A/N: Yes, after months of being gone, I'm back, and I'm back with what I personally think is the single best thing I've ever written. I did this over winter break, and just finished editing for y'all. So, first and foremost, there is a big change that I made from Ms. Meyer's universe: vampires can have children. When I saw Breaking Dawn Part 2, the parts with Rosalie and Nessie, my heart completely broke for her. So I decided I'd enable her to have children, and let all the other vampires have children. Here's the catch... Vampires are limited to two children, and there's a big difference between them and the immortal children. The vampire children have a distinctive crecsent in the middle of their foreheads, closely resembling Jasper's scars. This indicates that their parent's haven't bitten them yet. That's when the vampire children stop growing. Their biological parents bite them, and then they are fully vampires. Nessie, of course, doesn't have this mark, so Irina is led to believe she is an immortal child. In this story, Edward and Emmett are Esme's and Carlisle's biological children, while the other's stories are practically unchanged. Further explanation will be given in the story.

I don't own Twilight, Stephenie Meyer does. I'm not in the mood for a witty disclaimer today.

~Mock

I sat in the front seat of the black Mercedes, which was not unlike Carlisle's, staring out the window. The countryside that flew by would have been an indistinctive blur to any human, but my golden eyes could have seen every speck of dust in the air as we flew by if I cared enough to concentrate. As it was, there were certain details that snared my vision. A tree bent in half from the weight of the ice it carried on its branches. The way the dominant color changed from white to green as Forks grew ever closer, the snow becoming much less dense. And the angry marks of a car, veered of course, smashing into another, some 25 miles away from us, on another road entirely. Even from that distance, it wasn't enough to stop the smell of fresh blood as it seeped its sweet scent into the car.

But Tanya kept on driving. We all would have, Carmen, Eleazar, and I, had we been the ones controlling the vehicle. Human blood didn't tempt us the way it did to most vampires. Tanya and I were old, older than Carlisle even, and we'd had centuries to perfect our immunity to the smell of human blood. Ever since the horrible violence we saw when the Volturi burned our mother and little Vasilii, just minutes before we had gotten to know him, and after we found that tempting men and drinking their blood didn't kill the pain, Tanya, Irina, and I had vowed to never drink of a human's blood again. Vasilii had destroyed an entire village in his desperation to escape the clutches of the Volturi. I could still see the scene burning behind my eyes.

Sasha, out mother, seemed terrified as she came into the small house in the village we were staying in, though only temporarily. We frequently moved from village to village in northern Europe. Avoiding too much attention was a must.

"Tanya, Irina, Kate, pick up your things, quick," she said. Not much after that was comprehendible. She kept muttering things under her breath, as though she forgot we could hear every word. "They're coming for him," she said over and over again. Tanya, Irina and I exchanged nervous glances. None of us had even the slightest inclination as to who the mysterious "him" might be. Our few belongings, just spare changes of clothes, were stuffed into our packs in record time, but it still wasn't fast enough.

Screams, human screams had split the air. The air soon filled with the thick, intoxicating scent of hot blood. My vampiric instincts almost took over, and I was tempted to run out into the bloodbath and feed from the delicious feast. But three things hindered me. One was the fearful look on my mother's face, the way she seemed to scream with her eyes that we must stay where we were. Another was the faint but clear scent of other vampires. I didn't recognize who these vampires might be, but there was an awful feeling in my gut that it wouldn't bode well if I did. And third was the childlike cry coming from the middle of the fray. "Mama! Mama!"

"Girls, stay here. Whatever happens, know that I love you!" Sasha said as she ran from our hut. I was desperate to run after her and find out what was going on, and I could tell that Tanya and Irina were too, but before we made up our minds about what course of action we were going to take, strange arms grabbed each of us from the hut and pushed us outside.

I had never been more terrified than in that moment. I attempted to twist my hands and shock whoever it was holding me, but I was no longer a newborn, and the stranger was clearly stronger than I was. I could hear my sisters struggling beside me, but none of us proved victorious in our attempts to free ourselves.

When we were outside, the three people holding us forced us down on our knees, with our arms pulled behind our backs, not hard enough to pull them off quite yet, but with enough force applied to make sure we knew that one false move would result in our deaths.

Sasha was in front of us, and for some inexplicable reason, a small child of about two was cradled in her arms. There were three more vampires standing near her, along with the ones restraining Tanya, Irina, and I.

But the scene that captured the majority of my attention was the massacre behind Sasha. The remains of humans, half drained of blood, were strewn around in a disorderly, random order. I had grown accustomed and even enjoyed the taste of blood, but the sight before me was more than sickening. I'm sure that if I still had the ability, I would have thrown up.

"Dearest Sasha," one of the strange vampires said. His voice was light and feathery, higher than even the sweet soprano voice of Tanya. His hair was long and black, and what I could see of his hands, I was surprised to find that it seemed flimsy, almost papery. So why was my mother cowering before him like an abused woman before her husband?

"You have caused much pain," the voice continued. "Look behind you. Look at what violence has been wrought here, all because of small Vasilii. Why would you change him at so young an age? You must have known the consequences Sasha. You must have known you could not escape the inevitable."

"And the other three," a second voice said, this one coming from a vampire with startling white hair. "The other three must be punished with their creator." It took me a few seconds before I realized the white haired vampire was referring to my sisters and I.

"Patience. There is no need to be hasty dear Caius," the first vampire said again. "Be rest assured that I will examine the minds of these three young ones. Then we shall pass judgment based on their knowledge of Vasilii."

"But there will definitely be punishment for the mother?" the vampire called Caius pressed.

"Oh, yes. All the proof we need is in her hands and in her memories," the other vampire said. "Before we deliver justice however, I would love to examine the minds of these lovely women we have with us today." And with that, we turned so that we could see his face.

There was no doubt that he was an immortal. Even with his papery skin, there was a sort of frail beauty to the elfish features of his face. His eyes were a deep burgundy, as was the norm for our kind. The other two looked as if they could be related to him, with a few noticeable differences. Caius's face had a harder look to it, and of course there was the difference in the hair color. And the last one, who also had black hair, had an unmistakable look of immense sadness in his eyes.

The first vampire, who seemed to be the leader, was the one who addressed us. "My dears, do you know who I am?" he asked us. As one, Tanya, Irina, and I shook our heads, voices choked up in fear.

"My name is Aro," Aro said, and I was thankful I couldn't detect any trace of malice when we had not known his identity. "There are my brothers, Caius and Marcus." The other two vampires were indicated.

"We are known as the Volturi. We found it our solemn duty to see to it that the secret of vampires was carried out by all of our kind on earth. It cannot be common knowledge among the humans that vampires do indeed exist. There would be no greater disaster." Aro chuckled lightly. "One of the most recent phenomenon's that we have discovered is that of the immortal children. These children cause destruction and violence wherever they go. And I am most saddened to tell you that your mother has made one of these immortal children."

Aro gestured behind him, where my mother was still cowering in fear. 'Run!' I wanted to scream at her. 'Quick! Go! Now!'

But before I could plead with our mother with my eyes, Aro turned his attention back to us. "Now, my sweet girls, I have a very special gift, much like dear Kate has a supernatural talent." My eyes widened when he said this; how did he know? Moreover, I didn't recall ever telling him my name.

Perhaps Aro saw the confusion in mine and my sister's eyes, because he laughed. "There is nothing to fear from my gift," he reassured us. "It is not even painful like Kate's is. My gift is that if I touch you, I will be able to read every thought you have ever harbored. I only wish to know whether or not you had knowledge about this immortal child. I do not believe you did, but certain, ah, protocol must be followed. All I need is your permission to see your thoughts, and I am confident that you shall be able to leave here peacefully."

I saw Tanya glance toward Sasha at the end of Aro's speech. After a moment's hesitation, Irina and I too looked to her for guidance, though her betrayal was screaming at me in my head. How could she have done this to us? If these little children were illegal, why would she make one? Was she going to be taken away, to leave us forever?

Sasha, however, gave a barely perceptible nod of the head. We knew that she was condoning whatever Aro was about to do to us. Perhaps that was how he had known my name and what my special gift was. Perhaps he had simply read her thoughts.

Tanya was the first to concede. Hesitantly, she stretched her hand out towards Aro. Gleefully, he accepted it, taking her hand into both of his own.

They stood there for a few agonizingly silent minutes. I searched signs from Tanya's face that might give any indication Aro had lied and was hurting her, but I found none. After he released her hands, he smiled even wider.

"Our friend Tanya is free of guilt!" he pronounced. Quickly, he moved so that he was standing in front of Irina. He repeated the same process with her, and also declared her free of guilt. Finally, he moved on to me.

"Dearest Kate," he breathed, looking almost… hungry in front of me. I was immediately put on guard, and attempted to move my face back from his. "Felix, if you could release her arms," Aro said in a gentle yet commanding voice, and I felt the strong vampire drop my arms. I still wasn't sure if I could trust Aro or not, and debated on whether or not to shock him, but he put his hands on my wrist instead of my hand like he had Tanya and Irina. I could only generate my shock from my palms.

I really couldn't tell if Aro was using his gift or not, but the look of concentration on his face led me to believe he was. As with Tanya and Irina, when he released my wrists, his face got that inexplicable joyous look on it, and then addressed Caius and Marcus.

"I have searched the minds of these three young vampires, and I can give affirmation that they knew nothing of this immortal child. They are free of guilt," Aro finished, giving Caius a particularly stern look as Caius opened his mouth, seemingly in protestation. Caius however, nodded, though he still looked livid.

"Before we proceed," Aro said, his voice taking on a sing-song-like quality, "I have a question I must ask friend Kate." He moved so he was in front of me again. "I have seen what your gift is," he breathed. "I would very much love to watch that gift grow and see how you progress with it in the future. You could have a very valuable place among the Volturi guard, dearest Kate. And I would personally work with you to help you develop your ability to the fullest potential."

This time, I looked him dead in the eye. I was terrified of everything that was going on, and I couldn't bear the thought of leaving my sisters or my mother, although I had a horrible feeling about what Aro and Caius meant when they mentioned punishment.

"Gracious Aro," I started cautiously, "I recognize the generosity of your offer, and I am most humbled by it. However, I could not leave my sisters. Perhaps, later in time, I shall reconsider your offer." Aro seemed genuinely heartbroken, as though my refusal would be the death of him, but he said that I would always have a place in the guard if I so chose to accept.

Then Aro snapped his fingers again, and suddenly, the vampire named Felix had grabbed my arms again, making sure to avoid my palms. Two other vampires, Demetri and Santiago I had heard Aro call them, grabbed Tanya and Irina respectively. Aro gave us a sad look. "I'm sorry my dears, but I cannot have you going berserk as we deliver the punishment. I know that it will be difficult for you to watch."

Ever so slowly, Aro turned back to Sasha, who was still clutching Vasilii in her arms. "Sasha, Sasha, why would you do such a thing?" Aro asked. "You know the consequences. Just look at when the child has done. Destroyed an entire village in a mindless rampage. There can be no forgiveness for a crime such as this. Yes, I know your odd reasoning for creating such an abomination. You were drawn to an immortal child you had met and wanted your own. That cannot excuse the obvious violence and pain that has been wrought through your actions. And now you must pay the price."

Two more vampires moved to either side of Sasha, and a female grabbed Vasilii from her arms. Aro moved to stand behind her, and grasped her head between his hands. "Girls, I'm so sorry," Sasha whispered right as Aro ripped her head off and threw it into a fire that was behind us.

Endless rage stormed through my head. I tried desperately to get away from Felix, but he was well trained and I could barely move two feet. I screamed with mindless rage, and I could hear Tanya and Irina doing the same. "Mother! Mother!" we shouted over and over again. But all our efforts were for naught, and I was forced to watch as Sasha, with Vasilii right behind her, were consumed by the ravenous flames.

When the deed was done, Aro had Felix, Demetri, and Santiago constrain my sisters and I for a while longer before he felt secure enough to let us go. "I am most sorry, my dear friends. Perhaps, in time, we can look past this unfortunate incident and be the closest of friends. Tanya, Irina, Kate. I wish all the happiness unto you." With that, he took his leave. And I learned the meaning of heartbreak.

I blinked my eyes, unsure of why I had chosen today to relive my mother's last moments. I usually tried to avoid thinking of her at all. It was still too painful to dwell on. I still hadn't forgiven her for creating Vasilii after all these years, because she must have known she would get caught. I knew Tanya and Irina hadn't forgiven her either.

Irina. It was painful to think of her too. She was going through such a difficult time right now, trying to come to terms with the Cullen's involvement with the werewolves, who had killed Laurent. It was my belief that if Laurent had stayed with us just a while longer, Irina and he would have truly become full-fledged mates. I wished she would let Tanya and I help her, but alas, she had gone off on her own. I was confident she would return to us in time, and I yearned for that day to come quickly. Our family wasn't complete without Irina.

Tanya pulled into the drive of the Cullen's just a few minutes later, where we learned of the half-immortal child, Renesmee. I could initially see why Irina had gone to the Volturi; we were all strict believers in the law, but after a while, I thought her behavior incredulous. Yes, I could see how Renesmee could be taken an immortal child from a distance without her mark upon her forehead, but these were the Cullen's. These were our family. And we already owed them for not fighting with them against the army of newborns.

I only listened half-heatedly as Eleazar and Edward explained the intricacies of the Volturi guard to Bella. After Aro had visited us and killed our mother, I had vowed to never join them, no matter how much Aro wanted my gift. Yes, I would follow the law immaculately, but I wouldn't join them. Besides, they had Jane, who could create pain from a distance. Why would they ever need me?

After I promised to help Bella expand her gift, Tanya and I retreated upstairs. The Cullen's had a plethora of spare rooms. Good thing too, if all the witnesses they planned to gather actually came. No, we didn't sleep, but even vampires needed their own space sometimes. With so many coming, arguments could very easily break out. Edward and Bella were lucky to have their own house.

I looked around the bare room, and caught my reflection in a small mirror. My eyes were black as night. Until then, I had barely even noticed the hunger clawing at my throat. I hissed softly, which Tanya, of course, noticed.

"Let's go hunting," she said simply, a bit of a wicked gleam in her eyes. Tanya, Irina, and I loved to compete with each other to see who could get the biggest kill. None of us could constantly outdo the others. We all had our advantages. I was the fastest, Tanya was the stealthiest, and Irina was the strongest. Each was trait essential, and together, we were an unstoppable trio.

As we went downstairs, Tanya quickly explained to Edward where we were going, and then we took off, sprinting towards the woods. My favorite was Canadian lynx, but we obviously weren't going to see any here, so far down south. Elk and maybe a mountain lion would have to do.

It wasn't long before Tanya and I caught the scent of a herd of elk. Just a couple seconds of more running led us a clearing where they were drinking from a small pond. I scrambled up a tree, and then jumped onto the biggest buck that I could see. He was helpless as I sunk my teeth into his neck and finished him off quickly.

Three deer later, and I was sated. Tanya finished about that same time as me, and then we took in the size of our kills.

"I win!" she announced gleefully when it was apparent she had taken down the biggest one. I rolled by eyes at her at her enthusiasm, but that was Tanya. She had a much bubblier personality than I did. Tanya's bubbliness, Irina's sweetness, and my sarcastic, cynical personality balanced each other out. But right now, Irina was missing. Tanya and I were only two parts to one whole. I would be only too glad when this was over, and she would hopefully be back home in Denali, where she belonged.

We ran back to the Cullen's house, where we met another two vampires, whose names were Peter and Charlotte. They told us that Alice and Jasper had sent them, and we all clamored for any news of our two missing cousins. But they couldn't tell us much, just that Alice and Jasper appeared to be in fine health. Neither Peter nor Charlotte had any indication of where Alice and Jasper might be going. It annoyed me slightly, but I knew there had to have been a reason why Alice left. There just had to be.