A/N: I apologize for the confusion, but this is not actually a new chapter, though I will be posting one tonight. I was in the process of editing this story, as I had picked it up again, and realized just how uneven these chapters were, and how difficult they were to get through in one sitting, due to their length. (Which I sincerely apologize for.) And as so much time has passed since the last posted chapter of this story, between writer's block and my health issues, though we probably all know this movie forward and backward by now, I know that some readers choose to reread a story from the beginning after a time lapse. While a couple chapters are still unavoidably long without completely disrupting certain scenes, I am hoping this will be a little more manageable for anyone who chooses to reread.

To all those returning to read this story, I sincerely appreciate it. I do intend on finishing all my stories, both solo and those I have in progress with ericastwilight, it has just taken me far longer than I had hoped. But I am making some headway again, and hope to have these fics finished up very soon.

As before, I am apologizing in advance for my cluelessness on what the heck Aro says in Italian in response to Bella's whole "you don't know a thing about his soul" thing. In all honesty, I spent a lot of time googling it, and trying to find one singular translation/interpretation of what he's saying, and they are remarkably numerous. So, I've had no choice but to once again go along with my own interpretation.


I briefly released her hand long enough to don the robe handed to me by Felix. The sun from the windows along the hall struck my skin briefly before I covered myself and quickly reclaimed my hold on Bella. When Jane instructed us to go on ahead of her down the stairs, I gave Bella's hand a gentle squeeze and tilted my head slightly toward her. "Don't be scared."

She shifted a little closer to me as we walked, her shuddering increasing rather than subsiding. "Are you?"

"No," I answered in a calm, level voice. I had no apprehension concerning what would happen to me, but I did not wish to frighten her further by showing how much I feared for her. However, I also remained mindful of the thoughts around me, particularly with the potent scent of the little human beside me, surrounded by vampires, who thought nothing of life.

Jane's scoff did not go unnoticed, and the tension was high all the way to the elevator, where one look back from Demetri at Bella caused my internal guard to rise. I had seen a look like that before; in fact, I was almost certain it was I that bore it in the past. The scent of her blood filled even the wide-open space upstairs; it was sure to be even worse in the confines of that elevator. I could feel his stare continuing on her all the way down, and I was certain that Bella felt it, too. Her fingers tightened around mine as she nervously looked to Alice again, and my sister fought just as hard to keep an air of calm…very unsuccessfully, I might add.

We all made our way down the long hallway toward our destination and we were met by the rising of a beautiful, smiling woman behind a desk, greeting us in Italian.

Bella watched her as we passed before bringing her eyes back to me. "Is she human?"

"Yes."

"Does she know?" Her voice lowered almost conspiratorially.

I hesitated for a moment, knowing it could lead to a terrifying result in words that I did not wish Bella to be subjected to. "Yes."

"Then why would..." Bella began and then paused, realization dawning on her almost instantly, and she sighed. The young woman was condemned, albeit by her own doing. "She wants to be."

"And so she will be," Demetri spoke from behind us, a lilt of humor in his voice as his focus remained on Bella.

Jane, on the other hand, merely added in her smooth, even tone, "For dessert."

In a swift motion, Jane swung open the doors of the large hall I had left just that morning, and once again, my eyes locked on the three figures at the head of the room. How ironic it was that when I had come to them, pleading for death, they had denied me. Yet, now that I had every reason to survive, and she was walking right beside me, I was to be granted my initial request. Everything I had endeavored to protect her from, and had left for, would transpire there in that very room.

And that was when the guilt set in. Perhaps I had been wrong in my decision to leave, despite my intentions. Danger had still found its way to her, even without my presence. At least if I had stayed, I could have protected her rather than leaving her wounded and vulnerable to yet more danger. She never would have been on that cliff. Alice would not have had to return to Forks, because we never would have left. There would have been no call from Rosalie, no anguish tearing through me at the thought of Bella's death, and there would have been no trip to Italy. Nothing that would have led up to that moment, alongside my sister, walking hand-in-hand toward our impending demise. I hadn't protected her then, but I would protect her now.

"What a happy surprise. Bella is alive after all. Isn't that wonderful? I love a happy ending," Aro said with a gleeful grin as he made his way toward us, his hand reaching for mine as he came to a stop just in front of me. Bella gasped softly as I was extracted from her grasp and he took hold of my hand instead.

"They are so rare," he added.

It was a moment I had been avoiding right up until then, having been told by Carlisle what a simple touch from Aro would entail. He would see and know too much, and it would endanger so many around me. Most of all, he would see Bella and everything she was—more than just a human with whom I had shared our secret, more than simply a girl I fell in love with. So much more. She was meant for me in a way that few others would ever know.

His eyes remained on Bella, and when they moved back to me, I took a breath as I tensed slightly when his thoughts focused on her. The alluring scent, his desire for her blood as strong as if he'd channeled it all straight from me, and his fascination by it all. "Il tua cantante. Her blood appeals to you so much. It makes me thirsty. How can you stand to be so close to her?"

I watched his hungry stare move between the two of us, watching the heavy clearing of the venom that was surely gathering in his mouth with his thirst. His gaze settled on Bella for longer than I felt comfortable with, and I drew his attention back to me with the thoughts of my similar struggles with control. "It's not without difficulty."

"Yes, I can see that," he replied with an amused laugh as I accomplished my goal.

However, Bella was obviously confused at my side, and as I explained to her what was happening, it was almost as if I could feel Aro extracting every thought and memory from within me. I knew the instant he saw exactly what he needed when his gaze shot to me again, and his eyes flickered with the realization of what must be done, as well as what I would do if any harm came to Bella. I heard his astonishment at the depth of my love and absolute devotion to the girl beside me, and of her protection and safety. He would have to destroy me before I allowed anything to happen to her, and as his thoughts gave away, that was still not an option in his mind.

"And now you know everything. So, get on with it," I said in a resolute, almost challenging tone as my eyes locked with his.

Aro stared at me for a moment before a smile touched his lips and a relaxing calm seemed to settle over his features. "You are quite a soul reader yourself, Edward."

His curious eyes began moving between Bella and myself, and even without the benefit of hearing his thoughts, the process behind them was very clear to read on his face. There was a battle of wills transpiring between us, one he was sure he would win, and his amusement became clearer as his gaze lingered on Bella.

"Though, you can't read Bella's thoughts," he said slowly, as if absorbing the information he'd extracted from me once again, and his eyes shifted to her. They quickly returned to me in maniacal wonderment. "Fascinating."

My hand returned to my side when he finally released it and took three calculated steps back, a plan formulating in his mind. I despised the idea of Bella being used as a pawn in his twisted little game, all to satisfy his own curiosity, but I knew that confronting him head-on would place her at too much risk.

"I would like to see if you are an exception to my gifts as well," he continued in a deceptively gentle tone, at which Bella moved closer to me. His eyes were fixated on her as he held out his hand in offering. "Would you do me the honor?"

I watched as Bella stalled for a moment, and then timidly began moving forward, her hand hesitant to make contact with his. Aro's smile grew as she stepped closer, and he took her extended hand and instantly pulled her closer, closing his eyes in concentration. The others watched—in particular. Caius and Marcus behind him—with rapt attention, all riveted by all that had been discovered thus far.

Aro's head rose with an awestruck look on his face. "Interesting."

I tried to contain the satisfied smirk I felt fighting to break through. It already frustrated Aro to an extent that my gift, in his approximation, was more powerful than his was, as I did not require the need for physical contact. However, that one insignificant girl rendered his power just as useless was astounding to him.

"I see nothing," he continued and released Bella, but as she returned to stand beside me and his back turned to us, I could hear him silently devising his next course of action. "I wonder if…Let us see if she is immune to all our powers. Shall we, Jane?"

His smile was haunting when he turned back around to face us as he spoke, and only grew with his attention returning to Jane. That is going way too far, even for someone as insanely sadistic as Aro, I thought, and then rushed forward. "No!"

With one word spoken from her lips, I was struck by the sudden, brutal force of Jane's ability; pain that was nearly comparable to the intensity of only one other experience of my existence—my change. It was so powerful, I eventually buckled in sharp, rigid movements, barely hearing Bella's pleas to Aro for Jane to stop or feeling Alice crouch beside me. The pain continued to sear through me until, almost as suddenly as it began, it ceased on Aro's order. Although I felt almost paralyzed there on the floor as a result, I could finally release a breath.

When I heard Aro give Jane the instruction to proceed on Bella, I felt helpless. I was still frozen on the floor as I fought the lingering effects of the excruciating episode I had just experienced, yet I would have been willing to take it all over again to prevent it from happening to her. I prepared myself for the screams and cries to assault my ears, but none came. Instead, I was met with Aro's maniacal laughter and Jane's frustrated and angry thoughts. Never had anyone been unaffected by any of their gifts before, and Jane seemed sincerely perturbed that hers had been ineffective.

"Remarkable. She confounds us all," Aro said in a captivated voice, truly mesmerized by my Bella. My eyes met with hers from my position on the floor, and I could see the fear and uncertainty they held, not knowing what to expect next. "So, what do we do with you now?"

"You already know what you're going to do, Aro," Marcus said in his characteristically emotionless tone.

At one point, he had known exactly what to do with the insignificant little human. However, he had seen too much in the past several minutes to still be so certain. After all, how many mere humans could block not one, but three separate vampiric abilities, of which even vampires were not immune. Seems such a pity, he mused to himself until Caius interrupted his train of thought. "She knows too much. She's a liability."

"Hmm. That's true," Aro replied contemplatively, seeming almost disheartened by what he knew he would have to do. The law was the law, after all. In an almost blank tone, he continued. "Felix."

Bella was spun to face the huge brute of a being, and I finally felt able to leap from the floor. I flipped her behind me before she could even blink again, placing myself between her and Felix. Using his disbelief at anyone standing against him, I toppled him to the ground with a nearly imperceptible growl escaping me as I pinned him there. I hoped that Alice could reach Bella in time to shield her from further danger, but as Demetri caught her, my distress claimed me long enough for Felix to thrust me from above him. My body felt weightless as I flew across the room until he reached me once again and slammed me into the floor, hearing the crackling of the marble both beneath me and of my skin.

His grip around my neck released to rise up again to resume his trek toward Bella, and the instant I regained my ability to move, I rushed at him, returning his attention to me. I could hear Aro's amusement with the altercation—how I was never deterred at all through the battle of wills between Felix and myself in our flurry of movements across the room. His eyes followed me closely as I was swung above Felix, shattering the stone steps beside where Aro stood and locking with mine when I was thrust to my knees, seconds from death.

However, the humor dissipated from his features and shifted to one of astonishment as Bella's terrified pleas echoed through the room, begging him to stop and kill her instead. Panic tore through me. What was she doing? She could not possibly mean to sacrifice her life in an attempt to save me. I wanted to stop her, to tell her how foolish she was being, but Felix's grip only tightened on me as Aro slowly moved down the steps. His bewildered gaze and thoughts focused solely on Bella as Felix hoisted me to my feet and turned us both to face her. Her devotion to me fascinated him more than mine to her, having never witnessed anything like it in his over three millennia of existence.

"How extraordinary. You would give up your life for someone like us? A vampire," he began, stopping only a few feet from her and looking back at me. His gaze locked briefly with mine as he taunted me with the thoughts and beliefs he had extracted from me earlier, knowing how Bella had responded to it in the past. "A soulless monster."

The game had just become exponentially more interesting for him; that she was more afraid of harm coming to me than her own demise. Humans were supposed to instinctually fear and recoil from imposing danger, not figuratively throw themselves in front of it. My brave Bella—how foolish she was being.

"Just get away from her," I growled breathlessly through Felix's hold around my throat, and I watched as her expression set defiantly. Stone cold fear shot through me and I wanted to beg her to withdraw, however fruitless I knew it to be.

"You don't know a thing about his soul," Bella seethed boldly, while Aro's grin grew in action and thought.

A confused look came over Bella as he spoke slowly in avid fascination, unable to understand what he was saying. However, my eyes narrowed at him as he turned his head toward me with the last words. Our lives were bound to the other, our existences irrevocably intertwined, and that was a weapon he could use to his advantage—to force my hand in fulfilling his newly acquired aspiration.

"This is a sadness," he began with a dramatic sigh, daring me in tone and thought to accede to his desire. "If only it were your intention to give her immortality."

Edward, do something! Alice screamed at me in her thoughts as Aro began stalking hungrily toward Bella, and I watched my beloved tremble in fear once again. Yet, I knew he was merely putting on a show—he would never do what he was leading all to believe. Bella was too vital to him; his thirst for the discovery of what her immortality might bring far exceeding the other. However, he knew her blood was just too potent to perform the change himself, and he had seen firsthand through my memory that not only had I resisted it but tasted it as well. Yet, still, there she stood. My singer. He found my control unparalleled to anything he had ever seen and assumed I would concede.

Alice, on the other hand, believed the charade. "Wait!"

Aro backed away, though not faking the pool of venom coating his teeth.

"Bella will be one of us. I've seen it. I'll change her myself," she continued, her eyes finding mine as she spoke, and I winced in response. She was playing right into Aro's hands and giving him more than he had bargained for, although the only thoughts running through her mind were that of her lack of understanding behind my inaction. How could she not have seen through the farce as I had? I couldn't help but grimace as Aro held out his hand, and she removed her glove, setting hers within it. Her mind showed him firsthand the premonition she had of Bella in the future, one I had seen before—face pale, eyes gold, and skin glittering in the sun. With that one insight came all else that she had seen over the years, of which he had only seen hints of in my own mind, and he began entertaining the thought of acquiring Alice as well. How invaluable her gift would be, particularly in conjunction with mine—to constantly be one step ahead of everyone else.

"Mesmerizing. To see what you have seen before it has happened," Aro spoke with wild eyes, while Alice's seemed to flicker with realization of what she had just done. She could not shield her thoughts from Aro as she accomplished easily with me, and she noted the renewed fascination in his gaze as it returned to Bella. "Your gifts will make for an intriguing immortal, Isabella."

Bella recoiled from him slightly, trembling with uncertainty and fear as his face moved closer to hers.

"Go now," Aro finally said, backing away from her as the temptation became too much, and knowing that would not bode well for his intentions. "Make your preparations."

My body lurched forward as Felix released me upon Aro's silent request, and I made my way over to Bella. His intrigue was anything but dimmed as he watched the affection and relief with which she greeted me, practically ignoring all else around him. Even Marcus' none too subtle hint for us to leave, or Caius' subsequent warning.

I, however, could not ignore any of it. I needed to take Bella away from there quickly before she was subjected to yet more horror. I could hear the evidence of the unsuspecting group of tourists being led down the hall, and I needed to get her as far from the vicinity as possible.

"Goodbye, my young friends," Aro bid us farewell in an even more gleeful tone, if that were at all possible, as we hurriedly made our way out of the room.

I held Bella close to my side at first sight of the aforementioned group of tourists, spotting men and women, from the very young to the old, lining the hall. The cleverly cryptic way Demetri and Heidi conversed as they passed with knowing smirks had Alice and I more determined to get Bella out of there. When she attempted to look back, we both endeavored to turn her attention forward again, and more insistently when the shrill screams found their way to our ears.

We could not move out those doors fast enough.