The Inner Light in Outer Darkness

[Alice Cullen]

-after leaving the house behind, I darted off right into the thick foliage of the forest, Jazz's hand still in my own. Startling visions were racing through my head faster than our feet even, as we flew through the woods. Honestly, I was just running, I Had no clue where to go. Still trying to see Edward and HIS decision and the possible outcomes, but my stalwart brother kept changing his direction. BAH! And now, these other things that Renesmee had opened the doorway of my mind too, they wouldn't stop coming. And I saw someone. Someone in the shadows of my past that I had...forgotten. I felt like a wary, hunted deer suddenly, lost, without direction...-

[Jasper Hale]

*Shooting off into the forest, hand in hand with Alice, I had no idea where we were going. I just knew I would go anywhere with and for her. She knew what she had to do and I supported her. I couldn't quite wrap my head around Bella and Renesmee and all the secrets that had come out. My mind was racing, but I was trying to remain neutral and act as if I wasn't affected by all of this news. I could feel Alice getting anxious and I looked over at her face, her contorted, pained face. I hated her like this and immediately slowed my pace* Tell me, my love. *I whispered to her, as I ran my finger down her cheek to comfort her*

[Alice Cullen]

-the only one ever capable of bringing me to MY senses and soothing me without even trying..my Jasper. I slowed, along with him, the dull, grey sky heavy with clouds today, no sunlight at all anywhere. Shaking my head just once, I gave a dainty shrug-How can I tell you what I don't remember? I just know that she..that Renesmee saw something of MY past. Something horrible, something wrong. But the moment she opened that door, it's like now all this, this..pain. Darkness. Hunger. A hollow pang of despair that I can't recall. -looking into his eyes as we stopped altogether among a patch of tall trees, the bark weathered and battered from storms of the past. The past. I stared off again, lost in a vision that tickled my conscience. "Remember, Mary-Alice, when you wake up, you'll be alone. But you'll find me when you need me the most..." -that voice..that voice..a low pitch of English aristocracy and gentle compassion.-

[Jasper Hale]

*I could tell she was slowly remembering things..even if they were small. Looking up at the grey sky, I took a deep breath in and slowly exhaled, even if it wasn't needed, I just felt....helpless. I looked back down into her eyes, watching the countless emotions passing through the dimness of her gaze. She was looking into my eyes, but I could tell she wasn't actually looking at me. She was gone at this moment, her mind off in her past, her forgotten past* Are you remembering something? Your emotions are going crazy right now, my love. Talk to me, I'm feeling helpless and you know I don't like you like this.

[Alice Cullen]

-I heard his voice as though through a vast, echoing tunnel, whispers of a soothing Southern accent that covered me in a warm blanket of protection but I was so wrapped up in trying to "see" what I was apparently blocking on some level that I didn't respond right away and when I finally did, I sounded like a small, broken child-I..think something was wrong with me? I was sick. But not the way Edward was when Carlisle found him. This was....worse, I think. Ness only showed me a fraction of a moment..but it was me. On a damp floor, with my head shaved. I was alone, it was dark. -shuddering briefly-They..hurt me. Somehow. But someone...else was there. Always in the shadows. And every fiber of my being is telling me I need to know who this is...it's important. Not just to me but...-stiffening again as a man's image began to solidify in my head. And I saw him with ..with ..ARO! Some crucial thing I'm missing..who is this person? A vampire, that much I could see in my head..but what else?-

[Jasper Hale]

*Listening to her speak, I could tell she wasn't actually talking to me. She was more talking to herself, she was very distant. I hated seeing her like this, but I couldn't do anything about it when her mind was in this state. I just sat there and waited out her mental visions, while trying to soothe her. I wrapped my arms around her waist and pulled her head to my chest. I let my mind drift as she was wrapped up. I started thinking about my secrets, well one in particular with my great-nephew. The one I trained, the one I connected with, the one I let escape. I couldn't help but wonder how he was, where he was. I knew I needed to tell Alice, but with the situation we were in, I couldn't put this on her too. I came back to reality and felt Alice tensing up. I immediately calmed her and wrapped my arms tighter, holding her here with me* What do you want to do? I am here, just tell me what you want me to do. *It completely destroyed me inside listening to her talk about how they hurt her, I couldn't imagine anyone hurting Alice. I wouldn't ever let that happen. My hands balled up in fists on her back as I considered finding these people and ripping their heads off*

[Alice Cullen]

Jasper. My God. -eyes filling with some awareness, some innate level of sub conscious power telling me what I'd known. And forgotten. But why all the holes? Why the sheer darkness of a memory I couldn't capture. Had it been THAT bad? It wasn't something I'd ever thought to discuss with Carlisle before....traumatic amnesia, possibly hysterical? My life began the moment I'd woken in the fetid mausoleum in Mississippi. My first contact had been James and he'd left me on my own to discover what I was. And it hadn't been a blissful journey. I'd taken human lives before I realized there was another way, on my own. My first vision, after my transformation, had been of..Jasper. I saw him so often in my mind those first days of my rebirth, but knew on some intrinsic level he wasn't ready for me to find him. So, I'd let him find ME in that diner. And THAT was the day I knew I'd been put on this Earth for. For that man. For Jasper. I never once gave thought to who I'd been before to be honest. It didn't matter after a while and once I'd "seen" the Cullens; well...that was our family. Period. But now, my mind was screaming to remember..remember- Jazz. I ..I think I need to find my maker. But..I don't ..remember him much -tilting my head back to stare up into his composed face-I keep seeing him in my head though. With Aro! And they're arguing. Aro looks....almost swayed. A bit ...off? As though this other vampire makes him uneasy.

[Jasper Hale]

Another vampire making Aro uneasy? Im intrigued! *I couldn't even imagine another vampire making Aro feel that way, except us. When we all gathered in that field, that clearing, and stood up to the Volturi, I could see the apprehension in his face. He knew what he was up against, he knew he didn't want to fight, but still he stood his ground, but if Alice's maker made him anxious, what kind of man was he?* Are you sure that's what you want to do? To go find this man? Your maker? *I looked down in her eyes, searching, wondering what was going through her mind.* If he makes Aro insecure, what kind of man is he? I'm with you regardless, I just want to be sure that this is something you want to do.

[Alice Cullen]

-nodding slowly- Not just that, Jazz. But something we NEED to do. For us all. If we can get my maker into our corner, we have leverage. And I'll use whatever it takes to get Bella away from the Volturri. Somehow, someway. Bella is just a pawn, and Aro is a champion chess player. But something I've learned over the years; over, under, through or across..there is ALWAYS a way. -leaning up to kiss his lips gently, my mind flipping and turning on how to find this maker of mine. Focusing a bit harder, just on him. Then the weirdest thing happened. I saw him, calling for me. He was standing outside of ...a store. No. A club. I saw the sign above the building and grinned. Wrong again. No club. A theater. The Pantages Theater. Los Angeles-Jazz! I know where he is! -I was almost excited but in a very odd, nervous fashion. However, I wasn't immune to the emotions I saw on my mate's face as though lost in his own reverie-Jazz? What is it? You look as though the weight of the world is on your shoulders. Talk to me...whatever it is...we'll deal, yeah? Together.

[Jasper Hale]

Yes, I agree. This is something we need to do, if it will help our family, we have to do it. *Watching her face light up, I could feel a nervous excitement come over her* We will get through this, I don't want to mess this up for you. We can go search for your maker and then we can talk after all this is through. It's not a big deal, just something on my mind. *I was starting to get a feeling deep inside me. Regret? Nerves? Worry? I wasn't sure, but something was definitely gnawing at me. I leaned down and kissed her lips, gently at first, but quickly deepening into passion. My feelings of doubt and all other thoughts, slowly slipping away as all I could concentrate on was this magnificant woman in my arms*

[Alice Cullen]

-falling into the kiss, tumbling into that sweet place only he could ever take me too, I got lost for a bit, my hands sliding up his chest to anchor on his broad shoulders. It never grew old or routine with him. Kissing Jasper was like coming home, every single time and it was only in moments like this, that I could melt away into our own small paradise where nothing else existed. Just us. Finally breaking apart, my lips still touching his-I love you. You ARE my life. -stepping back, I knew better than to push him to tell me what was on his mind. He'd tell me in his own time, his own way. I wasn't naieve enough to think that there were still many things about Jasper I didn't know. There were worlds, layers, of him for me to peel away. We had forever. If only Bella would stop messing with the Volturri, I thought ruefully. Sliding my hand back into his-C'mon, babe. Let's head for Seattle, we can rent a car there. If we go back now, everyone will want to know what's happening and I want the element of surprise in our favor. You'd think Aro and his band of Merry Men would learn after last time..but no..-giving my own sweet smile, I squeezed his hand and we took off. There was a LOT to do. I had to find my Maker first. Then I had to get him to help us out. Wasn't sure how I was going to sway him. I didn't even remember him...-

[Jasper Hale]

*My lips were still tingling from our connection as we pulled apart. I had to focus to bring myself back* Yes, let's go. Aro doesn't learn, he thinks he's above all, but we will prove him wrong and bring him down again. We have to, this is our family. We have to protect everyone. *Taking off towards Seattle, I knew I needed to tell Alice about him, my nephew, but right now was not the time. Things were crazy and we needed to concentrate on locating her maker. I would protect her until death and I won't let anyone hurt her ever again. I couldn't get those images out of my head, of my wife, my soulmate, my everything, laying there, hurt. I could feel my hand squeezing her's a little too tight and I immediately softened my grasp. I calmed down and focused on the task at hand, everything else could wait. They will feel my wrath, but not at this time*