blueeyeddevil06 thank you for being my beta!
Chapter 30 – Sapphire and Sailor Mars
Sapphire walked down the hall of his palace and noticed the change in everyone he passed. He was overjoyed to see the happiness radiating from everyone. He completely understood the feeling now that he too didn't have to fight against the darkness trying to overwhelm him. He felt relaxed for the first time in a long time. Well, that, and the fact that he wasn't risking a torturous death anymore. That was a detail he was glad to revisit.
He knocked on Emerald's door. She opened up and, realizing it was him, she instantly bowed. "Sister, I told you that you don't need to be bowing to me."
"Oh, let me for a while. This is the first time in my life I haven't bowed to my king out of fear. First our father, and then Diamond."
"Very well. I hope you get over the novelty soon. It sets me apart from everyone and I don't like the idea of feeling above family. I'm not like Diamond."
"You'll just have to deal with it for now." She smiled and then said, "What brought you here? As much as I like seeing you now, you're busy. So you must have a reason."
"I'm going to go and meet with Serena and Darien to let them know about Wiseman. Any feelings on if you would like to accompany me?"
"What a pretentious name! No, I will stay here. I was about to go and oversee some more of the rebuilding of the cultural centers. Diamond did a number on them when he looted them to fund his expensive habits. It will take a long time to get everything back to what it was. The best part, of course, is that it is supplying jobs to much of the people that were left unemployed."
"I'm glad you are overseeing that. It's a lot of work and you're doing wonderfully. Diamond never valued you enough, and you have more than shown what a brilliant and caring person you are. Our people recognize it too. Although, maybe the caring part of you was exactly what he objected to." Sapphire smirked at her.
She smiled. She never had a family member encourage her other than Sapphire. And now that Diamond was dead, and they weren't living in fear, he did it all the time. She had never been happier. "Thank you, brother. It truly means a lot to me to hear you say that."
"I only say it because it's true. I'm sure you'll have a productive day. I'm going to head out now and go to Earth. Bye." He waved and left her to head off to work.
Knock. Knock.
Darien opened the door and welcomed Sapphire into his apartment. "Come on in. Serena's already here."
Sapphire walked in and said hello to both of them. "I'm afraid this is a formal visit; I have an update on the power behind Diamond."
"I was hoping you would say that," said Serena. "Thank you for looking into all of this. I know you're busy."
"What I have found proves that my brother would not have been left to enjoy his victory in retrieving the Silver Crystal if he had obtained it. He was just a puppet to a stronger power."
Darien commented, "That's what we're afraid of."
"Well apparently, there is reason for caution," Sapphire said. "The power behind Diamond calls himself Wiseman. Emerald agrees it sounds rather pretentious. Hopefully, that means his hubris will be a way to defeat him like Diamond's was. He seemed to trust Diamond to keep him updated which seemed odd. If I were Diamond, I wouldn't want anyone to know if I got my hands on the Silver Crystal."
Darien shook his head, "He seems like someone who would want to gloat and let everyone know he succeeded."
"Oh, I agree with your assessment. I was just pointing out that I would have acted differently in his shoes. Wiseman will come to try and take the Silver Crystal. I believe he thought it would be easier to take from Diamond. Especially once he was the one to give Diamond power. It gave him more control."
Serena spoke up, "It makes sense. I'm not excited to be a target again."
"This time it seems just your Silver Crystal is the target. Wiseman has no interest in possessing you like Diamond did."
Darien sighed, "Well, at least that is one less guy after Serena."
Serena huffed and batted at his arm. "Be serious." She then chuckled.
Darien looked her in the eyes and caressed her cheek, "I am."
"Back on the subject, I believe Wiseman has noticed that Diamond is dead or at least something has changed. Apparently, there was a deadline to update him that I didn't know about. Today, I found an alert buried in the system that went out before I even knew to stop it. I apologize that I missed it. I had been dealing with food shortages and a housing crisis and didn't get to the issue in time."
Serena softened, "Of course, you had to take care of the people your brother neglected. Wiseman was going to notice it sooner or later. Your priority has to be protecting your people."
"I'm glad you agree." He sighed, "As far as I could tell, we have at least two months before he arrives and becomes a problem."
Serena looked at Darien, "It seems we need to get back to training, and I really need to approach the next Sailor Mars tonight. I hope she says yes."
"She will. You know she'll want to be a part of all of this and help you."
"New Sailor Mars?" Sapphire asked puzzled.
Darien said, "The Sailor Mars you knew wanted to oust Serena as the leader and become the new head of the Sailors Scouts. She has also become quite mean and disrespectful to Serena and others."
"I'm glad you kicked her out." Sapphire admitted.
"There was a sister of hers reborn also, and she will become the next Sailor Mars. Serena is going to speak to her tonight. You will be introduced to her at the meeting we're having. Assuming you can make it to the meeting tomorrow night, it will be here." Every time Darien thought about Molly being Sailor Mars, he smiled.
"I will be here. What time?" He was looking forward to being part of the group.
"Six o'clock. We look forward to having you there," Serena said.
Sapphire smiled, "I look forward to it too."
He then left to return home.
Darien gathered Serena in his arms and kissed her lips. When he pulled away, her cheeks were flushed. "Darling, Molly will be happy to become the next Sailor Mars. Please don't worry about that."
She smiled and said, "How did you know I was still worried? Thank you for your support and encouragement. I just hope bringing her into danger is the right thing to do."
"First off, I know you and your caring, beautiful, perfect heart." He kissed her again and looked into Serena's eyes. He was overwhelmed with the feeling of love. "My love, she is the first one of us who will be given a choice. And like the rest of us, she will choose to serve you. We will all help keep her safe, and we will all soon be training together. You know Jadeite will make sure she's ready just as we will."
She kissed his neck and said, "It's still hard for me to believe sometimes that I am the Moon Princess. You all are so good to me. As for Jadeite and Molly, they are so cute together."
Darien kissed her again and pulled her down on the couch with him. His right hand went to the back of her neck, and his left had slid down her body starting between her shoulder blades and ending up grasping her butt. She moaned into the kiss and rested her hands on his chest. He then peppered kisses down her neck and cherished every moan he brought out of her pretty mouth. His right hand slipped around and grabbed her breast, and she made a delicious moan that drove him wild. It was quite a while before she headed home.
Serena and Molly were sitting at Molly's house later that night. Serena was glad to know her parents were going out on a date, and they would have the house to themselves for a while. The discussion she wanted to have with Molly shouldn't be overheard.
"So, how is it going with Jadeite? You two seem close. It's wonderful to see." Serena said and smiled.
"We're both glad to have your support. It's going really well. He has been incredible."
"I'm so happy for you two. You're great together. That brings me to the inevitable question; how's it going with Raye?"
"Annoying. Can I be frank and say I really would like to keep my feelings about her to myself? I understand you're upset with her right now, but if you reconcile, I don't want to have said bad things about her." Molly trusted Serena to understand.
"It seems you need to be updated on her yet again. So much has been happening that it is hard to keep everyone up to date. First, do you know that Jadeite talked to Raye about her behavior?" Serena really hoped he had told her.
"Yes." Here Molly smiled. "He really is being great about all of this. He is letting me handle her and respects me enough to not undermine me. Yet at the same time, he manages to talk to her and let her know I have his support without minimizing me. It feels incredible to have the respect and trust of a strong man that sees that I'm an equally strong woman."
Serena sighed and a huge smile crossed her face, "That's so incredibly romantic. Wow!" She paused and decided saying the next part wasn't betraying Jadeite, "You should know that he is afraid you'll decide he's too much trouble if she keeps this up. He really likes you a lot."
"I can't be scared off by her." Molly knew any trouble Raye gave her was worth it to be with Jadeite.
"He believes the only reason she's giving you problems is because the two of you are dating. He doesn't want you to decide it would be easier if you weren't together."
"He shouldn't worry about that." Molly stated with certainty.
"Well," and here Serena paused and looked nervous, "I have something I need to talk to you about. Gosh, I don't know how to say this." She took a breath and said, "I will start a little further back. Jadeite called a meeting, and he confronted me with the fact that Raye has no plans to use the sword and learn from it. She's still sure she's right and is still being cruel. He requested, and everyone else agreed too, that I talk to the reincarnation of Raye's sister and ask if she would be willing to become Sailor Mars."
"Wow, Jadeite must really be upset to go to you about it and not wait for you to make a decision."
"I appreciated his request; I would have waited too long. A new enemy is coming, and she will need time to train and be ready. The only one besides me who knows who the girl is happens to be Darien. I told him. No one else knows. Jadeite made the request, trusting me since I had stated several times that she would make a fabulous Sailor Mars."
Molly's shoulders drooped, "Is it petty of me to be worried about it? He's the only one not dating a Sailor Scout and now there will be this new, kinder Sailor Mars. What if he ends up having feelings for her? This isn't like it was for me with Kunzite. I'm starting to fall for him already. It would really hurt." She started to tear up. "Please, don't get me wrong. I want you to have this new Sailor Mars, one you can trust and who will protect you."
Serena shook her head, "Molly, don't cry and don't worry. You are the other Martian Princess; you're next in line to be Sailor Mars."
Molly froze and stared at her. "Wait, what?... I am who now?... Huh?"
Serena pulled out the brooch for Sailor Mars and held it out to Molly, "I'm asking you to become Sailor Mars. Come and fight alongside me and usher in Crystal Tokyo."
Molly held the brooch in her hand and said, "What do I say to activate my transformation?"
"Mars Power, Make Up." Was Serena's response. She was beaming.
Molly looked at Serena and said, "I will follow you anywhere. Mars Power, Make Up!" And she transformed into Sailor Mars. She walked over to the mirror and looked at herself. "These skirts really are short. But, I can't wait to start training." She then dropped her transformation and sat down next to Serena.
"They sure are. I bet Jadeite won't mind seeing you in such a short skirt." She then winked at Molly. "Thank you for becoming Sailor Mars. I waited for Raye so long because I had to make sure I wasn't cheating her out of her chance. I really wanted you to be Sailor Mars, and I was afraid that would make my decision for me."
"I take back what I said, I'm okay with Jadeite having the hots for Sailor Mars. You said he doesn't know about me though."
"He does not. I think he should be the next to know, whenever you're ready of course." Serena was overwhelmed by the easy acceptance and quick decision of Molly's to become Sailor Mars.
"Might as well give him a call. I'm nervous about his response, and I won't relax until I know." Molly admitted.
"I'll give him a call and ask him to come over here for a bit. Do you want to break it to him that he dated one sister in his last life and another in his current life?" Serena laughed.
"I think I will let my Princess that I serve tell him that I'm Sailor Mars." She winked.
"Chicken," Serena accused.
"Yup!" she said and laughed.
Serena called Jadeite and asked him to drop by Molly's house. She explained they needed to talk to him about something. He knocked on the door completely unprepared for what was coming.
Jadeite sat in the living room and stared at Serena, "Okay, so you both look nervous, so now I am too. What is it that you need to talk to me about? Molly, please tell me you aren't breaking up with me. If Raye has become too much, I can talk to her again. Please give me another chance."
Molly smiled at Jadeite and took his hand, "Raye is about to become a problem for me all on my own. She will come after me, and it will have nothing to do with you. And, I have no intention of breaking up with you." She looked at Serena with pleading eyes.
Serena got Jadeite's attention and said, "You asked me to speak with the next Sailor Mars and ask her to step into that position. I have done that, and she accepted the responsibility right away. It was actually humbling and touching how quickly she accepted the role. We thought you would like to be the first to welcome the new Sailor Mars into our group. Right, Molly?"
Molly then said, "Mars Power, Make Up," and transformed into Sailor Mars in front of Jadeite.
"Shit, you're hot! I mean, wow. You're Sailor Mars? Ummm..."
Serena laughed and said, "Molly, I guess that answers how he will feel about it."
"That would have gotten really uncomfortable back in the Silver Millennium when I met Raye's sister and fell for her instead." Jadeite said with certainty.
Molly smiled, leaned over, and kissed his cheek. "You are a darling. You're okay with the fact that I have become Sailor Mars?"
"If I really thought about it, I would have expected it. Serena really was describing you when she listed the qualities of the next Sailor Mars, the better one. Also, it explains why you're a youma magnet. You're supposed to be around them to fight them."
"Oh my gosh! That is so true! How funny is that?" Molly giggled.
"Tomorrow morning, can you meet me in the woods at the park, and we can begin training together? I want you to be able to defend yourself. We will start with just normal human moves first." Jadeite wanted the chance to train her, and if he had to get a little hands-on to do it, so be it. Gosh he was going to love training with her.
Molly smiled and said, "I would love that."
Serena looked at them both and smiled. It had gone better than she had hoped. "Okay, out you go, Jadeite. You'll see her tomorrow; we have a sleepover to get back to." Serena knew he would need some time to process everything, and they could talk in private in the morning.
After he left, Serena leapt up and said, "Let's go plan your outfit. You should look hot when you're training with him."
Molly shook her head and followed her. She didn't hate the idea.