Sailor Moon Episode 109

Episode title: Thorny Weather

Original American Airdate: 07/18/2000

Rini, Darien and Serena were looking for a new backpack for Rini to wear. Rini couldn't decide, but Darien found a unique one shaped like a rabbit. Rini hugged it tightly. Serena was jealous of course, but Darien just said that Rini needed one anyway. Luna told Serena not to be so selfish, and Serena squeezed Luna hard. Serena suddenly remembered that the Botanical Society was having an open house the next day and asked Darien if he wanted to go. Rini wanted to go too, so Darien agreed to take both of them to the greenhouse of a friend of his. As Serena and Rini fought over Darien, Hotaru happened by the store, and looked inside. She remembered a time when she was playing with her father and mother. Rini spotted Hotaru, and Hotaru decided to walk onwards.

"What's wrong, Hotaru?" Rini said as she ran out of the store. "Why won't you stop and speak to me?"

Hotaru stopped. "Hi, Rini." She said. "I thought that was you."

"Do you want to come shopping?" Rini asked.

"I'm sorry, I can't." Hotaru said, her voice slightly shaky. "I have to go home. Bye." With that, she ran down the street towards her home. Darien and Serena joined Rini as Hotaru ran off.

"I don't get it." Darien said. "Why does Rini's sweet little friend always run?"

Serena put her hand to her chin. "I don't know." She said. "Amara told me to keep Rini from her, but she's such a good kid. I know it. Do you think?"

Darien agreed, and Rini just looked on, worried. In another part of Tokyo, Dr. Tomo was paying a visit to the Sovereign of Silence.

"Time is closing in on us, Doctor." The Sovereign said. "I am growing weak. You must get the Pure Hearts before it's too late."

"It's but a matter of moments." Dr. Tomo replied. "We're on the brink of attaining the purest hearts." He was interrupted by the ringing of the doorbell. It was Rini. Kaorinite answered.

"What do you want?" Kaorinite said.

"Is Hotaru here?"

"She's not home."

"Oh, well, could you give this to her, then?" Rini handed Kaorinite her new rabbit backpack. She thanked Kaorinite for her troubles and went on her way. Kaorinite closed the front door, and Hotaru was standing behind her. Hotaru asked who was at the door, and Kaorinite said it was Rini. Hotaru, realizing the rabbit backpack was for her, grabbed it from Kaorinite. She looked in the front pocket, and in it was an invitation from Rini for a picnic.

"There's no way you can go there, you know." Kaorinite said. "You're much too weak to go. Besides, your father would forbid it."

"On the contrary." Came a voice. Both Hotaru and Kaorinite looked up to see Dr. Tomo. He was dressed in a simple dress shirt and pants. His glasses were strange in their way. One lens was a normal lense, and the other looked like a normal lens, merged with a cut diamond. "It's a good idea." Tomo said. "It would be good for you to spend time with someone your own age. I'll drop you on my way to work tomorrow."

The next day, Darien was waiting for Serena and Rini to come out of thier house. The two finally came out dragging a huge picnic basket, filled to the rim with food. Serena and Darien tried to fit it into the trunk, and Rini looked around for Hotaru.

"I don't see Hotaru anywhere." She said to Luna. "Maybe she won't be able to come with us after all."

"Do you see who I see?" Luna said, excitedly. Rini looked through the windshield as Serena and Darien closed the trunk. She was able to see out the back window, and in that window was Hotaru. Rini ran to Hotaru and hugged her tightly. Hotaru showed the rabbit backpack.

The small party arrived at the park. It was massive, and beautiful, with flowers and green grass everywhere. Rini found a great picnic spot, and began to run through the field. Serena and Hotaru ran after her in fun. Darien snapped pictures of the girls having fun. Serena managed to trip while her picture was being taken. In a greenhouse nearby, Amara, Trista, and Michele watched Hotaru and the others intently.

"I hate to say it, but that little girl means trouble." Amara said.

"Hard to believe she could have anything to do with the Heart Snatchers." Trista said.

"We can't be too sure." Amara said. "But, something tells me this is the calm before the storm."

Trista nodded. "Agreed."

"Still, they're so cute." Michele said. They watched as Hotaru leap-frogged over Serena, and fell down from the heat. Rini tried to leap-frog Serena, but landed on top of her.

To get Hotaru out of the heat, the four decided to tour a greenhouse. Meanwhile, at the Witches 4 lab, Mimet got a call from Dr. Tomo. He said that he had created the most exquisite bloom, which was a yellow rose. Mimet did ran a scan on her computer, and she found her target. Dr. Tomo put his rose into his oven device, and created the Heart Snatcher, sending Mimet on her way.

Back at the greenhouse, Darien, Rini, Serena and Hotaru were all touring its sights. Luna was draped on Darien's shoulder, enjoying the scenery. Then, they spotted Darien's friend, Kenny Bayashi, a gardener famous for taking care of a flower called the Pure Heart Rose. Kenny said hi to the bunch.

"You're looking great!" Kenny said. "You've come once again with a beautiful friend?"

"Once again?!" Serena growled.

"Um, this is Serena, my good friend." Darien said. Kenny laughed. Just then, a hoard of children came up to Kenny, giving him his lunch that he'd forgotten. Darien and the girls watched Kenny hold up his children on his arm like nothing. In the meantime, Mimet was searching for her target in the same park. As she passed by a greenhouse, she heard the sound of children giggling. She ducked behind a corner, and hid. Kenny told his children to give their mother a big hug, and sent the children on their way.

"Yuck." Mimet said to herself. "Rugrats."

Hotaru, Darien, Luna, Serena and Kenny all sat down to enjoy the picnic. Serena said to Hotaru not to be shy, and to eat as much as she liked. Hotaru gave her food to Luna. Serena looked at Rini, who wasn't eating either.

"Stop rearrangning your food, and eat the salad I made!" Serena said.

"Darien's not eating your salad!" Rini replied. Serena went to Darien.

"What's the matter?" She said sternly. "Don't like the salad I made?"

Darien looked at his food. "I'm not that hungry."

"You're lying!"

"Oh, all right! I'll eat it!" Darien ate his food grudgingly. Serena saw that Rini had no excuse anymore, and told her to eat. She did. Hotaru giggled, then suddenly looked away. Rini said that if Hotaru didn't like it, she didn't have to eat it.

"It's not that." Hotaru said. "It's just, I miss the picnics I used to have with my dad."

"Let me explain something about dads." Kenny chimed in. He put a hand on Hotaru's shoulder. "Sometimes, dads seem to get caught up in their work." He said. "But they do that so they can take care of their children. You do know that, right?" He laughed, and pushed Hotaru over onto Rini accidentally. Both girls landed on Luna.

While the five shared a laugh and made sure Luna was okay, Mimet was in the greenhouse nearby, spying on them. She was about to release the Heart Snatcher, when she suddenly remembered Dr. Tomo telling her not to release the Heart Snatcher until the right moment. She decided it was best to wait.

After the picnic, Kenny was taking the girls and Darien inside to look at his rose room. In it, were shelf upon shelf of roses, and even the walls were adorned with assorted bright colors. Hotaru looked sad at one of them, but loved the colors. Kenny said that a lot of the roses were ones he made himself.

"So he breeds roses too?" Hotaru said.

"I know." Serena said, looking at a rose. "Weird job, isn't it? Imagine spending your days getting flowers to mate!" Kenny shot her a grim look, and Serena laughed at her embarrassment. Hotaru looked at the flowers, feeling a little depressed.

"People always have to mettle with things." Hotaru said. "Why can't we just let nature take its course?"

Just then, Kenny was going to continue the tour in the next room. Rini asked Hotaru if she was going to come, and Hotaru said she would catch up. Rini went with Serena, Luna and Darien. In the new room, Mimet was in disguise, asking Darien the latin name of a plant. She clung to Darien, making Serena intensely jealous. Serena tried to get between them, but Mimet knocked her out of the way. Mimet asked Darien to be her advisor on plants.

"Sorry, ma'am." Darien replied. "I'm just hanging out with my nice family." He suddenly drew Serena and Rini close to him.

"Oh, well are they your sisters?" Mimet asked.

"Not really." Darien replied. "This is my future wife and daughter." He walked away with Rini and Serena. Mimet, feeling angry from Darien's rudeness, went to release the Heart Snatcher. She remembered Dr. Tomo again, and decided to wait.

Serena swooned over Darien as they walked, and Rini was worried about Hotaru. Darien suggested that she find her friend, and Rini ran off to get Hotaru. Meanwhile, Hotaru was trying to leave the greenhouse, but a storm appeared in the sky, almost out of nowhere. Lightning crashed in the sky, and hail stones started pounding the roofing of the greenhouse. Kenny looked around, suddenly worried that the temperature drop could kill the plants. Rini looked for Hotaru, all alone, scared because of the thunder.

Meanwhile, Kenny started putting wooden planks up against the roofing to keep the hail and rain water from coming in. He was having trouble holding up the board. Then, a pair of hands held it up. Kenny looked to see Hotaru. He thanked her, and she blushed. As he nailed the board into place, he spoke about how the Pure Heart Rose could be used to cure a lot of diseases. Suddenly, something flew through the air, and broke the ladder, sending Kenny and Hotaru tumbling to the ground. Kenny managed to catch Hotaru.

Mimet kicked the dirt to get Kenny's attention as he cradled the fainted Hotaru. She sent her Heart Snatcher out after him. Easily, the Heart Snatcher took Kenny's Heart Crystal and swallowed it. Rini saw the whole thing, and ducked behind the door.

"MOON PRISM POWER!"

The doors suddenly swung open, revealing Sailor Mini Moon.

"You take our Pure Heart," she said, "you destroy this earth's power to heal! There's pretty Sailor Soldiers of love and justice! I'm Sailor Mini Moon! And I shall punish you in the name of the future moon!"

Unimpressed, Mimet sent the Heart Snatcher to attack. The Heart Snatcher threw three yellow roses at Sailor Mini Moon. Before they could hit, a red rose flashed down, and stopped the yellow roses. At the top of the room was Tuxedo Mask.

"Who dares use my trademark for evil?" He said. "I hate copycats!" He jumped down and landed next to Mini Moon.

"Who are you?" Mimet asked.

"I suggest you not get so flustered by my arrival." Tuxedo Mask replied, drawing his cape around Sailor Mini Moon. "You've got more company coming!"

With that, Sailor Moon appeared. "Sorry you had to wait for a pretty sailor!" She said. "A soldier of love and justice! I'm Sailor Moon! And in the name of the moon, I shall punish you!"

Mimet ordered another attack, and the Heart Snatcher sprouted thorns from its legs and arms. It waved its arms in the air, and the bloom on its head grew larger. It chased after Sailor Moon.

"PINK SUGAR HEART ATTACK!"

Sailor Moon was able to dodge as Sailor Mini Moon's attack pelted the Heart Snatcher in the face. The Heart Snatcher stretched its arms and quickly trapped the two Sailor Scouts. Tuxedo Mask leapt into the fray, breaking the Heart Snatcher's arms off, freeing the Sailor Scouts. The Heart Snatcher flew backwards and hit the ground hard. The Heart Snatcher stood up, despite its lack of arms. Suddenly, large tree roots sprouted from the remains of its severed limbs, and made effective hands. The Heart Snatcher buried its root hands into the ground, and started spreading its roots throughout the floor.

Without warning, Tuxedo Mask was grabbed by the roots, and held tightly. Sailor Moon and Sailor Mini Moon were grabbed quickly as well. The shaking of the greenhouse from the roots caused the plank that covered the window to fall. Just as everything looked hopeless, Hotaru got up, and grabbed a stray root. Her eyes started to glow brightly, and energy started to shock the Heart Snatcher, almost tearing it up from within. Mimet, frightened, ran off. Tuxedo Mask and the Sailor Scouts were freed.

"MOON CRISIS POWER!"

"RAINBOW MOON HEART ACHE!"

The yellow rose fell to the ground, and the Daimon pod came out of it. The spirit in it was released. Tuxedo Mask and Sailor Mini Moon cradled the weakened Sailor Moon as she recovered. The Outer Sailor Scouts watched the room intently.

"I felt a strong power nearby." Sailor Neptune said. "I'm stumped as to what it was."

"A tidal wave of pure darkness." Sailor Uranus replied.

"Please take great care, Little Lady." Sailor Pluto said.

The sky returned to normal. Serena, Darien and Rini reverted to themselves. Kenny was with his wife and children, making sure he was alright. Rini, Serena and Darien were huddled around Hotaru, waiting for her to wake up. She woke up slowly, and Rini smiled. Kenny told his children that they were lucky that the Pure Heart Roses survived.

"Hey, look at the sky, everybody!" Rini said. She whispered to Hotaru. "Hotaru, it's shining for you!"

Hotaru looked high up into the bright blue sky. Shining for her was a beautiful rainbow.

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