Manga Volume 12: Act 34

If you're wondering "what happened to volume 11?" I have simple explanation for you. There are 52 acts in the manga, but Naoko also added in stories that didn't follow right after the acts, and 2 of these stories make up Volume 11. They are titled 'Princess Kaguya' and 'Casablancas'. I will summarize/post them when I am done with the manga acts, and there are also special 'exam' stories and 'chibi usa's picture diary' stories which give great information about the characters and storyline. All of this I *WILL* have up! :) Just be patient ok? :)

We begin this volume seeing a letter (with no kanji at all):

The Plan Mom and Dad, thanks to you, I, Usagi Small-Lady Selenity, have become the splendid soldier, Super Sailor Chibi-Moon! With this, I have completed my training, so I've decided to return to the 30th century on April 1st. I hope to be with you soon. See you there! Usagi While in the newspaper, a total solar eclipse is announced! Usagi is "wandering" around and Rei yells at her to stop wandering because they're leaving. Usagi rushes to join them and Rei asks what's with Usagi, because Usagi is being so playful.

"'Cause, I'm so happy!" says Usagi. "I get to wear a Juuban High uniform! We made it, everyone! We're in high school! Isn't that great!"

Makoto says that all the studying for the entrance exams paid off, but Rei and Chibi Usa begin to tease Usagi.

"No way!" says Chibi-Usa. "Usagi, who can't even write kanji, is in high school!? Is it the power of the Mystical Silver Crystal!?"

"There must have been a mistake in the grading," says Rei. "She passed."

"When people face death, there's nothing they can't do," says Ami.

Usagi grimaces at their remarks. "Chibi-Usa," she says. "Rei-chan, Ami-chan. Why do you have to say those things..."

"But I'm happy!" says Minako. "From now on, I'm going to the same school as all of you, Juuban High!"

Minako goes on to say that she's going to join the volleyball club and that THIS time, she'll MAKE it! ;) And that on weekends she'll take idol auditions. (remember her dream is to be an idol, loved and worshiped by everyone?) Makoto announces she'll join the cooking club, Ami the computer club, Rei an archery club and then Rei asks Usagi what club she wants to join, Usagi answers:

"Me? I... Since I read lots of manga... Maybe I'll join a manga drawing club. Hey! Mamo-chan!"

"Mamoru-san," says Ami. "You're a freshmen at the KO University School of Medicine, right? That's what I hope to be, too."

"Okay," says Usagi. "We'll go after we take Chibi-Usa." The four girls stop. "Oh, right. Today you're going back to the 30th century, Chibi-Usa."

Everyone says words of parting and good-byes to Chibi Usa and they all hug. We're now treated to a lovely family scene :)

"See you later, everyone! Well, so now we're going to Ichinohashi Park. Mamo-chan. Hey, I have a request."

Mamoru and Usagi grimace.

"Guess I don't have a choice," Mamoru says. "Want me to carry you? On my back? You're taking advantage of me..."

Chibi-Usa hops up on to his shoulders.

"You didn't forget anything?" Usagi asks.

"Nope."

"Did you bring the diary Ikuko-mama got you?"

"Yep."

"Your address?"

"Got it."

"How about the charm from the Hikawa Shrine Rei-chan gave you?"

"It's in my backpack."

Diana (Luna and Artemis' cat daughter) is also returning with Chibi Usa to the 30th C. Luna and Artemis are at the command center and not seeing Diana off because they say it is too painful for thm to say good-bye to their daughter.

They reach the park, where a crowd is gathered.

"Wow! All those people!"

"Oh," says Mamoru. "That reminds me. I saw it on TV. Today's the day of the biggest total solar eclipse of the century."

Mamoru looks to the sky. "It's a phenomenon where the new moon crosses in front of the sun, hiding it entirely. We're lucky to be able to see such a big show together."

"The new moon hides the sun?" Usagi thinks.

"The chance to see a total solar eclipse here like this comes along once in a millennium," says a man. "For the best experience, take one of these black boards to look through it."

Chibi-Usa holds the board over her eyes as she watches the moon move in front of the sun. "Wow! The sun's starting to disappear!"

"It's getting kind of dark out." Chibi-Usa hears a ringing sound. "A bell twinkling?" she thinks. "Such a clear, pretty sound..."

"...me..."

Usagi and Chibi-Usa turn around.

"Help me... Maiden..."

They see a winged, white horse, with a gold horn protruding from its forehead, among a grove of trees.

"Help me... Maiden..."

It begins to fade away. Usagi and Chibi-Usa's mouths hang open.

"Maiden?" they say at once. "Does that mean... me!?"

"It's me!" says Chibi-Usa.

"Say what!?" says Usagi. "It's me!"

"It wouldn't call such an old hag a maiden!"

"It wouldn't call such a little brat a maiden!"

"There, for a moment..." Mamoru says. "Woods and a white horse..."

"Mamo-chan, you saw it too!?"

A bright light shines in the sky.

"The new moon is completely hiding the sun..."

At the same time, the senshi are also looking at the sky. Nearby, a mother tells her daughter to make a wish. The soldiers hear this and also begin making wishes. Minako wishes to be an idol, Makoto's dreamis to be a bride, then a florist, or work in a cakse shot, she concludes with "I want to be a happy bride" :) Ami reveals that her dream is to be a great doctor, and Rei's wish is to follow her grandpa and become a wonderful Chief Priest at the Hikawa Shine!

It begins to get very....very...dark......

Back at the part:

"Odd," Mamoru says. His eyes widen suddenly, and he doubles over.

Usagi and Diana both call out to Mamoru but Mamoru replies he is fine, just a little dizzy, meanwhile he's thinking to himself: "What was it..." he thinks. "That pain..."

Mamoru, Usagi, and Chibi-Usa look into the sky. A flying craft with spotted sails appears in the air. Voices call out from it.

"Come on! Come on! The circus is here!"

"The city of lights, filled with beautiful dreams!"

"The land we've longed for! We've been waiting and waiting for this time!"

"The arrival of our Dead Moon Circus!"

The craft vanishes.

"Hey!" Usagi says. "What the-!? From inside the eclipse... A ship!? They were singing! The Dead Moon Circus!"

"Sure looks that way," says Mamoru. "A grove, a white horse, a ship flying through the sky... And that song, too. Is this a daydream?"

The pain strikes him again. "It's not a dream," he thinks. "I feel an ominous foreboding..."

The Senshi had also seen this space ship/Dead Moon Circus. Suddenly, two crows swoop down to them.

"Phobos!? Deimos!?" Rei says. (Rei's two crows at the shrine) They drop a card and a newspaper with an article on the eclipse on the ground.

"The tarot card for the moon," Rei says. "It foretells anxiety, and bad things to come. The cursed solar eclipse, once in a millennium... Is that what you want to say, Phobos, Deimos? I feel an ominous foreboding... The scent of evil... Let's go to Ichinohashi Park!"

"Rei?"

"I'm worried about Usagi and the others!" They run toward the park. "The foreboding of a new enemy...!" Rei thinks.

Back at the park, our royal family decides to go to the Juuban shopping center and kill some time before Chibi Usa has to return to the 30th C.As the three reach the shopping center, they see a large banner hanging above them.

"Circus arrival blowout sale!?" Usagi reads. She picks up a flyer. "'A huge circus from the exotic regions of the Amazon! The mysterious Dead Moon Circus! They travel the world and have finally come here!'"

They hear a song.

"Filled with beautiful dreams... We're the Dead! Dead! Dead Moon! Circus..."

"That song!" says Chibi-Usa. "Is that the circus song!? Is it carrying all through Juuban?"

A woman is working at a stand. "Hello hello!" she says. "The circus is coming next month! If you get a stamp from the shopping center now, you get S-row tickets! There's a big sale until the last day of the circus!"

"Wow! It's like a festival!" Usagi says.

"They've got cotton candy!" says Chibi-Usa. "And goldfish!"

"Miss! How much are these kaleidoscopes?"

"Wow!"

"There's cheap candy, too!"

"Glass kaleidoscopes..." Usagi says. "They're pretty."

Mamoru reads the flyer. "'Grand opening at Mamiana Sakaue Park!'"

"The Dead Moon Circus?" he thinks. "All of a sudden...?"

"Mamo-chan!" Usagi says. "We want these!"

"Yeah!" says Chibi-Usa. "The lady said to buy them. Please!"

"How much are they?"

"For two, 1000 yen."

"Pleeeease!"

"What are they?" Mamoru says.

"Glass kaleidoscopes! They're so pretty!"

He reluctantly buys two of the kaleidoscopes.

"Mamo-chan, thanks! I love it!"

"Mamo-chan bought them for both of us," says Usagi. "That's a first!"

"Look, look! Diana!" says Chibi-Usa. "It spins!"

Mamoru smiles.

The Senshi watch Usagi, Mamoru and Chibi Usa and make sure they're ok and share their growing suspicions about the 'Circus'. At that moment, the "Five o'clocl bell" rings.

"The five o'clock bell!" Usagi says. "Is it that time already? There's still people in Ichinohashi Park."

"Looks like a festival," says Chibi-Usa.

"Chibi-Usa," says Usagi. "How about if you go home tomorrow morning? It's dangerous late at night."

"Then let's do that!" says Chibi-Usa.

"Didn't you say you were returning today in that letter you sent to the 30th century?" Mamoru asks.

"It's all right! The letter is dated today, April 1st. Since it's my mom, after all, she'll think it's an April Fool's joke, and won't believe me."

"Then I guess it is all right..." says Mamoru.

"Chibi-Usa, we can't make your parents worry," says Usagi. "So we'll get up early and first thing tomorrow, you'll go home. You'll have to tell your mom why and apologize."

"Okay," says Chibi-Usa. "Mamo-chan! So, hey... I have one request..."

Mamoru grimaces.

It is now night time and we see a picture of a very happy looking Chibi Usa ;)

Chibi-Usa chuckles as she looks into her hand mirror. She smiles as she brushes her long hair. "Yay! I get to spend the night!"

"Yeah, mom?" Usagi says on the phone. "They gave us homework right away at school today! So, I'm at Mako-chan's now. Yeah, yeah. I might be spending the night. Bye." She hangs up. "All right! The coast is clear. Sorry, mom... It is Chibi-Usa's last night, after all."

Chibi-Usa looks through her kaleidoscope. "Wow! There's all kinds of stones inside it."

"These kaleidoscopes are pretty," Usagi says. "I've always wanted one of these."

Both girls get a pillow in the face.

"Chibi-Usa!" Mamoru says. "You're getting up at five tomorrow. Hurry and get to sleep." (He's such a stern father yet can be putty in the hands of the two girls he loves most! :) )

"What!? Five o'clock!?"

"Usa! After a while, you'll have to go home, too. Have you lost faith in me?"

"What!? I don't want to go!!"

Mamoru gets into bed with them. "Man," he says. "When I raise my daughter, I'm really going to be strict with her."

"Oh, I wish I could be small like Chibi-Usa," says Usagi. "Being a kid is great. You can depend on others without apology, and people indulge you..."

"When haven't you depended on me without apology!" says Mamoru.

"What!?" says Chibi-Usa. "I'd like to be an adult! There's lots of things you can't do as a kid. It only has disadvantages. Me, I want to hurry and become a woman! Then, then, for sure, I can look at Mamo-chan as an adult woman."

"What are you talking about," says Usagi. "You're his daughter!"

"Please, get to sleep!" says Mamoru.

They both stop talking.

Chibi-Usa looks at Usagi. "Really," she thinks, "I want to be like Usagi. Her long, slender legs. Her full chest. Her soft, long hair. She's pretty. I want to be like her too... Why am I going to be chibi forever..."

"Can't you sleep?" Usagi asks.

"It's going home tomorrow, isn't it," says Mamoru.

"Hey..." says Chibi-Usa. "Tell me a story. When I was little, mom would often sit by my bed and tell me stories until I fell asleep."

"What kind of stories?"

"Stories of sunken empires in the sea, or the mysteries of the pyramids, or cursed diamonds. Stories of robots, and vampires, and mirrors."

"Stories of mirrors?" asks Usagi.

"Well, on the other side of a mirror, another, pitch-black world exists. So on pitch-black nights, of new moons, you can't look into a mirror. Otherwise, you'll be drawn into the world inside it. It's an old European legend."

Usagi looks across the room at a mirror, and sees it's black. She turns over in bed. "Oh no! I can't look into mirrors at night anymore! Good night! (Stupid Chibi-Usa.)"

Chibi-Usa falls asleep. Mamoru looks at her. "Chibi-Usa is more of the adult," he says.

"Really, Mamo-chan?" Chibi-Usa thinks. "I really want to become an adult soon."

The mirror is black.

We are then introduced to an old woman who stands inside the circus big top, holding a cane. She faces 4 girls who reveal themselves to be the "Amazoness Quartet". They are swearing to fight and get rid of anyone who gets in the way of making their circus a success. One of them says something about sealing a doorway tight and all vanish.

Chibi-Usa lies asleep in bed. She hears someone saying 'Maiden' and replies back, yes, that's it. I really want to be a maiden. She then tuns and sees a winged horse....at first it looks like a unicorn, then she realizes it is a Pegasus. This Pegasus tells Chibi Usa that she carries the dream of beauty and calls her a maiden. Chibi Usa is shocked that SHE is the one being called a maiden. Pegasus tells her to ride on his back. With some hesitation she finally gets onto his back and they soar into the sky over Tokyo.

Chibi Usa is loving the flight but then notices that a certain part of Tokyo is all black. Pegasus tells her that that dark place was the city she was in until now - it was Juuban Shopping Center, and Chibi Usa asks how it can be dark when everything else is so bright.

The Pegasus lands on the ground and asks Chibi Usa is the view of Tokyo appealed to her. She replies with a yes and Pegasus says he'll lend her his power again, and telling her to hold out her hand, places in it a small bell. He tells her if she needs him, call him with the bell. She then asks him:

"Who... are you?"

"I am the Pegasus, Elios. Maiden, you will surely gain strength. So please, lend your strength to me. I want to save Elysion. I need the Golden Crystal."

Chibi-Usa sees her parents.

"Dad? Mom?"

The Pegasus starts to fade away.

"Elios!?"

Chibi-Usa crashes to the floor in Mamoru's room. She opens her eyes. "...A dream?"

"Are you all right, Small Lady?" asks Diana.

She sees the small bell beside her.

"It wasn't a dream..." She gets dressed and leaves.

Mamoru and Usagi get up.

"In my dream..." says Usagi.

"That Pegasus looked happy with Chibi-Usa..." says Mamoru.

"Mamo-chan, you had the same dream!?"

Mamoru grabs his chest.

"Mamo-chan!?"

"Uh..."

"What's wrong? Are you in pain!?"

"I'm okay," he says.

"Mamo-chan..."

"I have a stomach virus," he says. "I'm taking medicine. If it gets worse, I'll go to the hospital."

"Really?"

"Yeah."

"Mamo-chan? Really...?" she thinks. She sees a note on the floor. "Mamo-chan, look!"

The note reads:

I'm going home by myself. Don't worry. I'll come to see you again. Bye.
From Chibi-Usa.

Chibi Usa and Diana are now outside somewhere. Chibi Usa goes over everything in her mind about what just happened with Elios. She then recalls her mother's words:

"Small Lady," said Neo-Queen Selenity. "Get everything done, and I will wait anxiously for the day you return a wonderful success."

"Can I return like this?" Chibi-Usa thinks. "Is my training over? Am I really a wonderful soldier?"

Chibi-Usa grasps the space-time key and holds it in the air. "Time Guardian! Tear apart the sky, and open the space-time door to me! I call the true name of the almighty god of time, the time guardian's father! Cronos! Reveal to me the path of light!"

But the path of light doesn't open. Everything remains still and unchanged. At this point:

"Chibi-Usa!" Usagi calls. She runs up with Mamoru.

"Maiden," says the Pegasus.

"Elios!?" Chibi-Usa says. "He appeared again!?"

"Lend me your strength..." he says.

"That Pegasus!" Usagi says.

"Usagi-sama! Mamoru-sama! The space-time key didn't work! What on earth...!?" Diana says.

"Usagi! Mamo-chan! I'm okay! Even if I don't go home. Anyway, did you see that? The Pegasus. I think the Pegasus wants my help. It seems something's happening. We have to check it out."

The Amazoness Quartet are then shown commenting on the fact they felt someone release the door. One of them, makes a comment about a 'Tiger's Eye' and we are then transported to the following morning where Usagi, Mamochan, Chibi Usa and the cats are discussing Elios, and Elysion. Outside, they suddenly see a crowd gathering. They learn that a tiger had gotten loose and ran into the shopping center. Hearing this Usagi and Chibi Usa run away to help

"Usa! Chibi-Usa!" Mamoru calls. He grabs his chest. "Again! It hurts like there's a thorn stuck in me! What's happening!"

The tiger runs through the street. Usagi and Chibi Usa spot it and call out the phrases to transform (Moon Prism Power for Chibi Usa and Moon Cosmic Power for Usagi) but nothing happens. No transformations. The two golden chalices appear in front of them then, but then fade away as well. There is something special happening now to change them.

"Oh no... The holy chalices won't appear and make us power up... The set of nine soldiers. The holy chalices concentrated their nine powers... Those three aren't here anymore... But, we have to fight. Look, inside us... A strength is filling us like never before. A new power like never before. Moon Crisis, Make Up!"

The two girls transform.

"For love and justice, we are the sailor-suited beautiful soldiers, Super Sailor Moon! And Super Sailor Chibi-Moon!"

The two of the Amazoness Quartet stand with the tiger. They hurl black balls at the two girls and send lemures at them.

"We have to attack," Usagi says. "We need a weapon to defeat these guys!"

The bell appears before Chibi-Usa. She hears Elios calling to her, asking her to call him and he shall lend her his strength.The lemures attack Usagi. Chibi-Usa grasps the bell and calls out to him. The Pegasus appears, along with the two glass kaleidoscopes.

"The kaleidoscopes!?"

"Now those crystal kaleidoscopes are beginning to carry spirit, with your strong thoughts and power," the Pegasus says. "Those have had a strong link to you from the beginning."

The kaleidoscopes grow into long rods.

"I am the Moon Kaleidoscope," says one.

"And I am the Chibi-Moon Kaleidoscope," says the other.

"The items have will!?" Usagi says.

"Now! Shout!" the rods say. "'Moon gorgeous meditation'!"

Usagi and Chibi-Usa clutch the kaleidoscope rods. "Moon Gorgeous Meditation!!" The lemures are destroyed. The two Amazoness girls disappear.

"Super Sailor Moon!" calls Mamoru. "Chibi-Moon!"

"Mamo-chan!"

"Maiden," says the Pegasus as he disappears. "That shining power...! As I thought...!"

"Elios!" Chibi-Usa calls.

"Elios..." thinks Mamoru. He doubles over. "What is it... That sounds familiar..." He collapses on the ground.

"Mamo-chan!?"

Now, this can get a bit confusing but bear with me. We're taken to the circus tent where a voice from a black mirror speaks that the ones of the White Moon Kingdom have been reincarnated in this world. This voice belongs 'Queen Nephelenia' (Neherenia in Japanese, my translations say many people believe it is Nephrenia and that there is a mineral nepheline, with its name derived from the Greek goddess Nephele which is what Glover's translations are based on. Zirconia is the chief speaker for Nephelenia and she tells the Amazoness Quartet that they cannot attack the White Moon Kingdom's family from the front, but must blow them away.

The names and identities of the Amazoness Quartet who are very important people you must remember. They play a big role in Chibi Usa's life in the future. There is Jun-June, Cere-Cere, Ves-Ves, and Palla-Palla. All have an eagerness to go outside and see what the world is like. Ves-Ves calls out to 3 creatures: Little Hawk Eye, Little Tiger Eye, and Little Fish Eye, and asks them if they want to take on human form. Within a moment all 3 animals are human. Ves-ves reveals that they are incarnate nightmares, lemures. Lemure's favorite food is shining, beautiful dreams, and orders them to devour all the beautiful dreams of this city and fill it with darkness. With this in their mind, the 3 incarnates disappear.

The four Amazoness Quiartet stare at an image of Usagi and Chibi-Usa, who are kneeling next to Mamoru. "Hmm, I wonder what their dreams could be."

"I have to do this!" thinks Usagi. "I need to be more of an adult!"

"I don't want to be an adult yet!" thinks Chibi-Usa. "I still need lots of training!"

"Ehehe," says Cere-Cere. "I do think it's time we gave them an introduction, the ball-using Amazoness Quartet way! The cry of their true desires is opposite to what they say!"

"Their wishes will be granted!" says Palla-Palla. "Opposite Ball!"

A glowing ball flies out of the big top.

"Mamo-chan!" Usagi says. "Hold on! Undo the transformation, we need to hurry and get him to the hospital!"

"Right!" says Chibi-Usa.

As they revert from their transformations, a big ball of light strikes them. They fall to the ground. They stand up.

"Huh!?"

Usagi looks up. "Chibi-Usa?"

Chibi-Usa looks down. "Usagi?"

Usagi's body has shrunk, her clothes hanging loose around her. Chibi-Usa's body has grown, stretching through her small clothes.

"What the-!?"

ACT 35

The Pegasus floats over the water in a clearing in the woods. "Beautiful maiden... I've finally found you," he thinks. "I can't breathe... Something is stuffing up my chest..."

"Mamo-chan!"

Mamoru opens his eyes and sees the small Usagi and the big Chibi-Usa staring down at him. "Usa..." he says. "Chibi-Usa...?"

"Mamo-chan!" says Usagi.

"You're okay!" says Chibi-Usa.

Minako runs into the hospital room with Rei and Makoto. "Usagi? Chibi-Usa!? How's Mamoru-san!? You said he fell ill and was taken here in an ambulance..."

"Everyone!" says Chibi-Usa.

"Mamo-chan just woke up," says Usagi. "The doctor hasn't seen him."

The three girls stop as they look at the fully-grown Chibi-Usa, with her pointed balls of hair.

Minako gasps. "That head! Black Lady!?"

"What!?" says Usagi.

Chibi-Usa looks around. "Huh? Huh? What!? What!? Why's everyone backing away from me!? Who's Black Lady!?"

"Or not..."

"What!?" Minako says. "Suddenly Usagi's small, and Chibi-Usa's big!? Chibi-Usa? Usagi?"

"Yep. We were undoing our transformations, when suddenly something hit us... And now we're like this."

The girls exchange a shocked and confused conversation when Ami arrives and also does a double take. She then says her mother is a physician at this hospital and that she will look at Mamoru and at Chibi Usa and Usagi as well. She finds nothing wrong with the girls but....with Mamochan.....

Mamoru goes into another room to see the doctor.

"A lung shadow?" he says.

The doctor pauses. "Yes, well... It's a little unbelievable. I've never seen anything like it. The infection... I guess you could call it a shadow. Anyway, this is the first case of it. Has this happened to you often before? I'd like to examine you a little more in-depth. When can you come again?"

"Oh, well... I'll see when I can take a day off from school. I'll make an appointment with the front desk." He goes out into the hall. "A lung shadow...?" he thinks.

Usagi and Chibi-Usa run up to him. "Mamo-chan! How'd it go?"

"It's nothing serious," he says. "Did you two hear your results as well?"

"Nothing's wrong," says Chibi-Usa.

"I don't know if I'm happy or sad..." says Usagi.

"But, Chibi-Usa," Mamoru says, "since you've grown, you've become really pretty too."

"We've got to get those two back to normal somehow," says Ami.

"How are we going to do that?" says Minako

"Well, umm..."

"I'm going home ahead, to pull the wool over Ikuko-mama and Kenji-papa's eyes," says Chibi-Usa. "We can't even go home like this. Usagi, take Mamo-chan home! I'll go to meet you tonight."

"Hey, she knows what she's doing..." says Minako.

"Chibi-Usa's an adult..." says Usagi.

Chibi-Usa enters the house. "I'm home!"

Ikuko looks up from the other room. "Hey, is that you, Chibi-Usa-chan? Welcome home." She goes to Chibi-Usa, then stops as she sees her. Chibi-Usa throws Luna-P at her. Ikuko becomes hypnotized by the ball. "Oh, Usagi!" she says. "You're late."

Chibi-Usa goes up to Usagi's room. "Oh, I feel a little guilty," she thinks. "Sorry, Ikuko-mama! But..." She then thinks about how Mamoru said she was really pretty too now, and she giggles. Her bell then drops to the ground. The Pegasus appears.

Elios is taken aback by Chibi Usa's adult form and says she is the maiden he has been searching for but that it is too bad because her grown is the result of an evil spirit, and says it is "their" doing. Diana appears next to Chibi Usa and asks who "their" is. Elios almost says what his true form is but says he can't say now. Instead he tells Chibi Usa "Maiden I need your power" and to believe him. A large cage appears around him.

"You have the key to save me, to save everything. You have the beautiful dream. You're protected by the light of the moon. The princess soldier. You are the chosen maiden, who carries the crystal that can break the seal on the Golden Crystal." He fades away.

"Elios!?" Chibi-Usa calls. "Is that the maiden Elios is looking for? Is that really... me? I have to go to Mamo-chan's! I have to tell them Elios appeared!"

Usagi sits at Mamoru's bedside. "Mamo-chan, do you want anything?"

"I'm fine."

"Lucky me!" Usagi thinks. "After all the hubbub, it's just us two. It's been such a long time!"

"Usa."

"Oh!! Wh- What!?"

"I'm sorry for putting you through that," Mamoru says. "That circus... The Dead Moon Circus. They're surely targeting this city. We must act at once."

"Yeah."

They look at each other.

"We're so out of sync..." they think at once.

"Hey, Mamo-chan," Usagi says. "Is it okay if I just stay here a while?"

"It's okay."

She curls her small body up to him on the bed. "Ehehe!" she thinks. "Here's my chance!"

Mamoru backs away. He laughs nervously. "It's all right," he says. "You'll be back to normal soon."

He pats her on the head. "No, I can't," he thinks. "It's like I'm looking at Chibi-Usa..."

"Damnit!" thinks Usagi. "It's finally just the two of us, but I can't get him in a good mood at all! That long, long spring was finally over, and I thought I was going to develop into a high-schooler, but-! Why am I in this body! What'll I do if I don't get back to normal!!"

She holds onto him.

"I feel like our relationship is always being interrupted by Chibi-Usa," she says.

"Usa, isn't that a bit harsh?"

"Sorry. I didn't mean it."

"You know that she's lonely, don't you?" says Mamoru. "Now that she can't go back to the 30th century, she has to desperately stand her loneliness. The brave face she put on before, really, it's touching."

"Don't worry, I won't let her feel lonely," says Usagi. "Since enemies have appeared too, I'll watch out for her."

Mamoru smiles. Then he suddenly doubles over.

"Mamo-chan!!"

"I'm okay," he says. "I'll rest a little." He lies down in bed. "Usa, I'm just putting a burden on you. I don't feel a speck of your strength in me. Far from it, I keep dragging you down. Have you already decided our future? Sometimes, I feel like I'm just a weight on your shining dream of the future."

"Mamo-chan..." Usagi thinks. "I can change the future all I want... When I'm with you, I'm drawn in. I don't just want to make you feel bad. Maybe I shouldn't be with you for a while. My dream... Mamo-chan... is to be with you always. That's all..."

Chibi-Usa sits alone on a swing in the park. "I know... However I love him, Mamo-chan... He's my dad. Usagi is with him."

"Small Lady..." says Diana.

"I'm not small now," she says. "Lady is fine."

"But, really," Diana says, "even though it's an enemy trick, you've grown splendidly. If the King and Queen could see you now, how delighted they'd be..."

"You know, the original me's chibi."

"Ahaha! Sorry!"

"My dream..." Chibi-Usa thinks, "is to someday be a real adult. To be a wonderful lady. Then someday, to meet my own prince..."

The Pegasus emerges from the black mirror in Mamoru's room. "Prince... Please forgive me. I didn't come to the defense of Elysion. Not just Elysion, but your body too... Please search for it. The Golden Crystal... Prince." He fades away.

Mamoru opens his eyes and sits up. "A dream...?"

We're now taken to Ami's home where we learn a little more about her. She is trying to solve the problem of the Dead Moon Circus and has found a forcefield enveloping the Juuban shopping center. She recalls advice Setsuna/Sailor Pluto gave her, telling her she was everybody's brain. Ami's mom arrives home at 1am from the hospital. Ami's mom feels bad that she isn't home more for her daughter but Ami reflects in the fact that she, herself, works very hard too, and then thinks of her father. He is a Japanese Painter who loves relaxing in life and nature. He only travels to sketch and never sees Ami's mother. One day he decided to just stay in his atelier in the forest and never came back since. Now, he sens Ami postcards on her birthday. Ami picks up a postcard of a fish. "Dad, too, says that I work too hard, not like a kid..."

At this moment, Zirconia orders Fish Eye to locate someone with a beautiful dream that protects the White Moon Kingdom. An image of Ami appears in the mirror.

Ami is now on the phone with Usagi, and has learned that Usagi is still chibi (small). She hangs up the phone wondering how to change Usagi and Chibi Usa back to normal. She walks outside in the rain to the circus. She then sees a fish store there and enters it. She says she feels like she's in the water. Palla-Palla shows up.

"You look like you're happy," says Palla-Palla. "I feel people long for the water. It's evidence of their built-up stress. A sign of their frustration."

Ami winds up buying a fish from Palla-Palla and returns home. She stares at the fish in its tank and drifts off to sleep. She sites up later and calls out to her mom. She sees her mom kissing a man. Ami has fallen into an enemy dream. In this dream her mom tells the man that Ami doesn't have any hobbies besides studying and that Ami's not related to her at all. Ami disbelieving turns to the mirror in the room and sees herself as a child running to her dad. Her dad tells her not to come any nearer because he tired, because of her, because of her mom, and in this dream, tells Ami that with no hobbies besides studying she can't change his mind about leaving. She then sees Usagi, Chibi-Usa, and Mamoru in the mirror. They laugh and smile.

"Usagi-chan!" Ami calls.

"When we three are together," says Usagi, "even like this, we're so happy! We don't need anyone else!"

The fish from the tank grows into Fish Eye. "Hey," he says. "You don't need to take this. Were you jealous of them? Tell me your real thoughts."

"Yes," says Ami. "I've been so lonely... My dream is to be loved by someone, anyone..."

The mirror shows an image of Fish Eye kissing Ami.

"NO!! It's a lie! It's wrong! Help me, Mom! Mom!? No, that's not Mom! Come on, Ami! This is a hallucination!" She runs out on the balcony, where she's attacked by lemures. "Enemies!? Inside the condo!? Have to call Usagi-chan..." She opens her communicator. "Usagi-chan! Can you hear me!?"

The comminicator fails and she falls through a giant mirror into a vortex. Fish Eye reveals this is the nightmare of the imp lemures.

Ami floats through the space telling herself she has no self-confidence and that she can only depend on others. Her eyes close and she falls slowly down through the water. Suddenly she hears a voice calling her, calling her Princess Mercury. She opens her eyes and sees SAILOR Mercury far below. Sailor Mercury tells her she is her other self and that she mustn't fall prey to this nightmare, and tells her to remember her true dream.

"My true dream...? Oh... Yes. I have lots of people who love me. I want to love those people more. I want to protect them. For that purpose, I study. And, my dream... It's to become an adult soldier, and protect everyone. Because that is my mission!"

She leaps out of the water, a heart shape glowing on her chest. "Mercury Crystal Power! Make Up!!" She transforms, with a heart-shaped brooch on her chest, a star on the ribbon around her neck, and a long bow trailing from her back. A harp appears. It announces that is is the Mercury Harp, and the item has will. She yells Mercury Aqua Rhapsody, and the mirror, lemures and all break and crash and disappear. The man who was holding her mom disappears and her mom collapses. Somehow the communicator must have worked because Usagi and Chibi-Usa run into the room. They make sure Ami is safe and then tranform with Moon Crisis Make Up and they appear in super sailor suits, in their proper bodies. They shout Moon Gorgeous Meditation and Fish Eye is destoryed.

Palla-Palla learns of Fish Eye's death and that the opposite ball transformation was broken.

"Mercury!" Usagi calls.

"Super Sailor Moon! Chibi-Moon! Great! Your original bodies!"

"We did it, Chibi-Moon!"

"She's strong after all!" Chibi-Usa thinks. "In any time, she can blow away enemies in an instant. Super Sailor Moon... In any time, everyone needs her. The strong, beautiful Usagi. Yes. I need Usagi. That's what I feel. Even though we carry the same Mystical Silver Crystal, I can't make use of my power without Sailor Moon." She drops her head. "Alone, I'm useless!" She lifts the bell into the air. "Twinkle Yell!"

"Chibi-Moon!?" Usagi says.

The Pegasus appears. "Maiden."

"Elios, you're wrong!" Chibi-Usa says. "Compared to Sailor Moon, I don't have a strong spirit, or strength, or a beautiful body! The maiden you're searching for isn't me!"

"The maiden he's searching for?" asks Usagi.

"The maiden I'm searching for carries the beautiful dream," Elios says. "She is protected by the moon. She's a princess soldier. And she carries the crystal that can break the seal on the Golden Crystal. She is the chosen maiden."

"Protected by the moon?" Usagi says. "A princess soldier? The Golden Crystal?"

"Yes," says Chibi-Usa. "The moment I heard Elios say that, I knew."

"Then," says Ami, "the maiden is... Sailor Moon? No, Princess Selenity?"

"So, Super Sailor Moon," says Elios. "You are Princess Selenity?"

"The maiden Elios is searching for isn't me..." Chibi-Usa thinks. "The one he needs isn't me..." She turns and runs off.

"Chibi-Moon!?" Usagi calls. "Chibi-Moon!!"

The Pegasus fades away.

"Elios!?"

ACT 36

The previous Act (35) was titled 'Mercury Dream and centered around Mercury. This act is called Mars Dream.

Chibi-Usa runs through the streets, tears streaming from her eyes. "Oh... I ran away... I was scared... Even though nothing's changed. I'm so stupid. I knew it, but..."

"So, Super Sailor Moon," said Elios. "You are Princess Selenity?"

She touches her hand to her brooch and reverts to her school clothes. "It was Usagi all along. The maiden he was searching for... wasn't me... I'm hurt."

"Maiden."

"He flattered me by calling me that..."

"Lend me your strength..." he said. "Please, call me..."

"I thought maybe even I could do something."

"You have the beautiful dream," he said. "You're protected by the light of the moon. The princess soldier. You are the chosen maiden, who carries the crystal that can break the seal on the Golden Crystal."

"But I wasn't after all. The chibi me, with no power..." The small bells rings. The Pegasus appears. "Elios..." Chibi-Usa says. "I wonder if, someday, the time will come when I'm needed too... When I'll become big, become a fine soldier, a wondrous lady... I wonder if, someday, my dream will come true..."

Usagi, Mamoru, and the four girls look around.

"Chibi-Usa!?" Mamoru says. "It's starting to pour! Let's go search!"

"Chibi-Usaaa!" Usagi calls.

Chibi-Usa buries her face in her hands. The Pegasus nudges his nose against her face. She opens her eyes. She sees a young man with white hair and a golden horn kissing her.

"Don't cry, small maiden," he says. "Because of your helping her, now Super Sailor Moon can fight with all her strength. Everyone is worried and looking for you. Around you, the path is filled with love. In this body, I'm limited to this. Small maiden. I will come to see you again. So don't cry." He fades away.

"Chibi-Usa!" Usagi calls. She runs to her and hugs her tightly. "Yes!" She looks down at her. "You'll catch cold. Let's go."

Chibi-Usa's mouth hangs open.

"Chibi-Usa?"

"Where's Elios?" she asks.

"He disappeared right after that," says Ami. "We couldn't talk to him."

"Elios?" Chibi-Usa thinks. "Just now, that was Elios...?"

The young man floats to the floor, where he lies as he changes back into the Pegasus, inside a golden cage.

"Oh..." says the woman(Nephelenia). "Your escaping from my curse was quite something. But you and this land are already mine. Soon the surface too, and everything will be mine. Your selfish imitation won't be permitted. Heh heh heh."

"You can enslave this land, and this body," says Elios, "but you can't rule my spirit yet! You and your minions will surely be wiped out by the Prince and the Princess!"

"Impudent!" A blast strikes him in the chest, and he collapses on the floor.

"Unless I find the Golden Crystal soon..." Elios thinks. "Unless I return this land to normal... The entire planet will be..."

We now are taken to a conversation between Zirconia and Nephlenia, who is adamant that the White Moon Kingdom be destoryed and possesion of the crystal be attained.Zirconia says that nobody but the true owner can handle the crystal. To this Nephelenia says SHE is the true queen, the Dead Moon's beautiful great Queen Nephelenia.

We're now taken to Rei who is in archery class at the T-A Girl's school. She has just shot an arrow but she is off center and her teacher asks why she is not concentrating on her arrows today. Later that day, Usagi and the others find Rei pouring over a book called 'Shrine Management Rules' and Usagi says Rei looks just like Ami studying like that, she asks why rei is studying so hard.

"It's grandpa," Rei says. "He caught a cold and can't move now. These are hard times in the world, so I'm looking for efficient management rules."

Ami asks if she is hiring someone but Rei says that takes cash and it's not her principle to waste money like that. Minako says the best way is to get a son in law to which Rei asks if she is joking!

"I know you hate boys," Minako says, "but it's business! If you get married, you'll bring a person to the shrine to work for free! Of course, that man will follow after grandpa, and do all the work at the shrine, and you can spend your time doing things you like. You can think of him as a servant!"

"A servant..." says Rei. "That might be nice..."

The convo goes on with Makoto and Minako both saying they want boyfriends! Luna shows up and tells them tomorrow is the first day of the circus and they must all go.

Latere that afternoon, Rei is caring for her grandpa whose fever has not gone down, (He seems like a much more righteous man in the manga than how the anime portrays him as a pervert). Rei reassures her grandfather that their home is the shrine and that for now, leave things to his successor, his granddaighter. She goes outside where a girl and her friend call asking for 2 marriage charms. As they leave the girl comments on how she'll give it to the boy she likes.

Rei wonders why they want boyfriends so much. She tells herself that she'll follow grandpa, and become head priestess at the Hikawa Shrine. She then recalls some strange vision or dream she had, then an arrow drops to the ground. Rei picks it up. She recalls the words of her instructor who said her bow was faltering. She grabs the arrow and throws it high into the air.

"Go! Phobos! Deimos!" The two crows fly up and retrieve it.

Rei's grandpa watches her. "When Rei came to this shrine," he thinks, "it was before she entered grammar school." He remembers how Rei suddenly named the crows Phobos and Deimos (both names have an actual relationship to Mars the planet in the real world - its the planets moons I believe but I could be wrong and later on in the manga we learn very interesting things about these two crows). Grandpa reflects that Rei, even as a child, was a wondrous girl and that she will receive her calling to her real duty.

The next day balloons fly in the air as people wander around the grounds of the Dead Moon Circus.

"Ooh! I want some ice cream!" says Chibi-Usa. "I want to ride the roller coaster!"

"Now, now," says Usagi. "We didn't come here for fun, Chibi-Usa."

Luna suggests they take a look around, but then:

"Hey, Mamo-chan," Chibi-Usa says. "Let's ride the go-karts for a little!"

"All right!" says Mamoru.

"Oh, me too!" says Usagi.

Rei arrives and is giddy with excitement and emotion, She feels a ghastly feeling her, something frightening and has brought Phobos and Deimos with her, but she is so caught up with feeling like a kid again at the circus. Palla-Palla appears and comments that the circus will do that to you. Rei turns but doesn't see anyone, then spots a Mirror House. She enters the mirror house. The doors slam shut behind her.

"The show is beginning!" Cere-Cere says. "Please make haste!"

"Where's Luna and the others?" says Makoto.

"Hey, Rei-chan's gone too," says Usagi. The three cats run up. "Oh! They're here, they're here."

"Hey now!" says Cere-Cere. "No cats allowed!" She kicks them out.

"But!!"

The others go inside and watch the show.

"Now," thinks Ves-Ves, "I wonder if we can use the humans who've come here as bait for the pretty lemures. Or else, maybe we can make them our slaves."

The audience becomes hypnotized.

"My head's spinning..." says Mamoru.

"This feels great!" says Chibi-Usa.

"This is fun!" says Ami.

"Hey, where's Rei-chan?" says Makoto.

"Isn't she around here?" says Minako.

"I can't help it," Mamoru says. "I'm getting so dizzy. We should all go outside a little... The exit..." He looks around. "What!? That's weird. There're no exits anywhere!?"

Rei has now fallen into a trap in the House of Mirrors. She looks into one and sees herself when she was smaller. This child Rei speaks to her, tells her Rei to look at her. Tells her how Mom passed away early, how Dad was busy with his job in politics, how he left Rei at grandpa's house and how she's been unhappy since she was small. Rei tries to get out of the trap. The child Rei tells her that she's being worked hard by Usagi and the senshi. And says it's a shame she has no choice but to hang out with them, that they're so limiting. Rei screams STOP. The child repeats, limiting. Rei screams I don't think that! A man then appears in the mirror.

"Now you're thinking of your own happiness," the young Rei says. "Listen to all I have to say. You have to make friends. Yes, for example, I'm getting this wonderful guy."

The young Rei reaches up and kisses the man, it is Tiger's Eye.

"Evil spirit... Begone!!" The glowing strip of paper flies onto the mirror. The images disappear, leaving Rei's reflection staring back at her. She drops to her knees and coughs.

Tiger's eye becomes a tiger again and returns to Palla-Palla who screams that he is a fool but relishes in the fact that her enchantment on the House of Mirrors cannot be daunted.The image of young Rei appears again.

"Well now. Sometimes you kiss a man you don't like once or twice. But the final goal is to become the bride of a man with money. To spend all your life in comfort. That's happiness for a girl. Being the head priestess of a shrine is a joke!"

Rei refuses to listen and tries to transform, but pain instead strikes her body. She is unable to trandform. She collapses on the floor, wondering if she messed up the transformation spell and cries out 'what dream? what di I search for?'. Palla-Palla then sends Tiger's Eye, and tells him to devour her body and soul.

Luna, Artemis and Diana are sitting outside the circus tent when they hear the commotion Phobos and Deimos are making. The tent;s doors disappear and they see a tiger run out of the House of Mirros roaring and the crows squaking loudly. The two crows crash through the glass into the mirror house, as they throw feather quills into the tiger.

Rei lies on the floor and she hears the name 'Princess Mars' being called to her. Her eyes open and she sees 2 small sprites holding black feathers before her. Her eyes widen in recognition and then she sees an image of everyone hypnotized in the mirror. She is adamant about finding a way to help the others against the enemies.

She screams: "Mars Flame Sniper!" The arrow flies forth and pierces through the tiger. The mirrors are shattered, along with Palla-Palla's crystal ball. The mirror house vanishes around Rei. It and Tiger's Eye has been destroyed.

The doors reappear in the big top tent.

"The exit appeared!?" Mamoru thinks.

"Damnit!" Palla-Palla says. "They did it again!"

Usagi and the others wander out of the big top.

"That was so fun..."

"I was sleepy..."

"I wonder if I fell asleep... I don't remember much."

Rei runs to them with the cats. "Everyone!?" she says. "Are you okay!?"

"Rei-chan!?" Usagi says. "Luna! Artemis! Diana!"

"What!?" says Minako. "The doors disappeared!?"

"Enemies appeared and fought you!?" says Makoto.

"When I passed in front of the mirror house," Rei says, "I was strangely drawn in... When it showed me delusions, it crept straight to my heart. The enemies are so obscene! They might be after us. We should be careful."

"Using the circus show," says Mamoru, "are they plotting to brainwash people!? Damn!"

"The Dead Moon Circus!" Rei says. "People will fall into their trap! We have to stop them somehow. We must expose their true identity at any cost! We have to protect the people of this city! We will eliminate the Dead Moon Circus from this city at once!"

At this declaration, the Amazoness Quartet are alo announcing that their circus has JUST begun!