Disclaimer: Stephanie Meyer owns it all.

Rated M for several reasons. Some violence.

Chpt 20 A Different Kind of Fight

BPOV

"Ah shit." Pete grumbles, lowering his own hat. "That's all we fuckin' need."

Char rolls her eyes an' lets out a heavy sigh.

Most of the rest of us manage to look actively freaked out. Hundreds of newborns? Hundreds?

Strong, fast, unstable. I've heard all about armies of newborns from my family. But hundreds of them?

"Fuck!" I proclaim.

"No Mistress." Simon corrects me in a bored voice. "We are not going to fuck them, we are going to fight them."

Quiet but heartfelt laughter breaks the tension.

"Remind me to get you a Nissan Leaf when we get home." I growl.

More laughter.

"Enough." The Major commands, he's not really a laughing sort of vampire. "Pete, for those unaware please explain the basics of fightin' newborns."

"Fuelled by the remains of their human blood they are stronger an' faster than any normal vampire." Pete lectures. "But they are ruled by base emotions. Feed, fight an' fuck. That's pretty much all they think about. Once the battle starts a good percentage of them will turn on each other, usually about a quarter will be wiped out that way. For there to be so many they must have been brought in from different areas, that means fuckin' Rutilio has picked this site for a reason, so be careful.

The Major's the only vampire I know can outrun or overpower newborns so don't get cocky an' copy what he does. If ya need a visual, watch me or Char.

Under no circumstances let 'em get their arms around ya. They won't quite pull off a Bella but you will be squished, possibly irreversibly. Trust me, waitin' for your torso to puff back up like a marshmallow stings like a motherfucker.

If you fight professionally an' with your brains this number of newborns ought to be manageable for us but as soon as you panic an' they start takin' us out we're all fucked. Remember that. With newborns you fight or die as a unit.

Keep your eyes open for the mature vamps. They'll be controllin' the newborns as best they can. If you can, take 'em out. Without firm direction the newborns will either turn on each other or leg it. If they're experienced at this, an' if they've been with Asturias a while they will be cos he's a fuckin' expert, they'll be waitin' for you to be swamped so they can step in an' take you out. That's how it works best. Newborns create havoc, experienced vamps step in an' take advantage. Be. More. Experienced.

You're family now so any one of you fuckers gets dismembered an' me an' Demetri will re-fuse your heads to your worthless asses.

Goes without sayin', Rutilio is the main target, me, Demetri, the Master an' the Mistress will be lookin' for him. Run interference if you can but not at personal risk. We're tough, we'll manage.

Sergio an' Nicholas. You an' my good lady are in charge of the fire. Make it big, keep it burnin'. Whenever possible dive out an' collect parts to feed it. Learn before you burn. You torch any of us an' I'll fuse your heads to somebody else's ass.

Other than that the plan an' the rendezvous remain the same. Ma'am goes in first an' we protect her with our lives, like she does us. If you feel overcome by lethargy an' helplessness it's The Major, so get over yourself real quick, just like we've drilled at home.

Any questions?"

"Is the bet still on?" Alfredo asks.

"Yep." Pete smirks. "Whoever ends Rutilio, with traitor's name, gets the jet for a month an' a million dollars spendin' money."

"Why would he have so many newborns?" Another Guard asks.

"It's too many to have done quickly." Pete answers. "He musta been plannin' somethin' anyway. Maybe to draw The Volturi here if his plan with Vladimir an' us failed."

"How would that have been effective?" The Guard continues sensibly.

"Large numbers of newborns always attracted attention of you guys." Pete shrugs.

"They can also be surprisingly effective, like scatter shot." Char growls. "You might not get what you're aimin' at but you'll sure as shit get somethin'."

She looks absolutely livid. An' I can understand why. The Volturi may have objected to newborn armies on the basis they risk exposure to humans but Jasper, Pete an' Char object for far more personal reasons.

"I'm gonna rip that fucker limb from limb for this." The promise in The Major's voice sends a shiver down more than one spine.

Alice looks completely freaked out.

"Bet you wish you'd stayed at home?" I ask her a little cruelly as the black shutters clang down over my eyes.

"How can you be okay with this?" She asks, voice trembling slightly.

"I've learnt to live with it an' it turns out I'm good at it." I answer honestly. "I am The Major's Mate."

The vampire in question smiles down at me briefly an' squeezes my hand.

"Shall we?" Demetri offers, grinning wolfishly an' sweeping his arm across the verdant landscape ahead of us.

"What shall I do?" Alice asks in a panicky voice.

"Stick your head between your legs an' kiss your tiny ass goodbye." Pete suggests as we launch ourselves down the slope.

Our formation holds as we hit the bottom of the depression.

Slightly to the fore I keep running at full tilt as a wall of feral looking vampires stream towards us. Every size, shape, age, color an' race. The cop in me is outraged. The vampire wants them all dead.

Well before they are in leaping range I throw a bubble around the front rank an' shrink it as quickly as possible. They crash together like rocks in an avalanche an' the newborns behind them falter in their charge. Screwing up my face in concentration I continue to shrink it down to the point of resistance I recognise, except this time it's stronger than I'm used to. With a vicious roar I press harder an' after a millisecond I'm rewarded with a deafening clap an' a large cloud of dust floating up to the treetops.

Behind me the Guard cheer loudly.

As the newborns regroup I fling the shield out around another large group rapidly shrinking it down to the resistance point but try as I might I can't crush them, only clang them together like one of those executive desk toys.

Stupid fuckin' gift. Furious I fire up my own shield flinging it out an' knocking the vampires ahead of me six ways to Sunday.

"Now!" Demetri hollers streaking past me with the Guard hot on his heels.

It must look like chaos but it isn't. The Coven are relentless an' newborns are mercilessly incapacitated left, right an' center in the initial engagement.

I soon find a rhythm, casting my eyes around periodically to check on my family an' the faces that lurch towards me. A part of my mind struggles to find words to describe how I'm feeling an' behaving. For the most part these vampires aren't any kind of challenge to me, other than their sheer numbers. It's like sparring at home with weaker opponents. I can begin to appreciate how The Major must feel when he comes up against a run of the mill vampire. It's almost, yawn, really, you want to fight?

Before I can get too carried away with myself, a pair of strong arms clasp around me bringing me crashing back to reality, no way is my brother fusing my lips to my ass. Furious I flick out my shield, almost deafened by the high pitched scream I whirl an' kick my attacker in the head, growling in satisfaction as it separates from her body an' bounces away across the ground.

Bloodlust, I think it's called. Where's that fuckin' Spaniard?

TMPOV

As I always try to do I rip the arms off my first attacker. I miss swords an' limbs are a reasonably satisfying substitute for hand to hand combat. It's a personal thing.

The fact that I cannot feel my mate is a distraction. Not a fatal one, focus is my middle name, but a painful one. I have become accustomed to feelin' her presence during battle, it comforts me. We are one as we fight.

The absence of that feelin' makes me angry.

An' I hate emotions. Unless I can use them to my advantage.

Hack, slash, kick, punch. Repeat.

Fuckin' newborns.

Hack, slash, kick, punch, bite. Repeat.

I fuckin' hate this.

Bite, hack, punch, kick, slash. Repeat.

Where is she? I can't feel her. Is she okay?

Punch, kick, bite, slash, hack. Repeat.

There she is, my goddess of war, fighting relentlessly among our enemies. The shape of the battle swirls an' changes and she is gone from sight, only a fountain of bodies flung outwards betrays her location.

Howling I plunge back into the fray with renewed venom.

She has changed my world.

Slash, bite, punch, kick, hack, rip. Repeat.

Its equal parts depressin' an' comfortin'.

A cold smile tugs at my cheek muscles.

Kick, punch, rip, slash, hack, bite. Repeat.

Steadily moving towards my target. The source of pain for my mate an' for me.

I promised once I'd kill him myself if I had to. That time has come.

Rip, bite, slash, kick, punch, hack. Repeat.

Smile.

BPOV

Being grabbed by a newborn has steadied me an' helped me focus.

Was this what I was born to do? I don't know. Was I born to fight for Jasper? Oh hell yes.

Across the carnage, the ebb an' flow of the fight has separated us, I can see him coolly cutting his way through the throng towards Rutilio an' a flare of competitiveness runs through me.

With a mighty leap I spring towards him, only to be thrown back by the wall of terrified an' stampeding newborns he has left in his wake.

Flipping away I dodge them, barely, becoming aware of Pete in my peripheral vision.

Ripping off a head he smirks an' it dawns on me that we Whitlocks are a teeny bit strange.

I leap forwards after my mate again only to be thrown back by a huge explosion that seems to come from the ground beneath our feet.

Instinctively I throw my physical shield up around every vampire I recognise as the concussion blows friend an' enemy off their feet.

Cursing I realise that a fissure has opened up between the main fight an' The Major and his prey, Rutilio Asturias. My sister an' my bodyguard make it through after him.

Before I can react an' join them the newborns an' their leaders shake themselves and return to the attack. Busy I am prevented from joining my loved ones as they face our enemy an' his lieutenants.

Furious I throw my shield out again an' again as I fight my way through the mass of attacking bodies.

Another explosion shakes the ground, throwing us all down like dominoes an' I completely lose track of who is where not to mention what is up an' what is down.

Screaming in frustration I regain my feet, unsteady in the aftershocks.

Despite the shouting an' vicious fighting which erupts again I pull up my physical shield, an' oblivious to the vampires bouncing off it, I scan the area.

Far right, with a group of decidedly non-newborn guards. A slim ginger haired vampire is winding his arms up an' muttering to himself in preparation for another physical explosion. My suspicion is confirmed when I spot Demetri heading towards him with murder in his eyes, Pete hot on his heels.

I don't fuckin' think so.

Flick. Crush. Expand.

Ginger is dust an' his guards are airborne.

Demetri pauses briefly to smile at me with pride before leaping after one of the mature vampires.

Satisfied there will be no more explosions in the local geology I turn back to locate The Major but a wave of vampires sweeping toward me claims my attention.

I start to grin.

In my defence, those Whitlocks are a real bad example for an impressionable young vampire.