Sailor Moon Aeons.
Book 3: Crystal City.
Act 1: Generations.
Episode 12: Back to school.
By Razor Knight
Last update: May 9, 2019
Usagi woke up and looked at the clock for several seconds before her mind finally made sense of the numbers. "Been a while. I'm late for school."
"That you are," Luna said. "Brings back memories."
"You're talking like it was decades ago." There was no need for her to hurry. Magic was a good thing to have, and even if she phased into her classroom, nobody would think it weird. However... "Where's Chibi?"
"I was downstairs when she woke up. Hotaru came to pick her up and they both left for school an hour ago."
"Hotaru came to pick her up?"
"She's not the same she used to be. Also, I think she wants to be there for her, to help her deal with what happened."
Usagi frowned at that. True, it had only been a few weeks since the Hunters were defeated. Her 'cousin' was not going back to the future. She looked at the clock in her night stand and sighed. "Okay, I should hurry up."
As she appeared next to her seat, she saw a few of her classmates stare at her in awe. "Sorry, woke up a bit late."
"You used to run to school, from what I heard. Magic made you lazy."
Usagi looked at Rei. "Maybe. I would have needed my top speed to make it in time, and... I've never run for that long using that much speed."
"It's hard at first, but if you practice you can run to Kyoto and back without crashing."
Ami shook her head at that. "Mina, that's due to your power. Your senses are heightened while you run, to make it easier for you to dodge and stop."
Minako blinked at that. "Eh? Is that also why everything goes into slow motion?"
"Yes. Your perception of the world changes."
Hotaru walked in right then. "Guys, there's trouble."
Usagi was sure it was the first time she saw Hotaru this upset. "Something wrong?"
"Let's discuss this... Elsewhere. I already asked Haruna about it, she says it's fine if we need to skip her class, and that she'll tell the other teachers about it."
Usagi nodded. "Okay, let's go."
As they all appeared inside the base, Usagi could see Chibiusa there, along with a girl around Chibi's age. The girl's looks... Well, that would explain why Hotaru was freaking out right now. Even if her hair had no 'buns' it was still a shade away from her daughter's, and her face was... Best way to know was to ask. "Who are you?"
The girl looked at her. "My name is Kyouko Tsukino."
Usagi knew most of her friends looking at her. "So you are... Chibiusa's younger-"
Kyouko shook her head. "No, I'm her daughter."
The blond girl was sure it was the first time her friends had shouted a collective "What?" She looked at the girl and smiled. "Well, nice to meet you, then."
Kyouko smiled back. "I thought you would find it hard to believe."
"If you're my granddaughter, you should know I would be able to tell if you lied. And we've been through a lot of weird things, too."
"Uh, right..."
Minako was quite shocked, but still decided to ask something that was probably bothering everyone else as well. "So wait, who is your father?"
Kyouko pointed at Chibiusa. "Technically, she is."
Two collective "What?" in one day. Usagi couldn't blame her friends. "How is that even- Oh, the Ginzuishou."
Kyouko nodded. "Mom, that is, Hotaru, really wanted to have kids, so they asked Serenity about it and she 'asked' the crystal to make it possible for them... And here I am."
Terry frowned. "Which leads us to the next question. Why are you here, in your past?"
"Training."
Chibiusa gave her a deadpan stare. "... No, seriously."
Kyouko chuckled. "Just wanted to see your faces if I said that. Truth is, a group of sort-of-poweful evil mages came back to the past to try and kill you."
"Wouldn't that break reality?"
"They either don't know that, or don't care."
"Why send only you?"
"I'm not alone, but the rest of my group... We decided it was best not to shock a lot of you at once."
Hotaru was looking at her. "So, I can see more than one power in you, which is to be expected, but..."
Aiko appeared right then. "Her powers may help conforming her story. I can sense the energies of Moon, Saturn and Earth Senshi in her."
Kyouko nodded. "I'm Younger Saturn, and the first triple Senshi ever born."
Terry stared at her. "And I can see you've trained a lot."
"Since I was eight," Kyouko said, not surprised he could tell. "Anyways, be careful. Those mages are almost as strong as you. We'll help you beat them."
Usagi smiled. Weird as it all was, she was still happy she got to meet Kyouko way ahead of schedule. "I wonder if a grand-granddaughter will show up next?"
Kyouko blushed at that. "I wouldn't know."
"Have someone you like?"
She nodded at Mako's question. "And I'm going to be her wife."
'Her,' Usagi noticed, but decided to say nothing about it.
Gin was a bit surprised. True, it wasn't the first time this happened, but whoever it was this time around, was much stronger than the one the Senshi fought so many decades ago. She seemed to be the only one aware of what was going on, and she could make Usagi realize what was going on easily, but she was curious. Whose dream was this?
No, it was obvious. The reason they were all sharing this 'reality' was that they were all dreaming it together. This new foe was a crafty one, indeed.
As fun as watching them interact here was, she knew the reason they were put to sleep. She had to get Usagi to- Well, either one of the three Serenities would do.
Younger Saturn had been waiting for hours, but it was finally time to fight. There, that was one of them. Going after Usagi, so predictable. Kill the leader first to demoralize them all. Too bad their plan had many flaws.
She appeared in front of her foe, glaring at him. "Hello there. Your secret agenda wasn't so secret after all."
The man glared back at her. "Damn, one of the Tokyo brats?"
'Brat'? Oh she was going to make him eat those words. "Leave now and return to our era, and your punishment won't be so bad."
"Shut up!" The man shot a large ice spike at his foe, but gasped as the girl simply used a staff - which she had summoned out of thin air - to block it. "How the hell-"
"Brats, you called us? We are Senshi. We've all trained for years to fight scum like you. And I'm the daughter of two of the strongest Senshi alive, so you better run home if you don't want a beating!"
Usagi was just watching them. True, normally she would try to help, but this girl... The man could, apparently, sense magic, as he was stepping back as Kyouko's power rose. Usagi was a bit proud to know this girl was her grand-daughter.
The man kept backing away in fear, but suddenly felt his back press against something, or rather, someone. A someone who had a lot of magic as well. He turned to the silver-haired woman and gasped. Those eyes... "What are you?"
Gin shrugged as a beam of raw magic cut the man in half, before expanding and atomizing him in a split second. "I don't need to talk to an imaginary being."
Kyouko gasped. "Gin? What are you doing-" No, several things were wrong here. Gin wouldn't risk revealing herself to her grandmother before she was meant to... And also, Gin simply couldn't fight in reality. "Ah, damn it. This is just a dream, isn't it?"
Usagi blinked at that. Yes, this wasn't real, she remembered it now. She was the queen of Crystal Tokyo, not a teenage girl. She knew what was going on, but... She had killed Vadianne. Was someone else using powers like hers?
Gin sighed. "It was fun to watch you guys as teenagers again for a while... And to be able to fight. But this dream is just meant to keep you from fighting the real foe. Wake up."
Minutes later, and back in the real world, the Senshi were having a meeting. "So we were all there."
Setsuna nodded. "This enemy caught us too. We were guarding the time gate in your dream, unaware of being in the wrong era until Gin showed up."
Aiko was in a bad mood. "Whatever their magic is, I still don't know if anything other than the Ginzuishou can wake someone up."
Younger Pluto nodded. "Our area was immune last time, but now..."
"I just hate that me being me means I had to look at Yukiko sleeping for three days without being able to do a thing about it..."
Serenity smiled sadly. "We'll get everyone back."
Aiko nodded and looked up. "Just like that time, there's a castle in orbit, and a powerful foe in it. But I also sense several creatures coming our way. They know we woke up."
"Creatures?"
"Remember that fake Sailor Moon you fought back then? It's the same, but upgraded to your current level."
Serenity was about to say something, but stopped. She was no longer the same she used to be back then. In the past, she would have told everyone to defend the civilians, and gone to fight the real foe alone, but she wasn't so naive anymore. "Usagi, Kyouko, come with me. The rest of you, take care of those fakes."
Tsuki frowned. She wanted to be by Kyouko's side, but she couldn't possibly say that out loud.
Serenity looked at her. "Tsuki, I know how you feel. You are powerful, but-"
"Sorry, I just want to help her..."
Kyouko hugged her. "We need as many of us down here as we can have. These may be fakes, but if they have Serenity's power-"
"Stop," Tsuki said. "I get it. You need me down here. I'll follow my orders."
Serenity looked at her. "Only once I did order someone, Tsuki. You are powerful, but this enemy may be stronger than me. If you understand that, and still want to come along, I won't forbid it."
Tsuki sighed and gave Kyouko a hug before smiling at Serenity. "It's fine. I will stay and fight those creatures. And it's not like she needs me to protect her."
"Wanting to protect those you love isn't wrong," Usagi said. "Don't worry, we'll keep her from being reckless."
Hotaru smiled. "In a way, it's good Mai is still asleep with the rest of the planet. Imagine the mess it could be to tell her she has to sit out of this one."
As they appeared inside the floating castle, Serenity could see a scene that she could also remember. The woman standing there, glaring at her seemed younger than Vadianne. Some would find it weird that Serenity could remember the woman's name, but it was actually hard for her to forget names, she remembered every enemy that had ever bothered telling her its name. "You're not Vadianne. Good, I thought it was yet another one we had not killed properly."
The woman's glare turned furious. "Killed... You killed her?"
"She tried to use our planet to feed, just like you, but was too overconfident." Serenity realized that might not run in the family - there was no mirror, no dark sphere to destroy. And as usual, her skill at 'reading' people was telling her a lot. This woman wasn't going to be redeemed. She was a parasite, just like her sister had once been, only living for the sake of living. "Let's skip the talking," she said and shot a beam at her foe.
Moon almost flinched. Serenity had not grown weaker from lack of fighting. If the fakes had that much power, she hoped her friends would be okay fighting them. Still, the blast hit harmlessly, and the woman let out a dry, humorless chuckle.
But someone else laughed. Younger Saturn looked at Serenity, who was laughing loudly. "Grandma?"
Serenity nodded at her. "I'm fine. More than fine. I had forgotten how this feels, facing an enemy that is, in some ways, stronger than me. One I can't just kill in one shot."
"Of course you can't!" the woman snarled. "I am Shalim, the immortal dream queen!"
"Give yourself whatever title you wish, monster. Your sister did the same, and she's been a fading memory to us for decades."
Mars looked at the fake Serenity and frowned. "Well, they got her looks and her power mostly right, but that cold, lifeless stare? That's all wrong."
"Return to the dream."
Dragon Mars glared at the creature. "We won't. Just leave and we won't have to destroy you."
"You are weak. My defeat is highly unlikely. But if you won't dream, then you must die."
Mars shot a fire blast at the woman, putting more energy than she would normally. It made her flinch and stagger back, but Mars knew this would not be an easy battle. And still, she was more worried about her daughter and the other Younger Senshi.
No, they would be fine. This Serenity was just a copy, a flawed one. It could not defeat the real Senshi.
"If you were really Serenity, I would agree. I haven't beaten her in a fight as she is now, but you... You're missing a very important thing."
"Senshi crystals cannot be copied."
"No, not that. You don't have her soul. You're a construct that just emulates her power, but my friend would never help someone like your boss."
"Lady Shalim will defeat her. I am just making it easier for her to do it."
Mars looked at her husband. "I think we may have to use that move against her."
Dragon Mars knew exactly what she meant. "Yes. We need to finish this quick so we can help anyone who needs our help."
"I'm sure none of our friends will need help, but just in case..."
The fake Serenity took a step back as Mars' body was surrounded by flames. "That suicidal move?"
Mars smiled as her eyes opened. "I've gotten much better at controlling how much power I use."
The woman saw the Dragon's sword light up with white flames. "What is-"
"Besides, I'm just going to boost the real attack."
The fake had barely any time to make sense of what Mars had said before a wave of white flame shot from the Dragon's sword, washing over Mars' body, and becoming even brighter as it kept going, tearing right through her.
Mars smiled coldly as the attack ended. There was nothing left of their foe. "Play with fire..."
Dragon Mars fell to one knee. "Tiring..."
Mars nodded. "Very." She then looked southwards as the sky lit up with flames. "Hisa is..."
The Dragon flinched. "Damn, we have to go help them."
Mars shook her head. "They're not kids anymore. I hate to think of what could cause that, but Hisako has more control than I do of that skill, and I'm proud of her for that. Besides, can you sense her power?"
Dragon Mars smiled. "Yes. Still one step ahead of the others..."
The woman looked at her foes and smiled coldly. "Your parents must be foolish, sending their kids to fight me."
Younger Lilith glared at her and staggered up. This was pathetic. The first two minutes of the "fight" had been a real wake-up call for her, and probably the others. Despite not being the exact same power-wise as Serenity, this 'copy' was far too powerful for any of them, or even all of them combined. "Damn it... And I was hoping to help Kyouko? I would just be in the way."
"Yes, give up, you are not strong enough to-"
"Oh shut the fuck up!" Younger Venus snapped, causing the evil woman to stop and stare at her, before looking at her friend. "Are you really giving up, Tsuki? Are you telling me all the training we went through was pointless? Well, sorry but that's-"
Lilith frowned as parts of her suit turned black. "Giving up? I was just thinking I'm glad I chose to fight one of these. She's not that strong."
Dragon Saturn's suit also changed, becoming half blue, half purple. "Let's show her our real power."
The four Youngers tried again, this time the fight seemed more even, but they were using up more energy to keep up with their foe. As a result, it wasn't long before they slowed down, and their foe knocked them all away.
"Return to the dream."
Venus staggered up. "We heard you the first time, bitch."
Mars saw Venus dash past their foe. She knew what this was, because she had been on the receiving end of it. Several Demon Hunter buff spells, mostly speed ones, stacked up. It made it almost impossible to keep up with her speed. While Hikaru couldn't be as fast as her mother due to Minako's skill, she could at least be second best.
Younger Venus smiled. She turned to the woman and saw her clutching her chest, a deep gash running through it. "Not invincible after all." She then gasped as she felt something punch through her stomach. A sword. Oh, right, Serenity did have one.
"Hikaru!"
Lilith saw Venus fall, then heard Mars' scream. This was something they knew could happen, but... "Damn it. Taka, bring her back."
Dragon Saturn nodded. He was already going to. Still... "Hisako, don't lose your cool."
Mars looked at him as her body was wrapped in flames. "I know." She looked at Venus' body and sighed. "Sorry, love, but I'll have to be one step ahead for this..."
The fake Serenity knew what she meant, and smiled coldly at her. "One single Holy Senshi will make no difference."
"I don't usually agree with Hikaru's colorful language, but in this case, she was right. Shut the fuck up. Mars Holy Power!"
Lilith had learnt to sense magic, just like the others, and was impressed at Hisako's power. "That fake is screwed."
Mars stared at their foe for a second, then smiled as the flames around her grew brighter. "You may have aunt Usagi's looks, but your shock tells me you don't know all she knows. See, first time I saw mom use this skill? It was the worst day of my entire life. Second time? I felt her dying. And yet, I still liked how it looked. There's drawbacks to it, and mom was not happy when I told her I wanted to learn to control it, but it was my choice to try to master this. I don't have mom's almost unbreakable shield, but I turned this skill into my way to compensate for it."
"You still are too weak-"
"I may not have Serenity's skill at reading people, but I don't need it to see you're terrified of me right now."
"You idiot, Lady Shalim will-"
Mars' smile turned into a glare as the fire around her all gathered in her hand, taking the shape of a spear. "Die."
A normal spear would have been no trouble for Serenity to dodge, even when thrown from that distance. But this was no normal spear. As Mars threw it, it shot through the air at a speed which would make Elder Venus have a hard time dodging. It punched right through the fake, then the fire burst out, becoming a column that consumed the woman before she could even blink.
Venus was already back with the living, and she rushed to catch Mars as she fell forwards. "Hisa..."
Mars smiled weakly as she leaned on her for support. "Powering up and using that skill at the same time may not have been the best idea."
"You look hot. Pun very intended."
Mars smiled and kissed her. "We should go help-"
Aiko appeared near them. "No need for that. The Nightmares are all dead."
"What about the boss?"
"Serenity said to leave it to them and rest."
"Rest?" Dragon Saturn muttered. "I'm not going back to sleep until that thing is dead."
Aiko smiled at that. "I guess... I am lucky I don't need to sleep."
Lilith blinked at that. "I never thought about this, but can you sleep?"
Aiko nodded. "I can emulate that. Turn myself off, so to speak, and program an hour to turn back on. I don't dream, though. Maybe that's why these bastards didn't target me."
Dragon Saturn sighed. "Emulate, turn off... I hate when you use computer terms to describe yourself "
"I don't think of myself as one, haven't for decades."
"I know, but it reminds me that I thought like that about you for a while, after mom told me of your origins."
"... Oh. You never-"
"I am not proud of that, sis. And you may have a freakish speed when it comes to math, or other things programs do better than humans, but that doesn't make me see you as a 'thing.'"
Aiko smiled at him, then blinked. "Oh. Serenity says the boss is dead."
Venus saw Aiko's surprised face. "Did Serenity beat it?"
"Yes and no."
"Too tired for riddles, sis."
"Well, Go back to the palace, they'll tell you."
"Not coming along?"
"Yuki must be awake now, I need to see her. I can hear the whole story later."
A/N: Fun thing: This whole episode's dream sequence was an arc I originally had thought about for the second book, but decided to not include there. Looking at it now, I'm glad I didn't make it a part of the plot back then. It works as an 'evil-induced dream' but would have been a mess to write around if real.
Also, I know this one took a while to get done. I was having a hard time writing this. I need to plan ahead a lot for the next few arcs, and I usually don't have the free time needed for that nowadays.
