I came up with this idea when a friend of mine recently betrayed another friend. I really think this story will go somewhere.

I hope you like it. Please read and respond. Flames Welcome For This Story Only.

Change of Heart

Chapter 1: Tainted

"Venus Love Chain!"

"Moon Tiara Action!"

"Aaaaaaahhhhhh!" Rei let herself fall to the ground and everyone bursts out laughing.

"What are you doing?" asked a very irritated Luna as she walked into the room and jumped onto a small desk overlooking the scene.

Rei stood up and turns to face Luna, "We're doing what you're supposed to do at a slumber party. Have fun!" She smiled and let herself fall backwards onto Usagi's bed.

"That's not what Luna meant. She wants to know what you are doing in you Senshi uniforms." Artemis walked into the room and was now standing beside Luna.

Ami quickly gave an answer, "We were reenacting are last battle." Usagi, Minako, Makato and Rei all nodded in agreement.

"Girls what are you doing?" The doorknob turned and the door opened slowly, the girls jumped in fear and with a small pop they were back in their pajamas. Quickly they stashed their transformation pens as the door opened, and Usagi's mom stuck her head into the room, "Could you keep it down in here Usagi your brother has just gone to bed."

"Sure mom." Usagi got up off the floor to brush the dust from her pajamas.

"We're sorry for being so loud." The girls smiling sweetly watched Usagi's mom close the door then started to calm down. Sprawled out on Usagi's bed and floor they thought of what to do next.

Then suddenly from out of nowhere came a blood curdling scream. "What was that," wined Usagi clutching Makato around the neck.

"I'm not sure," Artemis replied, "but maybe I'll go have a look." He jumped onto the window ledge and looked outside.

Luna jumped on the ledge to stand next to him, "I'm coming too." They both jumped down from the two story window to the empty street below.

The five Senshi waited patiently for Artemis and Luna to return.

Finally Makato got up and started for the window just as Artemis lands back on the ledge. Panting he started to stammer an answer to the unspoken question, "It's… its Nephrite… he's… captured Luna… He has half the neighborhood under his control." Artemis collapsed from exhaustion and Makato who was closest to the window picked him up and placed him on Usagi's bed.

She turned back to the window raised her wand above her head and shouted, "Jupiter Star Power!" Her friends imitated,

"Mars Star Power!"

"Venus Star Power!"

"Mercury Star Power!"

"Moon Prism Power!"

The five ordinary girls then became the five Senshi worriers. Immediately they jumped out the window one after the other landing gently on the ground, and started sprinting down the block and around the corner then froze at the sight of Nephrite dangling Luna in front of him by her tail.

"Put her down now Nephrite," demanded Usagi her fists shaking with rage.

"Here then take her," he through Luna's unconscious body into the air. Usagi jumped for it.

"Got you," she said. Standing up Usagi turned to Minako and said, "Please take her back to the house for me while I teach this guy a lesson." Minako nodded and took off.

The others turned their attention back to Nephrite, but he was gone. In his place he left about fifty people from the neighborhood who were marching towards them. "Were did he go," questioned Makato.

"I don't know, but I think we should worry more about these people than about him." Rei put in. Everyone nodded and the battle started.

Minako carefully placed Luna's body on Usagi's bed and took a deep breath. Nephrite who sat gently on the windowsill spoke suddenly, but calmly to her. "How touching," he got up and entered the room "You really disappoint me with all this kindness." She turned and gasped with fright. Nephrite moved towards Minako, causing her to trip as she stumbled backward away from him.

Artemis jumped in front of Minako and shouted, "Keep away from her Nephrite!" Nephrite kicked him out of the way, causing Minako to back away he moved forward.

Then finding her courage Minako stepped forward. "What do you mean 'disappointed with all this kindness'," she questioned him carefully not knowing his plan. Pausing she added, "I've always been kind."

Nephrite smiled again and pulled a small blue orb from his pocket and looking at her, he said, "This is known as… the Orb of Truth." He paused for a moment to look into the depths of the blue orb. "It allows the holder to see the truth about something," he explained to Minako's puzzled face. The he threw it to her. "You could use it to see what your… so-called friends, say when you're not around," Nephrite bowed his head, "It's not pretty."

Minako looked into the depths of the orb. She looked back at Nephrite still a little confused. "How do I use it," she asked.

Nephrite gave a short reply, 'Just think of a question you want answered." He stood next to the window again and with a blink of an eye disappeared.

Minako continued to stare at the orb then suddenly she cried, "Oh no my friends!" Placing the orb carefully under Usagi's bed, Minako quickly moved to the window and jumping onto the ground below, she raced down the street to where her friends were fighting.

Meanwhile…

"The plan is in motion my Queen," Nephrite spoke swiftly to a woman half hidden by shadows. "The girl will soon use the orb. And after so she will be easier to obtain." He smiled softly before leaving the woman, her cruel laughter filling the air and fading calmly into silence.

That night Minako lay awake thinking about what Nephrite had said, 'He's disappointed with my kindness. Why?' Checking to make sure her friends were asleep, Minako quietly got up and retrieved the blue orb Nephrite gave her. 'I know the battle was over when I got there and I know Usagi was really glad I help Luna. But…did she…did she really mean it' Minako stared into the orb and thought 'Is Usagi really my friend?' Suddenly the orb started to glow, surrounding Minako in a white mist. Then images started to form in front of her like a movie and…"NOOOOOOOOOOOO!" Everyone awoke with a fright. Minako jumped and quickly hid the orb before the lights came on.

"What is going on in here?" Usagi's mom opened the door and looked around the room.

"What's with all the noise," came another voice. Usagi's little brother appeared by his mother.

Everyone stared at Minako waiting for her to answer. "I…I just had a nightmare. I'm sorry for waking everyone."

"All right then, have a good night girls." Usagi's mom pushed her son back into the hall and closed the door.

"Good night"

With the door shut tightly, Makato whispered, "What was your nightmare about?" Minako shrugged her shoulders and fell right to sleep thinking, 'What I saw can't be true. There's no way it can. Can it…?'

The Next Day…

"Nephrite you need to learn some manners." Sailor Moon with her friends beside her stood ready for battle, "Moon Tiara Action," She shouted but her attack missed.

'My turn,' thought Sailor Venus. She moved forward "Venus Love Chain," she cried but her attack did no better than Sailor Moon's.

"Come now, come now you'll just have to do better than that if you want to beat me and…" Nephrite gestured behind himself to what looked like a monster straight out of a bad horror movie, "my new friend." He smiled, "but sadly I can't play anymore, so I bid you all…good day.." He turned with another smile and ran off.

"You're not going anywhere," Sailor Venus ran after Nephrite at top speed. "Get back here." Nephrite ran several blocks before turning a corner and stopping. "It's a dead end Nephrite. You're through," sailor Venus shouted at the trapped villain.

Nephrite smiled, "You would think so, wouldn't you." He took several steps forward, "Did you ever consider that…maybe… I wanted you to follow me here... away from your friends." He moved closer to Minako. She stepped back staring into Nephrites cold eyes a then quickly down at the ground.

"I do have one question," Minako said cautiously. She looked up staring into the empty eyes of her enemy, "Does the orb really give the truth about everything? Everything…? Can the terrible things I saw about my friends be true?" Minako fell to her knees crying, "It can't be true. It can't be."

Nephrite stepped up beside her, knelt down and placed his hand on her shoulder in a soothing way, "There, there child. Not everyone can choose the right friends." He paused, "On their first try." Then he stood up, "If anything… you can trust me… I would never betray you. You decide." Nephrite vanished on the spot his voice whispering softly, "Join me. Join me."

"Minako! Minako can you hear me?" A dizzy Sailor Venus opened her eyes and saw Usagi looking down on her. She sat up and looked at her friend's worried faces.

"What happened," she asked, "Where's Nephrite?"

Makato walked into the room, "He was gone when we found you." She placed a tray of hot chocolate on the table, "We found you unconscious. Are you all right?" Minako nodded her head slowly accepting the cup that was given to her.

So what happened," asked a curious Rei?

Minako sat quietly for a minute before answering, "I chased him a few blocks and cornered him in an ally. I attacked him but he was too fast. He dodged every attack, that's all I remember." Minako drained the coco from her cup started to cry.

Makato put her arms around her friend, "Don't cry Minako you tried your best. We'll all have to fight as a team to beat him. So let's come up with a good plan for the next battle."

With everyone now trying to come up with good ideas and plans to beat Nephrite, Minako thought over what he had said, '"Not everyone can choose the right friends. On their first try. You can trust me. I'll never betray you. Trust me. Trust me."' 'Trust him? Maybe I can use the Orb of Truth to find out if he's telling the truth.' But she shook off that idea for only a minute longer. Then she excused herself to use the restroom. Once inside with the door safely locked she removed the smooth, cloudy blue orb from her pocket. 'Are Usagi and the others really my truest friends? Or are they my enemies?' The Orb of Truth began to glow surrounding Minako with the same white mist as before. Images started to appear, mini-movies began playing. They showed the Sailor Scouts sitting in the room Minako just left. They were talking. Little Minako remained silent, listening to what they were saying.

"Minako is such a weakling, it's no wonder Nephrite beat her so easily."

"Yea! We probably would have beaten him by now, if it weren't for her." Minako's eyes began to fill with tears. She turned away from the orb as the white mist vanished. 'If that's how they feel, then maybe Nephrite was right.' She turned back to the orb and thought, 'Can I trust him? Can I trust Nephrite?'

The small sphere started glowing again, and this time it showed Nephrite with a young girl standing side by side, hand in hand. The young girl began to speak, "Oh Nephrite you really are the only one I can trust." The orb stopped glowing and the mist cleared. Minako sat quietly on the floor of the bathroom for another minute then got up 'It still can't be true… It just can't.' She placed the blue orb back into her pocket and stood up. With one last pause Minako opened the door and rejoined her friends. 'It still can't be true.'

Meanwhile…

Nephrite watches little Minako threw a small crystal. He smiles, "things are going perfectly. Just a little longer." He turns away from the crystal laughing into the darkness, "just a little longer."

Can it really be? Are the Senshi only pretending to be friends with Minako? And what is Nephrite planning? Keep reading to find out.