Chapter 3

Ami could feel the eyes of the Future Scouts on her as she approached the agreed-upon meeting place. They appeared seemingly from nowhere, their heads held high, knowing their power was far greater than their counterparts born here in the present. They walked like some of the American Marines she'd seen one time on leave. That self-confident, military swagger.

"What's wrong, little Mercury?" asked Chibi Io.

"It's just that sometimes you remind me of Marines on leave, that's all." Ami replied.

"We're not military." Future Moon replied, her eyes glaring.

"Police then?"

"We're not sanctioned by any Earth government, nor do we need to be." Future Moon scoffed. "We do what we have to to protect the universe, the people understand that and leave us alone."

"It was just a thought." Ami replied defensively.

"Hey, don't give Mercury the third degree!" Serena said.

"That was never my intention." Future Moon stated.

"Have you ever tried taking other people's feelings into consideration?"

"Serena, it's okay." Ami said. "Really."

"See? No harm done." Future Moon stated, a slight smile curling her lips.

"Ami just said that because she's scared of you." Serena continued. "To be honest, I am too, a little, but I can't stand here and just let you intimidate Sailor Mercury as if you were some kind of drill sergeant!"

"You don't understand." Future Moon said. "As time has progressed, Earths enemies have continued to grow in power, and its defenders have had to do likewise just to survive, to say nothing of scratching victory from the ashes of their friends." She turned her back on the assembled group, and for the first time since their arrival, the leader of the Future Scouts sounded as if she were expressing emotion. "Most of the time when we die there's not enough left to have a funeral with. We get vaporized, blown apart, eaten by space monsters, or erased from history, so that only Sailor Scouts who possess ChronoShards even remember them. And what happens to our enemies? They escape with their lives, if only barely, or they get brought back to life by their servants, or cloned, or rebuilt as a robot or a golem. And there's never enough time to mourn our dead, because as soon as we've finished with one mission, another one springs up. Our roster database is disgustingly out of date because our enemies keep coming and coming, leaving us little time to catch up, even when it comes to recordkeeping."

"Is that the root of your madness?" Sailor Venus asked. Sailor Moon and Mercury whirled in delight at hearing their friend's voice again. The Future Scouts instantly assumed battle postures.

"Stand easy, Scouts." Sailor Andromeda said, appearing beside Sailor Venus. "Nobody wants a fight. Now, Sailor Moon, I believe you have something that needs to be shown to our friends here."

"Oh, yeah!" Serena said, pulling the silver box from her purse. "Here. Sailor Callisto pulled it out of a woman yesterday and had it sent to us."

"It controlled the woman, filled her with evil power, drove her insane with agony and bent her will to that of Queen Beryl." Andromeda said. "It's a rare element called Darkstone."

"Ye gods!" Future Moon exclaimed as the box came open. It tumbled from her hands and hit the ground. The stone spilled out onto the sidewalk. All the Scouts took several steps back. "Pure, crystalline evil! You say Sailor Callisto pulled it out of someone?"

"Right here." Callisto said, materializing from the shadows with Kori and Chaio Shen. Sailor Mars and Sailor Jupiter appeared on a roof above the group.

"We're surrounded." Future Moon muttered.

"Not so, Sailor Moon of the future." Kori said. "We're all on the same team here." Future Moon scowled. Kori approached, and she backed away defensively. "I have no desire to harm you." he said. "Any of you. Look at you, especially, Future Moon, you have been concentrating on fighting the darkness for so long you never give yourself a chance to look at the light. You've denied yourself for so long you don't even know who you are anymore. Let me help you. I can heal you, make you stronger, and there won't be a dark force in the universe that can stand in your way."

"Stay back!" Future Moon commanded, but Kori continued his advance. He touched Future Moon's shoulder, then her mind. She struggled mightily, harder than any Sailor Scout of any timeframe had before, but Kori's unflappable patience allowed him to find the flaw in her defense. He touched with his mind the reservoir of emotions she kept bottled up inside.

"You're close." he said. "The pressure's very close to breaking you from within. Let go, Future Moon. Let me help you. My mother was a high priestess of the Catalytic Plane. My father was a knight of Ares' Nebula, a sworn defender of all life. I'm not your enemy. Lean on me, let me help you." The emotional dam burst, and Future Moon collapsed in Kori's arms, crying as she'd never cried before. Kori loosened her blonde braids, then ran his fingers through her hair, smoothing it out. The other Future Scouts looked on in wonder.

"His mother was a Catalyst?" Chibi Io asked.