Blueeyeddevil06, thank you for being my beta!
Molly and Rick held hands and walked down towards the lake through the wooded path. He smiled at her profile in the moonlight and breathed a sigh of deep contentment. He was her soulmate. That fact had brought so much relief to him. He wanted her to feel just as loved and adored as her friends.
She turned to look at him and said, "When you look at me like that, I feel so special."
"You're always special, Molly. I would look at you like this all the time if I could." She blushed and tightened her hold on his hand.
They made it to the lake, and he pulled her close to tenderly kiss her lips. "You're everything to me, Molly. It doesn't surprise me that I've loved you before. I feel as if my heart came alive when I first held you."
He reached up and caressed her cheek, lovingly wiping away the tear that fell. He looked into her smiling face and said, "I love you, Molly, and I always will. I will fight for us every day. Marry me?"
He then pulled an engagement ring out of his pocket. Her mother had insisted on giving it to him at cost since it was for her daughter, and she adored Rick.
Molly kissed him passionately as her answer and then nodded and said, "Yes," to make it abundantly clear. He then slipped the ring on her finger. It was a perfect fit since her mother knew her exact size.
Suddenly a scream came from the lake. "Mine! Give him back to me!"
There was a large splash and a Yokai came careening towards them. She had a long dragon-like tail instead of legs and a greenish upper body covered in scales. Her fingers were webbed, and she had gills.
"He's mine!"
Rick pushed Molly behind him and faced the threat. "You stay away from her!"
"You're mine!"
"Don't you say anything else?" he said, stalling. He didn't know how he would protect Molly, and he had purposely walked away from the rest of the group to propose to Molly.
The Yokai lashed out with her tail and struck a tree, shattering it and fuming. "I love you! I will kill her, and you will love me!"
Rick tried to direct her anger at him. "Even if she weren't here, I'd never want you! Go away!"
She sneered at him, "You would have married me before you found her in the woods. You were warming to me! She got in the way."
Suddenly, the story of the two legendary lovers clicked. It was them—this woman. The one rumored to be locked away in the lake was the woman they defeated in their first life.
"I will make you love me!" She screamed and reached out to grab him. There was a flash and a scream, and she recoiled in pain. Between them, on the ground, a red rose was stuck into the grass.
Help had come in the form of Tuxedo Mask.
He backed up to clear the way, keeping Molly behind him. He refused to let her be in danger. He couldn't do anything right now other than protect her with his life, and he didn't hesitate to do just that.
Sailor Mercury appeared and yelled, "Bubble Spray!" Covering the area in a bubble fog and obscuring everyone from the Lake Yokai's view.
Rick pulled Molly to him and whispered, "I hate to sound like a coward, but let's run. We're only a hindrance to them." She nodded, and he pulled her with him, running through the forest back to the lodge.
Sailor Venus then stepped in and yelled, "Crescent Beam!" Launching a beam directly at the creature threatening their friends.
Sailor Jupiter yelled, "Supreme Thunder!" Adding her attack to that of Sailor Venus. She wanted the thing destroyed and for Molly to be safe.
The Lake Yokai shattered into black dust, and before they could cheer their success, she reformed perfectly. She was incensed at their attack. She pulled back her tail to lash out, and Sailor Moon yelled, "Moon Tiara Action!" Launching her tiara at the beast and shattering her into sparkling pieces. Yet, to their consternation, it then reformed again.
"This isn't a youma. It's a Yokai born of jealousy. Yokai are my specialty," Sailor Mars said and held up an ofuda. She then chanted, "Dispel this Yokai with flames of purification. Evil Spirit be exorcised!" She then threw the ofuda at the Yokai, and it stuck to its forehead. She then immediately launched a fire soul attack. Next, she yelled, "Sailor Moon, it's your turn!" Blue and green flames now surrounded the monster. She was screaming in a fury.
Sailor Moon pulled out her Moon wand and said, "Moon healing escalation!" Launching her purification at the Yokai. The combined attack cleansed the woman of the evil and jealousy possessing her, freeing her from its bonds.
They all relaxed as they watched the woman turn back into a young lady and float away into the afterlife peacefully. She smiled and waved as she slowly disappeared.
The Sailor Scouts and Tuxedo Mask went back to their civilian forms, and Serena walked over to Darien and hugged him. "She's free now, and Molly is safe."
He caressed her cheek, "And now the story of the lovers and the statue here means even more to all of us."
"Do you think he had time to propose?"
Darien laughed lightly, "If he did, then they'll have quite the engagement story they can't really tell anyone."
She shook her head, smiling, "Poor Molly."