Going down the lower left-hand path, silently, was the Dark Kingdom Senshi and Rose. Super Sailor Nova and Rose could not communicate, Super Sailor Earth could not hear, Super Sailor Sun could not see, and Super Sailor Eclipse was not much of a conversationalist.
Super Sailor Sun, however, loathed silence as that was how most of her home life was. She could converse to Shadow or Star's house to talk to her and Thera, but it was different from having parents to talk to. Shadow fancied solitude and silence; it was the ideal way to think about things.
Star did not say much when she could speak, but she did tell you what was on her mind. She missed being able to do that anymore. Rose also suffered from being unable to communicate, as she likes to have long conversations with others.
"Somebody say something! Please! We can't bear the silence anymore!" Eclipse complained loudly.
"Nova and Rose can't speak, and Earth just recently lost her hearing, so she hasn't learned any complicated communication skills yet. Don't you like the silence anyway?" Sun questioned.
"I like NATURAL silence, Sun! The wind whistles through the trees, leaves rustling, and birds chirp occasionally. You know that." Eclipse explained angrily.
Suddenly, Earth began to make small sounds! "She's trying to talk!" Sun exclaimed.
Sadly, Earth could not form actual words yet. When she realized this, she was disheartened. However, Rose comforted her even though she could not speak. While Thera and Jadite had been extra attentive to Star over the past few days, which had been great, the blue-eyed girl was apprehensive.
How would she forewarn her friends during chaotic fights if she could not communicate? As they trudged on, they noticed odd sites. Pillars with metal compartments, walls with cracked sections, and parts of the ground just collapsed! What is going on?!
Suddenly, a large area of the ground fell away, revealing spikes! "How are we supposed to avoid that?!" Eclipse shouted.
Nova motioned to Earth for a solution. Skillfully, Earth summoned a vine, which she lassoed to one of the pillars so the girls could swing across! Luckily, this obstacle became more accessible to spot if the young ladies tread carefully. Out of nowhere, Nova jumped on Earth, bringing her to the ground just as arrows whizzed past them!
"Nova, what the hell-" Earth managed to yell while Nova alarmingly pointed at the metal components.
Eclipse looked closer, "Hey, there are motion detectors here. Any time we pass one, arrows will shoot out."
Earth mouthed "Thank you" to Nova, who smiled in response.
"How do we evade getting skewered?" Sun questioned.
"Duck under or jump over them. That's all we can do right now." Eclipse kept an eye out for any more of the hidden sensors.
After a few more close calls, this tactic ended, too. Before jumping to a lower level, Nova flung an arm out to halt her companions.
"What's up, Nova?" Sun looked at her teammate quizzically.
Nova pointed to a wall section, which juts out a little like a doorway. Inching closer, the doorway crumbled to reveal stone soldiers! Annoyed, Nova attacked the rock soldiers head-on, using whatever ability came to mind first!
At first, Nova's ferocity floored the other Dark Kingdom Senshi and Rose but recovered enough to leap in. Sun and Eclipse used the Needle Barrier Project for offense and to defend themselves and Rose!
"Nova Lighting Storm!" Earth called when she knew what Nova wanted.
Silver stars and green lightning struck down the numerous rocky soldiers Sun and Eclipse could not get. After doing this a 2nd time, the Warriors are getting tired. However, Roshi still had a long way to go with them as a circle of pillars enclosed around them with hidden arrow parts at all different levels, so no ducking or jumping was possible!
Pieces of the ground grew and dropped away randomly, and sometimes, the pillars would open up, spilling out the stone soldiers! Sun and Eclipse threw up the barrier they had used before, but they were running low on energy, so Nova and Earth stepped in.
"Clay Voice of Nature!" Earth commanded, and the ground surrounded them in a sturdy shield!
Sadly, Earth knew this would only buy them minutes to think of something. Being as bright as she is, Nova non-verbally proposed they combine attacks! Trisha had warned doing so could be disastrous if it did not work out correctly, but could it be worse than having no plan and dying in vain? Rose stuck close to Earth during this, making her less likely to get hit by a stray attack.
"Freezing Lightining Starlight Energy!" Eclipse screamed.
Even without their Princess, this attack is devastating as light blue, sparkling lighting rained down, freezing whatever it touched and sending out shockwave after shockwave of energy! The Senshi and Rose are exhausted when the dust settles, but the threats are gone.
Iwazaru darts by, dropping something shiny, though it does not make any sounds when it bounces on the ground! Cautiously, the girls approach it, and everyone realizes without Nova, they would never have figured out how to get past all the traps. So, seeing as no more tricks are around, this must be Nova and Rose's voice!
With a nudge and encouraging smile from Rose, Nova picked up the odd bubble. She winced as it popped but felt refreshed as the light entered her and Rose's mouths! After the light faded, everyone looked at them, wondering if it worked.
Nova smiled, "Hey."
Rose giggled, and the others hugged them, with Eclipse giving them both a high-five. Climbing over debris from the battle, the girls returned to the others.
Asteroid and Comet are pleased to see their adopted sister return to normal. Despite only Venus, Saturn, and Nova having regained their senses, the other kittens should be happy with these small victories.