Desperate Times Call for Desperate Measures

"She'll be here tomorrow, probably around noon,"

Carlisle informed the rest of his family, the family he was sworn to protect. The rest felt the same way, save Rosalie perhaps. Rose felt that the newborns were after Bella, that perhaps they should just feed Bella to them.

But, Rose also felt that Bella shouldn't become a vampire, it was worse than death to her. So though Rose disliked Bella, or in the way she put it to Bella herself, "I don't particularly like you," Rose still didn't want to see the young human die. Though she most certainly, and even Bella's fiancé Edward, didn't want to see her be turned into the monster that they were damned to be.

"Did you get a hold of Jacob?"

Carlisle turned to look at a frustrated look upon Edward's face. He nodded but his eyes read uncertainty. Carlisle knew his 'adopted' son well enough to know that Edward was probably the most stressed about this current situation.

"Bella left a message on the answering machine, told Jacob that we're no longer going to Seattle to see this threat out and what we can do about it. She told him they're coming here within four days, that we saw it in Alice's visions, and that we need their help. We'll see if they reply or not."

Edward tried to keep himself poised, composed. But his voice, to his vampire family at least, sounded in distress. Bella, being a human; she couldn't hear or see how emotionally disturbed he was at times...something Edward was thankful for. Something Edward would miss, once Bella became a vampire. His sense of privacy, of sorts.

"Surely with the wolves and the Slayer, if the newborns truly do show up... we'll be ready."

Carlisle said to his family and it eased everyones tension, just a little bit anyway. But there were still so many questions floating about. Why wasn't the Volturi stepping in? These newborns have been killing for nearly nine continuous months now, almost ten. That was Carlisle's main question, considering he, and maybe only he, looked up to the Volturi as much as he did.

One of the family had brought up perhaps it was Aro's idea to create the army, but Alice had been watching Aro's thoughts, as well as Victoria. That was the main reason as to why Victoria had been put out of their suspect list. They knew a vampire had even been in Bella's room and now knew that they had taken her sweater. Before the vision, that was the only thing they had to go on.

Though Edward had sniffed around and didn't recognize the scent, they still couldn't say without certainty that it wasn't a member of the Volturi doing Aro's dirty work. But then, seeing the vision...

They knew the newborns were after Bella. They knew the lead vampire was Riley Biers, a boy who went missing last year on his way to Seattle; he was from here, Forks. Edward had finally pieced it together that it was Riley who was in Bella's room. But they still didn't realize Victoria was behind it all. They didn't realize it, yet anyway.

Each one in the vampire 'family' knew they needed to train. They needed to be stronger than what they were right now. The Cullen's relied on the gifts and at times those gifts gave them upper hands but against a newborn army... they may not come in handy. Brute strength was the only thing, and wisdom, that would save them now.

Edward heard Emmett and Jasper's mind click on the training, he nodded a little.

"We'll train with the wolves, once we know they're on our side. We'll train, once she's arrived."

It was a final rule of sorts. No one, not even Carlisle, questioned Edward and if they ever did... it was very rare. Feeling useless, other than her visions, Alice started to write down...at a rather vampyric speed, things they knew about the newborns so far.

*Riley Biers went missing a year ago, he's the boy from Bella's room and my vision.

*Who would have a reason to create an army? We're the only family within hundreds of miles of here. They absolutely have to be after us. We know this now.

*Aro, he wants Edward and I for himself and thinks if we have no family, we'll go running to him.

*Victoria, we killed her mate James, she thinks we killed Laurent, when it was the wolves. She wants to kill Bella. My best guess would be because she wants to hurt Edward. Edward killed James, therefore she wants to kill Bella.

*Caius. He was very strict in wanting Bella turned into a vampire. Perhaps he'd create an army to distract us to have Bella turned behind all of our backs?

*An unseen threat? Riley and Bella do not know each other, it can't be personal between those two. Could it be someone we've never met that created Riley?

*We have four days. We assume they know nothing about the wolves. Nothing of the Slayer.

*I really have to start planning this wedding.

"Well, Alice's train of thought didn't last long,"

Edward said with a chuckle. He'd been listening to Alice's thoughts while she made out her list. She was being rather thorough, he had to admit. She was giving him thoughts to who could be behind it that he hadn't thought of before. But for some reason, his mind and even Bella's mind kept going back to the same person... Victoria.