Cyber Moon: Crystal.

Act 1: Crystal City.

Episode 3: The calm before the storm.

By Razor Knight

Last update: November 17, 2008

"Are you sure your machines are safe?"

Ami scanned the room with her eyes briefly. Umino and Shingo usually handled reporters, but for this one, the two top scientists of Crystal Tokyo were the only ones who could answer their questions. "I am quite aware of the general skepticism of mankind when it comes to magic, and it's quite understandable. However, I've spent the last few years working in this project, and I can assure you that it will deal with worldwide pollution."

"What's the catch?"

That started a round of murmurs, which Ami silenced with her answer. "Why should there be any? We need this world to live as much as everyone else does. If pollution levels keep on rising, then my numbers indicate that the planet will be unable to sustain life in a couple centuries, and that's in the best case scenario."

"Moreso," Terry added, "we can stop the degradation of our atmosphere now, but we're not sure it will be possible in a few decades."

"But you haven't spoken of costs yet. How much will those machines..."

"Nothing at all," Ami said. That caused another round of exclamations and murmurs from the reporters. "I shouldn't have to remember you this, but we, as Senshi, are responsible for the survival of mankind. We're not doing this for money."

"We have enough of that already," Terry noted, causing a round of laughter, "but joking aside, these machines will be orbiting our world in one month from now. We're not asking for permission from the other nations of our planet. The Earth must be saved from this threat, and we are not taking any complaints on that respect."

Ami stood up as the reporters all started murmuring again. "That is all, gentlemen. Any further questions may be done to our P.R. office."

Uranus looked at the girl facing her and smiled. "Are you really serious about this?"

"I know your friend is on her way here, but I've got enough time to deal with you first. I will show you that our group is stronger than yours!"

Uranus had to keep herself from laughing out loud. Truly, these Lesser Senshi were quite delusional. It was a pity many of them decided to play Evil Senshi, like this girl's group of merry idiots. The Zodiac Senshi, they called themselves, bullying people into giving them money for 'protection.' Which simply meant if people didn't pay, then their houses could mysteriously burst aflame or be washed away by a water wave.

"I'll humor you, Sailor Pisces."

Pisces laughed. "We're standing meters above an underground river, Uranus. Hope you don't mind me using it. Updraft River!"

Uranus was knocked up by a strong water current, and fell on her back meters away. As she stood up, she noticed Pisces smiling. "You're strong, kid..."

"I know. Waterfall!"

Uranus let the water hit her, but this time she stood up while the water was falling. Seeing Pisces' surprised face, she smirked. "I've been with the Senshi of the Ocean for many years. You think a bit of water will hurt me? Think twice."

"But your power, it's at the same level as mine!"

"I just didn't want to scare the fish, pun intended." Uranus said and mentally released her full power. "You can sense magic, I assume?"

Pisces nodded, staring at Uranus in shock. "That much power, it's simply..."

"See, there's three differences between groups like yours and mine. Between you and me. Want to know what they are?"

Pisces nodded again. She was shaking, and she knew it, she had never seen a being of so much power from so close. The magic this woman had gathered was incredibly high, and she could've blasted her down with it in a second if she wanted to. She still could, the frightened girl realized.

"Okay, the first difference is," Uranus said, "that we're not fake Senshi, we don't bully others into giving us money. The second is, that we've been around for a long time. I transformed into a Senshi before I had my first period. At your age, an attack like that one you're using would've looked weak to me."

Pisces could barely stand by now. "And the... Third difference?"

"Easy, we never give up. I know what you're feeling, girl, so I can sympathise. I fought a woman called Sailor Galaxia, and the power difference between us was greater than this. But I never backed away from that fight."

"I... See. Did you win?"

"Our leader defeated Galaxia in the end, but only after we had all been killed by her."

"So the rumors are true, you girls have already died in the past?"

Uranus nodded, then looked right into the girl's eyes. "What is it that you seek, girl? Why try to fight us?" She lowered her power as she said that, because she knew her 'enemy' wasn't going to resist much more of it.

"To prove myself that I could defeat one of you. At least that's what I wanted to do, but now I see..."

Uranus frowned. "If you give up so easily, then you're not a true Senshi. However, you need guts to come and fight one of us, I'll give you that much."

"Damn, Haruka, you already beat her?"

Uranus turned to see Neptune walking to them. "I didn't even have to attack."

"Sailor Neptune..." Pisces looked at her in awe. "You control water too... Tell me, why can't I defeat her?"

"Because you are not fighting for the right reason," Neptune noted. "Senshi aren't Senshi to be popular or to be the strongest, or for money. Until you understand what being a Senshi is about, then you will never be like us."

Pisces looked down as the two Senshi walked away. Of course, she understood now... She wasn't a Senshi. She was just a girl who could control water, and had been using that power for her own benefit.

"But I will be a real Senshi, someday."

"Taka, say hi to your sister."

"Hi... Aiko."

Aiko looked at the little boy. He was smiling at her, but for some reason, she felt like the kid was glaring at her behind that smile. "So, how's school going?"

"Boring," Takamaru said. He had Ami's hair color, but his eyes were black, like his father's. "I don't need school. I can learn all that stuff from a computer."

"But you won't make any friends if you just study," Ami said.

"I know, mom." All the better that way, he thought.

Aiko flinched. This kid, he was too smart for his own good, apparently.

"Light Fan!"

Younger Mars leapt over the white energy wave and smiled. "Gotcha. Heat Stab."

Younger Venus barely dodged the flame sword her opponent had summoned, and smiled back. "No, I got you. Light Fan."

As Younger Mars fell to the ground, Rei smiled. "Guess she beat you this time."

"You're improving," Minako agreed.

"Are you okay?"

Mars looked at Venus and nodded. "Your attack doesn't hit me that hard, actually."

Rei smiled. Hisako was at Star level now, while Hikaru was a 'Planet' Senshi, as Ami had nicknamed their first, weakest form. They had both been training for a while, both against the other Senshi and sometimes, just like now, against each other.

Hisako was seventeen, and Rei knew that meant she had progressed a bit faster than their generation did. And she didn't doubt Hikaru would get to Star level at that age, too.

She considered the last few years as a blessing. After the Kh'sun's attempt at an invasion, and the display of power Serenity gave, the other nations of Earth had not complained about Crystal Tokyo's existence. They were either awed by the power the Senshi had, or frightened by it. It worked for them either way, really. So, they were once again enjoying their peace while it lasted.

Some of her friends had, however, not been okay with said peace. Haruka and Michiru had never been all that close to the rest, maybe due to their rough start, so they were still roaming around the world. ChibiUsa and Hotaru were staying in the city for a while, but Rei could bet they would be heading out soon. The pink-haired girl was a warrior at heart, after all, and there were no enemies for her to fight inside Crystal Tokyo.

She wondered about Tsuki and Takamaru. Chie and Kage's daughter, Tsuki, wasn't showing any signs of magic powers yet, while Takamaru, Ami and Terry's son, was able to see others' souls even though he was only three.

Rei herself knew she was already missing those years. She loved her daughter, that was obvious, but maybe she could talk Yuu into expanding the family.

"Hello? Earth to Rei?"

Rei grimaced. Apparently, Minako had been talking to her. "Sorry, I was distracted."

"I could see that. I said that, maybe, we could ask the youma to send a few of their soldiers here."

"I don't think Apatite would agree to that," Rei noted, "after all, youma have quite a bad track record fighting Senshi.

The Senshi were still in good terms with youma. It wasn't even because of that old deal they made with them anymore. With the Earth flooding with mana, youma didn't need to steal it off humans anymore. But youma had realized it was simply impossible to win a war against Crystal Tokyo. No, it was more than that, she was sure they had abandoned that idea years ago.

"I think that as soon as I graduate from school, I'm going to go look for enemies."

Rei smiled. "I'll miss you, you know? And your dad will miss you, too."

"I know that, but... This city is quite boring."

Rei rose an eyebrow at that. Well, she couldn't say the girl was wrong, days inside the city were peaceful, and thanks to her security forces, Mako's army and Ami and Aiko's security network, crime was amazingly close to zero. "Just remember to come say hi once in a while, okay?"

"You're telling me that like I'm going to leave right now. There's still a few years to go."

"Yeah, I know," Rei said. But she had realized something a couple years earlier, and that was that days, weeks, months, even years, passed by quite fast when you know you have an eternity to live.

"What are you saying, Pisces?"

"That we're hated by everyone in this city, Scorpio. We're not like the Senshi, we're weak, and I think it's because we don't have a worthy goal."

"Hmph, being rich isn't a worthy goal for you anymore, Pisces?"

"Not if will bring our deaths."

The third of the group, Taurus, sighed. "You've become a coward ever since you fought Uranus."

"You know nothing," Pisces snapped. "You don't know just how strong they..."

"What is that?" Scorpio said, her fear quite obvious as she tried to locate the source of her friend's silence.

"You two should listen to your friend."

"Uranus..." Pisces sank on her chair. Had they followed them? No, the Senshi were rumored to be able to sense magic users. But what were they here for?"

Taurus had her eyes fixed on the two Senshi who had just walked into their hideout. She was the only one of the three that couldn't sense magic, but she could see the auras surrounding them, and it was just as effective for her. "They're too damn strong."

"This is your last warning," Uranus noted, "leave your current path or we will have to eliminate you for the sake of the people of this city."

Scorpio found it hard to even breathe, but managed to speak. "I... We... We will change our ways, we promise."

"Doing it out of fear?" Neptune mused. "Don't bother if that's the case. We've been all around the world, and we know there's evil out there, everywhere, but we can't be everywhere. If you want to change, don't do it because we threaten you. Do it because you have the potential to protect this city, even this country."

"... You really think so?" Taurus asked.

Neptune nodded. "Yes. In fact, we are going to stay in this country for a while. Maybe we could help you train."

"Even if we are... Were... Evil?" Pisces asked.

"You were just bullying people," Uranus said, "we can't say we haven't done that ourselves, but... When it comes down to it, what it matters is that you don't do what you do for yourselves, but for others."

"Then, as the leader of this small group, I accept your offer," Scorpio said. "Help us become strong."

Neptune smiled. "Stronger, actually. You are strong."

Pisces gasped. "Really?"

Uranus snorted. "We defeated evil queens and alien overlords with less power than you have."

Neptune nodded. "So now, start off by showing us what you can do."

"You've offered us that before. The answer is still no."

Serenity looked at the two, sadness creeping into her face. "But I..."

"We are happy for you. We know you accept your destiny and you have no regrets about it, but... We can't follow your path."

Serenity turned to leave. "I was hoping you would reconsider my offer."

Kenji looked at his daughter. He could still see his teenage daughter there, in fact she didn't look much older than he remembered. "You have to understand," he said, "we're not like... You and your friends. We're..."

"Human?" Serenity asked, her gown suddenly changing into a more normal attire as she turned to look at them. "I'm human too."

"But we," Ikuko said, "we have always known we wouldn't live forever. We are ready to accept what's to come." She looked at the woman in front of her. She knew why she had done it, a simple thing like a change in her attire. The one standing in front of them was not Queen Serenity of Crystal Tokyo, but their daughter, Usagi. "We will never be ready to face living as long as you will."

"I... See." Usagi smiled. "I'm sorry."

"Sorry, for what?" Kenji asked.

"For being so selfish. I suppose I wasn't thinking about you two when I offered you this choice. I was thinking about how hard it will be, when you two..."

Ikuko smiled. "But you will get through that. Nothing can defeat you."

"I'm not so sure anymore," Usagi said. "Please, mom, dad, just... Think about what I told you."

Ikuko saw Usagi vanish and sighed. "We will."

The Princess wasn't quite ready for what she found, later that day, when she went to speak to her mother. It had been a very long time since she had seen Serenity out of her gown and in civilian clothing. And it had been quite longer since she had seen her like this, crying her eyes out. "Mom, what's wrong?"

Usagi stopped sobbing and looked at her daughter for a few seconds before speaking. "I went to talk to them again. but they still told me the same as before."

"I don't get it."

"Your grandparents," Usagi said, standing up, "they don't... They refused my offer."

ChibiUsa looked down. "Now I get it. That's why your future self never talked about them..."

"..." Usagi paled. "So, they weren't around..."

"Sorry, but no." ChibiUsa grimaced as her mother fell back on her bed. "I wish I could tell you they will take upon your offer, but if destiny stays as it should..."

"As it should? Screw destiny. I don't want my parents to die!" She noticed the look ChibiUsa was giving her, and winced. "Sorry, I didn't..."

"You can make them immortal without their consent, even though I know you won't do it that way, it would go against your nature. But still, you should be glad you have a choice as to whether your parents live or not."

As ChibiUsa started walking away, Usagi sighed and phased in front of her. "I just keep on being selfish, I guess. But ChibiUsa, I don't want you to be mad at me."

"I'm not mad at you, but I agree with what you said. Screw destiny."

Usagi sighed as her daughter walked past her. "How's Hotaru?"

ChibiUsa stopped again. "She's fine. She doesn't bring up that subject any longer."

"But she still thinks about it, doesn't she?"

"I know she does. I do, too, sometimes. But we both know we can't focus in what we can't have, we can't let that rule our lives."

Usagi smiled at that. "Yes, you're quite right. Tell her to come visit us someday."

"Will do," ChibiUsa said, then she walked out of the room.

"I'll show you a new trick today."

Younger Venus looked at her friend. Younger Mars, now Cosmic level. Her talisman had been a surprise, they were just earrings. However, the boost in power they gave her was something the junior Light Senshi knew all too well. She was still in Star level herself, but hoping to get to the next level soon.

"Go ahead, old lady, let's see what you can do."

Hikaru knew that nickname pissed her friend off, but also knew Hisako had learnt to control her temper well. She didn't move, waiting for whatever her friend was planning.

"Burning Chain Fury."

Younger Venus barely managed to avoid the attack. Or, she realized, she dodged the first swipe, but then yelped in pain as the second swipe hit. Several fiery chains had appeared on Younger Mars' fingers, lashing out at her randomly, and she had fallen for the trick. She was now wrapped up in one of the chains, and could feel the heat on her skin. "Ow ow ow... I give up!"

"That was shorter than I thought," Mars noted.

Venus smiled. Luckily, there were no witnesses to her defeat today. In fact, their mothers had stopped watching over them when they trained since last year. Hisako was twenty, and knew enough not to let her temper flare and harm her friend badly, and Hikaru, well, she couldn't quite hurt her even if she tried.

"Why did you stay, though?"

Mars smiled. "In the city, you mean? I want to help the younger Senshi train. There's others taking care of evil out there, and I just know a couple low-level Senshi running around would probably end up having to be rescued."

Venus nodded. "Yeah... Some of those Lesser Senshi idiots are starting to be dangerous nowadays."

"So I'll have to train the lucky girl and the ice brat too. And in the meantime, I want to be strong enough to reach Eternal level."

Venus looked at her friend, an image of her in an Eternal Senshi suit appearing in her mind. She blushed and looked away.

"What's wrong?"

"Nothing at all," Hikaru lied. No, she couldn't tell her, not yet. Not until she was sure of it. "Let's just keep training."

"You sure you're okay?"

"Yes, I am, and I'm not going to let you use your bondage trick on me again."

Mars winced. "Hey, that's not..."

"Just shut up and get ready to fight, old lady."

"Oh, you asked for it now," Mars said with a smile.

Warwitch stood on top of one of Crystal Tokyo's tallest buildings. The Crystal Palace itself loomed over her to the north, and she smiled. She had gotten used to the change in scenery by now, and though she didn't have any evil to fight anymore, she still trained her magic. She could never hope to compare to the kind of power her friends had, but that didn't mean she was going to be happy to be a weakling.

The formerly called 'sidekicks' of the Senshi had been keeping a low profile for years, living as normal citizens of Crystal Tokyo. Not that any of them was normal. A witch, a psychic, two aliens who could throw energy blasts the size of a building at will, and a shapeshifter who could mimic any of the others' powers.

"You look upset."

Warwitch didn't turn, she didn't need to. The power of this woman was impossible to miss. "Serenity."

"Call me Usagi, if you don't mind."

"Right. I've been wondering, about the future. Should I stay in here, or should I go out like others did?"

"I can't answer that, only you can," Serenity said, "but remember, you're welcome to the palace whenever you want."

"I know that," Warwitch said, returning to her civilian clothes. "I bet you know what my real problem is, Usagi."

"I'm still the same," Serenity said, "I may not be a genius, but when it comes to that, I can't be fooled. I know what the problem is, Yuki. You're lonely."

"I'm sorry, but I did fool you, when we were young."

Serenity smiled. "You never did."

Yuki blinked a few times before finding her voice. "You knew what I felt for you?"

"Yes, and I'm sorry I couldn't..."

"It's okay," Yuki said. "I was a few years too late, after all."

"As I said, you should decide for yourself, but I can tell you that staying here may be the best choice for you."

"You know something I don't, right?"

Serenity smiled again. "And that will stay that way for now."

Taurus ducked just as a black beam hissed by. Necromancers, how annoying they could be. "Bull Rush!"

Neptune saw Taurus rushing at the enemy, releasing a strong wave of electricity as she made contact. "Brings back memories, huh?"

Uranus nodded, then looked at the other two. Pisces had just knocked one of the necromancers out with a wave of water, while Scorpio had burnt the other one alive. "I think they're quite good at what they do."

"Yes, I knew they could be stronger." She was surprised, though, that mere humans like them had managed to reach a power as high as that of a Star Senshi.

"Ice Volley!" The last of the necromancers was pierced through by a rain of ice arrows. Pisces looked around, seeing all the undead had vanished. "We did it!"

"Well done," Uranus said. "You girls are ready to handle enemies on your own."

"Thanks for the help," Scorpio said. "So, are you leaving?"

"Yes, we have to keep an eye on evil everywhere, not only in this country."

"Then you can leave this country in our hands," Pisces said. "But before you go..."

Neptune sighed. "You're insane."

"Fight us again," Pisces insisted.

Uranus shrugged. "Since they're a bit stronger than Star Senshi, let's limit ourselves to Cosmic attacks."

"Sounds good," Neptune said.

"Oh come on..." Taurus said, "you don't have to hold back."

Neptune smirked at that. "Actually, we have to. If I really went all out, I could cover the whole city with water, or even create a water bubble with enough pressure to crush you three in seconds."

"Uhm, I think we'll pass," Scorpio said nervously.

"Okay then, let's make this battle worth our time," Uranus said and rushed at the three Zodiac Senshi.

Aiko walked into the meeting room to find it almost empty. Only Serenity was there, smiling warmly at her. She had given up trying to measure this woman's magic power years ago, but it was still quite hard not to be intimidated by her.

"Aiko, may I ask you about the project?"

"Of course. Pollution is slowly being reduced everywhere, and the satellites are working as they should. I estimate the Earth should be clean in two decades at most."

"Faster if Ami's other project is finished."

Aiko nodded. "But I suppose you could have asked that to mom or dad, so... What is it that you really wanted of me?"

"You're as smart as ever, Aiko," Serenity said. "I was wondering about something I heard from Ami, years ago. Many years ago, actually."

Aiko couldn't really tell what the Queen was talking about, but knew the Queen wasn't someone who would ask something out of the blue like that. "Go ahead."

"She told me you had... You had a crush on someone from our group of friends. But you never told her who it was, am I right?"

"She never insisted on that matter."

"You're a hard one to read," Serenity mused.

"What?"

"I mean, with the others, I can know when something like that's going on through their heads, but you... I guess I can't do the same with someone of your kind."

"If that's all you wanted to know..."

"Before you leave, I'm going to ask you just one more thing... The one you liked back then, do you still like her?"

"I don't need to answer that," Aiko said.

"I'm just trying to help you both," Serenity noted.

Aiko frowned. "I know you are, but you shouldn't keep your hopes too high for me. Who can really like something like me? You said it yourself, I'm not human."

"You are, you're just built different," Serenity noted. "And I don't think she will mind that."

"Thanks for your concern," Aiko said, "but I'll have to give this some thought."

"Let me know if you need help with anything," Serenity said.

"Will do," Aiko said before vanishing from the room.

"You're quite sharp when it comes to those matters, Usagi."

Serenity turned around to see Luna sitting on top of the table. "So I am. I had to be sharp at something."

Luna chuckled. "What's that, are you mimicking Rei now?"

"She got the respect bug everyone else caught since I turned into... This," Serenity said, "it's quite a chore to remind everyone to call me Usagi in private."

"Can't be helped," Luna noted, "though I doubt any of them doesn't still see you as the old Usagi."

"I still am..." Serenity started, then frowned and looked to the side.

"What?"

"Nothing, for a second I thought I felt something evil inside the city."

"Hmph, that would be pretty much impossible with the magic shield up."

Serenity nodded at that, but she was still worried. It had only been for a split second, but she had felt a very strong entity inside Crystal Tokyo. Whatever it was, it was gone now, or hiding from her powers.

"Usagi?" Luna asked.

"I will have to keep my guard up for that... Whatever it was."

"It may be your mind trying to find something to fight," Luna started, then before Serenity interrupted her, she added, "but I've learnt from the past, I will start searching for any hints of evil in our city."

"What's wrong, Taka?"

"Ugh, don't call me that."

Tsuki giggled. "You're cute when you're angry, you know?"

"Tsuki, you're annoying." Takamaru sighed. Why did this brat insist on following him around, anyway? He never cared about her. He never cared about anyone, really, and he had realized that years ago.

He was different. He hated crowds. He hated people. He hated all those old women his mother called friends, a bunch of old hags who felt so secure in their crystal tower, even that self-claimed Queen she so idolized. But despite how much hatred he felt, he had to play along, he had to keep the charade for a while longer.

He knew the two older of the 'Younger Senshi' had stopped at Guardian level. There was no need to go past that, they said. He pitied them, how could they be okay with being so weak? He wouldn't stop at that level, no. He was different. He was one of a kind, and thus, he knew he could be stronger than any of them.

Yes, that was him, Takamaru, the son of Sailor Mercury and Dragon Mercury. But thanks to luck, fate, or whatever force was behind his destiny, he had also inherited his father's secondary power. He could control both ice and death magic, and he didn't get tired fast with them, unlike his father was in his teen years. No, he was better than him. He would train, he would get up to their level, and then he would show them what power really looked like.

That, he had realized a while back, was his destiny.

A/N: If you're wondering, the name of Chie's daughter means luck, not moon (different kanji, different meaning.) As for Ami's rebellious boy, his name comes from Takai (death) while -maru is a common suffix for male names.

As for the Zodiac Senshi, they will be around for the next episode, and possibly after that, too. And those who are missing some drama may like episode four. The whole act won't take much longer, though, because the true focus of this 'book' will be in the Nemesian wars and what happens afterwards.

LordHalo: You'd be surprised if you knew how cheap those things can be in the black market. ;)