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

Previously...
(Jasper's POV)

"More months past and I ended up in Philadelphia. It began to rain, so instead of staying out in the rain, I ducked into a diner as to not bring attention to myself. Once I was inside, I immediately smelled another vampire and my senses were on high alert. I watched as a little pixie like vampire hopped off her stood and bounced right up to me. Her emotions intrigued me. They were so joyful and happy, a complete change to what I normally experienced.

'You kept me waiting a long time,' she told me.

I ducked my head like a good southern gentleman and said 'my apologies ma'am.'

From there she went on to tell me about herself and that she could see the future. That we were going to be joining a family that fed on animals. At first I was a little skeptic, because it didn't seem realistic. But watching her hunt and her golden eyes proved me wrong. I agreed to go with her and two years later, we showed up on the Cullen's doorstep and have been with them since until a few years ago, but you know what happened from there." I finished.

Chapter 23
(Bella's POV)

I couldn't believe what Jasper went through and came out a better man then others I had in my army.

I leaned over and laid my head on his shoulder. I felt his stiffen then relax as his right arm came around and wrapped around my shoulder.

"You are really spectacular." I told him honestly. "Instead of using your past to keep you in a place that was dark and unhappy, you brought yourself out and into the light." I turned my head and looked up at him. I could see the shock on his face.

Jasper smiled as he looked down at me. "You're truly amazin'." He leaned down and brought his lips to mine softly.

I didn't know why, but I wrapped my hands around the back of his neck and kissed him deeper then I had before. Our first kiss was nothing but animalistic, but this was pure love. I knew that mates couldn't hurt the other without hurting themselves, but I was still scared of getting hurt. Nick and Mika were the only ones that I let see the true me and they were fine with it.

Pulling back, we were both breathing hard as we stared into each other's eyes. I couldn't help the smile that spread across my face. Kissing Jacob was passionate, but this caused a fire to ignite within me that was never lit before.

Jasper was the first to break eye contact as he stood and brushed off his clothing then held his hand out for me to hold."Let's head back, shall we?" He gave me a grin that caused me to go weak in the knees.

I nodded taking his hand, letting him pull me to his feet. "Yeah, we do need to get back." I smiled as I ducked my head, I couldn't believe how bashful I was acting. "I would also like to thank you for the great time I had with you while we were out today."

"You're welcome." Jasper brought my hand to his lips and kissed the back of my hand. "Shall we?" He nodded his head in the direction of home.

"We shall." I smiled as I took off running with Jasper right behind me.I could feel the wind whipping in my face and was rather happy that I finally found something that made my life up until now have meaning.

As we ran, I looked back over things that had happened so far. Glancing at Jasper every now and then, I found that he was doing the same thing to me. I smiled and ducked my head as I looked back in front of me.

The next thing I knew, I was holding hands with him as we ran. I felt a sense of tranquility wash over me as we ran, hand in hand, through the desert, back to my compound. However, when we approached, I could tell that there was something rather wrong. I pulled away from Jasper as I took off faster then I ran with him and rushed into the compound, only stopping when I caught sight of Marcus and Demetri.

"What's the matter?" I asked my eyes narrowing.

Demetri hid behind Marcus as Marcus walked up to me and took me intohis arms. "It seems that Maria sent her teleporter to knock out Jane and Demetri and then bring Carlisle and Esme back to her." He pulled back and looked in my eyes. "Do not be upset with them. They tried to find them, but were only hurt badly."

I took a calming breathe. "How are they?" I looked up at Marcus with red eyes. "They were able to heal properly, right?"

"Yes, dear." He then waved someone over and noticed that it was Angela. "Also, your friend it seems knows a little bit about the teleporter. Not much, but she was able to give us his name. Christopher was kept away from others because no one was allowed to see or speak of him. He was also a native of Austin, if that helps in any way."

I looked at Raoul and then Angela. "Did you reward her?" I asked Raoul in a commanding tone.

"Yes, Mistress." He nodded his head pulling Angela to his side. "I allowed her more blood bags. Also, I took her hunting."

I noticed that Angela was hiding her face. I just smiled and nodded."That's fine." I smirked when I saw Angela duck her head. I could smell that they played around a little bit. "Raoul, I want you to gather the scouts and survey the area. I don't want any unexpected attacks. This will be a good test to see how much Angela has come while working on her power." I watched him nod as he turned and headed to the scouting parties.

"What should we do?" Emmett asked me. He and Rosalie were standing next to Jasper, Peter and Charlotte.

I thought for a moment. "Since you don't know how to fight well enough, I want you and Rosalie to work with Peter and Charlotte." I smirked when I saw Jasper tilt his head to the side. "I retrained them after finding out that Maria had trained them herself. My fighting style is more or less, improvisation." I nodded telling Peter and Charlotte I was done.

Peter nodded taking Emmett and Rosalie over to the training area. I could feel the tension all around.

I looked around and found that Faia, Sai, Uri and Nitro were all standing together speaking privately. When they noticed that I was watching, they came over to me and I just narrowed my eyes. If they think I have gotten soft then they have another thing coming.

"Is there a problem?" I asked sternly, no emotion in my cold voice.

Faia and Sai came over with their mates. "No Goddess, we were just wondering if we were going to be fighting here or in the field?" I knew what they were saying. Would we stand our ground at the compound or in the battle field we had not too far from here.

"We will be fighting here." I told them. "As for Nick and Mika, I don't want anyone to get a hold of them, or try to use them against me."

They nodded as they turned and headed over to where some of my older fighters were watching Peter train Emmett while Charlotte trained Rosalie. I looked around and found that everyone was going about their business. I sighed as I felt something in the pit of my stomach. It was telling me that something was going to be rather hard.

Shaking my head, I turned and took Jasper's hand.

"Why don't we head inside?" I said looking at Marcus and Demetri. "I would like to get to know each of you a little better, and I also need to visit with the kids."

"That sound wonderful, my dear." Marcus told me as he extended his hand for me and Jasper to lead the way. "Will you be joining us, Demetri? Or should I call on you when it is time. I know that you wish to see how Jane is doing."

Demetri nodded. "Thank you." He turned to me and bowed slightly. "If you don't mind, I would like to tend to my mate. Jane hasn't fully healed from the attack."

"Then take her to the feeding room and let her feed til she's fully healed." I told him with a smile. "We have a truck arriving tomorrow with another load."

"Thank you, my Lady, my Lords." Demetri bowed once more and then took off.

I was shocked because I didn't know that Jane and Demetri were mates. I shrugged it off as I lead the way to the living room. I knew that Natalie and Kirk would be in there with Nick and Mika. Nick would most likely be on one of his many video games. He loved them all. I was happy that he found a hobby, because I knew at his age they could get bored rather easy. In fact, Nick has all the games that have come out. He has the Atari, the old Nintendo, the new Nintendo, all the play-stations, the X-Box, Nintendo 64 and the list goes on and on.

Faia and Sai, along with Raoul and Uri, were rather taken with Nick. I could tell that they were having a ball, because I heard Mario cart going for the Nintendo 64.

"You'll have to excuse Nick and Mika." I told them as we rounded the corner of the hall. "It seems as though Nick has taken it upon himself to teach her about Nintendo 64." I could see Emmett perk up at the mention of video games. "He has almost every gaming console that was made. He even has Atari. That one was rather hard to find. He doesn't play that it because it's still in the box it came in actually. He refuses to open it and take it out." I shrugged opening the door to a large sitting room.

Both, Nick and Mika, stopped what they were doing and jumped over the back of the couch.

"MOMMA!" They yelled in unison.

"You brought Uncle Marcus and Father!" Nick smirked when Jasper's eyes went wide at the use of the word 'father'.

"Yes, they came here because we needed to speak with you and your sister." I took Mika's hand then held out my other to Nick. "Why don't we go sit down?"

Nick nodded as he walked over and took Jasper's hand, leading him over to the couch. Marcus sat down on one of the two couches with Natalie and Kirk beside him. Jasper and I sat on the other couch while Mika and Nick sat in between us.

"I would like you and Mika to stay here with Natalie and Kirk." I said as I looked down at Nick and Mika. "I don't want you involved, because if I know Maria like I think I do, she will most likely try and use you against me."

"But we want to help." Nick argued as he looked at Mika. "We're strong and able to fight."

I shook my head. "You may be able to fight, but I don't want you involved." I kept my eyes stern along with my voice. "If Maria got to either of you, she would have an advantage over me and the rest of the army, which I don't want. Also, Carlisle and Esme are with her and I can only guess what she has planned since she took Edward's and Alice's ashes."

Jasper nodded agreeing. "Your mother is correct." He looked at Kirk. "It would be best if you stayed here in the care of your care protectors." I ruffled Nick's hair. "We're only trying to make sure that you both are taken care of."

Nick and Mika nodded and I could tell that they were not truly happy with the arrangement, but like I told them before, I only wanted them to be themselves at the age that they were turned for eternity; not have to fight in battles.

I was just about to say something when Raoul and Angela barged in with wide eyes. I stood in a split second as I shielded them both with my mental shield to hear what they had heard.

'Maria is close to the compound and is waiting to attack!' Raoul looked at the kids with fear in his eyes as Angela was pulled tight to his side. 'We need to get ready and the kids need to get to the safe room.'

I nodded turning to look at Mika and Nick. "She's just outside the compound's borders." I heard Jasper hiss and Iz was rattling her cage,wanting out, because she wanted to make the bitch pay. "Jasper is with me while Marcus will stay with Kirk and Natalie. They are both newborns and may not know how to fight. Raoul, if you want, Angela may stay with them, but the teleporter is mine. Only my gift will be able to stop him from withdrawing from the fight sooner then we like."

Kirk and Natalie nodded taking the kids hands and rushing over to the hidden door within the fire place. As soon as the door was open, Kirk, Natalie, Mika, Nick, Angela and Marcus were inside and the door shut placing a fire in the fire place. It was a feature that let us know, those who knew it was there, that someone was inside the safe room.

I turned to Raoul and nodded signaling that it was time for the others to get into place. I would not let Maria get away from me this time. Taking out the transporter first was our main priority and I could tell that everyone was on the same page.

Just as I exited the room, I felt Mika and Nick place a barrier around the room. I would tell the troops what the plan was as soon as Jasper, Raoul and myself arrived. Raoul knew me well enough that he may have already done so, but I could feel that my prep talk with enforce the fact Maria is to be killed as soon as possible. With her gone, the others would only be headless chickens. I had seen it many of times when fighting the other warlords that we had taken down.

Maria was no different.

A/N:Cliffhanger! Bella is finding a middle ground regarding her attitude and letting people in, thanks to Jasper! I know it's been a while since this story has been updated, but my co-author has been in the process of moving. Anyway, do you have any ideas on what will happen with this confrontation with Maria? Don't worry, this does not mean that the story is almost over, this is just a bump along the way! Review!

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

To see more, go to either mine or my Co Author's FF page: 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 am also accepting other story topics as well! PM me for details!
- Bellisma -
Xo Bella Italiana oX