Sailor Moon Aeons.
Book 2: Rebirth.
Act 1: Dark Kingdom.
Episode 21: Dragon's bite.

By Razor Knight
Last update: February 13, 2013
Last edited: May 26, 2017

"Still not enough..."

"Then leave it to us."

Mercury turned and saw three figures standing on a nearby rooftop. "Who are you?"

The figures didn't answer, but two of them leapt off the rooftop, landing besides Mercury and Moon. She could see it now, they were Senshi, and she was sure she knew one of them.

"Sailor V?" Moon said, her eyes wide as she realized who the girl was.

"I used that name before, but I'm Sailor Venus."

"Leave the socials for later," the man said. Mercury looked at him. His suit was strange, similar to the Hunters' ones, but still...

The dragon let out a howl and glared at the two newcomers. Venus looked up at it and smiled. "You know how the saying goes, 'howling dragons seldom bite.'"

"That's not how..." The man started, then shrugged. "Nevermind. Show that lizard what you can do."

"Was about to. Crescent Beam... Shower!"

The dragon was knocked down, but was not giving up. It tried to stand up, but couldn't, so it just started crawling on all four. "Gee, a stubborn one, isn't he?" the man said. "Prismatic Flare."

The attack was quite a sight to behold. Waves of fire, ice, electricity and wind hit the dragon from all sides, and it didn't stand up after that. "We did it!" Venus said and gave a V sign.

"These girls weakened it a lot, we just gave the last blow," the man said in English.

"I know, but still..."

"Thanks for the help," Mercury said in English.

The man blinked at that, then laughed. "You're welcome."

Nephrite and Luminite appeared near them, noticed the new Senshi, and knew they had to make a strategic retreat. "We'll leave you alone for now, but next time..."

"Save the gloating, your pal Kunzite also got his ass kicked by us each time he gloated like that."

Luminite looked at the two orbs of light. The last two Rainbow Youma. "Stupid kids. We have all the Rainbow Youma, and once they recover, the ultimate youma will awaken."

As the two Generals left, Circe came walking to the newcomers, staring at the man. "I know who you are, but your suit is all wrong."

Calisto gasped. "Wait, she's Venus, so that's... Sigma?"

"It's Dragon Venus now," the man said.

"Dragon Venus?" Moon asked, "so you're a Dragon Senshi?"

Luna had been watching the fight from a safe distance, but now that it had ended, she decided to check on the newcomers. "He is, I can sense that. But if you're Venus Senshi, then..."

The white Mooncat was walking towards them. "Luna? Is that really you?"

Shade walked calmly to the group as Luna tackled Artemis down playfully. "So he was also alive..."

Moon looked at Luna, who was talking to the white Mooncat, and smiled. She had never seen Luna look so happy before.

"Wait, I thought you were in England? Did you defeat the youma there?"

"We should move to a more private location," Dragon Venus said.

"We could go to the mansion," Zero suggested.

"We would take you there, but we're quite beaten up," Mira said.

"Are you talking about the Zephyr mansion?" Dragon Venus asked.

"You know the place?" Zero asked.

"Aries told me about you."

Venus looked at him. "Huh? You already know who they are?"

"Yeah."

"And you didn't tell me because...?"

"You didn't ask."

"Ass."

Zero smiled. "I see you two get along."

Venus looked at Dragon Venus and blushed slightly. "You could say that."

Dragon Venus looked around. "Okay, I'm sure these three showed you how a newbie teleports more than two persons already. Now you'll see how it should be done. Mass Teleport!"

As they appeared in the mansion, Moon blinked. "Huh? It was the same spell they used, what's so special about it?"

Mars was staring at the Dragon. "Moon, he did it on his own."

"... Oh. So he's much stronger than the others?"

"It's not so strange," Mira said, "he's the son of one of the Primes."

"And so are you, Emi. Don't underestimate yourself."

"We should change back to normal," Jupiter suggested. "And Terry, I have something I want to show you."

"And what would that be?" Mars asked slyly.

"Nothing like that. I just think I found the perfect place for our base."

After they transformed, Minako smiled as the other girls looked at her. "My name's Minako Aino, it's nice to finally meet the Tokyo Senshi."

Usagi smiled back. "I'm Usagi Tsukino, and I'm... Supposedly I'm the leader of this group. It's awesome that Sailor V herself is one of us!"

Minako giggled. "I heard I was quite famous here, even after Sailor Moon showed up."

The others all introduced themselves, and Terry smiled as he looked at his watch. "Seems my theory was right."

"What theory?" Brad asked.

"This watch can scan magic energy, mana as the cats call it, and with Minako here, my readings on all the others are higher."

"We are stronger when we fight as a group," Ami explained, "or at least that's our guess."

"Interesting," Brad said, "mom never mentioned that."

Shade looked out the window for a moment, then turned to the group. "There's something the Generals said that's been worrying me. They've gathered all the Rainbow Youma, but we have yet to get all the pieces of the Ginzuishou."

"We just have to get the ones they have, and the one Tuxedo Kamen has," Naru said.

"There's one more thing," Shade said, "the Rainbow Youma, much like the Ginzuishou, can fuse."

"Oh shit."

Luna looked at Terry. "Do you understand what that means, guys? They can become something else, something at least as strong as the seven of them combined. And we've hardly managed to defeat them one at a time."

Usagi groaned at that. "That's just great. They're always one step ahead."

"Not in every aspect," Luna noted. "While you were chatting, we three remembered something else. It's weird that I didn't realize this before, but the Princess was actually the Moon Princess. And each Princess was also a Senshi."

Ami was the first to figure out what that meant, and everyone stared at Usagi. "Guys, why are you looking at me-" it finally hit her, and her eyes widened. "Me? I am-"

"The Princess," Artemis said. "If we get all the pieces of the Ginzuishou, then you will be able to reforge it."

"I can't believe it, how can I be-"

Rei sighed in frustration. "Usagi, I know this will sound weird coming from me, but stop underestimating yourself!"

"Rei..."

"Think about it, Usagi. You may be lazy and selfish, but not when it counts."

"But I'm always scared of fighting those monsters."

"We all are," Terry said. "You think I'm not scared? Or Rei, or Mako? I said it before, what Hakko told me, being brave is not about having no fears, but about facing them head on."

Brad nodded at that. "A man who fears nothing isn't brave, just foolish."

"Still, I have no idea how I could fix that crystal."

"I would guess that you will know, once we gather them. That's how it works in manga," Minako said.

The three Huntresses had been silently listening to the others, but Emi decided to speak up. "I... We've been keeping some info that I realize we should have shared with you."

"If it's important, you should tell us."

"The legends our clan has speak of the ancient Moon Queen, and that she defeated and banished the youma, and also broke the Ginzuishou in seven shards. The Queen was very powerful, and only she could do that, but reforming the crystal would be easier. The Moon Princess should be able to do it."

"It's all wild guessing," Terry said, "but wild guessing brought me here to Juuban and got me to meet the Senshi, so I know it can work."

"So, what do we do now?" Rei asked.

"Now we wait," Luna said, "the youma want the shards we have, they will come to get them. We may be able to recover the ones they have."

"And what about the one Tuxedo Kamen has?" Usagi asked.

"If he doesn't want to give it to us, we'll have to take it by force."

Usagi looked at Terry. "We can't-"

"You can't do it, Usagi, but I'm not asking for your permission. If getting that shard is the only way to destroy the youma, then we have to get it."

"Terry..."

"Dont' worry, I won't hurt him too much, if it comes to that," Terry said with a smile.

"Actually, I don't want you to get hurt."

"Thanks. And you know, he doesn't fit the villain type. We may be able to convince him."

Beryl appeared in her throne room, and saw her Generals were all waiting. "What in darkness just happened?"

Jadeite bowed to the queen. "Pluto sent you forwards in time, three days. While you were away, we managed to get the last two Rainbow Youma, and have been planning."

"Planning? It's quite simple, now that we don't need to worry about separating our forces in three fronts. Go to Tokyo, lure the Senshi into a trap, and either kill them or get their shards. Or both, if you can."

"Should we wait until the Rainbow Youma are ready?"

"No. My girls will take care of them for the time being."

"Understood. We'll recover those shards, so that our goddess can finally awaken," Kunzite said.

Aurite was not as sure as the others. For some reason, Pluto's words had been bothering. Was the Dark Kingdom destined to fail? And would she want to be around to fall along with it? She was starting to consider another options, but thus far there were none.

She wanted her Goddess to awaken and destroy the Senshi, but Aurite had never been someone who would, as the human saying went, put all of her eggs in one basket.

"So, what do you think?"

Terry looked at the building. "It's a bit run down, but it will look great once I'm done."

"I don't think we can go throwing blasts at each other in there," Minako noted. The Senshi had all decided to tag along, to look at their would-be base.

"Trust me, nobody will notice we're in there."

"Think we could buy this place?"

"There's no 'we' there," Terry mused, "I'll have to tell my father about it, but I don't think he will have a problem with that. And buying it will be cheap, compared to what I have planned afterwards."

"I think I know what you're planning," Brad noted. "But it'll take months."

"Unfortunately, yes, and there's no way around it, unless we find a Senshi who controls time."

A figure watched as the group of teenagers left the area, still chatting. "Interesting, so these are the Senshi." It had been a lucky coincidence, she had been searching for a place in which she could set a trap for the Senshi, and instead had found out who they were. She would have to use that information wisely. She could tell the other Generals, but why share the glory? And also, she could attack them while they were in their civilian forms, one by one. And she knew where to begin, but she would have to research a bit first.

Ami had been quite surprised by the request, but agreed to it anyhow. As they walked into one of the mansion's many rooms, she saw a computer was set up there. "I still don't understand what you're planning."

Terry smiled. "I want to make a few tests of that magic of yours, to see if it could be manipulated with technology."

"So, you want me to be a test subject."

He shook his head. "If I wanted a lab rat, I would have asked Rei or Usagi to come. You're smarter than me, and I'm not afraid to admit it, so you may be able to figure out things I may not see."

Ami blushed slightly. "Okay, I suppose I should transform?"

Terry's Zero armor formed, but leaving his head unprotected. "Go ahead."

"Mercury Planet Power!" Mercury looked at Terry. "What's next?"

A small cube of Zero appeared in his hand. "Shoot at this thing."

"Shabon Spray!"

Terry looked at the cube, which took on a bluish hue, then at the computer. "As I suspected, it can absorb some of the mana. If I could make the Zero manipulate mana, then-"

"Wait," Mercury interrupted, "are you saying you want your armor to be able to use mana?"

"No, not my armor, I'm not a magician so it would have no mana source. But for you girls..."

"You could create artifacts which would use our magic to work?"

"It's worth a try, I want to understand how magic works, and if I can help you along the way, then everyone wins."

Mercury smiled at that. "Sounds good. I'll help you."

"Thanks," Terry said, then stared at Ami. This would be the perfect chance to tell her something else, but he just couldn't do it, he still hadn't healed enough.

"Terry, what's wrong?"

"Nothing, I'm just-" He froze for a split second and then glared at something past Mercury. "You!"

Luminite stood there, smiling coldly at them. "It's good to see your real face before I finish you, Zero."

Mercury frowned. "You know who we are?"

"I have my sources," Luminite said, "I was planning on taking you all down one by one. Tsukino, Mizuno, Hino, Osaka... But I suppose I can take on two of you."

"You couldn't even defeat me alone," Zero snapped.

"Who said I'm alone?" Luminite said, and a half dozen youma appeared around her.

Mercury had a hand behind her back, and summoned her communicator, swiftly pressing a button in it before making it vanish again. They had seldom used that emergency button before, but they all knew what it was. She just hoped they could resist until help arrived.

Zero knew it would be quite unlikely to win this without reinforcements. However, close quarters gave him and Mercury the advantage. "Mercury, get ready to use your attack."

Luminite frowned. What was the guy planning? As she saw him toss a couple dozen metal spheres in her direction, she suddenly knew whatever it was, it would stink.

"Shabon Spray Freezing!"

The foul gas released by the spheres turned a sickly cyan color as its temperature was suddenly lowered several degrees. Luminite and her youma were caught in the cloud, and that gave Zero a chance to attack. "Gotcha!"

The General looked around as the cloud vanished, and frowned. That Zero kid had managed to kill two youma with that trick, but that wasn't going to help them win. Even if all her youma were killed, she still had another trick under her sleeve. "What are you standing around for?" she asked the remaining youma, her voice close to a growl. "Kill them!"

"Supreme Thunder Dragon!" The lightning construct tore two more youma to pieces, and by the time it vanished, Mercury and Zero were done dealing with the other two. That left only Luminite to take care of. "Damn, I forgot the ugliest one."

Luminite laughed as she finally called upon her hidden surprise. The power of two shards of the Ginzuishou was more than enough to take care of two Senshi and a moron, and she would be done with them before the others could get there. "From your face, dear Mercury, I assume you can see how much stronger I am now."

Mercury had her visor down, and turned to look at Zero. "She's using the shards. We can't beat her!"

"Don't give up yet," Jupiter said. "Supreme Thunder Dragon!"

Luminite blasted the dragon apart and smiled. "If that's all you can do..."

"Shabon Spray Freezing!"

Luminite looked straight at Mercury. "I can still see you."

"But not me."

The General felt a stab through the stomach, and gasped. True, she couldn't sense the ninja, and that had been Mercury's plan all along. However, she walked forwards, sliding out of the sword, and smiled. "I heal faster, too."

Zero dodged the blast and saw his foe's wound was already closing. Even though he didn't want to admit it, Mercury was right. Perhaps, if there were more Senshi, then one of them could... More Senshi? He looked at one of his swords as it started shining, and smiled. "You know, bitch, you come wreck my house, and you attack my friends. That alone is more than enough to make me want to rip you to pieces."

"Blah blah blah... You can't beat me, Zero."

The ninja nodded. "I agree, as Zero, I can't. But I guess I have a surprise for you. Mercury Dragon Power!"

Mercury watched in shock as Zero transformed. Luna had told them the swords chose their users, and it seemed Terry had been chosen. "Terry..."

"He'll be fine," Jupiter said. "But a little help won't hurt. Jupiter Thunder Dragon!"

"Shabon Spray Freezing!"

The Dragon had finished transforming, his suit was just like the other Dragons', but with blue as his color. "Icycle..." He sliced the air with his sword, leaving several droplets of water, which froze and grew rapidly, becoming small, dagger-like shards of ice. "... Spray!" As he shouted that, the shards all shot straight at Luminite, along with the other two attacks.

Luminite knelt on the ground, panting heavily. How was this possible, they could still hurt her? But how, their attacks had tickled her before! She realized something right then. She couldn't sense any of them through the mist. "What in Darkness..."

Mercury smiled, as she knew what Luminite was cursing about. "Two can play the same game, youma. Just as you can use those shards, so can we. And as Senshi, we can use them much better than you could ever dream of."

Luminite growled and stood up, charging in the direction she thought Mercury's voice was coming from. She had been quite right, but that was not, actually, a good thing. "Die, Mercury!"

"Shabon Spray Freezing!"

The ice shot hit Luminite dead on, and she was sent flying back. She felt a sharp pain and looked down to see two swords sticking out of her chest. "This isn't over, kid."

"It is," Dragon Mercury said, coldly. "Icycle Spray!"

And Luminite was sent flying forwards, hitting the ground hard. She tried to stand up, but could only cough blood. "Damn it, it can't end like this..."

Dragon Mercury walked up to where the General was, noticing she was in no shape to fight, or even teleport away. "Finally, now Hana can rest in peace."

Luminite laughed despite the pain. "Fool. Killing me won't do a thing, the Dark Kingdom will..."

"When I came here, it was just to kill you. But now I know better."

"You will lose."

The guy gave her a cold smile. "Not like it matters to you."

Mercury saw the General's body slowly vanishing, and then saw the Dragon's face as he stared at the spot where she had been. "Terry..."

The Dragon turned to look at her, his face showing he was struggling to keep his cool. "I need to be alone."

Jupiter noticed Mercury's hands were clenched into fists as she watched the Dragon leave the room. "Ami, go with him."

"What?"

"I'm not quite sure he meant what he said. He needs a friend right now. I'll wait for the others and tell them what happened."

Mercury stared at Jupiter for a few seconds before chuckling. "Does everyone know what I-"

Jupiter smiled at her. "I think even Minako noticed already. Now go, I'm sure he'll be glad." She saw Mercury walking out, and smiled. "You know, Luna, you're terrible at hiding."

Luna walked out from under a table and looked up at Jupiter. "You knew I was here?"

Jupiter nodded. "Think he'll be fine?"

"The kind of wounds he's got, they take time to heal. He may make a fool of himself at times, but that's just his... Shield."

"Damn, what happened in here?"

Jupiter saw Moon and Mars rush in, and smiled. "You're late. Before you ask, Luminite attacked the mansion. Terry somehow turned into Dragon Mercury and with a bit of help, got rid of her."

"What, she escaped again?" Mars asked, then saw Jupiter's face. "Oh. Where is he?"

"He was in a quite weird mood, so I sent Ami to cheer him up."

"We should-"

Moon shook her head. "Rei, let them be. We'll talk to him when he comes back."

When Ami found Terry, she saw he was not in a good mood. "Terry, are you okay?"

"Do I look okay?" He said coldly as he turned to look at her. He saw the pained look in her face, and sighed. "Sorry, I didn't mean to..."

"I can't imagine what you must be feeling right now, but remember, we're all here for you."

"I know," Terry looked at a framed picture in the opposite wall of the room, and smiled. "At least I've done what I came here for."

That caused Ami to frown. "Wait, are you leaving?"

"Of course not. I'm a Senshi, after all. Even if I wasn't one, I still want the Dark Kingdom to be dealt with." He looked at Ami for a few seconds, then sighed. He had thought about telling her something today, but now he wasn't so sure. He needed to give things a lot of thought. "And what guy in his right mind would leave when there's a whole bunch of pretty girls around him all the time?"

Ami blushed slightly at that. "Uh... I suppose that's as good a reason as any."

Terry started walking away, and turned to look at Ami. "Let's go, I'm sure by now Mako's told them what happened."

Ami smiled and followed him. She knew he was still far from good, but at least he had cheered up a bit. As they walked by the picture, Ami looked at it, and realized who it was. "Was she a nice girl?"

Terry didn't stop walking, but smiled. "She was smart, friendly, kind, and she always protected those she cared about. She was a lot like..." He caught himself short of saying the name, but from the way Ami was looking at him, he knew she didn't need to hear it.

He smiled. His story had been rather bittersweet so far, but perhaps it would have a happy ending after all.

A/N: I know that the Senshi knowing Moon was the Moon Princess before they gather all the shards is not how the anime's canon went, but if that is the first thing that seems out of place to you, you might want to give the whole story a re-read. ;)

And yes, when Beryl says "my girls" she means those girls. The ones whose group was named after their bra size.

Updates may slow down again, I'm right now hooked on Digimon World 2 for Nintendo DS, a game which may get me to finally rewrite Digimon Legends, since it's re-awakened my liking of the Digimon franchise.