Darien’s captured and turned, Serena’s the Moon Princess, and a new enemy is added. I can be such a (insert whatever descriptive word you like)! Now for me to get worse - with Solaris.

Sailor Moon is copyright (c) 1992 Naoko Takeuchi/Kodansha, TOEI Animation. English Language Adaptation (c) 1995 DiC Entertainment

Saturday came and their plans were set in motion. Serena was hooked into babysitting Sammy for her parents, but it was a good thing since she was still bummed out about Darien. She tried to keep up a brave front for the others, but they could all see that their Princess was hurting - Luna more so than the rest, since she lived with Serena.

Malachite and Zoicite went for samples of colors, fabrics, and everything else for the walls and windows (seeing as they had more of their old memories, and the future parents - both of who were their oldest and closest friends by the way - hadn’t changed that much in the thousand years). Both were smiling and Zoicite giggled as she got Malachite to blush by whispering something into his ear. The rest of the Senshi went out for books on pregnancy and babies. Somehow they also showed up with storybooks, toys, and outfits for the little girl none of them could wait to have in their lives. In fact, while they were shopping, they fought about who had first dibs for babysitting duty!

Which left Neflyte and Molly on their own for a few hours - just as the others had secretly planned on (all hoping that the baby would come due because of their efforts).

Neflyte came down the stairs, smiling as he watch Molly staring into the flames of the fire he had built to protect her from the lingering coolness reminding them of that slightly wet and foggy morning. “What’s on your mind, beautiful?”

“Hmm? Oh, hi, love. I was remembering how beautiful she is going to be. Oh, if you had only seen her too, Neflyte. I can’t wait to hold her in my arms for the first time.”

He settled on the couch with her and pulled her onto his lap for a passionate kiss. Once they came up for air, Molly rested into his arms, laid her head on his shoulder and closed her eyes in peace. “Describe her to me, my only love.”

Molly smiled as she pulled up that wonderful memory. “Her hair is a medium red auburn - like both of ours mixed together. She has your eye color, but my eye shape. Her smile comes from you, without question. I remember that her laugh twinkled like glitter and stars and crystals all at once. She seemed so happy to see me. Only once did she seem hurt … when I told her that we haven’t picked her a name.”

“Well, once we are alone tonight, that is exactly what we will do. One that matches her perfectly.” Neflyte pulled his young love tighter to his chest. “I created a gift for her … for when she’s awake in her crib and the mobile isn’t playing.”

That had Molly’s curiosity. “What is it?”

Neflyte’s eye sparkled with a mixture of pride, love, hope, and mischievousness. “Come with me and see, my beloved.”

They rushed up the stairs to the room across the hall from their own. This room they chose because of its closeness, but it still was far enough that their passions wouldn’t wake their future daughter. The three Generals set protection spells in place to keep anything that wanted to harm out - all were already defensive of the child that had yet to be conceived.

Neflyte wrapped an arm around Molly’s shoulder as they walked into the empty and barren room. “Now look up, Molly.”

Doing as he asked, she was stunned to see a beautiful cloudy sky pictured on the ceiling! Wait … were the clouds really moving? It wasn’t just a picture! Neflyte had used his magic to give the room an unusual skylight - a perfect image of the outside sky above their home!

“Oh, it’s beautiful, Neflyte! That will keep her busy for hours … watching the shifting clouds and weather. What about at night?” Molly curled into her lover’s arms.

Neflyte kissed the top of her head before returning his gaze to the scene above them. “It will show everything … weather patterns, sunrises, sunsets, and importantly it will show the stars.”

“So she will have some of her father’s talents one day?” Molly giggled as he kissed her head again.

“That and so she will hear the guidance of the stars as I did from a young age. The day we bring her home, I want to bring her here and formally introduce her to the stars. And one day, if she wants to and has gifts like mine, I will show her how to alter the scene to bring up specific constellations and heavenly bodies.” Neflyte had such a dreamy and far away look in his eyes.

Molly looked up at him and smiled. He had changed into the man she had so dearly loved a thousand years before, and none could deny that. She could feel that things were moving faster now … that something important was going to happen soon. She only prayed that it would bring them the good news that Beryl and her influence would be out of their lives forever.

Everyone agreed that they wanted to wait on Serena before doing the physical job of putting the room together. But no one said was they also wanted to wait for Darien to come back to them.

Over lunch they picked out the aspects of the nursery.

The ceiling moldings were in gold designed with a feather pattern all the way around. Each corner would have a crescent moon and stars appliqué.

The walls from half way up would be an Azure Blue - threads of gold and silver veined across the surface, giving a marbled lapis lazuli effect. The other half from wall to floor would be an ivory wood trim. At the edge where the wall and trim met was going to be a border with each of the planet signs and suns surrounded with stars and colorful ribbons.

All of them were going to paint a print of their hand on the inside of the baby’s ivory color door, to show their promise to keep this child safe and as happy as they could. All prayed that Darien would soon be adding his own to it … right next to Serena’s.

Sheer white drapes covered with stars would hang in the three windows. A curved valance had the same theme as the curtains, with near see through white gauze veils that would go to the floor and give slight privacy for the window seats. Azure cushions, along with silver and gold pillows, mirrored the color scheme of the walls.

The furniture was delivered and stored until the room was decorated. Neflyte had chosen beautiful dark cherry wood (remembering how they had planned to use that wood in all of their children’s room a thousand years before - just hours after their wedding. Crib, cradle, changing table, a toy chest, a rocking chair, and nightstand for the lamp and CD player; all of it was there, and Molly hadn’t smiled so sweetly as long as any of them had known her. All of her greatest hopes were starting to come true.

With nothing left to do until Serena pulled herself out of her depression, the group left the couple to their dinner alone. Though Zoicite and Malachite were rooming with them, the pair decided to go out on their first date free of the Negaverse that night.

Neflyte and Molly enjoyed feeding one another, and then reminding one another of what they had missed in those long years apart. They snuggled for a few minutes before they finally couldn’t wait anymore. Molly relaxed against Neflyte’s chest in their king sized bed, looking through the various books the Scouts had bought for them. The girls had gotten books on every subject matter for the couple. At that moment, all they were focused on were the name books.

A number of names were tossed into the air … and eventually rejected for one reason or another. After a little over an hour passed, but they finally chose their little girl’s name. Desiree (desired) Namid (star dancer) Renee (reborn) Stanton.

* * * * * * * *

Luna sighed. She and the rest were at Cherry Hill Temple that Monday afternoon to discuss Serena, and how losing Darien had affected her. "I'm afraid you guys are going to have to be more patient than usual. Serena's taking this Tuxedo Mask disappearance thing really hard."

Amy shook her head in pity. "Poor girl."

"And she's actually stopped eating? This is major critical, Luna," Lita said.

Molly was seated on a step in between Neflyte’s legs. A sight none of the Scouts were shocked by (given that the two were as good as married already). “Yeah, I mean can anyone of us remember a time where Serena’s actually refused food?”

All of them shook their heads in response. Neflyte ran his fingers through Molly’s hair as he tried to hold back his frustration. “Take it from me, it will have to take something major to get her back to her old self again. Losing the one you love is a punishment I wouldn’t even wish on Beryl herself.”

Everyone was slightly uncomfortable with his words, but all knew what he had meant. Neflyte had watched Molly and their daughter die before the Kingdoms all fell. It turned him to evil having to live without her. But, they all hoped that with Darien still alive that Serena would remain on their side.

“Right now she just needs all of us to be there for her. I mean she’ll need someone to tell her that it is all going to work out somehow. She is strong for all of us, but to be so for herself is a different thing entirely,” Zoicite whispered. She was scared of what she’d do if she ever lost Malachite.

"Don't I know? She can hardly function," Luna agreed.

Molly thought back over the few days since they’d lost Darien to the Negaverse. Yeah, Serena was a klutz sometimes, but she’d been getting worse lately. The three youmas guarding her had taken to wearing their human disguises all of the time to keep Serena from being hurt or worse when she was out and about. And in gym class, the volleyball hit her in the head hard … and she’d barely complained. She ended up leaving her lunch at home on purpose, and wouldn’t touch anyone else’s.

Luna’s voice brought Molly back to the moment and their meeting. "Last night, she was talking in her sleep, and she kept calling out Darien's name."

"What a wimp! What kind of princess goes into hyperspace just when we need her the most?" Artemis snapped. He obviously didn’t know how to handle things like this.

Raye snapped back with an exhausted sigh. "Give her a break, Artemis. Someone she really, really cared about is suddenly out of her life. She's just heartbroken. Is that so really hard to understand?"

Neflyte and Zoicite thought back to how they each had come so close to death, and how their loved ones took it. How would Molly and Malachite had gone on if the almost had become reality? That was a question neither of them wanted the answer to.

But Lita was shocked by the comment. "So what's with you, Raye? You never used to stand up for Serena."

"Yes I have."

"Huh?" Lita wore a surprised look on her face at that. Since when had Raye … oohh. Lita had forgotten about the night they had to talk Serena into remaining their leader and Princess, Raye had supported Serena. {"Gotta say, never thought you were much of a leader, you know, but I know I was wrong."}

"Oh yeah?" Luna said.

Artemis still wasn’t sure how to fix a problem of the heart. "Well Luna, you've just gotta talk some sense into her."

"She's not a toaster you take in to get fixed, Artemis. Maybe one of you girls can think of a way to cheer her up. Poor kid needs a major distraction right now, you know?" Luna looked to the group and prayed that an idea would come up before Artemis said another brainless remark.

"Times like this, some people like to be left alone, but Serena's not one of 'em. Maybe I can think of something." Mina stood there thinking.

Then Molly remembered the ad in the magazine. “Well, how about giving her a pampering? There’s a new salon that’s giving away free hairstyles and facials today. I was being hammered by a couple girls at school to go, but said I had to baby-sit - I wanted to be here … not with them.”

“Why, Molly?” Neflyte wondered if he was making his love grow up too fast.

She looked up at him. “They love to gossip, and want me to give them details that I refuse to give about us. So, without any information, they start throwing their own guesses until they think they have it right and give all of it over to Melvin to spread around the school.”

“Yeah, like the fact that you are supposedly engaged to Melvin himself!” Lita chuckled as Molly’s eyes shot open, while Neflyte clinched his fist.

Mina gasped as she laughed out loud from that. “Oh, and the fact that you're having a baby - the reason everyone is looking at you so intensely between classes and at gym … seeing if you're showing yet. And then it has been rumored that you are paired with that new substitute gym teacher - who is at the school to keep an eye on you. But to beat all, someone got the rumor on the nose about you and Neflyte … only they use your human name of Maxfield.”

“Girls!” Molly snapped. She didn’t like the look in Neflyte’s eyes - the look he’d have when he had made a decision about something.

The others noticed it right away, and quieted down. Mina chuckled nervously. “But, that’s how it is in school - grapevine has to talk about something.”

“A make-over just might give her the distraction she needs right about now. Good thinking, Molly.” Luna spoke up to prevent the conversation she knew would all too soon come between Lead General and Scout.

Mina smiled over at the pair seated beside her. She too had the same thought - prevent another romance from breaking up “Molly, why don’t you come with Serena and me? Neflyte, could you give us a lift to Serena’s house?”

“Sure. We’d better get going though. I have some business to attend to soon.” Neflyte’s business however had nothing to do with Stanton International or the Negaverse.

* * * * * * * *

He left Molly at Serena’s with a deep and passionate kiss. He wanted to remember everything about her at that moment - the taste of the lips, their softness, her tongue, especially the moan and sigh she gave because of it. Her face became twisted with worry for a moment. He had to think of something … before she started to suspect.

“Be careful today,” was all he was ready to say. He swore to stop lying to her - but he didn’t want to tell her the truth either.

Molly regained her sweet smile without a beat. “Oh, I’ll be careful. After all, Mina and Serena will be with me. See ya at mom’s later tonight? She’s making our favorite dinner - cheese tortellini in her special sauce.”

Gods, how he adored this beautiful woman before him. But, he was being unfair to her. She was forced to grow up so fast, and she had become the center of scandals … just as she was a thousand years before - just after her death. He was being so selfish to force her into this relationship. Was she only going through this because of their past? Would she one day regret their actions? He cursed himself for having taken her to bed before their wedding night.

“I’ll see you soon, my love. I love you so much, Molly Baker.” Neflyte could feel his heart breaking as he told her goodbye.

He memorized her sparkling laugh, and couldn’t help but smile at her. “Neflyte, my name hasn’t been Baker in nearly three months. I am and will forever be Molly Stanton. See ya at mom’s, and you be careful too, handsome. I want our little girl to have her daddy around for a very long time.”

Neflyte sighed as he pulled away and took a long drive to clear his mind. An hour passed, and he still couldn’t make himself go do what had to be done - pack Molly’s things and take them back to her mother’s house.

Finally stopping to look over the sea, her found that everything about Molly was all he could focus on. She was his life, and he was terrified of ever having to face a day without her again. But, could he justify what could be a life sentence for her by marrying him?

Neflyte sighed in disgust as he got back in his car and drove back to town. He needed another opinion about all of this.

He went straight back to the jewelry store. He could have sought guidance from the stars, but he was scared what the stars would tell him. Perhaps Queen Jessica could help his wary heart before he took any of the actions he had planned.

As he walked through the door all of the youmas that helped at the shop nodded in respect, a sign he accepted and returned - after all they put their existence on the line for all he held dear to his heart daily. One who had no customers came forward and whispered, “The Queen is awaiting you in her office and said to send you right in. Master, she seemed very nervous and upset.”

Neflyte nodded and thanked the youma. Then he went into his mother-in-law’s office.

“Mom, I need to talk to you.”

Jessica’s chest was heaving hard with her frustration. “I know, and you will not have my blessings for this, Neflyte. Molly loves you above anything I have ever seen her take to her heart! How do you think she will feel losing you? You know how it feels! She’d rather be dead than to be without you.”

“But, she is so young! We can’t even marry for over a year yet! And when we are together, most of the time it is impossible to ignore how I want her. She could get pregnant long before we can wed, and then she will be publicly shamed - as Rudolyn did her so long ago! She’s already gossiped and talked about now. I can’t do this to her … I can’t bring her any more shame.”

Jessica stood before her son and looked him in the eye. “You do not shame my baby girl! You have given her nothing more than honor. You are her husband, and are my son. Please hear me out. If you return her things here and leave, there will be no coming back. She will break all ties to you, and your daughter will cease to exist.”

Neflyte collapsed into a chair. That had no been an aspect he considered. Their precious daughter … their baby would never live. Desiree would never grow in Molly’s womb.

But was he being selfish - wanting to hold the little girl he had missed along with his wife for so very long? Did he dare sacrifice Molly’s remaining childhood for his longings?

Then again, could he give her up completely? Could he give up the child they both longed for so desperately? Gods, he didn’t want to be so damn selfish. He loved this woman; he missed their child desperately. But, still she was being talked about as he swore he would never allow such evil to touch her sweet name again!

“Son. Molly is the other half of you. Can you honestly survive without her?” Before he could answer Jessica went on. “We both know that you can’t. Be happy that she still wants you as badly as she ever has. Now ignore those words. Molly does, and she has never looked back since then.”

Taking a breath, Neflyte nodded his head. Jessica was right as always. He couldn’t give up his dearest joy, or the sweet hope of the little girl ahead of them.

Then hit the call in his mind. ‘Neflyte! We need help! Please!’

“Mom …”

Jessica gave that smile that told anyone who knew her that she knew what was going on. “Go save your wife. I’ll see you both at dinner.”

* * * * * * * *

At Slick Chicks Beauty Salon, Molly move out the front door to stay out of the sleep gas the beauticians were spraying. She thought to herself. ‘I hope Neflyte heard my thoughts’

“Solaris Power!”

In moments Molly became Sailor Solaris. But, Mina and Serena were still in the salon. That meant she had to back them up.

“Stop where you are, Negascum! I am Sailor Solaris, and you are a split end that is about to get cut out! In the name of Solaris, I will punish you!”

‘Wow! Molly is really shaping into one heck of a Scout! I just hope that I’ll be as good a leader … someday.’ Out of sight, Serena exhaled with determination. "Miss Scissorhands thinks she's got the real Sailor Moon. As if. Is she in for a surprise. The real Sailor Moon will now step forward. MOON PRISM POWER!"

Moon came out to take a position next to her friend. "Looking for me?! Thanks for coming in on this, Solaris."

“Always here to back you up Sailor Moon, on everything. How about we take out the Negatrash?”

They both noticed that the Nega-monster was shocked at their appearance. Moon smiled with her head high. "You ARE looking for Sailor Moon?"

"What? How can this be?!"

Moon fought off the urge to roll her eyes. The minions didn’t get any smarter with these new ‘generals’. "I am Sailor Moon, Champion of Justice! On behalf of the Moon, I will right wrongs . . . and triumph over evil . . . and that means you. You've got the wrong girl. Got that, roller-brain?"

"Hah! Pretty speeches don't impress me, moon-face. I'll snip you both down to size . . . in no time flat." The scissors that were her right hand retreated into her arm.

Sailor Moon was nervous. This time she didn’t have Tuxedo Mask to come in and save her and the other Scouts. "Eee! Now we’re in for it."

"How about a quick blow-dry? I'll set it on . . . REALLY HOT!" Her right had became a hair dryer. At REALLY HOT it shot out flames splitting the girls up as they dodged the attack.

"I gotta help them . . .” Mina moaned, but she couldn’t get past the effect of the sleep gas and nodded off.

"Let's get rid of some of those split ends right down . . . to the roots! Ah, ha, ha, ha, ha."

Both Scouts were finding it hard to stay out of the range of fire (no pun intended), and get a clear shot to aim their attacks. And the monster’s lines were getting worse by the minute. "Bangs are a little long, don't you think?"

The Nega-monster’s hand became a sharp razor that cut through the partition Moon was using as a protective barrier. Then it turned into a machine-gun spray trigger - loaded with barber shears! "Ha, HA! Ha, ha, ha, ha!"

Sailor Moon rolled into a rolling tray full of cosmetics. She grabbed a jar of blush and threw it in the monster’s face. That gave Solaris time to set up her attack.

“SOLARIS WIND SHATTER!”

The Nega-monster was hit but the attack did little damage. It was clear that Sailor Moon would be the one to help this monster.

And then Solaris took a hit from behind! Turning she saw that it was Jet. “So, Solaris thinks that she’s a Scout! Not much of an attack. After all, I used it to kill you, and then it does nothing to stop my minion’s attack? Are you the Scout of wimps and weaklings?”

“Shut up Jet!” Solaris fought hard, but couldn’t keep the tears from her eyes.

Jet was enjoying this. “Oh, are we going to cry? Such a little baby. Why don’t you just run away and find your mommy and daddy? Oh, I’m sorry. I forgot that you haven’t seen daddy in so long. Time for a little reunion, I think. Oh Rudy dear.”

To Solaris’ horror, into the salon walked in Rudolph Baker! “Oh, my baby has grown up into a lovely young lady. Mmmm, I think some father-daughter bonding time is in order.”

He shot out a beam of dark energy that wrapped around Solaris and dragged her towards him. Once in his reach, he let loose with the energy and held her tight to his hungry body. “Gods, no! Let me go, you monster!”

“Oh, how right you are, daddy’s little longing.” And with that he smiled back to show his sharp fangs! He yanked her head back to expose her neck, and then shrieked in pain.

Solaris fell back and would have hit the ground if a pair of strong arms hadn’t grabbed her. Shakily she opened her eye to see her favorite blues shimmering with worried tears. Neflyte had arrived on the scene. “Are you alright? Did he hurt you?”

Solaris shook her head firmly; it was her answer to both questions. She wasn’t hurt, but she wasn’t alright either.

Jet cackled as she curled into Rudolph’s arms like a lover. “Well, step-daughter, we’ll see you again. Yes, very soon.”

The pair laughed as they disappeared, leaving a broken Solaris trying to regroup from the attack. She held off the breakdown to focus on where she was needed. “Sailor Moon needs us, my love. We need to focus on the here and now.”

Neflyte nodded, but he didn’t like the iciness in her stare. His love was broken, and he’d have to be there for her. Thankfully he had that talk with Jessica. Neflyte didn’t want to imagine what could have happened if he had done like he first planned, and break all ties to his Molly.

They noticed that Tuxedo Mask was there … but he was definitely not the friend they knew before. Moon didn’t care, as she only saw that he was there. "Oh . . . Oh, I can't believe it. You're here."

There was a rose on the floor that turned black. He was certainly not their old friend. "Hey, don't go getting your hopes up."

"Huh?" It was obvious that Moon didn’t want to believe it.

"I'm here for the Imperium Silver Crystal . . . and THAT'S IT." His voice was cold, more so than the Darien they knew in the early days.

"Huh?" It still hadn’t sunk in.

The snarl on his face made Sailor Moon nervous … and not the good nervous he used to give her. "Hand it over!"

"Oh, what for? Tell me." Moon didn’t want to believe what was before her, even if she had known it for days in her head - her heart had refused to believe it.

"Don't ask questions. I didn't come for a chat."

Sailor Moon fought against her longing to weep. How could this be the man she so dearly loved, and still loved? "Traitor . . . what have they done to you?"

“Be careful Sailor Moon!” Solaris called out as the Nega-monster came in for another attack.

"Cough up the crystal or get a buzz cut." This time the monster’s weapons were giant hair clippers! The clippers cut into the floor, and almost Sailor Moon along with it. Mask growled, "Get her! Queen Beryl wants that crystal!"

"Oh no! This can't be!" Sailor Moon gasped.

"Time for a new do, Blondie!"

"Help!" Moon got chased out of the salon by the monster, and was followed by Solaris and Neflyte. Mina finally recovered enough to hear the commotion and watch Tuxedo Mask leaving. "Tuxedo Mask's working for the Negaverse. Sailor Moon's in for it for sure. VENUS POWER!"

Outside the monster was trashing everything in sight. "You need a new look, Sailor Moon. How about BALD?! Very hip. Very cool. Hah!"

Solaris used her attack twice more before the monster slowed down, to Moon’s relief. "You'll never get that crystal! You got that, ya tool-head?!"

"You don't have a chance, Sailor Moon. Come on! Hand it over!" Tuxedo Mask yelled.

Moon’s eyes burned with determination, and shimmered with tears for the Tuxedo she still loved deeply. "No way!"

"No more Mrs. Nice Guy." This time the monster attacked Moon and Solaris. "You're ready for that buzz cut?"

The blow threw Solaris hard on the sidewalk across the street, leaving her knocked out. That tore at Neflyte’s heart, because he was there and didn’t prevent her getting hurt.

“STAR LIGHT ATTACK!”

It took the monster down a couple of steps. Then the others made it - thanks to Venus calling for them.

"Drop it, Negasleaze!"

"Huh?" Tuxedo Mask didn’t need this, but it was exactly what Moon and Neflyte needed. "Our friends."

"MARS FIRE . . .”

"JUPITER THUNDER . . .”

The pair prepared to double team.

“. . . IGNITE!"

“. . . CRUSH!"

That knocked out the giant clippers.

"MERCURY BUBBLES BLAST!" Sailor Mercury’s fog left the monster disoriented.

"Quick. Use your wand," Venus called out to Moon.

"MOON HEALING ACTIVATION!"

In moments, the Moon Healing transformed the Nega-Monster back into the salon beauticians. That left it Tuxedo Mask against five of the Sailor Scouts. Neflyte had rushed to Solaris who was still unconscious.

"Tuxedo Mask! Are . . . are you all right now? You're with us?" Mars asked with hope in her voice.

Venus held her back with a look of warning. "Keep your distance, Mars. He's no friend of ours now. He's been brainwashed by the Negaverse. Who knows what he might do? I know he can't be trusted."

“Venus is right. Solaris and I saw it. That Nega-monster was taking orders from him. He's Queen Beryl's man now, and don't think for a minute that he's working for anybody but her,” Neflyte confirmed as he carried his love towards them.

Without a thought, Mercury began scanning her friend with that ever-present minicomputer. The Scouts were still in shock, and Sailor Moon was devastated.

Tuxedo Mask stood there as if he was looking at his enemies rather than his friends. "Venus and Neflyte have got it right. You're my enemy now, and I won't stop until that crystal is mine."

"This can't be." Sailor Mars shook her head in disbelief.

Mercury looked up from her scan a moment to glare at the man she knew that their leader was destined to be with. "They really did some job of brainwashing."

"Enough with the chat, Sailor girls! I want that crystal, and I'll fight every one of ya to get it, so who's first?" Mask challenged. But then he stopped for a moment. "So, you got lucky this time, girls, but I'll be back. Don't you worry. Next time, it won't be so pretty, and next time, I'm not leaving without that crystal. Remember that, Sailor brats. See ya 'round."

After he left through a Negaverse wormhole, Mercury looked up into Neflyte’s worried face. “She's worn out, but will be alright with some rest. Something has been holding her powers back, and it is intensifying. That’s why her attacks have been so ineffective. We’ll have to talk to her mom to find out more about it.”

Neflyte nodded. “Thank you, Mercury. If I had lost her …”

“We all know, Neflyte.” Venus looked over at him with sympathy in her eyes.

Sailor Moon still couldn’t believe it.

After Molly finally regained consciousness, they all transformed to their street clothes and watched the busy salon from outside the window.

"Guess everything's back to normal in Slick Chicks." Serena said. She took a few steps before turning to talk to the others. "Hey, I'm starved. How 'bout we go pig out on double cheeseburgers, french fries, chocolate shakes, and triple hot fudge sundaes?"

Artemis gaped at their leader’s quick change in attitude. "Guess things are back to normal with Serena, too. She must be over Tuxedo Mask."

Serena heard him. "Ha, ha! No way, but I got a super cool plan to get him back. Ha, ha, ha. We'll de-brainwash him."

Luna groaned at that. "This from someone who can barely program a VCR."

"Well, I gotta say, I prefer having the goofy, food-crazed Serena back. She really had me worried there." Artemis sighed in relief.

Lita noticed that Raye was spaced out. "Hey, Raye . . .”

"Huh?"

"Are you all right with all this, Raye? You miss him?" Lita looked curiously at her friend.

"Hmm, I'll be fine."

Serena continued rattling on. "Hmph. Well, as soon as we finish de-brainwashing Tuxedo Mask, OOOH, I'm gonna tell that guy off! But in the meantime, guys, how about those hamburgers and french fries? Hey, let's skip the burgers and go straight . . .”

“Molly and I have plans with mom tonight. How about we all get together for some shopping tomorrow afternoon?” Neflyte offered.

The others cheered at the idea, except for Molly who was lost in her own little world. She was still shaken from the battle and the unwanted confrontation.

Her silence was unnerving him. “Girls, I think that Molly needs some rest before our plans tonight. See you tomorrow?”

The other agreed and said their goodbyes as the couple disappeared.

* * * * * * * *

Well looks like Molly’s in some deep trouble. What could block her powers? You’ll find out soon enough.