DISCLAIMER: First off, I am very, very sorry for that long wait. I have graduated high school, moving into my freshman year of college. I have been also travelling (still not done) and completing many tasks for my college. Oh and before that… My friggin computer got a huge virus. That was very upsetting… So, really I've been busy and upset. But I knew you guys wanted this more than anything for I have been currently writing this at like midnight (it's actually 12:50 right now).
Also, I wanted to do this little recap. This is actually getting near the end of the book, yes there will be a part 2. I have already figured out what's going to be happening with this story (and stories to come)
So recap on important things that probably have been forgotten:
Isabella runs a house that helps rogue vampires and wolves. (Names in first chapter)
Victoria and Laurent are alive in this story (James died)
Maria is also used in this story and has made newborns
Bree was in the Volturi but then later helped Isabella.
Alec, who is in love with Bree, leaves the Volturi
Marcus helped everyone get out of their cells.
Everyone is currently in Forks, Washington. An old Cullen house.
That's really all. I hope you enjoy! Another chapter will be posted when I can (can't really say ASAP, I don't know when that is)
Emmett's POV
I returned to the house, sad and confused. Never, I have ever thought about this happening to Isabella. Yes, I knew the moment Caius took her away from us… from me… that she wouldn't be the same if or when she returned to us. But I never knew it would be this bad, this intense.
When I arrived from the house, I kept my thoughts to myself. Whatever is happening to Isabella, I'm sure she didn't want me to exploit her problem to everyone. But Jasper felt what I was feeling. He knew there was something wrong. Thankfully, he didn't question me in front of everyone. He simply told Edward and I to step outside of the house.
Jasper took Edward and I to the forest, a little further out for no one to hear us and a little too far for us to hear Alice and Isabella.
I wasn't capable of telling Jasper what I saw. I merely broke down, afraid and scared about getting my Isabella back. There weren't many words needed. Jasper just held my head against his shoulder as I broke down. Although I wasn't physically capable of crying, the mentality of it was real.
After a couple of minutes from Jasper and Edward calming me down, he walked back to the house. Isabella was already back at the house, sitting with Esme and Carlisle. All three of them were talking, smiling, joking around with each other.
"Do you mind if I steal her?" I asked my parents.
"Of course." Carlisle whispered.
I held out my hand for Isabella, which she gladly took, smiling. But I looked deep down in her eyes. They were dark, hard, and cold. Her eyes were no longer shimmering with endless love, but filled with darkness and hatred from one man who has ruined that shimmering love. It was gone… It was nonexistent.
We went to our room, closing the door behind us, and lying back down on the bed.
"I already know what you're going to say." Isabella whispered.
I shook my head and kissed her forehead. "Shhh… Just relax."
"You're not going to question me?" She asked.
I sighed. "No." I whispered. "Because I know, whenever you need me, you will want my help. I will be there every step of the way. I just want you to know that I need you, more than anyone else in this world because I love you. Although Rosalie and I were together, there has always been a part of me missing. You have fulfilled every part of me and because of it, I will want you to be safe, to feel love and comfort. Isabella… I cannot lose you. If I ever did, I would have lost my best friend, my soul mate, my laugh, my smile… my everything."
She threw her head into my chest, shaking a little. She was crying, I could feel it.
"I love you." She whispered.
"Just… tell me, if you need anything. I can't lose you…I just can't."
"Something has been happening to me." She whispered. "I'm blacking out. I don't know why. It's not possible for a vampire to black out, it's just not. But when I wake up, I'm somewhere else. I feel like I'm sleeping…but awake at the same time. I don't know. It doesn't make any sense."
"I guess this is a good time to tell you that I saw what happened." I mumbled.
"What do you mean?"
"I followed you and Alice." I said, scratching my head. "I was curious."
"Emmett..."
"It's scary Bella. You fell, blacked out… But not only that, there was this…smoke surrounding you."
"Smoke?"
"Smoke, shadows… Something. It was dark. Like you were on fire, but not hurting you."
"Never heard of it."
"Neither have I. We can talk to Carlisle. He knows a little about a lot." I grabbed her hand and started walking to the house. She mumbled something, but I wasn't really paying attention.
When we got back to the house. The others were standing around, talking. When Isabella walked in, they started to stare. Some with confusion, some with remorse and pity. I know she didn't want to feel that way, like she was a walking showcase filled with drama. I shook my head at them, not wanting them to say anything or stare. If it bothers me, it bothers Isabella.
"Something is not right." I heard Alice whisper throughout the house. When that happened, everyone would run down stairs, listening to what Alice had to say.
"What's wrong Alice?" I asked.
"Marcus." She said. "I've been keeping tabs on him. He did help us get away, if some of you don't know that. I wanted to see if he had anything planned for us, thinking that he might help us again."
"So, what's the problem Alice?" Jasper asked.
"I can't see him." Alice said. "I see Aro and Caius…. I think they killed him."
I heard a small gasp come from Isabella, who was now leaning against the wall. I knew Marcus cared for Isabella. When we were still getting to know each other, Isabella told me Marcus was like her father figure. Now that he's helped us get away, him possibly being dead, it's going to take a heavy toll on Isabella.
I looked at her, about to say something, but she turned away from me. Edward touched my shoulder, whispering that she was fine, just shocked. There was a huge silent pause. Really, we were waiting for Isabella to say something. This was her plan, and I knew she would start to blame herself for Marcus' death, if he was dead…
"We have to keep moving forward." Isabella whispered. "I'm going to go to Shelton, find the rest of the wolves there. As of right now, everyone will be trained. I don't want this day to go without a hitch. With that being said, Maria will be leading the training for the day. She's capable of making an army and leading it, as for the ones who will question me. Other than that, I have nothing else to say."
"I'm coming with you to Shelton." I said.
She looked at me, ready to argue, but she shook it off.
"If we're not back in two hours, either one of us, leave." Isabella said. "I mean it. You time the moment we step out of hearing distance. If we are not back, leave. Don't turn back. Understand?"
There were a couple mumbles of 'Yes'. Some nodded, looking worried. We'll be alright, I was sure of it.
"Start training. We'll be back." Isabella said, walking out of the door.
She started running and fast. I think she was worried we were actually going to take longer than two hours. We were running the entire way there, so it was about a ten minute run. Driving would take too long. And if the wolves were still there, then there shouldn't be any problems. Taking them back, yes, but that was it. Maybe this thing about Marcus shook her up. She wasn't taking any chances… well, she's been doing that the entire time.
Isabella and I didn't talk until we reached the entire of the forest line in Shelton. The city seemed normal, like nothing has ever happened here. We stepped out, making sure it was clear, so no one could see us. We were going to walk up to the house, instead of immediately running to the house. I felt like something wasn't right with just running straight to it.
As we were walking, I grabbed ahold of Isabella's hand. She didn't say or do anything, she just kept looking forward, keeping her mind filled with possible and endless problems. During the walk, Isabella sighed, relaxing her shoulders a bit. Not enough to fulfill my want for her to relax.
"It's nice to actually be back here." I heard her whisper.
"Yeah. A lot of memories here." I said. "I'm going to miss this place."
She nodded, looking down. For the rest of the time walking to the house, we were quiet. She seemed to take focus of the noise that surrounded the house. She wasn't playing around. Hell, if a bird were to pop in front of her, I'm sure she'd kill it.
"Excuse me?" I heard a woman's voice come behind me.
I turned around to see an older woman, at least in her sixties. I cautiously walked up to her, wondering why she felt the need to talk to us, not to be rude. She was also with an older man, who looked mean as hell. Gotta love old people though….
"Yes?"
"That house you're looking in, is it yours?" the woman asked.
"Excuse my wife, she's very… nosy…" the man said.
I gave a small laugh. "Yes, it actually belongs to her. However, we haven't been home in a while. We were wondering if someone was occupying it."
"Not at all." The woman said. "That house has been empty for a long time. I haven't seen anyone come in or out of that house. The last time I've seen someone was… at least four years ago."
I nodded, a little afraid of what happened to the wolves. "Thank you."
"Of course, sunny." She said.
As I was turning away, the man rushed to my shoulder, putting his hand on my other shoulder. "Sorry about my wife there. She is very observant. It's almost creepy."
I laughed a little and nodded. "It's alright. It's good to be observant. You both take care."
He nodded and walked away. Isabella was now sitting on the porch, looking down.
"They're not here." She whispered. I grabbed her body and held her close to me. I didn't want to say "We'll find them." It was false hope. Hell, maybe we could find them. But, was it guaranteed? Of course not. I didn't want to say something to Isabella to make her feel something. Hell, it was hard for me to even get the words into my thoughts.
"We need to get back." I whispered. She nodded and stood up.
As we were running back to the house, I couldn't help but think where the wolves could be, if they were alive. There are so many places in the world. It would be very hard to track them down. And if Santiago was smart, since he is the alpha of the pack, he would stayed hidden until we were to show to find him. Though, believing who Santiago is, he would have tried to find us, making the Volturi find and kill them for being on our side. I'm sure the rest of the wolves would have gone on his side to find all of us, instead of staying hidden like they should have been.
Idiots….
They're not idiots for wanting to find us because they cared for us, they're idiots for allowing themselves to instantly get killed by the Volturi, if they did try to find us. The Volturi are powerful vampires and going against them would easily and guarantee your death, there is no doubt about it. On top of that, they're wolves… I couldn't imagine how the Volturi would have dealt with them. Death is never painless.
As I was running, completely lost in my own thoughts, Isabella halted in front of me, making me run full force into her. We both fell to the forest ground, now completely dirty.
"Really, Emmett?" She glared at me. I couldn't help but crack a smile.
"Sorry." I said. "What's wrong?"
"I'm just wondering. The house has been empty for four years. Why is it not for sale? Or for rent? It's just been sitting there."
"Bella…" I said, carefully choosing the next words. "If they were there, they would know it was us at the door. Why would they not answer?"
"Santiago's probably protecting them." She said, giving an excuse for the wolves' possible death.
"Bella…" I said. "I can admit, I am confused about why the house has not been up for sale or rent, but I am sure that Santiago would have come to the door if he was there. Bella, they're not there. We don't know if they are there… Or even alive at this time." She looked at me, a little scared and sad. "I'm sorry to put it like that, but… it's true. We do not know where they are. And because of that, we have to assume they're dead. We have to."
She looked down at the ground, frowning. I didn't want to take her back to the house like this. The girls would lose their minds. From the years I have stayed with Isabella and the girls, I have noticed how much the wolves cared about the vampires and vice versa. They cared about each other. They loved each other. Those wolves and vampires had many things in common more than anybody else would even have. It's like they didn't care if the house smelt bad, or if they were a complete mess… They looked past each other for their real selves.
"What am I supposed to say to everyone?" Isabella asked, pulling me out of my thoughts.
I shrugged, unsure of what she could say. "You'll find something. You always do. These people look up to you, every single one of them. You have to keep their hopes up. Like you said earlier today, we cannot keep looking back. We have to move forward."
"I feel like you're giving the pep talk, not me." She whispered.
"Isabella, whether you like it or not, accept it. You are the leader in this fight. You're the one who pulled us together, to fight against these people who should have never been in this fight. You are. Yes, there are going to be downfalls. Every leader has had downfalls, believe it or not. But you have to be strong. If they see you as weak, they become weak. If they see you as strong, they become strong." I said. "I am not strong. Physically, yes. Mentally and emotionally, I'm a mess. Hell, both of us are. But everyone other at that house right now, they look at you. Not me. You have to pull yourself together, get strong. Turn those sad and scared feelings into anger. And use that anger to kill the Volturi. It's the only way."
She nodded at me, giving me some type of hope. "You're right."
"Isabella, you've been through many fights with bad vampires. The Volturi are the same thing. They are bad vampires. And it's time you take control of it." I said. "Those 'Kings' aren't kings. They are dictators. It's your title now. It's time for you to become Queen. And trust me. I will bow down and kiss every single toe of yours, following me, will be those people at the house. But you have to lead the way. The Volturi, they seek for fear to rule. It's not fear we want. It's respect." She was quiet, looking down at the ground. "Come on, Bella. I got nothing else. I can kiss your feet right now, if that's what you need." I started to get down on my knees, ready to actually kiss her toes.
Luckily, before I could kiss her feet, she laughed. "Get up. Let's get back."
I chuckled when she started to run off and followed behind her. She was running faster than she usually was, probably determined to get back. When we did get back, everyone was focused on Maria speaking. She was giving advice on how to avoid being attacked by the Volturi. It was different from a newborn attack. The Volturi are trained. So, standing next to her, was Dominic, giving small statements on how the Volturi attack. It was very complex, detailed… Fortunately, for us, Isabella, Dominic, and Eleazar are here. They knew what to do when it came to the Volturi.
Isabella and I quietly joined the others, Maria taking notice of our presence. I had to admit, Maria was slightly scary. Jasper told me the stories of Maria. And they were not pretty. Then Isabella throws her own story of the times she had with Maria, the woman was scary. Crazy, actually. But she was smart. She knew how to take over the land and still not get in the Volturi's way. Smart and careful is what we need. And that was Maria's role.
Dominic then explain our biggest threats. Jane and Renata, Aro's personal guard. Her gift was like Isabella's and Dominic's but mixed. Isabella is capable of keeping mental attacks away from her. Renata is capable of keeping physical attacks from her. Renata just doesn't protect herself, she protects the entire Volturi. Isabella, from what she told me, was trying to learn how to expand her gift, making her shield a physical and mental gift. Although it wasn't easy, she was capable of protecting herself and one other person by a physical gift. Renata can protect the entire guard.
But the real big problem was Jane. Yes, Isabella can protect every single one of us from Jane's gift. But, if we were in the middle of a fight, I highly doubt Isabella would be able to drop everything to protect someone, getting herself killed. Yet, another problem could occur. Alec. This would be the first time he would ever go against his sister. To actually kill his sister. I didn't think he would be capable of doing it. Bree says Alec has been at her feet, doing everything she says, listening to the others. Still, she was unsure about the relationship between himself and Jane. I didn't want to believe that he would kill his own sister. I didn't want to take that chance.
As Dominic was bringing up Jane, I continuously glanced at Alec. He didn't seem scared about it. He didn't seem to have any type of emotion on it, at least from what I could tell. When I looked at Jasper, he was staring at Alec himself. That's when I felt like he would betray us. His love for Bree would say otherwise, but his sister was the problem. Who did he love more? Bree or Jane?
To get past the two biggest problems in the Volturi, Isabella stepped out, wanting to point out gifts that would be of very much use to us. Zafrina was the first Isabella pointed out. She wanted her to block Renata's mind, not capable of seeing who she needed to protect, lowering her shield so we could kill her and let the Volturi be unprotected. Zafrina was completely capable of doing it, she said so herself. But Zafrina has to have complete concentration when she puts Renata in a different place. So someone needed to protect her. Maybe a wolf or two. It wasn't going to take long, but we couldn't take that chance.
Next was Kate. She was shocks people, to say that least. It was a mental and physical attack, so before she can do anything, Renata has to be killed. Afterwards, the problems would be settled. Kate can use her gift on different levels. One shock on her highest level could easily knock someone down. Afterward, someone behind her has to behead them. It would make killing easier. But then again, this was the Volturi we're going against. Who knew if she would be able to even get a hand on them… So, for her, we would have two others with her, allowing a distraction then for Kate shocking them and ending a kill.
Benjamin, next to Isabella and Dominic, was our most powerful vampire here. Elemental Manipulation will help many of us at a time. Benjamin could create a distraction from the ground or use a gust of wind to push a vampire into a pit of lava. Although it's not a mental gift, physical is what he's known for. Benjamin could easily kill someone off and protect any other vampire in need. So, he ended up getting a hard place, just like Isabella. He needed to help and protect other vampires and fight when he needed to.
Siobhan has a very complex gift. She swears it's not a gift, but it is. Siobhan is capable of having a different outcome. If she were to sit and 'pray' as I call it for us to win, it just might happen. Carlisle says he has seen Siobhan use her gift and works every time. So, because of that, we have to keep Siobhan well fed so she has the energy to fight and 'pray' every single day for us to win. Yes, there may be some deaths, but winning means the Volturi being dead, nothing more. If all of us were to be killed, including each member of the Volturi, then we've won. We just wouldn't know until the very end.
Isabella then explain Edward's, Alice's and Jasper's gift. Edward had one simple job, to warn someone and help someone when an attack was coming, Alice too. But Alice was put to deal with the Aro and Caius. Isabella and Dominic wanted to team up with Alice to take Aro and Caius down. It was a great idea, really it was. But Jasper had a huge problem with it. Really, I knew his complaints would be coming, there was no surprise to me. So, in the end and out of Jasper's request, Jasper would be producing fear into Aro and Caius, making them feel inferior and weak, slowing them down. It was the only way for him to shut the hell up. But I knew Isabella would have him do something else when it came to the day of the fight.
Victoria was our next person to go to for survival skills. Her gift was very complex, but it worked. Victoria's gift, self-preservation, enhances all of her capabilities, allowing her to move faster and attack an enemy in their weak spots, something everyone else had to work on. So, she would be practically running around, fighting as much as she could. If it ended in death, it ended in death. But her gift wouldn't allow her to die, so I have so much faith in Victoria being able to pull this off.
Crystal, like Victoria and Benjamin, had a big job. She was capable of producing clones. Although, clone cannot physically touch someone, it would be a very big distraction to someone. For the next couple of days, Eleazar wanted to work with Crystal, to help her produce as many clones as possible. But not just from one person. From many. He wanted to see if she was capable of producing at least another five sets of all of us. If she could, this fight would be so much easier than we would all anticipate.
Amber, who was also like Zafrina, Dominic, and Jane could create an illusion. She could stop someone for them to stare at someone or something, like it was in front of them. She would be used as a distraction. Amber wanted Alec to bring up dirt on every single Volturi member so she could use whatever it was to distract them. Maybe a loved one or something painfully screaming in their ears. It was a good plan.
Then we got to Dominic and how Isabella would be helping with Aro and Caius. Dominic is capable of Mind Control, as to why he is in the Volturi. He could make someone do anything or say anything with him just telling them to. Dominic would be helping Isabella and Alice, but also protecting anyone else who needed the help.
The rest of us, including the wolves, would be fighting as hard as we could. If we needed help, we would have to shout. Someone would be out there for us. With this plan Isabella was giving us, I felt safe. I felt like this would go without a hitch. But, I keep reminding myself, we will never know until the end. We won't know until the end.
With this much confidence Isabella put into us, we were smiling. Something none of us have done in the past four years. We could do this. We really could.
After Isabella was done talking, she stepped next to me, relaxing her shoulders.
"Thanks for the pep talk." She whispered to me.
I scoffed. "Please. With what you just gave us, that was all from you. We all feel good and you can tell that we do. We're relaxed. It's something that we've needed for a long time."
She nodded, smiling. "How about we cut this day short? Go back inside, relax. I think we all know what to do from now on."
We all nodded, following Isabella back into the house. I wanted to talk to Carlisle and Eleazar about Isabella's problem. I've been putting it off, since we were so distracted and focused on one problem. So I called Carlisle, Isabella, and Eleazar to talk privately. The others were talking loudly amongst themselves. So I didn't feel the need to leave the house just to talk about this.
"What would you like?" Eleazar asked. I looked at Isabella, ready for her to talk about what's been going on. She hesitated a little, probably concerned about the loud people downstairs somehow hearing this small conversation.
"Something has been happening to me." She began. Then I realized it was probably hard for her to talk about, since she didn't know what was really going on.
"Edward! Edward! Sent Alice upstairs please. Edward!" I shouted in my mind.
"I heard you Emmett…Jeez." I heard him mumble. I smiled and looked at Alice, who was closing the door.
"What do you need?" She asked, prancing in.
"Isabella's problem." I said.
"Oh. She told you." She said. "Finally."
"Actually, I followed." I clarified.
"Oh." She mumbled. "Anyways, she's been blacking out. And it's something a vampire cannot actually do. But, it's weird. The first time she did, in front of me, I tried to pick her up. But she eyes were pitch black. Like darker than they were before she started to black out. Also, at the same time of this happening, black smoke surrounds her. But it's like… helping her. The second time, I thought it was a person, this smoke. I couldn't tell. I just know, whatever it was, it would not let me near her."
"Do you know where you go or how you feel during the time you black out?" Carlisle asked.
"No. I only feel asleep but awake at the same time, but I'm not controlling it. It's… confusing. Like I'm a different person." She said. "I don't know."
Carlisle and Eleazar stared at each other with wide eyes, shaking their heads.
"You ever hear of this?" Eleazar asked.
"Never." Carlisle answered. "I honestly don't know."
"We can look into this. Find out any type of solutions to your problem. But really, from what you're telling me, I have no idea. Not even a gift is like that." Eleazar said.
Isabella nodded, understanding. "Thank you."
"Come talk to us every time this happens. Which brings up another question. Does this happen all the time or randomly?"
"It usually happens when I become very upset or scared." Isabella answered.
"Alright. Well, we'll see." Carlisle said. "The four of us will keep tabs on anything different. We'll figure something out. There has to be a reason for this."
Eleazar and Carlisle ended up so wrapped in figuring this out they just left the room talking to each other. Alice, Bella, and I looked at each other, wide eyed. I swear, those two loved a good puzzle. And they will not stop until they figured it out.
"Okay, well…" Alice said. "Bye." She ran out of the room.
"She's so weird." I mumbled.
I held out my hand for Isabella and walked us to our room. I knew we always locked ourselves away from everyone else. But I didn't want Isabella to feel so pressured on keeping a good mood. She needed a break for at least an hour. Hell, I actually wanted my own turn with her.
I laid down with her, like usual, and put her on my chest. She sighed, closing her eyes. And like usual, something or someone always had happen for us to run downstairs to see what happened.
What I saw first, was the cloak. I yanked Isabella pulling myself in front of her. When Dominic grabbed our intruder, he yanked off the cloak.
"Marcus?" I whispered. He looked at us, in complete and utter pain. He fell down, losing his balance. Isabella ran straight to him and some of the guys ran outside, mainly to see if he was alone. They came back, shaking their heads, indicating they haven't found anyone.
"Marcus?" Isabella whispered. He wasn't saying anything. He actually looked like hell, like he's been through a series of… well, I really didn't know.
"This….is the place… you came… to?" He whispered. "Such….good hiding."
"What's going on?" Isabella asked. "What happened to you?"
"Aro and Caius… they're desperate…they've made…newborns…so many newborns…so many gifts…" He mumbled.
"Marcus?" Isabella said. "What do you mean? What do you mean?"
"Deadly… gifts… so many." He whispered. I saw him doze off. I didn't know if he was dead. Or if he just went unconscious. It was…scary. Aro and Caius doing something they would never do, making newborns.
But I want to know what he meant by deadly gifts…
REVIEW! FAVORITE! AND/OR FOLLOW!
See you guys next time.