Thanks everybody who reviewed. I'm not done with the suspense yet, so hold on tight.

Now, before I had thought I would put all Veggie-vamps in one chapter. But, as I did a headcount, I quickly realised that would be way too much people. So I split up the Cullens and the Denali's. Though that still means this chapter is quite extensive. (10 pov's)

I would understand if you have questions after reading; please feel free to ask me anything. Advice for reviewing: pick out the person's pov which stood out the most for you. I'm curious to see who comes up. Now, have fun!

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Music:

This is war – 30 seconds to Mars

Battle cry – Skillet

Butterflies and hurricanes – Muse

Unbreakable – Firelight

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Chapter 42: The Cullens – On the edge

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Nessie

I wasn't happy about Jake leaving me here in this cave, but my father was very strict and okay, he was right, they were all right. *Sigh* I listened as they moved away, until I could only hear the sounds of my own heart and of those with me. After a while I started feeling cold, even with the fire at the entrance. Leah and the boys seemed to notice, or maybe they felt cold too, because soon they surrounded me with their warm wolf bodies.

I said 'thanks' and they rumbled 'it's fine' back. (or that's what I thought at least) Silence followed and I felt left out a bit, because they could all follow the fight through the minds of the others and I couldn't. Useless, I was useless, just a burden, ugh! A little girl, who was only here so humans elsewhere wouldn't be put in danger, because our enemies could come looking. And because my family could watch me here. I crossed my arms and pouted.

That was until Leah growled and stood up abruptly. I almost fell on my back as I was leaning against her. With her hackles raised and teeth exposed, she focused on the entrance. The boys matched her stance. I got up too and took a deep breath. Vampire, there was a vampire out there! Through the flames I saw a small, dark figure. It's shape told me it was a girl. Her movements said she was skittish.

As she edged towards the flames and the small gap between them and the wall of the cave, I suddenly recognized her. It was that dark-skinned girl who had stood next to Aro and then fled. Benjamin had scared her with a ball of flames. Why was she here? Where had she been? Leah took a step forward and snarled loud in warning. Startled, the girl paused and turned her head.

More scents drifted our way, familiar scents. "Where did you plan on going girl?" Amun asked. "Unless you want to swim, you're trapped." He appeared in front of her with Kebi. "Surrender and join us," he continued, "Aro doesn't care for you, not really, believe me." She hissed at that statement and posed to attack.

Bella

Finally I could let my shield down, after Sam's pack took the twins out. Hmm, though I would've loved to have been the one to rip off Jane's head. I smirked at that thought as I reached the Asian vampire who was apparently holding up a shield of invisibility. Hah, I could see him clearly! He looked shocked and so did everyone behind him.

Renata was there, but I didn't know how it worked for sure; were their shields layered across each other? I moved forward slowly at first, holding out my hand. But when I met no resistance I pounced on the guy. Soon we were wrestling on the ground, sometimes feeling Renata's power trying to separate us. The two of us were quite evenly matched, about the same size, so I needed to think of some winning move quickly.

"Get away from her, Jinn," Renata yelled, "we need to protect the wives!" This seemed to be her mission, though she didn't sound happy about it, really. No, as we had seen before, she preferred to be attached to Aro. Her devotion to him ..., if she had to choose .... Well, sorry, you little pet, I thought, that's not going to happen.

Stupid woman, she shouldn't have said anything. Because I was determined to keep a hold of this man now! Jinn tried to jump away, but I grabbed his jacket and pulled. The fabric strained as he stood his ground, for half a second. Then the earth shook and split open five feet deep just behind me. Things happened so fast after that.

The Asian 'illusionist' stumbled lightly and I seized the moment to jump on his back, clinging to him with my arms and legs as tight as I could. Aro's servant screamed as her feet sank into the ground. The wives and other guard next to them, barely managed to avoid the same fate. Attention was drawn our way, but I needed to focus on the task at hand.

Jinn yanked my hair in an attempt to get me off. It hurt, but not as bad as when he bit my hand. A growl escaped me, while I squeezed harder with my legs and tore a piece out of his neck with my teeth.

"Aaahhrrghhh ...oooghh ...!" a long agonizing scream/ moan came out of his mouth. Like he was choking or something. He was done for. His head rolled and bounced along the snowy ground. His body crashed down. I tore his arms and legs off and flung them as far away as I could. Taking a few deep breaths, I acknowledged how satisfying this felt, and strange. Looking around I noticed the Volturi had regrouped. Sort of.

While Reneta had freed herself, one of the wives, I think it is Athenodora, had seen her mate in trouble with the werewolves and ran to help him. This surprised me, having heard of those women being locked away in a tower, being weak and helpless. Hmm, maybe they decided to change that. Or perhaps the life of a mate hanging in the balance gave them strength. I didn't know, nor did I care.

The other one, Sulpicia, seemed torn, yet she stayed put. Renata too felt the same way, as she stared after the disappearing form of her 'charge'. A hundred yards away, Aro, Marcus and a wounded Demetri had banded together. They faced Sam, Embry and Emmet. But they were also backing up towards Caius. Other guards started to flock in their direction, as they were fighting.

Edward

This was all so intense. All those thoughts, all those minds. I tried to pick through as many as I could, but it proved to be too distracting. The kings, they were the most important ones to focus on. Aro first; he came here with so much confidence and air. That started disappearing as soon as he saw our allies. Caius was more cautious, yet when he saw the subjects of his nightmares, he nearly revealed his plan for our spirit-wolves.

Marcus, well, his mind was different, his demeanour had changed and that seemed weird. Something happened to him and I didn't like it. The word 'unnatural' popped into my head. A male with light brown hair was trying very hard to conceal his thoughts. I felt he must be gifted and not to be taken lightly. He was no fighter however, because he stayed with the wives, even when the kings joined in battle.

Much had happened after that and it wasn't all in our favour.

Though our 'team' had won many individual fights, we had lost allies too. Stefan and Vladimir were gone, defeated by Aro and Marcus. Fred, the one turned by Victoria, had also fallen quickly. He had little experience in combat and his gift didn't work on the first Volturi he encountered. Was that bad luck? I don't know and couldn't focus on that question either.

Mary, one of the nomads we knew, was lost too. Some of us were injured and hardly or unable to go on. Charles and Makenna had lost limbs at one point and were busy putting themselves back together. The same applied to Alistair, who had done better than I thought. Several had stinging bite wounds to deal with.

Leah, Collin and Brady were hiding with my daughter while recovering. I wasn't sure if they'd be able to join us again before it was over. But, as I caught a glimpse of that cave through the pack-mind, I remembered the ones who stopped fighting without cause. Maybe I shouldn't be surprised, but still I felt disappointed by Amun and Kebi. They went after that girl, Rain, without a second thought. Ugh!

We needed to step it up a notch, if we wanted to win. At least Huilen and Nahuel fought their way to the three sisters. The enemy started to regroup as Caius had angered the werewolves, by beating Pjotr down and biting off one of his fingers. The effect of the blue moon was another thing to consider, it wouldn't last.

"Let's close ranks," I told Carlisle, who was next to me. "Yes, he replied, we've got to work together more." I signalled with my hands and the message was passed on. Jasper sent his approval via his mind, as did Peter. Major and lieutenant took charge then.

Emmet

Hell yeah, this was exiting! Hah, take that, Felix! I used the same move, my wolfy sister had on me, to win from that smug bastard. His head had served well as a weapon, but now it started to crack, damaged from all the beatings, so I tossed it on one of the few fires I could find. Good bye, sucker! Familiar scents floated up to me and I turned my head towards them.

Sam and Embry were face to face with Aro, Marcus and a chewed up Demetri. Two bodies lay burning behind them; damn, we lost Stefan and Vladimir. Vaguely I registered the sound of bones realigning and knitting back together. So, there was my place to be! I ran and stood by their side, ready to fight. My wolf friends appreciated that.

They raised themselves up and bared their teeth, a fire in their eyes growing. But more was going on around us and Caius seemed in trouble with the werewolves. Our three enemies decided to help him and started to back up. Aro pushed the button of the staff, lighting a flame, warning us to stay away.

Tss, as if that should impress us. We moved with them as one. Come on, bring it on! I had an energy flowing through me, like you wouldn't believe. If it was from the seal I caught yesterday or if it was this battle, I didn't know. Maybe I just liked kicking ass and not holding back. Clenching my fists I flexed the muscles of my arms and shoulders. Then I focused all my senses, attuning myself to every move, ready to respond, coiled like a spring.

Slowly all combatants went in one direction. Out of the corner of my eye I noticed my family, lining up to form a united front. Rose was suddenly beside me, touching my arm a moment and smiling, before turning her attention forward. God, she looked good, so strong and beautiful, her golden hair flowing in the wind. Sun goddess, such a perfect nickname.

Step by step we closed in on our main enemies. But as we went further and further, I felt the presence of others behind us. Glancing over my shoulder I saw some of the Volturi, who had the same idea we had.

Circles were beginning to develop, big rings of fighters, trying to surround each other. Jasper and Peter ordered everybody to form couples, to help one another back to back. The tension was building, nobody really moved, all were watching for the other to go first. Seconds ticked by and I could hardly stand it anymore.

They will not defeat us! No way! And they were not going to hurt my wife. I've been watching her closely this whole time. Now we were back to back, I could feel her and I was happy about that. Both of us were eyeing our opponents. When she hissed, I growled. Next, it was on!

Rosalie

Good God, this was something else! I wasn't religious, but found myself praying a bit. And hoping Shioban was thinking of us winning, of us surviving. Whether or not her power was real, it didn't matter, she just had to believe now. Carlisle was convinced she could wish for something to happen, wish for a good outcome and it would happen.

How it worked exactly and how strong it was, it seemed to be a vague thing, even for Eleazar. But it could give her strength and hope. And Lord, we all needed that! At this moment I was standing back to back with my husband, waiting to jump into action. Alert and focused, I got my courage from him. Emmet looked every bit as strong as he is now. No more cuddly joker or passionate lover here. No, he's a real fighter, a warrior, powerful and mine.

I love him, everything about him and there'll never be anybody else. In my human life I'd been a fool, a stupid, naive young girl, who knew nothing of actual love. I have thought about it, during training, these past few weeks and realised that, if I hadn't been changed, immortal and frozen in time, I wouldn't have met Emmet.

My soulmate, he would've died in those woods because of that grizzly bear, like I died in that street at the hands of those beasts. So, I decided life as I knew it, was worth living. I was going to look at all the things I had, all the good things and forget about what I didn't have and could never have. "What ifs" were a waste of time, especially if it was all going to end today.

Which I would try my hardest to prevent. Hissing at my opponent before me, I sent him my most bone-chilling stare. Emmet's low growl said he was doing the same to whomever he was facing. Suddenly I felt angry, furious; they were trying to dictate our lives again! No! I would not allow that! Hell No!

Carlisle

We had fought before, yet this felt different. The newborns threatened a human Bella and other lives we cared about. But here, now, it was all about who ruled and how. Things were going to change, no matter what. I had always respected Aro, Caius and Marcus, they had lived so long, knew so much and seemed so civilised. That was until they came after my family, which included the Quileute spirit-wolves, for a third time.

I've had enough now! They crossed a line! The moment that huge new guard attacked, I was done talking for real. The Volturi showed me their true nature then; the one of power hungry dictators. Especially Aro, though he was closely followed by Caius. Marcus, well, he's always been different. With his gift came a lot more empathy.

Still, I wondered what he was like before, when he just teamed up with the others and I definitely would've wanted to see him when Didyme was alive. Today I watched him from time to time and I think I got a glimpse of that man. The reason behind this however felt ... off.

Woosh ..., I barely dodged a fist there .... I had to focus, this battle was by no means easy. I helped anyone who needed it, defended injured friends until they were ready to move again. But in doing that we lost sight of the big picture, so it was good Edward hadn't lost track. He and Yvanka were big assets for sure.

Jasper and Peter took over after that, they were the most knowledgeable about warfare after all. Next to Stephan and Vladimir, who we had sadly lost. The Romanians were the only ones who've been in an actual war with the Volturi before. They had lost then, because they only relied on strength, where their opponents knew the value of gifted vampires.

Moments ago, they lost a final time, because they didn't wait for others to help them. More than a millennium of obsessing over revenge had led them to this. We were not making the same mistakes. We had practised a lot on how to "combine forces". And we needed that now, surrounded by enemies. I took Esme's hand in mine as we stood back to back, waiting for that defining second.

Esme

It was hard, seeing the ones you loved get hurt. Especially those young spirit-wolves, that was agonizing. Yet, I needed it, to see the seriousness of it all. To make it more real, to give me fuel, motive, to fight. Because that wasn't in my nature, to cause others harm. But hearing the cries of pain, seeing them fall and being attacked, it unleashed my protective side.

My "mama-bear" as Edward once called it. He had only seen "her" come out once, in my memory, of when I nearly beat my former husband to death. That feeling was back now, in full force, as the face of that poor woman he had snared, flashed by in my mind. I held on to it as I attacked and defended.

No one was harming my children again! Even while in the cave, the fire within kept burning, as I stayed alert to any danger. After we left those three and my granddaughter with a slightly heavy heart, I sought out my husband and soulmate quickly.

Together we fought our way to the centre of the field. To where our main targets were. The chaos seemed to dampen down as we all circled each other. We had reached a moment of impasse, standing here back to back. My family close by made me feel better, though it was far from over. My eyes looked for each member, trying to make contact and trying to give strength, but also to receive it.

Carlisle grabbed my hand and squeezed it a little and I squeezed back. We were going to make it out of this alive. We just had to keep believing, we had to have faith, have hope and I prayed Shioban had those things most of all. I prayed her gift was real and she believed it was real.

Jasper

Emotions on the field were all over the place. It was good most on our side didn't need my help. Because I don't know if I could send courage to a family-member one minute and instil an enemy with fear the next. Also they could handle the level of pain they were in, if that was the case. I felt relieved when Leah and those boys were okay; their pain after being bitten was agonizing.

I took a deep breath and surveyed the field. The newborn-wars from my start in this life were totally different from this battle. No one was really wild and uncontrollable, apart from a few on the Volturi side. And they died quickly. It was worrying however to see how much time they too, had spend training. Both camps had done serious damage to each other as a result.

This made everybody cautious at the moment. We were at an impasse and as time went on, more and more people became on edge. Especially the real werewolves, who were near the kings at the centre of the field. They felt cornered somewhat and it would take very little for them to lash out. Theodore and Yvanka, the Volkodlak, knew that too, they were watching their furry friends closely.

The couples in our family stood back to back, as I had advised. All were touching one another in some way. I had taken Alice's hand, just like Carlisle had taken Esme's. My darling was slightly uncomfortable, with the two kinds of wolves disrupting her sight. I sent her love and confidence as we waited. Who would start first?

All my senses were on high alert, scanning again and again for any sign, any movement, any change in emotions. Tick tack, tick tack ... . Suddenly Caius posed to strike, which sent off a wave of similar actions all through the guards and our allies. Anger spiked and growls, snarls and hisses were heard everywhere. Followed by a loud 'boom' shaking the ground.

Alice

While fighting in this battle, I tried to stay away from wolves (any kind) as much as possible. No offence, but I needed my visions. Focusing mainly on the opponent in front of me worked, but I looked for anything else as often as I could. It was so frustrating that everything further ahead than ten minutes was blurry. But, I guess that's part of a battle.

So, I kept a literal eye on Jasper and my family much more intensely. Also, I thought of our training sessions a lot. All of us had practised fighting without our biggest advantage. Ugh, that was so hard, I wasn't even allowed one little peek. Edward was on my case with his mind-reading. Yeah, yeah, I know, it's necessary, but still.

Right now we were at an impasse and I had no clue what would happen next. Nobody was making any real decisions. We were just standing here in one spot. It was good to feel Jasper beside me, holding my hand, or I would burst. Looking around I saw I wasn't the only person feeling this way.

Speed-freak Patrick and his counterpart were so on edge, they seemed to be vibrating. Which said something, coming from me. I rolled my eyes internally at the nicknames I had collected. Pixie, whirlwind, energizer bunny, hyper midget; the list was long. My sister May, or Timmain, had that too and we were quite evenly matched in that respect. The corners of my lips curled up a second, before I spotted a wave of movement and reacted to the threat.

May

Oh my, being in a war was something serious. Yes, I knew that in advance, but when you're actually there, it's overwhelming. The sounds, the smells and the energy going around; all I can say is "wow". It's quite a shock and you don't know what to feel. Focussing on fighting was all I could do at first, picking out opponents. And keeping an eye on Seth near me.

Until Leah, Collin and Brady got bitten, that changed everything. My instinct went straight to helping them. For others it was fuel to attack. The situation was extreme and brought out sides to some people, you thought you'd never see. I was glad they were okay and safe in that cave. But as Seth and I went back to the battlefield, we had some adjusting to do.

I had to go from healing-mode to fighting-mode and he had to dampen his protective wolf-side a bit. Also, I was working on spitting out the last drops of Leah's blood, mixed with my saliva. I had expelled most of it already while working on her. Hmm, I realised suddenly that I didn't call the substance in my mouth 'venom' anymore. And I liked that.

After I had a moment of understanding with my boyfriend, we started running faster. Seth was busy checking in through the minds of the pack. I could tell, because his ears were twitching and he got a certain look in his eyes. We were just about ready to engage, when he tensed up a moment. Slowing down he seemed to wait to see what would happen, if he needed to help someone.

Then it appeared that whatever it was, was handled or under control and we scanned the field for our friends and family. Soon we decided to split up, to assist Jake and Quil, who were trying to get to Sam and Embry. Our goal seemed clear, until the moment of Caius' attack on Pjotr. That one move changed the whole scene. The danger level had risen exponentially. Winning or surviving were really two very different things.

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I'm tempted to give you all a hint at what is to come next, but I won't, other than to say: we don't have far to go anymore.