Sailor Helga SGR - Chapter 7

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

"So, you think the crystal lamp has a mind of its own?" asked Patty.

"Precisely," said Diana.

They were inside the Sawyer household (Patty was a bit alarmed when she had entered, for the door was ajar and the phone was off the hook, screeching its disconnected tone). Patty had set the unconscious Mr. Sawyer on the couch in the living room; hopefully Lila would be home before he woke up, and he'd assume that he just had a terrible nightmare.

"So...then why did it need Gloria?" asked Patty.

"I believe that the lamp can appear and reappear on its own accord – that's why I think it's highly likely when they go to retrieve the lamp, it won't be there. Gloria was taken up by the powers of the lamp to be its agent in obtaining the stolen items, such as your mother's heirloom."

"But why were they stealing these items?"

"I don't know," said Diana, distantly. "I haven't figured that out yet. We should hold a meeting to discuss the matter tomorrow."

Later that night, after the brief excursion at the train station, Helga lay in silence in her room. She was deep in thought, obsessing over Arnold and his alleged secret identity.

Arnold had done an extremely good job at keeping his masked alter-ego hidden, but now that they were so deep into this mystery, so close at recovering the Crystal, wouldn't be in their best interest to combine their resources and search together?

Why? Why wouldn't Arnold reveal his secret? Unless...

Helga sat up in her bed.

"Unless he's waiting on me...of course!" It was so obvious! Sure, Arnold had seen her transform in the past, but perhaps he was simply testing her commitment. Perhaps he was waiting on her to call him out – only then could they be on the same page.

"Only one way to find out..." Helga said to herself.

"But Miss Helga, you can't!" pleaded Diana as Helga divulged her plan in the middle of the next day's scout meeting. "Just consider the risk that you'll be taking!"

"I can't go on like this!" argued Helga. "Besides, it's not like this is some big secret anymore. Sheena knows about Patty, Nadine knows about Rhonda, and even Geraldo knows Phoebe's secret identity. I think it would take a load off my mind if someone that I could trust knew MY secret..."

"But those were extenuating circumstances, Miss Helga!"

But Helga had already left the room and was making her way to the front door. "He has to know the truth," thought Helga determinedly.

In a few minutes flat, Helga was in front of Sunset Arms. "Well...here goes nothing..."

She took a deep breath and was about to knock on the door, when Arnold unexpectedly burst through and walked right past her. "Arnold...?"

"Oh, hi Helga. Sorry, I can't stay and chat. I have to be somewhere..."

"W-wait! What's your hurry?" asked Helga as she struggled to keep pace with Arnold.

"I got a message from a friend –– she said she had something important to tell me. She told me to meet her at the fishing pier."

Arnold had the note in his hand; Helga glanced at the paper and was shocked when she saw the signature:

From Sera

From Sera? But she was Sera! Helga ran a bit ahead of Arnold to block his path.

"Hey! How can you be so sure you can listen this girl? S-she might be crazy!"

"You don't know her like I do, Helga. Unlike some people I know, I've got no reason not to trust her."

"But doesn't this sound kinda sketchy to you? Come on – the fishing pier? Something's up...Arnold, listen to me!"

"Don't you have somewhere else to be?" said Arnold coolly, and boarded the bus. Helga froze and watched as the bus whisked Arnold walked away.

"Did you tell him, Miss Helga?" asked Diana, who decided to follow her after the meeting in an attempt to dissuade her decision.

Helga shook her head. "No. Something's not right. Get the others – tell them to meet me at the old fishing pier."

Before Diana could object, Helga hailed down a taxi to follow the bus.

Arnold looked up at the old meat warehouse on the fishing pier at Front Street and Market. He hadn't been here since the 4th grade when both he and Gerald solved the mystery behind Mr. Green's birthday, but he remembered the stench as if it were yesterday. Tentatively, he entered the decrepit building.

"Hello?" his voice echoed off the metal walls in spots where they weren't obscured by crates and barrels stacked high towards the ceiling. It was dark and silent inside the warehouse, and suddenly Arnold began to wonder if he had made the right choice after all...

Suddenly he was ambushed as a tall kid appeared in front of him.

"Boo!"

Alarmed, Arnold staggered backwards and into the arms of another large kid, who grabbed him from behind and put into a headlock.

"Hey there, shrimp," said a familiar voice.

"Wolfgang?" choked out Arnold, horribly confused. What was going on? Why was Edmund and Wolfgang here?

"So glad you could make it..." said another feminine, unfamilar voice.

Arnold looked up. Out from the shadows emerged what appeared to be a young girl. It was not Sera; in fact, she only looked vaguely human.

"Who are you?" demanded Arnold.

The girl smiled a beguiling, deceivingly pleasant grin. "I'm...a lot of things. I can be greatest wish...but I can also be your greatest nightmare."

Wolfgang smiled and nodded.

"Sera never called me at all, did she? It was you, wasn't it?"

"That's right," the girl said calmly. "For years I've been trapped in this cursed prison..." she held up the crystal lamp that had been terrorizing Arnold's friends. "Lately I've been feeding off the energy of your peers' deepest wishes. When I was strong enough, I escaped my prison...and now I have control over its power. But now I crave more..."

"Hey!"

Helga stood at the warehouse entrance, her fists shaking in anger. "Put. Arnold. Down. Now."

"Helga?"

"Aah..." said the girl. "Perfect timing."

She nodded to Wolfgang, who then released Arnold from his grasp. Helga immediately went to his side.

"Helga, you followed me here?"

Helga gripped Arnold tightly and shook him. "You can cut the act, football-head; she's onto us!"

"'Onto us'? What are you...?"

She growled in frustration. "Now's not the time for that! I already know the truth! Now hurry up and transform!"

While Helga was distracted, Edmund had snuck up behind her and yanked the cap off her head. "Huh-huh," he chortled tauntingly. "Keep away!"

Helga tried to snatch her hat back from Edmund, but he had already thrown it to Wolfgang, and before she knew it, she was forced into a game of "monkey in the middle" by the two 8th graders.

"I don't have time for this!" snapped Helga, unaware that the girl had altered the form of the lamp so that it resembled a sword. Thus she was unaware when she moved to attack.

"Are you ever worried about getting...hurt?"

It happened so fast.

"Nah. This is nothing."

Helga felt no pain. But that was to be expected. After all, she wasn't the girl's target.

All eyes were on the girl as she retracted her weapon.

Arnold knelt to the ground and collapsed.

Wolfgang and Edmund abruptly stopped fooling around when they saw Arnold lying still on the warehouse floor.

Helga didn't even bother to pick up her hat when it dropped from Edmund's hands. Her entire world froze in that instant. She said nothing, merely shaking her head in disbelief, simply refusing to accept what her eyes had just seen.

"No...no...no..." she kept saying over and over again as she went to Arnold. "No...Arnold, no...."

Helga held onto Arnold; he was unconscious, and his skin was turning greyer and greyer after every passing second. As the shadow girl walked towards them, a large crystal barrier suddenly formed around Helga and Arnold, protecting them. At that same moment, the other sailor scouts arrived on the scene.

"All right, now we have a fight."

It was bitter cold in the crystal tomb, but Helga was too numb with grief to even notice.

Arnold went pale grey and still in her arms. Overcome with grief she gripped him tightly and touched his face. To Helga, this felt eerily similar to the time she had rescued him from being consumed by that monster. Only this time, she was uncertain if he would ever wake up.

Helga felt someone touch her chin. She looked up and found herself face-to-face with the football-headed boy in the mask in cape. Only it couldn't be Arnold, because she was in his arms.

"What?" Helga couldn't believe it. There were two Arnolds! "How...?" was all she could muster to say.

The masked Arnold put a comforting hand on Helga's cheek. "You've done all that you can for him," said the masked Arnold.

"No!" Helga cried. "NO! I don't believe that. Arnold can't die...he WON'T die!"

"Do you wish to save him?"

"Yes," replied Helga, without a moment's hesitation.

"You really love him, don't you?"

Helga pulled out her locket. "With all my heart," she said.

"Then...perhaps MY job is complete," said the masked Arnold. "It's time to awaken your true power."

"My true...power?"

Masked Arnold took Helga by the hand that held her locket. When he did he began to disappear.

"Wait! Not you too! Please don't leave me...!"

Masked Arnold smiled. "I won't. I promise." And with that he vanished. Helga gripped the locket tightly. Suddenly it began to glow.

"Please Arnold...don't die..."

It was a standoff between the scouts and the girl from the lamp.

"What have you done with the crystal?" demanded Diana. "And where's Sailor Moon?"

The girl smirked. "Over there, but she's no longer your concern."

Rhonda sent a stream of flames towards the girl, but they simply deflected away, hitting some of the wooden barrels in the corner of the warehouse. The girl snapped her fingers, and a wave of dark energy rose from the ground and struck the scouts; almost instantaneously the girls were forced back into their civilian forms.

"As you can clearly see, the Crystal has given me powers that have far surpassed all of yours. And once I've disposed of you, I'll search for the other half."

"Other half?" asked Diana, perplexed. "Other half of what?"

Suddenly the crystal cocoon from which Helga was encased exploded, shattering into a million pieces. From it, Helga had emerged, glowing, the gaze in her eyes speaking of unfound rage.

"How could you? What have you done to Arnold...?."

Clutched in Helga's hand was a small bright orb, which emanated an immense amount of light. The girl grinned malevolently when she caught sight of the treasure that she possessed.

"At last...!" she said. "The Imperium Silver Crystal is within my grasp!"

The girl pointed her sword at Helga and shot a wave of dark energy toward her. Helga retaliated by pointing her hands at the girl, firing a large beam of pure, white light. Together the two were at a standoff, attacking with the full power from the crystals.

Indeed, Helga was losing the power struggle, and the dark beam was inching ever closer to her.

"Arnold..." she whispered. "Help me..."

All of sudden, Helga beam took on a newfound brilliance, and steadily grew, moving towards the girl.

"Impossible! How could you have more strength? NO!" The beam enveloped the girl and she dissipated into thin air; her crystal sword fell to the ground and shattered into a million pieces.

The light beam continued to grow.

"Let's get out of here!" cried Wolfgang, as both he and Edmund made a mad dash for the exit. Meanwhile, the beam was engulfing the entire building in a white light along with everyone still inside.

---

The girls opened their eyes to find themselves in the vast expanse of a wasteland. The area felt hazy, and almost dreamlike in their surroundings.

"What happened?" asked Rhonda.

"I...I don't know..." said Diana.

"Where's Helga?" asked Lila.

"Look!" Phoebe pointed out to the horizon.

Suddenly, the masked boy that looked like Arnold appeared in front of them. Angrily, Rhonda stepped up to confront him.

"All right, now you've been following us ever since we got involved in this sailor business! Enough's enough! What's going on? Who are you?"

Lila stared at the boy, then at her teammate. She was fairly new to being a sailor senshi, but even she could see what was so blatantly obvious. "Rhonda...isn't that Arnold?"

"No. It's not." said Rhonda with conviction. "Who are you?"

"She's right," replied the masked boy. "I'm not Arnold. In fact, I'm not even a real person."

"Well...then who...or what are you?" asked Phoebe.

"And where are we?" added Patty.

"The answer to both, was with Helga this whole time. Kept safe from harm. And nurtured until just the right moment."

The other girl were complexed by the riddle, but Diana's eyes widened in realization.

"The Imperium Silver Crystal."

The masked boy nodded.

"Wait...you're the Crystal?" remarked Rhonda. "How is that possible?"

"Diana," said Phoebe. "I thought you said the lamp was the Imperium Silver Crystal we were searching for?"

"Well, it is...and it isn't."

"What does THAT mean?" asked Rhonda.

"From what I'm to gather...somehow, the Crystal broke into two separate pieces. One half became corrupted by the evil spirit and turned into the lamp, while the other half lay dormant somewhere in the City. It's the only way I wouldn't have been able to sense it."

"But why did Helga have it?" inquired Phoebe. "How did she have it?"

"Because the Crystal was her locket," explained the masked Arnold. "Unbeknownst to Helga, she had kept the sleeping half of the Crystal safe from evil for all this time. And when monsters did begin to appear in the city, I was created to aid her in her mission."

"Helga created me from her hopes and dreams, which primarily consisted of her thoughts of the boy she loved, Arnold. Helga may not have realized it, but she actually WANTED to be rescued by Arnold, hence my existence. But in order for her to defeat the spirit inhabiting the lamp, she required that I merge back with the locket to awaken its true form. Now that Helga's in sole possession of an awakened half of the Imperium Silver Crystal there is no reason for me to exist independently."

"Wait – where IS Helga?"

"Arnold" pointed several yards into the horizon. "She is here. Keep walking straight ahead and you will find her. This is the last time you will see me, and the last time I will assist you. Good luck."

And with that he turned and walked away, vanishing forever into thin air.

The girls took his advice and continued walking. Eventually, they did run into Helga.

She was standing next to what appeared to be a statue situated in the middle of nowhere, The others ran to meet her, and by then she was kneeling in front of the mysterious obelisk.

Phoebe inched cautiously toward her detached friend. "Helga...?"

Helga did not turn to acknowledge her. "Why do you call me by this name?"

Her voice sounded haughty and cold. Phoebe wasn't sure how to respond, so she let Rhonda answer.

"That's your name. You're Helga G. Pataki."

"Yeah," agreed Lila. "You're the toughest girl at P.S. 118, remember?"

Helga shook her head. "I know none of this. And you may address me by my proper title. I am Princess Harmonia, and I am the ruler of the kingdom of Last Haste."

"Last Haste...?" repeated Diana.

Diana and the other girls looked about dubiously.

"I don't see any kingdom," said Rhonda.

"It's been annihilated," Princess Harmonia said, her tone steeped with an edge of bitterness. "We now stand in the epicenter of what used to be my home. I'm merely paying homage to my own life."

"What do you mean, Princess?" asked Diana.

"Open your eyes," said Harmonia. "What you see before you is no statue. It is me. I caused this."

Upon further inspection of the statue, the girls realized that the rock structure greatly resembled Helga, if her hair was down and she was wearing a long flowing gown. It looked as though she were holding her hands cupped upward, as if she were holding something of great value or paying tribute to some god.

The girls stood stunned in front of their now-possessed leader.

Rhonda shook her head in disbelief. "This...doesn't make any sense. You're just a regular girl, Helga. We all are!"

"Not necessarily," replied Diana. "While you all may be regular girls in your current time, in the future you all held important titles. Helga's title was the most important of all, and the driving force which shaped all of your destinies."

"Some destiny..." spat Helga/Harmonia bitterly, standing up from her spot in front of her own monument. "Is it destiny for us all to be doomed?"

"What on earth are you talking about?" demanded Rhonda, not bothering with Helga's royal title.

Harmonia glared angrily at Rhonda, then turned away from the group. "The city you now live in? Hillwood? It is but an illusion. It does not exist; it is merely a product of the power of the Crystal. Hillwood is simply Last Haste...thrust 1000 years into the past.

The others were speechless for a while.

"I don't understand," admitted Diana finally.

Harmonia faced the group and outstretched her arms from her sides, mimicking a scale. "When Hillwood was created, the Crystal couldn't handle the sheer magnitude of the shift, and so it was cleaved in two. This created a precarious balance that allowed the city to exist without disrupting the space-time continuum. Simultaneously, pockets of non-space formed to maintain the equilibrium. When you and your mother arrived in search of the Crystal, you attracted beings from the non-space into the city, thus weakening the balance. Your trip in particular, Diana, had thrust out the half of the Crystal from the non-space. And now, that you've brought both halves to the city – " she made raised one arm while lowering the other, then clasped her hands together – "the stability is gone. And the only way to correct this anomaly is to wipe Hillwood completely out of existence."

"Hel—er, Princess Harmonia," Diana corrected herself. "What can be done to prevent the city from collapsing into itself?"

"Nothing. You can try, but I doubt there is anything you can do to prevent your demise." Harmonia closed her eyes. "After all...my time has already expired. I'm all that remains of the memory any one of you shall have of the fate of our once proud kingdom. And I've told you all that I can."

"Are you serious?" Rhonda asked, annoyed and fed up with Harmonia's royal attitude. "So there's nothing we can do? There has to be more you can tell us! What role did we have in all this, anyway? What are we to you? No offence, but you're acting like an even bigger princess than I could ever be!"

There was a rumble. The girls looked about and saw that the world around them was collapsing.

"My time has ended," repeated Harmonia. "Go back to the one you call Helga. Only she can prevent history from repeating itself."

The sky gave way to pitch-black, as did the ground.

And then silence.

Diana was the first to awake, and when she did she was overcome by the smell of smoke. She saw that they were still inside the warehouse, and that it was now on fire.

"Hey...hey! We got to get out of here!" Diana quickly tried to rouse her unconscious team, but Patty was the only one who got up.

"Miss Patty, the others won't wake up!" Diana said frantically.

"Keep trying!" ordered Patty. "I'm going to try and rescue the others!"

In the end, only Helga refused to wake up, so Patty had to carry her out over her shoulder. Several minutes later, the girls emerged from the warehouse, soot-covered and dirty, but otherwise safe.

"Is everyone alright?" asks Patty. The other girls nodded.

At last, Helga began to come to.

"Helga! Are you alright?" asked Phoebe frantically.

Helga groaned, but then nodded. "Yeah...I'm fine."

"Do remember what happened?" Rhonda asked.

Helga squinted, struggling to recollect her memory. "What? The last thing I remember was..."

A sudden horror gripped Helga as she quickly stood up.

"Helga, take it easy!" warned Lila.

"Where's Arnold?" asked Helga excitedly.

The other girls went pale.

"We...we didn't know Arnold was with you, Helga," Patty finally admitted.

"I have to go back! I have to save him!"

"Helga, you can't!" argued Phoebe. "It's suicide!"

But Helga ignored her friend and went towards the warehouse, which was now a big ball of flames on the docks. The other girls restrained her, but she fought against them desperately.

Suddenly, the warehouse collapsed into the water, taking the dock with it in one big smouldering wreckage.

---

Helga sat cross-legged at the edge of the docks. There she stared silently at what little remained of the City Meat Co. warehouse. There was still no sign of Arnold, and the situation was looking grimmer by the second.

Phoebe cautiously approached her, stopping a few feet from her best friend. "Helga...?"

Helga said nothing; she didn't even budge to acknowledge her friend.

Phoebe's tone became more desperate. "Helga...it's been 2 hours...we really should go..."

Silence.

"Helga...please say something. Anything..."

After her pleas fell on deaf ears, Phoebe returned to the group. "It's no use..."

"Hey!" came a voice from behind them. The group turned around and saw Wolfgang and Edmund, shooting them an accusing gaze. "Don't think this is over!"

"Yeah!" added Edmund. "We know who you are! You're that moon girl that fights monsters in the city!"

"You don't scare us! You're just a stupid girl! We can take you, so let's do this right now!"

Surprisingly, this got Helga's attention.

Helga slowly stood up. She turned to look slowly at the 8th graders. Her eyes were red and puffy, but angry. "You want to end this now? RIGHT now?"

"Helga, don't," pleaded Phoebe.

"No, no, Phoebes – they think they're a bunch of big shots...you guys think you're tough? You want to fight RIGHT NOW? OKAY! LET'S GO!"

"Helga, stop..." Lila tried to hold her back, but at that moment, Helga's body glowed with the power of the Crystal, scaring not only her teammates, but Wolfgang and Edmund as well. The ground crumbled around her as she approached her challengers, with nothing but pure malice in her eyes.

"NO, LILA. LET'S END THIS RIGHT NOW. EVEN THOUGH WE JUST RISKED OUR HIDES TO SAVE YOU IDIOTS...EVEN THOUGH, BECAUSE OF YOU, ARNOLD IS GONE...LET'S GO...RIGHT NOW!"

"Uh...on second thought," said Wolfgang, timidly backing away. "Maybe some other time."

"Yeah, your secret's safe with us!" added Edmund, and with that, the two boys turned around and high-tailed it far away from the area.

"Helga you must calm down!" warned Diana. "Your emotions have a destructive edge when channeled through the Imperium Silver Crystal!"

Eventually, Helga did calm down, and her body ceased glowing. "Arnold..." she said finally.

Her resolve was gone. She turned to look at what was left of the docks. "Arnold..." she repeated, covering her face with her hands.

Everyone else was silent as Helga knelt to the ground and began to cry hysterically. "ARNOLD!" she screamed.