From the Timeline of Dark Crystal Tokyo

Chapter 1

The Search for a True Master

Author's Notes: Thanks a bunch to those who reviewed! I really appreciate it, and I hope this story lives up to your expectations. The first chapter isn't quite as long as I had intended, but since I got it out in less than 48 hours, I think 5 pages is a fairly decent amount, don't you? I wouldn't be expecting the next chapter quite that fast (though if my ideas keep flowing like they are, it is a possibility), but I will try to update as quickly as ideas come to me. And of course, reviews give me my inspiration to write. (winks) So, as usual, PLEASE, PLEASE, PLEASE REVIEW!

The story begins in the early 30th century, around the year 3100. As much as I can, I am going to be following the manga-version of the series – especially where the Shitennou are concerned. That means that after the Dark Kingdom (Negaverse for the dubbers) was defeated, the spirits of Endymion's four Shitennou returned to him in the form of four stone to aid him whenever and however they were able. One by one, however, the stones disappeared at the beginning of the 30th century when their spirits were released to be reborn along with their Sailor Senshi counterparts. Hence where the story begins . . .

(Kanadai Ryu)

It was a rancidly hot summer afternoon in the year 3104. Short, messy, pale-blonde hair matted against the forehead of a well built fifteen year old as he was forced to continue his work at a rapid pace despite the increasing intensity of the noontime sun. Although his work in slavery caused him to be a bit on the thin side, the heavy workloads served him well in the areas of strength and endurance. The young man, born to a privately owned slave around the beginning of the thirtieth century, was named Kanadai Ryu, which means "Great Warrior Dragon."

Though he was one of the lucky few who remained with his parents long enough to retain a real last name and a few clear memories, by the age of eight he had been separated from both father and mother. Three years spent in a slave camp severely stifled Ryu's natural personality, causing him to become very quiet and withdrawn, though he still enjoyed a good joke now and then, and has a number of marks to prove it. He was 11 years old when hushed rumors of an underground city first offered him a spark of hope in his almost unbearably dreary world. He had tried to escape multiple times, but each time was caught and punished for it.

Hence why, for this reason, he had been labeled as a problem case and each new master was advised to keep him on a secure watch. So as he struggled with the weight of his tasks, the master – who was known as Hymann - stood beneath the shade of a nearby tree, a glass of cold ice-water in one hand and a sharp whip in the other, watching his every move. Pausing briefly to catch his breath, Ryu glanced over his shoulder to where the pitcher of water sat. 'This would be a lot easier if they realized humans require water as well.' He thought sarcastically, a mild frown playing across his face as he wiped the moisture from off his forehead.

"Get back to work, boy!" The sharp voice of the dark lord demanded intolerantly.

"If you aren't going to give me water to drink, can I at least remove my shirt? It is putrid out here, in case you haven't noticed." Ryu shot back, while still working on catching his breath. He hated it when they insisted on always referring to him as just 'boy.'

A scowl present on his face, the dark lord took another sip from his drink before setting it down and starting in Ryu's direction. He squeezed the whip tightly in his hand as he made his way out into the harsh sunlight, stopping a mere two feet from the young man. Licking his lips dryly, Ryu turned to face the man, piercing saffire blue eyes proudly meeting his gaze head on. "Take it off." The man demanded in a low and dangerous voice. Ryu's gaze shifted briefly to the whip in the man's hand. The mild sting coming from his back and shoulders, leftover from the previous nights "lesson," served as a painful reminder of what that thing was capable of. Nodding, he obediently reached down, pulling the top up over his head and handing it off to the man. "Now turn around and get back to work." He returned thickly.

"Hai, sir," Ryu answered neutrally, eyes averting downwards as he turned around bending over to regain his load. The young man really hadn't a mind to cause any more trouble than necessary today. He was still recovering from the night before, and besides - - - since his last escape attempt had landed him a (literally) torturous three-week prison sentence, the potential of returning there had served as ample threat to keep him from raising too far out of line. "Ahg..!" A painful sound escaped his lips as three unexpected blows were dealt to his exposed backside. He turned on the man, saffire-eyes burning along with the sting from the three new marks.

His saffire eyes were met with a dark smirk from the man who was considered lord over him. "It makes it all that much easier to dig into the flesh should you attempt to get out of line." Ryu scowled, opening his mouth as if to say something, but was interrupted before a single syllable could be uttered. "That is, unless you would rather return for another long stay in the prison ward. I am sure they wouldn't mind teaching an unruly slave a few lessons. . ." Ryu's mouth clamped shut on the word "prison," saffire eyes appearing a slight bit duller as he shifted his gaze humbly down towards the ground. The older man smirked at this. "That is what I thought." He cracked his whip loudly on the ground once just to see the young man flinched. His smirk deepened. "Get back to work."

"Hai"

"What was that?" The man questioned sharply.

"Hai, master," Ryu repeated dully, mouth still dryly in want of liquids as he returned to his work with a heavy sigh. The new whip marks on his back throbbed painfully as he handled a load equal to the previous ones, no leniency whatsoever offered for his new condition. Once the load had been moved to its new location and set to the master's standards, Ryu returned for yet another. As he stooped over again, his saffire eyes caught sight of a small Jadeite stone lying on the ground nearby and felt somehow drawn to it. He'd have picked it up for further study had his current master not been hovering nearby waiting and watching for the slightest excuse to deal out more punishment. Not willing to take the risk, he ignored the stone and returned to his work.

(----------------------------------------------)

Not over two hours later, with the task finally finished, Ryu found himself in the downtown area of Dark Crystal Tokyo. His saffire eyes remained mundanely downward as he followed the dark lord towards whatever their current destination might be. If he looked up, he could see Prince Demando's dark palace raised above the rest of the city. The closer he got to it, the more he despised it and the dark energy that radiated from it. It almost reminded him of . . . of what exactly? It reminded him of a similar energy, one that haunted his dreams in the dark hours of the night. He had been under the influence of that sort of power before, and it burned even as it took control of the very ideas and memories that passed through his mind. He couldn't truly say which it was, the false ideas or the painfully burning inside of him that drove him to do such horrible things – things he'd not even dream of doing in any normal state of mind.

Though his conscious mind may not have retained the memories, a part of him would always remember the feeling dark energy . . . the burning so deep inside . . . the look of betrayal flashing in those intense amber-eyes, right before the end. No, that wasn't a road he wished to travel down a second time. The closer they got to the dark crystal palace, the deeper the protective scowl set on the young man's face. He kept his gaze downwards to avoid even having to take a glimpse of the source of his harsh reality. Besides the obvious, he couldn't quite say why his dislike of such energy ran so deep, but he knew the further away he got from such darkness, the more settled he would begin to feel.

Stopping in front of a large department store, Hymann paused running his list once over in his mind before turning back to gaze upon the slave he had brought to carry his load. Ryu lifted his gaze briefly to meet the man's as he came to a halt a few steps behind. As a general rule slaves weren't allowed inside the stores, so places were provided to leave them out of doors. Without a word, Hymann hooked the man's ankles together and then to a stationary spot outside the store before heading inside the store to pick up what he needed.

Sighing lightly, Ryu crossed his arms over his chest shifting his gaze back down towards the ground. At least standing sedentary was a relief from the heavy work he had been doing. While he stood there waiting, something on the ground nearby once again caught his eyes' attention. It appeared to be the same Jadeite stone he had taken notice of in back at the Hymann's house. It couldn't really be the same one though, could it? Once again, he felt something drawing his interest to the stone. Curiosity getting the better of him, Ryu glanced back over his shoulder waiting for the austere man to disappear inside before quickly bending down and snatching the stone up into his hand.

Almost instantly, an image of a regal-looking man – unmistakably a prince – passed across his vision. He knew there were others standing with him, but paid them little mind as he continued to study the man with his eyes. Short raven-black fell slightly into clearly Terran facial features. He wore a navy-blue imperial outfit beneath finely custom-made armor and knee-high boots. A black cape was draped over a set of shoulder pads and pinned on with two gold buttons. Also, at his left side was sheathed a sword with a golden handle that had the symbol for earth engraved into it. Much like the Jadeite stone when he had first seen it, Ryu instantly felt drawn to the man, almost as though some kind of connection had existed between them.

The Terran Prince seemed at first unaware of the men who stood to the southeast side of him starring rather at a set of four gems, the Jadeite stone among them, hovering a few feet in front of him. When he reached his hand out, as if to take hold of the gems, they immediately distanced themselves floating over to where his four Shitennou stood, waiting for him. The eyes of the prince remained focused on the gems, following them as they moved to hover in front of Ryu and the others with him.

Ryu watched, intrigued, as the Jadeite stone came towards him, stopping a few feet in front of him at chest level. As he reached out to take the stone, his eyes momentarily met those of the prince. His hand instantly went to his side as he guiltily averted his eyes back down to the ground. Those gems clearly belonged to the prince; it was not his to take. Not only that, but a slave had no business meeting the direct gaze of a prince – not if he valued his life in any case. His upbringing had taught him that much. Ryu stood rigid as the prince approached, falling into a subtle kneel as he stopped in front of him.

Taking the Jadeite stone in his hand, the prince studied it for a moment and then continued forward. Kneeling down to same level as Ryu, he placed a hand on his shoulder and held out the stone in his open palm. "Take it." He instructed gently, but firmly. "It is your destiny." Ryu was quite understandably taken aback by the man's actions. He starred at the stone in the man's hand from a brief moment before reaching out and taking hold of it. The stone grew warm in his palm and a name pressed its way into the back of his mind. "Prince Endymion." He murmured distantly. Endymion smiled, pulling his friend back to his feet, as more images pushed their way into the back of Ryu's mind. A familiar voice, a voice from the past, echoed from the far reaches of his memory.

"...We were reincarnated to find our master, Prince Endymion." (Quote from Kunzite in the manga).

"Master?" Ryu questioned, lifting his gaze cautiously to meet that of the Terran prince. "Prince Endymion?" The young man was in for a shock. When the prince's azure eyes met with his saffire ones, Ryu noted his gaze, that it wasn't cold and hard or undermining like his current master, or that of Prince Demando, who was currently ruling the planet. He was surprised that the man looked at him like a friend, rather than just a servant or a slave. Ryu smiled gratefully.

There was a small smile on the prince's face as he nodded his affirment. "Jadeite . . ."

"Master?" Ryu murmured dazedly, just as the vision began to slip from his mind. His fist clinched tightly around the Jadeite stone in his hand as he fought to hold on to the vision but, unfortunately, found it to be a losing battle. Blinking rapidly a few times, Ryu found reality beginning to set back in . . . and his ''current'' master standing over him with his hands on his bare shoulders, shaking him roughly. "N-nani? What?" Ryu blinked again starring at the man for a moment with one of those blank 'what did I miss?' expressions on his face.

"Finally . . . he is coming around. Someone get me some water over here!" Hymann grumbled plastering an annoyed expression on his face as he looked the fifteen-year-old slave directly in the eyes. "This is a fine time to suffer from heat exhaustion. I have an investment to make out of you, you know." Hymann fumed as a young slave belonging to the store owner offered him a small pitcher of water. Snatching it from the boy, Hymann shoved the glass towards Ryu's hands.

Ryu just starred at the man in shock came he came back to reality. 'He thinks I'm suffering from heat exhaustion? Okay, let's go with that.' Apparently, fate decided to give him a break for once; but then, what was he to do with the Jadeite stone he had acquired? If the Hymann saw it, he would certainly have it taken away - - not to mention the punishment he would get for 'stealing' a precious gem. He squeezed his hand tighter around the stone, silently willing for it to just disappear . . . or something.

Unfortunately, Hymann noticed. "What do you have in your hand, boy?" Holding the pitcher back, he glared accusingly at the young man. "Show me your hand." He demanded. Ryu frowned, reluctantly opening his hand only to find it . . . empty? The young man starred down at his hand. But how . . . Ryu blinked, starring at as empty palm for a moment before returning his gaze to his owner.

Grumbling something under his breath about the young man's sanity, Hymann shoved the glass into Ryu's hands glaring coldly at him. "Alright, hurry up and drink it. There is more work to do at home." Although still trying to figure out what had happened to the stone, Ryu nodded his agreement and quickly drank down what he had been given. As soon as Ryu had finished and handed the pitcher back to the boy, Hymann released the chains from his ankles and they started back towards home.

Ryo sighed, a frown present on his face as he followed the man back towards the hell he was forced to call home. Had the stone really disappeared, or had it all just been the negative effect of heat exhaustion, like Hymann had said? Closing his fist, Ryu attempted to will the stone back, the same way he made it disappear. A moment later he felt something solid forming in his palm; he opened his fist and found . . . the Jadeite stone. Think along the lines of the sub-space pocket, or where the Senshi's henshin sticks go when they aren't using them. Ryu grinned as he willed the stone away again.

Apparently, fate really had decided to lighten up on him . . . for once. Or was it the work of his real master, Prince Endymion? 'My real master,' Ryu rolled this idea around in his head for a while before deciding that he liked the idea. Even from the short time he had seen him in his vision, Prince Endymion was clearly a better master than any of the others he had had, including his current one. Looking up at the Hymann's form a feet in front of him, Ryu's gaze narrowed in fresh determination. Some day, he would escape the prison they called Dark Crystal Tokyo. He would make his way to the underground city, and then . . . begin a search for his real master. . . .