At the turn of the last millennium, NeoQueen Serenity ascended the throne in Crystal Tokyo and brought the Earth back to a state of peace. She, her daughter and the eight Planetary Soldiers protected their planet with endless love and devotion. They would die and be reborn again, to grow and fight for their home and loved ones. Their power always triumphed, and the people of Earth always felt secure with the Senshi on their side. But as the next millennium approached, NeoQueen Serenity and her soldiers made a sad discovery. The enemies were very slowly growing in number and evolving to the point where their attacks, no matter how strong, had little effect on them. It was becoming a problem, all the Senshi knew.

For many months, they had been hesitant to face the problem head-on. Everyone did what they could to act as though this, like all troubles before it, would vanish eventually. For a while, this hope returned peace to their hearts.

Soon after, there was a disturbing event that never got out to the public's ears- An assassination attempt was made by the enemy on Princess Chibiusa's life, and it nearly succeeded. The Senshi had returned the attack with all the power they could, which it had barely been enough. As the assassin died at their feet he left an eerie parting message:

"I am not the strongest of my people."

The realization that she may not be able to protect her Earth for eternity frightened and saddened Serenity greatly. She finally decided to confront the problem and hold a conference with her Senshi. As word of the meeting spread, each soldier realized that this meeting could very well decide their fate and that of their kingdom. But even as none of them wanted to admit it, each of them already could sense what was coming.

In the Great Hall of the Crystal Palace they met to discuss the problem. Each Senshi was now about twenty-five years old (with the exception of Minako, who had died at young age in one life). There was a solemn and uncomfortable silence in the air as Serenity began to speak.

"I want to thank everyone for coming. This was not an easy meeting for me to call." The Senshi rose as she took her seat, and then sat again when she was settled. Ami gave Makoto a worried look, gripping her hand from under the table. This was very unlike the Usagi they had known in the past, to be so sad and worried.

"I should get right to the point. Eidre's forces are slowly collecting near the outer arm of our solar system. As we have seen over the past year or so, these creatures have evolved to have some sort of immunity against many of our attacks." Hotaru bowed her head. "You all know that I have had infinite trust in the souls of my Senshi. Our power and that of the other Senshi on other stars can overcome any adversary. But there is something that I must ask all of you, and I need all of you to be honest." She sighed, and lightly touched the moon insignia on her forehead. "Can we, as we are now, defeat this new threat?" She paused. "The few battles we have been in with Eidre's forces have been disastrous. They are immune to, even grow stronger off of our most powerful attacks." Many of the Senshi were now looking at her with shock on their faces. Haruka looked as though she may even yell. Serenity had hoped she wouldn't have to fight with them. "Hotaru, would you please tell everyone what you encountered?"

Hotaru had, at one point, died with all the other Senshi at the same time, and was now nearly the same age as the others. Her hair was slightly longer but she still strongly resembled Chibiusa's little friend from so long ago. She looked up at her queen with unsettled violet eyes, pleading that she did not have to tell the story.

"Hotaru, please." Serenity asked again, her voice gentle and pleading. Shifting uncomfortably in her seat, Hotaru began to speak.

"It was a youma. I encountered it on the way back from the mission in India. It attacked me first and was very strong. So I tried to use my Glaive to destroy it." She stopped there, as the others lingered uneasily on her words. "It stopped me. It stopped my glaive, while I tried to bring it down on him."

There was no sound except a small gasp from Ami. Haruka ran a hand through her hair as Michiru rested a hand reassuringly on Haru's leg. Rei closed her eyes and tried to balance herself.

Makoto didn't want to believe it. "You can't stop Saturn's blade. One of the Moon Princesses may be able to, but not a youma. That's impossible."

Next to her, a 16-year-old Minako looked over at Setsuna. She was still older than the others and Minako looked to her as a role model.

"I've never heard of that happening before. Small Lady did it once, long ago. . . but that is different than a youma."

Rising from her seat and leaning towards Setsuna, Makoto raised her voice. "It can't happen! Saturn is the Soldier of destruction and nothing can top that." Ami leaned over and whispered in her lover's ear.

"Mokoto, please calm down. No need to be so rash," she put her hand on Makoto's strong shoulder and squeezed a bit. "It's okay."

Defeated by Ami's ever-soft words, Makoto slowly sat down again.

Serenity began speaking again, bolder than before. "What I'm about to tell you all, I have only told one other person in all my lives." Setsuna's eyes flicked to King Endymion, who had been politely silent sitting next to his wife. "The souls of Senshi are, in essence, eternal and immortal. As we have experienced for thousands of years, we are endlessly reborn. But what we don't take into account when it comes to being reborn is the effect on our human souls. We are the soldiers of the stars, but we are also mortal. The essence of a Senshi is intertwined within our very being." She stopped momentarily, as if struggling with how to phrase what she was saying next. "Mortal souls eventually move on. To a state of 'heaven', I guess you could say. They join back with the soul of the universe. After so many times being reborn, a mortal soul has advanced to a point where they can be set free." When Michiru noticed that Serenity wasn't sure how to go own, she began to speak.

"I understand what you mean." She began. "You're saying that the soul of Kaiou Michiru is nearly finished on this Earth, but the essence of the Sailorneptune within me needs a new home," she explained easily. Haruka couldn't help but smile at the fact that Michiru was simplifying the words of Usagi. The Queen had changed quite a bit from her earlier days.

Makoto was still uneasy, but felt Ami's calm hand in hers and resisted another outburst.

Rei stood up. "How can we fix that? Is that even within our power?"

"If the two souls are intertwined, then the immortality of the Senshi's soul would prevent the human soul from passing on," Haruka added.

Serenity felt a small release of tension. This was going better than she had expected. "For the past few months, I have had a dream that's been repeating itself. It's a voice. . . somehow familiar. . . telling me that it's time to release our souls from this cycle. The decline has already begun. We have reached and passed our peak."

These words seemed to hit deeper than any that had come before them. None of the Senshi could look at each other. The idea that they couldn't do their duty was disheartening, to say the least. The acknowledgment that they would have to turn that duty over to someone else seemed outrageous.

"I. . . don't trust anyone else do get the job done," Minako said hesitantly.

Serenity smiled. "Every princess must eventually pass on her crown to the next generation, Mina. We are no different." Mamoru looked lovingly at her and took his turn to speak.

"There's more to this. After we separate the essence of a Sailorsenshi from us, by universal law, we are allowed another life. One full human life with no ties to the Senshi."

Makoto began to loosen up. "We could. . . live as normal people?" she looked over at Ami. "Not having to worry about the safety of your loved ones." She had to admit to herself that it sounded appealing.

"Make new choices," Hotaru added.

Setsuna gripped her Time Key more tightly. "But can we trust new souls to do it right? What if they fail? Our solar system would collapse. And we've done so much already."

Serenity looked down at the table, gathering her thoughts. Everything she said would have to be phrased well. She looked up at Setsuna. "This is all or nothing. If we do go through with this, it will restart the cycle. From the very beginning."

Ami's eyes widened. "Another Silver Millennium?"

"Yes. The new Senshi would begin their history as the Princesses of their respective planets. But what happens from there. . we can't be certain. Our future will be in their hands."

After a long pause, Michiru began to speak. "It makes sense, somehow. Queen Serenity?" Michiru stopped for a moment and then nodded, as if confirming something she already knew. "We weren't the first Senshi of this system, were we?"

If anyone could have guessed it, it was Michiru. "No," the queen replied. "We were second."

Rei saw what Michiru was getting at. "I bet that the first Senshi didn't trust us to get the job done, either." This seemed to hit home with the group, as they began to accept that this was to be their final show of love for their people.

"Setsuna is the exception. Pluto was not always part of this system, and was captured by the other planets' gravitational pull near the end of the first Senshis' reign. Before that, Sailorsaturn was the Senshi of time. The title was passed onto whoever would become Sailorpluto, and Sailorsaturn was given the gift of destruction, for it is through Sailorsaturn that we release ourselves from the cycle."

"It all makes sense," Rei echoed. "It just feels right."

Serenity readied herself for the final words. "This has to be for everything. All of us must agree, or it cannot be done." Behind her, a 16-year-old Chibiusa came into the room. She had been told everything by her crying mother the night before and was fully ready to do what was needed. She stood in between her mother and father and looked pleadingly at the Senshi.

There was nothing but a grave silence for a long time as no one moved. Serenity bowed her head and wished she could make them understand.

At the sudden sound of a chair scooting out, the queen slowly looked upwards. Two feet planted themselves firmly of the floor. And as Ami boldly reached out and set her transformation pen softly on the table in front of her, Serenity looked upon her sweet friend with more respect and admiration than ever before. One by one, the Senshi followed in suit-Michiru and Haruka next, followed shortly by Rei, Minako and Hotaru. Makoto stood up and kissed Ami gently on the forehead and laid her pen next to the gold and blue one. Setsuna was last but no less brave, placing her pen quietly on the marble. The circle was complete except for three hollows near the very center. Serenity and her daughter placed their lockets in two of them.

As if they had done it thousands of times before, the Senshi knew what to do next. They approached Hotaru, with her Glaive in hand. Each of them placed a hand on it and held on. King Endymion held Serenity around her waist and close to him, and she let his familiar warmth comfort her. As the final hand was placed, a silvery white glow surrounded them. Their heart crystals appeared, and then hovered over to their respective place above the transformation locket/pen. As long as they had a hand on Saturn's Glaive, they would not die. Serenity let two tears fall as the Glaive was lifted to striking position. They rolled down the long handle of the staff, touching each of the Senshi's fingertips as it went by.

"Thank you, my friends," Serenity whispered.

Chiyo awoke slowly and looked out the eastern window from her bed. The Earth shined brightly through, bathing her in a soft and familiar blue light. She rose from her bed and looked out onto the kingdom. It looked like it would be another beautiful day.