It was nightfall in Juuban. Everyone in town was fast asleep, except for a specific group of teens and their cat companions searching for anything to locate the Dark Kingdom. Ami, Rei, Makoto, and Luna were inside the Game Center, searching for the entrance via the Sailor V game computer. Ami typed on the computer, searching all over the map, but she couldn't find anything.

"There's around there either," she sighed with disappointment. "That just leaves..."

But before she could finish her sentence, the doors of the Game Center opened, and Harusuke, Luna, and an exhausted Usagi came in.

"Sorry we're a little late," apologized Luna.

"Someone decided to pig out until she burned up our allowance," Harusuke grumbled.

"Man... I'm exhausted," groaned Usagi.

"So, how did it go?" asked Ami. "Did you find anything?"

"I'm afraid we weren't able to find anything," said Luna sadly. "Not a single one of the dumpling places we checked had anything to do with the Dark Kingdom, much less an entrance."

"Too bad. We haven't had much luck either," said Ami. "And yet somehow, the Dark Kingdom continues to keep sending monsters one after another. There has to be an entrance somewhere."

"What about you, Rei?" asked Harusuke. "Any luck from where you looked?"

Rei shook her head. "Nothing. No hits at all."

"We haven't been able to find anything that leads to their lair either," sighed Makoto.

"I guess that leaves Minako and Artemis," said Luna. "Hopefully, they'll be able to find something-."

"I'm so tired!" groaned Usagi interrupting her.

Luna immediately whipped her head towards Usagi, looking cross. "Usagi! Everyone's tired, but they're trying their best to help out, so suck it up already!" she snapped.

"But I'm also starving!" Usagi whined. "When do we get to eat?!"

"Are you kidding me?!" Harusuke snapped. "You just ate a whole meal at the dumpling shop!"

"The three plates of sweet dumplings and two bowls of anmitsu jelly were tasty," said Usagi. "But that was just a snack! I'm hungry again!"

"For crying out loud! You're stomach's like a freaking black hole!" Harusuke groaned, facepalming. "Seriously! Where the heck do you put it all?!"

Then Minako and Artemis arrived.

"Hey, you guys! We're back!" greeted Minako.

"Sure is lively in here," said Artemis.

"Never mind that," said Rei. "How'd it go with you guys?"

"Not so great," said Minako. "We checked out every bathhouse in Tokyo, but one of them panned out."

"Well, thanks for trying, Minako," said Ami.

"In that case, I guess we'd better call it a night," said Makoto.

"Sounds good," agreed Reo. "I sure could use some sleep right about now."

"I think we all could," said Harusuke as he stretched. "Even though it seems like we're goofing off rather than doing Guardian business."

Everyone was just about to leave when suddenly, the computer emitted a blaring sound like a warning causing everyone to jump. The map on the screen got immediately replaced with video footage of a bright and familiar object in outer space. It was big, shining bright orange, and burned as its flames rippled like its surface. Not only that but there were also black spots on this object that moved and spread along its surface. Everyone knew what this was.

"No way! It can't be!" gasped Luna.

"Is that the sun?!" gasped Harusuke.

"This has happened before," said Artemis. "It's just as I feared."

"What do you mean before?" asked Usagi, who was now concerned as everyone was.

"Those sunspots are moving in the same way they did a long time ago," explained Artemis grimly. "Back when the Moon Kingdom got destroyed!"

"WHAT?!" all the teens exclaimed with shock.

In the Dark Kingdom inside of Metallia's room, the guardians weren't the only ones who noticed the recent activity of the sunspots. Queen Beryl, Metallia, Kunzite, and Zoisite, were watching them too as Mamoru continued to sleep peacefully in his bed.

"Once those sunspots cover the entire sun," spoke Queen Metallia. "I will finally awaken from my eternal sleep."

"And that time is rapidly approaching," said Kunzite.

"So Queen Metallia is finally going to awaken soon?" asked Zoisite.

"Yes," said Queen Beryl. "When that happens, all that's left is to retrieve the Silver Crystal; then, at last, the world will be ours."

"Speaking of which, I have some good news, my queen," said Kunzite. "We will be able to obtain the Silver Crystal shortly."

Queen Beryl, as well as Zoisite, looked at Kunzite a bit surprised.

"What do you mean, Kunzite?" asked Zoisite

"I have found someone who knows Sailor V's human identity," said Kunzite.

"You have?" Queen Beryl spoke, raising a brow in interest. "Go on."

"She is a police officer in England who works with Interpol," explained Kunzite. "What's even better is that this woman once thought of Sailor V as if she were her little sister."

"Well done! That's my Kunzite!" Zoisite spoke with glee. "That is good news!"

Even Queen Beryl was impressed. "How very fascinating," she said. "Find a way to use Sailor V's connection with the Guardians to destroy them all. As for you, Zoisite, I want you to keep up the search. If you find anything, I want you to report to me immediately."

"Yes, Queen Beryl," said Kunzite and Zoisite.

Then suddenly, the cocoon above them began to glow, emitting a strange ringing sound.

"What's going on here?!" demanded Queen Beryl. "What's that noise?!"

At that moment, the gem above Queen Metallia's cocoon began to glow as it shot out a bright purple light of negative energy, which took the form of two hands. The hands enveloped Mamoru as they were sucked into his body, disappearing.

"I can feel it! This man possesses the same energy wavelength as I do!" Queen Metallia spoke with glee. "Endymion is worthy enough to become my successor!"

She then began to inject even more dark energy into Mamoru's, making him groan and writhe in agony as he fell deeper and deeper under her spell.

Usagi woke up with a start having just had another nightmare about Mamoru causing Luna to wake up.

"What the matter, Usagi?" the black cat asked. "Did you have another nightmare again?"

"Yes... It was Tuxedo Mask again," Usagi spoke sadly.

Luna then jumped onto Usagi's bed and nuzzled against her soothingly. "It's OK, Usagi. I understand what you're going through, but if all you do is keep worrying, you'll end up making yourself sick," she said kindly. "You need to make sure you're eating and sleeping enough."

Usagi nodded as she took out a basket of manju that she had been keeping with her. "Well, at least I'm pretty sure that I'm eating enough," she said as she munched on it.

Luna's eyebrow then twitched in irritation. "Guess I was worried for nothing," she grumbled.

Usagi then got out of bed and went over to her window, opening it, and she gazed up at the night sky. "I will say this, seeing the moonlight sure makes these dumplings taste even better!" she giggled. "Now I'm happy!"

She was just about to take another bite of manju when suddenly, something jumped through her window and collided square in her face causing her to fall flat on her back while Artemis landed on Usagi's bed unharmed.

"Oops! Sorry, Usagi!" apologized Artemis.

Usagi couldn't answer. You see, when she and Artemis collided, she accidentally swallowed the manju whole, causing it to get caught in her throat.

"Water!" she croaked as she tried to swallow. "Somebody get me some water!"

"So Artemis, what's going on?" asked Luna.

"It's trouble, Luna! Big trouble!" said Artemis. "It's Minako! She's disappeared!"

Harusuke entered the room at that moment, who had just woken up due to all the noise.

"Hey... what's going on here?" he mumbled groggily. "Don't you know what time it is?"

Then he saw Usagi choking on the floor. He immediately left the room as Luna and Artemis discussed the problem.

"Maybe she went out to try to find the entryway to the Dark Kingdom?" suggested Luna.

"If she did, we would have gone together," Artemis said, shaking his head.

"Well... do you have any idea where she could have gone?" asked Luna.

"Just one; she recently got a phone call from a woman named Katrina," said Artemis. "Maybe that phone had something to do with her disappearance."

Then Harusuke returned to the room with a big glass of water. He walked over to Usagi, who was still choking on the manju, and handed the cup over to her. Usagi eagerly took the cup and gulped down the water enough for her to also swallow the manju.

"Whew! I finally got it down!" Usagi spoke gratefully. "For a minute, I thought I was going to die!"

Luna, Artemis, and Harusuke could only sigh exasperatedly.

"What an idiot..." groaned Luna.

"That's Usagi for you," sighed Harusuke.

Minako sat with another woman, Katrina, inside a hotel room in another part of town. She was a few years older than she was, had chestnut brown hair that went to her shoulder, had bright blue eyes, and wore a green shirt with brown pants, a green and brown twinset on top with black pumps, and had pink earrings on her ears.

As she stared out the window, Minako silently sat in a chair, not saying a single word appearing to be sad. Then, at last, Katrina broke the silence as she walked over to Minako.

"Minako... or should I say Sailor V," she spoke quietly. "I was so happily surprised when I found out that you were still alive. Why didn't you call me and let me know that you were OK?"

Minako silently turned away, still on saying a word. Katrina then placed a kind hand on top of hers.

"I hear that you're still active as Sailor V," she went on. "Isn't that right?"

"Y-Yes. It is," Minako finally spoke.

"Well, I want to help you," Katrina said. "You're a member of the Guardians, right? I'd sure like to meet them."

Minako went silent again. Then she spoke in a quiet but firm voice, trying to keep her wits.

"Katrina? How's Allan doing?" she asked.

"Oh, he's doing fine," Katrina said as she then took out her wallet and opened it. Inside was a picture of herself with a young man at the beach. "This was a picture of us when we took a trip to the beach recently. He misses you too, by the way."

Minako glanced over at the photo and then up to Katrina. She took notice of a small golden locket necklace wrapped around her neck.

"Katrina... You're still wearing that necklace I gave you a while back," she said.

"Why, of course, I always treasure it," smiled Katrina. "It was your special birthday present to me after all. Anyway, I want to help you, and I'd like to meet the guardians as well."

Minako paused for a few seconds appearing to be sadder than before. So much so that her eyes began to brim with tears.

"Katrina, you're an outstanding Interpol agent and also the big sister that I've never had," she said. "I know that meeting the Guardians is something you'd enjoy, but I don't want to expose you to that kind of danger!" She then stood up. "I'm so glad that I got to see you, but I have to go! Goodbye, Katarina!"

She then dashed out of the room.

"Minako! Wait!" Katrina called. "Don't go!"

But it was no use. Minako was gone. At that moment, Kunzite appeared. Katrina quickly bowed before her master.

"Master Kunzite, I'm sorry," she said. "I wasn't able to get any information from her."

"It doesn't appear that pushing her any further will work," Kunzite hummed. "If that's the case, become the monster Papillon and attack that girl!"

He raised his hand, and using his abilities, he implanted some power into Katarina, and her body began to warp and change. Her skin became a sickly yellow, and she now wore a green fuzzy leotard with some blue padding on the under-breast and her abdomen, green gloves that almost went up to her shoulders, green thigh-high boots, and had a large pair of orange butterfly-like wings that sprouted from her head.

Papillon spread her giant wings and burst out of the room on the hunt for Minako so that she could obey her master's will.

Minako stood all by herself at the docks, lost in her sadness thinking about Allan. She was holding a picture of herself and Allan back when she was Sailor V. The more she stared at it, the sadder she became. Her heart ached with pain and sorrow as she hugged the photo close to her chest and a single tear trickled down her cheek. Then she noticed something. A small green butterfly made of light fluttered past her face, puzzling her.

"A butterfly in winter?" she puzzled. "How can that be?"

Then the hairs on the back of her neck stood up on end, for she had sensed danger. Minako immediately jumped out of the way in time for a large green sickle to pierce the ground where she once stood. The sickle turned out to be Papillon, who transformed her hand to try and kill Minako.

"Damn it, looks like I missed!" Papillon cursed. "You have died once before, but it would have been much better if you stayed dead!"

"A monster?!" gasped Minako as she immediately pulled out her transformation pen. "VENUS POWER MAKE UP!"

Transformation sequence: Minako.

The symbol on Minako's pen begins to glow in a bright shade of yellow as she holds up her transformation pen. Next, it spins around as it shines and envelopes Minako in yellow light. Then she sweeps it over her head as streams of yellow stars start to emit from it. Minako then holds up the pen above her head as the streams form a spiral around her body. The stars then disappear into the ground creating a circle of stars around her as they burst into more stars going upwards, enveloping Minako's body. Then emerges wearing the same outfit as Sailor Moon's, but the center bow, boots, and rims on the gloves are orange and her bow bright yellow. She then opens her eyes as she finishes with her signature pose.

Paillon couldn't believe her eyes. "Impossible! Minako Aino was Sailor Venus the whole time?!"

Sailor Venus taking advantage of the monster's shock, went on the attack unleashing her special attack.

"VENUS CRESCENT BEAM!"

She fired a powerful blast of light from her finger, hoping to end it with a single shot, but Papillon immediately defended herself by flapping her wings, making strange green dust appear. The dust took the forms of green butterflies made of light like the one Venus saw before and surrounded Papillon, creating a barrier shielding her from the attack.

"That won't work!" the monster smirked. "I know everything about you, Sailor Venus, from your powers as well as your fighting style to your weaknesses! Now have a taste of mine!"

The butterflies that surrounded her then shot towards Sailor Venus encircling her. The butterflies ensnared and lifted her preventing her from moving, making her scream in agony and pain. She tried to break free, but she couldn't. Then as she looked at Papillon, who was cackling in triumph, she saw something familiar about her. Around her neck was a golden locket necklace she had seen before. That was when Minako realized who Papillon was.

"N-No way...! That necklace!" Sailor Venus thought. "That's... Katarina's! But - why?!"

"Pl-please Katarina! Don't do this!" begged Sailor Venus through gritted teeth. "Snap out of it!"

Papillon didn't listen as she brought her hands closer together, causing the butterflies to squeeze Sailor Venus even tighter, making her scream even louder in pain.

"Now, tell me the identities of the other guardians!" commanded Papillon. "Otherwise, I'll kill you right here and now!"

Then just when it seemed that Sailor Venus was in trouble, Harusuke, Usagi, Luna, and Artemis arrived on the scene.

"Sailor Venus!" cried Artemis.

"Hold on! We're here to save you!" yelled Harusuke.

"Oh, man! That monster's strong!" squeaked Usagi. "What'll we do?!"

Luna then looked toward the bay and saw an open speedboat. "Over there! We'll use that speedboat to escape!"

"Luna?! Are you insane?!" cried Usagi. "Neither of us don't even know how to drive a boat!"

"Then turn yourself into a real sailor!" Luna said. "Or did you forget as usual?"

Harusuke then understood. "That's it! The Disguise Pen!" he cried. "Usagi can turn itself into a sailor and gain the skills to drive the boat!"

Usagi immediately took out the Disguise Pen and activated its power, not wasting time.

"MOON POWER! Turn me into a cute seafaring sailor!"

In a brilliant flash of light, Usagi's clothes changed into a white and blue sailor's uniform with a hat to match on top of her head. At the same time, Luna and Artemis pounced at Papillon clawing and biting at her. Papillon tried to shake them off, but in her haste, she stumbled backward until he fell right over the edge of the bay, falling into the water with a splash. Luckily, the two cats jumped off her just before she hit the water.

Now no longer controlling them, the butterflies that trapped Sailor Venus immediately disappeared, freeing her as she fell towards the ground. Harusuke then ran forward, and just before Sailor Venus hit the ground, he managed to catch her in his arms just in time.

"Now's our chance!" called Artemis. "Let's get out of here before she recovers!"

Harusuke, while carrying Sailor Venus, Luna, and Artemis, then ran over to the boat as Usagi started the engine. Soon, they were speeding along the water, hoping to get away from Papillon as quickly as possible. Harusuke then looked over Sailor Venus, making sure that she was unharmed.

"Sailor Venus, are you alright?" asked Harusuke.

"I'm fine. Thanks," replied Sailor Venus. "But... how did you all figure out where to find me?"

"Well, we searched every hotel's database for a guest named Katarina," said Artemis.

"That's how we found out she was staying at the Harbor View Hill Hotel," finished Luna.

"Once we found that out, we rushed straight over," added Harusuke. "And it's a good thing we did."

"So what do we do now?" asked Usagi as she drove the boats. "We have to get- WAH!"

As Usagi looked back, she saw a horrible sight behind her, causing everyone to look back. Papillon, who had managed to recover, was following close behind them in hot pursuit several feet away.

"Oh crap! She found us!" cried Luna. "Usagi! You might wanna put the medal to medal on this one!"

"Right, I'm going to give this boat everything its got!" Usagi cried

She slammed her foot on the pedal, and with a roar of its engine, the boat sped up, going faster and faster as Papillon shrank from few getting further and further away from them.

"Looks like we managed to get away," Harusuke spoke with relief.

"Nice job, Usagi," said Sailor Venus. "I owe you and Harusuke one."

"No problem!" Usagi said with a wink. "You can count on me!"

Then Usagi and Harusuke looked at Sailor Venus. She was now once again looking very sad, much to their worry.

Then Luna spoke up. "Hey, Usagi! Get us over to that abandoned ship that's anchored over there!" she called, pointing to the right. "We can hide out over there!"

Usagi looked to where Luna was pointing, saw the ship, and turned the wheel, directing the speedboat toward the abandoned liner.

They soon arrived at the liner and climbed onboard. Then, knowing that Papillon would find them, they quickly headed down the hall until they came to a large room. It appeared to be a dining hall with a large bar on the other side.

"Well, it certainly looks like there's no one on board," said Usagi quietly.

"I wonder why this place looks so abandoned?" wondered Harusuke.

"Never mind that now," said Artemis. "We need to stay alert. That monster probably knows that we escaped to this ship by now."

"Speaking of the monster, you called it Katarina, didn't you, Sailor Venus?" wondered Luna. "What's your connection to this person?"

Sailor Venus was unresponsive, not saying a word.

"H-Hey. Take it easy, Luna," Usagi scolded. "Maybe she doesn't want to talk about it."

"No... It's OK..." Sailor Venus spoke quietly. "You were all going to find out eventually, so... I might as well tell you everything."

She took a deep breath and then began her story as Usagi, and the others all sat at the bar and listened.

"It happened around six months ago. I found myself in London, following up on information that there was a Dark Kingdom monster somewhere in England. That's when I met a young man named Alan, and I fell in love.

But... one day, I somehow found myself at a crime scene. A bulgar was making his getaway from a policewoman on the job. The bulgar soon took a little girl hostage, but the man turned out the monster I was searching for and soon disposed of it and saved her. That was when I met Katarina, becoming the best of friends. She gave me good advice, helped me with my studies, and we even saw the sights together, always having fun. I loved her like a big sister, and she always cared and looked after me like I was her little sister. Then, of course, I introduced her to Alan, and the three of us were having fun too.

Then one day, something happened. Katarina and I had tracked down a criminal in an old warehouse and were planning to arrest him, but then I was surprised by a grenade that destroyed the warehouse. Luckily, I managed to get away just in time, but I saw Allan and Katarina. Katarina was in grief because she thought I was killed in the blast and told Allan what happened. The two then embraced each other lovingly, and that was when I realized - that Allan and Katarina were more than just friends. I had no idea that they were in love. That was when I decided to leave and disappear from their lives. I figured that remaining dead to them would probably be best for their happiness."

"So that's why you returned to Japan," Luna spoke quietly.

"You wanted to forget the sad memories by devoting yourself to fighting evil," Artemis spoke in a stunned voice.

"Sailor Venus... we... had no idea," spoke Harusuke apologetically.

"That's... so unfair!" Usagi wept tears trickling down her face. "That's so sad...!"

Sailor Venus looked away, not saying anything more. Harusuke could only stare at Sailor Venus, wholly stunned and feeling sorry for her too.

Then suddenly, the dining room lights turned on, destroying the sad mood. At that moment, Papillon walked in, having to have heard everything.

"So were those tears of yours, tears of joy brought on by the thought of killing you?" she sneered. "Don't worry. I'll make sure this becomes the site of your graves!"

Usagi glared at Papillon, her eyes burning with anger. "You shut up! I'm in a bad mood right now, so you'd better think twice about messing with me!"

"That goes for me too!" said Harusuke, just as angry. "If you play with fire, you're gonna get burned!"

The two then immediately transformed.

"MOON PRISM POWER MAKE UP!"

"SOLAR GUARDIAN POWER FLARE UP!"

Transformation Sequence: Usagi

Usagi's body shone with rainbow-colored light as she seemed to spin around. Then from her brooch, it flashed pink and pink ribbons shot out, wrapping her upper torso and midsection and became a white leotard with a red bow in the center and a collar that was blue with white stripes. Next, Usagi crosses her arms, and more pink ribbons wrap around them, turning into long white gloves. The pink ribbon then wraps around Usagi's legs and turns into a pair of red thigh-high boots. Then a blue skirt appears around Usagi's waist with a red bow in the back. Then a tiny gem starts glowing in the middle of Usagi's forehead, and a gold tiara with a red gem, a pair of dangling crescent moon earrings, a red choker with a moon on it appear along with red circular accents in her hair buns. Usagi then strikes her signature pose as the moon shines behind her in the background.

Transformation sequence: Harusuke.

Harusuke's bracelet begins to glow as Harusuke holds it into the air. Next, the symbol of the sun starts to shine on Harusuke's head as golden yellow and silver light envelop his body. First, the sun appears above him, shining its light upon him. Then, while Harusuke bathed in its light, a silver jumpsuit with gold lines on his hips materializes around his body. After that, the light shone on his legs, and long golden metal boots that went up to his knees appeared on his legs with silver hexagon knee pads. Next, the light shone on his arms, and then golden gauntlets appeared on his hands going up to wrists. Then a yellow symbol of the sun materializes in front of him, and it crashes into his chest, making a golden chest piece of armor appear with silver shoulder guards. Finally, a silver helmet covers his head, exposing his hair and making it stand up with a mouth guard covering his mouth and nose. Finally, Harusuke's eyes open, and he strikes his signature pose the symbol of the sun appears behind him.

"So you two are Solaris and Sailor Moon?!" Papillon said. "I should've guessed."

"At this point, we don't care if you know who we are," said Sailor Moon. "I am the Pretty Guardian for fights for love and justice; I am Sailor Moon!"

"And I'm the knight with the brilliance of the sun and the courage of a warrior who fights for love and justice!" Solaris spoke. "I am Solaris!"

"In the name of the Moon, I'll punish you!"

"In the name of the sun, with my blinding rays, I'll scorch you!"

"Just what the hell are you two blabbering about?!" Papillon groaned. "Your heroic speeches are nothing but nonsense!"

The monster then warped her hand, making it into a sharp scythe, and pounced at the three guardians. Everyone immediately got out of the way dodging the incoming attack. Papillon then rebounded and shot towards the guardians again with her scythe poised. Usually, Sailor Moon would be scared, screaming her head off, but not at the moment, as she bravely before Papillon, ready to fight.

"I refuse to run away!" she proclaimed. "I won't let you get away with trying to break the heart of a young girl that's in love!" She then took off her tiara, transforming it into an energy disc, and fired. "MOON TIARA ACTION!"

Papillon tried to get out of the way of Sailor Moon's attack, but it was too late. The attack hit her square in the stomach, sending her flying and crashing into the tables. At the same time, the necklace that she had around her neck fell off and landed right in front of Sailor Venus.

"Holy crap, Sailor Moon's more fired up than usual!" Solaris gasped. "I've never seen her this angry before!"

Sailor Moon ignored Solaris, and she stomped her way towards a stunned Papillon getting ready to use her attack again. At that moment, Solaris rushed on over and stopped her.

"Sailor Moon, wait! What are you doing?!" demanded Solaris.

"What do you think? I'm going to destroy that monster!" replied Sailor Moon.

"Hold on a minute, Sailor Moon! You can't!" protested Solaris. "That may be a monster, but she's still a human!"

"I don't care, Solaris!" Sailor Moon spoke angrily. "This monster made Minako suffer, and I intend to make her pay for it!"

"I understand that you feel bad for Sailor Venus, but this isn't gonna make things better!" interjected Solaris. "If you killed her now, you'd only regret it! Think about how Sailor Venus would feel!"

As the two siblings continued to argue, Sailor Venus picked up the locket on the floor, which was open. She then looked at the photo inside, and what she saw made her eyes fill with tears. It was a picture of herself as Minako, Allan, and Katarina all smiling happily. She then looked over towards Sailor Moon and Solaris, who were still fighting.

"Please stop, Sailor Moon!" she cried. "Please don't hurt her!"

Sailor Moon and Solaris stopped fighting as Sailor Venus continued to stare at the picture in the necklace.

"It's my fault! I'm the real reason she got turned into a monster," she went on tearfully. "Katarina knew that I was a Guadian, and that's why the Dark Kingdom used her to do their bidding. She's not to blame for all this!"

"But you loved her like a big sister, and then she betrayed you!" protested Sailor Moon.

"I don't care..." Sailor Venus wept as the tears began to stream down her face. "Please... Save her. For me..."

Now Sailor Moon was crying too. "How could you be so nice to her?!" she snapped. "She stole the man you loved!"

"No... Allan chose her," Sailor Venus sniffed. "Katarina was the person she fell in love with, not me. Please - help her..."

Sailor Moon stared at Sailor Venus, not believing what she was hearing. Then Solaris placed a hand on her shoulder.

"Please, Sailor Moon. Help Katarina for Sailor Venus's sake," he spoke in a quiet and kind voice. "Don't let your anger cloud your judgment for doing the right thing. It's what a real princess would do."

Sailor Moon squeezed her hands, and she looked to the floor biting her lip. At that moment, Papillon managed to get back on her feet and prepared to strike again. Solaris immediately stood in front of Sailor Moon and Venus and fired a light beam at her.

"SOLAR BINDING!"

Solaris' light ensnared Papillon as she struggled as she tried to escape. Sailor Moon finally took out her Moon Stick, activating it.

"MOON HEALING ESCALATION!"

"REFRESH!"

Sailor Moon scored a direct hit returning Papillon to Katarina in a powerful blast of sparkles and light. Overjoyed that her friend was back to normal, Sailor Venus immediately rushed over to her wrapping her arms around her in a hug as she regained consciousness.

"Katarina! You're back!" Sailor Venus cried with relief. "I'm so glad!"

Katarina realizing that it was Minako, then returned her embrace and began to shed tears of relief and joy. "Minako... I'm so sorry..." she sobbed. "I had no idea about your feelings for him. I thought you were still just a child. Please forgive me."

Sailor Venus responded by hugging her tighter as she cried tears of joy and sorrow.

Later on, Minako stood alone by the pier with Usagi and the others watching her from afar.

"So what happened with Minako?" wondered Rei.

"She looks so sad," said Ami.

"You think that we should go over to try and cheer her up or something?" asked Makoto.

"I... think that it would be best if we left her alone for now," said Usagi. "Besides, Minako is a lot more grown-up than any of us."

Everyone stared at Usagi, surprised and confused by her words.

Minako continued to stand by the pier staring into the ocean as the morning sun rose from the horizon. She then took out the photo of herself and Allan. At that moment, Harusuke walked up, standing right beside her.

"You sure about this, Minako?" he asked quietly.

"This is how it should be," Minako said. "After all, as long as they're both happy, that's all that matters."

She then took one last look at the photo in the hands as the wind whipped around the two. Then, the wind blew the picture out of her hands and carried it up and away out of sight. Harusuke then looked at Minako.

"I won't ask if you're feeling OK, Minako," he said. "But I will say... that I was moved by what you did. It takes a real woman to let go of a person she loves the most like that. You should be proud."

Minako gave a sad smile in response as she looked towards the sky as the morning wind continued to blow.