While the Aqua Senshi enjoyed visiting the Neo and Dark Kingdom Senshi on the Moon and the Neo and Dark Kingdom Senshi loved spending time on Earth, the Command Centers were a much safer way to talk. As usual, Comet and her siblings answered the call.
"Hi, Princess Orca and Aqua Senshi!" Comet greeted them when she saw who it was popping up on the screen. All the kittens bowed in respect.
"Hi, my feline friends. I know you were raised to show etiquette to royals, but you don't need to address me formally." Orca smiled, uncomfortable at being royally addressed.
"It's more of a force of habit." Asteroid laughed. He felt formalities were a bit unnecessary among close allies. Especially considering how crucial the Moon and Tides are to each other.
"I hear ya'!" Hannah agreed with a cheer. Everyone giggles.
"Anyway, what can we do for you?" Quartz asked.
"Do you know if the Neo or Dark Kingdom Senshi discovered anything about those bird-like creatures who attacked us on the beach?" Lina questioned.
"Thankfully, Crystal and Christen have been working to find out all they can. They haven't told us everything yet, but I'll get them for you." Diana scampered off to gather the girls.
Once everyone was there, Orca informed them of their situation. Quickly, Christen felt insulted, "Look! Don't start treating us like suspects! We'll already be queens of our respective planets once our mothers pass on. So, we don't need the Crystal Sea."
"Regardless, the Crystal Sea is still essential." Alexis sharply defended their fish-tailed companions. Despite being delicate, patient, caring, and polite, the brunette is capable of cold anger like her mother.
"Thanks, Alexis. This task is proving more challenging than we previously thought. So, we must treat everyone as a suspect unless there is a decent reason not to be suspicious." Princess of the Crystal Sea explained.
"Well, I've got a handful of suspects for you." Christen's dark brown eyes flicked sideways to make sure her 'suspects' were not around to defend themselves.
"W- Who are you looking at?" Lucy craned her neck to try and see who else might be there if anyone.
"Just making sure I can state my reasons without interruption. While I don't fear for our safety, you might want to consider Jewel and her Senshi." Mars's daughter saw her teammates about to gang up on her, so she continued. "Here's why. Jewel is the Princess of the Dark Kingdom, but there is no more Dark Kingdom, and her Senshi aren't REAL Senshi. They can upgrade once to powerful forms and make up their heroine names. You can add Queen Beryl to that list, too."
"Christen, I won't argue with you about Queen Beryl. But let me remind you of something. My sister, Jewel, and her Senshi have never wanted to take over anything." Chibiusa pointed out defensively. They may've been half-sisters, but they stuck together.
"If you trust them, Chibiusa, so do we," Sara promised, running her fingers through her long hair.
"At least we've got one suspect." Lina wrote down the evil Queen's name.
"Better than nothing," Karen muttered.
"Please, what did you girls find out about the monsters?" Noel interrogated, leaning over the control board.
"They are Sirens," Christen replied.
"While they are supposed to be from mythology..." Crystal gave a look that told them nothing would be considered a mythological tale anymore.
"Many people still think mermaids are a myth!" Lucy laughed
"Just as many people have seen your pretty fins, girls. It's plain stupidity to deny your existence. From how those Sirens so recklessly attacked, they seem to be trying to remain either a rare sight or unseen." Ariel laid out her thinking.
"Wonder where they came from and why they are tormenting us?" Coco spoke, though her mind seemed elsewhere.
"There are no facts to back this up, but Sirens are rumored to be the daughters of the Achelous, a river God and one of the Muses, Goddesses of the Arts: Terpsichore, Melpomene, Calliope, or Sterope ...or all of them." This black-haired guardian of Mars snickered.
"That would make them half-sisters or step-sisters, but siblings nonetheless." Karen put her arm around Noel's shoulders as Violet, Karen's mother, had unofficially adopted Noel shortly after their birth.
"Anything on how to defeat them?" Orca's mature, orange mermaid teammate pumped the Neo Senshi for as much information as possible.
"Surprisingly, any weapon will do. It just needs to be powerful and magical. While Sirens are the daughters of gods, they are not immortal themselves. They lost their immortality when they were cursed for failing to protect Demeter's daughter, Persephone, from Hades. Remember, this is from mythology. These Sirens might have differences." Mercury's daughter reminded the mermaids.
"Sounds easy." Seira piped up.
"Even if it does seem simple to get rid of them, Sirens have immense capabilities too. I'm not sure how it might affect mermaids. But they can sing, morph seawater, and kiss men to make them fall in love with them. They can also erase the man's memories, and death or madness is the only escape from their island home." Alexis warned.
"Noted. No more exploring unknown islands." Lucy chuckled as she tried to keep a positive attitude.
"If their powers are exclusive to controlling males, we shouldn't have too much to worry about." Karen waved away most of the powers of the Sirens.
Crystal held up her supercomputer. On it, it stated the Classic Greeks and Romans believed Sirens to be traditionally associated with hidden knowledge. This made Karen a bit miffed as those people are of Mediterranean heritage, her body-of-water home.
"Love to burst your bubble! But there is a male form of Sirens called daemons, unlike the ones our mothers fought." Mars's black-clad child sniggered.
Emily looked puzzled, as her mother never told her about fighting daemons. Yet it was possible she did not have to fight any, save for Mistress 9, as her father was helping create them.
"We'll keep that in mind." Coco's golden eyes narrowed at Christen, but, of course, the hot-headed girl either did not notice or could not care less.
"Thanks for all your help, my friends, but may I ask you one more big favor?" That ocean blue-eyed mer-princess waited for the planet princesses to allow her to continue.
"You can always ask us anything, Orca. You know that." This ruby-eyed Princess smiled.
"Can you continue interviewing others and informing us of any more potential suspects?" Orca begged.
"Of course!" Gracie chirped.
Gracie and Alexis reminded Orca of how Seira always acted so happy, no matter how dark or painful a predicament she may find herself in! Satisfied with knowing as much as they could about their enemy, the mermaid princesses prepared to say 'goodbye' until Christen cut in. "Wait! Come to think of it, the Sirens could be plotting to kill Queen Oki."
For a minute, everyone went so silent that you could hear a pin drop! "HOW COULD WE HAVE NOT THOUGHT OF THAT?!" Hannah exploded, slapping a hand to her forehead.
Lucy gave her a painful smile as she felt silly. She had not thought of this either. Orca felt ashamed of her lack of consideration as Karen and Noel blushed in embarrassment.
"Hey, there is no shame in not realizing something sooner. I didn't think of this either, and you don't see me moping." Coco swam, floating in front of her teammates to get their attention.
"What's important is knowing best how to protect our queen," Sara stated to get everyone's thoughts back on track.
"Well...our firebird does have decent ideas occasionally." Holly grinned, jokingly using Christen's nickname.
Mars kid growled until Trisha complimented her, "That is a wise thought, Christen."
"Of course. It seemed a bit suspicious." This mocha-eyed girl smirked, being her ill-mannered self.
"I would shock you, but I am too tired to handle your BS." Ariel hissed.
Suddenly, the charcoal-haired lass yelped as she was hit in the back with a golden, crescent moon-shaped disc! It arched over the room and returned to Gracie as she snatched it back up mid-air!
"I'm not too tired." Venus's daughter slyly smiled, stuffing the boomerang into her pocketbook. It was more like an across-the-chest knapsack.
Secure? Not really. Lots of space? Absolutely!
"Isn't that Sailor V's boomerang?" Orca swore she saw it in a videogame Chibiusa played with her.
"Mom gave it to me to start practicing." Venus's redhead offspring smiled proudly.
As things were getting chaotic, Lina hollered, "Everyone, calm down. It is getting late. Thank you for using your skills to solve this mystery, my surface friends. We shall update you as needed, and I'm sure you will do the same for us. Goodnight."
Ending the connection, Orca, Lucy, and Hannah could tell Lina was stressed. Lina was mysterious, not often showing emotions, but she tended to blow up when things got silly. Giving her some time to herself is the wisest thing to do, as Tool, Lina's Hammerhead, would greatly help soothe his rattled owner. Later, when Lina re-joined the girls for bed, Seira sat up. "Are you feeling better, Lina? Together, we should let Queen Oki know-"
This cute girl thought it was better when they discussed complex topics together. "I already told Queen Oki what we found out. She'll decide a course of action for us in the morning." In a slightly cold and bitter tone, this serious mermaid said she needed to be sensitive to the short, orange mergirl but just wanted to sleep. As long as the Queen of the Crystal Sea knew their danger, it would be easier to make plans, but even the best-laid plans can go awry.