Happy Thanksgiving guys! Here's the next chapter. I'll be able to update again Monday, okay? I promise. I kept my promise last time, so you know I will this time. Anyway, enjoy!

Chapter 8

Sailor Moon watched Tuxedo Mask go, but a moment later running footsteps behind them caused all three sailor scouts to turn. What they saw was Sailor Mars running toward them. She stopped a few feet away.

"Did I miss it?" she asked.

"Sure did," Jupiter said as she and Mercury gathered around.

"Yes, Sailor Moon just defeated Zoycite's monster, and Tuxedo Mask just left," Amy offered.

"Tuxedo Mask was here? Where'd he go?" Raye asked.

"He disappeared in between those buildings a few seconds ago," Serena said, though for some reason she didn't seem to be all there.

When Raye saw Sailor Moon, she gasped. "Serena, you're all right!"

Serena turned. "Yeah, I guess. Are you and Darien all right?"

Sailor Mars nodded. "We're fine, though Darien ran off a minute ago. I guess he wanted to skip the hospital and just get home. But his ankle will be okay. Oh yeah, and I've got a cracked rib, but it's not that bad. I'll be good as new soon."

Sailor Moon nodded back at her, glad they were okay, then turned away again. Raye smiled and stepped forward, putting a hand on her friend's shoulder. "What are you doing standing there? Go after him. You still might have time to catch him."

Serena turned quickly to look at Raye. "You really think so?"

"Yeah, but not if you don't get going, now move it!" Raye snapped, her normal self reappearing.

Sailor Moon winced, then smiled, turned, and ran off. "Thanks Sailor Scouts!" she called over her shoulder as she disappeared between the same two buildings.

Zoycite scowled as she hovered over Tokyo. The Sailor Scouts had defeated her monster again, and her plan had failed. But she wouldn't let that be the end. She had one more card to play before it was over this time.

As Tuxedo Mask sobbed, slowly his transformation dissipated around him, and he was left as Darien again. On his hands and knees, leaning against the alley wall, he wept bitterly.

"Why?" he cried. "Why did she have to die!"

Sailor Moon ran between the buildings just outside the park for all she was worth, but for all her efforts, she saw no sign of Tuxedo Mask. Finally, almost a block away, she stopped, panting. Putting a hand to the wall beside her for support, she looked around her. But he was nowhere to be seen.

Serena was about to give up when a soft sound from around the corner penetrated her thoughts of Tuxedo Mask. It sounded as if someone was crying, and the voice sounded so familiar…Tuxedo Mask?

Taking a deep breath, Sailor Moon gathered her wits and stepped around the corner, but she wasn't prepared for what she found there. Instead of Tuxedo Mask, she found herself faced with the sight of a sobbing Darien Shields. He was on his knees, his back to her and his hands on the ground, crying uncontrollably.

Serena had to stifle a gasp, a hand to her mouth, to keep from being heard. What was cranky old Darien doing crying in the middle of an alley in downtown Tokyo? Even better, what was he so upset about? Gulping, she took a step forward, ready to let him know she was there, but then he spoke, still unaware of her presence.

"Why?" he gasped, still crying, still shaking. "What's…what's wrong with me!"

Now really worried, Sailor Moon stepped up behind him. Then, hesitating only for a moment, she gently set a gloved hand on his shoulder, while trying to remind herself to act like any other super hero just concerned for a common citizen's well-being, and not as if she knew him.

"Hey, are you all right?" she asked.

Gasping again, this time in surprise, Darien tensed and looked over his shoulder at her. To make it easier for him, she moved in front of him. When he saw her his eyes widened, as if he recognized her.

"Sailor Moon?" he said in surprise. "What are you doing here?"

She put her hands on her hips. "What do you mean, 'What am I doing here?' I just defeated that whatever-it-was that was terrorizing the park. I should be asking you what 'you're' doing 'here', mister." But then she dropped her arms, and her expression softened.

"But what's wrong?" Sailor Moon asked with concern. "You look like you just lost your best friend."

Darien gave her a sad smile. "No, not a best friend, definitely, but…someone. She died in the attack."

Sailor Moon gasped aloud. What? People had died? But how? Sure, Zoycite and her monster had done a lot of damage, but had they really killed innocent people, too? And who did Darien know who had died?

"Oh, I'm so sorry," she said. "What happened to her?"

Darien dried the tears from his face with the sleeve of his green jacket. "She…she fell from the ferris wheel and was injured."

Serena held back another gasp, and had to force herself not to back away. He was talking about her. Darien thought she was dead! What had happened on that roof? She couldn't remember the details after the fall, just brief snatches of pain, Raye and Darien's faces…then nothing, then waking up in the alley. What had really gone on? And why was Darien so upset just because he thought she, the meatball head, was gone? It didn't seen right. Swallowing hard, she listened as he continued.

"She was hurt too badly," Darien said despondently. "Serena didn't have a chance. She-" His voice broke, and he paused, but then, trembling, he held his arms out in front of him as if he were holding someone. "She died in my arms…" he whispered. His arms dropped to the ground again and he sobbed a few more times before looking away.

"I-I'm sorry," he stammered. "I shouldn't be unloading this on you, Sailor Moon. I know it's not your fault; I'm sure you and the scouts did all you could. And you must have enough to deal with in keeping the city safe, without listening to this…"

Taking a deep and slightly shaky breath, Sailor Moon knelt down in front of Darien and but both of her hands on his shoulders until he looked at her. When he did, she spoke.

"It's all right," she assured him. "I don't mind listening, because I care, okay? I care about everyone."

After a moment, Darien smiled. "Thank you," he said. Nodding her welcome, Serena removed her hands from his shoulders and stood.

"It'll be all right, okay?" she said, offering him a hand. Taking it, he allowed her to help him to his feet. When she did, she discovered that he needing the help. He was injured himself. His right ankle was in a splint, and he winced in obvious pain when he stood.

Her eyes widening, Serena remembered Tuxedo Mask earlier. He had been hurt, too. Her mind started to make a connection, but she immediately stopped it. No way. It was just a coincidence.

Darien saw Sailor Moon's recognition of the injury to his foot, and his wince turned into a grimace as he hoped she wouldn't realize anything. When her face returned to normal, he sighed internally, and his face straightened as well.

"What happened to your foot?" she asked.

The young man sighed sadly. "I got hurt the same way Serena did-I fell-but…I didn't die," he gulped. As he leaned against the alley wall for support, Sailor Moon saw tears resurface in his eyes. "Why did she have to be the one to die?" he whispered.

Darien looked at her and gave her a weak smile, holding back the tears.

"You look a lot like her, you know?" he said quietly.

Serena took a step backward, a lump forming in her throat that she couldn't seem to gulp past. Oh Darien! I didn't know you cared! She thought sadly. For just a moment, she wished that she could reveal to him who she really was, reassure him that everything was all right, that she was still alive. But she knew that she couldn't, and as a result of her silence, Serena and Darien simply looked at each other for several long seconds.
The silence was broken when a mocking voice called from nowhere, "Well, if it isn't the top Sailor Failure. And what's this? Does little Sailor Moon have a boyfriend now? What happened to Tuxedo Mask?"

Sailor Moon recognized the voice immediately, and as Darien looked around in surprise, her fists clenched as she shouted into the air.

"What do you want, Zoycite! You've caused enough chaos and damage already!"

The female general of the Negaverse appeared in the air just above them, laughing.

"I've come to get rid of you, Sailor Moon, and with no one but this helpless boy around, no one's going to stop me!"