Chapter Thirty-four: Oxygen Thief

Fisheye hated losing. Especially to those damn Guardians.

CereCere and Fisheye had escaped deeper into the Mermalair. Even with Fisheye's newfound water blasting power, they couldn't defeat the Guardians, much less fight evenly.

The Dead Moon Circus always lagged behind the Guardians. Their enemies had broken through the power of their Lemures and those Orbs while CereCere and Fisheye could barely function.

When the two reached the security tunnel, a slow-blinking snail stood at the entrance, staring at them, unafraid.

"What's a snail doing all the way down here?" Fisheye said. "I don't think snails would enjoy tunnels. I mean, I've never seen them in my home, but my home is radically different than Bikini Bottom."

CereCere touched a finger on her chin. "Maybe this snail belongs to someone. Like that sponge or starfish. We could take it hostage. Cliché, but it might be the only leverage we gain against the Guardians."

"Yes, Master." Taking hostages had a high failure rate, but perhaps things would turn out well this time.

Fisheye's job was to do the dirty work, like carrying snails that slithered on filthy floors, so Fisheye swiped the slimy snail, the thing squirming, biting at him, but Fisheye bore the pain.

CereCere and Fisheye continued deeper into the Mermalair's security area. There had to be something, anything else they could use. Everyone had weaknesses. It was only a matter of time until the Dead Moon Circus exploited the Guardians'.

Thank goodness Hotaru had ended the Orbs of Confusion. Those long minutes that the Orbs had been activated made Chibi-Usa behave like a cretin instead of a princess. Thankfully, no one had seen Chibi-Usa drooling or her thoughts of giant monkey men and Helios grazing in a field of tapioca.

Saying he needed to recover from being confused and was in no shape to help anyone, Bubble Buddy left the Mermalair, and the group ran through the tunnel leading to the Mermalair's main chamber. SpongeBob explained that only one Orb of Confusion was enough to incapacitate someone, but clustered ones could fill an area with confusion.

"How did you break free from the confusing waves?" SpongeBob stuck his face inches from Setsuna's, eyes alight. Either not minding or inbred with politeness, Puu didn't move away from SpongeBob. "The Orb of Confusion was devised by the two most powerful superheroes in Bikini Bottom history. Multiple ones should've made it so no one could even move. But you, Ami, and Fisheye were able to get your wits about you. How? How?" He fluttered, pressed his face closer to Setsuna's.

"I concentrated on saving Ami, you, Small Lady, and Hotaru." Puu had told the group that Fisheye tried manipulating her dreams, too, but quickly been unsuccessful, Setsuna realizing what was happening and breaking free by focusing on her friends instead. Chibi-Usa needed to grow unselfish like Puu.

By the paleness on Ami's face when she'd come out of her hallucinations, her emotions had been wrung. Ami remained tight-lipped about the details. Whatever had happened was private, something that should be respected. The only thing Ami said was that Fisheye had injected false events into her dream, making her think that she wasn't loved. What a powerful enemy.

Hopefully, the enemy didn't gain ground over Chibi-Usa's dreams of being with Helios forever. After all, the small Guardian was the only one who could save him. Finally, something she alone could do, not Sailor Moon, not Tuxedo Mask, not any of the other Guardians. She was strong enough to be sought after for her power, not because she was the daughter of the Moon Kingdom's future queen.

As much as she loved her parents, it was a relief to be with neither of them now. To stand on her own with two of her best friends.

Speaking of Hotaru… "Hotaru-chan, did you get a new attack?" That attack had been amazingly destructive. Made sense since she was also known as the Goddess of Destruction.

Hotaru nodded. "It's called Silence Glaive Surprise. I tried to use it on our enemies back in Japan, but it didn't work thanks to that vortex we were in. I held back a little down here because I didn't want to destroy the Mermalair." She smiled. "To be honest, I wasn't sure how powerful it was or what exactly the attack was going to do. But I launched it anyway."

Chibi-Usa gasped. "Hotaru, reckless?"

Hotaru stuck out her tongue. "A little."

A light shone ahead.

Quickening, SpongeBob said, "Here it comes." His shoes' squeaks echoed throughout the tunnel. "The Mermalair's main chamber, where the real fun'll begin."

Chibi-Usa cupped her forehead. More "fun" than the Orbs of Confusion?

SpongeBob skidded to a stop, Chibi-Usa nearly barreling into the sponge. The rest of her team stopped behind her.

He spread his arms. "Welcome to the Mermalair, the secret fortress of Bikini Bottom's favorite, and only, crinkly superheroes, Mermaid Man and Barnacle Boy. See it and be astounded."

The cave was the biggest Chibi-Usa had ever been in, much less seen. Not that she had seen any, but this one had to be one of the biggest in the world.

Chibi-Usa craned her neck upward. Couldn't see the ceiling—looked to be a neverending expanse of darkness. Even with the green-glowing, fuzz-filled computer monitors around that lit the Mermalair, she couldn't see what was up there.

The cave had two levels. On the first were several round, metal platforms, disco floors about (serving as part of the Mermalair's security system that the robots had rigged—according to SpongeBob, the disco floors shouldn't have been on since the superheroes were strong enough to protect the Mermalair, but the duo probably couldn't protect themselves from a fly) and, above, a sitting area where Mermaid Man snored in front of a television, reclining in an armchair.

"He got back from his doctor's appointment quick," Chibi-Usa said.

"But of course," SpongeBob said. "Our heroes may be almost deaf, their hearts might be on the verge of failure, and their bunions may throb and swell with each passing year, but they're among the healthiest in Bikini Bottom."

Chibi-Usa shuddered. "Growing bunions…"

Above, two clear tubes snaked from one of the circular platforms, where cylinders encircled the platform's rim. Looked like water traveled inside.

"SpongeBob, what are those tubes for?" Ami said.

"They carry water. Since there's saltwater everywhere, the Mermalair is powered by saltwater. Our heroes are so smart, they decided to use a practically unlimited resource instead of electricity to power their Mermalair. That way, when the power goes out, the Mermalair won't be affected."

"Very smart," Setsuna said. Indeed it was. Especially from two senile, washed-up superheroes. Although they might have come up with the system when they were younger, sharper.

Had Mermaid Man ever had his wits about him? Watching him snore in the recliner, muttering about tapioca, it was hard to believe that he used to be an intelligent human being. Maybe he had been a genius once but had gone off the deep end from living in Bikini Bottom.

If she stayed in Bikini Bottom long enough, could Chibi-Usa lose her sanity? Barnacle Boy hadn't lost his wits, but he'd grown grouchy. Another side effect of living in Bikini Bottom? Or had age ravaged them?

No, Chibi-Usa, you said you weren't gonna think about it. Especially the creaking knees. Must never think of those again. Plus, she was 902 years old. If age hadn't shriveled her up yet, then maybe it never would.

Above, on another metal circular platform stood Barnacle Boy, where a water-filled globe was erect atop a machine with a green-screened computer, metal tubes snaking from the globe into the machine. In front of the machine's monitor, Barnacle Boy rubbed his chin.

Chibi-Usa couldn't take the enormous, buzzing, busy Mermalair in at once, with its machines showing that same snowy green screen, the dripping water. Since they were engulfed in saltwater, perhaps the machines had been constructed to be waterproof so that they wouldn't short-circuit.

Squidward stood at the entrance to the main chamber, massaging his bald head. "How on earth did I get myself in here?"

From her brief interaction with Squidward in his tiki, the octopus wasn't the type to bother himself with others' grievances. But here he was, in the robot-filled Mermalair.

SpongeBob slid to a halt before him. "Squidward, am I happy to see you. I can feel my happiness all the way in the back of my elbow."

Squidward twitched. "I can feel my irritation pulsing all the way in the back of my head."

"D'aww, as kind as always."

"Well, I am a little happy you're here. At least now, you can go to the Mermalair Computer yourself instead of me doing it. Those two old, cranky superheroes got the idea in their head that I have the athleticism to climb up these walls and reach that Mermalair Computer. I mean, look at me." He twirled in a circle. "Do I, the graceful, elegant, artistic Squidward look like the type to do all this running and climbing, especially in a place like this, with not even a throw rug to add some décor in this wasted space?" His eyes settled on the Guardians. "And you brought your human friends." His grin came out as a grimace. "Two new ones. Even better. They can fly right up there." He pointed to the corner of the cave, where a computer with three screens had been constructed. That was a long way to run, hop, skip, and jump. But flying took a lot of energy, too, and they needed to destroy a swath of robots.

"I'm Setsuna Meioh. It sounds like you know about our powers already."

"Oh, I more than know about them. I had the pleasure of being subjected to one of your friend's so-called 'healing' power. Made those jellyfish stings worse and almost tore off my delicate, radiant skin. I have a very specific, three-hour skin routine at the end of the day, and it was almost washed away in two seconds thanks to that girl's power."

Didn't seem like his three-hour skin routine was doing much good for the clammy Squidward.

"In the end," SpongeBob said, "we did get the Jellyfish Jelly for Squidward to heal himself with."

Squidward's eyes softened. "Which I do appreciate." A soft spot in the octopus? SpongeBob was right. Squidward was squishy inside.

"I'm Hotaru Tomoe." Telling him that she wielded destructive powers might not go over well.

Squidward turned away, not acknowledging her or introducing himself in return. "Good luck getting out of here." He gazed at the entrance. "Goodness knows I'll need it."

"One of us can escort you back," Ami said.

Squidward scowled. "I'd rather be stung by a hundred jellyfish than be touched by one of you again. What next? A so-called massaging power that sends electricity down your spine to soothe you?" He waved his hand, walking toward the exit to their left. "Nope, I'll escort my own self, thank you very much." As rude as he could be. Escorting didn't mean touching.

"Squidward, wait," SpongeBob said. "Do you want the booby trapped or non-booby trapped exit?"

"Non-booby trapped, please." He didn't miss a step, marching onward like he knew where the non-booby-trapped exit was. But he looked over his shoulder, at SpongeBob, for guidance.

SpongeBob pointed to the right, where the tunnel split into one path, an exit sign pointing in that direction. A second pointed to the left. In the middle was where the Guardians and SpongeBob had entered the main chamber. A metal door slammed, blocking the way the Guardians and SpongeBob had come. Another part of the Mermalair's security system? "Then go that way."

Squidward turned, walking down the path SpongeBob had said, disappearing in the tunnel. His screams filled the area, joined by noises of tree branches breaking, a saw scraping against metal, a chainsaw roaring, water dumping, punctuated by an explosion. Had Squidward fallen?

SpongeBob cocked his head. "Or maybe it was the other way."

A darkened Squidward crawled from the darkness, coughing smoke, hair the same color as his skin sticking out of his formerly bald head.

SpongeBob pointed to his head. "Hey, the booby traps made you grow hair. Congratulations, Squidward."

Squidward's eyes watered. "This, this isn't hair."

A chill ran down Chibi-Usa's spine. Could not think about what that "hair" truly was, or she wouldn't sleep for many nights.

"I think…I'll stay here for the foreseeable future."

Chibi-Usa cringed. If only she had a healing power like Sailor Moon did.

Like Sailor Moon… Sailor Chibi-Moon didn't have Sailor Moon's powers. Shouldn't she have inherited most of Sailor Moon's attacks since she was Sailor Moon's daughter? Yes, she sharedattacks with Sailor Moon, but she didn't possess any of Sailor Moon's powers by herself.

With her weaknesses, how could Sailor Chibi-Moon be the maiden that Helios sought?

Nevertheless, he needed her, not Sailor Moon. Chibi-Usa had something that Usagi didn't.

Maybe Helios would come again, infuse her with healing powers that rivaled Sailor Moon's so that she could heal the booby trap-addled Squidward.

Maybe Helios would ride in again to save her.

Maybe Helios would come again just to see her.

Chibi-Usa's heart skipped. She'd love to see him again.

Squidward blinked, eyes distant. Hopefully, he would get over his pain soon. The group had to continue.

Leaving Squidward puffing smoke, the Guardians and SpongeBob ran forward, not bothering to fly, lest they miss an intricacy or hidden area. Sometimes, when in the air, things became so small that Chibi-Usa couldn't distinguish between them, so she overlooked crucial things.

They jumped onto a long metal walkway that led to nowhere, a circular platform feet away from it. At the end of the walkway, a turnstile lay on the ground, a bowling pattern decorating its spindles. SpongeBob wheeled his arm, and a bubble bowl inflated in his hand. He bowled the ball into one of the spindles, turning the turnstile. The walkway turned, jostling Chibi-Usa and knocking her into Puu. Chibi-Usa held to Puu until the walkway stopped, its end leading to the spinning circular metal platform. Electric wands dotted the platform, compliments of the security system.

Hotaru ran onto the spinning platform, dodging the wands like they were nothing. SpongeBob was close on her heels, more from excitement than protectiveness.

There were so many platforms to jump onto, to ride, so many buttons that everything blurred. The Mermalair was all one color, so running through it wasn't exciting. The running and jumping, especially since they were climbing up the entire time, made Chibi-Usa's legs ache within seconds. Maybe flying wouldbe easier.

Not many robots roamed about. Perhaps the moving platforms made them retreat. Chibi-Usa didn't blame the robots. Wished she could lay down or have Mamoru carry her.

On the other hand, SpongeBob seemed to gain energy the more running and jumping they did, speeding up. If only the sponge could share that energy with Chibi-Usa.

Up and up they went, everywhere seeming the same. Although her face was laced with stoicism, Puu's eyes were bright, the Guardian excited to be exploring an underwater lab. Ami looked around like she'd awoken in a different universe. Hotaru's facial expression was stoic, too, but somberness lurked within, her thoughts plagued with remembrances of the lab where her father had experimented on her, almost leading to her death by not only her own father, but also the Guardians. Thank goodness they had cleared everything up, would die to protect one another.

Then they reached the slide.

SpongeBob clapped his hands. "Ooh, the famed slide. A short one, but famed nonetheless."

"Why's it famous?" Hotaru said.

"Because it's in the Mermalair. Everything in the Mermalair is famous." He bent down, plucked up a piece of dirt. "Even this speck of dust."

"Uh-huh." Chibi-Usa peered down the slope. Flying might be better than sliding. When she was younger, she loved slides, but sliding in Bikini Bottom… The slide could be alive, open up and swallow the group whole.

SpongeBob jumped, lolled out his tongue, and fell, tongue-first, onto the slide.

He slid with his tongue.

Just when Chibi-Usa thought she'd seen the weirdest thing, something else topped it.

At this point, if Helios turned out to be a gopher instead of a horse or human, she wouldn't be surprised. It'd be Bikini Bottom's fault. When she couldn't explain something, blame it on Bikini Bottom.

Chibi-Usa took to the air. "I don't know about you all, but I'm flying." No way was she going to slide on a sponge's saliva.

Ami was right behind her, hovering a millisecond after Chibi-Usa took to the air. "Same. I've had experience with slides. The experience has not been good." Said nothing more. Showed how traumatic her experience had been.

"Aww, you guys dun wanna come wit' me?" SpongeBob's voice grew more distant as he slid farther from the Guardians.

"We're fine, SpongeBob," Chibi-Usa said. "We'll meet you down there."

Once he reached the bottom of the slide, he jumped, but he didn't aim correctly and slammed, headfirst, into an electric wand on the rotating circular platform. He flashed, showing his skeletonless inside. Must be because he was a sponge. Creepy, nonetheless.

Here Chibi-Usa was, thinking about how creepy a sponge's insides were when the sponge in question was being electrocuted, possibly to death.

Chibi-Usa flew toward SpongeBob. While SpongeBob was being electrocuted, he kept flying forward, whisking over Mermaid Man in his recliner, the superhero snoring louder.

SpongeBob slammed into a button on a machine, brightening the light atop the machine. The sponge flipped onto the floor, over and over, the electricity around him subsiding. Chibi-Usa rushed to his side, the rest of her fellow Guardians joining her. SpongeBob's eyes were blank, and he continued to writhe, moaning. At least he wasn't foaming at the mouth.

Mermaid Man startled awake. "Evil?" He jumped onto his feet, his glazed eyes, pupils as small as pinpricks, darting every which way. "Evil!" He faced SpongeBob.

"Uh-oh," Ami said.

"What do you mean, 'Uh-oh'?" Chibi-Usa said.

A water ball formed in Mermaid Man's hands. "Prawn, you evil being, be vanquished." The water ball expanded into the size of three beach balls combined.

"He's stronger than last time," Ami said. That's right; according to her, he'd gone crazy in Jellyfish Fields, against the robots. He must've been dreaming about evil.

If Chibi-Usa asked, then maybe Helios would save SpongeBob.

She clasped her hands, bowed her head, shut her eyes. "Please, Helios, come save us."

No light filled the area. Mermaid Man kept chanting, "Evil." Chibi-Usa dared part her eyes. Hotaru, Puu, and Ami stared at her like she'd lost her mind. Instead of helping SpongeBob by moving her body instead of her mouth, she was making a likely fatal error.

Coming to the rescue again, Setsuna flew, scooping SpongeBob into her arms as Sailor Mercury said, "Mercury Aqua Mist!" A mist beat down in the Mermalair.

"Huh? What?" Mermaid Man's voice. The former superhero couldn't accurately throw the water ball if he couldn't see. "What happened to the T.V.?" No longer concerned with the nonexistent threat that was SpongeBob.

Chibi-Usa's cheeks glowed red, a flare that alerted everyone to her embarrassment at being, once again, useless. Worse, calling someone else to do what she should've done herself.

Where'd she gotten the idea to pray to Helios? He lived in another world, maybe another dimension, but still…

She hurried to Mermaid Man, hoping none of her fellow Guardians could see her blush. "Are you okay?"

Mermaid Man whipped his head around, eyes crazed. "The evil, has it been vanquished?"

"Yup." Chibi-Usa managed to wink. "You defeated all the evil in the world, Mermaid Man."

"Yes, it is done. No, no, it isn't. I need to be able to sleep. All those buttons need to be pressed. It is truly evil to not be able to get any sleep."

A charred SpongeBob wobbled over. "Yes, your awesome superheroliness. I will press the buttons for you." He flopped onto his stomach. Unconscious. No button-pressing for him.

Letting SpongeBob rest, the Guardians pushed the buttons, lighting the funnel machines. Took about a minute for them to fly over the obstacles, one cannon shooting black boulders as big as Chibi-Usa's head, counting her pigtails, that would've knocked Chibi-Usa out.

Maybe she could put herself in one of those boulders' trajectories so that Helios would come. She didn't want him to abandon her.

Putting herself in danger for her own selfishness would worry her friends. Besides, she could call him anytime, even if she wasn't in danger.

If only she could get to wherever Helios was to save him with her own power. He had called her his maiden; she must have the ability to reach him.

Maybe Helios had appeared to her in Downtown Bikini Bottom because of his love for her.

But Sailor Chibi-Moon didn't have the whole package like Sailor Moon did. Sailor Moon and Sailor Chibi-Moon both possessed the Silver Crystal, they both possessed the same weapons, the same equipment, but Sailor Moon outclassed Chibi-Moon in every way. Sailor Moon was more mature, more dependable, more powerful, more compassionate, more loving, less selfish.

She was everything Chibi-Usa wasn't and never would be.

Maybe Helios had made a mistake, and Chibi-Moon wasn't his maiden.

Maybe Sailor Moon had been all along.

As soon as all the buttons were pressed, Mermaid Man conked out, and SpongeBob shook himself awake, adjusting Mermaid Man's legs on his recliner, rubbing the superhero's feet. With no robots around, and Mermaid Man seeming as though he could sleep through a blizzard, Chibi-Usa cupped her hands, willed her Crystal Carillon into existence, a bell that Helios had given her, and held it to the ceiling.

"Twinkle Yell!"

"Small Lady, what are you doing?"

"Clearing up a big misunderstanding," Chibi-Usa said, a light filling the area. Mermaid Man continued sleeping like all was well.

"You could be giving away our location to our enemies," Hotaru said. The light kept Chibi-Usa from seeing Hotaru's and Setsuna's disappointment.

"I'm not. Trust me." Truth was, she didn't know and didn't care.

"What is going on down there?" Barnacle Boy said from somewhere above.

Helios' silhouette etched in the light, his great wings beating once. "Young maiden…" That angelic voice froze Chibi-Usa's heart. The light faded, but a faint glow surrounded Helios, SpongeBob's breath catching, the sponge calling the horse more gorgeous than Mystery, but Chibi-Usa barely heard him over her desire for Helios. How Chibi-Usa wanted to go to him, cup his face in her hands, turn him back into the human he'd been. But she wasn't the one he was looking for; it wouldn't be fair to him if she caressed him. If she tried to save him again. If she led him falsely.

Everyone always sought Sailor Moon. Never Chibi-Moon. All Chibi-Moon did was live in her mother's shadow. How could Chibi-Usa have thought that anyone would pine for her?

"You're wrong, Helios." Chibi-Usa made sure to stay away from him. "I'm not the one you're looking for. My mother, Sailor Moon, is." She pointed to the entrance. "She's out there on a mountain. You should go there and see her instead." Held out her Crystal Carillon. "Here, give her this so she can call on you instead. You're hers, not mine." She dropped the Crystal Carillon at her feet. Wasn't going to go near Helios when he wasn't hers to go near. Everything that Chibi-Usa thought was hers was Sailor Moon's. She had nothing of her own. Sailor Moon had her own Guardians. Her husband. Her powers that she could use without Chibi-Moon's help. Chibi-Moon was dependent on Sailor Moon. Without Sailor Moon, Chibi-Moon was nothing.

Sailor Moon was passionate about protecting her loved ones. Chibi-Usa had the same passion, but she fainted under pressure. Had turned into Black Lady because she couldn't handle the expectations of being a Guardian, the princess of the Moon Kingdom. Sailor Moon powered through everything.

Her mother didn't think of herself as elegant, graceful, or beautiful, but she was. No wonder Mamoru gazed at her with longing, could never get enough of her. No one looked at Chibi-Usa like that.

Helios gazed at her, as if not seeing the anguish on Chibi-Usa's face. "The one I am looking for has the power to break the seal on the Golden Crystal. The light of the moon shields her. She has both the grace and gentleness of a princess but the strong heart, strength, and determination of a soldier."

Chibi-Usa stepped back. "I'm not any of those things."

He tilted his head ever so slightly. "Is Super Sailor Moon the same person as Princess Serenity?"

Just like that, Chibi-Usa's world crashed. Her dreams of being with Helios, of being a burden no more, of having a purpose other than getting in the Guardians' way, were crushed.

Chibi-Usa took to the air and flew. The world blurred. Didn't care where she went, as long as she left Helios to get Super Sailor Moon's help, left her friends so they wouldn't see her break.

Heard SpongeBob's faint cries of, "She won't make it through the security tunnel by herself." Someone else who didn't believe in her.

"Small Lady!" Puu's shouts were miles away. Chibi-Usa was moving faster than Puu ever could.

Chibi-Usa belonged by herself, hiding, where she could burden no one. She didn't deserve Helios. Didn't deserve to be a Guardian. Wasn't worthy of being her mother's daughter.

She was nothing.