In the Dark Kingdom, Zoisite and Kunzite stood before Queen Beryl once more, discussing their next plan of attack and obtaining the next Rainbow Crystal.
"There are a total of seven Rainbow Crystals, and we will not be able to obtain the Silver Crystal unless we gather all seven of them," said Queen Beryl grimly. "As I'm sure you're both well aware."
"Yes, my queen," acknowledged Kunzite and Zoisite.
"As it stands right now, we only have one in our possession," went on Beryl, now looking at Zoisite a bit crossly. "We would have been able to have two, but you allowed Tuxedo Mask to get away with one, Zoisite."
"Please accept my deepest apologies, Queen Beryl," apologized Zoisite.
"There's no cause to be worried," soothed Kunzite. "I'm sure that it won't happen again as he goes after the other Rainbow Crystals. The next time he appears to help the Guardians, we will destroy him and reclaim the Rainbow Crystal he possesses."
"That better happen soon," said the evil queen clenching her hand into a fist. "And don't forget, I want the other five Rainbow Crystals as well. We need all seven of them to revive our Great Ruler."
"Speaking of which, I've noticed that one particular guardian seems to have a grudge against you, Zoisite," said Kunzite. "Solaris, I think his name was. Do you have any particular reason why?"
"Who knows?" shrugged Zoisite. "I'm not sure why myself."
"It doesn't matter what grudge he has," snapped Queen Beryl. "Don't let anyone stand in your way. Not Tuxedo Mask nor the Guardians!"
It was another day in the town of Juuban. Ami was walking on her way to school, burying her face in a book, studying. As she walked past a building site, a young boy came up behind her, about Ami's age, with short brown hair and brown eyes to match. He was one of Ami's classmates known as Ryo Urawa.
"Miss Mizuno!" the boy called. "Please wait!"
Ami then stopped reading and walking and turned her attention towards Ryo. "Oh, good morning Ryo," she greeted with a smile.
"Um... yeah. Good morning to you too," spoke Ryo, now being a bit shy. "Umm... well... you see..."
He seemed to be wanting to tell Ami something, but he couldn't find the right words for it. Ami smiled, waiting patiently for Ryo to say what he wanted. Then Ryo happened to look up to the building site where the builders were using a crane to lift a large iron girder. As soon as he saw it, he said nothing more.
"What is it, Ryo?" Ami asked. "Was there something you wanted to tell me?"
Then there was trouble. As the iron girder lifted, the rope in the winch couldn't hold it properly. It suddenly began to slip until it fell out of its loop completely.
"Oh no!" a worker cried. "Look out!"
Ami heard the warning. She turned back in time to see the iron girder falling straight towards her. The iron girder fell right on top of a worker's car, demolishing it with a mighty crash. Then it fell right onto the ground with a boom just in front of Ami. Ami stood there, frozen in shock, her heart beating like a jackhammer. She could not believe that had almost just happened to her. If she were standing a few steps further, she would have died being crushed by the girder.
Two of the workers then rushed up to her.
"Hey, are you alright?!"
"You're not hurt, are you?!"
"No. I'm fine," said Ami. "But that was a close one."
Ami then remembered Ryo making her recover from her shock. She turned around, wanting to be sure that her friend was alright, but Ryo had mysteriously disappeared.
At Juuban Middle, everyone was checking out their recent midterm test results. Some of the students were happy with their results, while others were unhappy due to doing poorly. One certain blonde, in particular, was not exactly satisfied with where she stood on the rankings was she, her brother, and Makoto were checking out their scores.
"Aww, man... I got two hundred and third place," Usagi moaned miserably. "Mom's gonna be mad at me again."
"Well, she should be," chuckled Makoto. "That's one awful score you got there. You should study more."
"Talk about the pot calling the kettle black, Makoto," said Usagi cheekily. "You didn't do that well yourself, you know."
Two ranks ahead of Usagi's score on the board, Makoto was in two hundred and first place. The sight alone made Makoto's face pale a little.
"Well, maybe if you two had studied, both your scores wouldn't be so low," spoke Harusuke. "I mean, you had plenty of time to study."
"Oh yeah? Where's your score then, Harusuke?" asked Makoto huffily.
Harusuke then pointed to the other end of the results. Usagi and Makoto looked through the scores trying to find Harusuke's name. Then their eyes widened in shock. On the board in twentieth place on the results was Harusuke's name. The two girls then looked at each other and let out depressed sighs.
"This blows," they moaned.
Harusuke could only shake his head and shrug. Then the three heard the other students talking about the results.
"I wonder who this Ryo Urawa is?" wondered a boy. "He got a perfect score!"
"You're kidding!" said another. "That guy must be some kind of super-genius!"
Feeling curious, Usagi, Makoto, and Harusuke took a look at the end of the results, which showed the top score. Sure enough, Ryo Urawa's name was up there, but that wasn't the only name they saw. Just below his name in second place, much to their surprise, was none other than Ami.
"No way! Ami came in second?!" exclaimed Usagi.
"I know," said Harusuke. "Usually, it's Ami that's always got the top score."
"I guess there's always someone better," commented Makoto.
Just then, Ami came walking by, catching the three's attention. The three then came up to her.
"Hey Ami!" said Usagi. "What a bummer, huh?"
"Yeah. I thought that you'd get a perfect score like always," said Harusuke.
"Yeah, I know. I was one point short of a perfect score," said Ami. "I guess I didn't study enough. Next time, I'll study even harder."
"That's the only thing you can do," said Harusuke. "Don't worry. You'll get it next time. I'm sure going to be studying hard too."
"Wow... those two are way above me," Usagi thought to herself.
"By the way, Ami, that Ryo Urawa guy who got the perfect score. Isn't he in the same class as you?" asked Makoto.
"That's right," said Ami, now seeming excited. "What's even more amazing is that he just transferred here too."
"You're kidding," said Harusuke with amazement. "He's a transfer student, and he's a genius to boot? Just when you think we have enough transfer student geniuses around here."
Then, the very boy in question happened to be walking by.
"Oh! Hi Ryo!" said Ami cheerfully.
Ryo jumped a little, and his cheeks blushed bright pink upon hearing and seeing Ami. "Oh! Um - hi, Miss Mizuno," he said shyly.
He then ran off down the hallway until he was out of sight. Usagi and Harusuke watched him leave, feeling confused by Ryo's behavior. Then Usagi gasped and then mischievously smiled as she understood.
"I see what's going on here," she said.
"Usagi... what are you plotting?" asked Harusuke suspiciously. "I know that look. You're thinking of something regarding Ryo's behavior, aren't you?"
Usagi then looked at her brother, still smirking. "If you know, then come with me!" she called.
Before Harusuke could answer, Usagi grabbed him by the shoulder and then ran towards Ryo's direction dragging her brother with her.
A little bit later, Ryo stood by himself on top of the school, lost in his thoughts. He was reading a particular newspaper clip that he kept with him. It had a picture of Ami on it, proudly smiling as he held up a degree with a headline that read: SUMMER MOCK EXAMINATION RESULTS AMI MIZUNO (JUUBAN DISTRICT) NUMBER ONE IN THE NATION.
Ryo sighed as he looked up towards the sky, recalling a memory of him and Ami on a particular day.
It was in the middle of class during the midterm exams. Ryo was sitting next to Ami, trying to do his best to finish the exam, but he was feeling very nervous and even a little frustrated. Then he saw a particular answer he had written was wrong. He furiously tried to erase it with his eraser, but in his haste, made the eraser slip from his hands. The eraser bounced across the desk until it bounced against Ami's hand and came to a stop.
Ami then noticed then erased and handed it to Ryo. "Here you go," she whispered. "You should try to relax a little more and not get so upset."
Ryo's cheeks flushed a bright shade of pink as he took back the eraser. "Th-thank you," he stammered shyly.
Ami smiled kindly. "Anytime," she said. "Good luck."
Since then, Ryo had developed a bit of a crush on Ami for her kindness and high intelligence. He desperately wanted to tell her how he felt, but he didn't know how to approach her.
"Oh, Mizuno," he sighed wistfully.
"Just as I suspected!" cried a voice beside him with glee. "You do have a crush on Ami!"
Ryo jumped, almost dropping his newspaper clip as Usagi and Harusuke had suddenly appeared next to him.
"M-miss and Mister Tsukino!" he stammered.
Harusuke then took a look at the newspaper clip. "Hey, that's the article about Ami back when she took first place in the nation," he said. "That came out quite some time ago."
"And by the looks of it, he's had it for quite some time," smirked Usagi in a teasing tone. "You've had a crush on Ami forever, haven't you, Ryo~?"
"Well... it's not like that at all," denied Ryo. "All I'm trying to do is to study as hard as I can so that eventually, I can be as smart as she is."
"And here you are surpassing Ami with all that hard studying," Usagi continued teasingly, nudging his shoulder. "Way to go."
"That's not true at all!" protested Ryo. "This time, I just happened to get lucky, that's all. I don't even come close to her level of Miss Mizuno's intelligence. And what's more, how I might feel about her won't make a bit of difference."
He looked towards the school grounds below and saw Ami playing with Makoto and the other girls with a ball, looking sad.
"You shouldn't sell yourself short, Ryo," said Harusuke. "I mean... it doesn't matter if you got a perfect score by luck. You still managed to beat Ami by one point. That counts for something. Besides, you never know. Ami just might feel some things about you."
"Do you think so?" asked Ryo sounding hopeful a bit. "I don't know..."
There was a brief pause. Then Usagi spoke, pounding her fist to her chest.
"Have no fear!" she spoke confidently. "I'm an expert when it comes to solving love problems!"
"Since when?" asked Harusuke skeptically. "You've never even had a boyfriend before."
Usagi glared at Harusuke before she refocused her attention on Ryo. "Just leave everything to me!" she said.
She then ran off about, heading towards the exit of the building. Harusuke then ran after her.
"Hold on, Usagi!" he said. "Where do you think you're going?"
Then Ryo called out.
"Hold on, Miss Tsukino!" he said. "There's something I should warn you about!"
Usagi and Harusuke then stopped and looked back towards Ryo.
"What is it?" asked Harusuke.
"You should be careful whenever you're near any water," spoke Ryo.
Usagi and Harusuke were puzzled.
"Water? What do you mean by that?" wondered Usagi.
Her answer came sooner than expected. Above then, on the exit door, was a janitor just finishing up his work. He then threw his bucket, spilling out all the contents inside. Water went all over Usagi, making her soaked from head to toe. Harusuke was surprised while Ryo face-palmed himself.
"Oh, man. I should have mentioned it sooner," Ryo said.
Usagi then burst into tears. "I'm soaking cold!" she wailed.
Harusuke then looked at Ryo. "How the heck did you know that?!" he asked. "It's like you knew this would happen."
"Oh... um... it was just a fluke," spoke Ryo.
Harusuke rose a brow in suspicion as Usagi continued to cry with the janitor apologizing.
Meanwhile, Rei and Mamoru were going on another date together, walking down the street in town with Rei hugged Mamoru's arm lovingly.
"So where should we go to next, Mamoru?" asked Rei sweetly. "I'll leave it up to you."
But Mamoru didn't hear her. He was still thinking about remembering his past and the Silver Crystal.
"I'm starting to learn about my past, little by little," he thought. "But there are still so many things that I don't know. Guess the only way to put it all together is to transform into Tuxedo Mask and find the Legendary Silver Crystal."
"Hey, Mamoru! I'm waiting!"
Rei's impatient voice then snapped Mamoru out of his thoughts, causing the boy to stop walking.
"Oh. Sorry, Rei. Did you say something?" he asked.
Rei was now a bit worried. "Are you OK, Mamoru?" she asked. "You've been acting very strange lately. Has something happened?"
"No, it's nothing," reassured Mamoru. "Just the same stuff as always. Let's just get going."
"Alright then," smiled Rei, now feeling better as she and Mamoru continued with their date.
Not too far away at a cafe, Harusuke, Usagi, and Ryo, along with Luna, were at a table having some drinks as Ryo's way to apologize for what happened to Usagi. As they enjoyed their drinks, Usagi handed Ryo a small pink envelope.
"Here you go," she said. "This is for you. Go ahead and open it."
Ryo did so. Inside it was a picture of Ami looking surprised as she was about to eat a burger of sorts. Harusuke and Ryo were surprised upon seeing this photo.
"Usagi, where the heck did you get this photo?" Harusuke asked. "I don't think I've ever seen this one before."
"Let's just say that I have my sources," said Usagi. "A master of love never reveals her secrets."
"And just exactly who is the master of love?" thought Harusuke to himself.
Ryo then smiled, admiring the picture. "Can I honestly keep this?" he asked Usagi. "I mean, is it OK?"
"Of course it is," smiled Usagi. "It's a lot better than a newspaper clipping. I especially like how silly she looks."
Unknown to the kids at the time, a beeping noise came from Usagi's bag. The only one who took notice of the sound was Luna. She peered into Usagi's and saw that the beeping sound was coming from the Moon Stick.
"The Moon Stick is reacting!" Luna thought to herself as she looked up at Ryo. "I wonder... could this boy be...?"
"In any case, I love it," said Ryo. "Thanks for giving it to me, Miss Tsukino. I'll treasure it."
"Oh, there's no need to thank me," smiled Usagi. "But... I'm quite curious about something. When are you going to tell Ami how you feel about her?"
"I decided from the moment I found out I was transferring to the same school as Ami," Ryo said with a hint of determination. "That's when I decided that I would tell her how I felt when I measured up to her academically."
"Well then, that means you're good to go at any time," said Harusuke. "I mean, you already have the academics part covered considering that you beat her by one point on the midterms."
"Well... I suppose that's true..." faltered Ryo.
Usagi then suddenly stood up. "In that case, here's the deal," she said excitedly. "Once Ami's finished with her cram school today, we'll get her and bring her to you!"
"Hey. What's with this "we" stuff?" complained Harusuke. "I never wanted any part of this scheme you cooked up."
"Oh, come on, Harusuke. You're my brother. You're supposed to help in times like these," said Usagi brightly. "It's your obligation." She then turned back to Ryo. "Just wait here for us, OK?"
Then Usagi raced off, going straight out the door with Harusuke and Luna following close behind her.
"Usagi! Wait up!" Harusuke yelled. "Will you listen to me for two seconds?!"
Ryo watched as the Tsukino siblings left the cafe. He then looked back at the picture of Ami. The boy was happy that he had a couple of friends willing to help him with his crush, but he was still worried that it wasn't about telling Ami how he felt about her.
"Mizuno..." he murmured to himself. "What should I do? I'm not ready. Not yet..."
Unbeknownst to Ryo, someone was watching him at the cafe in from the Dark Kingdom. That someone was Zoisite.
"How amusing," he chuckled darkly. "This boy's so innocent and naive that it's almost hard to believe that he's another one of the Rainbow Crystal holders and one of the Seven Great Monsters." He then clenched the crystal that was showing him Ryo and grew determined. "I will not fail you this time, Queen Beryl," he thought to himself. "I will get that Rainbow Crystal and the one that Tuxedo Mask stole!"
Usagi, Harusuke, and Luna were outside the OK Cram School, waiting for Ami to come out of class. Luna was still worried about the Moon Stick reacting to Ryo. Harusuke couldn't help but notice.
"Is something the matter Luna?" he asked. "You look a little worried."
"Well... actually, there is," said Luna. "There's something that I've been meaning to tell you two, but I wanted to be sure before I said anything."
"What is it?" wondered Usagi.
But before Luna could answer, the door to the OK Cram School opened, and the students came walking out with Ami among them. Usagi immediately forgot about Luna.
"Hey there, Ami!" Usagi greeted.
"Oh, hi, Usagi. Hi, Harusuke. Ami greeted back. "What brings you two here?"
"Well... me and Harusuke wanted to bring you to this awesome place we just found," explained Usagi. "So we wanted you to come with us for a bit."
"Just FYI, this is all her idea," said Harusuke flatly. "I have absolutely nothing to do with what she's planned."
"What do you mean?" puzzled Ami.
"Just come on!" said Usagi eagerly. "You'll see when you get there."
And before Ami could say anything more, Usagi grabbed her by the arm and dragged her away, with Harusuke following close behind and Luna still looking very worried.
Ryo was walking home to his house, the Juuban District Corporate House. As he walked, he began to feel a sense of dread as if he was expecting something. Sure enough, he heard the sound of laughter coming from above him, causing him to stop and snap his head towards the source of the laughter. There above him was Zoisite sitting above the sign.
"Welcome home, Ryo," he purred darkly. "I've been dying to meet you."
"So you must be Zoisite," Ryo said. "You have to be."
Zoisite's smile vanished upon hearing his name come out of Ryo's mouth. He immediately jumped down from the sign and stood in front of Ryo, glaring dangerously at him.
"Explain yourself!" he scowled. "How do you know my name?"
"Ever since I was little, I've had the power to see into the future," explained Ryo. "Lately, this ability has been getting stronger, and because of that, I know now what my true identity is... even though I wish I didn't."
"Well, that makes my job a lot easier then," said Zoisite as he took out the Dark Crystal. "Now transform into your monster form and kneel before me."
"No! I won't!" yelled Ryo. "I would rather die than become a servant of a demon!"
Ryo then attacked, attempting to punch Zoisite, but the dark general simply raised his hand and unleashed a force of power, sending Ryo flying into the air and crashing on the ground flat on his back.
"Now then... be a good little boy and accept your fate," said Zoisite as the Dark Crystal began to glow in his hand, releasing its light.
As Ryo bathed by the crystal's glow, he began to feel pain throughout his body as he started to lose his sense of reason. He tried to get away and resist, but he could feel that he was losing himself.
At that time, Usagi's group was just coming around the corner with a still eager Usagi still dragging Ami by the arm and Harusuke and Luna following her. Ami immediately saw them.
"Look! That's Zoisite!" she cried.
Harusuke and Usagi looked, and they saw them too.
"Oh no! And it looks like he's attacking Ryo!" cried Usagi, no longer eager.
"Then let's go help him!" said Harusuke.
"All of you transform! Immediately!" spoke Luna urgently.
"MOON PRISM POWER MAKE UP!"
"SOLAR GUARDIAN POWER FLARE UP!"
"MERCURY POWER MAKE UP!"
Transformation Sequence: Usagi
Usagi's body shone with rainbow-colored light as she seemed to spin around. Then from her brooch, it flashed pink and pink ribbons shot out, wrapping her upper torso and midsection and became a white leotard with a red bow in the center and a collar that was blue with white stripes. Next, Usagi crosses her arms, and more pink ribbons wrap around them, turning into long white gloves. The pink ribbon then wraps around Usagi's legs and turns into a pair of red thigh-high boots. Then a blue skirt appears around Usagi's waist with a red bow in the back. Then a tiny gem starts glowing in the middle of Usagi's forehead, and a gold tiara with a red gem, a pair of dangling crescent moon earrings, a red choker with a moon on it appear along with red circular accents in her hair buns. Usagi then strikes her signature pose as the moon shines behind her in the background.
Transformation sequence: Harusuke.
Harusuke's bracelet begins to glow as Harusuke holds it into the air. Next, the symbol of the sun starts to shine on Harusuke's head as golden yellow and silver light envelop his body. First, the sun appears above him, shining its light upon him. Then, while Harusuke bathed in its light, a silver jumpsuit with gold lines on his hips materializes around his body. After that, the light shone on his legs, and long golden metal boots that went up to his knees appeared on his legs with silver hexagon knee pads. Next, the light shone on his arms, and then golden gauntlets appeared on his hands going up to wrists. Then a yellow symbol of the sun materializes in front of him, and it crashes into his chest, making a golden chest piece of armor appear with silver shoulder guards. Finally, a silver helmet covers his head, exposing his hair and making it stand up with a mouth guard covering his mouth and nose. Finally, Harusuke's eyes open, and he strikes his signature pose the symbol of the sun appears behind him.
Transformation Sequence: Ami
The symbol on Ami's pen begins to glow in a bright shade of blue as she holds up her transformation pen. It begins to spin around as it shines and envelopes Ami in blue light. Then, she sweeps it over her head while a stream of blue water shoots out, wrapping her body and forming her leotard, boots, and gloves. A sparkling ripple expands over her body, creating a slight mist of water that forms the rest of her uniform the same as Sailor Moon's but the center bow, boots, and rims on the gloves are blue and bright blue. Finally, she turns around and then strikes her signature pose.
Ryo struggled as he stood up, trying to get away from Zoisite, but Zoisite released a force of power on the ground, causing Ryo to fall back to the ground. At that moment, Sailor Moon, Sailor Mercury, and Solaris burst onto the scene.
"That's enough, Zoisite!" said Sailor Moon. "As long as the moon shines in the night sky, no evil deed will go unpunished! I am the Pretty Guardian who fights for love and justice, Sailor Moon!"
"And even though the night rolls on, the sun will always shine in the sky!" said Solaris. "I am Solaris the Sun Knight!"
"And I'm Sailor Mercury!" said the guardian of water. "Now, let that boy go!"
Zoisite immediately clenched his hand on the Dark Crystal, stopping its function. "How dare you three interfere?!" he hissed.
Sailor Moon and Solaris stood bravely between Ryo and Zoisite while Sailor Mercury went over to Ryo to see unharmed.
"Sailor Mercury! Take Ryo somewhere where he'll be safe!" said Sailor Moon.
"Leave Zoisite to us!" added Solaris.
"Right!" acknowledged Sailor Mercury.
She lifted Ryo to his feet with his arm over her shoulder and carried him to safety. Zoisite tried to go after them, but Sailor Moon and Solaris blocked his way.
"Where do you think you're going, Zoisite?" mocked Solaris. "Don't you wanna play with us?"
Zoisite clicked his tongue. "I don't have the time to be playing games with children," he scoffed.
He then flicked his hand up, and before Solaris and Sailor Moon could react, a blizzard of petals blasted them from underneath, blinding them. The petal soon died down, and they could see again, but Zoisite was nowhere around.
"Wait... Where'd he go?" wondered Sailor Moon as she looked around.
"I don't know, but we got to find him before he finds Mercury and Ryo," said Solaris. "Hopefully, those two hadn't gone far."
"Try finding them with the Moon Stick," said Luna. "If you use the Moon Stick, you two should be able to find Ryo and Mercury. It'll react to the location it reacts to."
"What are you talking about, Luna?!" cried Sailor Moon indignantly. "You make it sound like Ryo's a Rainbow Crystal Monster for that stick to work!"
"That's because he is one," Luna said simply.
Sailor Moon and Solaris looked at the black cat in shock.
"Luna, are you sure?" asked Solaris.
"Yes. I am. That's what I've been trying to tell you two before," the black cat said. "Now there's no time to waste! Sailor Mercury is going to be in danger!"
Sailor Moon and Solaris looked at each other and nodded. Then Sailor Moon took out her Moon Stick, and then she, along with Solaris and Luna, took off, beginning their search for Mercury and Ryo.
Ryo was holding his head in agony. He tried to resist becoming his monster form, but he couldn't hold it back anymore. He then transformed. He became large, his hands became scissors, his eyes were red, his skin was green, and he wore some kind of strange silver armor on his upper body and legs reminiscent of what a gladiator would wear.
He then saw a person who would become his first victim. That person was Sailor Mercury. Sailor Mercury's eyes widened in fear as the transformed Ryo leaped straight at her swiping her with his scissor hands. Mercury screamed in terror and agony as the monster ripped her to shreds.
Ryo's eyes slowly opened as he woke up with a start. It didn't take him long to realize that he had a vision of the future. As it came into view, he saw Sailor Mercury, who watched over him to see if he was alright. Ryo sat up, looking around. Sailor Mercury had taken Ryo to the park, which was far enough away from Zoisite's eyes where they could both be safe. Ryo was still feeling a bit unwell due to almost turning into a monster, but thankfully he was still OK.
"We should be safe for the time being," said Sailor Mercury. "How are you feeling, Ryo? It looks like you had a bad dream."
"I'm... I'm alright," said Ryo. "Although, I should say that wasn't a dream. It was a glimpse into the future. In any case, thank you very much for saving me, Miss Mizuno."
Sailor Mercury felt her heart jump. "He knows my real name?!" she thought. "How does he know I'm Sailor Mercury?!"
Ryo then smiled sadly. "It's alright. I know it's you, Miss Mizuno," he said. "It's because I have a mysterious ability to predict the future. It's how I was able to get a perfect score on the midterm exam. Besides, I've always looked up to you for a long time now, but I guess - it is my fate to fight you. I know it seems a bit crazy, but..."
Sailor Mercury was now sitting on the bench next to Ryo taking in his story. After listening to him, she couldn't help but giggle.
"What's so funny?" asked Ryo sounding a bit hurt. "You don't believe me at all, do you?"
"I don't," replied Sailor Mercury kindly. "But not because of your powers. You seem so sure about what will happen in the future, but maybe you've got it wrong. Like mistaking me for Miss Mizuno, for instance."
Ryo sighed. "I see... I'll leave at that," he conceded. "But... there is something I want you to do." He paused for a moment, then looked at Sailor Mercury with determined eyes. "If and when I turn into a monster... I want you to kill me without any hesitation! That's my unchangeable future."
Sailor Mercury was shocked at Ryo's request, and she could see that he was serious. She then stood up.
"You're wrong, Urawa!" she said with slight indignance. "The future is something you create for yourself! If you give in to negative thoughts like that, nothing will change! You can create any fate you want if you just believe yourself enough to know that you can do it."
Ryo looked up at Sailor Mercury, bewildered and hopeful by her words. "Do you think so?" he asked.
Sailor Mercury smiled. "Of course I do," she said.
Ryo then stood up, now feeling much better. "You're right," he said. "Thank you, Miss Miz- I mean Sailor Mercury."
"Oh my. What a touching moment," said a voice. "But it's pointless. Do you honestly think that you can escape from the power of the Dark Crystal?"
Ryo and Sailor Mercury jumped upon hearing that voice. Sure enough, on the surface of the lake, Zoisite suddenly appeared.
"Zoisite!" cried Sailor Mercury as she bravely stood in front of Ryo, protecting him.
"Aw. How cute. You're still defending the poor soul, eh Sailor Mercury?" cooed Zoisite mockingly. "It makes me wonder if you'll still be willing to do that when you see him is his true form."
He made the Dark Crystal float from his hand and once more activated it. The frequency and glow from it shot out and bent behind Sailor Mercury and once more shined on Ryo. Ryo cried in agony as he was once more felt his reasoning slipping again.
Zoisite cackled in triumph. "Now watch closely, Sailor Mercury, as you are about to see the emergence of Bumbo, one of the Seven Great Monsters!"
"No! Ryo!" cried Sailor Mercury as she rushed over to try and help.
But she was too late. Ryo was enveloped in red smoke as a yellow crystal shot out from it and into Zoisite's hand. At the same time, Ryo transformed into the monster that he foresaw, Bumbo. Bumbo roared and glared dangerously at Sailor Mercury, pointing his scissor hands at her.
"Get her Bumbo!" crowed Zoisite. "I want you to crush that Sailor Guardian!"
"Ryo... is that you in there?" Sailor Mercury spoke worriedly. "Please... calm yourself!"
Bumbo stopped staring at Sailor Mercury. He may have been a monster now, but Ryo's mind was still somewhat intact. The beast then remembered what Sailor Mercury said. Bumbo then charged forward, but instead of attacking Sailor Mercury, he went straight for Zoisite. Before the Dark General had a chance to react, Bumbo had tackled straight into him, forcing him to drop the Rainbow Crystal, making it fall into Sailor Mercury's hands.
Zoisite was shocked. "Impossible! He still has human emotions!" he exclaimed.
Then just before he and Bumbo hit the water, Zoisite teleported himself out of the way, making Bumbo hit the water with a mighty splash. He then activated the Dark Crystal's power once more in an attempt to control the monster.
"Bumbo! You will obey me!" commanded Zoisite. "Your enemy is that Sailor Guardian, Mercury! Get her! And take back that Rainbow Crystal too!"
Bumbo grew larger and growled at Sailor Mercury towering over her. Sailor Mercury immediately took off running as Bumbo stepped out of the lake. Just then, Sailor Moon, Solaris, and Luna came to her rescue, having just seen what happened. Solaris shot straight at Bumbo and gave him a mighty kick, causing him to stumble back a little but remain standing.
"You OK, Sailor Mercury?" asked Solaris.
"I'm fine, thank you," replied Sailor Mercury.
"Zoisite, you monster!" Sailor Moon spoke angrily. "What you did was unforgivable! How dare you corrupt an innocent boy's feelings for your purposes! You're nothing but a coward!"
Zoisite smirked. "You seem to have the wrong idea," he scoffed. "That boy's true form is the monster you see now."
Sailor Moon grew angrier. "Unforgivable!" she shouted. "Unforgivable! In the name of the moon, I'll punish you!"
"Hey! Sailor Moon!" called out Solaris. "I'm all for kicking Zoisite's butt, but there are more pressing matters to attend to!"
"He's right!" cried Sailor Mercury. "Please, use your Moon Stick to turn Ryo back to normal first!"
Sailor Moon looked and saw that Bumbo was closing in on her teammates. She immediately took out her Moon Stick and waved it, making it unleash a trail of sparkling dust.
"MOON HEALING ESCALATION!"
The sparkling dust enveloped Bumbo, making him groan in agony, but he didn't turn back. Bumbo was still Bumbo as he charged at the guardians, once again forcing the three to run.
"I don't get it!" cried Sailor Moon. "Why isn't he turning back?!"
"It's no good! Ryo's completely under the control of Zoisite's evil power!" said Luna. "To turn him back, you're gonna have to try to weaken him first!"
Bumbo then went on the attack unleashing large triangular metal shrapnels from his mouth. The shrapnel shot past the Sailor Guardians piercing into a tree nearby. The first two hit the trunk, but the third cut a large branch off, making it fall to the ground and in front of the Guardians' path.
"Oh, no! We're trapped!" cried Sailor Moon. "Now what?!"
"Guess we don't have a choice," said Solaris taking a stance. "We're going to have to fight this thing!
But Sailor Mercury was worried. She didn't want to hurt Ryo in any way possible, but she remembered what Ryo said to her about killing him without any hesitation. She then shook her head, shaking those thoughts out of her mind.
"Don't worry, Ryo," she thought. "We'll return you to normal! I promise!"
Bumbo then aimed his scissors and fired them at the scissors, turning them into projectiles.
"Incoming!" yelled Solaris.
Everyone immediately hit the dirt just as the first scissor projectile shot past them, cutting the tree behind them with ease while the second one pierced the ground. Bumbo then regenerated his scissor and fired them again. Then -.
"MARS FIRE SOUL!"
"JUPITER SUPREME THUNDER!"
A giant ball of fire shot forth, and a bolt of lightning zapped out, knocking the projectiles out of the way. Then Sailor Mars and Sailor Jupiter appeared.
"That was close," said Sailor Jupiter. "We almost missed out on the action."
"Yeah, that's for sure," agreed Sailor Mars. "Sorry, we're a little late."
"Better late than never," smiled Solaris. "We're just glad you're both here."
Then Sailor Mercury unleashed her attack unleashing the flurry of bubbles creating a fog that spread throughout the area.
"MERCURY BUBBLES SPRAY!"
Bumbo looked around, trying to see where his enemies were, but he couldn't see anything.
"Now Sailor Moon! Now Solaris!" Sailor Mercury cried. "Use your powers to save Ryo!"
"We're on it!" the two heroes said.
Sailor Moon then took off her tiara, turning it into a white disc while Solaris clapped his hands together and created a ball of light aiming with his fist.
"MOON TIARA ACTION!"
"SUNSHINE METEOR!"
Sailor Moon threw her disc while Solaris punched his ball, firing. The two attacks then merged, creating a golden disc. The golden disc shot into the fog and hit right in the middle of Bumbo's midsection. Bumbo roared in agony as he stumbled from the attack. As he was stunned, his body slowly shrunk into it wasn't as large as before.
"He's been weakened! Now's your chance, Sailor Moon!" yelled Luna.
Sailor Moon once more took out her Moon Stick and blasted Bumbo with its sparkling dust.
"MOON HEALING ESCALATION!"
"REFRESH!"
This time it worked. Bumbo writhed in agony until finally, he transformed back into Ryo as he fell to the ground unconscious. Sailor Mercury immediately rushed to Ryo to be sure he was alright.
"Ryo! Are you alright?!" she asked, gently lifting him.
Ryo slowly opened his eyes and smiled. "You saved me again, Sailor Mercury... thank you."
From above, Zoisite was now livid. Now the Guardians had their hands on a Rainbow Crystal, and he was sure that Queen Beryl would not be happy.
"I'll get you next time, you brat!" he hissed as he retreated to the Dark Kingdom.
Not too far away, there was someone else who was watching the guardians from the shadows. It was Tuxedo Mask.
"So the third Rainbow Crystal is in the hands of the Guardians," he thought to himself, smiling. "I shall leave them alone for tonight..."
And with a wave of his cape, he walked away, disappearing into the night.
The next day, Usagi, Ami, Makoto, and Harusuke met up with Ryo at the monorail station just as he was about to hop on the train.
"So you're transferring to another school again?" asked Makoto, somewhat disappointed. "Why can't you just stay here?"
"Well... it wasn't exactly my idea," said Ryo sheepishly. "My dad got a work transfer, so there's not much I can do."
"Aww, man," pouted Usagi. "It's not fair, and we were becoming such good friends too."
"Now, now, Usagi. As Ryo said, there's nothing he can do," soother Harusuke. "But still, it's not going to be the same without you, Ryo. We'll miss you, bud.
Ryo smiled. Then he looked at Ami. "Umm... Miss Mizuno..."
Ami smiled. "Ryo, just call me Ami, all right?"
Ryo then blushed as he dug into his chest pocket, taking out the picture of Ami that Usagi gave him.
"Ami... I - wanted to give this back to you," he said as he stepped into the car. "I'm gonna study hard, and when I'm able to outscore you on my own, I'll come back for it."
Ami then handed Ryo another photo. It was a picture of her which was a lot less goofy and a lot more photogenic.
"Keep that one," smiled Ami. "I think this one is a better one for you to remember me by."
Ryo smiled widely and nodded. Then just as the doors were about to close, he suddenly remembered.
"Hold on. Mr. Tsukino. There's something that I've wanted to tell you before I go," he said.
"What is it?" asked Harusuke. "And please. Call me Harusuke."
Then Ryo spoke low just enough for Harusuke to hear him. "Be careful when you're around those girls, excluding your sister," he whispered. "I have a feeling that they'll give you joy and at the same time bring some bad luck."
Harusuke then looked at Ryo curiously. "Wait... what do you mean by that?"
Ryo smiled. "You'll just have to wait and see," he said.
At that moment, the doors shut, and the train's horn blared as it began to move. Ami then ran along the train waving goodbye until she reached the end of the platform.
"Goodbye, Ryo," she thought to herself. "Don't get so hung up about grades. Come visit me anytime!"
And she waved until the train was out of sight.
