Chapter Nine: Shining Knight
Patrick wasn't as useless as Chibi-Usa thought.
Sure, he'd be useless when it came to solving puzzles, but there probably wouldn't be many in a place like Bikini Bottom. Or there could be, Bikini Bottom was so unpredictable.
The cannon shooting sinks was a puzzle in itself.
Patrick had caught that sink like he caught sinks for a living.
The starfish clapped his hands. "I made the Tikis go boom."
Chibi-Usa deflated. Patrick was Patrick.
"We have to get out of here," Mamoru said.
Patrick pouted. "But I wanna keep making the Tikis go boom."
"And what about the buttons, Mamoru?" Chibi-Usa said. "If we press them all…" She put a finger to her chin. "Well, it could be a trap. But I think we should keep pushing them. I mean, the robots had to put those Tikis on top of the buttons, which means that they don't want us to push the buttons or else something bad will happen to the robots."
"Or someone could've put the Tikis on top of the buttons to protect other fish." Mamoru stared at the cannon, stone-faced. Despite his expression, Chibi-Usa could tell that he was chewing on the facts before making a decision. "Okay. Let's keep going with this. But if something happens…"
Chibi-Usa grinned. "You'll keep us all safe no matter what happens. You always do."
A rare smile brightened Mamoru's face. "Yeah. I guess I do."
Chibi-Usa faced Rei. "Tell him, Rei-chan."
"You do, Mamoru-san," Rei said.
"What's a '-san' and '-chan'?" Patrick said. "Does this have something to do with sandwiches and T.V. channels?"
"They're…" Mamoru shook his head, probably deciding that Japanese honorifics would take too long to explain, especially to Patrick. "Never mind." His eyes widened. "Watch out." He wrapped his arms around Chibi-Usa and Rei, threw them to the ground once more. Patrick caught the other sink. He hurled it to one of the Thunder Tikis, the Stone Tikis below it exploding, but not depressing the button.
"Looks like we'll have to press that button ourselves." To Mamoru, Rei said, "Thank you."
Mamoru helped the Guardians onto their feet. "I'll push it."
"No, I will." It was time that Chibi-Usa did things on her own. After all, she was growing up.
"I'll protect you." Patrick produced a thumb from his fingerless hand and jabbed the thumb on his chest. "I have power."
"Please, Mamoru?" Chibi-Usa made her big, sparkling eyes at her father. That usually won him over.
Mamoru bit his lip. "Urgh…" He looked at the cannon, its nozzle retracting in preparation to shook a sink; to Patrick, with his short arms that managed to catch whole sinks; to Chibi-Usa, who was slightly taller than Patrick and wouldn't be protected if the sinks flew over Patrick's head. Chibi-Usa knew her father so well that he must be thinking about all the ways the situation could end horribly. And it took Mamoru a while to trust others. He had been around Patrick for a few hours.
Mamoru was hesitating much longer than usual. Were his doubts that strong?
"Chibi-Usa can handle it, Mamoru-san," Rei said. "Patrick, too."
Inwardly, Chibi-Usa danced and cheered. Rei was as skeptical of Patrick as Mamoru, but she still vouched for the starfish and Chibi-Usa to work together.
"You're outnumbered, buster." Patrick pointed his finger at Mamoru like a gun.
"It seems I am."
The cannon shot. Mamoru's hands twitched toward Rei and Chibi-Usa. No, Mamoru wouldn't save them this time; not only did he know that Rei and Chibi-Usa could save themselves, but he also was testing Patrick—or, more accurately, Mamoru was testing himself to see if he could trust Patrick.
As expected, Patrick caught the sink, sliding backward and creating a third trench. Aimed at the cannon, threw the sink. The sink didn't go far enough, tumbling on the sand yards away from the cannon. Patrick was strong, but not that strong.
How would they destroy the cannon?
If Chibi-Usa was having these thoughts, then Mamoru must be having these thoughts, likely more, about Patrick's abilities. For now, all Patrick had going for him was his power. Some depth could be lurking under the starfish, though. Mamoru needed to give Patrick more chances.
"Okay."
Chibi-Usa pushed her ear toward Mamoru. "What was that? I don't think I heard you correctly."
Mamoru gave her his famous stoicism.
"No, I genuinely didn't hear. I'm not trying to be annoying." Between the robots causing chaos and the sink-shooting cannon, Chibi-Usa couldn't hear well.
"I said, 'Okay,'" Mamoru said more loudly. Trying to make himself believe what he had said?
Chibi-Usa's' heart lifted. Here was her chance to prove herself. "All right. I won't let you guys down."
Patrick clenched his hands. "Me, neither. Besides, for all we know, these buttons could unlock the ninth dimension and unleash the giant monkey man."
"That doesn't sound like a good thing," Rei said.
"I don't think it's possible…?" Chibi-Usa said. A part of her wanted to see the giant monkey man. It'd be a scene from right out of an anime.
"Anything's possible down here," Mamoru said. "I learned that as soon as the squirrel started talking."
"On the bright side, the buttons could unlock a defense mechanism that this downtown area has in place." Chibi-Usa tapped her chin. "Like, maybe anvils will fall out of the sky and crush all the robots, and then we can focus on leaving Bikini Bottom."
"That'd be a dream," Rei said. "No, this is a dream."
Chibi-Usa squared herself. "I'll press the buttons, Patrick. Keep me safe from the sinks, please."
"Yeah, I will. Even if I do like pressing buttons more."
"Please don't get distracted," Mamoru said. Chibi-Usa didn't blame him for thinking that Patrick was easily distracted. This was not the time to be distracted by anything.
Patrick shook his head. "No, sir, I won't let anything distract me. Not even the buttons. Not even if roast beef and chicken fell out of the sky. Not even if the pizza guy came. Not even if the ice cream truck—"
Mamoru's eyebrow twitched. "Are you sure you will not be distracted?"
Patrick stared into the distance, drooling, mumbling about how good pizza tasted. Mamoru snapped his fingers in front of Patrick's eyes, and Patrick flailed. "I'm awake, I'm awake." The starfish looked around. "Oh, yes, I won't get distracted, Chibi-Usa."
Mamoru gave Chibi-Usa a look that showed how worried he was.
"I'll be fine, Mamoru. Promise."
Mamoru didn't change his expression. Her reassurance hadn't made him feel better. Chibi-Usa was going to prove that she could take care of herself and Patrick, since it seemed like he would be distracted by any food that happened to pop up.
"Patrick, let's go." Chibi-Usa ran toward one of the three undepressed buttons. Two stacks of Tikis remained to be destroyed. A stomp should take care of the buttons.
The cannon launched a sink. Chibi-Usa's stomach flipped in panic, but she made herself keep going instead of hesitating. Hesitation could be fatal. And she had to trust Patrick.
Trusting Patrick paid off; the starfish moved faster than Chibi-Usa anticipated, stepping in front of her within a second. Chibi-Usa moved out from behind him, to one of the buttons, and stomped on it, depressing the button. Meanwhile, Patrick caught the sink, sliding backward a little ways and then throwing the sink to another Thunder Tiki, causing it and the rest of the Tikis to explode. Chibi-Usa kept running toward one of the last two remaining buttons.
Patrick rushed back to her side. Chibi-Usa smiled at him.
A Chomp-Bot, a robot that reminded Chibi-Usa of a dog, with its four legs and stinky breath that was visible as a green cloud, slid before her and breathed. A puff of green smoke emerged from its mouth, hitting Chibi-Usa's torso. And its breath burned.
Chibi-Usa yelped, recoiling. Using her Chibi-Moon Kaleidoscope, she whacked the robot's head. The Chomp-Bot stopped for a moment, but it didn't crack. Patrick slammed his gut into the Chomp-Bot. The robot flew into the distance, crashing upon impact with the asphalt.
Chibi-Usa couldn't feel useless. Needing help didn't make her weak. But the fact that she couldn't defeat the Chomp-Bot by herself sunk her fragile confidence. She didn't often defeat enemies alone.
Had to focus. She reached the next button, stomped on it, depressing it, and kept going to the last button with the stack of Tikis on top of it.
Another sink barreled their way. Chibi-Usa didn't give it another thought. Patrick would take care of it.
A Chomp-Bot slid before them, released its foul breath before either of them could defend themselves. The cloud split into two, exploded on Chibi-Usa's torso once more, exploded on Patrick's eyes. Patrick hollered, covering his eyes, his eyebrows burning off. The robot's breath had blinded him so that he couldn't catch the sink.
Mamoru was running, but he wouldn't reach them in time. Rei couldn't use her attacks unless she wanted to burn herself alive.
"Tuxedo La Smoking—" His shout was cut off by a mangled noise coming from his throat. A bark came from Mamoru and Rei's direction; the robots must be getting the upper hand.
Leaving Chibi-Usa against the sink.
Patrick stood beside her; if she dodged, he would be hit.
She wasn't strong enough to tackle Patrick to the ground. If anything, she'd bounce off him and end up injured. Nor was she strong enough to carry Patrick while flying. No way could her seventy-pound body handle his girth.
"Run, Patrick," Chibi-Usa said. "Go sideways."
Patrick scrambled and then fell facefirst.
This was not going well.
Pink Sugar Heart Attack might not be powerful enough to break the sink.
Chibi-Usa did the only thing she could. She covered Patrick with her own body to shield him. Shut her eyes, preparing for impact.
She likely wouldn't wake up for a few days after this.
A light encompassed her. Chibi-Usa's eyes shot open.
A white horse with great wings floated before her. It jabbed its unicorn, smashing the sink. Its wings flapped once. All Chibi-Usa could see was its wings.
Helios.
Chibi-Usa didn't breathe.
Her savior turned toward her. Red eyes twinkling.
No thoughts went through Chibi-Usa's head. She could only take in the majestic Helios.
Helios turned, beating his wings, and flew to the last Thunder Tiki. He jabbed his unicorn, making all the Tikis explode in succession. Despite the explosion, Helios didn't flinch, nor did he appear to be harmed.
Helios flew to the cannon, jabbed his unicorn once more. The cannon snapped in half.
Helios turned toward her. "Young maiden…" His voice, soft, caring. Caressing her. Despite being far away from her, his voice carried.
"Helios." Chibi-Usa barely heard herself. "My…" "Hero" didn't describe Chibi-Usa's gratefulness, how much Helios meant to her, despite her knowing him for only a few hours—had just seen him before she had fought against Fisheye, before she had been put back inside her smaller body.
He had sought her, had believed in her and only her—not Sailor Moon—to be the one to save him from his enemies.
She reached for Helios, but the Pegasus dissolved into light, the light fading in the sky.
Chibi-Usa stayed on top of Patrick, staring at the spot where Helios disappeared. Helios had appeared only in Chibi-Usa's dreams, in visions. How had he appeared in real life?
"Aw, I wanted to ride the horsey," Patrick said.
"I thought you couldn't see." Anger crept into Rei's voice; if Patrick could see, why hadn't he saved Chibi-Usa?
"Now I can. That stuff wears off kinda quick."
Chibi-Usa rolled off Patrick, and the starfish stood. Chibi-Usa, on her knees, kept staring at the spot where Helios had disappeared. She dared not stand; she was afraid that she would lose her legs and fall back down.
"Did you see that?" Chibi-Usa's voice was airy.
"I did," Mamoru said.
"Me too," Rei said. "That's the Pegasus you were talking about, Chibi-Usa?"
Chibi-Usa nodded, not trusting her voice to come out the way it was supposed to. How had Helios known that she had needed his help?
Stiffly, Chibi-Usa ran to the last button and stomped on it. An anvil fell where the cannon had been. A Golden Spatula appeared on top of the tuna fish statue.
"Yippee!" Patrick clambered on top of the statue and dunked the Spatula in his pocket. "I don't know what this'll do, but it's sparkly, so it must be important. Cannonball!" He belly-flopped onto the ground. He grabbed the top of his head and peeled himself onto his feet. "My back feels much better."
Chibi-Usa had barely heard Patrick. Helios… He was her…
Who is he?
Mamoru stepped beside her, knelt to her level. "Chibi-Usa." He placed both hands on her shoulders. "It'll be okay. We'll find out more about Heli—" He coughed, twice, thrice. "Helios," he said, voice hoarse. Chibi-Usa almost giggled at his hoarse voice while talking about a horse, but a coughing fit had taken over, wracking him. He buried his head into the crook of his arm even though his head was in a bowl and turning away wouldn't help anyone. If anything, he was spreading germs to himself. Rei and Patrick rushed to them, Patrick patting Mamoru's back, making Mamoru jerk more than he was. But the patting helped; Mamoru's coughs became less wracking, less frequent, until he stopped. Unfortunately, they didn't have water for Mamoru to drink.
"Is there a fountain around here?" Rei said. "With freshwater."
Patrick looked to the sky. "Hmm… I don't think so. And if there was a fountain, it would have goo, not water. And I don't know if goo is freshwater."
"We have to give him something," Chibi-Usa said.
"Don't worry about me," Mamoru said. "I think something got into my suit, and I breathed it in and started choking on it. Can easily be done when you're in close quarters like these." He took a breath. "I truly hope that there's some way we can get out of these suits soon. But I'm okay now." Straightening, he said, "More importantly, we have to keep going and clear out these robots. I don't think there's anything we can do about Helios. Besides, maybe we'll come across him later."
Was Mamoru lying to keep Rei, Chibi-Usa, and Patrick from worrying about him and using time to find freshwater? She had forgotten about Helios once Mamoru's coughing fit started. Mamoru never coughed like that, and he would say anything so he didn't slow others down, become a burden.
The group kept going anyhow, rushing the opposite way, past where Mrs. Puff had been. Every time Helios popped into Chibi-Usa's mind, she pushed him out. She had to concentrate on the here and now, not on something that already happened.
In her dream, Helios had given her a bell so that she could call him whenever needed. She still had it stashed in her suit. Had it rung while she was running to the buttons or when she had flopped down on Patrick? She hadn't heard it.
Maybe Helios sensed that she had been in trouble. Yes, she had to be his maiden. She had to be needed.
No, no. She had to focus. The downtown area was too dangerous for her not to, and she didn't want anyone picking up her slack.
Chibi-Usa stomped on another button, and a gate retracted into the ground. The group rushed past the gate, where a thin fish stood outside of a building. Why wasn't he hiding inside? Had robots invaded the buildings, too?
She was about to ask when a G-Love, the UFO-like robots that the group had encountered in Bikini Bottom's residential area, flew from between two alleyways, holding a boat's wheel. A second G-Love holding another boat's wheel approached from the other side of the building in front of which the fish stood. The first G-Love used one of its multiple hands to tap the fish's shoulder. The fish turned around. The other G-Love flew near the fish, spinning, outstretching its hands. The first spun, slapping the fish to the other G-Love, the second G-Love slapping the fish back to the first one. The pattern continued like they were playing ping-pong.
An anvil fell from above, crushing the first G-Love. Chibi-Usa looked up. Even in Bikini Bottom, anvils couldn't appear from nowhere. On top of the building in front of which the fish had stood, Gary stood near the edge. The snail meowed and then drew back.
How had that snail gotten on top of the building? And how had that snail gotten here faster than Chibi-Usa and the rest of her friends?
She shook her head of the thought. She had learned not to overthink things that happened in Bikini Bottom as soon as she saw the sponge with legs.
Only one G-Love was left. The fish had fallen on the ground and was scurrying to escape.
"I got this." Patrick hurried to the robot and then belly-flopped on top of it, smashing the robot, pieces of it flying in all directions. One of its hands that had broken off smacked Chibi-Usa's forehead. Stars flashed in her vision. A combination of mini-starfish and mini-robots sambaed before her. She tried to touch them, to crush the mini-robots in her hands, but her hand passed through them.
Patrick took the wheels the G-Love left behind, stashing them in his pocket, his pants not expanding with the shape of the wheels at all. Chibi-Usa wasn't going to think about how that worked, why physics didn't exist in Bikini Bottom.
"Did anyone else see that snail on top of the building?" Rei said.
Chibi-Usa raised a finger, staggering. "I did." Her voice was wobbly. That hand had hurt much more than it should have. Why hadn't Helios protected her from the hand?
"I'm glad I'm not the only one," Mamoru said.
She shook her head to clear the clouds from her mind. She hurried to the fish, who had picked himself off the ground. "Are you okay, sir?"
The fish blubbered for a moment before managing to get out, "No. That thing hit me in my obadigamen."
Chibi-Usa wasn't going to ask.
"Anyhow," Mamoru said, looking up, "that snail looked like SpongeBob's."
"Gary?" Patrick cast his gaze to the building, too. "Great. We can use him as a comrade in our fight against the ninth dimension."
Rei glared. "Why do you keep bringing up the ninth dimension?"
"Because that's where we'll find the evil Monkey Man."
She sighed. "I'm not going to ask."
As the group continued through the downtown area, defeating robots, dodging hot sauce (it burned to the touch, Chibi-Usa finding out because of her daydreaming about Helios), Helios came to the forefront of her mind, his white fur illuminated in the moonlight.
He had called her his maiden.
Chibi-Usa was needed.
But what could she do?
All she did was dream.
If only she could fall asleep now and dream of Helios, who needed her. Who she needed, if only because she wanted to be needed.
Was her neediness the only reason she wanted Helios?
No, it couldn't be. She genuinely liked Helios. She didn't understand why, but he was important to her.
The group took a break near another cannon that shot not only sinks but also leather chairs, their backs to a skyscraper, off of which the sinks and chairs bounced. Who loaded these cannons with sinks and leather chairs, of all things, and did they steal their ammo from people's homes? Chibi-Usa imagined waking up to find her house broken into, the only things gone being her sink, pried out the wall, and her leather chair, not the television or radio.
Helios could help her. No, she could help Helios. If only she was strong enough to save him.
"Chibi-Usa?" Mamoru sat beside her. Rei and Patrick sat a ways away, Rei trying to ignore Patrick by staring intensely at a hole in a building, the starfish chattering about whether the sky was green or blue. Rei wouldn't let herself get caught up in such a nonsensical argument.
Mamoru's eyes were soft. Nonjudgmental. "Thinking about Helios again?"
Chibi-Usa hugged her knees to her chest. "I've been thinking about him since we came down here. I know we have friends above ground, too—Hotaru-chan and the others—but Helios…he's defenseless, Mamoru." She curled her hands. "I, I want to save him. But I don't know how."
"Don't underestimate yourself, Chibi-Usa. Think about what you've done today, using your wits and power to defeat the robots. You've always had it in you."
Chibi-Usa rested her chin on top of her knees. "But this is different. Helios might not need my brute strength or my wits. He might need something else from me, but I don't know what." She peered up at him. "Do you?"
Mamoru shook his head. "It's something that only you can figure out."
Maybe Mamoru was right. If Chibi-Usa searched inside herself, she could find the answer. Besides, it was time she started figuring things out on her own instead of relying on others for answers.
What if the answer wasn't strong enough to save Helios?
She shook the thought out of her head. She'd figure it out one way or the other. Even if the answer wasn't strong enough, she'd find another answer that was.
"The sky is blue, Patrick, blue."
Chibi-Usa's and Mamoru's heads snapped up. Rei and Patrick shouted at each other about whether the sky was blue or green, both standing, face-to-face.
Rei wasn't as above everything as she liked to think she was.
Chibi-Usa found herself laughing. It felt good to laugh again. Had to remember to laugh no matter her circumstances. No matter Helios' circumstances.
Because she was Helios' savior.