Episode 02

**Act. 2 AMI - SAILOR MERCURY -** (Act. 2 亜美 - SAILOR MERCURY -) is the 2nd episode of *Pretty Guardian Sailor Moon Crystal*. It is the 2nd episode overall.

## Summary

*By chance, Usagi suddenly becomes close to Ami Mizuno, a genius girl with an IQ of 300. There's something suspicious about the students in Ami's cram school.*

## Major Events

* Ami Mizuno uses Mercury Power, Make Up to transform into Sailor Mercury and performs Mercury Aqua Mist for the first time.
* This episode also marks the debut of Queen Beryl and Rei Hino.

## Synopsis

At Juuban Municipal Junior High, class 2-5 watches impressed as their classmate Ami Mizuno solves complex exercises with ease and is congratulated for her perfect grades. It is rumored that Ami, a so-called genius, has a an IQ of 300. Later, a student comments to his friend that Ami studies constantly, even during breaks, and is never seen with any friends. Ami overhears the conversation and seems hurt by the comment, then watches pensively as Usagi Tsukino and her group of cheerful friends walk by.

Jadeite is brought before Queen Beryl, who is becoming angry with him. The queen urges him to locate the Silver Crystal and gather energy for their great ruler, and Jadeite summons a Youma from the soil to carry out his plans.

Usagi arrives at home and goes straight to her room to collapse into bed, but she finds Luna waiting for her there. Luna insists she must train as Sailor Moon to fight against more monsters that will be coming after them, and adds that their true mission is to find the princess, and for that they will need to gather more allies. While Usagi wonders if Tuxedo Mask and Sailor V could be among those allies, Luna thinks she has a hint that could lead them to find out the identity of second chosen Senshi. Later that night, the cat goes into the secret base at Game Center Crown and begins compiling information on Ami Mizuno.

The following day, students at Usagi's school check the results of the last mock exam, and find that Ami not only got perfect grades in all subjects, but also ranked number one nationally. Umino pops in and explains to Usagi and her friends that Ami has recently been recruited by Crystal Seminar, a very expensive elite cram school that recently opened near the Game Center.

On her way home, Usagi is lamenting over her own less-than-perfect grades when she stumbles upon Ami, who had been approached by Luna. Although Naru, Yumiko, and Kuri commented Ami was a cold and distant person, when Usagi sees Ami holding Luna she thinks she seems sweeter and friendlier than everybody else said, and decides to talk to her. Moreover, Usagi thinks that if she befriends the genius girl she could get her help in tests, and so invites her to the arcade. Ami accepts, and when Usagi takes Luna from her arms, their hands touch for a moment and a vision of a white castle flashes in Ami's mind, but she brushes it off.

Ami meets Motoki at Game Center Crown, and the two girls give the new and extremely challenging Sailor V game a try. Usagi is defeated after a few levels, but Ami manages to reach number one in the rankings so fast that she draws the attention of the arcade's customers. As a prize, Ami receives a blue and gold pen from the game, which prompts Usagi to hit and shake the machine until another pink pen pops out. Ami is amused by Usagi, and the two of them become close enough to not use honorifics. Ami then leaves to get to Crystal Seminar in time, which she says she will begin attending every day from now on, since studying is her only talent and she wants to become a doctor like her mother.

At Crystal Seminar, all students work fervently in front of computers. Ami is approached by a teacher that welcomes her and gives her a Crystal Disk to help in her studies. The teacher encourages her to work hard and become a role model for other students, then smiles slyly as Ami starts using the disk and the girl's expression becomes blank.

The next day, Usagi, Naru, and Yumiko plan to go eat ice cream after class, but when they ask Kuri to join them, the girl ignores them and leaves, muttering square roots to herself. Naru tells the others that Kuri recently started attending Crystal Seminar, too. Usagi wonders if the cram school really is that good, and Naru says students work using a disk with such interesting and addictive contents that they take it with them everywhere to continue studying.

At the AV section in the school's library, Ami continues studying after class, but she decides to do so by writing down her notes to better remember them instead of using a computer. Usagi invites Ami to go eat ice cream with the girls on their way home, and though Ami initially accepts, she remembers her teacher's words and excuses herself, forgetting her Crystal Disk when she leaves. Luna shows up and agrees with Usagi that there is something strange about Ami's behavior.

On their way home, Usagi and Luna walk past Crystal Seminar, where Ami's teacher is handing flyers advertising their newly developed Disk to passers-by. Usagi receives a flyer but throws it away, hitting the same man in a tuxedo in the face again. He chides Usagi and asks if he heard Luna talking, but Usagi avoids the question and runs away, wondering why her heart beats so fast when she sees him. Meanwhile, the teacher offers him a flyer as well.

At home, Usagi and Luna try out Ami's Crystal Disk on a laptop, but it seems to contain nothing other than ordinary exercises. Usagi starts to press keys at random, and that manages to reveal the disk's subliminal brainwashing program, which orders its users to become servants for the Dark Kingdom and gather information on the Silver Crystal. Usagi realizes that Ami is in danger, and they run to Crystal Seminar, only to find that the entrance is being guarded by policemen. Luna instructs Usagi to disguise herself with the pink pen using the phrase "Moon Power," and she turns herself into a doctor, running past the guards with the excuse that she'd received an emergency call.

Inside a classroom, everyone is gone but Ami and her teacher, who urges her to work harder and faster, as she plans to use her superior brain to take over the city. The teacher notices Ami's blue and gold pen and throws it away, but this causes Ami to remember Usagi and slowly break free from the disk's influence.

Usagi arrives and transforms into Sailor Moon when the teacher is revealed to be a Youma, and the monster attacks using paper sheets sharp as razor blades. Sailor Moon is cornered behind a desk and begins to cry, activating her supersonic waves, but the Youma is unaffected and manages to immobilize Sailor Moon against a wall with numerous paper sheets. Just as she's about to finish the girl off with her sharp claws, however, Ami cries out for her to stop, and the symbol of planet Mercury flashes on her forehead. Her pen becomes enveloped in bright blue light, and Ami transforms into Sailor Mercury, the Senshi of water. Instructed by Luna, she uses Mercury Aqua Mist to create dense clouds of fog that blind the Youma. Unable to see anything either, Sailor Moon panics, and her cries reveal her location. The Youma attacks, but Sailor Moon is rescued by Tuxedo Mask, then uses Moon Tiara Boomerang to destroy the Youma.

Jadeite watches the scene from a rooftop nearby, troubled by the appearance of a second Sailor Senshi.

Usagi, Ami, and Luna walk home, with Ami wondering why a pen from the arcade could transform her into a Sailor Senshi. Luna only chuckles enigmatically in answer. Both girls are glad to have become friends, and Ami decides they should hold a review meeting immediately, but Usagi declares she's sleepy again.

In a candlelit room, a meditating dark-haired girl slowly opens her eyes. A sign outside the building reads "Hikawa Shrine."

## Characters

### Sailor Guardians

* Usagi Tsukino / Sailor Moon
* Ami Mizuno / Sailor Mercury

### Villains

* Queen Beryl
* Jadeite
* Youma

### Secondary Characters

* Rei Hino
* Mamoru Chiba / Tuxedo Mask
* Ikuko Tsukino
* Naru Osaka
* Gurio Umino
* Yumiko
* Kuri
* Motoki Furuhata