Sailor Moon Aeons.
Book 2: Rebirth.
Act 4: Death Busters.
Episode 59: Frozen World.

By Razor Knight
Last update: July 31, 2013
Last edited: June 5, 2017

The planet was, she had to admit, quite a sight to behold. All that water, it would be easy for her race to thrive in there.

Her troops were ready, and she knew there was more than enough food for them to survive for centuries. Perhaps they would grow more food and settle, or perhaps they would eventually move on to a new world. But that wouldn't change the fate of this particular world, the world which would be soon hers to rule. The world its primitive inhabitants called 'Earth.'

"Beautiful, beautiful Earth. I will make you even more beautiful, once I encase you in my eternal ice."

It was, for most, just another day in the base, but Usagi had been aware of something weird. Something which had been bothering her for the last hour. "Terry, can I ask you something?"

Terry was recovering from the kick Usagi had just connected, so he was a bit thankful for the break. "Sure, what's the-"

"Why are you holding back? I don't like to fight, but if I have to, I want to at least train properly."

"I'm not-"

"You are," Ami said, walking to them. "I've been watching you train today. Perhaps you're not doing it consciously, but you're making it too easy on her."

Terry stood there, thinking about it for a few seconds, then finally smiled sheepishly. "I guess I am. And I know why, too."

"Fear."

Terry looked at Saturn, who had been training on her own near them. "You could call it that." He turned to Usagi. "You can't be brought back again, not without some miracle happening, and for some reason, a part of me is afraid of fighting you, hurting you."

Usagi smiled. "I appreciate your concern, but you should know- You said it yourself, back then, that I was good enough to fight Game Master. If he hadn't cheated-"

"Nobody is invincible," Terry said, "and I know if Hakko was here today, he would be giving us an earful for being so careless back then."

"It could have happened to any of us," Saturn said. "Me, I don't even have a second chance, but I don't let that stop me from protecting this world."

Terry looked at Saturn in shock. "I never thought about that. Well, you're right, I shouldn't hold back, at least not this much. I'll try and make it interesting, Usagi."

Usagi turned as the elevator's doors opened, and saw Naru and Umino walk in. "I was starting to think you two would take the day off." She smiled as she saw the way they stared at each other. Yes, she had guessed right.

"I gave it a lot of thought," Naru admitted, knowing the look Usagi was giving her. "I don't want to have any regrets, I can't keep using what happened back then as an excuse. This guy may be weird at times, but I like him."

Umino looked at Usagi. "Are you okay?"

"Don't worry, I'm fine," Usagi said, "when I started fighting youma, I didn't even know I would get a second chance - or a third. I'm not letting that stop me from fighting against evil."

"You've become quite a warrior," Umino admitted.

Terry looked at Umino. "So, you still have Game Master's powers?"

To answer that, Umino rose his hand, a blue mushroom with small, beady eyes appearing in it. "I do, but I can't keep these things up for long. I can call upon attacks from any videogame, too, and that one side of these powers seems to be less energy-draining."

"So you got a final boss' power, but you're back to level one," Chie, who had been silently listening to the others, said.

"We shouldn't expect you to summon Son Goku to fight someone, then," Ami mused.

Umino looked around. "You know, what I don't get is... That one golden Senshi. Who is she?"

"Golden Senshi?" Usagi asked.

"You mean, that time you were fighting Karin and me," Chie said, "and you were hit by someone?"

"Yeah. While I wasn't really 'there' while Arkeiz used my body, I can still remember all that happened. See, I was attacked by a purple-haired female Senshi wearing a golden suit."

Ami was typing in her computer while Umino said that, and sighed. "That description doesn't match any known Senshi. Or at least, not any Senshi described in the parts of this database I have access to."

"Uh, so that guess was right," Umino noted, "I thought your computer had a database of some sort."

"It does, but most of it requires passwords. Perhaps asking the right question would get the right answer, but if you don't know the right question..."

"So there could be a rogue Senshi out there?" Terry asked. "Why hasn't she contacted us?"

"Perhaps because she doesn't feel like she could join us yet," Saturn said.

Yukiko appeared near Saturn. "Darn, it's supposed to be spring!"

"What's wrong, Yuki?"

"It got cold out there, in a matter of minutes," Yukiko explained. "Almost as if-"

"A new enemy has appeared," Aiko said, appearing next to Terry.

Terry looked at the map. "Uh, another large-scale invasion?"

"There's not many foes, but the areas marked in blue are right now covered in ice."

"Ice? But it's almost summer-"

"I'm aware of that," Aiko said, interrupting Chie, "there are several strange items, they seem to be generating the ice. A group of enemies is guarding each generator, but those enemies are only as strong as a first level Senshi."

"Call the others," Usagi said.

Aiko nodded. "Already did, I have observed your battles long enough to know a difference in power doesn't mean a certain victory." She looked up. "But most Senshi seem to be already engaging the enemy."

Ami was using the base's computer, and looked up as the map of the city changed to a view of the Earth from space. "We're not the only ones being attacked."

"They're everywhere," Chie noted, "we can't hope to unfreeze all that, can we?"

"That won't be needed."

Terry looked at Pluto, not fazed at all by her usual 'out of nowhere' entrance. "If you're here, that means things could get messy."

"You're correct. To end this attack, you must go there and fight the enemy. If what I'm seeing is true, then their true leader will appear to face you, and will be defeated by you."

"And then we kick whoever it is out of the planet."

Pluto looked at Naru. "It won't be an easy fight, and I can't assure none of you will die today."

Naru looked at Usagi. "You should stay-"

"No."

Pluto smiled. "She can't stay behind. She's the strongest Senshi, and this particular enemy is, we could say, enticed by raw magic power."

Aiko looked up. "The ice will reach this building in five minutes."

"Then let's go," Usagi said, "the sooner we're done with this, the sooner we'll be able to take a break from fighting."

Pluto smiled as the Senshi and their allies left. "Unfortunately, they won't be able to take that break anytime soon."

Aiko lookedat Pluto. "You do realize I could tell them about that."

"If you tell them, I'll have to kill you."

"Going offline would be a status I don't find benefical," Aiko said, "so I will erase this conversation from my data banks."

"Wish I could do that with some of my memories..." Pluto noted, then vanished.

Rei looked around. Yes, she could sense something out there. And even if she couldn't sense it, temperature had dropped far too fast for a spring day.

"I suppose you're going out for a walk again, right?"

Rei turned to see Yuichiro there. "Huh, how did you-"

"I've been around enough to notice, Miss Rei. You look like you're searching for something I can't see, which means you're sensing something evil."

"You're right," Rei said, "but please, drop the 'Miss.'"

"Sorry, old habits."

Rei smiled. Yuu wasn't a bad guy, he could be a bit silly at times, but she could get to like that, eventually. She could get to like him. Or had she already started- She shook her head. "No time for that, Rei."

If Yuichiro knew what was going through her head, he didn't comment on it. "Either your friend Mizuno is testing her attacks, or that's the new evil in town."

She noticed what he meant. A layer of ice had appeared close to them, and she could see it expanding slowly. "Damn it. Yuu, you should search for a place to hide, I'll take- Yuu?" As she turned, she saw the ice wasn't coming from one single direction, and that Yuichiro was encased in a block of it. "No..."

"Rei, he's still alive, but I'm not sure how long he'll survive in there."

She turned to see her grandfather walking to her. "Weren't you affected?"

"I cast a protective barrier around my body, but even that won't last long. Go get them, Sailor Mars."

Rei nodded. "Of course. Mars Star Power!"

Moon couldn't help but gasp in shock as they fled out of the base. There were dozens of creatures around, and as she looked, she saw one of them encasing a man into an ice block, much like some of Mercury's attacks did. "There's many of them out here."

The creatures seemed female, but were made entirely of ice, and wore strange icy suits, which made them look like ballerinas. "'Ice Dancer' seems like a fitting name for these things, huh?" Jupiter commented.

"If they're really made of ice," Dragon Mercury said, "then Ami and me will have to stick to melee."

"Flame Seeker."

Lilith saw a dozen flame arrows fly in, and correct their course to hit many of the creatures, and stared in awe as Mars walked to them. "Wow..."

Mars smiled. "Did you guys think I wouldn't figure out how to make my own attacks?"

"Homing flame arrows," Moon said, "I wouldn't expect any less from you, Rei."

Mars blushed slightly. "Eh, it's not so amazing, is it?" She then looked in the direction of her shrine, and sighed.

"Something on your mind?"

"Yuu was caught by the ice... And grandpa sent me off, but he's probably also been hit by now."

"We'll beat their boss and get them back to normal."

Mars smiled at Moon. "I know." She noticed the other Senshi had kept themselves busy, but for each Dancer that was killed, two more appeared. "Hope their boss isn't just trying to tire us down."

Mercury had been fighting in her own way, using her computer and her visor to find where the enemy was coming from. "If that's their plan, it won't work. I've located their base."

"Where is it?"

"Something which looks like an ice comet heading straight for Earth right now. But it's slowing down, so I'm guessing it's some sort of spaceship, or the 'boss' of these ice creatures has that much control over ice."

Warwitch was holding two large balls of flame. "Shit, if it's colder than here..."

"There doesn't seem to be any air up there, either. We Senshi can survive in deep space for a while, but..."

"I get it," Warwitch muttered. "It's not fair to always be left out of your boss fights, though."

"Sorry, Yuki-"

Warwitch waved Moon's apology off. "No, it's my own fault. I have to be stronger." She looked around. "Wonder where those three are..."

Aiko's voice came out of Mercury's visor. "The Demon Hunters are engaging the enemy all around the city."

"Good, now we need to wait for the others to-"

"And here we are."

Moon looked at Pluto, who had apparently brought the rest of the Senshi along. "Oh, I was starting to wonder where you were."

Dragon Sun looked at Pluto. "Are you going to help us?"

"Not this time around. The fate of this battle is already decided. Good luck."

Dragon Mercury stared at the spot Pluto had been standing on for a few seconds. "Hey, if she can see the outcome of this battle, then why is she saying 'good luck'?"

"Don't try figuring her out," Dragon Sun said, "it will make your brain hurt."

Moon was looking up to the sky. "Guys, we should hurry up."

Mercury nodded. "We don't know how long people trapped in those ice blocks will survive."

There was one thing the Mooncats had been right about. The more Senshi using it, the less energy their Sailor Teleport used. Moon had barely felt any drain from it. However, she was now feeling something else. "Too damn cold!"

Mercury couldn't help but agree. "The temperature here is low. Much lower than it was in the North Pole. Even our suits won't protect us from it forever."

"Oh, we have guests. I didn't think that pitiful world would be able to send soldiers here."

As they turned, they saw a creature there. It was female, like the rest of her kind, but much taller, and wearing what seemed like a royal gown, made of ice. The smile she was giving them was, fittingly, a cold, mocking one.

"You must be the leader of those creatures," Moon said, "I don't want to fight you, if you leave our world now, then we-"

The woman interrupted her by laughing. "Oh, that's amusing. My race's been searching for a place to live in, and your world will do. We just need to cleanse it first, to lower its temperature to a more fitting level."

"But... That will kill everything. Not just humans, but animals and plants-"

"So what? My race needs food, and your race will have the honor of becoming our biggest banquet in centuries."

Mars had heard enough of her. "Flame Seeker!"

The woman dodged the barrage of arrows, but a single one struck her arm. "That was pathetic, your weak race is-"

Mars snorted as the woman was hit by all her other arrows, which had focused into the one which hit the woman's arm. "If we're weak, then what are you?"

The woman stood up quickly, glaring at them. "Enough! I will not tolerate such an inferior race to try resisting. You will now know the true power of Queen Kaguya!"

Mars rushed to Kaguya, her hands shrouded by fire. "Shut up already!"

"You first," Kaguya said, shooting a wave of ice which encased Mars in ice. "Hmph, so weak."

"Moonlight Pulse!"

Kaguya was knocked back by the attack, but didn't even flinch. "Oh, now that's more like it."

The Dragons all run to the Queen, but she simply waved her hand, and the Senshi were all encased in ice. "So, that's it?" She noticed two of the ice pillars cracking, and smiled. "I like it better when food fights back."

"Fuck that was cold," Dragon Mercury exclaimed. He knew Mercury had also broken out of her 'prison,' but the others were all trapped. "Damn it... Ami, find a way to get them out. I'll take care of this bitch."

"But-"

"Magic doesn't work, so I'll just do things my way," he said as he summoned his swords.

The Queen chuckled as two long ice blades appeared in her hands. "I can fight you like that, too."

"Good, I was hoping for a challenge."

"And so was I."

Mercury scanned the blocks as fast as she could, but then gasped. "I can't find a way to-"

'There's always a way.'

She stopped and looked around. Was that... Usagi's voice?

'Ami, remember what Pluto said. If you kill that woman, then the ice will vanish.'

Mercury realized what was going on. Moon was 'talking' to her using her crystal. "But I can't- My attacks would be useless against that woman."

'Ami, look at Terry. There's always hope.'

Mercury turned to the battle, but saw the Dragon was obviously on the losing side. The woman was stronger than him, moved faster than him, and he was already showing signs of being affected by the cold. "There's hope... But we-" She saw the woman finally get the upper hand and knock him to the ground, putting a hand on top of his chest with a wicked smile. "Terry!"

The Queen chuckled, then looked at the Dragon. "Your friend's next, kid."

Dragon Mercury frowned. Magic didn't work, melee didn't work, but perhaps... He looked at the woman's arm, there was a small cut where Mars' arrow had hit, and he could see water dripping out of it. "Well, then I have nothing to worry about," he said casually, then dug his sword into the woman's belly.

Kaguya stood up, after freezing her target, and then looked at Mercury while she removed the sword and tossed it aside. "Hmph. Stupid brat, a wound like this won't kill me. And it won't help you."

Mercury looked at the woman with her visor, and knew Usagi had been right. Water was pouring out of the woman's wound. Cold water, but not cold enough to freeze. Which meant... "You're wrong about that, that wound is all I need to defeat you."

"I can sense you can control ice, but that won't make a difference. I am ice itself, and I will destroy you!"

Mercury smiled as the woman rushed to her. "You're not 'ice itself,' because you're not cold enough. But I can fix that. Frozen Rage!"

Kaguya stopped her charge as the attack hit, staring at Mercury. "What is this... How can you-"

Mercury saw Kaguya wasn't moving anymore. She had been, ironically, frozen in place. She heard noises of crystal (or rather, she corrected herself, ice) shattering, and turned to see her friends were all free. "Good, Pluto was right."

Earth looked around. "Wait, did Moon finish that ice girl off?"

Dragon Mercury smiled. "I know what happened. Let's just say that Kaguya girl was cool, but not as cool as my girl."

Mercury blushed slightly. "Terry and I got free of those ice blocks, and he tried to fight her."

"And you seemed quite ready to give up," Moon noted.

"So it wasn't just my imagination. Anyhow, I tried to get you all out of those blocks, but then I turned to see Terry about to be beaten. He stabbed Kaguya through the stomach, and at first I didn't know why he did that, but then I saw it. She was bleeding water. Water, when cold enough, turns into ice. So I just aimed for the wound."

Lilith stared at Mercury for a few seconds before whistling. "You froze her blood?"

"Not a nice way to go, at all," Jupiter commented, "but she would have used us all as food, so..."

"I don't like killing," Mercury admitted, "but I also don't forgive those who threaten my friends, and my home."

Moon smiled. "I suppose I can agree with that. I did give her the chance to leave."

"And she didn't take it," Dragon Sun said. He then frowned as the ground around them started shaking. "I think we broke something."

Mercury looked around. "The whole comet is falling apart. It was just a construct, and Kaguya kept it stable. We need to get out of here."

Warwitch smiled as the Senshi appeared near her. "Good job, guys."

"It wasn't an easy fight," Moon admitted, then noticed the ice was gone. "Guess this little crisis is over, right?"

"So we just wait until the next crisis," Dragon Mercury commented.

"Why can't this one be the last enemy we'll fight?"

"Didn't feel like a final boss at all," Lilith noted.

Earth chuckled. "We're not in a videogame, Chie."

Saturn looked around. "Uh oh... More evil entities approaching."

Venus chuckled as she noticed the crowd slowly gathering around them. "Fans aren't evil."

"Says you," Saturn muttered. "There's also the problem of location, if you know what I mean."

Moon nodded. True, they were right outside the base, so they couldn't go back there walking. She looked at Dragons Venus and Sun. "Guys?"

"Yeah, yeah," Sun said, "We should start charging for this. Mass Teleport!"

A/N: And now we return to your regularly scheduled canon arcs. And as usual, there will be differences between this and the Cyber Moon version.

What differences? Well, if I told you, then they wouldn't be a surprise.