Boredom

Boredom
by Deathwish

Story Codes:
mc - mind control
en - enhancement (powers)
cd - character death
tt - time travel/alternate timelines


DISCLAIMER: The following is fiction, the Sailor Scouts are property of some strange people in Japan who aren't quite as strange as me ^_~. They were not created by me, I claim no credit for them, nor am I making any money off this. Permission is granted to re-post this anywhere you want, so long as 1) no money is charged to view it, and 2) you let me know where you're posting it.

PROLOGUE

At every level of society, there are places where the general population is forbidden to go, for various reasons. In elementary school, the room in which confiscated items are stored is forbidden because it contains items which the school dares not dispose of, yet adamantly refuses to return to their rightful owners. In banks, the vault is forbidden because that is where the much-needed currency is kept. In the distant future, there is a building deep beneath the earth's crust, jealously guarded, which serves as a depository for the confiscatime-ime-travel artifacts of thousands of slain and otherwise bested villains. It is called the Museum of Time, though it is more like a toxic waste dump than a museum. Its only visitors are those who are assigned to add another item to the growing collection.

Until now.

He moves as silently as a shadow's shadow among the dusty "exhibits," sometimes pausing to blow some dust off of this or that ancient machine, the dust making the laser fields protecting the items visible. The plastic covering the liquid-crystal display on an ancient electronic time-dilation accelerator from way back in the thirtieth century has long since decayed to nothing, exposing the workings beneath.

"Someone should complain to the curator." he says. "These displays are in horrid condition." He comes to an early attempt at a time machine, constructed in the twentieth century during the time of the original Sailor Scouts. The ancient machine is so old and decrepit that his sigh causes it to fall into a thousand fragmented pieces. A diamond tumbles outside the laser field, rolling to the uninvited visitor's feet. He picks it up off the floor, examining it closely. "It appears this is the only thing worth spitting on in this dump." the visitor sighs. He continues on until he comes to a door the size of the entire north face of the Sailor Watchtower. The door is imposing, carved from the trunk of a great Tree that once grew on a giant planet in another galaxy, its hinges requiring more steel than a bullet train, the metal skirt on the bottom using many times that. He knows that to touch the Door leading to the Second Great Hall, in which were kept the ageless magical time-travel items confiscated from dark magicians, powerful beings and even dark deities, is to sound the alarm in the Watchtower overhead. Instead he lets his cloak guide him, blending into the ows,ows, becoming one with them, and emerging once more from another shadow, this one inside the Hall.

Sailor Chibi Io and the Sailor Centauri twins, Alpha and Proxima, followed behind Sailor Andromeda as she watched the stranger move among the exhibits in the Museum. Chibi Io had long ago touched the stud on her belt which had activated the silent alarm. They watched him disappear through a shadow, all but Sailor Andromeda dropping her jaw in surprise. Proxima Centauri called for backup.

The Second Great Hall was different than the first. The difference was palpable the first time one entered. Unlike time-machines, the time-magic required to create items such as the Phoenix Gate, the Timelord's Scepter and the Time Key was immense. A gathering like this of so many magical implements of temporal manipulation was bound to cause ripple effects in time. Magical protections on the walls, the vaulted ceilings and the Door kept these time-ripples from warping the fabric of space and time outside the Museum. He used his magical senses to determine where it was safe to walk. Light itself was refracted where one time-rate moved on to another. Distortions floated about, rippling the light like heat shimmer. In a few places, unwary Scouts stood or hovered, transfixed by distortions which they had unwittingly walked into or which had moved without warning. Here was a place fraught with peril. A single misstep could freeze him forever in time. As he moved, afterimages rippled behind him, each a nanosecond behind the previous, stretching behind him like a ribbon, beginning to disappear a few seconds later. He paused in front of several exhibits...shields, gems, stones, and artifacts of every description. Floating beneath a bell jar sat the Time Key. Its time-energy had diminished little over the millennia. Quirking an eyebrow, he caused the bell jar to rise, quickly followed by the Key. The light-bending time-distortions in the Hall would render lasers useless, so they were not used. The distortions served as their own security system, requiring a great deal of skill--more than was possessed by any normal being, certainly--to navigate safely. Still, compared to him the challenge was negligible and amateurish. Finally he held the Key in his hand. He closed his eyes and examined its energy. No good. It was a unilateral artifact. It could only move backward and forward. One had to be careful not to interact with the environment. The slightest change, especially if one goes far enough into the past, could affect history in profound ways and be detrimental to the health, even the existence, of the traveler. He returned the Key and its jar to their position. Over to the right was the Timelord's Scepter. Much more powerful, and infinitely more dangerous, it had been created in the place where all times and timelines, all possible histories and even those which were not so plausible, crossed. It hovered a couple of feet above the ground, its staff pointing off toward one of the vaulted domes in the ceiling. The intruder did not need his mystical senses to tell him it hovered in a time-distortion, frozen there until the distortion moved on or was forced aside. Slowly the shimmering of another distortion descended, hugging the wall. One never could tell what would happen when two distortions met. They could occlude one another, or cancel each other out, or one could bump the other elsewhere, depending on the situation.

Impatiently, Sailor Andromeda leaped, her silken red hair barely moving in its tightly-braided bun as she touched the wall across from the Door, and with astonishing strength launched herself at it. She somersaulted in the air, launching a power-call which would allow her to open the Door.

"Andromeda Nova Kick!" she exclaimed, landing a deceptively powerful foot on the division between the left and right halves of the Door. It swung open, the impact of the Door against the doorstops measuring prominently on the Richter scale.

"Not much for subtlety, is she?" Sailor Proxima Centauri asked.

"She's only been with us six weeks, Proxima." Chibi Io replied. "Give her time."

"Chibi Phobos already quit because of her." Sailor Alpha Centauri remarked. "While we're thinking of it, we should add 'tact' to her vocabulary list as well." They followed nonetheless. They didn't want to be left out.

The opening of the Door reverberated through the Hall, rattling the walls, floor and ceilinA reA redhead strode imperiously in, as if she expected the distortions to part for her like the waters of the Red Sea had for Moses millennia ago. Gracefully she bounded over the most troublesome anomalies, guided in part by the frozen Scouts who hadn't moved in decades, if not centuries, and in part by the distinctive shimmer of the more severe time-differences.

"I don't know who you are or why you've come, but this place is forbidden." she said.

"I haven't taken anything." he said. "Care to search me?" With that, he removed everything but his jet-black boxers. He noticed just the slightest dilation or pur pupils as they moved up and down his form. He could sense her thoughts as she looked him over, many of them beginning with "I can't allow myself to..." She checked the discarded clothing with a toe, and finally called back to her companions that he was clean. "You're not through yet." he said, stepping closer. His muscles were like coiled springs, powerful, but without enough bulk to slow them down, and he certainly wasn't the bodybuilder type, but the gentle touch that pulled her against his chest could easily have broken her neck if he had wanted to. He grasped her hands and guided them over his boxers, and locked eyes with the confused and flustered young redhead, her imperiousness dissipated like mushroom dust in the wind. The others held back, unwilling to brave the distortions that filled the room and confused by the stranger's behavior. The redhead's name was Meiko Nakajima, also called Sailor Andromeda. Her sense of duty prompted her to force back the emotions that had flooded her as she tried to break his gaze. He extended his consciousness to her, and she was fighting a war on two fronts. One against his probing mind, the other against her own suppressed nature. With that nature as his ally, he couldn't lose. The psionic tendril in her mind felt to her like liquid music, making her want to relax, even though she knew fully well that he was trying to control her...but it felt so good. The intruder smiled as her resistance began to flag. He leaned down, reaching his arms tenderly around her. As his lips brushed hers, he felt her shiver. When he finally let it evolve into a full-fledged kiss, the last of her resistance melted. Her eyes fluttered open when he broke the kiss, and she smiled up at him, feeling utterly obedient and yet more free than ever at the same time. He reached behind her head and removed the pins that held her hair in place. The ruby wealth tumbled about her body, all the way down to the backs of her knees. She shook her head to free it from the braids.

The visitor heard the sound of the Timelord's Scepter clattering to the floor and leaped into the air with Andromeda in his arms. The anomaly which had been descending had bumped the time-freeze distortion, and it was now scooting across the floor like a soap bubble, bouncing off an extremely slow time-bubble containing one of the frozen Scouts. He quickly dashed to her aid before the distortion which had been resting atop that one could descend. Like a laser fired in a house of mirrors the intruder bounded between walls and ceilings, travelling wherever there was a straight line of distortion-free space. They landed in front of the awestruck Scouts and departed through the First Great Hall. Chibi Io gave chase. The Centauri twins closed the door so displaced distortions wouldn't escape.

Out in the open, the intruder was set upon by several Sailor Scouts. He dodged their attacks easily. He could destroy them in the blink of an eye if he so desired, but where would the fun be in that? Instead, he merely relied on Sailor Andromeda's newly-shifted loyalties.

"Galaxy Spiral!" she called, spinning like a tornado. Spirals of light began to radiate out from her body as it lit up like a star. Everything coplanar with the spiral was knocked away. When she finished with that, she turned her attention to those who had leaped clear. "Nova Force!" she called, sending a fireball the size of a Buick at one of her comrades. Several of the remaining Scouts dispersed, catching the outer edges of the fireball's corona. The invader gathered Andromeda back into his arms, and together they and the rescued Scout disappeared through a shadow.

"Why attack your fellow Scouts?" Sailor Callisto asked Sailor Andromeda.

"I don't expect you to understand, but I couldn't let them harm him." Andromeda replied.

"You're right, I don't understand." Callisto replied, her Chinese features turning down in a scowl, her dark hair tickling her bare nipples as Andromeda fussed over her, checking for any injury she may have sustained.

"That's because you don't know me like she does." stated the man who had dared invade the Sailor Watchtower and the Museum of Time beneath it. Sailor Callisto whirled. She hadn't heard him enter. "You will soon."

"Who are you?" Callisto demanded.

"My name is Kori."

"And what kind of power do you have over her that you can make her turn against her friends?" She stared him straight in the eye. Her mistake. Her will was strong, and she was not conflicted as Andromeda had been, but her will was not as strong as his, and her resistance tapered off slowly before petering out entirely. He kissed her as he remolded her mind, changing only enough to cement her loyalty to As As Callisto's eyes fluttered open, Kori drew Andromeda into the embrace as well. Soon it became a three-way make-out session as the girls competed for Kori's mouth...and competed with Kori for each other's mouths. With their inhibitions lowered, they were not averse to same-sex encounters. They were free to indulge their curiosity. Kori stepped back, watching with rapt attention as the two former Scouts (for it was doubtful the Scouts would welcome them back after this) fondled and caressed one another. Callisto began to undress Andromeda, who in turn removed Callisto's panties, the only thing she had been wearing during the inspection. Kori removed his own clothes as he watched the two now-naked women fall to the plush carpet, their minds ablaze with passion. He watched in wonder as Andromeda maneuvered herself so that her pubis hovered just over Callisto's waiting mouth. She lowered her own mouth, her tongue flicking across Callisto's clitoris, causing her to moan in pleasure. Callisto returned the favor with some passionate licking of her own. Soon they were writhing on the floor, lost in the throes of pleasure. The girls cried out as they climaxed in turn, but continued until both were nearly exhausted. Kori stood over them now.

"Meiko..." he began. Both of them whimpered at the interruption, but Meiko stood without further complaint. Kori brought her over to the easy chair and sat. He placed her left foot next to his right hip, and her right foot next to his left hip. He held her waist as he lowered her onto him, pausing just before the entrance to her dripping slit. He glanced up at her. She looked at him with lust in her eyes, her long, red hair cascading over her body. He slid her down around his shaft. She moaned as he slid into her. He guided her, showing her just how to move to bring him the greatest pleasure, and she was an eager student. Soon, he could let his mind wander. He caressed and fondled her lush young breasts. She moaned louder as he began to pay more attention to the sensitive nipples. Her head thrashed from side to side as another orgasm built within her. "Hold on." he told her, and she bit her lip, holding back as he had commanded. She held on as long as she could, until she felt him fountain inside of her. Her self-control broke then, and she cried out in ecstasy. She nearly fell, but thanks to Kori's hold on her she merely lapsed into unconsciousness against his chest. Callisto knelt off to the side, three fingers buried in her twat. "Stop finger-fucking yourself." Kori commanded. Obediently, Callisto's hand left her pussy. Kori placed Meiko gently on the plush carpet, then approached Sailor Callisto. She whimpered in desire as he gazed into her eyes. Her mind was an boo book...or an open text file he could edit at will. He didn't want to destroy her core self, however, merely bend her to his will. "Mai Li," he said, calling her by her real name, "you're responsible for getting me back in shape so that I can give you what I gave Meiko." Mai Li didn't have any experience with this. She didn't know what to do. At first she tried making her expression as lustful as possible. Then she tried opening her mind and letting her emotions flow down the link. Finally, in desperation, she took his penis in her mouth and began to suckle him. She quickly felt him respond as her tongue twirled around it, massaging the head between her tongue and her soft palate. As he hardened in her mouth, he also suppressed her gag reflex and caused her to relax her throat so he could enter. She moaned, the sensation travelling up his shaft all the way to his brain, bringing him immense pleasure. With a great effort of self-control, he managed to pull out of her mouth. He straddled her, growling low in animal lust. The hunger in her eyes answered his as he guided himself into her. She cried out in pleasure as he thrust into her. His power removed the pain of her deflowerment, leaving behind only pleasure. Her eyes were closed so tightly that tears were actually squeezed out. She cried out his name as her body shuddered in orgasm. Her passionate thrashing brought about his second orgasm of the evening.

Kori sat before the now-unconscious Mai Li, panting from his exertion. He summoned his clothes to him and rested a moment. There was still much to do.

Meiko's contented sigh drew Kori's attention to the fact that she was now awake. She didn't seem to care that she was strapped down. "Don't you even want to know what I'm doing, Meiko?" Kori asked.

"I'm sure you have a good reason." she said with a smile.

"As a matter of fact, I've just increased your powers." Kori said, undoing the straps. "Now, I want you to go get your uniform and bring me that ChronoShard you Scouts carry around with you in case someone tries to flee through time." She immediately left to do as he had asked. Mai Li awoke just as Meiko returned, still unclad.

"What's that?" Mai Li asked.

"A shard of the Stone of Chronos, or if you prefer, a ChronoShard." Kori replied. "The Sailor Scouts began carrying these around during the years since you've been trapped in time. The Stone is the physical representation in this world of the Axis of Time, the nexus of all realities. Unilateral artifacts like the Time Key work on the assumption that time is a string. You have the Creation at the beginning, and the rest of time stretches away from the beginning, on and on through infinity. Unilateral artifacts actually work to force users to remain in their current timeline, thus they experience any changes they wreak. That's why so many time-travelers die. They travel too far back and accidentally do something so their parents don't meet or something like that, and they cease to exist. The ChronoShard, on the other hand, operates on the assumption that time is actually a path, like in the woods. Every choice you make is like a fork in the path. Just because you take one fork doesn't mean the other ceases to exist. It's a variation on Murphy's Law."

"Anything that can go wrong will when you least expect it?"

"In this case, it's more like 'anything that can happen does in its own timeline.'"

"So what are you going to do with it?" Mai Li asked.

"Leave this drab, dull present." Kori replied, his ice-blue eyes growing introspective. "Sure the Sailor Scouts keep the peace, and keep everything in balance, but it doesn't need to be that way all the time, otherwise nothing ever changes and the world becomes stagnant and dies." He sighed. "The three of us are going to a more fun timeframe, and we're going to start our own timeline and keep things interesting."

"Sounds like fun." Mai Li said. "Can you untie me now?" Kori chuckled, finally reaching down to untie Mai Li. "So where...um, I mean when are we going?"

"The history data tracks never did make the original Sailor Scouts come alive for me." Kori said. "I think we should go visit the original five."

"You realize the Scouts from the present are going to try to stop us." Meiko said. Kori was about to ask if she wanted to stay behind when she continued. "I guess it wouldn't be any fun without an element of danger, would it?" Kori laughed.

"No, it wouldn't. A little present-day danger is just the kind of stir-up we need."

CHAPTER 1

"It smells funny here." Mai Li complained.

"That's because of the pollution." Meiko replied. "They hadn't figured out how to clean up the air yet."

"You get used to it." Kori said. Something slapped against his leg.

"What is it?" Mai Li asked.

"If I remember my history correctly, this is one of the Cardians the Negaverse used in their early attempts at Earth conquest." Kori said, looking at the odd card. "Malachite must have misplaced one. I think I can re-energize it." He closed his eyes as his short, auburn hair blew in the wind, tickling his face. The Cardian began to glow.

"Why would you want to?" Meiko asked.

"You'll see." In minutes, they were on the roof of a building, watching the original five Sailor Scouts argue over something. Mercury, Venus, Moon, Mars and Jupiter were all milling about the plaza. The wind carried away most of their words, but Kori distinctly heard Sailor Mars call Sailor Moon "Meatball Head." He laughed. "The data tracks never mentioned squabbling among the group." he said off-hand. "Seeing them like this somehow makes them seem...I don't know, more human, I guess, and less mythical."

"You get tired of looking at the Colossus of Serena, too?" Meiko asked.

"Indeed I do." Kori replied. "Enough of myths. I want to see the real stuff." With that he cast the glowing Cardian down to the plaza. "My power is based on the natural energy around me. Using that, I have suffused that Cardian with power. It should prove quite an interesting challenge for these young Scouts."

As the Cardian touched the ground, it grew and transformed into a three-dimensional version of the image on the card. The Scouts below immediately forgot their argument and galvanized into action. The normal humans fled in terror as the battle began. The plaza was almost completely destroyed in the battle, which stretched on for hours, even until night, with neither side gaining a clear advantage. It soon became clear who the best ones were. Mars kept trying new things until something seemed to work, and then she rallied Venus and Jupiter to her aidd thd thus they were able to save Sailor Moon and Mercury from otherwise certain death.

"It is well known that the early Scouts had considerably less power than we do today." Meiko said.

"That can be changed." Kori said. "The Cardian was a weak object and couldn't hold enough of a charge to give me a challenge should I decide to fight it. But it did enable me to guage the strength of the current group, and give me a few ideas."

He worked for quite some time, first drawing the cards, then binding each of them to the elemental power they represented. On a good day, he could do ten cards. Mai Li watched him work with a sense of growing uselessness. Her powers were nonviolent, healing gifts. Since Kori had increased her power, she guessed she could do things she hadn't been able to do before, like regenerate lost limbs or organs, or maybe even reverse the aging process, but in a fight all she had was her martial arts skill, which wasn't much help against someone with fireballs or lightning at their command. Even the weakest of this timeframe's Sailor Scouts could defeat her. There really wasn't much else she did well, either. She was a lousy cook (but then was was Meiko), she wasn't handy with fixing things, and as far as general household work was concerned, she had trouble even taking out the trash. So she acted as Kori's gopher, going for this, going for that, calling out for pizza, et cetera, and she did whatever she could to please him in whatever way he desired. She found it somewhat discouraging that the only thing she could be said to excel at (she was learning quickly) was being a submissive slut and general living sex-doll. And most of the time Kori was too tired from making cards to do much more than snuggle with his Sexy Scouts, as he called them. The whole first week in the twentieth century was hell as her sexual frustration grew.

The eighth day after their arrival he woke her up feeling much more amorous. He told her he had finished the deck and was ready to make up "for lost time." Eagerly she got on top of him and sucked his penis to erection. She was about to pull out so she could make love to him, but he held her head where it was. Taking the hint, she bobbed up and down on him, swirling her tongue around his shaft. She looked up at him for approval, but he was lost in the feelings. He kept her there even when she felt his orgasm approaching. She nearly choked on his semen as it spurted into her, but she finally managed to swallow most of it. She panted, catching her breath. Mai Li managed to smile when he brought her closer to him, then rolled over, pinning her beneath him. His stiffening member brushed against her nether lips, drawing a sigh from her. She moaned as he entered her, growing stiffer and larger still. She was so wet he had no trouble sliding in. She shivered with pleasure as he filled her.

"Ready?" he asked.

"Yessss." she replied. He pulled out until only the head was still inside, and she moaned at the loss. Then he filled her again and her heart leaped in joy. Again he retreated, and she whimpered. Slowly, he alternately tormented her and overjoyed her, and she rode the emotional roller coaster like a bucking bronco. After he had found his rhythm, he began toying with her, tweaking, licking and biting her nipples. The pleasure-pain from his ministrations drove her over the edge. As her body shook in orgasm, she felt him join her, his seed spurting inside of her.

"Feeling better?" he asked. Mai Li sighed happily. He caressed her face and hair, kissing at the nape of her neck, drawing affectionate coos from her. He held her close as they basked in the afterglow.

"So do I get a turn?" Meiko asked. Kori chuckled softly.

"This is as good a place as any." Kori said, looking over the condemned old building. "Make sure there's nobody inside. We just want to get the Scouts' attention." Meiko and Mai Li nodded, dashing into the building. Two minutes later, they exited via the roof access stairwell. Meiko held Mai Li as she leapt from the building, making a controlled landing in the alley.

"It's deserted." she said. "Not a squatter in sight."

"Good." Kori said. He drew his deck from his belt, shuffling through the cards until he found the one he wanted. Putting the rest back in his belt, he held the selected card up as it began to glow, energized with the elemental power he drew from the world. "Inferno, Tarot of the Fire Storm, I command you to feed from this building and grow strong! Release!" With that, he tossed the card into the building. The building caught immediately, and blazed merrily for quite some time before fire-sirens sounded. "We can't have them interrupting Inferno's meal." Kori said, drawing another card from his deck. "Titan, Tarot of the Raw Force, I command you to defend this site against those who would interrupt Inferno's meal! Release!" He tossed the card to the ground, and it flashed, and was apparently gone. The first of the fire trucks arrived, and was immediately overturned. The firemen clambered out, and not a moment too soon, for Titan had begun to crush the truck, cab first. It began by flattening it, then, once the truck was completely flat, it folded it, then folded it again, and again and again until all that was left was a little cube that could be placed in someone's pocket if it were possible to lift such a heavy thing. The second fire engine arrived, followed by a tanker truck and a ladder truck. The ladder truck was lifted and stood on its nose. The tanker truck was flipped onto its back. The fire engine was lifted, and once the firemen had evacuated, it was hurled into the stratosphere.

"Whoa! What kind of Negaverse being could do something like that?" Sailor Moon asked as the others joined her on a roof near the fire. "Did you see the flying fire truck?"

"No." Mars replied sarcastically. "We were too busy doing our makeup to notice." She peered over the ledge. "I'm sensing more than one entity here."

"Like I didn't notice." Sailor Moon replied. "We've got one that's doing a major pyro number on that building there, and another that's kicking the crud out of the fire trucks."

"There's something else." Mars said. "I'm sensing five entities. Two that are attacking and three that are watching."

"Let them watch." Sailor Moon said confidently. "Let them watch us whip the butts of whatever it is they've unleashed." The fire in the building climbed into the sky, taking the shape of a giant fire-bird. "Whoa!"

"I'd like to see you kick ITS butt, Serena." Rei said, a slight smile playing on her lips.

"Hey, we're a team." Sailor Moon said, a little nervous. "Let's do it, Scouts!" Following Sailor Moon's example, the rest charged into battle.upitupiter, use your Jupiter Thunder to get whatever this is to show itself."

"Jupiter Thunder!" Sailor Jupiter exclaimed, as the small antenna rose from her headband, and lightning crackled forth, surrounding the creature, which was revealed to be something like a large, green gorilla.

"Okay, Scouts, don't let up! We can't let it turn invisible again!" The Scouts used their various attack calls, keeping the monkey-thing from turning invisible. It charged, batting Sailor Mars aside as she was preparing her Mars Fire for action. The others managed to avoid its charge and continued to attack. It lifted a car from the side of the street and chucked it at the Scouts.

"It's stronger than the Cardians." Sailor Mercury remarked after they had dodged the car.

"No kidding." Sailor Moon replied. "But we've got to stop it. Let's all attack it at the same time. Maybe I can break whatever spell is causing it to attack us."

"There's a problem." Sailor Venus said. "Mars is down for the count."

"Need any help?" asked another voice. The Scouts turned and discovered another young woman, this one with gorgeous red hair which flowed around her. She was wearing the uniform of one of the Scouts.

"Who are you?"

"I am Sailor Andromeda." the strange young woman replied.

"With Sailor Mars down, we need all the help we can get." Sailor Moon said. "Let's get going." The present's Sailor Scouts attacked the gorilla, stunning it. Andromeda powered up, and attacked.

"Nova Force!" she exclaimed, hurling a giant, white-hot fireball at it. The ball caught the gorilla squarely in the chest. It cried out in pain and rage, but other than that the only effect the energy had on it was to cause it to expand.

"It got bigger!" Sailor Moon exclaimed. "It must be absorbing our attacks' energy."

"Brilliant deduction." Andromeda remarked. "What do we do about it?"

"I'm thinking." Serena replied.

"Think faster." Andromeda said as the gorilla charged. Kori appeared in the gorilla's path (though only Andromeda knew who it was), surprising it.

"Titan, Tarot of the Raw Force, I seal your power and confine your form." he said, and the gorilla transformed into a harmless card once more, floating into Kori's hand. He turned and did the same to the fire-bird, slipping both cards into his belt. With that, he was gone, leaving behind the charred remains of a condemned building.

"Who was that?" Sailor Moon asked, turning toward Andromeda...but she was gone, as was Sailor Mars. "Is it my imagination, or are we short some personnel?"

"It's not your imagination." Sailor Jupiter said.

Rei groaned. "What hit me?" she asked.

"Titan hit you." someone said. "I am Xiang Mai Li, also called Sailor Callisto. My power is healing."

"Wow, you even got rid of my appendectomy scar!" Rei remarked.

"And re-grew your appendix." Mai Li replied. "Kori told me he had increased my power, I never knew that was all it would take for me to be able to regenerate body parts."

"Kori?"

"The mastermind behind our little operation." Mai Li replied with a cute little smile. "I think you'll like him."

"I should certainly hope so." a male voice from the shadows said. He stepped into the light. Rei's senses told her that this was one of the watching presences she had sensed before the battle.

"You were at the fight." she declared.

"I was the one who stopped Titan from destroying your friends." Kori replied. "And I stopped Inferno from spreading to other buildings."

"What aren't you telling me?" Rei asked.

"You want to know my secrets?" Kori asked, smiling. He stepped toward her, and Rei was made quite well aware of her own nudity. "All you have to doopenopen your mind." He was gazing into her eyes. She felt as if she were losing herself in those depths...and she wasn't sure she cared. His lips brushed hers, and she kissed him. She felt her inhibitions disappearing, her arousal growing, her mind surrendering to his telepathic caress. She felt his fingers at her entrance. He slid the fingers in, finding her hymen. He caressed her nether region, stretching her gently while stimulating her to greater arousal. She whimpered when he withdrew them. When his organ slid in, she cooed in pleasure. The penetration wasn't as painful as she had been expecting. She pressed herself against him, trying to meld her body into his. She moaned into his mouth as he moved within her. She felt as though she would drown in the pleasure. But it was nothing compared to what would come next. She felt it building within her. The rhythm changed, holding her on the edge of something her mind couldn't name at the moment. She whimpered in desire. "Are you ready?" he asked. She could only moan in response. The pleasure built further, and finally crossed the threshold. Rei cried out in ecstasy.

"So an unknown warrior has brought two of your Scouts here to our time, and you believe they may be under his control." Tuxedo Mask said. "You're sure you don't know anything about him?"

"Something about the enchantment around him prevents us from gleaning too much information about him." Sailor Nebula told him. Sailor Chibi Io and Sailors Alpha and Proxima Centauri lounged on the ledge which surrounded their rooftop meeting place. Sailor Chibi Deimos paced angrily between one ledge and the roof-access stairwell, her close-cropped blue hair glistening in the moonlight. "We haven't seen anyone who was able to do that since the fall of the Catalysts."

"I will alert the Sailor Scouts of this timeframe." Tuxedo Mask said. "Do you wish to work in concert with us, or do your best to avoid altering the timeline any further?"

"The ChronoShard he used is not a unilateral object like the Time Key. His presence here has created a new timeline parallel to ours." Sailor Nebula said. "I will alert the Sailor Moon of our timeframe to summon the rest of the Scouts. If he conquers this timeline, he could use the ChronoShard to merge our two timelines into one and rule the inhabitants of both timelines. It's been tried before. Several times."

"Why would he try such a roundabout approach?" Tuxedo Mask asked.

"Because although it is the most difficult to execute, it is also the hardest to prevent. It is difficult for us to see outside our own timeline, even with the ChronoShard, because we have to know exactly which divergence to follow to find him. The fact that he has one of our ChronoShards should make it easier, since it vibrates at the same frequency as ours, but he hasn't used it since he arrived. In effect, he is running silent."

"I can see the difficulty that would pose." Tuxedo Mask replied. "Very well, you summon your Scouts and I'll summon mine. Perhaps together we can end this before it escalates beyond our control."

"Hello, Minako." Rei's voice giggled from the shadows. Minako whirled, then sighed in relief at the sight of her co-Scout.

"You're alright!" she said. "We were worried."

"Silly, there wasn't any need for that." Rei half-chided as she emerged from the shadows, dressed in a pretty, red jumper, matching boots and gloves, topped off with a sassy red beret. "Mai Li is a great healer, and Kori helped out a lot, too. Watch this..." A fireball appeared in Rei's outstretched hand, hovering above the glove so it didn't even singe the silk. Before Minako's eyes, the fireball changed shape, becoming a little bird, then a kitten, a puppy, a smiley face, and even a flower.

"How are you doing that?"

"Kori's given me a little power-boost." Rei said. "All it takes is a thought, and I can make any fire do anything I want. I can set things on fire with a mere whim, too."

"I've never known you to be whimsical." Minako replied.

"True, I've been a real prude, and I'm sorry." Rei said. "I was always so serious...all work and no play, and all that. Kori helped me out with that, too. I've never felt so free in my life!"

"Sounds as if you like this Kori." Minako teased.

"You'll like him, too." Rei said. "I've told him all about you. He wants to meet you."

"That's close enough." Sailor Future Moon said, her strawberry blonde tresses waving in the breeze. The present-day Sailor Moon stood to her counterpart's left and slightly behind her. "Step back, Minako, she's under this Kori's control!" the future Moon continued.

"Pft! Not hardly!" Rei reed. ed. Was it Minako's imagination, or was it getting hot all of a sudden? "What, you think he's trying to take over the timeline or something? Why don't you just time-trip back where you belong, he's not bothering you, but he will defend himself if you attack him." Rei sighed before adding "And I'll help him." Minako was backing away. Her forehead was sweaty. It was definitely getting hotter.

"Moon Beam Ignite!" Sailor Future Moon said, sending forth a beam of light. Rei was gone in a burst of flame before the beam reached her.

"Some people have no respect." Rei said, having appeared behind Minako. "Don't worry, sweetheart, I'll protect you." A fire-shield blocked Sailor Chibi Io's Io-Blast. Sailor Jupiter and her future counterpart appeared off to the side. "You just don't understand, do you?" Rei demanded, blocking off the other Scouts' approach with a wall of flame. Suddenly, she surrounded herself and Minako with a cylinder of flame. "It's confusing, isn't it? I show up with new powers and a whole new outlook on life, even wearing new clothes, talking about this guy like he's the greatest thing since sliced bread, and then our friends show up with strangers from the future, trying to tell you he's some kind of mind-controlling freak."

"I don't know what to believe." Minako sobbed.

"You don't have to believe anyone." Rei said. "Come with me, and you can draw your own conclusion." Minako stared at Rei's extended hand for a minute. The flames parted as Sailor Future Mercury and Sailor Mercury entered, surrounded by a bubble shield that protected them from the worst of the flames.

"Minako, please, come with us!" Ami said. Minako's confusion only built.

"Let your heart guide you, Minako." Rei said gently. "Only you can decide what you want." Minako nodded and stood.

"Drop the shield." she said. Rei complied, and the flames disappeared as if they had never been. She looked up at the two Moons on her rooftop. "I'm going with Rei. I want to see what kind of person this Kori is for myself."

"Minako, if you go with her, he'll have you!" Sailor Moon warned, stepping past Future Moon.

"It'll be okay." Minako said. "Trust me."

"I trust you." Sailor Moon said. "It's Rei I'm not sure of. Rei and Kori."

"You haven't even met Kori." Rei protested.

"If you really do trust me, Serena, then let me make my own choice." Minako said. She turned to Rei. "I'm ready to go now." Rei smiled, placing her hand on Minako's shoulder. Her yard disappeared in a swirl of flame, and they were in a plush room, occupied by two other young women in similar attire to Rei's, except that one was wearing white, the other green.

"Hi." said the one in white, a redhead. "Glad you could join us. I'm Meiko." She extended a friendly hand, which Minako accepted with a smile.

"I'm Mai Li." said the one in green, her lovely Chinese features forming a pleasant smile.

"Mai Li's the one who healed me after the battle." Rei stated, seating herself beside her comrade.

"So where's this Kori I've heard so much about?" Minako asked.

"Getting take-out." Mai Li replied.

"I'll be the first to admit I'm a terrible cook." Meiko said with a slight blush.

"So am I." Mai Li admitted.

"So you eat take-out every day?" Minako asked.

"Every meal." Mai Li agreed. "Except when we have something delivered."

"Good thing there's a nice variety of restaurants around that do that kind of thing." Meiko said.

"Mind telling me how you can afford to do that?" Minako inquired.

"Kori patented a couple of 'medical breakthroughs' that are going to be hitting the market real soon." Rei replied in a conspiratorial whisper. The door opened and a man in a dark cloak entered, bearing a large load of take-out boxes, which he set on a counter. The cloak came off, revealing a handsome young man in his early to mid twenties, with gorgeous ice-blue eyes and medium-short auburn hair and a smile.

"Ah, you must be Minako." he said. "Rei's told me a lot about you. She certainly paints a more vivid picture than any history book."

"Speaking of which, aren't you changing history by your very presence?" Minako asked. "Aren't you afraid you'll do something to prevent your very existence?"

"I would be if we had used a unilateral artifact like the Time Key, but we used a ChronoShard. As soon as we arrived, our presence here created a divergence from the original timeline. Because Meiko, Mai Li and I are products of the unaffected timeline, we're not subject to the changes we wreak here. But I ramble on, and it's dinner time. Hungry?"

Dinner consisted of a large box of extra crispy fried chicken, a family-size order of mashed potatoes and gravy, rolls and veggies from the KFC that had set up shop in town. Minako hadn't eaten there herself, but she'd heard it was mostly American fast food. The number of beverages suggested Kori had been planning for her visit, but wasn't sure what kind of soft drink she'd like. Minako was in the middle of her second chicken breast when the question slipped out.

"Why not just hire a maid, or hypnotize a Sailor Scout who knows how to cook?" Kori's face was unreadable as he wiped the crumbs from his face and took a sip of his cola.

"My dear young lady, hypnosis plays no part in what I do." he said, looking into her eyes. Minako's heart sank as she read the hurt there. "What I have done with the others is give them a sort of psychic enema, removing unhealthy inhibitions while leaving the conscience intact, and helping them to free themselves. All of them would be quite upset if I were to kill some innocent man off the street, and would probably never forgive me. And I like it like that. I don't like to change people so much that they are completely unrecognizable as who they are." He rose from the little table. "I'm sorry you couldn't see that." He left the room, and Minako followed.

"I'm sorry." she said, closing the bedroom door behind her. "I really didn't mean it like it sounded. It's just that...I wasn't sure...I mean, with everything the future Scouts were saying..."

"They're here?" Kori asked. "Probably jumping to confusions based on what little they think they know about me." He sighed then. "I'm sorry. I should have known they had confused you with their propaganda."

"I agreed to come because I wanted to know the truth, and I ended up hurting you with my own premature judgments. I'm so sorry." Kori hugged her, letting her know with this one gesture that she was forgiven.

"You wanted the truth, Minako, and you shall have it. All of it." She felt his gentle touch in her mind, and looked up into his bright and knowing eyes. Her smile answered his, like the cries of two lone wolves searching for a pack. She pressed herself against him, their lips touched, their tongues dueled as his psychic probe worked itself deeper into her mind, unleashing her, freeing her...

"What do you want?" Kori demanded. Tuxedo Mask took a flying leap, somersaulting twice in the air before landing in Kori's path. Kori's hands were full of take-out boxes, which he set down on the sidewalk.

"The return of Sailor Venus and Sailor Mars." he replied. The Sailor Scouts, present and future, appeared, ready to battle for their comrades' removal from Kori's custody. "I ask you nicely this one time, Kori, release them from whatever control you have over them." A burst of flame appeared at his side, and Kori's rapidly-growing harem stood in the street, prepared to do almost anything to defend him.

"Girls, Prince Darien over there thinks I'm controlling you, that you're some sort of brainwashed zombies or something." Minako stepped forward, holding up her arms to prevent the others from attacking.

"Guys, Kori's not some Negaverse twerp out to conquer and destroy." she said. "He's a powerful warrior born in the wrong century, that's all. He's not undoing what the Sailor Scouts have built, he's not hurting anyone."

"Stand aside, Minako." Tuxedo Mask said. "He needs to stand trial for illegally trespassing in the Sailor Watchtower and stealing the ChronoShard."

"Trial by combat, maybe." Minako replied. "And since when is that fair?" She glanced around at the Future Scouts, reading their faces, one by one. "Andromeda acted in his defense out of gratitude for his helping her free herself. She knew that there were only two possible outcomes: The Scouts would be defeated, or they would kill him for daring to invade their Watchtower. And he didn't steal the ChronoShard, Andromeda let him use hers."

"Chibi Moon Blast Explode!" Future Chibi Moon exclaimed, tossing a ball of explosive energy.

"Super Love-Me Chain!" Minako exclaimed, and a golden chain appeared from her hand, lashing out and deflecting the Chibi Moon Blast. It exploded harmlessly several hundred feet above the assembled group. The chain retracted, its energy being reabsorbed into Minako's body. "Don't do that again." she said, eyes narrow. Tuxedo Mask turned to Future Chibi Moon in surprise.

"Why did you attack her?" he demanded.

"She's obviously under his control." Chibi Moon replied. "Just like the rest. I was hoping to stun her so maybe we could bring her back to normal."

"I can see we're wasting our time here." Kori said. He walked toward one of the shadows of a nearby building. "Come on, girls, before our dinner gets cold." The takeout boxes floated toward him, and the jumper-clad Scouts followed.

"Crimson Storm!" Future Jupiter exclaimed, and angry, red clouds appeared in the sky. The wind kicked up from a gentle breeze to gale-force in seconds, and lightning lanced the heavens as the storm, not unlike the one responsible for the Great Red Spot on Jupiter, began to rage over the land. The present's Sailor Jupiter was blown off her feet, into the arms of Sailor Venus, who had steadied herself with a chain.

"Minako!" Sailor Mars called, against the wind. "Over here!" The wind seemed to weaken as it neared Kori. Of course! He was absorbing the elemental energy! Minako extended her chain, bringing herself and her friend closer to Kori. Lightning streaked down from the sky, heading for Minako's chain, but at the last moment it curved away, arcing into Kori's body. As Venus and Jupiter got closer to Kori, the wind got weaker, but Future Jupiter continued her assault, bringing down Volkswagen-sized hail, as well as pelting snow and sleet and freezing rain. Rei used her fire to melt any of the gargantuan hailstones that got too close to the present-day Scouts.

"I'm afraid when Keiko gets like this, she doesn't stop until one side or the other is defeated." Sailor Andromeda said, bracing against the wind, which was still strong despite Kori's absorption.

"Help us, Jupiter." Minako pleaded. "Future Jupiter's the only one this storm isn't hurting." Sailor Jupiter seemed confused, glancing between the two groups, who were both struggling against the demon-wind Future Jupiter had summoned. "Please?" Minako asked, her eyes beginning to glow. Jupiter's gaze was transfixed by Minako's. "I would consider it...an act of love." Jupiter's expression changed from confusion to adoration, and then she nodded.

"Jupiter Thunder!" she exclaimed, directing her powerful lightning-bolts at the future holder of her title. Future Jupiter absorbed the assault with no ill effect.

"Back me up on this." Minako said. Sailor Jupiter nodded like a fourth-grader having her first crush. Minako's hands glowed, and a metal bow and arrow appeared in her hands. "I need your thunder to help my arrow fight the wind. Ready?" Jupiter nodded, launching her thunder again. Minako fired along the blast path. "Quiver With Desire!" The heat from the lightning bolts caused the air to expand violently, temporarily creating a vacuum into which the arrow could travel and follow. Though the lightning once again had no effect on Future Jupiter, the arrow struck its mark, its energy flowing into Future Jupiter's body. She fell to the ground. Future Moon crabbed along the ground to her comrade as the storm raged on.

"The storm's still taking energy from Future Jupiter's body." Kori informed his charges. "Only now it doesn't have her mind to guide it."

"Oops." Minako muttered.

"Please don't feel bad." Jupiter pleaded. "I'm the one who should have known this would happen. Blame me."

"We're not blaming anyone." Kori said. "I've still got a trump card to play." He drew a card from his belt. "Squall, Tarot of the Storm, I command you to unmake this wicked weather!" The card glowed brightly, shooting a beam into the sky. There was what appeared to be an explosion, and then the clouds were blown away in a circle surrounding the card's beam. When the storm was gone, Kori caused a shadow to open up, and he and his group departed through it. Minako glanced over at where Future Moon bent over Future Jupiter as she unmade her chain, then she and Jupiter followed Kori into the shadow.

"Will she be all right?" asked Chibi Io, as she and the rest of the Future Scouts gathered around. Future Jupiter's eyes fluttered open. As her gaze focused on Future Moon, her expression took on a lust unlike any ever felt before by anyone, human or otherwise. She pounced, pinning Future Moon under her. She moved herself into a rough 69, pulling down her soaked panties and doing the same for Future Moon. She began to lick the other young woman's mound as her comrades watched in shock. It was a few minutes before Future Moon began to surrender to the sensations and lick in return. Future Jupiter did not stop licking until Future Moon had eaten her to a powerful orgasm, though it meant bringing seven to her friend. Her expression cleared when she rolled off the other young woman. She sat up, and gasped at what she had done.

"I can see we're not going to get our peace all at once." Kori said as he and his growing harem rested after a long session. Rei, Minako and Meiko were the only ones paying attention. The rest were sleeping. "None of them seems to have the will to disagree with the group consensus. We'll have to open their minds one at a time."

"What about Tuxedo Mask?" Rei asked. "I'm sure he's not going to let you keep kidnapping Sailor Scouts right and left."

"I think I can convince him of my true agenda, if you can keep the Scouts from interfering." Kori said.

"We'll do what we can." Minako promised as she stroked Sailor Jupiter's hair.

"That's all I ask." Kori said, kissing each of his charges on the forehead.

CHAPTER 2

"This Kori person is the best thing since sliced bread." Queen Beryl exalted.

"We still have no clue as to his motives or agenda, Majesty." one of her subjects reminded her.

"But he's taken the number of Sailor Scouts down from five to two, and those Future Sailor Scouts have the remaining ones so confused they won't be watching for Negaverse activity."

"The Future Scouts will be helping in that department, Mistress." another Negaverse operative said. "And they are far more powerful than either of the remaining Scouts of the present. And they are armed with the mysterious ChronoShards."

"I've got an ace in the hole." Queen Beryl said. "Now is my chance to play it." With that, she left the throne room, and those standing in the room believed she was retiring to her chambers. Instead, she took a left precisely six hundred and sixty-six paces from the entrance to her chambers. The holographic wall rippled as she walked through it and descended via a spiral staircase to a secret place below even the sub-basements. Once there, she pushed open a long-closed door, which led into a room where pools of liquid energy bubbled like glowing Jacuzzis. She spent a couple of hours luxuriating in one of the pools, energizing herself for the taxing exercise ahead. When she was energized to capacity, she followed a tunnel into a room where a giant crystal stood, shining the color of frozen blood. Queen Beryl placed her hand against the crystal, suffusing it with energy. After several minutes, the crystal began to crack. Nearly an hour later, shards began to flake off like the leavings from arrowhead making. Queen Beryl collapsed, panting, exhausted. She searched the shards, ignoring the cuts they inflicted on her, until she had found all the workable pieces, ten in all. Wihesehese in her arms, she began to stagger back to the energy pools, where she reenergized. She could hear the commotion outside when servants failed to locate her, but she didn't care. After six hours' soaking in the energy pools, she was ready to begin phase two. The energy crystals would give great power to their possessors--greater even than her own. They would be impossible to control unless she infused the crystals with her own will. This was a painstaking process, requiring persnickety manipulations of the psychic fields surrounding the crystals.

"It's done." she sighed, after nearly two days of work. The crystals smoldered malignantly at the pool's edge. Queen Beryl curled her lips up in a tired, yet very evil smile, showing one elongated eyetooth. "When I have rested, I will put my plan into action."

"Someone's coming." Kori said, awakening Minako. "They're bringing something with them. Something powerful, and very evil."

"Should we wake the others?" Minako asked, rubbing her eyes.

"I think perhaps that's best." Kori replied. "How are you feeling?"

"Same way I usually feel in the mornings." Minako replied. "Sleepy, lazy, kind of horny." She quirked a smile up at him.

"Mmmmm...wazzup?" Rei asked, emerging sleepily from under the covers. "Is something wrong?"

"Perhaps." Kori replied. "Let's get the others up."

Chiao Shen breathed a sigh of relief. She hated the ten pm to six am shift, but someone had to work it. Unfortunately she didn't get paid more just for working an unpopular shift. Worse, she had to work six pm to six am tonight for a special conference. With the business overseas booming, the graveyard shift was anything but, and Shen was going to need her rest. A woman appeared before her, smiling as if she knew a secret. That smile frightened Shen, and she backed away. Stabbing pain lanced Shen's stomach, and she staggered, fell, and clutched her torso in agony.

Kataigin Ayumi sat lotus-fashion as she meditated, awaiting the arrival of her students. Incense burned in the censers before her, calming her, helping her to gather her thoughts. Ginseng tea energized her, washing away the fatigue of work and sleep, helping her prepare for the work ahead. Her students were coming along nicely, growing more and more disciplined each day. It wouldn't be long before some of them began to ascend to the rank of black belt. The thought pleased her. Not only would her girls have learned to defend themselves, but the discipline and focus would help them in other areas as well. One of her students, Jiyu Hana, was becoming quite an accomplished scientist thanks to her lessons.

Ayumi opened her eyes, feeling a strange presence in the room. She unfolded her legs and rose, wondering who could possibly be this early. A very sinister-looking woman appeared, holding a shard of crystal in her fingers like a throwing-dagger. Even the crystal looked evil, pulsing with darkness like a malignant tumor. Ayumi stepped around her censers, standing in the practice area, where she would have more room to maneuver.

"How utterly predictable." the woman muttered as Ayumi began to rise into the air. How had this woman been able to set a trap in A's o's own dojo? The woman chucked the crystal with deadly accuracy into Ayumi's torso. It pierced a lung. A dark chill spread through her even as the crystal wound began to burn like a wildfire in her body.

No! her mind cried. Not like this!! I can't die like this!!

"You're not dying." the woman replied. "Far from it, in fact."

"Is something wrong?" Kori asked.

"Pain." Callisto replied. "Someone's in pain. Agony."

"You can feel that?" Mars asked.

"Where?" Kori urged.

"One nearby." Callisto said. "Another one across to Sh She seemed to be experiencing some kind of sympathy pains, one in her gut, and the other in her chest. "It's maddening!"

"Concentrate on the location." Kori said. "Focus."

"She's coming. Homing in on our energy."

"Who is?" Mars asked, placing a hand on Mai Li's shoulder.

"I don't know...I can't...the pain...drowning her real self out." Suddenly a female figure with Chinese features landed on the roof. Lightning in a wicked shade of purple lashed out from her fingernails. Her skin was the same shade. Her eyes glowed red.

"Super Love-Me Chain!" Venus exclaimed, binding the woman in golden chains. Purple electricity traveled up the chain, shog Mig Minako and causing the chain to dissipate. She landed hard on her shoulder, her eyes closed so tightly that tears leaked out. Mars rushed to help her comrade, but was batted aside by the swift woman.

"Odin's Thunder!" Jupiter exclaimed, lashing out with vengeful fund end enhanced thunderbolts. The purple woman absorbed it with no ill effect.

"Nice try." she snarled. "My turn. Clonestorm!" With that, she created two purple-lightning clones of herself and sent them after Jupiter.

"Zeus's Spire!" Jupiter exclaimed, and a gigantic spike of electricity rose, destroying the clones and causing everyone's hair to stand on end. "Thor's Hammer!" Lightning struck Lita's hand, causing a heavy-looking hammer to appear. She hurled it, and it moved as swift as lightning, and apparently propelled by the lightning trail which connected it to her hand. It struck the surprised woman on the chin, knocking her to the floor. When the hammer returned, Lita went to Minako's side while Mai Li attended the purple woman. The others watched in awe as Mai Li reached into the woman's body, pulling out a nasty-looking crystal. She tossed it to the ground as if it were hot, clutching her hands in pain for a moment.

"We'd best get our wounded to safety." Kori suggested, picking Rei up in his arms. Lita gently lifted Minako, and Meiko carried Mai Li and the strange woman, because Mai Li for some reason refused to let go of her. As an afterthought, Kori gathered up the crystal as well, placing it inside a silver box. He suppressed a shudder as the box closed. Never before had he felt anything as evil as that.

Shen's eyes opened slowly. The first thing she noticed was that the pain was go She She looked down at her stomach, finding no wound. Had it been a dream?

"It was no dream." a kind young woman said. "More like a waking nightmare."

"But it's over." Shen said. "Isn't it?"

"For you, yes." she replied. "But there are others. I can feel them."

"How? Who are you?"

"My name is Mai Li. I was able to remove the shard from you. You will recover."

"Thank you." Shen said. "There are no words to express my gratitude."

"Those will do fine." Mai Li replied. "I could feel your agony as the crystal tortured you, and even though the wound closed, the pain wouldn't stop."

"How?"

"I have very strong healing powers, made even stronger with Kori's power over the various mystic elements."

"Wyou you describe this Kori to be sounds like some of the legends my grandfather used to tell us about the ancient Order of Catalysts." Shen said.

"Funny, I wasn't aware any Catalysts had visited Earth prior to the mid-twenty-fourth century." Mai Li mused.

"How did you find me?"

"You found us." Mai Li replied.

"I did?" Shen asked.

"You don't remember?"

"All I remember is the pain." Shen replied. "It was like I was drowning in it." She felt Mai Li's gentle touch in the valley between her breasts, and was suddenly made very aware of her own nudity.

"It almost overwhelmed me, too." Mai Li said. "But you're safe now. Everything's going to be fine. When Kori gets back, he's going to want to talk to you, but you can rest until then." Mai Li reached down beneath Shen's feet, pulling up a light blanket. "You can cover up with this if you're shy."

"Thanks." Shen said, turning on her side and closing her eyes.

To be continued...