Sailor Moon Aeons.
Book 2: Rebirth.
Act 2: Dark Moon Rising.
Episode 44: Death Phantom.

By Razor Knight
Last update: April 29, 2013
Last edited: May 31, 2017

His plan was working better than he had expected, the Dark Spire grew stronger with every passing minute, and his own power grew along with it. Serenity's gamble hadn't paid off, he would soon be back to his real power, and once that happened, he would bring an end to- But he was aware he had a visitor. "I see, have you come to witness my victory?"

Dimando glared at him. "We have come to stop you."

"We won't let you do this. We won't let the deaths of our friends become pointless."

"They weren't pointless," Wiseman mused, "each of them helped me further my plans. But you two... I have no part for you to play."

"We will be the ones to defeat you!" Saffir said.

"No, you won't." Wiseman was quite surprised, this wasn't in his plans. He had sent Black Lady to stop the Senshi once again, after giving her a part of the power of the Dark Spire. She would keep them busy, and he would destroy them all without even having to move a finger, once his Dark Spire was fully charged. But these two... Dimando was still stronger than him, and Saffir was not far from his brother's powers.

"You've stopped gloating. Have you finally understood what your fate is?"

Wiseman laughed, it was a humorless, mocking laugh. "Fate? I will show you that fate is a myth, Prince. My soldier is right now ready to fight the Senshi. Each death will further increase the Spire's power. Each death will harm the future they're trying to protect."

"What will happen if you do kill them all?"

"It's quite simple, Prince. Past and future are linked in a way you wouldn't understand, mostly thanks to the one the Queen sent to the past... If the Senshi die in this era, then she won't be sent to the past, you won't follow her here, a lot of things that are, as you mortals say, 'fated' to happen, won't happen. The damage to the threads of time and to space itself will be too massive."

Dimando frowned. Was this man saying that he wanted to destroy the Earth? "So you're saying you'll destroy this world by altering time like that? To what end?"

"This world? Foolish prince, this world is but a small dust speck in the universe. And yet, so much could be decided here... To what end, you ask? It's simple. I shall end it all."

"Why?"

Wiseman frowned. There, his soldier had engaged the Senshi. Even if she didn't kill any of them, she would still keep them busy, and he would, once his power had recovered, finish them all with but a thought. He found it slightly amusing, to be questioned by these bugs. "Why? You mortals need reasons for everything, don't you? Fine then, it's quite simple... I was born to end life itself."

"We won't-"

Wiseman laughed again. "I was quite sure you would try to stop me. However, right now I am as strong as the both of you, and thanks to this Spire, my power will keep growing. What are you going to do, Nemesian Princes?"

"We're going to stop your madness," Dimando snapped as he and his brother both shot at the man.

Moon was quite surprised. They had spent hours in that place, they had recovered enough to fight, and they had come back to the mansion's yard, just in time to watch themselves leave. "Okay, we're back. Time to go defeat that Wiseman monster..."

"Remember, he's not even a living being," Pluto said, "you must show him no mercy, for he will not hesitate to destroy everything for the sake of his madness."

Moon nodded. Pluto had explained it all to them, about Wiseman's plan. No, Death Phantom, that was his true name. A being whose only purpose was to eliminate all life, and to do that... "Will you help us?"

"Yes and no," Pluto said. "I will not help you fight, but I will be there when you need me."

"That's... Reassuring," Saturn muttered.

"For example, you need to be elsewhere right now, so I'll just send you there. Good luck."

Black Lady saw the Senshi appear near her and smiled. "Good, I thought you would just cower in fear-"

Moon surprised everyone by rushing straight at Black Lady, kicking her side before she could react. She then used her chakrams to slap both sides of her head, stunning her, and ended with another kick which sent Black Lady down to the ground.

"Holy crap," Jupiter muttered.

"And some of you told me training would be pointless," Dragon Mercury mused. But while Moon's skills hadn't surprised him, her eagerness to kick Black Lady around had.

Moon seemed to notice the way her friends were looking at her. "I won't let her hurt any of you."

"You bitch!" Black Lady shouted as a thin wave of darkness shot around her, knocking Moon away. She then rushed at Moon, punching her down before she could recover. "You only got me because you surprised me, but-"

Moon smiled. "Sorry."

Black Lady rose an eyebrow at that. "For what?"

"For this. Moon Twilight Flash!" Moon stood up as Black Lady was sent crashing into the crystal covering the tower. She slumped to the ground and didn't move. "Oh no..."

"She's still alive," Mercury said. "Weakened, but alive."

Dragon Mercury looked at his watch. "And Wiseman's up there, along with Dimando and Saffir. Guess he's too busy right now."

Moon smiled. "Okay, then it's time to bring-"

"Moon, wait!" Mercury shouted, but the warning was a little too late.

Mars saw Moon fall near them after being hit by a dark beam. "Damn it... She fooled us."

"Stupid kid, I knew she would buy the act," Black Lady said, standing up. "Now as for the rest of-"

"Fire Soul Bird!"

"Shabon Spray Freezing!"

"Supreme Thunder Dragon!"

"Crescent Beam Shower!"

"Shadow Core!"

"Grim Wave."

Black Lady was surprised, both at the Senshi using their weak attacks, and at the fact Moon had weakened her enough for these attacks to hurt her. "Why... Why didn't you use your strongest attacks?"

"Because they didn't want to kill you," Moon said, staggering up. "You're important to us, ChibiUsa."

"That name again? I-"

"Remember who you are," Moon said as her crystal lit up. "Wiseman's using you."

"I... But he promised he would help me fix everything!"

Moon smiled and started walking to Black Lady. "I screwed up, I let you be captured by him, I let him turn you into this... But I will not let you stay like this."

"Don't come any closer!"

Moon kept walking, and while Black Lady looked terrified, she was also not backing away. "You know all I'm telling you is true, ChibiUsa. You only wanted to help your mother, it's not your fault the crystal vanished. And I promise you we will find a way to heal your mother."

"We will...?"

Moon's smile didn't falter as she took the woman's hand. "Yes, it's a promise, and I never break my promises."

"Moon... No, mom. Thank you."

Mercury, like most others, covered her eyes as the two were covered by light. As the light faded, ChibiUsa was standing where Black Lady had been. "She did it."

"Usagi, I'm sorry."

Moon picked the small girl up and shook her head. "It's fine. But now we must go and defeat that Wiseman monster."

"He's scared of you."

Moon looked at the girl. "Huh?"

"I still... I still remember some of the things I sensed while I was..." ChibiUsa shivered, but then smiled. "Wiseman, no, the Death Phantom's aware that the Ginzuishou is the only thing which could stop him even if he reaches his full power."

"Don't worry, we will stop him. You stay here-"

"No."

Moon shook her head. "We can't bring you with us. That man could-"

"I must be there. I feel like I'll find a way to help mom if I..."

Moon looked at her friends. "We can't bring her there, right? It'll be dangerous-"

Dragon Mercury smiled. "She's a bit stubborn, like her mother. And hey, she helped us beat Esmeraude back then..."

Saturn nodded. "For some reason, I have to agree with Terry. I feel like she has to be there."

Moon sighed. "Okay, we'll just have to protect her."

Pluto appeared near her. "Unfortunately, Wiseman's already close to full power."

Mercury looked up in shock. "Wait, I sense Moon's power up there, how-"

"That's because I'll break the rules for once," Pluto noted, and smiled as the Senshi vanished. "It's risky, but if the Death Phantom was to fully awaken, then the universe itself would be..." She shook her head. No, it was all happening just as she remembered it. There was still one warrior missing, but she would awaken before the battle ended.

The Senshi appeared in the rooftop, and saw Dimando and Saffir trading blasts with Wiseman. "So, I suppose we don't have to blast those two around anymore."

Saffir heard Jupiter's comment and smiled. "Brother, the Senshi are here."

Wiseman looked at the newcomers and laughed. "I see, so you managed to defeat my soldier. It's too bad, but she was going to die anyhow."

"You creep, we won't let you win!"

"Brave words, little queen," Wiseman said, "but words don't win battles. Die!"

Moon was quite confused. Wiseman had shot a rather large dark wave at them, but some sort of shield had stopped it. "How..."

ChibiUsa smiled, but fell to one knee. "I want to protect you, too."

Moon glared at the man. "Let's show him! Moon Twilight Flash!"

"Mars Flame..." Mars summoned her bow, and a fiery arrow appeared in it. She aimed it at Wiseman and shot, the arrow growing as large as her fire bird as it went. "... Sniper!"

"Mercury Ice Geiser!"

"Jupiter... Thunderclap!" Jupiter swung her hammer in front of her, and several large lightning blasts shot forwards.

"Venus... Crescent..." Venus swung her whip forwards, and a large wave of light shot forth from it. "... Whip!"

"Nemesis..." Nemesis' spear was surrounded by darkness, and she stabbed the air with it, sending a beam of dark energy straight at her foe. "... Dark Shot!"

"Earth... Ground..." Earth leapt up, her claws becoming stone-like, and she fell claws-first, stabbing into the ground, and causing several large spikes of rock to shoot up from under her target. "... Ripper!"

"Grim Wave."

"Earth Stone Stab!"

"Mercury Icycle Bomb!"

"Venus..." Dragon Venus Put his arms to the sides, and several small orbs of light appeared around him. "Will'o'Wisp!" The orbs all shoot forwards, swirling around each other, and heading straight for his target.

"Sun..." Dragon Sun reached his hand forwards, aiming at Wiseman with his index finger, and a small ball of energy appeared right in front of it. He rose his thumb as the ball grew bigger, and it was easy to guess what the energy within was. "... Plasma Bolt!" He brought his thumb down against his hand as he said that, rising his hand as the ball of overheated gas shot forwards.

Wiseman was shocked. These kids... He was almost as strong as he had once been now, so even if there were many more of them attacking him, it was still not possible. A thousand years of difference meant nothing? Or were the ones from the future holding back as to not show him their true power? "This is..."

"Where is all your gloating now, monster?" Dimando snapped.

"I shall not be defeated by them, Prince. The more I wait, the stronger I become, and soon I shall be a god!"

"I won't let you win!" Dimando shouted, and unleashed a wide energy beam. The beam shot straight through Wiseman, and Dimando thought he had killed him for a split second, but then realized Wiseman's body was shimmering. "What?"

"Brother, watch out!"

Dimando turned around, but wasn't fast enough. Saffir, however, had guessed Wiseman's strategy, and used his own body to stop the blast. "Saffir!"

Saffir tried to stand up, but fell back to the ground. "Dimando, don't let... Don't let Wiseman win. The Senshi... They can defeat him."

Dimando noticed Saffir wasn't moving, and turned to glare at Wiseman. "You... My whole family's gone, my clan's fighting a war they can't win. I will not forgive you!"

"Begone, fool. Your clan was just a tool, but broken tools are useless."

"Die!"

As Dimando shot a large blast, Wiseman reached out a hand, and everyone could see the hand, and the arm it was attached to, were but bare bones. "Foolish prince, I am beyond your power now... But you can still be useful to me!"

Moon realized what Wiseman meant, and moved to cover ChibiUsa with her own body. However, something else stopped the blast, and Moon's eyes widened in shock as she saw who had stopped it. "You..."

Dimando fell to his knees. "I was blinded by jealousy, by hatred. I let that monster use me and my clan for his goals... Perhaps I deserve-"

"Hang in there, we can still save you."

Dimando smiled at Moon. "Just like the future Queen. She always looked at me with kindness and respect. Don't be sad, Serenity, I'm glad I could return your kindness... And besides, I can see Saffir and the others again now..."

Wiseman laughed, it was a mad, frenzied laughter. "Stupid to the end, he died by his own hand."

"No!"

Wiseman looked at Moon, whose glare could have pierced through his skull if it had been backed by magic. "What was that, mortal?"

"He died because of you. Each and every member of that clan... All for your stupid plans. And you feel no remorse?"

"Feelings? I don't care about feelings, although there's useful ones like jealousy or hatred. Like the hatred you're showing now."

"Let's shut that idiot up for good," Mars said.

"No, he's not bluffing," Mercury said, "his power is increasing even now. We may not be able to hurt him anymore."

"Hah! Listen to her, she knows I'm invincible!"

Mercury gave Wiseman a cold smile. "I didn't say that. There's one thing which can still defeat you, and you know it all too well, Death Phantom."

Wiseman took a step back as Moon summoned her Ginzuishou. "That... Even if you use that, I will still defeat you!"

Moon's eyes changed, and the way she was looking at Wiseman made him freeze for a second. "You... Such a being as yourself, whose only purpose is to end life, to bring pain and suffering to others. You're wrong, I don't hate you. I pity you."

"You? A mere mortal having pity of a god?"

"You're no god, Death Phantom, Wiseman or however you wish to be called. You're a cruel monster, just like Metallia and Beryl, and I cannot forgive you for all you've done. Moon Star Power!"

"Star Power?" Jupiter repeated as Moon's form was blurred by light.

"She was one of the last to reach Twilight, and yet..." Mercury smiled. "Guess she'll never stop surprising us."

Wiseman's hood was blown back by the energy around Moon, and his head was, as the Senshi had guessed, just a skull, with lifeless, black sockets which seemed to be staring at Moon as her transformation ended. "This much power... It's impossible."

Moon's suit was pretty much the same as before, except for her gloves, which now were almost touching her suit's shoulders. The colors were different, however, as her boots, gloves and skirt (a single skirt again) were all white with blue trimming. She looked at Wiseman again, her face unreadable, and then smiled as she drew a circle in the air, leaving behind a thin ring of light. The ring rapidly filled with light, turning into a disc nearly as tall as her, and she put her hands milimeters away from it, before reeling her right hand back, which was suddenly wrapped in light. "It's time to end this. Moonlight Flash!"

And then she punched the ring, causing a large orb of light to shoot forwards. "Shit..."

"Ami?"

"That thing has... Ten times the power of her previous attack."

Wiseman was quite aware of its power. "What is this?" He reached his hand out, and a beam of darkness shot forth, stopping the orb in its track. However, the orb kept inching closer to him. "No! I will not be defeated, not when I'm this close to my goal!"

Moon was struggling to keep the attack going. "Everyone... I need your help."

"Should we attack him too?" Mars asked.

"No, that won't work," Mercury said.

Dragon Venus smiled. "Mom once told me Senshi can do a Mana Link without even breaking a sweat. It won't hurt to try."

Dragon Sun nodded. "Everyone, focus in Usagi, think about lending all the energy you can to her. You will notice it if it works."

The Senshi all closed their eyes, and ChibiUsa gasped in awe. Energy was flowing from them to Moon, and the small girl saw that the orb of light had, for a few seconds, started to inch closer to Wiseman, but then it stopped. "Why... They're all doing their best, and yet they can't defeat him?" If only she could help them... But she was just a girl, what could she-

"Guys, don't give up! We can defeat him!"

ChibiUsa looked at Moon. Usagi Tsukino... Usagi was just a girl too, and yet she fought that hard to protect everyone. She smiled. "I want to help them. I will help them!" She felt something warm in her chest, and looked down just in time to see a crystal floating away from her. The Ginzuishou? The one from the future?

Mercury had detected a rather large power spike, and she risked opening her eyes as she kept sending energy to Moon. "Guys, look at that, ChibiUsa is..."

"She had it within her all this time?" Venus asked.

ChibiUsa smiled as she closed her eyes. "Is that so? It's okay if it's only this once." She rose the crystal up and stared at Wiseman, who was still focusing most of his attention in keeping up his dark beam, but was quite aware of what was going on with the Princess. "I will not let you hurt my friends, monster. Moon Prism Power!"

Wiseman gasped. "For her Senshi powers to awaken at such a young age... That isn't possible."

ChibiUsa's suit was just like Moon's first level suit, except her bows, skirt and neck were pink, while her boots and bows were a much darker shade of pink. A pair of white, diamond-shaped broochs completed the attire, along with a tiara much like Moon's one. She took that tiara off, and a few of the Senshi smiled as they were quite sure of what she was about to do. "There's something the Senshi said back home, Wiseman. Nothing is impossible for us. Moon Tiara... Action!"

The tiara shoot forth, passing straight through Moon's attack, and hitting Wiseman's dark beam. Wiseman could only stare in shock as the tiara bounced back after disrupting his attack. The disruption had been small, but he realized he wouldn't be able to stabilize his own attack in time, and could only scream in pain and fear as the orb hit him, and light swallowed him whole. When the light dimmed, there was nothing left of him.

"We did it!"

Moon smiled at Earth's words, but stared at the new Senshi. "What... You're a Senshi, too?" Not that she hadn't thought about it, herself, but she thought ChibiUsa would have to be 'a bit' older to become one.

Luna and the other Mooncats came walking to them. "There were legends back in Silver Milenium, about some Senshi awakening their powers at a young age. Not all of them had good endings, but in this case..."

"What's your name anyhow, Moon Two?" Venus asked.

"It's Sailor ChibiMoon," the girl said proudly.

"Eh, what the heck?" Jupiter asked.

"At least it's not MiniMoon," Dragon Mercury joked.

Moon suddenly noticed something, and looked around. "Hey, when did we get here?"

Pluto was standing right besides her. "I moved you away from there."

Dragon Sun looked up at the tower. "What will we do about the crys-" Just then, the crystal shattered, turning into dust and vanishing before any of it hit the ground. "-tal? Uh, nevermind."

"So, it's over," Moon said, then looked at Pluto. "Are you here to take ChibiUsa back?"

"No, not yet. Next time you see me, however, it will be time for her to return to her own era."

"Hey, wai-" ChibiMoon started, but sighed as Pluto vanished. "Guess that means I'll stay for a while."

Moon picked her up and nodded. "Let's go home, I think we all deserve a break after that."

"We still have school tomorrow," Venus complained. "We should have let them blast the school to dust when we had the chance..."

"Let's go do it, and we'll blame it on the Wiseman," Earth suggested.

"Karin..." Dragon Earth warned.

"Joking, joking."

Moon smiled as she heard her friends talk, but she was quite worried. Wiseman had been stronger than Metallia, would the next enemy they faced be even stronger?

"Mommy..."

Moon looked down and smiled, ChibiMoon had fallen asleep while they walked, and she was surely dreaming about Queen Serenity. "You'll see her soon, ChibiUsa."

A/N: And this ends (for now) your regularly scheduled canon anime arcs. Next arc will have shadows from the past, walking flowers, and dangerous games. Business, as usual.

By the way, in the previous version (Cyber Moon) Moon was one of the last to reach Star level, and did so around chapter seventy. This will be interesting...