Act 16 - Abduction, Sailor Mercury (episode)


 * This page is for the sixteenth episode of the second anime series. For the sixteenth chapter of the manga, please see Act 16 - Abduction, Sailor Mercury.

Act 16 - Abduction, Sailor Mercury is the sixteenth episode of the second anime series. It premiered in Japan on February 21, 2015.

Summary
With Sailor Mars in the hands of the Black Moon Clan, the other four Sailor Senshi grow more concerned about where they will strike next. Usagi blames Chibiusa and wonders just what she knows about their new enemies. Ami tries to reassure Usagi about the new danger. However, another one of the Spectre Sisters is coming and has set her sights on Sailor Mercury.

Plot
Sailor Moon is shocked over Sailor Mars' sudden abduction, when she sees Chibiusa watching them. Seeing her scared expression, Sailor Moon confronts her, demanding her to tell whether she had any connection with the enemy. Luna comes to defend Chibiusa, who runs away. As Chibiusa runs off, Sailor Moon sees a necklace with a key and, what appears to be, the Silver Crystal on it. Luna tells Sailor Moon to not be rude as that could never bring out any information from Chibiusa. Usagi goes back home, feeling guilty for being awful.

Luna visits Mamoru, asking him to find Chibiusa, whom they see huddled in the rain in the park. Mamoru takes her home. As she sleeps on his bed, she sees a dream: Her father telling her that Sailor Moon is invincible, and the next moment, she sees her entire surroundings dark and obliterated. She starts crying as soon as she wakes up. As Mamoru and Luna try to cheer her up, she shows them her toy: Luna P. It starts calling her Small Lady, when she reveals it to be her name which her dear mother gave to her. Mamoru sees the chain around her neck with the silver key and the Silver Crystal. He asks her whether it is her house key, to which she replied that she can never go home without that key as it's very important.

In the secret base, Minako, Ami and Makoto discuss on Chibiusa and about saving Sailor Mars. Ami reveals that she can play chess, telling about how one can figure out the intentions within an opponent's mind. Though she has no idea who the enemy is or where they are from, she makes sure that they have already snuck into the world.

The next day, Mamoru brings Chibiusa and Luna back to Usagi's home. They discuss about Chibiusa having the Silver Crystal with her. Mamoru tells her that she needs Sailor Moon's help to save her parents and her homeland.

At the enemy's base, it is revealed that the Droids are created by the tremendous power of the Black Crystal. Rubeus tells Prince Demande that Sailor Mars is being stubbornly obstinate and are not able to retrieve any information from her. Demande summons Wiseman, who tells that she could still be useful to them. Demande decides to keep Sailor Mars alive until they have achieved their goal. Berthier appears and volunteers to take the next step of their plan. She realizes that Chibiusa is near to the Sailor Guardian with power over water. She undertakes Code-002: Operation Remove. She is going to remove the unpleasant pieces.

In school, Ami sees the water taps not working and uses her exceptional hydrokinetic abilities to find out that a water pipe had been broken. She sees Berthier, who tells her that her powers of dowsing is impressive, but doing so without a pendulum is heresy. Ami goes swimming in a pool, where she meets Naru and Usagi. As they walk back, they see Berthier in a T.V. show. She speaks on how she uses the psionic ability of dowsing in chess, and challenges Ami to a chess competition.

As they play chess, Berthier reveals that she is searching for Chibiusa. Using the pendulum, Berthier reads Ami's thoughts, realizing that she is afraid of losing any more people dear to her. Ami loses her concentration and is almost giving up, when Usagi cheers her up from the audience. Her best friends' presence makes her confident, and believing that their enduring friendship will always be with her, she finally wins the game.

Berthier exclaims that the game is not over yet, and disappears. The audience is revealed to be Droids, surrounding the other girls. Ami transforms into Sailor Mercury and performs her Shine Snow Illusion attack which freezes the Droids in snow before destroying them all. Mercury then creates multiples of herself. Berthier immediately uses her powers to cause the ground to erupt, allowing liquid water to forcefully gush out, which eliminates Sailor Mercury's clones and imprison her in a globe of water. Sailor Venus performs Venus Love-Me Chain on Berthier, disabling her for a moment. Sailor Moon performs Moon Princess Halation and eliminates Berthier once and for all. Sailor Jupiter unsuccessfully tries to break the watery orb in which Sailor Mercury is being held. Rubeus appears and takes Sailor Mercury in a UFO, while Sailor Moon screams out her name in horror.

Changes From the Manga

 * The chess match between Ami and Berthier is shorter in the manga.
 * Sailor Moon does not confront Chibiusa while she and her allies are still transformed.
 * Motoki discovers the Sailor Senshi's civilian identities.
 * Ittou Asanuma appears in the manga chapter and is shown flashbacks of him meeting Mamoru and witnessing Mamoru heal himself after getting scrapped during a game of soccer.

Changes From the Original Anime

 * Like her younger sister, Berthier was eventually reformed by Sailor Moon's tremendously powerful Silver Crystal.
 * Ami did not possess any hydrokinetic abilities nor any dowsing skills in her civilian form.
 * Berthier actually saw Ami transform into Sailor Mercury before the actual chess match.
 * Sailor Mercury was abducted along with Sailor Mars, Sailor Jupiter and Sailor Venus and taken to Rubeus' hideout in outer space as bait.
 * Sailor Mercury did not possess the ability to create clones of herself nor did she wear a mouthpiece with her goggles.
 * Shine Snow Illusion was never once used.

First Appearances

 * Shine Snow Illusion

Trivia

 * Dowsing is the physic/psionic ability to search for underground water or minerals with a stick or pendulum which supposedly moves in the direction where these are present.
 * Berthier used dowsing during the chess game. The pendulum showed her where she had to put her pieces.