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Turning the Tables
By Lady1Venus

Chapter 9 - Zoycite Joins

* * * * * * * *

Molly awoke the next morning, with Neflite beside her. For a moment she didn't understand why Neflite was sleeping beside her but then she remembered she had asked him to hold her. Still lying down, she watched his sleeping face. Looking at his face, it was hard to imagine that he had once been a villain who fought against the Sailor Scouts. Molly laughed softly, which woke Neflite.

Neflite opened his eyes to stare into her beautiful blue-green eyes. Both Molly and Neflite became lost in the intense stare they gave each other, until Molly's alarm clock went off. Neflite looked over behind her and saw that it said seven o'clock.

"I guess it's time for you to get ready for school," he said, looking back at her as she turned the clock off.

Molly noticed that something was wrong. He usually didn't look at her sadly like that. "Neflite, what is wrong?"

Neflite was surprised that she knew something was wrong. Even as I look at her she knows I'm keeping something from her. He looked away from her towards the window. There was a lovely view of the city from her bedroom window.

Molly sat up. "Neflite, what is wrong?" she asked again.

Neflite looked back to her. There's really no other way to say it, is there? "Zoycite," he turned away, "knows I'm alive."

Molly gasped. "H--how?"

"After you fell asleep, she came back, probably to finish her job. When she got here, she saw that I was sitting on your bed. I had placed a sleep spell on you so you wouldn't awake," he said.

"What is going to happen now? That queen of the Negaverse will know now, and kill you," she said as tears started to stream down her face.

"Don't worry, Molly," he said, brushing away her tears. "One thing I do know about Zoycite, she tries to get rid of trouble before Beryl finds out. If she can't get rid of the trouble, then she tells Beryl but not before then."

"What do you mean?"

"Zoycite will not tell Beryl right away that I'm alive. She'll wait a day or two and try to get rid of me. But I have a plan to stop that."

"What will you do?"

"I'm going to try and convince Zoycite to switch sides. I've been thinking about this for a bit. If I can keep Zoycite from telling Beryl for as long as I can, it will work. Beryl is already getting fed up with that weasel's failures. Beryl will kill Zoycite if it keeps up. Then I will save Zoycite's life and give her the choice."

"Neflite," Molly said, cuddling close to her man. "I hope you can help her. If she lives and you can't help her, she'll kill you."

"No need to worry, Zoycite won't kill me. Trista will make sure of it," he said, wrapping his arms around her. "I have to get going. You have to get ready for school and I need to find out if Trista knows about Zoycite."

Neflite removed his arms from around Molly and lifted her chin with one hand. He bent closer to her and kissed her soft lips. Quickly, Molly wrapped her arms around Neflite's neck and he put his arms around her again. When they stopped kissing, Neflite stood and teleported back to the time flux.

When Neflite re-appeared, he could see Amara and Michelle were already there. He looked around and found that Trista wasn't there. "Where's Trista?"

"Last night after we found the teens still at the warehouse, we took them home," Michelle said. "When we got back here, Trista told us that we wouldn't be going to school tomorrow and left again."

"Just to see how Molly was doing, I looked into the mirror and saw you and Zoycite," Amara said. "I'm assuming Trista knows about you and Zoycite. She's probably busy trying to come up with a plan to keep you alive."

"Either that, or she is in the future," Neflite said.

"Why would she be in the future?" Michelle asked.

"She's under orders to keep me alive. She's probably talking to her queen about what to do next."

"What do you know of our future queen?" Amara asked.

"Probably as much as you. I know she is the Moon Princess and she will have a daughter. Crystal Tokyo will come under attack by the Negamoon," Neflite said. "But this is not something I want to discuss. Molly is on Earth, unprotected against Zoycite and I've decided to try to convince Zoycite to join the good side."

"How do you intend to do that?" Amara asked. "Are you going to stick with your first plan? Convince her on her death bed?"

"As a matter of fact, yes," Neflite said. "When Zoycite is pretty much dead to the world, I'll get Trista to keep her alive. I will then give Zoycite a choice, either die or join the Sailor Scouts."

"Hope you realize that it's going to take a bit to convince Zoycite to our side," Michelle pointed out.

"Yes, I know. I haven't completely thought about what I'm going to do. But it's the only thing I can do to protect Molly and myself."

"Well, since Zoycite knows you are alive, she probably isn't going to go after Molly anymore," Michelle said.

"Oh yes she will. Zoycite never tells Queen Beryl anything right away when something goes wrong with their plans for world denomination. She tries to solve the problem herself, if she hasn't solved in two days, then she notifies Queen Beryl."

"We can monitor Molly from here, and I don't think Zoycite would attack Molly in broad daylight at school," Amara said.

"That may be so, but I would like to be at her school if and when Zoycite decides to make trouble," Neflite said. Neflite turned and was about to teleport back to Earth. "Contact me when Trista returns."

Neflite turned back to Amara and Michelle. He looked at Michelle as she was about to say something but he didn't hear what she wanted to say. He vanished before she got the first word out.

* * * * * * * *

In the future, in Crystal Tokyo, Sailor Pluto was escorted to the throne room by one of the king's guards. There she waited for the presence of her king and queen. When they entered, an announcer said. "Their majesties, King Darien and Queen Serenity."

Pluto bowed on one knee, her Garnet Orb laid on the floor. She waited until her rulers were sitting on their thrones before rising with her Garnet Orb.

"Your majesties," Sailor Pluto said. "I'm not sure if you are aware of what is happening in the past, but Zoycite now knows that Neflite lives."

"Yes," the queen said. "We know."

"I request your next orders," Sailor Pluto said.

"What has Neflite done so far?" the king asked.

"Last night was when Molly was kidnapped by the Negaverse, and Neflite has been watching her all night. He allowed himself to be discovered. I tried to put the strongest protection on him as possible but it didn't help."

"Pluto, even if you were able to protect Neflite, Zoycite still would have found out. She spied on Molly often enough that she would have seen Neflite sooner or later," the queen said.

"I am under the impression that Neflite wants to convince Zoycite to join the good side," the king said. "He is probably going to go through with the plan. But I'd also suggest he try to convince Malachite to join the scouts' side."

"I left Amara and Michelle in the time flux," Pluto said. "Do you still want me to have them reveal themselves earlier than they were supposed to?"

"Yes," the queen said. "They will be needed to help fight the Negaforce. Every new change in the past makes the Negaforce stronger.

"Soon Sailor Moon is going to learn that she is the Moon Princess, and she will need a lot of help to become a good ruler and to defeat the Negaforce." The queen always found it hard to refer to her younger self as someone else. She knew her husband knew she felt this way even though she never came out and said it.

"Your majesty, what do you want the Outer Sailor Scouts to do?" Pluto asked.

"Help Neflite however you can in completing this task," the king said. "Since Neflite is going to convince Zoycite to come over, he must do the same for Malachite. You, Uranus and Neptune must reveal yourselves as Sailors so that you can help Neflite convince Malachite to join the good side."

"Another thing, Pluto, Gate Keeper of Time." The queen usually only used Pluto's full title in urgent situations. "Zoycite will try to capture Molly again. You mustn't allow that to happen."

"Yes, your majesty." Pluto bowed once again. As she bowed, King Darien and Queen Serenity stood and left the throne room. Pluto stayed kneeling until the guard announced, "Their majesties, the king and queen, have left the throne room."

Pluto stood with her Garnet Orb in hand and left for the time flux. When she arrived back in the time flux, she transformed back to her normal self.

"Any new progress?" Trista asked Amara and Michelle.

"Neflite was here and he said to contact him when you got back," Amara said.

"Where were you?" Michelle asked.

"I had to talk to the king and queen. They have new orders for us. We must help Neflite convince Zoycite to join our side and help bring Malachite over as well. Then we'll have Beryl's strongest warrior on our side. This is especially important since with every change we make in the flow of time, the Negaforce grows stronger. We'll need to reveal ourselves in order to help Neflite bring Malachite over to our side."

"How in the world are we going to do that?" Michelle asked.

"I don't know. First, let's concentrate on Zoycite," Trista said. "Where is Neflite? I'll go tell him what's going on."

"I believe he's watching Molly at school. He believes that Zoycite is still a threat to Molly," Amara said.

"She is. Zoycite knows Neflite is alive. She'll do whatever is necessary to get rid of Neflite before Beryl knows," Trista said. "Amara and Michelle, I'm taking you back to Earth to follow the scouts."

Amara and Michelle stood and walked towards Trista. When they were close enough, Trista raised her Garnet Orb and all there disappeared.

* * * * * * * *

During the school day, Molly sensed Neflite's presence. She had the feeling that Neflite was protecting her. When lunchtime rolled around, Neflite had his car parked outside the gate, waiting for Molly. When she got outside, she automatically ran up to Neflite.

They shared a long kiss before getting in the car and driving down the street. They went to the nearest fast food restaurant and ordered out, then drove to the park.

At the park, Neflite made a little picnic with a blanket and the food they bought.

"Oh, Neflite, this is a nice surprise," Molly said when she finished eating her burger.

Before Neflite could speak, someone else said, "Nice and terrible if you ask me."

Neflite and Molly looked up to see Zoycite floating in the air. Neflite grasped Molly and got her behind him.

"So you are going to allow your girl to watch you die," Zoycite smirked.

"You won't even get near me or her," Neflite growled. He saw something came out of a tree behind Zoycite. It was the Garnet Orb that Trista always carried.

Zoycite turned just in time to see the staff smack her in the face, and fell to the ground. When she recovered from her fall, she stood back up. She looked at the tree and saw a shadowy figure in a Sailor suit.

"Damn you, scout!" Zoycite yelled, thinking it was Sailor Venus again.

Neflite was about to grab Zoycite when she disappeared in a swirl of cherry blossoms. Neflite cursed and then went back to Molly, who was shaking.

"Are you all right?" Sailor Pluto asked as she jumped down from the tree.

"Yeah, I think so," Molly said. "Thanks."

"No problem," Pluto said.

"The king and queen want me to help you get Zoycite, and we have to bring Malachite over as well," Pluto said. She looked at him as he was about to start asking questions. "With every new change in the past, the Negaforce becomes stronger."

"Damn!" Neflite said, and turned to Molly. "Let's get you back to school, your classes will start again soon."

Molly nodded. As Neflite and Molly hurried to the car, Pluto cleaned up their little picnic and put it the car. With a wave goodbye, Pluto disappeared to the time flux, and Neflite put the car into gear and left for the school.

* * * * * * * *

After school, the Sailor Scouts were waiting for their leader Serena to arrive so they could start a scout meeting. Serena was even later than usual, and they were starting to get worried about where she was.

Over behind some bushes at the temple, Amara and Michelle watched the scouts. Not too long after they got there, they had seen Sailor Venus, in normal form, show up. They heard her announce her name was Mina. Before too long, the Sailor Scouts left to check out the Starlight Tower. Mina had sensed some strange vibrations going on at the tower. Amara and Michelle followed them.

When they all got to the Starlight Tower, they saw that the beautiful tower had become ugly, dark and twisted. It was something that only the Negaverse could conjure up. They knew they were racing against time to save Serena and Darien, who were trapped in there. It took them about an hour to climb the stairs to the top. When they reached the top floor, they could see Sailor Moon beside Tuxedo Mask, who they now recognized as Darien. Tuxedo Mask was lying on the floor, fighting for his life, and Sailor Moon was kneeling beside him.

"We're too late!"

Not too far from Sailor Moon and Tuxedo Mask was Zoycite, smirking.

They scouts watched in awe as the Imperium Silver Crystal appeared and Sailor Moon was revealed as the Moon Princess. Zoycite was shocked and furious. She was about to attack when Princess Serena used the Crescent Moon Wand and knocked her out.

While Zoycite was unconscious, Princess Serena and Darien remembered their life on the Moon, and that Darien was actually the Prince of Earth. But all too soon, Malachite appeared. He helped Zoycite get up and then wrapped a red dome around Darien. Then Malachite, with Zoycite in his arms, disappeared along with Darien.

Amara, Michelle and Trista stood behind the scouts and watched the whole thing unfold. It was no surprise to them that Tuxedo Mask and Sailor Moon were Prince and Princess. Sailor Moon and Tuxedo Mask were going to be the rulers of Crystal Tokyo. What surprised them was that the Negaverse took Darien; they never knew that the enemy captured Darien. The Outer Sailor Scouts were brought back to reality when they heard the scouts start talking.

"So what do we do now?" Sailor Jupiter asked.

"We have to find away out of here," Sailor Mercury said.

"I hope Sailor Moon will be all right," a voice said. The scouts looked up to see Neflite.

"How long have you been here?" Sailor Mars asked.

"Just got here," Neflite said. "I can't stay long. Zoycite is about to be killed by Queen Beryl. I have decided to go with my plan to convince Zoycite to join the good side. But I have to hurry. I have to do this before Zoycite's life energy will be gone. After this, you will need to be ready to fight Malachite."

"Wait, Neflite," Sailor Venus said. "Can't you get us out of here?"

"No. I can't. If I leave by myself, Beryl won't detect that I'm still alive," Neflite said. "Don't worry though, you will get out of here, I promise."

Neflite disappeared before any of the scouts could say anything more. He re-appeared right beside Amara.

"Are you ready, Trista?" Neflite whispered.

"Will be," Trista said. "Amara and Michelle, I'll get you two out of here, but keep watch on what's left of the tower."

"Right!" Amara and Michelle whispered. Trista swung her Garnet Orb above the scouts' head and they disappeared. Only Trista and Neflite were left in the tower.

"Let's go, Neflite." Trista and Neflite disappeared in red swirls.

* * * * * * * *

In the throne room of the Negaverse, Queen Beryl was very angry with Zoycite. Zoycite had tried to kill Darien twice when Beryl had said to bring Darien to the Negaverse.

"Now, Zoycite, explain your behavior regarding Tuxedo Mask," Beryl said angrily.

"Please, your majesty," Zoycite pleaded.

"First the ice crystal and then the elevator. Did you think, I wouldn't know!" Beryl heard something come out of Zoycite's mouth but she wouldn't listen. "You've disobeyed me for the last time."

Beryl moved her hands from the crystal ball in front of her. A ball of energy started to form. Beryl could hear Malachite trying to say something but she didn't listen to anyone. The ball of energy hit Zoycite squarely in the chest. When she saw, to her satisfaction, that Zoycite would be dead within the hour, she stood.

"Let that be a lesson, Malachite," she said.

"Yes," Malachite said, turning back to his queen. You bitch. You didn't even give her time to explain.

He watched as Beryl left the throne room. When she was gone, he ran over to his lover.

"Zoycite!" He picked her up as tears threatened to fall from his eyes. Before they could, he disappeared to his own castle. He laid Zoycite down on a stone bed.

"Zoycite, please forgive me. This is all my fault," he cried.

"Hold me," she said weakly, opening her eyes. She could feel Malachite lifting her to a sitting position. "You warned me about seeking revenge and I didn't listen. Just promise me one last thing, Malachite."

"Anything."

"Don't forget me," she said in her final breath.

"I will never." He hugged her then gently laid her back down and stood back up. "Good-bye, my love," he said when he left the room.

In the shadows, Trista and Neflite waited. As Zoycite said her final words, Trista held out her Garnet Orb to keep Zoycite alive by a thread. It was the only thing she could do to make Malachite think Zoycite was dead.

When Malachite was gone, Neflite and Trista went over to Zoycite. Neflite picked her up. He had disgusted look on his face. "I can't believe I'm picking her up." Trista, using the Garnet Orb, teleported all three of them back to the time flux.

When they were in the safety of the flux, Neflite made a bed appear from the mist in the time flux. By now, he was good at making whatever furniture he needed from the mist.

"All right, Neflite," Trista said. "Stand back while I bring Zoycite back. She will be quite weak. But strong enough to speak."

As Neflite stood back, Trista threw the Garnet Orb above Zoycite. The Garnet Orb went into a horizontal position above the barely-living General. A golden glow radiated off the Garnet Orb onto Zoycite.

As the glow shone on Zoisite, Neflite could see that one of her hands was starting to move. Before too long, the Garnet Orb stopped glowing and returned to Trista's hands. When her staff was back in her hands, she started to collapse. Neflite swiftly caught her.

"Thank you, Neflite," she said weakly. "The Garnet Orb took more power than I thought. Can you just take me over there so I can rest?"

Neflite picked her up as Zoycite started moaning, and placed her down on another cloud bed. When he was about to go back over to Zoycite, Trista grabbed his arm. "Remember what I said, Zoycite must join our side." She released Neflite and he went over to Zoycite.

When he was back beside Zoycite, she opened her eyes. At first she had a fearful look, then her expression turned to confusion. Where was she and why was Neflite beside her?

"You are in a time flux," Neflite said coldly. He wanted to rip her apart for what she had done to Molly, but this was the best way to protect Molly. "Now, you will listen to me and listen good. There is no way you can return to the Negaverse. Beryl thinks you're dead. If it weren't for the Gate Keeper of Time, who is also a Sailor Scout, you would be."

Neflite watched in amusement as Zoycite looked at him, shocked. "What, no back talk?"

"Nelfite!" Trista hissed.

"Sorry," he said, but didn't sound it. "See, there are three more Sailor Scouts besides Venus, Mercury, Mars, Jupiter and Sailor Moon. The other three are Sailor Uranus, Neptune and Pluto. Trista, who is known as Pluto, used her powers to keep you alive. You are still very weak right now.

"Now, if you want to stay alive you will join the Sailor Scouts. When we get the chance, we will bring Malachite over to the scouts' side. If you refuse, you will never be able to leave this time flux and regain the rest of your strength." Neflite was lying but it was the only way he had a remote chance to convince Zoycite to join the good side.

"Why the hell would I join the scouts?" Zoycite croaked.

"Zoycite," Trista said. She had regained some of her strength, and now went over to Neflite. "This will be hard for you to understand, but you were once a good person and an Ambassador to the Moon from Earth. You and Neflite were once best friends."

"What!" Zoycite jumped up but fell back on the bed in pain.

"Until you've regained enough strength to stand, you will have to stay lying down," Neflite said. "You are barely alive, even though Trista has given her most of her strength to keep you alive."

"Neflite, stand back again. I'm going to help Zoycite remember," Trista said.

"Trista, that isn't wise," Neflite said in protest. "You are still a little weak."

"I know, but what choice do we have? The king and queen specifically told me to have Zoycite join our side one way or another. The mirror to the outside will show Zoycite's journey."

Trista sat down beside Zoycite and made Zoycite clasp the Garnet Orb. Zoycite fought as hard as she could but it was no use, Trista was still fairly strong even without all her strength. When Zoycite finally gave up, her eyes went cloudy, as did Trista's. Both of their minds started to travel back through time.

For the next couple hours, Neflite watched in the mirror as Trista showed Zoycite the past. To him it was also an enlightening experience. Neflite saw his past life as an Ambassador. He saw himself with Zoycite on Earth, carrying out a lot of missions together. At one point he saw himself in love with a beautiful redhead. She seemed of high stature, from the appearance of her clothes. She could have been a princess or a duchess. He knew he would have to find out who the redhead was; she looked a lot like Molly. There was only one person who could answer that, and that was Trista.

When Trista, still in the trance, raised the Garnet Orb, both she and Zoycite awoke from the trance.

"I'll leave you two alone to talk," Trista said. She got up and left the room.

Zoycite, still too weak to move, stared at Neflite. "I remember I was an Ambassador to the Moon."

"Yes, you were," Neflite said.

"We have to get Malachite over as well."

"I know," he said. "By morning you should be stronger." Neflite turned and teleported back to Earth.

Zoycite exactly where he was going. "I never even had time to tell anyone that he was alive," she said to herself. "Which is good, I think."

Zoycite closed her eyes and for the next hour thought about her life now. She had just silently joined the Sailor Scouts and would help Neflite defeat the Negaverse. She was in total shock from the whole ordeal. She could even still feel the pain of when Beryl's energy ball had hit her chest. Before too long, Zoycite fell asleep thinking of how to help the scouts.

* * * * * * * *

return to Index / go to Chapter 10

The Nephrite and Naru Treasury