"No Blood for Oil? Hey, at two bucks a gallon, I'm willing to talk about
it."
-Steve Marmel
It was two weeks before the youma struck again, this time in a train station in Nerima. However, the district being what it was, the youma was active for several hours before somebody called the police, who in turn called the Self-Defense Force, who ordered an immedite evacuation of the district. The order, broadcast over both TV and radio, was what alerted the Senshi, who had been on the other side of the city.
The youma could best be described as a humanoid igauna crossed with a fish. The mercury computer picked up DNA strands that appeared to be from the electric eel and from the speed it was displaying as it darted around the station, there was probably some rabbit in it somewhere.
"Suggestions?" Sailor Moon asked. There were no civilans in the station, no living ones anyway, and the youma seemed to be content with wrecking the place. Therefore, the Senshi could take some time to come up with a plan instead of winging it, which they did far too frequently. The Senshi themselves were presently perched on top of the ticket box,
At that moment, the sound of glass breaking heralded the arrival of Warrior through the roof. The youma turned and regarded the newcomer.
"GUYYYVVVERRRR!" It howled and charged.
"What the hell's a Guyver?" Jupiter asked as Warrior threw herself to the side, allowing the youma to go on past, stopping only when it ran into the wall.
"More then likley Warrior's species," Mercury noted as she fed the information into her computer. "Hmm, intriuiging. Their energy signatures don't match. Warrior is not from the Dark Kingdom. Her armor appears to be bio-converted energy. Interesting."
Out in the station, Warrior popped her arm blades and started taking chunks out of the youma's hide.
"It's what?" Venus asked.
The youma finally extracted itself from the wall and backhanded Warrior the length of the station.
"Warrior's armor," Mercury repeated. "It's made up of bio-converted energy. It's proof of energy to matter conversion. "
Warrior got to her feet and began throwing energy blasts.
"In plain Japanese please?" Mars asked.
The youma used its speed to dodge them.
Mercury sighed and tapped her earring once, disengaging her visor. "Matter is quite simply, solids. You, I, this station, are all made up of matter. Matter can be changed or mixed with other matter to make new types of matter. Such as oxygen and hydrogen mixed together to make water. You cannot, however, convert energy into matter, or so we thought."
Warrior threw a bench.
Mars frowned. "So Warrior is breaking the laws of physics?"
The youma caught it in mid-air and after breaking it in half through sheer brute force, threw both pieces back.
Mercury shook her head. "Not quite. Until Goddard flew his rocket, the very idea of rockets was believed to be against the laws of physics. Until the Wright Brothers at Kitty Hawk, powered flight was thought to be against the laws of physics. Technically, what we call the laws of physics is really more of a collection of observable data and theories. We call them laws because as far as we can tell, this is how the universe works."
As though climbing steps, Warrior stepped from one piece to the other and then to the side of a pillar, staying there as though she was some kind of spider.
"So what you're saying is, that just because we haven't observed it, doesn't mean it can't happen?" Venus asked. As one, the heads of the Senshi turned to look at her. "I paid attention in physics once," Venus said. "Why are you looking at me like that?"
Howling, the youma started up the pillar after her.
"No reason," Jupiter said, trying to ignore the huge drop of sweat that was making its way down the back of her head.
Overhead, the combatants leapt from beam to beam in a deadly game of tag.
Mars frowned. "Wait a moment. If Warrior is a Guyver, and the Guyver is from outside the Negaverse, How come it recognized her?"
A light crashed to the floor next to the ticket stand.
"Perhaps the Guyvers, assuming there's more then one, are another enemy of the Negaverse. The Moon Kingdom can't have been their only attempt at conquest."
A howl of fustration attracted their attention and they turned to see the youma crumpling to the ground, already turning to dust from the blade that had impaled it through the heart.
What was surprising was the fact that the blade was not one of Warrior's arm blades, but a sword. Even more surprising was who was holding it.
For a moment, they stared at each other, and then Jupiter broke the stunned silence.
"N-Nephrite?"
A thousand years ago, Princess Makoto of Jupiter had been dispatached to the Palace to serve as aide, bodygaurd and companion to Princess Usagi. Upon arrival, she had been greeted by General Nephrite, who was also from Jupiter and considered one of that world's greatest warriors.
The attraction had been instant and what had started as a simple fling, quickly blossomed into a storybook romance. Eventually Nephrite proposed with the expected results, and plans for a wedding were made despite rumors of dissension from Earth. But then the groom disappeared.
Three months later, he reappeared leading the armies of Beryl and the last Makoto saw of him, he was laughing as a Negaverse soldier ran her through.
Even now, a thousand years later, Lita could feel Makoto's rage, feelings of betrayal, and emotional pain that bubbled up as she saw his face.
Her eyes narrowed as a thunderbolt formed in each hand. Maybe he had paid for what he had done to the Moon Kingdom, but Maktoto was another matter entirely.
She started forward and then stopped as a hand grabbed her wrist. Turning her head, she found herself looking at Warrior.
"Hear him out," she said. "He deserves that much at least."
"But he..." Jupiter started and then stopped and let the bolts disspate. "Yeah..." Turning she walked over and joined the others and then turned back as she felt a gust of wind. Warrior was nowhere to be seen. "Bloody..." She turned back to Nephrite. "Okay. I'm here. Speak."
Nephrite looked at Sailor Moon and then dropped to one knee, clapping his right fist to his heart and bowing his head. "My Queen," he said quietly.
"Eee-ooh-uh," Sailor Moon said, drawing back.
"Get a grip," Mars hissed and then whispered something in Moon's ear.
"You may rise," Sailor Moon said, trying to look regal. Mars whispered something else. "Why have you returned to us?" Sailor Moon asked.
"If it please you, Sire," Nephrite said, his eyes moving in the direction of voices as the police and rescue workers began to make their way through the rubble. "I would answer your questions elsewhere then here."
"Okay," Sailor Moon squeaked.
An alleyway, three blocks from the train station...
"Okay, Nephrite, start talking."
"What do you wish to know?"
"How you're alive for starters," Mars demanded. "The last time I saw you, you were dead."
"To be honest, I'm not exactly sure. I-" Nephrite broke off as the sound of someone gasping was heard. Standing at the mouth of the alley was Molly.
"N...Nephrite?" She asked. "Is it really you?"
"Yes, Molly, it's me."
At that, Molly let out a squeal of delight and hurled herself into his arms, sobbing. Closing his eyes, Nephrite held her tightly.
Nephrite leaned back in the booth and looked into Sailor Moon's eyes. She had returned to her civilian identidy, and there was very little sign of the girl he had confronted almost six years ago. The rest of the Senshi were nowhere to be seen, though he had the feeling that they were somewhere within earshot. Yet try as he might without being obvious, he could see no large groups of young ladies in the room, nor had there been a sudden surge of people coming in.
He looked back at his Queen. Of the Senshi, she was the only one whom he had seen without the magic mask that safegaurded her identidy and therefore, the only one who could sit the cafe and talk to him without spoiling their secret identidies. They didn't trust him even though he had died to save Molly's from Zoisite. As well they should. He meant what he had said, but they were expecting him to prove it.
Considering his past deeds, he wouldn't have trusted himself either.
Next to him, Molly sat, her arm wrapped around his and her expression declared that she had no intention of letting go anytime soon.
"And you think the crystal had something to do with your ressurection?" his queen asked.
Nephrite nodded. "It's the only thing I know of with that kind of power, though I can't imagine why it would do so. It was six years before we could gather enough energy to open even the smallest portal and that was only for a few seconds at any one time. My Queen. I deeply regret my part in the Moon Kingdom's destruction. I want to atone for my betrayal of your mother." He leaned forward. "Beryl has wed and the Negaverse's forces have doubled as a result."
"Married? Married who?" Molly asked.
"He calls himself Diamant. It is only because of him and the energy that he brought that we were able to once more come back to Earth." The queen's mouth dropped open.
"D-Daimant? He's dead. His ship exploded...I mean..." She stared helplessly at them for a moment and then seemed to draw on something deep inside her. When she spoke again, her tone was crisp and she spoke concisely. Nephrite listened without comment.
"...and the sisters are still here," she finished. Their shop, come to think of it, is right over there." She pointed out the window to the buildings on the other side of the street. Nephrite could see the four women he knew as the Four Sisters and sent out a brief probe. The four women had the same auras, but no powers.
"Then this is a different Diamant," Nephrite mused.
"Different?"
"He described Time Travel as a challenge. While he didn't actually say it, I gathered that it's imprecise. That is, pinpointing a certain place, time and date is something of a gamble. This Diamant must be one who failed the gamble and arrived six years later and in the wrong dimension."
"The Negaverse," Molly said grimly.
"Exactly."
"But why did he marry Beryl?" asked the Queen.
"He used a love spell, intending to bind her to his will," Nephrite said, sounding as though he was trying not to laugh. "She used a similar one on him. As a result, they are hopelessly devoted to each other." He glanced at the wall clock. "My queen, I must return. If I am to be of any use to you, I must maintain the pose that I am still loyal to the Negaverse." The queen nodded as he turned to Molly. "Molly...this time..." It was all that needed to be said and she nodded, releasing his arm and standing up so he could exit the booth. Pausing only to leave a twenty-thousand yen bill on the table, he exited the cafe. Serena turned off her communicator. The rest of Senshi had been three blocks away, listening to the conversation through it.
"I don't believe it," Raye said as the Senshi entered in their civvies soon after. She picked up the note. "He covered the check?" Amy plucked the note from her hand and handed it to a passing waitress. Raye stared at the table where Serena sat. Before her, two plates of what had once been pie and an empty goblet that had once held a sundae plus a few glasses of soda.
"I'm on a diet," Serena replied loftily, seeing Raye's expression.
Mina started snickering.
"Where have you been, Nephrite?" Zoisite demanded as he entered the palace.
"Restablishing my human identidy," Nephrite replied. "It may be needed."
"I'm watching you, Nephrite," Zoisite snarled, jabbing her finger at his chest. "Maybe Beryl's too besotted to give it any thought, but I remember you being willing to betray us for one human girl."
"And I remember that you killed me." Zoisite flinched backwards and Nephrite smirked as he continued on his way.
"You'll get yours, traitor," Zoisite snarled and made her way back down the side cooridoor that she had come from.
Despite its proximity to the station, the bike had survived the battle with only a few scratches on its paint and as Molly pulled her helmet on, she heard a voice calling her name. Turning, she saw Serena walking towards her.
"Molly, I'm--"
"No, Serena," Molly said. "Just...no." She crammed the helmet onto her head and mounted the bike.
"But, Molly!"
"Go to Hell, Serena."
The bike's engine roared to life, blotting out Serena's response.
'That was cruel,' the Guyver noted as Molly steered the bike out of the parking lot. 'She's trying to make peace with you.'
"I don't care," Molly growled. "I don't need her friendship and I don't need her and her sailor-suited bimbos."
'You may be wrong about that.'
"I'm not," Molly replied, but even to her, the words sounded false and she could feel that the Guyver agreed.
Molly savagely bit her pencil in half as she marched, or rather, stormed across the printing area. With the Matsudai deal in the bank, Lotus was rolling in money. In fact, she, Darien and Rei had moved Lotus into its own building, a two story warehouse at the edges of the city near the bay. Not only was there ample space for printing presses, but a bunk area, showers, the works. Of course, the place needed some renovation, but hell, it was home. The building, the land, the works. All theirs.
Scowling, she spat the pencil halves onto the floor, pulled a pen from her pocket and scribbled some notes on the first episode script some hack at Matsudai had sent her, muttering to herself. "An alien, he's supposed to be a fucking alien. He just gets here and he automatically recognizes a vending machine as a vending machine? I suppose next he'll also be able to pick up a date like James Bond shoots a damn gun."
Flipping through a few more pages, she snarled in disgust and accosted a passing intern. "You. Send this crap back to Matsudai." She threw the script at the young man and marched up the stairs to the office level, nearly knocking over an electrican who was rehanging a light. "Uh, Miss Okasa?" The electrican ventured.
"What!" Molly snapped.
"Does this light look all right?"
Molly looked at the light and then gave the electrican a withering stare. "Is it going to fall on somebody's head?"
"I hope not."
"Then it's fine," Molly said and continued on her way.
"Molly?"
"What?" Molly yelled as she spun to see Darien standing in the doorway of his office and flinched. "Yes, Darien?"
"Got a minute?"
"Yeah. Sure." She walked past him and into his office where she flopped into a chair. "Sorry, Darien, I'm feeling a little edgy."
"I noticed," he said drily and shut the door before leaning on his desk. "Molly, the last thing I am is nosy, but this--"
"No, Darien!" Molly snapped rising to her feet.
"Sit!" he snapped with such authority that Molly obeyed. "Listen. That's all I'm asking. Serena is hurting, Molly. This argument the two of you have going is putting her in pain, actual, physical, pain and it's killing me to see her in pain and be helpess to stop it."
"Good," Molly sneered. "Maybe now she knows how I've felt all this time."
Darien stared at her, taken back. "I'm sorry?"
"Serena and I were best friends. I was always there for her. So when does she tell me she's Sailor Moon? Five dammned years afterwards and then only because I wouldn't let her get her and her surgically repaired leg--that she injured in the first place by being stupid--out of a hospital bed otherwise. Five years, Darien. For five years, I got shut out of her life to be what? The convienent damsel in distress for Sailor Moon and that pack of bimbos to swoop in and save my ass. No, Darien. Serena and I are through. Over. Finished."
With that, Molly stormed out of the room.
"I tried," Darien said with a shrug.
'That was really unfair of you,' the Guyver noted as Molly flopped on the couch in her office. 'He was only trying to help.'
"He'd throw himself into a pit of poisinous snakes if Serena so much as suggested he do it. He's so in love with her you can see fucking Cupid dance around his head whenever her name comes up. Disgusting."
'And yet you seemed on good terms with Lita, who is, one of the "bimbos". You did, after all, stop her from killing that Nephrite person.'
"An attack of nice," Molly growled.
'And of course, you had no personal interest in him.'
"Stay out of my head!"
'We've discussed this. I can't see your thoughts, but your feelings for him are easy to deduce based on how you reacted when you saw him. Your heart rate jumped and your hormone levels rose. I take it he has some importance?"
Molly sighed. "We...have an interest in each other. He was--is one of Beryl's top generals."
'Beryl is the one responsible for the Moon Kingdom's destruction?'
"Yeah. I've never seen her, but Serena described her as pure evil. She works for some...demon lord or whatever named Mettalia who's supposedly ten times worse and then some than Beryl."
'And Nephrite works for Beryl.'
"Yeah. One of the top four generals. Um, Jeddite, Malachite, Nephrite...and Zoisite." Molly snarled out Zoisite's name, teeth clenching in hate. "The last time they were here, she and those three sluts killed Nephrite."
'If he is the enemy, why do you love him?'
"I don't. Or I thought I didn't." Molly ran her hands through her hair. "He betrayed them to save me and got killed him for it. Melvin was the only one who would listen to me talk about it afterwards while I tried to understand...he seemed to be the only one who would understand. Serena was so distant when it came up--of course now I know why, had to protect her secret--but Melvin wasn't. He was never too busy to listen to me. I guess that's why I fell in love with him." Molly's fingers toyed with the ring on the chain around her neck. "I thought I was over Nephrite, but when I saw him at the station..." She shook her head. "It was all I could do not to throw myself into his arms right then and there and tell him everything. Would have spoiled everything if I had."
'Very well, so if you hate the Senshi so much, why do you show up when they do.
"Simple. Zoisite and the Senshi are enemies. Sooner or later, she'll confront them and I'll be there when she does."
'And then?'
"And then? And then I'll kill her."
It was two weeks before the youma struck again, this time in a train station in Nerima. However, the district being what it was, the youma was active for several hours before somebody called the police, who in turn called the Self-Defense Force, who ordered an immedite evacuation of the district. The order, broadcast over both TV and radio, was what alerted the Senshi, who had been on the other side of the city.
The youma could best be described as a humanoid igauna crossed with a fish. The mercury computer picked up DNA strands that appeared to be from the electric eel and from the speed it was displaying as it darted around the station, there was probably some rabbit in it somewhere.
"Suggestions?" Sailor Moon asked. There were no civilans in the station, no living ones anyway, and the youma seemed to be content with wrecking the place. Therefore, the Senshi could take some time to come up with a plan instead of winging it, which they did far too frequently. The Senshi themselves were presently perched on top of the ticket box,
At that moment, the sound of glass breaking heralded the arrival of Warrior through the roof. The youma turned and regarded the newcomer.
"GUYYYVVVERRRR!" It howled and charged.
"What the hell's a Guyver?" Jupiter asked as Warrior threw herself to the side, allowing the youma to go on past, stopping only when it ran into the wall.
"More then likley Warrior's species," Mercury noted as she fed the information into her computer. "Hmm, intriuiging. Their energy signatures don't match. Warrior is not from the Dark Kingdom. Her armor appears to be bio-converted energy. Interesting."
Out in the station, Warrior popped her arm blades and started taking chunks out of the youma's hide.
"It's what?" Venus asked.
The youma finally extracted itself from the wall and backhanded Warrior the length of the station.
"Warrior's armor," Mercury repeated. "It's made up of bio-converted energy. It's proof of energy to matter conversion. "
Warrior got to her feet and began throwing energy blasts.
"In plain Japanese please?" Mars asked.
The youma used its speed to dodge them.
Mercury sighed and tapped her earring once, disengaging her visor. "Matter is quite simply, solids. You, I, this station, are all made up of matter. Matter can be changed or mixed with other matter to make new types of matter. Such as oxygen and hydrogen mixed together to make water. You cannot, however, convert energy into matter, or so we thought."
Warrior threw a bench.
Mars frowned. "So Warrior is breaking the laws of physics?"
The youma caught it in mid-air and after breaking it in half through sheer brute force, threw both pieces back.
Mercury shook her head. "Not quite. Until Goddard flew his rocket, the very idea of rockets was believed to be against the laws of physics. Until the Wright Brothers at Kitty Hawk, powered flight was thought to be against the laws of physics. Technically, what we call the laws of physics is really more of a collection of observable data and theories. We call them laws because as far as we can tell, this is how the universe works."
As though climbing steps, Warrior stepped from one piece to the other and then to the side of a pillar, staying there as though she was some kind of spider.
"So what you're saying is, that just because we haven't observed it, doesn't mean it can't happen?" Venus asked. As one, the heads of the Senshi turned to look at her. "I paid attention in physics once," Venus said. "Why are you looking at me like that?"
Howling, the youma started up the pillar after her.
"No reason," Jupiter said, trying to ignore the huge drop of sweat that was making its way down the back of her head.
Overhead, the combatants leapt from beam to beam in a deadly game of tag.
Mars frowned. "Wait a moment. If Warrior is a Guyver, and the Guyver is from outside the Negaverse, How come it recognized her?"
A light crashed to the floor next to the ticket stand.
"Perhaps the Guyvers, assuming there's more then one, are another enemy of the Negaverse. The Moon Kingdom can't have been their only attempt at conquest."
A howl of fustration attracted their attention and they turned to see the youma crumpling to the ground, already turning to dust from the blade that had impaled it through the heart.
What was surprising was the fact that the blade was not one of Warrior's arm blades, but a sword. Even more surprising was who was holding it.
For a moment, they stared at each other, and then Jupiter broke the stunned silence.
"N-Nephrite?"
A thousand years ago, Princess Makoto of Jupiter had been dispatached to the Palace to serve as aide, bodygaurd and companion to Princess Usagi. Upon arrival, she had been greeted by General Nephrite, who was also from Jupiter and considered one of that world's greatest warriors.
The attraction had been instant and what had started as a simple fling, quickly blossomed into a storybook romance. Eventually Nephrite proposed with the expected results, and plans for a wedding were made despite rumors of dissension from Earth. But then the groom disappeared.
Three months later, he reappeared leading the armies of Beryl and the last Makoto saw of him, he was laughing as a Negaverse soldier ran her through.
Even now, a thousand years later, Lita could feel Makoto's rage, feelings of betrayal, and emotional pain that bubbled up as she saw his face.
Her eyes narrowed as a thunderbolt formed in each hand. Maybe he had paid for what he had done to the Moon Kingdom, but Maktoto was another matter entirely.
She started forward and then stopped as a hand grabbed her wrist. Turning her head, she found herself looking at Warrior.
"Hear him out," she said. "He deserves that much at least."
"But he..." Jupiter started and then stopped and let the bolts disspate. "Yeah..." Turning she walked over and joined the others and then turned back as she felt a gust of wind. Warrior was nowhere to be seen. "Bloody..." She turned back to Nephrite. "Okay. I'm here. Speak."
Nephrite looked at Sailor Moon and then dropped to one knee, clapping his right fist to his heart and bowing his head. "My Queen," he said quietly.
"Eee-ooh-uh," Sailor Moon said, drawing back.
"Get a grip," Mars hissed and then whispered something in Moon's ear.
"You may rise," Sailor Moon said, trying to look regal. Mars whispered something else. "Why have you returned to us?" Sailor Moon asked.
"If it please you, Sire," Nephrite said, his eyes moving in the direction of voices as the police and rescue workers began to make their way through the rubble. "I would answer your questions elsewhere then here."
"Okay," Sailor Moon squeaked.
An alleyway, three blocks from the train station...
"Okay, Nephrite, start talking."
"What do you wish to know?"
"How you're alive for starters," Mars demanded. "The last time I saw you, you were dead."
"To be honest, I'm not exactly sure. I-" Nephrite broke off as the sound of someone gasping was heard. Standing at the mouth of the alley was Molly.
"N...Nephrite?" She asked. "Is it really you?"
"Yes, Molly, it's me."
At that, Molly let out a squeal of delight and hurled herself into his arms, sobbing. Closing his eyes, Nephrite held her tightly.
Nephrite leaned back in the booth and looked into Sailor Moon's eyes. She had returned to her civilian identidy, and there was very little sign of the girl he had confronted almost six years ago. The rest of the Senshi were nowhere to be seen, though he had the feeling that they were somewhere within earshot. Yet try as he might without being obvious, he could see no large groups of young ladies in the room, nor had there been a sudden surge of people coming in.
He looked back at his Queen. Of the Senshi, she was the only one whom he had seen without the magic mask that safegaurded her identidy and therefore, the only one who could sit the cafe and talk to him without spoiling their secret identidies. They didn't trust him even though he had died to save Molly's from Zoisite. As well they should. He meant what he had said, but they were expecting him to prove it.
Considering his past deeds, he wouldn't have trusted himself either.
Next to him, Molly sat, her arm wrapped around his and her expression declared that she had no intention of letting go anytime soon.
"And you think the crystal had something to do with your ressurection?" his queen asked.
Nephrite nodded. "It's the only thing I know of with that kind of power, though I can't imagine why it would do so. It was six years before we could gather enough energy to open even the smallest portal and that was only for a few seconds at any one time. My Queen. I deeply regret my part in the Moon Kingdom's destruction. I want to atone for my betrayal of your mother." He leaned forward. "Beryl has wed and the Negaverse's forces have doubled as a result."
"Married? Married who?" Molly asked.
"He calls himself Diamant. It is only because of him and the energy that he brought that we were able to once more come back to Earth." The queen's mouth dropped open.
"D-Daimant? He's dead. His ship exploded...I mean..." She stared helplessly at them for a moment and then seemed to draw on something deep inside her. When she spoke again, her tone was crisp and she spoke concisely. Nephrite listened without comment.
"...and the sisters are still here," she finished. Their shop, come to think of it, is right over there." She pointed out the window to the buildings on the other side of the street. Nephrite could see the four women he knew as the Four Sisters and sent out a brief probe. The four women had the same auras, but no powers.
"Then this is a different Diamant," Nephrite mused.
"Different?"
"He described Time Travel as a challenge. While he didn't actually say it, I gathered that it's imprecise. That is, pinpointing a certain place, time and date is something of a gamble. This Diamant must be one who failed the gamble and arrived six years later and in the wrong dimension."
"The Negaverse," Molly said grimly.
"Exactly."
"But why did he marry Beryl?" asked the Queen.
"He used a love spell, intending to bind her to his will," Nephrite said, sounding as though he was trying not to laugh. "She used a similar one on him. As a result, they are hopelessly devoted to each other." He glanced at the wall clock. "My queen, I must return. If I am to be of any use to you, I must maintain the pose that I am still loyal to the Negaverse." The queen nodded as he turned to Molly. "Molly...this time..." It was all that needed to be said and she nodded, releasing his arm and standing up so he could exit the booth. Pausing only to leave a twenty-thousand yen bill on the table, he exited the cafe. Serena turned off her communicator. The rest of Senshi had been three blocks away, listening to the conversation through it.
"I don't believe it," Raye said as the Senshi entered in their civvies soon after. She picked up the note. "He covered the check?" Amy plucked the note from her hand and handed it to a passing waitress. Raye stared at the table where Serena sat. Before her, two plates of what had once been pie and an empty goblet that had once held a sundae plus a few glasses of soda.
"I'm on a diet," Serena replied loftily, seeing Raye's expression.
Mina started snickering.
"Where have you been, Nephrite?" Zoisite demanded as he entered the palace.
"Restablishing my human identidy," Nephrite replied. "It may be needed."
"I'm watching you, Nephrite," Zoisite snarled, jabbing her finger at his chest. "Maybe Beryl's too besotted to give it any thought, but I remember you being willing to betray us for one human girl."
"And I remember that you killed me." Zoisite flinched backwards and Nephrite smirked as he continued on his way.
"You'll get yours, traitor," Zoisite snarled and made her way back down the side cooridoor that she had come from.
Despite its proximity to the station, the bike had survived the battle with only a few scratches on its paint and as Molly pulled her helmet on, she heard a voice calling her name. Turning, she saw Serena walking towards her.
"Molly, I'm--"
"No, Serena," Molly said. "Just...no." She crammed the helmet onto her head and mounted the bike.
"But, Molly!"
"Go to Hell, Serena."
The bike's engine roared to life, blotting out Serena's response.
'That was cruel,' the Guyver noted as Molly steered the bike out of the parking lot. 'She's trying to make peace with you.'
"I don't care," Molly growled. "I don't need her friendship and I don't need her and her sailor-suited bimbos."
'You may be wrong about that.'
"I'm not," Molly replied, but even to her, the words sounded false and she could feel that the Guyver agreed.
Molly savagely bit her pencil in half as she marched, or rather, stormed across the printing area. With the Matsudai deal in the bank, Lotus was rolling in money. In fact, she, Darien and Rei had moved Lotus into its own building, a two story warehouse at the edges of the city near the bay. Not only was there ample space for printing presses, but a bunk area, showers, the works. Of course, the place needed some renovation, but hell, it was home. The building, the land, the works. All theirs.
Scowling, she spat the pencil halves onto the floor, pulled a pen from her pocket and scribbled some notes on the first episode script some hack at Matsudai had sent her, muttering to herself. "An alien, he's supposed to be a fucking alien. He just gets here and he automatically recognizes a vending machine as a vending machine? I suppose next he'll also be able to pick up a date like James Bond shoots a damn gun."
Flipping through a few more pages, she snarled in disgust and accosted a passing intern. "You. Send this crap back to Matsudai." She threw the script at the young man and marched up the stairs to the office level, nearly knocking over an electrican who was rehanging a light. "Uh, Miss Okasa?" The electrican ventured.
"What!" Molly snapped.
"Does this light look all right?"
Molly looked at the light and then gave the electrican a withering stare. "Is it going to fall on somebody's head?"
"I hope not."
"Then it's fine," Molly said and continued on her way.
"Molly?"
"What?" Molly yelled as she spun to see Darien standing in the doorway of his office and flinched. "Yes, Darien?"
"Got a minute?"
"Yeah. Sure." She walked past him and into his office where she flopped into a chair. "Sorry, Darien, I'm feeling a little edgy."
"I noticed," he said drily and shut the door before leaning on his desk. "Molly, the last thing I am is nosy, but this--"
"No, Darien!" Molly snapped rising to her feet.
"Sit!" he snapped with such authority that Molly obeyed. "Listen. That's all I'm asking. Serena is hurting, Molly. This argument the two of you have going is putting her in pain, actual, physical, pain and it's killing me to see her in pain and be helpess to stop it."
"Good," Molly sneered. "Maybe now she knows how I've felt all this time."
Darien stared at her, taken back. "I'm sorry?"
"Serena and I were best friends. I was always there for her. So when does she tell me she's Sailor Moon? Five dammned years afterwards and then only because I wouldn't let her get her and her surgically repaired leg--that she injured in the first place by being stupid--out of a hospital bed otherwise. Five years, Darien. For five years, I got shut out of her life to be what? The convienent damsel in distress for Sailor Moon and that pack of bimbos to swoop in and save my ass. No, Darien. Serena and I are through. Over. Finished."
With that, Molly stormed out of the room.
"I tried," Darien said with a shrug.
'That was really unfair of you,' the Guyver noted as Molly flopped on the couch in her office. 'He was only trying to help.'
"He'd throw himself into a pit of poisinous snakes if Serena so much as suggested he do it. He's so in love with her you can see fucking Cupid dance around his head whenever her name comes up. Disgusting."
'And yet you seemed on good terms with Lita, who is, one of the "bimbos". You did, after all, stop her from killing that Nephrite person.'
"An attack of nice," Molly growled.
'And of course, you had no personal interest in him.'
"Stay out of my head!"
'We've discussed this. I can't see your thoughts, but your feelings for him are easy to deduce based on how you reacted when you saw him. Your heart rate jumped and your hormone levels rose. I take it he has some importance?"
Molly sighed. "We...have an interest in each other. He was--is one of Beryl's top generals."
'Beryl is the one responsible for the Moon Kingdom's destruction?'
"Yeah. I've never seen her, but Serena described her as pure evil. She works for some...demon lord or whatever named Mettalia who's supposedly ten times worse and then some than Beryl."
'And Nephrite works for Beryl.'
"Yeah. One of the top four generals. Um, Jeddite, Malachite, Nephrite...and Zoisite." Molly snarled out Zoisite's name, teeth clenching in hate. "The last time they were here, she and those three sluts killed Nephrite."
'If he is the enemy, why do you love him?'
"I don't. Or I thought I didn't." Molly ran her hands through her hair. "He betrayed them to save me and got killed him for it. Melvin was the only one who would listen to me talk about it afterwards while I tried to understand...he seemed to be the only one who would understand. Serena was so distant when it came up--of course now I know why, had to protect her secret--but Melvin wasn't. He was never too busy to listen to me. I guess that's why I fell in love with him." Molly's fingers toyed with the ring on the chain around her neck. "I thought I was over Nephrite, but when I saw him at the station..." She shook her head. "It was all I could do not to throw myself into his arms right then and there and tell him everything. Would have spoiled everything if I had."
'Very well, so if you hate the Senshi so much, why do you show up when they do.
"Simple. Zoisite and the Senshi are enemies. Sooner or later, she'll confront them and I'll be there when she does."
'And then?'
"And then? And then I'll kill her."