Chapter Thirty-seven: No Quarter
Chibi-Usa hadn't been able to stop crying.
Wiping tear after tear, she found a hidden tunnel in the Mermalair's security tunnel, crawled until she reached the ceiling, stashed herself in a dark corner between a ball and the wall so that no one could find her, so she could let everything out without judgment or pity. De-transformed; she wasn't worthy of being a Guardian if she wasn't strong enough to protect anyone or any place.
She kept replaying and drowning in what Helios had said to and done for her, like a movie she couldn't press pause on. The tears gushed.
A princess should not be crying with so much ugliness.
Sailor Moon's beauty radiated like a beacon, King Endymion's handsomeness made women faint, but Chibi-Usa's ugliness, her bouncy, strange pink hair and red eyes that she couldn't have inherited from either of her parents, with their soft, blue eyes; her pale skin; her dainty mouth, out of which came a shrill voice; her short stature combined to create an ugly, precocious-looking shrimp. She hadn't grown in nearly 500 years and was still immature.
Helios had called her his maiden, saved her because he thought that she was powerful enough to rescue him, but now, he was nowhere to be found. Perhaps trying to build Sailor Moon back up so that she could save him, instead of wasting his time with Chibi-Usa, the weakling. Besides, Sailor Moon was worth comforting; she could break the Golden Crystal's seal. Chibi-Usa couldn't attack without Sailor Moon, so how could Helios think that she was capable of breaking a seal? Chibi-Usa wasn't worth saving anymore, especially since she wasn't the one Helios sought.
Who are you to tell me who I'm looking for, little maiden?
Chibi-Usa's breath hitched. "Helios?" she whispered. Darkness surrounded her. She hung her hopes on him returning and telling her that she was the one who was mistaken, was powerful enough to save him. That she was beautiful, the one he'd been seeking his whole life. That he loved her more than anyone else, even someone as strong and beautiful as Sailor Moon.
But nothing happened.
A cruel trick of the mind. Her imagination deceived her into thinking that Helios cared about her.
Foolish Chibi-Usa. Such a child.
The door under her had slid open, and Chibi-Usa fell and rolled for a time, becoming dizzy. Hadn't known what was happening but had heard Hotaru and Puu, crashes and breaking and shouts and mechanical laughs.
Not only was Chibi-Usa foolish, but she was also useless.
Chibi-Usa must've looked like an idiot, de-transformed, rolling atop a ball down a slide, holding onto that ball for dear life, nauseated. She'd rolled and heard the booms and explosions and hadn't been able to do anything but keep rolling.
An explosion had rocked the world, and Chibi-Usa shot upward and then sideways, crashing through a wall. Water had drenched her. She didn't lose consciousness—at least de-transforming hadn't taken away her physical toughness.
Chibi-Usa had bounced around like a pinball and then fallen, the ball crushing her, on a disco floor.
She gagged and coughed and was quickly losing air and couldn't survive by herself and needed her friends. If only she could transform.
A black wave slammed into the ball, knocking it away, taking away the pressure. Hotaru and Puu stood over her, Puu reaching down to help her onto her feet. Chibi-Usa lay, sprawled, on the flashing disco floor, weak and dizzy, but another faint thought niggled away that she should move before the floor turned red and burned her and her friends.
She mustered up the energy to grab Puu's hand, and Puu whisked her into the air.
Puu's deep green eyes saw through Chibi-Usa. Couldn't hide anything from the Guardian of Space and Time.
Burning spread behind her eyes. Her vision blurred, and she sniffled, and the tears flowed. Crybaby.
Puu's eyes softened. Pitying her.
Chibi-Usa had distracted Puu, Hotaru, Ami, and SpongeBob from their mission of saving the Mermalair, and she'd distracted Helios from finding Sailor Moon. Even transformed, Chibi-Usa was useless, Pink Sugar Heart Attack the weakest out of all the Guardians' attacks.
Puu drew Chibi-Usa to her, making her feel safe but pitied more. The tears flowed faster, drenching Puu's collar, and Chibi-Usa's snot had to be messing up the older Guardian's bow and brooch. Chibi-Usa pulled away from Puu, wanting to hide when there was no place to go. Everyone had watched her cry. Everyone knew that Helios not only wasn't her maiden, but that Chibi-Usa cried when she didn't get her way.
"It's okay, Small Lady. We love you, no matter what."
Chibi-Usa didn't want to look at Puu with her swollen, red-rimmed eyes.
Someone else floated beside her. Hotaru said, "Chibi-Usa-chan, you don't have to cry. We'll be by your side forever."
Even though she'd de-transformed out of overwhelming emotion, run away from her problems instead of facing them and accepting the facts, they'd stand with her. Perhaps Chibi-Usa was worthy of being loved. Helios wasn't the only one allowed to love her. She was surrounded by friends and family, including Usagi's family, like Mama Ikuko and Shingo (although Shingo didn't show his love, she liked to think that he loved her).
She couldn't hide her emotions from her loved ones. They knew her too well. More and more, she was finding that she didn't want to hide anymore.
Had to let things out to have a true relationship, or the relationship was built on air. Air couldn't hold under pressure.
Chibi-Usa dared to open her eyes, showing Puu and Hotaru and Ami and SpongeBob the havoc crying had wrecked. They stared at her with love, not pity.
"Thank you, everyone. I appreciate all you've done for me." Her transformation brooch began to shine. She'd already gotten her upgrade; would she get another? Hopefully, she could transform without Sailor Moon.
The same words that she had used to transform alongside Sailor Moon came forth. "Moon Crisis, Make-up!" The hearts enveloped her, shielded her from all. A physical manifestation of love, surrounded by her friends and her desire to protect them and the citizens of Bikini Bottom. Crying wouldn't solve any crisis.
Energy filled Chibi-Usa, and she felt Sailor Moon's power from Sand Mountain. Even when they were in different places, Sailor Moon supported her.
The pinkish-white light surrounding her brightened. She might not be the one Helios sought or as powerful as Sailor Moon, unable to transform without drawing on Sailor Moon's power but, alongside her friends, she'd defeat her enemies.
The light faded. The bow on Super Sailor Chibi-Moon's suit hung between Puu's fingers. While she'd transformed, Puu had held her, protected her alongside Hotaru, SpongeBob, and Ami. Any robot who dared to attack would find a swift end.
While she'd transformed, she'd stopped crying.
Chibi-Usa looked up at Puu, Hotaru, Ami, and SpongeBob. They'd given her power. They were here for her, weren't going to leave.
Like Chibi-Usa had left Helios.
Even if the Pegasus wasn't seeking Chibi-Usa, she should at least have stayed to help him find Sailor Moon. She had to rectify things.
For now, they were in the middle of an impending fight.
On the disco floor stood a prawn, on two legs, clad in a purple vest, like a waiter's. He slow-clapped. "Oh, boo hoo." He whipped out a handkerchief and blew his nose. "How moving."
SpongeBob whipped toward the prawn. "Prawn, you fiend. How dare you interrupt our moving moment of clarity and character development?" More insightful than he looked.
Prawn scoffed. "Character development? You call that soap opera drama character development? I call it a waste of time, an exercise in self-pity, excessive self-reflection, self-worship—"
"Is your only superpower putting others down?" Hotaru said.
Prawn deflated, like he'd been hit with an anvil. He sputtered, "How witty." He flipped an antennae. "My power involves frustrating and overthrowing others through menial things, like staining dishes with marinara sauce so they can't be washed in a dishwasher, putting soap in the Invisible Boatmobile's gas tank and, most heinously—oh, I'm so proud of this one—mixing red socks with white socks in the washer so that they all turned pink."
"Prawn!" The yell nearly burst Chibi-Usa's eardrums. A whistling noise entered her ears. Had Mermaid Man's shout caused ear damage? Heck, wasn't the round superhero supposed to be at a doctor's appointment? If he could yell like that, then he must be healthy.
Chibi-Usa rubbed her ear and then checked her finger—no blood, no ruptured eardrum, all good. Mermaid Man, shaking a fist, and a sighing Barnacle Boy stood near the Containment Area's entrance.
"Pink!" Mermaid Man yelled. The whistling in Chibi-Usa's ear grew louder. Weren't people supposed to become more soft-spoken as they grew older?
Prawn threw back his head, laughing. "Yes, Mr. Pinks Socks has joined us. Excellent."
Mermaid Man pulled up his pants leg, glanced at the pink sock he wore, and gasped, dropping the pants leg and turning away from his ankle.
Barnacle Boy waved his arm. "Gah, ya old coot, wearing pink socks isn't that bad. At least no one can see them."
"But I can. And I can feel them. And they burn." He shook his fists at his sock-covered ankle. "These evil socks must be vanquished. In fact, they would be vanquished if they wouldn't leave my feet cold and bare and my bunions aching."
Why did old people always detail their health issues so that Chibi-Usa would have nightmares? She'd dream about an attack from giant bunions tonight, guaranteed.
"Darn you for turning his socks pink," Barnacle Boy said. "I haven't heard the end of it since."
Prawn ran a finger on his antennae-like mustache. "A pleasure. My life wouldn't be complete unless I disturbed the mundane, ordinary things in your life. Making you a teensy bit more miserable outside of fighting crime is what I live for." He narrowed his eyes at SpongeBob. "What are you supposed to be, anyhow, talking about character development and mushy nonsense like that? Some kind of mold?"
SpongeBob growled. "I'm a sponge, darn you. You should get your eyes checked if you can't see the clear cellular difference."
Chibi-Usa looked to Ami and Puu. "Is that true?"
Setsuna rubbed her arm. "Truth be told, there are cellular differences among us all."
"In other words, you have no idea." Was Puu pulling her leg with some vague answer?
"A lesson from Dr. Science." Prawn let out a yawn. "Just as boring as pink socks. So boring that no one notices them."
Mermaid Man's eyes lit up. "Really?"
"Sure. If you're a blind cat." He broke into laughter.
Hotaru tightened her grip on her glaive. "How cruel." Although she'd never been bullied, she had a special place in her heart for bullies. Chibi-Usa confided in Hotaru the times she'd been bullied in the thirtieth century, thanks to her appearance and heritage, which was why Chibi-Usa's only friend for a long time had been Puu.
Mermaid Man rolled up his sleeves. "Just for that, I'll take care of you single-handedly. As soon as I change into my secret identity—Mermaid Man."
Chibi-Usa's mind blanked. "Does Mermaid Man have another secret identity?"
"A secret identity behind the secret identity…" Hotaru said. "Sounds ingenious."
"Yeah, it would be," Barnacle Boy said. "If the old coot had a secret identity."
Mermaid Man wandered behind the cave, raising a fist.
"Oh, no, he really is trying to change into his nonexistent secret identity." He stepped toward the cave. "You all had better take care of Prawn while I wrestle Mermaid Man back to what little sense he has." Barnacle Boy ran after Mermaid Man. "Now you move fast."
SpongeBob planted his feet. "Our superheroes have entrusted us, mere baby grasshoppers, with defeating the evil villain, Prawn. We must take this responsibility seriously, or else the Mermalair will be destroyed."
Chibi-Usa squared her shoulders, raised her Chibi-Moon Kaleidoscope. She wouldn't let anyone down this time. Nor would she get in anyone's way.
Prawn was a fiend who must be defeated. SpongeBob's superheroes were counting on him. They'd entrusted him and the Guardians with throwing Prawn back in prison. He could not lose, or else he'd never be able to face Mermaid Man and Barnacle Boy again. His superheroes would remember SpongeBob as a failure instead of a budding superhero.
SpongeBob searched his brain for any of Prawn's weaknesses that had been revealed in Mermaid Man and Barnacle Boy's television show.
SpongeBob blew a bubble bowl, spinning the bowl on the tip of his index finger. "Prawn attacks using his funnel, everyone. He uses the sound waves from his funnel to blow out your eardrums."
Chibi-Usa slammed the palm of her hand against her ear repeatedly. "Great. Because Mermaid Man hasn't wrecked my ears enough."
"What are you doing, standing over there?" Prawn said. The group had remained a distance away from Prawn, near the Villain Containment System area's entrance. He gestured toward himself. "Come over here. Don't be shy. I don't bite. Hard." He whipped out a remote control from his pocket, pressed the button. The ground dropped, the Guardians taking to the air, Setsuna grabbing SpongeBob by the collar.
Prawn peered up at the group. "You can fly. No matter." The disco floor that he stood in the middle of lit in yellow, red, only a few squares at a time remaining white. "I guess this floor is irrelevant." He tapped his chin. "Or is it?"
"Are you trying to psych us out?" SpongeBob said.
"Perhaps. Perhaps not. I would love it if you came over here so you could make sure."
"I may be gullible, but I'm not that gullible. All you want us to do is step on that disco floor to get burned."
"That floor keeps you safe, too," Chibi-Usa said. If no one could walk up to Prawn because of that disco floor, then Prawn was safe. Not to mention the snowflake curtain that surrounded Prawn, keeping attacks from reaching him. However, Prawn's own attacks could reach through the curtain. One of the flaws in the security system that the robots had exposed and Prawn was exploiting.
Setsuna aimed her Garnet Rod at Prawn.
"Don't waste your energy, Setsuna," SpongeBob said. "Your attack won't work."
"I want to test it. Find some sort of weakness."
SpongeBob racked his brain for a weakness in Mermaid Man and Barnacle Boy's snowflake curtain. Something in the television episodes or books or fanzines or official magazine... But their design was brilliant. "It doesn't have any weaknesses. It's impenetrable."
Setsuna narrowed her eyes, dark light swirling inside her rod as though it were sucking in the darkness from the Mermalair. Setsuna could command the dark? She drew back her rod. "Then—"
"Hold on a sec. I just remembered that the snowflake curtain can't be touched by hands or any other warm body, but it can be penetrated with beams and other non-living things." He spun the bubble bowling ball in his hand. "Like this." He tossed the bowling ball. The ball spun through the curtain, past Prawn. Carried by Setsuna, SpongeBob's aim wasn't accurate.
"This shouldn't be too hard," Chibi-Usa said. "If our attacks can reach him, then we can take care of him quickly."
"We should reactivate the security system somehow so we can capture him again. That security switch has gotta be around here somewhere." He'd watched all 12,565 episodes of The Adventures of Mermaid Man and Barnacle Boy a gajillion times, had thought he'd memorized every detail of the Mermalair, but couldn't remember where the darn security switch was.
Chibi-Usa flew forward. "I'll look for it."
Hotaru grabbed her arm. "Not without a partner."
"Uh, right. Sorry." She bit her lip. Four screens were erect around the area, showing a close-up of Prawn and his smirking face. "I don't know where to start, but we'll figure it out." She and Hotaru flew behind one of the screens.
SpongeBob, Setsuna, and Ami had to keep Prawn from running out of the snowflake curtain and amok in Mermaid Man's sock drawers, turning them into every color of the rainbow, maybe rainbow itself. Maybe SpongeBob could hire Prawn to tie dye on his socks.
Prawn aimed his funnel at SpongeBob. Ultrasonic waves emitted from the tuba-like instrument. Setsuna flitted sideways, out of the ultrasonic waves' way.
Maybe SpongeBob could use his flying bubble, like he had against the Dead Moon Circus.
Before SpongeBob could ready the missile-like bubble, a second stream of ultrasonic waves boomed past him, pulsing his ears as each ring flew by. SpongeBob hollered, covering two of his holes. Thanks to his holes, every sound was amplified. Covering only two of his holes wouldn't do much good against a train of ultrasonic waves.
He began to dance right in Setsuna's arms. Was trying to do the cha-cha, and Setsuna, instead of fumbling to keep him in the air, froze, her hands twitching, possibly trying to keep herself from dancing, too. Not only could that tuba boom out ultrasonic waves that could tear out eardrums and make someone dance uncontrollably but, upon impact, it could tear off a body part or two.
Setsuna began to salsa in the air, tried to time her salsa with SpongeBob's cha-cha so that she could catch him, but their limbs entangled in a knot. At least they kept hovering.
The ultrasonic waves fumed past once more, a shriek wrecking his eardrums. When the scream passed, the beeping from the screens, the blinking beeps from the disco floor, the sounds around him, were muted.
Grabbing at himself to still himself, SpongeBob peered up at Setsuna. "Can you hear me?" His own voice was softer, but SpongeBob wasn't soft-spoken.
"Yes." Her own voice was softer. Her brow creased, and she glared at Prawn, any threat in her demeanor stolen by her salsa. "Those ultrasonic waves are taking away our hearing. Normally, humans wouldn't be able to hear ultrasonic waves, but I can hear Prawn's."
"I'm losing my hearing, too." Beside them, Ami did the foxtrot to nonexistent music. All three of them were losing their hearing. Not good.
"It's gotta be the power of his tuba," SpongeBob said. They might not be able to hear attacks from potential robots.
And the potential robots were becoming real.
Black balls flew from the snowflake curtain, elongated, morphing into Ham-mers, another feature of the robots' tampering with the security system. The robots wheeled on the floor, around the area outside of the disco floor. They couldn't reach the Guardians from where they were.
One threw its head of ham, the stick upon which the ham was perched flying end over end.
SpongeBob raised his bubble wand, but his cha-cha kept him from aiming his mouth at the wand and blowing a bubble. Despite his movement, the ham slammed into SpongeBob's face, and miniature versions of Mermaid Man and Barnacle Boy also did the cha-cha in his vision, wearing sailor suits, like the Guardians.
Setsuna's limbs blurred. SpongeBob fell. The lights stopped flashing, Mermaid Man and Barnacle Boy faded. Prawn's laughing face was blown up on the Mermalair's screens. How dare Prawn mock the Mermalair?
Doing the cha-cha, SpongeBob waved his bubble wand, timing himself just right so that he managed to blow jet propellers that extended over his feet. He flew forward, waved a bubble wand over his head, creating the jet-propelled helmet, quickening his flight. Prawn's laugh stopped, and he stiffened. He scowled, aiming his tuba toward the flying and dancing sponge. Two thin, transparent lines snaked from the tuba. SpongeBob changed direction, flying upward, only for him to cha-cha right into one of the lines, striking his chin, stripping the sponginess away and revealing part of his skeleton.
A millisecond later, another bubble, not his own, extended around SpongeBob, separating he and Prawn. He looked over his shoulder. Ami aimed the palm of her hand toward him, eyebrows arched in worry, foxtrotting back and forth, moving like a praying mantis. How had she aimed?
"Too late. I'm sorry," she mouthed. Perhaps she said the words, but SpongeBob couldn't hear well. Her eyes fell to SpongeBob's chin, the skeleton, and her pupils contracted. Was she afraid of SpongeBob's natural self?
Prawn emitted ultrasonic waves from his tuba once more, but the waves bounced off the bubble in which SpongeBob was suspended. Shielding him.
Ami and Setsuna flew before the bubble. SpongeBob couldn't just watch but had to fulfill his superheroes' commands, or he'd be exiled from the Mermaid Man and Barnacle Boy fan club, of which only SpongeBob and Patrick were members, and then Patrick would be the sole member left. Worse, Patrick would have to do the exiling, which involved a ritual of smearing tapioca on the offending person, making said person act like the giant monkey man, and then ignoring the person for the twenty-four hours.
The bubble helmet and the jets on his feet sucked in the air and then propelled him through the bubble. He hovered between Ami and Setsuna. Setsuna glanced at SpongeBob, unsurprised that he'd burst through Sailor Mercury's amplified defense, while Ami gaped.
"That's the second time…" she said.
The sponge did the cha-cha faster. "Did someone else break through your allegedly impenetrable defense? Who? Who?" Perhaps this person was another superhero.
Prawn yelled (his yell seeming like normal conversation, compliments of the hearing loss), "I may be small, but that doesn't give you the right to ignore me." More thin lines burst from his funnel, whipping toward the Guardians and SpongeBob.
"Here's a chance to combine our attacks," SpongeBob said to Ami. They couldn't let each other down.
Sailor Mercury raised her hand, her legs blurring like an ant's as she foxtrotted. "Ready? I'm going to use Mercury Aqua Mist."
He raised his bubble wand. "Sure am."
The jet of water thrust forth from her hand, and SpongeBob blew a stream of bubbles into the jet of water, enlarging it. Prawn recoiled. He scurried out of the snowflake curtain and behind a Ham-mer.
SpongeBob could control the direction of his bubbles by moving his bubble wand, but his bubble wand was being primarily controlled by his uncontrollable cha-cha. Like a broken fire hydrant, both SpongeBob's and Mercury's combined attack whipped back and forth, Mercury no longer controlling her attack once it was released.
The jet of water and bubbles crashed into both the Ham-mer and Prawn, breaking the robot while Mermaid Man's archnemesis crashed against one of the screens, its shattered pieces raining into the darkness. Sparks crackled around the broken screen and Prawn. Lights flashed, and the Mermalair plunged into darkness.
SpongeBob's heart halved. What had he done?
Chibi-Usa and Hotaru had looked behind nooks and crannies for the security system's switch. How on earth could two fogies who were losing every one of their five senses and their brains have hidden the switch well?
Chibi-Usa was looking under the disco floor, Hotaru searching on the other side, when a crash reverberated above. Prawn was sprawled on a shattered screen, sparks surrounding the villain. The Mermalair darkened. Couldn't see the platform, couldn't see her pink pigtails. Couldn't see anything but the sparks.
Like a heat seeker, the sparks zipped to Chibi-Usa, electrocuting her. She was screaming again. The tears poured, the pain was so great. Hadn't she cried herself out earlier?
The flashes grew more uniform, like a light was spreading. She parted her eyes, and the warm light enveloped her.
Helios, his piercing yet gentle red eyes aglow, appeared, still a Pegasus. The pain disappeared, and the warmth grew, not only from the light, but at seeing her prince again. She could make things right. Despite her earlier revelation, she couldn't bear to face him. She wanted to be with him, but she couldn't.
He hovered close to her. The wall behind Chibi-Usa kept her from retreating from him like she should've. She wasn't worth it. "My young maiden."
"Y-yours?" She shut her eyes, shook her head. "But I'm not. We already went over this."
"Usagi, open your eyes."
No one had called her by her full name in…she couldn't remember when. Everyone called her Chibi-Usa because she was the Usagi's small daughter. Even Puu called her "Small Lady."
Chibi-Usa opened her eyes.
The light around Helios shimmered, domed him, faded. Helios hovered before her.
A human.
Clad in pure white robes, he stood before her, his judgeless, loving red eyes looking into her own, the ruby embedded in the middle of his forehead, the horn crowning his head. Her heart fluttered, and she couldn't breathe.
Beautiful.
"I didn't make a mistake. You've proved, over and over, that you are my maiden, the one I've waited for, for centuries to have the chance of meeting. Now that I've finally met you, I don't want to let you go." He leaned forward, resting his forehead on her brow, the ruby upon his forehead pulsing with heat.
He brushed the tears from her eyes. Of course she'd started crying again. "Please don't cry." He touched his lips to hers. So gentle, so loving.
Had to be a hallucination. "Are you, are you really Helios?"
Helios nodded. "I'm limited to this form for now. The enemies have trapped me someplace far away from here. But I know you can save me, Usagi, with your friends, your mother and father helping you. No matter what you look like, no matter how you behave, they'll always love you. Including me. You're beautiful, elegant, and magnificent. Don't forget that."
A blush radiated from Chibi-Usa's cheeks. "But I can't do anything for you. I can't free you from your prison."
"It doesn't matter. I want to be with you, Usagi, for you who are, not what you can do for me."
Chibi-Usa held his hands. "Helios, I…" Despite her incompetence, he wanted to be with her. He thought she was worth everything. She didn't know what to say, so she dared to brush her lips over his. Wasn't quite at the point where she could open her lips and kiss him fully. But the tenderness in her heart…
"I'll come see you again. So please don't cry." He brushed his fingers to her cheeks, showed her his dry fingers. No more tears.
He faded, and so did the light surrounding him and Chibi-Usa. The light had shielded both from the raging fight.
The electricity surrounding her had disappeared, too. Helios saved her again, not because she was weak, but because she couldn't do everything by herself.
She was his maiden. He was her savior and friend. No, he treated her as someone more than a friend. Not quite her lover, but Chibi-Usa didn't have a name for who Helios was to her.
Chibi-Usa straightened. She was Princess Usagi Tsukino, and she was as powerful as her mother.
When the lights turned off, Ami kept doing the foxtrot—couldn't freeze like she wanted to, but her foxtrot wasn't as quick as before. The effects of the ultrasonic waves were wearing off.
All thought whistled out of her mind. With her I.Q. of 300, she should've been able to think more quickly, should've jumped into action. But jumping into action before endangered her and her friends. Taking her time and planning was best.
Grunting, Prawn shook himself. Must be trying to get his wits about him again. Beside her, SpongeBob deflated.
"I failed my superheroes," he squeaked out. His voice deepened. "But the battle isn't yet over. We shall fix this together."
Ami smiled. There was the optimistic sponge she knew.
Prawn pushed, peeling himself off the shattered screen, more shards slicing him. Even though the cuts seemed deep, he didn't bleed. Perhaps these sea creatures couldn't bleed, as though the Guardians were trapped in a cartoon in which blood was forbidden from being shown. He wiped his mouth as he began to fall. At least Prawn couldn't fly.
He aimed his tuba at the disco floor and emitted ultrasonic waves, pushing himself upward, lowering slowly instead of freefalling.
"He's vulnerable." Sailor Pluto, no longer doing the salsa, pointed her Garnet Rod toward Prawn. "Here's our chance."
The electricity jumped below Prawn. Chibi-Usa screamed, prickling Ami's skin with bumps.
She and Setsuna flew toward Chibi-Usa. SpongeBob remained hovering near Prawn, yelling, "I hope you're okay, Chibi-Usa. Don't worry. We'll take care of Prawn. Just keep, uh, screaming, I guess."
Chibi-Usa fell silent, and a light enveloped and blocked the Guardian from view. Ami, Setsuna, and Hotaru, who had hurried beside them, stopped in front of Chibi-Usa. Didn't know whether to approach or leave her alone.
Don't worry. I'm keeping my maiden safe, taking away her pain.
Ami covered her mouth. "Helios? Did you two hear that?"
Setsuna regarded the dome expressionlessly. "I did."
Hotaru pursed her lips, nodded.
Wasn't Helios supposed to be able to communicate to only Chibi-Usa and through dreams instead of telepathically? Was he gaining power?
As much as Ami wanted to watch Chibi-Usa, she had to support SpongeBob. Prawn was alive and well.
Trusting Setsuna and Hotaru to make sure Chibi-Usa remained safe, Ami flew beside SpongeBob. Prawn had stepped onto the disco floor, glaring at SpongeBob and Ami.
"I'm sick of this fight. Leave me alone to torture my nemesis through pink socks." For such a small creature, Prawn had a loud voice, even though Ami had suffered hearing loss. Her hearing was gradually returning, but another blow from those ultrasonic waves might deafen her.
Out of the corner of her eye, Ami saw a hand reaching over the disco floor. Touching at the floor as if feeling for something.
That hand with a pink bracelet on its wrist looked familiar.
Another hand extended, pushed up.
CereCere broke over the surface, Fisheye, blinking slowly, hugging her leg.
CereCere's eyes shot to Sailor Mercury. She stared at Ami, not scowling like she usually did. Ami bit her lip. Here she was, face-to-face with her enemy, and her genius mind was frozen.
If her mind wasn't going to work, then she'd make her body work. Wouldn't let her heart rule this time.
"Shine Aqua Illusion!" The jet of water burst from her hands, slamming into CereCere's head and knocking the ringleader and Fisheye down.
Prawn watched the two fall. "These two must also be your enemies. The enemy of my enemy is my friend." Burst solid, opaque waves from his tuba that swept underneath CereCere and Fisheye, the Dead Moon Circus members falling upon them. The waves drew upward.
Why was Ami feeling relieved? They were out to kill her. But, when CereCere had climbed over the disco floor, killing intent hadn't been in her eyes.
Ami wanted to save CereCere and Fisheye—Fisheye because he was CereCere's…friend? Whatever their relationship, CereCere trusted him, giving Ami a reason to save him, too.
She might not have all the answers, and her brain and heart were wrestling each other—her brain telling her to kill her enemies, her heart telling her to save them—but the compulsion to save them couldn't be ignored. Perhaps the Dead Moon Circus had a purpose, too. Besides, with her knowledge and intelligence, she'd discover the answers, protect her friends. After saving them, if the Dead Moon Circus tried to hurt Ami's friends, Ami would take full responsibility, rescuing her friends, subduing her enemies. Understanding her enemies enough to empathize and help them.
The mind and the heart could work in tandem.
A light flashed near Setsuna.
"Princess Mercury."
The voice sounded like Ami's own but higher, more soft-spoken. Setsuna peeked over the floor's surface, eyes wide.
Setsuna glanced at Ami, floated higher, revealing a bright light glowing in her cupped hands. Wrapped in the light was a miniature version of Sailor Mercury.
Ami wasn't the only one who had stopped the fray to look. Prawn had, too, the ultrasonic wave on which CereCere and Fisheye had landed still floating, the two members of the Dead Moon Circus staring at the lights emanating from Setsuna and Chibi-Usa.
The miniature version of Sailor Mercury winked at Ami and then returned her attention to Setsuna. "Thank you, Princess Pluto, for keeping and protecting Princess Mercury. Your wisdom and guidance have been instrumental in her growth. You've helped her not succumb to the nightmares inflicted by her enemies. Now, you've brought her to this turning point."
Setsuna's mouth parted. "Me, her keeper?"
Miniature Sailor Mercury nodded. "That's right, Princess Pluto. You are one of the most important people to her. You've influenced her more than you realize, from your love for her." Her gentle eyes settled on Sailor Mercury, and Mercury's heart warmed. "The same love she shows her friends and mother every day."
Love…
Miniature Sailor Mercury floated closer to Sailor Pluto's face, no larger than Pluto's nose, facing Ami. "Princess Mercury, you don't gain knowledge for your personal benefit, for your own pride. You've thought that you're being selfish when you choose to study instead of be with your friends, but that's not true. You study to protect your friends. You gain knowledge so that you can know your enemies thoroughly and pinpoint weaknesses. You gain knowledge so that you may know your friends perfectly, so that you can protect them from their own weaknesses. You gain knowledge so that you know your own weaknesses and have others' strengths compensate. You gain knowledge of this world so that you can guide others. You gain knowledge because you love the world and your friends.
"But your knowledge is only one part of what makes you powerful, Princess Mercury. Your desire to understand your enemies is an act of love. Your empathy for others shows your love. Sometimes, you follow your heart instead of your mind, but that's okay. Your not killing your enemies is an act of humility, showing your desire to understand them and your realization that they can teach you things, too.
"No matter what nightmares your enemies try to manipulate you with, remember your true dream." Another light glowed within Miniature Sailor Mercury's hands, the light forming into a heart. "Take this, Princess Pluto."
Setsuna took the heart-shaped light.
"This is for your protégé. It's for you to present to her, to show her the next step in her growth, in her quest for knowledge." To Ami, she said, "Don't be afraid to listen to your heart, to let your knowledge and your heart shine; both your mind and your heart are equally important." The light flickered, began to fade.
Ami reached toward the light. "Wait. Who are you?"
A giggle from the light. "I'm you, silly." The sprite of herself faded, leaving the heart-shaped light in Sailor Pluto's hands. The light solidified into a crystal reflecting rainbow light.
Setsuna touched the crystal to her heart. "You've grown so much since I met you, Ami, and I'm glad that I've helped you. I look forward to watching you move forward and helping you continue to develop into a beautiful, wise woman."
"Thank you. For showing me the power of knowledge, of the heart and the mind. I'll make you proud, Setsuna-san."
"You already have." Sailor Pluto held the crystal to Sailor Mercury. "Please, show us more of your power."
Ami took the crystal, and power flowed within, the light spreading around her. Her mission and her dream were aligned. She would gain all the knowledge she could, learning from and depending on others to defeat her enemies and protect her friends, the Moon Kingdom, and the Earth.
She held the crystal to her brooch, and the crystal attached itself to her brooch like a magnet. Like it belonged there.
She raised her arm, wanted to drown in the power, but she had to retain some semblance of self-control.
Nevertheless, the words came, unbidden. "Mercury Crystal Power, Make-up!" The light around Sailor Mercury darkened into a light blue, the color of the ocean. Water flowed around her, like it was being absorbed from not only the ocean but also anyplace that water resided—ponds, lakes, sinks. The water swirled, the more nearing her, the more power filling her. The water blanketed her. Her comfort, her protection, her power.
A harp etched within the rippling water. "I am the Mercury Harp." Another high, soft voice, this time, from the conscious harp. "With me, you can drive out any nightmare."
Ami took the harp. With this, she'd defeat the nightmare that was Prawn.
The water around her was sucked into her harp, and a blue aura surrounded her harp. "Thank you, Sailor Pluto."
Sailor Pluto hovered behind Mercury. "Do what you believe is best, Super Sailor Mercury."
Super Sailor Mercury faced Prawn, raising her harp. She'd play a beautiful melody that would drown out the noise from Prawn's ultrasonic waves. Only gorgeous melodies could overpower noise.
Prawn aimed his tuba at Sailor Mercury, releasing CereCere and Fisheye from the waves' safe grasp. The two Dead Moon Circus members fell, but SpongeBob blew a bubble, the bubble encasing the two and floating them up.
"What are you doing?" came Hotaru's voice.
"Ami wanted to save them," SpongeBob said, "so I'm helping her. I trust her. Like her mini-me said, she has a bunch of knowledge that she uses for our good." His gaze lingered on Fisheye. "And we have much more in common than we think."
Fisheye worked his mouth, staring at SpongeBob. Couldn't bring himself to glare at the sponge.
Scowling, Prawn burst ultrasonic waves and two-pronged waves simultaneously from his horn. Ami would end the noise so no one would be subjected to it again.
She strung and stroked her harp, and the high melody emanated. Ami had never learned how to play the harp; she was improvising, but the rhapsody that came was gorgeous, relaxing, but powerful, commanding and gathering water around her. The name of her attack came to her. "Mercury Aqua Rhapsody!" The water around Sailor Mercury stopped swirling and shot toward Prawn.
Prawn's pupils contracted. "No, no, not again." He shook his tuba, jostling the waves. "C'mon, you stupid thing, get stronger." The ultrasonic waves remained the same size, continued moving at the same speed. Unlike Sailor Mercury, Prawn didn't have anyone to strengthen him. The jets of water engulfed Prawn's waves. "Oh, no, oh, no." He scurried backward, but Mercury's wave of water slammed into Prawn, shooting him toward the snowflake curtain.
"Here's my chance." Propelled by his helmet, SpongeBob zipped around the containment area. "There it is." The blur that was SpongeBob stopped above the top of one of the screens, where the last security system button must be. He looked at the flying Prawn. "Someone, help me get the timing right."
"I'll tell you when." Sailor Pluto narrowed her eyes, glancing from Prawn, to the snowflake curtain, to SpongeBob, to the security system's button, and back. Kept looking between them. "Ready…now."
A bubble bowl flew from SpongeBob's hands, bounced off the button just as Prawn entered the snowflake curtain, and ice began to freezing the curtain, beginning to encase Prawn.
"This can't be." He reached toward his pants. "Argh, the frozen wedgie, it burns." The ice crystallized around him, just before he could reach his pants.
Prawn was contained once more.
SpongeBob wiped his hands on his own pants. "Yes." He spread his hands. "You've helped redeem myself for my earlier failure. Not only that, but Prawn will have a wedgie forever. Better than simply being imprisoned in ice." He bowed deeply, sweeping his arm across his chest. "I thank you." He grinned. "Plus, you've gotten stronger, Ami."
Ami looked over herself. The bow on the back of her skirt had lengthened, but she looked identical to her non-Super form. No wonder Patrick declared that Minako looked the same.
But Ami didn't feel the same.
"Aww, I missed all the action?" Suddenly, Chibi-Usa was floating near one of the screens, Hotaru beside her. "And your big power-up, Ami?"
Ami smiled sheepishly. "Well…"
She huffed. "At least I saw Helios." Her eyes softened. "He helped me so much. I'm glad I'm not a burden to anyone."
Sailor Pluto raised an eyebrow. "Who told you that, Small Lady?"
She blinked. "I guess…I did." Her eyes grew distant.
"You should stop telling yourself those types of things," Hotaru said. "You taught me to not say bad things about myself. You always saw the good in me, Chibi-Usa-chan, even when others saw nothing but someone who could cause destruction. You've taught me that I'm much stronger than I think I am. A lesson that Ami seems to have also learned today."
Yes. She had.
Chibi-Usa's expression blanked. "I taught you all that just by being nice to you?"
Hotaru stared at Chibi-Usa. Her cheeks puffed. She broke into laughter. Chibi-Usa laughed, too.
Setsuna faced the bubble, where CereCere and Fisheye had watched everything, both of their eyes wide, perhaps with fear. Fearful they should be. "What do we do with these two?"
"I think we should keep them with us for now," Ami said. "I, I don't understand why, but I feel a compulsion to keep them alive." Despite not feeling brave, she mustered up the courage to look in Setsuna's eyes.
"Like SpongeBob, I trust your knowledge," Setsuna said. "If you think it's best to keep them alive, then we will. However, we should keep them captive."
"Agreed."
"I trust you, too, Ami." SpongeBob outstretched his arms. "Especially after that explosion of power you showed earlier."
"I do, too," Hotaru said.
"So do I," Chibi-Usa said.
"As do we." Barnacle Boy stood near the area's entrance, pinching Mermaid Man's ear, the tip red. "Congratulations. You've saved the Mermalair."
Mermaid Man snatched his ear from Barnacle Boy's fingers. "Yes, Prawn's safely contained in the containment area once again, all thanks to you, Frankie, and Leila"—he pointed to Chibi-Usa, who quacked (Chibi-Usa's sign of confusion?)—"and the fifty-foot woman"—pointed to Setsuna who mockingly looked over herself, telling Ami that she didn't think she was that tall, was she? (Ami only chuckled, not knowing how to respond)— "and the Black Crusader of Justice". He pointed to Ami instead of Hotaru.
SpongeBob, hands planted on hips, said, "Our, our names are—"
"Ah, don't bother," Barnacle Boy said, waving a hand. "The old coot won't remember anyway. I gotta say, Black Crusader of Justice is a cool name. I suggest that you keep it."
Hotaru's eyes twinkled, and her mouth twisted into a grin. "Maybe another name for me?" A black aura surrounded her. Being sinister gave her an aura. Who knew?
Chibi-Usa recoiled. "Scary."
Barnacle Boy jabbed his thumb toward the bridge leading out of the containment area. "By the way, when you get a chance, go press that Master Shutdown Button, will ya?"
SpongeBob dashed across the bridge, a yellow blur. Seconds later, he returned, skidding to a stop beside Barnacle Boy. "Done. Anything else, your superherolinesses?"
Barnacle Boy croaked.
The Mermalair's lights flicked on, and the computer monitors showed the Rolling Ball Area, the entrance, other areas of the Mermalair. Boulders fell from the ceiling, and mechanical screams echoed. Having regained control of the security system, the Mermalair Computer was destroying the remaining robots.
Mermaid Man reached into his pocket, took out a Golden Spatula. "Here. As thanks for saving our precious Mermalair from all the evil you can imagine."
SpongeBob's eyes sparkled as brightly as the Golden Spatula. Carried by his ecstasy, he floated to Mermaid Man, took the Spatula, cradled it in his arms. "Thank you, Mermaid Man." He hugged the Spatula to his chest.
"Now he's just getting creepy," Chibi-Usa muttered.
"We'll cherish this generous gift forever." He rocked the Spatula back and forth.
"Even creepier," Hotaru said.
Ami warmed. They loved SpongeBob, weirdness and all. And they loved, supported, and trusted Ami. She still had a lot to learn from her friends. They were smart in more ways than one.
Ami didn't and would never know everything. With her friends by her side, she didn't need to.
Together, they'd fill in the gaps.