Post by Lady Serenity on Nov 13, 2008 6:18:36 GMT -5
Author’s Notes – I don’t own Sailor Moon, never have, never will. The characters of Sailor Moon belong to Naoko Takeuchi. This story takes place during the episode “Baiting the Trap” in SuperS.
For anyone who doesn’t really remember the episode, it was when Tiger’s Eye went after Molly for her Dreams and used her as bait for Pegasus.
***
Molly stood at the bridge and watched Melvin run down the street. She knew she had upset him, but what could she have done? She had met a stranger who said that he was dying. He had asked her to be his girlfriend and she agreed. She didn’t want to see him suffer all by himself. Though Melvin put on a good show for Molly that he wasn’t upset, when he went running down the street, she knew.
After Melvin left, Molly walked away from the bridge, trying to think things out. She didn’t know what to do. As she walked, she came upon a bench on the street. She sat down to think. For a little while she thought about the stranger and how she hurt Melvin.
But suddenly her thoughts fell to a man she hadn’t seen or heard of in close to a year. The man was tall and handsome and evil. He was very evil. He had tried to kill Sailor Moon and the Sailor Scouts.
All too soon, she saw a set of lights coming towards her. The stranger she had met earlier appeared. She rubbed her eyes. He seemed to just appear, like someone else she used to know had done many times.
The man stared at her for a few minutes She is so gullible he thought. But soon she won’t have anything to worry about. Hawk’s Eye is right. She is the perfect bait for the trap. The man’s real name was Tiger’s Eye but he never told anyone his real name. He didn’t want to alert the scouts to his presence too soon.
Out of the corner of his eye, he noticed something above him. There were stars twinkling in the sky. But how could that be? It wasn’t dark enough for the stars to be out. How odd, he thought, then forgot about it.
Tiger’s Eye sat down beside Molly. “I’m surprised you agreed to this.” He touched a lock of her hair. “You don’t look like the happy girl I saw earlier.”
“I said it before and I want to say it again. I have a boyfriend,” Molly said.
“And your point would be?” he asked, a little irritated. You can’t back out now.
“When I told him about you, he became really upset and it made me upset,” Molly said. “I have to be true to my heart and not lie.” Molly looked up suddenly and gasped.
“What is it?” Tiger’s Eye asked.
“Someone…I once knew had lied to me, but he gave his life to save mine,” she said as a single tear rolled down her face.
“Who was he?” Tiger’s Eye was very intrigued by Molly’s story. He had to know who this person was.
“He died in my arms about a year ago. I still miss him. Of course, that was before I started dating Melvin. Neflite was an evil man but he never harmed me.”
“Molly,” Tiger’s Eye said. “Why would you be talking about a boy who died a year ago?”
Molly turned at him in anger. “He wasn’t a boy, he was a grown man. And he was the first person I ever fell in love with. I loved him even though he fought against Sailor Moon!” Her last sentence made her gasp in surprise and cover her mouth.
“He fought…Sailor Moon.” Sailor Moon had other enemies besides us. That’s why they weren’t so shocked to see our minions. Most people would be.
“I’m sorry. I said too much,” Molly said, calming her voice.
“I didn’t know that it was a touchy subject,” Tiger’s Eye said. Though his mouth didn’t smile, his eyes did.
Molly started to feel uncomfortable with him. He’s lying to me. I can feel it. Just like when Neflite…NO! He’s dead! Stop thinking like that. Not everyone is like that.
“I think I’d better go home now,” Molly said. She stood to leave, but Tiger’s Eye grabbed her hand, pulling her back to the bench.
“Please, don’t go yet. I didn’t mean to upset you,” he lied. “Let’s forget about this man and think about us.”
Tiger’s Eye placed an arm around her shoulder, and with the other hand he started to pull her face towards his as he bent down to kiss her.
He’s about to…I can’t let this happen, she thought. “NO!” she screamed. She raised her right hand and slapped him hard on the face. He fell off the bench and landed on the street. Molly stood up. “I’m sorry, but I won’t go out with you anymore.”
“What!” he growled. “Well, it doesn’t matter anyway!” Tiger’s Eye stood up. He had had enough of this girl. Suddenly his whip was in his hand and he transformed into his circus uniform. Molly backed away a bit in fear. “Didn’t your mother ever teach you, never talk to strangers?”
“You jerk!” Molly shouted.
“What’s your point?” Tiger’s Eye said. “ONE!” Suddenly Molly couldn’t move. Tiger’s Eye's wall came up to hold her in place. “TWO!” Manacles wrapped themselves around Molly’s wrists and ankles. He was about to say three when he heard something.
“Hold it, mister!” a man said. He was standing behind Molly, and she couldn't see him. Through her fear she couldn’t hear the sound of his voice.
Tiger’s Eye could see that he was tall and was wearing jeans and a nice button-up white shirt. “I’ve been watching you for a while now, and if you say ‘three’, you’ll regret the day you ever came to Tokyo,” the man said.
“Who the hell are you?” Tiger’s Eye said.
“Someone you don’t want to mess with,” the man said. He slowly walked towards where Molly was held captive, and stopped a few feet away from her. “Now, if you’d be so kind as to release her, I may forget this ever happened.”
“No one tells me what to do,” Tiger’s Eye said angrily.
“Oh really. How about your boss, Zirconia? I know all about the Dark Moon Circus.”
Tiger’s Eye looked at the man in shock.
Finally, the man walked in front of Molly and turned to her. “Hello, Molly.”
Molly gasped. “Neflite! But…how? You’re dead…” Molly became dizzy and fainted. Neflite placed two fingers on her neck to check for a pulse. When he found her pulse, he breathed a sigh of relief.
Neflite turned back to the Tiger’s Eye. “I am the man Molly just told you about. I died, and now I’m back. And since you didn’t listen, I’m going to take matters into my own hands.”
Neflite swung his arm around and smacked the wall holding Molly. The wall smashed to a million pieces and Molly started to fall forward. Neflite swiftly caught her. He picked her up and held her close to him.
“One thing I do have to say, you were nice to her until you tried to kiss her. If you hadn't tried to kiss her, your little charade would have lasted longer, and you might have gotten the scouts, too.” Neflite looked behind Tiger’s Eye and saw Sailor Moon and Sailor Mini Moon come running.
Sailor Moon stopped right before she reached Tiger’s Eye, and gasped. “Neflite! But how can this be?”
“Hello to you too, Sailor Moon. It’s been awhile, hasn’t it?” Neflite said. “But I’d suggest move out of the way.”
Sailor Moon looked up and saw Tiger’s Eye. She jumped, and ran to the other side of the street. Mini Moon wasn’t far behind.
“Now you are outnumbered. Trust me on that. Sailor Moon beat me more times than I can think of. Never underestimate the Sailor Scouts. And to answer your question, Sailor Moon,” Neflite continued without breaking eye contact with Tiger’s Eye. “I’ve been alive for a while. Ever since Queen Beryl killed Zoycite. The power of the Stars wouldn’t allow me to see Molly until now, when she started to think about me as she was sitting here on the bench.”
Still without breaking eye contact, Neflite gently placed Molly on the ground and stood back up. “Now,” he said. “It’s time for you to see what I meant. I ask for power from the stars!”
Neflite placed his hands together and small blue balls of energy formed. Before Tiger’s Eye could blink, the balls flew from Neflite’s hands and exploded at Tiger’s Eye's feet. Tiger’s Eye flew back.
Sailor Moon and Mini Moon watched Tiger’s Eye fall. Sailor Moon remembered how she would fall trying to dodge Neflite's attacks.
“Sailor Moon,” Mini Moon said. “Who is he?”
“Mini Moon, you remember when I told you about Queen Beryl and the Negaverse?” Sailor Moon said.
“Yes,” Mini Moon said. “Was he part of the Negaverse?”
“He was the one who fell in love with Molly and died in her arms.”
“Wow.” Mini Moon thought back to when she had first arrived in the past to become a scout. The scouts had told her about the Negaverse and how they had destroyed the Moon Kingdom.
“Come on. Let’s go help Molly,” Sailor Moon commanded. The two scouts ran over to Molly and Neflite.
Before Sailor Moon reached her best friend, Tiger’s Eye found his strength and stood up. He snapped his fingers and a cage surrounded Molly and Neflite. It was the cage that Hawk's Eye had created to trap Pegasus. He had told Tiger's Eye to use it for this plan.
Quickly, Sailor Mini Moon knelt down and called for Pegasus. When Pegasus appeared, Tiger’s Eye smiled in triumph. His plan was working. Pegasus flew towards the cage. Sailor Moon and Sailor Mini Moon started shouting at him to stop, but he didn't
As the two scouts were shouting, they didn’t see Tiger's Eye move to the opening of the cage. When Pegasus flew into the cage, Tiger’s Eye closed the cage and a hole into another dimension opened. Pegasus still kept flying towards Molly and Neflite. But to everyone’s surprise, Pegasus flew right through the hole and out of the cage.
Tiger’s Eye was shocked to see that Hawk’s Eye plan failed.
Neflite stood, with Molly in his arms. He smiled. “As I said, ‘never underestimate the Sailor Scouts’. It seems you don’t listen well.” Neflite disappeared and reappeared behind Tiger’s Eye. Tiger’s Eye turned. Angrily, he summoned one of his remlus to finish off the job and then he disappeared. The remlus had light green skin and she wore a close-fitting long red silk dress with a high collar and puffy short sleeves. The dress showed a lot of cleavage. The skirt on the dress had thigh-high splits up both sides.
“Oh damn,” Sailor Moon said.
“Sailor Moon, use your power!” Neflite shouted.
Without a moment of hesitation, Sailor Moon took the Kaleidoscope rod out and summoned up Pegasus’s power to defeat the remlus. The remlus was gone before it could even react.
Sailor Moon ran over to Neflite as Molly started to regain consciousness. The first thing Molly noticed was that her arms and legs weren’t in restraints, and that she was in someone’s arms. She slowly opened to her eyes to auburn hair and beautiful blue eyes staring down at her.
Her eyes opened wide as she recognized the color of the eyes. “Neflite!” she gasped.
“Yes, Molly, I’m alive,” Neflite said. “Don't worry about that idiot. Sailor Moon and Sailor Mini Moon are here.”
Molly turned her head to Sailor Moon. She suddenly felt dizzy again. She collapsed against Neflite’s chest and whispered, “You remind me of Serena.” Then she fainted again.
Sailor Moon and Neflite understood right away what Molly was saying. Molly meant that Sailor Moon looked at lot like Serena.
"Does she know about you?" Neflite asked.
Sailor Moon shook her head. "No, I've never told her."
“Why did she faint like that?” Sailor Mini Moon asked.
“Mini Moon, Molly is in the arms of the man who died in her arms,” Sailor Moon said.
“She is too overwhelmed,” Neflite said. “Listen, I think it would be better if I was alone with her when she awakes again. I have much to explain.”
“All right,” Sailor Moon said. “Good luck.” Sailor Moon knew that Molly would be safe with Neflite. He had saved Molly from Tiger's Eye and from Zoycite's youma.
Neflite watched as the two Sailor Scouts left. Before they were out of sight, Neflite teleported.
****
Molly slowly regained consciousness again. This time she wasn’t in Neflite’s arms. She found herself lying straight on…whatever it was she was lying on. It was soft to the touch.
When her eyes were completely focused, she noticed that she was in a huge room, lying on a sofa. Looking up towards the ceiling. The ceiling was so high that at first she couldn't see it in the shadows. Near the top, on one wall, was a huge circular glass stained window.
Molly looked to her right to see someone sitting in a chair. He was smiling slightly at her. “Hello, again,” he said.
“I can’t believe it. You’re here and alive,” Molly whispered. She was afraid to do more than whisper. If she were to speak louder she’d probably panic.
“Molly, I have something important to tell you and I want you to listen. But I’ll wait until you are comfortable around me.”
Molly slowly got up from the sofa and walked around the big room, scanning the room. Underneath the big stained glass window was a double door, which she presumed led outside. There wasn’t much in furniture in the room, just a sofa with a couple of matching chairs, and a small coffee table in the middle of the room.
The opposite wall had three sets of French doors, which stood open, leading out onto a balcony. A gentle breeze blew through the doors. The two side walls were lined with shelves. The shelves on one side of the wall were full of books from the floor going half way up the wall. The other set of shelves held bottles of beverages, which also went half way up the wall. There was a brown leather bar table in front of the shelves. There didn’t seem to be any other doors leading to other rooms.
The room was dimly illuminated but Molly couldn’t see where the light was coming from. It looked like the walls were radiating light.
“Where are we?” she asked.
“This was my sanctuary when I wasn’t in the city or summoned by Queen Beryl,” Neflite said. “I’ve lived in this mansion for centuries. But I never allowed the mansion to be visible until I fought the Sailor Scouts.”
“Why did you bring me here?”
“I figured this would be the best place for us to be alone.”
Molly walked over to the books to look them over. She felt Neflite come up behind her but he kept his distance, allowing her to relax. As she looked at the books, she remembered what happened at the bench on the street.
“That man tried to kiss me,” Molly blurted out. “He had told me that he was dying.”
“Don’t worry, he’ll never go after you again. I can assure you. He lied to you. I know that when I lied to you, I never allowed you to be hurt in any way.”
“He made me forget Melvin. Oh my god, Melvin! What will I do?”
Neflite felt a touch of jealousy at the mention of Melvin’s name. He had never thought about Melvin, the guy she was dating before Tiger’s Eye came up to her saying that he was dying.
“It’s your choice but I think you really should tell him the truth,” Neflite said. “Even the part about when I used you, and when I tried to kill Sailor Moon.”
Molly turned to Neflite. “Melvin is already upset as it is. He’ll be crushed to find out about you and me. ”
“As they say, ‘the truth does come out eventually’. He'll be sure to find out about us sooner or later, and it's better if he hears it from you. Now, come to the sofa and I’ll tell you why I’m alive.”
Neflite went over to the sofa, and Molly silently followed. When Molly was seated on the sofa, Neflite sat in one of the chairs and began explaining.
“I did die, but when Zoycite was killed, the stars brought me back. To this day, I still don’t know why they brought me back. Maybe because you would always think about me. But the stars wouldn’t allow me to see you until Tiger’s Eye went after you.”
“That's the guy’s name?” Molly said.
“Yes,” Neflite said. “During this whole time, I would follow you and look out for you. I knew that someday you would be able to see me again, but the time had to be right. I’ve been staying here at the mansion and living my normal life, except that I’m not evil any more. And I haven't been using my Maxfield Stanton identity.”
Molly noticed for the first time that Neflite was wearing jeans and a nice button-up white shirt. Other than his long hair and blue eyes, she wouldn’t have recognized him. “I’ve seen you in stores.”
“Yes, you have,” Neflite said. “But now that you know that I’m alive I shall live my life as Maxfield again. I feel more comfortable wearing dress pants than jeans.”
Molly giggled at Neflite’s comment. “Yeah, I have to agree. You look better as Maxfield.”
Neflite looked down at himself and back to Molly. “Will you excuse for a minute?” He stood up and left the room.
While he was gone, Molly stood up and walked out onto the balcony. The view was beautiful. The mansion was on a hillside, and behind the mansion the hill dropped off into a ravine. There was a waterfall falling into the ravine, with beautiful exotic plants growing on either side of it.
“Beautiful view, isn’t it?”
Molly turned to see Neflite standing behind her. She hadn't even heard him come up to her. He was now wearing his standard Maxfield outfit.
“I feel better now,” he said, causing Molly to giggle again.
“After all this time, you don’t have much here other than a beautiful view. But how are you going to explain to the public why you are back?”
“I’ve had a year to think about it. I’m just going to say that I went on a business trip. I still have powers, so I can manipulate the airport personnel to believe I went on a last-minute business trip.”
“What do you mean?” Molly asked. She didn’t really like the word manipulate.
“Molly, I can’t erase what I’ve done or who I am. But what I can do is have an entry placed into the computer system to back up my story. I’m not going to play with people’s minds or anything, just the computer system.”
“An entry in the computer system would give you the flight record and airline tickets,” Molly said. Melvin was right, she thought. Computers pretty much did rule the world.
“Exactly,” he said.
They were quiet for several more minutes. They looked at each other, allowing the waterfall and the sound of distant birds to be the only sound. Finally Neflite broke the silence.
“I made a promise to you, which I accidentally broke. How about I make that promise again, and this time I'll keep it.”
“Promise?” Molly said and then thought for a moment. She smiled brightly, “A chocolate parfait.”
Neflite held out his hand and said, “Shall we?”
Molly reached out and grasped his hand and they started to go back inside. Before reaching the French doors, Neflite stopped and looked at Molly. With his free hand, he gently caressed her cheek. Before either one knew what was happening, they leaned forward until their lips touched.
****
The next day, Molly visited Melvin at home. She had heard that he was sick from drinking fifteen milkshakes. She had to tell him that their relationship was over but she still wanted to be good friends, but she didn’t know how to say it.
When she got to Melvin’s apartment, Melvin’s mother opened the door and silently gestured her in. Molly quietly walked to Melvin’s bedroom. Melvin was lying in bed.
“Hi, Melvin,” Molly said in her cheery, accented voice. “I heard what happened and I’m sorry. The man I told you about was using me. He was after Sailor Moon.”
“He was after Sailor Moon? But why?” Melvin whispered.
“Apparently Sailor Moon has a magical horse, Pegasus, that this man wants. He lied to me so he could use me as bait.”
“Oh,” Melvin said. He looked at Molly and knew something was on her mind. “What is it, Molly?”
“Melvin, I have something important to tell you. Please try to understand.” Molly paused considering her words. “Well, for starters, do you remember Maxfield Stanton?”
“Of course, he's the millionaire who disappeared last year without a trace,” Melvin said.
“Well, before Maxfield disappeared, I knew him and I fell in love with him. And when he disappeared that was why I didn't go to school for a week or so.”
“But Serena said that you were in love with this guy named Neflite,” Melvin said, trying to get up. Molly swiftly pushed him back down.
“You are weak right now, Melvin,” she said. “Maxfield was Neflite. Neflite was an evil being who was trying to kill Sailor Moon. He used me to get to Sailor Moon but he never hurt me. He was from a society called the Negaverse. Anyway, to fool the humans, he disguised himself as a millionaire, Maxfield Stanton.”
Melvin looked at Molly, shocked. “How do you know this?”
“Like I said, I was in love with Maxfield-Neflite. Neflite died in my arms and I couldn’t do anything to help him. But somehow, he’s alive again.”
“Alive!”
“Yes, alive. He has a great power, a power generated through the stars, and it brought him back after the person who killed him was dead. He’s been alive for the past year and now he wants to be with me,” Molly finished with tears in her eyes.
Melvin looked at Molly and knew what she was saying. “You want to stop going out.”
“I know it’s hard for you to understand, especially when that man lied to me and asked me to be his girlfriend until he died. But that was all a lie, and you were on my mind the whole time.”
“But…” Melvin couldn’t say anything more. He was afraid that if he did, he would start crying.
“Melvin, don’t speak right now,” Molly said. “I know you are upset. You rest and regain your strength and when you are feeling well, I’ll introduce you to Neflite. Right now, I’ve got to meet up with Serena and tell her about Neflite. Please understand.” Her last comment was a whisper. She leaned over and kissed Melvin on the forehead.
“Maybe Serena and I will come over later and cheer you up and get you out of bed soon. I missed you at school today.”
With that, Molly stood up from the floor and left the room leaving Melvin staring sadly after her. When she got outside, Neflite was waiting for her by the Ferrari.
“How did it go?” he asked. He watched her brush her tears away.
“Not well. I just broke up with him for good,” she said. “And he’s sick. I told him that when he gets better I'll introduce you to him. I want to help him.”
“I’ll look forward to it.” Neflite went over on the other side of his car to let Molly in, but before she could get in, he swiftly grabbed her arm and kissed her again.
This kiss wasn’t a tender kiss like the one the day before. It was a kiss of true love and longing. The kiss lasted for several minutes, until they had to breathe again. Molly was quite surprised and dizzy and he let her go. She had never known a kiss could mean so much. As for Neflite, he’d wanted to kiss her like that since the night of his death.
For anyone who doesn’t really remember the episode, it was when Tiger’s Eye went after Molly for her Dreams and used her as bait for Pegasus.
***
Molly stood at the bridge and watched Melvin run down the street. She knew she had upset him, but what could she have done? She had met a stranger who said that he was dying. He had asked her to be his girlfriend and she agreed. She didn’t want to see him suffer all by himself. Though Melvin put on a good show for Molly that he wasn’t upset, when he went running down the street, she knew.
After Melvin left, Molly walked away from the bridge, trying to think things out. She didn’t know what to do. As she walked, she came upon a bench on the street. She sat down to think. For a little while she thought about the stranger and how she hurt Melvin.
But suddenly her thoughts fell to a man she hadn’t seen or heard of in close to a year. The man was tall and handsome and evil. He was very evil. He had tried to kill Sailor Moon and the Sailor Scouts.
All too soon, she saw a set of lights coming towards her. The stranger she had met earlier appeared. She rubbed her eyes. He seemed to just appear, like someone else she used to know had done many times.
The man stared at her for a few minutes She is so gullible he thought. But soon she won’t have anything to worry about. Hawk’s Eye is right. She is the perfect bait for the trap. The man’s real name was Tiger’s Eye but he never told anyone his real name. He didn’t want to alert the scouts to his presence too soon.
Out of the corner of his eye, he noticed something above him. There were stars twinkling in the sky. But how could that be? It wasn’t dark enough for the stars to be out. How odd, he thought, then forgot about it.
Tiger’s Eye sat down beside Molly. “I’m surprised you agreed to this.” He touched a lock of her hair. “You don’t look like the happy girl I saw earlier.”
“I said it before and I want to say it again. I have a boyfriend,” Molly said.
“And your point would be?” he asked, a little irritated. You can’t back out now.
“When I told him about you, he became really upset and it made me upset,” Molly said. “I have to be true to my heart and not lie.” Molly looked up suddenly and gasped.
“What is it?” Tiger’s Eye asked.
“Someone…I once knew had lied to me, but he gave his life to save mine,” she said as a single tear rolled down her face.
“Who was he?” Tiger’s Eye was very intrigued by Molly’s story. He had to know who this person was.
“He died in my arms about a year ago. I still miss him. Of course, that was before I started dating Melvin. Neflite was an evil man but he never harmed me.”
“Molly,” Tiger’s Eye said. “Why would you be talking about a boy who died a year ago?”
Molly turned at him in anger. “He wasn’t a boy, he was a grown man. And he was the first person I ever fell in love with. I loved him even though he fought against Sailor Moon!” Her last sentence made her gasp in surprise and cover her mouth.
“He fought…Sailor Moon.” Sailor Moon had other enemies besides us. That’s why they weren’t so shocked to see our minions. Most people would be.
“I’m sorry. I said too much,” Molly said, calming her voice.
“I didn’t know that it was a touchy subject,” Tiger’s Eye said. Though his mouth didn’t smile, his eyes did.
Molly started to feel uncomfortable with him. He’s lying to me. I can feel it. Just like when Neflite…NO! He’s dead! Stop thinking like that. Not everyone is like that.
“I think I’d better go home now,” Molly said. She stood to leave, but Tiger’s Eye grabbed her hand, pulling her back to the bench.
“Please, don’t go yet. I didn’t mean to upset you,” he lied. “Let’s forget about this man and think about us.”
Tiger’s Eye placed an arm around her shoulder, and with the other hand he started to pull her face towards his as he bent down to kiss her.
He’s about to…I can’t let this happen, she thought. “NO!” she screamed. She raised her right hand and slapped him hard on the face. He fell off the bench and landed on the street. Molly stood up. “I’m sorry, but I won’t go out with you anymore.”
“What!” he growled. “Well, it doesn’t matter anyway!” Tiger’s Eye stood up. He had had enough of this girl. Suddenly his whip was in his hand and he transformed into his circus uniform. Molly backed away a bit in fear. “Didn’t your mother ever teach you, never talk to strangers?”
“You jerk!” Molly shouted.
“What’s your point?” Tiger’s Eye said. “ONE!” Suddenly Molly couldn’t move. Tiger’s Eye's wall came up to hold her in place. “TWO!” Manacles wrapped themselves around Molly’s wrists and ankles. He was about to say three when he heard something.
“Hold it, mister!” a man said. He was standing behind Molly, and she couldn't see him. Through her fear she couldn’t hear the sound of his voice.
Tiger’s Eye could see that he was tall and was wearing jeans and a nice button-up white shirt. “I’ve been watching you for a while now, and if you say ‘three’, you’ll regret the day you ever came to Tokyo,” the man said.
“Who the hell are you?” Tiger’s Eye said.
“Someone you don’t want to mess with,” the man said. He slowly walked towards where Molly was held captive, and stopped a few feet away from her. “Now, if you’d be so kind as to release her, I may forget this ever happened.”
“No one tells me what to do,” Tiger’s Eye said angrily.
“Oh really. How about your boss, Zirconia? I know all about the Dark Moon Circus.”
Tiger’s Eye looked at the man in shock.
Finally, the man walked in front of Molly and turned to her. “Hello, Molly.”
Molly gasped. “Neflite! But…how? You’re dead…” Molly became dizzy and fainted. Neflite placed two fingers on her neck to check for a pulse. When he found her pulse, he breathed a sigh of relief.
Neflite turned back to the Tiger’s Eye. “I am the man Molly just told you about. I died, and now I’m back. And since you didn’t listen, I’m going to take matters into my own hands.”
Neflite swung his arm around and smacked the wall holding Molly. The wall smashed to a million pieces and Molly started to fall forward. Neflite swiftly caught her. He picked her up and held her close to him.
“One thing I do have to say, you were nice to her until you tried to kiss her. If you hadn't tried to kiss her, your little charade would have lasted longer, and you might have gotten the scouts, too.” Neflite looked behind Tiger’s Eye and saw Sailor Moon and Sailor Mini Moon come running.
Sailor Moon stopped right before she reached Tiger’s Eye, and gasped. “Neflite! But how can this be?”
“Hello to you too, Sailor Moon. It’s been awhile, hasn’t it?” Neflite said. “But I’d suggest move out of the way.”
Sailor Moon looked up and saw Tiger’s Eye. She jumped, and ran to the other side of the street. Mini Moon wasn’t far behind.
“Now you are outnumbered. Trust me on that. Sailor Moon beat me more times than I can think of. Never underestimate the Sailor Scouts. And to answer your question, Sailor Moon,” Neflite continued without breaking eye contact with Tiger’s Eye. “I’ve been alive for a while. Ever since Queen Beryl killed Zoycite. The power of the Stars wouldn’t allow me to see Molly until now, when she started to think about me as she was sitting here on the bench.”
Still without breaking eye contact, Neflite gently placed Molly on the ground and stood back up. “Now,” he said. “It’s time for you to see what I meant. I ask for power from the stars!”
Neflite placed his hands together and small blue balls of energy formed. Before Tiger’s Eye could blink, the balls flew from Neflite’s hands and exploded at Tiger’s Eye's feet. Tiger’s Eye flew back.
Sailor Moon and Mini Moon watched Tiger’s Eye fall. Sailor Moon remembered how she would fall trying to dodge Neflite's attacks.
“Sailor Moon,” Mini Moon said. “Who is he?”
“Mini Moon, you remember when I told you about Queen Beryl and the Negaverse?” Sailor Moon said.
“Yes,” Mini Moon said. “Was he part of the Negaverse?”
“He was the one who fell in love with Molly and died in her arms.”
“Wow.” Mini Moon thought back to when she had first arrived in the past to become a scout. The scouts had told her about the Negaverse and how they had destroyed the Moon Kingdom.
“Come on. Let’s go help Molly,” Sailor Moon commanded. The two scouts ran over to Molly and Neflite.
Before Sailor Moon reached her best friend, Tiger’s Eye found his strength and stood up. He snapped his fingers and a cage surrounded Molly and Neflite. It was the cage that Hawk's Eye had created to trap Pegasus. He had told Tiger's Eye to use it for this plan.
Quickly, Sailor Mini Moon knelt down and called for Pegasus. When Pegasus appeared, Tiger’s Eye smiled in triumph. His plan was working. Pegasus flew towards the cage. Sailor Moon and Sailor Mini Moon started shouting at him to stop, but he didn't
As the two scouts were shouting, they didn’t see Tiger's Eye move to the opening of the cage. When Pegasus flew into the cage, Tiger’s Eye closed the cage and a hole into another dimension opened. Pegasus still kept flying towards Molly and Neflite. But to everyone’s surprise, Pegasus flew right through the hole and out of the cage.
Tiger’s Eye was shocked to see that Hawk’s Eye plan failed.
Neflite stood, with Molly in his arms. He smiled. “As I said, ‘never underestimate the Sailor Scouts’. It seems you don’t listen well.” Neflite disappeared and reappeared behind Tiger’s Eye. Tiger’s Eye turned. Angrily, he summoned one of his remlus to finish off the job and then he disappeared. The remlus had light green skin and she wore a close-fitting long red silk dress with a high collar and puffy short sleeves. The dress showed a lot of cleavage. The skirt on the dress had thigh-high splits up both sides.
“Oh damn,” Sailor Moon said.
“Sailor Moon, use your power!” Neflite shouted.
Without a moment of hesitation, Sailor Moon took the Kaleidoscope rod out and summoned up Pegasus’s power to defeat the remlus. The remlus was gone before it could even react.
Sailor Moon ran over to Neflite as Molly started to regain consciousness. The first thing Molly noticed was that her arms and legs weren’t in restraints, and that she was in someone’s arms. She slowly opened to her eyes to auburn hair and beautiful blue eyes staring down at her.
Her eyes opened wide as she recognized the color of the eyes. “Neflite!” she gasped.
“Yes, Molly, I’m alive,” Neflite said. “Don't worry about that idiot. Sailor Moon and Sailor Mini Moon are here.”
Molly turned her head to Sailor Moon. She suddenly felt dizzy again. She collapsed against Neflite’s chest and whispered, “You remind me of Serena.” Then she fainted again.
Sailor Moon and Neflite understood right away what Molly was saying. Molly meant that Sailor Moon looked at lot like Serena.
"Does she know about you?" Neflite asked.
Sailor Moon shook her head. "No, I've never told her."
“Why did she faint like that?” Sailor Mini Moon asked.
“Mini Moon, Molly is in the arms of the man who died in her arms,” Sailor Moon said.
“She is too overwhelmed,” Neflite said. “Listen, I think it would be better if I was alone with her when she awakes again. I have much to explain.”
“All right,” Sailor Moon said. “Good luck.” Sailor Moon knew that Molly would be safe with Neflite. He had saved Molly from Tiger's Eye and from Zoycite's youma.
Neflite watched as the two Sailor Scouts left. Before they were out of sight, Neflite teleported.
****
Molly slowly regained consciousness again. This time she wasn’t in Neflite’s arms. She found herself lying straight on…whatever it was she was lying on. It was soft to the touch.
When her eyes were completely focused, she noticed that she was in a huge room, lying on a sofa. Looking up towards the ceiling. The ceiling was so high that at first she couldn't see it in the shadows. Near the top, on one wall, was a huge circular glass stained window.
Molly looked to her right to see someone sitting in a chair. He was smiling slightly at her. “Hello, again,” he said.
“I can’t believe it. You’re here and alive,” Molly whispered. She was afraid to do more than whisper. If she were to speak louder she’d probably panic.
“Molly, I have something important to tell you and I want you to listen. But I’ll wait until you are comfortable around me.”
Molly slowly got up from the sofa and walked around the big room, scanning the room. Underneath the big stained glass window was a double door, which she presumed led outside. There wasn’t much in furniture in the room, just a sofa with a couple of matching chairs, and a small coffee table in the middle of the room.
The opposite wall had three sets of French doors, which stood open, leading out onto a balcony. A gentle breeze blew through the doors. The two side walls were lined with shelves. The shelves on one side of the wall were full of books from the floor going half way up the wall. The other set of shelves held bottles of beverages, which also went half way up the wall. There was a brown leather bar table in front of the shelves. There didn’t seem to be any other doors leading to other rooms.
The room was dimly illuminated but Molly couldn’t see where the light was coming from. It looked like the walls were radiating light.
“Where are we?” she asked.
“This was my sanctuary when I wasn’t in the city or summoned by Queen Beryl,” Neflite said. “I’ve lived in this mansion for centuries. But I never allowed the mansion to be visible until I fought the Sailor Scouts.”
“Why did you bring me here?”
“I figured this would be the best place for us to be alone.”
Molly walked over to the books to look them over. She felt Neflite come up behind her but he kept his distance, allowing her to relax. As she looked at the books, she remembered what happened at the bench on the street.
“That man tried to kiss me,” Molly blurted out. “He had told me that he was dying.”
“Don’t worry, he’ll never go after you again. I can assure you. He lied to you. I know that when I lied to you, I never allowed you to be hurt in any way.”
“He made me forget Melvin. Oh my god, Melvin! What will I do?”
Neflite felt a touch of jealousy at the mention of Melvin’s name. He had never thought about Melvin, the guy she was dating before Tiger’s Eye came up to her saying that he was dying.
“It’s your choice but I think you really should tell him the truth,” Neflite said. “Even the part about when I used you, and when I tried to kill Sailor Moon.”
Molly turned to Neflite. “Melvin is already upset as it is. He’ll be crushed to find out about you and me. ”
“As they say, ‘the truth does come out eventually’. He'll be sure to find out about us sooner or later, and it's better if he hears it from you. Now, come to the sofa and I’ll tell you why I’m alive.”
Neflite went over to the sofa, and Molly silently followed. When Molly was seated on the sofa, Neflite sat in one of the chairs and began explaining.
“I did die, but when Zoycite was killed, the stars brought me back. To this day, I still don’t know why they brought me back. Maybe because you would always think about me. But the stars wouldn’t allow me to see you until Tiger’s Eye went after you.”
“That's the guy’s name?” Molly said.
“Yes,” Neflite said. “During this whole time, I would follow you and look out for you. I knew that someday you would be able to see me again, but the time had to be right. I’ve been staying here at the mansion and living my normal life, except that I’m not evil any more. And I haven't been using my Maxfield Stanton identity.”
Molly noticed for the first time that Neflite was wearing jeans and a nice button-up white shirt. Other than his long hair and blue eyes, she wouldn’t have recognized him. “I’ve seen you in stores.”
“Yes, you have,” Neflite said. “But now that you know that I’m alive I shall live my life as Maxfield again. I feel more comfortable wearing dress pants than jeans.”
Molly giggled at Neflite’s comment. “Yeah, I have to agree. You look better as Maxfield.”
Neflite looked down at himself and back to Molly. “Will you excuse for a minute?” He stood up and left the room.
While he was gone, Molly stood up and walked out onto the balcony. The view was beautiful. The mansion was on a hillside, and behind the mansion the hill dropped off into a ravine. There was a waterfall falling into the ravine, with beautiful exotic plants growing on either side of it.
“Beautiful view, isn’t it?”
Molly turned to see Neflite standing behind her. She hadn't even heard him come up to her. He was now wearing his standard Maxfield outfit.
“I feel better now,” he said, causing Molly to giggle again.
“After all this time, you don’t have much here other than a beautiful view. But how are you going to explain to the public why you are back?”
“I’ve had a year to think about it. I’m just going to say that I went on a business trip. I still have powers, so I can manipulate the airport personnel to believe I went on a last-minute business trip.”
“What do you mean?” Molly asked. She didn’t really like the word manipulate.
“Molly, I can’t erase what I’ve done or who I am. But what I can do is have an entry placed into the computer system to back up my story. I’m not going to play with people’s minds or anything, just the computer system.”
“An entry in the computer system would give you the flight record and airline tickets,” Molly said. Melvin was right, she thought. Computers pretty much did rule the world.
“Exactly,” he said.
They were quiet for several more minutes. They looked at each other, allowing the waterfall and the sound of distant birds to be the only sound. Finally Neflite broke the silence.
“I made a promise to you, which I accidentally broke. How about I make that promise again, and this time I'll keep it.”
“Promise?” Molly said and then thought for a moment. She smiled brightly, “A chocolate parfait.”
Neflite held out his hand and said, “Shall we?”
Molly reached out and grasped his hand and they started to go back inside. Before reaching the French doors, Neflite stopped and looked at Molly. With his free hand, he gently caressed her cheek. Before either one knew what was happening, they leaned forward until their lips touched.
****
The next day, Molly visited Melvin at home. She had heard that he was sick from drinking fifteen milkshakes. She had to tell him that their relationship was over but she still wanted to be good friends, but she didn’t know how to say it.
When she got to Melvin’s apartment, Melvin’s mother opened the door and silently gestured her in. Molly quietly walked to Melvin’s bedroom. Melvin was lying in bed.
“Hi, Melvin,” Molly said in her cheery, accented voice. “I heard what happened and I’m sorry. The man I told you about was using me. He was after Sailor Moon.”
“He was after Sailor Moon? But why?” Melvin whispered.
“Apparently Sailor Moon has a magical horse, Pegasus, that this man wants. He lied to me so he could use me as bait.”
“Oh,” Melvin said. He looked at Molly and knew something was on her mind. “What is it, Molly?”
“Melvin, I have something important to tell you. Please try to understand.” Molly paused considering her words. “Well, for starters, do you remember Maxfield Stanton?”
“Of course, he's the millionaire who disappeared last year without a trace,” Melvin said.
“Well, before Maxfield disappeared, I knew him and I fell in love with him. And when he disappeared that was why I didn't go to school for a week or so.”
“But Serena said that you were in love with this guy named Neflite,” Melvin said, trying to get up. Molly swiftly pushed him back down.
“You are weak right now, Melvin,” she said. “Maxfield was Neflite. Neflite was an evil being who was trying to kill Sailor Moon. He used me to get to Sailor Moon but he never hurt me. He was from a society called the Negaverse. Anyway, to fool the humans, he disguised himself as a millionaire, Maxfield Stanton.”
Melvin looked at Molly, shocked. “How do you know this?”
“Like I said, I was in love with Maxfield-Neflite. Neflite died in my arms and I couldn’t do anything to help him. But somehow, he’s alive again.”
“Alive!”
“Yes, alive. He has a great power, a power generated through the stars, and it brought him back after the person who killed him was dead. He’s been alive for the past year and now he wants to be with me,” Molly finished with tears in her eyes.
Melvin looked at Molly and knew what she was saying. “You want to stop going out.”
“I know it’s hard for you to understand, especially when that man lied to me and asked me to be his girlfriend until he died. But that was all a lie, and you were on my mind the whole time.”
“But…” Melvin couldn’t say anything more. He was afraid that if he did, he would start crying.
“Melvin, don’t speak right now,” Molly said. “I know you are upset. You rest and regain your strength and when you are feeling well, I’ll introduce you to Neflite. Right now, I’ve got to meet up with Serena and tell her about Neflite. Please understand.” Her last comment was a whisper. She leaned over and kissed Melvin on the forehead.
“Maybe Serena and I will come over later and cheer you up and get you out of bed soon. I missed you at school today.”
With that, Molly stood up from the floor and left the room leaving Melvin staring sadly after her. When she got outside, Neflite was waiting for her by the Ferrari.
“How did it go?” he asked. He watched her brush her tears away.
“Not well. I just broke up with him for good,” she said. “And he’s sick. I told him that when he gets better I'll introduce you to him. I want to help him.”
“I’ll look forward to it.” Neflite went over on the other side of his car to let Molly in, but before she could get in, he swiftly grabbed her arm and kissed her again.
This kiss wasn’t a tender kiss like the one the day before. It was a kiss of true love and longing. The kiss lasted for several minutes, until they had to breathe again. Molly was quite surprised and dizzy and he let her go. She had never known a kiss could mean so much. As for Neflite, he’d wanted to kiss her like that since the night of his death.
