"Besides, you're just a cat! I'm her mother, I'll make the decision!" Serena's mother yelled.

"What kind of a mother would turn her daughter into a prostitute, when she's only fourteen, even!" Luna hollered back.

"Look, you two, as much as I'd love to stay and hear my life being planned out, I really must be on my way," Serena remarked sarcastically as she slipped out the door.

"It's all your fault. What's it to you if she does the dirty deed or not?" Serena's mother rested her fist on the table.

"I have my reasons, you good-for-nothing hooker. As long as she remains untouched, then her destiny will be fulfilled," Luna replied as she pounced off the table and trotted off.

"Her destiny? Whaddya mean by that? She is not going to be a nun, I'll tell you that right now," the woman crossed her hands across her chest angrily.

"Serena will understand soon enough," Luna said to herself. "The time will

_

"Gosh, they're such perverts!" Serena muttered as she walked to school. "Geez, couldn't we ever talk about something more...discreet?" She saw her friend Molly a couple feet ahead, and caught up with her.

"Oh, hey, Serena," Molly sighed. "Another weekend come and gone, huh?"

"Yeah, life's still pure hell at my house."

"Another morning of bloodshed?"

"You betcha. I mean, isn't it my decision about when I have sex or not?"

"Your mother disagrees, right?"

"Uh-huh. But...what can you expect from a woman who had me when she was fifteen, and then turned around and did again a few months later? I'm taking Luna's side for this one. Then again, she's always yakking about my destiny, so maybe I should just sit back and watch my life being ripped to shreds by them," Serena explained. "I don't blame my dad for divorcing her. Sure wish I could live with him and Sammy instead."

"But what about me?" Molly asked suddenly. "And...Melvin?"

"Ew, yuck, don't mention that name to me," Serena wrinkled her nose in disgust. It was just her luck to see him standing a few feet of them, in the schoolyard.

"Hey, Melvin!" Molly yelled out. "Your lovely Serena's here!"

"Molly! I wish you'd stop saying that!" Serena cried out angrily.

"You're right, I guess I should put an end to this," Molly replied. With that, she lifted Serena's skirt, revealing to the whole school her pink underwear with the bunnies on it. Melvin began sweating uncontrollably. "Look! You made Melvin's day!"

"MOLLY! Haven't you picked on us enough? Okay, so maybe I thought it was weird that we went to the dance together, and perhaps it was strange to see that I had to kiss him at the kissing booth, after paying in advance, but this time, you've gone too far! Aargh!" Serena began to storm off.

"Geez, Serena! Can't you ever take a joke?" Molly tried to follow her, but stopped.

"SERENA! MOLLY! MELVIN!" a voice bellowed from behind. "The three of you are tardy...again! Get to class immediately!" Serena, Molly, and Melvin lowered their heads in shame. Melvin was halfway in the door when Miss Haruna pulled him back. There was a strange glare in her eye. Melvin gulped. "Melvin, come to my office after class today, okay? I have something rather private to discuss with you," she turned and walked in. Melvin shuddered.

"I-I hope this doesn't show up on my permanent record," Melvin whimpered. "I'll be flawed!"

_

Melvin shook with uneasiness as he made a fist and prepared to knock on Miss Haruna's office door. Never had he been so nervous! The door creaked open. Miss Haruna was sitting cross-legged on her desk. She had a seductive (and I use the term loosely) smile on her face.

"You asked me to come?" Melvin slowly made his way inside.

"Yes, I did. You see, there are some matters that we need to discuss, right here and right now," she made her way closer to him.

"I-is it me, or i-is it hot in here?" Melvin loosened his collar.

"SILENCE!" Miss Haruna grabbed him closer to her and gave him a passionate kiss. Melvin stopped shaking. Now she could go in for the kill...

...DUE TO THE NATURE OF WHAT IS ABOUT TO FOLLOW, I AM UNABLE TO WRITE IT. ANY OF YOU WHO HAVE SEEN DEVIL HUNTER YOHKO 1 SHOULD KNOW WHAT I'M TALKING ABOUT. THIS DOES OCCUR LATER ON, HOWEVER, AND I WILL BE SURE TO CUT THAT OUT. IF THIS UPSETS YOU IN ANY WAY, I'M SORRY. GO FIND YOUR PLEASURE ELSEWHERE.

_

Serena let out a long sigh as she walked home that evening. She totally despised staying after and cleaning the classroom. "Why does Molly always get off scott-free? Just because her father's a multi-millionaire and her mother has slept with practically every guy in town doesn't make her more of a person that I! I come from the same background! Well, not really...my father's not rich, and my mother has slept with every guy in town. But it's just not fai-" She stopped mid-sentence when something caught her eye dead ahead. It couldn't be, she thought. Could it?

The boy was very handsome indeed. His hair was slicked back, his outfit was up to style, and his eyes! Serena blushed at the sight, until she realized who it was. "Melvin? That you?" Serena eased her way closer to him. "What's with your eyes? They look so...glassy." Serena waved her hand in front of his face, but he made no movement whatsoever.

It was at this exact moment that Luna was out searching for Serena. She had never been held this late after school, and she feared that something was up. Just then, she saw Serena and Melvin. Melvin took this as an opportunity to jerk Serena up close to him, and her gave her a long, fervent kiss. She tried to wriggle away, but she soon gave up. Luna was stunned. This couldn't be happening!

"SERENA!" Luna yelled at her, but received no response. Melvin opened the limousine car door next them, and pulled her in with him. She willingly followed this gesture. "SERENA! SNAP OUT OF IT!" But it was too late. The door slammed shut and car sped off. Luna tried to follow what was going on here.

"He...was under some sort of a spell. That was obvious. And when he kissed Serena, she too was put under this spell. What a minute. A spell? A SPELL!? Oh no!" Luna gasped. "This is clearly the work...of DEMONS! The time has come!" She darted off after the limousine, trying to catch up with it. "I have to rescue her before he starts with phase two! I just hope I'm not too late..."

_

The exact same thing that Miss Haruna had done to Melvin was now what Melvin was going to do to Serena. His kiss had indeed placed her into a trance, and her eyes had become glazed by the spell. You see, it all started when a devilish demon possessed Miss Haruna, supposedly posing as her date, and when kissing another human being, it would spread the spell. Of course, to make sure it actually worked, the demon and its victim had to ahem, you know. And, yes, Miss Haruna did stoop that low. Once the demon had attacked its first victim, it could then take over that person's mind, and so the virus would spread like a pack of dogs on a three-legged cat. From the time after Melvin's little meeting with Miss Haruna, he had somehow managed to get a hotel room across town, and a fairly snazzy limo at that.

Luna tried to keep up with the limo, but to no avail. It was bad enough trying to safely get across the intersections, but the fact that the limo was going 75 in a 30 mph zone made it only worse. Luckily, Luna managed to catch a free ride on the back of moped going at about the same speed. The driver didn't seem to notice, and it was a good thing she passed the hotel where the fireworks were taking place, so Luna could race inside before her time was up. She couldn't get in through the revolving door, so she sprinted up the back ladder, heading for the roof, just perfect.

"I...hope...I'm not too...late," she panted as she ran.

Melvin took his shirt off and got on the bed, where a dazed Serena awaited. He gave her another kiss, and then got down to business...IT'S ME AGAIN, THE FANFIC CENSOR, HERE TO SPOIL YOUR FUN. PERHAPS THIS IS A GOOD TIME TO FAST-FORWARD TO WHERE THINGS START TO GET INTERESTING, AND NO, YOU SICK PUTZES, I'M SKIPPING RIGHT OVER THAT PART. GET YOUR HEADS OUT OF THE GUTTER! THIS ISN'T YUM-YUM GIRLS OR LA BLUE GIRL, OKAY? NOW BACK TO THE FANFIC ALREADY IN PROGRESS...

"STOP!!" Luna yowled as she crashed in through the skylight, sending glass flying in all directions, and causing Melvin to only pause for a brief second before proceeding. She landed in between them, and concentrated on Melvin for the time being. The Crescent Moon on her forehead lit up and shot a small ray into Melvin's glassy eyes, and the demon within diminished. He blinked a few times and gasped at the sight before him. How did he wind up in an exotic hotel room...with Serena? And why did he feel so dirty all of a sudden?

"S-Serena? What's going on here?" he asked frantically as he threw his clothes on in a panic.

"H-huh?" Serena was still in the trance, and acted almost as though she was drunk.

"Oh my gosh, I must've gotten you drunk! I'm so sorry! I gotta get outta here!" he raced out the door. Luna turned to Serena.

"At last, the time has come," Luna turned her ray to Serena's eyes. "It's a good thing I came when I did, or else your destiny would've been ruined! Let's head on home now, okay?" Luna started off.

"Alright-What in the hell happened to me? Why am I in this room-WHERE ARE MY CLOTHES?" Serena quickly got dressed and followed Luna out.

_

The arrived home sometime later. Luna led the way as Serena nonchalantly continued to follow. Her mother obviously wasn't home, which was for the better at this particular moment. Luna pushed aside a painting on the wall and pulled a small lever down behind it. Instantly, the nearby bookcase slid to the aside and there stood an elevator. Serena rubbed her eyes to see if this was for real. Apparently it was.

"Are you going to follow me, or are you just going to stand there and gawk?" Luna snapped. Serena nodded and stepped into the elevator.

"Where are we going?"

"To a secret basement in this house. I couldn't tell you about it before, but now that the demons have returned, time is of the essence." The elevator door opened. Before Serena stood a rather empty room; it almost looked like a martial arts training dojo. There were dozens of pictures of young women hanging up on all four walls. Serena began to wander around, with a puzzled look on her face.

"What is this place?" Serena asked.

"This is the D.S.H.Q. The Devil Sailor Headquarters. This is your destiny," Luna announced.

"D.S.H-what? My destiny? Just how many destinies do I have? First I'm the Sailor Scout of the Moon, then I became the Moon Princess, now I'm a Devil Sailor? Would you make up your mind, Luna?" Serena complained.

"Don't worry, you're still the first two things you said. But this new Sailor is something you and only you can become, unless of course you become rendered inert, and then a person at random can take you place, and that only happens when you least expect it," Luna explained, saying the last part very quietly, so Serena couldn't hear it.

"What was that last part?"

"Nothing important. Now listen, this is extremely important. You come from a long line of Devil Sailors, spanning back thousands of years, beginning in fact with the infamous daughter of Serilda, Serrinha. Since then, generation after generation, each of your female ancestors has become a Devil Sailor, and the mystical powers have been passed down. Each of these portraits show a Devil Sailor. It is now your turn to join them, for you are the 108th generation of the Devil Sailors!" Luna described.

"Really? Say, wait a minute, where's my mother?" Serena searched the walls.

"She's not listed. To begin with, the mother you have now can't possibly be one. She couldn't remain a virgin long enough to go through with the testing. A Devil Sailor must remain a virgin until all testing is complete, and it is time to pro-create the next generation. Your original mother, Queen Serenity was a Devil Sailor, but had to retire at a young age when Queen Beryl attacked. She told me to make sure that you would carry on the tradition. Don't try to back out, your destiny has been decided for you, Serena. Plus, because you are the only daughter of Serenity, there is no one else who can take this job, unless you meet a horrid death, and I have no choice but to comb the public for another girl to take your place," Luna replied.

"Why do you keep mumbling like that? What are you saying under your breath?" Serena demanded as she stood with her hands on her hips.

"Nothing that concerns you, Serena," Luna responded. She went over to a small chest and opened it. She motioned for Serena to come over by her side. Inside the chest was an intricately designed hand bracelet, with a blue moon-shaped gem encased in the center. Serena picked it up and gazed at it in awe.

"What is this?"

"This is your very own Devil Sailor Amulet. It can transform you into the powerful Devil Sailor!" Luna said. "This is extremely powerful, even more so than all your Sailor Moon stuff. They can only aid you in battling evil, this can help in battling evil, alive and dead! The time has come!" She instructed Serena to put it on her right wrist.

"Well, it looks cooler than those other things," Serena agreed. "Okay, I got it on. Now what?"

"Well, you can't use it just yet. It's only for emergencies," Luna explained.

"What about those demons your were babbling about earlier?"

"Serena, they are a lot harder to identify than those beasts from the Negaverse. These are inside the bodies of mere human beings, like yourself. They could be in your best friends. It all starts when a demon from Hell comes forth and chooses a Target Human to embody. They then pass the powers from person to person, and then there are times when they just hold a person hostage and give them the evil powers like that! It gets pretty complicated," Luna said.

"No kidding," Serena replied as she scratched her head in confusion. "So, what do I gotta say to activate this thing?"

"It's nothing like Moon Prism Power, or Cosmic Moon Power. This is an entirely different ball-game, Serena! The amulet is activated by your concentration and determination. What you say comes from within your soul," Luna described.

"Great, so all I gotta say is some nonsense and boom! I'm transformed, is that it?"

"Well, I suppose since I am dealing with you in particular, that would be the case," Luna said sarcastically.

"Hey!"

"Let's see, that's about it. I've briefed you on your powers, your background, oh wait! Your weapon! I completely forgot!" Luna ran over to a larger chest and dragged out a huge staff. It had a razor blade above the handle, and had a sharper-than-a-needle Crescent Moon on the end. Serena grasped it in her hands carefully.

"What's this?"

"This is your Psyche Staff (You know, Yohko had the Soul Sword). It is sharp enough to pierce through an enemy and kill them on the spot," Luna explained. "Well, I suppose that's all there is to know. This room is to remain a secret between you and me, Serena. No parties in here, okay? No one is to know about this. Not even the other Sailor Scouts."

"But they live across town. I hardly ever see them anymore, now that Mom and Dad are divorced. Of course, I do still go to the same school with Ami and Lita, but that's about it," Serena said.

"You're on your own in the Devil Sailor field, Serena. None of the other Sailor Scouts' powers can help you in these battles," Luna remarked. Serena nodded her head in acknowledgement. "Let's get back upstairs so your mother won't suspect anything."

_

Serena got up bright and early the next morning. Okay, so maybe she had overslept as usual, and she had to skip breakfast completely to make it to school, but aside from that. She tore down the street at lightning speed. Serena finally came to a stop once inside the school. It was a good thing the teachers were already teaching class. She walked to her locker quietly, hoping not to get caught. There was only one other person in the hall besides herself. Even if it was just Lita, she couldn't be seen. Apparently Lita was rough-housing again, and was forced to stand in the hall. She watched as Serena opened her locker with the greatest of ease.

"Oh, if she even thinks of ratting on me," Serena grumbled. She blindly fumbled around for her books, but they had somehow mysteriously vanished. All that remained was a mere note. She unfolded it and began to read it. It read:

"If you are concerned for your friend Molly's health, then I suggest you try and attempt to rescue her. I am looking forward to finally sparring against yet another Devil Sailor. Of course, what is the use of coming at all. You will lose."

"Lose, huh? Well, that creep's got another thing coming! I hope Molly's alright," Serena balled up the note and proceeded to jet. She then realized that she had no idea where she was headed. She unballed the note and read the last line. Juuban Park, it read. "No problem." Just as she was about to ball it up again, something caught her eye on the paper. All of a sudden, the ink turned a deep red and began running down the paper. Some of it got on her hands. As she sniffed it in wonder, her eyes grew wide in fear. "This is...this is...BLOOD!" She knew she had to hurry. No telling what was happening to Molly now. Lita watched in marvel as Serena raced out the door and through the schoolyard.

"What's with her?" Lita thought to herself. "Hmm, what kind of a note was that?" As much as she wanted to go see what was going on, she knew it would only land her in more trouble with her teacher than what she was already in now. "I just hope Serena's careful. Whatever she's up to, wherever she is."

_

"I hope I'm not in over my head!" Serena thought aloud as she ran down the sidewalk at a tremendous speed. "I wonder how they figured out that I was the next Devil Sailor. Oh Molly, hang in there!"

Juuban Park lay straight ahead. Serena made a sharp turn into it, and came to a halt at the entrance. Well, it seemed normal. Nothing out of the ordinary. Was this a sick joke or something? All of a sudden the sky grew dark, as though a storm was approaching, only one wasn't. Something caught Serena's eye in the distance. She ran up to it to get a closer look. It was a giant spider web! Someone was trapped inside of it. Serena frantically peeled off the layers of web to see who it was, although she already an idea. Sure enough, it was Molly. She seemed dead, good thing she wasn't. Serena tried to wake her up, but it was no use.

"You can't wake her up! That's only something I can do, Devil Sailor!" a sinister voice called from behind. Serena jerked around to see who it was. It was Miss Haruna. She looked homicidal. Serena decided to keep her distance.

"Let her go this instant! She didn't do anything! It's me you want!" Serena shouted back.

"Well, duh, I know that! Prepare to go down! The end of the Devil Sailor Dynasty is near!" Miss H. got into a stance, then lunged at Serena. She ducked out of the way. The teacher went right into Molly's web. "You won't get away from me that easily!"

"Geez, if I did, it wouldn't be much fun, now would it?" Serena taunted. She was unaware of the risk she was taking.

"Hmmph, if that's the way you want to play it," Miss H. replied. A pair of incredibly sharp spears appeared in her hands. Serena gasped. "DIE, DEVIL SAILOR!"

"AAAHHHH!" Serena managed to dodge them, but it was no use. Miss H. repeatedly shot the spears at her. One whizzed by and pierced a small cut in her right arm. Serena screamed in pain. Just when she feared all hope was lost...

"Leave her alone!" a familiar voice called out from the entrance. It was...Tuxedo Mask! One of his many roses cut one of the spears clean in half.

"Tuxedo Mask! Save yourself! I'm the only one who can defeat her, only my powers are strong enough!" Serena warned.

"You think you can defeat...little ol' me?" Miss Haruna turned to her sweet side, just like with Melvin earlier. Tuxedo Mask jumped at her, preparing to send a blow to the kidneys. She wrapped her arms around him before he could, and gave him a dangerously passionate kiss. This was just what Serena needed to totally piss her off to the limit. She stood up angrily.

"THAT DOES IT! NOW I'M REALLY MAD! NO ONE KISSES MY MAN AND GETS AWAY WITH IT!" Serena shot up a fist in anger. She brought her fist down and clenched it harder. "Luna, give me the power I need to defeat this beast. Give me the powers of the Devil Sailor. The powers I need to send this demon back to HELL!" With that, a huge tornado of wind formed around her, and the transformation began. Within seconds, she was complete. Clad in a red Chinese-Mandarin silk dress, with a red Sailor Scout collar, and her Sailor Moon boots, not to mention the gold arm bands on her arms, Serena was now ready to stand up against the demon within Miss Haruna.

"I AM DEVIL SAILOR SERENA! SWORN TO DEFEND THE HUMAN RACE AGAINST THE WRATH OF HELL! ON BEHALF OF THE DEVIL SAILORS, I WILL PREVAIL!!!" Serena yelled out.

"Pathetic," Miss H. sighed. "You may now prove to be stronger, but how do you think you do against three of us? Arise, my children!"

"Three of you?" Serena repeated. Suddenly she was confronted by a possessed Molly and Tuxedo Mask. "You turned them against me?"

"But of course."

"But that's not fair!" she whined. The two approached her, with an evil, glazed look in their eyes.

"Die, Devil Sailor!" Tuxedo Mask hurled a barbed rose at her. She jumped and knocked him down with the kick of her foot. He sailed across the sidewalk.

"One dow-" he suddenly got to his feet and re-approached her. Molly came up from behind and began to choke Serena. "L-let me g-go! I c-can't b-breathe! H-help!"

"You must perish, Devil Sailor!" Molly sneered as she tightened her grip. Serena's face began to turn a light shade of crimson.

"Not yet you won't!" a voice called from above. Luna pounced down from the overhanging tree branch and landed on Molly, scratching her up badly, so she would let go. Let go she did, and Serena fell to her knees, gasping for air. "Serena! Use your Psyche Staff!"

"Right! But...what do I do with it?"

"Stab them!"

"Stab them!? But they're my friends! I can't kill them!"

"They're possessed! When you stab them they'll return to normal! Hurry!" Luna instructed. Serena nodded and grabbed her staff. Taking a deep breath nervously before proceeding, she did as she was told.

"Molly...forgive me!" She rammed the staff right through Molly's chest. Molly screamed uncontrollably, and blood began pouring out of the stab wound. Sure enough, a dark-colored demon flew out of her body, and Molly fell to the ground. Serena trembled at the sight of the blood. "Luna! I thought you said it wouldn't kill her!"

"Oh, Serena, she's not dead! She's far from it. She'll come to eventually," Luna replied as Serena sighed with relief.

"You may have stopped her, but you'll never stop me!" Tuxedo Mask hollered from behind. He threw a rose at her, but as Serena dodged it, Luna wasn't fast enough. The rose stabbed her in the side. Serena gasped in despair.

"You killed my kitty! You will pay for this, you demon!" Serena aimed her staff at him in anger. She charged at him at full force without breaking speed, as though the staff was a pole vault. Tuxedo Mask jumped out of the way, making Serena halt. She turned around just in time to see him toss a rose at her. Amazingly, she did a super somersault and landed before him. With only seconds to spare, she jabbed the staff into him, shoving it in all the way. He backed down in pain. She yanked the blood-soaked staff out and held it proudly. The demon exited Tuxedo Mask, and flew back down to purgatory.

"Well, I'd say that's about that," Serena wiped the sweat off her forehead. She went back over to Luna's side and picked her. "I'm so sorry. It's all my fault."

"Aren't you forgetting someone?" Miss Haruna sneered. "Mind you, they were only child's play compared to me. Follow if you dare!" With that, a gigantic porthole opened beside her, and she stepped into it.

"Ooh, you're gonna pay for this!" Serena clenched her fists in outrage and proceeded to follow. She carefully placed Luna down on a park bench. "Luna, don't die while I'm gone, okay?" As if Luna could answer. She got into a starting position and lunged at the porthole, sailing right into it. The porthole closed automatically.

_

"Where am I?" Serena wondered aloud as she got to her feet and started walking around. It was a flat, yet rocky surface. A pillar stood in the middle. This piece of land wasn't very large, not even a quarter of a mile across. She cautiously peered over the side, only to realize that this was a floating piece of land! If she were to fall off by chance, the possibility of her ever hitting a bottom were slim and none. Huge, pointy mountains covered the grounds below. Serena gritted her teeth nervously, hoping she wouldn't make herself a statistic in this place. By the way, where was she? As she continued to peer over the edge, little did she know that coming up behind her was Miss Haruna, still possessed. Just as Miss H. prepared to push Serena over, Serena quickly spun around, where she became face to face with the demon. "Get away from me!" With that, she punched Miss H. in the chest. The teacher doubled over and fell on the ground.

"You've got guts, Devil Sailor," she moaned. "BUT NOT FOR LONG!" She leaped at Serena, who was petrified by the demon's quick recovery. Luckily, she managed to snap out of her shock long enough to get out of the way. She pulled out her Psyche Staff.

"YOU'RE GOING DOWN, DEMON!" Serena yelled viciously as she rammed her staff into Miss Haruna. Blood spurted out everywhere. "Woah, that wasn't very hard, was it, Serena? And to think, I came all this way just to waste a few seconds in killing you. Geez, this is even easier than being a Sailor Scout!" As she turned to leave, a strange sound came from the demolished being. She pivoted to see what was going on.

Miss Haruna's body lay motionless on the ground. From her body, just like with Molly's and Tuxedo Mask's, a dark-colored demon flew out. The only thing different with this one was that it was huge. It was at least ten, if not twenty times larger than the other two combined. Serena gulped.

"Luna never told me about stuff like this," Serena twitched. "Wait a minute. Oh, oh, yeah, she did. This has gotta be one of those big demons from Hell." She drew back out her Psyche Staff. "Ho-hum. A Devil Sailor's work is done." She began to charge at the demon with full force, preparing to ram her staff into it. Unfortunately for her, with great size in demons also comes great strength. She didn't realize this until a giant hand knocked her backwards into the pillar. Her poor attempt felt like nothing compared to the tremendous pain all over body, for she had been flung back about thirty feet, going about fifteen mph.

"IMPUDENT WHELP! YOU CANNOT DEFEAT ME! I AM THANATOS, THE STRONGEST OF THE DEMONS FROM A PLACE KNOWN TO YOU AS HELL! YOU SHALL PERISH, JUST LIKE YOUR 107 DEVIL SAILOR ANCESTORS!" With that, he drew back his hand, and sent a dangerous shockwave of energy at her. Still down, but not out, Serena got to her feet and dodged it by the skin of her teeth. It seemed impossible to defeat him, but then again, this is Serena we are talking about.

"Maybe not immediately, maybe not in a while, probably not for a long time, but dammit, I WILL DEFEAT YOU!" Serena snapped back at Thanatos. She readied her staff for a second attack. Again, she was knocked back. "There's gotta be way to conquer him. Maybe he's got a weak spot. I mean, Achilles had his heel, right?" She began to think.

"Have you finally given up on fighting me, Devil Sailor?" Thanatos bellowed as he looked down at her.

"There must be a way to withstand his powers so I can get a clean shot in..." Serena thought. She glanced at her amulet. Even in a place like this, it continued to shine. She looked up ahead as small particles from the peak of the amulet began to filter down towards her amulet. Amazingly, they automatically bounced off. "It's...it's almost like there's an aura surrounding the gem inside. Perhaps I can make its aura stronger, so it could protect me..." she snapped her fingers. "That's it! It's my only chance!" She quickly got to her feet. "GIVEN UP? THANATOS, I HAVE NOT YET BEGUN TO FIGHT!" She made a fist with her left hand, which had the amulet wrapped around it. Sure enough, a small glow came from the gem. "That can't be it!" Suddenly. the glow grew bigger, and bigger, and bigger. Within moments, the aura surrounded her entirely. She once again drew out her staff.

"Audacious:) little parvenu:)! You can't defeat me, no matter how hard you try!" Thanatos roared. (:) audacious-cheeky. parvenu-prima donna. -Sailor Mercury)

"What did you just call me? It better not be something offensive!" Serena yelled back as she began to run.

"As if a mere aura can out-do me," Thanatos grumbled. He took one of his razor-sharp claws and sliced at her. For some reason, the claws ripped right through the aura, cutting Serena's gown, to the point to where it only got down a little below her thighs. Serena blushed nervously.

"Pervert!" Serena shot back. "Oh great! Thanks a lot, you just destroyed my aura! Now I gotta start over again!"

"Doesn't matter! Your number is up!" As Serena walked off, Thanatos sent another shockwave of energy at her. Serena was unaware of this, and the blast sent her right into the pillar. She clung to the wall for a brief second, then fell to the ground with a thud. Her feet sticking up in the air, and her back on the ground, Serena was beginning to feel that this battle was going nowhere. Thanatos had counter-attacked her moves, and if she couldn't use them, then what else was there?

"This isn't going well," Serena thought aloud. "Geez, I feel like Mom on a Friday night. Hmmph. Luna knew better than to send me here alone. Can't hope Tuxedo Mask'll come, I just stabbed him earlier," she was beginning to get angry. "That...that...inane, foolish, moronic, mean, son of a..." Little did she realize that all this time while she was angry, a red aura was forming around her, growing greater with each word. "...cruel, cretin, perverted, mother-fucker, lousy..." The aura had reached critical mass. Serena jumped to her feet, still unaware the aura was around her. She reached down and snatched up her Psyche Staff. Thanatos watched her. He rarely laughed, and this was one of those moments he couldn't help but laugh at.

"Stupid girl! When have you had enough? I see you still got some life in you. I can change that...as of right now!" He heaved another blast at her. Serena nonchalantly side-stepped it.

"I was shocked when you possessed Melvin. I was horrified when you possessed Molly. I was furious when you possessed Tuxedo Mask. And maybe, just perhaps I was a bit angry when you possessed Miss H. But there's no way that I'm gonna let you proceed in possessing anyone else, you hear me?" Serena said as she stepped closer.

"As if mere words can stop me. You are obviously an idiot of the worst kind; no one is stupid enough to keep going after losing so much! Does the word surrender mean nothing to you?"

"Look, I don't who you think you are, but using ten-dollar words in which I know not the meaning of is going a bit too far!" Serena clenched her fist. She stopped, as though to retreat, but in a split second she shot forward like a lightning bolt, and rammed the staff into Thanatos with all her might. "IT WAS A MISTAKE TO MAKE ME MAD!"

Thanatos could not stand this pain, even if he was the strongest demon from Hell. Not only had Serena's Psyche Staff obliterated him, but the aura that held her anger did as well. Within moments he disappeared, without a trace, except for some scraps of skin, and some blood, but that was about it. Serena dropped her feet at the sight. At last she had won. Serena felt her eyelids growing heavier, and she willingly closed them.

_

When she opened her eyes after a while, she immediately realized that she was no longer in the other dimension. Instead, she was sitting in Juuban Park, where all the bloodshed had begun. She quickly glanced over at the park bench, to see if Luna was still there. She was gone!

"Luna! No! Where have you gone?" Serena cried out from where she was sitting.

"Serena, I'm right here," Luna announced as she approached Serena's side.

"Huh-wha? Luna! You're okay!" Serena gave her a big hug.

"Yes, that rose was actually a painless illusion. As soon as you went through the porthole, it disappeared," Luna explained. "I see you succeeded. I knew you could do it."

"Well, it was a little challenging," Serena bragged. "but nothing I couldn't handle."

"Oh, really? What, may I ask, happened to your dress?"

"AH! It's still torn!" Serena shrieked as she tried to cover it up. "Oh my gosh! The Psyche Staff! I left it behind! I can't believe it!"

"Serena, it's alright," Luna replied. She then noticed something falling from the sky, aiming for Serena. "Serena, get out of the way!" Serena dodged the falling object. It clanged onto the concrete. "Well I'll be! Look, Serena, it's your staff!"

"Oh, thank goodness! I thought I'd lost it forever!"

"Well, I must say you did an excellent job in taking care of that demon. I assume this means you'll be able to handle more as they appear in the future?" Luna asked as they headed home.

"More? There are more of them? Oh, I guess so. I mean, that last one claimed he was the strongest. Hopefully he was right, apparently the rest should be easier," Serena replied.

"That's the spirit, Devil Sailor Serena!" Luna responded happily.

Hmm, so now I'm a Devil Sailor, Serena thought. Well, it's nothing I can't handle. I admit it's more difficult, but when I really think about it, I guess it was meant to be. And when those other demons show up, I'll be ready for them!

Allotment Two: The Death of Serena, the birth of Devil Sailor Ami!

It came out of nowhere. Wielding every weapon known to man, it first shot a round of ammo at her, then stabbed every part of her body, until she was beyond dead. Giant amounts of blood spattered on the carpet. Some of her hair fell to the ground. Shreds of her red silk dress fluttered to the ground. She collapsed on the ground.

"Sammy? Did you hear something? Is Serena watching some movie upstairs or something?" his father asked as he flipped through the newspaper.

"It sounds way too real," Sammy replied. "Should we check?"

"Eh, might as well. When is that girl gonna learn to keep the volume down?" the two started upstairs, heading for Serena's bedroom. Her father knocked on the door. No answer. "Serena! Open your door this instant!" Nothing.

The demon disappeared. In a matter of seconds, a hand similar to its own came up from the floor, and grabbed Serena by neck. It pulled her deader-than-a-doornail corpse down into the floor. Only the shredded scraps of her clothes, hair, and body remained. Serena was gone forever.

"Alright, young lady, if you're not gonna answer this door, then I'm coming in!" her father proceeded to bust though the door, with Sammy at his heels. "Now listen here, yo-" he stopped when he saw the damage. No words came from his nor Sammy's mouths. They simply stared. Blood everywhere. "...Serena..."

_

Normally she slept in till noon, but today seemed hauntingly different for Rei. She went outside and picked up the newspaper. As she went back inside, she began to skim the headlines. 'Yen goes up in stock exchange'...'International thief known as Wolf steals priceless jewelry, head inspector Zenigata without comment'...'My fiance's a female: One girl's tragic story'...'Local girl dead in mysterious murder'...'Osa-P gets robbed'...Rei tossed it on the floor and kept walking. "Nothing important." Suddenly she stopped. "Local girl...wait a minute!" She dashed back and picked up that section in particular, and began to read it. "No way. This ain't true. Hmm, only the fire knows for sure," she walked into the fire-reading room and sat down in front of the gigantic flame. "It's just...impossible. How could anyone do this to..." tears swelled up in her eyes. "...Serena?" She placed her hands together. "Oh Sacred Fire, help me discover if this article is true, if Serena is really and truly dead. Please don't be true!" An image formed. Rei gasped in horror.

_

"Would you get a load of all those police cars and reporters?" Lita pointed out as she and Mina walked through Serena's neighborhood. They were kind of confused by all the neighbors crying, and the sight of all the yellow police tape that said "do not cross" on it.

"Someone real important must have died here yesterday," Mina said. The two stopped in front of Serena's house. Police cars covered the entrance, and there were inspectors all over the place. The two stepped up closer to the house, where they caught sight of Serena's father talking to a reporter.

"You say she disappeared without a trace, sir?" the reporter asked as she shoved the microphone in his face.

"There was evidence. My son and I saw scraps of hair here and there, and there was a lot of blood. I don't know who could've done such a thing!" he buried his head in his hands.

"Did she...have any enemies?" the reporter asked.

"Well..." he trailed off.

"Who is he talking about?" Mina asked nervously. "You don't think Serena got killed, do you?"

"Serena-get killed!? Mina, Mina, Mina, there's no way that could ever happen," Lita responded quickly. "You think maybe Luna got killed?"

"Oh, I hope not," Mina quivered.

"She seemed to get along with along with everyone I know she knows. She's pretty bright, a little slow, but she was really cheerful while she was around. Of course, there were those times when she would sneak out to see her boyfriend, that concerned me, but not half as much as this," her father said.

"Is he aware of this?" the reporter asked.

"I'm not sure. If he is, then he's probably taking this pretty badly. After all, she is dead, the poor little guy must be heart-broken," he replied.

"Little guy?" Mina mouthed each syllable carefully. "It's Luna! She's been killed! Oh my gosh, how horrible!" She began to cry uncontrollably. "Artemis...no wonder he was so solemn last night!"

"It-it...can't be true!" Lita shouted sadly. "Luna can't be dead! Mina! We've gotta go tell the others!" Mina nodded between sobs. They walked off mournfully.

_

"This, this image I received," Rei thought aloud. "As far as reality goes, it's impossible. But in the long run, it was indeed real. The fire never lies. Now for the hardest part of all...how am I going to tell the others?" She fumbled around in a nearby chest for something. At last she retrieved it. Her Sailor Scout Communicator. "Lita...Mina...Ami," she said into it. "Come to the temple now. I know what's really happened to her."

_

Ami hadn't heard the news yet. She was on her way to the temple, however, but for another reason. "I hope Rei's Grandpa can still tutor me in Calculus. I must get an A+, so I can maintain my 4.0 grade point average," she decided to cut through Juuban Park. Just as she was approaching the exit, she recognized someone on a nearby park bench. It was Sammy! He looked as though he had been crying for some time. She approached him. "Say, aren't you Serena's brother Sammy?"

"Not anymore," he whimpered.

"What do you mean?"

"What's with you? Where have you been all this time? Haven't you heard the news yet?"

"What...news?"

"SERENA'S DEAD!" he blurted out.

Ami froze. Her eyes wouldn't blink. Sammy's previous words seemed to echo in her head. She suddenly felt so empty inside. She couldn't talk, she couldn't move, she couldn't even cry. She dropped her bag to ground. It finally caught up with her. She took off like a lightning bolt towards the temple, never breaking stride. Tears flew from her face like water from a sprinkler.

Sammy watched her off as he picked up her bag. "I'll return it to her later," he sighed glumly.

_

"Okay, think, Rei," Rei said as she awaited the others' arrival. "How do I break this to them? Um, 'Serena kicked the bucket.' No! How about, 'She's gone to a better place.' No, too forward. What about, 'She's where her clutziness can't harm her now.' Augh! It's impossible! Great! What am I supposed to say them when they arri-"

"Rei," Lita said quietly as she and Mina entered the room.

"Oh, you're here," Rei replied solemnly.

Mina said nothing, although it was extremely obvious that she had been crying a great deal.

"Okay, the reason why I, uh, called you here," Rei felt shaken, and tried to straighten herself up so she wouldn't crack mid-sentence. "Um, have you heard the news yet?" She glared at the two as they cried uncontrollably. "Forgive me for asking."

"It's...not fair! Why her? It's so horrible!" Mina bawled.

"This is a cruel and sick world," Lita sighed sadly. "To think someone would stoop so low as to killing..." Rei blurted out Serena at the exact time when Lita said Luna. The two stared at each other for a brief second. "Huh? She's not...what did you say?" they both asked each other in unison.

"You two think Luna died?" Rei questioned. "Serena's the one who's dead!"

"You're lying!" Mina cried. "We heard the whole thing from Serena's father!"

"He was probably making up something to get rid of those damn reporters!" Rei picked up the front the front page and flashed the headlines in their faces. "Look! It's right here in plain ol' black and white! Read it and weep-oh damn, that came out all wrong," Rei smacked herself on the forehead.

"So, Serena is dead," Lita muttered. "WHO DID IT?"

"Lita, chill out! I'm upset about this too, believe me, I am, but that's why all those police and inspectors are there," Rei replied.

"We may think we got it bad," Mina sobbed. "but how are we gonna tell Ami the news?"

"Who's we?" The other two narrowed their eyes.

"Don't bother telling Ami. Ami already knows," said a shadow from the doorway. It was Ami. Her face was red and tear-stained. "Sammy told me."

"Oh, Ami, I'm so sorry," Rei gave her a sympathetic hug. Ami pushed her back.

"It wasn't your fault! But there's hell to pay for the thing who did it!" Ami shot up a fist in anger. The others drew back in slight fear.

"Woah, calm down, Ami," Lita helped her sit down.

"Well, you got the thing part right," Rei returned to the fire.

"What are you talking about?" Lita asked.

"When I first read the article, I got these strange vibes. I knew I had to consult the fire to find out what was really going on. Sure enough, I got a sign. But it wasn't like anything I had ever seen! It looked like a demon! It only lasted for a few seconds, and as it faded back, I heard someone scream. Oddly enough, it sounded like...Serena," Rei explained.

"Rei, it wasn't Serena, it was denial," Mina corrected.

"Are you calling me fucking liar?" Rei snapped.

"SHUT-UP!" Lita boomed. "We should have a moment of silence for Serena's death." Everyone bowed their heads in silence. They were unaware that someone was coming into the room. Because they were all sitting side by side, she made her way to the front and sat down. She cleared throat.

"Girls," she announced. "I have something to discuss with you."

"Not now, Luna," Lita whispered as she kept her eyes closed. "We're in mourning." It snapped. "LUNA!? Where have you been?"

"I haven't been completely honest with you about Serena nowadays. Now that she's out of the picture, I figure there's some explaining to do."

"Out of the picture!? How could you be so cruel?" Mina began to cry again.

"I know who murdered her," Luna replied.

"WHO?" Everyone grew closer in surprise.

"To begin with, if I told you exactly who, you would all be confused. The murderer was a demon from Hell, and killed Serena for who she was, which is something none of you are," Luna began.

"Who-what was she?" Rei wondered.

"A Devil Sailor."

"A what?"

"Serena was the 108th generation of Devil Sailors. She was sworn to defend the human race against any and all demons from Hell. She was also sworn to keep this new identity of hers incognito. Just recently she defeated Thanatos, a demon from Hell, who had possessed Molly, Melvin, Miss Haruna, and Tuxedo Mask. Unfortunately for her, this wasn't the end."

"Damn," Rei said slowly.

"I saw her murder last night. I had received strange vibes earlier and was climbing in through her bedroom window to warn her. Unfortunately, I was too late. I caught her when her comic book reading was put on ice by a demon. She transformed immediately, but not fast enough. It had already shot her three times with a gun it had attained. She collapsed on the floor. I ducked back so I wouldn't be seen. In horror, I watched as it slashed up her body. She cried in terror, but I could feel she was seeing her life flash right before her eyes! Within moments, I knew her life had ended, as she laid in a shredded pile of flesh, blood, hair, and clothes. I was shocked beyond shock. The demon vanished. I rushed to her side, and began crying out for help, but to no avail. Suddenly, from beneath her in the floor came a gray hand. It grabbed her by the neck and pulled her through the floor. Only the shredded material remained. I watched in trepidation as her corpse sunk into the floor. She was taken to Hell, I'm sure of it. The Devil Sailor Dynasty is destroyed. Serena is dead."

None of the girls, not even Rei spoke. Their heads were hung low in mourning again. Luna followed this gesture. This lasted for about five minutes. When everyone was done praying, they opened their eyes. Lita didn't cry. She had lost many relatives and grandparents in the past, although this one was a hundred times worse. It remained inside, and didn't seem to rise. Rei had never felt so afflicted in all her life. Mina still cried, but had quieted down. Ami was gone. For some reason, during the silence, she had gotten up and booked it out of the temple. The others voted not to go after her. They all felt that they needed some time alone for this, for this pain would never go away.

_

Ami tore down the sidewalk, trying to get home as fast as she could. No matter how hard she tried, she just couldn't get the awful truth out of her head. This was expected of her, duh, because of the great loss. Sammy managed to flag her down in the park so he could return her bag. Without stopping, she snatched it from him and kept on going. Disregarding the shortcut, she broke in the bustling public, full of shoppers, groups, and motorists. She desperately needed something, anything, to help get her mind off the present. Subsequently seeing a crowd of people in front of the electronics store caused her to join them. Pushing her way to the front, Ami tried to see what all the news was about. The Channel 13 News came on within seconds. Big mistake.

"Many people are mourning the death today of a local girl who was violently murdered last night. Her body was not at the scene of the murder, and bloody scraps are the only evidence thus far. No word yet on who the murderer was, and the girl's name has been withheld at this time. A funeral service will take place tomorrow in the Minato-ku National Cemetery, using an empty casket until the body can be found. Friends and relatives are strongly invited to come. Anyone who would like to take part in the eulogy, please contact the girl's father at 555-"

"NOOO!" Ami shrieked in despair. "I can't take this anymore!" With that, she slam-dunked her schoolbag in the nearby wastebasket, and sprinted like hell out of the area. The people standing next to her exchanged weird glances, wondering what her problem was.

_

"Why did I have to be the one to break the news to Darien?" Artemis asked himself as he sat on Darien's coffee table. Darien sat before him on the couch, his head in his hands. He tried not to cry, but it was becoming more inevitable by the minute. "Are you planning on going to the funeral tomorrow?" Artemis piped up.

"I..." Darien began slowly.

"You...what?" Artemis tried to move things along.

"I don't think I should go," he finished quietly.

"The memories, right?"

"That, and because she won't be there herself," he replied. "It would sorta be like going to a wedding without the bride and groom showing up."

"I already told you why, and thank goodness you believed me."

"I still believe you, Artemis, but how could it be true? These types of things never occur," Darien said.

"In this case, it could've happened any day now, because of what Serena had become, a walking, breathing target for every hellish demon. Luna watched it all happen, every bit of bloodshed," Artemis said.

"I'll never forget this," Darien said. "I would kill to go to Hell now myself; that's where she is, but I can't because I'm not a Devil Sailor, and I never will be. But on the other hand, what's the purpose of sticking around when I can't help the one I love!"

"I understand, Darien, it's hard, but all we can do now is simply go on with our lives and accept this damage. Unfortunately in this case, life goes on," Artemis comforted. "I really must be on my way now. Take care of yourself." Artemis leaped off the balcony onto a nearby tree branch and took off. Darien watched him off.

"He's right," he sighed. "Yet there's no way I can possibly live here anymore. Even if I don't go the funeral tomorrow, the memories will remain. That settles it. I'm leaving Tokyo!" He went back inside, and started heading to his bedroom to begin packing. However, something caught his eye from behind. It was a picture. He picked it up and stared into it. It was a photo of him and Serena in the park from a couple months back. They were sitting in the grass, his arm around her. She had her customary 'I'm blond, tee-hee' smile across her face. Darien felt like crying by looking at it. "I can't cry. Serena wouldn't like it if I did." As he placed the picture back down on the table, something began to happen in it. As he took a closer look, he began to notice this drastic change. "Maybe I'm hallucinating. This can't be happening. Could Serena be...fading away?" He blinked several times, but nothing happened. Within seconds, Serena had totally faded out of the picture. Now it only showed Darien's arm around...nothing. "Serena! Don't leave me! Where have they taken you?" He shook the picture frame frantically. Suddenly, something began to reappear in her place. Blood. It started flowing out of the picture, onto Darien's shaking hands. He dropped the picture in fear. The glass protecting the photo shattered against the table, and rested on the floor, along with the mutilated frame that once held it.

"W-what's going on here?" he murmured fearfully. "I can't stay here any longer!"

_

The funeral sadly came and went. Oddly enough, none of the girls showed up. Rei had strictly confined herself to the fire-reading room, where she watched the fire, day and night, for any possible signs; she refused to eat, sleep, or attend school.

Mina's crying had finally ceased. She too, had quit eating, sleeping, or going to school. These missing necessities caused her to change. For the worse. She began talking to herself, babbling stuff that meant nothing. She would go downstairs late at night. Artemis hadn't the faintest idea as to what she did down there, and chose to follow one night. It was much to his shock to see her pull out the kitchen knife, and carefully slide across her wrist. Artemis managed to get the knife out of her grasp before she did anything rash. Mina lost it at this point, and then confined herself to her room, and decided to spend the rest of her life in there, with no light whatsoever. Artemis couldn't let her go through with this, and chose to stay with her, keeping a constant vigil on her, until she recovered.

Lita was the only one who had gone back to school on the following Monday. She now had no one to talk to; Ami hadn't returned yet, for she was still missing after her episode on Saturday. Some of the other students began to fear her again, because they realized that it was Serena who had first befriended her, and had changed her from her old street thug ways. With Serena out of the way, Lita indeed began to slowly change back to her old self.

Luna had stayed at the temple since the murder, and became Rei's only company. The two spent countless hours talking about Serena and the short time they knew her. Rei even admitted that she in fact thought Serena was cool, and was the perfect leader of their group, despite their constant quarreling. Their conversations soon became boring by Thursday, and then they sat in silence. Just when they were on the brink of catching cabin fever...

"Hello," a familiar voice murmured at the doorway.

"AMI!" Rei and Luna replied in surprise as she slowly came in the room.

"Ami, where have you been? We've all been worried sick about you," Luna reprimanded. "I almost thought for a while that a demon had gotten you!"

"But Luna, that can't happen," Rei said. "Ami's not a..."

"A Devil Sailor," Ami completed solemnly. "That's what I came here about."

"A Devil Sailor?" Luna repeated. "Ami, are you saying that you...you want to..."

"Mm-hmm," Ami answered. "I want to become a Devil Sailor."

Luna and Rei grew silent suddenly. This was a very important decision Ami had made.

"Ami," Luna began. "are you sure about this?"

"I'm positive," Ami responded. "I've thought about this for the past couple of days, what you said about Serena being a Devil Sailor and all. I want to take full responsibility of avenging Serena's sudden death. Luna, make me a Devil Sailor!"

"Ami, are you feeling alright?" Rei asked cautiously.

"I've never felt better in all my life. For the first time, I have all this energy!"

"Luna, the Negaverse perhaps?" Rei wasn't buying Ami's determination.

"Well, the Negaverse has been inert for a long time," Luna replied.

"I'm dead serious here!" Ami yelled at them. "Don't you believe me?"

"Of course I believe you, Ami," Luna said. "But this is an incredibly dangerous step! You're putting your life on the line! You could get killed at any moment!"

"I know that, Luna, and I understand this. But I just can't sit back and let Serena's life go unavenged! I have to do something!" Ami replied quickly.

"Well, if you're seriously sure about this, then I suppose..."

"But Luna! She's not related to Serena!" Rei contradicted.

"She's still a virgin, isn't she?"

"Yes, I'm still a virgin," Ami replied.

"Hey! I'm one too! Make me a Devil Sailor, Luna!" Rei chimed in.

"I'm sorry, Rei, but only one person at a time on earth can become one, and Ami called it before you," Luna said. "Very well, Ami. Your destiny is about to change forever. You are now the 109th generation of Devil Sailors, you are a Devil Sailor...in training!"

"Huh?" Ami asked. "In training?"

"Because you aren't an ancestor of Serrinha, the very first Devil Sailor, then you are required to train to master the intricate skills a Devil Sailor must have!" Luna said.

"Hey, you think I could help with the training?" Rei wanted to help, since she couldn't become one herself. "I could teach her some Martial Arts skills, like dodging and fighting."

"I suppose that's okay," Luna responded. "You two get started. I need to go back to Serena's mother's house to get some weapons for Ami, and some other things." she left the room.

"This is so exciting!" Ami said happily. "I'm going to be a Devil Sailor!"

"Yeah, I bet it is," Rei replied not so happily. She then muttered to herself, "Yeah, and when you kick the bucket it'll be my turn!"

_

Luna didn't get back to the temple until late that evening. It was to her surprise to see that in the time she had been gone, Lita, Mina, and Artemis showed up. Lita had in her hands a satchel, with something sharp inside. Mina's skin was almost as white as Artemis, this was the first time she had seen the outside world in days. She was incredibly delirious. Artemis continued to keep a keen eye on her, just in case she made any sudden movements.

"Luna! Where were you?" Lita asked as Luna came up to her.

"I had to get some things for Ami. What's in that satchel?"

"I heard the news about Ami taking Serena's place. I hope she's up to it," Lita commented kindly. She got to her feet and motioned for Luna to follow her.

"Where are we going?"

"Out here in the hall. I have to show you something I found at Darien's apartment." She knelt down and turned the satchel over. Pieces of glass and ceramic frame clanged on the floor. Then a photo slid out and landed upside-down.

"What is this stuff?"

"Well, you see, after I got suspended for fighting, I decided to go to Darien's place and talk, 'cuz I heard he wasn't at the funeral and probably needed someone to talk to. So, was I surprised when I got to his door and it was left wide open. At first I thought he was out for a bit, so I went inside, but when I was all the way in, I realized that the entire place was empty. The couch, the tables, the big-screen T.V, everything was gone. So I thought for a moment as to what happened, but my only logical solution was that he moved out of the area. Well, since no one was there, I decided to look around and see if anything was left behind, and I stumbled upon this."

"This was once a picture in a picture frame," Luna announced quietly.

"Well, duh, of course it was," Lita remarked. "So anyway, I picked up the photo and-"

"This photo's got blood on it!" Luna shrieked.

"Yeah, I know that, but-"

"I remember this picture! This once had Darien and Serena in it together!" Luna interrupted.

"Really, but if you'll look at it-"

"Serena's not in here! There's blood all over where she used to sit!"

"Luna-"

"Darien's left all alone-"

"Luna-"

"How did this happen-"

"LUNA!"

"What?"

"Do you think demons did it? Could it be a sign?" Lita finally got a word in.

"Demons? Did someone say demons?" a voice came up from behind and snatched the photo from their grasp. It was Rei. "Finally! A sign from those damn devils!"

"Rei, aren't you supposed to be training Ami right now?" Luna asked sternly.

"Aw, that can wait. But this is so cool, I finally got a sign!" Rei declared.

"You got a sign?" Lita muttered.

"What's going on?" Mina popped her head out from behind the door.

"Eek! What happened to you?" Rei jumped back.

"What's that?"

"A sign from Hell," Lita replied sweetly.

"Oh, is that all?" Mina went back inside. The three waited for three seconds, and then, "EEEEEEYYAAAAHHHH!!"

"Gee, for a moment there I thought she'd really lost it," Lita sighed.

"I'll only need this for a while," Rei went into the fire-reading room. "I know there's something behind this photo." She disappeared into the room.

"I'm gonna go join her," Lita got up and followed. "Coming, Luna?"

"No, you go ahead," Luna replied. "I have to go see Ami now."

_

"Whew, for a girl who hasn't slept in five days, she can really train," Ami took a towel and wiped the sweat off her forehead. She never knew Devil Sailor training was so intense! "But I'm not gonna quit. I'm in this till the end, and even after that!"

"That's the spirit, Ami," Luna responded as she entered the training room. "I've got some things for you."

"Like what?"

"Follow me." The two walked into yet another room, where a rather large chest sat.

"You carried this all the way here from across town? But it's twice the size of you! It weighs at least twenty pounds!" Ami stared at the chest.

"It was nothing. Now pay attention to me, Ami, I'm going to introduce you to your own personal Devil Sailor weapons," Luna opened the chest slowly. Ami's eyes grew wide.

"I get all this?"

"And more. This," she picked up an amulet similar to Serena's, but more intricate. "is your Devil Sailor Amulet. You use this to transform into a Devil Sailor," she explained as Ami held it in wonder. "Put it on your right wrist." Ami did as she was told.

"Do I still have to say Mercury Power?" Ami asked.

"No, this is a whole different field of work. What you say comes from within, deep in your soul, where your concentration and determination begin, and are soon to surface," she replied.

"Woah, that's deep. So, what you're really saying is that it'll only activate when I'm in dire danger."

"Well, that's one way of looking at it. Now here are two weapons that you and only you can use. This large one is the Psyche Sword, your equivalent tool to Serena's Psyche Staff," Luna described. "It is incredibly sharp, so be careful. It can usually kill a demon within seconds. This other one is the Ami Kitana Blade. Made especially for you, it's equivalent to Serena's...um...her..."

"I'm getting more weapons that her?"

"Well, it wasn't for her untimely death, she would have this blade. But, it's your now," Ami held onto it tightly.

"Is that all?"

"Not quite. Um...when I told you this was whole different field of work, I didn't mean whole literally. Seeing that now the demons will be extra-powerful, I'm giving you your Mercury powers back. You now have the new attack, called Mercury Hydro Splash Blast, which is all your powers combined (Mercury Bubbles, Mercury Icebubbles, and Mercury Icestorm), plus an additional water attack. I didn't want to make you feel left out," Luna said.

"You think I'll win with all these weapons?"

"Hopefully."

"Well, in order to get back Serena's good name, then I'll do this with all I've got," Ami said proudly.

"I wish you the best of luck-"

"Hey you guys! Get in the room now! Rei's got something BIG!" Lita announced as she stormed into the room. The two immediately followed her.

"Oh my-" Ami was spellbound by the sight. The fire was huge. It reached the ceiling, but didn't set it on fire.

"What is the sign?" Luna shouted over the roar of the flames.

"Well, oh damn! I just had it a second ago," Rei's smile vanished. "There was a big black porthole-like-thingie, and then I heard this voice, it said something like 'The next Devil Sailor will die soon enough', or something like that," Rei tried to imitate the voice, but to no avail. "I wouldn't worry Ami. We'll all be here if it tries to come and horribly mutilate you like it did to Serena."

"Oh great, that makes me feel so much better," Ami retorted.

"What type of weapons did you get, Ami?" Mina asked as she drew herself closer.

"Well, I got this Psyche Sword, and this Ami Kitana Blade-"

"A blade? Finally, just what I need! Oh, happy dagger!" she aimed it at her chest, and tried to stab herself.

"Stop her!" Artemis yelled. "She's suicidal now!"

"Mina, snap out of it!" Lita and Rei began to restrain her.

"But I must! Serena's lonely in Hell! I must go cheer her up!" Mina began to laugh psychotically.

"Mina, you're crazy! You can't kill yourself!" Luna shouted at her, but Mina ignored her.

"That does it," Lita pulled back a fist and punched Mina across the face. Her laughing stopped. Some blood came out of her mouth. "Are you losing your mind?"

"Lita, if that were anyone else, I'd be mad at you now," Artemis complimented. "Of course, since she's been malnourished for the past couple of days, she probably won't recover for a while."

"She needed some sense knocked into her," Rei said. "Now me on the other hand, I haven't slept a wink in days, and you don't see me going at everyone's throats."

"That's debatable," Ami said as she remembered training.

"That sign should pop up again soon," Luna said. "We'll have to stay up and see what happens."

"Hey, you can count on me," Rei said cheerfully. "I can stay up all..." she hit the floor. She was sound asleep.

"Let her sleep," Artemis replied. "They both need their rest."

"Ami, keep all your weapons at hand, who knows when they'll return," said Luna.

"I'll be ready for when that porthole arrives," Ami said bravely.

And so began the long wait...

_

The four that were still awake, that being Luna, Artemis, Lita, and Ami, stared into the fire. There were no signs whatsoever. The picture remained on the floor in front of it, doing absolutely nothing except collecting dust.

"Do any of you guys know how to get a sign in the fire?" Lita asked pitifully after trying.

"I suppose we have no choice but to awake Rei and ask her what to do," Artemis replied.

"Alright. Hey Rei, c'mon, wake up," Lita shook her gently. Rei shot up. Her eyes were bloodshot.

"H-huh? What's going on? How long have I been asleep?" she panicked.

"Only five minutes. How can I get a sign from the picture?" Lita asked.

"Augh. Okay, let's see here. Hmm, alright, alright. Oh Sacred Fire, please show a sign from this picture. Show us if this indeed connects with Serena's death," Rei placed her hands together and bowed her head. Something weird began taking shape. Like Rei had seen earlier, a black porthole-thingie appeared. Ami took a deep breath, and prepared to run through it. It repelled her off. She slammed into the wall.

"It's not letting me in!" Ami complained as she got to her feet.

"A MORTAL CANNOT COME THROUGH UNLESS THEY DIE IN THIS WORLD FIRST," a voice boomed from within. It was followed by a long, shrill scream, definitely sounding like Serena.

"That's not fair!" Lita shouted back. "That means that Ami would have to kill herself in order to enter, which gets us nowhere! It just gives us someone else to save!"

"EXACTLY, DAMMIT! UNLESS THAT GIRL WISHES TO BE HEADED FOR AN EARLY GRAVE, SHE CAN NOT, AND WILL NOT ENTER, UNDER ANY CIRCUMSTANCES!"

"Hey, you never even gave our friend a choice!" Rei snapped.

"Shut-up, you two!" Ami mouthed. "I have a plan." She drew out the Psyche Sword, and held it out in front. "BANZAI!" She charged for the porthole, and rammed the sword into it. Sure enough, it pierced right through, making a hole large enough for her to go into, which she did. Rei and Lita tried to follow, but were repelled back. The porthole shut and disappeared. The fire calmed down to a dull roar.

"She's...gone," Rei said slowly and quietly.

"But she wasn't dead," Lita followed. "Luna, does that mean that since she's still alive in this world, she'll be dead in Hell now?"

"You know, I have no clue about this," Luna replied. "This has never happened before. However, it is impossible to live in two worlds at once."

"You mean, what she just did was equivalent to suicide?" Lita questioned urgently.

"That's one way of looking at it," Artemis answered.

"Oh my gosh! Ami!" Lita cried out. "We'll never see her again!"

"Maybe not quite yet," Rei replied hopefully. "This fire never lies. It'll give us a sign as to if she's still alive or not. Oh Sacred Fire, give us a sign if Ami is alive in Hell. Let us know if she made it or not." The fire began to roar, and suddenly, something dropped out from the ceiling overhead. It crashed onto the floor. Glass flew out, and so did pieces of ceramic frame (Sound familiar?). Just like before, a picture fluttered down. Rei jumped up and caught it midair. "It's a photo of someone. It's Ami! Oh no, she's fading!" The others huddled around her in wonder.

"She's out of the picture...so to speak," Artemis spoke.

"Look out! There's blood all over this thing!" Rei threw it on the ground in horror.

"This seems all too familiar," Luna said as she examined the bloody photo.

"What happened to Ami?" Rei quivered.

"The same thing that happened to Serena in that photo with her and Darien," Lita pointed out. Rei gave her a confused look.

"This obviously means that either Ami's been allowed into Hell and she's inert in this world, or the other way around," Luna explained.

"Well, how do we know which?" Lita asked.

"We don't. The only way we can find out is if they were to return, but that's humanely impossible," Luna replied. "I've got it! Rei, place both pictures in front of the fire."

"Why?"

"They may be our only hopes of their whereabouts," Luna answered. "They might be the things that could bring them back to our world."

"What if they aren't? What if there is no way? What if what we just did was sacrifice Ami to Satan?" Rei interrogated imperatively.

"Then...I suppose they're stuck in Hell together. They'll catch up with each other eventually, but will never return."

"I never thought I'd see the day when to fighters of love and justice were sent to Hell just like that," Lita commented.

"I just hope we get a sign from them," Rei murmured as she turned to the fire. "Losing Serena was bad enough. I don't want to believe that we just gave up Ami in vain."

_

The porthole opened, and out flew Ami. Falling out, head first, she plummeted through the sky, appearing to be dead, unaware that the ground was rushing up to meet her (she's sort of falling like that girl did in the beginning of Laputa: The Castle in the Sky). Her weapons, all except for the amulet, had vanished in the warp. She fell for quite some time, and finally landed in some brush, which sparsely decorated the desert area. The impact felt like nothing, but made a hell of a lot of noise in the process.

"Who's there?" a nearby girl wondered as she went over to the site. Rather than being beyond dead, or having her head on a pole, or worse, having to put with the anti-christ herself, Serena had never felt better. On the contrary, she was very much alive, as far as that went by Hell's standards, which was where she was now. But here was something strange. Yet another who had met the same fate she did, but who could it be?

"Where am I?" Ami quickly rose to her feet and rubbed the back of her head. "This can't be Hell. New Jersey, perhaps, but...no, that's not right, New Jersey is Hell. Maybe I'm in France." She heard some rustling in the bushes nearby. "Who's that?" Serena leapt out of the brush. She stopped suddenly in mid-air when her eyes came in contact with Ami's. Ami froze.

ÀDRAMATIC PAUSEÀ

"Serena?"

"Ami?"

"You're alive!"

"You're dead!"

The two stared at each other.

"Wait a minute. Something's not right here," Ami began. "How can I be alive in this world if I never died in my world?"

"Um, Ami, when the demon took you-"

"What demon? I came here myself."

"But how-"

"I fought my way into the porthole. I had to come here and avenge your death."

"Well, take a number. Why else do think I'm here?"

"Well, maybe because you were taken by force and were trying to get back, but I assume that's impossible," Ami lowered her head.

"I thought that too for a while, but I think I found a way back to the right world," Serena announced.

"You have? What is it?"

"I forgot."

Ami's head dropped again. "We're stuck here in Hell forever!"

"I know, it sucks, doesn't it. I'm glad you came to help. So, you just came here on your own, with no apparent game plan?"

"Wrong! As soon as you died, I knew what I had to become. Luna and Rei trained me, gave me the weapons, and now I'm a-"

"Please don't tell me-"

"I'm a-"

"Here it comes..."

"I'm a Devil Sailor too! The 109th generation!"

"Prove it."

"Here's my amulet!"

"Woah," Serena gazed at it jealously. It was so much more intricate than her own. "Heh. Stupid."

"What the hell are you talking about?"

"Ami, I can't someone as smart as you would do something like this! I had no choice, it was automatically my destiny! But you, you went right into it like a fanatic gung-ho, how dumb can you get? You're a sitting duck out here in Hell! I'm off the hook at last!" Serena waved her hands in the air.

"Becoming a Devil Sailor was a mistake? Not according to Luna. She said it was dangerous, granted, but that just comes with the territory..."

"Dangerous...dangerously stupid! You haven't even fought against any demons yet! You don't know dangerous until you've stabbed Tuxedo Mask with a stab and then turned around and did the same to your best friend and teacher!"

"I didn't know. But it's a little too late for that, isn't it. Face it, Serena, like it or not, we're stuck here together, until we get out of here, or die in the process!" Ami yelled back in determination.

"You really do wanna restore my good name, don't you."

"I care about you. I couldn't just let you die in vain. I had to do something! When Luna told us about your becoming a Devil Sailor and all, I knew I had to do the same, even if it meant following you into the depths of Hell...are you sure that's where we are?"

"Guess so. Well, it's great that you wanted to follow me and all, but seeing that I haven't returned yet, what makes you think you'll ever get out alive?" Serena asked sternly.

"Believe me, I will find a way," Ami replied just as sternly.

_

That evening, as the two sought refuge in the bushes, Ami told her about everyone's reaction to her death, Darien's departure, Mina's suicidal lifestyle, Rei's 'insomnia', and Lita's change back to her old self. Serena's response to each was just a look of pure shock.

"I can't believe they would all take it that way," she replied when Ami was completed.

"Serena, call me crazy, but of this is Hell, why isn't there constant torture or anything? This place sucks."

"Tell me about it. I haven't encountered any action yet."

Ami hadn't noticed it before, but there was something strange about Serena. Something not right. As she inched herself nearer to get a closer look, a tentacle from behind Serena came out and vigorously wrapped itself around her, squeezing Ami with all its might. She couldn't get loose.

"Serena! H-help me! SERENA..." Ami watched in horror as the thing posing as Serena transformed into a horrible beast. "A demon! What am I supposed to do?" She tried to think, but her mind went blank. Perfect timing for that. "I guess the first thing I can do is get out of this," She tried to break free, but it was no use. "Someone help me! C'mon, you stupid amulet, transform me into something powerful! Great powers of the Devil Sailor! Luna! Serrinha! Great Buddha! Mommy!" The amulet still didn't respond. Ami had to concentrate harder. "I call upon the powers of the Devil Sailor, help me banish this demon to an even worse place, although I can't think of any place worse than this, give me the powers invested in those before me, especially Serena! Help me triumph!" Finally, the power she needed. The tentacle lurched back as she transformed in Devil Sailor Ami. She winded up clad in a baggy blue outfit, with a blue choker, blue Sailor collar, dark blue baggy outfit with a light blue belt and a big black and white Mercury symbol on her chest, and baggy blue boots. She had on her forehead a light blue bandanna with the Mercury symbol on it as well. Magically, on either side of her belt, appeared her Kitana Blade and Psyche Sword. She knew what she had to do. Using her sword, she stabbed the demon with all her might. It erupted into a bloody explosion.

"Whew, I'm saved," Ami wiped the sweat off her face. "but now I'll never find Serena." Her train of thought was interrupted by the sound of clapping in the distance. It appeared to be a tall man. He was adorned in black garbs and robes. He had an odd-shaped oval before him.

"Good show, Devil Sailor Ami," he commended deviously. "I can see you have been trained well."

"W-who are you?" Ami asked as she stepped nearer. "And how do you know my name?"

_

"My name is Vice," the man said. "I am the one who 'allowed' you to come here. I am the one who killed your friend, your poor predecessor, Devil Sailor Serena. Let me tell you that it is a pleasure to finally meet you for the first, and let me assure you, last time."

"YOU!" Ami jabbed her index finger at him. "YOU'RE THE ONE WHO KILLED HER!"

"Indeed." He motioned for the odd-shaped oval before him to un-fog. It actually looked like a giant upside-down jellybean. Inside it was Serena! She looked as though she were in a deep sleep, probably dead after all.

"Oh no," Ami said slowly as she gazed at it. Serena had been put into an eternal sleep (For those of you who don't know what eternal sleep is, remember when Queen Beryl punished Jedite. The same thing that became of him is now happening to Serena)! "PREPARE TO DIE, MURDERER!" She lashed out her sword and charged at him with full force. He simply stood there. As soon as she was close enough, he repelled her backwards by the mere force of his hand.

"Idiot! You dare defy me? You dare resist my powers?" He shot out a wave of energy at her. Ami managed to dodge it.

"Oh, Serena, I wish you could just wake up and help me! Believe me, now's a good time!" She tried to get him with her Kitana Blade, but that failed as well. She once again redrew her sword and lunged at Vice. Just as he was about to strike her, she jumped up and tried to get him from above. Unfortunately her aim was a little off, and her sword shattered the case that held Serena's body. The corpse fell to the ground.

"What have you done?" Vice beckoned angrily. "To damage something such as that, for that you shall pay dearly! Your end is near, Devil Sailor Ami! Time to die like a warrior!" Ami gritted her teeth in despair.

"HOLD IT!" a voice cried from atop a nearby boulder. There stood Devil Sailor Serena, with her arms crossed over her chest. She had a really pissed-off look on her face, and an evil glare in her eye.

"What the hell-" Vice was awestruck. "No! It can't be! You're dead!"

"Not anymore, buddy. It was all just a mere illusion!" She jumped down and drew out her staff. "It's payback time!"

"Very well," Vice sneered. "It makes no difference taking one or both of you on! Bring it on, Devil Sailors!"

Ami still couldn't follow what was going here. First Serena was dead, now she was alive and kicking (so to speak)? "Guess I should help." She stormed forward and jabbed her sword into Vice. He let out a roar in pain. The sword had gone clean through his heart.

Serena was standing behind him all this time, petrified as to who had done this to him. As Ami drew back out her sword from his body, Serena jabbed her staff into the same hole, only this time through the back instead through the front. Vice collapsed on the ground, dead. He was covered in blood.

"Nana..." he groaned as he slipped into death. "Take care of..." his voice trailed off.

"Alright! Got rid of him! Now I've got to get out of here!" Serena began to set off, neglecting that Ami was still there. Suddenly, there was a rumbling behind her. Serena stopped dead in her tracks. The ground shook terribly. All of a sudden, a giant monster popped out of the ground. It looked like a dragon on steroids. It was decorated with seven white circles on various parts of its body. Each depicted one of the seven deadly sins, anger, envy, gluttony, greed, sloth, pride, and lust. "Not another one!" Serena tried to attack it, but it was no use. She stood there on the ground, panting heavily. "There must be a way..."

"Serena, I think the only places we can attack it are on the seven circles. Those are its weak spots," Ami explained.

"Huh? Who's there?" Serena jerked her head over to Ami and just stared. "Ami?"

"Glad to see me, aren't ya?"

"You better believe it! So, the seven circles, eh? Okay, let's go-" She was once again knocked backwards.

"I think I can stop it," Ami said. "Here goes. MERCURY HYDRO SPLASH...BLAST!" With that, she shot out an array of her former powers.

The monster froze up due to the Icestorms and Icebubbles. Now was the perfect opportunity for Serena and Ami to start attacking.

"I'll take one side, you take the other!" Serena instructed as she took off. Using her staff, she managed to slash the circles labeled gluttony and sloth. It was a bit of a challenge to snag lust, though. It was located on the tail, which was still full of power. It swished from side to side vigorously. Serena had an idea. She didn't know what it would do, but for the past couple of minutes, the discs on her meatballs had been vibrating. She rose her right hand to them to see what was wrong. The gem in her amulet began to sound off to the vibrating. Serena could feel that something was happening. It was a new power for her, the Serena Triangle. She concentrated it on the lust circle, and sure enough, it fired off at it, destroying it instantly. Her part was complete.

Ami had no trouble at all with envy and greed, but anger did a pretty bad number on her. Using her quickly decreasing strength, she managed to stab it with her Kitana Blade. There, she thought, all done.

Not quite. There was still the circle of pride, which was centered in between the two eyes. The hydro splash was wearing off, and it was regaining power. It used its mammoth strength to knock them both off. They landed next to each other.

"What do we do now?" Ami quivered as she hobbled to her feet.

"No way, it's still reacting?" Serena examined her amulet. Her discs had completed vibrating, but the amulet was still glowing. Ami's began to do the same.

"What should we do? Put them together?" Ami suggested.

"I guess so." The stood face to face, and placed the backs of their right hands together. All of a sudden, a huge purple aura formed around them, and all their lost energy returned. Their spirit and courage were at an all time high. They both reached for their Psyche materials, and held hands.

"On three, Serena," Ami said as she got ready. "One...two...THREE!!" The sprinted off at speed beyond human standards, and jumped into the air simultaneously. They drew their weapons at the same time, and pierced their weapons into the hole. Finally, the monster had been defeated. They repelled themselves back, and landed on the ground.

"Woah, it's all over," Serena gasped. "We finally won."

"Do you believe that this was the last of the demons that we would have to encounter?"

"We can only hope, Ami."

_

Some hours passed. The two couldn't figure out if it was day or night, because the sky remained a pukey color of orange. Tired and homesick, they desperately tried to think of a way to get back home.

"It's sure going to be weird going back home after I've been dead all this time," Serena sighed as she stared into the horizon.

"At least you know what you are. I don't know if I'm dead or not!"

_

"Lita, we're such idiots! We'll never get a sign from them! I can't exorcise the dead!" Rei whined as she stared into the flames. In front of her on the floor were the two photos. They were still empty.

"You guys let Ami go?" Mina had just gotten up. She was now lunging back at Lita, paying her back for the black eye she had received earlier. "WHY?"

"She did it on her, Mina!" Lita replied. "It was her own choice!"

"Maybe they're trying to get back but can't," Artemis said. "What do you think, Luna?"

"I think I may finally have an idea," she stepped up to the flame. Her Crescent Moon lit up as she concentrated on both the fire and the photos. "Serena, Ami, if you can hear me, try to come back."

_

"We've got to concentrate, Ami!" Serena urged. Immediately, her amulet lit up. "Ami! Our amulets! C'mon over here! I think I got something!" Ami quickly joined her side. "If we keep concentrating!"

A small breeze started beneath their feet. It quickly evolved into a tornado that surrounded them both. They closed their eyes and held hands. They faded away.

_

"I'm getting some strange vibes!" Rei pressed the temples of her forehead as she tried to concentrate on it. Her eyes grew wide as something caught their attention. The photos! Something was coming back into them! Everyone gathered around. "It looks like...yes...yes..."

"Serena and Ami are returning to the pictures!" Lita blurted out.

"That could only mean..." Luna trailed off. "Look at the fire!" They all jerked their heads towards the fire. It was turning into a tornado of some sort. It flashed out, and then dispersed. Everyone opened their eyes.

"It's, it's-" Mina couldn't believe it.

"IT'S SERENA AND AMI!" Rei cried out happily.

Serena and Ami opened their eyes in shock. They looked around, totally shocked.

"I'm...I'M ALIVE!" Serena hollered as she jumped down. Everyone was delighted now. The Devil Sailors had made it back safely. Serena and Ami could retire happy from this field of work, that is, until their services are required again.

FAND THEY ALL REJOICED. YEA.E

_

"Serena, I spent ¥400,000 on your funeral and now you're alive!?" her father yelled out as she arrived home. He was in utter astoundment. He began to cry uncontrollably. "Oh thank goodness you're okay!" He hugged her happily. Even Sammy joined in.

"Oh, it's great to be alive...again," Serena sighed as she embraced them.

Allotment Three: Love is Hell; Keeping Mina Alive

Everything had returned back to normal since Serena's death and resurrection. Darien had moved back, Lita turned back to normal, and Rei and Mina returned to school. Ami had returned also, and was having a hell of a time making up all the work she'd missed.

Mina had gone and gotten some psychiatric help after the incident, and was becoming like her old, perkier-than-Kasumi Tendo self. No more did she ever try to commit suicide. The black eye Lita had given her had healed greatly, and she was eating more than usual to gain back the weight she had lost during her starvation period. Artemis was starting to trust her alone now. Most of her recuperation came from the support of friends, not just the Sailor Scouts and Devil Sailors, but her lesser-known friends at her school, Shibakouen Junior High, as well. When she wasn't completing missed assignments, she rejoined the school's volleyball team and became captain once again. At last she was happy and normal again. Not a care in the world.

Or so she thought. For the past couple of weeks, during Phys. Ed, while the girls were outside doing exercises and activities, a man watched them from the outside fence. He had chin-length brown hair, and wore a long white trench-coat with gold and silver garbs on it. He looked about twenty, and very kind. His name was not known, and of all the girls, he concentrated on Mina the most. No, he wasn't a pervert looking for a cheap thrill, or a desperate single guy, he had a much deeper interest for her, although that, along with his character, was unknown. Each day he just stood there and watched her. Mina thought nothing of it, believing that perhaps he was a Sailor V fan, since she was Sailor V. Thinking he would leave after a while, Mina soon began to feel slightly concerned. However, it wasn't until she started receiving strange love letters that something was up.

Dear Mina,

You are as beautiful as an angel descending from Heaven above. Your smile is wonderful. Your hair is like a field, of flowing gold. You have the most captivating personality, obviously one of the seven wonders of the known world. It must come from your ravishing soul. I © you.

Your Secret Admirer

"Wow, this guy must really like you," Lita said as she read the note to herself. The five Scouts had assembled at Rei's temple as usual to discuss any new evils in the area.

"Yeah, he sounds wonderful, I just wish I knew who he was," Mina replied.

"Aw c'mon, it's a lot more fun this way," Serena put in. "Besides, what if you meet him too soon, and he turns pout to be a total loser, like Melvin or something like that? Then again, maybe you should meet him now, he may be a real hunk-meister."

"So, which one should I do?"

"Um, hmm, hell would I know," Serena answered. "I've got Darien now, I don't need to think about stuff like this."

"Gee, you're a lot of help."

"You think it's any guy in your school?" Lita asked.

"Gosh, I hope not," Mina replied. "All the guys in my school are nerds."

Rei was listening to the conversation as she sat by the fire. Lately, her grandpa had been teaching her about people's spirits and souls. Her ability to get vibes from people had improved greatly since Serena's recent and short death. She was now able to get vibes from anyone she walked by, almost as though she could read their feelings. No matter what their attitude was, be it happy, sad, angry, mean, whatever, she could tell just by their presence*. (*IMPORTANT PLOT INFORMATION!)

"Hey, Ami, I know what you're feeling right now!" she said in a real annoying voice as she tapped on Ami's shoulder.

"Rei, cram it. I'm real busy right now. I really have a lot of work to make up. If you guys hadn't made death threats over the communicator, I would be home right now, with absolute peace and quiet," Ami replied as she worked out some problems from her astro-physics textbook. "Besides, it's not like I've seen death before. Be more creative next time."

"Damn, you're no fun," Rei pouted.

"Well, I assume this meeting's getting us nowhere," Luna sighed as she looked at the girls. "It's a good thing there aren't any demons attacking now," she cleared her throat. "Alright, girls, that's enough for today. You can all go home now."

"Thank goodness," Ami replied as she gathered her books and stormed out.

"See ya guys later," Lita waved and darted off.

"Boy, it sure is great to not have to fight anymore demons," Serena sighed as she and Luna walked home. "Now I can be a normal teenager."

"I can see you've also forgotten about being Sailor Moon," Luna said. "Just because you've beaten the Negaverse, and a league of demons from Hell doesn't change your destiny. You should always be ready, just in case either choose to attack again." Serena sighed once more.

"Leave it to you to spoil my fun," she thought aloud.

_

"Hmm, it's so cool to have a secret admirer," Mina flopped down on her bed. "Just the matter of who it could possibly be is cool enough. Oh man, I wish I knew who it was!" She re-read the letter, then placed it in a pile of other love letters she had received from the same person. Just out of curiosity, she decided to count how many there were. Thirteen. "Gee, that's weird. I hope nothing bad happens now that I have an unlucky amount."

Artemis was just waking up from his nap on her bed as she walked out of the room. "Great, another love letter. Now's she going to tell me all about this one." He pounced down and back up on the desk where she kept them. There was something odd about them. For some strange reason, in each upper left-hand corner there was a tiny super-subscript letter written. "Maybe they make a message." He placed all the corners side by side and tried to decipher it. They were placed in chronological order, with today's recent one on top. Sure enough, something was spelled out. "Let's see here, it says givemeyoursou. No wait, that's not right. Think, Artemis, think, what words can you see in there? Oh, I get it. It says Give me your...now I'm stuck with these three leftover letters. S, O, U. Could it really be, give me your sou, soup? Give me your source? Maybe it's sound. Or perhaps it's souvenir." Artemis scratched his head in confusion. "Hmm, whatever it is, it doesn't seem to make sense. Boy, Mina sure seems to get stuck with the weird ones."

_

It was rather late when Mina turned in that night. She had so been busy doing her homework she'd completely lost track of time. She was surprised to see a folded up letter on her bed. Artemis sat on the bed with her as she opened it and read it to herself. It said...

Dearest Mina,

I am in dire need of your spiritual company. Please, if it is no trouble, meet me tonight in Juuban Park at exactly 12 midnight. Come alone.

Your Secret Admirer

Mina glanced at Artemis, who was trying to peer over her shoulder so he could read. She pushed him back and tried to think. At last, I can finally meet him, she thought. But how do I make it there without Artemis following? It's a good thing he wants to meet me at midnight. Maybe I can make it out my window without Artemis noticing. I can only hope. She folded up the note and placed it in her pocket before Artemis could look for the small letter. Nothing could compare to the anxiousness Mina was feeling inside at this moment.

_

Eleven-thirty. Mina stared at the clock for a brief moment, then proceeded to get up. She had regular clothes on under her pajamas, and as soon as she was ready, she prepared to go. In order to fool Artemis, Mina took some clothes from her closet and crammed them in her bed, to make him think it was her all the while. With Artemis sound asleep, Mina slipped out her bedroom window and down the nearby tree. On her way down, something tumbled out. Mina ignored it and headed off for Juuban Park.

Artemis woke up as soon as he heard the window shut. He peeked out and saw nothing. "Mina?" He glanced over at the bed. "Oh, she's sound asleep. Whew, for a moment there, I thought-" he suddenly had the urge to go. Being a domestic cat, he desired going outside to do his business, unfortunately, that required someone else to let him out. He went over to the lump in Mina's bed. "Hey, Mina, wake up. C'mon, I gotta go." He shook the lump resembling a shoulder; all of a sudden he fell into it. "What the-Mina! This isn't Mina! She's gone!" He tried to open the window, and with a lot of luck he did. He jumped down the tree and into the bushes. After answering the call of nature, he came out of the bushes. On his way out, he tripped on something. It was Mina's Sailor Scout Communicator. "Hmm, how did this get here?" He tapped into it. The screen scrambled around for a bit, then a face appeared. It was Luna. Her eyes continuously drooped down.

"Luna, wake up! It's urgent!" Artemis yelled into it, loud enough to snap her attention.

"Artemis, don't do that! Whatever it is, can't it wait until morning?" She replied groggily.

"No way. MINA'S RUN AWAY!" He hollered back.

"Are you sure?"

"Hell yeah! Tried to fool me, but I just found out myself. Get the other Scouts now!"

"Where shall we meet?"

"Um, I don't know! How about..."

"Crown Arcade! It's halfway!"

"Alright. I'll get Rei and Lita, you get the others!"

"Right!"

_

Mina slowly made her way into the park. It was totally deserted. She looked in every direction carefully. The fountain wasn't on. The benches creaked in the wind. Mina shuddered nervously.

"Hello?" She called out. "Hey, whoever wanted me to come here, I'm here!" Nothing. She walked around the fountain and finally sat down on the edge of it. "Man, this had better not be some dumb trick."

"Hello...Mina," a quiet voice called from behind her.

"H-huh? Who's there?" She spun around, until her eyes locked with theirs. "A-are you the one who's been sending me all those letters?"

"Indeed I am," the voice replied. "And believe me, I meant every word I said." Mina blushed. "That's why I've called you here tonight."

Mina looked at him, and began to feel a little suspicious. She was getting some bad vibes from him, but she simply told herself that when you're in love you always get mixed feelings. "Is this gonna take long? I'm really tired, okay?"

"Oh, it shouldn't take very long," he replied. He stepped closer so she could get a better look.

"Hey! You're that guy who keeps looking at me during P.E!" Mina pointed out.

"I wasn't looking, I was admiring," he replied. "Mina, you have something that means a whole lot to me. It's a thing of beauty, something I wish I could have all for myself. I assume you like me enough to give it to me? I noticed how nice you were to your friends during school, perhaps you'll be that nice to me." He gave a cordial grin.

"What do you want from me?" Mina asked. "My unconditional love and devotion? Well, this is sudden."

"No, that can wait."

"Huh?"

"What I want comes from deep within. Aw hell, I might as well come out with it. Mina, will you give me...you soul?"

"My soul?" Mina was dumbfounded. Okay, she thought. He wants my soul. Let's see here, most guys want my love, others want my kindness, some want my homework, and they always want my phone-number. Why does this guy want my soul above everything else? "Why do want my soul?" She asked quietly.

"I've never seen someone with a soul quite like yours," he responded.

"Well, everyone's different."

"That's besides the whole damn point!" He was growing impatient. "Sorry about that, Mina. Will you give it to me?"

"Why is my soul so important to you?"

"I have my reasons."

"Hmm, it's not like I can reach in and give it to you, sir," Mina replied. "By the way, what's your name?"

"My name doesn't matter. Are you going to give to me or not?"

"How can I give it to you?" Mina was starting to get fed up as well. "It's got all my feelings, my personality, me! I've made up my mind! You can't have it!" Mina started off.

"Very well, since I asked for it kindly and you wouldn't give, then I suppose I must take it by force," the man replied. He reached into his robe and pulled out a crystal-clear orb. He aimed it at Mina. "Umbra Orb! Seize her soul!" A huge gust of wind came out and wrapped itself around Mina.

"Huh? What's happening? I told you no!" She tried to fight herself out of the winds, but they trapped her inside. She had no choice but to give in. "Feel so...empty..." The wind snapped loose once it was done. It flew back to the orb, taking her soul with it. The man laughed as he held the orb high in triumph.

"AT LAST! PERSEPHONE SHALL LIVE ONCE AGAIN!" He sneered at Mina, who simply stared at him. "THANK YOU SO MUCH, MINA, MY WORK HERE IS DONE...FOR NOW!" He laughed again. "I WILL BE BACK FOR MORE!" He disappeared into a huge gust of wind.

Mina still continued to stare. As much as she desired to become angry, to become furious, even a little teed-off for the most part, she couldn't. "What's wrong with me?" She asked herself as she walked out of the park. Why wasn't she scared?

_

"What do you think made her wanna run off like that?" Lita asked as she, Rei, and Artemis headed down the sidewalk.

"Is she having trouble in school?" Rei wondered. "She hasn't become suicidal again, has she?"

"No, she's getting better," Artemis replied. "But I have a feeling that this may have something to do with those love letters she's been receiving lately."

"Man, this could take forever!" Lita whined. "She could halfway across town, across country, across the continent-"

"Or halfway across the street," Rei pointed out as she saw Mina coming out of Juuban Park. "There she is!" Mina perked her head up as they ran up to her.

"Mina, where in the hell have you been?" Artemis yelled angrily. "I've been worried sick about you! You could've gotten yourself killed and none of us would've known! Why did you run away."

Mina tried to respond, but her mind went blank. As much as she tried to think as why she had been out, she just couldn't. Something was stopping her. It was though she had been sleeping and was just waking up.

"Mina, where were you?" Lita crossed her arms over her chest.

"I don't know," she replied in almost a whisper. "I can't remember."

"Where were you just now?"

"I just told you, I can't seem to remember," Mina said. "It's like I've got a memory block or something. The important thing is, I'm alright now, so I can go home, okay?" She started walking home, Artemis reluctantly, yet gladly at her heels. As she passed Rei, Re's eyes widened in surprise. She watched as Mina and Artemis turned the corner.

Lita looked over to see Rei's jaw dropped slightly, and her eyes big. "Rei, is something the matter?"

"It's so strange," Rei said. "You know when I told you guys that I could receive a vibe from anyone who passed by me?"

"Yeah?"

"When Mina passed me just now," Rei hesitated. "I got nothing."

"Is that bad?"

"Yes it is! Although, I have no idea now what it could possibly mean."

"Hey, maybe she was too tired to give off any vibes," Lita sympathized. "Anyone who's up at this hour is never all there." She began to head home. "Boy, I better get back home now. I can't afford to oversleep. See ya tomorrow, Rei."

"Hmm, maybe she's right," Rei sighed as she went home. "Yet for some reason, even if she was wide awake, it was as though she was still missing something," she thought for a moment. "I wonder what it could be?"

_

The next morning, Mina overslept an hour. The last time this had happened, she was in a frenzy to make it to school on time, however, this time, she didn't seem the least bit concerned. She slowly got ready and headed out the door. Artemis sat outside by the bushes and watched her off.

"Hmm, seems later than usual," he thought aloud. "Hey Mina! You better get a move on, you're already late!"

"I'm aware of that, Artemis," she replied glumly.

She's not scared, he thought to himself. Reality check here, Mina's one of those who goes ballistic if she breaks a nail or gets her hair mussed. There has to be something wrong if she's merely taking this tardiness in stride. I've got a feeling that whatever really happened to her last night has something to do with it.

Serena, of course, was late as well. Luna was running behind her with her lunch in her mouth, telling Serena to slow down and get her lunch. Serena came to a sudden halt when she saw Mina casually walking in the other direction. Mina looked over at her.

"Mina, we're both late!" Serena yelled from across the street. Mina ignored her and continued to walk. "What's with her? She seems so bummed."

"She ran away last night, remember?" Luna reminded. "Her parents are probably furious at her."

"But even for Mina, this is beyond bummed. No matter what, whenever something happened, she always cheered us up. It was like she was constantly on Prozac or something," Serena said.

"Ever since that death of yours, she's changed drastically," Luna replied. "She became suicidal at one moment, however, she is receiving help nowadays for that."

"Luna, this is just a hypothetical question, but do you think possibly a demon has gotten to her?" Serena asked. "She did look like she was possessed back there."

"Why Serena," Luna responded. "Perhaps you're right for a change. Maybe you're onto something. But it's strange, if that's actually the case here, why haven't I receive any vibes yet?"

"Hey, it's not like I want that to be the case!" Serena jumped in. "You think I wanna go against any more demons?" She quickened her step. "Thanks a lot, Luna! Now I'm gonna be in deep kim-chee!" She darted off.

_

Mina slowly made her way up the stairs to her classroom. She glanced at her watch to see that it read 9:15 am. She felt no panic, no concern whatsoever. The only thing that could express how she felt right now was "Ho-hum." She carefully peered into the classroom window. She saw her teacher, Miss Tomoko* (*japanese for friend) in the middle of teaching the class about China. She slowly turned her head to see her friends talking amongst themselves. She was unaware of their conversation...

"I wander where Mina is," Emily said to the others. "You think she's sick?"

"Mina's not sick," Katrina responded. "Little Miss Perfect never gets sick."

"Hey now, from I've heard about her lately, she's far from perfect," Jamie put in. "I heard she tried to commit suicide last week. Now she's getting psychiatric help."

"Girls! Be quiet! I'm in the middle of teaching the less-" Miss Tomoko was interrupted by the door creaking open. Mina walked in. "Miss Aino! Where have you been! You're an hour late! Are you aware of how much trouble you're in?"

"I'm sorry," Mina replied quietly. "I overslept."

"Well, don't we sound smug," Miss Tomoko acknowledged. "Hmm, even if you are the best student in the class-"

"AHEM!"

"-aside from Miss Berg over there, I'm afraid you'll have to be punished. You're going to stay after today and clean up the classroom. Now take your seat." She pointed to her desk up in the front.

"Fine," Mina replied, insipid.

"Man, Jamie, you were right!" Renee put in. "She usually seems so cheerful, but now, well...listen at her. She sounds so bland."

"I think I can resolve this in one word...drugs," Jen answered. "It's the remedy for everyone's problems nowadays. I mean, just by looking at her, you can tell somewhere along the line there was a hangove-"

"STUDENTS, SHUT-UP!" Miss Tomoko blared. "Now then, everyone, turn to page 497 in your textbooks. Mina, begin reading."

"In the Qinghai Province of China, lies the legendary Cursed Springs Jusenkyo," Mina read tastelessly. "There are hundreds of springs, each with their own tragedy..."

"Gosh, she sounds like that guy in the Star-Burst commercial," Katrina joked.

"Man, I never thought someone could sound so monotone," Jamie added.

"Miss Aino, even if this just a World Geography Book, perhaps you could use a little more expression in your reading?" Miss Tomoko suggested.

"Alright. ...some such cursed springs include the Spring of Drowned Girl, located where a young girl had drowned 1,500 years before..." Mina continued blandly.

"Gosh, I wish I had her at nighttime," Emily said. "She could sure put me to sleep."

"Boy, you ain't kidding," Renee yawned.

"Miss Aino, why aren't you cooperating with me?" Miss Tomoko demanded.

"I'm sorry, I just can't. I don't know why," Mina replied.

If she's taking drugs...Miss Tomoko thought. "Miss Aino, go stand in the hall."

"But-"

"GO."

Mina couldn't believe it. "I'm in trouble," she sighed as she walked out of the classroom. As she closed the door, she heard the teacher say, "Miss Starling, continue reading."

"Which one, Miss Tomoko?"

All this time, Artemis had been watching from a tree branch outside. Never had he seen Mina in all this trouble. "Something's wrong with her. Yesterday she seemed so happy, now she seems so, so...empty," Artemis lowered his head in shame. "What if-no, no, it's not true. Hmm, only Serena would know for sure. After all, she is a Demon Sailor. Could it had been demons that got Mina last night?" With that, he darted off towards Juuban Junior High, Serena's school.

_

"Aw, c'mon, Miss Haruna," Serena whined as she was being pushed into the hall. "I was dead last week! It doesn't count as an absence! I don't even know what the make-up work is! How could I do it if I didn't know-"

"That doesn't matter, Serena! You're also too disruptive! Now stand out here and be quiet!" Miss Haruna hissed as she slammed the door.

"Dammit, I wish she was possessed now," Serena grumbled. "Then I could stab her with my staff." She glanced up and peered out the window. Artemis was trying to keep his balance on the window sill. "Huh? Artemis? Whaddya doing here?"

"I think Mina's in trouble," he panted.

"Well, no kiddin'. After running away like that last night, I'm surprise her parents didn't lock her up and throw away the key!" Serena scoffed.

"No, nothing like that. I have this eery feeling, like maybe demons got to her," Artemis said fearfully.

"Demons? Mina? WHY?"

"I think when she escaped to the park last night, perhaps she was attacked by them there," Artemis said.

"Hey, I thought you said you had no idea as to where she ran off to!" Serena retorted.

"I read it on the letter that secret admirer sent to her yesterday! It said Juuban Park, as clear and as simple as it could possibly be!" Artemis yelled back. "I also noticed something about each of the fourteen letters she has received over the past couple of days. Obviously this admirer is a very crafty person, by the subliminal message he was using in all the letters. Mina never caught on, which is why she was attacked. In the corner of each letter, there was a small, super-subscript letter, so small you practically need a magnifying glass to see it. Apparently, when all the letters were put together, there was to be a message that formed, and I finally figured it out," he opened the tiny knapsack attacked to him, and fourteen folded-up letters fell out. "I numbered each of them for you."

Serena sat down on the floor and spread the letters out in order. Sure enough, she spotted each of the fourteen letters. "Let's see here, G-I-V-E-M-E-Y-O-U-R-S-O-U-L. Give me your...your..." she grew hesitant. Artemis leaned over her shoulder.

"Give me your..." he read slowly. "Give...me...your..."

"SOUL!!!" The both hollered in unison. "GIVE ME YOUR SOUL!?"

"Artemis," Serena began. "Are you trying to make me believe that some demons came and took her soul last night?" Artemis nodded urgently. "Hmm, and I suppose you want me to do something about it." Again he nodded. "Maybe this is just a big joke. I mean, after all, these are letters from her secret admirer. If he really meant what he said in these letters, then why would he do something like this to her?"

"Serena! Don't you get it? This so-called secret admirer of her's is really a demon in disguise!"

"Man, could've fooled me. Boy, can this guy toil with a girl's emotions or what?" Serena began reading one. "Does Mina know about this? The fact that this is really a demon and all?"

"No, and I really don't know how this to break to her. Seems like she's really hung up on this guy," Artemis said sadly. "And the weird thing is, whenever her soul was taken, she doesn't seem to remember. She claims it was a memory block. Now she thinks it was just a dream. And because she doesn't recall what really happened..."

"...She still thinks this guy has feelings for her," Serena finished. "Poor Mina. Can't say this hasn't happened to me before. You see, a while back, my best friend Molly had feelings for this guy named Maxfield Stanton, who in reality was Neflite from the Negaverse." She sighed. "I suppose you want me to break this to her?"

"No, I want you to do something more important," Artemis said with sorrow. "Get Mina's soul back. We may not see it now, but we're actually losing Mina right before our eyes!"

"I'll see what me and Ami can do about this, but I'm not sure where to begin," Serena rested her chin in the palm of her hand.

"Well, I can assure you we're having a meeting about this at Rei's temple this afternoon. In the meantime," he started to leave. "Don't tell Ami or Lita."

"Why not?"

"We could be wrong. Besides, I think it's best we find out a little more about this guy before we try and kill him." He leaped out.

"Right. Oh Artemis! You can't jump out here! You'll land in the-" she was interrupted by the sound of a splash and an ear-piercing MMEEEEEEEEYOOOOOWW! "-pool."

_

After a long, and to Mina, meaningless detention, she managed to make it to volleyball practice before it was over. Luckily, her team mates were smart enough to practice on their own. They all stopped as soon as she entered the gym.

"It's about time," Jamie snorted as Mina stepped up to the net.

"Look, I'm here, that's all that counts," Mina replied.

"Alright, let's get a game going here!" Jen yelled as she spiked the ball. Katrina smacked it back over. Renee slammed it over the net with might. Jamie, being the clutziest of all the members, tried to spike the ball, only it slammed into her face, causing one of her glasses lens to pop out. Everyone began to roar with laughter, everyone that is, except Mina. She simply stared, without even suppressing a smile, only because she couldn't. Angela the manager went over and dragged Jamie off the court.

"I think you've had enough for one day," Angela sighed. "Gosh, Jamie, you gotta invest in some contacts. This happens at every practice session." She picked up the nearby megaphone, and yelled into it. "ALRIGHT, LET'S FOCUS HERE! C'MON, MINA, GIVE US ONE OF YOUR HELL-RAISING SERVES!"

Mina picked up the ball and glared at it. Whenever she gained enough momentum, and had enough incentive, she could send the ball flying across the court. But, since all this was gone, all she could do was make a simple serve. Everyone on the other side had moved far back to wait for the flying ball, but were left shocked as it bounced on the floor a few times before them.

"Mina, what the hell was that?" Angela ridiculed angrily.

Well, just so I don't have to bore you with the rest, this is really what the remainder of practice was like. It became so that everyone's spirits had lowered since Mina, the team's head valley girl, was becoming more tedious and bland each moment, since her soul was stolen. After a long and monotonous practice the girls all assembled in the locker room. While Mina was getting dressed, the other girls huddled together in concern.

"Man, what's with her?" Angela asked.

"She was like this in class too," Renee replied.

"It doesn't seem like depression anymore," Katrina quivered. "It seems a whole lot worse. It's like she's lost all feeling."

"Katrina, at the rate she's going, she's already lost all feeling," Jen corrected.

"Hey, maybe one of should talk to her," Emily suggested.

"I got a better idea. One of us should go to that temple on Cherry Hill and see if they can figure anything out. Maybe there's some evil demon inside of her," Jamie proposed.

"Jamie, you need to stop getting so involved in your fanfics," Emily retorted.

"Hmm, maybe Jamie's right for a change," Renee replied. "I hear those temples are pretty good at stuff like this. Any volunteers?"

"Hey, I'll do it," Angela volunteered. "It'll have to be later on, I'm going to Goodwill this afternoon."

Everyone gathered their things and headed out. Unfortunately, Mina and Angela bumped into each other, and all the contents of their bags fell out.

"Sorry about that, Mina," Angela said as she crammed her stuff into her bag.

"It was my fault, Angela," Mina replied glumly. "See you guys later."

Angela waved, and then noticed something under her shoe. It appeared to be a folded up note. Curious, she infolded it and began to read it.

Dear Mina,

I am in need of your company once again. Because you are a trusting, giving girl, with a soul unlike any other, I trust that you will meet me again tonight at midnight in Juuban Park. Like before, come alone. I © you.

Hades

"This must be from that guy," Angela thought as she remembered the man who watched them in P.E. "Hmm, Hades. There's something suspicious about that name. Aw hell, forget the thrift store, I'm going to the temple now!"

_

"Where's Mina?" Rei said impatiently as she swept the porch of her temple.

"Hey, Artemis, since Mina's not here, should I tell them?" Serena asked.

"Tell us what?" Lita butted in.

"It's about Mina. She did something that can definitely explain why she's so-

"Um excuse me! I'm sorry, but can I see the person in charge of this temple?" a girl popped her head in. It was Angela.

"That would be I! Say, uh, wanna work at my templ-"

"Can it, Grampa! Yes, I work here, can I help you?" Rei shoved her grandfather out of the way.

"I understand that my friend Mina Aino comes here frequently," Angela began. "Well, I have to tell you, she's been acting really strange lately. Her voice has become so monotone, and she never smiles, or laughs, or gives a lot of effort in serving, or doing much of anything. We all thought it was depression at first, but it's becoming a lot more serious. Can you help us?"

"I see," Rei nodded her head. "You're right, she has been pretty weird lately. To make a long story short, I have this ability to get vibes from anyone I pass, and this can usually tell me how they're feeling, personality wise, like right now, I can tell you're concerned for Mina. Anyway, when I passed Mina last night, I got nothing."

"Is that bad?"

"Well, it can mean one of two things. A, Mina is possessed; or B, Mina has no soul. Take your pick."

"What the hell are you talking about? Of course Mina has a soul!" Angela hollered. She took the note from her bag and handed it to Rei. Rei studied it carefully.

"You mind if I keep this, in case I get a sign later on?"

"Hey, it's not mine to begin with," Angela replied. "Do whatever you want with it. Just let us know if you find anything." She turned to leave.

"I'll see what I can do."

"Angela? What are you doing here?" Mina asked tritely.

"M-me? I came here for, for...um," Angela's mind went blank.

"She's here with me! I'm giving her a fire reading!" Chad grabbed her by the shoulders."

"Sorry I asked." Mina made her way inside.

"Yeah, what he said. Say...you're kinda cute," Angela grinned at Chad. "I'll be sure to stop by here more often!" She darted off.

Rei took the note in her hand and walked into the room where the other girls were. Serena had to cut the story short with Lita and Ami as soon as Mina arrived, who took a seat by herself on the corner.

"Oh, Sacred Fire, give a sign as to what this man really wants from Mina," Rei bowed before the fire. Her reading was interrupted by a tapping on her shoulder. Serena whispered something in her ear. Rei nodded in surprise and pushed the note off to the side.

"Hey, Mina, you look really beat. Want me to walk you home?" Lita suggested.

"Did you guys have any info on any evil?" Mina wondered.

"Um, no. Good news Mina, peace broke out all over the world. We can all retire now. Let's go home," Lita urged her out the door.

"Lita, remember the plan," Luna reminded. Lita nodded and disappeared.

"Alright guys, I know that's a fucking lie! What's really going on here?" Rei asked, irritated. Serena and Artemis explained to her the whole soul ordeal, and their plan for that night. Rei understood, thank goodness. "Well, that explains why I got nothing from her."

"Serena, because you look the most like Mina, you'll be our bait. While this demon goes out on you, we'll attack it from behind," Luna instructed.

"Well, according to this note, the man's name is Hades," Rei brought up.

"Who's that?"

"Serena, don't you pay attention your mythology? God of the Underworld, his name is Pluto in Roman," Ami explained.

"Ain't that the dog in Disney World?"

"No, Hades, Pluto, Satan, Mephisto, Devil, the big angry one? Don't they all ring a bell?"

"Well, he's got me beat with names. I've only got four," Serena answered.

"Serena, don't you get it? The devil is after Mina! He's taken her soul, he'll probably come after her life next! We can't let that happen!" Rei clamored.

"Right! Okay, we'll all meet at Juuban Park at eleven-thirty. Come transformed," Artemis said as he got up to leave. "Um, Rei, let me have that note. I want to compare it to the others." Rei handed it over to him as he left.

Everything was set.

_

As he sat on Mina's desk that evening, Artemis began to read the fifteenth letter. Like the previous one, it instructed Mina to meet him in Juuban Park. "Only this time it won't be Mina he meets." He studied the name suspiciously. "At last, we're finally going against the big bad one himself. Maybe after we defeat him it'll all be over with forever. " Something popped up in his head. "Well, Luna, Serena, Rei, Ami, and I know about this, guess I'd better go tell Lita." He jumped off the desk in search of Mina's communicator. Little did he realize that he had left the letter behind.

As soon as Artemis was out, in came Mina, just like clockwork. She dumped her bag on the desk, only to hear a crinkle underneath. She pushed her bag aside and picked up the letter underneath. It was the fifteenth letter.

"He wants to meet me again in the park tonight," she said blandly. "You can count on me, Hades. I'll be there."

_

Eleven-thirty. All four girls had arrived, prepared. Serena had taken her meatballs down, and pulled her hair back, looking like a carbon copy of Mina, right down to the identical school uniform. Devil Sailor Ami hid behind a nearby tree in the east corner. Sailor Mars was in the north corner. Sailor Jupiter, the west. Luna and Artemis took their places behind the fountain. Serena stood in the center.

"What's taking him so long?" Serena began to pace impatiently.

"Serena, just stand still and look helpless," Rei hissed.

"Hide your right hand," Luna commanded. "You can't let him know you're a Devil Sailor." Serena looked around one last time. She couldn't see anyone.

"Hey, you guys..." Serena shivered. An ice-cold shiver ran down her spine as a hand landed on her shoulder. She spun around. There he stood.

"Ah, my dearest Mina," he said. "There now. It's strange to see, but even without your soul, you came here on the account that you cared for me."

"That's correct," Serena gritted her teeth. "Why did you call me here?"

"Mina, answer me this. Do you hate your life?"

"Do I hate my what? What are you talking about?" She looked into his eyes. They were dark red, and had a bewitching look to them. "Why do you ask?"

"Seeing that you've suffered without your feelings, why not let me put you out of your misery," his eyes grew wide as he leaned closer. Serena drew in her breath and stepped back.

"Um, no thanks."

"You are a bit stubborn, Mina. Again you refuse to give me what I want," he drew back out the orb. "Again I must take it from you by force!"

"Hey! It's okay. I'll give it to you," Serena felt the sweat on the back of her neck.

"Excellent. Hand it ove-"

"Hades?" a voice said from the entrance. "I'm sorry I'm late." It was Mina.

"Uh-oh," Serena gasped.

"What? There are two of you?" Hades became confused.

"Serena? What's with your hair?"

"My hair?"

"Imbecile! You're in disguise!" Hades gave an evil snarl at Serena.

"Heh-heh. Guess my cover's blown," Serena started to step back.

"NOT YET!" Lita hollered as she and the others jumped from their hiding places. "How dare you try to kill our friend!"

"And just who might you three be?"

"I'm Sailor Jupiter, and you're in for a bad fall!"

"I'm Sailor Mars! Prepare to pay!"

"And I'm Devil Sailor Ami, sworn to defeat demons like you!"

"Ah, a Devil Sailor!" Hades drew his hands back, then thrust them out at her. "At last, my chance to destroy the dynasty forever, starting with you!" A blast of fire came out and struck Ami. She dodged it with the greatest of ease.

"Not yet you won't!" a voice cried from behind him. "You'll have to get through me first! I am Devil Sailor Serena, sworn to defend the human race against any and all demons from Hell! On behalf of the Devil Sailor Dynasty, I will prevail!"

"Two Devil Sailors! Impossible!" Hades growled.

"Well believe it, pal! It's double trouble now!" Serena and Ami surrounded him.

"Feh. If you fucking shit-heads think you can defeat me, Lord of the Underworld, then I wish you good luck," Hades jeered. "Of course, you'll have to find me first!"

"Aw, shove it," Serena scowled. "You can't scare me and Ami. We've both been to Hell and back!"

Hades said nothing, and grabbed Mina by the arm. She made no effort in trying to get loose. "Perhaps if there was a prize at risk, then you two wouldn't mind coming back!"

"We're not gonna let you get away with this! You're not taking her with you!" Rei threatened.

"Oh, for the love of myself, she's not going to be completely dead. She'll be reincarnated as my wife, Mistress of the Underworld, Persephone!" Hades boomed.

"Anyone besides me really confused here?" Rei asked.

Hades raised his hand (his other held Mina tightly), and a porthole opened. He drew back his cape and jumped into it.

"GIRLS! FOLLOW HIM!" Luna yelled. The girls finally got the picture and leaped in after Hades. The cats chose to stay behind.

"Luna, stay here," Artemis blocked her way. "It's up to the girls now. We've trained them the best we could. The only way we'll know if we succeeded or not is if they return alive." The porthole slammed shut.

_

Hades glided through the nothingness, heading for his headquarters, the center of Hell. Mina was still held tight in his grasp, with no intention or effort being made in trying to get loose.

"This is perfect," Hades beamed viciously. He glared at Mina, who appeared to have not a care in the world. "This stupid girl, she still believes I love her, that I'm doing this only for our relationship, which in itself is a gosh-damn lie. I can't believe she is making this so easy for me. Why didn't I think of using her before? I can be as manipulative as I choose, and she just follows along." He gave a sinister laugh. "Who would've thought that toiling with a young girl's emotions and feelings could be so much fun? And to think, this is the girl whose life will soon exist in my wife, Persephone. Oh, hellish day!" He landed in his lair, and tossed Mina off to the side. She slammed into a nearby wall, but felt no pain.

Mina looked up and glared at Hades. She had heard everything he said. So, she thought to herself, all this time, all he's wanted me for is for some reincarnation. If he hadn't taken my soul, boy, would I be...something really bad right now. She turned her attention over to the Umbra Orb, which held her soul. Hades had left the room for some odd-known reason. Mina went over to the orb and lifted it up. She dropped it on the ground. It bounced up, like a basketball. She couldn't break it! Mina sighed and went over to an open coffin that sat nearby. There was a woman inside of it. "This must be Persephone. This is the person Hades is giving my soul to," Mina said slowly. "It's strange, but this woman looks just like-"

_

"REI!!" Serena cried out. "Rei, where are you?" They had landed in some dark swamp. Ami, Lita, and Serena managed to find each other and stick together, but Rei was no where to be found.

"I'm right here!" Rei sloshed through the muck and joined them. "Yuck! Where the hell are we, Serena?"

"You just said it," Serena replied.

"We're in Hell?" Rei grew deeply concerned. "How do we get out?"

"Rei, calm down. We're not leaving until we rescue Mina," Ami said harshly. "She needs our help now."

"But where do we begin?" Lita asked.

Ami drew out her mini-computer and began typing into it. "This place is like a maze, you guys. Luckily I've mapped out the shortest way to Hades' headquarters. Unfortunately, it's going to be pretty hard to get to." She started walking off. "Well, c'mon, you guys, let's get a move on." They nodded and tagged along.

_

"Oh, have we been a good boy?" Hades patted the head of his three-headed dog. "Good. It seems that we have some unwanted guests in Hell that need a lesson taught to them. If you kill them, I'll give you a treat," he waved a single Milk-Bone biscuit in the air. The dog reluctantly growled. "Alright, alright, if you kill them, I'll treat you to that big purple dinosaur on PBS!" The dog panted happily. "Good boy! I have raised you well! Alright, go get 'em!"

_

"Everything in this place is so dark. And whatever's not dark is blood-red," Rei griped as they continued on their way through Hell. "Even the river is red. It's all so icky!"

"Rei, geez, if you don't stop complaining, I'm gonna toss you into that river!" Lita clenched her fists in disgust. "Believe me, I'll be doing everyone a favor!"

"You wanna start something, bitch?" Rei made a fist and prepared to punch Lita. Just as she was about to slug her, she was interrupted by the sound of a low growling. "What was that?"

"I think it was me," Serena replied. "I haven't eaten since lunch; it was probably my stomach growling."

But Serena was wrong. It wasn't her stomach, it was Cerebes. Its six eyes glowed in the dimness. It lurched closer, then lunged at them with full force. They ran back in fear.

"What is that thing?" Rei cried in terror.

"Obviously Hades sent it out after us," Lita pounded her fist into her other hand. "Leave this one to me!"

"Lita, you can't do this alone!" Ami warned. "It's way too strong!"

"Watch me! In the name of Jupiter, I call upon the powers of thunder and lightning to vanquish this evil! JUPITER THUNDER...CRASH!" She sent her thunder flying at the dog. It crouched back in surprise, and barked angrily once the powers did absolutely nothing to it. Lita gritted her teeth. "Okay, Ami, you were right. It's your turn now!"

Cerebes had found its target, and it was tall, with wavy brown hair and a shorter-than-the-schoolboard-permits dress. It began to foam at the mouth. In a flash, faster than you could say, "This is probably Akane Tendo in some costume, then again, I'm wrong," it attacked Lita at full force, using its mighty claws to attempt to tear her to shreds. The other girls backed away in fear.

"C-come on, you guys, help me!" Lita begged from underneath the mammoth beast. "Please, you can't just leave me here to die!" She began to cry.

"We have no choice! We'd only be endangering ourselves!" Ami replied helplessly.

"Oh, Lita, I'm coming!" Serena couldn't stand it, and dove for the dog, Psyche Staff in hand. She tried to stab, but the dog threw her back against the wall. "NOOO!"

All of a sudden, from high above, a shimmery gold object with four prongs attached to it fell. Giving the rash thought that it was a bomb of some sort, the girls tore like hell out of the area, yet in reluctance leaving Lita behind to get killed. They watched in horror as the shadows of Lita, Cerebes, and the object came in contact and exploded. There was a long, shrill scream, then nothing. Lita was dead.

"She was no match for them," Ami said. "We must get going now."

"Well no shit, Ami, of course they were no match for her!" Serena snapped. "What's the matter with you? Aren't you the least bit upset?"

"Yes, of course, I'm pissed as nobody's business, but we can't let it stop us on our mission!"

"Ami's right," Rei sniffled. "We've got to keep going. We may have lost one Scout, but if we don't hurry up, we'll lose another, that being Mina!"

They continued on. Ami was still in high spirits, and Rei was somewhat startled, but Serena, she just couldn't believe what had just happened earlier. It was like Ami and Rei didn't care that Lita had been mauled to death, that she was out of the picture now. But I won't forget, Serena thought. This just gives me another reason to kick Hades' sorry ass later on.

About an hour later, they approached an intersection. Just as Rei was about to cross it, an enormous gust of wind came tearing through from the crossing road. It was so strong that it ripped an earring from Rei's earlobe. She grabbed it in pain and jumped back.

"What in Mars' name was that?" She yelled.

"We've got to be extra careful here," Ami warned. "These are the Wind Tunnels. Evidently, every 4.5 seconds, a huge gust of wind comes tearing through, usually at about 80 mph."

"That doesn't give us a lot of time to make it across," Serena said.

"Exactly. As soon as the next one passes, one of us has to jet across, to that tunnel over there," Ami pointed straight ahead. "That's the way to the headquarters."

At that moment, a huge gust tore through, then disappeared. Ami took this opportunity to go across. She made it across safely. Serena went next, and made it safely as well. Then came Rei's turn. She was fast, but not fast enough. The next big burst of wind attacked her head on, and she was thrust into its mighty current. It disappeared down the hall, Rei along with it.

Serena and Ami stared at each other in shock. Ami's jaw had dropped, but she snapped out of it and shrugged. "Well, let's keep moving." Serena looked back once more. I can't believe we just lost another. Boy, that Hades sure knows how to kill off poor, innocent girls, she contemplated.

_

"OUCH!" Rei screeched as she slammed into the wall. The wind had carried her some great distance, and had deposited her right outside Hades' chamber. "Now what?" As she got to her feet, a golden object with four prongs on it came flying in at her, and crashed into her chest. She closed her eyes, as if to feel pain, but nothing happened. "Huh? What's this?" The object had attached itself to the big purple bow on her chest. The prongs clasped onto the bow. In the center of the spherical object was a black and white symbol of Mars. It shimmered before her eyes. "What is this thing?" It immediately created an aura that surrounded her. She now found out. "Finally, I'm getting some new powers." When that was done, she wondered ahead, and walked right into Hades' chamber. Mina was on the other side. Rei had to keep quiet so she wouldn't be seen, by Mina, or Hades himself. She slid over to the open coffin and peered. "This woman looks just like me," she thought to herself. "Hmm, this must be the person that's going to get Mina's life and soul. Call me crazy, but I think I may have one hell of an idea." She took the robe off the woman and wrapped it around herself. Perfect fit. She took the body and flung it into the wind tunnel, and proceeded to climb into the coffin. "Let's see how Mr. Soul-snatcher likes it when he finds out that I've already got a soul!"

_

"Ah, such a nice doggy," Hades grinned as he re-entered the room where Mina was. "It's a shame that just because he was at the right place at the wrong time when that atomic bomb hit and became a three-headed dog soon after, that those stupid humans would try and kill it."

Mina had been waiting for him. Ever since he had left, the little speech he had made on the way there had been echoing through her head. No matter how hard she tried, she just couldn't get angry. Without her soul, it was inevitable. "Hades, I've been waiting for you."

"Eh? Ready to submit to power, Mina?"

"Hell no. This may sound really weird coming from me right now, but dammit, I can't take it anymore." She clenched her fists weakly, and climbed onto a pillar that overlooked the rather small, circular room. "Hades, how dare you trick me. How dare you toil with my emotions, like I'm some cheap hooker, like Serena's mother? How dare you." She tried to frown, but it was no use, or was it? The Umbra Orb was slowly beginning to rise to her level.

"Mina, Mina, Mina. What's the use of getting angry when you can't! Why waste your time and your energy over something as useless as your feelings?"

"If my feelings are useless, then why do they mean so much to you?" She could feel something deep within slowly starting to rise. The orb continued floating upward. "You only wanted me for my feelings. My feelings." The orb was beginning to shake. "My feelings." A bright beam shot out and hit Mina. "My...FEELINGS!!" Her soul was re-entering her body. "HOW DARE YOU TOIL WITH MY EMOTIONS! HOW COULD YOU DO THIS TO ME!" A strange effect took place on her right hand. It glittered and sparkled, and then disappeared with a poof! Mina was unaware of what was happening. Her rage was getting higher and higher, until it reached critical mass. Mina jabbed her right index finger out at an awestruck Hades.

"Impudent wench! You still have feeling left in you!" He caught his orb as it hit the ground. "Oh shit. She's got her soul back. Persephone won't like this one bit."

"YOU'VE GONE FAR ENOUGH, HADES! NOW SEE THE WRATH OF MINA AINO SCORNED!" Her rage was at its maximum peak. The golden amulet that had formed around her hand earlier activated. Mina, still unaware of what was going on, continued to yell and carry on as she magically transformed. When completed, she was decked out in an all-white Chinese-Mandarin dress, like Serena's but with bit, poofy-white short sleeves. On her chest was a silver and white Venus symbol. Instead of her orange Venus high-heels, she had white ones on. She had elbow-length white gloves on her arms. "What the hell-what's happening to me?" She asked fearfully.

"What in the name of-You're a Devil Sailor!" Hades pointed out in fury. "You thought you could trick me!"

"Hey, this is news to me too, buddy," Mina replied. All of a sudden, a silver spear formed in her left hand. "What's this thing? Some sort of a weapon?"

Hades went over to Persephone's side. "Oh my dearest, I have failed in getting you a perfect life, or a soul at that."

"Oh, I'm not angry..." Persephone replied seductively as a knee shot up and rammed Hades in his...um...family jewels. He cringed in pain. Persephone ripped off the robe and there stood Rei. "Never thought you'd see me again, eh?"

"Oh shit, not another one."

"You're sushi! Prepare to-"

"HADES! AT LAST WE MEET AGAIN!" Ami and Serena yelled from a doorway. Ami readied her Psyche Sword and prepared to lunge at Hades, but was pulled back by Serena.

"Serena, let go, dammit!"

"Ami! Look up there!" She pointed to the pillar in which an awestruck Mina was still standing upon. "That looks like Mina. You think she's dead now?"

"Whatever, just let me go!"

"But look! She looks just like an angel! Maybe she's come to help us!"

Mina finally got her priorities straight and hopped down. She joined Serena's side.

"A-are you my angel, here to save me?" Serena asked delicately.

"Serena, I'm not dead, okay? I think...I'm a Devil Sailor too," Mina replied.

"You are?" Serena's smile disappeared.

"ENOUGH OF YOUR CHATTER! IF YA'LL WANT TO FIGHT ME, THEN BRING IT ON! I DON'T HAVE ALL ETERNITY!" Hades bellowed.

"Fine!" Ami yelled back. "Let's start things off! Face it, Hades, even if you are in truly the big bad one, you're still outnumbered! MERCURY HYDRO SPLASH...BLAST!"

"PATHETIC! CAN'T YOU DO ANY BETTER THAN THAT?"

"Maybe she can't, but I sure as hell can!" a familiar voice hollered from the entrance situated twenty feet above. Lita jumped down and landed between the girls and Hades. "Your damn freak dog's pissed me off, and you're gonna pay!" A static green aura formed above her. "JUPITER...SUPREME...STORM...ELECTRIFY!!" Hades was wrapped up in a violent storm of electricity.

"Lita, you're alive!" Serena cried happily.

"Sure am."

"My turn! You may think your fire's something, well, get a load of mine!" Rei poised her hands at him. "MARS...RAGING HELL-FIRE...COMBUST!!"

Hades was beginning to weaken, but he still had a lot of life left. Serena took this as the opportunity to stab him in the kidneys with her Psyche Staff. He reeled over, but straightened up quickly. He pulled back out the blood-soaked staff and tossed it back to Serena, who caught it in shock. "I thought you Devil Sailors were a lot more powerful than that!" His eyes turned to a gradually-getting-angered Mina. "Ah, Mina, you haven't hit me yet. Let's see what you can do!"

Mina glared at him. She had no idea as to what she could do, but it finally hit her as she slowly lifted her spear in fury.

"You've stolen my soul. You've tried to kill me. You tricked me into loving you. You tried to kill my friends. If you think for one moment that I'm gonna let you get away with it, DAMMIT! You're wrong!" Mina was ready. "Now, prepare to regret the day you ever crossed my path! I'm not like the other Devil Sailors, in fact, I'm not a Devil Sailor period! I AM MINA, THE SAILOR OF SALVATION!"

"Is she for real?" Serena thought aloud.

"SALVATION...SPIRAL...FLASH..." the spear was firing up with all the energy. Lightning volts danced on its tip. The ground began to shake. "...REVELATION!!!!"

Hades could not withstand all this power. All the energy gathered together in a blinding spiral that wrapped itself around Hades, sending millions of volts of energy through his body. Great beams of light shot through him, as he rose into the air. Then came the explosion so massive that words couldn't describe even if they tried.

"Mina! We've got to get outta here!" Lita yelled as the girls began to run out.

"One last thing...I gotta do it," Mina ran into the smoke and drew out her spear. She raised it high into the air and rammed it into the Umbra Orb, shattering it into a million pieces. She then got up and ran out with the others.

_

The porthole opened and they all cam flying out. They landed on top of each other in broad daylight in the middle of Juuban Park. Some of the people gathered around them in wonder.

"Where are we?" Rei got to her feet.

"We're back! We won!" Serena kissed the ground with happiness. "It's all over!"

"Wow," Mina breathed as she got to her feet. She then caught sight of some of her school friends, who were part of the inquiring crowd.

"Say, isn't that Mina over there?" Katrina pointed to the girl in the white dress.

"Looks like her," Emily replied.

"She looks as though she just came back from fighting some evil demons," Jamie said.

"Jamie, we need to have a talk," Angela put her arm around Jamie's shoulder. "You see, there comes a time when a girl gets way too involved in writing her fanfics..."

"It's weird, but I sure don't feel like I just kicked a demon's butt," Lita wondered as she, Ami, and the others walked out of the park.

"Don't worry, it grows on you," Ami replied.

_

That night, at Rei's temple, a special ceremony took place.

"Artemis and I are so proud of you girls," Luna congratulated. "You have finally succeeded in destroying the worst demon of all, something only your ancestors have dreamed about."

"And in the heat of it all, we gained a new warrior, our Sailor of Salvation!" Artemis announced.

"I can't believe that's me," Mina replied. "I never thought I would become something like that."

"By the way, what's a Sailor of Salvation?" Serena asked.

"I'll explain it to you later," Luna responded.

At last, the Devil Sailor Dynasty had ended, but not on a sad note. It was done by completing the biggest test of all, concentration and determination. Something that comes from deep within your soul.

THE END...

...however...

Many of you are probably wondering right now, did the girls really in truly destroy Hell? Well, hate to rain on your parade, but there's still a lot of Hell left. It's not big, but it's there. I can tell you exactly where in four letters...R-I-N-I.

Serena, Ami, Rei, Lita, Mina, Luna, Artemis, Miss Haruna, Chad, Molly, Melvin, Darien, Tuxedo Mask, Sammy, Serena's parents, Rei's Grandpa, Sailor Mars, and Sailor Jupiter (c)1995 Naoko Takeuchi/Kodansha/Toei Animation

Juuban Junior High and Shibakouen Junior High are also under this copyright

Hades, Cerebes, and Persephone are registered characters in everyday mythology. For more information, check your public library.

Thanatos, Vice, Nana, and Miss Tomoko, the Devil Sailors in general, and the Sailor of Salvation (c)1996 Jamie Godley

Katrina Odette, Emily Berg, Renee & Jen Starling, Angela Harrison, and

Jamie Godley are actual living, breathing human beings in Virginia Beach, VA.

They are merely cameos in this story. Jamie will not be held responsible if any of them wish to kick her @$$ later on. She's sorry. She just wanted to write a decent fanfic, that's all. Is that too much to ask?

Written and illustrated by Jamie Godley

(c)1996, The We Hate Akane Unanimous(

Just what is a Sailor of Salvation?

After reading Allotment Three of Devil Sailor Serena, you were left with Serena asking Luna what a Sailor of Salvation was. Well, unfortunately, Luna is just a cartoon character, and I'm the one who's writing this fanfic.

You see, just like every other group of heroes out there, the Devil Sailors lived by a motto, or a credo if you will. For them, it was the age-old, "There's always a light at the end of the tunnel." They never anticipated this to be true to life, until one day, hundreds of years ago, when one of the Devil Sailors was in trouble, their "light" appeared. According to legend, she came clad in "...a white Chinese-Mandarin Dress with short white puffy sleeves and a bad temper..." Because she first appeared as a bright flash, she was known as the living light at the end of the tunnel. This was altered when she turned out to be a Devil Sailor. However, when she winded up saving the Devil Sailor who was in trouble, she became known as the Sailor of Salvation. She never appeared anywhere else, and never had a real name. She was kind of like the Sailor Scouts' Tuxedo Mask, if you will.

Anyway, centuries passed and she never showed up unless a Devil Sailor was in dire trouble. With her Psyche Spear, she would destroy the demon on the spot, and then booked it.

Unlike the Devil Sailor Dynasty, Sailors of Salvation are not a family thing, and are not passed through the generations. They can only be magically activated when a random person least expects it, and their rage and determination are at critical mass. This is how Mina became one.

Well, I hope this answers all your questions about the Sailor of Salvation. This is also the official end of the Devil Sailor Serena Trilogy. Hope you enjoyed it. I know I enjoyed writing it.

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