“We can’t run away from our fate, so let’s face it wholeheartedly!” Makoto said. The rest of the evening was spent eating and talking. When it came time to sleep, they realized that there were two extra sleeping bags. Usagi carefully folded them and put them away for eternity. She gathered the senshi’s belongings and buried them in her backyard. The senshi that remained alive watched the ceremony without a tear. The event symbolized the acceptance of their fate that was bestowed upon them. They were now going to face their destiny, run into death’s grasp itself. “We should get some sleep.” Usagi told the senshi. “Yea.” Minako agreed. They settled in for the night and rose the next morning with an invisible dread that would not lift off of their hearts. Although they did not want to wake up to death, the senshi faced it bravely, never faltering. “Let’s go.” Usagi said suddenly. “What? Where?” Makoto rose an eyebrow at Usagi, trying to cover up her own fear. “Anywhere. Somewhere out in the open.” Usagi gazed out the window, sighing. “What for?” Minako joined in the conversation. “To fight the next brother. I’m going to make it easier for them to find us. No more hiding.” She replied. Each senshi looked at each other deeply, then consented. Nobody knew who would die next, but they were ready for anything. First, they went to the park, but did not encounter anything. They took a drive in the mountains and the beach, but still no one. Next they went to a nearby lake. They had been sitting for hours, but still nothing. They got up to leave and headed towards the car. “Waiting for me?” asked a gruff voice. A man dressed in green seemed to appear out of the light fog that mixed with the white mist from the lake. “If you’re one of the Solitaire brothers, yes.” Usagi squinted her eyes to see better. “I am. I am Anulid, sixth brother of the Solitaires, son of Sorceress Pernyceus, alligator sentinel. He flashed a one-sided smirk, showing long, pointed teeth. He let out a husky roar and threw back his head. “Silver Crystal Moon Power!” “Ice Planet Empower!” “Love Planet Empower!” “Thunder Planet Empower!” “Time Planet Empower!” “Death Planet Empower!” The twilight was dotted with various colors as the senshi transformed into their sailor senshi form. Setsuna attacked first, “Time Warp!” Anulid blocked the attack with a force field. The attack reflected off and disintegrated. The force field also dissolved, then reappeared in his hand. He fired it at Setsuna, knocking her out cold. As he basked in his small victory, Sailor Pluto struck. “Death Chain Constrict!” Suddenly, Anulid felt dark hand, whispy and dreamlike, yet strong and sinewy, grabbing at his ankles. He stepped away, but wasn’t fast enough. Dark, fingerlike streams of death energy climbed up his legs, around his ribs, and surrounded him until he was entangled in hundreds of long, unrealistic fingers. “Eraauughh!” A sound came from the tangled limbs and blackness. Anulid broke free with a loud roar and bared his yellow teeth at Hotaru. He rushed towards her, head lowered. Raising her Glaive, she pointed it in his direction. Purple energy glowed at the blade, the spread down the handle, covering her hands and arms. Holding the weapon straight out in front of her with one hand, she set the other arm crosswise across the arm wielding the Glaive. Purple energy flashed, then retreated towards the tip again. A stream of energy hit Anulid in the stomach, knocking him off balance and causing him to fall on his face. He remained for a second, then jumped to his feet. Shaking off the pain from the previous attacks, he turned to face to senshi again. Anulid rose his right hand near to left shoulder and something formed between his finger. He flung his hand sideways, and pointed scales flew towards the girls. Sailor Moon and Sailor Jupiter darted out of the way, seeing the scales beforehand, but the others did not have time to dodge the scales completely. Hotaru moved her head to the side, and the scale whizzed through her hair and past her. Sailor Mercury felt pain charge through her body as the scaled sunk into her shoulder. “Aaahh!” she screamed as she grimaced. Clenching her teeth, she ripped the hard scale out of her body and threw it at the ground. Minako felt something burning in her side as Anulid’s scale grazed her side. Her sailor uniform was ripped and revealed a long cut in Minako’s waist. The unconscious Sailor Saturn did not utter a sound as a long scale drove into her back. It ripped open the back of her heart, the blood spurting out onto the spongy ground with every heartbeat. Setsuna breathed her last and the rise and fall of her chest ceased and the blood poured out in a steady stream instead of spurts as her heart stopped. “Setsuna...” Usagi whispered. “So she was next...” Hotaru thought to herself as she stared at Setsuna’s closed eyes. First it had been Michiru-mama, then Rei, then Haruka-papa, and now Setsuna. All the people who she cared for were all dead now. She knew she would be with them again in less than a week, but she still wanted revenge. Her eyes flashed in blind rage and she raised the Silence Glaive above her head. She ran and swung at his neck, but Anulid caught her handle inches away from his jugular vein. With a flip of his wrist, he wrenched the Silence Glaive from Sailor Pluto and flung it backwards into the lake. She glared at him, eyes wild with anger and hate. “I’ll kill you.” she said confidently. Stepping back slowly, she weighed her chances in her head. Her most lethal weapon was lying in the bottom of the lake, and she knew she could not defeat him with her own physical strength. She then looked behind her and saw Setsuna on the floor, the Time Staff rolling out of her hand. Making her way to the Staff, she whispered almost inaudibly to Setsuna. “This one’s for you, and everyone else.” Swiftly, she crouched, picked up the Time Staff and ran towards Anulid. “Aaahhhh!!!!” she yelled as she charged at him. She rammed the butt of the Staff into his stomach, and when he doubled over, she hit his head wildly, using every ounce of strength in her. In a turbulent frenzy she whacked at him incessantly, throwing her body into every blow she delt him until he dropped unconscious. Panting, she fell back and her legs gave way and she closed her eyes and fainted. “Ice Shards Shatter!” “Thunderbolt Electrify!” “Love Kiss Whirl!” “Crystal Heart Elimination!” Anulid was helpless and unknowing of the many hits he was taking from the senshi. He also breathed his final breath. The Silence Glaive rose from the lake, lifted by a purple aura. It rested in Hotaru’s opened hand. Usagi, Ami, Makoto and Minako picked up Hotaru and left in silence. Before they took off, they buried Setsuna and had a wordless funeral for her. The inners and Hotaru left for home. They slept a disturbed sleep before they faced a new day. Every new day, a new death. The senshi were out of words and usually had nothing to say. Sometimes Guardian would break the silence with a words or two, but other than that, the usually noisy house was filled with stillness. Once again the senshi went on their daily quest for the next Solitaire. When nobody arrived at the park, the lake, or the empty lot next to the market four streets down from Usagi’s house, they went home, disappointed, yet somewhat relieved. At least there would not be any deaths today. The senshi slept again that night. Usagi woke up in the wee hours of the morning to a sick feeling in her stomach. Her heart felt heavy, and she lay on the floor staring at the ceiling. She looked out the window at the marvelous sky. A beautiful full moon graced the starry heavens. Usagi stared for several minutes, drinking in the beauty of the sight. She redirected her gaze to the ceiling and began to think. Mamoru. Her boyfriend. She had almost forgotten about him in the chaos that was present during the past few weeks. “Oh, god, but I do miss him. I miss him like hell. Mamoru, where are you? Are you doing alright out there? I’m fine...I guess...just a little sad...maybe a little angry...and a bit depressed. What if I never see you again? I probably won’t...” Usagi felt a warm tear roll down her cheek as she had an imaginary conversation with Mamoru. “I’ll never see you again, will I?” She trembled uncontrollably, unable to stop the tears from pouring down her face. “I love you, Mamoru...really, truly, from the bottom of my heart I love you. Just know that I do.” She shut her eyes tight and changed the subject of her thoughts. All kinds of strange ideas flew in and out of her head. “When will this disorder be over? What happens when I die? Will there be destruction because we’re gone? What if evil seizes Earth? Will I be with my friends when I die? What if we hide away and be able to live? No...then so will the brothers. Erase that thought. Oh, I don’t know what to do anymore. I feel so helpless...useless...like a puppet being controlled by some cruel person out there.” Usagi mused in the darkness of the night.

Meanwhile, something had infiltrated Earth’s atmosphere. Dena pranced down to Earth gracefully, his strong hind legs launching into the air with every gallop. He galloped down mountains, through forests and plains until he reached a particular city. He stood upright, his back half transforming into human legs. His upper body was already in human form. All centaurs were like that. He was a beautiful sight though, although strange and unfamiliar. His head was topped with ravishing jet black hair, and his arms were well-built and muscular. He walked with a powerful stride, strong legs boosting him forward into the warm night air as he sniffed and searched every house, peering in every window, hunting down something even he did not know of. All he knew was that he had been transported to Earth with the knowledge that all of his younger brothers were dead. His duty was to avenge those who had done this act and prevail over them. He had nothing but a scent of the killer, leaving him confused and disabled. Finally he found a corner between some plants and rested a few hours. Exhausted, he slept more than he had expected. The bright morning sun beat down on him as morning approached.

Usagi and the senshi woke at sunrise, immediately leaving the house after breakfast. They drove to the edge of town, and through the nearby streets. “Is he dead?” Minako asked Makoto “Huh? Who?” “Usagi, stop for a sec.” Minako’s eyes narrowed in concern. “Umm...hello?” The body remained still. “Are you ok?” She shook his shoulder lightly, and when he did not budge, she shook him harder an harder, unaware of how annoyed he was getting at the rattling in his brain. She yelped as his arm moved towards his face and rubbed his sleepy eyes. “Uhh...it’s dangerous to sleep in the streets, you know. You should be at home or in a hotel or something. You could get killed doing something like this! I mean, you could get run over by a car or someone might...” “Yes, I know.” He sprang to his feet and walked away. “How rude. He just walked away! And I was still talking!” Minako turned and walked to the car. The man looked back and saw Minako’s long flowing hair. He remembered her face, and scoured his memory for a clue. “I know I’ve seen her before...I can’t remember where...” He thought. “Hey!” The man called Minako and walked towards her. Minako spun around, her long hair whipping around her body and wrapping around her waist. “Yea?” she asked. “What’s your name?” “Minako.” “Oh. ok.” “Why?” “...future reference.” “ok...sure.” They parted, both taking their separate ways. “Why’d you do that, Minako?” Makoto asked. “I don’t know. I felt I had to.” Minako shrugged. “Anyways, let’s just keep looking.” Minako told Usagi. “Ok.” Usagi stepped on the accelerator and they sped off into the morning light.

The man continued to walk through every street and corner until he smelled a faint, familiar smell. His ears perked up, and he became alert. His eyes darted in all directions, searching for his brother’s killer. Following the scent like a searchdog, he came to a house. He looked into the windows, but saw no people. Only a lone cat plodded around the house. “Not home...” he mumbled. He crouched behind a bush, ready to ambush his victim. He waited for hours, and he had still not met his prey. The sun began to set, the clouds turning a faint orange. A few cars occasionally drove by, each one causing Dena to stiffen, his back becoming tense, every muscle taut and ready to act on any impulse. Finally, a car slowed down and pulled up in the driveway. Five girls stepped out, and the scent became stronger. Each girl walked by him, first a girl with brown hair tied up in a green scrunchy, then a girl with short blue hair dressed in jeans and a baby blue shirt. Those two were followed by Minako, to his great surprise, and a girl with thin purple hair and dark eyes. The scent grew strong as the girl with purple hair drew near. “Her?” he thought. “She is but a child! But the scent matches. She is the one...even the scent of my brother’s blood still lingers on her hands.” Slowly, he crept up behind her and clasped her mouth shut. “Mmff...” Hotaru wriggled, trying to get out of his grasp. “Usagi!” she managed to scream. Her voice was muffled and the words did not come out clearly. Opening her mouth, she bit down as hard as she could. She tasted the salty taste of blood as her teeth sunk into Dena’s flesh. Dena yelled, and pulled back. “What was that?” Usagi asked Minako. The turned back to the driveway and saw Hotaru spitting into the grass, and the man they had seen earlier that morning grabbing his hand. “Hey! What are you doing here?!” Minako gasped. “Stay back.” Dena told Usagi and Minako. “I don’t get it...” Usagi whispered to Minako. They looked at Hotaru who was narrowing her eyes and looking fiercely at Dena. “Who ARE you??” Hotaru demanded. “Dena, centaur. Son of Sorceress...” “Yea, yea. Enough. You’re here to avenge your brother’s death and all that crap right? Well you know what? Your brothers took down for of my friends already. I know you’ll take one of us down too, but just know that you’re not the only one here to avenge a loved one’s death!” Dena did not quite understand this girl. He did not WANT to fight, he just knew he had to. Why? He did not know that either. It was just his duty and he was going to complete it.

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