This is for you, Amy! xoxoxo

The Visit

We all stood silently for a minute as I watched various outcomes flashing through Alice's mind. Jasper was just about to ask another question when the silence was broken by Sebastian's phone buzzing in his pocket. I reached in a took it, glaring at the name on the screen.

Aro wasn't waiting to be called. He was the one calling.

I was undecided about what to do. We hadn't planned out a course of action yet and I didn't want to tip off Aro that we were onto him. But if I left it unanswered, Aro might suspect something had happened to Sebastian and do something we couldn't anticipate.

The decision was made when simultaneously the distant howls of wolves broke out and terrifying images raced through Alice's head.

I met Bella's eyes and saw the horror I felt reflected in them before accepting the call. Even though I didn't say a word, the voice that answered knew who he was talking to.

"Hello, Edward."

I dialed Carlisle again, but he still didn't answer. Alice was holding her head, almost as if trying to squeeze out what she was seeing through sheer force. There was nothing to do at this moment except answer and try to figure out how to stop what was already happening.

"Aro."

Bella moved to my side, and she shuddered at the sound of his laugh. The continued howling of the wolves only added to the despair showing on all our faces.

"My timing was perfect, as usual. How is my distraction holding up? Have you killed him yet?"

Sebastian's eyes bulged as Emmett's hold on him tightened.

I ignored his question. "What have you done, Aro?"

"Tsk, tsk. Your rudeness is very unbecoming. I thought Carlisle raised you better."

"What have you done to Carlisle?"

He laughed again. "Oh, he can't come to the phone right now. He's a little out of sorts. I'm afraid Alec and Jane weren't very impressed by the hospitality we received with our visit and had to restore order. The better question, though, is what have I done with the Little One?"

Before I could say a word, Bella was racing away. I ignored Aro's mocking laughter and slid the phone into my pocket. I chased after her as fast as I could, knowing the others would be right behind us.

We were still a few miles out from the house when I smelled the smoke. Gut-wrenching fear propelled me faster and I caught up to and passed Bella. Her rage and terror were so palpable, it felt like a force pressing against me. There was no time to worry about the damage she might inadvertently cause from emotional trauma.

As I got closer, it wasn't only smoke I smelled. It was blood. Wolf blood. I slowed as I came upon one lying still on the ground, Jared howling next to him.

It was Paul and he was gone. Jared's thoughts showed that there was nothing I could do, but the guilt at leaving them and moving on to help the others was still heavy.

Bella streaked past me and I pumped my legs to get there first. My hope that the scene I would encounter when I reached the house wouldn't be the same as I saw in Alice's vision was dashed when I saw the flames and smoke coming out of the roof and windows.

I skidded to a stop in the front yard, scanning the area to see where the family was. But they were nowhere to be found.

"Carlisle!" I yelled, hearing nothing in response.

Bella stopped beside me, staring up at the burning house.

"They're inside."

We both ran to the door, flinging it open to plumes of smoke. We found Esme and Kate first, both sprawled out flat on the living room floor. I grabbed Esme and Bella picked up Kate, both of us carrying them out to the yard.

Esme started coming to, flailing her arms as if to ward off an enemy.

"What happened?" I asked.

She shook her head, moaning and rolling over, trying to get up on her hands and knees. Bella was trying to snap Kate awake when we heard Tanya's scream.

"Charlie!"

It was coming from the second floor, but I already knew from being inside before that the stairs were consumed in flames. I met Bella's eyes for a moment, willing her to stay put.

"I'll get them."

I didn't wait for her answer, running toward the house and leaping onto the second floor balcony. The closest window had blown out and flames were eating up the side of the house. There was no way to reach them through there. I scaled up the side, and busted in through my own bedroom window.

The smoke was so thick I could barely see, but I heard Tanya's screaming and followed the sound. Someone ran into me from behind and I crouched in defense.

But it wasn't any of the Volturi, it was Emmett.

"Rose? Where is she?"

I shook my head. "I don't know."

He moved past me, and we both headed toward Tanya. We found her in a hallway, inconsolable, sitting on the floor and holding Charlie's body and rocking back and forth.

"Tanya, what happened?"

As I got close, it was clear why she was so upset and why Charlie wasn't moving. She was holding his body, but it wasn't his whole body.

Someone had torn him apart.

"He's dead! They killed him!"

I tried to wave smoke away from my eyes to scan the area. Searching the room, I found his head and an arm, hurrying back to them.

"He's not gone," I said, wrangling him from her arms. "Help me. We have to hurry before this house falls down."

I couldn't return Charlie back to Bella until repairing what I could. We worked in tandem, attaching what could be attached and sealing wounds with our venom as best we could. It wasn't the easiest thing putting a vampire back together, but it wasn't fatal.

Unless the fire took us all out before we could move him.

Emmett came busting back in. "I can't find Rose anywhere. I can't find them."

Alice's thoughts hit me and I motioned for Emmett to help me with Charlie's arm.

"They took Rose. They have her and Elizabeth and Carlisle."

Run. Get out now! Hurry!

"We have to go now. This floor is about to go and we'll all burn"

Emmett helped me carry Charlie and keep him together as we made our way back up to the third floor. Flames were everywhere around us and Tanya screamed when her pants caught fire. I freed a hand, pushing her toward the window and our only escape.

"Go!" I yelled, and watched as she jumped off the balcony.

Emmett and I had to carry Charlie through a wall of flames, but all we could do was go as quickly as possible. When we jumped to the ground, Bella was there with a hose to put out the material we wore that had caught fire.

Luckily we were only singed around the edges and not too badly damaged.

Once Bella had doused us all, she threw the hose to the side and knelt down next to Charlie with Tanya on the other side. Bella looked up at me.

"He'll be okay?"

I nodded. "He will. It will take some time, but he will be alright."

They hadn't defeated us. Yet.

We all watched together as the roof caved in and the house collapsed. It was fortunate we were so far outside of town we shouldn't have to deal with any human involvement like neighbors calling the fire department. That was one less hassle we had no time to handle. I put my arm around Esme, knowing she was not only mourning everything lost, but also Carlisle being taken.

"We'll get them back."

She nodded, but remained silent.

"Can someone tell us what happened?" Jasper asked.

Tanya was holding Charlie, but lifted her chin to respond. "They came as soon as you left. It was like they knew exactly the moment you would be gone and were waiting for it. I don't understand how they knew."

We all turned to look at Sebastian, who was currently being held captive by Bella. She must have taken charge when Emmett stormed the house.

Kate was finally upright and coherent. "Where is Garrett?"

"I don't know!" Alice cried. "I can't see them. I can't see Aro. I can't see Carlisle. I don't know where they are!"

Jasper grabbed Sebastian. "Are you doing this?"

Sebastian shook his head. "No! I'm not doing anything. I don't know where they are!"

"Liar!" Bella tackled him to the ground, pushing his head into the dirt. "Tell me where my daughter is right now or I'll end you. Tell me!"

"I swear." Sebastian's voice was muffled in the ground. "They didn't tell me they were going to do this. You heard him on the phone. They don't care what happens to me. Why would they tell me anything?"

He had a point and I laid a hand on Bella's shoulder. It wasn't that I particularly cared if Sebastian survived, he had done plenty to deserve death, but he might be able to help in finding our family.

"Wait," I said. "For now."

She eased her hold, only enough for Sebastian to sit up.

Jasper walked to stand in front of Esme. "Tell us what happened."

"It's like Tanya said, they showed up right after you left. Carlisle tried to talk to them, to reason with them, but it didn't matter. They were on us before he could even get started. It was like being stabbed with a thousand knives. The pain was so terrible. But then it wasn't just pain. I couldn't move, couldn't see, I could only lay there and feel the pain."

"Charlie tried to block them," Tanya said. "He tried, but it didn't work. They were on him so fast. Felix tore him up in front of me." She sobbed, hugging him closer. "He tried so hard, but he couldn't hold them off."

"Did any of you see them leave?" Jasper asked.

They shook their heads.

"I didn't see them leave, but before I was knocked out, Rose had Elizabeth," Esme said. "I know that."

Bella pushed Sebastian down again in disgust and stood up. "What about Jacob? Where is he?"

Then the blocks fell into place and we all realized why Alice couldn't see. Jacob had to be with them or near them. He wouldn't have let them take Elizabeth if he could help it.

A growl from the woods pivoted our attention to the treeline and we all turned to see Seth coming toward us. He was still in wolf form so I related his thoughts to the others.

"Jacob and Garrett are following them. The other wolves had stayed back from Jacob's command, but when the Volturi attacked, they came toward the house. The Volturi ran into Paul and Jared when leaving and killed Paul. Jacob and Garrett were following them when they ran off. They were carrying Carlisle, Rose, and Elizabeth with them."

Bella grabbed my hand, sighing with relief. "I can see them from your thoughts. She's alive."

I nodded. "She is. We'll get her back. I promise you."

The phone I had stuffed into my pocket started buzzing and I glanced around at everyone before pulling it out. It was Aro and it was time to see how this was going to play out.

"Aro."

"Hello, again, my dear Edward. How are you?"

"What do you want?"

He had burned down our house. Stolen my daughter, my father, and my sister. Hurt my family and killed a friend. I wasn't about to give him anything, but I had to play along for now.

The fact was he still didn't know about Bella.

"Still being impolite? I thought you would have learned a lesson by now."

I wanted to reach through the phone and rip him apart, but I pushed down my anger to get some answers.

In a calm voice, I asked, "What is it you want, Aro?"

"Much more civil," he said with approval. "I think we will work well together, my boy."

Bella squeezed my hand in support.

"Is my daughter safe? Let me hear her."

"Now, now. Not so fast. There will be plenty of time for that."

I clenched my jaw, reaching for every bit of strength I had to relax and not spew the vile words I wanted to unleash on him. Before I could say anything, he rambled on.

"I think you will like Volterra much more than this wilderness. You will be a jewel in my guard."

"And if I don't want to join your guard?"

"Well… I hope you will see things my way. You wouldn't want to be the cause of anymore death, would you? It would be a shame to see poor Carlisle turned into a pile of ash."

His laughter drowned out the sound of Esme's cry and Kate quickly wrapped her arms around her in comfort.

I stared into Bella's eyes. "So if I join you, you will let Carlisle go?"

"Oh, yes. You and Alice come to me, and I will release Carlisle and the beautiful Rosalie back to their family." The mocking note he used for family made me tense even more. "Two for two. That's an even trade."

I glanced over Bella's shoulder to see Jasper glaring at the phone in my hand, holding tight onto Alice. Alice's face showed no emotion at all, but her thoughts were all over the place. I hoped she knew I would never willingly hand her over to the Volturi. We would figure something out, but I had to play along in the meantime.

"Fine. Where do you want to make this exchange?"

"Oh, I think you should be able to follow our trail with little problem. You come to me. Bring Alice, and only Alice. If you try to deceive me and bring others, I will know and I'm afraid it would result in a most unfortunate end for your dear daughter."

Bella winced, but squeezed my hand again.

"What about my daughter? You said you would release Carlisle and Rose, but what about Elizabeth?"

"Well I don't think I can part with the precious Little One yet. She is special. Like you. I must say, Edward, she is quite a beautiful child."

Disgust rolled through me from the tone of his words. It was almost a longing or desperation.

"Don't touch her."

He laughed again. "Then you better come to me quickly. No dawdling, Edward."

The line went dead and I stared down at the phone. Everyone was silent for a minute, each person contemplating the consequences of action and inaction.

Alice finally shrugged out of Jasper's embrace and moved to stand in front of me. "We have to go. It's the only way."

"No!" Jasper roared, taking her back into his arms.

I wasn't sure what to say. There was no clear answer and very little time. If it was only a matter of surrendering myself for my family, I wouldn't hesitate. But I couldn't ask Alice to give up her life. Not even for my own daughter.

The options here were limited, though. Aro had the advantage and if we showed up with everyone to destroy them, he would have plenty of time to harm Carlisle, Rose, and Elizabeth before we could do anything.

It was Bella who finally ended the stalemate.

"Alice isn't going. I am."

AN: Next will be the final showdown. Everybody ready to see Bella's talents in action?

It has been a long time since I've written any fic, so I'm grateful to all of you who are still reading. I got sucked into the world of books and especially Outlander. Jamie Frasier is battling Edward Cullen as my favorite male fictional character in my head. LOL

Anyway, I recently started reading Getting Blitzed by Nolebucgrl and AB Negative by ooza and I rediscovered my love for Twific. I've found some inspiration and it feels good to revisit these characters I love and get words out to share. I plan to finish both this fic and CMC and am working on the next updates for both right now.