Chapter Eighteen: A Simple Schoolgirl
Taptaptap drummed Artemis' tail on the carpet. Minako and the others had been missing for a few hours too long.
Minako hadn't returned after leaving to help Sailors Mercury, Moon, and Chibi-Moon fight the Dead Moon Circus. With Sailors Jupiter and Mars joining the fray, victory should've been quick.
Artemis worried at his claw. Wherever the Dead Moon Circus had taken the Guardians, the cat wasn't powerful enough to break through the Circus' barriers and communicate, much less find Minako. Artemis had searched the arcade and scoured the computers in Minako's school for a way to communicate. His obsession reached a point in which Luna and Diana shut Artemis in Minako's bedroom, letting him stew in the darkness, saying that he was worrying too much and straining his eyes, staring at screens all day.
Artemis didn't care about worrying too much or eye strain.
Luna's and Diana's worries were reflected in their sweaty foreheads, their twitching tails. After locking Artemis in Minako's room, they likely went to hunt for answers themselves.
Artemis gazed at the wristwatch communicator lying on the bed. He had to get through. Somehow.
Minako fell.
She was above the goo, so her fall wouldn't end well. One, there was no way in hell she wanted to so much as touch the goo, let alone plunge inside of it. Two, the robots and those inflatable toys were homing in on her. Those toys had been beating her since before the robots arrived and her powers shut off.
Was Sailor Venus, no, Minako Aino that weak?
She could transform in midair. She'd done it before, mostly during her Sailor V days when she wanted to get the drop on criminals.
Makoto, watching, was in one of her overprotective moods again, being more destructive than usual, wasting more energy than she realized. Minako needed to transform to stop being a burden.
Minako laughed. "Oh, no big deal. Lemme just transform again." Stretched her arm to the sky. "Venus Planet Power, Make-up!"
Wind blew, the goo washed up on the shore. Still, Minako fell.
Monsoons, G-Loves, and dragons were swarming around her. Not good.
Wait. If Minako let herself be captured, then she'd be taken where Sandy and the other fish were. She could save them. Even without her powers. Or was she being too reckless?
She was, but Minako was the type of person for the job. She needed to prove to Makoto and the other Guardians that she was strong without her powers.
Minako splayed herself. The G-Loves and dragons swept below her, carried her. Yes.
"Mina-chan!" Makoto said. Minako winked.
Makoto's face twisted into an expression Minako had never seen, would haunt Minako's nightmares: a cross between a grimace, snarl, and hiss. Oh, crap.
With her body, Makoto burst through several robots, flying toward Minako at breakneck speed, the robots' pieces exploding. Kept going like the explosions didn't hurt at all. Holy crap.
Movement from above. A boulder plummeted toward Makoto, cackling Ham-mers standing on top of one of the valley's walls, a chunk of the wall missing. Holy crap.
"Mako-chan, watch out!"
Makoto swerved but not fast enough. The boulder knocked her leg, causing the green light around her, signifying her energy flow, to fade—broken concentration. She dropped into the goo, her cry echoing. Hopefully, Makoto's leg hadn't been broken.
Minako's friend was hurt, and Minako didn't have the powers to help.
Minako had to be able to do something. Minako Aino was nother powers. Minako Aino was Minako Aino.
The robots flew Minako away. Makoto didn't surface from the goo. At least she could breathe, and maybe her suit had absorbed some of the blow from that boulder. Makoto was too tough to let a boulder take her out, especially when one of her friends was in danger.
The robots carried Minako over the valley, the valley's walls blocking her view of where Makoto had fallen. Minako prayed that Makoto would wake up soon.
But the horrible corner of Minako hoped it took a while for Makoto to wake. An unconscious Makoto couldn't worry about Minako. More importantly, an unconscious Makoto couldn't stop Minako from going to where Sandy and the others had ended up.
That selfishness was the worst part of Minako that reared up sometimes, the part that Minako pushed down every day. She didn't want anyone to see her selfishness because her selfishness was the opposite of who a leader should be.
Nevertheless, the horrible part of Minako was glad that Makoto stopped pursuing them. The robots wouldn't be distracted; they likely were going to turn Minako into a robot. Minako Aino was more cunning than people believed, so Minako Aino would save herself, Sandy, and the fish from the robots and those toys, powers be damned.
The robots, the Monsoon and G-Loves carrying her, the inflatable dragons about them, weren't taking her in the direction of the lab.
Maybe they were taking another route.
Maybe they weren't taking Minako to the lab.
Oh, crap.
Hadn't it been enough that Minako's powers had stopped working? She should be cut a break. It wasn't like she had an advantage over these robots or the toys.
Hadn't it been enough that Sandy and a bunch of other fish were being built into robots? If Sandy was turned into a robot, then holy hell, she would be hard to beat.
Hadn't it been enough that Makoto was incapacitated? Makoto was hardy enough to keep going, whether a block of steel slammed into her head or a boulder crushed her leg. Makoto would probably charge out soon to save Minako.
Nothing had gone right today. All that was supposed to happen was Minako, Makoto, and Sandy ran through Goo Lagoon, searching for the robots' source, clearing robots out. Not these zigzags and detours.
Minako wasn't supposed to lose her powers.
No, Minako. Could. Do. It. She had to, such a big risk she had taken that she'd look like a fool if it didn't work out.
They carried her toward a sand castle that towered just over one of the valley's walls, a sand gate at its entrance. The castle's high walls nearly blocked Minako from seeing inside. Atop, a Golden Spatula had been stuck in the sand. Robots roamed around the sand castle. Whatever the reason the sand castle had been built, the robots had claimed it.
Was the sand castle supposed to be the robots' stronghold? Maybe they had stashed more vats holding fish or the robot-creating machine in the castle. Minako didn't need her powers to defeat these robots or their machines. She'd return to the Guardians victorious, letting them know that she, the leader, had saved Bikini Bottom singlehandedly, not because of her own powers, but because she was Minako Aino.
You sound too prideful, Minako.
Urgh. She sounded like Artemis. The cat had more influence over her than she'd like to think. Knowing him, he was racking his brain over where she and the rest of the Guardians could be. The cats would be fine hiding from the enemy until the rest of the Guardians returned.
Instead of flying her through the gate, they carried her into the middle of the sand castle, where wooden boards had been stuck into the walls. More of those inflatable dragons littered the area. A goo pond rippled in the corner of the castle. Above the pond, a ring buoy was stuck on the wall.
No vats, no fish, no machines anywhere.
Maybe another lab was buried below this sand castle. They had to bring her here for a reason, perhaps to make a lethal Venus-bot.
No, a lethal Mina-bot. Minako Aino was not Sailor Venus, nor was Sailor Venus Minako Aino. The two would never be interchangeable.
The robots and the dragons lowered themselves to the ground, dropped Minako on her back. She swept onto her feet, putting up her fists.
Fighting an army of robots and dragons without powers looked impossible.
Minako almost gagged at the thought. She didn't need her powers, and she didn't need her fellow Guardians. She'd outsmart these robots and dragons and save everyone. Maybe she didn't need to break her knuckles fistfighting them.
The robots and the dragons watched her.
A Ham-mer wheeled toward the wall, where a red button was embedded. Someone had built a high-tech sand castle. Well.
The Ham-mer reached to push the button. Shouting, a Monsoon shoved the Ham-mer, sticking its head into the wall. Another Monsoon shoved the first out of the way, pushing the button. Monsoons liked pushing buttons.
A noise like a waterfall filled the area. The dragons, Monsoons, and G-Loves flew upward, the G-Loves grabbing the ground-bound robots. If the robots were escaping, then whatever was happening couldn't be good.
Goo poured out of the ring buoy, into the pond. The pond grew into a lake, kept expanding.
The robots were trying to flood the area and drown Minako.
Oh, crap.
How well could Minako swim in her suit? With their bulkiness and Minako not having her powers—
Minako was not her powers. She could do anything without them.
So Minako ran.
As expected, the stupid robots hadn't put up a fence to keep Minako from escaping. The gate towered feet away. The robots wouldn't reach her in time.
The area right above Minako darkened. Lightning struck her. Without her powers, the pain coursing through was ten times worse.
No, it wasn't. Minako Aino was as sturdy as Sailor Venus. Who needed powers?
An explosion rocked Minako, launching her into the air. She fell facedown, grunting, smoke rising from her body.
Strands of crisp, black hair drifted in front of her eyes.
She grinded her teeth. Those damn robots had burnt her hair through her helmet. Her golden locks were part of what made Minako Aino beautiful, alongside her sparkling sky-blue eyes, her youthful red bow, her glowing complexion. At one time, Minako hadn't thought of herself as beautiful, not even attractive. But after meeting Artemis, the cat telling her how beautiful she was (even though it was creepy at first), she had begun thinking of herself as beautiful.
These robots were stealing her beauty, part of which made Minako Aino the Minako Aino.
Minako resisted the urge to squeeze her hair, damaging it more. Instead, she would squeeze those robots until they popped.
She placed the palms of her hands onto the ground and pushed. It was harder than she thought to stand after being struck by lightning. Since she didn't have—
Don't think the word.
She kept pushing, her arms shaking. She visualized her blackened hair. Unlike Rei, she could not pull off black hair. Especially crispy hair that smelled like roasting fish.
Minako looked up. Ahead of her, a gate crashed down from the entryway's ceiling. Another Monsoon had pressed another button. Guffawing, the Monsoon returned to the air. The robot must've electrocuted her and, significantly, electrocuted her hair. She'd crush that robot. Regardless of—
Minako. Did. Not. Need. Them. She'd brought herself to the point where thinking the word sickened her stomach.
The goo washed over her hands, her knees, her face, thanks to an opening between her helmet and her suit; she hadn't been crushed by the pressure at all. Without her…things, she could survive underwater. That proved that she didn't need them. Or she had survived because remnants of her things remained.
No, it was all Minako.
Goo felt like sludge caking her face, like she was wearing a face mask, but without the benefits and with more heaviness.
She made the mistake of opening her mouth to cough and inhaled goo. She hacked, goo splattering onto her helmet. Goo tasted like gooey, chalky clay.
The sludge was the boost Minako needed to stand. She wobbled onto her feet. Being drowned in goo would be about a million times worse than being smacked by sludge.
The goo swept over her boots. Minako pushed down on her helmet, shutting the crack between her helmet and her suit. She felt a bit lighter, the pressure leaving her. Maybe the pressure was why she had such trouble standing earlier, not because of being struck by lightning.
The robots and dragons hovered about, laughing, those Monsoons throwing back their heads. The dragons' laughs sounded more like how car horns sounded; some dragons heehawed, wheesnawed like horses.
The goo rose faster and faster. Before she could fight those robots, she had to get out of this goo.
To the top of the sand castle she would have to go.
Minako ran, this time not toward the entrance; the robots had literally shocked that desire out of her (were Makoto's terrible jokes rubbing off on her?). She jumped onto two mounds of sand, a plank leading to a wooden platform that was erect a few feet off the ground. She rushed to the platform, turned. A barrel had been stuck in the sand, like the castle had been created so the unfortunate person trapped here would have to outrun the rising goo.
Minako jumped onto the barrel, the goo reaching halfway up the barrel. She moved more sluggishly than she had when she was Sailor Venus. No, she didn't need those things. Stop thinking that you need them, Minako Aino, Goddess of Love all by herself without needing to be Sailor Venus. Wait, Sailor Who?
The goo was rising more quickly than she was running.
The goo could morph into some type of monster once it caught her. She'd seen water mutate into monsters in Godzilla movies.
Oh, crapcrapcrap.
She was starting to think like Usagi. Minako Aino was her own person, not anyone else, including Sailor Venus.
Pushing herself past her best, she rushed more, her quads pulsing with pain. Climbing the sand castle was the most grueling workout she had ever endured. Her athleticism from volleyball and gymnastics did her no good in Bikini Bottom.
She couldn't give up. She had too much to live for, too many people to help. A hole would be left in the world if Minako Aino was gone. How sad would her mom and dad and Hikaru and her Sailor Team and Mamoru be.
Jumped onto another barrel. Were these gaps getting wider? Must be a combination of both the gaps and the suit she wore weighing her down, fatiguing her quickly.
On the goo below drifted a fish clad in a floating vest, making him look like a balloon. Fear shot through her. Bad memories of saving those kids from the balloons earlier.
The next gap was too wide for her to jump. The goo was becoming higher by the second. It brushed the top of the first barrel on which she had jumped seconds ago.
Couldn't think. Just do.
She jumped onto the fish. "Whoof!" the fish grunted. His flotation vest propelled her. She flailed, flying toward the edge of the wooden platform. She reached, grabbing at the platform's edge. Her fingers grasped the edge, her shins dunking into the goo. Minako hoisted herself onto the platform.
Before fear or thoughts could paralyze her, she kept moving toward the wooden platform attached to the castle's wall, which was a little higher than the goo. How was she going to get all the way over there?
Overhead, the robots and dragons cackled. Knew it was impossible for a mere human.
Not impossible for Minako Aino. Minako Aino was nota mere human.
Had to be something useful somewhere. Whoever had built this sand castle had put everything in it.
The inflatable fish behind her drifted back and forth.
Minako cupped her hands around her mouth. "Hey!" Remember your manners, Minako, her mama would tell her. Screw her mama for now.
The fish looked, eyes half-lidded. Nonchalant, like it was normal to be in a robot- and toy dragon-filled sand castle.
"Mister, I need you to swim over here."
"To jump on me again?" The fish clasped his fins over his stomach. "That hurt last time, girl. No more, no more."
"Yes more, yes more," Minako barked back. "I'll die if you don't get over here." And that goo was coming faster and faster, brushing the underside of the wooden platform on which she stood. Oh, crapcrapcrapcrap. The thought jackhammered through her mind.
She jabbed a finger at the robots and dragons above. "You'll probably die too. Sir." Usually, Minako was good with her manners, but not even her mama would blame her if her manners went down the toilet in life-and-death situations.
"Oh, yeah, my life is much more important," the fish said.
Why, thank you, sir.
"All right, I'll swim over there. But you gotta promise that you keep those robots away from me."
"Yesyesyes." Minako was having a hard time saving herself. The goo brushed over the tops of her boots. Oh, crap. How was she supposed to save this fish and herself?
All those times she had longed to be an ordinary girl chasing her dream of becoming an idol, she hadn't imagined to be like this. This situation wouldn't have happened in the first place if she wasn't a Guardian. She would've never met Fisheye or the Dead Moon Circus.
She would've never met her friends, either.
If only they were with her now.
The fish paddled between the platform on which Minako stood and the platform stuck in the wall. As soon as he was close enough, Minako jumped. She bounced off the fish, landed on the platform. The goo kept rising, but she had to help that fish because he had saved her life twice. Time to put his life before hers.
Minako crouched, reached for his hand. The fish grabbed it. Minako pulled, and he rolled onto Minako, bowling her onto her back.
The fish stayed on top of her. "That's the way it hurt when you jumped on me."
"Yes, sir, I'm sorry," she said through grit teeth. Must not lose patience, although the situation was dire enough for her to lose it all and be justified. "Please move so I can save your life." Keep focusing on his life, not yours.
The man rolled off her, jumped onto his feet. Minako climbed upright. The goo rippled a few inches below the platform on which she and the fish stood. Damn, that goo was moving fast.
"Please go ahead of me." The words went against every self-preservation fiber in Minako's body, but she owed this fish, as annoying as he was within the five minutes she had met him. "Keep running and jumping."
The fish stripped off his inflatable suit. Before he could drop it into the water, Minako said, "Wait, sir, please don't do that. We might need it again if any of us fall. Please keep holding onto it." Impressive, Minako. She held onto her manners despite the life-threatening situation. Her mama would beam with pride.
The next three wooden platforms creaked. Minako gripped the fish's hand. "Sir, we'll have to jump on these three platforms quickly. I get the feeling that they can't hold much weight."
The fish fisted a hip. "Are you saying I'm fat?"
"No. Sir," Minako grinded out. Her patience was being tested when they needed to move. "We have to hurry, or we'll drown. Rather, I'll drown, which means that I won't be able to help you. And then you'll be captured by the robots."
"You don't know that." He shrugged. "But I'm fat, so what do I know?"
Weight had nothing to do with intelligence, but Minako kept her comment to herself. No time to argue. Had to keep this guy moving. He may not realize how awful this situation was turning out to be and how much worse it could become, but Minako did, and she was going to avoid the worst-case scenario.
Minako pulled the fish forward and then jumped onto one wooden platform, taking the fish. As soon as their feet touched the platform, it tilted downward. Minako pulled, her and the fish jumping to the next one. The second platform tilted. Gauging the distance between each platform, Minako and the fish jumped once more. The final wooden platform tilted, and Minako and the fish jumped onto the platform that was stuck in the wall with poles, sturdy.
Minako didn't let herself or the fish catch their breaths. She hurried forward, pulling the fish with her.
"You're hurting me again," the fish said. "You're gonna pull my shoulder out of its socket. And what happened to letting me go ahead of you?"
"First, I wanted to make sure we moved fast enough sir. Second, you can let go of me, but you have got to keep up." The goo lapped the surface of the last rickety wooden platform, which had tilted back up.
The fish snatched his hand from Minako's, but he didn't slow. On the platform on which they stood was a patch of lettuce…? On the lettuce sat a block of ice.
The hell is that? Could the ice freeze the goo, stop the flow of water pouring near the sand castle's entrance?
Minako whipped around. Had to make this fast. She may not have Makoto's physical prowess, but she could try to throw the ice block into the goo.
Minako gripped the block. Ice spread through her fingertips, to her arms, to her chest, to her legs.
The ice encased her.
The goo spread to the wooden surface, licking her boots. She could move her eyes—looked at the fish, which turned toward the next wooden platform and then turned back toward Minako, brow furrowed. Debating whether to save her?
She needed his help. Even if the goo melted her boots, she might not be fast enough to outrun it. It was catching up rapidly; no matter how fast Minako ran, the goo would drown her. The robots would be free to do whatever they wanted.
"You hurt me," the fish said, "but I don't want to hurt you."
She didn't want to hurt him, either. Somehow, she had and had to apologize, but she couldn't until he broke her out of this supernatural ice.
The fish gripped her arms. Tugged, snapping her boots from the wooden platform, ice breaking off. Stronger than he looked.
Carrying her, he turned toward the next rickety platform. A black ball fell before him, morphing into a Ham-mer. Where had it come from? Minako couldn't move her head to look.
The fish stepped back, gaping, eyebrows arching upward. Afraid of being drowned in the goo that reached just above the fish's knees, the Ham-mer, and the robots circling above. This fish was smart enough to defeat this robot or at least run around it, onto the next platform.
Snickering, the Ham-mer turned toward the rickety platform. Smashed the platform, detaching it from the wall, felling it into the goo. The fish tossed his inflatable vest onto the goo and then jumped on top of it, spreading his feet like he was riding a surfboard. Thank goodness. They could reach the top of the castle.
The fish dunked one foot into the goo and swiped, pushing the inflatable in the direction of the top of the castle. They no longer had to jump, only reach the surface.
Better yet, the ice covering Minako was melting.
The fish's hands slipped. Minako fell into the goo.
Oh, crap. Her words were not strong enough to encompass how awful this situation had become. At least the fish was near her—
The Ham-mer threw its head of ham, smacking the fish's head. He careened into the goo, floated to its surface, eyes white. A knot wound up onto the fish's forehead.
Thankfully, the ice melted completely, and Minako paddled toward the inflatable vest. The Ham-mer threw its stick toward her. Her volleyball instincts kicked in, and she caught the stick, threw it back. The Ham-mer's eyes bulged, and the stick bonked its head. Its radar-like eyes blanked, and it collapsed into pieces. All because of a stick. Either the robot was fragile or Minako Aino was stronger than she thought.
Minako reached the vest, grabbed it and the fish's fin. Paddled toward the surface.
The goo was no longer a threat to her. Not like before, when she had thought that she wasn't strong enough to swim through the goo and fight the robots. Her thoughts had held her back, not the lack of her…things.
The robots realized the same. The goo stopped pouring from the ring buoy.
Minako climbed onto the wall of the castle, the castle's top open to the sky. Pulled the fish onto the surface, too. Shaking, she slid her hands onto her knees and panted.
The robots swooped to her and the fish, but they paid attention to only her.
The robots peered over Minako, lifting her hands, her arms, her legs. Squeezing her calves, her hamstrings, her quadriceps, her biceps. Feeling their size.
The robots pointed at the sinking goo. Nodded to one another.
Two G-Loves gathered Minako in their arms and carried her toward the underground. Where the labs were.
Instead of giddiness at being able to save her friends, nothing but apprehension, fear, the desire to leave filled her. But she was a Guardian. Being afraid was okay, as long as she pushed past her fear.
She wasn't a Guardian anymore, though. She was Minako Aino, who was powerless.
She had let herself say the dreaded P-word. She would reach the lab and be useless. As hard as she tried, she hadn't been able to fight the robots. Yes, her thoughts could hold her back but, realistically, Minako Aino couldn't fight an army of robots without her powers.
Face it, Minako. You are not Sailor Venus. You may not be your powers, but you sure need them.
Lightning struck.
The Tar-tar Sauces and Monsoons and G-Loves and Ham-mers around her collapsed, smoke rising. She fell to the sand. Above, Sailor Jupiter flew. The fire burning in her eyes rivaled Sailor Mars' flames.
No thoughts ran through Minako's head. Only joy.
The antenna extended from Makoto's tiara. Electricity spread from it to her hands, flowers—
Bikini Bottom's version of clouds—consolidating in one area so that they no longer looked beautiful but like a prison guard's mace. Lightning crackled within the flowers. A dragon's head extended from the clouds.
"Supreme Thunder Dragon!" Makoto threw her arms toward the robots, balls of electricity shooting from them. At the same time, the lightning dragon shot toward the robots, its mouth opening, electricity crackling within. The balls of electricity shocked the robots before they could run, and the robots writhed. The lightning dragon's mouth clamped onto the robots, explosions booming within until all the robots had been destroyed, smoke encompassing the area, shards of the robots raining to the sand, around Minako.
Holy crap.
A goo-soaked, spread-eagled, panting Minako lay beside the sleeping fish.
Makoto stood over her, hands on hips. "Are you okay?"
"I should be asking you that."
"Yes. Minako, are you okay?"
Whoa. Makoto wasn't playing. "Tired, but yes, I suppose."
"Learned your lesson?"
Minako smiled lopsidedly. "I suppose."
Makoto offered Minako her hand, and Minako took it, let Makoto pull her up, which the taller Guardian did like Minako was as light as a teddy bear.
"I won't do it again, Miss Kino." She sputtered goo. Minako meant it. If the universe was trying to teach her a lesson, she'd learned it. "Y'know what, Mako-chan? I'm starting to think that we can't do this by ourselves. We should get the others to help us."
Makoto slammed her fist into the palm of her hand. "Ah, so you didlearn your lesson. Great."
"You taught me well, ma'am."
"I didn't teach you anything." Makoto poked her finger onto Minako's nose. "The robots taught you your lesson today."
Minako was more willing now to ask her fellow Guardians for help. No matter how much she wanted to, she could not do it all.
"How's your leg, by the way?"
"Feels like nothing happened to it," Makoto said. "It just broke my concentration for a bit. But I fought through those robots to get to you. They didn't invite me inside their castle even after I knocked."
Minako chuckled. "You must've been as sweet as you could be."
"Of course. Am I anything but?"
Minako looked over Goo Lagoon, the sand and goo stretching into the distance, robots populating almost every square inch. "I feel like we've used up so much time here." She and Makoto needed the others' help. Many more robots roamed Goo Lagoon than in the residential area of Bikini Bottom. A powerless Guardian with one Guardian trying to protect her would prove disastrous. "I think we should go back to Bikini Bottom and wait for the others."
"Agreed." Carrying Minako, Makoto flew toward Goo Lagoon's entrance. "Mina-chan, you don't have to be tough all the time because you're the leader. You didn't suggest that we return to Bikini Bottom because you think we wasted so much time here. You actually think that we don't stand a chance with all the robots around."
Minako clenched a fist. "Damn you and your perception. Damn it all." She swung an arm around Makoto and squeezed. Makoto did the same. "Thanks, Mako-chan. Honestly, you and your perception are awesome."
Makoto grinned. "I know."
"So are you and your humility." Minako tightened her embrace. What would she do without her friends? How could she think that she could save Bikini Bottom alone? Humans weren't designed to do things alone.
That's right, Minako. Artemis' voice echoed in her head. Minako's breath hitched.
"What's wrong?" Makoto said at once.
"It was Artemis…I think. Speaking in my head." Although the Guardians had been in Bikini Bottom for a few hours, Minako felt like they had been away from Japan for months. She missed Artemis, and Artemis must miss her, too. Must've been trying to call Minako on her communicator every hour, the worrywart. Luna and Diana might be with him to try to keep him calm, but their attempts likely weren't working.
"He was saying that I was right." When had Artemis gained the ability to read her mind? "When we get back to Japan, Artemis has a lot of explaining to do." But if they could communicate telepathically, then they could keep in contact with each other, regardless of where they were. How convenient. She thought, Artemis, can you hear me? No response. "I can't communicate with him." She sighed. "Well, that was a short but sweet chat." It had been nice to hear Artemis' voice after what felt like ten years.
"It's okay, Mina-chan. You and I both know that this'll work out."
"Sure will." With her friends giving her strength, she could do anything, Sailor Venus or not.