|
|||||||
|
|
|
|||||
|
|
|||||||
In her stronghold, Neherenia addresses the unconscious Helios, wondering aloud whose dreams he the Pegasus could be inhabiting. She turns and yells to a cowering Zirconia (who is on the other side of a two-way mirror set in one wall), ordering the latter to find the Golden Mirror as soon as possible. Neherenia suddenly scowls and slowly begins to force one hand through the mirror, but quickly withdraws when a shaft of sunlight on the other side burns her hand.
As Neherenia talks about her future plans to capture the Golden Crystal, destroy the "Warriors of the White Moon" (the Senshi), and plunge the world into eternal darkness (since sunlight makes her powerless), we see a flashback of the destruction of Helios' world by the villainess. Zirconia looks fearfully around the room on the other side of the mirror, where strands of some silvery substance are beginning to appear between the walls and ceiling.
[OP--"Moonlight Densetsu"]
Ikuko is on the front porch of the Tsukinos' house, talking to Chibi-Usa (who is wearing running shorts and a headband) about the marathon in which Chibi-Usa is to compete later that day. Chibi-Usa is less than enthusiastic about this idea; in fact, she wishes the marathon would get rained out. The two look over at a nearby spiderweb, a web whose dewy strands are an indication of excellent weather for the day. As Chibi-Usa leaves despondently, Ikuko says that it's strange to see a spiderweb at this time of year.
[title screen]
Chibi-Usa runs in the marathon in downtown Tokyo, while Usagi and the Inner Senshi cheer her on from the sidelines. Chibi-Usa is near the front of the pack as the racers pass. Once they're gone, Usagi and the others stroll off, talking about races as they go. (Minako comments on how she'd never try to run a marathon--too much work--but that Ami's such a hard worker she'd probably be good at it. Ami responds that she prefers the more peaceful sport of swimming.)
Unseen by anyone, strands of the silvery web-like material have begun to form in the city streets. As the girls walk and talk, Ami unknowingly passes through one strand, and part of it catches in her hair.
Back at the race, Chibi-Usa has pulled out in front. She picks up her pace as another girl tries to pass her, and crosses the finish line first, immediately falling to her knees in exhaustion. Mamoru and Diana appear and congratulate her.
As the three leave together, Mamoru walks into a single strand of the web at about chest-height, and doubles over in pain. Chibi-Usa asks what's wrong, but he brushes off her concern, straightens up, and keeps walking. The strands continue to form after they leave.
Makoto and Minako are playing a fighting game at the Crown arcade. Usagi is distracted from cheering them on by the strand of web in Ami's hair, as Ami tells Mako and Minako that they have to go meet Mamoru and Chibi-Usa. The blonde girl smirks, telling Ami that she's going gray from worrying so much; she removes the strand and holds it up for Ami and the others to see.
Mako and Minako leave their game, and five girls puzzle over the silvery strand until Usagi points out a similar-looking spiderweb near the ceiling. They wonder, briefly, if the strand could have come from there, but decide that it's too high. The girls leave, commenting on Motoki's bad cleaning habits--as evidenced by the spiderweb--and the cleaning habits of men in general. :)
The girls wander out of the arcade and meet Mamoru, Diana, and Chibi-Usa at the Crown Fruit Parlor. When they arrive, Chibi-Usa yells at them for being late (Usagi had promised to buy everyone lunch if Chibi-Usa even reached the finish line...). Shortly thereafter, the eight of them leave.
As they walk down the stairs to the street, Mamoru walks into another strand, and again falls to his knees in pain. Usagi breaks off a sniping match with Rei to ask what's wrong. Mamoru again tries to brush off the incident, but Chibi-Usa makes some comment (perhaps she's saying that this has happened before), and Usagi only becomes more worried.
Usagi picks a piece of the web off Mamoru's shirt, and the others gather around, looking at it curiously. Unazuki appears in the doorway at the top of the stairs; seeing the bit of web, she vanishes and reappears a moment later with a brush and dustpan. She complains that she's gotten rid of five spiders already today--and it isn't even the right time of year for spiders!
Ami holds out her hand for the piece of web, and Usagi gives it to her.
Everyone looks worriedly up at the sun, which has begun to dim mysteriously in the last few minutes, as more and more strands of web form across the city.
Back in the Dead Moon Circus tent, Neherenia again calls for Zirconia and says that the latter can make use of the darkness (which is caused by the "dark web of fear and sorrow" spreading over the city) to finally find the Golden Mirror. Zirconia bows in acknowledgment.
[commercial break]
The next morning, Chibi-Usa looks out her attic window and gasps in horror to see the entire city completely covered in the silvery web (which has gone from scattered individual threads to what looks like a thick layer of cobwebs covering every building).
The Pegasus appears in the pink globe on Chibi-Usa's headboard, and tells her that he has to leave her and find the someone capable of using the Golden Crystal to defeat the Dead Moon. She offers to help him, but he doesn't want to put her in danger. As he fades out, she starts to cry, reminds him of his promise to stay with her as long as she had dreams, and begs him not to go.
Later, the Inner Senshi--along with Chibi-Usa--stand in the now web-covered streets and look around suspiciously as Ami types on her computer. Eventually she gets her results, and the six look up at the gigantic Dead Moon Circus tent looming over the city.
At the foot of the tent, the girls discover the Amazoness Quartet, in civilian dress, dragging web-nets full of unconscious children toward the tent. Several more kids (all about Chibi-Usa's age) are already suspended in the webbing that hangs from the bottom of the tent. The Senshi recognize the Quartet, and are stunned when they change to their Amazon forms and introduce themselves as members of the Dead Moon Circus.
The four Amazons take out four pool cues and prepare to launch their magic pool ball attack. Usagi cries out and rushes forward to block it, but the balls merely move around her and begin knocking Dream Mirrors out of the unconscious children on the ground, to Usagi's horror and the Quartet's amusement. Usagi glares angrily at the laughing Quartet and takes out her transformation brooch, ordering the others to transform as well.
[song--"Sailor Team no Theme"]
The six girls transform and go through their intro. speech, to the shock of the Quartet. Jupiter and Venus attack together, but the Amazons dodge the first attack and absorb the second, throwing it back at the Senshi as a wave of yellow balls. (This is about where the song ends.)
Pallapalla turns her blue pool ball into a little Sailor Moon voodoo doll, and, as she raises it in the air, the Senshi find themselves lifted off the ground. Pallapalla moves the doll into various positions to show that she can use it to manipulate the Senshi, then she begins to torture them by pulling on the doll's arms.
Suddenly, a flying rose knocks the doll out of Pallapalla's hands, and Tuxedo Kamen jumps to the ground between the two groups. As he lands, he stumbles and again doubles over in pain. The voice of Zirconia comes from the tent overhead, and the Quartet vanish into the magic balls, which float up into the tent and disappear. The extracted Dream Mirrors return to their owners, who quickly revive.
Tuxedo Kamen falls to his knees, and Sailors Moon and Chibi-Moon rush over to him in concern just as the sky begins to darken. They look up to see a dark shape slowly covering the sun. The Senshi think that the eclipse must have been caused by magic, and prepare to storm the gigantic tent.
In a shower of light, the Pegasus appears overhead, and everyone stares in astonishment as he tells them they can't attack the Dead Moon Circus yet.
[ED--"'Rashiku' Ikimasho"]
Copyright ©1998-2000 Stephen Congly
|