Sailor Moon episode 68

Episode title: The Secret of the Luna Sphere

Canadian Air date: 10/4/97

The small child was running from the darkness. Behind her, a black crystal shone. All around the child was a void of blackness. She stopped when a pillar of light shone before her, and a man cloaked in robes appeared, hovering high in the air.

"Run all you like, Small Lady, you can't escape me!" The man said. "Resistance is futile! You belong to the Dark Crystal! Come with me now!" The man laughed.

"No, go away!" Shouted Small Lady. "Mommy taught me to never go with strangers!" The man replied,

"Don't play dumb, kid! You know exactly who I am and what I want! No one escapes the Grim Man!"

The Grim Man opened his cloak, revealing only a void of outer space. The pink-haired Small Lady fell into the abyss, to be lost forever.

"Help!" The Small Lady's cries reached all over Crystal Tokyo. Pillars of light shot through the ground, and the city was destroyed.

Prince Diamond sat upon his throne, and a beam of light violently exploded behind him. Before him were two of his subjects. One was Emerald. The other was a man. He was dressed in dark blue, and had dark blue hair. He, like the others from the Negamoon, had an upside down black crescent moon on his forehead.

"I'm tired of waiting for this kid." Said Diamond. "But, by attacking her in her dreams, maybe this time, we can capture her." Emerald raised her head slightly, and smiled.

What a stud muffin! She thought to herself. I hope the Grim Man fails so I get my chance to impress him.

"You've been very quiet, Sapphire." Diamond said to the man. "What are you thinking?"

"I think we're wasting our time!" Sapphire said. "I don't understand why this silly child is so important to the great Prince Diamond!"

Diamond looked to the glass of wine he was sipping, and said,

"Get her, we get the Silver Crystal."

"But, Highness!" Sapphire began. Emerald interrupted.

"Chill out, Sapphire. If the Grim Man fails, I'll pick up where Rubeus left off. Actually, when you think about it, Rubeus was really clueless!" She laughed loudly. Diamond told her to be quiet, and she hid behind her fan in embarrassment.

"Your Highness," began Sapphire, "I don't understand why you're so obsessed with getting that stupid Silver Crystal. Sure, its power is formidable, but nothing compared to the Dark Crystal. The future is ours to take, forget about muddling in the past!"

Diamond simply listened to Sapphire's words. He then called out for the Wiseman. He appeared, and said that Sapphire was wrong. He told that the Silver Crystal should be destroyed to secure the dominance of the Negamoon in the future. Diamond rose, to face the space behind his throne, while Sapphire appeared quite vexed.

"Sage advice, Wiseman." Said Diamond. "As soon as the Grim Man captures that child, the Crystal will be mine!"

The girls were all huddled around Rini, who was asleep on Serena's bed. Serena was in tears, and was shaking Mina, wondering what to do.

"Rini's been like this for three whole days now!"

Mina didn't know what to do. Raye cut in.

"Serena! Can the hysterics!"

"What do you mean? I'm not hysterical!" Serena shot back. "I guess I should just let her rest, like the doctor said."

Rini began to call for help in her sleep. Serena bent closer to her. "It's those bad men who are from the Negamoon. They're coming to get me. Help. Help, Luna-P!"

The Luna Ball, which was on the floor beside the bed reacted, and moved itself over Rini. The girls watched intently as it began to glow, and a small bubble appeared. Inside the bubble was a shadowed form. The form was revealed, and a small person stood up. It was a Sailor Scout.

"Please, don't be afraid of me, Sailor Scouts." The Sailor said. "My name is Sailor Pluto. I guard the door of time and space."

"Wow, another Sailor Scout!" Serena said. "Are you the one Rini calls Luna-P?"

"Sailor Pluto." Luna said. "Artemis, there's another Sailor Scout!"

"Please, you must help the Small Lady, or she will perish." Said Pluto.

"The Small Lady?" Asked Serena. Mina said that Pluto must have been talking about Rini. Sailor Pluto went on.

"An agent of the Dark Crystal has entered the Small Lady's dream, and is now trying to destroy her. If the Grim Man succeeds, Rini will forever be in their sway. You have to stop him! I can help you go into her dream world, where you must fight the Grim Man. But it's a very risky mission."

All the girls agreed to help Rini. Serena told Rini everything was going to be okay. In a flash of light, Sailor Pluto transported everyone to a place far away, but closer than they thought...

"I guess we're in Rini's dream world now." Mina said, as the girls overlooked the landscape of Rini's dream. Before them spread out a large city made entirely of crystal. It lay in ruins, and the girls were beginning to feel badly about it. Amy realized that the city that was before them was Crystal Tokyo. Raye said,

"Hang on, guys! This isn't the real future, just Rini's vision of the future. It's not set in stone, you know."

The girls heard Rini's cries for help, and went to find them.

The Small Lady was crouched in front of a large statue. She was crying, and in a dark room. Behind her, a light shone as a door opened, revealing five unfamiliar forms. It was Serena and the girls. Serena called out to Rini.

"Who are you, and what do you want?" Rini snapped.

"Rini, it's Serena!"

"What's all this 'Rini' stuff?" Small Lady yelled. "You shouldn't call me that! You should call me Small Lady!"

The girls called her Rini again, and she told them to stay away. Serena asked why Rini was acting that way.

"I think I know." Said Amy. "Look, we're in her dream, right? So, it's possible this Rini hasn't come to the twentieth century and met us yet. I don't think she knows us!"

"So this dream's taking place in the future, before she came to stay with us!" Replied Raye. "This is complicated!"

Rini yelled at the girls, and ran off. The girls chased after her. Rini hid behind a wall, and waited. Above her, a form appeared. She looked up to see the Grim Man. This time, he was holding a large scythe.

"Run all you like, kid!" He said. "I'm around every corner!"

The Grim Man sliced at Rini, and missed. Rini fell to the ground. The Grim Man was poised over Rini. The girls were witness to this nearby, and Luna told the girls to transform.

"MOON CRYSTAL POWER!!"

"MARS STAR POWER!!"

"MERCURY STAR POWER!!!"

"JUPITER STAR POWER!!"

"VENUS STAR POWER!!"

"Yo, slime-bag!" Came a voice, just as Grim Man was poised to strike. He looked over to see five forms standing on top of a pillar. It was the Sailor Scouts. "Right, you! It's very wrong to barge into other peoples dreams and try to destroy them! I stand for love and justice! I'm Sailor Moon! You've turned dreams into nightmares, and that's it, enough!"

The Grim Man observed that Sailor Moon was mouthy, and threw his scythe at the Sailor Scouts. They leaped off the pillar, and the scythe smashed it.

"MARS CELESTIAL FIRE SURROUND!"

"VENUS LOVE CHAIN ENCIRCLE!"

Both the rings of fire, and the Love Chain hit the Grim Man, but to no avail. The Sailor Scouts got into defensive position in front of Rini.

"Why didn't it work?" Asked Venus. The Grim Man replied,

"Because, I'm stronger than all you wimps put together!" All the Sailor Scouts looked to Rini, who was petrified with fear. She ran off again, and Sailor Moon wanted to go after her. Sailor Mars told Sailor Moon to go, while they take care of the Grim Man. Sailor Moon chased the Small Lady.

"You want a fight? We'll see who's stronger!" Sailor Mars taunted.

"Oh, goody!" The Grim Man laughed. "This should be a scream! Your scream!"

Rini ran through the streets of the large crystal metropolis, and stopped when she was confronted by Sailor Moon. Rini began to run, but Sailor Moon told her to stop and listen to what she had to say.

"Why should I?" Screamed Rini.

"Because we're here to rescue you from the Dark Crystal." Replied Sailor Moon. Rini didn't believe her. She said that Sailor Moon was from the Negamoon. Sailor Moon said it wasn't true.

"You've come from the evil Negamoon to destroy us! You ruined Crystal Tokyo, and you captured my mommy! Why can't you all just leave me alone?!"

Sailor Moon explained that she and the Sailor Scouts were from the past, and had nothing to do with the Negamoon. Rini didn't believe her still. Sailor Moon walked up to Rini, and put the little girl's hands in hers. She said that she had entered the dream to protect the little girl.

"You've come here to save me?" Rini said. Sailor Moon said that she and her friends were the Sailor Scouts, and that they would defeat the Grim Man, and any other Negamoon monster. But, to do it, Rini had to trust them.

"Well, I still..." Began Rini. "Don't believe you at all! Why should I?!" She turned her back to Sailor Moon to think for a moment. "I don't know why, but I'm gonna trust you." Sailor Moon was shocked. Rini's only condition was that Sailor Moon had to save her mother. Sailor Moon told Rini to take her to the child's mother.

In another part of Crystal Tokyo, Sailor Moon and Rini stood outside a large palace made out of crystal. It was a tall tower, with smaller towers around it.

"That's the crystal palace." Said Rini. "My mommy's trapped inside there."

"Let's go find her." Said Sailor Moon. She began to walk towards the tower, and stopped when Rini said it wasn't that easy. She picked up a stone, and threw it at the castle. It hit an energy barrier, and disintegrated.

"What was that?" Asked Sailor Moon. It was the power of the Dark Crystal.

"My mommy told me the people from the Negamoon are using to take over Crystal Tokyo. Now, go save her now!" Sailor Moon hesitated, and Rini smiled laughingly. "You're scared, aren't you? But you promised to save my mommy, Sailor Moon." Nearby, a large crystal tower fell to the ground. Luna and Artemis ran up to Sailor Moon, and told her the Scouts needed her help. Sailor Moon promised Rini that they'd destroy the Grim Man, and free her mother, then ran to help the Scouts.

The Sailor Scouts were standing their ground, and Sailor Moon arrived.

"Hey, listen guys!" Sailor Moon said. "Rini's mom needs to be freed. They've got her locked up in that crystal palace over there!" The Sailor Scouts all looked at the crystalline form of the palace far off in the distance. First, they had to defeat the Grim Man. Sailor Mars noted that the Grim Man had them. Sailor Moon said that by combining their powers, they could destroy him. The Grim Man laughed, and the Sailor Scouts stood their ground. Jupiter thought that they couldn't defeat the Grim Man, because they were in Rini's dream. Nearby, Rini and the cats arrived. The Grim Man tossed his Scythe at the Sailor Scouts, and it sliced them all, falling to the ground. The only one who had the strength, will, and determination to get up was Sailor Moon. Rini watched.

"Rini!" Luna said. "This is your dream! Trust in the Scouts, and they can beat him!" Rini looked on, but felt that she still couldn't trust in Sailor Moon. Meanwhile, Sailor Moon ran towards the Grim Man, and leapt into the air. She got out her Moon Scepter, and attempted to hit the Grim Man. The Grim Man hammered the Scout with his Scythe, sending her crashing into the ground. The Grim Man hovered over Rini. Sailor Moon, once again, stood in the way. The Grim Man slammed his scythe into the ground, causing it to crumble. Rini, Luna and Artemis fell into it, but Sailor Moon caught Rini at the last moment.

"You just saved me!" Rini said in shock.

"Rini, are you okay?" Asked Sailor Moon, struggling with the weight of the girl.

"But, why did you do it?" Asked Rini. Sailor Moon replied,

"You kidding? 'Cause you're my friend!" Sailor Moon began to lose her grip, but began to pull Rini upwards. Rini told the Sailor to save herself, but she would not.

"This is your dream! You control whatever happens in it!"

Rini flashed back to the times when Sailor Pluto told her to trust the Sailor Scouts, and to the time when she asked the Tuxedo Mask doll if Sailor Moon was a good person. When she came to reality, she asked Sailor Moon if she could really beat the Dark Crystal. Sailor Moon replied,

"This is your dream, Rini. If you believe in us, we can help. If you don't trust us, we can't. It's up to you now."

The Grim Man appeared right over Sailor Moon, and got ready to strike. Rini shouted out,

"Get rid of this jerkboy, Sailor Moon!"

The Grim Man slashed with his scythe, but it was stopped by the Moon Scepter. There was a flash of light, and the Grim Man was blasted. Sailor Moon was glowing with power, and she stood up, her hold on Rini gone. Rini floated out of the abyss in a pink bubble. After a few seconds, Sailor Moon stopped glowing, and told the Grim Man,

"You try to torment my friend Rini again, you'll have to answer to me!"

"MOON SCEPTER ACTIVATION!"

The Grim Man was blasted, and ultimately destroyed. The Dark Crystal that had been the powers of the Grim Man fell to dust. Sailor Moon put a hand on Rini's shoulder, and they laughed together.

Later, when the Sailor Scouts and Rini had made it to the Crystal Palace, they got to a room that housed an alter. On it, pointed crystals jutted out. Between them, the body of the queen of Crystal Tokyo lie very still...

"So, I guess that must be your mother, right Rini?" Sailor Moon said.

"Sailor Moon," Replied Rini, "you're so good to me!" She ran out towards the alter, and stopped, turning to face the Sailor Scouts. "Thank you, Sailor Scouts. You guys saved me and my mommy. Thanks."

All around them, the room turned into bright light. Sailor Moon told Rini that they'd always be there. In a flash of light, the girls found themselves on Serena's bed, in her room. Serena got up first, and was confronted by Sailor Pluto.

"I knew I could count on you, thank you, Sailor Moon." She said. The other girls awoke. "And you too, Sailor Scouts. Thanks to you, the Small Lady's safe now."

"How is Rini?" Serena asked, concerned.

"I want pancakes." Was the first line said by Rini when she awoke. Serena hugged the girl, and backed off when the bubble housing Sailor Pluto floated over. Rini held the bubble, and asked Pluto if she could go home.

"I'm sorry, it's not safe there yet." Pluto replied. "As long as the bad people from the Negamoon are in control there, you must stay here, Small Lady. We can save the future by protecting the present! Please, Sailor Scouts, continue to guard her. I know you will, and never ever surrender the Silver Crystal..."

The Luna Ball was returned to its original form. Rini was crying, and hugged Serena. Serena thought,

I'll always be here for you, and I promise you, one day, you will get home to your mommy!