Disclaimer: Thank you Stephenie Meyer for your Twilight world and to Guy Andrews for the concept itself. Without them, there would be no story.

A/N: Back again. I know, long time no writing. Anyway, here's the latest chapter. I know, it may seem it a little melodramatic and odd but do bear with me. Hopefully it should pick up again soon. And glad to see you've come back even after my extremely long no post period. I blame year 12 studies but as it's our Easter school holidays, maybe I'll get some writing done. Oh, and as always, forgive my laziness and unwillingness to edit. So here it is, enjoy.

Return to Meyer

17. Possibilities

I stood gaping up at the elegantly clothed vampires eyeing me intently, trying to think my way out of the current situation. The problem was that only two words were coming to mind and they weren't exactly what you'd call helpful.

Oh crap.

Words tried to force themselves through my lips but simply came out sounding like some sort of weird gargling noise.

C'mon, Ashley. Speak.

More ogling. Say something. ANYTHING.

"Why do you want to know?" I asked slowly.

Aro paused, a smile reappearing on his face. "We are fascinated by the very idea that such a thing could exist as well as the possibilities it may bring." He explained.

This made me uneasy. I glanced at Edward whose expression seemed to mirror my thoughts. What did he mean by the possibilities it may bring? I wasn't sure what they were hoping to get out of the link between worlds but considering who I was talking to, I doubted it was anything good.

"I don't think telling you would be a good idea." This didn't sound like such a smart thing to say but at least it was honest. It wasn't like they could force me to tell them, that is if they were really as "pleasant" as they wanted to make themselves out to be.

It was not Aro who replied this time. "That would be unwise," Caius commented, his voice cold. Clearly they weren't big on the word 'no'.

Edward altered his position beside me into a more protective stance at this comment. He wasn't taking any chances, especially with Felix and Demetri eyeing the scene lustfully.

"Caius, these are our guests. Ashley is at liberty to say what she wishes. There is no need for threats." Aro said calmly.

I sighed, "Besides, the information is worthless to you." I added for good measure.

Now Marcus interrupted, "Why is that?"

Before I could think the answer through, the words burst from my mouth at full speed. "Because it only seems to open up for me," I froze, realising my mistake. Edward shot me a hard look which I returned with an apologetic one. Now I was in for it. They weren't about to let me leave while they believed I was of use to them.

"Is that so?" Aro's question sounded more like a statement. I could tell how interested he was in this information by his tone.

Backtracking, "Well, yeah. You know, I'm not exactly sure how it works. Sometimes it does, sometimes it doesn't." The rambling continued in all directions. "And it normally only opens when I'm really stressed or upset or…" Oh god, somebody stop me now.

"What Ashley is trying to say is," Edward cut me off, the voice of reason, "that the door is very subjective." Thank goodness, before I managed to give out more relevant info that could get us all seriously wounded.

Carlisle stepped forward, "I don't understand what it is everyone is talking about, but whatever it is, I can tell it should be well enough left alone." If only he knew.

Aro turned to face his friend, "Ah, I see that neither Edward nor Alice have been completely honest with you, Carlisle about Ashley's origin."

Carlisle looked from Alice to Edward, confusion etched into his face. Alice looked at the floor, guilt setting in.

"You see, from what Edward has inadvertently told me, Ashley is not just from a different country. She is from a different world. One which seemingly runs parallel to this one." Aro explained. God, if you already knew the whole story, why the hell did you want me to explain it to you?

"I don't understand." Carlisle said unemotionally.

I groaned, deciding to take over the story from here. Sure, the Voltori didn't deserve anything from me but Carlisle did. He deserved a proper explanation.

"Look, this is going to be hard to accept but where I come from everything around us, you, Edward, Alice, the Voltori, everything are parts of a very popular novel called Twilight."

More blank stares by Emmett and Carlisle. "It's about a girl called Bella Swan who falls in love with a vampire," I explained. "Edward, to be more specific."

Now I had started, there was no stopping. "One day I was just sitting in my room, reading my book and somehow Bella Swan ended up in my bedroom. Seeing how to me she's just a character in a novel, I was seriously questioning my sanity.

"And it got even better. Instead of seeing the hallway that's usually outside my bedroom door, I could see Bella's room. Being the stupid fan-girl I was, I went through to check it out when Bella shut the door and trapped us both in the wrong worlds. Trust me, I was extremely pissed at her."

A little comprehension but more disbelief.

"Surprisingly, events seemed to be at the very beginning of what happens in the novel, when Bella had just moved to Forks to live with Charlie. I still have no clue why he bought my story when he found me inside his house with no suitcase or Bella in sight. Anyway, to cut a really long story short, I got enrolled at Forks High school and I met you guys and everything was so amazing, and I couldn't work out how to make the door open again so I just sort of stuck around.

"I fell for Edward and then James came along."

Emmett finally spoke, "So that's why you were constantly saying weird stuff. Mostly we just thought it was because you were a little crazed."

I rolled my eyes, "Thanks Emmett. I tell you you're all characters in a novel and you're just amazed to find out that I'm not insane."

He raised a brow, "Ash, we're freakin' vampires. How much crazier can life get?"

Very true.

"And James?" Carlisle asked. "I've always wondered why your stories were a little….off."

"James chased us back to the high school and while we were there the dimensional door opened. We all ended up at my school back home. We got separated and Edward wasn't at his best at the time. James found me later and would have killed me if Edward hadn't stepped in."

He paused before looking seriously at Edward, "I'll expect the full story when we get home." Edward nodded silently.

"The important thing is, I don't know what you expect to get out of the door. In my world, vampires don't exist. When you pass through, you become human." I pointed out.

The Cullens seem to perk up a little at this comment and I wasn't surprised as to why.

"Although interesting, that is of no importance." Aro said.

At that moment, Edward made a small sound as if to say he finally understood something. "Edward?" I queried, curious.

"They don't plan to use the door to end their immortality; they want to use it to seek out humans that they believe are likely to become potentially powerful vampires." Edward frowned, taking a step forward. "Collect those with particularly interesting gifts such as Alice and I."

I looked back towards the family and gazed into Jane's vivid Crimson irises, focused intently on me. "No. There is no way I would ever allow you to do that. To kill innocent people and force them into…"I gestured around, "this."

"Well, I see we have a dilemma here." Aro stepped towards us, his arms open. "As it is, you are a human who knows far too much about our race and we can't have that. So we have only a few options." He halted, savouring the words and thinking through the choices.

"We can kill you," he mused as Edward growled lowly, stepping in front of me protectively. It may be an option for them but for me, no way. I am definitely not having my neck snapped by some centuries old, tyrant in a damp chamber beneath Italy. Nope.

"We can turn you," a sly smile appeared. I hated to imagine just what Edward was reading inside his mind at those words.

"Not an option," Edward snapped angrily, his temper just barely being kept under control. Had we been in another situation, this would be a time where he'd be pinching the bridge of his noise to regain calm. As things were, not so much.

"Our final offer is a deal," he said quickly, watching our reactions. Somehow I had a really bad feeling about this.

Crossing my arms across my chest, my eyebrow raised. "Alright, considering the last two options haven't been exactly valid, let's hear it."

"I wish to collect certain…gifts. Unfortunately, over several centuries, I have yet to come across vampire who possesses them. In this world, exposure is of high risk and people disappearing in such a manner would prove dangerous for our kind."

I shook my head vehemently, "I can see where you're going with this and no. I told you that I'm not going to give you access to my world to hurt people."

"You don't have a choice," Caius joined in, rising from his throne. Marcus simply sat, appearing as bored as ever by his family's actions.

"And how are you going to make me? Huh? Without me the door won't work and you're back to square one so it's not like you can hurt me or anything." I yelled angrily.

Edward gripped my arm, cautioning me to avoid another outburst. These were the wrong people to try to gain the upper hand with.

"You aren't the only one in this room vulnerable to us,"

I looked back at Edward and the members of his family, reminding myself that if I allowed it, they could get hurt and I wasn't about to let that happen.

Demitri and Felix made a threatening move forward, eager to act on the implied threat. Clearly they were hoping to try out tackling Emmett in particular who was casually eyeing the exit behind us.

"Fine," I slumped. "What do you want me to do?"

"No," Edward broke in, his tone firm.

I took his hand reassuringly, "Edward, I don't want anyone to get hurt. This is simpler. Trust me, I'll be fine." I just hoped he could understand what I meant. Once we crossed the threshold into my world, mine and whoever's strength would be a lot more even. Plus, I wouldn't want to mess with my turning or side kicks. They break boards for one thing.

"So, what do you want?" I repeated, eager to get this over and done with.

In the back of my mind, I just hoped that Jake was okay. I'd left him angry, paranoid and alone in a strange city full of underground vampires. The last thing I wanted was for someone to find out he was here and attempt to retrieve him. He'd probably end up doing something extremely stupid and get himself hurt.

Breathe Ashley, you'll get this done, go back and find Jake, and maybe even be home in time for dinner. You can do this. Somehow, my pep talk wasn't achieving the desired effect.

"I want you to take two members of our guard through the portal into your world. They'll have their own orders as to what to do, you'll simply do what they say." I looked at Aro, fury burning in my eyes.

"Fine," I muttered. If my sudden burst of anger wouldn't open the door, I wasn't sure what would. "Just so you know, usually the door opens up to places in my world that are sort of similar to where I am at the time but they only seem to be locations I've been to before."

I waited for him to respond but instead I was faced with a stony expression a whole heap of silence. "Umm…I've never been anywhere like here before. The closest I can get is probably somewhere I visited during my trip to Italy meaning I'll be kind of out of my element." I babbled.

"I'm sure you can adapt if the situation requires it." I shrugged, realising this was about as much sympathy as I was going to get.

"So who's joining me?" I said, finally voicing the worrying question. Aro waved a hand at Felix to approach them, at the same time another figure joined them in the centre of the room.

Crap. Of all the guards he could have chosen, he had to pick the muscular one as big as Emmett.

"Felix and Rayne will be accompanying you. Rayne is very much like Carlisle's and our mutual friend Eleazar except that Rayne is more sensitive to the potential of humans than vampires. He will read those around you." Aro explained excitedly. Me, I felt sick to the stomach. The only thing I could hope for was that neither of the two had fed too recently but by the look of their bright eyes, I found that unlikely.

"But he'll be human when he passes through meaning his abilities will be useless." I reminded him.

"That won't be a problem. Rayne was gifted with his keen senses long before he was a vampire."

A lump formed in my throat as I imagined what was to come. "Okay, I'm guessing you want us to leave now."

Carlisle walked across the room, "Aro," he began almost desperately. "Stop this. We have had no reason to clash in the past, why begin such hostilities now? Ashley will be returning home meaning where her knowledge of us is of no threat. You have no excuse, so why do this?"

Edward joined his side, "This isn't for logical reasons Carlisle, it's purely for power." He stated, bitterness seeping through the words.

Alice came up from behind me, her slim frame appearing even more so in the grandness of the room. "Ashley," she said to me softly. "Don't worry. Everything will be fine. I see us all together again at home very soon." Whether she was simply lying to give me hope, I appreciated the reassuring words. That half the Cullen family's lives depended on whether I could help the Voltori choose potentially power future vampires scared me very much.

"Thanks Alice," I said with a weak smile before pushing past her towards the doors. Several guards eyed me suspiciously as thought about to intervene but a command from behind me restrained them.

I closed my eyes and breathed deeply, focusing my frustration and heightened anxiety into opening up the portal. This was so different from before, when I'd been trying to find a quiet spot for Edward and I to just be happy and…human.

Now I was being blackmailed into hurting others.

My lids flickered open and I pushed forwards on the large doors, swinging them backwards into what should have been the stone corridor. Instead I was faced with a pebbled street bordered by tall stone buildings. Just as I'd expected, somewhere in Italy.

I looked back at the group of vampires now watching me with different expressions. Before I could rethink my next actions, I spoke: "Are you coming or not?" before heading forward and on through the double dimensional door.

A/N: Not sure when the next chap will be up so be patient, I know I'm painful but this is my last year of high school and work is tough. Anyway, hope you haven't given up and are willing to stick it out till the end which I hope will be arriving soon.

Next Time on Return to Meyer: It's a life sized game of where's Wally, only this time Wally's a bunch of potentially powerful future vampires and Ashley's not playing alone, she's teamed with two members of the Voltori's guard – a man twice her size and one who can sense the skills of everyone around him.

This is going to be one messed up game.

Only who's going to come out on top?

Next Time.