Sailor Moon: Dark Jewel
     			    by: Marie Kelly
Chapter 1
 
         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 Serena 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 Serena, still fast asleep, wearing
the same bunny pajamas she wore every night. Serena 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,
perhaps not, but, at any rate, Serena 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 Serena�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
Serena�Luna hit the wall, and crumbled  weakly to the ground.
        "WAAAAH!!! Why didn�t anyone wake me up?!?!" cried
Serena,  frantically running around, and throwing on her uniform.
        "I tried to Serena," Luna patiently explained. "But you
wouldn�t get up."
        Serena didn�t bother to reply to that. "WAAAAAAAH! I�m
going to be 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 Serena, to herself. "Don�t let the gate be locked!
Please, please, please!!!!"
        Serena never knew *why* she was always late. Despite what
her friend Raye might say to the contrary, she never intentionally
tried to be late; it just seemed that Serena�s internal clock was
a bit slower than everybody else�s. This morning was like all
mornings, with Serena 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 Molly�s desk to shake as
well. The pencil that Molly was using to correct her papers slid
out  of her hand, the tip breaking. Slowly�oh so slowly�Molly
lifted  the pencil up to eye level, where she stared at it,
unblinking,  with an unfathomable expression.
        "Serena," she said slowly, her voice seething with
anger. "You broke my pencil."
        Laughing, Serena 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 Molly, 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, Serena?" Molly inquired snidely.
        Serena drew back, shocked. "If looks could kill," she muttered
to herself. Something was wrong. Molly was definitely�acting strange.
She couldn�t quite place her finger on it, but she was not the Molly
she befriended.
        "Molly," Serena put her hand on Molly�s arm, which caused
the redhead to tense up in distaste. "Is something wrong? Is s
something happening at home?"
        Molly yanked her arm away. "Oh, nothing�s *wrong*,
Serena," 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.
        "Molly, you should be nice to Serena. 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,
Serena looked gratefully at the person who had spoken. Melvin.
While she usually considered Melvin to be nothing more than
a nerd who popped in at the most inopportune places, now she
was glad he was here.
        "Melvin," she whispered, slowly. "Do you know why Molly�s
acting so weird?"
        Even though it was whispered in his ears, Melvin replied
loud enough for the entire class to hear. "We were at her
apartment all night. She�s probably just tired."
        NO! Molly stood up, fists clenched, glaring at the back
of Melvin�s head.
        "What!?" "You guys were together all night!" "I knew
you guys were in love, but---"
        Melvin held up his head. "Nothing like that happened,
girls."
        "Oh?" Serena just LOVED juicy gossip. "What did
happen?"
       {Melvin,} thought Molly. {You�d better not tell.}
        Melvin 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."
        Molly smiled, satisfied. Good. He hadn�t told about 
Jewel. Not that he remembered, the weak, pathetic loser.
        As of one accord, all heads turned towards Molly and
Melvin, giving them a strange look.
        Melvin 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.
        Nephlyte 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 Negaverse  (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. "Molly,"
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 Molly 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, Molly 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.
Melvin was that one. Each time Molly forced Nephlyte out,
she used Melvin as his replacement. Eventually, the Afterlife
would search for the signatures of its new residents�and, if
Melvin were in there then, he would be forced to stay�permanently.
        "Damn," he swore, hand clenched into fist. "Molly, 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 mortal 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. The creation of the Dark Jewel. 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, Beryl. I have begun the creation
of 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 daughter, 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.
        Nephlyte watched Molly go off, a wicked smile on
his face. She was also 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.
        "MAXFIELD!!!" Molly shouted, running and out of
breath. "I got this. Is it what you�re looking for?"
        Thanking Molly, as a gentleman ought, Nephlyte�in
his Maxfield Stanton disguise�one the puny humans never
saw through!-- had inspected the silver jewel, as Molly
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 Molly�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�
        Molly.