A/N: Here we goes, homes! Enjoy, and expect 3-4 more chapters after this one.
Edward: Noooooo!
Me: Sorry, homeskillet. This is one doodle that can't be undid.
Bella: Geez, Banana! Shut your freakin' gob, okay?
Me: hehe. I love Juno.
Edward: Silencio, old man!
Me: I'm gonna punch you in the weiner next time I see you!
Edward: I'm right here!
Me: But…but…it'll hurt…me. :(
Edward: -Smirks- Exactly.
She was beautiful beyond compare. Soft, dark brown hair fell half-way down her slender back. Maroon eyes shone in the pale, hidden morning light. Her perfectly angular features were childlike, a wicked grin precisely in place on her full, pink lips. Small, dark arms crossed over her chest, and her soldiers stood in place behind her.
Alice and Edward are good guessers. Twenty soldiers, Maria included, faced us. Each of her comrades wore a mask of contempt over what I could only assume to be a usually calm face. Nineteen seemed well-prepared to kill; number twenty smirked successfully at Jasper.
"Maria," Jasper greeted. "It's been too long, I agree. However, I feel it's not been long enough yet. I'm sorry to say your visit has not been the happiest of occasions for us."
"I would imagine not," she laughed. "That was sorta the point." She looked to Jasper's left and glared at Alice . "Is this the one, then? The girl you left me for?"
Jasper sighed as he attempted to control his anger."Maria, this is Alice . And I left you because I was unhappy. Alice is merely one of the gifts I received for that action."
"I see," Maria replied simply, looking over Alice . "She's very pretty."
"You don't have to talk about me like I'm a puppy. I can speak, you know. And thank you."
A soft, childish laugh passed her lips, and her perfectly white teeth glistened. "Yes, I can quite obviously see that you are not an animal. But they do say you are what you eat, do they not, Alice?" She sneered her name, as if the mere thought of Alice replacing her was disgusting.
"God, you think you're cute don't you?" Alice stepped forward, her never-flawing dancer's step in tow. "Why don't you shut that little mouth and show me what you can really do?"
Maria snarled ferociously, much scarier than thought possible, as Alice's eyes glazed over--seeing Maria's plan. Suddenly, the girls were entwined in what could only be described as a cat fight. All soldiers--our side and theirs--stood stock still, waiting for the go-ahead. The fight continued, neither girl showing mercy in the slightest degree, until Jasper courteously pulled them apart. He held each a few feet off the ground as they thashed and swung their limbs at one another.
"Girls!" he shouted, shaking them slightly. "You're being ridiculous." Alice began to interrupt him, but he quickly silenced her. "I know the point of this was to fight, but you girls are being silly. Maria, if you wish to fight, if you want to kill me, then do it. But I will not stand here and watch the two of you take part in some high school fight. I'm not the principal." He dropped them, and each girl returned to her respective side.
"Fine, then." She turned to her fighters. "Leave the blonde and the little one for me. Have fun." There was a sick smile in her voice as she spoke with conviction, yet with excitement--a pure love of the fight.
They responded well. Simultaneously, they crouched, snarling, as Maria turned back to us. "Jasper, I'll give you another chance, my dear. If you come back and fight with me, you can avoid the loss of your family. I don't wish to kill them, but I do mean to kill you should you not obey. They will all be simple casualties in the process, though, rest assured."
"I think we'll take our chances, Maria." Jasper turned slightly to smile at me, and he snapped his fingers twice--a signal to the others to pull out their ear plugs.
This tactic would work for only a limited amount of time. After a while, the effect would wear off. Therefore, we thought it best that I should sing until our opponents wavered, rather than wait until a more important moment. The fight should be fair, after all. The lyrics to a familiar song flowed past my lips and dazed our opponents, all but Maria, that is. I stared her down as I continued to sing, just noticing the white in her ears, as well.
Hey Jude, don't make it bad.
Take a sad song and make it better.
Remember to let her under your skin.
Then you begin to make it better.
Nothing.
"Did you think I would come unprepared?" Maria asked me, picking up a careful stride down the path between us. "I've been watching you for some time. I find your gift to be something incredible, Ayden. It's like nothing I've ever seen, or heard, before. You see, dear, Jasper wasn't my only reason for coming here. I want you to join me in the fight. Your gift would be highly beneficial."
I stood motionless, allowing her vicious words to sink in. My entire family watched in shock as she attempted to wager with me. Cole's tips pulled back into a snarl, and he crouched to attack. However, Edward pulled him back by his shoulder and nodded to me. I took another look at my family and turned to Maria.
I love human instinct. Rather than calmly and politely decline, my fist connected rather loudly with Maria's nose. All present noticeably cringed at the sound, and Maria glared at me through her hands. She growled, and I crouched down in response, my lips curling back. My assault to her face had left her in a half-crouching position already, so we were on nearly the same level. She snapped her teeth at me, and I wasted no time; I tackled her to the ground and began ripping.
An arm.
Her other arm.
A wounded cry.
Legs.
A head.
A shredded torso.
The fire was started before the rain could threaten, and Maria tossed upon it. Victory was sweet, if only for a moment; there were still nineteen soldiers ready and waiting. But who would command now? I could only hope for no one.
A yellow-haired girl, around sixteen I would guess, stepped forward. Her eyes held pure hatred, and she stared me down. Only then did I realize I'd stopped singing in order to kill Maria. Before I could be attacked by every person on the field, I began singing again. The song came naturally, and the unprotected fighters calmed at the sound.
I rolled up my sleeves today
Cause I thought that this was over
But then you called to say
You forgot that broach of your mother's
Every time I try to cut the cord
You come crawling back with some excuse
You forgot
something
Jasper turned back to look at me and shook his head.
I didn't stop, but only shot him a look of confusion. Why should I
stop? He came over to where I stood and leaned down to whisper in my
ear.
"Let's not delay this any longer. If I need you I'll let you know. But you just killed Maria, Ayden, in case you didn't realize it. We need to end this now rather than later."
I hesitantly stopped singing. As the last note passed my lips, everyone--both sides--shifted to a crouched position. Jasper lurched forward to take the blonde second-in-command. She was killed quickly and easily, still dazed by the mesmerizing sound of my voice. The men, hoping against all hope to protect their women, attacked first, and killed three. That left us with a tie--fifteen soldiers each.
"Now!" Jasper shouted, and we each went for the closest soldier. A brunette male was mere feet from where I stood, and he ran toward me at full speed. We collided with a loud crash; he landed on top of me as we fell to the ground. I pushed against him as he snapped at me, and I managed to turn us over. Rough play with Cole finally came in handy. However, when I looked down again, I lost all concentration.
It was me.
I stared for a moment, my head turning to the side in confusion. The person beneath me wore my same outfit, had my face, my hair, but not my golden eyes. Burgundy eyes bore into me with wicked success. His gift, I rationalized. He can change his appearance. Before he could finish me in my stupor, I clawed at his throat, and did away with his head; it was quite alarming to rip off myself apart. I carried the head and what was left of the body to our bonfire and finished him off, wiping my hands of the ashes as I looked back toward the fight to see if I could help. Most of my family had taken down their opponents, and were standing by the fire as well. The blur of fighting ceased at once, and I could see that only three remained. Bella, Cole, and Irina were still attempting to dominate. However, Bella and Irina suddenly sprang toward Cole's blurring fight, leaving the enemies to escape. Eleazar and Jasper dove for them before they could, though.
"Cole!" Irina cried, anguish evident in her voice.
My world stopped. If anything had happened...Bella could help, couldn't she? Everyone who had been resting only a moment before was rushing to Cole's side. I was locked in place, scenarios winding through my head. Edward ran back to me with a panic-stricken face and pulled me along beside him to Cole. Bella was crouched over him, hiding whatever wound he may have suffered. Everyone stepped aside at my approach, and Bella leaned back to let me see the damage. A large cut ran up his perfect chest, and his face contorted in pain. I fell to my knees by his side, dry tears wishing they could cascade down my cheeks.
"Ayden," he mumured, his breaths short. "Don't worry, baby, Bella's going to take care of it."
I could manage no more than a nod. I grabbed his left hand and held him as Bella pushed his skin together and laid her hands over it. Cole's face twisted momentarily in pain. When Bella pulled her hands away, only a faint, pink line remained.
She smiled timidly. "It should fade a little more, but the little scar is here to stay. You're going to have to be more careful, mister. You got a little carried away with the little one." She jerked her head in the direction of the fire, where I could only assume the antagonist now lay.
"Thanks, Bella, you come in pretty handy," Cole laughed, pushing himself up into a sitting position. I hugged him, burying his head into the crook of my neck.
"How could you be so careless?!" I demanded. "I was so scared. I mean, I more or less just killed myself, and then you're over here with this huge gash in your stomach!"
"Killed yourself?" everyone echoed, all brows furrowed.
"Oh, I guess I could explain. The boy I killed, he could shift his appearance--that was his gift--and he looked like me when I killed him."
"Interesting," Carlisle murmured, mostly to himself. "If only he could've been spared."
"Uhm...sorry?" I apologized. "I didn't exactly feel like dying today."
"Don't be silly, Ayden," Carlisle laughed. "Your gift is much more valuable."
It felt nice to be able to share a carefree laugh with my loved ones again. It was over. No one was coming for us again. We could laugh, and actually laugh. We would have no more midnight training. Alice wouldn't worry about tanning anymore. We were victorious. And it rang through every voice, through every tree, and through every smile upon our faces.
A/N: Hope you liked it. I should be getting my computer back tonight, and I'll have Microsoft 2007, which will totally rock. But anyway, review and Emmett Cullen will hug you next time I update.