AN: Hello again everyone! Holidays were wonderful, but I've been swamped with getting a new job and all that jazz since then. I had totally forgotten my promise to get another chapter out to you until Sailorrashes wrote to me the other day. Thanks for reviewing so often it really makes me work harder to get this out to you

Cthreen, I'm not sure how far I will take this yet… we will see how well this one goes. As for the Senshi and general thing, I will tie up that loose end shortly. As for the other matter you brought up, I have accepted the fat that I will never be a great grammatical wizard, but I do thank you for being thorough with your review and I will endeavor to reread my chapters for those pesky mistakes before setting them lose on you guys. Many thanks for all that reviewed.

Chapter 7

There was no rustle of leaves, no whisper of cloth, he made no hint that he was there, and yet she knew. The fire gave a furious leap, a warning to the young girl who sat within its red orange glow. She didn't move, completely at ease with his sudden appearance. It was not their first meeting and undoubtedly would not be their last.

"Love, what troubles you so that you converse with the fire tonight?" His breath puffed the ebony hair at her temple.

At his endearment she relaxed leaning back into the warm circle of his arms. So much warmer then the burning flames at her front.

"Just a feeling," She traced his arm that lay across her stomach with a slim finger. "The great fire keeps repeating the same message. There is a battle coming. If the light should fail, we will all fall into the darkness." She felt him hug her a little tighter and breathed in his familiar scent of hickory and spice. "I fear for you." Never one to voice a weakness it was just a whisper on the wind.

"You need not fear for me firefly."

She knew he was right, he was different, her magic man. She'd known from the moment she'd seen him across the courtyard of her fathers shrine, from the moment they had first held each other. Though he told her nothing of himself she had spread open her heart for him alone to read.

"I know, the warrior beats strong in your heart."

And yet she couldn't shake the feeling that something important to her was in danger. Not entirely reassured she turned and gave him a weak smile.

He tugged her closer and she let her amethyst eyes drift slowly down as their lips met softly, and then with more passion. She sighed into the night.

"Jaedite."

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Across town a young girl whimpered in her sleep.

"Sere….y"

Usagi wanted to wake up, tried to wake up, but the darkness swirled around her clinging to her skin with ferocious tenacity. It masked every sense of up and down, forward and backwards. The same nightmare she'd had for days.

"Sereni…."

She ran not knowing what was behind her but knowing that if she stopped it would catch her and there would be no waking up. Cold fingers raked at her, scraping her skin and ripping at her long hair. It seemed like she had been running for hours, but could have been minutes as time had no meaning here. Ahead she glimpsed a pinprick of grey light. Thinking freedom wasn't far away her bare feet slapped down faster. If she could just reach that light she would be safe.

"Sere…!"

Run faster, run faster, run faster. It became a mantra in her head until suddenly she burst out into the light. Bending over and grabbing her middle she gasped to pull precious oxygen into starving lungs.

"Serenity!"

The unearthly howl echoed behind her and terrified she whirled away, landing hard on her butt and scraping the tender flesh of her palms. As if there was an invisible wall, her nightmare waited, obsidian claws reaching out to grasp at her feet. Well, if she couldn't go back then she would have to go foreword. Her eyes took in the foreign scene, gray dust and stones littered the landscape and she could see larger rocks ahead. Gingerly she started forward glancing back now and then only to see that the inky dark cloud followed, forcing her ever forward. Usagi had made it just past the first large stone when she realized that they were not large boulders but in fact the crumbled remains of a house. And beyond that house was another, and another. The smaller piles were what could only be human remains. She was standing in an entire city of death. Horrified she fell to her knees momentarily forgetting the blackness that followed at her heels. An unseen wind swept her blond hair across the ground and clearing the dust from the rumble.

Usagi felt a sob catch in her throat. Dear gods. She didn't reach up to wipe the tears from her cheeks someone needed to mourn for these people.

"What happened here?"

Laughter rolled across the landscape, dark, menacing and purely evil.

The small skeleton of a child at her side slowly turned its head and dragged its bony arm up to point directly at her.

The remains of another grasped her arms shaking her. Usagi struggled to get free and when she couldn't she clenched her eyes shut and placed her hands over her ears to block out the sound of someone screaming.

"Usagi! Usagi …, wake up!"

A voice cut thru the noise. Her mother.

"Usagi it's just a dream, come on baby, wake up. I don't know how to make her stop Kenji. She just keeps screaming."

She was screaming? That horrible sound was her?

She opened her eyes, the screams stopped. Her mother, purple robe hastily pulled on sat beside her. Her father and Shingo both stood in the light of the doorway.

"Honey, are you okay?" Worried lilac eyes searched her face.

"Mom." Usagi sobbed and buried herself into the safety of her mothers arms.

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AN: I know a short chapter, but I'm trying to get this out at work and its tuff! I feel all sneaky right now.