Serena learned about the power of friendship, and Melvin learned that cheaters never win. Now for Molly to get the encouragement she needs, along with some quiet time with Neflyte.
Sailor Moon is copyright (c) 1992 Naoko Takeuchi/Kodansha, TOEI Animation. English Language Adaptation (c) 1995 DiC Entertainment
Chapter Nine - Getting Past Kitty Chaos
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It did take some doing to convince the principal of the truth about the missing assignment, and that Serena still had the potential to see the project through. But all of the girls remained on the narrow list - even Raye got on it through an agreement with her private school principal.
Just as Neflyte had explained, they had tripled their normal homework load. But they also were simply assigned all of their homework and class work at the beginning of the week. Still the girls were all out to see it through. They were even put in a special classroom together - which made Serena happy, seeing as she wasn't going to be in Ms Haruna's class anymore (meaning she - and Molly - rarely had to cope with Melvin).
Now they were together everyday in their own personal classroom or working on their homework loads at each other's houses.
It took pulling teeth, but Serena made it through their first weekly test (which made every other test she had taken look like a three question pop quiz) with a passing grade (a middle 'C' but it was better than a 30!). That surprised the teachers and her parents enough to warrant her remaining with the new class.
To celebrate, Neflyte took all of the Scouts and their families out to dinner at a fancy restaurant. To everyone's surprise, Serena didn't klutz once! Her father even suggested that she'd get another raise in her allowance if she could pull her grades up to 'B's. Nonetheless, Serena jumped for joy at that idea - thankfully she and her family were home when he made the suggestion.
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Zoicite had been able to grab the green and the blue Rainbow Crystals one right after the other. Thankfully, that got the Queen pleased enough to give her some time with her beloved Malachite.
She came close to not getting the indigo crystal from the Scout's grandfather. It seemed that all of the Scouts considered the old man to be a part of their little family - including Neflyte. He attacked at the same time as Tuxedo Mask, breaking Zoicite's hold on the precious crystal.
Once she was gone, Neflyte stopped Tuxedo Mask to ask why he too was after the Rainbow Crystals. It seemed that the crystals were the only clue the man had to his mysterious past. He had no idea of who he was, just that a woman in his dreams told him to free her with the Imperium Silver Crystal.
Could it be that the Moon Princess was communicating with him in dreams? Serena wouldn't like that much - seeing as she had a crush on the guy. But, before Neflyte could question him further, Tuxedo Mask had left again - with the crystal.
Neflyte helped to wear down Raye's grandpa enough for Sailor Moon to heal him of the shadow that raged within his body. Then he explained his conversation with Tuxedo Mask.
Not long after that, Zoicite attacked a little girl and her cat. The girls and Neflyte took the girl home and settled her in her bed. When the Scouts sat there waiting for the little girl to wake up from her fainting spell, it was Neflyte who commented on the wand not reacting to the child's presence.
Serena ordered him and Molly to watch over the child while the rest of the Scouts went after the cat. She winked as she mentioned the fact that they would need the practice, after all. The other girls chuckled, while Molly and Neflyte blushed.
It was the first time in a week that the couple had any time alone - with Scout meetings, the businesses, and Molly's schoolwork. Most of the time they were alone only when they got ready for bed. By then both were just too tired to do much more than sleep in the comfort of the other's arms.
After a few minutes of silently watching over the child, Molly brushed the little girl's bangs back a little then looked up at her love. "Neflyte, do you think I'll make an okay mother?"
"Molly, you are going to make a wonderful mother. Why do you ask?"
She sighed as she watch the tiny girl sleeping beside them. "How could I ever be a good mother when it was my bad decision that cost our daughter her life a thousand years ago ..."
Neflyte sat beside her and pulled Molly into his arms tight. "It was neither of our faults. Your father was and still is to blame for your death and our daughter's. Now, promise me that you'll stop blaming yourself and I will swear the same to you, my love."
They agreed and snuggled next to the little girl. A few moments later they both heard a car pull into the driveway. Neflyte jumped at this. "I think that we had better change into our uniforms. It might make explaining all of this a little easier."
Just before the parents walked into the child's bedroom they were both in uniform and standing near the window for a quick escape. "Andrea? What are you two doing here?"
"Please don't be afraid. I'm Sailor Solaris and this is General Neflyte. We and the Sailor Scouts stopped an enemy from hurting Andrea earlier, but seeing as no one was here to take care of her, Neflyte and I were ordered to keep watch over her until you got back or the crystal our enemy thought was within her was found." Molly had really adjusted well to her new role as a Scout, leaving her husband speechless.
Instead of the yelling they both expected, the girl's mother came over and hugged Molly while the father shook Neflyte's hand. "Thank you both. Andrea is our only child, and we've nearly lost her a few times since she was born. I can't imagine life if we ever lost her."
Molly sympathized with these parents. "We know that feeling, having lost our daughter long ago. We had better go now and see if the Scouts have found the crystal."
As they poised to leap from the window, the mother's voice halted them. "Please wait. Andrea is infatuated with all of you Scouts, but you and the General are her favorites. It would mean the world to her if you were here when she woke up."
Looking up at her husband, Molly's eyes pleaded to give the little girl a memory of a lifetime. He smiled and nodded. So both of them sat in that room waiting for the girl to wake up. After a few minutes the others came with the girl's cat Hercules. After being advised of the agreement, the rest of the Scouts decided to wait around as well.
Ten minutes later Andrea opened her eyes to see her mother smiling worriedly down at her. "Mommy, how'd I get home? And where is Hercules?"
"Hercules is right here. As to how you got home, the Sailor Scouts brought you home."
Andrea's bottom lip trembled. "And I didn't get to see them or say thank you."
"You don't have to thank us, Andrea. Saving people is our job." Sailor Moon said with a smile on her face.
"You're all here! The real Sailor Scouts! And the Scout General too! Wow!" Andrea giggled as she jumped into Molly's arms. "Hi, Sailor Solaris!"
The team sat there with Andrea for an hour. They got their picture taken with her, and Sailor Moon even played the latest Sailor V game. But, it was all too soon time for all of them to return to their 'patrol' - in other words, the girls had to get home for school in the morning and Neflyte had a meeting with some clients before nine.
But at their meeting at the temple the following afternoon, Serena told the others of how a girl in her brother Sammy's class had a picture of her and the Sailor Scouts. But what had impressed him and the boys was that the Scout General (now known as the Scout's high guardian) was in the picture too. Neflyte chuckled at this, that the world had accepted him so quickly.
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return to Index / go to Chapter 10