Chapter Text
Jasper didn't like conflict.
He didn't like fighting, regardless of his skills or past, he didn't like fighting, he had hidden his past beneath the rug in hopes to forget about it, giving the Cullens and those who asked about it a washed out version of who he had once been.
But he didn't do it as a lie.
It was his attempt at starting with a somewhat clean slate.
A slate where he wasn't regarded with sheer terror and/or disgust.
When he took Alice's hand at that diner he had sworn to himself to never fight again unless it meant protecting her, all so as to keep the demon inside him at bay.
And still.
He never thought that living a boring life among the Cullens where the closest thing to a fight he got was wrestling Emmett would lead him back into the claws of darkness.
Fighting newborns.
Killing.
He had been able to feel its claws digging deep beneath his flesh with each life he took.
A looming shadow who's mouth dripped with silver and who was meant to never see the light again.
The shadow from a demon.
A demon who had bathed the world in red and silver, committed atrocities that were seared into legends among the vampires.
He had managed to keep it in a leash.
Even as he spared the little newborn Esme and Carlisle seemed so intent on keeping.
He had kept it in a leash.
It could never be allowed out, much less during a hostile situation, if it did, Jasper feared he might lose the little control he had started regaining after leaving the South.
The second time it had clawed at the back of his head and made his insides burn had been during the fight with the wolves.
Hearing Alice's scream and seeing her so close to being torn apart had made him break one of the wolves' jaws.
But Leah had saved Alice before he could lose his grip out of desperation to get to her.
The whispers grew louder.
The third time it happens.
It wins.
And he is left exposed as the true monster he has always been.
~
Alice didn't see them until the Volturi themselves were emerging from the forest.
All of them; Aro, Caius, Felix, Demetri, Jane, Alec, Marcus, all of them.
“What are they doing here?” Rosalie whispers, her voice not bothering to hide neither her annoyance nor displeasure over the italians' unexpected presence.
It hadn't even been a week since the near fight between them.
At least Renesmee was at Charlie's.
“Aro, to what do I owe the pleasure? I thought we had come to an understatement last we met?” Carlisle greets as he comes to stand at the porch, the rest of the family looming behind.
Aro smiles, a dangerous smile as his gaze roams right behind Carlisle before settling right on his left, where Carlisle knows Alice stands at, had the Volturi come for her? God, please let not be that.
“I haven't come here in regards of the child. I have come for more… sensitive matters.” Carlisle doesn't like Aro's look at all.
“May I ask what these are?” Carlisle questions, he didn't think he wanted to know the answer.
“You can turn around and leave if Alice, Bella or Edward will be what comes out of your mouth next.” Rosalie's harsh voice almost makes Carlisle's dead heart start beating again as fear grips him, of all possible times this was not the best for Rosalie's sharp tongue.
“Forgive her, she can be a bit of a short fuse.” Carlisle is quick to say, Aro seems unimpressed.
“Actually, the one I wish to speak with, isn't either of them, but the one with the scars.”
Aro's words still the atmosphere.
The one with the scars.
Scars.
Jasper.
“What do you want with him?” Alice questions defensively, her hand gripping Jasper's arm tightly, she didn't like this, something wasn't right, Aro wasn't supposed to pay Jasper any mind, Jasper always made sure to make his presence uninteresting to the Volturi if there were any around.
So why was Aro focusing on him? He couldn't know about that, right? She had done great at changing Jasper's looks, she even covered the scars on his face to give him a more harmless look, practically showered him in over a thousand different perfumes and bath oils to hide his scent, he couldn't possibly recognize him.
Right?
I mean, Peter and Charlotte had scars too, not as many as Jasper, but literally any southern vampire had them. All the world should see from Jasper's scars were the ones on his hands and the one on his eyebrow.
And the ones from his forearms when he rolled his sleeves up.
Nothing more, nothing else, his scarring shouldn't be particularly eye-catching, no one should look at him twice, she had literally put way too much makeup on him to hide them from vampires. Emmett had even called him "a ken doll" more than once because of it.
“I believe you already know the why, my dear Alice.” Aro's words sent a shiver down Alice's spine, no, how? How did he know? It didn't make sense, they shouldn't know! Was it her? Had she slipped while letting him read her mind? Had he caught on to the lie about the fight between the Volturi and her family?
What? What could possibly give Jasper away?
“I'm afraid I don't follow.” She answered instead, keeping her voice leveled, plastering up her best innocent and clueless show.
It didn't work.
“You can stop acting, my dear.” Aro said, this before his eyes were falling back on Jasper. “You were smart, I do have to give you that, diverting our attention from you whenever you were there, should have known something wasn't right when such a peaceful coven managed to overpower a newborn army without casualties.”
Each word that came out of Aro's mouth felt like a weight that pushed at Jasper's composure, he could feel the confusion among the Cullens, wariness towards Aro.
The Volturi's blazing glee, eagerness, fascination, desire, disgust, wariness, hesitancy.
It made his stomach twist.
This couldn't really be how it all ended.
What had he messed up for them to notice him? To notice long enough to recognize his face?
As if reading his mind, Aro answered.
“As I said, you were smart, hiding yourself away like that. If I recall, you are quite the unusual empath, manipulating those around you to see the world your way, to not pay you any mind if you so much as will it.”
Carlisle had no idea where Aro was going with this, and still, the man's burning desire as he looked at Jasper was enough to make his gut twist, he wanted Jasper too.
The way he spoke about Jasper's gift though… he made it sound like there was more behind what Carlisle had ever seen him do, Jasper rarely used his gift, such that he wasn't proud to admit it was sometimes easy to forget he even had one.
It was general knowledge that Jasper could feel and manipulate other people's emotions, and that he could also broadcast his own.
But that was about it.
That's all he ever shared with them about his gift.
Then why did Aro speak as if he knew more about it than any of them did?
“Your gift is useful to keep yourself hidden, but you made a grave mistake, you put yourself in the spotlight and by extension destroyed your little hide-and-seek game when you decided to show up alongside Alice.”
Alice felt herself grow faint at that, her fingers digging into Jasper's arm, she told him to not come with her, to stay with Nahuel and his aunt, but the damn idiot didn't listen, he had to go and be his overprotective fool self and put himself on the spotlight.
Now Aro knew.
And the Cullens would know.
Not even the warm comfort he was sending her was enough to calm her rising panic.
She was gonna lose him, wasn't she? She was gonna lose him and there was nothing she could do about it.
“You don't look the same, that's why I didn't recognize you right away, but you can't seriously expect to fool me, you might hide your scars, you might hide your stench, you might aim to change your whole appearance, you might even feed off rabbits, but you are still the same.”
“You sure you aren't just mistaken? He's got that kind of face, lots of look alikes.” Alice said, hoping against hope to avoid the inevitable. Aro's eyes grew hard, he wasn't smiling anymore, not good not good not good not good not good!
“I don't make mistakes nor do I forget those who try to kill me so easily, much less those who do manage to escape alive.” Jasper felt his stomach twist, not because of Aro's statement, but because of the surprise, confusion and shock that rippled across the air, his arms around Alice tightened.
Deep breaths.
He couldn't let this bother him.
“ Dude. ” Emmett's whisper wasn't comforting at all, he wanted the Volturi to leave, leave before Aro destroyed what little semblance of peace and normalcy he had gained among the Cullens.
“Aro, you must be mistaken, he-”
“Is not yours.” Jane cut off, sending Carlisle a piercing look. “You can't possibly aim to speak on his behalf regarding crimes you weren't there to witness.”
Crimes? She couldn't possibly mean his attempt against Aro's life, that was preposterous, vampire laws weren't anywhere near similar to the ones among humans, attacking the Volturi wasn't exactly against the law, a stupid move, but not against the law.
What the hell had even been going through his head for him to think it was smart to attack the Volturi at all?
“I must admit I'm greatly impressed, Carlisle, I knew you weren't much smart when it came to how you handled your coven, but I never expected you to be daring enough to break the law and still have the audacity to parade him around infront of us, I can understand María would do it, she's always been quite the problematic one, but you? I almost believed your ‘we are a family, not a coven’ mantra.”
Caius' words alongside the sudden rise of dangerous emotions across the Volturi was enough to get Jasper moving, before he knew it, he had left Alice's side and had come to stand before Carlisle, no, they shouldn't suffer because of him, of all things possible that was the last thing he wanted.
He felt Alice's fear slice across his skin and he pushed calm towards her.
She shouldn't fear, he had long ago come to terms with the fact that this might happen sooner or later.
The day his past would come back for him.
“It's not a crime if they don't know, you can't touch them, they know nothing of what you speak of, you can check their minds if you don't believe me, if you do attack them, even after knowing them to be innocent, I believe that would do terrible things to your reputation, ain't it damaged enough after your little stunt? It would be a most terrible shame if it were to fall even more, people might even start doubting your judgment.”
He knew he hit a nerve when Caius' eyebrow twitched, Aro's eyes flashing with anger.
“Jasper?” Jasper winced at the question in Carlisle's voice, the confusion, the frustration, the fear, the anxiety.
For him.
He was worried and he wanted nothing more but to help.
But he had no idea what was happening.
Carlisle has always been such a kind man…
And Jasper had been such a filthy liar.
Abusing their trust, putting them at risk with each passing moment he spent around them, mocking them by parading around playing at being something he could never be…
He wanted to apologize, wish for this to not be happening, for it all to be a nightmare induced by the corrupted visions, but he knew this to be real, he hadn't even tasted Alice's venom in over a month now.
This wasn't a corrupted vision.
It was real.
He wanted to hide, to be buried alive over having to stand here on a single thread.
He knew his life here came to an end when Aro spoke a name he hadn't heard in over a century.
“You haven't changed at all, Major .”
~
It was general knowledge that Jasper's past was filled with thousands of gaps and dark implications, but it was alright, a rule that prevailed amongst the Cullens was that no one was entitled to share their story, and if they did, it was no one's business to judge.
Jasper came from a complicated background, from the moment he was turned up to the moment he left the South he had genuinely believed that a vampire's way of life was through violence and death.
He had escaped thanks to Peter, not without scars, both physical and psychological, he was extremely hyperaware, always going straight into attack mode at the slightest sign of danger.
But he had never, not even once, given anyone any reason to doubt him, regardless of his poor control no one could deny his commitment to this lifestyle was outstanding.
And still.
As Aro spoke that name it felt as if all they had ever known about Jasper was a lie, Major.
It had been right there, Major Jasper Whitlock.
Major.
The Major.
He had been the personification of sheer brutality and bloodlust. Insatiable in battle and with a desire for destruction and chaos that could make the South tremble.
Had been the most feared and ruthless individual in the vampire world, the most lethal of their species. He had been a dangerous and feral vampire who had never, not even once, lost a fight; he trained and led armies of newborns that he slaughtered himself when he saw fit. He fought in the Southern Wars for territory, slaughtering thousands of humans and vampires alike in his wake. He was well known for his strange ability to subdue an entire army without lifting a finger. Empath.
The death and destruction that he had caused in his wake was still, to this day, one of the worst things to ever be recorded in vampire history. And while the Volturi had tried to put an end to those wars and him, The Major was known for having annihilated one of Aro's armies, on his own, having come close to slaughtering Aro himself.
Some vampires referred to him as “the God Of War" due his terrifying presence in the battlefield, his control over newborns, and his perfect record of victories. He had been a monstrous being who existed to leave nothing but death and destruction behind him. His bloodlust had bled over the battlefield like a cloak of nightmares that sent armies scattering in terror.
He had been the personification of what an actual vampire was meant to be and so much worse. The one thing all vampires wished to never come across in their lives.
He had been regarded as a demon who's soul had long been lost, who's insatiable bloodlust drove him to lose his humanity and general mind, turning him into one of the most dangerous creatures to ever walk the Earth.
But then he disappeared, lots of people thought him dead, it was rumored that he suffered from the ripper disease, that's why he had been so violent and insatiable, those who had managed to escape him would speak of silver eyes and a putrid smell.
It was believed that his disappearance hadn't been a disappearance but his ultimate demise at the hands of the disease.
He was dead.
He had been rumored to carry a disease that had been eradicated long before his apparition.
A disease which turned vampires into extremely volatile and extremely uncontrollable creatures that did nothing but fight, kill and eat their own kind.
The black blood disease.
So how was it that Carlisle had him right infront of him? Alive and very much sane? Jasper had been living with them for over 60 years, not even once had he shown signs of having that nightmarish disease.
He was the most composed of them all, never losing his temper, always going for the easiest way out of a conflict, he might have quite the sharp tongue on him, but he had never been one to get involved in fights or arguments, choosing to just hang in the background and watch it all unfold.
Unless Alice was involved.
Like when he threatened to kill Bella after Edward saved her from that truck and risked exposure, Alice had managed to talk him out of it and he seemed to be on good terms with Bella now that she was a vampire.
The closest thing to him acting aggressive had been during the fight with Victoria's newborns, he had been quick and precise, hits lethal, had even tried to kill Bree against Esme and Carlisle's request to spare her, such a wild look he had wielded, he had looked almost too… not right.
But he had let Bree go.
Still.
The point still stood.
How could Jasper and The Major be the same person? Jasper didn't like conflict, and he wasn't sick.
But he had said so himself.
It's not a crime if they don't know.
That was confirmation enough that at least some of what the Volturi spoke of was the truth.
Jasper was The Major.
Which meant he was someone the Volturi would want to capture, same as his sole existence broke one of the most important laws right after the one about the immortal children.
Ripper.
Rippers were generally extremely feral, predatory vampires, and far more savage and beast-like than their human appearance suggested. They would growl, hiss, snarl, and curl their lips back, baring their teeth as signs of aggression when provoked.
Unlike the average vampire, the enjoyment of hunting and terrorizing humans were far more entertaining to rippers, as they destroyed the lives and severed the limbs of humans without hesitation or remorse.
They were the type of vampires that were so consumed by their bloodlust that they were completely unaware of what they were doing and often blacked out.
Rippers were the ones prompt to develop the black blood disease during their newborn stage, reason the Volturi had set a law against rippers centuries ago, if a newborn was to present ripper behavior it was stated by law that they should be executed.
There was a reason it was also against the law to create a vampire and leave them to their luck, it could expose the secret same as it could be a ripper.
But The Major wasn't executed.
María had gone against the law and kept a ripper alive.
Jasper was a ripper.
No wonder he still had such a difficult time around humans, it was part of a ripper's nature to be obsessed with blood.
But he was nothing like the rippers Carlisle had read about, he wasn't vile, he wasn't violent, he didn't even like killing humans unless he felt threatened by them.
He would be devastated whenever he slipped, sulking and refusing to listen to anyone, Carlisle had found him several times in the past apologizing to the dead human he might have killed, putting those he dismembered back together, becoming almost catatonic for weeks on end.
It was as if his entire world was rattled to the core whenever he killed a human, such guilt, such shame…
It didn't matter what or who he was, Carlisle knew from the bottom of his heart that Jasper was a genuinely good person, he would never hurt anyone unprovoked.
He came from a difficult background, yes, but he was genuinely trying to change, to leave the past behind, he knew that several things The Major did in the past were a crime, helping create a newborn army, more than once, tethering so over the edge of exposing their secret with the carnages he left behind, interfering in the Volturi's attempts to stop the wars, being a ripper.
But God, he was still his son, Carlisle couldn't bear the idea of losing him, and before he knew it, he was grabbing Jasper's arm and pulling him behind him, shielding him, if the Volturi wanted him, they would have to kill him first.
“I'm sorry, I might have not known the truth, but that doesn't mean I will just stand by and let him be taken, he's not The Major anymore, he might be a ripper, but he feeds off of animal blood, he's not a danger to anyone.” Carlisle told firmly.
“Carlisle-” Jasper's words died down at the warning look he got from the man in question, he was not happy, but he would still certainly not let the Volturi take him.
Jasper couldn't understand, why? Why would he risk his life for someone like him? Why would he put everything he had here at risk for a monster like him? He could feel his anger, anxiety, fear, determination.
He held his arm in such a strong yet gentle hold, didn't he know the abomination he was touching?
He didn't.
Something told Jasper Carlisle was yet to understand the severity of the situation.
“Surely you remember what I said before, right? The Volturi don't give second chances, much less when it comes to his kind, he's a danger to everyone around, didn't you claim to care about this coven of yours? Why then, do pray tell, would you knowingly let a black blood anywhere near them?”
Jasper winced at Jane's words, this was it, his life here had been successfully destroyed, he could feel the surprise in the air, confusion, shock, denial, doubt.
They didn't believe Jane.
“He's not sick.” Carlisle said, that was one thing he could say with confidence, Jasper had never shown signs of carrying that disease, he might be a ripper, rippers might be the ones most prompt to develop this disease.
But it didn't mean all of them developed it.
People claimed The Major had been sick, but Carlisle doubted it, people had the habit of doing anything to exaggerate rumors, or how someone is collectively perceived by mass hysteria.
“Oh, but he is, I don't know how he's made it so far, nor how he looks so unaffected, but I remember perfectly well his stench, I remember the silver eyes, and I certainly remember how he fed off my men.”
Jasper shuddered at Aro's words, it wasn't him, he wasn't the one who fed off Aro's army, María would never allow such a thing.
It was.
It was the one who took control during the black outs, it was… Jasper's least favorite thing in the world. The darkness that drowned him whenever the disease flared. A darkness he could never fight off.
He didn't care what Alice said about it, a monster like that would always be a monster, regardless of anything.
"Ungrateful." - The sudden deep hiss almost made Jasper choke, a shiver running down his spine as his hairs stood on end.
“Let's get this over with, yes? We don't need to make this more difficult than it should be, you know you can't keep him, he's, on top of a criminal, a danger to our kind, in the past, lots of vampires perished because of his kind's disease, I'm afraid I cannot allow another outbreak, there's a reason all rippers must be killed once identified, we have lived in peace for centuries, I won't have panic arise along our potential extinction because of a loose end.”
Aro's words… Carlisle had no idea what to do, he knew Aro was right, he knew why would the Volturi do this, and still, this was his son who they were talking about, he couldn't just give him away, he wouldn't lose him, he refused to, Jasper lied, yes, kept extremely important things from them, but that didn't change the fact that Carlisle would do everything in his power to not let the Volturi take him.
His grip inwardly tightened on Jasper's arm.
“Aro, I understand, believe me, I do, but he's been living with us for over 60 years, he's never attacked anyone unprovoked, he doesn't feed off human blood, he's no longer The Major, he doesn't have to be .”
Carlisle made a point to squeeze Jasper's arm on that last statement, feeling like he needed him to know he was safe here, he wasn't mad, he wouldn't give him away, it didn't matter who he was, he would always belong here, with them.
“You said so yourself, he looks unaffected, even his behavior isn't normal in this situation, don't you think it would be wise to spare him? Learn the why is he so normal? You know as well as I do that these sorts of things cannot be repressed forever, what if there's another outbreak? Today, tomorrow, a century from now on? Wouldn't you like for there to be some kind of way to save as many as possible instead of having to execute them all again as done in the past?”
Carlisle had absolutely no idea if Aro had been right, Jasper might as well not be sick, there the why he was fine, but he would use anything he could if that meant getting Aro to spare Jasper, he would deal with the rest later, right now, his main concern was getting the Volturi to back off and let Jasper be.
“What makes you think we can't find that out on our own?” Caius questions.
“At least no one here would have to fight him or risk getting infected if information is what is wanted.” Alice's sudden words got Aro raising his eyebrow. “He looks perfectly fine, but he's from 1863, means he's been sick for longer than anyone's ever been, nothing can assure you his bite won't be enough to infect you, are you seriously willing to take that risk when other people can do the exact same thing without risking a new outbreak?”
Alice knew she was playing with fire by saying that, but she could care less when Jasper was on such thin ice, she needed to use the Volturi's own paranoia against them, plus, they were running out of time, she could see Jasper's shoulders starting to loosen, that was never a good sign.
That meant it was close to the surface .
And if it got out with the Volturi present, Alice had a feeling things wouldn't end well.
“She does have a point.” Marcus states.
“We have dealt with lots of his kind before, he might be more skilled than most, but he's still a black blood, he can still be easily subdued.” Caius told as a statement of fact as he pulled out a dagger from his robes, silver dagger.
Jasper felt nauseous at the sight, he felt… not quite there, so not good. His body moved on its own accord as a voice he couldn't quite recognize as his own crawled out.
“ You're more than welcome to try it, but I can't promise that dagger won't end up down your throat, not through, not against, down. ” Jasper bit down on his tongue at those words, it was crawling right beneath his skin, ravenous, furious, so close to the surface he could feel his vision zoom out, he felt funny.
And nauseous.
So nauseous.
The alarm and shock in the air from the Cullens felt like a punch to the gut, the Volturi's curiosity, caution, alarm, wariness.
He wanted to lay down, this was way too much input, so many emotions, so many eyes, so many things going on at once, Carlisle was still grabbing his arm, he could feel how close the others were, he felt trapped, like the air was growing thin, like fighting against a storm he was barely staying on the surface for, a pressure starting to build in his chest.
“Is that a threat?” Caius questioned, eyes narrowing dangerously, Jasper wanted to not answer, he wanted to just get this over with, to be left alone.
The world didn't agree.
He felt his mouth quirk up into a smile, gaze growing hard.
“A promise. I don't take kind to being threatened, nor do I like being told what to do. I'm not going with you regardless of what you say, you can try and make me, but I don't think that might go over well for you lot, as she said, I might bite.”
Jasper sucked in a sharp breath as his hearing cleared, he managed to push the fog threatening to overtake him back, as he did, he felt fire slice at the back of his head, fingers curling into fists against his will, his free hand finding his waist where his fingers dug into.
Shit. He couldn't lose control now.
Jasper bit his tongue as the pressure on his waist intensified, this was the reason he hated so much being put in the spotlight, he could never focus, his mind and body always felt like they weren't his own. And not even pain could bring his focus back.
A lack of focus that was messing things up.
He knew this the moment he felt the spike of irritation in Aro's emotions.
The man never got mad, to him, it all was just a damn game to be amused or fascinated at.
Which meant that irritation being followed with a hint of realization didn't bode well.
It made his instincts reel.
Realization over what? What more could there be? He felt someone grab the back of his shirt and pull him back, alarm flaring up through Edward's emotions.
But that didn't matter.
Not after the sudden and unexpected volcano of absolute agony that exploded inside him, it made him see white and stumble, fire spreading inside at an alarming rate, ears ringing, he mildly felt someone grab his arm before the agony disappeared like a whiplash.
And still.
A shiver ran down his spine as the world spun, nausea seizing even harder, his heartbeat felt louder than ever, it felt as if it was hammering right into his brain, a bitter taste in his mouth, he ended up dropping on his knees, it didn't felt right, heat coursed through his veins, heartbeat too loud, too fast, wrong, he shouldn't let adrenaline rush. Shouldn't shouldn't shouldn't…
The turmoil of emotions in the air was deafening, like a cloak of glitching razors, gluing to his skin and seeping into his very bones, the air growing thinner and thinner, the many smells, the many sounds, voices, light, he wanted everything and everyone gone gone gone.
Fire curled around his chest.
Painful fire that boiled and boiled until he felt it at the back of his throat. Acid filled his senses.
His head felt like it was about to explode with all that input, emotions crashing against each other, it was too much, too much, too-
A red robe flashed before him before fire burst into his side.
Alarm and anger sliced across his skin.
Pain.
From Alice.
Suddenly, the knot building pressure inside his chest snapped.
It snapped with a whiplash-like yank.
It felt like resurfacing back after being underwater for too long just to swallow a mouthful of something dark and thick that stuck at the back of his throat.
He felt his whole body stiffen at the familiar feeling.
And then, every single emotion inside him twisted into anger, no, not anger.
Rage.
Pure blind rage.
A boiling fury that set ablaze every single cell in his being, vision going completely black.
And then it was the one rising.