Part 9 "Going Nuts over You!" As the seven little girls, Mrs. Tsukino, and Chad traveled around Scoutland, Raye's sense of evil continued to intensify. She couldn't really pinpoint where exactly it was coming from but something evil was around and it seemed powerful. She had stopped riding on Chad's shoulders and was now walking just a few steps ahead of him, any thought of mischief banished to the dark recesses of her mind. There had been some false alarms. A giant turtle singing badly was, at first, suspect. Raye couldn't believe that there were people worse than Chad when it came to singing. Another false alarm was when a giant carrot came running towards them babbling something about giant bunnies. To say that these false alarms were disconcerting would be an understatement. Reenie walking behind the rest of the group with Serena noticed that something was wrong. The girls seemed to be nervous. She looked at Serena who appeared to be more attentive and anxiously glancing around. The typically talkative smiling little girl was now silent except for the occasional comment. It was obvious to Reenie that Serena was just trying to keep up appearances. "Serena, is something wrong?" Reenie asked softly. "No..." Serena replied after a brief pause and then gave a nervous giggle. "Nothing that my BIG SISTER can't handle," Serena said trying to reassure the older girl. Reenie smiled back and then continued to walk in silence. A few moments later they heard a voice calling out, "PEANUTS!!! GET YOUR PEANUTS HERE!!!" "Can we get some, Mommy?" Serena squeaked out, her stomach overriding her worry that the Negaverse was about. She missed the dark look that Raye sent her as she looked hopefully towards the costumed man dressed as a squirrel. Mrs. Tsukino checked her purse. "I suppose, dear, IF they aren't too salty," she decided. Reenie suddenly let go of Serena's hand, hurried over to Mrs. Tsukino, and whispered something. Ellen grimaced slightly but nodded, "Okay, girls, let's find a spot to sit while we wait for Reenie." Reenie had dashed off headed in the direction of the restrooms. As the girls settled on a nearby bench, Ellen walked over and bought two bags of peanuts. She handed one of them to Chad. Serena who was near her mother outstretched her hand and asked, "Can I have some, please Mommy?" "Hold on, Serena. I want to see if they're too salty," Mrs. Tsukino repeated to her young daughter. Reaching into her bag, Ellen took out a couple of peanuts and popped them into her mouth. Chad followed suit. He didn't notice that Carrie had snuck up behind him and darted her hand into his bag. Quickly she pulled her hand away and shoved some of the peanuts into her mouth and started to chew. Ellen scrunched her face. "Th-They taste... funny," she said after swallowing. "Yeah," Chad agreed, also making a face, "But it isn't salt." Carrie, once again, snuck up behind Chad. Licking her lips, she reached out and snatched a couple more peanuts. She quickly popped the treasured nuts into her mouth before Mrs. Tsukino or Chad could see her. She normally wasn't allowed to have nuts. Her mother deemed her too young to have them. So sneaking something forbidden was certainly exciting. Mina giggled as she watched her friend successfully outwit the adults. The girls watched in some surprise as Mrs. Tsukino's face changed, seeming to soften. A broad grin slowly spread across her face and she started to giggle. Chad had a similar reaction although he didn't giggle. "COOL DUDE!" Chad suddenly shouted and, reaching over, tagged Ellen, "You're it!" "Hey!" Ellen squawked. "That ain't fair!" she shouted as she started off after Chad. "You come back here and play fair!!!" she whined. "Ellen! Chad! You two come back here THIS MINUTE!" boomed a high-pitched voice. "Carrie?!?" Mina squeaked softly looking at her friend with some shock. She saw Carrie glaring disapprovingly at the two adults who were running around playing tag. "Aww Miss Sayama," Chad whined to Carrie, "lighten up, girl!" Running, he got behind Carrie and used her as a shield. "Can't catch me!!!" he jeered at Mrs. Tsukino before running off again. "Ellen, you stop right this minute!" Carrie admonished, "There are too many people around here to play those types of games." Mrs. Tsukino skidded to a halt and stuck out her bottom lip. "Don't you dare pout, young lady." Tears started to well up in Ellen's eyes. Turning slightly, Carrie bellowed, "CHAD!!! GET BACK HERE!!!" "Amy?" Serena whispered while the girls huddled together, "What... what's happening?" "Those peanuts are infected with nega-energy, Serena," Amy explained after making a quick scan with her computer, "If Carrie, Chad, and Mrs. Tsukino are any indication, then the peanuts must cause people's behavior either to regress or grow up." The other girls glanced around. Wherever the peanut vendor had walked, similar situations were taking place. Adults were acting like kids and kids were acting like adults. "We've got to find a place to transform," Raye said softly, "We have a good opportunity to do it now when Carrie is out chasing after Chad." The little girl was dragging a teary eyed Ellen Tsukino along chasing Chad who was sprinting around the park grounds. "Okay let's go," Serena agreed. Quietly, not wanting to attract undue attention to themselves, the girls quickly slipped through the crowd looking for a place to transform. Eventually, they found a secluded spot behind two stalls with bushes blocking the other ends. Calling out their transformation phrases, the five little girls vanished and were replaced with the Sailor Scouts! "Let's go!" Sailor Jupiter yelled and, leaping, sailed over the stall and into the crowd. Her companions were not long in coming. "MOMMY LOOK!!!! THE CHIBI-SCOUTS!!!" one little girl called out. What happened next was a total shock to the Scouts. Typically when they showed up people would flock away from them. No sooner had the declaration been given than the Sailor Scouts were swamped by a horde of Scout-crazed fanatics. "That way!" Sailor Mercury declared using her computer to locate the Droid, now that she had a reading on the infected peanuts that the Droid was carrying. "Quick before these rugrats overrun us!" Sailor Mars ordered. With that she set out as fast as she could dodging people that were trying to talk to her. The others were quick to follow although Sailor Moon and Venus lagged behind a little as they stopped to sign autographs for children. "The plan is going well," Avery boasted. Her Droid nodded, "We will soon take this Crystal Point." That's when she heard a voice, a voice she loathed. "Peanuts are a tasty treat and should not be used to harm people! I AM SAILOR MOON, THE CHAMPION OF LOVE AND JUSTICE! IN THE NAME OF THE MOON, I WILL PUNISH YOU!" Whatever Avery's response was going to be was drowned out by a tremendous cheer. Glancing back over her shoulder, Jupiter whistled. Turning slightly to see what the noise had been, the Scouts found themselves to be the center of an ever-growing throng of people. "Why aren't they running away?" Mars asked testily. "Droid Dyno-nut, get those annoying Sailor pests!" Avery shouted. This brought a large amount of booing and hissing from the gathered crowd. "As you command," the giant squirrel replied. Instantly, in a swirl of dark nega-energy, its coat darkened to an almost midnight black color, its eyes glowed a violent red, and its claws sharpened into deadly points. "Are you looking for a blast?" the Droid asked as it tossed an oversized acorn at the Sailor Scouts. The acorn landed on the roof that the Scouts were just standing on. They immediately jumped and, as they did so, the acorn exploded into a burst of flames. A shout of indignation rose from the crowd as the Scouts' faithful fans demanded that they deal with this villian. "MARS CELESTIAL FIRE SURROUND!!!" was Mars' battle cry as she landed on the ground. The blazing rings of fire lanced out and to Mars' dismay passed under the rodent Droid's legs. However, the Droid yelled in pain as the fire singed its fur. Off in one part of the growing crowd, a chant for Sailor Mars started to build. Not to be outdone, Sailor Jupiter began her own attack, "JUPITER THUNDERCLAP ZAP!!!" Throwing her attack, it hit the Droid but the resulting concussion blew Jupiter backwards and she skidded on her rear. "Ouch!" Jupiter screeched. This got some chuckles out of the crowd, "Stay back!" Jupiter ordered as children started to rush towards her. "Oh, you like explosions, do you?" Dyno-nut asked hefting a large chestnut, "Try this one!" With that, it threw the nut. It sailed through the air toward the Scouts and the they quickly scrambled out of its way. The chestnut landed and exploded enveloping the area in smoke. The sounds of frightened children were soon heard. Some of the parents were starting to wonder what kind of show this was for young children. Reenie was trying to hurry. She wanted to get back to see Serena so that they could continue through the theme park. She was also hoping that Serena might tell her why she looked so worried. Reenie was just beginning to wash her hands when a little girl burst into the restroom and shouted, "The Chibi-Scouts are here! And they're fighting a monster!" "Really?!?" another little girl demanded. Getting a nod from the first, both sprinted out of the restroom. "Serena!" Reenie shouted. Not bothering to dry her hands, she bolted out of the restroom and ran right into a churning sea of bodies. Reenie thought worriedly, She was torn between going to look for her little sister and staying out of sight until it was all over with. "Please be okay, Serena. Please..." Reenie said to herself and entered into the throng of people. However, the further she went, the more she was pushed away from her goal. Tears began to flow down her cheeks as she tried to work against the flow of bodies. "Venus, try and tie up its hands!" Mars called while scrambling to her feet. Clenching her fists, she was about to tell the crowd that it wasn't a show but realized that it just might cause even more problems. A mass panic would not do them any good. In fact, those affected by the peanuts were in even more of a dangerous position. Parents were frozen in terror while their children tried to pull them away to safety. Other children were desperately trying to tell their parents that it was all make believe and they shouldn't believe everything they see. And in some areas, children who hadn't been affected but their parents had were terrified or running off thinking it was a great opportunity to get into mischief. "VENUS LOVE CHAIN ENCIRCLE!!!" Venus cried launching her attack. Her golden chain flew through the air and wrapped itself around the Droid's arms. "Gotcha!" Venus cried and started to pull. "Oh, you want to play tug of war!" the Droid chattered and started to pull the chain hand over hand drawing Venus closer. "Help!" Venus squawked as her feet started to slide along the ground. The others ran over and, grabbing hold of the chain, started to heave with all their Scout enhanced strength. After a minute or so of being stalemated the Droid yawned showing its sharp fangs before it grinned. Taking a firm grip with both hands, the Droid jerked and started to twirl the chain around. The Scouts were lifted off their feet and started spinning. "Oooohhhhhhh!!!!!!" Sailor Moon groaned out, "I'm gonna be sick!" "You're not the only one!!!" Jupiter shouted. Giving one more twirl of the chain, the Droid let go and sent the Scouts flying backwards. Grinning, it pulled out a massive peanut nearly as large as itself. "Now to finish you off!" it declared while hefting the giant nut over its head. That's when a streak of red flashed and landed between the rodent's clawed feet. "Peanuts can be fattening and so you should avoid them! I am..." "TUXEDO MASK!!!" Sailor Moon and Mars shouted cutting him off. Giving a growl, the Droid turned and aimed its deadly weapon at the new intruder. However, before it could launch it, Tuxedo Mask launched himself into the air and threw several roses blinding the Droid. "NOW SAILOR MOON!" Tuxedo Mask called as he landed on the ground. "RIGHT!" Sailor Moon replied drawing out her scepter. She shouted, "MOON SCEPTER ELIMINATION!!!" Giant crescent moon shaped energy leapt forth and neatly cut the Droid in half. The giant peanut bomb and the Droid disappeared into a pile of nega-dust. "Dusted!!!" Sailor Moon declared after the Droid had been defeated. A cheer went up from the assembled crowd. "Mercury, cover us!" Venus called out. Nodding Mercury created a fog and the Scouts vanished much to the disappointment of the crowd. The Scouts returned to their original hiding spot and changed before hurrying to get back to where they had left Ellen. "MOMMY!!!" Serena cried running towards her mother. "I was so scared!" she said while wrapping her arms around her mother's legs. She was happy to feel Ellen pick her up and give her a hug. "Are you okay, Mommy?" Serena asked worriedly. "Yes, honey, I am," Mrs. Tsukino answered with a concerned look crossing her face. She could see that Serena and the other girls appeared to be worried. "Why were you scared?" she asked her daughter. "'Cuz the Sailor Scouts were here," Serena answered hugging her mother, "They fought a really scary monster." Raye watched Chad carefully; he seemed to be acting normal. She had to fight down the urge to run over to him and ask how he was doing. Carrie seemed to be shaken up a little bit but Mina was talking to her telling her that it was all right. Amy and Lita were also shaken. "Serena!" came the call. Turning, the group saw Reenie running towards them. Serena wriggled free of her mother's reassuring hug and ran over to Reenie. Jumping up, she hugged Reenie's neck. "I'm back, Serena. It's okay," Reenie said hugging the little girl. "Maybe we should go home," Ellen declared. To her surprise, everyone nodded. Making sure she had everyone, they were heading for the exit when they came upon the battle scene. The area was crater pocked from the explosions. Ellen shivered slightly and Raye walked a little closer to Chad's legs. The ride home was much more subdued. Mina waved good-bye to Carrie when they had dropped the little girl off saying that she'd see her in school tomorrow. As they arrived at the Tsukino home Chad told Raye to wait outside while he went and got their helmets. Raye wasn't about to argue. "Thank you for taking me, Mrs. Tsukino," Raye said to Ellen when Chad came out. Chad smiled. "You're very welcome, Raye. Good-bye." "Bye," Raye chirped and waved to the others who waved back. Raye settled into the sidecar. Then Chad started his motorcycle and headed for home to the temple. "We had a really good time. Thanks, Mrs. Tsukino," Amy said. "Yeah, it was really fun!" Lita agreed. "Yeah!" Serena and Reenie agreed, "Thanks." "You're quite welcome, girls," Mrs. Tsukino added, "Now come on, girls, let's get you all washed up." She looked at Amy, Lita, and Mina, "I want you to look good when your parents come to pick you up." Turning, the five little girls and Ellen entered the home. Later that evening Artemis found himself stalking around the living room. Having been summarily banished downstairs until Mina was finished with her bath, little Artemis was on the prowl looking for something to keep him occupied. He had made two complete circuits of the room and was about to give up when something moving caught his eye. Stopping, he tensed slightly only shifting his eyes. A piece of yarn dangled from an arm of a chair, its red strand being blown by a gentle breeze coming in through a nearby open window. Artemis thought happily. It had been such a long time since he had played with yarn that even watching it sway gently back and forth was mesmerizing. Drawing himself into a bundle of muscles, Artemis leapt and, scrabbling with tiny paws, caught the yarn before falling to the ground. He started to tug at it trying to dislodge the ball of yarn that was the source of the strand. After tugging for a few moments Artemis was breathing hard. This was harder work than he remembered. Dropping the part he was playing with, he carefully picked his way up the furniture and giving another leap landed on the chair's arm. He felt like he was going to lose his balance and fall for a moment before he softly jumped onto the chair seat. There, sitting wedged between the cushion and the arm, was a giant red ball of yarn. Giving what in human terms would have been considered a face swallowing grin, Artemis pounced on the ball of yarn. His forward momentum carried the kitten and yarn off of the chair to land with a mild thump on the floor. After several enjoyable minutes Artemis found himself thoroughly entangled in the yarn. Struggle as he might, he couldn't free himself. Panic started to build within him. Twisting and turning, he tried to get out but it was useless; he merely entangled himself more. Starting to mew for help, he was soon discovered by Mina. "Artemis?!?" Mina's voice came to him as she entered the room. Her tone was concerned. "Where are you?!?" Artemis mewed a little louder while trying to hide his embarrassment. He had no wish for Mina to see him trussed up like some Thanksgiving turkey. Mina came around the coffee table and discovered the kitten brightly wrapped in red yarn. "Oh!" Mina chirped, slightly shocked. Her concern took over and hurrying she gathered her kitten up and started to unwrap him. "Silly kitty," Mina giggled as the concern started to be replaced with amusement. Artemis glared at Mina who only cuddled him close and giggled, "You do such silly things!" Mina reiterated. "Mommy won't like that you unwrapped all her yarn." "You're right, she won't," Mrs. Aino said sternly, "Mina, I told you to put him in your room." "I'm really sorry, Mommy," Mina said meekly. "It's okay," Mrs. Aino sighed, "Give me a hug and then go up to bed. Your father will be up in a minute to read you a bedtime story." "'Kay!" Minako squeaked while skipping over. After reaching her mother, Mina eagerly hugged her and managed to nearly squash Artemis in the process. "'Night!" "Goodnight, honey," Mrs. Aino said while hugging her daughter. After her little girl had gone up the steps, Mrs. Aino sighed and set about the task for wrapping her yarn back up into a ball. she thought irritatedly, The next morning Amy pulled Lita and Serena aside for a quiet chat before school. Making sure no one was around she said, "Okay, from now on, we behave like our five year old counterparts!" "Huh!?!" Lita and Serena responded. "Serena, no more stars..." Amy scowled as Lita snickered. "And that goes for you too, Lita!" she hissed out and poked Lita to make her point. "But Amy, I like getting stars!" Serena whined out, "It's the first time my parents were ever proud of me!" She started to pout while crossing her arms. "Yeah, why should we act dumb?" Lita argued, "I mean, we can breeze through these things... 'Sides, it isn't like we're going to be here for very long, Amy." Amy felt her resolve starting to melt but then she remembered being teased. "No!" she stated firmly, "No stars! Now I want each of you to promise me that you'll flunk everything." "But Amy..." Serena began but trailed off as her usually quiet friend glared at her. "'Kay fine..." Serena snapped and then brushed past Amy muttering, "You're no fun!" "Serena!" Lita protested but it was too late. Serena was already deep in conversation with Mina and Carrie. "Oh okay, Amy," she agreed, "But I still don't see what the big deal is." Amy thought as she felt the Grade Two reader pressing against her from inside her backpack. Sighing slightly, she just said, "Trust me, Sis, we need to do this." Turning, she started to walk towards the rest of their group, "I'll try and cheer Serena up." "That shouldn't be hard," Lita giggled out. This got a snicker out of Amy. Soon after they joined Serena, Mina, and Carrie, they were called into class. "Good morning, Amy," her teacher greeted her, "Did you try and read the book I gave you?" Amy waited until the entire class was looking at them before she spoke in a slightly louder than normal tone of voice, "It was too hard, Ma'am. I really tried but I couldn't figure out a lot of the words." She felt some satisfaction as her fellow students' eyes grew large and she heard some whisperings. "Well at least you tried," her teacher consoled her. She then took the book that Amy handed her. "You are doing really well, Amy. I bet your mother is very proud of you." Amy nodded and then moved off to take her seat. Once the attendance was taken, the class got settled down to the business at hand. "Okay, Serena, we'll start with you today. What is this letter?" Serena thought, She scowled darkly at Amy and then said, "It's a `P'." "Oh, you're very close. Try again," the teacher asked. "A `4'?" Serena guessed. The teacher frowned, "`9'?" "No, Serena, it is the letter `R'." Shuffling the cards, the teacher turned next to Lita. "What letter is this, Lita?" she asked while holding up a card. "A `R'," Lita said. "No, please try again." "`A'?" Lita asked tentatively. "No, the letter is a `Q'." She grabbed her set of Grade One cards and held one up. "Amy, what letters are these and what do they spell?" "D...U...G," Amy said and then winced at the frown the teacher gave her. "Try again, Amy." "D...O...G... Ah... dig?" "You have the letters right but try the word again, Amy." "Da... dog?" "Correct," the teacher said but it was obvious that the rest of the class was just as shocked as she was. But as the lessons progressed, she discovered that Serena's and Lita's performance had taken a decided nose dive. Their performance dived to a level even below that it had been before their recent prowess. Not only that but they had taken HER prized pupil, Amy, down along with them. It was rather distressing. As recess time came the teacher had the morbid duty of handing out stars to almost everyone except Amy, Lita, and Serena. The students were in shock. This was the first time in quite some time that Amy failed to receive a star. As they were filing out the door, she stopped Amy and asked, "Is anything wrong, Amy?" "No, Ma'am," Amy replied. "Well if you need any help, let me know." "'Kay." Amy nodded and then hurried to catch up with her friends with a definite smile on her face. "Serena, you promised to be Sailor Mars today," Carrie reminded Serena. "Yep!" Serena said brightly, "And you're Sailor Moon." She felt an evil grin spread across her face and she fought to hide it. "So what's the plan today, Sailor Venus?" she asked Mina. "Wait until the others come, SAILOR MARS," Mina giggled and then waved Lita and Amy over. Once Mina had assembled the proper amount of Scouts, villains, and victims to be saved, the game began. At first it was fairly innocent enough. Serena was having a fun time hamming it up as Sailor Mars. Carrie even agreed that Serena made a far better Mars than Moon. That's when things started to go terribly wrong. Serena took offense to one of Carrie's comments. She started treating "Sailor Moon" like she perceived Raye treating her. In short, Carrie wound up in tears. "Way to go, Serena!" Mina hissed angrily, "What the heck were you doing?!" "Hey, Raye does that to me all the time!" Serena hissed back trying to defend herself but she couldn't deny the guilty feeling that was making itself known. "Yeah but you're fourteen!" Mina said almost in a whisper, "Carrie's only five... Apologize to her." Serena flushed guiltily and, shuffling over to Carrie, said, "Carrie, I'm really sorry for making you cry. I didn't mean to be mean to you." Carrie sniffled and looked at Serena. "You make a GREAT Sailor Moon. I think she'd be proud." "Really?" Carrie sniffled out. "Yeah, Mina would agree with me." "Yeah!" Mina piped in, "Serena is just a little cranky today. Please, Carrie, come and play." "Pretty please?" Serena repeated and clasped her hands. "'Kay!" Carrie chirped and wiped her eyes. She gave Serena a quick hug. While Serena was apologizing to Carrie, Amy and Lita were in the back of the group. As Amy looked around the schoolyard, her gaze fell upon someone that seemed familiar to her. "Lita, do you know who that is?" she asked while pointing over towards the fence. Lita looked over and then felt her mouth swinging open. "That's Catsy," she finally managed to croak out, "This is not good." Amy nodded in agreement and, taking the opportunity, slipped away while the others' backs were turned. "Now that that's settled," Mina observed after Serena had apologized and Carrie was still going to play, "We can start another one." Just then a new voice spoke up from behind the group, "Can I play too?" Turning around, the group of girls saw a plain looking girl standing in front of them. "Well you can't play a Scout," Mina noted, "'Cuz we got all of them. You want to play a victim?" "Nope," the little girl answered. "No?" Carrie asked surprised, "Then who do you want to play?" "A DROID!!!" she shouted as a swirl of dark energy enveloped her...