Sparrowflyaway/Christina: Chapter 9! Yay!
Steph: I hope we can get that crystal back from Zoisite...
Christina: So do I... I'm an idiot for not getting away with it...
Artemis: Calm down, Christina. We'll get it back.
Christina: I hope so... *sigh* I think I'll do the disclaimer now... I don't own Sailor Moon or PGSM.
Bonnie: That'd be kinda weird if you did.
"Artemis?"
"Yes?"
"I'm sorry I lost the Violet Crystal today."
"Christina, we've been over this. It's alright, we'll get it back."
"Yeah, I know, but I still feel like an idiot for not running away with it."
"True, that could have been handled better, but at least you were there to protect Jess."
"I guess..."
"Now I think we'd better get to sleep. It's 2AM and we'll need to do more training in the morning."
"But how can we? The power's still out in town."
"We'll have to come up with some training that Terrans do that could be helpful and won't attract suspicion from the Negaverse. I'm sure we'll think of something."
"I guess so. Goodnight, Artemis."
"Goodnight, Christina."
"Morning guys! Where's Chrissy and Artemis?" Steph asked, walking into the lounge room where Bonnie, Phoenix and Lucy were seated on the couch watching the morning news.
"Well, Christina's still in bed, and I have no idea where Artemis went. He left about half an hour ago saying that he had an idea for today's Scout Training and was going to see if he could find it," Lucy said.
"In the meantime, we're watching the news to see if there's anything about the Negaverse in there," Bonnie said. Just then, a news report came on that snapped their attention back to the screen.
"...And on to our next story. Reports of monster attacks in Warrnambool have been on the increase, and we are yet to find out why. Despite the lack of knowledge about these creatures, citizens are being advised not to panic, as there are people out there who are taking care of the problem," the newsreader said. The girls were so focused on the news report that none of them noticed Christina walk into the room and begin watching too. "The sudden-celebrity group known as the Sailor Scouts appear whenever monsters, or as the Sailor Scouts call them, "Youma", appear. Some believe that these girls are secret agents, while others believe that they themselves set the Youma upon the town, with the intention of making themselves popular," the newsreader stated.
"That's utter rubbish! Why would we do something like that?" Steph asked.
"Shhhhhhhh!" the others hissed.
"Reporters from around the country are swarming to Warrnambool, hoping to get an interview with the Sailor Scouts, but as the Scouts' identities remain a mystery, this is proving to be extremely difficult."
"Ha, good luck figuring out our true identities. Stupid Terrans, we're not just going to show our civilian forms to them," Lucy scoffed.
"Shhhhhhhh!"
"There are rumours that the famous crime fighter, Sailor V, will be joining the group, but it is as yet unknown whether these rumours are true."
"She already has!" Bonnie laughed.
"Shhhhhhhh!"
"While their true intention is still unknown, the Sailor Scouts are, for the time being, the shelter in a storm."
"Well, at least most people aren't being paranoid," Phoenix said.
"Yeah, but they're so wrong about us," Steph said.
"Well what do you expect? They're not exactly going to give us leadership of Warrnambool or anything like that," Bonnie said.
"Yeah, but they could at least be grateful to us for saving their butts all the time," Steph said.
"They're Terrans, Stephy, what do you expect?" Christina asked. The others turned around, surprised that Christina was there.
"You have a point there, Christina, but keep in mind that some of your friends are Terrans too. Not to mention that you have Terran blood in you yourself," Lucy said.
"At least I've managed to get past that," Christina murmured.
"That news report really didn't say much at all, did it," Bonnie said.
"Yeah, well, that's not that surprising. Where's Artemis?" Christina asked.
"He went out to find something that we could use for Scout Training today," Lucy said. Just then, the front door slammed, and Artie walked into the lounge room.
"Hey, Artemis, did you find what you were looking for?" Christina asked.
"No, unfortunately not. But I have some good news: the power's back on in town, so we can go to the Base and do some training there," Artie said.
"Great! Let's go!" Steph said, jumping to her feet. The others got to their feet too, and began gathering shoes and bags to go down to the Base. Christina glanced at Artie, who could tell by her look that she wanted to speak to him in private. Artie followed Christina upstairs, where he shut her bedroom door after him.
"I'm sorry, Artemis."
"What for?" Artie asked, surprised.
"For losing the Violet Crystal yesterday. I'm such an idiot!"
"Don't worry about it, Christina. We'll get them back."
"Artemis, You know the gravity of my mission, how can you take such an easy view of things? We have to stop the past from repeating. That's our mission as scouts! That's why we have to keep fighting. So that the past doesn't repeat itself."
"For heaven's sake, Christina! You're fighting for the wrong reasons, can't you see that?"
"So you're saying I shouldn't be fighting at all."
"Oh, come on, you know very well that's not-"
"Look, Artemis, I have better things to do than argue with you," Christina said, stuffing her phone and her transformation pen into her bag and opening the door.
"And next time, don't tell me what to do. I'm the Scout of Love, I know well enough what to do on my own," Christina said, before slamming the door. Artie sighed and gave Christina a few moments to get downstairs, then followed her downstairs to where Lucy and the others were waiting for them. Christina went to the closet and pulled out a large bag.
"Are we all ready to go?" Christina asked, shouldering the bag.
"Yep, we're all set. Let's go do some training," Lucy smiled.
"So what's the plan for Scout Training today?" Bonnie asked, closing the door and walking down the stairs to the Base.
"Well, I thought for a start, we'd try some hand-to-hand combat, then try some evasion, and then finish up with the butterflies again," Artie said, as he and Lucy pushed the couch, table and chairs back against the green wall. Christina nodded and opened her large bag, pulling out six long wooden swords.
"Now, these aren't actually real swords – they have no blade, as you can see – but they're useful in practicing. Artie, you'll have to help us, since there's only five of us," Christina said, handing the "swords" around. Artie nodded and took one of the swords from Christina. "Now, we need to pair up. Artemis, I reckon you could go with Dee, Steph, you go with Nixx, and I'll go with Bonnie." The others nodded and found their partner, while Lucy went and sat down on the couch.
"OK, so first off, one of you is going to try and hit your partner while they attempt to block. Steph, Bonnie, Dee, you guys attack. And remember, guys, it's always useful to use your senses. Ready? Go!" Christina yelled, raising her sword and blocking a swift attack from Bonnie. Bonnie grinned and pushed down on the sword, then pulled it away and aimed for Christina's legs, but missed as Christina jumped over it. Meanwhile, Steph and Dee were striking blow after blow on their partners' sword, neither having much luck in actually connecting with their target.
"Use your senses, Dee! Use your senses!" Artemis was yelling. After a few minutes of blocking and striking, Lucy pulled out a whistle and blew on it, and the group stopped, panting.
"Nice work, guys. Did any of you manage to hit your partner?" Christina asked, holding her side where Bonnie had managed to get under her sword and hit her. Artie pointed to his forehead, where a small purple bruise was appearing.
"Nice one, Dee! It took me a while before I could get past Artemis' sword," Christina said, watching Artie gently rub his bruise away. "How about you, Stephy? Did you manage to hit Nixx?"
"Yeah, I did, but only on her free arm," Steph said.
"OK, let's swap over. Artemis, Nixx, us three will be attacking now. Ready? Go!" Christina said, before raising her sword. While Phoenix began bashing away at Steph's sword, Christina and Artie paced around their partners for a moment, using their senses to find their partners' weak spots. Christina suddenly grinned and swung her sword down towards Bonnie's knees, and Bonnie jumped over it. While Bonnie was still in the air, Christina swung her sword back up and got the Water Scout in the shoulder.
"Ouch! Good one, Christina," Bonnie said, rubbing her shoulder.
"It's all about sensing your opponent's movements. Keep your sword up, Bonnie. If an enemy did that, you'd be in serious trouble right about now," Christina said, backing off a little and raising her sword again. Bonnie nodded and focused on her senses, and when Christina's next blow came down, aimed for her head, Bonnie sensed the movement and blocked the attack. Meanwhile, Phoenix was twirling around and raining blow after blow on Steph, who was managing to block most of the attacks despite their ferocity. Dee, on the other hand, was taking quite a few hits from Artie.
"Use your senses, Dee! That's the one thing that you can always, always trust to work for you. Trust your senses!" Artie yelled, twirling his sword and then aiming for Dee's stomach. Dee quickly tuned into her senses and swung her sword, knocking Artie's away. "That's it!" Artie smiled, before aiming for her shoulder. Again, Dee blocked his attack. Finally, Lucy blew her whistle, and the group stopped again, panting hard.
"Good job, guys. I think you learned the main rule of battle today, whether it's hand-to-hand or not. If you can't trust anything else, trust your senses. Everything has energy, whether it's negative energy or not, and if you practice honing your senses, you'll be able to understand the movements in that energy and anticipate your enemy's movements," Christina said, taking the swords back and putting them beside her bag. She then opened the bag again and pulled out two long pipes made of transparent plastic, a lot of shorter black T-shaped pipes with a small box attached to each, a small air compressor and a bag of tennis balls. While she began sorting through them to fit them together,
Artie and Lucy changed into their cat forms and began creating mats around the room. By the time they had finished, Christina had fitted the pipes and the air compressor together into something resembling a comb that spanned the entire width of the room. Artemis changed back into his human form and helped Christina to push the contraption against the back of the couch, then Christina took out a tangle of cords and used it to connect the small boxes on each of the pipes to the air compressor. She then switched on the air compressor, and the contraption immediately sprung to life, making the t-shaped pipes pivot up and down. Then, suddenly, a tennis ball shot out of one of the pipes and bounced off the red wall.
"Whoa! What was that?" Dee yelped, ducking. Christina smiled and switched off the air compressor, then turned to her friends.
"That was a tennis ball, travelling at 5 kilometres an hour. This machine is designed to test your evasion, but it's also testing your reaction time and reflexes, since you won't know which pipe the tennis ball will be coming out of. Artemis, you and Luna could sit on the stairs and watch if you like, that way you'll be out of the line of fire," Christina said. Artie and Luna nodded and sat down on the steps, and then Christina switched the air compressor back on. The contraption immediately began spitting out tennis balls high and low, and the girls ran around the room attempting to dodge them all. Artie watched the girls for a while, then changed back into his cat form and turned to Luna.
"Luna, did you notice how well Bonnie and Phoenix are doing?" he whispered.
"Yes, I did. I suspect Bonnie's doing well because she awoke her Scout Powers," Luna whispered back.
"But what about Phoenix? She's doing quite well too, she might be the next one," Artemis whispered. Luna's eyes widened at the possibility.
"Do you think so?" she asked. Artemis nodded.
"Yes, she could be. Besides what we're seeing now, I noticed her technique in the hand-to-hand training. It's a lot like her technique from the Silver Millennium."
"Well, we'd better keep an eye on her, then." Just then, the computer beeped, and Christina switched the air compressor off so that Luna could reach the computer. Luna ran over and switched the computer on, and a pulsing black dot appeared on the screen.
"Another youma attack in the future?" Christina asked.
"Yes, and it's likely that it'll be today," Luna replied.
"It's probably also likely that there'll be a Crystal Carrier there, seeing as the Negaverse are after them," Christina said darkly, remembering losing the Violet Crystal yesterday.
"Where is it, Luna?" Steph asked. Luna pressed a few buttons on the keyboard, and the map zoomed in on the area where the dot was pulsing.
"Lake Pertobe," Luna said, examining the map.
"Again? Weren't we fighting youma there not that long ago?" Bonnie asked.
"Well, it is a popular place. The high levels of energy are probably what makes the Negaverse target that area," Artemis said.
"Oh well. It doesn't really matter why they're targeting it, what matters is that they are. So we'd better get there and stop them," Christina said.
"How about I go?" Phoenix asked.
"Not a bad idea, Phoenix. You and Christina can go there and check it out, while Steph, Bonnie and Dee see if they can find another Crystal Carrier around town," Artemis said.
"Looks like we have to skip the butterflies today," Dee said sadly.
"Sorry, Dee, but yes, we have to finish Training a little early. We'll get the butterflies out next time, though. Good luck, girls, and if you need back up, call Ethan or Jess. They should be able to help you," Artemis said. The girls nodded and then ran up the stairs to go to their respective errands.
"We've been out here for almost an hour and I still haven't sensed anything. Have you?" Dee asked as she, Steph and Bonnie wandered down a street.
"No, I haven't. Is the Wand reacting at all, Steph?" Bonnie asked. Steph glanced into her bag, finding the Crescent Moon Wand disappointingly unlit.
"Nope, it's not flashing at all," Steph said. Just then, a buzzing sound echoed out of Steph's bag. "I hope Nixx and Christina have had better luck," she said, pulling out her phone and flipping it open. "Hello?"
"Any luck?"
"Nope, we haven't found anyone yet, Luna."
"OK. Call if you do find anything, OK?"
"Sure. Any word from Chrissy and Nixx yet?"
"No, I was just about to call them."
"OK. We'll call you if we need you, Luna."
"I wonder if we'll find another Crystal Carrier here," Phoenix mused, looking around at all the people running around them.
"It'll be like finding a needle in a dozen haystacks if they are here," Christina murmured darkly.
"Come on, Christina, lighten up. We'll find them, and we'll get all the Crystals back too," Phoenix said.
"Yeah, I know," Christina sighed.
"Hey, there's my friend Jayden!" Phoenix said, running away towards a group of people.
"Phoenix! We're here for a reason!" Christina called after her, then sighed, exasperated. "Honestly. Am I the only Scout that actually takes my mission seriously?" she muttered, before walking towards the area where Phoenix was talking to a tall curly-haired boy. As Christina neared the group, her senses picked up a faint tingle of energy, and she frowned as she realised that it was the unmistakeable tingle of a Rainbow Crystal's energy. Her eyes fell on the group of people that Phoenix was with, and realised that the energy was coming from that direction. Shaking her head in amazement at their luck, Christina walked over to the group. "What'cha doin', Nixx?"
"Oh, sorry, Christina, I forgot about why we were here. This is my friend Jayden," Phoenix said, indicating the boy she had been talking to.
"Nice to meet you, Jayden, I'm Christina," Christina said, holding out her hand to shake hands with Jayden.
"Nice to meet you too," Jayden smiled, reaching out and shaking hands with Christina, who felt a tingle of energy from the handshake. He's the one, Christina thought. He's the one I was picking up energy from. He's one of the Crystal Carriers.
"Um, Nixx, could I talk to you for a sec?" Christina asked, before leading Phoenix a few paces away.
"What's up, Christina?" Phoenix asked
"Didn't you sense anything from anyone in that group?" Christina asked.
"Well, now that you mention it, I thought I felt something, but I wasn't sure-"
"It's Jayden."
"What?"
"Jayden's one of the Crystal Carriers, I could tell by the energy that I felt from his handshake."
"What do we do?"
"Stick with him. I'll go make some phone calls. And keep your senses open, you never know when Zoisite's gonna turn up," Christina said, taking out her phone and walking away. Phoenix glanced around, her senses tingling with negative energy. She's around here somewhere, she thought. Now I just have to make sure she stays away from Jayden. Phoenix smiled, then walked back over to the group.
"Where'd your friend go, Nixx?" Jayden asked, looking around.
"She went to make a few phone calls. She'll be back before long," Phoenix smiled, glancing around as the negative energy got stronger. Where is she? I know that lowlife Zoisite's around here somewhere... Just then, Phoenix spotted a tall figure standing on a nearby bridge, watching them.
"What's the matter?" Jayden asked, noticing the scowl that was forming on Phoenix's face. She blinked a few times, then smiled at him.
"Nothing! I'm fine," Phoenix said, pulling out her phone and dialling Christina's number.
"Christina, you might wanna get back over here... She's here," Phoenix said.
"OK. I'll be there soon. I've just gotta call Jess and then I'll be right there. Stay where you are, I'll come find you," Christina replied, before hanging up. Phoenix flipped her phone shut and put it back in her bag, then glanced up at the tall figure, who was slowly moving closer.
"So how've you been, Nixx? I haven't seen you in a while," Jayden said.
"Yeah, I've been busy..."
"What with?" Phoenix paused, wondering how to answer.
"I've been helping my friends," she said finally, glancing over her shoulder at the figure, who was close enough to be distinguishable as Zoisite. It is her. Now what do I do? Excusing herself, Phoenix walked over to a nearby drink tap, where she could keep an eye on her friends, who were now staring at Zoisite.
"Hello there, boys, how are you?" Zoisite asked, fiddling with the black crystal in her hand
"Fine thanks," one of the other boys replied, before turning away. Zoisite chuckled, then raised her arm and sent a wave of dark energy over the group, throwing all except Jayden into the lake. Phoenix watched, waiting for the right moment to transform and attack. She jumped as she felt a tap on her shoulder, and turned around to find Christina next to her.
"Has she attacked yet?" Christina whispered.
"No, not yet, but I think she knows that Jayden is a Crystal Carrier," Phoenix replied, watching as Zoisite advanced towards the curly-haired boy.
"Now, Let's get down to business, shall we?" Zoisite said, grinning.
"What do you mean? How'd you do that?" Jayden asked.
"Oh, it's not very hard. Then again, neither is taking your Crystal! Zoi!" Zoisite yelled, holding out her black crystal. The waves of dark energy opened a hole in Jayden's chest, revealing a glowing Green Crystal floating inside. "This is just so easy," Zoisite grinned as the crystal floated towards her.
"Well then let's make it harder for you, shall we?" a voice said, before an orange-and-silver arrow flew through the air and struck Zoisite's hand. Zoisite yelped in pain and tried to pulled the arrow out of her hand, giving the girls time to transform.
"Venus Power!"
"Jupiter Power!" Green and orange lights flashed, and then Sailor Venus and Sailor Jupiter stepped out from their hiding place and glared at Zoisite.
"You're a pain in the butt, Zoisite, and we're gonna finish you off! I'm Sailor Venus!"
"And I'm Sailor Jupiter! And in the name of our guardian planets..."
"We shall punish you!" they chorused.
"I'm not surprised you two brats showed up. Oh well, it'll make my job easier," Zoisite said, conjuring up a Dark Sword and running towards the two.
"Let's tag team, Jupiter!"
"Good idea!"
"Venus Crescent Beam..."
"Supreme..."
"Smash!" "Thunder!" the two attacks merged and struck the Dark Sword, knocking it out of Zoisite's hand. Sailor Venus raised her arm and pointed directly between Zoisite's eyes.
"I suggest you get out of here before I blast your brains out," Sailor Venus said. Zoisite glared at her.
"Very well. But I'll be back for that Crystal, make no mistake about that! Oh, and good luck with Verde!" Zoisite said, before disappearing in a whirl of black petals. Sailor Venus sighed and lowered her arm, then glanced at Jayden, who was shivering.
"Thank goodness she left. Now where's that Crystal?" Jupiter asked, turning around. Sailor Venus turned too, then raised her arm again when she saw who was standing behind her, holding the Green Crystal up and examining it.
"I suggest you give that back, Tuxedo Mask. I'm not in the mood for you today," Sailor Venus said.
"I need the Imperium Silver Crystal, so if this is a part of it, then I think I'll keep it," Tuxedo Mask said, tucking it into a pocket. Sailor Venus took a couple of steps forwards, her finger still pointing at Tuxedo Mask.
"Seriously, give it to me."
"No, I don't think I will." Venus took another step forward, several of her arrows appearing in a ring around her wrist.
"I'm not in the mood to play games with you, mister. Just give me the Crystal."
"No, I won't. And I won't give up my search for the rest of them, either. See you around, Princess," Tuxedo Mask said, before turning and running away. Sailor Venus sent her arrows after him, but they all fell short and missed.
"Darn it! How could I lose one to him?" Sailor Venus yelled, stamping her foot in anger.
"Don't worry, Christina, we'll get that one back too," Jupiter said.
"Yeah, but how am I gonna tell Artemis that I lost one of the Crystals to him?" Sailor Venus said, neither of them noticing Kunzite floating above them.
"My, my, you're such a feisty one, Princess. So full of guilt and negativity," he murmured. Then a smile formed on his face. "That could be useful." Chuckling to himself, he vanished.
"Where's Sailor Moon? She needs to come heal Jayden when he transforms," Sailor Venus said, trying to gather her scattered thoughts.
"I'm right here," Sailor Moon said, arriving at that moment with Mercury, Mars, Luna, Artemis, Jess and Ethan behind her.
"Where's the Green Crystal?" Mars asked. Sailor Venus cringed.
"Tuxedo Mask took it," she said.
"What? Why would he take it?" Sailor Moon asked.
"He says he wants the Imperium Silver Crystal," Sailor Venus said.
"Never mind that now, we've got trouble!" Mercury yelled, pointing at the ray of dark energy that had erupted around Jayden. When it faded, the group were staring at a large green dragon with black eyes.
"That must be Verde," Sailor Venus said.
"Whoa! Were we that huge when we transformed?" Jess asked.
"Yeah, you were. And you need to transform again now," Artemis said.
"How do we do that?" Ethan asked.
"Close your eyes and search inside yourselves for your power. It shouldn't be that hard to find," Artemis replied. The two of them nodded and closed their eyes, searching for their power.
"Just keep looking! It'll be there!" Sailor Venus yelled, conjuring a few arrows and throwing them at Verde.
"Moon Healing Activation!" Sailor Moon called, holding out her Crescent Moon Wand. The air filled with silver glitter and mist which caused Verde to yelp, but his eyes were still black when the sparkles stopped.
"He's too powerful for the healing to work! We need to weaken him!" Sailor Venus called. Just then, two rays of energy – one blue, one purple – surrounded Ethan and Jess, and when they faded, Azul and Purpura stood side by side, staring at Verde.
"They found their power!" Sailor Venus said happily, stepping aside so that the two dragons could face their former comrade.
"You only need to weaken him! Just enough for Sailor Moon to be able to heal him!" Artemis called. The two dragons nodded, then turned to face Verde, who roared and then breathed a jet of emerald green flame at them. Azul and Purpura responded by breathing jets of fire back at him, and for a moment the three different coloured flames collided in mid-air, blocking the other side's attack. Then the flames exploded, sending black smoke over the Scouts and their feline guardians. When the smoke finally cleared, they looked up to find the three dragons fighting viciously, scratching and biting. Eventually Azul and Purpura pulled away, each sporting several small scratches. Verde, on the other hand had a large scratch down his belly, and looked considerably weaker.
"Now, Sailor Moon!" Luna yelled.
"Moon Healing Activation!" More silver glitter filled the air, but again, Verde's eyes stayed the same. Jayden... Jupiter thought. How can I help you? I need to help you! Mars gasped as she caught sight of Jupiter, who had begun to glow green.
"Jupiter... You've awakened your Scout Powers!" Sailor Venus cried, smiling. Jupiter stared at her hands, then looked up at Verde, who was watching her warily.
"Jayden... I'll help get you back," Jupiter whispered as the sky began to fill with black thunderclouds. Jupiter's electricity rod rose from her tiara and began crackling with green electricity.
"Supreme Thunder!" Jupiter yelled, aiming the attack at the green dragon-youma, who howled in agony as the lightning tore through his body. "Now, Sailor Moon!" Jupiter called, looking at her team mate. Sailor Moon nodded.
"Moon Healing Activation!" This time, when the silver glitter came into contact with Verde, he howled as his eyes changed from black to brown. He looked down at them as green sparkles filled the air around him, then he changed back into Jayden. Jupiter sighed.
"Thank goodness. I'm exhausted!" Mars said, watching as blue and purple sparkles filled the air around Azul and Purpura, who changed back into Ethan and Jess.
"Wow, that's tiring. How do you guys do this every day?" Jess asked.
"With a little luck and a lot of rest, that's how," Sailor Venus sighed.
"Wake up, Jayden," Jupiter said, shaking the unconscious boy.
"He'll be fine, Jupiter. Just let him rest for a while," Artemis said. Just then, Jayden groaned and opened his eyes, surprise filling his face when he saw the Sailor Scouts there.
"What's going on, you guys?" he asked.
"Nothing much. Just the usual monsters running amok," Sailor Jupiter said.
"Well, I think our work here is done. Come on, guys, let's go home. Jess, Ethan, thanks for your help," Sailor Venus said.
"No problem," Jess smiled. Sailor Venus nodded, then she and the other Scouts headed home.
"Wow, what a day," Dee said, sinking onto the couch.
"I can't believe I lost another Crystal, and to him of all people," Christina said, frowning.
"It's not your fault, Chrissy, don't worry about it. We'll get it back," Steph said.
"Yeah, but that Crystal is part of the Imperium Silver Crystal! That's the most powerful crystal in the universe! If the Negaverse gets hold of it, we're all doomed!" Christina said frustratedly.
"Stop stressing, Christina! We'll get it back!" Artemis said. Christina sighed.
"Yeah, I know. I guess I'm just kinda stressed at the moment. I guess I'll go to bed now. Night, everyone," Christina said, before leaving the room. Artemis sighed.
"Go on up to bed, everyone. Oh, and Phoenix, well done on awakening your Scout Powers today," he said. Phoenix smiled.
"Thanks, Artemis," she said, before following the others up to bed.