The Shape of Fate

The Shape of Fate Part 2 of “Jedite’s Story”   By Jon Brinkerhoff aka “Kryten 2X4B 523P” (kd7jkm@DEATHTOSPAMyahoo.com) Oct 12th, 2005   Naoko Takeuchi is hereby thanked for her involuntary contribution to this fanfic.  Dr. Xadium is thanked for creating and nurturing Suburban Senshi into what it is today.   Jedite hurried through the corridors of the Dark Kingdom dodging various Youma, many of whom taunted him as he passed.  Almost all of the taunters were Youma under the command of the other three Generals, but a few were from Jedite's order, strangely unafraid of the young General.  Their insubordination was not wholly unjustified or undeserved; to any observer, Jedite appeared to have lost regard for the chain of command.  He was constantly late when summoned; he often spoke back to the other Generals, and did not regularly drill his Youma.  However, from Jedite's point of view these indiscretions were all perfectly valid, he spent a great deal of his time training in secret and becoming stronger, the other Generals were usually deserving of the verbal abuse they were issued, and his own tactics were better served by a corps of elite warriors paired with a platoon of protective meat shields, rather than simply a lump of mediocre miscreants.  These actions did not go unmarked by Queen Beryl aided as always by Metallia's power, which, despite his forthcoming incarceration in ice, proved fortunate for Jedite.  Otherwise his eventual fate, as well as that of the rest of the world, may have been radically different.   Jedite reached Beryl's chamber where the other Generals were waiting, along with a few of the more intelligent and higher ranked Youma.  As usual Beryl said nothing about Jedite's tardiness, knowing and approving of the reason behind it.  However, the other Generals, and their Youma subordinates took notice, and filed the fact away for future use.  Beryl had always debated chastising the others for mocking Jedite openly, but finally decided that mockery was what kept the young General trained on his goal, to be the strongest of the four; so long as his strength was kept in check Beryl found this to be a useful trait.   Jedite was pleased as usual that Beryl had shown her approval of him, even if only by an absence of punishment.  He was confident that his place among the rulers of the Dark Kingdom’s new world was secure.  He only hoped that once Queen Beryl captured her precious Prince Endymion she would forget her advances toward his person and his own rejections of the same.  Little did Jedite know that if the Silver Crystal were captured, Metallia would destroy not only him and the other Generals, but the rest of the Dark Kingdom and the Earth, leaving the planet a lifeless rock in space.   Jedite left Beryl’s chamber after the meeting in a rage.  He was certain that he would have been chosen to be the first to invade Earth; he could just imagine the pathetic humans dropping like flies around him while he collected their energy.  He could smell their fear, taste their anguish, hear their screams, and feel their energy making himself stronger.  But it was not to be, Beryl had chosen that Venusian traitor.   Jedite’s rage built within him at the thought that this little insect of a man would be the first to taste the humans’ energy.  His malice boiled until he could barely contain it.  “TO HELL with the Dark Kingdom!”  He thought, nearly screaming the words, but just managing to keep his rant to himself.  “If Beryl no longer trusts me, I’ll conquer the world myself.  I’ll capture the Silver Crystal and destroy both her and Metallia.  THE WORLD WILL BELONG TO ME AND ME ALONE!”   Jedite quickly turned and ran toward his Youma’s quarters.  He rushed to gather his few loyal Youma whom he had put a great amount of power into.  He knew it would be both a waste and a grave mistake to allow the Dark Kingdom to turn them against him.  In his haste, Jedite failed to remember that Beryl’s chamber was between himself and his target.  When Jedite passed the corridor leading to her chamber, he felt himself stumble and hit the floor.   He realized as the ice engulfed his body that Beryl must have suspected or perhaps known of his plans.  He cursed the fact that he could do nothing about his predicament, and hoped that Beryl would not be compelled to destroy him for his insolence.   To be continued in “The Storm before the Calm”, Dark Kingdom War time period