Volturi Destruction

By Lynn

Fruits of Solitude

They that love beyond the world cannot be separated by it.

Death cannot kill what never dies.

Nor can spirits ever be divided, that love and live in the same divine principle,

the root and record of their friendship.

If absence be not death, neither is theirs.

Death is but crossing the world, as friends do the seas, they live in one another still.

William Penn

1. HIDDEN

Marcus settled into his leather seat on the Volturi private jet. Aro, Caius, Athenodora, and Sulpicia all joined him on board while most of the Volturi guard took a separate jet. Demetri and Afton would pilot this aircraft.

Marcus looked out the window as the jet began it's take off course from the Seattle-Tacoma Airport back to Volterra, Italy. They had just avoided disaster with the Cullen's and their friends in Forks. Aro's mind was still reeling as he thought about the child Renesmee and what potential lay in store for her as a hybrid. Caius was brooding and in a terrible mood. He had really been looking forward to wiping out the covens that dared to defy the Volturi and stand against them. Sulpicia and Athenodora sat next to each other giggling. They were just happy for the chance to leave the castle.

"Wasn't that fun, love?" Sulpicia asked Aro. "Though I expected more bloodshed, I can't say that I'm terribly disappointed. Oh! And those wolves! Did you see them? They were so big and cuddly, even though the stench was horrid, Oh Aro- can't we have some of those back at the castle? I want a puppy to play with!"

Aro was still deep in thought and was ignoring her.

"Aro! Aren't you listening to me?" Sulpicia pouted as if her feelings had been terribly hurt.

"Hmmm? Oh yes, a puppy. We'll get you one in Volterra," Aro said absentmindedly.

Sulpicia laughed. "Aro's got a song stuck in his head and he can't hear anything else."

They continued their chatter but Marcus didn't pay any attention to them. His thoughts were somewhere else, lapping at the edges of Didyme. He could rarely bring himself to fully think of her, but he would often reflect on things that reminded him of the times when she was alive.

For instance, when he first met Edward in Volterra he had thought about how useful it would have been to have him around during the Romanian War. What if Edward had been at the costume ball on that fateful night? He could have known what the Romanians were plotting against Didyme. Marcus would have had the chance to save her.

Or what if Edward had been with him when he questioned Evangeline in the Romanian castle before Sulpicia killed her off? He could have learned the truth about which of them was responsible for her death. It would have been so convenient to have another mind reader who didn't require physical contact.

Marcus had often reflected on the events surrounding her demise. He remembered when Aro first told him of her death and handed him her red jeweled cross. It was the last physical thing he had of her. Aro had seemed to be just as upset as Marcus during that time but something was off. He had seen Aro's bond to Didyme dramatically decrease when they made the decision to leave Volterra. He understood that Aro was upset that they wanted to leave but something just seemed off.

Again Marcus thought about Edward and if he were around, he could unlock the secrets of Aro's mind. However, Marcus had just been involved in a ploy to kill Edward, his only daughter, and the rest of his friends and family. Marcus was sure that Edward would not be interested in using his talent to help him now.

The plane shook just slightly as they hit some turbulence. The girls laughed again about something. Caius' scowl began to fade. Yet Marcus was still deep in thought.

His thoughts moved on to Maggie, the little red head from the Irish coven. She had the ability to know when someone was lying to her. It was not as good as mind reading yet it would still bring Marcus the closure that he needed after all these centuries. However, she too might react adversely to Marcus since her family had also been threatened in Forks. Marcus' mind continued to wander for the rest of the flight to Volterra. When they finally landed, everyone began to deboard the plane.

"I think I'll stay on," Marcus spoke up as the others were exiting.

Aro looked at him with surprise. "Oh? Where will you be going?"

Marcus shrugged. "I enjoy flying. It relaxes me." He wasn't lying at all. In fact, this was a bit of information that Aro had already picked up from previously reading his thoughts.

Aro smiled. "Very well, then."

Once the leaders were off, Afton and Demetri stood at the front and asked Marcus where he would like to go.

"Actually, could you send Corin to pilot for me this time?" Marcus asked.

The two nodded and left the plane and began the refueling process. Just like how Aro had his favorite guards like Jane and Renata, Marcus' favorite was Corin. Though he never spoke of it, he felt a kinship towards him.

Corin climbed aboard the plane, "Where to, my lord?"

"Ireland," Marcus nodded.

Once the plane had been fully refueled, Corin went into the cockpit and headed for Ireland. After they landed, they rented a car and made it to the old brick home of the Irish Coven before they had returned from Forks.

It was raining there which was not unusual. Marcus and Corin sat in the car until Maggie, Siobhan, and Liam came home which wasn't until late in the evening. When they pulled up the driveway they were very cautious. Liam felt especially uncomfortable with having the Volturi at their home since there had just been a close call of fighting to the death against them. Everyone stepped out of their cars.

"What do you want, Marcus?" Liam asked with his Irish lilt, standing in the pouring rain.

"I wish to speak with Maggie. Alone."

Siobhan looked nervous and exchanged glances with her little red headed friend. "What do you want with her?" she asked.

"I have an issue that needs resolving and I believe that her talent can help me with that." Marcus was being elusive, especially with Corin around. The less Corin knew, the better. It would keep him safer from Aro.

Maggie tilted her head to the side in the rain as she listened to Marcus speak. "He's telling the truth."

Then Siobhan turned to Maggie. "You don't have to do anything you don't want to."

"I know," Maggie smiled, "it'll be fine." She stepped away from her coven towards Marcus. "Shall we?"

Marcus nodded and opened the passenger door for her. She climbed in and Corin was about to get into the driver's seat when Marcus stopped him. "That won't be necessary Corin. I'll drive; you stay here with the others."

Corin obeyed and Marcus sat in the driver's seat. They pulled out of the driveway and began to cruise toward the remains of an old church. Most of the brick building had fallen away into shambles yet it was still beautiful. The rain took a break from falling and some clouds parted just enough to reveal the full moon.

"What is the issue?" Maggie asked as they stepped out of the car.

Marcus cleared his throat. He had spoken more words today then he had in the past year. "As I'm sure you know from history, Didyme was killed by the Romanians centuries ago. Aro was the one to tell me of her death and he brought me her cross as proof that she was really gone." Marcus pulled the cross out from his pocket. Maggie reached out for it, wanting to examine it. Marcus was hesitant but then gave it to her. As she studied the beautiful object, he continued. "Aro seemed just as upset as I was about her death. However, I noticed that before she was killed, his bond to her seemed to be weakened. It has always bothered me, and I have felt like Aro had not given me the whole truth. I just want confirmation that Aro left nothing out."

"And you want me to be the lie detector?" Maggie guessed.

Marcus shifted a little uncomfortably; she had said it more plainly than he had. "Yes," he answered.

Maggie nodded. "I'll do it."

Marcus was surprised at her willingness. It was much easier than he thought it would be. "Thank you. May I ask why you are so willing to help me?"

Maggie smiled. "Marcus, that has obviously been bothering you for over a thousand years. I'd say it's about time for you to move on. And if this is what needs to happen in order for you to be able to do that, then I will help you."

Marcus looked at her thoughtfully. "Thank you," he said slowly, this time full heartedly. She smiled and handed the cross back to him.

They drove back to the Irish coven's brick home and Maggie explained that she would be leaving to go to Volterra. She promised that everything would be alright but asked Siobhan to try to will the best outcome for the journey anyway. Siobhan gladly agreed. Liam was not keen on letting her go alone but he knew that Maggie was her own person and would do what she wanted.

Marcus, Corin, and Maggie all left Ireland and flew back to Volterra. Marcus knew that he couldn't just ask Aro to repeat his story with Maggie around. He was much too smart for that. Marcus would have to be very careful.

The Volterra castle had undergone many changes in the past century. There were now many more secret entrances into the castle, especially since underground sewers were created. When the inventions of airplanes came they built over the courtyard. It wasn't any good to have sparkling vampires walking around if they could now be seen from above. The entire center of the castle had been filled with several floors, much of it dedicated to new surveillance technology among other things. The top of the center space was turned into a helicopter landing pad. Aro had always said that the reason they were able to remain in power for so long was because they were able to adapt and change with the times.

Marcus sent Corin away and asked him to avoid coming back to the castle for a while. Then he and Maggie came in through one of the secret entrances. He made her wait in the shadows as he went up into the turret. It was empty. Everyone else must have been busy doing other things. Truly, the turret was only used for meetings and feeding now. Because of that, the room was filled with all sorts of different smells, human and vampire alike. If he were to hide Maggie in here, Aro would not notice her unique scent.

Marcus went back and guided Maggie into the turret. He hid her behind a large fabric tapestry that hung on the wall behind the wooden thrones. Then he swiftly moved down the hall into his old room and opened the closet. Inside it sat the cobweb covered violin that had once belonged to Aro. It was the same Violin that Didyme was playing when Marcus first met her. He picked it up and quickly brought it back to the turret. He was nowhere near as good as Aro or Didyme had been but his memory was untainted and he mimicked the notes that he had seen Didyme play. It wasn't long before Aro followed the haunting sound into the turret.

"Marcus? What are you doing?" Aro asked with mixed emotions on his face.

Marcus set down the old thing, it badly needed to be tuned. "I was just thinking about Didyme and how she used to play. Tell me Aro, why do you never play anymore?"

Aro was surprised by the question. "Well, like you the violin reminds me of Didyme. I suppose that I wanted to bury the painful memories of her."

"Isn't that interesting?" Marcus mused. "That you should want to bury your memories of her yet she is all I think about day and night."

Aro looked uncomfortable. "I suppose that we all have our own ways to cope."

Marcus smirked. "Yes, I suppose so. Tell me Aro, why did you grieve so much for Didyme when she first died? I saw your bond to her become weak after we told you our plans to leave. How is it that you mourned her loss as much as I did at the time?"

Aro laughed nervously. "My Marcus, you sure are talkative today, aren't you?"

"Answer the question," Marcus said blankly.

Aro sighed. "Because Marcus, when the Romanians killed her I knew that it was my fault. I knew that the only reason they did it was to hurt me. I felt responsible for the death of my sister. Having that hanging over my head was a heavy burden to bear. Yet I have been able to move on. I have learned now that I cannot be blamed for other people's actions."

"He's lying!" Maggie came out from behind the tapestry.

Aro's crimson eyes widened in disbelief. He turned to Marcus and spat out, "You had her spying on me?"

"What did he lie about?" Marcus quickly asked Maggie.

"Everything! The Romanians did not kill her!" Maggie was panicked; she knew things were going to get ugly.

Marcus grabbed Aro by the collar of his black robe and smashed him against the wall. "Who killed her?" he shouted at him.

"Marcus, please!" Aro begged.

Suddenly, many of the other members of the Volturi rushed into the turret to investigate the sounds of fighting. Among them were Caius, Athenodora, and Demetri.

Aro pointed at Demetri. "Him! He was the one who tried to kill her!" He had intentionally used the word 'tried' because it was the truth, and Maggie wouldn't be able to pick up on it.

Demetri was shocked that his master had just sold him out. He reacted before thinking. "I was going to but I couldn't finish her off, she used her aura against me and I couldn't bring myself to do it! It was Aro! Aro killed her!"

Marcus felt as though a knife had been stabbed through his chest. He still had Aro in his grips against the wall when he looked over his shoulder at Maggie and asked "Is it true?"

Maggie sadly nodded yes.

Marcus turned back around to face Aro. He had never been filled with more rage and hatred. The next words that came out of his mouth came slowly and menacingly. "Aro, I am going to kill you."