Minako sighed and buried her head in Makoto's shoulder

Minako sighed and buried her head in Makoto's shoulder. What in the world were they doing? They were maybe five minutes from home, and yet she could not bring herself to go into the village. She had asked Makato to stop and so they sat there resting, gathering their wits, their excuses and their apologies. How did you tell a mother that you lost her daughter have no ideas where she is, and they could be dead? Minako also had no desire to be grounded to the village for the rest of her life.

Sighing she allowed Makoto to pick her up and walk them into the village. She heard Makoto's startled gasp and with a slight groan pushed her head off of Mako's shoulder she took one look and bit back a scream as her body went numb. 'Oh my God.'

There was nothing their everything was gone. In fact the only thing that they could see was small pile of ruble that had been the houses of their family's. There were bones and bodies buried in ruble but her eyes were so filled with tears she could barley see the ruble on the ground, much less the small wisps of smoke coming from the ruble. It was a good thing she was being carried or she would have fallen over.

Minako felt herself being set gentle down, as Makoto's legs could not support her. She could not question the numbness, or the pain. The shock that was taking over her limbs was ignored. No all she felt was a deep hatred well up in the pit of her stomach. Somewhere in her minds eye she was aware of something else, something swirling in the darkness like a candle. Out of that something, that light came a name. And with absolute clarity she knew the name of the person who did this, knew what she looked like, and knew that she hated her with everything inside. Beryl. Minako promptly fainted.

Makoto watched her friend's face go solid and resemble a stone statue, the lines around her mouth and lips faded and her eyes hardened. She mouthed a name and Makoto saw for the first time, hate fill her face. Then she went limp and slumped over. Makoto had no idea what was up with Minako but she knew she would find out in due time. She raised her tear-streaked face to the heaven. Her emerald eyes demanded the answers she knew would not come.

Makoto threw her head back and screamed. Screamed the pain, the loss, and screamed until her lungs threaten to burn to little pieces of ash inside of her chest. Still she screamed, screamed until she was horse, but it still echoed inside her head, naming her defiance to the force that had stolen her family. In that instant something tingled along her veins, tingled till it to began to rush to the sound of her scream. Even if her lungs had quit her heart and mind still sang it.

Somewhere deep inside her, a small spark was lit, it flickered and held. The stars twinkled their approval.

~*~

Ami felt the bonds that chaffed her aching wrists and fought back the tears that she felt building behind her lids. How had she gotten into this situation again? It wasn't that she was being mistreated or being beaten forced to work, and whipped, no this was worse. She was a walking, living, breathing doll. Someone who was being petted and trained to live a life of serving the…needs of someone else.

She almost wished she had been taken by the vampire she had ran from, wished she had followed Rei, or even stayed in the accursed tree. Anything was better than being on this horse, traveling toward the distant castle, and being treated like a highly trained pet.

Ami trembled as she though about what awaited her at the castle, what was at the end of the road, the path. A brutal life style filled with men and…her mind refused to process the next though. It fought back with every inch of her will…it just shut down. Ami starred at nothing and everything. She felt her mind drift to another place and she watched in fascination to what played out in her mind. It had to have been someone else she was watching, although the person looked so much like her.

Ami watched the sad looking girl sit and idle stare and nothing. She felt another person approach and watched as the girl looked up, hope lighting her eyes in a way that made them sparkle like the ocean. A young man with light blond hair, that curled and had just a hint of red it in, walked over and picked up her hand and brought it to his lips. The girl smiled hugely and a small dimple appeared on her check.

'Funny,' Ami thought as she watched him pull her close, ' I have a dimple in that check as well.' Ami was brought back just as he lowered his head by the sound of screams. She watched as the men fought off another vampire attack and she wondered what could be so important that they kept coming back.

Ami watched as the forces 'guarding' her won again. Ami sighed and tried to relax long enough to get some sleep. She turned her head to the stars and prayed to be rescued.

~*~

Jason starred in absolute shock at the girl lying in the bushes. His heart pounded in his chest and felt like he was going to pass out from lack of oxygen. She was alive, and right here, in front of him. It was like someone had cut her out of his memories and glued her to the place in front of him.

Her dark hair fell in waves around her, some of it covering some of her face. Her thick and impossible long lashes covered her cheek, fanning out it dark outlines. Her full round lips were slightly parted as she breathed in and out slowly. Her skin was a white and silky as he remembered it.

He reached down and brushed a strand away and noticed to his surprise he trembled slightly as he did so. By the looks of things she could be no more than nineteen years of age. He reached down and carefully moved her against his chest.

He looked over and meet the eyes of Zavier. They were dancing with the same excitement he was sure his were. If Aurora was alive then so was his Athena. It was one thing to be told it, it was quite another to hold it in you arms. He moved toward the ancient castle that they called there own and Zavier followed. They were going to have a wonderful surprise for Sere.

Rei slowly felt herself come back to the living. She could here the voices mummering around her and she wondered were she was. The last thing she could remember was running.

"…She is not going to understand."

"…. Point….did the right….she has to remember something."

" …What if…freak….start frying…"

Rei opened her eyes at that and noticed there was a room full of people who had yet to notice that she was awake. A young woman with silver hair was trying to reason with a blond who look familiar. A young man with long curly blond hair was arguing with a dark haired man who looked like he was in charge of something. Everything was fine till he hissed, showing fangs. Rei promptly screamed. Everything went into chaos.

Rei rolled behind the couch desperately wanting a way out. The blond started to scream at the dark haired man, and the blond man moved toward her. Rei did the only thing she could think. She screamed again and ran out the door they had left open.

Rei felt some six sense guide her around the corridors. She did not know how, or why, she just willed her feet to fun as fast as they could. Her breath came in gasps but she could care less. She was nearing a large door, when her feet were knocked out from under her and she was rolled onto something.

" And where, Aurora, did you think you were going?" the blond man with the short blond hair demanded staring into her startled violet eyes with stormy blue ones.

" Who the hell is Aurora?"

~*~

Kris rolled his eyes as he moved through the forest. He hated these missions but he felt like he had to help the girl who was taken from her friends. He did not know why but Ianna would have laughed and told him in no uncertain terms to get his butt moving. He missed her laugh.

He prayed that Endymion was right because his heart was just starting to repair, to have it destroyed again would kill him sure as day.

He looked down startled as he fingered the earth. His hardened into flint as he noticed the tracks. Those disgusting snatchers had taken the girl. Ianna hated them, so he fought them whenever he could, for her. It sickened him that she could have been taken by them when she was younger. He wanted to wipe them out. He now had the excuse he needed to follow that girl. He moved ahead and noticed that he was not the only person trailing them. Now why were Vampires trailing them? What did they know they he did not?

~*~

Nathan jerked out of bed and winced. His head was ringing with a scream. It was the most soul shattering, mind ripping sound he had ever heard. The only time he had heard that was…when…Nathan flew out of bed and ran to the window. His eyes frantically searched the stars. He prayed that he would not miss read them. He prayed he was wrong. The message they gave him caused his heart to sink.

He threw on his clothes and ran down the hall. " Endymion," he bellowed his voice echoing down the hall. It caused servants to blanch and Rei to tremble. He was livid and it showed. He looked like a demon as he ran down the hall his fangs dripping from his mouth, his hair wild, tumbled from sleep, his muscles were bristled and he looked ready to pounce.

Endymion's head jerked up and he saw the one person who could give Kris a run for his money on being cool and collected run in looking like he just came out of a blender, bust the door down.

" Beryl," he spit the name out with venom. " Took out her family. All hell is about to break loose."