Disclaimer: All publicly recognizable characters, settings, etc. are the property of their respective owners. No copyright infringement is intended.

As always, huge thanks go to my pre-reader/cheerleader team. Gredelina1, Verseseven, IamTheAlleyCat and Mary-Alice-Brandon-Cullen. Also to Snarkymuch for beta'ing this chapter and listening to all my bitching when the words wouldn't flow. I love you all.

~ Chapter Thirteen — Anticlimactic ~

Alice POV

My breath caught in my throat as she smiled at me. She was even more beautiful than the vision I'd had of her all those years ago. I couldn't believe she was really alive. I wanted to reach out and touch her, to make sure that she was real.

"Hello, Alice. I've missed you."

I paused mid-step. This was unexpected. I had prepared myself for different reactions, her running from her, her attacking me, even her ignoring me completely, but I couldn't have expected this. From the way she spoke, I could have been away for a few minutes not the two years it had really been, two years of pain and sadness, of believing her dead. This friendly greeting felt a little anti-climactic.

"Hey, Bella." Though I tried to sound normal, the emotion of the moment made my voice a little shaky.

She looked at me with concern. "You okay?"

"I'm fine, Bella. I'm just really happy." Just being able to say her name again felt better than I could have imagined. We all avoided saying it whenever possible. The pain was always there, so why add to it?

I walked into her camp slowly and perched on a log the opposite side of the fire to her. I wanted to be closer — I wanted to throw my arms around her — but caution whispered to me. Something was definitely amiss here, and I couldn't be sure how she would react.

"Are you hungry?" She gestured to the speared meat she was holding over the fire.

I shook my head. "I hunted before I arrived."

"Oh, right, hunting." Her brow creased for a moment. "I forget sometimes. Things get muddled."

That was obvious. I hadn't seen her for two years, and yet she didn't seem to realize it had been that long. Muddled didn't seem a strong enough word for what was happening here.

"Bella, what happened to you?" The question was torn from me without forethought. I had to know. "Do you even remember?"

She rolled her eyes. "What do you mean what happened to me?"

"How did you come to be living like this?"

"How else should I live? I am doing what they said; I'm hiding. I haven't broken the rules… Oh." She looked stricken. The meat she was holding over the fire dropped into the flames. "Oh, I see. That's why you are here again. I broke the rules. I let the man see me."

She edged back towards the mouth of the cave. I was worried she was going to disappear inside again, and I couldn't bear that. Not after all this time.

"Please don't go," I said hurriedly. "I know about Garrett; he's a friend. You didn't do anything wrong by letting him see you."

"Do you promise?" Her tone was childlike.

I nodded. "No one is going to hurt you."

She shook her head sadly. "They always hurt me, but it's worth it if I get to see you."

"Who hurts you?" I demanded.

Every time she spoke, it seemed to add more mystery to this screwed up situation. I thought I was getting answers when in fact the only thing I was getting was more questions.

She smiled apologetically. "Jasper."

I heard a quiet hiss from behind me that cut off abruptly. I didn't turn to see what was happening; if they wanted me back there, then they would have to drag me away kicking and screaming. I was finally getting her to talk.

"Jasper what?" I asked.

"Jasper hurts me. Sometimes Carlisle too, but usually just Jasper."

Her tone was completely void of emotion; she could have been describing her favorite flower rather than accusing the love of my life and my father of hurting her. It was ridiculous, beyond ridiculous; it was insane.

About as insane as a vampire living like a human? a small and unwelcomed voice whispered in my mind.

No. That was wrong. I knew neither Jasper nor Carlisle had hurt Bella. But I also knew Bella was confused, damaged, even. If she truly believed it was them that hurt her, it would make our situation even more precarious than before.

"What do they do to you?" I asked

She edged ever closer to her cave and shook her head frantically.

I hurried to reassure her. "Okay, okay, you don't have to tell me about that. Tell me what you can, though. How did you end up living here? I don't remember."

"I'm not sure. It gets confusing. There was the woman that took me, and then the people that watched. Then Carlisle and Jasper were there—I remember them—then they went away again. Sometimes there is the dark-hair man, and I have to do as I am told, and the white-hair man that stares—he scares me." She shuddered slightly, looking around the camp as if expecting the 'white-hair man' to spring out from behind a tree. "I remember the woman with the pictures. I like her. After the dark man told me the rules, she brought me here. Carlisle told me the rules first, though."

"And what are the rules?" I asked, disregarding the mention of Carlisle for now.

"I have to live, I have to run, and I have to hide," she recited. "It's my punishment. He said so."

"Punishment for what?" I asked automatically.

She looked troubled. "For killing you, of course."

Cold prickles of fear crept through me. I realized, after a moment, that they were not my own; Jasper was projecting. I concentrated on feeling calm and hoped it would help him relax a little. It didn't work. The fear didn't lessen; instead, it seemed to be becoming more dominant. I turned back and looked through the trees. The others were so far back that they looked like mere shadows to my eyes. I was not surprised Bella hadn't noticed us. I could only see them because I knew what I was looking for. I smiled in what I hoped was a reassuring way and then returned my attention to Bella.

"Bella, I'm not dead; I'm right here."

She rolled her eyes. It was such an endearingly familiar gesture that I smiled. "I know that. I can see you. Why can I see you, and he can't?"

Hell if I know, I thought. I don't even know who he is.

"How often do you see me?" I wanted to know more about this delusion she lived in. Apparently, this wasn't the first time I had visited her here, so I had to wonder how often she conversed with a hallucination.

She seemed to consider the question carefully. "I'm not sure. Days are hard to follow here. Not too often, though. Not as much as I would like, even though it hurts after."

I felt a pang of sadness. I was hurting her by being here. "I don't want to hurt you."

She frowned. "Then don't go. Maybe if he sees you too, he won't hurt me anymore."

"Who is he, Bella? Tell me who is hurting you so I can protect you."

"No." She shook her head rapidly. "I can't ask that. He's your Jasper; you can't protect me."

"Jasper! You want Jasper to see me?"

She nodded. "He misses you so much."

If she wanted Jasper to see me, it could be easily achieved. He was standing just out of sight; I could bring him here now.

No sooner had I made the decision, a vision flashed through my mind. Bella cowering in terror against the wall of her cave.

That wouldn't work. I considered my options. The idea, when it came, seemed so obvious I smacked my forehead. I needed Bella to be calm to see Jasper, therefore I needed Jasper. He could keep her calm while we spoke to her.

"Bella, do you trust me?" I asked.

"Always." She said it with absolute faith. It touched my heart to know that despite the horror of her situation, she was still the same Bella as before underneath it all, still trusting, even if at times a little too trusting.

"I'll be right back. There is something I want you to see."

She nodded and began cutting fresh meat from the carcass of the tapir. I got to my feet and hastened back to where the others were concealed. Carlisle and Esme were so closely embraced it was hard to tell where he ended and she began. Soft sobs shook Esme's shoulders, and Carlisle was staring into the camp with a look of horror. It must have been awful for him and Jasper to hear what Bella was saying. It wasn't her fault. She clearly believed what she said was true, but it couldn't have been easy for them to hear.

Jasper greeted me with open arms, and I nestled gratefully into his embrace. His scent calmed me in the same way his gift could. Just being here with him holding me gave me immeasurable comfort after the stress of navigating my conversation with the new Bella. Her telling me how Jasper missed me — even though I knew it was all part of her delusion — hurt me, and feeling him pressed against me was reassuring.

"What are you thinking?" he asked.

I pulled back a little so I could look him in the eye. "I need Bella to see you. I'm not sure if someone really has been hurting her or if that is part of the delusion, but I do know that she is confused about who it is. She thinks I am a ghost and that you don't see me. Perhaps if she sees us together and happy, I can convince her that she's wrong."

"I'd be happy to give it a try," he said affably. "Do you want me to work on keeping her calm, too?"

"I don't think there is any other option. If I'm right, her instinctual reaction to seeing you will be fear. If you can keep her calm enough to stop her running from us, I can try and get through to her."

"What about us?" Esme asked. "Shouldn't we come, too? She believes I am dead and that Carlisle hurts her. Surely it's just as important for her to see us, too."

I understood Esme's need, but I didn't think it was merely Bella's welfare that was on her mind. She wanted to talk to Bella, too. I could sympathize.

"I think we should start out slow," Jasper said. "No offence, but you are putting out an impressive amount of anxiety already. If I am to calm Bella, I am going to need to concentrate; and as it is now, I am going to struggle."

Carlisle caressed Esme's face, drawing her eyes up to meet his. "We will get our chance, my love. Let Jasper and Alice try first. It's only a little longer to wait."

Esme nodded her agreement, even though she didn't look happy.

"Can you feel her from here?" I asked Jasper.

He nodded. "I could feel her while you were talking. You wouldn't believe how happy she was when she saw you, Alice. She radiated joy the whole time. Even when she got a little skittered by what you were saying, she was still happy."

I hugged him a little tighter, silently thanking him for what he was saying. Entwining our hands, we made our way cautiously back to Bella's camp.

I could feel Jasper sending out his calming waves as we approached. Though he was focusing his gift on Bella, I felt the effects, too. A peaceful lethargy swept over me, wiping away the traces of nerves. I could see that it was affecting Bella as well, as she dropped the meat she had been skewering and sat back on her haunches, looking sedately content.

I stepped out of the trees first, and Jasper followed slowly.

"You came back." She beamed, and then her expression became troubled as she saw Jasper. She got to her feet, but it wasn't a swift panicked movement. His influence was slowing her reactions.

"It's okay, Bella," I hurried to reassure her. "Jasper isn't here to hurt you. He just wants to talk."

She shook her head. Jasper's jaw tightened. I could tell Bella was fighting his influence, and he was struggling harder to counteract it.

"Please don't hurt me!" She stared imploringly at Jasper. "I didn't mean to do it. I swear I didn't mean it."

"I know," he said in a soft, soothing tone. "I understand."

She watched him cautiously as he slowly stepped forward and sat down on one of the logs beside the fire. I sat beside him and leaned my head on his arm. Bella mimicked our position on the opposite side of the fire. She hugged her arms around her middle in a defensive pose.

"Are you going to hurt me?" she asked in a tremulous tone.

Jasper shook his head. "No, Bella, I swear I won't hurt you."

An idea occurred to me, and I hurried to test it. "This Jasper is good," I said. "He's not the one that hurts you."

"There's two?" She was unsure.

I could tell she wanted to believe me, but logic was working against me. It seemed odd that someone who'd lived in a delusion of humanity still had space in her mind for logical thought.

"That's right. This is my Jasper, and he would never hurt you."

"Is there another Carlisle, too?"

"Yes, there is. Would you like to see him?"

The steady sounds of breathing behind us cut off abruptly as we all awaited her answer.

Jasper traced the word 'no' on my arm. He seemed to sense something other in her emotions that warned against.

"Not today?" Her reply sounded like a question.

"Okay, then. Not today."

I was sure Carlisle and Esme were disappointed, but they would get their chance eventually. We had to move carefully here.

"Bella, can I ask you some questions?" Jasper asked.

She still seemed a little fearful of him as she nodded.

"When you last saw the other me, what happened?"

"You burned me," she said, wringing her hands. "I didn't have the right answers. You wanted to know who had seen me."

So she believed the other Jasper was the one that hurt her. I wondered if this made Jasper a ghost in her mind as she apparently saw me.

"What about the nice Jasper?" I asked. "When did you see him?"

"Before the fight. I remember Jasper telling me a story." Her face twisted with pain. "He was there, too."

She had to be talking about Edward. I wondered what place he held in her delusion. Was he one of the ones that hurt her too or was he dead like me and Esme? As soon as I asked the question, I knew. What else could have broken her so thoroughly? She had to believe Edward was dead. As much as I knew she loved Esme and I, our deaths would not have been enough to do this to her; it had to be him.

Jasper looked down at me with concern. He noticed my chaotic swarm of contradicting emotions. The thought of how Bella must have suffered believing Edward was dead was heartbreaking, but the hope that came with this revelation made me feel elated. If we could bring Edward here, they could both be healed. I wasn't so naïve as to believe she just needed a visual confirmation to break the human delusion—her mind was too damaged for that to work—but it would be a start. Just having him close would help her.

I needed to tell Jasper and the others about my realization, but it would have to wait. Bella was responding to Jasper's questions, and there was still so much I wanted to know. I wondered why she was able to answer his questions when all I got from her was cryptic nonsense.

"Bella, can you tell me about the dark-haired man? What does he do to you?" Jasper asked.

"He takes care of me. He lives in the scary place, but he comes to see me sometimes. He comes after the burning stops." When she spoke again, it was in a strange tone; she was clearly reciting someone else's words. "It is a kindness that I take care of you, Isabella. You must be thankful for me. You must do as you are told."

The tone she used was oddly familiar. I searched my mind for a match, but I couldn't find it. It was clearly a poor imitation of whoever the man was.

"Bella, do you remember hiding with Esme?"

"I remember Esme protecting me... my fault... The woman with the fire-hair was hurting her." She began wringing her hands in earnest. It wasn't enough for her; she began to rock back and forth mumbling. "My fault, all my fault. Poor Esme."

Jasper concentrated, and a moment later, the rocking ceased.

"Tell us about the woman with the pictures," I said. "You like her?"

"She is the kind one. She makes me see nice pictures when I have to go to the scary place. Sometimes they are the…"

The rest of her words trailed off as a vision swept away all other thought.

It was the same setting as I was in now, but Bella's cave was doused in water as rain streamed from the canopy. Three figures in black cloaks were facing my family and friends; there was terror etched on our features. A hulking figure tearing apart a figure. No, not a figure, my Jasper! At his feet was a pile of pieces I recognized as Carlisle and Esme. The final image was of a huge fire with a pillar of purple smoke destroying my family.

I snapped back to the present with a gasping sob. I was standing, and Jasper had my face cupped in his hands. Bella was nowhere to be seen.

"What did you see?" he demanded.

"Our death."

Thanks for reading. If you would like a teaser of the next chapter let me know in a review or a PM.

Simaril x