Sailor Moon Aeons.
Book 2: Rebirth.
Act 5: Labyrinth of Mirrors.
Episode 89: Eternal nightmare.

By Razor Knight
Last update: March 31, 2015
Last edited: June 11, 2017

Queen Neherenia. Hearing about her from Helios was one thing, but having to fight her... She knew it, this woman was much stronger than her, both in her magic and her physical power. Still, she couldn't give up. She had to save her friends.

Neherenia smiled. "Kid, you remind me of my sister, in a way. She just wouldn't give up. But there's a difference between her and you. She had power to go with her courage."

ChibiMoon flinched. It was risky, but she couldn't win like this. "You say I don't have enough power? I can fix that. Earth Cosmic Power!"

Neherenia took a step back. That girl's power had grown - it was almost up to her level now. "I sensed you using this against Zirconia - I thought dual Senshi couldn't use this power for long."

"It's not 'can't' but 'shouldn't.' I know I'll get an earful for being reckless later, but right now, I'll just worry about defeating you."

"Foolish kid, you cannot defeat the Queen of Nightmares."

"Give yourself whatever title you want, but I'll still defeat you."

Mars leapt aside as JunJun tried to punch her, then saw VesVes aiming at her, and shot a fire blast to stop the attack. "Damn it, they're too strong!"

Moon nodded. "I know, Rei, but we can't give up. There has to be a way-"

Fish Eye laughed. "Foolish kids, look at you, still trying to resist. It's only you two against all of us, and we aren't even tired yet."

Moon glared at him. "That's when we fight our hardest."

Mars saw Moon's body shine, and gasped. "Usagi, what are-"

"Something stupid," Moon said. "If everyone was still up, we could use the Planet Attack to defeat these guys."

"Yeah, but..." Mars flinched. "Tell me you're not saying what I think you're saying."

"We can't give up. We have to defeat them. I'm willing to take this risk, if it helps us dealing with them."

Tiger Eye snorted. "Shut up already!" He shot an energy blast, but the aura around Moon absorbed it. "What the hell?"

Moon smiled. "It's time for you to stop bothering us. Cosmic Planet Attack!"

Mars watched it all in awe - the attack had been just like the one they used against that 'nightmare' creature, but slightly weaker. Still, it was much stronger than anything else they could use, and this time the beam split in seven parts, each hitting one of the circus freaks, and knocking them all down to the ground. The Fire Senshi saw their foes weren't fit for fighting anymore, but she also saw something else. "Usagi!"

Usagi smiled weakly as she fell to one knee. "I knew it would work." The attack had spent all her energy, so she couldn't even keep her transformation up - that was a thing she would have to remember if she ever used it again.

Mars looked at their foes. "Damn, they're still alive."

Hawk Eye tried to speak, but coughed up some blood instead. He tried to stand up, but couldn't even manage to use his arms to push himself up. "Not... Quite. I never thought... A Senshi could have that kind of power."

CereCere had managed to kneel on the ground, and looked at Usagi. "We lost, but... It's our own fault, we kept on underestimating you and your group. I wish I could keep on fighting you, Senshi, I wish I could defeat you. Still, Neherenia will... Do it for us..."

As CereCere fell forwards, Mars noticed all their enemies' bodies were vanishing. "You did it, Usagi! Can you transform, though? I think ChibiMoon will need our help."

Usagi shook her head. "I can't. There's always a catch with these 'tricks', Rei. The Planet Attack would normally just hurt a lot, but this version of it... I'm not sure how long it will be before I can become Sailor Moon again."

Mars gasped. "Damn it, Usagi, don't you ever use it again!"

Usagi sighed. "Rei... I'm not the only warrior in my group, and I know you guys will fill in for me while I'm out of action."

Mars shook her head at that, then smiled. It felt good to know Usagi trusted them that much. "Heh, we'll try."

Saturn woke up just then, and looked at them. "Usagi? Why are you-"

Usagi rose her hand in a 'stop' motion, causing Saturn to stop her interrogation."There's no time to explain right now. Girls, go help ChibiUsa, I'll keep an eye on everyone."

"... Okay," Saturn said and staggered up. "Not sure I'll be a lot of help, but I won't let Chibi fight that evil woman alone."

Helios sighed. She had sensed it, Sailor Moon had used a strange attack - and then he couldn't sense her energy anymore, though he was also aware of Neherenia's seven minions being killed by it. But was Moon dead? No, if she had died, he was sure chibiMoon would have reacted. Still, he was helpless, and he hated it.

"I think you could use my help."

Helios looked at the woman who had appeared in front of him. "It's nice to finally meet the almighty 'Puu.'"

Pluto frowned. "Only Small Lady can call me that."

"Eh, sorry?"

Pluto smiled. "Don't worry. Just let me get you out of your binds, and we'll go help her."

"No offense, but even someone as powerful as you wouldn't be able to destroy this slab."

"Sometimes it's not about raw power, but about how you use it," Pluto said. "Time Shift."

Helios staggered forwards and gasped. The slab keeping him immobile was gone. "How..."

"I can't destroy it, so I simply moved it forwards in time." As she said that, the slab appeared again, but since Helios had moved, it wasn't connected to the chains anymore. "As I said, raw power isn't everything."

Helios nodded. "I would love to stay in here and chat, but I gotta go help her."

Pluto smiled. "Go." Helios frowned, but said nothing. As he vanished, Pluto looked up. "This is strange. I can see two ways in which this fight could end. Neherenia is already doomed, but the question is... What will her punishment be?"

As Mars and Saturn reached their target, they saw things were looking bad. ChibiMoon was barely standing, while Neherenia only had a cut in her left cheek, but didn't look quite tired. "Damn it, that one's strong."

Neherenia looked up. "More lambs to slaughter. Just stay there, I'll get rid of this pest and take care of you in a momen-"

"Fire!"

Neherenia's gloating was interrupted by a large, purple energy beam hitting her from behind. She staggered up and winced in pain, turning to see a large truck carrying an even larger cannon. "What the Darkness?"

Raiko leapt out of the truck and gave the Senshi a thumbs up. "Tomoe was right, this thing can hurt even one of the bosses."

Neherenia glared at the woman. "Damn you, you pathetic human, I will end y-"

"Demon Grasp, Armageddon Flash."

This time, a red energy beam came from above, knocking Neherenia down and drilling a wide crater into the ground. Mars turned to see the three Huntresses there, along with a few dozen more hunters. "What the hell was that?"

"Something we've been perfecting for the last few months - an attack which packs as much of a punch as the Demon Sword, but not as... Tiring." As Mira finished her explanation, the three Huntresses fell to their knees. "Still pretty tiring, though."

"If we used a Demon Sword attack with that much power, we would be dead," Calisto noted.

Neherenia staggered up and let out a scream, a mix of rage and frustration. These losers weren't even Senshi, how could they manage to hurt her so much? It wasn't possible, she was the Queen of Nightmares, she was invincible, she-

"Witch Prism."

A multi-colored energy beam hit Neherenia, knocking her back into the crater she had just staggered out from. She leapt right out of it, though after all those attacks, her royal gown was a raggy mess, her hair was just as messy, and she had several cuts in her arms and legs. She saw a newcomer standing near the Senshi, and glared at her.

Mars looked at Warwitch in awe. "That was awesome."

"Not as awesome as what Moon used against those other creeps," Warwitch said. "Sorry, I should have helped before, but-"

The three Huntresses walked to them. "We also felt the same way, Warwitch. Like these guys were too strong for us. We thought we would just take care of evacuating the area and let the Senshi do the fighting, but... After what Moon did, and after seeing even the army is still trying, we couldn't just watch."

Warwitch nodded. "That's right, let's defeat this one, together."

ChibiMoon was trying to gather as much energy as she could, she knew Neherenia was still strong enough to take on them all. "I just need more time..."

"Maybe I can help."

"Helios?"

Helios smiled as a small crystal appeared in his hand. "Here."

ChibiMoon took the crystal. "This is... The Dream Crystal?"

"It will let you use its energy. I know you can do what I couldn't. You can stop Neherenia. Put her out of her misery."

The pink-haired Senshi looked at him, then smiled sadly. "I'm sorry, but I won't kill her."

"What? But she-"

A broken mirror appeared right besides ChibiMoon. "She's strong, but she's alone now. She has no more minions."

"Fool, that mirror is broken! It won't be a prison no more!"

"How little do you know of these mirrors, Neherenia," Helios said. He then looked at his friend. "But capturing her again... That would take a lot more power than you have, you may never-"

"I'm not alone, Helios. I have friends."

As if on cue, Pluto appeared next to ChibiMoon. "If this is the path you chose, then I'll help you."

Neherenia stared at Pluto in shock. "You... What are you?"

"I'm a Senshi."

"But... You have so much power, you could have-"

"Defeated you? Not likely. Helios would not have known I was there if not for Small Lady's memories. And my place is not in the front line, I am a guardian, and I protect this world from threats much bigger than you."

"If you're not going to fight, just die!"

Pluto looked at the incoming energy beam, and just as she had done plenty of times in the past, she simply let it hit. "I'll have to pass on that offer." A green light surrounded her, and she smiled as a pink aura appeared around ChibiMoon. "Do it, Princess."

ChibiMoon nodded at her, then started walking to Neherenia. "You know, at first I pitied you, but... You are evil. I don't care if it's love, greed or something else that turned you into what you are, you don't deserve to win."

Neherenia took a step back. This girl, her energy, it was rising fast. "What... How can a kid have that much power?"

"I'm no kid, Neherenia. I am a Senshi. I am the daughter of the strongest Sailor Senshi in the universe, the legendary Sailor Moon. The likes of you will never understand that you simply can't win against us."

Neherenia took another step back as the girl walked to her, then noticed something. Her mirror, the broken mirror, it was gone?

"You're beyond salvation, Neherenia," ChibiMoon said, "but death would also be too light a punishment for you. I'm not... Quite as nice when it comes to dealing with evil as my mother, and I'm not afraid to admit it."

Neherenia took another step back, and suddenly knew what the younger girl was planning. There it was, that dreaded, familiar place again. Her own shock had led her straight back into her own mirror. Still, this girl... She had prepared the sealing so casually, while speaking to her?

ChibiMoon smiled coldly at her. "Oh, don't look at me like that. It wasn't that hard, at least not with Pluto's help. See, Nyx died sealing you, but that's because she was injured, and nearly out of energy. She pushed her own body beyond its limits."

"So what if you lock me? I will break free again."

Helios looked at ChibiMoon. "Thanks for... Respecting Nyx's wish." He turned to look at Neherenia, with a glare. "Fool, don't you see? Your allies are all dead, and those you still have back at home will be dealt with once I return. You will never be free again, Neherenia. I'll see to that."

The mirror vanished just as the rest of the Senshi walked to them. Usagi looked at ChibiMoon and smiled. "You got her?"

"I didn't kill her," ChibiMoon said, "I trapped her inside her mirror again. She will be eternally alive, eternally trapped in it."

"That's..." Usagi flinched. No, if there was another way, then-

ChibiMoon seemed to know what she was thinking. "I could have killed her. It would have taken a lot less energy to kill her. But she deserved worse."

Hotaru shrugged. "I should be shocked that you would choose that, but she did earn that punishment."

Usagi shook her head. "She was trapped in that mirror to begin with, right? You didn't do anything which wasn't already done."

ChibiMoon looked at Helios. "So, what now?"

"I need to go back to my world, to destroy the remnants of her troops."

"Need help with that?" Mars asked.

"Her elite troops were already dealt with, by your group. The ones left back at home are no threat to me. But still, I want to see my planet back to the way it was before all this happened. I can't stay here."

"I understand," ChibiMoon said, and walked to Helios, giving him a hug. "Will we ever see you again?"

Helios smiled. "I'm not sure. Perhaps you should ask your dear P-" He stopped for a second, then corrected himself. "Pluto."

Pluto shrugged. "You should know I can't tell her, either."

Helios nodded. "Goodbye, Senshi of Sol. Thanks for all your help."

ChibiMoon stared at the spot where Helios had been for several seconds after he vanished. The Dream Crystal was gone as well, but that was a given. And also... "Huh. I can't feel my Dream powers."

"That's because you don't need them anymore," Pluto said.

"So..."

Pluto looked at her. "No, not yet. You'll know you have to go when you see me again. Have fun."

Saturn saw Pluto vanish and looked at ChibiMoon. "That was one tough fight."

ChibiMoon smiled at her. "Yeah." She saw her mother was in her civilian form, and sighed. "Oh, I didn't know you'd use that now."

Usagi stared at her for a few seconds before shaking her head. "Yeah, I guessed you would know about it. Will I ever have to- No, forget it, I'll find out myself."

"That you will," ChibiMoon said. She looked at Saturn. "You know, I'm probably going to be gone soon. Will you be okay?"

Saturn kissed her softly and smiled. "If it's for you, I'll wait for a thousand years."

"Not like she has any other option, though," Dragon Venus said.

Venus flinched and glared at her guy. "Brad!"

"What? Oh, uh... Sorry."

"You're lucky I'm in a good mood," Saturn said, "or I would be glaiving you while I wait for her to be back."

"... Sounds like a lot of fun," Dragon Venus said. "Teleport!"

Venus sighed as her guy vanished. "Good call."

Mercury looked at Usagi. "Will you be okay?"

"I'll live, Ami. It's not like I like fighting, after all."

"... Yeah, of course you don't," Mercury said, not sounding convinced at all.

A/N: This took a lot less to write than I thought. Next up, an intermission, and then a small surprise.