Hey Everyone, Miles here to say, like every fanfic, I don't own any of the media that I use or reference. I'm just telling a story and that's all there is to it.

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Episode 4: And So It Begins...

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It was the afternoon after the night they had broken into the hospital to see for themselves.

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Usagi was doing the two things that she would've rather not have from her normal life. Homework and studying.

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She was studying at the old desk in her room when she heard brakes screeching to a halt outside.

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(Usagi) Now what?

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She went to her window and there were trucks everywhere up and down the road.

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As she looked out of her window, her father walked into her room.

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(Kenji) Usagi, can you come down stairs, one of the soldiers is going to tell us something.

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(Usagi) Okay...

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When she got to the bottom of the stairs with Kenji, there was a soldier there waiting for them.

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(Soldier) Good, you're all here.

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(Soldier) So to start off, we've been given orders to brief you on the events in the coming weeks. After finding the source of the virus, we believe that extra measures are to be taken. You all will be able to resume normal daily activities such as school and work, but you'll have to be wearing a gas mask to prevent contamination. We understand that this feels like an overreaction for some, but we believe that if you were to use normal surgical masks, you would be at a very high risk for contamination. We also ask that, if you see someone who has a physical injury, even if it is a scratch or scrape from the pavement, send them to the military hospital near the Juban district hospital for treatment. If you see someone with any kind of illness such as a cough of extremely high fever, send them to the Juban Hospital and not the military hospital. Unfortunately, we are not at liberty to tell you any more than this, so please, follow our directions and try to be safe.

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The soldier then placed four gas masks on the coffee table and taught everyone how to wear them and adjust them if need be. He then politely thanked everyone for their time and left. Everyone then went about their business as Usagi snuck off to her room.

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She contacted the others to see if they had been visited. They had indeed.

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(Usagi) So... should we meet up somewhere?

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(Rei) Like, at the park or something? Sure, I don't see why not, and bring you study materials, I know you haven't studied since we went into lockdown.

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(Usagi and Minako in Unison) Fiiiiiiiiine, we will.

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After gathering her materials, and her new gas masks, Usagi said bye to her parents and left for the nearby park.

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The girls studied for a bit, but everyone was surprised when Usagi, usually the slow one of the group, didn't ask everyone for help. But she wasn't the only one acting strange. Ami, the bookworm of the group, was just staring at her textbook with a blank stare.

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(Rei) Hey, let's take a break for a minute, okay?

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Oddly enough, Usagi and Ami both seemed to ignore her. Usagi kept writing and Ami kept staring.

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It wasn't until Rei tapped Usagi on the head with her notebook and Minato shook Ami into consciousness.

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(Usagi) Huh? What? Is something wrong?

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(Ami) I'm sorry, did I doze off?

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(Rei) Okay, both of you are acting really weird right now. Usagi, you hate studying, but you've been doing everything yourself since we started! Ami, you've been doing nothing but staring at your textbook even though you're the one that studies the most out of all of us.

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Suddenly, both looked depressed, as if a crushing blow had hit each of them.

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(Usagi) I'm sorry, I didn't know the military was going to look for us and I didn't know if we'd all be okay. I just put everyone in harm's way, and for what, my own curiosity?

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(Minato) Hey, you didn't do anything, we agreed to do it.

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(Usagi) Because I convinced you!

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(Makoto) Regardless! We went of our own free will! It wasn't your fault, we just happened to accidentally get their attention.

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(Usagi) But you could've been taken from your home! You could've been sent to prison because of something I DID and I just couldn't bear the thought of losing even one of you.

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In the moment, Ami chose to speak up.

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(Ami) I'm sorry to ruin the moment, but we need to discuss something we found there.

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(Rei) What, did you find something in the data you found?

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(Ami) Yes. I found out the genetic code of the fungi... is different from a naturally occurring specimen.

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(Rei) It was modified into a weapon!?

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(Makoto) How would someone even do that?

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(Ami) Genetic engineering. You pull out what you don't want and keep/put in, what you want. In this case, whoever did this... just created something from horror and science fiction.

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(Minako) W-why do you say that?

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(Ami) In the samples from the patients who were infected, the fungi is able to survive in their systems and create something horrible. Instead of making the host spread it's spores, this fungi creates parasites that attach themselves to the inside of the mouth, infecting the host's salivary glands. This makes the mouth the most dangerous part of the infected. When the new host is infected, they can only be cured by extreme heat, or death.

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The rest of the girls gasped.

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(Usagi) What do you mean "death"? Do you mean to tell me that these people need to die to kill the infection!?

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(Ami) It's worse than that. The victim's bodies need to be burned after death or the parasites will take over.

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(Rei) I understand all of that, but how does the fungi become a parasite?

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(Ami) In the research, the fungi only needs to be in the original host to create the parasites. The way this happens is by using cells from the body as incubators to create millions of individual parasites. Then, all that has to happen is for the parasites to infect another person before the body, is burned, naturally decomposes or uses up all the cells in incubation. If any of these things happen, the parasite will die and it won't come back. But if the infected were to bite you, you're done for. The parasites will use your body to repopulate and kill you painfully. In no time, you'll become an infected as well and there would be no way to help you.

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(Usagi) Is...Is that what we saw at the hospital? Is this really happening? Zombies?

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(Ami) I didn't want to believe it myself, but after the military left, I looked at the data and it confirmed my fears. We are dealing with real life zombies.

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Everyone just deflated. This was real, they just found out that real human zombies... were real.

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(Makoto) But since they're locked in the hospital, then there isn't anything to worry about right?

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(Usagi) Of course there is! If even one of them gets out, everyone is in danger!

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As if on cue, a person nearby screamed for help.

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And without a second thought, everyone transformed and went towards the sound.

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As they arrived at the scene, there was a woman screaming and pointing at a person.

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The girls looked to see that it was one of the patients, but this was one they hadn't seen.

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It was a boy, with jet black hair and a yellow bandana. He was crawling on the floor, only using his hands, as if his legs were broken.

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The boy spoke. His voice was dry and scratchy, but Usagi immediately recognised the voice and to her horror, knew who it was.

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(?) U..sagi? Is..that...you? ...It's...me...

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(Usagi) Akari? Is...that you?

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(Akari) Y-yeah... What...happened... last... night?

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(Usagi) Akari, you've been in the hospital for days because you were sick.

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(Akari) Days...? But...there...were... I...had...to...leave.

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(Usagi) Did you... jump from a window?

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Usagi had tears streaming down her face. She could barely keep it together when she saw someone she knew was suffering like this, even if she only knew him for a month.

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(Akari)...I...had...t-to.

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Akari suddenly went from sad and confused to enraged.

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(Akari) I...I...WON'T GO BACK!

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He started to use his fractured arms to crawl towards Usagi at a rapid pace.

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(Rei) Usagi!

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Out of pure instinct it felt like. Usagi pulled out her Moon Tiara and threw it into the boy's head, where upon impact, a loud crack could be heard as the glowing disc sliced through the skull like butter and exited by returning to Usagi's hand,

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Everyone froze. It was as if time had stopped. The woman who was screaming just stared at the boy's head, which had been cut horizontally in half. Usagi's hand was still outstretched. The Sailor Guardians were at a loss for words.

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Then Ami yelled at Rei to use her flaming bow to burn the body. Rei protested, but Ami convinced her and she let the arrow fly. The body was burning and all Usagi could do was stare...

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The tiara had long stopped spin and she went through the motions of putting it back on. But she still stood there, eyes wide open as the body burned, breathing, running the moment through her head again and again, hearing the sound of the bly's life ending.

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Everyone then heard sirens and started to run, but Usagi didn't move. After Makoto tried yelling at her, she realized that the girl was in a state of shock. So in a last ditch effort, she threw the girl over her shoulder and ran to catch up with the rest.

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(Rei) What's wrong with her!?

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(Makoto) I don't know! She's in a state of shock or something!

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(Minako) Yeah, and what the hell just happened!? Was that one of the people from the party!?

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(Ami) Oh my god... Guys! That was the guy that invited Usagi and Mamoru! He greeted us at the door, remember?

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(Makoto) That's true, he was still wearing his costume from that day...

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(Ami) But did you guys see him? He was infected and about to turn into a zombie!

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The group stopped at the park and grabbed their things. They all powered down but had to power Usagi down themselves because she was still in a state of shock.

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After gathering their things, they had to discreetly go to Mamoru's apartment because physical contact with non-family members was forbidden for the time being.

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As they arrived at Mamoru's apartment, Minako knocked wildly until Mamoru answered the door.

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(Mamoru) YES, I HEARD YOU-

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(Minako) Quick, get in!

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(Mamoru) Wait, what the!?

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After entering, Mamoru quickly closed the door and looked at everyone.

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(Mamoru) Can somebody tell me what's-

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Mamoru stopped for a second.

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(Mamoru) Usako? What happened?

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He looked at Usagi, who was still shocked. She was now just unresponsive.

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Rei walked over to Mamoru and put a hand on his shoulder.

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(Rei) We're going to need you to sit down for this.

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Over the next hour, the girls took turns explaining the events of the previous few days. After finishing telling him about getting checked by the military, Mamoru stopped them.

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(Mamoru) I understand. That's sounds like a lot but, that doesn't explain what happened to Usako.

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Rei looked at the girls and they each nodded.

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(Ami) Mamoru, I'm going to have to ask you to restrain yourself from whatever feelings you are about to experience.

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Mamoru looked even more concerned than before.

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(Mamoru) Just what happened for you to say that?

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(Ami) I was discussing my research from the hospital and we heard a scream for help.

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(Ami) We transformed and went towards the source of the scream.

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(Ami) When we got to the scene, there was a woman screaming out of fear for the person she saw.

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(Ami) The person's legs were broken and he looked infected.

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(Ami) Usagi was talking to the person when he suddenly became hostile and tried to attack Usagi...

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Ami went quiet for a second.

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(Mamoru) Okay, then what happened?

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(Ami) It was an accident...

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(Rei) Out of instinct, Usagi threw her Moon Tiara at the Infected... and it made contact.

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(Mamoru) So, she... killed somebody...? H-how?

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(Rei) The kill was part of the shock, but the infected person... was Akari Hibiki.

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Mamoru's eyes widened and his breathing started to shake. He just looked down at the ground.

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(Mamoru) B-but he said he was in the Hospital. And Usako... S-She wouldn't hurt a fly.

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Before anyone else could talk, Usagi sat up with an expressionless look on her face.

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(Usagi) She's completely right Mamo. Akari tried to attack a group of people in town and then us.

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The girls looked at her with shocked looks. Just a moment before, she couldn't even move, but now she was telling Mamoru what she had done!

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(Usagi) He died right in front of us as we spoke to him. Afterwards, he started coming towards us.

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Mamoru's eyes said it all.

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For the first time in their whole relationship, Mamoru Chiba wanted to hurt Usagi Tsukino. His eyes narrowed as he rushed at the girls in a mournful rage.

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He tried to rush her and grab her throat to strangle her, but Makoto was able to overpower him for a moment and threw him back on the couch.

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(Mamoru) HOW COULD YOU!? YOU KILLED HIM! KILLED MY BEST FRIEND! HE WAS A BROTHER TO ME! HOW DARE YOU TRY TO JUSTIFY MURDER!

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Makoto did what she had to subdue the enraged boyfriend. She went over as he was getting up again and knocked him out with a gut punch.

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(Rei) Makoto, you just knocked out Usagi's boyfriend.

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(Makoto) It's fine, we just need to show him proof that the guy really was infected and that it Usagi didn't murder him at all.

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(Minako) But will he even listen? You guys saw how he reacted.

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(Makoto) I know. It was like a completely different person...

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(Ami) I can show him the images from the hospital and the data from the scientists. Hopefully he'll wake up and understand reason.

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Makoto grabbed a chair from the dining room and an extension cord from another room.

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(Minako) What are you doing?

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(Rei) Well, we can't just take the chance that he'll calm down after waking up. He needs to be restrained in order for us to get through to him.

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Rei then got duct tape and taped Mamoru's mouth shut.

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They waited for a few minutes, but it wasn't fast enough. The military would be sent out to find whoever was at the scene.

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They wanted to wake him up, but it was Rei who volunteered.

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(Rei) Allow me.

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Rei went up to the passed out Mamoru and delivered two loud slaps that woke him up.

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Mamoru started to try saying something, but all that came out was muffled noise.

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(Ami) I understand you're frustrated but we can prove that your friend was dead before Usagi eliminated him.

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Everyone helped close the enormous curtains to make the room dark. Then Ami used her mini computer to project the data she had onto the wall.

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It took Ami 45 minutes to get through all of the crucial information.

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After seeing that Mamoru was paying attention, they took off the duct tape.

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(Ami) Before we release you, I wanted you to see these images. Just so that you have a clear understanding of what we were looking at.

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Ami's data then turned into images of the patients they had seen at the hospital.

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When she turned to the images, Mamoru seemed to be frightened.

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(Mamoru) What the hell is all of this? I know all of these people! They're my classmates, friends, relatives of my friends... Why do they look like that?

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(Minako) These people look like this because they are infected with the fungi and are slowly decomposing after they have died and basically became zombies.

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After turning to a few more images, Mamoru seemed to react to one.

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(Mamoru) WAIT, go back!

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Ami went back to a previous image. It was of a teenage girl, younger than Usagi and her friends, but close.

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The girl has too far gone already. Her face had spots where decomposition was already taking effect. Her once deep blue eyes were now clouded and blind. SHe had blood coming from her mouth and the side of her head.

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(Mamoru) That's Akari's adopted younger sister... I never learned her name, only that she was from north west of Juban. Is that really her?

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(Ami) Yes. Unfortunately it is.

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Ami went to the next image where the girls face was pressed against the glass, her details becoming even more evident of infection.

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The next image though showed Akari. It was from before Usagi killed him.

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(Mamoru) No.. No, that's not him. It can't be. We were supposed to graduate together, he was supposed to be my best man when me and Usako got married... How did this happen? Why him?

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(Ami) Like I said. Your friend and everyone else at that party, including their families, were infected. There is nothing we can do for them now. They need to die before more people get infected.

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(Mamoru) How can all of you be so calm about this?!

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Everyone stayed quiet, unable to answer.

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(Mamoru) ANSWER ME!

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(Usagi) It's because... we were there to see for ourselves, in person, what the military was hiding from everyone. We know what is happening because we decided to risk everything to find out the truth!

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(Mamoru) That's it? The "truth"? You people are so calm about killing one of these people, all because you know the "truth" behind what's going on? How can you say that for who you are? You're the Sailor Guardians, you're supposed to risk your lives to protect every single person on this planet! That doesn't mean just those you care about!

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(Usagi) Mamoru. You tell me. What would you have done? Would you have saved multiple people at the cost of one that was already dead? Or would you let the dead threaten the lives of the people?

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Mamoru sat for a second, trying figure out how to answer.

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(Usagi) Because Akari was already dead when he saw us! And he was about to take the life of an innocent woman!

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Mamoru's eyes suddenly changed. They went from bitter mourning, to defeat.

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Usagi motioned Makoto to untie him and she did.

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Even after being untied, Mamoru stayed seat.

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The next moment, there was a siren going off in the distance.

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(Usagi) That's probably the military. Goodbye Mamoru.

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As everyone left, Usagi glanced once more to see Mamoru already looking regretful.

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After a while Mamoru opened the curtains to watch everyone leave. He said what he did for a reason, he was told that his best friend was killed in broad daylight by one of the people he trusted the most.

He didn't know how he would make it up to her, but he would find a way.

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After they left his view, he turned on the TV to see if there was any news.

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Sure enough, Usagi was right. The news was reporting of a "possibly ill" patient from the hospital that had been euthanized by the famous Sailor Guardians. There were eye-witness testimonies, people talking about family members or friends that saw what happened. Nobody knew why. There were people who thought it was murder, but others that say that there was an explanation for this kill.

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Mamoru listened to the news, but eventually confirmed for himself that Akari really did attack the woman and the Sailor Guardians. He felt even worse now. He had screamed in her face that she had killed him, not even considering the fact that she now has the weight of his death over her.

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(Mamoru) Just what the hell is going on out there? Just what is brewing at that hospital?

End of Episode 4:And So It Begins...