Vol. 3 Sailor V appears! Channel 44 Pandora's plot Originally appeared in Run-Run, Summer 1991. Translated by Alex Glover. Version 1.0, 7.96. --------------------------------------------------------------------------- "Wow! It's the idol Pandora! She's debuting tonight on Channel 44!" Minako looks at the posters on the wall. "At the opening of the shopping center. I want one of these posters! Pandora's so pretty! Oh, I'll just take one. They have plenty of them!" She pulls one of the posters off the wall. "Mina!" says Artemis. "You don't have time for this while there's still not peace in the world." "Stupid!" She covers his mouth. "Shh! Shh!" Other people look at them. "Hey, the cat talked! That's some trick!" "Don't worry about the poster, Artemis." It's a secret. This cat, Artemis, can talk like a person. I'm Aino Minako, in 7th grade. I live an fun, eventful life, being with a cat that can talk. Minako rides on her bike, Artemis sitting in the basket in front. Artemis reads the poster. "Hmm..." he says. "Pandora's 24-hour idol show starts on Channel 44." A boy steps in front of her. "Hey, Mina-san!" "Watch out!!" she calls. She swerves and her bike crashes. "Oh no! My poster's in the gutter..." "Hey, Mina-san," says the boy. "I was looking for you." "Amano!" "Come on, let's go to cram school." This nerd has a crush on me. "Jeez, what're you doing... Amano, you idiot!" "Mina!" calls a girl. "Come on, hurry! School's going to start!" This is my best friend, Hikaru-chan. I can always depend on her. "Hey!" calls the teacher. "Aino Minako! About time you got here!" "Well at least I am here," she says. "I had to bring this poster with me from the shopping center!" "The shopping center!? So that's why you're late! As punishment, you're going to have to do fifty extra English problems by yourself." "What!? But...!!" Minako sits down at her desk and takes out her English book. "Oh... How can I do all this..." She looks around, then pulls out her magic pen. "Hehe! With this pen, I can do English, math, anything!" She writes down an English dialogue. "Hey! Mina!" says Artemis. "You're supposed to use that pen to bring peace to the world!" "World peace!?" says the teacher. "Nothing, teacher!" says Minako. "This is a very, very important pen," she thinks. "If I lost it, I'd be in real trouble. When I found Artemis (?), he gave me this pen, and the crescent moon compact. It reflects true forms. Such a fabulous compact." She opens the compact, and sees her reflection, with a mask over her eyes and a crescent moon on her forehead. "All right!" says another girl. "Today's the day!" "Mina!" says Hikaru. "What? What?" "It starts tonight on Channel 44! You gonna watch?" "Of course!" says Minako. "Look! I got a poster!" A boy looks at the poster. "Pandora's only appearing on Channel 44. She's an idol? I've never seen an idol that pretty! She's an instant sensation." "Look!" says another boy. "She's going to give signed CD's to all the boys who go to the studio to support her!" "I'm going!" "Me too! Me too!" "That's cool!" "Channel 44 is broadcast on satellite," says Hikaru. "Great! We just bought a BS tuner for our TV!" "What!?" says Minako. "Oh no! I don't have one! A tuner or an antenna!" "That's too bad," says Amano. "Well, at the same time, Channel 44 is rebroadcast through the CS satellite. You can't watch it with a normal BS antenna." "Huh? What are you talking about?" "You can find some interesting stuff with computers," he says. "It's none of my business, but..." "Hey, did you hear? Channel 44 has a commemorative service for the premiere! They've been handing out antennas around the city today. When you go home, you'll all see them." "Really!?" says Minako. --------------------------------------------------------------------------- "Hurry, Dad, hurry!" Minako cries. "It's starting!" "Just a minute," he says. "Be patient. It's not connected. This antenna's wiring is tricky." He looks at the TV screen. "Oh no, it's not showing." "Come on!" Minako says. "Dad! Fix it!" "Mina!" says her mom. "Television, television. Stop whining! If you don't study, you'll be just like your dad, without success in life!" "Ohh..." thinks Minako. "I'll have to hear what happens from Hikaru-chan." She stares at the poster taped to her wall. --------------------------------------------------------------------------- "Mom," says Minako, the next morning. "Call an electrician about the TV wiring." "Okay, okay." Minako leaves. Her mom picks up the newspaper. "Channel 44, huh? 'Boys who came to the studio were presented with signed CD's!' What!? Only boys? 'Ladies were given diamond rings!' Wow, I didn't see that." - "Oh no!" Minako says. "I'm late! I'm late!" She runs into the classroom. It's empty, except for a few students. "Hey, Mina-san!" says Amano. "Hey, what's going on!? Are these the only people here? Did everyone catch colds?" "I'm the only boy who came!" Amano exclaims. Minako looks at the girls there. "Hmm... Everyone looks weird." The teacher enters the room. "Hey, teacher!" "Class..." he says. "Doesn't matter as long as you watch TV..." "TV!?" Minako thinks. "He looks strange too!" She looks out the window. "Hey, that's... Hikaru-chan!?" She runs outside. "Hikaru-chan! What's wrong!?" "'You don't have to study or work...'" Hikaru says. "What!?" "Let me go! I have to go home," she says, "to watch TV." "TV!?" thinks Minako. "That's what the teacher said... Hikaru-chan!" Hikaru runs away. "Weird..." Minako thinks, as she walks down the street. "The shopping center's so quiet. Not a single person walking around." She enters her house. "Mom!? Mom, you home!?" She sees her mom watching static on television. "What the-!?" says Minako. "My head hurts... Mom, please, turn off the TV... What... These are like supersonic waves..." She steps in front of the television, holding her head. "Mom!" "Shut up!" her mom says. She knocks Minako away. "Don't bother me!!" She continues staring at the TV. "Mom!! What's happening!? What's she watching? I just see static!" "Mina!" says Artemis. "Emergency orders from the boss!" She holds the beeping pen, and pulls out an antenna. "Yes, this is Mina!" "Mina!" the voice says. "This is a state of emergency! Right now, all the people in the city- no, all Japan is being brainwashed!" "Brainwashed!?" "The idol Pandora is just a guise. She's an incarnate devil plotting world conquest! Mina! You must wipe out Pandora and eliminate Channel 44's brainwashing waves at once!" "Understood!" says Minako. "Storm Channel 44!" says Artemis. They run outside. "Mina-san!" calls Amano. "Hey!" "Huh!? Amano!!" she thinks. "Oh! He was probably playing video games, and didn't see the TV show, so he's safe! But if he follows me, he'll be a burden." --------------------------------------------------------------------------- "No way," says the Channel 44 security guard. "They're broadcasting now! Nobody can enter but those who are involved." "But...!" says Minako. "Damn," says Artemis. "After we came all the way here." Minako pulls out her compact. "Let's go!" She opens it up. "Crescent Moon Power Transform! Change me into a policewoman!!" She appears in a police uniform. "I'm here to patrol the building," she says. "Yes," says the security guard. "Please, enter." Minako goes inside the building. "Hehe. It worked! Now, this is the foyer. The studio must be that way." "Mina!" calls Amano. "Where are you!?" He walks past the door Minako entered. "Pandora's not here," says Minako. "Look, Artemis." "Strange," Artemis says. "All the mirrors here have been taken down." - "Mina-san has to be here somewhere," Amano says. "Maybe in there." - Pandora stands on stage and sings. "You don't have to study or work. Nope, it's bad. Only listen to me, the prettiest in the world. Everyone, everyone, be my slaves." A group of boys stare at her, brainwashed. She walks off and grabs a towel. "I'm taking a break. Heh... I will control this country. The beautiful Pandora." She turns and sees Amano behind her. He screams. She smiles. "I... see... you..." She grabs him by the collar. "Help!" he cries. "Mina-san!" "You saw my true face..." "Help me!! Mina-saaan!!" - "Calling me!?" Minako thinks. "That voice... Amano!!" - "Crescent Boomerang!" The boomerang hits the woman. Minako points her gun at her. "Take your hands off him, Pandora!" "Who're you!?" "Saying you don't have to study or work is outrageous! You sent out brainwashing waves, but I won't let you do it anymore, Pandora!!" "Who are you!?" "Moon Power Transform!" Minako lifts her pen up and appears in a sailor suit. "Code Name: Sailor V! The soldier of justice, the sailor-suited beautiful soldier, I am Sailor Venus!" "What!?" says Pandora. "You weren't affected!? The sailor-suited beautiful soldier!? Don't make me laugh! My slaves! Get her!" The brainwashed boys approach Minako. "What should I do?" she thinks. "I can't kill everyone. I have to undo the brainwashing!" She kicks the boys attacking her. They come back again. "Artemis! They're like zombies! They won't stop!" "Heh heh," says Pandora. "She's going to use all her energy before she gets to me." "All the mirrors here have been taken down." "Mina!" calls Artemis. "A mirror! Reflect her true form with the compact!" Minako opens the compact, and it shines at Pandora. "Ohh...." Pandora says. "My reflection... No... I'm the century's pretty model! My gathered slaves... My dream of world conquest..." "Crescent Beam!" A burst of light blasts apart Pandora. Goop falls on the ground. "Eww..." Minako says. "That stinks... That mush was the real Pandora?" "She's melted away," says Artemis. "It's over." Minako spins around and returns to her ordinary clothes. The boys begin to get up. "Uhh... Where are we...?" "What happened?" "All right," thinks Minako. "Everyone's back to normal." She stops. "Everyone's back to normal..." She runs over to Amano and lifts him up. "Amano! Amano!! Wake up!" "Uhh... Oh, Mina-san?" "School! We're late! He'll think we're skipping!!" --------------------------------------------------------------------------- "What have you been doing!?" says the teacher. "You two get fifty extra math problems!" "What!?" Minako sits at her desk and pulls out her math book and her pen. "Hehe! It's fine, it's fine. As long as I have this pen..." Artemis grabs it from her hand. "You're going to study for real," he says. "Ohh..." --------------------------------------------------------------------------- Original manga copyright © 1991 Takeuchi Naoko. English translation copyright © 1996 Alex Glover. --------------------------------------------------------------------------- The Manga of Takeuchi Naoko | Sailor V | Volume 1