Everyone was staring at the freshly revealed Sailor Aluminum Seiren. Saturn, Pluto, Venus and Jupiter arrived at that moment, looking shocked by who they had discovered.

"Is that…?" Jupiter began to ask

"Aya-san!?" Venus exclaimed.

"No, it's Aluminum Seiren!" Pluto proclaimed.

Seiren smiled politely.

"Why, hi. My name is indeed Seiren, but let me reintroduce myself formerly. I am Sailor Mermaid, owner of the Aluminum Crystal. Pleased to meet you," she said with a bow.

"Sailor… Mermaid?" Sailor Moon reacted.

"Aluminum Crystal?" Mercury added.

"Cut the masquerade already! We know who you are, you don't have to pretend anymore!" Uranus let out.

Seiren cocked her head.

"Pretend? There's no pretension here. My mother just told me that if I can't even greet people, I won't grow up to be a respectable adult."

"Well your mother didn't do a great job because you're far from doing respectable things right now," Mars replied.

"I don't know what you're talking about," Seiren said innocently.

"Stop taking us for fools! You pretended to have no memory, you stole that notebook, you stole that notebook, and you did something to Karasuma-san!" Uranus accused.

"I never claimed to be amnesiac, you assumed so. I never stole this notebook, it belonged to me in the first place. And I have no idea what you mean by 'attacking you'," she scoffed.

"Still playing dumb, huh," Mars said.

Seiren shrugged.

"I still don't get it… Aya-san was the person we were looking for all along? Not Karasuma-san?" Venus asked.

"I've been telling you since the beginning that it wasn't Karasuma-san!" Nyanko exclaimed.

"Well, it's not like you told us it was Aya-san either," Mars replied.

"... I wasn't expecting that."

"She's more deceiving than she appeared- taking advantage of her naive and innocent appearance to fool us," Neptune said.

Seiren smirked.

"It's not like I was actively trying to deceive anyone, so don't give yourself too much credit for figuring it out, but still, I'm curious- how long were you suspicious of me?" Seiren asked.

"I had doubts since our collab on your talk show."

"Huh? For that long? What made you suspect me at that time?"

"Your voice," Neptune replied. "When you sang, I could feel it. There was something mesmerizing in your song, your voice was… hypnotic. I saw how it affected the crowd, it wasn't natural- there was something supernatural in it."

"Ah… I remember!" Venus exclaimed. "When that monster attacked, Aya-san ordered everyone to remain calm, and they did… Now that I think about it, it is strange that an entire crowd would listen to her and stay calm while there's a literal monster!"

Venus remembered how she herself felt compelled to obey Reiko when she requested everyone to remain calm.

"Her song had already put them under her control, so it was easy for her to command them," Neptune explained. "If her name wasn't already enough of a clue, her senshi one should be. She's quite literally a siren."

Seiren's airhead facade dropped, her expression darkening.

"You used your voice to manipulate Karasuma-san," Neptune accused. "You poisoned her mind, messed with her memories, and prevented her from re-awakening as Crow. Your actions led to the creation of her alter-ego, which you had control of. This red guardian form is probably an incomplete senshi form that came to be because you prevented her from remembering who she was. All along, you have been manipulating and controlling Crow-"

"Those are vile accusations! I did no such a thing!" Seiren protested. "I do not have the power to brainwash people and force them to do my bidding! This is a harmful stereotype about sirens! Which I'm not even- Anyway…"

Sailor Moon was shocked by Seiren's sudden change of temper. She had seen her being more vicious in fights, but downright angry? Not quite.

"My power is hypnotism. It's not the same as brainwashing or even corruption," Seiren explained. "Hypnosis is different. I cannot force someone to do something they wouldn't normally do, or something that goes against their fundamental values. So really, if we think about it, all I do is reveal what people truly want to do. It's no such thing as manipulation or control."

"That's some weird mental gymnastic you got there just to justify you've been messing with your girlfriend's mind all along!" Jupiter replied.

"Hush! You don't get it! You can't possibly understand! All I did was for the sake of the one I cherish the most! And you had to get in my way!"

"The audacity, after what you've done…!" Uranus began to say.

"STOP!" Karasuma suddenly yelled.

The latter was still kneeling on the ground, gripping her head with a pained expression on her face.

"I don't understand anything of what you're saying! Why am I having those images flashing in my head!? Are those memories? I don't remember any of these! What's happening to me!? Arghhh!"

Seiren clenched her fist.

"See what you have done?" she said. "You confused poor Karasuma-san! This is exactly what I was trying to avoid…"

"Hey, don't try to push the blame unto us!" Jupiter let out. You're the one who brainwashed her-"

"Hypnotised her," Seiren corrected.

"Same difference!"

"No, it's can't be… Reiko!?"

Karasuma stood up and reached for Seiren, seizing her by the shoulders.

"This isn't true, right? You didn't… mess with my mind, right? Please, Reiko, tell me this is all a lie!" Karasuma requested with such desperation in her voice.

Seiren looked down, her expression growing tense for a moment. Then, she softened, giving a gentle smile to her lover, yet with a sad look in her eyes. She delicately stroked Karasuma's cheek in a comforting way.

"Oh, Karasuma-san… those moments we spent together will forever be dear to me. Away from the war that tore apart our planets, from our cruel enslaver, and from our past sins… I didn't want you to remember, to suffer from those awful memories… I wanted to spare you those and be the only one to bear the burden of our sins. I wanted to allow you to live at peace and be happy, because… I love you so much, Crow-san."

Karasuma looked beyond shocked.

"R-Reiko, that name…!?"

"I'm sorry, Karasuma-san… but you have to believe me. All I did was for your sake."

"As if we'd believe you, you lying, deceiving-" Uranus began.

"I believe you!" Nyanko suddenly exclaimed.

All looked at Nyanko.

"I understand you, Seiren. I truly do," Nyanko continued. "Because this is also how I felt. I thought I was the only one who remembered our sins, and I wanted to spare you all from this burden. I tried to protect you, I wanted you to never remember and just live happily and oblivious to our past. So I understand why you'd do the same for Crow…"

Seiren glared at her.

"And yet, here you are, standing in my way and siding with my enemies…"

"The Solar System Senshi aren't our enemies! They are fellow Sailor Senshi, just like you and me!" Nyanko argued. "And Sailor Senshi shouldn't fight one another pointlessly!"

"If they get in my way, I won't hesitate to crush them!"

"And I won't hesitate to stop you if you cause trouble to Sailor Moon and her world!" Nyanko declared.

"That's rich coming from you, after what you did…"

"Ugh..!"

"You…!" Mars exclaimed.

"R-Reiko…! Snap out of it! This is all a joke, right? You're pranking me… right!?" Karasuma asked, distressed.

Seiren's expression soften and she cupped Karasuma's cheek.

"I'm afraid I'm not. But it's alright, I'll take care of everything. It's all going to be alright. All you have to do is trust me, Karasuma-san… but I'll need you too."

"Reiko…?"

"Or rather, I'll need Crow-san…"

Seiren's voice suddenly became lower and almost ethereal.

"Awaken, Sailor Coronis!"

Karasuma instantly froze. A whirlwind of dark feathers suddenly engulfed her and when it disappeared, her outfit had changed. The other senshi remained shocked when they saw how she was dressed.

"Is that…?" Jupiter began.

"Sailor Lead Crow…?" Venus finished.

"No, not quite," Nyanko corrected. "Look at her outfit."

The black parts of her senshi outfit were now dark maroons.

"That's Sailor Coronis, Crow's true senshi name," Nyanko added.

Crow turned back, revealing that she was still wearing the mask she had as the red guardian. Her eyes behind it flashed crimson.

"Careful everyone! This isn't Karasuma-san anymore, or even Crow! She's still mind-controlled by Seiren!" Neptune declared.

"So rude. I already told you, didn't I? I cannot control people. This is just hypnotism, mere persuasion. All I requested from Crow-san are things she wouldn't be opposed to do normally."

"Then why do you need hypnotism? Why not just ask her?" Neptune taunted.

Seiren glared at her.

"How presumptuous! Crow-san, be a dear and take care of those nuisances would you!"

Crow raised her arm.

"Coronis Tornado!" she said in a dark, deep and somehow empty voice as she pointed her hand towards the other senshi.

A powerful and destructive gust of wind hit the senshi, sending them flying. Seiren casually broke a nearby window and Crow popped out her huge black wings. She carried Seiren in her arms and flew away.

When the senshi managed to stand up it was too late- Crow and Seiren were already far away in the sky.

"I can't believe Aya Reiko- no, Seiren of all people, managed to fool us for that long!" Minako exclaimed.

Back at the Tsukino residence, the group was discussing the recent events.

"You can never know what's hidden behind someone's friendly exterior," Neptune said.

"I know that! But, Aya-san, I mean Seiren, both, well… she was kind of, you know…"

"Dumb?" Makoto finished.

"Eh… I was going to say, not the sharpest tool in the shed."

"I wouldn't be so sure about that," Ami suddenly intervened. "After all, she did figure out Usagi-chan's identity, where she lived, and lured her into a plane where she took all the passengers hostage just to get her star seed. She's definitely smarter than she appears to be."

"Or rather, cunning," Neptune added.

"Oy, we're talking about Seiren!" Nyanko exclaimed. "Don't give her too much credit. That girl is an airhead! She just got lucky that time. We're the ones who underestimated her and she didn't have to work that hard to fool us."

"I still can't believe it was Aya-san all along and not Karasuma-san," Minako said.

"I told you it couldn't be Crow! And I was right!" Nyanko replied.

"You didn't tell us Seiren was this conniving, deceitful and manipulative person!" Uranus complained.

"Hey! I didn't know! And to be fair, I never said Seiren wasn't the culprit specifically- just that Crow wasn't! And I was right on that!"

"That doesn't really help us now, does it?" Pluto added.

"Besides, why is Seiren even attacking us? For revenge?" Rei asked.

"Could be, revenge seems to be the typical motivation for a lot of evil deeds," Uranus said.

"Seiren never struck me as the vindictive type," Nyanko replied. "I think she was sincere when she said she did this for Crow's sake- or rather, what she believed to be for Crow's sake."

"Then why did she attack Sailor Moon at the party?" Uranus demanded.

"I… I'm not quite sure…"

"Wait!" Minako suddenly exclaimed. "If Seiren is the one behind the attack at the party… then how about her alibi?"

"Alibi?" Pluto questioned.

"Aya-san had to leave the party because she was nearly passed out drunk. It's hard to imagine she could have been able to attack us in that state."

"Obviously, she lied, and pretended to be drunk to drive suspicions away from her!" Uranus declared.

"But Karasuma-san is the one who confirmed her alibi," Rei added. "She confirmed that she drove Aya-san back home and stayed there all night."

"Err…"

"We saw how she was able to mess with Crow's mind- it wouldn't be out of the realm of possibility that she manipulated Karasuma-san's memories to make her believe that it was what happened, or make her forget certain moments that happened during the party," Neptune suggested.

"Hm, I suppose it could be true…" Minako concurred.

"Regardless of how she did it, Seiren has her memory intact, she can control Crow as a senshi, and clearly expressed her desire to fight us. We have to do something!" Uranus said.

"Maybe if we talk to her and make her understand we never intended to cause trouble to her or Crow-san…" Usagi proposed.

"I think she's too far gone to be reasoned," Neptune said. "She is mind-controlling Crow. She purposefully kept her amnesiac and was even unaware that she was without memories of her true life in the first place. She never intended to be reasonable. She'd rather manipulate her way into getting what she wants."

"But all of this is about Crow, not any of you," Nyanko said. "I know what it's like to want to spare someone from painful memories… that's what I wanted to do with all my fellow Animamates. I can understand why Seiren did what she did-"

"As far as I'm concerned, you didn't mind-controlled any of them to prevent them from recovering their memories while continuing to deceive us and attack us," Uranus replied.

"... She's misguided? I mean, she's kinda dumb, so…"

"If Seiren had her memory since the beginning, she might have been wary of us when we met again and pretended to not remember us and eventually gotten suspicious we'd still be hostile to her and attack us in some sort of paranoid moment," Makoto proposed.

"Anyhow, we can't let her do as she pleases. We don't know what she's capable of now that she dropped her charade and has control over another senshi. She has to be stopped," Neptune declared.

Minako turned to Nyanko.

"Those two were your companions before. Any clues on what they could be planning and their powers? Or at the very least, can you reason with Seiren?"

"Uh… not really? We were sent to Earth together, sure, but it's not like… I actually worked with them very much. This was actually our first missing together and… well, it didn't go so well. I betrayed them both when I was still under the influence of Galaxia. They won't listen to me, they probably hate me… and I can't blame them."

"Then… what about Mouse? Did she work with them before?" Makoto suddenly asked.

Nyanko looked away.

"Nyanko-san…?" Usagi asked.

"... she might have worked with them in the past, yeah," she finally answered.

"Great! So we could ask for her input on this-" Minako began to say.

"No!" Nyanko immediately interrupted. "Don't involve Mouse in this! She doesn't even remember being Mouse, she still thinks she's Nezu Chuuko…!"

"We're way past leaving her outside of this! You, Seiren and Crow are all involved now, she can't be left out, especially if she could be useful!" Uranus interfered.

"But…!

"Nyanko-san!" Usagi suddenly intervened. "I know how you feel, I truly do. I know you only want to protect Mouse, and that it's probably the same for Seiren with Crow, but… we don't have many options left. Seiren didn't give Crow a choice regarding her memory, and even if I understand where you're coming from… I think Mouse deserves to know the truth. Who she truly is."

Nyanko looked uncertain for a moment. She closed her eyes and sighed.

"Fine," she finally agreed. "But let me be the one to deal with her."

Was Seiren really the mastermind behind all the actions so far? How things are going to go with Mouse? Please let me know what you think in a review down below!