Act 9 Serenity - Princess -

Standing as the ninth chapter of the Pretty Soldier Sailor Moon manga and the ninth of its Dark Kingdom storyline, this entry comes from Naoko Takeuchi. Its central revelation is that Sailor Moon is truly the Moon Princess, Princess Serenity, awakening to her former life on the lunar realm of the Silver Millennium, while Tuxedo Mask proves to be Prince Endymion, ruler of Earth in that same distant age.

Cradling the wounded Tuxedo Mask and pleading with him, Sailor Moon watches recognition dawn in his eyes as he recalls being Endymion, prince of Earth, and knows her as the Serenity he once loved. He murmurs her name and slips into unconsciousness, and her grief shatters her tiara, which gives way to a crescent mark on her brow as she becomes Princess Serenity. In the same instant Sailor V's lunar sign fades into the emblem of Venus, and Mamoru's pocket watch materializes and spins in reverse, unlocking the memories of Serenity and her guardians. She relives the forbidden romance she shared with Endymion, a bond that once ignited war and cost them their lives, and her falling tear crystallizes into the Legendary Silver Crystal.

Sensing the gem, Metalia draws power from it, while Kunzite recovers his own history as one of the Shitennou who once guarded Endymion before being turned against the Moon and, upon rebirth, ensnared anew by the Dark Kingdom. A light escapes the Silver Crystal and enters Tuxedo Mask, whom Kunzite then seizes and hauls back to the enemy's realm. Venus steadies the shaken Serenity, reminding her that she leads the guardians whose task is to shield the princess, and Luna adds that Venus had posed as a stand-in royal while Sailor Moon honed her skills. Resolving to save Mamoru, the group first needs answers about the Dark Kingdom and the crystal, so Luna announces they are bound for the moon. The chapter debuts Princess Serenity, Prince Endymion, and the Silver Crystal, and sits between Act 8 Minako - Sailor V and Act 10 Moon.