cocked to the side and stilled his movements. I froze as well, listening for anything out of the ordinary. In the distance, growing closer and closer, was the sound of a vehicle approaching. I could hear the motor rumbling softly and the tires rolling over the wet pavement.

… –lla called…she wanted…sounded upset…crazy…

"What the fuck?" I breathed, running my hands through my curly hair. Charlie Swan's broken thoughts were easy to place, but what in the hell was he doing here at one in the morning? Demetri shot me a look, curiosity rolling off of him in waves. "Bella's father is coming our way," I explained. His eyes widened.

"I certainly hope he doesn't stay long if he wishes to live," he whispered, eliciting another, more ferocious snarl from Sam.

I couldn't understand why he was here. Charlie's dim thoughts showed me that Bella had called him and warned him to stay inside today – to not go to work. It didn't make sense. Wouldn't Alice have seen him coming here if Bella called? I trilled a string of curses under my breath at the psychic, but resolved to at least make sure the police chief didn't get himself killed by a vampire today.

It was really the least I could do for Bella after sending him to his doom with that phone call.

"I'll take care of it," I told Demetri and Sam, flitting off toward the car.

I easily tracked the car – Charlie's cruiser – as it made its way into La Push and down toward Sue's house. His thoughts were still broken and vague, but I could sense fear, nervousness, and determination coming from him. The car parked haphazardly on the gravel drive near the house and Charlie jumped out of the car, not bothering to turn off the ignition.

He did, however, manage to grab a pump-action shotgun from the passenger seat.

"Sue!" Charlie shouted as he opened the front door of the small house, not bothering to knock. He flipped on the living room light and shouted again. "Sue! Shit…" He seemed to realize she wasn't here – and indeed she wasn't; she was with the other council members far away from here.

"She's not here," I said in a raised voice, coming over near his cruiser's headlights so he could see my face. Charlie's heart jumped and accelerated as he wheeled around and jogged to the front door, aiming his shotgun at me. "She's safe, but you really need to leave."

"You…you're Ryan's sister. You're dead?" the Chief's words came out sounding like a question. He adjusted his grip on the shotgun, lowering it while keeping it up against his shoulder. I opened my mouth to answer him when the buzz of a dozen or so thoughts faded into my range, snapping my attention to the East.

"Shit," I cursed, realizing the attack was only seconds away. I needed to get Bella's dad out of here, but I couldn't leave the wolves – I was their secret weapon against the mob of vampires and hybrids. I blurred over to him, wrenching the shotgun out of his hands before he could flinch and pull the trigger. "Sorry, Charlie, but it looks like you're sticking with me until this is over."

"What the fu – uhgh!" I knocked the breath out of the police chief as I hefted his warm body over my shoulder and lifted into the air. "Shit! Oh god, oh god, oh god…" Charlie was frantic – practically sobbing as we flew five hundred feet over the small village – and the sound of his heart pumping against my shoulder made venom well in my mouth.

"Please try to chill out," I yelled to him over the wind, pumping him with a large dose of lethargy and contentment. His heart rate slowed and his struggling ceased. "I know this is going to be awkward and scary for you, chief, but I need to put you on my back – I have to have my arms free, but I can't run the risk of putting you down to fend for yourself."

"What is this?" Charlie shivered and clenched his eyes shut. "What the hell are you, some kind of witch?" I snorted but didn't respond.

Gently and slowly I lifted him off my shoulder with my telekinesis and hovered him behind me. His arms and legs flailed despite my emotional tampering, and wound securely around my torso as I moved him closer to me. He was shivering as he held on for dear life, but didn't scream or shout as we drifted closer to the ground.

"You kind of dropped in right as a war was about to break out," I chuckled at the horrible timing and luck the Swans seemed to have. "I'll keep you safe so long as you hold on tight."

"Alright," Charlie breathed as we touched down, his leg muscles bunching as he instinctually wanted to unwrap himself from around me. "But you're explaining what the hell is going on after this is over." I nodded as the sounds of wolves howling reached my ears. Charlie heard it too and gasped, imagining Jacob bursting into his wolf form.

"Here we go," I whispered and blurred toward the snarls and sounds of rending metal.

"Shit!" Charlie flinched on my back as a newborn smashed into my shield, the force of the impact sending ripples along the transparent surface. I held the vampire in place with my mind and moved closer, wrapping my hands around his neck and snapping his head off in one fluid motion.

Charlie's scent and heartbeat seemed to attract the horde, because there were suddenly three – and then four and five – vampires smashing against my protective bubble. I dropped the severed head and lifted back up into the air and out of their range, reeling in newborns one at a time with telekinesis and dispatching them quickly. I let the headless bodies fall back to earth intact, content with letting the wolves deal with the twitching pieces.

The wolves were overwhelmed by the newborns – there were nearly thirty of them this time – but they never let themselves get flanked. Zafrina, Senna, and Demetri would dispatch the ones who slipped by us on their way to La Push. Hopefully.

I touched back on the ground as four more newborns, three males and a female, sprinted toward me. I clenched my fists and spread my fingers apart, holding them away from my body, and ignited them with the pyrokinetic ability I snagged in the Amazon. The glowing red eyes of the vampires widened as they neared me, but they were already too close and moving too fast to change their approach.

Charlie winced on my back as the scorching heat licked the both of us, streaming from my hands and colliding with the flammable flesh of the vampires. They screamed as they fell, skidding on the wet ground and rolling about, desperately trying to put out the flames. I adjusted my aim and blasted them again with a smaller burst until they finally stopped moving.

The sound of screams in the distance alerted me that we hadn't been able to catch all the vampires, and half of the wolves shot off toward the tribe, leaving the rest to help me catch the stragglers on the outskirts of the horde. By this time the invading vampires had realized they were seriously outmatched and started to run away, forcing us to either give chase or keep our guard around La Push.

I mentally flung a newborn who was hiding in the top of a tree as the wolves snarled and bit at the bark of the evergreen. Paul snatched the pale body out of the air and shook his head rapidly, shredding the vampire he had in his tight grip before flinging him to Jared and Quil, who made quick work of him.

The three wolves snarled at another newborn, who was hissing at the wolves as it charged, its arms outstretched. Paul and Quil charged the vampire, but Jared was slow on the draw and never saw the other vampire slam into him from the side. The sound of the wolf's neck snapping drew the two other wolves' attention, and I wasn't able to pick the first vampire up off the ground fast enough.

Quil let out a shrill and frantic howl as the newborn bit deeply into his shoulder, bucking twice before Paul managed to rip it off his pack mate. I felt Charlie's shock and fear as I sped over to the recovering vampire and decapitated her swiftly, turning back to Quil's thrashing form. His thoughts were frantic as the venom burned through his system and the wet dog smell intensified from the gushing blood.

"Paul, look after Charlie," I shouted as I moved closer to Quil. "I can extract the venom, but I can't do that and watch my back at the same time." Paul growled and nodded, stilling his movements as he moved to our side and listening out for any sort of trouble. "Get off, Chief."

Charlie was shaking as he unwrapped himself from me and tried to stand. He misjudged the height, me being an inch or two shorter than him, and fell on his ass in the upturned mud. I gave him a fleeting glance before turning to the rapidly-dying wolf, holding him down with my mind as I pumped serenity and lethargy at him.

"What's happening to him?" Charlie asked aloud. I brushed his question aside and focused on Quil's wound, telekinetically feeling for the slower, more viscous venom in his blood stream.

The wolf howled and arched his back as rivets of venom and blood poured out into the air and away from his body and fell to the ground like acid rain. His thrashing slowed as the liquid ran pure red – no trace of the pale yellow of the venom anywhere. I let his enormous form relax back on the ground and he huffed and whined, but made no move to stand.

Jared…

Howls shared pain erupted from the direction of La Push, and my mind flooded with the hive-thoughts of despair at losing Jared.

I looked at the silver wolf, Paul, who was distracted by the dead heap of fur that was his pack brother. His mind flashed to images of Jared's imprint, Kim, and he wondered how the Quileute girl would take his death. The thoughts spiraled into scenarios where he had died instead, and left Rachel all alone.

I was about to tell the hot-headed wolf to head back and assist the tribe, since it looked like there was nothing left to do here, when I caught the thoughts of a couple more vampires off in the distance. I turned back to Charlie, covered in mud, who had managed to stand up.

"Paul, watch them," I nodded toward Charlie and Quil. "There're two more." I gave him a look as he snarled at me, wanting to go after the vampires himself after the loss the pack had suffered, but eventually he gave me a mental nod and took my place as I flew up into the air and dashed further East.

I came in like a meteor on the two of them as they fled, the larger male holding the tiny hybrid like a ragdoll. The half-human wailed as it was flung into a tree from the force of impact, but the vampire wasn't so lucky. It was like a wrecking ball versus a marble statue – the snarling, red-eyed vampire's body caved in under the crushing force as he was embedded deep into the ground.

This wasn't a newborn. He was frantic, like the others, but there was a spark of reason and intelligence in his eyes, which were duller than the others' had been. My head shifted so I could watch the small hybrid, a blonde-haired creature that was around a month old, if Renesmee's growth was anything to go on. She curled up in on herself as she looked at us in terror.

I shot her a glare, silently warning her not to attempt to escape. She shivered and ducked her head, obviously not a pressing threat. The man beneath me snarled and struck me in the chest with his boot, sending me flying backward.

I caught myself in midair, warping the air-currents near me with my sudden stop and touching back down to the ground. The man crouched and hissed, his thoughts spiraling through lackluster fighting instructions from a Volturi guard I didn't recognize. They were taught to feint and dodge – to strike low and take out the opponent's legs. It was good advice, but the vampire's execution of the maneuvers was seriously lacking.

His telegraphed move was stopped cold by my backhand to his face and my quick grapple as I snatched his body out from the path he had started to travel on from my blow. I flipped him over my head and onto the ground, holding him with both hands as I smashed my forehead into his. He choked as his skull seemed to collapse inward, shards of vampire flesh cleaving off like broken china.

I gripped him by the throat and held him up, laughing as he struck out blindly – literally, since his eyes were lodged somewhere deep inside his skull – and tightened my grip, forcing him to still. The hybrid's gasp drew my attention, and I grinned at the unfortunate girl as I realized I didn't need this vampire if I had her to question about the attack.

The unnamed vampire in my grasp began to scream as my hand caught fire and started to burn hot, flames fanning out and licking his oh-so-flammable skin and the trickles of venom that seeped through the unhealed cracks on his body. He wailed and pleaded as he was cremated in my hands, falling apart and crumbling into ash inch-by-inch until there wasn't enough for me to hold on to and he finally stopped making sounds.

When I locked eyes with the hybrid, she finally found the will to live. She bolted away from me, ironically back toward La Push. I flew after her and caught her quicker than I did her friend, scooping her up with one hand and continuing on toward the pillars of smoke I could see rising up out of the tops of the trees.

"No!" she screamed, trying to break my hold. "No, please!" She bit down on my fingers, snapping her head back as her teeth mashed against my metallic skin, leaving it completely unmarred.

"Cut it out," I hissed, gripping her tighter until she stopped struggling. I flew over the spot I left Charlie, Quil, and Paul – which was now empty – and landed in the middle of the aftermath of the battle.

Several of the buildings were completely obliterated, like a tornado had passed through. Others had significant structural damage. Fires were burning at nearly every corner, and there were human bodies lying on the ground in various states of dismemberment. Some of the survivors were crying, while others were helping the massive wolves toss vampire parts into the flames.

I spotted Charlie helping Paul carry Quil toward Sam, the former two wolves in their human form. Quil looked half-dead, but at least the venom was out of his system; he would survive. The wolves had only suffered one additional loss to their pack, according to Sam's thoughts. One of the younger wolves, Brady, had been attacked by three vampires all at once – he was bitten several times and quickly died from the overdose of venom.

"Did you get all of them?" I asked both Sam and Demetri, who seemed to be overseeing the 'cleanup' portion of the battle. Both nodded.

"All the newborns that attacked are accounted for," Demetri confirmed, eyeing the hybrid that was clutched in my hand. "I see you found the other hybrid – there was only one other that we could find."

"Let me go!" a voice hissed behind me. I turned around to find Zafrina and Senna holding an extremely thin male newborn in their grasp. He looked to be no older than fifteen, and it was easy to imagine him wearing glasses and playing the role of 'school nerd' in his human life. "Let me go now!" His struggles were in vain, though, and he didn't budge an inch in the Amazons' grasp.

Emily, do you think it's safe for the council members to return? Sam's voice came through my thoughts. I nodded and turned back to Demetri.

"Demetri, would you mind taking one of the wolves and telling Angela it's safe for everyone to come back?" He nodded and motioned for Embry to follow him, both disappearing into the woods.

"Is someone going to tell me what in the hell is going on now?" Charlie exclaimed, his voice sounding tired and confused. I half turned in his direction, and he gasped as he caught sight of my fingers wrapped around the hybrid's neck. "What is this?" he asked with disgust and anger.

I brought the hybrid up to my eye level, meeting her frightened blue eyes with a steady gaze. I used Renesmee's gift to show her exactly what would happen if she tried to get away or attack someone. Tears ran down her face and dribbled on my arm, but her thoughts revealed she would be cooperative and wouldn't resist. I nodded to her and shifted her weight to my chest, holding her against me in a more socially acceptable cradle while still maintaining my hold on her.

"We need to call someone," Charlie ran a hand through his greying hair. "An ambulance or…something!"

"There can't be any ambulances, Charlie. The people who attacked were…like the Cullens," I paused to consider exactly what to tell Bella's father. "And this thing," I nodded to the girl clinging to me. "could easily kill you all by herself, and she's nowhere near as fast and as strong as him." I nodded back toward the crimson-eyed nerd vampire.

"She's just a little girl," Charlie's voice was raised as images of Renesmee flickered through his head. I nodded.

"But not a human girl, Charlie," I corrected. He opened his mouth to ask me what she was, then, if not human, when the sound of uneven and unsure footsteps reached my ears suddenly.

Angela, with Sue and Billy, arrived out of thin air near the tree line. All three of them seemed to stumble when they caught sight of the state of the village, but once Sue and Billy saw Charlie, the two of them rushed over quickly.

"Charlie!" Sue gasped, colliding with the man and hugging him tightly. "Are you alright?" The chief let out a sigh and nodded, returning the hug before stepping away.

"I'm fine," he rubbed her arms reassuringly.

"You shouldn't have been here, Charlie," Billy said, a tense look on his face. He caught sight of the hybrid girl I was holding and his eyes widened minutely before returning to the stoic gaze he was known for.

Is she OK? Angela's thoughts were worried as she came up to me and peered at the little monster in my arms.

"She's a hybrid," I whispered to her, knowing she would understand. She took a step backward and nodded, eyeing the cute bundle of joy with less enthusiasm and concern.

"She's a what?" Charlie asked, overhearing me. I sighed and looked to Billy, silently asking for help – Charlie didn't exactly get along with me like he did Billy.

"She's half vampire and half human," Billy said in his gravely voice. Charlie's mouth popped open in surprise and disbelief. "Vampires are what attacked La Push tonight, Charlie."

"Bella…" Chief Swan whispered. I rolled my eyes.

"Yes, she's a vampire too," I interjected. "I'm sure she'll tell you all about it later, but right now we need to interrogate these two and figure out why, exactly, your tribe was targeted." I gestured to the newborn and the hybrid, the latter of which was strangely silent. I peered down on her curiously, since I could still feel and hear her quick heartbeat and gentle breathing.

"She's asleep," Angela half-chuckled, half-cooed. I growled and shot her a menacing look.

"You're not going to interrogate a child!" Sue gave me a horrified look right as Embry and Demetri walked out of the forest at a human pace with the remaining council members.

"I agree," Zafrina spoke up, drawing our attention and making the newborn squirm under our combined gazes. "I am certain you can learn more from this one than the girl, anyway."

I smiled and nodded, moving over to Demetri and depositing the sleeping hybrid into his arms before telling the Amazons' to release the newborn.

I was slightly disappointed, since he ran away from me instead of attacking once he was no longer restrained, but I decided to make the most out of his lack of aggression and give chase. He wouldn't be escaping.

"Caius was the one who organized the attack," I told the gathered council, vampires, Charlie, and Angela who all sat around a bonfire. Zafrina still held the hybrid girl, who looked at me with a curious gaze. The sun was starting to creep up over the horizon and most of the bodies and gore had been removed from sight. I could still smell the blood, though, and it made my throat burn. I would need to hunt soon. "There was a second in command, but it looks like he didn't show up to…" I trailed off. "Where's Billy?" I asked as I noticed the once-crippled man wasn't anywhere around the fire.

I had learned the attack was a strategic crippling maneuver by the new Volturi to rid the Cullens of a significant ally. It was a sound move, since the wolves were easier to sneak up on and kill than my family was. Killing them and the tribe would ensure no more shape shifters came to our aid against them when they finally moved against us directly.

"He is on the phone with the Cullen leader explaining that the fight is over," Old Quil spoke up, his black eyes meeting mine unflinchingly. "The pack is meeting with Jacob now."

"Damn it," I cursed. "You mind if we pick this team meeting up a little later? I only have one chance to capitalize on a dramatic entrance."

"Go," Zafrina smiled. "Do not keep your brother waiting." I grinned back in excitement and blasted up into the air before anyone could object, following Ryan's mental signature as I rendered myself invisible.

My eyes bugged out of my head as I touched down in the front yard of the Cullen compound. There were cars strewn about haphazardly and many, many different vampire scents floating around. At least fifteen different vampires were here somewhere. The buzz of quiet conversation and frantic thoughts made me smirk.

I contemplated what way to show up. Should I just walk in the front door and let it all play out or should I uncloak myself in the middle of the living room? Maybe I could scare the shit out of Emmett by pretending to be a ghost…

Whack.

My head snapped to the tree line at the sudden sound of wood being impacted. I laughed to myself in glee and pride as I realized the sounds were coming from my brother practicing with my knife. I could see it from his point of view as he hurled the incredibly sharp blade at a random evergreen before retracting it with his telekinesis.

He was getting much better at it.

I blurred into the forest, quickly finding his practicing area. And then suddenly there he was: Ryan Ambrose.

He looked much the same, of course, but it seemed as though some of the life had been sucked out of him. His golden eyes glowed a little bit dimmer than they had before I died and the rigidity of his posture was so unlike him. Straight-edged scars marred his forearms, looking like a thousand failed suicide attempts. I winced at them, imagining how hard he must have practiced with the Divinium knife to gain so many.

Ryan pulled back his arm and launched the knife again, embedding it in exactly the same cut he had made in the last throw. I moved between him and the knife and extended my arm, knowing the perfect way to say hello.

He curled his fingers and the knife pulled out of the tree bark, heading back to my brother. With daft hands and impeccable timing, I wrapped my hands around the handle of the knife and locked my muscles in place, jarring – but not moving – my body from the kinetic energy. Ryan's mouth dropped open as he watched the knife float in mid air, blocked from returning to him.

I uncloaked instantly and flipped the knife around in my hand, sighing at the unbelievable comfort holding it brought me. My eyes locked with Ryan's and I lowered my arm, bringing the knife down to my side.

We stared at each other for two seconds – practically a whole minute to a vampire – before Ryan's throat bobbed and tears welled up in his eyes. He took a hesitant step forward.

"Emily?"

End notes: Dear creepy reviewer: Thanks for the reviews.

I don't try to fish for reviews (after all the number of them on this story is kind of sad, really), but that doesn't mean I'm not influenced by them. Blacklight has almost (or is it over?) 300 reviews and is waaaay more popular. So when I sit down to write a bit, I tend to gravitate toward the one that gives back the most to me (in the form of reviews).

It's also kind of a bad move on my part with having more than one story in progress at a time. Consider it a lesson learned, but until this one or Blacklight ends, updates will be few and far between.

But yes, I have said this before: I will finish this story as long as I don't die spontaneously or get amnesia or something equally terrible.

And I don't really think you're creepy, creepy reviewer. You're super cool.