Disclaimer: I do not own twilight or any of its characters.

(A/N: Sorry it's taken so long again! Ahhh I just didn't know how on earth they actually got back to America… I know it's not integral to the story line, but I think it's easy to neglect these things when you don't have to worry about writing or reading it! Haha. Oh well, was probably worrying over it for no reason. On a better note, I bought the 'Twilight Saga Illustrated Guide' the other day! How good was that? The back-stories of the characters are something that has always interested me and I loved diving into that world! It's really inspired me! I'm excited for the next chapter now … better get writing it! Enjoy this one anyway. Ellie x)

Surpassing Barricades

A deep growl escaped my lips before I had time to consciously react. I didn't mean to. It was just an instinctual reaction to not getting my way, just an expression of my immediate frustration.

Huilen didn't see it as such though. She threw herself in front of Nahuel, pushing him backwards slightly. I half expected Jasper to do the same, but he remained by my side, already in control of the situation.

"Are you kidding me?" I breathed softly, closing my eyes tightly.

"I don't think this is the time for joking about, Alice." Jasper said gently.

"Couldn't you have mentioned this before? Before we wasted half the day heading in a direction that would get us nowhere?" I was fuming now, though the better half of me knew that, truly, I was angry at myself…for not being able to see that this would be a problem… and for not even considering asking… it was my own fault.

"Alice… I'm really sorry." Nahuel said, stepping past Huilen. "I didn't know this was what you were planning. I've never left the continent before. I didn't know what we had to do. Could we just run along the coast instead of swimming? Will it take much longer?"

"Jasper? Alice?" Kachiri called from the harsh waves far below us.

"We won't be able to cross the border at the speed we've been travelling without being noticed. Neither do we have any time to forge any documents, nor the resources to pay for our passage." I said quickly.

I didn't know what to do. I felt completely useless without my extra sight. Normally I wouldn't be in the slightest bit bothered by a predicament like this. I would have just searched for the path that would lead to the desired result. But when I looked now, the only thing I could see was the dark void we were all submerged in.

My head ached… literally ached. My temples were throbbing, just waiting to burst. I had seen so much in the past month – things that I had fought to find, and some that entered my vision against my will… so many premonitions and scenes… millions. I had sifted through each of them, analysing them in as much detail as possible. But now, my head was empty, like my thoughts and visions had been absorbed by a dark cloud of doom, like a black hole that generates at the end of a stars life. Even though my body could never truly tire, it was just about ready to give up. A part of me willed for my stone limbs to perish, to become the dust that I felt I should be.

"Could we just find a spot that isn't being manned?" Jasper asked carefully. It wouldn't be the first time that we've crossed a country's borders using that method, but this time was different. This time I wouldn't be able to find it.

"We would have to search on foot." I said, not hiding the strain in my voice.

"There must be a way." Nahuel cried. "It's not fair, to get all this way and not being able to do anything!"

"You're telling me…" I exhaled.

"Nahuel has done nothing wrong!" Huilen hissed. "Blood runs through his body, blood which needs to be oxygenated in order for him to survive!"

Of course she was right, and I was foolish to have not considered it.

"What's next, Alice?" Jasper exhaled roughly. I think he was trying his best not worry, because if he worried, then we would all be worried.

I really didn't know how to answer his question… I was confused beyond all recognition. Surely this was always going to happen, after all, Nahuel was never going to be able to swim along side the rest of us… so why had I seen salvation in our future? How was it ever possible?...Because there is another way. There has to be!

"Seven million people have immigrated illegally into the united states." I said, trying to rationalise with myself. "If they can do it, then it should be easy for us." I bellowed enthusiastically.

"We'll just have to play it carefully, leaving it till night fall." Kachiri added suddenly, apparently having just scaled the cliff face to join us again. I was glad she had heard the conversation and was aware of the situation. I didn't want to have to repeat it.

Huilen joined her straight away, as though she gravitated towards her.

"Better head back to the trees then. We'll start heading north as best as we can without stepping into the sun." I said sombrely, feeling lost in this foreign land.

We ran, all together, sticking together as we would until we got home, I was sure. Sticking to the trees made our journey tediously longer. We had been running for over a day. Our time was ticking away. Every step I took felt like I was running through the thickest, slimiest mud. The sound of our gentle footsteps signified ever passing second, and I couldn't help but count them. We were racing against the impending troops of the Volturi Guard now. I could just picture their sleek, calm and disciplined accent, making our erratic journey seem even more ridiculously laughable.

When night fell our pace began to deteriorate. Huilen begged Nahuel to rest, though he refused. She said he would get ill, but still he refused… until eventually his tiredness got the best of him. I had complained – as I had foreseen all of those weeks ago – and Huilen became very protective, making sure we didn't touch him. I was so close to asking Jasper to deal with her while I threw Nahuel over my shoulders and ran. But Kachiri could sense my pain as well as feeling her own anguish for her sisters. She spoke to Huilen carefully, reassuring her that we needed to keep moving. Huilen agreed, but instead of waking him she picked him up, carrying him carefully, perfectly balancing his body in her arms. She even laughed, mentioning that she hadn't done that since he was an infant.

She spoke about Nahuel for the rest of the night, how she used to care for him, how she used to worry for him, how scared she was when Joham returned hoping to leave with his prodigal son. She spoke about how they hunted while he was still young, and how she never used to be able to put him down. He slept in her arms every night for the first two months of his accelerated life – just as Renesmee slept in mine, and the arms of my family. It made me ache hearing her tales which were so similar to our own. It hurt, as though there was a piece of me missing. And there was. Seven integral pieces of my being had been missing for the last four and a half weeks.

Nahuel woke up as soon as the sun started to twinkle through the tree tops. He was annoyed that we didn't wake him, but Kachiri reminded him that now was no time to be proud. He calmed down quickly and ran with us for the rest of the day.

We got to South Columbia just before nightfall when Jasper began to panic. He was emanating it to all of us. Panic, sheer panic.

"Alice? We have time don't we? We'll get back to Forks in time?" He stuttered.

I didn't know why he asked, he had obviously already calculated our journey. We had four days to travel six thousand miles, meaning we needed to average 62 miles an hour in order to make it in time. A target that was almost ten miles an hour faster than the speed we have been travelling currently. Added to that, we would not be able to get to Panama before the sun rose, so we would have to spend the rest of the waiting there and then again when we get to the America–Mexico border… at least two days wasted.

"It'll be close." I sighed, not wanting to even think of the improbabilities. My hope was the only thing keeping me going, I just couldn't think about anything else other than the image I had seen of the Volturi turning their backs on us, and leaving.

Jasper scoffed harshly. I knew he was loosing his faith quickly. His frustration was so strong that it swamped it, making it unable to find. "Help me, Alice. I need to know. Will it be close, or will we be late?"

His words did not spark a vision, but instead relit a memory…. I had already seen something thing that might just answer his question, though I wished it wouldn't. "Before we had even left, Jasper, I had a vision of the five of us running in Forks. I didn't know who it was, but I could hear the five different footsteps following me in my vision. At the time I didn't really consider it… there were so many more things to worry about. But we were running in Forks, near our home, up to the clearing… but the Volturi were already there. Perhaps that is what will happen… We'll get there after it starts, but before it will finish…"

Jasper's eyes pressed tightly together. I knew he would hate the idea, of leaving it so late. All he wanted to do was protect his family, our family.

He was going to say something – what, I didn't know – but as he was about to speak, our small troop stopped.

"It was always our destiny." Huilen said quietly, standing still suddenly, staring off in a westerly direction. "Before you even knew we existed, you knew there would be five of us returning to your home, to fight for you." She smiled. "… It was always all of our destinies." She turned back to face us, her face peaceful and confident with brisk wind brushing through her braids. "And my understanding of destiny is that it will happen no matter what…"

"That's not how my visions work… the future changes with every decision made…" I interrupted.

"I'm not talking about our future. You're right, the future is always undecided. An unwritten masterpiece waiting to become the present… but some things were always meant to be." She continued.

It sounded bizarre hearing the words coming out of someone else's lips. The words being spoken were the type of optimistic, joyful words that usually belonged to me.

"¿Cuál es él, Huilen?" Nahuel asked. "What is it? What has changed?"

"Nothing has changed, my dear Nahuel, because this was always going to happen." She motioned for us all to join her. As I reached her proximity I followed her gaze through a small gap in the trees finally spying a selection of white objects on the Columbian coast.

"Boats?" I asked cautiously.

"If only there was a way to cross the boarder without having to wait…" She smiled. "We'll take one to Mexico and then cross the boarder at California." Huilen whistled, as though she was seeing a vision herself.

"And the American navy?" Jasper laughed. "They have satellites and radar. We'll be picked up in no time and back where we started." Jasper offered. "Attempts like that happen every day."

"It's not a problem. They're only humans after all… we'll just have a little snack." Huilen said casually.

"No." I almost roared. "There is no need for innocent people to die."

"Innocent people die every day." Nahuel moaned.

"But not at my hands!" I spat.

"Then we get a smaller boat. Small enough that we will not be detected." Jasper suggested, his hopes rising in accordance with ours. "It's not like we need the space."

"If we do come across any patrol boats then Alice and Jasper can hide under the water." Nahuel continued, nodding his head in agreement with Jazz. "To the humans, Kachiri, Huilen and I will just look like three immigrants trying to get by. They'll pull beside us, as I'm sure they are more than used to. Meanwhile you two will commandeer their boat. Nobody needs to die! We'll just leave them tied up in the boat we'll leave behind."

"It's worth a try." Jasper shrugged.

"We don't really have many other options" I exhaled. What I would give to be able to see if it would work.

Our course changed sharply, running directly west now. We made our way down hills and cliffs in the cover of night.

I broke into the back of a random clothes shop only a few miles from the port. I picked up clothes for Kachiri, Nahuel and Huilen that were plain, and of muted colours – definitely cheap! – But they would pass for something a local family would wear. I just got something sturdy for Jasper and myself.

We changed quickly in a dark alleyway and then made our way to the port speedily, taking advantage of the abandoned streets at this late hour.

We passed boats that were very similar to ones Carlisle and Esme had purchased which stood out obviously from the old, rickety fishing boats. I hoped silently that we wouldn't have to settle for the latter.

Huilen drew our attention to a small raft. "Jasper, will this see us across."

He inspected the vessel quickly. "It's the perfect size, but the engine on it will get us nowhere before we'll need to refuel."

"What if we attached this?" Nahuel said suddenly from behind us, holding a huge motor engine he had apparently ripped from a much larger boat.

Jasper even smiled. "Perfect… As long as it doesn't capsize the poor, old thing."

Jasper attached it quickly and seamlessly. Meaning we were underway almost immediately. He sat beside the engine as it powered us through the water. We stuck to the cliff edges while it was dark as no one would look for us there. Without lights on it would be impossible for humans to travel so close to the edge, but of course, for us it wouldn't be a problem at all.

Our boat plodded along gently. We were just west of Costa Rica, a couple of hours before the sun would rise, when we came across a problem.

"I can see a boat." Said Kachiri, just as Jasper eased on the accelerator.

"Stay here… act as confused and scared as you can, but don't hesitate when you see us. Let's get it over and done as quickly as we can." I said quickly, before sliding in the water seamlessly just as the strong beam of light hit the small boat.

Jasper was already in the water, making his way to the boat a few hundred yards away. We came up on their starboard side without making as much as a ripple.

I could hear the panicked voices of our companions ringing out loudly and hurriedly. I could hardly understand what they were saying. They were screaming that they had money – that they would pay their way. The men on the boat laughed saying that they would be the 'judges of that'. They moved closer and closer, not knowing that two vampires were closely stalking them.

Jasper and I jumped up on to the deck, unseen by anyone. Jasper moved left, and I moved right. He signalled to me that he could see two men in the cabin, while I counted three on the port side trying to communicate with Kachiri.

He looked around, smelling the air carefully, making sure there were no more. He nodded to me, picking up a rope which I assumed was used to tether the boat to a dock.

We raced behind the men without them realising. Jasper picked the two of them in the cabin up by their collars and threw them on to the small boat we had travelled in. A boat that was now empty. Kachiri and Huilen placed their hands strongly over two of the men's mouths while I grabbed the other in a headlock. I could feel him kick and hit but they felt like nothing more than feathers brushing against my skin.

Jasper leapt onto the smaller boat gracefully, and we threw the men at him one by one. He tied them all up before any of them could reach for the guns that they had holstered against their sides. I doubted that they even knew what was happening – all the better for us. Their absolute shock, confusion and disorientation would act as our cover. They're deep, bewildered screams echoed in the air for only a few seconds.

"Nahuel, find me something to gag them." Jasper called gently as if he were right beside him.

Nahuel vanished into the lower part of the boat, bringing up some tape. He threw it to Jasper and suddenly the sound was cut off.

"Easy!" I laughed. "Let's get going."

Jasper and I rushed to the cabin, but we were alone. Kachiri, Nahuel and Huilen still stood on the side of the boat, looking hungrily at the five men in the boat. Their eyes were burning. Ravenous.

"Hold your breath." I said softly, already standing between them and the small boat. They couldn't feed, not just because it was against my values, but because it would cause unknown issues. Five rambling mad men talking about something improbable would blow over quickly, but five dead men and a missing boat would make headlines. "Hold. Your. Breath." I begged now.

Nahuel's eyes fluttered out of his trance and he turned away from his easy meal. Carefully, he pulled Huilen with him.

I reached for a small red tube attached to the side of the boat, ripping the black ribbon from its base. A bright red flare shone all around us, lightening up the sky. It was enough to distract Kachiri and would mean that the five men would not have to wait long before they were rescued.

Jasper started the boat immediately and took us onwards to the next part of our journey before we got caught in anyone else's path.

When the sun rose a few hours later we pulled out to sea. From a distance our glittering skin would be lost in the sunlight bouncing off the waves. We came back to land to stop at a couple of small docks along the way, just making sure we had enough oil to get us to wherever it was that we needed to be. Nahuel dressed in a uniform he found in the resting quarters and looked completely natural refuelling the ship before we left again – nobody even gave us a second glance.

Jasper set our course for Cabo Pulmo, a national park in Mexico. It would provide a good enough cover when we arrive there late tomorrow morning. We would run to the border and find somewhere that we could all cross easily. We would have to wait for night of course. That would leave us seven hours to get from California to Forks. And that would only be the case if this actually worked…

"Alice!" Jasper groaned under his breath. "Stop doubting everything…" He smiled from beside me.

"I'm not… I'm just… planning ahead."

"Care to let me in on it?" He jested softly, stepping closer, bowing his head.

"Nothing has really changed – well, not that I know of anyway." I huffed. "If I'm honest, this is the most confident I have been for the last month! I'm just… ready for it to be over!" I looked through the glass pane separating us from Huilen, Kachiri and Nahuel and leaned towards Jasper. "They've really put themselves at risk by helping us, haven't they?" I whispered directly into his ear.

"They have done nothing wrong, Alice. They'll make themselves known, that is all. And that's what is going to save us."

"What if something is said that puts them in jeopardy?" I rushed.

"It is Nahuel's existence, not his words, that is needed as our evidence." Jasper soothed.

I almost scoffed. "Aro is very… manipulative with his questioning. He will get any answer he wants and will use it to justify any of his desires."

"Then we need to plan exactly what we're going to say. We'll lead the conversation – get everything said before we can be questioned. We'll be labelled innocent before anything can be asked."

I hadn't realised how loud our quiet whispers had turned. The three immortals were crowded in the doorway with indomitable expressions on their faces.

"It's going to be Huilen that speaks, will it not?" Kachiri asked.

Huilen's face screwed up. "Me? Why me? This has got nothing to do with me!"

"Alice has seen it." Kachiri answered. "A week before we even found you."

"You witnessed Nahuel's birth, Huilen. You are a witness to the courtship of a vampire and human as well as witnessing the effects of such." Jasper defended. "You will need to set the scene, tell them exactly what happened, what Pire asked you, what she said about Joham…"

A clear, damp sheen appeared over Nahuel's eyes as soon as their names were mentioned. He turned his head and moved outside before a tear fell from his eye.

I left the room subtly while Jasper spoke to Kachiri and a much calmer Huilen. I stepped beside Nahuel and leant on the side of the boat, as he was.

"Sorry, Alice. I just can't bear to hear that story over and over, listening to which way of telling sounds best… It's the story of how I murdered my own mother."

"You did nothing wrong, Nahuel." I said, rather shocked.

"I love my aunt and I know she loves me too." He lowered his voice. "But I know that she blames me for my mother's death." His eyes watered again. "I'm a monster, Alice."

"Nahuel…" I tried to sooth. "We've all done things we regret. We've all done monstrous things. But it's the actions we take to prevent them that makes us who we are, not the mistakes." I felt as though I was repeating the same words I used to chant to Jasper almost fifty years ago.

He smiled dryly and turned his head to me. "Perhaps that is why I was so eager to join this trip: To save a life. I would save a life."

"You will save many, Nahuel." I patted him on his shoulder.

I turned my head to face Jasper in the cabin. He was still talking to Huilen, giving her tips on her words. He had promised that he would help her when the time came, to give her courage and strength. She had said that the last thing she wanted was for her words to stutter in front of the daunting army in front of her.

Nahuel obviously didn't want to be a part of this until he had to. His face was still crunched up and he hid it in his hands.

"You're very lucky to have your aunt." I whispered.

"She is the reason I am alive." He nodded.

"Your mother lives in her, you know. As she lives in you. So the way I see it…your mother is not gone. She loved you very much. She died for you, not because of you."

He wiped away a small crystal like tear. "That is how you see it? How you've dealt with it?" He smiled genuinely. "I wish I could have your peacefulness, Alice."

I was about to ask him what he meant, but Kachiri appeared beside him. "Nahuel, Jasper and Huilen want to run through with you what to say as well, though you'll probably be answering their leader's questions rather than anything else."

They all spoke for a long time. I tried helping them by looking forwards to what Aro might ask… but his questions were all directed to Nahuel instead of Huilen so I was of no help.

We arrived in a small, deserted cove at about ten o'clock in the morning. The sky was full of thick December clouds, so we scaled the cliffs and sprinted towards the trees. They would not cover us for long, maybe a hundred miles. But it would suffice for the time being.

We travelled mainly on foot, not wanting to get caught up in any traffic leading to the border. Eight hours it took us to get there. We waited about two miles away in an unused alleyway on the borders of whichever city we were in.

"I assume we are going to have to wait until it gets dark." Kachiri sighed.

I just nodded, trying to concentrate on a place to cross.

"How long is that going to take?" She asked again.

"Not long at all…" I said, though me words were almost silent.

I searched and I searched our possible options. But it was impossible.

"But we won't be able to cross straight away. We'll have to wait until the number of officers drops. That won't be till gone midnight… at least." Jasper spoke for me.

My head was banging! Infuriatingly tense. I was surprised that it didn't actually just explode right then and there! All I could hear was echoes of silence; all I could see was darkness… This was no use.

"Excuse me." I said as I ploughed past Jasper.

I didn't know where I was running. I was just trying to get away. I was running from the blackness that was swarming my mind. I tried to convince myself that I would cross by myself, hoping that the void in my head would disappear and show me the way across.

I saw an occasional flash of a wire fence, or a brick wall. They were flashing quickly; I didn't see any of them for longer than a sixteenth of a second. But the more and more I concentrated, the more closed in they were getting. My mind was eliminating routes that wouldn't work, like it used to do so naturally all those months ago. It was homing in on the choice I would take. It was coming. It was so close…

… A wall guarded by only two men, looking out towards the road, not the desert behind them…

… A fence between two watch posts that if passed at exactly the right time would lead us safely across…

… An abandoned part of the desert, where no human could ever survive alone…

But something was irritating me. Something was distracting my thoughts, making me unable to find the answer. Like someone was nudging me in the ribs, or waving at me from a distance… like someone was knocking on a door that you knew lead to nowhere but an empty room.

I groaned loudly as I gave in and looked at it, leaving the possible routes to cross – letting them drift off into nothing.

I was now looking at a blank piece of paper with a pen hovering over it. I didn't see any relevance in it and so tried to look away, but it was drawing me back… somebody wanted me to see this.

The vision hovered over the pen for a few seconds and then began to drift backwards. I recognised the hand holding it immediately before I even saw the rest of her body.

I was back home.

As annoyingly timed as the vision was it was wonderful to see the beautiful face of my sister again – it was oddly comforting despite being as pained and surrendered as it was.

She carefully wrote the word Rio de Janeiro. No explanation. Nothing else. Heaven knows why it was so important. Perhaps she was thinking of her own contingency plans…

For a solid five minutes the same vision reverberated in my head, until suddenly it vanished – probably becoming the present. I wanted to hold on to it, to see what it became, to see if it led to anyone else. Edward, Emmett, Rose, Esme, Carlisle… but it stopped. It became the void that Jasper and I had been a part of for the last few days. They were all too involved with Renesmee, and of course they would be, of course you would spend every single second of every single day with your loved ones if you truly believed that you would all be destroyed in two days.

… But they wouldn't. I would make sure of that.

"Alice?" Someone said, but it sounded as though they were speaking under water. "Alice!" The same voice said again, but clearer. My eyes flashed open to see the face of Jasper standing right in front of me. "Is everything alright?" He asked gently.

"It will be." I sighed. I looked up to him slowly, feeling the hope, love and optimism run through my body. Feeding from the strength that Bella had given me – though most likely unbeknown to her. "We'll be home soon." I declared to him, and to my family despite how far away may be.