Chapter Fifty: Kinetic Disruption
PallaPalla opened her eyes to a sandy ceiling. Flooding her were images of that damn Sailor Jupiter nearly breaking her face with a punch, not having a chance to retaliate because Hawk's Eye had whisked her away. If PallaPalla had stayed, she might've been killed.
Being killed would've been worth seeing the Guardians' crestfallen expressions as they realized that they weren't pure-hearted.
They thought that everything was black and white. Never considered a gray area.
To the Dead Moon Circus, conquering the world was good. To the Guardians, Dead Moon's pursuits were evil. But the Dead Moon Circus' world could be best for everyone. The Guardians wouldn't give the Dead Moon Circus a chance to prove that their reign would be better than the Moon Kingdom's. Under Queen Serenity's rulership, the world would be boring, too peaceful. Under a world crushed with nightmares, no one would have any choice but to bow down to Dead Moon. Wars would end. The world would be its own version of peaceful. Screams would lull Queen Nehellenia to sleep. Most importantly, she'd continue to protect PallaPalla, her sisters, Hawk's Eye, and Fisheye. The Quartet would be on top for once, no longer living under the threat of rabid animals, no longer homeless, no longer fending for themselves but having the world at their disposal.
Problem was, no matter what the Amazon Trio and the Amazoness Quartet did, the Guardians overpowered them.
The sea creatures seemed to be the Guardians' Achilles' heel. The Sailor Team foolishly put the creatures before themselves.
PallaPalla rubbed her black and blue cheek. Attacking the sea creatures also enraged the Guardians.
Thankfully, PallaPalla and her sisters hid in the middle of nowhere. Safe from the Sailor Team, for now.
They'd buried themselves in a sand dune near the base of Sand Mountain. Sitting beside her, CereCere peered into PallaPalla's eyes. "You're awake. Finally. You had me worried for a moment."
From the other side, JunJun stretched. "All of us."
VesVes kept running her hand over her whip, scowling, instead of noticing PallaPalla. "Damn it. Freaking fish down here are too nice. 'Killing with kindness.' What kind of crap is that?"
Hawk's Eye lay on his back, in the middle of the group.
Fisheye sat, cross-legged, beside VesVes, rapping his fingers upon his thigh. "The fish down here are nicer than you'd think."
"Gotta get them to be mean somehow," VesVes said. "Mean enough to kill with weapons."
"We could manipulate their dreams," PallaPalla said. "Maybe they'll become mean through nightmares."
CereCere squeezed PallaPalla's hand. "You're much smarter than others give you credit for. Creating the Amazon Trio. Coming up with the most diabolical nightmares. Makes people underestimate you." She smirked. "Am I rubbing off on you?"
"Actually, PallaPalla thinks you talk too much, so she's trying to have you not rub off on her."
VesVes' cheeks puffed, and she broke into laughter. "Got that right. CereCere yaps so much, she makes ears bleed."
CereCere crashed a fist into VesVes' cheek, popping it flat. "Shut up. You 'yap' a lot yourself."
VesVes glowered at CereCere and then broke into a grin. "Just because we've been apart for a while doesn't making punching me okay."
"Neither does laughing at me." CereCere massaged VesVes' cheek.
JunJun leaned backward, onto the wall. "I missed being with all of you. Let's not separate ever again."
Fisheye bit his lip. "Not everyone. Tiger's Eye…" He wiped his eyes.
Suddenly, PallaPalla wanted to find and slowly, painfully end Tiger's Eye's murderer. With their weakness, they were in no condition to do anything.
PallaPalla swung upright. "It's PallaPalla's fault. She didn't make you guys powerful enough. The Guardians were stronger than PallaPalla thought."
Fisheye flexed his hands. "I've gotten powers down here. I've tried using them against the Guardians, but they're still too strong. If I train, maybe I can grow strong enough to stand against them."
"Don't forget that we can disguise ourselves," Hawk's Eye said. "Manipulating the Guardians' dreams might not be working, but we can manipulate them in other ways."
CereCere snapped her fingers. "Good point."
"What about teaming up with the robots?" JunJun said. "They want to cause chaos. The Guardians want to stop them, so they want to stop the Guardians. We want to stop the Guardians. A setup for a perfect team." She snorted. "Better than being with Plankton."
Hawk's Eye flicked dust from his shoulder. "What a useless partnership that was. Then he wound up going over to the Guardians' side."
"Look on the bright side," VesVes said. "We have an excuse to kill him."
CereCere cupped her chin. "I don't think robots work the way you think they work, JunJun. They don't have brains. All they do is what they're programmed to do. And they're programmed to not obey anyone. So we'll have to work with them, without working with them. Meaning, they cause destruction, we go along with it, use what they're doing to our advantage. They stand against us, we break them. Simple as that."
"So you think."
The group started, PallaPalla looking up, toward the voice.
VesVes groaned. "That old hag again?"
"Quit your complaining. 'That old hag' is trying to save you from dying from stupidity."
VesVes opened her mouth, about to bark at the hag.
CereCere raised a hand. "I have to say it, but she's right, VesVes."
VesVes cursed under her breath but said nothing more.
"You fools have let many opportunities slip by," Zirconia said. "So I took it upon myself to gain…reinforcements, if you will."
"You don't trust us," VesVes muttered. "Figures."
"Excuse me for not trusting impulsive teenage girls."
VesVes opened her mouth in another brewing bark.
"Reinforcements?" CereCere said.
"Let me go back for a moment. A sea god bestowed divinity upon Sailor Neptune."
PallaPalla blinked. "Does that mean she's even stronger now?" If she was, then Sailor Neptune might spell death for Dead Moon.
"Yes and no. She's reluctant to use her powers because she grew arrogant and destroyed too much of Plankton's precious restaurant. Almost destroyed Plankton's computer wife, too, but I stepped in. You see, while the Guardians were on their way to the Chum Bucket, I met the robot's leader in the restaurant's restroom, of all places. I told him that the Guardians would destroy him, the Chum Bucket, his robots, and the computer wife, and he wasn't strong enough to do anything about it. I told him that, if I saved his life, he'd have to join Dead Moon, turning his robots with us for the common purpose of destroying the Guardians and those three animals with them. The leader wants Plankton dead most of all."
"But he's useless," VesVes said.
"To us, Plankton is. To the robots, he's an obstacle that can turn the D3000 back onto 'Obey.' If he does, then the robots, including the leader, will be forced to obey Plankton. The leader's trying to figure out how to reprogram the D3000 so, even if it's switched back to 'Obey,' Plankton won't be obeyed but only him. If he gets rid of the obedience switch completely, then the robots will run rogue, not obeying anyone.
"Before Sailor Neptune destroyed the Chum Bucket, I teleported the Duplicatotron, the computer, and the robot's leader away. Since I saved them all, they owe us. Therefore, you have nothing to fear from the robots. Before, they wanted to cause chaos. Now, they're focused on killing the Guardians."
VesVes balled her hands. "We could've handled things ourselves. We had just gotten used to Bikini Bottom and fighting the Guardians. We were on the verge of a breakthrough."
"No, you weren't."
Her face reddened.
PallaPalla clapped her hands. "More toys to play with."
"That's a good way of looking at it, I guess," JunJun said.
"We did need more help." CereCere smirked. "Finally, you did something useful for once."
"I'll never understand why you keep insulting me when I keep helping you."
"Because you're a—" VesVes said.
"Not another word." The hag's voice quaked the dune, sand falling from the ceiling. "I don't want to hear your nonsense answer." She took a breath. VesVes ground out another curse under her breath. "I've seen where the Guardians and their pets have gone. Here's what we'll do."
Once again, the Sailor Team and the sea creatures separated. Sandy led Ami, Minako, and Chibi-Usa toward Kelp Forest. For the umpteenth time since talking in the tree, perhaps longing for her solidity, the squirrel looked back at Makoto, the Guardian poking one of the rocks in the circle that forced lucid dreams. Makoto stared at her finger. Expecting it to gain the ability to lucid dream?
If only Chibi-Usa could lucid dream, testing different ways to save Helios from his prison. She hadn't seen Helios since he had shielded her from the raging fight in the Mermalair, exalting her value and beauty.
Even if Sailor Moon was the only one who could save him, perhaps Helios would fall in love with Chibi-Usa.
Chibi-Usa's cheeks burned, and she slapped her hands on her cheeks to hide the blush. Good thing no one had—
As slowly as a crane, Minako turned her head toward Chibi-Usa. A grin as wide as the Cheshire Cat's spread on her face.
Chibi-Usa couldn't get away with anything, least of all being noticed. Such were the woes of being the Moon Princess' daughter.
Minako sidled closer to Chibi-Usa with that infuriating grin. "They also call me the Goddess of Love."
Chibi-Usa's cheeks burned hotter, the coursing heat keeping her from asking who, exactly, thought of Minako as having any kind of expertise in love when she'd never had a steady boyfriend.
Minako may not read much, but she knew about the goddess Venus, who governed love and raunchier things, like sex and fertility. Not that Chibi-Usa was anywhere near the time when she needed to think about either. Nine-hundred and two years too young. Yet another woe of being the Moon Princess' daughter.
"Oh, Chibi-Usa-chan, you're adorable," Minako sang.
Chibi-Usa tucked her head. Her face must be a beacon in the growing dark.
"Worry not. I'm here to help you navigate the waters of adolescence. Because, let's face it, those waters are full of boys."
Chibi-Usa could've melted into a puddle. Worse, the sudden birds-and-the-bees conversation (traveling to the middle of a forest, while saving the world) wouldn't have gone better with her own mother, anyone but Puu. Sailor Pluto somehow made embarrassing things seem normal, giving Chibi-Usa a safe space to vent. But Puu was studying a haunted graveyard.
Bending to Chibi-Usa's level, Minako laced her hands behind her back. "Now, tell the Goddess of Love, what ails you? I can solve any love problem."
"B-be serious, Minako." Surely, Minako realized the gravity of the situation with Helios.
"Ooh, using my full name. Must be a serious situation."
"So you get it?" Chibi-Usa pushed down the fluttering hope in her chest. At any time, Minako could switch from serious to goofy, and the twinkle in her eye said that she was going to stay the latter.
"Got it." She chuckled lowly. "I know who your waters are filled with—Helios."
"I said be serious." Chibi-Usa wanted to hide in a hole until Minako returned to her own planet and stayed there for the foreseeable future. What audacity, with Sandy and Ami walking feet ahead, the two having fallen silent, listening and doing nothing to save Chibi-Usa. All they needed was popcorn.
Could've been worse. Minako could've wailed about love in front of the innocent SpongeBob and Patrick, both of whom would've asked questions so embarrassing, Chibi-Usa would've had to dig her own grave, her headstone reading, "Here lies Usagi Tsukino, the daughter of the Moon Princess, who triumphed over demons and aliens but succumbed to embarrassment at the hands of her own ally."
"Oh, but I am serious, little one."
Chibi-Usa could've thrown a rock, knocking the "goddess" unconscious without a second thought. Anything to shut Minako up.
"I am, too," Chibi-Usa shot back. "And I'm telling you, you're embarrassing me." Nearly cringed at her whininess.
Minako rubbed her hands. "Don't worry. I'll get my hands on you soon to tell you all about true love."
"I bet. Both you and your nonexistent boyfriend." After much of the damage had been done, her silver tongue had clawed through the embarrassment.
Minako faltered like an anvil had crushed her. "Well, that is…" Silent. Chibi-Usa had finally stopped Minako's tirade.
Instead of commenting, Sandy called a taxi, and the four rode toward the forest. Thank goodness Sandy had the decency to wait until Minako had stopped before hailing a taxi. The "Goddess of Love" would've unashamedly kept yammering about love in front of a stranger.
Minako ran a hand through her hair. "Man, these taxis go everywhere." Just like that, her own embarrassment was forgotten. "Did they really take you up a mountain?"
"You better believe it." Sandy rubbed her paws. "Money talks."
"Talks louder here than in Japan."
The squirrel shrugged. "What can we say? Bikini Bottom's a lot like the United States. Which is good for me, from a cultural standpoint."
Ami gazed out the window, at the darkening sky. "The United States isn't nearly as cartoonish as Bikini Bottom, is it?"
"Far from it. Humans are too serious, anyhow. They do have their goofy moments, though, especially when they're trying to be serious." Sandy scratched the side of her head. "Sorry. Forgot you guys are humans for a moment."
Minako slung an arm around Sandy's shoulder. "That just means we're growing closer." She pressed her face toward Sandy's. "I must ask, though. When have you laughed at us when we're trying to be serious?"
Sandy and Minako stared at each other. The goofy Minako knew how to intimidate others when needed. Others often thought of her as stupid because of her blonde hair and bright, blue eyes but were unpleasantly surprised once she struck them with her chain or a seemingly innocuous golden heart.
"First of all," Sandy said, "you ain't scarin' me. Second of all, you guys can be pretty funny. But laugh at you? That's downright insulting. I've been laughed at, and it ain't pleasant."
"Sure isn't." The cab was small enough that everyone heard and looked at Chibi-Usa. With the pity radiating from everyone, maybe the pink-haired Guardian shouldn't have said anything. She twiddled her thumbs. Had to get the pity off of her. "Why have people laughed at you, if you don't mind me asking?"
"`Cause I'm a squirrel. I breathe different, I look different, I walk different, I talk different. Know what I've learned, though? People make fun of you `cause they're scared of you, know you're capable of doing a lot and don't wanna see you succeed. Even when I was livin' in Texas, other squirrels made fun o' me because I liked reading and inventin' and was interested in ocean life. The other squirrels couldn't understand that. Didn't try to understand, neither. So they laughed, and look where we are today. They're prob'ly still stuffin' their faces with acorns and doin' nothin' but gettin' fat while I study a new world and work to connect the land and the sea. In the end, they won't have a legacy or nothin' to show for their lives while I do."
Maybe that's why her male classmates took Chibi-Usa out on mock dates. Why some had started rumors that Chibi-Usa was adopted and couldn't be the true heir to the Moon Kingdom, with her red eyes and pink hair that were the opposite of her mother and father's appearances. They saw the potential in Chibi-Usa, knew that she'd one day inherit a kingdom. They'd been trying to break her out of jealousy, fear of the power she'd one day wield, desire to hold that power themselves.
Maybe Chibi-Usa was looking too much into the reasons why her classmates bullied her, but Sandy's explanation made sense.
"What did they do to you, Chibi-Usa?" Ami said.
Chibi-Usa tapped her fingers. "Um…" Couldn't revisit the bullying, not when she still had a hard time facing it alone. Hadn't told her parents. Didn't want her classmates to ridicule her more because she had run to Mommy and Daddy, using her parents' power to bail her out instead of stopping them on her own.
Sandy raised a hand. "It doesn't matter. Just remember that whenever others bully you, their bullyin' says more about them than it does you."
She straightened. The bullying wasn't her fault. Chibi-Usa had a lot of growing to do, but there were many things right with her.
Outside, the sand was overgrown with crisscrossing kelp and vines, crabgrass, weeds. Even though nighttime was hours away, the area became nearly pitch-black. Chibi-Usa tensed. Found herself almost summoning Luna-P. Couldn't cling to her cat toy now, despite her feeling like she was about to go to bed alone in a bedroom that was too big for her, covering herself with bedsheets in an attempt to hide from monsters.
Chirping and twittering filled the cab. Maybe the group would have to fight against not only the robots and the Dead Moon Circus, but also whatever creatures dwelled in Kelp Forest, protective of their territory.
Like hulking weeds, kelp grew around them. Ami placed a hand on Chibi-Usa's shoulder. When had the small Guardian grown nearly petrified of the dark?
"I'd better stop here before I get lost." The taxi screeched to a halt in front of several mountainous kelp. "Ride's over."
"That's it?" Chibi-Usa blurted.
"Yep. You're at the entrance. Out. The longer you sit there, the less money I can make."
"Best not argue." Sandy opened the door and scooted out of the cab, the humans behind her. As soon as Minako slammed the door, the cab screamed off, smoke billowing from its exhaust pipe.
"Is Kelp Forest that bad?" Another blurt from Chibi-Usa. How could her small tongue be nigh uncontrollable?
Sandy placed a hand on the back of her helmet, looking up at the kelp. "Not bad. As long as you don't get lost."
Chibi-Usa gulped.
"Have you ever been in Kelp Forest, Sandy?" Ami said.
"No, so I'm probably not the best guide. But it doesn't matter how many times you come. A forest ranger can get lost as easily as a newbie."
Kelp Forest sprawled endlessly. So much kelp enveloped the forest that walking seemed impossible. Heat and humidity caked Chibi-Usa. She futilely fanned herself. Running through the forest would not be pleasant. Sweat was beginning to drench her, and she hadn't moved since stepping out of the cab.
Sandy tugged at the collar of her suit. Sweat glistened her fur. "Anyhow, we'd better get goin'. I may be a squirrel, but I'm not a big fan of forests, so the sooner we can leave, the better."
Ever the leader, Minako walked ahead, stepping gingerly on the kelp, as if fearful that the kelp could come to life and eat her whole. She parted the kelp, looking around for enemies, nodding at her teammates and then letting her friends go ahead. Once they were through, Minako let the kelp go, and the kelp rustled and snapped shut. Thus began their trek through Kelp Forest.
"Our enemies could jump out anytime." Minako peered through another set of kelp and then, seeing nothing, let her friends go ahead. "Be careful, everyone. I know it's hard to hear with all this chirping, wherever these animals are, but listen as best you can for anything out of the ordinary."
The Dead Moon Circus laughed a lot, left disorder in their wake. Chibi-Usa was ready for them.
She wouldn't let her enemies break her and her friends down emotionally again. The group was still recovering, not to mention Usagi's and Mamoru's conditions.
Chibi-Usa should be at her parents' sides, yet she'd gone with Sandy, Ami, and Minako. Didn't ask to switch with anyone to be with her parents. The future king and queen would have no choice but to let Chibi-Usa come with them; surely, their curse couldn't spread to anyone in a dream.
She refused to have regrets. She was here and would do her best, return stronger then before, showing her parents that they never had to worry about her.
The kelp thinned, and they reached a nearly pitch-black clearing. The sun peeked through the kelp, afraid that, if it ventured closer, it would become lost, too.
A lake rippled to their left. Ahead, several tents were pitched around a portable bathroom. Mrs. Puff stood beside the tent, fanning herself, sweating. From the forest or something else? She seemed like the type to become nervous easily.
Makoto, Sandy, and Haruka had explained that the Dead Moon Circus manipulated Mrs. Puff's dreams, too, reminding her of humans turning her husband into a lamp. Though Usagi and Ami, two humans, had saved her significant other, Mr. Krabs, her distrust of humans had returned.
"Let's see if Mrs. Puff needs any help." Minako quickened.
Mrs. Puff screwed up her mouth, like she'd eaten a lemon.
"Careful, now," Sandy whispered, her mouth barely moving. "Mrs. Puff is more dangerous than she looks."
"She sure is." Eons ago, Ami had fought alongside Mrs. Puff in Jellyfish Fields.
A fish poked his head out of one of the tents. Mrs. Puff shooed the fish away, and he squared his expression at the humans and Sandy running toward them. The fish's eyes widened momentarily, and he ducked back inside, zipping the tent shut, like a tent would keep three girls with supernatural powers and a karate-chopping squirrel from forging their way inside.
"I see you've told them all about us," Minako said.
"Oh, yes." Mrs. Puff stepped in front of the tent, spreading her fins. "Stay back, or else, you lamp-loving murderers."
Chibi-Usa winced. Unlike Sandy, Mrs. Puff didn't have many friends to support her, so she was dealing with the heartache the best way she knew how—lashing out at the innocent.
"I won't let you get anyone else. Definitely not my boating school students."
Sandy gestured downward. "Please, Mrs. Puff, calm down."
"I am calm," Mrs. Puff snarled.
"Let's start with why you decided to come here. Mind sharin'?"
"Why not? You're here now." She turned up her nose. "I brought my boating school students here to hide from you all. I was formulating a plan to drive you out of here once and for all. Now that some of you are here, we can run you out for good and then deal with the rest of your friends later."
Sandy rushed ahead of the humans. "Even me, Mrs. Puff? I've been through heck n' back with these humans. They've saved me more times than I can count. If I trust them, why can't you?"
"Humans are crafty and cunning, Miss Cheeks. They may be helping you now only to turn you into a cute, furry lamp later."
Minako slowed into a walk. "Mrs. Puff, we don't mean anybody harm. We promise. We're not like the girl who gave you that nightmare. We're trying to save you from them."
"You didn't come fast enough on Sand Mountain."
"We're sorry about that," Ami said. "On behalf of the rest of our friends who were on Sand Mountain."
"At least you're taking responsibility for your mistakes. But that doesn't change the fact that all you humans have the capability of murdering fish again."
Minako shook her head. "You can't think that way. We are here to help you. I understand that you're trying to keep other fish safe, but the best way to stay safe is if you stay with us. That way, if those other humans who gave you the nightmare come back for you, then we can protect you."
"You didn't protect me the first time. What should make me think that you'll protect me ever again?"
"Because we learn from our mistakes."
Mrs. Puff snorted. "We'll just keep going around in circles. Listen, I'll never trust you humans ever again, and that's final."
The hairs on the back of Chibi-Usa's neck stood. At the same time, Minako whipped around, slashing her sword, a curved beam emerging, slicing one robot in the middle of three stacked atop one another, floating, the robots sitting in tubes like the ones kids sat in when playing in pools. The robot popped like a balloon, and its tube whistled into the sky.
"We'll protect you and your students from these robots." Minako rushed toward the two remaining robots—Tubelets. The Tubelet on the top spun, blurring, and blew a red gas that thrust Minako into Sandy, who was on Minako's heels, about to lasso. The two crashed onto the ground, tumbling over sand, sticks, grass, into the campfire by the tent, enflaming Minako's skirt. Hollering, Minako shot onto her feet, throwing Sandy into the tent. The tent caved in, and several of Mrs. Puff's students scrambled out of the tent, scattering.
Laughter echoed. Dead Moon.
But where?
Chibi-Moon raised her Kaleidoscope, looking for the Dead Moon Circus member.
The Tubelets' laugh mixed with the invisible Dead Moon's. The bottom Tubelet spun, releasing the red gas.
Some screaming students accidentally ran headlong into the Tubelets' gas, and their shoes caught on fire, the fire spreading up their bodies. The tent was aflame, Sandy and Minako rolling on the grass to try and douse their own and the tent's fires. Mrs. Puff's eyes darted, the pufferfish fanning herself more furiously. Where had her earlier bravado gone? Hurrying after the campers, Mercury Harp raised, Ami urged the campers and Mrs. Puff to escape.
Chibi-Usa shared attacks with Sailor Moon, but she could try to launch Moon Gorgeous Meditation on her own, eradicate all three Tubelets in one shot and then find the laughing Dead Moon Circus member.
She'd never tried using Moon Gorgeous Meditation without her mother's help. Now, she had to, and she had to succeed.
She aimed her Kaleidoscope at the three-pronged robots. Drew in a breath—she was going to do this—and then shouted, "Moon Gorgeous Meditation!"
The campers kept screaming, eyes wide like Chibi-Usa was the terrifying one (why did the fish think that she was dangerous instead of cute?). Sandy and Minako had tangled more than a pretzel, a ball of limbs and fur and flaming tent but had stilled. Breaking out from her stupor, Mrs. Puff beat the flaming tent, Minako, and Sandy with a camp blanket, perhaps worried about only Sandy but saving Minako out of necessity, not want.
The Chibi-Moon Kaleidoscope sucked in light from the sky. Her weapon had never absorbed light.
Cackling toothlessly, the Tubelets floated toward Chibi-Usa, somehow looking sinister riding their pool toys. Maybe everything looked sinister when one was vulnerable.
The top Tubelet began to spin.
Resisting the urge to shut her eyes, Chibi-Usa willed any attack to shoot from her Kaleidoscope. Kelp Forest grew darker as the Kaleidoscope absorbed the forest's little light.
Now was not a good time to experiment. She should've launched her surefire Pink Sugar Heart Attack. Her desperateness to prove that she wasn't useless had caused her to take a potentially deadly risk, at not only her own expense, but also her friends'. Accidentally killing herself was fine. Accidentally killing her friends was not.
The Tubelets launched their attack, covering Chibi-Usa's vision in a wall of red.
The human's laughter stopped.
A rainbow, shard-filled beam jetted from her Kaleidoscope. She could launch Moon Gorgeous Meditation by herself.
Her light crashed against the red wall. Chibi-Usa's eyes watered as she struggled to keep the wall back, protect those behind her.
She had to keep going. She would not be a burden.
A wave of water crashed onto Minako and Sandy, dousing the fire. Ami was working, likely about the drench the Tubelets, too. Until a camper tripped and rolled toward the Tubelets' wall of flame. Ami's face fell, and she rushed toward the camper.
A green head, to Chibi-Usa's left. She looked.
JunJun. She'd been laughing.
She stood feet away, frozen with a raised hand as though about to attack.
"What are you doing?" A crackly voice from above. Chibi-Usa kept her eyes fixed on the wall. Had to concentrate on what she was doing.
"They're vulnerable. Kill them."
JunJun glanced at the wall of red, at Chibi-Usa, at the Tubelets, back to Chibi-Usa. What was she thinking?
Maybe that woman was manipulating the Amazoness Quartet, like Chibi-Usa had started to suspect in the industrial park. Meaning, JunJun needed to be saved.
Chibi-Usa was tied up. So were Minako and Sandy, literally, entangled within each other's limbs, despite the fire having been doused.
A pulse of energy from the robots pushed Chibi-Usa back. Hard to concentrate when, nearby, JunJun stared at Chibi-Usa, hands shaking.
"Do it." The voice rattled the earth, and JunJun shut her eyes, shoved her arms toward Chibi-Usa, and roared something unintelligible over the roar of the red wall, the campers' screams. Several white orbs burst from JunJun's hands. Chibi-Usa's pupils contracted. Helios couldn't save her. She couldn't protect herself from the orbs and the wall at the same time. If she fell, the campers and Mrs. Puff would be hurt. The pufferfish would never be able to trust humans again, spelling the beginning of the end of Sandy fulfilling her dream.
Roaring once more, JunJun threw her hands sideways, toward the Tubelets, and the orbs swerved through the robots. The three exploded, their tubes whistling into the distance. The fiery wall dropped like a collapsing skyscraper, sizzling and leaving a brown patch.
Gawking, Chibi-Usa stopped Moon Gorgeous Meditation. The light flew from her Kaleidoscope in white swirls, resembling shooting stars, and filled Kelp Forest with light so that JunJun's aghast face was bright and clear.
JunJun chewed her lip at Chibi-Usa. Chibi-Usa stared, wide-eyed, at her enemy. Her savior.
"Why?" Chibi-Usa said, voice barely above a whisper.
JunJun shifted from side to side. "Because you saved my sisters sometimes? No." She let out a shuddering breath. "Because…I felt like I had to. Compelled to. More than obeying that old hag." Her brow creased. "And when I looked at you, I saw something strange."
"What do you mean?"
"JunJun, you fool!" The voice rumbled like thunder. The sky ruptured, and an old woman's face shone within the gap. Nightmare number five-hundred and three to haunt Chibi-Usa at night. JunJun glared at the old woman. "You've defied our queen."
The color drained from JunJun. "Th-the…" She gulped. Turned and sprinted into the bushes.
"Wait." Chibi-Usa found herself running after JunJun.
Ami called Chibi-Usa's name, but Chibi-Usa ran faster, hoping that Ami wouldn't catch her. Refused to drag her friends into a life-threatening situation, alone with Dead Moon.
She would find out how she was connected to the Amazoness Quartet. The mystery behind Dead Moon might soon be solved.