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The episode begins with a few moments of Neherenia talking, then we see Mamoru lying in bed, still obviously in pain. The three cats sit on the bed and talk as they watch the last of the sun disappear [the sun has been disappearing for the last time a lot lately, hasn't it? ^_^]. The cats try to come up with an explanation for what's happening to the Earth (and, thus, for what's causing Mamoru's illness). They recall an old story about a witch banished to the Dead Moon by Queen Serenity--the same story Neherenia told to Chibi-Moon in the last episode, from the opposite point of view.
The next scene is apparently a flashback. We see the Amazoness Quartet running down a jungle path on a planet with three moons in its sky. Pallapalla trips, falls, and is about to cry, but cheers up when the other three come back to help her up.
The four reach a pool at the end of the path, where, to their surprise, they find a submerged mirror (the size and shape of a Dream Mirror). When Vesves pulls it out of the water, it starts glowing and greets them with Neherenia's voice, causing them all to gasp and jump back.
[OP--"Moonlight Densetsu"]
[title screen]
Back in the present, the Quartet are floating in nothingness, still trapped in their mirrors. Cerecere has a flower and is pulling the petals off one by one (a method of divination, it seems), attempting to find out if they'll be okay. Junjun reminds Cerecere that she's never been any good at fortune telling. Junjun then uses her magic ball to free herself from her mirror, but starts to fall and quickly grabs onto it again [cute :)]. Vesves says that Neherenia, unlike Zirconia, is a noble person and will certainly forgive them.
The flashback continues. Neherenia introduces herself from the now floating mirror as "Neherenia, the Queen of Black Magic". She says that, in gratitude for the Quartet's having awakened her from a deep sleep, she'll give them four magic balls which will allow them to keep their dreams forever.
Back in the present, the Amazons stand on the flat reverse side of one mirror, holding their magic balls, as Pallapalla calls an apology to "Neherenia-sama" for the "very bad thing" they did, and promises that they'll never do it again.
Neherenia is at the mirror in her chamber, (once again) ordering Zirconia to get rid of the Senshi. Zirconia bows and vanishes. Neherenia conjures up the unconscious Sailor Chibi-Moon, who is still trapped in the web. The web disappears, and the girl hovers horizontally over the walkway that spans the center of the chamber. A beam of light comes from the nothingness below and hits her in the back, causing her to scream.
The Golden Mirror appears, and Neherenia speaks to Helios' trapped human form. Chibi-Moon whispers "Helios..." as tears start to run down her face. The Pegasus leaps out of the Golden Mirror and stands before Neherenia. His human body begins to glow, then Neherenia destroys the webs and it floats down in front of her.
The Mirror goes back into Chibi-Moon, and she suddenly drops to the floor, unconscious. The Pegasus turns as if to go to her, but Neherenia sternly calls him back, threatening to destroy Chibi-Moon's Golden Mirror if he doesn't return to his human form. He walks over to her as if compelled to do so, glaring at her, then dissolves into a ball of light which disappears into Helios' human body. Neherenia chuckles as the golden horn on the young man's forehead begins to glow.
The five Senshi continue to wander through the maze, Mercury guiding them with her computer and visor. Suddenly, they hear Zirconia's voice and are standing in the center of a ring of lit candles. Zirconia appears and says it's time for them to die [oh, THAT'S original :P], and then a series of Zirconia doubles come out of nowhere and surround them.
In Neherenia's chamber, Helios has awakened, and he calmly speaks to Neherenia. There's a flash of light from the Golden Crystal, causing her to cower back from him as he floats upright and lands on his feet. Chibi-Moon, lying on the floor begins to come to.
Behind Neherenia's hands, which are raised in front of her face, we can see wrinkles beginning to form around her eyes. With a yell, she extends her arms outward and blasts Helios, who flies backward into Chibi-Moon's arms. She tries desperately to revive him, hugging him happily when he opens his eyes and smiles weakly at her.
Neherenia snares both of them with nets of web, pulling them apart, but Helios manages to grab Chibi-Moon's wrist (yelling "Chibi-Usa-chan!") and holds onto her. They smile at each other and manage to exchange a few words (Chibi-Moon says that it's the first time he's ever called her by her name) before Neherenia succeeds in separating them.
[commercial break]
The Amazoness Quartet have given up trying to call Neherenia. They all look into Vesves' magic ball and see the Senshi, who are still standing in the ring of candles.
Jupiter, Venus, and Mars blast the fake Zirconias, which shatter into glass-like shards but are quickly replaced by more. The Zirconias then blast the Senshi, knocking them all off their feet.
Sailor Mercury turns her visor on the crowd of duplicates, and it homes in on the flying eyeball on top of the real Zirconia's staff. (Mercury glances around and realizes that the tops of all the other staffs are bare.)
She points out the real Zirconia to the others, then blasts her with an Aqua Rhapsody. The candles and all the duplicates vanish, leaving only the Senshi and the real Zirconia.
The Amazons have been watching all of this, and Junjun comments that the Senshi are very good warriors. Suddenly, the mirror they are standing on flips over, and they disappear with a yell of fright.
The Senshi face Zirconia, who looks up and calls for Neherenia. As if in response, a mirror appears and deposits the Amazoness Quartet between her and the Senshi, who tense suspiciously. Junjun smiles and says that Neherenia must have decided to have the Quartet fight the Senshi since Zirconia failed, and that they'll do their best. She is confused when Zirconia sneers and calls her "baka" in response.
A moment later, a series of webs come out of nowhere at Zirconia's command, wrapping around the four and zapping them with electricity; they yell at Zirconia that Neherenia will punish her for this. The Senshi seem uncertain how to react.
More webs connect the Quartet to Zirconia, who seems to be draining power from them. Zirconia looks up again and thanks Neherenia for the supply of extra energy. Neherenia's voice comes from above, saying that she's been using the Quartet for a long time, but they are now obsolete.
When Neherenia finishes speaking, Sailor Moon suddenly rushes forward and takes a firm grip on the electrified web, trying to free the Quartet. They are rather surprised by this, but she smiles and tells them it will be all right. Finally, however, she is thrown back by a particularly strong burst of electricity; the other Senshi run toward her, but Zirconia blasts them back.
Sailor Mercury, typing on her computer, informs the Quartet that they're being drained through the magic balls (which they are still clutching), and that to be free they have to break them. They are understandably reluctant to do so--after all, the balls contain their dreams, without which they will just be "boring adults"--but the recovering Sailor Moon yells that adults have dreams too.
Zirconia interrupts her by blasting her again, yelling that what she says is nonsense. She tells the Senshi, who have gathered around to help Sailor Moon up, that they'll die now. They defiantly answer that they won't give up--and, in any case, they'd rather die than live in a world without dreams.
The Quartet are still having trouble deciding to destroy the magic balls. Cerecere has gotten another flower from somewhere, and, by picking off the petals, decides to go through with it. The others agree, and they all simultaneously throw the balls to the ground, shattering them.
The webs holding the Quartet disappear, and all nine girls face Zirconia. After a brief exchange the latter retreats, grumbling, into the shadows. Once she's gone, Junjun smiles and speaks to the Senshi. Sailor Moon is about to respond, but Mars reminds her that they have to hurry and find Chibi-Usa.
In Neherenia's chamber, both Chibi-Moon and Helios are once again trapped in webs. Neherenia walks up to Helios and takes hold of the horn on his forehead, which begins to glow. He screams, and Chibi-Moon desperately calls his name. The golden glow increases until it fills the whole room.
Back at the apartment, Mamoru experiences another spasm of pain. The Senshi look around the corridor they're in as though unsure whether or not they actually heard something.
Helios slumps forward, apparently unconscious. Neherenia now holds the Golden Crystal. Chibi-Moon calls out to Helios again, asking him not to leave her, but, instead of answering, the young man slowly fades out and vanishes. Neherenia says she can now take revenge for her years of banishment, and Chibi-Moon glares at her angrily. Neherenia's eyes begin to glow.
Zirconia stands in front of the mirror that leads to Neherenia's chamber. Neherenia appears, and Zirconia is surprised to see the Golden Crystal in her hand. Neherenia asks Zirconia about her favorite thing to do; the latter responds that seeing her beautiful Queen in the mirror makes her happy. Neherenia says that, in that case, Zirconia can understand how she feels... Neherenia is happy because she'll never have to look at Zirconia's ugly face again.
Neherenia steps through the mirror. As she does so, Zirconia screams, glows red, and disappears. Neherenia laughs evilly as the mirror shatters around her and she comes out on the other side.
A short time later, the Senshi arrive on the scene to find a shattered mirror with Chibi-Moon lying on the floor in front of it. Sailor Moon hurries over and tries in vain to revive her. Everyone looks up as the tent begins to rumble and shake around them.
Outside, the sun has (finally) disappeared completely, and the only light comes from flashes of lightning that show a fleet of Dead Moon Circus tents floating down toward the web-covered city.
[ED--"'Rashiku' Ikimasho"]
Copyright ©1998-2000 Stephen Congly
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