Twisted Crystal


Chapter 1, Part 1
Jupiter Comes with a "Hiryu Shoten Ha!?"
Darkness. That was how one best described this place. This was the realm of the Moon, or what was now the Realm of Queen Beryl. Flashes of red flickered through the dark, bleak halls. A strange heavy odor of rot filled the air of this chamber, though it was occupied only by one figure, a woman. She was kneeling down, paying some sort of homage to the thing before her. The source of the darkness and rot. She was communing with the Negaverse's essence.. an unnamed voice. The woman was dressed in a purple gown with a tiara around her head.
�I call upon you mighty Negaforce!" she called out. "It is I, Queen Beryl, come to seek your wisdom." She raised her hands slightly and looked up. A strange glow began to emanate from her palms and slowly a great ball of energy grew from her fingertips and hovered above her hands, a swirling mist. "I offer you this energy.. in exchange for advice on your glorious quest. I command you come forth!"
The ball of energy flared and fired straight into the red and black mass that was all that could be said of the Negaverse, a small portion that was accessible to the moon. The energy surged through it and a dark feminine voice began to sound from within. "I've been expecting you, my queen," it said softly. The energy that had been released surged around almost pleasingly to those gathered. "Your search for energy has been proceeding well. Finally you've collected enough for you to create a powerful tool to help you in your mission!" it shouted.
�Oh? And what is that?" the Queen inquired.
"You must expend precious energy but it will be well worth it. It will increase your power a thousand fold," the voice called out to her in a manor most pleased.
"Whatever, I'll do it!" Beryl cried out.
"You must create a new homing crystal! It will locate the seven Rainbow Crystals for you!" The voice's inflection on the Rainbow Crystals made Beryl recall what they stood for, she remembered her finest warriors battling against the forces of the Moon Kingdom one thousand years ago, lost to them now, but this voice of the Negaverse spoke of their retrieval and Beryl seemed a bit overcome with pleasure.
�Ahh.. the Rainbow Crystals," she smiled.
"Yes! This crystal will finally locate the seven Shadow Warriors, trapped by them."
"The seven Shadows, our most powerful warriors at last returned to us," she smiled. "The Sailor Scouts cannot stand against them."
"Yes, and Queen Beryl, only when you retrieve the seven crystals will the Silver Emperium Crystal be yours at last!" The voice seemed to laugh those last words. "You shall rule the Universe!"
"Ah... Excellent!" Beryl cried out to the depths of the blackness.

On Earth, it was a beautiful day. The sun shone on the bright and early morning. Birds chirped and people bustled through the streets. Such pleasantries were suddenly ruined by a girl rushing through the streets in an obsessively insane way. A small black cat trailed after her as she huffed and puffed, collecting stares. Her long golden hair flickered around behind her, she was dressed in a blue and white school uniform with a bow on her chest.
"Oh.. I'm not going to make it on time!" she huffed.
"Slow down. You forgot your lunch!" came a voice from behind her. She turned while running and looked down to the cat. This talking cat...
"I can't stop! I'm way late!'" As she turned her attention back to where she was going and turned a corner, she slammed right into a huge man.
"Clumsy little dweeb!" he hollered. He was with three other equally powerful men.
One of them stepped closer to her, "You here that? Maybe your lunch money will make him feel better?" he suggested.
"How about a face lift?" came another suggestion, from an unseen girl. Everyone's attention turned to a tall girl with long brown hair tied up in a green ribbon.
"Huh? What?" came muttered grunts.
"You heard me. I think you'd better apologize to this nice young lady if you know what's best for you." The men seemed to smile.
"Ooo.. we're shakin'!"
"Well, lookie here. This chick thinks she's stronger than we are!" mocked the strongest of the group, approaching this newcomer. She stood with her arms crossed over her chest. He placed a hand on her shoulder, "Don't ya, babe?"
Anger surged through her body and her eyes narrowed. "Don't call me babe!" she said grabbing his hand and flipping him over her dwarfed frame. Suddenly another of the men charged forward with a swing of his fist. The girl side stepped him and slammed a knee into his gut as he faltered forward. "Take that!" she laughed. The last of the men whimpered slightly and stared at her in fear. "Now apologize and move your sorry carcass!" The last of the men bolted in terror. The girl turned to the one that had been attacked, called Usagi. "Are you all right?"
�Yeah. Thanks!" she said softly.
"Take care, kid." The girl turned and walked off down the road. As she did Usagi caught a glimpse of her earrings and they dazzled her. Wow, what beautiful earrings. Wow.. She's amazing, she thought to herself.
At her feet another was having similar thoughts. I sense something... The cat, Luna, only stared as the girl vanished from their sight.

Queen Beryl sat upon her throne, two of her generals stood before her, Zoisite and Kunzite. They awaited her command patiently. They were all that was left of her generals, though the number of dark forces she had were uncountable. Her previous generals had met untimely demises for their incompetent behavior and now it was all left up to these two.
"Once you find the seven Rainbow Crystals the Emperium Silver Crystal will be ours and our power will be unstoppable!" The shorter of her generals eyes narrowed slightly as this very feminine looking man stepped forward slightly.
"These Rainbow Crystals, is it true that our comrades, the Seven Shadows, are imprisoned inside them?" he asked.
"Unfortunately yes, Zoisite. The Seven Shadows were my finest warriors in a war against Queen Serenity. But she trapped them inside the white hot light of the Silver Crystal then hurled them into space. But somehow the Crystal shattered into the seven Rainbow Crystals, a Shadow warrior locked into each piece. The disappeared into the Earth's atmosphere. Loosing them remains a great bitterness to me, even now a thousand years later. I want them free!" she cried. The two generals before her nodded, but Zoisite stepped forward once again.
"But how can we free them? Where are they now?" he asked.
His equally beautiful, though definitely more masculine companion and lover looked down. He was dressed in a similar gray uniform to his with stripes of light blue, but he also had a white cloak that draped around his shoulders. He nodded slightly and spoke, "They were reborn in humans who carry the crystals, but have no memory of their former existence."
�But Earth is a vast planet with millions of people! Surely there is a way to distinguish them from all of the others," Zoisite stated.
Beryl looked down into the black crystal ball that hovered at her hands. She peered into it then looked up to Zoisite. "You have shown great promise, Zoisite, so I will entrust you with a great mission."
"You're wish is my command, my queen."
The dark ball flared to a white glow and a smaller palm sized crystal of pure black emerged and drifted swiftly to Zoisite's hand. "Here. This crystal is yours," Queen Beryl said with almost a sweet touch to her voice. "It posses special powers enabling it to track down the Rainbow Crystals. I trust you know what to do with it."
Zoisite smiled. "Of course, your majesty." Zoisite tossed the crystal skyward and called out to it. It began to hover. "Dark Crystal! I command you! Show me one of the Seven Rainbow Crystal Carriers!" The crystal flared and there was a swirl of dark energy. Which shifted into the image of a tornado. A figure began to emerge from within, a man with a red Chinese shirt and a black pony-tail pointing out of the back of his head. He scratched his head slightly and looked around, almost puzzled. Zoisite laughed, "This man shall be the first."

"Hey this is soccer, not dodge ball!" cried a voice. Two students rushed by Usagi, one with short black hair and the other with more light brown-blond hair. They were kicking a soccer ball back and forth, though one seemed to be not paying much attention.1
"What a lousy day! First my lunch gets squished this morning, then I get a detention again," Usagi mumbled to herself as she walked through the park. As she rounded a corner, though she noticed the girl that had saved her from the men that same morning. "The Karate Maniac," she whispered, "I wonder what she's doing here."
Suddenly Gurio popped up from around the other side of the tree, behind which she was hiding. Usagi jumped back in fright but then calmed down as the nerdy boy in the school uniform smiled warmly, sickeningly warm. "Hi Usagi!"
"Don't creep up on me like that?!" she shouted as she grabbed him by the shirt.
"I didn't creep up on you," he stuttered. "I was just gonna warn you about her.
"What?" Usagi asked him.
"She's new here. According to my notes her name's Makoto. She got kicked out of her old school for fighting. Everyone's keeping their distance. This girl sounds like trouble. You should do the same- Oh, where'd she go?" Gurio soon realized that he was talking to himself and looked around for Usagi. He spotted her sneaking up on the new girl. "Ah! Usagi! Have you lost your mind? Don't sneak up on her!"
As Usagi got close, Makoto twirled around and shouted, "What do you want?"
"Uh.. nothing.." Usagi smiled and scratched her head. "Just walking by!"
"You're the girl I met on the way to school today, right?" she asked, suddenly in a different attitude.
"Oh! You remembered that, huh?!" Usagi smiled.
"Here, have a seat," Makoto offered as she pointed to a spot next to her in the grass. Usagi swiftly joined her.
"Is it true you were kicked out of your old school for fight?" she asked.
Gurio gasped, "She's gone bonkers!"
"Well, sort of," Makoto answered. "You want some of my home made muffins?"
"Yeah! I mean, I don't usually eat sweets," she lied, "But if you insist."
"No don't!" Gurio sucked in his breath.
"They've got chocolate chips too!!" Usagi gasped, wolfing them down.
"Hey, thanks. I made them myself. Usually I'm really hungry and I eat a ton, but everyone's been so mean to me I've lost my appetite."
"That's cause they're scared of you," Usagi explained. Makoto gave her a strange glance. "I mean, they're afraid of your reputation."
"Oh?"
"There's a full report on you already. Word gets around fast in this place."
"Oh.. then maybe I should transfer to a foreign school."
"Are you crazy? What for? You'd be the mysterious new girl."
"You mean the Karate Maniac?" Makoto asked sadly.
Usagi smiled weakly, "Who'd call you that?"
Gurio turned his back to the girls and stormed off. "Only Usagi could make friends with a martial arts psychopath."

"I come here almost everyday," Usagi explained as she and Makoto neared the Game Center where Motoki worked. They had decided to hang out a little. "I like video games, don't you?"
"Sure! As long as there's lots of action," Makoto exclaimed.
"Okay," she muttered in response. Entering, Usagi ran a detailed scan of the Game Center. "Oh rats.. I don't think Motoki's working today."
"Who's Motoki? Your boyfriend or a secret crush?" Makoto asked with a smile. Usagi turned a bright red and giggled. "Does he know that you like him at all?"
"Like Motoki? Ahh.. no.. He's just some guy who works here." Makoto seemed uninterested as Usagi rambled on about Motoki and she made her way to her favorite game, the Sailor V fighting game. Usagi gasped and followed her. "Hey! You like Sailor V, too?"
She was suddenly interrupted by another girl's stern voice. "Usagi! What are you doing here? We've been waiting for you!" The girl was Usagi's other friend, Ami, who was holding Luna in her arms. She wore the same uniform as Usagi and was accompanied by their other friend, Rei. She wore a similar outfit only it was brown where Usagi's and Ami's were blue.
"You have?" Usagi asked.
"Yes, we were supposed to meet at your house, remember?" Ami asked.
"Oh! I met a new friend," Usagi exclaimed pointing to Makoto.
"Her?" Luna asked.
"She transferred to our school today and she's so sweet!" Usagi exclaimed.
Makoto suddenly stood slightly and glared at the machine. "Hey this is rigged!" she shouted. Usagi approached her slightly and touched her on the shoulder.
"Hey, Makoto? I'd like to introduce you to two of my friends. Ami and Rei." Makoto stood up and looked at them. "You guys, this is my new friend Makoto." After exchanging greetings Usagi stepped in again. "I was supposed to meet them after school today to study, but someone forgot to remind me."
Rei stepped closer to Usagi, her eyes narrowing. "No I didn't. I called you this morning."
"You did not!"
"Yeah, you swore to me that you were wide awake!" Rei screamed.
"You believed me?" Usagi asked her in disbelief.
"Of course I believed you, Usagi. But we shouldn't have to remind you every time we meet!"
"You shouldn't call me so early in the morning!" Usagi screamed.
"You guys are good friends. It really shows," Makoto smiled.
"What'd you mean?" they both shouted at her.
"All we ever do is argue because Usagi's so stubborn!" Rei explained.
"I am not."
"You are too," Rei said. They glared at each other for a moment in anger.
"You almost think you were sisters or something." Makoto looked to Ami and Luna who were both laughing.
"Don't mind them," Ami said. "Those two are always fighting." Makoto moved closer to her and looked down at the cat.
Reaching out and running her finger along the cat's chin, she asked, "And who are you?" Luna began to purr and mew slightly.
"Oh, that's my cat Luna. And she must really like you, Makoto, cause most of the time, she's not that friendly." Luna continued to enjoy the petting as Makoto laughed slightly.
"So, Usagi, are you ready to study?" Rei asked.
There was a sudden interruption that captured all of the girls attention. A small black piglet burst into the Game Center and began hopping over the consoles, squealing and squeaking insanely. Another young man chased him in shouting, "Get back here, you little runt! I can't believe how low you'd sink!" He wore a red Chinese shirt that tied around his chest and black pants, a pony tail tied tightly flicked around as he tried to catch the pig. The girls all stared at him, followed by everyone else in the room. The pig hopped from machine to machine and the young man tried to follow, but was always a step behind. Finally the pig got the advantage and pouncing off the wall he landed on the young man's back and sent him sprawling into a machine. The pig squealed in glee then exited the Game Center, leaving the battered boy behind. 2
"Who is that?" Usagi asked in awe. Makoto stared in a daze. All the girls looked to her. "Makoto, are you ok?"
"He looks just like my old boyfriend," she sighed. The young man shook his head and scratched the back of his neck. Then hopped up to his feet and looked around. Seemingly confused, he walked out the door and down the street. "He's so totally dreamy!"
"All this over some guy?" Usagi asked looking to Rei and Ami. They just shrugged and were remind of how she acted when Tuxedo Kamen or Motoki were around. Makoto left the game center and began to follow after the strange new-comer. Usagi waved to Rei and Ami shouting, "I'll catch up to you two later, go study without me!" Both of them, including Luna, sighed heavily as Usagi rushed out of the center.

The young man was walking down the streets, peering into the alleys in search of the pig, along a narrow fence. As he did so, he seemed to catch the hint of someone following him, but he ignored it.
"Yes, this is the human who holds the Rainbow Crystal. Now's my chance," Zoisite whispered to himself from a distance. The young man dropped down from the fence to a street on the other side that was farther below. As he did so a figure began to appear before him in a flutter of petals.
"Kodachi?" he asked himself softly. "Nah.. her petals are black.. and besides, she can't teleport." He shook his head and watched this new-comer curiously.
"Excellent, there's no one else around," Zoisite said in a sweet voice.
The boy tilted his head. "Now, who're you? You're kinda pretty, ain't ya?" The boy stopped as he saw the intent of the woman written across her face. "Look, I ain't lookin' for trouble, so if it's a fight you want, I ain't interested."
"Well, well.. that isn't what I want at all," he said with a smile. The dark crystal appeared in his hand and he aimed it at him. It hovered slightly before his palm and twirled swiftly. Then it flared and enveloped the young man in a dark light. "Now to retrieve the Rainbow Crystal from this human weakling. Queen Beryl will be pleased."
"What the-?" he gasped. Focusing his energy, he tried to repel the light, but it was no use. The force was far stronger than his. "What're you doing to me?" he cried.
"So who's this?" Zoisite asked herself as a girl appeared at the top of the rise, where the boy had dropped down from.
"Leave him alone, if you know what's good for you!" Makoto cried.
"Nuisance.. I was so close! Now take off!" Zoisite hollered. Makoto dropped down into the light and it released the boy from his grip.
"Excuse me?" Makoto said with flare. The boy stood up and pushed her aside gently.
"This is no place for you, I'll handle it! Aiya! Kachu Tenshin Amaguryken!" He lunged forward and raised his fists. Zoisite levitated up off of the ground. His fists flared, moving so fast that ten punches only appeared as one, but Zoisite teleported in and out of his attack, he never seemed to hit her.
"Back of!" Zoisite hollered. The boy didn't relent, his attack continued. Zoisite finally flew higher into the air and looked down at them. "You're good!"
"Makoto!" Usagi cried. "There you are!" Zoisite looked at all three of them then vanished into a flowery gust of wind.
"You'll regret this, punk!"
"What happened?" Usagi asked. "Are you guys okay?"
They both nodded and the boy returned to Makoto's side with a smile. "Hey, thanks for helping out back there."
"You can repay me by taking me to a cafe or something," Makoto smiled. The boy gasped and his pointer, pinky and thumb extended outward in shock. "Anything wrong?"
"Uh.. no.. that's umm.. fine. Just don't get the wrong idea or nothin'," he said swiftly. With Usagi trailing at Luna's suggestion, the other two made their way to a more romantic spot.

________________________________________________________________________


Ki's Author's Notes:
(1)Ahh! The great and noble Hiroshi and Daisuke make their appearance in my story!
(2) Heh.. Guess who they are.

  • Index
  • Chapter 1, Part 2 - Jupiter Comes with a Hiryu Shoten Ha!?
  • Chapter 2, Part 1 - Friend or Foe?
  • Chapter 2, Part 2 - Friend or Foe?


    ("Twisted Crystal" is a story which revolves around the well designed characters of "Ranma �" and "Sailor Moon".)
    These pages are maintained by Ki. Designed for 600x400 resolution.