A/N: this is it. Hopefully I made it into what you were hoping for. This one is a long one, over 8,000 words. I thought about splitting the battle in half but then figured you guys wouldn't be happy with that so I've left it the way it was. So you know, I found nothing on the wiki to indicate that anything more is burned away than veins and cells during the change. So I take this to assume humans would still maintain their organs once becoming a vampire but since there's no actual need for them they do nothing more than sit in their bodies. Remember Bella's heart ceases its beating once her change is complete, by its still there. Keep this in mind when you read the end of the chapter.
Chapter Twenty-Eight
Jasper
I knew Bella was apprehensive about everything. It's hard not knowing for sure what the future will bring for our children. She's right, we have to find out. But for now, we have to worry about the Romanians and Edward. We can do nothing until the danger is past and we can live our lives without fear of one of them popping up again. We have to end it, once and for all.
We land in Seattle around three in the morning and collect our cars from the long term parking lot and drive home. Caius, Felix and Alice are the only Volturi who ride with us. The others are going to run so we don't have to rent a bunch of cars. They'll stay in the woods between our house and Forks far enough away so their presence isn't noticed. Though we doubt the enemy will check for large groups of people renting hotel rooms, we don't wish to chance anything that will remove our element of surprise. They've already hunted so they won't need to before the battle, only we animal eaters will. So we won't have to figure that out at least.
Bella will maintain a permanent shield over Felix and Caius until we hear from Diego and know for sure it's safe to drop it. It means them being no further than a hundred yards from her. With all avenues thought of and taken care of, we settle into wait out the enemy, a mixture of confident, fearful, and anxious.
Caius
The call we were awaiting came New Year's day. Diego managed to get away from the army for a few minutes under the guise of going to the airport in Bucharest to inquire about renting a private jet. What we learned from our spy surprised even Jasper. They were bringing the whole army. Our helpful spy said it was so they could use this attack as a test run to see how well they all fight together. They left two days later and arrived in Seattle on the fourth. Then they watched us for two days, but not that long- just a couple hours at best to be sure the Cullens weren't acting strangely.
Diego managed to call again during the second day and told us they were done watching us and would be meeting in Seattle early in the morning on the seventh and coming to Forks as a unit. They did exactly what Jasper predicted in splitting the army between the three major cities. Now that we know where they're coming from and when, we can plan our strategy. We have all this afternoon to do so thankfully.
Jasper pulled out a topographical map of the area and we are now gathered around it as best we can. With myself and my brothers- who joined us as soon as we knew it was safe-, Felix, Jasper, Peter, Sam and Jake, it's a tight fit. The others opted to let us plan since we know what we're doing and since we are each a leader of some sort in our own right. Jasper peruses the map before tapping his finger against a spot that looks like a large clearing.
"Here. It's the perfect place to set up the ambush. Aro you and Marcus bring the Guard there tomorrow morning. Very early, say two am. This way we have a good while to scout around and place our troops. It's a three hour drive from Seattle, but only about two running at vampire speed."
The clearing is between Seattle and the Cullen's home. We can only assume the army wouldn't head anywhere near Forks since there isn't any reason to do so. It's not just large but also far from any humans. If planned correctly it will absolutely give us the element of surprise and is the perfect place to stage this battle. All we would have to do is be there and position ourselves in a way that we would be upwind of the enemy so they wouldn't smell us before they reached us. We will use Bella as planned, to keep Edward from our thoughts until the last minute and to protect Tanya if her sisters can convince her to join us.
We have agreed to give them that chance, since she's being manipulated by Edward and may not have followed him if she knew the truth of how he really feels about her.
Hopefully when this is over, I might be able to join the Cullens on their quest to find answers about my grandchildren. They decided they liked the idea of calling me grandpa like they do Carlisle. To say I was overjoyed would be putting it lightly. To finally be able to interact with my family, because they're a part of my world, is an overwhelming gift. One I won't squander.
I have watched over Jasper for as long as I can remember, since his birth actually. Oh I watched over his brother and sister too, and their parents and grandparents and so on. But the day Jasper was born I felt something different. I can't explain why, but I was drawn to him. Almost as if I knew one day we would become a part of each other's lives.
I felt pride when he proved himself the best warrior in our world during his time with Maria. Then became even prouder when he made a life for himself with the Cullens. I was happy when Alice told me about Bella and what she would mean for him. That he would finally find himself a companion. Imagine our surprise when Carlisle called and told us she was pregnant and they needed information about hybrids and any pregnancies of humans to vampires.
My brothers and I have to make sure there is a new law about it of course, just so vampires don't go around kidnapping women to have children. Although I have to admit that my own wife would love to be able to have children of her own, myself along with her. She understands we can't just go out and take a human to achieve that goal though.
I won't deny either that we thought about the possibility of using our human receptionists. I mean, they want to be vampires anyway, with the information Carlisle has provided us we know how to keep them healthy and safe during the pregnancy. It would be just like a surrogate, but the question would be- can we do the same thing humans do when using surrogates? It's a question that can only be answered by doing some research and for that we would need a volunteer and possibly Carlisle. But we did agree on one important fact, any human woman we use will be a willing participant and have the desire to become a vampire just in case something goes wrong like it did with Bella.
For now I will content myself with being around Carlie and Micah. I will spoil them as much as their parents allow me to, I will visit them as often as I can and have them visit in return. I will teach them all I know from the over three Millenia I've been a vampire and all I remember from the forty plus years before that from when I was a child to when I became an adult. I was a bit older than my brothers when I was turned, forty five to be exact. But it doesn't bother me.
For now though, we have an enemy to defeat in order to keep them safe. But who would have ever thought that I, Caius Volturi, could have ever found this type of happiness?
January 7, 2006
Jasper
The air is bitterly cold as our group waits for the enemy in the clearing. It's thirty miles away from the house, in the Olympic Mountain Range. They'll have to come through the mountains to get to us, because they'll more than likely take a direct path from Seattle to our house. Thanks to Diego, we have the advantage. The enemy has no idea they are walking into an ambush. Unfortunately Alice can't see one important thing, the outcome. I could have told her she wouldn't, even if the army weren't cloaked and she could see it. Because battles aren't decided before, they are decided during. With split second decisions that can make or break you.
This is my area of expertise. Battles are fought on pure instinct. Thankfully I was able to teach my family how to fight in the amount of time we had between our arrival home and the arrival of the army and their scouts. We stopped after that so we didn't alert them to our knowledge of them coming. I can only hope that I have trained them well enough for them to survive. I have been training the pack for almost two years, about three months after Sam phased, so they didn't need anymore teachings. The Volturi had no need of my training and Garrett and Peter are battle hardened warriors like me. Eleazar has always insisted his family know how to fight, he isn't nearly as placid as Carlisle once had been. Carlisle isn't so placid now.
He is standing beside Esme, two steps behind me, with a fierce determination on his face that I have never seen before and I know that when the moment comes- Carlisle will fight to the death to keep his family safe. Carlie and Micah are back at the house, being guarded by Jake, Seth, Colin and Brady. All three had been extremely unhappy about this, but I knew that out of all the pack- Jake would be the one to make sure my children remain safe, or die trying. Seth will remain in wolf form in order to see what is happening and they have orders to run if we fail. To take the twins and disappear. I also got fake documents for all three during the week, just in case.
Seth and the other two were made to sit this out because of how young they are. Sam wasn't ok with them fighting this battle. Unfortunately, if we fail, it'll mean all the Guardians are in danger and its best they disappear too and as the true alpha, Jake will lead them.
The other wolves are in the trees behind us, out of sight for now. They will be another surprise for the Romanians. They know there is a Guardian tribe in this area thanks to Edward I'm sure, but they would never suspect that they would fight alongside their enemy. Not even with Edward's warning that they might. That's what made the Romanians bad leaders. They underestimate the power of friendship. Of treating others the way you would wish to be. Treat someone with respect and they will treat you that way and that's exactly how Sam and I treat each other. Plus they think they've got the element of surprise.
I smell them before I hear them, thanks to the wind blowing their scents our way. Of course I planned it that way. The sun is shining brightly and the breeze slight, I just hope it doesn't shift suddenly. Nature is unpredictable that way after all. I listen intently. Waiting for the moment that the army comes out of the trees. As planned, Bella has us all covered and not one thought can be heard outside of her bubble. I can't wait to see their looks of surprise.
Peter to my left whispers what we're all thinking. "Here we go. Get ready." Like we really needed that reminder, it is just Peter's way to psych himself up.
I'm not disappointed. When the first of the army breaks through the trees they stop short, shock and fear all over their faces and emotions. Good. They should be afraid. The cloaking is gone now that they're right in front of us. Seems that particular gift has its limits, thankfully. I immediately can tell which are the newborns. They have a rage about them that only a newborn would feel. These were chomping at the bit to get to us. Too bad they didn't seem to know just who they were facing. Maybe if they did, they wouldn't be so eager to face The Major.
Turning to my group I look upon each of their determined faces. "Remember, you can't let them get their arms around you. Newborns are strong enough they'll break you apart. Don't go for the obvious kill and do not underestimate any of them. Edward is mine, Mele is Alice's. Other than that, everyone is fair game unless they surrender. If you can, capture Stefan and Vladimir alive. Tanya will be allowed to switch sides if she so chooses. Fred will repel people, Jasmine can command the elements so be careful. Mele can transfer gifts so those without one, help Alice take her down. Bella, if you feel your gift is needed then do so, but otherwise we do this the old fashioned way. I think you should concentrate on Raoul since I think his gift is mental. Good luck everyone and stay safe."
As I spoke I could feel many of those across from us begin to get nervous. From the first sight of them I've seen that Diego was right and they've amassed an army of fifteen newborns, the six gifts, and another six vampires that have chaffed at the Volturi rule for a while. All of which are unknown to us which gives me some comfort, I would hate to have to be facing friends after all. I turn back just in time to watch Edward, Tanya and the two Romanians come from the trees.
Tanya stops short and gasps. I can feel her apprehension, her fear- for her sisters most likely as she takes them in standing next to Eleazar with determination on their faces. I can feel her doubt too, as she looks on the army amassed against those she decided to join. She's still under the impression that the twins are Immortal Children. We assume that she didn't hear their heartbeats that day because she was too busy being angry about it all. That she didn't focus. It was the only explanation we could come up with.
Edward is sneering at me and Bella, who is at my side clutching my hand. The contempt on his face plain and the anger in his emotions just as plain. Too bad he's going to die today. I feel my anger rising and have to shove it back down so I don't lose focus. I can't wait to rip him apart. Stefan and Vladimir step forward, their emotions tell the truth against the calm looks on their faces. I can practically taste their nervousness. For the first time since they decided to try and take over this world, they can see it won't be as easy as they thought.
Vladimir, his ashy blond head shining brightly in the winter sun- his skin looking much like the brother's used to when they were so immobile the dust was allowed to land on their skin and adhere there- smiles and steps further forward addressing me first, a clear indication that he feels I'm the leader here. "Major, hello. To what do we owe this honor? I mean what a welcoming committee you have here. For a group of vampires merely passing through?"
Before I can say anything another voice cuts through the quiet. "Cut the bullshit Dracula One. We know why you're here. We got ourselves a great little helper that has let us know everything about your little coup and the fact you think you can come up in here and attack my family and friends and take us all hostage and force us to do your dirty work. So stop fucking posturing and get on with it!"
Leave it to Peter to put things bluntly. I'm glad he said helper though instead of gift, this means that Alice might be able to get out of this without her gift being revealed. After all, any who may leave this field of battle alive could spread word about her gift. I'm proven right as Diego steps from among the others, grabs the hand of a pretty little brunette vampire that looks no older than sixteen and darts to our side to stand next to Peter.
Vladimir scowls at him, but Peter's words have the desired effect and he drops at least part of the facade. "I hear your family has been very naughty Major. Creating immortal children? And it would seem you have the support of the Volturi. Playing favorites are you Aro? We had come to take care of the lawbreakers since you seem to be unable to do so, but as you are here already we demand justice. Prove you are not going to show favoritism and take them into custody. If you refuse to kill the ones who broke the law and the children then we demand you step down so better leaders may lead."
Aro laughs at that and steps forward. The brothers opted to take to the flank, to show that they are here to help us. To stand behind us in support as it were. "Oh Stefan," he shakes his head in mock disappointment. "You and I both know that isn't why you are here at all. Our little spy told us all about your building an army to attempt a coup. You just chose to use Edward and his revenge as a means to get to the Cullens. You figured you could have them on your side and others would soon follow due to their trust in Carlisle."
I'm glad I haven't given Bella the signal to drop her shield yet, Aro nearly gave away Alice's gift there. We haven't told Diego about Alice's gift yet and that being how we were able to catch him that day. I can see the thoughtful look on his face as he wonders how we knew about the Romanian's motives when he didn't know. All he did was make that call to Mele and then rejoined the army the next day. So we wouldn't have learned that from him. Stefan and Vladimir know this as a fact as well, since they told no one else themselves- not even Mele. Stefan begins to look to the others in his army. Probably thinking that there's possibly a second traitor amongst them that hasn't revealed themselves yet for some reason.
Vladimir sneers at Aro, his dark tone rather reminiscent of Dracula in those old movies. I can't help but chuckle at the irony of Peter's nicknames for them. Just then Edward steps towards Stefan and whispers something in his ear, though why he did that is beyond me since they're close enough to hear him just fine. "Stefan something strange is going on, I cannot hear anyone's thoughts. They must have a gift we are unaware of among them."
He looks towards us and I give him a smile, while beside me Bella smirks and gives him a little wave. "Ah, so you've finally figured it out have you? You're denser then I thought Edward. Surely you had to have known Bella had a gift, hell- you asked Eleazar if he could detect one. Too bad for you that he refused to tell you before talking with us and we asked him to keep it to himself. Funny how we can thwart your gift huh, Mr. All Knowing?"
Edward snarls and goes to say something more but Stefan stops him. "So you have learned the truth. It matters little. I don't see your precious gifts here Aro, quite careless of you. I doubt that you could beat my gifts without them."
"Unlike you Stefan, my brothers and I learned our lesson before we became too weak to defend ourselves. Believe me, I'm strong enough to fight and best you. Care to see?"
"Enough," Vladimir shouts. "Enough of this dance. Aro Volturi, Marcus Volturi and Caius Volturi. We find you guilty of favoritism and breaking your own laws. We have two witnesses that say these children are indeed Immortal Children. Performing feats no human child can. We also know it is impossible for vampires to produce children. So produce the children and show us this truth you speak of, otherwise step down and allow those who are impartial to rule." As the two leaders exchange words I can feel the six vampires noted earlier are becoming increasingly anxious, they're beginning to doubt the Romanians can win this fight. I have a feeling they will surrender or run.
My mate steps forward then. I couldn't be prouder of her right now. She drops her shield so Edward can hear our thoughts. He flinches, but doesn't say a word. He can't have his lie outed after all. "Aro does not lie. I carried them in my body for the four weeks it took them to gestate. They are hybrids, part human, part vampire. I can prove it to you, but that would take a phone call and at least a half hour to get them here, or you can ask your new friend what he hears in our thoughts. Though I must warn you. He will lie to you, again. He cares nothing for your coup, he merely wants revenge for a perceived slight.
"He's angry because I happen to be the mate of his once brother and the descendant of his once father and they wouldn't allow him to kill me, his singer. He lied to you too Tanya," she says as she turns to the woman next to Edward. "He told you they were Immortal Children, unchanging. He told you he would be with you for eternity too I bet. He doesn't love you Tanya, Jasper can attest to that- emotions never lie. You were just a means to an end. A way to keep from being alone until he could find bigger and better companions. Look at your family. If they thought we had broken the law, would they stand beside us? You know the truth to that. Save yourself now. Join us. Just walk over here and join us.
Anyone, anyone willing to see the truth can leave now. Can go and will not be faced with the wrath of the Volturi. They stand behind us now, an effort to show that they are willing to mete out punishment when it is needed, but to forgive and believe when faced with the truth. The truth is that you are not here to see justice done, you're here to watch the Romanians try to do what the Volturi haven't in centuries- break apart families to force them to join them in their attempt to take control of our world again.
"Ask Carlisle what that rule was like. He may not have been an eye witness but he has seen the written proof of how bad things were when the Romanians had control. You think we'll become gods? You are wrong. We will become the hunted. There is a reason we remain hidden from the humans. can you imagine what will happen if humans learn of us and view us as the threat we are to them? Especially with the weapons they have now? You wish to remain alive, immortal, but you will not if Stefan and Vladimir take control again. Turn back now, while you still can."
This is it. I feel the shift in their emotions, the moment Tanya sees the truth and wants to come to us- but she knows she's not fast enough. Edward snarls next to her, having heard her thoughts, and grabs her wrist to keep her still and that's all it takes. Irina and Kate are moving before anyone can stop them as Tanya uses a human self defense move to free herself from Edward's hold. Then she's moving, I feel the moment the newborns lose focus and begin to shift into fight mode and the battle is on. The six dissidents have no time to make their decision before they're surrounded by members of the Guard.
A man about my age, blond haired, tall- about Peter's height-, and muscular throws his hands up and moves to the side of the clearing and sits down, clearly showing he will not be fighting. This can only be Fred. Several people try to get close to him and his gift comes into play. I'm not concerned with him at all. I head straight for Edward, who launches himself at Tanya only to be thrown from her by Bella's shield. Her sisters reach her unscathed, also due to Bella and I reach Edward seconds later.
I move to grab him but I'm hit from the side by a couple of newborns and we go tumbling into the snow.
Bella
When I see Jasper go down under the onslaught of the two newborns it is all I can do to not wrap my shield around him, but he's fought newborn armies many, many times before and I have to trust that he will be ok. I scan the enemy, looking for the one called Raoul and find him immediately. He's about sixteen, not much taller than I am with black hair and red eyes. He's physically imposing though, almost as if you can literally see how unmerciful he could be. Two of the pack, who came racing from the trees the moment the fight was on, are heading right for him, almost as if in a trance.
It's his gift at work, it has to be. It's a dangerous situation because it gives him the advantage over the two wolves, Paul and Jared most likely as I recognize Paul from the bonfire that night and Jared is rarely from his side. I watch in horror as they move in front of him, his gift pinning them to the spot due to their sheer desire to be near him and he moves in to kill them. I'm not close enough to do more than wrap him in my shield. The two wolves shake their heads as it they come out of the trance and move in to make the kill. I'm completely oblivious to my surroundings, trusting that any friends nearby will keep me safe, so I'm unprepared when suddenly a massive force hits me and my shield is dropped and I go down hard.
Jasper
I can feel Bella's fear, but she doesn't come to my aid, she knows despite how afraid she may be for me that I can handle myself. It's been a long time since I've faced newborns, but it's almost like riding a bike with how easy it comes back to me. They're green, not used to fighting, which makes me think they had to have been changed recently. Within a month or so. They come in together, trying to take me by surprise but I'm ready for them. I launch one into the air with a quick kick and see Sam heading my way. I toss him the other vampire with a quick grab of his arms and a spin move that sends him flying and Sam catches him in his jaws and slams him to the ground, ripping him apart in seconds.
The other comes roaring back at me and I grab him around the chest, squeezing as hard as I can and hear the telltale sounds of stone cracking. He screams in pain and I take advantage of his momentary lapse in focus and release him enough to rip his arms from his body and then Leah comes in from somewhere and finishes him off, spreading his parts far and wide until we can gather parts and burn them, as I turn to survey the field.
Peter and Garrett have been engaged by two newborns each, clearly they've seen that those two are warriors and need to be attacked in tandem, but just as with my two they're not trained well and are relying on their strength. They get a couple bites in, which has Peter using words not fit for anyone's ears, but it doesn't take long until they're dispatched and the two men go off looking for more victims- finding them in a couple of newborns that have Charlotte and Kate cornered. Those two newborns don't stand a chance.
I scan the crowd and notice Stefan and Vladimir have engaged the brothers and the five of them are in a fierce fight. Vladimir manages to remove one of Marcus' hands, but that doesn't stop him. They have the high ground, so I shift my focus elsewhere. I see the little brunette sitting next to Fred and remember Deigo's conversation with Raoul and how he said Fred would protect the girl. This has to be Bree. She's tiny, maybe fifteen or sixteen, sweet faced. But that's all I see as I turn again, looking for Bella and Edward. I find them both, and what I see makes me mad with rage.
He's snuck up on Bella and has jumped her from behind, knocking her to the ground so her shield, which was clearly wrapped around Raoul, has faltered. Without t around him, his gift has started working on the two wolves in front of him again. I don't hesitate. I run towards them as fast as my legs will take me, lunging at Raoul just as he launches himself at them. MY tackle makes his gift break and suddenly we're all together in a tangle of limbs, claws, teeth and growls. We make quick work of the vampire and I get up just in time to hear a pained snarl from Bella.
I turn back towards them and see she's on her back now, Edward on top of her tearing at her. She has deep furrows all along her body from his fingers. Her shirt is in shreads and one breast is exposed and has marks from his nails all along the top. Snarling I move to rip him from her when suddenly, he's airborn. He goes flying up into the air so fast and so far that for a moment he's a speck in the sky. Then he comes back down and impacts with the ground and nearly breaks apart. Holy fuck! Remind me not to piss her off!
He manages to gain his feet and makes his way back towards her, his rage keeping him focused on her alone and not his surrounding so when I tackle him to the ground he screams in rage. In my anger that he has hurt my mate I rip his arms from his shoulders. He screams in pain, but I'm not done. I rip him apart and fling the pieces far and wide until all that's left before me is his torso. I'm so angry I want to put him back together and rip him apart again. I think that's just what I'll do.
Leaving his body lying there I turn to find my mate. I run to her side and pull her to her feet, her shirt and equally torn bra fall- the straps stopping at her elbows where they're bent- and I remove mine to cover her, leaving me bare to the waist. I don't care though. "Are you ok darlin', other than the obvious?"
"I'm fine cowboy. Just fine. They hurt, but I'll heal. He won't though," she says as she points to my handy work.
I can't stop the laugh I bark out and kiss her. Pulling back I give her a grin. "No he certainly won't." Just then we hear an "oh fuck this shit!" And turn just in time to see a red eyed vampire with pink hair raise her arms and suddenly the snow whips up. This must be Jasmine. As the wind she's creating builds, the snow begins to obscure the fight going on around us and I realize if she succeeds in making the storm any bigger she'll turn the tide in favor of our enemy and I can't have that. She's trying to make a strong enough wind to knock us all down, but can she focus it so it hits just us and not her allies, or will she take us all out?
I look to Bella and she just nods. She pushes her shield out, but it has no more affect than to cause Jasmine's gift to die down just a little. Kind of like the effect Kate's gift had when we tried that against Bella's shield. It didn't stop Kate's gift, an electric shock that travels through her fingers, but it did make it less painful. This is all we need however, because in her frustration at her gift not working the way she wants- the vampire loses focus and the storm is lost. I move in then and grab her. I can see and feel her fear as I wrench her head from her shoulders. Her gift might have been more impressive if it weren't for my mate.
Turning to see what's happening, I see Aro, Marcus and Caius have Vladimir and Stefan on the ground between them. One is missing his arms and a leg, while the other is missing one arm and one leg and his head is in the snow next to him. Marcus is fusing his hand back on, but otherwise the brothers are unscathed except for a few bites and cuts. They'll go back to Volterra and set up a trial for the Romanians and any of their followers. More than likely they'll invite as many covens as they can and make a show of it. To show anyone else thinking about staging a coup just how deadly that will be.
Peter is dispatching the last of the newborns with Garrett, while Tanya is being comforted by her family- all who look a little worse for wear but ok all the same. As angry as I am right now, I know she was manipulated and that it wasn't her fault. Edward can be very persuasive after all. Those same vampires I guessed would surrender or run are stood at one end of the clearing, the same Guard members from before surrounding them, with their hands raised in surrender. Dependent on what they tell the brothers and how truthful they are, they could come to the same fate as Diego- even though the brothers claimed otherwise. Good thing they didn't just make a run for it because that would have sealed their deaths instead of possibly getting them freed.
Speaking of, I turn to look for him and see him standing over who can only be Mele with Carlisle, Esme and Alice- Felix is stood to the side watching with an amused expression. She's pretty: flowing red hair, ruby red eyes, flawless pale skin. She's also missing her arm, both legs and a chunk of her cheek where Alice has torn them from her and is snarling and cursing Diego for betraying them all. Alice's gift will remain secret it would seem, though we will probably tell Diego as he has proven himself trustworthy now. It will be automatically assumed we learned everything from hI'm though. Alice seems to have heard enough of her because she grabs the woman's throat and bites into her neck, ripping her head from her shoulders before pulling out a lighter and setting her alight.
She's the first. I look at everyone else and see Leah laying on the ground with Sam kneeling next to her, she's alive but badly injured- though the parts of the vampire she must have been fighting are littered around her. Carlisle spots her too and heads that way. He checks her over then comes to me.
"We need to take her to Sue's. I'm going to have to reset the bones, they're healing too fast. She's got some broken ribs, her arm is dislocated and she's in a lot of pain. The pack will probably leave with me. I'll take Esme with and have her head to the house to relieve the boys. We'll see you later." I nod and he takes off, the pack picking Leah up and Esme trotting along behind them.
Now that the battle is over we begin gathering parts of the others, after I make sure that all of Edward's parts are found first. Peter, Bella and I go off in separate directions to find them. As I put him back together I hear Felix cursing and I realize something else is wrong. Turning I see him gathering the rest of the Guard we brought with us and realize a few of them are missing. Santiago is nowhere to be seen and he would be hard to miss as he's just as big as Felix. I don't see Demetri either, that is until he walks out of the woods clutching the empty space where his arm used to be.
We must have already burned it. That sucks, but it's not like he can't live without it. Then there are at least three of the lesser Guard missing. That's four of ours dead and gone. Not too bad considering. This was a battle after all. I expected it would be possible to lose a few. I'm just glad it isn't any of my family. Leaving Felix to his job, I turn back to Edward, once he is put back together for the most part, he immediately starts cursing at us. As I wait for Peter to come back with Edward's hand and another, more delicate, part of him I tune him out. I could care less about the names he's calling me.
Peter comes up to me then with amusement radiating off him in waves. He hands me the hand and I reattach it to Edward as Peter continues to chuckle. "What's so funny Peter?"
I turn and look at him. He's smiling so widely his face might break. "Well Major...we seem to have found everything except his penis, and balls." In my anger I may have ripped literally everything from him. He was planning to use those two items to hurt my mate at one point after all.
Tanya walks up then and what she has to say makes everyone laugh. "That's alright, he didn't know how to use it anyway." Obviously she's realized she's better off without him.
Still laughing I tell her, "yes, but even so, we should probably put him together properly. After all, how am I supposed to continue to torture him for nearly killing my mate not once, not twice, but three times now, if I don't have all his parts? Besides, I think I'd like to burn them in front of him for thinking he could rape Bella before he killed her." I can feel her anger become more palpable then. She must not have known that particular tidbit.
He shuts up then. The fear radiating off him like a bad smell and his eyes dart around looking for an escape. He won't find one. The more time I have had to think about it all, the angrier I've become. I want to rip him apart over and over again! I look for Bella. She's sitting in the snow now, Rose tending to her wounds, because of this fucker before me.
Peter lightens the mood a bit, for himself and Tanya that is. My anger is too great to laugh now. "You might as well break out your tweezers and a magnifying glass, you'll need them."
"No he won't need them, he'll need to ask me for them." And with that Tanya pulls Edward's dick and balls from behind her back. "I found them first and would like to request the honor of burning them. After all Jasper, you are not the only one he has wronged." Her voice breaks as she continues. "He made me fall in love with him, made me think he cared for me, but he was just using me all this time. I've never been so humiliated in my life. I nearly lost my friends and family, my life, because of him. He's a liar, a manipulator, he's ugly and deceitful and I hate him! So please, allow me?"
I give her a swift nod. She's right, she deserves to have some revenge as well. I watch with no emotion as she pulls a lighter from her pocket, the same one Alice used, and lights it. Edward begs and pleads for us to let him live, that he'll go away and never come back. That he's no threat now that Bella is a vampire. But he put my children in danger. He put my mate in danger. He put my friends and family in danger. And I can feel that he feels no remorse. He only wants to save himself.
I listen, totally devoid of emotion for him, as he screams at the sight of what makes him a man igniting, being thrown to the ground and burning to ash. I watch as Tanya stomps on those ashes, spits on them and then Edward himself. I stare at him as his body is wracked in sobs. I don't care. I have no emotion left for this piece of shit. Bella comes over to join us and I watch with pride as she squats down and looks him in the eyes. Bandages now peeking out from under the collar of my shirt, Carlisle brought a medical kit with him and must have left it with Rose just so Carlie and Micah didn't have to see any injuries we might have sustained. I need to get her to wrap the bites on my arms from the two newborns I fought.
She looks at him with no emotion on her face, as if he's nothing. "You tried to kill me Edward, too many times. You have no heart, so why should we? We know what you planned to do with my children. For that alone you deserve a slow agonizing death. But first, I think I'll just take this."
Next thing we know her hand is buried in his chest and she pulls his long dead heart from it. While the venom burns away veins and arteries because blood is no longer needed, our major organs remain. They just die, become useless and unneeded. She's right, he doesn't need something he never had. He looks down at his open leaking chest in horror and then turns those horror filled eyes on my mate as she takes the proffered lighter from Tanya. A silent exchange passing between the two women as they look at each other a moment, the emotions passing between them telling me they now understand each other.
Then Bella turns to face Edward once more and flicks the lighter; and smiles. She smiles so widely as she sets his heart on fire and we watch as it ignites and she tosses it onto the ground. It rolls a bit and then comes to a halt as it turns to nothing but ashes. Bella loops her arm with Tanya's and together the two women walk away, Bella telling her about our children as they go. Explaining to Tanya what had happened and promising to let her meet them as soon as we are done here.
I turn back to my enemy. He could have avoided all of this had he just decided to be truthful. We would have sent him off somewhere until we changed her. Once she became a vampire he would have been no threat. We could have sent him to someone that would have helped him control his desire until we had time to set things up for Bella's change, but no. He decided to lie and sneak around. His fate is his own doing.
My anger is still burning within me and I let it loose. I rip and tear and burn him until he's gone, one little piece at a time. His screams echo around the clearing long after the last piece of him is ash and purple incense on the breeze. It is done. He's gone. I feel a hand on my shoulder and turn to see Emmet there. I feel a momentary flash of guilt. How can I face Carlilse after killing the one he felt was a son? But Em just smiles and says, you did the right thing and I know he won't blame you. Let's go home Jazz. Let's go home."
Together we walk back to the rest of our family. Diego is standing with Fred, an arm wrapped around the waist of Bree and I can tell they're saying goodbye to a friend. They clasp hands before Fred turns around and runs into the trees. The couple come up to us and he introduces us to his mate. Then asks if we think they might join us for a bit. I tell them it should be fine and the head off towards our house, following Rose and Emmett.
Alice, Felix and Caius ask if they can stay with us for a while longer, to help us find the hybrids. Aro agrees and tells Caius that he will let Athena know what's happening. I'm sure she'll join us later. I doubt she'll want to trek through the jungle with us though. Then they disappear into the forest to head home to Volterra. Minus four people, their prisoners herded between them. They'll contact Charles more than likely and ask him to bear witness to the testimonies of the ones that surrendered. Vladimir and Stefan will be kept in the dungeons until then. Once sentenced they will leave this world for good.
We go back to the house, the Denali coven, Garrett, Peter and Charlotte beside us. We get to the house and step through the veranda, after jumping the river, and head into the great room where I can hear the heartbeats of my children. They look up at us from the game they're playing with Esme and smile, glad to see us home. They frown a bit at my naked chest and the new bites on my arms I didn't get covered, but they're quickly gone and then they're running to us.
As one Bella and I move forward and scoop them into our arms. The danger is over, we can live normal lives again. Well, as normal as a life can be being immortal and having children who are different. At least we can finally start our search to learn more about them. Then there's our wedding, I can't wait to make Bella my wife. Then all of eternity stretched out before us. All is as it should be. Sort of.