Chapter 19
Venus: Minako's Nurse Mayhem
Christmas day was right around the corner, but to Sora's shock and disgust, he saw that many people had face masks over their mouths and noses, while news reports told of the influenza virus causing nothing more than trouble, which resulted in several shops being closed down, but also resulted in schools being closed down until the virus could be dealt with. However, the outbreak was being caused by the wicked Esmeraude, who was now dressed in winter clothing.
"None of those fools realize that this outbreak was caused by dark power," she said.
A cruel chuckle leapt out from between her lips, as she held her fan in front of her face.
"It appears that this plague you've unleashed is very much like the Geostigma plague that affected those who carried mother's blood within their veins," observed Sephiroth.
But none of them realized that Minako was healthy, and hadn't been affected by the illness.
"It seems that everyone has come down with the flu," she said to Sora whom she saw hadn't been affected by the virus.
"Guess that means we need to find out who caused this illness, because it's making me think of how the Geostigma affected Cloud, Denzel, and several other people after Sephiroth was defeated two years ago," replied Sora.
At the Hikawa Shrine, Rei answered the telephone.
"Hello, Hino Residence," she said wearily.
"Oh no, don't tell me you're sick too, Rei," replied Makoto.
"I sure am, I've got a really bad fever. And you Mako?" Rei asked worriedly.
"Luckily, I only got a mild case of it, but Usagi and Ami sound like they're in pretty bad shape," the taller brunette said.
"Aw, sounds like all the Sailor Guardians are all down for the count, huh?" sighed Rei.
"Nope, one of us is bright eyed and in tip top shape, just like Sora is," countered Makoto.
Rei wasn't sure who, but she suddenly turned around and saw Minako and Sora standing outside the front entrance.
"Yoohoo, poor Rei, I heard you caught the flu," Minako said sweetly, making Sora facepalm.
Makoto was surprised to hear Minako's voice on the phone, when she decided to hang up the phone.
"I was hoping I could prevent another casualty. Oh man, Minako sure made a mess of things here," she sighed, when she got up and looked at the mess before her.
"Here, rice porridge. This time it'll be edible, I'm sure," Minako said presenting Rei with a pot on a tray.
"Wait, what does that mean?" Rei asked.
"I think she's trying to tell you that she made it thanks to Mako's cooking lessons," answered Axel, who stepped out of her room.
"Well before coming here, she made rice porridge for Ami and Makoto when she visited them too," added Artemis who still had a few bumps on his head.
"Those were practice runs, and the chipped tooth was really unfortunate. But that's in the past now, okay, eat up," agreed Minako, setting the tray on Rei's lap.
"Thanks, this is great," groaned Rei, as Sora walked quietly out of the room.
Carefully picking up the spoon, Rei took a bite, and swallowed it.
"Three, two, one," murmured Sora.
Then he heard Rei scream loudly as it made her tongue burn, and fell over.
"Called it," he mused, as Minako started to panic.
"Mina, you added too much salt," choked Artemis after he tasted it.
"WHAT!?" cried Minako.
She rubbed her head sheepishly.
"Hate to say it Minako, but maybe you should stop for a while. I'll alert the other Guardians of Kingdom Hearts to investigate this, while also telling them to not get infected themselves, by this stigma," said Sora.
"Yeah, I guess you're right, Sora. Sorry about that," replied Minako.
"Thanks for your input, Sora," gagged the white cat.
"Minako would you please excuse me, I think I'll rest for a little while," added Rei.
"Sure thing. In that I'll help you get cozy. I'll just take these things away," replied Minako, but she accidentally spilled the pooridge all over Rei, making her scream again.
"Oh no, I'm sorry," she cried.
"Minako, you klutz," whispered Artemis.
"So sorry about that, Rei. I'll get you some clean sheets right away," said Minako.
But she accidentally made Rei fall onto the floor when she took them off her bed, which in turn made Artemis and Rei mildly annoyed and concerned.
"If she were trying to cause this much pain, she'd be more evil than Esmeraude," Rei said breathing heavily.
"Here you go, Rei. I made your bed so you can get a good rest," Minako said as she finished.
But then suddenly, she darted off and picked up a tape cassette.
"Oh, I know, this always works, I'll put on some soothing music to help you rest. This melody uses alpha waves that help your brain totally relax and help you drift off to sleep, it really works" she said.
Rei was flabbergasted when she saw him playing with her music player.
"Hmm, your boom box is different from mine. Is this the switch? I don't think it's working. Is this it? I've got it, yeah!" continued Minako.
"RULES OF NATURE!" roared the voice on Rei's boombox, making Rei cry out in shock.
Quickly apologizing, Minako tried to find the off switch, until it blew up in her face.
"Ugh, good job Minako, you just destroyed Rei's boombox," sighed Sora.
Minako apologized, until Rei had finally had enough, and angrily told Minako to leave.
"HOPE YOU GET GEOSTIGMA!" called Axel.
"Axel! That wasn't very nice," said Sora, as he stormed off after Minako.
"I did it again," sighed Minako.
But she was still determined as always to try and help her friends get better, which made Artemis worried, which in turn made Sora all the more suspicious, until three men with silver hair, dressed in leather outfits passed him. They were known as the Silver-haired Trio, and were called Kadaj, Yazoo, and Loz. All three of them were traversing the city searching thanks to Sephiroth's powerful influence.
"Hey Kadaj, is that girl still healthy?" the first man with long silver hair said.
"Yeah," replied Kadaj, who had his hair over his right eye.
"Do you think we should infect her as well?" Yazoo asked curiously.
"Not yet," smirked Kadaj.
"Don't cry, Yazoo," chuckled Loz, who's hair had a single spike.
"But what of the Keybearers?" mused Yazoo.
"Some other time," smirked Kadaj.
"Don't cry, Loz," snarked Yazoo, when he heard Loz moan.
Suddenly, Kadaj noticed something.
"Hold on, it's Brother," he said.
Sure enough, Cloud was racing across the streets of Juban on his motorcycle, Fenrir. Yazoo and Loz decided to chase after Cloud, who was still on the search for a cure to the influenza virus. Quickly glancing back, he saw his two foes from back then, racing after him and summoning a swarm of dark creatures called shadow creepers, and quickly drew his sword. He fought them off one by one, but more still came as the two silver-haired brothers approached him.
"Hello, brother," said Loz.
He attacked him with his gauntlet, the Dual Hound, but Cloud pulled back, only for Yazoo to fire his Velvet Nightmare gunblade at him.
"You won't stop Esmeraude's plans," he said.
Cloud deflected the gunfire and swung his sword furiously at him, evading another shadow creeper in the process. This deadly dance was starting to get on his nerves.
"Don't tell me, you've infected these people. Because you're doing a pretty good job, Esmeraude. Need to be hostile. If you're not too busy at the moment, I'll talk with Prince Demande," Kadaj said on his modified phone as he watched the battle.
One of the shadow creepers lunged at Cloud, but he cut it down with his sword as several more appeared around him. Yazoo and Loz were still locked in their twisted game of cat and mouse as they saw Cloud trying to evade them. Suddenly, Loz swerved and sent Cloud flying up and above him, but he quickly recovered, and engaged Cloud in battle, only for the spiky haired man's arm to feel the effects of the illness, but he still struck back at Loz who sent his sword flying, as Yazoo waited for his chance to shoot Cloud, knocking his goggles off his face. Soon several more shadow creepers appeared and began closing in on Cloud for the kill, as Yazoo and Loz watched with evil triumph in their eyes.
"ENOUGH!" called Esmeraude, making them vanish.
Cloud was surprised, just as Yazoo and Loz pulled away, then he pulled to a stop and looked up at Esmeraude, who was standing with Kadaj.
"Let's retreat for now, Kadaj," she said.
Kadaj smirked, and with Esmeraude holding onto him, turned and roared away leaving behind a bewildered Cloud.
"The dark henge is growing, just as we planned," chuckled Esmeraude.
"Yeah, gotta be," replied Kadaj.
"Then what does that mean for you, lady?" asked Loz.
"We're on our way. It's only a matter of time before the dark gate is complete," answered Esmeraude.
"Then are you hopeful in returning to Prince Demande's side after this?" mused Yazoo.
"Yes Yazoo, in time I'll be with him again, but for now I must have patience," cackled Esmeraude, and the Silver-haired Trio laughed along with her.
"I see, so she went to your place too, Rei? Ami and Mako called me after Minako visited them. They gave me a general idea of how bad it was," said Usagi, who was on the telephone.
"Minako's a wrecking ball. You should be careful Usagi," coughed Rei.
"Well we've also got someone here who also hasn't caught the flu," replied Usagi.
Then she suddenly heard Chibiusa's cry.
"Sorry, gotta go. Looks like little Miss Healthy got into trouble yet again," Usagi said quickly and hung up the phone.
Luckily her mother was able to get Chibiusa safely into her arms.
"Chibiusa, you don't have to help me with the laundry. Please go ahead and play," Keiko said quickly.
"No, please let me go and take care of the house. You're not feeling well, you should go and take a nap," protested Chibiusa.
"Chibiusa makes a valid point, Mrs. Tsukino. But still, even if she wants to help, it's probably best she keeps it to the stuff she's able to do," added Riku.
"Thank you, Riku, I now have one rant saved for later," mused Usagi.
"I agree, let me handle that job," Minako said.
"Oh boy, here we go again," muttered Sora, as he walked into the house via the front door while Minako jumped to the balcony.
"Taking care of Chibiusa and nursing you back to health is the kind of job, for Minako Aino, since I'm the goddess of love," continued the other blonde, making Artemis sigh in disbelief.
"Well, if that's the case, Usagi here was hoping you could look after Chibiusa," replied Riku.
"I know, I know, but I can handle it, just leave everything to me," grinned Minako.
Usagi was a bit flabbergasted despite her cough.
"Oh, that sounds bad, you should be in bed," soothed Minako.
"Oh no, I'm fine. I can tell you I'm almost over this flu bug," protested Usagi.
"Not from where I'm standing, Usagi. Just head back to bed, and remember this, because tomorrow will be a better day," countered Sora.
"Aw, thank you for saying that, Sora," Minako said sweetly to him.
"Yeah, yeah," agreed Chibiusa, as Minako gently ushered Usagi to her bed.
"Poor Usagi, there's no way this is going to end well," moaned Artemis.
The next day, Usagi was now resting peacefully in bed, but Artemis was worried about Luna, who was also under the effects of the virus, until Minako and Chibiusa arrived dressed as nurses.
"Is the patient ready?" Minako asked.
Usagi and the two cats were surprised, as Minako did her best to make sure that Usagi was going to be alright, while Sora just sighed and walked off with a disappointed look in his eyes. Motioning for Chibiusa to get a thermometer, the young girl transformed Luna P into a medical kit, and gave Usagi the thermometer to place in her mouth. They waited patiently, then Minako saw that the reading was 37.5, but was blinking, which made her concerned.
Chibiusa, did you put batteries in this thing?" Minako asked, accidentally throwing it and causing a gust of wind to burst through making everyone cold.
"Oh, looks like I made a tiny mistake," giggled Minako.
"Yeah, obviously," huffed Riku.
"But hey, that's fine, taking a sick person's temperature is overrated, it's not a big deal if we skip it," replied Minako.
"Uh, Minako," squeaked Chibiusa.
"She's even more clumsy than Usagi," groaned Luna.
"Tell me about it," agreed Artemis.
Luckily she was able to patch up the hole until Keiko would head off to find a replacement set of glass for it after the influenza virus faded.
"Hey, I have a terrific idea, are you hungry? Because I think a nice bowl of rice porridge will warm you right up. What do you say?" suggested Minako.
But Usagi remembered Rei's warning about it, and quickly denied it, which made Minako decide to play some music, which made Artemis panic.
"What gives? You're not giving me a chance to do anything helpful around here!" snapped Minako.
"Yeah, and I'm bored," agreed Chibiusa.
"Let's just ask Usagi's mother if she can let us help her," suggested Riku.
"Yeah, what Riku said. I'm sure there are a lot of chores you can do around here," agreed Usagi.
"Oh, all right, let's go you guys," replied Minako, and she walked off.
Once they were gone, Usagi could now breathe a sigh of relief, until Chibiusa cried out, and the wind sent the patch flying off the window, making Usagi shiver. Once again, Minako and Chibiusa still continued to cause a ruckus in the house, and even made such a terrible mess that made both Usagi and her mother very disappointed.
"Please take care of this mess, I'll clean up here after I get more sleep," sighed Keiko, and she walked away.
"Wow, mom's sure got her work cut out for her," said Usagi.
But she suddenly fainted after getting dizzy, which made the two girls worried about her.
"Snap out of it, Usagi!" cried Sora.
Once they got her back to bed, Usagi was now dreaming of a christmas dinner with Mamoru, but soon turned into a nightmare, until they woke her up with a squirt gun to the face, until she saw Minako acting more calm and reserved.
"You're awake now. I was hoping you'd keep sleeping while I changed your towel. I guess I messed that up too," she said.
"Not at all. Wait does that mean you were taking care of me for the whole afternoon?" Usagi asked.
"Yep, but we decided to clear up the mess for your mother, since there wasn't anything else for Minako to do," replied Sora.
"You guys, why are you trying so hard to be helpful? I just don't get it," inquired Usagi.
"It's because you're so important to me, and I really care about you. And I'm sure that Mamoru would be proud of Sora for helping you try to get healthy again. We have this urge like we want to protect you," replied Minako.
"And that's for three reasons. 1: we really don't want you to suffer from this illness anymore than we need you to. 2: As your friends, we want to do our best to make sure you get better soon. And 3: Even though we're aware you're also Princess Serenity, that doesn't mean we'll never stay by your side, as well as in your heart," added Sora.
"Yeah, without you it'd be meaningless. You and Sora are more alike than even I could imagine, even if he does have a tiny hint of maturity. That's why we know you're sick, and can't just leave you to struggle on your own," agreed Minako.
"So you get well soon, Okay?" Sora and MInako said together.
Usagi nodded, until Chibiusa awoke.
"Did Usagi's fever go down yet?" she asked.
"Not quite, little sister. But you did the best you could, helping Minako try and look after Usagi," replied Riku.
"You think so?" asked Usagi.
"Yeah, actually I do. Just because Chibiusa took care of you, doesn't mean she's truly heartless. But for now, she, Minako, Sora and I will head to the hospital pharmacy and try to get some medicine," answered Riku.
"Oh right," realized MInako.
She then asked Usagi if she could manage on her own, but the odango-twin tail assured her that she'd be fine, and the matter was settled as they set off. Unknown to everyone, all the hospital staff had been rendered unconscious with vicious shadow creepers prowling across the corridors.
"How's it going, Pharmakon?" asked Esmeraude.
"Master Esmeraude, I'm happy to report that the dark henge is growing quickly. We are on track," replied the droid.
Esmeraude nodded, as Kadaj, Yazoo, Loz, and Sephiroth appeared.
"You have done well," said the One Winged Angel.
"Meanwhile, we must continue to spread this dark power infused medications and humans amongst these people," continued Pharmakon.
"Then opening the dark gate on this world will be simple," agreed Esmeraude, with a cruel laugh.
By the time Chibusa, Riku, Sora, and Minako entered the hospital, there were no staff workers anywhere, even as Chibiusa tried the front desk which was also empty.
"Isn't anyone here?" she asked.
"I don't know, but I can sense a great darkness in this place," replied Riku.
Chibiusa continued searching through the corridors, with Sora trailing behind her, until Esmeraude was aghast to find that there were some people who were still healthy.
"WHAT!? There are still people healthy enough to help? How is that even possible?" she demanded furiously, as she sprinkled darkness over the medical items.
"I don't know," replied Pharmakon.
"Ah you're here. Hurry it up, I made my order for Tsukino! Gimme now!" barked Chibiusa.
Esmeraude was surprised, but then produced a vaccination needle.
"All right, all right. But first it's time for your vaccination shot, so you don't catch the flu too, little darling," she said in a faux friendly tone.
"What? A shot?" gasped Chibiusa.
"It's nothing to worry about, it'll only take a second, and the injections are even free," Esmeraude said in a false soothing tone.
"Better think again, cause she's not interested," protested Sora as he readied his keyblade.
"Such stubborn little insects, you should accept help from others," retorted Esmereaude.
Quickly snapping her fingers, Pharmakon was about to hold Chibiusa down for her shot, when Chibiusa cried out in shock, making her power burst out. This was the signal for everyone to rush to her rescue, when the two antagonists realized she was the Rabbit. One by one, Minako, Rei, Makoto, Ami, and Usagi, all assumed their Sailor Guardian forms, and hurried to the rescue with the Guardians of Kingdom Hearts by their side.
"Ah, Rabbit. Do you realize that meeting me will be the end of you?" sneered the evil woman.
She soon motioned for Pharmakon to eliminate her, but Sora blocked her attack with his Keyblade.
"Hang on, Sora!" called a voice, making everyone turn to where it came from.
"Sailor Venus!" Sora and Chibiusa said with relief.
"Threatening to harm my beloved friends and spreading your dark power throughout our world, you people are beyond forgiveness. I am the Pretty Guardian who fights for love and for beauty! I am Sailor Venus! Now allow me to have you punished by love!" Sailor Venus said furiously at her foes.
"I see, you somehow used your powers to locate our dark henge sight," replied Esmeraude.
"That's not the only thing she did. I used my dark sense and found out that your heart is nothing but darkness," said Riku.
"That's right!" agreed Sailor Venus.
"DARN! So to be clear, you knew of our plan to make people sick by spreading this medicine fused with dark power to find our base," snarled Esmeraude.
"Yeah, it was so obvious," Sailor Venus replied sassily, even though Chibiusa was surprised.
"Impressive. Indeed it seems I may have underestimated you all a bit," the wicked woman said.
As Esmeraude ordered her droid to attack, Luna and Artemis tried desperately to convince Usagi not to help out in her current condition, but much like Sora, her heart and mind were made up, as she and the others knew that they had to protect Chibiusa from harm. Quickly Sailor Venus fired her crescent beam, and was saved by Sora who was able to hold back Pharmakon long enough for her to send her Love-me Chain towards the droid when he forced her back. However, she was forced to avoid several syringes that acted like missiles, until five more pinned her to the wall.
"This battle is over," Esmeraude howled with wicked laughter.
"Take another guess," Riku said, lunging at the droid and forcing her back.
"Riku!" Sora said, feeling relieved.
"Sora, protect Sailor Venus!" Riku ordered his friend.
"Okay," replied Sora.
"Cursed pest. Pharmakon, kill him!" snapped Esmeraude.
The droid nodded and fired a syringe missile at him.
'BIG BROTHER RIKU!" cried Chibiusa.
But suddenly a rose stopped it, followed by the sound of shattering glass.
"Hospitals are a haven for healing and comfort for people stricken by illness. Filling this place with your darkness and using it for your evil plans is something I won't tolerate," Tuxedo Mask said.
"That's right, Tuxedo Mask!" agreed Sora.
This enraged Esmeraude so much that she ordered her droid to slaughter everyone who continued to get in the way of her plans, but was soon stopped by the arrival of the other Sailor Guardians and Sora's remaining friends who prevented it from happening.
"Oh great, now what?" hissed Esmeraude.
"Now, you're goin' down, lady, because you threatened the kid with needles," replied Axel.
"You're the one behind the flu epidemic in the Juban District, aren't you!?" snapped Sailor Mars.
"Now it's time for some payback," added Sailor Jupiter.
"What are you all doing here? You should be in bed," cried Sailor Venus.
"They should be, but it's gonna be okay, Venus," Sora assured the orange clad Sailor Guardian.
"Sora's right, we've all recovered," added Sailor Moon.
"Thanks to your kind loving care, Sailor Venus," agreed Sailor Mars.
"Your compassion nursed us back to health," piped in Sailor Mercury.
"We're all grateful, Sailor Venus," finished Sailor Jupiter.
Even the other Guardians of KIngdom Hearts nodded towards her, and even said that Sailor Venus had done the best that she could.
"Pharmakon, take care of them," Esmeraude said and quickly vanished into the darkness.
Now that she was gone, Sora, Sailor Moon and all their friends began working together to keep Pharmakon at bay, but Sailor Moon collapsed to the ground, making everyone rush to her side.
"I'm sorry, I want to do my part, but my fever just spiked again," admitted the Sailor Guardian of Love and Justice.
"Then if it's alright with you, I'll take care of the biohazard, Sailor Moon," Sora assured her.
"Thank you, Sora," smiled Sailor Moon.
Sora bravely stepped in front of his friends, and pointed his Keyblade at the droid.
"It's all over, Pharmakon!" he said.
Then he glanced back at his friends.
"Everyone, lend me your power! Are you with me to the end!?" he asked.
"We're with you Sora," agreed Sailor Mercury.
"Our strength is your strength," added Sailor Mars.
"Because you are truly invincible when we're in your heart," said Sailor Jupiter.
"You are the light that gives us strength," smiled Sailor Venus, who had now gotten free thanks to Donald destroying the syringes.
"And in the name of the moon, we thank you," finished Sailor Moon.
Then with everyone's power flowing through him, Sora attained his Harmony Form, and charged at Pharmakon. Caught off guard by Sora's new power, the droid was forced back and was unable to fight back.
"Is that really Sora?" Chibiusa asked.
"Yes it is, and he has gained a special power from them," replied Tuxedo Mask.
"And it's called Harmony," added Kairi.
Enraged, Pharmakon charged towards Sora, but he stopped her attack with his Keyblade, and continued his attack, not even giving the droid a chance to defend herself. Pharmakon fired several syringe missiles at him, but he cut through them without any hesitation, which made Sailor Venus smile admiringly at him.
"Don't forget, I'll always love you, Sora," she said.
Sora pointed his primary Keyblade right at the droid, and soon channeled it's power at the tip of his weapon which began to produce a new kind of power as the other Keyblades pointed towards her.
"ULTIMA BEAM!" he shouted.
Several golden lights shot out of his Keyblades, forming a beam of golden light that surged towards the droid, instantly vaporizing Pharmakon until there was nothing left of her, but dust and ash.
"Way to go!" cheered Sailor Jupiter.
"Good job, Sora!" agreed Sailor Mercury.
"You did it!" finished Sailor Mars.
Then Sailor Venus ran towards Sora and pressed his lips against his, making everyone smile happily at her.
"That was so amazing, Sora. But what really made it so cool, was how you vaporized that Droid with your Ultima Beam," she said.
"Thanks, Minako," replied Sora.
With the droid's defeat, Esmeraude's dark hinge shattered, which meant that her plans had been foiled by Sora. Then she disappeared with a promise to make him pay with his blood. The next day, the sun was shining, and everyone was now cured of the illness. Well, almost everyone, because Minako and Artemis had now fallen ill with the actual flu, rather than a manufactured flu.
"But there is one big upside. Since you got the flu, it must mean you're not a fool after all," said Luna.
"Come on, Luna, give Artemis and Minako a break. Besides, they need to rest for a while until they get better," piped in Sora.
"Thank you, Sora," groaned Artemis.
But the happy moment didn't last long, when Usagi and Chibiusa arrived dressed as nurses and gave Minako the same rice porridge she tried to give her, which made her cry out in shock after she tasted it. But when Chibiusa tried to take her temperature, she and Usagi soon started having at it with each other, only for Sora and Riku to try and break them up, as well as warn them about Master Yen Sid, as Minako tried to ask them to let her get some rest.