All right! Here it is! My first fanfic! Well, part of it. It's the
prologue, at least. The title of my fanfic is called Sailor Moon: 
Dark Jewel. It's set between "Sailor V Makes the Scene" and 
"A Crystal Clear Destiny." (yes, I know that's impossible, but it was 
the only time that could be...:-) So, all the  Sailor Scouts are here,
Molly's dating Melvin... There MAY be some descrepancies, but if there
are,  they're for the purpose of the plot. (I hope. <g>)


And now, without further ado....


			SAILOR MOON: DARK JEWEL
			by: Marie Kelly


PROLOGUE

	She was never the type of girl that could be 
considered beautiful; not by a long shot. She was certainly 
pleasant to look at; that could be denied,  yet she was not 
the sort of person one would give more than a fleeting glance 
to, perhaps noticing her shock of hair, but that  was all she 
usually got, a fleeting glance. Not that she was unhappy. Some 
girls needed to be the center of attention;  they were always 
primping in front of the mirror, attempting to gain an aura of 
glamour that they did not have. Certainly, she did her fair 
share of primping, like any normal fourteen year old. 
	Or, rather, she *had*. Yet, somehow, all that seemed 
silly, and childish.  She was still fourteen, and still in Junior 
High, yet, if you asked her about it, she would have said she was 
a woman beyond her years, far more mature than they were. For she 
had something none of the other girls had. She had a boyfriend
	Her green eyes narrowed, and she pursed her lips. Her 
boyfriend was late. She had rushed here as soon as she could, 
skipping the last class -- science, so she could be here
early, not even  bothering to change out of her uniform, and he 
did not even have  the courtesy to get here on time!
	"Oooh," she muttered, under her breath, making a fist 
with  her hands.  "When that jerk gets here I'll tell him what 
for! He was SUPPOSED to meet me here at three thirty--" she 
glanced  at her watch "--and he's ALREADY FORTY  minutes late!" 
Like all  stereotypical redheads, she was prone to anger, which 
she usually  managed to temper remarkablably.
	"I'm here! Sorry I'm late, Molly," Melvin said, 
apologetically.
	Molly crossed her arms, and raised her chin just the 
slightest bit. "Why were you late?" she asked bitterly. It wasn't 
like her to be that way, nor was it like Melvin to be late. If 
anything,  he was always annoyingly early. 
	Melvin laughed, a nervous, high pitched giggle. "Well...uh
...I was kind  of in detention," he finally managed to say. 
	It was Molly's turn to look surprised. "You were in 
detention?" She tried not to keep the disbelief out of her voice. 
"How did *that* happen?!"
	"Well, uh..." Melvin fidgeted, and Molly looked at him. 
He was not a handsome boy; extremely short, he had short, pale brown 
hair that stuck up in tufts all over his head. Molly wasn't sure 
*what* color his eyes were, since he wore such thick spectacles she 
had never seen them close up. "I was....I brought my ant farm  for 
science class and Serena tripped over it and--"
	Molly held up her hand for him to stop. Serena. He didn't 
have to say any more. She knew what had happened. Somehow, thanks 
to  Serena, Melvin's ant farm had opened, and the ants had gone 
scurrying  all over the place. "I don't see why you have to get in 
trouble for what Serena did!" she cried, her voice uncharacteristically 
angry. 
	Melvin was the kind of person who had, as his greatest weakness, 
the inability to lie. "Well, uh, I wasn't supposed to 
bring it to school....so I got into trouble for that."
	"It's still Serena's fault," Molly said. "Where is she?" 
	"She's still at detention. What's wrong with you, Molly? 
I've never seen  you act like this. Serena's your best friend!"
	{Yes, yes,} thought Molly bitterly. {That scatterbrained, 
lazy, food-stuffing girl who couldn't pass a test if her life depended 
on it is my best friend. Ain't life grand?} She smiled, for Melvin, 
and said to him, "Yes, you're right. Serena may be a ditz, but she 
*is* my best friend!"
	"Molly, I made you something," said Melvin, sensing that 
not all was right with Molly. He couldn't tell what it was, but there 
was something distinctively  wrong with his ladylove. No matter. He 
knew how to cheer her up.
	"Ta-da!" he cried, holding a covered plate of food in front 
of her. "I cooked you something special. Guess what?"
	It was spicy shrimp. What else could it be? The boy didn't 
have much of an  ability to cook, and his imagination was so lacking
that all he ever did cook was spicy shrimp. Still, Molly had to admit, 
he made a wonderful plate of the tongue biting curls. "Oh, Melvin,"
Molly said, shly. "I couldn't possibly guess."
        "Come on, guess," he prodded her gently. This was a 
fun game they played, one the shy young gentleman enjoyed immensely.
Even though he knew Molly knew what it was -- she *must*, for not
only was it the only thing he cooked, but the spicy smell was beg-
inning to waft up from the covering. 
        "TA-DA!" he finally shouted, pulling the cover off. "Spicy 
Shrimp!"
        "Oh, Melvin!" Molly pretended to act surprised. "For me?
You shouldn't have!"
        "Food?!?!" an all too familiar voice greeted them. "I love 
food!" Serena appeared, drooling over the plate. Without even waiting 
to be asked, Serena "dug in", using her hands to shovel food into her 
mouth at a rapid pace, not even bothering to chew properly. Within 
a space of time of less than a minute, the plate of spicy shrimp was
empty, and a very full Serena sat in front of them. 
        Molly looked angrily at her friend. Serena was wearing her
school uniform, complete with the special brooch she always wore. 
Molly had no idea how she was able to get away with wearing it; 
every time she had the slightest descepancy with her uniform she
was punished! Serena's long, blond hair was pulled up into two 
ponytails, which hung from meatball like buns of hair on either 
side of her head. 
        "Serena!" Melvin sounded sad. "Those shrimp were for Molly 
and me." That was the extent of what Melvin would say; he never 
could get into arguments with Serena. Molly, however, could say 
more. 
        "Serena!" she yelled. "You are being way too selfish! 
Melvin made those shrimp as a special feast for the two of us! 
Who said you could eat them?"
        "But I was hungry," Serena whined. 
        "How?"
        "Well, I was late for school and I forgot my lunch, so..."
        Molly had heard *those* excuses before. "It doesn't matter,
Serena," she said seriously. "You had no right to eat our shrimp 
without asking. Maybe if you got up earlier, and were more careful..."
she let her voice trail off meaningfully. 
        Serena looked up at Molly, and suddenly she understood. 
"WAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHH! You're as mean as Raye!" she cried,
tears flying from her big blue eyes. 
        Molly and Melvin exchanged glances, and each had a giant
sweatdrop on the back of their heads, as they listened to 
Serena's childish wail. 
        "Come on, Melvin," Molly stood up. "Let's go home."
        "But what about Serena?"
        Molly looked at Serena, continuing to act like a small
child. "Let's go," she repeated, more firmly. 
        Molly started walking away, and Melvin followed her. 
He was more certain than ever that there was something....
wrong.....with Molly, but couldn't place his finger on it. 
        Molly was deep in thought, as she walked by. {So, I'm 
like Raye!} Her thoughts on that subject were angry, and, yes, 
the slightest bit hurt. {Serena has so many new friends...the
least she could do is introduce me to them!} She gave a small 
glance back at Melvin, who was following her. Was it time? Yes. 
Again. Tonight. A thrill filled her, and she walked faster. 
        "Molly! Slow down!" Melvin panted. "I'm not as fast as
you," he added, unnecessarily. 
        Forcing a smile, Molly slowed down and turned to 
Melvin. "Oh, I'm so sorry," she said. The two held hands...Molly
noticing with distaste how cold and clammy Melvin's was, and
went to Molly's apartment. "We can get something to eat at my
place."
        "Hello, Miss Baker," the doorman greeted her. He nodded
to Melvin, recognzing him yet not knowing his name. 
        "Hello, Oswald," Molly made small talk. "How are you?"
        "Fine, thanks. Who's your friend?" 
        "His name's Melvin," Molly said. "We're going up to 
study."
        "Study?" Melvin was confused. "But, Molly, you said
you wanted us to go up to your apartment and--" 
        Molly, noticing the strange looks Oswald was giving 
her, giggled. "No, I *didn't*, Melvin," she said, through 
clenched teeth. She grabbed him firmly by his upper arm, and 
half dragged him up the stairs to where her apartment was. 
The elevator worked perfectly well, yet her apartment was 
closer to the stairs and, besides that, it would have
been *too* awkward to wait for the elevator. She fumbled 
through the pockets of her schooldress, extracted the key,
unlocked the door, and opened it. 
        "Melvin!" she cried out. "Why did you say that?"
        "Say what?" Melvin was perplexed. "I don't believe 
in lying, Molly. It's not right. Besides," he added, "You
didn't invite me up her to study. You invited me up here
for dinner."
        "Dinner?" Molly was genuinely surprised, although
perhaps she shouldn't have been. 
        "Yeah, what did you think I was going to say?" 
        "Ummm...nothing," Molly said. 
        It was time. She could wait no longer. She had 
done it before; it wasn't that difficult. Poor Melvin. 
She could almost feel sorry for him. 
        Molly gestured to the couch. "Sit down," she
said, brightly. "I've got some things to do." {Or
rather, some *thing*,} for it was only one thing that
had to be done. 
        Purposefully, Molly strode towards her mother's
chest. She already had the key; she had stolen it before
she went to school. Her mother had already left for 
work, and so did not notice that it was missing. There 
was large cabinet, locked. In that cabinet was only
one thing...and that was what she needed. 
        Molly made short work of it, and soon the object
of her desire was cradled within her hand. A silver 
jewel, it was not particularly special to the naked eye, 
and probably would not be worth much on the market. 
Molly didn't know. For some reason, her mother had never
tried to sell it, claiming it as a family heirloom. 
Never mind the reason. The important thing is that it
was here. 
        Molly raised it over her head, and chanted,
channelling her energy. The stone began to glow green, 
slight at first, then greater, until it seemed that 
the glow could no longer be contained within the 
jewel.
        "Molly...?" Melvin sounded nervous, as he walked 
up behind her. "What's going on? What are you doing?"
        Molly shouted out the final words of the incantation. 
Then, the glow from the stone shot out like ribbons, 
engulfing Melvin. 
        "Wha--!" he cried, agony in his voice.  "Molly--" 
Then he was silent, saying no more,  as the green ribbons 
encircled him and entered him, completely taking over him. 
Looking the other way, Molly smiled. Yes...yes...this was
the way it had to be. 
        Soon it was over, the the green glow faded, and 
then died altogether. Molly made certain to put the jewel 
back in its place, and locked it up. 
        "Hello, love," she said, softly, slowly turning 
around. 
        Melvin was gone. In his place was another. He 
seemed to be in some sort of invisible shield, for his
feets wavered a few inches off the ground. He was 
clothed in gray trousers, and a purple undershirt. His
top was ripped, and evil looking scars crossed his chest 
and back. His hair was quite beautiful looking.  It fell 
well past his shoulders, with a slight wave and auburn 
coloring. His head was  bowed, and his bright blue eyes, 
though open,  seemed to see nothing.  It was obvious 
he was a very tall, and extremely handsome, man.