Blackhaven18: Sorry about the delay, I'm still not to entirely sure where all my time went with this chapter… I just have a quick thing to say. I essentially have my entire story outlined out, all the big events and the little ones I have leading into each, which is what I've been going by as I write this. A few chapters back… I lost it and a few days ago I found it again. Guess what? I messed up. So, I've had to go back and change something and I'm going to tell you so you don't need to go back and re-read a chapter.

Here it is: Rosalie confronts Nate about his plans after he leaves the Cullen's in chapter 15 and Nate gives her a set of letters? She actually wasn't supposed to get them and you'll understand why in this chapter and Nate disappears on her before she can question him more on it.

So, let's begin shall we?

Disclaimer: I own nothing but the lint in my pocket.

Song choice: What hurt's the most.

By: Rascal Flatts, Cascada…

Chapter 17: What hurt's the most

Siren's blared in the distance, causing a wave of confusion to run through those at the Cullen residence. Carlisle, Edward and Rosalie stepped out onto the deck as they listened to it draw closer to the town of Forks'.

"I wonder what is going on…" Edward murmured, and sniffed as the wind blew slightly, catching the spicy scent of burning wood. "Carlisle, do you smell smoke?"

Both Carlisle and Rosalie tested the new air and nodded.

"Edward, come quick!" Bella's voice rang out from one of the room's above them, a cautious edge to her voice that didn't convey fear, but more curiousness.

When they reached the room she was standing by the window, her eyes focused with whatever was outside holding her gaze. She noticed them when Edward shifted and pointed out of the window.

"Look."

Edward nodded and glanced out of the window, seeing the gentle orange glow on the horizon, amplified by the white background of the remains of the mist around them.

"The wind is picking up and blowing the mist out. That's the only reason I was able to see it." Bella murmured, "It should be gone shortly, but that glow… I think it's a fire."

"Yes, that would explain the excess smoke we smelled earlier." Carlisle added in, "Judging from the intensity of the glow and factoring in the block from the mist, I would have to say it's a large one."

Edward nodded, "Do you think it's large enough for an evacuation?" He asked and Carlisle nodded.

"Yes, I believe that was the why we heard the fire trucks earlier. They must be going door to door."

As if on cue an urgent knocking was heard on the door downstairs and Emmett's casual greeting.

"Yeah, no problem… I'll tell them. Hey, thanks for telling us." They heard and the snapping of the lock a few moments later. "Carlisle, I'm sure you heard that?"

Giving one last look at the window, they descended down into the living room where the rest of the family was already waiting…

Elsewhere:

Thirty miles outside of Forks' city limits, a gruff looking man in his early forties looked on at the small group of new firefighters, sighing in a resolute manner before addressing them. "Now, I'm sure you all aced the required state test or else you wouldn't be here, but listen up!" He barked when their eyes began to wander to the wreckage behind him. "A damn old book ain't gonna do shit out here in the real world." He waved an arm to encompass the area. "Out here it's simple. You either follow orders or you don't. We don't need any stragglers or hotshots." His bravado seemed to have deflated somewhat as a somber expression replaced it, lost in a memory. "I've seen too many good men die and bring others down with them because they wanted to play the hero."

An uncomfortable silence filled the area and the man up front continued his train of thought.

"Today we're looking for anything out of the ordinary, anything that could have started this fire. So, get your asses in gear!" He yelled once more and watched as the group dispersed, before heading off himself.

A young man in his early twenties moved to one of the large piles, shoveled part of the debris into a wheelbarrow behind him and walked a little further into the wreckage, silently observing. Everything, but the metal and concrete components of the building turned to ash in what only could have been an explosion, based on what was left.

The building had been one of the first things the fighters tended to; thinking there might be people still inside, but upon seeing the state of the remains, being nothing more than obliterated piles of rocks and a few slab pieces added to hearing a few hours later from the chief of Forks' that the place was abandoned, they moved on.

Now all that was left was a pile of rubble that he and a couple others', including the head of their group, had been put in charge of until more firefighter's arrived.

A 'just in case' measure.

He took of his helmet and wiped his sweating brow with a rag from his back pocket before repositioning the mask covering his neck and part of his face, a requirement to keep from inhaling falling ash particles that caught a ride on the wind. He grabbed his shovel and moved forward; piercing his shovel into the wreckage once more, he heard a solid 'thunk' on the other end and felt the vibration make it shake in his grip.

"Crap, you have got to kidding me." He muttered, pulling on the handle, but the thing wouldn't budge. "What the hell?" He pulled again, harder, trying to use his weight to dislodge it, but still nothing changed. "Fine, you want to play this game with me? Then let's go."

He started at the base of the shovel, pulling away the larger pieces first and ended up revealing a small crevasse where the head of the shovel disappeared into. "Aw, fuck me." He moaned and knelt down on the ground to peer into it. "Too dark."

He took a last glance at his gloved hand, just on the off chance he lost it, and plunged it into the darkness, hoping to dislodge whatever his shovel was caught on. "Almost… there…" He could feel what it was caught on…

Suddenly something grabbed hold of his wrist in a strong grip and he let loose a shout, yanking it free. "What the hell!" He yelled, grabbing the attention of some of his group mates.

He glanced back at the crevasse and despite the darkness saw movement before what should have been the supple flesh of a human hand appeared, instead most of it was burned beyond belief and what wasn't was an angry red. He could feel bile rising in the back of his throat and tried not to vomit at the smell of burnt flesh and singed hair. Pushing the feeling away he careful took hold of the hand as he once more looked into the darkness.

"C-Captain!" He yelled out in near hysterics, "Anybody! I've found someone!"

Never once in his life did he feel as such relief as he did when he heard the sound of his captain barreling through the rest of the debris and his barking orders to send out a distress call over the radio…

"Do they have any idea how the fire started?" Esme asked Emmett worriedly.

"Not a clue, they're just trying to contain it now and so far it hasn't been working because of the wind blowing the mist out. It's being pushed towards Forks, which is the reason for the evacuation…" He replied, flipping through different channels on the T.V. in front of him at a rapid speed.

It was the one thing he didn't pack up with the rest of their belongings.

Rosalie sighed, "I suppose it's a good thing we're already packed."

"It certainly saves us a lot of troub- Emmett, go back a few channels…" Esme quickly interjected, her attention caught on the program in front of her.

"This is channel three news; I'm Shirley Alcott with you this evening." The brunette onscreen grabbed hold onto the stack of paper's in front of her. "We have update on what they're calling the 'Forks' fire…

"Awfully imaginative of them…" Emmett grumbled.

"Be quiet." Rosaile reprimanded and turned back to the television.

"So, let's hand this over to Henry Martel who's on the scene as we speak. Henry?"

A blond man, wearing a crisp looking suit, toyed with his earpiece as the information was relayed over it and finally looked up into the screen. "Thank you, Shirley. Authorities think the cause of the fire started forty miles into the forest, due South of Forks', Washington and then spread to the old iron works factory around ten miles away where construction has been taking place since January. This would explain the cause of the explosion-"

"Oh dear, an explosion? Wait a minute though… isn't that where you said Nate was working at with his job?" Esme asked and her children nodded slowly, feeling a little numb at the information.

"Hey, you guys don't think… I mean… He wouldn't… would he?" Emmett asked his voice halting as he looked at his siblings imploringly. "He's not that idiotic is he, to have taken them on… alone?"

Edward never took his eyes from the screen, waiting for any information that could suggest otherwise.

Anything.

Maybe a pack of stupid teenager's got drunk, decided to have a bonfire and it grew out of control? Or maybe an unchecked fuse of one of the construction equipment started the fire…

"No… You… don't know Nate like I do…" He admitted quietly when nothing else came up, "Once he set's his mind to something… there's little a person can do to change it."

"They are still unsure as to the cause of the fire, but authorities are clearing away the debris in hopes of finding something…"

The 'or someone' went unspoken between them all…

"Enough, Carlisle I'm going to see if he's at his home-" Edward said and grabbed his car keys…

Everyone was either focused on the television, the growing orange glow in the distance, or the whereabouts of their blond friend that no one noticed how Alice suddenly froze in place; getting the first vision she ever had that showed Nate and the one that was more than likely going to be burned into her memory forever.

She stayed there for a moment, eyes wide with shock and disbelief as Jasper wound a hand around her to comfort her, feeling the emotions tumbling off her in waves, and knowing there was absolutely nothing he could do about it. Suddenly Alice grasped his wrist to look frantically at the wrist watch he sported, before her beautiful features twisted in a look of pure pain, the family had ever seen from her.

Her hands made their way to her face as she crumpled down to the ground, tearlessly sobbing, her body convulsing with each wave and she let out a heart wrenching wail of pure sorrow.

Jasper went down with her, pulling her close to his body in a vain attempt to shield her from whatever she had seen. This was probably once of the worst things he had ever felt in his entire life. In all his time he spent with his wife, he had never felt such pain erupt from her… nothing, not even the calming waves he washed over her changed how she was feeling.

Around her gasps she sobbed out, "I'm sorry, I'm so sorry… Why couldn't I have seen it before?!" No sooner than she had said these words Edward's gift was reaching out, pushing into her turbulent mind.

"Somebody get that IV in him, now!"

Someone lied completely still in a hospital bed drenched with blood as his burn wounds bled freely and he gagged when a tube was forcefully shoved down his throat, while the IV in question was administered into one of his arms. Multiple doctor's and nurses ran around him frantically grabbing supplies they needed to save the life of the person in their care.

A nurse moved forward and began to carefully strip what was left of the person's clothing, trying not to further aggravate his charred skin, where in some area's was completely black and… crispy in quality.

They worked quickly and efficiently wrapping and rewrapping the wounds that covered over three fourths of the body that lay before them in patches. Only the right half of his face- where a tuft of blond peeked from beneath the gauze above-, part a right arm and the top half his chest was untouched, but still angry red in color and already blistering from the heat.

The machinery measuring his vital signs started to screech and everyone stilled in alarm.

"We're losing him! He's flat-lining!" A one of the doctors yelled as the numbers on the monitor dropped dramatically.

The shrieking machine slowed until it was nothing more than a constant whirring and all ceased… A single blue eye, clouded over in death, stared out lifelessly from his place on the bed.

"Time of death 6:28 PM, Thursday October 26…"

As Edward pulled back out he couldn't help the tremors that shook his hands and he quickly looked at the clock. 6:30 PM. He was gone…

"No…" He whispered, unable to come to terms with it and he found he couldn't breathe.

It wasn't true, it couldn't be true.

The entire family fell into a silence, not needing to speak to know what had taken place. The blond had easily carved out a niche in their family and had fell into the role of friend, even going as far to as be considered a brother and son… To even think he was gone…

Tears trailed down Bella's cheeks as she watched the silent resignation cross over the Cullen family's faces and knew it was too late. She heard the newsman comment about the explosion in almost offhand manner, her breathing labored as she drew up her knees and sobbed quietly for her friend.

'Nate… Oh, Nate.' She kept chanting over and over in her mind and rocked back and forth in her place on the couch.

It couldn't be true; the blond she knew, the one with so much vibrancy and life he sometimes mirrored the sun snuffed out? No, he was so strong willed, how could something like this have happened?

Everyone stood around the young man on the bed, watching silently as the doctor started to turn off the equipment and stopped once he reached the heart monitor, seeing a small spike. They held their breath, waiting… and suddenly the body on the bed jolted upright, clawing at the breathing tubes and wires keeping him alive frantically.

"Somebody restrain him before he hurts himself more!" A doctor yelled. "Christ, he's sure one hell of a fighter." She pointed to a nearby nurse. "You, get me a morphine drip…"

The doors to the Emergency room swished open as a tall man, seemingly in his early fifties strode in. He had a distinguished look about him, with his salt and pepper colored hair, his straight, confident posture and his immaculate dark gray suit. His long black coat trailed behind him like a cape as he spotted the attendance desk and made his way to it.

"Excuse me sir, is there anything I can help you with?" He was asked upon reaching it and he nodded.

"Yes… in fact I think you might. I'm here about a recent admittance, a burn victim I believe?" Her eyes widened as she remembered the poor soul that was wheeled passed her a mere few hours ago.

"Do you know him?" She asked.

"That boy is an… acquaintance of mine." He said slowly, almost as if he was still trying to figure that piece out himself. "His name is Nate Riven and I brought with me the number of a relative. His uncle from what I was told…"

"Sir, I'm sorry, but how can you be so sure this person who you say he is?" She asked hesitantly.

As good and incredibly lucky finding out the identity of their John Doe was, it was all seeming to be far too easy for her tastes. For this man to show up at such a critical time with exactly what they had been trying to find had to be a one in a million chance.

He eyed her with a critical gaze and nodded, almost as if in approval before continuing. "I met him earlier this morning to discuss certain legalities and when while he was aiding me he mentioned a forgotten item where he worked. In a previous meeting he spoke of how he worked at a construction site outside of Forks', an iron work's factory. I do have a recent picture of him if you do not believe me?"

"Yes, that would be most helpful."

He reached into his back pocket and pulled a folded picture and handed it over.

There in the picture was a blond, blue-eyed teenager, grinning mischievously as he leaned against a pine tree, hands pushed deep into his pant pockets. He was looking directly at the camera with a piercing gaze she didn't expect on such a young man… He was certainly handsome and more than likely broke a few hearts in his life, she mused ruefully.

After seeing it there was no doubt in her mind they were speaking of the same person, but since this man was not family she was still not allowed to release any information…

"I believe you mentioned an uncle…?"

~Ring, ring, ring~

The silence around the Cullen household was broken by the phone ringing a mere few feet away, but no one moved to get it still stunned by Alice's revelation. Carlisle, remembering it might be the hospital calling about a patient of his reluctantly moved to get it.

"Hello, this is Carlisle," He said listlessly into the receiver once it was at his ear.

(Hello, I'm calling from the Port Angeles Medical center, am I speaking to Carlisle Cullen?) The young woman on the other end asked.

"Yes."

(Good, the reason I'm calling is to inform you about your nephew…)

'Nephew?' Carlisle thought as glanced up to see the confused look gracing his family's feature's as well, but he decided to play along for now. "Of course, but which nephew did you mean? I have three sisters, all with children… so…"

(Well, I have written a Nate Riven? Does it sound familiar?)

A shock ran through the family and Carlisle saw Edward nod frantically.

"Ah, yes… is there something wrong with him?" He questioned, knowing he and his families were supposed to know nothing at this point.

(I'm afraid he's been in an accident sir, we have him in a bed in our emergency department…)

"But he's alive?" Carlisle asked a little breathlessly, Alice's head shot up like a rocket.

(Yes, we did lose him for a few minutes… but from what I was told they've managed to bring him back. Mr. Cullen I would rather not talk about this on the phone, if you could meet me here in the hospital…)

"Of course, my family and I should be there within an hour, thank you for telling us." The family was already in action by the time he placed the phone back into its cradle, each of them taking a vehicle.

Edward said nothing on the entire ride to the hospital and Bella was equally as silent in the seat next to him. It was a contemplative silence that over took them, each waiting for the other to start speaking and after a long while Bella sighed, knowing they were drawing close to their destination and as Edward had yet to make the first move it would seem she would have to be the one to.

Talk about stubborn.

"… Edward we need to talk…"

His topaz gaze turned away from the road to give his full attention to Bella in the seat beside him. She stopped for a moment, hesitation clouding her mind about the entire situation, but shook her head to rid herself of the thought and continued.

She looked him dead on and said, "You love Nate."

He seemed to have frozen, hands glued to the steering wheel and she was faintly aware of how the tension in the air seemed to have risen another notch.

"...Do you hate me…?' He asked in a low nearly heart breaking whisper.

"Of course not!" Bella denied vehemently with a shake of her head and whacked him on the shoulder, wincing when she made contact. "…ouch."

"Careful Bella…" He slowed enough to be able inspect the reddening mark on her hand.

"Not such a bright move on my part huh?" She asked sarcastically and huffed when Edward smiled lightly in return, pressing a cool hand against hers.

"Thank you Bella." He said, meaning every word of it, thankful to have been blessed with such a good friend…

"…He'll be alright…" She said confidently.

He will be…

He glanced up just as the doors swished open from his place in the corner, watching keenly as a family of seven beautiful people walked through and lastly a girl that seemed plain when compared to the rest, but after a second look shone with a vibrancy all her own.

He smirked, taking in each of their appearances.

They looked just as he was told.

He stayed silent as the older man took the lead of the group and walked to the attendance desk.

"Excuse me, I am Carlisle Cullen and I'm here about a patient?" He said when and everyone watched almost restlessly as she flipped through some sheets on the counter.

"Ah, yes, you're here about the Riven boy. I'll page his doctor, if you could wait in the waiting room over there…" She pointed in his direction and he looked the other way.

He stood back up as they sat down in the remaining chairs and took long strides over to the older man of the group …

Edward trained his gaze elsewhere when he felt another upon him, but feeling no ill intent. This always happened where they went, but more so when the family was collectively gathered in a certain area. People stared unabashed at them as they walked by and it was certainly nothing new when this man did it…

They made their way to the waiting room as asked, but the man's staring did not stop. If anything they increased when Edward stared back and he was instantly on guard when the man began to walk over, never once breaking eye contact.

Humans' were naturally drawn to them… a way for the predator to lure in the prey, but this man… he didn't seem awed in the slightest. If anything he seemed to be regarding them with a look of intrigue, almost as if he was regarding a lab specimen…

He approached slowly in a languid fashion, imbued with the confidence and fortitude seen in politicians.

"Hasn't anyone told you it's rude to stare?" Rosalie asked in a scathing tone when he was within hearing distance, but he paid no attention to her as he approached Carlisle.

"You are Carlisle Cullen, are you not?" He asked in a low baritone and a slight British accent, which spoke of high class sophistication on his part.

"Yes, I'm sorry, but have we met? What is your name?"

The man in front of them smirked in an expression not unlike a feline, "No we have not met before and my name is unimportant, but let me ask you… who do you think informed the kind unit secretary at the desk of your number?" He drawled lazily and waited for the reaction.

"You?" Edward couldn't help but choke out and the man I front of him eyed him with disdain.

A single brow lifted in a fashion that reminded them far too much of Rosalie for their liking. "I was asked to give you these…" He reached into one of his coat pockets, a pulled out a bundle of letters, the letter on top had Carlisle's name scrawled over the front in the very handwriting Rosalie often berated the blond for. "These are yours." He then pulled out a few keys and handed those over as well. "These as well, from what he told me, these open his house, car, and other locks around the property."

"Excuse me, but by who?" Rosalie asked as the man handed over different items.

"Riven of course, who else?"

"Nate did? When?" Edward asked, almost frantically.

"Earlier this morning, around five I believe, he refused to let me sleep." He said, keeping his face perfectly neutral.

"We thank you for doing this… but why? Nate has never mentioned you…" Carlisle inquired after a few moments and the man smiled ruefully.

"No, I didn't think he would. You see, we met in a whim actually and after our encounter I owed him a favor. One he decided to call upon today, that Mr. Cullen is why I am here."

Flashback:

"No, you bumbling idiot." A man bit out as he moved his cell phone to his other ear, waiting for the signal on the other side of the crosswalk that would allow him to go. "I said to order seventeen volumes not seventy. I even left you a note, exactly how could you have messed this up?"

He continued to berate the man on the phone and seeing the signal began to walk across, growing confused when he heard someone scream. He looked up and saw a large delivery truck heading straight for him on a down hill, its driver running after it further back.

"Oh… shit." Was all he was able to get out before he was tackled from behind, dropping both his cell phone and briefcase after the hit. His eyes snapped shut, thinking he was hit by the truck.

"Hey, buddy? You alright?" He heard from above him as he was carefully eased onto his back.

He gazed up confused, seeing a blond teenager with bright blue eyes, shining with boyish mischievousness and a happy grin plastered to his face.

A crowd had gathered around them and he slowly got up.

"Whoo, that was a close one huh?" The blond chuckled at the man's confused expression, not even parried by the fact he didn't even get a thank you as the man rose to collect his belongings and leave. Instead the blond called out, "Hey look at the bright side, at least I didn't have to perform CPR on you with this lovely audience. If you're embarrassed now, imagine waking up to that!"

He paused, his near death experience finally hitting him and realized he couldn't grab his phone as his fingers were shaking so badly. He vaguely realized as his stuff was gathered for him, ah, it was the blond again.

"Name's Nate, what's yours?"

Flashback ended:

Edward let out a strangled chuckle, feeling a wave of nostalgic wash through him, "Yeah, that sounds like something he would do."

"I take it you must be Edward then?" He questioned, with a raised brow and the vampire nodded. He reached into his front pocket, taking the item he retrieved and deposited it into Edward's hand; "I was told to give this to you directly." He then began to walk back towards the door.

"Wait, where are you going?" Alice asked and he stopped, turning around to face her.

"I've done what was asked of me; therefore my job here is done. A bid you all farewell." Then he walked out of the door, waiting as a limo pulled up and got in.

Edward looked back down at what he was given easily recognizing the necklace he'd seen the blond wearing from the first day they met. A beautiful dark green crystal hung from the center, surrounded by a silver bead on each side. In their time together it was one of the few things the he'd never seen Nate part with. A single rolled piece of paper wrapped around the rope of the necklace and he took extra care unwrapping it. A single phrase was scrawled in the middle.

I'm sorry,

NR

There was nothing elegant about the note, but it was written with such finality it nearly crushed Edward's heart, it being more then likely the last thing he wrote out of all the letters. His fingers trembled as he held the note, another realization hitting him full force.

Nate had been expecting to die.

In fact he had probably been hoping for it…Why else would he have through so much trouble as to have taken the time to write out individual letters? To have developed such an elaborate plan that he called upon the aid of a man who probably didn't even live anywhere near Washington if his accent was anything to go by…

"Mr. Cullen?" A voice from behind them asked and they turned to face a female doctor. Carlisle nodded. "If you'd come with me then? I'll explain some things along the way, but I think you probably want to see him correct?" Everyone nodded. "Alright when we reach the where he's being held, I'm afraid only two at a time can see him and I think your children would be better off waiting in the waiting room. It's… really not something they should be seeing."

Jasper immediately stopped as did Alice and Bella; considering how he and Bella were around blood and that Alice had already witnessed Nate in this state already they decided to remain behind.

Everyone else followed the signs leading to the intensive care unit.

"Exactly how bad is he?" Carlisle asked, and she sighed.

"He has third degree burns over three fourths of his body. The only places not affected are, half of his face, part of his right arm and the top part of his chest. Right now he's not breathing on his own and we've had to intubate him. Then there's the fact that he's entered a comatose state as of thirty minutes ago… it's really a miracle he's survived at all."

"But he is stable?" Carlisle asked, understanding everything the doctor was saying to him and she nodded.

"For the most part, yes, but we're keeping him under heavy observation for the rest of his duration here. Ah, here we are." She punched in a code and the doors automatically swung open.

Rooms with sealed glass doors came into view and most had their curtains drawn, making it impossible to look inside. They finally came to halt and the doctor grabbed a few yellow gowns, gloves and masks, handing them over to the group.

"I'm going to need you to gown and glove up before entering the room; it's a standard precaution to keep any unwanted infections from the room."

"Of course doctor." Carlisle murmured, and glanced at Edward, but he shook his head.

"… Can you and Esme go first?" He questioned quietly and they nodded, Carlisle laying a comforting hand on his son's shoulder as he walked past.

The smell of blood emanating from the room was so powerful, but it had no affect on him except letting him know just how bad his blond was injured. Carlisle and the others' knew he needed a moment to come to terms with this before going in, which is why Rosalie and Emmett went next, to give him that time.

Carlisle had come back out, a heavy weigh seemingly pressing down on him, aging him farther then Edward had ever seen in the man. He had to escort Esme out of the room; she was trembling so much as she exited.

Edward let out a shaky breath when his siblings walked out a moment later, Rosalie schooled her face into a neutral expression, but her eyes clouded with so much pain. Pain he had not seen since the day she brought Emmett back with her, begging Carlisle to save him. Emmett never was one to hide how he was feeling, being the more boisterous one of the group and he didn't try to stop the stricken look on his features as he walked out.

"-ir? Sir?" He heard and looked up to see the doctor waving her hand in front of his face. "Are you going in as well?"

He nodded numbly and took the proffered gear from her hands, suiting up before stepping through the doors.

Nate was lying in the bed, an assortment of colorful wires coming off from him and the sound of air being forced into his lungs from the machine beside him. He was wrapped nearly from head to toe in white bandages, each hiding the damaged skin beneath. Carefully, Edward brought a hand forth and traced Nate's unwrapped, whiskered cheek, not knowing what else to do.

"… I've been such a fool Nate…" He breathed, bringing his hand back. "If anyone should be apologizing… it should be me. For acting the way I did and for being so selfish."

He forced his gift into Nate's mind, visibly cringing when he met no resistance as he would have before this entire incident. Instead he saw only darkness, a blank mind and he ground his fingernails against his marble-like palms in aggravation.

"Please…" He bit out, "Please, don't leave me."

'Not again…'

Stay with me.

Mindscape:

Drip

Drip

Drip

Water fell from the ceiling and ran along the walls to hit the rapidly flooding hallway of what Nate now knew to be his own mind in a constant motion, quickly sweeping over his knees and drenching his pants.

"W-What's going on…?" As he breathed visible puffs of air issued from his mouth, showing exactly how cold it was becoming.

The freezing water was already numbing his lower extremities, making him feel sluggish, tired. Shaking his head he brought his jacket closer to himself as he glanced back down the hallway he just walked down…

Tentacles of darkness snaked out engulfing anything in its reach, continuously wrapping around pipes and splaying across the wall paneling until is was no more… He took a cautionary step back seeing them.

"What the hell?"

That was definitely not the way to go. Nate moved quickly following the torrent of water, further into the recesses of his mind, but a rushing sound from behind stopped him and from the darkness he saw a wall of water coming towards him. It easily filled the entirety of the entire hallway and he gulped, knowing there was no way to avoid it. Taking a deep breath he waited.

It smashed into his body, swallowing him completely, but he refused to relinquish the small supply of air he obtained even as he was thrown against walls and protruding pipes.

He had nearly drowned before, several times in fact and he always hated the burning sensation that accompanied it and utter helplessness he felt seeing light above the surface and being unable to reach it…

He felt dizzy after a few moments of tumbling around and after a few minutes the burning was nearly unbearable. There had to be something he could do to make it stop…

Feeling the blood suddenly pool in his head he involuntarily inhaled, water forcing its way into his lungs seeing as how there was no air. A froth of bubbles burst forth from his mouth,

'No!'

Blackness tinged the edge of his vision as his body went limp, no longer fighting against the current and he was swept further into the hallway he couldn't remember ever being this long before. Nate felt a slight descent as the water rushed into a familiar high-walled room he visited so many times before. The water here was already starting to fill the gigantic room up to the brim.

His body slammed against the cage and he gagged, expelling the water in his lungs and he weakly looked up. The sharp red eyes of a fox opened slowly from behind the bars of its prison as an eerie gust blew threw the large, cavern-like room as it breathed, growling menacingly at the human blond in front of it.

"Foolish child…" The massive beast rumbled, the water spilling into the cage vibrating from the sheer force. "You are no good to me dead."

Red chakra spilled forth from between the bars of the cage, grasping at Nate's body and pulling him further against the cage. It wrapped around him, traveling further and further up his body, encasing him in a cocoon like structure as water once again started to submerge the area he was in. He was faintly aware as Kyuubi began to speak again…

"One of these days, when I need you, I will make myself known again, but until then… I'll be watching you Naruto. Every. Single. Thing. You. Do." Each word was enunciated with a feral growl and Nate pulled against the chakra restraints futilely. A large furry paw drew forward, a single claw extending to tap against the blond chest, drawing blood each time. Kyuubi's claws felt like liquid fire against his skin and that same fire was burning him from the inside. As if it was forcing its way through his veins. He let out a moan at the pain. "Forget about your friends, forget about family... forget about love…"

The very things his ideals were built on…

"You belong to me Uzumaki Naruto. You. Are. Mine."

The water finally reached his face, covering him completely and he was faintly aware as the blackness from before had finally caught up with him, wiping his mind clean of everything…

Blackhaven18: And another chapter comes to a closing… For this author's note I wanted to go ahead and answer some questions about a few previous chapters you guys have left in your reviews, basically just my reasoning behind why Nate did what he did. So…

Question 1: Does Naruto speak with Kyuubi in his mind?

Yes, he does. I've read stories where he has a sort of mind link with Kyuubi that enables the two to speak when Naruto thinks in his head and the fox responds. From the Naruto episodes I have watched he's always been in this state of half awareness where he is actually pulled into his mind to speak face to face with Kyuubi and that's essentially what I'm having taking place within my own story as you've probably notice above.

Question 2: Is Naruto going to take the Cullen's back to Konoha?

I really can't give away too much of the storyline, but it would be pretty cool to think up what they would do seeing all the ninja running around… That and this is a trilogy, meaning three complete stories, kinda makes you wonder exactly what I've got planned for the other two huh?

Question 3 (more of a comment, but oh well): I've made Naruto run out of chakra too fast when he was fighting the Volturi.

I did go back and re-read what I wrote and realized it could come off as that, and here's what I came up to refute that. In this story the Volturi contain over two hundred members consisting of the three masters (I think we all know who that is.), the guard (Essentially all those who Aro kept because of their gifts.), and the rest being a mix of the hellacious newborns, wives and witnesses. Now, none of the last two are useless and essentially know how to fight for survival if they are attacked even if they were brought for other reasons. It's a basic survival instinct, we all have it.

I'm sure every twilighter knows that a newborn is stronger than an older vampire, but lacks the control and strategic mind the older ones do have. Hence, newborns-who, in my mind, are capable of landing a hit like Sakura is when she's using Tsunade's technique and the older ones similarly as well- would be able to go through clones like a knife to butter.

I've seen Naruto's clones disappear after one hit from Kakashi and Sasuke and that's nothing compared to how Sakura hits now. I imagine these vampires are easily capable of going through a few thousand clones, which is why Naruto tried to overwhelm them, catch them off guard. He constantly had to replace all of clones the entire time he was fighting.

My next reason is he was trying to blend in with the clones he created, because of they managed to take him out the clones would disappear. Felix found out because he was using Rasengan over and over, the clones were not, which basically put a big red X on his forehead.

All in all I would say for this battle, he created over three thousand clones in total-not all at once- to replace all those lost on the field and those guarding the edge of the forest. That coupled with the number of rasengan's he used, the fire jutsu he used, and any chakra he had left to give him a lead on those chasing him to the warehouse would tire out his chakra reserves. Not kyuubi's.

Question 4: Why didn't he summon a toad?

As much fun as it sounds to write how Gamabunta was summoned and squashed the Volturi like the bugs they are it created too many questions in the end for me to use it. Sadly. An explosion is an easy thing to explain when compared to trying to explain why there was a giant webbed foot print in the forest, if you get what I mean? That and there were too many vampire's for that to happen. It would be fine if he was up against three or four, but two hundred? No, Naruto needed to make sure none of them escaped and clones that transferred their memories to him upon being destroyed were the easiest to use and could easily overwhelm them if he created enough, hence, the reason why he did.

Alright, I think I got them all, if I didn't then I'm sorry.