Beth, Michiru, and Haruka stepped from the transportation gateway into a very dusty looking security room. "Sorry." Beth apologized. "It needs a little cleaning."
Michiru laughed and Haruka shook her head, grinning. "I'll say." The wind Senshi said. "Looks like no one's dusted in fifty years."
"And you look surprised?" Michiru asked, raising an eyebrow at Haruka, who stuck her tongue out in response.
Beth walked over to a consol and began pressing a few buttons. A moment later, an image appeared on one of the grimy computer screens. "Look there." She said, pointing at the great chasm that the screen showed. The canyon itself looked as if it could swallow the Castle on Neptune easily and still have room for a few houses and shacks.
"That," Haruka said. "Is a big hole."
"Naw, really?" Beth smirked, then ducked. "Follow me, I have more to show you."
The group made their way from the communication room into a very dirt hallway. "Oh, this is absolutely disgusting…" Michiru grumbled, gingerly stepping over a pile of unidentifiable substance. "Aren't you going to clean this place?"
"By myself?" Beth raised an eyebrow. "Heck no. This actually reminds me of my room…"
"Wouldn't surprise me."
"Hey, now."
They continued their way down the hall, avoiding the messes and piles as often as possible. Their walk finally ended at a door that had a small key pad on the right wall. Beth punched in a few numbers and the door slid open with a loud grinding sound. "God, this thing needs to be oiled…" Beth muttered, stepping through the door and turning on a light.
"Is this the docking bay?" Haruka asked, looking at the different transportation units docked. Most were supported by pulleys and ropes that looked as if they'd break any second. Some of the units had actually fallen, and parts of them were scattered all over the ground. "Geez, this place looked like someone messed up with an energy attack."
"They probably did." Beth said, pointing at an unusual scorch mark on the far wall. "I don't think that was exhaust from a unit…"
They continued through the docking bay to what looked like a large elevator of sorts. "Don't worry if you feel it jerk or creak." Beth warned them as they boarded the lift. "This thing was designed to carry several dozen soldiers at once. It held me, Dancer, King Neptune, Leeway, and several soldiers, so it should hold us." Judging from the space of the elevator platform, it looked as if it -was- designed to hold several dozen soldiers.
After a very tense and bumpy ride on the elevator, the three women reached the underground level. When they stepped off the platform, they found themselves in yet another hallway. Fortunately for Michiru, it wasn't as dirty. "Think the only reason the ground level was dirty was because it was… well, ground level?" She asked.
"Probably." Haruka said as Beth led them down the hall. "Proteus is a satellite with a lot of loose ash and dirt. It probably got in because of the neglect."
The three came to a huge, round room that was filled with tables. The tables themselves were in dire need of repair, and there was a terrible stench coming from one of the doors. "Mess hall…" Beth said, walking towards a door that wasn't reeking. "And don't open the door that the smell's coming from… Leeway nearly got sick when I did." She smirked. She and Leeway were on good terms, they often teased each other; they were close friends.
"How come that's where the smell is coming from?" Michiru asked, holding a hand over her nose.
"It's the kitchen." Was all Beth said.
"That explains so much." Haruka murmured.
Beth pushed against the door, since there was no lock or key pad, and found she could hardly budge it. "Strange… I got it open last time…" She murmured.
"Here, let me try." Haruka said. She stepped back a few steps, then ran at the door and shoved her shoulder into it. The door popped open, and she fell through.
"Thanks." Beth said as she stepped over the wind Senshi. She grinned, then turned around to help her up.
"What is this place?" Michiru asked, looking around her. The room was nearly spotless, and its cleanliness was apparent the moment Beth turned the lights on. The room itself was big enough to fit the entire stable in it, with a little room to spare. It held different kinds of training equipment, everything from simple weights to the most complex battle simulators.
"Most of these simulators are broken." Beth explained. "But they're also out of date. Leeway said he'd get some new ones if this fort was ever re-opened."
"This has to be the cleanest room I've seen yet." Michiru said, relieved at the fact that it was nearly dust, dirt, and grime free.
"The sleeping quarters are a mess, so I won't take you there. The storage rooms are mostly empty, but we did find some broken weapons." Beth said. She glanced around the training hall, then led Michiru and Haruka out of the room.
Back in the Mess hall, they were about to head back down the hall when Beth thought she heard voices. "Shh." She said, motioning for them to stop moving. "Did you hear that?" She asked.
"Hear what?" Haruka asked, raising an eyebrow.
Beth frowned and looked around the room. She could hear voices, but she had no idea where they were coming from. "I hear something… or someone. Make it a lot of some ones…" She murmured.
"Beth…"
The Guardian Scout jumped and spun around, pulling her Kama out of her belt. "Who's there? Show yourself!" She yelled. Haruka and Michiru gave her odd, questioning looks before glancing at each other. "Don't look at me like that." Beth grunted, and got shrugs in response.
"Are you feeling alright?" Michiru asked, concerned, as she pressed the back of her hand to Beth's forehead. The younger girl grunted and pulled away, annoyed that they weren't believing her.
"I'm fine, but can't you-"
"Beth… Beth!" The voice called again.
"There!" Beth made a dash to another door, one that the three Senshi hadn't opened yet. The girl shoved against it, then got annoyed. With a well aimed kick, the door flew open and she raced through, Haruka and Michiru close by. They ran down an isle that was set between two rows of sleeping bunks. There were twenty bunk rows in the room and twenty-five bunks in each row. At the other end of the room was a door that seemed to be sealed tightly. "Hey, either of you two know of any stories or rumors of this?" Beth asked as she led the way to the door at a fast pace.
"Actually, we do." Michiru said as she ran to keep up with the other two. "There's a story that says this fort was attacked by a scout force from the Negaverse. The men in a closed off room were trapped, and contacts to the planet had been cut, so they couldn't call for help. The monsters in the Negaverse scout force broke into the second part of the sleeping quarters. They were angry because the men in that room were the only people on the fort that hadn't gotten away."
Haruka took over for her once they reached the door. "The monsters and the soldiers fought each other, and it was inevitable that the soldiers lost. The Negaverse left to go back to where ever it came from, and had sealed the door shut, keeping anyone from getting to the bodies to give them proper burials." She paused to catch her breath while Beth worked on opening the door with the Kama.
"I am not going in there if that story is true." Michiru whimpered, stepping closer to Haruka for comfort.
Beth just cast them a glance before getting angry at the door. She stepped back and held up her transformation pen. "PROTEUS GUARDIAN POWER!" In a flash of white light, Sailor Proteus stood where Beth had. Taking another step back, she held out her weapons, blades pointed at the door, and let loose with her Darkness Blade attack. The door soon sported two long, diagonal cuts across it, and she knelt to cautiously smell the cracks, looking for a stench. There was none.
Proteus held the Kama vertically in front of her, with the blades up. The blades glowed blue-green as she yelled "DEMON GALE!" She swung the energy charged weapons at the door, hitting the point where the cuts crossed. The door shuddered, then caved in with a swoosh of air being released. "There." She said, putting the Kama back in her belt.
"Oh God…" Michiru moaned, staring at the sight while Haruka took her hand in her own.
There were old, useless weapons and parts of weapons scattered about the room. Signs of a terrible battle were everywhere: scorch marks on the walls, tears in the floor, and everything was a mess. But, the bodies of the dead soldiers weren't scattered on the floor like the weapons were.
They were on the beds.