Promises, Flowers, & Farewells 2

Wicked Weeds

The girls were walking down to school dressed in their school uniforms. Lydia was out of her dress and wearing jeans that had holes in the knees and a red T-shirt. Her braided pigtails were ribbon free and had blue bands on them instead to hold them in place.

Serena let out a long yawn, "being a good student AND a super hero is so exhausting. Lydia, I wish I were on spring break too! You're so lucky!"

"Please, try babysitting a bunch of wannabe Scouts who do nothing but gossip." Luna groaned.

The girls all laughed.

"I forgot." Rini said. "Thanks for lunch, Lita."

"You're welcome, Rini," Lita said.

"You love your pizza, don't you?" Raye asked.

"You bet." Rini replied.

Lita and Rini walked further down and realized Raye was not with them. "Huh?"

"Guys, wait up!" Lita called and the others turned around. "What's the matter Raye?"

"Raye, what's wrong, lassie?" Lydia asked.

"Lydia, do you feel what I feel?"

Lydia closed her eyes, "Evil spirits?"

"Maybe something worse than that!" Raye said. "Come on!" Raye ran off and the girls followed suit. Rini tried to keep up.

"Wait for me!" she cried. She tripped. "Don't leave me! How can you forget me?"

They got to the corner and gasped.

"Oh no!" Mina cried.

"Ew," Serena mumbled.

"Blimey," Lydia muttered.

People were lying up and down the street, unconscious. "What happened to all these people?" Mina wondered out loud.

"I don't believe what I'm seeing!" Lita exclaimed.

Mina walked to one of the unconscious bodies and knelt down. From her shoulder, Artemis examined it. "Their energy's been stolen!"

Mina gasped.

"Are you sure?" Serena asked.

"Sailors, be super alert," Luna warned.

"I'm sure the culprit's gone by now." Mina said. "Probably gone to find more victims."

"Or plan their next attack," Artemis suggested.

Suddenly, the person Mina was bending over grabbed her ankle and pulled her up into the air.

"He's got her!" Serena gasped.

Mina used he momentum to kick the person off of her and she landed on her feet. All the once out-cold people get up, like zombies and they're wrapped on a vine of some kind.

"They're all, covered with vines!" Amy shouted.

"They're everywhere," Luna said.

"We've got to do something!" Lydia exclaimed.

"Where did they come from?" Lita asked.

The vines move around and ensnare the victims. They rose up and surrounded the girls.

"The plants are controlling these people!" Amy gasped.

"Since when can plants do that?" Lydia demanded.

"Let's just waste these people and then we can figure it out later!" Lita shouted, pushing people away from her. "Ha, take that! Get away from me…"

One of the zombies had Serena by the nose. "Ow…let go of my nose!"

Lydia came to Serena's rescue by punching her assailant's nose. "Take a step closer and I'll box yer ears! Come on, who wants some?" Whatever zombie came near her she used them as a punching bag and as Lita and Lydia worked together.

"Here," Lita grunted, "my friend here has a present for ya! Get 'im, Lydia!" She pushed one of the zombies in Lydia's path and Lydia knocked him out.

"Thanks, Lita!" Lydia said. "We make a darn good team, eh?"

"Heck yeah!"

"But there's still too many!" Mina cried.

"Hey, Raye--do your thing!" Lydia said.

"Way ahead of you, Lydia," Raye said, pulling out her charms. "EVIL SPIRITS DISPERSE" she tossed them all in a circle and they attached themselves on the zombies. The vines were destroyed and everyone was back to normal.

"Wow, what a relief," Serena sighed.

"Wait a minute, guys," Amy said, taking out her mini computer, "the energy that was controlling the people is still here. I'm going to try and pinpoint it." Within a few seconds, Amy found it. "There." She pointed to a pink flower next to a tree.

"A puny flower?" Lita asked, surprised.

"Dun't worry, lassies," Lydia insisted, walking to the plant, "I'll just pull this weed up and…"

But as Lydia bent down to lift the weed out of the ground, it hopped out itself. It had legs.

"What in the--" Lydia gasped. "I've never seen a plant like that before!"

The creepy flower dashed through Lydia's legs and she whirled around in surprise. It moved around like a spider.

"Stop that wicked weed!" Serena said.

Rini turned the corner. The weed spotted her and ran after Rini.

"It's after Rini!" Raye gasped.

"Rini, start running!" Lita commanded.

But Rini was frozen where she stood. She was too frightened to budge. It came closer and in its center appeared a row of chomping teeth.

"Dun't worry, li'l lassie, I'll save yeh!" Lydia declared. She started to run after Rini, nevertheless her shoe came untied and she tripped, falling head first into a trashcan. "Oh, yuck!" she shouted, kicking her legs in the air. "Of all the rotten luck!"

With her best friend stuck in a garbage can, Serena had to hurry to save her daughter. "I'm coming, Rini!" She ran to her, threw her arms around her and jumped into a store window.

The flower became bigger and it bloomed to a female alien's torso. "Let's play!" She charged Ami and Raye and her arms shot out vines to the girls, draining their strength.

"Can't…fight it," Ami whispered weakly.

"We need Sailor Power," Artemis said.

"Right," Mina said. "Ready, Lita?"

"Wait for me!" Lydia cried, still kicking her legs, "let me outta here! It smells!"

"She'll be fine," Mina told Lita, "let's just transform."

"I heard that, Mina!" Lydia shouted. "Let me out!"

"As soon as we take care of this stubborn weed," Lita said. "Let's go!"

"JUPITER STAR POWER!"

"VENUS STAR POWER!"

Lita and Mina became the sailor scouts of thunder and love and attacked the monster.

"VENUS LOVE CHAIN ENCIRCLE!"

It let go of Raye and Ami and then they transformed.

"MERCURY STAR POWER!"

"MARS STAR POWER!"

"JUPITER THUNDERCLAP ZAP!"

"MARS CELESTIAL FIRE SURROUND!"

The combined attack knocked the monster back, but she still lived.

"That is one stubborn weed," Sailor Jupiter grunted.

"Come on, lassies, let me out!" Lydia shouted. "I'll help you fight, come on!"

"I'll let you out of there, Lydia," Sailor Mercury said, but before she could do anything, the monster came back in a fury and stretched its vines to all four sailor scouts. Lydia could hear them screaming and this gave her the motivation to move. She used the momentum of her legs to make her and the trashcan fall over and she wriggled herself out of her bad-smelling prison.

"How vile!" she groaned, picking up a banana peel off her head and brushing the trash off of her. She spat at the ground. "Eww, I can even taste the garbage!" She glanced up at the four endangered Sailor Scouts. She would need Sailor Moon's help to free them and destroy the monster. "Hold on, lassies!"

"Easier said than done," Sailor Jupiter grimaced.

Lydia made haste to the store window Rini and Serena fell in. Serena lay flat on her back and Rini was trying to get her to wake up by tickling her nose. "Come on, Serena! Wake up!"

"No, no, li'l lassie, that won't work!" Lydia told her. "Here, I'll show you a trick." She bent down at the other side of Serena. "It works on drunks and it'd work on everyone, even Serena."

"Really, what's that?"

Lydia grinned, "this." With one hand on Serena's collar, Lydia used her other hand to slap Serena awake. "Wake up, Serena! The bar is closing! Up, up, up, yeh lazy bum! Rise and shine!"

Rini watched in surprise and excitement, "why didn't I think of that?"

Serena woke up, sitting straight with her hands on her face, "Ow! Lydia, did you have to rouse me so roughly?" She took a whiff, "PU! Lydia, you smell awful!"

"I fell in a trash can, a'ite? Nevermind that, the others need help."

"Well, why didn't you say so?" Serena demanded, holding out her hand for Lydia to grasp. "Here, help me up."

Lydia pulled her up to her feet so hard that she almost fell on her face.

"Hey, Serena?" Rini asked.

"What?" Serena said.

"Thanks for saving me, you're a pal!" Rini gave her a thumbs up, "and Lydia, thanks for getting my lazy mother up!"

"Hey!" Serena shouted.

"Anytime, lassie, anytime," Lydia said.

"Time for some moon and rainbow power," Serena said.

"Rainbow power?" Rini whispered.

"Aye, lassie, I'm a sailor scout too!" Lydia winked, "Sailor Scout of Luck, Sailor Rainbow!"

"Wow, you've got to be better than Serena!" Rini cried, "I wish you were my mom!"

Lydia smiled, "oh please…don't flatter me…."

"Rini!" Serena gasped, "I'm doing the best I can." She sighed. "Ready, Lydia?"

"I've been ready!" Lydia replied. "Watch dis, Rini, we're gonna kick that puny flower's bloody ahrss!"

Rini muffled a giggle as Serena gasped.

"Lydia! What are you trying to do?" Serena demanded.

"What?"

"Don't teach my kid bad words!" Serena cried into Lydia's face, making her blink. "They're supposed to learn language like that from their fathers! Not from their mother's best friends! And Darien doesn't even talk like that! What's wrong with you?"

"Al'right, Al'right," Lydia groaned, "I'm sorry." She turned to Rini, "now, Rini, that language is bad. I've shouldn't have said that. What I should have said was we'll box her ears, all right?"

"Okay," Rini nodded.

"That's better," Serena muttered.

"Now do your thing, Moon Mama!" Rini said, "and Aunty Rainbow!"

"Ah, she called me her Aunty Rainbow!" Lydia exclaimed.

"Kick that monster's bloody," Rini began and caught Serena's glare, "I mean, box her ears!"

"Let's do this, Lydia," Serena said, reaching for her Moon Crystal locket as Lydia reached her hand to her pocket for her own Rainbow Crystal locket that was in the shape of a four-leaf clover.

"MOON CRYSTAL POWER!"

"RAINBOW CRYSTAL POWER!"

Their lockets opened, revealing the moon crystal and the rainbow crystal. The rainbow crystal was the magical prism crystal that Lady Indigo had given to her. Under the locket's lid of the rainbow crystal locket were two different colored coins: red and orange. Back to back, moonbeams and rainbow rays swirling around them, Lydia and Serena twirled around together as they transformed. The ribbons that spun around Serena's body were pink whereas Lydia's were gold. Lydia's fuku was the same as before, the indigo bows, violet skirt, red vest and primary colors on the bands of her sleeves and secondary colors on the bands of her gloves. Her boots were white, thigh-high with a red and orange stripe at the top. Lydia and Serena turned to each other and their earrings, tiara and choker appeared on them. Serena's were earrings two dangling pearls connecting to a moon and Lydia's dangling rubies and topazes. Serena's tiara gem was a ruby and Lydia's a golden topaz. Serena's choker was dark pink with a moon and Lydia's orange with a green heart. As rubies appeared on Serena's buns, orange ribbons and topazes appeared around Lydia's braids. They opened their eyes then turned around to the front. Sailor Moon did her usual sailor pose and Sailor Rainbow took a knee next to her as a rainbow and a moon accented the background behind them.

"MOON TIARA MAGIC!"

"RAINBOW RED AND ORANGE SWIRL!"

As Sailor Moon's tiara became a discus, a swirl of red and orange churned around it to break away the vines holding the others captive. The monster looked up at surprise.

"Forgot about us, now have yeh?" Sailor Rainbow demanded as Sailor Moon's tiara boomeranged back to her.

"I don't care whose compost heap you came from but you're about to become moon dust!" Sailor Moon declared, "and believe me, we get to the root of every problem, I'm Sailor Moon!"

"And I'm Sailor Rainbow! Prepare to be de-rooted! We are evil's bad luck charms!"

"And that means you!"

The monster did not care for their speech. She lunged at them. Rainbow got ready.

"DRUID FIRE!"

A fire flared up between the monster and Sailor Rainbow and Sailor Moon, preventing the monster from getting to them.

"Sailor Mars isn't the only fire starter in this group!" Sailor Rainbow shouted. "Sailor Moon! Let's de-root this bad weed!" Her rainbow scepter appeared in her hand. It was white with a big gold coin on the top with an orange bow around it. In the middle of the gold coin was a rainbow and near the bottom was an orange and red stripe. "You and I!"

"Gotcha!" Sailor Moon acknowledged, raising her moon scepter.

Rini stepped closer for a better look. "This is going to be good!"

"MOON PRINCESS ELIMINATION!"

RAINBOW PRINCESS EXECUTION!"

Their combined scepter powers destroyed the monster where she stood. She fell into pieces and the wind flew them away.

"Is everyone all right?" Sailor Moon asked.

"I think so," Sailor Mercury replied.

"Impressive," said a voice.

"Huh?" all the scouts mumbled.

The stranger they saw the day earlier at the greenhouse stood at the steps. He had his hands in his pockets.

"You're behind this, aren't you?" Sailor Mars demanded.

Instead of answering her, he changed as flower petals danced around him. His auburn hair grew long and turned greenish-blue with pink locks near his bangs. His flesh changed from peach to a light green and he wore dangling earrings. He was dressed in a white and blue fancy garb with a cape and on his chest was a flower. The flower opened, revealing a little woman's half body. Luna and Artemis recognized it.

"The Kisenian Blossom!" Luna and Artemis cried.

"The what Blossom?" Sailor Rainbow asked.

The Kisenian Blossom spoke to Fiore. "So this is Earth. It's perfect."

"Perfect for what?" Sailor Moon demanded.

"We're taking over," Fiore said. "Destroying it."

"You can't!" Mercury shouted.

"I will!" He sent a huge blast against Sailor Mercury and Mars, knocking them into a building. Then he hit Sailor Venus with the same power.

"He's so powerful," Sailor Rainbow whispered.

"That's not funny!" Sailor Jupiter snapped. She ran up to him, throwing punches, which he dodged without much effort. "You weed!"

"Jupiter, be careful!" Rainbow warned.

Too late though, Fiore moved his hand under her punches to her stomach and forced her back into a telephone booth with a mega telekinetic blast.

"Jupiter!" Sailor Moon cried.

"This is not good," Sailor Rainbow muttered. "How could he be so strong?"

"We've had the sailor hash," Fiore said, "now let's try the moon kabobs!" His fingernails grew nearly a foot long and may very well be sharper than razor blades.

Rainbow stood defiant in front of Sailor Moon. Even if she was going to be knocked back like the others, she had to protect Sailor Moon. "Let's just skip to the Rainbow Dessert! RAINBOW CODE RED!" She reached her hand to her locket. It opened up and the red rainbow coin floated into her hand. Her locket closed and she held her hand out in a fist as the red rainbow coin's power sent a laser through the spaces in her fingers and swirled around Fiore. It cut his fingernails down to size as the CODE RED made a deafening siren. Fiore backed up and put his hands on his ears, shaking his head. It was loud enough to wake the dead and the four fallen sailor scouts stirred slightly but were still too weak to get up.

Sailor Moon plugged her ears, "Rainbow, can you turn it down?"

"What's that?" she asked. "Can't hear yeh."

"I said it's too loud!"

When she thought Fiore had enough, Rainbow put her hand to her locket and the coin traveled back under the lid. She walked to Fiore and stopped a few feet in front of him.

"Now, why do yeh attack us?" Rainbow demanded with her hands on her hips. "What is it that yeh want, laddie?"

Fiore's eyes glowed. He stood up and knocked Sailor Rainbow aside. "Get out of my way!" he shouted and ran after Sailor Moon, his fingernails growing again.

"Sailor Moon, run for it!" Rainbow warned.

Sailor Moon backed up and a rose hit the ground where he was about to take a step. "Huh?" he said. "A red rose!" He looked up and around. There was a giant painting of tuxedo men on a building. Tuxedo Mask stood on a lamppost and slowly walked forward.

"Darien!" Fiore cried, his long fingernails sliding back to normal size.

"The man can wear a cape!" Sailor Moon said, "Hoo!'

Rainbow groaned, "Oh, here we go."

"Come on, Rainbow," Sailor Moon exclaimed, "just because you don't have a guy in your life doesn't mean you have to gun down romance!"

"I'm not, Sailor Moon," Rainbow snapped, "This just isn't the time for romance, okay? We need to find out what this long-nailed laddie is up to!"

"Sailor Rainbow's right," Tuxedo Mask agreed, jumping off the lamppost and walking to Fiore. "Why have you come back, Fiore and what do you want?"

"Have you forgotten my promise?" Fiore asked, hurt and angry, "and you'd rather be with this twit than me?"

"Hey!" Sailor Moon gasped.

"She's my friend, as you are," Tuxedo Mask said.

"What am I?" Rainbow demanded, "Chopped liver?"

"But you were pure back then," Tuxedo Mask went on, ignoring Rainbow's complaint. "And your heart's become corrupted by darkness."

"Sailor Moon, what are they talking about?" Rainbow asked Sailor Moon.

"I was about to ask you the same thing," Moon admitted.

Tuxedo Mask and Fiore started to argue and then fight. Fiore produced a sword and lunged at Tuxedo Mask and Sailor Moon.

"Be careful, my masked man!" Moon cried out.

"He'll be fine," Rainbow muttered.

"Stop it, Fiore!" Tuxedo Mask pleaded, "the reason why Earth is so appealing to you because the sailor scouts drive out the negative forces!"

"They are the negative forces!" Fiore shouted.

"Stop being so negative!" Sailor Rainbow snapped.

Fiore moved past Tuxedo Mask and toward Sailor Moon to take her out with his long fingernails. "Die!"

"Stop!" Sailor Rainbow shouted.

Tuxedo Mask moved in front of Sailor Moon. He saved her but as a result he had five stab wounds in his chest.

"Oh no!" Rainbow gasped. Sailor Moon screamed.

"Darien!" Fiore pulled his fingernails in quickly with a scared, guilty look on his face. Tuxedo Mask fell down and Sailor Moon put her arms around him.

"Oh my love," Sailor Moon said. Rainbow crouched over him. "Rainbow, is he? Is he?"

"He'll be okay," Rainbow insisted, looking over his wounds, "Darien's a fighter but we've got to get him to a doctor."

"I can't lose him!" Fiore cried. "He's the only friend I've got!"

Rainbow gasped and spun around to look at Fiore, but not to attack him for what he did. The words he said echoed in her head. She had used those exact same words before, a long, long time ago.

--

"I can't lose him! He's the only friend I've got! The only friend…the only friend…"

"Lydia, we shouldn't be out here," a Prince Darien said as he followed her through the woods. "It's dangerous."

"Dun't be such a coward, laddie," Lydia insisted. "Where's yer sense of adventure?"

"I have a sense of adventure," Darien snapped, "I just don't want to die."

"Relax, I do this all the time," Lydia told him.

"There's robbers and wild animals and--"

"Would you be quiet?" she demanded so loudly that it scared some birds so bad that it made them fly away. She lowered her voice, "There's something in these woods. Something very valuable and I want to find it."

"Well, find it yourself," he muttered, turning around. "I'm going home."

"Fine, coward! When I'll find the treasure, I won't share it with yeh! It will be mine, all mine!" She stood screaming. "Go on home, yeh prince and ride yer white horses and read yer books, see if I care!" When Darien was out of her sight, she turned back around and walked on to where she believed her treasure was. It was starting to get dark and cold. The trees looked scary and Lydia began to wish she didn't let Darien go. Then she heard a blood-curdling scream. She stopped in her tracks. She recognized the voice immediately. "That's Darien! I shouldn't have let him alone! I shouldn't have let him go!" she turned around and followed the noise with hot pursuit. "I'm coming, Darien! I'm coming!"

"Lydia!" she heard him screaming. "Help!"

"He's probably in danger! I can't lose him! He's the only friend I've got! He's probably being attacked by wild animals, robbers. Or…"

When she found Darien, he sat on the ground holding his ankle, "Lydia, I tripped and..."

"A broken ankle?" she gasped. "Yeh have twisted your ankle?"

"Fell over a log."

Lydia became angry and she slapped his shoulder, "yeh fool! I thought you were in more trouble! I came running thinking you were being robbed or killed by wild animals and yeh only twisted yer ankle!"

"But aren't you at least glad that I'm all right?" Darien demanded.

Lydia sighed and fell down next to him with her head on his shoulder. "Of course I am. I'm sorry I got angry."

"It's all right," he insisted. "I'm not mad."

"Let me help you up," she said.

"Are you crying?" he asked.

"No." She pulled on his arm and helped him to his feet. He limped next to her.

"We can look for your treasure later," Darien said.

"No need, Darien. I've already found it." Their eyes met and she gave him a very special smile as she led him out of the forest.

--

Sailor Rainbow blinked the old memory away and stared into Fiore's sorrowful eyes. She felt pity for him and her heart ached. She knew how he felt. "So sad," she whispered, "he has no friends." She took a step forward and was about to say something when Darien suddenly disappeared. "What?"

"Darien!" Sailor Moon gasped.

Fiore held his arms out and Darien appeared in them.

"Where are you taking him?" Sailor Moon demanded.

"We have to get him to a doctor," Rainbow said softly. "Please, let us take care of him."

Fiore shook his head. "No. He's my only friend. I'm the one who injured him so I must be the one to heal him."

Rainbow nodded, but in such a way that she didn't mean to do so. The words she spoke next came almost unintentionally. It was like an unknown force was taking over her body. "I understand. Take care of him." After her action and words, Sailor Rainbow bit her lip and looked around. 'What am I doing? What am I saying? He's taking Tuxedo Mask and I'm letting him? Why don't I stop him?'

"Don't let him take Darien away from us, Sailor Rainbow!" Sailor Moon shouted.

"I believe Fiore doesn't plan to harm him," Rainbow said.

Fiore floated away from them and Sailor Moon made haste after Fiore. "Bring him back!"

Rainbow stayed where she stood as she watched Sailor Moon run after them as if she thought she'd never see Darien again. The way she screamed his name brought tears in her eyes. She really did love him. Sailor Rainbow grew heartsick. Would she ever find someone to love? The way Sailor Moon loved Tuxedo Mask? True, she loved Tuxedo Mask but nowhere near as the way Sailor Moon loved him. It was a sibling type of love they shared. True friends. Sailor Rainbow was not worried about Tuxedo Mask because in her heart, she believed he was in good hands. She was more worried about the world. She knew that Fiore did not mean to injure him. It was all most like he was driven to do something he didn't want to. 'Could it be that flower?' she thought, 'That Kisenian Blossom Luna and Artemis noticed? And why didn't Lucky notice it?'

Flower petals circled around Fiore and Tuxedo Mask and they disappeared. Sailor Moon continued to run after them, screaming for Darien. She sank to her knees.

"Darien!" she screamed. "Darien!"

Slowly, Sailor Rainbow walked up behind Sailor Moon. She placed her hand on her shoulder. "Sailor Moon?"

"He's gone, Sailor Rainbow! He took Tuxedo Mask away!"

"Tuxedo Mask will be okay."

"Why didn't you stop him, why?"

"Because it was an accident," Sailor Rainbow replied, "Fiore did not mean to hurt Tuxedo Mask. Trust me, Tuxedo Mask will be fine."

Sailor Moon looked down. "I'm sorry…could've stopped him too and I didn't. I hope you're right about Fiore. But he's still gone. Oh…Darien!" Sailor Moon sobbed loudly and Sailor Rainbow wrapped her arms around her.

"It's all right, lassie," Sailor Rainbow assured, "remember I was the one who brought you and Darien together in the first place and I give yeh my word that I'll find away to bring you two back together again."

"Thank you, Rainbow! You've always been my best friend!"

"I love Darien too. We need him here." Rainbow said. "We'll get him back and we'll save Earth, I promise yeh."

As Sailor Moon sobbed both tears of sadness and heartache, happiness and thankfulness, Sailor Rainbow looked up where Darien and Fiore had disappeared.

'And I promise you, Fiore, that I'll find yeh and stop yeh. Whether yeh are our enemy or not, I will find yeh.'

To Be Continued

Next Chapter: Battle With Kisenian