Esmeraude was in a cafe downtown, busily thinking of a new plan. As she did, she thought back to when her droids were defeated time and again by Sailor Moon and the other Guardians. As she did, she sipped on some coffee.
"Curse those damned Guardians. Always getting in the way of my plans," Esmeraude thought to herself. "Now I'm starting to understand why Rubeus was having so much trouble, but they're still nothing more but little brats and can be dealt with easily. All I need to do is think of a weakness."
Then as she sipped and thought, there was a loud shriek and the clattering of dishes, causing her to look towards the source of the noise. A waitress was just a few feet away from her, standing a few feet away, trembling with fright. Another waitress then came over to see what was wrong and why. A tiny little bee was on the table, looking confused about being in a place like this.
"Calm down. It's just a little bee," the second waitress said. "It's nothing to be afraid of."
The second waitress then got a cup and a menu and walked carefully over to where the bee was, trapped it inside it using the items. Then she stepped outside, let the bee go over to where some flowers were and went inside.
The first waitress was relieved. "Thank you so much! I would never have been able to do that. I'm scared of bees!"
"Don't worry about it," said the second. "Everyone's scared of something. You need to be a bit braver, is all."
Esmeraude scoffed in annoyance, thinking that what she saw was nothing short of ridiculous. "Honestly. How pathetic. These humans can be so easily scared of everything. All it would take is something as insignificant as a bug, and they would all go into a panic."
Then, an idea came shooting into her head, one that made a cruel and malicious smile creep on her lips.
"That's it! Why didn't I think of it before?!" Esmeraude thought. "Just like that girl said, every one of these humans has something that they fear the most! And the Guardians are no exception! And once I exploit that fear, not even those Guardians will be able to stop me!"
Esmeraude then let out her signature noblewoman laugh, causing everyone to stare but cringe with fright, thinking she was insane.
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Meanwhile, back in Downtown Juuban, a florist was busily at work making bouquets for her customers and tending to her plants in a flower shop. The florist had just sold her latest and was feeling very pleased with herself.
"All right! Next customer in line, please!" the florist called out.
At that moment, a particular woman with long flowing green hair wearing a miniskirt dress and a sun hat came up. "Hello there. There's a particular flower that I'm looking for," she said. "I'm looking for some flowers, and I hear that this is the best place in town to get them."
"Sure. I have a huge variety of flowers that perfectly suit your needs," the florist said. "What can I get you? Sunflowers? Lillies? Maybe even some roses?"
At that moment, the woman with green hair smiled, raised her fan, pointing it directly in the middle of the florist's forehead, and blasted the florist with a small jolt of black electricity. The florist jolted from the shock, and in a matter of seconds, she crumpled to the floor, unconscious and lifeless.
Esmeraude then removed her disguise, letting out her signature cackle as she took off one of her earrings, using it to detect a Negative Point. Sure enough, the black gem began to glow and wave around in place.
"Perfect. This floral shop is perfect in every way," Esmeraude smirked. "It's even a negative point. Now then, come forth, Dark Hedge and Droid Hanakaku!"
At her command, a small miniaturized statue of herself appeared, sticking to the middle of the floor, radiating with Dark Power as a Droid emerged from it. Like the others, she was humanoid, but her skin was a bright shade of green, her outfit was a tattered light green dress, black gloves with green trims, and she also had vines with thorns with pink flowers wrapping around her limbs. Her hair was hot pink, styled in a headdress, and she had a tiara with a red gem in the middle on her head.
"I am here to serve you, Esmeraude," said the droid. "How may I assist you?"
"Listen well, Hanakaku. We're going to corrupt the people in this town by using the power of your flowers," Esmeraude explained. "The people will buy our flowers, and as soon as they take one sniff of them, they will see their biggest fear, driving them mad with fright and making Dark Power flood everywhere until the Dark Gate appears. So your job is to make sure they all buy those flowers and protect this place. And if those meddlesome Guardians interfere, make sure they get a good whiff of your flowers too. Understand?"
"You can count n me, Esmeraude," Hanakaku acknowledged. "I'll make sure that all these weak humans experience the power of my flowers and the terror of the Black Moon Clan!"
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Meanwhile, in a cafe in Downtown Juuban, Usagi and her group were over at a restaurant getting a well-deserved break of iced drinks. Training how to fly that was.
Usagi sighed with content as she sipped her drink. "There's nothing like an ice-cold drink after a good hard day's work."
"Now that you mention it, it has been a while since we've been able to hang out together when the fate of the world wasn't at stake," chuckled Makoto. "It's pretty nice to hang out together like this."
"Yes. It just goes to show that even superheroes like us deserve a break every once in a while," said Minako. "Though I wish Esmeraude could take a break with all of her crazy schemes."
"I hear you," Rei said. "Not to mention that we have to balance our normal lives along with them. It's nothing that we can't handle, but sometimes it can be stressful."
"I agree," said Ami. "I remember the other day after we managed to destroy a droid, I hardly had time to study. Because of that, I ended up getting an A-minus on my quiz, and that was discouraging for me."
The others all stared at Ami, feeling baffled and a little bit jealous.
"Well, aside from Ami's problem, I'm sure things will work out all right," said Luna. "After all, you're the Guardians. There's nothing you guys can't handle."
"Until then, I would savor whatever time you have to rest while you can," Artemis spoke. "You'll never know when you'll have another opportunity like this again."
"Artemis is right, so, therefore, I saw we all do something fun," said Minako. "How about a trip to the movies?"
"A movie, huh?" hummed Ami. "Well, it is a Saturday tomorrow, so we don't have to worry about school. So, I say, let's do it."
"Yeah! Let's go see a teen romantic movie!" suggested Minako. "I love those!"
"No way. You got to pick the movie last time we went out together," Rei complained. "Besides, we always go for the romance genre. Why don't we go for something that we haven't seen before? Like something that will grab our attention."
"And it's got to be exciting too," added Makoto. "Something that will get me on the edge of my seat."
"I'm sure that we'll find a movie that has what you girls are looking for," Harusuke said. "Let's head for the theater and see what's showing."
Everyone then got up and left the cafe feeling excited about seeing a movie.
The group soon came to the theater and was now surveying the showings. There were many different movies to choose from, but there wasn't one that caught their interest.
Finally, Minako pointed out a particular one. "Hey, guys! How about we go see that one?" she suggested, pointing a poster.
The poster showed a group of terrified teenagers on a moonlit night in a graveyard, with a strange and ominous shadow behind them with large letters that read: THE LEGEND OF THE GARDEN OF HORROR.
"That's a great idea, Minako!" Rei cried happily. "Let's go see a scary movie!"
Usagi then gulped. "A sc-sc-scary movie?!" she squeaked. "Can't we just we just see a Sailor V movie or something?!"
"Sorry, Usagi, but from the looks of things, there isn't any," said Harusuke.
"Besides, there's no reason for you to be scared, Usagi," Ami said. "Scary movies are nothing more but pure fiction and aren't real."
"Besides, you've fought monsters that are even scarier, so why should you be?" Rei spoke. "Then again, you are a bit of a scaredy-cat, so why aren't I surprised?"
"I-I'm not scared!" Usagi bravely spoke. "I'm just... thinking that this movie is insulting plants everywhere. Mako, you agree with me, right?"
"Well, I do like plants, but I'm not going to be biased because a movie features them," Makoto said. "And it has been a while since I've seen a scary movie that features plants."
Usagi could only whimper with worry as she glanced back at the poster, feeling frightened.
Harusuke felt a bit sorry for his sister. "Don't worry, Usagi. If it gets too scary for you, you can leave the theater if you want."
"Good grief, Usagi," sighed Luna. "Don't be such a baby. It's just a horror movie. But, then again, you get scared so much; I wouldn't be surprised if you were scared of your own shadow like a groundhog."
Usagi then pouted at the black cat. "Hey! I'm not scared of my shadow, and I'm certainly not scared of some dumb movie either!" she spoke huffily. "You're looking at the future queen of the Moon Kingdom and the one who took on Queen Beryl! I can handle some scary horror movie! I'll bet it's not going to be that scary!"
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Usagi and the teens were now inside the theater watching the movie, sitting in one row while Luna and Artemis hid inside Minako's bag. The film was indeed scary, and Usagi couldn't help but tremble with fright as she clung tightly to Harusuke's arm. She wanted to close her eyes and look away, but every time she did, she couldn't help but glance back at the screen, continuing to watch it.
The teens were walking through the cemetery in the movie, searching for their friend who mysteriously disappeared. The night was still, and there was nothing but silence as they walked around. Then, a rustling sound caused them to jump, as something shot by them. They looked around fearfully, wondering what it was that passed. Then a great, big, ominous shadow loomed over them from the ground. The teens slowly looked behind them, and the shadow revealed itself to be the plant monster that was vicious as it was terrifying as it let out an ear-piercing shriek as the teens screamed in horror.
Usagi couldn't help but scream too along with the other girls as she desperately clung to Harusuke even tighter, burying her face in his shoulder. Even Harusuke, Luna, and Artemis were startled, causing Harusuke to grip his chair a bit while Luna and Artemis hid inside the bag.
Soon enough, the movie was over, and the people all started to get up and leave the theater, except for Usagi's group. Their eyes wide, processing what they had just witnessed, except for Usagi and Rei, both of which were clinging to each of Harusuke's arms, not daring to look.
"I-Is it over?" Usagi whimpered.
"I don't know," Rei spoke. "I'm a bit scared to look."
"It's over, two," Harusuke spoke to them. "So, can I have my arms back now?"
Usagi and Rei then looked up, and when they realized that they were clinging to Harusuke, they immediately let go feeling a bit silly.
"Oh, man! That movie was wild!" Makoto said as she got up. "I've never seen anything like that before."
"I've fought against an evil queen, droids, monsters, and even some kind of ghost," Minako said. "But that had to be one of the scariest movies I've ever seen."
"I have to agree," said Ami. "Even though it was fake, it looked very realistic, and it had a good story too."
"Yeah, remember the part when the girl walked into the cellar..." began Minako.
"And when that thing was right behind her?" Makoto went on. "I was freaking out!"
"I know, right?!" agreed Harusuke excitedly. "Even I was a bit scared at that moment!"
"W-Well, not me!" squeaked Usagi, trying to be brave. "I wasn't scared at that movie at all! Not one little bit!"
"As if, Usagi! You were so scared, you screamed like a child!" Rei pointed out. "Not you mention you were clinging to Harusuke like a teddy bear!"
"You're such a liar!" Usagi snapped indignantly. "You screamed too, Rei, and you were even clinging to Harusuke too!"
Rei's cheeks then tinged red. "I was not! I was only pretending to be scared! So, therefore, I only clung to Harusuke because I was holding him for comfort so that he wouldn't be scared!"
Usagi, Ami, Minako, and Makoto stared at Rei skeptically, not believing a word she said.
"Now, Now. That's enough, you two," Harusuke said. "There's no shame of being scared. I mean, even I was a bit freaked out." He then looked at his watch. "Oh my! Look at the time! It's almost our curfew! We better get home before Mom gets mad with us!"
"I'd better get home as well," said Ami. "It may be the weekend, but I've got lots of studying to do."
"Well then, we'll see you guys later," said Makoto. "Take care when you're walking home tonight."
"Because if you don't, then the monster of the graveyard will get you!" Minako joked, pretending to be spooky.
The others couldn't help but chuckle, except for Usagi, who still couldn't help but feel a bit unnerved about the movie but kept it to herself.
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At the very same time, Hanakaku, now under the disguise of the florist, had just sold her last bouquet for the day and saw off her final customer.
"Thank you very much!" Hanakaku said cheerily. "Come again soon."
Her last customer then left, and when she was alone, Esmeraude appeared.
"How goes your progress, Hanakaku?" Esmeraude asked.
"Very smoothly, my lady," replied the droid. "I've sold countless flowers to those foolish humans just as planned. When the humans take them home, they will bloom and will release a special kind of pollen that's filled with dark power, and when they come into contact with it or so much as inhale it, they will start seeing illusions of their deepest and darkest fears and will go insane with fright."
"Their negative energy coming from their fear will fuel the Dark Hedge making it grow," Esmeraude smirked. "And then I'll not only be able to open the Dark Gate, but I'll also be able to take out those meddlesome brats, the guardians!"
Esmeraude then let out her signature laugh as she fanned herself with her fluffy fan while taking one of the tainted flowers into her hand. "It just goes to show that every rose has its thorns," she went on. "But these flowers will not only pierce the flesh of the guardians, but it will lead straight to their demise!"
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It was evening when Usagi, Harusuke, and Luna arrived home. Usagi was still feeling scared after watching the horror movie. Chibiusa and Shingo couldn't help but tease her about it.
"Hey, Usagi. Watch out for the killer shadow," laughed Shingo. "Otherwise, it might gobble you up!"
"Knock it off, Shingo!" Usagi complained. "It's not funny!"
Chibiusa then snuck up behind Usagi and let out a sharp yell making Usagi scream in fear.
"You're such a scaredy-cat, Usagi," Chibiusa said. "Getting scared over a cheesy scary movie."
"Oh, shut up, Chibiusa!" Usagi grumped. "You would have gotten scared too!"
"Good grief," Harusuke sighed, pinching his nose. "Stop picking on Usagi, you two. Besides, I was a bit freaked out by the movie too."
Chibiusa looked across to Harusuke. "Yeah, but when it comes to you, you at least try not to sound like a baby," she said. "Usagi just makes it too easy to scare."
Now Usagi was angry, but before she could say a word, Ikuko came into the room carrying a bouquet.
"Now, that's enough," Ikuko said sternly. "If you got time to teasing Usagi, then you got time to wash up for dinner. Now to get going and stop teasing Usagi, Shingo. You too, Chibiusa."
"Yes, Mama," Chibiusa and Shingo said as they scampered off upstairs.
Harusuke and Usagi then took notice of the flowers Ikuko had.
"Wow, Mom. Those flowers look so pretty," Harusuke said. "Where did you get them?"
"I got them in a florist shop in Downtown," explained Ikuko. "They were having a sale, and I just couldn't help but take advantage. I was going to find a vase to put them in and put it on the dining room table as a centerpiece. Aren't they beautiful?"
Usagi looked at flowers, still feeling a bit tentative. "Those flowers don't look like any flowers I've seen before," she said. "They aren't creepy monster flowers, are they?"
"Of course not, Usagi," Ikuko laughed. "I swear, no more horror movies for you. They make you act so silly. Anyway, dinner will be ready in a minute, so make sure you two wash up."
Ikuko then left, leaving Usagi, Harusuke, and Luna by themselves.
"Usagi, you've got to calm down," Luna said. "You're overreacting."
"I-I'm sorry, but I can't help it!" Usagi squeaked. "I can't stop thinking about that horror movie! It feels like everywhere I look, there's going to be a strange plant monster out to get me!"
"But you know that movie is fake," Harusuke said gently. "You have nothing to be scared of."
"Easy for you to say!" Usagi huffily pouted. "You're not scared of anything, Harusuke. Even though you said you were scared, you played it off like it was nothing. You're way braver than I am. Heck, you're not scared of anything."
Harusuke then chuckled. "Come now, Usagi. I'm not as brave as you think I am," he said kindly. "Like I told the other girls, there's no shame of being scared."
"And besides, being brave isn't the same thing as not being scared," added Luna. "Being brave is what you do and the actions you take, even though you are scared, and we've all seen you do that and then some. You are the one who defeated Queen Beryl after all."
When Usagi heard these words, she couldn't help but smile a bit, feeling a bit better and less afraid. "Aw. Thanks, you guys," she said. "I feel a lot better now, but... to be on the safe side, I might need you to sleep in my room tonight. Will that be OK with you?"
Harusuke was hesitant, but then he smiled kindly at his sister. "Oh, OK, but only for tonight, Sis."
Usagi smiled and gave her brother a big hug and then went away to wash up. Harusuke and Luna were left alone.
"You know, Harusuke, you should give yourself a bit more credit," said Luna. "You're not only brave, but you're also kind and caring."
"I appreciate the compliment, Luna, but I can't help think that's further from the truth," said Harusuke. "I mean, I know I'm a capable person, like myself or Solaris, but that doesn't mean that I have my flaws as well as my fears. I'm scared that one of these days, I'm going to mess up, and then everyone I know and love is going to be gone. And it'll be my fault."
"Harusuke, what you're feeling is pretty natural," Luna said kindly. "Everyone faces the possibility of losing their team. Artemis and I face this every time you and the other guardians go to battle. So the only thing you can do is to face your fears and carry on."
Harusuke looked at the black cat and gave her a tiny smile. Then, just as he was about to thank her, the two of them heard a scream that came from downstairs. Hearing the cry, Harusuke and Luna immediately raced down the stairs to see what was wrong, and they caught a surprising sight. Usagi, Chibiusa, Shingo were all standing in front of Ikuko, who was on the floor holding up a frying pan like a weapon.
"Mom, what's the matter with you?" asked Usagi worriedly. "Why do you two look so freaked out?"
"Stay back!" Ikuko shrieked. "I'm warning you!"
"What's going on here?!" Harusuke exclaimed as he rushed in.
"We don't know! Mom was just getting things ready for dinner and was putting the flowers she bought in a vase," said Shingo. "Next thing we know, Mom screamed and started swinging with her frying pan at us!"
"Please, Mama Ikuko, calm down!" begged Chibiusa. "It's us! Your family!"
But thanks to the tainted flowers that she unknowingly bought, Ikuko thought that Usagi and the rest of them looked like giant-sized versions of her biggest fears, cockroaches.
"You stay away, you filthy cockroaches!" Ikuko shrieked again, getting ready to swing. "I'll squash every last one of you!"
"Mom! Stop!" Usagi cried. "You're going crazy! Snap out of it!"
But Ikuko didn't listen as she started swinging wildly at the ordango blonde, forcing her to duck and dodge the incoming blows.
"Chibiusa! Shingo! Get out of here!" Harusuke yelled. "Go to the other room where it's safe! We'll handle Mom!"
Shingo and Chibiusa obeyed, and Harusuke turned back to his mom while Usagi stepped back while dodging another couple swings of her pan. Harusuke quickly jumped in and wrenched it out of her hand at that moment.
"Mom! Please! You have to calm down!" Harusuke shouted. "You're confused!"
"Let go of me!" Ikuko yelled, thrashing about to get free. "Get away from me, you filthy disgusting cockroaches! I'll squash you!"
She continued to thrash around, trying to get free from Harusuke's hold, while Usagi stood there unsure of what to do. Then she saw the frying pan on the ground. Not thinking twice, Usagi lunged forward and grabbed took it in her hand.
"Usagi, what are you doing?!" Luna cried.
The ordango blonde didn't answer her as she raised the pan and brought it down smack on Ikuko's head with a mighty clang, causing her to go limp and fall unconscious. Luna and Harusuke were shocked.
"Usagi?! What did you just do?!" Luna gasped.
"You just... knocked out, Mom!" Harusuke gawked.
"I-I'm sorry!" Usagi squeaked fearfully. "I didn't know what else to do!"
"Well, at least she's stopped attacking us for the time being, so I suppose it wasn't too much of a bad idea," Luna said. "But what on Earth happened to her? And why did she think that all of you were cockroaches?"
Then at that moment, another scream came from the other room. The three then rushed over to see where it came from, only to see Chibiusa standing there looking horrified while Shingo was on the floor rolling around with his hands to his head, trembling with fear.
"They're everywhere!" Shingo yelled. "The freaky dolls are going to get me!"
Harusuke was about to rush over to help Shingo when Chibiusa grabbed him by the wrist, preventing him.
"No! Don't go over there, Harusuke!" Chibiusa cried. "It's too dangerous!"
"What do you mean, Chibiusa?!" asked Usagi. "What happened to Shingo?!"
"Well, Shingo and I were going upstairs to our room waiting to see what would happen," Chibiusa explained. "Then Shingo walked the flowers Momma Ikuko bought. When he did, they suddenly blasted him with some strange mist, and then the next thing I know, Shingo started acting weird too!"
"The flowers?" repeated Harusuke.
They all then glanced over at the flowers in question, sitting on the counter in a vase not too far from where Shingo was. At first, they seemed to be ordinary flowers as they stared at them, but then suddenly, they began to move, rustling about, and blooming appeared to be looking at them. Then, as they fully blossomed, they began to shoot out a strange yellow mist that quickly evolved into a cloud and was billowing straight towards them.
"Everybody run!" Luna yelled. "Get out of the house now!"
Not even hesitating for a second, everyone immediately cleared out, dashing out of the house as fast as their legs could carry them until they were safely outside. But when they got outside, a shocking sight met their eyes. Dozens of people ran all over the people, panicking while screaming as they ran. It was like watching a scene from a horror or apocalypse movie. Just then, both Harusuke's and Usagi's communicators began to beep as they heard Rei's voice.
"Hello?! Can anyone hear me?! We have a problem!"
"What is it, Rei?" asked Harusuke.
"It's my grandpa and Yuichirou! They've gone completely insane!" Rei spoke urgently.
Then they could hear Yuichirou and Rei's grandpa screaming in the background.
"She hates me! Rei hates me!" Yuichirou yelled with horror. "Stop! Stop it! I don't want to hear anymore!"
"No! Men! Men everywhere!" Rei's grandpa yelled. "They're all too muscular and hairy, and they're wearing... gah! Someone help me!"
"We've been getting a lot of people panicking over here, too!" Usagi said. "Our Mom and Shingo are freaking out too, and we just figured out why!"
"It's because Mom bought some weird flowers, and she, along with everyone else, got blasted by the pollen they were giving off!" said Harusuke. "For some reason, they're causing everyone to panic!"
"This has Esmeraude written all over it!" Makoto said. "There's no other explanation!"
"I've analyzed the flowers, and they seem to originate from a shop in Downtown Juuban. So that's most likely where the enemy is!" Ami said. "I'm sending you the coordinates!"
"We'll meet you there!" Harusuke said. "And whatever you do, don't inhale the pollen, or you'll end up getting poisoned as well!"
"Right!" the teens all said.
Usagi, Harusuke, Chibiusa, and Luna then raced away head for Downtown Juuban as fast as they could.
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Meanwhile, Esmeraude and her droid watched as the Dark Hedge grew at a moderate rate thanks to the Dark Power it was collecting. Esmeraude was pleased.
"Yes, Yes! My plan is working perfectly!" the Dark General squealed in delight. "The citizens of Tokyo's negative energy of fear is making the Dark Hedge grow splendidly. It's only a matter of time before it grows to its full height, and the Dark Gate will open!"
"But Ma'am, we mustn't forget about the Guardians," warned Hanakaku. "They're most likely on their way here to us as we speak."
"Yes, but I'm not worried," Esmeraude spoke with confidence. "This time, nothing, not even those meddlesome guardians, will stand in my way! They'll all cower in fear as I show the true terror of the Black Moon Clan!" She then glanced at Hanakaku. "And I expect you to make sure they're dealt with swiftly."
Hanakaku answered with a nod in response as they continued to watch the Dark Hedge grow while waiting for their enemies to arrive.
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It wasn't long before Usagi and the others came to Downtown Juuban. When they got there, chaos was everywhere. The streets were overflowing with cars, and dozens of people ran around in a panic.
"How awful," Ami gasped. "All those people..."
"They look so scared," murmured Minako. "They're so disoriented with fear; they don't even know what they're doing."
"I understand this looks horrifying, but we have to focus on the task at hand," Artemis said firmly. "We have to stop whatever the Black Moon Clan has going on. It's the only way that they'll go back to normal."
"He's right, so let's keep going," urged Luna.
The group pressed onward, making their way past the chaos until they came to the florist shop.
"This is the place!" Ami said. "This is where my computer pinpointed source!"
"There's an evil aura here," said Rei. "And it's coming from inside the shop!"
"How creepy," Usagi cringed. "It's just like when we were watching that movie."
"Don't worry. It's no different than the other times we fought a droid," said Harusuke. "But we better stay on guard. I've got a bad feeling about this one."
"Everyone, transform!" ordered Luna.
"And please be careful," said Artemis. "We'll stay outside and make sure Chibiusa's safe."
The Inner Guardians took out their pens, Usagi took out her brooch, and Harusuke revealed his bracelet from his sleeve.
"MOON CRYSTAL POWER...!"
"MERCURY STAR POWER...!"
"MARS STAR POWER...!"
"JUPITER STAR POWER...!"
"VENUS STAR POWER...!"
"SOLAR PRISM POWER...!"
"MAKE UP!"
"BLAZE FORTH!"
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Transformation Sequence: Usagi
Usagi holds up the Crystal Star brooch as it opens, revealing the Silver Crystal inside. Usagi waved her hand on the Silver Crystal, and it flashed it a bright short burst of pink light emitting a chime. It does it a second time, and on the third, it shines brightly, enveloping Usagi in its glow. Usagi then holds the brooch above her head, suspending it in between her hands, drawing it to the center of her torso, flipping it once before placing it in the center of her chest. She then spins around a few times as the crystal begins to glow even brighter than before in pink light. She holds her hands up as a pair of wings spring forth from her back while pink ribbons come out from the crystal wrapping around Usagi's body, forming her leotard. The wings on her back disappeared as more pink ribbons wrapped around her arms and hands, creating white gloves and red boots around her calves and feet. As the blue skirt appears around her waist, one more pink ribbon ties at her back as she does a kind of spread-eagle motion with one leg up, a glowing moon symbol appearing on her forehead. Her tiara, earrings, choker, and ordango covers appear, and Usagi, now Sailor Moon, finishes with her signature pose.
Transformation Sequence: Harusuke.
Harusuke holds up his hand as the stone on his bracelet shines bright in golden light. The stone lets out three pulses, the symbol of the Sun glowing inside of it on the third pulse. Harusuke is enveloped in silver and gold light as he jumps into the air, his clothes disappearing. The symbol of the sun appears just above him and goes down, phasing through his body, making his silver jumpsuit with gold lines on the sides materialize. Two smaller sun symbols go over his feet to his kneecaps, and his gold and metal boots and silver kneecaps appear. Around his waist, a ring of light wraps around it, forming a belt with a gold belt buckle in the shape of an oval. Harusuke then spreads his arms wide as two more light rings envelop his arms and hands, making gold gloves appear. The symbol of the sun appears in front of him now, and crashes into his chest, making his chest piece like before, now thicker and having shoulder guards. Finally, a helmet materializes above Harusuke's head, the design slightly different as he reaches and grabs hit, putting it on his head, not having a mouth protector. Harusuke opens his eyes, punches his hands together, and strikes his signature pose, the symbol of the sun appearing behind him with a star-filled background.
Transformation Sequence: Ami
Ami holds up her hand as blue sparkles swirled around it, alighting her fingernails turning them into a shade of bright blue. Her transformation stick appears spinning, and she takes hold of it, the star on end and the symbol glowing. It begins to turn as Ami is enveloped in blue light. Then she sweeps the pen over her head as a stream of sparkling blue water begins to emit from it, forming her leotard, boots, and gloves. A sparkling ripple and a flurry of bubbles expand over her body, creating a tiny mist of water that forms the rest of her uniform, the same as Sailor Moon's, but the center bow, boots, and rims on the gloves were blue and bright blue. Finally, she turns around and then strikes her signature pose.
Transformation Sequence: Rei
Rei's hand is held up as red sparkles swirl around it, alighting her fingernails, turning them into a shade of bright red. Her transformation stick appears spinning, and she takes hold of it, the star on end as well as the symbol glowing. It begins to turn as Rei is enveloped in red light. As she held up her pen while spinning around, long bright tongues of flame erupted from it, forming several rings around her body. They tighten around her body, and in a brilliant flash of light, her outfit forms having to look just like Sailor Moon's, but she is wearing red pumps along with a pair of red star-shaped earrings, the center bow is purple, and the rims of her gloves, her skirt, her choker, and collar are red. After that, Mars finishes with her signature pose.
Transformation Sequence: Makoto
Makoto's hand is held up as green sparkles swirl around it, alighting her fingernails, turning them into a shade of bright green. Her transformation stick appears spinning, and she takes hold of it, the star on end as well as the symbol glowing. It starts to turn around rapidly as green light envelops Makoto. As she holds up her pen while spinning around, long streams of lightning erupt from it, encircling her body, forming an atom of sorts before exploding in a brilliant flash of light. Her outfit forms, having to look just like Sailor Moon's, wearing green boots along with her pair of roses earrings, the bow is pink, and the rims of her gloves green, as is her skirt, her choker, and collar. After that, Jupiter finishes with her signature pose.
Transformation sequence: Minako.
Minako's hand is held up as golden stars swirl around it, alighting her fingernails, turning them into a shade of bright orange. Her transformation stick appears spinning, and she takes hold of it, the star on end as well as the symbol glowing. It begins to turn as Minako is enveloped in yellow light. Then she sweeps the pen over her head as banners of golden stars emit from it. Minako then holds up the pen above her head as the banners of stars form a spiral around her body. They disappear into the ground, forming a circle of stars and burst into more stars going upwards, enveloping Minako's body. Then Minako emerges wearing the same outfit as Sailor Moon's, the center bow, boots, and rims on the gloves colored orange, her back bow, yellow, and her center bow, blue. She then opens her eyes as she assumes her signature pose.
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Now fully transformed, Sailor Moon and her group of heroes came bursting through the door of the corrupted florist only to find Esmeraude and her loyal droid waiting for them.
"So, they're finally here," Esmeraude spoke in a neutral tone.
"Esmeraude, I should have known you were behind all this madness!" Sailor Moon spoke crossly. "You not only have tainted the beauty of flowers with your wicked ways, but you also sent the people of this town into a frenzy of fear! The gardener with the green thumb may be able to forgive your actions, but you can be sure that we won't! In the name of the Moon..."
"We'll punish you!" the six heroes all said together.
Esmeraude then cackled. "It's so nice to see you, Guardians. I've been expecting you," she said ominously. "I've been looking forward to seeing you, so I can take the honor of taking every last one of your lives!"
"Pretty big talk, Esmeraude, but let's see if you can back it up!" Sailor Jupiter spoke as she immediately shot towards her enemy.
"Jupiter, wait!" cried Solaris. "Don't go rushing in!"
But Sailor Jupiter was already raring to go as she crossed her arms and extended her antenna, preparing to unleash a blast of lightning as she headed straight for Esmeraude. At that moment, Hanakaku intercepted her, launching numerous vines riddled with thorns shot out at her forcing Jupiter to dodge. Esmeraude then disappeared as the droid continued its relentless assault by attacking the other guardians forcing them to avoid the incoming attacks.
Sailor Venus then aimed for the droid, pointing her finger.
"VENUS CRESCENT BEAM!"
The Guardian of Love then fired her signature ray of light, only for the droid to leap up and dodge the attack with ease. Then seeing that Sailor Venus was open to attack, Hanakaku's hand turned back into human-like ones and threw something straight at the guardian, which was the rosebud.
"Venus, look out!" Solaris yelled.
But it was too late. The rosebud exploded into a cloud of pollen pillowed all over Sailor Venus, causing her to cough from inhaling it.
"Sailor Venus! Are you OK?!" Sailor Moon cried.
Sailor Venus looked back at her friends, and when she did, she gasped with shock as well as horror. Instead of seeing Sailor Moon and the others, the guardian saw nothing but her friends dressed up as doctors, all of which had large needles in their hands as they sinisterly laughed while leering at her.
Sailor Venus cringed with fright. "No... no! It can't be!" she gasped as she took a step back. "Keep those things away from me!"
"Venus? What's the matter with you?" asked Sailor Mars as she took a step towards her comrade.
"No! Stay back!" Sailor Venus cried. "I don't want a shot! I hate needles!"
"What the heck is she talking about?" asked Sailor Jupiter.
"It's just like what happened to Mom and Shingo!" Solaris gasped. "They were acting the same way when the pollen hit them!"
Sailor Mercury then activated her visor, giving Venus a quick scan. "I think I know what's going on! It seems that the pollen has toxic! It makes its victims see hallucinations! Those hallucinations are most likely of their worst fears, which must be why Venus, along with the people in town, are panicking!"
"How very perceptive of you, Guardian," Hanakaku cackled. "Here's your reward for figuring it all out!"
Then, the droid fired another array of rosebuds at them, forcing them to dodge again while shooting out her vines. This time, a vine wrapped around Sailor Mercury binding her, and a rosebud ended up hitting her, contaminating her with its pollen as well. Now, Sailor Mercury was seeing hallucinations, seeing her fellow Guardians as teachers from her classes, all of which were holding up tests that had giant Fs in red ink.
"You failed, Ami Mizuno!" one of the teachers scolded. "How could you fail on a test as simple as this one?!"
"I'd expect something like this to happen to an ordinary student, but not you!" said another. "I'm very disappointed in you!"
"Perhaps we were wrong to expect great things from you," said a third. "If you're getting failing grades despite being a genius, then perhaps you're a fraud."
Sailor Mercury was horrified. "No! It can't be! I never fail!" she cried. "I never fail on a test! It goes against everything I stand for!"
"No! Sailor Mercury!" Solaris cried. "Pull yourself together!"
"Enough of this!" Sailor Mars snapped as she aimed with her finger. "MARS BURNING MANDALA!"
Sailor Mars fired an array of rings made of fire, which cut straight through the vines and burned them along with the rosebuds. While Hanakaku reeled back in surprise from the sudden attack, Sailor Jupiter attacked as well, unleashing a disk of lightning at the droid.
"JUPITER SPARKLING WIDE PRESSURE!"
Hanakaku looked up in time for the lightning disc to shoot straight at her until it hit with a mighty explosion creating a giant cloud of smoke. Sailor Jupiter smirked with triumph, thinking that she landed a hit, but then a rosebud came falling from above, and before the guardian could react, it fell on top of her head, exploding with pollen, claiming her as the third victim.
Now Sailor Jupiter found herself in a strange room with a small aisle with several rows of chairs and tiny windows. There was also the sound of an engine that made the entire place rumble. It was then that Sailor Jupiter knew where she was, and when she realized, her face went pale with horror, and her heart began to pound.
She was inside of an airplane.
"No. No! No! Let me out of here!" Sailor Jupiter screeched with fright. "Get me out of this crazy thing! Anywhere but inside of a plane!"
The Guardian of Thunder desperately started to run, trying to make for the door to escape, but the door seemed to get further and further away as she began to panic.
"Jupiter!" Solaris cried. "Not her too!"
"She thinks that she's inside of a plane!" Sailor Mars gasped. "That's her biggest fear!"
Sailor Moon was now getting scared herself. "What are we going to do now, guys?!" she whimpered. "At this rate, we're all going to get poisoned!"
"Calm down, Sailor Moon!" Sailor Mars spoke firmly. "There's no need to be freaking out too! We'll beat this thing! We need to stick together and take care of the other girls! Maybe I can use my purification tag to purify the poison! Solaris, can you hold back the droid for me?"
"You got it, Sailor Mars," Solaris said as he shot out a beam of light, turning it into a whip, twirling it around to make a barrier.
Sailor Mars then took out an ofuda and was about to start charging power when Hanakaku shot her vines straight at her. Luckily, Solaris protected her thanks to the barrier that he made. While that was happening, Sailor Moon rushed over to her comrades hoping that she could find some way to calm them down, first going over to Sailor Mercury.
"Mercury, please! It's me! Sailor Moon!" Sailor Moon spoke to her. "What you're seeing isn't real! You've got to come to your senses!"
"No! Stay back!" Sailor Mercury cried, still seeing Sailor Moon as her biggest fear. "I'm warning you! I don't want to hear anymore!"
Sailor Mercury crossed her arms, creating a bubble in them, and unleashed a flurry causing Sailor Moon to duck immediately. While that was happening, Sailor Mars managed to charge enough power into the ofuda and was ready to throw it, but then Sailor Jupiter came rushing straight for her, still scared out of her wits.
"Let me out of here! Let me out!" Sailor Jupiter yelled as her antenna extended, sparking with power. "I can't stand being in here!"
"Sailor Mars! Look out!" Solaris yelled.
Sailor Mars immediately hit the dirt as Sailor Jupiter unleashed a powerful blast of lightning.
Hanakaku cackled with glee, watching this sight as she retracted her vines a bit. "This is all quite amusing, the way you're all so desperately panicking, but I believe it's time we put an end to this!"
Then, the same flowers started blooming all over her vines, ready to fire. All the Guardians that remained gasped as the color drained from their faces.
"Everyone, get down!" Solaris yelled. "She's going to fire!"
But his warning came too late, as Hanakaku unleashed her flowers all at once like missiles, shooting them everywhere. Explosions shook the building as pollen billowed everywhere. When the smoke cleared, Solaris looked up to see if everyone was OK. The good news was that everyone was still alive, but the bad news was that Sailor Moon and Sailor Mars got poisoned too.
Sailor Mars now saw the Guardians as numerous boys who wore tuxedos, appeared pretentious in demeanor, and looked at her like they wanted to jump into her bones. Then she could hear the voices of the other guardians.
"You're so lame, Rei! Always putting being a priestess first before finding a boy!" Usagi's voice mocked. "You're better off just looking for a boy until you end up marrying someone rich!"
"Yeah, at least that way, you can be happy rather than making yourself look like a fool!" Makoto's voice also mocked.
"I'd marry you, but sadly, I'm not into girls who are desperate for boys," Harusuke's voice said snootily. "Especially ones that are gold diggers!"
Sailor Mars' eyes went wide as she held her ears. "No! I'm not that desperate!" she shouted. "I'm not a gold digger, and I will never be one!"
Solaris groaned as he shook off the confusion, only to see that his sister Sailor Moon was curled up in a ball and crying out of fear. In Sailor Moon's delusions, she could hear nothing but the sound of booming thunder that seemed to shake the entire area, which made her body tremble.
"No more! Make it stop!" Sailor Moon squealed fearfully. "I hate thunder! It's too loud!"
"No! Sailor Moon!" Solaris cried. "Get a grip on yourself!"
"It's no use, Solaris. Those who inhale my pollen are doomed to live their worst fears," Hanakaku cackled. "And you and the guardians are no exception. Soon, you will end up in the same fate as your friends, too!"
Solaris got back up to his feet and stood ready to face Hanakaku. Thanks to his mouthguard, he was protected against the pollen, but if Hanakaku planned on taking off that mouthguard, he would be in trouble. Solaris carefully took a couple of steps to the right, and Hanakaku took a few steps to the left. The two continued to slowly dance around each other, feeling each other out while waiting for someone to make a move.
The two then shot towards each other and attack punched, their fists colliding. Solaris kicked and stuck, and Hanakaku did the same, the two of them trying to get one clean hit on each other. Solaris then conjured a ball of light and then fired.
"SUNSHINE METEOR!"
Hanakaku jumped up, dodging the attack just in time as she threw more of her rosebud bombs, only for Solaris to jump up as well, hovering in the air to avoid them. The droid clicked her tongue in annoyance, thinking that Solaris was a formidable opponent, realizing that she had to get the drop on him, and she knew exactly how to do that.
"I must admit, you're quite a formidable opponent, Solaris, but even someone like you has moments of weakness!" Hanakaku spoke. "Allow me to demonstrate!"
The evil monster had her vines extend from her body. This time, the thorns grew spikier and sharper as they shot towards Solaris, causing the boy to defend, expecting the attack. But at the last minute, the vines changed their route and headed straight towards Sailor Moon.
Realizing this and knowing that Sailor Moon could not defend herself, Solaris immediately shot down towards the narrowing gap between the vines and Sailor Moon. The Guardian of the Sun managed to get in between them and braced himself. The vines whipped and bashed him as he shielded his sister as he took every attack. Then came trouble. While Solaris was trying to protect Sailor Moon, one vine snuck its way around, and before Solaris could react, the vine whipped him hard across his face knocking off the mouth guard protecting his mouth, leaving him vulnerable.
"Now you're mine!" shrieked Hanakaku as she relentlessly threw an even numerous volley of rosebuds at him.
Dozens of rosebuds showered upon Solaris exploding upon contact, making pollen billow everywhere. Solaris coughed as he took the pollen in full force, having to inhaled quite a bit of it, and because of him inhaling it, he started seeing and hearing delusions. He could see Usagi and the others in his head, all of which were scolding him severely and disdainfully.
"You blew it, Harusuke!" Usagi snapped. "You let us down!"
"You did this to us!" Ami spoke crossly. "You let us get infected, and now because of you, the whole world is doomed!"
"You're a disgrace to this team, and you're a pathetic loser too!" Makoto said spitefully.
"It's no wonder you almost got killed on your first love!" Rei said. "Who would want to date a boring, weak loser like you?"
"You don't even deserve to fall in love!" Minako said in an unkind tone. "Are you a man, or are you just a pitiful boy?"
Solaris's eyes went wide as he stared at the ground, the hurtful words piercing straight to his heart as he fell to his knees.
"No... I failed them. I failed everyone," Solaris spoke, his body beginning to tremble. "I... I let them all down. I'm so pathetic."
As he fell under the spell of the pollen as well, Hanakaku sauntered her way over to him, her vines entangling her right hand turning into a spear. "Now, it's time for me to finish you off," she sinisterly laughed as she prepared to strike. "Once you and the Guardians are out of the way, the Black Moon Clan shall reign supreme!"
But as she was about to bring down her spear, a red rose shot out, piercing through her spear made of vines, striking the ground just in front of Solaris, causing the two of them to look up. Then, while stepping out of the darkness, Tuxedo Mask appeared.
"They say a flower cannot blossom without sunshine and happiness, but your kind of flowers are the kind that makes weeds seem beautiful!" Tuxedo Mask said. "Flowers are supposed to bring joy and to ease anxiety, not bring fear and chaos! So for disgracing the flowers, I will never forgive you!"
As Hanakaku growled in anger, Tuxedo Mask looked at the guardian of the sun behind her.
"Solaris! Listen to me! You need to fight your fears just as you've done time and time again!" Tuxedo Mask shouted to him. "While it is terrifying to face them, you must find the courage in your heart to push through and beat them!"
Then, something clicked within Solaris as he remembered what Luna said about being brave, which made him pluck up courage as he stood back up to his feet, standing his ground. Hanakaku was surprised and immediately fired a rosebud. This time, Solaris remained standing as he marched towards her, undaunted. The droid fired again, and while Solaris got struck with more pollen, he continued forward, a determined scowl etched on his face.
"I-Impossible!" gasped Hanakaku. "H-How are you unaffected by my pollen?! You should be cowering in fear!"
"Your pollen won't work on me anymore!" Solaris spoke bravely. "I face my fears every single day I fight, and I'm not about to let them get to me now! Especially when the people I love are in danger!"
Hanakaku was beginning to get nervous as she continued throwing rosebud after rosebud at Solaris, only to have him keep walking towards her as he clenched his fist. The droid then launched her vines at Solaris to dodge them with ease as he got closer to the droid. Hanakaku became even more frantic and then had her vines wrap around Solaris and had them bloom with flowers, which exploded with pollen, shrouding him in it. But then, with a mighty yell, Solaris broke free from the vines, still appearing unaffected, much to the droid's shock and disbelief as the guardian continued to fight.
At that same time, Sailor Moon was still hearing the booming claps of thunder, which made her yelp with fear as she continued to hold her ears, wanting the sound to stop. Then, she heard an even louder noise, the sound of a battle cry. Sailor Moon looked up, and she saw Solaris fighting Hanakaku. Solaris' eyes were red, and he looked exhausted. However, he was still fighting, trying his best to fight back despite everything.
Upon seeing this, Sailor Moon's fear began to lessen as she remembered Luna's words as well, filling her with inspiration and courage as she got back to her feet.
"Solaris is fighting even though he's experiencing his worst fear, and here I am, freaking out like a baby," Sailor Moon winced. "I have to be brave! Even though I'm scared, I have to do something!" She then took off her tiara, transforming it into a white disc made of energy, and threw it. "MOON TIARA ACTION!"
The disc shot through the air and hit the droid right smack in her midsection, sending her flying back. Solaris looked back and was surprised yet overjoyed to see his sister.
"Sailor Moon!"
Sailor Moon gave her brother a thumbs up. "Solaris, what do you say we get rid of this weed for good?!"
"Sounds like a plan!" Solaris smirked.
Sailor Moon then summoned her Cutie Moon Rod, and Solaris clenched his fist, aiming to burst into golden flame.
"MOON PRINCESS HALATION!"
"SOLARIS ARROW OF SOL!"
Both Guardians unleashed their attacks, both combining into a sparkling arrow of light that vaporized the droid's vines as well as her pollen. Hanakaku herself looked up and saw their attacks coming for her, and before she could scream, the combined attack destroyed her, reducing her to a pile of ash with her blackened droid gem. At that moment, the delusions that Sailor Moon and the rest of the victims suddenly stopped. They all moaned and groaned as they tried to shake off the sick feeling in their bodies, while Solaris and Sailor Moon fell to their knees, out of breath and exhausted. As for Tuxedo Mask, he smiled proudly before leaving the area with a wave of his cape.
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At the same time, Esneraude watched as the Dark Hedge that was once growing began to shrink until it shattered into a million pieces, which made her seethe with fury.
"No! That's impossible! How were they able to defeat Hanakaku?! It doesn't make any sense!"
The Dark Kingdom General then peered out from her hiding place to see Solaris checking on the other Guardians, ensuring they were all right. It was then that she had a thought. A thought that made her eyes narrow, and her mouth turned into a scowl as she retreated into the darkness.
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After a while, Usagi and the other girls left Downtown Juuban, heading back to the Hikawa Shrine. They felt exhausted and sheepish for what they experienced, but that didn't stop them from telling each other what they experienced. As they shared their experiences, Harusuke and Usagi recalled what they experienced to Luna and Artemis what they had seen.
"Very impressive, you two," said Luna. "You both saved everyone just when they got overwhelmed by their fears."
"Well, I wouldn't say impressive, Luna," Harusuke spoke humbly. "I got hit by the pollen and freaked out just like everyone else when I saw my fear."
"Same with me," agreed Usagi. "Those illusions felt so realistic; I couldn't help but act like a big scaredy-cat when I got hit."
"Nevertheless, you both were able to push through and face your fears," Artemis pointed out. "Sure, you two may not have mastered them, but that's what makes you great guardians. So be proud of yourselves."
Harusuke and Usagi looked at the two cats and smiled, feeling proud. But inside, Harusuke could still hear what the delusions said to him, which made him feel a bit insecure, but he kept it to himself.
"Hey, Harusuke! You alright?"
Harusuke looked at his sister at the sound of her voice and smiled.
"Yes. I'm fine," Harusuke replied. "What do you say we head home?"
Usagi agreed as she, along with her brother, set off.
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Back her dimension, Esmeraude stood alone, sipping from a cup of wine as she was in deep thought. She was thinking about all of her droid's previous battles with the Guardians, particularly the ones that Solaris participated in when he rescued Sailor Moon or any of the other guardians.
"It's because of Solaris," Esmeraude said to herself. "He's the reason Hanakaku failed, and this wasn't the first time he's saved those girls either, which means that Solaris not only their greatest strength but also their weakness."
A sly smile then curled up on Esmeraude's lips as she began to softly cackle before it became an echoing, haughty fit of laughter that rang throughout the entire area.