Chapter 22

Jake's POV

The Cold Hard Truth

I must say, for not being around to live it, Nessie knows this story about as well as I do. She continues without pause, though I the feeling that at the word 'army' Fred has stiffened slightly, and I can't help but wonder why.

She speaks in a steady storytelling voice. "You see, when my father first met my mother a vampire-a tracker, do you know what that is?"

Fred seems to ponder the question and I can't help but think if Edward were here this would be going much faster. "No, not really. Though I assume it's a vampire with an extreme tracking ability."

"Precisely. That's almost exactly it. This tracker's name was James and he took great fun in the 'game' of hunting down his victims with his talent. Unfortunately he was much to cocky and, after injuring my mother, Jasper, Emmet, Rosalie, and my dad Edward killed him.

"His mate, Victoria was heartbroken, though she handled it in a different way than my father did when he had thought Bella was dead. She held a grudge and set out for revenge. Victoria created an army of newborn vampires to destroy my mother."

"Wait… when was this? And why your mother, didn't you say your father killed her mate, James?"

"My father did kill his mate. She wanted my father to 'feel the pain she felt when she lost James'. So, she set out for revenge with her newborn army. Now, do you remember my Aunt Alice? The one who can see the future? She saw Riley coming, though she didn't exactly know his name at the time, and she told my family-"

"I-I'm sorry, I hate to interrupt, but really I have to ask you something. When was this, exactly?"

Nessie furrows her brow and turns to me, a question in her eyes. "Jacob? I don't know the exact timeline…"

"Uh…" I try to think back. "I'd say late August, early September of 2005. That's really more of a guess though, I'm not one hundred percent certain…" I trail off seeing Fred's reaction.

It's similar to any other vampire's shocked reaction-freezing. He's frozen for a few seconds, and when he recovers he looks less confused than before, though I didn't realize he had been confused before. It's almost as if he'd been confused, slightly, all this time.

"I…" His voice wavers with emotion. "Now it makes sense. It never did but… Bree." Fred's head jerks up, his eyes pleading. "Do you know her? Did you know her? She was a friend of mine… I'm sorry I know you weren't there but… please?"

"I was there," I volunteer. "But uh… I got pretty beat up so I'm not sure what happened to your friend. I think… she may have been the one who Carlisle spared, at least for a little while." Hope registers on his face, and I feel bad, because I can't finish the story for him.

I don't know how it ends.

"Is there anyone who knows what happened to her?" Fred asks, though I can tell he fears the worst.

"I can tell you what I know, and then if that doesn't answer your question we can ask my mom and dad, ok Fred?" Nessie asks ever so softly.

I suppose I should be jealous, with her talking to another vampire this way, but I don't. I know she loves me, and this is Nessie's reaction to a person in pain. It's what she does. Besides, for whatever reason, I like this Fred though I don't trust him one hundred percent yet.

Fred just nods, wordlessly, and allows Nessie to continue.

"So Alice told my family that Riley was coming with an army of newborns for my mother. Naturally they all prepared to fight them and alerted the wolves," Nessie nudges me with her elbow. "To the coming vampires, and the pack-there was only one at the time-long story, decided to fight with them.

"Essentially it went like this: my mother and father stayed away from the main battle with Seth, a wolf, acting as a communication tool, a link to the pack and the large battle down below in the clearing, while every one else was fighting the newborns.

"By 'everyone else' I mean my family, Alice, Jasper, Carlisle, Esme, Rosalie, and Emmet, and the wolf pack. They split into two groups, and so did the newborns. They took them all out, as far as I know.

"My father and mother were found by Victoria and Riley. My father killed Victoria and Seth killed Riley. When that was over the battle in the clearing below was mostly over too, and when it was all said and done I wasn't informed of survivors.

"Although, I wasn't there, so Jacob may be right about Carlisle sparing one of them if they didn't want to fight. I told you he is an extraordinary person, and I meant that literally. He detests violence and he was only acting in self-defense that day. I assure you he would have hated killing anyone, even if they were attacking him directly.

"He is very unusual for a vampire-in the best way-though I can tell you there are very few things he'd fight for, his family being one of them. I wouldn't be at all surprised if Carlisle offered a pardon if your friend ceased her attack on the family." Nessie gives Fred a sad smile. "But the odds are slim that this person, your friend, just so happened to be the one who it was. I'm sorry."

Fred nods, "I understand. Though I do know Bree, and she was very smart. She wanted no part in that battle, she only wanted to find Diego."

I'm sure he can see the confusion in our expressions. He smiles bitterly, though the emotion isn't directed at us. "I suppose," He begins, "it's time I tell you part of my story."

"I was created," He says slowly, "I believe, by this Victoria. I suppose I was part of her army, though I never fought with them. My talent gave me the ability to leave the 'coven', if you could even call it that, without being noticed.

"My talent also kept all the crazy newborns from attacking me, and Bree. She always managed to find me, and read, or just sit, close enough that she wouldn't feel ill like everyone else.

"For the longest time," Fred says with a fond smile, "She was always right there. We were friends, really, without ever speaking to one another. It was an unspoken agreement. She stayed close and my talent kept us both alive. Riley, he kept things from us. I never trusted him, and neither did Bree.

"That's one thing I know for sure, she was smart. She hunted smart, and she was always reading. She wouldn't have fought you for no reason, she was going to leave with me-I offered, when the time came, but she had to go back for Diego. I assume, from what you've told me that Diego must have been her mate.

"I told her that I'd wait for her for a day in Vancouver. She wasn't going to fight with the newborns, she was only going to get Diego and get out of there. All this time I had hoped… I just hoped that she found Diego somewhere and they went off together. I just thought she forgot about me." He shrugs, and I can barely see the emotion behind his story.

"I missed her though. It was pretty lonely there, for a while. I told her I'd only wait for a day, but even then I waited for a little while longer than that. She never showed, so eventually I did leave. At the time it was a relief to not have to be around so many people.

"I felt bad always repelling them with my gift. It took years before I could control it. I'm pretty good with it now, but it's much harder to keep in check when I'm defensive, and that's mostly what you felt before-sorry about that by the way." He looks honestly apologetic.

I shrug. "We had you treed. What's a vampire to do?"

This gets me a tight laugh. "Yes, you wolves are remarkable."

I just nod.

"So…" Fred looks hesitant. "I really hate to be a bother but I feel like I need to know. Is there someone who could tell me what happened to Bree, and maybe Diego?"

"Umm…" Nessie seems lost in thought for a moment, though I realize what she's doing. "My parents are going to call as soon as they can, I told them it's urgent, but not a threat."

Fred looks very confused.

"Oh!" Nessie seems honestly surprised that she forgot to tell our guest what she could do. "I didn't explain my gift. I can put thoughts-images rather, into people's heads. It's convenient long distance, though only one way, I'm afraid."

Fred looks shocked, and I can't help but laugh. "Yeah, I know how you feel." I wrap my arms around Nessie's shoulders. "Ness, here, is a very unique person. She's much to modest about her talent though. Her phone will ring, without fail, and it will be her parents. I would bet a large sum of money on it. Oh, and did I mention her parents are somewhere in Italy at the moment?"

Fred is stunned into silence. The shrill ring of Renesmee's phone, however, quickly ends the silence. I smile widely.

Ness just rolls her eyes at me and flips open the phone. "Thanks for calling," She says quickly, and I can't make out what's being said on the other end. "No mom, dad, I'm fine. I told you, no threat. You got that part, right?"

A beat of silence, then Nessie says, "Listen, we have a visitor-" Commotion of some kind until Nessie cuts in. "This is going to take forever unless you let me speak! Now, our visitor is 'Alice approved', so shush about not trusting anyone. He's very nice, his name is Fred-" She's interrupted again and the glare she sends into thin air could make a grown man cower. I smile; she's not one to be messed with.

"Father, I trust him. It's fine. He has some questions for you two regarding Victoria's army and I think you should answer him." Silence, until Nessie cuts in. "You know what? Fine. Talk to Jacob."

She shoves the phone towards me and mouths, 'they're being idiots tell them to stop.' I want to laugh-like Bella has ever taken my advice, not to mention Edward not exactly loving me at the moment.

Either way I speak into the phone. "Listen, Edward-"

"Jacob? What's going on? Who is there at the moment?"

"The Denali's, Nessie, oh Stefan and Vladimir-somewhere, and Fred."

There's silence on the other end of the phone. "Edward…?"

"This person… Fred? Was he part of the newborn army?"

"Yeah, but he never fought you guys…"

"Oh." Edward seems to be reconsidering his position on talking to the vampire. I wonder what changed his mind. It was almost like hearing his name…?

"Jacob? Can you put me on speaker?"

"Sure thing." I put him on speaker and Edward's voice comes through clearly.

"Hi, I understand you're visiting my daughter and our friends. I think she's told you about us, but I'm Edward."

Fred seems relieved that he's going to get some answers. "Yes. I'm Fred, and I'm sorry to surprise your daughter like this, I caught a vampire scent back in Seattle and I followed it here, not expecting all this…"

"I understand," Edward continues and Nessie shoots me a look that says are you sure this is my dad? I just shrug. "I believe you had some questions for me."

"Uh… yes, if you don't mind. Renesmee was telling me her story, and inherently your story, and the newborn army came up. I believe I was created by this woman, Victoria, as was a friend of mine and her… mate?" It comes out as more of a question. "Diego. I was wondering if you know what might have happened to her.

"Your daughter, she uh, she said that Carlisle, the leader, may have spared someone who didn't wish to fight?"

There's a beat of silence on the line, but Edward asks quietly, "What was her name? Your friend?"

"Bree." By the way he says it I can tell that he knows she's dead. Edward obviously knows what happened but he's not coming out and saying 'oh yeah, Carlisle let her go so she's out there somewhere' so I know she's dead too.

"I know what happened to her. She didn't want to fight-she was only there to find Diego, but she found out he'd been killed by Riley and Victoria. I didn't meet her until after I'd killed Victoria and Riley had been taken care of by Seth. My father, at least the man I call my father, Carlisle offered her a pardon if she'd halt her attack on my family.

"She did so, and when Bella and I joined the rest of the family she was there. It was hard for her to manage her thirst, but she did so better than most newborns. She was smart, much smarter than any of the other newborns I'd assume.

"She somehow knew about me being able to read minds, and I think she knew even more than you. She thought about the 'vampire police,'-the Volturi, a few times and she informed me that part of the Volturi guard had heard about you all, well… your coven in Seattle and had made a deal, of sorts, with Victoria.

"You see, Jane, one of the Volturi members, was calling the shots at the time. Bella, my wife, though not at the time, was the only person who'd ever been immune to her power. Jane can burn you with just her eyes. It's an intense pain and Jane is sadistic about it.

"Jane held a grudge against Bella and was hoping Victoria's army could take out our coven. She was not so lucky. Our alliance with the wolves had made it an easy win for us.

"After the battle the Volturi members 'showed up' seemingly upset that they had missed the action, though thanks to your friend Bree I knew that they had no intention of helping us in the first place.

"Your friend was very smart, and I will always owe her. She was telling me many things with her thoughts that day. She also kept secrets for my family, she didn't tell the Volturi about the wolves, because she had seen that we wished for that to remain a secret.

"She had heard, from my conversation with Jane, that I-well Seth and I though Bree didn't know that-had killed Victoria and Riley and she felt she owed me for that. I believe her exact thought was 'whoever this vampire was, whether he kept a pet human or no, he was a friend of mine. Even if he were the one to kill me in the end, I would still owe him.'

"She was very brave, and rebellious I must say. She didn't know what Jane could do of course, but when Jane asked her for her name I distinctly remember her thinking, 'why give this lying vampire anything she wanted?' I think, by this point, she had figured out that Jane wasn't going to let her live, and she was going to stand up to her.

"After that Jane used her talent to get Bree to answer, though, smart as she is, Bree answered her the way, her words not mine, 'Kevin' would have answered them. She played dumb, so to speak, giving Jane the story she wanted to hear, while Bree gave me the real story. I will always owe her for that.

"When Jane gave the order… I tried to stop them, I did… but there was really nothing we could do. I think Bree understood that, but nonetheless, I said that we'd take Bree in and teach her the rules of our world, but Jane wasn't having it. Bree, however, wasn't really scared.

"She was thinking about me trying to save her though, I felt like I owed her that and she seemed appreciative. She was thinking, 'Me, I was touched to the core. These vampires were strangers, but they'd gone out on this dangerous limb for me. I already knew it wasn't going to work, but still.'

"She seemed ok with dying, as most vampires are once they've lost their mate, though I will tell you that just before Jane gave the final order she thought, 'This would be it, then. I still didn't feel afraid. My only regret was that I couldn't tell Fred more about all of this. He was going almost totally blind into this world full of dangerous politics and dirty cops and secret covens. But Fred was smart and careful and talented. What could they do to him if they couldn't even see him? Maybe the yellow-eyes would meet Fred someday.' Then," Edward continues, a sad smile audible through the phone. "She yelled in her thoughts, rather loudly, 'Be nice to him please!'"

I glance to my right and see Nessie with tears in her eyes. I take her hand and squeeze it gently, trying to make her feel better.

Edward finishes softly, "After that Jane gave the order and Bree was killed. I'm so sorry. Though I did promise her, even if she didn't hear me, that if we ever did meet you we would be nice to you, just as she'd asked. I apologize for being so cautious before." Edward sounds genuinely sorry for his suspicions.

"After a story like that," Fred says firmly, "I think you were right to be suspicious."

"Still, it was wrong to assume the worst. I just wish I'd had better things to tell you. Do you have any other questions for me? I'm not sure if you'll be there when we arrive home, but if not it was a pleasure talking to you."

"Um… I think that's enough information, thank you Edward. It was nice talking to you as well, though I'm not sure if I'll be here for you and your wife's return either. I guess it depends on how Renesmee finishes her story."

"Alright, well if you decide to go, please visit anytime. Have Nessie give you our phone number."

"Thank you."

"Not a problem." And Edward hangs up.

Geez. Poor Fred. Just meets all these fun people and then wham! Finds out his only friends were killed seven years before. Kind of depressing, though it's good that he finally got closure. Hope you liked the chapter. Expect more real soon, I'm in a writing mood. :)

Oh, and to the 'Guest' who reviewed I like to respond so I'm going to put it here~ I think this chapter will teach you tons more about Fred and I hope you liked it. I'm so glad you like my story enough to read it 4 times! Wow :). It makes me smile to get reviews like yours, and keep your eyes open because my next chapter is already posted. :D Thanks for reviewing.

So anywhoo... with that out of the way...

Thanks,

R&R