Fly By Twilight: The Volturi by St. Fang of Boredom

Me: Welcome to...Da da da da! The Volturi!

Fang: Third in the Fly by Twilight trilogy. So, if you haven't read the first two... What are you doing here?

Me: People get lost, Fang. Leave them be.

Fang: Alright, alright...So, starting the fic?

Me: In a minute, impatient one! First, important business!

Disclaiming to the Third Power: I do not own Maximum Ride. Don't own Twilight, either. Basically, I own diddlysquat.

Fang: You do own something...

Me: Oh, yes!

Claiming Claiming Claiming!: All OCs! They are mine! And the plot is mine. Don't steal these, unless you wish to be whacked with...A herring!

Note: Once again, takes place after School's Out-Forever and Breaking Dawn.

Fang: You wanna start the fic now?

Me: -eyeroll- Alright, already!

"What did Attalia have to say about the Cullen's...Newest acquisition?" Caius asked, shuffling a deck of cards in his hands.

"She reported that all was well." Aro replied, folding his hands on the table in front of him. "She reported no threat, despite his...Special attributes."

"And you believe her?" Marcus asked.

"I take everything Attalia tells me with a grain of salt these days." Aro said. "I question her motives."

"She has some kind of connection to the newest Cullen." Marcus said. "I don't understand it yet."

"A move needs to be made, Aro." Caius told him. "We can't just sit around and go on some untrustworthy vampire's opnion. We should go to the Olympic Coven and see for ourselves."

"We cannot be too hasty, Caius." Aro warned him. "Despite our strained relationship, I would like to stay on friendly terms with the Cullens, at least until I am given due reason to make a move. Besides, I would rather not fall completely out of favor with a few of the Cullens..."

"You still wish to add Alice, Edward, Bella, and Renesmee to the Volturi?" Marcus asked. "You still think that's possible?"

"I do not know, but there is no sense in giving up yet." Aro answered. "Also, it seems there is another to add to our collection..."

"The new one...Fang, is his name?" said Caius. "You think you can persuade him?"

"Maybe with a hand from Chelsea, it could be possible." Aro replied. "I think it is worth a try."

"Then what's keeping us?" Marcus asked. "I say we go to them."

"I say we wait." Aro said. "Now is not the time."

"How will we know when this 'time' is?" Marcus asked. "Aro, waiting would be foolish!"

Suddenly, Caius ceased his shuffling, taking the first three cards from the top and placing them in a row on the table, face down. He flipped over the first card. "The Justice card."

"Tarot cards, Caius?" Aro asked.

"They're interesting to play at." Caius replied.

"Well, what does the card mean?" Marcus asked.

"Consequences." Caius answered. "Everything has its consequence."

"Any move we choose could have its consequences." Aro commented. "We should know that by now. We've suffered the consequences of our past."

"And we can't afford to do that now." Marcus added. "Not with the plans we have in motion."

Caius flipped over the next card. "Two of Wands. A choice must be made."

"Ah, you see, Aro?" Marcus asked. "The choice must be made, we cannot wait!"

"Unless we choose to wait." Aro countered. "But, either way, we must choose something and agree upon it."

Caius picked up the last card, flipping it over. An eyebrow raised in interest. "Temperance. Finding balance. Making opposites work together."

Though Marcus and Caius seemed confused, a smile spread across Aro's face.

"For cards to 'play at', they have advised us well." He said. We shall neither attack nor wait, but gather information from afar. If we cannot trust Attalia's word, we must recieve a second opinion." He turned to Caius.

"Send a few of your best spies to Forks."

Me: This is actually the second time I wrote this chapter.

Fang: You should have seen her face when she went to proofread it and found it deleted.

Me: I was like, "WTF? IT WAS RIGHT FNICKING HERE!" Yeah, I was pissed.

Fang But she managed to rewrite it.

Me: Wasn't easy, but I managed. Now I'm gonna go, like, double save this or something...

Note: I got all my tarot card info off of a website. I'm sorry if I got anything wrong. Actually, in some parts, I almost meant for the Volturi to read them wrong. If you know anything about tarot cards, you may catch on, if I did it right. We'll see.

Anyway...

R&R?

Me: Diving into the next chapter here...Also planning my next update. I think I shall coincide the arrival of this fic with two new oneshots and an update on the Sequels Contest.

Fang: Someone's an attention-getter.

Me: Fang, I have a load of new fics, oneshots, etc. lying around, waiting to be finished and posted. I might as well hop to it. I've got more that still need to be typed up, lying around in notebook.

Fang: And the contest?

Me: As for the contest...It needs to get moving. You'll see...

Fang: You have plans?

Me: Bribery.

Fang: I don't want to know...

Me: It's not what you think. You'll see. Anyway, on with the story!

Meanwhile, in a town that adores its three-pronged silverware...

Max's POV

"I don't know if I can go in there."

"You'll be fine, Max." Fang reassured me. He turned the Volvo off, taking the keys out and lazily swinging them around. "Trust me. I've been through it and I'll be there with you now. It'll be ok."

"Sure, that's what all the vampires say in the movies." I said. "Right before they lead you to your doom."

"Movies give the rest of us a bad rep." Fang said, rolling his eyes.

There was a knock on my window. I turned to see Alanna waving from the other side of the glass. "You guys coming or what? No matter how long you try to wait, it'll still look like rain out here. This is Forks, remember?"

"Very funny, Ally." Fang said, opening his door. He was out and, before I knew it, my door flew open and he was motioning for me to step out. I got out of the car grudgingly and glared at him.

He put a hand under my chin and grinned at me. "Be careful, Max. It's cold. Your face may freeze like that."

I stuck my tongue out at him and walked over to stand by Alanna and her Saab. "Fang's being a jerk."

"Typical." She said, shrugging. "He's just your typical bully."

"Thanks a lot, ladies." He said, walking over and sitting down on the Saab's hood. "I feel so loved."

"How do you think everyone else is doing?" I asked.

Fang shook his head. "Typical mother hen. I'm sure they're fine. Gazzy and Angel won't be too far apart in the elementary school and Nudge will just be a social butterfly at the middle school. Iggy will have the rest of his Pack over at the reservation school and Total...Well, he'll lounge around all day."

"And lucky Nessie gets to be homeschooled." I added.

"Nez would be a bit...Abnormal in the public school system." Fang said. "Maybe when her growth finally stops, she can go to high school, but...Not now."

I was about to say something else when the squeeling of wheels interrupted my thoughts. I turned to see a red Honda Accord pull into the parking lot, looking like it almost took its corners on two wheels. Alanna rolled her eyes and Fang started shaking his head.

The car stopped in a spot near us and a short, skinny, dark-haired boy wearing a dark purple button-up shirt and black pants got out, waving towards us.

"Cody Prince, are you out of your freaking mind?" Alanna yelled to him. "You're not in Daytona, dumbass."

Cody grinned back at her. "A guy can dream, right? Besides, this is senior year, baby. The year of breaking the rules."

"And, obviously, the year of breaking your neck." Fang said. "You have fun with that."

"Oh, I will." Cody replied. He walked over to us, to me, exactly. "I don't believe we've been introduced." He said, holding out his hand.

I took it warily. "Max." I said, by way of a Fang-like introduction.

"Cody Prince." He said, grinning. "Welcome to Forks High, babe."

I noticed Fang tense up slightly out of the corner of my eye. What a little guard dog he'd turned into. "Thanks, Cody."

"Call me your personal welcoming committee." Cody said, taking a bow. He turned to Alanna and Fang. "You know, I've barely spoken to either of you since June. I'm guessing you're one of Fang's friends from foster care?" He asked me.

I nodded. "Yeah, my siblings and I are staying with the Cullens." I said, keeping to our story.

"Pretty cool." He said, nodding. "You need any help finding your way around the school?"

Before I could answer, Fang was at my side, a hand on each of my shoulders. Good dog, stay. "She's got a tour guide."

I noticed Cody's eyes widen a fraction of an inch, then flick to Alanna. "How have you been, Lana? Still got that nose of yours to the books?"

"More than ever." she answered with a grin. "You should see the books Bry let me borrow."

"Bry?" Cody asked.

"Embry Call. He's from La Push." She said. "He's got quite the book collection himself."

"Oh..." Cody looked like he would've said more, but a girl's voice called his name from across the parking lot. I saw a tiny girl with fire engine red hair waving madly towards him.

"Gotta run!" He said, walking backwards to us and waving. "Catch ya later!" He turned and sped off to the girl, nearly plowing down a couple people in the process.

"And so the chain of gossip gets its first link." Fang said.

Alanna shook her head. "I don't know how we got mixed up with such nosy people."

Fang laughed. "Aly, this is Forks. Being nosy is the official city pastime." He gave my shoulders a gentle squeeze. "Ready to head in?"

I shrugged. "Ready as I'll ever be."

Fang moved to stand next to me, taking my hand. "Then let's go in. Coming, Alanna?"

She hoisted her bag over her shoulder. "On the way."

As the three of us walked towards the building, I began to notice people's eyes on us, mainly me. Most were trying to look subtly, just peeking, but others were outright gawking. Some were whispering to their friends.

This was going to be a nightmare.

"Honestly, Max, has it been that bad so far?"

I shrugged as we made our way down the crowded hallway. "I guess it's been survivable."

So far most of my classes hadn't been too bad. World Literature looked like it was going to test my skills to stay awake that early in the morning, but it didn't seem too hard. Environmental Studies didn't seem hard, either. I doubted I would ever wrap my head around Advanced Math, but Fang said his friend, Vanessa, would be glad to help. During lunch, we sat with Fang's friends at their usual table. I met all the people he'd mentioned to me before. Cody, who I'd meant already, Vanessa, the fiery redhead, Antonio, who offered me tutoring in Spanish, his sister, Maria, and her boyfriend, Trace.

Now, we were on our way to our second-to-last class, Psychology. I stared at the schedule we had been given.

"Who teaches this class, anyway?" I asked Fang. "It doesnt say."

Fang shrugged. "It's a new class. I have no idea."

We met Alanna in the hallway. Psychology was one of the two classes we shared with her, along with World Literature. We asked her if she knew the teacher, but she was as clueless as we were.

The three of us walked into the classroom together. Fang and Alanna were deep in discussion over our book from World Literature and didn't look up. I, on the other hand, looked immediately over to the teacher's desk to get an idea of just who this mystery teacher was.

He was dressed in tan slacks and a black sweater, carrying a large, steaming coffee mug. He had a long, white beard that reminded me of Santa Claus, but minus the jelly-like tummy. The guy was skinny, like a stick. He looked over our way and grinned.

"Alanna! Fang! Can't take your heads out of a book for five seconds to say 'hi' after not seeing me all summer?"

Alanna and Fang looked up in surprise, Alanna nearly dropping her book. Smiles spread across their faces.

"Mr. Hardy!" Alanna exclaimed, running towards him and giving him an awkward hug as he tried not to spill his coffee.

"No way, are you our Psychology teacher?" Fang asked.

Mr. Hardy nodded. "Way, Fang. They couldn't find anyone else qualified to teach it." He nodded to me. "A friend of yours?"

"Max Ride." Fang said, introducing me. "Meet Mr. Hardy."

"Nice to meet you, Max." He said, walking over and shaking my hand.

"Same here." I answered. I noticed Alanna starting to reach for his coffee cup, which he had left on the desk behind him.

"Don't even think about it, Ms. Rohr." Mr. Hardy said, without even turning around. "I need that brew to survive."

"Rats." she said, snapping her fingers. But she smiled, heading for a seat near the front of the room.

"Shall we take a seat?" Fang asked me, motioning towards a couple seats that were vacant next to Alanna.

"Sure." I said, following him.

"Alright, class, let's get a move on." Mr. Hardy said, standing in the doorway. "Time to face cold, hard reality. Summer really is over and, no, I actually haven't retired and moved to Trinidad yet. So let's settle down and take a seat. This should be a class you'll all enjoy. A group of head cases will be studying other head cases in their natural habitat. I liked the idea so much, I, as the biggest head case, shall be leading it. Now, last one in here gets to be our ElectroShock Therapy guinea pig."

I had a feeling I was going to like this class.

Me: Ok, that's enough school chapter for one day. I'm done.

Fang: Yay for the return of so many people from 'The Coven'! All of my classmates, plus...Mr. Hardy! Gotta love Hardy.

Me: Based on the real Mr. Hardy, my epical history teacher, who, though I am no longer in high school, still talks to me via Facebook.

Fang: Hardy is the bomb.

Me: -nod nod-

Fang: Well, now that we've established Hardy's bombness, shall we?

Me: We shall.

Rs&Rs?

Me: Ok, one more chapter and I can do an update...Just one more...

Fang: You can do this, I believe in you.

Me: I love how I have schoolwork to do, work in the morning, and a hectic life going on around me, so I choose to write fanfiction. My priorities are screwy.

Fang: This is new?

Me: Point. Ok, no more dwelling, just write! Come on, Saint! Write!

Fang: Go Saint! -waves little flags-

Me: Write! Write! Wri- Ooo...Ramen!

Fang: -facepalm-

Note: When you're done with this chapter, you may want to check out Fly By Twilight: Wanna Be Fang Cullen. Just a little thing I did, playing with the lyrics to "The Edward Cullen Song" on YouTube. It's entertaining.

Max's POV

"So...Where are we going again?"

"You'll see, Max." Fang said, dragging me along the path. The Cullens were all excited about taking us on 'an outing' through the woods somewhere, but wouldn't tell us where. Fang couldn't stop grinning like an idiot, it was driving me nuts. Didn't they know I hated surprises? Besides, it was starting to look like a storm was brewing over Forks. Not exactly the best time for a walk through the woods.

But here we were, following a path to God Knows Where. The younger members of the Flock were pretty excited. Even Total was bouncing around, getting me worried that he'd get himself stuck in a tree. Iggy, Jake, Seth, Embry, Alanna, and Leah had come along as well. One big, happy, supernatural extended family reunion.

"Can I at least have a clue about where we're going?" I asked Fang.

"It's...In the woods..." Fang said, trying to sound cryptic.

I rolled my eyes. "No shit, Blackhawk."

"Just trust us, Max." Alice said, walking up from behind us. "Seriously, where do you think we'd lead you?"

"Nothing would surprise me with you guys." I answered. "I don't make assumptions."

Alice smiled. "Smart girl."

We finally broke out of the woods and into a large clearing. I could tell we were far away from civilization. It was so quiet. I looked up at the sky. Cloudy, as usual, but darker. I heard a low rumble somewhere off in the distance. Thunder. Great.

"Let's get this show on the road, people!" Emmett yelled out. "All non-vampires and non-wolves need to take a seat out of the way to enjoy the show! Everyone else, report to your team captain!"

"Gotta run." Fang said, turning to me. "Esme will show you where to sit."

"But-" I started to say, but he was gone before I could blink. This 'speed' thing was getting frustrating...

"Come on this way." Esme said, leading the Flock, Alanna, and I to a spot where a blanket had been laid out on the ground for us. Someone had even packed a bunch of picnic lunches for us. Gazzy, Nudge, and Angel were all over those in seconds. I, on the other hand, was too curious too eat. What was this all about? Some secret vampire/werewolf ritual or something?

Esme took a spot at one end of the long field while everyone else gathered in the middle of it. You could tell who was on who's 'team'. Edward and Emmett stood in the middle, looking very captain-like. Then, behind Emmett stood Rosalie, Seth, Alice, Iggy, Leah, and Embry. Behind Edward stood Bella, Fang. Renesmee, Jake, Jasper, and Carlisle. Emmett and Edward seemed to be talking to each other, grinning and playfully shoving each other around. Then, Edward produced something from his pocket.

"What is that?" Alanna asked me, leaning over.

I shrugged. "No idea. Even I can't make it out from here."

Suddenly, the object was sent flying into the air. Edward caught it on its way down, flipping it onto his wrist. He and Emmett looked at it, then nodded and dispersed, Emmett taking his team out into the field and Edward's team huddling nearby where Esme was standing.

"It was a coin." Alanna stated. "They flipped a coin for something."

"Yeah, but for what?" I asked, not taking my eyes off the field.

Emmett's team spread out over the field, while Edward's lined up on Esme's end. I saw Edward grab what looked like a bat and start swinging it around. Then, I noticed Alice in the middle of the field tossing a ball in the air.

"Are they gonna play baseball?" Nudge asked.

"That's what it looks like." Alanna answered. "I wonder what a vampire-werewolf baseball game looks like."

Well, we were about to find out. Edward was holding the bat up, ready to hit, and Alice was winding up to throw. We sitting on the sidelines waited in silence to see what would happen next.

Suddenly, in one big blur, the ball went flying out of Alice's hand. There was a smack that sounded a lot like the thunder we heard in the distance, then another blur, presumably Edward, was flying around the field. Emmett's team was scattered, throwing the ball from one person to the next, trying to get Edward out. But it was a successful home run. Edward came back to home base, his team and his sideline fans cheering madly.

"Lucky shot!" Emmett yelled from the field, tossing the ball back to Alice.

"Green just isn't your color, Emmett." Edward yelled back. "So you better drop the jealous attitude."

Next, Fang walked up to the plate, bat swinging in hand. I noticed his eyes travel to me and he gave me a wink. I shook my head but smiled. Show off.

Alice wound up again and sent the ball flying full speed towards Fang. I almost yelled to him to get out of the way, momentarily forgetting his new vampire status. Another crack of 'thunder' and Fang was in the air, flying the bases. He stayed low enough to the ground that he could tilt to the side and touch the bases with his wing when he went over, but he was as fast as Edward. Again, a successful home run.

"That's two, brother!" Edward yelled out onto the field, giving Fang a clap on the shoulder.

"Just wait, Ed." Emmett yelled back. "I wouldn't celebrate yet!"

Emmett ended up living up to his word. He was able to get Bella out on the next turn and had Carlisle stuck on second base for a while. Second time around, Iggy got Fang out by literally slamming into him while holding the ball. I swore they had killed each other when I heard the loud noise they made colliding, but, of course, they were fine. Rosalie got Jake out, thus causing the teams to switch places.

"How does it feel to be taken out by a lady, puppy?" Rose called to Jake as the teams switched positions.

"I don't know. I'll tell you when a lady takes me out." Jake called back.

"Well, we know why they're playing during a thunderstorm now." Alanna said. If people in town heard this noise, questions would be asked.

The game was fairly close, everyone being either really fast or really good at jumping and dodging. 'Nez ended up being the pitcher for Edward's team, and she displayed a vast knowledge of different type of curve and fast balls.

I had a feeling, after watching this, none of us would ever be able to watch regular baseball again.

There was only one time Esme had to do more than yell "Safe!" or "Out!" Rosalie and Jacob got into a mini-brawl in the outfield. They were easily broken up. Rose and Jake, from what I heard, had had disagreements in the past, and though they had come to a mutual understanding and had gotten to tolerate each other as family, they still had trouble getting along at times. Little fights like these were expected.

"So...What do ya think, so far?" Fang asked me when they took a short break at half-time.

"When do we 'near regular humans' get to play?" I asked him.

He rolled his eyes, but I caught a small smile play across his lips. "Typical Max...We'll see."

Third Person POV

"I've got news for Aro."

Emily, the Volturi's newest human assistant, took out a pen and grabbed her notebook. "Can I take a message?"

There was a hiss on the other end of the line. "He's not there?"

"Aro, Caius, and Marcus are busy at the moment." Emily answered, keeping her tone professional. "As I said, I can take a message."

The voice on the other line sighed, but continued. "Alright...Tell him this is Manuel. Tell him I've finally got some dirt on the Cullens. I was watching them play a baseball game and they've got some...Humans, we'll say, hanging out with them. If he wants more info, I'll be calling again before I leave the states, or he can just wait for my return. Clear?"

"I've got it." Emily answered, writing quickly. After hanging up, she made a point to pass the note to one of the Volturi Guard on their way in She didn't want Aro to miss any of his notes.

Especially if one of his spies had found the excuse they were looking for.

Me: Yay for finished chapters!

Fang: Yay for ready to update stuff!

Me: Yay for...That's about it.

Fang: ...Yeah...

Me: Well, I suppose it's time to post this baby.

Fang: Let's do it.

Me: Here goes nothing...

R&R?

Me: No, I'm not dead, and neither is the story.

Fang: Though, the way Saint updates, you could believe that.

Me: My updating sucks, I'll own up to that. But, I'm trying. My free time just isn't what it used to be. But I won't be giving up Fanfiction anytime soon. I can't. Too many unfinished stories.

Fang: So let's not waste time with the A/N.

Me: Agreed.

Attalia's POV

"You know, Rafe." I said, walking through Volterra. "There are times I almost wish I had more of a taste for human food. Italians have such wonderful recipes. I think, as a human, I must've liked Italian food. Even now, it appeals to me. Strange."

Raphael just nodded, staring off into space, as usual. There were also times I wished he was more of the sociable type, but I didn't voice that opinion his way. It just made him grumpy.

I allowed the two of us to lapse into a comfortable silence, since I was sick of doing all the talking. We'd come to Volterra after a short stint in the countrysides of Italy, going on a little hunting spree to wind down. I wasn't exactly in the mood to be back in the same place as a group of mad, power-hungry rulers, but it was necessary. I wanted to see how my news to Aro had sunk in about the Cullens and if they had made any new moves on their plans. I was under the guise of seeing if Aro had any new plans for Rafe and I. I prayed he didn't. We had no need for new distractions at a time like this.

We passed by the receptionist's desk, and I nodded to the new girl, who nodded back, smiling pleasantly. Foolish child. Another human, afraid of her own mortality, yet willing to risk death to gain eternal life. Wiser to just live the life you have all the way through than to have it cut short when Aro turned you down. I suppose that's humans for you.

It occurred to me that I had forgotten the girl's name. At one time, my memory had been a steel trap, but I suppose there are some aspects of old age that can catch up even with the immortal. Annoyed at myself, I tapped into my power and took a quick peek inside her mind.

One annoying aspect of my power was that I could only pick up on thoughts as they were thought. I couldn't delve into someone's past thoughts and memories as well. I figured, with any luck, she may have been thinking of her name and I could grab it out of there.

Instead, she was thinking of the Cullens.

"I wonder what it is about these Cullens that interests Aro so much." She thought to herself. "And who these 'hybrids' I keep hearing about are. Are there vampire hybrids? I'm hungry..."

I stopped dead in my tracks, cutting of my connection to the receptionist's mind before I flipped and alerted her to my presence.

"Attalia?" Rafe whispered my name. I took his arm by the wrist and dragged him off down a hall, ducking into a corner.

"They know about the Cullens, about the Flock." I whispered to him. "I saw it in the receptionist's mind."

One of the wonderful things about Rafael was that he didn't ask a lot of questions, no matter how crazy things were going. He just nodded. "What should we do, Tally?"

"I want to find out exactly how much Aro knows."

Finding Aro was the easy part. Raphael tracked him better than a bloodhound. It was only a short time before Rafe and I spotted him, pacing one of the enclosed coutyards of Volterra, enjoying the day's cloud cover.

The hard part was getting information. My powers allowed me to read people's current thoughts and, if I established a good connection, as I had done with Max, I could read the thoughts of and communicate with people all over the globe. But some were harder than others, and Aro was one of them, perhaps because of his similar power. I was afraid to even try to read his mind, worried he would sense my presence there.

The two of us watched quietly from afar, ducking under a window in a rarely-used hallway overlooking where Aro walked. We must have sat there for a half an hour, wondering if we were wasting our time. Thank goodness for the lack of blood flow in our bodies, or cramps and blood clots would've been for certain. I was considering the folly of our plan when I heard the quick footsteps of someone running across the courtyard towards Aro. Rafe and I were frozen like statues, ready to pick up the quietest of whisper from this new arrival.

"Aro." I didn't recognize the voice. Possibly one of Aro's spies or guard. "I have the latest information from Manuel."

"Go on." Aro said lazily.

"The group the Cullens have with them, they're definetely some of the hybrids the rogue vampires created with those human scientists." The other vampire told him. "There's roughly four of them, not counting Fang himself and one of the Shapeshifters, Iggy. They have a talking dog as well. Also, they were spotted with a normal human, the mate of one of the Shapeshifters."

"Very interesting..." Aro said, sounding barely interested at all. "Tell Manuel he has done well. We may be able to use this information wisely..."

"Also, my lord, you said to let you know when Attalia and Raphael entered Volterra."

Rafe looked at me when we heard our names. I looked back at him, but didn't dare to make a sound. No good could come of this.

"Ah, yes. Are they here?" Aro asked the vampire.

"They came in about half an hour ago." the vampire replied.

"Send Jane and Alec to find them." Aro said. "The twins have their orders. The Cullens will have no one leaking our plans to them. After I cut out these two weak links, that shall not be a problem..."

Raphael grabbed my hand, giving it a quick squeeze. I nodded to him, waiting for the other vampire to leave. We had our information, now it was time to get out so we could warn the Cullens.

The other vampire said his goodbyes, and we braced ourselves to hightail it out of there.

Problem was, the vampire chose to come our way.

Me: Not a long chapter, but a necessary one.

Fang: Full of interesting little factoids.

Me: Attalia likes Italian food. Who knew?

Fang: ...A chapter of suspense, and that is what she picks out to mention... -facepalm-

Me: Oh, by the way...Merry Christmas! Hannukah! Kwanza! Yule! ...And stuff!

Fang: Happy -insert holiday here-!

Me: We're multi-cultural that way. :D

R&R?

Me: So, I got a text from Vera the other day, informing me I hadn't updated this story since December... Fail.

Fang: You neglect this series.

Me: Well, I'm just not the Twilight fanatic I used to be. -shrugs- Still no excuse for me to neglect a story.

Fang: I think your Twilight fanfiction writing is a bit rusty.

Me: Oh, probably. I need to go read one of the books and get myself back on track. Anyway, though, people have been waiting long enough for an update. No use in watching us blab on. Let's start the chapter!

Max's POV

"I'm melting! Melting!"

I rolled my eyes. "Will you just melt already? I'm sick of hearing you whine." Iggy, Jake, Seth, and Fang had decided it would be a great idea to bring the Flock and I down to a place called First Beach to hang for a bit. The place was beautiful, but cold. The only ones who could stand to go in the frigid water were the shapeshifters and Fang. The rest of us just had fun watching them. Gazzy and Angel had started walking along the beach, collecting interesting rocks and stuff.

And Iggy was attempting a horrible impression of the Wicked Witch of the West.

He stuck his tongue out at me, diving under the freezing surf. I just shook my head. I was thinking of going to watch what Gazzy and Angel were doing when Iggy reappeared nearby, already in the 'splashing' position, an evil grin plastered to his face.

"Iggy..." I said warningly. "Don't you dare...It's freezing!"

I was backing up as fast as I could, not wanting a cold shower courtesy of Iggy, when I was suddenly lifted off my feet and flying across the beach at speeds I'd only met before when flying.

"Cheater!" Iggy called from where he'd been left in our dust. Fang just left, putting me back on my feet.

"My hero." I said sarcastically, giving him a shove.

He just smiled down at me. "I just have to save you from everything, don't I?"

"You wouldn't have to-" I started to say, but the sudden change on his face stopped me. He knew what I ws going to say, and his smile faded quickly.

"What do you have against the idea?" I asked him. "Just spit it out! And if you start spewing junk about souls and crap, you've been hanging out with Edward too long."

Fang looked up at the sky, sighing. Then, with a jerk of his head, asked me to follow him down the beach.

We walked in silence for a few moments. Until I couldn't take it anymore, that is. "Alright, spill." I said, crossing my arms.

He sighed again. "I've... Thought about it."

"Thought about it?" I repeated.

""At first, I thought I was against the idea because, well, no, I didn't want you to lose your humanity." He said, nearly stumbling over the words.. "Not this fast. I didn't think you'd thought enough about it. I mean, that was my reasoning, at least. But... You've had time, and... You're situation is a 'special case', I suppose."

"You admit it!" I said, grinning. He just loked back at me, eyebrows raised.

"Just trying to lighten the mood..." I muttered.

"But I'm still against it." Fang said.

"Question...Why?" The angry tone of my voice was unmistakable.

He looked down, studying the sand for a moment before closing his eyes, sighing. His answer was barely above a whisper. "I don't want to lose you, Max."

"Lose me?" I asked. "Fang, you're not-" But he put a hand up to stop me.

"You know, not everyone who tries to become a vampire... Makes it." Fang said. He was looking at me now, his amber eyes darkening. "It's a... Rough transition. Even those who do, your memories of the times before you were a vampire can become dull. Even... non-existent."

This caught me off guard. "What do you mean?"

"Max..." Now he was looking up at the sky. He rocked back on his heels a bit before looking back down at me. "Sometimes... Sometimes I can't remember things I did with the Flock." He admitted. "I have some memories that seem like old movies, or dreams. Like they didn't really happen. It's been better since you guys got here, but... Heck, Edward says I'm lucky I didn't have my memory completely wiped clean."

"Maybe it has something to do with the bird DNA." I told him. "Like the eating and sleeping thing."

"Maybe..." He muttered, not sounding too convinced.

I took Fang's hand in mine, cold as it was against my skin. "Fang, we've got to take this chance. I can't face the Volturi the way I am. If I do, I think my chances of dying go way up. We've gotta try."

Fang sighed, closing his eyes. "You... Do get where I'm coming from, right?"

I nodded. "Yeah, I understand." I gave his hand a small squeeze.

He opened his eyes again, locking them with mine. "Remember, when school's over, Maximum. Then."

I nodded. "Then."

So, we had a date.

"They know."

I jumped as the words floated through my brain. "Attalia?"

"They know about you, Max. Go home. Tell Carlisle. The Volturi know."

Fang gave me a quizzical look, but I held up my hand, focusing on the vampire's message. "Attalia, what happened?"

"No time, Max. Go home and tell Carlisle."

"Attalia?"

But she was silent.

Something cold and icy seemed to wrap around my chest. For some reason, the world felt as if it had shifted off-balance.

Something had gone wrong.

Me: Look what I did! See what I did there? Trying to fix Fang's Edward-likeness. Not a complete success, but... Well, you tell me.

Fang: And we got the plot moving, too! Well, didn't know you could multi-task.

Me: -.- Ha ha. Anyway...Oh, look! Another chapter!

Fang: Someone's on a roll...

Me: Like a jelly donut roll! Which I have right here! -pulls out jelly-filled wonder-

Fang: o.0 I haven't had breakfast yet... I want it!

Me: No! Neither have I!

Fang: GIVE IT TO ME!

Me: NEVA!

Fang: -pounces-

Me: -protective curl around donut-

Alanna: Yeah...I'm honestly beginning to wonder if they're on drugs...

Cody: Let's just post this thing...

R&R&WHO GETS THE DONUT?

Me: You know what I dislike? Sleeping away from home. I miss my cat, my bed. I need a shower...

Fang: We slept over at Amanda's. Saint's cranky.

Me: I am not cranky! I'm just cold, and tired, and-

Fang: Ok, we get it. We'll head for home later.

Me: For now...We'll use Amanda's internet to finally post these chapters!

Fang's POV

"So, the Volturi know."

Max nodded. "That's all I could really get out of Attalia. When I asked her for more information, she just said she didn't have time and to tell you."

Carlisle's brow furrowed in thought. "This isn't good." He said, after a pause.

"Thank you, Captain Obvious." Leah snapped from across the room. I saw Iggy gently elbow her in the ribs.

We were all here. My family, the Flock, Jake's Pack. Even Alanna had shown up. The living room, as large as it was, was packed.

"If Aro knows about the Flock," Carlisle went on, ignoring Leah. "We don't know what his next move will be. The only thing I'm certain of is that it won't be pleasant. I wish Attalia could've given us more."

"I'm worried about her, honestly." Max said. "She's always been... Mysterious, but never so rushed."

"We'll have to hope the Volturi didn't catch up with her and Raphael." Jazz said. "If they found out that the two of them knew...It won't end pretty."

I saw Max's eyes widen slightly and I put a hand on her shoulder. Sure, we had only just recently discovered the voice in her head was a vampire on our side, but somehow, Attalia had become... Familiar. And she had gotten us out of a lot of jams in the past. We had a lot to thank her for.

"So, what are we going to do? Sit around and wait for them to show up?" Leah asked. "We can't afford to have them sneak up on us!"

"We can't afford rushing in and making the wrong move, either." Carlisle pointed out. "This could become a very delicate situation. We rush in too early and we risk-"

He was cut off by a loud ringing from upstairs.

"My office phone." Carlisle muttered. "It'll have to wait."

"Oh, go answer it, dear." Esme said. "If it's the hospital, it could be an emergency. I doubt the Volturi will be showing up tonight."

"We'll continue the planning and plotting until you get back, Grandpa." I told him.

Carlisle's eyes travelled up the stairs. "You're sure you don't-"

"Just go answer it so it'll stop that infernal ringing!" Rosalie exclaimed with a hiss. Carlisle rolled his eyes, but then disappeared in a flash, darting up the stairs.

"I say we hack into the government's computers and drop a nuclear bomb on Volterra." Seth suggested. I heard Leah groan.

"Leaving out the completely unrealistic aspect of that, as well as the legal issues," I said. "There are innocent people around Volterra. Try again."

"Can't we get our own spies?" Gazzy asked. "Send them in and find out what they're doing. Hey, maybe Iggy and I could go with, like, Jake and Seth-"

"No way, kiddo." Max cut him off. "I'll let you get a tattoo before you run off to spy on bloodthirsty vampires."

"Does that mean I can get a tattoo?"

"Ha ha, funny."

"We wouldn't have time, anyway." I said. The Volturi would be likely to strike before any spies arrived there."

"I think our best bet would be to just prepare ourselves the best we can, maybe start calling other covens." Edward said. "We'll just have to be ready for anything."

"Or," Alice said, looking up from where she had been staring at the floor. "We can just wait for Carlisle to get off the phone."

Carlisle's POV

I was surprised that the phone was still ringing when I made it to my office. I was sure I was going to have to try and call the person back, but they seemed persistent. Obviously, this was something important.

I picked up the cordless and slipped my voice into a professional tone. "Hello, Dr. Cullen speaking."

"Well, good evening, Carlisle."

If I had a beating heart, it would have stopped right there. Instead I merely froze in place, trying not to grip the phone too tightly.

"Aro."

"Ah, you recognized my voice. So this contraption does work." He didn't sound as surprised as he was trying to be. "We don't often have a use for phones in Volterra, but I assumed it would be the best way to contact you on short notice."

"What is it, Aro?" I asked him, trying to sound calm. "Is something wrong?"

A soft chuckle lilted through the phone line. "I heard you've taken in some new pets, Carlisle. Raising birds?"

I quickly pushed down the shock that was creeping up my spine. "Aro, I-"

"Don't bother denying it, Carlisle." Aro cut me off. "I'm not a fool and won't have you taking me for one. What I want to know is what you're going to do about it."

I only paused for a second to gather my thoughts. I would have to think quickly to avoid a misstep. "What would you have me do, Aro? Many of them are protected by the Shapeshifter's packs."

"Not many." Aro said. "I have been watching well. One is a Shapeshifter himself, another a Shapeshifter's mate. There are three left, plus a dog."

"Two of them are too young to turn, if that's what you're thinking." I shot back.

"Of course they are." Aro said mockingly soothing. "I care nothing for the dog, and, as for the children, kill them." I flinched at the comment. "I was wondering about the girl..."

"Aro, they're... Really supernatural beings of their own right." I started to say. "I doubt they will reveal-"

"They are creations of a rebel!" Aro shot at me, cutting off my plea. "They must either be turned or destroyed. You don't get special exception just for being my friend, Carlisle."

With friends like this, who needs enemies? "You're telling me to turn the girl and kill the youngsters?" I asked him, trying to keep my voice calm. Now would be a bad time to set him off.

"Exactly. Though, a pity. I doubt the rest of their group will be as... Cooperative with two of their kind dead. And they would make great vampires someday, I am sure, if we wanted to take the risk of letting them live... I can't make an exception for you, Carlisle, but I could make... A deal."

"What kind of deal?" I asked slowly. I was sure I wasn't going to like this.

"Edward, Alice, Bella... And Fang." Aro said. I could hear the amusement in his voice, probably imagining my reaction. "They would make fine additions to the Volturi. I would even allow Alice and Fang to bring their, ah, mates. Jasper would be more than welcome with his powers, and don't try and tell me Fang isn't mooning over the bird-girl."

"A choice like that is up to them." I answered him. "I cannot tell them what to do."

"Well, you better tell them what their choices are, and council them to choose wisely." Aro answered. Because, we will give you until the beginning of summer, let Fang and his friends make it through high school." His voice was patronizing. "Then, we are coming. And when we arrive, Carlisle, I suggest you have one new vampire and two dead bodies to show me, or four of your coven ready to join mine." He paused, letting the information sink in, seeing if I had a response. I had none.

"Good day, Carlisle." Dial tone.

Me: Where the heck is the freaking remote for the fan in here?

Fang: Who has their fan on remote control?

Me: Amanda does. Amanda, who's still asleep, by the way. So I can't ask her to turn the freaking fan off. So. Cold.

Fang: -grabs blanket- -throws over Saint- Now shut up.

Me: You're so sweet.

Fang: Don't mention it. Seriously. Ever.

Me: Heh...

R&R?

Took me FOREVER to finish this chapter! And it's not even that long! I'd just write part of it. lose inspiration, leave it, come back to it. Each part was written about 3-5 days apart...

Fang: So if anything makes absolutely no sense... It's all Saint's lazy brain's fault.

Me: -.- Thanks, Fang.

Fang's POV

"And then he was like, 'I just got kicked out of my own house!'"

I listened to the others at our table laugh, mildly wondering what had been so funny.

"Earth to Fang. Come in, dude!" Cody waved a hand annoyingly in my face. "Come on! You've been out of it all day!"

I shrugged, realizing I was going to have to say something. "Just have a bit on my mind, Cody, chill."

"It's the girl, isn't it?" Cody looked up and I followed his gaze to where Max and Alanna were standing in line together, waiting to get a second helping of lunch. I looked down at my own tray, realizing I'd barely touched my food. Heck, I'd barely realized Max had left.

"Kinda." I answered Cody, just wanting him to go bug someone else. "It's complicated, Cody."

"It always is..." Cody chuckled that creepy pedo-pimp chuckle of his. "Well, let me know if you need my expertise." He grinned, patting me on the shoulder, and walked off.

I just rolled my eyes and went back to picking at my food. Typical Cody...

I used my fork to segregate my food into different sections of my tray. Potatoes, peas, gravy, meat-like substance... Red jello jiggled in its cup. Bright red, like...

I pushed my tray away from me, holding back a hiss of frustration. Everything reminded me of the Volturi.

"Eating, Fang. It's good for you. Try it sometime."

I shrugged. "Didn't even notice you come back, Max."

"You don't notice much lately." She gave my shoulder a squeeze. "We'll talk at home."

We'd only been home for a couple minutes when Max insisted we go out flying. We flew in silence for a couple minutes, enjoying the fact that it wasn't too chilly out, despite the usual overcast. Then Max motioned to a nearby tree, ending any hope that she might not try to get me to have a little heart-to-heart.

"Alright, start talking." I said, crossing my arms and leaning up against the tree trunk.

"Don't start thinking that I'm going to do all the talking here." Max said. "Look, I've noticed the way you're acting lately. You're distracted all the time, always lost in your own thoughts. You can't be like that right now, you need to focus."

"Focus on what? Schoolwork?" I rolled my eyes. "I think we've got bigger problems on our hands than Pavlov's Dogs."

"Still, Fang, you can't obsess over the Volturi. We're all working on a solution, together. It's not your burden to bear alone. Let yourself relax a bit. We need you rested, alert, and ready for anything. Staying up all night thinking about the problem won't solve it, getting a good night's sleep so you can think in the morning with the rest of us will."

"How do you know how much sleep I'm getting?"

"Bella says you got up eight times the other night, just to get a drink of water."

"...Rat."

"Fang." Max said, taking my hand. "Just... Chill, ok?"

I gave her hand a small squeeze. "Max, you ever feel kinda like... A sitting duck here?"

"What do you mean?"

"I mean, we're just sitting here, waiting for the Volturi to arrive." I told her. "They know where we are. Why do we stay here, where they could attack at any moment if they wanted to? We should run, get out of here. I'm still all for that deserted island..." I managed a small smile.

Max smiled back, but was already shaking her head. "Fang, we'd be on the run for, well, eternity. That's no way to live. And they'd find us eventually. It's better to face our problem than to run from it."

"I just don't know what to do, Max."

"Carlisle's been working on calling the other covens." Max pointed out. "He's gotten ahold of your friends up north, and he's sent messages out to a couple nomads. We won't be alone in this."

"What if it's not enough?" I asked. "The Volturi is a huge, powerful coven, and they can gather support easily. I don't like having so few options."

"We have to work with the options we have." Max said. She leaned against my shoulder, resting her head next to mine. "I don't like the lack of options, either, but I'm willing to work with them. We just have to have hope."

I sighed, leaning my head back against hers. I knew we had to work with our options. That's what I was doing, working with every options available. I knew what to do if I had to.

I just hoped, if it came down to it, my becoming a Volturi would be enough to stop Aro's wrath.

Iggy's POV

"There better be a good reason for calling me out of school like this."

"Seth, do you think we'd call you out of school if it wasn't a good reason?"

"Well, there was that time with the silly string and the principal's car..."

"That wasn't a good reason?"

"...Not the point."

It wasn't long before Seth joined the rest of us, rushing through the forest in wolf form, escorting two... Important guests.

"Attalia! And Raphael! They're alive?"

"No, Seth. They turned into super-fast zombies."

"Ha ha ha."

Attalia shot me a glance. "Your friend is... Observant." She gave me a wry smile.

I nodded. "That's Seth for ya." A little freaky to have some vampire in my head, I know, but I'd gotten so used to people speaking to me via my mind, it was beginning to seem very commonplace.

I took in Attalia's clothes as we ran. They were tattered and torn. Some parts looked singed even, smelling slightly of smoke. Raphael wasn't much better. What had these two been through?

"Where'd you guys find these two?" Seth asked.

"Embry found them during a little border patrol." Jake replied. "He alerted me and we assembled the Pack. These two haven't had much to eat since they left Volterra so, even though we chased some wild game their way, they're still pretty thirsty. We're just escorting them around the more populated areas, you know, just in case."

Seth nodded. "Got it. Anyone think to call Carlisle and tell them we were coming?"

A long silence filled our minds. Finally, tentatively, I broke through it. "...No."

"Fucknuts."

"SETH!"

Guess we'd be delivering the Cullens a surprise.

The quote "And then he was like, 'I just got kicked out of my own house!'" is from a makemebad35 video on YouTube. Just FYI.

Well...I tried.

Fang: You've written worse chapters.

Me: I've written better ones, too. Jeez, can't even think of anything to put in the A/Ns except this random back-and-forth about the chapter quality.

Fang: ...Let's just post this and go back to tumblr and make random A Very Potter Musical references.

Me: With Red Vines! What can't they do?

Fang: Or... We could go look out at the full moon together... Ha Ha! Zombies!

Me: WHAT THE DEVIL IS GOING ON HERE?

Fang: I'm not even going to tell you. You'll find out soon enough.

Me: Oh, really? I must be in Hufflepuff, as Hufflepuffs are very good finders.

Fang: Ok, let's go back to Hogwarts, er, tumblr, with this.

Me: Totally awesome.

R&R?

Yes! Another chapter down!

Fang: Saint's trying to update as many fics as possible at once.

Me: I feel bad. I have too many fics going and I can't update fast enough. I'm trying to get some of them rolling. Finish a couple, get things to managable numbers...

Fang: And there our humanities homework sits, unfinished.

Me: You gotta say, vampires are a bit more exciting than comparing Brutus to John Wilkes Booth.

Fang: Really?

Me: A bit. I mean... Yeah, I gotta do my homework...

Max's POV

Most people, when graduating from high school, look forward to things like college, work, travel, a life of drugs and prostituation on the streets... You know, normal stuff.

Few see themselves becoming an immortal patron of the local blood bank.

Even fewer see themselves dead.

"I'd give him maybe two weeks into the summer." Attalia told us. Despite her doom-and-gloom speech, I had to hold back laughter. Alice had insisted on replacing Attalia's and Rafael's ruined clothes with some from her's and Jazz's wardrobe. Let's just say, colors didn't exactly suit Attalia. Especially bright orange.

"There goes my graduation party plans." Fang muttered, his arm wrapping around my shoulders.

"I've been able to contact the Denali clan and I'll be informing them of this update." Carlisle said. "But they're the only ones who I've gotten ahold of."

"I can track them." I was almost startled to hear Rafael speak. "I will need something from you, Carlisle, so when I find them, I can prove you sent me. And I'll need the little one to show me what memories she has of them." He nodded to Nessie.

"I can help!" Nessie said enthusiastically. "Anything you wanna know, I'm your girl!"

Carlisle smiled. "I bet you are. And as for me, I'll see what I can get for you, Rafael."

"I have some friends of my own, Carlisle, who may be sympathetic to our cause." Attalia said. "I will be making contact with them as well."

"The more the merrier." Edward said.

"I'll start the barbeque." Fang added. "We'll make a party out of it."

Our little pow-wow broke up a few minutes later, Nessie, Bella, and Edward going off with Rafael somewhere and Attalia following Carlisle upstairs. Fang and Iggy had stopped to talk for a moment, Iggy halfway out the door after his pack.

I tapped them both on the shoulder. "Flock meeting. Outside. Pronto. Get the others."

Iggy gave me a sarcastic salute, but he and Fang walked off to get the kids while I went outside, leaning against a tall oak tree a short walking distance from the house.

The Flock was there in moments, just like old times. Gathered around me, hanging on my every word, and giving me those sarcastic looks, rolling their eyes, looks, telling me they'd rather be anywhere but here.

"We've gotta come up with a plan."

"Wasn't that what was going on in there?" Nudge asked me. "Planning?"

"Not enough planning." I answered. "Let's look at the facts, guys. The Volturi can't touch Fang, because he's a vampire, Iggy, because he's a shapeshifter, or Nudge, because she's with a shapeshifter. That leaves me, Angel, and Gazzy up for grabs, so to speak."

"What about me?" Total asked, sounding a bit annoyed.

"No offense, Total, but I don't think the Volturi are interested in little fuzzy dogs." Fang said, "Just don't talk to them and you're probably fine."

"Oh..." Total said. I caught a bit of relief in his voice.

"Max, it doesn't matter." Fang went on. "The chances are pretty good that the Volturi will start a fight regardless if we bend to their will or not. They're starting a New Order and they want us out of the way."

"Why make it easy for them?" I asked. "Last time they came, Bella told me they brought an audience of vampires. If they attack us because we broke the law, they'll be on the Volturi's side. But if they see the Volturi attack with no reason... Maybe even hear them admit their new plan..."

"Their loyalty might falter." Iggy said, grinning. "Max has got a point."

"Even if I changed you, Max, what can we do about Angel and Gazzy?" Fang asked. "And in case you're wondering, little dude, you can't be a vampire."

Gazzy, who had opened his mouth to speak, snapped it shut.

"Maybe we can... Pretend we killed them?" I asked.

"You going to find us a couple dead children to pass off as them?" Fang asked.

"We'll dig up graves, or-"

"They know an old body from a fresh one." Fang said. "That would never work, unless you can suddenly predict children's murders. They can't play dead and no one would believe us if we said we were going to turn them when they were older. Sending them away will only aggravate the Volturi."

"We've got to do something." I told him. I could hear desperation cutting through my voice. Screw everything else for a moment, I had to make sure the kids were safe, at least.

"Let me talk to the Pack." Iggy said. "They might have some idea on how to give them some kind of immunity. Besides, with the wide assortment of vampires Carlisle's inviting over, it might be safer..."

"Don't forget, Max, we can fly." Angel said. "That's one thing we have that the vampires don't. It's an escape idea."

"But it can't be our only option, it's not foolproof." Fang said. "Though a good idea, Ange."

A howl cut through the air followed by a couple short barks. Iggy rolled his eyes. "Gotta run." He said. He gave us a salute and raced off.

The others broke off as well, heading back towards the house. Only Fang stayed behind with me, moving to stand next to me and putting his wing around me.

"We'll figure out something, Max." Fang said. "They'll be safe. I promise you."

"I sure hope so..."

Me: Homework vs. Fic.

Fang; Homework needs to be done. We want to pass...

Me: Hmmmm...

Fang: We're paying to take the class...

Me: Ummm...

Fang: HELLO?

Me: Oh, sorry, spaced out. This plot bunny for Triple Threat just ran through my head.

Fang: -headdesk-

R&R& Anyone wanna do my homework for me? Any takers? Any?

Me: Of all the fics I have going, this is the one I'd most like to finish.

Fang: Well, this is a good way to start.

Me: Tell me about it. Finally got an update on this thing.

Fang: You finally got an update on everything.

Me: And my hand hurts from typing. So bad...

Fang: So let's skip the A/N and just post this...

Fang's POV

"Bella, you and I should open a restaurant." Iggy said, bringing a steaming plate of green beans to the table. "With your expertise and mine together, we would hit five star status in a month."

Bella rolled her eyes. "What would we call it?" She asked. "Fangs and Feathers?"

"I was thinking more along the lines of... Like, 'Blood and Beneful'." I chimed in. "Keep it diet-related."

"You're a real comedian, Fang, you know that?" Iggy asked, not sounding like he really believed it himself.

"Is that ham?" Nudge asked excitedly as Bella brought out the main course. One whiff of that thing and I nearly had to grab hold of the table to stop myself from lunging at it.

Max grabbed my hand, laughing. "Down, puppy. Stay."

I growled at her playfully, pretending to aim a nip at her shoulder. I was rewarded with more laughter and a scratch behind the ears.

"Hey hey hey! No puppy love at the table!" Edward said, giving me a friendly shove. "We get enough of that from Iggy and Leah."

"Tell me about it." Jake said from the floor in the living room, where he and Nessie were working on a puzzle together. "Trying getting bombarded with all their cutesy-lovey-dovey thoughts all the time. It's sickening."

Iggy looked ready to fire back an insult, but Bella cut him off. "Alright, enough fighting, guys. It's time for dinner."

"Yes!" Gazzy cried, nearly diving for his fork and knife.

This was the first dinner we'd had together in a while. Seemed like everyone had somewhere to be these days.

Jake and Iggy were constantly on Sam's Pack's tail, so to speak, trying to get to Sam so they could tell him what was happening and maybe form some kind of truce. But Sam and his pack seemed completely unwilling to even look any of Jake's Pack in the eye, avoiding them like the plague. Jake guessed that they had orders from Sam not to talk to any of his Pack. He had a feeling that Sam might have already gotten wind that something was going on and had plans of his own.

Carlisle had been trying his best to keep track of Attalia and Rafael as they tracked down our nomad friends. He'd been able to contact our cousins in Denali, of course, but Attalia and Rafael had been having trouble finding all of our wandering allies. We hadn't heard from them since last month when they said they were down in Brazil.

Max, the kids, and I were constantly getting bombarded with school work. Not surprising seeing how close to the end of the school year we were getting. With everything that was going on, the school year had turned into a blur. Rain had masked over the seasons and now we were only a few short months away from prom. Then graduation.

Then the Volturi.

Not to mention my promise to Max. To make her, officially, a part of my family.

And I only wish I was talking about marriage.

As much as I didn't want to have to... Vamp-ify Max, we didn't seem to have a lot of choice left. We still didn't have any plans for Gazzy and Angel, at least we had something to protect Max, if you could call it protection. It was just sort of hard to prepare myself for mentally. My mind just kept running through everything that could go wrong, having to see her in that much pain, what she'd be like after...

Yeah, best not to think about it.

We dug into dinner immediately and soon all conversation died down to just Edward and Bella discussing a wedding they had been invited to in Sacremento by two former classmates. We were just getting to second and third helpings when we heard a knock at the door,

Except, no one ever knocks on our door. Everyone who actually comes by just barges in these days. The Pack and Emmett were actually keeping track of how many awkward moments they could walk into.

We all went completely still, waiting for Edward and Angel to employ their own versions of home security systems. Suddenly, a grin spread across Edward's face.

"It's alright, everyone!" He announced, standing up and heading for the door. "It's just a little family reunion!" Edward flung the door wide open, allowing the first of a group of vampires to step inside.

"Tanya!" Bella said, standing to greet our guest. "And Kate!" A second vampire stepped through our doorway. I saw others standing just outside. The two who had just stepped in could've been sisters, tall and blonde, they almost reminded me of Rosalie, though they seemed a bit less likely to bite my head off if I looked at them funny.

"Hello, Bella!" The first one, Tanya, said. "We headed out for Forks as soon as we could."

"We've been meaning to stop by, anyway." Kate added. "To meet our new cousin."

I figured this was the point where I needed to be sociable. I relunctantly left my food at the table and stood up, making my way over next to Bella. "I guess that'd be me."

Kate let out a small gasp. "Carlisle wasn't kidding about the wings. They're beautiful! Garrett, come see him!"

A tall, sandy-haired vampire stepped into the house, putting a hand on Kate's shoulder. "I can see them just find, dear, but let's try introducing ourselves first, then we'll gawk at him like tourists." He took another step forward and reached out to shake my hand. "Garrett's the name."

I took his hand. "Fang." I told him.

"And I'm Tanya." The other blonde added. "You've met Kate..." She rolled her eyes at her sister. Kate gave me a small wave. "And this is Carmen and Eleazar." Tanya added as two more vampires stepped in behind them."

"Nice to meet all of you." I started to say, but Nessie's excited cries sort of drowned me out.

"Aunt Tanya! Aunt Kate! Hi! Aunt Carmen and Uncle Eleazar! UNCLE GARRETT!"

Garrett reached down and scooped Renesmee up, spinning her around, a lot like I'd done before. "Hey there, little troublemaker! How've ya been?"

"Good." She answered, laughing. "If you like Fang's wings, you should meet the rest of his Flock!" She announced, pointing towards the kitchen table. "One of them is Jacob's cousin!"

"Ah, Jacob." Garrett said, now spotting Jake at the table. "You still have your pet. Oh, you've got two now!"

"Garrett." Jake didn't sound too pleased in being referred to as a 'pet'. Iggy picked up on Jake's mood immediately and I saw his eyes narrow a fraction.

"Alright, let's stay on friendly terms, shall we?" Bella said, picking up on the tension in the room.

"Of course. I'm just playing. We're all allies here." Garrett said, his tone light. Jake didn't look too forgiving, though. Garrett continued to look into the kitchen. "You really do have a whole Flock. I'm Garrett." He said a bit more loudly, waving into the kitchen. The others waved back, Gazzy most enthusiastically.

A thought crossed my mind and I looked into the eyes of each of the Denali coven, relieved to spot only gold. The last thing I needed was any vampires make a meal out of my Flock. It was a worry that hit any time I thought about all the vampires that would soon be congregating here. As much as we needed them, they could also be a great danger.

Then, I had a second thought.

I walked back over to the table and took Max's hand, gently pulling her to her feet.

"What are you doing?" She asked me, keeping her voice low.

"You want to be a vampire, right?" I whispered back before leading her to stand between Bella and I. "This is Max." I said, introducing her to the Denali coven. "She's the leader of the Flock."

"And your future mate." Carmen added, a slight accent in her voice.

"Mate?" Max asked, giving me a look. "What am I, a swan or something?"

I gently squeezed her hand. "Partner?"

She smiled. "Better."

We held each other's gaze for a moment. Just a short few seconds. But it seemed like a defining moment. I'd introduced Max as my... Partner. I'd sort of 'sealed the deal'. She was part of my family. she was going to join us, and she and I would be together. It made the future seem sort of... Brighter.

If I could get past the Volturi, the impending danger Gazzy and Angel were in, and Max having to go through the 'becoming a vampire' thing. Besides that, things looked pretty good.

"Well, I hope she'll be a lot less fragile when the Volturi arrive." Tanya said. "Now, if you'll excuse us, we should let Carlisle know we're here. We just wanted to stop by and say hi." The others began saying their goodbyes and filing out, Tanya leaving last.

"Have a good night. And it was nice to meet you Fang... And Max." She nodded to us both. "I'm looking forward to getting to know my two newest cousins."

In two sentences Tanya had let me know that I'd gotten my point across. I felt a small hint of satisfaction.

I caught Max's eye again and she rolled her eyes at me. "I'm going to go sit back down and finish dinner before you start marking your territory or something. Could you get anymore possesive?"

I grinned. "Yeah, but I thought the handcuffs should be saved for special occasions."

Max's eyes widened and I took a moment to enjoy watching her face turn beet red, knowing I probably wouldn't get to see that for very much longer.

"I'd slap you, but I'd just hurt my hand." Max muttered, stalking off back towards the table. I stayed near the door a few minutes to stop myself from bursting into laughter. When I had a bit more control, I looked back towards Max at the table, making sure she wasn't steaming with anger. When she caught me watching her, she rolled her eyes again, but smiled.

Right then, I finally really looked past all the tension and danger of the present and caught a glimpse of what my future could very well be.

An eternity with Max. I kinda liked the sound of that.

Me: I hope I got the Denali coven right. I was skimming through Breaking Dawn, trying to remember what they were all like, then was like, "Screw it, I'mma write the chapter already."

Fang: I'm sure you did alright. And you got everyone's daily dose of Faxness.

Me: Thought people would like that. Well, now that I've got the ball rolling, I guess I can start getting some more vampires into the mix.

Fang: What about saving Gazzy and Angel?

Me: You say that like you think I don't have a plan...

Fang: I think you don't have a plan.

Me: -eyeroll- Ye of little faith...

R&R?