Sailor Moon: DARK JEWEL
By: Marie Kelly
Chapter 2


	In many cultures, a black cat is seen as a symbol of bad luck, to  
be associated with witches and  other such servants of the devil; designed  
to bring evil  upon the people. In other cultures, all cats were revered   
as goddesses, and given the best of treatments. 
	Symbol of bad luck or goddess, *this* black cat  was not a happy  
cat. The incessant chirping sound drove her  mad. "Arrgh!" she muttered. 
"Why doesn't Usagi WAKE UP!!!  How in the world can that girl not hear her 
alarm?!?!"
	She nimbly leapt up to the windowsill, and looked  with red,  
un-feline eyes at Usagi, still fast asleep, wearing  the same bunny pajamas 
she wore every night. Usagi was  obsessed with bunnies. Most of her clothes 
had rabbits on them,  her sheets were covered with pictures of bunnies, and 
even her hair gave her the look of being a lop-eared rabbit. 
	The cat crouched, aiming. It had to be right. She had to  hit her 
target. Not that she would miss - she was a cat! One of  the greatest  
hunters in the world! 
	Perhaps a higher being has a warped sense of humor for Usagi chose  
that moment to finally  awaken. 
	"I'M LATE!!!!" she screamed, flinging out her arms. Luna,  unable 
to stop her momentum, was thrown into the path of  Usagi's  outward moving 
arm. The  hand struck Luna in the face, and threw  the black cat back into 
a  wall. Unable to stop her movement-cats  *don't* always land on their  
feet--at least, not cats belonging to UUsagi--Luna hit the wall, and 
crumpled weakly to the ground. 
	"WAAAAH!!! Why didn't anyone wake me up?!?!" cried  Usagi,   
frantically running around, and throwing on her uniform. 
	"I tried to Usagi," Luna patiently explained.  "But you wouldn't get 
up."
	Usagi didn't bother to reply to that."WAAAAAAAH! I'm going to  
late!!!!!!" she screamed, running off to school. 
	"Honestly," murmured Luna, laying her head in her paws, "I don't 
know why I bother to try to get that girl up for school every day."


	"Please," begged Usagi, to herself. "Don't let the gate be locked!  
Please, please, please!!!!"
	Usagi never knew *why* she was always late. Despite what her friend  
Rei might say to the contrary, she never intentionally tried to be late; it 
just seemed that Usagi's internal clock was a bit slower than everybody 
else's. This morning was like all mornings, with Usagi frantically rushing 
off the school, brown loafers slapping the pavement. 
	"Made it!" she exclaimed, out of breath, as she slid into her seat  
at the last moment, completely out of breath. 
	The force of her movement caused Naru's desk to shake as well. The 
pencil that Naru was using to correct her papers slid out  of her hand, the 
tip breaking. Slowly...oh so slowly...Naru  lifted  the pencil up to eye  
level, where she stared at it, unblinking,  with an unfathomable expression. 
	"Usagi," she said slowly, her voice seething with anger. "You broke 
my pencil."
	Laughing, Usagi waved her hand, as though to get rid of what she had
 done. "Oh, that? Who cares? It's not like it's a big deal or anything...I 
mean, it's just a pencil. Hey," she leaned  closer towards Naru, as though 
to tell her  a secret, "I think all pencils should break. At least then, 
maybe I wouldn't have to do homework," she giggled.  
	"Do you ever do homework, Usagi?" Naru inquired snidely. 
	Usagi drew back, shocked. "If looks could kill," she muttered to  
herself. Something was wrong. Naru was definitely...acting strange.  She 
couldn't quite place her finger on it, but she was not the Osaka Naru  she 
befriended. 
	"Naru-chan." Usagi put her hand on Naru's arm, which caused the 
redhead to tense up in distaste. "Is something wrong? Is something happening
at home?"
	Naru yanked her arm away. "Oh, nothing's *wrong*, Usagi," she said,  
quite saccharinely. "Unlike you, I *do* have a brain, and I intend to  use 
it. I certainly can't do that if I'm around you all the time, now can  I?" 
she smiled. 
	"Naru, you should be nice to Usagi. She's your best friend, and 
even  though she's not very intelligent, she's a very nice girl." 
	Eyes filled with tears that were ready to overflow, Usagi looked  
gratefully at the person who had spoken. Umino.  While she usually 
considered Umino to be nothing more than a nerd who popped in at the most 
inopportune places, now she was glad he was here. 
	"Umino," she whispered, slowly. "Do you know why Naru's acting so 
weird?"
	Even though it was whispered in his ears, Umino replied loud enough 
for the entire class to hear. "We were at her apartment all night. She's 
probably just tired."
	NO! Naru stood up, fists clenched, glaring at the back of Umino's 
head. 
	"What!?" "You guys were together all night!" "I knew you guys were 
in love, but--"
	Umino held up his head. "Nothing like that happened, girls." 
	"Oh?" Usagi just LOVED juicy gossip. "What did happen?"
	{Umino,} thought Naru. {You'd better not tell.}
	Umino pushed his glasses up his nose. "I went in and talked to the 
doorman. When we got to her apartment, I lost my memory and can't tell what
happened after that." Naru smiled, satisfied. Good. He hadn't told. 
	As of one accord, all heads turned towards Naru and Umino, giving 
them a strange look.  
	Umino got a sweatdrop, and gave a nervous chuckle.


	The stars knew everything. 
	They told, however, almost nothing. 
	The Afterlife was a barren void, a desert-no less  than a desert, 
for a desert has life, an oasis, and the Afterlife had neither. Oh, to the 
casual observer, it would  seem a paradise, with lush gardens, and perfect 
food. Only... there was no life. It was all an illusion, a gilten land.
	Nephrite contemplated the stars. They weren't real; only an 
illusion. They could give no more answer than a map of the stars could. His 
powers were limited, and when he died, his  powers of casting-that is the 
ability to send his spirit "out" from the Dark Kingom (or any dimension, 
for that matter) and touch the stars had been taken from him. He could no 
more read them than could the other generals.
	For the past few nights, he had touched the stars-unwillingly, at a 
painful, awful prince. "Naru," he whispered to herself. "I love you. I'm 
sorry. Don't you realize what you've become? What's happened to you?" He 
thought of the times Naru had brought him out, having  him become flesh  
again, to exist in the real world. When he first entered the Afterlife, the 
thought of being flesh-of living, again!--had filled his thoughts. What else 
was he to think of? Then, Naru had given him flesh, and he knew, with utter 
certainty, that some things, once taken away, could never be returned...not 
without a sacrifice. 
	Pain. He thought he knew pain, but any pain he had  been dealt 
before felt almost pleasurable compared to his spirit being yanked across 
dimensions and molded into his body. The body being forced to float in some 
liquid gel, lest it be destroyed. The slightest tear...even a microscopic
one...and the unbearable mortal air coming in.
	The Afterlife laid knew its numbers, and it would not permit one to 
go...at least, not without another entering. Umino was that one. Each time 
Naru forced Nephrite out, she used Umino as his replacement. Eventually, the 
Afterlife would search for the signatures of its new residents...and, if  
Umino were in there then, he would be forced to stay...permanently. 
	"Damn," he swore, hand clenched into fist. "Naru, if only I could 
save you. If only I could defeat this evil."
	But who could defeat O'T'Shan? 
	He had heard the story of Queen Beryl's mentor,  O'T'Shan, many 
times. Beryl told it, mockingly, teasing O'T'Shan as the weak one, that 
she had destroyed. Yet, not completely...and that was her weakness. For, if 
O'T'Shan were not completely destroyed, he would arise. 
	O'T'Shan possessed neither soul or body. He was merely darkness, 
and evil; a formless, twisted mass in the cosmos. His children were 
numerous, and, though powerful, none were as powerful as he. 
	Except one. The youngest of his children, she was the only one who 
had opted to take a physical form. Her powers were great, and she had easily 
destroyed her brethren for no more reason than the pure, sadistic pleasure 
she got out of it. 
	O'T'Shan made his decision. At times, it was best to wait. His 
youngest would have to learn that, lest she be too easily destroyed.  
	"Easily destroyed?" Queen Beryl laughed. "O'T'Shan, you speak 
nonsense. It is not *I* who am to be easily destroyed. Your so called 
patience has cost you your life." 
	"You will not destroy me, daughter. I have created the Dark Jewel. 
You know what would happen if you destroyed me, stopping that creation, you 
know what would happen."
	"I, too, would be destroyed. But, you must be terribly weak, to 
rely on the Dark Jewel. Your essence will be captured, and you will be 
weak."
	O'T'Shan's voice sounded weak, far away. "When it is activated, my 
powers shall be invincible. I shall activate it when the time is right..." 
	The Dark Jewel had been created. Queen Beryl nestled it in the palm 
of her hand. "Activated?" She touched the Dark Jewel with the tip of her 
finger and chanted. "It won't be activated unless *I* am the one to activate 
it, and I choose not to." She opened a dimensional porthole, and flung the 
gem out. "You were a fool, *father*," she hissed gleefully. 
	That was all she had told him about the Dark Jewel. He had partly 
thought it legend...at least, he had never thought  to come across it. 
Things that you never expect to happen  tend to happen, however. 
	Nephrite watched Naru go off, a wicked smile on his face. She was 
so easily molded to his will...it was ridiculous. "Why...do I feel bad
about what I'm doing?" he had wondered. NO! She was nothing more than a 
toy, a pawn. She was to be discarded when she was no longer useful. 
	"Sanjouin-san!" Naru shouted, running and out of breath. "I got 
this. Is it what you're looking for?" 
	Thanking Naru, as a gentleman ought, Nephrite-in his Sanjouin
Masoto disguise-one the puny humans never saw through!-- had inspected the 
silver jewel, as Naru stared at him in rapt adoration. 
	There was no reaction. The jewel was *not* the Crystal. But...why 
had there been a reaction before. Could it be...was it...reacting to Naru's 
love? The thought was totally new to him, and a strange emotion seeped into 
him, as he stared at the wide-eyed innocent girl. 
	Deep in the Dark Jewel, O'T'Shan awoke. Queen Beryl had been 
careless in laying down her curse, and one of her servants had enough power 
to activate the Dark Jewel.
	It was not at its most powerful, though. He would need 
somebody...somebody to control. Somebody to complete the activation. That 
somebody would be...
	Naru.