Sailor Helga SGR - Chapter 3

Note:

For the sake of clarity, whenever a character is in their transformed state, their name will be given in italics.

For example:

Helga G. Pataki = Helga

Sailor Moon = Helga

---

The girls had secretly congregated in the treehouse resting atop Mighty Pete. It had been ages since any of them had set foot in the little wooden structure; nowadays its usual tenants were the current string of fourth-graders throughout the city, and most of the original users had outgrown playing in treehouses some time around the fifth grade.

Helga, Phoebe, and Rhonda sat cross-legged in the middle of the treehouse, the grey cat sitting in the middle. Patty stood by the open window, looking out over the city.

"So...do you like, know Luna or something?" asked Helga.

"Yes! Luna is my mother! My name is Diana - I'm so glad to have finally found you girls!" exclaimed Diana in her cheerful demeanor.

"No offense, but the feeling's not exactly mutual," quipped Helga.

"Yeah," added Rhonda. "I thought we were done with this whole sailor business."

"We sent your mother back home nearly two years ago," explained Phoebe, adjusting her glasses. "She was convinced we had eradicated the source of the negative energy. So why are you here?"

Diana blinked. "Two years? Has really been that long?" She shook her head forlornly. "Then we have already wasted too much time..."

"What are you talking about?" asked Rhonda.

"My mother and I are from the future, yes, but for some reason we were not sent to this time period at the same time. There was a terrible catastrophe that had sent us here, but my travel must have been delayed."

"What kind of catastrophe?" inquired Phoebe.

"All I know for certain is that a horrible struggle had broken out in my time period. My master, the princess of Neo-Tokyo, mysteriously vanished, and the Crystal was lost."

"Luna never mentioned that," commented Rhonda.

"Yeah..." mused Helga. "She didn't mention a lot of things. She couldn't even remember why she was here."

"That is unfortunate," sighed Diana. "I am convinced that if we were returned to this point in time, then the crystal must be hidden somewhere within this city."

"Diana, what is 'the crystal'?" asked Phoebe.

"Ginzuishou: the Imperium Silver Crystal. It is a very powerful relic from the Moon Kingdom. For it to be lost is a very serious matter. With no crystal present in the 30th century, there is a good chance of no Neo-Tokyo, no home at all to which my mother may return."

"Then...where is Luna?" asked Helga, a little concerned. "Did we send her into that?"

"That is a possibility...but it is an unlikely one. Sailor Pluto would have intercepted her travel. "

"Sailor what-now?"

"Sailor Pluto – she is the guardian of time and space. Everything involving time-travel would have to pass through her. She is the one who advised me to awaken a team of interim senshi in order to retrieve the crystal. I can already see that mother has awakened the three of you, so I only had to concern myself with seeking out Miss Patty."

"What do you mean 'awakened'?" pressed Rhonda.

Once again, Diana sighed. "Oh dear...so Mother didn't realize that either..."

"Realized what?" asked Phoebe.

"Again, travelling through time so forcefully may have attributed to my mother's loss of memory. She may have thought she granted you your powers serendipitously, but in actuality you were meant to possess your abilities."

"Hold the phone. So...you mean were destined to this?" asked Helga.

"That is correct!" chirped Diana.

Rhonda placed a hand on their forehead. "Whoa...that's a little heavy to take in..."

"But Diana," explained Phoebe. "Our powers were finite. You saw what had happened to Rhonda and me – we transformed back because our devices had exhausted their powers."

"That is true," retorted Diana. "But that is only because my mother had given your powers from her own cosmic energy. "The pens you hold now contain your true planetary power."

Phoebe and Rhonda pulled out their respective pens to look at them. Helga made a face. "Hey, why don't I get one?"

"Your powers will not run out," explained Diana. "My mother derives her powers from the moon, miss Helga, so its source remains infinite in your device."

"But how did Arn—er, how did that masked tuxedo boy know that? How did he get a hold of the pens?"

"That...I do not know. Admittedly there are many small mysteries that require solving, though I am confident that, as a team, we will be able to resolve them all."

Suddenly, the three girls and cat turned to look at Patty, who had been silent during the entire conversation, and was making her way for the exit.

"Patty, where are you going?" asked Rhonda.

"Home," replied Patty.

"But, we still have so much to discuss..." Phoebe tried to explain, but Patty had already disappeared into the hole in the treehouse's floor.

"Leave her," advised Helga. "She must be as confused as we are, and this is only her first day."

Patty climbed down from the treehouse to the sidewalk below. She looked out into the street, then at the henshin device in her hand. As she walked her mind ran like crazy. All her life she wanted to be able to fit in, and now that she was thrusted into some crazy team...it just didn't feel like a right fit. She decided that, for the time being, she would keep her distance from the others.

Unbeknownst to Patty, however, Diana would not let her out of her sight, at least not so easily. After the meeting had adjourned, she followed the young girl home, in hopes that she may change her mind.

---

The next day, Helga strutted confidently down the hallway of P.S. 118, much to the bemusement of Phoebe.

Helga sighed contentedly. "Isn't this great, Pheebs?"

Pheobe looked at Helga and blinked with curiosity. "What do you mean, Helga?"

"Well, I mean, it sucks that we have to do this whole "save the world routine" over again, but at least this time we've got some firepower. You're the brains and I'm the leader, and Rhonda's the...necessary third wheel, but finally we've got some muscle behind our team, thanks to Big Patty!"

"Actually, Helga..." corrected Phoebe.

"There she is now – hey Patty!" Helga waved and ran over to the behemoth eighth-grader, only to be met with blows, punches, and subsequently tossed into a nearby trashcan. The nearby students laughed and continued on with their business, hurrying to class before the bell rang.

Phoebe helped Helga out of the trashbin. "Are you alright, Helga?"

Helga picked the scraps of paper out of her hair and nodded. "Yeah, yeah, I'm fine. But what's up with Patty?"

"I was just about to say, that I'm not sure Patty is fully receptive to her new role as a sailor senshi."

"Criminy...now you tell me," Helga rolled her eyes. She turned around and was face-to-face once again with Big Patty. She braced herself for another fight, but instead Patty simple brushed away the pencil shavings on her shirt. "Uh...thanks...?"

"I'm sorry I had to do that," explained Patty. "But we still have to keep up appearances. We may be a team, but as far as everyone else is concerned, you and I are still mortal enemies."

"Right...I forgot about that," realized Helga. "I guess it makes sense that you should still pummel me then..."

"So, are you on board then?" asked Phoebe.

"This is still really weird...but I do want to help. Just let me do it at my own pace."

Helga and Phoebe nodded their agreement. "Anyway, I'd better get going. See you later."

Big Patty sauntered off.

"Just great," spat Helga. "Just what we need right now: a scout on standby."

"Just give her time, Helga," reassured Phoebe. "I'm sure that when she's more comfortable with the responsibility, we'll be able to rely on her, and you can stop worrying about any physical altercations."

"Yeah, I'm sure she'll come around eventually. It's not like you and I are difficult to get along with."

---

"WHAT DO YOU MEAN I NEVER LISTEN TO YOU?" yelled Rhonda indignantly.

"You know, sometimes you can be a real selfish...!" yelled Nadine right back.

After school, Helga and Phoebe and a group of other students watched with heightened interest as best friends Nadine and Rhonda quibbled over something in front of P.S. 118. This was actually a typical sight; in the fourth-grade Arnold was forced to resolve a disagreement over a class project, and in the fifth-grade blows were almost exchanged over a disagreement on what to wear to the end-of-the-year dance. This was their most heated argument yet, as neither girl looked as though she would back down.

"Rhonda, you promised that you would help me do this!" pleaded Nadine.

"You never said anything about wading knee-deep in the mud! I have my boundaries!"

"But Rhonda, the swamp near City Lake is the only place I can find this beetle! And the mating season is almost over! I need two sets of hands to help me out, or I'll never be able to find it!"

"Absolutely not!" and with that Rhonda folded her arms defiantly.

"Fine! Don't help me then! In fact, don't ever talk to me again! I'm not your best friend anymore!"

"Did you say something to me? I totally blocked out your squawking..."

Enraged, Nadine let out a frustrated shriek and stormed off, insect-catching net in hand. Rhonda stuck her tongue out as her ex-best friend walked away. At last the students cautioned descending the steps of the school, and Helga and Phoebe were the first to approach Rhonda.

"What was THAT all about?" asked Helga.

Rhonda sighed in disgust. "Never mind. Nothing important."

---

Patty walked home alone, as usual. When she got to the entrance of her home, she knocked on the door so that her parents would let her in. At that very moment, Diana appeared before her feet.

"Hello, Miss Patty!" sang Diana.

"What are you doing here?" said Patty in a hushed voice. She picked up the grey cat and gave it a stern look. "You've got to get out of here before someone sees...!"

The front door opened.

---

"That Nadine thinks she knows everything..." said Rhonda, matter-of-factly. "She's just impossible to deal with sometimes."

"Uh-huh..." murmured Helga. The three girls were walking home together; Rhonda flanked by Helga and Phoebe. Coincidentally, each of their houses were on the same route, so even though they had not intended to walk home together – Rhonda and Helga in particular – they decided that for the time being they would tolerate each other's company, especially since Rhonda needed someone to hear her rant and rave about her ex-best friend.

From what Helga had surmised from the tirade, Rhonda and Nadine's annual fight this time culminated around Rhonda agreeing to assist Nadine as she hunted down a rare South African beetle that made its home in the swamplands of Hillwood for her science project. But Rhonda had balked at the last minute, citing "creative differences".

"And...by creative differences, you're talking about your brand new leather shoes...?" repeated Helga in mock disbelief. "How dare she, huh?"

"These shoes are essentially a work of art, and it would be a sacrilege to get them muddied. Nadine should have known better than to plan her little nature excursion on a Wednesday, she knows that's when I wear my imported shoes.

"I hate to say it, Rhonda," commented Phoebe. "But don't you feel your actions toward Nadine were just a slight...inconsiderate?"

"WHAT? Don't make me laugh! I knew I shouldn't have told you guys anything! I just knew you would somehow spin this around to make me out to be the bad guy! I'll go tell my troubles to Lila, at least SHE'LL be supportive!" And with that, Rhonda crossed the street to talk to the unsuspecting red-head.

"This could all be resolved if Rhonda simply apologized to Nadine," sighed Phoebe.

"Yeah...too bad "sorry" is not in her vocabulary," quipped Helga.

---

Meanwhile, in the swamps of the City Lake, Nadine was busy trying to catch the rare South African beetle for her science project.

"Who needs Rhonda anyway?" Nadine said to herself, bitterly. She spotted a yellow and black speckled beetle resting on the leaf of a nearby plant. Slowly she inched towards her target, lifting the net in preparation to strike. Just as she was about to drop it, a nearby frog hooped in front of her and croaked loudly, startling poor Nadine and causing her to fall backwards into the muddy water. The frog then hopped away.

Nadine groaned. "I wish Rhonda was here...or at least that I had a better way to do this..."

"Sidney! Siiiiiiidney..." Nadine turned and saw fellow classmate Sid, whistling as he carefully scanned the water for something. "Si—oh, hey Nadine. What brings you out here?"

Sid helped Nadine to her feet. "Bug-catching, the usual. Why are you here?"

"Just taking Sidney out for a little fresh air," explained Sid. "He...uh, he kinda got away from me and now I'm trying to find him."

"I just saw him. Need any help?"

"Nah, he never goes too far. But maybe I'll give you a hand afterward – ol' Sidney's a natural at finding bugs."

"Really? Oh, thank you, Sid! That means a lot to me!"

Sid smiled and left as he continued his search for his pet frog. When he was out of sight, Nadine sighed. A brief glimmer of light caught her eye. Just a few feet from where she was standing, she spotted something dark protruding out of the water. Nadine crawled over to the object and pulled it out from being submerged in the water. It was the black crystal lamp.

Several minutes later, Sid returned, frog in hand.

"Okay, I'm back!" called Sid, who then realized that Nadine was nowhere to be found. "Uh...Nadine?"

Sid heard a quiet splash behind him. He turned his head slowly, Eyes wide with terror at what he saw, Sid then let out his trademark high-pitched shriek.

---

"Oh, how cute...!" gushed Patty's mother at the sight of Diana cradled in her daughter's arms. "She's just a darling! Where did you find her, dear?"

"At the animal shelter," lied Patty. She handed the cat over to her mother, who proceeded to pet her profusely. Diana purred in content.

"Well, we certainly don't mind you keeping a pet," commented Mr. Smith. "We've always said a little companion would be good for you. Just make sure that she's properly cared for."

"Don't worry, Dad, I will." Diana leapt out of Mrs. Smith's arms and followed Patty as she made her way to her bedroom. Only when the door was closed to her room did Diana dare open her mouth to speak.

"You have a very nice family, Miss Patty!" said Diana.

"Thanks," said Patty, sitting on her bed. "But you don't have to call me 'Miss Patty'. Just 'Patty' is fine."

"Yes, 'Miss Patty'!" said Diana, involuntarily. She walked around the room, gazing about the walls. It was a small bedroom, quite cozy, actually. There were pictures of her mother and father hanging on the walls, as well as numerous items she crafted from her sewing: throw pillows, stuffed animals, blankets, etc. Several trophies which showcased her many talents and hobbies lined the top of her dresser.

"Did you make those, Miss Patty?" inquired Diana, her eyes flickering on the stuffed black cat resting on the bed.

Patty picked the stuffed cat and smiled, admiring her handiwork. "Yeah, I did."

"You are very talented!" praised Diana. "I'm sure you must have a lot of friends!"

Patty sobered and placed the stuffed cat back on the bed. "Yeah, sure..." she replied, distantly. She decided to change the subject. "So...I've never took care of a cat before. Do I have to feed you mice or something?"

Diana laughed. "Not likely! The day I eat mice is the day I start talking with a British accent!"

Patty chuckled along with her. Suddenly, Diana stopped laughing and became very serious, her body tensing and her fur bristling.

Patty was concerned. "Hey. What's the matter?"

Diana looked up at Patty, her big red eyes wide with fearful conviction. "Youma!"

---

"Nadine is so stupid!" Rhonda said vehemently to the patient Lila. "She only bothered to FINALLY change her hairstyle after I told her to in the fifth grade. She wore her hair in those spider-braids for years! No thank you...!"

"I beg your pardon," interrupted Lila. "But I'm ever-so certain that your phone is ringing."

"Huh?" Sure enough, Rhonda stopped berating Nadine long enough to hear her cell phone ringtone. She flipped open the phone to read the text message she had just received from Helga: BIG TROUBLE.

Rhonda sighed. "Perfect. Listen Lila, I gotta go!" Rhonda ran down the block and turned the corner.

Rhonda eventually found her way to the swamp – ironically, the one place she didn't want to be. There she met up with Helga and Phoebe.

"Took you long enough," derided Helga.

"Whatever, I'm here, aren't I?" sighed Rhonda. "So what is it this time?"

"Word is that a monster's been spotted in the area," said Phoebe, warily.

"Yeah, Sid was looking for his pet frog when he ran into it," added Helga.

Rhonda rolled her eyes. "Really? Your eyewitness is Sid? You know that boy has an overactive imagination."

"Just the same, let's split up and see if we can find it," said Helga. The other two girls nodded and they separated to find the monster.

As Rhonda walked through the muddy area, she complained profusely. "This is so LAME...I could be getting a french manicure right now, but nooo..."

Suddenly Rhonda stepped into something that caused her shoe to become stuck fast in place. She pulled harder but found that she was unable to free her right foot. She then realized that she couldn't move her other leg as well, or her arms for that matter! Before she realized what was happening, Rhonda was stuck in some kind of invisible mesh that held her in place.

"Uh, you guys...I'm kinda stuck here..." yelled out the apprehensive Rhonda. No response. "You guys...!" she said a little bit louder.

Still no response, though this time, she felt an ever-so-slight vibration coming from her invisible trap. Rhonda struggled even more, and out of the corner of her eye, she could make out what looked to be thousands upon thousands of threads of silk. It was almost as if she was caught in a spider's web...

Suddenly, something dropped from the sky to the ground below. It was a girl - or, at least, it looked like a girl. The torso appeared human (save for its three sets of arms), but the head was actually some sort mass of glowing red eyes, sharp fangs and tendrils. A weird sort of mucous substance oozed from the creatures head and from its feeler-like hair. Rhonda let out a bloodcurdling scream.

At last, Rhonda had gotten the attention of Helga and Phoebe, who stopped their search to come to her aid immediately. When they arrived at the scene, the spider-creature's tendrils were practically tickling Rhonda's face (though she obviously wasn't laughing).

"Ew, ew, ew, ew, ew, ew...!" squealed a horrified Rhonda. "Somebody kill it! Squish it, please!"

"With pleasure!" complied Helga, eager to strike.

"No, don't!" warned Phoebe, scanning the makeup of the creature with her visor.

"Why not? It's just an overgrown spider!"

"That's no spider, Helga – it's Nadine! She's somehow been transformed into that monster!"

Rhonda was aghast. "NADINE?" Never in a million years did she expect this. That is to say, she was still very much upset with the girl, but not even she would wish such a foul and grotesque appearance upon anyone. Without thinking, she blurted out: "What happened? You look horrid!"

The Nadine-spider hissed menacingly at Rhonda, shutting her up.

"Well, I better put an end to this," said Helga, patting her person for the necessary item. "Where's that moon wand?"

As Helga pulled it out, the Nadine-spider did a backflip leap to where she was standing and promptly kicked it out of her hand. Then, before she could react, the Nadine-spider spat out a noxious substance right into Helga's face.

"AAH! My eyes! I can't see!" Helga walked around blindly as Phoebe tried to steady her. Meanwhile, the transformed Nadine had taken a deep breath and had excreted a large glob of web that exploded by them, paralyzing them in a complicated mesh that was suspended by the trees.

"FIRE SOUL!"

The entire area around Rhonda became emblazoned in flames as the attack travelled across the strands of webbed silk, finally releasing her.

"Stop being a brat, Nadine!" she scolded, as if to lecture her friend. The Nadine-spider charged after her; Rhonda pulled out her compact and flashed it in her face, subsequently blinding her. "Not so nice, is it? Now to change you back..."

Rhonda made her way to the moon wand floating listlessly in a shallow puddle, but spider-Nadine tackled her to the ground and hissed, drooling on her for added measure.

"Ugh!" Rhonda pushed her off and crawled for the wand, but Nadine-spider leapt for it, standing directly over the item.

"FIRE SOUL!" Rhonda pointed her finger directly at the creature, and the spider-Nadine was knocked several yards back, lying lifeless in the water. Rhonda stood up, breathing heavily. "You...made me do that...Nadine...!"

But mere seconds later, Spider-Nadine bounced back onto her feet, and hissed once more. "What's the matter with you?"

The Nadine-spider charged for Rhonda once more, but was then knocked hard to the side by a bolt of lightning. Rhonda looked to her left just in time to see Patty join the fray.

"Thanks, Patty," said a relieved Rhonda; even if she was fighting with her friend, she was not at all willing to hit her with another flame attack.

"Where are the others?" asked Patty, handing her the moon-wand. Rhonda pointed to the area where Helga and Phoebe were still stuck, though they both made a solid-go at trying to escape from the confines of their webbed prison.

"Alright – you get them down from that tree, I'll deal with that spider-thing."

"Wait!...Be careful...go easy on her..." pleaded Rhonda, reluctantly. She then went to free her other teammates. "Don't worry, I'll get you down from there. FIRE SOU-"

"NO! What are you, crazy?" screamed Helga. "You wanna barbecue us? Think of another way to get us down. One with less third degree burns!"

There were several quick flashes of red light. Suddenly, both Helga and Phoebe fell to the ground with a splash. Helga spit a stream of water from her mouth and looked begrudgingly towards Rhonda. "Nice going, princess."

"It wasn't me, you guys," said Rhonda, motioning to the quickly retreating figure in the shadows. Helga noticed several rose petals floating on the shallow water's surface.

"You don't think...?" she began, as Phoebe helped her to her feet. When they were freed, the three of them stopped and watched as Patty fought the spider-girl.

"It would appear that Patty has finally decided to join our little club," concluded Phoebe.

"Well, what are you waiting for?" snapped Rhonda heatedly, thrusting the moon wand in Helga's hands. "Change her back!"

Helga retrieved the moon wand, wiped off the mud, and frowned. "You see how fast she's moving right now? There's no way I'll hit her with this. It's best to wait for Patty to soften her up a bit, then she should slow down."

Rhonda watched uneasily as Patty grabbed the spider-Nadine by the tendrils (formerly her hair), spun her around in the air like a shotput, and brought her back down to the ground with a body slam.

She shook her head in protest. "Stop it! Stop it! Oh, this is all my fault! If only I had kept my promise and helped Nadine, I could've stopped this from happening. Nadine! I'm sorry!"

The spider-Nadine froze in midstance attack. Patty, however, was still going for her, to deliver a devastating punch.

"Yo!" called Helga. "Hold your fire!"

Patty ceased her warpath and unclenched her fist. Rhonda approached the creature, which was now standing in place and looking down at the ground. "Did you hear me, Nadine? I said I was sorry. You were right and I was wrong. I've been a real lousy person to you. Can you ever forgive me?"

The creature looked up at Rhonda, and for the first time, her eyes were no longer fully red, and a shred of humanity had returned. "Thank you, Rhonda," she said, in a foreign, dark voice that still held traces of the person trapped inside. "That's all I wanted to hear."

"Friends?" asked Rhonda.

The spider-Nadine nodded; the two friends finally reconciled with a hug.

"Now's your chance!" advised Phoebe.

Helga lifted her moon wand and aimed it the Nadine-Spider. "MOON HEALING ESCALATION!"

There was a bright, glowing light surrounding Rhonda and Nadine; by the time the two had separated from their hug, Nadine was changed back to normal, and all the spider webs had dissipated.

---

"So...you're a...sailor senshi?" Nadine sat with her best friend in the water, waiting for another bug to appear. "Sounds pretty important."

"Yeah...odd, huh? Bet you never expected me to look out for anyone but myself?"

"Let's just say, you wouldn't be my first choice," mused Nadine, quickly lowering her net, but missing her mark so that the target flew away. "But it sounds like fun, wish I could've been one..."

Rhonda smiled. "Yeah. I think you would've made a great scout. Hey, what's that on your sweater?"

Rhonda picked out an insect buried into the fabric of Nadine's sweater. "Is this what you were looking for all this time?"

Nadine covered her mouth with her hand. "Ugh...yes..."

"So why are you frowning...?"

"Because...I think I ate my share of those guys earlier..."