A/N: This whole fic is being rewritten, but I went ahead and edited this chapter in particular since it had some extremely harmful content.

Trigger warnings for CSA/rape mention

The original version portrayed an adult-minor relationship that led to the victim being kidnapped by and married to her abuser, forced to have a child, then ending up in poverty and having him eventually cheat on her and leave her for another woman. Obviously any romantic "relationship" between a teacher and their 15-year-old student is child abuse. That kind of story probably should not be written by a non-survivor, or at least not without a great deal of research and empathy that I clearly lacked. It's beyond misogynist to use the narrative to punish the girl for being raped as if it were some kind of cautionary tale. I also didn't consider how awful it is to show that this kind of thing still happens in Crystal Tokyo, and that Usagi doesn't do anything about it when she definitely has the power.

When I wrote this I was 22, had just entered my first serious relationship, and had very little understanding of things like grooming and consent. I was still clinging to some highly toxic Conservative Christian purity culture beliefs. The rest of what I knew about relationships came from anime, which I had not learned to examine critically, so I just assumed that anything a big-name studio produced was okay and that "other cultures have different standards" or something.

None of that excuses me, I was still old enough to know better and had plenty of opportunities to educate myself if I'd been willing. I'm sorry for what I wrote, and for taking so long to correct it. The story has been changed now so that Mio is with someone her own age and gets a happy ending. I'll do better in the future.

Chapter 4: Façade

Seresu's phone rang for the fourth time in the past hour, and the pink-haired girl sighed wearily. "Yes, Itokuri-san?" she answered, knowing who it was without having to ask.

"Guess what? Tsukino-san and I found this funny-looking mushroom in the park, and I wanted to eat it but she said we shouldn't but it looked really tasty. It had a big red top and it kind of looked like an apple except that apples don't have purple spots, so I thought it might taste like an apple..." Here Atena paused just long enough to take a deep breath. "...But then Tsukino-san said we should find out what kind it was first so we picked it and took it to the library and we looked in a mushroom book and it was actually a poisonous kind, so I'm really glad I didn't eat it!"

"Well, I'm glad you're safe. Bye!" Seresu said airily, and hung up before Atena could start chattering again. She collapsed back onto her bed with a moan. When I told her to call if anything happened, this wasn't exactly what I meant...

She reached for the box of tissues on her bedside table. That morning she'd woken up with a nasty cold, which she had decided to blame on the chilling battle they'd fought with Cobalt two days before. She frowned as she caught a glimpse of her reddened nose in her vanity mirror. On top of that, her lovely pink hair was a frayed mess, and her normally beautiful eyes were puffy and bloodshot. Just when Seresu thought she couldn't possibly feel any more pathetic, her phone rang again.

"What is it now?" she snapped, not realizing how grouchy she sounded.

"Garnier-san? You sound awful! What's wrong?"

"P-princess!" she stammered. She turned bright red as she realized her mistake. "Please forgive me, I thought it was Itokuri-san again..."

"We're having a meeting at the palace," Usagi began.

"Are you sick?" Atena's high-pitched voice interrupted from somewhere behind Usagi.

"I seem to have caught a cold after the fight at school," she sighed.

"Oh no! Garnier-san is sick, everyone!" Atena announced. "Come on, we have to go cheer her up! Tomoe-san, you make the chicken soup! I'll get some stuffed animals and a good movie, and we can all go over to her place-"

"That won't be necessary, Itokuri-san," Seresu said quickly.

"The best thing for a cold is to get plenty of rest," Hotaru advised. Seresu smiled gratefully. She had never been more glad to have Hotaru in their group. Without her quiet rationality to balance out Atena and Usagi, Seresu was quite sure she would've gone insane by now.

"Aww, this is no fun!" Atena complained. "Why'd Garnier-san have to get sick today?"

Seresu sniffed. "It's no surprise, really. Between you and that monster, it got so cold I was nearly frozen!"

"But Tomoe-san really was frozen, and she's fine," Atena pointed out.

"Well, a maiden such as myself is delicate like a flower!" Seresu said, tossing her head. She immediately regretted it as a throbbing headache flared up between her eyes.

"Hey, we're maidens too!" the blue-haired girl protested, grabbing Usagi's wrist so she could shout into the receiver.

"Oww, you're twisting my arm!" Usagi yelped.

"Eek! I'm so sorry!"

Hotaru said something, but her quiet voice was lost in the din.

"I don't think this is going to work," Seresu said. "Perhaps we'll have to postpone the meeting."

Atena's eyes lit up. "Wait! I have an idea! Do you have a computer?"

"Of course I have a computer. Who doesn't, these days? Mine's the top of the line, too."

Thankfully, Atena interrupted before she could start bragging. "All right, let's set up a video conference!"

"Oh, but I'm hardly dressed for the occasion! And my hair looks awful!"

The others groaned. They'd only known Seresu for a few weeks, but she had already become infamous for her lengthy primping sessions.

"Fine, fine. Let's get started."

His sister was around here somewhere.

Pyrolusite knew it not only by the distinctive trail she left-disposable chopsticks, wads of used tissue, and a few coupons for miracle beauty products-but by the faint, nauseating smell that hung in the air. It was the smell of candy and cheap perfume and frivolity, and it reminded him of all the ways she infuriated him.

He thought it was odd for a person who normally abhorred dirty things to be hiding out behind a dumpster. But then, few of the things his sister did made sense to a rational mind. Pyrolusite kicked the dumpster hard, his steel-toed boots producing a satisfying metallic clang against the empty container. A startled squeak issued from behind a nearby stack of old tires, and a smug grin spread over his face. She had never been good at hiding.

"What are you doing hiding here, Calomel?" he asked, feigning concern. "Did Ripidolite make you cry again? My poor little sister. Why don't you just give up and let us handle this mission?"

Her head shot up from behind the tires, and for a moment he was taken aback at how disheveled she looked. Her face was smudged with grime, her clothes were ripped, and her blue hair had come down from its usual ponytail and hung in limp, tangled strands. "Shut up, Pyrolusite! If you're so concerned about the dumb mission, why don't you go do something about the senshi yourself?"

His smile turned dangerous. "For your information, I've been busy with other equally important matters. But as a matter of fact, I have been working hard on a little project I've been saving for them."

In spite of herself, Calomel looked mildly interested. "What kind of project?"

"Oh, you'll see soon enough. In the meantime..." He paused to look her up and down disdainfully. "You might want to clean yourself up before you return to headquarters."

Calomel cringed. "I can't go back like this! Mother will be so angry! I can't face her just yet..."

"If you go back now, she'll be angry at you for failing. If you put it off, she'll be angry with you for failing and for hiding from her and wasting valuable time. So you'd better prepare your best sob story and get back as soon as possible."

Calomel turned her nose up in a pout. "I'll go home when I'm ready. Now leave me alone!"

With that, she disappeared once more into her humble rubber abode. Realizing there was no more reasoning with her, Pyrolusite turned abruptly and left her there.

"All right, I have a theory," Vesta announced. She was pacing back and forth, tapping a long stick against the ground. She had picked up the stick intending to draw some sort of explanatory diagram in the dust, but illustrations were not her strong point, so instead it had become an instrument of stress relief. "Suppose we've somehow been sent through a time warp into an alternate dimension where Crystal Tokyo has been destroyed!"

"That sounds like a bad science fiction movie," Juno said, rolling her eyes. "I'd say it's more likely none of this is real at all."

"You mean it's an hallucination?"

"Yes. Some kind of trick of the enemy. Think about it. We showed up here right after we got hit by that Petalite woman's attack, right?"

Vesta frowned. "Good point. Then all we need to do is wake up, right?"

"Wrong!" a deep voice boomed in reply. Vesta and Juno looked up to see a slender woman in a pink kimono hovering over their heads with a sneer on her face.

"Petalite!" they exclaimed in unison.

The two senshi took a defensive stance, but Petalite made no move to fight them, only yawned and examined her needle-like scarlet nails. Her silk garments twisted and fluttered wildly in the cold wind, but there was something poetic about the motion, as if every moment were a painting. This landscape was her stage, and she the prima-donna; even the wind was carefully choreographed to highlight her terrifying beauty.

"You were almost right the first time," she said. "This is the Crystal Tokyo of the future. This is how your world will look in twenty years."

"That's a lie!" Vesta shot back immediately.

"How could you know about the future?" Juno demanded at the same time.

Petalite's eyes narrowed a bit, a hint of anger creeping into her arrogant smirk. "You'd be better off to stay in this dream," she told them. "With every step you take, you move closer to your inevitable destiny. Think about that for a second. Your every action, your every thought sets off the cascade of events that will someday bring your world to ruin. It would be better for you to simply stop moving."

"We'll take our chances!" Vesta retorted. Red fire sprung from her hand, forming her whip.

Petalite shook her head, making a disappointed clucking noise. "Very well. If you wish to continue this senseless fight, I will oblige you." She pulled a handful of deep red rose petals from her sleeve and scattered them over the ground.

"Watch out!" Juno cautioned as the petals began to stir. They grew and twisted into human shapes, each with velvety red skin and a tangled mess of briars for hair. Their fingernails, long and curved like thorns, were poised to slash at the two girls.

Petalite's lips curved in a cruel smile. "Farewell, sailor soldiers!" she called as she faded away.

Atena was true to her word. Ten minutes and two phone calls to Mercury later, she had Seresu's laptop connected to the Crystal Palace network. After a few seconds of static, a fuzzy image of Seresu appeared in front of them, looking slightly impatient.

"Can you hear me?" Atena asked.

Seresu nodded. "It would appear that it actually works. Shall we begin?"

"What do you mean, actually?" Atena muttered under her breath.

"Nice work, Itokuri-san. Okay!" Usagi said, sitting down cross-legged in front of the screen. "Let's get started!"

"All right, first order of business. Usagi-chan, what's on your mind?" Hotaru asked.

Usagi blinked. "Hmm?"

"You've been acting really distracted since yesterday. Is something troubling you?"

Usagi looked sheepish. She had never been able to hide from Hotaru. "Someone, actually. I guess it's about time we discussed a certain mysterious stranger."

"Which one? I can think of at least three mysterious strangers that need discussion."

"Well, I was talking about the one who keeps showing up to congratulate us after we win a fight."

"The handsome one with the mask?"

"They all had masks, Garnier-san."

"Oh... right." She giggled. "And from what the security cameras caught, I'd say they were all pretty handsome!"

Hotaru frowned. "At least two of them are enemies," she reminded Seresu.

"I know that, but I can still make the observation, can't I?"

"About those guys who stole the crystal. Hypnos and Aether, right? What do you think they were gonna do with it?" Atena wondered.

"I don't know," Usagi said, looking worried. "Actually, Aether sent a letter to my father saying that the crystal was in a safe place and he'd return it in due time, whatever that means."

Hotaru raised an eyebrow. "He steals one of the most powerful objects in the galaxy... and then tries to reassure us?"

"How arrogant," Seresu remarked. "He wanted to make sure you knew he had it. It's like he's taunting you!"

"Not necessarily. Maybe he really is some kind of gentleman thief," said Atena.

"Don't be so naive, Itokuri-san!"

"We all know Aether is bad news. But what about the man in the white tuxedo?" Usagi asked again, cutting the dispute short. She was anxious to hear what her friends thought of him, especially after the incident two nights ago. She had decided not to tell anyone about how the stranger had appeared to her as Pegasus and taken her for a ride over the city. It would probably just make them worry. But still, she felt like she'd go crazy if she didn't talk to someone.

"Well," Seresu mused, "he certainly didn't seem like a bad person, but..."

"She just thinks he's cute," Atena said with a wink at Seresu.

Seresu blushed. "I'm certain that had nothing to do with it!" She sounded indignant, but a twinkle in her eye gave her away.

"Still, it's a little strange that he never shows up in time to help," Hotaru pointed out.

Seresu nodded, turning serious. "I hate to think that such a nice-looking man is our enemy, but for the moment I must agree. It's too early to trust him."

Usagi sighed. Her friends' feelings made perfect sense, but for some reason she instinctively felt that the stranger in white couldn't be evil.

Atena spoke up suddenly, making Usagi jump. "Say, doesn't he look a lot like the priest of Elysion?"

"You mean Helios? Come to think of it, there is quite a resemblance," Seresu agreed. "From what I can see, anyway. It's hard to tell with that mask over his face."

"And he also seems to be quite fond of Usagi. He's always looking right at her, and he called her 'Lady'," Hotaru added. "Do you suppose...?"

Usagi shook her head. "But if he was Helios, he'd have said something to me. Right?"

"Unless he had a good reason not to," Hotaru speculated.

"He wouldn't have forgotten about her, right?" Atena blurted out. Usagi looked crestfallen.

"Of course not! That would never happen!" Hotaru said quickly. Seresu nodded vigorously in agreement.

The group sat in silence for a moment, pondering.

"Well, whoever he may be, I hope he's on our side," said Seresu at length. "So, second order of business! Ah, that is... is there a second order of business?"

Atena remembered something. "Atena has an important question! Can I tell my parents I'm a senshi?"

"Certainly not," Seresu replied immediately. "It's dangerous to go revealing our identities to other people. Who knows what the enemy might do to obtain that information? Besides, they might slip and tell someone else. If word got out, our lives as normal girls would be over forever!"

"Aww, I bet they would've been proud of me..." Atena sighed.

Hotaru patted her shoulder. "I'm sure they would have. But it's safer this way."

Usagi looked around at the group. "Is there anything else to talk about?" The others shook their heads no. "All right. Meeting adjourned! Just in time for lunch."

Seresu coughed and moaned. "I'm afraid I must take my leave of you. You three have fun. I'm going back to bed."

"Feel better, Garnier-san!" Atena said, waving goodbye.

As the image on the screen faded away, Atena realized Usagi and Hotaru looked less than happy. "Umm... what's wrong?" she asked.

"She seemed so polite at first, but she's kind of stuck up," Usagi said, looking annoyed. "She could've at least thanked you for setting up the computers."

"I wonder if she doesn't like us..." Hotaru worried.

"You mean Garnier-san?" The blue-haired girl shrugged. "Atena doesn't understand either. But I'm sure she'll come around if we give her some time." Then she brightened. "So, about lunch... want to come over to my house? My mom's making sandwiches and chocolate cake."

At the words "chocolate cake", Usagi jumped and headed for the door. "Well, what are we waiting for?"

"I live in Hachioji, so let's take the train."

Hotaru checked her watch. "If we hurry, we can catch the next one."

"By the way, my house is a little messy," Atena said. "Hope you don't mind."

"Don't worry about it," Usagi reassured her. "It couldn't be that bad."

Usagi had seen messes in her day (she had, after all, lived with her mother's past self), but Atena's apartment put them all to shame. The aging paint was peeling off the walls, the ceiling had collapsed in one corner of the kitchen area, exposing the rusty pipes, and piles of paper and old candy wrappers covered every surface. Dirty dishes were stacked in the sink, and even larger heaps of laundry covered most of the remaining floor space. Usagi tried not to cringe as she noticed a huge cobweb in the corner of the room.

Just as she was beginning to regret accepting Atena's invitation, a delicious smell wafted in from the oven. "The cake's almost done," Atena told them, licking her lips.

A thin young woman in a yellow apron emerged from the bedroom. Her long blue hair was tied back with a matching bandana, which came undone and fell over her eyes as she scurried over to usher them in. "Hey Atena!" she greeted her with a smile. "And you must be her friends! Come on in! Sorry about the mess."

"Thank you," Usagi said, slipping off her shoes and stepping tentatively into the house. "Are you Atena's older sister?" she asked.

The woman burst out laughing, and so did Atena. "No, I'm her mother," she explained when she caught her breath.

Usagi and Hotaru couldn't hide their surprise, and quickly apologized.

"Oh, no. I'm flattered." Atena's mother re-tied her bandana with one hand as she waved them into the kitchen. "Please have a seat. I'll have lunch ready in a moment." Just then, the phone rang. "Right after I take this call, that is!" She scurried off just as quickly as she had arrived.

"So, where are you hiding the fountain of youth?" Seresu asked after they sat down. "I hope I look that good at her age."

"Ah, yeah, she is actually pretty young," Atena said with a nervous chuckle as she busied herself rearranging a pile of old mail. "My parents had me while they were still in college. They uh, aren't really the plan-ahead type, you know? Mom always says I was the best kind of surprise, though!"

Seresu wasn't sure how to reply, so she just said, "Oh."

"Where's your father now?" Usagi ventured after a moment.

"He works in another city, so we don't see him very often. He calls mom every night, though."

Atena's mother returned. "Are you hungry?" she asked. "You're in luck! I'm cleaning out the fridge. And you know what that means," she said with a wink at Atena.

"All right! LWL sandwiches!"

"What are LWL sandwiches?" Hotaru asked.

"It stands for Last Week's Leftovers sandwiches," Atena explained. "Besides cake, it's mom's other specialty!"

"Oh."

Vesta's blazing whip ensnared a rose monster, quickly reducing it to ash. Behind her, an arc of lightning from Juno finished off two more. But there were plenty more to take their place.

"These guys seem tougher than the ones before," the red-haired senshi noted, falling back a few steps to power up her flame attack.

"Really? I didn't notice."

"Liar." Vesta grinned at the remaining group of creatures. She extended a hand, beckoning them to come at her. And come they did, clawing at her face with their thorny hands. She held them at bay with small bursts of flame, but they were relentless.

A monster's thorny hair wrapped around Juno's arm. Seizing the opportunity, she pulled it toward her, straight into the path of her right hook. The monster fell limp, and she grabbed the vines and swung it around into the group that was threatening Vesta, knocking them all to the ground.

"Enough of this." A spark jumped from Juno's clenched fist. Then another, and another, until a greenish cloud of electric energy surrounded her. "Diamond... Storm!" she cried, and released the pent-up energy in a sudden burst of white-hot electricity.

"Oh, fine, take all the fun out of it. Ember Strike!"

The combined attacks struck the monsters in a huge explosion. Clouds of dust and charred flower petals flew into the air. A few moments passed before Vesta and Juno could see again. When they were sure the danger had passed, they made their way up the road. They turned up a hill climbed for a few minutes in silence. A thick fog filled the air as they went higher, until they could barely see their own feet. Juno grabbed on to Vesta's collar so they wouldn't lose each other.

The fog abated as they reached the top of the hill. Around them were the ruins of a magnificent garden. Dried marble fountains, withered plants, and the skeletons of tall hedges were laid out in an eerie maze, a hollowed-out shell that whispered tales of a glorious age gone by. Beyond lay the wreckage of what had once been the Crystal Palace.

"What happened here?" Juno wondered out loud.

She started to move forward to investigate, but Vesta suddenly grabbed her arm. "Wait! There's someone there." She pointed to a crumbling crystal spire on the other end of the palace grounds. Sure enough, the shadow of a tall man was visible through the glassy walls.

Never the subtle one, Vesta called out, "Hey, you there! Show yourself!"

He turned slowly to look at them. In a fluid motion he crouched and leapt over the tower, what seemed an impossible distance, and suddenly landed right in front of them. Up close he was an intimidating figure, and the two girls were immediately on edge. He stood a head taller than Vesta, and wore a long white robe with a hood that covered most of his face. His hands were hidden within his sleeves, which was more than enough to make Juno nervous. His commanding posture and intense, sharp eyes only added to her uneasiness. Whoever he was, he was powerful, and he knew it.

"Who are you?" she asked, since he didn't seem inclined to introduce himself.

"My name isn't important," he replied in a voice clear and cold as starlight. "I'm the one who has just destroyed this city. And now I will destroy you." With no further warning, he released an intense beam of light from his hands.

Vesta and Juno screamed.

To Usagi and Hotaru's surprise, LWL sandwiches were pretty good. Hotaru had pears, walnuts, and watercress, while Usagi had chicken and a couple of other unidentifiable substances-she didn't want to spoil the meal by asking what they were. Atena had her favorite, a "super-deluxe triple olive sandwich." Usagi watched with morbid fascination as she emptied an entire can of olives onto her plate, then topped it off with olive oil and olive spread.

"I like olives," she said with a nod. Usagi just blinked, dumbfounded.

"Well, enjoy! I'll be in the bedroom if you need anything!" Atena's mother said cheerfully. She stole an olive from her daughter's plate (prompting annoyed grumbles from Atena) before skipping away into the back room.

"Thank you for lunch," said Hotaru, but Mrs. Itokuri was already gone. Hotaru was beginning to see where Atena got her boundless energy.

"Say, Tsukino-san. Did you get in trouble for that language arts test?" Atena asked.

"Well, my parents were disappointed, and Dad said I couldn't go shopping. But I didn't get punished or anything."

Her friend looked relieved. "Atena didn't either! I apologized a whole lot, and mom couldn't stay mad at me."

"But we'll study hard next time!"

"Yup! The future is more important than the past, right?"

Hotaru sighed. "Honestly, you two."

At that moment a loud crack echoed through the apartment, and a pipe in the kitchen began spewing water all over the floor. The girls jumped up to avoid getting soaked.

"Not again!" Atena's mother cried as she came flying into the room with a washcloth. She tried to tie it around the pipe to stop the gushing water, with only marginal success.

"Say, Atena... maybe you and your friends should find a drier spot to hang out for now," she suggested.

"I know! Want to have a sleepover at my place?" Usagi offered.

Atena's eyes filled with stars. "At the Crystal Palace? Wow! Mom, can I go, pleeease?" She was off to grab her clothes before she even heard the reply.

"Sure, that's fine! Stay as long as they'll have you... I mean, have a good time! I think I'll go call a plumber."

"Shouldn't the landlord take care of that?" Atena said, returning from the bedroom with her bag.

"He's on vacation for the next two weeks." Mrs. Itokuri gave up on the washcloth and picked up the phone. "Eek! The phone book got all wet!"

"Umm... are you gonna be okay?"

Mrs. Itokuri forced a laugh. "I'm fine, I'm fine. Don't you worry! Run along now and have fun!" As she spoke, she was shoving them out the door while trying not to make it look like she was shoving them out the door.

"Thank you for the food!" Usagi called as they plucked their shoes from the three centimeters of water that now covered the entryway and rushed out.

There was an awkward silence. Atena scratched the back of her neck. "Please don't tell Garnier-san."

Calomel slid along the wall, keeping to the shadows as she crept down the dimly lit corridor. At precisely 10.2 meters from the door, she ducked under the invisible beam that she knew guarded the hallway. She'd discovered rather painfully last time she'd try to sneak in to her brother's lab that breaking the beam would set off a series of blowtorches in the ceiling.

Once she was clear, she made her way down the last stretch, dodging the electrified floor and the switch that would set off the fire hose. At last she reached the door. It opened with a turn of the knob. Calomel couldn't help but snicker; after all those elaborate security measures, he'd neglected the plain old-fashioned lock and key.

His latest project sat hidden under a tarp on a stool in front of his dusty, crowded workbench. She didn't dare touch that-it wasn't finished anyway-so instead she made her way to the back, where he kept his older work.

In the dim light of the single yellow bulb that hung from the ceiling, she could see the glint of heavy armor and ferocious metal blades. This one wielded a scythe, another had a giant hammer for an arm... but these weren't what she was looking for.

Before he had gotten into fuel cells, Pyrolusite had made a foray into steam-powered mecha. His greatest endeavor had been shelved because it had been, in his opinion, too bulky and slow to start.

He'd forgotten that his sister could conjure up enough hot steam to power a small city with a mere thought.

Calomel kissed the tip of her finger, and a little white puff of water vapor formed. With a flick of her wrist, it flitted over to the massive contraption and down one of the numerous pipes that protruded from its back. The sound began imperceptibly, a low rumbling in the ground that tickled the bottom of Calomel's feet. It grew stronger, making the boxes of bolts on Pyrolusite's desk rattle. The robot's eyes lit up as it straightened, life returning to its long-dormant limbs. Calomel had found the controls now, and carefully started it walking. With a rusty creak, it lurched forward one step, then another.

She smiled. This was going to be fun.