Sailor Moon Aeons.
Book 2: Rebirth.
Act 3: War games.
Episode 48: Computers, toads and dinosaurs.

By Razor Knight
Last update: May 2, 2013
Last edited: June 1, 2017

Things were quiet for a couple days, but the Senshi knew better than thinking their foe had given up. Most of them were training, but Terry and Ami were busy with something else.

"You two and your computers..." Minako mused.

"Sorry, but we're almost done with this," Ami said looking away from the console for a second.

"I think it's ready," Terry said.

Ami nodded. "Aiko, are you there?"

"Affirmative," a robotic voice said.

"Aiko?" Mako muttered. "Just what the heck are you up to?"

Terry walked to the center of the room. "Aiko, run virtual self routine."

A figure appeared next to Terry, and everyone could see a few things wrong with it. First off, she wasn't blinking or breathing, and second, the far wall of the base could be seen through her body.

"Eeek, a ghost!" Usagi shouted.

Terry chuckled. "No, that's Aiko. We told you we were improving the base's AI, so..."

Rei stared at the young girl and shook her head. "AI-ko... Nice pun."

"But her looks are a bit weird," Usagi said. Her hair was dark blue, her eyes black, and her face reminded her of... "Like a mix of Ami and Terry's faces."

"So, they built themselves a daughter?" Hotaru asked.

"I was created by both Ami and Terry, so that sentence is technically correct," the girl said.

Kage looked at the girl, then at Hotaru, then laughed.

Hotaru knew exactly what he was laughing at. "Yeah, she sounds like me a while back. Stop laughing or I'll glaive you."

Naru looked at the girl. "So, it controls the scanners, right? What else can it do?"

"I can record your training and replay it on demand, so you can analyze your flaws and improve your-"

Terry frowned. "Aiko, don't do that."

"I can't understand what I did wrong."

"Don't answer questions meant for others, unless you are sure your answer is the most accurate."

"Affirmative."

Ami sighed. "And stop using that word, try using something a bit less... Robotic."

Aiko stared at her for a second before nodding. "Okay."

"Using a hologram to give an AI a 'body,'" Mamoru commented, "that's rather impressive. However, even if she wasn't ghost-like, she wouldn't fool anyone who paid attention to details."

Usagi knew what he meant. "She's not breathing, she doesn't blink, and she just stands there without moving."

"We're still working on making her act more human-like," Terry said, and walked to the console, typing a few commands in it. "We are aiming for a sentient AI, a program with self-awareness, feelings, the kind of quirks that makes humans be human."

Kage saw the girl was breathing and, at seemingly random intervals, blinking. "Cool. Now have her make sarcastic remarks on things the others do, and she'll be just like Hotaru."

"His humor subroutines seem to be broken," Aiko noted.

Rei stared at her. "Was that your way to say his jokes aren't amusing?"

"Yes."

"I think I'll get used to it... To her," Rei mused.

Just then, Yukiko walked in. "Hey guys, what's going- Wait, who's that?"

"Aiko," Usagi said.

"... Right, and who's Aiko?"

"Ami and Terry's daughter," Mako explained.

"Oh," Yukiko looked at the girl and shrugged. "Nice to meet you."

"Nice to meet you as well," Aiko said in her robotic voice.

The others stared at Yukiko in shock, and she frowned. "What?"

"You're not surprised by what we just told you?" Usagi asked.

"Let's see, I'm in the base of a group of superheroes, who have talking cats, flying boards, and can teleport around the city in a blink. And a week ago, you still had a girl around who was Usagi's daughter, from the future. Moreso, I'm just done killing Q-Bert a few blocks away from here. Ami and Terry having a ghastly daughter? Doesn't quite shock me as much as it should."

"Her logic is flawless," Aiko admitted.

"Wait," Usagi said, "you fought Q-Bert?"

"Yeah."

"... Okay, and who's Q-Bert?" Usagi asked.

Terry gave her a fake terrified look. "You don't know about Q-Bert? I don't think we should be friends anymore, Usagi."

"Joking aside, why didn't binary girl here tell us about it?" Brad asked.

"I detected that entity, but could also sense its extremely low power levels, and that Warwitch was close to it. I estimated it would take her less than one point five minutes to exterminate it. Also, I do not approve of that nickname."

Yukiko blinked at that. "Uhm, yeah, that thing was dead after only one lightning blast. But why is she talking like that?"

"It's the base's AI," Rei explained.

Yukiko giggled. "They made themselves a daughter?"

"I made that joke already," Hotaru commented.

"What did you come here for, Yuki?" Usagi asked.

"I... Was wondering if that guy was here. Hakko, I think that's his name, right?"

"Oh no, she got tired of us and found a new idol to follow," Kage joked.

Yukiko shrugged. "Being honest to myself, I suck at melee. I was hoping he would train me-"

"Oh, he will, as long as you pay him the usual billion dollars fee," Terry joked. He then noticed Yukiko staring at him in shock. "Joking. But he's out of town right now, so perhaps I could help you until he comes back."

"Out of town?" Usagi asked. "What is he doing?"

Terry shrugged. "He didn't say, and I know him enough not to ask. He could be doing something related to the Demon Hunters, or he could have gone hunting sharks with his bare hands."

"I know that last bit is a joke," Mako noted, "but I wouldn't be surprised if he actually did that."

Yukiko smiled. "Oh well, I get to be kicked around by one of the Senshi, and I may learn something, too. It's a win-win situation for me."

Game Master looked at his newest summons. Three of them were staring blankly at him, while the two other creatures were just blowing bubbles at him. He was sure they all looked way cooler inside their own games. "My minions, I will now tell you about your mission."

"Mission..." the tallest of the bunch droned.

"You three will go and attack Sailor Mars at her house. In the meantime, the two dinos will go and create a distraction for the Senshi."

"Senshi..."

The blue dinosaur simply blew a bubble at him.

"Go and destroy the Senshi!" As his minions vanished, Game Master shook his head, then decided to use his time for something far more productive. "Time to play some Tetris." He froze for a second, then laughed evily. "Of course, Tetris! Why didn't I think of that before?"

Rei was back at the shrine, meditating in front of the sacred fire. She had only seen one image, but it was bad enough. She could see thousands of creatures attacking the city, and she recognized some of them from videogames. Did that mean Game Master was a real threat?

"Rei, I think you should come outside."

That was her grandfather, and his tone was dead serious. "What's wrong, gran-" she stopped as walked out, and saw just what was wrong. Three humanoid toads, looking around. She was quite sure she was what they were looking for, but she didn't remember these guys from any of the videogames she had played.

"I will protect you, Miss Rei!"

Yuichiro came running from the side, with a broom as his only weapon. He tried to hit the three toads, but one of them somehow had its hand grow in size until it was as big as him, then punched him away.

"Yuichiro!" Rei frowned. She couldn't just transform with Yuichiro there, but if she didn't do something, then he would get hurt. She dashed back into the building, and sighed. "No, if Mars walks out, he'll figure it out." She then smiled. "Of course..." Her bow appeared in her hands, along with a quiver full of plain metal arrows. "Guess I was right to keep these around."

Yuichiro was about done staggering up, when he saw the three toads be hit by arrows. He looked at Rei, who was holding a red bow, and smiled. "Good thinking, Miss Rei."

"Stand back, I'll take care of them."

"I think they may be too tough for us," Hino said.

The tallest toad saw Rei shooting another arrow, and used its feet (which grew as big as a car) to kick it away. "Senshi not here..."

"Yeah, we should stop playing with these weaklings," the second toad said.

Yuichiro walked past Rei and then stopped, turning to smile at her. "They're looking for the Senshi, so why keep them waiting?"

"Wha... What do you mean?"

"I've known for a while, Sailor Mars," Yuichiro said, "but don't worry, I won't tell anyone about you and your friends."

Rei nodded. "Okay, I guess I'll have to trust you." She turned to the toads. "You won't leave this place, froggies. Mars Twilight Power!"

"Senshi..."

"Yeah, that chick was one of them! Let's get her!"

Mars smirked. "You're toast. Flame Sniper!"

The big toad saw one of his friends be pierced through by the flame arrow, and glared at Mars. "Senshi kill friend, so I kill Senshi."

Mars had been about to shoot another arrow, but she saw the toad's hand grow in size (larger than before, if that was even possible) as he rushed at her, and froze for a second.

"Rei, watch out!"

Mars felt something pushing her aside, and knew what had happened instantly. She saw Yuichiro fly back and through the temple's wall, and paled. "Yuu!"

"Senshi next..."

"Not our fault that dumb guy wanted to get beaten," the other toad snapped.

Mars glared at the two toads. "That's it, I'm really going to toast you now. Mars Star Power!"

Hino smiled. "So that's how they power up, huh?"

Mars was already gathering fire as her transformation ended. "Mars... Fire..." She rose both hands, then started spinning as fire spread through all her body. She then stopped, and the fire shoot out as a spinning cone of flames. "... Tornado!"

"Holy crap!"

"Crap..."

Hino flinched as the two toads were wrapped in flames, and there was nothing left of them when the attack ended. "That was quite impressive, Mars."

Mars nodded, then rushed to the temple. She stopped as she saw Yuichiro limping out of it. "Yuu, are you okay?"

"I'll live," Yuichiro said, then noticed something. "'Yuu'?"

"I was worried, you fool!" Mars said. "I'm a lot tougher than a normal human in this form, so you shouldn't risk yourself-"

"I don't want to see you get hurt, Miss Rei."

Mars sighed. "Drop the 'Miss,' please."

"Only if you keep calling me Yuu."

"Fair enough," Mars said, then turned back to normal.

"Love's in the air," Hino said as he walked into the temple, "sorry if I don't stay and chat, but I'll call someone to fix that wall."

Yuichiro noticed Rei was blushing beet red. "I'm just glad that you're okay," he said, then walked back into the building as well.

Rei turned to look up at the cloudy sky. Love? Was that what she felt for him? He had been around for a while, and always covered for her when she had to leave, even though she never explained what she was doing to him. And even if it was a foolish thing to do, she was surprised by his actions from minutes earlier. But it was a pleasant surprise.

No, not yet... She wasn't ready yet, she wasn't sure yet, but perhaps soon she would figure out what she felt.

Emi, Maria and Aki were looking at the cityscape from atop a building. "I'm surprised we survived that training."

Aki smiled at Maria. "Me too. Remember when we first met?"

Maria frowned. "Yeah, I tried to cast a high-level fire spell, and burnt a bit of your hair off."

Emi laughed. "You two were bickering constantly after that. For a while I thought you hated each other, but then I figured what was really going on..."

"We've come a long way from there, huh?"

"Have you two heard the news, though? Videogame characters attacking the city, sounds quite crazy."

"Summoning an imaginary being is nothing new," Emi admitted, "but autonomous summons, that's something else."

Maria looked down and smiled. "Well I'll be damned," she said in Spanish. "Look down there, I think I know those two."

"Bub and Bob?" Aki exclaimed. "Come on, two bubble-spitting dinosaurs, that's the dangerous enemy of the day?"

"Let's get them."

The three leapt off the roof, transforming as they floated down. "We're extremely sorry, but this is a no-dinosaur area."

The two small dinosaurs looked at the newcomers and smiled, then started blowing out bubbles from their mouth. The three Hunters jumped out of the way, and Calisto decided to try her new tricks. "Freya's Breath."

Bub stared at the large cloud of icy mist coming his way, then blew a bubble, wrapping it all with it.

"Oh right, that's what they do," Mira muttered. "Odin's Storm."

Bob used the same trick as Bub, and the lightning blast was also trapped.

Circe saw the bubbles slowly floating her way, and frowned. "This is just dumb, what-"

"Aki, move!" Calisto shouted.

Mira tried to knock Circe out of the way, but the bubbles broke as she run close, and the lightning and mist hit them both. "That was pathetic." And painful, she added mentally.

Bub and Bob run to them, blowing a few bubbles, and both Circe and Mira were trapped within them.

"Damn! Girls, are you okay?"

Mira looked at Calisto. "Yeah, not counting the fact I'm trapped inside a sphere of... Dinosaur spit. Gross." She tried to punch the wall, and yelped. "Crap, like punching a steel wall."

Calisto sighed. So, the two creatures could stop ranged spells. Perhaps it was time to try a more direct approach. "Icarus' Wing!" That spell was no attack, but it boosted her speed greatly. She used said speed to dash to one of the dinosaurs, hitting it with a barrage of kicks and punches before knocking it up to the air. "Poseidon's Lance."

This time, a large, watery spear appeared right above Bub, piercing through it before it could react. Bob growled at Calisto and started shooting bubbles at her, but her speed was now too much for it. Calisto punched it into a wall, and the dinosaur looked at her with its tiny eyes.

"Aww, you're almost too cute to kill," Calisto noted, then shrugged. "Almost. Ifrit's Touch."

Mira and Circe walked to Calisto as the bubbles around them vanished. "That was good, Maria."

"Bravo, that was certainly impressive, for a bunch of sidekicks."

Circe looked up at the man. "Huh? Rockman?"

"I'm Game Master, and I'm the one behind these attacks."

"Are you here to fight us?"

"Not really, just wanted to see if you weak sidekicks had improved at all."

Circe glared at him. "Loki's Trick."

Game Master was confused for a second, as no attack came from Circe, but was able to sense the swords coming at him from behind, and just in time to dodge them. "I don't want to fight you yet, kids, but I can still give you a show of my true power."

Calisto shrugged. "What are you going to do, sic Tapper at us?"

Game Master's smile turned devious. "Did you know there are Dragon Ball games?"

Mira realized what he meant and acted quickly. "Gaia's Tower!"

Game Master's large, yellow energy beam punched through the large wall of stone, knocking the three Hunters half a block. "As expected, you're no challenge for me yet."

Circe staggered up slowly. "Where did that jerk get magic like that?"

"No idea, but I'll be ready for him next time," Mira said. She then looked at Circe. "Why use something that weak, though?"

"He'll think that's our best," Circe explained. "He'll underestimate us, and that could be what we need to beat him."

A/N: It is my humble opinion that every group of superheroes should have a sentient computer/robot/cyborg/automaton. Of course Aiko's not quite sentient yet, but she will be, eventually.

And I think the Senshi will be quite puzzled by Game Master's next scheme.