Bella (Kristen Stewart) and Edward (Robert Pattinson) are in a meadow where she is reading from “Fire & Ice” in preparation for an English final. Edward again asks Bella to marry him, and runs into the old impasse– he asks her, “marry me,” and Bella responds with, “change me.” Finally Edward offers a compromise where he will change her when they’re married. Bella kisses him but then says it’s more like coercion. Their views om marriage differ and she teases him about the divorce rate. Edward assures her that the “vampire-human divorce rate” is lower. They kiss more and Bella says she’s due back home at four. Edward just smiles as she gathers up her things and starts on her way home.
Charlie (Billy Burke) is reading the newspaper headline that discusses a rash of murders in Seattle. Bella arrives home exactly at four like Charlie wanted. There is a bit of brief debate about her being grounded “for life” (as in New Moon) and Charlie admits that he would like to see a bit of separation between Bella and Edward, even though he expects her answer that Edwart is part of her life. So Charlie offers her a deal. He’ll end her punishment if she agrees to see some of her other friends as well, and suggests she see Jacob, as Billy has told Charlie that Jacob is going through a very rough time lately, and just a short time ago, when Bella was in that position, Jake was there for her when she needed him. Bella calls Jacob but gets his voice-mail and chooses not to leave a message. A voiceover from Bella explains that Jacob hasn’t spoken to her in weeks, and she’s been hoping to set things right. She pulls a handwritten letter out of her dresser drawer and looks at it briefly.
Bella gets into her truck to drive to the reservation, but it won’t start. Suddenly Edward is in the passenger seat. He knows she was heading to the reservation, and Bella realizes that Alice saw it, and that Edward rigged her truck to not be able to start, in order to prevent her from driving there. They argue about her seeing Jacob. She is adamant that she has until graduation but Edward is obsessed with her safety and is convinced she won’t have any among the Quileutes.
The next day at school, during lunch, Edward joins Bella at her main table with Mike (Michael Welch), Eric (Justin Chon), Jessica (Anna Kendrick) and Angela (Christian Serratos). Jessica is the class valedictorian and Mike and Eric are helping her prepare her speech. Alice (Ashley Greene) and Jasper (Jackson Rathbone) join them all as well, and Alice stuns them all with an announcement that she is going to host a graduation party– at the Cullen home. Jessica and Angela are pleasantly shocked, as nobody has ever been to the Cullen home before (except Bella of course). Suddenly Alice sits back with a worried look on her face, and Bella quickly realizes she’s having a vision of something. But neither she, Jasper nor Edward will discuss it with her.
Edward drives Bella to the police station where Charlie is on duty. They see him with Riley Biers’ parents discussing his ‘missing persons’ case– Riley has been missing for a year now. Bella realizes Edward knows something about it, and he tells her that the Cullens have been paying very close attention to the rise of murders and disappearances in Seattle. They suspect vampires and believe that if the crime wave escalates, the Voluri will take action. Bella is worried that the Volturi will then make their way to Forks and see that she is still human, but Edward assures her it won’t come to that. The Cullens are prepared to go to Seattle if need be to try and get to the bottom of things themselves.
As Riley’s parents exit the station, Charlie comes out as well. Edward tells Charlie that Carlisle and Esme have bought a plane ticket for Bella to fly down to Jacksonville for a few days to visit her mother Renee. Charlie is surprised but agrees to the visit. Bella is reluctant until it is revealed that Edward will be going with her. This Charlie doesn’t like so much but he still consents to the trip.
Bella is in Jacksonville laying in the sun with her mother Renee (Sarah Clarke). They are talking about her college plans. Renee hopes Bella will consider a college in Florida, both because it will let her see her daughter more, and because Bella was always a sun-lover. Bella is planning to attend college in Alaska, saying they have a good science program, but Renee knows better– she knows Bella is in love with Edward and wants to follow him. Finally Renee gives Bella her graduation present– she collected college T-shirts from every state and sewn them together into a quilt for Bella. Bella is touched and hugs Renee gratefully.
Back in Forks, it is nighttime and the Cullens are standing watch in the forest. Carlisle (Peter Facinelli) asks Alice if she’s certain this is the spot in her vision. Alice is certain, and they keep watch. Suddenly Alice alerts them to look to their left. The Cullens all take off in pursuit, and it is seen they are chasing Victoria (Bryce Dallas Howard); Alice had foreseen her return to Forks. Emmett (Kellan Lutz) nearly catches Victoria but she wriggles free and keeps running with the Cullens in hot pursuit. Finally Victoria leaps across a stream– into Quileute territory, where the Cullens are under treaty not to venture. Victoria and the Cullens continue running down opposite sides of the stream when the Quileute wolf pack, having smelled Victoria’s presence, emerges from the trees in pursuit of Victoria. Looking to pit one side against the other, Victoria cleverly leaps back and forth from one bank of the stream to the other. Both sides narrowly miss catching her. Finally Emmett loses his patience and jumps after her onto the Quileute lands. Victoria’s plan pays off as Paul (Alex Meraz) moves to block Emmett from crossing into Quileute territory. So intent is Paul on not letting Emmett pass that Victoria escapes from both sides in the confusion.
Edward and Bella have returned to Forks and are driving to school. Jacob (Taylor Lautner) is there waiting. He confronts Edward about the Cullens trespassing on Quileute territory. Naturally Bella wants to know what Jacob is talking about, and Edward evasively says that Emmett and Paul had a misunderstanding. Jacob is amused despite his anger and finally helps Bella put two and two together– Alice’s vision in the lunchroom was Victoria’s return to Forks, and Carlisle and Esme bought her the plane ticket to Florida to get her out of town so she would be safe from Victoria. Bella is furious at Edward’s lie, but also confronts Jacob on not caling her. He says he had nothing to say, and Bella says she has plenty. She climbs on Jacob’s motorcycle behind him despite Edward’s protest and rides with him to the reservation.
Some of the wolf pack members are there to greet them on their arrival, teasing Jacob about his continuous thoughts about whether Bella would call him, and whether or not he should call her. Bella then meets Leah Clearwater (Julia Jones), Harry Clearwater’s daughter. On Leah’s shoulder is both the mark of a Quileute wolf-pack member… and a chip larger than Bella’s truck.
Sam Uley (Chaske Spencer), the leader of the wolf-pack, and his fiance Emily (Tinsel Korey) emerge from the house. Emily goes to hug Bella as Sam and Jacob talk about Victoria’s return. Sam assures Jacob that Victoria won’t get through their line again. As they enter the house, Bella glances over her shoulder to see Leah assume wolf form and practice the cliff-dive.
Bella and Jacob are talking later. Jacob explains how Leah and her younger brother Seth gained the gift of the ‘spirit warrior’ (ability to assume wolf form) after Harry died. Jacob also explains that Leah was once in love with Sam, and he loved her in return, until Emily came into the tribe’s life. Jacob explains to Bella, the Quileute wolf-pack’s process of ‘imprinting’ on someone– an event that bonds a male and female as complete soulmates. The imprinting process is often very sudden, spontaneous, and beyond the control of the wolf-pack member doing the imprinting. As all the wolf-pack members can always hear each other’s thoughts, they always have to live with the pain Leah feels about losing Sam, and Sam’s guilt over imprinting on someone else after he and Leah had grown so close. Bella begins to suspect that Jacob has imprinted on her, but Jacob says that if he’d imprinted on anyone, Bella would know it for certain. He’s still him, and as he says, Bella is still Bella. But when Bella says, ‘until graduation,’ Jacob realizes that Bella intends to go through with becoming a vampire, which sickens him beyond belief. In a fit of disgust he voices a preference for Bella to die rather than let her become something that is unnatural and neither dead nor alive. Quickly he curses himself for going too far, looking painfully stricken at Bella’s expression of indignant anger.
At the Swan house, Riley is in Bella’s room. He fingers the dreamcatcher on her bed and steals one of her red blouses, sniffing it closely. Stealthily descending the stairs, he passes Charlie asleep on the couch and bends over him as if to feed on him.
The door opens and Bella enters… and Charlie comes up to her, revealing it is some time later and Riley left Charlie undisturbed. Charlie is pleased when Bella tells him she was with Jacob and not Edward. But suddenly there is a knock at the door and both of them realize it’s Edward. Bella steps outside to greet him, but he is deeply concerned. He almost broke the treaty to make sure she was okay. Suddenly he smells something and rushes up to her room. Fingering her dreamcatcher, he tells her that someone’s been in her room.
Edward brings Bella back to his house. Edward didn’t recognize the scent of whoever entered Bella’s room. The Cullens have scouted around the area and determined that the scent vanished five miles south of Bella’s house. They suspect a nomad vampire might be involved, as Alice would have seen a vision of Victoria. They suspect the Volturi might be involved, but Alice disagrees, saying she’s also been watching Aro, the Volturi ruler, through her visions.
The Cullens are discussing another round of protection vigils over Bella’s house (to the displeasure of Rosalie (Nikki Reed)). Bella knows that the Cullens cannot keep watch over her and Charlie, and still search for both Victoria and the mysterious intruder, all while keeping themselves fed.
It is dayime and Bella has brought Jacob to her house so he can get the scent of the intruder. Outside Jacob tells Edward that he will know the scent if he crosses it again. Edward refuses to trust Jacob and Bella has to force herself between them to break them apart. A voiceover from Bella explains the extremely uneasy partnership between the Cullens and the Quileute wolf-pack, as they guard the house in shifts– the wolves relieving the Cullens at intervals so they can hunt for animal blood to feed on (two wolves are seen relieving Alice and Emmett as Bella watches).
Edward and Bella go to meet Jacob on the shoulder of a road through the woods. Edward is dropping Bella off to spend some time on the Quileute reservation. Despite the partnership, the antipathy between Edward and Jacob drips out of the very air between them whenever they are face to face. Edward passionately kisses Bella goodbye in front of Jacob, and Jacob in turns gives Bella an affectionate hug before Edward drives off.
Jacob brings Bella to attend a meeting of the Quileute tribal council. Some of the younger pack members are attending, including Seth (BooBoo Stewart), who Bella meets for the first time. Seth’s mother, Sue Clearwater, is on the council now after the death of her husband Harry. Bella is to attend the gathering as the first person not of the tribe to hear the tribe’s histories.
Billy Black (Gil Birmingham) recites a story of the Quileute tribe as spirit warriors; shapeshifters; able to assume the form of a powerful wolf. He tells of the tribe’s first encounter with one of the Cold Ones. Two soirit warriors vanquished one of them after it had fed on some of the tribe. But the Cold One vanquished had a mate (like Victoria was the mate of James) and she attacked the village in vengeance. The Tribal Elder, Taha Aki, engaged her in combat. The vampiress was winning the battle and seemed poised to kill him, when Taha Aki’s third wife, who had no powers and could not join the battle, stabbed herself with a knife so the vampiress would smell the blood and be distracted, allowing Taha Aki to recover and slay the vampiress. Taha Aki’s third wife is celebrated as a heroine of the tribe for her selfless courage; her sacrifice of herself saved the village and the people. The Cold Ones are the only remaining enemy of the Quileute people. The magic in the tribe’s blood awakens when they are near. Billy warns that conflict is near… and the tribe must be ready to face it.
In Seattle, Riley is watching over a small scene of violence and Mayhem. He bends over a teenage girl, Bree (Jodelle Ferland), who we see has just been changed into a vampire. Bree is confused and terrified over her new state, and Riley only tells her he’ll “find her someone to drink” and suggests she “try not to get killed.”
Back at the Cullen home, Edward is arriving with Bella. They find Carlisle, Jasper and Emmett watching a news report about the escalating violence in Seattle; the rise in killings and disappearances. Jasper knows that no one vampire could cause such destruction. The Cullens realize that the culprits are “newborns,” which they explain to Bella is the state when a human is first transformed into a vampire; their first few months as one. This is when a vampire is at their most vicious, uncontrolled state, overwhelmed with a wild thirst for blood. The newborns are completely undisciplined. Jasper and Carlisle deduce that someone is creating a small army of them. This means they must go to Seattle to try and stop it. The newborns are being created to destroy someone or something– the Cullens are the only vampire family close enough to be targets. Carlisle knows that if the Cullens don’t stop the newborns, the Volturi will arrive to do so– he’s surprised they haven’t stepped in yet. Edward theorizes that the Volturi are actually behind the uprising; he knows that Aro and Marcus dearly want for both himself and Alice to join them, and if the rest of the Cullen family were slain, they would have nobody else to go to.
Bella is arriving home to find her father looking at a missing persons poster for Riley, made by his parents when he first vanished. Charlie notes that they are still desperate to find their son even after a year. Bella wonders why they keep looking, and Charlie answers that he would do so in their place, if it were Bella that was missing.
At night, Bella is lying beside Edward in her bed. Despite her determination to become a vampire, she is coming to terms with knowing she can never see her family or the rest of her friends again, as her body will never age and she will appear 18 years old even when she’s supposed to be 40. Edward uses this as more ammo in the argument not to change her. He warns her that he’s been through the consequences she will face for undergoing the change. She believes that Edward has a soul, but he doesn’t, and he cannot bear the thought of taking her soul away just so she wouldn’t grow old and die as his mortal wife. Even though he’d eventually lose her, he feels that taking her soul away would be the most selfish act he could do.
The next day Bella is on the reservation with Jacob, admiring the beauty of the land. She invites him to the graduation party, though she is not surprised at his lack of an answer; going to the Cullen home is the last thing on his ‘to-do’ list. Bella notes there’s something on his mind. Jacob says he didn’t want to be so forward, but there’s no time left; she needs to hear the truth. Jacob confides that he is in love with Bella, and he is fighting for her heart; he desperately hopes she will choose him over Edward. He puts her hand on his chest so she can feel his heart beating and that he is a living being of warm flesh and blood. With him, Bella would never need to change; she would never need to give up being human or say goodbye to her family. Bella tries to explain that she doesn’t feel that way for him, but Jacob doesn’t buy it; he is convinced she just doesn’t want to admit it to herself. He intends to fight for her until her heart stops beating, and is visibly pained at her response that he wouldn’t be waiting for long. Jacob says that unlike Edward, he can kiss her without fear of hurting her. But Jacob goes too far when he grabs Bella and passionately kisses her to demonstrate his point; kissing her without her consent. Bella blazes with anger and she slams her fist into his face. Jacob doesn’t flinch; he barely feels the punch… but Bella does, and her hand is broken. When Jacob drives her home, Edward is there, ready to start an altercation with Jacob for hurting Bella– he read Jacob’s thoughts. He demands that Jacob wait next time for Bella to ask for him to kiss her, and Jacob vows that one day, she will.
Charlie has to separate Edward and Jacob, and he is amused at Jacob’s explanation that Bella broke her hand hitting him in the face. Bella’s insufferable clumsiness and tendency to be accident-prone makes the explanation completely plausible to Charlie.
Edward brings Bella to his house where Carlisle bandages her hand and determines that it is not actually broken, but merely sprained. Emmett is amused at Bella’s bravado in hitting Jacob and there is a brief exchange of teasing words between them about her becoming a newborn. Rosalie hears, gets very annoyed, and she curtly leaves the room. Bella follows her, determined to finally get an explanation of why Rosalie hates Bella so much. Rosalie smiles sardonically and even a little sadly as she says she doesn’t hate Bella… in fact she envies her, because unlike Rosalie herself or any of the Cullens, Bella has a choice, and Rosalie is the most adamant that she is choosing wrong.
Rosalie finally opens her heart to Bella and tells her about herself as a human in the early 20th century. She was engaged to the town’s most eligible bachelor, a man named Royce, even though she didn’t know him that well. She was young and a romantic, in love with the idea of being in love. But one fateful night she happened across him on a street corner where he was with some of his friends, and all of them were drunk. He tried to come on to her, and she pushed him away, seeing he was drunk. In response Royce grabbed her and brutally raped her, and then beat her within an inch of her life, all while his friends watched, and they left her in the street to die– and as Rosalie tells Bella, she dearly wanted to have died. But Carlisle happened across her, and changed her in order to save her, though to Rosalie, he wasn’t actually helping her at all. The two things in her vampire existence that brought her true happiness and pleasure, were exacting a brutal vengeance on Royce (we see a flashback of her smashing into his apartment wearing a wedding dress and smiling wickedly), and finding and falling in love with Emmett. But even her relationship as Emmett’s mate, to her, is incomplete. She is young and beautiful, but she would give it up in a moment to be able to bear Emmett’s children. She and Emmett are frozen in time, and she does not fear or worry that she would grow old as a human– she would do it in a minute if both she and Emmett could become human again and raise their own family. Bella sympathizes with Rosalie but insists that Edward is the one thing she wants more than anything else in life. But Rosalie knows better. She knows that once Bella is a ‘newborn,’ there is one thing she will want more; one thing she will crave so desperately she will kill in order to get it… blood.
On the streets of Seattle, the newborns are causing more havoc and violence. Riley furiously reins them in, reprimanding them about the need to keep a low profile. He tells them something big is coming on the horizon, and they can’t gain control of themselves, then they’ll all soon die, including himself. He looks out to the sky, seemingly worried about something.
High on a rooftop, watching, is the source of Riley’s worry, even if he doesn’t know it– Jane (Dakota Fanning) is watching the scene unfold, along with Felix (Daniel Cudmore), Alec (Cameron Bright) and Demitri (Charlie Bewley). Jane has, in fact, been keeping close tabs on the newborn uprising, and the Volturi are concerned. Felix believes that the amount of attention the newborn uprising has drawn, will cause other vampires to question the effectiveness of the Volturi, and that the four of them should consult Aro. Jane silences Felix with her power to cause intense pain, and says she knows that Aro’s decisions are being watched, which is why the four of them were sent here; they must decide themselves. Jane is deep in thought over whether to terminate the newborns immediately, or to first let them do what they were created for– she knows they were created for a reason.
Graduation Day arrives at Forks High School. Jessica’s valedictorian speech centers around what kids want to be when they grow up, and this time in all their lives being about making mistakes, changing their minds, and this being what enables them to finally know what their future will be. Bella is thoughtful as she listens; knowing that it applies to her and her desire to join Edward.
The senior class is enjoying a lively party at the Cullen home. Bella congratulates Jessica on her speech. Bella is surprised when Jacob shows up at the party, even though she invited him. He gives her a hand-made bracelet as a graduation present; a bracelet with a small wooden carving of a wolf.
Alice comes down the stairs, and stops in her tracks, a look of worry on her face. Both Bella and Jacob know she is seeing another vision. Alice grimly tells them that the Cullens aren’t going to need to go to Seattle– “they are coming here.”
The Cullens and the three Quileutes convene with Bella in the den. Carlisle explains to Jacob about the newborn army– newly changed vampires. Having read Alice’s mind, Edward has seen her vision and has determined that the missing teenager, Riley Biers, is among them; possibly even a leader in the army, though he is not their creator… Carlisle realizes that whoever is behind the uprising knows of Alice’s power and is exploiting the ‘blind spots’ in her visions to stay under the radar. The worst part, though, is that Alice saw Riley passing around the red blouse he stole from Bella’s room so all the newborns could get her scent. The newborns are coming to Forks and will arrive in four days… and their mission is to kill Bella.
Carlisle tells Jacob that this means the Cullens have to face the newborns in what is sure to be a terrible and ugly fight. He knows lives will be lost. Jacob looks at his tribemates and answers that the Quileutes are in; they will fight alongside the Cullens to destroy the newborns. Carlisle says that Jasper has extensive knowledge of newborns, including how to battle and defeat them. He asks Jacob to see if Sam will agree to the wolf-pack meeting with the Cullens so they can all train in these combat methods. Jasper is satisfied that the newborns will have no knowledge of the Quileute wolf-pack, thus giving them and the Cullens an edge, in addition to sufficient numbers. Bella is against Jacob fighting, but he waves her off, reminding her that battling and killing vampires is the wolf-pack’s job; the reason they have their powers. He also reminds Bella that she has long desperately wanted to see the Quileute wolf-pack and the Cullens set aside their differences and work together.
The next day the Quileutes meet with the Cullens in the woods. They are in wolf-form, still not trusting the Cullens enough to take human form when they will be more vulnerable. Edward, who can read their minds, volunteers to ‘translate’ for them. Edward says that the Quileutes are asking how newborns differ from other vampires. Carlistle explains that the newborn stage is when a vampire possesses the greatest degree of physical strength and power, because their own human blood still lingers in their bodies. Jasper has the experience they will all need to learn to fight and defeat them.
Jasper explains what he knows of a newborn’s immense power and how they fight. He admonishes everyone that a newborn will often try to move behind an enemy and get their arms around them, which will allow them to crush their enemy in their grasp instantly. Jasper warns everyone that they must never go for an obvious kill, because a newborn will know to watch for it… and they will turn the tables. Jasper puts his family members through a training session practicing combat tactics and moves to use against the newborns. Jasper himself is the best fighter in the family; the only one who can even match him is Alice, who can not only foresee his actions, but as his mate, she knows him better than anyone else.
After the training is done for the day, Bella asks Jasper if there’s any way she can contribute to the battle. Jasper answers that her scent will distract the newborns and divert their attention; their hunting drive and bloodthirst will take over and make them vulnerable. Bella is curious about Jasper’s knowledge and experience with newborns. Jasper simply smiles and doffs his sweater, showing battle-scars on his arms. He regales Bella with stories of his human life as a major in the Texas army, fighting for the Confederacy during the American Civil War. Near Galveston he met a woman named Maria who was a vampire; looking to change others so they would be able to destroy Union soldiers in battle. Maria was dangerously clever and cautious. She made use of Jasper’s power to control the emotions of others, and had him destroy the newborns before they had been a vampire for one year, in order to cover her tracks. But Jasper could feel all the emotions of every newborn he killed and realized that Maria didn’t love him, but rather controlled him like a puppet. Finding Alice was what helped him escape and become free. She had seen a vision of him and gone to meet with him. Alice finds her way to them and she shares a passionate kiss with Jasper, and Bella smiles and politely turns her head away.
Later that night Bella has a dream of Maria whispering something into Jasper’s ear, gently coaxing him into killing someone. She sees this as if she were the one Maria was directing Jasper to kill. Awakening in her room, in Edward’s arms, Bella says that the dream has given her the final piece of the puzzle. She realizes that Victoria is the ultimate mastermind behind the newborn army, and she is using a second-in-command to do all the dirty work, in order to evade being seen in Alice’s visions.
As if in answer, we see Riley in Seattle delivering another hapless recruit to Victoria.
In the morning, outside the house, Edward is telling Bella that he will taking her to a hidden spot away from the battlefield. With the Quileute wolf pack fighting beside them, the Cullens will be able to handle the newborns, but Bella, as a human, will be too vulnerable. In the chaos of the battle, it would be too much risk of a newborn slipping past the defenders and reaching her. Bella argues that if she and Edward are too far apart, they will both be too worried about each other and both of them will be vulnerable. For once, Edward assets and agrees– but instead of bringing her to the battlefield, he will go with her to stand guard over her at her hiding place.
The two of them meet Jacob and Jasper on a field in a woodland clearing. Jasper has chosen this site for the battle to take place, believing it will provide them with a tactical advantage. Bella’s scent must end at this field– the newborns must be able to track her to it, but not past it. This means she must be carried to the campsite where Edward will be guarding her– and Edward cannot carry her there because the newborns will still be able to pick up Bella’s own scent. But Jacob, as a werewolf, has a scent that vampires find so repellent that it will mask Bella’s trail effectively. The newborns won’t smell Bella past the battlefield, only the smell of werewolf which they won’t be able to stand. Edward doesn’t like the idea but he won’t question Jasper’s knowledge on what will give them every edge they can get in the battle. Too much rides on it.
Jacob and Bella talk as he carries her through the woods. Despite the tactical reasons for it, he’s sardonic about Edward not being in the battle, but Bella won’t try to talk Jacob into not being part of it. Bella knows Jacob would refuse to honor her wishes. Jacob mentions that as Billy’s son he had the right to be the alpha wolf of the spirit warriors, but as he originally didn’t even want to be one of the wolf-pack at all, he yielded the alpha position to Sam, and Sam feels Jacob will be needed on the battlefield. When Jacob remarks that every choice has its consequences, Bella knows he’s referring to her becoming a vampire and asks him to let it rest– everyone makes their decisions and she’s made hers. Jake says he knows that Bella feels something for him; he can sense it about her… and that the Sam-Leah-Emily triangle is proof that she can love more than one person. Bella thinks Jacob is about to try and kiss her again. He just smiles and says he promised not to until she asked. Bella thinks he will have to wait a long time for that, but he thinks she’s wrong.
Back on the field, Edward is waiting. Jasper has followed Jacob and Bella partway to make sure the plan is working. Jasper tells Edward that he could only smell wolf, meaning Bella’s trail has ended on the field as planned. Despite Jasper’s assurances that the plan is working, Edward’s reaction shows how much effort he has to exert to follow the plan. The thought of Jacob carrying Bella is too harsh for him.
Bella is driving home. She finds Alice leaving her house, chatting pleasantly with Charlie– she’s charmed her way into his good graces. Out of Charlie’s earshot, Alice tells Bella she’s arranged a cover story; that the Cullens are going on a camping trip and Charlie has agreed to Bella having a sleepover with Alice so that Alice will have some company. In fact it is Edward who will be at the Cullen house with her, while Alice goes with the Cullens into the woods to hunt for animal blood so they will be ready for battle. Charlie is going fishing so Bella won’t have to worry about him being concerned for her.
Inside the house, Charlie confirms that unlike Edward, Alice meets with his approval. Bella asks her father why he never remarried after the divorce with Renee. She’s looking to get his viewpoints on marriage to help with her own decision whether to marry Edward, although of course she doesn’t tell him that. Charlie says he never really met the right woman for him after the divorce, but he sees value in marriage, pointing to Renee’s happy marriage to Phil. He does, however, mention that it tends to work out better, later in life, not earlier as a result of ‘not being careful.’ This leads to a rather awkward chat about premarital sex (and whether Bella is still a virgin) that leaves both Charlie and Bella rather embarrassed.
Bella arrives at the Cullen house for the ‘sleepover.’ Edward adds a small diamond to Bella’s charm bracelet. Going up to his room, Bella sees he has brought a bed in for her to sleep on. Bringing up Edward’s desire to marry her as a condition for changing her, Bella says she wants to negotiate her own condition, and gets Edward to promise her anything she desires. But then Bella starts to come on to him and he backs off, afraid of hurting her. Bella begs him to ‘try,’ because she wants him while she’s still human. They start to kiss and make out, but when Bella starts to undress herself, and he sees that she wants to have sex, Edward again backs off. His “old school” values that Bella had assured Charlie that Edward has, start to assert themselves and he says that back during his days as a living mortal, he would have done things different, including a full courtship, and asking her father for her hand, before proposing. But as he speaks, he takes one knee and presents Bella with an engagement ring that belonged to his mother. He restates his request for Bella to marry him. Bella’s heart is finally touched the right way and she says yes.
On a secluded rooftop in the darkness over Seattle, another conversation, much more sinister, is taking place. Victoria is gently admonishing Riley not to underestimate the Cullens. Her “dead friend” is a testament to their powers– he learned about them and they killed him. Victoria sweetly tells Riley that this is the Cullen family’s hunting grounds, and she is afraid of them retaliating against her for trying to slake her own thirst. Riley assures her he’ll make the city safe for her, and they begin to kiss. Riley has fallen in love with Victoria and has bought her lies hook, line, and sinker. He clearly has no idea what her true motives are… he’s become the Jasper to Victoria’s Maria.
The next day Bella and Edward are walking through the woods so she can ‘mark’ a trail leading to the field. Bella’s pricked her finger so she can leave a drop of blood at intervals. She finds that Edward has gained the ability to resist the lure of her blood completely, brought about by when he thought Bella had died (back in New Moon). He notes she’s not wearing the engagement ring and Bella says she doesn’t want to lose it, but Edward knows she also doesn’t want Jacob to see it. Bella gives in and says she feels they should wait to tell him. She wants his mind to be focused on the battle. Jacob arrives at that moment– he’ll be carrying Bella the rest of the way. Edward says that Alice has seen a storm coming, and Jacob says he can feel its approach.
As Jacob carries Bella, a storm of a different kind also begins moving toward Forks; Riley is leading the newborn army through the woods and across a lake. Clearly he knows the land and how to get where the army needs to go.
Jacob arrives with Bella at a small secluded plateau among the mountains, well defensible. Edward has a tent set up. Jacob reveals he will be staying at the campsite as well, so that Edward and Bella can stay apprised of the battle through his telepathic link to the pack. Seth wants in on the battle very badly, and it will keep him out of trouble. Seth will take Jacob’s place on the battlefield.
Nighttime comes, the storm blows across the mountains and the temperature drops dangerously low. The tent, the sleeping bag and Bella’s own winter clothing all prove inadequate, and she is shivering miserably with cold. Jacob enters the tent, having heard Bella’s soft moans of discomfort. Edward realizes that Jacob intends to use his own 109-degree body heat to keep Bella warm, and is dead set against it. Jacob warns Edward that Bella is in danger of getting frostbitten. Edward’s distrust for, and rivalry with, Jacob is so intense that it takes every iota of his will to assent to Jacob holding Bella, even for the purpose of keeping her warm.
Edward and Jacob finally manage to speak civilly while Bella is asleep. They discuss their respective feelings for Bella. Jacob asks if Edward ever considered that Bella might love him as well, even if she wouldn’t admit it to herself, and if Jacob could provide a good life for her. Edward insists he has tried to stop Bella from making him change her, and admits that he understands that Jacob can protect her as well as Edward can, and that Jacob can give Bella a human life. Jacob asks Edward how he coped with the belief that Bella had died and he’d lost her. Edward says he wouldn’t wish it on anyone. Bella’s greatest wish comes true as Edward finally admits he’s glad Jacob is here. Edward and Jacob finally have found some measure of common ground.
Morning comes. Seth arrives at the campsite so that Edward will know that Jacob has gone scouting and will return soon. As Seth leaves, Edward and Bella talk about the nighttime experience. Bella knows how hard it was for Edward to let Jacob do what he had to do. She’s amused that Edward has a ‘list’ of his favorite evenings… at the top of the list, is, naturally, her accepting his proposal. He jokingly calls her Mrs. Cullen and she jokes back that in the 21st century, she has the right to choose whether to change her name.
But it is no longer a joking matter when she finds that Jacob has returned and overheard that Bella is planning to marry Edward. She turns toward Edward, furiously angry when she realizes that Edward knew he was standing there. Edward simply said that Jacob deserved to know the truth. Jacob storms off and Bella starts to follow. Edward tribes to grab her arm but she sternly warns him off.
Bella rushes after Jacob, pleading to him as he curtly says he’s off to kill some vampires– and maybe let one of them kill him in turn. She begs him not to be reckless, and when he won’t listen to her reason, she asks him to kiss her. This he does, and they share a long, passionate kiss. Jacob says he has to go to the battlefield but he’ll return. Bella realizes Edward knew what was going on– he says Jacob’s thoughts were very loud. Edward understands that Bella loves Jacob, but takes comfort in her assurance that she loves him more.
Seth returns to the campsite, taking Jacob’s place there so his telepathic link to the pack will keep Edward up to date on the battle.
The Cullens stand on the battlefield, waiting as the newborn army rushes forward. On Jasper’s signal, the Cullens rush forth into battle, luring the newborns to the rock outcropping behind which the Quileutes await. Led by Jasper, the Cullens and the Quileutes fight together with expert teamwork, allowing them to overwhelm the newborns who, despite greater numbers, fight blindly and recklessly. Victoria is seen observing the battle briefly before rushing off.
Bree is the one newborn who is afraid and deeply uncertain about what she’s been ordered to do. Seeing the newborns being decimated, she starts to run, only to be cornered by Carlisle and Esme (Elizabeth Reaser). The two look at each other, sensing Bree’s terror and uncertainty.
Back at the mountain camp, Edward realizes Victoria is near– he can hear her thoughts. She had noticed Edward was not on the battlefield, and also knew that he wouldn’t leave Bella’s side, meaning once she found him, she’d find Bella. She’s managed to track Edward to the campsite. Edward realizes Victoria is close, and not alone. He urges Seth to hide for ambush.
Riley slowly walks out of the trees to confront Edward. Edward tries to reason with Riley, appealing to his logic, explaining Victoria’s intent on avenging James and caring for nothing else, and she chose Riley to be her second in the newborn army only because Riley is a Forks native and knows the town and area well. Victoria arrives on the scene and pleads gently to Riley about her love for him and her warnings about Edward’s mind tricks.
Riley’s desire for Victoria ultimately wins out over his logic.and he rushes to attack. Seth intercepts him and tears off his hand. Seeing the odds start to turn against her, Victoria begins to flee. Needing to keep her from escaping again, Edward calls out to her and taunts her about his killing James. She turns and glares as Edward goads her about her need to hurt him because of how he killed her lover and mate. Victoria is quickly goaded into a rage and she leaps at Edward in fury. They fight and Edward throws her into a tree, which she begins to climb. Getting Bella to one side, Edward pushes the tree down and leaps at Victoria.
Seth is distracted by the sound, and Riley kicks him viciously in the snout, knocking him unconscious. He joins the battle and turns the tide. Seeing Riley and Victoria working together and poised to kill Edward, Bella scrabbles desperately in the snow. She finds a rock with a sharp edge and, taking a page from Taha Aki’s hird wife, Bella lacerates her arm, letting her blood flow freely. Both vampires quickly smell her blood and are struck with blood frenzy, breaking their concentration and allowing Edward to turn the tide of the battle again. Seth recovers and seizes Riley, dragging him away. He cries desperately to Victoria, but she finally reveals her true nature and abandons him to try and feed on Bella, who stands before her unflinching. Edward intercepts Victoria and grapples with her. Outmaneuvering her, he rips her head off and kills her.
Seth growls urgently and Edward notes that Alice needs them all on the battlefield. He burns Victoria’s body and they rush to regroup with the Cullens and the Quileutes.
Alice has seen the approach of Jane. As Edward, Bella and Seth arrive, Carlise urges the Quileutes to hurry away, because he knows the Volturi will not honor a truce with them.
One newborn has survived and is lurking in ambush. Leah leaps on him, but this last newborn is tougher than his brethren. He is about to overpower Leah when Jacob joins the battle, but even then the newborn is able to maneuver around and grab Jacob from behind in a crushing bear hug that shatters the right side of his rib cage. The Quileutes finally finish the newborn off, but Jacob is badly injured, Leah cursing him for risking his life. The pack rushes to his side. Carlisle determines the extent of Jacob’s injuries. He tells them that Jacob’s wolf powers will allow his body to heal very rapidly, but because he cannot go with them immediately, this will cause his bones to begin to mend out of proper alignment– this means when he arrives to treat Jacob, he must re-break them in order to set them properly. He promises to meet the pack at Billy’s home as soon as possible. Quickly Jacob’s tribe mates, all in human form now, gently lift him and carry him away.
The Volturi arrive and survey the battlefield. Jane is only mildly impressed that the Cullens survived and that she and her underlings were not needed. She then notices Bree cowering behind the Cullens. Carlisle and Esme say they offered Bree asylum in exchange for her surrender, but Jane coldly states the Cullens had no asylum to offer. She torments Bree with terrible pain, interrogating her to learn about her creation. But Bree doesn’t know who the leader of the newborn army was– Riley trusted none of them with the knowledge. Edward slyly suggests that the Volturi knew about Victoria, but Carlisle insists that if they had known, they would have acted early and stopped her themselves. Carlisle and Esme vow to take responsibility for Bree, but Jane says the Volturi don’t offer second chances– the Cullens will be in enough trouble when Caius learns that Bella is still human. Bella quickly says, “a date has been set.” Jane backs off from Bella but orders Felix to destroy Bree. Knowing that trying to protect Bree will bring the full wrath of the Volturi upon them, they resignedly step out of Felix’s way, leaving the terrified Bree to her fate.
Bella arrives at Billy Black’s home to hear Jacob screaming in pain, which makes Billy shudder. Carlisle emerges from the house and says that Jacob is out of danger and will start to recover, and he’ll return as necessary to help. A grateful Billy shakes Carlisle’s hand as he would a friend’s. Carlisle tells Bella that Jacob was asking for her.
She goes into his room and they talk. Jacob knows that Bella has made her choice and he can no longer fight it. He is still struggling to accept the truth, and desperately wishes he could still change things, but he knows that he has lost the battle for Bella’s heart. She asks if she can return to see him again. He says he will need time, but will wait for her– even after her heart has stopped beating.
Bella and Edward are in a meadow talking about the wedding. Edward is amused that Bella is letting Alice plan the whole affair out. He again questions her about her desire, and she explains that as much hardship as she’s endured in Edward’s world, she’s never felt “normal” as other people define it, and only by making the world of the Cullens into her own world as well, has she felt a true sense of completeness. She jokingly tells Edward there is one more dangerous task ahead of them– they have to tell Charlie about the wedding. Edward puts the engagement ring on her finger and they kiss passionately as the screen fades to black.
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