Somewhere in the middle of Juuban, a piercing cry of terror yowled out. That cry came from Luna, running as fast as her tiny paws could carry her. The reason was a giant stampede of angry cats relentlessly chasing behind her. Luna had no why they were chasing her, but one thing was for sure; it wasn't because they were trying to be friendly. Luna kept running and running, and the cats chased after her.
Then came trouble. In Luna's haste to escape, she didn't notice until too late that she had run into a parking lot leading to a dead end. She was now trapped. Luna nervously looked behind her and saw all the cats standing behind her, their eyes gleaming and their teeth in victorious smiles. A brown cat then walked forward, appearing to be the group leader. He was just about to give the order to finish Luna off, but then suddenly something shot from above, piercing the ground in front of the brown cat stopping him, similar to what Tuxedo Mask did when he entered.
Upon expecting the projectile, Luna, the brown cat, and his army were surprised to see that the object was a fishbone. They then looked up and saw where it had come from; sitting from above was another cat. However, unlike the others, the animal was large, fat, and a strange turquoise color with yellow eyes.
At first, Luna was disgusted upon seeing the cat, but then she noticed something. The brown cat and his army looked up at the fat turquoise cat with fright, their eyes wide in terror. It was apparent that they knew who the feline was. The fat turquoise cat looked at them, and his eyes widened as he gave them a menacing glare. Then the brown cat and his army slowly backed away from Luna and left the area until they were out of sight.
Luna watched as they all left, not believing what she was seeing. Then she felt a shot of pain which was coming from her tail. She looked at it and saw that a tiny pink cat was chewing on the end of her tail. Luna looked at the pink cat, and it looked back at her. Then the pink cat spat out Luna's tail and went on its way. Luna felt annoyed and wanted nothing more than to claw the little creature's eyes out, but then felt someone licking her tail which caused her to look, and she was surprised to see that it was the fat turquoise cat who was licking her. Luna, feeling more disturbed by her savior, was just about to reap the cat a new one when they heard a voice.
"Rhett Butler!"
The fat turquoise cat immediately scampered away, disappearing from behind a car. Feeling a bit curious, Luna peered from behind the corner to see where her savior was going. She then saw the cat in the arms of a little girl who was no more than about Shingo's age, had light pale skin, long brown hair with small green bows on the sides of her head, and wore a beautiful pink dress with white ruffles around her neck and on the ends of her sleeves trimmed green, and a large blue bow in the center of her chest.
"Oh, Rhett Butler! I've been looking everywhere for you," the girl said with relief. "You need to stop making me worry so much."
"He's not much of a Rhett Butler to me," muttered Luna as she went on her way, still feeling a bit disturbed.
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At the same time in the Dark Kingdom, Zoisite had just activated the Dark Crystal, showing him the next target. It was the little girl who was Rhett Bulter's owner.
"Well now, that's who the last target is," mused Zoisite as he played with the bangs of his hair. "I never would have imagined that it would be such a cute little girl." Then he smiled evilly. "This will make things a whole lot easier for me as I get the last Rainbow Crystal."
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Luna had eventually made her way to the park, where she had arranged a meeting with the Guardians. When she arrived, she saw that Ami was waiting for her. Ami noticed the wound Luna suffered on the tip of her tail and was wondering what had happened. Luna then explained everything as she dipped it into the water at the fountain hoping its cold temperature would ease the pain.
"Sounds like you had a hectic morning," said Ami.
"You're telling me," sighed Luna. "I don't want anything more to do with turf wars between stray cats."
Just then, Usagi, Harusuke, and Luna came running up to them.
"Hey, guys! We're here!" called Usagi.
"Sorry we're a little late," said Makoto. "Didn't mean to keep you guys waiting."
"Not at all," said Ami. "We just showed up a few minutes ago."
Harusuke then looked around and noticed that a particular guardian wasn't around yet.
"Hey, Where's Rei?" he asked. "I don't see her anywhere."
Ami then blushed awkwardly. "She... mentioned something about going on a date because it's Sunday."
Usagi immediately became cross. "She's on a date?!" she growled. "Why is she going on a date at an important time like this?! Doesn't she know that we have Guardian business to do?!"
"You're the last person who should be saying that, Usagi," countered Luna. "You of all people would probably be doing the same thing."
"Now, now. Let's stay focused on the task at hand," soothed Harusuke. "In case you've forgotten, the reason we're all here is to find the Rainbow Crystals. Six of the Rainbow Crystals got found. So far, Zoisite, as well as the Dark Kingdom has four, Tuxedo Mask has one, and we also have one, which means that there's only one Rainbow Crystal left."
"Yeah. That means we have to find that last crystal before Zoisite does," said Makoto.
"But how are we gonna find it?" asked Usagi. "It's not like we have a crystal detector or something."
Then Ami took out her mini computer and started typing on its keyboard at a flawless and swift speed. Everyone curiously went over to her to see what she was doing.
"What are you doing, Ami?" asked Makoto.
"I'm trying to locate the seventh Rainbow Crystal," spoke Ami. "My computer should be able to track it down."
Usagi then looked at her Moon Stick sticking out of her backpack. "That's strange. My Moon Stick isn't reacting at all," she said.
"That's because the Moon Stick can only work when we're close to it," deadpanned Luna. "So, we're using Ami's computer to calculate its data."
"Wait... if it could do that, then couldn't you have used that function before to locate the other Rainbow Crystals before then?" wondered Harusuke. "It certainly would have saved a lot of trouble for us."
"Believe me, I'm well aware this should have come up sooner," said Luna. "But we had to gather data first, not to mention it takes a long time to put in because there's so much."
Then Ami's computer let out a beep as Ami finished inputting the data. It now showed a map representing Juuban with a flashing yellow dot on a location.
"According to this, the seven Rainbow Crystal is at this location," said Luna.
"Then let's go get that crystal," said Harusuke.
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They arrived at the location a little later, which turned out to be a fancy house. It was about two stories tall, and it was colored green and white. The lawns were a lush green, and it also had some plants growing here and there.
"Wow. It's a pretty nice looking place," said Harusuke. "Then again, our house is pretty much the same style."
"So you think that the Rainbow Crystal is somewhere around that house?" asked Usagi.
"If the data's right, it should be," replied Ami.
As they looked towards the house, Luna happened to look at a window, and she saw something that made her eyes wide with horror, for sitting there on the window sill was none other than Rhett Butler, which could only mean one thing.
"Oh no!" Luna groaned internally. "That cat lives here?! Just my luck!"
"Alright then. Let's go inside," said Makoto.
"Why don't you guys go on ahead?" said Luna. "I'll just hang back out here."
"But why?" wondered Ami.
"I've got stuff to do," said Luna abruptly.
Usagi then stretched her eyes as she pretended to be like Luna. "But Luna, your stuff can wait; this is a vital mission. Try to remember what your duties are."
"Stop being so rude," growled Luna. "I've never looked that ugly in my life."
"It's alright," soothed Ami. "I guess there are times where even Luna doesn't want to go on missions."
"I guess I'll have to accept that," grumped Usagi. "Even if she's being mean."
"Alright then," said Harusuke. "We'll be right back, Luna. Wait right here for us so we can find you if there's trouble."
"And don't move either," said Usagi.
"Yeah, yeah. I know," said Luna. "I won't move an inch."
The four teens then walked towards the house, leaving Luna by herself.
"Honestly, I wish that Usagi was always this motivated," Luna said to herself. "But on the bright side, at least I have some time to myself, and I don't have to worry about her crying."
But Luna was wrong. For right then, she sensed that she wasn't alone. She then looked up and what she saw made her eyes grow wide with horror. On top of the wall, to her right, was a legion of cats. They all looked down at her, glaring daggers with their eyes and meowing aggressively. Feeling frightened, Luna slowly walked to her left, hoping to make a break for it, but then on the other wall to her left was another legion of cats who glared and meowed at her aggressively. The black cat now found herself surrounded with no means of escape.
"Oh no! Not again!" she cried to herself as she braced herself for a repeat of what she went through this morning.
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Usagi and the gang were now at the front door of the house. Ami then reached for the doorbell and pressed it ringing it. The door opened after a brief pause, and the same little girl that Luna saw before appeared in the doorway with Rhett Butler in her arms.
"Hello there," Ami spoke kindly. "Sorry to bother you, little one, but is your mother or father home?"
The little girl looked down shyly. "No. They won't be home until tonight."
Just then, the Moon Stick suddenly began to emit a beeping sound, and its crystal flashed brightly.
"Check it out. The Moon Stick's reacting," murmured Usagi.
"Then... could that little girl be a monster?" wondered Makoto.
"It would certainly seem like it," said Harusuke. "Looks like Ami's computer was right on the dot."
Then suddenly, Rhett Butler sensed something. Something that no ordinary cat would be unable to perceive. Once again, a particular cat was in danger, and he knew who and where she was. He then thrashed about, trying to get out of the little girl's arms. She tried to keep a hold on him, but Rhett Butler managed to break free and took off running. The girl quickly ran after him.
"Rhett Butler! Come back!" cried the little girl. "Come back here!"
But the cat didn't listen as he dashed away, running at an incredible speed, desperate to save his love. The girl ran as fast as she could, trying to catch up, disappearing.
"I wonder what that was about?" wondered Makoto.
"Who knows?" said Harusuke. "One thing's for sure, that was a strange cat."
"You guys, you think that maybe we should help her?" asked Usagi. "I mean, that is her cat."
"I say we should," said Ami. "After all, she is a Rainbow Crystal carrier, and we should keep an eye on her."
Then suddenly, the four teens heard a scream. A scream filled with terror made all of them jump. They immediately broke into a run, knowing that the little girl was in danger.
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Back with Luna, she was still in heaps of trouble as the brown cat and his army made their return. The leader smirked along with his minions, eager to finish what they started. The brown jumped up and extended his claws wanting to make Luna pay for invading its territory for the last time. Not knowing how to defend herself and not sure what to do, Luna shut her eyes and waited for the pain to come.
But then suddenly, something whisked Luna away out of harm, making the brown cat crash into the ground, burying itself deeply in it. The cats were surprised, wondering what had just happened. They then looked up in time to see Rhett Butler, who managed to save Luna just in the nick of time, land on the wall from above, holding the black cat by the neck using his mouth, much to their awe and shock.
However, due to Rhett Butler's awkward position and Luna's weight, he couldn't hold the two of them up anymore. The two then fell on top of a trash can which launched them high into the air and soared past the army of cats landing on the cover of an open maintenance hole leading to the sewers. The cats then looked back to see it shift and Luna and Rhett Butler disappearing into it, inadvertently closing the cover behind them. The cats stared at the closed maintenance hole in utter disbelief, all believing that those two were either very lucky or unlucky.
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The little girl now lay unconscious from the shock as Zoisite stood above her with his Dark crystal in hand.
"Now then, it's time for me to take the Rainbow Crystal," he said to himself.
He then activated the Dark Crystal's function, releasing its frequency and light on the little girl searching for the crystal. Zoisite waited, and he waited as eagerly waited for the final crystal to appear in the girl's body, but to his surprise, nothing happened. The girl remained unconscious, but there wasn't a Rainbow Crystal to be seen.
"What's going on here?!" he demanded. "Why isn't the Rainbow Crystal appearing?! Could I have gotten the wrong target?!"
Then Zoisite realized. He was indeed correct about the Dark Crystal showing the target, but the Rainbow Crystal wasn't inside of the girl at all. Instead, it was inside of someone else entirely. Someone that he had completely overlooked until now.
"Now I understand! The crystal was right in front of my eyes the entire time!" he gasped as he stopped the Dark Crystal's functions. "I've been careless! The final great monster was reborn as an animal, not human! That fat ugly cat has the Rainbow Crystal!"
"Stop right there!"
Zoisite immediately snapped his head towards the voice, and in front of the alley were Sailors Moon, Jupiter, Mercury, and Solaris. However, the four heroes were in a precarious position. The reason being due to their haste to stop Zoisite and the fact that the alley was very skinny, the four found themselves stuck in it in a tangled mess. But they didn't let that stop them.s
"Now that we're here, you won't be getting your way, Zoisite!" said Sailor Mercury.
"We won't let you turn that child into a monster!" said Sailor Jupiter.
"And we also won't let you take the Rainbow Crystal either!" said Solaris.
"In the name of the Moon, we'll punish you!" finished Sailor Moon.
Zoisite prepared to attack upon seeing the guardians, thinking he was in for a fight, but soon would be wrong. Sailor Mercury attempted to use her Bubble Spray, but due to the cramped space of the alley, she ended up losing her balance. She ended up shoving her foot in Sailor Moon's face, flashing her bottom right in Sailor Jupiter's face causing the girl to blush bright pink, and plopping her chest right on Solaris' head.
"Sailor Moon! You're in my way!" complained Sailor Mercury.
"I... can't... help it!" grunted Sailor Moon as Mercury's foot dug deep into her face.
"Hey! Mercury! Watch it!" Solaris cried as he blushed beet red. "You're getting in my way too!"
"S-Solaris! Don't move!" squeaked Sailor Mercury blushing. "Your head is hitting me!"
Seeing this awkward position the guardians were in, Zoisite couldn't help but feel slightly sorry and somewhat annoyed. He then jumped back, ensuring he was a safe distance away. "This is ridiculous," he sighed. "I don't have time to be playing these games."
Sailor Jupiter then extended her antenna as she prepared to use her Supreme Thunder attack. "You're not getting away!" she cried. "SUPREME..."
"Hey! Wait a minute, Jupiter!" Sailor Moon squeaked in horror.
"Don't use your Supreme Thunder! Not in right now!" cried Solaris.
"If you use your attack now, we'll get electrocuted!" cried Sailor Mercury.
But there was no need for Zoisite had disappeared, leaving a flurry of petals in his wake. The guardians stared at where Zoisite once stood, now feeling very sheepish. But then Solaris pulled himself out of the tangle and managed to free himself. He then broke into a run heading down the alley.
"No! I'm not letting him get away!" he growled. "Get back here, Zoisite!"
"Solaris! Wait! Come back!" called Sailor Moon.
"I'll be fine!" Solaris called back. "You guys take care of the girl while I go after Zoisite!"
And with that, Solarisdisapppeared into the darkness.
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Meanwhile, Zoisite had fled into the sewers below. Upon teleporting there, Zoisite immediately felt the foul smell of the sewers fill his nostrils, forcing him to pinch his nose in disgust.
"It smells rotten down here!" he groaned. "Why does that fat ugly cat have to be in a stinky place like this?! Exactly why I hate non-human monsters!"
As he took a step forward, he inadvertently slipped and ended up stepping into the sewer water. Zoisite groaned and felt even more disgusted, but he put on a brave face as he knew that he had to tough it out.
"This might be my greatest challenge yet!" he said to himself as he resumed his search for Rhett Butler.
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Solaris continued to run as fast as possible to figure out where Zoisite went. But Zoisite was nowhere to be seen.
"Darn it! Where did he go?!" he said to himself. "He couldn't have gone very far!"
Then he saw a maintenance hole cover that led directly to the sewers. He immediately went over and opened it.
"He could have gone down in the sewers. It would be a good place to hide," he said to himself. "But... I'm not exactly thrilled to go down there..." But he quickly shook his head slapped his cheeks. "No! I have to get down there. I have to stop Zoisite before he has a chance to get to the girl."
He then jumped down into the maintenance hole and landed on the floor of the sewers. It was very dark and quiet, and if it weren't for his mouth guard, Solaris would be smelling the stink and fumes of them. He could see nothing but darkness as he looked around, making it somewhat difficult to see. But he pressed onward. After a few minutes of walking, he had just turned around the corner when he saw something in the darkness. At first,
he couldn't quite make out what it was, but he quickly realized it was as he got closer. It was Luna and Rhett Butler, both of which were lying on the ground unconscious. Solaris promptly rushed over to them.
"Luna! Hey, Luna! Come on! Wake up!" he spoke.
Luna then slowly opened her eyes as she started to wake up. Rhett Butler also began regaining conscious as well.
"What...? Solaris? What happened?" Luna groaned. "Where are we?"
"We're in the sewers," said Solaris. "How did you get down here?"
Luna suddenly remembered. "We somehow ended up down here because I ran to some cats that I ran into this morning," she explained. "One minute, I thought I was going to get mauled; the next minute, I found myself down here with... him."
Luna then glanced backward toward Rhett Butler, who just stared blankly at her.
"In any case, I'm just glad that you're OK," said Solaris. "However, we have a problem. Zoisite showed up again."
"Zoisite?!"
"Yes. It seems that the target's a little girl who's also this cat's owner. I came down here in the sewers to see if I could find Zoisite before he got to the girl."
Luna then frowned. "But is she OK? And where are the other guardians?"
"They're at the girl's house standing guarding her," he said. "She's safe, at least for the moment. But we have to find a way out of here, not to mention find Zoisite and put him down."
"Then I say let's get moving," said Luna. "The sooner we get out of here, the better."
Solaris then looked at Rhett Butler, who looked at the two curiously.
"So... how do you know this cat anyway?" wondered Solaris. "Is he your boyfriend or something?"
Luna's face then flushed bright red. "Absolutely not!" she snapped. "Besides, this isn't the time to be asking such nonsense. Now come on!"
Luna then marched on ahead, leaving Solaris and Rhett Butler behind. The two then looked at each giving a confused shrug and followed her.
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Meanwhile, Rei was walking around in the shopping district in the area, feeling a bit glum. The reason was that she had been trying to call Mamoru to go out on a date with him to a fancy restaurant she found. Sadly, Mamoru didn't answer, so Rei had decided to wander around idly, trying to find something to do.
"I wonder where Mamoru went?" she sighed. "I was sure that we were getting together today. Not exactly how I wanted to spend my Sunday afternoon."
"Hey! Rei!"
A familiar voice called out to Rei, causing her to stop and look behind her. She was surprised to see a boy with scraggly brown hair standing in front of her.
"Y-Yuichiro!"
Then Rei had an idea. Since she was all by herself and Yuichiro was here, she decided to go out with him instead. She just needed to flash her feminine charms to get him to go out with her.
"How's it going, you?" she smiled. "Looks like you have the day off, too, am I right?"
"Yeah. I'm just sort of - hanging out," Yuich
iro spoke shyly. "Say... I was wondering, would you like to have a cup of tea with me?"
Rei then looked away shyly, but she was going for the hard-to-get strategy.
"Well... I don't know," she said. "I may have other plans."
After teasing him, Rei originally planned to give Yuichiro an answer, but Yuichiro answered her first.
"Oh yeah... Sorry about that," he apologized. "What was I thinking springing this on you last minute. A beautiful girl like you is probably all booked up."
"Huh?! Well - Yeah - I guess..."
"Oh. Oh well, then. Have a nice day then! I'll see you back at the temple tomorrow!"
Before Rei could stop him, Yuichirou had already walked away, leaving Rei baffled and somewhat defeated.
"Oh wow... he sure took off in a big hurry," she muttered miserably. "Gone with the wind... I guess..."
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Zoisite was still searching for Rhett Butler back in the sewers, now looking through a narrow tunnel using the Dark Crystal as a light and a detector. As he ventured deeper and deeper into the tunnel, the crystal began to glow brighter. "Yes. It's so close," he chuckled. "That ugly cat is close by now."
Then as he felt the wall, Zoisite noticed something odd. Instead of having a hard concrete surface, the wall had a different texture entirely.
"It... feels warm," Zoisite thought to himself. "And it's soft and squishy too. So what kind of wall is this?"
Zoisite then shone the crystal where his hand was, and his face immediately paled with horror. For what he was feeling wasn't the wall at all. It was a wall of mice! And there wasn't just a couple either. The entire tunnel that he was searching was hundreds of mice. Zoisite let out a shriek of terror as he scrambled out of the tunnel and broke into a frantic run as the wave of mice swarmed after him.
"It's a moving massive parade or rats!"
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Not too far away, Solaris, Luna, and Rhett Butler were still wandering around trying to find a way out. Finally, after several minutes of walking, they decided to take a break and rest for a bit.
"This sucks," complained Luna. "I don't see an exit anywhere."
"Me either, but we have to keep looking, Luna," said Solaris. "We're bound to find an exit eventually if we keep walking."
"But how long will that take?" groaned Luna as she leaned against the wall. "That'll get us nowhere." She then looked at Rhett Butler accusingly. "If you had just stayed away..."
Luna was just about to start blaming Rhett Butler when she noticed something. There was a big gash on Rhett Butler's right front leg on it, fresh blood oozing out of it a little. Solaris saw the wound too.
"Oh no. That's quite a wound the guy's got there," he said as he lifted him. "I wonder how you got that wound?"
"I think I might now..." said Luna. She then spoke with Rhett Butler. "You... injured your leg when you saved me before, didn't you?"
Rhett Butler responded with a meow. Luna then gulped as she started to understand something.
"Wait, you saved my life about two times today. Do you - have a crush on me or something?" she asked tentatively.
Rhett Butler then blushed, his cheeks flushing bright pink, and Luna couldn't help but feel all the more disturbed, her suspicions now confirmed. Solaris, however, was smirking from behind his mask.
"Well, well, Luna, it looks like you got yourself a boyfriend after all," he chuckled. "Usagi's sure is gonna have a field day with this."
Luna glared at Solaris, not finding the situation funny at all. Then the three of them heard a sound coming towards them, the sound of running footsteps coming from the deeper depths of the tunnel behind them. Soon enough, they saw a familiar Dark General coming towards them, running as fast he could.
"It's Zoisite!" cried Luna.
"So you've finally shown yourself!" Solaris spoke, cracking his knuckles. "Perfect! Now it's time for round two!"
Then suddenly, the ground began to tremble beneath their feet slightly. Then as Zoisite grew closer to them, Luna and Solaris saw something that made their eyes grow wide. A tidal wave of mice was swarming just behind him, threatening to swallow him up along with everything else that was in the sewer.
"Holy Mother of all things Ursa!" cried Solaris.
As Zoisite grew closer, he saw Solaris and the others.
"Yes! I found him!" he cried. "The Seventh Great Monster!"
Solaris and Luna did a double-take and looked at Rhett Butler.
"You're kidding me!" cried Luna. "You're the last Rainbow Crystal carrier that we've been looking for?!"
Solaris then snapped out of his shock and picked up Rhett Butler. "Never mind that! We need to make like a tree and get the heck out of here!"
And Solaris took off running while carrying Rhett Butler with Luna following as Zoisite and the wave of mice continued to pursue them.
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Ami, Usagi, and Makoto saw that the child was resting peacefully in her bed at her house.
"Geez. I wonder where Luna went," spoke Makoto. "It's been a while since we saw her."
"Not to mention that Harusuke still hasn't come back yet," said Ami.
"I told her not to move, but did she listen to me?!" grumped Usagi. "How unreliable can you get? Abandoning us in the middle of an important mission!"
"Calm down, Usagi," spoke Ami calmly. "Luna would never do something like that. I just hope that nothing's happened to her."
"I'm sure she's fine," said Makoto. "Don't forget, Harusuke's still out there looking for Zoisite, so maybe he'll find Luna along the way."
Then Usagi saw something that caught her attention. Close by at the girl's desk; she saw a game cartridge with a picture of Sailor V on it.
"No way!" she cried with astonishment. "This girl's got the Sailor V video game!"
Makoto and Ami could only look at Usagi with exasperation as she immediately put the game in the console and started playing it.
"In any case, we should be on guard in case Zoisite comes back," said Ami. "I just can't believe that this little girl has a Rainbow Crystal inside of her."
"Yeah. Which is why we can't let this girl turn into a monster," said Makoto. "I just hope Harusuke finds Zoisite soon."
Just then, there was a beeping noise coming from Ami's pocket. Ami then dug into her pocket and pulled out her communicator. She pressed a button, and Solaris' face appeared on the screen.
"Ami! Please tell me that's you!" panted Solaris.
"Solaris, thank goodness," said Ami. "You had us worried about you."
"Where are you?" asked Makoto. "And why do you sound like you just ran a mile?"
"Because I am running a mile!" cried Solaris. "Zoisite and an army of mice are chasing me!"
"An army of mice?" Ami and Makoto spoke together.
"And that's not the only part! I also found out where the Rainbow Crystal is!" Solaris went on. "And the little girl you're guarding doesn't have it!"
Ami and Makoto were surprised.
"What do you mean?!" demanded Makoto. "If the little girl doesn't have the crystal, then who does?!"
Solaris was about to say who, but then Luna shrieked out.
"Solaris! Look out!"
Then, the screen went blank.
"Solaris! Solaris!" cried Ami. "Do you read me?!"
But it was no use. Now Ami and Makoto were worried.
"So this girl isn't the last Rainbow Crystal carrier?" spoke Makoto. "Then who is?"
Ami then hummed deep in thought, then her eyes fell on the Moon Stick, and she gasped as she went over to pick it up.
"Oh no! I should have noticed this sooner!" she cried. "The Moon Stick isn't reacting!
"So the little girl has nothing to do with the Rainbow Crystal after all," gasped Makoto. "But then... why did the Moon Stick react when we arrived here earlier?"
There was a brief silence until both Ami and Makoto gasped in realization.
"Wait... you don't think..." began Makoto.
"That's gotta be it!" gasped Ami. "The Moon Stick was reacting to the cat!"
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In the sewers, Solaris, while carrying Rhett Butler and Luna, were still running with Zoisite and the wave of mice on their heels.
"Man, this sucks! I dropped my communicator when we made that turn!" Solaris cried.
"Never mind that! Just keep running while looking for an exit!" yelled Luna.
They ran, and they ran, but Zoisite and the wave of mice would catch up, and then there would be no hope left for them. Then just up ahead of them, Luna saw a tunnel to their right. It was a bit small, but it would be just enough for the three of them.
"Solaris! Up ahead! That small tunnel to the right! He won't be able to get inside there!"
Solaris and Luna then skidded to a stop just in front of the tunnel, and Luna immediately went into the tunnel first. Rhett Butler then went into the tunnel next, but then came trouble. Due to his fat size, Rhett Butler got stuck in the tunnel's opening. Solaris' face then paled.
"Oh, come on! You gotta be kidding me!" he cried.
He frantically pushed against Rhett Butler's bottom, trying to get unstuck. He could hear Zoisite and the mice grow closer and closer. Solaris then gave one mighty push and managed to shove Rhett Butler into the tunnel while going inside it himself. Zoisite, seeing the tunnel, as well plunged right into it with the mice surging right behind him. Solaris, Luna, and Rhett Butler frantically crawled into the tunnel as fast as possible. But Zoisite wasn't too far away from them as he crawled close behind. He now had a look in a mix of insanity and determination.
"I'm going to get that Rainbow Crystal!" he panted crazily. "And nothing will stop me!"
But then the mice had caught up to him, and Zoisite found himself enveloped in the wave of mice. Zoisite tried to get away as he tried to crawl faster, but it was too late. The torrent of mice soon devoured him. Solaris couldn't help but let out a scream of fear and terror.
"Hurry up, you two! I don't wanna end up as mice food today!"
Luna then saw a faint light coming at the end of the tunnel. "Just a little more! We're almost there!" she yelled.
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At the same time, Rei, who was still feeling lonely and glum, stood on the bridge gazing at the town with its evening glow.
"I should have said yes to Yuichiro," she said. "Then, at least I could say that I had a date."
Then her eyes fell on something. She could see two particular cats running as they headed upwards in the canal.
"Is that Luna down there?" wondered Rei. "I didn't know she had a boyfriend. That sly cat..."
Then she took notice of someone else running behind them, trying his best to keep up, one guardian of the sun to be exact.
"Wait a second... that's Solaris!" she gasped. "What the heck is he doing there?!"
Then suddenly, in the opening behind them, the army of mice gushed out like water from a faucet as they pursued the three.
Rei gawked in surprise and shock. "What the heck?! What's going on here?!"
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Solaris, Luna, and Rhett Butler managed to make it out of the sewers, but they were far from out of danger yet. The wave of mice still pursued them, and they soon overtook them, knocking them all flat on their backs, stunned. They then looked up to see that the mice slowly formed a large pillar. Then they heard a voice coming from inside of it.
"It seems that my disaster has turned into my good fortune. And in the end, everything has worked to my advantage."
Part of the mice moved out of the way to reveal a pair of familiar green eyes. It was no doubt Zoisite who had somehow managed to gain control of the mice. Solaris stood bravely in front of Luna and Rhett Bulter, determined to protect them.
"That's a neat trick, Zoisite," he said. "I'm a bit surprised that a pretty boy like you would learn such a strange skill."
"Yes. It is, isn't it?" mused Zoisite. "But sadly to say Solaris, I didn't come here to be complimented, so get out of my way and surrender the cat or suffer my wrath."
"Heh. You're still going on about the evil threatening?" countered Solaris. "You should know the answer to that by now!"
He then took a stance and jumped into the air clenching his fist. However, Zoisite raised an arm, and a stream of rats shot out and nailed Solaris right in the gut. Solaris felt the blow like a punch in the stomach as he got knocked to the ground.
"No! Solaris!" cried Luna.
But then Zoisite closed in on Luna and Rhett Butler. But then -.
"MARS FIRE SOUL!"
A familiar fireball came blasting from seemingly nowhere, cutting off Zoisite. Luna was so surprised that she jumped a few feet into the air and right off the edge of the wall, forcing her to frantically fail in the air until she managed to catch herself on its edge. The mice frightened by the fire immediately ran away, revealing Zoisite underneath them. Zoisite looked up, and standing on top of the canal was none other than Sailor Mars.
"Thank goodness!" grunted Solaris as he sat up. "It's about time you got here, Mars!"
"Sailor Mars, the Pretty Guardian who fight for love and justice... has arrived!" the sailor guardian of fire proclaimed. "And I won't let you get in the way of their beautiful cat love!"
Zoisite raised a brow, and Solaris stared dumbly at Sailor Mars as if she said something downright confusing.
"You've got it all wrong!" wailed Luna as she clawed her way up to safety.
"The flames of love are burning!" went on Sailor Mars. "The flames of justice are burning as well! And I can't forgive those who get in the way of love between people and all living creatures! So in the name of Mars, I'll chastise you!"
"Wow... Sailor Mars is pretty pumped today," Solaris said to himself. "I wonder if it's because of that date..."
Zoisite smirked, not backing down. "You little fool. You won't stop me from getting the Rainbow Crystal!"
He then whipped out the Dark Crystal, activating its function bathing Rhett Butler in its light. Sailor Mars then gulped, not expecting this turn of events.
"You should learn to read the situation before you go showing off!" Luna snapped as she pulled herself up.
"Well, on the plus side, at least she's not talking about love anymore," sighed Solaris.
Then Rhett Butler began yowling in agony as he began to submit to the Dark Crystal's power. He tried to resist, but it was no use. A black hole appeared in his chest and inside the hole was the final Rainbow Crystal which glowed bright violet. It flew out of his chest and right into Zoisite's hand.
"No! Rhett Butler!" cried Luna.
"Don't let him transform!" yelled Solaris as he shot to his feet.
Sailor Mars also slid down into the canal, hoping to stop Rhett Butler from changing too, but it was too late. Rhett Butler disappeared into a tornado of energy as he began to transform. Then the tornado dissipated, revealing Rhett Butler's monster form. He was now a giant beast of a feral cat that stood on his hind legs, had a gold necklace, bracelets on his wrists and ankles, and a brown necklace with five prisms. He also retained his color of fur, which was turquoise, but he was much more muscular and skinny, with purple covering the top of his face, shoulders, back with a long tail.
"Now, Great Monster, Bakene! I order you to get rid of those guardians!" commanded Zoisite. "They don't have any backup, so this should be easy for you!"
Bakene looked at our heroes, his eyes flashing a bright yellow, but then suddenly, a rose shot out, hitting Zoisite by the hand, making him drop the Rainbow Crystal. Then before Zoisite had a chance to react, someone swooped down and grabbed the Rainbow Crystal from him. It was Tuxedo Mask.
"Sorry, Zoisite, but this Rainbow Crystal is mine!" he said victoriously. "Consider this payback. Farewell!"
Tuxedo Mask then jumped high into the air and out of sight. It didn't take long for Zoisite to realize what had just happened.
"Curse you, Tuxedo Mask!" he shrieked with fury as he raced after him. "Come back here! Come back, I say!"
He was raced off after him leaving Bakene, Sailor Mars, Solaris, and Luna by themselves, a little surprised by this turn of events. Bakene then started lumbering away, climbing up the canal.
"Oh no! He's headed into town!" cried Sailor Mars.
"He might try to attack the people if we don't stop him!" cried Solaris.
Then Luna shot forward, climbing up the canal after Bakene.
"Luna! Come back!" Sailor Mars and Solaris yelled.
But the black cat didn't listen, knowing that she was the only one who could stop Bakene from rampaging. Of course, there was a possibility that she could get attacked, but she had to take the risk and didn't stop until she stood right in front of Bakene, causing the beast to stop immediately.
"Please, stop! Please don't move!" she begged. "I can help you! I have friends that can help you return to normal! Just please stay still until they get here, please!"
Bakene stared at Luna questionably as it growled quietly. Feeling a bit nervous, Luna took a step back nervously, thinking that Bakene wouldn't listen to her. But then she felt her paw slip, making her lose her balance. Luna fearfully yowled as she tumbled down the canal.
"Luna!" Solaris and Sailor Mars yelled.
The two were about to try and save her before she hit the ground, but then the unthinkable happened. Bakene reached out his giant paw and managed to catch Luna just in time. Everyone was amazed. Somehow, someway, Bakene had retained its sense of reason back when it was Rhett Butler.
"You... you saved me again," Luna murmured.
Bakene affectionately purred as it walked down from the canal while carrying Luna to safety.
"I knew it!" gushed Sailor Mars feeling touched by this scene. "Those two are madly in love!"
"I'm... pretty sure that's not what this is, Sailor Mars," sighed Solaris.
Bakene then placed Luna gently down and sat in front of her, looking at her with his yellow eyes.
"Don't worry. It'll be OK," soothed Luna. "Usagi will be here soon and to turn you back to normal."
Just then, a familiar voice shouted.
"MERCURY BUBBLE SPRAY!"
A thick blanket of fog spread throughout the area, blinding everyone. At the same time, Sailor Jupiter swooped in and snatched Luna away from Bakene's hand. The mist then cleared, and Sailor Mercury and Moon stood behind Bakene, ready to fight him.
"Sorry we're a little late!" said Sailor Moon.
"I'll say you were!" snapped Sailor Mars. "What took you so long to get here?!"
"Sorry, but I got a little video game noise," said Sailor Mercury.
"Me too! And it wasn't because Usagi was playing video games or anything!" added Sailor Jupiter. "She was just having fun!"
Sailor Moon then blushed a bright shade of red in shame. "Um... guys? You're not helping me here..."
Solaris sighed as he pinched his nose. "Come on, you guys... If you're cover for Usagi, you're going to need to brush up on your excuse skills a bit."
Bakene then growled, angry that Luna got taken away from him. He extended his claws as he prepared to attack. Sailor Moon and the others braced themselves, but Luna stopped them.
"No! Don't!" she cried. "It's OK! Rhett Butler's still in there!" She then went over to Bakene and spoke calmly and soothingly. "It's OK. I'm fine. Just calm down."
Bakene did calm down and nuzzled against her purring. Sailor Moon, Jupiter, and Mercury were surprised.
"Um... Solaris? Mind explaining what's going on?" wondered Sailor Moon.
"It's a long story," said Solaris. "But the important thing is that this monster's OK. He won't hurt us as long as Luna's safe."
Luna then turned to Sailor Moon. "Alright, Sailor Moon, please return him to normal before he turns on us."
Sailor Moon nodded as she took out her Moon Stick and waved it, making it release its dust and sparkles.
"MOON HEALING ESCALATION!"
Bakene growled in agony as the healing properties of the Moon Healing Escalation enveloped him. Then in a flash of light, Bakene was no more, and Rhett Butler was back to his old self again.
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The Guardians and Luna then returned Rhett Butler to his home, where the little girl waited. She happily gave her dear pet a big hug as Usagi, and the others watched from afar.
"She looks so happy," sighed Usagi.
"Hey Luna, are you sure that you don't wanna say goodbye to your boyfriend?" asked Rei.
"Get out, Luna! I had no idea you and that cat were lovers!" gasped Makoto.
Luna immediately blushed. "What?! How'd you come up with that idea?!" she cried.
"Well now~ Luna's hot, and love is bitten!" Usagi teased. "How scandalous."
"It's not true!" denied Luna. "It's not true! Harusuke, help me out here!"
"I don't know, Luna," smirked Harusuke. "You seemed to be getting pretty friendly with Rhett Butler to me. But, then again, he did save your life."
Luna went redder than ever and pouted. "No fair. Even Harusuke and Usagi are making fun of me. I don't appreciate being the victim of idle gossip."
But truth be told, Luna couldn't help but imagine herself and Rhett Butler being lovers. Sadly, it only made her feel a bit disturbed.
"Oh, give me a break..." she groaned.