MUTINY
By Sophiatrixx
Disclaimer: I do not own Sailor Moon series' characters, objects and/or names.
Previously...
In the middle of nowhere in particular, a lone pirate stood.
It was a rather hot morning with the sun permeating a dark tan onto his slim, shirtless body. His shirt was elsewhere with his other clothing for a makeshift sail tied on a stick of driftwood. His pants, once a dashing pair of pants indeed, was now resembled a dirty cloth rag with holes. He reached for his leather pouch on his belt and took out his bottle of rum. Shaking it, he heard the remains of his liquor swirl at the bottom of the bottle, before taking a swig.
'Dammit Darien. There goes the rum, ye fool.' he thought to himself, before swearing.
It could take days before he would see a patch of land - that is, if he ever made it alive in time. Standing on an unstable chunk of wood he was an odd sight to see, floating away into the big blue. With only a few crumbs on his beard and the remnants of his rum gone, he couldn't help but expect the worse of his fate. It seemed like only yesterday when the worst had happened, when he awoke seeing that he was floating on the driftwood and with his head aching. He had a lot of time for himself, as he floated. He was especially trying to remember what came of ship the Crystal Abyss. He spat into his hands, rubbed them together and smoothed out his long hair. Boy, would he love to be back at Crystal Tokyo, devouring the most luscious woman he could find along with the most richest liquor on the market. But no, here he was, stranded alone on a raft. Quite cosy, but a hell of a nuisance. It seemed like it was only yesterday when to his recollection of the time, the ill fated event happened..
CHAPTER ONE: LEGEND HAS IT..
"Cap'n! Lookit, over there!" called out one of his crewmen, pointing towards the glorious amount of gold and jewels which circled in front of the booty which Darien had been looking for. Captain Darien and his sea-worthy men had been scouring the depths of the Earths for such a worthy treasure to behold. Every man for himself felt the excitement of being so close to the precious jewels, and hastily began to scoop everything and anything that glittered. This did not matter to Darien, or to his left hand mate, the very tall and suave Pirate himself, One-Eyed Diamond. No, they did not have the amatuer pleasures of small tokens of treasure, they were in it for the bigest prize of all - the Legend of the Crystal Moon - and boy, we're they ever so close to discovering if the Legend were true.
An old gypsy woman once told him at great lengths the capacity one could have with beholding such a treasure, that the legend still remained a mystery, that many men rarely spoke of such attempted ventures towards the ancient ruins of the once harmonious Silver Millenium. The once ruler, a beautiful and wonderous Queen, had in dire moments before her death, hidden the most powerful and priceless asset of all the kingdom, beneath many walls and deep within the now ruined castle, the gracious Silver Crystal. It was believed at the time of war, Queen Serenity used all her powers to seal the kingdom away from their enemies, the ones which came from the Dark Kingdom. Mostly convicts and pirates at heart, they attacked Queen Serenity's precious kingdom, pillaged and destroyed until the castle was left in ruins. Queen Serenity, in fright of having the crystal placed into the hands of her enemy, Queen Beryl, then hidden the Crystal amongst other treasures, within the small hideaways underneath palace corridors.
Darien licked his dry lips, his eyes fixated on what would become rightfully his - the famed treasure that held power over every being of existance, the source of which Darien wished to behold. His men, eager to see what the Crystal would appear to be, began to make bets on how glorious a price it will behold. One-Eyed Diamond, his oldest mate onboard the Crystal Abyss, pat his Captain on the shoulder before taking a closer look with his only working eye.
"By the Crystal Moon, there it is." Diamond breathed.
Darien nodded, his eyes hungrily looking at the altar which held a chained treasure box around withered thorns. The only thing limiting Darien's reach now, he had observed, was the height of which the thorns had grown. Thick, black and green thorns protected the Crystal high above, making a man unable to reach by foot.
Darien whistled for George, or 'Nutters' as his mates call him for the crazy explosive stunts he has done in the past to step forward. He was then in charge for blasting the thorns. He began placing his explosives strategically around his target, and once satisfied, he gave the signal to run a good distance unless they'd want to lose a leg or arm. Captain Darien watched from a distance as the gunpowder burned it's way towards the several barrels of gunpowder. A loud boom echoed off the chamber walls, the thorns tumbling down towards the floor. Anticipation filled the lungs of the pirates, as they watched their Captain run towards the chest, which was now falling from mid-air towards the ground.
"I wouldn't take any step further if I were you, Capt'n." came a voice from behind Darien.
Turning, he looked at his best mate, One-Eyed Diamond, holding out his gun.
"One-Eye?" Darien raised his hands up, warily aware that a something was up. Had the crew arranged this beneath his nose prior? Aye, they must want the crystal for themselves. He heard a thud. Glancing, he saw the crystal's chest had been captured by one of the crewmen, now sneering devilishly at Darien.
He then felt a painful smack against his head. One-Eyed Diamond, the best mate to Darien for years, had betrayed him. One-Eyed Diamond, he soon had found after a note stuck to his driftwood raft, said that Darien was a blithering fool of a pirate to believe that his men would only accept the amount of gold he suggested after all they went through. He also wrote the insignia at the end, the notorious insignia of a black moon crescent turned upside down, showing his loyalty to the rival pirate gang on the seas, the Dark Moon, the Pirate gang notorious for being descendants of the Dark Kingdom pirates.
Cursing revenge, Darien knew it would take a while for him to recruit and finally get back what was his - the legend which enthralled him since a child to search for and own, the famed treasure of wonders from beneath the lost chambers of the old city, the Crystal Tokyo ruins. His men, a trusty crew, had sailed for months in search for the ruins, until they reached the glorious island which held the secret for such a long time. Many believed the legend was a myth, that the remains of the lost world once ruled by Queen Serenity long ago, had been lost and along with it, the royal jewels. Darien proved this wrong, when triumphantly, his men plundered into the ruins and blasted their way into the chambers hidden beneath the castle ruins, now an ancient ruin hidden by lush jungle.
And yet here he was, stuck on his raft in the middle of nowhere. Tired, Darien sat back down against his makeshift sail, closed his eyes and listened as the waves rocked him into sleep...
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Author Note: 03/03/2008 - Re-wrote and edited the prologue and chapter one storyline to make it more solid. Enjoy.