Author's Note: I don't want to spoil it, but: This is one of the moments you guys have been waiting for. Well, almost. ;) Only one more chapter left! And perhaps an epilogue.

About POV's: one of you guys asked me to put whose point of view it is in the corner of the page. Well, unfortunately, I don't know how to do that for the existing chapters, but I'll put it for this one and the one after that. Sorry if I caused any confusion with not putting it originally.

Do tell me if this chapter meets your expectations. This is a crucial part in the climax! I love to hear from my readers, and feedback is so nice when I'm wondering how my readers will take a certain chapter. Thanks to all my reviewers and readers, you make my day just light up!

If I could keep you just a little longer, I have a question ask of my readers. What would you like me to write next? If you have any ideas, please PM me, or put it in a review. I have a couple things brewing, but I want to know what you'd like. If I have the majority of you guys saying, "We'd like ______," I'll try to come up with some good writing for it.

Thanks again! Enjoy!

Songs:

Let the Flames Begin -- Paramore (this is in honor of the lovely reviewer who convinced me this song was perfect for my story! P.S.-- Yes, the words at the beginning of the video are Spanish) .com/watch?v=RfsSFBoj_V8&feature=related

Stand My Ground -- Within Temptation (normally I don't recommend this band, because they kind of creep me out, but this song is perfect for this chapter) .com/watch?v=nRztRCwOTM0

Evanescence-- Everybody's Fool (I can't really tell you why I thought of this song, but it describes what Adelaide is, I think. And by this time the Cullens are mad enough to say these lyrics ;)).com/watch?v=M3GytB6kySE

and

Evanescence (again) -- Forever Gone, Forever You (a portent of things to come?) .com/watch?v=CiNWCVoAPU0&feature=related

Yay!

Rosalie's POV

37. Vengeance Is

"I can't," Carlisle managed to say. "I cannot decide."

"You must," answered Adelaide, in an emotionless voice. "There is no other choice, Doctor."

"You can't expect me--"

"I do, and you will."

"Carlisle," I said with difficulty, "I'm your best--"

"No, Rosalie!" hissed Jasper.

I ignored him, staring into Carlisle's black eyes. We both remembered our discussion on the plane to Ireland, and the confession I'd made. Despite what Carlisle had said, that he loved me as much as any of my siblings, I knew it wasn't true.

From the minute I'd been brought to this life, I'd known I was the least cherished in the family. There had only been four of us back then, but the other three Cullens had been with each other for so long, I'd always felt like an outsider when we were together. I'd never wanted to go my own way, to be completely alone, but, until Emmett came along, I'd been isolated. It wasn't that Carlisle and Esme didn't love me; quite the opposite. It was just that they loved Edward more.

I could understand that without any problem, because I realized I was vain and selfish. I was hard to deal with in my best moments, spoiled brat that I was. After Emmett was turned, I lost some of that self-centeredness, but not enough to make me lovable to my other family members.

And I was still selfish, I would admit that.

But now I was going to be selfless, for once.

"Carlisle," I mouthed at him, "pick me." Save them, my brothers. Save them for Alice...and Bella. Emmett would find someone new, he could get over things faster than Jasper or Edward could. It would scar him deeply, but it wouldn't kill him. Please, Carlisle, save them.

I was not afraid to die.

But my father wouldn't hold to my wishes, I could see that already. Carlisle couldn't look away from us, his children that he'd made with his own venom and strength. Jasper wasn't his creation, but he loved him like a son. In Carlisle's eyes, each of us was irreplaceable.

"I choose myself," he said, tearing himself from us to focus on Adelaide.

"Carlisle!" cried Edward. I was shouting with him, but only in my mind.

The insane nomad shook her head. "That was not an option."

"I can't choose from my family, but I can choose myself."

"No, Carlisle, you can't," said Jasper, in a hoarse voice.

"Doctor, that was not a choice." Adelaide was unyeilding.

"Edward will be of more use to you than I. His ability is greater by far. He can learn."

"You cannot choose yourself, Carlisle."

Closing his eyes, Carlisle took three deep breaths, steadying himself. He was a doctor, after all; he wasn't going to lose his composure about this. I didn't honestly know whom he would choose, or if he would comply with Adelaide's orders. When he could avoid the woman's gaze no longer, he opened his eyes. "I will not choose one of my children for you to sacrifice."

But he had to, didn't he? Carlisle was only prolonging the inevitable.

"I didn't give you a choice, Dr. Cullen," returned Adelaide, her tone steely. "This is the price you pay for refusing me."

"I refuse to do this also!"

"Why is it always a challenge with you?" asked the nomad. "I laid out your options very clearly for you, and you still persist in your obstinance."

Carlisle's expression looked like he very much wanted to reach out and hit that woman's nose off her face, but instead he turned to look back at us. All three of us waited in strained silence, each one wondering when we'd hear our name spoken from our father's lips, our death sentence. Hissing, Carlisle turned back to Adelaide. "Do what you want to me, but I can't decide from among my children who will die."

"All right, then." Adelaide was calm as she nodded to her guards. "Kill all three." Carlisle turned white while the guards dove for us.

Jasper was the first to crack under the injustice. "You witch!" he snarled, then shot off the ground as Edward flew forward and I dodged to the side. I wasn't quick enough, and a man's rough hands snagged me from behind. I twisted around to bite his face, but his fist connected firmly with my jaw, shoving my head backward. I was tossed onto the ground with the man's arms holding me down. "Keep 'er down till we catch the others!" called the voice of the southern vampire, Jonathon.

Edward was neatly sliding out of the carpathian's hold, contorting himself at top speed. I saw the piece of debris coming toward him before he did. "Edward, watch out!" I shouted, but I was too late-- Jonathon had hurled a chunk of wall at my brother. The solid object knocked Edward squarely off his feet, giving two guards time to pin him down. Though we both writhed around, we couldn't get away.

Jasper was hardest to catch, his years training under Maria paying off once again. He was backed against the wall of the warehouse, repelling anybody who got too close to him, spitting out furious curses like the soldier he was. There was no way Jasper was going down without a fight.

Adelaide sighed, then addressed Reynard. "Put him under."

I couldn't stop my cringe as I watched Jasper crumple from the effects of Reynard's power. At least my brother hadn't screamed and carried on like I had. That would make it easier for Carlisle to watch him faint.

"They'll be good additions to the army, if the doctor lets them live," said Reynard, after Jasper was subdued.

"It's up to your leader to decide if they live or die," snapped Carlisle, the greater paleness still in his features. Reynard's phrasing had struck a nerve in our father.

"If you can't make up your mind, Carlisle, they will all three die." Adelaide was careless with our lives, flicking her fingers at a spot on her clothes as we were lined up for our execution. Edward supported the unconscious Jasper, his face set in hard lines. I could only grimace at the guards, and ignore the scandalized looks Blaise was throwing at us. Some good that man had done us. But, no, I shouldn't think that--Blaise had tried to help us, just as we'd fruitlessly helped oursleves. Maybe Blaise just caught on quicker to the futility of fighting Adelaide's guards

"Choose, Doctor," Adelaide said.

Here I was, staring into the face of death, and I couldn't make myself believe it was real. I had gone so long as an indestructible goddess, beautiful and terrible, that I'd never given a second thought to how our kind was murdered. I knew how it was done, obviously; I'd had my share in the few spats my family had become involved with. But I had never confronted death so baldly before, without anything standing between me and it.

I'd told myself dying would be a relief from the awful half-life we lived. We weren't alive, technically, so we couldn't actually die. That would make it less of a blow, wouldn't it? I wasn't human, and I'd seen too much of the world, more than anybody should. My first brush with death had been terrible enough to make my second seem like a walk in the park. If I could tell myself that, I would be fine.

Oh, where was Emmett?

There was silence as Carlisle stood, helpless, his coat-clad self alone and wretched, a nauseated look on his face. The guards around us shuffled their feet. Someone coughed into their sleeve, a small sign of impatience. Adelaide was long-suffering, her hands on her hips. Carlisle's eyes lingered on Edward, then pulled my own eyes to his, my musings on death reduced in size when I saw the raw agony in his gaze. No matter how this ended, Carlisle was going to live with sending one of his family members to the grave. And suddenly, perversely, I was thankful that I was on the receiving end of the decision.

At last Adelaide spoke. "I'm not going to allow you much more time, Doctor."

The bridge between us was broken as Carlisle's eyes switched to Edward's face. Jasper was still in a faint; I automatically ruled him out. Carlisle could never be so heartless to send Jasper to his death unconscious. If I had been in his shoes, I would have picked the one who wouldn't feel it when they died. Jasper would never know what happened to him, unlike Edward and I.

"Doctor." Carlisle tensed at the woman's voice, his fingers flexing. He bowed his head, shutting out both of his children's gazes. "Choose now, Doctor."

"Why?" The word slipped out of Carlisle's mouth, almost a groan. "Why are you doing this to me?"

"I thought I made it simple." Fire spurted into Adelaide's expression. "You won't give me the aid I need to destroy the Volturi. I must destroy them, Carlisle."

Carlisle put a hand to his face. He was acting like an exhausted man, a human doctor. "What have they done to you, to earn your hatred?"

"Isn't it clear?!" growled the nomad, her figure stiff. "They are oppressors that hold us in fear. They're despots!"

"They keep us in line," Carlisle shot back, his head coming up. "They keep you in line!"

"They have no right to do so!" Swooping close to him, the fearsome woman took him by the arms. "Don't you see that, Doctor! Why can't you see what they really are? Why do you fight me?"

"I don't fight you, Adelaide," he answered resignedly, his exhaustion a contrast to her fiery temper. "I fight what you might do to us, to all of us. You don't realize the magnitude of what you're saying!"

"I understand it perfectly, and don't insult me by telling me I don't! You're biased, Doctor, because you have a friend among them. But they're liars and murderers!"

"So are you!" In his distress, Carlisle spat the line in her face, rising up to her level of ferocity. "You lie and murder yourself, Adelaide! Justify that!"

Staggering back like she'd been shot, Adelaide's blank gaze took in Carlisle like she'd never seen him before. Her guards had grown still, no doubt wondering what their leader would do to the vampire who'd dared to tell her the truth. Adelaide's fingers curled and uncurled on Carlisle's arms, but the rest of her was locked into position.

Carlisle wasn't finished with her yet.

"You're just like them," he asserted mercilessly, affording her no time to retaliate. "You're no better than the Volturi, Adelaide. The very things you want to abolish, you're inflicting on others. So if you do overcome them, you will only replace evil with evil." His eyes had cooled, but his movements were violent as he yanked the nomad's fingers off his arms. "Congratulations, Adelaide. You are as shamelessly cruel as they are. At least the Volturi don't pretend to be righteous."

We were all reeling with shock; no one had seen that speech coming. Jasper was coming to early, Reynard was so stunned. I could have applauded my father's unanticipated tirade. It was about time one of us gave the woman a piece of our mind! If she thought she could throw the Cullens around without Carlisle making her pay for it in some way, she was horribly mistaken. Maybe Carlisle would take the opportunity to slap her, to shake some sense into her.

Adelaide revived, and now she was very angry. I knew she was furious with Carlisle because he'd been the only one courageous enough to be straightforward about her crookedness. "Well, Doctor Cullen," she hissed, putting her face close to his. "If you honestly believe that, I can see you weren't the right man for the job. Very well: if you think your son would be better for my purposes, I'll take your word for it." She whistled loudly, making us jump, and jerked her head at her guards. "The doctor has made his choice."

From out of the shadows came the rest of Adelaide's army. There were eight of them, seven men and one lone woman. They flowed forward to thicken the ranks, five coming to take the others' places as they advanced on our father. Edward was growling loudly and continuously, his hands clawing uselessly at his captor's arms. The huge redhead was as big as Emmett, too large for slight Edward to escape. My brother lunged, and was pulled tighter into the redhead's grip. "Rose," he said through gritted teeth, "they're going to kill him!"

I gasped in horror. "But she wants him!" That's what she'd been saying all along!

"Not anymore," snarled Edward, punching out at the beefy man. "We have to do something, Rose!"

The redhead just laughed at Edward's efforts. Glaring daggers, my brother reared back and sank his teeth into the arm wrapped around his torso. The redhead's laugh cut off into a snarl of pain, and he shook Edward till my brother released his hold.

I started fighting, too, my eyes trained on the five vampires circling Carlisle.

Crouched into a defensive position, Carlisle was being slowly backed into the dark doorway of a warehouse outbuilding. It was one against five, possibly eight or nine. Carlisle was a fairly good fighter, but even he couldn't beat those odds, especially not with the special powers these vampires had. The unnerving figure of Conner stood out prominently in the circle. I beat harder against the man holding me down, seeking a tender spot to hook my long nails into. I kicked out, catching the man in his chest. With a grunt of suprise, he was hurled back into the warehouse wall, and I sprang free.

There was a yelp of pain to my left. I spared one gaze, and saw, to my dismay, that Edward was being held by his throat four feet off the ground, the big redhead crunching him into the warehouse. Jasper was on the ground, massaging his head in a dazed way. He wasn't aware of what was going on around him yet. I paused in place, indecisive: should I help my brother?

"Go, Rose!" Edward said, around the fist that was choking him.

So I went.

With a barbaric shriek, I threw myself on the first vampire in the circle of five. That had been a stupid move-- it was Conner that I landed on. As fast as I could, I picked him up by his jacket and threw him, implementing every ounce of strength in my body. He sailed over the others's heads and came to rest at the edge of the riverbank. In spite of myself, I was impressed at my own prowess; that had been quite a throw.

I ploughed into the next man, the carpathian, Elek. He was more prepared than Conner, and instead of fighting me, he spread out his arms and caught me in a crushing embrace. We fell over from the momentum of my run, getting tangled up. Jonathon had me pinioned by my wrists as Elek extracted himself from our entanglement. "Now, you stay still, miss," said Jonathon in a friendly manner, ignoring my wild endeavors to free myself. "I'd hate to have to bury you."

Carlisle's snarl made me sit up. I searched for him frantically without success. Where had they trapped him? "Carlisle!" I bellowed. "Where are you?"

"Bring him here, to me!" Adelaide was in the middle of the dirt road, removed from the skirmishes. The five vampires that weren't otherwise occupied hauled Carlisle's struggling form out of a building and shoved him ruthlessly to his knees in front of the nomad. Our father wasn't coming quietly, and I stifled a malicious laugh when I saw the fresh bites on two of the guards' arms. When he saw me being detained by Jonathon--and Edward being harassed by the redhead--however, he stopped fighting.

"Don't forget, Doctor, this was your choice." Adelaide was all coldness now, a fire starter perched in her hand. "Are you willing to die for your coven members or not?"

"Carlisle," whispered Edward hoarsely, reaching out one hand to his father. The redhead slammed him pitilessly against the wall, and he choked. I growled at the redhead. He had the gall to grin cheekily back at me, winking. He was Emmett's doppelganger, in the flesh.

Carlisle turned his face back to Adelaide, meeting her eyes fearlessly. "Yes, I've made my choice."

She nodded. "I'll hold you to it." The guards closed in on them, blocking my view.

I panicked, knowing that might be the last time I'd ever see my father again. "Carlisle!" I shouted, crawling on my knees, taking Jonathon with me. He dug his heels in and held me back. I resorted to begging. "Please," I said to him, feeling my heart clench, "please, just let me see him!"

"Sorry, miss, but I can't let you get any closer." He smiled thinly. "You might get some idea in your head to try and save him."

I swallowed, my throat tightening up. I'd never get to tell Carlisle I loved him. Any minute, and it would be over. "I'm so sorry, Carlisle," I said, hardly speaking at all. "I tried to protect you." But he couldn't hear me.

"One last thing, before we end this." Adelaide lifted her head, a flame flickering on the tip of her fire starter. "Your creator has made a terrible mistake, Cullen coven." She looked out at us. "He has gone the same route as the Volturi in denying me what I want. And he, just as they, will pay for his mistake."

Someone cried out in agony. I saw Conner, one hand raised, walking back from the riverbank. Putting two and two together, I peered at the circle of vampires, looking around their bodies. Carlisle was the one in pain, bent over on the ground, screaming. Tears that would never fall pooled in my eyes, and I hit my fist against the dirt in bitterness. Couldn't they just kill him humanely? Was that too much to ask from these monsters? I wanted to roar at Adelaide, "Tell them to stop!" But I didn't, knowing it would be wasted on her.

"The Volturi once rejected me," Adelaide said, over Carlisle's screams, "but they will regret it. Just as Dr. Carlisle Cullen is regretting his refusal."

"Adelaide," shouted Blaise suddenly, "just be done with it! Stop torturing him!" The nomad's eyes were turned away from the disgraceful sight. I thanked Blaise silently for his decency.

"Tell your leader goodbye," Adelaide told me, a sadistic, satisfied expression on her face. "Tell him you love him, for all the good that will do."

I wanted to answer her with an ear-splitting howl, but just took a breath. All the air had been knocked out of me with the sound of Carlisle's pain. "Just kill him," I said, putting my face into the ground. Just end his misery.

Edward was sobbing and snarling at once, odd, hacking noises. The hand clenched around my heart squeezed even harder. As much as we argued and got under each other's skin, I didn't want this for Edward, to watch his father die.

"Goodbye, Carlisle," I whispered, just as Adelaide said it aloud. The flame in her grip dipped down, and the guards bent lower over Carlisle's hunched body, their hands extended like claws.

Then, I heard the most wonderful, hellish sound in the world.

It was a mixture of feral hatred, feminine vitriol, and motherly outrage, ringing out around us, echoing off the warehouse and bouncing back to the river. It was the sound of pure and virtuous anger, a fury sent straight from heaven. It came screaming out of the darkness, from across the riverbank, and it was accompanied by other ferocious calls. But none of them could be heard as distinctly as this one, this singular noise, this scream of wrath in female form.

It was the shriek of Esme.