O…kay? Is anyone still out there? I know it's been forever since I updated. Maybe I really should have started with shorter stuff for my first fanfiction. This was a plot-bunny that got away, anyway. I had a nightmare that this was never finished last night, and I just had to do something. I've moved on to other fandoms, I'll put it that way. This only has about three chapters left. I was originally planning sequels, but I don't think I can.

It's been so long. Gosh, even my writing style has changed since I last wrote this. I actually think I've become a better writer; I've found my voice.

This is a slightly odd chapter, but it felt right somehow. It had the character development I always wished Twilight had. Also, it's "hot off the press." I'll go back and edit everything soon, but I wanted to update as soon as possible for anyone who still cares.

The Revenge

Edward is awake when I arrive at the cave.

Of course he is. It's only fair that, after I save his life, he is there to glare at me and lecture me on the repercussions of my actions. But he sees the vial of medicine that I am holding, smells the acrid chemicals inside, and his anger melts away from his face as his features morph to something like understanding.

I open the jar, race to his side, and begin applying the salve to his back. The instant it touches the wounds, he sighs in relief. "You shouldn't have gone, Bella," he chides, but I can tell — at least, I hope — he doesn't mean it.

"I had to," I whisper.

He gives me a long, sad look. "I know," he says finally. "I would have done the same for you."

An anger flares up inside me, quickly turning to a boil with my newborn rage. "And how is thatokay?" I demand. "That you can sacrifice your life for me, and I'm not allowed to do the same for you?"

"It's my job to protect you."

"And why is that?"

"It's always what I've done. I couldn't bear it if something happened to you."

"And I couldn't bear it if something happened to you." There comes a point where selflessness becomes selfishness.

"Bella, a basic fact of our relationship is that I love you much more than you love me."

I take another handful of the medicine and apply it to the burns. I can almost see it healing… almost. "I just saved your life. Please don't play games with me, Edward."

He turns slightly to look at me; I note that he has more mobility already. "It isn't a game, it's true. You knew how it made me feel when you were with Jacob—"

"Don't bring him into this." Something inside of me snarls. "You're mad at me, for saving your life, and you're trying to manipulate me into not doing it again." I apply another particularly large amount. "It won't work."

"You could have died."

"I could say the same for you."

"It's my job to protect you."

"Why?"

"I'm not worth—"

"Don't you dare," I snap. I'm tired of him belittling himself. Is this how he felt, when I used to do the same thing. I make a mental note never to do it again."

Edward sighs. "I'm older, I'm more experienced, and you're so—"

I cut him off with a glare. "Fragile? I could understand it when I was human, but now I'm stronger than you are."

"I know that I can take care of myself. It feels… irresponsible to leave you so vulnerable."

"You can take care of yourself and I can't? I'm sorry, Edward, but if I hadn't done this for you, you would be dead soon. Life isn't worth it without you. And I don't mean that in the same… lovesick way that I used to. I know now exactly how horrible this world is. Vampire or not, I've been forced to understand the worst parts of human nature, and without you? Without the rest of your— our family? Life isn't worth it. Winning the Games wouldn't be worth it."

"But you must go on. If you had died out there, Bella, I would die bitter and hopeless—"

"So it's about you, not me? That's why you didn't want me to go? I've never known you to be that selfish." I lather on more of the cream, almost violently in my anger.

"That's wonderful," he says. "Maybe now you see me as I really am."

Something inside of me snaps. There is a newborn monster inside of me, and it has very little to do with being a vampire. A floodgate of emotions spills through. "Oh no, Edward. And yes, I really do see you as you really are. But I still love you. I love you more than I love myself, but that doesn't mean I'm going to put up with this anymore. I know how you felt now, back when I was human— do you have no sense of self-preservation?! Can't you at least try to have one for my sake? If you love me, if you love the rest of your family, then why can't you see that you're being so selfless that it's selfish? Think of how the rest of us would feel if something happened to you!

"And more than that. I have lived through starvation, and poverty, and being hunted by a newborn army. I have faced the Volturi, and I have faced a centuries old vampire that was bent on killing me. That was when I was human. Now I've lived through werewolf-like Mutts and terrifying, creep-crawly creatures that put me through more agony than I thought possible. I've survived mountains that crumble and angry newborns. I've survived the death of an innocent little girl." Something in my heart breaks at the thought of Rue.

"I've been reckless in the past. I know it. I've gone off with freaks who would probably abduct me to hear your voice, and I've jumped off cliffs to have hallucinations of you. But that nearly got you killed. That nearly tore the Cullen family apart. I learned my lesson, even if I didn't realize it at the time. I've grown up. I can think for myself. If I want to hang out with werewolves because my best friend is one, why should you stop me? I know you were worried about my safety, I don't blame you for that.

"But now. Now that I finally have gotten my wings and learned to be selfless, now that I can finally take care of myself, now that I can fend for myself, even in the vampire world… I don't want to argue with you, Edward. So please. For both of our sakes.

"I don't want to do things without your approval, but I will if I have to. And you said you'd do the same. But we shouldn't need those things to protect each other. We shouldn't need those things to protect ourselves, or to do what we want to do. Can we reach another impasse? Please Edward." I finish the last of the cream in the medicine pack, and circle around to face him. "Can we just be equals?"

Edward is silent for a few seconds. Then he smiles, though I see sadness behind his eyes. He sighs. "I'm a hundred and nine, Isabelle Swan," he replies, his voice calm and measured. "But I think you've just displayed more maturity than I have in the past century."

I can't help but grin, and he gives a wry smile in reply.

"You're right," says Edward, sounding almost amused. "I've been an idiot. You're a Swan, Isabella, not a lamb. It's time I let you fly." Then he adopts something much more serious. "You're not dependent on me anymore— we're not dependent on each other— or at least not for approval. We do what we think is right, for ourselves and for each other. Maybe it wasn't that way at the beginning. We've changed, I think. I used to say I didn't want you to change, but I think it's been for the better. And I used to think it was impossible for people like us to change, but I was wrong about that, too. Even stone can be chiseled. Even a masterpiece can get better."

He brushes a lock of hair away from my face; Edward's touch makes me shiver. "I will always love you, Isabelle Swan," he muses. "But maybe it can be in a different way.

"Maybe it can be a better way."

He leans a little closer to me, and I find myself doing the same, as though there's a magnet between us.

And, suddenly, we're kissing again, but this time it's different. I'm not desperate and he's not holding back. It's slow, languid, filled with longing, joy, and relief that we're still alive… and—

I pull away in shock. Edward's eyes narrow. "What is it?" he asks.

I shake my head, shocked. "We could go home," I say. "We're the only pair left. We could go home."

Clove's face appears in the sky tonight, lonely amidst the anthem. I don't sympathize. Thresh survived, Cato survived. The telepath from District 4 survived. Edward and I survived. There are so few of us left, and they've forced us into the jungle; it won't be long before this morning's skirmish is nothing compared to the final battle.

"What do you think the climax is going to be?" asks Edward.

I stand at the mouth of the cave, overlooking the rest of the jungle. "Huh?" I know what he said, of course, I'm just slightly confused.

"They've already had packs of vicious Mutts, collapsing mountains, and vampires. But it's a television show; the finale will have to be spectacular."

I think backward. "I don't know. They'll want it to be tributes fighting each other, right?" I know the cameras have cut away from us by now. They wouldn't want something like this to appear on the air. Reality show though it might be, we're still breaking the fourth wall.

"Probably, but there's already been a lot of that. You haven't been there for much of it, though."

"But you were?"

He glances down. "Yes. When I had allied with Cato and the others… yes."

"Sorry, I didn't realize—"

"It's fine."

Wanting to change the subject, I say, "I've no idea. Maybe the Gamemakers are out of ideas, too?"

"I wouldn't say that," says Edward, coming to stand beside me. "Not unless you want the cave to collapse just to prove their point."

Deep in thought, I stare out at the jungle. What is going to transform this place into something even more impressive? "There'll be fire," I tell him. "Fire bombs?"

"I doubt it," he says. "It'll be unpredictable."

"And predictable at the same time, so that when the time comes, the audience will no it couldn't have been anything but this," I add. "Like the conclusion to a good book."

"That sounds right," he replies. I turn to look at him. The wounds on his back have healed quite nicely, and he doesn't appear to be struggling to stay on his feet. I notice that his eyes are completely black— but I know better than to point it out to him.

"You look better," I tell Edward. He smiles.

"And you look beautiful, as always."

"Thanks," I mutter, glancing to the ground. My hair, matted, hangs accusingly over my shoulders. I pick up a strand. "I think I look awful," I sigh.

"You look like a warrior," Edward replies, almost wistful. "Is that a good thing?"

"To me it is. Fierce can be beautiful."

I know I am a lot of things. Fierce is not one of them. "But I'm not a warrior, Edward."

There is a rustling in the distance. In that moment, I swear my long-dead heart skips a nonexistent beat.

"And if you were, maybe you'd survive the night," says Cato.

He stands, like a cat stalking his prey, just too far away from the mouth of the cave for me to detect his scent. Cato stalks towards us. He carries an array of weapons he hardly needs, but he drops them. He is carrying only a pack of matches.

Every sense I have flies into overdrive. I slip into a crouch, readying myself to attack. "You killed her," says Cato, his voice tearful. "You and Thresh. He got away, he's smart like that." He glares at us, murderous rage underneath his eyes. "But you won't."

He lunges at us, and I do the same. We meet in midair. He grapples at my hair, reaching for my neck, and knocks me to the ground. I struggle to rise. Cato pins me down, and his fists plunge into my back, knocking out the air I don't need.

I send him flying off of me. He lands about twenty feet away. When Cato leaps, I duck. He overshoots me, but my arms reach up and hurl him to the ground. Cato lets out a feral growl as I try to pin him down. His hands wrap around my throat, and he darts forward, slamming me into the solid wall of the cave. Something like a scream escapes me. But Edward is behind him, and I need a distraction. I lean down and bite his arm with all the strength I have.

Cato cries out in pain and lets me go. I duck and run behind him. He whirls around, but Edward is there, too, and I have him pinned against the wall. We advance slowly. Cato doesn't look afraid. His nostrils flare and Cato mentally sends Edward flying out of the cave. How could I forget to put up my shield?!

I grit my teeth and retreat into the open. I fling my shield around Edward, riveting it around him perfectly. Cato races out of the cave and glares at the two of us. He snarls when his gift fails. "You'd be dead if it wasn't for your shield!" he barks. He lunges. I duck out of the way. Cato slams into a tree knocking it over.

"But I do have my shield," I say angrily, "and I'm not about to let you through it." Cato tries again; this time I can see the way his attack ripples against my net. I weave the mirror around him and he flies backward instead. I advance on him. Edward is standing again, but he stays behind me.

Cato rises. This time he leaps, overshooting me and pouncing on Edward. He has him in an iron grip — but he's still foolish and outnumbered. I knock him off of Edward, giving in to the animalistic snarls. I have him pinned to the ground in another second, and Edward helps to keep him on his back.

I'm preparing for the kill when I hear the rumbling in the distance, and feel the ground shaking beneath my feet.

Far away, the Gamemakers are laughing. "To the Games!" proclaims Seneca Crane, raising his glass to the others.

"To the Games!" they all echo, sipping their drinks.

"Perfect," says Seneca Crane, stroking his beard as he analyzes the projected results and estimated audience reactions. "They never saw this one coming."

"Oh, I'm sure some did," says one woman. "You should stop underestimating people, Seneca, it'll be the death of you."

"I doubt it," says the Head Gamemaker as he sits in his chair to watch the screen. "I doubt it very much."

Yes, there's only one (well, 1.5) chapters of the Games themselves left. What's going to happen? I'll give you three syllables.

Vol•ca•no.

:) I had to do something fun if I was ever going to finish this.

-Sky