Welcome to Gaia! ::

Shukaka_san: Hello! This is an idea I got while driving up to the mountains. We were watching Sky High, (We have a DVD player in our car, don't ask about the movie choice, it was my younger sister's turn to pick) and I was thinking about how bad their costumes sucked, so I came up with Crescent's. Then I was like, she isn't a hero, she's a thief. Then I came up with her personality, and the story just grew from there.

Ariana: Hihi!

Shukaka_san: Ha! I was expecting you this time! You didn't scare me!

Crescent: Hi!

Shukaka_san: AAAAAAAAIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIEEEEEEEEEEEEEE! OMFG WHAT IS YOU PEOPLES PROBLEM?! DO YOU JUST LIKE SCARING ME?!

Crescent: Yes. It's funny.

Shukaka_san: Why are you here anyway?

Ariana: She's the main character. Duh.

Shukaka_san: So? Oh well, nvm. Start the story!

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Crescent Moon

High in the sky, the full moon shone brightly, illuminating the world below. Light reflected off the canals, and the late-night gondolas could be seen skimming the water. It was near one such canal, under a bridge to be exact, that she hid. It was nearly midnight, so she was due to begin anytime. Clad in a long, black dress with a slanting skirt and one strap over a pair of silver tights, with lime green fingerless gloves that reached up to her elbow, one might think she was going to a costume party. Her boots were also lime green, and quite expensive-looking. The area around her eyes and her nose was covered by a silver mask, and her wavy, strawberry-blonde hair hung halfway down her back. Her lips were a bright red, and, judging from what you could see of her eyes through the mask, they were bright green.

Only a native to this country, Yealiera, would know that this was not a harmless midnight-partier, but the thief known as Crescent Moon. As always, she had left a note stating the time and the object to be stolen at her target. Tonight, she was going after the biggest diamond in the world, which was often called the Tsukiyama, or 'mountain', after it's size. It was housed in The Yealiera Museum of Natural Wonders, for one night only. So, of course, Crescent jumped at the challenge. Every time she had tried to steal something, she had been successful, so as a way to make theft harder for herself, she started leaving the notes. Even with them, she had managed to outsmart the best security systems and guards money could buy. She had heard that the military had come in to protect the diamond,and she dearly hoped it to be true. Crescent needed a new challenge, and what better way to satisfy herself than to beat the military? As she peered out from under the bridge, the Great Clock in the Square began to ring loudly. On the twelfth ring, it stopped, and she smiled.

“It's show time.” Crescent whispered to herself, and leaped from under the bridge, to stand on the rail, her hand casually resting on her hip. She lightly stepped down, her target brightly lit but silent as a tomb. Maybe the rumor about the military was wrong? Oh well, even if it was, she had already left the note. Her fans would be disappointed if she didn't show. Suddenly, she seemed to disappear, then was hugging the side of the building in an instant. She gave a self satisfied smirk. Even with no witnesses, it was nice to have special abilities. Her mother was a witch, so Crescent had inherited much of her power. Unlike her mother, though, Crescent preferred to use her powers for her own gain. She edged along the wall, until she was in complete shadow. Grinning evilly, she whispered a word, Sheam, and gigantic, silver wings sprouted from her back. She gave one hard push with them, and she took off from the ground. Crescent alighted on the roof, keeping low so nothing and nobody could see her, and retracted her wings, although she did not dispel them, as they could be of use later. She crawled over to the skylight, looking down into the display room. Hah, the rumor was true! There was a corporal, a lieutenant, a second lieutenant, and countless soldiers, arranged in a loose circle around the diamond. She smirked again, drawing a small laser cutter from a concealed pocket in her dress. Once there was a hole big enough for her to fit through, she dropped down, using her magic to short out the power as she fell. She landed in a crouch, then pulled herself up to her full height.

“She's here! Everyone, stay calm! Do NOT, I repeat, DO NOT break formation! Protect the diamond!” A man, the corporal, was shouting orders.

“Sir!! She's in the room, I saw her fall from the ceiling! She's in this very room!!” A soldier shouted, obviously scared. There was something about the dark that scared many people, Crescent didn't understand why, she loved the dark.

“Don't be ridiculous! If she fell from that height then she would be dead, you fool! She is clearly using illusions!” the corporal yelled at his soldier, before turning away, muttering something about 'stupid rookies'.

“My dear corporal, you ought to listen to your soldiers. They can be right on occasion, you know.” Crescent drawled, walking towards him.

“I am most certainly not dead, thank you. In fact, I'm doing quite well. And I am about to....ah.....acquire a rather large diamond. If you would be so kind as to step aside?” She sounded completely calm, but already there was adrenaline pounding though her veins. The corporal turned, white faced, but he managed to hold his ground.

“Never! You can't beat us, you're one girl” he spat the word 'girl' out as if it were a insult, then motioned behind him “Against one hundred, well-trained, male soldiers!” he drew a sword, waving it around, an obvious indication that he could not see her.

“Now, now, corporal, what is the point of that? You could hurt someone with a sword so sharp. You cannot see me, although I can see you quite clearly, and you would only be helping me if you injured one of your own soldiers.” Crescent purred, disappearing again. She reappeared behind the soldier who had seen her fall, and she pulled a small vial of liquid out of her pocket.

“This won't hurt a bit..” She whispered, and he whirled, shocked to find her there. She uncorked the bottle, and let the scent waft towards him. 'Knock out gas..' he thought groggily as he went down. Actually it was more of a very strong smelling salt. Crescent was immune to it, thanks to her powers and the fact that she was used to the substance. She grinned, then disappeared again as the soldiers realized that one of their own was down.

“Reed's been hit! SHE KILLED HIM!!!” shouted one of the more dense soldiers.

“Now that's a bit melodramatic, don't you think? I only knocked him out, he wasn't important enough to kill.” Crescent reappeared in front of the soldier, letting the knock out gas wash over him, then unfurled her wings and jumped. She was hovering over all of them, and if they could see, the soldiers would have been even more terrified then they already were. She gave each soldier the treatment she had given the first two, until only the corporal was left. She landed back on the ground with an small 'thump!', and returned power to the building. The lights flickered back on, and the corporal finally saw her. As she had neglected to conceal her wings, Crescent made for one scary site.

“You're not even human! DEMON! YOU KILLED MY SOLDIERS!” The corporal shouted . Crescent sighed disgustedly

“How many times do I have to explain this? I KNOCKED THEM OUT. THEY ARE NOT DEAD. Did that get through your thick skull?” she asked dryly, one hand resting on her hip, as if this whole episode had been thoroughly boring for her.

“And I'm not a demon, I'm a witch, aren't you smart enough to know that demons don't exist?” The corporal's face slowly went from white to beet red

“You might want get your blood pressure checked, corporal. Your face is very red, that can't be healthy.” she yawned, stretched, and stood straight, her body relaxing into a fighting position.

“You think you can kill me, wench?! I have superior weaponry, and my fighting skills are much better! It would be inconceivable for you, a girl with no fighting experience, to beat me, a male with years of training under my belt.”

“No fighting experience? May I remind you that you are talking to Crescent Moon, the best thief in the business, witch, and the only one to defeat the supposedly invincible Moroi Security System? You, corporal, will be nothing more than a blip on my record. And you shouldn't say things like 'You will never beat me!!' It's just asking for trouble.” she said mildly.

“Oh, and corporal? Whoever said anything about killing you?” as soon as the words had left the girl's mouth, she attacked. Crescent had been taught hand to hand street fighting by a village boy when she was young, and she had her powers, so the odds seemed to be piled in her favor. She grabbed the corporal's arm as he swung his sword at her and flipped him over her shoulder. The throw sent him careening into a solid stone wall, with a sickening crack. Ouch. The corporal staggered to his feet, a crazed gleam in his eye. Crescent grinned, then disappeared. The corporal looked around wildly. Where could she have gone? Suddenly, she was behind him, with a knife pressed against his neck.

“I win, corporal. Maybe you should put in a couple more years' training, hm?” she whispered in his ear.

“You little bi-”

“Corporal! I am shocked that you would use such vile language in front of a lady! Naughty, naughty!”

“You're no lady, you're a repulsive no-good dirty-rotten thief!”the Corporal spat her.

“Now, now, Corporal, we don't want any...accidents, do we?” Crescent pressed the knife against his skin, just hard enough to draw a little blood. Pulling out a small handgun, she put it to the back of his head. She then brought the knife to her mouth, her tongue flicking along the edge.

“Mmm, I just love the taste of blood. It's so....exciting. Wouldn't you agree, Corporal?” she whispered in his ear.

“You're sick! If you shoot me, the whole of the military will be after you, I swear it! You'll never have another peaceful night!” he exclaimed, panicking now.

“Oh, I won't kill you. I'll just.....do this.” She took the butt of the gun and slammed it down in his head, knocking him out cold. The corporal slithered to the floor, hitting it with an audible 'thump!'

“That was just too easy.” smirked Crescent, grabbing the diamond and escaping into the night. As she flew, the supposedly unconscious corporal sat up, grinning sadistically. What Crescent didn't know was that as he fell he had attached a tracker to her dress. This whole thing was a trap, and Crescent fell for it. The diamond had been real, to insure the plan's success. The higher ups expected to get the diamond back within a day, and to have the most notorious thief in Yealiera behind bars.

'Tonight is Crescent's last as a free woman' thought the corporal, laughing evilly.

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Shukaka_san: Yup, there you go! I might continue, but I dunno.

Crescent: Why did you let him attach a tracker to me?! It's all your fault!! I'm gonna get caught now! You SUCK!

Shukaka_san: Hey, I never said that! I don't know if they'll catch you or if you'll detect the tracker or what! I've gotta let it play out!

Ariana: Would both of you SHUT UP. I'm trying to read!

Shukaka_san: Wow, you're a slow reader. Bye!! -runs away before Ariana can attack-

Ariana: Guuur, YOU ARE SO DEAD! -runs after Shukaka_san -

Crescent: Uh, bye........I'm going to go save Shukaka_san so she can finish my story. -walks away-

The running dialogue is me talking to my muses. It's basically my author's note.