Hi! While writing my plan for Chapter 6, I realised that there's exactly seven days between my birthday and Christmas. So, because it's a really cool way to do it, I decided to make the seven Rainbow Crystals into a Christmas countdown! I hope you like this idea as much as I do!

Disclaimer:

Roses are red,

Violets are blue,

I don't own Sailor Moon,

And neither do you*.

*This rule does not apply to Naoko Takeuchi.

"Christina, wake up," Artie whispered, shaking Christina, who rolled over and looked at him, blinking sleepily.

"What's the matter, Artemis? It's really early," Christina whispered back, glancing at the clock to see that it was 6:30.

"You need to get up and get ready. We're going to do some Scout Training at the Base," Artie whispered back.

"Why can't we do that later, at a more reasonable time? And what about the others? They'll be worried if I'm not here," Christina said, looking over at Steph and Luna, who were both still fast asleep.

"We need to wake them too. They could do with some Training too," Artie said.

"That's not very fair to them, you know. They've done really well so far. And I can kinda see their past forms emerging in them. Especially Steph, she's definitely developing the air that comes from her line. But anyway, what have you got planned for Training today?" Christina asked. Artie grinned, then whispered in Christina's ear. As she listened, a grin spread over Christina's face. She nodded to Artie, then quietly took a megaphone out of her wardrobe.

"Why do you have that in there, Christina?" Artie asked.

"My brother always played his music really loudly. This was the only way that we could get his attention," Christina said, before walking out into the passageway and opening the doors to the two other bedrooms. She smiled and winked at Artie, then raised the megaphone to her mouth.

"RISE AND SHINE, EVERYONE!!! IT'S TIME TO GET UP!!!!" Christina called into the megaphone. There were five thuds from the three bedrooms, and then the five girls (Lucy included) walked out into the passageway, rubbing their elbows, shins or heads.

"What's going on, Chrissy? Why are we getting up this early?" Steph asked.

"We've got Scout Training to do," Christina replied, smiling and walking back into her bedroom.

"What, right now?" Bonnie asked. Christina put the megaphone back in the cupboard and took out her favourite white, orange-and-white summer dress and a pair of matching white sandals.

"No time like the present. And besides, you're all a little behind my level, no offence," Christina said, walking back into the passageway. She opened the linen cupboard and began pulling out towels.

"What do you mean, 'we're a little behind your level?' Just because you're more experienced than we are..." Dee said, catching the red towel that Christina threw to her.

"I'm not talking experience here. But that's beside the point. We've got Scout Training in two hours at the Base, so you'd better get ready. Help yourselves to any of my clothes, guys. Just stick whatever you use in the laundry basket once you're finished with it and have gotten your own clothes from home. There's a few things that I need to get before I go to the Base, so I'll meet you there at 8:30," Christina said, before walking into one of the two bathrooms and shutting the door behind her. The others sighed and went downstairs to fix themselves breakfast.

"Where is she?" Phoenix asked.

"Dunno, maybe she's inside already?" Steph replied, looking around.

"Hello there, Meatball Head. Who are you waiting for?" a familiar voice called. Steph whirled around, her eyes blazing at the voice.

"None of your business, Riley-Baka. Go away. And stop calling me Meatball Head!" Steph yelled.

"What's going on out here?" Christina asked, emerging from the Bowling Alley with a large bag in her hands and Artemis by her side. Both Christina and Artemis stopped when they saw Riley. Christina tilted her head in suspicion and glared coldly at Riley for a moment.

"Riley. What are you doing here?" Christina asked, placing the lightest emphasis on the you.

"Just passing by, Christina. I'll see you around, everyone," Riley said, before walking away. Christina watched him go, then sighed and pulled out her Transformation Pen. She clasped it for a moment, then opened the door to the Base and led the others inside.

"How'd you know how to get in here, Chrissy?" Steph asked.

"Are you kidding? I've known about this place for ages. It was actually me that remodelled it. The whole thing was this dull greyish-black before I got started on it. Artemis didn't really approve at first, 'cause he thought I should be Training, but we turned the redecoration into a series of Training Sessions, and, well, it turned out like this. I'm pretty pleased with it, actually," Christina said, dropping the heavy bag onto the floor beside the couch and sitting down. Luna and Artemis transformed into their human forms and sat down on the couch to watch.

"So what are we doing today?" Dee asked. Christina smiled and opened the bag, which contained five wooden targets, a lot of curved metal rods, ten metal hoops, seven bottles of water, a fluorescent-orange whistle on a string, a bag of tennis balls and, oddly, five large silver butterfly nets and a glass box full of fast, glittery butterflies. Christina put the whistle around her neck and tossed a bottle of water to each of the others.

"Let's see how good your aim is first," Christina said, setting up the wooden targets against the blue wall and stepping back.

"Hey, Luna? I've been wondering... I know that I can hear when people are in danger, but what other Civilian Powers do I have?" Steph asked.

"Yeah, I've been wondering that too," Bonnie said.

"You haven't told her that yet, Luna? Wow, I would have thought that would be one of the first things you would have done in Training," Christina said.

"Yes, well, we got a little preoccupied with training the others. Steph, you're Telekinetic," Lucy replied. Bonnie, Dee and Phoenix gasped, while Steph only looked puzzled.

"Teleki-what?"

"You know how we can levitate our elements? Well, you can levitate anything, Steph!" Bonnie said, smiling. Steph gasped.

"Well, there's a little more to it than that. Basically, you can control the movement of your target using only your mind. Try it, Steph. Try looking at something around the room and send your thoughts out to it to make it do something," Lucy said. Steph nodded glanced around the room to pick a target, before deciding on the bottle of water in her hand. Everyone watched as the lid slowly turned and fell onto the floor with a clatter.

"Well done, Stephy! It's a start, a definite start. You could probably get better control by using your hands as well, but you're not necessarily going to able to use your hands when you need to use your power," Christina said. Steph nodded and smiled, staring down at the lid, which floated up and screwed back onto the bottle. "OK, now that you're all starting to get the hang of your Civilian Powers, it's time for some target practice," Christina said, fitting two of the metal rods together. While the other four Scouts began using either their element or, in Steph's case, the tennis balls to hit the targets, Christina fitted the metal rods together into a complicated circular track. She then fitted the ten metal hoops onto the track in various places and pressed a tiny button on each, which set them moving around the track at various speeds. Stepping back to survey her handiwork, she narrowly missed being hit by a flame that came flying in her direction. Turning, she found Dee red-faced and grinning.

"Oops, sorry, Christina," Dee said. Christina shook her head, grinning, before giving a short blast on her whistle.

"OK, guys, let's see how you've done," Christina called out, walking over to examine the girls' targets. The marks on all four(tufts of tennis ball fluff on Steph's, deep cuts on Bonnie's and scorch marks on both Dee's and Phoenix's) were rather spread out, but Christina was pleased to see that there were no marks on the wall or floor.

"Nice job, guys. Once you awaken a bit more, you'll be able to get the middle all the time. Like this," Christina said, winking. Three silver-and-orange arrows appeared in mid-air, and, at Christina's look, flew, one after another, into the bullseye on the fifth target.

"Wow, that's amazing, Chrissy!" Steph gasped.

"What are those arrows, anyway?" Dee asked, bending down to examine them.

"You've heard of Cupid, right? Well, basically mine can make people fall in love, or out of love. They're also killer on Youma, as I found out once," Christina said.

"Really? That must be an interesting story," Phoenix said.

"Not really. There was this girl in my grade who loved this other guy. I thought they'd be perfect together, so I tried to make him like her too. Turns out he was possessed by a Youma. Not only did I destroy the Youma, but the arrow still had enough power to make him pay attention to her, and then he ended up falling in love with her the normal way," Christina shrugged.

"Nice... So, what's next?" Bonnie asked. Christina smiled.

"Next we'll try moving targets," she said, indicating the moving rings and the track.

"Hey, that's cool!" Dee said, watching the fastest ring whizz around the track.

"These rings all have sensors set into them. If one of your aims goes through the ring, it'll stop," Christina said.

"How are you supposed to get that ring?" Dee asked, pointing to the fastest one.

"That one's tricky. I've only ever gotten that one once. Artemis told me that once we've completely awoken, we'll be able to get that one easily," Christina said, looking at the ring. Another of her arrows appeared and flew towards the ring, missing by millimetres and going through another ring. That ring turned orange and came to an abrupt stop, then folded up into a small orange spike on the tracks. Then, suddenly, millimetres from the wall, the arrow vanished. Christina pressed the tiny button on the spike and watched it unfold and fade back to its normal silver, then let it get back up to speed.

"OK guys, it's your turn. Did you notice how the ring turned orange when my arrow went through it? They'll react to your powers too. The sensors on these things are super sensitive, so they'll be able to tell which of us got through it," Christina said.

"Hey, that's cool," Dee said.

"Yeah. So go ahead guys, take your best shot at the rings. They're numbered one to ten, with one being the slowest and ten being the fastest, which is that tricky one. Once you've stopped as many hoops as you can, I'll check the numbers and we'll see who did the best," Christina said. The others nodded and used their abilities to take aim at the rings. Christina nodded, and a volley of tennis balls, water, fire and electricity rained down on the rings. Two changed colour right away and folded up, while other shots came extremely close and bounced off the ring instead of going in. the rings continued their journey around the path, and the girls noticed that some rings were coloured in places where attacks had bounced off. Christina blew on her whistle again and grinned at her friends, who had managed to stop all the rings, including number ten. Christina knelt down and pulled a pink spike from the track to examine it.

"Number 5. Not bad, Stephy," she smiled, handing the spike to Steph, who smiled. Christina continued pulling spikes off, until all of the rings were sorted. Phoenix had gotten rings 6 and 7, giving her a total of 13. Dee had gotten numbers 4 and 9, also giving her a total of 13. Steph was quite pleased that she had gotten three rings: 1, 5 and 8, giving her a total of 14. Bonnie also had three rings: 2, 3 and the infamous 10, giving her a grand total of 15 points.

"Wow, you got the ten, Bonnie! Awesome!" Dee gasped. Christina nodded her approval.

"I noticed how you got that ring, Bonnie. That was clever, using three streams of water instead of just one," she said. While Bonnie was high-fiving the other three girls, Christina studied Bonnie carefully. Artie noticed this, and changed back into his cat form to jump onto Christina's shoulder.

"What are you thinking, Christina?" Artemis whispered in his charge's ear.

"I think she might be the first one, Artemis," Christina whispered back.

"You think so?" Artemis asked. Christina nodded.

"She's certainly quite advanced for someone who's only just started training with the ring course. I mean, it took me weeks to be able to get number 7, and she got number 10 on her first try. She's good. Which is why I reckon she's close," Christina said. She glanced over at the wooden targets, noting that most of the cuts on Bonnie's were quite closely grouped, even if none of them were close to the bullseye. Christina nodded solemnly and smiled at her friends. Artemis jumped off her shoulder and transformed again, knowing how wild the next activity could get.

"Well, I guess that means you win, Bonnie," Christina said.

"Excellent! What's next?" Bonnie asked. Christina picked up the box of butterflies and the butterfly nets.

"Next we have some fun! We'll do some butterfly catching!" Christina grinned.

"How is this actually training us?" Phoenix asked.

"This is basically training reflexes and eyesight at the same time. These butterflies are specially designed to go extra-fast, and their wings make really pretty colours, but they can occasionally be hard to see. But that all adds to the fun!" Christina said, walking over to the staircase and pressing a hidden button on the orange wall. A large fly screen slid out of a hidden compartment and blocked the stairs off, preventing any butterfly escapes. Christina pressed another button, and small silver clamps emerged around the frame of the fly screen, holding it in place. Satisfied, Christina handed a butterfly net to each of the other Scouts.

"Now just remember, these little guys are fine in their box, but they can't hang on to the nets. So make sure you let your butterflies go once you've caught them," Christina said, before opening the box of butterflies, which flew out of the box faster than the girls could blink. Immediately, the room was filled with whoops of laughter and excitement as the girls began chasing butterflies. Christina smiled at them, then, after quickly packing up the track, joined in. Artie sat back down on the couch and watched Dee swiping furiously at a butterfly, which kept flying close to her net and then darting away.

"I think Christina might be right, Luna. Bonnie is definitely improving," Artie said, noticing that Bonnie was sneaking up on a butterfly that was fluttering on the blue wall.

"Hey, I got one!" Steph cheered.

"Do you think she'll awaken first, do you?" Lucy asked.

"Oh, darn! I almost got it!" Phoenix said.

"Christina thinks so," Artie said.

"Got one! ...Oh, wait, that's just a cobweb..." Dee said, picking the shreds off of her net.

"And what about you?" Lucy pressed.

"Look over there guys, near the ice cream mike! There's a whole bunch of them!" Christina called.

"I'm inclined to agree with Christina. It does seem likely," Artie said, waving away a butterfly.

"Yeah! I just got two in one go!" Bonnie cheered.

"We'd better keep an eye on her especially, then," Lucy said solemnly.

"Hey! There's one!" Steph yelled from behind the couch. Lucy jumped as a net suddenly came down over her head. Lucy gently blew the target butterfly out of her face and turned to find Steph

biting her lip, red-faced.

"Whoops, sorry, Luna," Steph said, lifting the net away. Lucy shook her head and giggled.

"Just make sure not to capture any of your allies when you're in a battle," she said. Artie pulled out a silver whistle and blew it, and all the butterflies flew back into their glass box. Christina clipped the box shut and put it back in her bag.

"OK, guys, that's enough for today. That was fun, wasn't it," Christina said, taking back the nets.

"Yeah!" the others chorused.

"Well, we'll be sure to put it in future Training sessions, won't we, Artemis," Christina said, looking at Artie, who nodded. Just then, the computer beeped loudly, startling everyone. Lucy frowned and turned the computer on to find a map on the screen with a pulsing black spot on it.

"What's this, Luna?" Steph asked.

"I created this to help predict where the Negaverse will attack next. Unfortunately, it's not very helpful, because it only indicates where the next attack will be, not when," Lucy said.

"Hey, that's over at Aquazone!" Dee said, looking at the map.

"Oh, no! One of my friends was going to take a bunch of his friends there since it's supposed to be really hot all this week!" Bonnie said, her eyes widening.

"Ooh, what's this, Bonnie? Is this 'He' someone special?" Christina asked, her eyes twinkling. Bonnie blinked at her for a second, then went purple.

"Oh shush. No, he's just a good friend of mine, hardly any different from you guys," Bonnie said.

"Besides, Chrissy, you've got male friends too, remember? You're not the only one who's allowed to be friends with boys," Steph said. Christina rolled her eyes.

"Anyway, Bonnie, I think you should try and be a part of that group of friends that goes down to Aquazone. That way you can keep an eye out for youma and have fun at the same time," Christina said, pressing the buttons to retract the fly screen.

"You could probably practice your civilian powers too, as long as you do it discreetly. Things could get crazy if people, or worse, the Negaverse found out about any one of us," Artemis said. Luna nodded in agreement.

"Got it. No revealing identities," Bonnie said, pulling out her phone.

"Let's hope he agrees to let her go," Dee whispered as Bonnie dialled her friend's number.

"Hello? Ethan, it's me, Bonnie. Listen, I was wondering whether I could join you and your friends when you go to the pool this week. ...Oh, really? Awesome! ...Yeah, OK. See you soon, then! Bye!"

"Sounds like you're going, then," Christina said as Bonnie tucked her phone back into her bag.

"Yup. It turns out he was planning on inviting me anyway, so that worked out well. I'd better go get my stuff ready if I'm going to the pool. I'll call you if there's any trouble," Bonnie said, before grabbing her bag and running up the stairs.

"Let's hope things don't get too hectic at Aquazone. It'd be nice for us to have at least one day when we're not chasing Youma," Steph said.

"Yes, that would be nice, but the way things are going lately, that's unlikely to happen," Artie sighed.

"You're so right, Artemis," Lucy said sadly.

"Hi, Ethan! Sorry to keep you waiting," Bonnie said, walking up the steps to greet a tall boy with brown hair. His brown eyes twinkled as he spotted Bonnie.

"Hey, Bonnie! Glad you could make it!" he said, his friends whispering with their girlfriends about the pair.

"No problem," Bonnie said, putting her hand in her pocket to make sure that she had her transformation pen and phone. Smiling, she followed Ethan and the others into Aquazone. The group split up and went to the change rooms, and Bonnie soon emerged wearing aquamarine-blue bathers with silver flowers down one side. She placed her bag down on a chair near the outdoor, olympic-sized swimming pool and pulled out a hair tie, which she then used to put her hair up into a small bun. She then took out her Transformation Pen, which she tucked into her hair. I hope I don't have to use this today, Bonnie thought as she went and sat down on the edge of the pool, before focusing lightly and making small waves in the water. This is nice, Bonnie thought, smiling.

Don't forget why you're here, Bonnie, a voice in her head whispered. Bonnie sighed as her reason for coming to the pool came back with a jolt. She stared down at her reflection in the water, wondering when the Youma attacks would ever stop. Suddenly, there was a yell of "Cannonball!" behind her, and then Bonnie found herself drenched as one of Ethan's friends jumped into the pool, sending water everywhere. Bonnie shook her wet hair from her eyes and looked around to find that Ethan and the rest of the group were ready. They all jumped into the pool, and almost immediately, one of Ethan's friends swam up to Bonnie underwater and grabbed her leg, startling her. Instinctively, she used her civilian powers to send the boy to the other end of the pool, where he surfaced, astonished.

"Whoa, what was that?" the boy asked, swimming back towards them.

"I don't know, it was strange," Bonnie said, her anger at the boy dying down as it was replaced by a tinge of worry at having used her powers so strongly. She glanced around, hoping that no-one had noticed that it was her who made the boy move to the other end of the pool. Instead, she spotted someone hiding behind a tree on the nearby hill. As Bonnie watched, the figure placed a piece of what looked like crystal among the roots of the tree, which then mutated into a Youma. As luck would have it, Bonnie was still close to the edge of the pool where her clothes were, so she scrambled out of the pool, grabbed her phone and then ducked around a corner. She flipped open her phone and pressed a few buttons, then pressed the phone to her ear.

"Guys, Luna was right, there's a youma here, come quick!" Bonnie said frantically.

"We're on our way," her four friends' voices chorused in her ear. Bonnie flipped her phone shut and ran back to Ethan, who was standing in the middle of the pool watching the tree-youma as it punched a hole in a shade sail. Bonnie threw her phone onto the pile of her things, then ran back over to the pool and jumped in.

"Ethan, come on, we need to get out of here!" Bonnie called, swimming back over to him.

"That person's watching me," Ethan said to her, his eyes fixed on the person who was now hiding behind another tree. Bonnie frowned at the person, then turned back to Ethan.

"Ethan, please, we need to-"

"I'm not leaving."

"What?" Bonnie gasped.

"I'm going to find out what this person is up to," Ethan replied.

"But, Ethan-"

"Just hide, Bonnie." Bonnie stared at him for a moment, then nodded and swam to the other end of the pool. She checked to see that the mysterious figure was not paying attention to her, then, taking a deep breath, ducked underwater. Her bathers blended perfectly with the pool, making her practically invisible. She swam back to where Ethan was, making sure she stayed hidden underwater. Bonnie eyes widened as the figure approached the pool and she recognised it. Oh no, Zoisite! Bonnie thought watching the General get closer. What's she doing here? And more importantly, why is she so interested in Ethan?

"What do you want with me?" Ethan asked, his voice muffled by the water. Zoisite chuckled.

"My, you're a brave one. You want to know why I'm talking to you and not one of your little friends? You see, you have something that I want," Zoisite said. Ethan stared at her for a moment, before saying,

"I don't even know you. Why would I give you something of mine when I have no idea who you are?"

"Oh, but you see, who I am doesn't matter, at least not where you're concerned. And as for you giving me what I want, well, you don't have a choice. Zoi!" Zoisite yelled, holding out a black crystal, which released waves of dark energy. Bonnie stared in horror as Ethan screamed, the dark energy creating a hole in his chest and revealing a glowing blue crystal floating inside. The crystal floated out of the hole and towards Zoisite, who grinned.

"This is just too easy. There's not even any Scouts around to stop me," the General said, reaching for the Crystal. Suddenly, a wall of water sprang up between her hand and the Crystal, and she jumped back as it turned to ice. Bonnie stood up and glared at Zoisite.

"You sure about that?" she said, her voice as cold as the wall of ice that she had just created.

"And who might you be?" Zoisite asked, staring through the ice at Bonnie, who pulled her Pen out of her hair.

"You'll find out. Mercury Power!" Bonnie yelled. The water in the pool reacted with the pen's light, creating a dome of water around Bonnie, Ethan and the Blue Crystal. When the light faded, the dome sank slowly back into the pool, revealing Sailor Mercury standing on a pillar of ice in the middle of the pool, the Blue Crystal in her hand. Mercury examined the crystal, then tucked it into her pocket.

"How dare you attack my friends! You're going to pay! I'm Sailor Mercury, and in the name of Mercury, I shall crush you!" Mercury shouted.

"So you are here, Ice Girl. Well, that's no problem, I'll just defeat you as well as getting the Crystal," Zoisite said. Mercury lifted Ethan out of the water and laid him on the side of the pool, then turned to Zoisite. A stream of water emerged from the pool and flew into Mercury's hand, where it froze into a sword.

"The only one who's going to be defeated here is you!" Mercury shouted, charging towards Zoisite, the water freezing into stepping stones beneath her feet. Zoisite quickly conjured up a dark sword and block Mercury's attack, before the two engaged in a fierce swordfight. The two swords, one icy white, the other pitch black, flashed and sparked as they connected, again and again. Slowly but surely, Mercury felt herself sliding backwards, and put an extra burst of energy into her next blow, knocking the Dark Sword from Zoisite's grip. Panting, Mercury pointed her sword at the General's throat. Zoisite looked from the sword to Mercury and back again, then chuckled.

"Are you really going to kill me, Ice Girl? Because if you do, you'll still have to deal with Azul," Zoisite asked. Mercury glared angrily at the General.

"I don't know who you mean by Azul, but I do know that I'm not stooping to your level," Mercury said, before her sword instantaneously defrosted, wound itself around Zoisite and froze again, trapping her. Zoisite looked down and examined her bonds, then laughed.

"Do you really think that this could hold me?" she asked incredulously. With one swift movement, Zoisite conjured another Dark Sword, sliced through her bonds and pointed the blade at Mercury's throat.

"I guess the roles are reversed, hmm? So what are you going to do now, Ice Girl?" Zoisite taunted. Mercury glared at Zoisite, her eyes flashing with hatred.

"You can do it, Sailor Mercury! Ice that creep!" a voice called. Mercury glanced over her shoulder to see Ethan's friends gathered, watching them. Ethan and all his friends are counting on me, Mercury thought. I have to protect them! Zoisite gasped and stepped back as Mercury began to glow with a brilliant blue light. Just then, Luna, Artemis and the other four scouts rushed through the door and skidded to a stop.

"What's going on?" Sailor Moon gasped.

"She's awoken her Scout Powers," Sailor Venus said happily. Mercury stared at her glowing hand for a moment, before her head snapped back up to look at Zoisite, who was watching her apprehensively. Mercury raised her glowing arms above her head, and the water in the pool behind her rose with them. A satisfied smile crept across her face as she looked at Zoisite.

"You're in trouble now," Mercury whispered, before the water flew over her head and enveloped Zoisite, trapping her in a sphere of water. Zoisite's eyes bulged as she realised what was happening, and she began clutching her throat and trying to get out. Before she could do so, however, Mercury stared at the sphere and the surface froze with a snap, leaving Zoisite twisting and flailing in the unfrozen centre. The General glared out at the glowing Scout for a moment, before vanishing, leaving black rose petals floating in the centre. Cheers erupted from behind her, and Mercury glanced back at the group, smiling when she found her friends standing there with them. She defrosted the water and put it back in the pool, noticing how the black rose petals evaporated when exposed to the air. Mercury sighed and walked over to the others, the blue light fading.

"That was awesome!"

"Yay! Mercury's our hero!"

"Great job, Mercs," Sailor Venus said, walking towards her friend.

"Thanks. Oh, I almost forgot, she was after this," Mercury said, taking out the Blue Crystal.

"Can I have a look at that, Mercury?" Artemis asked. Mercury passed it to him, and he held it up to the light.

"This is wonderful! We're one step closer to the Imperium Silver Crystal!" he said.

"Really?" the others chorused. Artemis nodded.

"Thank you for finding that Crystal, Scouts. Now give it to me," a familiar voice said. The Scouts turned to find Tuxedo Mask standing on the roof of the Aquazone building.

"We need the Imperium Silver Crystal, why on Venus would we give part of it to you?" Sailor Venus said.

"I need it too," Tuxedo Mask said simply.

"Keep dreaming, Tuxie, we're not giving it to you," Sailor Venus said. Tuxedo Mask sighed.

"I suppose you can have it for now. But I will get it back, you can be sure of that," Tuxedo Mask said, before he turned and left.

"Well, Tuxedo Mask aside, that was some very nice work against Zoisite, Mercury. I don't know how you got this, but that doesn't really matter now," Artemis said.

"It was inside of Ethan's body," Mercury said confusedly. Then she gasped. "Oh my gosh, Ethan!" she said, looking over to where she had laid her friend. The scouts rushed over to find Ethan breathing heavily and shivering.

"Ethan, are you alright?" Mercury asked. Artemis looked at the Crystal, then at Ethan. Then he gasped.

"Get back, all of you!" Artemis ordered. The others looked at him, confused. "I said, get back!" Artemis shouted. The others backed away from Ethan, who was shivering worse than ever.

"What's wrong, Artemis?" Mars asked.

"He's turning into a Youma," Artemis said gravely.

"What?!?" everyone else chorused.

"How is that even possible?!?" Mercury gasped.

"I'll explain later. For now, we need to heal him. Luna, I'll need your help for this," Artemis said. Luna nodded. The two cats stood side by side and did simultaneous backflips, creating a pink wand with a gold Crescent Moon on the top.

"Sailor Moon, this is for you. You have a special kind of power that no other Scout has, and that power can heal people. You need to take this Crescent Moon Wand and heal Ethan with it," Artemis said. Sailor Moon blinked, then picked up the Wand. A second later, Ethan was enveloped in a ray of dark energy. When the ray of energy faded, Ethan had transformed into a large, electric-blue dragon with black eyes.

"Ethan..." Mercury whispered.

"Who is that?!?" Jupiter gasped.

"I'm guessing that Ethan has turned into Azul. Zoisite was talking about how if I defeated her, I'd still have Azul to deal with. I think she knew what would happen if she took the Blue Crystal," Mercury said.

"So I need to heal him to make him normal again, right?" Sailor Moon said.

"Exactly," Artemis said.

"Look out!" Sailor Venus yelled, pushing Mercury out of the way of a large jet of blue flame that had come roaring at them. Everyone turned to find Azul staring at them.

"Quick, Sailor Moon, heal him!" Mercury said. Sailor Moon nodded.

"Moon Healing... Whoa!" Sailor Moon yelped, only just managing to dodge another jet of blue flames that Azul sent at her.

"Let's distract him, guys, that way Sailor Moon can get a clear shot at him!" Mars shouted. The others nodded and began hitting Azul with foam mats and toys.

"Thanks guys! Moon Healing Activation!" Sailor Moon shouted. Silver glitter and mist flowed out of the Crescent Moon Wand and enveloped Azul, who howled in pain. As the mist faded, everyone saw that Azul's eyes had changed from black to brown. As they watched, Azul was surrounded by blue sparkles, which changed him back into Ethan.

"Ethan! Are you alright?" Mercury asked.

"Um, Mercury, he won't know who you are," Sailor Venus pointed out.

"Oh, right. Um, I'm going to go find his friend Bonnie, OK guys?" Mercury said. The other scouts smiled and nodded. Mercury ran inside and into the change rooms, where she locked herself in and detransformed. Bonnie quickly checked herself in a mirror, then ran back outside, where she saw Ethan was waking up.

"Oh my gosh, Ethan, are you OK?" she asked, running over.

"Yeah, I think so," Ethan said. He looked around at the four scouts standing behind Bonnie. "What happened?"

"You got attacked and turned into a Youma, Ethan. It's a good thing Mercury was here, otherwise that creep Zoisite would have got away," Sailor Venus said.

"Where'd Mercury go? I want to thank her," Ethan said.

"She had to go, she had stuff to do. But don't worry, I'm sure you'll see her around," Sailor Moon said. Ethan nodded.

"Hey, where's that other Youma? The one Mercury called us here about?" Mars asked. Everyone looked around, then Bonnie laughed.

"Look over there, guys," she said, pointing at the hill. Everyone looked where she was pointing, and saw Zoisite's Dark Sword laying on top of a large pile of Youma Dust.

"Well that was a good shot, wasn't it," Bonnie smiled.

"Yes, thank goodness. That's one less thing we have to take care of," Artemis said.

"Well, it's been a busy day for everyone. I suggest we go home and get some rest," Luna said.

"Good idea, I'm hungry," Sailor Moon said.

"You're always hungry!" The other four scouts chorused, then burst out laughing. Sailor Moon tried and failed to look upset, instead bursting into laughter with the others.