Warning: Third story in the What Runs Through Them series.

So I was extremely uncertain whether I would do this or not. But here it is. Don't expect frequent uploads but this story will be finished.

I would like to mention that the idea behind this is a bit dumb. I thought it would be fun to play with though. That's it. If you don't want to read a cheesy idea I recommend stopping here and settling for the end of Essence.

Disclaimer: I will say this once. I do not own Twilight or any of the characters related to the franchise. The only things I claim to own are my characters and the story idea. The aspects pulled directly from the Twilight universe belong solely to Stephanie Meyer. Now that that's been said, enjoy!

Collin Lee Lahote was the younger brother of Daula Marin Lahote and son of Bella Marie Lahote. He was overly aware that their lives weren't conventional. He had lived through his family's life. Or the dead ones.

Maybe he should explain.

He was born a quarter vampire. He was also born with a gift. He had a dark gift. A painful gift. He relived the lives of the dead. It was complicated. It hurt. It made him overly aware that life was short and could be terrible.

He was nearing twenty years of life. Twenty years with this terrible gift. Of course he physically didn't come close to matching his real age. His best friend had made him a vampire around the time he'd turned ten. Mary claimed she had done it to help him suppress his ability.

That was what she told his family. Collin was well aware of the lie. Mary had done it because she wanted a friend. Someone who she didn't have to look up at. Someone she could be close to for eternity. She told his mother it was for the best. In a way it was. He was aware he was staring down eternity as a ten year old. He had been cursed by his best friend to suffer the same thing she had for millions of years.

He knew Mary was capable of making him a human again at any time. He didn't think she would.

Sure she loved his cousin. It was clear she would happily lay her life down for him. Presuming she was able to die.

The family had grown apart or died over the years. Brady lived in California, Rosalie had died in a car wreck.

His mom wasn't looking good either. She was far enough into her death bed that if Collin tried he could glimpse into his mother's past. If Mary hadn't turned her back into a human from a Half Breed this wouldn't be happening. His mother wouldn't be dying. The worse part was she didn't want to be saved. Mary had offered to turn her into a vampire. If she did it would have allowed her to heal. Then she could've been changed back. She didn't want to be saved though. She was going to die. She was okay with this.

He wasn't.

That's where this begins.

Collin looked at the machines connected to his mother with tears in his eyes.

"Mary, there has to be something." He barely whispered it, scared to wake his mother.

"Your sister will be here in the morning." If it hurt Mary that her sister was dying she didn't act like it. She was sitting on the foot of the hospital bed. She was watching the heart rate monitor.

"She's your sister. You can't let her die. Mary."

The girl jerked her head up and bared her teeth at the other boy. "I killed my sister. Twice. I am completely capable of letting her die. I'm sorry, Collin. I would never keep her alive against her will. You know that. Do not put some stupid guilt trip crap on me. I'm sorry that she-"

"Collin."

The two kids moved their focus to his mother. Guilt filled him. He hadn't meant to wake her up. "Yes, momma?"

"We've talked about this." His mother gave him a hard look though she barely managed it.

"I know. It's still stupid. You went through Hell and back and you're gonna die of lung cancer. You don't even smoke!"

"I know." She laughed weakly and shook her head. "Go figure." She shut her eyes.

"Momma, please."

"Baby boy, Hell and back is exactly why I need to move on. I love you and your sister. I love you both to death." she broke off in a fit of coughing. Collin got out of his seat and joined his mother's side, taking her hand and closing his eyes.

We stopped in front of a door, Edward took my arm again and pushed open the door, my heart sank at what was on the other side. This was not promising. We were in a large cavern which was lit by torches, it reminded me of Volterra, and it wasn't overly extravagant like the Amoz. It was basic. Somehow that made it worse. At the back of the room were two thrones, each one housing a short, small male. One had darker hair than the other but in the torchlight it wasn't exactly easy to see their features.

On his knees in front of them was Emmett, Alice was on the right side of the thrones a little behind Emmett, Laurent was behind her with as sobbing Rosalie restrained. Dol was on the left side of the thrones, between the two, watching the exchange. The look on her face said it all, things were not going well.

"About time you arrived, Edward. I was getting awfully bored interrogating him without our witnesses. Though it appears we are one witness short. Care to explain?" The lighter haired one spoke, he had a thick accent and spoke with little interest.

"She is a spectral shapeshifter. There isn't a way to keep her confined."

"If you idiots had given her the SH like you were supposed to this wouldn't be an issue." The other one sounded even less interested in the current situation.

"We all know this falls back on the accused. Harboring a shifter. Tsk, tsk. Emmett, I would have thought you'd learned your lesson." The light haired one leaned forward and rested his head on his hand, looking at Emmett.

"He didn't do anything!"

"If you don't shut your mouth, Rosalie, I will shut it for you. You are only here because you are his mate."

Collin jerked out of his mother's memory and dropped to his knees. No. She wasn't dying. He wouldn't lose her. "Collin." He ignored Mary.

No.

She wouldn't die.

She couldn't.

He rose to his feet and took his mother's hand again.

"Collin, don't!" Mary was fast. She had always been faster than any other vampire. Collin was her direct creation. He was fast too. He wasn't fast enough. Mary grabbed him and pinned him to the ground. He barely managed to knock him away from biting his mother. She used her forearm to pin him to the ground by his throat.

"Mary, let me go." He fought against his friend. His creator. No. His mother couldn't die. No.

"Stop being a brat, Collin." She bared her teeth at him. "You aren't the only one losing someone you love!" He stopped struggling and began to shake beneath his friend.

"Collin." He struggled against Mary when his mother's voice filled his ears.

"I'll behave. Let me go." Collin wasn't sure if he was lying. Mary was weary before finally releasing the small boy. He got up and joined his mother's side, trying to not to think of his friend standing directly next to him.

Bella gave her son a weak smile. "Go home. You've been here for two days. Aunt Rose is in the hall."

Now Collin was worried. Extremely worried. "Mom...Aunt Rose is dead...she died a few years ago..."

His mother looked at him as if he was insane. "Aunt Rose is fine. She came in while you two were on the floor."

"Bella." She moved her focus to the other girl. Her sister. "Your mind. Remember? Fantasy and reality. I'm sorry."

The old woman shut her eyes and made a pained noise. "No. Rose isn't dead. She didn't die. She went through too much. She can't be dead."

"You were at her funeral, mom. She died. She got hit by a car."

Bella stared at the ceiling for a moment before letting out a choked laugh. She shook her head and a massive grin covered her face. "Hit by a car. Definitely not a blaze of glory but...I think she'd be happy."

Collin stared at his mom before speaking up.

"She was happy. I...I lived her death. She was happy. Said cars always were her kryptonite."

"Always those comic book references." His mother hummed softly before shutting her eyes. "Brady isn't here. He should be. Aunt Dol wants to see him."

"Bella, I'm gonna take Collin to hunt. We'll be back." Mary didn't let Collin comment on what she'd said before pulling him out of the room and down the hall.

"I don't get it. Mary. Mary, please. Talk to me." She didn't respond to him, instead she drug him out of the hospital and the second they were in the dark she let him go. She growled lowly and punched the nearest wall, ignoring the way the brick crumbled beneath and around her first. "Mary."

"What, Collin?" She bares her teeth at him. "What do you want? The answers? The meaning to life? Damnit, Collin. My sister. I'm sorry okay. Your mother is dying. She is clinically insane. I'm sorry. I really am. She is going to die. And...Fuck." The girl dropped to her knees, putting her face in her hands. "I'm watching my sister die. I'm about to lose one of the few people in existence I love. I'm sorry you don't like it. I'm sorry it breaks your heart. I'm having to watch her die too. I have fifty different ways I could save her but she won't let me do it. So what we are going to do is let her believe her hallucinations are real because she will be happier that way."

Collin stared at the girl in front of him before speaking, "make me human." He couldn't do this. He couldn't.

"No." She looked at him, rising to her feet.

He growled at the girl in front of him. "Make me human, Mary."

She shook her head once. "You're staying a vampire. End of discussion." She met his chocolate brown eyes with her own. "No one can kill you. Remember that, Collin. You're mine. You will never die." She bared her teeth at him. "I'm going to join your mother's side."

Then Mary was gone and Collin was alone. Alone. He was alone. He looked at the hospital, stared at it. No. He couldn't do this. He couldn't watch his mother die. He couldn't.

He turned and ran. He ran away from the hospital. Away from the town. Away from his life. He ran and he didn't look back. He couldn't. He wouldn't. He couldn't watch her die. He'd lost too many members of his family.

.-~**~-.

A child.

That's what Collin was.

Mary should have never changed him.

Even if they were the same age physically. She'd had a very long time to mature. He was still a child.

She did it though. Then she watched him lash out. Watched as he killed thousands of people in blind rage. One thing in all of his victims was common.

The humans called it hate crimes. Hate crimes on minors. Mary scoffed when she heard this. He was proving a point. Killing off young girls with dark skin and black hair. It was a message to her. He was telling her he would kill her.

Call her screwed in the head but Mary enjoyed it. She hadn't had a direct creation in millions of years. It was a slight thrill. He was as almost as fast as her. Almost as strong as her. He was also bloodthirsty. He was angry with the girl who had let his mother die.

As time passed. Mary watched most of the family she'd tied herself to age and die. Almost all of them. Except Brady and Lila. They spent half their time human and the other half animals. Mary watched the boy she loved become the man she loved. He was her brother. He would always be her brother. He was one of the only creatures on the planet she cared about.

She watched them have their own kids. Even when he was the oldest of the kids both him and his mate never looked their age. They watched Daula grow up. Watched her marry Andy. Mary stuck by them through it all. They would ask Mary what Collin was doing.

She would tell them lies.

It was easier.

Collin is fine.

Collin is working with Garrett.

Collin is in England.

Collin is enforcing laws.

Collin is okay.

Collin might be in love.

Collin said he'll bring her home.

Collin killed her.

Brady wasn't stupid. Neither was Lila.

They heard about the bodies. They didn't ever confront her. Not originally. They let it happen for several years.

"Mary." She lifted her head from the floor as Brady stepped into the room followed closely by Lila.

"Are you finally calling me out on my crap?" Mary stretched herself out on the couch, watching the two with annoyance.

"It is him then." Brady shook his head in disappointment.

"Of course it is." Mary rolled her eyes. "Do you really think the deaths are a coincidence? My god, Bur. I may have a lot of enemies but Collin is the only other vampire in existence that no one would be stupid enough to confront."

"So are you going to do anything about it?" Lila narrowed her eyes at the young girl.

Mary shrugged. "'fraid I can't. Collin is my direct creation. He's one of two people in existence that can kill me. I value my life, Lil."

"Mer." She froze up for a split second at the name. It was rare he used the name.

She lifted her gaze to her brother. "Brady. Or are you Bur right now? Sometimes I can't tell." She tried to keep her voice uncaring but there was a slight crack in it.

"You're going to let him kill humans recklessly?"

She tried not to grin, excitement rolling through her. This was Bur. It was clearly Bur slipping through the cracks. "Recklessly, Bur? This isn't reckless. He may be blind with rage but the message is clear. He's doing it because I let Bella die and refuse to make him human again." Mary sat up, stretching unnecessarily. "Always siding with humanity, Bur. You really were a disappointment to your mother." She couldn't help but push the buttons of her brother.

Brady narrowed his eyes at Mary earning a completely innocent look from her. "I'm not Bur, Mary. We've talked about this. My mother would have been proud of me."

She rose to her feet with little effort, crossing her arms over her chest. "Oh but you are Bur. Once upon a time lived a girl who went by Ak. She had a bit of a God complex. Believed she knew best. In a time with few humans she chose to kill them because she believed they needed to die. Then she had a son. A boy she called Bur. Ak's sister loved this boy more than she loved her and the boy hated his mother because she killed so many. Ak became angry and eventually she killed her son." Mary chose to tell the story like she was speaking to a small child, a bit ironically.

"Ak killed the boy in front of her sister. For millions of years the sister sat and mourned the death of her brother, her nephew. Then she woke. She woke up. She had to clean up the world. It was her job. Then she saw the boy. The boy with the eternal eyes. The son of her sister. Reborn after millions of years of being dead. She saw the same boy she had loved all those years ago. She always would love him."

A dreadful feeling overtook her and she couldn't help but look away from him. "One day you will die, Bur. It breaks my heart to know that after millions of years the last of my family will die."

She heard the slight sound of the air around his head move as he shook her head. "Mary, I'm sorry. I really am. I'm not that boy."

She returned her gaze to the boy. "Your mother wasn't Ak." Mary laughed weakly. "Not directly. But that little nagging voice at the back of your head. The one that told you to trust me. The one that still tells you I'm doing the right thing. That is Bur. My baby brother. My nephew. He's an amazing boy. Just like you are."

He didn't waste any time in responding. "When you look at me. Who do you see?"

Mary blinked before she moved her gaze across the man before resting them on his eyes. Who did she see? Sometimes she saw the deep brown eyes of Bur bleeding through the changing colors of Brady's. Sometimes she could almost see the three year old boy he had been when she knew him all those years ago rather than the man he was now. Today. Today she saw those eyes. The deep brown eyes. They eyes that belonged to Bur. It was him. It was always him. Always her brother.

She swallowed unnecessarily. "I see my brother. I always see my brother. Even when I see Bur in you I see my brother."

"If you are my sister. Tell me this truth. Why won't you make him human?"

She tilted her head slightly before looking down at the ground. "I need him. Someone my age to ride out eternity with. Why do you think I turned him when he was so little?" She shook her head. "I was cursed to eternity walking the earth while my sister was cursed to never truly die. Now I'm staring down eternity alone. Or I was. Until I realized I could make my own companion. Eternity with Collin. He will mature. It may take a few thousand years but he will mature."

"He's killing people. A lot of people. Kids-"

Mary rose to her feet and have Brady a hard look. The words that came were hard to say but it was something she'd coached herself into believing. "You're my brother. I've always loved you. Always have. Always will. You forget though. I'm neutral. As long as humanity remains balanced I am neutral. I love you, Brady Boy. Lord knows why but I have grown to love most of your family. When you and your mate grow old. When you die. I'll protect your kids. I'll protect your kid's kids. They'll be my nephews and nieces. It will never change. I won't take sides though. I can't. Someone like me can't afford that. Even if Collin kills a thousand more girls I can't. The hard truth is someone as old as me must remain neutral when involved with people. It's why even when I'll throw my life down to protect you I would never have left humanity's population as high as it was no matter how much you asked. Though I love you to my own demise I cannot get involved in this."

Lila stared at the young girl for a moment. "You're a coward, Mary. A selfish child. I never knew your sister but I knew Bella. I heard the stories. It makes perfect sense. The three of you. You're all alike. You're all selfish. Only doing what benefits you."

"Now you're getting it." Mary rolled her shoulders and grinned. "If I wasn't around right now you and your kind would be nothing. Once Ak killed off humanity she would've called every single one of you to her. She would've sucked the animal souls from you and ripped the remaining bodies to shreds before killing herself. She would've wiped out humanity in every way possible."

"You're wrong." Mary focused on Brady as he spoke. "My aunt and mother. They're why you won. You just dealt the final blow. Dol gave up her freedom to Bell." He glanced over at Lila as she stared down at the two bracelets on her wrist that had once been Bella and Dol's necklaces. "She gave up her life so humanity could survive. Aunt Bell made her give up her power. Her ability to defend herself. You might think it was you but the truth us you couldn't have done it on your own."

Mary stared at her brother for a long moment before speaking. "Goodbye, Bur. I love you." Then she left. She left because she couldn't admit the truth. She couldn't admit to him that he was right. That the two shapeshifters in front of her had been right.

Mary had a difficult choice. She either would be forced to make Collin human or she would have to make him listen to her.

.-~**~-.

Collin was intrigued. In the blink of an eye he'd gone from miserable and angry to curious. He'd taken a break. He had considered each dead person he knew. Then he'd dived into their memories.

This time was different though. Instead of seeing the memories from the perspective of the dead person Collin was watching over the scene. He'd never experienced a memory like this.

He was in the corner of a large room. A room he vaguely recognized from his mother and aunt's memories. The throne room. Volterra.

He watched with interest as a group of people piled into the room, people of all ages. Men, women, and children. Among them all Collin immediately recognized a young girl. He knew who she was. He recognized his mother. Only ten years old. Too young. He didn't need to guess what this was. He'd never seen this but he didn't need to guess.

The day his grandparents died. The day his mother was taken.

He looked at the thrones where three different men sat. He had seen the Volturi once. In one of his aunt's memories. He'd seen the three men in the thrones die. Now he was seeing where it all began. He remembered the story.

Aro saw her.

Aro took her.

Aro saved her.

Except Aro wasn't paying attention to her.

Collin began to worry. He moved across the room so he was standing in front of Aro's throne then turned to face him. Aro was staring at the ceiling. He wasn't acknowledging the presence of the humans.

"What are you doing?" This was a memory. It was pointless to talk to him. It didn't stop him though. "Save the girl! Save my mother!"

Aro blinked. Almost as though he'd heard Collin. That wasn't possible. It was only a memory. It was just a coincidence. Aro looked through him, tilting his head slightly. He rose to his feet and stepped through Collin. He turned around and watched as Aro darted to Bella, lifting her up into his arms and pulling her out of the room. He couldn't help but follow her.

He watched his mother fight and struggle against Aro and couldn't help but turn his head to watch

He couldn't turn his head away as the torches in the large room went out. He heard the screams from the confused humans and he saw as every vampire in the room went from standing around to diving into the group of humans. He tried to stay with them, he wanted to stay with the group. He couldn't though.

He was pulled along by an invisible wall. He was bound to his mother's mind. Her memories. The sounds of the screaming slowly faded as he was pulled around a corner.

He'd seen memories here before.

Each corridor in the lower half of the city ingrained into him. Every memory of his mother's life here etched into him. It was all he had left. Suffering through years of his mother's childhood. Up until that disturbing kiss.

Collin couldn't help but enjoy the memory of Aro's death. It was satisfying. After years of manipulation and emotional torture the death of the man that caused it was satisfying.

Except.

His mind wandered back to his actions from before.

What had happened? He'd seen that happen before. Always from his mother's perspective. He had just impacted the event as a third party.

Why did this bother him?

What was different? Never once before had he been a third party.

He'd impacted the events. Or at least that was what it had appeared to be.

He turned around as the wall stopped pulling him. His mother wasn't struggling. She wasn't fighting. Aro had set her down in the middle of a corridor and she was staring up at him with big brown eyes.

"It's alright, Isabella." He knelt in front of the girl.

"Where are my parents!" She yelled at him, her voice said all he needed to know. She was scared. Scared of the strange man. Scared of the things that we're happening. Scared of the screaming she'd heard.

"They're leaving you here for a bit. They'll come back for you soon."

Collin knew that was a lie.

They'd never come back.

They were dead.

Just like she was dead.

He wanted her to know. He needed her to know. The truth. It was painful. But it had to be there. If he really could impact the memories. She needed to know.

He walked across the ground and spoke into her ear. "They aren't coming back. They won't come back. They're dead." She didn't react to his words. It didn't stop him. "Dol. Daula Marin Uley. Wake up. Bella needs you. She will need you." The words came effortlessly. He wasn't sure where they came from but he had to say them.

His mother nodded to the vampire, whispering softly, "okay."

The world around him sank away as something in the outside world touched his arm.

The hardest choice I made when starting this story was who it would be about. I had four different starts total, one about Brady, one about Daula, and one about Mary. Then there was this one. The one where I killed off Bella at the start. The one I could work with. This one allows me to do what I want to do with the story. We will learn more about Mary as well as learning some of the backstories that I haven't touched on before. I want to warn you that I won't do frequent updates on this story purely because I'm working on my original fiction as well as cleaning up Blood so that some of the facts from the start correspond with later statements.