Sailor Moon Aeons.
Book 2: Rebirth.
Act 1: Dark Kingdom.
Episode 2: Generals.

By Razor Knight
Last update: January 3, 2010
Last edited: May 22, 2017

Minako walked in to see her father reading the newspaper while eating breakfast. However, something caught her eye almost immediately. "Sailor V? Who's that?"

"A strange woman who's been seen fighting monsters lately. Nobody knows who she is, or if the attacks are real. Maybe it's just publicity for a new movie or..."

"Or maybe there's things out there we can't explain," Minako's mother interrupted.

Minako smiled at that. "I think it would be great to be a heroine, fight monsters and defend the city like that..."

"See, now you got her thinking about useless things," Minako's father said.

"If there are monsters out there, then it's good someone's there to stop them, isn't it?" Minako asked.

"Yeah, but if they're real, then whoever this Sailor V girl is, is risking her life."

"Hmm, that's true," Minako said, then looked at Artemis.

Artemis was listening to them while eating his own food. This era's cat food wasn't half bad, he could admit that much. But he wondered if Minako was having second thoughts about her mission. That could make things complicated for them.

"Queen Beryl, the gateway has been improved. We are able to send two soldiers through now at a time."

"Excellent work, Aurite."

The gold-haired General bowed to her Queen. "I will keep on improving the gateway when possible, but with how limited our energy is right now, two is the limit."

"I see. Kunzite!"

Kunzite appeared, taking a second to nod at Aurite before turning to the Queen. "There is a way to work around our current limitations. As much as the idea disgusts me, some of us could go and stay on Earth, and request for extra soldiers when needed."

"That is a good plan, and I suppose you're okay with staying there for long?"

"Unlike weaker youma, us General still keep our human form. We won't need to be wasting energy in a disguise spell to stay there. Besides, if I can search the city, I may be able to track down and eliminate Sailor V."

"I will stay in Tokyo as well," Aurite said. "I want to research on how advanced the Earth's armies really are, and search for anything that could help us take over that planet faster."

"Then you two may go. Learn all the weaknesses of those humans, and gather as much energy as you can."

"As you wish," the two Generals said in unison before vanishing.

"Hotaru, where are you running off to lately?"

"It's none of your business."

"Come on, tell your older sisters about it."

"You're not my sister, Michiru."

Michiru let out a sigh as Hotaru walked out of the house. "She's not the social kind, is she?"

"She is a lot more human than she want us to believe she is."

Michiru looked at the older woman. Legally, their mother, but in reality, she was more of a mentor, someone who had taught them a lot about combat, preparing them for the challenges ahead. "Setsuna, while I can't understand her behavior, I can agree with what she asked you."

"About Sailor Venus and the others?"

"Yes. Why is it that we must stay out of their fights? If we combined our forces..."

"You are forgetting I'm the one who can see all possible futures," Setsuna said. "You will have your own battles to take care of, and, when the time comes, you will be joining them."

"I'm still not sure, but if you say it's for the best, then I'm okay with it."

Setsuna smiled softly. She, Sailor Pluto, was the one who had found these two, two orphans living in orphanages, two reborn Senshi who she knew would play an important role in the battles to come. She had raised them, but she had also trained them, prepared them for combat. The time drew near for them to prove their skills, but she was sure they would get through it, somehow.

Hotaru walked in and looked around. As usual, the house was empty. Her father was a scientist, working for the army, and she didn't see him all too often. Her mother had died when she was still a little girl, and she had been a loner ever since. Her schoolmates were freaked out by her power, a power she had found rather hard to control at times. She knew some of them had feared her, even hated her, but she didn't mind. She needed no friends, now that she knew what her powers could be used for.

Maybe that was one of the reasons he had been so ready to accept Setsuna's offer that day. Maybe he knew she needed this, she needed someone to teach her how to control her powers.

Only one year had passed since then, though in 'reality' the time passed in a different way than in 'that place,' the place where they trained. Setsuna had been rather nice to her, she wasn't afraid of her powers, maybe because she, as Sailor Pluto, had powers that went beyond what Hotaru could ever dream of doing.

Still, she had learnt to control her own powers. The power to heal herself and others, and the other, darker side of her powers, the ability to drain any living being's energy. She had learnt to summon soul-less ghosts, something Setsuna called 'wraiths,' to help her fight.

She was different than Haruka and Michiru, Setsuna's adoptive daughters. She wasn't strong like Haruka, and she wasn't as agile as Michiru. She had little endurance, which made long battles something extremely difficult for her.

As she walked down the street, heading back to Setsuna's house, she sensed something. In a short range, she could sense living beings around her. Those with magic in them were like beacons of light to her, or, in the case of the one she was 'seeing,' beacons of darkness. "Youma."

Minako was surprised to see Artemis right outside her school. "What's up, Art?"

Artemis rushed off, and Minako followed him. Once they were a good distance away from school, he decided to tell her. "There's an enemy near, but this time it's not just a normal youma. If what I'm sensing it's true, this could be one of the Generals."

Minako stopped running. "That is..."

Artemis stopped and turned to look at Minako. She looked scared. Terrified. And he couldn't really blame her. If those Generals were as strong as what little he remembered of them, then... No, he couldn't think like that. "Minako, I can't force you to go and fight someone that powerful. But you're probably the only one who could have a chance to stop a General."

"But you said they're strong, and..."

"Listen, Sailor V... No, Sailor Venus. That General will target civilians, people who can't do a thing to defend themselves. I know you're scared, and you would have to be pretty stupid not to be scared, but only you can help them."

Minako stared at Artemis for almost one minute, before she shook her head. "I'm still scared to the bone, but that won't stop me. Venus Planet Power!"

Aurite looked around and couldn't help but laugh. A dozen or so humans were surrouning her, all armed with some sort of primitive, non-magical weapons. Their uniforms made it clear to her these were the city's defense forces. If that was the best this world had to offer, then this would be an easy conquest. "I see, you are sure your toy guns will stop me."

"Don't move!" One of the police officers said. He looked around and couldn't help but feel a shiver run down his spine. There were dozens of civilians all around the scene, unconscious, and pale. This was probably one of those monsters he had heard about, one of those monsters he had believed to be just fantasy. But this fantasy was just too real. "Drop your weapons and walk slowly towards us, and you won't be harmed."

"Weapons?" Aurite laughed. "I don't need any weapons to defeat you. Here, let me show you." She reached her hand out, tendrils of energy shooting in all directions, and her attackers all dropped to the ground, drained out of energy. She hadn't killed a single human, though, because they didn't deserve the honor of being killed by one of the strongest Generals of Beryl's army. No, when the day came, all these pathetic human soldiers would be sliced to shreds by common youma.

"That was quite a show."

Aurite turned to see a girl standing on top of one of the patrols. The suit she was wearing, Aurite knew it all too well. "Sailor Saturn?"

Saturn didn't mind being recognized. "You youma will not be allowed to roam free in this world. Begone."

"That's amusing, weakling. Die!"

Saturn looked at the incoming energy blast with the same emotionless face she had from the start. A glaive appeared in her hands, and she used it to cut the blast in half.

"Oh my, I see you're not a pushover."

"And I see my mentor overestimated you."

Aurite snarled at that. "That's it, brat, I'm done playing with you!"

Saturn saw Aurite rushing at her and nodded. "We're done playing, too."

"Gale Shot!"

Aurite was knocked aside by a strong, focused gust of wind. "What the heck..."

"You mess with one of us, you mess with all of us."

Aurite saw two new Senshi walk out from behind a parked truck and growled. "Uranus and Neptune?" There were this many Senshi around already? Well, it didn't really matter, she could beat them easily.

"Judging from your hair and skin, you should be Aurite," Saturn said, "the one rumored to be second in power only to Beryl and Kunzite. If that much is true..."

"It is, brat."

"... Then you're doomed to fail."

Aurite laughed. "This is too much fun. Even if there's three of you, you won't defeat me."

"You're all talk!" Uranus snapped and rushed at the woman.

"Fool," Aurite said as she rose her arms. Several energy blasts came from the ground itself, knocking the three Senshi to the ground. "You're rookies, and you're weak. There's no way ones like you could ever dream of fighting me as equals."

"Then what about me?"

Aurite looked up and paled. She knew who this green-haired Senshi was, one of the ancient Senshi. "Sailor Pluto? But you..."

"These are my protegees, so I'm afraid I can't let you kill them, Aurite."

"Big words for someone who never fights!" Aurite shouted as a dozen energy blasts appeared around Pluto, all homing on her. Aurite smiled, sure of her victory, until she saw Pluto hadn't made a move to dodge them, and the shots had done nothing to her. "What is..."

"I never fight, unless I know it's the only way out for the others." A staff appeared in Pluto's hands and she stared at Aurite for a second before pointing it at her. "Dead Scream." A nearly invisible ball of energy shot from the staff, hitting Aurite dead on and knocking her half a block away.

"This much power, how can you..."

"Your fate's already sealed, you will fall when the time's right, as will the rest of your race."

Aurite glared at Pluto for several seconds, then vanished.

"Thanks for the help."

Pluto turned to Uranus. "It's my duty to protect you. I hope this is a battle you can learn a lot from."

"We have to be stronger if we want to defeat Aurite."

"That's correct, Hotaru. You also need to study your foes, know what tricks they can use. That will let you find the best way to use your powers against them."

"In any case, I'm going to check on dad now. Call me if any more youma decide to attack today."

Kunzite looked at the short-skirted girl and had to try hard not to laugh. She was weak, he didn't need any scanner to see that. And he could see the fear in her eyes, hidden behind a spark of courage. "So, you must be the one they call Sailor V."

"That's right, youma. You should leave before I decide to attack you."

"Likewise," Kunzite noted dismissively. "I find it hard to believe something as weak as you defeated Kron and Leras."

"Believe what you want," V snapped. "Crescent Beam!"

Kunzite rose a shield, stopping her blast effortlessly. "Hmph, is that it?"

"Uhhh..." Unfortunately, V thought, it was all she had to fight with. "You won't be able to block that one next time."

"Try all you may, Sailor V. I'm stronger than you, I have more energy reserves, and I've got combat experience. This will be your last battle."

V run towards her foe, jumping at the top of her speed, and kicking out with her left leg as she reached him. "Sailor V Kick!"

Kunzite blocked the kick, noticing it took more energy to block than the magic blast. He grabbed V's leg and tossed her to the side, smashing her into a parked car. "You are truly pathetic, V. But it's time to..."

"Leave her alone!"

V saw Artemis leap straight at the man's face, leaving some quite visible scratches there before Kunzite slapped him away. The small white cat hit a tree and fell to the ground, unmoving. "Art!"

Kunzite turned to her and smiled mockingly. "Don't worry, you will join him soon."

"Fireball!"

Something hit Kunzite from the side, knocking him to the ground. As he stood up, he saw a man in a white suit standing on top of a car, glaring at him. "What... Who the hell are you?"

"Name's Hunter Sigma, you may just call me Sigma," the man said. "And I can't stand those who bully girls weaker than them. Lightning!"

V was trying to stand up, while keeping an eye on Kunzite. This man, whoever he was, had managed to at least knock the white-haired youma down, though his attacks seemed to mostly make the General angry. She crawled to where Artemis was, and saw the cat was still breathing. "Hang in there, Art."

"Whirlwind!"

"Enough!" Kunzite deflected the wind gust and glared at Sigma. "I've got no time to play around with you, human."

"Who's playing?" Sigma snapped. "Also, if you're so intent in killing that girl, you shouldn't take your eyes off her."

Kunzite's eyes widened as he realized something. V wasn't where he had left her anymore. Had she escaped? "Damn you, you helped her escape!"

"Yes, that was my intention, but she's bad at giving up."

"Crescent Beam!"

The blast came from behind, and without a shield formed, it did some damage. Had he underestimated V, or was it the rage at seeing her pet hurt which made her stronger? In any case, Kunzite turned to the place where the attack had come from, and saw V smiling at him. "You stupid kid, I'm going to..."

"You're going to be hurt," V said.

"Flare!"

A blast of fire shot up from underneath Kunzite, sending him flying forwards. And that let him, he realized as he flew, open for V's next attack.

"Crescent Beam!"

Kunzite bounced once on the ground twice before stopping. This was impossible, a single Senshi and some human mage had damaged him this much? He realized that V was weak, yes, but that was compared to the power he had last time he fought a Senshi. If his goddess was awake like that time, then... But, he realized, brooding about the past when two foes were about to shoot you down wasn't a smart thing to do. "I will be back, V, and next time I will be ready for your friend."

V saw Kunzite vanish and fell to her knees. She had hit her right leg hard when he knocked her into that car, but it wasn't only that which caused her to sink down. If not for this Sigma person, she could have been killed today. "I... I'm weak."

"I wouldn't say that, if legends were true, not many warriors could have taken on a General like you did."

She looked at the man. He was wearing a mask over his eyes, much like she did. "Who are you?"

"An ally," Sigma said. "We will meet again. Teleport."

"Wow, he can teleport?" V whispered as she stared at the spot Sigma had been standing on a moment earlier. She noticed Artemis struggling to stand up and sighed in relief. "Art!"

Artemis looked around as he finally managed to stand. "Where's Kunzite?"

"Gone."

"Wha... You beat him?"

"I had someone helping me," V said, then flinched as she tried to stand up. "Damn..."

"Senshi heal faster than normal humans," Artemis explained, "so that pain should be gone soon."

"Good to know," V said as she carefully picked him up. "What about you?"

"Mooncats were also blessed with fast healing."

"It doesn't make getting hurt any easier," V muttered.

"Yes, that's right. So, who helped you this time? Did you get to see who it was?"

"He said his name was Sigma. Hunter Sigma."

"Hmmm... That name sounds familiar, but I can't remember where I heard it before."

"Your memory's pretty messed up, isn't it?"

Artemis gave V a short glare, but then shook his head. "I don't know why, though, my 'sleep' shouldn't have any side-effects."

"Maybe you weren't supposed to sleep for that long?"

"I don't know, and the ones who could answer that are long gone."

Hotaru had reached her destination. To anyone who didn't know what this base was, it looked like a normal bunker. But inside it was the only branch of the Japanese Defense Forces that wouldn't take the incoming invasion as just urban legends.

"Good afternoon, miss."

Hotaru nodded at the men guarding the front door. She was one of the few civilians allowed in there, since her only living relative, her father, worked there. But there was another reason for them to grant her access, and she knew it. They already knew she was a Senshi. She didn't mind, and Setsuna didn't seem to be worried about it, either. So, for the time being, she would let them think she wasn't aware of this.

After a rather long walk inside the base (which was far bigger than it looked, thanks to most of it being underground,) she reached her father's laboratory. "Dad, are you busy?"

The metallic door slid to the side, and a man looked at her from behind thick glasses. Some people would think the glasses made him look creepy, but Hotaru didn't mind. He was her father, and, also, she didn't mind his creepy looks.

"Hotaru, how rare is it for you to come visit."

"I come here far more often than you go home," Hotaru noted.

"Isn't that true," the man mused, "so, what happened?"

"We had to fight one of the big youma today. The ones Pluto calls 'Generals.'"

"I see."

"And she beat us around without breaking a sweat."

"Oh. I take it Pluto rescued you."

"Yes. But it's strange. I shouldn't be bothered that this woman beat us, because I've never liked the idea of fighting. But I am. I don't want to lose to her again."

"If you were a warrior in your past life, then maybe some of that remains."

"Is Kino investigating Sailor V already?"

"Not as far as I know. Is she with you?"

"No, she's not."

"That Sigma guy..."

"What's wrong?" Artemis looked at Minako. She had a few visible bruises, but most of the damage was gone. Minako had told her parents she had tripped while running, and from how fast her parents bought that lie, he could bet that was something that happened often.

"He was stronger than me," Minako said, but then shook her head. "No, not 'stronger' but a better fighter. His spells were weaker than mine, but he seemed to know what he was doing."

"You lack experience, but you can learn from your own mistakes."

"Of course," Minako said, "next time I see Kunzite, I'm going to blast him from behind first."

Artemis sighed. "Be careful, though. We're not sure that Sigma man is an ally."

"But he saved me."

"I know, but you shouldn't trust someone so easily."

"Hey, I trusted you."

Artemis smiled. "Yeah, and see where that got you." Minako stared at him, so he stared back at her. "What's wrong?"

"It's the first time I hear you joke, that's all," Minako said with a wink.

"You're quite a weird girl, you know that?"

"It's part of my charming personality," Minako beamed.

"Uhm, yeah, charming personality indeed," Artemis said, rolling his eyes at her.