Gundam Wing Fan Fiction ❯ Jewel Hunters ❯ Prologue ( Prologue )

Title: Jewel Hunters Prologue

Author: Sorceress Fantasia

Pairings: Various

Warnings: AU, a little OOC and major sap… Minor original characters.

Disclaimers: All characters, except the various jinn, Fate and Destiny, do not belong to me. They belong to blah, blah, blah. You know who.

Note: This fanfic was inspired by the Jumi side-quest in the Squaresoft RPG Legend of Mana. However, it does not follow the story line in any way. The storyline in this fanfic is a figment of my own imaginations. BTW, this is dedicated to Shadow-san, my beta reader! Yay!

Every man is a jewel. But whether the jewel will shine, depends on who they end up with.

~ Sorceress Fantasia

The room was quiet.

Slowly, scarlet orbs pierced through the shrill darkness of the room. Those eyes gleamed bewitchingly, and she finally stood up, hands pushing against the armrest of her throne. She lifted her head, eyes fluttering close, and she let the cold wind cut into her face. Feeling somewhat relaxed, she strutted out of the dark chamber.

Crossing several corridors, she finally stopped, and turned into another room. Candles dimly lighted the room, however, the room was anything but dark. Jewels of every shape and colour were stranded in every corner, their glimmer brighter than anything else in the world. She gazed at the room, her eyes blank. Then suddenly, a dark silhouette materialized behind her.

"Are you creating more beings, Fate?" She asked nonchalantly, crossing her arms in slight defiance. Her own yellow pools twinkling, boring a hole in the empty space between them. Lazily, she tucked a lock of her emerald tresses behind her ear, then continued. "Why? Aren't there enough of those Trines already? That special race of humans we created?"

The scarlet eye woman, Fate, turned around achingly slow to face her. "The world is becoming a little boring. I want to spice it up." She answered dryly. Seeing the confusion veiling the other woman's face, she added. "As you know, we together, create lives. I create the body, and seal their fates; while you, Destiny, insert their souls, which is their core and determine their destiny. The core itself is a jewel, and every jewel has its own path in life. The jewel determines every being's life."

Destiny snorted. "I already know that."

Fate ignored her crudeness. "I always decide which jewel to go with which body, and the jewels, or rather, the jinn living in the jewels, will guide the body to another body with the opposite elemental jewel. The two bodies that meet will then live together. But that is only if the fate I give them and the destiny you give them are one and the same. Isn't that true?"

Destiny crossed her arms again, and knitted her eyebrows, displeasure conspicuously shown on her face. "So?"

"The Trines have been living quite peacefully in the last few centuries. It doesn't take them much effort to find their beloved, because the jinni in their core guides them to their other half. Don't you ever find that boring?" Fate asked rhetorically, then she turned away, walking over to the table in the center of the room. She flipped through one of the books written in ancient text, and she said nothing more.

The emerald haired woman narrowed her eyes suspiciously. "Just what is it that you're driving at?"

Fate slammed the book close, and whizzed around languidly. She cocked her head, and peered at her companion through the corner of her eye, her lips curled up into a malicious smile. "I say, change this." Her voice was low and deep, and very calm.

Destiny's eyes widened, and she took a step back involuntarily from Fate's diamond hard gaze. "What?" She breathed, not understanding how the woman could say something of this magnitude in such a cool and calm tone.

"Let the body's fate be different from his destiny. Life should consist of letting one find his own soul mate by himself." Fate smiled spitefully.

Destiny sputtered. "But…but you know what will happen, do you?" She frowned, gesticulating to emphasize her point. "The world will be in a mess!"

"Of course!" Fate returned effortlessly.

Destiny felt her stomach revolt, disbelief clouding her mind. How could this woman… this epitome of good… this goddess! How could she say something like that, of that degree, like it didn't really matter? And at the same time be so sure of herself?

She didn't know if Fate had chose to ignore the looks of disgust she was sending to her, or she just didn't notice. Fate merely continued, "Just imagine: A is fated to love B, but A's destiny is to love C. So, what will happen? It depends on our powers, dear. If A's destiny is stronger than his fate, then he will love C and be with C. If A's fate is stronger than his destiny, then he will love B and be with B. This time, we can finally see who is stronger and end the everlasting competition between us." She smirked.

Realising the truth of her words, a grin began to spread itself across her face. Destiny and Fate had been fighting ever since the world was formed, and this time, they would know who was the stronger one.

With a wave of her hand, fourteen empty vessels appeared before Fate in a straight line. They were all delicately made to the finest details. "These are the fourteen bodies we shall use for our match. Each of them is fated to love another in the group."

Destiny snapped her fingers, and fourteen jewels flew towards her. With a slight cock of her head, the jewels materialized in front of Fate, each positioned on top of one of the fourteen bodies. "And these are the fourteen jewels we shall use. Lapis lazuli, Amethyst, Peridot, Aquamarine, Jet, Zircon, Morganite, Topaz, Tanzanite, Sphene, Amber, Alexandrite, Sapphire and lastly, Garnet." She named each jewel as she counted the number. After making sure that they were correct, she continued. "Now, they are all arranged in the correct manner; in other words, the fate of the body and the destiny of their individual jewels match. This is how we usually do things. But not today." She smiled coldly. Her eyes glowed brightly, radiating her powers. The jewels shone, resonating with her power. Suddenly, the jewels jumbled up themselves and switched places. Destiny smiled even colder, colder than ice. "Now it's different. The fate of the bodies and the destiny of the jewels are different."

Fate nodded her consent. Then she noticed something. "The beings of Amethyst and Morganite are still unchanged. Their fate still coincides with their destiny."

"I know that." Destiny retorted vehemently. "This results in a stronger pull towards their soul mates of both destiny and fate. Wouldn't that be more exciting in our little game?"

Fate laughed. "I never knew you were such a sadist, Destiny."

Destiny grinned wryly. "You would be surprised."

*****

Soon, in the houses of fourteen different couples, fourteen babies were born at pretty much the same instance. While the parents of the babies smiled contentedly, Fate and Destiny watched the scene from above, both smiling with a maniac gleam in their eyes. Their counters on Earth had been placed, and once the babies were of the correct age, they would roll the dice.

Sorceress Fantasia @ 11th April 2001Beta read on 1st June 2001