HAPPY NEW YEAR! Here's hoping 2016 will be better than 2015! And I swear I will finish this before the end of February. I'm getting close now. I was planning on having this chapter done before Christmas, but... let's just say getting three days off in a row for Christmas/sleeping in takes a lot of sacrifice and long hours. Then the holiday itself kept me busy to the point that I couldn't type and... well... let's see... finished one game, started another one... solved a large 3D puzzle (best way to distract me for hours or days, give me a puzzle)... well I get easily distracted. Plus there's Star Wars, but I think I covered that already, right?

Anyway, enough rambling. Now you are going to see why I hate having a large cast (future saga books will have fewer characters). They are so hard to manage. You're also going to see one of Marian's acquired skills from her story and get to understand a few limits to her abilities, ones that put the senshi into a higher power bracket under some conditions. really, working on this story has helped me figure out parts of hers. Enjoy!

36 – The Gate to Nowhere

"We can take 'im." Jupiter tensed, ready to spring into a fight. The rest slid into stances, ready to cast spells, charge forward, and for some to run away to figure out a new plan.

"That's not helping," came a growl near them. Marian marched forward, ahead of the group, and knelt on the ground respectfully, a fist over her heart. "Forgive us great one for intruding upon your domain; we would not if our need to enter within were not so great."

"Your words flatter and intrigue me traveler." The lion dog loomed slower to the ground, his giant face coming closer to the group to get a better look at them. His deep voice was surprising, going through their minds rather than his lips. How did he do that? "Wherever your lands may be, you do right by them through your speech."

"I thank you for your kind words great one." The lady kept her head down, not looking to him, as she clenched her fist to her chest. "My wish is only for I and my companions to be in your good graces."

"Along with entrance into my realm," he murmured, coming close enough now to claw at her. Everyone tensed, ready to fight back should he start something. What was this girl doing? The gate guardian looked over to Tuxedo Kamen, both wary and puzzled by the beast. "Why should I grant entrance back to one I worked so hard to be rid of? And add more unwanteds into my realm?"

'Worked to be rid of?' It clicked in the man's head instantly. This was the same voice, the exact same being, who helped him get out of that place! "You saved me…"

"I gave you a path to leave my realm young king," the lion dog corrected. "You did the necessary actions to save yourself. I would be rid of all of your kind from my realm if it were possible."

"Then allow us entrance to your realm to do the task for you great one." Marian took control of the conversation once again, imploring him. She finally looked into his face, determined to make him listen. "Our enemy is within your realm, along with a captured ally and dear friend. We wish to retrieve the friend and bring justice to the ones who took her. Justice in this realm."

"And would you also perform this 'justice' on the children of my realm?" They could feel the hatred in the creature's mind-voice but could not understand it. What was he angry at them for? "As you have countless others?"

Their negotiator stilled, thinking quickly before speaking. She lowered her head once again. "Our deepest apologies for any actions we unknowingly have done. I assure you, we will do our best to no longer bring pain to the natural inhabitants of your realm once we know better how not to."

The gate guardian watched her for a moment before glaring on all of them. "You, traveler, are less at fault than those standing here, and yet they too are hardly at fault. They know not what they do.

"You wish for passage into my realm, to remove the impurities from it." The lion dog stepped backwards, returning to his post without bringing any arm to them. "I shall grant it, on condition of a permanent change brought to the realm. The children of the realm will tell you all when they see you. Bring no harm to them, and remove the remaining intruders. They and their monstrosity are all that are left of the infection. Remove them, and you will have safe passage. When your task is complete, none shall pass through or breech the realm again."

"As you wish great one." Marian nodded her lowered head in agreement before getting to her feet to look at the senshi. The surprise was hard to conceal, though some did try. Tuxedo Kamen was working through what was agreed on before she started giving them a summary. "See? Negotiations. Now let's get going before we lose any more time."

"What exactly did you promise we'd all do?" Venus stepped forward while the rest were trying to not overreact to the large beast opening the dark door floating in front of them.

"Remove those who don't belong in his realm from it. Which was our plan to begin with." She looked over her shoulder to the gate. "Also, don't kill the locals. Hold your fire until after we know the difference."

"Difference of what?"

The question was ignored as the stranger looked over to Pluto. "Apparently the place is very unstable at the moment. You can't come with us, right?"

They looked over to the senshi of time, who shook her head in confirmation. Now that they thought about it, she didn't seem surprised to see the gate or the guardian, but she wasn't fond of negotiation earlier. "Guardians of the Gates can only enter the core realm," she stated simply. "I cannot help you in there."

"But we need to stick together!" Venus objected profusely to the idea. Why couldn't their wisest member come with them? Why did she have so many rules?! "We need you to help us save –"

"It'd cause a worse breech than any other," Marian stated, looking back to the gate, "and considering the place is unstable already, she can't risk getting any closer than this. The power of her gate radiates off of her, which is why gate guardians can recognize each other. They aren't allowed to even talk to each other. The clash of energies is equal to a fusion bomb."

"Is there anything about these 'realms' that doesn't end in a horrible explosion?" Uranus' sarcastic question got a serious response.

"Not really. Ready to go?" The door was open, and yet all they could see beyond it was darkness. Tuxedo Kamen's stomach clenched involuntarily, but he managed to put one foot in front of the other to get in there. Saturn came next to him, quickly followed by Mars and Marian. Mercury stepped up next with Neptune, with Jupiter and Uranus taking up the rear.

Venus looked to Pluto one last time before joining them. "We'll be back soon, with Usagi-chan."

"Take care," Pluto murmured, pained to be left behind once again because of her duties. They all went through the gate, watching it slowly close behind them. Softly she started to pray for their safety, wishing she knew more about the future than having to guard it. There was only darkness beyond that door and it felt like a force she hadn't felt in a thousand years.

It felt like the Dark Kingdom.

(+)

Darkness swirled around them for a brief moment, pulling at their stomachs and giving a brief sensation of vertigo, but it didn't last long. The door shutting behind them though cut off all light, smothering them in total darkness. Or should have.

"Uhg…" Tuxedo Kamen looked back to the sound, where a sight he never thought was possible met his eyes. The rest turned and stared in concern before surprise. Marian knelt down on the ground, covering her mouth and looking like she was about to throw up. She became paler than usual within seconds with sweat gathering over her strained face. But that wasn't the strangest part for the scene.

She was glowing. "Marian? Are you –"

"Just trying to adapt to this realm," she managed to say, sounding like she just ran a marathon with rags in her mouth. Taking deep breaths, they could see being there, somehow, was a strain she might not be able to manage. "It's very different from yours. My Earth's too. But it sure explains a lot."

"Does it explain why you're glowing?" Uranus' glare on her was a little lighter than before as she, like the others, tried to figure this out. Tux was at her side in a moment, very concerned for her, while Mercury was trying to scientifically explain and assist her.

"I was always glowing," Marian murmured, closing her eyes and taking deep breaths. She looked like she was fighting to not pass out. "It just wasn't as intense because I didn't have to filter large amounts of negative energy."

"Filter negative energy?"

"Well this place does give a dark presence," Mars stated simply, looking around. None of them could deny the sensation the realm gave them: a familiar never ending darkness. The difference from what they were used to though was simply the lack of mal-intent. "Haven't felt anything like this in a long time."

"I'm a natural filter for energy," the girl explained, breathing a little easier now. "A converter. My body thrives on positive energy, but when negative energy is around, it has to absorb it then change it into positive energy. The glowing you see is an after effect. The brighter the light, the more I have to work to stand."

"You're glowing pretty brightly," Saturn pointed out.

"I know," she groaned, still taking slow breaths. "It's a lot more than how it is back home too. From my estimate, all the negative energy that should have been in the core realm was transferred here. No wonder it was so easy for me to use my spells there. I didn't have any resistance."

"Are you saying you're weaker here?!" Jaws dropped all around the spectacle. All her high and mighty talk earlier and now when they needed her power, she was useless except as a glow stick!

"I just need to adapt," Marian reminded them, giving pointed glares. She wasn't weak. "Did someone 'seal away all the darkness' a few centuries ago?"

The senshi exchanged looks. "Queen Selene, when she sent the Dark Kingdom packing."

"Queen Selene huh?" A smirk crossed her face, and Tuxedo Kamen was certain only he understood why. "Powerful lady. She made an entire realm. Foolish really.

"Just give me a few minutes and I'll be fine." She looked over to the man beside her, giving a reassuring smile. His worry and concern must have shown on his face; she hadn't shown a lot of gentle kindness since he became an adult again. "We still have over twenty-two hours left. We can spare five minutes."

"Don't know which way to go right now anyway." Jupiter looked around, trying to catch sight of the horizon. There really was nothing. They wouldn't even know which way was up or down if gravity wasn't working. For some reason, they felt like they wouldn't even be able to see their hand in front of their faces if their stranger wasn't glowing so brightly. There just wasn't a light anywhere else. "Tuxedo Kamen, do you remember which way you went at all?"

He shook his head. "I just followed the voice… the gate guardian's voice… in my head and kept running. Marian, can you see anything?"

Looking at him once, Marian turned her tired head around, taking in the sights. Her eyes changed colors. "Figures, but nothing distinct. I can see about thirty yards ahead in any direction and that's it."

"Is it possible to see a path or something?" A small panic started to build in his chest. The realm made her weaker and even her special eyes may be useless in their goal. "Something leading us to the grey castle?"

She raised an eyebrow at him. "Spells backtracking a person's path only work efficiently if performed within three days of the path. And unless the caster has a strong connection with the target, I can't find a path to the target through spells either. It takes years to do that, and I've only known Usagi for a few months. Less if you consider how I've acted in class. We're better off asking the locals."

"Locals?" Senshi looked around their group, some looking back into the darkness. It didn't look as dark as before, but with someone glowing and giving them a backlight, a lot couldn't be considered dark anymore. Just a shade of grey.

"Every realm has locals. The gate guardian said to talk to the 'children of his realm'. That's who he was talking about." Marian continued to take deep breaths, the light around her glowing brighter then diminishing by her will ever slightly. "Earth is the planet of life. New lives are created in every setting, including this one. Evolution and survival of the fittest determines what thrives. Looks like it takes a lot for anything to thrive here."

"Will you stop analyzing and just recover so we can find Usagi?" Many stared at Tuxedo Kamen as he snapped at her, but it only got a short laugh from the patient. Realizing how he spoke, he took a deep breath to calm down. "The sooner you can move freely, the sooner we can find the locals."

"If they don't find us first," Uranus pointed out, getting several nods. The entire place put them on edge, even with the light.

"Which is more likely." The girl got more comfortable where she was, rolling her shoulders. Her complexion looked no better, but she was no longer sweating. "May as well wait until they arrive. Anyone bring cards?" The round of irked looks she received gave her answer enough. She shrugged. "Just asking."

"We'll start moving once you're able." No argument came from the statement, so Tux got up and started walking around anxiously, staying nearby in case her condition deteriorated. The other senshi were as anxious as he was but some handled it better than he did. Mercury had her computer out, analyzing the area best she could, while Neptune did the same with her mirror. Mars closed her eyes, facing the darkness and reaching out with her senses, and he could see Saturn standing guard with her glaive, looking terrifying while doing the same as the others. Uranus, Jupiter, and Venus could only do the same as he, pacing around and try to make some sense of what was going on around them while keeping guard.

Glancing at Marian, a thought crossed his mind, turning his stomach. If her powers were on the fritz… Trying to not be seen, the man reflexively made a rose out of thin air. He let out a slow breath, satisfied. His powers were fine. He made a poinsettia, daisy, and orange in quick succession, proving he could make plants of all sorts again, then decided to test another ability.

Closing his eyes, he tried to find his connection to his Usako; maybe he could find her that way. He used to, before all this craziness. Maybe he could…

A small silver light, dimming, was off in the distance. But it was only in the distance. There was no direction. Mentally he cursed to himself, wishing he could get something more. This used to be so easy, and it wasn't that long ago when he reached out to Usagi for comfort. They were so close at that time, comforting each other, and yet now…

He could almost touch that silver light, almost reattach the connection, but something shoved him away, hard. Tuxedo Kamen jerked back, awake and aware of his surroundings. What was that barrier? Dread emptied his stomach to the point that it ached. What had Diamond done to his Usako? Never did he have so much trouble reaching her in the past.

A small hand touched his arm, giving him another start. Venus looked up to him, concerned. "Are you alright?"

He just stared at her for a long moment before looking away into the dark. "I wish I could say I was. I can feel Usagi is out there, but there's no connection. I can't find a path to her. That never happened before. I could always…"

The empty feeling inside brought what little confidence he had down to the ground. He needed to find her. Without Usako… without their connection… he didn't know what to do with himself.

"I can't sense her either." Venus looked out with him, worried as well. "Usually we know how each other are and can rush to each other's aid in a moment. Usagi-chan though… I can't feel her anywhere. Not anymore. It's hard to believe she's even…"

"She's alive." That he knew without question. If she was gone, Tux knew he would fall apart. Their connection still existed. It was blocked, not severed. "We're not too late. Not this time."

V smiled weakly at him, grateful he could reassure them of that much. The scouts were all worried, and none kicked themselves as much as she did. "I just can't believe we didn't see it coming, even a little. How you disappeared should have been a bigger tip off something was wrong. Why didn't we see the similarities between Diamond and Sensei? How could we believe such an easy lie?" She held onto herself, letting her doubt out. "We fell into our enemy's hands almost willingly. How could we be so stupid?"

The man next to her clutched and released his fists several times, calming the fury that tried to take over him. His emotions were trying to take over his thinking, something he didn't realize before and needed to keep under control if he was ever going to save his love. Taking a deep breath, he chose the high road. "They had a lot of time to plan this. They watched us all carefully. They've played a long game. Only when something they didn't expect was thrown at them did we have a chance against them. We got lucky Venus. If the plan went the way they wanted it to, either you'd be dead or still peacefully ignorant of what was going on.

"None of us were stupid. They just knew what they were doing." That was the jist of it. Their enemy knew how to attack, when to, and what pieces to move before making their stance known. The senshi weren't prepared for this. None of them were. "It's up to us to fix it."

"No kidding."

Silence enveloped them all, looking back a moment or two to their light source still sitting on the ground. The ground around Marian was starting to glow too, with gold blades of grass shining here and there. Her face retained its usual color now, no longer sweating as much as she did before. The group looked outward, searching as best they could in the dark for any movement, any sign of life, but it was only when Mars stepped forward with one of her lesser attacks. "Who's there?!"

For a brief moment, everyone could see dozens of inky, spindly creatures, each with weapons and surrounding them. Then the darkness ate the fire up.

They were surrounded by monsters. But that wasn't the worst of it.

They felt like the Dark Kingdom's youma.

Instantly everyone fell into an attack formation, weapons and spells at the ready. Razor tipped roses were ready to throw and his cane grew in one hand, glaring out into the abyss. Iphanessa was not getting him again.

"Supreme –" "Shine Aqua –" "Burning –" "Deep –" "Space –"

"CEASE AND DESIST!" Everything stopped. Their attacks, their movements, even their breath for a moment. No one could move. How did – "BARRIER!"

A bright pale gold light surrounded them, separating the group from those who outside it. They could see clearer the monsters trying to attack them, but more clearly they could see the one who stopped the battle. Tux turned around first, looking over to Marian, strained once again but this time from casting two spells, one over all of them. That spell was breaking quickly. "What are you doing?!"

"Fulfilling our promise to the gate guardian." She took a few deep breaths before looking straight at him and the few who broke from her control quickly. "He said to not attack the locals. These are the locals."

"Their youma!" Mars immediately objected, furious at the interloper. "It's our duty to –"

"If you want to get out of here in one piece, I advise you talk first and attack later!" Rubbing her head, Marian looked out of the barrier, pointing out the obvious. "You say they're youma, and you're probably right, but they aren't really a threat individually right now are they?"

Looking at the creatures, they couldn't disagree. These were not the youma they were used to seeing. Not even three feet high, they fit the description of imps or goblins more than the youma they were used to fighting. They could be described as starving black Yodas if they thought about it. Their heads had a similar shape to the muppet, with wrinkles and big ears, but their eyes were like giant black glass marbles wanting to pop out of their heads. The rest of them was stick thin with a few bulging areas where internal organs would be. Three fingers and it looked like two thumbs, had very good grips on their crude weapons, but their legs looked too easy to take out from underneath them. Their jaws looked huge, but weak as a frog's. They barely had teeth, and they weren't sure if they had clothes, or parts to cover up with them.

No, individually they weren't in the least bit threatening. Creepy, but not threating. But together they could be trouble. Most of all, they felt like youma. You never knew what those things did.

All around them they heard a gargling chatter coming from these things, some of them screeching and pointing at them with their crude weapons. It got louder with each passing second, yet was muffled by the barrier. The… mini-youma… threw things occasionally at it but none of them dared touch it.

"How long will that barrier last?" Mercury wondered when one rock made it ripple. A mob was never a good thing.

"As long as I want it to." Marian paused for a moment, watching the crowd, and whistled. "Wow… they sure don't like you guys."

"You can understand what they're saying?" Venus turned toward her, quickly followed by everyone else.

"You…" She cringed, remembering something. "My translation spell. I'm the only one who can understand them… and likely I'm the only one they'll be able to understand." She shook her head slowly, sighing. "I'll talk to them and get us safe passage. Maybe we'll get more of the story while I'm at it. Stay in the shield and don't attack anyone."

With that, the strange girl strode past them and through the barrier, her hands raised to show she meant them no harm. Tuxedo Kamen reached towards her for a moment, wanting to stop her, but he knew it'd be no good. They needed to find Usagi, and they didn't have time to perform genocide and find a way through this crazy place. Talking was their best option, even with those who's energy and presence reminded them of countless battles over the years. Quietly he mumbled, "Be careful."

His words didn't get a response. All he could really do was wait and watch as the woman who saved his life, without any thought of reward, willingly faced their enemy to try and form a kind of truce.

(+)

It felt like half an hour passed before they saw the glowing girl come back towards them, one hand tightly gripping the other's palm as she came through her barrier. "Okay, I think we have a bargain. They've promised to lead us to the castle and show us a way in on condition that we destroy the castle and the spell sucking them into it on occasion. Shouldn't be too hard."

"Are you okay?" Venus ignored the report as she swarmed her, along with Jupiter and Mercury. Though they could all see her light from where they stood, they hadn't been able to see her clearly most of the time. Tuxedo Kamen's stomach was tying itself together in knots waiting. "Did they do anything to you?"

"What really are they?" Mercury's question was heard above all the others, getting a sigh from Marian before she answered.

"They're youma, or at least what they are in their natural state before they land in your… Dark Kingdom's(?) hands." She put more pressure on her hand as she looked back to where the crowd was now talking amongst themselves, becoming a little less hostile. "Apparently there's a spell in the castle that takes them at random, puts them through some sort of transmorphic process, and turns them into the youma you know before being sent out to their deaths. They also get reincarnated into a new body each time you turn them to dust. And they remember it, every detail. One or two out there have been killed twice by you guys at different times, hence why they know who you are and don't like you. Fortunate for us, they hate our enemies at the castle more than you. 'My enemy's enemy is my friend' deal.

"Anyway, it's going to take an hour to walk it, and our walk is as fast as they can go at the moment." She looked back to their group, giving instructions. "They're going to surround us and be ready to attack the entire time, but if you don't do anything rash," she flashed a glare at all of them, "and attack at the slightest provocation, then they won't try and kill you."

"How can you even remotely trust them?" Mars exchanged looks with Uranus and Neptune, all three wary of the deal. They did not like the feeling they got looking at these guys.

"I have a few assurances," she stated calmly. Then shrugged. "Plus they know if I lose control, I can neutralize their existence in a snap. Apparently my natural glow is as bad for them as your attacks. They couldn't touch me the entire time."

"Well that's great for you," Uranus growled. "What about the rest of us?"

A smirk appeared on Marian's face. "I'm keeping the glow down. A lot. It won't hurt any of you, just them. It has to do with energy compatibility, wave lengths, and charges. Theirs is opposite mine and cannot adapt while yours is similar to mine enough that they're almost compatible. If you want I can explain it in detail along the way. We have little over twenty-one hours left until my spell runs out."

This was enough for everyone to silently get to a consensus. They had to get going and save Usagi from Diamond. Venus was the first to turn towards the youma, take a deep breath, and walk through the shield. It was effortless but nerve racking; walking among your longtime enemies peacefully was never an easy task. Saturn and Mercury went next, soon to be followed by the rest if Marian hadn't then decided to snap her fingers and end the shield. Taking a breath, she started taking the rear, making sure all their backs were covered, when Tuxedo Kamen grabbed her wrist.

Glaring slightly, he turned her to face him, removing the hand giving pressure to her other palm. He felt her flinch as he revealed a fresh cut on her hand. He glared concern into her eyes as she tried to calmly look away. Didn't work. "What exactly did you do?"

She didn't respond. He looked back to her hand, still bleeding despite the pressure she put on it before. Gently he covered the cut with his fingers, willing it to mend. "You didn't put a bandage on it."

"I make them from the power provided by the elemental realm," she explained quietly, making sure none of the senshi heard them. "Unless I'm in it or the core realm, I can't make them. I recover as quickly as any other human right now."

"You could have used something." Within moments the wound was gone, no sign of it left behind. He kept his grip firm on her wrist and hand. "Why did you cut your hand?"

It looked like she wasn't going to say anything again for a few seconds before mumbling something about 'assurances'. "I made absolutely certain that they will let everyone go home alright? It's not a bad thing."

"I may not know a lot about magic," Tux stated coolly, though inside panicking, "but I know using blood in anything makes it a powerful spell."

"Not necessarily," Marian corrected, slipping from his grip easily enough. "But yes, it is a powerful tool if used correctly. Don't worry. I did not sell my soul to them or promise to join them. It's a short term contract and fell into our plans anyway."

"Marian –"

"Are we going or not?" She took a step towards where the others were walking, surrounded and guided in one particular direction. "Time is ticking away, and unless you're okay with her possibly getting pregnant with some other man's child, we better get going. We still need to figure out a plan of attack along the way."

The man hesitated, watching her warily, worried. What exactly did she do to get the youma there on their side? Still, he didn't sense she was lying to him. She didn't really lie in the past either, just avoided the truth. At least to him. Slowly he took one step in front of another, unsure still whether to trust the monsters now surrounding them. He could trust the glowing negotiator, but these little guys… that would take time. Time they didn't have.

(+)

Despite being surrounded by little goblins who became their constant enemies in the past and guided through the dark with mutterings and clicks and growls they couldn't understand all around them, it was surprisingly fast walk towards the grey castle. Time became irrelevant, despite the anxiety within them. The ground seemed to move beneath their feet, and not focusing on their guides herding them a very particular direction, they made very good time. Occasionally one of the senshi would stop and exchange menacing glares at the pocket youma, but Marian would throw a small light ball between them to break up any near fights they could have.

Before they registered time was really passing and they were getting somewhere, something of color appeared in the distance: a grey jaggety mound. The sight of it made their resident prince's stomach clench, his every step becoming more forced each second. The senshi felt conflicted seeing their destination; dread and anticipation battled within them, wanting to run to it and run away from it at the same time. Even the youma became jittery when it started getting closer. Only the strange glowing girl seemed to be thinking of something other than the castle, or further ahead than just getting there. No anxiety seemed to be coming from her.

As it loomed closer and closer, their feelings grew, quickening and slowing steps, but none as hard as their prince. The second he got a good look at it, he stopped moving forward, paralyzed at the spot. Eyes wide, jaw open, and shaking from head to heel, Tuxedo Kamen could not stop the sheer terror going through him.

This place…

This was the place…

"Mamoru?" Marian's low voice next to him was soon followed by several concerned cries.

"Tuxedo Kamen-sama!"

"I'm…" He tried to take a step forward, but lost the ability to move, falling to his knees. His eyes never left the castle. He couldn't stop shaking!

Why did it have to be this place?!

"What's wrong with him?!" "What did they do?!" "Calm down! Can't you recognize trauma when you see it?!" "Trauma?" "It's the only explanation. This castle is where he was tortured for a month and struggled to escape from. It's only natural he would be terrified of the place." "So he's –"

"That's not it." Somehow among all the voices of confusion, he was able to snap away from the sight of the place, and the memories that followed. Taking deep breaths, he looked at the ground where his knees were and tried to desperately reorganize his thoughts, take control of his life again.

"What's not it?" Came a calm voice back. He could hardly distinguish who was talking to him now. There was a lot of strange chattering around as well, adding to the confusion. "Tuxedo Kamen-sama, please, tell us. What's wrong?"

Taking deep breaths, he tried to explain. "The Dark Kingdom. Beryl. This is where she took me when I died."

A/N: Yeah, going back to the dark kingdom here! If Pluto hadn't pointed it out in the beginning, Mamoru and Mare sure have now. I have a theory about youmas that gets kinda explained here. Youmas are monsters taken from one realm, morphed into something that can survive in theirs, and get tied to an anchor (those gems, cards, seeds, ect you see just before they get completely obliterated). You destroy the anchor, you destroy the monster. Youmas though seemed to have personalities in the anime, so I gave them an extended existence here. This isn't cannon, but it is fun.

Queen Selene/Serenity made the realm when she sealed away the Dark Kingdom. What Beryl found in the arctic was a breach in the realm, allowing her access to the place and even bending reality with it, making the one you know in the Manga/anime. Yes it wasn't grey in the anime and didn't look like a 'castle' castle, but I'm taking artistic liberties here and wanted to make it more dramatic. :P In the manga and Crystal, Tux died and was barely kept alive by the crystal's power before abducted by Kunzite to the Dark Kingdom, put into a healing machine/brainwashing thing and turned into a puppet for Metalia. They went back there for the final battle in that arc and he died again and got brought back again (blind too but only for a while). That castle is probably a very traumatizing place for him now and should ether make him angry or terrified. Considering his last experience there was torture for a solid month, and his brain chemistry is still out of whack, terror was the best response.

Mostly Mamochan needs to get over this, defeat this monster, or he won't grow. The castle, what it represents, and what it holds, are all things he has to overcome. And he will. This the future King Endymion after all. ;]

Until next year!