46

Bad Judgment

By:Amber Ramirez

One sunny day after Crossroads Junior High's last bell rang and the many students filled the quad to head home after a long day at school. Molly, a young junior high student at Crossroads Junior High with shoulder length red hair bound with a blue ribbon fastened to the top of her head and a fair complexion, stood idly by the gates with Melvin, her classmate with close cropped brown ratty hair and coke-bottle glasses, rambling on about the new amulet store he wanted to take her to.

Soon Molly saw Serena; her classmate with long blond hair bound on each side of her head in two buns, Amy, a friend of Serena's with blue shoulder length hair, and Lita, another of Serena's friends who had brown hair bound in a pony-tail with a green hair piece, walk out together. She grabbed Melvin's sleeve and pointed towards them. "Look, Melvin. Let's invite Serena and the others to come with us." Molly said happily. Melvin adjusted his coke-bottled glasses and ran a hand through his brown ratty hair.

"Sure, Molly! Then we can all explore the vast knowledge of the history and value each amulet holds in its own distinct-" But Melvin was interrupted.

"Uh, yeah. Sure, Melvin. Now let's catch 'em before they all leave." Molly said gesturing toward the girls as they were leaving the school grounds.

"Right." Melvin said as he and Molly began to make a dash for their friends.

Serena was walking alongside Amy and Lita heading for the arcade to hang out for a bit before heading home. When Molly came running up from behind and linked arms with her best friend. Serena smiled as she saw who it was. "Hey, where are you guys going in such a hurry?" Serena asked.

"We're going to this new charm and amulet store, everyone's been talkin' about." Molly said happily. "Wanna come?"

Serena's face lit up with joy. "Cool. I love charms and amulets. Sure, I'll join you guys. Hey, Lita, Amy do you guys want to come too? Come on," Serena begged. "It'll be fun." Amy nodded. And Lita gave her thumbs up in consent.

"Why not? It'll be cool to hang out for a bit." Lita said happily.

"Sure, I'd love to go. I can always study for the math finals later. It's still two months away. That's plenty of time to be prepared." Amy said with a smile.

"Yay! Let's go!" Serena said happily as she linked arms with Amy and Lita.

Then they all headed for the charm shop, as they talked casually amongst each other.

As they got there, they were very excited to see a big building with the words Charm 'n Amulets written in bright neon lights. Then they all went in chattering excitedly amongst each other. The person who owned the shop was an old bald man wearing a monk's outfit, but he seemed younger and friendlier than he looked. "Hello there ladies, welcome to my shop. Please, feel free to look around. Perhaps you'll find something you like... or perhaps something will find you." The man laughed as he walked back to his counter at the back of the shop.

So the girls split up and looked around the shop. And just as Serena was looking at some beautiful emerald charms, she happened to see the coolest looking bracelet she had ever laid eyes on. It was sitting neatly on the shelf, almost hidden by the charms, in a plastic clear box. It was as if someone was trying to hide it from anyone who glanced its way. But somehow Serena felt attracted to its beauty and uniqueness. So she picked up the box and began to examine it. It was made of beaten sterling silver and chased with gold and etched with fine enamel designs, dotted with many small gems and rubies with a few emeralds here and there. Then all of a sudden Serena felt like she just had to have it, but when she checked the box, she found no price tag. So she walked up to the old man and asked, "Um, excuse me, but where did you get this bracelet?"

The old man stroked his stubbly chin and thought. "Hmm, let's see now, I... Well, it came in this morning, with the weekly shipment." He said with a smile.

Serena paused for a moment and said, "Okay, how much is it?"

Then the old man looked carefully at the box then at Serena and saw how much she wanted it. "Hmm, for you, ten dollars. After all you are my first customer and it is my grand opening." The man said happily as he saw Serena's eyes light up with joy.

Serena yelled out for joy, and quickly handed him the money. Then the girls called her. "Come on, Serena. We're going now."

"Coming," Serena called as the old man gave her a receipt and offered her a bag to carry her bracelet in. She gladly took it and smiled. "Thank you!" Serena said as she headed out the door with her companions at her side.

"Thank you for coming ladies. Come back soon! There will be lots of discounts for my best customers!" The old man called as they walked out the door.

As they all went outside, Serena quickly took the box out of its bag and stuffed the bag into her school bag. Amy noticed Serena's new box that she held dearly in her hands. "Serena, what's that?" Amy said gesturing towards the box Serena held.

Serena smiled and said, "Oh, you mean this? It's a neat bracelet, I bought it at the amulet shop, and the old man sold it to me at a discount."

Lita over heard their conversation and looked closer at the bracelet. "That's cool, how much did you pay for it?" Lita said looking at the bracelet with interest.

Serena grinned mischievously. "Oh, just ten dollars. It was a complete steal!" Serena said.

"Aww, you're lucky. It was a steal. I should go there more often when I want something to show off to a hot guy..." Lita said as her thoughts trailed off and she was daydreaming about a really hot guy liking her for her cool looking amulets and charms. Her eyes were full of stars.

Serena waved her hand in front of Lita's face. "Lita... hello. Earth to Lita!" Serena said and Lita shook her head.

"What? Oh, sorry, guys. I sort of lost track of what I was saying." Lita apologized.

Then they all said their good-by's as they all headed home.

As soon as Serena got home, she went straight to her room, avoiding her mother and annoying little brother, and placed her new accessory on a shelf close to her bed. She threw her school bag in a corner of her room and changed out of her school uniform into a pink sleeve less shirt and a short blue-green skirt. Then she went downstairs for a snack.

After her snack Serena decided to take a nap. So she went up to her room and yawned as she slowly made her way to her room. When she returned to her room she walked over to her bed and yawned once more, but before she reached her bed she suddenly remembered about the bracelet she had bought. "Oh yeah, my new bracelet I bought today. I can't wait to try it on!" Serena said excitedly as she walked over to the shelf by her bed and obtained the box.

Then she sat on her bed and was examining the box trying to figure out how to open it. "Okay, now that I have it how do I open it?" Serena said as she tried to find a crease or crevice in the plastic box.

Luna, Serena's guardian cat with midnight black fur and a crescent moon bald spot upon her forehead and red eyes, squeezed her way through Serena's partially opened door and gingerly hopped onto the bed beside her curious about what Serena was doing. "Serena, what is in that box you have there?" Luna asked looking up at Serena inquisitively.

Serena looked down at Luna as if noticing her for the first time and looked back at the box. "It's a bracelet that I bought at an Amulet shop today. Uhh, but I'm not quite sure how to open the box. Can you help me, Luna?" Serena asked as she showed Luna the box.

Luna began to carefully examine the box "Hmm," Then Luna saw a little piece of tape on one side of the box. Then she found three more so she raised a paw and began to effortlessly cut off the pieces of tape.

Once she was done Serena was delighted and picked up the box. "Luna, you're a genius!" Serena said happily as Luna inclined her head in response. Then Serena opened the box and slowly reached inside to take out her bracelet.

Then she instantly noticed that it was very shiny, beautiful and it almost looked real, but Serena shook the thought from her head, but it wasn't because she got it at such a cheap price! So it wasn't worth much, but for some reason she still liked it. Then she gingerly opened the catch and slid it on.

It looked as if it would fit her right wrist loosely, but when she fastened on the catch, she was surprised that it fit her perfectly. And besides that she just loved how it looked on her. "Oh, it's so beautiful, Luna! I love it!" Serena said excitedly as she admired it. Then she thought about Darien. "Oh, I wonder what Darien will think about my new bracelet. I'll bet that he'll love it too!" Serena said as she decided to venture off to find Darien and as she did, she did not notice that the bracelet had gained a certain shine to it and looked shinier on her than it looked in the box.

Meanwhile deep under the earth where a demon world supposedly existed was a cave of many tunnels and landings. Inside lurked a sleeping demon that had finally awakened by a mystic aura of power that emanated from an ancient bracelet. He was a man that held the great power that demons feared. His name was, Lord Akio, a strapping young man who looked to about eighteen or so with short cropped black hair that hung over his eyes like bangs and he had green piercing eyes, he was also well-known demon for his incredible power and strength. Centuries ago when he ruled a planet/world of his own he flourished in his reign of power, but then he decided to invade other planets so his power would grow, so he began his reign of terror throughout the universe.

But one day after his reign was nearly absolute; he came across a peculiar planet which showed much promise for his collection. That planet was earth. When he tried to invade and claim it as his own, the forces of the moon retaliated along with the earth and he was driven off. But he would not retreat and as a result he was defeated once again, but vowed to exact his revenge upon both the moon and earth for their treachery. He vowed that he would eventually control their strongest and most powerful valued being and regain his rightful place as ruler of the cosmos. For his threats he received banishment and was imprisoned deep within the earth. But before his imprisonment, as an act of desperation he created a single bracelet holding tremendous power, and strength. In hopes that one day the being that possessed great power would on that day help him take over the earth whether they liked it or not.

The bracelet was designed to follow Akio's will and orders alone and force the wearer to do his bidding. And as long as the wearer wore the bracelet Akio would control them. Now that he has awakened he must search for his most prized possession. One of the many qualities the bracelet possesses is if the person wearing the bracelet holds the power he desires then the bracelet will stay attached and never come off.

Back at the streets of Tokyo, Serena finally spotted Darien, a young high school student at Azabu High with short cropped black hair that was fashioned in a cowlick with ocean blue eyes, and quickly met up with him. She instinctively linked arms with him and he smiled down at her. "Hey, Serena. What are you doing out so late?" Darien asked.

Serena looked up dreamily into his eyes and then looked away and blushed snuggling his arm. "Do you have to ask?" Serena said as she pulled his arm closer.

Darien smiled as Serena hugged his arm. "Well it must be important for you to go through all this trouble just to find me." Darien said looking at the top of her blonde buns.

Serena snuggled even closer. "I just wanted to spend some time with you, Darien. And... To see if you like..." Serena's voice trailed off as a crimson blush mottled her face.

And as they were walking Darien noticed that Serena had on a new bracelet. "Serena, that's a really nice bracelet you have on. You should wear it more often. It looks really great on you" Darien said smiling down at her.

Serena stopped walking and tugged on his sleeve. "Do you really think so?" She asked.

Darien looked at her with reassuring eyes. "Yeah, it's really beautiful, like you. And it makes you look cute." Darien said taking her hand that the bracelet was on and raising it so he could see it.

Serena's blush darkened and she grabbed Darien's arm again and leaned her head on his shoulder. "If you say so, Darien." Serena said as they began walking once more. Then she whispered something that Darien could not hear. "I will wear it just for you"

Soon they parted and headed home. As soon as Serena got home she ran straight to her room and threw herself onto her bed. She looked at her wonderful bracelet and quietly said to herself. "I'm never going to take off this bracelet,"

Then Sammy, Serena's little brother who had short brown scraggly hair and green eyes, burst in and saw her bracelet. "Hey, Serena. A cool bracelet like that doesn't belong with a ditz like you!" he yelled and then he ran out of the door way and into his own room.

Serena jumped out of her bed and shut her door. Then returned to her bed. "Oh, Sammy's going to pay. He just doesn't know true beauty when he sees it." She looked at her bracelet once more. "But Darien does." She giggled. "Darien said it looked beautiful and that it made me look cute..." Then she slowly fell asleep.

The next day Serena rushed over to Rei's temple as fast as she could. As soon as she got there, she noticed that Rei, her friend with raven-black hair and purple eyes, was the only one there. Rei turned to see Serena and glanced at her watch, Serena was ten minutes early. "Serena? What are you doing here? The meeting doesn't start for another ten minutes." Rei said.

Amy walked in with her textbooks clutched to her chest and noticed that Serena was there. "Serena? You managed to come early? That's a big improvement for you." Amy said with a smile.

Then Mina, Serena's friend who had long blond hair like Serena but wore it down so it reached her ankles and she had blue eyes, and Lita walked in together. Serena looked at them all as they marveled at the fact that she had come early for once. "Yeah, I guess I did come early for once." She giggled.

During the next few days the girls were starting to notice other things about Serena that didn't quite seem right. Somehow she had changed. She was almost always on time and when she wasn't she was very early. She wasn't as clumsy as before, in fact she was starting to act proper and sophisticated. She was actually getting good grades and they had to admit that Serena and good grades just don't mix. And another thing she was popular at school.

So the girls decided to meet up with her after school. Once she arrived she waved cheerfully. "Hi, how's it going guys? Oh, what did you want to talk to me about?" She asked.

The girls nudged Amy and she stepped forward. "Well Serena, we've noticed a few changes in you lately." She said calmly.

Serena's smile broadened. "Huh? Really? What?" She asked as she looked at them all with sparkling eyes.

Then Lita boldly stepped forward. "Well, for one thing you're always on time now, and that's just not like you" Lita said pointing at her wrist watch.

Serena looked taken aback. "What? Is it so wrong to be on time? I mean you guys always nagged me when I wasn't," Serena said recovering her smile.

Lita couldn't think of a witty comeback. "Well, I guess you could be right, but still..." Lita replied.

Now it was Mina's turn to step forward. "Yeah, and another thing, you're not clumsy anymore, now that's really strange." Mina said as she folded her arms across her chest and nodded.

Serena could hardly believe what was going on. "Are you implying that I'm some sort of a klutz or something?!" Serena said hotly.

They looked at each other then back at Serena and said, "Yes!"

Serena crossed her own arms across her chest and turned away from them angrily. "Well, I just don't want to be that way anymore." She retorted hotly.

Then Rei came into the conversation. "And to top it off you're getting good grades and you're even popular! Did I miss something?!" Rei said becoming over excited.

Serena whipped around and faced them all with an outraged look upon her face. "Well, you guys always told me I wouldn't pass if I didn't pick up my grades and I guess that since I started to really become a better student I started to make more friends." Serena said justly.

The girls looked at each other doubtfully. Then all of a sudden one of Rei's psychic senses began to act up. As she tried to focus, she began to sense evil among the girls.

Lita noticed that Rei was disturbed by something so she placed a comforting hand on Rei's shoulder. "Rei, can I talk to you for a minute?" She asked.

Rei snapped out of her trance and looked at Lita as if noticing her for the first time and nodded. "Yeah, sure Lita." She said as Lita turned and Rei began to follow.

The two girls walked out of earshot from the other girls. Lita stopped and faced Rei. "Rei, what's wrong? Do you sense something?" Lita asked looking deep into Rei's eyes.

Rei looked at Lita in surprise, but then her features softened as she sensed that the evil aura was not coming from Lita. She relaxed and decided to confide in her. "Yeah, I'm sensing some kind of evil aura and it's coming from one of the girls. I don't know who it is yet, but I'll find out. I know for sure it's not you and it isn't me. But it has to be Amy, Mina, or Serena. And there's a small chance that it might be all of them. But one of them is emitting an evil aura. Can you help me find out whom, Lita?" Rei asked.

Lita was shocked at first, but then she looked confident. "Yeah, I'll help. As soon as you find out let me know, but I can't believe it's one of them." Lita said as she looked sadly back at the girls who were chatting amongst themselves. After walking a bit the girls decided to go home and meet up later.

Meanwhile deep, deep under the earth, Lord Akio paced back and forth in his domain conjuring up the power that would release his warriors. He needed but a small amount to bring them forth from their eternal sleep. "I must summon them now if I am ever to get back what is rightfully mine. I will have to use what little power I have to awaken them." He said as he clenched his fists and tightened his muscles. A purple aura began to emanate from his body as he threw his arms skyward and released the energy he had gathered and gave a mighty yell as the power began to overwhelm him. Then he called upon his greatest and only warriors from their eternal sleep. "My faithful warriors! Come to my aid. Radimus! Kei! Touga! Takashi! Arise and live again!" The power rose upward to form a great cloud above him that separated into four cocoon shaped clouds that stood before him, swirling like tornados.

Lord Akio clenched his fists and the tornados stopped swirling. As he smiled his four warriors stepped forth from each cloud one by one. First Radimus, with his blonde shoulder length hair that hid his sea-green eyes that glittered in the dim light. He wore a black muscle shirt that complemented his slightly bulky figure and black matching pants with green boots. Second was Kei who had short cropped black hair and equally black eyes that glimmered a dark blue in the light. He wore a dark blue shirt that matched his eyes and matching pants with black boots. Third was Touga who had green hair that was cropped in the back and hung loose in the front which covered his hazel eyes that glimmered with malice. He wore a yellow shirt with black pants and yellow boots. Last was Takashi, the leader of the bunch, he was surprisingly taller than the rest and had much more bulk than his fellow warriors. He had stunning devil-red hair that hung loose over his shoulders and his eerie orange eyes that glinted yellow when hit by the light. He wore a purple muscle shirt that struggled against the bulge of his muscles and he wore black pants and dark purple boots. He also wore a black cape lined with red velvet.

Once they all had appeared Lord Akio's smile broadened. "Ah, my finest warriors. I've been expecting you Takashi. Now are you positive that you and your fellow warriors are fit for the job? I will have no mistakes, and above all no failures." Takashi nodded confidently. "If you succeed you shall become my fellow bounty hunters, am I clear? Most of your predecessors have lost their lives in my command and you are all that is left of my warriors-in-training."

Takashi bowed gracefully. "Crystal, my lord. My warriors and I will succeed. We never fail."

Lord Akio smiled at his confidence, but masked his face as Takashi rose. "I'm sure you won't, but I look forward to seeing your skill myself."

Takashi straightened. "You shall not be disappointed, my lord. And we look forward to becoming fellow bounty hunters." Takashi said as he smiled with beaming pride. And the warriors bowed respectfully.

Lord Akio inclined his head in response to their loyalty. "Good, now I have a simple task for you to complete for me." He said as his eyes narrowed in delight.

Takashi bowed low and looked up at Lord Akio with high esteem. "Anything, my lord." He said awaiting his master's request.

The corners of Lord Akio's lips twitched upward into a wicked smile. "I want you to seek out the chosen one who bears the sacred power of my bracelet, now go." He said with mirth.

The warriors all inclined their heads and walked proudly away, determined to complete their first important task.