Sailor Moon Aeons.
Book 3: Crystal City.
Act 1: Generations.
Episode 11: A new life.

By Razor Knight
Last update: March 28, 2019


Alma looked out the window and smiled. One week had passed since her first encounter with the Senshi. One week full of surprises for her, most of them good. Since, by the laws of the city, she was an adult, they told her she could choose to live on her own, in a rented house. She had no money to her name, but the Queen had told her to take some time to adapt, to find a job. She could worry about the rent later.

Still, for the first time in years, it felt wrong to just take things for free. She wanted to find a job, both to start earning money, and to have something to do with her time.

She almost jumped when a figure appeared near her, inside her house. But then she saw who it was. Like mother, like daughter. "Hello, uh..."

"Just Kyouko will do. Besides you're older than me, so don't worry about being formal."

"Right. So, checking on the wild card?"

Kyouko cringed. "None of us sees you that way, and if you heard civilians calling you that, well... It's normal human stupidity."

"I guess... Anyhow, what's up?"

Kyouko was silent for a few seconds before replying. "I was told to bring you to our training today."

"Why?"

"Magic is not just a weapon, it's a part of us. I'm sure when grandma turned your magic off, you felt it, right?"

"I felt like I... Like a part of me was missing."

"Yeah, and if you don't use it for a while... It could mess with your mind."

"So I either shoot beams off my hands or go crazy. Nice."

"You could also train on passive magic, or 'utility' magic. Those also work on keeping a mage sane."

"Well, I guess checking out this 'training' of yours will keep me from being bored, at least."

"That's good."


Younger Jupiter picked herself off the ground and looked at her 'mentor.' "Okay, I see what you mean. You didn't even attack once, and I'm the one who can barely move."

Younger Lilith nodded. "And I'm not that good at dodging. Moon is awesome, and from what I've heard, Serenity can beat most other Senshi by dodging until they're out of stamina."

"I believe that," Jupiter said, then saw Kyouko appear near them, along with... "Hi."

Alma smiled. "Hi."

Lilith walked to Kyouko. "You're late."

"Sorry, how can I ever make up for being late?"

"You'll figure something out."

Alma was about to say something, when she saw Kyouko kiss Lilith. And that was no peck, either. Were her cheek deep red again? Yep, they were.

Jupiter walked to her. "Oh, you didn't know they-"

Alma sighed. "First time I see two women kiss, and... They're young."

Kyouko heard that and sighed. "I'm almost sixteen."

"I meant no offense, it was just a bit of a shock."

Tsuki smiled. "She's a bit spoiled, but... I used to not talk to strangers, or even to my parents. I kept my feelings to myself. This cute girl here, even before we became a couple, she was always trying to make me open up to her. She helped me get out of my shell."

Kyouko saw Alma stare at her and sighed. "What now?"

"Uh, I was just... I can sense she has two kinds of mana."

Lilith nodded as her suit turned black. "I am also Younger Nemesis. A dual Senshi."

"So if you decide to have offsprings..."

Kyouko looked at Tsuki, who was now blushing and looking at her own feet. "I did wonder about that, yes, but I'm in no hurry to see if it works that way."

Jupiter was quite lost. "What are you talking about?"

"Senshi powers can be transferred to any offsprings we have," Kyouko explained. "Mom is a dual Senshi because grandpa is Dragon Earth. Tsuki here is the daughter of Dragon Lilith and Sailor Nemesis."

"... Okay, I know what you mean, I think. You have three powers because of Hotaru, and... "

Alma smiled as Jupiter stared at the two other Senshi in awe. "She gets it."

Kyouko shrugged. "As far as I know, I am the first 'triple' Senshi ever, even though Senshi have been a thing for billions of years."

"Billions?" Both Alma and Jupiter shouted in unison.

"For reasons I can't tell you, at least until I speak to a few people, I know Senshi have been around for that long."

"See, I told you, leave it to these two, and they slack off."

Lilith turned to see Younger Mars and Venus were there. "The new girls had questions, we were answering. Besides, I already dodged Mai to a pulp, and... Well, I'm not sure what this one-"

"Alma," Kyouko corrected. "She has potential, but I think we'll have to start with the basics."

"Basics?"

Mars looked at Alma. "I can see it. You may be older than Kyouko, but as far as magic goes, you're a toddler."

"I may not be proud of it, but I had a lot of power back when-"

"And you still do. But power alone is worth little. Kyouko has more power than me, and yet she only wins if she uses her head more than her power."

"Well, yeah. I never trained, my power was impossible to block and-" Alma stopped and looked at Kyouko. "And yet you blocked the attack I shot at you. How?"

Kyouko summoned her staff. "Your attack was quite powerful, and if it had hit me, I would have died. But you were too obvious. I had sensed you, and my taunt was meant to drag you out. As for the staff... It's my one defensive Talisman, a part of my 'real' Talisman."

"Talismans are those artifacts linked to your souls, right?" Jupiter asked. She knew what they were, but could guess Alma didn't.

"Yes, and I have three, one for each element. The staff can stop some very powerful blasts."

"How could you be sure you would be able to block mine?"

"Because it is strong enough to stop a full power death bolt from my mom. Which, before you ask, I know it can because I tested it."

Alma paled as she heard that. "Why would your mother-"

"Training," Kyouko said with a shrug.

"Speaking of training," Venus said, "we really should start before Usagi or Hotaru show up."

"Would they punish you if-"

Venus smiled at Alma. "No, but I respect them, and while they know we may slack off a bit while left alone,she also knows we've never taken days off when we were supposed to train. Anyhow, I'm curious to see if you can fight at all. Try hitting me."

Alma did as told, or at least tried. Venus moved out of the way as she tried to punch her, with a speed that made it hard to follow. "Amazing."

"Thanks. You at least know how to throw a punch, but you got a long way to go."

Alma frowned. "I don't want to learn how to fight. I'm done hurting people. I want to learn other things, like teleportation, or-"

"Planning on running away, huh?" Lilith joked. Kyouko's glare made her wince. "Uh, sorry, just a joke. A bad one."

Alma shook her head. "I like this city. I want to stay here. Which is why I want to learn things I can use outside battles. Teleportation, healing, maybe a way to turn my magic sensor off, if that's even possible."

"We can teach you all that too," Venus said, "I think it's a waste to just train that, but it's your choice."

Alma sighed. "I'm no Senshi, so I'll never become as powerful as you can be. And I... I'm scared of myself. What if I learn to fight, and then go back to hunting?"

"We would stop you. We would be a bit annoyed at you for letting your past haunt you, but we would give you another chance."

Kyouko frowned. "You should learn how to fight, it makes it easier to control your power. Even if you're no fighter, something could make you go berserk again."

"Heh, don't I know that," Venus muttered.

"That's a good example. See, when they were younger, something made Hikaru very upset. She went berserk and left a nice crater outside the city. But she wasn't outside the city when she snapped. She had learnt enough self-control to let her move away from any civilians, to let her grief explode in a place where she couldn't hurt anyone."

Venus smiled sadly. "I learnt a lot more control since then, but yeah. Learning to teleport, to heal, to breathe under water? Those could be useful and we've all learnt them. But you have the potential to hurt people. A lot." She looked at Mars and smiled, before turning to Alma again. "We don't train to hurt people, we train to know just how much power we can use, and how to use it to protect people."

Alma suddenly saw Mars shoot a fire blast at Venus... Who dodged it without even looking at it. "That..."

Mars smiled. "We have trained together for a long time. We both know each other well. I would not have shot at her if I didn't know she could dodge, or if I knew she didn't notice I was about to do it."

Venus sighed. "There's better ways to show our training, Hisa."

"Perhaps, but I love seeing you dodge like that."

Alma realized something. "Oh, you two are..."

"Married. At least as far as Crystal Tokyo's laws go," Venus said.

"Oh. I... I guess I'll try training too."

Kyouko smiled. "Good."

Moon appeared right then, and looked at them all silently.

"Mom, nag off. We were trying to convince Alma to join us."

Moon smiled at her. "I know, I've been here for a while."

Alma stared at her. "I didn't sense you."

"I didn't want you to. Before you ask, no, I can't teach you how to do that. It's a Serenity-only thing."

"... Fair enough."


Hours later, Hotaru was getting dinner ready, but noticed something about her wife. "Something bothering you?"

Usagi sighed. "No use hiding it. Yes, it's Alma and Mai. They... I think the only way to say it, at risk of sounding cruel, is 'they shouldn't be here.'"

"Because you never heard about them. Maybe we didn't tell you because you weren't supposed to know."

"But Mai is a Senshi. She would still be around."

"Unless... Something happened to her."

"I don't think... You know, I may be just being silly. I wanted to 'change' our future, but the possibility of actually having changed it? It freaks me out."

"Maybe what Usagi did, which I can only see as 'rewinding reality' did mess with our universe. Maybe a number of things are already changing. But we'll have to wait for a thousand years to know for sure."

"Or we could go take a quick peek." As soon as the pink-haired woman had finished saying that, a certain green-haired woman appeared near her. "... That was just a joke, Saki."

Younger Pluto gave her a neutral stare. "Good."

"You're not one for social visits."

"That I am not, but to avoid more 'jokes,' let me tell you what I can about your theory. Yes, there's some people in this city who 'shouldn't' be here, either because they never met you, or because..." She sighed. "Serenity didn't tell you this, but she stopped Alma because she saw no future where she lived, and no future where she jumped in. Neither did we."

"That sounds like something she would do."

"However, the 'ripples' caused by changes in the timelines usually die out quickly. The future has changed, but the main 'script' is still there. You will be born exactly one thousand years after your mother was, and you will be back in time as you remember, once to help us defeat the Nemesians, and then to train and... Well, to fall in love."

"And what about after that? The Hunters, will they-"

"I said I would tell you what I can. And I did."

"Great."

Younger Pluto smiled. "I'm not doing it because I like it. Heck, mom may shout at me for a while for telling you this much."

"Tell her I said hi."

"Will do," the woman said before vanishing.

Hotaru stared at the spot Pluto had been standing on for several seconds. "So..."

Usagi shrugged. "I guess I'll just wait. For all I know, any of my classmates 'back' in the thirtieth century could have been my grand-grand-child."

"... That sounds both amazing and weird."

"That means it's par for the course."


Serenity was surprised. She had known Hana for a long time, and yet she had not expected this outcome for her 'hunt.'

Nova had gone back to New York, and as she had thought, the murderer of her parents had been quickly found and dealt with. But any other criminal she hunted had been left mostly unharmed.

But now, Hana was back in Tokyo, and looking at her uneasily. "I did it. I got that bastard. A lot of people back there fear me now, and it's not just criminals."

"From the videos I saw, it's to be expected. You attacked that man in broad daylight, in a rather busy area, and thame white aura you had could be quite frightening to civilians. But I know better. You didn't harm anyone else, not even those you 'interrogated' while looking for him."

"I don't care if they hate me now. That city has not been my home for decades. But after what I did, do I deserve to come back here?"

Serenity shook her head, and her gown was replaced by 'civilian' clothes. "Hana, you are family to me. Even if you weren't married to Shingo, I would still consider you a close friend. And you know I'm no saint, I've done my fair share of killing. The fact you only killed one person while you were there is all the proof I need that you are still in control. Welcome back."

"Thank you, Seren- No, thank you, Usagi."


Another week had passed. One week spent between training, job hunting, and slowly getting to know the Senshi and some of their friends. She had to admit she didn't regret meeting them. She already saw Mai and Kyouko as close friends, which was weird considering how they had met.

"Huh, I didn't think there would be anyone here."

She turned to see Hisako standing near her. True, this place wasn't usually crowded, but that was because of its location. The tallest spire of the palace was by far the tallest structure in the city, and Alma had taken a liking to the view. "Hi. I like the view, really, and the feeling of being 'on top of the world.'"

Hisako nodded, but then saw her friend fall silent. "Something on your mind?"

"Just thinking it's the first time I see you without your wife. Sorry if that sounds weird."

"She's hunting for bugs. She loves that for some reason, so I leave it to her."

"Bugs? Oh right, games."

"I can guess you haven't played a lot of games."

"When I was a kid, my mother had a computer, and I played some things, but... Well, she took the money and the computer when she left."

"... Sorry for reminding you of her."

"Don't worry, she's just a footnote, a memory to me now."

Hisako looked down at the city. "I could say I understand, but my mother is... She's been always there for me. Specially after dad died."

"... But your father is alive, right?"

"Tell me, if your father was magically brought back, would it erase all you've been through?"

Alma cringed. "Sorry, I was just... I'm not used to people coming back. You lost your father at such a young age..."

"Even we aren't true immortals. We just won't die of old age, but as far as I know, there's only two really ancient Senshi still around. Sailor Galaxia and the first Sailor Sun."

"Galaxia? I hope that name doesn't mean-"

"Yes, she draws power from the whole galaxy. But Serenity defeated her, or at least a creature that was using her body and power for evil."

"Serenity sounds more and more like a goddess the more I hear about her past."

"I wasn't born yet, but mom told me Serenity unlocked a power beyond that of Galaxia. It was a temporary form, but it's known as Sailor Cosmos."

"Cosmos, as in, the whole universe?"

"There's an old saying, that power corrupts, and absolute power corrupts absolutely. I think aunt Usagi is the exception to that rule."

"No offense, but Senshi sound unfairly powerful."

"Well, Usagi started off weak. We all start off relatively weak. And yet, she killed her first 'final boss' when she was fourteen, and just about as powerful as you are now."

"You guys say I have potential, but could I really be that powerful? I just don't see myself having as much power as you."

"Here's a fun thing. Yukiko can beat me in a fight, unless I manage to keep up long enough for her mana reserves to become an issue. You could be as strong as her, eventually. I don't plan on staying at this level, though."

"Hey, Hisa!"

Alma looked down and saw Hikaru was looking up at them from ground level. Her voice wouldn't have carried over to them so clearly from that distance, but she could bet magic was involved in that. "Guess she's done with bug hunting."

Hisako nodded. "Guess I'll see you later." She looked down and smiled. "Want to see something weird? Watch this."

Alma saw the woman jump right off the spire. The drop down to the ground was easily a couple hundred meters, and yet Hisako landed without even flinching. She had heard rumors of that, but seeing it happen was something else.

Hikaru shook her head. "Don't freak the newbie out, Hisa."

"Didn't know this could freak you out."

"It doesn't, but- Hey!"

The girl on top of the spire decided to also go back to the ground - floating down gently, as she knew her body was very much not ready for such a fall. Some called the city boring, but she could see there was always something interesting going on. She was growing fond of Crystal Tokyo. Hopefully, this peace would last.


"So this is it. This is the planet I've been looking for. My sister's last known location. It's been many years now, but maybe I can find out what happened to her."

"We are ready to begin, my Queen."

"Good. Let us begin the banquet. I can see plenty of food down there."


A/N: Damn it, Alma, you just had to tempt fate...

Foreshadowing dialog between two characters who conveniently leave out each other's names? They're looking for food, so I'm sure they'll just eat lunch at Mako's restaurant and leave.