Minako decided she really loathed her job, right at that very moment. She insisted she be allowed to cut the tour short and go home, but her manager refused until she finished the four shows she promised throughout that week. Because of course they did. They'd never understand the anxiety she was feeling over needing to know if the others were alright! A leader was always the first one to scope out the danger, and she was unable to do any of that. Why, just that night she had to perform three whole encores! She wanted to pass out in her dressing room. It was too much to take!

The next day, she'd leave after her show for sure. She meant it!

Her manager suggested she take the rest of the day off and go to a beauty resort to get some pampering in, and Minako agreed, not really having much reason for arguing. Besides, who was she to decline a day of beauty and pampering? It'd help her keep an eye on what was going on in Kyoto as well.

After her rehearsal and dress fitting, Minako headed to the one beauty spa she knew she could trust and greeted the owners, buying a usual package that'd last for the rest of the day. She brought Artemis with her as usual, but kept him in her bag and reminded him to be quiet so they wouldn't get in trouble.

"You're such a great customer!" One of the staff swooned. "Love Goddess!"

Minako got her hair done first, wanting a wash and comb session due to how short it was. After she got sat down and hooked up to a dryer, she pretended to flip through a magazine when she noticed another woman walk into the room.

"Do you all love your hair?" She giggled cutely.

"Yes! It's so pretty!" The girls around Minako cheered in unison.

"Great! You're so emotional today!" The woman beamed. "Keep it up, I love that!"

Minako frowned and turned another page, trying to squirm under the dryer. Some of the girls sitting next to her sighed great sighs before falling asleep suddenly, grey in the skin. The workers looked worried as they pulled them off the dryers, while the woman just looked on.

"They're just a bit tired! Dryers can do that to people! Make you fall asleep in an instant!" She laughed. Minako turned another page.

"Next is your mani-pedi, Aino-san," A worker nodded, helping her out of the dryer and into another room. Minako self-consciously felt her hair, touching the soft dry strands that barely grazed her cheek or chin. That felt normal at least.

There were more girls in that room, boredly looking around as the workers chatted lively with them on various subjects. The strange woman was there too, and Minako noticed she wore shells and pearls around her neck, wrists, ears, and hair, with a long pearl belt around her waist.

The worker helped Minako sit down and started to file her nails, gushing in excitement over her new album and how inspired her costume designs were.

"You dress just like the lovely Venus! Goddess of love and beauty! And your songs are about that too! It's so cool!" She gushed.

The woman suddenly turned around and stared at Minako, giving her an intense glare that she returned in slight confusion. She felt something strange about the woman, but couldn't place exactly what it was.

"I would recommend you paint your nails red or pink! The colors of romance! You'll be sure to catch his eye then!" The woman smiled.

Minako opted for an unassuming white color, still keeping a subtle eye on the woman. She was strange yet familiar, in a way she never thought she'd see from back when she first joined the team as Sailor Venus. There was simply no way she was Dark Kingdom. Was she an enemy, or just someone with an unknown aura like the Sailor Starlights? She frowned. Artemis peeked at her worriedly from under the bag's clasp.

Some more girls slumped forward in their seats, unconscious and colorless just as before. The woman kept wandering around the seats, offering pretty smiles to anyone in them.

Once her nails were done, she donned a towel and sunk into the mineral bath, unable to stop herself from sighing at it. It was warm and fizzy, just the way she liked it. Only three other girls joined her, and they just kept to themselves.

The woman wandered in, and Minako saw her full appearance then. Braided golden hair pulled up into a bun, a golden skimpy bikini with heels and the pearl belt was attached to a long white sheer piece of fabric that fanned behind her and around her legs like a sort of skirt. She was gorgeous, easily the most beautiful woman Minako had ever seen, and she had seen quite a few in her years. She was wholly inappropriate for a beauty resort, but Minako knew then she wasn't there for the offered services.

"Just you four left, huh. A shame. I wanted prettier, stronger girls." The woman huffed before she leaned forward and grabbed a brunette, pulling her arm and making her cry out in pain. "Shut up! Girls are ugly when they scream!"

Minako trembled, trying to subtly climb out of the tub and grab her transformation pen from her locker in a way where the woman wouldn't notice. The other two girls watched in horror as the woman yanked the brunette further out of the tub and loudly sucked on the back of her head, turning her grey and dropping her. The girl laid on the floor with a vacant expression in her eyes.

"You're a crazy monster!" One girl shrieked.

"Cannibal!" The other screamed, managing to dash out of the tub and back into the locker rooms. The woman frowned.

"How dare you call me such horrid terms! I'm beautiful!" She grabbed the head of the blonde who shrieked and hit the back of it, knocking her out and dragging her out of the water. Minako took her chance and ran, transforming secretly in a bathroom stall before reappearing in the bath area.

"Stop! You're ruining the dreams and desires of young women who just wish to be beautiful!" She posed. "I'm Sailor Venus, and I'll destroy you!"

The woman laughed and posed as well, curtsying with her sheer covering. "A pleasure to meet you too, Venus! I am Aphrodite! The most beautiful of them all!"

Sailor Venus took a fighting pose, waiting to see what Aphrodite would do first. Aphrodite spun around, landing daintily on her feet and escaping out into the parking lot. She snapped her fingers when Venus tried to approach her, summoning several of the girls and women who fainted from the makeovers.

"You're all under my control now!" She winked. "Attack her!"

"Yes Mistress." One of the girls swiped at Venus but she managed to dodge, setting her sights on Aphrodite.

"I'm not going to hurt them!"

"Oh! You're too good!" Aphrodite laughed. Venus summoned her chain attack and threw it at her, wrapping her up in it. She pulled her closer and fired another attack on her, making her collapse.

"Mistress!" The girls cried and several lunged at Venus, forcing her to drop the rope and dodge again.

"Crescent Beam!" She fired the attack on the group, making the girls scream in panic and try to run off.

"Do you really think you've won?" Aphrodite smirked, yanking off the chain. "As long as I have them under my control, you can't touch me."

"Venus! Love and Beauty Shock!" She hit Aphrodite with the attack. The villainess screamed, wincing as she hugged herself. Venus jumped onto the roof of a car.

She knew if she kept hitting Aphrodite she'd weaken eventually, but that wasn't the best tactic to use. She didn't want to hit her brainwashed girls either, but she was using them to spite her into attacking as well as a defense. She kept trying to think.

"Are you seriously trying to plan out your attacks? Just hit something!" Aphrodite mocked.

Venus jumped off the car and surprised her by delivering a swift kick to her chest, knocking her down. The brainwashed girls gasped and made dives at Venus again, but she slid away out of range.

"Venus Love-Me Chain!" She slapped Aphrodite with it, preventing her from getting up. She groaned in pain and eventually fell to the ground, grumbling. The girls collapsed as well, exhausted expressions on their faces.

"Fine, you bested me. But you're a dirty fighter! You can't kick me like that!"

Venus felt a surge of warm energy flow through her body, bathing her in an orange glow. When the glow vanished, she wore an outfit just like Eternal Sailor Moon's with shimmering orange lipstick. A white glow in front of her formed into a bejeweled sword that she held in her hands in awe. She knew it was both a new power and physical weapon in its own way.

She walked over to Aphrodite and leaned closer to her. "Who are you? What are you doing here?"

She huffed. "Does it matter? You beat me. I don't have to tell you anything!" She sat up and then stood on shaky legs. "I'll just bring the others. Then you'll be sorry! You all will be!" She vanished.

Sailor Venus winced at the implications, knowing their battle was far from over. At least she had some idea of her opponent, and even though she was beaten this time, she also had the feeling it wouldn't be the last time they met.

"Minako!" Artemis said, running into the parking lot. She glanced at him. "It's a new enemy, isn't it?"

She nodded with a sigh. "I don't get it. Wasn't it supposed to be eternal peace until the Black Moon Clan? Why are we suddenly getting new enemies?"

"I wish I knew."

The two looked at each other helplessly.

/+/

That night, Minako packed up all she could and feigned a sudden illness. It'd look bad if her lie was ever caught, but that was far from her mind. She just needed any sort of excuse to leave her tour early and head back to Tokyo to be with the others. She was thankful that unlike the others, she had very little ties to her civilian life. Sure, she loved being a model and an idol, it was always her dream, but hiatuses were a thing. She was too busy to marry and never found the right one, and Kyoto wasn't too far from her friends at all. If duty ever called her, she knew she'd be the first to answer because she had little other obligations.

Once she finished packing, she took a brief look back at her dressing room and took a series of taxis back home, wanting to seem as nondescript as possible. The moment she stepped out back home, she felt different.

Time to say goodbye to whoever she was in the past, for now she was entirely Sailor Venus, leader of the entire Sailor Senshi.

She collapsed on the couch when she entered her house.