Sailor Moon Aeons.
Book 2: Rebirth.
Act 7: The Senshi of Chaos.
Episode 101: Trial by fire.

By Razor Knight
Last update: June 22, 2015
Last edited: June 13, 2017

"Your brother is a Senshi too?"

Usagi smiled. "I feel kind of sorry for him, though. Not even a Senshi for one hour, and he was already 'borrowed' by Pluto."

Terry shrugged at that. "Setsuna is right, we don't need rookies, and if she can speed up the learning process..."

"What about that other Senshi?"

Usagi shook her head. "Other than her weird outfit, I don't know a thing about her. At least I know our current enemy is 'Sailor Iron Mouse.'"

"That sounds like an underground metal band's name, not a Senshi name," Mako muttered.

Usagi noticed Terry seemed deep in thought. "Hey, what's wrong?"

Terry shrugged. "Not much, I was just thinking I'd love to challenge Pluto to a fight, no powers."

Hotaru chuckled at that. "No offense, but she would beat you easily."

"None taken, I figured as much. I just like facing strong enemies."

Ami looked at Usagi. "I wanted to ask something... Have you sensed the enemy?"

Usagi nodded. "Yes. Aiko, can you get me a map of the city?"

Aiko appeared near her, and 'summoned' a large image in mid-air, a map of Tokyo. "There you go."

"Thanks." Usagi looked at the map and then put her finger in a seemingly random part of it. "There."

"I thought you couldn't pinpoint things-" Terry started, then frowned. "Wait, if you knew, why didn't you tell us?"

Usagi's face turned serious. "Because I feared any of you would try doing something stupid. The energy I'm feeling from that place is... I can't really describe it, but I'll just say whoever is there, is much stronger than even Pluto."

"So it may be the real Galaxia," Ami noted.

Terry looked at Usagi. "Wait, are you saying we can't defeat them?"

"I'm not giving up before trying, but we should deal with any 'Generals' Galaxia has before we face her."

"So we let the enemy attack and fight them when they're weakened? That's worked for us in the past," Mako said.

Usagi looked at Aiko. "Can you feel their power?"

"I'm trying to get through whatever they're using to stop me from sens- Oh fuck."

"Guess she feels it." Hotaru noted, then saw Aiko was pale. "Is it that bad?"

"Usagi can sense things I can't, but I can put data into raw numbers... Whoever is inside that building is a million times stronger than Usagi... Stronger than even Pluto."

"You should all heed the Princess' words, attacking them right now would only get you killed."

Usagi saw Pluto was there, along with someone else. "Eh, that was fast."

Yuichiro sighed. "It's been one hell of a month for me."

"So, did it work?" Terry asked.

Yuichiro smirked. "Mars Cosmic Power."

"Eh, that's cheating," Terry muttered.

Usagi noticed Dragon Mars' staff was longer, and also golden. "Wait, your weapon was also a talisman?"

"It could happen with others," Pluto admitted. "I'm going back, still need to train the other two."

"Tell my brother I said hi."

Pluto smiled at Usagi. "He told me to say hi to you, too."

As Pluto vanished, Yuichiro looked around. "I used to think the way Rei trained was tough. I know better now."

"Let me call Rei, I'll tell her you're back."

Yuichiro smiled at Aiko. "Nah, I'll go to the shrine. I want to surprise her."

As he left, the only other guy in the room frowned. "I still say that's cheating."

"You're jealous," Ami noted, "and I'm not sure of what. You're the only dual Senshi in our era."

Terry chuckled. "Uh, yeah, I guess there's that."

Usagi was, meanwhile, talking to Mako. "Remember back when Terry and Ami were avoiding speaking about something, and you made fun of them?"

Mako knew just why Usagi was saying that. "Ugh. I knew you knew, I was just waiting to see how long it would take for you to start pestering me."

"He likes you."

"I've know that for a while. What if it doesn't work?"

Hotaru had been listening to them, and walked to Mako as she said that. "I'm talking from my own experience when I say it doesn't matter if it doesn't work, or if you must wait for them for a very long time. The Hotaru from before I met you all wouldn't know this, but falling in love is one of the best things that can happen to you, even with all the problems and pain it can bring at times."

Usagi smiled at that. "Does Kage know..."

"He's been making excuses about it for the last six months. And of course, right now he has a new excuse, a what if. He may be my best friend but I feel like glaiving him, sometimes."

Mako chuckled at that and then sighed. "I'm still not sure I want to-"

"Mako, remember how me and Mamoru started."

Hotaru smiled. "And even though I'm happy I met Chibi, I don't regret the time I spent dating Kage."

"Is he a good kisser?" Mako asked, then saw Hotaru look down. "Wait, you two-"

"It's one of the things that let me realize I didn't love him the romantic way. But hey, it's more fun finding out on your own, right?"

"I guess. I'll give this some more thought, but... You're right, I'll have to make up my mind about this issue soon."

Hino saw his granddaughter walk out of the temple in a hurry, and blinked. "Rei, what's wrong?"

Rei was speeding up even before he said that. "Sorry, I got to go, I don't want to wreck the shrine again."

"Good luck, Sailor Mars."

"Thanks, I'll need it." Rei summoned her airboard and started flying away, but it only took a minute for the enemy to appear. The white-haired woman floating in mid-air tried to look menacing, but her outfit didn't help. "Oh hey, it's Mighty Mouse."

"... Iron Mouse, actually," Mouse said, not getting the joke. "But I don't like talking to my prey."

"Who's the prey," Rei muttered. "Mars Cosmic Power! Flame Rain!"

Iron Mouse was wrapped in flames, but didn't seem to notice the attack. "You guys still try, huh? That's not going to work, Mars. Now let's see your seed!"

Mars chuckled as Iron Mouse crashed face-first into her barrier. "Play with fire and you shall burn."

Mouse punched the shield, which resisted her attack. "Damn it, how can you have so much power?" She kept on punching the shield, causing shockwaves strong enough to shatter the windows of nearby buildings. But still, the shield didn't fall. "Impossible."

"Mars Flame Hydra!"

Mouse looked at the newcomer as several snake-like constructs wrapped around her. "Ugh, another hothead."

Mars looked at Dragon Mars. "Yuu?"

"Hi Rei, need help?"

Mars noticed his suit was different. "Cosmic level?"

Mouse laughed. "You pathetic fools, I've made Eternal level Senshi kneel before me. You're nothing!"

Mars frowned. "This is pointless. You won't get me out of this shield."

Iron Mouse glared at Mars, but then smirked. "Don't be so sure about that."

"Starlight Thunder!"

Dragon Mars saw his girlfriend get knocked out of her own shield by an electric beam, which punched through it like a soap bubble. "Rei!"

Mouse caught Mars mid-fall and took her seed out, then dropped her on a nearby rooftop. "And of course it's another dud," she muttered looking at the dull seed.

Dragon Mars looked at the one who had attacked Mars. "You... Flame Hydra!"

"Starlight Thunder!" the attack destroyed the construct, and the new Senshi smiled at the Dragon. "Nothing personal, human. We're not enemies, but if we get that seed, it will draw Galaxia out."

The Dragon growled at her, noticing Iron Mouse had taken her chance to leave. "You hurt Rei, so as far as I'm concerned, you are an enemy."

"So be it," the Senshi said, "but I have better things to do than babysit a weakling."

Dragon Mars glared at the point the new Senshi had been standing on, but then saw a barrage of fire pellets heading his way. "Oh, right." When he looked at Rei, however, he almost thought she was back to normal. Mars was now wearing a priestess outfit, but the flames surrounding her told him she wasn't really herself. "Uh, hi?"

"Evildoers, feel the cleansing fire of Sailor Miko!"

The Dragon summoned his staff. "Fight fire with fire, as they say. Flame Hydra!"

Sailor Miko leapt out of the way and laughed. "Don't you have another attack?"

"Yes, but I needed you to be ariborne for it. Flame Hydra Seeker!" The flame constructs had been about to crash into a building, but they corrected their course as the Dragon shouted, and headed straight for Miko. "Gotcha."

Miko smiled. "Not really. Spell Storm." Countless ofuda appeared around Miko, swirling for a split second before bursting aflame, and shooting in all directions around her. "Evil spirit, begone."

"That's what we should be saying. Aether Wall."

Dragon Mars saw a dome of energy form around the area, stopping Miko's attack. "Who the-"

Moon run in. "Sorry I'm late."

"Sorry," the Dragon said, "I guess I wasn't strong enough yet."

"Not even I can go one on one with these fake Senshi," Moon noted, "it's a good thing I can sense them."

Miko growled at them. "Another creep to fight? Good. Flaming... Fist!" A beam of fire shot from her hand as she swung it forwards, and she smiled. "Die."

Moon punched the attack, reflecting it back at Miko. "Sorry, I've done that too much already."

"How-"

"I'll explain later, now..."

Miko saw Moon run at her, and shot another fire beam. However, Moon vanished before the beam hit. Miko guessed what she was planning, and spun around, shooting another beam... But Moon wasn't there. "What-"

"I knew you were smart enough to guess, but you guessed wrong," Moon said from above, before shooting an energy blast downwards, knocking Miko out.

The Dragon returned Rei's seed, and sighed as she turned back to normal. "Usagi, how do you do that?"

"There's a thing I found out about our powers, a thing I guess we wouldn't be able to do until we practiced long enough. You don't need any motion, or any shout, to summon an attack. Just thinking about using it is enough."

"Then why did you shout that first spell?"

"Hunter magic is different, and I'll need to practice a lot more to be able to cast all spells without using their names."

"Always one step ahead, huh?"

Moon saw Mars standing up, and smiled as a ball of energy appeared in her hand. "It helps us get the upper hand on our foes, so I think I'll teach everyone how to do it."

Mars smiled back at her. "I remember a few years ago, you didn't want to train. Now you're eager to teach us."

"It'll be an excuse to kick you around, so it's a win-win, right?" Moon mused. Of course, she was joking, and Mars knew it, their old 'arguments' were long gone.

As she opened her eyes, it was clear to her she wasn't just waking up from a dream. She hadn't died, either, she had just been... Away. It was hard to explain, but as pieces of her memory returned to her, she knew who she was - and, at the same time, she wasn't her, she was someone... Something else.

"Good, you're awake."

She looked at the one other person in the room. Gold hair, golden skin, gold eyes, even her suit was golden. "What happened to me?"

"Do you know who you are?"

She nodded. "My name is Prin- No, Black Lady."

"A part of you was the princess, indeed, but we've given you a chance to fight again. The princess is gone, back to the future where she belongs, and may never return, but we managed to get samples of her DNA, and-"

"You created me," Black Lady said, then frowned. "Was it Onara?"

"Yes. I've been funding his research for a long time now, hoping to find a way to defeat the Senshi."

"Senshi..." Black Lady growled. "Where are they?"

"Curb your enthusiasm," the woman said, "The Senshi have grown much stronger than any of us, but we're looking for a way to destroy them."

Black Lady closed her eyes and frowned. "I don't sense the Ginzuishou."

"That's because we're hiding somewhere they'll never find us. Or at least, they won't find us until they grow much stronger than they are right now."

The pink-haired woman looked at her benefactor. "I can feel something in me has also changed."

"We've improved you, in a way. You have powers you didn't have before."

"What would stop me from just destroying you and these 'others' you speak of?"

"That you know, deep inside, that you can't win against the Senshi on your own. We've all lost our personal battles against the Senshi, and we've learnt our lesson well. We'll have time to shoot at each other after the Earth is ours - or we could split it evenly."

Black Lady finally managed to identify this woman. She remembered her from the Princess' memories, a tale from before she was born, even from before her first trip to the past. "You are... You were supposed to be dead. What is your name, youma?"

The woman smiled. "Aurite. My name is Aurite."