Previously…

"That was ... a bit anti-climatic," Ami muttered. "A bit too easy..."

"You're right," Luna remarked from her hiding spot up in the tree. "You see, that wasn't the real Hotaru."

~*~

Chapter Eight

"Of course it wasn't. So, the real Hotaru wouldn't want to hurt my Minako...chan...?" Makoto turned to see her lover's remains slowly evaporate into thin air. "What the hell is going on here?"

Michiru looked around and the dead bodies of her fallen comrades. "Are we really the last four left?"

"Looks like it," Haruka mused, scratching her head.

Rei frowned. "Hey, whatever happened to that weird-ass new enemy we were facing earlier?"

Haruka pondered that for a minute before responding, "I think that when it saw how eagerly we were to sacrifice our fellow members, it got too scared and left."

Michiru asked, "So, now that it's just the four of us left, what are we going to do?"

"Hm, we could take over the world." Rei scratched her chin, pondering this idea.

"We're supposed to protect the world though." Ami cried.

"We never get to be the bad guys, besides if we rule the world, we can make sure everyone is safe." Rei smiled, everyone nodding in agreement. "Besides Usagi was gonna end up doing the same thing."

"... Well, I guess I can't argue with that," Ami shrugged. "How should we go about this?" Rei paused to think over the matter.

Makoto looked over at Ami. "Wait a sec. I thought you were dead. It was Haruka, Rei, Makoto, and I left."

Rei raised an eyebrow. "No, we just ignored Ami the entire time since she's useless half the time. Plus, Luna's still alive, so--" A loud screech, like nails down a chalkboard, resonated in the senshi's ears.

Ami turned toward the sound. "What in the world?" She looked over to see Haruka standing beside the dead Hotaru-like thing, but another body was added to the carnage. Luna, who had previously been perched upon her tree branch, was now impaled with the same wooden table leg. Though it was splintered by now, Luna was still dead, or at the best, bleeding to death.

All eyes turned to Haruka. "What? I didn't do anything."

"... Sure looks like you did," Makoto remarked. "But since it's Luna no one really cares." Luna let out a gurgling protest in response before finally kicking the bucket.

Rei looked at the girls. "So, there are only five of us."

"Make that six," Artemis said, slowly making his way toward the girls.

"Where the hell have you been all this time?" Haruka asked.

"Hiding from the bloodbath," he replied, warily keeping a good distance from them.

"... Fair enough."

"You can be our evil pet!" Rei cackled, rubbing her hands together, "Everyone in the land shall fear you... now you just need some steroids."

Artemis twitched. "Riiiiiiiight..." I'm gonna make sure that I don't eat or drink anything they give me. "So, where's Minako?"

Makoto slowly raised a finger and pointed it in Minako's general direction. A startled Artemis pounced over to the girl, who hardly resembled her living self.

"Damn," he finally said after surveying the damage. "What did you girls do to her?"

"That was all Hotaru's work," Michiru replied.

"She's pretty good with that glaive of hers, eh?" Haruka remarked.

"You must be proud." Makoto remarked.

"That was our little girl." Haruka wiped away a tear.

Artemis looked at the five remaining senshi. "So, what do we do now, girls?"

"We do what we try and do every night ... TRY TO TAKE OVER THE WORLD!" Makoto cackled. Everyone turned wary eyes to her.

"We've never tried that," Ami mused quietly.

"Maybe we should! After all, the people should fear us, for we are the most wicked Senshi of all!" Rei cackled loudly.

Artemis backed up a few steps. "Okay... anybody have any other ideas?"

"We could take over the universe!" Haruka cracked.

"But, uh, wouldn't all the other sailors of the universe gang up to try and stop us?" Ami asked. She was the voice of reason, after all.

"Pshaw, we're the strongest ones in the universe; who's gonna stop us?" Rei scoffed.

"Right, so I guess we should get started." Makoto cracked her knuckles, "Let's get cracking."

"So... um how do we take over the world?" Michiru looked at each of them. "Should we acquire minions first?"

"Minions make it sloppy," Rei flapped her hand at Michiru. "Look at everyone who's ever used minions against us!"

"It just makes the enemy stronger," Haruka agreed.

"Yeah! Like in video games, they help with leveling up!" Makoto grinned. Artemis cried silently on the inside.

Makoto looked over at Artemis. "What? You don't like the idea, do you?"

Artemis, unsure of whether this was a trap or not, answered honestly. "No, not really. You should really use your powers for the good of the world."

Rei, surprisingly, agreed with him. "We are doing something good for the world: getting rid of a bunch of idiots who don't deserve to live." An evil grin crossed her face. "You're next."

"... Too late, I'll be dead in five seconds," Artemis remarked. "I took a pill when you weren't looking."

"Not fair," Makoto huffed as Artemis let out a rather bird-like squawking sound before keeling over, dead. Rei poked at his body to make sure he was really dead.