Sailor Moon Aeons.
Book 2: Rebirth.
Act 8: Hunting Season.
Episode 114: Hyena.

By Razor Knight
Last update: December 16, 2015
Last edited: June 14, 2017

"I can't believe Nova will appear on TV."

Usagi smiled as she heard her classmates talk. The news of Warwitch, Phase and Nova's appearance on TV had spread quite fast, even though it had only been two days since they had decided to do it. She looked at Hana and Yukiko, noticing both gave her the same knowing smile. "So, it's gonna be tonight, huh?"

"You know who they are."

Usagi looked at the girl and sighed. "Yes, but I'm not going to say a thing. Don't be impatient, you'll know who they are by tomorrow."

"Eh, guess you're right."

Usagi noticed those classmates who weren't Senshi or 'sidekicks' staring at her. "They are my friends, very close friends, and even if their identities will be known publicly soon, I'm going to keep them a secret until that moment. Anyone who can't wait for a few hours, feel free to try and take that information out of me."

"Aren't you just a normal human now?"

Usagi looked at the guy who had asked that. "I can't use magic, but if you think I'm going to be easy to defeat just because I can't zap you from a block away, feel free to try your luck."

Terry smiled from behind Usagi. "She may look harmless in her civilian form, but with all the training she's got, she could probably-"

The guy smiled back at him. "Won't lose anything by trying."

Several other students gasped as the guy rushed in to punch Usagi. However, the girl didn't even bother standing up, she simply caught his fist and chuckled as he stopped and looked at her in awe. "I was beaten around by one of the best martial arts masters in the world until I learnt how to defend myself without any magic. It would be quite sad if I were to lose against someone who doesn't even know how to throw a punch."

"Uh, I... Sorry."

"No harm done," Usagi said.

"Good thing he attacked you," Mako said from the side, "if he tried that on me, I would at least rough him up a bit."

"I'll go hunting next, teach you guys how it's done."

Rex looked at the woman and sighed. "Give it a try, but be careful, Hyena."

"I know, I know. Lion already told me that. Still, I'm not sure why these are giving us so much trouble, the other ones we fought were supposedly much stronger, and yet easier to kill."

"There's something weird about that," Vulture noted. "I'm not sure what, but I'll figure it out eventually."

"Have fun with that, I'll go hunt a Senshi."

Zeon TV had been chosen by the three heroines to reveal their identity. This choice had its reasons. First being that it had been the same channel the Senshi had used, second being it was owned by Zephyr Robotics, so one could say they had contacts within it.

Jun Sanada looked at the three women. While not as popular as the Senshi, they had still done their share of good deeds all over Tokyo, so they were rather well-known. He could also see Sailor Mercury there. Mercury didn't need to hide her identity anymore, so he wondered why he had chosen to appear in her 'hero' form.

Still, the broadcast was about to start, so he smiled at them. "To be honest, I'm also curious about your real identities. It's an honor to be chosen for this - and you girls don't ever give interviews, so I'm going to make a lot of people in my line of job jealous - again."

Mercury nodded. "I bet you're also curious as to why I'm here. Without spoiling anything, I'll say it has to do with the real identity of one of them."

The man nodded, then saw a sign come out in the large screen in front of them. "Show's about to start."

Warwitch looked at Phase as the man gave his intro speech. "Nervous?"

"I'm only human," Phase joked.

"Yes, you are," Warwitch said with a warm smile.

"... But it's time for me to shut up and let the real stars of this show shine."

Nova smiled at the camera. "Since I'm the one who's been around for the longest time, I suppose I'll go first." She turned back to normal and then looked back at Mercury. "I guess I should start by my name. I'm Hana Thompson, and back before the Senshi appeared, I was fighting crime in New York, along with my... Ally, Zero."

Mercury smiled at that. "He was more than an ally to you, though."

Nova nodded at that. "Zero, who is nowadays known as Dragon Mercury, was my first real friend, and we were in love. But when the Dark Kingdom showed up in New York, we made mistakes, we were too naive, and I... I ended up dead fighting one of the youma bosses. Zero... Terry moved to Japan in order to avenge me."

"So you died. That explains why you seemed to vanish from action," the man said, "but you reappeared a bit over one year later."

"That's true, I... My old body is gone, but an evil scientist who's got a grudge on the Senshi cloned me, gave me a body that was better at everything I did, and also gave me false memories, making me believe Terry had been the one who had killed me. By then, Terry had moved on, and he and Ami were already dating, and that... Let's just say Ami and I didn't really start off in friendly terms."

"So, the Senshi brought you back to your senses," the man said. At least, that's what the rumors had said.

"Yes, and I realized that life had changed for me. I couldn't magically come back from death without raising a lot of questions back home. So I took on a fake identity and moved to Tokyo."

"I'm guessing you would warn the audience the same way the Senshi did back when-"

Hana smiled. "I may not be a Senshi, but my powers can be just as deadly. I don't think a warning is needed, those who may have reasons to hate me should know by now that I'm not an easy target."

Warwitch looked at the camera. "I guess I'm next." She turned back to normal. "Hi everyone, my name is Yukiko Hokuge, and I'm the biggest fan of the Senshi."

Sanada chuckled at that. "That's quite a title to give yourself."

"Well, some would agree since I can be a bit too enthusiastic about it," that caused Ami to giggle. "I even spent years leading people off-track about who the Senshi really were."

"About your powers... Are you a Senshi, or something else?"

"Something else, I guess," Yukiko sighed. "Since Hana held no secrets back, I guess I won't, either. I was able to use my powers thanks to the first 'final boss' the Senshi faced, Queen Beryl of the Dark Kingdom."

"But why would she-"

Mercury decided to answer that one. "Death is not as definitive as we humans are told, at least when magic is involved. Beryl's soul was separated from her body, which was taken over by an evil older than her. We destroyed her body and thought she was gone, but she found a way to bind herself to Yuki, unlocking her powers just so she could use a part of the mana Yuki was using to feed and grow stronger."

Yukiko noticed the way the man was looking at her. "Beryl tried to use my body to defeat the Senshi, but was defeated, for good this time." She looked at Phase. "Your turn."

Phase turned back to normal, and saw the way the man was looking at her. "Yes, I know what you're thinking. There's a reason why I look like Mercury. If the viewers thought Hana and Yukiko's stories were strange, then my story will seem impossible. For starters, my name. I am Aiko Mizuno."

Sanada looked at her. "So, you are her sister?"

"No."

Mercury turned back to normal and smiled. "She's my daughter."

"Uhm, sorry to say this, but I don't see how that could be true."

"Years ago, when we found a place where we could meet - a place I know has been a urban legend for a while - we wanted to have a way to have eyes all over the city, and even outside, to be able to detect evil before it struck. We also wanted to create a sentient program to run our base's systems. That's how Aiko was 'born,' although at first she didn't have a body, and she was little more than a computer program."

The man blinked at that. "... So what happened, did you gather the seven Dragon Balls and wish for her to be human?"

"I wasn't aware Usagi was the dragon of wishes," Aiko mused. "Anyhow, let me tell you what happened. I've heard most of the rumors about Sailor Moon's crystal, and most of them are not far from the truth. That crystal of hers is a mystery even to those of us who have spent a lot of time trying to figure it out. It seems to act on the owner's will, either conscious or subconscious. During one of our past wars, I made a mistake, I only looked at statistics and power levels, and I didn't send reinforcements to a particular battle, since I considered the enemy to be weak enough that the Senshi would have no problem with it. That error got two of my friends hurt, and Usagi was angry that I had underestimated the enemy like that. She wished I was human, so being mad at me wouldn't be silly. And her crystal took that wish as an order, slowly changing me."

"Honestly, I wouldn't know you're not human if you hadn't said so," Sanada noted.

Aiko smiled as a screen appeared hovering behind her, showing a map of Tokyo. "My 'core' is still a computer program, but I am capable of everything humans can do. I can feel pain, I can be sad or happy... I'm as human as you are, even if this body is artificial."

"She's got all the right parts, too," Yukiko commented. That caused both Sanada and Ami to stare at her. "... Oops."

"Guess I'll need to have a talk with you two after this show's over," Ami mused. "Anyhow, Aiko has shown us she can be a good fighter, so I didn't mind her going out to hunt normal criminals."

"If rumors are to be trusted, Senshi have also started doing that."

"That may be due to what Lilith and Earth did. They just were at the right place at the right time. Our mission is to deal with things threatening this world, not to deal with petty thieves. However, if we do see something like that happening, we may decide to get involved."

Nova chuckled. "I wouldn't mind the help, but since I've seen the power you have, it would be boring for you to do that on a daily basis."

Aiko looked up. "Uh, there they are again. Mako is being attacked."

"Guess the show is over, then."

Ami looked at Sanada. "Our newest enemy seems easy to deal with, but we may have to leave-"

Aiko sighed. "Jupiter seems to be having some trouble with this new foe, but Uranus and Neptune are helping her. I've already told the others about it, just in case."

Sanada blinked at that. "So, you can see what's happening?"

"I can tell where each of my friends is at any given time, and can also detect when they're actively using their powers."

"And I can be in more than one place at a time," another Aiko said as she appeared right next to the original.

Ami sighed. "She loves to show off her skills, just like her father."

"And my mother, too, even though she doesn't want to admit it," Aiko countered.

Hana frowned. "Fun's over, at least for me. There's a bank robbery happening right now."

"Need help?"

"It's only ten men," Hana said before vanishing.

"Guess we should wrap this up..." Sanada saw something on the screen. "... with a question from the audience. What you see on that screen is what most of the audience is wondering."

Aiko looked at the screen and smiled. "I see. So, the thing they're most interested in, is if we're single."

"Not sure if flattering or disappointing, really," Yukiko muttered. "I've been dating Aiko for months, and Hana has someone already. It's Usagi's brother, just in case someone is wondering."

Mako was bored. Kage had gone to talk to the Demon Hunter bosses, and she really didn't feel like doing anything else. It was one of those times when she almost wished she had something or someone to kick around.

As the saying goes, careful what you wish for. She looked at the woman who had just teleported into her house and sighed. "And who are you supposed to be?" The woman was wearing a form-hugging, grey suit, and had brooches in her hair which looked almost like animal ears. Cat ears?

"My name is Hyena," she said. Oh, so they were dog ears, then. Mako idly noticed her gloves had metallic claws. "I'm sure you know why I'm here, Sailor Jupiter."

"Fine, I'll beat you up, but not here. Let's take it outside."

Hyena saw Mako vanish and frowned. Had she run away? She looked out the window and saw Sailor Jupiter standing there, waiting. She phased out to the street and sighed. "Hope you're ready for a beating."

Jupiter smirked. "I'll be a good sport and let you go first." True, years ago she would have jumped in and just tried to punch her foe down, but just like the others, she had learnt a bit about strategy. She would let this Hyena girl attack first and see what she could do.

"Suits you," Hyena said, then did something Jupiter wasn't quite ready for. She screamed, her voice strong enough to shatter glass all around her, and also to stun her for a few seconds. Before Jupiter could recover, Hyena rushed in, punching her in the gut and sending her flying back. "I'm not one to complain if my prey wants to make things easy for me."

Jupiter staggered up, but her ears were ringing and her vision was blurry. "Ugh. Just give me a second and I'll punch you out."

Hyena laughed. "No, I think I'll just kill you." As the woman run to Jupiter again, something hit her from the side. A wind blast strong enough to send her rolling on the ground. She stood up and looked at her attacker. "Oh good, more prey."

Neptune run to Jupiter as Uranus started shooting wind blasts at Hyena. "Mako, are you okay?"

"I'll live. Be careful, though, that woman's power is... Sound."

"Oh, so that's the scream we heard," Neptune said. "We'll take care of her, you just recover."

"Heh, thanks. Beat that bitch for me."

Neptune saw Hyena was busy dodging wind blasts, and nodded. "Will do."

Hyena was too busy dodging to notice Neptune sneaking up on her, so the water ball hitting her back was a surprise. She rolled on the ground again, standing up quickly and staring at her two foes. "Damn it, you're annoying. Die!"

Jupiter guessed what Hyena was about to do, and covered her ears as another 'super shout' ensued. It still affected her, but not as much as before. She saw Hyena cough, and then scream again before Uranus and Neptune could recover. Jupiter noticed her friends weren't standing up, and glared at Hyena... But then saw the woman was massaging her throat. "Oh, I get it."

Hyena turned to see Jupiter walking to her, holding a large hammer. "How can you be up?"

"I covered my ears."

"Still..."

"Also, I'm too stubborn to let a few screeches defeat me. And now that I know your weakness, then I can beat you."

"Weakness? I have none."

Jupiter smirked. "You sure about that? Then why don't you shout at me again?"

It was Hyena's turn to glare at her foe, and she did before leaping away from her. "Big deal, I can still beat you without-"

Jupiter growled at her. "Shut up and fight."

Hyena let out a snarl and rushed at Jupiter... But then noticed Jupiter's hammer was gone. She sensed movement to her side as she was about to reach Jupiter, but couldn't turn in time to see the hammer swinging straight for her torso before it had connected, sending her slamming into a metal fence. "Ugh... Damn you, I'm going to-"

Jupiter was already standing next to her, and holding her hammer. "You're going to leave. That is, unless being hammered to death was in your 'to do' list for tonight."

Neptune staggered up just as Hyena vanished. "That was impressive."

"I wouldn't have beaten her without your help."

"That's what teammates are for," Uranus said from the ground.

"Friends," Jupiter corrected. "You'll get it right, eventually."

Neptune smiled. "I think Haruka already got it, but she's too shy."

"Also, right now, I'm quite dizzy."

Jupiter laughed at that. "That girl's power was something else, really."

"Next time we face her, we'll bring ear plugs," Neptune said with a smile.

A/N: This "short" break I took was due to several things getting in the way of my writing. Namely Fallout 4, Evolve and Galactic Civilizations 3. I'm still hooked on Fallout 4, once you get used to (or mod out) all the bugs and shortcomings it has, it's worth wasting many hours on.

Anyhow, another episode, another Senshi Hunter introduced. Few episodes to go for the biggest plot twist in this 'era' of the story.