Epilogue

Usagi stood outside her house, tears in her eyes. Haruka and Michiru stood before her, the small car they rented waiting for them. Usagi ran forward and threw her arms around Haruka's waist, holding the girl tightly as she tried to stop the tears from coursing down her face. Haruka hugged her back, smiling awkwardly at the less-than-amused Michiru.

"Calm down, kitten," Haruka said. "We won't be gone long. A few weeks, a month at the most."

"But a European tour?" Usagi complained.

"The record company won't let me out of the contract that easily," Michiru said with a smile. "Apparently being dead isn't a good enough excuse for canceling a world tour."

Usagi forced a smile. "No problems this time, though, right?"

The senshi had told the entire story to Haruka and Michiru, explaining all about Calliste and Mikko, and the role the Protectors once played on the Moon. It had taken some time, but everything was finally sorted out and returning to normal.

"Are you sure you're okay?" Michiru asked.

Usagi nodded. "I'm still sad about Mikko-chan, but it's getting better. Talking to Hiroko-san is helping, and we're all learning a lot about when we were on the Moon."

Michiru smiled. "I'm glad."

"We have to go," Haruka said, hopping into the car. "The probably won't hold our flight. Watch us on TV, kitten!"

"I promise to send you postcards," Michiru added, entering the passenger's side.

As the car sped away, Usagi waved until it was completely out of view.

Usagi entered the Shrine and was pleasantly surprised to see the Protectors were already there. Ami and Yasu were seated under a tree, deep in conversation with a few books scattered around them. Makoto and Leiko, who insisted on being called Lei-lei, were having a mock battle in the courtyard. Hiroko and Minako were also deep in conversation when suddenly they both burst into laughter. Ducking into the Shrine itself, Usagi found Rei and Suma meditating in front of the sacred fire. Feeling suddenly alone, Usagi went to join Minako and Hiroko. In a few minutes, they were all gathered together and discussing their recent victory.

"I still can't understand what happened to Calliste," Usagi said. "Why didn't she get reborn with all of you?"

The Protector senshi all exchanged glances. "There was no Sailor Minos among our group," Suma said.

"We've been discussing this," Ami said, motioning to Yasu, "and we have a hypothesis."

Reaching into her bag, she pulled out a photocopy of a newspaper article. It was written in Greek, but a translation was stapled to the back. There was a photo of a young girl who looked like Calliste in the article.

"What's this?" Minako asked.

"Remember how Calliste told us she got her powers?" Ami said. "She said when she was a girl, she had gone to Knossos with her mother and a vision of a woman there had given her a pendant. That article says that Calliste Xylia died in a freak cave-in at the ruins of Knossos when she was five years old."

"That doesn't make any sense," Rei said. "How could she have come home to her family if she was dead?"
"A few days later, the newspaper printed a retraction," Ami continued. "Apparently, Calliste's body was never found in the ruins, but she showed up on her parents' doorstep three days later."

"What does that mean?" Usagi asked.

"It may be a long shot," Ami pressed on, glancing at Yasu for support, "but we think that the Calliste that returned to her parent's house was not the real Calliste. The vision that gave her senshi powers… created her after the image of the girl who had died."

"Then who was Calliste?" Lei-lei asked in frustration. "Get to the point!"

"Calliste was the embodiment of Sailor Janus' powers – our Sailor Janus," Yasu concluded, shooting an irate look at Leiko. "When we were reborn, Janus ended up on an asteroid far from Earth without her powers. Somehow her powers made it to Earth without her and were formed into a person. When Janus arrived in search of senshi powers, naturally she was drawn to her own missing powers."

"Remember Mikko telling us how killing Sailor Minos had filled the void?" Ami added. "How else could those powers have done that if they hadn't been Mikko's to begin with?"

"So Calliste wasn't a real person at all?" Usagi whispered.

"She was real," Hiroko said. "She grew up, made friends, fought as Sailor Minos. She was as real as any of us."

"But that explains why she wasn't reborn," Ami finished. "When Janus killed her, she took her own powers back. That's why you were able to heal her, Usagi. She was made whole again."

"Thank you, Sailor Moon. I am whole again."

Janus' words echoed through Usagi's mind. The power crazed Janus and the kind and noble Minos were the same person. That was why they were not reborn. That was why Janus was such a good person when she was healed. She was whole again.

Tears formed in Usagi's eyes, and she wiped them away. The others were chatting amongst themselves again, but Usagi was lost in thought. She wished she had had more time with her sensei, the one who had taught her to be selfless and merciful. Still, Usagi knew wherever Mikko was now, she was finally at peace.