Betrayed
by Kurozuisho

Chapter 5 - Project Molly

* * * * * * * *

"That was a strange day yesterday," Darien told his friend Andrew in the Game Center. "I've met this auburn haired guy again, Sailor Moon suddenly was there and you acted somehow strange."

"The funny thing is," Andrew said, "I can't remember anything."

Suddenly Serena and Molly entered the Game Center.

"Ah, my girlfriend with the weak noodle," Darien greeted Serena.

"Shut your mouth!" Serena scolded and looked at Andrew. "We're sorry for the trouble you had yesterday with us."

"Oh, let's forget it," Andrew said.

"If you've forgotten it, weak noodle," Darien said, "Andrew has a girlfriend, so stop flirting with him."

Serena blushed and turned around to Darien.

"First of all my name is Serena," Serena scolded, "and second that's absolutely none of your business!"

"Of course, weak noodle," Darien replied.

Serena growled.

Molly looked at Andrew. "Is Rita really going to Africa?"

"Yes," Andrew said, sighing. "We both were talking about it."

Talking about. That reminded Serena of something important.

"Molly," she said. "Do you have time today in the afternoon?"

Molly thought. "Er..., yes, I think so."

"Can we meet in the temple today?" Serena asked. "Ami, Raye and Lita also will be there. We have to tell you something important."

"Well..." Molly jerked with her shoulders. "Okay."

"Good." Serena was glad.

* * * * * * * *

Zoycite, singing of happiness, opened the door and rammed a youma, who just came out of it.

"Oh, good morning, Banadana," she said, friendly, and then went happily in. The youma just looked wondering after her.

"Hello, Mal!" Zoycite said merrily, when she entered the room dancing.

Malachite's eyes grew big. "Zoycite, what's on? Did you get the next Rainbow Crystal already?"

"No," Zoycite said, as if it would be nothing. "This old man is stronger even than I thought."

"Then, why are you that happy?" Malachite wanted to know.

"Hold on!" Zoycite said. "Nephrite is still alive!"

Malachite really had to hold on. "And because of that you are so happy? I thought you would hate him."

"And I do, but Nephrite is our chance to fight the Sailor Scouts!" Zoycite answered proudly. "If we attack his little girlfriend, we can get him to tell who Sailor Moon is, bring this Sailor Moon and cape boy to give us their Rainbow Crystals and kill them finally." She cheered. "Beryl will be proud of me!" Curious, she looked at her boyfriend. "Why aren't you glad?"

Malachite smiled. "I'm really glad, that you're so happy, but you shouldn't forget that we still haven't all Rainbow Crystals together. There are still humans who have the crystals in them."

"No problem," Zoycite said. "We'll worry about them after this."

"And Beryl?" Malachite asked. "She gave you the order to search for these crystals. I'm not sure if she would be happy when you suddenly do something different."

"But Lord Malachite!" Zoycite replied.

"No 'but'," Malachite said. "Everything step by step. Now be a nice pupil and take care of the Rainbow Crystal you didn't get."

Zoycite grumbled. "Okay."

She walked to the door.

"Zoycite?" she suddenly heard Malachite's voice.

"Yes?" Zoycite said, looking around.

Malachite smiled. "Would you need help?"

* * * * * * * *

In the afternoon Ami, Raye, Lita, Serena and Molly sat together in the temple. It was a sunny day.

"What did you want to tell me?" Molly asked.

"Molly," Serena began. "Ami, Raye, Lita and me, we are the Sailor Scouts."

Molly's eyes grew big. "You are the Sailor Scouts?"

Serena pointed to the girls. "Ami is Sailor Mercury, Raye is Sailor Mars, Lita is Sailor Jupiter and I am Sailor Moon."

Molly couldn't close her mouth any more. "I can't believe it," she said, gasping.

Serena smiled. "It's true." She raised her arm and called: "Power of the moon hazes, make up!"

In front of Molly, her friend Serena turned to Sailor Moon.

"Serena," Molly whispered.

Raye smiled at Molly. "Yesterday Zoycite discovered that Nephrite is still alive, so it's possible that Zoycite wants to attack you once again. We want to protect you, Molly."

Molly's eyes glittered. "Thank you," she whispered.

"Molly," Serena took her friend into her arms.

Suddenly they heard a row from another part of the temple. A young man ran to the girls. He had unkempt, brown, long hair.

"Chad," Ray asked, "what's going on?"

"In the temple!" Chad said, shuddering. "A monster!"

"What?" the girls said all together and looked up.

Around the corner suddenly ran a creature, who had a head like a lion, a body like a bear and a character like a bull.

He ran to the girls, who jumped out of the way.

Molly tried to hide somewhere at the temple, when she rammed her back against someone. She turned around and jumped.

Behind her stood Zoycite. "What a surprise," she said.

Molly wanted to run, but Zoycite held her tight. In her panic Molly bit into the general's hand. She escaped and started to run away.

Zoycite shouted and followed Molly.

When the monster saw her, it ran after Molly. It pushed her against a tree and scratched at her. Molly timid was screaming.

"Not too brutal, Grandpa Shadow!" Zoycite called to the monster. "I want her lively."

"That's my grandpa?" Raye asked, shocked.

"Raye," Ami said. "You could use your spell note to weaken him."

Ray did so. She called some magic words. The monster screamed out, as the energy went out of him.

Sailor Moon used her sceptre. "Power of the moon, turn him back!"

In front of the girl's eyes, the monster turned back to Raye's grandpa.

"Grandpa!" Raye said gladly and took him into her arms.

Ami looked around, worried. "Where's Molly?"

* * * * * * * *

The day turned to the evening. Nephrite stood in the jewelry store and cleaned the glass cupboard, when a customer came in.

Nephrite looked up. "Good evening, how can I help you?"

He saw that it was a blonde woman in a green coat and sunglasses.

"Good afternoon," she said, sounding friendly. "I am searching for a necklace, or how about a ring?"

The woman went to Nephrite.

"I'm sorry, but I don't have much time," she said boldly.

The woman pressed one hand on the fresh cleaned glass cupboard and took off her sunglasses.

"Hello Nephrite." she said. "Hard at work as usual, I see."

"Zoycite!" Nephrite whispered, horrified.

"Shhh...", Zoycite said. "No-one has to know."

"What do you want from me?" he demanded.

"Oh, Nephrite," Zoycite said. "Can't you say hello to an old good friend?"

"I have never been your good friend, nor you mine!" Nephrite said.

Zoycite smiled. "Do you know that?" she asked and laid a green hair ribbon with blood spots on the glass cupboard.

Nephrite shuddered. "Molly...", he whispered.

"Your little girlfriend was a little disobedient," Zoycite explained, "so I had to use some harder ways to get her."

"What have you done with her?" he said, grabbing his former workmate by her collar.

"Until now, nothing," Zoycite said, "but that can change fast, if you don't do what I want."

Nephrite let her free.

"Fine," Zoycite said, pleased, and looked deeply into his eyes. "And now listen: If you want to see your girl again, come tomorrow night at 9 o'clock to the Starlight Tower. That's a big skyscraper in the city. Your Sailor friends surely know it. At that time, I want to get the Sailor Scout's Rainbow Crystal from you and Sailor Moon's real name. Did I make myself clear? If not, your little girlfriend gets seriously hurt."

"I can't give you the Raibow Cristal of Tuxedo Mask, because I don't know, who Tuxedo Mask is. Besides he appears, as he likes. Don't you know it yourself?" Nephrite said.

Zoycite grinned. "But you for sure know Sailor Moon's name, or wasn't Molly all the time rescued by her?"

"If you are that smart, then why don't you try to find out yourself, who Sailor Moon is?" Nephrite said, angrily.

"You don't want to argue with me again, Nephrite, don't you?" Zoycite said. "We did that much too often in the Negaverse. I am fed up with this. I am just here, to make a deal with you."

Zoycite went to the store door.

"Don't forget your "money"!" she said, going out. "Bye, bye!"

Nephrite let his head fall on the glass cupboard and cried. The rest of the evening he couldn't concentrate on selling.

Before the store was closed, Serena and her friends came in. "Nephrite!" Serena said. "Molly has disappeared."

Nephrite rubbed away tears from his face. "I know where she is."

He took the hair ribbon with the blood spots out of his trousers pockets and laid it on the glass cupboard, before crying again.

Serena jerked. "Molly's hair ribbon! Oh, no!"

"Zoycite has her," Nephrite said. "She wants to meet me tomorrow night at 9 o'clock at the Starlight Tower. She wants to have your Rainbow Crystals and your real name. If not, she will..." The last words of Nephrite were swallowed by sobbing.

Serena took Nephrite into her arms. "Please, Nephrite," she said, with tears in her eyes. "Calm down."

Nephrite pressed his face on Serena's shoulders, and it seemed to her as if he were crying.

"There must be a way," Raye said. "I think we should follow Nephrite secretly tomorrow to the Starlight Tower and help, if he is attacked by our enemies."

The others agreed with that.

Suddenly Mrs. Baker came in. "Oh, good evening, girls," she said. "Where's Molly?"

"She...", Raye started, and helplessly looked around.

"She stays some days at Serena's house," Lita said.

"Without telling me?" Mrs. Baker wondered.

"We forgot to do it," Serena said nervously.

Mrs. Baker looked sceptical. "Well, then, all right."

Serena smiled at Nephrite and whispered: "Everything will be okay."

The girls said goodbye and Nephrite locked the store door.

Mrs. Baker watched Nephrite. "Molly. Does she really stay with Serena some days?" she asked, curious.

Nephrite sighed. "Yes," he whispered.

Mrs. Baker looked deeply into his eyes. "Mr. Stanton, what's wrong?"

Nephrite looked away. "Nothing," he said, tightly.

"Really?" Mrs. Baker wanted to know. "Mr. Stanton, has something happened to my daughter?"

Nephrite couldn't stand it any more. "She's kidnapped!" he said, shaky. "Molly is kidnapped by the one who wanted to kill me. She wants to know who Sailor Moon is and to get the remaining Rainbow Crystals."

"Mr. Stanton," Mrs. Baker said, shocked. She took him by his arm and led him into the living room.

Nephrite sat in an armchair.

Mrs. Baker watched him for a while, until he calmed down a little.

"Mr. Stanton," she said, quietly. "What's up?"

"Mrs. Baker," Nephrite said, gasping. "I've never been a tennis trainer and my name isn't Maxfield Stanton."

Mrs. Baker breathed, deeply. "What's your real name?"

"Nephrite," Nephrite said. "I was once member of an evil society Sailor Moon and the other Sailor Scouts are fighting against. I was using Molly for my plans, but then I fell in love with her and left this evil society for her. One of the other members had almost killed me, if your daughter hadn't rescued me, and now this member has kidnapped Molly."

Mrs. Baker's eyes grew big.

"It wasn't my intention to hurt her," Nephrite said. "My murderer has found out that I'm still alive and now wants to blackmail me. Really, Mrs. Baker! I never want to hurt Molly any more!"

Mrs. Baker breathed deeply. "That's okay, Mr. Stanton..., I mean, Nephrite. What are you going to do now?"

"The Sailor Scouts will follow me, if I meet with the kidnapper," Nephrite said. "They'll take care that nothing happens."

"Hopefully," Mrs. Baker said, with tears in her eyes.

"Mrs. Baker," Nephrite said.

He went to her and took her into her arms.

"I'm sorry," he whispered.

"No," Mrs. Baker said. "It's not your fault. We have to be strong now."

~ End of Chapter 5

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return to Index / go to Chapter 6

The Nephrite and Naru Treasury