He chuckled softly to himself and made himself comfortable, leaning his shadowed form back against the massive throne in the great hall, and Jadeite sat in a corner, glaring at him.

"This is the life, isn't it?" the dark man sighed, his physical form becoming more solid as he absorbed the dark energy that remained in the air.

"Aren't we supposed to be, you know, looking for someone?" Jadeite sneered.

"Aw, what's wrong? Don't like it here?"

"No, I don't!" the young general shouted. "I hate this place, and if I knew we were going to come here and screw around, I would have stayed home!"

"Patience, patience, Jadeite, would I waste my time doing such?" the shadow smirked, great amusement in his voice as he watched the enraged man.

"No, I'm done being patient!" he yelled, pacing back and forth before the throne just as he had done years before. "I thought we were supposed to be looking for someone to help e out, not…shopping for real estate! If I could be home right now, oh, how I would!"

The shadow scoffed. "What's so great about your home anyway?"

"Well, it's comfortable!" the general snapped. "And I kind of like living there!"

"Do you like it?" the red eyed man asked softly.

"Huh?"

"Living like a human. Is it to your liking?"

Jadeite's rage subsided slightly. "Yeah. Yeah, I guess so. It's not like living here was; it's a lot more peaceful."

"Doing what we are, that won't last long," he said sharply, and Jadeite seemed to wince.

"No, but I thought that maybe, when it's all over, I could stay there." He smiled slightly, and the shadow glared at him with intense interest. "I…I want to be human. I lived my whole life in the dark, and in the service of others. I want to be free. I want to be able to live without rage and fear and hate in me all the time."

"The senshi would never allow it," he said passionlessly. "They would sooner kill you. You will never be anything more than an enemy to them."

"But maybe."

"The sailor senshi will bring you nothing but death. They have allowed very few to live among them." At this, Jadeite perked up, and he looked at his shadow companion in rapt, hopeful attention. The red eyes narrowed, glaring in disgust at the man's sudden show of hope. "Don't you get any ideas. You don't have any redeeming qualities that the senshi can use to bathe you in light. Your heart is as dark as they come. Exposure to the Silver Crystal would kill you."

Jadeite was not willing to give up that easily. "But others have been allowed to live with them, right? Maybe I-"

"The others were fools!" the shadow snapped, rage and anger seeming to radiate off of him. Very quickly, he reeled himself back, calming himself for the benefit of the suddenly frightened general. "The Silver Crystal isn't the only way to become human, Jadeite. Just as the Silver Crystal can destroy as well as heal, so can the Dark Crystal. If that is what you really wish, continue to aid me and I will make it happen."

The general slowly nodded, still skeptical, but putting his faith in the man that commanded him. "We still need to find who we're looking for," he pointed out, "instead of loafing around here."

The red eyes focused on him, proud and condescending. "Oh, you poor, unfortunate man. Have you not been paying attention? He's been here for nearly ten minutes."

His heart constricted, and Jadeite's innate paranoia took over, and he looked around frantically, and saw nothing, which caused him even more distress. "Who?" he asked, heart pounding and voice high as he once again began to panic. "Where? Where is he?!"

The shadow chuckled. "Calm down, you spaz. He won't hurt you. Yet." Jadeite uttered a high pitched, nervous giggle, eyes wide and darting around the room. "What do you think of Jadeite's desire to become human, hm?" he asked nobody in particular, and the room suddenly became bitingly cold.

"He is a fool, just as he has always been," a deep, heartless voice said, echoing throughout the room, seeming to come from everywhere and nowhere at once. Then, materializing out of a flash of pink energy was a tall man with long, straight white hair and cold, menacing pale eyes. Jadeite could do nothing but gawk. "What are you doing here?" he asked, eyes narrowing dangerously as he glared at the shadowed man in his former queen's throne.

"Looking to recruit you, Lord Kunzite," he drawled, and Jadeite's nervous laughter returned, but was soon silenced by a deadly look from the icy general.

"I will have nothing to do with you or your schemes," Kunzite said harshly. "Get out."

"Yes, yes, I agree!" Jadeite nervously agreed. "Come on, let's leave. Forever."

"I liked you better when you were dead, coward," the white haired man growled, and Jadeite shrank back into the shadows, making himself as small as possible. Kunzite looked back to his former comrade's master. "If you know what is good for you, you will leave and let me be."

"Afraid I can't do that, Mon Capitan," he drawled. "You see, little Jadeite over here is working himself into the ground, and we can't accomplish what we need to without more help."

"Then look elsewhere," he snapped, and the cold general teleported away. Jadeite breathed a sigh of relief.

"Well, that went well…" the general sighed. "We should go before we freeze to death."

"Yes…" the shadow contemplated. "Pity, though. I need assistance to get the crystal, and even more so after I have it. A shame, really," he purred, drumming his fingers on the throne. "I would absolutely need to resurrect the dead for suitable warriors for my cause, and your comrades Nephrite and Zoisite are more than ideal…"

There was an immediate flash of pink light and Kunzite reappeared right in front of the throne, looming over the smug, arrogant shadow. "What did you say?"

"Oh, you're not interested!" he insisted flippantly, flicking his wrist as to dismiss the very idea.

"I know from experience that the Silver Crystal brings nothing but death. What has convinced you that what you are hunting will be different?"

The shadow laughed out loud, a cold, hollow thing. "You ignorant creature. The Silver Crystal has the power to destroy, it's true. But it also has great healing powers. After all, it did bring the senshi back from the dead after the battle with your queen." Glancing sideways at the two generals, he checked to make sure he had the attention of the pale eyed man, and sure enough, he was paying rapt attention. "My Dark Crystal has the same power, with a few exceptions."

Kunzite raised an eyebrow and looked at him skeptically. "And what are those?"

The red eyes seemed to dance with an unholy light. "It won't destroy creatures of darkness like us, and more importantly, the senshi are nowhere near it."

Kunzite considered this, put his hand to his mouth and stood in silence for some time. Finally, he asked softly, "And with it, you can bring Zoisite back to me? Like he was before?"

The shadow grinned maliciously; the sadness in his voice, the overwhelming desperation, the hopelessness; this was a man who had lost everything, and in the darkness, had clung to his one light. He had offered the once proud Kunzite all he had longed for, and he knew he had him. Delicately, he offered him his hand. "Exactly how he was before. It will be like you never lost him."

For a second, he hesitated, the struggle and torment clearly visible on his face as he weighed his options. Then, with firm, solid resolve, he grasped the shadow's hand, fingers running into the semisolid, gaseous form of the commanding man.

"I will help you find this. For Zoisite."

"For Zoisite," the shadow affirmed, smiling smugly as his force grew in number.

In the dark corner, Jadeite sighed, a quiet nagging in the back of his mind tugged at him and made him feel as though what he was doing wasn't right.