Notes: Episode 120, "Invasion from an Alternate Dimension! The Mystery of Mugen Academy". Or, "The one where Mimete sucks herself into a bunch of TVs with hilarious results."

Episode 120

Minako looked out over the stage.

Minako looked out over the world.

She was larger than life. She was a goddess.

"Seeing me like this," she said, and her voice echoed from the thousand monitors that were her essence. "You guys are really lucky."

When she laughed, the walls shook. If she cried, there would be floods. Her voice alone could shape reality, and it was everything she ever wanted.

"Wonderful, Minako. You're really wonderful."

"Who-?"

Minako turned. Each individual screen was an evolving puzzle piece that rewrote itself for her.

Usagi held it in her hands. The thin cord was all that bound Minako. Had she forgotten? Minako has transcended. How could she feel so cold?

"Stop! Please stop!"

"One thing about destiny…" Usagi said, casually looping the cord around her finger.

Too late, Minako understood. "Anything but that!"

"You're trapped in there forever."

Usagi tugged, and the cord was free. Immediately, Minako felt the pull. Inexorable. Excruciating. She screamed as everything she ever was and everything she could ever be were ripped away. Minako fell and fell and fell and—

Minako bolted upright, already biting back the scream that threatened to rip from her throat. It wasn't her first nightmare, and NOT screaming was a trick she'd learned early. Screaming brought parents and parents brought questions and really just nobody needed that. In Minako's sock drawer, Artemis twitched his ears but didn't stir.

Yeah, no questions was good.

Mimete's pleas (or were they her own?) echoed in her mind. Minako roughly shoved them away. She hadn't realized the events of that night had affected her so badly, and was pretty damned happy in her ignorance. Well, what she didn't know before she could not know again. A quick glance at her clock confirmed it was almost two in the morning. Who needed more than ninety minutes of sleep anyway?

With stealth borne from practice, Minako crawled out of bed, changed, and slipped out the bedroom window. Artemis flicked his ears again, but nobody was there to notice.

... ... ...

The beeping of the communicator sliced through Makoto's sleep. Before she was fully conscious, she'd snatched the device from her bedside table, thumbed it open and was swinging her legs out of bed.

"Where?" she simply said. Her voice was clear, even if her brain hadn't caught up yet.

"There's no emergency," Minako replied, sounding tinny and almost cartoonish.

Mako was sure she hadn't heard correctly. She sat on the edge of her bed and frowned. "Huh?"

"There's no trouble. I just couldn't sleep."

Mako stared at her communicator for several seconds before glancing at the clock. "Do you know what time it is?"

"Yeah, it's can't sleep o'clock."

A hundred retorts crossed Mako's tongue. She settled on a sigh. "Where are you?"

"Your living room."

Eyes wide, Mako leapt to her feet and flung her bedroom door open. Sure enough, Minako was sitting on her couch, feet folded underneath her and looking thoroughly comfortable. On seeing Mako, Minako snapped the communicator closed. "Good morning, Sleepy!" she said in a voice so sweet that Mako actually felt nauseous for a second.

"How did you get in here?"

Minako waved a hand at the front door. "Your locks suck."

Frowning again, Mako went to inspect the door. New locks, first thing tomorrow: check. "The hell, Minako. You couldn't knock?"

"I didn't want to wake you," Minako said, then rolled her eyes as Mako pointedly waved the communicator still in her hand. "Okay, fine, I didn't want to wait, okay? I just wanted to be here."

Mako's expression softened. She re-bolted the door then joined Minako in her small living room. "Why couldn't you sleep?" she asked gently.

"Bad dreams," Minako replied. She said it plain, like Mako had just asked if it was raining out.

"Wanna talk about it?"

"Not really."

Mako nodded and sat next to Minako. She smiled as Minako curled herself around Mako's arm, and rested her head on the other girl's broad shoulder. They sat that way for several minutes, neither saying anything. Mako was hoping Minako would fall asleep (she was more than halfway there herself), but knew how this worked.

"I'll make you an omelet," she finally said.

"No—"

Smiling, Mako got to her feet. "No mushrooms, I know."

It was difficult to read Minako's expression, but she picked up enough.

"You're the best, Mako-chan," Minako said.

"I get that a lot," Makoto replied, chuckling. "I'll be a few minutes. Want to put the TV on?"

"God no. Never again."

Mako waited for a follow-up to that, but none came. She didn't ask, deciding instead to make the omelet extra big and fluffy.