Twilight Soldier (13/37)
Title: Twilight Soldier
Rating: T
Summary: Dark Angel/ Twilight Crossover. X5 Bella/Edward. No Pulse. After escaping the harsh treatment at the hands of a secret government organisation known as Manticore, X5-472 has tried to settle into life as an Ordinary with varying degrees of success. Going by the name Bella, which was given to her by the CO of her unit, Zack, she comes across the Swan family and is soon adopted by them.
Years later, after an Eyes Only broadcast revealing the possibility of her location being compromised, she decides to go to a small town called Forks. There, she meets Edward Cullen. They both have their seeming impossible secrets, but that doesn’t stop them from being drawn to each other. However, when Bella’s past finally begins to catch up with her after ten years on the run, she finds that her life just got even more complicated.
Masterpost
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Chapter 13: Sleepless Night
“Ben, listen,” Bella said as she crouched down and observed the town ahead of them. “We will need to split off in different directions, going around the outskirts of the town, until we come to another town. We will need to find civilian clothes and discard these ones, making sure no one finds them. We will need to blend in. After that I don’t know,” Bella explained.
Ben hesitated for a moment, then somewhat reluctantly, gave in. “Agreed.”
He got up from his position, laid out in the snow. Bella stood up with him. This time it was her turn to hesitate.
“Ben,” she said slowly. “You be careful out there. Stay safe.”
“I will,” he grinned back, before his expression turned serious. “You stay safe too,” he said.
Ben turned to leave, but Bella heart a quiet scuffle of feet from behind them and held up her hand, silently telling Ben to stop. He obeyed instantly and she gestured that there was someone behind them. He instantly became alert.
Bella searched the immediate areas as she quickly planned a way to escape and evade. She indicated to Ben that they should go around and disable the enemy, to which Ben answered with the ‘okay’ gesture.
Counting down from three, Bella and Ben blurred around the enemy soldier. Ben came from the left flank to which Bella reflected the position from the right. Bella reached the lone TAC soldier first. She disabled him quickly and retrieved his sidearm. As she readied her acquired weapon, she heard several heavy footsteps approach.
Ben came up beside her. “You got him, Bella!” Ben exclaimed.
Bella shook her head. “There’s more coming.”
Ben cocked his head to the side, focusing his hearing to see if he could pick anything up. “I hear them,” he confirmed.
Bella readied her weapon and soon several armed TAC soldiers entered their line of vision. She was about to dispose of the threat and raised her weapon in order to fire, when she was shot with a tazer from behind. She sank to her knees, shaking violently from the electricity that flowed throughout her body. Despite the pain, she managed to tighten her grip on the gun. She pivoted on her knees as best she could and fired her weapon through blurred vision. Ben’s scream filled her ears and Bella blinked deliberately several times to clear her vision. Another tazer fired hitting her in the side. She collapsed onto the snow. When she was able to she lifted her head while she was still able to and saw her sibling lying face down on the snow. He wasn’t moving and she could only stare in horror as she noticed the blood seeping out from under him, the red forming a puddle, staining the once white snow.
She had just killed her brother.
Bella gasped as she woke up and rolled over onto the floor landing on her hands and kness. She sat down and wrapped her arms around her knees, breathing harshly. Her eyes closed, trying to fend off the images of Ben lying dead, at her own hand.
He’s not dead. It didn’t happen. He’s not dead. It didn’t happen, Bella chanted with her eyes still tightly shut.
After several minutes, Bella was able to calm herself down. She stood up stiffly and glanced at the alarm clock beside her bed. It read: 12:43am. She sighed and walked over to open the window, so that she could breathe in some fresh air.
There was no way she would be able to go back to sleep after that violent and vivid nightmare. She sighed shakily, before gazing out the window into the starry night. The clouds had given way to reveal a spectacular display of the stars and the moon.
It was then Bella decided what she would do for the rest of her sleepless night. She changed into warmer, casual clothes and put on some shoes. She carefully manoeuvred herself out the window, just like she did with Zack, and landed on her feet. She needed to go for a walk to clear her head.
Bella started in the general direction of Port Angeles. The cool night air gave her almost unbelievable clarity and Bella enjoyed the light and cool breeze hitting her skin. She breathed in deeply, with a small sigh escaping her lips. She watched as her hot breath form visibly in the cool air and dissipate after a few seconds.
She was able to clear her head and she searched for a way to take her mind off her horrible dream.
Edward Cullen immediately came to mind.
Bella imagined his crooked smile that made his entire face light up and allowed a small glint in his eyes to appear. She imagined him sitting down next to her on her bed after a particularly bad nightmare and hold her gently in his arms, whispering assurances to her. She imagined herself leaning back, taking comfort in his presence, with his distinct and alluring scent. She imagined herself drifting off back to sleep in his arms, trusting that he would keep her nightmares at bay.
Headlights engulfed her momentarily as a car sped past, interrupting her thoughts. Bella sighed. She wanted that to become a reality. Maybe one day, she allowed herself to think. But it would have to be a day when there would be no more secrets between them.
Maybe one day, she repeated.
She didn’t care what his secret was. Even if he was an advanced human, like she thought he was, or even if he was somehow a vampire like in Jacob’s story (no matter how improbable that scenario may be), she would love him anyway.
Still walking, she noticed the outskirt of Port Angeles ahead. So deep in her thoughts, she hadn’t realised that she’d made it this far. She decided she would just go to the peer and then start to head back. She hadn’t put on her watch, but judging from the small glistens of light that she could see out in the distance that it was getting closer to dawn.
She walked past the bookshop on the outskirts of town and was about to turn into an alley, when she became alert to the approach of some men. She could sense that they were looking for trouble. She backed away as quietly as she could, but they noticed her anyway. A quick and discreet look back revealed that some of the men were walking towards her, while the others had gone off in the other direction. Her fingers twitched in anticipation.
An ambush was about to happen.
She walked out onto the parking lot when she saw a few had gathered. She could hear them whispering amongst themselves.
“Ah. Here she comes,” one of them whispered.
“I like the look of this one. Think she’s a fighter?”
“Seems like. It’ll make things more interestingly.”
From their conversation Bella could guess what they were planning to do and it made her disgusted. It was then she decided she would teach them a lesson. Who knew what they could do to somebody else who couldn’t fight back at all?
And she knew they would underestimate her. She had already been gearing for a fight and knowingly walked into their ambush.
“Hey there!” one of them called. He stopped several feet in front of her. The other two stopped beside him. Behind her, Bella heard the footsteps of the others slow until they finally came to a stop a few feet from her.
The one that was speaking to her, presumably the leader, was the eldest of the lot, and looked to be in his late twenties. He was wearing a flannel shirt and dirty jeans that had large tears. His two friends next him wore similar clothing, which was also very dirty and worn.
The leader took two steps towards her. Bella held her ground. She heard the two behind her shift eagerly in anticipation and she gave a small smile.
“Move,” Bella ordered with a rough voice. The tone held a hint of danger, but the men only laughed, smirking at each other. “I’ll give you this one chance. Go home… move!” she repeated.
They laughed harder. “Yeah right, missy,” the friend on the right said.
Bella shrugged indifferently. “Don’t say I didn’t warn you.”
The eldest looked past her to his friends and gave a sharp nod; a signal. She heard the two close in. Bella kept her eyes firmly on the leader and his two friends in front of her as they slowly walked forward. She relied on her other senses to keep tabs on the men behind her.
They were waiting for her to run, Bella suddenly realised. They liked the chase, the thrill of hunting down their victims. Bella wasn’t going to give them that satisfaction.
It didn’t take too long to find an opening. There! Bella ducked, sticking her leg out and using her hands to support herself. She kicked the feet out from the two behind her. They gasped in surprise at the sudden pain from landing on the unforgiving asphalt. The leader and his two friends rushed forward, but Bella evaded their first punches, then kicked and blurred, quickly knocking them out.
She leaned down. “You messed with the wrong girl,” Bella told them as they lay unconscious on the asphalt. They would definitely be in a great deal of pain when they woke. She stood back up and turned to the direction of a car that was speeding towards the parking lot. Soon after, Bella saw the headlights of the car. It darted around the corner and expertly turned into the parking lot, even at the increased speed. Bella waited and was soon able to see past the headlights. It was Edward’s Volvo and with her sight she was able to make out his figure in the driving seat. He seemed to be furious.
What was he doing here, at this time of night? Bella wondered.
It didn’t look like the car was going to stop, but she knew Edward would never hurt her. She trusted him.
The silver car fishtailed around and skidded to a stop. As soon as the engine was cut, Edward appeared in front of her. His eyes examined her from head to toe checking to see if she was alright. He breathed a sigh of relief and glanced down at the unconscious would be rapists.
“They’re unconscious,” Bella informed him.
“You did this?” Edward asked, surprised.
“I told you that I can take care of myself,” Bella shrugged. She watched as Edward glanced down at them. “What are you doing here?” she asked curiously.
“We should go,” Edward hedged. “Before they wake up.” His hands clenched and his jaw was set. Bella’s eyes narrowed watching him. He was trying to restrain himself, she realised.
“’kay,” Bella nodded. She moved towards the Volvo. Edward stepped out of her way and as she passed him, she reached out a hand and pulled him with her. “Come on!” she urged.
Edward looked away from the would-be rapists and watched her carefully. He searched her eyes and found something in them, although Bella didn’t know what it was. “Let’s go,” she tried again to get him moving. He nodded and started moving with her. Bella reached the passenger door and went to open it when Edward hand suddenly reached out first and opened it for her. She blinked in surprise, but before she could even think anything of it, he’d moved around to the driver’s side. Bella got in and put her seatbelt on.
Edward started the car and the tires squealed as he took off. He pulled out of the parking lot, not even stopping to see if there was traffic and did the same again as they reached and passed several stop signs. It took them not even a minute to get back on to the highway and back in the direction of Forks.
“You never answered my question,” Bella commented lightly and calmly.
Edward wasn’t listening to her. Bella glanced at him and saw that he had gritted his teeth. Her eyes moved to the dashboard and noticed that they were going a lot faster than the speed limit.
“No,” he acknowledged, his tone was dismissive. “I should go back and rip their heads off,” he continued, his voice strained. His hands tightened on the steering wheel.
“And they would probably deserve it,” Bella said. “It doesn’t make it right though, however unfortunate that may or may not be.”
“You don’t know what vile, repulsive things they were thinking,” Edward muttered.
“And you do?” Bella questioned.
“It’s not hard to guess,” Edward avoided. It seemed to Bella though, that he truly believed that he had heard their minds. Interesting, Bella thought, carefully noting that little insight.
Edward suddenly turned to her. “Are you alright?”
“Not even a scratch.”
“And you knocked them out?” Edward asked in disbelief.
“Is that somehow hard to believe?” Bella asked.
Edward searched her eyes looking for something. “With you? Somehow… no, it’s not.” he said after a moment, turning back to the road.
“Distract me,” he said, his voice hard again.
“Why?”
He exhaled sharply. “Just prattle on about something important until I calm down,” he clarified, pinching the bridge of his nose and closing his eyes briefly.
Bella took a moment to search for what to say. “I suppose your wondering why I’m out so early in the morning, without a car,” she finally said.
“That did cross my mind,” Edward admitted, looking at her once more.
“I couldn’t sleep. So I snuck out of the house through my window and jogged to clear my head. I didn’t even notice how close I was to Port Angeles until I saw the buildings. There’s just something peaceful about the night air and running. Gives you time to think things over,” Bella sighed.
“What are you thinking?” Edward asked.
Bella shrugged. “About a lot of things really … you,” she revealed shyly.
“What about me?”
“There some weird connection between us,” Bella admitted, and then she realised how she sounded. “God, that must sound weird. You must think me insane.”
“No,” Edward said after a moment. “I feel the same,” he admitted.
“You do?” Bella asked with a hint of relief.
“I do,” Edward confirmed. “It’s very intense. It feels like-”
“An electric charge going up your hand, warming you… comforting you,” Bella finished for him.
“Yeah,” Edward whispered. “That’s exactly what I feel.”
Bella smiled at that. At least she now knew that the feelings were mutual. He seemed to be recovered from the intense bout of anger.
“Are you okay now?” Bella asked him softly.
“Not really.” He leaned back slightly, but still focused on the road. “Sometimes I have a problem with my temper, Bella,” he whispered, he glanced at her as if judging her reaction. Bella looked indifferent.
His eyes narrowed into slits as he looked out the windscreen in anger. “But it wouldn’t be helpful for me to turn around and hunt down those…” he trailed off, visibly struggling to control his anger. He took a deep breath before he continued, “At least, that’s what I keep telling myself.”
“I knocked them down pretty hard,” Bella offered, hoping it may ease his angry, if only a little.
“I could tell,” he said gruffly. “How do you know self-defence?”
Bella looked away, out at the passenger side window. The trees zoomed by quickly, evident of the speed that they were travelling at. “From childhood,” she said simply. Her tone indicated that she would speak no more on the subject.
Edward glanced at her again, observing her carefully to see if she was alright.
“What?” Bella asked.
“How are you feeling?” he asked, concerned.
“I’m fine,” she answered. “Really,” she added when he looked at her with disbelief.
“You don’t feel dizzy, sick, cold…?”
Bella stared at him. “You think I’m going into shock, don’t you?”
Edward looked at her with a curious expression on his face. “Well, you’ve just had a traumatic experience.”
“Hardly traumatic,” Bella scoffed. “I’ve been through a lot worse.”
Edward’s eyes suddenly softened as he realised what she must have meant. “From your childhood,” he guessed. His eyes held a hint of an angry undertone. On her behalf, she noted somewhat dazed.
“Yeah,” Bella said softly, looking down at her lap.
A few moments passed in silence. “You never answered by question. Why are you in Port Angeles, this early in the morning?” She paused for a moment, as a thought suddenly occurred to her. “You were looking for me.”
“Yes,” Edward admitted reluctantly.
“Why?”
“I feel very… protective of you,” he said slowly like he was trying to find the right words.
“How did you know I wasn’t asleep in my bed?” Bella asked.
Edward stayed silent for several minutes, a frown forming on his face. Bella finally took pity on him.
“I know you’ve been in my room,” Bella told him.
“You do?”
“Let’s just say I can tell by the smell… I’ve noticed your scent in my room a few nights.”
Edward looked at her for a moment; he didn’t know what to say. “Sorry,” he said, although it didn’t sound like it.
“It’s a little stalker-ish, you have to admit,” Bella had to mention to him. She grinned a little as the car swerved a little.
“I-I-”
Bella had to laugh at Edward’s stutter. She hadn’t heard him stutter before, it was quite amusing.
“So why were you in my room?”
“I, well, I watched you. You’re very fascinating when you sleep,” Edward finally admitted. “Well, when you don’t have nightmares.”
“You know I have nightmares?” Bella asked, her tone boarding on a groan.
“At least once or twice a week.”
“What did I say?”
“You talk about you siblings a lot. You worry about them… where they are now, among other things.”
“What are the other things?” Bella pressed. She worried about what he did manage to inadvertently hear about her.
“You say my name a few times,” Edward told her.
Bella groaned. She didn’t know what was worse, him possibly knowing about Manticore or him knowing that she dreamed about him nearly every night.
“It’s alright, like I said, I find it fascinating.”
“Why weren’t you sleeping?” Bella suddenly asked as it occurred to her, although maybe they didn’t need as much sleep. Like Max and Jondy in her unit didn’t need as much sleep as they grew older at Manticore.
Edward was silent again.
“It’s alright,” Bella said. It was time to reveal that she knew about him, she realised. Their conversation turned into something different than what she had anticipated. “I know what you are.”
Edward turned to her in surprise as soon as she said that. The car swerved violently to the other side of the road. Edward quickly steadied the car and pulled over onto the side of the road. He took his hands off the wheels and turned to her sharply.
“You… what?”
“I know what you are,” Bella repeated.
Next Chapter >>
Chapter 14: Truth