AN:
Nightingale: I like your thinking there! That would have been a good way to go! But, no :D Caius has proved that vampires can have babies, even if incredibly unlikely, and I think there will be a few more popping up as we go through the centuries - Lucius is the precursor for how they will be viewed by the vampiric world. Lucius is motivated to commit these atrocities, we will see why he's such a cunt in Chap 112. I have just checked through my chapters, though Lucius will be done with soon, the ramifications of what he has been up to wont be properly settled until 1720, August!

Katkls: Felix might be waiting for his Christmas for a while yet :(

Guest: that is such a kind thing for you to say, I really appreciate it. I am feeling bad that some people feel let down by the path the story has taken recently, but with a story this long there needs to be a good mix of ups and downs… and some ups will be really up and the downs will have to be really down… or with the Lucius chapters, really, really down!

Guest: I totally agree! I know our poor vampires have been pushed to the brink with the last few sets of chapters, but everything will be alright. Not in this chapter, though. Everything is definitely NOT alright in this one. This is probably the worst of them all, actually. I haven't been graphic with anything, but its vile.

Ah, fuck. You'll be coming for me with pitch forks after this one!

BUT, after this one, they'll be out of the woods. Promise.

Okay. Replies, warnings and apologies done. Lets check out that guard party Aro and Eleazar were heading to, shall we?

The Darkest Day

The guard party was in full swing, and even though Aro had tried to stay on watch the drinks appeared to be flowing in his direction and it wasn't long before he was pissed.

Every time he finished one goblet a guard would give him a new one and he couldn't seem to say no. Partly because he didn't want to raise suspicions, but mainly because that bloodwine tasted better than any other bloodwine he had ever drunk before.

Renata kept close to her master and refused the good many drinks offered to her. She had to be quite insistent towards some of her comrades who appeared to be making it their mission to get her drunk. Though she stayed close to her master, she was struggling to keep up her block over him. If Renata had taken even one of the offered drinks it would have been game over for the king. Aro had been quite forceful in his instructions that Renata shouldn't leave the queen, or him, or his children … but divided between a guard hall, with all the jollity occurring, Renata lost track on the others and followed Aro around as best she could.

The night, which seemed like any other guard party to begin with (other than Aro's odd questioning of just about everybody he talked to in regard to Lucius' or the creator's conduct), turned sour a little after midnight.

Magnus hadn't touched a drop of drink all evening and he had been watching the crowd of guards as a shepherd watched over his flock. Panic flooded his entire body when he saw smoke rising from the back of the room. Charging through the body of guards, knocking them left and right as he ploughed his way through, he was most surprised on reaching the source of said smoke - it was Lucius and Alec holding Marcus' stolen opium pipe.

It took a moment for Magnus to react - he was just so shocked! Lucius fixed the mammoth master with a curious look and Magnus could feel through his gift that the kid's emotions were forceful, but whatever he was trying to persuade Magnus to do, it didn't work.

"I think you are too high, little boy," Magnus said with a smirk.

Being stone cold sober made it easy for Magnus to deflect whatever the kid was attempting. If wasn't quite so easy, however, to sidestep the bloodwine vomit spewing forth from a very rocky Alec.

The music stopped and everyone crowed around Magnus to get a good view on the pair of miscreants. They were all just as surprised as Magnus to find Lucius and Alec there.

Alec literally shook in fear as Aro approached him. He dropped the opium pipe to the floor, the resulting crack as it shattered sending a shiver down his spine.

"You must be joking!" Aro spat in disgust.

Not only that his twelve-year-old was apparently pissed and high, but that, of all people, and after all he had said to his children, it was Lucius that Alec was hanging out with - again! Aro snatched Lucius up by his throat and Magnus deftly caught the bloodwine goblet in his hand.

Whilst his co-master gave a round of fucks to the lad in his grasp, Magnus took the tiniest of sips from the cup.

"There's dungeon blood in this!"

Aro nearly brought every cup he'd drank back up! "What?!" he asked in panic. "In just that one or all of them?"

Magnus spun around taking sips from those closest to him. "All of them, Aro!"

Aro dropped to his knees and starting retching. It was an automatic response. He wanted every drop he'd drank out of his system as fast as possible. I thought I was getting pissed quick tonight! FUCK! he screamed inside his head.

Magnus and Caius sprang into action, lining up every guard along the wall and checking their consumption, Aro's sons and Lucius included.

Only Carlisle and Felix continued to work, lining up goblet after goblet of bloodwine at the bar. They weren't even sure how they'd ended up serving the drinks. Neither was Turk for that matter, whose job it was to do just that. He was in the line with the rest of the guards, looking on confused as their king threw up bloodwine all over the floor.

"Mik, we need more light!" Caius called to the self-igniting guard who spun around the room lighting every lamp and torch he could find.

Eleazar went to his brother and nephew at the bar. He couldn't help Aro. A whole night on dungeon blood, whether knowingly or not, would not bode well for the coven king in their father's current state of irrationality. "Carlisle, what are you serving?"

"Bloodwine, with a tot of dungeon blood. We thought everyone needed to relax a little," he replied happily, seemingly unaware of the travesty he had committed.

Eleazar took one look back to Aro, still throwing up, before rounding on Carlisle. "Why would you do that?!" he demanded, expecting an answer.

"Someone told us to," Felix replied hazily.

"I can't remember who," Carlisle added, eyes glazing over as he spoke.

Eleazar, enraged by their apparent complacency, swiped the goblets from the bar, spilling the illicit contents to the floor where it could do no more harm.

"Felix, look at your Dad!" he roared at his nephew, pulling him free of the safety of the bar and into the hall. "You have had him drinking dungeon blood all fucking night! What were you thinking?!"

Felix couldn't verbalise what he was thinking. His thoughts jumbled into one. But I had to serve the bloodwine. I had to serve the dungeon blood. It was important. It was! Though those words circled his mind like a chant, they were at total odds with his feelings on the matter seeing Aro slouched on his knees surrounded by deep red vomit. His stomach churned for the potential horror he had unleashed on his family by putting his father back on dungeon blood.

Seeing the state of his entire guard, Magnus was fucking livid! "What the hell, Caius? I told you I was against the guards taking that shit!"

Caius jabbed an angry finger in Carlisle's direction. "I didn't give them any!" he shot back. "And, you didn't think it was 'shit' when you were taking it!"

That was news to the guards! Complaints started flying at Magnus in every direction.

"How come you can take it and we can't?"

"Yeah, we paid for it!"

"It's ours!"

"We bought it!"

Magnus didn't care who the complaints came from, neither did Caius for that matter, and the pair of them launched into an assault on any guard they could grab, pulling them out of line and all but throwing them up the central staircase.

"Do you think the women are happy being treated like the men tonight?" Caius quipped as he launched his old high guard Heidi towards the stairwell where she crashed to the floor in her inebriated state.

They continued until every guard was clear of the guard hall. Seeing her mate laughing along was the final straw for Freyr.

"You are both ANIMALS!" she accused hatefully before following her guard to the dorms, making sure they all made it to their own rooms.

Athenodora took her leave, too. Caius has been on dungeon blood all night, she sighed and headed home. Won't we have a fun night, my love, she thought sardonically, already dreading the brawl they would no doubt have later.

Sulpicia had managed to pull Felix free of his uncle, and collected Alec to stand with her. Demetri came strolling down the stairs without a care in the world, whispering sweet nothings to Adrianna on his arm. Coming face to face with the scene in the guard hall had them both freeze.

"And where have you been?" Aro asked from his position on the floor.

Sulpicia extracted Demetri from a fleeing Adrianna, and had her three boys ready to leave. Jane had already escaped when she heard her father had drank the dungeon blood. Sulpicia felt the buzz of the drug setting in and the effect made her nauseous. Why her husband enjoyed such a feeling she would never know. Though looking at his current dejected state, she thought better of asking at the time.

Aro looked to his boys, all trying to avoid their father on the floor. "Aww, my three kings. Drin-king, smo-king, and fuc-king. How very festive we are!" he said with no hint of humour to his tone.

Alec had to gulp down the fresh vomit he felt rising in his throat. He didn't think it would do him much good to spill any more of his guts.

Somehow in the general disarray, Lucius seemed to have escaped. The boy must have run straight to Basileus and Atia, as the pair of them turned up at the guard hall absolutely fuming. Basileus was baying for Aro's blood and it took all of the masters and Atia to keep him back as Aro got to his feet.

"You know what this means, don't you, boy?" he growled from behind the defensive line.

Aro shook his head. "I didn't know what was in there!"

"Like you couldn't taste it!" Basileus roared.

His grandsons ducked for cover and Sulpicia tucked them behind her. She wasn't sure if Basileus would make good on his promise to have Aro submit again, but the idea of him doing so in front of her teenage sons was revolting! Sulpicia only knew about the very first time and as that had been a few years since, she hoped there wouldn't be a recurrence.

Naturally, Aro hadn't shared with his mate that Basileus had, in fact already, had him submit since then and it was entirely possible that he would do so again, soon.

"He probably didn't taste it, Dad. I only put in tiny amounts to start with."

Eleazar froze and watched his baby brother with wide eyes as the younger came to his senses over what he had just said.

"I mean, I don't know … I mean. I can't … oh fuck!" Carlisle's rambled plea turned dark when Basileus shook off Caius from one side and Magnus from the other.

With one hand around his neck, Basileus dragged his son out from behind the bar and over the top of it, finally depositing Carlisle in the middle of the guard hall.

Raising his cane high, he took retribution on Carlisle for his stupidity. Curled into a protective ball, Carlisle jolted with every strike, calling out his explanations and apologies as Basileus beat him. Everyone looked away and allowed Basileus to get a few good strokes in - they were deserved, but, one by one they turned back to the scene, wondering who was going to step in and save the youngest Volturi brother before his father cracked his skull.

"My lord …" Eleazar attempted, "that is enough."

Aro walked straight up to his father and ripped the cane from his hand. "That's enough!" he repeated Eleazar's words with far more conviction.

"You shouldn't worry about him, Aro. Not with you have coming!"

"I didn't know about the fucking dungeon blood!" he growled in return, squaring up to his father.

"Oh god, not now, my love!" Sulpicia interjected, gesturing to their boys.

Basileus, too, caught their eye. "Are you capable of dealing with them or should I take care of it now?" he asked, smiling menacingly at his grandsons.

Sulpicia and Aro stood firm together in front of their sons, looking desperately to Atia tending to Carlisle on the floor.

Atia nodded curtly to them both, she wasn't going to let her mate near the children in the oddly vicious state he was in. Distract! she thought quickly. "Basileus where is Lucius? You were supposed to bring him with us."

Basileus looked confused for a moment. "He wanted to wait at home with Jane."

That single line threw horror into the hearts of every Volturi family member in attendance. Even Basileus seemed to be aware of the issue in his words.

Aro was wrecked, totally wrecked, but the speed he fled through the halls to get back to his daughter matched Basileus toe for toe. The pair jostled in the hallway for a moment to get up the stair first until they heard the bloodcurdling scream of Lucius, sounding very much like he was being set on fire!

"GO!" Aro boomed, shoving his father ahead and almost trampled the creator underfoot as he ran on his heels.

Taking a quick look behind, Aro made sure his mother and Renata were close by before he went through to his top floor suite. Basileus, therefore, had almost thirty seconds where he was in his granddaughter's bedroom before Aro and another thirty seconds or so before Atia and her guard.

The scene that greeted the creator was nothing short of sickening. Jane and Lucius tangled, naked on her bed. Basileus wasn't sure what he was seeing, for a moment he couldn't make out whether Jane was willing or not.

"She made me do it!" Lucius roared. "She kept burning me until I agreed!"

Jane shoved her bedfellow off the bed and burned him again. Lucius released an anguished scream as Jane threw her every effort into ripping Lucius to pieces through her gift.

Aro burst through the door and went straight to his baby. Scooping the bedclothes around her, he held his girl in his arms, breaking her hold over Lucius.

Basileus felt sick. My granddaughter, Lucius! No, just no!

"She forced me!" Lucius roared, scurrying across the floor to take protection between the wardrobes.

Aro put his sobbing daughter down and flew at the boy, taking great delight in hurting him slowly, digging into the boy's stomach with only scratches … he was going to take his time dissecting that little fucker for having his only daughter!

In a half-choked screech, Lucius finally implored, "Check in her head if you don't believe me."

Basileus immediately delved inside Jane's mind. He had seen enough antics from his sons and grandsons, he thought, to be past surprises. Hearing his young granddaughter demand sex from Lucius, the boy he had taken in as his son, unnerved him. The requests Jane made whilst Lucius had his way with her made Basileus green with nausea.

"I'm going to be sick," he said, closing his eyes.

He had a headache, still. They were lasting for days on end and Basileus had privately worried his immortal body was beginning to fade away with such ailments coming out in the otherwise perfect Adonis. He continued to search Jane's mind to see who had instigated the illicit liaison.

Aro was pummelling Lucius who was desperately trying to defend himself against the vampire king.

"STOP!" Basileus roared.

It wasn't his father, Aro knew that. Atia did too and she held everyone else back at the door. Sulpicia doesn't need to see this, she thought.

"ARO. GET. BACK!"

Aro heard the coven leader command, but he didn't move. He wanted the boy dead and he was going to be the one to do it. No way am I handing over the death of this scum to you! he raged inside his mind.

Basileus stalked over to his boy and dragged him back, kicking and roaring. By a fistfull of his hair, he forced his son onto his knees in the centre of the room. "TELL THEM WHAT YOU DID!" the creator commanded.

"Me?!" Aro looked to his dad, sure the old man had completely fucking lost it. "I haven't done anything, that little bastard has raped my daughter."

Basileus ragged hard on Aro's head, ripping his hair straight from the roots. "He isn't the only one!" Basileus spat in disgust.

"What the hell are you talking about?" Aro was getting seriously pissed off, he didn't have time to deal with bonkers Basileus. His daughter was sobbing, broken and in pain inches behind him and he couldn't get to her. "You are making no sense. Get the fuck off me so I can get to my baby." Aro wasn't playing. But neither was his father.

"Basileus, what are you talking about, my dear." Atia approached gently. "What has Aro done?"

Basileus booted his boy in the side and Aro was sure he felt his kidney burst. He knew he didn't need a kidney as such, but getting it out wasn't going to be much fun if it started rotting inside him. He wanted to curl into a ball but Basileus held him firm, offering him up to his family.

"Aro had Jane first!" Basileus sneered, venom rising in his throat. He wanted to tear Aro to shreds.

Atia pulled at her mate's grasp on their bewildered boy, who couldn't believe the accusations being thrown at him now! "No, Basileus, no. You know that hasn't happened."

Basileus shook her off and pointed to Jane. "You can confirm what I have seen through Jane's own eyes."

Atia rolled hers to the heavens but did as she was bid, thinking the whole thing utterly ridiculous. Nothing would have prepared her for the image of her son, the king of vampire kind, brutally and repeatedly raping his own daughter.

Aro had been waiting for Atia to call his father out as the looney tune he was showing himself up to be. But no voice of reason came.

"How could you?!" Atia whispered in utter amazement, cradling Jane close to her chest.

"How could I what? I haven't done anything wrong, you fucking idiots."

Jane's small voice could barely break through the arguing that ensued as she swore on her life Aro had never touched her.

Basileus was so far past listening, that he was only acting on instinct now, defending his granddaughter. Lifting Aro clean from the floor, feet swinging as he ragged the coven king about. With one fist square in the centre of his son's face, Basileus knocked his boy out, splitting a half inch groove down Aro's forehead.

When he dropped to the floor, Aro looked so very, very … dead.

AN: … and I will now be turning my emails off so I can avoid the hate mail!