Sailor Moon Aeons.
Book 2: Rebirth.
Act 7: The Senshi of Chaos.
Episode 108: Weird science.

By Razor Knight
Last update: September 3, 2015
Last edited: June 13, 2017

It was one of those rare times when Ami and her mother, Saeko, were home at the same time. It was also a weekend, so Ami didn't have to worry about school. With a bit of luck, the enemy wouldn't choose that day to attack.

"You know, Ami, it's good that you told me about your... That you were a Senshi, before I found out from the news."

"It was. I didn't plan it, but I'm glad I could tell you about it when I did."

"It feels good to know you're not keeping any secrets from-" Saeko noticed her daughter's grimace and stopped. "Ami?"

Ami knew it was pointless to pretend it was nothing. "There is something I've kept a secret from you, because I'm not sure you're ready for it yet."

"Don't tell me that guy got you pregnant."

Ami blushed at that. "Uh no, we haven't even-" She sighed. "And 'that guy' has a name."

Saeko smiled. "Sorry. But what is this secret, then?"

"We'll have to go to the base for that." Ami's visor appeared and she looked at it. "Aiko, are you at the base?"

"I can be there in a minute."

"Good. I'll bring someone you've wanted to meet for a while. I hope she's ready for the news."

"Oh. Yuki is with me, can she-"

"I don't think she could make things any stranger for mom."

"Okay. I'll be waiting."

Saeko could hear Ami speak, but not whoever was on the other side of the 'line.' "Who-"

"You'll find out soon," Ami said. She then smiled. "I think I can show you two things you didn't know, actually. Close your eyes."

"Uh, okay," Saeko said. "But why do I have to..."

"... Close my eyes?"

"Open them."

Saeko did as told, and was surprised to see her surroundings had changed. "Uh, did we just-"

"I've learnt how to teleport, and I've been practicing to be able to take passengers along," Ami explained. "But that's not the main reason for us to be here. Aiko?"

Aiko appeared in front of them, and Ami could see Yukiko was sitting in a bench near the computer's console. "I'm here."

Saeko looked at the girl, and it was her looks that she first noticed. Her hair was longer, and darker, but this girl looked a lot like Ami. "... Who is she?"

"Mom, I'd like you to meet Aiko. She's my daughter."

"Your what?"

Aiko flinched at the woman's shout. "Let me explain. Senshi deal with a lot of 'impossibles' and I'm one such thing. I was created as an artificial intelligence, in order to keep this base up and running at all times."

"She's just a program?" Saeko asked.

Ami sighed. "No, she's as human as we are. I think you've heard about Usagi's crystal."

"All I've heard are rumors, but it's said to be able to do incredible things."

Ami nodded. "That seed-like comet that almost crashed on Earth a few years ago... Usagi altered its course to stop it from crashing."

"What does the crystal have to do with her?" Saeko asked, looking at Aiko. She had a guess on how both things could be connected, but she was too confused to realize it was the most likely answer.

"During one of our fights, Aiko made a... Tactical error. An enemy that was supposedly weak ended up being craftier than we thought, Aiko thought just a few of us would be enough to handle it, and Usagi was angry at Aiko for getting some of our friends hurt. Usagi- She wished Aiko was human, so being angry at her would not be pointless."

"And the crystal heard her wish," Aiko said. "Slowly, but steadily, it changed me."

"This is- I mean, finding out you were a Senshi was strange, but this? And how is she your daughter? You didn't-"

"I programmed her, along with Terry," Ami explained. "I created her, the program she started as. It was weird at first, but I got used to the idea of her being my daughter."

"I think having the younger Usagi around for a while helped making it less weird," Aiko noted.

"Younger-"

Ami sighed, giving Aiko a look that she knew meant 'you said too much.' "That's also one of our secrets, and one that may be even more strange than Aiko's origins. Ever seen that pink-haired Senshi, the one called ChibiMoon?"

Saeko nodded. "Yes, but why-" She wasn't as smart as her daughter, and had no problem admitting it, but she could still figure out what that meant. "Wait. Her name was ChibiMoon. And she looked a lot like Moon. Was that girl Usagi's daughter?"

"Yeah."

"What, you built her a daughter too?"

Aiko giggled at that. "As incredible as it may sound, she's from the far future."

"Oh. I can see why you say you've seen a lot of impossibles." Saeko noticed the one girl who hadn't spoken to her until now, and frowned. "... Who is she?"

"One of our allies," Ami said. "And Aiko's..."

Yukiko walked to Aiko and hugged her from behind. "I'm her girlfriend."

"And you're okay with her being..."

Yukiko smiled at Saeko. "I like a lot of things about her, even some of her bad habits."

"I don't have such a thing," Aiko complained.

"Sure you don't."

Ami looked at her mother. "I can't prove it to you, but Aiko is... She's not a program, not anymore."

"How can you be sure of it?"

"Computers can emulate thought and reasoning, they can even emulate self-awareness, to a rudimentary level," Aiko noted, "but no computer has what I have. Some humans would call it 'a soul.'"

Saeko's eyes widened at that. "That crystal gave her a soul? Is there something it can't do?"

"I can't answer that. Both because I haven't been able to test its limits, and because it's probable it doesn't have limits at all, if some legends we've heard are true."

Terry appeared near Ami right then, and took a second to notice who was there. "Uh, guess you decided to tell her?"

Ami flinched. "Sorry I didn't call you."

"I told you it was your decision," he said, then turned to Saeko. "I'll just say we have no plans on making another Aiko for the time being, both by programming her or... Other means."

Saeko smiled. "Good to know. I'm not forbidding Ami from doing anything, I just ask that you think about it before you decide to go ahead - I know I wasn't ready, myself. I love Ami and I'm proud of her, but sometimes I wonder if things could have worked out differently if we had waited a bit longer..."

"Mom, you're not to blame-"

"Perhaps I'm not, but I still think I screwed up back then." Saeko looked around the room. "Anyhow, what's this place?"

"Our not-so-secret-anymore base," Terry said, "we use this place to keep an eye on the city, to plan our fights, when we do have time to plan them, and to train."

"Train? What do you mean-" Saeko started, then blinked in shock. Somehow, Terry had moved faster than she could follow, and punched Ami. Or, rather, tried to, as Ami had moved her head out of the way and caught his fist with her hand. "What was that about?"

"I know you- no, most of our parents, think we're still normal teenagers with normal abilities," Ami said calmly, "even after being told who we are, what we are. But the truth is, the kind of enemies we usually fight - we wouldn't be alive if we hadn't trained as much as we did. We wouldn't be able to defeat them if we just had our fancy magic beams."

"You could have found another way to show me."

Ami laughed. "I guess, but this was easier... And there's things we can know without needing to speak, like a certain look Terry has when he's about to tackle someone without any verbal warning. And he knew I had noticed it, too, that's why he did it."

"I hope that's the last secret-"

"What if I told you I'll still be alive a thousand years from now?"

"I'm a 'see to believe' kind of person, but I don't think I can see that happen, so I'll have to take your word for it. Is that 'ChibiMoon' girl from that era?"

"Yeah."

"Why did she come back in time?"

"The first time, because we were meant to go to the future and see some things for ourselves - she came back to find a way to help her mother fight a strong enemy."

Terry smiled. "And the second time, she came back to train, or at least that's the excuse our future selves gave her... She had a major role in two of our wars."

Saeko sighed. "I'm glad you decided to tell me all this, but also... It's a lot to take."

"Perhaps I should have kept some secrets," Ami joked.

"So, how do I get out of this place? Do I have to be teleported out of here?"

Terry pointed at the elevator's doors. "No, you can just walk out of here on your own - Aiko will let you through the barriers we have set to stop civilians from entering."

"What part of Tokyo are we in?"

Ami smiled. "You'll know when you see it. I have a nice view of it from the appartment."

Saeko thought about all buildings she knew near her place, and smiled. "Oh, the abandoned dojo."

Right then, Hotaru appeared in the far end of the room. She noticed the newcomer and stared at her. "Since Aiko isn't ringing the alarms, and she looks a lot like you," she said turning to Ami, "I'll make an educated guess." She turned to the woman and smiled. "Nice to meet you, Miss Mizuno."

"Likewise. Saturn, right?"

Hotaru nodded at that, then turned to Aiko. "Has the enemy moved? It's been three days since their last try."

"No movement yet," Aiko said, "I would notice, since they've got zero interest on stealth."

Saeko smiled. "I'll go home, if you don't mind."

"I'll be there in a few hours," Ami said, "unless our current enemies decide to go out and play."

"Be careful," Saeko said before walking into the elevator.

Just as the doors closed, Usagi appeared in the room, along with ChibiChibi. "Hi guys."

"You just missed my mom," Ami noted.

"She was here, what for-" Usagi stopped and looked at Aiko. "Oh."

"What's Chibi- Uh, Gala here for?"

Usagi smiled. "I've been trying to get her to speak."

"She's not an actual toddler-"

Usagi sighed and shook her head at Ami. "But she can learn, or re-learn, some things she's forgotten." She looked at the small girl. "Go ahead, Gala."

"Yes, Usagi," the small girl said.

"Wow, she isn't a Pokemon anymore."

"Not fun," Gala said.

"Her vocabulary is limited," Usagi noted, "but I think if we keep on practicing..."

Ami smiled. "This is good. I mean, it was interesting being the only one who could partially understand her, but if she could speak normally, she could tell us more about-"

Gala looked at Usagi. "Crystal... Affecting... Gala."

Usagi blinked. "You mean the Ginzuishou-"

Ami nodded. "If she's really Galaxia, then she was one of the first users of the Ginzuishou. The original Serenity was known in some ancient texts as 'Sailor Cosmos,' meaning she used the power of the whole universe. Not sure if that part is true, but most texts talk about Galaxia herself using the power of our galaxy, but it was greatly enhanced by the Ginzuishou she had."

Usagi looked at Galaxia. "Do you have a crystal like mine?"

Gala shook her head. "Chaos corrupted... Uh..."

"Take your time."

"Gala don't... No crystal. Had before."

"'Chaos corrupted,'" Terry repeated "it could mean that Chaos taking over Galaxia's body corrupted her Ginzuishou. Gala may be unable to feel its power."

"That... True. Crystal lost."

"Then we-" Usagi stopped and looked up. "Damn. I sense one of our enemies moving towards us."

"There's four possible targets here," Aiko noted.

"Let's wait for them outside," Terry suggested.

Usagi nodded. "There's also another enemy, moving to Mamoru's building."

"They may be targeting Karin, or Chie."

"I'll go help them, you guys stay here. Aiko, tell the others to go to whichever area is closer to them."

"What me do?"

Usagi looked at Gala. "Stay here, I'll be back."

Karin and Chie were on top of the building. "There's such a nice view from here," Chie commented.

"It looks better with a cute girl by my side."

Chie smiled at Karin. "Do you tell that to all the girls you bring up here?"

"I suppose I do, since you're the first one."

"Quite a long fall from here, though."

Karin looked down. "I asked the blonde joke about it, and he said jumping off from this high would not be fatal. Unless you fall on your head, of course."

"I bet I know how he knows that."

"He and Ami tested being shot at by a tank. Them jumping off a building in their normal forms would not surprise me."

"Meow, I got a cutie this time."

Karin turned and saw Tin Nyanko staring at them. "Hello, Kitty."

"Tall, strong, and cute," Nyanko said, walking to them. "When we're done with you, I'll ask Galaxia to let me keep you as a pet."

Chie glared at her. "Hands off, stray cat."

Nyanko looked at her and smiled. "Oh, you two are... You're cute too, maybe I'll keep two pets."

"Sounds like fun," Chie said sarcastically. "By the way, I'd look behind me if I were you."

"Not going to fall for that," the evil woman said, right before being tackled off the rooftop by two more Chie.

Karin blinked at that. "You rarely get to use that power, so it's always fun to see its uses."

Chie smiled, then looked down to the ground. There was a fairly large indentation in the street below, with a cat girl in it. "Think she's dead?"

Karin shrugged. "That would be lucky. Let's go down there and check."

"Or we could stay here."

"Not a lot you can use as weapons up there," Karin noted.

Chie flinched. "Ugh, that's right. I can be quite dumb, sometimes."

"Heh, 'sometimes.'"

"... Karin, I love you, but sometimes you are just asking to have something heavy dropped on you."

Moon appeared right then, floating on her airboard. "Uh, am I late?"

Karin pointed down. "Not really."

"Did you kill her?" Moon asked, then sensed something and leapt to the side, dodging a wide energy beam. "Guess not."

"You damn humans!" Nyanko snapped as she leapt back to the roof - in one single leap. "Screw keeping you as pets, I'm going to tear your hearts right out of your chests once Galaxia is done with you."

"I think she's angry."

Nyanko smiled. "Mess with a cat and you'll get clawed."

Moon saw Nyanko hit Chie, knocking her to the ground. "Is she after Chie?"

Karin let out a growl and tackled Nyanko down. "Leave her alone!"

"Fool," Nyanko snapped before taking her star seed. "Another dud? Another dud. That's just great."

Moon glared at Nyanko. "Leave."

"Lilith Star Power!"

Nyanko saw the two Senshi facing her and sighed. "Two of you wouldn't be a challenge. See you!"

Moon turned to look at Karin, or rather... "They keep getting weirder."

Karin was now wearing a Sailor Senshi outfit made of rocks of various sizes. "My name is Sailor Rock and I don't mind playing dirty."

Lilith shook her head at that. "Why do they all have to use bad puns?"

"I'll take care of this," Moon said.

"Hey, I can fight-"

"Chie, trust me on this."

Lilith frowned for a few seconds, but then smiled. "I guess this works out, I don't have to fight Karin."

Moon looked at Sailor Rock. "You know, even with that upgrade, I'm not sure you would be able to defeat me."

Their foe glared at Moon, and charged at her... Only to have Moon vanish, and realize she had been standing near the edge of the rooftop. "I hate you so much!"

Lilith looked down and gasped. The fake Senshi had somehow created a column of stone underneath her, stopping her fall after just a few meters. "Guess she saw through that plan."

Moon smiled. "She didn't."

"Water Glyph."

"Fire Glyph."

"Thunder Glyph."

The three Demon Huntresses floated up to the rooftop as Sailor Rock was trapped in a bubble made of fire, water and electricity. "Know what's amusing?" Circe noted.

"What?" Moon asked, noticing Karin was back to normal, and the attack had ended.

"I still remember back when we thought your Star powers were out of our reach."

Lilith was just done returning Karin's star seed, and turned to them. "You should let us help you training."

"I guess..."

"And we could help you train too," Mira noted, "just like in the old times."

Lilith saw Karin standing up and smiled. "Welcome back."

"Ugh, guess the others were right, I feel like crap. Let me guess, 'Sailor Rock?'"

Lilith giggled. "... Yeah."

"Damn it."

"Oh great, it's Fish Girl again."

"Mocking me will not help you."

Dragon Mercury looked at the girl. "Who's your target?"

Siren smiled. "That's for me to know and for you to-" she vanished, and reappeared right behind Mercury. "Guess."

Siren's move could have worked, if not for Mercury guessing right, and turning around quickly, firing a point-blank ice blast. "Now we know."

Siren shrugged. "Water is my element too, that won't work."

Mercury smiled. "Guys, since we already know our magic blasts won't work against her, perhaps we should try more percussive ways to defeat her?"

Siren stared at Mercury blankly. "You'll try what now?"

Dragon Mercury, however, had understood what his girlfriend meant. "Down you go!"

The villain was knocked down by a fist to the face, and looked at the Dragon in shock. "Hitting a lady, you really are rude."

"A warrior's gender is but a footnote, it doesn't give them any real advantage in the battlefield, and it should not shield them from harm."

Siren growled as she stood up. "What's with you guys today and using big words?"

"Want simple words, what about 'eat this!'"

Mercury saw Siren fly backwards, after a rather nasty-looking kick from Jupiter. She then saw Jupiter was holding her leg and wincing. "Are you okay?"

"Even with my upgraded strength, it's like hitting a wall made of iron."

Siren stood up and glared at them in turns. "Screw it, playtime is over." She shot a large wave of water, dragging everyone back, except for the two Mercuries.

Mercury looked at Siren. "How was it, 'water is my element too, that won't work.'"

Siren nodded. "Fortunately, I don't need to use my attacks to get you."

Dragon Mercury smirked. "Let's see how you handle this!"

Mercury saw him rush forwards, with both his swords drawn, and rush past Siren. "The Alphard?"

The Dragon turned back to stare at Siren in shock. "How the heck..."

Siren laughed. "That was an interesting technique, I bet if it had hit me I would have been in trouble."

Mercury gasped in shock. "You didn't hit her?"

"Guess you kids can't beat me after all. No surprise ther-"

It happened too fast even for Dragon Mercury to react. Jupiter rushed from the side, trying to punch Siren in the face, but Siren took the blow and grabbed her arm, tossing her right at Mercury. She then took Mercury's seed quickly. "Damn it!"

Siren looked at the seed. "You guys have been one disappointment after another today. Oh well, I'll leave you to deal with Miss Big Words there. Have fun!"

Dragon Mercury went to check on Jupiter, who was kneeling on the ground. "Mako, are you okay?"

Jupiter was wincing and holding the arm she had tried to punch Siren with. "I think she broke something."

Saturn had staggered up, and went to check on her. "She cracked your radius and your elbow."

The Dragon saw Mercury was staggering up. "Heal her, I'll keep Ami busy."

"But you-"

"Power difference isn't everything," he said, "I'm still one of the best fighters in the group."

"Fine, just try not to get killed."

Jupiter saw the Dragon get ready to fight, and sighed. "This is my fault."

"You didn't know she would do what she did."

"But if you weren't healing me, Terry wouldn't have to-"

"You've known him for longer than I have, Mako. Can't you trust him?"

Jupiter smiled. "Yes, you're right. If it's Terry, then we may not have to help him."

"Just in case, let me-" Saturn looked at Mako's leg and grimaced. "Your leg, too."

"I guess the pain in my arm is not letting me feel the pain in my leg." Jupiter looked around and frowned. "Wait, where's Warwitch?"

"She phased out a moment after we teleported up here," Saturn said. "She better have a good reason for that."

"Agreed."

While the two talked, Mercury had finished changing. She was wearing a very short lab coat over her Senshi outfit, but other than that, there were no visible changes in her. "Prepare to face the endless knowledge of Sailor Science!" she said as her 'transformation' ended.

Dragon Mercury sighed. "Let's just end this quick."

Science leapt aside as the Dragon tried to slash her with his swords. "That would be no fun. Let's start the first experiment: Solidification."

Dragon Mercury was suddenly wrapped in ice. "Seriously, ice?"

"No, that's solid nitrogen. The only reason you didn't die in seconds is your Senshi powers and your affinity to cold. However, you'll be dead in less than one minute."

"Even if it's not water, it's cold, and cold is my element, Ami," the Dragon said as the ice around him lit up.

Science saw the ice explode in all directions, and growled at him. "You managed to break the ice, but you will not survive my second experiment: Dissolution!"

The Dragon saw test tubes appear in her hands, and she tossed them at him. He dodged them easily, and idly noticed their effect on the concrete. "Of course, dissolution. Are you so desperate to win you resort to acid?"

"Just wait until you see the third experiment!"

"Sorry, class dismissed," the Dragon said. He crossed his swords, and a large ice dragon shot forth, passing right through Science and freezing her.

However, the ice around her exploded outwards, and she laughed. "Fool, did you think that would-" She noticed her target wasn't there anymore, and frowned. "Running away, are we?"

"No, I just needed to get to melee range."

Jupiter saw Science turn around just to be greeted by a magically charged fist to the face, which knocked her down to the ground, and knocked her out. "Sometimes the best moves are the most basic ones."

The Dragon grabbed Mercury's seed and returned it to her. "That was almost a challenge."

Mercury woke up and smiled at him. "Somehow, I'm glad to hear that."

Jupiter and Saturn walked to them. "You know," Jupiter said, "I'm pretty sure Warwitch run away."

As if she had been waiting for that moment, Warwitch appeared near them. "I didn't run away, I was just taking care of some... Bystanders."

"What do you mean?"

"Those three alien Senshi were spying on this fight. I wanted to ask them a few things, ended up telling them what I think of them."

"Uh, so what happened?"

Warwitch smiled. "Let me tell you..."