Sailor Moon Aeons.
Book 3: Crystal City.
Act 3: Wars of Future Past.
Episode 23: The Land Before Senshi.
By Razor Knight
Last update: February 26, 2023
It didn't take long for the Senshi to realize these enemies weren't ones to give up easily, but much despite their attitude, they were relatively easy to deal with. Younger Saturn and Younger Lilith were currently facing the one known as "Sin," and the difference in power had been obvious from the start, which is why Lillith had decided to just watch and wait for her wife to actually need help.
Sin leapt aside as a multi-colored ball of energy flew by. "I gotta admit that attack is impressive. I bet it would hurt a lot if it hit me."
Younger Saturn looked at her. She looked a lot like her grandmother, and had a lot of magic power, but she was just an overpowered rookie as far as combat went, her only skill seemed to be dodging. "Sin, was it? You won't beat us, so just leave."
"Why are you stopping me? Aurite caused your group a lot of trouble. Getting rid of her-"
"Would change the past, which could erase our reality, and us along with it. My grandmother took a huge risk back then, one I would not take myself. Moreso, Aurite herself is the one that forced her to take that risk. She might have been their most dangerous enemy."
Sin laughed humorlessly at that. "Your dear grandmother got rid of a reality where your group didn't win. She's a hypocrite, and so are you all for clinging to this failure of a reality."
Lilith shook her head at that. "Can I shut her up? She's asking for a beating."
Sin looked at Younger Lilith. "You, beat me? Your wife's the real deal, you are just-"
Younger Saturn smiled as her wife dashed forwards at a speed which would be impossible to follow, if not for her Senshi senses, then punched Sin hard enough to make her double over in pain. "She's more than enough to beat a rookie, kid."
"Damn... You." Sin wheezed. "I"ll kill you later, hags."
Kyouko saw Sin vanish. "Let's go back, I don't think she will give up anytime soon."
"So we've faced the same five women several times now. We can assume these are the 'Generals' of our enemies, but there is at least this 'Apsu' they mentioned, as well, who may be stronger than them."
Tsuki frowned. "They really don't care how they change history, they'll attack anyone they can."
"Yeah... " Kyouko sighed. "One of them was stalking Aurite."
Serenity cringed at that. "I am wise enough to know even having one enemy disappear would change a lot. Aurite was... She was evil, but her actions helped me become what I am now. I'm not ashamed to admit that."
"And Homura and Koichi stopped 'Marduk' from killing Kaorinite," Rei said. "I was a bit nervous about letting them handle that battle alone, but- they're as good as Hisa said they were."
"These 'Oppositio' freaks even tried to go for Hakko, before he trained us," Terry said, "it's good that we can see them coming."
Usagi looked at him. "But we shouldn't assume that will be a constant. Pluto's power can be blocked."
Younger Pluto was there as well. "This 'Apsu' person may be doing just that, in a way. We cannot see where these 'Oppositio Senshi' are coming from."
Ami had been looking at her glove for a minute. "I think I got it. I know how to find them."
"Ami?"
She turned to Serenity "Search for an area you can't 'see.' If my guess is right, it may be in the 'limbo' where the Time Gate is."
Serenity closed her eyes for a few seconds. "I don't- No, wait, I can see, or rather I can't see a part of that place, the 'dimension' where the Time Gate exists."
Younger Pluto cursed under her breath. "They were hiding in there? I should have considered that. It makes jumping across time easier, and I'll admit neither me or my mother have explored it to its fullest, and I don't think we ever will. A place like that, outside the conventional borders of 'space' and 'time' and which connects different eras may be a lot bigger than one could imagine. If the universe truly is infinite, then that area may be just as large."
Endymion nodded. "We need to investigate it. All of us. We can't be sure how many enemies we'll be facing, or how strong they are."
Usagi smiled at that. "Facing a partially unknown force, going in blind... I can't help but feel a bit happy about it, despite the risks."
"I agree," Mako said, "I want a rematch against that Marduk girl. She's got impressive strength."
"Should I be jealous?" Kage said.
"Don't worry, I'm just happy I found a rival."
Kyouko shrugged. "To be perfectly honest, they're a bunch of overpowered newbies when it comes to combat, but that doesn't mean they can't be dangerous. And whoever their boss or bosses are, I'm sure they'll have a trick or two they're not showing us yet."
Minako smiled at that. "That used to be a constant for us 'Elders.' Every 'big bad' we faced had something we weren't really expecting them to pull."
Brad chuckled. "Yeah. Metallia, for starters. 'Oh sorry, you came here to fight Beryl? That's nice. Here, let me take over her body and make it grow big enough that I could stomp you dead in a second."
Serenity shook her head at that. "Hopefully this enemy will also have the whole 'too busy gloating about killing us to actually go for the kill immediately' quirk almost every 'big bad' had."
Ami let out a long sigh. "I would love to deny that's true for nearly every enemy we face, but I can't. Let's hope they never figure out that one tactical flaw they all share."
"You lied to us, Apsu. You said our powers would be enough to defeat those Senshi, but even the youngest ones of their group were too much for us."
Apsu looked at the blond girl glaring at her. Some of the leaders branded as 'evil' by the Senshi in the past would have killed any underling that dared speak to them with that tone, and much despite herself, Apsu would have to agree on the 'branding' of such a leader. However, she didn't see these children as 'underlings' or 'soldiers.' For one as old as herself, finding people she could see as family was a thing that she had once thought impossible, and maybe even worthless, but... Not anymore. Her initial goal had been to destroy this reality, the reality where the Ginzuishou still existed, the reality that was, slowly, killing her. But now she had a different goal, albeit the end result was the same. Giving these children a life where they did not have to suffer, one where the cause of their grief was gone. A reality without Senshi.
In any case, Sin was partially right, but not entirely. "I did not 'lie.' I suppose that... They haven't faced a real threat in centuries. The 'Dark Moon Wars' were but a show of theatrics, they could have destroyed all those ships, but chose not to. It speaks well of them, but they still caused our side of that 'war' a lot of grief."
"I'm not sure what you're trying to say," Marduk muttered.
"I'm saying that they haven't been 'seriously' fighting for centuries. I can see a lot of it, but I cannot see that which they actively shield from. I've showed you their training, but tell me, do you go for the kill when fighting each other?"
"Hell no," Ishtar said, "Ishtar doesn't want to kill her friends."
Apsu sighed. That quirk of Ishtar really got in her nerves... Which was probably why Ishtar still did it. "Well, as much as I would like to tell you the Senshi are heartless monsters, they're not. They care for each other, they wouldn't purposefully injure each other. I didn't lie, I just hadn't considered the fact that they've been holding back for a thousand years."
Marduk looked down. "And I hate to admit it, but they've got us outclassed, too. I've seen their training, and I've tried to emulate it, but I felt like a rookie when I fought Elder Jupiter. Heck, even those twins thoroughly kicked my ass."
Nabu nodded. "The 'Younger' are no pushover, mostly because their name is misleading. They've been alive for centuries now."
Apsu look away from them, then smiled. "There might be a way to defeat them. They are looking for us, and they figured out where we are."
"Should we find a new hideout?" Ishtar asked.
"No, we let them come to us. I will not boast about their impending doom, because I've seen plenty of their old enemies do so and get beaten. But my power may be enough to-" Apsu stopped and started coughing.
"Apsu, are you okay?"
Apsu looked at Ishtar. For all her verbal quirks, that girl really cared about her, and Apsu couldn't help but return the feelings. "I am... I will be fine when that accursed jewel stops being active."
Ishtar understood what she meant, they had heard Apsu's story plenty of times before. "If it's to save the one who saved me, I'll kill all the Serenities myself."
Apsu smiled at that. "What, no quirk now?"
"I can be serious too," Ishtar said with a shrug.
"Fair enough. Let's get ready, if the Senshi prove to be too trick for my power-"
"We heard you speaking about it, but seeing it in action will surely be great."
Apsu closed her eyes for a second, and when she opened them again, they were fully purple. "The Senshi may end up being their own worst enemies, in a way. Let us see what they truly wanted, before they accepted their fate."
"Can you handle all of them?"
"No, but I don't need to. I just need to 'attack' a few of them. The ones who one would call the 'main characters,' if this was a play.
"Ishtar doesn't understand."
"You're smart despite that act you put up," Apsu noted, "so you should have seen it in what I showed you of their past. While all the Senshi have played their role, there's a small number of them who played the most important part in most of their wars. Remove those characters from the script, and the whole story becomes impossible to tell."
Nabu smiled. "The ones that call themselves 'Inner' Senshi?"
Apsu nodded. "And a few others."
"Okay, I do like purple, but this is too much purple even for me."
Serenity looked around. Elder Saturn was right, the place where they had appeared was just a seemingly endless 'room' with its walls, floor and roof be either shrouded in, or made of, a purple mist. "Be careful, everyone."
"Welcome, Senshi."
Elder Dragon Saturn looked at the woman who had just appeared. "Oh, of course. Evil boss, female and hot. Gotta keep the gag going, I guess?"
The woman smiled at him. "Thanks for the compliment, much like your group I didn't choose eternal life, but it has its perks. As some of you may have guessed, I am Apsu, the mentor of the ones that call themselves Oppositio Senshi."
Serenity looked at the woman. Tall, with white hair that was only slightly shaded pink, wearing the usual kind of 'weird' outfit most evil women seemed to favor. A long black skirt that brushed the ground as she walked, and contrasted the two stripes of black cloth that crossed over the woman's chest, barely covering her upper torso. But it wasn't her clothing that worried Serenity, but what she was feeling in this woman's soul. "You... You're no warrior, which is nothing new for many of the 'evil bosses' we've faced. But I also don't feel an evil intent in you."
"Evil? No, I'm just a woman trying to survive. But there's something that's slowly killing me, has been doing so for as long as I've lived."
Elder Saturn had been staring at her. "I can feel that. Your life force is-"
"Worry not, I won't die anytime soon, but as long as that which is killing me exists, I cannot stop my illness. It will be a painful, messy death, I've foreseen it."
"We don't need to fight, we can help-"
Apsu's laughter (and following coughing fit) interrupted Younger Saturn. "I haven't told you what's killing me. It's the Ginzuishou."
"What?"
"I'm sure most of the Elders are used to it, but let me indulge in something the 'Younger' and those in-between may not have seen yet. To know why I want you dead, I need to tell you how I was born."
"What are you, exactly?"
Apsu smiled at Elder Venus' question. "How was that line on of you once used? 'I'm just a normal human girl who can use magic.'"
"You're human?"
Apsu stared at Younger Lilith. "As human as you or any of your allies, Junko Tsukino."
Serenity was surprised by this enemy's actions. It wasn't the usual 'buying time' tactic, this woman didn't seem to want to kill them. "I suppose since you're not attacking us, we could listen. I hope this isn't just a distraction to let your group-"
Apsu smiled at that as Sin and the others appeared. There was a boy they hadn't seen before too, standing close to Sin, and his looks made it easy to guess he was Sin's sibling. "That could have been something I would have tried, but I know that the two Plutos aren't here for a reason, and that much despite how strong I think my children are, you have other friends who could probably stop them should they try anything."
Sin gave Serenity a glare, but then shook her head. "And we aren't here to fight you, not unless you try anything dumb."
Serenity nodded. "Fair enough."
Apsu looked at Serenity. "If I were to sum up the reason why I'm trying to change the past, it would be rather simple. I exist, at least this version of me, because you cheated."
"What?"
"I was born the same day you were having your final battle against Aurite's group of failures. To be more precise, I was born the first time you had that final battle."
"You're saying you weren't rewound with everything else?"
"There was no rewind, Serenity," Apsu said, "that bubble erased the reality I was born in, but it also did something to me, gave me my powers. And those powers didn't let me be erased along with everything else. I was ten when I first found out I could use magic. I was thrilled at first, I could be just like the Senshi, and I admired you all, I really did. But then I discovered the strings attached to this power. My parents died in a car accident before I turned fifteen, but with my power I could see past and future much like Pluto does, but with a difference. I saw my real past, the one you erased. The one where Crystal Tokyo didn't exist, the one where you and Aurite simply destroyed each other, and humanity lived on without Senshi. The future where my parents would have been alive for most of my own life, and I would not have been a magician, a freak of nature."
Serenity sighed. "I am sorry to hear that. If I could have chosen-"
"No, don't give me that lie, Serenity. People call you selfless, but you're really not, at least not when your friends are involved. You could have killed Aurite, allowed mankind to live on without Senshi, but you took the choice that best fit you, you chose to change history so that you could keep on being happy."
Younger Saturn growled at that. "Wouldn't you?"
Apsu looked at her, no hostility in her eyes. "Honestly, I would. If I could have saved my parents by changing history, I would. And I've realized that I can, so I will.. The Ginzuishou is killing me, so changing history will be 'killing two with one stone' as they say. Ever since my powers appeared, being near it has been weakening me. Not even moving away from Crystal Tokyo helped, I was on the other side of the world and I could still feel my condition worsening. Even hiding here doesn't help. That thing still finds me. As long as it exists, as long as it's following your will, I will die."
"Following my will?" Serenity asked. "Wait, no you can't be saying-"
'I fear she's right. You wished for that reality to disappear. She's part of that reality. Much despite myself, I cannot disobey you.'
Apsu smiled. "She's confirming it to you, isn't she?"
"Who?"
Sin laughed at that. "Oh please. Apsu can see through time. She knows about Gin. We all do."
Gin appeared near Serenity. "Then I will warn you: Killing Serenity won't stop me. I will still grant her wish. You didn't deserve your fate, but the power you seem to hate so much is what's keeping you alive, slowing down the process. If not for that power, your death would have been swift and painless."
Apsu glared at Gin. "Being slowly, relentlessly killed isn't a thing anyone would enjoy, but to cease existing? I can't decide which one is worse."
"That I can agree with, and if I could help you, I would, but I cannot go against Serenity. I was created with that... Trait."
Nabu frowned as Gin disappeared. "We're aware that killing Serenity wouldn't change a thing, and we're aware that crystal is virtually indestructible. That's why we've been trying to stop you - this version of you - from existing, so that crystal would go silent forever."
Serenity looked at the six teenagers standing near Apsu. "I once told this to a good friend of mine. I'm not perfect, but I hate seeing life turn young people into assassins. I can-"
"You can what, bring our parents back? That wouldn't help Apsu."
"I would try to find a way to help her."
Marduk chuckled at that. "So you're offering us a 'maybe' in exchange for us to stop doing something that is guaranteed to achieve the same results."
"You would erase us all, and yourselves, just so another version of you can be happy?" Jupiter asked in shock.
Serenity heard that, and then started laughing. Her friends looked at her worriedly, and she noticed their looks as she stopped. "I'm sorry, it's just that... I just realized something, and if I were younger or had not seen all the strange things I've seen, I would have thought it a frightening thing to realize. I'm not the Serenity that cheated. She disappeared along with her reality. How did I never realize that?"
"What?"
"If I was the same - if you all were - then Gin would have done the same to us as she's been doing to Apsu."
Apsu nodded. "That's right. You didn't 'rewind time,' dear Serenity. The 'you' from back then erased one of many realities, of 'what ifs,' even if it meant erasing herself, just so a different version of her could be happy."
"Damn it, we really look like the villains this time around," Nemesis muttered.
Mercury frowned. "Not the first time an enemy tries to justify their crusade to us, and from a logical point of view, we may be the villains here. I know you're not lying because I know Serenity would have called you out on it. But still, would you not prefer a third option, one that doesn't cause the destruction of another reality? The villains we've faced didn't usually bother giving us a choice."
Apsu's smile faded. "There is no third option, Senshi. I've made my choice centuries ago, even before I met these children. I will not enjoy this, but for us all to live happily, you all must not exist. I'm not heartless, so I'll show you all what your life could have been... What your lives were like if you didn't ever get your powers."
Serenity saw all her friends vanish, along with Apsu and her group. "Apsu, wait!"
Apsu's voice came from all around her. "You never gave me a choice, Serenity. But the powers I gained thanks to the version of you that ruined my life let me at least take a look at what my life could have been. I'm just returning her favor. Enjoy your new life, for however long it lasts."
Younger Mars looked around. They had been inside that room made of purple mist a second earlier, but now they were back in Crystal Tokyo. "What the heck happened?"
Pluto appeared near them. "She kicked you out. Well, most of you."
Younger Saturn noticed there were several missing Senshi, several of the Elders. Her grandparents, her two mothers, Mars, Mercury, Venus, Jupiter and Nemesis. "What the heck, what is she planning to do-"
"I don't know. I can't see into that place, and I can't enter."
"What the heck?" Hikaru almost shouted. "You're telling me we can't go rescue our parents?"
Elder Dragon Saturn shook his head. "Calm down, Hikaru."
"How can you be so calm, your wife-"
"She and the others have something in common, something this Apsu woman must have seen. Something I realized before we even got to college."
"And what is that?"
"They don't give up. I know back then they could need some mentoring and some of them would drag their feet and complain, but when things really got bad? They were the ones pulling us out of whatever mess we were in."
Younger Saturn smiled. "Yeah, I heard a lot of stories from back then. We all did. I trust them to get out of that mess." She turned to Pluto and her smile turned into a frown. "But that doesn't mean I won't try to find a way to go help them."
"I expected as much," Pluto admitted.
Suddenly, the few that were missing appeared inside the same room. "Well, that was rotten," Serenity said with a sigh.
"Huh, you beat them already?"
Saturn shook her head, No, they escaped, they're not in that place. Whatever they're planning, we need to be ready for them."
Pluto nodded. "I'll go back, we'll keep an eye on the timelines. If they show up, I'll let you know."
Younger Saturn turned to look at her parents. "So what the hell did they do, and how did you win so fast?"
"Thanks for the confidence," Moon muttered, "but that wasn't fast from our point of view. I myself spent three days in that place."
True, Kyouko realized, that place was outside of time and space, so time had no meaning there. "So what happened?"
"Apsu used a power I wasn't expecting her to have. She showed us a reality where we never became Senshi, where we never needed to."
"So, like that dream bitch?"
"No," Endymion said, "it was worse, because it wasn't a dream. Apsu may not be 'evil' but her power is very dangerous."
Serenity sighed. She was trying to locate Apsu, but from what she could 'see' they were either out of range (and the range of her power was several magnitudes wider than the solar system itself,) or they were not in their era anymore. Heck, Apsu's powers were still an unknown outside what she had shown them and told them, so she could very well be hiding in another reality. "I suppose we have some time to tell you what happened, while we wait for Apsu to try again."
Usagi woke up with a start and looked around. That had been a weird dream. Something about magic and aliens... Maybe her own books were making her have those dreams, lately. She dressed up and sighed. Too early for lunch, too late for breakfast. "Or maybe not," she commented as she walked into the kitchen. That was just like him, making breakfast for her before leaving for work. "And to think I used to call him a jerk back then..."
She checked her mail while eating breakfast. Spam, weird letters from fans, weirder letters from fans... And a mail from her daughter. She wished ChibiUsa had chosen a college closer to her house, but she respected her choices, both in her career choice (the girl had liked painting since she was a toddler, after all,) and in love. Hotaru wasn't a bad person, and the fact she was Usagi's age didn't worry her. Maybe if they had met back in school, they would have become friends. She was friendly enough in either case.
She looked at the folder where her latest story sat, unwritten for months. It was a good thing she was quite famous, even overseas. Her publishers were patient, because she had shown them time and again that the final product was worth the wait. But the problem was, she was out of ideas for what to do next. She wasn't bored of writing the kind of stories she wrote, but maybe she needed inspiration.
"Not that finding a woman who uses magic to fight demons, aliens and other evil things would be even possible." She told the room, not expecting an answer.
'Really, Usagi, is this Apsu somehow controlling your mind, or did you just revert back to your pre-Senshi years?'
What the actual hell... "Who was that?"
'Now that hurts, Usagi. One hour in another reality and you already forgot about me?'
Usagi looked around. A voice in her head, talking about another reality, were her books really affecting her that badly?
'Damn it, I think we'll need a more direct approach,' the voice said. A woman appeared in front of her (out of thin air) smiling at her. "Hi again."
Usagi stared at the woman. White hair tied in the same way as hers was, white eyes- Those eyes... There was something about them, like this woman had seen centuries go by. "Who are you?"
The woman chuckled. "Centuries, huh? I wish I were that young, even if age never mattered to me. Anyhow, I know you're confused, I can see that, but think. Think about who you really are. Think about what you - as much as you hate that word, and I can agree - were destined to be. Remember, Serenity."
Serenity? Why did that name sound so familiar, and why was Gin- Wait, she knew this woman's name? Yes, she knew. She knew Gin. Had known her for ages. "Gin... What's going on?"
"Apsu had a very strange power. It transported you to a new reality, one where you never became a Senshi."
"Senshi... I know that word. I... I am one. Sailor... Moon?"
Gin smiled. "Good, this is taking less time than it took with your daughter."
"Daughter? Is ChibiUsa okay?" She was remembering, little by little. Those 'dreams' she 'awoke' from were not dreams. She was not just 'Usagi,' she was not in her forties (or even in her 'four hundreds,') and she was, as much as she sometimes hated to be reminded of the fact, not a normal woman. She was a Senshi. "I- Sorry, Gin. I remember now. Everything. Where are the others?"
"Your daughter is helping me get them out of their own versions of this."
"So this was it, a dream? Did Apsu get Vadianne's power somehow?"
Gin sighed. "Serenity... No, Usagi, this was no dream. That's why it was so hard for you to come back. This is an alternate reality, an alternate life where Senshi were never needed."
Usagi looked around, then frowned as her clothes morphed into her royal gown. "This is what Apsu thinks I wanted? She doesn't know shit about me."
Gin was amused by that, Serenity was not one to curse often, almost to the point it was rarer to hear her curse than to hear Elder Mercury do the same. "I know. A reality where you never met your friends, you never became a Senshi, you never had to risk your life twice a week for most of your teen years and beyond..."
Serenity gave 'her' house a final look before shaking her head. "A perfect life? No, this is just an imperfect lie. I can almost feel sorry for the Usagi that does belong to this reality."
"She is happy," Gin commented.
"She's not me, then."
"Isn't that the truth?" Gin mused. "So, you know how to get out of here."
Serenity nodded. Her access to Pluto's power made moving through realities an easy thing. One she had never needed before, but still easy enough for her.
As Serenity finished her story, Kyouko was pale. "Wow, Apsu can do that? She's stronger than we thought."
"She's dangerous. She has to be stopped."
Moon looked at Serenity. "Killed, if it gets to that."
"I'm not-"
Moon met Serenity's half-hearted glare with one of her own. "Mother, of course I agree with you, and I'll do all I can to avoid more pointless deaths. If I didn't agree with you, I would have blasted the Senshi Hunters to atoms. But sometimes, deaths can't be avoided."
"I know that, I know, I just..."
Mars frowned. "I should be hating those idiots right now, for making me live through that waking nightmare my 'perfect' version of reality was. But Apsu was an accident, caused by us. If we had been quicker, wiser back then- I don't usually care the 'what ifs' but maybe there is a reality out there where we won, where Apsu got to live her life without being turned into what she is now."
"Next time I see her, I'll turn her power off, and then find a way to-"
Gin appeared next to Serenity. "Don't. What I told her back then wasn't a lie, her powers are the only reason she's alive."
Serenity frowned at that, but then smiled. "I'll find another way, then.
Younger Pluto appeared in the room and saw everyone was obviously surprised to see her, not her mother, there. "We found Apsu and her... Family. They're back in the past."
"How far back?" Mercury asked.
"All the way back," Younger Pluto said.
"Always with the riddles..."
"Sorry, it's one of the few things I can do to amuse myself. In any case, they're going to try and kill Serenity. The original one, the first one. They will attack her before she awakens her powers."
Mercury was not known for colorful language, but at times like these, she usually didn't care for politeness. "Fuck no, they're going that far back?"
Serenity frowned. "If that Serenity dies, then it won't just be us gone. If Apsu's power really lets her avoid the backlash from doing that, I must admit I'm impressed."
Gin shook her head. "We cannot let them do that. The Senshi have kept this planet in one piece since then. If that first Serenity dies, there will be no future for mankind. Apsu is really desperate to go that far"
Serenity looked at the others "We'll stop her, at any cost."
Younger Saturn flinched at that. "Any cost?"
"If I have to kill one person to save mankind itself I will. But I hate giving orders, so anyone who's not willing to fight them, you're free to stay."
"Always trying to steal all the fun for yourself, huh?" Mars muttered. Everyone else nodded at that. "We'll find a way to stop them without killing them."
"It may be impossible."
Moon looked at Serenity and gave her a half-smile. "Haven't you heard? Nothing is impossible for us Senshi."
Apsu wasn't too upset, she could respect Serenity for being able to resist the reality she had shown her. Still, she had set another plan in motion already, one that would not have been possible for her- Heck, her whole agenda was only possible thanks to her newfound 'children,' specifically the one who never fought, Sin's younger brother, Anshar. Sin's latent power had been combat-oriented, but Anshar had a kind of magic that was rare in humans, to the point many believed to be impossible, unless they knew about the few Senshi who could use it. Anshar was capable of travelling through time, and at first she wanted to use his power for her benefit, to use these kids for her own goals. But as Serenity had noted, Apsu was not a 'villain.' She saw a lot of herself in these children, unfortunate to lose their family at such young age. She grew to like their company, despite their quirks, or maybe even because of them. She wanted them to have a perfect future, too, and she knew that thanks to her power, she could do that. Eliminate the one cause of all their sadness, the Senshi.
History could brand her a villain - well, if she failed, at least - but she would not mind that. She never wanted this life she had been given, to be the sole survivor of a reality long gone, to have the power to see all realities, but not the power to choose the best one for her. Some would say she was jealous of Serenity, for Serenity's own choice (whether this Serenity was the same one that made the choice or not did not matter to her,) had created Apsu, cursed her to her fate. Fate. She had, in the many times she had looked back, heard Serenity's past self complain about the word, and she could agree with her on that. Apsu, also, hated fate. It had given her every reason to hate it.
But if this part of her plan worked, then she would finally defeat fate itself. She would change history from its very beginning. She did not believe the Senshi were needed. Mankind could manage to survive without them. Heck, many major disasters happened because of the Senshi. Cygale was attracted to Earth by the Val'harra, who were only staying around because of one human girl who would one day be a queen, a magic user, the first of her race. 'Chaos' had existed before Senshi, but taking over the Senshi of Chaos had allowed it to nearly destroy mankind. Beryl's invasion of Earth was caused by her envy of Senshi... And the list went on. Heck, even the latest "foes" of the Senshi (who found themselves as outclassed as a snowball would be if flung into the sun,) the Senshi Hunters, were a problem created by Senshi themselves.
Reality didn't need these 'warriors of light,' as she had heard them called, these 'defenders.' Mankind could take care of itself. Mankind had come back, even from the brink of extinction, without Senshi... And that extinction had been, once and again, been caused by Senshi themselves, one way or another.
History could call Apsu a villain, but that did not matter to her. It wasn't hatred moving her, like many villains, or ambition, or jealousy. She didn't hate the Senshi, didn't envy them, and did not want what they had. They were unaware of all the harm they did, thought themselves heroes. She couldn't hate them, she could only pity them. But unlike those zealous "Hunters" she did not need to go on a rampage. She only needed to kill one human girl, from a village whose name was forgotten by time, before she was given that 'gift' that caused so many deaths.
"We're almost there," Anshar said, taking Apsu out of her brooding.
Apsu looked at him. "Are you okay? You've never been forced to use your power for this long-"
Anshar smiled at her. "Nobody 'forced' me to do this. I can't fight, but don't worry, my power does not drain my energy as much as you would think. I could go back to the universe's origin if I wanted, but I doubt that would be wise."
Apsu chuckled. "In a way, Anshar, you're more powerful than your sister."
Sin shrugged at that. "I've been aware of that for years. If Anshar was a fighter, he could thoroughly kick my ass."
"Fortunately, if things work as I expect them to, you'll never need to worry about that."
Sin looked down. "The only thing I will regret is... That I will forget about you. About you all."
Nabu frowned. "Don't start being a crybaby now. You already have many of Serenity's quirks, you don't need that one too."
Ishtar giggled. "And then you say I'm the silly one."
"You are," Everyone but Apsu said. Apsu just shook her head and continued to look back to their goal. It was close now. Very close.
The Senshi appeared in a grassy plain, and the first thing they noticed is how strange the scenery was. To one side there was a small village (with huts built from rocks and mud,) and in the distance they could see a large spaceship. Not as large as a Kh'Sun's mothership, but close enough to be a bit unsettling.
"Okay guys, let's go, we have no time to lose."
Mercury looked at her husband. "I'm too used to your 'humor' to be mad."
"And he's sort of right," Younger Saturn said. "So where's the First Serenity?"
Pluto looked around. "No idea. This era is one I could never 'look at.'"
"Why?"
"No idea," Pluto repeated, causing the others to stare at her.
A creature appeared near them. It was slightly shorter than the average human, with scaly blue kin, and large, insectoid eyes. It rose one of its four arms in a sign that was easily recognizable, waving at them. "Hello, visitors from the distant future, we've been waiting for you."
Mercury looked at the creature. "A Val'harra?"
"That I am. By a strange coincidence, my name happens to be similar to your kind. I am Zen'ji."
"You're the one who gave Serenity her powers," Younger Saturn said.
"It's good that history reminds me, albeit distorted. I gave her nothing but mentoring on how to use magic, something which every human can use. As for her particular kind of magic, my race may be old and wise, but creating those powers is far beyond our reach. Legends speak of the "Ancients" who created that power, but we share the Gatekeeper's power, so we can see that race simply never existed. These artifacts you call 'World Seeds' may have existed for as long as the universe has."
Pluto nodded slowly. "Try as I have, and being someone who's lived for thousands of years, I still was never able to see how our powers were created. I thought the reason I could not see this particular point in time was that you were hiding that information from us."
"So where is Serenity?"
Zen'ji smiled at Jupiter's words. "If you mean the person, she's inside that ship right now. If you mean the first Senshi, she doesn't yet exist."
"I don't get it," Venus said, "you say you didn't create her powers, but then who did?"
Mercury laughed as it finally hit her. "I think I know the reason why Pluto couldn't see the moment when our powers were created." It would have sounded strange, or even impossible, to normal humans, but Mercury had accepted her lack of normality many centuries earlier, so she could accept the truth, as weird as it seemed. And from the faces of most of her friends, they had also figured it out. "Pluto can't see what never existed."
"Wait a damn minute," Jupiter almost shouted, "are you saying that this Serenity girl got her powers from... Us?"
Venus nodded slowly. "We have our powers because we came back to the past chasing Apsu, and she got these powers from us then, I mean, now?"
Moon growled. "I hate time loops."
Zen'ji smiled sadly. "We've seen fragments of your lives, so we know you have reasons for that hatred. But without this particular time loop, you simply wouldn't exist." He closed his eyes and focused his thoughts. 'Serenity, they have arrived.'
Moon saw a woman appear near them. She was wearing a long, white robe, and her hair was a slightly darker shade of blonde, but the hairdo and the face were eerily familiar. "She looks just like you."
Queen Serenity blinked at that. "I've been there once, but that was young me staring at, well, me."
The First Serenity nodded politely at her. "Welcome, visitors. I've been waiting for you. If what Zen told me is true, and I have no reason to doubt that, you have powers I need to defeat Cygale."
"Brings back memories," Mars mused.
"Spoilers, we killed Cygale," Dragon Venus noted, and Venus elbowed him in the ribs not-so-softly.
The First Serenity nodded "Zen told me that, too. I'm not meant to kill Cygale, only defeat him and put him to sleep for a very long time."
"So, I assume you know about Apsu, so how do we do this?"
Zen'ji nodded. "Yes, those other visitors will be here shortly, so let's begin. Please summon your crystal."
Serenity looked at the alien. Even with the different physiology, she still had no trouble 'reading' his body language, or 'looking' with her powers. This creature knew exactly what to do, and was not evil. Well, Ami had told her about this part of 'very ancient history' before, so she had guessed as much. "Okay, here it is. Please treat it gently."
Zen'ji took the crystal and looked at the First. "Hold this crystal."
The woman looked at the small jewel. "Will this hurt?"
Zen'ji nodded. "I have never lied to you, and I won't start now. To use your daughter's colorful language, this will hurt like Klerm."
The woman chuckled at that. "I expected as much."
"Fair warning, this process cannot be stopped once it starts."
"Then let us stop it."
Serenity sensed the blast and reacted, taking the hit. It hurt her a lot, but it was meant to kill a powerless human woman, and Serenity was far off that mark. "Took you long enough, Sin."
Sin glared at her. "No damn way! How did you assholes-"
The First Serenity smiled. "I see, you're the ones who are here to kill me. Let me make sure that doesn't happen." She grabbed the crystal from Zen'ji's hand, and then fell to the ground, screaming in pain."
"Hey, is she going to kill herself?" Isthar asked.
"Damn it," Apsu muttered, "we're too late."
The process was, admittedly, very painful. The First had no words in her language that would do that pain justice. But thankfully, it was as brief as it was painful. She stood up, her robes replaced by a body suit. "Yes, you are."
Sin screamed in anger and shot a very large blast at the newly-created Senshi... Who simply caught it and held it hovering over her palm. "No... Damn it, why can't I kill any of you assholes?"
The woman was staring at her, but it wasn't a scornful stare, or a judging one. "Maybe because you're not a murderer. Maybe because you never wanted to kill anyone, even if you think the only way for you to find happiness is to do just that."
Sin sank to her knees. "That's not true. I'm a warrior."
"The only difference between a warrior and a murderer is, the murderer enjoys killing," Younger Saturn said. As Sin and her allies stared at her, she looked at Moon before smiling. "A very wise woman told me that, when I was just as young as you are."
"So what now?" Nabu said, her voice almost a growl. "Do we give up, do we run? Do we die fighting?"
Apsu sighed. "No. You kids... Sin is right, you are warriors, I'm just a useless old woman. You shouldn't throw your lives away like that."
Sin stood up. "Let's get out of here. We'll think up a new plan and-"
"We can't leave. I can't use my power," Anshar said.
Serenity looked at the First. "Don't."
The woman looked at her and smiled kindly. "I am not going to kill them. But I cannot let them leave, either."
Sin looked around. None of the Senshi was attacking them, they were just waiting. "What... What do we do now?"
"There is always a choice, and sometimes when you choose something, you choose wrong," Serenity said. "I am honestly sorry about what happened to your families, but I can fix that. I will fix that. Our reality isn't perfect, I've had a lot of heartbreak myself, a lot of painful memories. I've been your villain for a long time, specially to you, Apsu, but would you allow me to fix my mistakes?"
Apsu stood up and stared at her. "I used to admire you. I used to think nothing was impossible for you. But fixing this? Fixing what I am?"
"I've been thinking about how I could fix that mistake of mine ever since you mentioned it. I know how to do it, it's as simple as knowing how Gin's mind works." Serenity looked at her crystal. "Gin."
Gin appeared in front of her. "Are you sure about this?"
"I find it hard to believe you need to ask. You've known me for a thousand years, my friend."
Gin smiled at that. "Okay, then say it."
"I want you to stop erasing that reality."
Gin stared at her for a second and nodded. "As you wish, Serenity."
Apsu looked at Serenity as Gin vanished, then looked down in shock. "I feel... The pain is gone. Am I really-"
"Gin cannot disobey an order from a Serenity, but a Serenity can change her mind."
"After all the trouble I caused your group..."
If you've looked at your past as much as you must have to know so much about us," Mercury interrupted, "then you should know we've had friends who didn't quite start in friendly terms with us."
"Fair enough..."
The First Serenity walked to the Senshi. "I thank you for your help, but I can sense Cygale is near our system. You should leave."
"Of course," Pluto said, "we worked hard to stop history from changing, let's go back home."
Sin sighed. "Home..."
Serenity looked at her and the other teenagers, and smiled. "You all suffered a lot, lost a lot. I can't- no, I won't erase those painful years, but your group reminds me of me and my friends, back when Crystal Tokyo was just Tokyo. I went through a lot of painful memories too, but you know what I realized? Those painful moments make me who I am. Without all those wars I would have never met my friends."
Nabu looked at the other girls and smiled. "If not for your mistakes, I would have never met my friends."
Ishtar looked at her. "Wow, Nabu, turning human on us, are you?"
"Shut up, airhead."
Elder Saturn chuckled at that. "They do really remind me of our old selves..."
Pluto sighed. "Let's go back to our era before I decide to leave you all stranded here."
Zen'ji blinked as the future Senshi and their ex-enemies left. "They were a weird group."
"I don't think any sane person could do what they do... What my kids will be doing from now on."
Zen'ji smiled at his friend's words. "I suppose you know humans better than I do. Are you ready?"
"I've been ready for this fight for years, but no, not yet. I'll be back in a few weeks... Or for you, in a few seconds.
Zen'ji blinked once again as Serenity left. He knew where she was, a place he could not visit himself. There were several possible futures for her now, but the darkest ones - the ones where Cygale won, for want of a Serenity - were now steering away, and it was all thanks to a group of people who would not have their powers if not for-
It was then that Zen'ji realized something. He also disliked time loops. They made his brain hurt.
Sin looked around the room and sighed. It was still a bit strange for her, to be given a guest room in the palace. She who had tried to kill the Senshi's past selves was a guest of honor now, as were all her friends. But still, this wasn't what she wanted, Serenity had promised something but it had been two days and yet-
"Some people still think I can read minds, but the truth is, sometimes your body language can tell me exactly what you're thinking."
"Serenity..."
Serenity sighed. "Don't kneel, please."
Sin stood up. "Sorry, but you're a queen, and-"
"And I've never cared for protocol. Now, I'm sure you remember what I promised you... But first, I wanted to tell you Apsu is recovering from her illness, she will be out of the hospital in just a few weeks. She decided to stay in this city. She was born minutes before it was created, after all. So you'll see each other soon."
"Oh. That's good, I'm happy for her."
"About your other choice, are you really sure-"
Sin sighed. "I don't want to fight. I know I said 'I'm a warrior' back then, but I was trying to justify trying to kill you and the others. I never liked fighting, it was just a thing I needed to do, to get what I wanted."
"I can accept that reason," Serenity said, "you and your friends have enough power to rival us, with enough training. Taking that away from you, turning your powers off, seems wrong to me, but I've done plenty of things I didn't like doing, and I think I will continue doing them for as long as I live."
"Couldn't you use that power on yourself, or your allies? Become a normal human?"
Serenity looked at her. "I could, but I won't. I'm too old now. I've been a 'freak' for way too long now to stop. I used to tell myself I hated fighting, but honestly, I don't. Fighting is how I met most of my friends."
Sin sighed. "Can what you did be... Undone?"
"It can. Have you changed your mind?"
"No, but... Maybe one day when I'm older and maybe wiser, I could change my mind."
"If that day does come, don't fear asking. Anyhow, that's not why I came here. As I said before, I know you remember what I promised, so... Want to find out if I keep my promises?"
Sin stared at her in shock. "Are you serious?"
"Some people think there's nothing I can't do, and in some ways, they're right. Come with me."
Sin found herself elsewhere. Outside, in the palace's gardens. She could see all her friends were there, talking to people she didn't know, but - Serenity was right, someone's body language could tell you a lot. She saw Anshar there, and froze for a second as she saw who he was talking to. "Mom? Dad?"
Serenity smiled as she saw Sin run to her parents. "I hate myself sometimes."
'Why?'
"Because I'm a bit jealous of her right now, seeing her with her parents."
'I would mention that you could bring them back too, but I know you, so I won't.'
Serenity smiled at that. "Good. There may really be 'nothing I can't do,' but there are things I won't do, no matter how painful it is to not do them."
Boring.
So very, very boring.
Why did his creations insist on going off-script? Sure, he was not expecting a bunch of kids to be able to kill the almighty Senshi, but couldn't they at least have killed one of them? Make it fun for him to watch?
And that was the most infuriating thing for him. He had to watch. He could not directly affect them. But he already had a new plan, a new piece to bring into the board, to make the game fun again. Now where was that one? Oh right, Serenity got rid of them, long ago. That wasn't a problem for him, he would bring them back, and improved.
Things had been pretty damn boring for the last thousand years, but they were about to be fun. And he could hardly wait to see the fireworks.
A/N: Remember back when my story arcs' final episodes were way longer than the rest? Well, I decided I wanted to try that again, and I like the results.
Anyhow, another part of this story done, finally. As a side-effect of taking a long time to get done, mostly because of real life, this episode had several working titles:
"Too Many Serenities."
"The Chicken-and-Egg Question."
"Time Loops, The Breakfast of Senshi."
Fortunately, I do take this story seriously enough for neither of those (or a few others that were even worse) to be chosen as this episode's title.
And yes, I showed Apsu as a far less "I am evil just because!" kind of villain. Always found those boring. I also wanted her to have a reason to want the Senshi dead other than "I'm dying because your crystal doesn't like my Evil Power." So she was less of a manipulator and more of an actually caring foster figure to Sin's group this time around.
