"Late?" asked Sailor Pluto. "What do you mean?"

"Just come in. Hello there, my dear Serena—I wish I could say it is good to see you, but we are having some major problems right now," stated Sailor Fate. "Karma!"

Hades, Sailor Pluto, and Serena entered the tower. Sailor Karma appeared suddenly in front of Fate. "What the heck is going on?" Karma demanded.

"Something bad, I am afraid. Something that is…out of our control…" whispered Fate dramatically. "I knew it was a good thing to have you here, Pluto. I brought you back down here to resume your duties and to prevent something from happening, though the event was not in my line of sight. I did not know that something so awful could happen. Now, unfortunately, things are happening much faster and much worse than I could have expected." She put her hands around her crystal ball and muttered foreign, ancient words. Images began to appear in the ball.

"What is that?" inquired Serena.

"That, Sailor Moon, is your enemy." A large dragon with a hooded rider appeared in the glass ball. The rider had no face, wore black robes, and carried a scythe.

"No way—the Grim Reaper?" Serena asked.

Fate answered, "Not just him. He's working for someone now. I believe he may be working for the Devil himself. Ever wonder why all Hell is trying to break loose, Pluto? This is why. The Reaper usually just kills those who are ready, but now he is being used for a different purpose. He has terrible thoughts, and has not captured the entire Sailor Scout team, not that Sailor Moon is dead. The only one safe from him right now is dear Prince Darien—but it won't be long before the Grim Reaper tracks him down, too."

"Darien…" Serena whispered. "We have to save him, and the others, too!" she shouted.

"We will, in time, my dear. I just hope we won't be too late for the scouts…the plans he has for them…Karma, we will definitely have to punish him!"

"What does he plan to do?" inquired Hades.

Fate cleared her throat. "He, uh, wishes to have his way with them, to kill them in different, vicious, bloody ways. It's awful—the thoughts give me such a headache."

Serena gasped. "We can't let them die! I don't want them to end up here!"

"Hey, the underworld isn't such a bad place," remarked Hades.

"Sorry, no offense, but I would hate for my friends to be dead."

"I understand," Hades said, nodding.

"So what do we do?" Pluto asked Fate.

"Well, we all can't leave the underworld—someone has to keep all Hell contained should it decide to break loose. Hades and Cerebrus can handle that, I'm sure. Karma, Pluto, Serena, and I will go to the real world and restore Serena to her body. Then we find Prince Darien, and then the scouts," Fate decided.

"All right, then, let's go!" Serena exclaimed. Everyone stared at her. "What?" she whined.

"Well, it's just that we have never tried to send a spirit back," replied Sailor Fate.

Serena's jaw dropped. "But…you can get me back, right? Please? I don't want to die, and I don't want my friends to die either!"

"Hang on a second, Serena. I'm sure we can get you back," Pluto assured her.

Fate nodded. "It may require breaking a rule or two, but I shall allow it this time."

Serena repeated, "This time?"

"Yes. In order for us to travel with you—Pluto, you will have to stop time, again."

Pluto stared at her. "Are you sure?"

"Yes. I promise this time that there will be no retribution. Queen Serenity cannot punish you in this day and time, for without this, she will perish."

"I understand."

"Then show us your power, Trista."

Pluto held up her key staff….

………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………..

Darien had not heard from Serena, which was unusual. She was not answering her calls or anything. He didn't want to worry her mother by calling constantly, but not knowing where his girlfriend was made him a little uneasy. He just knew something was going on, but did not know where or what.

He felt a pang in his heart, and fell on his knees. Serena, he thought. Something bad had happened to her. He closed his eyes and saw a vision of her covered in blood. "No!" he shouted. Quickly transforming into his shining armor, he decided to try and find her, by following his heart.

Concentrating on the source on the emptiness in his heart, Darien made his way downtown. It looked like chaos had broken out—people were running around, screaming, and panicking. He saw Sailor Moon's body in the middle of the street, largely ignored by everyone around her. "No…it can't be…" It was just like in his vision—she was covered in red. He ran to her and knelt next to her body. "You can't leave me, Serena! Come back, my love! Come back…" He kissed her dead lips—but nothing happened. He picked up her body out of the street, ignoring the scared onlookers. Running to his apartment (which was fortunately not far), he carried her all the way to his living room and laid her on the couch. "Serena…"

Now he felt immensely guilty. He should have been there…he should have known there was a battle. The earth was his responsibility.

There was a solution. The Golden Crystal could bring his love back, destroy the source of the madness…end this hell. It only required his life; he would have to make the ultimate sacrifice. Looking at the beautiful scout, even beautiful in death, in his arms, he knew he would do anything to bring his Serena back. Nothing could stop him, and life was not worth living without her. She would miss him, sure, but if she could find someone like Seiya again, then her happiness would be secured.

It was a difficult thing that he had to do.

Grasping his sword and unsheathing it, he held it upright in front of him. Stroking Serena's face one last time, he began to focus his energy. Before he could fully gather his power, however, a black hole opening in front of him. Stepping back, he held his sword out, preparing for an attack. Then…he could not move. It was like the whole world stood still.

While he was frozen in motion, he watched as three sailor scouts stepped from the shadows, only one of which were familiar.

"It's okay, Darien," Sailor Pluto assured him. "We are here to help." She reached into the black portal and pulled out Serena's soul-ghost. "now Serena, lay flat on your body and you should be fully restored."

Serena obeyed, and as her soul melted into her body, time unfroze itself. "Serena," Darien whispered. Her eyelids fluttered open.

"Oooh," she moaned in pain.

"Hold on Serena, we will help you heal," said Sailor Karma. She walked over to Serena and held out her hands. A warm, light glow surrounded the moon princess, and the blood and cuts disappeared. "There, now, almost like new," she commented.

"Good job, Karma. Now, onto the next order of business…" Sailor Fate said.

Darien looked at Fate and Karma in confusion. "Excuse me, but who are you? I appreciate you bringing Serena back, but where are the other scouts? And Pluto, why are you here? Aren't you supposed to be at the time-space gate?"

Pluto answered, "We have much to explain, but we can do that later. We need to get to the other scouts—all of them have been captured by the enemy." Seeing his surprised reaction, she continued, "You did not know this?"

"No, I did not even know there was a battle until I felt…Serena…her body dying…there was an emptiness in my heart that I could not explain."

Only love can do that, Pluto thought. She vaguely wondered how much Hades loved her.

Serena inquired, "Where are the scouts now, Fate? Can you see them?"

Fate closed her eyes. "They are…in a dark place. It seems familiar somehow…chains...locks…gates…ancient stone…a coldness never known to a normal human…" The crystal ball on her tiara glowed.

Pluto gasped. "Oh no…"

Fate opened her eyes. "Yes. They're in the underworld."