Mercury teleported back to the Dark Kingdom, after another busy day undercover. Luna had explained to her, Makoto and Rei about the 7 Shadows and the threat they posed. She felt slightly annoyed to have been deprived this information by her real superiors. In addition, Rei had decided to close the temple until she could find and free her grandfather. Jadeite would be less than pleased. He had taken up a position at the shrine as part of one of his energy gathering schemes. Now he'd have to cancel it.

As if on cue, Motro walked into the room. "We need to talk, Mercury! About Zoisite."

"Oh, feeling doubts about him already? I remember that you chose to stay behind and take us on. How're you doing by the way?", Mercury replied, in a sarcastic tone.

Motro growled "I'm doing fine, thank you for asking. I've made some upgrades to my shield, to protect myself from fire damage. And that's not what I was trying to talk about. What I meant to discuss is that Zoisite has to be eliminated."

Mercury was surprised. "And what brought that idea into your mechanical brain?"

"According to a survey I conducted, many of the Youma and a few of the higher ranking soldiers find him to be an annoyance. Especially Nephrite & Jadeite's followers, with whom he has interfered on more than one occasion."

"I see your point, but how can we get rid of him. The other Senshi have only thwarted 3 missions on their own and Beryl will hardly condone killing him.", Mercury pointed out.

But Motro was prepared for this argument. "I don't intend to involve either of them. Observe." His arms transformed into a pair of cannons and fired. One shot fire, while the other shot thunder. "Once they find the body, they'll have nobody to blame but Sailor's Mars and Jupiter."

"Ah, so we lure him out.", Mercury realised. But how do we do that?"

"Simple. The records I downloaded from the hospital indicate only 5 further potential carriers of Rainbow Crystals. Nephrite foresaw that they would all be in the city of Tokyo within this quarter of the year. Logic dictates that the final carrier is an animal."

"Are you suggesting that we sneak out and visit a veterinarian clinic?"

"Yes!", Motro said with an invisible sneer. "And I know which one…"

Meanwhile in a pet shop, the owner was just closing up for the night. It had been another good sales day. Selling these furry freaks was an easy source of money. And the small creatures would make people cherish them to the point of obsession. This obsession would generate the energy that General Jadeite required. Even buying this place from the previous owner had seen little difficulty. The importance of success was not lost on the Youma, especially since 3 of her sisters had been killed, with a 4th gone into hiding and a 5th forced to abort. Her mission was more vital than ever.

Suddenly, a large metal man accompanied by a petite, teenage girl walked through the door. "Excuse me, Iguara.", the metal man said, addressing her by he real name, rather than her adopted alias."We need to check your records for help with an important mission."

"Oh, I see.", the Youma said spitefully, turning into her true form, a large, muscular reptile woman. "They're kept in the back. But be quick. I'm supposed to close in 10 minutes.

"We only need 5.", the girl replied. Sure enough, they were out of the room in 5 minutes. "We got what we were after."

"My conclusion turned out to be an accurate one. It appears that the final Rainbow Crystal is located within a cat."

"Thank you for that information. I'll put it to good use." The three of them turned towards the fourth voice: General Zoisite. "While you traitors will be left here to burn!" With this declaration, he waved his hand and released a blast of heat into the room. Motro and Mercury collapsed, the temperature too much for them. But the Youma Iguara was far from weakened.

"Don't you know reptiles thrive in the heat, you idiot?" She grabbed Zoisite and threw him out of the window. Outside the building, the general found himself confronted by his comrade Jadeite, accompanied by two Youma disguised as a gypsy fortune teller and a bus driver.

"My brother!", Zoisite coughed out. "Help me. One of your servants has turned on me."

"Yes, because I asked her to." Jadeite sneered. "You see, when Motro went around asking opinions on you, he also encouraged a few of us to pull this little rebellion so we could put you down. Why do you think he walked around without his disguise so carelessly? He was trying to lure you here. And it succeeded admirably."

"You traitor!", Zoisite began cursing. "F*ck you. F*ck you, you w*nker! Queen Beryl will hear of this!"

"Affirmative!", Motro replied, having recovered from the extreme heat. "She'll hear that you interfered with another vital operation and tried to kill General Jadeite and several valuable servants. She'll hear how the Sailor Senshi showed up, seeking vengeance for the loss of the old man. And how in their anger, they destroyed you whole." Then he pulled out his twin cannons and fired at the effeminate blonde, grievously wounding him.

"I'll get you for this!", Zoisite wheezed out.

Jadeite summoned a spear of ice and plunged it into his rival's heart. "Somehow, I doubt that. If I find Techniclon, I'll give her your regards." Once he was sure of Zoisite's demise, he turned to his servants. "Honour him as he deserves!" Taking his meaning, the three Youma assumed their true forms and began to devour the lingering life energy left behind. Then he went over to Mercury. "Make sure Mars and Jupiter hear of this. It will throw them off our true status." The bluenette nodded and walked home. Jadeite then turned to Motro. What will we do about the remaining crystals?"

Motro replied "Perhaps you should offer to take over the search in Zoisite's memory." Jadeite nodded in agreement and left. "Then I'm free to proceed with my own plans."