Disclaimer: I don't own any of the characters from this fan fiction, they all belong to the creators of Sailor Moon. Warnings for some violence and death to start with, as well as some shoujo-ai (or girl/girl love) later on. This alternate timeline story starts out pretty dark, but will hopefully lighten up somewhat as the chapters go on.

Super Sailor Mercury: Shattered Ice

Prelude

The weeping pulled Ami back to consciousness, a young man's broken cries of pain and grief. She struggled to think clearly, taking in the battlefield around her, and her blood ran cold. Minako and Rei lay crumpled against the wall, the force of the impact breaking and twisting them. Makoto was impaled in the phone booth, her blood forming a pool around her limp form. Mamoru lay in the odd young man's arms, the boy rocking him as he wept. And Usagi..

Their Princess almost looked like she was sleeping, laying there on the pavement. Usagi's eyes closed, her golden hair spread about her, she looked like she was waiting for her fairy tale prince to awaken her. But the blood on her chest shattered the comforting illusion, and Ami could almost feel something breaking inside of her own heart at the sight.

"Usagi," Ami managed weakly.

Fiore looked up in surprise, looking over to where he had flung her with a single sweep of his sword. His skin was pale green, and his hair was blue, with two pink tufts on each side of his face. His clothing was all black, edged in gold, with a flower on his breast.

"You still live," Fiore said to her softly, laying Mamoru down on the pavement gently. His eyes hardened as gracefully he rose to his feet, "You and that girl tricked him, turned him against me. For that, you will pay."

Ami knelt there, blood streaming down her face from the cut that Fiore had given her. It was odd, she thought to herself dazedly as Fiore calmly approached, I didn't know that you could feel cold rage. Her power sang within her, rising to new levels, and once he was near enough she flung her hand up and cried out, "Shine Aqua Illusion!"

"Urk," Fiore staggered back, gazing down at where a spear of sharpened ice had plunged right through the kisenian flower on his breast. He struggled to lift his blade, and looked down into what looked like the cold blue eyes of a demon.

Again and again Ami struck, driving the many spears of ice into him. With a fury that she had never known before she drew deep upon her power and screamed, "Shine Aqua STORM!" A massive wave of elemental cold poured out of her and Fiore simply exploded, each and every cell of his body rupturing, his body crumbling to frozen dust.

In the darkness of her apartment Ami Mizuno came awake, her chest heaving and body covered with a cold sweat. 'At least I didn't wake up screaming,' she thought weakly. She turned to look out the window, noting it was still dark outside. With a sigh she slipped out of bed, knowing that she wouldn't be getting any more sleep tonight.

The apartment was lit only by the moonlight that came through the windows, but Ami still navigated the dark halls with ease. She carefully opened up the other bedroom nearby her own, and peeked inside. The little girl lay there on the bed, curled around the doll that she held, her pink hair spread out around her on the pillows.

'Good, I didn't wake up Chibi-Usa,' Ami thought with some relief as she shut the door as quietly as possible.

Ami walked down the hallway and passed through the living room, smiling slightly as she looked at the sleeping Luna and Artemis curled up together on the couch. She moved on to the kitchen, putting the kettle on to make herself some tea.

The distorted reflection of her face in the shiny side of the toaster caught her eye, and Ami reached up to trace the scar running from one cheek, across the bridge of her nose and down to the other. If Fiore's strike had been just a bit harder, she would either be blind or dead. Her mother had urged her to consider plastic surgery, but Ami had refused. She wanted to remember, always.

The soft whistle of the kettle caught her attention, and she turned off the heat before pouring a cup of the hot water. Two tea bags floated in the water before sinking, and she sat down at the small dining table to let it brew.

The dream still hovered about her. Ami sat back in her chair with a sigh, letting herself remember what happened after that...

Ami sat there on the pavement, not caring that blood was dripping down her face onto the pavement, or that bits of Fiore had splashed against her. She was numb, as if all the heat had been sucked right out of her in that final attack.

"Ami?" a little girl's voice asked weakly.

Ami's head jerked up, looked at the stunned, shell shocked face of Chibi-Usa. The little girl was bone pale, tears streaking her face. 'She just saw both her parents killed, right before her eyes,' she thought dazedly. Ami forced herself to her feet, summoning up some of her power to cleanse the blood and filth from her costume.

"Come here," Ami said softly, and with a cry Chibi-Usa ran into her arms. She held the broken, sobbing child close to her, murmuring soft, soothing worlds that she knew would have no meaning to her right now. She held her until the tears eased into sniffles, keeping her close.

They both felt it then, the warmth and the light on their faces. The five of them floated there, glowing with an inner light, there expressions serene, yet sorrowful. "Mommy," Chibi-Usa cried, trying to fight free of Ami's arms to run towards them.

Ami took in the bodies that were still laying on the pavement and held Chibi-Usa back, knowing exactly what these shining figures were. "You can't touch them," she said to the struggling girl, "they aren't entirely here."

Usagi's face was the saddest as she gazed down at her daughter, then looked up at Ami's face. "Will you take care of her?" she asked, her voice ringing in Ami's mind. Ami nodded, accepting the responsibility fully knowing the obligation it placed her under. She smiled gently at Chibi-Usa, and though Ami couldn't seem to hear what was said, the words comforted the little girl.

"I failed you," Ami murmured, looking away from her friends, feeling tears and a bit of blood still trickling down her face.

"No," Makoto's voice was gentle, "you avenged us. Thank you." A gentle kiss on the cheek, and Ami almost felt something pass between them.

Rei gave her a smile, "Take care of yourself, Ami. I know how you like to take care of everyone else, but save some energy for yourself." A soft touch, a spark, and she moved on.

Minako surprised her with a gentle kiss on the brow. "This isn't good- bye," Minako said softly, "just farewell." The senshi of love's voice dropped to a whisper, "There is someone waiting for you out there, I promise."

Mamoru put his hands on her shoulders and she felt her costume itself changing, becoming tougher and more durable. The shoulders decorations became more elaborate, and the bow at the back lengthened even as she felt a weight gently settle on her back. "My sword, Champion of the Moon Kingdom," Mamoru's voice was soft.

Usagi looked at Ami with eyes dark with the regret of what she had to ask her, so Ami took it out of her hands. "Yes," Ami said to her softly, "I'll guard the Silver Imperium Crystal until you return. I swear it will be safe."

"Always the wisest among us," Usagi murmured, and tears somehow glistened in her blue eyes. The Crystal floated above one hand, and Ami's transformation wand was in the other. She brought them together, there was a blinding flash, and a broach marked with the insignia of Mercury dropped down into Ami's lap.

Usagi turned to where the guardian cats were stirring and she and Minako spoke to them a few moments. Both cats looked almost as bad as Ami felt, torn open by their grief. 'I guess I have two more to watch over,' Ami thought.

"Minako's right, this is not good-bye," the voices rang out to them all as the figures began to fade away, "merely a farewell..."

Ami noted that the sky was lightening outside and that her tea had gone cold. She got up to put the kettle back on, and dumped the old cup down the sink. 'Chibi-Usa will be up soon, better start breakfast,' she thought.

It had been over a year since it happened, a year since a very new life had been thrust upon her. She had adapted, and she hoped even begun to find a certain kind of contentment in her new life. But things were changing again, and she wasn't sure what was going to happen.

The Outers had arrived...

Part One

"Ami!" Chibi-Usa startled her, bustling into the kitchen with a smile.

"Good Morning," Ami smiled down at the little pink haired girl, "breakfast is nearly ready."

"Did you make pancakes again?" she asked eagerly.

Ami smiled slightly, "Of course." She went over to the stove, flipping them expertly as she asked, "What do you want to do today?"

"Could I go over to see Hotaru?" Chibi-Usa asked happily.

Ami avoided showing her wince as she answered, "Of course. I'll go visit my mom after I drop you off there."

"Ok," Chibi-Usa smiled.

'The resilience of children,' Ami thought sadly. Chibi-Usa wsn't over it, of course, the nightmares came to her more often than to Ami, and often she would slip into Ami's bed at night. Especially right after it happened...

Ami's first reflex had been to try to return Chibi-Usa to her own time, but on further concideration she discarded that idea. Ami had developed two theories on the child's continued existance after her parent's death in the here and now, neither one terribly pleasant.

The first was that Chibi-Usa was now some kind of temporal anomaly, a little blip in the fabric of space time. If so, attempting to transport her through time could cause her to simply cease to exist. As grim as that idea was, another darker possibility also soon occured to her.

Sometime in the future, Usagi, Mamoru and all the others would be reborn. Usagi and Mamoru would get married, eventually becoming the rulers of the future era of Crystal Tokyo, and have Chibi-Usa as planned. Then, they would quite deliberately send their daughter back in time to face the slaughter of her own parents' past selves.

If that were so, Ami had grave misgivings about sending her back home. However, Chibi-Usa had taken the decision right out of her hands. On a visit to the Tsukino home Chibi-Usa had used the Luna-ball to hypnotize everyone in Usagi's family into forgetting that she had ever existed, then explained to Ami that she was going home with her.

'Which lead to it's own problems, of course,' Ami thought as she helped Chibi-Usa up into her compact car.

Ami drove the car with the same sort of precision she used in everything, reaching the little house in only a few minutes. She reached over and unlocked the passenger's door, but Chibi-Usa hesitated. "Is something wrong?" Ami asked her softly.

"Well," Chibi-Usa looked down, "Hotaru told me that Haruka, Michiru and Setsuna would really like you to come in, sometime."

Ami opened up the passenger door as she softly said, "I'm not ready to do that, not yet."

Chibi-Usa nodded, "It's all right." The front door of the house opened up and she ran forward, nearly knocking over the slightly older Hotaru.

Ami noticed three figures standing at the front window looking out at her, and for a moment met their gazes steadily. Then she started up the car and was off.

'The Outers,' Ami remembered their first meeting, 'that was a incredible disaster.' They had met when the Heart Snatchers had begun to attack, a event that quickly broke down into shouted recriminations and harsh words that couldn't be taken back.

Uranus had been brutal with her, but the worst had been her own cold fury with Pluto, the Senshi of time. Rationally she knew that Pluto was bound by her duties not to interfere, but at that point she had just not cared. It had been poor Chibi-Usa who had brought her to her senses, tearfully pleading with her to stop yelling at Puu.

'Of course, Haruka was right about my failing Usagi,' Ami admitted as she climbed out of her car to walk towards the hospital doors, 'probably why I got so angry. And my feelings of guilt are what's keeping me from working effectivelly with them.'

The nurses called out their greetings to Ami, and she gave them a wave. "Dr. Mizuno's up on the fifth floor, doing her rounds," the youngest nurse smiled.

"Thanks," Ami smiled as she stepped into the elevator. The ride up was silent, and she saw her mother fairly quickly as she entered the wards on that level.

Dr. Nicole Mizuno looked up with a smile as she pulled Ami into a swift hug. "Good to see you," she murmured into her daughter's ear softly.

Ami blushed a bit, but returned the hug gently. "You about done?" she asked, knowing the answer having timed her arrival to her Mother's break.

"Just about," Nicole agreed. They soon retired to Nicole's office, and the good doctor poured out cups of tea for both of them. "So how's your... other job?"

Ami smiled slightly. After her injury, and especially after bringing Chibi-Usa home with her, she had told her mother everything about her double life and how she got hurt. "Pretty quiet, lately. I'm hoping it lasts," she added.

"And Chibi-Usa?" Nicole asked.

"On the surface she's fine," Ami sighed out softly, "but I'm not so sure. I wish I could read her just a little bit better." She looked up to see Nicole smiling at her oddly. "What?"

"You sound like a mother," her mother pointed out with a smile. Ami groaned, and Nicole smirked as she sipped at her tea, "And her friend, Hotaru?"

"Fine, I think," Ami looked away uncomfortably.

"You haven't tried to make friends with the other Scouts off-duty, have you," Nicole made it a statement, not a question at all. She sighed, "Usagi and your other friends wouldn't have wanted you to mourn them forever."

"I know," Ami nodded. She smiled wryly, "It doen't help that the three of them sort of hold be in awe now, either."

"Wha..?" Nicole blinked.

The battles against the Heart Snatchers had all ended in a foot race, of all things. The Holy Grail shone before them all, hanging there in midair between the three talismans, and it came down to whom would reach it first. Sailor Mercury had leapt for it, putting all her strength into that effort, and her hands closed on the Grail.

And the world exploded around her as she transformed to another level.

The power surged outward, erradicating the remaining Witches Five in only a single moment. Professor Tomoe's lab as next, the dark presence in his body expelled forcefully even as Sailor Saturn awoke, her and the Grail's power destroying the presence of Mistress Nine within her.

"It can't be her," Sailor Uranus' shaken voice in the stillness.

"The legends spoke only of a princess and a champion," Sailor Pluto's voice quietly replied, "so why not her?"

The Grail sang in her mind, telling her how to erradicate all evil, purify the entire world. It was rediculously easy, the detailed map laid out in her brain. But with all her will Ami turned away, letting the light of the Grail die down as she floated to the floor.

"Are you all right?" Chibi-Moon asked worriedly.

"I will be," Sailor Mercury managed weakly.

"Why did you stop?" Sailor Neptune asked softly.

"This power isn't meant for me to use," Sailor Mercury had said to them softly, "it belongs to the future."

And Sailor Pluto had gravely nodded her approval.

"That's incredible," Nicole blinked at her daughter. "But what did you mean, it belongs to the future?" she asked softly.

"We, the Senshi, visited the future once, a utopia called Crystal Tokyo," Ami answered her quietly. She touched the Grail crest on her broach, "I think they used this in creating it."

"Incredible," Nicole repeated it softly. She hesitated for a moment, "Do you ever regret moving out?"

Ami smiled sadly, "I regret fighting you over Chibi-Usa and the rest of it when I left. But I still think that it's for the best. If what happened to Usagi, Rei, Makoto and Minako taught me anything, it that the life I lead is very dangerous." Her eyes narrowed with resolve, "And I won't see you being hurt by it."

"I can never argue with you when you make that face," Nicole said with a smile. She reached out to take her daughter's hand, "I know that Makoto left you a great deal of money, but if you need anything, anything at all, just call."

Ami hugged her back, knowing that her mother's break was just about over. "I will," she answered her softly.

"And try to make friends with those Outers," Nicole gave her a no- nonsense motherly look, "that's an order."

Ami actually laughed softly, "I'll try."

Part Two

Some people are almost born with the qualities that made one cool. Others develop it early, and never seem to go wrong. A few work at becoming cool, some achieving it and others not. And a few, a rare few, achieve coolness by accident, going on with their lives completely unaware that they've become the idol of an entire school.

'Ami Mizuno,' Haruka Tenoh thought with a smile, 'certainly fell into the last category.' The sandy-blonde haired, boyishly tall young woman watched Ami from the safety of the crowd, trying to figure her out.

It wasn't any one thing that made Ami cool. It wasn't the scar, though it was distinctive. It wasn't the clothes, in even darker colors than she had previously had worn. And it wasn't the attitude, though something had certainly changed in there as well. It was a combination of all those things and more that had given Ami the quality that people described as cool.

Not wanting to be seen lurking about Haruka moved on with the crowd, listening with a smile to some of the whispered conversations that were going on all around her. The majority of them were all about Ami, her having graduated to this institute so early, her being in the top of her classes, and a fair number of comments about her overall cuteness.

"Hello, Haruka," the gentle voice came up beside her and continued, "how is our young charge doing today?" Michiru fell into step beside Haruka quite easily, the green haired girl smiling up at her taller lover happily.

"Doing just fine," Haruka answered dryly, "and I'm certain that she'd resent knowing that we're keeping an eye on her."

"True," Michiru admitted, "but I do worry about her."

"You and Setsuna both do," Haruka nodded, her own eyes flickering with regret. A slight smile appeared on her face as she added, "Too bad she just can't make up some excuse to get Ami down to the nurse's office."

"I'm not even going to suggest that to her," Michiru smiled. They walked on together a bit, "What should we do now?"

"Not sure," Haruka answered. She frowned, "Ami looks like she's doing fine, but other than Chibi-Usa she's... alone."

"There's not much we can do about that," Michiru sighed softly, "we've taken the first steps. She just has to decide to respond."

Ami Mizuno turned with a frown, having caught a flash of sandy blonde hair in the corner of her eye. 'I guess not,' she thought before turning back to her route.

"Excuse me, Miss Mizuno?" a man's voice asked.

Ami looked the young man over, assessing him with a single glance. He was athletic, but there was a furtive look about him too, as if he had become very practiced at the art of deception. "Yes?" she asked the two men there simply.

One of the teachers stood beside him, and Ami instantly recognized him as the coach of one of the school's athletic teams. "I was wondering if you could help us out," the teacher said to her with an unrelenting sort of cheerfulness in his voice, "You see, Mr. Takema here needs some tutoring, and I've hear that..."

"No." With that, Ami turned to walk away.

"Wait a moment," the teacher sounded surprised, "I wasn't finished."

Ami turned to give the teacher such a look that he stepped back from her involuntarily. "Yes, you were. You don't want a tutor, you want someone who will do all of your star athlete's work for him. That is something that I will not do," she finished. She walked away, leaving the two stunned figures standing there behind her.

The two men stood there in stunned shock until the soft sound of clapping could be heard, jerking them back to life. "The fearsome Ami Mizuno strikes once again," Setsuna said with a certain amount of amusement.

"What do you mean, fearsome?" the teacher managed weakly.

"Our Ms. Mizuno has developed quite the reputation," Setsuna said to him with honest admiration in her voice, "as someone who even the teachers fear to cross." She looked thoughtfully at the boy he was escorting, "She certainly had this situation pegged. Doesn't he have a make-up assignment due, one to save his grade?"

"Yes he does," the teacher sighed. He looked over at Setsuna hopefully, "You seem to understand her, could you appeal to her to help out Mr. Takema?"

Setsuna smiled sadly, "I rather doubt that."

The nurse's office was often quiet, and Setsuna's duties there were rarely taxing, giving her plenty of time to think. Too much time, she often had to admit. Lately, the problem of Ami Mizuno lay at the forefront of her thoughts.

'She's been hurt so terribly deeply,' Setsuna thought, 'lost so very much.'

All their pain over the loss of the Princess had come to the surface when the Outers had first met Sailor Mercury, boiling up in angry words. Haruka had been biting, accusing Ami of failing in her duties, of being less of a Senshi than those who had fallen in battle. And Ami's anger had been directed at her, at Pluto's decision not to intervene to save Usagi and the others.

Intellectually, Setsuna was certain that Ami fully understood all the complex reasons for her decision not to act. But reason hadn't been much at play on that day, and Ami had been as harsh as Haruka. Perhaps she was even more so because of her instinctive understanding of Setsuna's own powers over the timestream.

'And then there was the Grail,' Setsuna thought glumly.

Haruka and Michiru had chosen to keep Ami out of their plans, Haruka due to distrust, Michiru due to concern for the fragile young woman. Sailor Mercury and Chibi-Moon had walked into the chapel blind, not knowing what was happening but determined to help however they could, and in the end the Grail had fallen into Ami's hands.

And quite unexpectedly the Grail awoke.

It's power shouldn't have fully manifested itself for centuries, but in Sailor Mercury's hands the Grail sang. It obliterated the Witches Five, the Heart Snatchers, and their dark masters in a single wave of pure power, and Setsuna had been certain that Ami was going to use it to transform the entire Earth itself. But in a single act of supreme will power Ami drew all that power back, containing it once more within the Grail itself.

'She is the most powerful of the Senshi,' Setsuna thought, 'which means that we Outers are going to have to learn to work with her. Somehow.'

Haruka and Michiru got home first, so Michiru usually started up dinner. She and Setsuna were the most domestic in the household, while Haruka was the least. Hotaru was willing to help, of course, but she had a lot to learn.

Setsuna came last, and sighed happily as she came in and smelled dinner cooking. "Michiru, will you marry me?" she joked.

"I'm taken, as you well know," Michiru laughed. She looked up at Setsuna thoughtfully, "I wasn't aware that you swung that way."

"It wasn't that uncommon in the Moon Kingdom," Setsuna explained.

"Does that mean Michiru and I could have gotten married back then?" Haruka asked her as she walked in from the garage, cleaning grease off of her hands.

With a slight smile Setsuna said, "I believe you were married, actually."

Hotaru ran into the room with a smile, "Is Chibi-Usa coming over again tonight?"

"I think so," Michiru agreed.

The small car pulled up outside, but something unusual happened. Watching as covertly as possible they saw Ami get out, going around to open Chibi-Usa's door. Taking the pink haired gir's hand in hers Ami proceeded to walk up the sidewalk to the front door.

*Ding dong!* the doorbell rang.

The three women looked at each other in surprise. Hotaru tugged on Setsuna's arm, so she walked to the door and opened it with a smile. Ami looked nervous, that made Setsuna feel a bit better, "Hello, Ms. Mizuno. It's nice to see you again."

"Call me Ami," she smiled back. She hesitated, "Chibi-Usa tells me that Hotaru mentioned that it might be nice if I visited sometime. I thought I'd take you up on it."

Setsuna stepped aside to let her in, "We're glad to have you."

Part Three

Ami pulled the small car up outside the Outers' home and took a deep, steadying breath. 'I can do this,' she thought to herself seriously.

"What's wrong, Ami?" Chibi-Usa looked up at her innocently.

Ami smiled down at the pink haired little girl, "I think I'm going to come inside with you today, is that all right?"

"That'll make Hotaru happy," Chibi-Usa beamed.

Ami got out first, them went around to open up Chibi-Usa's door. She took the little girl's hand in hers and proceeded to walk up the sidewalk to the front door. They reached the front door, and Ami had to fight back a smile as the curtains ruffled. 'Guess someone was watching for us,' she thought as she reached for the bell.

*Ding dong!* the doorbell rang.

It took a few moments for it to be answered, and Ami could hear a whispered conversation going on just inside. The blue haired young woman looked down at Chibi-Usa, who just shrugged slightly. Ami felt nervous as the front door opened and Setsuna smiled slightly, "Hello, Ms. Mizuno. It's nice to see you again."

"Call me Ami," she smiled back at the elegant black haired woman. She hesitated before offering, "Chibi-Usa tells me that Hotaru mentioned that it might be nice if I visited sometime. So I thought I'd take you up on it."

Setsuna stepped aside to let her in, "We're glad to have you."

"Thank you, Ms. Meiou " Ami followed her in.

Setsuna smiled gently at the grave young woman, "I don't think anyone would object to the using of their first names."

Before Ami could say anything, Hotaru, Haruka and Michiru came into the living room together. "Chibi-Usa," she beamed, running to the pink haired girl's side. The taller dark haired girl hugged the smaller pink one, then looked up at Ami with a slight smile, "Hello Ami."

"Hello, Hotaru," Ami bent slightly to return her smile. It gave her a moment to collect herself, trying to deal with the unexpected smiles on the other two Outers' faces. 'I thought they'd be angry,' she mused, 'especially Haruka.'

"Ami," Michiru smiled at her happily, "welcome to our home."

"Hey," Haruka gave her a tentative smile, and the echoes of their last big fight hung in the air between them. One wrong word, a single angry gesture, and the fragile peace would be broken.

Ami firmly set those words behind her as she smiled at Michiru, "I'm glad I was invited." She offered her hand to Haruka, "Nice to see you, again."

Haruka took that offered hand, shaking it firmly. "Let's get you sat down," the sandy haired, boyish woman smiled as Chibi-Usa dragged Hotaru off so that they could go play together.

Setsuna felt a surge of relief at how well things were going. She paused in the kitchen doorway, "I'll go make some tea."

Ami smoothly took a seat on one of the couches, her eyes widening just slightly as the two other women snuggled together on the other couch, Haruka gentlemanly enfolding Michiru in the curve of her arm. Before now she had thought they might be a couple from how they worked together, but this seemed to confirm it.

Michiru smiled at her gently and broke the silence, "I understand you're taking advanced courses at the university?"

"In medicine, yes," Ami nodded. 'Talking about school, that I can handle,' she thought in relief. "I understand you're on a music scholarship, right?"

"Yes, I'm studying the violin," Michiru smiled.

"And her paintings are all over the campus," Haruka said proudly.

"I've seen a few," Ami agreed. "I heard you perform once with Haruka playing the piano," she mused softly after a moment, "I thought it was beautiful."

That seemed to startle both women, somehow. "Thank you," Haruka managed. She hesitated, then looking down at the fine carpet she softly said, "I wanted to apologize, Ami."

Ami looked up to meet eyes that were earnestly looking at her. 'It can't have been easy for her to say that,' Ami mused. "Considering some of the things that I said to Setsuna," Ami smiled at her wryly, "it's understandable."

Setsuna came in carrying the tea pot, setting it down on the coffee table and pouring out four cups. "What's understandable?" she asked.

Ami took a breath. One of the reasons she had avoided coming here for so long was because she knew she would have to do this. She looked up at the seemingly serene Setsuna, "I wanted to say how sorry I am for what I said to you."

"That's not necessary," Setsuna said quietly.

Michiru chuckled softly and the others looked up at her in surprise. "Haruka's trying to apologize to Ami, Ami wants to say sorry to Setsuna, and I'm sure that she and I have things we're both sorry for, too," she shrugged.

Ami's lips quirked just slightly, "It is mildly absurd, isn't it?"

Setsuna looked at both Ami and Haruka, and for a moment was struck by how similar they were in some ways. Strength, intensity, pride, they both had that. 'I wonder, was Ami like this before?' she thought sadly.

"So what do we do now?" Haruka asked softly.

"We move on," Setsuna said simply. She looked at the others, "We put the past behind us, forgive each other for what happened, and start over."

Ami picked up her cup of tea, swirling it around a bit before she took a drink. It was perfect. "All right," she said firmly, "we move forward from now, as senshi."

Setsuna was a bit surprised to hear herself say, "And as friends?"

Ami's face paled slightly, her scar darkening to a fierce red as she took a unsteady breath. After a moment she smiled weakly and quietly offered, "I'll try."

Michiru was giving Setsuna the oddest look, and Ami wasn't quite sure what to make of it. Then the green haired girl smiled at her, "I just have one question."

Ami blinked, "Yes?"

Michiru offered this to all present, "Who will be our leader?"

There was a very long silence when a voice said clearly, "Sailor Mercury." The four looked up to see Hotaru and Chibi-Usa standing there in the doorway. It was Hotaru who had spoken, looking at them with a maturity far beyond her years.

"Oh, no," Ami started to say.

Haruka didn't hesitate when she said, "I agree, Mercury should lead the senshi." At Ami's surprised glance she smiled slightly, "Despite my making an ass of myself, Ami handled herself with strength and maturity. And probably saved us all."

"Exactly," Hotaru said as she and Chibi-Usa took seats nearby.

"I am not ready for this," Ami said firmly.

"Were any of us ready when we gained our powers?' Chibi-Usa offered up surprisingly. "We learn as we go, and pick ourselves up after our mistakes," she finished.

"From the mouths of babes," Michiru murmured. She gave Ami a gentle smile, "From what I've seen of you, I'd tend to agree."

Ami had a almost panicked look on her face as she looked over at Setsuna, "Are you going to make it unanimous?"

Setsuna gave the boyish blue haired young woman a gentle smile, "I would tend to agree, yes, but I won't press you. If you truly do not feel ready for this, one of the others will fill the role."

Ami puffed out a breath, feeling their eyes on her. Chibi-Usa's trusting, Hotaru's piercing, Haruka's confident, Michiru clearly sympathetic and Setsuna's... She looked at her with an unreadable expression, leaving Ami wondering what was going on behind those eyes.

"All right," Ami said reluctantly, "I'll do it."

To be continued...