All characters except for Annabelle Causley and a few others belong to Stephenie Meyer…and, of course, the writer is not receiving any profit for this story whatsoever.

This is an AU out of Stephenie Meyers' Twilight series. This story starts after Eclipse, two weeks before Edward and Bella's wedding.

Chapter Thirty-Nine

Edward stopped short and cocked his head to the side as he picked up humming…the broken notes somewhat familiar. He gestured for the rest of his family to be silent as they quietly moved down the alley, trying to find a way into the Voltura tower.

"What is it," Alice whispered into his ear as he turned to look at her.

She had been standing beside Jasper but had moved quickly to stand beside him, wanting to know what was going on. Having Jacob along was starting to get on her nerves in a way she didn't expect, mostly because she couldn't figure out what would happen to any of them or if they would succeed in their rescue mission.

"Humming," Edward whispered back as he looked up towards the high windows of the tower before looking back down, examining the small opening at the base of the thick walls, "Do you know if the tower has any dungeons?"

"How am I supposed to know that," Alice whispered back, trying not to sound petulant, "At the moment, I know nothing."

"Carlisle?"

"Yes," Carlisle moved quietly through the crowd that was his family to stand on Edward's other side, "Most of them are on the west side of the tower and they're used for human prisoners."

"You mean as storage for late night snacks," Jacob asked, a slight taunting tone creeping into his voice. He was having a really hard time relaxing; the hairs on the back of his neck seemed to be perpetually on end what with being right in the middle of a city filled with vampires.

In all intents and purposes, he was outnumbered a hundred plus to one…even with the Cullens on his side.

"Don't worry, dog," Rosalie smirked at Jacob, "They all have better taste than Annabelle so you should be safe…from becoming a meal, that is."

"Hey Blondie," Jacob turned towards her with a mocking smile, "What do you call an eternity?"

Rosalie lowered her eyebrows in consternation as Jasper groaned, "What?"

"Four blondes in four cars at a four way stop."

Jasper and Emmett sucked in a breath as they worked hard at not laughing out loud as Rosalie turned to glare at them.

"Shh," Edward turned to glare at his brothers, "I can hear her…she's drifting in and out…humming the same piece over and over again."

"Well," Jacob looked around the dark alley, "Where is she?"

"I don't know," Edward glanced over his shoulder at Jacob, understanding his anxiety, "She's not making any sense. Unless we plan on calling out her name until she can register or we continue moving down the alley until we get lucky, we're not going to find her."

"Or you can just walk around the corner," they all looked up to see Bella standing at the deep end of the alley, a satisfied smile on her face, "She's over here."

"How," they all stared at Bella, varying degrees of confusion on each of their faces, "How did you find her?"

"Well," Bella looked down at her feet, feeling slightly ashamed at what she was about to share, "There's someone in there with her…a human. I smelled him…and none of you were paying attention so I came around the corner and that's when I heard her."

"There's a human in there," Jasper moved quickly down the alley and around the corner, followed closely by the rest of his family and Jacob, "Is he alive?"

"Yes," Bella stepped away to let them all pass before her, crowding around a small barred half-window that was low to the ground.

"Alright, now that we found her, what do we do," Jacob tried to move closer to the window but Emmett, Jasper and Edward stood on his way.

"We're not sure," Alice looked around, feeling suddenly exposed as she looked around, realizing how vulnerable they were since she couldn't see what was coming, "In all reality, we didn't make many plans past finding her."

"We're kind of hoping to get her out of there without having to confront any of the Volturri," Emmett looked over his shoulder to look at Jacob, "None of us wants a fight…"

"Sounds like you're hoping for one," Jacob couldn't help but grin at Emmett as he realized he had encountered a kindred spirit, "I'd be all for it if I had my brothers with me…"

"Could we focus on the matter on hand," Edward looked up at Emmett and Jacob, not at all sorry at interrupting their bonding moment, "How do we get her out of there?"

"We get in there," Rosalie shrugged her shoulder as she leaned against the stone wall, her eyes restlessly moving around the dark alley, "And get her out."

"Brilliant," Jacob muttered sarcastically as he shot Rosalie a glance, "How do you suggest we do that?"

"The window's really small," Edward looked up at Alice, "But I think it's big enough for you to get in and for Annabelle to get out."

"I can pulverize the bars," Emmett reached out and grabbed the bars, quickly crushing each one until all that was left was the dust of the hundred year old bars, "Alright, Alice, get in there."

"Wait," Edward grabbed Alice's arm before she even moved, "We need to get her to snap out of her funk…otherwise, she may not be strong enough to control herself once she's out here and smells Jacob."

"What are you suggesting," Jacob couldn't help but feel frustrated, wishing he could just grab Annabelle and get out of Voltura as quickly as possible.

"Well," Edward looked up at Jacob, doing his best at not showing his exasperation over Jacob's smash, grab and dash thoughts, "I'll talk to her, get her to realize where she is…more importantly, who she is. Then, once we pull her out, we all stand between you and her."

"That's just great," Rosalie grumbled as she pushed herself away from the wall, "I'm putting my life on the line to make sure the mutt doesn't die."

"I'm hoping you'll be the first to go, Blondie," Jacob smiled evilly, unable to stop himself from needling her, mostly because it was too easy…and too much fun.

"And I'm hoping I'll be the last one so I could just step aside and let her have you," Rosalie tilted her head to the side, a mocking smile on her face, "I'm sure you wouldn't last past a minute."

"Now that you two have that out of your system, how about we focus on what we came here to do," Jasper gave them a look that clearly displayed his distaste for their childish behavior before he crouched low to the ground to take a look into the dark little cell, "Once Annabelle's thinking straight, Alice gets in there. She's at the far left corner and chained to the wall…just stay low incase someone walks by the door…there's a high window on it."

"What about the human," Bella spoke up, moving around the small crowd that was her family to stand next to Jacob, not wanting to push her limits since she knew they wouldn't leave the man in that cell behind to become a meal for someone in the Volturri.

"After we get Annabelle out, we'll pull him out too," Edward smiled at his wife, holding back laughter at the expression on her face –her nose was wrinkled up in disgust at Jacob's smell, "We'll let him go once we get outside the Voltura walls."

"Alright then," Carlisle spoke up for the first time, "Let's get going…we're losing time and we need to get out of here before it starts getting light."

They all turned to look at Edward as he leaned down, every single one of them realizing that they were still in a dangerous situation with no plan as to what to do once they got Annabelle out.


Burying her face deeper into her arms, she stopped humming to listen but she couldn't concentrate.

It was getting harder and harder to resist the living, breathing man across the cell from her. His fear caused his heart to beat faster, not only causing his blood to pump faster through his veins, but the sound of his beating heart filled her head, making it impossible to think of anything else but the burning fire in her throat.

She swallowed, the extra venom in her mouth moving down her parched throat, then resumed humming, trying to come up with an ending to the last piece she had been working on…the one that had served to express her pain and agony over Jacob's words. The one that became the tears she couldn't shed at the impossible turn her life had taken.

"Annabelle."

She blinked, stopping in mid-stanza to look around her cell, her eyes locking on the cowering man in the opposite corner. Had he spoken? Was he reliving his last moments, going through those old memories, saying good bye to his life?

"Annabelle."

Shaking her head, she shifted her position, freezing when the man's heartbeat sped up in reaction to her movements. He was blindfolded and tied up, and she knew he was feeling vulnerable without his ability to see who was in the room with him or his inability to fight or escape…not that he would be able to do either if she decided to attack.

"Annabelle…dammit, Annie, snap out of it."

Looking up, she saw a pale face looking in through the small window that barely let any light in. She blinked as she tried to place him, to figure out why he looked so familiar.

"Annabelle, it's me, Edward."

Tilting her head to the side, her eyebrows lowered as she felt something pulling in the back of her mind, a response to both names. Burying her face back in her arms, she sighed, regretting it instantly as the man's scent filled her head. She couldn't take it anymore. She knew she was stronger than this but after the torture she had gotten daily for the past two weeks, she couldn't think past the constant pain.

She wanted the fire to stop. She had the power to make the agony stop if she just stood up…the chains had enough play to them for her to reach him, for her to grab him and bite…

"Annabelle…Jacob's here with us."

Her head snapped up, her entire body and mind reacting to that one name…Jacob. He was all she was able to concentrate on. He was all she was able to think of. He was all she could remember.

Jacob.

The name of her soul…the name of her very existence.

"Jacob," her voice was low and gritty from disuse…it had been several days since she'd last spoken. Several days since all she's done was scream at the excruciating pain that racked her body, pain her mind believed to be real.

"Alice, get in there. I think she's as lucid as we're going to get her."

She stood to her feet in response to the sudden appearance of a small pixie looking brunette. Wrapping her hands around the chains, she pulled with the little strength she had left but the chains were too thick…too deep into the rock wall for her to do much in her present physical state.

"Anna," Alice moved slowly towards her, seeing in her black eyes the same look a cornered predator got once it realized it had become the prey, "It's me…Alice."

Shaking her head, she slid down the wall in relief. It wasn't her…the child sized torturer with burgundy eyes. This one had a kind looking face, still as pale as the other one, but her eyes were the wrong color…an odd yellow…

"Alice…"

Blinking several times, she realized several things at once. She knew who she was…Annabelle Causley. She knew where she was…Voltura, Italy. And she knew who they were and why they were here…her family had come to save her.

"Hey," Alice kneeled by Annabelle's feet, reaching for the manacles around her wrists and ankles and making quick work of breaking them, "You're back."

"Yes," Annabelle pushed herself to her feet, quickly leaning against the wall for support, her black eyes locked on the man behind Alice, "Get him out."

"We need to get you out first," Alice reached for Annabelle but she shook her head, "No…get him out. I can't…I'm not strong enough to…"

"Fine," Alice turned quickly and grabbed the human, his scream muffled by the thick gag in his mouth, and gently but quickly shoved him through the window, not letting go until Edward had carefully grabbed him around the shoulders to pull him the rest of the way out, "There. He's out. Will you come now?"

Shaking her head, she tried to focus as she looked at Alice, "Did you say Jacob's out there?"

"Yes," Alice rolled her eyes as she watched Annabelle slide down the wall, shaking her head as she kept muttering, "I can't…I'm not strong enough…I can't…"

"Anna, to get to Jacob you'll have to go through all the other Cullens. There's too many of us and you're not strong enough for that fight. Don't worry…we'll make sure you don't hurt him."

"Promise," Annabelle looked up at Alice, her chest tight and her throat a burning inferno…she was so thirsty…and she couldn't help but remember how he smelled…his scent so rich and thick, his blood hot and flowing fast, promising nirvana if she just sank her teeth into his beautiful russet colored skin…his throat…his wrists…anywhere, really, just as long as she could taste him, drink until she couldn't feel the burn anymore…

"Alice, we need to get her out of there…she's losing it again. Emmett, grab her when Alice lifts her out and keep your arms around her. Jasper, stay with Emmett incase she manages to get loose…whatever you do, do not let her go. It'll give her a chance to disappear and we won't be able to stop her then. Bella, you stay in front of Jacob. Since her disappearing trick is mental, it won't work with you and if we somehow loose her, you'll be able to stop her."

Annabelle couldn't help but chuckle as she recalled Isabella Marie Swan Cullen…it was amusing to think that a brown eyed clumsy human girl would be able to stop her from getting to Jacob.

Alice shook her head as she grabbed Annabelle and pushed her up and through the window. Edward was right…she was losing it again.

Emmett and Edward grabbed her arms, pulling her out in one fluid motion. Emmett turned her around, her back to his front, and wrapped his arms around her, grinning down at her as she continued to chuckle.

"What's so funny, Anna," Emmett asked lightly, his eyes twinkling in amusement at the look of elation on her face.

"You," Annabelle chuckled as her head fell back against Emmett's chest, "I beat you at sparring and you actually think you can keep your hold on me if I decide to escape. Not only that, but Edward's comment about Bella standing between me and Jacob…absolutely ridiculous…I can break her like a twig."

"Well, you could," Jasper cocked a blonde eyebrow, a small smile on his face, "If she were still human."

"What," Annabelle blinked owlishly at Jasper, her face going blank with confusion, her black eyes unfocused.

"Edward changed her the day after you left Forks," Emmett grinned down at Annabelle, "I bet she can whip your ass at sparring."

"I take it she already whipped yours," Annabelle stared up at Emmett, her eyes wide with sincere curiosity before she started laughing.

"So this is what it would be like if you ever got drunk," Emmett couldn't help chuckling…Annabelle was being as entertaining right now as Bella had been when she was human.

"I've never been drunk in my life," Annabelle tried to step out of Emmett's arms but he tightened them around her, effectively immobilizing her, "I am kind of thirsty, though. You don't happen to have anything to drink, do you?"

"We do," Carlisle pulled out several plastic bags filled with blood from an insulated duffel bag, "Got it from the blood bank so nobody died."

Annabelle moved to reach for the bag but Emmett wasn't letting her go. Grinning up at him, she turned to look at Jasper, "Will you get those for me? Emmett is as effective as those damn chains in the wall."

Jasper reached out for the bags of blood, wrinkling his nose in distaste…to him, stored blood was the equivalent of eating a pre-frozen pizza…the blood tasted better when it was fresh from its source. Emmett allowed Annabelle the freedom of one arm so she could reach out for the offered plastic bag.

"Got a straw," Annabelle asked Carlisle, her face serious for a second before she started laughing at her own joke…she really was losing it…never had been drunk but if this is how it was to be intoxicated…

"Gross," Jacob muttered quietly as he watched Annabelle sink her teeth through the plastic, the blood spurting into her mouth. She sucked the blood in until the bag was flat before she rubbed her hand over her mouth.

"I agree," Annabelle grimaced as she handed the empty bag to Jasper and took the second one, "This is gross. But it's better than nothing."

They all stood to watch Annabelle suck in five pints of bagged blood, her black eyes slowly turning burgundy as she quenched her thirst, "I'm definitely feeling better now."

"That's good because we need to get out of here," Edward moved around Emmett to stand next to Bella, "It's starting to get light and we don't want to get caught."

"You came," Annabelle's eyes focused on Jacob for the first time, her breath coming fast as she looked deep into his dark eyes, seeing an acceptance there that she had not seen before.

"Yeah," Jacob shoved his fists into the pockets of his jeans, hating the open and vulnerable he was feeling, "I didn't have much of a choice."

"What do you –"

"Okay," Alice interrupted Annabelle as she grabbed her black duffel bag from the ground, "You two obviously have a lot to talk about and even more to work out but now's not the time. We got to go."

"Relax, Alice," Emmett lifted Annabelle, easily tucking her under his arm like a football; "We got Annabelle out. No one's around. We're pretty much home free."

"Did you honestly think it would be that easy?"