Homecoming
Bella:
I turned back to look at Bree, and asked her, "It's what?"
When I saw Adam looking back at us, I could tell he was worried, and was telling me, "She just told me it's time."
I turned to Damien, and let him know, "Billy's house is around here. Take that road on your right. It's not too far from the sanctuary, so it's actually pretty perfect. I think one of Jake's sisters is around…um, she might be. You did remove the imprints from everyone. Well, even if it's empty, we'll break in."
He shrugged, muttering, "Well, I guess it'd be alright since I'm not a deputy anymore."
When we got to Billy's, one of Jake's sisters was there, Rachel, I think. She looked us over, and when she saw Bree, she let us in. "Get that girl into my dad's room, I'll get some towels."
Since Damien had some medical training, he was able to handle the delivery pretty well, and managed to safely help Bree gave birth to twins; one boy and one girl. I have to admit, even Adam and I stood on the sidelines asking Damien what he needed us to get. That made me remember how he was able to handle the delivery for Renesmee, even though it was all very hazy now. Once Bree delivered, her body started healing, and she was up in an hour or so. She and Adam held their children now, and as promised, she had named the boy, Shane, and named the girl, Shayna.
Bree held her daughter, and smiled up at me, "They're finally here, Bella. They're so beautiful."
I nodded, "I'm happy for you, Bree."
Adam walked over to her, showing off their son, "I knew he'd be rocking, babe."
Bree leaned over and kissed their newborn son, "He's going to be awesome, like his dad."
Damien walked in, and saw the couple, "You two should really let them sleep for now, until they get used to being up and around."
Adam looked up worried, "Are they going to sprout like Ren?"
Damien shrugged, "That's up to them, but I would think, for now, they'll remain at their current stage for at least a few weeks. We'll see."
I looked around, wondering aloud, "Where do you think Ren is?"
Damien shook his head, making a sour look and muttering, "They're going to probably meet us at the sanctuary. We'll probably see them there when we get back."
I leaned up against him, "What's with that face, baby?"
He looked away, but he was somewhat sad. He turned to watch Bree and Adam with their children. Then he turned to me, and said, "I don't know. I guess I wish we had more time with Ren, you know?"
I leaned on his shoulder, "I know, baby. I know. It's not like we can't make more, you know?"
Rachel came in, and told us, "You had all better go. My dad is getting paroled and he'll be home soon. Actually, he's coming home today."
We took the hint and all packed into the car, but before we left, she walked over to the impala, and kissed Damien's cheek, "Thanks for removing the imprint."
He gave her a slightly nervous look, and said, "Except for Leah, and her pack, most are still mad at me about that."
She shrugged, "Can't please everyone, right? One more thing, would you please save my brother from all this? He didn't want any of it. My dad forced this crap on him. So, please, bring him back to the way he was. I know he was your friend, too. He's still in there, somewhere. So, please…"
I took her hand, and looked at her seriously, "No promises, but we'll try."
She waved us off as we left, getting back to the further back road, and saw Eric and Angela speeding back and forth. Damien told Adam and Bree to go to Leah's main cabin, while I went to talk to my friends.
"What's wrong, you two?"
Angela did a quick scan of the local area, worriedly, "We can't seem to find Jess or Mike anywhere. We're going to go back and check the route they went."
I shrugged, "You don't need my consent for that. Go find them, then. Just be careful out there, ok?"
They sped off.
Renesmee:
Alec and I did manage to have a bit of private time, but that left him exhausted. I was sitting up now, watching him as he slept, and went to take my shower. I figured I would let him sleep while I went to take a shower. I was thinking of writing another song, and the words came to me now. I stood in the shower now, as water ran over my adult body. I was thinking of calling it, 'The Day You Left Me Behind.' My voice filled the bathroom, even as the steam climbed to the ceiling.
I used to dream of Love
naively believed it was forever
didn't imagine we'd ever have to part
and now that sad and dreaded day has finally come
ooooh
Jessica:
We had managed to lead Demitri and the other fellow, Santiago with us into the woods. It was a little tougher to keep them both down, though. We had been fighting them for hours now, with no end in sight. They were a lot stronger than they looked, and since they had been at this longer than we had, they were able to read a lot of our moves as we charged, and jabbed at them. We managed to lead them to a large snowfield far from town. I get the feeling something would've happened here at another time, but for now, we were alone.
Never hold you again
My heart breaks at the very thought
and I'm filled with dread knowing
how close it is as I watch you leaving now
ooooh
Jasper:
I decided I could not do this anymore. I had to tell her about the connection I had with Heidi. I knew she had been chasing after someone besides me, and yet I would never bare Damien any grudge. After all, sometimes one doesn't quite choose who they love. I had thought that when Alice found me, I was in love. Now, though, I wasn't sure anymore about anything.
So this is goodbye
Goodbye my love
Goodbye my love
I find myself saying
"Alice, I have to tell you something."
"You're in love with Heidi? I knew that."
"I'll have to ask your forgiveness for all this."
She shook her head, "I'm the one who should ask for forgiveness. I haven't been very fair with you. I can let you go now, Jasper. I will stay in your life as a sister, or a friend, if you like. I don't know if I could…"
I nodded, "I get it."
I had known
How close this was
as I watch you leave
She looked so disappointed when I said that so quickly, and without hesitation. Although, I suppose it couldn't be helped. I guess she noticed that Heidi and I had been working very closely for the cause. To be clear, it had been Bella's cause, and her competition for the man she had always wanted. It was inevitable, that we came to have this talk. How it pained me to have to tell Alice that we had to break our marriage. However, I knew I would never mean that much to her, and while it made me sad, I couldn't let us continue like this any longer.
Denying it but always knowing
how soon this would be
And it makes me wish this day would never come
She smiled then, though tears filled her eyes, "I did love you, Jasper. You deserve someone that will love only you, though. So, I release you from our marriage."
You found me when I got lost
Held me 'til I calmed down
wiped my tears away
Telling me how loved I was
Telling me you'd never leave
She left the cabin then, just as Damien and Bella arrived. She ran to Damien crying, but I could see he was just consoling her. Also, she was holding him chastely, as she would Emmett or Carlisle. I could see he saw her as a sister. Bella also hugged her, soothing her back. I could only wonder what Alice would do now, but it didn't matter. She wasn't my wife anymore.
Heidi came up behind me, asking, "Did you tell her, yet?"
I inclined my head, replying, "Just now. I don't know if she took it well, or not."
She wrapped her arms around my waist, "I'm sure she'll find a way to deal with it. Also, in her vision, you got killed, and she just left."
I turned to Heidi, and protested, "I know what you're thinking. I don't want to remember her that way, though. I want to give her the benefit of the doubt."
She sighed, "You're too nice sometimes, you know that?"
I looked at her, "I'm a gentleman first, soldier second."
She pulled me closer, "Well, we all need the soldier now, you know?"
I reached up to touch her hand, "That much, I know."
With you gone now
How am I supposed to go on
praying for miracles
You reach up to hold my face
telling me it will be alright now
Jessica:
Demitri took Mike, and pinned him onto a tree, splitting it open, and took a jagged stone to keep him there. Then, he charged over to where I was, as Santiago held me by my arms, even trying to bite the back of my neck off. I struggled against his grip, having no idea why he'd be stronger than me. I looked up, and saw Demitri charging right at me, ready to take me apart.
I will never forget you
how your smile always made me feel
how your kindness overflowed
it feels like I will never know or feel it again
oooohhh
Mike through the jagged rock off of him, and threw it at Demitri, knocking him off balance, and then hit the ground with his fist creating a small chasm, narrow, and deep enough to have magma flow at the bottom. Demitri tried to recover his stance, but Mike managed to charge at him, grabbing his arms as he put Demitri in a chokehold.
So this is goodbye
Goodbye my love
Goodbye my love
my dear beloved
Angela:
We arrived on a snowfield, and saw Mike and Jessica struggling with the last two of the hostile Volturi. I looked to Eric, and we both tried to speed over, but Jessica was still struggling with her opponent. We knew if we tried to strike, he would use Jess as a bargaining chip. We also saw Mike, looking winded as he tried to hold onto his own captive.
I came this far
'cause you were there
And I can now stand on my own
because you told me I'd never be alone again
Will you please come back and haunt me?
Jessica:
Mike turned to face me as he held Demitri, and said, "I know I never said this to you very often. I should have, but here it goes. I love you. Just remember that I always will."
Then I remembered the Mike who introduced himself to me the first day of school; Mike trying to ask me out after Bella dumped him hard; Mike making a fool himself in front of Bree; the Mike who held me when I found out I didn't get into the college I wanted; the Mike who told me he would be around for me as long as it took; Mike, who trained with me for this fight, even if he did feel like he didn't know anything about fighting.
You found me when I got lost
held me 'til I calmed down
wiped my tears away
Telling me how loved I was
Telling me you'd never leave
In that horrifying moment, I watched as Mike threw himself into the chasm while he held onto Demitri. I screamed and struggled. There was nothing I could do except watch as I saw my mate give himself to keep everyone at the sanctuary safe.
With you gone now
How am I supposed to go on
praying for miracles
You reach up to hold my face
telling me it will be alright now
Angela:
We only saw as Mike dropped himself into the chasm with Demitri, and Eric ran over to the edge calling for him, and as we both watched, they were swallowed up by the magma.
Only then did Eric call desperately for his friend, "MIKE!"
I rushed to him to pull him back, trying to keep him from going in.
How can I ever believe that now
My tears won't stop coming down
They flow now without end
Renesmee:
I could feel Jessica's pain now, and it struck the very core of me. It made me feel that emptiness if I had lost Alec. I now felt that whatever would happen between Alec and I, I couldn't hold anything back with him. He had to know all of me so in case something happened to me, I wouldn't leave him wondering or guessing. With all this, my tears did start to fall, but I continued to sing.
You found me when I got lost
held me 'til I calmed down
wiped my tears away
Telling me how loved I was
Telling me you'd never leave
Jessica:
I had failed Mike, after everything we had been through together. I had no more to lose, and I wouldn't let him die like that, at the hands of an enemy. I closed my arms to myself fast, and harshly ripping off this fellow's arms. I ran over to the edge of the chasm as Angela called out for me. I turned to her, and ordered her, "Destroy him! Finish him! I, though, won't let him die alone!" Then threw myself, seeing the magma below me, not afraid to die, myself.
With you gone now
How am I supposed to go on
praying for miracles
You reach up to hold my face
telling me you will be waiting for me
Angela:
We ripped the last of the Volturi loyalist to pieces, Eric took to taking off his head as I ripped his other limbs off. We took all the pieces, and threw them down into the chasm. Then Eric and I held each other as we fell to our knees, crying as we grieved our friends. After a few moments of looking into the chasm, we decided to go back to Leah's Sanctuary to tell everyone what had happened. We held each other as we walked back into the forest. We didn't dash, though. We just walked.
The heavens open for you
as you leave me behind here
as I remember you
on that day when we first met
you smiled at me though I turned away from you
Mike:
I found myself surrounded by magma, but at least spike hair went chocolate powder. I was wondering why I hadn't. I thought about Jess, Eric, and Angela. They looked so scared, more than I ever had been in my life. Also, all the bruises and cuts I got from fighting were gone. For a moment, I thought I was in heaven, but I didn't feel any different than I had after the change. I looked around, finding myself surrounded by magma, and it was like this huge sauna. I closed my eyes, until I felt her next to me, holding me. I opened my eyes to see Jessica holding me.
She whispered, "Didn't think I'd leave you here, did you?"
"Jess…"
"Shut up, a minute, will you? Let me get us out of here."
The next moment, we found ourselves in her room at the base, and we were both naked.
I can't let you go now
but it can't be helped
you are still gone now
remembering now what you told me
"you are not alone' so gently as you held me
Renesmee:
I heard Alec knocking on the door now, his voice worried, "Are you ok in there, Ren?"
I cleared my throat, and called out, "I'm fine, baby…but get dressed."
He sounded a little groggy still, and annoyed, "Um, what for?"
I shot back, "Just do it, will you? I'll be out in a moment, and explain everything then."
He sighed resignedly, and called back, "Ok, ok. Calm down, babe."
I washed up quickly, got out, and came out with a towel. He was sitting on the bed, already putting on his boots, and whistled when he saw me.
I looked back at him, slightly embarrassed, but snapped, "We don't have time for that."
He held his hands up in a warding off gesture, "Ok, ok. Sorry. It's just that you looked super hot just now, coming out of the shower like that."
I winked, whispering, "Next time, you can come with."
He finished putting on his other boot, and walked up to me, wrapping his arms around me, "I'll hold you to that." He pulled me into a kiss, and we stayed like that for a few moments. He started working on removing my towel, and I had to push him away.
I gave him a serious look, "Not now, though, baby. Sorry. We have to go to our old base."
He looked a little confused, "Why?"
I started dressing in front of him, and muttered, "Would you not ask so many dumb questions?"
He threw his hands into the air, and let out a breath, "Ok, let's go. I'll be outside."
I finished dressing and went over to him. He was leaving the room, and I hugged him from behind, as I whispered, "I'm sorry. I don't mean to be such a bitch, but this is important."
He gently shrugged my arms off, and muttered, "Ok, I got it. Let's just go already."
I called after him, "Alec, now wait just a minute…"
As we got on the bike, he offered me my helmet, and revved up as he smiled at me, "Let's get moving. Whatever you're in a hurry for won't wait."
I sat on the bike behind him, kissing him deeply before I settled in, and then sat myself properly as I whispered, "I love you. You know that, right?"
He smiled, "I know that, babe. Don't worry about it. I got plenty of your dad's memories, so I got it. You're having a girl moment."
I hit him in the shoulder, "Seriously?"
He winced at that, "Sorry, sorry. That came out really dumb. Let's just go, ok?"
I scowled a bit, "Yeah, that was really dumb. You're on the couch tonight, Mister."
He groaned, and told me, "Hold on tight, ok?"
We took off, and headed towards the place where my parents trained to fight. I knew I was being kind of unfair with my baby. I know I should've been kinder, but I knew how important it was we get there, so we could find Jess and Mike.
Alec called me now, directly to my mind, "Babe. I'm sorry about not listening right away."
I sighed, telling him, "I wasn't being fair with you, either. We'll talk about us later, ok?"
He shifted a little bit, "I love you, you know?"
I wanted to tell him so, myself, but I was still mad, "Let's just get there, already!"
He groaned, "Yes, ma'am."
He choked up on the throttle, making me feel like the whole world started moving under me. It was pretty exhilarating, and he heard me laugh as I yelled out over the bike, "This is awesome!"
He laughed himself now, calling back, "I know, right?"
I held him tighter, yelling, "Can you go faster?"
He shook his head only slightly, "Not without knocking us both off. By the way, am I still on the couch?"
I squeezed him, and told him, "Well, no. Another crack like that, and you will be, though. Got it?"
He seemed to smile now, "Yes, ma'am!" and now, he did speed up, even though he said it wasn't a great idea. I could already feel the wind beating against us harder as we cut through it. It was almost like flying. At that moment, I knew this is the guy I wanted to be with. He had his dumb moments, and his great moments. He could also be the sweetest guy in the world. I'm not sure how my parents were able to get along from one day to the next without getting in at least a few arguments, but they always say that make up sex is usually the best. I'd have to test that theory, and I guess he wanted to score as many soft points as he could with me. He was such a guy.
Jessica:
I shoved him onto the bed in my barrack, and mounted him. He reached up to hold my breasts as I started to move on him. He groaned as I went faster, taking him in deeper, and I moaned myself as he sat up to reach around me. He moved his hands to my rear, and brought me up and down on him as fast as he could. We did this until we both reached our climax, throwing our heads back. Once we relaxed, he fell back and I collapsed onto him.
"Wow, Jess."
"Did you mean what you said?"
He reached up to touch my face, "Yeah. I do. I love you. I know I should say it more."
I giggled, "That's why I saved your sorry ass, so I could hold you to that."
He reached down to grab my rear, "Is that why you did it? And here I thought it was because you'd miss this."
I rolled my eyes, "Baby, you haven't seen anything yet."
Just then, the door opened, and I moved off of Mike so I could pull the covers up. As we sat up, we saw Ren and her boyfriend pop in.
Ren ran over to my bedside to hug me, crying out, "Aunt Jess!"
I held her as she trembled in my arms, and pulled back, "Hey, I'm ok. Come on now, calm down. I don't want you to cry for me anymore. It's ok." I shushed her crying as I soothed her back. Alec cleared his throat, and announced. "I'll be outside."
Before Alec could leave, Mike asked, "Hey, where is everyone? I mean, weren't all the Volturi here before we left?"
Alec crossed his arms, and turned to face him, "The Volturi went back to Italy. Marcus is in charge now."
Mike and I did a double take, asking, "What's that?"
Alec looked away, and said, "Look. Why don't we get back to the sanctuary, and tell everyone what's going on. At least that way, we might be able to get ourselves organized before it gets too dark. At the very least, we can put something together so we can start early tomorrow. For now, please get dressed already." He reached out for Ren, and she walked to him. She dried her eyes, looking back over at me constantly. Maybe she thought I would disappear or something. I nodded at her, and the two of them left my room.
Mike shrugged, "Well, I guess we have a lot to catch up on."
I nodded, taking his hand, "Yeah, we do. I love you, too. Now let's get our asses in gear already. I think Bella's waiting for us."
"How do you think Angela and Eric will react when they see us again?"
I thought about it a moment, "We'll build that bridge when we come to it."
Marcus:
Before I left Forks this last time, I had been given the option to be a hybrid, and I became like Jessica, a Channeler. I had actually been taken aside by Bella before Aro arrived, and she bit me. She had also asked that I protect Charlie. Once I returned to free Alec, I had gained Ren's ability since I was in close proximity to her. Also, Renesmee had touched me once, after her trip to Italy. She had shown me everything she'd seen Aro do to get his position. I saw how much maneuvering he had enacted to put himself in charge. Also, I had seen what he had done to my mate. After spending a day grieving, I called Chelsea, and asked her to remove the emotional ties that held Aro's and Caius's mates. Then, I had them make a choice, if they wanted to stay or leave. They both chose to stay and fell in with the other ranks. I decided, I should show them all the truth of their ties to the Volturi. I showed them what Aro had done to bring them in. When I had made sure I had shown everyone the truth, I gave them all a choice. They could either leave, or stay. They all decided to stay, provided I arrange for Ren to give a special concert in Voltera. I agreed to do so, and they decided to remain here by their own free will. Also, I had Aro declared a rogue, a criminal. I told them that I would assemble a party of my most dependable and covert agents to hunt him down. That was when I heard a new voice in the chamber, it was someone I hadn't met before. He was a young boy, though, not quite as young as Damien. He also stood next to an exotic, beautiful woman with long dark hair, and dark skin, both bearing scant garbs.
He introduced himself, "I am Nahuel. This is my aunt, Huilen. We are here to report a crime. My father is trying to create experimental beings. Also, he has come into contact with Aro. As we speak, Aro is helping him create immortal children out of the street youth in our native countries. Am I to understand that Aro is no longer in charge?"
I inclined my head, "You understand correctly. If you would both be kind enough to join me for dinner, I will gladly discuss our plans for this. First, we have to get you some regular garbs so we can eat somewhere."
Huilen spoke up, "I can only drink blood."
I held out my hand, and told her, "Then bite me, and you too shall be a hybrid."
When she finished, she looked at me a moment, and said, "I don't feel any different."
I looked to Nahuel, "Help her to one of these thrones, will you boy?"
He looked confused, asking, "Why?"
I shook my head impatiently, and snapped, "Just do it, boy. I have no time to explain."
He helped Huilen to what used to be Caius's throne, and then she started screaming, and looking over to me as she did, her eyes frightened.
Nahuel tried to take hold of my coat, demanding, "What have you done to her?"
I turned to him sharply, "Her body is coming back to life. She is literally being reborn, but it is a very painful process as her organs begin functioning again. Also, all the trauma suffered over time as a vampire does have effect on her nerves. Those are coming to life too, now."
After several moments, she calmed, and looked over at me, whispering, "I feel alive."
I smiled, "I know. It's a very exhilarating feeling, isn't it?"
She smiled back, and I knew at that moment, I had found someone for myself after all this time. I had finally found myself another mate. It was very fulfilling, and I found myself fully empathizing with Damien and how he felt about Charlie's daughter.
I turned to Chelsea, and told her, "Would you fetch some formal garbs for them, please?"
I turned to my mate's nephew, and told him, "I will tell you how we will deal with this problem. I also know that we've put safeguards in place for such an event."
Nahuel seemed very confused, asking, "What am I to do? Are you going to deal with this problem?"
I inclined my head, "Even better, I will tell you about someone who can."
He looked to his aunt, "Are you going to stay here?"
She looked to me, and nodded, "Yes, I think I will. Besides, it's time you start doing some things on your own. Building alliances is the first part of that."
I took her hand, squeezing it, "We will discuss all that at dinner. Chelsea, make reservations for one of the finer dining establishments."
She looked to me, telling me, "We've been wandering so long, it's hard to get accustomed to all this."
I smiled now, as I hadn't in such a long time, "You ride with my Volturi now. We have a little more eh, style than Aro. Chelsea, the garbs."
She bowed her head, "Yes, sir."
As we were waiting, I touched Huilen's face, showing her all of my memories. When I was done, she reached up to take my hand, whispering, "You've seen so much pain, my love."
I nodded, "All that ends with you."
Nahuel looked around uncomfortably, "I realize what this ritual is, but I really would rather you do that in private."
Chelsea arrived with four of my group, as she called to our guests, "Come now. We have to get you outfitted for the dinner."
As Huilen left with the two women, she looked back at me doubtfully, but I set her at ease by telling her, "You'll like this part."
Nahuel was a different story, as he looked at the two men who led him out of the room, and looked over to his aunt. As soon as he'd seen she was comfortable, he relaxed himself and followed the two men.
Billy:
When I arrived home, I could see some things were different, and my bed was stripped and turned for some reason. I called my daughter over.
"Rachel! What is this?"
"Nothing. I had to turn the mattress over, after there was a big hole in the roof from the rain. It was really ashy and dirty. Almost unsalvageable, but I fixed it."
I took her by the wrist, squeezing it, "You better not be lying to me, or you will receive a spanking like the old days. You do remember what that was like, right?"
She restrained herself from snatching her hand away, and asked, "How did they let you out anyway?"
I looked at her, my eyes burning into hers, and snapped, "I got paroled, stupid girl. And if you tell anyone about me grabbing you like this, I will have the others hunt you down."
She nodded, "Yes, sir."
After that, everything went well. I had her make me dinner, and massage my legs afterwards. Still even when I went to bed, I still felt like something was wrong. I reached over to my night table drawer and pulled out a picture of Renesmee Summers, and soon I felt much better as I thought of taking her.
Bella:
Mike and Jess showed up, running beside Damien's bike, alongside Ren and Alec as they rode up to the front of the sanctuary. Out of the woods, Eric and Angela saw them. They ran over to Mike and Jess in such relief, I knew something had happened out there. Damien was watching Alec as he got off the bike, and helped Ren off. It was all he could do to keep himself calm. I leaned on his shoulder, and ran my hand up and down his arm.
"I do have some good news, baby."
He looked over at me, "What?"
I shrugged, "I think they just had their first argument."
He looked a little puzzled, "How can you tell?"
I smiled, "A mom can tell." Ren came over to hug us both, and Alec walked behind her, slowly and carefully.
He handed Damien back his keys, and thanked him, "This was most helpful."
My fiancée inclined his head, "I'll bet. Thank you for taking care of my daughter. I take it you both had ample time to get personal."
I nudged him hard for that, and told him, "That's none of our business, baby."
Alec looked at both of us, and told us something I never thought I'd hear, "The Volturi aren't a threat to us, anymore. Marcus is in charge now, and he took everyone back to Voltera with him. They do want to hear Ren, though."
Damien asked, "What about Aro?"
Alec turned away, and bit out, "He got away. When we find him, though, we're not going to capture him. We're just going to destroy him."
Ren held his shoulder, soothing him as well, and asked us, "Is this how you wanted things? I mean, I know you were prepared to fight, but-"
I reached up and touched my daughter's face, "This is fine, dear. I thought it would be necessary to keep you safe. Now, though,"
Alec interrupted, "Aro is still out there, and who knows how many people he's gotten to follow him. He will not be able to take control of the Volturi, but he can still make very powerful newborns."
Damien gave him a mock punch in the shoulder, "We know that. That's why we're not dropping our guard. At least, we know now that we might have to announce ourselves after all, but not the way my wife had in mind. We'll figure it out. In the mean time, why don't you go talk and patch things up?"
Ren smiled widely at that and asked, "Dad, really?"
He shrugged, "Well, you two are an item, and everyone knows it, so…"
"Thank you, daddy!" She squealed, hugging him tightly. This actually brought an awkward smile to his face, and he seemed more at peace now. I guess he wanted to feel like our daughter still needed us. I guess we both did. We watched them as they walked off together, and greeted everyone else, even Alice. I saw Victoria take Ren into her arms with such relief, holding her like I would, and Riley held her shoulder gently. Even Jane came out to hold her, and her brother. She embraced them both with so much tears, and looked over at me gratefully. I saw the last vestiges of Alice's alternative world fall completely out of place, if it ever was.
With a determine look on his face, Damien decided something, and looked over at me, "I'm going to see what I can do about Jake's madness."
I shook my head, "What do you think you can do?"
He looked around, and said, "I think it's more mojo than psycho. He's not himself, babe. He's off the deep end, but we know he wasn't always like that."
I stroked my chin now, musing, "Rachel did say her father was making him like that. Still, how are we supposed to work with that?"
He looked me in the eyes, "She did give us a place when Bree needed it. We owe her that much to try, at least."
I threw my hands in the air, "So, what are you going to do?"
"I'm going to go into the cage with Jake."
I took him by the shoulders then, "NO! You're NOT!"
He still gave me that serious look, "Bella, you're just going to have to trust me."
I snapped, "Listen here, baby. You, I trust. It's him, I don't trust. He has no control over himself!"
He nodded, "I have to try."
I relented after a moment, letting him go, "Fine. If he phases with you in there, I'll kill him. No question. Got it?"
He pulled me to him, "We have to tell her we at least tried, ok?"
Damien:
I stepped into the cage, which was actually a set of bars by the bathroom. He would be able to sleep, and do his business. We did bar the windows to his room, though. It was quite necessary, all things considered. I stepped into the cage, Bella closing the door behind me, and grabbing my shoulder, reminding me, "He phases even once, he's dead. Got it?"
I nodded, and called out, "Jacob?"
He didn't waste any time. He ran at me, grabbing me by the shirt and slamming me to a wall. I could see Bella ready to snap his neck, but I held my hand out, telling her to wait.
"What do you want?" He spat.
"I want to see if we can talk this out. I'm going to release you from the imprint you had of that little girl in some small town in California. It's not quite on the map, but you're still a wanted man."
"Do you know what you've done to me?"
I swiped his hands off now, and yelled, "I didn't do this to you, Jake! You imprinted on my daughter! What did you think I was going to do?"
He gave me a smarmy look, "Ooooh, but it's ok for Alec of the Volturi to screw her. You must really love how that turned out."
I hit him just below the ribs for that, and found I also had to calm myself, "Now, listen. Your sister thinks that you've been taken over by some kind of madness. She helped us, so I am inclined to believe her because I know there's some part of Jake still in you."
"I hate you!"
I shrugged, "You can hate me all you like, but you know that this is just you acting out. I told your sister that I'd swear to try bringing you back. So, listen, be my friend again. Be the guy that helped me build that bike. Be the guy that tried to tell me that Bella was into me, because you did, long before any of this tribe crap took over your mind."
He seethed, "That tribe crap, as you call it, is my heritage, Damien."
I yelled back, "Look what it's doing to you, Jake! Do you see what you've become? Do you even feel it?"
He smiled viciously, "It's telling me I need to kill you, and Bella. It's the only way Nessie will ever be mine."
Again, I punched him under the ribs, "That's not her name, you sick creep!" Finally, I put the palm of my hand to his forehead, and his eyes blazed out with light. He yelled out for a moment, and fell to the floor. He slowly got up after a moment, though.
He looked up now, and then I did see the Jake that Bella and I used to know, asking, "Damien, where am I?"
"You're in a cage."
"Wait, just a minute. I was in my house when my dad told me to take a walk for a bit. I saw your daughter running around in the woods, and that's all I remember."
Bella and I looked at each other, as she asked, "So, am I to understand that this whole time, you haven't been driving spaceship Jake?"
Jake turned to Bella, "The thing with Imprinting is that it becomes imperative. After a while, you really don't belong to yourself anymore. It's like gravity. Suddenly, it's not the earth holding you down. It is she that holds you to the earth, and her alone. You become whatever she needs you to be, a brother, a friend, and eventually a lover."
I gave him a hesitant look, as I told him, "I removed your imprint. You weren't quite yourself after that, though."
He gave me a bit of a snarl, "Well, no wonder. Do you have any idea what that's like? What you did was take out the CPU for a computer tower, smashed, and put it back in with scotch tape, expecting it to work. No wonder I was insane."
Bella crossed her arms, "Well that explains a lot."
I lowered my head, and muttered, "So, I drove your tribe insane, then?"
Jake shrugged, "That's part of the reason I didn't want to hang out with them. Now, though, things are pretty complicated. My dad can't phase, and that would put me in charge of the pack with Sam dead. I have to ask, why did you kill Sam?"
Bella and I looked at each other, and I told him, "Jake, you killed Sam. You were about to strike Bella, so I threw Sam at you. He was human, and I kept him from phasing, so you ripped him apart."
Jake blew out a breath, and sighed, "Technically, that would make me alpha."
Bella protested, "No, Leah is alpha."
Jake nodded, "That's even better. If I don't have to be in charge, that's even better. I think we'll leave it at that."
"Where's my father?"
"He's gotten home, not too long ago after a stint in a max security hospital."
He gave me a serious look, "Then you have to let me deal with him. If I go down, he goes down."
I looked over to Bella, and she confirmed that he was telling the truth.
I looked to Jake, and asked, "So, what do you want to do?"
He looked at both Bella, and I, telling us, "We're going to save my sister, and I will take us both out. Also, if any of you have been having weird dreams, he's the reason way. He's got some serious dark magic for that."
He saw Alice pass by, and asked us, "Is it OK if I talk to her? I may not have been at the controls, but I have heard everything that's been going on."
Bella opened his cage, and he went outside to talk to Alice. We watched as he went out to talk to her, and gave each other a look that said, I guess it'll work out.
Jake:
After watching her wandering the house, crying, and having Leah comfort her. It was true that I wasn't at the controls for a while after my imprint was removed. I did see how much pain she was in though, and that I did empathize with, because I also felt like something was taken from me. I came out and saw her leaning on the rails as she cried yet again. Finally, I walked up next to her.
"He's not like the only guy in town, you know?"
She turned away from me, "What do you want?"
I looked at her, "I'm just saying, I know what it's like. For a long while, I was into Bella. I had known her when we were kids. When Damien came to town, though, all I had to do was to see how she looked at him, and I knew it was over. Game over. The thing I didn't understand at the time, though, was that it's was never a game. What he and Bella had was the real thing."
She turned to me, yelling, "I GET IT, OK?! SHUT UP, ALREADY!"
Then she turned away again, and I pulled her slowly to face me, "I don't think you do. I think you say you get it, but you're still pining. It's not going to help you, and to have that Jasper as your 'break-up' buffer was not cool. Although, 'break-up' is inaccurate considering you two were never that close. I will say this, you will find someone."
She looked up to me now, and cried, "How will I know, though?"
I looked down at her, and said, "You'll know when you see them."
She reached up to me, kissing me then, deeply as we desperately clung to each other, and when we parted, I asked her, "Can I imprint with you?" I was joking of course, hoping to lighten the mood now that things had gotten so intense.
She turned away now, and whispered, "Give me time to think about that, ok?"
I held her now, and it felt right. She obliged by wrapping her arms around my waist. We stayed like that for a long time.
Continued….
Well, that's the chapter. I will cover more next chapter. Promise. I won't jerk people around with Jake anymore. So sorry about that. It's taken me a while to find a role for him in this story. It's just that there are a lot of uncovered routes in all this. Hopefully I can cover them all. Do let me know about your comments, crits, and general feedback on character dev, relationship dev, and such. Later