Sailor Moon Aeons.
Book 2: Rebirth.
Act 1: Dark Kingdom.
Episode 7: Flower Power.

By Razor Knight
Last update: January 27, 2010
Last edited: May 23, 2017

Artemis watched as Minako rushed in, seemingly shocked. "Minako, what's wrong?"

"I'm going on a date."

"And that's bad because...?"

"I've never done it before."

The cat shook his head. "Well, that's not something I can help you with."

Minako sat on her bed and let out a long sigh. "What, never dated anyone either?"

"No."

"Why, wasn't there anyone you liked?"

"None of your business," Artemis said with a slight blush.

"Oh, so there was!"

"Besides, for all I know, she could be long gone," he added, looking down.

Minako flinched. "Sorry, I didn't mean to..."

"It's okay," Artemis said, "I don't really know for sure. You just go and enjoy your date."

Minako looked at the clock and smiled. "I gotta get ready for that, so..."

"Yeah, yeah, I'm leaving," Artemis muttered as he walked out of the room.

Jadeite looked at the small flower resting on his hand. "Humans love these plants, specially the females. I have set up a flower shop and my youma's ready to start draining the customers."

"Do not fail me again, Jadeite."

"I won't," Jadeite said and vanished.

Two other Generals were watching from the shadows. "I hope he doesn't fail again."

"Why not? If that happens, Nephrite, you may be the next one. After all, you're the only one not busy at the moment."

"Not busy?" Nephrite looked at Aurite with a glare. "I'm searching for the Ginzuishou, so I'm not sure diverting my attention would be wise at this time."

"I see your point. Maybe you could ask for Zoicite's help."

Nephrite turned to leave. "That's not going to happen."

"Are you sure you don't need my help?"

Kunzite looked at the brown-haired General and smiled. "Yes. After all, I already know V is not the Princess."

"Then why...?"

"Because it will be easier to kill her if she's alone, Zoicite. Sigma's presence is of no consequence."

Zoicite smiled. "As usual, you're planning ahead."

"How's your search going?"

"Not good," Zoicite said, "neither me or Nephrite could find anything yet."

"That's bad. If we had the Ginzuishou, then their Princess would be useless."

"I know. I will try to find it as soon as possible, my dear Kunzite."

"Youma attacks are becoming rather sparse."

"That's true," Setsuna admitted, "but we can't let our guard down."

Hotaru sighed. "We've been close to killing Luminite. I've only held back because of what you said."

"And I thank you for that. She will be dealt with, but not right now," the older woman said, then turned to the others. "Haruka, Michiru, you two won't be fighting here anymore."

"Why?" Haruka asked. She was sure she would never figure out what was in Setsuna's mind.

"There is another threat, one that needs to be supressed. The best way to deal with that is to send you two there."

"But what about Aurite and Luminite?" Michiru started.

"Leave those two witches to me," Hotaru said in her usual monotone voice, "if I can't handle them, Setsuna will help."

"Sure, forget about me," Kage muttered.

"I'm not, but your usefulness in battle is rather limited, specially against the Generals."

Kage smiled at that. "Brutally honest, as usual. I like that about you."

"Thanks, I guess," Hotaru said, her face not showing any sign of emotion.

"Don't you ever smile?"

"No."

Kage sighed. "I should have guessed you would say that."

Michiru looked at Haruka. "I think we can leave Aurite to these two. They sure get along."

Usagi could at times be rather naive (and she could admit to that,) but there were things which she just couldn't miss. After almost one month fighting the youma, she could tell that, whenever there was some sort of incredible promotion at a store, or a new shop opening and selling stuff at very low prices, then the youma were behind it. So the flower shop she was looking at right now was, most likely, another of Jadeite's evil plans.

While she waited for Luna to come back from exploring it, she noticed someone else was looking at the store, and walked to him. "Terry?"

"Oh, hi there, Rabbit."

Usagi ignored the nicknaming. "What are you doing here?"

"I was considering buying this store," Terry said in a joking tone.

"I don't think the owner will want to sell it," Usagi said.

"Huh? I thought this shop had only opened a few days ago."

Usagi laughed nervously. "Well, you could say I'm one of her best customers."

Terry smiled to himself. "I see. Have a boyfriend you buy flowers for or something?"

Usagi blushed. "No, nothing like that."

"Hana liked flowers," Terry said, his tone serious.

"Who?"

"My girlfriend, Hana," Terry explained. "Not surprising, seeing what his name means in Japanese, right?"

Usagi smiled at that. "It's a nice name."

Terry sighed. "Yeah... I guess I'll leave before I start moping again."

Usagi saw him walk away and smiled, but then saw Luna walk to her. "So?"

"You were right, there's youma in there."

"I knew it. Let's go!"

"Shouldn't we call the others?"

Usagi looked at the cat "I took care of the last one on my own."

"I will call them, just in case," Luna said.

Minako was really upset right now. Brad had convinced her to go for a walk through the park after they left the restaurant, but she should have known better. She was starting to believe youma liked to interrupt her fun. "Of all the stupid places to attack..."

"See the bright side," Brad said, "we won't have to look for them."

She looked at the youma. It was a large, plantlike monster, and she could've sworn it looked like a humanoid Venus Flytrap. Hopefully, that was just a coincidence. "Guess you're right. Let's show that bug what happens when they mess with a heroine's date!"

Brad smiled. "Sure. Sigma Seal." His clothes were replaced by his Hunter Sigma suit in a blink.

"Wow, didn't know you had a transformation phrase too," Minako noted. "All right then... Venus Planet Power!"

"Flare!"

The youma was busily draining a woman, but had to drop her as one of her vines was hit by a fire bolt, though it only surprised her. "Good, the Senshi and her pet are here. Now I can kill you."

"I'm not going to be killed by a Poison Ivy-wannabe," Sigma said.

V was angry, so she skipped the pre-battle bluffing and went straight for the kill. "Crescent Beam!"

However, the plantlike youma simply stared at the spot where the laser had hit and chuckled. "Wow, that's really the best you can do, V?"

V shrugged. "I suppose you're resistant to magic. That's neat. But you know the saying, if you can't beat them, kick them!"

Sigma was about to note the saying wasn't quite like that, but just shook his head as V tried her 'V Kick' (which was just a normal, albeit magically enhanced, jumping kick,) and failed. The youma took the chance to wrap its vines around the heroine. "Now you will die, and then that mage friend of yours will follow!"

V struggled against the vines, but the creature was stronger than her. "Hey, what the heck? Let me go, you pervert!"

"Not likely, you'll be a tasty dessert," the plantlike youma said, as its head spit in half, turning into a rather unsightly, large maw.

"Hang in there, V," Sigma said, not noticing the pun he was making, "I'll get you out in a second. Blizzard."

When the attack ended, both the youma and V were covered in a thin layer of snow. "Hey, watch it!"

Sigma looked at V. "My bad... But this creature's skin is resistant to magic, and I didn't bring a sword to our date."

"Yes, its skin is..." V started, then her eyes widened. "Wait, that's it!"

Sigma was confused for a second, until he saw V taking aim. "Smart girl." The youma realized V''s intent as well, but couldn't close its giant maw in time.

"Crescent Beam!" The laser hit its target, and the youma turned into ashes. V smiled as she turned to look at Sigma. "That'll teach that monster what happens when you tie up a girl who can fight back."

Sigma looked around the park, noticing there were dozens of people drained. "I'll go call some ambulances."

V nodded, as she also looked around. This wasn't the first time she saw so many victims, and it didn't feel like a victory to her. Sure, she had killed the weed, but she was supposed to stop people from being hurt like this.

"What's wrong?"

She almost jumped at the voice. Artemis was standing besides her now, and looking curiously at her. "Art? When did you get here?"

"I detected the youma's energy in this direction, so I decided to investigate and call you once I found out what it was... But I guess you found out on your own."

"There's times when I feel like I'm not up for this job," V admitted.

If the cat was surprised to hear that, he wasn't showing it. "Why?"

"Just look around you. If I was a better warrior, then all this people would..."

"No use worrying about the 'what if,' Mina."

Artemis looked at Sigma, who was walking to them. "That's true. You can't be everywhere, so don't blame yourself for tonight's results."

"She killed the bug, didn't she?" Sigma asked.

"Yes, but every bit of energy those youma drain puts them closer to their goal."

"And what exactly is their goal?" V had asked a few times, but Artemis had blamed his faulty memory and winged the question.

This time, however, he considered she was ready to know. "There was a god these youma worshipped, but from what I remember, it was defeated. They may be gathering all that energy in order to bring it back."

"And if they bring it back, we're screwed," Sigma guessed.

"Not quite. If we find the Princess, she will defeat that evil being."

"Let's just get out of here," V said, "I'm not in the mood for a crowd." And now she noticed there was already a crowd gathering around the park, though they were staying a fair distance away from them.

"Want to try teleporting?"

V stared at Sigma in awe. "What, you mean you can take passengers?"

Sigma nodded. "Here we go. Teleport!" And the two heroes and the small cat vanished from the park.

"You seem upset about something. What is it?"

"I'm not sure about this, what was Setsuna thinking..."

"If this is about what I said earlier, I apologize if that made you feel bad."

Kage smiled at Hotaru. "Well, it's not nice to have your flaws pointed out, but... You're right. My magic can hurt normal youma, but when it comes to those Generals, all I can do is distract them."

"Sometimes all you need to win is a distraction."

Kage frowned. Hotaru's emotionless stare was usually something he liked, but right now, he was not in the mood. "How did you know you had those powers?"

Hotaru thought about the question for a minute before answering. "I didn't 'know' about them. Of course, I've had the skill to heal myself or others fast, but I didn't know what I was."

"You never told me how you awakened your powers."

"I was walking home one day, and there was a group of men following me. I knew what they probably wanted, so I tried to run for it. Needless to say, my endurance was lower than it is now, so I didn't get too far before they caught up with me."

"Damn, that must have been scary."

"Not as much as what followed. One of the men grabbed my wrist, and as I tried to pull free, I sensed something 'stirring' in my mind. It's hard to describe, but it was almost as if there was a seal inside my mind, and I guess fear broke it."

"So, you went Senshi on their asses."

Hotaru blinked at that. "That's one way to say it, I guess. I didn't know how to control my power, and I didn't really understand it was me doing it. All I saw were these bony hands coming out from the ground and holding the men pinned, and then I saw a kind of aura around them. The aura grew thinner by the second, and I felt a rush of energy. If Pluto hadn't showed up right then and transported me out of the way, I would have probably killed them."

Kage flinched at that. And, even for a split second, he was sure he had seen a hint of doubt in her eyes. "So she took you elsewhere?"

"Yes, she took me to the Gate and told me who I was, what I was meant to do. I must admit I didn't quite believe her, and I was shocked by what had happened. I think I spent a day in that place, as Setsuna told me just how to control my newfound powers."

"That's quite a story. I know Michiru and Haruka had a far easier start..."

"Yes, but for some reason, Setsuna's trained them a lot harder than me."

"Well, you can't really fight for long, so..."

"I know, I've been working on that."

"Since I'm here, I could help you train. And who knows, if you shoot me with enough death beams, you may just trigger my own powers."

Hotaru smiled at that. "That's a possibility."

Kage's eyes widened. "Wow..."

"What?"

"You smiled. Didn't think you could do that."

"I don't usually have any reasons to," Hotaru said, her face back to her 'normal' emotionlessness.

Meanwhile, on the other side of the planet, a battle was about to start. "Stop it right there!"

The woman in charge of the flower shop smiled. "Welcome to Red Orchid. How may I be of service?"

Moon glared at the woman. "Drop the act, youma."

The woman let out a high-pitched laugh. "If you insist, Sailor Moon, then I will have to kill you." Her body changed swiftly, her skin turning a sickly shade of green, as her clothes were replaced by large flower petals. "I am Orkidus, one of Jadeite's strongest soldiers!"

Moon smiled, "flowers aren't dangerous."

"Do you really think that? Let me change your mind," Orkidus said. She rose her arms, and the flowers around her started walking out of their pots, some of them growing eyes, while others just grew large thorns. "Still think flowers are harmless?"

While Moon wasn't too skilled in the arts of fighting, she was rather good at dodging. And while she knew she had to use her tiara to blast this plant youma to dust, she couldn't do it with all these plants trying to gnaw at her. "Hey, not fair, you guys always cheat!"

"You call it a cheat, I'll call it winning strategy."

Moon kept on dodging, but eventually run herself into a literal corner. She saw the mutated flowers crawling to her and shook her head. There just wasn't a way to fight this one on her own. Maybe she should've listened to Luna, for a change, and waited for the others.

But just as the plants got ready to jump at her, something rushed into the store, slashing several of the mutants before they could attack. Moon looked at the newcomer, expecting to see Tuxedo Kamen. Instead, she saw a man wearing a ninja suit and pointing a sword at the youma. "Who..."

"I will not let you use flowers for your evil plans, youma."

The youma stared at the ninja. "And who might you be? You don't look like that Tuxedo loser they warned me about."

"The name's Zero."

The youma blinked then laughed. "What, they named you by your fighting skills?"

Zero smiled, even though his foe couldn't see it. "If my skills are zero, yours are in the negatives ."

The youma growled at that, then rose her hands again. "Attack!"

Moon watched in shock as dozens of flowers all jumped at Zero. He tried his best to keep up with the attacks, but was soon overwhelmed. She couldn't let him be eaten by those plants, he had saved her, after all. "Moon Tiara..."

"Die!" the youma shouted, and more flowers rushed at Moon, interrupting her attack as she was forced to jump out of the way. "You're a joke, Sailor Moo-" the youma hissed in pain as a rose struck her arm. "Another loser?"

"Flowers are meant to smell and look beautiful. I will not forgive those who turn such beauty into evil."

Zero frowned. That guy surely loved giving dumb speeches. However, it had distracted the youma, and her minions had stopped their attack. "I think this is the part where you kill the monster, Sailor Moon."

Moon nodded at that. "Moon Tiara... Action!"

Zero shook his head and chuckled as the youma vanished, "those monsters really need some serious combat training." He decided to not comment on how Moon herself also needed that. "I guess it's time for me to..."

"Moon, are you okay?"

Moon turned to see her friends run to her and smiled. "Yeah, I'm okay, thanks to Zero."

Mars blinked at that. "Zero? Who is Zero?"

"He is..." Moon turned around to see Zero was gone. "Aw, he left." And Tuxedo Kamen had also disappeared, but that was nothing new.

Luna shrugged at that. "What's important is that you're okay, and the youma's gone."

"Next time you should wait for us," Mars scolded.

"I can fight youma on my own, Rei."

"Sure you can. You're always running around."

"Girls, calm down," Mercury said, "we're a team, remember?"

Moon nodded at that, but said nothing. She wasn't about to admit it in front of Mars, but she knew this last fight hadn't been easy. These youma seemed to be growing stronger with each attack, for some reason, and sometimes she wished they could be as easy as the first few she faced on her own... Even though, back then, they had seemed very strong to her.

Zero watched the three girls and the cat leave from atop a building. It was simply incredible. He had gathered a lot of data, but his scanner couldn't identify the type of energy Moon used, only that she was using a lot of it. Still, there was no room for skepticism in him. His girlfriend had the ability to move items with her mind, and he had always accepted it at face value, so whatever 'magic' these girls had, he could live with it. However... "That Moon girl, she really does need a lot of work before I'll call her a heroine."

But then again, his own performance today hadn't been good. What chance did he have against one of the 'bosses' if he was so easily pounded to the ground by a bunch of walking flowers? And he had seen photos, and a few videotapes of the one known as Sailor V. He knew these Senshi may look rather unskilled, but they still got the job done in the end. Maybe it was time to tell Usagi who he was, and find out what exactly these youma wanted.

"Hades, Aries, it's good to see you both again."

Only the third woman was physically in the room, as it was far easier to meet through magic than to abandon their respective areas. "Prime Huntress Sagitta, is there any clue on where the youma are coming from?" Aries asked.

"Still none. They may not be in any of the three areas."

"What's clear is that their goal is in Tokyo," Hades said. "Sailor Venus' guardian gave me that information."

"That is what Hunter Orion informed me, too," Aries admitted. "Maybe we should focus our forces there..."

"No, we will continue as we are," Sagitta said, "let the Senshi take care of their main force, and keep searching for the youma's main gateway."

A/N: For those who may not know: "Hana" means "flower" in Japanese.

I'll be focusing mostly in Tokyo from now on, but the other two areas won't be forgotten. As to what Haruka and Michiru will be up to, that's a surprise.

Linata: Yes, I intend to have the Demon Hunters show up a lot more than in Cyber Moon, though they won't take over the story. I'm aiming for a group like the army, only more useful at times.