Sailor Moon Aeons.
Book 2: Rebirth.
Act 4: Death Busters.
Episode 61: Heart crystals.

By Razor Knight
Last update: August 23, 2013
Last edited: June 6, 2017

Mars had been expecting it to happen, so she didn't mind the looks the others were giving her. "Here we are."

Ami smiled. "As you could guess, the others have mostly kept themselves busy guessing what Moon meant."

"Oops," Moon said.

"But," Ami added quickly, "we'll save all that for later. What I've found is quite serious."

Terry nodded. "I've seen enough of the data to agree."

"Magic is something which can't be easily explained, and that 'item' you saw is related to magic. In the times of Silver Millenium, they were called Heart Crystals, and were supposed to be the physical representation of a person's soul. However, I can't find any information on 'Talismans.' I'm guessing they're a special kind of heart crystal."

"So, I take it I wouldn't survive without it," Mars noted.

"A normal human could die in a matter of minutes if their heart crystal is taken. A Senshi of our level... I don't think you could survive for more than fifteen minutes."

"But she could still be brought back, right? Even without the crystal-"

Hotaru looked at Moon. "I could 'revive' her, but she would be a body with no soul. An empty shell."

"Shit," Mars muttered. "Any clue on who the enemy is?"

"I can't detect anything out of place," Aiko explained, "which means the enemy's either not in this city, or can shield from my scans."

"And about those two new Senshi..." Moon looked at Hotaru and Kage. "You two know who they are."

It wasn't a question, and Hotaru knew it. "Sorry, I can't tell you-"

"Can't or won't?" Terry asked.

"Both," Kage said. "It's not just because they may want to keep their identities a secret, but... They're different than I remember. Something's changed."

Hotaru nodded. "I agree. They may not be friendly at all."

"But if we knew who they are, then-"

Hotaru stood up and walked to Moon. "Don't worry, if they do anything to harm any of my friends, I'll take care of them personally."

"You can't mean-"

"That wasn't a question, or a request. You're good at forgiving others," Hotaru said, "and I like that about you. But don't ask me to be as forgiving as you are."

Moon was smart enough to know Hotaru wasn't going to back down on this issue. "Right."

"Sometimes, warriors must follow their heart, not their leaders," Terry noted.

Kage smirked. "Heh, another 'Hakko quote'?"

"No, that's all me."

"Why can't you be this serious and wise all the time?" Ami pondered.

"Because then I would be a boring old man, like Hakko."

"Who's boring?"

Terry turned to see Hakko walk out of the elevator. "Oh, there you are. I was starting to wonder where you had gone."

"I came to tell you that I'm going to be away for a while. Senshi, you have already learnt a lot, I've been watching you. There's much to improve, but at least your kind does get second chances, so it's easier for you to learn from your mistakes."

Moon saw he was looking at her. "Yeah, I need to trust my friends more during a fight."

"Worrying about your friends isn't bad, but it distracted you from your target, and that can, as you saw, be a dire mistake in combat. Since I see you realize what your mistake was, though, I know what I was going to tell you all is the right thing."

"And that is..."

Hakko looked at Terry for a split second. "I will not train your group anymore."

"But-"

Hakko shook his head. "Lady Mars, you've learnt what takes others years to learn, in a matter of months. I don't know, nor care about how that is possible, but several of you are already good enough to teach others. And also..."

"Also?"

"I can't teach you how to fight magical creatures, as my experience on that field is quite lacking. But from what I've seen, you can teach yourselves, by means of training with each other, or in the battlefield."

"So, will we see you again?"

"Who knows?" Hakko mused. "I will be leaving Japan soon, but I may be back. If I hear you're slacking off on your training, however, I will come back, and make you wish I hadn't."

Terry smiled at that. "Don't worry, I can keep them in line."

"If I wasn't sure of that, I wouldn't leave," Hakko noted and turned to leave. However, Moon leapt over his head. "What is it, Tsukino?"

"Let's fight."

"I don't see the point of-"

"I want to know just how far I am from my goal. Don't hold back."

Hakko thought about it for a few seconds. "Fine, but use no fancy magic tricks or weapons."

"Sounds fair."

Hakko shook his head at that and laughed. "Didn't you say you wanted to fight without holding back?"

Moon blinked at that. "You mean-"

"Do your worst, Usagi."

Moon noticed the fact he was calling her by her first name, but that didn't matter considering what else he was saying. "But my attacks at this level could kill a normal hum-"

"If you still think I'm a normal human being just because I cannot use magic, then perhaps you will learn something from this fight."

Moon nodded, then summoned her chakram. "I surely will."

Terry watched the fight with interest, and he noticed the others were also paying attention to it. Moon started with her Double Flight technique, but Hakko dodged the first swipe, and as the chakrams turned to attack again, he did his usual trick ("Mana Control," he had heard the Huntresses call it,) without touching the chakrams, sending them flying straight at Moon.

Moon ducked, and turned back to see her weapons stab into the base's walls. Instead of recalling them, she summoned her sword, and charged at Hakko. Hakko parried her sword slash (and now Terry saw that Moon's physical strength was outstanding, as Hakko was dragged back while grappling,) then managed to launch her over his head, causing her to drop her sword.

Moon wasn't out of weapons yet, and decided to show him that. "Moon Tiara Action!"

Hakko dodged the tiara easily, but saw Moon was smiling, and sensed something. He ducked, barely missing being hit by the chakrams.

Hakko tried to use Moon's sword to block the chakrams as they made another swipe, but the blade wasn't moving. He wasn't expecting Moon to have that much control of the sword, and it stopped him from dodging. However, Moon's chakrams started circling him, at a close enough distance to stop any movement from him. "I suppose I should yield. Good work, Usagi."

Moon smiled for a split second, then her face turned serious. "But you didn't attack me. You were still holding back."

Hakko shook his head. "No, I knew trying to attack someone this powerful would be suicidal, so I planned to use your own attacks against you. That's not holding back, that's strategic thinking."

"Then I guess I managed to win, after all." Moon said, then bowed to the man. "It was an honor to have you as our mentor, Hakko."

The others all bowed to him. "Hope we meet again soon," Mako said.

Hakko smiled. "I'm sure we will. Try to stay alive until then."

Moon watched him leave, then shook her head. "How the heck did I win?"

"He's not used to fight magicians, having a few fancy tricks does not make him invincible," Terry noted.

"Why did he call me by my first name? Usually it's just 'Tsukino.'"

"It means he thinks you're a good enough fighter," Terry noted. "And you just showed him he wasn't wrong in thinking that."

"To think that one year ago all you were good at was dodging and screeching..." Rei commented.

"Won't say that's not true," Moon admitted.

"And he didn't want you to hold back, because he wanted to demonstrate his point," Terry added, "he can kick our rears while fighting us in our normal form, but I think any of us could defeat him if we used our powers."

"So how do we get better?"

Terry looked at Chie. "We do what we've been doing, train by ourselves, or have mock battles. Some of you may not notice it, but a lot of our improvement is due to that."

Yuichiro looked at Rei. "So this is what you do here? Training to fight those evil monsters?"

"We got our rears handed to us a few times when we first started, and it was only through luck that we kept fighting, but we all knew luck alone wouldn't keep us alive. So yes, we do that here. And since you're at the first 'level' then you'll have to train a lot in order to catch up with us."

"Sounds like a lot of fun," Yuichiro said with a sigh.

"I don't know why you don't let me join them right away."

Pluto looked at the other woman. "That is because you don't have the powers I have. Trust me."

"I do trust you, I just don't like waiting when I could be helping."

"You will have your chance to show off soon enough."

The other woman smirked. "Hey, you know me."

"That I do, and I know you will take this seriously, Princess."

"Because you've seen it?"

"No, because I also trust you."

Chie couldn't complain about how life had changed for her in the last few months. Finding out that her best friend was a Senshi, and finally being able to tell her how she felt about her was good. Becoming a Senshi had its ups and downs, but she didn't regret it at all. However, it still felt like Karin was always the one protecting her, even when they fought aliens.

"Something on your mind?"

She smiled. "Not really."

"You think your house will be safe anytime soon?"

Chie grimaced. That was the one thing she had dreaded, her parents were at first angry, then seemed to calmly accept the 'phase' she was going through. They were in for a very long phase, but she hoped they would see things differently, someday. "Don't worry, they're past the point of shouting and blaming now."

"That doesn't sound good. I don't want your parents to be-"

"Karin, don't say it, don't even think about it. They just weren't ready for it, I was good at keeping it hidden."

"Unlike me," Karin mused. "Still, you're lucky."

Chie nodded. True, at least she had parents who could be mad at her. Karin was- Chie's mind warned her about it, and she sighed as an energy blast hissed by, barely missing her head. "Shit, not now, can't you read the damn mood?"

Kaorinite was standing in front of the window, looking at her in awe. "So it's true, you're a lucky bitch."

"That I am. By the way, you shouldn't stand so close to the window."

"Just shut up and stand still, I'm not interested in you right now." She tossed a small egg at the couch, which turned into a monster. "Now let's-"

Karin blinked as Kaorinite tripped on something and fell out the window. "Oh, so that's where I put that TV remote."

"Nedai!"

Chie looked at the monster. "Okay, I think we should get rid of this ugly thing before the other ugly thing comes back."

Usagi was talking a walk. She had no destination in mind, and she didn't feel like going to the base. A part of her mind was busy thinking about the day before, about Mars, and what could have happened if... However, she knew someone was following her, and after several minutes, decided to let them know she was aware of them. "Hi."

Luna sighed as Usagi stopped walking. "Sorry, you seemed troubled by something, so I didn't want to-"

"I appreciate that, but perhaps I need a second opinion."

"If it's about the new enemy, we haven't found anything yet."

Usagi sighed, looking around to make sure there were no witnesses. "It's related to them, in a way. You know, I probably won't get another chance, if I die again."

"And yet you keep on fighting, so-"

"And yet I keep on lying to my parents about this. I could die again, and they'll never know why, or how it happened. Or worse, they'll find out then, and realize I had been lying to them all along. I..."

"Your mother doesn't know what you're doing, but I'm around enough to know that she knows something is going on. Being a pet lets you hear things..."

"Has she said anything about it?"

Luna looked down, then shook her head. "Well, she said that she's worried, that you may be doing something... But she always seems to think that you- You would never lie to her, so it must be just her imagination."

Usagi gave Luna a humorless smile. "Guess she doesn't know me that well."

"It's your decision, Usagi. I won't stop you, if you decide telling them is the right thing to do." Even though I probably could stop you, Luna thought, but wasn't about to tell Usagi that.

"I'm not sure what I'll do. Perhaps I should ask the others-"

A shout interrupted them. Luna frowned. "We're close to Mamoru's home, perhaps..."

"Lilith Twilight Power!"

Usagi looked at Luna. "I guess Karin is the next target. Moon Star Power!"

As Moon rushed to the battle, she could see things were weirder than usual. Karin was being chased around by what looked like a mutant couch, and there were two Liliths fighting a red-haired woman. She decided to help Karin. "Double Flight!"

"World Shaking!"

The air ball blocked her weapons, and Moon looked up. There they were again. "You two, why are you helping the enemy?"

"We need the Talismans." the blonde one said. Moon saw her suit was similar to her own, except the skirt was a much darker shade of blue, and her bows were yellow.

"But taking the crystals away would kill the target."

The girl snorted at that. "We know, and we don't expect you to understand. Sacrificing a few lives in order to save everyone is-"

Lilith landed near Moon, and she saw the girl was quite beaten up. "Lilith, don't worry, I'll..."

"No." Lilith said, standing up and glaring at the evil redhead. "I'll take care of that one, you beat these two idiots and the monster."

Kaorinite chuckled. "You can't defeat me, kid, you're too weak."

"I admit to that, but I grew up being protected by her, I've always been "too weak." If I fail the one time she needs me to protect her, then I won't ever forget myself. So, I have three words for you, creep."

"Oh really? Say what you have to say, so I can keep beating you around."

"Lilith Star Power."

Kaorinite took a step back. "Oh, that may complicate things."

"You have no idea how right you are, witch," Lilith snapped as her transformation ended. "Infernal Illusion!"

Kaorinite didn't have time to react, the illusion formed around her instantly, and the fire around her was hot, much hotter than the illusion Lilith had used first. "I only have... To resist."

Lilith smirked. "Let's see who runs out of energy first, then."

Kaorinite could barely see Lilith through the fire. What was this, she wasn't tired from using her illusion earlier on? "I'm going to get shouted at for this..." She muttered before teleporting away.

Moon was watching this, but turned to the other 'battle' to see Karin was actually beating the monster around. She saw the two rogue Senshi starting to move, and smirked. "Double Flight! Tiara Action!" The two chakrams started swirling around the two Senshi, while her tiara circled them both. Moon summoned her sword for effect and glared at them. "I won't let you help that monster."

"But you're not helping her, either."

"I've learnt to trust my friends, so I know I don't need to help her."

"Stone Jab!"

The couch was punched into a wall, and Karin smiled as she saw Dragon Earth land near her. "Good timing."

"Is that our couch?"

Karin sighed. "Yeah."

"I was looking for an excuse to change it," the Dragon said, summoning his sword as he charged at the creature.

"Deep Submerge!"

Moon froze in shock. The green-haired Senshi had shot a ball of water at Dragon Earth, knocking him down even as Moon's tiara sliced her arms and legs. Was she so serious about her mission that she didn't care if she died? What kind of training had Pluto given these two?

"World Shaking!"

Karin saw the two Senshi looking at her. "What the fuck is wrong with you? We're all Senshi, we-"

"You don't understand what this war is about, you-"

"Moonlight Wave!"

"Uranus!"

Moon glared at the green-haired Senshi, who was apparently shocked. "I didn't kill her, I don't like killing. But I also don't like others treating life like something that's not worth anything."

"Idiot, if they get the Talismans, then it won't be just one life lost. Can't you see-"

"Neptune, don't waste your time," Uranus said, staggering up. "They're foolish, and easily distracted."

Moon heard a gasp behind her, and knew what had happened even before turning. The couch had sneaked on Karin and attacked while she was distracted, and an item much like Mars' one (only this one was disc-shaped) appeared. "No!"

Neptune rushed in and punched the couch monster, knocking it back, then grabbed the crystal. "Not a talisman. Here."

Moon took the crystal Neptune tossed at her, and glared at the two. "Leave."

Uranus shrugged. "Fine, we don't need to fight you, anyhow."

Moon turned to see Lilith and Dragon Earth had dealt with the monster. She walked to Karin and put the crystal close to her body, smiling as it was absorbed.

Karin woke up and tried to stand up, flinching as she did. "Damn, Rei was right, having that thing taken leaves you feeling like crap."

Lilith helped her up. "I suppose our date plans are off, then?"

Karin smiled. "I guess... Thanks for helping me."

"You know, I can almost agree with Hotaru now. Those two are willing to let someone die for whatever those Talismans are."

Dragon Earth looked at Moon. "That's not like you-"

"I'm not saying we should shoot to kill. I'm saying that we need to make them see this war can be won without-"

"What if letting someone die is the only way?"

Moon shook her head. "There's always a way to win without sacrifices. I know it doesn't always work that way for us, but the day I stop trying will be the day I stop being me."

A/N: Uranus and Neptune: I write them more and more amoral each time. It's fun.