Sailor Moon Aeons.
Book 2: Rebirth.
Act 4: Death Busters.
Episode 65: Home is where the heart crystal is.
By Razor Knight
Last update: September 27, 2013
Last edited: June 8, 2017
"This place looks bigger than I remember."
Moon looked at the young girl. "I think this is the weirdest I've been through. We haven't seen you for, I don't know, six months, and you show up much older than I would have-"
"Don't try to make sense of it," ChibiMoon warned, "it will only give you a headache."
"Aren't you too young to be a Senshi?"
ChibiMoon shook her head. "You saw me become one. It was a one-time thing not because I couldn't use my mother's crystal again, but because the risk was... In hindsight, I probably shouldn't have risked myself like that."
The group turned back to normal, not noticing Aiko was staring at them quizzically.
"So that crystal you have, where did it come from?"
"I'm not quite sure. You know how some creatures just split in half and each half becomes a whole new being? That's about how it went with this crystal, from what I was told."
"Strange," Ami said. "Now what I think everyone here's wondering is... Why did you come back?"
"There are no real threats to fight back home."
Karin frowned at that. "Isn't that a good thing?"
"Oh, sure it is, unless you want to get some real combat experience."
"But why would you want to- I mean, I can only assume we will keep on growing stronger, so why would you need to fight?"
"She's a Senshi," Terry said.
"What does that have to do with-"
"Everything," Ami said, "she was born with those powers, it will never be a matter of choice. And having as much potential power as she probably has, and not being able to use it, that would be..."
"I'm the Princess of a boring city in a boring era, and I know Pluto must be cringing at those words right now, but it's how I feel about it."
"And you were in such a hurry to leave, you forgot about me."
The group turned to the newcomer. It was a small cat, its fur a very light shade of purple, and it was glaring daggers at ChibiUsa. "Who are you?"
The cat ignored the question. "Princess, why didn't you wait for me? It wasn't easy to go up all those flights of stairs, you know?"
"You need the workout, Diana. Slacking around the palace made you quite chubby."
"Hmph."
"Okay, not to be rude or anything, but care telling us who you are?"
Diana looked at Terry. "Name's Diana, and I'm Princess Serenity's guardian. Not that this kid makes my job any easy."
Usagi looked at the small cat for a few seconds, then at Luna and Artemis, then chuckled to herself.
Luna was sure she was thinking the same Usagi was, but still needed to hear it from Diana. "We haven't found any other Mooncats, so I'm guessing you must be..."
Diana nodded at her, then looked at Artemis, who was just staring at her in shock. "Hi, dad."
Luna saw Artemis faint and shook her head. "Okay, this is weird."
"It makes sense, though, for the daughter of Moon's guardian to become ChibiMoon's guardian."
Usagi sighed. "Guys, I think that's enough questioning for now. I was supposed to celebrate my birthday today, you know..."
"Me too, but I already had a party back home."
Terry looked at ChibiUsa. "You mean your birthday is today?"
"Strange as it may sound, I was born on June thirty of the year two thousand, nine hundred and seventy-eight."
"Exactly a thousand years of difference," Mamoru noted, "strange, but what isn't in our lives?"
Usagi sighed. "Okay, now to decide how to tell them."
ChibiUsa smiled as she opened the door and walked in. "Don't need to, I can just use the same trick-"
Usagi saw ChibiUsa summoning the Luna-P. "Oh."
Ikuko walked to them from the kitchen. "Usagi, who is this?" She then frowned. "No, wait, I remember her, but... No, neither of us has any siblings. Who is she?"
ChibiUsa was quite confused, so Usagi smiled at her. "They know who I really am. I'm not as smart as Ami, but I guess that would make your old trick useless."
"Who is she?"
Usagi looked at her mother. "I wouldn't be standing besides her calmly if she was someone evil," she noted, "but I- I don't know how to explain this."
"You're Sailor Moon, that's quite strange already," Kenji said, walking down the stairs calmly.
"And what if I told you she's my daughter?"
Kenji sat down on the couch. "I would say you're joking."
ChibiUsa shrugged. "My name is Usagi Tsukino, even though everyone calls me either ChibiUsa or Princess Serenity or Small Lady back home. I am the daughter of the Queen of Crystal Tokyo, a city that's not even around yet, and I came back from the thirtieth century."
"That is..."
"That is the truth," Usagi said, "trust me, I was as skeptical about it as you at first, but... I can feel it, a part of me knew who she was even before she told me."
"Well, that's the strangest thing ever, sis."
Usagi turned to see Shingo there. "I guess you're right."
"But is she strong? She looks too young to-"
"Moon Star Power."
"Star?" Usagi repeated. She hadn't thought about it before, but her daughter was at the same level as she was.
"Wow, a Star Senshi," Shingo said. "But why a pink suit?"
"I like pink."
"Fair enough."
Diana and Luna walked in right there. "I guess you were right," Luna said to Diana.
ChibiMoon turned to Diana. "Why didn't you tell me that my Luna-P wouldn't work anymore?"
"You didn't ask."
"Hmph."
"Don't they remind you of someone, Luna?"
Luna smiled at that. "Good thing we are out of that phase."
The group was, once more, gathering inside the base after school, but now they had one more Senshi around.
"So you'll be going to school too? How would that work?"
"It's not that bad, most of the things they teach in this era still are the same as back home, except for some parts of "history" which haven't happened yet."
Kage looked at ChibiUsa. "Not to be rude or anything, but you don't seem to be that skilled."
ChibiUsa frowned. "Is that a challenge?"
"Why not?"
Hotaru sighed. "Hope you're ready for what's going to happen, Kage."
Kage shrugged. "So, what will it be?"
ChibiUsa smiled. "No weapons, no powers. And that includes Hunter magic."
"Sounds fun," Kage said casually, but was already charging at her before finishing that phrase. However, the girl was ready, and ducked under his punch, connecting a rather painful-looking uppercut which sent him down in a heap. "Ugh..."
"I've been training for five years," ChibiUsa said as she walked out of the 'arena,' "and not to be rude or anything, but I suppose even if there was relative peace for a thousand years, none of you slacked off. For example, the Kage I know would not even flinch if I hit him that way... Even if I was using my Senshi powers."
"That sounds..."
"About right if what we've guessed of our powers is true," Ami noted, taking her eyes off the computer for a moment before returning to it.
Terry was also checking the console. "Hmm... Seems like you're right. Aiko?"
"Yes, dad?"
Usagi could see something different. Not just the tone of her voice, but her body language had changed. "What-"
"There's no doubt about it," Ami explained, then turned to Aiko. "But when did you awaken?"
"Awaken?" Mako repeated.
Hotaru was staring at Aiko. She hadn't sensed it at first, but there it was. "As unlikely as this sounds, she has a soul now."
Aiko smiled. "I became, to use a word which somehow fits this state, 'sentient', a few minutes after the younger Usagi appeared yesterday."
"And you didn't tell us. Why?"
"I thought you would want to enjoy the party."
Terry smiled. "Now I know our first guess was right. We know exactly what turned Aiko into this. We don't know how, but at least-"
"What was it?" Usagi asked.
"The Ginzuishou. It somehow turned her into her current state, but slow enough that we couldn't be sure."
Usagi sighed. "The crystal seems to act on my wishes, sometimes. Like when I moved that comet, I was thinking I wanted that big rock to miss the Earth, even if I died."
"So?" Ami asked.
"That one time Aiko misjudged our chances to beat an enemy group... I know I thought 'I wish she was human' because being mad at a computer was silly... And because she would understand why I was mad if she was human."
Aiko blinked at that. "For what it's worth, I do understand it now, and I can honestly say I'm sorry."
Usagi smiled. "Don't worry, we all make mistakes."
"Is there anything that crystal can't do?" Karin mused.
"If old legends can be trusted, then I've found records in my computer of Senshi of the Moon being able to destroy a whole planet, or rebuild it if its destruction had been recent."
"Nothing is impossible for us Senshi, huh?" Usagi said.
"But really, a computer with a soul?" Chie asked. "That's the weirdest I've seen, period."
"I'm not actually the computer, but its operating system."
"Same difference."
"Should we start calling her HAL?" Kage mused.
Aiko frowned, and a few dozen turrets appeared around Kage. "I don't like that nickname."
Kage stared at the turrets. "Wait, what the heck-"
"You didn't think I would build a secret underground base without a proper security system, right?" Terry said. "However," he said looking at Aiko, "they're not toys, and you shouldn't threaten our friends with them."
Aiko looked down at her feet. "Sorry, dad."
ChibiUsa chuckled. "They didn't warn me about this, that I would be around the day she..."
"So, you knew about her?"
"Aiko's as human as any of us back home. Most citizens didn't even know her origins, just that she was Terry and Ami's daughter."
"You sure you can tell us that?" Karin asked.
"Don't worry, if I ever say something you're not supposed to know, Puu will show up and drag me back to the thirtieth century by my pigtails."
"You know, guys, I think we should be a bit more freaked out right now," Minako commented, "I mean, our base's system just went human on us."
"She's not quite 'human' yet, by many definitions," Hotaru noted, "I think we've been through many strange things by now, perhaps our minds got used to the weird."
"Developing an immunity to strangeness would be a requirement for a job such as yours," Aiko admitted.
"Hey, she's back to talking like a robot," Kage mused.
"And you're still making horrible jokes. Let's call it even."
"Verbally and physically beaten by girls younger than you on the same day. That has to be a new record."
Kage gave Hotaru a sideglance. "You can be quite a pest, you know that?"
"You call it that, I call it being honest."
"An honest pest, then."
The two shadows stared at the orange-haired woman as she bowed. "Eudial, you will be..."
"... The one searching for the Talismans..."
"... From now on. Don't disappoint us."
"I will try my best," Eudial said before vanishing.
Kage was walking home, hours later, but he knew he was being followed. He decided to play along for a while, but soon frowned and muttered something as he walked around a corner.
His stalkers were surprised when they didn't see any traces of him, but then one of them sighed. "Teleportation, of course."
"What the heck are you two up to?"
They turned to see Kage staring at them in turns. "Hello, brother."
"We're not siblings, and right now, I even doubt I can call you allies."
Haruka smiled. "We mean no harm to you."
Michiru nodded. "We were following you because the enemy has been tracking you, too."
"Good to know," Kage said, "but I don't think you're here to save me."
"That depends on whether you have a Talisman or not. If you do, then we will have to keep it, unfortunately."
Kage turned to leave. "Hmph. Hotaru is right. Heck, you even managed to make Usagi doubt you, and that says a lot."
"We are not the enemy."
"But you're willing to stand there while the enemy kills one of us. To me, that makes you worse."
Haruka sighed. "We're still going to follow you."
Kage shrugged at that. "No need, I can sense whoever it is they sent after me hiding inside that shop." As he said that, he pointed at a nearby building, and a woman with orange hair and an orange, form-fitting suit walked out of it. "Oh, that's not Kaorinite."
"I am Eudial, a member of the Death Busters just like Kaorinite. You know what I'm here for, so just stand still," Eudial snapped, a large, cannon-like weapon appearing in her hands as she did.
Kage shrugged. "Poseidon's Rage."
Eudial wasn't really hurt by the water wave, but it still dragged her back a whole block and left her very soaked, and very angry. "Okay kid, I'm going to- Damn it!"
Haruka and Michiru noticed the cause of Eudial's outburst. Kage had used the distraction to teleport away. "Wouldn't expect anything less from him," Michiru commented.
"We have to find him," Haruka said.
Michiru saw Eudial vanish. "That could get tricky."
To say the last few days had been weird would have been an understatement. The whole heart crystals issue, their enemies using actual strategy instead of a direct approach, Aiko becoming... She wasn't sure what Aiko could be called. She had, however, no issues with calling her human.
But what bothered her the most was the Princess. What was Queen Serenity thinking, sending her daughter back in time? She knew the basics of combat, yes, but would she be of any use in a real battle?
Hotaru shook her head. No, she was doing it again. She had seen Usagi as naive and hopeless at first, but now she knew better. If the young Princess was anything like her mother, then she-
Her train of thoughts was interrupted by something in front of her. Kage, or rather Dragon Sun, appeared out of thin air, and smiled at her. "You... What are you up to?"
"Nice to see you too," Dragon Sun muttered. "A woman named Eudial's looking for me, so I thought, who better than the girl who first stole my heart to protect me from this new suitor?"
Hotaru blinked at that. "Your sense of humor is weird, did you know that?"
"I've been told that a few dozen times," the Dragon noted. "But I think you should change for the party, the enemy's close."
"Saturn Star Power."
Just as Saturn was done transforming, Eudial appeared. "Oh, another pest to deal with."
Sun wasn't in the mood for talking, so he simply summoned his guns, swinging them to the side as energy gathered on their tips. "Solar Volley."
Eudial leapt over the wide arc of energy, but didn't notice Saturn had moved. "Well, that was a nice try, but now I-" she gasped as she felt something. Looking down, she could see a metallic tip coming out of her stomach. "Fuck, that hurts."
Saturn pulled the glaive out and glared at Eudial as the woman turned around. "Leave and I won't kill you."
Eudial chuckled. "Stupid brat, don't think I'm as weak as a human. Die!"
Dragon Sun gasped as Eudial's cannon appeared in a split second, and she shot Saturn with it. Saturn hit a wall and fell to the ground, and Eudial prepared to shoot again. "No!"
"Meddlesome brats need to be taken care of!" Eudial snapped before shooting.
Dragon Sun was already rushing to Eudial, but was too late to stop her. However, something else stopped the beam. "Wha- Princess?"
ChibiMoon smiled at him for a second, then fell to the ground face-first.
Eudial sighed. "Roaches keep coming out of-"
"Solar Volley!"
This time Eudial wasn't ready for the attack, and it sent her flying over ChibiMoon and Saturn. "Ugh... I'm going to-" She stopped and froze as she saw the Dragon's gun was right in front of her face. "Shit."
"Leave now. Last chance."
Eudial sighed. "Okay, you won, I think I'll just-" She suddenly vanished. "take your heart crystal out the fun way."
Saturn was staggering up, but saw the Dragon fall down. ChibiMoon was unconscious, and she was not in any shape to fight. She couldn't wait for her friends to come, but what-
"Hmph, not a heart crystal."
"World Shaking!"
"Deep Submerge!"
Saturn saw Eudial get knocked back and frowned. "I was wondering when you would show up."
Neptune ignored her glare. "Here."
Saturn caught the crystal and nodded, noticing Eudial had left. "Good thing it wasn't one of those Talismans."
"They're in one of your friends," Uranus noted.
Saturn walked to Dragon Sun, smiling as the crystal was absorbed, then her glare returned as she looked at the two rogues. "You two... Sailor Moon is my leader, and my friend, and she's still willing to give you the benefit of doubt. But I'm not."
"What is that, a threat?" Neptune asked.
"Not a threat, but a promise. If any of my friends dies because of something you do, or because you choose not to save them, then I'm going to kill you both."
"Hmph. Your leader won't-"
"I'm just their leader. It's their choice to follow my advice."
Uranus saw Moon was also there. "Heh, you can talk all you want, but we will not let anything stop us from saving this world. Not even you."
Moon turned to Saturn, noticing the girl was glaring at the two rogues as they left. Hotaru was, even now, someone who rarely showed her emotions, specially her darker ones. Moon decided to kill two with one stone, and ask her about something that worried her. "They're okay, right?"
Saturn understood what she meant instantly. "Yes. Kage had his heart crystal taken, and your daughter... She jumped in the way of an attack meant for me, but it just knocked her out."
ChibiMoon staggered up just then. "If that attack had hit you, you could have died. And hey, I got to make a dramatic entrance, too."
Saturn sighed at that. "So, you like to show off?"
"A wise man once told me 'Showing off is the best way of showing how.'"
Moon smiled at that, then saw Dragon Sun stagger up. "Sorry I was late."
"None of us expects you to always be there to save us," Dragon Sun said, "although the help is welcome, when it comes," he added, looking at ChibiMoon.
"Even if said help is reckless."
ChibiMoon looked at Saturn, then shook her head. "Yeah, I should have expected that."
Saturn smiled. "Don't take me wrong, I thank you for helping me, but I don't like my friends getting hurt."
"That's exactly why I jumped in," ChibiMoon noted. "But I shouldn't expect you to treat me just like your future selves did. You don't really know me yet. The present me."
"We can fix that," Moon said, "but it will take some time."
A/N: You tell them, Hotaru! I think I'm making the two 'rogues' too amoral. Don't worry, they won't stay that way for too long. Saturn will most likely make sure they don't.
Writing will probably slow down for a while. I've found two games I like playing a lot, Planetside 2 and Path of Exile, and with one of my current favorite games, Terraria, getting a new update four days from now, I will be technically away from fanfiction.