Author's note: Oh my glob guys! This is like, one of the last chapters! Next chapter will be the last one, I am promising you that. It's going to be so weird now, considering I love this story and am so proud with the way it turned out :D Other people may say differently, but I don't care. I have worked really hard on this and although there were times I didn't know what to do and times I wanted to pull my hair out and kill my computer, I didn't. Thanks to all of you who stayed with this one, even if you wanted to stab me with pitchforks when I delayed the smut for a long time ^^' honestly, working on this has been Mathematical!
Warnings: Violence! Duh! And almost character death along with character death!
Disclaimer: *Tromps down the stairs*Friend!
Friend: What?
Me: Stephanie Myers said I can't have Twilight!
Friend: Why would you want it? And why wouldn't she let you have it?
Me: Because I wanted Stefan and Vladimir to be together! Apparently every vampire in Twilight has to be straight
Friend: * Grabs a Bumballon* Let's go get her!
Me: :D If you could not tell what that was about, I do not own Twilight. Yet….. *Leaves with friend*
I have died everyday waiting for you,
Darling don't be afraid, I have loved you,
For a thousand years,
I'll love you for a thousand more
(Stefan's pov)
It took them about fifteen minutes to walk back to the main warehouse where they had all been dropped off at. It would have taken less time if they hadn't been attacked, but they had made it this far, so no one had complained. They looked awful. All of them covered in blood, whether it was their own or not, they were injured, and most of all, fatigued.
Liam had draped Alec over his shoulder, though it looked like he wanted to drop the boy into the ocean and let the sharks eat him. Stefan had a feeling he didn't do that because Maggie was there. Apparently she had saved Alec's life by not allowing Liam to kill him. Why? He didn't know, nor did he particularly care at the moment.
"Stefan,"
He turned his head to briefly look at Tanya, who had blood dripping over half of her face. Her cheek was bruised, and a cut was on her forehead, but other than that, she looked fine. She looked at him tiredly, almost as if she were wanting to be done with the fighting already.
"Yes?" he answered back.
"You know, there is a possibility that Vladimir is dead."
Stefan narrowed his eyes. "If he were dead, we would all be dead by now. Aro and his minions would have ordered us all to be hunted down and killed. So no, he is not dead."
Tanya nodded, a bit taken back by his sharpness, but said no more. The rest of the walk was quiet, all most tense. In fact, it was very tense. The dead lay all around them, some Italian, Canadian, Irish, Brazilian, Romanian, and a few Arabs lay on the ground. Stefan shook his head, noting how some of the others cringed a little at the smell.
They had almost reached the warehouse when the sound of a chopper was directly above them. A rope fell down, and Maria slid down it gracefully, landing softly like a ballerina. She smiled at Stefan, but it soon faded when she saw the look on his face. "How many?" she asked quietly.
"I don't know," he replied. "But quite a few."
Maria looked rather displeased at that answer, but she shook her head. "I knew this was a bad idea," she looked back to Stefan. "Where is Vladimir?"
"In that warehouse. We're heading there now."
"You left him alone?"
"He told me to."
Maria shot him a dark look, but said nothing. They trudged along in silence once again, until the sound of a gunshot filled the air. Maria's eyes widened and he saw her mouth Vladimir's name before taking off and running into the ware house, a gun appearing at her side. Stefan hissed, following her as the others began to run to.
Vladimir was outside the warehouse now, along with Aro and two other men he had never seen before. One was tall with ash blonde hair and sneered at Vladimir, who only looked at him serenely. The other man was a little shorter, but still taller than Aro. He was dark haired, and looked rather bored. As if he didn't want to be there.
Maria stood next to Vladimir, glaring at the trio of men. Aro said something to her and she hissed, shouting a curse at him in Spanish. The blonde man stepped forward to strike her, but Aro held him back with his hand.
Stefan let the others pass him, staying behind and walking around the warehouse. He looked around, trying to see if there was anything he could use to grab onto and lift himself up onto the roof. He noticed that a gutter was hanging from the roof just in his reach and grabbed onto it, testing it to see if it would not break under his weight. To his relief, it didn't.
He latched onto it, swinging his legs up when he grabbed the ledge of the roof and crawled around, trying to find a good place to set his sniper rifle up. He figured that no one would be looking towards the roof, but he couldn't take any chances. He found a little alcove right above where the others, right where he could see the Volturi moving their lips and saying nasty things to his boss.
That angered him a little. Not that Vladimir couldn't take an insult, but that they had the nerve to insult him like that to his face. He watched with narrowed eyes as the blonde man spat at him and Aro just smile sweetly as if nothing had just happened. Vladimir was staring at them coolly, but he could tell by watching his lover clench his fists that he was not okay with what the man just did.
He set up his gun, training it right on Aro. The Italian man didn't seem to notice, but he was not so sure of that. Aro was perceptive and observant. He would know if someone were watching him or not, and if not, he had two other people right behind him who would know if there was a laser pointed right at him. The odds were not good. Not good at all.
He kept the gun trained on Aro, waiting for the man to make a move. He couldn't hear what they were saying, but their lips were moving fast, almost as if they were angry. Aro's face had lost that serene look to them and now he looked at Vladimir in disgust. Why? He didn't know.
He could feel his heart pound in his chest, sweat running down his left cheek. He could see the blonde man in front of him talking to Aro, though he couldn't see their faces but could tell that they were hostile by their body language. The one with blonde hair turned back to Vladimir, giving him a sneer while the other dark haired male just stood there.
Stefan bit his lip, the click of his gun sounding from his hidden place. He could see Vladimir's hand move, signaling for him to do something. Stefan frowned. What was Vladimir doing? This wasn't part of the plan! He lifted his head from the gun, looking at him with hard, narrowed brown eyes. Vladimir did not look at him, but raised his hand a bit higher.
Stefan returned to the gun, the seconds passing by in his head.
10,
9,
8,
7,
6,
5,
4,
3,
2,
1,
A gun went off and Stefan looked up.
Aro had a gun pointed at Vladimir's chest, the smile on his face growing even wider as smoke curled from the tip. Vladimir stood very still, wavering slightly before crumpling to the floor in an ungraceful heap. Maria let out a scream, hurling herself towards Aro, but Tanya and Kate held her back.
Stefan didn't know what came over him, but he jumped from the roof. The impact hurt, but thankfully the roof wasn't that high so nothing was broken. He ran towards Vladimir ignoring the bullet that lodged itself in his already injured shoulder. He sank to the ground, holding Vladimir in his arms tightly, his body bent over his protectively.
He lifted his head up, cradling Vladimir to his chest. "You will not hurt him again," he hissed in anger. "You won't touch him again. DO YOU HEAR ME?"
Aro simply laughed, moving the gun to point at Stefan's forehead. "How sweet," the Italian man's tone said otherwise. "You care for him so much that you would die for him. I always knew you two would end up like this. I knew it."
The gun was pressed to his forehead harder. "You won't hurt him," he repeated. "You won't hurt him."
Aro laughed again. "You've been a thorn in my side since the moment you became a Contract killer. You should have never been born!" he pistol whipped Stefan, causing him to spit out blood. "Everything is your fault! This is all your fault!"
He brought his gun to point at him, but Stefan was faster. He took out his gun, Vladimir still cradled to his chest and pointed it to Aro. "This wasn't my fault," he whispered. "It's yours."
He released the trigger, squeezing his eyes shut as Aro let out his. He clutched onto Vladimir, kissing his forehead as he waited for the bullet to lodge itself in him. The bullet never came. He opened his eyes, seeing Maria standing in front of them, her arm bleeding from Aro's bullet. She breathed heavily, her eyes narrowed as Aro stared at them, blood trickling from his mouth and chest.
"Impossible," The Italian hissed. "I can't…"
"Die?" Maria offered. "Oh yes. For you see, only love is immortal. And you Aro, are not capable of having love or loving someone."
Aro blinked at her as she held up her gun, firing at him again. This time, he stumbled backwards, falling to the ground with his mouth open and blood pouring out of it. The blonde man stared at him in surprise, backing up with the other dark haired man. Maria turned to the blonde man, shooting again and watched unblinkingly as the bullet was tucked away in his brain. He crumpled to the ground as well, blood pouring out everywhere.
The other man merely stared at his two companions, shaking his head. He made no attempt to shoot, he just looked at them. "You killed my brothers," he simply said.
"Yes," Maria responded hesitantly.
The man's bored expression lifted, and a smile graced his lips. "Thank you," he replied before two of his other men appeared behind him, taking the two bodies as a helicopter appeared in the air. He turned to them as the other two boarded the machine. "The Volturi is disbanded." He said quickly before hopping on, disappearing into the rain clouds.
Maria dropped down to her brother's side, wincing as the bullet wound bled. Stefan touched Vladimir's face, ripping apart his shirt to see where the bullet had hit. It had hit his heart, and that was a necessary organ.
"Vladimir," he whispered, feeling his own heart pound. "Vladimir, please."
No response.
"Vladimir," Maria cried. "Please don't be dead! You can't be!"
Stefan kissed his lover's lips, noting how they were a bit cold now. He rested his head on his chin, feeling a few tears leak out. "Please," he whispered, feeling the tears touch Vladimir's skin. "Please…don't leave me alone…I don't want to be alone again…I need you…."
He noticed the others didn't say anything. They stood there, watching them numbly as he and Maria mourned over his body. Stefan kept his eyes closed, his breathing now becoming heavy. Maria didn't move, she still remained next to him. "Stefan," she began after a minute."
He didn't look at her, but she continued on anyway. "Stefan, I think he's…"
"NO! He can't be dead!"
"Stefan…."
"Ow."
Both of them jumped up, looking at each other before looking back down at Vladimir. The blonde stirred, blinking up at them with half lidded eyes. "Which one of you was squeezing me to death?" he asked weakly. "Whoever it was, I'm going to…do nothing about it," he wheezed painfully.
Both Stefan and Maria let out a pained laugh; Stefan kissing Vladimir once again as Maria called for her helicopter. They hoisted Vladimir onto it, riding away as the others remained below them, ordering the surviving members of their mafia to clean up the mess as rain poured down on them, washing the blood away.
(Three days later)
As it turned out, the bullet had not wedged itself in Vladimir's heart, but it was pretty close to it. It sat right above it. Stefan could only breathe a sigh of relief when Carlisle agreed to help get out, finding that the bullet would not be too difficult to get out and that they would not need to go to a hospital. It had been three days since that, and he was still pretty weak, but Carlisle had assured them that he would live.
"I better not see him out of bed and doing anything strenuous," the doctor warned, his eyes narrowed. "He could hurt himself."
Maria had come up to him after that, her eyes a bit worried as she spoke. "You and Vladimir need to leave the country," she warned. "The police have found out where he was living. I think it would be best if you two came and lived with me in Mexico for a while."
Stefan nodded, finding logic in what she was saying. "When are you leaving?"
"Soon. The police will not be coming here, but I don't want Vladimir heading back to his house where they will be expecting him. I've already been to the house and got his laptop and all his important files. Thank goodness he's such a neat freak. If he hadn't been, I don't know what I would have done."
She handed him the objects, rubbing her wounded arm. "Thank you," he replied. "For everything."
"No problem."
She walked down the hallway, seeing as Alice wanted to talk to her. Stefan shook his head, heading back into Vladimir's room. He stopped at the doorway, seeing as the blonde was flipping aimlessly through the TV channels. "Is it true?" he asked suddenly.
"Is what true?"
"That the police found my house?"
"Yes."
"And Maria wants us to move in with her?"
"Yes."
Vladimir slumped in his bed, looking rather sour at the fact. "I suppose we'll have too," he looked back at Stefan. "You are coming with me, aren't you?"
Stefan nodded. "Of course."
Vladimir reached his arms out to him and Stefan took his head, rubbing his knuckles gently. "Carlisle says I can't do anything strenuous. Does sex count as strenuous?"
Stefan could only laugh, nodding his head at the pouty look on Vladimir's face. He kissed his lips gently. "Only for a little while. You're just luck the bullet didn't kill you."
The blonde nodded, pausing for a second to look at Stefan. "Kachiri….she's dead, isn't she?" he frowned when Stefan shook his head. "I'm sorry. She was a good person."
"Laurant, Jane, Felix,Demetri, and a bunch of others are dead as well."
"And Alec?"
"No, he's alive. Maggie kept him alive for some reason."
Vladimir's smile lit up and he let out a laugh, which surprised Stefan. "What's so funny?" he asked hesitantly.
Vladimir shook his head, the grin still on his face. "She's kept Alec alive because she loves him. I imagine that she didn't have the heart to kill him. Though, how he's going to willingly stay with her while his twin sister is dead is beyond me."
The door opened again, surprising the two of them when Maggie walked in, Alec trailing behind her with a solemn expression. She grinned, ruffling Vladimir's hair. "I'm glad to see you're okay," she started, her eyes shining brightly. "I don't know what Stefan would have done if you had died."
"I don't know either," he replied, turning his head away from the blonde as he looked at him.
Maggie just giggled, looking down at Vladimir's lunch. "Are you done? I can take that back to Esme for you. I'll be right back!"
She took the tray of food and headed out the door, leaving the two Romanians with Alec. The boy stared at them, his left arm in a splint as he blinked at them warily. "Katrina killed Jane, didn't she?" he asked abruptly.
Stefan nodded. "She did. And don't be expecting an apology from her either."
Alec shook his head. "I'm not mad. More sad than mad really," his eyes were strangely calm. "I'm glad to be out of there."
Vladimir blinked at him. "Why?"
Alec glanced back into the hallway where Maggie's voice could be heard. His eyes softened just a bit. "I've been wanting to see her for a while, but due to the circumstances we were in, that wasn't going to happen. I didn't want Jane to die, and I may never forgive Katrina, but I'm not mad at you two."
Stefan only narrowed his eyes at the teenager, stepping closer to him. "Your mafia murdered my family," he said, his tone cold. "But you were only a baby when that happened, so I suppose I won't hold that against you."
Alec let out a wan smile. "Lots of people want me dead right now. I can deal with that."
Vladimir cocked an eyebrow. "So you've been wanting to leave the Volturi for a while?"
Alec nodded. "Jane knew. She wasn't pleased with the idea, but she wasn't going to stop me either. She always supported my choices even if she didn't like them," his eyes were sad now, but he sighed and continued on. "I'm staying with Maggie and her mafia. Siobhan and Liam don't like me, but they're letting me stay for Maggie's sake."
Stefan nodded, stepping forward to be able to look down on the teen. "If you hurt her," his voice was low, threatening. "I will not hesitate to kill you."
Alec only nodded. "Understood."
Maggie waltzed back in, eyebrows raised in question. "Is everything alright in here?" she asked, her tone curious. "It seems a bit…tense."
Vladimir smiled. "I assure you, everything is fine."
Maggie gave them a scathing look before taking Alec's good arm and lead him out, wishing the other two good luck. Stefan sighed, plonking down next to Vladimir and kissing him once again. "When do you want to leave?" he asked.
"I don't really care," Vladimir responded. "I'll only leave if you're leaving."
Stefan smiled, though it soon turned into a smirk. "I just remembered something."
"What?"
"Remember how you said you would admit to liking Maria when you were on your death bed?"
"Oh no-"
Stefan snickered, moving out of the way when the blonde tried to hit him. "You were on your death bed, so you must like her."
"Fine! I'll admit it I like her! Happy?"
"Yes."
And with that, he kissed him again.
No, this isn't the final chapter. There is one more after this. Yes, Vladimir lives! Yes, Alec is alive, but pretty much everyone hates him. Sad. Yes, the song is thousand years by Christina Perri. Think it's corny? Yes, probably a little, but it's the only song I could think of D: