Sailor Moon Episode 111

Episode title: It's in the Cards

Original American Airdate: 07/20/2000

One warm day, Rini and Hotaru were in Hotaru's room playing cards. It was a guessing game where the player had to guess which was the Ace of Hearts. Hotaru chose the Joker and lost. Rini chose the ace and won. Hotaru said that the cards of love always run away from her. Rini scolded Hotaru for 'letting' her win.

Meanwhile downstairs, Dr. Tomo put a card into his oven device. He thought it was going to be his most successful Heart Snatcher so far. Mimet, with a sly look on her face, told Tomo it was break time, and his turn to get the snacks. He left to get the snacks. Mimet, who'd promised not to touch anything, ran to get more things to make Tomo's Heart Snatcher better. She threw in a bunch of books, and a slot machine, and all sorts of things. The oven suddenly started to crackle and flash, and in a huge explosion, the house was surrounded with a strange energy. Rini and Hotaru hugged each other, scared through the explosion. When it was over, all seemed well.

An odd energy seemed to warp the room around them. Rini ran to the window to check how things were. Out the window, was an ocean view. The window was hovering above the ocean. There was no ocean outside Hotaru's window originally. Rini joined Hotaru at the other window, and the view was strangely different. It was a view of the Savannah in Africa. Rini ran to her Luna Ball and pressed the nose.

"Guys, I need your help, and right now!" Rini said into it. At Raye's house, Serena and the others recieved Rini's communication. The girls decided to go there as the Sailor Scouts. "Hotaru, my friends are coming." Rini said.

"Good." Hotaru said. "Maybe they can explain this! My dresser's full of fish!" Surely enough, Hotaru's dresser was filled with water, and crustaceans swam through it. Rini opened the shutter on Hotaru's desk, and inside was another view of the Savannah. A lion walked right up to Rini, and roared. The lion came into Hotaru's room. The two girls retreated out the door.

Outside the door was not a hall, however. It was a desert at night. Things seemed worse when the door behind them disappeared. Hotaru sank to her knees, feeling hopeless. Rini told her that her friends were coming to save them.

Outside the house, Dr. Tomo was just coming home from shopping.

"Three mini marts to find the right junk food?" He said to himself. "I don't have time for this." He got to the door, and tried to open it. It was locked. He pulled and pulled on the door to no avail. He tried to knock the door down, but was knocked to the ground himself. As he sat there recovering, he heard some voices behind him. He turned to see the Sailor Scouts. "Can I help you, ladies?" Tomo asked. What are they doing here? He thought. What if they found out who I really am?

"Would you happen to know where Rini and Hotaru are, mister?" Sailor Mars asked.

Sailor Moon stepped forward. "Because I'm the Champion of Justice! My name's Sailor Moon! I will right wrongs and triumph over evil, so there! So, talk!"

Sailor Mars growled at Sailor Moon, and slapped her in the back of the head. While Sailor Moon and Sailor Mars argued, Tomo thought to himself that the Sailor Scouts were too insane.

"Did you say you're looking for Hotaru?" Tomo asked.

"Sure did!" Sailor Moon said cheerfully. "She's in big trouble, I think!"

"We'd better get in there fast, Sailor Moon." Sailor Mercury said.

Meanwhile, inside the mansion, stranger things were starting to happen. While Hotaru and Rini once walked through a desert at night, the scenery had changed. They were walking through a tropical jungle, feeling like they were slowly cooking in the heat. Suddenly, the scenery changed again and the two intrepid explorers were suddenly on an arctic tundra. A pengiun walked by in a strange way.

Back outside, Sailor Moon told Sailor Jupiter to blast the door down.

"We can't do that!" Sailor Mercury said. "We can't just barge in without some kind of plan!"

Sailor Moon stopped.

"Here's the plan." She said. "Jupiter blasts the doors with thunder bolts. If that doesn't work, Sailor Venus yanks it off the hinges with love chains. And if that doesn't work, Mars burns it." The Sailor Scouts sighed.

"And you'll be doing what?" Sailor Mars asked through gritted teeth.

"That's no big brainer, Mars, I'll be working on plan B!" Sailor Moon said.

Dr. Tomo piped up. "Are you saying to save my little girl, I need you scouts?" He asked. Mars affirmed Tomo's suspicion. Mercury was talking about why they couldn't blow up any part of the house, while Mars started arguing with Sailor Moon. Sailor Mercury yelled at the two to stop. Sailor Mars thought that they could get in with a Sailor Teleport.

The girls joined in a circle, and evoked the power of the Sailor Teleport. In moments, they disappeared in a flash of light, and into the house.

I gotta wish 'em luck. Tomo thought to himself, grudgingly admitting the fact so the Scouts could save his daughter.

Inside, the Sailor Scouts appeared in mid-air, and fell to the ground. They didn't seem to be inside the house, but rather in a large meadow surrounded by mountains.

"I thought we were teleporting to Hotaru's house, not the mountains." Sailor Moon said.

"We are at Hotaru's, but in a different dimension." Sailor Mercury said.

"What a strange twist of fate." Dr. Tomo said to himself outside. "Me, counting on the Sailor Scouts to help rescue my daughter. I have a feeling this is all Mimet's fault. She must've played with the oven and created a space warp. Figures. It probably wasn't even my turn on snack duty. She probably just wanted me out of the lab."

Back inside, the Sailor Scouts were traversing a river at the bottom of a waterfall. Suddenly, the were in a large field. They were not having a good time. Back outside, Dr. Tomo had taken it upon himself to eat the snacks he'd bought. Luna and Artemis were worried about the Sailor Scouts. Trista watched quietly at the front gates. Just then, Amara and Michele came up behind her.

"Any news? They find Rini?" Amara asked.

"Mercury's scanner showed an altered space that's surrounded this place." Trista replied. "The Scouts had to teleport in to go after Rini and her friend, but they might not have time to get back out."

"If Hotaru gets left behind, that's fine by me." Amara said.

"Amara!" Michele gasped.

"That girl is bad news." Amara said. "She's got a connection with the negative forces, I'm sure."

Inside, Rini and Hotaru were continuing their journey. Rini felt tired, but hid it from Hotaru. Hotaru said that they should stay where they were if they wanted to be found. Rini didn't listen and continued forward. Just then, the scenery changed. Rini was standing over a bottomless chasm, and started falling. Hotaru dove for Rini's hand, and caught her. She tried to pull Rini up, but was too weak.

Meanwhile, the Sailor Scouts trudged on through an intensely hot desert. Sailor Mercury was sure that they were going to find Hotaru and Rini. The scenery changed by Mercury's calculations, and the Sailor Scouts were standing at the same chasm Rini and Hotaru were at. Hotaru suddenly slipped off the edge of the cliff, and both she and Rini fell into the chasm.

"VENUS LOVE CHAIN!"

Sailor Venus' Love Chain caught the two girls, and hauled them to safety. After a few moments, Hotaru was the first to come to.

"I don't know how we're going to do this, you guys." Sailor Mercury said. "We can't teleport two extra people. It's too much."

"Is there another way to get home?" Sailor Jupiter asked.

"Can you guys teleport with just one of us?" A voice said. The Sailor Scouts looked and saw Hotaru. "If so, then you've got to let Rini out of here." Hotaru said. "I'll be okay. Promise."

"You can't stay here!" Sailor Moon replied.

"You can't take us both." Hotaru said. "She's got a good future place in the world. She's not a freak like me. Just save her, please! Go back while you still have time!"

"We're going back, alright!" Sailor Moon replied. "But, not without you, Hotaru!" Hotaru gasped. "You've become Rini's best friend. We can't leave you like last year's clothes."

"We couldn't do that." Sailor Venus said. "It would break her heart."

Mars: "Besides, the golden rule of Sailor Scouts behavior is that..."

Jupiter: "You stand by your friends. And that means if you're Rini's friend, then you're ours too."

"And since we'd never leave a Sailor behind, there's no way we're leaving you." Sailor Mercury said. The girls promised they'd find a way home. Hotaru kept herself from crying in happiness.

Meanwhile outside, Dr. Tomo was continuing to gobble down the snacks, and gulp down the soda.

Back inside, the scenery changed to that of Hotaru's house. Sailor Moon, Venus, and Rini appeared in mid air above a flight of stairs and tumbled to the ground. They soon recovered, and looked for a way out. They approached a door, and tentatively opened it. Inside was nothing but blackness.

"Welcome to the Game Room, Sailor Scouts!" A voice rang. The source of the voice was the oddest looking Heart Snatcher to date. It was made up of too many things to describe. It proposed a challenge: The Sailor Scouts can challenge them to any kind of game for their freedom.

"We don't have time for games!" Sailor Mars shouted.

"MARS CELESTIAL FIRE..."

The Heart Snatcher told Sailor Mars to stop, or they'd get stuck out in the changing scenery again. The Sailor Scouts grudgingly accepted the Heart Snatcher's challenge. Sailor Jupiter was up first, with a game of roulette.

The Roulette wheel spun around quickly, and the ball followed the edges. Sailor Jupiter called out Red 16. The ball landed on her called number. Suddenly, the number flipped over. Sailor Jupiter was trapped in a large card. Sailor Mars was next, challenging with a game of Jenga. As Mars played, she didn't notice a string the Heart Snatcher had attatched to a piece. The Heart Snatcher yanked the string, and the tower tumbled downwards.

Next on the list was Sailor Mercury with a game of chess. Sailor Mercury had the Heart Snatcher's queen. Mercury simply lost because a laser beam destroyed the chess board. Next up was Sailor Moon and Sailor Venus with a racing game. Naturally, they lost, so they were trapped in large cards too.

"Five up and five down. I didn't think it would be so easy." The Heart Snatcher said.

"It isn't!" Shouted Rini. She and Hotaru shouted, "You haven't asked us what we want to play yet!"

The Sailor Scouts objected to the idea, but Rini and Hotaru didn't listen. They challenged the Heart Snatcher to their card game. Meanwhile outside, Artemis was worrying about the Sailor Scouts, and Dr. Tomo's stomach was hurting. Back inside, Hotaru and Rini were ready to play the card game. Rini held up three cards. The Heart Snatcher had to choose the ace of hearts. As the Heart Snatcher poured over its choices, Rini bluffed her way through it, and the Heart Snatcher got the Joker card. Hotaru chose next. Luckily for her, she didn't get the Joker card. Then came Rini's turn. Rini gave the Heart Snatcher her last card, which won them the game. The Heart Snatcher, not taking kindly to losing, challenged Hotaru to a one on one. Hotaru had to choose the ace of hearts to win their freedom, finally.

As Hotaru thought about her choice, the Heart Snatcher had marked the Joker card, and planned to make Hotaru choose it. Hotaru mulled over her choice, and the Heart Snatcher did its best to mislead her. Hotaru was discouraged. Suddenly, the Sailor Scouts started to encourage her, and compliment her. Hotaru felt encouraged now, and made her choice based on her instincts. She chose the ace of hearts. The Heart Snatcher, again not taking a loss well, decided that the Sailor Scouts weren't going anywhere.

"I won't let you win." Rini said to herself.

"MOON PRISM POWER!"

"PINK SUGAR HEART ATTACK!"

Nothing happened. Sailor Mini Moon tried over and over to evoke her small wand's power. Suddenly, a barrage of hearts shot out of it, barely missing Rini. The Heart Snatcher dodged all the shots, while Sailor Mini Moon shot at the card Sailor Moon was trapped in. Sailor Moon was freed.

"You're not supposed to attack me!" Sailor Moon shouted at Sailor Mini Moon.

"At least you got outta there!" Sailor Mini Moon shouted back.

"Oh yeah, look at that!" Sailor Moon said.

"MOON CRISIS POWER!"

"RAINBOW MOON HEART ACHE!"

The pile of books and things that made the Heart Snatcher fell to the ground. The Daimon pod came out, and broke, releasing its spirit. The cards trapping the Sailor Scouts disappeared, and the house returned to normal. Sailor Moon told Mini Moon to revert to herself so Hotaru would know her.

Outside, Dr. Tomo's stomach was too full from eating all the junk food. The Sailor Scouts came out with Hotaru safe and sound. He hugged them and thanked them.

"You don't need to thank us." Sailor Moon said. "It's our job."

Dr. Tomo cradled his daughter in his arms. He thought to himself, with an evil smile on his face.

Oh, I insist, I'll repay you. I'll pay you back for everything you've done for me. And then some!

Trista, Michele and Amara all stood together at the front gates.

"They succeeded, Amara. You must be disappointed." Trista said.

"She won't show it." Michele said. "She's got a great poker face. But I know you're happy the Sailor Scouts came out fine."

"I have no comment." Amara said, hiding a smile.

"You were great, Rini." Sailor Moon said with a smile.

"I just had to believe in myself!" Rini thought. "Like Hotaru!"

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