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: I know, I'm slow and painful and boring but here's the next chapter. I'm trying, you do have to give me credit for that. Hopefully I'll finish it soon. I just finished watching 'New Moon' on DVD this afternoon and was inspired to write a new chapter. Also a big thanks to all the fans of the fic who have stuck in there through my extremely long writing process. So as always, ignore the grammar and enjoy.

Return to Meyer

18. Rayne

Uneven pavement stones pressed into my feet through the thin soles of my ballet flats. My eyes darted from side to side, attempting to make sense of my new surroundings that were familiar yet so alien at the same time.

The sky was grey, cloudy and ominous. I couldn't help but see it as a warning for the events that would soon come to pass. The only independent variable was me. If I was to come up with a plan to somehow get away from my two "guards" (literally), then what? Reopen the door and face the other members of the Voltori? Risk getting someone killed? Nope. Not happening.

With these thoughts wearing heavily on my mind, I forced myself to look back through the archway, beyond any of the expectant faces of the Voltori and to Edward. Catching his eyes, I held them as I look of hopelessness set in. My emotions were reflected in his demeanour.

The vampire, Rayne, fearlessly walked the last few necessary steps to join me on the other side of the archway. At the moment he crossed the threshold, he gripped the wall to our right as the full extent of his regained humanity took hold.

Ragged breathing, necessary for the first time in years and a heartbeat racing beneath a moving chest, all clear indicators and proof in support of what I had told Aro and the others.

The smallest twitch of apprehension appeared on Felix's face at the sight of his comrade.

Feeling snippy, I narrowed my eyes, boring them into the oversized Voltori guard. "Are you coming or do I have to stand here all day?"

My comment hit the air between worlds, forcing Felix towards the gateway. Suddenly, the mood changed as Edward leapt forward at rapid pace. His clothing whipped through the air behind him as he was grasped around the neck by Felix and thrown against the wall in a rock hard choke hold.

I cringed at the sound, marble smashing into stone. Edward struggled inside the larger vampire's grip, both continuing to snarl at one another in rage.

"Edward," I called out, pleadingly. "Stop, I'll be fine. You just have to wait and trust me to handle things." He looked at me apprehensively, questioning my words. Seeing the resolution in my face, his struggles ceased. The look of pure loathing remained in place.

Felix looked to his masters for orders. At a short nod from Caius, he loosened his grip on Edward's pale neck and took the final step through the barrier.

Apart from a look of brief displeasure and a short breath, the transition appeared to have a limited affect on him. This was worrying.

I took a deep breath, bracing myself before holding up a hand in a brief gesture of farewell and before I could try to turn back, I swung the door between worlds shut.

** ***** **

I shifted my weight impatiently, stretching my back against the wall of the café Felix and Rayne had positioned us against a few minutes ago. Since then, Rayne had chosen a spot and then proceeded to shut his eyes as though he'd fallen asleep on the spot. For the last two minutes or so I'd been resisting the urge to yell "BOO!" in his face and give him a good shake. Similarly, Felix had stood on the other side of me, continuing to silently and casually observe the surrounding crowds. With him, I was fighting the need to practice my turning kicks on a certain….part of his body (and trust me, those kicks have broken wooden boards). I know, I'm immature but when else was I going to get the chance to seriously consider indulging my fantasies under the possibilities that they would actually work?

So instead of doing some more preferable Buffy-esq martial art moves, I had finally worked out where it was we'd ended up. About a year and a half ago, my parents decided to take my sister and I on a six week trip overseas. Some of the locations on the list were England, France, Switzerland, the United States and Italy.

What are the odds?

If I had to make a guess, I'd say we were in San Gimignano. The streets and the towers were somewhat vaguely familiar. From the maps I'd seen, San Gimignano is right next to Volterra in Tuscany and seeing how, as far as I can remember, I've never been to Volterra this was about as close as the door could get.

I peered out from the corner of my eye at Rayne who was still standing rigidly with his eyes closed, probably scanning the crowds for the right person to bring home for Aro as a souvenir. I couldn't help but notice that he looked absolutely exhausted but that was to be expected after coming through the doorway between worlds.

I walked forward, forming the beginnings of a pacing session. Felix's eyes followed me as though he was expecting me to try and leg it up the street away from them at any moment. I gave him a look as if to say, "I'm not that stupid." He chose to ignore it.

Sighing, I opened my mouth about to complain about the length of time I was wasting doing absolutely nothing when the sky opened up and it started to rain.

"You have got to be kidding me. This is ridiculous." I grumbled. Neither of the vampires shifted in the slightest while I started to move towards cover. Felix's look darkened, warning me to stay put.

"Come on," I said in exasperation. "I am not staying out here in the rain." I could feel the water soaking through my clothing and my hair starting dampen. The expression held. "I guess I am." I realised, moving back to my previous spot against the wall and sinking to a crouch to keep warm. What was the point? After a couple more minutes, I was already soaked.

While Rayne searched and Felix stood looking threatening, I watched as people either pulled out large, multicoloured umbrellas or spoke in a mix of languages, revealing their agitation as they ducked for cover. Lucky them. Instead I was stuck with Tweedle dumb and Tweedle dumber.

At last Rayne's eyes flickered open and he spoke, almost sending me sky high at the suddenness. I got to my feet, brushing away several drops of rain as they made their way down my face and into my eyes.

"That boy over there," Rayne pointed to dark haired boy holding a green umbrella. He couldn't have been more than thirteen years old and just like that his life was going to be over? No, no, no. I was not going to let them change him into a vampire. Not happening on my watch.

Both Voltori guards set off in the boy's direction, me attempting to keep up to the best of my ability.

"What are you going to do?" I asked frantically. "You can't just snatch him off the street in front of all these people."

Yet, the closer they moved I had the scary feeling that snatching him then and there was exactly what they were going to do. There were no vampires in this world, heck they didn't even live here, so why play by our rules?

We walked past several groups of people until we had reached a side street emptied by the weather. I had no idea what it was that this boy was going to be able to do as a vampire that Aro wanted so much but that was important. What was, was that this kid, who had barely even started his life was going to be taken from his family and killed for no good reason whatsoever. Even more so, the closer we got, the more and more it seemed like there was going to be nothing I could do to stop it.

The boy turned to a smaller girl beside him and said something in what I assumed to be Greek. Great, a tourist too. It was probably his first big holiday overseas.

Felix and Rayne had paused, waiting in silence as the boy and his group moved quickly towards the side street opening. In a few seconds they would pass it.

My breath held in my chest, as they passed the opening and time seemed to stand still. They were passing….walking….almost through….The gust of air whooshed out of my chest as the group cleared the centre of the opening.

All of a sudden, the boy stopped. I froze in horror as he bent down and began retying one of his shoelaces while his group continued on, oblivious to his location. Before I could intervene, Felix and Rayne stepped forward and grabbed the boy tightly, Felix placing his hand over the boy's mouth to prevent anyone from hearing his surprised and panicked cry.

No, no, no! This was not how things were supposed to go. Do something, Ashley. DO SOMETHING. But as much as I screamed at myself to move, to act, I was stuck in place. My head empty of all plans and ideas on how to prevent the events taking hold in front of me.

The Greek boy looked up at me with wide eyes, struggling against Felix's strong grip. Please, they begged, please help me.

"Open the gateway," Rayne ordered coldly, gesturing to a nearby archway. I looked back and forth between him and the frightened teen. I shook my head firmly, wishing I could just turn back time to before all this had happened. Before I'd been forced to take part in such horrible things. Before….everything.

"I wouldn't want to have to harm the human, Aro would be most displeased." Felix threatened, his hold tightening. The boy cringed in pain under the applied pressure. I couldn't bear to watch.

"Okay, okay, just stop!"I cried, positioning myself in front of the arch and thinking over and over again of my need to return to Volterra.

The archway shimmered, transforming into one of the Voltori's endless looking corridors. Torches on the walls the only illumination, Latin phrases staring back harshly where they were engraved into aged sandstone.

Rayne and Felix pushed past me and into the corridor, each twitching slightly as they regained their vampiric status. I trailed on, my hair leaving drops of water on the floor as I went, their falling the only sound in the long, deserted hallway.

The feeling resembled how I'd imagine being brought to receive a death sentence would feel. A guilt heavier than I've ever experienced sat deep within my gut, ripping its way through my insides. I allowed myself another look at the helpless boy who would soon become an immortal because of me and before I could stop them, tears had begun to fall.

They ran slowly down my cheeks, joining the rain runoff from my clothes as I trudged along noiselessly. Finally we reached the large doors, Rayne swinging them open in one movement and about as little effort as possible. It was as though nothing had changed and every person in the room had remained fixed in place since our departure.

"Welcome back," Aro greeted us, his arms out wide and an expression of pure glee on his face.

Neither of us answered, instead Felix hastily dropped the boy at his feet. Aro looked down at him, sending the boy babbling in Greek. I wasn't sure whether anyone could understand him but language barrier or not, it was easy to see that he was absolutely terrified. I continued to cry, wishing that it would stop and hating how weak and human it made me seem.

A moment later, Edward was by my side. He wrapped an arm around me, pulling me close for comfort. I refused to look at him, feeling undeserving of the gesture. I was a horrible person. I deserved no comfort for what I had done. If only I could make him understand, that I was damaging and that he should have just told me to go home the first chance I had. If things had gone that way, none of this would have happened. If stupid Bella had never opened the damn door, I would have gone on living my life without any of this crap. If only he could hear me say I was sorry. If….

I stopped, picking up on something I should have a very long time ago.

God, I'm stupid.

Edward can't hear my thoughts. He never has been able to. Neither can Aro and Jane sure as hell can't torture me. Why is that? Because I'm from a world where vampires don't exist. Things that work in this world don't necessarily work in my world and vice versa. I probably have a slight inclination towards a particular gift that would show up if I were made a vampire, that is, if Rayne were to read me back home but here, here the rules are different.

Gifts are compatible with us because technically, we don't belong here. We aren't a part of this world. Therefore, this particular boy's so called future potential wouldn't exist here. We have neither past nor future here. We're like broken timelines. Things taken out of time and space that have no end of beginning, merely what choices we make in situations at the time they're upon us.

Note to self, lay of the 'Doctor Who' for a while, you're starting to sound a little too scientifically eccentric.

I lifted up a hand and wiped away the tears, bracing myself to share my revelations. A grin spread across my face as I realised that I had found a way to get us all out of this.

"Wait," I called out loudly, sending everybody's head snapping in my direction. "Get Rayne to read him again." I ordered.

The three older Voltori members replied with looks of utter astonishment. "Forgive me, but why should we do that?" Aro queried, not rudely but in mere curiosity.

"Just trust me," I said, my smile widening.

Aro turned to Rayne and nodded briefly. Rayne looked at the cowering boy on the floor, his focus intensifying. A moment later, disbelief etched itself into his face. I felt Edward relax ever so slightly beside me. He had clearly caught on to my train of thought more or less.

"How can that be?" Rayne asked no-one in particular, astonishment colouring his words. "Master, I sensed his future potential. I was sure of it. Now there is….nothing." He forced out distastefully. "It's as if all of his abilities have ceased to exist, even the most common of human strengths. He is in essence blank."

Throughout this little exchange of information, I had been watching Aro closely for any changes in his appearance. I had expected a little anger, maybe some frustration instead I was faced with amusement. Surprisingly, at that moment, he started to laugh.

His hands clapped together loudly, the humour in the situation seemingly becoming more and more apparent to him. "Now, this is a very interesting turn of events." He exclaimed.

"Aro," Caius cautioned him, quietly.

The laughing ceased but the grin held in place. "I'm afraid that our endeavour here has been to no avail. We cannot benefit from this arrangement it would seem." He admitted.

"We warned you of such an outcome earlier, Aro." Edward told him.

Aro nodded, "It would seem that you are correct Edward. In that case we are left with our previous dilemma. Ashley is human and knows far too much about our kind, and as you have said before, you have no intention to turn her but you will not live without her."

"Ashley and I will be returning to her own world very soon, the problem will no longer exist after that." Edward explained.

"And you do not intend to return in order to visit your family?" Marcus questioned unemotionally.

Edward paused. I looked up at him, wondering whether he had properly thought this through yet. I was more than willing to bring everyone with me but if some of the Cullens wished to remain here, that would make visiting and complying with the Voltori tricky.

"That is for us to discuss," Carlisle joined in, firmly.

"Does it really matter what Edward does? As long as I don't come back, you're happy right?" I asked, hoping to move this along soon.

"In a manner of speaking, yes," Aro clarified.

I sighed, "Fine, I won't come back."

Aro raised a brow, "Do we have your word?"

Hell, did I have any reason to come back here after all this? Then I remembered, Jacob. That would mean I would never see him again. I would have to make a choice. My safety and that of those I loved in exchange for leaving Jacob, there could only be one answer.

"Yes, I promise you won't see me back here once I leave." I vowed.

Caius glowered at me seriously, "Remember, the Voltori do not give second chances." Well, duh, I felt like saying.

"I know." I replied.

"Good, that concludes our business." Aro exclaimed. "Demetri and Felix will escort you to the exit."

I cut in, "No, that does not conclude our business." I gestured at the sobbing teen on the floor of the chamber, clueless as to what was going on around him.

"I would suggest that you leave us to take care of him but somehow I don't believe that is an answer you would be satisfied with."

"You'd be right." I pressed.

Aro sighed, already bored with the topic. "You may take him with you."

I didn't thank him, pleasantries already very far past me. I went over to the boy and helped him to his feet, attempting to sooth him with words in a calm tone. He was still scared but willingly came with me.

"Bye," I pressed out forcefully, as I made my way to the exit with the kidnapped boy at my side.

"Farewell young friends, Carlisle, my friend, do visit again soon and Edward our offer to join us still stands if certain circumstances do occur and events do not turn out as well as you had planned."

Edward frowned, "I'll take my chances,"

And with this our group steadily and finally made its way towards the exit.

A/N: At last the Voltori has been dealt with, well, more or less. I know, it's been a long time coming. Also, if you think the end is near, you'd be right but we still have one last major problem to tackle and she's angry and vengeful with red hair. Three guesses what. Anyway, hang in there, I'll update when I can. Remember to review, you know how much I love them.

Next Time on Return to Meyer:

The Voltori are out of the picture for now but bigger problems are at hand. With Victoria still on the warpath and the end unforeseeable, the last few chapters of Return to Meyer lead up to a climax that will have the Twilight saga characters backed up against a wall and in a situation that they may just not be able to get out of.

Soon.