Author Note- Thanks to everyone who read and reviewed the last chapter. I love and appreciate every single email and message I receive.

Thanks to Content1 for her help and ideas. You are awesome. =P

Here we go... Scouts Of War.

SM owns twilight. I just fuck it up for my own amusement.

Does anyone have a spare Jasper I can borrow? I want to teach him naughty things. *winks*

Loneliness can be conquered only by those who can bear solitude.

Paul Tillich

Who knows what true loneliness is - not the conventional word but the naked terror? To the lonely themselves it wears a mask. The most miserable outcast hugs some memory or some illusion.
Joseph Conrad

Chapter 25

Scouts Of War.

"Emmett, piss off! I called dibs on the bear!" I screeched as we sprinted towards the caves on the east side of the mountain base. There were nesting bears in the caves that ran along the south side of the mountain.

"Bullshit! First come, first served!" I felt him speed up, fast on my heels.

"I let you have the last one. It's nice to share," I countered. "You get deer tonight."

"If I find you a lion, can I have the bear?" He bartered. Like I would ever turn down a lion... What the hell kind of question was that?

"Fine, but if I get to that bear first, I'm having it." Mountain lion was my absolute favourite but denying Emmett a bear was just too good an opportunity to miss. It was guaranteed to piss him off. He smirked at me and shot off in a different directions. I knew that this mountain was populated with lions as well and either animal appealed to me at this point. The rest of my family had all spread out to hunt. They left me on my own while I sated my thirst. I could sense where they were, of course, but I was still uncomfortable feeding around others. Other than the training sessions, I kept my true, animal self locked away, safe and secure, only to be brought out when I hunted. I let myself be free when I hunted and that meant that I didn't trust myself to hunt properly around the others yet. I couldn't guarantee that I would be able to stop myself from hurting them if they got to close.

"KALS! I GOT ONE!" Emmett boomed, his yell rattling the limbs of nearby trees and dislodging a few loose boulders on the mountainside. He galloped towards me with one very alive, very awake and very pissed off mountain lion on his shoulder. The front of his shirt was fucked- torn to ribbons of material by the claws from the lion.

"Go get the bear, Emmett," I said as he dropped it rather unceremoniously onto the ground, beamed at me and bolted to the south side of the mountain. The lion in front of me was a truly beautiful specimen. She was lean, well muscled and from the amount of hissing and clawing she was doing, she was feisty. I said a silent prayer for my clothes before slipping into a crouch. I was hunched down, sitting on my heels with my hands pressed into the firm, rocky ground in front of me. The lion hissed again, swiping her paws at the open space between us. My lips pulled back over my teeth as I unlocked my monsters cage, allowing the animal to be turned loose and run rampant through me. A deep, visceral growl broke free from my chest as i inched closer to my quarry. With every movement the lion made, I could feel it's heart pulsing at a more frantic pace. On the underside of it's neck, I could see the artery twitch with every beat, setting my throat to a ragged itch. I took one final step, letting a smile pull my lips closed as I released the coils in my muscles and I pounced.

In midair, I caught the lion, grabbing it around the neck and head. With a sharp twist, the bones cracked and the wrestling cat fell still. I landed on my feet, holding the lion in my arms as I lowered my mouth to it's neck. My teeth cut through the fur, muscle and fat until they hit home and the warm blood flooded my mouth. As the liquid washed over my tongue and down my throat, I let out a low moan and pulled the beast closer to my chest. The sensation of warm blood when one is thirsty could only be described as something similar to orgasmic. The release, the quenching of need, the frenzy was all similar. The moans continued until I had pulled every last drop from the animal. I grunted my disapproval as I dropped the empty carcass and began to dig a hole to bury it. I could feel the warmth of my kill radiate through my body, working it's way from my stomach, through my entire being, warming my fingers and toes. My skin glistened in the moonlight, it's colour taking on a very pale pink blush. I took a couple of seconds, just admiring the change in my skin tone like I always did. Once my kill was in the ground, I searched out another.

One lion and two deer later, I was almost uncomfortable full. My insides were sloshy and the venom in my system was surging like crazy and it felt wonderful. The post-kill buzz was in full effect and I felt oddly playful, so I took to the trees, waiting at the very top of a tall pine, waiting on Jasper to finish his hunt. Thankfully, I didn't have to wait long.

"Kali, is there any particular reason why you are stuck up a tree?" Jasper called, from the ground directly below me. I smirked, narrowed my eyes onto a spot on the forest floor right next to him and leaped. I whistled through the hair, the pony-tail at the nape of my neck whipped around with the air movement and I landed in a crouch less than a foot away from him. "Was that really necessary?" He asked, tapping his foot quickly.

"Absolutely," I smiled, grinning like a nut-job.

"You ready to go?"

I sobered up pretty quickly at the question. "Yeah, do the others know?"

"I told them before I came to find you."

"Let's move then, I want in and out of Seattle before daybreak, We have a lot of work to do." I began to work my way through the forest with Jasper by my side. I had the Golf parked not far from here and it was the best car I had for this last trip. Small, fast and discrete...it was perfect. We moved in silence until we heard movement behind us. One sniff of the air and I caught rosewater and lilies carrying on the breeze.

"Rosalie? What's wrong?" I asked as she approached us.

"I'm coming with you," She said, never breaking stride and walking right past us in the direction of my car.

I shrugged. "Fair enough," and moved alongside her in silence until the three of us were at the car and inside it.

"So, how do you want to do this tonight, Jazz?" I asked as I put on my seat belt and turned the engine over.

"Maybe we should get into the center of the city? Try and pick up a scent?" He suggested quietly from the back seat. I nodded my agreement at the same time as Rosalie gave hers. I put the car into gear and we hit the road.

Seattle, for me, had always looked peaceful at night. Although it was the epitome of a modern, civilised city with constant nightlife and movement, it always held a sense of calm and order. Tonight was different. Something about this place had my nerves tingling and my senses piqued. I parked the car just next to the sound and got out. Jasper and Rosalie followed me out and stood by my side.

"I don't smell anything here," Rosalie whispered. I took a deep breath through my nose and got his with salt water, stale beer, diesel and human. Yum... or maybe not.

"We should move around and see if we can pick anything up," Jasper's suggestion made my head scream in protest.

"I don't know, Jasper. Something feels really off about this place today." I muttered, the muscles in my arms and legs tensed as I fought the urge to bolt for safety... but from what?

"Why do you feel like that?" He asked.

"I don't know. As much as I don't want to stay here, I don't think we should move either." There was a mini-battle going on inside my body. If it continued much longer, I might have torn myself apart.

"Let's stay here for a bit and then move," Rose whispered.

"I think that would be best," I agreed. "We can always come ba-" I stopped talking. I stopped moving. I even stopped breathing. My vision was trained onto the other side of the sound. Jasper and Rosalie followed my stare and instantly froze. Vampires appeared at the opposite bank and silently slipped into the water. I did a quick head count... twenty one heads sank below the surface.

"It's them Jazz," I whispered almost inaudibly.

"Holy shit..." Rosalie found her voice and used it to swear like...well, me. I couldn't tear my eyes away from the army in front of me. There was a huge difference between knowing about twenty-one newborns and seeing them. This was terrifying.

"They are hunting," Jasper said, finally able to speak. "I can feel their thirst."

"Hunting in the water?" Rosalie asked. I watched as the army swam further out into the open water, heading for a small cargo ship on the way into the docks.

"Oh God!" I breathed. My eyes widened with horror and I couldn't remember how to move again. "Those people..."

As much as Rosalie never had much regard for humanity on the whole, when I turned to look at her, she was devastated. Just looking at her reaction made me love her just a little bit more, but I felt ill at the thought of those people on the boat. Jasper's face was a hard, unreadable mask and I have no problem admitting that I was too scared to use Edward's gift to look inside his head. I didn't need to see the horrors he was replaying in his head. I could watch them on his face. My attention went back to the boat when the lights cut out and the vampires attacked.

The screams of the humans reached the shore and my chest felt like it had been shot through with ice water. I felt cold and numb as unbidden images of a massacre flooded my mind. The light breeze that blew towards us carried the scent of saltwater and human blood. My throat burned as I fought to control my recently unleashed beast. Rosalie covered her mouth and nose with her hands and Jasper had stopped breathing altogether, locking every single muscle in place. I grabbed his wrist, shoving up the sleeve of his sweater and placing my fingers around his forearm, iron-tight and forced myself to feel nothing but support for him as he struggled with his instincts. He mouthed a quick 'Thank You' as the screaming intensified. My eyes stung and my chest heaved. My heart was breaking for the souls on that boat. The sheer number of losses and ruined families was overwhelming. Then I got angry.

I was fucking pissed off!v There was no need for that. If was disgusting and it was a disgrace to our kind and our secretive way of life. Not only was the volume of lives lost unforgivable, but the breach to our secrecy was deplorable.

"How could that do this?" Rose asked, her voice trembling as her horrified eyes stayed glued to the slaughter in front of us.

"Their army needs to feed," Jasper said quietly after he got his blood lust under control. "This is the most effective way." His clinical look on this situation made the venom in my system run cold. I knew it was his coping method. He had his military mind in gear to help him process everything, but I really didn't like it.

The screaming finally stopped and my heart fractured again. I knew that as soon as the noise stopped, everyone on board would be dead.

"Three cheers for Riley!" A female voice called and a chorus of responses sounded. It made me feel physically sick. If it were possible for me to do it, I would have had a puddle of lion and deer blood at my feet.

"This is only a taste of how it could be," A different voice said, addressing the other young ones on the boat. "Now let's sink this scow so we can go home!"

Nothing happened at first, but then the metallic, teeth gritting sound of shredding steel cracked the air and grated on my already stretched and fragile nerves. The boat jerked under the eternally powerful hands as they tore the hull to pieces. My mind noted that two of the newborns retreated from the vessel before it sank, watching the destruction as the midsection hit the water with a gran and a splash. The bow and stern sections rose- almost gracefully- out of the water.

"It's almost over," Jasper breathed, not daring to even whisper as we watched the vessel finally succumb to the strength of the newborns, losing it's valiant struggle to stay afloat. The stern sank seconds after the bow in a flurry or bubbles and metallic groaning.

"We have to get out of here..." I said quietly through gritted teeth. I pulled on Jasper's arm, dragging him away from the bank. I realised at some point, I had stopped restraining him and was using him for support. Although, to be fair, I think we were all using each other for that. When we got to the car, Rosalie wasn't with us. She was stood next to the sound, and completely frozen. "Oh for fuck sake, Rose shift your arse! Jasper, go get her!" I rolled my eyes and got in the car, stuffing the keys in the ignition and turning the engine over quietly. Jasper walked quickly to his sister, placing a hand in the small of her back and whispered something that ever I didn't hear. She complied at once, following his lead and getting into the back of the car. Once she was seated, she immediately leaned forward, covering her perfect face with her hands and staying like that. Jasper's ass barely hit the seat before I gunned it away from the bank and back towards the inner city.

I pulled the car over about twenty minutes from the Seattle house and rummaged in my pockets for three things. One, my mobile phone. Two, my cigarettes. Three, my lighter. Rosalie smelled the tobacco and sat up, looking at me like I lost my mind.

"Don't even bother, Rose. It's been a shit night," I warned, lighting one of my little pieces of heaven and lit it. I buzzed down a window and took one massive draw.

"They taste god-awful!" Jasper protested, waving a hand in front of his face while remembering some kind of experimentation with them previously.

"They help with the smell of human blood, tainting how it smells," I pulled another lungful of Menthol-y goodness. "Maybe you should give them a go, Jazz..." I teased. "Phone our father. He will be worried." Jasper nodded once and used my phone to dial the number.

"Kali?" Carlisle answered on the first ring and sounded more than anxious.

"It's Jasper,"

"Is everything alright?"

"We are finished in the city. We are around twenty minutes away from Kali's house. Esme knows the way."

"We are around thirty minutes from there, son,"

"The way I get there, it will be fifteen minutes when we get there, Jazz," I said, putting the car into gear with my cigarette hanging unceremoniously out of the corner of my mouth.

"We will meet you there," Jazz concluded before sliding the phone closed and placing it in the small well under the handbrake.

"To my house then?" I asked, released the aforementioned handbrake and driving on the familiar road leading home.

I pulled the Volkswagen into the upper floor of my garage. The only space left in there was that for my BMW and my Zonda, both of which were still occupying prime Cullen garage space. I killed the engine once it was in the BMW's space and got out with Rosalie right behind me. It took me a second to notice that Jasper hadn't moved from the front seat of the Golf, his eyes trained onto the Maserati in the corner.

"Jazz, get the hell out the car," Rose growled. "It's embarrassing." He complied instantly, drifting through the other cars before coming to a halt in front of my Quattroporte. His hand skimmed the back end of the car, trailing his fingers along the roof and down onto the bonnet. Rosalie huffed. "Great, I have to tell my sister that her husband is leaving her for a fucking sports car!"

"Jazz, I swear to god, if you drool onto that car, you will pay for the re-paint and I will fuck your motorbike up." I threatened, flipping on some lights. This place looked like a car showroom sometimes.

"How do you think Alice will take the news, Kali?"

"Probably, rather badly. For some reason, she is fond of soldier boy." Jasper was ignoring us now. His lustful gaze was now polluting the atmosphere and having an effect. "Jasper, knock it off. I don't have a way to get rid of that kind of tension." I picked up a nearby hammer and threw it, bouncing it off his head and onto the floor.

"Sorry," He mumbled, pain in his eyes as he tore himself away from the car as Rose and I laughed our asses off at him. We left the garage and made our way to the house. I needed to shower and change.

"Jazz, Rose, if you want to shower and change, you are more than welcome to. Third door on the left- middle floor for you Jazz. Third door on the right for Rose." I offered.

"Why do you have men's clothing here?" Jazz asked.

"I got Alice to drop off some things a while ago. Mi Casa and all that."

"Stop asking questions..." Rosalie said, flitting upstairs to get changed. Jasper and I followed suit. When I entered my old bedroom, it felt strange- almost like I was visiting instead of coming home. This place, this room in particular, had been so much like a sanctuary for me. I was always lonely here, but I was safest here too. The mixed emotions of the moment had me sitting on the floor at the foot of my rarely used bed with my legs folder under me.

The last few weeks had been some of the hardest of my whole, long life. Pain, anguish, thirst, pride, fear and love were only a handful of the feeling that had fallen onto me. From mind-crushing visions, to tenuous agreements with enemies, to training sessions and the newborn vampire army and psychotic bitch vampire had all tested me to just about my limit and yet, here I stood. In my room and able to think about and process everything without wanting to bang my head off a wall out of frustration. The only reason I had for being able to endure so much in such a short time was that I had to. I had seven people in my life that I loved and needed to protect- two of which were now roaming freely around this house. I felt more at home in my car garage than in this building.

"Kali, they are on the driveway," Rose called from downstairs. So lost in my thoughts was I that I hadn't heard her go downstairs. With some effort, I dragged myself off the floor and quickly stripped out of my clothes, grabbing a grey long sleeve shirt out of one of the drawers next to my bed and slipping into a pair of army green combats. I left my feet bare, enjoying the feel of the thick pile of the carpet between my toes. I tied the front of my hair back, leaving the rest to tumble down my back in a mass of long auburn curls that trailed down to my waist. I made for the door, turning to take in my former sanctuary on more time, unsure if I would ever be back here. I smiled wistfully before heading down to meet the family.

"Come on in, guys," I said from the front door as my family appeared at the widening end of the driveway, slowing considerably as they took in the view of the big, red brick house and the two story garage. Emmett's eyes fell onto the barn and displayed the same unbridled lust that Jasper had earlier. "Em, tour is later. Discussion now."

His face fell slightly but headed towards me with the others. Rosalie came to stand beside me and when she spotted her mate, she launched herself off of the porch and crashed into him with the sound of a high speed collision. I understood that reaction. After what Rosalie, Jasper and I had been witness to, I wouldn't deny them that comfort. What we had seen was monstrous. Jasper had turned up, ghosting towards Alice at unfathomable speeds before performing an 'all stop' a foot from her face and gazed into her eyes. She matched his gaze and I forced myself to look away. It was an intense reunion that no spoken words in any language could have held a candle to. I was glad that my brother and sister had their mates to take solace in; a safe harbour to lay during the shit storm we were stuck in. I was just - once again- envious of the fact that I lacked that kind of support.

"Kali, you have a beautiful home here," Carlisle said, stepping to the front of the reunited group.

"House, Carlisle. I have a beautiful house here. My home is about an hours drive away from here," I said, narrowing my eyes teasingly. "That is a lovely home. Its big and white and it's in a meadow and-"

"Alright, alright..." he grinned and gave me a quick hug.

"Let's get inside," I suggested. "Myself and the Hales have had an eventful night."

"Really?" Emmett asked, finally putting Rosalie back onto her feet.

"It was horrific." Rosalie shuddered against Emmett's huge chest.

"Like I said, inside?" I gestured to the front door before walking through it. Everyone followed behind me as I lead them down the main hall, passing two living rooms, my music room and my kitchen before opening the door at the bottom of the hall. This was my own little den. It was the smallest reception room in the house and the most comfortable. The black leather corner sofa lay against the wall opposite the door. The other sofa, made of red leather, sat against the west wall under the window with a huge leather reclining armchair in the corner next to the door. The floor was carpeted with a thick pile, muted gold while the walls were a deep blood red. The lighting was enough to brighten the room, but soft enough to keep it warm. It was one of my favourite rooms in this house. I sat on the single chair, allowing the couples to sit together. I waited until everyone was seated before we began.

"First things first... Did you know, Alice?" I asked quietly. Her face turned down and she stared into the carpet.

"I saw it after you guys left," She squeaked. "I saw that if I told you, you guys would have tried to stop it and got hurt."

"Can you show me?" I asked, focusing on her mind as she nodded. Her memories showed the three of us standing on the edge of the sound, waiting for the newborns to appear. The fight that would have occurred would have been astonishing. We would have taken apart eight of the young ones before Rosalie fell. Myself and jasper took out another six before I lost an arm and Jazz lost a leg. We fought, gathering Cullen body parts as we went. Jazz held a broken Rosalie while I held him on my back and ran. "Well... that wouldn't work." I stated, bringing myself back to reality.

"Definitely not," She agreed.

"Did you tell them?" I asked, motioning with my head towards the rest of my family. Alice shook her head swiftly. "Well, I guess it's up to us then, guys?" I said to Jazz and Rose. Rosalie shook her head aggressively. The screams she heard would be forever etched into her brain. No amount of time would allow those to fade and I knew that even a passing glance at the memories would hurt. She seemed to be employing the 'If I don't talk about it, it didn't happen' approach. I looked to Jasper, silently pleading with him to do this. I couldn't. My heart broke every single time I thought about it. Jasper sensed my utter desperation and nodded once. He took a deep breath to steady himself and he began.

I focused on his ability as much as I could, pushing varying waves of calm and support towards him as he spoke. His tone was flat, almost robotic as he recounted the evenings tragedy. As he spoke, I allowed myself to drift back to the banks of the sound. In retrospect, I was able to discern how many heartbeats I had heard, the different cadences in the voices on board.

One hundred and twenty-four.

One hundred and twenty-four lives lost.

One hundred and twenty-four broken families.

One hundred and twenty-four murders in the pursuit of vengeance.

It was repulsive. Jasper finally finished speaking, sagging back into the sofa. Slice leaned against him, pulling her tiny hand through his messy blonde curls as she tried to comfort him. Emmett was running his hand up and down Rosalie's arm and Carlisle and Esme were holding hands looking just horrified. As I scanned the room again, I felt horribly lonely. It amazed me how one was able to be sat in a room, literally surrounded with people and still feel such debilitating solitude. Jasper lurched on the sofa sitting bolt upright and boring his eyes into mine. I saw every emotion I was feeling exhibited on his face. The pain in his eyes was another form of heartache. I was out of my seat, excusing myself and bolting down the hallway towards the one place in this whole fucking property that still felt like home. I ignored the rooms to my left and right, knowing that none of them would provide the shelter that I was used to. I was out the front door and in front of the barn a lot quicker than I thought I would be. I screamed it up the ramp on to the second floor and hid behind my hummer. Yes, I- the six centuries old vampire- was hiding behind a car and bawling like a child. My eyes burned venomous tears that, no matter how hard I squeezed my eyes shut, wouldn't fall. My chest heaved and fell with racking sobs shaking my frame. My hans balled into fists, one of which was pressed to my mouth trying to stifle the inhuman sound of pain that I didn't bother trying to fully contain.

"Kali?"

I didn't even bother to look up at them. "Can you just leave me alone for a minute, please?" I almost recoiled from the hand that touched my shoulder.

"Not likely, sis," Emmett whispered, picking me up off of the floor and placing my on the hood of the hummer. "Now, what's all this for?" He asked, staring into my stinging eyes.

"Please, just go to Rosalie, Emmett. She needs you."

"Well, as far as I can tell, she isn't playing hide and seek and bawling like a bitch." He teased. " Plus, I got more than enough love to go around!" That little declaration caused me to splutter a little.

"Don't be too liberal with it. Rosalie will cut it off," I said, lowering my eyes to his belt buckle and he yelped at the insinuation.

"Best try to keep it to a minimum..." He muttered before raising his eyes back to me. "So, what gives?"

"It's just been a rough night, Em." I tried to blow him off, but it just wasn't gonna work.

"Bullshit. The three of you have had a rough night, Kals and you are the only one in this mess."

"Fuck you, Emmett" I growled.

"That would countermand the free love policy we just put in place," He quipped. "Tell me why you are upset."

"No,"

"Fucking tell me!"

"Piss off!"

"I will when you tell me!"

"Honestly, I don't know..."

"Bollocks!" He roared. My eyes widened in surprise before I laughed. "What? You say it all the time..."

"Emmett, do you know what that word means?" I asked through another spasm of laughter. He shook his big head. "It means 'testicles', Emmett. You basically just told me I was talking balls."

"Wel..."

"Oh, fuck off, Emmett," I growled again. Why couldn't he just leave me alone?

"Kali, you can talk to me here or I can pick you up, toss you over my shoulder and drag you into the house and we can talk in front of everyone."

"You are a manipulative big shit, Emmett Cullen," I spat.

"Kali, I'm not gonna tell anyone. Just talk to me, please?" And then he did it. He pulled out the mother of all puppy-dog eyes and pouty lips that would have melted Ghenis Khan's heart.

"I got lonely, okay?" I mumbled quickly. "I had a shit night, I watched One hundred and twenty-four people get murdered for fucking nothing. I got scared. I was heartbroken, confused, angry and I had no-one to shove all that onto. Jazz had Alice and you have Rose and Carlisle and Esme have each other and don't get me started on Bella and Edward. What do I have? I have an empty house I can barely stomach being in and a garage full of sports cars that feels more like home that the fucking house. Did I miss anything?"

"Kali, you aren't on your own," Emmett said, slinging an arm around my shoulders and pulling me to him. I wrapped my own arm around his chest and leaned my head onto his shoulder. "Now, I ain't into all that girly shit but I'm here for ya, sis."

"Okay, I give in..." I said, letting him go.

"Huh?"

"I give in. You can be the big brother."

"Oh, I already was..." Arrogant fucker. "So how about that tour now? It will take your mind off things?"

"Anything you want, Em. Anything you want."

Author Note- So there we go, this is how the Cullen's discovered just how bad Seattle was. Well, it's how I thought it would go. Enjoy, let me know what you think.

Thanks again to content1 and to Bella C'ella Luna (She helps me with punctuation. I suck at it.)

Next chapter is called One Last Thing. It is the final preparations for the battle. We have that and then two move chapters and then we hit the battle. We are officially in the home stretch for 'Act I' of LNM. Hope you can stick with me.

Kalika87 (Amanda)