Cyber Moon: Crystal.

Act 2: War Games.

Episode 12: At world's dawn.

By Razor Knight

Last update: February 17, 2009

Apsu observed the battle with mild interest. The Senshi had been 'stronger' than her own soldiers before, but that was due to two things. First off, the Senshi outnumbered them, and while her Opposition Senshi were stronger than any of those Holy Senshi, they weren't strong enough to take on two or three of them at a time.

And the second advantage the Senshi had in their last battle, was that Apsu's powers were affected by the mana in the environment. She had considered that, and had seen a potential danger to her mission, but, she thought back then, that couldn't be helped. She had to destroy the Senshi, and what better way to do it than killing them when they were weak?

Right now, her own Senshi were stronger than the enemy, she could see that. Their numbers were almost even, and inside this dimension, Apsu could use her powers freely, she had also separated them all while they fought. Yes, this battle was as good as won, but she still had a second plan, in the unlikely case they failed here. If she couldn't destroy these Senshi, then she would destroy the first one, the legendary First Senshi, a warrior she knew surpassed even the ones they were facing right now.

This Nabu was completely different to the one she had fought before. If before she was able to keep up with Mercury's power, right now she clearly had the upper hand. A wave of ice shot by as Mercury dove to the side. Attacks at the level they were using right now would freeze entire blocks of the city instantly, so it was a good thing they were fighting in this pocket dimension.

But thanks to that, Mercury realized, she would have to go into full combat mode if she wanted to win. "Icycle Burst!"

Nabu reacted a split second too late, only noticing the needle-thin spikes coming out of the ground underneath her after the first one had pierced through her leg. "You bitch... Die!" Mercury leapt over Nabu's ice blast, going for a kick to her head. Nabu, however, predicted that and ducked, smiling at the Senshi's error. "Gotcha. Freezing Hell."

Mercury stood there, unphased by the blast. Nabu was confused by that, but then saw Mercury was holding a large sword. "Damn, that thing again."

"Winter's Reaper."

Nabu fell to her knees, breathing heavily. She had clearly seen what hit her, yet she had been unable to move. Frozen, as ironic as that would sound. She looked back and saw them, three human-sized ghosts, all wrapped in a thin layer of ice dust. "No, I can't fail, I have to defeat you..."

Mercury walked to Nabu. "I've researched on you, Nabu from the European Confederation. I know you're blaming us for what happened, but that..."

"Of course I am. My brother was the only living relative I had, but your stupid war... He fought against those aliens, and he... He was gone by the time those stupid Neo Senshi decided to show up."

"What Apsu is telling you isn't the only way to solve this," Mercury said. "Trust us, trust the Queen, she will resurrect him."

"That's a lie. You can't do that, not to those who aren't Senshi, not to..."

"That's what Apsu told you, of course, because she needs you to defeat us."

"Are you going to stay in there all day?"

Mars smiled. No matter how strong this girl was, fire wasn't going to get into her fire shield, unless she allowed it. "I might as well do that. Once the others are done beating your friends, they'll tag along."

Nergal laughed as she once again shot a barrage of fire bolts at Mars' shield. "You idiot... If we're defeated, then Apsu will show you her true strength."

"Hmm, I wonder about that. Ever saw your boss fight?"

"No, but she gave us this power," Nergal snapped. "So she must be stronger than us."

"Then why didn't she fight us herself?"

"I'm not going to tell you what her weakness is, fire witch."

"You're blind to the truth. Apsu is using you, once she's done with whatever she's planning, she will get rid of you all." Or, Mars thought, if this Apsu woman was like Wiseman, then she probably knew she wouldn't have to raise a finger. If they were to die in the past, this future would vanish, and so would these five copycats.

"Say all you want, but in the end, victory will be ours."

Mars let the shield drop and frowned. "I suppose I should stop fooling around, then. Mars Inferno Demon!"

Nergal looked at the tall construct dismissively. "Hmph, that big boy isn't going to harm me."

Mars climbed up the demon's back and sat on its left shoulder. "If you kids really know about our past battles, then you should know we Senshi know how to improvise. Mars Fire Star Immolation!"

"Oh. Shit." Nergal stood there, awed by Mars' new trick. Instead of launching herself at her like last time, she had channeled all her mana into the demon, turning it into a white-hot, massive pyre. From the heat she could feel as the demon's first punch connected, this monster's temperature should be impossibly close to that of the Sun's core. And, of course, the following dozen blows weren't any colder.

"Stop," Mars said sharply as she saw Nergal fall. The Demon growled at her, but then vanished, and Mars landed a mere meter away from her foe. "Now, whatever you have against us, it can be fixed."

"Can it, really?" Nergal said weakly. "I doubt it. I doubt your Queen can bring my whole village back."

It fell into place right then. "I see... Apsu isn't showing you what really happened, is she?"

"Don't call her a liar, you fire witch."

"Bet she never showed you what happened during our last battle."

"Serenity defeated the woman known as Black Lady," Nergal said.

"And before that?"

"... Who cares about what happened before that?"

Mars gave a short growl. "You should. Let me tell you how things worked."

The fight between Jupiter and Marduk was unlike the others. They were both better at melee, so instead of shooting sparks from afar, they had been trading punches for a few minutes now.

But Jupiter was surprised. This girl's fists hurt a lot, and she was apparently not too hurt by her own blows. "So you kids got an upgrade, huh?"

Marduk smiled as they both leapt away from each other. "Upgrade? No, it's just that Apsu's powers work better inside here."

"A pity that's not going to help you win," Jupiter snapped.

"Hmph, bluffing won't work, Jupiter. So, shall we continue?"

"No," Jupiter said, a split second before something hit Marduk from behind. As Marduk fell, Jupiter looked at her dragon. "See, you're a rookie compared to us, girl. Yes, your raw power is awesome, but you know nothing about tactics, you don't pay attention to your surroundings. You're a lot like me when I was in my teens. You're not going to win."

Marduk leapt up fast, connecting with a jab before Jupiter could react. However, Jupiter grabbed her fist and smiled. "Talk all you want, because I'm going to defeat you."

Jupiter snorted at that. "You're not. Thunder Goddess' Hand."

Marduk screamed in pain as lightning shot through her body. This was far more electricity she could generate, and was far more electricity than her body could handle. Yet Jupiter's attack stopped abruptly, and her foe realized something as she fell down. "Why... Why didn't you just..."

"Kill you?" Jupiter asked. "I know you blame us for whatever happened to you during the war, and I'm not going to make excuses, I know a lot of people must have the same grudge you have against us. "

"... Then you admit you are guilty?"

"I know a few things Serenity won't do, but I frankly don't know one thing she can't do."

"You're lying."

"There's a way to heal your soul, but it's not the way Apsu showed you."

Marduk looked at Jupiter. There was no hostility in the woman's eyes now, but there was no pity, either. She wanted to believe Apsu's way was the only way, but... Was it, really?

Some would say a battle of speed such as the one Venus and Ishtar was hard to follow, and harder to be a part of. And Nemesis had to admit, the battle was indeed difficult. However, she had perfected one of her skills in the last thousand years, and it was just what she needed for this fight.

She was, literally speaking, shadowing Venus. No matter how fast these two moved, there was always a shadow left, as long as the place they were in had light sources. And her skill let her ride Venus' shadow, and help her by shooting dark blasts at their foe as they both run.

Of course, keeping up with the combat's rythm forced her to focus all her attention into it, and that was sapping her mana fast. But from what she could see, Venus had landed a few critical blows, whilst Ishtar had yet to hit her once.

"Ishtar doesn't like cheaters."

Venus growled. "It's no cheat, it's strategy."

"Strategies are for losers," Ishtar snapped, barely dodging a laser from Venus' palm.

Venus shook her head. "If that's what you think, then you're in for a surprise."

Nemesis noticed something right then. There were several small circles of light on the ground, all around the room. Was this the enemy's doing, or was it Minako?

Venus noticed Ishtar moving to one of the circles and smiled. "I'd watch where I'm stepping if I was you."

"Ishtar's not going to fall for that trick."

"You just did," Venus said. "Light Eruption!"

Nemesis saw the circles shine brighter for a second, then wide, impossibly bright beams of light shot up from each of them. Ishtar was caught by one of them and fled up, her momentum causing her to hit the far wall of the 'room' they were in and fall to the ground in a heap.

"Shit, did I kill her?"

Nemesis took the chance to turn back to her normal form, now that Venus had stopped, and checked on the girl. "No, she's still breathing."

"Good, now how do we get out of here?"

"Can't unless... Ishtar is dead."

Nemesis backed away from the blonde. "We're not going to kill you. "

"Why? Ishtar's your... I'm your enemy."

"You don't have to be," Venus said. "Tell me, why are you fighting us?"

"Ishtar was... I was just a young girl back then, but I remember it all too clearly. Ships attacking my city, fires starting all around us... Mother protected me when our house caught on fire, I remember I fainted from the heat, and when I woke up, I was... I was outside, the house was still burning, and mother was right besides me, but she was..."

Venus looked down as Ishtar sobbed. "What if... If I told you we can bring your mother back?"

"Then it better be true," Ishtar snapped.

Nemesis smiled. "It is true, don't worry."

Sin was having a hard time fighting her two foes. Even here, in Apsu's domain, fighting two Moon Senshi wasn't an easy task. Still, she was strong enough to match their power, so she only had to wait until her allies were done with Serenity's friends.

"She's strong."

"Been there, mom, but we can defeat her."

"You two? You can barely keep up with me!" Sin snapped.

Neo Moon glared at the girl. "That's because we're holding back. We can't kill someone who's not evil."

"Holding back?" Sin said. "That's a load of crap."

"Is it?" Moon said, before letting her full power out.

"That can't be, you..." Sin unconsciously stepped back. That woman, what was she? Before, she thought defeating her would be easy, but now that she saw the full reach of her powers, how could Apsu hope to defeat something like this?

'Sin, don't give up. All our allies have been defeated by these monsters, but we can still win.'

Sin smiled. "Yes, of course... I don't need to fight you, stupid Queen. Farewell, and enjoy your life while it still exists."

"What did she mean by that?" Neo Moon asked.

Serenity frowned. "Let's get out of here."

The group waiting back in the palace was quite surprised when they saw the others return. Or, they were surprised to see who they had brought along. "Those girls..."

Venus nodded at her daughter. "Don't worry, they're not under Apsu's control anymore."

Nabu knelt before the Queen, and the others followed suit. "We will not follow Apsu's orders, but in return..."

"I know," Serenity said. "Once this war is over, I will grant your wishes."

"Where's Sin?" Ishtar asked as she realized two of them were missing.

"We don't know," Serenity said, "she left before we could defeat her. "

"I know where they are," Pluto said. "And it's not good news."

Neo Pluto was pale. "They've gone that far back in time... But we can't..."

"We'll have to risk it, if anything goes wrong, history will be changed for sure, but if we do nothing, then the result will be the same."

"You two look scared," Mars noted, "and I'm pretty sure it's the first time I've seen Pluto like this. Is it that bad?"

"Where are they?" Neo Moon asked.

"Back with the First," Pluto said.

"The First Senshi?" Mercury guessed. "You mean Cognisance and the others..."

"No... The First Serenity, the one that fought against Cygale. Apsu and Sin are going to stop her from becoming a Senshi."

Mercury figured what that meant in a split second. "If that first Serenity never becomes a Senshi, then everything else that happened in our reality will cease to exist."

"Moreso, if that first Serenity is killed," Pluto noted, "then our Serenity will vanish."

"Then forgive my pun, but we've got no time to waste," Venus said.

"What about those four?" Earth asked.

"They will keep their word, as long as we keep ours," Serenity said.

Nabu nodded, then saw the Senshi all vanish. "Think that woman can do it?"

"There's one thing they have that nobody else does," Nergal said, "they've been around for a thousand years without being defeated."

"I hope they can bring Sin and Anshar back," Ishtar said.

"Not talking in third person anymore, are we?" Nabu noted.

"I only did that to piss Apsu off," Ishtar said with a smile.

"Where are we?"

"This is mankind's dawn," Neo Pluto explained, "we are millions of years ago from our era."

"The planet looks..."

Mercury nodded at Jupiter's remark. "High volcanic activity, one single continent surrounded by water, and if the data I have is correct, the Earth's rotation is around ten percent faster than it will be in our era."

"Visitors, you are finally here."

The Senshi turned to the voice, and most of them were surprised by what they saw. The creature standing there had four arms, a blue-hued scaly skin and large insectoid eyes. "What is..."

"A Val'harrha," Pluto said. "Should've known we couldn't stay unnoticed for too long."

"Val..." Dragon Mercury started, then chuckled. "I see. Another name deformed into a legend."

"They were the original race of this system," Pluto explained, "the ones that created..." She stopped as she realized she could be saying a little too much.

The creature nodded. "Your weapons, which help channelling mana until you grow in power and experience enough to not require them. But we couldn't have done that without the crystal you know as Ginzuishou."

"How do you know..."

"Child, we created your powers. Do you think time and space escape our grasp?"

Pluto nodded. "I see. So you know about everything that must happen in order to..."

"And you being here is one of those things," the creature said, "we know we're destined to create those artifacts, but we couldn't know how to create them until we saw them ourselves. Now we can give humans that power, finally, a power to match that of the Dark One. "

Moon was rather surprised. "So before mankind existed, this planet was yours?"

The creature nodded. "We currently exist along with mankind, but we also know that will come to an end soon. Our race has lived its course, however, and we are not afraid of death itself. Our artifacts will continue to exist forever, and that is enough for us to be at ease."

"So is Serenity already a Senshi?"

"As I said, we needed to have someone with that power, that crystal, in order to replicate it," the creature noted, "and now that you, the hundredth Serenity, are here, then history will be written."

"Wait a damn minute..." Mercury said, her mind trying to make sense of everything. "... This is a little too much to take, even for me. "

Neo Moon was a bit more used to the effects of time travelling. "For our powers to be born, we had to come back here and let them replicate them. I think we've just stepped into the biggest paradox ever."

"But if everything goes as it's written, your race will vanish."

"We know that, and we are ready for what's to come."

"You're not from this system, are you?"

The creature looked at Mercury and smiled. "That is correct, and I'm not surprised you figured it out. We come from one of the First Worlds, a planet near the center of this galaxy. Our world was destroyed due to an unforeseen event, and the few of us who survived travelled the galaxy for a long time, searching for another world to call home. We found this system, where the third planet was perfect for us to live in."

"And then you created the Seeds to expand to all other planets," Mercury guessed.

"That's wrong, we didn't create the Seeds."

"Then who..."

"We don't know. We know they're there, and we know how to activate them, but we can't do such a thing without a working crystal."

"Guys, we're getting sidetracked here," Venus noted. "The history lesson is good and all, but shouldn't we be looking for that Apsu creep?"

"Worry not, for we know when and where she will strike," the creature said.

"But won't that mean she knows too? She can read the timelines, after all," Neo Pluto asked.

"No, because you cannot see what we don't want you to see, at least from the era we live in."

"That explains it," Pluto muttered. "I've tried to find the exact time when Senshi powers were created, but I gave up after not being able to locate that event, even though I had searched for it for decades."

The creature smiled. "You cannot see what is not there."

Mercury chuckled at that, then noticed the two Pluto looking at her quizzically. "Sorry, it's just that it's funny. I don't think the Val'harrha had anything to do with you not being able to find that."

"I realize that now," Pluto muttered, not looking too amused by her mistake.

"Wait one damn minute there," Venus said. "I just realized something. Are you telling me the Senshi powers were created only because we came here?"

The creature shook his head. "No, the Senshi powers weren't created. You have them because you came back here and... Well, come with me and you'll find out the answer."

The Senshi realized the creature's words weren't quite a request, as they found themselves standing elsewhere. A clearing in the middle of a forest, with some mountains to the north. They saw there was someone else in the clearing with them, a woman.

A woman who looked exactly like their Queen. "Serenity," the creature said, "I'm back, and I brought what I promised."

The woman stood up and walked to the creature. "What is this, Zen'ji? Who are these people?"

"They have a power you can use to defeat the Dark One. Thanks to our mages, the Dark One doesn't know what we're doing, but he will surely notice now."

Serenity picked up a strange, oval artifact and looked at it before muttering something to herself. "These... How can they... Specially the one who looks like me..."

"She's your descendant, Serenity. In her era, she is known as Sailor Moon, and she's almost reached her ultimate level, from what I can see."

"Almost?" Mercury said, mostly to herself. Did this mean there was yet another level beyond Holy?

"So she's got all this power... How did she get it?"

"She got it because you used it first. As for how you can gain such a power yourself, well... Sailor Moon, please summon your crystal." Moon did as told, and the creature nodded. "Now, Serenity, touch that crystal."

"Is it safe?" Serenity asked.

"I won't lie to you, as I never have done so before. The transformation won't be easy, but in the end, you'll gain more power than even the Dark One has."

Serenity didn't hesitate as she heard that last part, and she reached out, touching the crystal. However, she realized Zen'ji had been correct as she felt energy washing over her body. It was like every cell, every atom of her body was suddenly set aflame. No, more like she could feel every elemental of nature washing over her at once.

Moon backed away as Serenity fell to her knees, screaming in pain. "What is going on?"

"You should already know that some of your kin are born with special skills."

Mercury nodded. "Like my ability to understand languages and manipulate technology, Jupiter's physical strength, Venus' speed..."

Zen'ji smiled. "Her special power is one I have never seen in the past, or the future. She will not have to go through training or battling to gain her ultimate power. However... Well, you see it isn't easy for her."

"So what are we going to do now?"

"Your part in history is already done," Zen'ji said, "but the ones you came looking for are going to arrive soon. They will want to destroy Serenity before her transformation is complete."

"We won't let that happen."

"I know. I have seen that," Zen'ji said. "Oh, here they are," he added casually, as three figures appeared near them.

"Sin, we know what you're up to."

Sin growled. "Apsu, you messed up again."

"I told you, something in this era has been interferring with my abilities. It is definitely not my fault."

"What you've come to do, it's hopeless," Zen'ji said.

"Can it, alien," Sin snapped. "Serenity, I'm going to kill you, and then I'm going to destroy the First."

Anshar looked around. "There's too many of them here."

Apsu nodded. "Yes, I didn't expect this to be the case."

"Guys, protect Serenity," Moon said. "We'll take care of Apsu."

Neo Moon nodded. "Let's do it."

"Hmph, you two girls, always stealing the spotlight," Dragon Mercury joked.

Sin stood in front of Apsu and growled at the two Moons "This will be your final battle, Sailor Moon."

Anshar stood besides Sin. "If we fight together, there's nothing we can't do, right sis?"

Moon looked at the boy, then at Sin. For some reason, Sin's power was increasing, but this wasn't Apsu's power. No, the boy himself had some amazingly high mana reserves. "Be careful, Sin's stronger than last time."

"Isn't it always like that?" Neo Moon mused.

Apsu frowned as she looked at the two Moons. "I think I shall join this battle. We can't get sidetracked by them."

Mercury looked back at the Serenity who was still transforming. She was visibly in pain, but wasn't screaming now. Also, she could see a white Guardian Senshi suit had replaced the plain robe she had been wearing before.

Sin glared at Moon. "Out of my way, little Queen."

"Why can't you see it? Apsu is using you."

"And I'm using her," Sin said, "you are the one who doesn't get it. I want to forget about all this, I want these ten years of pain to vanish. I want a happy life, even if I won't be able to remember it. And I won't stop until I get what I want."

"Let's just knock some sense into her, it usually works."

Moon looked at Neo Moon and sighed. "You may be right."

"Too late for that," Sin snapped. "Now die!"

Apsu reached her hands out at the same time Sin did, and a large dark beam shot out. The two Moons shot their own energy out to counter it, but it only slowed the blast down, and they were both hit.

The resulting explosion wiped out a good section of the forest, and knocked the Senshi out. As they stood up, however, they saw someone was still standing.

Venus gasped. "Moon?"

"No, look at her, that's not Moon... Not our Moon, at least," Mercury said.

True, the two Moons were now staggering up, so the other one was... "Serenity, the First Serenity," Pluto said in awe.

Sin looked at the woman. Serenity... Her suit was different from anything she'd seen before, from anything Apsu had ever shown her. It was a form-fitting white suit with a transluscent, white skirt, the gloves and boots were seemingly fused with the rest of the suit. The symbol of the Moon was drawn on the back of each hand, and for a second she could see seven pairs of wings, seven pairs of wings made of light. As the wings vanished, she saw something else: There was no tiara in Serenity's forehead, but the symbols of all the planets, along with the Moon and Sun. "What is the meaning of this..."

Apsu backed away slowly. "No! This cannot be! Such a power does not exist!"

"It indeed does," Zen'ji said, "this is the true form of the Senshi, their ultimate form. But of course, Serenity has no allies with her, so she's using the power of all the planets right now."

"I can't get a reading," Mercury said to the others, "it's simply amazing, not even our Serenity..."

Sin growled. "Who cares for a little power up? Apsu, let's..." Only then she noticed it. Apsu was now meters away from the two siblings, and she was looking at Serenity with a fear she had never seen in her eyes before. "Lady Apsu, what..."

"Your name is Sin, isn't it?" Serenity said. "Open your eyes, and see the power for yourself."

"Wait!" Moon shouted. "Don't kill her!"

Serenity smiled. "That wasn't my intention at all. She may have been mislead by the monster, but she isn't evil at heart." She turned to look at Apsu and her expresion turned dark. "Any last words, demon?"

"This... This can't be happening, I was meant to destroy you, I was meant to rule everything, I... It's not fair!"

"Pitiful," Serenity said, then turned around. Some of the others were about to ask her why she hadn't attacked, when Apsu's body blew up, the explosion rocking the area. "This power is..."

"You shouldn't overdo it," Zen'ji said, "you are strong, but if you use that level for too long, you may die."

Serenity nodded, and her suit morphed to that of a first level Senshi. "Still, if I do fight him, I may have to use that level to destroy him."

Sin and Anshar looked at the Senshi in shock. Those monsters, how could they have that much power?

Serenity, however, looked at them with kind eyes. "You know, you remind me of my two children. There's power in you, power that could grow strong, if your goal is set right."

"Our goal... Our goal's always been to bring our parents back."

"That can be done," Moon said, "I can do it."

"What... After all we did, after we tried to destroy you all..."

"You will find that, despite everything Apsu may have told you about us, we are quite forgiving," Mars noted.

Serenity was looking at the Senshi with a sad look. "The future... I wish I could see it."

"Someday, you may just be able to," Zen'ji said, "but for now, you have to get ready to fight."

"Of course. Cygale must be destroyed for our two races to live in peace at last."

Zen'ji looked at the Senshi and smiled. "I'm afraid I cannot allow you to stay here any longer."

"I... We understand," Moon said. "Pluto, let's get back to our era."

"Of course," Pluto said, and then they all vanished.

Just as the Senshi of the future left, another alien appeared. "Zen'ji, Serenity, Cygale has finally breached through our barrier."

"Then I'm going to greet him."

Zen'ji looked at Serenity. "I'd wish you good luck, but I have already seen the outcome of this battle."

"You never said that," Serenity noted. "Can I win this?"

"You will win," Zen'ji said, "as long as you don't anything rash. But in the end... You may win the war, but you will lose something along with that victory."

"As long as mankind is free of that monster, then I don't care about the consequences. But I have one request to make of you."

"And that is..."

"Take care of my kids for me once I'm gone."

Zen'ji saw the woman walk away and stood there, staring at her in shock. She had guessed what would happen? This woman, Serenity, never stopped surprising him, and that was indeed a good thing.

Sin was still trying to make sense of everything that had happened the last few days. But there was one thing she now realized: Apsu had lied to them all along. She didn't care about them or their lives, she was using them for her own goals. Using them. Much like the Nemesians had been used by that Wiseman monster.

If this was irony, she hated it. In a way, she had turned into exactly what she hated. But the Senshi... From the outside, they had always seemed so godlike to her, when she was a kid, but they were human. And despite all her group had done, they had been forgiven quite fast. And much despite herself, she realized it was all due to Serenity's influence, the Queen's request that their past as Apsu's soldiers wasn't brought up had been enough for the Senshi to stop mentioning those events.

But now, she and her former allies were living inside the palace. She couldn't complain about the place, really, but this wasn't what she wanted, this wasn't what she and her brother had fought all their life for. And after three days of waiting in here, she was starting to ponder if her dream would ever become true.

"Well then, why don't we go find out?"

Sin almost jumped at that. She hadn't realized Serenity was there, how did this woman manage to... But the woman's words finally set in, and she looked at her, hopefully. "You mean that..."

Serenity nodded lightly. "Your brother and your friends are already on the way there, shall we join them?"

"You... You did it?"

"I promised I would, and I never break a promise," Serenity said.

It had only taken a split second, and the scenery had changed drastically. She had been standing inside a guest room of the Crystal Palace a moment ago, but now, they were somewhere in the woods surrounding Crystal Tokyo, and she could see a lot of people there. Marduk, Nabu, Ishtar, Nergal, Anshar... She then saw who Anshar was standing next to right now, and froze. "Mom, dad... Is that really..."

Serenity smiled as the girl run to hug her parents. There was a part of her that, much despite herself, felt a bit of envy. But she had, centuries ago, promised her own parents something, and she wouldn't break that promise, no matter how much it hurt.

"They all look happy now, huh?"

Serenity turned to see the Princess there. "Have you decided, about their abilities..."

"Of course, I talked this out with the other Younger Senshi, and they've accepted it."

"Good, it would be a waste for their potential to be left unchecked. By the way, how's Hotaru doing?"

"Still a long way to go, but I think I never saw her this happy before."

"Same could be said about you," Serenity said, "but what about the future..."

"I'm not worried about that day," the Princess said, "I'm your spawn, after all, and everyone knows you find a way through everything you face, don't you?"

"Now, Chibi, don't give your mother an ego boost. It's the last thing she needs."

Serenity turned to see Endymion behind her, and stuck her tongue out at him. "You can be such a jerk sometimes, you knew that?"

"Isn't that one of the things you like about me?" Endymion said with a smile.

"Not at all," Serenity said bluntly, but then chuckled. "I think I'll have to punish you for making fun of me."

"Is that a promise?" Endymion teased.

Princess Serenity shook her head at that. Those two, sometimes she just couldn't believe they were a thousand years old.

A/N: Yes, the alien's name can be read as "Senshi." You should know I like puns by now.