Disclaimer: I do not own Twilight or any of the characters.
Chapter Nine
Eclipse 11-16
Legends
"Legends," Jasper read. "Seems like another chapter that you would be interested in, Carlisle."
"Indeed, I am," Carlisle said. "I've been really curious about the wolves for quite a while now."
"It's only been a few decades," Edward chuckled.
"Argh," Rosalie groaned, standing up.
"Where are you going, babe?" Emmett asked her.
"This is obviously going to be another mutt chapter," Rosalie said with narrowed eyes. "I don't need to waste my time listening to this. I'm going to hunt."
"But you might miss something good, babe," Emmett pouted.
"Doubt it," Rosalie scoffed.
"Let her go … maybe she won't be so mad when she gets back," Edward said, his lips pulling thin.
Rosalie growled at him.
"Okay, babe," Emmett sighed, "just hurry back before you miss the good stuff."
"Whatever," Rosalie said, disappearing less than a second later.
"Well, it looks like she was in a hurry," Emmett muttered, mostly trying to make sure that Rosalie couldn't hear him - she might still be in range.
"Oh, she does want to hear the next non-werewolf part … she just doesn't want to admit it," Edward smiled and Jasper decided it was best to start reading again.
Says are you gonna eat that hot dog:
"No dogs are disgusting to eat, even if they are hot," Emmett said, making a face and laughing. "It's not as fun when Rose isn't here to call me an idiot," he added, pouting this time.
"Idiot," Alice said, rolling her eyes exactly as Rosalie would have done.
"Yeah, that's better. Thanks Shortie," Emmett chuckled.
Mentions that Leah and Seth are there, and they were clearly in on the secret:
"Hm," Carlisle said again. "Why would they know?"
"Maybe they know because they're wolves too," Jasper narrowed his eyes. "It seems a little inconsistent that they would just tell those two about what's happening, but they didn't tell the others."
"Maybe they realized that it was just making it harder on the kids when they didn't know what was happening to them," Esme offered, "and they wanted to warn them."
"But why would it be these two … wouldn't they want to warn everyone if that was the case?" Jasper asked.
"Not necessarily," Carlisle said. "Harry was said to be on the council in the last book … it would be more likely that those two would be told, since they would have the gene."
Mentions that little Seth Clearwater wasn't so little anymore:
"It looks like he may be a werewolf, then," Jasper said.
"Or very close to becoming one," Carlisle sighed.
Mentions of Jared and Kim and how he stared at her:
"That must be really powerful, then," Esme smiled. "Maybe Leah is there because someone imprinted on her."
"I don't think so," Edward said. "They would have said something, or Bella would have noticed if one of the wolves were looking at her like that. It's not something that she would miss."
"Perhaps she is part of the council now too … she is an adult, I believe," Carlisle said.
"Maybe," Edward said, not looking convinced.
Billy tells the legend and saying it wasn't the magic of shape-shifting:
"You mean they're shape-shifters, not werewolves," Emmett said. "You think you know someone, and then they change all the rules on you."
"Idiot," Alice again made her imitation of Rosalie and Emmett chuckled – it obviously wasn't the same, but it still amused him.
"But it was obvious they weren't true werewolves anyway, seeing as they don't need the moon to transform," Carlisle said.
Mentions of Utlapa being a powerful and grasping man that wanted to use their magic to expand and enslave the other and build an empire:
"Starving for an empire will only make your tribe suffer in the end," Carlisle said. "Power isn't what leads to happiness … being around the ones you love is," he finished with a smile as he squeezed Esme's hand.
Mentions when they are spirit selves, they knew each other thoughts and because of Utlapa dream he was kicked out and he was furious and wanted revenge:
"Did he really have to kick him out for that choice?" Esme frowned. "Couldn't they just make it so that he couldn't be a spirit warrior anymore?"
"I would imagine it wouldn't have helped if he just did that," Carlisle said. "I would think that Taha Aki would have great compassion for his people, seeing as he was known for trying to keep the peace. It would have been a hard decision to kick Utlapa out of the tribe and I imagine that he wouldn't have had any other choice."
Utlapa takes over Taha Aki's body and then uses that body to kill Utlapa's abandoned body:
"That's a little disturbing, isn't it?" Emmett asked, "… killing your own body."
"But it makes sense … even if they were in the opposite bodies Taha Aki would have posed a real threat to Utlapa's plans," Jasper said.
Mentions being a spirit warrior was a burden, disorienting, and now that Taha Aki doesn't have a body he was in agony, he felt doom, never to cross over to the land of the ancestor, this torturous nothingness forever:
"Hm …." Edward said thoughtfully.
"There are some parallels between us," Carlisle said, looking at his son as though he was the one who could read minds and not the other way around. "But you must see that it's not the same thing …."
"No Carlisle, I can really see that now," Edward said, furrowing his eyebrows thoughtfully. "You're right that I did think like that in a way before - not the agony part, because this existence wasn't painful for me … it was just there. And I thought about the nothingness and that there would be no more after this but it's different now. I can see that when you have your other half, this existence is the other side …."
"Hmm …." Carlisle said, smiling this time, looking at Esme first and then at the rest of his family. "Though I'm still not ready to give up my theory, that isn't such a bad thought."
"No … it really isn't," Edward smiled back.
Taha Aki enters the wolf with a man's anger and that allowed him to transform into a man:
"Very interesting," Carlisle said.
"If that's really how it happened, it's incredible," Emmett said.
"You don't think they're right?" Jasper asked.
"It is an incredible story," Carlisle said. "Hard to believe, but there are so many things that happen in our world that are incredible - and they have a long memory. In fact, I think this has a very high chance of being real because of that fact. I only wish we had something like this to tell us where we came from … how vampires came into existence."
Taha Aki had kept the end of the spirit travel:
"But the time of the werewolves begins," Emmett said. "I wonder if they tried hard enough, if the wolves could turn into the spirit warriors now."
"Hm …." Carlisle said thoughtfully. "I would imagine that they have lost the knowledge of how to do that over the years …."
"But isn't that what you thought about the wolf thing?" Emmett asked.
"Yes," Carlisle frowned briefly before he went on with his theory, "but that's a little different. It seems like the wolf is part of their genetics … they're born that way. But the spirit warrior, I think that it was something they had to learned how to achieve and had pass that knowledge down through the generations."
"Whatever," Emmett shrugged.
The wolves came across something they never encountered, a sweet scent that burned their noses:
"Hmph …." Carlisle bowed his head. "It's a vampire. I knew they would have had to cross them at some point …."
"Yeah, they had to have learned about us in some way," Emmett said. "I wonder how many wolves they had … ."
"I fear the wolves will be at a disadvantage this time, even if they have numbers," Carlisle frowned. "They have no idea about vampires or how to deal with them …."
"Oh, dear," Esme sighed, shivering a little.
Bella mentions getting closer to Jacob after that, and the corner of Jacob mouth twitched with humor:
"Why with humor, pup?" Emmett asked.
"Because she's obviously worried about the wolves," Esme said.
"And afraid of the vampires," Edward added, almost smiling, but he looked annoyed at the same time.
Mention that the Cold Woman was the most beautiful thing human eyes seen:
"Hmph …." they all heard a noise from outside and a second later Rosalie was back in the room. "It looks like I didn't stay away long enough …."
"Why's that Rose … are you jealous of the Cold Woman?" Edward smirked at her.
Rosalie just glared at him.
"Or are you just dying to hear what happens next in the book?" Edward continued to smirk.
"Shut up, Edward," Rosalie hissed, taking a seat.
Mentions that the third wife had plunged the knife into her own heart:
"No!" Edward gritted his teeth.
"Why are you mad at this?" Jasper asked.
"Because he doesn't want Bella to know this story," Alice answered. She came up with the same conclusion as Edward, though she was more worried than angry. Bella would do something like that if she thought that it would help any of them survive.
"Right," Jasper almost paled a little. "This isn't good."
Explains that they passed the knowledge of fighting the cold ones from wolf mind to wolf mind, father to son:
"It makes them very effective foes," Jasper said. "Most vampires would instantly underestimate their power and they would have an advantage in the beginning."
"Of course that doesn't help them with us so much," Edward said.
"No, we are on even ground with them there," Jasper nodded, looking a little pleased by the fact.
"Another reason I'm sure that they don't want a real fight with us – any more than we want with them. There is a much higher chance that they would lose a loved one," Carlisle added.
Mentions that a bigger coven came during the wolves great grandfather's time:
"But they were too amazing to fight," Emmett said boisterously.
"Idiot," Rosalie said, rolling her eyes.
"I missed you, babe," Emmett gave her a broad smile which she just had to return.
Bella dreams of Rosalie was lunging at an enormous wolf, that she thought was Billy:
"Why is she envisioning me fighting him?" Rosalie scrunched her nose.
"I think it's just a representation for the Cold Woman and Taha Aki fighting," Carlisle said.
"It looks like she picked you as the beautiful Cold Woman," Emmett smiled at her.
"Hmph … and the villain," Rosalie said trying to look annoyed, but it was obvious she was pleased too.
Bella thinks whoever ransacked her hamper critically impaired her wardrobe:
"Which is the worst part of this whole situation, I'm sure," Emmett smirked.
"It's close," Alice said seriously.
"It is not," Edward glared at her.
"You're right … this means I can go shopping with her … or for her," Alice said excitedly.
Edward just rolled his eyes at her.
O
Time
Alice tells Bella that they're having a graduation party:
"You're throwing her a party?" Emmett laughed. "That's got to be worse than prom for her - all the attention she will get for sure."
"Great," Edward groaned.
"I never had a graduation party before," Alice said, suddenly excited. "Think of the decorations that I could use … and the …."
"Poor Bella, she's going to be totally overwhelmed," Jasper sighed.
"Hey … who's side are you on?" Alice glared at him.
"Yours, always," Jasper smiled at her. "I can just relate to Bella's feelings towards parties."
Alice says by the way, I love my gift:
"That's really annoying, you know," Jasper said. "I can never surprise you."
"But you still try," Alice smiled at him. "Besides, you always surprise me, Jazz … Just not when you're actually giving me the gift."
Alice says that graduation is exactly one week from today:
Edward stiffened at that.
"It's going to be okay, Edward," Esme soothed.
"Yeah, Eddy, she's just turning into a vampire … . it's not the end of the world," Emmett smiled.
"But …." Edward started, his eyes looking pained.
"We know," Alice said, "but you can't change what's coming in these books … so just deal with it."
"Right," Edward frowned, still looking glum.
Bella thinks that the date she been looking towards feels like the firing squad:
Edward flinched and everyone else looked wary, even Emmett. It was one thing if she was willing but knowing that she was terrified made her transformation seem much more ominous.
Bella thinks about where her resolve had gone and why she was panicking now that the deadline was coming:
"It's the last step she has to overcome," Carlisle said thoughtfully. "Actually, I'm happy that she's thinking this way …."
"Why?" Edward glared at him. "She's terrified."
"And she should be," Carlisle explained. "This is a major life … er … existence-changing event. I was worried before that she was taking this all too lightly. That she was just going to stubbornly stick to her decision because she made her mind up long ago. Or because she thought she was a weakness to this family or a threat to it…but now she's really thinking about it, thinking about all the consequences of the decision and all there is to be gained by it."
"Do you think that she will change her mind?" Edward asked, sounding hopeful.
"It's difficult to say," Carlisle sighed. "She has to look deep inside herself and see what she really wants …."
"Then she'll still want to change," Alice said confidently, "because she wants you more than anything."
"Hmph … I said that she had me either way" Edward frowned.
The only way this really works is if she's a vampire too, Alice thought to Edward. Especially in these books, though you know it would be good … he gave her a death glare at that point … you know I'm not going to change her, I can't. But you have to see, in this reality at least, that it really is necessary that she change … with the way she's thinking and the Volturi out there … you know that's a threat even if you don't want to admit it. So, in the end, she'll decide to be with you as a vampire.
Edward says all the more reason to wait:
"Well, that doesn't make any sense," Emmett said.
"She's not changing out of fear!" Edward snapped.
"I get that," Emmett said, rolling his eyes, "but that doesn't mean it's a reason to wait. It shouldn't have an impact on her decision at all …."
"But it does," Edward said stubbornly, but otherwise let the matter drop.
Edward says worrying and he picked out the word with surprise:
"Yeah, worrying, you idiot!" Alice hissed. "You think you could be venomously against her being a vampire and not have her worry about the obvious?"
"The obvious?" Edward asked.
"You not wanting her forever, Eddy," Emmett said. "Even I can see that one. Of course, it's only because I think you're being ridiculous about that, but still …."
"Well, that's not it," Edward grumbled.
"We're not the ones you need to tell," Esme said. "If this issue ever comes up in our reality, you have to make sure that she knows how you really feel, Edward. Tell her how you really feel and never let her doubt you."
"Right," Edward sighed.
Edward says I know you believe I have a soul but I'm not entirely convinced on that point:
"Not entirely convinced?" Carlisle smiled and Edward looked flabbergasted. "Which means you're really starting to think that it's possible."
"I …." Edward stammered, unable to say anything and Carlisle continued to beam at him.
Bella says that you won't like me as much when I'm different no longer soft and warm and smell the same, you want to keep me:
"Is she kidding?" Edward scoffed. "I would like her no matter what she is."
"And I doubt you would really miss most of those things," Emmett said, "especially the smell."
"Honestly, Edward, your throat must be permanently on fire being so close to her all the time," Jasper said. "It would be such a relief to finally not have to deal with that and really get to enjoy being near her."
"That's true," Edward agreed, "but I'm sure that there are a lot of things that I'm going to miss about her being human. I'll no longer get to hear her talk in her sleep … and I'll miss looking into her brown eyes …."
"Then you'll just have to find new things to like about her when she's a vampire," Alice smiled at him.
Edward says you don't want to be my wife:
"Oh … I suppose I really do what her to answer this one," Alice smiled. "It will make it easier for you to make her want to marry you."
"Told you it would be a good thing," Esme smiled, looking just as hopeful as Alice was.
"No, Bella, don't answer that," Emmett said. "Stall until the end of the book!"
Bella says it's just so … so embarrassing:
"That's right, it's so embarrassing to be married to this idiot," Emmett laughed.
"Emmett!" Esme glared at him and he stopped laughing immediately. "I don't want to hear from you, any of you, until we hear Bella's reasoning."
"Okay," Emmett agreed, it was obvious that Esme really wanted to hear the reason behind Bella not wanting to marry Edward.
After Bella speech about getting married so young and saying I wasn't going to be that girl:
Edward furrowed his eyebrows in thought, looking a little down at that.
"Don't worry, Edward, she'll come around," Esme said, putting her hand on his shoulder. "It's just a stereotype that she has to overcome … she loves you more than she cares what other people think."
"I know … it's actually not so bad," Edward said, "it's just the way she said it. Do you realize what century this is … I was just thinking how different things are now."
"Does this mean that I can talk again?" Emmett asked.
Esme sighed, "I guess."
Edward says that she was eager for immortality itself and not just him:
"And you think that she was crazy to think what she did?" Alice scoffed. "When did she ever care about that?"
"I don't know what she's thinking, Alice," Edward grumbled. "And she turned down my proposal like it was nothing …."
"Well, it was an awful proposal …." Alice said.
"You really should have done it better than that," Esme said.
"Sorry," Edward said, "but that wasn't the point. The point is she rejected it, but still wanted to live forever … I don't know, I must have worried."
"Idiot," Alice said, shaking her head.
When Bella says there's no point in forever without you:
"Why couldn't you see that after everything that happened in the last book?" Esme reproved. "She went through so much just to save you."
"I don't know," Edward frowned.
After the headline about Seattle:
"Great!" Edward groaned. "So it looks like the Seattle vampire … or vampires, are still there."
"Which means the Volturi haven't come," Carlisle said, "and that they couldn't have been the ones in Bella's room."
"I'm still not so sure about that," Edward said. "It looks like things are just getting worse in Seattle … this isn't good."
After comparing this to a serial killer:
"They think it's a serial killer …?" Jasper shook his head. "I don't understand why the Volturi haven't come to stop this yet."
Edward growled at that.
"I just mean, if it's this serious … if it's in the news like this …." Jasper said, continuing to shake his head. "They should have come by now."
The end of the article:
Carlisle read this as quickly as he could, looking more and more appalled the longer he read.
"You're right, Jazz … the Volturi should have stopped this long before it got to this point," Edward said. "This is dangerously close to exposing our world."
"Yeah," Jasper agreed, but it looked like his mind was somewhere else now.
"We have to go down there. Take care of this problem before that happens," Emmett said with an anticipating smile.
"You know that this isn't really happening now, right?" Rosalie pointed out to him.
"You think?" Edward asked, narrowing his eyes at Jasper and whatever it was he was thinking.
"I'm not sure … but there are certain patterns that are very familiar to me," Jasper said.
"What are you talking about?" Emmett asked.
"He thinks someone is making a newborn army," Edward replied, "but why would they do that?"
"I don't know," Jasper frowned, though it looked like he had an idea - one that Edward didn't seem to like any more than he did.
Carlisle decided it was best to just keep reading; it was likely the story would go along with what they were thinking and that would get the answers out there more quickly.
Bella thinks that Jasper was less committed to their lifestyle was probably why he had more difficulty keeping up:
"Hmph," Jasper huffed.
"It doesn't seem like she knows you very well," Alice frowned.
"Except for his love for you," Esme pointed out with a smile.
"I would imagine that Jasper isn't really around her that much," Edward explained, "with everything that happened …."
"No, I wouldn't be," Jasper bowed his head. "I just wish she didn't think that way."
"Don't worry, I'm sure she'll understand you better soon," Alice encouraged.
"Right," Jasper sighed.
Bella sees Edward rolled his eyes, but otherwise ignored his favorite brother:
"Hey!" Jasper said at the same time that Emmett said, "That's right!"
"Er … that was just Bella saying that," Edward said to Jasper.
"But I am your favorite, Eddy," Emmett said, patting Edward on the back.
"Not at the moment, you're not," Edward grumbled.
Bella's thoughts on how little she had to do with Jasper after he had tried to kill her on her birthday and being surprised when Jasper says she's one of us too:
Jasper just bowed his head again at that sentence, especially at the reminder that he had tried to kill her.
"I think she's happy though," Alice said sweetly to him, "that you think that way about her."
"Yeah," Jasper said, looking a little less glum.
Edward says I'm sure you can understand why I haven't told her that story:
"You know, for trying to convince her that becoming a vampire is a bad thing, you don't really use the deterrents available to you," Rosalie said. "Our stories probably could help you with that."
"Yeah, well they're not really happy stories," Edward said. "Not something that I want her to know."
"Right," Rosalie said. "Maybe you're not as opposed to the idea of her changing as you say you are."
"No, I am," Edward frowned at her.
O
Newborn
Jasper saying that vampire venom is the only thing that leaves a scar:
"Do you think if one of the werewolves bit our hand off and we put it back on, there wouldn't be a scar?" Emmett asked.
"Actually, I'm not sure about that, but I don't think so," Jasper said. "I think our skin would just reattach itself and there wouldn't be any visible scarring."
Jasper explains that it occurred to someone that if they were the only vampire in Mexico City, they could feed all the want and no one would ever noticed:
"I still don't get it," Esme frowned. "The world is big enough … there is so much that they don't really need to do all that fighting."
"Most of us didn't realize that this wasn't the way it was in the rest of the world," Jasper said.
"I know, I know," Esme sighed, they had had this conversation before. "I just think it's sad that that is the way that they have to live their lives."
Jasper explains when the body count reached epidemic proportion the Volturi came and killed the vampire that started the newborn armies and the moved on to the rest:
"I wonder how good of a fight the newborns put up against the Volturi," Emmett muttered.
"They were no match for the Volturi, seeing as they had an army too - only theirs was made up of mature vampires," Jasper said.
"I know, but don't you think that if you knew the Volturi were coming, you would just make a huge army …." Emmett said.
"They tried … it didn't work," Jasper said.
Jasper explains that every now and then the Volturi have to come back to clean up the army, but they let the careful ones continue:
"I wish they wouldn't have," Esme muttered. "It might have settled that matter there and then there wouldn't be a war anymore …."
"I don't think it would be that simple," Jasper said.
Jasper says that they were the three most beautiful women I had ever seen:
"Up until that time at least," Jasper said, smiling at Alice. "I have found a much more beautiful woman since then."
"Hmph," was all Alice said to that. She really didn't like the next part, especially how close he was with Maria, though she knew there was nothing really there.
Jasper explains that Maria had inhaled deeply and says mmm, lovely:
"Hm …." Edward said.
"What are you thinking about?" Jasper asked, confused. Everyone had heard this story too many times to be thoughtful about much of anything.
"I was just wondering if you smelled better to her than most humans," Edward explained.
"I don't know," Jasper said. "It almost seemed that way, but of course, I was the only human there … why?"
"Well, we knew that Alice smelled good too," Edward said, his voice sharp and his eyes hard as he thought of James.
"Yes," Jasper said, his eyes narrowed, looking rather angry about the reminder.
"And maybe you smelled better too," Edward went on, looking like he didn't want to dwell on the bitter memory. "Carlisle, do know if I smelled any better?"
"Sorry, Edward, but I don't really notice the differences in human's scents," Carlisle said. "I mean, I can obviously pick up the different scent they give off, however I don't associate it with food anymore, so I doubt my sense of smell is as good as yours … or anyone else."
"So, you don't know if any of us smelled different than most humans?" Edward frowned.
"No," Carlisle said. "Why Edward?"
"Well, I was just thinking that we know of at least two people that smelled better than the average person, Bella and Alice, and Jasper may have too," Edward said, "and they both, or perhaps all three, have extra abilities …."
"You think that Bella will have a gift?" Carlisle gaped.
"She already does, doesn't she?" Edward said. "No one can get into her head. I don't really understand that, but I'm sure that it will make her different."
"True, I'm interested to see what that will evolve into once …." Carlisle started, but Edward's hiss made him stop. "Sorry … but at least I can find out in these books and that will quench my thirst for knowledge …."
"True," Edward frowned at that thought, but went on. "I was wondering if perhaps their abilities made them smell sweeter …."
"Interesting theory," Carlisle nodded his head, "very interesting."
"Doesn't that make it sound like she's meant to be a vampire … ?" Alice smirked at her brother.
"No," Edward hissed.
"But come on, Edward, your theory makes it clear that she should …." Alice continued.
"No," Edward growled this time.
"Maybe that's why she smelled so good to you in particular," Carlisle said, ignoring the little squabble between siblings. "Because your powers are almost complete opposites … what with you being able to read everyone's mind and she able to stop everyone from getting into hers."
"Interesting," Edward said.
Jasper describes that his instinct says Maria was dangerous, but his judgment overruled his instincts:
"There's another similarity you have with Bella … her instinct is always being overruled," Edward smiled.
"But she has more of a reason to feel that way," Jasper smiled too, "with us being vegetarians and all."
Jasper pauses and then says a few days later:
"Thank you," Edward said, looking like he was fearful that he was going to tell Bella about the painful transformation.
"I'm sure that your book self was a lot worse than you were just now …." Jasper chuckled. "I don't think I had much of choice with that one."
Jasper explains that Maria wanted a superior army and sought specific humans:
"How did she know that?" Edward asked, narrowing his eyes. "Did you ever ask?"
"No," Jasper said, "but it was obvious that she thought I was special …."
"And you are, but no one else in her … er … army was, were they?" Edward asked.
"No," Jasper shook his head, "at least no one else had special gifts. I think that she just thought that by choosing soldiers, she would have better fighters … that they would have more knowledge of battle."
Maria had put Jasper in charged of the others and the casualties within their army went down:
"So, Jazz, you never did say how many of them you killed before you were promoted," Emmett said, smiling.
"A fair few … they really weren't any challenge for me," Jasper smirked. "You might have had a harder time with it …."
"Hey, you know that's not true," Emmett chuckled. "I would have crushed the competition."
"Sure," Jasper said, slowly rolling his eyes and Emmett started to pout.
Jasper says that he worshipped the ground Maria walked on:
Alice never liked hearing that part, though she didn't make any move to show this, Jasper gave her one of his smiles that always made her feel better - stupid vampire who could read her emotions, how was she supposed to act nonchalant when he could do that?
Jasper says that he put together a army that was strong and organized and skilled like no other was before:
"Do you think you could have caused a problem for the Volturi?" Emmett asked.
"No," Jasper answered immediately. "Even though we were better than the average newborn army … we never would have stood a chance. Why are you so interested in the Volturi this time?"
"Well, with these books, they just seem a lot more real than they ever have before," Emmett shrugged. "I mean, before I've just heard about them, but … but now …."
"You've still only just heard about them," Alice smirked.
"You know what I mean, Shortie," Emmett grumbled. "Don't you feel like you know more about them now that you've heard them in action?"
"I guess," Alice shrugged.
"Anyway, I would just like to know how strong you really think those guys are," Emmett shrugged. "Is that so weird?"
Jasper mentions that he was averse to destroying Peter when he escaped with Charlotte:
"That's a good thing, too," Emmett said. "Peter is a good guy … excellent competition in a match."
"For you maybe," Jasper said smugly. "And it is a good thing … I would imagine I would still be in the South if Peter hadn't come back for me."
"Nah, you wouldn't have," Emmett disagreed. "Shortie would have gone and got you if you made her wait any longer than you did."
"That's probably true," Alice smiled at Jasper.
Jasper explains that after a century of instant gratification it was hard to find self-discipline:
"You will, don't worry," Carlisle said, noticing the look of concern on Jasper's face.
"It must be so hard for you to go from that horrible climate …." Esme said, starting to fret like she often did.
"Yes, but it really made me appreciate our life more," Jasper said.
Jasper says that Alice had seen Carlisle and his family and that they went to find them:
"Why did you see us though?" Emmett asked. "Why did you see Jasper?"
"I saw Jasper because I had made up my mind that I wanted to find someone … that I didn't want to be alone, and he's the one that I saw because he was always my future," Alice said, smiling at Jasper before turning her gaze back to Emmett. "You know that, Em."
"Right … but what about us?" Emmett pressed.
"It's what I saw us doing next," Alice said, looking at him confused.
"But why?" Emmett asked impatiently.
"Oh," Edward said. "That is interesting."
"What?" Alice asked. "I never really thought of the reason behind this before … I'm just glad that I followed it."
"He thinks you saw us because you saw what Jasper's decision was leading him to," Edward said. "That he had decided to try to not kill humans … at least as much as he can, and so you saw us …."
"That does make sense," Carlisle agreed. "Why didn't I think of that?"
"But I saw you before I even met Jasper," Alice replied, furrowing her eyebrows.
"But you saw Jasper first, right?" Edward asked.
"Yes," Alice said. "And I was waiting there a while before I even saw you …." Maybe he's right. The vision hit me very suddenly. I didn't even realize it at the time, but it did feel similar to when someone had made up their mind about something …."I think you might be right."
Edward mentions the only possible threat that required the creation of an army is the Cullens:
"Yes, I did think of that," Carlisle sighed. "But I hope that it's not so."
"But knowing these books, it probably is," Edward frowned, looking like he had come to the same conclusion as his book self.
Carlisle saying that there's no reason for the Volturi:
"Oh, they have a reason," Edward said. "We saw that they were very interested in convincing some of us to join them."
"But they wouldn't have done that," Carlisle argued. "They would not set up a newborn army just so they could destroy our family. It goes against everything they stand for."
"I'm not sure they're exactly who you think they are," Edward frowned.
"Perhaps not," Carlisle agreed, "but I still don't see them doing this. I must admit, though, that they are probably waiting to see what this army is going to do to us …." he added, sounding bitter and harsh, "but that's very different than setting this up …."
"Maybe," Edward said thoughtfully.
Jasper thinks that the vampire is a first timer and the Volturi can't be involved:
"Hm …." Edward said thoughtfully.
"You're more convinced by that, aren't you?" Carlisle almost smiled at his son. "By what Jasper said."
"Yes," Edward nodded. "I'm sorry, but I don't really think the Volturi are above anything … add to it what my book self just said …."
They call Tanya and then Edward says damn Laurent to the deepest pit of hell:
"They're not going to help us," Edward said incredulously. "Because of Laurent …."
"It sounds like Irina may have had true feelings for him," Esme said sadly.
"But why would that stop them from helping us?" Emmett asked. "He had nothing to do with this fight …."
Rosalie decided to keep reading to get the answer.
Bella remembering Laurant saying I actually came here as a favor to her:
"Victoria … do you think that she could be the one behind this?" Edward asked, narrowing his eyes.
"Yes," Jasper said looking at him. "She has the motive and she would know by now that she would need an army to get what she wants …."
Edward growled loudly at that.
Explains that Laurant was with Tanya's family before his death:
Alice sat in silence, deep in thought. I wonder if they talked about me … about my powers. If they did, that might explain how I can't see what's coming. She might have learned how to get around my visions.
Edward's head snapped up to look at her, his eyes wide, and he seem to be saying 'do you really think that's it?'
It does make sense … I really should have seen these things coming, Alice continued to think.
Carlise says that they have a truce with the wolves, and they will honor it:
"They want to go after the wolves," Edward hissed.
"I won't let that happen," Carlisle said.
"Why not … we need their help," Rosalie said. "They're not asking us to help them …."
"It doesn't matter, I won't let that happen," Carlisle argued. "It's not right …."
"They were saving Bella from that monster … he deserved what he got," Edward said harshly. "And Carlisle's right, we have to protect them."
"Hey … we could get the wolves to help us!" Emmett shouted with a wide smirk. "They would love to fight an army of vampires!"
"Yeah, they really would," Edward smiled.
"That's an excellent idea," Jasper said, smiling too. "With their help, it would almost be easy … it might be difficult to get them to come with us to Seattle though …."
"If Victoria is really behind this, I don't think we'll have to go to Seattle," Edward said. "And if not, it will be all too easy to get the wolves involved … I'm sure Bella will let them know all this soon enough."
O
Declaration
Bella thinks that Edward wasn't the one that would be left behind wondering if the core of his existence is going to come back:
"Hmm … I suppose she does have a point there," Alice said, looking at Edward. There's no way that you could tolerate that if the roles were reversed.
Edward didn't answer. The look in his eyes seemed to convey both that he knew that was true and that he knew that he would never let Bella be the one to do that.
Bella says I hate being babysat:
"You know, if you didn't make it sound like that, she might be happy to stay with me," Alice glared at Edward.
"Sorry," Edward shrugged.
Edward searches for something in her face but there's nothing but curiosity:
"Were you worried that you would scare her off or something?" Emmett laughed.
"I suppose I am," Edward sighed.
"I thought that was so two books ago," Alice teased. "She's not going anywhere now, no matter what you do."
"Right," Edward smiled.
Bella thought that she was willing to have a stranger die to keep Edward safe:
"Er … I don't know if I should take that as a good thing or if I should be upset that she thinks that way," Edward frowned.
"Just be happy," Esme said. "It's just a thought … and she wants you to be safe more than anything else."
Bella asks stronger than Emmett, and Edward's grin got bigger and says yes:
"Pfft, yeah right," Emmett scoffed.
"What to make a bet on that?" Jasper grinned.
"Sure," Emmett said as confidently as ever. "The usual."
"Sure," Jasper agreed, already thinking about what he was going to do with the money he would win. Alice could see flickers of some of the gifts for her he was contemplating, but he wasn't settling on anything yet.
Bella mentions she might write her History essay on vampire wars in the South:
"That would be hilarious," Emmett laughed.
"But it wouldn't be good," Edward grumbled.
"Geez, relax … it's not like anything would come of it," Emmett exclaimed, looking at Edward like he had gone crazy, though this time most the room was looking at him like that.
"I just don't think that would be good when the Volturi already think that she knows too much," Edward muttered, rolling his eyes.
Bella mentions getting delivered to the border line like a child being exchanged by custodial guardians:
"She's viewing you as a father again," Rosalie said, though this time her voice wasn't critical toward Edward.
"I'm trying my hardest to …." Edward grumbled, "I don't know how much more understanding of the m- pup I can be."
"I know, Edward," Rosalie sighed.
Bella asks you're not listening to Jacob are you:
"Well, of course I am," Edward said.
"I wonder what the mutt is thinking," Rosalie said.
"I didn't know you cared about him," Emmett teased and received a glare for his trouble.
"I just think that it has to be bad for Edward to react the way he just did," Rosalie explained, "especially since he's been trying to downplay his true feelings around Bella lately."
Jacob says he's hurt that he didn't get an invitation to Alice's graduation party:
"As if I want him there," Alice scoffed.
"You might not get your wish in that," Emmett laughed. "I bet Bella is going to invite him."
"Whatever … it's not like he would come, even if she did invite him," Alice shrugged.
"You want to bet on that?" Emmett asked.
"Not particularly," Alice said. "Betting's not really my thing …."
"Really?" Emmett raised an eyebrow. "What about our previous bet?"
"Oh, that wasn't betting," Alice waved him off. "I know I'm right! But this … you could be right …."
Emmett stared at her oddly for a second.
"What?" Alice asked.
"But that's the fun of betting … not knowing," Emmett explained.
"And that's why I find that I don't like betting," Alice smirked.
"You're really weird, Shortie," Emmett said, shaking his head.
Bella says I wish you would come, it would be more fun, for me, I mean:
"I might find it entertaining too," Emmett laughed.
"Is that you or your book self?" Jasper asked.
"Well, I definitely will, but perhaps my book self will too," Emmett chuckled. "Depends on what the pup does."
Bella thoughts on Edward being the one to change her, that he would choose to change her, he would act to keep her:
Edward sighed at that.
"What is it?" Jasper asked.
"It sort of makes sense when she puts it like that," Edward said. "But I still don't like the idea of …." he trailed off with a shiver.
Bella can't find her phone:
"Great," Edward groaned.
"Why do you care so much?" Emmett asked.
"I'm just going to be worried more," Edward shrugged, but he seemed to be a little too tense right now for it to just be that.
"What is it?" Jasper asked.
"I don't think I'm going to like what's coming next," Edward shrugged.
Jacob says I'm in love with you Bella:
Edward let out a growl.
"She really shouldn't be going there all the time when she knows that's how he feels," Esme sighed. "It's not really good for him …."
Jacob says he needed the truth out there and didn't want a miscommunication to stand in their way:
"There hasn't been any miscommunication," Edward hissed. "She knows how you feel and she doesn't feel that way about you."
"That was the end of the chapter," Alice said and Edward snatched the book from her, needing to know what happened next. Alice looked at him warily, not sure if he could actually handle reading this chapter, but there was no stopping him now.
O
Wager Edward said, shooting a brief glare at his brothers – knowing without a doubt that they had bet on something he wouldn't like – before he continued reading.
Jacob asks do you want me to go away and never see you again:
"Yes," Edward muttered.
"I don't think that's her answer," Emmett smirked.
"It should be," Rosalie said. "It's cruel to string the guy along like that."
Even Edward was only able to look at her weirdly.
"I'm not saying this in defense of the mutt," Rosalie growled at everyone. "I just doesn't sound like her …."
"No, it doesn't," Edward agreed and before anyone could say anything else he started reading again.
Jacob says all the more reason to fight, fight harder now while I can:
Edward sighed and Alice rolled her eyes. You are not actually thinking it would be better if he won, are you?
Edward raised an eyebrow as if to say 'I might be.'
I know you want her to stay human, but honestly, Edward, to let him win … Alice just shook her head. Didn't you already learn this lesson, that she doesn't want anyone but you.
Edward sighed again, but smiled a little too.
Bella notices Jacob is resolved, and she tries to object but it's too late:
Sensing the danger here, Emmett snatched the book from Edward. It was probably just in time too, because his hands were clenched in tight fists as he growled and glared at the book.
Mentions Bella shoving against his chest but Jacob didn't even notice:
Edward wasn't the only one growling at this point, and Rosalie's reaction seemed to be almost as bad as his.
Bella stops trying to struggle and shuts down and waited for him to stop:
"I'm going to break that stupid mutt's face," Edward growled. "How dare he do this!"
"It's appalling!" Esme said, looking really angry.
Bella punches Jacob in the mouth has hard as she can:
At this, Emmett dropped the book. He was laughing so hard he couldn't seem to hold onto it. He wasn't the only one laughing at this one. It seemed like this had successfully broken some of the tension that had been building in the room.
"I can't believe she actually punched him!" Emmett was finally able to say.
"She does have quite the temper," Jasper said, laughing too.
"She has every right to punch that stupid mutt," Rosalie seethed. She was still angry, but obviously pleased with the way Bella had handled the situation. The only thing was …."I just wish it was you who was doing the punching," she turned to Edward who had a proud smile.
"So do I," Edward said.
"Are you kidding me? This is so much better!" Emmett laughed. "Imagine, little Bella punching the big bad wolf … . hysterical!"
"I totally agree with you, Em," Alice laughed. "That was perfect."
After everyone settled down, Edward picked up the book. He seemed to think that he could handle reading now.
Mentions there was a crunching sound.
"Oh, dear … I hope she's okay," Esme gasped. The fact that she hadn't protested the punch in the first place said a lot about how she was feeling at the moment.
"Hm … she must have really punched him hard," Carlisle said, somewhere between amusement and concern. "She might have broken it."
Edward's proud smirk wavered a little as concern filtered his eyes.
Bella says no dammit, you broke my hand:
Emmett chuckled at that.
"She's hurt …." Edward started, though he too didn't look nearly as upset as he normally would have been when she was hurt.
"Yeah, because he broke her hand," Emmett continued to laugh.
Jacob saying that Edward couldn't even kiss Bella like that because he would hurt her, and that Jacob would never hurt her:
Edward looked down when the mutt mentioned the fact that he always had to hold back because he could so easily hurt her.
"Yeah, except if you get mad one day and phase too quickly," Alice added, knowing exactly where Edward's mind was going by the slight slump of his shoulders.
"And Edward could never hurt Bella either," Esme said.
Charlie says, good for you kid:
"Idiot!" Rosalie hissed. "That's not something you should be congratulating him for."
"Well, you know that Charlie would prefer the mutt over Edward," Alice said coldly.
"Idiot," Rosalie repeated.
Edward answers the phone and sounds more than relieve, he was delighted:
"You knew this was going to happen?" Jasper asked, looking at Edward oddly.
"No, I didn't know it would be this," Edward said.
"But you knew the mutt was going to declare himself," Rosalie said.
"Yeah … I would think so." Edward frowned.
"Then why did you let her go?" Jasper asked incredulously.
"I don't know," Edward sighed.
Edward says he's proud of Bella for putting her force behind the punch:
"Everything she had," Emmett chuckled. "I really think I'm going to be winning that bet if she's able to punch her best friend like this."
"Whatever," Jasper said, looking wary about that at the moment, but still confident that he would win.
Mention of Jacob's expression was alert and eager:
"Well, it looks like someone is looking for a fight," Emmett laughed.
"Argh," Edward groaned, "one that I can't really give him."
"Why not?" Rosalie asked.
"No, he's right," Jasper sighed. "The wolves could take this as the start of a war."
"I don't think that would happen," Carlisle said. "Though, I still don't think you should fight with him, Edward, though I don't think this would start a war between us. I doubt Jacob would want that and I don't think Sam would allow it."
Rosalie says that Jasper is going to win the bet:
"What bet?" Emmett asked in anticipation, looking at Jasper.
"How should I know?" Jasper shrugged. "But I'm sure Bella is going to find out soon enough."
Edward says that they are betting on how many times Bella slips in the first year:
"Oh," Emmett chuckled. "It looks like we think the same way as we do now."
"Did you really think that we would have changed that much in a year?" Rosalie asked.
"I don't know. I think we might have changed a little," Jasper smiled.
"What do you mean?" Emmett asked.
"Well, we might come up with the same bet, but it seems like we may have picked different sides," Jasper said.
"You mean I'm betting small and you big?" Emmett asked. "Yeah, that would make sense after what my book Rose said … I guess this means that either way she reacts, I still win."
"Sorry, but not quite," Jasper smirked. "Seeing as it's never going to happen the book way, only our bet matters."
"Whatever," Emmett shrugged, smiling too this time, still obviously thinking that he was going to win.
Bella thinks about the bet and wondering what they bet:
"Well …." Emmett started, but Edward cut him off.
"Don't you see what your ridiculous betting has done to her?" Edward snapped at both his brothers. It was clear that he would snap about this issue sooner or later, but he didn't have a reason to until now. "You're making her more nervous than she already is!"
"Sorry," Jasper sighed. "I'm sure it was not my intention for her to ever find out about it."
"Jazz, you guys didn't even bet what was going to happen in real life," Alice rolled her eyes. "They're just betting on the books outcome, Edward!"
"Yeah, Eddy, you have to yell at the other Emmett and Jasper … they're the ones you're mad at," Emmett chuckled.
Edward glared at them for a second and then started reading again.
Bella thinks about killing humans and being out of control and that she would be the monster that took that away from them:
"Hmm …." Carlisle said.
"What is it?" Edward asked. He was looking down at everything he had read and was surprised to hear the almost hopeful tone in Carlisle's voice.
"I was just thinking that it's interesting how conscious she is about this fact, even before she transforms," Carlisle mused. "It will truly be intriguing to see how she handles the transformation when she's one of us."
Bella mentions being the nightmarish image of the newborns Jasper painted:
"And you wondered why I didn't tell her about Jasper's past," Edward sighed.
"Yep," Rosalie said. "Doesn't it seem like a good deterrent?"
"It's putting awful visions in her head," Edward frowned.
Bella thinks that there is nothing in this world that she wants more than Edward and if that would change once she was a vampire:
"Yes, it would change…to a certain extent," Edward frowned.
"But only for a little while in the grand scheme of things," Alice said. "The bloodlust only last a year or so, and after that, all she'll want is you."
Bella thinks was there a human experience that I was not willing to give up:
"I wonder what human experience she wants," Emmett said, waggling his eyebrows suggestively.
Edward tried to look like this wasn't affecting him, but he was looking worried as he handed the book over to Emmett, saying the chapter was finished.
O
Epoch
Bella thinks when she puts the two situations together in one sentence:
"NO!" Edward shouted. "THEY'RE AFTER BELLA!"
"They're the ones that took her scent," Jasper said, looking worried.
"We have to stop them now … I don't want them coming anywhere near her," Edward growled.
"I don't know why you're so worked up. This is a good thing," Emmett said.
"WHAT?!" Edward growled as he turned to him, looking like he was about to attack.
"Er … I didn't mean good," Emmett exclaimed, raising his hands. "I just meant … you know, with the preface …."
"Oh," Rosalie said, "you think that this is the danger that everyone was in?"
"I still don't see the good part yet," Edward hissed, and it looked like he was using all his strength to not attack his brother.
"That the newborn army is better than the Volturi," Emmett said calmly, confident that that was going to get his point across.
Edward did relax his stance slightly. He wasn't going to be attacking anyone, but he still looked tense. "She still has an army coming for her," he groaned.
"But one that we can beat," Emmett stated confidently.
"Perhaps, but it's not going to be easy," Jasper said, looking like he was calculating something, though he too looked relieved that it wasn't really the Volturi they would be facing. "This doesn't really change much of what we were thinking before … except now, we know that the army is the only threat that is after us right now."
Edward hissed at that. "After her … not us! And we don't know it's the only threat! We don't know who started this army! The Volturi might …."
"Edward, it's not them," Carlisle assured him. "I've already told you they wouldn't create a newborn army."
"He's right. I think Victoria is the most likely suspect," Jasper said.
Edward growled again.
"Don't worry, Edward," Esme said, although she looked like she needed to take her own advice. "Everything will be okay. We'll protect Bella …."
"Besides, didn't you say earlier that you thought that the wolves were going to help us?" Alice pointed out.
"No, not exactly," Edward said, "just that they would want to fight if they knew about the army."
Alice rolled her eyes, as if she didn't clearly remember everything that he had said, "And you thought that fight would likely come here …."
Edward hissed. "I don't want that."
"But it might actually be the best," Jasper said. "In any situation, but even more so if we could get the wolves involved."
"I think it's best if we start reading again," Carlisle encouraged.
"Okay," Emmett shrugged and started reading again.
Bella says that the one who is making the army is the one who stole my scent:
"I didn't even think of that," Jasper said.
"Well, you should be happy about that, Shortie," Emmett smirked. "Fewer people know about the holes in your ability."
Alice frowned. She was sure that was a good thing, but she still didn't like the fact that someone knew her well enough to go to Bella's room and prevent her from seeing it. And the fact that she couldn't see the army … no, Alice was not happy right now.
And neither was Edward, judging by the fact that he was pinching the bridge of his nose and frowning.
"Yes, Bella has a way of putting the pieces together in ways no one else can see," Carlisle said to Jasper, this time really smiling.
Mentions Alice was froze and didn't move for two minutes:
"What are you doing?" Emmett asked. That was really strange behavior for Alice - unless she was having a vision.
"Going over everything and seeing if I could find a hole in her logic," Alice said.
"I don't think you will," Jasper said.
"Nor do I," Alice sighed.
Bella thoughts on being relieve that army was created to destroy her:
"Relief!?" Edward exclaimed.
"Because they're not after our family," Emmett laughed.
"I know that," Edward said, "but this doesn't change anything."
"Because they are still after our family," Rosalie said.
Edward snapped his head towards his sister, seeming to relax quite a bit. Coming from her, that meant a lot.
Bella tells Edward after graduation ending with my scent is for them:
"And she thinks I'm not going to panic after hearing that -" Edward scoffed, "- her saying it like that."
Bella pleads with him to be calm:
"Well, telling you there did have one benefit," Jasper said. "You really can't do anything rash with all those people around."
"How is that a good thing?" Emmett pouted.
Mentions that Edward looks like he was about to grab Bella and make a run for it:
Edward actually chuckled at that.
"That's what you're thinking, isn't it?" Alice smiled.
"I wouldn't be surprised if it was," Edward said, still chuckling, but it soon died away.