Disclaimer: I do not own Twilight; only my original characters; Lucy & The Descendants

Chapter 22

There was no prolonged journey towards the Volturi, no dashing run or over the top entrance. Lucy knew of the job she had to do, she knew it wouldn't be easy and she knew there would be casualties. There was no big speech, no parting words, the small group of vampires simply walked into the heart of the Volturi settlement without a care in the world. Lucy was adorned in the finest of clothing, designer of course but the long skirt and high neckline made her look positively royal. She had on her head her crown; it glinted in the light sending rays of colour through the room. The werewolves growled by her side, she knew they were frightened but nothing would harm them in this den of vampires, she would make sure of that.

They created quite an imposing group, Lucy stood in the middle with Emmett and Edward on either side. Rosalie, Alice and Jasper stood directly behind Lucy with Carlisle and Esme on either side at the back. Rosalie had left Myles with the Denali clan – they were the only others that she trusted to look after her son and she definitely wasn't going to bring him to the danger in Italy. The five wolves; Sam, Jacob, Quill, Embry and Seth were stationed around the group and the three descendants were hidden within the mass group.

It seemed that everyone had come out to see what would happen; the whole of Aro's guard was there including the wives. Clearly Aro had come dressed for battle, which meant he was afraid, which in turn was good for Lucy.

*-..-*

What do we have here, well as if things couldn't make more havoc! Guess who steps out from the shadows to cause more grief on the scene they'd walked in on. Why it was Bella of course but not as a pathetic human but in her own vampire glory. That's right, she'd managed to escape the institution she was trapped in, flown to Italy and BEGGED to be turned into a vampire. Obviously someone gave into her petty whining or thought she might possess a good power and actually DID turn her. Have you ever seen an ugly vampire? No, well though it might be near impossible for a vampire to be ugly, Bella somehow seemed to manage it and by the way she was making eyes at Edward, she obviously thought she was being seductive but it really just looked like she was constipated. Lucy really didn't want to have to deal with her but it looked like she'd have to.

"Surprised to see me?" asked Bella.

"Not particularly, this is what you wanted after all. You were bound to get what you wanted sooner or later" said Lucy.

"I wasn't talking to you" said Bella angrily.

"Of course not, you were talking to Edward. Despite the fact that you cared little for Edward, you still wonder if you hold a piece of his heart or if you can convince him to get back together with you" said Lucy.

Bella growled.

"Your parents really screwed up your childhood" muttered Rose under her breath but of course being a vampire, Bella now heard her.

If not for the restricting hand that shot out before her Bella would already be attacking, as it was, she was kept restrained.

However, Bella's attempt to attack unsettled the other vampires of the Volturi and it wasn't long before the fighting had started. Lucy bought her powers forward and jumped into the fray of fighting. It hadn't started the way she thought it would but that didn't mean it would end the same way.

*-..-*

Through the throngs of fighting, Lucy found herself up upon the raised platform that usually housed the three thrones with none other than Aro himself. It wasn't a big surprise; she knew this moment would come. She didn't spare a glance for the fight that was happening around her, though she wanted to make sure everyone else was alright, she didn't have the time to do so. One wrong move and it could mean the end of her life.

"You won't get away with this, you won't kill me" sneered Aro.

She glanced at him, her eyes taking in his appearance. For a vampire, he seemed very stressed. His eyes, the usual vampire red, seemed panicked and frazzled. His body didn't boast the usual vampire stress, but seemed weak and limp. All in all, he looked like a human who was on drugs rather than the all-powerful vampire that he pretended to be.

"Oh please, even with a statement like that it's obvious that you already know the outcome of this battle. You wouldn't have gathered everyone if you thought you would win" said Lucy.

"You can't end me I beat you" he shouted.

"You betrayed everything that I taught you. I gave you an opportunity and you decided that it was not enough. I should have realised that you always wanted more than what you were given, I should have realised it sooner but I wanted to give you the benefit of doubt. I warned you when you betrayed me of what would happen, but you didn't listen. You thought yourself a god but you were wrong and I am here to reclaim what you took all those years ago and end it" said Lucy.

"Your powers have no control over me" said Aro.

"I know" she replied.

"Then how are you going to kill me, you are after all defenceless" he shouted.

"Not quite" she replied.

Suddenly she reached up and pulled a long sword from behind her back, swinging it up she bought it down and in one quick motion cut Aro's head from his body. She watched the head fall from the body and bounce across the floor. Allowing herself one moment of satisfaction she watched until the head came to a stop and then continued on with the battle at hand.

*-..-*

"Aro's gone so the threat's over, you can still be with me" shouted Caius.

"I thought you'd learnt from your past mistakes brother" said Marcus.

"She loves me, she knows it, and we belong together. All that passion and sexual tension, we're bursting with it" said Caius.

"The only thing I'm bursting with is repulse for your attitude Caius. There never was an 'us' only the obsessions within your own head. I do not harbour any feelings for you. I never did and I never will, you just don't float my boat" said Lucy seriously.

"But we could be so good together" he moaned.

"No we wouldn't, now please shut up, I've already silenced one brother today, I'd hate to silence another" said Lucy.

Caius looked like he wanted to say more but resisted. He wasn't a big bad vampire anymore having had his thirst taken away from him; he was no more than an annoying immortal human.

"I shall take care of him Lucy" said Marcus with a formal bow.

"Be sure that you do" replied Lucy.

"I have but one question though" said Marcus.

"Yes?" asked Lucy.

"Where did the sword come from?" asked Marcus.

"You didn't think I'd come unprepared did you? The only reason my powers don't work on Aro is because he was the first to transform, he didn't need to know that I'd trained with the descendants in others ways of fighting. I needed to have an element of surprise. I wasn't sure if I would ever use it, turns out it was a good idea to have a sword on me" said Lucy.

She stood and looked around surveying all that was around her. The Volturi 'palace' had been reduced to rubble, all around places were crumbling, a few spots of fire were lingering but most had been put out. There were a couple of dead bodies from those who had gone into the fight with the intent of doing some serious damage and even killing. Those had been the first to fall. Ironically there were no deaths from Lucy's group, which was a blessing that seemed a slight coincidence. She supposed that it was bad form that she'd almost expected that a death on her side would happen. She should be happy that everyone had survived – and she was – there were some minor cuts and bruises but everyone she'd bought had an accelerated healing power, so she wasn't too concerned that anything untoward would happen to them.

She addressed the group of vampires, descendants, wolves and immortals before her.

"Most of you today have fought a battle which you do not understand. I am sure that before his demise Aro told you many things that would have painted me in a bad light. He feared me and by rights that should mean you fear me as well. He had right to fear me. You think that being a vampire gives you a higher purpose in life, you think you have risen to the top of the food chain, to a life without rules where you can achieve anything you wish. I am here to tell you that this is a lie. You became vampires by the hand of Aro, his bid for power and control unleashed an evil into the world. That evil is what made Aro, Caius and Marcus vampires and as a result all of you. I'm not here to eradicate vampires, I can't do that when so many of you exist but I can put in motion rules that prevent organisations like this from ever happening again" she said seriously.

She'd had plenty of time to think of how she wanted things to go. She couldn't eradicate vampires, they were now a sort of fixed point in evolution and it seemed sort of silly to remove a 'fictional' creature from human society.

Asolf the dwarf stepped forward; there might be those that laughed at his height, however, his tight grip on the axe he welded, caused many people to take a step back.

"My name is Asolf; I am the descendent of Barrow who was the dwarf that helped our Queen when she needed it most. As vampires you have become that which humans desire most, you're naturally sexy, alluring and dangerous. Some of you have learnt to live your lives differently, drinking from animals and not humans. Some of you drink from humans but in moderation. Some of you have abandoned everything you once were in favour of becoming monsters. You will not be able to continue this behaviour because of exposure and extinction. Being a true vampire; fangs, blood drinking, immortality, if you don't play by the rules, you don't get to eat the cookies. You've all been stripped of your thirst; some of you have been stripped from your powers. Play by the new rules and you might get them back, break them and…" said Asolf.

Erik stepped forward, his magic bubbling to the surface.

"There are three rules that have been put in place. One: the world of vampires is a secret one, with the exception of mates, NO ONE must know of your existence. If you don't, if someone finds out or you tell someone, game over, your death will be instant. Two: powers are a privilege; any miss use will cause them to be taken away. If you get three strikes of miss use of powers and you will be stripped of them for good, no exceptions. Three: excessive drinking is not acceptable. Mass murder is not acceptable. Death for fun is not acceptable. You don't drink to kill, you drink to survive. You don't need to kill the human you feed off, you choose to do it. It is not a matter of lack of control; it is your own decision of whether you let the victim live or die. Make no mistake, you now get one chance. If you make more than one mistake and kill more than one human, you will find your life over very quickly. These rules have already been casted, there is nothing you can do to escape them, so I suggest you don't try" said Erik.

Finally Belif took to the stage.

"There will be no ultimate control, no large union, and no controlling force. The reign of the Volturi ends here. Control does not work when there is fear and it is fear that has been of use here. With the use of the rules there is no need for a higher power, none of you are above each other, and you are all the same. Vampires, immortals, gifted, you stand on the same level and are no different from each other. Anyone looking to rise to a more prominent level will find themselves in trouble. Do not make anyone regret the decision to allow you all to live" said Belif.

It was a solemn audience that looked back at the descendants after their speeches. One vampire in particular; Alec, looked completely enraged. It was probably partially due to what had just been said and partly because he'd recently witnessed the death of Jane.

It was a tense atmosphere that had been created in the light of the speeches the descendants gave. It was during this tense atmosphere that Lucy and her band of friend's left Italy. She had no reason to stay, everything had finished.

THREE MONTHS LATER

It wouldn't do to leave things at that, Lucy felt overwhelmed and exhausted once she had returned to the confines of the Cullen's house. She allowed Edward to carry her upstairs and lay her in the bed where she resided for several days. It was almost as if she felt extra power leaving us. All those memories that she had of Queen Lucia had left her but she still retained her powers.

When she finally awoke it was to the ever beautiful face of Edward at her bedside.

"Finally awake sleepyhead" he said lovingly.

"I had a lot to sleep off" she said.

"How do you feel?" he asked.

"Like myself" she replied.

He cocked his head at her.

"I don't feel connected to Lucia anymore but I still have my powers" she said grinning.

He kissed her forehead tenderly.

"Is everyone ok?" she asked.

"We all survived, luckily" he said.

She nodded "and the other side?" she asked.

"Well apart from Aro and Jane, Bella also died" he said.

She nodded again, not willing to ask what happened.

"So what now?" she asked.

"Well there are some people downstairs who are dying to see you" said Edward smirking.

Lucy smiled in return and gingerly got out of bed with Edward's help. He kissed her on the head "I love you" he said.

"I love you too" she replied.

"Well, let's not keep them waiting" he said, smirking as he led her downstairs to the waiting family members and friends.

AN: Not entirely pleased with this, has taken a couple of days to write but I had sort of come to heads with this story. It started well and turned sourer. However, I hate leaving a story unfinished so I continued until the end ~ Zyii