Sailor Moon Aeons.
Book 2: Rebirth.
Act 5: Labyrinth of Mirrors.
Episode 87: Zirconia.

By Razor Knight
Last update: March 19, 2015
Last edited: June 11, 2017

"So, what do you think?"

Rei looked at Usagi, who was holding a ball of electricity in her hand. "At first I thought it was strange, but... Wasn't there a Senshi like that in the past?"

Ami nodded. "I remember reading about the First Serenity, who had the power of all the planets, but couldn't control any of them fully, only the one she was atuned with."

"The Hunters will be thrilled to know this."

"Our friends, yeah," Dragon Venus said, "the rest of my clan... Most of them hope certain legends are only legends."

"Perhaps they should try fighting one of the wars we fight and see how that goes, if they do stop these enemies, I'll admit they're right," Hotaru said.

Usagi sighed. "Let them be, as long as they don't threaten the Earth themselves, they can think whatever they want about me."

ChibiUsa smiled. "That sounds so like mom." She then chuckled. "I mean, Queen Serenity."

Terry looked at the four Mooncats. "Weird as Usagi's new powers are, I'm more worried about something else."

Luna stared at Usagi. "I don't disagree with Diana's decision, and I have already..." Her form shimmered as light shone from her body, and when the light dimmed, a woman was standing there, her hair a dark purple - just like Luna's fur - and her eyes golden. Her suit was also golden, and looked similar to that of a Senshi. "... used this power in the past."

Umino gasped. "You are... That golden Senshi!"

Luna nodded at that. "I had to stop Game Master from killing Karin and Chie." She then noticed something and shrugged. "As expected."

Ami knew exactly what she meant. "Terry, stop staring."

"Can't blame him," Karin admitted, "kitty looks quite cute."

The other three Mooncats also changed to their 'human' forms. Artemis had long, white hair and a white suit similar to that of a Dragon, while Shade had a black suit much like Luna's, and her hair and eyes were black.

"Wow."

Artemis looked at Minako. "Stop staring."

"Am not," Minako said, and kept 'not staring' for a few more seconds before looking away.

"So... Explain?" Chie asked.

"It's a long story, but basically, our race isn't originally from Earth," Shade explained, "and in the past, our race asked Serenity to grant them the power to help the Senshi in combat. This form was what that Serenity thought was best for us."

"Wait, I thought you said you couldn't hold that form for long?"

Diana nodded at Usagi. "If we were fighting, yeah. Just like your powers, using them passively doesn't take much energy."

"So you can't keep going for long?" Terry noted.

"No."

He walked to Luna. "So, how about a fight?"

"Terry, that's-"

Luna chuckled. "Don't worry, Usagi. In fact, it would be my pleasure to fight him. It won't take long enough to be a threat to my life."

Terry sighed and tried to punch Luna, who dodged. "Why did you dodge?"

Luna looked at him with a serious expresion. "I'm in Senshi form, and my power right now is above Cosmic. If I had let you hit you would have a broken hand for your trouble."

"Oh... Oops. In that case, Mercury Star Power!"

Moon looked at the other Mooncats, who had returned to normal. "Is that really safe?"

Diana chuckled. "Mom will be fine."

Dragon Mercury knew better than letting the catgirl attack first. And also, he knew holding back would be a foolish idea. Then again, maybe asking for this fight already was one. "Okay, dodge this!"

Everyone saw Dragon Mercury 'vanish' but then they saw Luna hadn't moved. The Dragon was now right in front of her, but he suddenly fell to the ground, clutching his stomach. "Why dodge when you can just win?" the catgirl said.

Haruka and Mako were both looking at the mooncat in awe. "That was weird."

"What was? I saw nothing," Ami admitted.

Minako had been able to see it all clearly, most likely due to her own 'weird' power. "That kitty hit Terry eight times in one second."

Terry staggered up, looked at Luna, then smiled. "I know when I'm way out of my league. It would be amazing to see you fight enemies."

Luna nodded, then her form returned to normal. "Unfortunately, this power's not to be used lightly."

Diana sighed. "Yeah. For example, I won't be able to fight again for a few days."

"A few days of wait after only using it a few minutes? Wow."

"There's always a catch," Usagi said with a sigh. "Still, why keep this a secret?"

Luna looked at Usagi, then looked down. "We... At first, because of what happened in the old era. A few Senshi grew too confident of their guardians' powers and... Well, the guardians had to die to save them."

"That's-"

"Don't get me wrong, I'm ready to fight if I must," Luna said, "but I must admit we all thought the same, there was a chance that you all would be like those old Senshi... We were wrong."

Artemis nodded. "When Usagi reached Cosmic level, we thought about telling you, a few times, but- I guess we were saving it for when it was needed."

"There was no reason to hide it, though, at least until now," Mako said.

Usagi sighed, "let's drop it."

"Usako?"

Usagi looked at Mamoru and shook her head. "Sorry, it's just that- No, don't mind me."

"That makes me more curious," Minako noted.

Usagi looked at her friends in turns, then nodded. "Here's the thing... Why are we keeping our identities a secret? The only group that didn't know who we were was the Dark Kingdom."

Terry saw his friends all seemed to be thinking about it. "She's got a point."

"But the fans would-"

"What could they do? Trample us? Kidnap us?" Usagi said, then walked to a wall and punched it, leaving a dent even though she was in her normal form, and the wall was made of Zero. "I won't fight if I can help it, but remember what happened with Minako. There's no need to kill any of them, not even do any permanent harm."

"So you're saying we just go out and tell the world we're the Senshi," Hotaru noted.

Ami sighed. "Not yet."

"Ami?"

"We should deal with our current enemies first. And we should all give it some thought."

"I agree," Usagi said. "I'm not telling you what we must do."

Rei smiled at that. "You never order us, you just suggest. Not a bad way to lead."

Usagi chuckled. "I still remember when we were bickering all the time."

Rei shrugged. "You grew up a lot. And so did I. I know I can be harsh at times, but..."

"I know."

Aiko had been listening to them, and finally decided to speak. "If I may give an outsider's look-"

"Go ahead," Terry said. "And you're not an outsider, you're part of our team."

"Eh, guess I am. Anyhow, while I'm not partial to either choice, I can see no harm in either path. I'll just say that while telling the world who you are may cause a lot of changes in your lives, in the long run, it will make things easier for you. And sooner or later, you will have to tell the world, if that future you're fighting for does happen."

"I'm still here," ChibiUsa noted, "that may be a good omen."

"You-" Terry started, then shook his head. "Forget it."

ChibiUsa decided to drop the bomb. "No, I don't know whether you told the world about who you were before or after Crystal Tokyo's creation. Guess mom didn't think I would need to know it - which may mean what Ami says is the wisest path."

"Waiting for a while, until you're-" Hotaru stopped and looked at her sadly.

The pink-haired girl walked to her and hugged her. "I'm not sure when I'm leaving, but I don't regret falling in love."

Hotaru returned the hug, and smiled. "Neither do I, it's just... I try not to think about it so hard, that I forgot it would happen."

ChibiUsa chuckled. "That's silly."

"I know. I can be silly, sometimes."

"'Sometimes.'"

Hotaru frowned for a second, then returned ChibiUsa's playful smile. "What can I say, I learnt from the best."

The pink-haired girl blinked at that, then sighed. "Good one."

"You're worthless."

JunJun looked down at her own feet. While usually the four Amazons would deny it, this time around she knew Zirconia's rage wasn't misguided. "We... There's no excuse for our failure. These Senshi are full of surprises."

"That I've noticed. Still, Helios must be captured."

"We can-"

"No. I'll go there myself, see if those Senshi can defeat me as easily as they defeated you."

"If we tag along-"

"I will not be beaten."

"That's the same they all said," a voice said from the shadows.

Zirconia looked back and grimaced. "Queen Neherenia, you're right, forgive me. I should not boast of victory until Helios is in our hands."

"That's true. You don't need to kill any of them, just bring Helios to me. Once I'm out of this accursed mirror, I will make them pay. We will make them pay."

"As you command, Queen Neherenia."

"Eh, so you can now use every element?"

Usagi looked at Yukiko and chuckled. "You sound disappointed."

"Uh, sorry. I liked having something you girls don't have."

"Well, it's only me doing that, and I can't use more than one element at a time," Usagi noted.

Yukiko smiled at that, and summoned a ball of light and one of darkness. "Oh well, at least I still have that, then."

Usagi's eyes widened and she looked around. "Yuki!"

Yuki laughed. "The trio taught me that 'S.E.P.' spell of theirs."

Usagi sighed "could have told me that before doing that."

"And miss the look in your face?" Yukiko mused. "Anyhow, the other thing you said, you may be right. This isn't some kid's toon, where the heroes have to keep their identities a secret for the sake of the plot. It's been fun misleading those who got too close to knowing, though."

"Yeah, I-" Usagi stopped and looked around. "Crap, they're back."

Yukiko could see Usagi seemed worried. "Those dream guys?"

Usagi nodded. "But it's someone new, someone much stronger than those we've fought."

"Tell me where they are, I'll get you there."

Usagi sighed. "Wish I could... I don't quite control this skill, I can tell you the general direction, but- Wait, it's south of here. My house's south of here."

"Let's go there, for starters," Yukiko said. "Teleport."

ChibiUsa had been talking to Hotaru just outside Hotaru's house, but she suddenly felt it. A surge of power, of dream power, coming her way. "Damn it."

'That has to be Zirconia.'

Hotaru saw her girlfriend transform, and knew things were about to get complicated. She also transformed, and saw a creature wazs walking to them. A short, ugly creature. "What the hell is that?"

"Zirconia."

"Oh. Appearances do deceive, I guess."

"So, you are the carrier? The one my soldiers have been failing against?" Zirconia said. "Either you're tougher than you look, or they're more pathetic than I thought."

"Underestimating your foes never ends well," ChibiMoon noted.

"I know that," Zirconia noted, "thinking the enemy is not ready for you is also a bad thing." Saturn had been fighting villains long enough to know what a phrase like that could mean. She turned in time to see someone else was about to attack them. "Watch out!"

ChibiMoon picked herself from the ground and grimaced. Saturn had knocked her out of the way of a surprise attack, and didn't look like she was too fit for fighting right now. "Damn it, you-"

VesVes laughed. "Stupid kid, you can't fight us all." And as it usually happens when a villain says that, an airboard smacked her in the face, knocking her to the ground. "Ow, who the hell?"

Dragon Mercury and Nova rushed in. "She's not alone, idiots," Nova snapped.

The Dragon looked around. All the 'Eyes' and the four evil girls, along with a new... Thing. "We just need to keep them busy, the others should be here in a minute."

Nova smiled. "I'll keep them busy, alright."

Zirconia saw her soldiers all fall to the ground, screaming in pain. "What is-"

Nova looked at her and frowned. "Don't worry, it won't take long. You're next, though, so I'd suggest you leave before I'm done with them."

The Dragon was surprised. Not about Nova's actions, as she had already said she wouldn't hold back, but about how much her power had grown. It was obvious she had been training on her own. "You get them, I'll get that ugly... Thing."

"I am Zirconia, the strongest soldier of Queen Neherenia. I will not be beaten by some weakling."

The Dragon was about to say something, but then smirked. "No, you'll be beaten by a very strong warrior."

Zirconia sensed something and spun around, summoning a black staff as she did, and using it to block the sword which had been about to slash her in half. "Hmph, the leader of the pathetic worms."

Moon glared at her. "You won't hurt my daughter, monster. Leave."

Zirconia was about to gloat, but something hit her from behind, sending her sailing over Moon's head. "Damn it, who dares-"

ChibiMoon chuckled. "Seriously, you thought I was just going to stand there and let the others get all the fun?"

Zirconia growled at her. "Enough playing, kids. Die!"

Moon tried to stand up after Zirconia's attack - a wave of energy which had hit all around her, even her own allies - but she could only manage to sit up. "Ow, she's as strong as we thought." She looked around and saw most of the others were out, even Nova, and that meant the rest of the nightmare creeps, although quite shaken by Nova's stunt, were now up and getting ready to help their boss.

ChibiMoon wasn't looking at Zirconia, but at Saturn, who had been hit by the wave like the others, but she saw she looked much worse than any of them. "Hotaru, no..."

Dragon Mercury crawled to her. "She's still alive. I'll help her."

"Good." She turned to Zirconia, who was smiling mockingly at her, and growled. Yes, she could feel something, something that would help her win. She wondered how it would affect her Dream powers, but what better way was to find out than trying? "I only have three words to say to you, Zirconia."

Zirconia's smile grew darker. She would humor the kid, and then get Helios out of her. "I see... And what are those words?"

ChibiMoon was also smiling as a long, wide white sword appeared floating in front of her, and light surrounded her as she held it with both hands. "Moon Cosmic Power!"

A/N: Lack of updates was due to several factors, one of them being a Terraria-based story I finished recently, and may upload in the near (or not-so-near) future.