Sailor Moon Aeons.
Book 4: Divergence.
Episode 2: The Girl Who Lived.

By Razor Knight
Last update: March 6, 2024

Sometimes, the heroes of a story may look back and wonder how things would have been if something happened in a different way. But few of them know there's millions of universes, of realities, and some of them are very similar to their own, up to a certain event, a certain choice. An event which had a different outcome, sending said reality into a whole different path. Worse, better, it's hard to tell. They're simply different.

This story is about one such universe. A universe where Senshi fought youma, but weren't the only ones fighting them. A universe where one of those heroes was fated to die... But things don't always go as planned.

The enemy's target had been a metro station this time. When the two heroes got there, they saw dozens of civilians lying on the ground, and a couple women who were just done draining their life energy. "We apologize for interrupting your meal, ladies, but we must kindly ask you to stop attacking civilians."

Aurite looked at Zero in an almost condescending way. "And we must 'kindly' ask you to not get in our way, unless you want to die, human."

'You know the plan,' Nova 'said' in Zero's mind. It was rare for her to talk to him in that way, but the least these women knew of what they had planned, the better.

And he did know the plan. He rushed forwards, jumping at Aurite and connecting with a kick to the stomach which dragged the General back several inches. "Uhm, you should be doubling over in pain right now," he commented.

"Don't think I'm as weak as you are, human," Aurite snapped, "but I suppose can play with you for a bit."

"Go ahead, hit me," Zero snapped back.

Aurite let out a snarl and charged, swinging a magic-charged fist at Zero. The ninja, however dodged to the side, and Aurite's fist hit the wall behind him... And punched a hole into it. "Not fair, you moved," she said with a wicked smile.

Zero flinched as he looked at the hole left by her fist. "And I'm damn glad I did."

Meanwhile, Luminite was wondering why Nova wasn't attacking. "Hey, what's the matter with you, human? If you don't fight me, I'll go help Aurite with that loser."

"That 'loser' run a sword through you," Nova said with a smile, "so I think your friend should be careful not to make him get serious."

Luminite smiled back. "I'm not worried about her. I'll help her once I'm done with you!"

Nova saw Luminite run to her, but didn't move. She waited calmly, until the youma hit the invisible wall of psi energy she had been keeping up for the last minute. "The fact you can't see my attack, doesn't mean I'm not attacking you. I thought you learnt that last time we fought."

"Damn you, girl, I'm going to-" Luminite started, then froze. No, this bitch was doing it again, her muscles weren't responding! "I'm... Not... Going to let you do that... Again."

Nova's smile turned mocking as she saw Luminite vanish. Just as planned. She heard the surprised yelp behind her, as an updraft blast of psi energy knocked Luminite back and away. "I'm not going to let you do that again, either."

The General stood up and laughed. It wasn't a mocking laughter, she was genuinely amused by this. "Damn it, I never thought I would say this, but you're skilled, human. It's a pity we'll have to kill you and your friend. Aurite!"

Aurite had been waiting for that, her fight against this 'ninja' was just a warmup for her. "Got it," she shouted back, then turned to Zero. "I'm sorry, boy, but the game's over."

Zero pulled his swords out and smiled. "Let's do this."

"You'll do nothing," Aurite snapped, and a second later, two golden rings of energy shot from the ground, knocking Zero away. She saw the ninja fall unconscious and frowned. 'That should have killed him. Guess Kunzite was right, our lack of practice did make us weaker.'

Nova had seen this, and knew it wasn't good. Terry was alive, yes, but if these two women defeated her, then he would be left fighting them both. And as much as her melee skills could impress her at times, it was quite unlikely he would be able to beat them both. "You hurt him," she said, turning to glare at the two women.

"Yeah, that was the idea."

"That was your last mistake," Nova said, her voice almost a growl, as her pupils went white, and her hands lit up.

"Okay, she didn't do that before," Luminite mused, waiting for her attack. She realized, a second too late, that the real attack wasn't coming from her hands. "Aurite, watch out!"

But Aurite was already down to her knees. What kind of magic was this? Wind? Gravity? No, this was something else, her mind was in pain, not her body. "What... Are you?"

"Wish I knew," Nova said, "all you need to know, is that I will not let you monsters hurt anyone else."

Luminite smiled. Nova was attacking them both, yes, but most of her rage seemed to be focused on Aurite. And while Luminite's mind was hurting quite a lot, she knew she had to deal with it, and stay silent until she was ready. Question was, would Aurite stay conscious long enough for that?

Nova was glaring at Aurite. "See, that magic of yours may be strong, and I admit it's dangerous, but my powers are more direct. I don't need to damage my foe's body at all. I can destroy their mind. I don't like to use this much power, but you... You deserve it, monster."

"Such a good speech," Aurite said, noticing even speaking hurt, "but you forgot one little detail."

"And that is?" Nova asked.

"Me," Luminite shouted from the side. Before Nova could turn to her, she had already shot a couple energy blasts.

"Nova!"

It all happened too fast for her to react, but she knew what had happened. Zero had taken the hit for her, and he had been sent rolling back for several meters before stopping. "You freaks... Die!"

Aurite moved out of the way, but Luminite wasn't so lucky. The psichic wave Nova shot hit her, dragging her into a wall and making her body drill through concrete for a good meter. "Damn it, how can she be that-"

"Die already!"

Aurite paled in shock. The second wave had been directed only at Luminite, and it caused her body to vanish in a blink. She could see it, a black aura around the human girl... Was she even human? Aurite knew she would get an earful for this, but retreat was, right now, the wisest choice.

"Hana..."

Nova relaxed slightly as she heard Zero's voice, but then looked at him. There was blood all around him. "No... Terry, hang in there."

"It seems I didn't make it in time," Hakko said as he rushed down the metro's stairs.

"Hakko, we need to get him to a hospital."

Zero coughed weakly. "I... It's too late, Hana."

Nova turned back to normal and stared at him. "Terry, please... You can't die."

"We both knew this could happen. I'm just glad I could save you."

"I'm going to get those creeps. I'll kill them all."

"I don't want you to die, Hana. Please..."

"Sorry, but I can't sit around while creatures like those hurt innocents. Terry... I love you."

"I love you too... But I'm tired, need to... Sleep..."

He was gone, and Hakko knew it. He feared, for a moment, that Hana would lose her temper, as Terry had told him she could when grief took over her mind. But the girl just knelt besides him, crying. "I should have known better. Should have stopped you two from-"

"You won't stop me from going after them."

"I'm well aware that even I wouldn't be able to stop you if you go all out. And I don't want to stop you. I'll just give you a piece of useful information. Their main force is in Japan, and there's some warriors in there, already fighting them."

Hana frowned. Hakko had never told them who his sources were, but she knew they could be trusted. "Then I'll go there as soon as I'm done here."

"Let's go."

"No, I'll... I want to stay here for a while."

Hakko froze in his place for a second. He was sure he had never heard the girl sound so emotionless. Then again, he couldn't really blame her for that. "I will go and call some ambulances, the victims will surely need to be hospitalized."

Hana nodded slowly, but right now, she didn't care about the other victims. Her goal was clear in her mind, she would find out where these monsters were coming from, and kill them.

Both her family and Terry's father had been against the idea, but she had made it quite clear. Even if she had to go to Japan and live in a small hotel room, she was still going. In the end, Terry's father had told her she could stay in his mansion near Tokyo, a place he only used when he had to go to Japan for business. And with that out of the way, she had started her research. From what rumors said, there were two sides to that issue, one were the 'youma' and the other the Senshi. Finding the Senshi wouldn't be easy, but she decided to try going to the school everyone thought was their possible 'hideout,' Juuban High.

"Hi, I'm Usagi, what's your name?"

Then again, it had been a bad idea, apparently. Every guy in the hallway had stared at her, and a couple of them had tried to get a date with her. She wasn't in the mood for that, in fact it had only worsened her already rotten mood. But she realized the blonde in front of her desk wasn't intimidated by her stare. "Name's Hana."

"You would look nicer if you smiled."

"I have no reason to smile," Hana said. "I know there's rumors about me, and even despite those rumors, some morons tried to get a date with me. Heartless idiots." She slipped to English for the first insult, but she didn't quite care enough to do the same for the second one.

"Sorry to hear that... So, are the rumors true?"

"A person close to me died recently, that much is true."

"Rumors say he was murdered."

Hana looked at the thick-glassed guy who had just said that. "That is also true."

"And they say a monster killed him."

"Depends on your definition of monster. The shot was aimed at me, but Terry was always protecting me."

Umino saw the girl looking down and sighed. "Sorry, it must be hard for you, I won't-"

"It's okay. I'm always replaying that moment in my mind, even if nobody asks me about it. I moved away because staying in that city was painful."

"Well, if you need help, you can talk to me," Usagi said.

"Are you always this friendly to complete strangers?" Hana asked, slightly amused by the blonde's attitude.

"She is. Some say it's a birth defect," Umino noted.

Several hours later, Nova was flying around the city, trying to locate the enemy. She was about to give up and try later, when she sensed it, a weak surge of evil energy in a fast food restaurant. She floated down and observed the building. There were a lot of civilians inside, dining, but Nova could see the energy being drained out of them and into the tables. She also sensed that energy all converging on the woman behind the counter. "Youma."

She was about to phase in and take care of the creature, when she noticed something else. Tsukino was close to the building, and she was talking to a small cat. And the cat seemed to be talking back. The girl walked into an alley near the restaurant, but what came out was a girl wearing a form-fitting suit with a short skirt and bows. "A Senshi? Tsukino is one of them?" Nova was rather surprised at that, and as the Senshi walked into the building, she decided to watch.

The girl said something to the woman behind the counter, who glared at her, and then the woman's body changed. Her skin and hair color were different, but what made it all worse was the fact the 'armor' she was wearing seemed to be made of fries. The youma started shooting fries at the girl, who dodged, and Nova noticed these 'fries' punctured the walls after missing their mark. "And I thought fast food back home was bad for people's health," Nova mused. However, all the Senshi girl was doing was dodging and screeching. Seriously now? It was almost too painful to watch, so she decided to help.

"So this is the main defense line against evil? A girl whose fighting method is just running around screeching?"

Both Sailor Moon and the youma turned to the voice. "Who are you?"

Nova shrugged. "I'm Nova, and you're doing it wrong. Here, let me show you how you kill a monster."

The newcomer hadn't moved, but the youma could feel something. Suddenly, she felt like a thousand needles were drilling her head, and screamed in pain.

Moon was confused, the youma had simply screamed, and then fell to the ground, clutching her head. As the creature vanished, Moon turned to Nova. "How did you do that?"

"I'm an esper. I simply destroyed her mind. No need to waste my time with weak monsters."

"What-"

"I don't have time to waste on weaklings playing hero, either," Nova said and vanished.

While Nova didn't think much of Sailor Moon, Hana still had to recognize Usagi was something else. She was empathic, friendly and likeable. Those were qualities a leader needed, and that's what Usagi was to the Senshi, if rumors were to be trusted. The rumors also said these girls had 'magic' attacks which could destroy youma as easily as she had. Perhaps Moon's performance had been a fluke? Or was her 'running and screeching' just a way to make those creatures lower their guard? Maybe she had underestimated her.

"I'm sure there's a nice girl underneath all that gloom."

"There was, once, but I'm not sure she's there anymore." She looked at Usagi. It was strange, but she felt like she could trust this girl. And despite herself, she knew she wasn't quite ready to fight the youma alone, without a clue on who they were and what they wanted. Trying had already cost her too much.

"Are you okay?"

She made up her mind, much despite herself, she knew trying to fight on her own could only end one way, and she would not let Terry's death be in vain. "Not quite. Tsukino, I need to talk to you, and I know your house is in the same direction as mine. Let's talk while we walk, after school."

"Uh, sure. What about?"

"Sorry, I can't tell you here," Hana said with a sigh.

"So, what did you want to talk about? Is it about your... Friend?"

Hana looked at Usagi, trying to decide how to say what she needed to say. In the end, she chose the most direct path. "First things first. I want to apologize for calling you a weakling last night."

Usagi stopped walking and stared at her in shock. "What? You mean you are-"

"I am Nova."

"It was a youma, wasn't it? The one who killed your friend?"

Hana looked down for a second, then nodded. "Terry was much more than a friend to me, but yes. Two of these youma teamed up on us when we tried to fight them. It wasn't the first time we fought more than one foe, but these women were different to the usual thieves and thugs we faced. One of them shot an energy blast at me while I was distracted, and Terry took the hit for me. The damage was too much for him... I lost it for a minute, and that let me kill one of those youma, but the other one escaped. I was told the youma's main force is here, so... Here I am."

"So that's why you're here? To kill the one who-"

"I'm here to kill every youma I find."

"Revenge is not-"

Hana glared at the blonde. "Tsukino, shut up."

Usagi shook her head. "Listen, I won't tell you that I know how you feel, because I don't like lying, but-"

"Then don't try to stop me."

"Do you think he would like to see you like this?"

Hana shook her head. "I know he wouldn't, but... I need to make sure that Aurite, at least, is dead."

Usagi gasped. "Aurite?"

"What's wrong?"

"Those youma whose name ends in 'ite' are called Generals, and they're the strongest youma. You're saying you tried to fight two of them?"

"I managed to kill one, as I told you, but I know it won't be as easy next time."

"Why not?"

"I don't normally use my full power, because it's too hard to control, too hard to stop once I unleash it. When Terry died, I just couldn't stop myself, but I fear I could hurt someone who doesn't deserve it if I go wild again."

"Someone who cares about nothing but revenge will end up hurting someone who doesn't deserve it, no matter what kind of 'power' they use."

Usagi looked back and saw Luna there. "How long have you been there?"

"Long enough to know her goals aren't quite alligned with ours."

Hana looked at the cat and sighed. A normal human would have freaked out at hearing a cat speak, but she was not a normal human, and she had seen enough weird things to make a talking cat 'par for the course' in her mind. "I would love to know more about your war. All I know is what rumors say, and I know better than trusting rumors to be a hundred percent true. There were plenty of dumb rumors about me and Terry back home, after all."

Luna nodded at that. "These Youma we're fighting, they once took over the Earth, a very long time ago, but the Senshi from that time stopped them. Now they're back once more, and we have to stop them yet again."

"What happens if they win?"

"These youma want to take over the world, and to either enslave or eliminate mankind."

Hana thought about it for a minute, then nodded. "I see. I... We always wanted to help those who couldn't defend themselves, it's why we started doing what we did. But back home, all we did was stopping criminals, there were no 'super villains' to fight. I came here looking for revenge, but perhaps I can use these powers I have to stop a real threat, for once. "

Usagi smiled. "Good. Being alone is not good for anyone. I meant what I said before, if you need to talk..."

Hana smiled. "Thanks, Tsukino."

"Call me Usagi, all my friends do."

"Maybe I'll call you Rabbit instead. That's what Usagi means in English, and your hairdo makes you look a bit like one. Either way, call me Hana."

Luna chuckled at the 'Rabbit' bit, not minding the glare Usagi gave her. "I'll admit I was impressed by your power. I was watching Moon's fight so I saw what you did. But the youma we've seen so far are weak, there should be stronger ones around. Maybe they're saving them for last."

Usagi sighed. "The ones I've fought are scary enough."

"Maybe if you learnt how to fight, you would find them less scary."

"I don't need to learn-" Usagi started, but then blinked in awe. Somehow, Hana had covered the distance between them in a split second, and her fist was right in front of her nose. "Whoa..."

Hana smiled at her reaction. "Same thing I thought first time I saw Hakko showing off."

"Hakko?"

"Terry learnt martial arts from him, and at first I thought it silly, but then I realized I couldn't just depend on my 'mind tricks' to get me out of trouble. So I asked him to teach me too."

"Looks like he's a good teacher," Luna noted. "But really, Usagi's only physical activity is running to school almost every morning, because she always wakes up late."

"Luna!" Usagi shouted with a glare.

"It's true," Luna said. "You need to take this war seriously. All three of you do, in fact. If you could fight those youma without your magic, you would have a much easier time."

"Hmph, I'll take it as seriously as I think I need to."

Hana looked away. "That..."

Usagi was confused by her reaction. "Hana?"

"Not taking the youma seriously is why I'm here, Usagi. It's why Terry is gone. Maybe I was wrong about you," Hana said before she started walking away.

"Wait!"

"What?"

Usagi didn't mind the cold tone of her voice. "I'm sorry, you're right. I didn't choose to be a Senshi, and I hate having to fight, but... Rei is always telling me to grow up, too. Maybe I'm not good enough to be a Senshi, after all."

Hana shook her head. "Damn, I feel like a jerk now. Usagi, I've observed you at school. You're kind, friendly, you empathized with me even though I spent quite a lot of time glaring at you when you tried to befriend me. Sure, you're bad at fighting, but nobody's born knowing how to fight. Well, except Hakko, or so Terry used to say." She smiled at her new friend - and she was only slightly surprised at thinking about Usagi that way. "I didn't choose to be what I am, either. I was born with these powers. But a few years ago I decided that I wanted to use these powers to help those who needed help. Having them and not using them, or using them half-heartedly, would be a waste."

Usagi smiled at that. "Helping people is the only good thing about being a Senshi. Well, that and meeting Ami and Rei. Rei may be mean to me but I think she just isn't used to being nice."

Hana chuckled at that. "Seen a lot of people like that. Sorry if I was too harsh, but seriously, these youma are not fooling around. If you don't take them seriously, you may regret it one day."

"I know I could die fighting those monsters. It's why I do a lot of 'running and screeching.'"

Luna blinked at that. It didn't happen too often, but sometimes Usagi showed her that she knew how dangerous this war was. She knew what could happen if she failed. The girl could be naive and careless most of the time, but she still got the job done. "Usagi..."

She looked at Luna. "And I have all that running to school to thank for letting me run fast enough to make sure those youma can't hit me."

"Most of the time," Luna said.

"Hmph."

"'Nobody's perfect, and I don't want to be a nobody.'" Hana said with a smile.

"Huh?"

"Terry used to say that when he messed up. He was quite a joker."

There it was again, Usagi thought. Whenever Hana mentioned him, her tone went back to the cold tone she had used when they met. "Hana, are you okay?"

"I'll be fine," the taller girl said dismissively.

"I meant what I said, if you want to talk about it-"

"Not yet, but I may take you up on that offer one of these days. See you tomorrow at school."

Luna blinked as Hana vanished. "So she can do that even without transforming."

"Why can't I do that? It would help me get to school in time."

Luna shook her head. Usagi really needed to work on her priorities. "You're way too weak to be able to teleport."

"So if I get stronger, I'll be able to do that too?"

"One day, you may be able to," Luna said. "But let's get you home before your mother calls the cops."

Usagi walked up the temple stairs and smiled as she saw Rei and Ami were there. "Hi."

Rei looked at her, then at the girl behind her. "Hi. Is that the girl?" Usagi had told them about the new would-be-hero in town, and Rei had been quite surprised by what she heard.

Hana looked around before nodding. "I am Nova. Name's Hana Thompson."

"Nice to meet you," Ami and Rei said politely.

Usagi smiled "The scowly one is Rei Hino, Sailor Mars, and the nice one's Ami Mizuno, Sailor Mercury." That caused Luna, who had been silent so far, to giggle.

"Scowly?" Rei said, predictably, with a scowl.

Hana smiled. "So the Senshi of Fire lives in the River of Fire. That's amusing."

Ami chuckled at that, then noticed both Rei and Usagi were looking at them in confusion. "She made the same connection I did, this temple's name matches your element, Rei."

"Oh, sorry, my English isn't good."

"No worries, I'm not going to expect everyone to know English in this city."

"But some of us do," Ami said in a very good English.

"Wow," Hana said. "Wish my Japanese was as good as your English, Mizuno."

"So, Usagi and Luna told us about your circumstances," Rei said. "I'm sorry for your loss."

"Me too," Ami said rapidly, "I didn't know there were people with strange powers out there, other than us."

"Looking back, we weren't ready for 'magic,'" Hana said. "We were used to knocking criminals around without much trouble, the worst I ever got was a bullet scratching my arm because I guessed its angle wrong, and that was when we started 'playing' hero. But those 'Generals' were strong. I'm only alive thanks to him."

"Sorry for making you remember about-"

"Don't worry. But there's something I want to know. The Senshi who are now in the States, are they part of your group?"

"We don't know who they are," Luna admitted. "There's also Sailor V in London. I'm not sure what they're doing over there, but they're keeping some of those Generals busy, so that makes our job easier."

"I just wish those Senshi back in New York had showed up a few weeks earlier. It's almost like they were waiting for it to happen." She noticed the looks of the three girls (and cat) and flinched. "Sorry, that's just my paranoia talking."

Rei decided to switch the topic slightly. "Usagi also told us you know how to fight."

"I was trained by one of the best martial artists in the world. Or so Hakko says, anyways."

Rei rose an eyebrow. "Hakko? As in, Kyo Hakko?"

"Yeah, that's him. You know him?"

"He's an acquiatance of my grandfather, I saw him a few times when I was a kid, but I heard he had moved overseas. If he taught you how to fight, you must be quite good."

Hana looked at Usagi, who nodded. She then did the same move she had used the day before, with the exact same result. "I like to think I am."

Rei blinked and looked at her. It wasn't just the quick movement that surprised her, but that Hana could manage to stop right before hitting her. "That was impressive."

"He was faster than me," Hana said with a sad smile. "He was the one who spent the most time training with Hakko, to make up for his lack of special skills. I couldn't beat him if he went all out, unless I cheated and used my powers."

"I know a bit about how you feel," Rei said, "I lost my mother years ago. It's a part of why I'm 'scowly.'" That last part was said along with a glare in Usagi's direction, but Usagi laughed it off.

Hana decided to ask them about something else she had noticed. "You know, thanks to the youma I know I can sense this 'magic' you speak of, but what I'm sensing in you, is... To be blunt, compared to the youma 'Generals' I fought, you barely have any of it."

Luna looked at her. "So you can sense mana too."

"Mana?"

"That's the name magical energy had, back when the ancient Senshi were around. Anyhow, Senshi have a latent ability that lets them cloak their mana, to make it almost impossible for anyone to identify them as Senshi. What you're sensing is only a very small fraction of their real power."

"Oh. That explains it, I guess. "

"Generals are powerful," Luna said, "but teamwork can defeat them. And these girls, they're at their lowest level of power."

"We are?" Rei asked.

"I never told you that," Luna said, "but from what I remember, legends speak of the old Senshi having enough mana to fight hordes of monsters many times stronger than these youma. With time and experience, you may one day be just as powerful."

"That sounds nice," Hana said. "I suppose I should warn you, just in case. My power is... Different."

"No shit," Rei said bluntly.

"What I mean is, I've always been this powerful, ever since I started using this power, but-" She shook her head, "I only use what I can control, with a few exceptions. If I let out too much power, I won't be able to control it. It happened when they took Terry from me, but I was able to keep my rage focused that time. When I was younger, my brother died in a car accident, and I... I couldn't stop my grief back then, I couldn't control my power. Fortunately the area where I- Where my powers exploded, was empty. If Terry hadn't calmed me down, I don't know if I could have stopped that."

"... Wait, you mean your friend stopped you? How?"

"He was... More than a friend, even back then I was starting to realize I felt something else for him. He hugged me and let me cry on his shoulder until I calmed down."

"But if your powers were as indiscriminate and dangerous as you said," Ami noted, "wouldn't they have hurt him too?"

Hana stared at her for a few seconds before chuckling. "Damn. Hakko's right, sometimes looking at things from the outside helps... I never thought about that."

Ami had summoned her computer and was looking at it. "I can't identify the kind of energy you use, but you have a lot of it."

"Is she stronger than us?" Usagi said.

Ami looked at the data her computer gave her for a few more second, then nodded. "Between her power and her melee skill, she could probably beat the three of us in our Senshi forms."

"Can't we just leave the fighting to her?" Usagi said. She saw the way her friends looked at her and chuckled. "Just joking, I promise I won't take this war lightly."

"Good," Hana said. "I'll go take a look around the city, maybe I'll get lucky and find a General."

"Hana..."

"I don't plan on fighting alone, Usagi, but I can sense even weak youma like the one I killed the other day, from quite a long distance. I'll tell you if I find anything." After saying that, she vanished, not waiting for a reply.

Usagi turned to her friends. "So, what do you think?"

"She's... Interesting," Rei admitted. "She may not be a Senshi, but if she was able to kill one of those Generals, she'll be a valuable ally."

"I don't care about allies, she's my friend."

Rei smiled. "I knew you would say that. I guess that I'll give her a chance. After all, I don't regret being your friend, or Ami's."

Ami was still looking at her computer. "That's amazing, her first 'teleport' got her five blocks from here, and she jumped several times after that."

"She killed a youma by looking at it," Usagi said. "I don't think anything she does could surprise me after that."

Hana had always thought the universe had a weird sense of humor, and once again she had found proof of that. She had sensed youma in the area, and the closer she got to them, the more exact her detection was. So they were in the shop she was looking at from across the street. A flower shop. "Damn these youma, I like flowers. I'm going to-" she stopped and shook her head. No, she had promised her she would not try to fight alone. Despite still not being in a great mood, she had to admit that Usagi had helped her become a lot less grim. No, she would not fight these youma alone. Overconfidence had already caused her enough grief.

Usagi and Luna were walking home, but suddenly they both stopped. "Uh, hi?"

Hana smiled. "Hi."

"Aren't you afraid someone could see you teleport?"

"I check the target area before I do it," Hana said. "Anyhow, I found some youma. They're using a flower shop."

"... A flower shop that's five blocks away from here," Usagi guessed.

"How did you know?"

"It's a new flower shop. Youma tend to open new shops, or give huge discounts, to attract victims," Usagi explained.

Luna nodded. "Yeah, that's been their pattern. I didn't know you had noticed, Usagi."

"Luna, I'm naive, not stupid."

Luna sighed. "Right, you can be smart, you just don't feel like it most of the time."

Hana chuckled at their expense. "You two really get along, huh?"

"In any case, let's go get them."

"What about Mizuno and Hino?"

"We'll call them if we need them," Usagi said.

Hana nodded. "I'll trust your judgment." She looked at Usagi and Luna and shrugged. "Either of you ever teleported before?"

"No," both answered in unison.

"Okay, hope you don't have phase sickness, then."

"Phase-"

"- What?" Usagi looked around and blinked a few times. Their surroundings had changed, they were now in an alley, and she could see the flower shop from there. "Wow, that felt... Weird."

"No nausea?" Hana asked. Both the cat and girl shook their heads. "Good. Terry got sick the first time I teleported with him. Quite literally lost his lunch."

"Oh. Eww."

Hana chuckled. "Anyways, nobody will see you transform here."

"Good thinking," Luna said, and looked at the store in the distance. "I can sense them. Those are youma, but there's no strong auras there."

After transforming, Moon and Nova (whose 'transformation' was nothing fancy, just her suit replacing her civilian clothing,) rushed into the store. There were no customers inside, which made things much easier for them. "Stop it right there!"

"Sorry, girls, the cosplay convention is two blocks north of here," the woman behind the counter said dismissively.

"Drop the act, youma," Nova snapped.

The woman's form changed, her skin turned green and her outfit was replace by one made of leave. "I didn't know the Senshi had pets."

Nova frowned. "Did you just call me- Okay, that's it."

Moon noticed Nova shooting barely visible blasts at the youma. "Not going to-"

Nova shook her head. "I was still too angry, but I hate using that part of my powers. I can still beat some weak critter without it."

The youma had dodged the blasts - barely - and realized whoever this new foe was, was not going to be easy to deal with. "Can I interest you in some flowers?" She asked, and the many plants around the store suddenly started moving. Some grew eyes, some crawled on vines, but they all looked quite dangerous. "They're to die for, I promise."

Nova tried to blast the 'minions' to bits, but they were more than she could handle, and soon she was buried under a pile of assorted plants. She noticed Moon had managed to dodge the plants, and was honestly impressed. That girl's dodging was beyond 'good.' However... She shot a short-lived 'bubble' of psi energy, knocking all the plants off her. "There's too many of them."

Moon nodded as she dodged a couple plants which jumped at her. "Agreed. Can you do something about them? If I can shoot that youma, they should all go back to normal."

"Sure, let me just..." Nova focused, and suddenly, all the plants stopped moving. "Whatever you're going to do, do it fast."

Moon smiled and took out her tiara. "Sure. Moon Tiara... Action!"

Nova was close enough to be able to sense just how much energy Moon's 'weapon' had. These girls were no weaklings, at all. It would have taken her a lot of energy just to be able to slow down that tiara, and she doubted she could stop it completely. "Nice," she said as the youma was hit and turned into dust.

Moon looked around. "Aw, Tuxedo Kamen didn't show up this time."

Nova had heard about a 'weirdo in a tuxedo' that sometimes was rumored to show up wherever the Senshi were. "Is he one of your friends?" She asked as they walked out of the store.

"No, he just- He saved me and the other Senshi several times by now. We don't have any idea who he is."

"Or what his goals are," Luna said as she walked to them.

Moon nodded slowly at that. "Yeah... Anyways, Thanks for the help, Nova."

"That's what friends are for," Nova said with a smile. She was still not in her best mood, but just being around this girl seemed to make her feel at ease. It was strange, maybe it was a Senshi thing?

In any case, she would continue helping the Senshi. Not just for revenge, but because it was the right thing to do. Were their roles reversed (and Hana at times wished they had been,) she was sure Terry would also help the Senshi. She had been 'playing hero' until now, but in this war, she could make a difference, stop a real threat.

Of course, she and her new friends would not always have an easy time with their battles, and the youma would not be the only threat they would face. But that is a story, perhaps, for another time.

A/N: Apologies if the title offends any Potter zealots, I just couldn't resist hinting at what was going to happen in the episode with that title.

I also didn't plan for the first two episodes of this 'book' to use that naming pattern, but as I said last episode, I haven't really planned a lot for this one. But the idea of Nova being the one who survived was something I wrote a very quick script for many years ago (more than a decade) and finding it was what gave me the idea of doing these divergences, so I couldn't leave this particular story out of the 'book.'