Chapter 6

Countermeasure

Bella:

Arriving home after so long, we had known that Charlie would've been just as angry as he had when we left for Italy. However, Damien was able to convince him that we had gone to Seattle to check on my condition. I had told my father I had been late, and we went into the city to do a whole series of tests, but hadn't wanted to say anything unless we knew for sure.

I felt so bad, he looked somewhat disappointed when I told him, "I wasn't pregnant, dad. Although, Carlisle had asked us to care for a niece of his while he and Esme left for a trip."

He looked at the two of us as we held our daughter, "Wow, Bella, she looks a little like the two of you. It's weird. Well, there's plenty of food in the fridge, I guess I'll go get some milk from the market."

Damien spoke up, "I bought some on our way home. I'll be at the station later. I am really sorry about taking off the way we did."

Charlie shook his head, "Take some time off from this case, Damien. I think Davis is now able to handle your position pretty well. Help Bella with the niece while she goes to school, which starts Monday. Oh ya, and when you see him, tell Carlisle we'd be glad to have his niece over, but it'll be sad to see her go."

Then, he went in his cruiser, as we went into the house.

I looked over to Damien, "You think he bought it?"

He inclined his head, "Better than the adoption story. Right now, it's the best we can do on short notice."

We got into the house, and I took our daughter into my arms so he could go to the car to get the rest of the groceries we had gotten at the market before arriving home. After putting everything away, he came to join me on the couch. I placed Ren into her baby chair, and set it between us.

He suddenly said, "Do you want something to eat? Because I am starving."

I shrugged, "Can I eat?"

He smiled, "Of course you can eat. Let me make you an avocado sandwich, if you like." He got up to go to the kitchen.

I held his hand for a moment, "If you're going to make yourself a BLT, make me one, too."

"Of course, babe. I'll be right back." He came back with our sandwiches, and they were delicious. It made me appreciate all the things I could enjoy as a hybrid. Ren woke up, and I picked her up to hold her.

He caressed her back as he asked, "I did want to know what you were thinking of doing about the Volturi."

I thought about it a moment, and told him my intent, "I want to build a coven to counter them. I need your help with organizing and networking."

"You told Carlisle we'd wait."

I looked to him now, as he opened the door while he held our daughter with his other arm, "I know what I said. We'd want to gather intelligence first, but we don't want to wait to organize. That would be naive, and shortsighted on our part."

As I shifted Renesmee from one arm to another, I mentioned, "There's something else I was thinking of doing."

"Which would be what, Bella?"

"Announcing myself as a vampire."

He was already shaking his head, "That's not very practical, especially when we're with a coven that values a low profile. Besides, then they would definitely send some of their lieutenants after us."

I met his gaze, "That's precisely what I want them to do. I think we should set a trap for whomever comes for me, and capture them."

"What exactly would we do with a captured agent of the Volturi?"

"Learn as much as we can from them. The best way to beat the enemy is to know them. I also had something else in mind. I was thinking that if we find out some of their dirty little secrets, it may be possible to turn them against each other."

He really did crease his eyes as he heard that, "Provided our captive is from their inner circle. Moreover, that sounds a little deceitful. It's something they would do."

"But absolutely necessary. This would be for our child's sake."

He remained stubborn, "The moment we cross that line, we become just as bad. I agree that we have to take pre-emptive measures, but-"

I held his face, "We can't afford to sacrifice our future for a moral stand."

Our daughter reached up for both of us, touching both of our faces, and for that moment, we saw exactly how our daughter must see us. Then, we saw our lives from our daughter's perspective, both. We also knew that she had learned everything we knew about ourselves, as well as showing us what she knew we were capable of. Just like that, Damien and I knew our abilities. We would have to test those later. Right now, she looked at both of us, and gestured for us to get closer. I guess she thought we were fighting. We kissed then, holding each other, and careful not to make Renesmee uncomfortable.

He pulled away to look at me, "Alright, but we have no contacts yet. Who would be able to even begin to help us? Also, how exactly do we get that particular operation going? I think we should consider all other options first. If your plan helps us save lives, then we'll go along with that. Believe me when I tell you, though, I am not comfortable with trying to play the trickster. "

"I knew you'd see it my way. As far as having no contacts, that's why we need to form our own coven. I was thinking of having Victoria take charge of recruiting. "

"Can we trust her?"

"She did help us with our daughter, and your wings. If she still had something to hide, she wouldn't have approached us at all. Moreover, she has a talent for getting herself out of very sticky situations. We'd need someone like her to take care of recruiting because she'd never get captured. That would prevent our operation from getting compromised. She might be able to exploit some of the weak spots in Alice's vision, and that would keep Carlisle in the dark about what we're doing for the moment. If anything, he might just discourage the whole thing."

He turned away for a moment, "What about the recruits having to leave everything behind?"

"I told her to use her discretion in choosing the most suited for the job. Besides, she might know a few people that already want to fight the Volturi."

"Still, to keep Carlisle in the dark. It sounds like we're turning our backs on him, even betraying him. He has done a lot for me, and I can't see myself turning against him, at all. If anything, we might end up getting our hands dirty."

I looked at our daughter for a long time, and told him, "Baby, there is such a thing as being too honorable. As far as getting our hands dirty, better us, than her. Don't you think? We need to make sure she'll be able to live her life without them trying to interfere. I will not have her suffer seeing someone she cares about to be hurt the way you were."

"You're talking about full fledged war, Bella."

"Well, they drew first blood when they decided to hurt you. Besides, Carlisle's ways are too lenient. If anything, he might be too naive to do what is necessary."

"What is necessary, Bella?"

"It's very simple. I announce myself. They get desperate enough make the first move. We exploit that, and we've got an informant. I'll leave the interrogation to you."

"One step at a time, babe. I don't think we should be talking about this with Renesmee in the same room."

"Our daughter needs to know what we'd be willing to do for her."

"No matter the cost?"

I shook my head then, "I won't go off the deep end, believe me. You have to believe that, Damien. Also, I don't want to lose you because I couldn't make the really hard decisions."

He put his forehead to mine, "Just remember, you won't have to make those hard decisions alone. We have each other now, right?"

"I guess you're right. I think she might be hungry, though." I said, feeling our daughter grasp at my breast."

He was about to stand up, "Want me to grab you a towel so you can feed her?"

I held his hand, squeezing it so he would know I wanted him to sit back down with me. "Are you kidding? I just noticed that my breasts have swelled in the past few weeks since I first realized I was carrying. Now, she wants it whenever she has the chance. Besides, these are yours too, by right."

He laughed softly, and looked to the baby, "Save some for me, sweety."

I laughed with him, my face a deep scarlet now as I felt very warm, giggling "Oh, I cannot wait 'til we get married. I'd love to see the fights over these."

Edward:

Becca woke up twenty minutes before school. I had been watching her move around in her troubled sleep, while struggling with the decision of whether or not to wake her. When she did, she looked at me with her eyes widened.
"Oh my god, I must be so late."

I shook my head, laughing softly, "It's only 5 past 8 right now. There's no need to worry."

I found myself just being able to speak naturally to Becca. I understood now what I had done wrong with Bella. I was trying too hard, to sound mysterious, or trying to pull her in. I liked talking to Becca this way, and I knew why Bella fell for Damien the way she did. All he had to do was listen to her, and it was so simple, I wondered why I hadn't thought of doing that before. Also, I could actually read Becca's mind, but I found myself just liking the sound of her voice. So, I'd try not to interrupt her train of thought when she talked to me about deep things.

Becca got up, and looked over at me, "Would you give me a ride to school?"

I smiled, "Don't I always? Besides, I want to do something special for you today, Becca."

She pulled on her jeans, and pulled her hair out of her flannel so it rested on her shoulders as she looked in the mirror. When she turned to me, she gave me the most beautiful smile as she asked me, "What's that?"

I stood up, walking over to her, "I want to introduce you to the rest of my family at my house."

She tossed her head aside, "Would that mean your sister, too?"

I shook my head, "Bella lives with her fiancé. So, she's busy with preparing for the wedding and such."

She clapped her hands together, "Oooh, that sounds nice. Think she'll invite me, too?"

I shrugged, "I'll ask her. Are you ready to go?"

I had spent the past few weeks with Becca, and had actually met her parents, too, finding them to be polite and civil, but also very forced. I wondered how Damien had gotten along with Charlie so well. With that in mind, I did make an effort to find some common ground with Becca's father, since he was a music lover. I even brought a lot of the original vinyl albums I had for several classical pieces, and offered them to him as gifts. He accepted them, graciously, but I could tell it would take a while before he'd actually accept me as his daughter's boyfriend. Sadly, I would later come home with Becca to find that it would no longer be an issue. My darkness had enveloped her into my world.

We went through the school day easily enough, but when we got back to her house, the door was already open. I stepped in front of her, and told her I'd go in first so I could see what was going on. I looked in the living room, and found both her parents, dead and drained dry. I also saw a letter, from Aro.

Edward,

It's good to see you've found another mate, after that first fiasco in my home. I do suggest you keep us abreast of all your new plans, since you had come to us in your moment of need. I am sparing you more heartbreak by not having you go through the whole courtship nonsense. Do be a good little boy and turn your pet already. I'm curious to see what she might be able to do.

Ciao,

Aro

I took the letter and began to tear it apart, even as Becca walked him, and fell back as she looked around. I turned to her, and tried to help her up, but she scrambled away from me, moaning and crying.

"No, Becca. I didn't do this. It was someone I knew long ago."

She snarled, "Oh ya? Like your sister, who isn't dead?"

I shook my head, "Bella would never do this. She wanted me to be happy with you."

She could barely speak, but when she did it was wavering, "Why kill my mom and dad, though? They didn't do anything to anyone."

I held her, and she let me as she broke into wracking sobs in my arms, and since I could read her mind, I could see all the memories she had of her parents. It made me hurt for her in such a way I never thought was possible. I pulled her close as gently as I could, and cried quietly with her.

After she had calmed down, I told her to pack a bag, and decided we'd need to go back to my family's mansion. Right now, it was the only way to keep her safe. I had brought her into this, so I did owe her. Moreover, I knew why Damien did things as quietly as he did. It was so he'd never catch the attention of someone like Aro.

When we arrived, I heard Bella in the meeting room, talking with Victoria and Damien.

Bella sounded so determined, "I'm thinking if we form this new coven, you'd be in charge of recruiting, and you'd be one of my generals if it came down to a fight."

Victoria was actually agreeing, "I'll start with people already itching to fight, and those with a history of dealing with the Volturi. Now, as to your plan on turning the Volturi against each other, we know next to nothing about them. Carlisle may-"

Bella cut her off, "I'm trying to keep him out of the loop. I want him to be pleasantly surprised with a full army ready to deploy at first sign of hostility. As to my plan, it would require is to capture one of them."

I walked in, and they all looked at me with such suspicion, of course. Yet, I forged on and told them, "I know something about Aro, which could tear apart his coven if others knew about it."

Damien motioned for me to sit down, "Do tell. It might save us the trouble of capturing one of them."

Bella cut him off, too, "That's still the plan, Damien. We can't back down once the wheels are up on that op."

He gave her an even look, "That phase hasn't even started. Let's see what…Edward has to say. Oh, and one more thing, Edward, if you suggest having me sacrifice myself-"

I shook my head, "No, Damien. For once, this isn't about you and Bella. The world doesn't revolve around you two. This is about Aro. I read his thoughts back in Voltera. He killed his own sister, who happened to be the mate of one of his co-council members. If we break up the three, they will be in disarray. That will give you he advantage you need to go in and strike hard."

He gave me a very suspicious look, "Why tell us this now?"

I lowered my head, "Because they just killed my mate's family. She's here now, and Alice is looking after her."

Damien inclined his head, "I'm sorry for her loss. Again, what is your intention in telling us?"

I looked at both him and Bella intently, "I want to join your coven, but not as an officer, or a leader. I just want to fight. Any duty that allows me to kill them all."

Bella looked at me then, "Let me think about it, Edward. We have a few more items on our agenda, but we will take your information into consideration."

I stood up, "It's reliable information. Look, I know I've screwed up before, but now I'm telling the truth. I have to do this…for Becca."

Bella continued to give me her cold regard, and replied flatly, "We'll get back to you on that. For now, you're dismissed. If we have a duty for you, we'll let you know."

I walked out, but I knew why they didn't take the information I gave them at face value. It was because of all I had done before, all so I could have Bella to myself.

Alice approached me just then, and asked me, "Do you know what they're talking about? For some reason, I'm cut off from whatever their fates might be."

I shook my head at Alice, "Sometimes, you just have to ignore fate, and work with what you have. That's what they're doing."

She gave me a puzzled look, "Do you know something about all this?"

I looked to her now, "I know enough to realize that the time to sit around and wait is over. I'm going to comfort my mate now, and hope that's enough."

When I turned away from her, she asked, "Edward, what happened to you? We haven't seen you for weeks, and all of a sudden-"

"I was being a normal boyfriend, Alice…and I made her happy. I never felt how important that was until now, because I really do know what it feels like when that's taken away."

"Do you mean the fate you lost with Bella?"

"Are you still thinking about that? I don't care about it anymore. I'm talking about now. I have to make it up to Becca, somehow. Is she alone, right now?"

"No, she's with Rosalie."

I shook my head, "She's the last person I'd want Becca to talk to."

She scoffed, "Despite what you may think, Rosalie does understand something about pain. I think maybe you should listen to her sometimes."

As she walked away, I found myself alone again, and now I longed for Becca not to feel the pain I had put her through. I shook the thought away, taking responsibility for her grief and went to her so I could comfort her. It's what a mate would do.

Bella:

I looked over at Damien, and told Victoria to excuse us for a moment. As she left, she placed a hand on his shoulder, and wished him luck. Once she left, I whirled on him.

"Why would you even consider listening to him?"

"If I didn't, he'd still insist on trying to tell us anyway."

"You know, there's no way to actually confirm what he's told us."

"There might well be. If they have an archivist or a scribe, we'd be able to confirm it."

I tapped my foot, "This doesn't change the plan, you know?"

He stood up, "That's another thing. How exactly do you intend on going about that? Just invite a reporter into our home? Or Charlie's for that matter?"

I shook my head, and said, "We can do it with a tabloid, which would be dismissed as a hoax by the public at large."

"And humiliate you in public forum. I know you're trying to draw them out, but just think about this, first."

"You've had doubts about this from the very beginning. I don't get why you can't just back me up on this."

"Bella, this exposes us. Not just you and me but Renesmee as well. Think about what it would do if she went to school, and-"

I sat down with him, "That's another thing. I don't want her to go to school with other kids. They'd know she's different. I can't bare the thought of her-"

"Bella, she's required by law to go to school…when the time is right, of course. I mean, how else would she learn?"

I looked at him, "Didn't you learn pretty quickly?"

We heard a young voice just then, "You don't have to teach me anything, mother, father. I have all of father's knowledge and yours. It happened when I saw your memories. I learned everything you ever learned, as well as other things."

Our daughter was now physically 5 years of age. She did have my eyes, as well as Damien's thin nose. She was also built as I was at her age, but she had her father's tough resolve and an infinite curiosity that neither of us had expected.

I knelt next to her, "What exactly did you learn, honey?"

She gave me a very shrewd look, "How I was made, of course. You and father must've been practicing…a lot."

He came over, and took her up into his arms, "Well, we just wanted to make sure we were…doing it right. At any rate, weren't you with Aunt Alice, working on a puzzle or something?"

She shrugged, "I finished it in five minutes. I don't understand why people make such a big fuss about 800 pieces. It's rather simplistic, actually."

I looked at him, worriedly, and he made a dismissive gesture, "Most people don't have the patience for something so large and complicated."

"You learned large and complicated at my age. What's the difference between you and other people?"

He smiled, "I'm a little more focused than most kids were, except you. Why don't you go find another puzzle to build?"

Our daughter made a sour face, "That's boring. I want to play chess with you, daddy."

He put her down, "Go set up the board, then."

She was about to scramble out of the room, and then she turned back to look at us and smiled cleverly, "I intend to play both of you, but don't let me win. I want to beat you on my own."

He kneeled to face her now, placing his hand on the top of her head, and caressing it gently, "So humble, aren't you, little troublemaker?"

I nudged him, but she giggled at that, and ran off to set up the board.

He stood up to put one arm around me, "Shall we?"

"I can't believe she's grown so fast. She won't like accelerate to an old age, or something, will she?"

He shrugged, "Truth be told, this is my absolute first time with any of this. As far as angels are concerned, though, the aging is accelerated to proper age of defense."

I looked at him, "Does that mean you'd have to train her the way you trained me?"

"She already knows it just from reading the both of us. In fact, she has working medical knowledge, so if she skins her knee, she'll know to apply iodine or alcohol."

I pouted, "That's our job. She shouldn't have to want for anything. I don't want her to grow up like you did. Like having to survive everything."

He smiled, "There's nothing wrong with being self-sufficient, Bella. You learned that pretty well. Some would say, as far as being a commander, your decisions are pretty stone cold."

Our daughter ran back in to grab both our hands, "Let's go play so I can beat you, already."

We allowed her to lead us over as Carlisle and Esme arrived. Both were ecstatic to see her. We saw Alice attending to the girl Edward had brought over while Edward was sitting next to her, arm around her shoulders.

We smiled as Rosalie walked over to us, "So, is your meeting over?"

Carlisle turned to us, "What meeting would that be?"

Edward spoke up, "It was about the graduation party Alice wanted to throw, right Alice?"

Alice simply nodded, and Rosalie asked us, "Would you like me to watch over the little one?"

Renesmee looked up at her, pouting, "I love you, Aunt Rose, but you always let me win."

Rose shook her head, "No, no, dear. You win because you're much smarter than I am."

Our daughter shook her head profusely, "Liar, liar, pants on fire."

I held her shoulder, "That's very rude, dear."

Rose laughed, and looked over to me, "No, no, it's fine, really."

Emmett came over, "If you want, we could take you to a movie, Ren."

She made a sour face, "Sounds tempting, but I want to beat my parents at chess, first, uncle Emmett."

He laughed as he came over to put his arm around Rose, "Ok, show your folks that they're as dumb as the rest of us."

Rose turned to him, slightly cross, and he shrugged, "What? I don't like chess. It's a boring a-"

I called out before he could finish, "Emmett."

"Ok, ok, sorry. By the way, kid, did you see how you were made? Now that's an awesome story."

Again, I called his name out, and he gave me a slightly mischievous smile as he said that.

"So, Bella, after you're done with chess, you want to test your powers? I'm pretty sure we could do some arm wrestling matches now that you're changed."

I shook my head, "I don't want to break your arm off. Besides, I did my training this morning. Speed; strength; microscopic and telescopic vision; check. I do want to try other things, though. If you wouldn't mind being my guinea pig."

He drew back at that, "I think I'll pass on that. Bella, have you gotten bigger up top?"

Damien looked up at that from the game, "Where exactly are you looking, Emmett?"

He shrugged, "I just noticed she was bulging out of that part with her clothes. I'm a guy. I notice these things."

Damien turned back to our daughter, "Close your ears, dear."

She shook her head, still concentrating on the game, "I know he's talking about mom's milk jugs, so it's ok."

I blushed furiously at that, "Just say breasts, dear. It's nicer."

She gave me a puzzled look, "But Uncle Emmett always calls them fun bags. I thought milk jugs was nicer."

Damien gave her a stern look, "Let's finish the game, shall we?"

She got serious, "Ok. Your turn, dad."

Carlisle walked over to me, and leaned in close, "I got the information from a few of my contacts, but it wasn't easy. They said they wanted to come over personally to deliver the information, if that's alright with you."

I nodded, and asked him to join me in another room, Ren looked up, "Mom, I'm almost done beating Daddy."

He chuckled at that, "Let's not get too ahead of ourselves, now." He was now moving his king in to take her queen.

She looked very shocked when he did so, and groaned when he put her in checkmate.

"How'd you beat me with the king?"

He gently tapped her forehead, saying, "It can be one of your more powerful pieces if you know how to use it."

"I thought the queen was the most powerful piece on the board." She complained now.

He shook his head, "The queen is powerful, yes, and can move anywhere on the board, but she can still get blind-sided if you're not careful. Most get very careless with that kind of power."

She looked at the board dejectedly now, poor kid, "Awww."

Rose walked over, "Why don't you play me now? I promise to go easy on you, too, unlike your dad." She gave him a playful scowl to which he shrugged, and came over to join me.

Carlisle looked to both of us now, and asked, "I need to know what you're intentions are with the information?"

I gave him a calm, measured look, "It's for the sake of being proactive."

He met my gaze with a little suspicion, "Or possibly to form your own coven, if need be. Bella, is that what you're planning?"

I shrugged, "I don't know what I'm going to do with the information, Carlisle, to tell you the truth. If anything, it's something to do so we're not caught unaware."

He maintained a stern look, "I'm asking because the last thing we want to do is make it seem like we're preparing for war. That will be put them on high alert."

I realized then, that Damien was right about not keeping Carlisle in the dark. I also figured that the Volturi might see the formation of two covens in the same area would lead to the questioning of Carlisle's methods, and his ultimate defensive status stance with Italy. Finally, I did respond with the same tone, "Not if we're careful. Besides, I suppose this cat's out of the bag, anyway. Yes, I am planning to form a coven, more like a defensive compliment to your own."

He reluctantly nodded, "Very well, proceed. I do want to be kept apprised of all decisions, however. You may be the leader of your defense force, but I'm still in charge of this area."

I looked away for a moment, and then said, "Agreed. Also, for the sake of maintaining the defense force integrity, there are some decisions that might have to go through with or without your approval. This is for the sake of having an active and operable Intelligence department. Both Damien and I are in charge. Officially, you're the leader, but we're the enforcers."

Damien spoke up, "We're just applying countermeasures to possible hostile situations. Consider it as defusing the situation."

Carlisle took his shoulder, "Indeed. I'm grateful for your help, always. I would appreciate, however, if you don't do things without my knowledge. It would make my words empty when I give reassurances, or try to settle situations." With that, he left us alone and joined the rest of the family as Renesmee was playing Rose, and doing better.

I looked over at Damien, and walked over to him, "I hate it when you're right, you know? Drives me nuts."

He laughed softly, "The curse of being programmed with high efficiency modular thinking. It's not fun."

I wrapped my arms around his waist, "Why didn't you let Ren win that game?"

He shook his head now, "She won't learn anything that way. Also, I want her to know not to overestimate herself, no matter the situation."

I rolled my eyes, "My god, baby, it's just a game."

He moved his head to rest on my shoulder, "All reasoning and strategy games are a simulation for actual tactical situations. Well, a lot of them, anyway."

I moved my hand to touch his face, "You think too hard, sometimes."

He chuckled softly, and it made me feel like those first days when we met, "I thought that's what you loved about me."

I nodded, "Of course, it is. I just think you should go easy on our little girl. I mean, she's just a kid."

He kissed my neck, "She's our kid. She's also very gifted. It's important we do all we can to refine her gifts. It seems now that she will develop on schedule with other children. So, we'll start looking for schools for her."

I turned to look at him, "Do we have to? I don't think anyone will understand her if we send her."

"Of course, no one will understand her. She has to learn how to get along with other people if she's going to maintain her cover as a human. She's a hybrid. So, she'll have to learn how to socialize and assimilate if she's to remain invisible to our adversaries."

I wondered about that, "Our enemies don't care. Look what they did to Edward's girlfriend."

"Speak of the devil." He muttered.

Edward stepped in now, "I need to talk to both of you about my role in your new coven. You said you would take it under consideration. I want to hear your answer right now. Have you reached a decision?"

I turned to face him, "Then, I'm sorry, Edward. The answer is no. I can't really find a way to trust you again, after everything that's happened. You have proven yourself to be a liability, and a random factor in many instances. If we're going to win, you would only put our chances in the lower percentile."

Edward still persisted, "What if I could infiltrate the Volturi, myself? They've always wanted me in their coven anyway."

Damien shook his head this time, "That would be a very bad idea, considering that you already know our intent, and you have knowledge of what we're trying to do."

Edward asked him then, "Would it be possible to make me a hybrid?"

I grabbed him by his shirt, "Why the hell would we do that for you, after all you've done?"

"I know I've made a lot of mistakes, but-"

I looked at Damien, who inclined his head, and I bit Edward. He stood there for a moment, as I pulled away from him. Almost immediately, he collapsed to the floor in pain, and started screaming in agony.

"What's wrong with him, babe?" I asked.

"His nerves are reactivating, and all the pain he's ever taken as a vampire, or the shock of previous damage done to him is now being felt. It's a delayed reaction, one could consider it being reborn, but it's still very painful."

Everyone else came in, just as he recovered, including Becca. She ran over to him, helping him from the floor. Then she looked to me, "What did you do to him?"

Damien answered her, "Brought him back to life. He's a hybrid now. I can make the rest of you Cullens hybrids, too. It will allow you to have more enhancements on your current abilities, as well as the ability to reproduce."

Rosalie and Esme looked up at him when they heard that, Rose asked, "Are you serious?"

He gave her a grave look, answering, "I wouldn't lie about something like that. I warn you, though. It will be very painful." He offered his arm to them, and one by one, each of the Cullens bent to bite into his arm, as I took Ren out of the room to give her the chess game she wanted. I did end up beating her, in the game, but she didn't complain at all. In fact, she did something else, she was actually able to backtrack the game all the way back to the first move. She looked up at me, and smiled, "Ok, I know what your first move might be. I'll definitely beat you next time."

I could see what Damien meant by letting her learn on her own, and suddenly, Edward was now watching our game. I turned to my daughter, and told her to go to the balcony for a moment.

I stood up to talk to Edward, "So, where's Becca?"

He lowered his head, "I told her what I was. She didn't take it very well, but Carlisle is explaining it to her."

I shrugged, "So, what do you want from me?"

He gave me a tentative gaze, "An assignment."

I considered it for a moment, and shook my head, "You're not ready for that, yet, Edward. Victoria is finding people for our covert ops. Besides, right now, you're emotionally compromised, so you'd be pretty useless to us."

"When I left, Becca was telling Carlisle that she might want to be one of us."

"How many lives must you ruin? First mine, now this girl."

"She wants to do it, Bella. It might be her chance to get revenge for her parents' murder."

I scowled at him, "Edward, do you think revenge will make her a better fighter?"

"She needs that emotion to keep her going."

"Being a vampire will make that worse for her, don't you see that? Do you really want to change her that much?"

He lowered his head, "I'm out of options. I don't know what else to do."

"Let her make the decision, and make sure she thinks about it, thoroughly. If she still wants to do it after everything she learns, good. Then talk to Carlisle about finding someone who might be able to determine what abilities she'd have so you can start planning her training."

He took my hand, and bowed on one knee, "Yes, my liege."

I pulled my hand away, and pulled him to his feet, "Commander would suffice, if you don't mind."

He kept his head down, not meeting my eyes, "So, after that, your orders?"

"Get yourselves ready for the mission once she's turned, and find out everything you can. If you can pull even one member of the council away with you, that'll be enough."

"I don't know how to do that yet."

I threw my hands up in exasperation, "Figure it out. Talk to Carlisle first, and then take it from there."

With that, he left the room, and Ren came back in, "Is uncle Edward going to fight for you, now?"

I held her shoulders, "He's going to fight under me. Huge difference. Did you hear everything we just talked about?"

"I think uncle Edward would make a good bishop, but not sure he'll be able to handle it."

I shushed her then, placing my hand to her mouth gently, "I don't want you to think about this, Ren. I want you to think about…school."

Her eyes lit up now, "Really? So, I'll get to be with kids my own age?"

I inclined my head, "Yes, that's the plan."

She smiled, "At least, I'll be smarter than everyone there."

I joined her, "I know, just try not to show off too much, ok?"

She gave me a pensive look, "Like daddy said? Not showing your deck hand to your opponents?"

I hugged her then, really realizing how much I loved my daughter, who was so much like the both of us. That made me feel really immortal, more than my current state of being.

Riley Biers

I left one of the bars I frequented with a group of friends, but I had forgotten how late I had come out. Not so smart on my part because there was a group of bikers not too far away. They had been waiting for me, apparently, taking me and dragging me into a nearby alley as they savagely beat me. They took everything I had, but they weren't satisfied with that. One of them pulled out a large knife fully intending on killing me when something started throwing them, and actually killing them. They looked around frantically, trying to shoot or stab whatever was attacking them. They ended up as misshapen hunks of bone and flesh. I tried to run, but one of them still had a gun in hand, shooting me as I left. I now felt teeth on me, and there was such agony as I lay on the floor from the bite that hurt much more than anything those thugs had done. When I awakened, I found a young girl with red hair helping me up.

"I'm Victoria…Welcome to the army."

Continued…

Well, hope ya'll enjoyed this chapter. I know it was a LOT of talk, and I'm sorry I didn't put more action, but I did want to make sure that I put a lot of what would set the tone for the next few chapters. Also, I wanted to make sure that no one mistook Bella's position as that of being just Damien's girlfriend. Also, I'm hoping everyone can see the dynamics of their relationship. I also want to ask what ya'll think of the Damien/Bella lovey-dovey factor. Hehe. I'd like to know if it's working for some. I mean, I'll do it anyway since that's central to this story, but I would like to know everyone's take on their 'romantic scenes.' I also know that they haven't had any 'love' lately, but that'll be addressed soon. So, if ya'll don't mind, Feed back please. Comments, critiques, questions too.