(Trigger warning: Violence, blood and gore)

"...Where were you...?"

Iris' words grated cruelly to the manx's ears. ********* knew she had been too late. It was a time where Iris would have needed her most, and the tailless Mauvian had been off tending to other matters on the other side of the city. The guilt had consumed her the moment she had learned of what had happened, and it honestly took the manx a few days to dare and show her face again.

"...I am sorry Iris..."

Those were clearly not the words that the senshi wanted to hear as she spat at the cat. Rage was in her voice as she growled the question again.

"Where th'F*CK were you, ********* eternal senshi had not powered down since she found Psyche and Thetis in the clutches of Labyrinthite. Rest was skipped as she attempted to figure out a plan for herself and her roommate. The neighborhood hadn't even really noticed the disappearance of the working couple, since they were rarely at the house to begin with.

Trailing along her calves was an Australian Shepherd that had been slinking around since the day of the attack. He had been just as useless in the situation, though that was because he was stuck locked in the garage, cowering like a simple Earth dog.

********* voice crackled a little in response. "...I was over at Waylon's... checking up on him..."

"YOU SHOULD HAVE BEEN HERE!!!"

The shout was enough to startle the canine and enough to get ********* fur puffed up.

On Iris' shoulder was a bag that was made of a far sturdier material than her usual denim backpack. She was going through the mess of a house, still stained in dull red and brown stains left from the Spectre bloodshed. Food and various supplies were stuffed away in the small space as a cat and a dog followed along obediently.

As Iris rounded the kitchen and grabbed a series of kitchen knives, the manx attempted to break the silence. "...so... where are we going now...?"

Iris' usually warm golden eyes turned to the cat, far colder than the Mauvian had ever seen. "I am gettin' outta 'ere with Psyche and Thetis... We can't stay 'ere anymore. I can't be Ellie Spectre. She can't be Annie anymore. There is no future fer us in this house. The Spectres are all dead."

There was a definite lack of a certain manx cat in the plans, and ********* bravely asked in as timid a voice as possible "...what about me...?"

"You aren't comin'!" Iris snapped back. "Neither of you are comin'! Yer not needed where we're goin'!"

Aque let out a pathetic whimper as he attempted to nudge his snout against Iris' crisp white boots. The blonde's fist clenched at her side as her dog attempted to make things better in the only way he knew how.

"Loyalty was his greatest strength and his greatest flaw..." she murmured out of nowhere before the girl viciously grabbed the dog by the collar and dragged him across the floor. No matter how the canine struggled, he was no match for an eternal senshi's strength. The went down the hallway, to the garage, then outside the back yard.

********* followed along cautiously, glancing about once they were outside, hoping the dog's noisy protests wouldn't draw attention. The Spectres had never really been the sort who cared about house maintenance. Their backyard was an absolute mess, grass overgrown in random patches, old toys lodged and buried partially in the ground, and the occasional dog turd peeking out in a spot that hadn't been cleaned.

Aque's claws desperately against the dirt as Iris continued to drag the animal out into a patch of brown grass. A gloved hand shoved the animal's face into the dying plants as a voice firmly explained to the dog.

"Yer not comin' with me, Aque! You don't belong t'anybody anymore! I don't want ya followin' me! Yer not allowed t'come with me!"

The dog protested, his paws attempting to push the senshi's arms off of him, squirming beneath her strength. The Mauvian kept a cautious distance from herself and the dog she had become acquainted with over the years. She didn't know what to make of Iris' words. The whole thing was confusing to say the least.

"...I figured you'd be like this..." Holding in a sigh, the girl dug through her bag until she eventually brandished a long knife meant for cutting meat. Pulling up the dog's hind leg, the eternal senshi did what she considered necessary to get it through the dog's brain that he could not accompany her.

"...no..." the manx cat squeaked out quietly as the tears fell from her eyes. Aque had done nothing to deserve such a cruel punishment. Yet there Iris was, cutting the tendon on his hind leg as the animal yowled out in pain as she cut through his flesh.

The blonde senshi didn't even clean the blade after she finished the task at hand. When she stood up, she simply put the blade back in her bag, turning as she walked away. She was absolutely silent, and though she still put on a tough face, she felt like screaming out loud on the inside. It was necessary to make him hate her. If he hated her, then he wouldn't put himself in danger for her.

Iris left the dog and the cat behind, the cat edging in slowly to comfort the Shepherd's suffering as best as she could. It wasn't long until she and Psyche were seen fleeing the scene. ********* didn't have the heart to leave Aque to fend for himself.

____________________________

"...how are you holding up, Aque?" The manx casually nudged the foreleg of the Australian Shepherd who was limping at her side.

Though the two animals did not speak the same language, there seemed to be a mutual understanding between the two. The blue merle let out a pleased whine, seeming happy enough despite his hind leg no longer functioning properly. The pair hobbled along down the streets of Destiny City.

On rare occasion, ********* did hitch a ride on the bigger animal's back, taking advantage of the new vantage point. It might have seemed strange for these two stray animals to be moving about the city in such a cooperative manner to a stranger, but these two animals shared one goal.

To locate the one named Sailor Iris.

The process was slow at best. Certainly, the Mauvian could sense the senshi and easily catch up with the eternal senshi. However, whenever the manx strayed too far, Aque would cry out like a cowardly baby.

The canine didn't rely so much on magic as he relied on the familiar scent which his human had. He was no bloodhound, but he could smell her around the city and was able to follow her trail. The only difficulty was that he couldn't move as fast as he used to. Three legs didn't move as fast as four legs. At least his little kitty friend also lacking in the tail department was good at getting food out of the garbage bins in the alleyways.

It was an odd way to live, needing to essentially care for an animal larger than her like he was her very own pet, but ********* found comfort in the fact they both wanted to find Iris again. Perhaps they were living like hobos, living off the land. However, at this point, it was the only way they wanted to live. If only to see Iris one more time.

____________________________

Nights in Destiny City had gone from risky to dangerous. It was no longer safe to stay out at night with the Negaverse and their youma lingering as they did. Their numbers had grown to a point where actively patrolling as a senshi was a death sentence for the less experienced.

A cat and a dog were a lot less desirable to the youma that slobbered about, seeking out the only means to sustain themselves. The manx nuzzled into the foreleg of her three-legged companion as they managed to slip past another abomination in the streets.

"...they seem riled up tonight..." she casually observed as they continued down the street.

Aque wasn't nearly the same dog as he used to be. He used to be far happier, expressing himself in various whines and allowing his nub to wag at nearly any opportunity. These days, his nub only seemed to wag when ********* found him food. The Mauvian was able to keep herself fed well enough, but the dog required more food and had grown thinner since taking to the streets.

So it was strange when he seemed to perk up rather drastically. With an excited high-pitched whine, he began to hobble as fast as his three legs would allow. His lacking tail wagged as fiercely as it could as he moved along.

At first, the manx didn't seem to understand, until it seemed to hit her all at once.

"...Iris...?"

With as much enthusiasm as her handicapped companion had mustered up, the feline followed in a similar manner. When the pair finally turned into an alleyway, they found a sight for sore eyes.

Sailor Iris and Sailor Psyche looked worn, with little Thetis nuzzled up against the silvery haired girl's chest. They had a small little fire built up, causing the shadows to dance about them. None seemed to be awake or to notice the presence of both the dog and the cat.

The feline briefly smiled, gazing up to her companion. "...go ahead..." she said gently, encouraging the Australian Shepherd to bolt forward as he seemed to want to do.

However, Aque did no such thing. Instead, he leaned forward, baring his teeth and growling in a manner that ********* had never heard before.

"...Aque... what's the matter...?"

This was one of those times where sharing a common language would have been a splendid thing. The dog didn't ease up on the growling and hobbled forward three hops.

Rather suddenly, the dog bolted forward faster than the tailless cat had ever seen in the past few weeks. It was almost as if he magically had regained the use of his handicapped leg (though such was not the case). Just as he was about to jump into the pile that was Iris, Psyche, and Thetis, he let out a sharp yelp.

"...no..." The cat took a step back from sheer shock as to what had just happened. Had she not been so overwhelmed with finding Iris again, maybe she would have noticed the aura of a youma. Perhaps she would have noticed the shadowy figure as it slunk along the walls of the alleyway. And now Aque was paying the price for her own grave mistakes. The small feline's body trembled as she forced herself to look upon her comrade, tears once more streaming down the fur of her cheeks.

Drip.

Drip.

Drip.

Iris stirred as something seemed to drip upon her face. She had fallen asleep. She groaned slightly, realizing that was a mistake since she was supposed to be keeping watch this shift. She blinked a few times before finally seeming to focus in on the mottled gray, black, white, brown, and red mess above her.

Before her was the dog she had purposely handicapped in hopes that he'd never want to see her again. He was held firmly in the air by what seemed to be a shadowy scythe like appendage that was jutting through his chest. The blade was mere inches from Iris' face and now dripping in blood. Apparently the combination of flesh and bone was enough to stop the blade from striking her.

"...A-aque...?" With a trembling gloved hand, she reached out to touch his paw.

Despite the fact her loyal dog was impaled and bleeding out, he let out a whine as his mismatched eyes seemed to look upon her.

It wasn't a noise of desperation or sadness.

It was the sound of a dog completely content with finding his human again.

Aque's eyes closed one last time as he remained held up in the air over Iris' body.

The youma didn't last 10 seconds after the girl's loyal pet had passed on.

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The middle of the city was not a place to bury a beloved friend like Aque. Iris clung the remains of the dog to her body as she made her way to the edge of the city. Psyche, Thetis, and even ********* lagged to the back in silence, trailing the Captain as she sought out a final resting place for the canine.

Eventually the group made their way outside the city towards a brush clearing. The dirt was solid, rough, and dry, difficult to dig through. Yet, after seeking out any sort of rock slab that could function as a digging tool, the blonde set to work.

The manx watched in silence, only permitted to stay out of the fact that Iris was consumed by the grief that was overwhelming her. Psyche offered her a stray scratch beneath the chin on occasion, and Thetis offered his condolences, but none of that mattered when Iris was suffering so much.

Iris would only have angry words for ********* took hours of painstaking work, digging with a small shard of rock in a nearly solid dirt. Eventually a hole that was large enough to fit the dog's body was formed, and the moment that it was large enough, Iris returned to where the dog's body had been laid out. For a moment she stared at the lifeless body, seeming to contemplate everything that had happened. Her golden eyes seemed fixated upon the leg she had cut herself. Eventually, she picked up the dog's body, clutching it tightly up against her own body as she shifted to hole. Aque's body was set gently to the ground before she moved to cover him up with the dirt she had worked relentlessly to free from the Earth.

It was only once he was covered that the blonde stepped back once again. She murmured something that none would be able to recognize, the Iridian language having died long ago in the Silver Millennium.

Yet she eventually spoke up in English.

"Loyalty was his greatest strength and his greatest flaw. It... it would seem it was also your path as well, Aque."

Giving herself some distance from the plot she had just dug up herself, the senshi oddly began to dance. In reality, this was a butchering of the Iridian custom, since the dog was not burned as it should have been, but a blending of the customs seemed more appropriate since Iris was technically from Earth now. It was once the dance was done that the eternal senshi made her way over to the others in attendance.

"...do you know why I hurt him, ********* style="color: gray">The cat didn't dare to utter a word, making her thoughts unclear.

Despite the silence, Iris continued on. "I hurt him to protect him. If he hated me, if he left me alone... none of this would have happened! He would have been better off living off the scraps he found in the city than living with me anymore."

The cat seemed to wilt slightly before she abandoned Psyche's shoulder, landing firmly on the ground again. She understood the sentiments, but she couldn't actually agree with how Iris had gone through with any of it.

"...I don't want t'see you around me anymore, ********* style="color: gray">The tailless Mauvian firmly took a step forward. "I... I will respect your wishes... but know that I won't ever hate you, Iris! Try as you might to hurt me, you won't shake my feelings for you! I love you, Iris! Nothing you do will ever change that!"

The blonde stood there for a moment, not saying a word as she considered the Mauvian's words. Swiveling upon the ball of her foot, she turned away.

"Psyche... we head out..." she stated flatly before bounding off.

Obediently, the silvery haired senshi nodded and did as told. The curly haired Mauvian upon her shoulder turned to watch as they both left ********* behind.

Yes, ********* still had the other girls to watch over and attend to. Yet now she had lost the most important thing to her.

____________________________

The Mauvian woke up crying inside of Laney's tent. She quickly rubbed away the tears in an effort to hide the sadness that lingered in her heart as she waited for the day Iris would be willing to allow her back into her life.

"Nothing... you do will ever change that..." she said meekly to herself. After these years, ********* still meant it every time she said those words.