Chapter 18: Bella

#A/N. Hey guys! Coming to you with Chapter 18! HUZZAH!. I must admit, I was having a bit of writer's block when it came to this chapter, but I prevailed through it! Yes, sir I did! Oh how I hope that you all will enjoy this chapter! Some major things are happening! Well, let me let you all read!

Please Review and post ANY Comments.

Enjoy! :)

*Edward's POV*

"I'm so glad you all could finally join us. We've been waiting for you, you see." Aro breathed with a fake smile plastered on his face. Carlisle stepped up.

"Aro." He started. "I don't want to fight – I've never wanted that – but if this is what it has to be, then so be it."

"Dear Carlisle." Aro said, rising from his throne. "You know I only want your friendship."

"I can't see how I can call you a friend when you take one of my own." Carlisl stated simply. Out of the corner of my eye, I noticed the guards inching closer to us. They were planning on ambushing us while our attention was on the conversation between Carlisle and Aro. A peek out my other eye and I saw I wasn't the only one who noticed. Garrett was now focusing solely on the gaurds. Vladimir and Stefan were too slipping into crouches.

"Ah, young Bella is such a valuable piece." Aro said in an airy tone. I growled at how he made my wife sound like she was some sort of object that was to be won. Aro's eyes quickly flashed to mine.

"Of course, she's not the only one in your family." He said. His eyes then drifted over to Alice and lit up.

"Such a prize." He whispered to himself.

Such a prize, indeed. Aro's thoughts drifted into my head. He was now analyzing everyone in our group the way he did five years ago. Clearly looking for the ones with remarkable gifts. He only wanted to increase his power, and he did not want to walk away from the fight empty-handed.

"Do you mean that you planned for this?" Carlisle asked already knowing the answer. "You must've known that it would ultimately lead to this." He extended his arms out and looked to his left and right.

"You really think me so thick, Carlisle?" Aro smiled.

"I have know you for centuries, I think I can gauge some of your ways."

The guards were starting drift even closer to us. More people from our side started to notice the subtle movements the guards were making to shift towards us. Low growls sounded around the room as we prepared for battle.

"Is that so?" Aro murmured, a small grim smile playing on his lips. "Well, I'm afraid you know my exact intentions then." He snapped his fingers twice.

This was the signal the guards were waiting for.

They leapt at us quickly – taking many from our side down. Those still standing went to their aide, grabbing any guard within reach and falling into a deadly fight of their own. Aro, Marcus, and Caius looked on from where they were seated.

I pushed through the crowds, having one person in mind: Felix. I saw myself in the thoughts of a blond hair guard – he was planning on attacking me. Before he could pounce, I turned around and slammed my fist into his jaw, his head snapping back painfully. The sound echoed around the room, though it was barely noticable above the chaos. He brought his head forward slowly, his eyes blazing. Hearing the moves in his head before he acted on it, I dodged and ducked around each of the blows that were sent my way. He was growing angrier with each missed hit. Throwing out his fist for a punch that was directed at my face, I grabbed his wrist and twisted it. I used his strength against him and pushed him to the floor. Before he could get up, I pressed my foot into his neck. Bending down, I took his head in my hands and twisted his neck around, all the while pressing my foot more firmly into his neck. The guard's head tore off with a metalic screetch. I threw it across the room figuring that somebody would get to it to burn it soon enough. I turned around to continue my hunt for Felix. I spotted him across the room from me fighting with Tanya.

I advanced towards them, pushing bodies out my way as I went. My eyes were focused on Felix, my new target. I sped up as he lifted his arm to punch her in the chest. Before he even twitched his arm, I was in his face, pushing Tanya out the way, and kicking Felix in the stomach watching him fly back into the wall and leaving an indent.

"He's mine." I said to Tanya as I warched Felix get up slowly from where he landed on the floor. Without a word, Tanya turned around and went to help Carmen who was just tackled to the ground.

"Ah, I've been looking forward to this, I must admit." Felix grinned as he walked towards me. He stopped a few feet away from me.

"Likewise." I growled slipping into a crouch.

Felix chuckled and lifted his hand, index finger out, and bent his finger twice in the "come here" signal. Not needing a further invintation, I closed the distance between us at full speed. Before I could slam into him, Felix stepped to the side, dodging me. I wheeled around as quickly as I could and slammed into him from behind. He lost his footing and fell to his knees. I delivered a punch to the back of his head before he could get up. As quickly as he fell to the ground, Felix sprang lithely to his feet with a small smile on his face.

"You're fast, Edward." He stated. "But is it enough?"

"It will be." I spat out acidly.

I lifted my arm to grant a punch to his face, but his left arm came out and blocked my attempt. He used his arm to push against me and I stepped back from the force. I heard his next moves in his mind and quickly dodged them. Felix was a skilled fighter and he tried not to think too much about what he was doing. But he slipped up, and I was able to anticipate his moves.

"You know, Edward." Felix said conersationally as he dodged one of my punches. "You're a very lucky man."

It was my turn to dodge a punch. "Oh?"

"Yes." He gasped out for I had managed to kick him in the stomach and he lost his breath for a moment. He soon regained himself and quickly fell back into step.

"You have a breathtaking wife." Felix said. "Such an exquisite creature she is."

I hissed, grabbed him by the neck, and slammed him onto the floor. "Never speak of my wife!"

Felix quickly twisted out of my grasp and to his feet. "Oh, so you don't like me giving your wife compliments?"

I only growled in response.

Felix stepped out of the way as I launched a fist towards his head. "Her hair is as smooth as silk and is shiny. Her skin is so soft. Did you know that I kissed her? Yes, only moments ago. I can still feel her lips – so soft and warm. And her scent – it's unlike anything I've smelled before – intoxicating."

I saw red.

I let out a roar of pure fury and launched myself at Felix. He fell to the ground from the impact of my body on his. Before he could react, I raised my fist and slammed it repeatedly in his face.

"You had your filthy, disgusting hands all over my wife!" I grunted as I continued to relentlessly punch his face. "This is for Bella!"

I let all my anger, frustration, fear, pain, lonliness, guilt, and helplessness I kept bottled up out as I pounded into Felix. My eyes were closed tightly and I allowed myself to get lost for a few moments. My arm was vigorously working as I snapped my fist back and forward into Felix's face. I was releasing everything I kept bottled up for the last month.

It felt good.

Suddenly, I was hauled backward and was restrained by large arms. I struggled in an attempt to break away from the hold.

"Let me go!" I snarled still struggling.

"Edward." Emmett growled in my ear. "Bro stop it! He's finished, you got him. Stop!"

Emmett turned me in the direction of Felix's body. It layed, twitching on the ground. His head sat a few inches away from his body – it was completely pulverized. It was almost unidentifiable.

"Shh." Emmett murmured in my ear. I didn't realize that I was snarling until Emmett attempted to quiet me.

"Just…give me a minute." I whispered, closing my eyes. Emmett released me from the restraints of his arms.

I took a few deep breaths to steady myself.

"You good?" Emmett asked, staring at me intensley.

"Yeah."

I looked around me at the fight that was still going on. I saw a few people from my side holding their own in the battles.

"Did anybody –" I trailed off.

"Mary, Randall, and Charlotte." Emmett said sadly.

I closed my eyes. My friends. Dead.

I felt a wave of guilt wash through me.

"Well, there's not much we can do about it." Emmett said, though he sounded as if he wish there was.

I nodded. "Yeah."

With that, I made myself focus. I had a new priority. With Felix now out of the picture, I now could think with a clear head. I turned to Emmett.

"Bella." I said to him.

His eyes blazed. "Let's go."

We headed for the door, fighting the few guards that tried to stand in our way. As we made it to the door, a piercing scream haulted our movements. We turned around to find the source of the sound.

Maggie was under the influence of Jane's power. While she was under the excruiating restraint, a guard came up behind her and swiftly twisted her head off her shoulders.

Emmett cursed under his breath.

"Come on." I said to him, turning and leaving the room, not wanting to see anymore of my friends die. We didn't stop running until we were a few hallways away from where the fight was taking place.

"So where do we start?" Emmett asked me.

"Well, in Alice's vision, Bella was ordered to be put into a new place, so I know she's not back in that room she was in before." I said.

"Right." Emmett nodded.

"We should try to pick up on Felix, Demetri's, and Bella's scents. You should lead, you're a much better at tracking than I am." I said.

"Alright." Emmett closed his eyes and inhaled deeply. He was still for a few minutes and then his eyes snapped open.

"There." He said pointing to a corridor to the right of us. "I caught their scents there. It's faint though, so I suppose it's beginning to fade."

I inhaled. My nostrils picked up the faint traces of Bella's floral scent mixed with the musky scents of Demetri and Felix.

"I smell it too. Let's go."

I followed Emmett as he made his way down the hall. The scents kept us in a straight path through numerous hallways and staircases. We stopped at a door.

"The trail ends here." Emmett said. He opened the door and leaned inside, sniffing. He turned to me. "It picks back up in here." We went through the door and into a decorated hall. Statues and other artifacts followed the perimeter.

"Well, they do like to collect things." Emmett joked lightly.

"Yeah, other vampires." I said. "But I guess they had to get their share of symbolic pieces from the Renissance – the arts and sciences is the only thing respect in the human world."

"Hm." was Emmett's answer.

A scream filled the air.

I knew that voice anywhere.

"Bella." I said, and then I was off. I ran towards the location of Bella's scream – it lead me to a big metal door that was chained. The exact spot the trail of scents stopped.

"She's in there?" Emmett asked coming up behind me. "And what's that smell?" he wrinkled his nose. I snifffed the air.

Gasoline.

"It's gasoline." I said. I sniffed again. "It's coming from behind the door."

"What –" Emmett started to say, but he was cut off by another scream.

"Bella!" I banged on the door.

"Edward?" Bella's voice sounded from the other side of the door. For a second, I was overcome by the way my name sounded coming from her lips.

It's been too long since I last heard her voice.

But I made myself focus, I had to get Bella out.

"I'm here, love." I said. "And Emmett too – we're going to get you out of there."

"I'm all chained up." She cried. "And there's not much time."

"Time for what?" Emmett asked.

Silence.

"Bella?"

"This is a boiler room." Bella said quietly.

"Dear God" I gasped out as Emmett cursed. That was the reason for the gasoline. They were going to burn her alive.

"No!" I gasped out. With more speed and strength that I ever used before, I broke the chains on the door and pushed the metal door out of my way, quickly entering with Emmett trailing behind me. What I saw before me made me gasp in horror and growl in anger. Somewhere behind me, Emmett echoed my growl.

Bella stood in the center of the room. Her hands and ankles were chained to a long pole. Her clothes were dirty and torn and her face was twisted into an expression of horror – when her eyes landed on me love mixed with the horror. I did a double take when I saw Bella's eyes.

They were red.

The only sure way for our kind to have that particular color eye was from drinking human blood.

But I didn't linger on that for too long, what captivated me the most was the long line of fire raging angrily behind Bella. It almost touched the ceiling with long strokes. I rushed to Bella's side.

"Bella." I breathed, grabbing hold of the chains inprisoning her arms. "We're going to get you out, don't worry."

"These chains won't break easily, Edward. I've tried." She argued.

"It's our turn – come on, Emmett!"

Emmett and I tugged hard on the chains, but the attempt was useless. The chains were strong. I pulled even harder on them.

"Edward." Bella's voice broke me out of my reverie. "It's no use."

My head snapped towards her. "What are you saying?!"

"Just go, leave. It would be stupid for all three of us to die like this."

"I'm not leaving you."

"Edward –"

"No!" I hissed, glaring at her. "Don't you dare! I'm not leaving you here!" I turned my focus back to the chains. "Come on, Emmett, pull!"

Once again, the chains would not give way.

"Edward, listen to me –" Bella started, but I interrupted her.

"No, you listen to me." I snarled angrily at her. "I am not leaving you here, I refuse! I love you too much. I'm not leaving you here to be burned alive! Don't you have any idea of how much I love you? How much I need you? And what about Renesmee? I promised her that I would not return without you, and I won't! So if you think that I'm going to just give up and leave you, you better think again!"

"But –"

"NO!" I turned to Emmett. "Emmett on the count of three, I want you to pull as hard as you can. Put as much strength and force into you as you can. Do not hold back." I turned to Bella.

"Bella." I said. "I love you, and I know you love me too. I also know that you would never let Renesmee down. So please, do as I ask. For Renesmee. She needs her mother."

Bella stared a me for a moment. "Ok"

I nodded. "On three I want you to pull too, Bella. As hard as you can."

She nodded.

"Ready?" Emmett asked.

"One."

I gripped the chains tighter.

"Two."

Another blaze of fire oozed from the walls, falling even closer to us. I hissed from at the heat.

"Three…pull!"

We all tugged on the chains with as much strength as we could muster. After a series of failed attempts, loud grunts, and curses from Emmett, we released Bella from the chains restraining he hands and feet. Swooping her up into my arms, we rushed out of the room just as it was engulfed in flames.

Bella clung to me as I ran down the hall – away from the horrid boiler room.