1513/Days of our Outers Episode 1513: Revelations

Days of our Outers Episode 1513: Revelations
Date of Scene:	29 April 2024
Location:	Earth - Casa Del Outers
Synopsis:	On the heels of escaping the portal to the reflection of the past, Usagi finds out about Hotaru's presence in the Casa...and things come to light about her past. With all parties fragile and with nerves raw from their recent ordeal, words are shouted, cold declarations are made...and a rift thought healed is torn open once more.
Cast of Characters:	Usagi Tsukino, Ami Mizuno, Setsuna Meiou
Tinyplot:	We Got The Beef

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Usagi Tsukino has posed:
It's April 29th. Having entered the portal on April 23rd and escaped it on April 25th, they've had four days, now, to recover. Usagi went to class today, having done most of her make-up homework under Ami's strict supervision, and she's finally accepted that she really can't put off checking on the Outer Senshi anymore.

It's been four days. She should do more than text, more than get the bare minimum of reassurance that they're all alive and well. The Inner Senshi have barely been able to get rid of her. The Outer Senshi... haven't seen her.

The Outer Senshi didn't have to see her die, though, or the ways it broke them, and that's partially why Usagi is here - she knows her own frustration, her own vague resentment, is unnecessary, that it will fade in time if she gives it a chance, but she also knows that will happen faster, if they have a conversation in person...

And that it will probably go smoother, if it comes up at all, if someone else is there.

Ami is the ideal someone else, given that she's actually close to the Outer Senshi, and that she's calm, calmer than Usagi could ever hope to be.

"So there's the door," she mutters, as they walk closer - she's dressed in one of her usual spring outfits, a long-sleeved pink shirt with a rounded collar and a black miniskirt, pink tennis shoes completing the look, and she'd insisted they actually take the bus, instead of the roofs, this time. Mostly because she wanted that little bit of extra time, but now they're here - "We can just knock, right? Right. Suna-san is expecting us, anyway."

Ami Mizuno has posed:
"We can knock," Ami agrees with a softly amused smile as she glances to the side toward the obviously tense Usagi. She'd been more tired than usual as of late, but having been through what she had, it was understandable. The teachers just assumed the fib of them having the flu was correct which played well into her somewhat lethargic recovery.

The sun was good though. The vitamin D would help their moods a bit, the fresh air, being away from the same old places. She'd donned a casual sun dress herself though a little bolero jacket is worn over it so that her arms were mostly covered. It was a cute little outfit.

"I've been here several times. When Hannah would have her girlfriends over to the dorm I would sometimes stop by to spend the night so that they could have their privacy." The recollection pauses as she steps forward to lift her hand knocking on the door since it seems Usagi is a bit hesitant to do so. Really, she had been here often enough that she knew the layout of the house entirely at this point. "I also came here the night when some of the other dorms caught fire. Or if I felt ..." Should she admit this to Usagi? "If I felt lonely."

Looking back toward Usagi she smiles softly. "My mother is often gone on trips or busy with work. I rarely get to see her so going home during the holidays isn't my favorite time of year."

Setsuna Meiou has posed:
Setsuna Meiou is a bit of a complex person when it comes to dress.

At work, she's always in her labcoat, though there are hints enough that underneath she's wearing more or less business casual clothing.

If you drop by her house unannounced (not that she minds), you'll likely find her bombing around in some stupidly oversized geek t-shirt of some description like a one piece dress.

But Usagi called ahead this time...so when the door is answered, it's by a Setsuna Meiou in a knee-length burgundy dress with a somewhat pastel pink blouse.

...and of course a matching set of three-inch heels.

Truth be told, it seems that anytime she's wearing shoes of any description, they have three inch heels.

Still, upon seeing the two younger women, Setsuna immediately steps forward and gives the two of them a big hug which, unless stopped, she'll hold for a good few seconds, then she turns and waves the two inside, "Come in, come in. I was just about to make dinner, would you two care to join me?"

Usagi Tsukino has posed:
There's no stopping the hug. Is there every any stopping of hugs? Usagi might be slightly, ever so slightly, still filled with emotion about everything that happened, and she's never going to reject a hug. She holds Setsuna and Ami in return, for long, long moments.

And then they've all let go.

"That would be good," she says, shifting on her feet. "Are Haruka-san and Michiru-san here too, or are you home alone tonight?"

She's never sure with the Outers, given that they all had their own lives but were also, you know, a household together.

"How are you... doing?" Maybe she should wait to be inside to ask, but how can she? She wants to know. She knows how all the rest of her girls are doing.

Ami Mizuno has posed:
Ami Mizuno lets out a small breath when Setsuna answers the door to smile up at the eldest Outer who had become her friend (we won't mention that one-time slip of the tongue while she was sleepy.) The hug is accepted with much less hesitation that she may have had in the past. Right now touch and comfort was something much needed.

There's a breif pause as she steps inside to slip out of her shoes, and hang her purse up on the hook by the door meant for such items. Only then does she answer, "I'd be fine with that. Usagi-chan?"

Reaching out to grasp Usagi's hand she offers it a reassuring squeeze. It's not much, really but her gaze is worried as she watches the reaction of that question being asked. "The couch inside is comfy, maybe we should all sit and talk a bit. How *are* Haruka and Michiru, too? I should message them. I'm sorry I've been very bad about that lately."

Setsuna Meiou has posed:
Setsuna leads them down the short hall to the kitchen, then pulls out two high chairs for the two younger women, "Michiru had some concerto thing tonight, and Haruka of course went with her and took Hotaru with them."

She shakes her head, "I'm just glad we can find excuses to get her out of the house safely from time to time so she doesn't end up feeling cooped-up or trapped since she's stuck here for the foreseeable future..."

Ami's comment about the others gets a nod, "I'm sure they'd like that, Ami-chan...but we'll have to wait for a moment on the couch. Right now I've got it on what Hotaru calls the 'Bed Fort' setting, but I can fix that once we have our food."

A sigh is given, then she smiles and shakes her head, "In any event, I was just going to try out a new burger recepie I found, so it's no problem for me to throw a few more on."

Reaching up to a rack hannging from the ceiling, Setsuna retrieves a piece of cookware that looks like nothing more than a big iron plate with a handle on each side, which she then places over the front two spots on her rangetop.

A few button presses make some audible beeps.

And while there seems to be no light or flame or glow coming from the cook top, after a moment, Setsuna nods and steps back over to the island, "...so how are you girls doing? I apologize for falling apart a little at the beginning, there, but after I had a bit to get myself together again..."

She frowns a bit, "...well, it was still HORRIBLE...overall, at least...but...well...there's some good that came out of it, too, oddly enough."

Usagi Tsukino has posed:
They're lead into the house, Usagi looking around - the house isn't entirely familiar but it's not unfamiliar either, so she's seeing what's changed, and what hasn't, which is when a name gets mentioned -

"Hotaru?" Bafflement, and it's very clear to Setsuna that some things have not been mentioned to her. "Hotaru Tomoe?"

The little girl with the healing power, awkward and shy, and why is she living at the Outers house? Has she been this out of touch or is this some kid of secret?

She glances at Ami with a look of extremely obvious 'did you know about this?????'

There'd been that little comforting squeeze, but Usagi... Usagi frowns now, wondering... exactly how much distance is there between her and the Outers?

But then Setsuna says that good came out of it, and there's only one it she can mean, and she's absolutely baffled, and her face shows it still more.

"What kind of good could possibly have come out of this? I'm - I'm doing as well as anyone can after seeing that, and I've been trying to look after everyone else, but, no, I definitely need to know what good came out of this???"

Ami Mizuno has posed:
There's a little spark of interest evident in Ami's gaze which quickly sweeps over toward the living area to examine this 'pillow fort' mode that was mentioned. There were other things of course that had caught her attention, but for a moment her gaze lingers over there.

"That sounds fun." The corner of her lips twitch a little only to quickly shake her head as she looks back to the kitchen. The chair that had been pulled out is slid into to settle in with a bit of familiarity.

Then Hotaru, the other part of that interesting remark earns further questions. The look from Usagi ony earns a small shake of her head in turn. She'd only met the girl a time or two and certainly not here.

"I wasn't aware that you had a new house guest as well. Who is she?"

The edge of panic--anger? In Usagi's voice when she questions what good could come of a situation has her hand lifting to reach out again for Usagi only to hesitate, biting down on her lower lip. "Information? We know now a bit more about the power behind Beryl, and how it could be stopped." A long pause comes then she adds in a far quieter voice, "And I remember now." She hadn't before.

Setsuna Meiou has posed:
Setsuna blinks, then realizes, "Sorry. I forgot how close to the chest we've been playing things, but I really thought you knew already. Yes, Hotaru Tomoe has been staying here."

She frowns, "Long story short, she has a condition that...reacts SPECTACULARLY BADLY to Dark Energy."

She lets that sit for a moment as she turns, checks the temp on her griddle surface which seems to have come up to heat.

At which point she reaches into the fridge for a few trays. One has an array of what look like oversized uncooked meatballs a second has slices of cheese and a bowl of some yellowish sauce.

She puts down four balls, which immediately start to sizzle...then she grabs a large round heavy-looking handle attatched to a big flat round plate which she uses to presss the balls until they're very flat patties.

Leaving them to cook, she turns back, "Unfortunately, her father runs Tomoe Lifesciences...which is one of the bigger departments at Obsidian. Mamoru's friend Mister Agera came to me about how being there was making her health worse...so he got her out of there and we're taking care of her here."

She smiles softly, "...frankly, she's a sweetheart and seems to love it here...and we're looking for ways to solve the issue more permanently...but it's likely to be a while before we can make headway on that."

She then shrugs, checks the burgers, then comes back, "...and don't get me wrong. What we went through in there..."

She closes her eyes and takes a deep breath, "...frankly, well...I'm pretty sure it's going to be featuring VERY heavily in our nightmares for QUITE a long time to come..."

She trails off, then says, "...BUT..."

And here she gives a grin. It's a little weak, but there, "...but that bint Beryl made a mistake."

Then Ami interjects, and Setsuna's smile grows, "EXACTLY, Ami-chan. INFORMATION."

She looks back at Usagi, "See, what she sent us to was an image of the past. But that's the important part. It's an IMAGE. And images contain INFORMATION."

She nods towards Ami, "You probably all learned a thing or two...but once I managed to pull myself back together...I went looking for some SPECIFIC information that had been lost...like where some very important things are in the here-and-now...and Beryl is either too dumb, overconfident, and ignorant to realize she handed that to us with her attempt to break us."

Usagi Tsukino has posed:
A pillow fort, though it's really more of a huge couch bed type deal, and Usagi thinks it's interesting, to be sure - comfy looking, even, though it looks kind of like it might sink a little too, visibly comfy and wonderful and that's nice, at least. Probably a little more comfy than their cobbled together floor bed, but not nearly as cozy. She glances at Ami -

Yeah, not nearly as cozy.

Then they're in the kitchen, and at least Ami looks as baffled as she feels, but - "What does that mean? Reacts spectacularly badly to Dark Energy? Who reacts well to it?"

There's no letting it sit, just more confusion piled on, as she considers the other one of Mamoru's brother's who works in Obsidian - the one she doesn't dislike. "So she's been kidnapped from Obsidian, and you're hiding her here... with three Senshi? Did he... know about that?"

There's no easy way to get around it. She needs to know if any identities were compromised, if any of them have been -

"I've met Hotaru-chan before. She seemed like a nice kid, so I'm glad she's somewhere better... but are you going to try and fix her issue, or her... dad?"

Because those seem like two different issues, and she's pretty concerned actually, that three of her Senshi have the child of an Obsidian leader in their house and didn't even mention it to her.

And then Ami's making her observation, and she glances - sees her hesitate - sighs, and takes her hand, threads their fingers together entirely on impulse - and her voice goes equally quiet. "I didn't think you wanted to."

And then, only after that's said, does she grimace. Setsuna's grin doesn't spark an answering one. She listens, and shakes her head. "What kind of information?"

Ami Mizuno has posed:
Ami Mizuno blinks at the sight of the couch rearranged in such a way that it looks like a cozy ball pit with pillows instead of balls. Not quite what she had in mind when she heard pillow fort. There's almost a small look of disappointment in that. It's breif, and she turns her focus back to the far more important topics of conversation.

"Yes, those are all very good questions. Even if it's to keep her safe, keeping a child here could bring up a lot of issues." Although if a child were to be hidden by anyone this wasn't the worst of places to do it.

Even as she talks her gaze moves down to stare at a spot on the counter in front of her while the hamburgers that Setsuna is cooking begin to sizzle on the griddle. It's only when Usagi grasps her hand in that manner that she remembers to take in a quick breath with her eyes snapping up toward her friend again to offer a reassuring smile.

"I didn't. Not really. I assumed if I had forgotten it was because it would be easier for me to forget. And in many ways, I was right." A light squeeze of her hand is given back in quiet thanks. "But I think perhaps it gave me a bit of insight into some of my peculiarities as well. Like why I do so terribly with boys, and also why I feel I can trust Zoisite so much." Her lips move, nothing coming out. Once again she tries. "It's true, he was also under Beryl's influence, but once he was free... We weren't alone at the end that way. I know it was terrible, but I kind of feel a bit of comfort from that. Is that weird?"

Setsuna Meiou has posed:
Setsuna grimaces...because she knows that not only identities but CONFIDENCES are involved with Hotaru's situation...but by the same token, Usagi and Ami are two of the people she trusts most in the world.

She opens her mouth to say something, then she blinks, turns and checks the burgers. Noting their state, she opens a pouch of dry onion soup mix, sprinkles a little on each of the four burgers, then flips them.

A piece of cheese is put on each, then she puts the empty tray over the griddle surface and steps back over to get two buns ready, which lets her look at the other two while she does, "I strongly doubt he knows. You'll have to ask Mamoru-kun about it. He knows Mister Agera far better than I, and he already knows about Hotaru. As for the situation...well..."

She sighs, "...to give you an idea about how bad it was, she's been with us for several weeks now...and I'm not sure they've even NOTICED SHE'S GONE."

Some of the burger sauce is spread on each bun, then she takes the two buns over, doubles up the cheese covered patties and puts each double stack on a bun and a plate.

She then sets one each in front of the girls before turning back to smash down a new set of patties.

Once they're cooking, she steps back over to look at Ami, "...I figured as much when I found you two together in the tower at the end."

Which indicates she was actually there, somehow.

She points to Ami, "Information like the fact that the Mercury Computer was plugged into the main server hub for the Moon and it was trying to run a shield of some sort to keep the Dark forces at bay...if we're lucky, some of that data is still there. But more importantly, for you, I found out where your Harp should still be."

Usagi Tsukino has posed:
"It's not weird," Usagi says softly, and doesn't apologize for the fact that Ami remembers nows, but she deos feel bad that - that it happened like that. Like that, with all the worst thrown into their faces, instead of at her own pace and in her own time. Usagi had remembered a lot of it, in that horrible moment when Hematite went down and she needed her power, but the rest? ...She's glad that she remembers more of this, but not because of Beryl. And not like that. "I'm glad you had someone there, at the end. I'm glad he... helped you, at the end."

That's as nice as she can be about and to a Shitennou, from the past. There's a difference been Tamaki and Kazuo and Saitou-chan, and a reason she doesn't call him Zoisite, unless she has too. If Ami can... whatever she's doing with Zoisite... friendship... forgiveness... Usagi can't possibly begrudge her that, or find it weird.

And then there's more details on Hotaru... not. Usagi gives the most doubtful look possible - even as she makes a lemon face at the fact that Mamoru knew about this and didn't mention it to her. She's absolutely going to say something about this to him. She is going to have so many fucking questions for him, and she loves him, but if he's been hiding a dangerous secret about her Senshi from her, she's going to hit him with every pillow in her room.

What she actually says is: "You don't think they've noticed she's gone? Do you have any... like, do you have any proof, or is it more that you haven't heard anything, because... I mean... it's not like we have a lot of contacts in Obsidian."

Hinoiri-chan is a risk, after all, giving information, but only on her own inspiration. Mamochan is out of there, Riventon has helped them a little but he's also working for Beryl and even if he doesn't trust her, he's not quitting so -

So how do they know they haven't noticed? What's going on?

It's almost as frustrating as trying to get specific information out of Setsuna, though at least, finally, there's something -

"So the Mercury computer might have something for us, if the like, data is still there, after all this time, and Mercury's Sage Harp, and - what, did you find the others too?"

The mention of the Harp has flashed memory back - of a harp, a circlet, a bow, and who can forget the sword? She saw the sword.

"...you saw them in the Tower?"

Ami Mizuno has posed:
They didn't notice she's gone? They didn't notice a CHILD was GONE for WEEKS?

Ami inhales a sharp breath while her grip in Usagi's hand tightens. Not from sadness this time but from a sudden, unexpected spark of anger at a child being left alone without the care of a parent---So like her own childhood at times.

Usagi's right about their lack of information inside Obsidian though. These are all factors taken into consideration as the burger is placed down in front of them, and she regards it a long moment. It was still steaming hot, but it was also going to require two hands and one of hers was still very occupied holding onto Usagi's.

"Lyre. Sage Lyre. I remember that. It's slightly different from a harp--" she starts only to catch herself with a firm shake of her head. She just couldn't think straight today. Her thoughts were all over the place with various distractions today.

"Thank you, Usagi-chan," she murmers quietly. Looking up again she purses her lips together in a thin line considering it all.

"Setsuna, I feel as if there's a great deal more that isn't being told to us. Isn't keeping secrets what's led to such a rift in the first place between our groups? I now you likely mean well, but we really ought to not keep so many."

Setsuna Meiou has posed:
Setsuna looks over at Usagi and nods, "I don't know how well it will track to conditions today, but if we're luck, and the data is still there...well, between the Mercury Computer and Nicomachea, we can probably get something to help us out."

She sighs, "THAT, however, I imagine will be a bit more of a long-term research project...since I have NO idea what kind of state the data is in and even how much might be there. It's worth a look, at least."

Questions arise from both the others about Hotaru's being hidden, and Setsuna shakes her head, "Nothing specific or concrete...but if they've been looking for her, there's been no sign that we've seen. At the very least, someone should have contacted the school if they were looking for her, and I've heard nothing."

She shrugs, "...which is one of the reasons I'm SO glad we got her away from that place." A glance is given over towards Ami again, "...and...well...it's less 'keeping a secret' and more 'having a certain speculation that I'm trying to manage for the good of someone I care for who has been very badly done by more than one lifetime."

And then Usagi questions about the 'others'...and in this context, Setsuna is well aware of what she means.

However, the expression on her face gets more...somber...and slightly pained, "No. Only the harp was where..."

A glance is given to Ami, and after a moment, she gently says, "...where...Mercury fell."

The way she says it makes it clear she's trying to create a level of...distance...between Ami and Mercury-of-the-Past.

She breaks away, finishes up the last few burgers (enough for everyone to have two) and steps back to sit down after grabbing cans of soda for everyone.

A deep breath is heaved before Setsuna goes on, "...one of the portals took me to...after."

She pauses, then shakes her head, "...after the end. After the Queen's spell. After everyone was gone. The Silence Wave had been cast and was propagating across the system."

Setsuna looks at the other two, "...I can go on, I just want to make sure you're okay with it."

Usagi Tsukino has posed:
There's a burger. Usagi's not eating it, which is a sign of her emotional state, though she frowns - "I don't... know how I feel about Nicomachea chewing through that... but... it's Ami-chan's computer."

She has a little more understanding of how Mamoru had felt, faced with the thought of needing Nephrite's journal translated, not wanting it to be seen by others - by people who wouldn't understand - and Rashmi-chan had seen so much, but it still isn't hers. It's not hers, the way it's Usagi's and Ami's and Mamoru's and Setsuna's, and she squeezes Ami's hand for a moment, then releases her - at least she can eat her burger.

Usagi... is not hungry. Right now.

"Would they though? I mean, it's not like they contacted anybody when Mamochan disappeared from Obsidian, and it's not like they didn't care about him. Just... whatever you want to call it, you're keeping secrets and I don't like it. Don't let it blow up in anyone's face, okay? You guys made this choice, and you did it weeks ago, so clearly you've already made up your mind on what you want to happen."

And yes, she's being upfront with her annoyance, but trying not to be bratty. She's not upset that Hotaru is out of whatever danger she's in. She is upset that she, Usagi, has no idea what the danger is, but that's something she can sort out later.

When she texts Mamochan.

Setsuna explains, and it's clear that what she saw haunted her... and Usagi thinks, that maybe she would have preferred that portal. Finding the bodies instead of having to hear and watch her friends die. The portal Setsuna went through too, and got to leave, because there were other things to do, and yes, rescuing Rashmi-chan and Michiru-san from...a public bath... was important...

"I don't know what the Silence Wave is," she says bluntly, "But we saw the rest. You know that. We were there for the end, and we saw it."

There's a twitch in her hands, in her jaw, in her eye, as she tries and mostly fails to push back her grief and sorrow.

"So their items are with them, then. With their bodies - or, where their bodies fell."

Ami Mizuno has posed:
"Nobody is touching my computer other than me," Ami responds with a sharp defensive tone. That was one thing she felt strongly about. "If I really, absolutely need help I can share what information there is. There will be no 'poking around' though." And that was that.

The final squeeze of her hand is given, and she drops her touch away from Usagi to focus on her burger as well. She wasn't exactly hungry either but that didn't mean she couldn't eat. It had been prepared for her and she could respect that. Besides, she *should* eat.

One of the burgers is taken in hand to take several quick bites before she actually seems to register the flavor. It *was* GOOD. She was just distracted. Picking up a paper towel to use as napki she dabs at her mouth. "Thank you. It's delicious, Setsuna." A deep breath is drawn and then she finishes the burger off in another too-wide bite. She was so used to eating quickly while studying that it was certainly paying off right now.

"That could prove useful if we can still locate them, but we would have to get --" Ami pauses as her words nearly choke, "Get back to the Moon. Here and now." How bad would it be? Would it be bad? Had the reset of the timeline removed their bodies and everything else? Or had it been forever preserved in the cold of space once the dome finished breaking? There was really only one way to find out.

"These could prove powerful weapons if we can find them again."

Setsuna Meiou has posed:
There's a pause as the taller woman seems to be trying to work past something...like it's actually physically difficult for her to push past before she says, "...Firefly. Hotaru was Firefly."

She lets that statement hang there for a few moments before she shakes her head and switches tracks for the moment to answer one of Usagi's other questions, ...the Silence Wave..."

She pauses, then sighs, "I'm sure you'll have noted by now that we're down a Senshi by counts by sane, rational individuals who don't go reclassifying planets because of some stupid new definition.?"

She's not bitter.

NOT AT ALL

The older woman pauses to take a bite of one of her burgers...giving herself a moment for her annoyance at popular American astronomers to subside again before she goes on, "...the last one of us is Sailor Saturn. She was the keeper of the singularly most destructive artefact I have ever known...the Silence Glaive. The job laid upon her was to sleep eternally until and unless everything went to hell...at which point Uranus, Neptune and I would have to gather long enough to awaken her."

She pauses...and closes her eyes taking a deep, shuddering breath at the memory of Saturn in those minutes, "...It was her job to swing the Silence Glaive, unlease the Silence and eradicate all life as a final fail-safe."

She shakes her head again, "...which led to people being rather afraid of her...and her getting called the Senshi of Death..."

A bite of her hamburger is taken, "...but that's only PARTIALLY accurate. Technically, Saturn is the Senshi of Death...AND Rebirth."

A pull is taken of her soda, "...that was part of what the Queen's spell tied to to do what it did."

Her voice goes sad, "...we got to see her. There before the end. When she awoke in Titan Castle. A girl cursed to sleep forever...to have no life...no joy...no LOVE...to have people be forever afraid of her because of the job she was given to do."

The parallels between Saturns's situation and Pluto's are fairly obvious...which might make it more clear why she's been so...careful about talking about the final Senshi.

She pauses, "...if ever she were to be reborn..."

And given the Queen's spell and her domain LITERALLY being 'Rebirth', that seems EXCEEDINGLY likely, "...I would want her to have a life...to know happiness and joy and love...to have a home and people who care for her there..."

She trails off for a moment, then glances over at Ami, "Well, the first part's easy. Teleporting to the Moon should be simple enough. None of us should be particularly bothered by the environment or lack thereof when we're in Senshi form, so that's not a problem. The Silence Wave would have erased most everything...EXCEPT for things enchanted past a certain point...and artefacts like the Lyre would have survived well enough. Anything organic? Gone."

Which means vacuum preserved bodies, fortunately.

Usagi Tsukino has posed:
Ami is in agreement with her, about the Mercury Computer and it's data, and Usagi is relieved about that, because she wouldn't have stopped her from sharing, but there's something so - intimate - about the thought of that data, not just from the fall, but the rest of the data there, the information on Silver Millennium, on their home...

It belongs in Ami's hands, and Ami's only.

But then those thoughts are wiped away by what Setsuna says next.

"Firefly."

Hotaru Tomoe is Firefly. No wonder Mamoru wouldn't tell her who Hotaru was, after. He probably didn't want to believe that that little girl could be someone so - so -

She remembers the last time she saw Firefly. Before her hair grew long and tried to strangle her and she became a demon. She remembers the screaming, raging girl who attacked her over and over because she couldn't cope with hearing that she and her friends had done awful things. Who thought that the fact that she was dying meant that anyone who told her to stop being cruel was a bully.

She remembers the enemy who murdered two girls in front of her eyes, in her hands, and Setsuna had been there for that, and -

"That's what you want to call a spectacularly bad reaction to Dark Energy? Which part, the murder, the attempted murder, or the total, complete, fucking instability? Are you - are you for real, Setsuna-san? Firefly is Hotaru and you've been keeping her at your house and you didn't even tell me?! She works for Riventon! She works for Riventon, who works for Beryl, and you brought her to your house?!"

There's a little bit of yelling. A bit. Maybe more than a bit. Usagi jumps from her seat and turns around, shaking her hands, trying to get the excess energy out because she doesn't mean to yell but she's so frustrated and tired and angry because what the actual hell -

"God, you really must see me as a dumb princess, because you've been hiding an enemy that tried to kill me for weeks and you didn't say a word. None of you. Not you, not Haruka, not Michiru - you all just kept this to yourselves... a sweetheart! Oh yes, she's a real angel, so long as you don't point out that dying doesn't give you the right to attack innocent people. Wonderful child!"

She turns and scowls at Setsuna, "I know about Saturn. I know about Saturn, from Neptune, who told me that she thought Firefly was Saturn, who's been giving her apocalyptic nightmares about the end of the world. No wonder people were afraid of her in Silver Millennium."

aAnd those words are so much more callous than Usagi's generous heart is capable of being, but she is tired, and she has just found out that a girl who attacked her, murdered people in front of her, and then strangled her, lives in a house with three of her so-called guardians, and they hadn't thought to tell her for weeks. Her boyfriend knows that someone as dangerous as Firefly was living with said guardians and didn't tell her.

"If she has been reborn, I hope she never awakens to her power. And I hope Michiru was wrong about her fears, because Firefly is the last person who should have power like the Silence."

Ami Mizuno has posed:
The burger is forgotten now in light of that particular information. Even Ami sits up straight to stare at Setsuna with a pale face as she realizes what was going on. What hadn't been said until now. She was there as well when Firefly had her little personality shift and had strangled both her and Usagi.

Her reaction is more numbness than anything else. After all she'd been through recently that was a far enough away recollection that it just left her feeling numbly calm. "That is very, very dangerous. Does she have the Glaive with her? The new one that was made to reseal her power?" Because if not...

Usagi's reaction and her pacing has her slip off the stool to her feet taking a step toward her only to wince when she blurts 'You must think I'm a stupid princess'. Ouch. That. That was a deep cut there on many fronts.

"Perhaps we should go for awhile? I can't blame you for being upset. I just..." Here she pauses, falters, and looks back at Setsuna. "I don't know what to do. This is a *very* dangerous situation, Setsuna. I've met Hotaru and she *is* sweet but if she is also Firefly, I can't really say she's stable." She needed help clearly but what kind she couldn't say.

Setsuna Meiou has posed:
As Usagi turns on her and spits out about how people were afraid of her in the past because of the things that have happened around Hotaru in the present, she bolts to her feet and as she feels the situation going PRECISELY where she was ALWAYS afraid of it going, she slams her hand down on the butcher's block sitting there.

The butcher's block that has had a mysterious crack in it that she could never remember after noticing it.

Because once, many months ago, in a moment of revelation, she realized that Obsidian had Saturn and they had done something to her...before the disguise magics inherent in Saturn's transformation wiped the memory from her.

In that moment, she had brought her fist down and cracked the butcher's block that sits on one side of the kitchen island.

...and this time, as Setsuna's hand comes down, enhanced by anger, hurt, and an ever so slight enhancement because of her status as a Senshi, the block finally splits in two as Setsuna roars, "THAT WASN'T HOTARU!!!"

She stands there for a few moments, trembling, "...that wasn't HOTARU...Hotaru is a sweet girl...a girl who's been exposed to absolute insanity and somehow come out of it wanting to be GOOD."

After a few moments, she slumps down to her chair, "...she was so afraid when she came here...so hesitant...but I KNEW...knew that...that...WHATEVER...that posessed her those times...that...THING that attacked you and got sealed away...that wasn't the girl I saw."

Her shoulders sag, defeated as she goes on, "...that wasn't the girl who responded with wonder at the tiniest amount of love. The girl that flourished around people who ACTUALLY cared for her...the girl who, given the option to work for the side of light, LEAPT at the chance."

Setsuna turns to look at Usagi, and there's despair in her eyes, "...I wanted this time to be different for her...for her to NOT be hated and feared for things beyond her control...to NOT be cursed to be forever asleep...forever kept away...I wanted her to have a life...to let her laugh...to let her love...to let her LIVE."

She hangs her head again, "...she doesn't have the Glaive...she doesn't wield the Silence..."

She then looks at Ami, "...and she IS stable."

After that brief moment, however, her expression softens, "...well, NOW. Dark Energy is what draws out that...thing. Before she came here, she used to have episodes weekly. Since she's been here? Away from all that Dark Energy at Obsidian and with people who see her for HER? Who genuinely care about her? She hasn't had a single episode since."

Her left hand is raised to cover her face...apparently, her right is...a bit worse for wear, "...at present, that...thing...is sealed...it's in remission for the moment...it's a problem we'll have to deal with, but it's stable enough for now and we have bigger problems to deal with."

Usagi Tsukino has posed:
"It was Hotaru," Usagi says, flatly and firmly and in spite of the roar, the splitting, the violence, standing firm and strong and fed up. "It was. Maybe there's something else inside of her, the thing that Michir-"

And then Usagi pauses, and she considers her words, and she shakes her head, just once.

"Maybe there's something else inside of her, whatever thing it was that Kaiou-san feared Obsidian had done to her, when she feared that Firefly might be Sailor Saturn. But the girl who attacked me, was Hotaru. It was something else that strangled me and Ami-chan and tried to used as hammers to crush each other. I saw it in her eyes that something was wrong with her, something was different when she went after us - but before that? Before that, when she was screaming about how she was dying, and she needed her device because she was dying and that somehow justified her working with Obsidian, and how she hated me because I wasn't nice to her, when I'd seen her murder people? That was Hotaru. That was Hotaru."

She lets that sit, staring up at Setsuna, feeling sorry for Ami and not sure at all how to fix it, because her friend came to help, and she's suggesting they go, and she's aware of the situation, and Ami is friends with the Outer Senshi in a way that Usagi now doubts she ever was. But Setsuna got to roar and shout and break things, and Usagi will say her piece, because her heart is aching, and she's full of hurt and grief and anger and loss and she lets it all shine in those blue eyes.

"The same Hotaru I was friendly too and invited to parties and picnics is the same girl who stabbed me with her fucking energy glaive over and over while she screamed about how she hated me. That wasn't the thing inside of her. That was Hotaru, just like Hematite was Mamochan, and if he takes responsibility for what he did, when he was a jerk full of dark energy, then Hotaru has to as well."

She looks at Setsuna, and it's so obvious that Usagi is tired.

"I trusted you. I trusted that we were all on the same side. I never hid anything from you, I talked to you, I came to you, I listened to you - and you were hiding this from me. You were hiding all of this from me and the others, and - you all just, decided on what to do. On who deserved to know what. Well, I guess I know what my opinion is worth to you now, right? I'm glad Tomoe-san has somewhere safe to stay, Meiou-san. I am glad to hear that you and Tenou-san and Kaiou-san chose to remove her from her dangerous environment. I hope that she will be very happy in your home, and I hope that she does not awaken her glaive, or her power. Because what was done to her, in the past, because of fear, was cruel, but this..."

Usagi shakes her head, stifling herself. She swallows and turns to Ami, hating putting her friend in the middle but -

"I don't know why I'm bothering. I don't even know why. We have class tomorrow. Ami-chan... I'm sorry. We really should go. Thank you for the burger, Meiou-san, and the truth. Luna or I will get back to you about the Moon, because I wanted to go there anyway. "

And then, with a hand in Ami's, still trembling, still upset, walks out of the Outer Senshi's house. She never did eat that burger.