As promised, it's Monday (late but still Monday) and here's the next chapter, won't say much lol, except thanks to all my reviewers and supporters, love you all! Read, review, and enjoy!

I do not own any of Stephanie Meyer's work, solely the plot and some new characters in this story.

************************Oliver******************************

My senses began to finally breathe again, the obnoxious pain in my body fading. I could feel the weak muscles in my body, taste the dried blood across my chapped lips, hear the droning of a powerful engine beneath me. There were smells, disgusting smells that made my spine shiver, and yet…there was her smell. Listening more intently I could also hear her distinct heartbeat, the steady intakes of her breath, feel her temperate skin.

The blurry outline of Renesmee's hopeful face looked down at me, an angel surrounded by darkness. I felt the corners of my mouth lift substantially when I realized her hand was wrapped around my own, her warm fingers rubbing softly against my coarse skin. Her eyes seemed to lift when I blinked, and she let out a small gasp. 'Oliver!' she said, and there was nothing but love looking down at me through those big, beautiful brown eyes.

She looks hopeful, and—she's holding my hand!...I must be dead, there's no other explanation for the girl before me to be here otherwise…

"Am I in heaven?" I asked aloud, her white face starting to become more lucid. A tinge of pink caressed her pale cheeks and another emotion—guilt?—dashed rapidly across her eyes as she released my hand.

No, no, don't let go!

I reached over and grabbed her hand once more, holding it tightly—I winced slightly with the added pressure—against my own. She exhaled softly and smiled at me warmly, though…her eyes…I realized, with a nostalgic thud of my heart, that it wasn't what I had mistook it for in the beginning.

No, silly, she spoke to me softly, as if even her thoughts were in danger of being heard. The doctor finally fixed you up, that's all.

"Doctor? I—" and then it all came back to me. The edges of our surroundings became more pronounced, the darker shade of the inside of a—a—a jet? And I noticed for the first time three other individuals.

Wait, not individuals…vampires!

My moment of utopia fled. A low growl escaped my throat as my body began to react instinctively. I was hurt, of that I was very aware, but it was nothing compared to what my comatose body must have been like twenty minutes ago.

Plus, there's freaking vampires not five feet away!

Ssh, ssh, Renesmee cooed, squeezing my hand. I hadn't noticed my wary attempt at sitting up while taking in the contents of our space; her comfort, her soft touch, however, was enough to calm me down.

We're ok, she assured me, then…for now. She nodded her head slightly towards one of the individuals. That's the doctor, Niles, he worked on you for about three hours or so... A flash of the man in question hovering over me with medical supplies…He's with THEM, I noticed her lips curl with the acknowledgment, but at least you're alive, thanks to him.

I glanced at the doctor. He appeared to be in his older years, tall, slender, white hair slicked back into a ponytail, blood-red eyes, skin of a pale white, too good-looking for any normal man…

Yup, definitely a vampire…I thought bitterly.

I swept my gaze over to the other two. One, a boy, was pointedly avoiding eye contact, speaking in a hurried voice towards the front of the plane. Huh…must be more bloodsuckers up front…

The third vampire was something else entirely. With her dark skin, black hair, and slanted eyes…she kind of looks like a—

That's Jeanine, Renesmee answered towards my perplexed expression, she's…well to be honest I'm not sure what to make of her. I caught a few glimpses of a fight, gasping slightly when I realized Jeanine had actually thrown Renesmee's mom, Bella, off of the landing skids of a helicopter. The next scene, however, was confusing, something about advice?...Renesmee bit her lip as Jeanine suddenly looked towards us for the quickest of seconds.

Her eyes.

My previous familiarity with her vanished in the depths of those crimson eyes. She was nothing but a good-for-nothing bloodsucker after all…

"Renesmee," I turned back to her, grateful she hadn't released my hand a second time, "what happened? Where's Tom?"

Her eyebrows furrowed and she looked away from my questioning face. My heart almost stopped beating with her discomfort. Tom? Was it possible he—no, he couldn't be—

"Oh no, no!" Renesmee burst, realizing what must've been going in my head with her silence. She winced with the words spoken aloud. Tom's fine, I'm sure of it, he's back home and I know Carlisle will fix him right up.

I sighed in relief. At least that was one thing I didn't have to worry about.

I frowned. "Wait, but…what happened then? Where are we going? Who are they exactly?"

I could see the anxiety in her expression, her reluctance. Renesmee had no thoughts of explanation, but as if in answer, the jet began to circle in descent, much too fast for my dizzied head. I made to sit up but Renesmee kept me down, knowing without my telling her how weak I still was. Another body suddenly appeared from the front, one whose voice made my blood boil and my ears burn.

"I expect both of you to be on your best behavior once we reach the ground. Alec and I will see to you if you do not," she threatened, placing a small hand on the fair boy's shoulder, Alec. His face mirrored her malice and I couldn't help but wonder why the small pair should feel so sure of themselves. They were so small! Even as weak as I felt I could probably crush them, without even phasing too!

I pushed against Renesmee's arms, standing up and glaring at the two defiantly.

"Oliver, no they're—" Renesmee began, pulling my arm back. I made to brush her away but didn't need to; her hand slipped out of mine instantly, her words stopping as quickly as they had started.

That's weird, it's not like her…I shook it off, taking a menacing step towards the pair. The girl, still smiling, narrowed her eyes and, much to my surprise, took a step forward.

"Sit down, mutt," she ordered, "I don't have time for your little games."

I closed the gap between us, "Screw you, bloodsuck—"

And then I was on the floor.

The next moment was by far the most excruciating instant of my life. My blood screamed in agony, my bones folding in on themselves, my head on the verge of exploding. My entire body was on fire, and nothing else mattered. Everything hurt, pain was my only existence, and the fire consumed, an eternal flame that ravaged my insides, destroying any hope of death.

Then it stopped.

I only stared in horror at the small vampire in front of me for a fraction of a second before reacting.

"Renesmee!" I cried, "She can—" but I stopped short, noticing finally why Renesmee had so 'voluntarily' let my hand go.

Her face was blank, staring straight ahead as if in a trance. I shook her, willing her to snap out of whatever witchcraft the evil girl had beseeched on her…but her gaze remained unfocused.

Angrily, I turned towards the perpetrator, aware but not caring what horrible torture she could inflict on me again within a millisecond.

"You!" I snarled, "What did you do to her?"

The small girl simply shrugged, nudging Alec—who I was quite certain, by their similarities, was her brother—and rolling her eyes. The boy smiled at me sweetly.

"Oh, I'm sorry, Jane didn't do anything to her. I'm afraid that'd be me," he said, settling his indifferent eyes over to Renesmee's figure. In an instant, she was back.

"—dangerous!" Renesmee finished. She looked around confused, glancing at the witch twins' identical smirks and my look of horror. She knew that I knew now, what the two creeps were capable of.

Little bloodsucking bastards…

"Now that you understand who's in charge," the small girl vampire, Jane, continued, her voice a fascia of innocence, "prepare for landing."

Alec stood up next to her, smiling at us with the same 'sweetness'. "Welcome to Volterra."

*****************************Nessie************************************

Demetri was, in one word, scary.

The tall, broad, slightly olive complexioned man hardly acknowledged me, at least to my face. He wore the same standard Volturi robe, black in perfect harmony against his shoulder length, wavy, black hair. He had yet to speak a word to me from the moment I boarded the private jet and now, as we made our way through the cobbled streets of Volterra, I could feel his crimson eyes burning into my back.

A tracker. That was the only thing I could remember about him from my earlier memories as a child, the questions I'd had briefly answered concerning the towering hooded figures. A brilliant tracker.

Felix, in another word, was scarier.

He'd met us as soon as we exited the aircraft, similar in complexion to Demetri but much, much, much bigger and broader, with shorter cropped black hair, his robe an exact replica to the former. He was as big, if not bigger, than Emmett. I knew how strong my uncle Emmett was, how deadly he could be in battle…the thought of Felix being remotely similar made me shiver. Unlike Demetri, however, he had spoken to me.

"Well, hello there, Miss Cullen," he'd said, a gentleman's voice to conceal the viper beneath, "I heard about your little, er, incident," a slight uplifting of the lips, "you are such a pretty thing—"

Oliver had growled, hatred for the leering brute. My own eyes glared.

"I do hope the council goes easy on you. Wouldn't want to waste such," he smirked, "beauty."

Oliver's growl grew considerably louder, and I had to plead with him silently when Felix actually winked at him.

We entered through some sort of elevator, Jane and Alec in the front, Jeanine and Niles with Oliver and I, and Demetri and Felix bringing up the rear. I kept my hand intertwined with Oliver's, my only outlet of comfort. A small part of my brain knew the gesture was probably something more, but I easily ignored it. Oliver was still my best friend, and friends took care of each other.

The descent brought with it colder air, and I was grateful for my more than average body temperature. Oliver scooted closer to me nonetheless, though I could understand his uneasiness. Alec let out a small laugh.

"Aaww, isn't that cute? The little imprint and the half-vampire," he said. The words had no impact on me; I was already more than aware of their mistaking myself for Oliver's imprint.

Oliver, however, jumped.

His eyes widened and he looked at me with a mixture of emotions. I frowned, confused and irritated at the same time. Now was not the time to let them know their mistake, any mistake on their part could only be beneficial to us—then I realized my own mistake.

Oliver didn't know that I knew about imprinting, much less the fact that I knew I was Jacob's imprint…I studied his stricken expression for a second…

Guilt.

There was fear, worry, and several other things, but guilt was the main entrée.

I squeezed his hand.

Don't worry about that now, Oliver. Tom…already explained it to me. I flashed the recent conversation…Just pretend it's true for now. I don't know if it really matters at this point, but…well any advantage we can get I'll take.

I waited for his face to relax, and only till he gave a slight nod did I turn away.

"Now then," Jane brushed by me smoothly, "enough with the lovebirds. Follow me."

Oliver shot me another worried glance. Was this it? Were we headed to our death? Would our families ever find out? And then my own selfish thoughts…would I ever see Jake again?

I took one step forward, the lump in my throat pushed forcefully away.

Be strong, Oliver…we don't have any other choice.

**************************Esme*********************************

As much as I tried to be comforting, I failed.

Edward and Bella were already at the airport, and even though Alice had warned us it was only supposed to be the two of them, I couldn't help but fear we were making a mistake. Nessie was all of ours; shouldn't her family be able to be there when she faced judgment?

The only reason I'd submitted to staying behind was for my husband.

I sighed. Damnit Carlisle…I had never, once in my life, doubted his trust, his undying faith that things would turn out for the best, but…

THIS WAS OUR ONLY GRANDDAUGHTER!

Jacob was on the same line of thought as myself, however, considering his condition, I bode more of a threat at actually flying to Volterra. The mass water intake had damaged his lungs, and so Carlisle was struggling with a very angry, very worried, and—quite frankly—practically insane shape-shifter.

"BUT I HAVE TO GO TOO!" he demanded, his dark eyes bulging almost identically with Edward's.

"Jacob, you would only be a liability—" Carlisle reasoned.

"YOU DON'T KNOW ME! YOU DON'T KNOW WHAT I CAN DO! I'M FINE—"

"Jacob, please, think of what Nessie would do if anything happened to you just because you didn't have enough patience—" I continued beseechingly.

"SCREW PATIENCE! THERE MIGHT NOT BE A NESSIE IF I DON'T SAVE HER!" he bellowed, thrashing against my iron grip. I struggled in keeping him down, my thoughts a forked road between his reasoning and my husbands.

"We have to think positively, Jacob, we—" Carlisle spoke calmly.

"POSITIVELY? DON'T YOU CARE AT ALL? SHE'S YOUR ONLY GRANDDAUGHTER!"

Carlisle winced, quickly but I noticed. He turned towards me, his golden eyes searching into mine for a reasonable response. My frown only deepened however. I wanted nothing more than to do what Jacob was asking…Carlisle could see that, and for once, his everlasting gleam of hope faltered, my support weighing heavily on him.

Jacob, who'd been watching our silent exchange through narrowed eyes, exhaled sharply before exploding once more.

"I KNEW IT! EVEN ESME KNOWS I'M RIGHT!"

I visibly cringed, turning my head away at his incriminating glower. I could feel Carlisle's disappointment in my obvious consent. However, instead of answering Jacob's pleas, I simply left the room.

"WHAT? THAT'S IT? WELL FUCK YOU TOO! FUCK YOU ALL! I'M LEAVING!"

"That's quite enough, dog," I heard Jasper spit out, suddenly in front of the wounded man, the venom apparent from his anger with Jacob's choice of words. I wanted badly to go and settle the tension, to keep everyone from each other's throats…but then the phone rang.

I answered it swiftly.

"Cullen residence."

"Ah yes, may I speak to the head of the household?" Already I could feel the darkness encircling my home, Alice's vision clouding above.

"He's detained at the moment, this is his wife, what can I do for you?" I spoke evenly.

"Ah, Esme I presume? So sorry to be calling this late, but I'm calling on behalf of Renesmee Cullen, she was found earlier today—"

"Yes, I'm aware of the implication," I interrupted, my anger, for once, taking over my usual steady self.

"Quite, quite. As is customary, we are asking that the girl's parents come to Volterra immediately. Them and them alone. This is a direct order from the council itself for the protection of our coven—"

"They are already on their way," I snarled, the threatening tone of my voice startling even me. I couldn't even begin to imagine why the rest of us were forbidden to follow, but—

"Yes, they told me that might be the case, but you know how it is with these things. Can't take the risk of a formal invite, after all," he was saying. I smoothly interrupted him.

"Is that all? Or is there more you'd like to burden my family with?" I spat.

I could almost hear the wicked grin on the other end of the line. "No, I think that is all. We wish your family the best, as usual, send our regards to Carlisle."

"Oh I'll send him—"

Click.

The line was dead…and I was furious.

I marched over to the now struggling Jacob versus Carlisle and Jasper. Alice was by my side in a flash.

"Esme, you can't—"

My eyes narrowed at her before turning towards my husband. Carlisle looked unsettled with my gaze.

"Honey," I stated, "get Jacob fixed up, and quick. I don't care what anyone says, Renesmee is a part of this family and I will not stand by to watch it shrivel to pieces. As soon as Jacob is decent, we're flying to Italy."

OOOhh! Way to go Esme! Sweet, nurturing, 'in the background Esme'…who'da thought? Lol, ok, a bit out of character, but she is the one that holds the family together right? Either way I thought it was pretty awesome :) Anyway, so this chapter was pretty much the beginning of Volterra. Volterra WILL extend to several chapters—hello, there has to be some action there, right?—and I hope you all like what is to come. Until then, please review and let me know your thoughts. Also, if you still haven't voted in my poll, please go to my profile and vote! Only fifteen votes as of now and I think I'm only going to have it up for another week or so before I publish my one-shot, so vote! Alright, will update as soon as I can, please review! Thanks.