AN: Okay folks, I am warning you that this will be a DARKER story. It is more vulgar, there will be a lot of violence down the line and plenty of sex. And I will post additional warnings as needed. So if you aren't interested in reading anything quite so explicit, please pick a different story!

The Phoenix was originally inspired by the Fall Out Boys song titled The Phoenix, which is what I was listening to when I started writing this.

This begins as a Bella/Jasper story, though you could almost say Bella/Major, because Jasper is back to his old ways, and Bella has spiraled waaay out of control after the family's departure in New Moon. I can't tell you yet what it will evolve into because that would spoil the surprise. But I will say this is a poly story ;-)

Again, don't like, don't read. Reviews are welcome, including criticisms.

Chapter 1

I couldn't believe my eyes. Fuck! What the hell is she doing here!? My eyes had turned her way the second she'd called my name from her place on the ground in the alley crumpled in a pile. But I'd think about all that shit later. Right then, my hand was wrapped around the throat of her attacker. Some pathetic human who obviously got his jollies off on hurting little girls. Well, he was about to wish he'd picked a different alley.

Usin' my power I hit him with a heavy dose o' fear and terror. To his credit, the fucker didn't piss himself. But he did manage to beg for his life. A little late though as I was already in the process of drainin' him. I half expected to hear Isabella scream at the sight of me committin' murder. Or at the very least, I thought surely I would feel her fear. I wasn't prepared for any of the emotions I felt instead.

She was feelin' awe, gratitude, respect and a measure of… envy? That couldn't be right. I shook this off as I tossed the now bloodless corpse behind the dumpster in the alley. I held my hand out to my brother's ex and she took it, allowin' me to help her up. "Can you walk?" I asked.

"Yes." She nodded.

"Anythin' particularly hurt?" I asked. I'd spent too long in the doctor's house apparently. Why the hell should I care if the human hurts?

"Ugh, fuck. Yeah, only everythin'. But that's okay. It'll feel better after a few fingers of bourbon I know." She smirked. "Want to join me for a drink? The bar I frequent caters to your kind as well."

Say what? "Um, Darlin' are you sayin' you've been hangin' out at some sort of a vampire bar?" I asked.

She nodded. "The owner is a vampire. He serves regular drinks for humans of course, just like any other bar, but he also caters to a more elite clientele. He has a wide selection of bleeders and sells bottled blood. Don't worry, they're strictly the bottom feeders of society. Criminals, prostitutes, addicts etc.

At that, I had to laugh. "You're the human, I'm the vampire, and you're standin' here reassurin' me of the conduct of a vampire bar owner? I think this might be a little bit backward Sweetheart."

"Yeah well, you're a Cullen. That's a little bit different than talking to a regular vampire now isn't it?" She smirked. "No offense, of course."

I smirked. "None taken. And if you haven't noticed yet Darlin', my eyes are red now."

"Yeah, I noticed. Aren't you livin' with the rest of the family then?" She asked me.

"Nope. It was gettin' a little awkward residin' under the same roof with my ex-wife. So I moved back in with my venom family." I said as we began walkin', presumably in the direction of this vampire bar she'd described.

"Ex-wife!? Oh, Jasper! That sucks, I'm sorry." She said. And her emotions genuinely reflected that truth.

"Don't be. I tried for far too long to pretend to be something I'm not. Your birthday showed me just how different I would always be from the rest of them. It was time to return to my roots." I smiled sendin' some easy, comfortable vibes her way.

"Well good, I'm glad you got free of those sanctimonious bastards then." She grinned.

Right, I forgot Isabella probably harbored a few ill feelings toward the family for their abrupt departure from her life. And who could blame her? What kind of moronic decision was it to bring a human teenager into our world and then leave without taking any sort o' responsibility for her? That was definitely a decision I'd never agreed with.

"Me too." I laughed. We must have arrived because she opened a door to a nondescript lookin' building and beckoned me to follow.

"Isa!" Called the vampire behind the bar. Isabella walked right up to him and hugged him. She slid into a bar stool as he began pourin' what I assumed was her usual.

"Hey, Ramone." She smiled, motionin' for me to sit beside her. Ramone, of course. Now, this was makin' a little more sense to me.

"Isa, I thought you said all the vampires you had been acquainted with were Cullens?" He questioned, glancin' back and forth between us.

"Oh, well, Jasper here is a former Cullen. He's recently left the family." She said downin' her bourbon straight.

"Isabella, that is not a Cullen. About the farthest thing from it. That is The Major, Isabella. Remember all of my war stories?" He asked, noddin' respectfully in my direction.

"What!? No, Ramone, I think you must be confusin' Jasper with somebody else." She rushed, looking at me apologetically. Oh fuck, here we go, I guess.

"Actually Darlin'," I began, puttin' a comforting hand on her shoulder. "Ramone knows perfectly well who I am. We served together in the Southern Vampire Wars a long time ago." I nodded.

"Wait a minute… you mean you actually are The Major!?" She asked. "Jasper, if you're serious…" She trailed off.

For a brief second, I thought surely she'd come to her senses then and run for the hills. Never could I have predicted what I felt from her next, accompanied by the sweetest smell to ever pervade my senses. Isabella Swan…was aroused!

"Darlin', while I'm entirely flattered by this altogether unexpected reaction, you might want to reign in the lust Sweetheart, unless ya want me ta bend you over this bar right here an' now and have my wicked way with you?"

She looked at Ramone, raisin' an eyebrow. He shook his head and spoke. "While I am very honored to have The Major visiting my establishment, I think a display like that would be a little hard to explain to the other humans here this evening. Sorry, Isa, Major."

"That's quite alright, Ramone. I'm not usually in the habit of stealin' the innocence o' humans anyway. Even one so beautiful as Isabella." I winked at her.

Ramone seemed to be fightin' to stifle his laughter. "Innocent? Oh my. How long has it been exactly since you have had the pleasure of our dearest Isabella's company, Major?"

"Ramone?!" Isabella gasped, downing her second drink, clearly embarrassed. "Ugh, I think what our mutual friend here was trying not so very discreetly to tell you is that I'm not exactly the Bella that y'all knew back in Forks. I sort of went out of my way to completely destroy everything about me that was 'Edward's Bella'. I'm not that girl anymore. Far from it." She said confidently.

"Well good. Because 'Edward's Bella' was a bit borin' Darlin', no offense." I smiled.

"None taken, I agree." she laughed.

"But I definitely think I am going to like this version a lot better now that I'm gettin' ta see the new you," I said.

"Good. Now have a drink with me, Jasper! Barkeep, a glass o' yer finest house blend for my friend please?" she asked Ramone with a wink. "And another Maker's Mark for me?"

"You got it, Señorita," Ramone said, pourin' me a glass o' some delicious smellin' cocktail that was clearly all human. He passed it to me an' poured the lady her drink as well.

"Well, Jasper, here's to new beginnings and livin' on the edge!" she grinned, downin' her drink. If there was one thing I could say for certain about this new Isabella, it was that the girl could definitely hold her liquor. I was a mite impressed.

A few hours (and several drinks) later, I had somehow talked myself into walkin' Isabella home. She was very intoxicated by that time.

"Have sex with me, Jasper!" She said as we arrived at her apartment.

"Darlin' yer drunk. I would be takin' advantage if I agreed ta that." I stated firmly.

"Nope, there's a card in my wallet, Y'all can read it for yerself." She said, mimicking my accent and thrustin' her wallet at me. Sure 'nough, there was the laminated card she wanted me ta read.

Hello, my name is Isa. If you are in my company while I am in an intoxicated state (which happens quite regularly) and I decide to offer myself to you, please know that I am just as frisky when sober and unless you happen to be hideous, rest assured I will not regret it in the morning! ;-*

"Jiminy cricket you've got to be fuckin' kiddin' me!? How many people have you shown this to Isabella!?" I growled, though I had no idea why this lil' revelation would be makin' me angry.

"Umm, le'ss see…" She slurred, attemptin' ta count an' then promptly becomin' confused.

"Okay, ya know what, nevermind. Let's just get you inside and ready for bed. I will watch television or somethin' while ya sleep an' if ya still feel the same way in the mornin' once you've regained yer sobriety, then we will talk. In the meantime, do ya think you can manage to keep your sexy lil' legs closed fer at least that long Sweetheart?" I asked.

"Mmm, yep! Should be doable." She said. "Wait, I can still touch myself though right?" The little minx asked me.

"Yep, whatever floats yer boat Darlin'." I laughed. An' after gettin' her settled into bed and fendin' off the rest o' her less insistent advances, I settled myself in for a long, tedious night of babysittin' the human.

I figured I better text Pete and Char so they wouldn't worry. I wasn't often out all night.

Hey, fucker! Ended up gettin' roped into somethin'. I'll be out all night, I'm doin' a favor for an old friend. See ya tomorrow!

It wasn't long before my phone buzzed with his text back.

I know. Have fun! ;-)

Ugh! Sometimes that Yoda crap was a titch bit obnoxious.

"Good mornin' Isabella!" I smiled, throwin' open the bedroom curtains, waitin' fer her face ta scrunch up from my loud greetin' and the bright light of the noonday sun, but it never did.

"Good morning!" She said, seemingly not hungover at all, which was astoundin' to me, given the amount of bourbon I'd watched her consume. She flew at me then, attemptin' ta take my clothes off.

"Isabella!? What exactly are you doin'?" I asked, unsure whether to push her away or not.

"What do you mean? You said last night that if I still wanted to fuck you in the mornin', we would have sex," she asked, ceasin' her efforts but radiatin' confusion.

"That wasn't quite what I said Darlin', I said that if ya still felt the same in the mornin'...we would talk." I chuckled at her over-enthusiasm.

"But I don't wanna talk Jasper! I wanna ride a cowboy!" She winked, again borrowin' my southern drawl.

"Isabella, I have come a long way from my newborn days, and bein' around the Cullens for so long has turned me back into somewhat of a gentleman I'm afraid. So as much as I hate ta say it with you layin' there all sexy like, ain't nothin' happenin' between us until you tell me why ya want this, Darlin'." I said.

"Okay, well, I learned pretty quickly after y'all left that while I sure as shit wasn't destined to be with Edward, I was most definitely destined ta be a part of the supernatural world. In fact, I almost married a wolf back in Forks, but two things dawned on me and stopped me. Jacob could have never been mine because he didn't imprint on me. And if he didn't, then that meant that eventually, he would, with someone else. I wasn't interested in the eventual rejection that was inevitable in that relationship.

"The other reason was that he could have never given me the thing I craved the most…immortality. So I left, knowin' that Forks wasn't the most likely place to find a vampire, what with the wolves runnin' around and all. And since comin' here, I sat in that lil' ol' bar, day after day, waitin' for a vampire to come along who had sufficient enough control to change me without drainin' me. Ramone woulda done it hisself, but he has his establishment to consider and havin' a newborn around woulda made things a mite difficult for him." She grinned.

So that was it? She still wanted to be a vampire? "Darlin' I have ta ask. Have you been makin' fun of me, or have ya been livin' round these parts long enough to pick up a drawl yerself?" I asked her.

"I'm not makin' fun o' you Jasper! I've been here for over two years now and I guess bein' immersed in it has caused me to pick it up some." She sighed. "Now, are you gonna have sex with me?" She asked again.

"I don't see what the correlation is. If you want me to change you, that's somethin' I could do without defilin' your body, Darlin'." I sighed.

"It's already plenty defiled Jasper. Ain't nothin' like copious amounts o' mindless sex to help a girl get over the pain of losin' her first love. I went through all the single wolves and pretty well near half the humans in Forks before decidin' to actually get serious with Jake. And once I broke up with him, I surely went back to gettin' my party on after relocatin' here. So if it's my innocence yer worried about, don't be.

"But if ya are willin' to change me, then I hope you'll take me up on the physical offer too. You'd be doin' me a monumental favor by sirin' me, so it is truly the least I could do to repay you. An' I have no inclination to be indebted to anyone for any reason, thank you very much." She stated.

"Well, how 'bout I make ya a deal? I would like very much to take you up on yer offer because fer a human you are sexy as fuck Darlin'. But I don't particularly like havin' my intimate encounters feel like business transactions, personally.

"So, if ya can accept the fact that I'd willingly change ya, regardless, an' you'll allow me to take ya out to dinner with no expectations of our evenin' together, then I will agree ta let the night lead where it may. Is that acceptable?" I asked.

"Fiiine. That is acceptable." She nodded emphatically, though I could tell the excitement was a result of my promise to change her, and she was only begrudgingly acceptin' the fact that sex wasn't a guarantee.

"Good. Now you should prolly check that." I said, nodding to her buzzin' cellphone.

AN: Lemme know what you think! I loooove to hear your feeback ;-*