Disclaimer- Actually, everything in this particular prologue is mine except for Beryl, and even she's just mentioned. However, the story as a whole is a crossover of Ranma and Sailor Moon, both of which belong to their respective owners (in neither case does this include me). All characters who are not from either of these two series are mine (except for one case, but even she's very much public domain). This particular interpretation of Beryl's servitor race is mine, although some inspiration came from Black Jewels, they are fundamentally mine, and unique as far as I can tell. If you want to use anything of mine (I don't think so either, I'm just covering the bases) then I'd appreciate if you asked, or at least told me so I could see what you've done with it, although, as always, do as you like.

Warning- Spoilers. This is a given. Language. I don't really censor myself, I follow my characters. They may swear, they may not, I have no more say in the matter than you do. Also, as a warning, I got a lot of inspiration for this piece from Anne Bishop's Black Jewels trilogy, although it's not a crossover. I tried to mimic the feel and tone of Black Jewels in my own way, so beware. If you don't know what this means... Dark, sensual, violent. Topics that are often considered extremely inappropriate for dinner-table conversation will come up, and people will die. In most uncomfortable ways. If you can't take what you see, stop looking.

(Font specifics: If you've read any of my stuff, you probably know this by know.

"Hi," speech.

/Boo/ mental communication-ie. telepathy.

-This- is an interruption.

And this is either a thought, or signifies that whatever it is is stressed.)

Darklight: The YSDF

By Pale Wolf

First Prologue

Providence: The Divine Spark

Ten Years Ago

Exhaling, Pearl leaned back against the rough-hewn wall, prompting an irritated look from the guard next to her. Idly toying with one of the tendrils of pain drifting from the shut curtain separating them from the next room, she began drumming her fingers against one of the large stone blocks.

The guard bristled. "Have some patience, excess. You shouldn't even be getting a youngling."

Pearl smirked. "Well, Miss- What the hell was your name?"

"Pyrite," she growled.

"Ah! Fools gold." Ignoring the growling soldier, she continued. "Anyway, Miss Pyrite, the fact is that Aquamarine asked my to 'take up her life' when she died. Since hunters got her, by traditions older than your liege-"

"Our liege!"

"-by traditions older than Beryl, for these purposes, I am Aquamarine. Remember? She asked me to care for the child, so I guess I will."

"Still," Pyrite grumbled. "Excess shouldn't be getting propagation."

Pearl's eyes drooped to slits. "Do you want to make an issue of it?"

The guard snorted. "Please. An excess against a guard. Stop jo-"

Pearl clamped her aural grip down on the tendrils, and caught Pyrite's own emanations of fear and anger. "Excess don't get much, you know. If anything. I'd love the chance for a full feeding." She was still leaning indolently back against the wall, arms crossed over her chest.

Pyrite's eyes widened. "Do you have any idea what-?"

"I'll ask again," she interrupted, hooded eyes locked onto Pyrite's face. "Do you want to make an issue of it?"

The air thickened with the tendrils of fear Pyrite was emanating, Pearl waiting, aura calm, for her answer.

Finally, Pyrite slumped and angled her gaze down, muttering, "You're not worth it. Lifespan's mostly gone and still excess..." in her defense.

Pearl, smirking, released all the tendrils and nodded. "Damn straight! I mean, look at her," she gestured to the curtain. "Wailing and carrying on, practically. You call that prime? Then I'm proud to be excess."

"Don't you dare-!"

She was cut off by a sharp tug on one of the fear tendrils still floating around.

"Let me guess. Don't insult a Queen? What is a Queen? What makes a Queen? I don't think I've ever insulted a single one."

Pyrite kept putting out anger, but, under Pearl's mild gaze, it never quite reached the strength of the fear. Finally, she averted her eyes.

Pearl shrugged. "She's bearing your youngling, isn't she?"

Pyrite's breath caught.

That seemed answer enough, as Pearl nodded. "Yeah, and you're barely senior, you've got practically zero chance of another propagation 'indulgence', so if this one goes," she clicked her tongue, "that's it."

The tense silence was broken by the curtain opening, letting a blonde woman cradling a sphere of roiling energy slip in, closing the curtain behind her. "The birthing is complete. You may return to your post, Guard Pyrite."

Pyrite shot the midwife a grateful look and darted into the birthing room.

She fixed Pearl with a hard look. "Do you have any idea what this child is, Pearl?"

Pearl raised an eyebrow. "No, I don't. You're shrouding her, Aura."

She blushed slightly, but lifted the sphere up to view.

Peering at it, Pearl delved lightly in-

-then slammed herself back against the wall, jaw dropping. "Holy Mother..."

Aura smiled lightly. "Yes, that was about my reaction."

Pearl leaned forward, wrapping her arms around the blonde's neck in a hug and dragging Aura's ear to her lips. "Do you have the slightest idea what this could mean?!" she whispered fiercely.

Aura lightly shook her head, blushing as the motion inadvertently brushed Pearl's lips against her cheek. "No... I just thought you should see her."

Pearl smiled and drew back. "Think about it. The first one in millenia raised not as a Youma, but as a Rakshasa. This could mean everything."

Grasping her meaning, the blonde nodded, gently slipping the energy sphere into Pearl's grasp. "I'll lie in the report."

"Thank you." Impulsively, Pearl leaned in and pecked the midwife on the lips. Both blushed.

"You're answering for that next time I see you," Aura warned.

Pearl grinned. "I guess we'll have to see what you ask, and what my answers are."

Her blush deepened, and she stepped back to the curtain. She put her hand on it to push it aside-

"Wait."

Aura turned back uncertainly to see Pearl gazing intently at the energy sphere cradled in her arms. "...Yes?"

Frowning, Pearl glanced up at her. "What was it Silver always said?"

Closing her eyes in concentration, Aura quoted, "'We are the kindling, to spread the blaze to the Rakshasa.' What was the rest? Umm..."

Pearl recited the next bit with her, her own eyes half-shut in remembrance.

"'But even we need a spark to set us ablaze.'"

Aura nodded. "I think that's it."

"Thank you."

Blush returning somewhat, Aura flipped open the curtain and slipped back into the birthing room.

Attention devoted solely to the child held in her arms and aura, Pearl hummed to herself. "So, little spark, what should I call you?"

Her humming cut off as, with a loud cracking noise, most of her left arm was ripped away into nothing. Blood would've been spurting madly from the frayed, almost moth-eaten limb, except that she, having fallen to her knees from the effort of reining in the pain, had instantly adjusted the arm's flesh to seal off the wound, energizing, redesigning, and replacing in one smooth action.

A second cracking heralded the appearance, cradled in Pearl's single working arm, of a baby. It looked... a little off, like it was a child's scrawled crayon drawing compared to the Mona Lisa of an actual baby- but the child who 'drew' this was quite talented for a child.

"Holy Mother... This soon?" she muttered to herself, absently stroking the baby's tuft of electic blue hair. She grinned (despite her currently ravaged left arm) and hefted the baby a little higher in her right, prompting a gurgle that was probably supposed to be a delighted coo. "What should I call you?" She smirked. "What else? Let's go see Silver, eh Seikaa?"

Next: Second Prologue! Ranma finally appears. On the long training trip, he makes a... friend.

Author's Notes (Perhaps relevant, perhaps not, but not strictly the story)

E-mail is miraclewolf at hotmail

Welcome to my dark side. This is currently the most vicious story I have in production. If you like the Senshi and can't stand to see them as anything other than perfect defenders of good and right... Run away, little one, and hope the bogeyman doesn't catch you. As I see it, the Senshi are, fundamentally, children, trapped by their preconcieved notions. They shoot first, and little remains when they're done shooting to answer questions. They seem to have the mindset of 'human equals good, monster bad', and they have an incredibly annoying belief that their side is automatically in the right, so they never try to understand the other side. Here, that's going to come back and bite them in the ass. This story is mostly from the monster's point of view, and for once they're going up against trained and skilled soldiers, and desperate survivors. Their current methods of operation are not going to carry them far.

And I'm going to need to say this so often, with my fics: I don't have anything against Pluto, in fact I like her. But I can see her potential as an antagonist, and the character as we know her fits very well into that role. More will be addressed in a later author's note.

If you like Genma (Does anyone?) then don't run. Teleport. I call it as I see it with most characters. I think I've come to a realization about him, and I don't like what I see.

I'll address questions I think people may have about characterizations or whatever in the appropriate author's notes.

In this case, you'll have noticed I tinkered with the conventional view of Beryl's youma. Also, I imagine by now you've noticed a few things that seem not quite... right about the Rakshasa. Please, point out any oddities you see. Hopefully, these are all intentional, but I'd like to confirm. And I will try to correct anything unintentional.

What were your impressions? What about Pearl and Aura, what did you think of them (either individually or together)? As always, I want to make sure I got the right messages across, so please tell me what you gathered, I'll tell you if that was what I was trying to convey. Maybe. Anyway, feedback. Point out any errors I may not have noticed, I trust myself and my prereader, but neither of us is perfect (prereader's damn good though, and I'd like to think I qualify for that title too). And I'm always open for more prereaders.

I feel the urge to say more, but have nothing to say. Shutting up now.