"Hey!" Elizabeta jabbed a finger at the entirely too overgrown weed monster below her. It looked up at her and laughed.
"Ahahaha! I was waiting for you to show up, Sailor Moon!"
Elizabeta scowled. "Gardens are meant to be a heavenly escape from reality, not a nightmare filled with monsters! How dare you turn this beautiful flower garden into a paradise for weeds like you!" She did her signature pose, raising her arms in front of her. "I am the pretty guardian Sailor Moon who fights for love and for justice, and for innocent flowers! And in the name of the Moon, I'll punish you!" She pointed at the monster again.
The monster laughed again and dropped the gardener, who fell motionless to the dirt, unconscious. "Enough chitchat! You're an annoying flower that needs to wither and die!" It ran toward her, arms outstretched, and its hands transformed into vines targeted at her.
Elizabeta jumped from the wall and it missed, growling in anger. "You'll have to do better than that!" she called. She had to distract the monster until her fellow Sailor Guardians could meet up with her. She'd contacted them just moments before confronting the monster, but she wasn't sure how fast they would be able to get there.
She cried out as a vine popped up from the earth in front of her and darted around it, running faster as more and more followed its lead. "That's cheating!" she yelled.
The monster reached an arm out and another vine shot toward her, faster than before. "A good weed knows when it's least wanted," it taunted her, grinning. Elizabeta jumped to the side, avoiding its vine attacks, and it laughed. "Where are your friends, Sailor Moon? Or did they weed you out of the group?"
Elizabeta laughed back. "They'll be here any minute! And when they arrive, the only one getting weeded is you! So- UWAHH!" An instant later she was on the ground, and she glared back at the rock, half hidden in the dirt, that had tripped her. She had no time to react as vines popped out of the ground and wrapped around her. She wriggled and fought against them, but to no avail. "Uggh...!"
"HAHAHA!" The monster began walking to where she lay trapped. "What are you going to do now, Sailor Moon? No more running! You're a fragile flower caught in a-!" The monster stopped in surprise, and brought its hands to its face in pain. "AAUGH! WHAT WAS THAT?!" it howled, bringing its hands away to reveal a scratch on its cheek.
Instantly Elizabeta saw the single red rose embedded in the ground at the monster's feet, and her heart began to race. It was him! Sure enough, sitting poised on the wall, was her savior!
"Not all flowers are fragile, monster. This one just happens to be one of the strongest flowers you'll ever pick a fight with."
"Who are you?!" the monster shouted, turning to see its new opponent.
"Tuxedo Mask!" Elizabeta grinned.
The handsome, mysterious man known to her and the other Sailor Guardians as Tuxedo Mask smiled back at her. Gosh, he was so suave... Top hat, tux... Distinguished light gray hair... That super mysterious masquerade mask covering his eyes and true identity... And there, perched on the rim of his hat, was his adorable and also mysterious companion, a small yellow chick known as Tuxedo Bird, dressed in a similar top hat and mask. Tuxedo Mask and Tuxedo Bird were here to save her again, and she couldn't have been happier to see them.
"Are you alright, Sailor Moon?" Tuxedo Mask asked, jumping down from the wall and looking to her.
She couldn't control the blush crossing her cheeks as she replied, "Y-Yes, I'm fine! Thank you, Tuxedo Mask!"
Tuxedo Mask smirked. "I'm afraid I can't take credit for that one." Tuxedo Bird chirped from his hat, and Elizabeta giggled.
"Thank you, Tuxedo Bird!"
The little chick chirped again in acknowledgement and Tuxedo Mask reached into his tux. "I can, however, take credit for this one. Stay still, Sailor Moon!"
"Yes!" Elizabeta held completely still as he threw another rose, and it zoomed at her. It grazed the vines around her and a second later they split, releasing her. She scrambled up, getting to her feet. "Thank you, Tuxedo Mask!"
The monster, having listened to their lengthy exchange with impatience, threw its hand out again, this time at Tuxedo Mask. Vines shot forth from its fingertips. "ENOUGH OF THIS! I'M STILL HERE, YOU KNOW!"
Tuxedo Mask calmly leaped into the air, making it miss. "Yes, we know, but even a weed can die if ignored." He landed beside Elizabeta, making her heart skip a beat. "Isn't that right, Sailor Moon?"
"Sure is!" she agreed. She inwardly smacked her forehead. 'Sure is'? What kind of reply was that?! She entered a battle stance as Tuxedo Mask withdrew his cane from his jacket.
The monster rounded on them again, and if the vines around its head writhing like snakes was any indication, it was growing angrier by the second. "Two against one?! Now THAT'S cheating!" It raised its arms to the sky, and dozens of vines rose from the earth. Tuxedo Mask smacked the closest ones away with his cane, and Elizabeta kicked a few reaching for her legs.
Tuxedo Bird flew from Tuxedo Mask's hat toward the monster. Elizabeta watched, concerned. "Tuxedo Bird! Be careful!" she called. She felt a hand on her shoulder and looked up to see Tuxedo Mask watching his small companion.
"Get ready to use your Moon Tiara Action," he instructed her.
She nodded as he let go of her shoulder. ...She wished he could've kept his hand there a little longer.
The monster laughed as Tuxedo Bird came close to its face. "HA! What's a little birdie going to do against- OW! OWOWOWOWOWOWOWOW!"
Elizabeta stared in fascination as Tuxedo Bird whipped around the monster's face, pecking it everywhere with swift, almost impossible to see speed. When the little chick flew back from the monster, it was clutching its face in agony. "GAAAAAAAAAAHHH!"
"Now, Sailor Moon!" Tuxedo Mask commanded her as Tuxedo Bird returned to perch on his hat.
"Got it!" Elizabeta pulled her tiara from her forehead, and spun. "Moon Tiara..." She stopped, facing the monster, and pulled her arm back. "Action!" she cried, throwing it. It glowed brightly with energy as it sped toward the monster, and the monster pulled its hands from its swollen face.
"WAIT- NOOOOOOOO!" it screamed as the tiara impacted. There was a bright light, then it faded, leaving the monster to turn to ash and disappear. The garden returned to normal, and that was that.
Elizabeta giggled, raising a fist to the air. "Yeah! We did it, Tuxedo Mask, Tuxedo Bird!" She turned to find Tuxedo Mask smiling at her. He gave a small chuckle. "Er... What?" she hesitantly asked, suddenly feeling self-conscious.
He smirked. "How is it that you always need saving, Sailor Moon?"
Not knowing how to respond, Elizabeta blushed and grabbed a strand of her hair, twirling it anxiously. "I-I'm sorry! If the others had been here..." She let go of her hair and hung her head slightly. "I'm sorry to keep bothering you, Tuxedo Mask. I promise I'll try harder next time!"
He chuckled again. "It's good that you want to try harder, but I was only teasing."
Elizabeta felt her face growing redder as his words sank in. "Y-You were?!"
"Heh..." He reached up and lightly stroked the pink flower tucked behind her ear. "Never think you are a bother to me, Sailor Moon. I don't mind saving you." He dropped his hand, and Elizabeta nervously looked up at him. He grinned, then turned to go. "And actually..." He turned his head toward her, and she saw a smirk on the corner of his lips. "I like it." Without another word, he leaped into the air, and with a farewell chirp from Tuxedo Bird he was gone.
Elizabeta stood dazed, watching as his cloaked figure disappeared into the setting sun. "...I like it, too... Tuxedo Mask," she murmured dreamily.
"Sailor Moon!"
She turned to find the gardener coming to, staring at her. "A-And that was Tuxedo Mask!"
"And Tuxedo Bird," she added. Tuxedo Bird deserved the same credit, too.
"What happened to the monster?" the gardener asked, standing and searching the garden for any sign of it.
Elizabeta smiled. "We took care of it, don't worry! You're safe now."
"El- Er, Sailor Moon!" Running toward them were her friends and fellow Sailor Guardians, Natalya and Monique.
"Sailor Mars, Sailor Mercury!" she greeted them. As they came to a stop between her and the gardener, Monique looked over the garden with her golden-brown eyes.
"What happened, Sailor Moon?" she asked, adjusting the red ribbons in her hair. "Don't tell me the fight's over!"
"I'm afraid you girls just missed it," the gardener confirmed. He sighed. "Then again, I did too... I just came to." He looked around, then shrugged. "Oh well. Better get the equipment back to the shed..." He wandered off, leaving the girls alone.
Natalya and Monique looked at Elizabeta, and she smiled nervously. "...What?"
"Your face is red," Natalya remarked, crossing her arms. "He was here again, wasn't he?"
Elizabeta turned and began the walk back to the academy. "I have no idea what you're talking about," she called with a smirk.
Monique gasped and began dashing after her. "HE WAS! TELL ME EVERYTHING!"
Natalya sighed and rolled her eyes as she followed behind them. "He's a weirdo if you ask me."
"He is not! He's handsome, and is always saving us, like a superhero!" Monique giggled. "Plus he's got the hots for Sailor Moon," she teased, nudging Elizabeta.
Elizabeta's blush darkened. "Sailor Mercuuuryyy..."
"What? I can tell he likes you," she grinned. "And it's obvious you like him."
"Just be careful," Natalya warned. "We don't know who he is."
Elizabeta sighed as the two began bickering over whether or not they could trust Tuxedo Mask. She knew Natalya was right, that they didn't really know who he was, but... Whenever she needed help with a monster, he was there. He always came when she needed him most. He was like her guardian. She lifted a hand to her flower and smiled fondly.
...Was it ridiculous for her to be so in love with a guy she didn't even know?