Sailor Moon Aeons.
Book 2: Rebirth.
Act 1: Dark Kingdom.
Episode 14: Double-edged crystals.

By Razor Knight
Last update: December 13, 2010
Last edited: May 24, 2017

Mako had listened to the others as they explained what they were fighting against. "Okay, I think I get it."

"So, are you okay with all this?" Usagi asked.

"I've never liked people who pick on those weaker than them, and these youma seem to fit that group nicely."

"They also pick on those stronger than they are," Terry noted, "and sometimes it works well for them." The others nodded at that, guessing what he meant.

"Uh, Luna, I do have a question."

Luna looked at Mako. "What is it?"

"This Princess you speak of. Couldn't she be one of us?"

"She could be one of you, or she may be one of the Senshi that hasn't awakened yet," Luna guessed.

6 Ami nodded. "I have a guess on what they're looking for. The Princess used an artifact called Ginzuishou, which may have been hidden somewhere on Earth."

Luna and Shade looked at each other. "The Ginzuishou, of course..."

"Your memory's quite a mess, isn't it?" Terry mused.

"We're quite aware of that," the two cats said in unison.

"But they're only looking in Tokyo," Rei noted, "as far as we know, anyhow."

"That means the crystal is here, in Tokyo," Luna said, "but why wreck a car?"

Usagi shrugged. "Maybe they thought the crystal was in that car?"

"Can't you modify your watch to find it?"

Terry shook his head at Rei's question. "The best I can do is find the youma, and the range of this thing's quite limited. Once they, or us, find the crystal, I may be able to add its energy signature to my watch. Not much of a point doing it by then, though."

"But if they find it, we're kinda screwed, aren't we?" Mako asked.

"Not if we manage to take it before they do," Terry noted.

"They won't find it," Luna said, "not if they keep looking for the Ginzuishou."

"Anyone else is lost, or is it just me?" Naru asked.

Luna sighed as she prepared to explain what she meant. "I'm recalling some things from the past related to the crystal. After the youma were banished, the crystal was split in seven pieces by the Queen. That was meant to make it harder for the youma to find it."

"It will make it harder for us to find it, too," Rei noted.

"We at least know it's not in one piece," Luna explained, "and that gives us an advantage over youma."

"Can you feel the crystals?"

"I would feel their magic if I were close to them, I suppose. I wouldn't know what kind of magic it is, though."

"Yeah, you thought both me and Ami were youma at first," Rei noted.

"Won't deny that. At least this time around I could tell it was a Senshi," Luna said looking at Mako.

"If there's more than one piece, and we get one of them, I'm sure I can turn my watch into a scanner for them," Terry said.

"But what if you're not around?" Naru asked.

"I could make scanners for everyone, I suppose."

"Wouldn't something like that cost a lot of money?" Usagi asked.

"A country would cost a lot of money. A few scanners? Not so much."

Usagi shook her head. "Sometimes I wonder about you, Terry."

"Why, you prefer me brooding and sulking?"

Usagi smiled. "Guess not."

"You really look like a couple sometimes," Mako noted.

"Of course not!" both Usagi and Terry said in unison.

"Yeah, that kind of reaction will make it easy to believe you," Rei joked.

"Aries, we know we've failed, but..."

Aries wasn't really in the room, yet the three Hunters could almost feel the stare she was giving each of them. "In a way, you have failed. You were told not to reveal yourselves to the Senshi, yet you kept messing with the rules. Still... From your reports, it's become clear to us Primes that the Senshi need help, no matter how small."

"But mo..." Mira caught herself and grimaced, "Aries, what do you mean?"

Aries looked at Mira. "I suppose it's okay for you to call me 'mother,' it's not like your friends don't know, and... You love to break the rules. At least I hope you learnt something from this last incident."

Mira nodded. "I've been thinking about what he told me, and maybe he's right. We shouldn't be hiding like this, we can help them fight youma, just like Orion."

"Orion's case is... Special. But yes, after hearing your report, I agree it would be pointless continuing with your missions only as watchers. Help the Tokyo Senshi, let them know we're their allies."

"As you wish, Prime Hunter Aries. Will you be helping too?"

"I suppose this old woman could still be of help out there," Aries said, "I'll think about it. Good luck, Emi."

Mira smiled at that. "Thanks, mother."

"The crystal wasn't in a vehicle, but it's definitely moving," Zoicite noted.

"I hadn't considered this, but perhaps... The crystal is inside a human?"

Zoicite felt like slapping his forehead, but stopped himself short of actually doing it. "Darkness, why didn't we think of that before? There's always a few humans around when we go searching for the crystal."

Luminite smiled. "I'll go check this theory. With some luck, I'll be able to deal with that Zero kid once and for all."

"Be careful with that."

"Wow, Zoicite, you're worried about me?"

"Not at all, but remember the mission's more important than your personal amusement."

"Hmph. You know me, Zoicite, so you shouldn't be saying that."

Zoicite looked at the spot Luminite had been standing on for a few seconds. "Of course I know you, that's exactly why I'm telling you that."

Usagi looked at the lunchbox in awe. "Whoa... Who cooked that?"

Mako smiled at her. She had invited Usagi outside during lunch break, and the blonde had agreed. "I did. I love cooking."

"Good at fighting and a good cook too? That's awesome."

Mako blushed slightly, then said, "you can eat some of it if you want. I always cook more than I can eat."

Ami was walking by, and saw Usagi pigging on the food. "Oh, there you are..."

"Hello, Mizuno."

Ami looked at Mako. "Call me Ami."

"Okay."

"Whaf thf froblef?" Usagi asked.

"Don't speak with your mouth full, Usagi," Ami scolded the blonde. "Anyhow, I noticed Nei staring at Terry.

"Maybe he's fallen for him? I thought only the girls swooned at him, though," Mako joked.

Ami sighed. "Right, we forgot to warn you about him. Nei Furita is one of the Generals, he's been targeting students for a while now."

"Oh," Mako said, then realized what that mean "Oh! Shouldn't we tell Terry?"

"He knows," Ami said, "he's been following Nephrite lately."

"Nephrite? Weird name."

"They're all called something-ite," Usagi said.

"Usagi, I'll follow Terry. Rei and Naru will be out looking for clues on the crystals."

"I'll go with you," Usagi said, "I won't let one of my friends be hurt by those youma."

"I'll tag along, then," Mako noted, "three against one should make it an easy fight."

"They're never easy," Usagi complained.

"Good," Mako said, "I love challenges."

"You're weird," Usagi said. Ami and Mako looked at her for a second before laughing.

Rei, Naru and Shade had been walking around the city for a while, but had found nothing. Rei could feel magic near her, and Shade's range was a bit wider, but the city was too big, so they had to trust their luck.

Naru stopped as they walked by an arcade, and looked in. There was a crowd around one of the machines, and people seemed to be cheering for someone. "That's strange."

Shade looked right at the crowd. "I'm sensing something."

Rei nodded. "Me too. Right in the center of the crowd."

Naru flinched. "How are we going to get through them?"

Rei noticed something and dragged Naru away. "I don't think we need to do a thing about the crowd."

Naru noticed Luminite was there. "Terry's being chased by Nephrite, and I'll end up facing Luminite at the same time. Weird."

Luminite stood a few meters away from the crowd and frowned. "Stupid humans," she said mostly to herself, then outloud, she added, "Leave now or feel the wrath of the Dark Kingdom!"

The crowd, however, didn't pay any attention to her. Apparently whatever was in its center was more important than saving their pitiful lives. "So that's how you want it," Luminite said, then shot a light beam which exploded right above the crowd, momentarily blinding everyone. As the crowd turned to look at her, she smiled. "Next time I'll shoot it at you all."

"There's dozens of us and only one of you," someone said from the crowd. A few others agreed with that.

"I know," Luminite mused, "that's quite unfair odds, for you all." As she said that last bit, two large balls of light appeared in her hands. "This is where you losers run."

The crowd complied, but Luminite was surprised to see a girl was still there, still playing with the crane machine she had been using all along, and oblivious to what was going on around her. "Hmm... This one must be the target."

Rei and Naru had already transformed, and they both stood right outside the now almost empty arcade. "Hey you!"

Luminite looked at them. "Go away, kids, I'm busy."

"We won't let you hurt that girl," Nemesis snapped. She then noticed who it was. "Chie?"

Chie looked away from the machine, and then noticed a few things were off. "Hey, where's everyone?"

"I had to scare them off," Luminite said in a fake apology, "I'm not interested in them, only in something you have."

Chie stood in front of the large bag of plushies and assorted crane prizes she had been collecting. "You won't touch my collection!"

Mars and Nemesis realized what Luminite was after at almost the same time. "Chie, run!"

"Wha.." Chie couldn't finish her phrase, as she was hit by a light beam. She fell to the ground, screaming in pain, as a small, cyan crystal came out of her back.

Luminite smiled "Finally, one of..."

"Fire Soul!"

The crystal was knocked off Luminite's hands, and Nemesis made a dive for it, making it vanish as soon as she had it in her hands. "Fooled you. Now stop whatever you're doing to that girl."

Luminite smiled as she looked at the girl lying on the ground, still screaming. "Oh, what a surprise. That's where they had been sleeping all this time."

"What are you babbling about?" Mars snapped.

Chie suddenly stood up, a thin black aura around her, and her eyes lit up with cyan light. She screamed as her whole body became black and changed. After several seconds, the aura vanished, and a tall, mermaid-like youma stood where Chie had been before. "It's good to be back."

"Arieru, one of the seven Nijiyouma. Good to see our Queen's fears were not true."

The mermaid, Arieru, looked at Luminite. "Lady Luminite, where are the others?"

"We thought you were all gone, but now we'll search for the rest of you."

Arieru noticed the two Senshi. "Oh, I knew something was ugly in here."

"Yes, you," Mars said.

"Stupid little Senshi brat. We killed you, we can do it again."

"You can try," Nemesis said, "but we won't go down easily."

Luminite smiled. "Foolish girls. Even weakened, the Nijiyouma are far too strong for you."

"Fire Soul!"

"Nice try!" Arieru said as a jet of water came out of the ground, cancelling Mars' fire blast. "My turn!"

Nemesis coughed and tried to recover her breath. That mermaid thing was strong, she had created quite a large wave of water and dragged them out of the building. "Mars, we should call the others."

Mars nodded, "I agree, this doesn't look so easy."

Luminite smiled as she floated to the two Senshi. "Weaklings like you should be dealt with fast."

Something hit Luminite's left hand as she rose it to attack, and she stared at it. A rose, and its stem had punched through her hand. "Ow! What the hell?"

Tuxedo Kamen stood on top of a parked bus and smiled mockingly at her. "Roses may look weak, but they can be dangerous. Return that girl to her true form and leave, youma."

Luminite pulled the rose out of her hand and snarled at him before leaping on the bus. "I'm going to enjoy ripping you apart!"

Tuxedo Kamen leapt back, barely dodging Luminite's newly formed light sword. "I see you're not left handed," he noted before stopping a second swipe with his cane.

The Senshi, meanwhile, were left to face the mermaid. "She's strong, but there's also another problem," Mars commented, "we don't know if we can attack her without hurting Chie."

The mermaid laughed. "You just realized that? I'm still using her body, so if you kill me, you can say goodbye to this weak useless human."

"Damn it..."

"Don't be fooled by her, your attacks won't hurt the host that much."

Mars looked past the mermaid, and saw someone there. A girl in a full body suit, her face concealed by a mask. Two other girls in similar suits stood near her. "I assume you're the Hunters?"

Mira nodded. "That's us. Wisp!"

Arieru took the hit without flinching. "Oh, this is priceless. Your kin was never able to fight common youma, weaklings. There's no way you can win against one of the Seven."

"Blah blah blah," Circe said boredly. "Flare!" This time, the attack was a rather massive fire ball. It caused the mermaid to stagger back, and Circe smiled. "You like your fish extra crispy or carbonized?"

"How? How is this possible?"

Calisto shrugged. "We were told about your kind. The strongest youma out there, not counting the Generals. But just like your masters, you've been out of action for centuries. You're just rusty, fishgirl."

"Damn you, I'm going to destroy you!"

"Friendly advice," Circe noted, "never give your back to someone who can fry you on the spot."

Arieru's eyes widened as she realized what that meant, but she didn't have time to move away, or even turn around.

"Fire Soul!"

"Dark Core!"

The two attacks hit the mermaid, fire and darkness washing over her, and she screamed in pain before falling to the ground, her body reverting back to that of Chie.

Nemesis paled. "Shit, did we hurt her?"

Circe checked on the fallen girl. "No, she's okay, just out cold." She noticed the small, cyan energy orb floating a meter away from the girl. "What is..."

"Arieru, return to me!" Luminite shouted. She had managed to knock the cape freak off the bus right before she heard the mermaid's scream. Fortunately the souls of the Nijiyouma were strong, even if the host's body was destroyed, they could be used again later. "Damn it, I'm not in the mood for this right now," she snapped before vanishing.

"What a coward," Mars muttered, then turned to the new trio. "Are you girls still following us around?"

"No, we were inside that place when the youma showed up," Circe said.

"We don't know who you are outside those forms. We were forbidden from finding that out until you decided to show it yourselves," Calisto explained.

Nemesis looked at her. "Your accent's odd. You're not from Japan, are you?"

"You got me."

Shade had been silent since the battle's start, and she had been keeping an eye on Chie. "She's waking up."

Chie sat up and grimaced. "I feel like someone run over me."

Mars wasn't one to sugar-coat things. "You were possessed by a strong youma, but we dealt with it already."

Chie looked inside the store and smiled. "At least my collection's safe."

"How the heck did you manage to get that?" Nemesis asked.

"No idea. Been having a lot of luck lately," Chie noted.

Mars looked around. "Those three..."

"They promised not to stalk us," Nemesis noted, "but they didn't promise to stay around and chat after the fight's done with."

"Good point."

Chie lifted the large bag and smiled. "Since those monsters keep on showing up, I guess I'll see you girls again. Bye."

Mars watched Chie go. "A lot of luck, huh? Wonder if luck's a Senshi power too?"

Nemesis shook her head at that. "Must be the youma she had inside. In any case," she reached out her hand, the small crystal shard appearing in it, "we got one on our first try."

"Let's tell the others."

Terry was quite aware of the man following him. And he knew three girls (and a cat) would be following him, and the man, as well. But 'Nei' was in for a surprise, he wasn't about to go down easily.

Nephrite was surprised when the teen turned around. "Hmph. I need to work on my stealth."

"You sure do," Terry mused. Of course, if he showed off with his swords, the General could make the connection, so he had prepared something else. "Whatever you want from me, you won't be getting it," he noted as he held a gun. He wasn't any good with guns, but Nephrite was helping him by walking closer to him. "Stay where you are."

Nephrite laughed. "Pitiful. Your weapons can't do..." The gun was fired several times, and he looked down in fake shock. "What?"

Terry didn't buy the act for one second. "Did that hurt?"

Nephrite laughed again. "Not one bit. Now if you're ready to..."

"Shabon Spray!"

"Not this again," Nephrite snapped as the mist kicked in. He could see where the Senshi were. Three of them this time. "I told you this wouldn't work, Mercury!" However, as soon as he had said that, a black airboard hit him and knocked him down to the ground. "What the Darkness..."

"You keep on forgetting about me, loser."

Nephrite recognized that voice. "Zero? Shouldn't you be chasing after Luminite?"

"Someone else should be taking care of her right now."

Nephrite stopped, as if to listen to something, then realized his target was gone. "I see no point in staying here. I'll take care of you later."

Moon walked to where Nephrite had been as the mist vanished. "Why did he run away?"

"No idea," Zero admitted, "but thanks for the help."

Mercury smiled. "I know the mist won't stop him from hitting us, but he can't sense you. I figured you would take care of him."

"Good guess." Zero noticed Moon summoning her comm. "Heh, I need one of those."

"Hi, Mars. Found the crystals yet?"

"As a matter of fact, Luminite found it for us, but we managed to take it from her. That girl Wanako had it inside her, and she turned into a youma when the crystal was taken from her," Mars said from the comm.

"Is she okay?" Zero asked.

"Yeah, hitting the youma hard enough caused it to get out of her, and she didn't look hurt afterwards. But Luminite took the youma's spirit before we could destroy it for good."

Mercury smiled. "You got one of those crystals? Let's meet, I want to scan it as soon as possible."

"Me too," Zero added.

"Okay, go to the shrine, we'll meet you there," Mars said.

Moon put the comm away and sighed. "Aw, I wanted to go to Crown today."

"Usagi..." Luna muttered and shook her head in disapproval.

Zero frowned at her. "Not to sound like Luna's echo, but you need to take this seriously, Rabbit."

"I'll take it seriously, but I don't have to like it."

Zero thought about it for a second, then smiled. "Fair enough."

A/N: Guess you could call Chie "Crane Jane." And nope, making her youma form a mermaid was no mistake. Read on mermaid mythos if you don't know the connection.