Written by BHart
March 8, 2007

Act LIX
Ancient Castles of the Silver Millennium

"I can't even see that big ark Prince Uranus and Kousagi left on. That thing must travel quickly," said Sailor Earth.

They flew up into the sky on their space sailboards until they were outside of the Earth's atmosphere. It was difficult to maneuver the space sailboards with two of them on each one. "This isn't going to work. How about you use Kousagi's space sailboard for now?" suggested Sailor Kurozuki.

"Good idea. What about the rest of you guys?" asked Sailor Chibimoon.

"Don't worry about us, we have another way of travel out here in space," replied Sailor Celis.

Four asteroids appeared beneath the Sailor Quartet. "We are the four solar asteroids. We can travel in space with the help of these," explained Sailor Palus.

"If it isn't a bother, can I travel with you on one of the asteroids?" asked Sailor Menard.

"Sure thing," said Sailor Vesta.

"It looks like we're set. But, where should we go?" asked Sailor Chibimoon.

"I think I saw something heading towards Mercury. It might've been him," said Sailor Tsukineko.

"Let's go check it out," said Sailor Chibimoon.

Sailor Parallel Moon was too weak to fight Prince Uranus. If she jumped off the ark, she would be left floating in space. "What is this large boat we're on?"

"You don't recognize it? I guess your memory hasn't completely come back then. This is a magnificent device from your world, the ark of Venus. The power of the chibarazuishou gives me the power to operate it since the original controls are damaged and faulty."

"So all the brainwashing and money laundering schemes were to get to outer space?"

"Traveling in space isn't cheap, and you need permission from the right kinds of people. We had to get the public officials to agree to fund this project to allow us to accomplish our goal. We needed the general public to elect those officials we put in place," explained Prince Uranus.

"What do you plan doing out here in space?"

"You'll see."

The sailor senshi landed on the surface of Mercury. They didn't see any signs of the ark anywhere. "I could've sworn I saw him come this way," said Sailor Tsukineko.

"He may still be here somewhere. Let's check the other side of the planet," suggested Sailor Chibimoon.

"Did anyone see where Sailor Star went?" asked Sailor Earth.

"Nope, she was here just a minute ago," replied Sailor Virago.

"Strange. Last place I saw her was right about here," said Sailor Earth, stepping near her general whereabouts. He fell through the ground.

"Sailor Earth!" He vanished from their eyes.

"How strange, the ground seems a little damp here," commented Sailor Kurozuki.

She touched the ground; her hand went through it. "There's some kind of opening here."

"How far of a drop do you think it is?" asked Sailor Virago.

"No idea."

"Screw it, I'm going after them," said Sailor Tsukineko, walking over the puddle of water, falling through. The others reluctantly followed.

They fell into a bunch of cold water underneath the planet's surface. There was a big, blue castle in front of them.

"It looks like the water is slowly filling up this place," noticed Sailor Menard.

"It might be drier inside the castle," said Sailor Chibimoon.

They couldn't get in. "There's got to be some way out of here so we don't drown and freeze to death," said Sailor Vesta.

Sailor Chibimoon was reading something inscribed on the doors of the castle. It read: "For those of you who seek entrance into Marina castle and obtain its key, you must fill it with life, using two conduits."

"What does that mean?" asked Sailor Celis.

Prince Uranus arrived on a black, misshaped planet. "Where are we? It feels so dark and scary here," said Sailor Parallel Moon.

"We are at a place not very many people know about. It is a very well kept secret. It is the tenth planet of this solar system. This is the dark planet of negative energy known as Nemesis. I will return." Prince Uranus left Kousagi alone on the ark.

The water continued rising. It was coming from up above and running down the walls around them. "Hey, look, a chain. Maybe we can climb up it," thought Sailor Palus.

She started climbing. As she climbed the chain, the chain began to lower. Her body weight was pulling it down. She tried getting to higher ground, but the chain continued moving downward.

The chain suddenly stopped. Everyone heard a clinking sound. A large, stone half-pipe was triggered by the mechanism, coming out of the wall. It was very long, resting above the castle. Some of the water coming down from above filled up the half-pipe. It traveled down it, pouring into the top of the castle.

"What just happened?" asked Sailor Palus.

"Why is water pouring into the castle?" asked Sailor Tsukineko.

"Of course, that's the answer," realized Sailor Kurozuki.

"The answer to what?" asked Sailor Earth.

"The answer to the riddle on the door to the castle; it said we have to fill the castle with life. Water is the liquid of life," replied Sailor Kurozuki.

"Everyone, if you see any more chains on the wall, pull down on them," instructed Sailor Chibimoon.

There were many chains hanging down the walls. They pulled down on different chains, causing more water to come rushing down. The area outside the castle flooded faster.

"Stop pulling down on them. If we pull down on the wrong ones, more water keeps flooding this place. According to the riddle on the door, there is one other conduit hidden here. We've got to think this through or else we will drown," said Sailor Chibimoon.

"How will we know which one to pull? It looks like there are at least 100 chains," said Sailor Menard.

"I don't know."

Prince Uranus was inside an unholy temple, looking for something. It was very dark and only a small fraction of the sun's light reached the planet. He was carrying the chibarazuishou with him. It emitted a pale, red light, allowing him to see a little.

He came to a very large, dark room resembling some kind of sacrificial chamber. Approaching the black altar, he saw a symbol on the wall above it: . "The symbol of Nemesis, I've finally found it."

It wouldn't budge from the wall. He saw an inscription next to the symbol reading, "A sacrifice must be made in order to remove this unholy symbol."

Prince Uranus cut his hands with the sharp edges of the chibarazuishou. He put his bloody hands on the symbol. It loosened a little, but still wouldn't come off.

"Damn, I must need more blood."

"What fool dares come in this unholy place and awakens me?" said a voice.

There was a girl with light-grayish skin color behind him. She had dark purple hair with red streaks in it. She had pale gray eyes with a small touch of red. She was wearing a sailor senshi uniform with the colors black, gray and red.

"Who in the hell are you?" asked Prince Uranus.

"I am Sailor Nemesis."

Prince Uranus could not believe it.

Sailor Kurozuki pulled down on a chain, causing the other conduit to pour water into the castle. The water slowly drained from the large cavern they were in. "That was lucky. I didn't know if my calculations were right," said Sailor Kurozuki.

The water from inside the castle pushed open its doors. Water came gushing out rapidly.

They entered Marina castle. The castle walls, floor and ceiling were covered in a thin sheet of ice. The interior of the castle was a beautiful ice blue. "Be careful not to slip," warned Sailor Menard.

"It's pretty cold in here," said Sailor Virago.

There were many empty rooms in the castle, some of which appeared to be living quarters. They reached the end of a long hallway, leading to a giant room filled with ice. In the center of the room, there was a fountain of neon blue water spewing out. "Why isn't that water frozen?" wondered Sailor Juno.

"It's so beautiful," said Sailor Celis, reaching her hand out to touch the water.

"Don't touch this water, it will burn you," said a voice.

"Who's there? Show yourself!" demanded Sailor Chibimoon.

"There's a sailor senshi from this planet?" asked Prince Uranus.

"I will kill you for intruding on this most unholy of places," replied Sailor Nemesis.

She shot black electrical bolts of energy from her hands. Prince Uranus held out his blood stained hands, partially shielding himself. His hands started to sting and hurt.

He disappeared. He reappeared, levitating in the air, holding the chibarazuishou in his hands. "You are quite strong, but the power of the blood rose crystal is stronger."

The chibarazuishou split apart into 16 sharp, blood- stained crystal petals. They headed towards Sailor Nemesis. She wasn't able to destroy them.

She was struck by some of them before moving out of the way. The blood petals returned to Prince Uranus, reassembling themselves into the shape of a rose again. He walked over to her while she was tending to her wounds. "Don't come near me!"

"I'm not going to hurt you."

Prince Uranus wiped his hands over her wounds, getting her blood on his hands. He walked over to the symbol on the wall, pulling it off.

"It's too bad you're a sailor senshi, you would make a great ally. I'll have to kill you if you get in my way like I did the others."

"Other sailor senshi?"

"Yes, there were others. But I killed them."

"Don't be so sure of that. Sailor senshi are pretty resilient. My ancestors couldn't get rid of them in their time, so I don't expect it would be any easier to do the same now."

"Ancestors? If you're a sailor senshi, wouldn't you be their ally?"

"It's a long story."

"I'm listening," replied Prince Uranus.

"My ancestors came from the planet called Sun. After it became a massive fireball, most of our people died. The rest of them had to hide, far away from everyone else. They were hunted by sailor senshi. After a long time of searching, they found a burnt piece of our world, floating in the darkness, far away from the Sun's light. They tried living here, but most of them died, to due the lack of light. Some of them adapted. They built a temple which I watch over. I am the only one left."

"It seems we have a common enemy. Join me and we will rule many worlds," offered Prince Uranus.

"I will accompany you, but I won't join you. I need to make sure that the other sailor senshi are dead for good. I will avenge my ancestors."

Sailor Nemesis saw Sailor Parallel Moon lying on the deck of the ark asking, "Why haven't you killed this one?"

"After I'm done with her, you can do whatever you want," said Prince Uranus.

"Who's that?" asked Sailor Parallel Moon.

"You two can get acquainted if you want, but play nice." He reached in his pocket, pulling out another planetary key, .

"I sensed that you were sailor senshi, that's why I warned you not to touch the acidic water. Don't be afraid, I mean no harm," said the voice.

"Can we at least see you?" asked Sailor Tsukineko.

"I am right here, in front of you, flowing beneath the ice. I am the waters of wisdom. I guard this ancient castle called Marina. This was Sailor Mercury's castle during the silver millennium."

"I remember hearing about that. Each sailor senshi had their own kingdom," said Sailor Chibimoon.

"I take it you've come for the key?" asked the waters of wisdom.

"What key? We just found this place by accident," replied Sailor Virago.

"Weren't you the ones who gathered the keys of Earth and Nemesis and have now come here for the key of Mercury?"

"Someone has taken the key of Earth? It must've happened while I was gone. I hope Helios is okay," worried Sailor Menard.

"How do you know about these keys?" asked Sailor Chibimoon.

"Each planet has a key which is used to unlock certain secrets of the solar system. You need all of them in order to do this. The forest servants, Tigers Eye, Hawks Eye and Fish Eye were responsible for guarding the key of Earth, deep in the forest of Elysion. It must've been taken recently," said Sailor Menard.

"So that's what Prince Uranus is doing out here," realized Sailor Chibimoon.

"Since two keys are already in enemy hands, I will give you this one." The key came up from beneath the fountain, encased in ice.

"I'll teleport you to the surface," said the waters.

"We've got to get the other keys before he does. If we split up into two groups, we'll cover more ground," suggested Sailor Chibimoon.

..to be continued..