A few of the witnesses and guards seemed bemused when they saw Emily run right into the thick of the fighting, her cloak billowing behind her as her blue-black dress collected kicked up snow. Why should she get her hands dirty and risk her own life when she didn't need to?

A few of the higher ranked Guard, Jane in particular, seemed excited by her participation. A light brown werewolf immediately charged right for Emily with his jaws snapping at her. All Emily did was throw him into the air and slam him back down to the ground. She heard the neck crack on impact, the wolf lying on the snow covered ground completely motionless.

She hadn't noticed that Jasper had escaped captivity until she saw him going toe-to-toe with Demetri. Jane stared at the blonde Cullen, however nothing seemed to be happening. Emily looked around and managed to spot Bella, a silvery bubble protruding out from her to surround Jasper. Her shield.

Alec seemed to notice this, running right at Bella and tackling her to the ground. The shield vanished and Jane immediately targeted the now vulnerable Jasper. He seethed in pain, unable to move as Felix and Demetri pushed him to his knees.

It only took one hand motion from Demetri for Jasper's head to be taken clean off.

Emily heard Alice scream from behind her. The seer struggled to escape her captivity, but the guards holding her in place seemed to be losing their grips. Emily stared at Alice, pinning her in place to give the guards time to readjust their holds. Alice could not escape, whatever happened. She saw Demetri throw Jasper's head into one of the small pyres at Alice's feet, adding insult to injury.

Emily turned around and reflexively seethed, noticing Emmett Cullen had Alec pinned to the ground, foot to neck and starting to tug. Thinking fast, Emily shoved Emmett off of the younger twin, allowing Jane time to pain Emmett. Emily ran over to pull Alec to his feet, inspecting his neck. The few cracks that had formed already started to heal over.

"Alec, you must be more careful. Emmett Cullen is twice your size, you shouldn't run right for him like that." She scolded.

"Yes, Mother." Alec's tone was sarcastic, but the boy smiled. Emily gave him half of a smile in return, sending him on his way before turning back to Jane, still holding Emmett down. Emily held her hand over his head and then squeezed, shattering it into hundreds of tiny pieces. Emily and Jane dragged Emmett's body over to the fire Jasper's head had landed in, only causing the inferno to increase in size. Emily silently wondered when Rosalie would notice Emmett was missing.

Emily and Jane turned around to see a smaller brown wolf knawing on a fallen witness' body. The pair shared a look before Jane stared at the wolf, sending him tumbling over on his side with yelps of pain. Felix showed up behind the wolf, wrapping his arms around the neck and snapping it loudly. The body hit the ground and the eyes glazed over as Emily saw the slim grey wolf stare at the corpse before howling in distress.

Emily cut the cries off with a twitch of her hand, breaking the grey wolf's legs and snapping the neck with a twitch of her head. Jane seemed delighted, smiling up at Emily before running off to find her brother.

Emily smiled after the girl, shoving Tia of the Egyptian coven back to collide with a tree in the field's outskirts. She heard the trunk fall upon impact.

"You're sadistic, you know that, right?" A woman's voice said behind Emily. She turned to see Bella standing behind her in a stance indicating she would pounce at any given moment. Emily smirked at the newborn as they circled each other.

"I'm just doing my duty, Bella. Your coven had to turn this into a massacre by bringing in other covens. And werewolves, no less. How low can you possibly stoop?"

"You wanna talk about stooping low? There was no need to start a fight before Aro provoked one."

"Your daughter is dangerous, Bella. We don't know what she's fully capable of. I expect Santiago will be back soon with her and your russet furred friend."

"Fat chance. Jacob's taken her far away by now and he can hold his own against one vampire."

"Or maybe I'll be using Jacob's fur as a blanket in the end." Emily grinned as Bella snarled. The newborn launched herself at Emily, but was stopped in her tracks as Emily raised a hand in her direction to freeze her in place. "Your shield isn't invulnerable, Bella. Know your limits before you push them."

The ground began to rumble and shake, everyone who was still standing losing their balance. Emily kept her hold on Bella as the ground split open, vampires and wolves alike tumbling inside to a small river of magma below. Emily could see that Benjamin, another member of the Egyptian coven, had caused the damage. She raised an impressed eyebrow.

From the corner of her eye, she saw Esme Cullen fighting to stay on the edge of the schism with one of the Volturi's witnesses trying to drag the Cullen matriarch down with him. Emily zeroed in on a rock that was stuck on the edge that Esme seemed to be putting a lot of faith in. With a flick of one of her free fingers, the rock came loose.

Esme grasped for something to hold onto, ultimately in vain as she slipped below Emily's line of sight into the split. She waited three seconds to see if Esme would climb back up, but it became evident that Esme was gone.

Bella shrieked, but cut herself off having spotted something more urgent. Emily followed her line of sight and saw Demetri pinning Edward down right on the schism's edge. More rock fell away and Edward fell inside. Demetri jumped back to avoid falling in as well. They again waited to see if Edward would crawl his way back up.

Being conscious of the disintegrating edge, Emily dragged Bella along to peer over the edge. She didn't see Edward anywhere, and apparently neither did Bella. The newborn wailed as she realized she no longer felt Edward's presence. Emily caught Felix and Demetri's attention and gestured for them to come over to her.

"You are to keep Bella Swan with Alice Cullen. Do not let her escape under any circumstances." She ordered the two guards.

"Yes, Mistress." Demetri answered for the two of them, each grabbing ahold of one of Bella's arms as Emily released her hold on her. At this point Bella didn't even try to fight, allowing herself to be dragged over to where Alice was. The seer looked at Bella with empathy before shooting Emily a nasty glare. Emily sneered in response before turning away.

She saw Jane dragging Rosalie's corpse away while Alec carried her head to the pyre. Emily started doing mental checklists while scanning the terrain. As far as she could tell, all the Cullens that they wanted dead were gone. There were more black cloaks on the field than those allied with the Cullens at this point.

No Romanians, the Irish Coven was gone save for Liam (Jane began stalking him as Emily made the note), some scattered nomads' bodies were visible, Kebi of the Egyptian coven was the last one standing... So as far as she could tell, the last coven left mostly intact was--

Emily saw a blur rush out from behind her running right for the three remaining members of the Denali coven. Tanya, Kate, and the nomadic Garrett. To Emily's surprise, Caius had retreated from safety and had a hand around Tanya's throat. Emily questioned it for a moment before shrugging. Caius was a soldier at heart; making him sit on the sidelines was hard enough.

Garrett ran up behind Caius intending to defend Tanya. Taken slightly off guard, Caius whirled around to meet his attack, only to get kicked back into Kate's hands. Electric shocks emitted from her palms, causing Caius to seethe in pain.

Oh hell no.

Seeing red, Emily ran at full speed towards the Denalis, catching Tanya off guard. Emily crashed right into her, pinning her to the ground with her hands on either side of Tanya's head. Tanya only let out a short scream before her head exploded in Emily's hands.

Kate faltered seeing her sister murdered in front of her. It gave Caius enough time to reach back, flipping the last Denali sister over his shoulder. His hands under her chin and a foot on her chest to pin her down, Kate's head was removed and thrown away.

At that point, Garrett seemed to realize that both Emily and Caius' eyes were trained on him with intent to kill. The nomad seemed to briefly consider fighting but decided against it and choosing to flee. He only made it a few meters before Emily froze him in place to drag him back. She lobbed off one of his legs to keep him from running away, forcing him to his knees.

Emily put her hands under his head and leaned in close to Garrett's now worried face as Caius looked down at him with a satisfied smirk from behind her. All hope drained from his eyes realizing that there was no one left to even try to save him.

"Anybody who tries to kill my mate won't live to see another day. Understood?" Emily said quietly. Garrett didn't even have time to give a response before Emily tore his head off, carelessly tossing it aside next to the Denali's bonfire.

Alice tore her hand away from Aro's like his skin had burned her. Horror filled her face as she turned her head to stare at Emily. She hadn't the faintest idea what Alice's vision had foretold, but judging by her face, it didn't end well for the Cullens or their allies. A smirk grew on Emily's face.

"Whatever is the matter, Alice?" Aro asked her, although judging by his tone he knew exactly what Alice's problem was.

"Yes, Alice, do tell what's gotten you so worked up." Emily added, taking a step closer to the seer with her arms folded. Alice held her tongue for a moment before staring at Emily with a new fury in her eyes.

"It doesn't matter what any of us does. You let her roam free like a rabid animal and she decimates everyone she can get her hands on. You're not enforcers, you're sadistic dictators." Alice spat.

"I can't help what my gift is, Mary Alice Brandon, just as you can't." Emily stood right in front of Alice to Aro's left with her smug smile etched deep on her face. "However I choose to use it is up to me, and if that means I have to use it for enforcement, then so be it."

Alice didn't reply. She jerked forward, clearly about to try and strike at Emily. Aro put a hand out to stop the seer in her tracks, Emily not even having flinched. Alice growled before whirling around to punt Aro straight into the air. He didn't land too far away, but it was enough time for Alice to lunge at Emily. Again, she didn't move, her arms remaining folded across her chest.

Not a second later, Caius appeared next to Emily, grabbing Alice by her neck with a look bordering on enraged. He threw Alice back to two guards, grabbing ahold of her arms to pin her in place. Alice struggled to break free as Emily looped her arm around Caius' and led them back into their places without looking away from Alice.

"Let her go!" Carlisle roared, charging right for them.

"No! No, don't!" Alice shrieked at Carlisle. Emily took that to mean that Alice had seen this in her vision and it didn't end well for Carlisle. Aro jumped up to meet Carlisle's leap as Emily grinned.

What a delightful mistake Alice made. She thought as Carlisle's body landed right in front of her. Caius lit it on fire just as the Cullens and their allies charged for them. Armed with Alice's foresight, Aro gestured for the guards and witnesses to charge.

Caius kissed Emily's forehead before she ran right along with them.

***

The battlefield started to grow quiet. The Cullens were dead, save for Bella and Alice, as were their allies. Really, in one fell swoop, a good chunk of the Volturi's opposition was decimated.

Naturally several bodies scattered around a field would raise questions, especially once people noticed none of the bodies had blood or true human skin. So, while the others started to collect themselves, take a second to breathe-- not literally of course, Emily and Caius set to work burning the remaining bodies. As for the wolves, they were picked up by some of the guard to be thrown in the jet.

Wolf pelts were rather comfortable.

Not ten minutes later, Santiago was spotted emerging from the trees dragging Jacob's body behind him and carrying the Cullen child under his arm. She wiggled and squirmed in an effort to free herself to no avail. She was only a half-breed and couldn't come close to breaking out of a full vampire's grip.

In turn, Bella tried breaking free from Felix and Demitri's grip to reach her daughter. Emily glanced up from her task and held Bella firmly in place with just a stare. Demitri was strong, Felix even moreso, but Bella was still a newborn. Emily passed Caius his torch so he could finish the last few bodies while she went over to where the last Cullens stood.

"Oh, perfect. My lap blanket's here." She said provacatively, nudging Jacob's limp paw with her boot. Bella looked at the corpse, a defeated expression on her face mixed with her rage.

"Jake..." She said pathetically. She turned back up to look at Emily. "So you've killed almost everyone I care about. You may as well bring be down with them, why haven't you?"

"My brother wishes to keep you and Alice alive. Your gifts are far too useful to just throw to the side."

"What about the others? Benjamin and Kate? You wanted Edward at one point, right?" Alice spoke up.

"I can't claim to know what the others in my coven were thinking. I'm sure we would have loved to gain their assets, but it's hard to rein in so many. It's better this way, isn't it? Others will come along." Emily shrugged with a too-serene smile.

"You take pleasure in hurting others, don't you? If today wasn't enough evidence, I know your history, at least part of it. The number of people that died in Hawkins because of what you did..." Bella said lowly. Emily just grinned.

"I wouldn't say I take pleasure in it. But to some degree, yes, I enjoy it. For a Machiavellian reason. 'The Ends Justify the Means,' I think is what he said? That's always what it was, even before. Henry's intentions were at least more noble than mine were, to a degree. Putting an end to their suffering. I enjoyed the power rush. Frankly I think I had just snapped after so long trapped inside sterile walls with the other kids."

"So you've killed kids and you don't feel bad about it?"

"Not really." Emily replied flippantly. The Cullen child started squirming again, pulling Emily's focus. "Which reminds me... what are we going to do about this little one?"

"If you hurt her, I swear to god--" Bella hissed.

"That's not my call to make, Isabella." Emily took care to pronounce every syllable of the newborn's name knowing full well she hated it. "I'm sure my brother would be interested in how she develops given the fact that she's a half-breed. She may be spared for that. Of course, it's nothing a vivisection couldn't figure out."

"Disecting the girl wouldn't help with studying her growth development." Aro said, walking over to look at the Cullen girl. "You have generated a fine idea, sister. It wouldn't do us much use to kill her, would it? Not when we can learn about her."

"And what if she ends up becoming a threat?"

"We can burn that bridge later."

"So we're not putting the child down?" Caius asked, finally returning from his task. Small fires burned behind them that were slowly being put out as the slain corpses burned. The smell of incense and smoke permeated the air, purple shaded clouds wafting upwards.

"I don't believe so, no. I think she might find a good place with us. She already has a taste for her natural food source."

"She what?" Bella asked.

"Didn't Carlisle tell you? He had been giving her human blood samples from his occupation when she complained about the animal blood the rest of you ate." Aro just grinned. Bella opened her mouth again to protest, but she noticed the child no longer squirming, instead averting her eyes.

"Ness?"

"Grampa said to not tell you or Dad." The girl replied, finally speaking up.

"Oh, now this just got interesting." Emily mused.

"I believe it had to do with the samples you consumed while carrying little Renesmee. I can't say for sure, of course." Aro continued, his habit of poking the bear starting to show. Emily choked.

"'Renesmee?' You had one chance to name a child and you named her Renesmee?" She asked, fighting back a laugh.

"It was a combination of our mothers' names!" Bella defended.

"Her middle name is Carlie. Carlisle and Charlie." Aro added. Emily finally honked.

"That's an actual name, Bella, and you made it her middle name?"

"We call her nicknames." Alice offered. "Ness, Nessie--"

"You nicknamed your daughter after the Loch Ness Monster?"

"Jacob did..." Bella sighed.

"After he imprinted on her." Aro added. This time both Emily and Caius roared with laughter.

"The girl is hardly a few months old and still physically looks like a child not even ten years old. Even back when I was a newborn we looked down upon such things." Caius said.

"I don't know, it just happened! I'm not a werewolf!" Bella snapped.

"She threw him out of the house, almost directly into a tree after we told her. Ness was still a baby when it happened, you see, and--" Alice started.

"Alice, you're not helping." Bella snapped seeing their captors only laugh more uproariously. "What defense do you two even have? Emily's only sixty and Caius, you're, what, three thousand?"

"You're only eighteen and Edward was, what, a hundred and nine?" Emily mocked. "I've already lived over three of your lifetimes, Bella, two before I even turned, and they weren't overly happy lifetimes, mind you."

"Are we gonna keep standing here doing math or are we gonna deal with them?" Jane spoke up next to Alec.

"Will we have to listen to their bitching the entire flight home?" Emily added flatly.

"Of course not, that's what we brought Chelsea here for." Aro told her. "I forget you haven't seen this done before, sister. You remember what Chelsea's power is, correct?"

Emily thought for a moment, looking at the two Cullen women. Bella seemed confused while Alice started squirming more. She clearly understood what was going on and she wasn't having it.

"She strengthens and weakens emotional bonds." Emily answered. It dawned on her then, a smile spreading across her face. "It's how we function as such a large coven."

"Exactly. Chelsea, dear, would you come here for a moment?" Aro gestured for one of the women in the crowd to come forward, pulling her hood down to show her light brown waves framing her caramel shaded skin. Emily hadn't had much personal interraction with Chelsea prior to that. She was closer to Heidi than she was to Emily, understandable considering they had more of an affinity for more feminine things. How Afton had managed to pull that, Emily would never understand.

"So how exactly does this work?" Emily asked.

"It's easier to watch than to explain." Caius told her, running a finger along her cheek before pointing at the Cullen women.

"Marcus?" Chelsea asked. Marcus' face remained flat and Emily could sort of tell he at least felt a little bad for the two. Still, he finally spoke up after studying the thin air for a moment.

"A handful of broken red links, a yellow link between Bella and the child, a light blue link between Alice and the child, and a rose colored link between Alice and Bella. As for those connected to us, Alice and the child's are grey and Bella's are a shade above black." He said, his tone still as aloof as ever. Chelsea seemed to understand what this meant, nodding once. She moved to stand in front of Alice and Bella, holding out her hands as if stretching out an invisible string.

Emily looked at what the other vampire was doing curiously. To her surprise, Renesmee slowly stopped squirming while Alice stopped trying to break free. It took Bella the longest to stop thrashing, but she, too, eventually stilled. Chelsea made plucking motions around them, oftentimes in the same place more than once. There was one particular string around Bella that seemed like it wasn't budging, but otherwise Chelsea seemed like she did her job well enough.

"How about now?"

"Varying shades of lavender and light blues, most of the red is missing, and the bond between Alice and Bella is a deep magenta."

"I couldn't fully prune away Bella's bond with Edward, but there's room to grow our bonds to make that transition easier." Chelsea reported. Tentatively, Santiago let Renesmee go as if worried she would run off. Instead the child obediently went to her mother's side and stared up at her expectantly.

"Well done, Chelsea." Aro said, sending her back in line. He turned to the last Cullens, their expressions tepid. "The jet is ready to take us back home if you're ready."

"Of course. Let's go, Renesmee." Bella replied, gesturing her daughter forward as Alice fell into step next to them. Emily watched them walk forward, astonished.

"That was quick." She said as the others in her coven began to make the walk back. She and Caius hung back for a moment.

"Now you see why Chelsea's essential to us. The Cullens will become more tolerable with a little more time." Caius replied. Emily took him by the arm as they began to follow the others. "It's been a while since I've had that much fun."

"You showed up at the last second and got taken off guard. I did more than you did." Emily replied through a smile.

"Well, yes, but it was more fun to watch you have fun. Besides, you've earned yourself more respect as a result. It would be foolish for anyone to stand against us with you on our side. That's what witnesses are for, after all."

"I think we've earned ourselves a nice rest, what with all this Cullen business having been dealt with." Emily pushed herself closer against Caius' side, pressing her cheek against his shoulder with a contented smile.

"I'll think of something special for us to do." Caius leaned down to kiss the top of Emily's head. She clung to him tighter as they approached the jet set to bring them home.

***

"Aunt Emily!" Renesmee called unecessarily loudly. Emily opened the door of her and Caius' chambers to let the girl-- closer to a teenager now-- inside.

"Ness, I can hear you from down the hall talking normally, you don't need to yell." Emily chastised.

"Sorry." Renesmee looked over Emily's shoulder and saw Caius folding clothes and putting them in trunks. "Where are you going?"

"The villa in Greece for a few months. Why? I thought you knew." Emily replied, quirking an eyebrow up in confusion.

"Uncle Aro says you were supposed to give me my history lessons today."

"Not that I know of. Aro knows we're leaving, right?" Emily turned to look at Caius. He pinched the bridge of his nose with a sigh.

"He should. I'm sorry, Renesmee, you'll have to ask someone else." He sounded sympathetic, if a little peeved. It was hard to believe he'd wanted the girl dead not that long ago. Now Renesmee was everyone's child, sister, or niece, and she was fiercely protected.

"That's okay, I'll ask Uncle Marcus. It won't be as fun, but I hope you have fun on your vacation." Renesmee offered. Marcus wasn't anywhere close to a constant lively presence, but he had a soft spot for Renesmee. Aro had said she probably reminded him of Didyme a bit, recalling his sister's gentle attitude and sunnier disposition. "Oh, by the way, Mom told me to tell you that she went out to Tuscany to 'solicit Alice's shopping again.'"

"Your mother's so good to Alice. It's a mystery why it took them this long to form their own mating bond. Sulpicia knows I don't willingly go out shopping with her or most anyone unless I'm being coerced." Emily chuckled. "Go on, now. And if you see Aro, tell him to stop using you as leverage to get us to stay here longer."

"I will." Renesmee smiled with a wave before leaving, shutting the door just as Caius closed the last trunk.

"It's bordering on criminal how charming that girl can be." Emily said.

"We already held her trial, agapé, she's not an Immortal Child, as much as it seems like she is at times." Caius replied with a slight edge of humor.

"She looks older than Jane now, she passes well enough." Emily scooped up two of the trunks under her arms with a lopsided grin. "It'll be so nice to have the whole villa to ourselves for a while. It can get so crowded and invasive here sometimes."

"You chose this life, remember? You knew this walking in." Caius used his foot to hold the door open and allow Emily to pass through. They didn't need to pack many things, so it was relatively easy to carry their trunks to the jet themselves, especially with their super speed and strength.

Of course after realizing the convenience of having a private jet for travel, Aro had gotten one for them to use permanently rather than the one they had rented previously.

"Walking in, all I knew was that you somehow looked identical to the only one I'd ever loved and that for some reason you had latched onto me." Emily grinned, setting her things down inside the jet's cabin. "Funny how fate works out like that."

"I'll never understand how such a thing could possibly have happened, but I'm glad it did. Now I can't imagine my immortal life without you in it." Caius said, taking Emily's hand to kiss the top of it.

"Nor mine without you." Emily skipped over the garnish to kiss Caius, curling a lock of his silver hair around her finger.