AN: It's over now – thanks for riding along. If anyone wanted to write some sort of 'prologue' or side story of how the situation came to this, I'd love to read it.

Don't own.

Four Horsemen: Epilogue

I turn my head to the east,
I don't see nobody by my side.
I turn my head to the west,
still nobody in sight.
So I turn my head to the north,
swallow that pill
that they call pride.
The old me is dead and gone,
the new me will be alright.

I've been travelling
on this road to long
Just trying to find…
my way back home
The old me
is dead and gone
dead and gone…

- Dead and Gone, T.I. (ft. Justin Timberlake)

Serenity looked silently at the dark wasteland in front of her; it seemed to stretch on for an eternity. On unsteady feet she picked herself up and walked towards the quartet of bodies that lay still on the ground. She dropped to her feet, and gently, tenderly stroked Venus's limp hair. Minutes ago it had been vibrant and full of life.

Now…

What would come next?

She turned and looked behind her. The once proud and shining Crystal Tokyo lay in ruins, and there was not much left of a population to rebuild it.

Why would she even care to?

The ideals on which the kingdom had been based upon were long gone – vanished like the lives in front of her. No amount of 'healing activation' could cure the ailments of this world. They had failed. Won the battle, but lost the war.

A light suddenly caught her attention. From the hill where the Four Horsemen arrived, she saw a golden glow. One she would recognize anywhere in the universe…and yet…there was something different about it. It still shown as brightly as ever, but the pure gold light was now stained with a darker color.

It couldn't be…

"Greetings, Serenity."

Gingerly retrieving the Sword of the Moon from its current location, she leaned heavily on its bloodied surface and stood up again, "Hello, Endymion."

"That's no longer my name." The man, dressed in a crisp tuxedo, utterly opposite to her own destroyed dress, walked casually down to meet her.

"What are you called now?" She asked her former lover, the man who had once upon a time been King of these lands.

"Hades."

"It suits you."

Hours of training, followed by pure instinct, triggered a quick change. Serenity blinked and transformed to her other persona – Eternal Sailor Moon. If Hades was surprised, his impartial face did not show a reaction. In the place of the Sword, stood her magnificent scepter and she was glad for its presence.

He tapped his cane on the ground and asked, "Did you not guess it?"

"What?"

"Who was behind all of this?" He gestured to the barren and gutted landscape around them.

"No."

"You never once considered me? I'm disappointed."

She remained perfectly still – managing to look royal, despite how terrified she was.

"Tsk, tsk," his familiar voice slid over her. "My true home, Elysion, exists deep within the Earth – it's where I draw my power from, surely you can see where I'm going with this."

"No."

"Why not?"

"It's not possible."

"Not possible that the Queen of Light and Justice would miss something so obvious?"

"But why destroy everything? Why not crawl back to your Hell and live there without bothering those of us on the surface?"

"Maybe I'm ready to expand my residence."

"I won't let you."

"What hope do you have?"

The magnificent staff, topped with a familiar incandescent jewel, began to glow in her hands, "This. My friends did not die for nothing – I will ensure their success, their legacy. You must know that."

He sighed, "For how long will you fight?"

"As long as it takes."

"We've done this dance before, you know." He looked up to the sky, "Years ago."

"Maybe the ending is different this time," she offered.

"Without evil, where is good?"

"Alone," she whispered.

AN: And...scene. I know, super dark, but then, it's good to push my limits. Thoughts?