"Bidou Yui" Ami whispered. "Second-year high schooler, Department of Science."

Looking through old school files, Ami had managed to pull up information about her ancient nemesis. And not just from Mugen Academy. She had files in other schools.

"So she really used to be human… she was an actual person," Ami mumbled. "And we let her die- I let her die…"

"This wasn't your fault!" Usagi replied. "You didn't know! We didn't know!"

"If only we knew sooner…" Minako said.

Only Ami, Usagi and Minako stayed in the hideout. The outers were investigating old facilities related to Mugen Academy while Rei and Makoto were looking for leads where Mimete had been abducted.

"There's a news article," Usagi pointed out, starting to read it. "Child prodigy Bidou Yui's disappearance after the fall of Mugen Academy…"

"She was still attending Mugen Academy even as a witch, so it makes sense her absence was noticed only after its fall," Ami said sadly.

"What about Mimete- Hanyuu Mimi?" Minako asked.

"I found a file with this name in Mugen's database," Ami replied. "Hanyuu Mimi, first-year schooler, Department of Performing Arts, member of the drama club."

"She was an actual student at Mugen Academy!?" Usagi exclaimed, genuinely surprised.

"Hanyuu-san… she was barely older than us… she could have been my senpai," Minako said.

"What about the others? Do you know their names?" Ami asked.

"Ah, y-yes! Well, for Tellu, that witch who used flowers, I think her name was Teruno Lulu!" Usagi replied.

Ami started typing that on the computer's keyboard.

"I got a result in the Mugen database! Teruno Lulu, first-year high schooler, Department of Physical Education, caretaker of the school garden and member of the gardening club."

"What does gardening have to do with P.E.?" Usagi wondered.

"That's probably her hobby, or a passion," Minako replied.

"Did Cyprine even use a human name?" Ami suddenly asked.

"Not that I'm aware of," Usagi said.

"We should focus on Eudial anyway! Surely she must have used a human at some point, right?" Minako pondered.

As far as they could recall, the red witch only ever referred to herself as "Eudial".

"She never used one, I don't remember any," Ami replied.

"Really!? All the others used their human name at some point but not her!?" Minako exclaimed.

"Well, Cyprine and Ptilol too…" Usagi remarked.

"Who cares about them, they were barely there! Eudial came after us for weeks!" Minako insisted.

"Perhaps she doesn't remember enough to use it even as an alias? If she can't remember being a human, she might not be aware of her past name," Ami advanced.

"But what about Mimete? She did introduce herself as Hanyuu Mimi…"

"Probably just a vague remnant of her past, I doubt she realized it used to be her actual name and thought she just came up with it on the spot," Ami explained.

"Mimete- Hanyuu Mimi, Tellu- Teruno Lulu, Viluy- Bidou Yui…" Usagi began. "Then Eudial… uh… Yuujiaru…"

"Yuu… there might be a clue in there," Ami declared. "It might take some time, but I have a feeling Eudial also used to be a student at Mugen Academy. With the right search and process of elimination, I might be able to find her in the database. But this is going to be a trial of guesses and errors."

"What are we waiting for then? Let's go!" Minako declared. "We don't have any time to lose!"

"S-senpai please, no…! This hurt! Please, stop…!" Mimete was desperately begging in a frightening voice.

Still strapped to the table, Mimete tried to struggle and break free, in vain. She may be stronger than the average human, she was critically weakened at the moment. And those were pretty resistant restraints.

"I haven't even touched you yet," Eudial commented.

"I can see you holding that syringe. I hate needles!"

"But you sure do like pins… anyway, how else am I supposed to take a sample? I just thought blood would be the easiest to get and study, but if you're so against it, I guess I can just cut you open and dissect you instead…"

Mimete gulped.

"F-fine, take my blood, you maniac…!"

Eudial chuckled.

"See? Things would be so much smoother if you'd stay that docile."

Mimete hated this. To be this vulnerable and at the mercy of her former rival. It felt demeaning and humiliating. But she knew she had no choice but going along with Eudial's twisted plans, at least for now. Until she finds a way out of her predicament.

"Now, let's do this," Eudial said as she seized her prisoner's arm.

Mimete immediately got tense.

"Now now Mimete, if you don't relax your muscles, it's going to hurt more."

Easier said than done. Not that Eudial genuinely seemed to care if it was going to be painful.

"On the count of five," Eudial began. "One, two-"

Eudial plunged the needle into Mimete's arm.

"...argh…!"

Eudial started drawing blood, filling her syringe. She removed the needle once she was done.

"See? It wasn't so bad now was it?" Eudial teased. "You're so sensitive."

"... you liar… you said on the count of five, not two…!"

"Better to do it when you don't expect it. Now if you excuse me, I have some tests to run. Don't worry, I should come back soon- once you're useful again."

As she said that Eudial pat her head, making Mimete shiver at this contact. She didn't like those words, not one bit.

"Are you… are you going to come back… to kill me?"

Eudial looked like she was pondering on the question, leaving Mimete in her anguish. Unlike Mimete, she was fully enjoying the situation.

"We will see later, after I'm done with my tests. Until then, take the time to contemplate why I shouldn't kill you, given what you did to me."

On those ominous words, Eudial walked away, leaving Mimete even more terrified of what was coming next.

"I think I found her!" Ami exclaimed.

Usagi and Minako got closer to get a good look at the computer screen.

"Eudial's student profile?" Minako asked.

"So she really was a student at Mugen? How did you find her?" Usagi asked.

"Well, I took a guess that like the other Witches 5, she might be in high school, so I started by reducing my search to only high schoolers," Ami began. "Then I searched for students with names that have similar characters as in Eudial, and to finish, only the ones who were at least eighteen years old."

"Why eighteen specifically?" Minako asked.

"Because Eudial drives a car. I thought she was most likely to at least be old enough to drive."

"With her being such a reckless driver? I don't think that really matters," Minako commented.

"And there's no way she's only in high school!" Usagi objected. "She looks way too old! If she was a student, she had to be a college one."

"And yet, here I'm pretty sure this is her," Ami said, reading through the file. "Arimura Yuuko, third-year high schooler, Department of Philosophy and Etiquette, member of the martial art club…"

"That doesn't sound like Eudial at all," Minako said.

"Yeah! Philosophy and Etiquette? Martial Art? Are we talking about the same Eudial? The mechanic and pyromaniac?" Usagi reacted.

"Also, how is Arimura Yuuko sounding similar to Eudial?" Minako added.

"Yuuko Arimura. Yuujiaru," Ami said.

"Eh… sounds like a stretch," Usagi replied.

"Then how about this, there's a picture," Ami added.

Ami opened the picture file, revealing a young woman with long, red hair, eyes of the same colour, wearing a Mugen high school uniform.

"I still don't think it's- oh my God it's totally Eudial!" Minako exclaimed.

"She really is only eighteen!?" Usagi added, shocked.

"... you guys were doubting me so much…" Ami complained.

"Okay, you were right, this Arimura girl is definitely Eudial," Minako conceded. "Now what?"

"Well, now that we have her real name, we might be able to find more about her," Ami said. "Who she was, where she might be hiding, her ultimate goal…"

Before she could add more their hideout's phone started ringing.

"It must be Rei-chan! Or Haruka-san!" Ami said.

"I got it!" Usagi exclaimed, grabbing the phone. "Hello? Huh? Oh! Really? That's great! Yeah, just be careful. And call Haruka-san's group. Seeya."

And Usagi then hung up the phone.

"So?" Minako asked.

"It was Rei-chan," Usagi began. "She and Mako-chan managed to track down Eudial thanks to the trail left by her car. They found her hideout and are going in."

The wait felt endless. Mimete couldn't bear to wait any longer for Eudial to come back most likely just to kill her. She tried to break free from her restraints once again, in vain. She was growing weaker and weaker by the minutes and it was unlikely she could escape anymore. The wait was unbearable and the terror overwhelming.

Was this how Eudial felt when she removed her car's breaks, forcing her to drive off a cliff? The wait for imminent death, the fear of knowing there was nothing you could do to stop it, Mimete thought she felt it once when Tellu threatened to pull the plug on her, but this time, it was real. She really was going to get killed. And she couldn't say she didn't have it coming.

The Sailor Senshi were right. When you backstab someone, it was always coming back to bite you. Nothing good would come from betraying someone. Not only did Tellu betray her too, but now Eudial was seeking revenge.

Was it too late to apologize? Probably. Mimete hated this. She didn't want to admit it was all her fault, or die feeling like this. But she was past the point where she could deny this anymore. It was undeniably her fault and she hated it.

"I'm back, Mimete. I hope you weren't too bored during my absence," Eudial taunted.

"Senpai," Mimete began, "I'm sorry-"

"Save your breath" Eudial immediately interrupted. "I'm not interested in hearing your insincere apologies."

Mimete gulped. Eudial sat down at her computer, starting to type on her keyboard.

"... I… I really do mean it, senpai," Mimete tried again. "I really am sorry…"

"Huh-uh," Eudial barely gave her any attention, more focused on her computer screen.

"I get it now. I shouldn't have done that. I was being… jealous… of you. I was envious of your job and wanted it! I thought I could do a better job than you but I was wrong! I took you for granted! I should have never betrayed you! I only realize it now…"

Eudial let out a bitter laugh.

"It's a little late to have regrets, Mimete. You may say that, but the damage is already done. You tried to kill me."

"But you are fine, right? You didn't actually die-"

"It doesn't matter. You tried to kill me. You ruthlessly bullied me at work, put snails in my lockers, pins in my shoes, sent me threatening messages, talked behind my back, turned everyone against me, and overall made the environment very hostile for me. So it doesn't matter if you failed to actually kill me- you still hurt me. It's the feeling behind your actions that matters and the pain you ultimately caused."

"...ugh…! Right… But you can't deny you weren't… really bringing good results, so I can't speak for the others' feelings about you…"

"... Because you think you did better than me?"

"Ah…! I actually didn't, to be honest… if it brings you any comfort, karma already got me! I also got betrayed! Tellu tried to take me down too!"

"... Oh?"

"Yeah! You know that device you made? To increase one's power? Well, I ended up using it and Tellu pulled the plug on me! She trapped me inside for a while! See, I totally get how you feel! I too was betrayed by someone who tried to kill me…!"

Eudial looked at Mimete with a blank expression before, out of the blue, she burst into laughter.

"... Really? This isn't that funny…"

"So Tellu trapped you inside my device… I see, so that explained a lot. You really did use my device and got yourself trapped inside like the dumbass you are. I shouldn't be surprised. That sounds exactly like you. I am surprised however that Tellu was able to figure out the flaw of my device and use it against you."

"... H-Hey…!"

Getting called a dumbass hurt, but she didn't know how to argue back.

"Tellu said I would be trapped forever if someone pulled the plug when I was inside but obviously, that wasn't true…"

"Well, I guess she didn't know everything. Still, I'm impressed. That was good thinking of her. You, on the other hand, you were quite the stupid one, as usual."

"...!"

"Do you know how you got out of there, Mimete?"

"... No. Sailor Mercury thought… someone must have plugged the device back on and I materialize back where I entered it. But the device wasn't there, so whoever did that… did it from somewhere else… Wait…!?"

Eudial was now grinning smugly.

"It was… you!?" Mimete exclaimed.

"Correct! I retrieve my device in the ruins that once were Mugen Academy to work on it, and noticed there were unwanted data stuck inside," Eudial explained. "I tried to inject it, and only realized after that it was you. I actually had no idea how you ended up trapped inside, but now it all makes sense. If I had known sooner, I would have done things differently instead of releasing you."

Mimete couldn't believe it. So the person who freed her… was none other than Eudial!? And here she thought it was a potential ally, turned out it was the very person she betrayed and had sworn revenge against her. it couldn't be worst. This really felt like all hope was lost. No one was going to save her. And part of her knew she deserved it.

"You know, I'm not the only one you took for granted," Eudial suddenly said, with a gloomy expression.

"... Huh…?"

"... We all took her for granted. The Witches 5 were much greater when we were under her command. Everything started to go sideway once Professor Tomoe started giving us orders directly."

"... Do you mean… Kaolinite-sama?"

Mimete hadn't thought about her for a while. It was true that she was in charge of the Witches 5 prior to her death, while Eudial was her second in command. After she passed away, Eudial became the leader of the Witches 5, and they were now directly taking orders from Professor Tomoe.

"Yes. Kaolinite-sama. Everything was better when she was still in charge. Fighting over the approval of that foolish man was the Witches 5 downfall. It was your mistake, and it will be your undoing."

Mimete could feel the end coming. Eudial was unlikely to accept her apologies and forgive her at this point, so she was back at needing to find a way to escape. If she couldn't escape by strength, she would have to use her wits.

"E-Eudial-senpai… I need to go to the bathroom…!"

"No you don't," Eudial flattely dismissed.

"...! H-How…? How could you possibly know how my own body feels-"

"Because we don't need to eat and therefore don't go to the bathroom, idiot."

"... Shit. O-Okay, but just so you know, I do eat sometimes therefore, it can happen that I do need to use the bathroom…!"

"Hm? Why would you eat if you don't need to?"

"Well, because food tastes good, and out of habit, I guess…"

"Out of habit? Hm…"

Eudial seemed to ponder.

"This confirms my suspicions. Tsk, if the blood results weren't already enough… but I can't deny the truth anymore."

"W-What truth…?"

"Nevermind that," Eudial sighed, looking at her screen. "Seems like we have visitors."

"Sailor Venus!?" Mimete exclaimed, hopeful.

Eudial didn't answer her question.

"I guess I'll have to deal with you sooner than expected," she simply said.

Mimete felt her dread coming back.

"W-wait! P-please, senpai, I'm sorry! I truly am! I get it now! I understand now how wrong I was! Please forgive me…!"

"Even if you say that, it's too late for you to have regrets. You should have thought about it before trying to murder me. It's too late now."

"...n-no…"

Tears started to form in Mimete's eyes. For the first time, she felt like crying for real.

"Please, I'm begging you, don't kill me! I'm sorry, I'm sorry! I don't want to die! I'll do anything you want, just please spare me…!"

"Now now Mimete," Eudial scolded as she walked towards her. "I already told you crying won't save you this time."

"I can still be useful to you…! Please, anything but that…!"

"Anything?"

"A-Anything…!"

"Would you betray the sailor senshi for me?"

"O-Of course! I never cared about them in the first place!"

"Even Sailor Venus?"

"...!"

Mimete was at a loss for words. She might say she didn't care for the senshis, she did view Minako as a friend. Eudial smiled bitterly. She looked awfully pale. She too, was growing weaker by the second.

"A little too late for you to understand the value of comradeship," Eudial commented. "Anyway, there's only one thing I want from you…"

Eudial seized Mimete's chin, contemplating whatever she had planned to do. As she leaned down to close the distance between them, Mimete had a doubt and started blushing, flustered.

"W-whoa, I… I was not expecting that, but… if it's what you want…"

"Don't flatter yourself. I just need some extra life energy. You don't have much left, so that will be two birds, one stone."

Eudial then grinned.

"I actually do know a way to save myself, and you are the perfect bait for that. See, you are actually still useful to me- even if you won't last for long."

"W-what…? Wait-"

Before Mimete could ask her to elaborate on that Eudial suddenly pressed her lips against hers. This wasn't just a simple kiss- Mimete could feel her last remaining strength leaving her body, Eudial sucking her energy. She tried to struggle against her binding but it was all in vain.

As her life force was slowly sucked from her body through the kiss, Mimete's vision got darker, until she couldn't see anymore.

"She must be there," Jupiter said.

"Mhm," Mars nodded.

They had followed the trails left by Eudial's car up to some abandoned factory. After Mars had finished calling Usagi and then Haruka's group, the two inners stepped inside the factory.

"It might be a trap," Mars said. "This was way too easy."

"Or she just underestimated us!"

"I think we should maybe wait for the others-"

"Woah…!"

Out of the blue, a trapdoor opened right under Jupiter, and the senshi of thunder fell into the unknown.

"Jupiter!?" Mars exclaimed.

The latter tried to jump through the trapdoor to rescue her friend, but it immediately closed before she could.

"Jupiter!"

"Hehe, you fell right for it!"

Mars looked up. Making her entrance was Eudial, staring at her smugly. Mars felt burning anger arise within herself.

"Eudial…!"

The fire witch snicked at her.

"You really have no manners, Sailor Mars. Coming here uninvited, trying to fight me two against one… I guess I'll have to teach you a lesson in proper etiquette!"

As she said that, Eudial removed her labcoat, revealing her usual red outfit.

"Dammit! I don't have time to fight you! What have you done to Jupiter!? And where's Mimete?!"

"Tsk-tsk, no need to concern yourself with useless thoughts. I, Eudial, warrior of flame, have selected you as my opponent!"

To emphasize her words, Eudial raised her staff and pointed it at Mars.

"Show me how strong your flames are, Sailor Mars!"

Hiya! Just wanted to say I'm starting to draw illustrations for this fic and Fallen Stars, so check out the AO3 version if you want to see them. Also posting them on my socials, rickyriddle on tumblr, autistic_rick on twitter, RickyOtaku on deviantart and rickyriddle20 on Instagram!