A/N: Thank you so so so much for all of the kind reviews! I love hearing from you guys. Without further ado, here's the next chapter!

The Cullens gathered in their expensive, well decorated family room, the only two not in the room yet being Jasper and Alice. An older looking Renesmee stood beside Jacob, who was currently looking down at her, sensing her apprehension. Family meetings like this weren't usually called unless there was something very important to discuss. Based on the look on her father's face, it definitely wasn't something positive.

It was then that Alice and Jasper entered the room, Jasper's large hand enclosed around Alice's smaller one, trying to calm her down with his gift. She gazed around the room at each of her family members, knowing full well that Edward knew already. "We won't be fighting the Volturi."

"What do you mean by that?" Jacob was the first to speak up, having heard about Alice's vision from several days before. "You said that they were coming for us. What, so we're just not going to fight now?"

"Jacob." It was the warning tone in Edward's voice that stopped the shapeshifter in the middle of his rant. Jacob looked over at Edward, who sent him a look. "Let Alice finish what she has to say before you jump to any conclusions."

Jacob looked angry and hesitant, but after Renesmee set a gentle hand on his arm, he immediately calmed down, releasing a sigh.

Alice then took this as a sign to continue. "The Romanians are coming after them. They've assembled an army; newborns, nomads, but no major covens. They're trying to take down the Volturi to repay them for what they did to them centures before."

"So why do we care?" Emmett questioned next, turning the attention in the room on him. "Why do we even get involved?"

"The Volturi are coming here for help." Alice replied. "They're going to kill some of their members. Nameless members of the guard, and Renata, to name a few."

"Renata?" Rosalie repeated. Alice nodded.

Bella furrowed her brow. "But isn't Renata a physical shield? How could they even touch her?"

"The child." Edward replied. "The child is Alec's. He was born with a gift to shut off others' gifts."

"In the midst of the fight, he'll get scared. He'll target Renata because she's the one who's causing him the most distress." Alice continued. "And, because of this, she'll be vulnerable. More importantly, she'll be killed."

"So they'll want us to protect them?" Emmett questioned. Alice nodded. "And why should we?"

"Because the Romanians will kill us as well for not standing with them the first time, when we had the Volturi on the run." Edward replied. "They'll get in over their heads, vulnerable, more importantly, they'll get reckless. We'll pay the price for their recklessness."

"So we prepare for the Volturi to arrive then." Carlisle concluded with an air of finality.

"Very good, Aiden." I cheered for him, smiling fondly at the little boy. He grinned at me, happy to have his mother's approval, before he turned back to playing with his toys.

I stood up then, dusting off the dirt from my black dress as I did, turning to talk to Amycus, who had been silently watching Aiden and I for a few minutes now. I smiled at him, but he didn't smile back. Alec rarely smiled. The only time I saw even a bit of a smile on his face was when he held Aiden, but even then it was barely detectable. I didn't need him to smile, though. How he felt was always in his eyes, and you could see it if you knew how to look.

"He's maturing so quickly." I commented, watching Aiden for a moment before looking back at Amycus. "He's already incredibly intelligent."

"Aro said that even Renesmee didn't display this growth in this quick of time." Alec commented, a certain fondness in his ruby red eyes that I didn't miss. "He thinks that Aiden's quite remarkable."

"As if we didn't already know that." I replied with a playful roll of my eyes. "All he ever talks about nowadays is Aiden's gift and what it can be used for."

Alec frowned, and before I could comment, a scream was heard from the throne room. I threw a look at Alec, but he shook his head. "Grab Aiden." Was all he said. I nodded, grabbing my son and holding him tight, whispering words to calm him as Alec took my free hand. We were in the throne room in seconds, and as soon as he threw open the doors, I knew that something was wrong.

A good number of the members of the guards were killed. Though I didn't know their names, they were still important to us, very much so, in fact. I looked up, immediately spotting newborn vampires. Reckless, yes, but very strong, along with the Romanians.

A vampire spotted us and rushed at us, but I threw up my shield immediately, stopping him in his path and throwing him back into a wall. Alec looked around and motioned for me to follow, and I so, trying to spot our leaders in the midst of all the chaos.

We spotted them a few minutes later. Unfortunately, Aiden did as well. He looked at Renata, and at that moment, I felt him tense. He let out a wail and suddenly, Aro's eyes widened, as did Renata's. Aro moved immediately and someone killed Renata, ripping her head and arms off.

"Get Aiden out of here." Alec commanded me.

"But, Alec," I protested, but he threw me a look.

I shook my head, turning and running through, keeping my shield up and cooing words to Aiden to try and calm him. His head was buried in the crook of my neck, his sobs filling me with pain as his tears hit my skin. I spotted Jane, who was having trouble taking down all of those vampires by herself.

I ran to her, my shield down. I pushed her behind me and threw my shield up, knocking back the vampires that had tried pouncing on her. I turned to face her, and she gave me a look that looked like gratitude, though it was wiped away a moment after I saw it.

"Alec told me to leave." I told her.

"Then leave." She spat. "You need to get out of here. Take Alec with you."

"But-"

"Go." She commanded.

"Jane." I whispered, looking at her, reaching out to her, but she shrugged my hand off. "You need to come with us."

Jane frowned, looking over at Aro, but a tiny voice was what changed her mind.

"Janey." Aiden whined, holding his hands out to her. Jane looked at me, and I nodded. She tried to look annoyed and took Aiden in her arms, nodding at me once.

I turned and ran with her, trying to find Alec in the midst of the battle. It was clear that we were losing. Alec's mist could only do so much to fight off the army, and Jane's power could only be used on one person at a time. We were surprise attacked. But it wasn't enough. Someone had to be gifted, and the gift had to be something terrible for us to be fleeing like this.

"Alec!" I grabbed his hand, tugging him into range so I could throw the shield back up around us. "We're all leaving, Alec. Now."

"But-"

"Now." I said firmly. "Aiden needs his father, and I'm not having you die because of him."

Alec sighed, nodding his head, knowing that I was right. I nodded towards Jane and we all ran out of there, the shield helping immensely to get us out safe and sound. We ran through the hidden areas of Volterra, and when the population of humans got too dense, we settled on throwing our hoods up and walking at a brisk pace.

"Where are we going to go?" I questioned the two. Sure, I'd organized that all of us would leave together, but I didn't have a plan beyond that. I just didn't want them to die. They were family, even if Jane hated me.

Alec gave Jane a look, and her nose scrunched up immediately as she growled. "No." She hissed.

"But it's the only way." Alec protested.

"I said, no." She snapped.

"What is it?" I questioned, making them both look over at me.

"It's the only way we can stay safe." Alec replied, his gaze finally leaving my own as he looked at his sister.

Jane sighed, crossing her arms. "Fine. But after all this is over, we're leaving. I'm not looking to get cuddly and cozy with the Cullens."

"The Cullens?" I repeated. "Aren't they..."

"Yes." Alec replied, cutting me off. "They're the ones with Renesmee."

"So what do they have to do with anything?"

"We need their help to survive, as much as it pains me to say it." Jane spat, sounding venomous. Even though the anger wasn't directed at me, it still sent shivers down my spine. "So we're going to Forks."