19 CH 19
While Alice and Jasper finished their discussion, Bella went to shower and get ready. I let her get ready in peace and quietly came to the hall where jasper and Alice were discussing the vision.
"Alice, what did you see?" I whispered. Jasper and Alice looked at each other, silently discussing whether or not to tell me. They finally reached on a decision and Alice turned to me.
"I saw Bella in that Ballet Studio. She was alone there with James." Aline whispered, ".. and that is not all. I saw Bella in a very bad shape, with wounds all over her and her leg broken. None of us were there. Then I saw something furry and large rush towards her with a loud growl and my vision broke up."
My face showed the same apprehension I could sense in Alice's voice. No matter how I wracked my brains, I could figure out no way where James can attack all three of us and take Bella away.
Even in the one in a million chance where James somehow manages to defeat both Alice and Jasper, I had trained enough to be an unbeatable meat shield at least. So how could Alice see Bella with James alone without any of us helping her?
While I pondered this, we checked out of the motel and arrived at the airport. Jasper had already got news that Edward's flight would be arriving at Phoenix soon. His flight was going to arrive in barely an hour, thanks to him taking a first class ticket in a priority flight, and it seemed like nothing could go wrong.
Alice and Jasper kept a close eye on Bella since arriving at the airport, especially since Edward's flight was going to arrive one of the busiest terminals. While we were waiting, Bella suddenly took out a letter and placed it in Alice's black leather bag.
"My letter." Bella said when Alice looked at her questioningly. I found this behaviour slightly suspicious, but then again, Bella was doing a lot of weird things today.
As time passed, I noticed Bella fidgeting more and more noticeably. At first I attributed it to the pressure of Edward coming and the whole going into hiding thing.
But then I felt as if I was on the wrong track. Bella never acted more comfortable than when she was with Edward. Then why would she be so nervous and anxious now that Edward was going to be here?
While I was lost in my thoughts, Bella suddenly asked if she could get something to eat. Alice initially offered to go with her, but Bella specifically asked for Jasper to accompany her instead of Alice. Jasper attributed it to her stress making her want the use of his powers and hence didn't refuse.
As I watched Bella leave with Jasper, questions that had been troubling me since morning seemed to get louder inside my mind. How had James managed to be alone in that Ballet Studio with Bella? Where were Jasper, Alice, and Me?
Jasper even accompanied Bella for getting something to eat, so how could he have left her alone for James to kidnap her? Suddenly, something struck my mind like a thunderbolt on a sunny day.
"Alice!" I called out to her with urgency, making her turn to look at me "if there is a future event that involves you directly, how clear would it be?"
"100% clear, without any effort." Alice said with confidence.
"So if James is lets say near us in this airport, you would have almost certainly detected him since you are actively looking for him?" I asked even more specifically.
"Yes." Alice replied in a puzzled tone, as she didn't realize where my questions were leading her.
"So in other words, let alone fight and defeat us, there is no way James can even come near us without you detecting it?" I asked.
"Yes.." Alice replied a bit more slowly now, her mind joining the same dots that I had.
"Yet, you said Bella was in that studio with James in your vision, but you didn't see any of us there, right?"
"Yeah. I looked very carefully. None of us was there."
"Then what if… What if we were not there… because it was not James that kidnapped Bella." I said, a sense of dread becoming stronger as I became sure of my deductions, "What if it was the other way around?"
"Bella will go to him …" Alice breathed in a horrified tone.
"What would make Bella risk herself like that when she has absolute protection in the form of us.." I muttered, "..unless…."
"Bella's letter!!" Alice suddenly remembered as she tore open the letter, "This … this is not addressed to Renee!! She addressed it to Edward!!"
"Go find Jasper, Now!!" I told her as I ran outside. I transformed the non-visible parts of my body under my clothes, boosting my speed and strength. I went back and forth along the exits of airport but I could not see Bella anywhere.
"Damn that stupid girl. Where the hell are you?" I grumbled frustrated.
I clenched my fists and calmed myself. Suddenly, something that Bella had said came flashing to mind.
'58th Street and Cactus. Bella said that was where her ballet studio was. James must have got Bella to go there somehow!!'
Cursing Bella's stupidity to believe whatever claim James had made, I hailed the first taxi I could find.
"58th Street and Cactus. And if you make it as fast as you can, I will pay you triple."
-x-x-x-x-x-
As the cab driver raced his cab to collect his bonus, I closed my eyes in the back seat and called out to MAMMOTHS.
'MAMMOTHS? You there?'
[I am always here, Host. Waiting for you to call upon me.]
'Alright. You once told me I can enhance any essence that I transform into right? Improve it from what was originally possible?'
[You certainly have that power host.]
'Can I enhance it to the point that I can match a vampire in all three aspects of strength, speed, and defense?'
[It can be done. There are two ways for it. Permanently strengthening an essence or temporarily strengthening it. Which way do you want, Host?]
'What is the difference?'
[Temporary strengthening technique is like one of those forbidden techniques used by the protagonists in various fictional shows.]
[It lets you greatly improve the transformation caused by an essence at the cost of never being able to use that particular essence again.]
[Permanent strengthening technique is a more elegant solution. It doesn't forcibly over-strain an essence. Rather it creates a Hybrid Essence from any two essences in my records.]
'What is the catch for Permanent Strengthening? If there was not a catch then there would not be two methods.'
[Permanent strengthening technique or Hybridization is risky because its transformation is more volatile.]
[Once you transform using a Hybrid Essence you can't transform back to human freely. You will have to allow the transformation to human to fade back on its own]
[The more essences you mix the more volatile the Hybrid Essence would be. Too many essences could even make you get stuck in the transformation for years.]
'Its like choosing between two poisons to find out which would be a lesser poison. Can you at least tell me which one will allow me a better fighting chance?'
[Comparing ease of use and power granted, Host's current situation would be better aided by Permanent strengthening technique.]
[Host recently absorbed a living being's essence. You can keep that as a base and strengthen it with one of your other essences.]
'Living being? You mean that dog?'
[Yes host. Canines naturally are faster and stronger than an average human. If you infuse that essence with one of the metallic essences for example, you will be able to create a strong new hybrid essence.]
'I have got no other choice. Do it.'
[Have you decided which essence to use as the support?]
'Osmium felt the strongest physically, even if defense wise it was a bit lacking. But I guess after hybridization the defects will be covered up.'
[As you wish, Host.]
[Analyzing the two essences…]
[Dog(German Shepherd) Essence used as the base essence..]
[Osmium Essence used as the support.]
[Creating hybrid essence… Creation successful.]
[Hybrid Essence Living Metal Beast(Osmium-Dog) created.]
In my mind I could instinctively comprehend how I would look and feel after transforming into this new form. Modification done by MAMMOTH had turned the dog I would transform to be the size of a black bear.
Ignoring the size, the appearance of the dog was similar to a German shepherd, with the absence of various dark colored patterns in the fur. Also, the fur had long and thicker hairs as compared to a regular German Shepherd. I could feel a sort of sturdy feeling when looking at it.
Physique wise, the transformed form would have dense and powerful muscles, capable of granting me great speed and strength. I also felt that my senses in that form will be greatly enhanced.
'Everything is ready. Now I just have to find the stupid girl before she puts herself in the harm's way.'
