Sailor Moon Aeons.
Book 2: Rebirth.
Act 6: Queen of Darkness.
Episode 92: Family ties.

By Razor Knight
Last update: May 9, 2015
Last edited: June 12, 2017

Venus walked out of the fashion store and looked at her boyfriend, who was smiling at her. "What's the matter?"

"I was remembering how you fought back when I first saw you fight."

"I kinda didn't fight at all, I guess," Venus admitted. "I thought training wasn't needed, but youma like those we just blasted to dust would have beaten me senseless back then..."

Moon run in right then. "Oh, you guys got this one."

"Mercury said you've been all over the place. Don't overdo it, Usagi," Venus said.

"Don't worry, I know my limits." She then sighed. "But since you mention Mercury... I'm pretty sure she's been at the base all this time, or out fighting youma herself."

"That's not-" Venus frowned. "Well, she's been telling us where to go to find more of those shops, but... You think she hasn't taken a break other than going to school? That's insane."

"Yes, and it's been three days," Moon said. "I asked Luna about this once, so I know we can stay up for much longer than normal humans, up to a few days... I think it has something to do with mana keeping us awake if we will it to."

"I didn't know that," Dragon Venus admitted. "But we should talk to her, even if we can stay up for longer, it's still risky."

"I told Terry about it a few minutes ago, and he wasn't happy. He was going to check on her."

Venus smiled. "He'll talk some sense into her, I'm sure. But it's rare for Ami to be reckless."

"I know. I just hope Terry gets to her before she hurts herself."

Mars was surprised at what her next target was. She thought the youma would only be using shops as a disguise, but these ones, they had a rock band. A rock band she had heard about before. And they were not bad at all, so it was a pity that she would have to fry them.

The three 'girls' in the band looked at each other as Sailor Mars leapt into their stage. "Uh, sorry girl, but the cosplay convention is two blocks to the south."

"Hey, what's Sailor Mars doing here? Is she a fan too?"

Mars could see it as she looked at the crowd. Well, 'see' wasn't the right word for it, but she could sense energy slowly being drained from the crowd. She had to admit Ami was right, they were lucky whoever was in charge now wasn't in charge back when they first fought the youma. It was good Beryl and her Generals just didn't have the patience - or the intelligence - to use a slow, steady approach to gathering energy.

"I'm going to have to ask you to leave, miss," the singer said.

Mars snorted at that. "Drop the act, youma. You got much better at cloaking your power, but you still don't fool me, at least from this close."

"Youma?" Someone in the crowd asked.

"The members of this band are youma, they've been using that as a way to gather energy. They've been doing it for a while, but it was much harder to detect them than before. I'll admit they got smarter, but so did we."

The singer laughed and turned into a large humanoid crab. "Stupid little human, you think you can take on all of us?"

Mars looked at them. "You know, I don't think your music is bad. If you stop draining people, I'll let you live."

"That's nice, but if we don't do this, our leaders will destroy us."

"Following someone whose only tool is fear is wrong. I pity you."

"I don't need your pity, Senshi wench!" the crab snapped and rushed forwards, just as the other band members transformed as well. She never got to land a hit, as Mars moved to the side and used a fire spike she had summoned a second earlier to stab her through. However, another of the youma took a shot at her, and Mars was too late to react - but something stopped the shot. Mars stared at the small circle of fire floating in front of her. "What is this-"

"Die!" The creature shot a few more blasts, and several fire circles appeared in front of Mars, blocking them.

Mars closed her eyes and concentrated. Yes, she could see an image in her mind. A bubble made of fire, surrounding her. "So that's what I can do now," she mused as the bubble appeared around her.

"Whoa, that's awesome!"

One of the youma noticed that, while the crowd had thinned, there were still a lot of humans who were either brave or stupid enough to stay and watch the battle. "I'll just drain those!" she snapped before charging at the small group of fans.

The one youma who was still alive was too shocked to move. She had seen the fire Senshi dash right out of the fire bubble - which had vanished the moment she stepped out of it - and punch her ally right through a wall, then shot a fire blast, killing her. "You..."

"I'm no murderer, but those who attack their own fans unprovoked are not worthy of my pity. Leave now, youma."

"You didn't hear a single word we said, did you, bitch?"

Mars turned as if to leave, noticing the fans of the rock band had finally taken the hint and left. Suddenly, she felt something behind her, and smiled coldly, not turning to the youma who had just tried to attack her. "See, the weird thing about this shield I got now is that I don't even need to give it any orders, it will protect me even from attacks I don't see."

"That's cheating," the youma snapped.

"And so is shooting at someone from behind. Anyhow, when I do give my shield an order, it can do this." As Mars said that, the shield appeared around the youma. "It's too bad, though. I liked some of your songs."

The youma couldn't see Mars, but for a moment she hoped the Fire Senshi would just let her go. But those hopes were shattered as she felt the temperature inside the bubble raising. "No..."

"You should have considered my offer," Mars said as the youma inside the bubble screamed. As the bubble of fire vanished, there were no traces of the creature which had been trapped inside it. "On the bright side, a lot of bands get more popular after they're gone."

"Sailor Mars, is it?"

Mars looked at the two men standing near the door of the now empty concert hall. "That would be me, yes." They were both wearing black business suits and sunglasses, but she was more worried about their intentions. Well, not really 'worried' but 'curious' as these were normal humans, she could sense that much.

"The mayor wanted us to bring one of the Senshi to him."

The mayor? Mars frowned. Sure, politicians were something she tried to avoid, but it was precisely for this man, the current mayor of the city, Takashi Hino. Her father, at least biologically speaking. "What if I refuse?"

"We mean no harm to you or your group."

"You wouldn't harm us even if you tried," Mars said, her tone dripping sarcasm.

"So we've been told. Our boss just wants to ask one of you a few questions."

Mars considered her options. Yes, she could just walk away, but she had been avoiding her father for the last few years, almost as much as he avoided her for her whole life. And if being a Senshi had taught her something, was that running away from your problems would not solve them. Also, as Sailor Mars she would have an advantage, her father would not know who she was. "Okay, I'll go with you, just let me call my friends."

"What for?"

"Just in case this is a trap."

"You said we couldn't harm you."

Mars smiled at the man, in a way that made it clear what she had said before was no bluff. "Yeah, but I'll tell them in case they need to clean up the mess after I'm done with you, should you try anything."

"... Fair enough," The man said. He was surprised that his mark had agreed so easily, but he was also surprised that the rumors were true. These Senshi were just kids, Sailor Mars didn't look older than his own daughter.

Mars had meanwhile summoned her communicator. "Mars here. I'm just done frying a youma rock band - very literally - but there's two men here, who say they're looking for a Senshi. Apparently, we caught the mayor's attention."

"The mayor?" Dragon Sun asked. "But that is... You know."

"I know. I may be the best choice for talking to him."

"No offense, but you may be the worst. Try not to fry him."

"Mars wouldn't hurt him," Moon's voice noted.

"Not without a reason," Mars said. "Anyhow, I'll tell you how that went later, keep on hunting those youma."

The man saw Mars turn to stare at him and his partner. "What's wrong, miss?"

"I was just... Let's say I can sense things normal humans can't. I was trying to sense any traces of evil energy in you."

"Good thing we're not like those... Things you just dispatched."

"Good thing, for you. Lead the way."

Dragon Mercury had been looking for his girlfriend for a while, and now that he had found her, he knew worrying about her had not been pointless. "Damn it, Ami..."

Mercury looked up at him, holding her bleeding arm. "I was careless, I know. Was about to call Hotaru to fix this..."

"Don't bother. Saturn Star Power!"

Mercury sighed. "Why are you here, though? Are you done with your targets?"

The Dragon looked at her in a way she had rarely seen outside training or a battle. Whatever he was about to say, it was serious. And Mercury knew just what it was. "Ami... Why have you been lying to everyone?"

"Lying?"

"You haven't slept for three days."

"Someone had to stay up to coordinate the attacks."

"Then let Aiko do it. She doesn't need to sleep."

"Terry, I'll be fine, I'll just get a couple more targets and-"

"Ami, stop being a brat."

Mercury was shocked by that, she couldn't remember him ever using that tone with her "Terry?"

"I'm guessing one of the youma took you by surprise. That's not becuase you were careless, but because you're tired. A tired warrior is more likely to make mistakes."

"So what, you want me to let the others do all the work?"

"They're making sure they rest enough, Ami. Yes, defeating these youma is important, but... Not if you kill yourself."

Mercury gave him a short glare before turning to leave. "Hmph. Fine, I'll go sleep now, go have fun without me." She turned to leave, but the Dragon hugged her from behind. "... What now?"

"Ami... Be mad at me all you want, but you know I'm right. I just... Don't want to see it happen again."

Mercury flinched at that. Yes, she had been reckless, and could have died fighting creatures who were too weak to have posed a threat if she hadn't tried to push herself like that. And what for? She knew why. "I... Was angry at myself, for not noticing this, for letting the youma make fools of all of us. I... Guess I decided I wouldn't rest until they were all gone."

"Can't say I haven't been reckless before," Dragon Mercury admitted. "Just... Go get some sleep, okay? I already told Aiko to take care of things from now n."

"You... Spoke with her?"

"And I know you told her to not tell anyone a thing. She could have gotten away with it, if not for the part of her that's still a program. I ordered her to tell me the truth. I'm not proud of doing that to her."

Mercury smiled. "I'm not proud of having her lie for me, either. I should apologize to her."

"Do that after you rest."

"Okay. Don't have too much fun without me."

Dragon Saturn sighed as he watched her fly out of the area in her airboard, then he powered down to his normal form. That was, as they said, one crisis averted.

"Welcome, Sailor Mars."

Mars looked at the man. She had almost expected to be led into an office full of art and sculptures, but it was hard to tell this office was occupied by the mayor of Tokyo. "Nice to meet you, sir," she said politely.

"You seem worried."

"Not worried," Mars corrected," but curious. I think I know why you wanted to see one of us, but I may be wrong."

"I have no ill intent, if I wanted to harm you, I would ordered my men to do it. I am no fighter."

"If you had done that, you would be looking for new staff members," Mars said sharply.

"I thought as much. Let's get to the point. All I've heard are urban legends and rumors. I want to know, exactly, who you are and what you're doing in my city."

"Who we are can be hard to understand if you don't have an open mind," Mars said, "but I'll try to explain it to you. We are members of a group that existed for countless millennia, and our sole mission is to fight evil normal humans cannot win against."

"So, you defend the Earth from evil beings. Let's say I believe you... What if I told you I don't want you in this city?"

"No offense, but we would simply ignore you," Mars said bluntly, "normal human weaponry can't hurt us, at least not anymore, as we've grown much stronger than we first were. So you simply can't kick us out of this city, and we would still come back to fight anything that attacked here, even if you could."

"I could use my contacts, find out who you are..."

Mars walked to him, and her glare was quite intimidating, even though Hino wasn't one to be intimidated easily. "With all due respect, if you are thinking about blackmailing us, then-"

"I apologize, I just wanted to see what your reaction would be if I even hinted at that. Truth is... I'm glad to hear some of the good rumors confirmed. I'm no skeptic, so I'm trying hard to believe what you told me, and if you're really defending this world from evil, and an evil which seems to be too powerful even for our army, then... I'll admit I'm a bit proud of you."

"Proud?" Mars was confused by that. Did that mean- No, that couldn't be.

"I'm sure my men told you I had sent them to look for a Senshi and bring her here. But I didn't just tell them to bring any Senshi. I told them to bring you, specifically."

"Why?"

"You've been seen all over the city, just like all the other Senshi, Sailor Mars, but you... You were the one seen near the Hikawa temple the most. I was curious, I wanted to see if my guess was right. And I knew it the moment you walked in, Rei. You look just like your mother at your age."

"Don't you dare speak of her so lightly."

"She was-"

Mars looked down for a moment before sighing. "You speak of being proud? You have no right to feel proud of anything. You were never there to raise me, your career was always more important than your family, father."

"I'm still your father."

"A title that means less to me than it obviously does to you, and I won't let you use it to justify whatever you were planning to do about us, father."

"Rei-"

"I'm just going to tell you this: If you ever do something that puts my friends at risk, if you try antyhing against any of them, I'm going to-"

The mayor looked at Mars as she stopped. "Go ahead, Rei, say it."

Mars growled at him, but then turned to leave. As she reached the door, however, she stopped and looked back at her father. "One last thing. Don't call me 'Rei'. Call me Sailor Mars, as all my enemies do."

The man stared at the door for a minute after his daughter left. That had gone quite badly, and that was somehow amusing, since it had gone much better than he thought it would. "I guess she got my stubborness."

As Ami walked into her appartment, she saw something she wasn't quite ready to see. Her mother was there, sitting on the couch, and looking quite... Disappointed? Sad? Angry? Perhaps all three. "Mom, what... I didn't think you would be free today."

"Finally, you showed up. You've been out there for the last three days, haven't you? Perhaps at that guy's house?"

"Mom, I..." Denying that she had been out for the whole time would be pointless, but she was too tired to deal with this issue right now. "... I'm tired, I just want to sleep. Can't we talk about this later?"

"I've been looking for you for three days, Ami. I want an explanation. I need an explanation."

"Well, guess it was a good thing I decided to follow you home."

Ami's mother, Saeko, looked at the door and saw the blonde guy standing there. "You!"

Terry looked at Ami, and saw her holding something. He nodded, understanding what she meant. "Miss Mizuno, if not for me telling her to go home, she would still be out there."

"Doing what, exactly? And I don't want a lie, you better have a very good reason to keep my daughter out there-"

"Mom, please stop. He didn't know what I was doing."

"What were you doing, then?"

"You want the truth, and that's good, because I'm too tired to think of an excuse. But first, you have to know something about me. Mercury Cosmic Power!"

Saeko was tired, but she still knew this was no illusion. Her daughter had just turned into a Sailor Senshi right in front of her. "But you... You can't be-"

Terry smiled at that. "She is, she's quite a good warrior and a good strategist."

"She can't be one of them. Wait, you're one too?"

"Yeah, and honestly, she's an important part of the team. So important we didn't notice she was being this foolish..."

Saeko looked at Mercury. "So... Sailor Mercury, I think that's what you're called?"

"Mom, it's still me. I've been around ever since... Well, remember that Crystal cram school you sent me to? The one that was misteriously closed? I was partially responsible for closing it down, the owner of that place was a youma and I helped killing it."

"But that- you were fourteen and already risking your life?"

Mercury sighed. "Mom, I wish I could explain all of that to you right now, but honestly, I'm tired. I've been awake for the last three days, and Terry is right, if he hadn't convinced me that I was being an idiot, I would still be out there. I... I'll tell you everything when I wake up."

"Okay, go get some sleep, I probably should, too," Saeko said. As Mercury walked into her room, she turned to look at Terry. "What was she doing out there for three days?"

"Fighting an enemy group that's spread too thin. There's hundreds of places taken by them, though we've already dealt with half of them. Ami was... She said she would keep an eye on the situation and tell each of us where to go next, but I thought she would let someone else cover for her and get some rest. She had her reasons to want to see this war through, reasons I should have known about... I just wish I had seen it earlier, she got hurt because I didn't notice what she was up to."

Saeko saw the guy's face turning grim. "You know, I've made a lot of mistakes about you, ever since Ami first told me you were dating. I thought she would slack on her studying, but she proved me wrong. I thought you would get tired of her and leave, but-"

"I won't leave her. Back before I met her, I was a wreck. I had lost my first girlfriend to some monsters, and all I wanted was revenge. I was lucky to find my friends, I was lucky to find her."

"So, you will protect her?"

Terry smiled. "I know what you're thinking. You want me to tell you she'll be fine. I'm a terrible liar, and I've seen several of our friends die, even our leader..."

"But Sailor Moon is still around, isn't she?"

"That's true, we... Have ways to bring people back, but they're a one-time thing. I'll do all I can to protect her, but I'm not perfect."

"I think I'll just have to get used to the idea of her being..."

"She's strong, really strong. Sure, her main strength is in her mind, but she's even killed one of the main enemies we faced, on her own."

"I see..." Saeko yawned. "Ugh, I need to get some sleep too, I've been up for two days and then some..."

"I'll leave, then. There's still a lot of enemies out there, but we'll get through this. We always do. Bye."

Saeko saw the guy jump out of the open window, and flinched. She run to the window, but saw the guy walking away as if he hadn't just jumped down a tenth floor. She smiled as she now saw the guy really was a showoff, just as Ami had told her.

She was about to walk into her bedroom, when she finally realized something. She had been glad her daughter had chosen a career in medicine, just like her, but her daughter was already saving lives, in a way. That made her more proud than she'd ever been of Ami.

A/N: I think almost every Senshi parent knows about their kids now. secret identities, so hard to keep secret...