Sailor Moon Aeons.
Book 2: Rebirth.
Act 7: The Senshi of Chaos.
Episode 109: Deadly gamble.

By Razor Knight
Last update: September 9, 2015
Last edited: June 13, 2017

"It's usually normal humans who keep their distance when we're fighting enemies."

The three alien Senshi looked at the woman who had appeared right in front of them. "What do you want?"

Warwitch shrugged. "To know why you aren't helping us. You're Senshi too, right? I mean, the suits are all wrong, but that's what my friends say you are."

"We are Starlight Senshi. As for why we're not helping, it's simply because it would not benefit our mission."

"Your mission being to defeat Galaxia."

"Yes."

"Wouldn't killing one of her goons make her come out of hiding?"

"We know exactly where Galaxia is," the white-haired alien Senshi said.

"Then you're too weak to defeat her? What are you waiting for?"

The three aliens looked at each other, then the black-haired one shrugged. "You knowing this wouldn't affect us. We're looking for our Princess, she escaped to this world when Galaxia attacked our world."

Warwitch frowned. "Why didn't she ask for our help?"

"Your help? You mean, the Senshi of this world? They're too weak to defeat Galaxia."

"But maybe if you all work together-"

"We have no time to babysit weaklings."

"Huh, and here I thought you were Senshi. I guess I was wrong."

"What is that supposed to mean?"

Warwitch glared at the brown-haired Senshi. "Senshi keep on fighting. Senshi don't give up. You're just sitting around, waiting for your Princess to fix everything for you? That's pathetic. Your magic may be stronger than that of my friends, but what really matters, your heart, is weak."

"Our heart? Fighting against a stronger foe will do nothing but get you killed," the black-haired Senshi said.

"So you instead just sit around and wait until Galaxia is bored enough to come kill you? She already knows you're around, and I'm sure she knows where to find you."

"You weakling, what is it you want?"

"Fighter..."

She looked at the white-haired one. "Shut up, Healer."

"What I want? I want to help my friends. I want to protect those who can't protect themselves. That's what I want. I thought talking to you would make you see a fight you run from is a fight you've lost, but... Perhaps you're nothing like I thought Senshi should be. Perhaps even your Princess-"

"Don't speak ill of her!"

Warwitch smiled at that, but it wasn't a mocking smile. "She did run away, though-"

"We told her to run, we told her we would take care of Galaxia," Healer said.

"And yet," the brown-haired Senshi said, "we couldn't even defeat her underlings."

Fighter shook her head. "We've said too much, Maker."

"Agreed," Maker said, "You'll gain nothing from talking to us."

"I've learnt more than my friends know about your group," Warwitch said, "enough to realize that we don't need your help to win this - no, we may not even want it."

"What-"

"My friends... No, me too. I trust Sailor Moon... Usagi. I trust my own Princess. She will defeat Galaxia, even if your Princess does nothing. And I'll be there to help her."

"What if she can't win?"

"Then at least she tried. At least we all tried. So, girls, keep using your 'mission' as an excuse to sit and wait if you want, I won't nag you again about it. Or, you could remember what being a Senshi is about, and help us. As someone I respect once said, 'the first step to victory is not being afraid to lose.'"

Fighter saw Warwitch vanish, then turned to the fight... And realized it was over. "That girl..."

Healer stared at Fighter. "What if she's right? We've been looking for the Princess for a long time."

"Let's retreat for now," Maker suggested, "we can think about that later."

"So they're looking for their lost Princess?" Usagi asked. "What if Gala is-"

"I doubt that's the case."

"Why?"

"It just doesn't seem right to me," Yukiko said. "Unless Gala's been lying to us."

"That-"

"Is a possibility," Ami said. "We just know about Galaxia from legends, and she might have heard what she's told us elsewhere."

Usagi looked at Yukiko. "About what you told them, helping me fight... Yuki, Galaxia may be too strong-"

"So what? Have you never fought an enemy that was stronger than you?"

Usagi looked away, then sighed. "Just be careful, okay? I don't want to see anyone I care about die."

Yuki scanned the area with her eyes, then chuckled. "It's weird how people hasn't figured out who I am yet."

"Well, they didn't figure out who I was. Even my classmates," Usagi noted.

"That's because you had us covering up for you," Yukiko said. "Guess nobody knows Warwitch."

Usagi smiled at that. "Haven't been to Crown for a while, have you?"

"Not really. Why?"

"Come with me."

Galaxia glared at her four soldiers in turns. "This is taking more than I expected. However," her face returned to normal as she said that last bit, "I can't blame anyone but luck. There's few targets to check, so I think we should speed things up. Mouse, Siren, Nyanko, you'll take one target each."

"What about me?" Crow asked.

"Now that Papillon is dead, you're my strongest soldier. I want you to stay alert, and if any of those Starlight weaklings appear, eliminate them."

"What if they all show up?"

"If that's the case, then don't risk yourself - they seem to be testing the waters, but if we outright attack them they may leave me with one less soldier."

Crow nodded. "Agreed, I'd rather not be killed yet."

Galaxia's face turned serious, and she thought about something for a while. "There is one Senshi I can't locate. My powers tell me she's there, but we can't directly attack her. I will need to think of a way to make her come out of hiding."

Yukiko looked at the arcade machine in awe. "Wow, that Sailor Moon game is already out?"

Usagi nodded. "I heard Terry say something about copyrights and something else, but I told him we're not doing our job for money. I don't care if they use my name and my image for this, as long as it's not making us look bad."

Yukiko shrugged. "It's cool, but what does it have to do with what I said earlier?"

Usagi smiled as she started the game. "The game's got a lot of characters to choose from."

Her friend saw Warwitch was one of said characters. "Wow, I'm famous."

"Balanced abilities, moves faster than Sailor Moon but has a shorter magic bar to compensate."

Usagi turned to see Umino there. "I bet you've played this game a lot."

"It's been here for a week," Umino said, "I'll have to practice a lot more before I can beat it."

"Wow, is it that hard?"

"I'm not sure where they got the idea, but that Pharaoh Ninety thing is the final boss."

"Sounds like fun, I may try it later," Yukiko said.

"Me too," Usagi said, then groaned. "What the heck."

"Usagi?"

"I sense three of our enemies moving to three different areas."

"Divide and conquer?"

"Or they're just in a hurry," Umino said.

"One of them is heading this way," Usagi explained, "wait, that means I'm-"

Just then, Chie walked in, and saw the way the three were looking at her. "... Hi. What's wrong?"

Usagi sighed. "An enemy is heading this way. They're targeting either you or me."

"Damn. Let's go, I don't want them to wreck this place."

Hotaru stood on top of a tall building, looking down at the city below. It was hard for her to not think about her girlfriend, but she had realized that focusing on the wait was only making it look worse than it really was. She didn't regret falling in love, and she would see her again, in the future. But she needed to focus in the present, in the war. It was easier thought than done, however, but she-

Her train of thoughts was interrupted as she heard a purr. She turned around, and saw Tin Nyanko staring at her. "Ugh, I was starting to wonder when you would target me."

"Why the long face, girl?"

Hotaru smiled. "Saturn Cosmic Power!" As the transformation ended, she smiled coldly at her foe. "This is good, I need something to kick around. You'll do."

"Fool, you really think you can fight me?"

"One of my friends told me that keeping anger and sorrow in you will only cause them to grow... And I've been keeping them in me for a while. It's time to put them to good use."

Nyanko saw Saturn vanish, and looked around. "Hey, running away is useless!"

"Who's running, Saturn said from behind her. Nyanko turned around to slash at her with her clawed gloves, but Saturn wasn't there anymore. "Gotcha."

Nyanko felt the hand in her shoulder, and could feel energy leaving her body. "What is-" She leapt away from Saturn, but noticed something. Saturn's body was shining. "How did you do that?"

"My gloves, they're called Death's Touch, and can drain energy from any living being, when I will them to."

"That's neat, but I still have more than enough-"

Saturn shot an energy beam from her hands, and it knocked Nyanko off the rooftop. "Bad kitty, play dead."

Nyanko picked herself off the small crater she had left upon landing, and glared up to the building before realizing Saturn wasn't there anymore. "This again?"

"If cats play with their prey before killing it, you could call me Sailor Caturn."

Jupiter and Dragon Sun reached the area right then. "Hello, kitty."

Nyanko gave the guy a short glare. "That's getting old."

"Focus, moron."

Nyanko was about to turn around, but smiled. "Not going to fall- Urk."

Saturn had guessed Nyanko's reaction, and used her error to stab her through the chest. "I guess I broke my punching bag."

Nyanko pulled herself off the glaive and smiled despite the pain. "Cats have nine lives, fool."

Saturn was shocked that Nyanko could move after that, but did her best not to show it. "I did stab you through the heart. How can you-"

"I'm too stubborn to die," Nyanko said, smiling as Saturn fell to the ground, then saw the seed that had floated out of her forehead was dull. "Damn it, another... Dud."

The other two had been too late to react, but they had seen it, Nyanko's 'cat bazooka' floating in mid-air and shooting Saturn from behind. Both the catgirl and the bazooka were gone by the time the two went to check on Saturn. "Guess she had another trick in her sleeves."

Saturn stood up, and her suit now was covered by a long robe. She was also wearing a skull-like mask which only let her mouth uncovered. "I'm Sailor Reaper, and evildoers are dying to fight me."

Jupiter groaned. "Let's just-" She stopped as the Dragon blocked her path with his arm. "Kage?"

"Charging straight at the enemy isn't always the only way to fight."

Reaper was hit by an energy blast, and knocked to the ground. She stood up and growled. "What is-" She was knocked down by another blast, and this time floated up. "Stop that-" A third blast punched her into the building, and she glared at the two Senshi. "Seriously, it's annoying as fu-" A fourth blast came from inside the building, causing her to fall down a good fifteen meters. "Ugh..."

Jupiter looked around. "How... Wait, your guns?"

"Yeah. You know what to do."

Jupiter saw Reaper was looking around the area, waiting for another blast. "Running straight at the enemy and punching them in the face is my favorite strategy, but I'm willing to try new ones." She vanished as she said that, appearing right behind Reaper, with her hammer in her hands. "Say ow." Reaper turned around just to be greeted by a hammer to the chest. She hit the ground, bouncing back a few times, and stopped many meters away, lying face-first on the ground. "... Oops."

Dragon Sun phased near Reaper and returned her seed. He then looked at Jupiter. "You used a lot more strength than you probably needed, but... It worked."

Saturn woke up, and tried to stand up. She yelped in pain and then sighed. "If I had to guess, I would think a certain Senshi knocked me out by applying generous quantities of brute force unto my body."

Jupiter blinked at that. "Uh, sorry?"

"No harm done, figuratively speaking," Saturn said. She was already healing her own body. "Too bad that cat escaped."

"How did she live through that?"

"Just before she got me, I sensed something I hadn't focused on before. I couldn't sense a soul in her."

"So, she's a zombie?"

"I don't think that's the right term," Saturn admitted, "but it's something like that."

Venus was in a very bad mood. That Iron Mouse creep had showed up and turned Brad into one of those fakes, and then left. She had ruined their date, so next time she saw her, she'd ruin her face.

"Prism flare."

She leapt aside, barely avoiding a blast which tore through the building's front door. "Hey, I actually like this place, stop wrecking it!"

Her foe chuckled. "Figures you'd like a fast food place. That's why you're fat."

Venus growled. "You said your name was Dragon Warlock? I think it's more like Dragon Jerk."

Warlock smirked. "And you're fat."

Venus glared at him, but then closed her eyes. She couldn't let what he said get to her. This wasn't Brad, and letting anger get to her would not help her bring him back to normal. "If all you got to fight are insults, then this battle will be easy."

"Prism storm."

Venus was knocked out of the building by an explosion, and as she stood up, she saw there wasn't much of the building left after it. "Damn it, Brad..."

"Calm down, Minako."

Venus turned to see Artemis there. "You-"

"I wasn't spying on your date, if that's what you're thinking," Artemis said, "but let's leave that for later. Why aren't you attacking him?"

"I- I can't. Even if he's not being himself right now, I'm afraid to hurt him. I-"

Artemis sighed. "I won't think you're weak because of that." As he said that, he transformed into his Senshi form.

"Art, wait, you-"

"I'm a Guardian, it's my duty to protect the Senshi. I'm your Guardian. If you can't fight, I'll be your weapon."

"... Thank you."

"Prism storm."

Artemis punched the attack away and glared at his foe. "I was talking to my protegee."

"Shut up and fight," Warlock snapped back.

"Won't be much of a fight," Artemis mused. "Cat Rampage."

Venus saw Artemis teleport around Dragon Warlock, slashing at him with his sword several times, and always teleporting to a different spot before his foe could react. By the time he was done, Warlock was kneeling on the ground, but Artemis was back to his normal form. "Art.."

Warlock growled and staggered up. "You won't defeat me so easily."

Artemis sighed. "Damn it, I haven't fought in way too long. Sorry."

"I won't think you're weak because of that," Venus said with a smile, then looked at Warlock. "Any last words?"

"Demon sword..."

"Yeah, I'm going to let you use that one," Venus snapped before 'vanishing.' Artemis saw the Dragon fly back into the wrecked building, and a blinding light surrounded him. By the time that was done, the fake Senshi was out cold.

"I knew you could do it."

Venus smiled as she returned the seed. "I just needed someone to push me in the right direction."

Dragon Venus woke up and looked around. "Uh... Fuck, did I do all this?"

"Yeah."

"Sorry," he said, then saw a crowd was slowly gathering, now that the fight is over. "I'm paying for the repairs. I want this place to look just like it looked before."

"You don't have to-" Venus started.

"I know how much you like this place. Money is just a tool, you're the thing I care the most about."

Artemis smiled as Venus kissed her guy. "Gotta admit I can almost respect you at times, Diamond."

The Dragon looked at the cat and chuckled. "Good to know."

"Guess that's our answer," Dragon Lilith said.

Moon looked at Lilith, or whatever she was called right now. "If she has the same powers as normal, this could be a mess."

"My name's Sailor Gamble, and your luck has just run out."

"Wanna bet?" Dragon Lilith said. "Ugh, I realized how bad that was as I was saying it."

Warwitch frowned. "Let's make this quick. Witch Barrage!" As expected from the attack's name, a barrage of elemental blasts shot straight at 'Gamble.' She blinked in shock as all the blasts missed her. "What the fuck-"

"How lucky, you missed," Gamble mocked her. "My turn. Ace of spades!"

The others had been through enough battles to know even something as harmless as cards could be used as weapons. Moon was good at dodging, but even then, one of the cards stabbed her leg. She yelled in pain, but pulled the card out, and glared at her foe. "I bet if Terry was here, he would say luck is nothing against skill."

"Problem is, he's not here, so you're fresh out of skilled fighters," Gamble noted.

Moon nodded. "I don't fear admitting he's a better fighter than me in most areas, but there's one thing I'm better than him at. Magical attacks."

Gamble was about to mock her, but then noticed the area around her lighting up. She looked down and saw the ground underneath her was shining. "Oh fu-"

Dragon Lilith saw Gamble fly up, then fall down with a loud thud. "That must have hurt."

Gamble staggered up slowly. "Not enough... I can still-"

"War Staff."

Moon flinched as she saw Warwitch slam her staff on Gamble's head, knocking her out. "War staff, really?"

Warwitch shrugged as she returned Lilith's seed. "It worked, didn't it?"

Lilith woke up and sighed. "Well, that happened."

"You remember it?"

"No, but from what I've heard and seen when others got turned, I'm sure it's better this way."

"Guess we could call that a... Lucky guess," Dragon Lilith joked.

Moon sighed. "Umino, you've been my friend since we were toddlers, but that doesn't mean I won't moonbeam you if you start trying to be as bad at jokes as Terry."

"You really get along," Warwitch mused.

"... If you say so," Dragon Lilith muttered.