A/N: Here is chapter 8! Thanks for all the love in regards to reviews, favorites, etc. etc. Once again, my updates will be sporadic as real life gets in the way. As always, I don't own Sailor Moon.

Skylar Toles=Usagi Tsukino/Serena
Marcellino "Marcel" Galli=Mamoru Chiba/Darien
Rosalia "Rose" Galli=Rei Hino/Raye
Jerrard Carter=Jadeite/Jedite
Madilon Carter=Minako Aino/Mina
Ketill Valdimarr=Kunzite/Malachite
Madalena "Lena" Lobo=Makoto Kino/Lita
Nicolás "Nico" Torres=Nephrite/Nephlite
Anya Moskvina=Ami Mizuno/Amy
Till Kafka=Zoicite/Zoycite

Chapter 8

Darkness hung around the room like a second skin, but Rose liked it that way, especially after the premonition she just had. Her head still pounded faintly, but the darkness seemed to wash away the remnants of it. Most of her premonitions didn't knock her out like this one had. The ones that did seemed to hold more vital information in them. She lay quietly in bed, chewing on her bottom lip. She had better hurry so as to attend Marcel's meeting, even if the others didn't exactly want her there. As soon as she had awoken, she'd searched for Marcel. He'd sent a curt reply back, making sure she was ok but telling her he was busy with a meeting. She knew then that the others didn't want her presence there, but she'd march right in, demanding to be heard. Whatever this premonition was, she had an inkling the others needed to know about it.

She quickly rose from her bed, crossing the length of her room in a few, hurried strides. She stood in front of a door that led to a smaller chamber that had been specifically made for her fire readings. She raised her right hand and lightly touched the door. A red glyph appeared, shimmering brightly in the darkness in front of her. Rose muttered an incantation and the glyph melted away, leaving the door open. She silently stepped through, closing the door behind her.

The room was bare sans a lone rug that faced a square fire pit made of stone. She sat down Indian style on the rug and took a deep breath, finding her center. A fireball formed in one of her hands and she tossed it into the center of the pit. The fire pit roared to life, crackling as it took shape, casting dancing shadows around the room.

Each Seer's premonitions came to them differently; each one of them had a unique experience. Her visions were simple enough. They came to her in person, but for her to access them and sift through them, she needed to deposit them in her fire, and only then did she have full access to them.

She took a deep breath, slowly exhaling and closing her eyes, relishing in the warm heat that came from her fire. She eased her way into the crevices of her mind, winding her way to the part where the newest premonition lay hidden. She never had trouble finding them. Extracting it with her mind, a purple flame appeared in her right hand. She stuck her hand in the middle of the fire pit, the flames licking her arms, tickling her with its warm embrace. She dropped the purple fireball and instantly the fire roared higher, turning a deep shade of violet before ebbing down, returning to its natural hue. She retracted her arm, showing no signs of scorch marks on them. Her own flames never burned her.

Amethyst eyes searched the flames and slowly the vision came to life. The images came swiftly, assaulting her mind ferociously in their attempt to be seen. Rose almost lost her grip on the premonition, something that never had happened to her before. She saw a shadowed figure and her mind prickled with unease, goose bumps forming on her arms. The shadowed figure towered over another person, whose back was facing Rose. It was a woman with flaming red hair; the wild curls reaching to her lower back. Rose could hear the woman's cackles echoing around her mind, the sound grating on her. Four men appeared before the redheaded lady, dragging what appeared to be an unconscious man. Rose let slip a small gasp. It was her uncle! She burned the image of the four men in her mind, so she wouldn't forget their faces.

The tallest man, with stick straight hair that went to his chin, so pale it looked white, seemed to be arguing with the dark haired man. His lilac eyes flashed dangerously at the dark haired man, who relented and walked away, his aqua eyes full of sorrow. The other blond threw a scathing look at the two, his hunter green eyes full of malice, but kept quiet when the taller blond gave him his full attention, eyes narrowed in warning. The brunette seemed bored, casually leaning against the wall, his intelligent hazel eyes watching with a dull expression. The images shifted, this time showing the beach. The sun, against a light blue sky, shined brightly, throwing its rays on the scene below.

The four Americans Anya and her had tailed were lounging on the beach, soaking up the warm weather. The vision narrowed in on the deaf, blonde American. Her eyes were closed, face up towards the sun, a small smile on her lips. Warning bells rang inside Rose's mind. She knew this young woman was important, but didn't know how. The vision blurred and in its place, the face of a red haired young man appeared, his hair styled in a peculiar fashion, almost like a flame. Rose knew right away it was the Irish vampire Anya had encountered that had been after the blonde American as well. The vision showed him speaking with the Americans and her heart gave a sudden lurch she didn't understand. She could only say it didn't bode well.

The vision swam again, showing the red-haired man taking the blonde American away. Now the vision sped up, and Rose only caught snippets of the story. The blonde looked to have been taken to the tall man with lilac colored eyes. He seemed ecstatic and flash the vision changed and Rose heard, once again, the cackling of the redheaded woman. Shrouded in shadow, Rose couldn't make out her face. She had the blonde American in a death grip, the shadow behind her growing immensely, over-taking everything in its wake. Soon, everything fell to darkness flash humans were running around screaming, creatures chasing them. Rose couldn't make out exactly what the creatures were, they were so grotesque and mutated beyond recognition, but the darkness was always present behind them flash the Order battling the creatures, blood and death hanging heavy in the air. Rose lurched backwards, cold sweat running down her back, her heart hammering quickly against her chest.

She felt queasy and lightheaded, the last scene still echoing in her mind. With a quick flick of her wrist, her fire subsided, leaving her in darkness. She closed her mind to the horrible vision, locking it away in the crevices of her mind; a secure place only she could reach. She still felt a little shaky, her body trembling slightly. Taking a deep breath to calm herself, she raised her body temperature to dispel the coldness still lingering. That did nothing to banish the chill she still felt in her heart.

Rising quickly to her feet, her mind was set on one goal: to save the young American woman at all costs. So quick was her haste that she practically plowed over her two maidens at the entrance of her room.

"Lady Galli!" Despoina exclaimed, shocked from Rose's unusual antics.

"We tried reaching you, but your mind was blocked. Is everything alright?" Parthenia asked, concern lacing her words. For as long as Rose could remember, their family had been serving the female Galli's bloodline. It'd been penance for their family's alliance to the wrong cause. Parthenia had told Rose that when Eithne had inherited the contract, she'd abolished it, not wanting to partake in such a vile thing. She'd also commented that her family had stayed out of the love and respect they'd had for her mother. The twins had stayed on to look after Rose after her mother had passed.

"My premonition…I did the fire reading…I need to tell Marcel," Rose explained hurriedly, already turning around to head to the throne room.

"Lady Galli!" Both women shouted after her, but Rose had disappeared around the corner, ignoring their pleading shouts.

She easily reached the throne room a few seconds later and halted to a stop, registering the barrier that Ketill had put up to keep others away. She smirked. Ketill had thrown up a lousy barrier as a pretense for the other people, knowing full well she'd come barging in when she awoke.

Easily whisking his barrier away, Rose erected her own. The barrier glowed a fiery red before disappearing. Satisfied with her work, Rose pushed open the huge, bronze-fashioned doors. All eyes turned to her as she entered, Marcel stopping mid sentence. She gracefully curtsied to her cousin before making her way to where Ketill stood a little to Marcel's right.

She got halfway to him before someone whispered, loud enough for everyone to hear, "What is she doing here?"

All it ever took was one brave soul. "She's an abomination! She mustn't be allowed in here!"

A sardonic smile graced her ruby lips, but she remained quiet, and continued to walk over to Ketill. Soon, everyone started whispering to one another, shooting furtive glances her way. The ones that didn't seem bothered by her person remained quiet.

"Silence!" Marcel boomed. Rose glanced at her cousin a little curiously. She could count on one hand how many times she'd heard him raise his voice to anyone. "I will not have this meeting be sidetracked by petty reasons. She is my cousin and is therefore allowed in." Marcel's voice held a regal tone to it, something she didn't realize he'd been capable of.

"It must be taken to a vote!" Someone had the audacity to say and others murmured their agreements.

Marcel sighed, rubbing his temple. Rose could see the strain in his face, his mouth a tight grimace as he looked around. His sapphire eyes remained as sharp as ever, though. "In the wake of my father's absence, I am High Ruler now, so my voice is law, but to appease you, we will take it to a vote."

Rose bristled. Marcel, there are more important things we need to discuss, primarily my vision, than allow these Neanderthals to vote on whether it's prim to allow me in here!

Rose, she heard the warning in his voice, please don't abuse your powers here. Just let them vote and then we can get on with our discussion. Remember, you were the one who rudely interrupted.

Marcel, my vision . . . we really need to discuss it, she practically pleaded. His eyes shifted to hers, his face registering the look of concern that she briefly let him see before masking her face again.

Don't fret, I will listen in due time. Now, none of this whispering behind their backs, you know how they get their panties in a bunch about it. Rose could hear the mirth in his voice, but it did little to ease her mind.

Mmm, she responded quickly before cutting off their link. She glanced around the room, watching each of the different races discuss her. Her eyes wandered, by their own accord, to the vampire clans. She frowned slightly. She didn't see Konstantin among them. Before his inevitable fall from grace, her father, always a few steps ahead of most, had appointed Rose as the next ruler in his place. Knowing full well she couldn't rule given her age, he appointed Konstantin as her benefactor. He would rule for her until she came of age.

Her father had, essentially, outsmarted The Order. Konstantin was her father's lapdog, and so Stefano had ruled from the shadows, even after being stripped of his position. When she had reached the age of maturity, Konstantin had vowed to step down, but she had refused the position; she didn't much care for politics and wanted no part in it. That, and the fact remained that there would've been an uproar had a hybrid taken a seat as a ruler.

Konstantin must not have made it to the party in time. With the portal being broken, it seemed like many people were missing. Her eyes landed on the Carter siblings next. With Konstantin gone, Jerrard Carter would fill in for him. Jerrard was the wild card for this vote. She already knew how the shapeshifters would vote, always erring on the side of caution. She had a good inkling on the lycans vote, since they always tended to be the most open out of the four races. The warlocks had no choice in the matter since Marcel would vote, and for her. The vampire clans were always a toss up, given that some were more conservative than others. She watched as some of them bickered, speaking in hushed tones so no one else could hear.

Madilon Carter was in the thick of things, getting fed up with it by the minute it seemed. She seemed ready to command them to do her bidding when she tilted her head sideways a little, a frown upon her face. A pout graced her lips as she looked at her brother. They seemed to be communicating telepathically; which was against the rules, but the Carter siblings never much cared for those. Madilon sighed and crossed her arms and he smiled at her, his face lighting up, dimples showing. He looked at ease with his sister, ignoring the rest of the clans squabbling behind him. As if he knew she was watching him, his cerulean eyes gravitated towards her. He smiled at her, but it didn't quite reach his eyes.

Rose tilted her head in acknowledgment, but refused to break eye contact with him. She never shied away from a little competition. He stared a little longer, his face impassive, but then broke into a cocky smile. Rose resisted the urge to roll her eyes. Instead, she looked where the lycans were congregated.

Nicolás stood out, even among the impressive lycan clans. He stood rigidly by Lena's side, an arm around her shoulders, his massive height and bulk occupying a lot of space. His eyes kept darting to where Ketill stood by Marcel and then back to Lena, a pained look on his face. Rose deduced that her cousin had told Nicolás to look after Lena and not him, since he had Ketill as a personal bodyguard and Nicolás was technically still off duty. He must have been feeling torn between listening to his new superior, following his sworn duty of protecting him, and looking after Lena like her grandfather had told him to.

Rose's eyes landed on Lena. Her eyes were puffy and slightly tinged red, as was her nose, signs that Nicolás must have told her the news of her grandfather. Sophos Lobo had been attacked, just like her uncle, but he'd gotten away. He'd been badly injured in the scuffle and had been rushed to the best Healer's Brazil had to offer. She wasn't certain what had happened to him since that's all Marcel had told her when she'd awoken and asked about his whereabouts.

One of the lycans hesitantly went up to where Lena stood with Nicolás. Lena shrugged off Nicolás's arm and turned to the lycan, who covered his mouth so no one could read his lips and whispered something in her ear. She nodded her head once, giving the man a small, but still reassuring, smile. Her emerald eyes glanced at Rose and she gave her the same small smile. Rose had the sudden urge to reach out to Lena telepathically, but she squashed that urge down, knowing full well if she did, she risked being kicked out of the meeting almost immediately.

A few more minutes passed by, with the vampire clans still squabbling. It seemed like they'd never reach a consensus. Marcel cleared his throat loudly, the sound reverberating around the large room. It seemed odd to her to see her cousin sitting on the massive throne when he usually stood with the warlock clans, his father presiding over the meetings.

"Have the vampires come to an agreement?"

"Yes," Jerrard replied smoothly, cutting off any other response the vampires might have said. Little whispers of shock could be heard from the vampire clans. Jerrard seemed to ignore them all, a serene look on his face.

"Very well. Nerthus Krasko, as representative of the shapeshifters, what is your ruling?"

"No." Rose smiled pointedly. She had to give them their dues in regards to their brashness.

"Madalena Lobo, as a stand in for Sophos Lobo, the representative of the lycanthropes, what is your ruling?" Marcel moved smoothly on.

Lena cleared her throat and took a big, shuddering breath before responding. "The lycanthropes have decided to vote in favor of Ms. Galli." Her voice came out strong and calm, hiding the inner turmoil she must have been feeling.

Marcel nodded his head. "Jerrard Carter, as a stand in for Konstantin Neuer, the representative of the vampires, what is your ruling?" Rose knew she'd be the only one that caught the way Marcel said Konstantin's name with a slight sneer. She wanted to send him a mental head slap, but decided to play by the rules of no telepathy.

Her eyes gravitated to where Jerrard stood. He looked at ease when he replied, "The vampires rule in favor of Rosalia." His crooked smile still in place when some of the vampires roared angrily.

He threw his sister a pointed look. She clasped her hands together, a bright smile on her lips. "Alright, let's not be sour pusses, yeah? My brother made an executive decision since we were taking too long." She cocked her head to one side and winked. Most of the men, and even a few women, calmed down, only small grumbles being heard now.

Marcel narrowed his eyes at Madilon, who gave him a dazzling smile back in reply. Rose knew her cousin would try to reprimand Madilon later for using her powers, but also knew it'd be to no avail. Madilon Carter could easily get away with murder if she wanted to.

"And the warlocks?"

"We will vote with you, sire."

Marcel nodded his head. "Very well. Rose, by the voting of the committee, you are permitted to attend this meeting. Now, as I was saying, Halldóra has temporary reinforced the security measures within these walls. As soon as this meeting is adjourned, better protection spells will be placed around the perimeter. There should not be another breach. Unfortunately, I was informed that our portal has been destroyed, and thus we are without a Gate at this time. Till is currently trying to fix the portal as we speak so we'll need some volunteers to help raise a Gate once the time comes." He glanced towards the warlocks. A few warlocks and sorceresses raised their hands.

"Ah, perfect. Thank you so much for volunteering. We'll contact you once Till has the portal up and running. We will gladly supply you with humans to siphon from to replenish any lost auras. Once the Gate is up and running, anyone who wants to leave via it may do so. If you so choose, you are more than welcome to stay here."

Rose wondered when she could interrupt and speak about more important things when Marcel moved on to something that made her ears perk up.

"Does anyone have any information regarding the intruders who abducted High Ruler Luca?"

"Yes," Madilon replied, taking a step forward. Her tone had become serious, nothing like her playful voice earlier. "I took a team, which consisted of Lena Lobo, Rose Galli, and meself, to follow the intruders. Lena caught the intruder's scent and we followed it out of the palace. One of the intruders had laid a trap for us near the fenced gates. Rather hastily it seemed since Rose had no trouble in disarming it. Their scents led us to the portal. We found…" here she hesitated slightly, her voice sounding sorrowful. "A dead body belonging to a lycan was found, with the Gate gone and the portal destroyed. We believe the lycan was used to keep the Gate open until they used it to escape. Lena, be a dear and tell them what you picked up about the intruders."

Rose watched as Madilon took a step back and Lena took a step forward, back straight and shoulders squared.

"There were four distinct scents: two belonging to warlocks, one a vampire, and the last a shapeshifter. They used the Gate to jump to another location, but we don't know where. I have their scents memorized, so if I run into them, I'll know who they are."

"Sounds promising, we can-"

"I know who they are," Rose interrupted hastily, snatching her chance. All eyes turned to her, but she remained looking solely at her cousin. His brows were furrowed in confusion. "That is, my vision showed me what they look like. And even who they might be working for."

Marcel sat on the edge of his seat, his knuckles turning white from the sheer grip he had on the marble armrest. "Well?" He practically begged. Rose could see the fire in his sapphire eyes; the burning for vengeance as clear as day.

"There's something more important we have to focus on. When Anya and I went out tonight on the hunch of Odette's, we ran into these Americans. There was this blonde…she was…different from the rest. She appeared in my vision. Someone working for those men took her hostage. After she'd been captured," Rose paused, holding in the involuntary shudder she felt-the cold hands of dread making its way up her spine. The darkness she saw during her vision still lapped at the corners of her mind, but she pushed it back.

"Look, something is coming and that girl is the key to it. We need to find her!" She knew she was pleading with her cousin, but it was imperative they find that blonde. She could see Marcel struggling with what to do. To everyone else he looked impassive, but she knew him better than most. He held his shoulders stiffly, the mirth in his eyes replaced by indecision. Again she saw how exhausted he looked.

"Rose," he began, and she knew she hadn't convinced him. Knowing full well she'd get reprimanded harshly for what she planned on doing, Rose took a deep breath. Invading everyone's mind was no small feat; she just hoped that most people's defenses were down since it was illegal to use any type of powers within these walls.

She gave a huge mental push against everyone's mind. She quickly followed that up with a second, stronger one. Beads of sweat pooled around her temples from the strain. All at once she pushed her vision, the part involving the blonde, to everyone's mind who hadn't been prepared.

Rose fell to her knees, her chest rising and falling quickly as she panted heavily. She watched as all around her people gasped in horror. She noticed a few people had been strong enough to keep her out of their minds, the Carter siblings being one of those. Jerrard didn't surprise her since everyone called him her father's protégé when it came to the mind-which always left a sour taste in her mouth- but Madilon made her raise her eyebrow in surprise.

Rose slowly stood on shaky legs, albeit still gracefully, and she felt Ketill suddenly appear by her side. She shook her head, but smiled graciously at him. She'd be an idiot to think she'd gotten through his mind blocks and looking at him now she knew she hadn't. "Do you-" she started but he cut her off.

"No, that's alright. I believe you," he replied, giving her a rare smile. She considered Ketill like another cousin, having grown up with Marcel and him. She knew a side of him most people never saw- the rare smiles and witty comebacks. Loyal to a fault, she was glad she and Marcel had him by their side.

She felt a warm, soothing tickle in her mind, like a lovers tinder embrace, and frowned. Someone wanted her to open her mind up telepathically to them, and had gone about it rather unusually. She rather liked the more persuasive way, a gentle shove she liked to call it.

She felt it again; this time it held a cockier note to it. Narrowing her eyes, she glanced at Jerrard. He smiled crookedly at her and she felt a not so gentle poke this time. Rolling her eyes, she opened her mind up just enough to allow him to communicate with her telepathically.

What? She practically snapped at him.

You've made quite the ruckus here tonight, he said, amusement lacing his words.

So it would seem, she replied back smoothly.

You know you could've just asked nicely? He sounded a bit condescending. Like he had room to talk with the little stunt he had just pulled earlier.

I'm not much of one for pleasantries, she bit back. If she'd been conversing normally with him, she'd have given him her sweetest smile, laced with venom.

She heard his small chuckle. No, I imagine not. The Order will not go lightly in punishing you for this, love. Best keep those sharp fangs at the ready.

I can handle myself just fine, thank you.

Oh, I've no doubt you can, if you are anything like your father. Rose knew a backhanded compliment when she heard one. She even detected a slight undertone of anger lacing his words.

Was there something you wanted? She replied coolly. She would not let this pompous ass get a rise out of her. Even if he had rattled her with the mention of her father.

Yes, actually, there was. Since you so gratefully shoved your vision into the minds of the others, my dear sister and I would like to be privy to that delectable mind of yours as well. I figured I'd ask nicely instead of just snatching it up meself. The cocky smile had returned to his face.

Rose bristled. She quickly shoved the vision into his mind and snapped their connection off. She turned her body slightly so as to not have to watch him anymore.

"Rosalia!"

Rose inwardly cringed, but outwardly she remained stoic, and turned to face her cousin. She knew Marcel would be mad, but she didn't expect him to be this furious with her.

"Marcel, I-"

"SILENCE! You have intentionally broken The Order's rule! Being my cousin will not save you from punishment. You are here by-"

"Marcellino, let's not be hasty now."

Rose's head snapped to where Nerthus stood. The shapeshifter did not make eye contact with Rose, but instead looked regally at Marcel. She stood there, waiting for Marcel to acknowledge her.

Marcel glared at Rose. She raised both eyebrows in surprise, a delicate shoulder shrug followed suite.

"Nerthus, did you have something to say?" Marcel calmly asked.

"Rosalia did break the rules. But, in this case she did it with probable cause. I doubt any of us would have listened otherwise. And what she showed us," here she gave a visible shudder, as if to expel the feeling Rose's vision brought upon her. "We cannot let that monstrosity get ahold of that child! We must protect her at all costs! I know you are worried about Luca, but he can take care of himself for a little while longer. We need to focus on the races as a whole. If we let that fiend get ahold of that child, we are lost."

Nerthus had said fiend with such loathing Rose narrowed her eyes in suspicion. She watched Nerthus carefully, noting that the foam green haired shifter seemed to be hiding something. She seemed to know more than she was letting on. Rose filed that for later discussion, maybe with Ketill since he too seemed to have caught on.

"Even though Rosalia broke the rules, I'm sure The Order would be willing to let this one slide due to its seriousness." Rose heard echoes of agreement around the room. She turned to her cousin and saw his eyes full of anguish; his shoulders slumped a little in defeat.

"You are right, forgive me. What do you propose?"

"A Scout party. The best we have to track down this child and get her safely to us. Now."

Marcel mulled it over and nodded his head in agreement. Turning his gaze to Rose, he asked "Do you have any idea where this child is located?"

Rose bit her lip. "Not an exact location, no. I can narrow it down to a few hotels in a general location. I'm sure Anya can find her easily though. That crazy computer of hers already has the blonde American's information. Anya can easily hack into the rest of her stuff and maybe ping her cellphone's last location. If that doesn't work, I'm sure she can hack into any hotels database to find her."

"Why don't you go ahead and fetch Anya and have her do that while we figure out which Scouts team to send." It was an order and Rose knew it. He was angry with her. Rose bit her lip again, deciding to push the boundaries yet again with her cousin.

She bowed low. "As you command High Ruler. But I respectfully ask to be on the Scouts team that you assemble. I've already dealt with all parties involved and would be an asset to this mission." She stayed bowing, hoping Marcel wouldn't angrily brush her off. She stayed like that for a few thundering heartbeats before her cousin responded.

"As you wish. Now go, before I change my mind. And remember that next time, you will be severely punished for breaking the rules, Rosalia."

Rose bit her bottom lip hard to keep back the scathing remark. She felt her whole body tremble with pent up frustration from his comment, but now was not the time for petty arguments with her cousin. She'd settle the score with him latter. Instead she walked out of the throne room quietly, her head held high and her face a cool mask of indifference.

Hope you guys enjoyed it! Let me know what you think in your reviews! Hopefully this wasn't too confusing.

In case you didn't catch the new characters:
Stefano Guerra- Rose's (Rei) father
Sophos Lobo- Lena's (Makoto) grandfather
Despoina- Deimos
Parthenia- Phobos
Nerthus Krasko- Milica's (Michiru) mother
Konstantin Neuer- Kadeo

I think that was it!