Sailor Moon Aeons.
Book 2: Rebirth.
Act 11: Tales of another world.
Episode 138: Last hope.

By Razor Knight
Last update: March 17, 2017
Last edited: June 18, 2017

Pluto sighed. She could see the timelines again, and they were, to say it nicely, a mess. The curent crisis had many variables, many ways in which things could go wrong. She could see futures where a few Senshi were missing, or even some where no Senshi was around.

"So, you're going on a trip again soon?"

"That's quite possible. Take care of this place while I'm gone."

"Of course, that's what I've been training for. Will I also get a chance to meet the Senshi?"

"That is also quite possible."

"Yes, I can see that. Have fun out there, mother."

She hated to admit it, but she was scared. Everything had gone wrong, most of her friends were dead, and Ami was apparently too shocked to move.

"Don't give up. We can still win this."

Mars turned to the voice. Luna? No, it was a human woman, wearing a golden Sailor suit. Still, the purple hair and red eyes made it obvious, it was Luna. "How...?"

"It's a special skill, only to be used when our protegees need us the most. I was too late to save Usagi but I will not let Beryl kill you."

Mercury looked at the three Mooncats, and the readings she was getting were incredible. "You... Why didn't you help us fight? If you had been here, Usagi would be-"

Luna flinched as Mercury started sobbing. "Yes, I screwed up. I though Usagi would get the upper hand once the crystal was fixed, but... Beryl was one step ahead of us. I'm- I will make sure you survive, even if I have to die to-"

"Minako!"

"Artemis, wait!"

Mars looked at the battlefield and saw the reason of Artemis' rage. Venus, Saturn and the other two were dead. But Beryl was... "They're right. We can win this."

"How?"

"Beryl is powerful, but she's running out of mana."

Mercury sighed. Yes, her visor was confirming that. "Maybe the Mooncats can-"

"We have to help."

"We are weak. We would only be more targets for Beryl."

"Ami, stop being a coward. Usagi would be ashamed of you."

Mercury glared at her friend. "Shut up!"

"No! Are you okay with just sitting here and waiting? Want everyone's deaths to be in vain?"

"If we try to fight, we'll die."

"Then at least we followed our leader's example. At least we die as warriors."

Mercury looked at the battle. Beryl had called in some reinforcements, apparently. Things were looking dire, but Rei was right. She was a Senshi, and even if she had not chosen to be one, even if she had already failed her Princess... She would not give up.

The two felt it, an incredible surge of energy. But it wasn't coming from any of those already fighting. It was their own energy, raising.

Luna could feel her body protesting the strain. Artemis and Shade were also exhausted, but they could not give up.

The battle was, however, one they could lose. As if Beryl and the fused Rainbow Youma weren't enough, once the last Generals died, Beryl's children had decided to come out and play. There were just too many foes, and the fight was dragging on for too long.

"I don't think we'll be walking out of this one," Shade said.

"Let's use our best move. I want to make sure I do some damage before I die."

Luna could sense it, the two remaining Senshi were not going to stay out of the fight for long. "We'll die if we use it while tired, but... I trust them. They can win."

Artemis smiled as his body lit up. "Golden..."

Shade's body also shone as she closed her eyes. "... Triangle..."

The two shot twin beams of energy at Luna, who absorbed them. She cringed for a split second as the energy overloaded her body, but then aimed both hands at Beryl, making a triangle shape with them. "... Eraser!"

The beam didn't hit Beryl at full force, because the five youngest spawns of Beryl shielded her. Still, the beam did some damage, and Beryl was impressed at the power these pets had. "Too bad for you, stray cats, but unlike you, I have soldiers I can rely on."

Luna knew Artemis and Shade were already gone, but still smiled weakly as she sensed something. "And you will still lose."

Beryl finally noticed something as the last Mooncat stopped breathing. The two weak Senshi she had ignored until then, their energy was rising at an alarming rate. "That's impossible."

Both Mercury and Mars were calmly walking to her. "We will defeat you, Beryl. For all our friends."

"You may try. But you'll have to get through my best soldiers first!"

The large youma laughed. "Let's see if these last longer than that weak Princess."

"Do not mock Usagi, scum. You only got her because you didn't play fair."

"I guess we should repay that favor," Mercury said. "Mercury... Eternal Power!"

"Mars... Eternal Power!"

Beryl was shocked. For them to get that strong in such a short time... "Goshenite, Morganite, what are you waiting for? Attack!"

Goshenite chuckled coldly. "What's that, mother? You want us to go fight those monsters? You're the one with the Ginzuishou."

"How dare you-"

"We saw you shed no tears for those five sluts who were dumb enough to take a hit for you. Those were your favorite spawns. You are only using us, 'mother.'"

Beryl glared at them. She would take care of them after she dealt with the- She sensed something and paled. "Hissatsu?"

The creature had been frozen solid, but suddenly burst aflame. There was nothing left of it when the fire died out.

"Your turn," Mars said coldly.

Beryl growled at them, dark energy gathering in her hands quickly. "Die!"

Mars smirked as her flame shield - something she had only learnt she had a minute earlier - completely blocked the blast. "I must admit that, minutes ago, that blast could have killed us both. Fortunately, you were stupid enough to ignore us until now."

The Youma Queen had used most of her mana in that last blast, so she was relatively out of options. Still, if she could stall them and recover... "I will not fall! I have defeated the Moon Princess and most of her Senshi! I am the rigtful ruler of this world! You weak-"

"Do us a favor and shut the hell up, Beryl," Mercury snapped. "Endless Winter!"

Mars smiled coldly as Beryl was encased in ice. "Burn, youma witch. Eternal Immolation."

Goshenite had to admit it was frightening to see her mother be killed so quickly, the ice encasing her bursting aflame and destroying her body in seconds. Still, she didn't waste time mourning a woman who would not have returned the favor, were their roles reversed. Instead, she saw the crystal floating right where Beryl had held it last, and teleported quickly, grabbing it before the Senshi could react. "I suppose I should thank you, Senshi. Without our mother and her Generals, I can finally put my own plans in motion."

Mercury was shocked. They had defeated Beryl, but their energy was running low. They could not face these two. "We failed."

Mars frowned. "Let's retreat for now."

"What about dying like warriors?"

"We aren't running because of fear. We run so we can recover and kill these two another time."

"We managed to survive," Mars-beta said, "but we couldn't win. Unlike their mother, the new leaders did share a part of their newfound power with their subjects. Each time we tried to kill the leaders, there were a hundred youma around, all way stronger than the old Generals."

Mercury-beta nodded. "After a while... We stopped trying."

"You gave up?" Moon asked.

"Yes. You don't know how we felt! We lost everything we had, and-"

"I do know." Moon snapped back. "A while back we had to fight an ancient Senshi, Galaxia. She destroyed the Earth and-"

"And what?" Mercury-beta almost shouted. "You gathered the seven Dragon Balls and wished the Earth back?"

"If we have to believe Beryl could have grown a brain and killed most of us, you'll have to believe there was a way for us to bring the Earth back."

She glared at Dragon Saturn. "Don't make light of what happened to us, you jerk!" Mercury-beta tried to punch him, but was stopped by someone else, who knocked her to the ground. "What the hell-"

Moon smiled as Mercury-beta stood up. "Don't make light of us, either. We've also struggled, suffered and saw others die. And if you're wondering how I could knock you down so easily... We've been training for combat for years. Don't think being an Eternal Senshi makes you impossible to beat. An untrained warrior is no challenge for us."

"I apologize, then."

"I didn't stop you from hurting him. I stopped him from hurting you. He would have hated himself for being forced to do it."

"I suppose... If you've been fighting evil for years, you probably didn't have it easy, either."

Mercury noticed yet another glare shot at her from her counterpart. "I can see you hate me. Can I ask why?"

"Why? Because you're what I could have been if things had played differently. I see that ring on your finger and I realize I was an idiot... I never told him. Terry never-"

Mars-beta sighed. "I argued with our Usagi all the time. She died thinking I considered her an idiot, a bother. Wish I had told her-"

Moon smiled sadly. "She knew. And Terry also knew what Ami felt for him."

"How can you know-"

Moon looked at Mars-beta, then at her Mars. "We argued, yes, but I wasn't as naive and clueless as I acted. I knew the real you, the one you hid behind a mask of sarcasm and mean words. You were telling me to stop being lazy and naive, and I eventually did."

Dragon Saturn sighed. Hana was also there, but he knew he could talk about that time. "I... Used our mission as a shield, as much as you did. The day Luminite died, I was going to tell you what I felt. I knew you felt the same but... I was still mourning Hana. I guess... That other me wasn't as lucky as I was."

Venus had, like most others, been listening to everything. But she had some questions. "What happened to the rest of the world?"

"The youma took over. They only killed those who actively fought against them, and the rest, they enslaved. Every major city in the world was destroyed, and the rubble was left there to remind mankind the might of their Dark Empire, as Goshenite calls her domains."

"And why are you here? Looking for a new home?"

Mercury-beta shook her head. "No. We can't beat Goshenite on our own, but if we still had all the Senshi, we would have a sliver of hope. We came here to ask for your help. Will you come with us and help us defeat Goshenite and Morganite?"

Everyone looked at Moon, and she was aware it was her answer the 'visitors' were waiting for. She was silent for more than one minute, but when she spoke, she only said four words, words most of her friends weren't expecting from her.

"The answer is no."

A/N: I hope the twist didn't surprise those who read the old version too much.

For those who haven't, the twist is that, in the old version, Beryl was the final boss of this arc.