Izzy's POV

Darkness

I hated it! There was no one here…no one to hear my screams or my cries as I pleaded for someone to answer me. Silence was a strange concept. After a while, you hear the buzzing and then silence again, and then the buzzing again just as you wrap your head around hearing the silence.

Oh God, that doesn't even made sense Izzy.

I know.

At least you have someone to talk to.

Who? Yourself? That's hardly interesting.

Mmmm yeah and it's the first sign you're going nuts.

Yep, and the second sign is answering back

I chuckled at that. God, how long had I been here, wherever here was? Thoughts turned that I was in limbo or purgatory waiting for my soul to be judged. I started working out what my sins were, and how they would be weighed up.

Loved a vampire - undecided.

Had sex out of wedlock - definite sin.

Hit people - definitely frowned upon.

Talked back to my parents - not a major one, but still.

Speeding - that's not in the Bible is it?

Swore - Did Buddha swear?

And this was just the beginning…

Oh God! Yep, I'm going to hell.

And suddenly I saw it. Flames.

Oh God! I really am going to hell.

They swept all around me, and I could feel the heat licking against my skin. I was suddenly reminded of doing a school report on the German witch trials, and how the women were tied to the stake and burned. This was exactly how I imagined those women must have felt. The fire seemed to roar in my ears, and I shut my eyes waiting for the moment when the flames would touch me and I would begin to burn.

It seemed to take an eternity, but suddenly I was consumed by it. It was everywhere pushing itself through my skin and into my veins licking harshly and burning everything to a crisp. An eternity of burning. I didn't want to make a sound, fearful that if I did I would never stop, and I crushed my jaw together feeling my teeth crack under the strain. The pain didn't even register the flames were that hot. If I cried tears, I didn't know it because the fire pulled all the moisture out of my body. I arched up my skin crackled, and I could feel my bones scream at the intense heat they were being subjected to. My skin melted, regenerated and melted again.

Eternity passed or maybe it was just a few seconds, I couldn't be sure.

Time didn't matter in hell.

Wait, did I think that?

Yep, you are finally capable of thought.

Before I could barely make out where I burned, but now it seemed to lessen.

It's a trick.

That dirty devil likes you to think that it's getting less painful.

My heartbeat raced at the thought, and I tried to concentrate on calming it to no effect. If anything it raced faster, and if I hadn't been scared before, I was then. I tried to concentrate on my breathing, but that just made everything hurt even more. My lungs were dust, and every breath caught fire blowing scorching sand through them again leaving them more parched then before.

I listened to my heart speeding away, and I wondered when it would spontaneously combust. It was then the fire flared up like someone had opened a window and fed the flames oxygen. I was shocked to find that my heart hurt more than the fire now, and I could feel the area around it screech in protest as it continued pound viciously in my chest.

There was a torturous race between my heart and the flames that licked my body. Suddenly my heart started to thrum, and I heard a sound like that of a hummingbird's wings. I realized with horror that it was my heart and knew it wouldn't last long. The flames licked the edges of my heart, and then with a moment of hesitation consumed it completely. My body arched up, and I silently screamed at the death of my only constant companion.

Silence.

I was still here.

Darkness

I was still here.

"Izzy?"

I was still…wait, who was that?

"Izzy open your eyes."

I obeyed and suddenly saw everything. And not just everything, but I mean everything. The colours made rainbow arches across my eyes flittering off dust particles and casting more colours. An orchestra of sound flooded my ears as I heard the sun's rays play a gentle melody to me.

Wait, I can hear the sun?

What the fuck is going on?

I felt a warm hand touch my shoulder, and I hissed in surprise. I flipped up and launched myself away from the threat. My mind pushed away the opera that was playing and concentrated on my now extremely hostile environment. My eyes darted around searching for other threats, and then came to settle on the person who had touched me.

She was beautiful. Her shoulder length hair fell lightly around her face framing her perfect features. The colour was strange. At first, I discerned the colour as a light red, but my ever expanding mind told me words that caused me to frown and look again.

Soft apricot highlighted with the strong warmth of a golden flame.

I shook my head.

Where the hell had that come from?

I drew my eyes into a squint. My train of thought moved so fast, I could contemplate numerous things at once. I was taking in the layout outside finding the heartbeats of tiny rodents scurrying around mere yards from where I stood. I heard the grunt of a bear and marvelled at the fact that it was miles away. Suddenly a tall man strode into the room and froze. I hissed and crouched ready to defend myself. The woman started forward and then stopped when a growl bubbled out of my chest. Part of my mind focused on the fact that I could growl, but that part was extremely small compared to the ever growing need to protect myself.

"Izzy. My name is Tanya-"

Tanya?

Tanya!

The Tanya.

I suddenly launched myself at her. This woman had wanted Edward. My Edward and I couldn't think of nothing else but pulling her apart piece by piece so my authority could never be tested again. As I made contact with her body a loud sound echoed through the room like boulders colliding, and then I realized it was me connecting with her.

I pulled my fist back and it made a satisfying thud as it connected with her jaw. Her head snapped back, and we went through the wall with ease.

"You bitch!" I screamed as she kicked me in the stomach. I rolled away from her not in the least bit winded.

"Fuck. That smarts."

I glared at her disgusted that I thought her to be beautiful. She was not beautiful. She was a dirty slut who wanted what's mine, and I'll be dammed if she was going to take it from me.

"Iz, Izzy please. I am not a threat."

Not a threat.

Yeah right!

I snorted. Maybe not physically, but she still wanted something that was mine. I was not going to allow her to take it from me.

"Mine," I snarled, and I was amazed to watch her head dip with agreement.

"Trust me, I did not turn you just so I could duke it out with you over a male."

I froze as the words registered.

"Turn me?"

"Yes…I sorta…you're a vampire."

A vampire.

What the fuck?

"YOU FUCKING BITCH!" I roared and launched myself at her again. I was vaguely aware of another wall being destroyed, but I was intent on causing this fucking cow an intense amount of pain.

As we rolled and I laid into her, I was suddenly aware of someone watching. My hackles rose, and I froze. I had Tanya pinned under me my hands squeezing painfully around her wrists, and I got some satisfaction when she winced under the pressure.

"Well I suppose this is my payment, Tanya?"

The distinct male voice caused my gaze to whip around to see the tall man staring at me with blood red eyes. I hissed and without any conscious thinking, I flipped off Tanya and edged away from him.

It took me seconds to appraise him.

His dark almost black hair hung gracefully over his brow. His lips were thin but wore an amused smirk, and I found myself thinking that he housed that smirk a lot. His nose was long and straight, but his jaw was weak. While he was tall, I inherently understood he was lethal. I crouched lower feeling the muscles in my entire body coil ready for a fight.

My lips pulled over teeth, and I hissed at the stranger. "Who the fuck are you?"

His smirk turned to a genuine smile, and strangely, he flourished into a bow. I noticed his dark jeans barely crinkled with the movement, and as he stood up, I wrinkled my nose at his choice of shirts. Green Polo with the collar tucked up like a pretty little rich boy.

"My name is Frederick. I am an old acquaintance of Tanya's and she requested some help in your kidnapping and turning."

His voice was lovely, and there was a strange accent beneath his eloquent words. I immediately thought of Carlisle.

Wait? Kidnapping?

I turned to Tanya who was already standing. She held out her hands, and her expression made me giggle. She was scared of me.

Her eyebrow tweaked. "Okay, I will tell you everything if you promise me that you will not attack me…at least until I've finished."

I smirked. "That sounds fair.

"She has remarkable control," Frederick murmured.

Tanya lowered her hands and nodded silently before heading over to a tree and pushing it over. I watched in awe as she swung it around with ease and then dropped it in front of me. She then leant down and brushed the wood before sitting down.

Wow that was cool…wait, I can do that.

Tanya then patted the bark next to her indicating I should sit down next to her. I shook my head. For one, I didn't want to be that close to her, and for another, I wanted to rip up my own tree.

I jumped lithely over the hole Tanya had created and grabbed the next tree in line. I was amazed that I could see every grain, every fleck of bark with the most remarkable clarity. As I placed my hands on either side of the trunk, I marveled at the tone of my skin. It was flawless. Soft and creamy but it sparkled with its own luminosity.

I frowned. My thoughts were so…distracting. So this is what Edward meant. I shook my head and concentrated on the task at hand. I put the tiniest amount of pressure on the trunk, and the wood groaned.

How the hell did Edward manage to touch me… much less…

Oh my God. Get a hold of yourself.

Fantasize about Edward later.

Get the story first.

With that thought I pulled the tree from its home in the ground and swung it around narrowly missing Tanya's head. I tried to look innocent, but I couldn't help the smug grin that claimed my mouth. Tanya just shook her head.

I rolled the log across from where Tanya sat and glanced cautiously at Frederick. He smiled softly and gestured to Tanya. She took a deep breath.

"You were in an accident. They said that you were going to die."

The accident? The bike. The tree. Edward.

The memories were hazy like I was watching something through organza curtains. I couldn't make out any details, and it hit me that I was seeing through human eyes.

"So what? You just decide to take it upon yourself to change me?" I snarled at her.

Tanya looked startled. "You wanted this, didn't you?"

I glanced at her face and was surprised to find guilt there. "I did."

Tanya let out a huge breath.

"Once upon a time," I continued. The stress in Tanya's body was evident and I watched her face crumble. Why did she care? Maybe there is more to this than Edward.

"I'm so, so sorry. Edward told me that-"

I cut her off. "Look I'm not one to dwell in the past. I've done enough of that so…whatever. Let's make the most of it now."

Why was I being nice to her?

No answer came to me, but I realized that she was talking again.

"They took you to hospital."

"Really? Well that was weird."

Tanya flung her arms up, rolled her eyes and sighed loudly. "Yeah I know…they could have changed you right there, but I think they were too caught up in the drama."

I nodded. That was understandable. They were so used to just doing things with me the human way.

"Anyway Rose rang me and told me what had happened. I was distraught. I had to find a way to save you. Especially when Rose told me the Cullens were tied."

"Wait," I interrupted her, "why were you so upset?"

If vampires could blush, I was sure Tanya would have.

"I… er… I love you," Tanya whispered then glanced up and before quickly adding. "Like a sister."

That was definitely unexpected. I mean she was sexy and all but I tried to imagine myself romantically involved with bad. I'm sure Edward would like-

Enough concentrate.

"What? You don't even know me."

"Yes I do. Edward came up here lots of times, and he told me all about you. I really started to like you. You understand what it's like, Iz. We don't need much, but when something remarkable happens it changes us. You're a lot like me, and I guess I've always wanted a sister who was fun."

"Kate and Irina are not fun?" Frederick asked mildly amused. That smirk was beginning to agitate me.

"No they are fun, just not Izzy fun," Tanya explained. Frederick started to ask something, but I interrupted.

"Don't worry I get it," I said grinning at Tanya. Alice had told me how with just one vision, she knew she loved me. I understood vampires didn't do things by half measure. I felt like I had just made a friend and started to reconsider ripping her apart.

Maybe.

Tanya grinned at me. "Anyway I remembered Fred here-"

"What about him?"

Tanya grinned at me, and I glanced at Frederick. He smiled softly but did not move.

"Close your eyes Izzy and just be."

I gave her a strange look but closed my eyes anyway. I heard the wind blowing softly through the trees. I was at a loss regarding sound that accompanied it, and then it revealed itself to me as if I had known it all along. It was the individual leaves grinding against each other as the wind moved through them.

I took a deep breath and smelt the earth strong from where we had pulled up the trees. I smelt the tree beneath me, and Tanya's scent wafted gently over to me. It was sharp and tangy like it was infused with citrus. But it went deeper than that. Grapefruit, neroli, boysenberry and a touch of…I struggled to name the scent. Clean clothes fresh out of the dryer. Strange, but that was the scent.

I eagerly smelt again trying to catch the scent of Fredericks, but I could not locate it. My eyes snapped open.

"I can't smell you."

Frederick smiled. "My gift dear one. I give off no scent."

Tanya nodded before continuing with her story.

"You see, I needed to get you out of there fast. I knew that the Cullens couldn't do anything because of their stupid decisions, so I decided to take action. It didn't take me long to find Fred, and then the plan formed from there."

"And…" I pressed. This was getting to be really interesting. No one else had a story as cool as this one. But then again, I am Izzy.

"Well on the third night you were there, everyone except Edward left the hospital, and I lured him away via a prank call. Then Fred here crept in and stabbed you."

"Stabbed me?"

"Yeah, Fred didn't think he could change you even though he had just hunted. Also bite marks aren't pretty and it would take a while to do it properly. So we used a syringe filled with my venom."

"Quite ingenuous really," Frederick remarked. Tanya shook her head.

"No, it was Edward's idea. He talked offhand about it to me weeks ago."

I frowned. All this information was flowing freely in my mind finding a suitable place to settle and make sense. A few things were still unanswered though.

"So I was changed in the hospital?"

"No….um you died."

I looked around the forest. "Uh, no I didn't"

"Yeah you did. I mixed my venom with an opiate that the bushman of the Kalahari use when they wish to visit the spirit world. I was surprised it worked actually. Anyway it stops the heart for 24 hours causing you to be declared dead."

I frowned still not sure on what questions my mind wanted to ask. Something was off.

"Wouldn't vampire venom destroy the opiate?"

"Yes eventually. It is very strong, though, and for awhile it acts like oil and water. They don't mix well."

I rubbed my face with my hands. One question answered, about a thousand to go. We were going nowhere fast. As my fingers slid down my face and curved around my throat I suddenly felt the distinct burn flush.

Food later, concentrate now.

"How did you know this?"

"My moth-" Tanya stopped short, the pain on her face evident. She straightened her shoulders and took a deep breath.

"My mother was very interested in herbs and such as a human. She continued with this after she was turned, even though they do nothing to or for us. She came across the opiate long before I was changed, but I remember her telling me about it as I burned. I'm sure she was trying to just distract me from my pain. Lucky, huh?"

I nodded quietly. I knew it was hard for Tanya to talk about her mother. The Cullens had told me all about the immortal children, and what the Volturi did to Sasha.

"So how does that stop the venom from taking over?"

Tanya breathed a sigh of relief, and I knew she was glad we were moving away from the subject of her mother.

"Well the opiate stops your heart, which stops your blood from moving around your body. With no movement the venom was stuck having nothing to carry it. After the 24 hours had passed, your heart started beating again, and the venom could flow through your system."

I nodded. That made sense. I was stuck in the darkness for awhile before the flames came. I shuddered as I remembered the pain that I had been subjected too.

"So I died…then what?"

"Well, they took you down to the morgue and left you there. That's when Frederick kidnapped you and brought you here."

She said the last part with triumph, though I was still confused.

"Don't you think it would seem just a bit strange that my body would go missing?"

"Oh that. Well, we took other bodies as well and not only from your hospital, but from others as well so it looked like body snatchers. You know parts for the black market."

"That is disgusting."

"Hey the bodies were recovered. We didn't sell anything. It was just to cover our tracks."

"So mine was the only one not recovered."

"No. You, a John Doe and some hobo who claimed his name was Jesus and he was the Messiah. We gave them good burials."

I shook my head. The plan was elaborate. Crazy even. It seemed that they had tied up all loose ends. How the hell she even came up with it was beyond me, but I found myself strangely grateful towards her. And Frederick.

"And the Cullens? Edward?"

Tanya looked guilty.

"They don't know!!!"

Oooo, Alice is going to kill you…

"Well I thought it may be best if I waited until you actually made the change. Anyway it was better this way. None of them were involved, so none of them can get in trouble."

"Trouble? From who?"

Frederick looked uncomfortable. "From the Volturi."

I glanced at Tanya. She was staring off into the trees. I suddenly realized that she had risked so much for me. Carlisle told me that after Sasha all the Denali sisters were left with a healthy respect for the Volturi. To have done all this meant…She really did love me.

I felt myself liking her more and more, but regardless of my feelings, I still needed to get the facts straight.

"How would they know?"

"There were reports that some of the Volturi guard were here to investigate the murder spree that occurred in Seattle a few months ago. Rumour has it that they uncovered nothing out of the ordinary, probably just a very invested serial killer."

"The newborns," I hissed.

Both Frederick and Tanya looked surprised, so I filled them in on what had happened.

"Well that means we have to be extra careful. We cannot contact the Cullens, until we know for certain the guards have gone home."

"No! Edward. I need Edward."

Tanya looked at me and shook her head.

"Give me Edward, or I will give you an ass whooping," I snarled. Tanya glared at me.

"Fine, but only Edward, and then you have to go along with anything I say. Understood?"

I eyed her warily. I could see her brain ticking over and wondered what she was planning now. But I needed Edward, like I needed air. Or not. Whatever worked.

"Now my dear, let us hunt," Frederick said stretching his hand out. Flames ripped through my throat, and I grabbed his hand eagerly. Once again my brain was conflicted, so I snarled at Tanya making sure she knew that I wasn't kidding about Edward. She whipped out her phone muttering under her breath.

I caught the soft words of 'mind your mother' and 'damn newborns so needy' as I took off through the forest. I realized that in a way Tanya was my mother. It was her venom that coursed through me, and we were now bound in unspeakable ways. Strangely this did not bother me. Instead, I grinned.

"Aw you know you love me Tans," I yelled over my shoulder knowing she would be able to hear me.

"Like a hole in the head."

Her reply caused me to laugh, and I felt remarkably free as I ran towards my first meal.

Chapter End Notes:

Lol whoo Izzy's a vamp. Y'all knew I couldn't make her die. She's too kickass for that. And Tanya is her sire…something tells me those two are going to get into some mischief.

Congrats to Urs and Chrystal player who got their theories pretty dang close a couple of chapters ago. Did you guys peek?

The rest of you got the gist last chapter though I was glad that you were not sure if I would keep Izzy alive. You all know me so well…I'm, if anything, unpredictable!

Oh and a lot of you had the theory that Izzy was actually Tanya in some way or another. To be honest that never even occurred to me and I loved that I was so freakin' surprised by where your minds went to. Awesome!

The plan was supposed to be simple, and you have no idea how much editing was done to make this work…first it was Edward who changed her (too boring), then it was Tanya and Irina (Irina has no powers so new Freddie boy stepped in), then plot holes kept turning up, and I spent ages trying to make sure everything tied in well with each other…not an easy feat!

A lot of you asked why Edward was not more suicidal, and just like the books, my Edward had to think through all the possibilities. He's nothing but thorough. Also we don't know how he acted when he lost Bella, and I think he felt numb at first. At the funeral, he was stoic and grieving…to the humans. His family knows him all too well and knows something is up!

Tanya is my fave…because she is just as kickass as Izzy! I loved the fact that most of you would have abandoned this story if I made this ExT which was never going to happen. I've always said this is a BxE fic! Tans and Iz are going to have some fa-un. Have I changed your liking to her?

So now it's onto some fun with Freddie boy, Tans and the Z girl before we get some Eddie action.

Tell me did you like it??? You all need to stroke my ego cause damn it I worked hard on this one!