Sailor Moon Aeons.
Book 3: Crystal City.
Act 3: Wars of Future Past.
Episode 22: Heroes and villains.
By Razor Knight
Last update: September 10, 2020
Usagi looked out her window. Three years had passed since the Senshi Hunters left. Three years of relative peace, though her family had gotten a bit bigger.
Kyouko's second daughter, Mizuki, had been a surprise to everyone. She wasn't a triple, or dual Senshi. She only had lunar powers. She was a Serenity, but the first in three generations who didn't have more than one magic affinity.
Usagi had realized something, she did need something to keep her busy. The colonization of the rest of the Solar System could be that for a while. She still had three major planets to 'revive,' four if the Nemesians allowed it.
In her youth, she had not read much on Nemesis, as the planet was mostly an unknown to terran scientists. The planet had a human-friendly atmosphere of its own, even without an active Seed. But Nemesians had lived underground for centuries, as they had to develop the magic needed to survive on the planet's surface, as the planet's temperature had cooled down drastically after the fall of Silver Millennium and the deactivation of its Seed.
Her thoughts returned to the present as she felt something. A ripple? She frowned. If it was strong enough for her to feel, her mother had felt it too. She decided to go visit the Queen.
Serenity had felt it. A ripple in the timelines. "Pluto, we need to talk."
Usagi appeared at the same time as Pluto - Younger Pluto. "Mother-" she looked at the green-haired Senshi and nodded. "Guess you did feel it."
Pluto looked at Serenity. "That ripple you both felt was caused by a new enemy. A woman tried to kill Luna before she awakened you."
"They are trying to change the past?"
"Another woman was going after Moon in her very first battle."
"Are these new foes strong?"
"We saw their attack before it happened, and stopped them, however... They are strong enough to keep up with mother and me. I'm not sure they left because they were running out of mana, or because they saw no point in staying."
"Be careful what you wish for, huh?" Usagi mused.
Serenity frowned. "We have to stop them."
"Right. My grouo has been waiting for a chance like this, to fight enemies that can keep up with the 'Elders.'"
Serenity nodded. "We will all fight them. I may be used to sitting around, but I am a warrior, and my last challenging foe was... I had to cheat to win. I hated that, still do."
"What if these new foes are as crafty as Aurite's gang?"
Serenity looked at Younger Pluto. "I hate cheating, but I will do what I must to stop them. I worked too hard back then to let it all go to waste."
"... And that is what we know about this group."
"What is it with evil goons and the past?" Hikaru muttered.
"Well, I did change the past a few years ago," Usagi said, "and mom basically told the universe she wanted to switch realities."
"... Fair enough. So, should we just let them-"
"No." Serenity said, "we still don't know if changes happening that far back could affect us. And really, I'm not about to let some time-jumping assholes kill the me back then."
"However," Usagi added, "let's try to understand why they're doing it. If they are just some Death Phantom groupies, I won't mind them being gone, but... I'm tired of killing."
"You killed Rex."
"He could not be redeemed," Serenity said, "he had not an ounce of doubt in his mind. He was, to quote a wise woman, the worst kind of evil, one that believes itself good."
Usagi smirked. "Anyways, do not underestimate this new foe. They can keep up with a Holy Senshi who's been around longer than our current civilization."
They had split in groups, each guarding a specific era, using their newest tools. Thanks to the Dark Moon Wars, the Senshi had gained new allies, and Opal had been more than eager to give them the devices her clan had used to go back in time. She had also erased all records of them existing. The only other loose end had been taken care of by Wiseman, who had ordered the execution of the scientists responsible for the creation of those artifacts.
Hisako was, admittedly, bored. "Should have brought my computer."
Rei sighed. "I admit this isn't as exciting as the old days, but I'm actually glad we can predict what our enemies may do."
The era they were in was nostalgic. She was pretty sure she had not joined Usagi and Ami back then. But they were elsewhere, in the States. She saw Terry walk out of a metro station, looking quite grim.
"Shit, a part of me hates not being able to change things. But if Hana hadn't died, he would not have moved to Tokyo... It would change history drastically."
Hisako took out a small device and nodded. "Apparently our foe agrees."
Mars reached out with her senses. "There, I see one of them. Follow my lead"
The two appeared near their target, who was observing Terry, probably waiting for the right time to attack. "You shouldn't be here."
The girl turned to look at them. True, she was young, but two things were obvious to them. One, this girl had enough power to fight them, and two, she looked like Rei, but with short, red hair, and the black suit she wore was obviously mocking a Senshi outfit. "Oh, I guess I'm lucky, I get to fight the Fire Bitch herself."
"Been called worse," Rei admitted. "Why are you targeting this era?"
"To change the future. Our future. You are the reason my brother died. I hate you all."
"Your brother died because of... How?"
The girl looked at Hisako. "You assholes. You knew. You knew those Nemesian bastards were going to attack. You let them strike first. My parents have bern dead long enough that I don't remember their faces, but my brother... He saved me. He told me to run as the beams hit and the building started shaking. I..."
Rei sighed. Could she blame that girl for hating them? She was right. They knew. However... "If you change the past-"
"SHUT UP. I know what you'll say. I will- this version of me will vanish. I don't care. If I can make sure another version of me still has her brother with her... That will be enough."
Well, not talking her out of it. "Hisa, leave this one to me. There could be others."
"Others? I don't need the others to kill you. I am Nergal,of the Oppositio Senshi, and I will destroy you."
Hisako chuckled. "Okay, if you want to get a beating, be our guest."
Nergal barely dodged the flame blast that shot from the ground. "Cute. Hell's Flame Bird!"
Rei saw the flame construct coming her way and nodded. "Impressive." She shot her own fire bird at it, causing both to explode loudly. "By the way, your target is gone."
Nergal realized Terry was nowhere to be seen. "Damn it. Well, I guess I'll kill you later!"
Hisako looked around as Nergal vanished. Nope, really gone. "Okay then. Our enemies are groupies."
Rei sighed. "Not in the mood."
"Mom?"
"If the rest of the group is like her, then... We are the villains this time around."
"But you needed to-"
"I know. The younger Usagi already explained me why. Her 'other' self would have not surived the fusion at a younger age... And keeping her experiences as close to hers as possible also made the fusion have less risks of backfiring."
"...Well fuck. She never told me that. If I had known-"
"Which is why she didn't tell anyone elsd beforehand. Not even Serenity."
"Not even the queen-"
"Serenity gave her quite an earful for that. Anyhow... Let's keep our guards up. This Nergal girl could be back, or one of her friends.
Minako had been watching over an era she was very keen on keeping intact. She had just watched herself barely beat Kunzite, and walk away, leaning on Brad.
"You really sucked at fighting back then."
She looked at her daughter. "Sure did. I didn't have people to train with, either, not back then."
Hikaru looked to the side. "Incoming."
A blonde girl leapt off a nearby building's roof. "Ishtar found more Venus morons than she expected."
Minako looked at her. This one looked like a bad cosplay of her, down to the black not-quite-Senshi suit. "Huh, a fangirl."
"Ishtar is no fangirl, Ishtar is a better Senshi than you. We Oppositio Senhi will change the world!"
"Why the fuck is she speaking in third person? I thought only silly anime characters did that."
"Ishtar isn't silly. Hell's Rain!"
Venus had to admit she was impressed. The girl had summoned a rain of light blasts from above, and Minako had to use her speed to dodge. Hikaru, however, had used a light shield, but a few blast broke through. "Are you okay?"
Hikaru staggered up. "It only hurt a bit." She looked at the girl. "Ishtar, is it? Why are you attacking the past?"
"Ishtar used to think you guys were great. But you weren't there to save Ishtar's mom. You knew they would attack. You could have stopped it all from happening. Ishtar hates you all."
"We couldn't-"
"Shut up, light bitch. Ishtar saw her mom burn to death. Ishtar was too young and weak to help her. But you could have saved her, you assholes."
"Look, you won't-"
"Ishtar isn't as smart as the others, but she knows. Isthar will vanish. That sounds better than not having a mom."
Hikaru cringed at that. "Damn it. You won't get your way. We'll stop you."
The girl looked around. "Aww. You dumb old women made me miss my chance. Oh well. Kill you later!"
As the girl vanished, Venus smiled. "She dropped the third person at the end. Her cutesy talk is just a mask."
"Still... Mom, are we the bad guys this time?"
Minako sighed. "From their point of view, we are. But I doubt she's been shown the whole picture."
"Playing the villain in real life isn't as fun as in games."
Mako looked at the girl, Marduk. Her lighting attack had been powerful, but despite her looks, she was not a perfect copy of her. "So, you can't take a punch."
Marduk glared at her. "Screw you. I'll just have to dodge the next one."
Mai smiled. "Look kid, we're sorry for your loss, but-"
"But what? Nothing will bring my uncle back. He was the only one I had left, and you assholes let him die."
"Just leave, we won't let you kill anyone."
"Like hell you won't!"
Mai was surprised. Marduk had closed the gap between her and Mako in a split second, and punched her hard enough to cause her to cough blood. "Shit."
Mako saw Marduk was looking at her own hand. "Like hitting a wall, huh? But hey, you still have one hand, I'll be nice and let you try."
Marduk winced in pain. Not enough, her powerd were not enough. "Screw this, I'll rip you to pieces later."
Mako turned to Mai as their foe left, and coughed again. "Credit where it's due, she can punch stupidly hard."
Mai looked at her. "You okay?"
Mako nodded. "Fortunately I learnt some healing magic too. "
"Still... I'm a bit of an outsider, so I hope you're not angry if I can see that girl's point."
Mako smiled. "I see it too. But she's probably lacking a lot of details."
Mai looked north, her Senshi power letting her see things from very far. "Moon really wrecked those guys."
Mako smiled. The enemy was attacking in many eras, apparently, but she remembered this particular day. The day Moon first became the Moon Princess. Back then she didn't know, but looking at that fight now, wirh her current set of skills, she could see it. "Princess Serenity was holding back."
"Huh? Why would she?"
"Usagi's body would not be able to handle her true power, not back then. But I now see the seven Rainbow Youma were really screwed from the start. Serenity was an Eternal Senshi pretending to be at Cosmic level."
"Oh. Wow. She could have gone and killed Beryl if she had more time."
"Yeah. It was never easy for us back then. Kind of miss that."
"How? How could you beat me, the great Nabu, so easily?"
Ami looked at the girl. "You may look a lot like me, and have a lot of power, but Takamaru is a lot like his father. Facing an opponent stronger than him is his favorite kind of fight."
Takamaru shrugged. "You could defeat me in a straight power contest, but in a battle? Strategy and combat skills can make up for raw power. And you showed neither of those."
"Hmph, so high and mighty. You scum let my parents die. You're just a bunch of bullies and assholes."
"If that's how you see us, then you need to research more."
Nabu stood up and looked around. "Damn it, she's gone. No point in staying now."
Ami looked at Takamaru. "Not bad at all."
"You could have knocked her around easier than I did."
"And you would be complaining about me not letting you fight for a while."
Takamaru scowled at that, but then nodded. "Guilty as charged."
"I need to talk to the others, see if the rest of Nabu's group has similar grudges on us. Maybe we can talk them out of fighting if we show them our reasons to-"
"Or maybe they're too sure of their info to be changed. Would be a pity to kill them, though. That Nabu kid has lots of potential."
Serenity smiled. It had been a while since she saw Luna in human form. She didn't get ti change for the Senshi Hunters' fight, and before then... Holy crap it had been centuries. Boring city, indeed.
"Done staring?"
Serenity sighed. "Sorry, I was thinking about how long it's been since last time I saw you in that form."
"Oh. Haven't used it outside training for a long time."
Serenity was right now understanding how weird things looked for her daughter, in the last decade or so. She was keeping an eye on one Usagi Tsukino, age six. Pluto had said it was possible the enemy did not mind going that far back. "Weird. Looking at young me, I looked a lot like... Uh, my daughter really looked a lot like me."
"Sometimes it's hard to see unless you're looking from the outside."
Serenity frowned. "Oh I hate to be right, sometimes."
Luna saw it too "let's get her."
A blonde woman had appeared behind young Usagi, and rose her hand to shoot. However, someone caught her arm and moved it up, making her miss the shot. "Who the hell-?"
"Oh wow. You look a lot like her."
Serenity noticed Luna was right. This woman looked a lot like her, even her hairdo, which was the same except without the hair buns. However, she also saw her younger self turn to look at them. "Damn."
"Who are you?"
Serenity frowned. Luna, get that one out of here. I'll... Fix this."
"Right," Luna said, vanishing along with the attacker.
Serenity looked at... Herself. "I still don't remember ever meeting someone who looks like me, which means I know what I have to do. Sorry, little me, but you can't know about me yet."
The young Usagi blinked and looked around. She had heard a noise and turned around, but there was nothing there. She turned back and resumed her walk.
Serenity appeared near Luna, and saw she had kept herself busy. "Sin, you said your name was? Give up, girl. You can't win this war."
The woman saw Serenity was there, and growled. "Great, at least you can't undo-"
"I don't remember seeing my adult self as a child, because I don't remember it."
"What the- You erased your own memory?"
Luna snorted at that. "Really, the one who was about to kill a child is shocked about that?"
"Damn it, I wanted to be done with this quickly. Yes I know, only a monster would kill a child. Well, I am willing to become something I hate, if it brings my parents back."
"You-"
"Mom always told us how fortunate we were, me and my brother, for being born in that perfect city. I looked up to you, Serenity. I really did. I wanted to be a Senshi when I grew up. But no, not anymore. Not since your negligence killed my parents. I hate you. I don't care if it's the you who is six, sixteen or six hundred years old, I want you to die and will gladly make it happen."
"If you do that, you will be gone too."
"Fuck if I care. I want to change this reality. It doesn't matter if I don't get to live in the new one."
Luna sighed. "You want your parents back? Usagi can do that. She's revived a lot of people before."
"But only shorty after-"
Serenity sook her head. "Sailor Mars... Rei lost her husband in one of our wars, and back then I was far from the power I have now. But I knew Rei missed him so, after Crystal Tokyo was created, one decade later, I brought him back. I cannot undo whatever you've gone through after the war, but I can bring your parents back, and whoever else others from your group want to avenge."
"You could really..."
'Sin, do not believe her lies. She could only revive that man because he was a Senshi.'
Serenity looked around. "That energy..."
"You liar! Next time I see you, I'll kill you!"
Luna saw the girl vanish, then noticed Serenity's mood. "Usagi, don't let her words-"
"I should have done that when the world ended. Revive all who were killed."
"But wouldn't that change-"
"I know, it's always about time. I hate that war as much as she does, but... Damn it, I need to see if she's the only one like that."
"Usagi, you're not the villain."
"Am I not? My own daughter changed the past, and yet I still remember the Hunters being around. Maybe I could have killed Wiseman and-"
Luna let out a snarl, causing Serenity to stop. "Damn it, the fact it troubles you should show you I'm right, Usagi. Maybe you could have killed Wiseman without consequences, but we will never know now. That Sin kid, something tells me she's missing a lot of details."
"... Right. You think my other idea is wrong? Reviving all those who died-"
"I don't think anyone would be against that. But let's stop these enemies first."
"Yes, of course. If they see me as the villain, I'll just be the bad guy who beats the heroes in the end."
A/N: Sailor Moon: Another Story was, to me, the best Sailor Moon game ever made. Not that it had a tough time being that, since officially licensed games were either crappy Final Fight clones or crappy puzzle games.
But the thing is: Most other games were based in the old anime, and yet SM:AS was the one I liked most, despite being based on the manga.
