Chapter Nine

Molly's Defense

Disclaimer: Standard Disclaimer applies. (In other words I have no rights to SM or the SS in any way, shape, or form.) However this story line is mine.

Warning: Profane language, violence, sexual content and blood, gore, vampires, werewolves and all the good stuff. M-rated.

Double Warning: Bad writing involved
Serena frowned as she stared at Andrew. Then, wondering how Darien was taking his best friend being a werewolf, she turned to look at him. Darien's face was pale and shocked, his mouth hanging open. He caught her gaze and closed his mouth, straightening up, and trying to look like nothing was amiss.

Serena sighed, wondering if she should talk to Darien about it when they got back to the palace. She turned back to Andrew.

"Hello, Andrew. How's it going?" Serena asked, for lack of anything better to say.

"You wanted information. Unfortunately, we cannot do that. Our war is our business." Andrew said, sitting up.

"Then why agree to have us come out here?" Serena asked, slightly frustrated.

"Because you wouldn't take no for an answer." Andrew stood up, walking past Rita, to stop in front of Serena. "My pack did not kill your friend, nor would we have had any reason to do so. I took the initiative and checked the flight registry, none of my pack was even on the plane that your friend used to come here." He glanced over her shoulder to Darien. "But I will offer my assistance, if you need it."

"Well, that was a bomb." Raye growled as they all marched back to the cars. "What was the point of coming here? They wouldn't tell us anything. What a waste of time!"

Darien only barely heard her. His mind was numb. How come he had never figured it out? A werewolf had been right in front of him for all those years, and he never even knew it. He had thought that Andrew and him had been the best of friends, but if a best friend would hide something that important, it meant that they weren't that good of friends, didn't it?

Serena stumbled, falling to the ground. Darien stopped walking and turned back to her. She clutched at her throat as if she couldn't breathe, her eyes rolling into her head. Amy dropped down next to Serena, and started checking her out.

"She can't get her breath. It's almost like she's choking!" Amy cried. Darien's instinct was to get Serena away from the place. He pushed Amy out of the way as he picked Serena up, and took her to his car. Amy climbed into the backseat and he put Serena next to her. Serena's face was beginning to turn red from lack of oxygen, when he climbed into the front seat and started his car.

The tires squealed as he pulled from the small farm and turned onto the road toward New Tokyo. The moment they pulled away from the place, Serena's breath caught, and after a few minutes was breathing normally. Darien glanced at her through his rearview mirror to see that she was pale and shaking.

"What happened, Serena?" Amy asked, placing her wrist against Serena's forehead.

Serena shook her head. "I don't know." She said hoarsely. Her eyes were too wide for Darien's comfort. He frowned but didn't say anything. Something told him that part of Serena didn't know what had happened, but she had an idea. He wasn't sure if he should push it with Amy in the car.

He watched Serena glance out the back window, as if she was making sure that the others were following behind them, but Darien thought she was actually making sure none of the werewolves were chasing his car like dogs. The image in his mind brought a responsive smile to his mouth. He could actually imagine the half-wolf things he had seen in the little meadow chasing after his car and yapping like dogs. He shook his head to clear it.

"I think they might have changed when we left." Serena said, quietly, almost as if she was talking to herself. Her gaze was still out the back window.

Darien sighed, thinking he would call Andrew in the morning and find out why his best friend hadn't told him his secret. Andrew had never kept secret's from Darien before, and he didn't like this particular secret.

He glanced in the rearview mirror at Serena again to see that she had leaned back against the seat and had her eyes closed. Amy was watching her as if she was trying to decide a diagnosis for what had happened to Serena.

Finally, in the silence, Darien turned his attention back to the road in front of them. They had about a half hour of travel time before they were back in New Tokyo, and he had a feeling that no one was going to talk during the trip. He turned his stereo on and found a soft rock station, then changed the volume until it filled the car.

He had a feeling that the night wasn't over yet.

Serena sensed something was wrong the moment she stepped out of Darien's car. She stared at the palace, trying to put her finger on what she felt, but for a moment couldn't understand it. The waves of energy that had crashed into her the moment the pack had transformed had pretty much knocked her senseless. Her thoughts were jumbled and disassociated, starting one thought then ending in a completely different one.

But there was a definite sense that something was very wrong with the palace. A small wave of warm energy flowed across her skin, chased by a wave of ice cold energy. Then it hit Serena, the man that had stayed at the palace had been a werewolf, and it was the full moon. Every werewolf had to transform, sooner or later, on the full moon. She didn't pause to let the others know what was happening as she bolted toward the entrance.

She followed the waves of energy; both seemed to be in the same place. She could tell that the cold energy she felt was Molly, and Molly was angry. The warmth also felt upset. Serena tore through the palace and ended in the cellar, where Molly and a fully transformed werewolf stood facing each other. Molly's cheek was bleeding where three claw marks had been scratched. Renee and Hotaru were huddled behind Molly, somewhere between Molly's coffin and the wall.

Serena took a moment to wonder why the two girls hadn't transformed before she stepped between the vampire and werewolf, hoping that the movement would distract them both, until she could find out what was going on. Molly grabbed her arm roughly and threw Serena into the wall behind her. "He's of the renegade pack!" She snapped. Serena stared between the two beasts and tried to think.

"Can you be turned into a werewolf, if he attacks you?" Serena asked, hurriedly.

"No. I'm immune, but you aren't, nor are the others." Molly said, glancing over her shoulder at Serena.

The werewolf lunged at her as she did so, raking it's elongated fingers over Molly's chest, shredding her shirt. She turned as he passed her, grabbing his arm, and throwing him into the wall opposite of Serena and the two girls. He slumped to the ground with a low growl. Serena stared at Molly as if she had never seen her before, and noticed the cuts on Molly's cheek had almost healed. The werewolf charged again, this time for Serena. Molly quickly sidestepped straight into his path, and let him slam into her, she dropped to the ground, pulling him with her, then kicked out with her legs, throwing him into the wall right next to Serena.

Serena screamed and leapt aside, then too late, realized that she had left Renee and Hotaru defenseless. Molly apparently realized the same thing as she stood. But the werewolf started for the two girls before either Serena or Molly could react. There was a flash of something flying past Serena's ear as a rose dug into the werewolf's shoulder, stem first. The beast screamed, turning to face the new attacker. Tuxedo Mask stood in the doorway, staring at the werewolf.

Sailor Jupiter and Sailor Mars stepped around him into the room.

"Back off, we're warning you, dogboy." Jupiter said, moving into her evolution attack stance.

"You don't want to mess with fire, furboy." Mars added, taking up her Flame Thrower attack stance.

The werewolf stared at them for a moment, before charging at them. They leapt aside and he ran up the cellar stairs into the kitchen. Serena raced after him, hoping that no one was in his way as he stormed through the palace. By the time she had gotten to the kitchen, the door to the gardens was swinging open and she saw a faint outline of the werewolf leaping over the garden wall. She stood staring at the point where he had vanished. The wall was almost twelve feet high!

Suddenly, she heard Renee begin to scream, and thinking that there might have been another werewolf in the house that she hadn't counted for, she turned and raced back down the cellar steps and into the wine cellar. Molly was backed up against the wall next to the door, shaking her head and very pale. Renee was clutching Tuxedo Mask's leg, whimpering. Hotaru stared at Molly as if she was a ghost. And Serena realized what was happening.

Hotaru and Renee had seen Molly defend them against a huge furry monster, and other than the blood on her clothes and the rips of her shirt, Molly didn't have a scratch to show for it. Not missing the fact that Molly had picked up an animal that must have weighed a ton and thrown it against the wall like a sack of flour. Serena sighed, gave her friend a reassuring smile and walked up to Renee and Hotaru.

Hotaru leapt for Serena, since Tuxedo Mask was currently occupied, and apparently thought that Serena was the safest person in the room. She wrapped herself around Serena's legs and buried her head in Serena's stomach. Serena hugged her, and then gently pried Hotaru's arms from her legs.

"Teenie Renee, it's alright. Molly's good. I promise." Serena crooned to her future daughter. Renee glared at Serena with hard pink eyes.

"You mean you knew she was-?" Renee began her voice high-pitched with fear. Then she burst into tears. Serena glanced up at Tuxedo Mask, who looked about as unhappy as she did, and holding Hotaru's hand, led them from the room and through the palace to the sitting room. Molly followed behind at what she thought was a safe distance from Renee, who was being carried by Tuxedo Mask, still wailing.

AN: Feel free to read and review. Leave comments, questions, thoughts, ideas, etc if you wish. Also leave your emails so that if you do have a question, I can respond to it. I will not respond to flamers. All I ask, if you do have something to say against my writing, is that you word it politely.

AN: Wow. Thanks to Kamalchemy88, Moonqueen, Sailor Lunakitty, Ffgirlmoonie, and Angel of Serenity88.