Over The Rainbow 17
Twist of Fate
I just own Sailor Rainbow/Lydia, Lucky and Madam Indigo and whatever other characters I make up on the way.
What was this? A case of sailor scout rivalry? Was Serena cooking again?
"Give up, Sailor Moon!" Sailor Mars demanded. "We've got you nailed!"
"Aye, we do!" added Sailor Rainbow.
"Oh, come on, Rainbow," Moon begged, "You're my best friend!"
"Friend? Hah! I don’t know the meaning of the word!" she hissed. "Yer luck's run out!"
"Give us the wand!" Jupiter ordered.
"Don't make us come and get it," Venus threatened.
"Come on, Sailor Moon," Mercury said. "Don’t be stubborn."
"What are you waiting for?" Sailor Mars demanded. "We don't have all night. MARS FIRE IGNITE!"
She gave Sailor Moon and the others a hot foot.
"Looks like I over did it," Mars muttered.
"Smooth move, ya pyro!" Jupiter growled. "You nearly melted my boots!"
"Oops."
The scouts did not know that they were being watched.
A strange energy radiated from the orb of Queen Beryl's scepter, which surprised her. Malachite saw it too.
"Hmm," she said. "Where is all this strange energy coming from?"
"I think I know, my queen," Malachite said. "There's friction between Sailor Moon and the scouts. The crystal must be reacting to it."
"Friction?"
"That's what my source tells me," Malachite explained. "Ninjana, give us your report."
"Yes, master," she said, rising from the shadows.
"Let's hope she's more reliable than the others," Queen Beryl said.
"She's the very best, your majesty," Malachite insisted, "tell us what you've got, Ninjana."
"Here," Ninjana said. She took too pieces of paper and threw them like ninja stars. Malachite took one and Queen Beryl took the other.
"So what's this?" Queen Beryl demanded.
"Take a look." Ninjana replied.
One of Ninjana's abilities was producing snapshots of everything she saw. The papers showed pictures of the Sailor Scout's latest quarrel.
"Hmm…"
"The sailor scouts are teaming up Sailor Moon, all five of them." Ninjana reported. "I think they want to kick her out and choose a new leader."
"Really?" Queen Beryl said. "It sure looks real but it could be a trap. Check it out more before we make a move."
"Ninjana doesn't make mistakes," Malachite said.
She looked at him and narrowed her eyes, "you question my orders, again?"
He cleared his throat and looked at Ninjana. "You heard the queen."
"I'll be in touch," Ninjana said and slunk back into the shadows.
Mrs. Baker's jewelry store was being burglarized. "Nice," said the burglar, "perfect for my black dress."
The lights came on. Molly held a frying pan and Mrs. Baker wielded a golf club. "WHO ARE YOU?" Molly demanded.
It was Ninjana! "No one you wanna mess with."
Molly screamed.
"Molly, call the police!" her mother commanded.
"Nobody's going anywhere," Ninjana said. She produced ninja knives and threw them at Molly and her mother, pinning them to the wall.
"Career's over, creep," Sailor Moon yelled.
"It's Sailor Moon!" Molly gasped.
"I'm Sailor Moon. Champion of justice!"
"Ooh, I'm trembling," Ninjana grumbled.
The other sailor scouts show up but they didn't come to help fight. "Sailor Moon," Mars said, "could we please have a word with you?"
"Can't you see I'm busy?" Moon demanded.
"We're supposed to fight as one, remember?" Mars reminded.
"Aye," Rainbow agreed.
"I AM one!" Moon muttered. "Ooh!"
"Leaderships gone to your head," Jupiter said.
"Prima donna," Venus said.
"OOOOH!" Sailor Moon moaned.
"Maybe we should settle all this after we take care of the burglar," Mercury suggested.
"No way!" Sailor Mars shouted. "This has been going on for too long!"
"This is mutiny!" Sailor Moon cried. "You can't do this to me!"
"Looks like we just did," Sailor Mercury said.
"We're sick of following a dingbat!" Mars cried.
"Dingbat?" Moon gasped. "And a hothead who burns people feet of is better than that?"
Unbelievable, the scouts were having a spat when they should've taken care of the burglar first hand. They don't even notice that there was a different woman in Ninjana's place and she began to take pictures of them.
"Oh!" Sailor Moon said.
"Hey, what's a paparazzi doing here?" Sailor Mars demanded.
It was Nancy Vargas an ace reporter. Molly was shocked.
"Wow, what a scoop!" Nancy exclaimed, "The sailor scouts are squabbling like a bunch of seagulls. This will make front page for sure!" She took more shots.
"Hey, enough already!" Sailor Moon cried.
“Who do you think you are coming in here and snapping all those pictures," Venus demanded, "and how did you even know we were here anyway?!”
"That's a secret," Nancy replied. "So is their any truth to the buzz that you guys are Splitzville? Sailor Moon?" She took out a mini tape recorder and held it to Sailor Moon.
“Oh, I know." Sailor Moon said. "You're from one of those shows with the hidden cameras, right? My friends are playing a joke, right? Hoping I'll make a total goof of myself. Ha ha ha. Right, guys?”
Nancy addressed the other scouts. "Come on, now is your chance to dish up the dirt on Sailor Moon. Hey, we'll pay big bucks if we get the exclusive."
"Oh, I'm out of here," Sailor Venus groaned.
They started to leave.
"Yeah, no comment," Mars agreed.
Nancy followed them. "Uh? Come on guys, someone has to have SOME serious dirt on her. Sailor Rainbow, we hear you're Sailor Moon's best friend…what is she really like?"
"Go crawl back into yer hole, yeh rat!" Rainbow growled, shoving her fist into Nancy's gut.
"Oooh…thank you for your time!" Nancy wheezed. She groaned and left the premises. "Ooh…"
"Thanks Rainbow," Venus said as the scouts walked away, "I thought she'd never shut up."
Sailor Moon heard a familiar voice.
"Uh, Sailor Moon." Molly said. "Yoo hoo. Can you help us down?"
"Oh, I'm sorry!" Sailor Moon gasped. "Here…let me get ya down from there."
Next day, Molly told Lydia and Serena what happened. "Good thing Sailor Moon showed up when she did, or that burglar would've cleaned us out."
"Hmm," Serena said, playing the innocent, "must've been scary."
"Aye, lassie." Lydia said, "Glad yeh didn't get hurt."
"Yeah, but get this," Molly said, "I hear the sailor scouts are splitting up."
"Huh? Oh, no, you've got that totally wrong," Serena said, "why would they want to split up if they have a totally cool leader like Sailor Moon?"
"She's spacey," Molly replied without attention.
"Spacey?"
"Hello," Nancy Vargas said.
"Oh! Oh!" Serena gasped.
"What's happening?" Molly asked.
"Oh, dear," Lydia groaned.
"Nancy Vargas, Daily Surprise. I couldn't help overhearing." Nancy said. "Heard you talking about the sailor scouts. I'm looking for the latest buzz."
"No comment," Serena said.
"Eh? I'll give yeh some buzz…why dun't yeh buzz off?"
Serena and Lydia chuckled.
"Hey, I heard ya," Nancy said. "Sounds like you've got some inside info. You hear about the robbery they busted?"
"Ask her," Serena said quickly, nodding to Molly.
"Aye," Lydia agreed, "it's her store."
"Sorry," Nancy said, looking her over, "didn’t notice you without PJ's."
"You sure talk fast," Molly said, a bit nervous.
"Part of the job, so spill," Nancy said. "Gimme the goods on the hissyfit the scouts had when I walked in."
Serena started to sneak away. Molly noticed but Lydia stayed with Molly just incase.
"Um, well," Molly said. "Really couldn't say."
"Oh?"
"Must be a post-burglary shock or something," she said and inched away.
"If you change your mind, you have my number," Nancy said.
"Here, I'll give yeh my number!" Lydia muttered and slammed her fist into Nancy's stomach. "Stop poking yer nose in other people's business," she growled, shaking her fist, "if ya know what's got for yeh!" She whirled around, taking Molly with her.
"Thank you for your time…ugnnn."
"Ooh, Lydia, I think you hurt her!" Molly cried.
"That's what I was trying to do, lassie," Lydia said.
'Whew that was close,' Serena thought, 'I wonder how she knew where we went to school.'
Lucky, Luna and Artemis were watching Nancy.
"I'm getting bad vibes about her," Luna said.
"Aye," Lucky agreed, "me too."
"Faster, you guys!" Jupiter shouted, "We can't let her get away!"
They jump on her and Sailor Moon fell face down to the ground.
"All right, that's it." Moon said. "You can't use my butt for kicking practice anymore."
So…it was all just practice and to fool the Negaverse.
"Why don't you try this, Mars?" Moon asked.
"Hey, this is your gig, girlfriend," Mars retorted, "but every time you eat a little dirt, you want to call it quits. And you wonder why we don't respect you!"
"Well, maybe this isn't such a good idea," Moon sighed. "But there's got to be a better way to get in the Negaverse that doesn't make me turn black and blue."
"You want to free Tuxedo Mask then you'll have to be able to take a few knocks," Mars insisted.
"I know, but can't we practice a little more gently?" Moon whined.
"I agree with Sailor Moon," Rainbow said, "If we break her bones, how do we expect to stop the Negaverse?"
"Oh, you're always sticking up for her!" Mars groaned. "She's being a wimp! You're the one who volunteered to fake out the Negaverse so they think you wanted to quit so they'd take you with them!"
"I don't like this plan," Moon sighed.
"Maybe I should do it," Rainbow said. "They wanted me in the first place."
"It's too late now, yeh know," Lucky said. "The Negaverse already has its feelers out."
"Yeah, I know. I know."
"Serena, look at this!" Lydia shouted, putting a news article down about the robbery.
"Hey…my mouth looks big!" Serena gasped.
"That's not the point," Lydia said. "Lucky tells me that the report was in on the whole thing! It was rigged!"
"No way!"
"Yes, we've been watching the reporter," Luna said. "We have reason to believe that the Negaverse has gotten to her."
"I have an idea," Lydia said, "we show up at this Nancy Vargas' home and give her a message from Sailor Moon wanting to meet her."
"Good idea," Luna said. "Then we can find out what's up."
Serena sighed. "Oh, do I have too?"
Lydia nodded, "well, do yeh have a better a better idea?"
"Can it be from both of us?" Serena said. "I'll write it as long as you come with me!"
"Of course I'm coming!" Lydia gasped.
"Thanks, Lydia."
The two girls came to Nancy Vargas' home. "May I help you?" When she saw Lydia, she immediately put her hand over her stomach.
"I have a message for you from Sailor Moon," Serena said, handing out a sealed envelope. She and Lydia tried to keep on straight faces.
'Boy,' she thought, 'her grammar's horrible.' "She says she wants to meet me at Memorial Park at eleven tonight for an exclusive interview. Sailor Rainbow will come too." She raised her eyes. "How did you get this note? Do you girls know Sailor Moon and Sailor Rainbow?"
"Um, you see--" Serena began.
"Molly found it," Lydia blurted, "but she's too shy to bring it."
"Yeah," Serena nodded, "very shy. So she gave it to us."
"Beryl's restless, Ninjana," Malachite said, "So what's up?"
"See for yourself, Malachite," she said, hanging from the ceiling. She flung the letter from Sailor Moon from him.
"Hmm," he said as he read it, "she can't spell."
"I'm meeting Sailor Moon tonight," she reported. "Rainbow too. You're coming?"
"Yes," he nodded. "I need to get some things from Rainbow for Queen Beryl."
"Ah, the dark sailor project," Ninjana nodded. "Everyone's talking about it."
Malachite didn't seem too thrilled with it. "We don't need a sailor scout. Queen Beryl has enough slaves." A black flame burned the letter.
"I agree," Ninjana said, grunting and rubbing her stomach, "Rainbow is a feisty one."
"I know."
"But a dark sailor scout will be an interesting addition to the Negaverse," Ninjana admitted. "Wouldn't you say, Malachite?"
"Hmm, yes," he lied. 'Frankly, I believe this is insane.'
Rainbow counted the chimes on the clock tower.
"It's eleven, Sailor Moon," Rainbow said. "Won't be long now."
"It's scary here," Sailor Moon groaned. "I can't believe we're actually going through with this."
"We'll, yeh are not alone." Rainbow said.
'Aren't you right about that, Sailor Rainbow,' Ninjana thought as she rose from the shadows behind them, "Sailor Moon and Rainbow, I presume?"
"That's us," Sailor Moon and Rainbow turned around to see Nancy Vargas. She was quick.
"Let's get started," Nancy said. "So, Sailor Moon, are you really quitting the hero business?"
"Yeah…too much competition and petty jealousy," Sailor Moon said, "so, I'm handing the torch over to Sailor Rainbow here."
"Really?"
"Aye," Sailor Rainbow said, "I was the one who got all seven crystals in the first place."
"Yes," Nancy said. "But you can forget your promotion."
"What?" they both mumbled.
Nancy changed into Ninjana.
"The burglar!" Moon cried.
"I should've known," Sailor Rainbow grunted.
"Welcome, Malachite," Ninjana said.
Rainbow and Moon looked up at the tower, where Malachite stood. "Hand over the wand, Sailor Moon and we'll bring you to the Negaverse."
"Hey, I'm not serving you guys!" Sailor Moon grunted.
"Then just give us the wand!" Ninjana shouted.
"Forget it!" Sailor Rainbow hissed.
"We won't leave until we get what we've come for," Ninjana said, "and we mean more than just the wand!"
"What more do you guys want?" Sailor Moon demanded. "And whatever it is, you're not getting it."
"Now, Malachite!" Ninjana shouted.
Malachite teleported to ground level. His eyes were on Sailor Rainbow. "Orders are orders," He said glumly. He took out a black crystal. "This shouldn't hurt, Sailor Rainbow."
"What do you want with Sailor Rainbow?" Moon demanded.
"Just a piece," Ninjana hissed, restraining her.
"Sailor Rainbow!" Moon gasped.
"Yeh don't have to do everything Queen Beryl tells yeh," Rainbow said.
"I'm afraid I do," Malachite said. "Now just stand still…"
Rainbow took a step forward and a black beam emitted from the crystal to Sailor Rainbow. Dark energy waves rolled down Sailor Rainbow.
"Can't…move!" she grunted.
"Leave her alone!" Moon shouted. "Sailor Rainbow!"
Rainbow did not feel any pain. But she did feel a strange discomfort. Like something was being taken away from her but she didn't know what it was. The waves stopped and took her shadow away into the crystal. Sailor Rainbow did not know it was her shadow that Malachite had just taken from her. He teleported behind her and wrapped his arm around her waist.
"Forgive me," he whispered pleadingly in her ear.
"Eh?" she mumbled in surprise.
A long, straight white needle-like object appeared in his hand. He pushed it in Sailor Rainbow's arm. She winced, expecting pain but found none. She hardly felt a thing. He removed the item and in the tip were a few drops of her blood. It was like just getting a mosquito bite. After taking her shadow and blood, he ripped off the bow from her back in one quick motion.
"Hey!" Sailor Rainbow grunted. "What do yeh plan to do with that?"
"You'll see," he said regretfully. "Unfortunately."
"What does that supposed to mean?"
He backed away from her and looked at Ninjana. "I've got what I needed," he said, "now you get the crystal."
"Right," she said, nodding.
"Malachite, what have you done to her?" Sailor Moon demanded as Malachite disappeared.
"Now, just give me what I need and--" Ninjana began and Sailor Moon shoved her elbow into her gut. "Ghuh…I'm sensitive there!"
Sailor Moon ran over to Sailor Rainbow. "Rainbow, are you all right?"
"We can talk later," Rainbow insisted, "let's just take care of her first!"
"Couldn't agree more!" Sailor Venus shouted.
"VENUS CRESCENT BEAM SMASH!"
Ninjana pulled up a sword and used it to absorb Sailor Venus's attack and channeled it back.
"Hey!" Venus gasped.
"Hey, absorb this!" Sailor Mars grunted. "JUPTER THUNDER CRASH!"
She absorbed that too and sent it back.
"Can't stop me from getting the crystal!" Ninjana muttered.
"Oh yeah?" Sailor Jupiter demanded. "Hey, Rainbow…"
"Right behind yah," Sailor Rainbow said. Sailor Rainbow ran up behind Sailor Jupiter and Jupiter crouched down. Sailor Rainbow did a cartwheel over her back, caught air and kicked the sword out of Ninjana's hand.
"Absorb this!" she shouted.
"Oh no," Ninjana mumbled.
She blocked her stomach instinctively and Sailor Rainbow punched her in the nose.
"Gha!" she groaned.
"What did I say about poking yer nose in other people's business?" Sailor Rainbow demanded. "Sailor Moon, show yer stuff, lassie!"
"Got…!" she cried. "Um…wait…" she began searching herself, "where did the wand go?"
"Here!" Sailor Mars threw her the crescent wand. "I was holding onto it just incase you tried to give it to them."
"How did you get this?!" she demanded.
"We can talk about that later!" Rainbow shouted. "Hurry!"
"MOON HEALING ACTIVATION!"
Nancy Vargas was changed to normal. "Huh, what happened?"
"Are you all right?" Sailor Mercury asked.
"Yeah, I think so." She replied. "I'd better get home…"
As she left, Sailor Moon embraced Sailor Rainbow. "Rainbow! You okay?"
"Aye, I'm fine." Sailor Rainbow responded.
"Hey, your bow," Jupiter said.
"Malachite took it," Sailor Rainbow explained.
"Why would he--" Venus began.
"I’m not sure," she shrugged.
"He did something to her with a dark crystal too," Moon said. "And he pricked her with this…this long knife thingy! Sailor Rainbow, are you sure you're all right?"
"Aye, aye, I am fine," Sailor Rainbow urged.
"Doesn't make any sense," Sailor Mercury said. “What did he do to you?”
“I’m not sure,” Sailor Rainbow answered. “But. I'm not hurt. And I think that's what he was trying not to do."
"Huh?" the others gasped.
Rainbow smiled, "I think we're getting through to him. Whatever Malachite did to me…It was almost as if he didn’t want to do it."
"So, Malachite," Queen Beryl said, "have you gotten what I asked for?"
He nodded and handed her Sailor Rainbow's bow, the crystal holding her shadow and the needle with Rainbow's blood. "The wand and crystal remains with Sailor Moon."
"No matter," Queen beryl said, "we will get it soon. It is still taking time to erase all of Darien's memories."
"How do you plan to create this sailor scout?" he asked. "Won't it take time too?"
"Not as much as you would think." Queen Beryl placed the crystal next to a long capsule, kind of like the one Prince Darien lay in. The shadow of Sailor Rainbow floated out of the crystal and into the capsule. Next, she dripped the blood inside the capsule followed by the bow. In the head of the shadow, two yellow eyes burned.
"Ah…it lives!" Queen Beryl cried.
The shadow became a silver-skinned naked body at first, with blackish-green hair braided into pigtails, just like Sailor Rainbow's. Then, a black sleeveless body suit appeared on the body with a dark violet ripped skirt and vest. The indigo bow changed into gray and unraveled. The front bow was also gray, but had jagged edges. Her boots were thigh-high like Sailor Rainbow’s only it came up in a wiggly point. Instead of a rainbow on the forehead, a black wiggly line appeared--a shadow. Then, a silver tiara with a black opal went over her head. Around her neck, a black choker appeared. The girl blinked a few times and sat up in the capsule, staring at Queen Beryl.
Malachite stared in amazement. "It worked!" he breathed.
"You are my maker?" the sailor scout asked, her voice cold as ice.
"Yes I am," Queen Beryl replied, taking her braids out and leaving her black hair in three locks. "I am Queen Beryl. And this is Malachite. You will obey me."
"And…what am I?"
"You shall be called, Sailor Shadow."
Sailor Shadow grinned evilly as her yellow eyes flashed. "I am Sailor Shadow--the Sailor Scout of darkness!"