AN: Sorry it's taken me so long to put up the next chapter. Chapter 6 will be posted at the same time tomorrow :) Thanks for reading.

S. Meyer owns twilight

CHAPTER 5

BPOV

The meeting continued. Demitri stood with us, wearing his new Horseman cloak and pendant.

Aro stepped forward and declared, "The time has come for the Romanians to receive their punishment. For the next few days they'll live with the pain they inflicted on others. They will experience hopelessness, starvation and suffering. Those of you wanting to watch the sentence be carried out are welcome to join us." He turned and led the way to the dungeons.

Dad, Rose and Em made the first trip down in the elevator, they were carrying a basket full of bottles, each held the darkness of those who had been affected by the Romanians. The Masters joined them. I saw Aro touch dad's bare hand, he nodded to Aro. The doors closed and they descended to the dungeon. The Denalis and Amun were next. Kebi, Ben and Tia had chosen to stay in their guest rooms, they knew what was going to happen and didn't want to see it.

We were the last to arrive in the dungeon. Demitri and the Guard decided to remain in the main part of the Castle, it was already very crowded down here. The werewolves had arrived early, they'd been waiting for us. Fred and his pack were watching the Romanian's in their final hour of sanity. Amun and the Denalis stood with them, watching silently. We joined them in front of the cells. The werewolves, Egyptians and Denalis stepped back to watch the Healers work.

Instead of opening the bottles, dad stood next to Aro, his fingers were glowing in preparation. He would remove Aro's darkness and implant it directly into Stefan. Eleazar froze in shock as dad worked, he hadn't seen anything like this before and I could only imagine what he saw through his gift. He watched as Aro was enveloped in light from dad. The glow moved from Aro to Stefan, Eleazar's eyes followed it.

Stefan began to writhe. The light returned to dad and Rose handed him a flask, he took a moment to drink before they started releasing the bottles of darkness into Vladimir and Stefan. Four bottles of darkness had been removed from Marcus. Amun had contributed to the bottles, he was healed by dad. Amun's darkness was given to Vladimir.

Dad was handed another flask, I could smell the faint scent of energizing herbs as he drank. Once his flask was empty he took a few deep breaths and focused on the wolves. I was shocked as they all illuminated. I'd never seen him heal a group like this, I knew he had healed many of us in Georgia, but I had been a participant at the time. There were a lot more people being healed now and the wolves held a millennium of pain each. Pete moved to dad, touching his shoulder. Dad glowed brighter. Emmett saw what Pete was doing and added his hand to Charlie's other shoulder. The healing light grew intense.

The glow split in half; one part moving to Vladimir, the other to Stefan. They were forced to absorb the werewolves' darkness. They screamed. The light withdrew back into dad. Brenna rushed over to him, holding him up. He slumped forward, exhausted. Pete and Em looked pretty tired as well. Char and Rose rushed to their mates, moving them away from the cells and guiding them towards the elevator. I watched as Fred stood in front in the cells, preparing to use his gift.

There was a slight ripple in the air around us, it concentrated on Vladimir and Stefan. The bubble of time trapped them, making seconds last days. I shuddered, for the next three days they would experience three thousand years worth of suffering.

JPOV

The Romanians blurred around their cells. "We should give my brother space to work." Aro said. The Masters and a few of the werewolves left. I knew Briggita would stay at Fred's side, I didn't want to leave. Bella moved closer to Briggita. "Do you mind if we stay? I'd like to help you. We can bring down anything you need; food, drinks, chairs, anything." She offered. Briggita smiled and thanked us.

Eleazar kept us company while we watched Fred and his mate. Amun and the Denalis, aside from Eleazar, left with the other werewolves. We sat cross legged against the wall. Eleazar was looking at me, he was feeling joy. "I know who you are." He whispered and smiled. I held a finger up to my masked lips, silently asking him not to say anything. "I'll keep your secret." Eleazar promised. I sent him a small burst of gratitude. Kate and Garrett already knew our identities, I was relieved they hadn't told anyone. I knew we could trust the Denalis, but I was worried that it could be dangerous for them to know who we were.

PPOV

The Romanians were brewing in their cells. I had spent the last two days in bed, recovering from helping Charlie. As soon as I touched his shoulder in the dungeon I felt the ancestors siphon my strength to him. When Em added his strength I felt his power shift into Charlie.

Char had fussed over me for a few hours after returning to our room. She retrieved some enriched blood from Esme, undressed me and gave me a sponge bath. I had hoped she'd put on that naughty nurse outfit, but alas, she'd left it in Texas.

Alice was keeping me company while Char went to help Brenna and Charlie. He had slept constantly since he healed the wolves. Char was keeping Brenna calm while Charlie rested. Em was as tired as I was, Rose refused to leave his side.

Alice and I were becoming good friends, few people understood how dangerous knowledge of the future could be. We'd formed an impromptu Seers Anonymous support group, we both talked about how our gifts had affected our lives.

"You were strong to cope with your gift as long as you did." I told her. "Most seers I've met only get a small amount of audio or the flash of an image. Few were born with the Sight, like you were. Getting visions like you did; full video and surround sound, must have been maddening-"
"It was in a literal sense" She said weakly. I wrapped an arm around her. "That's too much knowledge for anyone to handle, let alone a little kid."

"How do you cope, Pete?" She asked. "It's been hard at times." I admitted. "My gift developed slowly. I wasn't born a Seer, I became one through training. Most Seers you come across have to get into a trance to get visions, it's a controlled flow of information. For me, the information came from the spirit world and their connection to fate. While I was human I rarely got visions. However, while I was turning my connection to the spirit world was the strongest it's ever been. I saw what would happen when I woke up. It scared the shit out of me, but I also saw the bright future we're fighting for. It was that image that kept me on track, it kept me sane."

I tried to explain my gift to her. "Until recently the messages I'd get from my ancestors would feel like random thoughts. It didn't feel like a foreign message. It wasn't until recently that I found out my Spirit Walker training had carried over to my vampire life. It became stronger the more time I spent with Charlie and Bella.

"I can choose what I see sometimes. The paths look like a timeline with images attached to major moments. I'm limited in what I can see, I guess it's Fate's way of protecting me, but it's really annoying sometimes." I said. She agreed. "I used to get really angry sometimes. I couldn't see fate, only decisions. Some of the things that happen aren't related to decisions so I couldn't see them, I had to think of ways around it. When it came to the stock market I had to ask Carlisle to decide on investing in the bigger companies and I'd get a vision of him smiling and thanking me or frowning and telling me off. When it came to the weather I'd ask Edward to make a decision to spend the day walking in public, if I caught him sparkling I'd have to work out what time it would happen."

That was a huge amount of work for her. "Alice, I'm sorry that I thought you were power hungry, I'm sorry I didn't see what was really going on." I said. She shook her head, "it's not your fault Pete. I really didn't help that image. I was just so desperate to be accepted, to have a family I could make memories with since I barely had any to begin with. It's a relief not to have my gift anymore."

"Can I ask what your obsession with clothes was about?" I asked gently. Alice cringed "Carlisle and Edward were monitoring everyone. They wanted us to look perfect, I stupidly thought I could help them by making everyone wear the latest trends, it would make our family look wealthy and successful. I would have done anything for Carlisle and Edward. I felt so weak; here were these two leaders who held everything together, at least it seemed that way. I felt like nothing I did was good enough."

Fuck. I felt like crap for all the things I'd said about her in the past, all those times I wanted to tear her apart and burn her. Alice poked my shoulder "no feeling guilty, Pete. We're in a better place now and you've given me a chance, it's more than I deserve. I can't imagine how hard it was for you to see Jasper treated the way he was. You were always civil to me, and I acted like a brat because Carlisle and Edward looked down on you. What happened, happened and we can't change that."

I sighed. "You're right, kid. I just can't help but wonder what would have happened if we'd just taken you and Jasper away from them." The 'what if?' questions had been hounding me since I found out the truth about Alice. She shook her head "if you'd have done that Jasper would have missed out on Bella. They're good together and it was worth staying with the Cullens to see that happen." She said.

I smiled at her "now, you have Alistair. He's a keeper. You've helped each other so much."
"He's amazing. I'm so lucky, I have to force myself not to question how lucky I've been. So many things could have gone wrong, hell I could still be part of the Cullen coven if it wasn't for you guys." She said. A shudder went through her, I rested my hand on her shoulder "you're free now, Alice. That's all that matters." She smiled, her eyes were glazed with venom.

There was a knock on the door and Esme poked her head in, "time for a meeting, guys." She ducked out again. I turned to Alice "you know she still thinks of you as a daughter, right?" She looked stunned for a second, I patted her shoulder "let's head out, kid."

We caught up with Char and Alistair in the foyer, I kissed Char before we put on our masks and cloaks. Her and Alistair had developed their own support group; Spouses of Seers Anonymous.

We stood with Demitri. Bella and J were still in the dungeon with Fred and Briggita. Aro nodded and the doors opened, the Denali and Egyptian covens walked in and stood with Alice and Alistair. Eleazar wasn't with them. Aro updated us on what was happening, there had been little change. Bella and J were helping the Masters care for Fred and Briggita. Eleazar was keeping them company.

The Masters dismissed us as they went to check on the progress of the Romanians.

BPOV

What was left of the Romanians had started to disintegrate. The Masters had arrived with refreshments for Briggita and Fred. They were sitting on a couch J and Eleazar had brought down from Aro's study. Marcus had surprised us all by cooking traditional dishes for Fred and his mate regularly over the last 50 hours, J and I would regularly ascend to the Masters' Quarters to get them food and drink. Marcus had substituted a few ingredients in the meals he made; using chicken instead of puffin and Italian salami instead of smoked fish, I could tell Fred and Briggita appreciated the gesture.

Aro stared blankly as the skin of his enemy cracked and their eyes turned solid black. It had been two days in our time and a couple of millennia for the prisoners. Fred maintained his concentration throughout the punishment. I thought of all those who had lost their lives, what the Romanians were experiencing was true justice. They had hurt so many people and caused so much damage all because they wanted to rule.

Their clothes had disintegrated and their bodies became petrified. Aro turned to Fred. "I'll get the others, I believe it's nearly time. They're broken, any longer will be a waste of your power." He said. Aro left. The wolves were the first to arrive followed by the covens. It had taken four trips for the room to fill again. Irina and Carmen joined us, they stood by the Masters, talking quietly. The room hushed as Fred removed his power from the Romanians.

It was time for me to execute them. Aro opened the door of Stefan's cell. Stefan's eyes had a milky film covering the corneas. His skin looked so frail and brittle. Was this how Aro had looked when Caius found him? "Death" Aro announced. I moved in front of Stefan and ignited my shield. I'd give them a quick death. I touched the flames to his skin, he disintegrated under my touch. The pile of dust Stefan had turned to sparked and died. There had been almost no venom left, nothing held him together. I moved to Vladimir's cell and repeated the process, he crumbled just as Stefan had. It was done. The Romanians only existed in painful memories now. The others left in small groups, returning to the main part of the Castle.

I knew there was one more thing to take care of. Char, Pete, J and I moved to the cell at the end of the row, Carlos sat still. He refused to move or talk. I was glad. Aro approached us "do as you see fit with him. I trust your judgment." Fred overheard Aro and walked over to us. "I can speed up time and trap him for a few hours. It would ensure he lived through a few centuries of pain." He offered. J sent him some gratitude. "Thank you Fred. I appreciate your assistance, but I don't want to drain you of energy-" Fred cut him off. "It's no problem, War. He is an ally to the Romanians, that alone is enough to convince me of his guilt."

We thanked him again and got to work. J sent Carlos the same emotional cocktail he'd sent Maria. Carlos clawed at his chest, trying to remove the pain. Fred sped up the time in his cell. After 3 hours Carlos was broken, lying in wait for death. Fred removed his power. Carlos didn't react as I entered the cell. J joined me, removing his mask and looking Carlos in the eye. I saw a flicker of recognition in Carlos' eyes, he began to shake. "My mate will deliver you from this hell to the next." J said. He put his mask back on. There was fresh venom covering Carlos' chest from where he tried to claw his heart out.

I slashed open the skin on the sole of his feet. My shield ignited and a few small flames jumped into the wound. I would make sure he'd burn slowly. Fred smiled grimly as we watched the prisoner turn to ash.

JPOV

"They're dead." Fred announced as we entered the Masters' Quarters. The wolves were chatting with the others, they had built a friendship between the Denalis and Egyptians. Aro, Marcus and Caius had cooked a feast for the wolves. Charlie and Em were resting, but food and blood had been put aside for them.

After we ate the wolves retired for the evening. We headed to our usual meeting room. The Denalis joined us in Caius' study. The Masters came in a little while later. Pete touched Aro's hand to pass him a message. Aro nodded in agreement.

Pete removed his mask. "My gift tells me we need to introduce ourselves properly. I'm Peter Whitlock, otherwise known as Pestilence." I was concerned at the potential fallout, but decided to trust Pete's gift. I sent a burst of happiness around the room. Tanya, Irina and Carmen gasped. Kate, Garrett and Eleazar already knew my identity and smiled. I removed my mask and hood and smiled at them.

"I'm War." I announced. Carmen hugged me "I thought you were dead!" She cried. Irina approached, grinning widely. "I can't believe you're really here! You look good Emo kid."
"I've been healed, but I have post-traumatic stress disorder and disassociate identity disorder." I said. Irina's face searched mine as she asked, "you have DID?"
"Yes, but thanks to my mate and her father I'm feeling better and back to one personality." I smiled down at Bella.

She lifted off her hood and mask. "Hi guys, I've heard a lot of great things about you." She smiled and turned to Kate and Garrett. "How have you been?"
"You knew!" Tanya shrieked at Kate and Garrett." Kate smiled sheepishly and answered "I joined the Guard on a mission in the southern states. I caught up with them." Kate turned serious "I vowed to protect their secret, to protect them. It was not done out of distrust, but out of loyalty." They nodded and Tanya calmed "we understand." She said to Kate and Garrett.

Kate introduced Bella, there were a few gasps, Tanya's eyes bugged out. "You're not as I expected" she said to my mate. Bella nodded, but I could feel her defensiveness rise. "I was different then. After Edward cast me aside I grew stronger. My uncle and aunt helped me until I met my mate." She said, Char took off her masks and stood by Bella. Tanya's hands went up "I meant no offense. I'm just surprised you exist, I enjoyed giving your ex a hard time and when he said he had a girlfriend I thought he was lying." I could feel she was telling the truth.

I put my arm around Bella and sent her waves of calm. "You should have seen it, Tanya would be sitting calmly on the couch pretending to read a magazine. Edward would attempt to ignore her thoughts, but would become increasingly flustered. Esme's amusement would spike when she caught on to what was happening." I explained. Tanya chuckled in surprise "Esme really was amused?" The door opened to the woman in question "I was indeed. It would often be the highlight of my visit. I was always careful with my thoughts, but I knew Jasper would help guard my emotions from them." She explained. Tanya smiled at Esme and Bella relaxed.

Pete introduced Char. The Denalis were genuinely happy to see us. They had been very kind over the years when I was with the Cullens, I was a little surprised that they didn't count Rose, Em, Esme and I as a nuisance like they did Carlisle and Edward. Tanya and Bella started to compare notes on Edward, it was a funny conversation. Occasionally Pete and Char would add their two cents. Edward hadn't been as subtle as he thought he was. I was thankful he was now gone from the world.

Irina sat next to me. "How are you coping with Alice around?" She asked. "We're good. I consider her a friend, Alistair has been good for her."
"She's an entirely different person now." Irina observed. I agreed, "She is. The Alice I knew was sick, knowing what I know now I understand why she lost her mind."
"I'm glad Carlisle and Edward suffered before they died." She said. I nodded. Their death had brought us peace.

Esme sat down next to Marcus. Once the chatter died down Aro stood and addressed the room. "It's imperative the Horsemen, the werewolves and any other secrets not be discussed outside our quarters. You have an idea how dangerous it is for our kind to have the knowledge of Peter, Charlotte and Jasper's role in the Newborn Wars. You've seen how their reputations have led to them being hunted by the bored and arrogant people of our species. Bella will also be in danger if her identity is revealed. It is for this reason their real names cannot be mentioned."

"We understand and promise to honor their privacy. The Horsemen are welcome to visit Denali whenever they wish and should they need assistance we will stand by their side." Tanya said formally. She smiled and hugged Bella. I could see they were going to be good friends.

Caius spoke. "The Horsemen have an assignment in America. Tomorrow night they will travel to the States on a diplomatic mission. Felix and a handful of our Guard are in America at the moment. They are searching for signs of newborn armies. Felix has made contact with us and advised that Alaska, Canada and Washington are safe for travel."
"We're taking our jet back home tomorrow afternoon, you could travel with us if you'd like?" Carmen offered. I was relieved, the Volturi jet was supposed to take Aro, Sulpicia, Charlie and the Wolves to Iceland. I didn't want to be stuck on a commercial plane for hours. I accepted the offer.

Caius continued. "I have already spoken to Billy and Theresa and arranged accommodation for you. They're looking forward to seeing you again. They'll have questions, answer as many as you want to. You can tell them everything, even our secret history. If there are any questions you and Demitri can't answer, call us and we'll talk to them.

Esme took over. "I understand that as an unofficial Whitlock coven you have plenty of resources at your disposal. I have spoken with the Healers and we've discussed what is to happen with the profits from the Cullen coven. Sometime in the near future we'll be setting up a rehabilitation center where supernatural beings can be healed. The bulk of Carlisle's estate will go towards the new center. There are other assets available for use. The house in Forks is available to you, as well as a few other homes Carlisle bought over the years. A small stipend has been contributed to your accounts and you have an open invitation to Isle Esme."

I could feel eagerness from the Denalis, I knew they'd want to help with the Rehabilitation center. Aro took over. "This could be a turbulent time if our history if not properly managed. You've seen the devastation our kind can cause with the wrong information. Should you encounter any problems with rumors please do what you can to stop them, there is no need for death. Marcus and Caius will remain here with the rest of the Guard to manage the usual Volturi duties while we travel. They will be able to help with any issues that arise."

When Aro paused, Bella raised a question "what about Alice and Alistair?" Marcus answered her "they'll take some time to travel. They're going to head to England and speak to Maggie about joining the anti-corruption committee. When they've had a rest they'll return and start training with Rose and Emmett. They have offered to help us with the synthetic blood project." There were a few more questions and more detailed discussions about the Rehabilitation Center, but the conversation eventually started to wane.

We were dismissed for the night. I lead Bella to our room. Tomorrow we would head back to the states. We wrapped ourselves in each other, enjoying the bliss.