Chapter 14 – Madness
(Inspired by: Diamond Eyes / Enemies – Shinedown)
The infiltration of the Volturi would begin almost immediately after the sun set. Before Alec had left, he gave me directions to the dungeon where my family was being held. I'd take them to the throne room where the showdown would happen. My only thought was to get there and help my team end these bastards. I knew there were two ways this could go down; they die… or we do. The second path wasn't an option to me, it shouldn't have been a possibility, but it was. A very real one. One I didn't want to think about, but constantly drifted on the outskirts of my mind.
Alec dropped by my room as the sun began to gather its light and prepare to sink in to the horizon, informing me that Kylie and the team were ready. They were mobilizing and would arrive soon. He also snuck in my combat boots and the fighter pants I ditched before getting in the castle. Alec said a friend left them for me and I knew exactly who; Quinn. From the look in his eye, Alec was fond of our mutual friend and it seemed as if it pained him that they'd gone two different directions in their lives. I wanted to hold him, comfort him, kiss him… but time was running out. I hoped the fact that they'd made it on the same team in the end counted for something. And, if we made it through this, I'd give him everything I could offer. I just hoped to hell that we made it.
Once he assured me the path to the dungeon would be clear, he was forced to leave me. I changed out of the tight jeans, ditched the style-focused shoes, and contemplated whether or not I wanted to wear the boots. I've always been faster on my bare feet, but the boots would help when landing blows with a kick. I tied them on and decided to focus on my mind's ability, the only skill I'd yet to perfect. And everything had to go perfect. This was when everything became real; those few weeks of training were about to be put to the test and I had to fight with everything I had in me.
The loud explosion broke me from my concentration. I couldn't see it from where my room was situated, but the building shook as if it was going to collapse. I don't think, I wasn't ordered to think, just act. I kick the doors open, the lock giving way from the force, but as they swing open, that bulky vampire stands on the opposite side of the hall. A growl rumbles in my throat; I seriously do not have time for this.
"I knew you were trouble, your whole family is; we should've killed you when we had the chance." Felix spat, eyeing me as if I was the gum under his shoe he just couldn't scrape off.
I scoff at him, "I could say the same to you."
He lunges at me, without any real thought about what he plans to do. He's stupid, planning on his weight taking me out. Big and dumb, he's insulted himself as well as planned his own funeral. I jump to the rafters, letting him crash in to the wall. He disorients himself for a moment, but that's all I need. I leap down, adrenaline pumping through me as I flip him on to his stomach and prepare myself for my first kill. I thought it'd be different, like I'd hesitate or have an overwhelming sense of guilt, but I feel nothing. Nothing, but raw power. I hold his life in my hand and I take it. I situate my hands as I had learned with Quinn and twist, pull, pop. I hold a vampire's head in my hands, not feeling any semblance of anything, but extreme pride. Step two is to set a dead vampire on fire. Patting my pockets, I find a pack of matches and a tiny container of gasoline with a smiley face sticker on it. Someone needs to tell Quinn he isn't funny.
I bite off the squirt end and douse the body. I drop the tiny, plastic bottle, light a match, and toss it over my shoulder, relishing in the sound of a crackling fire. As I exit the room, I check the hall to ensure it's clear this time. Once confirmed, I make my way to the dungeon. It's not so hard, considering every vampire in the castle has run to check where the explosion came from, but I check over my shoulder constantly. My ears are perked as I slip down endless mazes of hallways and finally, to the winding staircase. The further down I go, the darker it becomes.
I find the bowls of the castle, trusting my nose to guide me. It's strangely damp down here, smelling of mildew and depression. As I wander further within, I hear the panicked voices of my family. I round the corner and see dim lighting; a single torch flickers proudly as the sole light source. I also find my family, every one of them all stuffed in to several cells, separated from their mates. How cruel. They hear me approaching as my boot splashes in a small puddle by a wooden cabinet, plucking the door open to find a ring of keys. My family shouts to me, asking a bazillion questions a minute, but I ignore them and get to work opening each door. They attempt to hug me and spread affection with one another, but I stop them from getting too excited.
"A group of B.R.A.V.O agents have invaded the castle and have every intention of overthrowing the Volturi tonight. They're the ones who set off the explosion and are fighting to free the immortal world of the injustice of the Volturi's rule; we need to get to the throne room to help them."
My father is the first to speak up, staring at me as if I'm crazy, "We need to leave, Renesmee. This is a dangerous job and I'm not about to put my daughter at risk."
"That's not for you to decide."
"Like hell it's not!" mom cries out, prepared to argue me.
I look her dead in the eye, the mere glance silencing her. "I'm on the front-line; I brought myself here to save your lives, but it's become so much more than that to me. I'm a part of this mission; that's my team up there and if you choose to leave now, that's your decision, but I came here for a reason and I'm going to finish this."
My family gazes at me, unsettled and confused. I can see it in their eyes, for the first time, I'm not a child to them anymore nor an insolent teenager with emotional instability. I'm my own person and they have zero influence over me. I give them ten seconds to decide before I bail, but Emmett steps up, speaking for my family as a whole.
"I've been waiting a long damn time to take these sons' of bitches down; lead the way, Nessie."
We enter the throne-room to a stand-off, not quite what I was expecting. More like a full-on brawl. Shifters, children of the moon, vampires, and half-breeds stand in a huddle opposing the dark cloaks with Aro at the head of their horde. I don't see Alec or Quinn, but assume they're somewhere in the mix. I can't worry about them now. I make an about face and push onward. My team parts like the red sea for me, allowing me to stand beside Kylie as a leader. She doesn't break her stare-down with Aro, but as our arms brush, she tells me this is my moment; speak up, she tells me. This a war we all started and you're the one that got us here, make em' regret ever underestimating us.
Aro grimaces as he looks to me, crimson eyes flashing with excitement. Even at the end of his life, he still chooses to play a game. How... sad.
"I should've known you had something to do with this, young friend," he smiles with condescendence, "Do you honestly believe you and your mix of mutts can defeat us?"
Hisses and low, chest-rumbling growls erupt from behind me as he laughs at us. A touch of courage rushes up my spine and I meet his testing gaze head on with a renewed sense of confidence.
"I don't think you fully appreciate what's before you, Aro; you have the descendants of generations you've destroyed, revenge burning in the hearts of everyone in this room. They have vengeance to reap from you arrogant and self-righteous desire for more; more power, more fear, more to bow before you... You have rallied a hate so powerful they all have bonded together, species meant to hate each other, all because of you. Perhaps we should thank you for that, for being the burden we all share," I pause to let that sink in, his expression growing to stone. The brilliant ruby of his irises darken to the darkest black I've seen upon the face of a vampire, but I've said goodbye to weakness, my gaze against his levels, unwavering.
"You're looking at what you created."
The war begins at that, our mass moving in to attack theirs. It all happens so fast, a mess of forms ripping in to one another. The black coats are clearly out-numbered, but that doesn't stop them from trying. I take in the scene, finding Aro standing solo, untouched at his throne, but his "brothers" had joined the battle. Caius was a mess of body parts that were being kicked about the room by those in battle. Markus' head rolled by my feet a minute later and when I looked up, I saw Aro staring daggers in to my skull.
My family stands behind me, as the only few who had yet to move, but not another moment passes before they made their choice. Emmett didn't think twice, running in to the mess of bodies. Rosalie grinned and chased her husband, ready for the fight of a lifetime. Alice and Jasper shared a knowing look before double-teaming the elf-like man that had joined Felix in bringing me in. Carlisle set his sights on Aro and Esme follows him, preparing for a long overdue battle. Edward and Bella disappear in to the crowd, in search of a fight of their own. I don't know who to challenge, but there's this rage pulsing through me, a vicious need for violence washing over me. The power of immortality was flowing through me, intoxicating me and I'm thirsty for bloodshed.
Someone makes the decision for me when they try to peek in to my mind; fire, burning me. I whip around to see Jane's sights set on me. When she realizes her gift is not working, her eyes widen in shock and she tries to run, but I'm faster. I race over to her, pouncing on her back. She crashes to the floor, mouth open in horror and eyes filled with… I pause. I recognize her gaze, one so familiar as it is foreign. I look deep in to her, seeing Alec reflected subtly in her features. I blink, momentarily dazed.
Could I kill his sister?
She takes my frozen state to her advantage, shoving me off her. I move to stand, but Jane lands a knee in to my ribs. I choke on my own salvia, gasping for air before she slams another blow to same section of my torso. I try to move, but she presses her foot in my spine, crushing me to the floor and I feel my back shift uncomfortably. The world seems to slow down all at once as I realize, as much as I want to, I can't kill her; Alec has lost so much, I can't take his sister from his as well.
Everything speeds up again, my throat suddenly in her grasp. Then, she squeezes. Oh, god. I choke, sputtering in the agony all over my body, but I don't know what to do… and then I do. I grip her wrist with purpose, meet her condescending gaze and shove a million images at her, blending together in to one massive blur. Her grip goes slack and she throws me across the room, breaking the connection. I land on my back, my head bouncing off the marble floor. All the air in my body disappears in a single sigh. Black threatens to take over, tiny specks of white glittering across my vision. My head spins around the room, and in a distant world, I hear someone screaming.
"What have you done?! What have you done to me?!"
I need to get up and fight, keep on. I started this; I need to finish it. I can't move, can't breathe, can't see… the world starts to fade in to the darkness, but then I feel it; a sudden onrush of life zipping through me. Warmth washes over my body before ice comforts me: venom, changing me. My eyes flicker open just in time to see Jane racing at me again, but the clarity I see her in is unreal. As she moves to leap, I kick my foot out and she flies backward. She doesn't falter, landing on the balls of her feet. Jane flips to look at me, eyes wild, but I watch as another figure takes her out. I stand and look out to the destruction that has taken to the once beautiful throne room. Then I see the one I never got to finish; Anastasia, as she circled the outer edge of the war taking place. I bolted to her, leaping over bodies and one-on-one fights. She sees me and a grin slithers across her blood-red lips. She waits for me to reach her.
"How exciting," she says gleefully. "I can't wait to have the honor of ending your pathetic life, halfbreed."
I land in front of her, crouching before I roll my shoulders back to my full height and snarl at her, "It seems you forgot how our last meeting ended."
"I promise I haven't, but I assure you, I never make the same mistake twice."
"Neither do I; I'll make sure to kill you this time."
Her expression darkens and she charges. I drop to the floor, kicking her feet out from beneath her. Memories of training flicker through my mind, encouraging me. Quinn is on my shoulder; egging me on. She tumbles. I leap to body slam her, she rolls to the side and my shoulder hits the marble floor with a crunch. I let out a gasp of air, my shoulder popping out of place. She lands a hard foot in to my ribs, I can feel it crack, but I shove past the pain and grip her ankle. I twist it to the left, watching as her body flips and lands with a smack. I stand, taking a fistful of her hair and yank her from the ground before slamming her in to the wall. The sound of vampire skin meeting stone is unnatural, like a dull echo.
She reels back, flashing the damage done. The porcelain of her skin begins to shatter across her face, her eyes dazing before focusing on me. She hisses as she turns to me and throws her arm out, slicing her nails across my right cheek. They cut deep, nearly as deep as the claws of Jake's paw when they took my left cheek; matching scars, I think humorlessly. The sting is immediate, but I see her reach for me again. I flip backward, kicking my foot up at her chin. Her head knocks back, a gash stretching the length of her smooth neck. Before my feet can meet the ground, she slams her fist in to my stomach, knocking the air from my body and shoving me to the ground with a smack. Her palm winds around my throat like a vine, the contact giving her an easy route to my mind. I fight her, pushing against her powerful influence. Then I feel like my head is falling; my skull slams against the marble with a loud clap.
My vision blurs, black filling my sight as blood pounds in my ears. The world fades out, hazy and distorted. I hiss at the sudden rush of her making contact with the base of my mind, but I refuse to break against her. I blink up at her, seeing several heads swirling above me, but that damn smug grin they wear wakes a demon inside me. I roar at her, the looks of conceit morphing to horror. She solidifies in to one person. I grab her hand, pry her fingers from my throat and kick her off of me with unparalleled force. I give in to the overwhelming need to watch her body burn. She soars, her body folding in an unnatural shape as she breaks in to the stone pillar, sending it crashing down around her. Ana crumbles to the floor with a puff of dust from the rubble and shakily moves to a sit up, her body cracked like a doll that'd been glued back together. She stares at me with pleading eyes and a startled expression.
"I'm sorry, I'm so sorry, I never meant to hurt anyone; I was just following orders. I don't want to die, please don't kill me, please, please, please."
Her dry-sobs don't affect me. Not a single ounce of regret spills through me as I take my chance to kill, ripping her head from her neck. I toss Ana's head over my shoulder, hearing it feed the fire and make the attempt to drag her body to the pit, but the weight of her body sends me to my knees, grasping my side. I let out a heavy breath, trying to push past the pain. I'm not weak, I'm not weak, I'm not weak. Fire rips through my torso and I know I'm hurt. Badly. I cough, blood splattering on the dirty floor. I hear someone call out to me from a distant land, but I can't focus. Everything is so loud.
Silver eyes, smooth face, dark hair; Quinn comes in to focus. His lips are moving, but I can't hear him. Blood is rushing through my skull, god does it hurt. I reach behind me, pushing through my damp hair and pull away to reveal black goo. Wait, I think it's blood. I don't know. I look back at Quinn, blinking at him absentmindedly. He shakes his head and goes to pull me up, stretching out my torso. I scream in agony, a warmth spreading up my arm as I shove him away. He drops me as he stumbles back. My weight is too much for me to support and I prepare my head to impact the ground again, but the moment never comes.
A gentle hand cradles my skull, careful not to move it. Someone pushes my hair back and caresses my unmarred cheek… that's kind of nice. I force my eyes to open, fluttering my lashes to clear the tears. Crimson. Pure, beautiful ruby red glimmers at me with disquietude in their endless depths. Alec… he's so handsome. I try to smile at him, but stretching my cheek hurts. My vision swims in and out of focus, more people crowding around me. I feel like my head is in a dome, people calling out to me from outside. Just shut up. God, can't they see I'm bleeding?
The pain is overwhelming, burning me. Someone pushes on my side and I hiss, smacking their hand away, but I find nothingness. Air. I grip my side as my shattered ribs mend themselves together. I bury a pathetic whimper in my chest. My shoulder comes next, but I feel my body as the venom stretches out like a web, connecting the joint and pulling it together again like a puzzle piece. My head, where it was slammed in to the ground repeatedly, becomes very cold as ice washes over my body. Slow, steady, smooth; I let out a sigh as I finally become one piece again. When I open my eyes again, I find a crowd of bodies around me oozing worry, but I only see Alec watching me with the warmest concern in his scarlet eyes. Though my throat feels like sandpaper, I have to know the answer to a single question.
"Did we win?"
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