Usagi looks up. "That silhouette... No, it can't be... But, I know it is! For a moment, electricity ran through my body..." She stares at the girl in a sailor suit, with long blond hair tied back by a red bow, standing next to a white cat. A crescent moon shape adorns her forehead. "The phantom soldier of justice... Sailor V!?" --------------------------------------------------------------------------- [ ] Act 8 - Minako / Sailor V Originally appeared in Nakayoshi, September 1992. Written by Takeuchi Naoko. Translated by Alex Glover. Version 2.0, 4.98. --------------------------------------------------------------------------- "Sailor V!?" the four girls cry. - Queen Beryl watches through her black crystal ball. "A fifth soldier?" she says. "No, it can't be! Is that..." - "Sailor V!?" says Makoto. "The phantom soldier of justice... No way! What are you doing here..." "But this isn't the Sailor V we know...!" says Rei. "Her clothes...!" "Luna...!" says Ami, in the command center. The girl smiles. She takes out a red mask and puts it over her eyes. "That's right," she says. "I've never really taken this mask off in front of people." "Red goggles!!" thinks Usagi. "V-chan!?" "Man! How rude!" says the white cat. "Sure she was Sailor V, but this person is the sacred inheritor of the holy stone of the ruling family of the Moon Kingdom, the Silver Millennium. She's Princess Selenity!" "Sailor V is the princess!?" thinks Usagi. "Then that was it, after all...! That mark on V-chan's forehead... That must be the sign of Princess Selenity." Usagi's tiara begins to glow. "What!? My forehead... It's hot!" The tiara vanishes in a flash of light, replaced by a large crescent moon emblem with a jewel in the center. "My tiara transformed!? Now... I feel I just remembered something important..." Tuxedo Kamen stares at them. "Princess Selenity...!?" he thinks. The girl whirls around. "Who's there!?" Her eyes meet his. Tuxedo Kamen turns and runs off into the darkness. "That man...!!" thinks the girl. - He takes off his mask. "Princess Selenity..." he thinks. "What is it? That name... It sounds so familiar..." "Help me!" cried Usagi. "Noooo!" "Usako... I couldn't protect her myself..." - "You've done well up to this point, Sailor Moon," says Sailor V. "My idol, Sailor V, right before me..." thinks Usagi. "She's the princess... I don't believe it..." "I've accessed you through the Sailor V game," says Sailor V. "So this isn't the first time we've met." "You've been simulating ways of fighting for a while with the Sailor V game, right?" says the white cat. "It's had results." "The V-chan game taught me how to fight...?" thinks Usagi. "That time it called out to me, too, was actually V-chan!?" Sailor V smiles and shakes hands with the other girls. "Nice to meet you, Sailor Jupiter," she says. "Mars." Rei holds her head. "For a moment then... I thought I saw something..." "Quickly," says Sailor V. "Remember... Your true selves. Your previous lives!" "Previous lives!?" "Sailor Moon!?" calls Luna's voice. "Luna!?" says Usagi. "Luna!?" says Sailor V. "She's probably at the command center, right? Let's go there!" She grasps a pen, and her sailor suit is replaced by a school uniform. "Princess!?" says Usagi. "This is my temporary form," she says, smiling. "Aino Minako. Eighth grade, like all of you." --------------------------------------------------------------------------- They enter the Crown Game Center. "I apologize, Princess, for not being there to meet you," says Luna. "Luna!" says Minako. "What are you apologizing for? You must be carrying out your duty!" She looks around. "It's been a while since I've been to the command center!" "Sailor V..." says Ami. "I mean, Princess. We've been searching for you for a long time. If you're the princess... And you knew who we were...? Why haven't you before now..." "Mercury," she says. "Where shall I begin..." She pets the head of her white cat. "It was very early that I met my aide, Artemis, here. I did not yet know of your existence. At first, together with Artemis, I solved strange incidents occurring in Tokyo as the soldier of justice, Sailor V. I was late in meeting Luna and all of you. I wanted to meet you sooner, but... I thought I'd wait... A little more. Until all of you were awakened, I devoted myself to investigating the enemies independently. As I gathered data, I gradually came to see that one large entity was behind all the mysterious incidents. The series of incidents was not the work of humans. As I chased after them, I found that they were called the Dark Kingdom. And operating that Dark Kingdom is a being of evil, born from darkness. No matter what living thing it may look like, it is not. That mass of evil... Wanting to gain power, it fixed its eyes on the power of our Moon Kingdom's holy stone, the Mystical Silver Crystal. And it is trying to take over Earth! Now for a source of power in human energy and vitality, it is targeting people..." "Princess, have you met that thing?" says Rei. "A very long time ago..." she says. "Because of that thing, the Moon Kingdom... The Silver Millennium was destroyed, and we were not able to become happy...! It was supposed to be buried, but... That thing! Somebody reopened the seal. That even that thing has been resurrected in this world...! You understand, don't you...? To keep the tragedy of the past from repeating, this time for eternity! We must seal that thing away!" "So that's it..." thinks Makoto. "To keep the tragedy of the past from repeating... We were resurrected here as soldiers." "Princess," says Ami. "Then, the Mystical Silver Crystal...?" "To prevent danger," says Minako, "I can't tell you where it is hidden for safekeeping. But I am no longer worried about it falling into enemy hands." "Yes, right," thinks Usagi. "The Mystical Silver Crystal... We can't hand over everything...!" "The enemies will surely be targeting us," says Minako. "To protect the Mystical Silver Crystal, as well, we can fight them, everyone!" "We have such a brave and valiant princess?" thinks Usagi. "It's like we're the ones being protected. Princess Selenity..." The sun rises outside. "Princess... I wonder if that was it... Feels like my head is still hazy... Like she's closer to us..." --------------------------------------------------------------------------- "Selenity," the man calls. Usagi turns, and sees him being swept away, screaming. "Endymion!!" she yells. She bolts up in bed. She looks around. "A dream...?" She goes over to the window and stretches. "I wonder if it's because I met the princess that I had a dream like that. He said Selenity... The one called that, who turned around... Was it me? That man who appears in my dreams sometimes... I called him Endymion." She looks at her alarm clock. "Huh? Only 6 o'clock!?" She gets dressed and goes downstairs. "What!?" says her dad. "What's the matter!? You're up so early! That's not like you, Usagi!" "This is my temporary form," said Minako. "Yes, Dad," says Usagi. "The Usagi until now was a temporary form." "Oh?" he says. "So, what's your true form?" Luna cringes. "A soldier of justice!" says Usagi. "I'm Sailor Moon!" Her dad laughs. "Oh, so that's why you're up early? I see..." "It's true!" she says. "I'm Usagi, and I'm Sailor Moon as well!" "Oh..." she thinks. "He doesn't believe me..." --------------------------------------------------------------------------- Usagi walks to Ichinohashi Park. "I..." she thinks. "I wonder which is the real me... Usagi or Sailor Moon?" She sees Mamoru sitting on a bench by the fountain. "Chiba Mamoru...!" she thinks. "Tuxedo Kamen...! Mamo-chan..." "Oh, g- good morning," she says. "Hey..." he says. He reads a book, the Crystal Encyclopedia. Other books on crystals are stacked on the bench next to him. "I search for the one single key to my memory," he said. "The Mystical Silver Crystal." "The Mystical Silver Crystal," thinks Usagi. "I wonder just what kind of thing it is... Everybody's looking for it. The Mystical Silver Crystal..." Mamoru takes off his glasses. "Help me!" cried Usagi. "Noooo!" "Even when I'm ashamed to meet you, Usako," he says. "It's like we're destined to meet." "Yeah... I guess..." says Usagi. "Destined to meet..." she thinks. She reaches into her pocket and takes out the cracked watch. "Hey..." she says. "This watch is yours, isn't it? I thought I'd give it back to you..." "That's okay," says Mamoru. "You keep it. I have something I have to return to you as well, Usako. The handkerchief you dropped at the ball before. I never had a chance to give it back..." "Huh, what, what?" says Usagi. "Something you have to give back? You have?" "Let's make it a trade," he says. "For good." She smiles. "Okay. For good." - Luna turns away from the two. "It's no good," she thinks. "Whatever I say now, Usagi-chan is infatuated. But I'm worried about that guy... Chiba Mamoru... Tuxedo Kamen. Is he a safe partner for Usagi-chan to fall in love with? Who is he really?" "It's nothing to worry about," says Artemis. "Luna, your mission is to find Sailor Moon and the others, and to train them. To lighten your responsibility, I didn't reverse your memory any more than that. You were originally Sailor Moon's aide. I guess it's time you knew everything, Luna." "Artemis...?" --------------------------------------------------------------------------- "Ohh... The princess of the Moon Kingdom?" "Yes, Queen Metallia," says Queen Beryl. "So she has finally appeared to vanquish me and restore that kingdom...! But I don't sense any indication from the princess at all! Seeing that she has not taken any actions, doesn't she not yet have the Mystical Silver Crystal? Crush and destroy them! What's giving you trouble! Quickly! I cannot wait any longer! To make the surface realize our power, as well! Bring the Mystical Silver Crystal before me at once, Beryl!" Queen Beryl walks away from Queen Metallia. "The princess of the Silver Millennium has been resurrected..." she thinks. "Everybody... is seeking to claim the Mystical Silver Crystal. The battle will begin once more... This time! We will win everything! Heh heh heh..." - Kunzite looks upon the three glass coffins. A decaying corpse lies in each. "Zoisite..." he says. "Even you have been turned into this... Jadeite... Nephrite... Drying up before my eyes. How wretched. Of the four generals... At last it is I alone. "If we had the Mystical Silver Crystal," says Queen Beryl, "Kunzite, Middle Eastern command officer, it would be simple to revive them all. " "Certainly, I know that, Queen Beryl," he says. He bends to kiss her hand. "Before that, I will bring death to the princess and the sailor soldiers." --------------------------------------------------------------------------- The lights of Tokyo shine in the night. "Wow! It's so pretty! With the reclaiming of Tokyo Bay progressing, and getting so lit up, it's even this bright at night!" "It's a jewelry box! Look, it's like it's filled with diamonds!" Kunzite appears in a sphere of light, floating in the air. He looks down at the city and Tokyo Tower. "What an ugly waste of light," he says. "True beauty is the brilliance of darkness. And before this darkness I will drag them out! The princess! And the sailor soldiers!" --------------------------------------------------------------------------- "V-chan, I mean, Princess," says Usagi. "You living like an ordinary girl is kind of strange!" "It's the same as you, Sailor Moon," says Minako. "It's a real turning point for Usagi-chan," says Rei. "As long as she's not transformed, her intelligence level goes down. Quit saying things that will get the princess upset! You're embarrassing yourself." "Rei-chan!" Usagi cries. "You're so mean! You didn't have to say that." "Come on, come on," says Makoto. "What," says Rei. "Isn't it the truth?" Minako laughs. "Anyway, it's gotten late." A blast shoots from Kunzite's hand, slicing through several power lines. Makoto falls to the ground. "Mako-chan!?" The lights of Tokyo begin to black out, until the entire city is dark. "Mako-chan!? Are you all right!?" Makoto moans and holds her head. "An electrical failure!?" says Ami. "The power lines are cut...!!" "Ami! Don't get close to them!" "Mako-chan!?" They see several people lying dead on the ground below the power lines. "Those people!!" --------------------------------------------------------------------------- Luna and Artemis monitor the computers in the command center. "Artemis!" Luna says. "In one moment, all of Tokyo's power supply was just cut off!" "What did you say...!?" --------------------------------------------------------------------------- "I feel it!" says Makoto. "Those power lines just gave off a momentary huge amount of energy power! "Enemies!?" says Usagi. "Let's transform!" says Minako. "I sense the enemies are near...!" "Moon Prism Power! Make Up!!" The girls transform. They walk through the street. "The power failure even extends ahead...!" "Oh no, is the energy of the people of the city...!?" "It's scary... It's never been this dark before...!" "Look! The top of Tokyo Tower...!!" A single point of light shines through the darkened city. "Let's go there!" says Minako. "No, Princess!" says Ami. "Luna and Artemis are in the command center! We'll go there!" "No!" says Minako. "To the tower!" "Then," says Usagi. "We will protect you!" She turns. "I feel uneasy..." she thinks. "Tuxedo Kamen!? I wonder if he's all right. Is he unharmed? Mamoru... Mamo-chan!! Endymion!!" --------------------------------------------------------------------------- Mamoru awakens abruptly. "A dream... Someone calling out to me...? My head hurts. What happened!?" He looks out the window. "A blackout!? What? From that one place, an enormous light..." --------------------------------------------------------------------------- They reach the base of Tokyo Tower. "Up to the top!!" says Makoto. "Don't let go of each other's hands!" A light surrounds the girls, lifting them into the air. "You've come," says Kunzite. Usagi tosses off her mask as she steps onto the platform. "Sucking away the energy of humans is something even God must not do!" she says. "I am the sailor-suited pretty soldier of love and justice, Sailor Moon! In the name of the moon, we'll punish you!" She holds out the glowing moon stick. "Moon Healing Escalation!" The buildings of Tokyo light up, as the power is restored. A blast shoots from Kunzite's hand, knocking Usagi from the platform. "Usagi!!" the girls call. "Oh no!" she cries. "I'm falling...!" She lands in the arms of Tuxedo Kamen. "Tuxedo Kamen!!" She puts her arms around him. "No way... He came to save me again...!!" She looks at him. "This is dangerous!" she says. "The enemies will defeat us! All you can do is run far away!" She reaches up and kisses him, then flies back to the top of the tower. He holds his hand over his mouth. "Sailor Moon...!" he thinks. "You're so strong today...! You show me a different side every time we meet. Is there still another you? What kind of girl are you really!? Who on earth are you!?" Usagi joins the other girls, floating in the air. "Usagi-chan!!" "Supreme Thunder!!" Lightning shoots from Makoto at Kunzite. He sits still, floating in a sphere of light. "Heh heh heh..." he says. "It didn't work!? He's absorbing my lightning power!?" "Send me more and more energy!" he says. "I will return it to you hundreds of times more! I will blow this Tokyo away with you! Heh heh heh." Usagi turns to the others. "Get out of here!" she says. "Hurry!" "He's going to attack with the energy he's accumulated!?" she thinks. "Take the princess to a safe place! I must protect her!" She points the moon stick at the girls, and a sphere of light encircles them, carrying them away. "Usagi!?" "Sailor Moon!!" says Minako. "Damnit!!" A large field of energy gathers around Kunzite. "Protect Sailor Moon!" yells Minako. "Hurry!!" The energy blasts toward Usagi. Tuxedo Kamen looks up at her. "I will protect her!" he thinks. "This time!" He jumps up in front of her. The blast strikes, piercing him through the chest. Usagi yells in shock as Tuxedo Kamen falls to the ground. --------------------------------------------------------------------------- Original manga copyright © 1992 Takeuchi Naoko. English translation copyright © 1998 Alex Glover. --------------------------------------------------------------------------- Sailor Moon Translations | Sailor Moon Volume 2