Inside the Dead Moon Circus Tent, the circus was abuzz with excitement. The Amazon Trio and Quartet were busy putting the final preparations for their acts. The opening show was only a few days away, and they wanted to ensure everything was perfect. The other Lemures watched and applauded as they practiced, pretending they were the audience.
Then, Zirconia's voice boomed throughout the tent.
"All right, everyone! Quiet! Quiet down!"
Everyone went silent as Zirconia appeared upon the jade elephant statue in a burst of smoke.
"Amazon Trio, step forward!" the old witch ordered.
The three did so, but they all couldn't help but be nervous. Considering Queen Nehelenia's appearance and previous words, they worried they would get another lecture from Zirconia or a worse kind of torture.
But surprisingly, Zirconia was neutral.
"Listen up, you three. As you're well aware, Queen Nehelenia made herself clear of having no more failures, yet you failed to find Pegasus for the umpteenth time," said Zirconia. "However, I'm feeling charitable today. I'm going to give you one more chance to redeem yourselves. First, take a look at your next target."
Zircon released its beam, making a picture appear in Zirconia's hand, and she threw it toward the Amazon Trio. Tiger's Eye caught, and he, Hawk's Eye, and Fish's Eye looked at it.
It was a picture of Usagi standing outside a crepe shop eating one.
Fish's Eye then gasped. "Wait, I know her! She's the girlfriend of that guy from before!"
"Hmm. She does look cute," said Tiger's Eye. "But why do I feel like she's one of those wolves in sheep's clothing types?"
"I agree," said Hawk's Eye. "But then again, she's way too childish-looking for my liking."
"Pay attention!" barked Zirconia. "Now, this won't be like your usual search. I want you to not only go after the target, but I want you to go after another target. And that target is Solaris."
The three Amazon males looked up in surprise.
"Hold on. You want us to go after Solaris?" inquired Hawk's Eye. "But why him, Madame? Do you believe that Pegasus could be in his dreams, too?"
"No, nothing like that," said Zirconia. "If you recall previously, there were a few times that Solaris took on a dark transformation with overwhelming power. Such power cannot go unchecked, so I want you to use that target to draw him out and then have him transform."
She held out her hand, and a strange object appeared in it. It was made of crystal, colored green, and had a blue nucleus at the center. She then teleported the object right into Tiger's Eye's hands.
"Once that happens, use this on him, and the rest will fall into place," she finished.
"Madame, with all due respect, not that I'm questioning you, but how exactly are we supposed to do all that?" wondered Hawk's Eye. "Solaris isn't the kind to let his guard down."
"Who cares?" scoffed Tiger's Eye. "I've been looking for a chance to get payback, and now's a good chance as any! I can take that self-absorbed little punk!"
"You can act confident all you want, but you know as well as I that you don't have the power to take on Solaris," stated Fish's Eye. "Or did you forget how often he and his band of bumpkins have beaten you?"
"I admire your enthusiasm Tiger's Eye, but Fish's Eye has a point," said Zirconia. "Which is why I'm assigning you with a special Lemures."
A light shone above the Amazon Trio, and the three watched as their shadows grew as a flickering black symbol of a spade flashed inside them.
"Remember, Queen Nehelenia's growing impatient," warned Zirconia. "I may be generous, but I can't say the same for her. Don't louse this up, understand?"
"Madame!" the Amazon Trio acknowledged as they went away.
It was a rainy day in the town of Juuban. Usagi was walking home, keeping herself dry with her umbrella.
"Oh, man. It's coming down today," she murmured. "As soon as I get home, I'll warm up with a hot bath."
But then, as she turned around the corner and headed down another street, she saw and recognized someone.
Fish's Eye sat on a bench under the same disguise as before, letting himself get drenched in the rain and looking sad.
Wondering what was wrong, Usagi approached and held her umbrella over him.
"Hey. Is something the matter?" the ordango blonde asked. "You're from the other day, aren't you?"
Fish's Eye looked up but didn't say a word.
Usagi then smiled kindly. "Come now. You won't be much of a love rival if you're looking like this," she said. "Why don't you come home with me? You can wait until the rain stops."
Fish's Eye then silently nodded, accepting Usagi's request.
A few moments later, Fish's Eye sat in Usagi's room, dried up and wearing a cute yellow onesie with pink trims while the ordango blonde dried her hair.
"So, you're not from around here, are you?" said Usagi. "Where are you from? What school do you go to?"
"Well, I'm from a country far from here," said Fish's Eye quietly. "As far as schools go, I'm from a private one called Black Moon High."
"Black Moon High?" repeated Usagi. "Never heard of that one."
"So, tell me. I'm told that you possess beautiful dreams," said Fish's Eye. "Mamo happened to mention that."
Usagi quickly scowled upon hearing that. "What?! You met Mamo again?! When?! Where?!"
"Just the other day," replied Fish's Eye. "But don't worry. He's clarified that he only has eyes for you, so I've decided to give up on him."
"Is that the reason why you were sitting in the rain?" Usagi asked. "That would explain it."
"You know, I envy you," Fish's Eye wistfully said as he stared at the ceiling. "You're so happy-go-lucky and worry-free. It's no wonder that Mamoru cares about you so much. Although, I can't help but wonder. What is your greatest dream?"
"Come on. You were going on about being my love rival, and you can't even tell?" Usagi said.
Then, she looked at a picture of herself and Mamoru at her desk. Fish's Eye saw it, too, and he understood.
"I see. Of course. That's your beautiful dream," he murmured. "Tell me. Is that how Mamo always smiles whenever he's with you?"
"First of all, don't call him "Mamo" so casually," huffed Usagi. "Secondly, let me make this clear! I would appreciate it if you stopped hitting on him!" She then smugly grinned. "Then again, he is the most handsome man in the world, so I'll give you points for that. You have way too good taste for your own good."
Then, Fish's Eye realized something. He had heard those words before, and he could well remember who he heard them from.
Super Sailor Moon.
The male then thought of something that made him so surprised he almost gasped.
"Hold on. Could this girl be... No. It can't be! It's impossible! It's just a coincidence!" he thought.
Then, there was a knock on the door, and Harusuke entered the room carrying a tray of tea and cookies.
"Hey, Sis. I figured you would want some tea," he said as he set the tray down. "Figured it'd help warm you up."
"Thanks a bunch, bro," smiled Usagi. "I am in the mood for a little snack."
Harusuke then took notice of Fish's Eye. "Oh, hello there," he greeted. "You're from the other day."
But Fish's Eye couldn't speak as he stared at him wide-eyed.
"Oh my gosh! He's a super hottie! Even more than that girl's boyfriend! He's like a god of beauty!"
"Um, excuse me. Is there something wrong?"
Harusuke's voice snapped Fish's Eye out of his daze, returning him to reality.
"Oh! Um, sorry about that! I got, uh, distracted!" he hastily apologized. "Nice to meet you."
"Likewise," Harusuke greeted back. "Anyway, I'm going to go take a nice bath. It's getting chilly, and I could use a good soak."
He then left the room. Not long after, Usagi and Fish's Eye head Ikuko call from downstairs.
"Usagi! Could you go on another errand for me?"
"OK!" Usagi called back. "Wait here for me, all right?" she told Fish's Eye. "When I get back, we can settle our Mamo issue!"
She then walked out, leaving Fish's Eye alone. No sooner than he knew this, he groaned, dropping his facade.
"Good grief! I thought I would never get a break from that girl!" he complained. "I mean, seriously! How long was she going to keep talking about that boyfriend of hers with that smug grin?! It gets me so mad! This is why I prefer men over women!"
"Sounds like someone's getting jealous," said a teasing voice.
Fish's Eye looked up toward Usagi's mirror and saw Tiger's Eye and Hawk's Eye in the reflection of it. He immediately stomped over to it and started complaining.
"Hey! Why on Earth do I have to do this anyway?! I've had just about all I can take with this girl!"
"Stop complaining! You know why!" barked Tiger's Eye. "It's all part of the plan to get close to her and search her for Pegasus when her guard's down! And take her hostage to lure out Solaris."
"But why can't either of you two do it?!" Fish's Eye snapped back. "You know I don't go for girls, especially a bumpkin like her!"
"Because you're the only one who that girl knows and have interacted with her thanks to going after her boyfriend before," pointed out Hawk's Eye. "It's the perfect opportunity, so you could stand to suck it up."
Fish's Eye groaned. "Well, if it's any consolation, she has a super cute brother, so I guess it's not so bad," he moaned. "I just don't know how long I can stay in this place without losing my mind in disgust."
"Just stop complaining and do your job!" Tiger's Eye chided. "Unless you want to get on Zirconia's bad side!"
"Yeah. You heard her. No more slip-ups, or else it's the end of the Amazon Trio," added Hawk's Eye. "This is one mission we can't afford to fail!"
"All right! All right! I heard you!" huffed Fish's Eye.
Tiger's Eye and Hawk's Eye disappeared from the mirror, and Fish's Eye was alone again. He still didn't like the idea of going after Usagi, but he also knew that his colleagues were right.
Then, he heard the sounds of footsteps prompting him to peer outside of the room. As he did, he saw Harusuke walking down the hall carrying a bucket with some and a towel, coming to the door leading to the bathroom, and going inside.
Immediately, a leering grin crept up Fish's Eye's cheeks as his eyes gleamed. He quickly looked to his left and right, checking if the coast was clear. Then, he snuck over to the door giggling mischievously.
"Naturally, that girl won't be back for a while, but that doesn't mean I can't help myself to a bit of eye candy."
He then opened the door a crack and peeked inside. Much to his delight, he could see Harusuke taking off his shirt, revealing his rock-hard abs, which made him giddy. But as he ogled at him, he saw something that made him stop and gasp.
As Harusuke continued to undress, Fish's Eye saw his golden bracelet. There was only one other person he knew who possessed a bracelet similar to it, and the mere thought shocked him.
"That bracelet! I've seen it before, and it's Solaris'! But wait, if that boy has his bracelet, that means... That boy is Solaris?!"
Fish's Eye's heart began to pound with adrenaline as he stood against the wall, processing what he learned.
Then, Chibiusa appeared.
"Oh, hello there," she greeted. "Is something wrong? You look a bit surprised."
Fish's Eye gave one look at the girl before flashing a malicious grin.
It wasn't long before Usagi returned from her errand. But when she got home, Ikuko approached her, looking very worried.
"Usagi, have you seen Chibiusa anywhere?" she asked. "I thought she was in the house but haven't seen her."
Usagi was puzzled but didn't think much. "I wouldn't worry, Mom," she said. "She probably went out to play with her friends or something."
The ordango blonde then went upstairs to her room to check on Fish's Eye. But when she went in, she found her room empty.
Harusuke then came in. "Something wrong, Usagi?" he wondered. "You look puzzled."
"Did you see someone leave my room, Harusuke?" Usagi asked.
Harusuke shook his head. "No. I just came out of the shower just now and was coming back to check myself," Harusuke replied. "And by the way, I was looking for Chibiusa. Do you know if she left the house or anything?"
Usagi didn't answer as an eerie feeling crept into her gut.
Meanwhile, Fish's Eye had left the house and met up with Hawk's Eye and Tiger's Eye in a secluded area from prying eyes. No sooner when he met them, he told his colleagues about what he had learned, and they couldn't help but be shocked.
"What?! You're saying that you discovered Solaris's human identity?!" exclaimed Hawk's Eye in surprise.
"Well, don't keep us in suspense! Tell us who it is!" urged Tiger's Eye.
Fish's Eye then told them, and when he did, Hawk's Eye and Tiger's Eye couldn't believe their ears.
"You must be joking!" Hawk's Eye gasped. "So Solaris is the older brother of the target?! What a small world!"
"I know. I would never have guessed it myself," said Fish's Eye. "Although, it does make some sense if you think about it. Solaris has got to be posing as that girl's older brother to protect her and her beautiful dreams. And if he's protecting her, she must be Pegasus's host."
"That's quite a juicy bit of information, and it couldn't have come at a better time," smirked Tiger's Eye. "I'd say we take advantage and finally get our hands on Pegasus, but also get some revenge as a bonus."
"I'm way ahead of you," grinned Fish's Eye.
He snapped his fingers, and at his command, his wormhole appeared, and a large chunk of ice came out with Chibisusa and Diana inside.
"I figured that this girl would make a good hostage, so I took the liberty of taking her with me," said Fish's Eye.
"Now that's cold of you," chuckled Tiger's Eye.
"All right. If we're all in agreement, let's go ahead with the plan," said Hawk's Eye. "All we have to do now is wait."
It was already dark, and Chibiusa still hadn't returned home.
Worried that something may have happened, Harusuke and Usagi called the other guardians and met at Juuban Park to help search for her.
"I'm starting to get worried," said Rei. "It's not like Chibiusa to stay out this late."
"I know," said Harusuke. "And she hasn't been responding to her communicator either."
"Does Chibiusa go to a specific place to play or something?" wondered Ami.
"Not any I can think of," said Usagi. "We've checked the arcade, her friends' places, and even her school."
"There's got to be some other place we haven't checked yet," said Makoto. "Let's split up and keep looking."
So the group split up into three teams. Minako, Artemis, and Ami on one, Makoto, Rei, and Diana on the second, and Usagi, Harusuke, and Luna on the third.
Usagi and her group headed to Juuban Park, close to the clock by the fountain.
"Oh, Chibiusa. Where are you?" Usagi spoke anxiously. "Please be OK."
"Don't worry, Usagi. We'll find her," said Luna. "Hopefully, she's not in some kind of danger."
They were about to start their search when Tiger's Eye mysteriously appeared behind them under a human disguise.
"Well, hello there," he greeted. "I hope I'm not interrupting you."
The group looked up as the blonde approached. But as he did, Tiger's Eye took one look at Usagi and sighed.
"I'm sorry. I know this isn't like me," he apologized. "But while you look young, you're not even remotely my type."
Usagi and the others cringed in puzzlement, wondering what was up. But at that moment, Tiger's Eye shed his disguise with a finger snap, and before anyone could react, he cracked his whip, bound Harusuke with it, and sent him flying. Luna let out a yowl as she pounced with outstretched claws, only to be swatted away with a backhand from Tiger's Eye. Tiger's Eye then started the count.
"One!"
The giant slab sprang up behind the ordango blonde pressing against her back.
"Two!"
Metal cuffs clamped around her wrists and ankles.
"Three!"
Usagi wailed as her Dream Mirror shot out from her body while she fell unconscious.
Harusuke quickly recovered, and when he saw Usagi, he was horrified as he shot to his feet. "No! Usagi!" He glared at Tiger's Eye. "You let her go right now!"
Tiger's Eye cackled. "Sorry, but she's staying right where she is, little boy," he said mockingly. "Or should I say, Solaris?"
Harusuke instinctively flinched, his heart almost stopping in surprise.
"Don't even try to play dumb. I know it's you," Tiger's Eye said. "After all, I've recently got a reliable witness that saw you in your civilian form."
Harusuke gasped as he immediately remembered when Fish's Eye in human disguise came to their house.
"Damn it! That was an enemy?!" he cursed in his mind. "I should have known!"
"I also have reason to believe that you're protecting this girl because she possesses Pegasus inside her beautiful dreams," added Tiger's Eye. "Oh, my colleagues Hawk's Eye and Fish's Eye have also captured those other girls with you."
Hawk's Eye and Fish's Eye stood in another area. Beside them were the other guardians, all frozen solid by Fish's Eye's magic.
"These girls should make some good hostages," said Fish's Eye. "It was all too easy to catch them by surprise. Then again, they are humans."
"We've done our part of this plan," said Hawk's Eye. "Now the rest is up to Tiger's Eye, assuming that he keeps his ego in check."
"And hopefully, those pesky guardians don't interfere," said Fish's Eye. "Then again, even if they do show up, it won't matter. They've got no chance of winning now."
Harusuke's eyes grew wider before scowling, glaring daggers at Tiger's Eye. "If you lay one finger on them, I'll...!"
"Now, now. Let's not lose your temper, especially considering your situation," warned Tiger's Eye. "But I'm in a good mood today, so I'll give you a sporting chance to take back your so-called friends and "beloved" sister. All that I ask is a rematch. If you win, I'll let them go. But if you lose, I want you to surrender peacefully, and I want you to get on your knees and apologize for your previous words."
Harusuke glared as he glanced over at Usagi briefly before responding. "It's not like I have a choice, now do I?" he growled as he pulled up his sleeve, exposing his bracelet. "But so you know, I have no intention of losing to you."
"SOLAR QWASER POWER SUIT UP!"
Transformation Sequence: Solaris (Post Super S)
Harusuke's crystal begins to shine, each of the ten points glowing in different colors of the rainbow until the center explodes in golden light. Harusuke, enveloped in silver light, holds his hands to his chest. His crystal lets out a burst of light as he throws his hands out, the symbol of the Sun appearing on his chest. Multiple streams of rainbow-colored light shine forth from it and spread throughout his body, enveloping him. Then, chrome golden and silver armor forms on his body, starting from his chest, arms, and legs. The symbol of the Sun appears in the middle of his forehead, and as it shines, enveloping his head forming his helmet. His transformation completed, his eyes snap open, brightly flashing silver once and while spinning once, strikes his signature pose as the symbol of the Sun, now having ten different colored points, shines behind him in a starry blue background.
"Very good," said Tiger's Eye as he brandished his whip. "You know, I've been looking forward to this. And to make things a bit more fun, how's about we add another addition to the mix?"
He cracked his whip as his shadows stretched while showing the spade symbol.
"Now, arise my lemures! Mister Magic Pierrot, the clown!"
At his command, a short and stout lemures emerged from his shadow. It was a clown with a blue party hat with red stripes, wore white and blue makeup with red lines on his eyelids and black lines. He also had blue eyebrows, a red clown nose, whiskers, and yellow eyes with black cat-like pupils like a cat and green hair. His outfit was a yellow T-shirt with red cross-like eyes and mouth, white gloves with claws, blue pants with a black spade on his bum, and black shoes.
"Oh great. Just when I thought you guys couldn't get any more stereotypical with the circus stuff," huffed Solaris as he brandished his sword. "And why am I not surprised you wouldn't give me a fair fight? Too afraid to fight me on your own?"
"Say what you want, but I could care less about morality right now," said Tiger's Eye. "Besides, I never said that you'd be fighting me alone. And you should know this one isn't like the ones you've fought before. Pierrot was given to me by Madame Zirconia myself and is considered to be one of her strongest Lemures. Why don't you show him, Pierrot?"
The cat-like clown took his hat off his head and covered the bottom with one hand.
"Now, watch closely!" said Pierrot. "Keep your eyes on me! Now watch as I make a birdie appear!"
Solaris stanced up as he got ready while Pierrot uncovered his hand, aiming his hat toward him as a strange black spade shot out. It fluttered about like it was made of paper as it gently went toward Solaris. The guardian of the Sun moved out of the way to avoid the attack, but when he did, the spade hit the ground behind him, creating a significant trench as it dragged along it before disappearing.
Solaris was alarmed, while Tiger's Eye was all the more smug.
"As I said, Pierrot is different than the others. So if I were you, I'd better not underestimate him," he said. "Now, prepare yourself, Solaris. This won't be like the other fights you've been in until now. I'm going to enjoy watching you suffer."
Solaris growled in annoyance and anger as both Tiger's Eye went on the attack swinging his whip. Solaris defended himself, deflecting it a few times, but Pierrot shot another spade at him as he did, forcing him to raise his sword to block. But when it made contact, Solaris felt the overwhelming power push him back, almost making him lose his stance. Tiger's Eye immediately capitalized by cracking his whip, and while Solaris flipped backward to dodge, it managed to scrape across his chest, creating a noticeable mark.
Pierrot cackled as he fired more spades while Tiger's Eye swung his whip, and Solaris used his sword to defend and deflect the attacks. However, he could only protect himself while the attacks delivered a few glancing knicks. Solaris then jumped up and called out a mode change.
"VENUS!"
In a yellow flash, his armor went from gold to yellow, and his symbol became Venus's symbol.
"WINK CHAIN SWORD!"
He summoned another sword, transformed it into multiple chains of light, and hurled them at his enemies. But when they were about to hit, Pierrot stepped in front and caught the chains without trying. Then, with a flash of his eyes, they transformed into snakes. Solaris yelped in surprise as the snakes hissed at him, forcing him to throw them away.
"MARS!"
Solaris evoked another change, his armor turning red while his symbol changed to Mars's. He made a sign putting up two fingers, and aimed at Pierrot.
"SNAKE FIRE!"
A torrent of fire erupted from his fingers, taking the shape of a snake, only for Pierrot to take off his hat and use it to suck up the attack altogether. Solaris couldn't believe his eyes, but then he heard the sound of a familiar scream. He then saw Tiger's Eye searching inside Usagi's dream mirror.
He immediately shot towards him, only to have Pierrot cut him off and fire another spade at Solaris. The guardian skidded to a stop and brought up his sword, trying to block it, but the spade knocked his sword out of his hands as the force knocked him to the ground.
Tiger's Eye soon pulled his head back out, scowling in annoyance. "Damn it! No Pegasus inside of her dreams either?!" he complained. "Madame Zirconia was wrong again?!"
Solaris glanced back toward where his sword was and raced over to try and grab it. Pierrot fired more spades, but Solaris dodged and weaved as they narrowly missed him. However, just before he was about to grab it, Tiger's Eye launched his whip, wrapping it around Solaris's ankles and causing him to trip and fall.
"Nice try, but I'm not finished with you yet," he said. "Pierrot, let him have it."
Pierrot then clapped his hands, enlarged one of them to an enormous size, and brought it down to slam it on Solaris. But before he could, Solaris put his hands together, index fingers pointed, and used Fire Soul to burn Tiger's Eye's whip to his feet free. Then, he quickly shot out of the way using his flying power, shot forward, and gave Pierrot a left kick square in the jaw, sending him flying. After that, he reverted to his standard form, punched his fists together, and conjured a sphere of light.
"SOLARIS METEOR BARRAGE!"
With a mighty punch, he launched the sphere, and it split into multiple, showering Tiger's Eye with its relentless assault.
Believing both his enemies to be down for the count, Solaris returned his attention to Usagi and rushed toward her attempting to save her. But as he did, Pierrot recovered and, in an act of vengeance, fired another spade at the guardian. The guardian ducked out of the way just in time to avoid it, but as he did, it curved toward another direction, right towards Usagi.
The spade struck Usagi's dream mirror, shattering it into pieces as the girl screamed.
The bone-chilling sound of broken glass echoed in Solaris's ears on repeat as the slab disappeared and Usagi crumped to the ground, lifeless and unmoving.
"USAGI!"
Solaris ran over to his sister, turning her over, but just when he did, his blood went cold. He saw that Usagi's eyes were utterly blank, having no more light in them as they stared into the sky. Solaris then gathered all the mirror pieces while helplessly trying to put them back together but to no avail.
"No... Please, no. No..."
The boy's eyes began to fill with unshed tears as he stared at his sister's now lifeless body, desperately praying that it was all dream and that Usagi would wake up. But she didn't.
Realizing this, the tears began to fall from his eyes, down his face, and onto the ground.
"Aww, poor girl. I guess she's gone now."
Solaris slowly looked to his left and saw Tiger's Eye, who was back on his feet while Pierrot came floating back.
"That's honestly such a shame," Tiger's Eye said. "But, hey, something good came out of it. That look on your face is priceless. Exactly what I wanted to see." He turned his Lemures. "Nice shot, Pierrot."
Pierrot laughed as he took a bow. "I'm glad to put a smile on your face, boss," he chirped. "Happy to take care of the garbage."
The coldness from Solaris's body was slowly replaced with warmth, the warmth of anger and hatred. His body began to tremble, and his blood began to boil.
Do they dare mock his grief after taking the life of his sister?
He slowly set Usagi's body down and stood up, his fists tightly clenched as he faced them.
He remained silent and still, revenge pumping through his veins. Then, he let loose a demonic roar of rage, his body exploding in a black aura as he transformed.
Transformation: Solaris
Solaris stands as a strange black entity appears behind him with giant hands that clasp around him, encasing his entire body in a cocoon of darkness. The cocoon briefly glows purple for a moment, then explodes into flames. From them, his right hand emerges, then his left, right leg, left leg, and lastly, his head, his armor now colored black with purple lines with red gems. Finally, he opens his eyes, which are now glowing bright yellow, and a pair of lenses and a faceplate close around his face, hiding it from view. His corrupted transformation completed, Solaris crosses his arms while spinning, raises them over his head, and throws himself into a powerup pose while several flashes of black lightning crackle and boom in the background.
The overwhelming power of Solaris now exhibited was enough to create a massive pillar of black light. The intensity of the energy alone was enough to make the trees buffet about and the water in the lake ripple.
Tiger's Eye could feel the overwhelming murderous intent coming from the guardian, but he stood his ground, still feeling confident as he summoned the green orb into his hand.
"All right! Now's the time!" he thought. "I have to use the orb that Zirconia gave me!"
"Pierrot! I need you to buy me some time!" he ordered aloud. "Make sure you get him to stay still!"
"Can do, boss!" acknowledged Pierrot as he aimed with his hat again. "Now, here come some more birdies!"
He then fired multiple spade-shaped blasts at Solaris once again. However, the transformed guardian stood there and took all of the attacks, each one barely even fazing him, much to Pierrot's surprise.
But before he could react, Solaris's eyes flashed maliciously as he briefly disappeared, reappeared before the Lemures, and gave him a wicked punch square in the stomach hard enough to almost go through him.
As Pierrot's eyes popped out of his sockets from the impact, Solaris continued his assault by punching him repeatedly before slamming his face into the ground. He then ruthlessly dragged the Lemures along it while running, the poor clown helplessly screaming in agony before tossing him into the air. Then, as Pierrot fell, Solaris clenched his fist, making it radiate with dark power. Finally, when the clown was close enough to him, he delivered an even more devastating punch to the gut, and upon contact, the lemures exploded in a mighty blast of black and purple. Smoke billowed everywhere.
In a few seconds, the smoke cleared. All that remained was Pierrot's shadow which quickly faded away in a puff of smoke.
After witnessing such brutality, Tiger's Eye could only stare in sheer horror and bewilderment. "N-No way," he mumbled. "Pierrot... was one of Madame Zirconia's Lemures, and he crushed him so quickly."
Solaris then looked across to Tiger's Eye, his yellow eyes staring daggers at him. His gaze alone made Tiger's Eye's body run cold as ice and completely frozen.
"Wh-What's wrong with me?! I can't move! I'm too terrified!"
The black guardian then briefly disappeared using his speed and reappeared, and before Tiger's Eye could process what happened, grabbed him by the neck while lifting him off his feet. Tiger's Eye struggled desperately, trying to free himself, but the guardian gripped tighter. As he did, Tiger's Eye felt his oxygen depleting, his body growing weaker, and his vision flickering.
"I-Is this it? Am I going to die here?"
Solaris clenched his fist, igniting it with darkness as he prepared to finish off his prey. But just before he could deliver the final strike...
"Solaris! Stop!"
A familiar voice shouted, causing him to stop, his fist inches away from Tiger's Eye's stomach. He slowly looked behind him and saw Usagi, who was back on her feet, alive and well, with Spector helping her stay standing. In addition, the rest of the gang had also arrived.
"Please! You've got to calm down! I'm all right!" Usagi pleaded. "You don't have to worry anymore!"
"She's right!" Spector also called out. "Everything's all right now, so there's no need to take it further!"
Solaris could only stare, his yellow eye lenses staring blankly at them.
"His aura's grown much more malicious than before," warned Sailor Mars. "All I can sense is overwhelming rage and hatred."
"Come on, Solaris! Snap out of it!" yelled out Sailor Jupiter.
"You've got to get a grip on yourself!" shouted Sailor Venus.
"Don't let your hate and rage control you!" cried Sailor Mercury.
"Please, Uncle Sunny! Come back to us!" Sailor Chibi Moon also pleaded. "Remember who you are!"
Solaris kept staring at the guardians like a confused creature trying to understand their behavior. So much so that his grip lessened on Tiger's Eye while he lowered his fist.
Then, Tiger's Eye's eyes snapped open as he held out his hand, summoning the green crystal orb into it. Then, he thrust it right into Solaris's face, and immediately, the crystal shone brightly in a powerful light blinding everyone. Amidst the blinding light, Solaris could be heard screaming in agony as he took the full force of the mysterious power.
The light soon dimmed down, and when everyone could see again, they saw Tiger's Eye gasping and coughing as he held the crystal in his hand while Solaris lay on the ground, unconscious and back to normal.
"Y-Yes! I did it!" Tiger's Eye gasped. "I survived and activated the stupid crystal!"
"What did you do to him?!" demanded Sailor Mars.
The other guardians pounced, gunning for Tiger's Eye, but a torrent of flames and multiple daggers quickly cut them off. Then, Fish's Eye and Hawk's Eye suddenly appeared, and before anyone could stop them, they summoned their wormholes and retreated into them while carrying Tiger's Eye to safety.
"Damn it! They got away!" cursed Sailor Jupiter.
"Never mind them!" said Sailor Mercury. "Let's help Solaris!"
Everyone quickly rushed over to the golden guardian as he started coming around.
"Solaris! Are you all right?!" Luna asked worriedly.
Solaris groaned but was quick to awaken when he saw Usagi. "Usagi! You're alive!" he exclaimed. "But... how? I saw your dream mirror get shattered!" He looked at the others. "And how are all of you here?"
"It was Spector," replied Usagi. "He was able to fix my dream mirror."
"As for us, we were ambushed by those guys," added Artemis. "Fish's Eye had us all frozen like popsicles before we could react, but Spector was able to get us free."
Solaris was relieved. "Thank you, Spector," he said gratefully. "Once again, I owe you a lot for your help."
Spector responded with a tip of his hat.
Solaris then frowned. "I'm so sorry, you guys. I ended up going nuts again," he apologized. "I just couldn't help myself after..."
"No need to apologize, Bro," interrupted Usagi. "We're just glad you're all right."
Then, Spector kneeled and took Solaris's hand, inspecting his prism. After a few seconds of staring, Spector gasped.
"Wh-what is this?" they murmured.
"H-Hey, Spector? Is something wrong?" asked Solaris.
"It's your prism," replied Spector. "I don't sense any corruption anymore."
Everyone looked at them in surprise.
"Are you sure?" asked Sailor Mercury.
"Positive," insisted Spector. "It's like it's been completely cleansed."
"It had to be that crystal thing Tiger's Eye used before," said Luna. "It's the only explanation."
"But the question is, why would he do something like that?" wondered Sailor Jupiter. "It seems pretty unlike them."
"I don't know, but for now, I would recommend that you all head home for now," said Spector. "After a day like today, you could all use some rest. Go home and get some sleep. Take care and be careful."
Spector then stood up and walked away before disappearing into the night.
Everyone took to the skies using their flight powers to fly home, but as they did, Solaris couldn't help but start thinking as he looked at his prism.
"If what Spector said is true about my crystal, then what does it all mean?" he thought. "What could our enemy be after?"
Back at the Dead Moon Circus Tent, the battered Amazon Trio once again stood before Zirconia giving her their report.
"So, didn't find Pegasus again?" she huffed. "You've got some nerve returning here empty-handed after what I told you."
But the Amazon Trio were all smiling.
"We didn't exactly return empty-handed, Madame Zirconia," said Hawk's Eye. "I think you'll be rather pleased with what we have for you."
Zirconia was puzzled. Then Tiger's Eye held out his hands, and the crystal appeared. Unlike before, the crystal was now glowing with energy, and the nucleus at its center had turned black.
When she saw this, Zirconia's eyes widened in surprise. "Well, what do you know? You three managed to do something right, after all," she said. "You managed to use the crystal on Solaris."
"That's right!" smirked Tiger's Eye. "And not only that, but we've also got some intel you might be interested in! You're welcome!"
But Zirconia waved her hand, making the crystal teleport over to it.
"Tell me about it later," the old hag said. "Right now, I might return to my chambers."
She then disappeared, much to the puzzlement of the Trio.
"What was all that about?" wondered Fish's Eye. "You'd think she'd be more pleased with us."
"Well, to be fair, we failed to find Pegasus," said Hawk's Eye. "Perhaps she's still a bit miffed."
"Who cares?! She could at least thank us for doing this!" snapped Tiger's Eye. "In case she hasn't noticed, I almost died!"
As Zirconia stood by herself in the room with the mirror, she held the crystal in her hands, gazing at its luster.
"Looks like fortune has turned in our favor this time," she said aloud. "And now, with this crystal, our goals have become closer to being realized."
The crystal sparkled with black energy as its nucleus briefly flashed violet.
