Sailor Moon Aeons.
Book 3: Crystal City.
Act 1: Generations.
Episode 1: Peaceful life.

By Razor Knight
Last update: February 19, 2019

"... And the young nation has yet to be recognized by several other countries-"

Yukiko turned the screen off. "I suppose a new country appearing out of the blue is not something the world will just accept overnight."

Aiko was cutting some meat, getting dinner ready. She didn't need to eat, but she still enjoyed food. And she had been sharing meals with her girlfriend for a decade, which was why she enjoyed preparing them. That, and Yuki's cooking was as deadly as her magic blasts.

"You think they'll try something?"

Aiko sighed. "Not sure. Japan itself has divided opinions about us. The better question is, do we really care? Other than the government of Japan, nobody had claims on the land our city is on. And after our generous 'donations' even Japan has to smile and nod."

"I guess... I had never seen that many zeros in a paper before."

Aiko closed the oven and smiled. "Dinner will be ready in about one hour."

"You should just cook it with magic."

"I tried. It doesn't taste the same."

Yukiko walked to the door. "Okay, then I'll go for a walk."

"I'll tag along," Aiko said as a second Aiko appeared, replacing the original in the kitchen, "I may be the only person who can literally be in two places at a time."

As they walked out, Yukiko looked around. "It's been one year, but I'm still getting used to the crystal buildings."

"Everything is so damn peaceful, too."

Yukiko smiled at that. Warwitch and Phase had only 'appeared' a few times since the city was rebuilt. Having both Rei and Kim as the ones in charge of cleaning the city had been more effective than they had thought. Crime rates had dropped to the point where Crystal Tokyo's internal security forces were nowadays barely needed for crimes. And, of course, the Guardians were no longer needed.

And speaking of Rei, as they walked near the palace, they could see one of the two persons who was apparently eager to keep her on edge. "Serenity?"

It wasn't the first time the Queen had decided to spend the day outside the palace. It's not like she was taking a risk, either. But as she heard that name, she looked at the two girls and sighed. "Aiko, you don't need to be so formal with me."

"Sorry, Usagi."

"Haven't seen you in normal clothes for weeks."

Usagi looked at Yukiko. "You two rarely come visit me. Are your jobs keeping you that busy?"

Yukiko smiled. "Not really." Aiko had, after a long time, convinced Yukiko to join the company. Zephyr-Mizuno Robotics - or ZMR as it was usually shortened - had grown exponentially in the last year. Ami had really sped up research in several fields, and Aiko was also quite good at that. Yukiko was less interested in theories than testing, and she was quite good at not making things explode - unless that was the goal of the experiment.

Usagi smiled. "I can't really stay and chat, I have something I need to do."

"Something we can help with?"

"Gin's going to help me fix something."

"Now I'm curious."

Usagi started walking away. "Think about the date, and you may figure it out."

Yukiko looked at Aiko as Usagi left. "Have any idea what she meant?"

"I'm trying to remember... Wait, today is- Wow, can she really do that?"

"Aiko?"

"Let's go back home, I'll tell you on the way there."

'Are you sure about this?'

Usagi was looking at her friend, and the young girl besides her. She was using a skill she had as Serenity, to make others not notice her unless she wanted them to. It was something quite close to true invisibility. 'I want her to be happy. Setsuna says there are always risks, but that she'll look the other way this time.'

'You would still do it even if she was against it.'

'Yeah. Okay Gin, let's do it.'

Rei sat on a bench and let out a long sigh. How many years was now? She looked at Hisako, sitting next to her. "Are you okay?"

"Yeah." Hisako looked around. "This park is nice."

Rei smiled at that. The small park had been built along with the rest of the city, and Rei knew why Serenity had chosen that exact place for it. This was the place where the temple once was. The place she destroyed in her rage, the day he...

Hisako noticed her mother's mood changing. "Sorry."

Rei grimaced at that. "Hisa, I've told you before, what happened wasn't your fault."

Her daughter looked around. "I..." She stopped as she saw someone walking to them. "Dad?"

Rei looked up as she heard that, then stood up and started walking to him. "Yuu?"

"Yes."

"But how... Serenity."

"Dad!"

Yuichiro smiled as both Rei and Hisako hugged him. "Usagi already told me I've been gone for a while."

"Damn that woman, she chose this of all days to..."

Yuu embraced Rei as she started sobbing. Serenity had also told him that, she was bringing him back in the anniversary of his death, because she hated seeing Rei sad. "She's always been wiser than she looks."

Rei chuckled between sobs. "I missed you... We missed you. Let's go back home."

"Home," Yuu said, and looked around. "It will take me a while to get used to how things look."

"I'm still getting used to it," Rei admitted.

Usagi watched the three walk away, smiling. It had been too long since she had seen Rei that happy. That was all the reward she needed for her deed, but she could bet Rei was still going to call her soon. "It was more than worth the risk."

'If I could, I would be crying right now.'

"Sometimes I wish you had an 'off' button."

'Sorry. You try being alone and unable to communicate with anyone for billions of years and then let's see you stay silent.'

"Billions?"

'Maybe longer than that. Memory's a bit fuzzy beyond dozen billion years ago.'

"Wow, you make even Galaxia sound like a toddler."

'... Uh, she was one for quite a long time.'

"I know, that was the joke. Anyhow, time to go check how many wars Mamoru avoided today."

'I think I'll tag along,' Gin joked.

A few days later, Hisako entered her house - which was, like other Senshi houses, not as big as one could expect from the rulers of a country - and sighed. "Mom, are you home?"

Rei walked out of the kitchen. "Hi Hisa. How was school?"

"Kind of boring, except that I realized I can do this now."

Rei saw Hisako's clothes morph into a familiar suit. She wasn't surprised her daughter had done it without words, as both she and Hikaru had trained long enough to be able to use magic just with a thought. "Oh, you're Sailor Mars now."

Hisako pouted. "But the suit looks all wrong."

Rei chuckled. "No, that's a Planet Senshi suit, the most basic form. You'll have to train to grow stronger if you want to use more powerful forms."

"Oh."

Rei turned serious. "Now, I know we spoke about this, but I'll say it again. You're much stronger in that form than you are normally. Be careful not to hurt anyone, okay?"

"I know, I won't treat this as a game. But I wish there was some evil monster army out there."

"Peace isn't a bad thing."

"Guess not."

"Besides, you're not even ten."

"Aunt Usagi told me I am already stronger than you were when you were fourteen."

"I'm going to have to talk to her about saying too much."

Queen Serenity of Crystal Tokyo was not someone who would get scolded often, but in this case, she had to admit her friend was right. "I only told her because she was curious, but you're right, Rei. We can't just let untrained Senshi fight evil. It barely worked for us."

"But now she'll keep nagging me about-"

"Then let me help her train."

Rei looked at the woman who had just 'walked' in. "Eavesdropping isn't nice, Princess."

Chibiusa shrugged. "Rei, I'm bored too. I was going to leave the city as soon as things settled, look for something evil - and maybe even not human - to shoot at. But being the mentor of a new generation of Senshi sounds like a challenge."

Rei smiled at that. "You are a Younger Senshi, just like them, even if you're a bit older than them."

"Yeah. We can figure out a schedule later on."

"I'll go give this some thought, but I think I like your idea." Rei started walking out of the room, but turned back to her. "Tell Hotaru I said hi."

Serenity looked at her daughter as Rei left, and once again cursed her one skill she had even before she became a Senshi. "I can see there's something bothering you."

"I knew you would know."

"So, what is it?"

"Lately, Hotaru's been acting... A bit distant. I asked her about it, and..."

Hotaru sat on the bed besides Chibiusa. "I don't want you to think I don't love you, but I... Want something we can't get."

Chibiusa smiled. "Tell me, I promise... Heck, you know I'm not going to hate you, no matter what it is." She had a pretty good guess on what it was, too.

"I... Rei has a kid. Minako has a kid. Ami and Naru, too. Not sure how Hana and Mako don't have kids too."

"Yeah..."

"I see them being all 'mom' and I feel envy. And then I feel like a monster for that. I just... My mom died when I was too young to remember her, so I don't really know how having one feels, and yet... I don't regret falling in love with you, but I can't stop feeling the way I do about this."

"You want to be a mom too, but being with me makes it impossible. I... I would be lying if I said the thought never crossed my mind. I thought about adoption but for some reason I discarded that."

Hotaru sighed. "At risk of sounding weird, or creepy, I never saw that as an option. I... Damn, this will sound crazy, but I don't just want to have a child, I want it to be yours."

Chibiusa smiled awkwardly. "That makes me feel weird and happy at the same time."

Serenity had listened to the story, and as Chibiusa fell silent, she smiled. "I can see the problem."

"Yeah, but it's not like we can do a thing about it."

'Maybe they can.'

'What?'

'Thanks to your "gift" to her. Wait, I'll just tell her myself.'

Chibiusa saw Gin appear and frowned. "What are you up to?"

"Nice to see you too," Gin said. "I was telling your mother that there may be a way for your wish to happen."

"Huh?"

"Remember, there's two of 'me' with you now."

Chibiusa nodded at that. True, her mother had given her the Ginzuishou Black Lady was using, and it had fused with her own. But what did it have to do with... "Wait. No. No damn way."

Gin grinned. "Haven't you heard? There is nothing impossible for us."

"Wow, that's..." Chibiusa blushed a deep red. "I'll go give Hotaru the good news."

"Have fun," Serenity said.

Gin looked at her as Chibiusa teleported out of the room. "You know, they could be the first, but not the last."

Serenity nodded. "I figured as much. Would you mind letting the others have that bit of happiness?"

"No." Gin looked at Serenity and frowned. "What's wrong?"

"I'll have to wait a thousand years for that."

"You already have Chibiusa around."

"I know. Guess I'm just being weird."

Gin vanished from the room. 'I'll go watch them now.'

"Gin..."

'What? I sort of have to be there to make sure things work as intended. At times, I also wish I had an "off" button.'

Serenity nodded. "I know. You just made it sound weird."

'Oops?'

Hisako was a bit upset. These kids were really dumb, bullying her. She didn't mind their glares, or that there were at least twenty of them. "Go away."

The 'leader' of the crowd, a kid who was a head taller than her, looked at her and sneered. "Why? What will you do, ya freak?"

"Yeah! You only have good grades because your mom's a Senshi"

"No, I study and work hard. You should try that, too."

The kid glared at her before punching her. He then flinched as his hand felt like it had hit a wall. "What are you?"

"A Senshi, since yesterday. Now, can I leave? I need to go train, I don't want to be late."

"Shut up, freak!"

"Oh, how brave, two dozen guys taking on a single girl."

The kids all turned to see someone standing near them. The pink hair and her hairdo were all too familiar to anyone who had lived in Crystal Tokyo this past year. "Oh shit, it's Chibimoon."

"Name's Usagi, brats," Chibiusa said. "Now scram or I'll tell your parents and your teachers that you think bullying is okay."

"Oh look, little Hisako needed a grown-up to look after her. So lame."

Chibiusa smiled in a creepy way. "Oh, you're wrong. I'm protecting you from her. She's a Senshi, even without training, she could knock you all out easily. And I intend to train her until she's able to keep up with me."

Hisako walked past the would-be-bullies, who didn't try to stop her. "I get it, boys, you don't like me. Honestly, after this, I don't like you either. You hate me because my mom's the Senshi of Fire? Because I also have those powers? That's stupid. Grow the hell up. I did not choose to be a Senshi."

Chibiusa saw Hisako walk away and looked at the crowd. "I won't come save you again. In fact, if you gang up on her again, I won't tell her a thing if she decides to fight back. So please, for your own safety, don't do something this pointless again."

She walked away, quite aware the crowd was shouting at her, and some of the things they shouted were not meant to be said by kids their age. Maybe she would have to tell the teachers, at least, about this.

She found Hisako waiting a block away. "Are you okay?"

"Yeah, I... Was almost ready to start punching back."

"There's always going to be someone who doesn't agree with you. Thirty percent of the population of Tokyo moved out of the city after we explained them abour our plans, and many countries are looking at us like we're some sort of terrorist overlords. Anyhow, I'm not going to tell you to let them hit you if they come back, but if you do fight back, don't regret it."

Hisako was silent for a few seconds, but then looked at her. "Can you teach me to dodge?"

Chibiusa chuckled. "Yeah, that's also an option. Let them tire themselves out."

"So, where will we train?"

"Ever been out of the city?"

"Nope."

"Well, today is your lucky day then."

"Can't we just use a gym or-"

"Even a first level Senshi can cause a lot of property damage."

"Are we going to walk all the way there?"

"No, just waiting for someone."

Saturn appeared near them. "Okay, I'm ready."

"Aunt Hotaru too? Cool."

Saturn smiled. "Let's go."

Rei saw Hisako appear near her and blinked. "Hisa, since when-"

"I asked them, they taught me how to teleport."

"So, had fun?"

Hisako winced. "Those two... I didn't know how scary they could be when training."

"We can all be like that, I guess."

"My everything hurts."

Rei chuckled. "That sounds like the first serious training we had with Hakko."

"It was fun, though. I want to keep training."

"Good. Maybe one day you'll be out there fighting evil, instead of me."

"No, I want to fight evil with you and dad."

Rei smiled. "Yeah, that would be fun."

A/N: Too much slice-of-life stuff going on. Need to find an invasion fleet or three, before this turns into Friends. Nothing wrong with Friends, but it had too few explosions for me.

For those who read the old version: Yes, a certain character will be showing up a lot earlier in this version.