Sailor Moon Aeons.
Book 2: Rebirth.
Act 1: Dark Kingdom.
Episode 4: New friends, new foes.

By Razor Knight
Last update: January 4, 2010
Last edited: May 22, 2017

The small, violet Mooncat looked at her prey. She had a quite strange hairdo, but she was the one she had been looking for. She was one of the Senshi.

The first few days in this world had been quite strange for the cat. She had awakened with almost no memories of who she was and what she was meant to do, but those memories returned in a matter of minutes. It was easy for her to pass as a normal cat, since there were no physical differences between them and a Mooncat. But from what she had learnt about this era, she was possibly the only Mooncat alive. She had heard news of Senshi being spotted in this city the humans called Tokyo, but she could guess the one responsible for that was Sailor Pluto.

The Mooncat had only managed to find one possible Senshi thus far, and that was quite frustrating. She had observed her target for a few days, and was sure the girl had powers. She just needed them to awaken, and she had decided today would be the day that would happen.

The swords clashed, and the two men grappled for a few seconds, before jumping away from each other. Hana observed the battle from a safe distance, amused by the show these two were giving. She knew if the older man wanted to, he could end the battle in a second, but that wouldn't help his disciple improve.

Terry relaxed his guard as he took a moment to recover his breath. "So, master Hakko, what do you think?"

"I think you're still a rookie," the older man said, just before rushing in, aiming for a slash to his foe's chest.

Terry leapt to the side, avoiding the initial charge, but then had to bring both his swords up to parry a potent slash. Much despite himself, he could only agree with Hakko. He was but a rookie compared to this man. But that didn't mean he would not try to win.

Hakko noticed the leg swipe Terry was aiming for and countered it by kicking out with his leg. That caused Terry to lose balance and fall to the ground with a grunt. "I must admit, however, that you've got fast thinking on your side. But that alone is not enough to win a fight."

Terry saw the man walking away and stood up. "I'm lucky I've found nobody out there that could fight better than me, then."

"There are evils out there not even I could fight against," Hakko said, "I just hope you won't have to fight them yourselves."

Hana saw Hakko leave and shook her head. "Done playing with swords?"

"Am I ever?" Terry joked, but noticed his friend wasn't in quite a good mood. "Something bothering you?"

Hana shook her head. "Nothing."

"I may not be the one with mind powers, but I still know when something's upsetting you."

She sat on the lawn and gave a small shrug. "It's just that I feel like these powers I have... Heck, even your training, well..."

He sat besides her. "What's the problem?"

"I don't feel like they're just meant to fight second-class criminals."

"Maybe you're right, a superhero and his sidekick need a supervillain or four to fight against."

She gave him a half-hearted glare. "A superhero and his sidekick?"

"Let's just give the city a try. Maybe there's some loser with metal tentacles or a fish bowl on his head out there. Or some loony with metal tentacles and a fish bowl on his head."

Hana laughed at that and stood up. "Sometimes you can be too silly, Terry."

"Thanks, I try."

As they walked back into the house, his mind drifted to the past. Terry had known Hana for a few years, before they even became friends. He had always seen her as yet another snob girl at school (which was, by default, how he saw every kid at his school,) but it took only one chance encounter outside school, when they were both ten, to change his mind about her...

That day, he had been about to enter the car, when he heard what sounded like shouts, coming from an alley near the school. He looked at Samuel, the family's butler. "I'll be back in a minute, Sam."

"Sir, wait, it could be dangerous."

"Can't be more dangerous than Hakko's training."

He left the butler and walked to the alley, taking a look in before deciding what to do. He saw several boys around his age, and they were surrounding a girl. A girl he knew he had seen at school before. And he could also hear what they were telling her.

"I told you, you're my girlfriend now."

The girl snorted at that. "And I told you to leave me alone."

"And what will you do, cry until we do?" another of the 'brave' boys asked. That caused them all to laugh.

Terry decided to make his entrance right then. "I don't know about you, guys, but I heard her tell you to leave her alone."

The group's 'leader' recognized him. "Back off, Zephyr."

Terry smiled. "Let's make a deal. If you can knock me down, I'll leave. If you can't, you'll leave her alone."

The other boy laughed. He was bigger than this Zephyr kid, so it would be no challenge to knock him flat. "If you insist!" he snapped before rushing at his foe.

Terry waited until the boy was close enough, before sidestepping and tripping him, sending him crashing face-first against the alley's dirty ground. "I guess I won."

The others surrounded Terry, forgetting about their 'prey.' "Can we try too?"

Terry knew he had a lot less chances to win agianst all ten of them, but still stood his ground. "Be my guests," he teased.

Through all this, the bullies had almost forgotten about the girl. And Terry had to admit he had also overlooked her. But he saw all the kids around him drop down to the ground, and realized the one he wanted to rescue was now looking at him, her eyes white. "What the..."

The girl shook her head and her eyes went back to normal. "Thanks for the help, Zephyr."

"You're welcome," Terry said, sparing a glance at his would-be foes. They were all clearly unconscious. "What was that?"

She seemed unsure about something for a second, but then sighed. "I can do things with my mind, like moving objects..."

"So you're a psichic? Cool."

"I thought you would be freaked out. Everyone but my parents is."

Terry shook his head "I think it's amazing... Thompson, right?"

"Call me Hana."

"Then call me Terry," Terry said.

"Sir, I must admit I didn't know you would be able to beat this many foes."

Terry turned to see Samuel standing there, admiring what he thought was Terry's work. "Actually, I didn't beat them down, she did."

"Oh," Sam said. "Is she studying with master Hakko?"

Terry chuckled. "No, but I think I would like to see him try to beat her."

"I don't like fighting," Hana said.

"Oh well, nobody's perfect," Terry noted with a smile.

They had become friends after that, and eventually something more. Terry's mind returned to the present as he checked the area around the tall building they were standing on. "Nothing's happening in this part of the city. Maybe we should try going somewhere else."

Hana grimaced. "Wait, I'm sensing something." She looked down and pointed. "There, that woman."

Terry looked down as well. The woman had white, short hair, and was wearing what looked like a military uniform. "She looks strange, yes, but she's almost up to par with this neighborhood."

"You can't sense what I can. That woman's got a strange aura around her."

They saw her walk into a restaurant, and seconds later, the whole building went black. "What the heck?" The woman walked out of the building, which returned to normal, but they could see she was literally glowing.

"We need to stop her," Hana said. Her suit 'appeared' around her and she smiled.

Terry shook his head at that. It was a trick, and Terry knew how it worked. She could wear her 'Nova' suit and create the illusion of normal clothing over it, so that whoever looked at her would see Hana, not Nova. When she had to fight, she simply stopped the illusion.

He, however, took a more mundane approach to it, as he had been wearing his "Zero" suit since they left his house. "Okay, let's go see what Snow White did in that restaurant."

Luminite couldn't complain, she had more than enough info on the unimportant defenses of this city, and had just gathered a lot of energy for her Queen. All she had to do now was return to the Dark Kingdom and tell Aurite all she had learnt.

"Hey, Snow White, what are you up to?"

However, that would have to wait. "You two are no Senshi," she noted looking at the two human kids, "so you better leave before you get hurt."

"Now I'm scared," Zero snapped, pulling his two swords out. "Tell us what the heck was that you did at the restaurant."

"That? I was merely collecting the energy of your inferior race."

"So you're some sort of vampire," Zero said. "I thought vampires couldn't be out during the day."

"I'm no vampire, I am a youma, one of the strongest alive," Luminite snapped. She could have blasted this kid and his girl out by now, but she was amused by their ignorance.

"Let's see if my swords are stronger, shall we?" Zero asked, then vanished.

No, he didn't really vanish, Luminite realized, but jumped up so fast she only realized where he was a second before he fell down on her. She managed to leap back, but his swords still left twin slices along her chest. "What are you?"

"Just a human," Zero said, "now die."

"You first," Luminite countered. Before her foes could figure out what she was planning, she shot an energy blast right at the hero's chest, knocking him back several meters.

"Zero!" Nova watched him fly back and caught him with her powers, but noticed he was out for the count. "You're going to pay for this."

Luminite snorted. "I wasn't ready for him, but you won't pull another trick like that."

"I don't need to," Nova said, her eyes turning white as she focused on her foe. "Interesting, you're definitely not human," she noticed as she 'saw' what this creature's body looked like with her powers. "But you do have a heart, right... There."

Luminite was shocked. Somehow, this human girl was stopping her from moving, and she could feel it now... This girl had stopped her heart. If she stood there, she was dead for sure. Fortunately, she did have a second option.

Nova saw the woman vanish and frowned. "Left already?" She felt something right behind her, and knew she wouldn't be able to react in time. As she turned to face the threat, however, she saw Luminite had a shocked look in her face, and was looking down at the blade coming out of her chest. "Zero!"

Zero was kneeling right behind Luminite, still holding his sword. "Die already, bitch."

"You won't be this lucky twice," Luminite growled before teleporting away and back to her makeshift base.

"Are you okay, Terry?" Nova asked.

"I'll live," Zero said, but then fall on his back. "Ow..."

Nova run to his side "Terry!"

"I'm quite useless, huh?"

"Don't say that, you saved my life."

Zero smiled. "That's what sidekicks do."

"Okay, time to visit the hospital."

"Oh, come on. It's just a flesh wound."

Nova sighed at him. "I see your sense of humor wasn't affected by that blast."

Hours later, Hana was sitting on Terry's bed. Fortunately, he had only gotten a few bruises and scratches from his fight, but she was still worried. "Terry?"

"What's wrong?" Terry asked. He was feeling a lot better now, but he could tell something was bothering her.

"I know you want to protect me, and I really appreciate what you do for me, but you don't need to keep me out of the fight, you know?"

"What? I didn't..."

"You did, you rushed that woman and started attacking her without even letting me try to help."

Terry looked at her for a few seconds before nodding. "I guess I did."

"You don't have to get hurt for my sake, Terry."

"Oh, but my plan worked, didn't it?"

Hana laughed at that. "That was no plan at all, mister."

"Or was it? You'll never know how my mind really works."

"I could find out rather easily," Hana joked.

Terry flinched. "Uhm, I think I'll pass, thank you."

Later that day, the two were talking to Kyo Hakko, Terry's martial arts master. "... And then the woman vanished."

Hakko sighed. "That sounds quite incredible, but I've seen my share of incredible myself."

"How would you fight someone like that?" Terry asked.

"I wouldn't," Hakko said with a neutral stare.

"Wow, that sure helps a lot, old man."

Hakko growled at him. He didn't like the nickname, and Terry knew it. "If I were forced to fight someone who could use ranged attacks, I would try to use my surroundings as a shield, and lure them in. Problem is, this enemy seems to be good in close range too."

"She surprised me this time around, that's all."

"You're forgetting about one factor which will make it easier for you to fight her," Hakko said, then looked at Hana. "This young woman here."

Terry nodded. "I know. But have you ever heard about something like this? Women throwing light beams around and draining people?"

"As a matter of fact," Hakko said, "I have. There's rumors of monsters like those appearing in Tokyo."

"What's that woman doing all the way here, then?" Hana pondered.

"Maybe she's lost," Terry joked.

"Or maybe they've decided to try their luck in this part of the world," Hakko said. "I'll be keeping an eye on the city."

"Going to join us?"

"No, I won't be playing. If those youma are left unchecked, they could drain a lot of innocents."

Terry saw Hakko stand up to leave and sighed. "Why not tell the police, or the army?"

"Normal weapons are almost useless against youma."

"My sword punched a nice hole through that bitch," Terry commented.

"As I said, normal weapons are useless."

Terry stared at the man's back as he walked away. "I swear, that guy's keeping a lot of secrets from us."

"You're paying him to teach you how to fight, not to tell you the story of his life."

"Sometimes you can be quite a pest, girl. But know what, I think you got your wish."

"What wish?"

"You were complaining about how you didn't have any strong foe to fight against."

Hana thought about that for a few seconds before nodding. "'Be careful what you wish for,' huh?"

Minako could now see Artemis was far trickier than she thought. Not only had he changed the school files to have her put in a fake student exchange program, and had managed to get her a free English crash course, but also, he was right now taking a nap on her lap, and nobody in the plane seemed to care. She was sure if she asked him, he'd just say it was magic, so she didn't ask. After all, it was just as strange as her own ability to shoot laser beams out of her fingertips.

What she liked the most about this trip, was that her seat was next to a cute foreign-looking guy. He seemed to be in his late teens, but she didn't really mind. She noticed he was looking at her and felt her cheeks heat up.

"Haven't we met before?" he asked. Though his accent was a bit strange, she hadn't expected him to speak Japanese at all.

"Uhm, no, I don't think we have."

"I can guess you're going to England to study there. Am I right?"

Minako nodded at that. "I will stay there for a while."

"So I suppose you can speak English."

"A little bit," Minako said, unsure if her accent would be noticeable.

"Don't worry, I didn't know a lot of Japanese when I came to Tokyo. My name's Brad."

"Nice to meet you, my name's Minako."

The plane trip wouldn't be as boring as Minako had first thought. And even though she didn't know it yet, she would see this man again in a not-so-far future.

She couldn't really believe how lucky she had been lately. Brad had given her his phone number and address, in case she needed help, but she hadn't looked at them. However, as she reached her new house, she was rather shocked. The 'house' was too big to be called just a house, at least from her point of view.

"Are you sure this is the right address?" She asked Artemis.

Artemis saw nobody around and nodded. "Yes, this is the house. I didn't know it would be this big, either."

"Well, you know the saying, don't look a gift horse in the leg."

The cat stared at her for a few seconds before shaking his head. "That's not how the saying goes."

The front garden was quite a show, too, but Minako realized she couldn't just stand there gawking at the house from the outside. As she walked to the gate, to look for a caller of some sort, she felt someone chuckle behind her. She turned and was frozen in surprise for a second. "Uhh... Brad?"

The guy was standing there, looking at her with unconcealed amusement in his face. "What are you doing here?"

"This is where I'll live," she said. "What are you doing here?"

Brad laughed at that. "That's my house. My mother's house, at least."

Minako flinched. "No way..."

Brad nodded and also switched to Japanese. "I don't believe in coincidences, but I don't know if I can call this anything else but that."

"A gift horse, indeed," Minako whispered.

"What?"

Minako giggled. "Nevermind." She looked at the house and smiled. "I can't wait to see how your house looks from the inside."

Aurite saw Luminite crawl through the portal and couldn't help but cringe. Despite having used a healing spell, the wound in Luminite's chest was quite noticeable. "What the darkness happened to you?"

"Two humans, a crazy swordsman and a magician girl, showed up after I finished gathering energy. The magician used some kind of strange magic, she chanted no spell, but she managed to stop me from moving, and stopped my heart."

"That sounds like trouble. Maybe I should go next time?"

"No, I'll handle them myself."

"Don't be a fool. If that magician is dangerous, then you shouldn't underestimate her."

"The girl is easy to fool once you know how to, but the guy was the one doing this to me," Luminite noted. True, her wound was almost closed, but it still hurt. Next time she saw that kid, she would make sure to repay the favor. "I think I could use your help, Aurite."

"Consider it payment in advance for the help I'm expecting you to give me with Pluto's group," Aurite said with a small smile.

Kunzite was growing impatient. He had attacked twice in the last week, and no signs of Sailor V anywhere. Had she not taken the bait? No, he was sure she would buy his scam. So he just had to attack again, and then... But he realized there was now a youma in the room with him. "What do you want, Flia?"

The youma looked like a humanoid fly, and was ugly even by youma standards. "My Lord Kunzite, Jadeite's first energy draining operation is about to start."

"Then I hope V didn't stay there. It would be bad for Jadeite to have her show up today. If V is here in London, then you will have to lure her out, Flia."

The youma bowed to him. "As you wish, Lord Kunzite."

A/N: The plot thickens. Next chapter will come with a few more surprises. I hope I can get next episode out faster than the last two, but it may take a while, since it has one of the hardest to write scenes in this part of the story.

X00001: The ones who have already shown up are the only ones she found, Saturn, Uranus, Neptune and, well, Hunter Orion.