This isn't one of the best things I've written but I needed to get it out of my system. There are some gaps in the conversation where I've skipped over particular sentences.

Disclaimer: Sailor Moon is not mine

Punishable by death

Neflite closed his eyes as he sat on the throne like chair and ran his fingers over the black crystal in his hand almost in a caress. It was so strange, everything that was happening. She had thrown herself in front of him even though she'd just seen him try to destroy the Sailor Scouts, the good guys. She knew they were the good guys. She'd seen what he was capable of…and still…still…

Neflite shook his head, letting the mane of brown hair settle back on the navy blue shoulders of his uniform, clearing away the confusion. He had a job to do. He had to find the Imperium Crystal.

He didn't move from his seat though, nor make any great effort to shift the focus of his mind; rather he tilted the Crystal back and forth between his fingers and watched the light flash across its surface in ebony waves.

Why did it react to Molly?

That was all it took for his mind to return to her like an obedient dog.

Neflite growled low in his throat. He was not a dog to anyone, not even Queen Beryl, so why was he reacting like one to this human girl?

"I'm going soft," Neflite muttered to himself and took a tighter grip on the Crystal. He was going to focus on this if it killed him, which it would if he didn't get Queen Beryl some results soon.

So…if he had to find…if he had to find the…damn it! Focus!

Sailor Moon. Sailor Moon kept getting in the way, and she'd seemed to know Molly. Yes, excellent…he'd get Molly to give him the Sailor Scout's whereabouts and then he could stop worrying about her ruining his plans because she'd be destroyed. That would make Queen Beryl happy.

Of course he'd have to see Molly again. The shot of emotion that thrilled through him was not a good sign, especially since it was a mix of things he couldn't identify.

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Neflite teleported to her room in a state of emotional turmoil. She was asleep and it twisted something inside of him seeing her like that, so innocent, curled up like a sleeping kitten. The Crystal glowed again and he frowned, deciding to let it hover over her in search of the Imperium Crystal. He half sneered at himself when it revealed nothing. Of course she didn't have it inside her! But then why was it reacting to her?

Well she was asleep…he couldn't talk to her about Sailor Moon now…yet he was reluctant to go. Instead he withdrew so he could watch her from a distance, as if waiting for her to awake. Really it did something to him inside, made him feel like he was protecting her of sorts, though he was the one she needed protecting from. It calmed him, watching her sleep.

It was unfortunate it didn't last long and she was soon awake, feeling his eyes on her as she slept. It was strange how his was the first name she came out with the moment the sleep was from her eyes, albeit his fake name. He didn't know why. Was it wishful thinking on her part or could she actually tell? Regardless he didn't reveal himself, merely his silhouette. For some reason he felt that he couldn't face her now, it was too difficult. He had to pour out all these perfectly formed lies that twisted her emotions in order to get his information and she was so innocent and trusting and for the first time in his life he actually felt disgusted with himself. That's why he didn't want to look at her when he started saying the things to her, in case she saw through him, in case she could see the lies on his face…

"It's Neflite," he corrected her gruffly, some of the bitterness seeping into his voice against his wishes.

Damn it! Who was he? What was he?

He was bad! Evil! General of Queen Beryl! And he was going to prove it by wringing this girl for information then finding and killing that Sailor Scout!

It didn't occur to him to drain Molly of her love energy again thus weakening her for the questioning. Nor did it occur to him to torture the information from her.

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In the end he drew the require details out of Molly by eavesdropping on her conversation. He felt no guilt about going out to destroy Serena…but he felt dirty from using Molly like that. Her tears over the phone had made him feel a peculiar compulsion to reveal himself and comfort her, but that was stupid.

Oh, he was quite prepared to kill the Sailor girl. He was so close to doing so. He did not pay mind to the fact that she was the same age as Molly. That she was Molly's best friend. After all she wasn't Molly so he simply didn't care. That her death might cause Molly grief did not occur to him. What was grief? What was friendship? He had never felt them, nor rarely seen them but here on earth. They were as foreign concepts as love. So he was going to kill Serena…that was until he heard the cry for help.

He didn't hesitate for more than a second. He may not care about the Sailor girl but for some reason if Molly was involved he reacted automatically.

He surrendered renewed acceptance back at Queen Beryl's court for a human girl.

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Her room was empty. Eerily so…and a fist of dread started to clench inside him.

There was a note and he picked it up carefully, tilting it so he could read the words.

'Last warning hand over crystal if want to see Molly alive again.'

It took a few minutes for them to sink in and permeate through his mind and into his soul. Part of him was slowly processing the words, trying to think things through logically. What did he care if they had Molly, right? She was only a girl. A human girl. Expendable. The Crystal was his and his alone and would bring him glory.

That's what part of his mind told him but it was swiftly consumed by the burning rage that was coursing through him like poison. His eyes flashed as all he could see in his mind was the beautiful spirited girl running towards him, looking at him with love and acceptance despite all he'd done, making him feel in a way that should have been absolutely impossible for a General to feel.

Flames sprung up around him as he emitted a feral growl of hatred and clutched the note in his hand until it shrivelled up into ash.

Logic had no place here now.

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They were hiding her in a building known as 'Rag Time'. It was crumbling brick structure, derelict and long abandoned. The windows were boarded up and the roof looked like it was preparing to collapse.

He knew they'd brought her here. The Crystal had guided him.

Calmly he opened the door and stepped inside. The main room was covered in thick dust that clearly showed the footprints of the creatures that had taken Molly. They led off to a side door. He paused for a moment and gazed around the room. A counter stood against one wall and disused mannequins lay scattered about, some still with scraps of cloth clinging to their frames. The air was heavy and silent and a strange sort of sadness welled up inside Neflite until he turned away towards the required door.

Something peculiar was happening to him and he didn't altogether like it, though neither did he hate it. Everything was a confused whirlwind inside and he dealt with it by pretending it wasn't happening.

Calmly he reached for the handle and twisted it, opening it up onto the space beyond. There were wooden steps leading down into a pit of sorts where the three creatures were gathered. He paused at the top and swept his eyes over the room.

Molly was there, tied to the wall, and it made his insides twist sickeningly. He should never have gotten her involved in this.

Though he didn't know it his face was wearing a blank expression…except for his eyes. They were filled with remorse and sadness. Molly could see it. The creatures could too, though they didn't know how to identify it, remorse being such a foreign concept to them.

Neflite began to descend the stairs steadily, watching from the corner of his eye. Alert despite his appearance.

"You lose traitor!" screeched out and he suddenly found himself being bombarded by hundreds of exploding spheres.

It was easy to flip out the way…and then anger took over and he snarled furiously as they threw sonic blasts and more bombs at him. All it took was a tiny lapse in concentration for them to catch his arm. He winced but the pain was thrust to the back of his mind. His attention was on Molly and all the rage he felt against these creatures was pouring out of him and masking any pain he might feel.

Sword drawn he trapped one against the wall and pressed the blade to her throat, almost severing it…and then he felt those frightened eyes on him and remembered…and he stilled his hand.

"I'm not letting you have my Star Crystal," he snarled. "You tell Zoacite that from me."

The second he removed the sword the creature slumped in relief. They'd been expecting him to kill and he would have, but for…

Neflite turned his eyes back onto the captured girl and all the emotion flooded back into them. She locked gazes with his and they just stared at each other for a moment, innocence regarding confusion, before he slashed the sword through the air and severed the bonds, scooping her up into his arms as her legs collapsed.

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Neflite carried her through the dark silent streets. Everything was so peaceful as the city slept on, oblivious to what was happening out in its streets where heartless aliens fought over a shard of crystal and one of those aliens was becoming…not quite so heartless. Neflite still didn't know what had compelled him to save the girl. Something strange was happening to him. A shift of sorts was going on somewhere inside that made him want to hold Molly closer and at the same time push her away to keep her safe. She was in constant danger around him and she had no idea what he was truly like.
"I don't know why I saved you," he allowed the confession to drip from his lips, probably the first truthful thing he'd said to her since they'd met, because he truly didn't know. The emotions that had driven him to save her were new. Even the raging anger at what they had done was a different sort of anger, righteous anger. "I've been lying to you from the beginning Molly and I'll probably keep on lying to you." That again was the truth and the admittance suddenly made him feel…lighter…in some way. He wasn't deceiving her about his character any longer. She could choose to run when she felt like it, and he was of the strong opinion that she would, now that she knew he'd just been using her the whole time.

He was shocked when she just curled up closer to him, burrowing her head into his shirt and mumbled that she didn't care as long as he was with her.

There was a small jolt in the pit of his stomach that sent warmth flooding around his body, and he suddenly understood what love was.

"Neflite! You're hurt!"

Oh yeah, his arm. So that had been the dull throbbing.

"It's just a scratch," he told her dismissively as the injury, now brought to attention, began to hurt in earnest. He could deal with it later, after he had got Molly home safely. He should have known though that a girl like Molly wouldn't hear of him carrying her back when he was hurt. She seemed to think that the wound was her fault. So he let her jump out of his arms and pull him into the nearby park.

Inwardly he heaved a sigh. No human medicine would be able to heal the wound but the sooner he let her do what she thought necessary, the sooner he could get her home…and he wasn't completely averse to spending a little more time with her.

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Molly calmly tended to his wounds, asking him to take his jacket off and ripping her top to bandage his injury professionally.

He had green blood. Why wasn't that fazing her? He wondered vaguely. Maybe love entailed accepting the fact the one you loved wasn't human, but was, in fact, an alien who harnessed the power of the stars and bled green blood.

Or maybe that was just uniquely Molly.

Love was strange.

What he'd said to her before in her bedroom – about there being no love in Queen Beryl's kingdom – was absolutely true and again it was true that Molly had helped him to see what love was, though when he had spoken those words they had been meant as manipulative tools, not altogether true. It was strange how they seemed to have become true in the last few hours.

He was brought back to the present by Molly asking him if he liked Chocolate Parfait.

"Erm…yes…" he answered, not actually knowing precisely what Chocolate Parfait was but seeing that yes was the answer that'd probably be the most pleasing to her…and he wanted her to be happy.

He was surprised by the smile on her face.

"You're lying," she said in a singsong voice. It took him aback. So she could tell whether he was lying from his face then! That was…impressive, and he expected her to turn away from him in disgust. Again she surprised him though by being accepting, understanding.

She was speaking, almost to herself, about her hopes, her dream…concerning him. She dismissed herself as a silly girl when he found himself at a loss for words in order to answer.

"No…I would like to have a chocolate Parfait with you," he assured her, and found that he truly, honestly and in all earnestness, did.

"Do you have any holidays in that evil society of yours?"

The question startled him out of his thoughts and he just looked at her for a moment. Where had…what a strange question! Neflite couldn't help the smile appearing on his lips, not a malevolent smile but a real one, for the first time in his life, and he chuckled. She really had absolutely no idea what it was like in Queen Beryl's kingdom and it struck him as funny. That and her choice of words. Evil society. He couldn't help letting the amusement break out.

"Neflite, you're laughing!"

So he was. For the first time he was laughing properly, a warm laugh as opposed to a forced cold one. It was nice. No wonder humans laughed so much. It filled him with delight.

Laughter is a force that can not be held down without great difficulty if the person is inclined to be the type that a laugh can live in. Laughter can not live inside someone twisted by bitterness nor cold and hard as winter frost. Laughter has to have the freedom to live and escape.

The laughter that left Neflite was newly born from the change that Molly had brought about. He still did not know why the Star Crystal had led to the girl but he was grateful that it had. For Neflite the stars dictated to him where to go. They pointed and he followed. He had followed them straight to Molly, and though he did not need her in order to serve Queen Beryl, he needed her for himself as she needed him.

"It's funny," Molly half sobbed, "I'm laughing and crying at the same time."

Neflite cast a loving look at her just as a sharpness pierced his mind. He whipped his head around, eyes narrowed and saw the danger.

With catlike reflexes he pushed Molly out the way and shielded her as he felt the thorn penetrate his shoulder and emerge the other side.

He felt his body wracked with violent shudders as it buckled under the pain. He should have known that he wouldn't have escaped this. Falling in love was unheard of…traitorous…and this was his retribution…his punishment. He wasn't going to survive, he knew. If this thorn didn't kill him then they'd kill him some other way. All he wished for now was to keep Molly safe.

It had been foolish of him to hope, to dream, to promise to have Chocolate Parfait with a human girl who loved him, and he now knew he loved in return.

Love was going to be responsible for his death…and he did not regret feeling it in the slightest.