Sparkly

Clay

Darius absentmindedly dug a hand into the clay of the dried up riverbed he was standing in. He had left school and walked the rest of the way out of town so that nobody would see him...

Do what, exactly?

Crystal hadn't seemed to expect him to have any trouble getting to Trace Mountain. Was there some power he was supposed to have to travel quickly?

He suddenly remembered Crystal floating into the air. Maybe that wasn't just a dream thing, maybe the magical girls could actually fly. Perhaps they could fly quickly.

Only one way to find out.

Grimacing, he transformed.

As usual, the gem on his chest somehow phased through his shirt as it split into many pieces that hung weightlessly in the air, and somehow between one moment and the next he turned into a teenage girl in an unbearably girly dress.

He imagined rising into the air and to his surprise, it happened with no further effort from him. His powers didn't seem eager to drop him either, despite the lapse in his focus due to surprise.

He still didn't trust this form. He felt angrier somehow, eviler, while he was in it.

His hands were clean, he realized as he shot up into the air, feeling as though he were dreaming. He'd dragged them through the clay a moment ago, but the perfectly smooth, delicate hands of this form were clean.

He looked down and sharply gasped.

The ground suddenly seemed a long, long way away. If the magic decided to drop him now he was definitely dead.

He was weightless, as though this form was unbound by gravity.

He tried moving to the side and again it was as easy as breathing. Speeding up took no effort either, the wind flowing around him like refreshing cold water.

He would really be enjoying himself right now if some part of his brain wasn't constantly working on a murder plan with this form whenever he was in it.

Seriously, it was tempting. The only one who knew he could turn into this girl was Kylis, and he could-

No.

"I would never, never do something like that. Don't put such contemptible thoughts into my head." he said, aware he was talking to his own dark side but not willing to acknowledge that it was, on some level, a part of him.

With his knowledge of maps and incredible speed, it was easy enough to get to Trace mountain.

It was only when he realized that the peak was snowy did he realize that the sky must be incredibly cold.

He couldn't feel it.

Despite his distaste for this form and the emotional apathy, even sadistic thoughts, rising in his mind, he felt happiness filling him. While he didn't want to acknowledge it, flying was incredible.

There were several bright spots on the peak of the mountain, growing to unreal vividness as he got close.

Purple, pink and blue- Crystal. They all looked about the same. Slender girls with elaborate girly outfits and gems floating around them.

Darius landed on the snow and began sinking deep into it, only to realize that the girls were standing on top of the snow. The purple one snickered as he repositioned himself to float on top of it with the appearance of standing on it.

"We're glad you could make it, Amber." Crystal said, smiling at him.

"First of all my name's not Amber and I'm not a girl." Darius corrected her, despising everything about the group.

Crystal held up a hand to stop him.

"Our identities are secret here. We go by the name of our gems. This is Quartz," she pointed to the pink one, who looked scornfully at Darius, "And this is Amethyst." she pointed a the purple one, who smiled at him.

Darius didn't like her smile.

A magical girl with red gems floating around her landed next to them, looking curiously at Darius.

"Sorry I'm late." she said.

"Figures you'd be late with that lackluster attitude of yours." Quartz said.

"As if you're any better, miss 'let's murder everything.'" red gems said.

"This is Diamond." Crystal said, her smile becoming strained but staying on her face like a burr. "Diamond, this is Amber."

Diamond didn't greet him.

He got the impression Quartz had been judging him the entire time. It was something about the way she looked at him with faint disgust, as though she were too high class to laugh.

"I'm not here to stay. I want to know where this power comes from." he said, addressing Crystal since he was pretty sure none of the others would give him the time of day.

"As I said, I don't know." she said. "But perhaps if we stay together we'll find out."

Darius looked at the others, wondering if any of them had any information.

Quartz's nose was wrinkled and she looked at him as if he was a muddy commoner and she were some posh noble. Diamond had a permanent unfriendly scowl. Amethyst was smiling.

"I believe it's the power of some god or gods, personally." Amethyst said. "And either it attaches itself to people randomly, or it set out to find the whiniest group of spoiled manchildren possible."

"Speak for yourself, you uncultured little girl." Quartz glared.

"Did your gem just attach itself to you one day?" Darius asked, hungry for information.

Amethyst nodded.

"Yup. I was confused at first, but once I realized just how much power this little critter contains I just blessed my luck and went on my merry way." Amethyst laughed as if she'd said something funny.

"Me too. It was just there one afternoon. I felt it the moment it attached itself, but nothing after that." Crystal said.

Darius frowned. His gem had been attached to his shadow before the shadow had merged with him and he'd inherited it. He didn't trust the magical girls one bit, but if they were telling the truth... could that be related to his dark thoughts while in this form?

"Is there anything in common between all of you?" Darius asked the last question on his mind.

"No. From the information we've volunteered about ourselves, we're from a wide range of backgrounds and ages. Well, we're all human." Crystal said.

Amethyst laughed as if she'd said something funny.

Darius was beginning to hate that laugh.

"What's so funny?" he challenged.

"She's funny. You're all funny." Amethyst said in a relaxed, condescending, amused voice.

Darius felt his skin crawl.

"That's all I wanted to know. If I have any more questions, where will I find you?" he asked Crystal.

"Just seek me out in your dreams." she said.

Darius opened his mouth to object, but with Amethyst ready to laugh, Quartz ready to look at him with even more polite scorn, and Diamond still glaring, he thought better of it. He'd figure it out if he wanted to see them again- though he didn't think he would.

With that he jumped off the mountain, letting gravity take hold again for a moment just to remind himself it still existed.

Then he rose above the clouds and soared toward the school again.