Written by BHart
April 28, 2007

 

Act LXII
The Missing Orphic Scrolls

 

Sailor Nemesis was on the ark, speaking with Prince Uranus saying, "Do you know where the sailor senshi are right now?"

"I don't know. Let me drop you off here, at Saturn. You can get the planetary key for me while looking for them."

"I'm not interested in getting keys for you. All I care about is killing them."

"You might as well do something while you're searching."

"Fine, I'll check here."

Prince Uranus unrolled some scrolls he had. They were the orphic scrolls, containing information on how to gain access to the different castles in the solar system. They were not complete; the other half were missing.

Before he could go over them with her, he noticed she had already left, heading down towards the planet. "If she would just listen to me for a few minutes, we could get a lot of work done. Oh well, they key of Saturn will be in my possession sooner or later," thought Prince Uranus.

The sailor senshi were on the moon known as Atlas. "It's a good thing you found those orphic scrolls inside that box on Pandora," said Sailor Star.

"It looks like we only have part of them. At least we have something to go by," replied Sailor Tsukineko.

"What are we looking for?" asked Sailor Earth.

"Some kind of giant boulder," answered Sailor Tsukineko.

"I think I may have found it," said Sailor Kurozuki, leading the way.

Words engraved on the giant boulder read, "Give relief to the one who bears the weight of the heavens and Earth on his back by moving this boulder from its place."

"How do we do that? It's too heavy," said Sailor Virago. Even her strength wasn't enough.

They used their magic attacks against it, making it roll away a few feet. Underneath the boulder was a statue and belt inside a deep pit. The statue was no longer holding the boulder. The belt floated up to them. Engraved on the belt buckle was written, "You will gain the strength of a titan when you wear the belt of Atlas."

Sailor Nemesis heard some faint music. She descended to the surface of Pan. The music came from a statue of a satyr. She noticed an object resembling a flute on the ground, in front of it.

After picking it up, the statue crumbled, revealing a satyr. "I see you've found my flute," said the satyr.

"What the heck are you?"

"I am Pan, and that is my flute."

"You can have it if you want. Just keep your distance." She tossed it to him.

"I am in your debt. You released me from my stone prison."

"I don't need help from weird goat men."

"That's too bad. My music has been known to influence people."

"Come again?"

"I can get people to do what I want with my music."

"Is that so? I may have a use for you yet."

The sailor senshi were on the moon known as Prometheus. Sailor Earth was reaching into a large cavity underneath the chest area of a statue made of flesh and blood. "This is so nasty. Everything's so slimy." He pulled out a liver.

"Gross. Where should we put it?" asked Sailor Tsukineko.

"I'll hold on to it until we figure that out. This stuff doesn't bother me," offered Sailor Virago.

Sailor Nemesis and Pan were on Epimetheus. "What are we doing here?" asked Sailor Nemesis.

"There is a fierce beast residing on this moon. It will destroy your enemies."

There was a loud roar. A large, blue lion with a gold mane and fiery tail charged at them. Sailor Nemesis prepared to attack.

"Don't harm it. I can control it with my music," said Pan.

The mesmerizing melody of his flute made the beast sit down by them. "This beast will obey you," said Pan.

"Great! Now I just have to find those sailor senshi."

The sailor senshi were on Dione, making a burnt offering before a female statue. They were preparing the liver for the burnt offering. "Everyone, be quiet for a minute. I need there to be silence while I give this votive prayer," said Sailor Kurozuki.

After the burnt offering and prayer were finished, a lost page of the orphic scrolls appeared. It gave them further instructions on what to do next.

"What promise did you have to make in that prayer in order to get that lost page?" asked Sailor Star.

"Nothing I can't keep. I must refrain from having sex with Zeus," answered Sailor Kurozuki.

"That should be easy," said Sailor Earth. The lost page told them to go to Phoebe.

After arriving on Phoebe, they ascended a large slope. At the top they could see a dim, blue light coming from a small orb like object. Sailor Earth picked it up. Inside the orb read, "The oracle of Delphi's orb". It contained the rest of the information needed to get into the castle of Saturn.

They followed the instructions, telling them to go to Hyperion. After arriving at Hyperion, the orb gave them more information. "It says we have to look to the stars in order to find the beam eye of Hyperion," informed Sailor Kurozuki.

"Just observe the stars? That sounds easy enough," said Sailor Star.

Some of the stars in the sky formed an arrow, pointing them in the right direction. They followed the arrow, leading them to a large hole in the ground.

At the bottom of the hole lied a coin-shaped eye. "The orb of Delphi says we have to use the eye of Hyperion to guide Rhea to the gates of Janus. She will open up the gates, allowing us to enter the castle of Titan," read Sailor Kurozuki.

Sailor Tsukineko looked through the eye of Hyperion. A white beam of light shot out of the eye, touching some stars. The light formed a long line, connecting the stars. It started at the moon Rhea, stopping at the moon of Janus.

Sailor Nemesis and Pan saw the large, white line connecting the stars. "What's that?" asked Pan.

"I don't know, let's go find out."

A titaness on a chariot, drawn by two lions, emerged from Rhea, and followed the white line. The chariot rammed two large doors on Janus, breaking them open.

After arriving on Janus, the sailor senshi found a small key inside the large doors. It was used to open the doors of Titan's castle.

They headed towards Titan. Sailor Nemesis, the blue lion and Pan followed after them.

The doors of Titan castle lied on the ground. The engravings on the door told them they would need the Atlas belt, Hyperion eye and orb of Delphi in order to retrieve the castle's key. It also said a price to pay upon obtaining the key of Saturn.

Sailor Nemesis, Pan and the Epimetheus lion were hiding behind a large rock, watching them. "What are they doing? What is this place?" asked Pan.

"They're looking for some kind of key."

The sailor senshi used the key of Janus, opening up the doors to the crypt castle. It was very dark. The orb of Delphi allowed them to see by providing a blue light. There were many skulls and bones lying about.

Sailor Nemesis, Pan and the Epimetheus beast entered the crypt.

The sailor senshi heard something grinding up against stone. The orb's light didn't reveal anything out of the ordinary, but they could hear something close.

Sailor Kurozuki looked through the Hyperion eye. There were sharp rings protruding from the ground and walls, spinning around quickly. The invisible Cassini and Encke rings would slice anyone to pieces who walked by. They avoided them, walking deeper into the crypt.

"There they are. I'm going to take this chance to kill them," said Sailor Nemesis.

"Wait! We should follow them through this place first. They seem to be able to get around these death traps," warned Pan.

The sailor senshi came to a large vault. It had no handle, key hole or any means of being opened.

Sailor Virago put on the belt of Atlas and punched a large hole through it. On top of a large pile of bones lied the key of Saturn. "There it is," said Sailor Earth.

"How fitting for you to die in a crypt," said Sailor Nemesis, entering the room with Pan and the blue lion.

"Who are you guys?" asked Sailor Tsukineko.

"I'm Sailor Nemesis. I will be the one to kill you."

"I am Pan. Thanks for going to all the work of getting the crypt's treasure. I'll be taking that now."

"Just try it, freak," said Sailor Virago.

Pan played a mesmerizing melody on his flute, putting the sailor senshi in a deep haze. He took the orb of Delphi, belt of Atlas and Hyperion eye from them.

"Why do you even want that junk anyway?" asked Sailor Nemesis.

"Didn't you see the powers these things grant? They have great value," replied Pan. He played another melody on his flute, making the blue lion attack Sailor Nemesis.

She started fighting it. "You little slick bastard. I'll get you for this," threatened Sailor Nemesis.

"Sorry, nothing personal. I just want these treasures for myself." He took the key of Saturn from the pile of bones.

The foul stench of death entered the room, claiming Pan's soul. The price to pay for obtaining the key was one life.

After coming to their senses, the senshi took the Description: http://www33.brinkster.com/machikelxol/psmpics/saturn.jpgkey. They made their way out of the crypt while Sailor Nemesis was busy fighting the lion. "Go ahead and escape, you cowards. I'll kill you next time," threatened Sailor Nemesis.

"Where did she come from?" asked Sailor Kurozuki.

"I don't know. We don't have time to waste fighting her while Prince Uranus is out there looking for the other keys," said Sailor Star.

Sailor Nemesis eventually killed the beast and exited the crypt. "I don't care how long it takes to find you. My revenge will be complete."