Disclaimer. All publicly recognizable characters, settings etc., are the property of their respective owners. The original characters, ideas and plot are the property of the author. The author is in no way associated with the owners, creators or producers of any media franchise. No copyright infringement is intended. I only do this for fun.

Overwhelming Darkness

A/N:This story is written as a collaboration by both Xo Bella Italiana oX (My new penname) and DeathQueen26. We hope that you enjoy the story and look forward to reading your reviews. If you have any questions or comments, post them in my reviews and I will answer them in my next Author's Note! Enjoy! – B

Chapter 21
(Jasper's POV: Walking Around in the Fortress/Compound; Texas)

I was rather surprised when we arrived at an old fortress somewhere just over the USA and Mexico border. I could tell that no humans were ever here. I liked that a lot, because the newborns were rather hard to deal with if humans came by and they were hungry.

I could see out the windows that Rosalie and Bella were speaking. I envied Rosalie to be able to speak to Bella and not have the cold feeling be pushed in your direction. It was enough sometimes that I shivered from the intensity. I could tell she wasn't doing it on purpose because I noticed her eyes watching me at a distance.

At this moment I was heading out the door to see how much the newborns and vampires knew before we went into battle with Maria. I still thought she was rather crazy for doing such a thing.

Stopping about 10 ft from the fighting newborns, I could tell that they noticed me but none of them stopped. I then felt another vampire come up beside me. Cutting my eyes over, I noticed that it was Bella's first in command. Well, the male commander, that is.

I waited a few moments before I turned and found that it was, indeed, Raoul. I waited another few minutes before I raised a brow signaling him to ask his question. I wanted to know what he wanted. He finally broke eye contact but he did hold it longer than any other vampire I came across. I folded my arms and tilted my head waiting for him to spit it out already.

"You don't have to scream." Raoul shuffled his feet the stiffened his back. "What do you plan on doin' out here?" He narrowed his eyes. I could tell he was rather protective of Bella.

"Why do ya care?" I asked as I narrowed my eyes. "She is one of the most feared warlords, aside from Maria, yet you follower her around like a sick puppy." I spat at him.

I wasn't however prepared for what happened as I found myself on my back with a rather pissed off vampire on me. His face was mere inches from mine and I could feel his anger, protectiveness and brotherly love for her but that was it. He was always afraid that I would hurt her.

"You better watch what ya say around me." Raoul snarled as his face inched closer. "She saved my life on more than one occasion. She'll probably save yer ass before you leave the South again. It ain't like it use ta be 'round here, Major." He spat at me as he stood and walked over to the newborns.

I was up and trying to hold the Major from coming out and ripping that ass a new hole to shit from if he did in fact shit.

Snarling, I turned and froze when I saw that Rosalie and Bella had come up behind Raoul and myself without us knowing or rather without me knowing. I felt really bad at the moment as well as nervous. The last time Bella and I talked it ended up in a fight.

Rosalie smirked as she bent down and whispered into Bella's ear then turned and headed into the house. I waited for her to do something before I spoke. I could feel that she was warring between fear and love. I knew that she was afraid that I would hurt her but that was the last thing I would ever do.

"Take a walk with me." I asked holding out my hand.

Bella bit her lip as she looked down at my hand. "Alright." She whispered taking it and I felt the tingling that let me know my mate was near. The pulling in my chest lessened, because of our proximity. "Where are we going?" She looked up at me with beautiful red eyes.

"Not too far." I told her as I took off running, as I held her hand.

Bella didn't say anything as we ran towards the edge of the desert. I smiled when I saw that no one was on the beach. Bella's emotions were of surprise and happiness. I just kept a hold of her hand and slowed down til we were walking slowly along with beach. The Gulf of Mexico was rather since even though it wasn't the ocean. I waited a few minutes before I stopped her and turned her around to face me. I could see that she was worried about what I brought her here for.

"Bella, what would ya like to do?" I asked knowing she would catch my meaning.

Bella's eyes grew distant as she turned and sat down looking out at the ocean. I didn't wait to be asked and sat down beside her waiting for her to say something, anything. I could see and feel that she was trying to think of what she wanted to say. I couldn't help, but wonder what she was thinking about. At this moment, I knew that the only thing I wanted to do was pull this beautiful creature in my arms and try and make all her bad thoughts go away. I knew what it was like when you lived in the south, no matter how long. I could feel when she decided what to say because I felt her determination.

"Jasper, you do know that I never blamed you for my birthday, right?" She looked at me with a small smile. "You are an Empath, then and now, I know how hard it is to try and stop yourself when you find the one person you need to have. With Edward, I was his singer, but with me..." Bella trailed off as she turned her eyes back to the ocean.

"Who was yer singer?" I asked taking her hand. She jumped as she gazed at our connecting hands.

Bella swallowed as she clenched her eyes. I could feel the heart break that she felt about who ever her singer was. "It was Sue." Her voice was so soft that I had barely heard her.

"That is why ya don't want to go back to Forks." I moved around to look into her eyes. "Darlin', I have to ask this. What does that have ta do with me lungin' at ya at yer birthday party?"

Bella swallowed, a nervous habit from her human life. "Because even though Edward was able to deal with the blood lust and had a better control of it." She sighed as she looked me in the eyes. "You being an empath, you could feel Edward's lust for my blood every time I was around him but..." She bit her lip. "I think he directed that blood lust at you. He knew what would happen because Alice had seen it and he wanted a way out." She looked away. "That is why I don't blame you. I blame Edward and Alice." Bella spat out their names like poison.

"I never thought of it like that." I smirked at her. "And bein' an empath, I should have."

Bella smirked back at me and shook her head. "No, I don't think you would have." She had a twinkle in her eye. "Even Peter didn't know about that. I had something over him for some time." I saw her smile grow wider.

"I have ta tip my hat ta ya on that one, darlin'." I tipped an imaginary hat to her. Bella laughed and then stopped her eyes growing distant. "What is it?" I frowned not wanting to upset her in any way.

"Nothing that you did." She smiled taking my hand tentatively. "It was just that I hadn't laughed like that in a long time." She looked at me. "I have to admit that I like spending time with you, Jasper. You're different that I thought you would be." I could tell that if she could blush she would have at this time. Embarrassment reigned high in her emotions.

"I'll take that as a compliment." I told her standing up brushing off my jeans. "Why don't we head to grab somethin' then head back ta the compound?" I held out my hand to her.

Bella bit her lips again and nodded standing as she took my hand. "That sounds like a good idea." She smiled shyly at me. "Where do you prefer to go?" She tilted her head to the side.

"A large town that has drug dealers or criminal activity." I told her. "Even though I don't feed from animals I don't think I could take an innocent life."

Bella nodded. "I understand." She said as she took off.

I was right behind her as we raced through the desert. I couldn't believe how much better my life had gotten since I found Bella again.

(3rd Person POV: Back at the Compound)

Marcus was watching over Nick and Mika, because Natalie and Kirk needed to feed. He was watching as they played a new vampire game they came up with. They had to follow each other and match their speed.

Marcus was also worried, because Jane and Demetri had yet to arrive. They were suppose to be here when they arrived but for some reason they were not. Standing up he walked over to a window and looked out over the training vampires. He could see that Raoul and Angela were sparing together. He could see their bond strengthening as they spent time together.

Marcus looked down and could see that Isabella and Jasper had taken off. He could tell that she was worried about what would happen but Bella needed his love in her life. Turning his eyes to the front of the compound he froze spotting Jane trying to hold up Demetri in the distance.

Spinning around he looked at Nick and Mika. "You are to stay here." He headed to the door. As soon as he opened it Kirk and Natalie were there. "Watch the children. I need to greet Jane and Demetri at the gate."

Kirk nodded as him and Natalie rushed into the room. Marcus didn't wait as he rushed through the halls and out the front doors. When he was close enough to the gate he could see that Jane and Demetri were in pain. Looking around he found that Faia had brought out some blood bags.

"These are for Jane and Demetri." She bowed her head handing them over. "They look as though they were jumped." Faia looked over at Jane who was just about to the gate.

"Thank you, dear one." Marcus thanked her as he rushed to his guards. "What happened?"

Jane opened her mouth but nothing came out. Marcus nodded as he handed one of the blood bags to her then took Demetri and brought the bag to his mouth as Sai and Uri made sure that his right leg was on right. Jane downed the contents of the bag and was handed another by Faia as she came over with another hand full. They usually use the bags instead of humans because it was harder to keep human then bags full of blood. It didn't take much more before the two of them were able to fully healed. Demetri downed one more bag before he was able to reach ration thought again.

"We are sorry, Master Marcus, but one of Maria's soldiers caught us off guard." Demetri spoke as Jane nodded licking her lips of the blood meal they were just given. "I was unprepared for him to just show up out of the blue also there is another thing we noticed."

"He smelled of Edward and Alice." Jane decided it was time for her to speak. "I was also unprepared and that allowed them to get Carlisle and Esme. I believe he is the teleporter that Boss told us about."

"He is." Raoul came up with Angela at his side. "Tell them what you told me Angel." He kissed her on the temple.

Angela nodded as she stepped forward one step, her eyes were down and her arms folded in front of her. "He was always kept away from the others. No one knew his name but there were whispers that Maria had a secret weapon that would make any one bow down in fear." She shivered but Raoul stepped up behind her and placed a hand on her shoulder. "There was also talk that his name was Christopher Neil. He was a native of Austin."

Marcus nodded as he patted her on the head. "You have done well for tell me thus." He looked at Raoul. "What would your Mistress do when a solider does right?" He wanted to make sure that the girl was taken care of. He could see that this girl had a connection to his niece.

"She would give Angela a longer feeding period." Raoul answered stepping up beside his mate. "If they are wrong we decrease the blood but never starve our army because that will only lead to us going crazy like the Major."

Marcus nodded. "I can understand that much." he grinned. "We do this similar at Volterra." He then turned to Jane and Demetri. "You have the rest of the day off. Gather your strength and metal thoughts before the upcoming battle. I have a feeling that it shall be sooner than we like. Or just another small battle that is." With that Marcus turned and headed inside where his great niece and nephew were. He loved those two, Mika and Nick, to pieces.

He would give his life to his family.

How he wished he could have shared it with Didyme...

A/N: So, what did everyone think?! Did you like the tender moment between Bella and Jasper?! Things are finally starting to progress with them and Bella is allowing her true self to be shown. What do you think will happen next?! Any ideas?! Review!

If you have any question or comments, post them in my reviews and I will answer them in my next Author's Note!

To see more, go to either of our pages: Xo Bella Italiana oX or DeathsQueen26

If you enjoyed this story so far, check out some of my other stories on my FanFiction page! Also, I am still accepting Twilight stories that involve Jasper/any female leads or Bella/selected male leads if anyone is looking for a Beta Reader. I will make exceptions on the characters depending on the plot. I will also accept other FF topics, as well.
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- Bella'Xo -
Xo Bella Italiana oX