Cyber Moon: Dark World

Episode 8: A nightmare worth living in.

By Razor Knight.

Last update: October 3, 2012.


Ami studied the faces of her friends. She had expected this much. Shock, disbelief, horror, she could read all that in them. "I realize bringing you back was selfish..."

Minako's skin was quite paler than usual, but she still gave Ami a half-smile. "I won't say we would be better off dead, I don't think anyone can really say that and mean it. However, this just doesn't seem right. How could it all end like this?"

"We were playing fair, the enemy wasn't," Terry said. "Playing fair doesn't make you a hero, it makes you a... Tombstone."

"Don't I know that," Hana said with a bitter smile.

"We are much weaker than you," Haruka noticed. She and Michiru weren't too sure of why they had been revived, but weren't about to complain. "What use can we be to you?"

Luna, Artemis and Shade had been observing the humans silently. However, Luna took a step forwards and looked at Haruka. "This is not about usefulness. This is about caring for someone and wanting them to be by your side."

Usagi nodded at that. "Yeah, I know I would find a way to bring you all back if you died."

"Your other self, apparently, did that," Rei noted. She couldn't understand it, though, she thought Usagi would be the least comfortable with what they had told them, and yet, she was calm. Too calm.

"As for the difference in power," Usagi said, "we can train to become stronger, right?"

Terry smiled at that. "You're the last person I would expect hearing that from."

Usagi shook her head. "I don't like this. I know I'll possibly never see my family again, and several of my friends. But ever since I found out I was a Senshi, I've been doing things I don't like. It doesn't mean I won't learn from my mistakes."

"Mistake, what mis-"

Usagi held a hand out, interrupting Ami. "I was fighting youma, I knew the risks, we all did, but... I tried not to think about it, I didn't work hard to improve, and I wasn't really good at the whole 'leading' thing." She looked at Ami and Rei. "I always thought things would work out in the end, that I could rely on my friends for that, that I just needed to be there to finish the job when the time came."

"Usagi..." Rei was quite shocked. Usagi was seeing a lot more of the whole picture than they ever thought.

"All that I got from that attitude, was being killed easily, all my friends being killed thanks to that... And the whole world..."

"None of us was really taking it as seriously as it was needed," Ami admitted. "No, not even me. But we were not warriors. We were just kids."

"Don't blame yourself for that, Usagi," Rei said, "the only ones who could be blamed for what happened are dust in the wind now."

"I... I guess you're right," Usagi said. "I'm just glad to see you all, guys. When Beryl attacked me, I thought I would never..."

Everyone fell silent as Usagi started crying. "That's more like her," Rei said.

"For a while, we thought we wouldn't see any of you again, too," Ami noted, "but there's always hope, even in the darkest of times."

Usagi smiled and wiped the tears off her eyes. "And from what you told me, things were quite dark around here."

"That's quite an understatement," Rei said.

"Okay, our base is quite large, so you're free to roam around for the time being. We'll see how things work out from now on."

The others nodded at Ami, and most left the room, while others started talking amongst themselves. Ami walked out, already thinking about what she would do from now on.


"You wanted to see me."

Ami nodded. "Setsuna Meiou, that's your name, right?"

Setsuna nodded. "We were supposed to meet eventually."

"I know that. You can... You can see time, in a way, right?"

"Yes. I didn't see us steering towards this version of our reality, though."

"Nevermind that. There's a bit of info I didn't give the others. The pink-haired Senshi, she spoke of a 'Crystal Tokyo' and it not being around, and when I asked the other Pluto, she..."

"Told you something like 'If I told you, I would have to kill you.'"

"Not as clearly and directly, but yes, the threat was there."

"You should not worry. Crystal Tokyo is still in the future, but it's not the same city anymore."

"I don't think you can tell me about it."

Setsuna gave her a bitter smile. "It's the bad part of my job, revealing parts of a possible future to others can make reality steer into a different one. However, I can explain this to you: For there to be a Crystal Tokyo, a Sailor Moon was needed in this era. When those 'visitors' came, our future was still one of chaos and destruction. The Princess saw that, and I know this because I can see that future too. But we're not heading towards it anymore."

"I suppose that does answer a lot of questions. But why could that girl jump forwards in time? Isn't that a power only you have?"

"Only me, and those I trust completely," Setsuna said, leaving the room without waiting for another question.

"..." Ami looked at the door. "Well, that girl was apparently Usagi's daughter, after all."


"No attacks in one month," Chie noted.

"Maybe the universe ran out of villains."

Setsuna looked at Hana. "Far from that. But some villains who were supposed to attack us won't have a reason to now." The Hunters... Of course they would not have a reason to come back to their era. Nor would they be able to. They were meant to face a group of Holy Senshi, but now...

"Something's troubling you," Chie said, looking at Hana.

"No, it's... Well, it's Terry."

Chie bit her lip, noticing Setsuna had taken the chance to vanish. "That..."

"Ami made it quite clear, she would accept his decision when it came. I think I'm ready to accept it too. But he's been... Distant."

"Only way to fix that, is to talk it out. You three need to clear that out before it gets nasty."

"I think it already did. But you're right."


"Are you okay?"

Rei turned and saw Usagi walking to her. She was outside the rebuilt base, she had made it a habit to go out every few hours when there were no enemies to fight. Their base held too many memories she wanted to erase, but she knew they were there to stay. "I should be asking you the same."

"Considering all that's happened... It will take us all a while to accept this reality."

"I can understand that. I still don't accept it."

"Think if I power up enough, I would be able to..."

"Bring everyone back, all those killed by youma?"

"I..." Usagi looked down. "I should have been thinking that, yes, but what I was really thinking, was bringing my family back."

Rei smiled. "Being selfish is not bad once in a while, Usako."

"You're being nice to me? Guess this mess was worth something after all."

Rei winced. "Listen, I know I was rather mean to you in the past, but I always..."

"I know. I knew all along, Rei. I may be naive and lazy at times, or most of the time, but I can tell what others think about me. What they think about each other."

"Just like the other Usagi," Rei said with a smile. "As far as me and Ami are concerned, you've been the best leader our team could have."

"And it took you a war and several power-ups to tell me that," Usagi noted, looking at the horizon. "This is what takes the most to get used to."

Rei knew exactly what she meant. "Tokyo. What's left of it."

"Why didn't you move to some other place?"

"At first, because we knew Beryl wasn't looking for us in here. But after Beryl was gone, we... There were memories in this city we wanted to treasure."

"I didn't, it was just a good strategic position," Ami said, walking to them. The other two could tell she was not being serious.

"How long have you been there?" Rei asked.

"Enough to know you are still bad at giving straight answers," Ami joked.

"So you heard what I asked?"

"Given enough training, any Senshi could destroy a planet." She looked at Rei, then at Usagi, whose eyes widened. "Yes, I mean just that, Usagi. But being able to doesn't give you the right to do it."

"Being able to bring others back from the dead..." Usagi started.

"Guilty as charged," Ami said, "which is exactly why I can't tell you growing stronger just for that goal isn't worth it, or that you should just leave the dead rest. It's your call, you've always been the leader, I was just subbing for a while."

"Oh, you were the substitute leader? I never noticed," Rei joked.

Usagi laughed. "I see you two didn't change as much as you think."

Hana walked out of the base. "Oh, there you are, Ami."

"What's wrong?"

"We need to talk."

"About..."

"Yeah."

Usagi walked past them. "Don't bother. He hasn't made up his mind, he fears exactly the same you do."

Hana stopped and looked at Usagi "What... How did you know?"

"She's damn good at reading people," Rei mused.

"That she is..." Ami muttered. "But I trust her. Forcing him to decide will not do any of us any good."

Hana frowned at that. "You may be right, but I don't have to like it."

Usagi smiled. "I know how that feels, Hana."


"Have a minute?"

Usagi looked at Terry and smiled. "Sure, it's not like I have to study for an exam right now."

Terry shook his head at that. "Sarcasm never really suited you, Rabbit."

"So..."

"It's about... Hana. And Ami."

"I guessed that. You like them both. You're aware of how powerful they are. You're afraid of what could happen..."

Terry didn't seem surprised that Usagi had figured all that out. However, she was wrong about one thing. "Power? I don't care about power, Usagi. I love Hana, but I see Ami as a friend and... I know I feel something else for her, too. But if my guess is right, then no matter who I choose, I will hurt one of them."

"They're both willing to live with it."

"The problem is... I'm not."

"The more you delay this, the worse it will be in the end."

"You're lucky, huh?"

"What do you mean?

"You have your Prince, I know you two like each other and I'm not as good as you as reading people."

Usagi blushed at that. "I..."

"He was always teasing you, wasn't he? That's what some of us guys do when we like someone."

"I just thought he was being mean to me."

"You should go ask him that. Don't worry about me."

"... Sorry, but worrying about others is one of the few things I'm good at," Usagi noted. "Think about what I said, okay?"

"Yeah." Terry watched Usagi leave, then looked around. Strange, the sun shouldn't be going down yet, it was too early.


Hotaru looked out to the horizon. "I did this."

"You thought it would destroy Beryl, you had lost your mentor and friends, and..."

Hotaru looked at Rei. "Friends. I never had any friends, only allies."

"I was your friend, in a way. But you never opened yourself to others."

Rei looked back and saw Setsuna was there. "Back so soon? Is everything okay?"

"No, it's not." An image appeared, floating in mid-air. A spaceship? "This is one of three Kh'Sun motherships. Their only goal is to survive, and to do that, they will drain any planet they find, and enslave any sentient life they find in them."

"They sound like a nice race," Rei said. "So, when are they..."

Setsuna gave her a humorless smile as the sky above darkened. "Now."

"What the fuck is that?"

"While I wouldn't use the same words he chose, I agree with him," Hotaru admitted.

Setsuna looked up, knowing most of the Senshi were walking out of the base, as the day turning into a partial night in a matter of seconds wasn't a normal thing. "That ship is a small carrier, it has enough gunships and ground vehicles in it to level a small planet."

"Hmph. I can shoot it to dust from here," Rei commented.

"I am quite aware of this," Setsuna said, "I suppose you don't mind killing millions of innocents?"

Usagi gasped at that. "What does that mean?"

"While the creatures in that ship are working for the Kh'Sun, they're slaves, cannon fodder. The Kh'Sun themselves are not going to risk their skins when they have millions of slaves to use agianst us."

Rei winced. No, she couldn't do it. Looking at Ami, she knew it was the same for her. "Damn it..."

"Can't we just fight whatever they send?" Mako asked.

"We're not talking about one monster per day, or even a group of 'Generals,'" Setsuna explained. "I would think the part about 'millions' would make you understand what we're really up against."

"Where is their main ship?" Ami asked.

"Near Jupiter," Setsuna said.

"And all these 'Kh'Sun' are in there, right?"

"Most of them. The ship we're seeing now has a few, comparatively speaking, Kh'Sun in it to keep slaves from revolting."

Ami looked at Rei and sighed. "Guess it's our call again."

"Wait. Are those Kh'Sun evil?"

Setsuna looked at Usagi. "They're survivors, but in order to survive, they've turned countless worlds into arid rocks, enslaved and killed too many creatures to count, and have been around for hundreds of thousands of years."

Usagi's face changed from worry to a glare. "Surviving is no excuse for that," she said, "Ami, Rei... Go get them."

"Of course."

Karin looked up as Mars and Mercury teleported out. "Is the ship... Leaving?"

"It's moving, searching for heavily populated areas," Setsuna said. "Their first priority seems to be getting slaves and eliminating the planet's defenses."

"Unfortunately for them, this planet's got two godlike warriors defending it."

"They just won't learn."

Terry looked at Setsuna. "What does that mean?"

"I suppose there's no harm in telling you this..."


Mars and Mercury smiled. The ship was huge. There was some praise to be given to a race which could build such a large structure, and keep it running for thousands of years. But they were not there to praise these monsters.

The Kh'Sun noticed them, that became quite clear as several large energy beams shot from the ship, along with a swarm of small spaceships. Even two more ships like the one floating over Tokyo split from the main structure, and shot at them.

So, it was obvious they knew how much power the two of them had. And it was clear they would not be going down without a fight. It was unfortunate for these aliens, however, that all of their 'fight' wasn't enough.

"Time to end this."

"Let's make it fun to watch."

Mars looked at Mercury. "Ami?"

"Well, I'm bored, and don't really have many chances to test my powers."

"Heh, I know what you mean. Okay then..."

To a casual observer, the two women would have just been standing there, doing nothing at all. But their powers needed no movement, no words, just a thought. Without a warning, the ship was set aflame. All of it. Outside, inside, mechanical or biological, it made no difference. But as sudden as the fire had started, the whole ship went blue, frozen, like a giant planetoid made of ice. And then, there were flames again. Which didn't melt the ice.

Under normal conditions, being attacked by normal means, the ship's main reactor would have exploded, taking the whole ship with it, and causing a massive explosion. But magic had a knack for defying the 'laws of the universe' mankind had worked on guessing time and again. The ship simply cracked, slowly and relentlessly, and finally broke into a million shards of ice. Ice which was, as impossible as that could sound, burning with white flames.

"That was quite unsetting to watch, actually," Mercury admitted.

"Just be glad you weren't one of them."


As they returned, they noticed their friends were staring at them. "What's wrong?"

Setsuna smiled at them. "I let them watch your little power display."

Mars cringed. "Uhm, that..."

"Now we know what you can do. What we could do with time and effort," Terry said. "Hearing about icy columns and flames is one thing, seeing what it can do to a planet-sized spaceship is... Something else."

"What about the other spaceships?"

Setsuna looked up. "They're leaving. The slaves know the Kh'Sun leaders are gone, and the few in these ships can't stop millions."

"So they'll leave, just like that?"

"I'm sure they'll look for a new home, a world that's not already taken," Ami guessed, "unlike their former 'employers.'"


Usagi was thinking back to what had happened in the last two days. Luna was quite right, they weren't needed, but she could see Ami and Rei were more at ease now. But she was worried about one of her friends in particular, and was looking for her. There, she had found her.

"Naru!"

Naru turned to look at Usagi. "Hi." Her tone was too cold, too distant.

"Naru, what's wrong?"

"What's wrong? Everything's wrong. Damn it, Usagi, don't you see it?"

"We all lost people we cared about. But I promise I'll become stronger, I'll bring them back, I..."

Naru growled. "It's not the same. Bringing them back to this nightmare? What for? Why did those two even bother briging us back here?"

Usagi flinched. She could actually see it, a thin aura of darkness around Naru. "What..."

"I don't want this. Why do I get to live and he..."

"Naru, calm down."

Usagi saw Ami and Rei standing besides her. Or rather, Mercury and Mars. "Wha-"

"Usagi, stand back. This could be dangerous, even for us."

"You!"

Usagi did take a few steps back, but not because of Ami's words. She had heard Naru's scream, and then saw the darkness engulf her. "Naru, no..."

"Damn it, she's doing it," Mercury said. "Her power's quite close to ours..."

"Can you stop her without hurting her?" Usagi asked, quickly realizing what was happening.

"I'm not sure, and also... Even if we don't hurt her, releasing all that power while in her first level, it's just too much."

Usagi shook her head. "No, I won't let her die. I won't let anyone else die!"

Mercury saw Usagi was holding the Ginzuishou. "Wha... How did you..."

"I am the Moon Princess. It doesn't matter how strong you are now, Ami, even if you were actively trying to stop me from using it..."

"Don't! You could die if you do that."

Usagi looked at Mars. "If it's to save one of my friends, then so be it."

Naru, or rather Nemesis, growled at Usagi. "Let me end this, Usagi. Let me end this nightmare."

Usagi smiled at her friend, as her suit changed. For a split second, there were several pairs of wings behind her back. "I'm sorry, I can't let you do that to yourself, Naru."

For a few seconds, Nemesis was surrounded by light. Mercury grimaced as Nemesis fell to her knees, screaming in pain. The aura around the Dark Senshi faded slowly as she looked up at Usagi. Or rather, Sailor Moon.

Sailor Moon's smile didn't falter, even as she started falling forwards. Mars caught her before she hit the ground. "She's just unconscious," she said after checking her friend.

Mercury looked at Naru. There wasn't any rage left in her eyes anymore, only confusion and regret. "What did she..."

"She showed me what would happen if I lost it. Not just images. She showed me what you would all feel, struggling against the darkness, being destroyed by it... Along with the whole planet, millions of innocent lives... I... I could have..."

"The more I know about that crystal, the more I understand just how powerful it is," Mercury admitted.

"Naru, don't blame yourself. Rage can be a powerful weapon, but there's times where keeping it at bay can be hard," Mars said.

"I will agree with what you. This world is quite a nightmare," Ami said, "but a nightmare worth living in. You've seen what Usagi can do, even in her basic, weakest form. Do you really think her promises are empty?"

Naru shook her head. "No, I know they're not. But I was too weak to resist my power."

"Sometimes grief and rage can cloud your judgment," Hotaru said. Ami was surprised, she hadn't noticed she was there.

Naru sighed. "You know how it feels?"

"Take a look at the city. Most of that wasn't caused by Beryl. Or even by Galaxia. I did that."

"But you were trying to..."

"Save the world? No. That monster had killed my mentor, someone I cared about. I didn't think about what I was doing, I just attacked."

Usagi opened her eyes and looked around. "Ow, my head..."

"I know how that feels," Ami admitted.

"Sorry about my outburst," Naru said.

"Naru, I won't blame you. I feel bad too, but... I won't let it get the best of me." Usagi saw Hotaru walking out of the room and sighed. "Hey, wait."

"What?"

"I don't really know you and your friends, but..."

"I don't call anyone my friend," Hotaru noted, "but I know what you're about to say. We were ready to give our lives if it helped save the world, but that doesn't mean we will complain about getting a second chance. Or that we will be ungrateful about it."

"Oh. So, you'll stay here?"

"Where else could we go?" Hotaru said, leaving the room without waiting for an answer.

Ami shook her head. "She's... Weird."

"Says the one who deep-froze a planet-sized spaceship."

"Sarcasm doesn't suit you," Rei said with a half-smile.

Usagi shrugged at that. "Yeah, I hear that a lot. Okay, I'll go get some rest, the Ginzuishou really drained me."

Ami turned to look at Rei as Usagi left, noticing Naru was gone too. "Another day, another crisis averted."

"Did you feel how much power Usagi used back then?"

"Yes. What about it?"

Rei shook her head. "Not much... But now I can see how a group of 'weaker' Senshi could have defeated Galaxia or that giant spaceship."

"We're stronger as a group. But it was Usagi keeping us together, whether we knew it or not."

"Think this was the last 'crisis' we'll have to deal with?"

"Come on, Rei. It's a given the Universe will find some queen or ancient warrior to throw at us sooner or later."

"A nightmare worth living in, huh?" Rei mused.


A/N: Leave it to having two Aeon Senshi around to have even the Kh'Sun be gone in a blink.

What's going to happen next? Well, the universe keeps moving, and there may be some surprises left for the Senshi.