Ellis almost felt like he had died a second time when Victoria stepped out of the trees, Riley at her heels. The sudden presence of the two vampires made Ellis' body shudder as he beheld his old companion. Victoria's hair blazed against to starkness of the snow, tinging her figure in red. She stalked slightly forwards into the clearing, feet already planted firmly against any surprise attacks. Her face was contorted by fury as her eyes landed on the group, eye meeting Ellis'.

Ellis flinched almost imperceptibly, his eyes flickering away to catch Riley staring at him with a mixture of glee and fear. Riley bared his teeth, the fangs standing out on his youthful face and blonde hair. The sight of the other Male spurned the anger in Ellis' gut, washing him of his shock. Hate spewed from him like heat from a torch and he felt his lips pull back into a feral snarl full of animal fury.

"Riley", Edward spoke calmly. His voice carried easily across the snow, capturing Riley's attention from Ellis. "Listen to me. Victoria is using you. She knows I'll kill you. In fact, she'd be glad to get rid of excess baggage".

"What did I tell you about their mind tricks?" Victoria asked rhetorically to the air, seeming undisturbed by Edward's claims. She seemed half amused almost. Although her facial expression had not changed, Ellis could see it in her eyes.

Riley did not react to the blunt statement, merely dropping lower into his defensive stance. "She's only using you Riley", Edward tried to persuade him. "She's using you to avenge her real mate, James. Like she is using the others fighting below. Like she has used Ellis".

Victoria half turned to Riley, face smoothing into a mask of love. "You know there's only ever been you right Riley. I love you", she smile at him.

Riley turned his blonde head back towards, lips quirking into a sick smirk. "She loves me", he replied confidently. "And I don't care if you kill me. I just want to kill him!" And he lunged at Ellis.

The two boys collided in a mix of marble limbs. Ellis wrapped himself around Riley like a snake, twisting his limbs back from catching a grip on him. Then Seth was there, jaws snapping into Riley's arm and dragging him away from Ellis sharply. There was a crack and Riley screamed as the limb broke off. Pitifully, he reached towards Victoria.

"You won't get another chance at this again", Edward was saying as Victoria watched her boy toy get chewed on. "Don't you want to make us feel the pain you felt when James died".

Ellis picked up Riley's dismembered arm and waved it towards Victoria. "You should be ashamed of yourself", he muttered as Riley continued screaming. "Here comes the end of your revenge plan and you're going to bail? What a waste".

"Filthy faggot", Victoria spat at him, eyes laced with contempt. "I should have just eaten, drained you dry like I did to your parents".

It was then something in Ellis snapped. "Yes", he agreed. "You should of".

Victoria charged towards Bella, ready to break her into a tiny pieces but was caught by Edward who flung her into a tree. Ellis would have joined them, body thrumming with the desire to kill, when a whimper broke the air. Seth was still struggling with Riley. The blonde had managed wriggle out of the his jaws, to gain the upper hand and try to trap Seth in his bone breaking grip. Glancing between the two fights, Ellis made a decision and let himself disappear.

He wretched Riley's head back with a sudden force, sending the two of them falling into the snow. The momentum broke Riley's grip and Seth jumped away. The two boys grappled on the ground for a moment, trying to pin the other in their grip. The snow was sticking to Ellis' clothes and hair. The clumps outlining his body and making him possible to see.

Giving up all pretences of using his gift, Ellis let him become visible. This causes Riley to pause suddenly and Ellis took the opportunity to smack the other vampire around the face with his own severed hand. "I've always wanted to do that", Ellis joked as Riley recoiled, allowing him to pull himself onto his feet.

Releasing a guttural cry of fury, Riley turned and kicked Ellis in the chest, sending him flying backwards into a rock. His body struck with a horrible thud and Ellis slid to the ground. On his right, Victoria and Edward were exchanging blow after vicious blow. Their body's moving at a blur as Bella desperately searched for something on the ground, looking slightly like a headless chicken. In front of him, Seth was growling and pouncing at Riley who was trying to lunge at the wolf.

Ellis streaked over, taking use of Riley's distraction to land a kick into his knee. The joint shattered on impact, breaking off as Riley screamed and collapsed. Just as he was about to go in for his head, hands yanked him away by his hair and slammed his head into the ground. Ellis gasped as he felt his skull crack slightly under the force. Victoria grinned and fisted her hand in his long curls to slam him down a second time before flipping him over her shoulder and into a boulder. Ellis felt a few of his ribs break with audible cracks. He gasped and scrabbled at the hand holding him, twisting her wrist so it tore off and he dropped to the floor as Victoria screamed. She whirled down on him, digging her nails around his face.

The smell of fresh blood permeated the air. Ellis turned and caught a glimpse of Bella standing in the corner, arms bared as potent red liquid dripped down her skin. Edward was suddenly pushing Victoria on to her knees, arms locking hers behind her and releasing Ellis from her grasp. Ellis gave one look to the woman below him before promptly ripping her head off and dropping it into the snow. There was a mirroring crack as Seth finally bit Riley's head clean off and chucked it away.

With a low groan, Ellis sank to his knees in front of Victoria's body. His clothes were ripped and soaked through by the snow and hairline cracks flawed his marble skin. All the anger left him at once, his body becoming empty and hollow.

And for the first time in his undead life, Ellis sobbed. He didn't cry, not like a human, but soft mournful noises emanated from deep inside his lungs. Dry heaves burst out of his chest and his eyes tingled despite their inability to produce tears. He shook like a leaf and clutched at himself as years of pent up emotions left at once. Behind him there was the soft padding of Seth's paws as he surrounded Ellis in his fur, waves of body heat rolling of him in reassuring waves as Ellis sat and cried. Seth watching on with a silent sadness.