HALLO! Currently working on the next chapter so there should be another update in a day or so, but I've been wanting to do that chapter forever! anyway, here's the next one! Some psychology here (not an expert, but I do watch a lot of cop/crime shows. yeah still doesn't make me qualified) and a lot of talking, but action too! And magic theory. Yeah, marian's gonna slow you down with magic theory again. Fun. Either way, enjoy!

37 – Storming the Castle

The silence among the humans was deafening. Many were confused, but slowly dawning came to the inner senshi. They looked back to the castle and started to see what he did, coming the same conclusion he couldn't deny anymore. The outers remained confused completely. "When you… died…"

"Wait… let me get this straight." Marian spoke up, pinching her brow as she tried to wrap her head around what he said. "You died, came here, and remember it?" He nodded slowly. "I'm guessing your reincarnation didn't have anything to do with it?"

"When we first started," Tuxedo Kamen tried to explain, getting a better grip on himself. It was only a building. Only a building. "Before we got our memories back from the Silver Millennium, I was struck down saving Sailor Moon. Her crystal saved me, somewhat, but I was taken… here… and turned into Metalia's puppet.

"I… I became a villain." He stopped and looked at his hands in horror. He remembered very little of his actions while under that witch's control, but he knew he did unforgivable things in that state. If he weren't in that state, he wouldn't be able to explain away anything. Some said he was brainwashed. He knew the truth. He was a walking corpse, barely alive, and a puppet for the evil that was sealed in there for so long. "They made me…"

He fell silent for a moment as he recalled, clearer, the time he returned there, with Sailor Moon and the inner senshi in tow. Tux looked up at them, now recalling what happened clearer. "I brought you all here, trying to get the crystal. Sailor Moon… She killed me and then herself… The Ginzuishou saved us… Then we… we destroyed Metalia. We finally won the war…

"But…" He looked beyond them to the castle. "How does the Dark Kingdom still exist? We destroyed it."

"A kingdom isn't gone because the king's dead." Marian sighed heavily, looking around at the area and the castle. It was still a ways off, and they knew it was massive. This was going to be harder than they thought. "In order to destroy a kingdom, you have to destroy everything about it: the people, the history, the buildings, everything. You took out the evil leader and left. No better than assassinating the leads of a government who started a war. It forces the remaining people to reorganize and make new choices, choose new leaders.

"The ground soldiers here have a different lifestyle and goal in mind than their oppressors you took out. If Iphanessa was with the Dark Kingdom during all of that, in the background somewhere, she was able to keep that castle up and keep the place going."

"And we still don't know how Diamond got here," Mars reminded them. "Is it possible Iphanessa and the Dark Kingdom had something to do with his revival?"

"Possible. Other realms do bend space and time compared to the core realm." Annoyed at the idea, she started to theorize. "It's possible, with the right spells and placement, for her to find his incarnation in this time, and implant all of the Diamond you knew's memories and thought patterns into his current body. Very tricky and requires a lot of energy to –"

A few of the youma started chattering up at her all at once, getting her attention. When they quieted, Marian blinked. "Oh. I see. That makes sense."

"What makes sense?" Venus and Jupiter looked between her and the imps anxiously waiting for them to get up and continue. "What did they say?"

"They said two years ago the 'witch of the castle' sacrificed a large group of them to generate enough energy to distort space, just like the 'fire haired witch' did several times to get her generals. They only saw the 'three-eyed ghost man' after that event, and he never cried or screamed out. Apparently the 'fire haired witch' was taking unwilling boys to be her commanders. One of them remembers seeing one of them crying in a dark corner as a boy… Is Beryl the 'fire haired witch'?"

"Yes." Almost in control of himself again, Tuxedo Kamen dared to look at the group theorizing and digging up information they didn't suspect to be out there. The Shitennou… they were as unwilling to join the Dark Kingdom as he was. That was a little comfort to him, but pained him as well. He almost wished they could fight Beryl again, just to make her suffer more. "Beryl was the one under Metalia… until I came along."

"And she traded up." Nodding Marian looked at the castle. "Iphanessa used to sleep in there in some kind of tomb, but her body was too frail to act as your Metalia's surrogate. She must have woken up after some event, a surge of energy reaching through the realms. Then she gained power and started to plot a way to get what she wanted. You've got an ancient, obsessed stalker mister."

"What I don't understand is how this is here." Mercury waved around the realm, especially the castle. "If this is the Dark Kingdom we fought, why isn't it in the Arctic Circle? That's where we fought them last time."

"You fought them in a breach." She shrugged as if it were nothing, inconsequential. "Breaches with realms happens all the time, but are usually healed quickly. The one I made between my universe and this one was easily fixed; I doubt Sailor Pluto could find any sign of it. The breach led you straight here. After you took out Metalia, the breach healed. All wounds heal with time.

"Or they grow too big and destroy everything," she added after a moment's thought. She looked over to the man still kneeling on the ground. Tux did not trust his legs. "So you 'died', became a puppet here, 'died' again, came back completely from the grave, fought a big evil, and several years later was kept prisoner and tortured here for a month. No wonder you don't like this place.

"But Sailor Moon is in there." That got their attention again. Usagi. Marian offered her hand to him. "Think you can brave the place one last time to save her? I promise you won't have to be in that place again after today."

Looking into her eyes, the hero felt strength return to him, slowly. "I'll more than brave it." He took her hand and got to his feet, steady at last. "I'll take the place apart brick by brick if it means finding her again."

"Good." His guardian looked around the crowd, nodding to herself. "Not likely to come to that but still good. If there's anything any of you remember about the layout, now is a good time to speak up. We should be there soon, if we go back to walking."

Catching her hint, they all silently agreed to keep moving, recounting their last battle with the Dark Kingdom as best they could. A few of the youma chattered at her too, giving any details they could, and then Marian would translate for the rest. It was an informative trek to the grey spooky castle of doom.

(+)

"Big." Venus summed up the castle in one word. Big. It was also very creepy, as if a Gothic architect tried to take over a Greek project and then it was taken over by an animator for He-Man in charge of Skeletor, minus the skulls. And it was all a sickening shade of grey, not an easy feat.

"And well-guarded." Uranus pointed out the guards at the doors they could see, and the army of enemy youma camped out around the building. "How are we going to get in?"

"Getting into the building won't be that difficult." They looked at Marian contemplating the building as if she was insane. "It's getting past the army that will be hard. I mean, we can't ask these guys to fight their own." She waved a hand at the 'good' youma still with them, each of them anxious standing there. Their strange chattering became a murmur they didn't dare try to understand.

The entourage led them to some kind of rocky area near the castle and hid them there while giving them a chance to get a good look at their goal. It gave them a chance to come up with a better plan of attack, despite all their discussion along the way. They had about twenty hours, so the real hard part of storming the castle was the obstacle and finding their princess was about to begin. They needed as many advantages as they could get.

"Why not?" Uranus challenged, unimpressed by her comments. "We had to."

"Because it's immoral, impractical, and a suicide mission. They're ill-equipped, untrained, and don't have the resources needed for a distraction. They've done all they can, and it's enough. The rest is up to us." Marian looked out of their hiding hole again, gears working. "Tux, were there this many out there when you escaped?"

Tuxedo Kamen stifled his anxiety as he shook his head. "No. I didn't run into any resistance when I left. There weren't even this many when I was a puppet."

One of the youma chattered near them, getting a nod from their translator. "I see. So the dramatic increase happened only in the past few hours. They haven't had time to really organize themselves. Over the past few years, the draft only took one or two a day. Makes sense."

"How does that make sense?" Mars folded her arms and leaned against what had to be a stone wall. Once you ignored the darkness, the terrain was pretty normal.

"You guys have been fighting tougher youma lately right? Some immune to your abilities?" The senshi glanced at each other nervously. Yeah, that happened. "It would take time to specialize and train those guys, like Navy Seals versus crewmen. Both get equipment and training, but the Seals get more intense physical and mental training, making them the ideal soldier. You were fighting Seals for the past month. These guys are crewmen."

"Making these guys civilians?" Jupiter got the concept easily, looking down at the youma next to her.

"Exactly. Not to say all three parties aren't dangerous, just that some are better prepared for the battle than others." She became thoughtful for a moment, silent, before shaking her head and looking out again. "Okay, we'll need a massive distraction to clear that wall over there."

She pointed to one of the outer walls decorated in black vines. It was rather secluded and had fewer guards than the others, but no doors. They gave the girl confused looks. Why there? "If I'm looking at the structure right, the second floor window should lead to a hallway attached to the main hall, or overlooking it, and it won't be guarded on the inside. It's not a place people expecting a frontal assault would care about."

"Iphanessa might. She's a military strategist." Tux was starting to get an idea of what she wanted to do.

"But she's anticipating the sailor senshi." A smirk grew on her face. "If she sees the senshi on an all-out attack on the army, she will focus her resources on them and nothing else. She doesn't know me or my thought process or my skills, and I don't think she saw you there, just knew you were in the area. We can get in without too much trouble if the area is cleared out.

"Once inside, I can find the spell keeping the enemy youma under her thumb and destroy it." She looked over to the others, and not just the senshi barely putting pieces together. "That should confuse and disperse the army enough to give you a way inside. The ones inside will likely be loyal to her under a different spell so we'll need backup. The youma can take care of their own after that. Once inside, the mission is easy: find Sailor Moon, take out Iphanessa and Diamond, and blow up the castle."

"That sounds significantly harder than you think it does." Venus couldn't help but object to how loony it all sounded. "You want us to attack them so you and Tuxedo Kamen can get into the castle undetected?"

"Pretty much." Marian looked back over to the castle. "How you attack them is up to you. You've been fighting them more than I have so you know their tactics. I know spells and how to dismantle them. There is no way any mastermind would create an army like this forcibly without some kind of assurance to their loyalty, so some kind of standing spell is in place to control them. Spell destroyed, they become free agents suddenly, and you can get into the castle directly. Tux here is the only other person with any B&E experience, and I'll need someone to cover my back. Plus he knows a little bit more about the layout of the place than anyone here. We can regroup in the castle.

"Unless you've got a better plan." The retort got her glares from nearly all the senshi, but they were short lived. None of them had a better plan. All they could do was a frontal attack and hope they didn't die. At least this plan gave them some hope. When no objections came, she turned to Tuxedo Kamen. "How good is your wall climbing?"

(+)

They didn't have to wait long. The senshi set up an attack plan quickly, then doubled back on their earlier path to make it look like they were coming from another direction. Marian stayed back with Tuxedo Kamen, waiting for the show to start before making their approach. There were a few youma nearby but the large majority left to keep an eye on the senshi. Apparently the two of them were not near as much of a threat as the others. It gave them a minute to talk.

"Are you sure you can find the spell in there before they get overrun?"

"Is that really the question you want to ask me?"

He looked away, not wanting to admit she was right. Was it wrong of him to want, more than the senshi's survival, to get in there, grab Usagi, and run? He didn't know if he could find her in that place. It was huge, and his mind wasn't really working when he was last there. Plus the place still terrified him. He was just getting better at hiding it. Marian shook her head, eyes staying on the castle. "I can find the spells, all of them. The trick is deciphering them from each other.

"When we're inside, I'm sure your empathic abilities will be able to find her. The place has an interior shield that makes sensing anything through it difficult." Then she shrugged. "But truth be told, I don't know much about empathic powers. Cognitive ones sure, and a small degree of telepathy, but I'm an insensitive girl who couldn't tell when her brother's best friend, who was always around, was in love with me. Alex is the empath, not me. Really wish he was here right now."

"Would he run into a castle to save you, ignoring everything else?" From all Tux heard about her boyfriend, he sounded like something close to a saint. There was no way he would neglect his duties like he was thinking.

To his surprise, she snorted. "Has, quite a few times. Well, more like ignored my orders. Whenever I was kidnapped, it was my brother who had a cool head and kept everyone in line, especially Alex. He's likely to hack through entire armies to find me. Davis kept the casualty rate to a minimum."

"Kidnapped?" Renewed interest in her life got him to stop thinking about his fears for a moment.

Yet she waved it off. "Long story. Used to happen once a summer but then I became too difficult to snatch. I'll tell you after we're in the sun again. The darkness here is suffocating. Your Selene's Negaverse really wasn't meant for people like me."

"Negaverse." The man shook his head. Such a strange name to suddenly come up with.

She shrugged. "I'm an American. We like to make nicknames for everything. The 'Negative Realm' and the 'Dark Kingdom' felt taken, so Negaverse. It'll do for now. When the locals come up with a better name, then go by that. At least according to the International Name Treaty that's how it should go."

"International name tre-"

"We're on." Instantly Marian darted out of their hiding spot and towards the wall now clear of any guards. Tuxedo Kamen gritted his teeth momentarily before taking off after her. They didn't have a lot of time before the senshi could be overrun s they had to act fast. He caught up to her quickly thanks to his longer legs, but the girl was at least as fast as Usagi when she was late to school.

Occasionally they leapt over hurdles they spotted coming closer to the building, but mostly it was a clear run to the building. When they were a few yards off, Tux leapt high onto the second floor window's sill, sliding a stiff pedal in the gap between the class frames to unto the latch. He could hear his partner climbing up the building as fast as she could, pushing him to get them inside sooner. Window open, he dropped inside, summoned his cane from his usual roses, and extended it downwards outside it for her to grab onto. Within five minutes they were inside, closing the window and locking it into place. Both of them looked around the dully lit stone hallway quickly to be sure they weren't spotted. Not a soul in sight.

"Where to?"

Marian closed her eyes and muttered under her breath in her strange tongue. Tux could feel the power coming from her, probing outwards, and even the moment when she found what she was looking for. She pointed right. He nodded once and started sprinting, his compass at his heels.

Every hallway looked the same, except for the gaudy decorations here and there. Once they left one, another appeared. Then another. They went up and down stairs and through hallways like crazy, ignoring most of the doors on the side and not daring to look out the windows. He was beginning to think she didn't have a clue where to go when she pulled him back to one door, a pin in her hand. "This one."

"Are you sure?"

"Yep." With speed and skill he hadn't imagined, Marian picked the lock and opened the door silently, cautiously poking her head in to make sure it was clear. "The others must be giving them their money's worth. I don't even see a servant."

"I don't remember there being any here." They went through the door to see an even grander hallway, with one side open to the main hall by many archways. He didn't dare get close to the balcony and look down below. Tux had a feeling he'd know exactly where he was if he did.

"There'd have to be if anyone remotely human was running the place. Besides, why else would they have a servant's passage if they didn't have servants?" Allowing the point, the man followed as the girl kept going right, towards where the main entrance would be. They'd be over it very soon, and he wasn't sure if he'd like it. Another door though blocked their way, locked once more. Sighing, Marian knelt down and started picking this lock as well. Once unlocked she silently opened it and peeked inside. She stopped for a moment and silently closed it again. "Two guards. At least Iphanessa anticipated someone trying to take out the spell. Perhaps Diamond if he decided to double cross her."

"Care to explain that one?" She kept forgetting he didn't have the magical training she did, and Tux was starting to wonder how she got these breaking and entering skills too.

"Standing spells are like the one I have on the apartment, the ones holding up an illusion for others so they can't find the residents. They can be taken over by another if they are found and used to their advantage." Thinking quickly about other things, Marian kept explaining. "If Diamond wanted to, he could make all the youma obey him and take out Iphanessa. He just had to take over the spell, write over it and seal it in his own blood. It's tricky and requires a lot of power, but sometimes it's worth it."

"Is that your plan?" It could work. The youma completely under her control. He knew she wouldn't use them to attack the senshi, but to destroy Iphanessa and her castle once and for all.

"Not a chance. Too much of a headache." He tried not to look disappointed as she got on her feet again. "Besides, confused, suddenly liberated monsters have a much better effect than that. And only requires destroying the standing spell. It's the stone pillar in the middle of the room."

"If the youma don't like it, why haven't the guards taken it out already?" Tux could only figure that the guards were youma, as Marian had taken out all those demon dogs. Unless the witch made more, then they were in trouble.

"Spells like those come with a safe guard to stop those it's controlling from stopping them from controlling them." She looked over to him, a plan already in mind. "The guards can't see, feel, hear, or smell the spell. More than likely, the two in there think they're standing in an empty spot until doomsday and threatened that if they don't take out intruders in there, they will be blown to smithereens. Ready for a fight? I'll take the far one, you take the close one. They shouldn't be too much trouble."

Marian had a dagger out, her glow quickly encompassing it and likely enhanced, and her hand on the door, ready to charge in. Tuxedo Kamen gripped his cane tighter, wishing it was more a sword than a wooden stick at that moment, and razor sharp roses ready to go. They nodded to each other, signaling they were ready. No longer sneaking around, she threw the door open and charged at the guards. The youma, well armored and huge, were stunned long enough for her to flip over the closer one and onto the second, distracting them both from the roses sent at them the second she was out of harm's way. Tux ran head long into the monster, willing his cane to slice through it if it could.

To his surprise, it did. Like butter. Within seconds it was dust on the floor. Surprised by the success, he looked up to see how his companion was doing, and received a second surprise.

Two bright glowing knives sunk deep into the youma's neck, then whirled around its head, beheading it within moments of the wielder flipping over it. It turned to dust before he could see the body separate. Marian landed neatly on the other side of the room then turned around to face him, breathing out. "Told you they wouldn't be much trouble."

"Shouldn't they have been stronger?" He looked over the scene with confusion. Never had a battle gone so smoothly for him. "They were guarding the spell, weren't they?"

He looked over to the black obelisk nearby, etched with lettering he both did and did not know. A strange form of Latin and Greek if he knew right. No higher than his waist, a complicated circle with designs surrounded it, and it radiated with power. He'd have to be numb to the world to not sense that when he was in the same room as it.

"Well technically… they were." Her unsure statement jerked his attention. Why was she scratching her head like that? "If I know right, they should have been the two second strongest she made, if not the strongest. And they're the same class the senshi were facing the past month or so. It's just that we took them by surprise and have, individually, more power than they do on a good day."

The man just stared at her in disbelief. He had more power than the senshi? Impossible. "There's no way I'm –"

"Believe what you want," she stated quickly as she switched her attention to the spell. Kneeling down, she started to analyze every part of it, a small scowl on her face. "It honestly doesn't matter what I or anyone else says. You're more powerful than you think, and you need to use those powers wisely. Right now though you should get out there and start looking for Usagi. The moment I destroy this spell, Iphanessa will know someone is already inside and will be on the offensive. This place will be her first target.

"Go get a head start Mamoru. I'll back you up as soon as I'm done here." Blindly she pointed behind her, to a stone wall. "There are three large unique sources of power that way. Two are moving while another isn't. Likely Usagi's the unmoving one. Hypnotized people like her don't have as much energy or motive to move as conscious people. You have a one in three chance of finding her right now if you feel out power instead of through your empathic connection. Just trust yourself and get going."

He hesitated, unsure what to do. For the past month this lady was at his side, protecting him. They only separated for a few hours at a time, and with the promise she would be at his side in a heartbeat if anything went wrong. Now she was telling him to go into certain danger. He wanted to find Usako, but he was scared to go out, especially in this place, without his guardian. Taking a breath, he tried to clamp down on that fear. "Are you certain you'll be able to find me later?"

That got her to smirk at him. "After watching over you for a month, I could find you from halfway across the world. Your power signature is so unique, it's impossible for me to ignore. Now get going. I need to find the binding marks and recalibrate them for self-destruction. Not as easy as it sounds."

Nodding, Tuxedo Kamen turned and ran out of the room, stretching his senses as far as they could reach. He wasn't sure if he should try their connection again yet, so he relied on the powers he gained while battling their enemies in the past. The closest large power was a floor down and on the opposite side of the great hall. A good enough place to start as any. Using all the skills he developed, sneaking around on rooftops and creeping into buildings to find the Ginzuishou years ago, the man made his way speedily to the place he sensed power strongest, dodging the occasional youma guard.

Slipping down a large pillar, he made it to the ground floor undetected and started down another hallway. His skin started to crawl as the sensation of déjà vu hit him with each passing step. He walked this hall before. Was dragged down it. He knew this area.

He stopped in front of one door, shaking slightly. His breathing became ragged as he looked at it, his hands sweaty. This… this was the place. The place he…

And just beyond it was the power, the energy, he was looking for.

Taking a breath, he took the doorknob and turned it, knowing it wouldn't be locked. Part of him prayed Usagi was there. Another part wished she wasn't. But it was the greater part, the part dreading this place most, which was proven right when the door was opened completely.

"Hello Endymion."

Iphanessa, in all her glory, lounged on an ornate throne in the middle of the room. Her sickening sweet smile sent chills through his already trembling body. Calm as could be, she waited for him. "Welcome home, my love."

A/N: Dun dun DUUUNN! Battles ensue next chapter, and so far they're going pretty well! Watch Mamochan. He's gonna do a trick!

yeah, a lot of magic theory going on here, but there shouldn't be a lot more after, I hope. the next chapter is already 6 pages long so it's gonna be good. And i've only done magical theory talk once in it so far! and it's one line. This chapter was rather talky and the next one is good for realizations adn healing adn power and... Rambling. Jsut be ready for the next one soon.

Also, new poll on my profile! Please vote so I can get some questions answered. Don't forget to comment! and pray for me please; I'm getting a grown on thursday. XP