Sailor Moon Aeons.
Book 2: Rebirth.
Act 1: Dark Kingdom.
Episode 23: General Mayhem.

By Razor Knight
Last update: February 20, 2013
Last edited: May 26, 2017

"There's youma in several points of the city, and the Senshi are fighting them right now."

Kino looked at Tomoe. "At least we know your scanner works."

"What's the point, if we're not going to help?" Rakurai said, her face showing she was not happy at all about their current situation.

"One step at a time, Saiko," Kino said. "Tomoe, is your daughter already in the city?"

"She is. She told me she would join the others soon, if I'm guessing right, she will join today's fight."

"Good."

"And she also said, and I quote, 'tell your army friends to stop acting like they don't know who I am.'"

Kino stared at Tomoe for a few seconds, then laughed. "I should have known. That girl's too smart for her age."

"So she was aware that we knew..." Saiko muttered. "In any case, what about the other group?"

"Hiyama told me she would deal with the youma Generals personally if things got out of control."

Saiko smiled. "That's nice, but I hope none of those kids gets hurt."

"Hotaru is with them. She can heal them if they get hurt."

Saiko looked at Tomoe. "That's besides the point. Even if I knew I could heal quickly, I would still not like getting shot."

Tomoe nodded. "I agree. I'll keep working on means to fight back those aliens. Even if they win, something tells me it will be far from over for them."

Zoicite looked at the Senshi in front of him dismissively. "Only one of you?"

"Sure, ignore the mage," Mira snapped.

Zoicite laughed "Don't worry, I have something for you too." As he said that, a half dozen youma appeared around him. "Get that kid, I'll fight Jupiter."

"So brave, six against one. Let me make that even."

Jupiter looked up and saw a man in a suit similar to Dragon Mercury's one. "Another Dragon?"

"Gravity Hold," the Dragon said, and the six youma fell flat on their faces. "I'm Dragon Sun," he said to Jupiter, his technique still keeping the youma pinned to the ground.

"Brother, stop showing off," Mira said with a smile.

"Am not, that's all I can do with my Senshi powers."

"Jupiter, save your energy for the General," Mira said, then looked at the prone youma. "Permafrost."

The Dragon rose an eyebrow as the youma were all encased in ice. "I see you kept practicing while I was away."

Zoicite glared at his foes. "I can still destroy you all."

Dragon Sun pointed a finger at him. "Ifrit's Grasp."

A large fire hand appeared around Zoicite, closing up and immobilizing him. However, the General didn't seem too impressed. "Is this supposed to hurt?"

"No," the Dragon said, "but what's about to happen will."

"Supreme Thunder Dragon!"

The General was knocked back, but shot a bolt of energy at the construct, destroying it before it could attack again. "You will not defeat me so easily, Jupiter!"

"Supreme Thunder Dragon!"

"Again with that?" Zoicite mused and phased out of the way. As he turned to gloat, however, he noticed Jupiter wasn't where he had last seen her. "Where-"

"Supreme Thunder!"

The blast came from behind, and knocked the youma straight to the lightning construct, which zapped him for several seconds. Zoicite vanished before hitting the ground, and Mira smiled. "You got him!"

"No, she didn't," Dragon Sun said. "He teleported away."

"Either way, we won," Jupiter noted. "Thanks for the help. So, is your girlfriend a Senshi too?"

Dragon Sun frowned at that. "What?"

"Mira called you 'brother,' so that means you're Kage Hiyama, the new transfer student."

"Oops," Mira said with a sigh.

"Nevermind that, we were planning to tell you who we were eventually."

"We have to help the others," Jupiter said.

Dragon Sun looked around. "Only two of the Generals are left, and... They're in one single place."

Jupiter's comm appeared, and she heard Shade's message. "Okay, we need to get there fast."

"Done. Mass Teleport."

"Crescent Beam!"

Kunzite stopped the attack with one of his own, and laughed. "You should know that doesn't work with me, V."

"Name's Venus, freak," Venus snapped.

Dragon Venus was fighting three youma near them. It wasn't easy to fight that many creatures, but he had managed to cut down two of the five Kunzite had summoned. Problem was, he was running out of energy. He would have to get rid of them fast. And he knew just how to do it. "Aqua Prism." Thin jets of water shot all around him, piercing through all the youma. Dragon Venus smiled in victory for a second, then fell to one knee. "Damn."

Venus was trying to shoot Kunzite, but was having little luck so far. "Damn it, stay put so I can shoot you."

"Likewise."

"I can help with that. Tornado."

Kunzite didn't get to see who said that, but felt the effects of the spell. Strong winds surrounded him, forming a fast-spinning twister, and Kunzite was trapped within it.

Venus smiled. "Well, he's still moving, but it's an improvement. Crescent Beam Shower!"

The barrage knocked Kunzite out of the tornado, and right into a wall. He staggered up, glaring daggers at Venus. "I'm going to-"

"Poseidon's Dance."

A few dozen water bubbles appeared all around Kunzite, and they started jumping around randomly, hitting him several times in a matter of seconds. Kunzite fell to the ground, and gave one last glare at Venus before vanishing.

Dragon Venus looked at the figure who had helped them, as she walked to them. "I mean no offense with this, but it's about damn time one of you helped."

Aries smiled. "You're welcome."

"You must be one of the Primes," Venus said.

"I'm Prime Huntress Aries," the woman said.

"Your attacks are much stronger than mine," Venus noted.

"But you had been shooting attacks at him for minutes, and used one very strong attack to defeat him, yet you seem to have enough energy to keep shooting for a while."

"So?"

Dragon Venus chuckled. "I explained that to you before, Minako. Aries here wouldn't be able to shoot more than two spells like the ones she just used."

"That's true," Aries admitted. "We're only human."

Venus flinched. "We also-"

"No, I don't mean to say you're not. It's just that being able to use magic, and excelling at it, are two different things. You may think being able to use only one kind of magic energy makes you weaker, but in one or two years, you could be able to outpower me without even trying."

"When you put it that way, it sounds unfair."

Aries smiled at her, and it was a kind smile. "Demon Hunters have always taken care of minor threats. Senshi take care of the major ones. It's been that way for eons, although your group took quite an extended vacation."

Venus was about to say something, but then summoned her comm. After hearing Shade's message, she sighed. "Damn it, I thought he would stay down after that beating."

"I won't be of any help to you in your fight, but I can still help you in other ways. Selene's Gift."

Dragon Venus' eyes widened as a stream of energy shot from Aries and into them both. "An energy transfer spell?"

"You and Orion may think you know a lot, but you've got a long way to go before you can cast the kind of spells we have."

Dragon Venus nodded. "Yeah, I know." He turned to Venus. "Let's go give Kunzite another beating."

"Twice a day, that's going to be a new record for him," Venus mused.

"Teleport."

Zoicite appeared in the room and saw Kunzite was also there, as beaten up as him. Before he could speak, however, he noticed Beryl, who was definitely not in a good mood.

"Things have gone quite wrong," Beryl said, before either of them could ask. "Jadeite's dead, Nephrite hasn't dealt with Nemesis yet, and Aurite is the only one having an easy time... But if the other Senshi reach her, that can change."

Zoicite frowned. "Nephrite isn't done dealing with Nemesis?"

"One of the youma I gave each of you was there to observe you, besides fighting the Senshi. And the one with Nephrite tells me he's just talking to her."

"Nemesis was his lover before he joined us," Kunzite noted. "Perhaps some of his human side has resurfaced."

"If that's the case, we can't trust him to deal with her," Beryl said. "Zoicite, go back there, and if you see he may turn against us, make sure he's dealt with, along with Nemesis."

"As you command," Zoicite said and vanished.

Beryl turned to Kunzite. "And you will help Aurite. I've been informed Sailor Moon is currently using the shards, if you kill her, you will be able to get them."

"Consider it done."

Beryl stared at the point where Kunzite had been standing before shaking her head. "I will consider it done after you've actually done it." She looked at the shadows around her throne. "Are the Seven ready to go?"

"Yes, mother. We can send them to Earth whenever you wish."

"Let's wait and see how this battle develops, they may have another chance to kill the Senshi today."

Nemesis looked at Nephrite. He wasn't attacking, he wasn't ordering his youma to attack. That could mean he still... No, she couldn't let false hopes cloud her mind. "Why are you doing this?"

"Why? So that our Queen can take over the Earth."

"Stop using that excuse, Nephrite. I know you know who I am. If you had told other Generals, I would be dead by now."

Nephrite walked to Nemesis. "You're as smart as I remember, Nadia."

"Stop using that name. Nadia's dead."

"She is, but if you were only Nemesis, then I would be dead by now," Nephrite said.

Nemesis cringed at that. Yes, she could have shot him down several times in the last few minutes. Then why hadn't she? No, she couldn't lie to herself anymore. "You're right, I don't want to kill you, but I cannot let youma win this war."

"We youma need human life energy. We can survive without it, but living like that weakens us. You're right about one thing, I am not doing this for my Queen, I'm doing this for myself."

"If it's life energy you need, then I can give it to you."

Zoicite appeared near them, and heard that last bit. "What is going on here, Nephrite?"

Nephrite looked at Zoicite, but his mind was trying to grasp the meaning of Nemesis' words. "Nemesis... Naru, are you honestly telling me you would willingly give me life energy when I needed it?"

"Yes."

Nephrite could sense no doubt, no fear in Nemesis' voice. And that drove away the doubts and fears in his own mind. He was still staring at Zoicite, but his stare turned into a glare. "Then I know what to do."

Zoicite was caught by surprise, and the energy blast knocked him through a tree. However, he wasn't giving up so easily. He mentally called upon one of the shards, borrowing power from it, and smiled wickedly. "I was sent here to kill Nemesis, and I'll do just that. Die!"

Nemesis didn't have time to dodge the lightning-fast energy beam, but something stopped it from hitting her. As she realized what had just happened, she felt tears forming in her eyes. "Nephrite!"

Nephrite smiled at her as he fell to the ground. "It's okay, Naru, don't cry... In a way, you saved my soul... I thought I didn't have one anymore."

Saturn had been waiting for the right chance to jump in, but since all the two fighters had been doing was talking, she had decided to stay out of sight. However, she saw the youma who had been awaiting orders were, now that Nephrite was down, preparing to attack Nemesis, and she decided this was as good a time as any to help. "Grim Wave."

The wave killed all the lesser youma, and Nemesis turned to stare at the newcomer as she landed near her. "I will worry about you later, but that bastard is mine."

Saturn nodded, she could see a thin black aura surrounding Nemesis, so she was sure things would get painful for the General in a few seconds. However... "Death Grasp."

Zoicite saw bony hands popping out from the ground and clutching his legs. "What in Darkness is this?"

"Just in case you were thinking about escaping."

"Nemesis Twilight Power!"

Zoicite would have just gloated and escaped, but the skeletal hands holding him were also stopping him from teleporting away. "No... I will not die like this!" he shot an energy wave at Nemesis, who was just done transforming... And then gasped in shock as Nemesis simply let it hit. "Impossible."

Nemesis glared at him. "Nothing is impossible for us."

"Hah! If that's so, then why don't you revive your lover, wench?"

Nemesis smiled coldly. "Point taken. But since I cannot bring him back, I will just have to make sure you don't kill anyone ever again. Nemesis Night..." She pointed her arms at her foe, and her own shadow spread forwards, until it touched Zoicite's shadow. She then clasped her hands together and closed her eyes. "...Shade!"

Zoicite was at first surprised, as he could see no attack coming from Nemesis. But then she sensed it, and looked back to see his own shadow shrinking. No, it wasn't shrinking, it was... He wasn't able to form any coherent thought, or even to scream in pain, as his own shadow covered him, flooding his every cell with dark energy.

Nemesis turned to Saturn as Zoicite's body vanished. "Now, who are you?"

"Sailor Saturn."

"Your suit's different."

"And so is yours," Saturn said.

Nemesis looked at her own suit and realized the newcomer was right. Her suit now looked just like Saturn's one, but with black where purple should be. "What is..."

"We're both Twilight Senshi now."

"I see. Maybe I can help the others."

Saturn looked at Nemesis. The girl seemed strangely calm, considering what had just happened. "From what I could hear, you and that Nephrite man..."

Nemesis nodded. "I'll weep for him once this is over." She noticed something as she looked at the place where Zoicite had been. She walked to the small crystal shard, which was hovering a few inches above the ground, and took it in her hands. "Only three to go."

Aurite's battle had been the easiest one thus far. True, normal youma were no match for Senshi, but she wasn't a normal youma. And fighting the six minions had tired down the two Mercuries a bit. "It's pointless, kids. You two are the weakest Senshi, what can you do against the strongest General of the Dark Kingdom?"

"For starters, I was thinking about beating you down until you stopped gloating."

She looked at the Dragon. "I know your strong point is melee, so I'll simply have to stay out of melee range."

Mercury grimaced. She couldn't shoot her upgraded attack anymore, and her normal one wouldn't work against Aurite. However, right now Dragon Mercury was keeping Aurite distracted. Aurite knew Mercury's attacks wouldn't harm her, so she was focusing on the one who could still manage to beat her.

But Mercury had noticed something else while fighting Aurite. She just needed to wait for the right time to act, and she would show Aurite underestimating any of the Senshi was a dire mistake.

Dragon Mercury tried to tackle Aurite, but the General simply phased out of the way. He tried again, to the same effect, but he also felt something. If Ami was planning what he thought she was, then Aurite would be in pain soon. He summoned his sword, holding it above his head, and charged at Aurite once again.

Aurite prepared to phase out of the way again, but then realized something. Only one sword? She phased out of the way before the Dragon could hit her, and smiled. No matter what trick he had planned, she could-

Dragon Mercury smirked as Aurite yelled in pain, seeing his Mercury sword's tip was now coming out of her stomach. "And yet again, overconfidence loses the battle."

Aurite growled at him, then walked forwards to remove herself from the sword, turning back to look at Mercury, who was still holding the sword defiantly. "I must admit I didn't think a weakling like you would know how to use a sword."

"Don't need to be a genius to stab someone, specially if they're not paying attention to you," Mercury retorted.

Aurite laughed at that, but knew she would have to change her strategy to win. "Think fast."

Mercury guessed what Aurite meant, and dodged to the side. However, the attack didn't come from Aurite, but from behind.

The Dragon saw Mercury fall to her knees and charged at their foe. Aurite, however, simply phased out of the way and laughed. "Damn it, you're a cheap bitch, just like Luminite."

"Don't compare me with that weakling."

He smiled. "She at least had a slightly better sense of the battlefield than you."

Aurite guessed what he meant, and ducked in time to dodge the airboard charging at her from the side. However, the airboard dropped a dozen metal spheres, and Aurite was instantly surrounded by gas.

But even though Aurite should be choking in poisonous smoke, an attack came from the side, knocking the Dragon to the ground. "How the heck..."

"She's not there," Mercury said. She was too weak to fight, but she was scanning the area with her visor. "She's creating an illusion of herself, phasing out randomly, and attacking from elsewhere while we're still expecting her decoy to attack us."

"So you know how I do it... It still won't help you win," Aurite said from somewhere around them.

Dragon Mercury frowned. His eyes were not to be trusted, so he would have to trust his other senses.

"Terry, what are you-" Mercury started as she saw him close his eyes.

"Giving up already?" Aurite snapped, and another blast shot from the side. This time, however, the Dragon swung his sword straight at it, and it was absorbed by it.

"Interesting," the Dragon said as he noticed his sword's blade had a black hue.

A figure appeared right behind him. "Damn it, Aurite, you can't even defeat these two weaklings?"

"Shabon Spray Freezing!"

Kunzite dodged the blast, but frowned as he couldn't see or sense anything around him. "Damn it..."

"Icycle Spray!"

Kunzite was knocked to the ground. His fight against the two Venus had left him little energy to fight with, but he wouldn't give up. "You fight well, Senshi, but we cannot lose. We will not lose." As he said that, he summoned the last two crystal shards, smiling as their energy healed him. "I will kill you all myself!"

Aurite felt like slapping herself in the forehead. Of course, the shards! "Mind if I help?"

"Not at all," Kunzite said.

"Icycle Spray!"

This time, the attack did no harm, and Kunzite laughed. "Fool."

Mercury saw Dragon Mercury flying back, and gasped. Kunzite could see through her mist? "I can't give up, I-" She sensed an energy flare and turned back, gasping as she saw one of the figures. "What happened to you?"

Nemesis smiled. "Leave them to us, Ami."

Kunzite frowned. If Nemesis was here, then that meant... "Die!"

"Nightshade."

"Grim Wave."

The two attacks punched through Kunzite's one, and knocked him back several feet. "What in Darkness..."

Nemesis staggered back. "Damn, out of power already."

"You can still use your weaker attacks," Saturn explained.

"Good to know."

"Wow, what's with the suit?"

Nemesis saw the rest of the team was there. "This is the Twilight level suit."

Moon looked at Saturn. "Hey, why is she a level above us too?"

"I've been a Senshi for longer than any of you," Saturn noted. "However, my power isn't infinite, and right now I won't-" She stopped as she saw Dragon Venus was staring at her. "Stop that."

"I can sense your magic levels," Dragon Venus said, "both you and Nemesis are roughly ten times stronger than any of us."

Nemesis summoned the shard she had found and tossed it to Moon. "There, you can use this."

Dragon Venus looked at Moon. "Believe it or not, her power's three times higher with those crystals."

"Guys, leave the socials for later, the two freaks want to fight," Jupiter noted.

Kunzite smiled deviously. "You're too weak to fight me. Die!"

The ripple of dark energy shot forth in all directions, hitting all the Senshi. Moon, Saturn and Nemesis were the only ones still standing once it passed, but Moon turned as she heard a noise behind her, and saw a couple buildings were coming down. "No!"

Mercury couldn't stand up and help her friends, but she could still use her scanner. "There were no civilians there. In fact, there's no civilians in the area."

"But how, there were plenty of civilians around here."

"Moon, focus!" Nemesis said. "We'll worry about that later."

Moon finally realized something. Nemesis' tone was not quite her usual. "Naru, what happened to..."

"I'll tell you later, just get them."

Moon was confused by that last statement. They were much stronger than her, why didn't they fight these foes themselves?

"They're barely standing," Mercury said, guessing what Moon was thinking. "It's all up to you."

"It will be okay, then," Mars said. "Get them, Moon."

Kunzite laughed as he heard that. "This girl cannot defeat both of us!"

Just as he was done saying that, a barrage of magic blasts hit him from the side. They did little besides surprising him, but the distraction worked, as Tuxedo Kamen rushed in from the side and tackled him away.

But Moon knew Kunzite was much stronger than Tuxedo, stronger than her. They couldn't... No! She would not let the youma hurt her friends any longer. She would not give up. "Moon Tiara Flight!"

Aurite formed a shield right in time, but the tiara still blasted through it, knocking her away with so much momentum, it was a miracle her body hadn't just split in half. She punched through three buildings before falling straight into the ocean, miles away from where the Senshi were.

"Finally, someone shut goldilocks up for good," Dragon Sun commented weakly.

Kunzite was hit by the tiara several times, but he still stood up after the barrage, and smiled as Moon leaned on a wall. "I've won."

"Not yet, Kunzite."

Moon saw Aries there, along with the three Huntresses she knew, and there were at least twenty other Hunters around them. Perhaps they would be able to beat Kunzite, or at least give her time to think of something to do.

Aries stood there as all the other Hunters shouted out different spells, then glared at Kunzite. "We may not be as strong as the Senshi are, but it would be foolish of you to ignore us. Spell fusion, Storm of Ragnarok!"

All the other spells converged into Aries' palms, and she shot a bright beam, which caused a rather large explosion. Kunzite was sent tumbling back, but still staggered up. Credit where credit's due, he had to admit that attack had hurt a damn lot, but the Hunters were all out of power after that. "Hmph, I can still win this."

The three Mooncats walked to Moon, and Luna smiled at her. "Moon, don't give up."

"I'm not, but what can I do?"

"You can die!"

The blast was fast, and Moon was distracted, so she had no time to dodge. Tuxedo Kamen had guessed Kunzite's move, however, and blocked the blow with his body. He was sent rolling sideways, and his mask was blown off by the hit.

Moon's eyes widened as she saw who it was. Karin's brother, Mamoru. "It was him?"

"Moon, you are the Moon Princess, you're the only one who can do this."

"But I'm just a weak girl, what can I-"

"Stop underestimating yourself," Luna said. "I thought it was a coincidence that I found you first, but a part of my mind lead me to you. We all believe in you, but it will all be pointless if you don't believe in yourself."

Moon sighed. Could she do it, really? Kunzite's energy was still above her own, how could she hope to defeat him? Suddenly, she realized something. She could sense them, the shards linked to Kunzite. But not only that. She could do more than sense them, if she focused in them. "You're right, Luna. If I start giving up so easily, then I'll go back to being how I was when you first found me, and... Despite myself, I like being a Senshi."

Kunzite was about to gloat, but then he saw something he wasn't quite ready to see. Three crystal shards floating right in front of Moon, but two were the shards he had been using! As four more shards appeared, Kunzite realized what it meant. "The Moon Princess is awakening. No!"

Even as he shot, he knew it was useless. The crystals shone with a bright light, and the attack was absorbed by them. Then, the crystals all flew into each other, causing a bright flare which blinded everyone for a few seconds. When they were able to see again, they saw Moon still standing there, but she was now wearing a long, white gown, and a small crystal floated above her open palm. Everyone realized what the crystal was. The Ginzuishou.

"This is the end of the line, Kunzite. I will give you a chance to leave, because I'm no murderer."

Dragon Mercury couldn't help but stare at Moon. Her voice was calm, and yet at the same time it was clear she was sure of her victory. "Is that really Usagi?"

Mercury nodded. "Yes, and her power is... I can't put it in words, really. At least a hundred times stronger than Nemesis."

Kunzite stood frozen in shock for a moment, but suddenly smiled as he received a mental message from Beryl. "Foolish Moon Princess, you will not win today. Rainbow Youma, come forth!"

"Oh fuck no," Dragon Venus said as the seven Rainbow Youma appeared around Kunzite.

"Guys, look at her," Mars said.

As the others did as Mars told them, they all knew there was still hope. The Moon Princess was still smiling, and as she reached her left hand forwards, a sword appeared in it. "If they were at the same power they had that night, then I would be worried, but they are not. Even at the level I am, they are barely worth fighting against."

"They will still destroy you, little Princess."

The Princess still smiled as her crystal lit up. "No, they won't."

A/N: This and last episode were a single one in my planning file, but I figured it would be too long to read in one go. Also, I like cliffhangers. Not that anyone hadn't figured that last bit out by now.

I've also corrected a small mistake I made several times with the name of a secondary character, so several chapters have been re-uploaded. Nothing of consequence, so if you haven't noticed the mistake, it's just that "Saiko" was "Raiko" while I was planning the plot, and I used that name several times before I realized I was doing it. Oops.