Sailor Moon Aeons.
Book 3: Crystal City.
Act 4: Beyond Good And Evil.
Episode 26: Absolute Power.

By Razor Knight
Last update: October 14, 2023

It wasn't that Black Lady didn't think it possible. She had the memories of her 'original' in her mind, so she knew the Princess had been told a lot about the legendary "Aeon" level. And Black Lady had seen enough legends come true to not be surprised by it. She wasn't frozen in fear either, she had never feared fighting someone stronger, she just wisely chose not to fight her current boss.

What was shocking to Black Lady, however, was that... Serenity wasn't attacking her. "So, did you just upgrade to scare me away? That won't work."

Serenity looked at Black Lady. In a way, she had been their strongest enemy ever, and even now, she still held that title. But she knew very well how this woman's power worked. "You want me to attack you with magic, just so you can copy my current power. Always the cheater."

"Says the one who is the result of another version of hers cheating."

"I am aware of that, and I do not deny that, at times, I was forced to do things I consider cheating in order to win a war. But you, you enjoy just stealing powers off others and using them."

"Damn it, what do I need to do, blow up a planet to piss you off?"

Serenity's smile was unnerving even to one as wicked as her foe. "With my current power level, while that will indeed make me very angry, it will only be a momentary change in scenery."

Black Lady growled. "You're wiser than my 'boss' gives you credit for. But so am I. I know there's little chance for me to win this, and I'm not about to die just to entertain some godlike asshole."

"You don't like your 'boss.'"

The pink-haired woman chuckled. "Always reading people like books, huh? No wonder you chose to be a writer. But yes, I hate that bastard, but I have even less of a chance to kill them than I have of killing you. We're toys to that thing. If I break, then they simply have to go look for another toy to throw in this sandbox."

Moon floated to Serenity's side, looking at their foe. "I'll admit you're being a lot more talkative and a lot less batshit crazy than I remember."

"I'm a warrior, just like you. Do you like losing?"

"No, I don't, even while training... Oh, I see your point."

"Yeah. I was ready to face Holy Senshi, I know I could beat any of you one-on-one, but if you start powering up, I will lose, again. Lose to Senshi, again. Lose while following some asshole's orders, again. I'm not going to turn into a defender of justice like that Apsu freak did, but... I can simply choose not to fight."

"Oh dear, that won't do." The voice was coming from everywhere around them. A booming, male, deep voice. "You disappoint me, Black Lady, you're as boring as those Senshi you so hate."

Black Lady smirked. "And yet I'm still standing. I know now I guessed what your 'weakness' is right."

The voice laughed. "I am without weaknesses, mortal. Just give me a minute and I'll find someone who won't throw a tantrum."

Serenity frowned. "Another fake god, huh."

Black Lady shrugged. "Not sure if 'fake' is the right word. But he can't directly interact with this universe. I know that because, well, I am evil, and in the past I would have destroyed any minion that 'threw a tantrum' and refused to fight you like I did."

Suddenly, a couple figures appeared. Their looks were familiar to everyone in the area, but their power was... Just wrong. Serenity realized it was good they were far away from any planet right now. Standing there, glaring at them, were alternate versions of Sailor Moon and Sailor Chibimoon, and both were at a level that made even Serenity herself uneasy. "What is..."

The voice replied before Serenity could finish her question. "An Aeon Senshi is powerful, by mortal standards, so I thought, what would be more fun than throwing two Aeon Senshi who have been at that level for countless centuries? Have fun, I know I will."

The 'alternate' Moon and ChibiMoon looked at each other. There was no emotion in either woman's eyes, they just acknowledged each other's presence, then turned to glare at the Senshi. "More weaklings to slaughter?" ChibiMoon said, with a voice that was both emotionless and made it clear she was not on the side of 'good' anymore. "Don't mind if I do."

Mercury gasped. "Is she the one we-"

The evil ChibiMoon looked at her and chuckled evily. "Oh, I remember you. Little, lost Mercury, and her fashion accessory. I see you've grown a bit stronger since last time I saw you. You may be able to last for a few seconds."

Mercury returned her stare, then chuckled. "A bit stronger, yeah. Guys, I know you can all feel it, because my Codex is showing me what these wicked copies apparently can't. Let's help Usagi win this, shall we? Mercury Aeon Power!"

Black Lady was no coward. She was no weakling. But as each and every Senshi in the area powered up, she realized that not fighting had been one hell of a wise move on her part. "Oh well, my 'boss' will go back to being bored pretty soon."

"You think just powering up will let you catch up with me?" The alternate Moon said, then rushed at Mercury... Who blocked her magic-fueled punch with one hand, before turning to stare at her. "What? How are you this strong?"

"I'm sorry your reality went the way it went," Mercury said, "but you can't win like this, Usagi. You've forgotten what being a Senshi means."

Serenity flinched. "They may have gone insane, but still..."

"I know," Mercury said, still looking at the alternate Moon. "Usagi, will you die a foolish death?"

The alternate Moon glared at her. "Fuck you. Why are you acting so friendly to me? I know I've become a monster, I-"

The alternate ChibiMoon looked at her. "What happened in your world? I remember I was about to leave the past when Galaxia appeared, I stayed and helped but... You were taken over by Chaos, killed everyone else, and I... Had to kill you."

Moon looked at her. "Our version of you left before Galaxia showed up, but... Galaxia was too strong. She killed all my friends after she checked their seeds, and I couldn't help them."

Serenity flinched. That Galaxia had no 'Animates,' then, that's what was different. "How did you-"

"She killed everyone else. But when I saw Rei and Ami fall, I realized I had to stop being a weakling, so I cheated. I remember powering up several times in a row, I remember the horror in that Galaxia's face as she realized how screwed up she was. I blasted her to atoms, and then... I know I lost consciousness. I hoped that was it, I hoped I was not waking up again, but I did, days later. I still had all that power, but I couldn't revive my friends. I decided I hated the universe that day. I went into a rampage, killed anything evil I found anywhere in my galaxy. Then I moved to other galaxies."

"Sounds like what I did," the alternate ChibiMoon said. "What happened once you ran out of enemies?"

The alternate Moon shook her head. "I decided I hated weaklings. Being weaklings was what had killed my friends, what had stopped me from helping them. Weaklings were not worthy of defending anything. I went on another rampage."

Serenity sighed. The story was sad, yes, but this Usagi... Both of them. They had no emotion in their voices as they spoke of what they had done. They shed no tears, they felt nothing at all anymore. "You two, I'm honestly sorry about what happened to you."

The alternate Moon turned to look at her, slightly surprised. "You are different. All of you are, but you specially... I can sense your kindness. You don't want to fight us."

"You are me, even if things worked very different. I also know pain, I know at times it can make you feel like giving up. And you," Serenity looked at ChibiMoon "what mother would hate her own daughter? I lost all my friends, twice. I know how bad it can feel."

"Friends... I remember how having those felt," ChibiMoon muttered. "I miss them."

"Me too."

Serenity smiled. There, now they remembered how being human felt. "Good, you still feel things."

Mercury sighed. "Your Ginzuishou... It can do amazing things, things our Usagi found out mostly as an adult. If you use it right, it could really do things normal humans would call miracles."

"Using the crystal right..." Moon reached out her hand and her crystal appeared. "You mean with this I could bring them all back?"

"Yes, but... Would you bring them back to whichever hell your own realities became thanks to your actions?"

ChibiMoon looked down and sighed. "There's nothing left. Nothing. I simply-"

"Me too," Moon admitted. "Do we even deserve to bring them back?"

Serenity shrugged. "I screwed up, myself. I lost a war against a powerful foe, and I lost everything too."

Her alternate frowned at that. "Then how did you-"

"I could only bring things to a stalemate, so I... Decided to rewind reality, to go back to the point where things had gone wrong, and fix things there. I say that was me, but I'm pretty sure... That wasn't me, technically. I may exist only because of her mistakes."

Moon flinched at that, understanding what she meant. "She erased herself along with her reality, just so another Usagi-"

Mercury smiled at that. "She was really brave. Or really foolish. Possibly both at once."

The alternate Moon looked at her crystal. "And that Usagi did it while being much weaker than us."

Saturn nodded. "She had been a Holy Senshi for only a few minutes when she did that."

ChibiMoon looked to the side, and Serenity knew she was looking at Earth, but there was no malice, no evil intent in her eyes anymore. "I already lost everyting. If this is what it takes to give my friends a chance to be happy, then..."

"... it's what we must do."

Mars sighed. "Well, I'm actually glad we didn't have to blast you to dust."

The alternates looked at her for a second before looking at the rest of the Senshi around them. "Why didn't you? It would have been easy for you, and I don't mind admitting it."

"Do you remember, Usagi? When it felt bad to kill someone, even if they were evil?"

ChibiMoon winced as Jupiter said that. "I ignored that feeling, that 'voice' in my head for a long time. I think I understand, killing us-"

"Just another pointless death weighing on us," Moon admitted. "I've had enough of those in the many years I've lived. Anyhow, you're free to leave. With your power, I know you won't have any problem jumping back to your reality."

Moon looked at ChibiMoon. "Time to... Fix our own mess. Good luck, daughter."

ChibiMoon smiled. "You too, mom."

Black Lady had been silent through all of that, but whistled. "Holy crap, you really let them go?"

Serenity looked at her. "I know that must be hard for someone-"

"Someone like me? I have her memories," she nodded at Moon as she said that, "so I know how your group thinks. I understand why you did it, but what's stopping them from going rogue on our reality?"

"Galaxia, Sun, the Animates, Ina, probably a few other super-powered Senshi out there we haven't heard about yet," Venus joked.

"Fair."

Serenity hadn't stopped looking at the 'villain.' "Will you help us?"

"I don't have a chance to win if I fight that bastard."

"Fighting isn't the only way to help," Serenity said. "Here, let me show you." She shot a blast at Black Lady, who was not ready for it. It was far from deadly, but it still hurt quite a bit.

"Hey, what the heck, I said I wouldn't fight you!" Black Lady snapped, and shot a blast just like the one Serenity had shot, then saw Serenity smile as the blast hit her. She let it hit? Oh, so that was her plan. "Oh, I see. Well, good luck with that, you'll really need it."

"Thanks, you're not that bad when you're not trying to kill us," Moon said.

"I'm not about to join your side, defend weaklings and all that, but this time around, I hate that bastard more than I hate you, so I'll leave you alone until I'm strong enough to take you on."

"He gave you another chance to-"

"To lose, again," Black Lady snapped, stopping Younger Saturn's comment. "I hate that asshole, I didn't want to be brought back. Not into a fight I can't win. Screw that."

Moon smiled at that. "Fair."

Serenity looked 'up' to the stars. "Well then, let's go find our newest admirer."

Pluto (both of them) appeared right then. "We know where 'he' is, but we can't take you there ourselves. Maybe if we explain it to you, you'll figure out a way."

Black Lady looked at them. "Uh, hi. Not here to fight, just in case."

Younger Pluto gave her a friendly, if unsettling, smile. "Good to see you're not a fool then. Just in case, there's still some other friends out there who will stop you if you try anything."

The villainess smiled back at her. "I know. As I said, I hate losing. I'll just leave you alone for the time being. Maybe in a few centuries I'll be back to play some more, when I'm not doing so just to entertain a bored brat."

Serenity saw Black Lady vanish and blinked. "Oh. She's at IX-339 now."

Mercury nodded. "With her power, jumping galaxies would just be a minor strain. Anyhow, let's go see where we need to go and who we need to punch."

"I'm a bad influence for you, huh?" Dragon Saturn mused.

"I was just doing some interesting experiments before this whole 'Ultima' mess started."

Serenity smiled at that. Even after so many centuries of life, few things could get in the way of Ami and her science without being deep-frozen. They all had their quirks, even Serenity herself, but that was what made being around her friends so much fun. "Okay then, time to save the... Day?"

"Should be midnight on Earth right now," Endymion corrected.

"Been a long day," Serenity muttered as the group vanished.

So boring, so thoroughly boring. Was talking all these mortals were good at these days? Oh, how he missed the days where at least they would throw a few blasts around. At least all the previous groups that grew too strong had the decency of dying, or at least going away from his favorite sandbox.

But were they really going to try fighting him in his own realm? Maybe they would finally be entertaining again. Yes, he could see so many ways to have fun with their struggles. He didn't need to kill them, just show them how pointless trying to fight him was, and then send them back home to wait until he decided to pester them again.

Because that's all mortals were to him. Creatures he could manipulate, empower, torture, or simply sit down and watch how they killed each other. Sometimes he did all those things at once, if he was bored enough. But these 'Senshi' had proven to be very resilient to his methods. And boring. So thoroughly boring.

"So, where is the final boss?"

Pluto sighed at that. They were taking things as seriously as always. "He's outside our reality."

"In some other reality, then?"

"Not exactly."

Mercury's eyes widened. "Wait... You mean- No damn way."

"Ami?"

Mercury smiled at Serenity. "You know the 'multiverse' actually exists, Usagi, but there's another legend, one older than our civilization, about a "Land outside reality." I think Science Fiction writers used to call it "Hyperspace."

"Oh!" Serenity had heard about that before. "A 'place' that exists outside our universe, outside all universes."

"Well, it's not just a legend," Younger Pluto admitted, "as Senshi of Pluto, we know it exists, but we don't have the means to get there ourselves."

Gin appeared near them, noticing none of the Senshi were surprised at that. "So you think Serenity, any of the three here, could do take us there?"

Serenity focused for a moment and frowned. "I can't."

"So you can sense-"

She nodded at Pluto. "I can sense that... That place, to call it something. But I can't teleport there."

"Maybe it's because you never teleported to other realities," Younger Saturn said.

"That's true, I haven't done that, but I know I could do it, I could go check that wrecked Tokyo we went to in our youth, right now," Serenity said, noticing Mercury flinching for a second at the memories. "But this 'place' where our foe is, I simply can't go there."

"That's because to access this place you need to be a god," the voice they had heard minutes earlier explained, booming all around them.

"You-"

A glowing disk of light appeared near the group. "You want to fight me? Go right ahead, nothing would entertain me more than seeing the almighty Senshi from Earth struggle against me."

"Hmph. This again," Saturn said. "A fool thinking they have it won before they ever fight us."

"Say what you might. I'm giving you a way to reach me. Many of your foes in the past didn't even have that much kindness in them, made you look for them all over the place."

"Let's just go," Serenity said. "I can sense that portal is no bluff, no trap. It connects with that place."

When they arrived, the Senshi were all thinking the same. A grassy plain, with some trees in the distance, a clear sky. "This place looks just like..."

"Earth," the voice said, guessing Younger Venus' thoughts. "I thought you would like a familiar environment for our battle, short as it will be."

"Who are you?"

The voice chuckled. "How is it those books of your race go... 'I am the Alpha and the Omega, the beginning and the end...'"

"Not the first fool who thinks itself god-"

"Oh, I'm aware of that, Sailor Moon, formerly known as Sailor ChibiMoon." The voice said. "Oh but where are my manners. Let me just..."

A figure appeared near them. A tall man, wearing a black, crystaline armor, his hair long and black. His irises were also black, and he smiled at them, a friendly smile, although Serenity could see the dismissive stare in his eyes. "Who are you?"

"I am the one who created you, Serenity. And all of the Senshi."

"That's crap. We already saw our powers were not created, we-"

"You went back in time chasing Apsu, a woman who hated you and wanted to destroy you. She would have not become the threat she was if not for me giving her power, and showing her things she needed to see to become a threat."

"You mean-"

"If I hadn't done that, you would have not chased her back, so your powers would have never existed. So I created you, in a way."

Serenity frowned. "Fair, but what do you mean she wouldn't have become a threat?"

"Honestly, I don't see a reason to answer that, but I also see no reason not to. I know you think that 'the Usagi who erased that reality wasn't me' but that's just because I wanted Apsu to think that too. There is no way to erase a whole reality, no matter how much mortal writers and thinkers may struggle with it. You simply created a new reality, one where you won that fight. If anything, Apsu hated you for the wrong reasons, but you still cheated to win. Tsk, tsk."

Serenity laughed at that, an amused laughter. "I did cheat, didn't I? In my youth I would have been mortified by that, but really, I'm glad I'm not just something that exists because some other Usagi screwed up. If it was me who failed in that reality, then I'm fine with that."

The man shook his head. "There really is no way to break your will, is there?"

"Why are you asking me, aren't you a god?" Serenity asked back.

"Fair. Anyhow, welcome to may realm. I have been around for... Well, time is meaningless to me. I was pestering your friend Gala, sent that runt 'Sailor Chaos' to kill her friends while she was away. I gave Ina the idea of making her husband an immortal against his will. I whispered sweet nothings into Metallia's ears, and later did the same with Beryl. I even gave the Hunters the idea of going back in time to finish the job."

Moon frowned at that. "So in short, you're an asshole. A bored kid with a magnifying glass, pointing it at the anthill and watching the ants squirm under the heat."

"Nice analogy, and I am aware you figured out my 'weakness' as Black Lady called it. I cannot interact directly with things outside my realm. But in here-"

Serenity's smile made him stop. "In here, you can fight us, which makes you think you can defeat us. You're no different to any other evil we've fought. So full of yourself, so certain of victory."

"Evil? Good? I am your god, Usagi Tsukino. I am the reason you exist."

"Keep telling yourself that, oh mighty smiter," Serenity said with a shrug. "I'm not usually the one to shoot first, but in your case... Guys, let's show him!"

None of the Senshi surrounding this man were rookies in combat. While some of them - mostly the 'Elders' - had been taught how to fight 'backwards,' they had been around for a thousand years and then some. They had plenty of time to learn, to improve. And even the youngest of these warriors had been around for long enough to know how to use magic without words, without movement. The barrage of magic blasts that hit the man had many different colors and shapes, but each one of them would have been enough to destroy the Earth in a second.

And yet, the man let the blasts hit, and chuckled. "Ow."

"Okay, so we should not hold back next time," Saturn commented.

"Next time?" The man said. "I'm sorry, but there won't be a next time."

Serenity sensed something, and was about to shout a warning to her friends, but then everything went black for her.

Usagi woke up and looked around. Her room, back in the twentieth century. But this time around, Usagi, no, Serenity knew it was a dream.

"That is because this is no dream, Serenity. This is your life. Have fun with it, like all your friends will."

"What do you mean?"

The voice did not answer, but Usagi could feel something else. A feeling in the back of her mind, tugging. She rose her hand and frowned. No. No magic. Was this before she became a Senshi?

"Oh? Usagi, you're awake this early?"

She looked at her father. Damn it, it hurt so much to see them again, but she could guess this whole reality was meant to break her will. Fucking good luck with that, 'god,' Usagi thought with a smirk. "Accidents do happen, dad."

"Everything okay?"

Usagi smiled at her mother, who was staring at her. "Yeah." She was quite aware that, while Ikuko had not shown it off like she did, her 'people reading' skill was something she had inherited from her mother. She looked at the newspaper her father was reading and supressed a gasp. That date... But she had been a Senshi for months by then. Was this a world without Senshi? She decided to play along for now, see what the point of this 'reality' was.

Haruna walked in and had to make a conscious effort not to look thoroughly shocked. "Tsukino, you're here already?"

"As I told my father earlier, accidents do happen."

Haruna sighed. "Well, hopefully the accident will happen more often."

"No promises," Usagi said. The few minutes spent in class had confirmed a few things, though. Senshi were around, but it was Venus leading the Senshi. There was no Sailor Moon - obviously enough - but even Zero was around. But while Terry had been friendly enough with her, she could tell - he was just being friendly to her as he usually was, back then, to anyone who wasn't chasing him around the city. They were not friends in this reality. That stung a bit, she had to admit. Was being Sailor Moon the only reason she had met her friends? Would she have been a lonely, lazy girl forever if she hadn't been the reincarnation of a Princess from the past? If that was meant to break her will, again, it had failed. This wasn't her reality. It would never be. She had already lived through this era, met a lot of very good friends, and stayed friends with them for centuries. What was this 'god' really trying to do? Just amuse himself by throwing them into a different reality?

She had seen enough. She just needed to be at the wrong place at the right time. Keep your friends close, and your enemies closer, as the old saying went (unless you asked Minako, who even after centuries of life, would usually mangle every proverb and saying known to mankind.) Yes, she just needed to rely on her enemies this time around.

Usagi had been observing some things for hours now. Other than it being a reality where she wasn't Sailor Moon, everything else was the same, so she knew exactly what to do and where to go. She was a bit surprised her friends had gotten to this point without a Sailor Moon in the team. Obviously, it should have been disheartening to her to know they didn't need them, but no, she was proud of her friends, not needing her around to fight the Dark Kingdom for this long. Still... Yes, it was almost like she remembered it. Time to stop following the script.

Mercury was aware she was the only one still standing. That poison was too strong, the dragon was... Terry was still in there, she couldn't hurt him, but if she didn't fight, then her friends would- "Terry, please..."

"If you don't defeat that creature, you won't be able to save everyone. Are you okay with that? Don't you have something you want to tell him?"

Mercury looked to the side and saw... Tsukino? Wait, how did she know- "What are you doing here?"

"Me? I am one of you, in another reality. I know that will be hard to believe without me demonstrating it, so just let me get Zero back to his normal, silly self."

Mercury was too confused to be shocked by what followed. The blonde girl had jumped up - much higher than normal humans should be able to - and delivered a spinning kick that knocked the dragon to the ground. Where had she learnt to fight like that? No, that wasn't important, a normal human beating a youma like that? It was impossible!

Usagi landed besides her and smiled, guessing her line of thought. "Nothing is impossible for us Senshi."

"You mean..."

The blonde's form blurred as her gown replaced her civilian clothes. Mercury also noticed she looked much older. Had her visor just shut down when she tried to get a reading of her power? Yes, it had. Still, the woman's eyes as she looked at her made her feel relaxed. It was like staring at a friend, someone she had known for her whole life. "Who are you?"

"I am... Not from this reality. In mine, I am one of the Senshi. Maybe this reality's Usagi was never meant to be one, maybe she was, but I won't stay around to find out."

Mercury knew the dragon had reverted back to Zero, and that the two youma had left. Her friends were stirring now, but she was too busy trying to make sense of everything. "What do you mean-"

"I'm not here to fix this particular mess, I have to take care of a much, much stronger foe back home. But try to talk to this reality's Tsukino, see if- She may look lazy and selfish, but that's just a mask. If she's meant to be one of you, she'll grow into a selfless, kind woman who would die for her friends."

Mercury blinked at that. "And you know this because... You're her. A different version of her."

Usagi, no, Serenity smiled at her. "I knew you would figure that out, as expected of the genius Mizuno. Good luck, Ami."

Mercury blinked again. Had the woman... Teleported away? Could Senshi do that?

"Hey, who the hell was that woman? Did she beat the dragon?" Mercury noticed Mars and the others finally waking up and sighed. "I think... We need to talk. If what that woman said was true, I may know what our team's missing."

"Other than training?" Zero said, walking to them. She had caught a glimpse of that woman. Usually he would have stared at her and flirted, but he had decided to stay very silent. He could see she was way out of his league, probably out of Hakko's league, even. "Who was that blonde anyways? Looked familiar."

"Tsukino, from your group," Mercury said, "or at least, a different version of her."

"Different version?" Jupiter repeated. "Next you're gonna tell me there's other universes out there."

"After what I just saw and what she said, I have no reason not to believe that," Mercury said. "For starters, I could not see the limits of her power. And yet her eyes... She saw me as a friend, as someone she had known for a long time."

Venus sighed. "Hate to admit it, but the last few fight have been tough. I heard some of what that woman said. If that Tsukino girl is a Senshi too, we could use her help."

That reality was one where the Senshi were heading towards a bad ending, one where they were missing a crucial piece of the puzzle. But thanks to a bored 'god' and a friend they didn't yet know, that bad ending was now drifting away. But that would be, perhaps, a story for another time.

Serenity smiled as she appeared, again, in the same grassy plain as before. The man was there, staring at her in a mix of amusement and confusion. "Hi again, 'god.'"

"How?"

"I'll explain in a minute, but first, let me..."

'Usagi!'

'Hi, Gin.'

'Don't 'hi' me, I couldn't sense you or the other Serenities, I was worried sick!'

'Sorry for worrying you, but thanks. Can you sense them now?'

'Yes, I can sense all of your friends. I hate to repeat that moron's words, but how?'

'I'll explain soon. Let's bring them back.'

The man took a step back as the Senshi all appeared around Serenity, some of them looked as confused as he was. "No, there is no way, only my power can-"

Serenity's smile was a sound effect away from very amused laughter. "I don't need to explain that, then, I guess?"

"You copied my power? But how? You can only do that with Senshi powers."

"That would normally be true, but- I used to hate cheating, I still don't like doing it, but I've been doing things I don't like for a thousand years now. And I've also grown a bit wiser. In my youth I would have ignored times when I had 'a feeling' about something like this. I would not have thought of a way to be able to do what I did, all thanks to your own boredom. If you hadn't sent her to fight us, I wouldn't have thought of a way to make sure I could win. So, yes, I cheated."

Mercury was impressed that Serenity had planned that. Impressed, but not surprised. "You copied Black Lady's power."

Serenity smiled at that. "She is, technically, also a Senshi, so I'm not really sure I did cheat this time around."

The man laughed. "So what? You have my power? That means nothing. You can't kill me, you can't destroy me. You can't stop me."

"You're partially right," Serenity said, "I won't kill you. But I can stop you."

"Stop bluffing, oh mighty Senshi queen!" The man said and shot an energy blast. A black blast. As Serenity countered it with a white blast of her own, both exploding harmlessly in mid-air, he laughed again. "See? You cannot overpower me, Serenity. I'll admit, the same applies to me, but-"

"That's true, but I have something you don't."

"Oh please no," the man almost shouted. "Not that crap again, I heard your group drone on about it many times. If you start talking about how friendship makes you stronger, I'm going to-"

"Wasn't about to. My friends have helped me out of many messes through my many years of life, but while having them near me gives me the courage I need to do what I must do - even if I don't want to do it - it's not 'the power of friendship' that's going to defeat you, just your own lack of foresight and excess of ego."

The man, again, laughed. "Nice rant, Serenity. I must thank you, I hadn't been this amused in such a long time. Go ahead, mortal, give me your best shot."

"Already done," Serenity said, her tone unusually cold and monotone.

The man took a step back and stared at her in shock. "What- How... What have you done?"

"Oh? I thought you knew about this. You've seen me do it several times, to both friends and foes. It's not something I like to use, it frankly makes me feel like crap when I have to use it, but as I said minutes ago, I've been doing things I don't like for a long time now, so I'm used to it."

"No no no... How is- This can't-"

"Oh please no," Serenity said, mocking the man's outburst from a minute earlier. "Don't say "it's impossible," I've heard evil fools say that one too many times. The only limit that one part of my power has, is that I can't use it on someone who's much stronger than me, which is why I didn't use it earlier. But thanks to someone I never thought I would be thanking, and thanks to you oh-so-naively using your power on me, well..."

"She disabled his power," Mercury said, noticing many of Serenity's friends were confused by the words of the man that was now kneeling on the ground, and looking terrified at the woman he had been mocking minutes earlier.

"But- Will you just leave me like this?"

Serenity looked at the man. Was he really complaining about it being unfair? A creature who would torment and mislead people who could have lived normal, happy lives, if not for him wanting to be 'entertained?' "At least you get to keep your life. Many of our foes didn't have that luck. Be glad your meddling made us a lot less trigger-happy than I'll admit we were in our youth."

"No! You monster! Don't you dare-"

Serenity didn't care to listen to the ex-god's words anymore. "Let's go, guys. I'm bored of this place."

And the man was left alone. Alone and bored, once again. But being bored was, for the first time in his incredibly long life, the least of his worries.

Two days later, Serenity was in one of the palace's many rooms. One of the persons talking to her was someone who would normally keep her 'visits' brief, but thanks to Serenity's new power, did no longer need to.

"I must admit, I almost feel sorry for that man."

Serenity smiled at that. "Honestly, I can understand that."

"You know, grandma, I kind of felt a bit of envy. There we are, finally getting to 'Aeon' level, and you go and get a power beyond that just a couple hours later."

"The main character always gets a special skill, right?"

Kyouko Tsukino was not someone known for being respectful to her elders when her elders were being annoying, and this was one such time. "But you have like five of those already."

Serenity chuckled at that. "Fair. At least someone else got an upgrade thanks to that."

Kyouko looked to the side as Gin appeared in the room. "Yeah. Kind of miss her nagging."

Gin smiled at her. "I'll continue nagging you all, I just don't need to always do it in your minds now."

Serenity looked at Gin. For reasons both Ami and Gin were unable to figure out, Serenity's new power had affected her crystal in a strange way. The crystal still functioned as it always did, but Gin was no longer 'anchored' to it and had gained an actual body of her own, even though her connection to all the crystals was still there. In a way, she was close to what Aiko had become, even though she was still completely loyal to all Serenities. "I'm happy for you, Gin."

Gin shrugged. "I've been what I was until a few days ago for way too long to really feel any different. Or maybe it still hasn't hit me."

"I wonder... Will you tell the world about that battle?"

Gin smirked as Serenity was lost in thought. "That would be a mess. 'Hey guys, we kind of met 'god.' He was a bit of a jerk so I stole his power so I'm more broken than ever."

Serenity let out a long sigh. "Gin, you can really be a pest at times, you know?"

"I am glad to be of service, Usagi."

Kyouko shook her head at that. "In any case, what about Black Lady?"

"She's still out there. Several galaxies away from here. She has no intention of coming back, not for a long time."

Kyouko gasped at that. "You can 'see' her from that far?"

Gin chuckled. "There's an old saying, 'power corrupts, and absolute power corrupts absolutely.' Whoever originally said that, never met your grandmother."

Serenity looked down at the city and couldn't help but smile. A very long time had passed since her life as a Senshi started. She still remembered how scared she was, back then, how overwhelming it all felt. How painful some of those memories still were to her, but the happy memories were many, many more. A common question humans asked each other at times was "what would you change about your life?" and Serenity knew exactly what she would answer to that. Nothing at all. She knew the consequences of changing the past, she had done it herself - and now, thanks to that pseudo-god, knew it had been her. Some would be surprised she would believe his words so easily, but only two people shared her one skill that let her see that had not been a lie. The man had, for all his mocking and evil intent, really given her that piece of closure. Was it an attempt to toy with her, make her doubt herself? No, he had actually just said that with no strings attached. He didn't care if it made her happy or miserable to know. A part of her mind still felt slightly upset for what she had done. That man was immortal, and needed no energy to survive. She could not (would not, if she could) change that. But while not human, he was now a normal being, eternally alone, eternally trapped, eternally powereless.

He had called her a monster for doing that to him. It had not fazed her at all, because his last attempt at 'amusement' right before then? He had sent them to a different reality, to live as normal humans, powerless, and eventually die of old age. That man had not been the first monster who had called Serenity a monster, and she was too old (and some would also say too wise,) to even entertain the thought he would be the last to do that.

She idly wondered, for a second. What now? If that man was why their world had been an "evil magnet" for millions of years, then did that mean- No, again, Serenity was too old to believe that eliminating that one threat meant no evil was going to ever appear again.

Some of her friends had a feeling the universe itself sometimes waited for the perfect time to do certain things, that even thinking that "maybe that was the last evil thing we'll see" would make the universe show them they were wrong. This was, apparently, one of those times.

She calmly floated down and looked at the creature. It was strange, these creatures would usually be gloating about being invincible and telling them their name (and they never ran out of different names, either, which was even weirder.) But this one was just staring at her. Terrified. Oh, it was because of that. "Sorry, did I scare you?" Serenity said as she reduced the amount of power others could see to a very small fraction of her real power.

The creature was slowly stepping back. "What are you?"

Serenity saw someone else was there, and smiled. "All yours."

Younger Sailor Moon (who had, some would say 'thankfully,' chosen blue instead of pink for her suit,) looked at the creature in amusement. "Were they always this weak?"

The creature turned to look at her, and apparently felt brave enough to go back to the usual antics of its race. "Foolish human, fear the might of Wuigale!"

Younger Sailor Moon did something that, in the distant past, would have seemed foolish to Serenity. The young girl undid her transformation, staring at the creature for a few seconds before delivering a kick that sent the creature's head flying up and away. "I see why uncle Terry calls them 'running gags.'"

Serenity smiled. "They're not really weak but they can't keep up with a Guardian Senshi, so an Eternal Senshi is far too strong for them."

"Grandma says this city is boring, and I agree with her, but... It does have its moments, I guess."

The older woman nodded. "That's true." She then realized something. "Mizuki Tsukino, what are you doing outside the city?"

"Taking a walk." She didn't mind the stare Serenity was giving her. "Oh come on. Grandma was fighting evil at my age, and with far less power than I have. I'll admit that 'Ultima' woman was too powerful for me, but if someone that strong shows up, you'll see it coming from a galaxy away."

Serenity sighed. "Okay, you are mostly right, but it's my job to worry, you know?"

"I know. I guess it's my job to make you worry, then."

"Isn't that the truth," Serenity mused. Mizuki was quite the handful, even her mothers had a hard time keeping her in check, but... She was not a kid, and not weak. They could allow her to be a bit spoiled.

Serenity looked up to the sky. A long time had passed since her story started, but until she found something stronger (or craftier) than her, she could guess she would be around for a longer time. Some people saw eternal life as a curse, and she would admit she also had seen it that way at times, but...

"Grandma, will I ever be as powerful as you?"

Serenity smiled. "Power isn't everything, Mizuki. But yes, you'll probably be as powerful as I am, or at least close enough to that to beat me in a training fight."

"I can hardly wait until then," the young girl said with a grin.

Serenity chuckled. No, this was no curse for her. If her life was meant to be eternal, she knew it would be very hard for her to become what that pseudo-god had been. "Same here." Her life was not dull at all, it had never been, and hopefully, being the main line of defense of her world (and of as many worlds as mankind would spread to in the future) would continue being as fun as it had been.

"Boring city? It can be, but..." Serenity looked up to the sky again. Yes, she could see them. A very large fleet, and they were not there for tourism. "We have visitors."

"Nice ones?"

"No, not really."

"Good!" Mizuki saw her great-grandmother stare at her again, and flinched. "I mean, I'm glad I get to defend this world."

Serenity put a hand on the young girl's shoulder. "You know I can see that's not what you meant, or at least, you're only being half-honest. But don't worry, it's not bad to be glad to have things to fight."

"It's not? Mom said I shouldn't go picking fights-"

"Yes, but you're a warrior at heart, just like your mother and your grandmother... And me. If you hated fighting, then you wouldn't enjoy being a Senshi."

"I get it. As long as it's for the right reasons, it's okay to not hate fighting."

Serenity nodded. "I don't think you know this, but... When I first became a Senshi, I hated fighting, and was always scared."

Mizuki's eyes widened. "No way! You, scared?"

"Well, I was not aware of what I was, back then."

As the two Serenities walked back into the city's shield, the older one realized something. Looking back, she had felt like something was missing in her life. A part of her mind had always known what she was, even though back then, she had not realized this. Would she have become a Senshi, back then, if she knew she would still be fighting evil things a thousand years later? Serenity couldn't help but smile at that. It was a foolish question. A Senshi was not something she became. It was what she was. What they all were. As a wise woman (who she was proud to call her daughter) had once said, it was better to think about the "what now?" than about the "what if?" And she was sure the universe would not run out of things to throw their way. A curse? No, eternity was not a curse when you got to spend it with those you cared about. Defending mankind was a job she would gladly continue doing for as long as she - as they all - lived.

The End (probably.)

A/N: When I wrote Cyber Moon, I'll admit I liked explosions, and 'evil' people exploding. I still do like that, every now and then, but re-reading that story made me realize that a lot of the battles could have gone very differently, with much less death, and still manage to end up giving some of the villains a much more 'cruel' fate. The first example of this would be Neherenia, who I didn't give a "fate worse than death" originally. As for this 'god' idiot - who still has no name, but this time around, the Senshi were too annoyed at him to even ask him for it - well, he had it coming for millions of years. My version of Queen Serenity of Crystal Tokyo is pretty much what I think when someone mentions "good doesn't mean nice." She's only kind to those that deserve it.

In any case, I'm done with Sailor Moon Aeons. Finally. I may give the story a look later and edit any typos found (I know they're there, hiding in plain sight,) and I may rewrite the Cyber Moon side-stories "Dark World" and/or "Millenium," but I make no promises. I don't have the time to actively write nowadays. I still like writing, but I find it harder to make time for it the older I get.

Anyhow, it's been a lot of fun writing this thing. I'll give it another re-read soon, because the main reason I started writing was to have stories I liked reading. Selfish reason? Guilty as charged.

Thanks for reading all this (end rant included, if you did read it,) and who knows, maybe in a couple years I'll have enough time and be bored enough to start another rewrite. Again, no promises.