Sailor Moon Fan Fiction ❯ Over The Rainbow ❯ Two Reluctant Princesses ( Chapter 10 )

Over The Rainbow 10

Two Reluctant Princesses

I only own the characters here that you wouldn't see on Sailor Moon!

The sailor scouts and Zoicite stood around, surprised that all this time, Sailor Moon was the moon princess.

"Wow. Sailor Moon," Luna said. "You're the moon princess from so long ago. Right in front of me and I didn't know."

"Yeah, who would've thought that, Serena, of all people, would be the Moon princess," Sailor Jupiter added. "It's a total blow away."

"Tell me about it," Mars said.

"And what about Darien?" Mercury asked, still supporting the weakened Rainbow, "I still can't believe he's Tuxedo mask. Oh Mars, I'm sorry. You must feel terrible."

"Yes," Mars mumbled, "but I guess they were meant to be together long before Darien and I."

"They were," Rainbow squeaked, "he was Prince Darien back then."

"Shh," Mercury hushed, "don't speak. Save your strength."

"Enough with your silly chatter!" Zoicite shouted, "I want that crystal and I'm going to get it!"

"No!" Rainbow tried to scream, but it came out in a ten-inch whisper. She did her best to get out of Mercury's grasp "Mercury, let me go! I've got to do something!"

"You're still weak!" Mercury cried.

"ZOI!" Zoicite's attack had no effect on the Moon Princess.

The Moon Princess proved that she didn't need any help as she held up the Moon Crescent Wand to protect her and her love. With a new, stronger voice, she shouted, "MOON COSMIC POWER!"

Now with the Silver Imperium Crystal, the wand was stronger. A huge, powerful force knocked Zoicite through a column and out cold.

"Tuxedo Mask," Princess Serena said, her voice odd and ancient-like, "I feel you are growing weaker. Please do not go."

Hearing her voice, Tuxedo Mask woke up. "You're free now." He said, "and I remember. I am Prince Darien."

"Yes. Thank you."

"Please do not just thank me," Tuxedo Mask said, reaching a hand to her face, which she caressed. He smiled at her and then looked over to Sailor Rainbow, "thank our dear old friend, Princess Lydia of the Rainbow. She was the one who saved the rainbow crystals and protected them for you."

Princess Serena smiled and looked at Sailor Rainbow, "thank you, Princess of the Rainbow. I do not want to think where I would be without you."

"Princess Rainbow?" Luna whispered. "She's a princess too?"

"Yes," Lucky said, "she was the best friend of the moon princess. They as close as sisters."

"We didn't know there was another princess," Sailor Jupiter said. "This is getting weird."

Sailor Mercury let Sailor Rainbow go. With tears in her eyes, she hurried over and knelt down at Tuxedo Mask's side. He reached his other hand to her face and she caressed it too, as did Princess Serena. This changed her sailor form into that of a princess. Her gown looked a lot like Princess Serena's, except that it was in a range of colors. The off-shoulder sleeves were red and it came down to orange and throughout the colors of the rainbow until it reached end of her torso in violet. The skirt of her dress was gold and the ribbons. Her bracelet was golden, where as the moon princess's was made out of pearls. Two golden ribbons held her braids in place.

"We are finally reunited," Princess Lydia spoke, much like the Moon Princess and Darien, "after all these years. I am a princess of the Earth, of the Rainbow. Darien was a prince of Earth and Serena, my dear friend, you were Princess Serena of the Moon Kingdom. I remember the last time we were together."

"I do too," Princess Serena said sadly, "it did not end happily. We were to marry one day--"

"And I was going to be your maid of honor--" Princess Lydia added with a sniff, "I can picture it."

"Yes, it was on the balcony. I gave Darien my star locket so that he would always remember me."

"And I gave him a solid gold coin for luck," Princess Lydia recalled, "he was leaving for battle to protect the Moon Kingdom from the Negaverse and its dark forces."

"We hoped you'd return to us," Princess Serena said.

"I should've given you more than a gold coin," Princess Lydia said regretfully, "a better good luck charm--perhaps an enchanted sword to aid you."

Flashback

"Oh Darien," the moon princess cried, holding her hand out, as her other one held her best friend's. "Come back to us!"

"Good luck!" added the rainbow princess. "We will be waiting for you!"

End Flashback

"And that was the last time we ever saw you," Princess Serena said.

"That was the first time I ever experienced such bad luck," Princess Lydia added.

Flashback

"DARIEEEEN!" the two princesses shouted. And the memories fade

End Flashback

"But you are back now," Princess Lydia said with a smile, squeezing Darien's hand, "and that is all that matters, my dear friend."

"You did come back to us," Princess Serena said, "like you promised."

An aura surrounded the three.

"We are free," Princess Serena stated. With the memories renewed, the two princesses passed out on Tuxedo Mask's chest and turned back to their sailor scout forms.

"Sailor Moon!" Venus cried.

"Sailor Rainbow!" Jupiter shouted. The four rushed to the two collapsed sailors. "They collapsed, what happened?"

"Perhaps their memories were too much of them," Luna guessed.

"They'll be all right soon," Lucky said.

"Let me check their pulses," Sailor Mercury said, reaching her fingers to their necks. "They'll be fine. Just a fainting spell."

"How princess-like," Sailor Venus smiled.

Sailor Mars, however, was tending to Tuxedo Mask. "Darien, come on, it's me, Raye."

"We gotta get him to a doctor," Sailor Jupiter insisted, "He needs help bad."

"Nobody's going anywhere," said Zoicite in a raspy voice.

"Hmm?"

"I hope you got a good luck at your princesses," Zoicite hissed, forcing herself to her feet. "'Cause they're going back to history. You're all history."

Malachite appeared and braced Zoicite for support. "Zoicite, you're trembling!" he shouted. "Worse than when Rainbow attacked you when she became an Eternal Sailor Scout!"

"Help me, Malachite," Zoicite pleaded, "Help me stop them before they leave with the crystal."

"They won't leave," he insisted, "don't you worry. We'll get the crystal."

The presence of Malachite, Beryl's strongest general, made everyone tense.

"But there's something else we need to get too," he added.

"Well, you have to deal with us first, pretty boy!" Venus hissed.

The four of them stood ready to defend Sailor Moon and Sailor Rainbow. "Careful, Sailor Scouts," Sailor Mercury warned.

"Cool your jets," Malachite ordered, "it's not you I'm interested in." He blew them away and Tuxedo Mask was lifted in the air.

"He's after Darien!" Venus shouted.

Darien was surrounded by an aura and he disappeared from the scout's sight, and aid.

"Bring him back!" Jupiter threatened. Malachite and Zoicite disappear before the scouts could reach them.

"Darien no!" Mars cried. "Darien, he's gone! What are they going to do to him?"

*****

Back at the Negaverse, Queen Beryl is totally ticked off. "Oh excellent work. Sailor Moon now has the Silver Imperium Crystal. So what are you going to do about it, Malachite?"

"Don't worry, Queen Beryl," Malachite insisted, "we'll get it back. Sailor Rainbow is back to the first stage so she is not that strong anymore. Sailor Moon is just a young girl. There is no way she could pull of being the moon princess."

"You had better be right," Queen Beryl threatened, "I'll give you another chance." She looked over to Zoicite, "now Zoicite, explain your behavior regarding Tuxedo Mask."

"It was an accident, majesty," Zoicite said shakily.

"First the elevator and then the ice crystal," Queen Beryl said, "you'd think I wouldn't know?"

"N-no."

"You even questioned my orders concerning Sailor Rainbow--"

"But you said--"

"You've failed me for the last time, Zoicite!" Queen Beryl shouted, outraged. "You will not disobey me again!"

"No, please!"

"Don't do this, Queen Beryl!" Malachite implored, "It's my fault! I trained her!"

She didn't listen to him. Queen Beryl blasted Zoicite and hard.

"QUEEN BERYL!"

"Aaah! Malachite!" Zoicite shouted.

"No, Zoicite!"

"Let that be a warning, Malachite," Beryl told him.

"Yes."

*****

Later, within the chamber of the Negaforce, Darien lied down in front of Queen Beryl, unmoving.

"Oh, great Negaforce," Queen Beryl said, "do we have enough energy bring Tuxedo Mask on our side?"

"Yes, but he is very weak," the Negaforce answered. "You must go slowly and erase his memories with the princesses."

"What about Sailor Rainbow?" she asked, "Would she had been a better choice?"

"No, without the rainbow crystals, she is not as powerful," it replied, "and she would've been really difficult to control. You have chosen well in changing your mind in bringing me Tuxedo Mask instead."

"Yes, Master. Thank you." She said. "Now Tuxedo Mask will be all ours and then we'll get that crystal back!"

"Now give me the necessary energy!" the Negaforce ordered.

"Yes, my master."

*****

In Malachite's chambers, fatally wounded by the blast, Zoicite rested her last moments on a bed.

"Oh Zoicite," Malachite said, "I'm so sorry. It's not fair. Queen Beryl should've punished me for not teaching you to be more patient."

She opened her eyes. "Hold me."

He wrapped his arms around her, helping her to sit up.

"The only one who failed was me, Malachite," she told him. "I should've listened to you when you told me not to seek revenge. Promise, just promise me one thing, Malachite."

"Anything."

"Don't forget me."

She died in his arms. "I would never."

As he left, Zoicite is just a blanket of cherry blossoms. "Goodbye, my love."

*****

The six sailor scouts, with Sailor Moon being carried on Venus' back and Rainbow on Jupiter', tried to find away out of the maze that was once Starlight Tower.

"Which way, Mercury?" Venus asked, grunting under the weight of Sailor Moon.

"I don't know," Mercury replied, scanning the area, "it's like we're in another dimension."

"Like a time warp thing," Luna said.

"We'll be here forever," Artemis groaned.

"Don't be so glum, mate," Lucky insisted, "We'll find a way out."

"It's some kind of strange combination of time warp and negative space, and so now, I have to try to convert the radical readings I'm getting in here into the same format as the original ones that got us in here. Only, I'm not sure my computer has enough memory to do all of the calculations."

"And if there isn't," Jupiter said, pulling Rainbow up again to keep her from falling, "we'll have to guess."

"That means we could be wandering around this creepy cave for days," Luna sighed.

"Hey, don't say that," Lucky told her. "We'll get out, I assure you!"

"Come on Lucky," Artemis said, "you got to be a little scared too. This place is creepy and it may take some time to get out."

"Yes," Lucky admitted, "I didn't expect something like this to happen! Of all the rotten bad luck!" He hung his head in despair, "We're cursed! We're cursed!"

Luna lay down on her stomach. "We have to get out of here someway."

"Hey, don't be like that. None of us thought this would happen," Artemis said, patting Lucky's back, "we'll find a way out."

"Think so?" Lucky asked.

"You said so yourself just a while ago."

"You're right pal. We'll get out. Thanks."

"Anytime, buddy," Artemis said with a nod.

Venus groaned, not because she was carrying Sailor Moon, but because her cat was getting awfully chummy with Sailor Rainbow's.

"Then we'd have to take turns carrying Sailor Moon and Rainbow," Venus said. "Sailor Moon's kinda heavy."

"Yeah," Jupiter added, "and for a petite chick, Rainbow is too."

"I heard thaaaat," Sailor Moon groaned groggily as she woke up.

"Me too," Sailor Rainbow yawned, "and if I wern' so tired, Sai'r 'up'ter, I'd box yer ears."

"Sorry," Jupiter said, "that's what you get for being Serena's best friend, I guess."

"Well, Serena taught her how to eat," Mars said.

She settled Sailor Rainbow down. "You okay?"

"Yeah, I'll be fine." She sighed, rubbing her head and hustling around like a drunkard. "Blimey, what a day. Oi do I have a headache."

"Not as powerful without your fancy jewels, now are ya?" Sailor Venus snapped, letting Moon down.

Sailor Rainbow flashed Venus an angry glare.

"Hey, that's my best friend you just insulted," Sailor Moon hissed, rubbing her head.

"Sailor Moon, do you remember what happened?" Mars asked. "Know where you are?"

Though her memory was foggy at first, she remembered Tuxedo Mask. "Tuxedo Mask? Where is he? …Is he? Is he..? Did you… Did you abandon him?

"Of course not!" Mars shouted. "The Negaverse took him."

"Was he all right?"

"Dunno. He was hurt badly."

"What?" Rainbow questioned, "no way! I warned him about this…oh, the blundering fool. Why didn't he listen to me?" she shook her head as she rubbed the side of it.

"I remember now," Moon said, "Darien. What are we going to do?"

"We need to talk," Artemis said. "If we are going to help Darien, you'll have to understand the past. I'm starting to remember it. How about you Luna?"

"Yes, it's coming back," she replied. "Long story too."

"Gather around," Lucky insisted, "this may take a while."

"Are we part of the Moon Kingdom too?" Jupiter asked.

"Yeah, sure we are Jupiter," Venus said, "If Sailor Moon was the princess, then we sure had important jobs too."

"Mine was more important," Rainbow muttered.

Venus rolled her eyes and pretended not to listen. "Just begin the story, Artemis."

"A long time ago, we all lived happily in a beautiful place called the Moon Kingdom," he began.

"It was a wonderful, peace-loving time for all the planets, known as the Silver Millennium," Luna said.

"An Princess Serenity lived in that castle," Artemis said.

"Her mother," Luna explained. "Queen Serenity was a fair and gentle ruler who was raising her daughter in her mother's footsteps."

"But that ended when Queen Beryl found away to enter the Kingdom. She attacked with a vengeance. Queen Serenity defeated Beryl's seven strongest warriors and with Queen Azure's help," Lucky added, "sealed them in the Silver Imperium Crystal and sent it to Earth."

"My mother," Rainbow said. The others looked at her in surprise. "Moon's and my mother were close friends too."

"Wow, that explains it!" Mercury gasped.

"Wait," Artemis said, "I remember her now!"

"I do too," Luna nodded. "Queen Azure and her daughter princess Lydia."

"And that's why we came here," Lucky told them. "To help find the crystals. Please continue, Luna."

"After the Moon Kingdom was destroyed," Luna went on, "Queen Azure and Queen Serenity sent you all to the future, with whatever strength they had left. You were all princesses of your respective planets, and also part of Serena's court."

"Then we were sent to reunite you," Artemis said.

"How come we don't' remember it?" Jupiter asked.

Venus was about to answer her but Rainbow did. "Because Serenity and my mother wanted us all to be happy and live again. That's the way our mothers were."

"That's what I was going to say!" Venus snapped.

"Quiet," Rainbow said, "I still have a headache."

"Well, if you weren't such a drunk--"

"Hey, just because I'm Irish," Rainbow grunted, stumbling over to Venus, "does not mean I drink…beer…more than I should! And yer not making my headache any better! Ya try collecting the crystals one by one and have them snatched from ya and see how it feels and then have a bunch of old memories come back to knock ya for a loop!"

"Hey, calm down," Jupiter said, dropping her hand on Rainbow's shoulder. "Give it some time."

"Yeah, thanks," Rainbow sighed. "Oi, I need a drink. Lucky are ya finished story-telling yet?"

"Not yet," Lucky replied.

"Well then hurry up so we can get outta here!" she shouted.

"Yeah, what Rainbow said," Moon agreed.

The three guardian cats look nervous and try to wrap it up as quickly as I could.

"And now that we've got the Silver Imperium crystal," Artemis said, "Queen Beryl doesn't stand a chance."

"So basically what you're guys saying our battle with them has just begun?" Mercury asked.

"Uh-huh," Artemis and Luna said in unison.

"Right you are, lassie!" Lucky exclaimed.

"Oh, Lucky, I thought I'd be done after I gave the Moon Princess the rainbow crystals!" Sailor Rainbow groaned.

"Yes, but you are the Moon Princess' best friend and she cannot defeat Beryl without you," Lucky reminded.

"Oh, right."

"Now they have Darien," Artemis said, "and you have your work cut out for you. We'll have to stop the Negaverse once and for all."

"We don't want the same thing to happen to us that happened to the Moon Kingdom." Venus spoke. "Our Universe would be destroyed. We've got to stand up to them, so we have a future."

"Ooh, touching speech, Venus," Sailor Rainbow muttered.

Venus glared. "Oh come on. We've got do this."

"She's right," Jupiter said. "United as one."

"Count me out." Moon said, "I don't want to fight."

"Same here," Rainbow said. "I just want to go back to my farm in Ireland."

"You're from a farm?" Venus gasped. "Great, we have a farm-girl for a fellow sailor scout! And she's supposed to be a princess?"

"Hey, dats enough," Rainbow threatened. "I wasn't too thrilled to have a has-been super star as a fellow scout either, but can't we jus' get along for the time bein'?"

"HAS BEEN?" Venus shouted, hopping back and starting to put her hands into fist. "Okay, put up your dukes, Rainbow! Let's tough this out! You and me, let's go!"

"Venus, Rainbow, enough!" Mercury shouted.

"Let's settle this now, come on!" Venus hissed.

"I'm betting on Rainbow," Jupiter said.

"Jupiter!" Mars hissed.

"I have no wish to fight you," Rainbow said dryly.

"Well too bad because I'll wipe the floor with your face!" Venus shouted. She threw a punch toward Rainbow, and though she was still tired from losing the crystals and getting her memories as a princess back, Rainbow stepped aside, making Venus miss.

"Wha?" she gasped.

Rainbow took in a deep breath through her tightly clenched teeth and gave Venus a blow to the face, knocking her backward into Mars.

"She hit me, Mars!" Venus growled.

"Hopefully you'll learn next time not to make her mad," Mars said.

"Then how come you never learn in you and Serena's case?" Venus asked, "I think she broke my nose!"

"Man, she punches hard for a small chick," Jupiter said, amazed.

"Hey, you want to take on this small chick Jupiter?" Rainbow demanded. "I still need to box your ears for saying I'm heavy."

"No, no that's okay," Jupiter said, waving her arms, "and I was kidding about the heavy thing." She laughed nervously.

"Sailor Moon, you must fight," Luna said.

"Yes, you're Sailor Moon," Mercury added, " We need you."

"No way, someone else can do it," Moon said. "I pass the torch to Rainbow."

"You want me to be burned?" Rainbow demanded. "Forget it."

"You're supposed to be my best friend."

"I am, but I'm not the moon princess," Rainbow said, "You are. Think I'm so excited to be Sailor Rainbow and some ancient princess from the other side of the rainbow?"

"You're right, sorry," Moon groaned.

"Come on, Sailor Moon," Venus said, touching her sensitive nose, "It's your destiny. You're the one."

"I'm not Venus," Sailor Moon said, shaking her head. "I can hardly handle being Sailor Moon. Now I'm the moon princess too? I can't do all this. I'm telling you, I can't."

"You're just tired," Luna said. "Just give this some time to sink in and--"

"I DON'T WANT ANY OF THIS TO SINK IN!" Moon screamed furiously, "I JUST WANT TO BE A NORMAL TEENAGER! CAN'T ANY OF YOU UNDERSTAND THAT? MY NAM'ES SERENA! NOT SAILOR MOON, NOT MOON PRINCESS NOT AYTHING. GOT IT? Oooh. Oh."

"Ya guys really don't understand what it's like, do ya?" Sailor Rainbow demanded, waling pass them to embrace the crying Sailor Moon. "Well I do." She patted her best friend's back, "don't worry Sailor Moon, you know I understand."

"Rainbow, he's gone," Moon said, "Tuxedo Mask is gone! He's actually Darien and he'll never call me Meatball Head or you Licorice Head again."

"I know, I know," Sailor Rainbow said, "our old selves came all this way to be reunited with him and we lose him again. I never this unlucky in my life." She let go of Sailor Moon.

"Thanks, Rainbow. Mercury, get us out," Moon pleaded, "I just want to go home."

"Sailor Moon," Mars said, approaching them, "even though you're a crybaby and an irresponsible whiner…"

"Go away Mars," Moon said, "I don't need this right now."

"Ya heard her," Sailor Rainbow said.

Sailor Mars held up her hand to slap Moon to her senses, but then Rainbow caught it and wrenched to the side. "Ow--ow!" Sailor Mars grimaced "Okay, okay! Just don't hit me in the face like ya did to Venus!"

Rainbow flung her back and Mars looked at her hand. "Ow, that hurt!"

Jupiter grinned.

"It's not funny, Jupiter!" Mars scowled. "Sailor Moon, I was only trying to bring you back to your senses and say I thought you were a good leader, that's all!"

"Let me talk to her," Sailor Rainbow said, "You're not helping. I'm her best friend, you know."

"Sure," Sailor Mercury nodded. "I'll keep looking for a way out."

"You do that," Sailor Rainbow took her best friend by the hand and stepped away to talk. They sat down.

"Listen, Sailor Moon, as you're best friend," Sailor Rainbow began, "I have to tell ya that you have to stop Queen Beryl."

"But you said you understood," Sailor Moon whispered.

"Of course I do," she coaxed, patting her hand, "ya know I do. But there's no use running away from yer true identity. I got a glimpse of mine before I came here. I didn't want to leave my home, but it was our ancient friendship that brought me here."

"Really?"

"Of course," Sailor Rainbow said. "I was excited to find out I had a best friend on the other side of the rainbow. We were best friends, Sailor Moon. Any closer and we would've been sisters."

"That explains why I felt like I already knew you when we met," Sailor Moon admitted with a nod, "and we became best friends like that."

"Right. Darien was our best friend too. I was the one who introduced ya to him, remember?"

She nodded, "I remember."

"And we got go get him back," Sailor Rainbow said. "He needs us. Even if this double life nonsense is too strange to figure out."

"I know," Sailor Moon whispered. "I've just never had any luck with this sort of thing before!"

"Well that's all gonna change," Sailor Rainbow promised, grasping her shoulder "because now, ya have Lady Luck on yer side. With me, ya can't lose! We'll get him back, I promise!"

"Rainbow, thank you!" Sailor Moon shouted, throwing her arms around her best friends. "I'm so lucky to have you as my best friend!"

"We're both lucky," Sailor Rainbow said, patting her back. "Now if we only get lucky enough to get out of here, we'll be fine!

"Hey guys, I found an exit!" Sailor Mercury called.

"Hey, what I'd tell ya?" Sailor Rainbow laughed.

"I knew we would get out sooner or later!" Lucky shouted.

"Good work," Luna said, "Now let's go have some burgers and get our minds off of this?"

"Sounds good to me," Sailor Rainbow said.

"Sorry." Malachite appeared floating over them. "Dinner plans just got cancelled."

"Oh yeah?" Jupiter demanded.

"I want that Imperium Silver Crystal!" He shouted.

"Ya can forget it!" Sailor Rainbow hissed. "No way are we handing it over to the likes of ya! Not when I worked so hard to find the rainbow crystals so they could become the Imperium Silver Crystal."

Sailor Moon acted frightened, but the scouts moved in front of her to protect her.

"Now would a good time for you to take cover," Venus said to the guardian cats.

"Be careful, scouts," Luna warned.

"Stick together," Artemis said.

"Good luck," Lucky wished and they ran off.

"If you want the crystal," Venus threatened, "you answer to me!"

"And me," Jupiter added, "let's double team 'em, 'Kay Venus?"

"Oooh, I'm scared," Malachite said sarcastically.

"JUPITER THUNDER CRASH!"

Malachite put up a force field and Jupiter's thunder is absorbed in it.

"What goes?" Jupiter questioned, "He's absorbing all my energy!"

"I'll take care of it!" Venus said. "VENUS CRESCENT BEAM SMASH!"
But her power was absorbed also.

"This is bad." Sailor Mercury said her voice filled with panic, "He's absorbing every power we throw at him. We've got to find a way to stop him!"

"If I had a way to upgrade to Super Sailor Rainbow," Sailor Rainbow said. "I could Primary Target his shield away."

"Doesn't do you any good now, does it, Rainbow?" Malachite teased. "There is nothing you can do to stop me!" And he blasted Venus and Jupiter with one of his own attacks.

"Oh, I'm sure not giving up yet," Jupiter snarled.

"Me neither," Venus said, "but what can we do?"

"Like I said before," Malachite growled, "NOTHING!" He sent another ball of energy.

"WHATCH OUT!" warned Mars, Rainbow and Mercury. Too late, Jupiter and Venus were trapped in it. Their energy was drained and then they collapse.

"HAND OVER THE CRYSTAL UNLESS YOU WAND TO END UP LIKE YOUR FRIENDS!" Malachite threatened.

"Not much choice there, huh Mercury?" Mars asked. "Get her outta here!

Moon just remained where she stood.

"Sailor Moon, let's get out of here before he kills us all!" Rainbow urged.

"Yes, she's right!" Mars said, "We have to protect you and the crystal!"

"GET ON WITH IT, WOULD YOU?" Malachite demanded.

"Fine. MARS FIRE IGNITE!"

Her fire is also absorbed.

"PATHETIC! WHAT A JOKE!"

"Ya don't hear any of us laughin', do ya?" Rainbow questioned. "Some joke!"

Malachite attacked Mars with some fire of his own and she's out cold.

"Step aside, Mercury!" Malachite ordered. "It's not you, I'm after!"

"Go bleach your roots, creep!" Mercury sneered.

"Fine then!" he muttered. "It's your loss!" He sent a powerful wind at Sailor Mercury. "NO ONE STANDS IN MY WAY!" This literally pushes Sailor Mercury away and Moon and Rainbow are also caught in the wind.

"Oh no," Rainbow gasped and knelt to Sailor Mercury. "Are ya all right, lassie?"

"He's too strong," Mercury winced, "it's up to you to protect the Moon Princess now." She closed her eyes, groaning.

Malachite walked up to Rainbow and Moon. "Move, Rainbow. Didn't you hear what I said?"

"Oh, were ya talking to me?" she asked, "oh, I'm sorry, I thought ya were talkin' to Mercury! I guess she didn't listen to ya too! What a joke eh, now I can laugh!" She laughed and pointed at him as if he had mud on his face. He stood, looking at her, furious.

"Um, Rainbow, I wouldn't talk to him that way if I were you!" Moon said.

"Why?" She demanded. "I am not afraid of him! RAINBOW SHAMROCK SHOWER!" But that didn't work on him, either.

"I admire your guts, Sailor Rainbow," Malachite said, "You would've been a great help to us! I give you one last chance!"

"I don't want to work for a witch like Beryl!" she shouted. "There is now way I'll be a tool for darkness!"

"Then get out of my way," he commanded, "It's because of you what happened to Zoicite!"

"Oh, did her great majesty Queen Beryl fry her?" Sailor Rainbow asked, pretending to act sorry. "Poor thing. My deepest sympathies! May her dark soul rot in pieces!"

Malachite growled, "That's enough! Out of my way. You're not strong anymore without the crystals!"

"Who knows?" Sailor Rainbow asked, "I might just get lucky! I always do!"

"Except that one time--" Sailor Moon began.

"I want that crystal," he said, "and I'm gonna get it!"

"Ya tell that witch of yours if she wants the crystal so bad then she can get off her lazy ahrss and get it herself!" Sailor Rainbow threatened.

"How dare you threaten the Queen that way!" he growled. "You listen here, girly!"

"No, Malachite, ya listen and listen up good!" She stepped over the collapsed Sailor Mercury and walked right up to Malachite. He was two heads bigger than she was--maybe even more--but she didn't seem to be scared of him one bit. "Ya pathetic! Ya know that? Ya bust yer arhss to do Beryl's dirty work for her! And for what, huh? What does she give ya in return? Eh? Nothing! That's it nothin'! That's what she did to Zoicite and the rest of your general buddies! I know what Queen Beryl did to them! She made Jedite sleep forever. She killed Nephlyte--no-wait, Zoicite killed him all because he started to think for himself! She killed Zoicite because she didn't want to follow an old bird for the rest of her life! And you're next, Malachite! They're free from Queen Beryl's grasp. They don't have to listen to her orders anymore. But you're stuck here, still bustin' ya ahrss to please her! It's the most pathetic thing I ever saw in my life!" She took a deep breath. "But it's not too late, you don't have to listen to her. Yer not her tool! Yeh can leave her, yeh know. Come on, Malachite, yer better than that! Think about Zoicite! It is horrible what happened to her, really!" Now Sailor Rainbow acted sorry for sure. "But she's free now and you should be happy for her. It's a bloody shame you have to work for someone like Queen Beryl. Even if you did succeed in getting her the crystal and I'm not saying you will, because you won't--she will still fry you!"

"I've heard enough out of you!" Malachite shouted, "I've never heard such nonsense!" He held out his hand, which was glowing with dark energy.

"I warned ya!" Sailor Rainbow cried, "ya will wish you'd listen to me when Queen Beryl tortures you with a slow death!" Her shamrock appeared in her hand and just in time, for Malachite threw a great energy blast at her.

"RAINBOW SHAMROCK SHOWER!" Her shamrocks tried to cut through his energy blast but it burned them away. It was just too powerful for her.

"No, Rainbow!" Moon cried.

"I can't…fight it!" Rainbow grunted and she crossed her arms in front of her to block the blast. It threw her over the fallen Sailor Mercury and right into Sailor Moon's arms.

"Sailor Rainbow, you are so brave!" Sailor Moon exclaimed, "I wish I could've said that but I'm too afraid! Please, speak to me!"

Sailor Rainbow looked up to her best friend. "I could really," she drawled like a drunk, "use a rainbow crystal right now…ugh…" she held up the number three with her fingers, "maybe even twoooo." Her eyes closed and her arm fell down, with her fingers still out indicating the number three.

Sailor Moon smiled and pulled one finger down. "You held up three, now that's two." She said, trying not to be afraid "Boy, either he really was more powerful than we thought or you need to work on your math. I wish I were strong like you, Rainbow. I don't know if I can beat him now."

"Sure you can!" Venus said in her head.

"Give it your all!" spoke Jupiter.

"We are with you!" Sailor Mercury added.

"Go on and show him what you're made of!" Mars continued.

"Good luck…like ya will need it! Blast him like I blasted Zoicite!" Rainbow finished.

"My friends," Sailor Moon whispered.

"Sailor Moon, come save me."

"Tuxedo Mask?"

She stood up to face Malachite, "Rainbow was right you know." She said softly. "It's not too late. You can still leave Queen Beryl and be a free man."

"Shut up and give me the crystal already!" Malachite shouted.

"Fine, have it your way," Moon said through clenched teeth. "You knocked out all my friends and now I'm going to knock you all the way back to the Negaverse where you came from, NEGATWIT!"

"Oh, sounds like a challenge," Malachite shouted. "SAY GOODBYE NOW, SAILOR MOON! THIS ONE'S FOR ZOICITE!" He sent his most powerful forces at her. She raised her wand to defend herself.

"For my friends," she whispered, the energy ball hit as she tried to get the wand and crystal activated. "FOR OUR UNIVERSE!" Her attack repelled his.

"She's strong. Surprising!"

The intense power of the crystal sent Malachite away and radiated through the tower, dispelling it from the dark energy and it turned back to normal.

"Whoa?" Sailor Moon gasped. "Where did that come from?"

*****

Malachite showed up at the Negaverse. "I'm back. Beryl will not like this. Now I know how Zoicite felt when she fought Rainbow."

Lucky for Malachite, Queen Beryl was busy with something more important. She was trying to erase Darien's memories, but the task was not very easy.

"Darien's a stubborn man," she muttered. "Erasing his memory is taking longer than I thought." She cleared her throat and looked down at Darien, "Tell me who you are."

"I am…Darien."

"Not much longer," she said confidently, "Very soon, you will be a warrior for the Negaverse! Your first assignment: Getting the crystal back from the princess."

*****

Dawn was drawing near. Sailor Moon stood on the rooftop and looked into the sunrise. 'I don't know where you are, Tuxedo Mask, but Rainbow and I will get you back.'

"There you are, Sailor Moon," Venus said.

"Huh, what?" Sailor Moon turned around to see her friends. "Hey! You made it!"

"Oh, of course we did!" Sailor Rainbow exclaimed, hooking her arm around her shoulders. "It would take more than the likes of Malachite to keep us down!"

"Yeah!" Jupiter agreed.

"We're with you, Sailor Moon," Mars said.

"I know. Thank you."

"You really nailed that guy today," Luna said. "I'm so proud of you."

"Oh, stop," Moon mumbled, blushing.

"It is a bloody shame, y'know," Rainbow said.

"What do you mean?" Mercury asked.

"They wanted me to join them," Rainbow replied glumly, removing her arm from around Sailor Moon's neck and rubbing her arm, as if there was a chill, "become their tool."

"I'd bet that would suck," Jupiter said. "I'd rather die.

"Aye, Jupiter. And that's just what Malachite is. I feel kinda sorry for him. I just hope if he doesn't leave Queen Beryl willingly, we'll be able to take him out of his misery."

"But--" Sailor Moon muttered, "haven't I already done that?"

"I don't think so, Sailor Moon," Rainbow said. "Ya forget he is Beryl's strongest warrior. As Eternal Sailor Rainbow, I forced Zoicite way back and I thought I saw the last of her, but she did come back. Ya did the same to Malachite; ya threw him back to the Negaverse, but I doubt we've seen the last of him. If we ever see that guy again, it will be too soon."

Mercury and Jupiter nodded in agreement.

"Rainbow's right," Artemis said. "We've got to keep our eyes open."

Venus cocked her head, 'he agreed with her? My own cat?'

"You all did great today," Luna said. "But we must get going now. It's going to be a tough fight but I know we can do it. Let's be on our way."

Sailor Moon nodded and added, mentally, 'and find Tuxedo Mask, wherever you are…'

As if she heard her quiet wish, Sailor Rainbow wrapped her arm around her best friend shoulders and led her away.

"Now, about those burgers--" Moon said.

Whoa! Sorry! I made this chapter too long and this was actually an episode!! Maybe I should've split it. Anyway, next chapter is coming up soon. Find out what happens in Makeover Madness!