Enigmatical

By wired2damoon

Chapter 23: Pain And Plans Of Action

A/N: So sorry for the delay in updating, I've been sick and had a lot on my plate lately. Hope you enjoy yet another plot twist. ~wired2damoon~ x

- Nessie's POV -

"Knock, knock," I called, walking through the doorway. I felt bad for just sauntering in, but the door was slightly ajar and I'd been knocking consistently for the last few minutes. It was when I stepped in further to the apartment door, I got the shock of my life and gasped loudly.

Oh crap…what the hell happened? I thought frantically as I took in the sight before me. The entire apartment was in shambles! There were broken glasses and plates around the kitchen floor, in the living room the armchair lay over-turned, the TV was smashed to bits, the coffee table was split in two and the bookshelves lay splintered - books and DVDs strewn everywhere. Basically, the entirely place was completely trashed!

"Quil? Quil!" I started to yell, frantically searching for his scent but found it practically everywhere. I was utterly alarmed by what I saw. I knew when Jake came back to the house a few hours ago after seeing Quil something had definitely gone down, I just knew it!

"Quil, where are the hell are you?" I practically yelled, racing down the hallway and crashing through every doorway until finally there was only one room left. Quil's bedroom. Slowly, I reached out and turned the door knob, pushing the door open gently.

"Quil…" I mumbled softly, peering into the darkness and taking an attentive step forwards.

It was two-thirty in the morning and the room was void of all light. It seemed that the curtains were drawn and all lights extinguished. Frowning, I continued into the room - my eyes adjusting instantly (being half-vampire has its perks) and looked around me.

As I drew closer to the bed I saw that the covers were askew and yet nobody was under them. "Qui-" I started but was cut off abruptly.

"-What do you want Nessie?" a tired voice asked from my left. Whirling around I looked down and saw Quil sitting on the floor, his arms sprawled on his knees, his head resting on them, face down.

"Quil…what…I…what happened to the apartment?" I mumbled, not knowing where to start in my interrogation of him. There were so many things I wanted to know. What went down with Jake earlier tonight? Was he planning on doing something stupid to try get Claire back? Has he been sleeping? Eating?

A soft, yet oddly bitter laugh erupted from him, making the hairs on my neck stand on end, "why don't you ask your perfect, smart, brilliant, control-freak of a boyfriend?"

I frowned at his response. It was all off. The words he was saying, the tone in which he said them in…none of that sounded like the Quil Ateara I knew.

"Quil, what the hell happened with you and Jake? Why are you acting so weird?" I asked hurriedly, for some reason getting the feeling that Quil wouldn't let me finish if I took too long to ask.

This evoked another snide laugh from him, "oh you know how it is with us shape-shifters Ness…a little bit of this, a little bit of that, a little bit of your so-called best friend/Alpha suddenly going all Lieutenant Ass and barking orders left, right and center…"

My frown deepened. What? There was no way that Jake ordered Quil to do anything! He hates the whole ranking thing, maybe he just strongly suggested something…

As if being able to read my thoughts Quil spoke before I got the chance, "and yes, before you ask, it was definitely an order. That little hypocritical "never-use-my-status-do-order-people-around" rat bastard ordered me to stay here and not go looking for Claire! I mean, can you believe that!?! My own, so-called BEST FRIEND fucking ORDERS me to STAY HERE instead of going to RESCUE my fucking IMPRINT! WHAT A GOD-DAMN DICK-"

"Quil!!" I scolded him loudly, "now I'm not saying what Jake did was one-hundred per cent right but don't forget who you're talking to here! In case you've forgotten, I'm his imprint! And I don't really like what you're saying about him! I know he's said in the past that he'd never actually use his status to be boss of you guys but obviously he only ordered you to stay here for your own-"

"DON'T YOU DARE SAY FOR MY OWN GOOD NESSIE! DON'T FUCKING DARE! THIS IS CLAIRE WE'RE TALKING ABOUT FOR CHRIST'S SAKE! CLAIRE! YOUR BEST FRIEND! HOW CAN YOU POSSIBLY SAY THAT IT'S 'FOR MY OWN GOOD' IF CLAIRE IS COOPED UP SOME PLACE WITH A PACK OF BLOOD-SUCKING, HUMAN-KILLING VAMPIRES FOR COMPANY!?!?!" he roared, suddenly on his feet and storming towards me. I stood my ground however, and glared up into his face.

"There's no need to shout at me Quil, I've just as good hearing as you…" I hissed angrily, not even blinking as his glare turned almost murderous, "and don't get all pissed with me either. I want Claire back just as much as you do, like you said, she's my best friend. But, I do understand where Jake's coming from. It's too dangerous to go looking for her on your own Quil, there's so many things we don't know yet. You could be completely ambushed and torn apart and what good will you be then huh?

"How the hell do you think Claire will react when she finds out that you went out on your own looking for her and were met by four very angry vampires and were torn limb from limb? How well do you think she'd take that!?! Jake was only looking out for you and for Claire, he doesn't want anything to happen to either of you, he doesn't want either the imprint in agony over losing their love or the shape-shifter in agony over losing their imprint. Ordering you to stay put was the only way…hell, because we all know how unbelievably stubborn you are! You wouldn't of listened if he just 'asked' you…"

Quil blinked several times after I'd finished speaking. We were only standing a foot a part, still glaring at each other, but as he took a deep breath - inwardly processing my words, I saw his shoulders sag in defeat. He knew I was right, but something was telling me he wasn't letting Jake forget this anytime soon.

"I just-I need her back Ness, every second I'm not with her…every moment I've no idea where she is or what's happening to her…it's… killing me…" he choked out and I could hear the emotion building up in his voice. The hostility I felt immediately disappeared at that sound and I stepped forward, placing my hand on his shoulder as he sat down on the edge of his bed.

"I know Quil, I know, but we're doing everything we possibly can to get her back. Jake and Sam have rounded up all the guys who are patrolling the area, searching for either Claire's scent or one of the vampire's scent, Alice is desperately forcing her way through visions to get a feel for what we're up against, Jasper is busy going through certain tactics that we may need if we find ourselves up in some sort of battle, it doesn't matter that they're only four of them - Alice has yet to find out if the others have powers and we can't underestimate anything. Carlisle, my mom, dad and the rest are working through how we can save the other girls…we-we're all trying our hardest to get everyone back safely while also being safe ourselves, Quil…" I trailed off, not really knowing how to continue.

He took a deep breath and let it out slowly. "I know…I-I just wish I was better help, that's all. I can't seem to focus on anything, not when-when she's out there, alone and probably scared out of her mind. I mean, she's probably the one person who really knows what the kidnappers are, the rest of the girls probably don't have a clue…can you imagine how she must be feeling right now?"

- Claire's POV -

I clawed desperately at the iron bars, searching for something, anything to help me get out of this situation.

"That's not gonna help…" a voice came from the darkness to my left. Again, I ignored it and picked up the water bowl from the floor and flung it with all my might. It crashed loudly to the floor, cracking into small bits and landing at my feet.

"That iron is strong girl, you ain't gonna break it," another voice muttered from my left.

I gritted my teeth, as stubborn as ever. I'd been in here for nearly five hours now, with no food and very little water and I was beginning to grow desperate and these other girls certainly didn't help.

"Well what exactly do you guys suggest?" I snapped at them, my patience wearing extremely thin. I guess their negativity and my impending helplessness were beginning to get to me. Either way, I could not control my ever-growing anger, frustration, fear…

"Well, it doesn't really matter what we suggest does it? Nothing is getting us outta here, 'cept that blonde woman when it's our turn to be interviewed," another voice chirped matter-of-factly. I glared in their direction as I couldn't tell where exactly that sat due to the dimness of the room.

"Have any of you even tried to escape?" I couldn't help but ask, knowing that all of the twenty odd females were listening. A chorus of voices replied, varying from, "no…" "sort of…" and "are you crazy?"

Rolling my eyes, something suddenly occurred to me, "what do you mean, interviewed?" I asked, disgusted at the sound of the nervousness in my voice.

Silence met my question, it seemed that they either didn't know or were unwilling to talk about it. It had been the same since I got here, none of them wanted to talk to me. They all had just kept to themselves, wallowing in their own pity in silence. It was only when I had started making a fuss about escaping that they decided to speak up.

"Will someone please talk to me!? I wanna know what the hell is going on!" I snarled, trying in vain to keep my temper in check. I just kept telling myself over and over that they were just as frightened as me (well, maybe not as much considering they'd no idea that their kidnapped planned on not just killing them but surely draining all the blood from their bodies too) and were my age, not used to dangerous situations…but I was still as frustrated as hell.

"Calm down short girl," an aggravated voice came from directly opposite me, "you'll find out exactly what's happening to you as soon as Malibu Barbie comes back…there's no point in us telling you what going on, we're all told different things…"

This made me grind my teeth, "what do you mean you're all told different things?"

A chorus of whispers answered me and I fought to hear. "One at a time, I can't understand you all!" I said hissed, trying to keep my voice in check as I thought of the vampire enhanced hearing that was surely about the house.

The girl opposite me spoke first, "well…I was told I'm here because my Dad did some bad things…and this is his punishment…"

I clamped my teeth down on my bottom lip.

"I was told that I'm here because of that DUI I got last year…" another voice came from the darkness.

I was beginning to sense a pattern here.

"I'm here 'cause I-"

The third girl was abruptly cut off by the loud, screeching sound of the large oak doors being shoved open. I watched, open-mouthed, as Rachel (…that's still weird) sauntered into the room, her head held high, nose stuck up in the air.

I'd love to slap that bimbo into next century.

Before I could have another arduous thought however, Barbie veered off to her left and stopped right in front of the cage that kept me prisoner. Oh boy…another wonderful confrontation with the 5ft 6" umpa lumpa.

"Come on, out." she ordered curtly, unlocking the cage and holding the door open. "And don't even try any funny stuff either, it wouldn't be very smart…" she warned. I had to refrain myself from snorting, she's telling me what's not smart, that's good coming from someone whom I doubt has an IQ higher than a first grader, never mind a fifth.

Trying to keep myself calm, (the thought of meeting that guy…Lukas, again was unnerving me) I clambered out, huffing and puffing as I 'gracefully' landed in a total heap on the floor. Not my proudest moment, in a room full of on-looking teenage girls, but hey, I doubt the give a damn about my lack of grace when they're being held captive with no clue what the hell is going to happen to them.

I have a fair idea…and I'm not really sure if that's a good, or bad thing.

Although, I have to say, I'd probably feel a little better if these 'people' were just your ordinary, every-day psychos, you know, instead of the human-blood-drinking kind…I guess it is true what they say, ignorance is bliss.

Before I could even attempt to straighten myself, that orange bitch reefed me up by my hair and shoved me in front of her, right out of the room. My heart was hammering so violently in my chest it was a wonder that Barbie couldn't hear it in the utterly, chillingly silent house.

"W-Where are you taking me?" I stammered, not out of fear (well, not entirely) but more so because of the searing pain in my head from where she most definitely pulled out some of my hair…just another reason to despise the bitch.

"You'll see…" she replied and I could hear the teasing and sadistic tone come through in her voice. It almost made me gag, god this woman is sick!

What the hell could possibly make her sound like that?

Somehow, I think, I really don't want to know…

- Nessie's POV-

"So, is he okay now?"

I stilled at Erin's question, my face grim.

"Well…okay is not the word. He won't be okay, until Claire is back. But, he's in with the other guys strategizing, ignoring Jake of course, but still, at least he's not hauled up anymore."

She nodded slowly at my reply, looking as grim as I felt. It was nerve-wrecking, just sitting up in back up in my 'art-studio', not being filled in on anything. I had told Erin all about my little excursion to Quil's of course. I haven't had the chance to confront Jake yet, but he's surely heard me talking about to her.

I'm still not sure how I feel about it to be honest. I mean, I know Jake was only trying to keep his best friend safe but I don't know, seeing Quil like that…let's just say I wouldn't be able to do what Jake did. It really must be so hard to be Alpha…

"Nessie…?" Erin mumbled, waving her hand in front of my face, "are ya okay? Ya have a kinda away wit' the fairies look on your face."

I smirked at Erin's phrase, she really does say the oddest things.

"Sorry, I was just thinking about -"

"-Nessie, come down here for a minute please," the voice of my dad interrupted me from downstairs. I knew he had just spoken in his normal tone of voice and Erin couldn't hear, so I just smiled, mumbled a soft, "okay" before motioning her out the room.

I began to grow tense as we walked down the stairs and into the living room. It felt like I had Jasper's gift, the tension wafting throughout the room as Erin and I appeared at the doorway was almost unbearable.

"What's…going on?" I asked slowly, my mind reeling with many crazy images of what might of happened. My dad tried to reassure me with a thin smile, but I saw right through him. He was beyond angry, nervous and his patience was wearing unbelievably thin. This was not good.

Before I could question further however, a loud growl omitted from my left and I snapped my head in it's direction.

"It would seem," came an angered, gruff tone, "that Alice has had another vision."

My eyebrows furrowed at the tone of Jake's voice. He looked ready to kill…it was not reassuring in the slightest.

I merely gaped at him, before turning to my aunt, my face asking my non-verbal question.

She grimaced at me slightly, before mumbling, "well…I saw that the vampire, Lukas - who seeks a mate, has changed his mind and wants Rachel to find him even more girls to choose from."

I nodded, trying desperately to understand what she was saying. She cleared her throat, looking a tad nervous and not looking me in the eye.

"A-And in saying that…I-I have come up with an idea."

I tilted my head to the side. Why do I suddenly feel like this has got something to do with me?

- Claire's POV -

Rachel shoved me down into a wooden chair and proceeded to tie my hands behind my back. I didn't struggle, merely letting her tie me up, knowing that it was inutile to do otherwise, I mean, geez, I'm not an idiot.

It's a simple equation.

Human + Botched Escape = Getting The Blood Sucked Out Of You By Very Thirsty Vampires.

Like I said, I'm not an idiot. Not like this creature who was now pacing back in forth in front of me. She, most definitely, is. Maybe I could use that to my advantage?

"So…you're obviously not Courtney Norton?" I started attentively, on my quest to gain what may prove to be valuable information.

She stopped pacing abruptly, and stared at me, looking astonished that I'd spoken, or maybe it was my pseudo-calm demeanour, I'm not really sure.

She laughed loudly, making me wince. The laugh, unlike her name, was definitely the same as the last time I'd seen her back in the movie theatre.

"No, I'm not, stupid…"

Stupid? Seriously? Did that twenty-something year old troll just call me stupid as if we were in kindergarten?

"So, who are you then? And why were you impersonating Courtney Norton?" I asked coolly, hoping that I had enough time to keep the bimbo rambling and maybe finding out something that could help me out of this stink-hole of a situation.

"Oh, you mean Nessie never got around to telling you?" she asked, sounding both curious and teasing simultaneously.

My head snapped up at the familiar name.

"You…you know Nessie?"

A smirk slowly began to form on her plastic face…and I had no idea how to feel about that.

"So…Nessie hired you to pretend to be Courtney so you would go on a date with Quil?" I asked, trying to add up all the details she just told me in the last ten minutes in my head.

"Yes."

Wow. I am so confused.

"But…why would Nessie do that? How did she even cancel the date with the real Courtney? How-"

"-Look kid, I don't know, alright? I just went along with it 'cause I saw it as a good opportunity to stake out the place for some girls for Luke. Now shut your trap."

I had to bite the inside of my cheek to stop myself from yelling at her or bursting with more questions. I guess I'd have to find out more later…

I heard voices begin to drift towards the doorway and held my breath with nerves. It would seem, that now, would be a time for introductions.

Rachel turned her head towards the voices and her face instantly became all…gooey, a sickening smile appearing instantly.

I sat up straighter, inching my head higher to see.

There, standing in the doorway, looking in with interest, all equally beautiful, enigmatical, and frightening were not two vampires, but four.

Well…this stink-hole of a situation, just got a tiny bit worse…

"I think that's a great idea."

"NO!"

"NO IT'S NOT!"

"ABSOLUTELY NOT!"

I rolled my eyes as the voices of Jake, my mother and father all merged together in protest, perfectly in unison.

"Jake, mom, dad, Alice is right, it is the only way…" I reasoned, turning to face the three of them, who all looked like they wanted to pick me up, wrap me in cotton wool and shove me in a panic room.

Said Alice, had her eyes glued to the three of them, her gaze pleading.

"Please, hear me out. Now all of you know that I'd never intentionally put Nessie in danger, she is my niece after all and I love her just as much as you do. But please, realise, that this, is the only way to both get Claire back and save all those other girls…"

Yes! Go Aunt Alice! Finally, someone who speaks sense.

"No, no Alice. I won't allow it. There is no way I am letting my daughter be kidnapped and shoved in a house where there are human-killing vampires around! No way!" my Dad replied roughly, striding back and forth, looking as if he were going to take off at any moment.

I fought the urge to grumble with frustration. I was all for this plan, it made perfect sense. Alice knew that Rachel was going to go scouting for girls to kidnap, knew the exact location of where she'd look…it was perfect. She already knew me, knew that I trusted her, to the unbeknownst human, it would seem like easy pickings and yet, really, I would know exactly what was going on and would be brought to the location of the girls. Then, when there, I would use my natural vampire strength and abilities to get them out and save Claire, simultaneously. It's like I said, perfect.

My dad, having listened to my rational plan, shook his head in disagreement.

"Nessie, Alice's vision is clouded where you're concerned. She would have no idea what was going on if you were there, at least, this way, she can still see if Claire and the others were safe. If you were in the house, there's potential for her visions to be-"

"-I know that Dad, but I mean come on, I think you guys are underestimating me. I can handle myself, I think I am capable-"

"-Really? You think you're capable of freeing all those girls and go up against four vampires alone? Ness, as soon as you get within one hundred feet of that house, those vampires will get suspicious. You won't slip under their radar, they'll sense you're a vampire…" Jake interrupted, scowling at me.

"Half vampire," I corrected, "they won't know what to make of me Jake. Not many vampires are aware of a half-human, half-vampire existing, never mind being off-handily being 'kidnapped' by someone who they could easily rip apart as soon as blink if they wanted to. They won't know what to make of me, and hopefully, there confusion may be exactly what I need to help those girls…"

Now, I knew it was a long shot, but I knew at least some of what I said made sense.

"I mean, I could pretend to be a Nomad, there are so many things I could lie about. I could even gain their trust. Admit it, it is a good idea. At least, with me there, Claire the girls may stand a chance of not becoming dinner!"

I also knew that by mentioning Claire would pull at their heart-strings, especially of the one guy who we'd failed to hear from so far…I just prayed it would be enough.

"She…does have a point…" Quil spoke suddenly, walking towards me. "If she were there, she could keep the girls safe, at least, until we found out a way to find out their location…"

"Oh no! No! You are not doing this to me Quil!" Jake suddenly snapped, turning to glare at his friend. "Look, just 'cause you're pissed at me for making you stay here, do not take it out on my imprint and potentially put her at risk to be killed. If you want to vent, take it out on me, not her!"

Okay, now, I'm pissed.

"Hey!" I yelled, striding up to Jake and pointing my finger right in his face. "You listen to me! This has got nothing to do with you or Quil or your stupid fight okay? This is about Claire and those innocent girls and getting them the hell away from murderous psychos. So why the hell don't you pipe down with your over-protective alpha crap and help us strategise! Huh? Unless you have a better idea?"

The whole room was engulfed with silence. Jake merely gaped down at me, his eyes widening. I had never talked to him like that before, hell, I'd never talked like that before, never mind to him. I guess the stress was finally getting to me. I instantly felt bad at yelling at him like that, I mean, I know he's only looking out for my safety because he loves me but…sometimes I just wish someone would realise that I'm no longer a baby and I'm not fragile. I'm a frickin' vampire for God's sake!"

"Half-vampire," my dad corrected irritably. "And we realize that you are not as fragile as a human Nessie, but still, you have to know where we are all coming from. You are still young, and not fully trained in combat. Up against four vampires-"

"-But Dad, I don't even have to fight them! I could convince them I want to join their coven or something! I mean, do you realize that whatever worry you have about me going up against four vampires, should increase ten-fold in comparison to Claire and those girls? They're humans! I know I have a limited chance, but I still have a chance! What do they have?"

As soon as I finished, I knew I had them.

I desperately tried to control my breathing and I could feel Jasper sending me some calming waves.

Slowly, I looked up and around to all the members in the room. Their expressions varied from shocked, resigned, fearful, to accepting.

And when one of them spoke, I couldn't help but be astonished at whom it was that was backing me up.

"She has a point…" Jake mumbled, looking more nervous and terrified and angered and god knows what else, then I've ever seen him.

My eyebrows raised.

I did not see that coming.

A/N: Well, there you have it. I'm not happy with it, my writing isn't as up to scratch as it usually is, I'm still feeling under the weather and not as attentive as I usually am so sorry if there more mistakes then usual or if it's just generally horribly written. The next chapter should be up a lot sooner than this one was…that's a promise! ~wired2damoon~ x