Ari --------------------------------------------------------------------- DARK ON THE OUTSIDE (insert disclaimers here) =====CHAPTER 18: UNFINISHED BUSINESS===== NOON THE NEXT DAY "Man, just look at this view!" Owen and Amy stood atop a cliff overlooking the city, admiring its beautiful view. They stood close to each other, Owen with his arm around her waist, before he spoke. "This is perfect." "Why'd you bring me up here again?" Amy asked. "I wanted to try this out." He motioned to the new two-person hang glider he purchased a few days ago. "Pretty neat-looking, huh?" "Yeah, I guess," Amy said nervously. "What's wrong Amy?" "A-are you sure you know what you're doing?" She looked down at the ground. "I'm kinda...nervous." "Don't worry yourself hon." He started to rub her back and hold her close. "I won't let anything happen to you." He kissed her on the top of her head. "C'mon, let's get this thing set up." He led her over to the glider. After strapping both of them in, they picked up the glider. "Ready?" "Yeah," she answered. Amy was still nervous, but Owen thought this would open her up a little bit; make her less tense. "Alright then, let's go." "What now?" He started to jog toward the edge of the cliff. "When we get to the edge, jump." "What?!" "Trust me." He picked up the pace a little. "Let me off, Owen, you're not well!" "Sure I am. JUMP!" They got to the edge of the cliff, and jumped. A moment later, they were gliding. Amy was still screaming, but when she gained her senses again and looked around, the scream be- came a wild laughter. "Wow! This is incredible!" Amy shouted. She leaned over and kissed him on the cheek, which inevitably became deeper. When they broke, Owen took over steering the glider. The view was beautiful! As the two young lovers flew high o- verhead, they could see everything the city had to offer; from the park to the malls, the temple to the schools, kids in the park, couples wal- king hand in hand down the street together, it was beautiful. How any- one could try to conquer the earth and ruin this for everyone, Owen thought, was way beyond him. One of those couples Owen was thinking about was Serena and Da- rien. "Beautiful day, isn't it?" Serena asked, hanging onto Darien's arm and smiling. "Mmmmm...sure is," he answered. "I'm so glad for Amy and Owen, aren't you?" "Yeah. Still, I never knew Owen could be so...violent. You saw what he did to Gred, didn't you?" "Uh-huh. But even he said he couldn't believe the way he act- ed. He's so peaceful." "I think they're gonna have a bright future ahead of them." But the lovely mood was disturbed when Darien's head jolted forward a bit, and picked up a feeling he's experienced before. "What's wrong?" "Something's wrong," he said. Darien looked around for the source of this bad energy, when he stopped at a clearing. "There! Right there!" Just as they looked over to where Darien was pointing, a black portal was opening before their eyes. And their old nemesis, Hollywood Hogan, came strutting out. "Ugh!" Serena shouted. "Not YOU again! MOON CRYSTAL POWER!!!" Within a moment, Serena and Darien became Sailor Moon and Tuxedo Mask. Both were willing to fight. "Boy you gotta lotta guts coming after us now!" Tuxedo Mask shot. "You think that without the nWo that I'm completely worthless?" Hogan retorted. "You don't scare me, Sailor Brat! You OR your sharp- dressed man!" "Just gimme a second, okay?" Sailor Moon drew her communica- tor, brandishing it at Hogan. "I'll give you something to be afraid of!" She then pressed the all-call button. "Is that your beeper?" "I think so." Owen and Amy were still hang gliding over the city when Owen's beeper went off. He drew it, and noticed that Serena had "paged" him. "What is it, Serena?" "Hogan's at it again," Serena said. "How fast can you guys get over here?" "Gonna be a while, Sailor Moon." "Where are you?" "About five, six thousand feet above your head on a hang gli- der. I think we're on the other side of town, too." "All right, just get down here as soon as possible, okay?" "Roger." He turned to Amy. "Serena's in trouble. Better land on one of these buildings so you can transform." "Alright," she answered. "But how do we land this thing?" "Like this." Owen aimed for the roof of an apartment housing, and pulled the control bar towards them slowly. The glider slowly de- scended, coming to a soft landing on the roof. Owen unhooked both of them, and stepped away from it. "I still can't change into Darkheart, so I'll just have to rely on my magic. Plus, I can teleport us over to Sailor Moon. You better transform too." "Right. MERCURY POWER!!!" They teleported, alright, but they weren't right at the site. And Sailor Mercury noticed this. "What happened?" "This is exactly what I thought would happen," Owen said blunt- ly. "What?" "I can teleport myself all the way across the big island of Ja- pan if necessary. But I don't have enough power - yet - to teleport another normal human, much less someone with different magic than my own, that kinda distance. We should be within a couple of blocks, I think." "Then let's go!" Owen and Sailor Mercury ran down the street to where Sailor Moon and the others were headed. But Owen fell slight- ly behind Sailor Mercury. This was just long enough for him to to crash into Molly, send- ing both of them down. He just motioned for her to keep going. He'd catch up soon. "I'm sorry, Owen!" Molly said, getting to her feet. "It's okay," he answered, getting to his feet. Soon, he no- ticed a melancholy look on her face. "What's wrong?" "Well..." Obviously, she was hurt really badly. She could barely get it out. "It's...Melvin. We...broke up." With that, she started to cry. "I didn't even know you two were even together - gee, I'm sorry to hear that. You gonna be alright?" "I dunno." "But you two can still be friends, right?" "I...guess. But he was the closest thing to a boyfriend I had, except for Neph-" She slapped her hand over her mouth, realizing she said too much already. "Who?" "N...Nephlyte." More tears started to form. "He was some guy I knew a few years ago. He...left and I haven't seen him since." "Don't worry, if you truly love him, he'll return. Anyway, I gotta get outta here, so I'll, talk to you later, okay?" "Alright. Thanks Owen." He smiled at her, and took off down the street. Hogan's confident attitude dimished more and more with the ar- rival of each additional Sailor Scout. With the arrival of Owen, it sealed the deal. Instead of staying to fight, Hogan instead ran away. But the Scouts and co. were hot on his heels, and followed him into the Negaverse. THE NEGAVERSE Well, this is a scene we've had to replay all too many times. The lucky seven were standing alone in a distant corner of the Negaverse. But, where where they? No one had ever seen this place be- fore. "Oh man..." Owen murmured. Then, his nose reached out to his hand. "What is that smell?" Shortly thereafter, everyone caught the odor, and were equally disgusted. "Ugh! I think we're in the morgue," Jupiter grumbled. "I wonder if any of these odors are toxic?" Mercury asked. "Don't think so," Owen said, "but a breath of fresh air could- n't hurt us." His eyes turned from gold to green as he held his arms out in front of him. "TEMPEST!" A huge gust of wind swept through the corridor, and when it finally did subside, everyone could breathe clearly. "Much better," Tuxedo Mask said. "C'mon, let's go." They went down the narrowly lit hallway, seeing nothing but hallway. The rather redundant scene was starting to get to them, until they came to a fork in the tunne. "Alright," Sailor Moon asked, "which way?" One path led left, the other led straight ahead. No one knew what to do. Then Mars spoke up. "I got an idea," she explained. "We better split up." "I'll head straight," Owen started. "The rest of you better head down that way." Owen started down the dark path on his own, but was interrupted by Tuxedo Mask. "Hey, are you sure about this?" Tuxedo Mask asked. "There's no telling what could be lurking around down there!" "There's no telling what could be down that corridor either, but something just tells me to go down there." "Owen, don't," Sailor Moon pleaded. "It's too dangerous. At least...let me go with you, okay?" "Are you sure about that?" Mercury asked. "Better do as she says," Owen answered. "Maybe it's better this way." "We'll be in touch," Venus added, as the group divided and set off. The further Moon and Owen went down the hallway, the stench that Owen thought he blew away became stronger. It's intensity increased rapidly until it finally stopped. Then, they came into the crypt. What they saw was sickening. It was an area far separated from the remainder of the Negaverse. And it contained the remains of the four generals that the Sailor Scouts defeated long ago. They were set on four altars, affixed in a diamond. The first was Jedite, his face still bearing the same look of disbelief the moment he was imprisoned in a crystal tomb. Another altar con- tained just a pile of wilted cherry blossom leaves, the side bearing the word ZOICITE engraved into it. Another similar altar, this time with a pile of ash. This time, the word MALACHITE was engraved on the side. But what caught Owen's eye the most was the final altar. There was a cadaver on it, possibly embalmed, seeing how it was more or less in one piece. Most of his one sleeve was torn off, and his arm was co- vered in dried up blood. His name was Nephlite. "Who's this guy?" Owen asked. "Oh, him..." Sailor Moon started. She knew who he was. She had to watch as he died in the arms of the girl who loved her, Molly. And she was crying along with her, although it was on the inside. "That's Nephlite." "Is this the same guy Molly was telling me about?" "That's him. They were in love." "What happened to him?" "He said he wanted to turn against the Negaverse and help us. But they got to him first, and...and..." "Whacked him. I understand." He stared at his body for a whi- le. Then he got an idea. "I got it." "Huh?" "I think he deserves a second chance." He stood in front of the altar, and worked one of his most powerful spells. He chanted some phrases in a language that couldn't be understood, followed by a huge column of light taking in Owen, Nephlite, and the altar. When it rece- ded, Nephlite had been fully restored. And then, Nephlite started to stir. He sat up as if he were in a daze. "Wh...where am I?" He turned to Owen. "Master..." "Please don't call me that," Owen stated. "My name's Owen." "What's going on here, Owen?" "It's the year 1999. I used my Debt of Loyalty spell to revive you. You wanted to fight against the Negaverse; I have given you that chance." "Beryl?" "Beryl's gone. Now some guy named Hollywood Hogan's calling the shots." "It doesn't matter. Just let me at them!" The three headed out the door, and down the hallway, looking for the other corridor. A- long the way, Owen brought up an important point that made Nephlite's face go from determined to heartbroken. "There's also a young woman you left waiting when you died." "What?" He paused, and suddenly frowned when he knew what he was talking about. "M...Molly?" "Yes." The remaining scouts and Tuxedo Mask were having difficulty po- lishing off Hollywood Hogan. Only the timely arrival of Sailor Moon, Owen, and...Nephlite(?) could finish off Hogan once and for all. LE BEC FIN THE NEXT NIGHT 'I brought you back because I realized the pain that one girl was feeling without you. You don't have to pay me back, you don't have to do anything for repayment; I won't accept it anyway. I heard that you had also promised her a chocolate parfait, right? Simple. I had everything set up for you. She will already be seated, waiting there for you. Tell the host you're here for Osaka. He'll wait a few mi- nutes, then he'll lead you to over to Molly, the parfaits, and you two can pick up where you left off!' These words were being repeated through Nephlite's - rather, the mind of Maxfield Stanton - as he walked into the restaurant ner- vously. It had been so long since they last saw each other; you don't get out too often when you're dead. How would she handle it? How will he present himself? He stepped inside, and decided just to lay it all on the line. He did just what he said, and a few minutes later, the host led him to the appropritate table. Then, Molly saw him, gasped, and leapt out of her chair and embraced him. Tears started to stream from her eyes. "Oh my god, Nephlite! I've missed you!" "I've missed you too, dear Molly," Nephlite said. She pulled away from him. "But what happened? I thought you were-" Molly wanted to finish her sentence, but Nephlite had inter- rupted him with a deep kiss. "Let's not worry about that now. My biggest concern now is de- voting everything to you." They kissed again, and sat down to that parfait Nephlite owed her. =====TO BE CONTINUED=====