Sailor Moon Aeons.
Book 2: Rebirth.
Act 8: Hunting Season.
Episode 125: It came from the Sun.

By Razor Knight
Last update: December 16, 2016
Last edited: June 15, 2017

Iron Mouse couldn't complain. Galaxia really treated them as equals, and had helped them become stronger than ever. Aeon level was no joke, any of them was strong enough to destroy whole star systems in minutes. But fortunately, her new "boss" wasn't interested in destruction, unless the target was evil. She knew one very important reason Galaxia had to train them, was that one single Senshi, even one as powerful as her, would take years, at best, to scout a whole galaxy. And there were countless galaxies out there, from what she had seen.

The galaxy they were cureently scouting was a sight to behold. From afar, its shape was irregular, but it looked almost like a spiral galaxy - like their own - had crashed into an ovoid galaxy. And the number of single star systems was low, while Mouse herself had found a system with five stars in its center.

Her mind warned her of something, and for a moment, she froze. "Gala, did yoy sense that?"

Galaxia appeared near her, along with the other three ex-Animates. "I did, and there's a reason for that. That creature, whatever it is, is up to my level of power."

"Is it on Earth?"

"No, but close enough to it."

"We're busy here, though. And that place is so far... Away." Nyanko fell silent as Galaxia glared at her. "Sorry."

"That world is not one I'll see destroyed again. It was my home in the past, and it also was the origin of us Senshi. Without that world, you wouldn't be here, Kit."

Nyanko frowned at the nickname Gala used for her, but then nodded. "I get it. Let's go."

"I'll go there alone."

"No, you won't," Crow snapped. "You're not just an ally, Gala. I'm starting to think of you as a friend. I'll help you."

Galaxia though about it for a few moments, then nodded. "I see... It's been so long since I had someone I could call a friend..." She focused on the creature she could sense even from galaxies away. No, she was not imagining things. "Now let's go, it will take us a while to get there. Time to go see an old friend."

Usagi watched Rei and Ami train. One month had passes since Rex was defeated, and they had used that time quite well. Technically, Usagi was now the only Senshi who hadn't reached Guardian level yet. She knew her Star Seed needed time to heal, but it sure took a long while.

Terry was, meanwhile, talking to Aiko. "Are you sure?"

"Yes. My scanners aren't malfunctioning, I already checked that."

"So I guess peace didn't help. Maybe some old-fashioned Hakko-style training will help her."

Usagi had heard the last bit, and realized he meant her whem he vanished. She caught his fist but he didn't stop, kicking her legs and causing her to stagger back. "Terry, what are you-"

"Less talk, more fight," Terry said from behind her. She spun around and kicked out, sending him rolling back. "Nice. Guess I'll have to up the challenge. Saturn Guardian Power!"

Rei frowned and transformed. "Terry, stop-" She saw Ami block her path. "Out of the way."

"You've known him for as long as Usagi and I do. You should know he wouldn't go all out for no good reason."

"But what-" Rei stopped as she saw something she hadn't seen in a while. Usagi had been trying to dodge or block the Dragon's blows, but it was clear she had little chance to win. However, her arm was suddenly wrapped in stone and she punched him away with it. "Wow."

Dragon Saturn saw Usagi staring at her own arm as first fire, the ice, then electricity covered it. "Good, Aiko was right."

"Thanks," Usagi said, right before a column of fire rose from underneath the Dragon. "Yep, my magic is all there."

The Dragon wasn't too hurt by the atack. "Guess I deserved that."

Usagi smiled. "No hard feelings. Moon Cosmic Power!"

"I give up," Terry said, turning back to normal. "I wanted to force you to reawaken you magic. That's done, so fighting on would be pointless."

Moon nodded slowly. "Guess you're right."

Aiko had been about to say something, but then looked up and went pale. "Shit, what is that?"

Moon could sense what Aiko had detected. "Now I know what my future self meant. I did get my powers back at a perfect time."

"With your powers back, you can sense things I can't. All I 'see' is a massive power spike coming from the Sun. Almost as if..."

"Something came out of the Sun. And the power I'm sensing is... It's a Senshi, stronger than Chaos, maybe even stronger than Galaxia."

"A Senshi from inside the Sun?" Ami asked. "For some reason, that sounds familiar."

Aiko had already been searching for it. "I see. The Codex's databases mention a Sailor Sun being the one Chaos took over before it got Galaxia. "But legends also say that particular Sailor Sun was destroyed by Galaxia."

"If Galaxia threw her into the Sun, then it's likely they thought she had been destroyed," Haruka said. "But is she a threat?"

Moon frowned. "I sense hatred in her. Most likely directed to Gala, but..."

"Maybe if we tell her Galaxia is not in this neighbourhood, she will leave without a fight."

"Worth a try. But guys... Don't attack first. Don't even look at her funny."

"Mom, you look..."

"Scared," Aiko said, "but I know why. Even Pluto has a small fragment of the power this Sailor Sun has. Her power is close to the real Galaxia, or even Cosmos."

"Let's hope she can be reasoned with, then," Mamoru said.

"She won't be listening to reason."

Aiko saw Pluto was there. "Oh, that makes things interesting."

Pluto shook her head. "This is no joking matter. That woman has been trapped inside our Sun for millions of years. She's dangerous."

"She's a Senshi. A Senshi from Earth, like us. We'll make her listen to us."

"With all due respect, we should not let her attack first."

"I will not attack her unless I see there's no other way out of this."

"Then I will," Pluto said.

"No, you won't," Usagi countered. "Please, can you give us a chance to try-"

"I'm sorry, but I can't-"

"Then you will stay here," Usagi said. "That's an order."

Pluto grimaced at that. She knew Usagi had never ordered anyone before. Was she that serious about it? "I cannot ignore a direct order from a Serenity."

"Sorry."

"I'll send you to where she is," Pluto said, "and- If she does attack, I will go."

"I know."

Sailor Sun was disappointed. Galaxia wasn't there anymore, and she couldn't sense her anywhere in the galaxy. Was she dead? That would be annoying, how could she kill her if she was dead? She had been floating there, between Venus and the Earth, for several minutes before someone came to greet her.

"I know you're looking for Gala, but she left months ago."

Sun turned to the voice, and smirked. This was what passed as Senshi these days? So weak, so pathetic. "You know where she is."

Moon saw the way the woman was looking at them and tried her best not to flinch. "We don't. After I healed her, she left."

"You healed her? What's that supposed to mean?"

"I destroyed the parasite inside her."

Sun burst out laughing. "So you expect me to believe a weak Senshi like you could destroy Chaos?"

"Power isn't everything," Moon noted.

"Shut up!"

Moon dodged Sun's energy blast easily. "Please, I don't want to fight a fellow Senshi. If you want to search for Galaxia, we won't stop you. She didn't say exactly where she was going, but she said she wanted to go out, to other galaxies, to see if there were threats out there."

Sun had been staring at Moon the whole time. "Maybe if I kill a couple of you, she'll show up."

"I'm sorry, but I won't let you do that."

Sun looked at the newcomer. "Now you look like a challenge, at least."

Moon turned to Pluto. "Setsuna, I told you-"

"There's something your daughter told me once. A soldier follows orders, a Senshi does what they feel is right. She's already threatening us. I will stop her, even if you order me not to."

Sun laughed as she heard that, then glared at Pluto. "You'll do."

Moon was close enough to Pluto to be able to sense the power of the thin energy beam Sun had shot. It had pierced right through Pluto's heart. "No..."

Sun looked at Pluto's corpse for a second before shrugging. "What? That bitch thought she could beat me. Serves her right."

Moon glared at Sun. "Shut up. You didn't have to kill her. You-" Moon stopped as energy started cracking around her. "If you won't leave on your own, I'll kick you out. Moon Guardian Power!"

"Get her, mom." ChibiMoon said. That bastard had killed Pluto, so if Moon failed, she would try as well.

Sun smiled coldly. "A Guardian Senshi? That won't be enough, even if it's a Serenity."

Moon returned the smile. "I know. Moon Eternal Power!"

"Upgrading twice in one go?" Mercury said, worriedly. "That's too risky. Moon, don't-"

Moon knew her friends were worrying for a good reason, and she could feel her body protesting the strain. Still, she would not let this pseudo Senshi kill anyone else. She shot a wide beam at Sun, but only managed to make her stagger back a bit. "Damn..."

"My turn."

Moon had reacted instinctively, which was exactly why it had worked - if she had conscously though about it, she would have never tried to use Hecate's Touch on a blast as powerful as the one Sun hadd shot at her. And Sun had been too shocked to move out of the way. Moon saw Sun cough some blood. "I won't let you hurt anyone else. Just leave."

"You weakling, using such cheap tricks and thinking the fight is over? I'll-"

"Mitra, stop it."

Sum turned to the voice, and growled. "Finally, you coward!"

"Coward? I only sensed you when you got out of the Sun, and I was three galaxies away."

Crow looked at Sun. "Wait, what the heck? They were beating her around?"

"She beat herself," Moon said with a shrug.

Sun sighed. "Damn it, if not for this weakling..."

"That weakling destroyed Chaos, something neither you nor me could do. Why were you fighting her?"

"To make you fight me."

"Fight you? Why would I? You meant a lot to me, Mitra, you still do. I thought I had failed you, when I sent you into the Sun, it wasn't just rage and hatred I felt. I felt disappointment, I had lost everyone I cared about because of my foolish quest to explore the galaxy. If only I had been there..."

"But you weren't!" Sun tackled Galaxia and started punching and kicking her. Galaxia didn't counter, just blocked as well as she could. "I lost everything too! There were Senshi in Nue. Senshi I considered my friends. I saw them all die. And then Chaos took over and I had to watch my other friends die. Even my parents. And you were playing explorer while I..." Sun stopped as she finally realized something. "Fight back, damn it!"

"No." Galaxia smiled at her friend. "You hate me for all that? I understand why. I still hate myself for failing everyone. For failing you. But what good would fighting you bring? If one of us dies, the other will have another memory haunting her."

"I was stuck there for... I don't even know how long it was. After a while I just- I decided to sleep, since I couldn't die."

"I had my punishment too, Mitra. To stop Chaos from using my power, I forced my soul out of its body, and triggered a blind teleport to a different galaxy. Chaos was left drifting and lost, but I knew it would find its way back. Meanwhile, I had to watch mankind rise from the ashes, only to fall again. And then I know they rose and fell once more, but my mind was too weakened for me to remember what happened. I also fell into a sort of slumber, until I sensed Chaos was close."

Sun looked at Galaxia. Gala had gone through a different hell than her, but her eyes still told her she had paid for her mistakes already. Her rage was gone, and she knew Galaxia was right. What would she gain by killing her? She would just finish what Chaos had started. "I suppose I've been acting like a fool since I woke up." She looked at the Senshi of Earth. They had made no move to attack her, even Pluto, who was back from death, didn't seem ready to fight. "I'm not going to ask for forgiveness, but... I sincerely regret my behavior from before."

"As long as it doesn't happen again, in the future..."

Galaxia smiled at Moon. "Same Usagi I remember, I see."

Crow frowned. "So, we kind of didn't need to be here, I guess."

"Who are those?"

Galaxia looked at Sun. "That's a long story. Come with us, and I'll tell you."

Sun bit her lip for a moment before nodding. "It will be nice to be fighting side by side with you, again. But there's one thing I've always regretted, something I kept hidden from you." She floated to Galaxia and planted a kiss on her lips. "Hope that's a good enough clue."

Nyanko giggled. It was the first time she saw Galaxia frozen in place, lost for words. "I think she wants to be more than friends, boss."

"Shut it, Kit," Galaxia snapped. She turned to Sun and sighed. "To be honest with you, I never imagined you felt that way. Would you take a 'maybe' for an answer?"

"It's more than I hoped for," Sun admitted. "I'll just have to work hard to turn that 'maybe' into a 'yes.'"

Galaxia saw Moon floating to them. "I suppose that, in a way, you helped me become stronger."

Sun knew that was meant for her. "And you made me see that power isn't everything. I know we can leave this planet to you... Usagi, was it?"

Moon nodded. "Maybe we will see you again, one day."

"Who knows?" Galaxia mused. "It's not like the future is set in stone." She turned to her allies, both new and old. "Let's go back, those galaxies won't scout themselves."

"I wonder, though," Saturn said as Galaxia's group left, "will we see them again?" As she said that last bit, she looked at Pluto, who frowned at her. "Setsuna?"

"I think you'll figure out why I'm not in the best of moods," Pluto said.

"Didn't you see all that happening?"

Pluto looked at Venus. "No. Galaxia was right, the future isn't set in stone. I can't see all possible futures, just the majority of them. In this case, I did not foresee Usagi ordering me not to come here. And once that changed, I didn't know what the right course of action was. So, I just decided to follow my instincts... My heart."

"So, you guys want to float around in the middle of nowhere for longer, or should we go home?"

Dragon Saturn smiled at Mars' question. "That's a tough one. There's no fans in space."

"Maybe you could build us a space station to use as home base? "

"Karin, don't give him ideas," Mercury scolded.

"Setsuna, just get us back to the base," Moon said. "They can resume the usual silliness once we're there."

Pluto smiled at that. "As you wish." After sending the Senshi back home, Pluto looked to the side. She knew another ghost from the past was coming, and this particular war would be different to the ones before. A Senshi's work never ends, as the saying went.

Boa woke up and saw she was in some sort of white room. She tried to sit up but couldn't quite do it. "Damn, where-" she stopped as she saw Lynx was there, lying on some sort of table. "Lynx!"

"Calm down, he's still alive. Wasn't sure either of you was going to make it when we brought you here."

Boa saw the girl standing near her. Pink hair, black dress... "You're the clone. I thought the kid had killed you."

"Fortunately, they also thought the same. The Senshi aren't as thorough as they should be. We've been gathering survivors, and researching in order to find a way to defeat the Senshi for good."

Boa had listened to what the woman said, but she was also sensing something else. She felt faster and stronger than ever. "Rex... He's gone, right?"

"He was killed because he took his victory for granted. That's something all enemies of the Senshi have in common."

"Damn. I... I want revenge."

"If so, there's two paths you can take. You can go out there, and try to beat the Senshi. But here's a bit of intel you might want to consider: You've been out for a month. The Senshi all reached Guardian level while you were recovering. And Moon... She got her powers back yesterday, and went to fight an unknown foe near Venus. When she came back, she was an Eternal level Senshi."

Boa paled. "I suppose the other choice I have is to join your group and wait."

"That's right."

Boa smirked. "Lynx was always more cautious than me, so he'll agree with me once he wakes up. We'll join your group."

A/N: Yes, not even being thrown into a star can stop some Senshi.

What's next? I'll stop messing with the Sailor Moon universe for a while, and start messing with other universes. Old readers will know what that means.