Cyber Moon: Crystal.
Act 3: Aeons.
Episode 16: Clash of goddesses.
By Razor Knight
Last update: March 25, 2009
The transformation was faster than any other they had seen, but the change was still noticeable. Most of the Senshi had already seen someone with a similar suit, the full body suit with a white, transluscent skirt, the seven pairs of light wings on her back... But unlike the First Serenity, this Sailor Moon had a tiara, which had the usual gemstone at its center, but also had many smaller gems of different color to both sides of the main one, each with the color of one of the Senshi.
Mercury looked at Serenity with her visor, and it did something that surprised her, it shut down. "I can't get a reading on her anymore. "
The three Saturns had returned moments before the transformation, and both were staring at Moon, wondering just how strong she was now.
Younger Moon was used to sensing lunar mana, and to using it herself, but this... Serenity's body wasn't just filled with lunar magic now. "She's drawing energy from all the planets, even from the Sun," she explained. "And if I have to make a guess, right now she's around a hundred times stronger than me."
Younger Saturn paled. "And here I was happy about getting to this level."
Ultima looked at Moon for a few seconds, then chuckled. "Now this is more like it. Shall we fight all out now?"
"Not here," Moon said. "Let's fight elsewhere."
Ultima shrugged at that. "Suits you, little queen. It will be a pity your friends won't get to see you die."
Moon turned to the others. "Stay here, everyone, I'll take care of her."
Younger Moon seemed ready to protest, but then nodded. "Good luck, mom."
"Oh, how disappointing."
Black Lady looked at the man. "It will be an interesting fight, they're even."
"Yes, but the other Senshi are going to just watch it."
"Of course, it's quite stupid to just watch someone else's battle," Black Lady said, the sarcasm quite obvious in her tone.
"Color me stupid, then," the man said with a small smile, "You wanted to go there, didn't you? I suppose your presence there will be amusing to me."
Black Lady chuckled. "I've got a plan to torture the Senshi without killing them, actually."
"You do? Well then, let me see what you have in mind."
"Right. Hope you enjoy yourself, for I know I will."
Younger Moon frowned. Her mother was out there, yes, but she was out of her range right now. She had taken the battle to the area between Jupiter and Saturn, that much she could sense, but she didn't know who was winning.
She looked up and frowned. With that woman showing up, they had forgotten about the Kh'Sun ships. The three ships were just floating there, waiting. Maybe the slaves didn't know what to do now that they were free, maybe they were afraid of doing something and ending like they masters had.
But as she watched, she saw the ship closest to the ground light up with energy. Were they going to shoot? No, that wasn't energy from the ship itself, that was... "Everyone, brace yourselves!"
The warning was almost too late, but Elder Mars managed to summon her shield around everyone a second before the ships above them exploded, the shockwave strong enough to destroy every tree and rock in the area, and as the explosion dimmed, Mars fell to her knees. "Who did that?" she asked out loud, looking around.
"That would be me," Black Lady mused as she materialized in front of them, "those assholes were floating on my path."
Younger Saturn was beyond shocked. "You... You killed millions of innocents, just because you felt like it?"
"If you're going to be so technical about it, I did it because I knew it would piss you all off," Black Lady said with a sly smile.
"I don't think I need to tell you this, guys, but her level is almost like that Ultima woman."
"Always the sidekick, aren't you?" Younger Moon snapped.
"I blame you for that," Black Lady snapped back, "after all, you've been sucking up to a queen that never dies, for a thousand years."
"So what are you here for, besides blowing up defenseless beings?"
Black Lady turned to Younger Venus and smiled. "Why, kid, I haven't blasted you yet."
"Yes, that's quite strange," Saturn noted.
"See, my boss just wants me to play with you, not kill you. He's quite a moron, if I may say so myself," the woman explained, "but I don't agree, so I thought I could piss him off by not fighting you. "
"Aren't you afraid of that creature?"
Black Lady laughed. "Afraid? I would be stupid if I wasn't aware of what he is. You haven't seen him yet, but trust me, Ultima herself is a weakling compared to this guy. And be glad he wants to be entertained, if he was trying to destroy you, well... We wouldn't be here right now."
"So what, are you just going to stand there?"
"Unless you want to fight me, in which case, I will fight back."
Younger Moon shrugged. "Then we'll wait until Serenity comes back to kick your ass."
"If she wins," Black Lady said. "You may think high of her new form, but I could defeat her easily. Ultima should have an easy fight out there."
"Let's just wait and see," Younger Moon said. It was strange, Black Lady was too calm about this whole issue, and didn't seem to respect her 'boss' any more than she respected Serenity. What side was she really on, if she was in any side at all?
To an observer from any of the satellites circling Jupiter or Saturn, it would have seemed like the sky being lit up with small flares of random colors, an event that could not be explained unless they knew what was happening between the two giant planets.
Moon had guessed as much, she had sensed the power her foe had, and had sensed her own power. They weren't even using long range magic, but each magic-charged punch and kick, whether it was blocked or not, released a blast of mana so strong, it could have punched deep into the Earth.
They kept trading blows for several minutes, Moon's improved senses were able to know that something had happened on Earth. The three large ships were gone, blasted by Black Lady. But she couldn't go back there right now, she couldn't ignore this foe, who could destroy her homeworld in a blink. She had to first defeat this monster, if she wanted to deal with the other one.
Ultima were awed by Moon's new power. To think that the Senshi Queen had forced them into a stalemate like this... They had not know just how powerful this woman could be, and they knew about the energy reserve Moon had. If things didn't change, then they would run out of energy way before the Senshi Queen did. And they just couldn't allow that to happen, they couldn't bear to be defeated by this Sailor Moon again.
They would not go down easily. "Ragnarok's Edge." A thin blade of energy shot forth, hitting Moon dead on. Ultima were surprised she hadn't dodged it, but it was a good thing. Now the little Queen would be too weak to fight... Or would she?
Moon stood there as the attack ended, completely unharmed by it. "I guess now it's my turn. Goddess' Call."
Ultima weren't stupid enough to stay there and let the blast hit. They teleported far out of the way, and prepared to attack Moon. However, they caught Moon smiling at them, and were confused by that. A confusion that was cleared out quite violently when something hit them from the side, sending them stumbling for a long distance. They clutched their side and realized they were bleeding. "This can't be, our powers are the same as yours."
"There's a major difference between you and me," Serenity noted, "I'm not fighting for myself, and that gives me a kind of power you will never understand."
The fight of Moon and Ultima was slightly amusing, he could give them that much, but it was also a given who would win, Ultima didn't have any magical upgrading abilities, unlike the Senshi. And Black Lady... She was clearly not playing along anymore, she had just been standing there, surrounded by Senshi far weaker than her, for several minutes. What a disappointment, he expected much more of her.
He would have to get more players for this little play, but where to get one that he hadn't already... Oh, of course! That one creature, he had followed her improvements with interest for a while, but then she just stopped being fun to watch, she simply didn't have anyone to fight against. She had, after eons of insanity, managed to extinguish all sentient life in her own universe. A feat that, he had to admit, was almost godlike. Almost. But now, she would have a whole new universe to play with, as long as she got rid of those Senshi first.
He located her and was impressed at what he saw. She hadn't stopped with just destroying every sentient life form in her universe. She had either grown bored, or her insanity had gone off the scale, and thus she was now flying through an endless sea of nothing, still searching for a planet she hadn't yet destroyed.
And considering who this creature was, or who she had once being, he could bet the Senshi would be more than shocked to see what she had become.
Saturn yawned. "Really, you're nothing like last time we fought you. "
"I could destroy this planet in one shot if I wanted to," Black Lady said, "that would take care of most of you, too. But I want to kill Serenity first."
Younger Venus frowned. "We won't let you do that."
"And what will you do, then? Fight me? I'm not going to let any of you get to Aeon."
They all felt something, a surge of energy, and could see someone standing meters away from them. "I'm seeing double," Younger Mars commented.
Younger Moon looked at the newcomer and gasped. This was a clone of herself, another Younger Moon, but from the suit she was wearing, she had already reached Aeon level. For a split second, she had the hope this woman was there to help, but then she looked into her eyes and could feel her skin crawl. This was that insanely powerful ChibiMoon Terry and Ami had seen during their journey, but her eyes were devoid of any emotion. Whatever had happened to her, had erased any trace of hope from her.
And then she felt another surge. This woman wasn't bothering to warn them or gloat, she was going to attack. But with as much power as she was gathering... "Guys, get away from the planet!"
Younger Moon's warning wasn't late, and the Senshi managed to teleport away before the woman unleashed her attack. Saturn and Younger Moon knew what the other was thinking even at such a time as this, and thus they had both appeared in Mars. They both looked up to the sky just in time to see a second sun shining for several seconds, and they were both too shocked to say a thing.
The Earth was gone, but had that woman died in the explosion too?
Moon couldn't help but look away from her own battle. The others could have seen the explosion, those connected to Earth by their powers could have felt the planet's energy waver, but Moon's powers were beyond that. She had felt all the living beings dying, she had felt the magic dispersing, and she knew she was partially to blame.
She had, after all, noticed the arrival of that new creature, but had not realized what it meant in time to stop her. The Senshi were alive, yes, but they were spread out. And for all she knew, that woman could just destroy every other world the same way.
It wouldn't have been so disturbing to her, if that woman wasn't her daughter. But that didn't matter to her right now, just like Black Lady, she had gone too far, and couldn't be forgotten.
Ultima attacked her while she was distracted, but Moon managed to block the energy blast. "You don't know when you're beaten."
"It's a birth defect," Ultima said.
"That's my line," Moon snapped. "I have no time to waste with you, so... Goddess Call!" This time, the attack blasted right through Ultima, but Moon didn't waste time with that minor victory. There was a much stronger foe out there, and she had to take care of it before anyone else was killed.
Younger Saturn couldn't believe what she had seen. The Earth was gone, and she had been killed too if not for her mother's warning. They could have all died right there.
"What are you?"
She froze at the voice. It was her mother's voice, but she knew this was the same who had just destroyed her homeworld. "What am I? A Senshi, like you."
The woman looked at Younger Saturn, no emotion showing in her face. "I see, this world's me is a lucky bithc, she could marry and have children. I can't remember the last time I felt happiness. The last time I felt anything at all. And if I can't have happiness, nobody will."
Younger Saturn considered her options, and running was right now the wisest move. But if she run, this woman was going to destroy the planet she was on, Mercury, and follow her wherever she went. "I'm not going down without a fight."
The woman chuckled at that, a dry, deep chuckle. "A fight? I don't even need to move to kill you, brat."
Younger Saturn felt something within her, a power burning her. She fell to her knees, clutching her chest. "What is this... What..."
"Die." The evil ChibiMoon rose her arm, but before she could do anything else, something hit her from the side. She rolled on the ground a good mile before stopping and standing up. "You?"
"Leave my daughter alone, you fake," Younger Moon snapped. A large white aura surrounded her, and her glare was furious.
"Weaklings like you should hide and cower," ChibiMoon snapped back.
"Who's the weakling? Moon Aeon Power!"
Saturn glared at ChibiMoon. "You may look like her, but you're nothing like her. Something as evil as you must be stopped. Saturn Aeon Power!"
ChibiMoon laughed as the two transformed. "Yes, give me what I want! Finally, a challenge, after all these centuries!"
"You're insane," Younger Saturn said.
ChibiMoon turned to her. "Try being forced to kill your own mother after you saw her kill everyone you cared about, and then come call me insane, wuss."
"Kyouko, get out of here."
Younger Saturn wanted to protest that order, but after a few seconds of considering her options, nodded. "Kick this one around for me."
Younger Moon smiled as her daughter left. "I suppose telling you we'll fight elsewhere isn't going to work."
ChibiMoon's face was again unreadable. "I don't care where you want to die, I only care that you die."
"Right then... Follow us."
The Elder Senshi were all floating in the middle of a cloud of small rocks and dust. Mars looked around and shook her head, trying to make sense of it all. "It's simply too much, how could she do something like this..."
Dragon Mercury had his eyes closed, and his face was dead serious. "I can sense millions of souls, all around us. I never thought I would see something like this. We have to kill this freak, for all those who died today."
"But how can we do that?" Venus asked.
Serenity appeared near the others. "Don't ask how, you know the answer. Let all your anger and shock free, and then take control of it. I know you guys can do it."
Pluto had been silently observing the others, but then nodded. "It's quite evident that to defeat an Aeon Senshi, we must reach that level too."
"Let's do it, then," Venus said.
"I'll help."
Serenity turned to the side and stared at the figure in shock. "You?"
Yes, now things were starting to look interesting. With the Earth gone, the Senshi would stop playing nice, and now more and more of them were reaching their highest level. To those in their universe, such a power would be considered godlike. To one such as him, though, it was at most a nuissance.
And if everything else failed, if he was still bored after this was over, then he would beat the surviving Senshi around himself. Not kill them, no, because their deaths would free them from the pain of living eternally knowing they had failed to their world. And such suffering, such pain, was just too much fun to be ignored.
ChibiMoon was having fun, too. She hadn't faced a challenge like this since the day she blasted a hole through her mother's heart. She had been left alone, to take care of a world that was empty tp her, without those she cared about. She cared about nobody else, and still, she remained there. A group of assholes she didn't even ask the names of came in, trying to take over the world, and ChibiMoon did what she was born to do. She destroyed those idiots, putting all her might into her assault. The Earth itself was blown to pebbles during that battle, but she had stopped caring even about that.
As bored as she was, she started searching, searching for new evils to fight. She found some, and she destroyed them, never bothering holding back for the sake of alien worlds she couldn't care less about. After a century or so of this, she had achieved what the Senshi had always dreamed of: She had eliminated every evil entity in her universe. But, she had thought, now what?
She was a warrior. A warrior born to fight. And since what she had been focusing on before, her family and friends, were gone forever, then she only had the fighting to live for. But that was, also, eventually gone, she defeated (and killed) every Senshi, every being with special powers. And while doing that, she had destroyed a good part of the universe. At which point the remaining shards of her morals had left her, she couldn't tell, but soon she found herself destroying everything she saw. Sometimes, she would destroy planets bit by bit, city by city, enjoying the pathetic struggle of the natives. Others, she would simply cause a star to explode, and watch amusedly as planets, moons and comets were destroyed by it.
But that, too, was eventually over. She didn't know just how many centuries had passed since the last time she saw a star, or even a small asteroid. She had thought what had happened in the beginning was hell, to see those she cared about die, and having to kill her own mother. But that was nothing compared to eternally roaming around an empty universe, with nothing to do but keep roaming, and being unable to die.
These two women she was fighting right now, however, gave her something she had thought lost long ago, hope. If they weren't strong enough, then she would destroy them, and then keep going until this universe, too, was empty. But a part of her still hoped these two would be powerful enough to do what even she wasn't able to do. To cease the hell her life had become.
"Come on, weaklings, don't hold back!"
Saturn frowned. "She asked for it, didn't she?"
"Sure she did," Younger Moon admitted. "Let's give her what she wants. Lunar Wrath!"
"Endless Death."
Saturn would have commented on Younger Moon's attack being another heart, if she hadn't sensed just how much energy it carried. Her own attack wasn't any softer, though, a giant, faceless wraith, which howled painfully as it fled towards their foe.
ChibiMoon snorted and rose her hands, and both attacks were deflected. "Too bad, you girls aren't strong enough."
"Two of us may not be enough, but what about a lot of us?"
Younger Moon looked at the group and smiled. "It's Senshi upgrading season again, huh?"
"No kidding," Jupiter noted.
"And our special powers upgraded," Mercury said, "I'm right now sending a warning message to every other planet's computer networks, to tell them to prepare for the worst if we fail here."
"You will fail," ChibiMoon said.
"Keep your empty threats to yourself."
ChibiMoon looked at Black Lady. "This is pitiful. The useless clone's so desperate to win, she allies with those she hates the most?"
"Right now, you and that asshole of a god I worked for are those I hate the most."
"So be it, attack me all at once if you dare."
The Senshi didn't need to be told that, though, as most of them were already gathering energy the second they appeared.
"Moon Goddess Call!"
"Earth King's Sword Barrage!"
Dragon Earth swung his sword to the side, then back, creating a swarm of large stone spears, which shot towards the evil woman.
"Lunar Wrath!"
"Saturn Endless Death!"
"Mars Aeon Demon!"
"Mars Meltdown Storm!"
Sailor Mars summoned a large demon, similar to the one she used in her weaker form, but this one was white, not red, due to its extreme temperature. Dragon Mars' attack was a wave of flames, however, which washed over the demon and wrapped around it, turning into a makeshift cloak.
"Mercury Aeon Flood!"
"Saturn Deadly Torrent!"
Two almost identical streams of water shot from Mercury and Dragon Mercury, fusing into one large jet of water and ice.
"Jupiter Thundering Fury!"
"Earth Final Meteor!"
A moon-sized meteor formed above Sailor Earth's head, and Jupiter grabbed it, charging it up with an impossibly strong electric current, before tossing it at their foe like it was weightless.
"Venus Blink Storm!"
"Venus Arcane Flash!"
Dragon Venus' attack was a large wave of light, while Venus' one was a barrage of light beams, so fast it was impossible to dodge them all.
"Nemesis Starless Night."
"Moon Immortal Werewolf Slash."
Nemesis' attack was hard to see, as everything around them was pitch black, but something seemed to be eating the stars away for a few seconds, a shadow that soon lunged forwards. Moments later, a white-furred werewolf rushed by, leaving a trail of after-images.
"Uranus Wind Serpent!"
"Neptune Aqua Serpent!"
The two attacks were identical, not counting their elements, and the two giant snakes wrapped around each other as they both shot towards their target.
"Lilith's Lady Luck's Gamble."
"Sun Solar Wind Maelstrom."
Lilith's attack wasn't an attack in itself, but it altered Dragon Sun's spread-out wave of plasma, condensing it into an incredibly thin, dense line.
"Pluto Aeon Warp."
Pluto's attack was as invisible as ever, and the effect on her target was also hard to notice, but it carried almost as much power as that of the two Sailor Moon, if not more.
Black Lady smiled and reached out her hands. "Moon Demoness Call."
ChibiMoon shot out as much energy as she could, managing to block one or two of the incoming attacks, but the rest of them hit her fully, knocking her back. She glared at the Senshi as she stopped her flight, and then laughed. "All your power is still not enough to defeat me, no matter how many of you attack, you will be..." She stopped in shock as she felt a pain in her chest. "Damn it..."
"This is for all those you killed, both here and in your universe," Younger Moon said, her fist stuck inside her lookalike's chest. "Lunar Wrath."
As the attack hit from within, ChibiMoon smiled despite the incredible pain. "How ironic, I thought I couldn't... Kill myself. "
Venus was the first to find her voice, and she stared at Younger Moon, whose hand was still dripping blood. "You know, you can be quite scary sometimes."
"Guess that's what I get for being around Hotaru," Younger Moon joked, "besides, that bitch tried to kill my daughter. Which reminds me..." she looked at Black Lady. "You..."
"I helped you this time around."
"You were going to do the same she did, weren't you?"
"No," Black Lady said, "it has always been my goal to kill your group. True, I did blow up Tokyo back then, but I've had more than enough time to think about it."
"Don't go playing the pity card on us," Mars snapped.
"Am not, but we have a common enemy now," Black Lady noted, "I want that god guy dead as much as you do, for different reasons."
"She's got a point," Mercury admitted, "she must know his weaknesses and..." she stopped as Black Lady burst out laughing. "What's so funny?"
"Weaknesses, you say? He's got none. And face it, the guy says he created this universe, and many others around it. He wouldn't create something powerful enough to destroy him."
"But where do we go?"
Suddenly, a white, square portal appeared, floating in mid-space. The Senshi all looked at each other in confusion, until a voice from within it said "please, by all means, do come in. You have amused me greatly, and now it's time for you to know the truth about yourselves and your universe."
"Smells like a trap," Jupiter noted.
"Either that, or the guy really wants us to kick his rear," Uranus said.
"What about the Younger?"
"They'll be safer here, until we get back," Serenity said.
"If you get back," Black Lady said.
"What, not coming with us?"
Black Lady vanished, and appeared right next to Serenity. "If I go there, I know I won't come back. But I guess I can still do something to screw that moron up." She grabbed Serenity's arm, and black energy shot from her hand into the Queen's body. The Senshi all glared at her, but she sighed. "I'm just helping her."
"Why are you helping?"
"Because I want to get back at that loser," Black Lady said, "and because I've finally realized something. You girls and I are the same, we will both continue to grow stronger and fight each other like this... So I want you to stay alive."
Serenity let out a chuckle. "So you're doing the right thing for the wrong reason. But if you do anything while we're away..."
"What could I fight here? Those Eternal level kids? Hmph."
Younger Moon shook her head at that. "You know, if you weren't evil, I could get used to your attitude."
"Right then, let's go," Serenity said.
"We're going to fight a god, with all the odds against us and no clue how his world looks like, or if he has a few hundred Ultimas waiting," Dragon Venus noted.
"Damn it, I missed the old days," Dragon Mercury added.
Serenity sighed. Those two, no matter how old they were, wouldn't change.
A/N: Next episode could be the last one for this saga, it all depends on whether I can fit the battle and epilogue in it or not.
Mazeem: They're not going to show up in Cyber Moon itself (notice even Ami's daughter isn't getting any screentime,) but if my plot bunnies get too annoying, I may write a sequel or two to this monster of a fic.
But before all that, once this is finished, I'm going back and taking as many grammar/spelling horrors out of the story as I can, as well as removing any plot holes I may have unintentionally left lying around.
LordHalo: The episode's title might be enough to tell I don't see a problem with their powers being that high, specially considering what their newest enemies can do. Besides, all those Gainax-style not-really-religious details I've put here and there should point to the fact they are quite literally godlike.