Untitled - A Jadeite-centric shortfic
By Naru-chan naru-chan@tokyo.com
Jadeite was alone. Not lonely, merely
alone-separated from his fellows by a chill, impassive wall that no one cared to
breach, himself least of all. He preferred detachment from their fights, their
side-taking and endless power plays. He knew he did not have the raw power to
match Kunzite, or the depth of esoteric knowledge to challenge Nephrite. He
knew, in the same fashion, that in a test of sheer magical strength, Zoisite
could not hope to win. That was enough. Let the others squabble amongst
themselves for scraps of favor in Beryl's ever-whimsical assignments. He would
get his own job done, and without the flamboyant squabbles Nephrite and Zoisite
went through. Assured in the calm knowledge of his own efficiency, he set his
goblet aside and returned to his work.
"Excellent vintage... I wonder where Nephrite obtained it." His jaw tightened for
a moment in faint disapproval of the excesses Nephrite flaunted with his casual
assumption of a human identity. "Queen Beryl would no doubt disapprove... if she
knew how much time he spent there." Shrugging slightly, he ran a finger across
the crackling paper and paused to jot down a notation along the edge. "Oh well.
It is hardly my concern, and I have no complaints about the wine he sends in the
expectation that I will keep my silence."
His lip curled for a moment in a sneer at what he read, and he leaned back.
"Foolish, to deploy the youma through those tunnels... I am surprised Kunzite
allows Zoisite such freedom with his resources." He held a certain indefinable
respect for the white-haired king, who seemed to share his philosophy of cool
reserve. Unfortunately, in his mind, Kunzite grew far too lax with his fiery
catamite, letting the copper-haired beauty run unchecked much too frequently for
his own good. The relationship still surprised him, after endless years. He'd
once doubted the icy demeanor of Queen Beryl's second-in-command could thaw for
anything... and still would not believe it if he hadn't seen the way Zoisite
leaned against Kunzite, stared up at him with green eyes sparkling and lips
slightly parted. And even that had not sealed his belief, so much as the
undeniable shade of a smile that crept across Kunzite's mouth as he returned the
look. A pity, that the strongest of them should fall to such weakness over the
hot-tempered brat.
Heedless, vain, prone to tantrums of sheer rage when insulted... he couldn't begin
to name all the faults Zoisite exhibited. And yet, the way his face softened
sometimes, dropping all the layers of mockery and sophisticated boredom that he
normally pretended to... it was intriguing. Did Kunzite keep him for the
unquestionable devotion? Did he value the beauty of the copper-gold curls that
always managed to escape being strictly bound, that sprang forward to lend an
air of delicacy to the angular face, all poison-hued eyes and sharp chin? He
shook his head, blue eyes dark. "Foolishness. Kunzite would have no weaknesses,
if he did not have Zoisite... it is stupid of him to keep something Queen Beryl
can use against him."
Queen Beryl would have little hold on Jadeite himself, beyond his obligatory
vows as one of the four Kings, were it not for an ill-planned dalliance, back
when he had still believed the core of flawed hate and anger that ran through
her to be steel. Her statuesque figure had held a certain appeal and her
dominating desires had proved... exciting, but only briefly, and then he had found
himself looking for a way to distance himself. That experience had strengthened
his vow to have nothing more to do with women like her. It had not lent him any
respect among his compatriots, either, as they had looked on his association
with the Queen as a cowardly attempt to gain favor. Now the woman seemed to have
lost all interest in him, instead preferring to call Kunzite to her chambers now
and then. He idly wondered how Zoisite handled that. Probably not well.
He set his newest plans in the drawer of his desk, locking it carefully with a
warding spell, and stood up, stiff from hours in the same position. A small bell
rang, announcing the presence of one of the slave youma, too weak in magic to
serve as a fighter and too weak in body to be useful in the pits. He gestured,
freeing the spell that guarded the door. "Enter."
The door opened, admitting a thin figure, who padded barefoot into the room. The
youma kept her head low, glassy onyx eyes reflecting light from the fixtures
spaced along the walls. Deeming her approach close enough, she knelt, touching
forehead to sumptuous rug.
Jadeite waited several moments, unconcernedly flipping through several pages,
then replaced the book on the shelf and turned to the slave. "You are not the
usual. Where is she?"
Crouched awkwardly, the youma raised her head a fraction, not enough to meet
Lord Jadeite's gaze, for that would be impolite. She spoke in a soft rustle,
barely intelligible as speech for those who were not accustomed to lower-class
dialects. "Mine pack-sister hath returned her substance to the Great One, my
lord."
"I see. What message do you bear?" His gaze raked across her, finding no
whipping scars or signs of mutilation. Either she was so young that she had
never been assigned a task before, or she completed her tasks to satisfaction,
unlike her predecessor.
"My lord, the Queen Beryl hath requested that ye gather more energy, and
faster."
He frowned, eyes narrowing slightly. "Very well. You may report to her that I
have developed a new method of gathering energy from the humans. I will begin on
the morrow." Dismissing the youma with a wave of the hand, he turned back to his
desk, ignoring the scrabble of claws on the floor as the slave hurried out. If
the hapless creature had any luck, Beryl would be in a decent mood when she
arrived with the return message. If not... well, Beryl had a tendency to take out
frustrations on innocent bystanders.
He pulled the sheets of paper from the drawer once more, to tuck away inside his
jacket, and headed down the hall. "Morgue." His voice was low, and the hall
empty, but a disembodied voice replied, the speech carried through mind rather
than air.
"Yes, my lord?"
"Prepare yourself for the Earth realm. I will require your presence tomorrow."
"I understand, my lord."
*
Days pass. The latest attempts at energy gathering are foiled by an improbably
short-skirted young girl, who calls herself Sailormoon. Somehow, the inept child
manages to destroy youma after youma.
*
Jadeite raged through his castle, impotently angry with the latest turn of
events. The stupid human girl had somehow managed to botch his last few plans,
which meant he had no new crops of energy to show Queen Beryl, which meant she
was growing impatient and peevish with him. He disliked spending time in the
Earth realm to begin with... it was so alien a place. Looking up into the endless
blue sky had sent him into nauseating bouts of vertigo more than once. And yet,
he couldn't resist the temptation to stare up into that emptiness.
His pacing was abruptly blocked by the bony form of a youma who was scrubbing
the floor, tail lashing carelessly back and forth across his path. Snarling, he
whirled to face the creature, fingers locking around her neck to lift her bodily
off the ground and slam her into the wall. With a thought, he cut off the
trickle of energy that fed the demonic form, watching her eyes roll back before
she collapsed into dust. "There's your damned energy, Beryl. Suck it from the
spineless crowd in your throne-room. If they have nothing better to do than
stand around and watch my public humiliation, you ought to use what energy they
possess."
Cutting loose with a torrent of curses, he struck the wall again with his fist,
then squared his shoulders, schooling his features to calm. He strode to his
main chamber, where favored youma often waited in hopes that they would be next
selected to fight for the Great Leader. He needed a different type of youma this
time. One that had better be strong enough to handle the short-skirted brat, and
intelligent enough not to fall for another of the stupid tricks the others had.
Eyes narrowed in thought, he recalled a crimson-scaled, fanged youma who had
taken assignments from him once or twice. "What was her name...?"
"Garoben!" His face remained impassive as he threw open the door, but strain
showed in his voice, and he cursed the weakness.
A lithe red body quickly slipped through the gathered youma, hurrying to stand
before him and offer him a fighter's salute. "My lord Jadeite. I await your
command."
He motioned for the youma to follow him. "Garoben. You know of this human
youngling called Sailormoon, correct?"
"Yes, my lord."
Turning to stare coldly into the youma's bulbous, pale yellow eyes, he spoke. "I
want her dead. Consider that your top priority, if she appears. This is the
plan. I have set up a 'school', a seminar for the humans to send their young to
study and pour endless amounts of energy into their learning. This energy will
be harvested by a special device I have made, which works in tandem with their
computing machines to bring their energy to the correct peak and drain it away.
Go, and do not fail me." He held up a small diskette. "You will find more of
these waiting at the site." Concentrating, he wove magic into a pattern,
creating a warp, a patch of utter blackness hanging midair. With a last salute,
the youma dove through to begin her work.
Jadeite ran a hand through his hair, grimacing at the prickling discomfort of
his scalp. He felt dusty, sweaty, and entirely unfit to accomplish anything.
With Beryl on his tail and the troubles of Sailormoon chasing him around in
circles, he hadn't had time to so much as bathe in the last few days. His
stomach chose that moment to rumble protest, and he opted to postpone
cleanliness in favor of sated hunger.
He warped from the hallway of his castle to a cavern where cook-fires were
continuously burning to feed the thousands of youma and anyone else who didn't
care to spend time making their own meal. It wasn't that he liked the
unidentifiable overcooked slab of meat and bowl of more or less tasteless slop,
he simply didn't care. Taking a tray, he picked his path through the huddled
groups that crouched here and there around the room, making his way to one of
the tables that were reserved for higher ranking officers. Someone already sat
there, coppery hair in a tail down his back, but Jadeite merely grunted
acknowledgement of Zoisite's presence before seating himself and attacking the
food.
Zoisite looked sideways at him, wrinkling his nose in visible distaste,
doubtless thinking what a poor slob he was. The younger king offered his usual
sarcasm in greeting. "You look like you've been sleeping with pit youma."
Jadeite rolled his eyes, mouth occupied with the tough meat.
Zoisite watched him still, arching an eyebrow, telltale signs of curiosity
flickering across the sharp features. "Queen Beryl doesn't seem happy with your
progress. Have your plans been failing?"
He swallowed with effort, wiping his lips with a cloth and glaring for a moment.
"My plans..." and he stressed the word carefully, "...are fine. They worked
beautifully before that Sailormoon chit showed up."
"Oh my." Zoisite's tone was laden with amusement. "Your plans are being ruined
by a half-grown human brat?"
"Do you have any suggestions to remove the nuisance from the playing field?"
Jadeite's voice went cold, annoyed by the malicious barbs the younger man so
easily planted.
"Yes." Nonchalantly crossing one leg over the other, Zoisite toyed with a strand
of hair and looked smug.
His eyebrows rose, and he waited. The self-absorbed king would either tell him
of his own accord, or keep it to himself and laugh about it for the rest of
their days. Either way, it would do no good to ask.
"Kill her yourself. You had her cornered once, I don't know why you didn't solve
the problem then. That fool with the top-hat shouldn't have stopped you."
Jadeite shook his head. "Whatever... anything's worth a try, at this point." When
he looked back up, Zoisite had vanished, leaving only a few scattered petals
across the tabletop. The back of his neck prickled, and he turned, sensing eyes
upon him. In a shadowed side-tunnel, he caught a glimpse of long gray hair and
recognized it as belonging to one of Kunzite's chief youma. "Hrm."
A flicker of sensation ran through the edges of his web of wards and tracing
spells, curling inward from Outside, beyond the slowly deteriorating wall that
sealed the majority of the Dark Kingdom's denizens up in this hellish domain. He
caught the 'strand' with a thought, following it out to where Garoben held the
first swellings of human energy gathered from duped students. Allowing himself
an inward smile at the flow, he warped back to his quarters to prepare himself
for an audience with Beryl. As soon as the day's harvest of energy was gathered,
he would take it to the Queen and hopefully restore her flagging faith in his
abilities.
*
An hour later, he stood gathering the energy into a bluish ball of light, when
the flow wrenched dizzyingly, and abruptly reversed itself, speeding outward to
seep back into the human chattel it had come from. Shock held him motionless for
a moment. "Surely Garoben did not fail... how could this have happened?! Garoben
held power enough to destroy Sailormoon!" A quick check, as the last of the
energy dissipated, revealed not one but two magic-bright auras standing before
the crumbling form of the youma. "K'so... another one... another 'sailor soldier'..."
"Jadeite. I await your results."
He half-whirled, Beryl's impatient summons raising the hair on his neck, and
stared around the darkened room in search of something, anything, to buy time.
The room was utterly empty. He felt a muscle in his cheek jerk, and lowered his
head in resignation. "I merely need to stall her... buy myself enough time to send
Ramua." He didn't want to send the time-warping youma in, but if Sailormoon now
had another equally powerful ally, it was time to pull out a few more stops.
*
Yet again, Jadeite's plan fails. Ramua traps Sailormoon and her new ally,
Sailormercury in a bubble of skewed time, but is destroyed when the interfering
Tuxedo Kamen shatters the container that holds the stolen energy.
*
Jadeite stormed out of Queen Beryl's throne room as soon as she finished
berating him. His lip curled as he recalled her infuriatingly obvious orders.
"Finish off the Sailor senshi, she says... What does she think I have tried to do?
Now she wants some idiotic mythical rock, and it's my neck on the block if the
Sailor senshi somehow find it first." He muttered to himself, scowling. "Kill
the senshi... gather energy... how would you like me to free our great leader and
find you a new bedtoy while I'm at it, oh patient queen..."
Rounding a corner in the dark corridor, he nearly didn't see the dark-haired man
until he heard a sardonic chuckle.
"I take it Queen Beryl's in a mood?" Nephrite smirked lazily, his hands in his
pockets.
"How astute of you." Jadeite forced his foul mood back, steeling his voice to
calm once more. "No, I have merely run into a little... trouble with my
assignments in the Earth realm."
"Trouble in skirts, I'd say. Here's a bit of friendly advice..." Tone laced with
faint sarcasm, Nephrite tossed his hair back before continuing. "Why don't you
get them off their own ground... put them somewhere where they'll be at a distinct
disadvantage?"
Jadeite mumbled noncommittally and turned to continue down the tunnel.
"Concentrate on your own assignments, Nephrite."
Nephrite had the audacity to laugh lowly, walking towards Beryl's throne room
with that damned confident swagger of his. "I do, Jadeite, I do."
*
It struck him between brief fits of dreamless sleep, bringing him out of bed and
lurching to his feet in a spat of excitement. "Off of their own ground... Perfect...
Not here, but somewhere ~between~ here and Earth. If the youma gathers energy
from victims trapped in a pocket dimension, there will be no chance for
Sailormoon to reach them." He grinned, a short fierce baring of teeth. This
would be a masterpiece.
Later, after the ideas churning around his skull had proved further sleep
impossible, he walked the halls, meandering through long, tortuous routes that
no one took to get anywhere. The stone was worn smooth, of course, by the
passing of countless feet, just like everything else in the Kingdom, but for all
he knew, no feet but his own had touched this floor since the dawn of memory.
Well, until he came across the still-warm traces of energy left by another's
passing.
"Zoisite? What's he doing out here at this hour? I would figure he'd be getting
screwed senseless by Kunzite, if he were awake at all." He scowled dourly,
annoyed over the odd intrusion. Picking up his pace, he followed the faint trail
down the corridor, across a trickle of mineral-laden water that had turned rocks
green and white with crust, and up around the mammoth ridges of a stalagmite the
size of a hill.
Zoisite stood near the top, eyes glittering mistrustfully in the blue fungal
light as he watched every step of Jadeite's approach.
Jadeite stopped, looking up at the outcropping Zoisite perched on. "I mean no
harm. You needn't act like I'm about to blow the spire to smithereens."
"Who sent you?" The light tenor was brittle, edged with anger.
"What do you mean who sent me? I walk here sometimes. What are you doing here?"
He scowled, turning away slightly but keeping one eye on the younger king.
Zoisite seemed to deflate slightly, the tension leaving his lines to be replaced
with a vague, bitter sort of antipathy.
"That's a dangerous spot to sit. Occasionally a chunk of rock from the ceiling
comes loose and crashes down the slope there." Jadeite pointed at the scattered
debris evident at the foot of the spire.
Hesitating, Zoisite glanced upwards, seeming about to say something, then tossed
his head and made his way down the crest of stone in a few short jumps.
Jadeite turned to continue on his way, but in a few moments, footfalls behind
him announced that Zoisite was following. Rather than keep on with his back wide
open to any fit of ill-will or sudden desire for promotion the fourth-ranked
king might have, he slowed his steps imperceptibly until Zoisite drew abreast of
him.
Zoisite looked askance at him, brows furrowed in a scowl that didn't suit the
pretty face.
Jadeite looked back, saying nothing, until Zoisite broke eye contact. "What
brings you all the way out here?"
"It doesn't concern you." His chin came up, defensively.
Dropping that line of questioning, Jadeite rolled his eyes slightly, with a
longsuffering look to the mute fungal growths that clung to the walls.
The next few minutes of silence seemed to irritate Zoisite, and he coughed once
or twice to break it. Eventually, his eyes slid sideways to study Jadeite once
more. "And what brings you out here?"
"Ideas." Jadeite let it fall. The other man would needle for more information,
or he would not, and nothing Jadeite did would have much bearing on it.
"Oh?" Zoisite arched an eyebrow, apparently willing to hear more.
"I walk to think, sometimes. I have a new plan to get energy without being
disturbed by the Sailor senshi." He wondered, idly, what the others' current
duties were. Perhaps one of them had been ordered to find that stone the Queen
was so enthralled with.
Zoisite glanced at him again. "Are you going to attack them yourself?"
"Not if this works."
"Hn. I hope you're using a smarter youma this time."
"So do I." Jadeite frowned a bit. "Yes."
They lapsed back into silence, punctuated by the scuffing of their boots on the
rock, and the occasional drip of water. A juvenile youma scurried across their
path, once, pausing to stare at them with blood-red eyes and clacking fangs
before it recognized stronger magic than its own and darted away into the
darkness.
Zoisite examined one fingertip of his gloved hand, picking at it with such
apparent absorption that his voice startled Jadeite, when it came. "Kunzite's
with Queen Beryl again."
Jadeite raised one incredulous eyebrow. The youngest king was hardly wont to
sharing confidences, much less about his Officially Nonexistent Relationship
that everyone knew about. "I suppose it must get under his skin quite a bit,
when Beryl summons Kunzite."
"We had our duties arranged to spend a few extra hours together, and she called
him to her chambers..." The copper-haired man's voice trailed off.
For a moment or two, Jadeite wondered if Zoisite was even consciously aware of
his presence. He sounded for all the world as if he were talking to himself.
Zoisite turned to rivet him with a poisonous glare. "I wouldn't talk about this,
you know... not usually. If you breathe a word to anyone, I'll make you regret
it." The green gaze dulled, turning inward once more. "Why am I talking to you?
I suppose it's better than talking to a youma."
Jadeite couldn't resist adding a dry comment. "I should hope so. Youma gossip
about anything."
Zoisite snorted and looked away down the tunnel. "I know."
Glancing sideways, Jadeite studied Zoisite's face. "Queen Beryl... she does it to
spite you. It's childish."
Eyelids lowering, Zoisite replied in a wearier tone. "I know."
They remained silent for the rest of the walk back towards more populated
tunnels. When the corridor forked, one branch leading downward, the other up in
a curving arc, Jadeite stopped. "Kunzite's castle is that way."
Zoisite studied the tunnel, then nodded. He looked back to Jadeite, face relaxed
and curiously open. A hint of confused... gratitude, perhaps, hung in his eyes.
The alien expression held for a few moments longer. "Perhaps your plans will
succeed this time."
Jadeite half-smiled. "Perhaps. Good luck with... well.. good luck." He shrugged.
"Zoisite." The smooth, low voice startled both of them, coming from the shadowed
tunnel ahead. A patch of lighter shadow detached itself and approached,
resolving into pale gray uniform and long cape.
Zoisite straightened, his weary air falling away as he flitted the few steps to
Kunzite's waiting hand.
Kunzite's icy gaze slid steadily across Jadeite, seeming to look straight
through him for all the notice the white-haired king took, yet he found himself
suppressing the slightest shudder. He watched the two walk down the corridor
together, Zoisite burrowing obliviously against Kunzite's shoulder, and shook
his head slightly.
*
Jadeite sets his newest plan into motion. Opening a portal into a pocket
dimension, he instructs a youma to drive the 6 o'clock bus through, then steals
the passengers' energy while they're trapped. Unfortunately, Sailormoon somehow
bumbles her way onto the bus, and when the youma gains the upper hand, a new
senshi appears, wielding the power of raw fire, Sailormars. And even then, to
add insult to injury, the portal somehow remains open rather than closing fully,
so the senshi escape.
*
Jadeite traced a finger slowly across the tabletop, half-watching the recorded
images of Sailormoon and the other two foiling his plans play over and over
again. He clenched his fist, abruptly, teeth grating at the unfairness of it.
"Those cursed girls..."
A soft giggle behind him prickled his senses, and he tensed, expression steeling
into a cold mask. Water swirled midair, frothing away with a briny scent,
leaving a youma with pale blue skin. She smiled fractionally. "Jadeite-sama, of
all people, having trouble with such little girls?"
He did not turn, merely narrowing his eyes imperceptibly. "Tethys?"
"I am honored that you remember me, Jadeite-sama." The precocious youma still
bore her infuriatingly faint smirk.
"You belong directly to Queen Beryl. What are you doing here?" He pondered
whether to strike her down for this audacity. One mostly drunk liason several
years ago should not have given any youma the right to enter his personal
quarters unannounced and uninvited. "Damn... at this point, Beryl probably
considers her more important than myself."
"You haven't changed." The youma paused, eyes boring into his back in a most
rude manner. "No matter how I devote myself to you, you still treat me coldly."
Mentally snarling, he schooled his face to impassivity, glad his back was to the
impudent youma. "I have no time for your foolishness. Get out of here."
She didn't budge. "Don't say that. I have come upon an efficient way to extract
energy."
He started, gaze involuntarily jerking toward her. "W-what?" He clenched his
teeth at the slight stutter, a sign of weakness.
Tethys giggled softly, her thin smile spreading. "So, I finally have your
attention." Her soft taunting tone left him uneasy. "I call it the Romantic
Cruise Plan."
*
Jadeite surveyed the ship, maintaining a relaxed yet authoritative stance as he
watched the flocks of humans making their way up the ramp. To all outside
observers, he was a sharp-looking young man in a crisp white uniform, dark hair
and deeply tanned skin contrasting with blue eyes. Tethys stood beside him, a
half-step behind, in human guise and a similar uniform.
"Captain Jadeite, the prey is coming aboard."
He allowed himself a small feeling of satisfaction. The senshi would have no way
of reaching the ship when the attack began. "Very nice work, Tethys. It's hard
to believe that this is just a derelict, powered by your seawater magic." The
youma deserved a little congratulation, if this plan worked.
She lowered her eyes in proper humility. "With my magic, it is really nothing."
Turning back to look over the boarding passengers, he spoke in an undertone, an
edge of hatred seeping through his voice. "Savor your love, stupid humans."
One of the 'crew', a disguised youma Tethys had created from seawater, spoke up
then, dull eyes gazing blankly at Jadeite. "We are now ready for departure."
He nodded, back to cool impersonality. "Very well. Prepare to cast off."
The ship lurched slightly as it began to drift away from the dock, carried
smoothly by Tethys's power. Satisfied that all was going as it should, Jadeite
stepped into the captain's cabin to rest until the vessel reached a proper
distance from the shoreline. As he entered, pulling his cap off to run a hand
through his hair, a chill raced down his spine and he went rigid, looking up
sharply.
Kunzite stood by the desk, eyes revealing nothing of what lay behind them, his
cape draped perfectly across one shoulder, the way it always was.
Jadeite inhaled through his teeth with a slight hiss, cursing Kunzite's ability
to catch him utterly off-guard. "Why are you here?" He reached for the plans
that lay on his desk, instinctively checking them for missing or misplaced
pages, keeping his eyes trained on the older Lord.
Silent for several moments, Kunzite glanced unhurriedly out of a porthole. "This
plan is unlike your usual. You are now relying on youma for inspiration?" His
tone, flat and cold as ever, bore a trace of supercilious amusement.
Resisting the urge to grind his teeth, Jadeite spat out a response. "With all
due respect, Lord Kunzite, this plan is none of your business."
Kunzite might have narrowed his eyes a fraction... it was difficult to tell. "You
forget your place, Jadeite. Be wary, Queen Beryl grows impatient." He accorded
Jadeite the barest of nods as he swept out of the room, vanishing in a flash of
light.
Jadeite stayed still for several minutes, gripping the back of a chair as he
breathed slowly in and out. "Why did he come here? Why does he threaten me? He
has never interfered in my business before. Damnit, I don't even know what his
assignment is! If Queen Beryl told him to take my place, I am a dead man..."
He exhaled one last time, willing the tension out of his body, and strode out of
the room. With no objective in mind, he slipped through the hallway, past
several couples, and down into the bowels of the ship. It was quiet, lacking the
engine thrum a true cruise ship would have, merely creaking and groaning
occasionally as the water carried it along. Rounding a corner, he came upon the
engine room, vast and shadowed.
Something moved, and he frowned, stepping to the railing to look down into the
room. A slim figure... flash of blond hair... Zoisite, come with Kunzite to taunt
him? He'd thought the younger king actually halfway civil the last time they'd
spoken. The intruder stepped into a patch of light, and he shook his head
slightly. No, not Zoisite. A human girl with boyishly short hair.
"What are you doing here?" He raked his gaze across the girl, noting the camera
case she carried. "Are you with the media? I'd appreciate it if you didn't
wander into restricted areas."
The girl looked up, obviously startled, then stared at him with an infatuated
look.
He suppressed a slight sigh. "It's dangerous down here."
She blinked a few times, glancing around. "Uhh, I was separated from my staff."
"Is that so?" He turned to face her fully. "You must be worried."
Offering a wide, innocent smile, the girl shot him another melting look. "Would
you mind helping me look for them?"
Caught off-guard by the girl's hopeful expression, he grimaced slightly and
cleared his throat. "Er... Very well." He motioned to the stairwell, for her to
join him. "What is it that worries me about this girl?"
She bounded up the steps, grinning infectiously at him. "Thank you so much! I'm
Tsu...ack!" Red-faced, the girl muffled a minor coughing fit behind one hand.
"Tsu..basa... Usagi, I mean." She recovered quickly, smiling sweetly. "You can
call me Usagi-chan if you like!"
Jadeite smirked slightly, faint amusement at the girl's antics seeping past the
chills of dread Kunzite's appearance had left. "Alright, Usagi-chan. Come along,
the passenger decks are this way."
Usagi immediately latched one arm through his, pressing against his side as if
glued there.
He looked sharply at her, but she was gazing wide-eyed around the corridor.
Steeling himself to the contact, he bore a resigned expression as he led her
along.
"Oh! Where does that go?" She pointed to a darkened doorway, cringing more
against him as if she thought something would leap out.
"That is a maintenance hallway."
"What are those?" This time, she gestured to gaping vents along the ceiling.
"Those are part of the ship's ventilation system." The questions didn't let up
as they neared the passenger decks, and Jadeite found himself smiling at a few
of the girl's innocent queries, although he wondered why she didn't press to
take any pictures. "Do you know where your crew might be?"
"No, I don't... sorry." Usagi smiled sweetly up at him, blue eyes sparkling. It
was rather unnerving, but her expression looked almost identical to the one
Zoisite favored Kunzite with, when the two thought no one was looking.
They rounded a corner, stepping into one of the well-lit upper hallways, and
Jadeite looked down to Usagi. "I wish I could ask using the PA, but it would
disrupt the romantic mood of the passengers."
"I'm sure you're right." She tightened her hold on his arm, impulsively leaning
her head on his shoulder in utter trust.
Jadeite swallowed hard, looking down at the top of the tousled blond head. "What
is this strange feeling?" A chill ran down his spine, and he tried to mask the
unease he felt. "How could I be feeling danger from a girl like this?"
"Captain..." Tethys stood there, a faintly betrayed expression on her face. "It's
almost time."
"I see!" He moistened his lips, glancing around, and freed himself from the
girl's grasp. "I'm sorry, but I have to go."
Usagi only looked at him for a moment, then spoke in a small voice. "I see."
*
Jadeite sat back, listening as Tethys made the announcements to gather the
passengers to the reception hall. He frowned, chin in one hand, studying the
blue crystalline orb she had provided. "Where did she get an artifact like this?
Surely she isn't so powerful that she could create an energy-funneling device
like this by herself... why, I'm not sure even Zoisite could create a crystal of
this caliber without putting more energy into it than any youma should be
allowed to handle." He shook his head slightly, dismissing the
counter-productive thoughts, and raised the orb in one hand, generating the
illusion of a glittering decorative ball around it. He warped it to the ceiling
of the reception hall , where it snapped into place and hung, reflecting
glimmers of light.
He stood, straightening his white jacket and cap, and turned to Tethys. "Come.
The hall will be filled soon." He started down the steps toward the curtained
stage, Tethys' footsteps sounding behind him.
Tethys spoke up softly as they stepped onto the stage, gaze fastened on him with
a singleminded tenacity he found quite unnerving. "Remember... when this works,
you will pay more attention to me."
Jadeite half-turned, eyes narrowed, then exhaled in a hiss, jaw clenched. "If I
didn't need her help to keep this damned ship afloat, I would kill her now for
her utter lack of decorum." He gestured with one hand, and the curtain began to
lift, revealing all the human passengers watching in anticipation.
Stepping forward slightly, Tethys smiled. "We present to you, the most romantic
show on earth." She began to giggle softly, crossing her hands before her and
transforming to her youma guise, hair flaring out around her. The disguised orb
began to spin, slowly, its magic activated to siphon the energy of love from the
expectant crowd. One by one, the humans sank to the floor, drained, and the ball
glowed brightly as it whirled above them.
Jadeite laughed, watching the growing crop of energy. "This will please Queen
Beryl..."
"You two!" Tethys' interjection startled him, and he looked up.
Two humans remained standing, two girls who didn't look old enough to be on a
cruise like this in the first place. He sneered slightly, turning to the youma.
"Now this was a little mistake, Tethys. You only drained the energy of love. The
magic was useless against these girls without any lovers."
Tethys glared at the offending children. "You two! Why did you come by
yourselves?"
The girls glared back, seeming embarrassed. One of them, a pretty girl with long
black hair, drew herself up. "Shut up! We have our own problems!"
Jadeite hesitated, recognizing the girl from the shrine he had worked at. "What
is she doing here?"
"Little pests." Tethys eyed them in distaste. "My servants, get them!"
Several members of the 'crew' she had created from seawater moved towards the
two humans, reaching to grab them. The girls squealed and fought back,
attempting to defend themselves with chairs and other objects.
Jadeite smirked faintly. "Hm. Futile resistance."
The blue-skinned youma turned back to him, calming. "Jadeite-sama, despite this
exception, we've gathered a large amount of energy. I am sure Queen Beryl-sama
will be pleased."
"True." He gestured with one hand, opening a warp hole to take them and their
collection of energy back to the Dark Kingdom.
"Hold it right there!" A high-pitched voice rang out, drawing the attention of
everyone in the room. Tethys gasped and tensed.
Jadeite narrowed his eyes as the girl babbled on about love and justice.
"Sailormoon... How did she get aboard?"
"What is this impudence?" Tethys glared up at the senshi in her ridiculously
short skirt.
Sailormoon took the opportunity to launch into another incoherent spiel, and
Jadeite looked sharply at Tethys, speaking in an undertone. "Finish her."
The youma looked back at him quickly, eyes widening, then smiled. "At last,
Sailormoon! I will deal with you!" She leapt into the air, tackling Sailormoon
out through the window before the girl could react.
Jadeite afforded the two human girls a brief glance, then warped outside to keep
an eye on the fight. He laughed, enjoying the sight of Sailormoon on the
defensive against Tethys' powerful attacks. "Keep it up, Tethys." "If she
succeeds in destroying Sailormoon on her own, perhaps she deserves some...
personal attention after all."
Suddenly, fire blazed across the deck, startling the youma and blasting heat and
smoke into Jadeite's eyes.
Tethys regrouped quickly, snarling. "Die!" She began to gather energy for a
final blast, when mist flooded the deck, cloaking her in its depths.
Jadeite could hear the youma curse faintly as she searched for her opponent. He
leaned forward, preparing to sweep the mist away, when another surge of fire
struck her, battering her back a step. Before she could gather herself again, a
streak of bright energy lanced toward her from Sailormoon.
"Cursed brats!" He hissed quietly, watching Tethys stagger back, mortally
wounded. Several beams of light appeared, escaping from her dissolving body. He
stopped, eyes narrowing. "Light? Some kind of spell was destroyed with her body,
some sort of geas... unfinished.." Quickly drawing on every impression the
fleeting aural glow had given him, he rubbed his forehead, trying to place its
source. "A love geas. Someone spelled her to ensure she would offer her help to
me... one of Beryl's chief youma... damnit, I've been completely duped. Now to all
intents and purposes, it will appear that it is my fault Tethys was destroyed...
and with her death, the energy we gathered is no longer being contained in the
orb!" He shook himself, bringing his mind back to the matter at hand with a
grimace. Even then, the look on Kunzite's face the last few times they had
spoken seemed to hang in his mind's eye. "Did he lay the geas on Tethys?"
Jadeite glided down, landing behind the three senshi swiftly. "I underestimated
you as little girls. But you have improved since we last met." Fixing them with
a cold glare, he waited for Sailormoon to launch another tirade, half-listening
and using the interval to draw on energy reservoirs. Once she seemed to run out
of breath, he cut her off. "It is a waste of effort. This will finish you off."
Raising his hand, he formed the energy he'd drawn into a sphere and readied to
blast at the three. Abruptly, darkness swallowed him whole, tearing him away
from the human realm. He gasped and steadied himself as he reappeared in a
cavern in the Dark Kingdom. "Queen Beryl-sama!" "Why did she do that!? I had
them in my clutches!" He raised his eyes to meet the towering projection of the
Queen that wavered in the air before him.
Beryl stared at him, illusionary eyes gleaming red. "You have used one of my own
precious youma, Tethys, and caused her death."
He drew a ragged breath. "No, your majesty... She planned everything by herself."
The queen cut him off, face going colder yet. "I will hear your explanation in
the throne room. Prepare for the consequences if you cannot convince me."
"Yes, your majesty." He let his head fall as the projection vanished, feeling
the strain of the forced teleportation in every muscle, his entire body shaking
slightly. "Damn! Sailormoon, I will make you pay for this!"
*
Jadeite stood in the throne-room, hair still damp from the rushed bath he had
managed before the queen expected his arrival. At least now he could stand
without feeling as if he were about to topple. He kept his head slightly bowed,
awaiting Beryl's orders.
"Jadeite." Her voice rang out, and the attendant youma crowds hushed. "You have
gathered a great deal of energy on earth. But you have also made many mistakes."
He gritted his teeth. "On the bright side, if she were in a bad mood, I would be
dead now."
"Sailormoon, Sailormercury, and Sailormars interfere with us, and you haven't
defeated them."
"But... Queen Beryl-sama.." "I had them cornered when you forcibly brought me back
here! If you'd just let me alone for another moment..."
"No excuses!" The queen's eyes narrowed fractionally. "Sailormoon threatens the
revival of our Great Leader. You have one last chance. If you fail, I will put
you into eternal sleep."
A whisper ran through the hordes of youma, and he felt hundreds of pale, glowing
eyes turned upon his back. "Eternal sleep... how horrible..."
"Jadeite. Do you understand?"
He jerked his attention back to the throne, mumbling an affirmation under his
breath.
"Those put into Eternal Sleep fall into the darkness and never return."
Jadeite kept himself upright by force of will alone until Queen Beryl dismissed
him, only then teleporting to a deserted corridor and sinking to the floor. He
drew a shuddering breath, leaning back against the rough wall and trying to feel
some hint of the calm he ought to possess. "I'm not going to fail... I won't get
put into Eternal Sleep. I have got to focus..." Opening his eyes slightly, he
rubbed at his forehead with the heel of one hand. He stared numbly at the wall,
noting the faint phosphorescent patches of fungus that crept along the crevices.
"I wish I could just disappear down into the tunnels... if Queen Beryl couldn't
locate me instantly, I would..." A fleeting vision crossed his mind, a picture of
himself clad in rags, armed with a spear, hair long and tangled. He exhaled, a
grin involuntarily creeping into his lips. "Jadeite, the tunnel-dweller. I could
hunt juvenile youma... perhaps tame one of the odder creatures in the deeper
regions. Oh yes, and wouldn't I be a sight riding into the throne-room in my
loincloth and slaying the Demon Queen with my trusty youma-tooth spear." The
grin refused to be quelled, so he sat in the dark and smiled until his face
ached, shoulders shaking with silent laughter.
*
Jadeite challenges the Sailor senshi to meet him at Haneda Airport the next
night, threatening Tokyo with destruction if they do not appear. The human media
goes wild, but is quelled by the Metropolitan police, who issue official
proclamation that the threats are a hoax.
*
Jadeite stood on the rooftop, looking down at the runway where he'd told the
senshi to come. Police were patrolling the area, as he expected. All it took was
a simple sleep spell and the humans collapsed without a single alarm. He
chuckled softly to himself as he descended an escalator into the airport itself.
He could feel wards he'd set up at the monorail station being triggered by the
arrival of three girls. "Come, Sailor senshi." "Come... and die."
At precisely 1:05, the monorail arrived, and he sensed the three girls on their
way into the station. He smiled, mentally commanding the clay golems he had
animated and disguised as police to attack the girls and chase them into the
open. It didn't take long before three young girls ran out onto the runway,
pursued by the pack of golems. Jadeite's eyes narrowed as he recognized the
miko, the shrine maiden who had been on the ill-fated cruise ship, as well as
her friend, the quiet girl with dark blue hair. The third was a blonde with an
odd hairstyle, but familiar features. "I've seen her before, too... she went to
the gym... and the photographer! I didn't see it because of her hair... How did she
disguise herself!?" He hissed softly to himself as the three raised wands in the
air and transformed into the senshi that had made his life miserable since they
first appeared. Somehow, the disguise seemed pathetically inadequate now, and he
couldn't understand how he had failed to recognize them from the beginning.
"Damned moon magic."
Crossing his arms, Jadeite watched as Sailormars destroyed the golems with a
well-placed blast of flame. The little girls were so confident in their
ineptitude. He laughed, a good full-throated one that echoed across the airport,
drawing their attention. "They've somehow managed to cause all my problems... but
no longer!" He looked down at the girls, smirking. "Sailormoon... Sailormercury...
Sailormars. I saw your true forms. Pretty flowers last a short time, and your
lives are limited to tonight."
Exhibiting typical human stupidity, two of the girls broke into an argument,
ignoring him completely. It was almost enough to make him laugh again. But
enough, it was time to teach these girls that he held the power in this
situation. "Poor lambs... meet your fate!" He pressed his palms together for a
moment, building power, then held his hands palms outward, sending tendrils of
telekinetic force to nudge one of the massive jets into motion. It began to roll
forward, then sputtered, engines roaring to life. It was easier to spark the
next one to life, and the next, sending all three toward the senshi. The girls
were cornered between the jets and the edge of the runway, a dangerous drop into
the ocean below, within moments. He laughed. "Now you are finished!"
Something flashed across his vision then, some sort of ambient magic in the
area, not his own. It interfered with his control of the jets, and all three
came to a stop. He looked down to see a red rose quivering still, the tip of the
stem buried in solid concrete.
"Do you enjoy tormenting little girls?"
Jadeite half-turned his head, glancing back at the caped figure behind him. "You
again, Tuxedo Kamen?" He turned to face the solitary fighter. "I'll send you to
hell with them."
Tuxedo Kamen glared at him through the foolish mask. "Damned villain, using
magic against innocent people. I won't allow it!"
He suppressed the urge to roll his eyes, and threw his arms wide. "Die!"
Lightning arced out of his body towards Kamen, who sprang into the air to avoid
it. Jadeite leapt after him, hovering easily to face the masked man. "Oh, taking
to the air won't stop me, you idiot..."
The two circled, each watching for an opening in the other's defenses. For a
split second, Tuxedo Kamen's attention wavered, his eyes almost imperceptibly
flitting to locate the senshi, and Jadeite took the opportunity to charge
forward, his hand closing around Kamen's throat before he could block. Siphoning
energy from the other man's body, Jadeite was surprised at the power he found, a
warm golden glow. Locked together, they plunged into the ocean. Tuxedo Kamen was
weakening, he could feel the struggles stilling as he took more and more energy.
"Fool... wearing a cape to fight. Now it will drag you to your death at the bottom
of the sea." He released the man, finally, feeling the body drift deeper, and
rose out of the water, nearly crackling with energy due to the amount he'd
absorbed.
Jadeite smiled sadistically, watching the girls gasp and look about in
disbelief. Now, they would fear him. "Your trusty Tuxedo Kamen is dead! Cry!
Scream! That's all shallow-minded women like you can do without a man's help!"
He laughed at the expressions on their faces, delighting in the energy he could
feel thrumming within his veins. "Stupid girls! Watch my power!" He flew higher,
summoning the jets back to life and directing them toward the senshi.
The girls split up, and mist rose to cover the runway, shrouding them from view.
Jadeite scowled, dropping to the ground for a better view. "Why must they
persist? All they do is prolong their own deaths." He squinted, peering through
the fog towards half-heard noises. "What? Where are they?"
"Here!" One of the senshi, Sailormercury, stood in clear view, attempting to
draw him closer into some pathetic trap.
"You think this will beat me?" He raised one hand, energy glowing within it as a
jet swerved to bear down on Mercury. Laughing, he watched the girl flee.
"Running away won't save you! Die!"
The jet turned away from Sailormercury then, and he felt something distinctly
wrong. His limbs seemed weighted down, sluggish with a foreign power. "What!?"
He realized the jets were converging on him, and lurched into a run. "Why are
they coming after me?" The mist vanished almost as suddenly as it had risen, and
he found the three senshi standing ahead of him, looking intolerably smug. "What
is going on?!"
Sailormoon shot a dark look at him. "Don't underestimate 'stupid' girls! They
don't always cry and accept misfortune helplessly."
He tried to shake off the horrible lassitude that gripped him. "Why? Why is my
plan going wrong?" Just in time, he looked up to see Sailormoon's tiara blazing
toward him, and staggered out of its path. He stumbled, falling to the ground,
abruptly very afraid that he was going to be sick all down the front of his
uniform. "Gods... What is wrong with me?" The incessant roar of the jets seemed
very loud, all of a sudden, and he looked up in time to see wheels, his mind
floundering in an incredible fog. With a wrenching effort, he threw all his
power into opening a portal back to the Dark Kingdom. For a moment, he thought
he would black out and lose concentration entirely as the wheel struck him and
knocked him flat, a terrifying band of pressure grinding against his ribcage.
And then, he was free, standing, clutching his stomach and suppressing nausea.
Swaying on his feet, Jadeite looked up at the queen. She looked furious.
"Qu--Queen Beryl-sama!" A flicker of motion to his side caught his eye, and he
saw Zoisite standing there, face unnaturally pale in pity, before Kunzite's hand
settled over the sakura's shoulder and both vanished into the horde of youma.
"You fool, you come crawling back to me!" Her eyes were deathly cold as she
stared at him like one might stare at an insect.
He muffled a groan and tried again, frantically gathering his wits. "Queen
Beryl-sama, the senshi's true forms..." "She's got to listen..."
"No excuses! Sleep forever!" Beryl's eyes glowed blue-white.
"Queen Beryl-sama!"
Energy lanced out from Beryl's staff, striking Jadeite and covering him with a
horrible cold as he screamed. He could feel his legs cease function, then his
arms, trapped in solid crystal. As the spell sealed over his face, he could no
longer scream, only stare wide-eyed and frozen as Queen Beryl sat back and waved
a hand impassively at him. Energy crackled around the crystal, just out of
reach, swallowing him up and dropping him in a darkened tunnel. He battered
futilely against the spell's binding, seeking a way out of the imprisonment,
some way to touch the power that would shatter the crystal. It was hopeless, as
he began to comprehend the true punishment. He couldn't even close his eyes.
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