Yeah. So, Anna finally wakes up while the Wiseman's doing some stupid brainwashing. Here's something to fill this space: I donut own Sailor Moon or any of that blah people say. I would be drowning in big money and millions of anime stuff right now! Sadly, I'm not. But that's life. This episode won't have that much action, just some plot points. Here's episode 24!

Episode: Manipulation

The only thing she remembered was Aoshi staring down at her sorrowfully.

Anna (What happened then?)

Strength was restored to every inch of her body. Anna was afraid of seeing him again. But she can't let fear stop her. Her eyelids twitched as she tried to open them. It was blinding at first and it took a while for her eyes to adjust to the lighting. She tried to sit up, but Anna couldn't feel the ground. Instead she floated in midair. Feeling of freedom went through her body. She looked at her body and it was covered with the orbs from her transformation.

Anna (At least I'm not naked.)

She looked around at the bright light with squinted eyes. Anna moved like a floating corpse above the bed. She saw the toys and assumed that it was a child's room.

Anna (Maybe Rini's.)

She looked to the side and saw two figures having a conversation. One was floating with a crystal ball. Never recognized it. The other one was a little girl with pink hair and a school uniform. This one Anna recognized.

Anna "…Rini?"

The Wiseman sweet talked Rini with her past memories.

Wiseman "They never cared for you. Those scouts even forgot your birthday!"

Rini "My…birthday?"

Anna saw what was happening and became worried.

Anna "Rini? Who is that?"

She didn't respond or turn to Anna.

Anna "Rini?"

Anna tried to get off the bed, but a shield blocked her path. She flew back a couple of inches and kept watching Rini.

Anna "Rini, get me out. Come on, help me, Rini."

Wiseman "That girl just wants to boss you around again, like everyone else. They won't cherish you, like what a good parent should do!"

Rini "They didn't…love me…"

Anna "What are you talking about? That's not true. Rini, he's telling lies. Don't listen."

Wiseman "See? There she goes, bossing you around."

Anna "I'm not bossing you. I'm telling the truth! Rini, get me out and I'll make him leave. Come on."

Rini "Shut up."

Anna gasped. When did Rini become harsh?

Anna "What?"

Rini "I said 'shut up'. Don't tell me what to do, Bossy Pants."

She looked at Anna with glaring red eyes. She gave hatred and anger in her gaze.

Rini "I'm not taking orders from you anymore."

Anna saw the glare and became petrified. Who put such animosity and aversion in those eyes? She looked over to the Wiseman and felt that he had something to do with it.

Anna "Who are you? What did you do!?"

Wiseman "I just simply gave the honest truth to the poor child. She's been lied to all these years and I just opened new doors for her."

Anna "That's a lie and you know it! Leave her alone!"

Wiseman "You have to come get me first."

His taunting made her outraged. Anna banged on the shield but it stayed strong. She couldn't get out. She's stuck!

Wiseman "Well, I think it's time we take our leave, right, Small Lady?"

Rini "Of course."

Anna stared desperately with fear as Rini took Wiseman's hand and walked into darkness.

Anna "RINI!!"

She continued to bang and float while no one was around to hear her.

The scouts walked ahead of Tuxedo Mask and Aoshi while they greeted back Sailor Moon with open arms.

Venus "It's so good to have you back."

Mercury "We thought we lost you."

Moon "Oh, thanks, you guys. You care for me so much."

Mars "Come on. Don't get such a swelled head."

"Rini!!"

The scream echoed through the hall. It was familiar.

Jupiter "Hey, isn't that…"

Mask "Anna!"

They ran through the corridors to find Rini's room. Aoshi and Tuxedo Mask pushed open the doors and the team became appalled.

Venus "Rini!!"

Rini walked into the darkness with an evil grin on her visage. They couldn't identify the mysterious figure floating next to her and didn't get a chance to stop them. They disappeared into the darkness.

Anna "No!! Rini!!"

The team saw Anna banging on the shield with frustration. Sailor Mars leaned over to the panel and destroyed it with a strong punch. The whirring stopped and the light shield faded. Anna leaned forward and fell on her hands and knees to the floor, the orbs still covering her body.

Aoshi "Anna…"

Aoshi ran up to her and knelt.

Aoshi "What happened?"

He took her hand and helped her up. The orbs wrapped around her tighter and changed back into the school uniform. Anna was still weak, but Aoshi supported her, as always.

Anna "Rini…she was taken…that man…"

King "The Wiseman."

The king's projection appeared next to them. The team walked up to him and waited to hear his words.

King "He works with Nemesis in their plans. As far as I know, only Sapphire and Diamond remain in the Clan."

Moon "Diamond said that he was going to try and take over time and space with the dark crystal."

Mercury "Dark crystal?"

King "Their source of power. If you destroy the dark crystal, they'll be done for."

Venus "Ok. So that's all we have to do?"

Jupiter "Let's go for it."

Mask "But wait!"

They turned to him.

Mask "What would they need Rini for? What does she have that they want?"

Anna "…the silver crystal…"

The team gasped.

Mars "That's right! She's the heir to the silver crystal's power! Controlling her means the end for the future!!"

King "They can't do it unless they find the silver crystal. It's missing."

Anna "Missing!? How could it be missing?"

King "It's still a mystery to us all. The crystal disappeared right when Nemesis attacked."

Moon "Maybe they have it. So it wouldn't be used against them."

Aoshi "So now we have two things to retrieve: Rini and the crystal."

King "Yes. Please, help Rini find herself again."

They nodded.

King "I cannot sustain to this world anymore. I bid you farewell. Look after Rini…"

King Darien faded away and left the team in the room. They knew that was the last time they'll ever see him again.

Jupiter "Your majesty…"

Anna walked forward and looked for any sign of the deceased king. But none was found.

Anna "Darien…"

Although she knew it was Darien's future self, she couldn't help but feel that part of her best friend was lost. Aoshi walked up and placed his hand on Anna's shoulder. She looked back at him.

Aoshi "We'll see the king again. For now, let's help his younger self."

Anna looked over to Darien. He felt as if he lost a part of himself as well. But Darien knew in order to regain that part, he had to do all he can to make the Crystal Tokyo they only dreamed of a reality.

Anna "You're right."

Aoshi "All I need to do now is bid farewell to the queen."

Moon "Neo-Queen Serenity?"

Aoshi "Yes. Your future self."

He turned to everyone.

Aoshi "She would be honored if you greet her as well."

He led them down a hall in the main area of the palace. He stopped at two tall double doors.

Aoshi "This is it."

He pressed open the doors and cleared the path for the team. They looked upon the queen and stared.

She laid lifelessly on the pedestal and appeared dead. The spell that was cast on her worked almost perfectly. The quartz shield still surrounded the queen, protecting her.

Anna "Neo-Queen…Serenity."

Aoshi "She's been like this for almost two months now. Hasn't moved since."

Jupiter "Is that the quartz surrounding her?"

Aoshi "Yes."

He bowed lightly and said his goodbyes.

Aoshi "Farewell. I promise to bring Small Lady back."

They turned and began to leave the chamber. Sailor Moon looked back one more time and gave a silent plea. She hoped it would reach her future self before she returned to the team in front of the palace.

Mask "We might not be coming back. Let's do all we can to bring Rini home."

Mercury "And save the future."

Jupiter "Another final battle, huh?"

Mars "How many has it been so far, 3?"

Venus "Seems like a million."

Anna "Yeah. But every time, we won, right? So, it's just like we're winning over and over again."

Moon "Not exactly."

They looked towards her as she came out of the palace.

Moon "Every time, we've had difficulties or disabilities: with Beryl, it was the scouts and Darien; with the Doom Tree, Darien didn't remember anything. And now Rini's being held hostage. We have to do everything we can in our power to bring Rini back to us. And then we can finally save the future."

Scouts "Yeah!"

Anna "All right! I'm so pumped now! Let's go!"

She was about to run towards the Nemesis base when someone grabbed her collar. Anna found herself running in place. She looked behind and Aoshi has his straight face, as always.

Aoshi "I don't think you can battle in that."

Anna looked down and realized that she was still wearing her school uniform.

Anna "Whoops. Heh heh. Guess I forgot."

The team sighed with disapproval. How can she be so carefree at a time like this?

Anna "All right. Serious mode."

She cleared her throat.

"SOLAR STAR POWER!!"

Eight figures ran across the bare wasteland of Crystal Tokyo. Sapphire watched upon the balcony and identified them immediately.

Sapphire "Looks like we have company. How do you want to split it: 50-50?"

In the room behind him, a throne like seat was set. A man sat with patience and elegance. His white hair covered the concealed third eye on his forehead. The cape on his back wrapped his neat white suit.

Man "Seems fair enough. Just make sure I get Sailor Moon."

Sapphire twitched at her name. His brother didn't drop his infatuation yet.

Sapphire "Yes, Diamond."

Diamond "Well then, let the games again."

Diamond shimmered out of his chair while Sapphire faded away to another part of the base.

The team ran at full speed to the Nemesis base, thinking of what would happen once they get inside. Sailor Moon only thought of saving Rini and bringing her back home. But neither of them noticed the distant whirring under them, within the ground.

WHOOSH!!!

Within the blink of an eye, Sailor Moon, Jupiter, and Mercury disappeared from sight. Their cries echoed in the path. Aoshi, Galaxy, Mars, and Venus skidded to stop themselves from falling into the trapdoor. Tuxedo Mask held onto the side as he was dangling in the hole.

Mars "Oh, no!"

Galaxy "Tuxedo Mask! Hang on!"

Mask "Just go on ahead! We'll regroup later!"

The trapdoors were about to close on his fingers. He let go and fell into darkness before they had the chance.

Venus "You guys!"

Sailor Galaxy punched downward onto the trapdoors and made a harsh sound with them. Breaking them was impossible.

Aoshi "We should do what he says. Staying around won't do us any good."

Sailor Galaxy growled in anger. She looked ahead and saw the Nemesis base.

Galaxy "If they want Crystal Tokyo so bad, why don't they stop playing cowardly tricks!?"

She charged to the base with blinding speed.

Aoshi "Anna!"

Venus & Mars "Wait!"

The others followed her with shock from what happened. Already they lost half of the team. It was obvious that the Black Moon Clan shouldn't be taken lightly.

Sailor Galaxy saw the double doors as the entrance of their base.

Galaxy (This is it. Better give it my all in the upcoming fights. Especially against that bastard, Sapphire! What a cheater, anyway! Using chemicals…)

WHAM!!!

The double doors were smacked open from Sailor Galaxy's charge. It was dark at first, but then she saw that dim lights were in there the whole time.

"Welcome."

Not only dim lights were there, but a man who was ready for a rematch. Someone she only met once before. His white pants were the only conspicuous thing in the dim-lit room. It took a while to fully see his sword at his side and his blue buttoned up coat. By then, Sailor Galaxy remembered who he was: Sapphire, of the Black Moon Clan.

Sapphire "Nice to see you recovered. Those burns looked pretty terrible."

Galaxy "Oh, HELL no!! Our first match is with Mr. Fanciful here!?"

Sapphire "I see someone needs many lessons with their manners. It's rude for a guest to back talk the host."

She cracked her knuckles with frustration.

Galaxy "You better watch that preppy mouth of yours, you son of a…"

Aoshi "Step aside, Anna."

Sapphire and Sailor Galaxy looked back at the doors. Aoshi, Mars, and Venus were able to catch up and cease their little spat. Aoshi walked up next to Sailor Galaxy.

Aoshi "We still need to finish our duel."

He looked towards the solar scout.

Aoshi "And I've no intention of seeing you in harm's way again."

Sailor Galaxy saw his determination and nodded. They accepted terms and Aoshi walked forward, continuing the previous duel.

Galaxy "But if you get hurt, then I've no choice but to step in again. And you can't stop me."

Aoshi "Fair enough."

Aoshi and Sapphire were a few feet apart. A kodachi and a katana were readied for a final round. The scouts watched with amazement as a duel between 2 swordsmen was about to commence.