Beryl sat fuming on her throne. This turn of events demanded an explanation. It better be a good one, for their sake.
“Zoisite, present yourself!” she summoned imperiously. Immediately, the blonde general appeared and kneeled. “Those pests have two of the seven Rainbow Crystals,” she told her pointedly. “We only have one. Already three of the Seven Shadows have been defeated. Zoisite, how will you take responsibility for these blunders?”
“Please grant me more time, Queen Beryl,” Zoisite pleaded. “I will succeed this time!” She thrust the crystal spinning in front of her. The crystal spun in place for a second, then stopped with one point sticking straight into the air. “Dark Crystal,” she shouted, “I command you, show me the fourth of the Rainbow Crystal carriers!” Several small streaks of light shot up from the bottom end of the dark crystal and gathered at the top into a glowing sphere of light. The bright sphere of light then exploded into a swirling black funnel, upon which the image of an ordinary looking, dark-haired girl with glasses appeared, her hair done up in a braid. “I will have the Rainbow Crystal even at the cost of my life!”
“You know what will happen to you should you fail, correct?”
“Yes, my Queen.”
Just another breezy autumn day in Sankaku Park. The kinds that are perfect for leisurely walks across the lake in the middle of the park, perhaps even with a loved one. At least for some. Usagi, on the other hand, was sitting on one of the many benches around the small body of water, with her backpack beside her, bored to tears from waiting. The conversation she was having with Luna wasn’t helping any.
“He’s also after the Rainbow Crystals,” Luna persisted. “We may have to treat him as an enemy.”
“No, I don’t wanna!” Usagi retorted. “I still don’t know who the man of my dreams is! And I run into all those scary youma, too! Why do I have to go through all this?!?”
Luna was saved from having to reply to that when Naru called out to Usagi as she ran up to her. “Usagi-chan! Thanks for waiting!”
“What is the big surprise you wanted to show me?”
“You’re just gonna have to wait ‘til we get there. Let’s go!” Naru turned and dashed off in the direction she came from.
“Okay!” Usagi replied, grabbing her backpack from the bench and swinging it around her shoulder. “Hey, let’s go grab something to eat afterwards, okay?” She raced off after Naru, not noticing that the Crescent Moon Wand had slipped out of her backpack and was heading straight for the lake. Luna, however, did notice.
“AAH!!!” Luna screeched and dove for the wand, catching it before it could fall in. She then exhaled a large sigh of relief. “It almost fell in! How can she treat the Crescent Moon Wand like this?” She picked the wand up in her mouth and started trailing after Usagi, who was already out of sight.
Finding Usagi-chan might take a while.…
Naru led Usagi to an art gallery that was having a display of some new art painted by a recently popular artist. There were several people here, staring in awe of the skill displayed in the various paintings.
“Wow! How beautiful!” Usagi exclaimed.
“Yeah, Yumemi Yumeno’s painting’s are really popular now,” Naru replied.
“You know, Naru-chan, I’ve noticed that there are mostly couples here.”
“That’s because Yumemi’s paintings are paintings of love,” Umino answered, walking up to them from around the corner of the room.
Usagi didn’t notice him coming and leaped back a bit in surprise. “Really?” she asked, after seeing that it was only Umino that surprised her.
“Uh-huh,” Naru agreed. “If you have one of her paintings, all of your romantic dreams are supposed to come true.”
“I’ll buy one!” Usagi sighed dreamily.
“See this one?” Naru said, pointing at a portrait of a beautiful girl in a lavender dress. Her long blonde hair was held in a small red bow, while most of it fell around her shoulders. “This’s supposed to be a self-portrait of Yumemi Yumeno.”
“She’s pretty.”
“She fits the images of the pictures perfectly,” Umino mentioned. “But, she never appears in public.”
“Maybe she’s got a really ugly face,” Usagi added.
“Come on, Usagi,” Naru replied, grinning while Usagi began to laugh.
Meanwhile, a dark-haired girl with glasses continued her search of the art gallery. She stopped by one group of people after another, and just glanced over them as if she was looking for something. Or, more likely, someone.
“No good. I can’t get any images…,” she moaned quietly to herself.
“It’s too bad she hasn’t painted any new ones lately,” Naru said wistfully. The dark-haired girl paused for a moment and listened in on their conversation.
“It’s rumored that she’s gone into hiding because of a slump,” Umino told them.
“But, I’m right here,” the dark-haired girl said quietly to herself.
“You know, I think that the reason why she isn’t here is because that self-portrait doesn’t really look like her,” Umino said.
“Yeah, she could be really ugly,” Usagi added again.
“She could be a he,” Naru added, laughing. That set the dark-haired girl to laughing as well.
The three continued walking until Usagi stopped abruptly. Something caught her attention. Something… familiar.
“Something wrong, Usagi-chan?” Naru asked.
Usagi stared at the painting in front of her. The scene was of two people, a blonde-haired girl with a hairstyle similar to hers, and a man wearing a tuxedo and cape with an eyemask on his face. “This drawing… It looks so familiar…,” she mused to herself.
Meanwhile, outside the art gallery, Mamoru walked by the window and glanced at a poster similar to the painting Usagi was looking at.
“This’s…,” he said to himself, stopping to stare at the familiar looking girl in the poster. Quickly, the memories of past dreams flashed across his mind. Please… find the Silver Crystal.… “She looks similar to the one in my dreams….”
As he continued to stare at the poster, the dark-haired girl solemnly exited the building. She was walking past him just as he turned to leave and bumped into him by accident, knocking the glasses off her face and the folder she was carrying from out of her hands.
“I’m sorry,” he apologized, kneeling down to help the girl pick up her papers.
“My glasses!” she said, searching carefully for them.
“Are you okay?” he asked, handing her the papers he had collected.
The girl picked up her glasses and put them back on her face. She took the papers from Mamoru, then blinked in surprise as she glanced at his face. “It’s you!” she exclaimed suddenly. He just looked down at her in bewilderment, clearly not understanding what the girl was talking about.
Inside, Naru was looking at the same painting that Usagi seemed to be fixated over, when she happened to notice Mamoru talking to that dark-haired girl he had bumped into.
“Usagi-chan, isn’t that Motoki-oniisan’s friend?” she asked, pointing outside.
“That jerk!” Usagi exclaimed angrily. “He’s hanging around with some girl other than Rei-chan.” She grinned mischievously. “I can’t afford to miss this opportunity. Sorry. Gotta go, Naru-chan!”
“Usagi-chan, where’re you going?” Naru called out as Usagi headed for the exit.
“I’m about to give that jerk an earful,” she replied cheerfully. “Umino, would you mind taking Naru-chan home? Oh, and buy a poster for me, will you?”
“Sure, no problem!” Umino replied, waving as the door closed behind Usagi.
“Stupid Usagi-chan…,” Naru muttered to herself.
“I’m so lucky to be left alone with Naru-chan,” Umino said quietly to himself, blushing slightly. “Strange… I used to be depressed when Usagi-san always left me behind. I must be fickle.”
“Umino, are you getting a fever or something?” Naru asked slyly, noticing his slight redness. He only shrugged.
Outside, the dark-haired girl was shyly tugging on Mamoru’s sleeve, while trying to ask him a question. The problem was, she couldn’t seem to form the question in her mind.
“Well…. Could you…? Um…,” she stammered, still trying to ask her question.
“What is it?” Mamoru asked. “If you have something to ask, then say it.”
“Well,… umm…. Could you…?”
“Look who’s here!” Usagi exclaimed, walking up to the two of them. “Rei-chan’s gonna hear all about this!”
“Don’t get the wrong idea,” Mamoru replied, slightly irritated.
“About what?” Usagi retorted. “She’s got you by your arm!” That’s when she noticed that the dark-haired girl now had her sleeve as well. “Huh?”
“Oh, you fit my image, too!” the girl said happily. “What a lucky day! I know that I may sound a bit forward about this, but I need your help. I want you both to model for me.”
“What?!?” Usagi exclaimed.
Ryoku was sitting on a bench in the park, watching the sun slowly set. There weren’t very many people left in the park, since they were mostly at home, or going home. He just wanted to stay and watch the last few rays of the sun shine through the fountain near where he was sitting. He wasn’t in the mood for practice, whether with sword or guitar, so he decided to forgo using his usual spot for solitude. The park at dusk was just as good.
Over in the distance, he thought he saw a familiar figure walking along. From that distance, it was hard to tell Luna from any other ordinary black cat, but no ordinary black cat would be carrying what looked like the Crescent Moon Wand in her mouth.
“Usagi-chan must’ve forgotten it or something,” Ryoku said to himself, getting to his feet. “Might as well go offer Luna a hand. Her jaw must be hurting from carrying that thing in her mouth.” He quickly jogged up behind the guardian cat, who was too busy searching the city to notice him.
Luna hopped up onto a bus stop bench and laid the Crescent Moon Wand down in front of her. “I wish this thing had a homing device for Usagi-chan,” she muttered tiredly. “I’m tired of looking for her. What a troublemaker.”
“Do you need some help, then?” Ryoku asked, catching the black cat completely by surprise. Luna had jumped at least half a foot into the air before she realized who had spoken to her.
“Oh, it’s only you, Ryo-kun,” she replied. “You didn’t have to startle me like that, you know.”
He half-grinned. “And deprive me of that small tidbit of fun?” he asked in a feigned hurt tone. “So, Usagi-chan forgot her wand at home?”
“No, she dropped it,” she told him. “It almost went into the lake in Sankaku Park before I saved it.”
“She almost dropped it into the lake?” he repeated incredulously. “Not that I’m all that surprised…. Anyway, how long ago did she drop it?”
“About two and a half hours ago.”
“That long? Well, maybe I should carry that thing for a while,” he offered, picking up the wand and making it vanish behind his back.
“What…. How did you do that?” she asked, amazed.
“You, too?” he asked, half-grinning again in amusement. “I’ll give you the same explanation I give to everyone who asks me that question.”
“And that is?”
“Magic.”
Luna sweatdropped. “I had to ask,” she muttered dryly to herself. “Let’s just go find Usagi-chan.”
“Lead the way.”
It was a surprise to find out that this girl was Yumemi Yumeno, especially since she didn’t look anything like the self-portrait that she had hanging in the gallery. She felt a little sorry for Yumemi since she told her that she didn’t have any friends, but she did say that she was content just to draw beautiful pictures.
Another surprise was the fact that she had to sit next to Mamoru during the entire modeling session. She got the impression that he didn’t like the idea as much as she didn’t, but she relented… just for Yumemi. However, she had to admit that he was a handsome man… even if her heart belonged to Tuxedo Kamen. But, if Rei ever saw her there….
After a length of time sitting as Yumemi quickly sketched the likenesses of both Usagi and Mamoru into her drawing, Usagi got up from her seat next to Mamoru and went to go grab a bite to eat. He remained seated, drinking a cup of hot chocolate while waiting for Yumemi to finish with his part of the drawing. Being curious, Usagi walked up behind her and peeked over her shoulder at the preliminary black and white sketch.
“That’s me?” she marveled, while munching on a cookie. “I can’t believe it!”
“I’m surprised at you, Meatball-head,” Mamoru commented, taking another sip of his hot cocoa. “You’ve managed to go through this whole modeling session without doing something stupid. I’m impressed.”
Usagi responded by sticking her tongue out at him. “That’s so pretty. How can you draw wonderful pictures like this?”
“Whenever I draw, I always pray that those who see the picture will be happy,” she explained as she continued to draw. “That they can find a wonderful love. That’s why they are called pictures of love.”
“You’re such a nice lady, Yumemi-san,” Usagi remarked, then frowned sadly. “But… you’re all alone in exchange….”
“I couldn’t help that. Yumemi is a very pretty lady. If people find out that it’s me, it’ll destroy everyone’s dream.”
“No way,” Mamoru remarked, setting his cup on the table. “How can you expect to make everyone else happy, if you can’t even make yourself happy?” Yumemi’s pencil stopped in mid-stroke.
“How can you be so cold?” Usagi retorted angrily. She glanced behind her at a different black and white sketch that Yumemi must’ve finished earlier. “Hey, this’s nice!” she said, picking up the drawing and looking it over. It was a drawing of a couple, the same couple that seemed to be in many of her drawings and paintings. He was handing her a star-shaped locket. “Take a look at this!” she demanded, holding up the drawing in front of him. “How can you be so cruel to someone who can create something this beautiful?”
Mamoru took one look at the drawing, and gasped in surprise. That locket.…
“What is it?” Usagi asked, surprised at his reaction.
“This is a scene where he gives her the sign of his love,” Yumemi told them. “I always get a little sentimental whenever I draw these two.”
“I know what you mean,” Usagi said quietly, looking down at the drawing. “This feels almost… familiar to me.”
“Sign of love?” Mamoru wondered quietly to himself, staring intently at the star-shaped locket.
Yumemi walked back to her drawing and picked up her pencil again. “Just a few finishing touches… there. It’s done.” She picked up her sketch and flipped it around so Mamoru could see it. “What do you think?”
“It looks good,” he replied.
“Is that all you’re gonna say?” Usagi asked.
“Everyone is entitled to their own opinions,” Yumemi replied. “He said that he thought it looks good. I’m happy enough with that.”
“If you will excuse me,” Mamoru said, getting to his feet, “it’s getting late and I need to be going. You don’t need me anymore, right?”
“Yes, I can finish the rest,” she told him.
“All right. Good evening, then,” he said and left.
“I need to stop by the art gallery for a bit,” Yumemi said, picking up her drawing as she turned to Usagi. “Maybe you’d like to come with me on your way home?”
“Sure,” Usagi replied, grinning.
She grabbed a few more of Yumemi’s cookies as she followed the artist out the door.
“Your homemade cookies were wonderful!” Usagi said as the two girls headed down the street leading to the art gallery.
“I’m sorry it took this long,” Yumemi said, smiling cheerfully. “Did you prefer Mamoru-san to take you home?”
“No way!” Usagi exclaimed. “There’s gotta be a misunderstanding!” Yumemi giggled at her.
As they neared the gallery, they noticed two girls looking at one of the posters on the window. “That’s Yumemi Yumeno!” one girl told the other.
“What a pretty picture,” the other replied. “I bet she’s pretty like that, too.” The two girls turned and walked off down the street. Yumemi watched the two girls leave with a solemn expression on her face.
“You’re getting too nervous, Yumemi-san,” Usagi said as she walked up to the front of the gallery. “Something this beautiful could only come from the mind of a beautiful person. Your drawings are marvelous and you’re very kind-hearted. You are wonderful.”
“Usagi-chan… thank you.”
“Cheer up, okay? Good night!” Usagi waved and dashed off. Yumemi turned to look at the poster the two girls, then Usagi, looked at. The words Usagi said to her drifted through her mind. You are wonderful.…
Yumemi smiled to herself and opened the door to the gallery. As soon as she stepped inside, she closed the door behind her.
The search for Usagi was taking longer than both Ryoku and Luna had thought. They were both tired of walking and decided to take a short break. Ryoku leaned back against the brick wall they had stopped by and sighed to himself, while Luna hopped onto his shoulder.
“What do you say, Luna? Five minutes?” Ryoku asked tiredly.
“Yes, then we’ll start again,” Luna replied.
“You know, maybe we should wait for Usagi-chan at her house,” he suggested. “She’s bound to go there sooner or later.”
“Perhaps you’re right, Ryo-kun,” Luna admitted. “All right, then let’s head over to….” She paused as she tilted her head slightly, as if hearing some distant sound. Ryoku strained his ears to listen for it as well, whatever it was. Then, he heard it.
“Sounds like Usagi-chan,” he said. It was. He recognized that cheerful half-singing of hers. Something must’ve happened to put her in a really good mood. “Hey, Usagi-chan,” he called out as soon as she was close enough to hear him.
“Ryo-kun! Luna! Were you two waiting for me?” she asked, walking up to them.
“We’ve been looking for you for almost the entire day!” Luna told her.
“Here,” he said, reaching behind his back and bringing out the Crescent Moon Wand and tossing it to her.
“The Crescent Moon Wand?” Usagi asked.
Luna and Ryoku exchanged a look. “You dropped it at the park,” Luna said, leaping off Ryoku’s shoulder and walking up to her. “If you don’t want it, I’ll give it to someone else.”
“Don’t look at me; I don’t even know how to use the thing,” Ryoku countered as Luna glanced over at him. “Besides, it’s hers. She’s the one who knows how to use it.”
“It was because I was so troubled about Tuxedo Kamen-sama,” Usagi said quietly, looking down at the wand.
“But you look okay now,” Luna said irritably.
“Are you mad at me, Luna?” Usagi asked penitently.
“Well… I’m relieved. Your problems are always that simple. So, you recover real fast, as well.”
“Sure, I’m just a simpleton, then!” Usagi snapped angrily, then turned to Ryoku. “Well, aren’t you gonna say anything?”
“Who, me?” Ryoku asked in a flat, neutral tone that matched his expression. He slowly crossed his arms across his chest. “Why would I have anything to say? Do you want me to say something?”
“Never mind! You two are so mean!” Usagi stormed off angrily with the Crescent Moon Wand still in her hand.
“I said the right thing, didn’t I?” Luna asked Ryoku. “Or, did I say too much?”
Ryoku glanced over at the departing figure of Usagi. “Perhaps a little of both, Luna,” he replied, pushing himself away from the brick wall. “I think I’ll go follow her for a bit. I’ve got nothing better to do anyway. Coming, Luna?” The guardian cat nodded as she followed him down the street.
Usagi came to a stop after running for quite a bit. She was breathing heavily for only a short time, though. “Damn Luna!” she declared in frustration, after she had caught her breath. “If I were simple, would I ever be troubled?” Suddenly, the wand in her hand started beeping quietly. “Huh? Hey, that’s coming from Yumemi-san’s house….” She immediately ran for the house, hoping that she would make it in time.
Yumemi had just gotten home when she heard something crash through the glass doors leading to her backyard. She turned to see a woman looming over her in some sort of dark gray uniform, holding a dark crystal in her hand, pointed at her. A threatening grin was spread across her face.
“Who are you? What do you want?” Yumemi asked, slowly backing away from the woman.
“Hand over the Rainbow Crystal and go back to your true form,” the woman replied, raising the crystal so that it was pointed straight at her chest.
“Wait! What are you talking about?” Yumemi demanded. The Dark Crystal began to glow, emitting pulses of energy at her. The pulses of energy began to envelope her and penetrate through her. Suddenly, she felt a surge of power as the energy from the Dark Crystal found the Rainbow Crystal within her. She began to scream as the power of the Green Rainbow Crystal began to overload her senses. Suddenly, a screen of smoke rose around her. From out of the smoke, the Green Rainbow Crystal flew straight towards Zoisite’s hand. She smiled darkly as she caught the crystal. “Excellent. Now, arise, Veena!” The smoke cleared, revealing a robed green-skinned woman with long blue hair. Through the back of her pink and lavender robes, a pair of white, feathered wings protruded. This should satisfy Queen Beryl. This Shadow will return to us....
Usagi ran up to Yumemi’s house and peered inside. “Yumemi-san was a youma?!?” she exclaimed despairingly. “No way….”
“Don’t give up so easily, Usagi-chan,” Ryoku said as he and Luna walked up to her. “We can always get her back.”
“She’s frightening… but you’re right,” Usagi agreed, kneeling down and bringing out her communicator. “I can’t get scared… even though I am.” With the press of a few buttons, she was now in contact with each of the Scouts. “Everyone, the youma has appeared!”
In her room at home, Ami looked up from the book she had been studying and answered her communicator.
In the fire room of the shrine, Rei looked up from the fire and answered her communicator.
In the kitchen of her apartment, Makoto looked up from the dinner she was preparing, set it aside so it wouldn’t ruin, and then answered her communicator.
Standing next to Usagi, Ryoku just ignored his communicator.
“Sailor Scouts, assemble!” Usagi shouted into her communicator. The others replied that they were on their way.
“Good,” Ryoku replied. “Now, let’s get to work.” He reached behind his back and brought out his Knight Swords, then crossed them overhead. “Knight swords power!”
“Moon prism power, make up!”
Zoisite and Veena fled from the house and crossed the street to a nearby construction site. It was full night now, so the place was completely empty and there were no other people to be seen. Zoisite leaped over the site’s fence and landed on a small pile of steel girders, while Veena merely unfurled her wings and glided down to the ground nearby.
“That went pretty smoothly,” Zoisite mused to herself.
“But not for long!” a female voice shouted.
“What?” the blonde general exclaimed, glancing above her. Two figures stood within the shadows of the building’s framework, arms folded and glaring in her direction. They leaped out of the shadows and landed in front of Zoisite and Veena. “So, Sailor Moon and Sailor Knight, you are here.”
“We won’t let you take the wonderful Yumemi-san away from us!” Sailor Moon exclaimed, pointing directly at Veena. “I’m the Sailor Warrior fighting for love and justice, Sailor Moon! On behalf of the Moon….”
“And on behalf of the Earth…,” Sailor Knight added.
“…we’ll punish you!”
“And why should I be concerned?” Zoisite asked derisively. “Get rid of them, Veena.” Veena raised both arms and reached into her wings, pulling out two feathers.
“What? You’re gonna tickle us to death?” Knight asked cynically, folding his arms.
She released one of the feathers into the air, which then floated up over the two Scouts, and began to move erratically. A large boulder began to fade into existence overhead, and fell down upon them. Both Sailor Moon and Knight managed to leap back in time to avoid the attack.
“Very good, Veena. Play with them some more,” Zoisite ordered. The winged Shadow Warrior complied by having her feather draw one boulder after another, and continuously drop them on the two Scouts. Meanwhile, both Sailor Moon and Knight were having a hard time dodging all the boulders that kept appearing, without tripping over the others that were already on the ground.
As one last boulder appeared above their heads, Knight managed to finally leap away, while Sailor Moon slipped and fell. She wouldn’t be able to dodge in time, and he was too far away to reach her in time. She closed her eyes and crossed her arms overhead and braced herself for the crushing weight of the boulder.
It never came.
Sailor Moon opened her eyes to see that she was once again rescued by Tuxedo Kamen. I knew that he was still on our side, she thought happily as she was carried in his arms. “Tuxedo Kamen-sama!” she said as he set her down. Seeing that Tuxedo Kamen had arrived and would most likely come after the Rainbow Crystal that she had, Zoisite quickly retreated into the building’s framework.
“Leaving already?” Tuxedo Kamen called after her. “Not with that crystal!” He quickly began to pursue the blonde general.
“Tuxedo Kamen-sama!” Sailor Moon shouted, but he was already in pursuit of Zoisite. She was about to follow when Veena suddenly put herself in her path. Knight ran over to Sailor Moon’s side with both swords drawn, one sword pointed at the Shadow Warrior. “Yumemi-san, please don’t stop me,” Sailor Moon pleaded. “Remember your good heart. Please!”
Veena ignored her pleas and pulled out several feathers from her wings. She then began to wave her hands in front of her in rapid motions. Lengths of rope appeared in the space she waved her hands in and shot out at the two Sailor Scouts. In mid-flight, the ropes turned into hissing snakes. Knight prepared to slice up the reptiles while Sailor Moon began to scream… a little too closely to Knight’s right ear, which caused him to wince slightly.
“Fire soul!” a voice shouted, sending a large fireball hurtling into the snakes. They were dust in no time flat. Both Scouts turned around to see the rest of their team at the entrance to the construction site. Luna was there, too, since she was the one who led them there.
“You made it!” Sailor Moon exclaimed in relief.
“Excellent timing,” Knight added.
“We can’t let her get away!” Luna shouted as Veena started to float into the air. “The Dark Kingdom wants her, as well as the Rainbow Crystal!”
Veena threw her feathers into the air over their heads and began to summon the boulders again. When the boulders fell from above, Mars and Jupiter leaped away, while Mercury managed to dodge them by jumping back slightly.
“Shabon spray!” Mercury shouted, raising a thick mist and obscuring the Shadow Warrior’s vision.
“She’s a kind woman. Go easy on her,” Sailor Moon said, leaping in the direction that both Zoisite and Tuxedo Kamen had ran. “I’m going to go see if I can get that Rainbow Crystal from Zoisite!” She then dashed off, trying to catch up to Zoisite.
A few stories above the ground, Tuxedo Kamen faced off against Zoisite. There was only a narrow steel girder for a platform, and it was a long fall should either be knocked off the building.
“Hand over the Rainbow Crystal!” Tuxedo Kamen demanded, leaping at the Dark Kingdom general.
“Just try and take it!” Zoisite taunted and leaped at him in turn, both exchanging blows in midair. They landed opposite each other, with Zoisite ending up empty-handed.
“I can’t let you have this crystal,” he stated, holding up the crystal he had taken from her.
“How dare you!” she screamed angrily and shot a blast of cherry blossom petals at him. The blast forced him back and knocked the crystal from his hand as he raised his cape up in front of him, like a shield. “This will finish you off!” she sneered, as she flung a spike of ice crystal at him.
Sailor Moon arrived on the scene just as Zoisite flung the crystal spike at Tuxedo Kamen. He didn’t even see it coming. “No! Moon tiara action!” she shouted, flinging her tiara into the spike, shattering the crystal before it could strike him. Zoisite took that opportunity to grab the crystal and teleport away in her usual flourish of flower petals.
Tuxedo Kamen lowered his cape and glanced at his rescuer. “Sailor Moon, I owe you for this,” he said gratefully.
“Not at all,” she replied as she walked up to him. Who would’ve ever though that I’d be the one saving him for once? she thought to herself. “Are you all right?” she asked, concerned.
“Yes.”
They stood there for a few moments until she couldn’t resist the urge to go to him. She began to approach him… and then the star locket she had been carrying fell to the floor. The top opened upon impact with the steel girder that served as their floor and began to play its quiet melody. They kneeled down and reached for the locket, then stopped as they saw the other’s hand reaching for the locket as well.
Sailor Moon looked up at Tuxedo Kamen just when he looked up at her. “Isn’t that your pendant?” she asked quietly. “You dropped it a while ago.”
The memory of seeing that same locket in a drawing a short time ago, drifted into his mind. He was giving the locket to her….
“Do you know our Princess?” she asked curiously. “We’re looking for her.”
“No, I do not know,” he replied, picking up the locket. He glanced down at it for a short moment. “But, if that is your duty, then perhaps you should have this,” he said, placing the locket in her hands.
“You’re… giving this to me?” she asked, surprised. She glanced down at the locket in her hands. Her locket, now. “Thank you. There’s something else I want to ask you. Can we please have the Rainbow Crystal you took?” she asked entreatingly.
Tuxedo Kamen frowned as he stood up and gave her a hard stare. “I cannot,” he answered harshly. “I will not yield on that matter. The Rainbow Crystals are very important to me as well. Should you let your guard down, I will take your crystals as well.”
“I though your mission was to help us!” she retorted, getting to her feet as well. “So, does this mean you’re our enemy after all?”
“As long as the Rainbow Crystals are concerned, perhaps I am,” he replied coldly. “I help you only because it keeps the Dark Kingdom from winning. Remember that. Farewell!” With that, he leaped away and into the night. Sailor Moon watched as he left, until he was no longer in sight.
She couldn’t believe what she heard. Maybe Luna was right after all. Perhaps he really was their enemy…. No! I refuse to believe it! He can’t be our enemy! He can’t.… “Tuxedo Kamen-sama…,” she murmured sadly. “Oh no!” she exclaimed, as a sudden realization hit her. “I almost forgot about Yumemi-san!” She turned around and rushed back to the battle.
Meanwhile, the other Scouts had managed to turn the battle to their advantage. Veena was too busy dodging fireballs, bubbles, stone spikes, and lightning bolts to conjure anything up with her feathers.
“Supreme thunder!”
“Earth thrust!”
The dual blast struck Veena’s right wing, destroying it completely and scattering the feathers around her. Right then, Sailor Moon made it back to the battle.
“That’s enough,” she said as he leaped down to the ground next to Jupiter.
“She’s weakening,” Jupiter answered, glancing over at Sailor Moon.
“Did you get the crystal?” Knight asked.
“No… I didn’t,” she replied, quietly.
“I see. Well, it’s all up to you, now,” Knight replied, gesturing at the Shadow Warrior.
“All right, then,” Sailor Moon replied, bringing out the Crescent Moon Wand. “Moon healing escalation!” she shouted, rotating the wand in a large circle in front of her, ending above her head. As she held the wand above her head, a white glow emanated from the wand and covered the Shadow Warrior, returning her to her normal form. She then collapsed onto the ground.
Yumemi slowly opened her eyes and gazed up at the five figures standing in front of her. She wasn’t wearing her glasses, so they seemed slightly blurry, but she could plainly see that they were a group of four girls and one guy. “What’s happening?” she wondered to herself as she watched the group of five leap away.
She got to her feet and looked around. She had no idea why she was in the construction site near her house, but for right now, all she wanted to do was go home. She had some painting to do.
The next day, Usagi had received a call from Yumemi, asking her to meet her at the art gallery. When she arrived at the gallery, she met Mamoru, who had also received a call from Yumemi. They both entered the gallery together.
“Hello,” Yumemi greeted, turning from the picture she was hanging up.
“Why did you call us out here?” Usagi asked.
“I thought you didn’t want the public to see you,” Mamoru added.
“I decided that I didn’t want to hide anymore,” Yumemi replied, grinning as she set down another picture. “I also wanted to add a few more paintings to the exhibit.” She turned to the picture she hung up, which was covered by a cloth. “Take a look,” she said, pulling off the cloth. “It’s finished.”
The painting was of two people, who looked remarkably similar to Usagi and Mamoru, holding each other’s hands and gazing lovingly into each other’s eyes by moonlight.
“Wow, it’s beautiful!” Usagi said admiringly.
“Considering the model, it’s pretty good,” Mamoru added.
“Can’t you be honest?” Usagi retorted heatedly. Mamoru just smirked in amusement. Out of the corner of her eye, she noticed that the old self-portrait of Yumemi Yumeno had been taken down. In its place…. “That portrait….”
Now hanging in place of the old Yumemi Yumeno portrait was a true self-portrait of her, dressed in the same clothes she was wearing right then. She wasn’t wearing her glasses, either.
“After that talk we had yesterday,” Yumemi replied, grinning. “I’m no longer going to hide behind the person everyone expects me to be. This’s gonna be my self-portrait from now on.”
“I’m glad, Yumemi-san!” Usagi replied, hugging her while Mamoru just nodded his agreement.
“I want to thank you both,” she said happily. “Thanks to the both of you, I now have the courage to say I’m me.”
To Chapter 28: Too Many Girlfriends