[ ] Act 2 - Ami / Sailor Mercury Originally appeared in Nakayoshi, March 1992. Written by Takeuchi Naoko. Translated by Alex Glover. Version 2.0, 4.98. --------------------------------------------------------------------------- A woman with flowing hair sits in the hall of a stone castle, behind a crystal ball. "Have you still not found the Mystical Silver Crystal?" she says. "Yes," says the blond man before her, bowing. "I apologize." "Our great ruler desires power. Gather energy, and find the Mystical Silver Crystal immediately." "Understood," he says. "I am Jadeite, commander of the Dark Kingdom's Far Eastern division. Leave this to me, Queen Beryl." --------------------------------------------------------------------------- "I'm home!" calls Usagi as she walks into her house. "Welcome back," says her mom. "Hey, bald spot kitty, your food's not ready yet." The cat jumps up and scratches at her. "I keep telling you, Mom," says Usagi, "her name's Luna. Call it a bald spot, and she'll scratch you." I'm Tsukino Usagi. I'm fourteen, and in eighth grade. My hobbies are eating, sleeping, and relaxing. I'm kind of a crybaby, an ordinary cute girl. She walks up to her room. "I'm hungry..." Luna follows after her. It's supposed to be like that, but... "Luna... Are you going to stay in my house and keep watch on me?" "What are you saying!!" says Luna. "You've just become a soldier of justice, right!? The enemies will appear again! There are many things I still have to teach you!" "What!?" says Usagi. "I don't want to be so scared again!" Thanks to this talking cat Luna, I've become a soldier of justice. I just can't believe this! "Just who are these enemies, Luna?" "They're not human," says Luna. "But you know that by now, right!? They are evil ones. Ones that must not exist in this world. You must hurry and search for your ally soldiers! Then find the princess and protect her!" "Allies with a princess..." says Usagi with wonder. "Hey! Tuxedo Kamen! And Sailor V-chan! Those people!? They're my allies, for sure!" "I've already spotted the second ally." --------------------------------------------------------------------------- As Usagi sleeps, Luna enters the Crown Game Center. She steps up to a game console and types. A picture of a girl with blue hair appears, along with some data: Name: Mizuno Ami Birthday: September 10 Blood type: A Age: 14 --------------------------------------------------------------------------- The blue-haired girl walks through the hall at school. "Have you seen the results of the test?" "I did, I did! There's a genius in class five!" "Mizuno Ami!" "Full marks in every subject. She's the best in the country!" "They say she has a 300 IQ!" "She's not human!" "Huh?" says Usagi. "A genius? (I thought it was Miss Rain...)" "Oh, Usagi, good morning," says Naru. "It worked for her," says Umino. "The Crystal Seminar!" "Oh, that really elite cram school?" "Mizuno-san goes there!" says Umino. "It's the one they put up by the game center. My dad said it costs a lot of money. She can afford it because her mom's a doctor." "She's smart, she's rich..." says Naru. "Her world must be different." "But she's cool... Probably hard to get to know." Usagi walks past them. "I hear she doesn't have any friends. She just studies." --------------------------------------------------------------------------- After school, Usagi leaves holding her test scores. "Oh, with these miserable test results, mom will kill me... She's been so loud lately." She sees Ami walking. "Hey, that's the genius from class 5..." Luna jumps down onto Ami's shoulder. "Ow!" says Ami. "Oh, you startled me. A kitty?" "Luna!?" thinks Usagi. "If I didn't live in a condo, I could have a cat like this," she says. "Ooh, you're soft." "Somehow..." thinks Usagi. "I get the feeling she's different than what everyone says." Luna sees Usagi staring and jumps from Ami's arms. "Oh, Luna," says Usagi. "Hehe, I'll talk to her..." She approaches Ami. "Sorry. Are you okay?" "Oh, that cat suddenly fell from the sky," says Ami. "I thought she was an angel or something." "Luna, an angel?" thinks Usagi. "This girl is kind of cute." "You're Mizuno Ami-san, from class 5, right? I'm Tsukino Usagi, from class 1. The cat's name is Luna." A devil tail appears on Usagi. "If I become friends with her," she thinks, "she can tell me about the tests. Then will I be a super-genius too?" Luna runs away down the street, to the game center. "Luna?" calls Usagi. "Umm... Mizuno-san, you want to go to the game center? How about it?" They enter the Crown Game Center. Usagi starts playing a game. "This is the Sailor V game," she says. "It's really hard, and I always get killed! Okay, once more!" Ami stands to the side, staring. "That's another hundred yen gone..." says Usagi. "You want to play, Mizuno-san?" Ami starts playing. People gather behind her, watching. "What's this?" "Wow!" She finishes the game at number one in the rankings. "The top score! Wow!" "Wow! That's amazing! Mizuno-san!" says Usagi. The blond man who works there approaches. "Hey," he says. "You're pretty quick at that for a girl." A fancy pen pops out of an opening in the machine. "Huh?" says Ami. "Something came out. A prize?" She holds it up. "It's a pen." "What!?" says Usagi. "Wow! Cool! No fair! I want one too!" She starts hitting the machine. "Maybe it'll put out another one while it's at it! Another pen pops out. "Hey, it came out!" She holds her pen up. "It's cute!" "Usagi-chan..." says the man who works there, grimacing. "Please don't break it!" "This is sure interesting, Tsukino-san," says Ami. "Call me Usagi. Can I call you Ami-chan?" "Sure," says Ami. She looks at the clock. "Oh no! It's this time already! I've got to go to cram school!" "Oh, you have cram school today?" says Usagi. "It's near here, right? The Crystal Seminar?" "Yeah," says Ami. "I have it every day." "Every day!?" "I not good at anything but studying," she says. "I want to be a doctor, like my mom, so I really have to work hard." "Wow, a doctor..." says Usagi. "That's cool!" --------------------------------------------------------------------------- Ami sits down at her desk at the Crystal Seminar, and puts a disk into her computer. "Mizuno-san," says the instructor, "I've got my hopes on you. Excellent people like you will lead the world of tomorrow. Everyone wants to be like you. Keep on studying, and your level will improve." "Right..." says Ami. --------------------------------------------------------------------------- Usagi is in the locker room at school the next day, in gym clothes. The others are changing. "Wanna go get some ice cream at the corner shop?" asks Naru. "Yeah, I'll go!" says Usagi. "Me too," says another girl. Usagi turns and sees a girl leaving. "Kuri-chan is going to the Crystal Seminar," says Naru. "Everyone's going there now," says another girl. "Is the school that effective?" asks Usagi. "The lectures are all on computer. They take home disks with interesting contents, and at home, at school, they use them like they've gone mad. I'm interested in those disks' contents." "Disks?" Usagi says to herself. --------------------------------------------------------------------------- Ami stares at her computer screen. "I can't do this, my mind is foggy... I can't get into the contents of the disk's study..." She takes out a pencil and paper. "I know I'll remember it better writing like this." Usagi runs into the classroom in her gym clothes "Ami-chan!" she calls. "You're studying even after class is over? Hey, you're using that pen! You want to go eat ice cream on the way home?" Some kids walk past behind Usagi. "I have to go to the seminar." "Me too!" "Everyone wants to be like you. Keep at it!" Ami gets up. "I have to go to the Crystal Seminar, too." She leaves. "Meow," says Luna, as she walks up to Usagi. "I got ditched by Ami-chan," says Usagi. "She was so worn out. She studies too much!" She picks up a disk from the ground. "Oh, what's this? Did Ami-chan drop it?" --------------------------------------------------------------------------- The instructor stands in front of the building, handing flyers to people. "If you join now, admission is free!" She gives one to Usagi. "You can bring out your true abilities!" Usagi looks at the paper, which has a picture of Ami. "It's Ami! She's in the flyer!" She reads the flyer. "'Now open! With the Crystal Seminar, you'll be a genius too!'" "Why don't you enroll," says Luna, "and study a little more?" "What? No way! This is a weird school!" Usagi crumples up the flyer and tosses it over her shoulder. "Hey, don't throw it on the street!" says Luna. The paper flies into the face of a man behind her. "Hey!" he yells. "You odango atama! I am not a garbage can!" Usagi spins around. "Oh no, not you!" The man with short black hair takes off his sunglasses. "Was that cat just talking?" he says. "Oh! Of course not! Err, goodbye!" She walks away nervously. The instructor hands him a flyer. "Here's one for you, too!" --------------------------------------------------------------------------- Luna looks at the flyer. "Hey, Usagi-chan. That thing Ami-chan dropped is the Crystal disk here. Let's borrow a school computer. This seems suspicious." She puts the disk into a computer, and text comes up on the screen. "Is this a lecture from the school? What's this, it's ordinary problems. Since they say people turn weird with these, I was hoping for something..." "Is there a secret version?" Usagi says. She starts pounding on the computer. "Usagi-chan, you'll break it!" A voice comes from the computer. "Devote yourself!" "What the-?" "Become a servant for our great ruler! Gather data on the Mystical Silver Crystal!" "This...!!" says Luna. "It's a brainwashing curriculum from the enemy!" --------------------------------------------------------------------------- The man with short black hair stares at a computer screen. "Gather data on the Mystical Silver Crystal!" the voice says. "Gather it!" --------------------------------------------------------------------------- Usagi looks outside and sees students leaving. "Luna! That group is going to the Crystal Seminar!" She sees Ami among them. "Ami-chan!? She's so pale! Is Ami-chan being brainwashed too? I have to save her!" "Usagi-chan!" says Luna. "The pen!" "Huh!?" "That pen you got at the game center! Take it and throw it high into the air! Shout and transform!" "What?!" says Usagi. "I can do that kind of thing with this pen!?" She tosses it into the air. "Moon Power!! Transform me into a doctor!" She appears in a doctor's uniform, and grins. "Usagi-chan! Hurry!" --------------------------------------------------------------------------- Usagi enters the Crystal Seminar building, and runs past the receptionist. "I received a phone call about an emergency!" she says. She sees the students going to the classroom. "Ami-chan!?" Ami passes out before Usagi. "No, you're being brainwashed! Get a hold of yourself, this sickness is in your mind!" "Heh heh..." thinks the instructor. "These Crystal disks will soak up energy. And, if I can use this genius girl's mind, soon Tokyo... no, all of Japan will be under control. Soon I will find the Mystical Silver Crystal." Usagi runs through the door. "Everyone, get away from those computers! You'll be crippled!" "Who are you?" says the instructor "Usagi-chan," says Luna. "Transform into Sailor Moon!" "What!? Again!?" "You can't fight like that. Hurry!" "Oh yeah, I have to fight..." She grabs her brooch. "Moon Prism Power!! Make Up!!" She transforms, throwing her mask high in the air. "You're taking away the pure love of learning by brainwashing these kids! I won't allow it! I am the soldier of love and justice, Sailor Moon!! In the name of the moon, I'll punish you!" A storm of papers flies at Usagi. "Oww! These papers are sharp as razors. Quit it, quit it! I'll be covered with cuts. Oww! I hate cram school, I hate test papers!" She starts crying loudly. Waves form, shattering the glass windows. "Luna!" "Usagi-chan!!" says Luna. "Don't cry blindly and make those supersonic waves come again! If you're not careful, Ami-chan and the others..." "Oh right, Ami-chan..." She looks up. "Ami-chan!! The instructor holds Ami around the throat. "Why aren't you brainwashed!!" says the instructor. "You were goofing off and not studying those disks!" "Ouch..." moans Ami. "I wasn't goofing off. Study is something you do by your own ability. Oh no..." "Ami-chan!" shouts Luna. "The pen! Throw the pen high into the air!" "Die!" cries the instructor, holding out a claw. The pen in Ami's pocket glows. The sign of the planet Mercury appears on her forehead. A mist blows out from her, knocking the monster away. "What's happening?" says the monster. "Uhh... My body's getting cold." "Fog!?" says Usagi. "Luna! Where are you!? Ami-chan!? I can't see anything! Luna!?" The instructor sees Usagi. "There she is... Heh heh... I'll cut her up." Two arms hold Usagi from behind. "Now! Kick!" "What!?" She thrusts her leg up. "Sailor Moon Kick!!" She knocks the instructor to the ground, and falls back into the arms of Tuxedo Kamen. "The enemy was right in front of you," he says. "Be careful." "Tuxedo Kamen!?" Their faces come close. "No way! He's here again!" He lowers her to the ground. "Hurry and save your friends." The instructor approaches again. "There!" Usagi grabs her tiara and flings it. "Moon Frisbee!" It cuts through the monster, who falls to the ground, turning to sand. Usagi turns around, looking out at the moonlit night. "Tuxedo Kamen!? He's gone already..." "Usagi-chan," says Luna. "Luna! What happened to Ami-chan? The fog's clearing up." She sees Ami getting up, dressed in a blue sailor suit. "Ami-chan!? Those clothes..." Luna looks at her. "As I thought! With that mind, you're our brain! You can manipulate water at will, and spread fogs, taking the protection of the planet Mercury. Sailor Mercury! We've been searching for you. You're a soldier too, Ami-chan." "Sailor Mercury!?" she says. "Me!? A soldier...!" "You're an ally?" says Usagi. "No way! All right!" --------------------------------------------------------------------------- Original manga copyright © 1992 Takeuchi Naoko. English translation copyright © 1998 Alex Glover. --------------------------------------------------------------------------- Sailor Moon Translations | Sailor Moon Volume 1