I've had this story around for a long time and to date, my best completed Sailor Moon fic. I'm currently writing another Sailor Moon fic and it's turning out better than this. Anyway, my favorite general is Nephlite and I hated that he died. So, I thought what if he survived and aided the scouts in defeating Queen Beryl? Well, here's what I thought might happen. This is for all Nephlite fans out there!
Chapter One- Redemption
It hurt. Horribly. He was dead. There was no way out of it. He let his guard down and he was paying dearly for his sloppiness. He heard his friend (?) cry his name. He told her to run, to leave him. But she refused to leave. 'Poor girl. She doesn't realize that I'm as good as dead, anyway,' Nephlite thought.
Molly grabbed one of the thorns that had punched through Nephlite's chest and proceeded to try and remove it. The pain was overwhelming to both of them. But, Molly's efforts were having an effect as the thorns were slowly being pulled out.
Over Molly's shoulder, Nephlite saw one of Zoycite's henchmen lining up a shot that was aimed at the girl! He wouldn't let that happen! Not after all he had done to protect her! He tried to move to a position that would save Molly, but the pain was too great. He, instead, shouted a warning to her and hoped that was enough to save her.
Molly looked behind her and saw what Nephlite saw. Molly froze, unable to move. Nephlite watched in horror as a series of red balls shot out toward them.
"Mercury bubbles...blast!" A thick layer of mist covered the scene, causing the balls to fall to the ground harmlessly. The Sailor Scouts were here! He listened as the scouts went through their speech. The mist cleared, allowing him to see Sailor Moon and Mars couple their attacks.
"Mars, fire..."
"Moon Tiara..."
"Ignite!"
"Magic!"
The fire-covered tiara flew straight and true, dusting the three Negaverse villains. With the danger past, Molly went back to her efforts of saving Nephlite.
But Nephlite knew that he was past saving, beyond hope. "Uh, leave me, Molly. I'm done for."
"No," was the sobbing reply as the scouts approached. Sailor Mercury activated her VR visor, assessing the damage. 'If we act fast, we can save him,' she thought, a simple plan forming in her mind.
Turning her visor off, she said, "Nephlite fall on your back. The rest of us will remove the thorns."
Naturally, this prompted protests from Sailors Moon and Mars. Demands of why they should save an enemy.
"If...you help me, I'll join you...in your fight against the Negaverse."
"You promise?" Sailor Moon asked.
"You have my word."
"Good," Mercury said. "Then lay down and we'll get to work."
Nephlite fell backwards and realized that half of the girls' work had already been done. The four girls grabbed a hold of one thorn each and proceeded to pull, ignoring the searing pain. If anything, the pain pushed them to pull harder.
After several agonizing minutes, the cluster came out, leaving a gaping hole in Nephlite's chest and back, which was immediately covered up, using Nephlite uniform jacket. As Molly tied the final knot, Nephlite looked at the scouts. "Thanks to you, I will live. As I promised, I will join you in your fight against evil."
"Your help will be greatly needed. We trust you," Mercury said.
"Yeah, we'll walk you to...wherever you're going," Sailor Moon added.
After making sure Molly was on her way home, the scouts helped Nephlite home and telling him their true identities so he could contact them, if need be.
The next morning, Nephlite awoke to his first day as a Sailor Scout ally. Getting dressed in more human clothes, he opened the door and noticed a type of calculator with a note attached to it on the doorstep. Bending down, he picked it up and read the note.
Nephlite,
This is your own communicator to contact the scouts with when the Negaverse attacks. And thanks for deciding to help us.
Luna
'So, I have a communicator now. The scouts really do trust me. And I promise that I won't let them down.' Slipping the device into his pants' pocket, he climbed into his car and drove it into town.
Minutes later, he parked the car in front of the arcade, a place that he knew was a popular hangout of Serena's. Getting out, he noticed Serena and a brown-haired girl inside. Strolling through the automatic doors, he walked over to the blond girl. "Hello, Serena."
"Oh, hi. Lita, this is another friend of mine, Maxfield Stanton. Maxfield, this is my new friend, Lita."
"Nice to meet you," Nephlite held out his hand. Lita took it, but her eyes seemed to have glazed over. Nephlite surmised that Lita must be boy-crazy and was entranced by his looks.
"Lita?" Serena asked.
Lita snapped out of her trance and replied, "Nice to meet you too. I'm surprised that Serena knows someone like you."
"I'm still a little shocked about it myself. Can you excuse Serena and I for a minute?"
"Sure. I have to go home anyway. Good to meet you, Maxfield. See you in school, Serena." Lita waved and left the arcade.
"What's up, Nephlite?"
"I have a feeling that Zoycite's about to embark on a different mission than Jedite and I did."
"Really?"
"Yes. I'll let you and the others know if I find out anything more."
"Okay."
Nephlite nodded and left the arcade. As he passed an alley on the way to his car, he felt Negaverse powers at work. He peered into the alley he had just passed and saw Zoycite. And she was holding his star crystal! The crystal started to glow and for a moment, Nephlite feared that it was seeking him out, but what Zoycite said allayed his fear and peaked his interest.
"The first rainbow crystal carrier is nearby. The Imperium Silver Crystal will be ours in no time."
Nephlite turned from the alley and teleported back to his vehicle. Once there, he voiced his thoughts. "The rainbow crystals. Of course. The Seven Shadows were reborn in seven human beings. And Zoycite is on the move to find the first one. My feeling about her having a different mission was correct."
Driving home as fast as he could, he reached his home, went inside and stood in the main hall. Concentrating, he said, "Stars, help me. Who is the human that Zoycite is after?"
A beam of light shot from the constellations on the ceiling and struck Nephlite's forehead. The image of a boy and his name appeared in his mind. "Game Machine Joe. He's the one who's in danger. He's at the diner down the street from the arcade as are Serena and Lita. I must warn Serena!"
Ooo! Cliffie! Well, if you know this episode, it isn't really a cliffhanger. Stay tuned for part two of Allegiance.