When I'm scared and silently scream "no"

My heart's beating fast but I'm moving slow

Before I start sinking below

You grab on and never let me go

Don't let me go, don't let me go

When I need you the most

You pull me out of the undertow

- James LaBrie, Undertow


- The Nautilus, October 31, 1889, three days after the Battle of Kermadec Trench -

Finally, the Doctor's footsteps rang through the corridor. It was quite a relief after an almost endless span of silence. He walked slowly, tiredly. In the end, he just sighed and sat down by the door he had intentionally left open.

"Any news?" Asked the Old Man, as the Doctor seemed too hesitant to begin on his own.

"I'm not sure, to be honest. The fever persists." The Doctor explained, his voice calm but somewhat resigned. The bleak standby light dimmed and then flicked on and off, and the crew members present at the bridge looked around and listened to the silence of the ocean depths, waiting. For a moment, the whole room was covered in complete darkness. But eventually the weak, deep-red light came back to life.

"Shouldn't he be awake by now?" Asked Eiko, looking away from the sonar screen for a moment.

"In theory, yes." The Doctor confirmed and then cleared his throat. "If I may have everyone's attention now, I'd like to make one thing clear." he continued. "I'm aware that this particular solution stirs emotions in us all, however, I have no more alternatives left. If the captain's condition doesn't improve by evening, I'll have to take his arm away."

"Come on, there has to be another way!" Eiko objected forcefully.

"Another way?" the Doctor snorted and lifted his eyebrows. "Then enlighten me, please! Look, I understand this is a rather bleak situation, but for me – and I think for all of us – the top priority is to save captain's life, not his arm. Or am I wrong?"

A long, miserable creak came from the hull of the Nautilus – or better yet, from the remnants of it. It almost sounded as if the ship itself lamented and wailed.

"But it's the captain we're talking about. He will make it." Said the Old Man softly, his head bowed to his instruments. It was hard to tell whether he truly believed his statement, though. "He managed to get over much worse in his life. Not to mention he's... he's not like us." He reminded and cast a meaningful glance at his comrades.

"No, he's not like us, you're right." the Doctor acknowledged. "Because had he been a human like us, he'd be probably dead by now, with his arm still in place or not."

"But he seemed to be getting better." Elektra noted. She was sitting near the door, wrapped in the captain's coat.

"Well, yes and no." replied the Doctor. "In our situation, it's difficult to prevent infection." he said, running his hand over his face. "There were too many fragments of the bullet, I'm afraid. I'd need better conditions to find and remove them all. I believe I did what I could, but quite clearly it wasn't enough." He spoke and bent his legs, rested his hands on his knees and lowered his head. "So I tried one last option, but I'm afraid I have no control over it." He added after a silent moment.

"What do you mean?" The Old Man spoke again.

"As I already mentioned, our captain is not like us." The Doctor replied carefully. "Moreover, he's an heir to the Blue Water and there's... there seems to be a connection between him and that... thing." His voice was suddenly very low, as if he were reluctant to say more.

"Go on, we're listening." The Old Man encouraged him.

"Well, Ikoline and I... We took the captain's Blue Water out of that golden casket he keeps it in."

"What? Who let you do that?!" Eiko objected vigorously, almost jumping out of his seat.

"Calm down at once!" The Old Man frowned at Eiko. "Go ahead, Doctor." he said then.

The latter shrugged. "Of course I'm aware it's without the captain's consent, but I think it's still worth a try."

"That's true!" Confirmed Ikoline, who had just entered the room. "You see, there was also a necklace with a pendant in the casket, to which The Blue Water could be attached." She explained. "So we did just that and then we put the Blue Water around captain's neck. Just as Nadia wore it, you know."

"Splendid! And that's supposed to help him?" Petty Officer Fletcher chuckled disrespectfully and looked back from the ship's control toward the others.

"We'll see." Ikoline replied, her tone rather confident. "That thing lit up a bit when I put it on captain's chest."

"Did it?" the Old Man asked.

"Who knows what that means!" Fletcher grunted doubtfully.

"Well, it has to mean something." declared Ikoline in a resolute voice. "Nadia told me about her Blue Water, and how it always warned her about the dangers and all. She couldn't even throw it away, it always came back."

"Sorry, but that proves nothing." Eiko waved his hand angrily. "Besides, why does he never wear it, if it's so beneficial to him?"

"How can you ask that?" Electra cut in indignantly. "You don't know much about the captain, do you?"

"Now, look who's talking!" Eiko replied, irritated. "An expert on captain's life, is it? Speaking of which, can you please tell me as to how exactly it should've helped us that you shot him in the arm?"

"Be quiet, Eiko! I told you once!" The Old Man commanded flatly. "These skirmishes are pointless in our situation!"

"But how can I be quiet and calm?" Eiko protested heatedly. "We have no power, we're constantly sinking, the oxygen's running low... Plus, we've just learned the captain's dying! And she's just sitting here wrapped in his coat, lecturing me. But have we heard any explanation from her as of yet? Have we?!"

"No, we haven't!" Fletcher agreed and slammed his fist against the dashboard in front of him. "And the question is – why don't we talk openly about who's responsible?" He said resolutely and turned to Electra.

"Please, let us all just calm down!" The Doctor ordered emphatically as he leapt to his feet, raising his hand to emphasize his words. "I agree with the Old Man, accusations and judgments are not going to help us now!"

"Oh, really?" Fletcher opposed angrily. "And how can you know she's not up to something else? She doesn't even care about her own life – she turned the weapon against herself, didn't she? Who knows, perhaps we should help her finish what she started!"

"Then what are you waiting for? Go on!" Electra shouted at last, got up and shrugged the captain's coat off her shoulders.

"Precisely, what are we waiting for? The oxygen's running low, we've just heard that!" Fletcher shouted back and rose from his seat. Mr. Okazaki, the ship's control assistant, nodded and got up, too.

"The fewer lungs, the better? My, your logic is faultless." Electra smiled bitterly and looked down. "Come on, let's end this. The rules are clear, and I've been waiting for my punishment for three days now. Please spare me the suspense."

"No! You can't!" Ikoline cried with despair as Fletcher and Okazaki set off for Electra.

"Come back to your senses, lads!" the Old Man shouted, jumped to Electra first and stood between her and Fletcher.

"Let them, they're right." Electra said quietly and put her hand on the old man's shoulder. "I've lost my rights as a crew member."

"You've lost your right to live!" Fletcher insisted. "You know the rules."

"True enough." Electra admitted, lowering her head. So strange she felt no fear at all. No fear, no grudge. Just regret. I wish I could set it right somehow... "Please, forgive me." She whispered into the Old Man's ear.

But he just laughed in disbelief. "No, this is madness. There's no way I'm letting it happen!"

"Stand back, Old Man, this isn't your business." Fletcher hissed menacingly.

"No!" the Old Man defied.

"Enough!" Came a sudden, strident voice. It echoed off the inner walls of the ship in the abrupt silence. Everyone fell quiet and just watched as the emergency light gradually faded away before the intense blue glow that was coming from the corridor through the open door – the door in which a tall figure soon appeared, the source of the mysterious blue light hanging on his neck.

Captain Nemo leaned his good shoulder against the door frame, supporting his injured left arm with his right hand. His usually bronze skin now reflected the light of the Blue Water in a rather unnatural way, almost as if it glittered and glowed itself. Nemo's physical condition had been described as extremely bad just a few moments ago, but that clearly wasn't true anymore. His eyes were menacing, hard and stern, and Electra realized that this was the first time the captain had demonstrated his authority to the crew in this way. Of course, each crew member was more or less aware of who their captain really was, but Nemo himself had always tried not to emphasize his origin in front of his men.

But now everyone's eyes were fixed on Nemo's tall figure in the doorway. For a long moment no one spoke or moved.

"I want to make it clear that I won't suffer any lynch law on my ship." The captain spoke finally, his tone severe and firm. "Who I might find again at such conduct will be shot at once." He said, and for a moment his gaze turned to Fletcher. "The first officer has broken our rules and she won't avoid her punishment. But it's utterly pointless to deal with it now. I will decide on her fate in due time. Is that clear?" he asked forcefully, pausing for a moment. "Splendid." he said when he saw that no one objected. "I'm glad we understand each other." He added finally and walked away.

But the time went on and the captain held his silence.

None of the crew dared to reopen the subject of Electra's punishment anymore, and Electra herself waited quietly. After all, the captain expressed it quite aptly when he said that there was no point in dealing with this matter in their miserable situation. At that time, death threatened the entire crew.

But in the end, a light of hope glittered in the dark.

They were sinking deeper, almost to the very bottom of the trench, but instead of the deep sea darkness, disturbed here and there just by strange luminous creatures, a faint but steady light appeared before them. There was no doubt that they were slowly but surely approaching the ancient underwater tunnel left here ages ago by the old Atlanteans.

Nautilus no longer had any active propulsion – it wasn't easy at all, the hours dragged on, and all the gentle maneuvering seemed to have no end. But petty officer Fletcher with Mr. Okazaki and Eiko literally distinguished themselves in the process (perhaps in an attempt to undo their previous behavior) and with a striking precision led the ship unharmed straight into the illuminated portal.

Here the Nautilus gained momentum, but where exactly the tunnel was heading to was not clear at first. All the braking systems were of no use here, and so the ship gradually passed one turning corridor after another. At this high speed, the lights on the sides of the tunnel almost merged into a single glowing line. Te crew seemed to have lost control of the submarine's direction again and this time for good. Each passing day the nervousness increased, however, the captain remained calm. He wore his Blue Water constantly on his neck, and his condition improved. He tried to spend as much time as possible on the bridge, where the glow of the Blue Water was less distinct owing to the light coming from the tunnel. Most of the time he just watched the passing lights silently, occasionally responding briefly to questions he was asked. He also often fell asleep in his captain's chair and woke up only at the arrival of the Doctor or Ikoline.

Only once he had spoken out of nowhere, without being asked anything.

"Please don't worry." he said quietly, but clearly. "I know now where our journey ends. Right where it all started."

"We'll emerge under Tartessos." Elektra replied after a long moment of silence.

"Precisely." Nemo confirmed.

And in the next two days they really did. The ship suddenly slowed down and headed for the tunnel leading up. And then it finally happened – something many of them nearly stopped hoping for. The Nautilus emerged.

The air around the ship seemed to be breathable, so it was again possible to open the vents and let some oxygen in. Everyone cheered, people congratulated each other, some teared, others laughed, not to mention Mr. Fletcher and Mr. Okazaki even presented Electra with something very close to apology.

When everyone climbed the surface of the ship and looked around, the huge room where they found themselves in reminded them of a station the most. While the platforms and the adjoining walls looked like being made of white, glossy marble, the ceiling part was just roughly worked rock reinforced with a massive metal vault. Here again, lamps were placed all around the perimeter of the room. An ordinary railway station building, one could say, however, the platforms were not separated by tracks, but by canals. In any case, this place was undoubtedly one of the largest transport hubs in the network of old deep tunnels.

Electra raised her sight, and her head spun as her eyes tracked the monumental ceiling vault all the way up. Fossils of prehistoric creatures and plants lay out between the individual metal ribs of the arches. Light from the platforms no longer penetrated the highest points at the ceiling, and thus the shadows of the rocky protrusions grew longer nad darker high above. Clearly, this place of their new hope also seemed somewhat frightening. The air, however, was fresh and constantly flowing lightly.

"The ventilation seems to be working." The Old Man described what everyone had already noticed.

"A good sign." The captain noted. "If we're lucky enough, other things may work, too." he said as he descended from the ship to the platform. He then reached the staircase leading to the great overpass, which connected all the platforms. The others followed.

As Nemo touched the railing with his hand, the Blue Water on his chest lit up and the stairs moved. One half went up, the other down. "Interesting." He pointed out and got on.

"Have you never been here before?" Eiko asked, joining the captain.

"No, I haven't. And I feel just as amazed as you do." Nemo replied calmly. When the escalator took him upstairs, he first stepped toward the exit to make room for the followers, but then paused to look up at the arch of the hall. "The tunnel that got us here, this station... everything has been a matter of legend for generations. Millennia might have passed since someone of my nation last visited this place."

"Well, that's nice," Shaking his head, Eiko folded his arms in front of him and looked around. "But they could have turned the lights off at the least."

At those words, Nemo bit his lip and looked down. His face was partially covered by his thick hair, but it was quite obvious he was smiling. "What a shame you couldn't advise them back then, Mr. Villan."

"My thoughts exactly!" Eiko joked, but Fletcher had already grabbed him by the shoulder.

"Better stop this chatter and come with me!" he commanded and headed for the exit with the weapon in his hand. "Perhaps they didn't bother with the lights because they're still here."

"I don't think that's necessary, Mr. Fletcher." The captain calmed him down. "The Blue Water brought us here. No one else has access to this place."

"What about Nadia?" Electra pointed out. "What if..."

"No, I think not. It's extremely unlikely." Nemo decided after a moment of thought.

"Well, there's never enough caution. I'm going ahead." Fletcher reported.

"Good." Nemo agreed.

The great portal in front of them was open and the space behind it was also lit, though the light was dimmer. Fletcher and Eiko approached the gate to the sides, each with a weapon in hand, then stepped in carefully. After a moment, Eiko peered back and urged others to follow.

As they all went through the gate, they found themselves in another large hall. Here, too, the ceiling was reinforced by a vault, but it did not reach the same height as in the previous hall. The floor and walls were pure white and glossy with a fine grain, and the ceiling was stony once again. Several lights were embedded in the floor in the middle of the room. The cones of their beams converged to one point between the ribs of the ceiling vault. In the illuminated spot the ceiling was broken and a shiny, smooth object was protruding in between the rocks.

"What is it?" Eiko asked, pointing his finger at the highlighted spot on the ceiling. "It's clear it doesn't belong here, but why are the lights aimed at it?"

"Could it be?" Electra said, her eyes narrowing. "It looks almost like..."

"A part of a ship, right?" Added Fletcher, who had just reached the opposite wall of the hall. Here he put his hands on his hips, leaned back and raised his eyes to get a better view. The rest of the crew followed him.

Along the way, some of the crew walked over the floor lights, casting their shadows on the far wall and ceiling and thus creating a spectacular view of dancing light and shade. However, an even more interesting thing occurred when the captain was passing by the lights – music rang out throughout the expanse of the hall. It was mild and mellifluous, with fast bands of high tones that attracted attention. Nemo and everyone else stopped and looked around in disbelief. Then, just as suddenly as it had begun, the jingle fell silent again. The floor lit up even more and Nemo swiftly stepped aside as a large hologram emerged from below.

"What is this?" marveled the Doctor, always close to the captain.

"Seems like... a battleship." Nemo guessed after the hologram had come out completely and soared into the space below the ceiling vault. And just like his crew, he could not tear his eyes from the sight.

At that moment, another incredible thing happened. The perimeter lights in the hall darkened, and a woman's voice sounded. Of course it was not live, but even as a mere record coming from a loudspeaker, it still sounded very pleasing, almost like singing, and was underlined by a musical accompaniment. Its tones carried themselves through the hall as lightly as the ever present, gentle airflow. The only thing that disturbed the overall impression of listening was the fact that the words spoken could not be understood.

During the speech, the projected hologram turned stepwise in all directions. The details of the ship's surface were then approached, and finally a longitudinal section revealed the interior spaces and arrangements. Special explanation was devoted to propulsion and weapon systems.

Then the voice fell silent, the ship's hologram receded into the distance, and thousands of stars lit up all around. The scene filled the entire space of the hall: the vault, the walls and the floor could not be seen anymore. Just an expanse of a beautiful starry sky, thousands and millions of tiny points of light, and far behind, the cloud of the Milky Way.

Beyond the battleship, an entire fleet of similar ships soon emerged. Then the angle of view swiftly turned, and to Electra it felt as if the whole hall was twitching. It took a serious effort to keep standing on her feet, but she managed.

However, there was no room for dizziness, as all of a sudden everyone exhaled in awe. And what a sight it was, indeed. The Earth itself appeared in the field of view, just as it must have looked like from the outer space.

Before Electra could realize that she was probably one of the first humans to see the Earth like this, and that it was certainly the most beautiful thing she had ever witnessed in her life, she noticed a movement. A group of several dozen smaller ships, not unlike their Nautilus, were approaching from the Earth. But before she could look at them more closely, the scene changed again.

This time they moved to the bridge of the great battle-cruiser. In the middle of the room, there was a raised, ornate chair, on which sat a man of a tall, impressive figure and dark skin. He wore a flowing white dress and his forearms, neck, ears and forehead glittered with golden jewelry. Undoubtedly he must have been a very important Atlantean. His eyes were large and bright blue, as blue as the object hovering over his head. But that's a Blue Water, Electra realized.

The man, presumably the captain, was then addressed by a voice whose owner was nowhere to be seen. The captain then smiled lightly, minutely, and spoke himself. His speech was short and decisive, his voice firm and confident. But the words could not be understood again. To Electra it resembled the language of the Atlanteans, but with a terrible accent. In the end, she recognized only one last word on which the blue-eyed captain put a particular emphasis - 'death'. The Blue Water above his head then completely changed shape - with as unexpected ease as if it were a real water drop.

What followed then could only be described as carnage.

While the fleet of the smaller, Nautilus-like ships manifested an impressive firepower and unexpected coordination in the overall maneuvering, the great battle-cruisers seemed to be equipped with a such a powerful electromagnetic shield that the damage they suffered was hardly perceptible.

However, their following response was overwhelming. The blue-eyed captain gave several orders in a calm, almost careless tone. An emotionless voice replied, and the fleet of large cruisers realigned.

The force of the counterattack was beyond all human imagination. Either it was an error in the hologram recording, or the released energy of the attack caused the whirling of the space-time itself. It seemed that the smaller ships were not only unable to respond or actively defend themselves, they were not even able to withdraw from the fight, and in a few moments, almost nothing remained of their fleet.

The captain of the large battle-cruiser then briefly contacted the crew of the last defying ship before the final blow. He let them talk for a moment, but probably didn't even listen to what they wanted to say. A delightful expression spilled across his face as he listened to the sounds of panic on board. In the end, he felt the urge to say something too, but his monologue was rather short. Toward the end of his speech, he repeated his favorite word, then gave another order and the final blow followed.

The large cruiser captured the last enemy ship into a tow beam and then pushed it into the Earth's atmosphere. At the speed the ship had reached, her already shattered shell began to melt, and the blue-eyed captain enjoyed the desperate cries of the dying crew with a blissful smile on his face. However, the screams of terror and death gradually faded, and then the connection broke completely. The ship finally broke into burning pieces, and the scene swung toward the stars.

A jingle followed, and the hologram disappeared. The perimeter lights came slowly back to life and silence filled the hall once again.

Only after a few moments did Electra realize she was sitting on the ground and feeling sick. The cries of the dying crew in the last scenes of the hologram still sounded in her ears – so urgent, so real. Looking around, she found that the condition of her fellow crew members was very similar to hers. Well, except for the captain, who was the only one standing.

"Terrible. Just... Terrible." The Doctor said quietly, shaking his head.

"The woman should have told us to sit down at the beginning of the show." Eiko complained and rubbed his face.

"But she said so." The captain replied, then turned and walked toward the opposite wall. He stopped right under the broken spot in the ceiling. He raised his head and studied the sight briefly. "What a dramatic turn of events..." he said, letting out a short, incredulous laugh.

"What?" The Old Man said, baffled.

Nemo cleared his throat meaningfully and cast a strangely conspiratorial glance at him. "We would rather not discuss the last scenes of the battle. But did you understand the presentation? Did you catch any words?"

"Well... I think I might have caught something, but I don't know..." Old Man replied, standing up with effort. "It sounded like the language of Atlantis, but some lesser known dialect, it seems."

"It was Atlantean, just a very old version." The Captain made it clear. "It's been thousands of years. The language has changed in the meantime. Without the help of Blue Water, I wouldn't understand either. But did you capture the name of the battleship?"

"Excelion, if I'm not mistaken."

"Correct." Nemo smiled.

"But," the Old Man laughed, agitated, and scratched his head, "Excelion is a myth. I told fairy tales to the children about it."

"Me too." The captain agreed. "But as you can see, fairy tales and legends often have a real foundation."

"So wait, is this a piece of the ship we just saw in the hologram?" Fletcher asked, pointing to the illuminated spot on the ceiling.

"No, this is one of the smaller service ships that belong to Excelion." Nemo replied. "It fell and crashed here due to careless manipulation. But Excelion itself is there, too. Just a little higher."

"The battleship from the hologram, the Excelion, is hidden under Tartessos? This is what you're telling us?" Electra asked in disbelief.

"Exactly." Nemo confirmed.

"But shouldn't we have known something about it…? All my life I had no idea that a ship like this was hidden under our city." The Old Man objected.

"Nobody knew unless they had watched this hologram." Nemo replied. "And I guess we are the first to see it again after a very, very long time."

"But how is that possible? How does such a thing get so deep below the ground, and yet nobody knows about it?" The Doctor wondered.

"Good." The captain said, sighing heavily. "We'll make a short excursion into history. And we'll probably get it right from the start." He said, thinking for a moment, and supported his injured arm with the good one. "You can stay seated if you want. In any case, I beg your attention, though. My lecture is not likely to be as impressive as the massacre we have just witnessed, but it will be important for our immediate future." he announced, and started walking slowly back to the others.

"When the ancient Atlanteans, my ancestors, first arrived on Earth, they came in three mother ships. One of them, Blue Noah, landed at exactly the same place we are now under, and it never took off again. There was no need, the scout and service ships were enough for all tasks."

"Ships like the Emitrium?" The Old Man asked.

"Yes, like the Emitrium we converted to Nautilus years ago." Confirmed Nemo, and after a moment of thought he spoke again.

"So the mother ship finally sank into the ground and the city of Tartessos was built over it. But before that, my people's history was filled with constant uprisings and wars. The intrigues, disputes and killings were never ending, they gradually escalated and finally the communication with the original homeland was cut off. That was probably the reason behind the arrival of the Imperial Battle Fleet, as shown in the hologram."

"Wait, so the blue-eyed brute was the Emperor of Atlantis?" Eiko blurted out, interrupting the captain's lecture.

"No, just his favorite general. A member of the aristocracy. The Emperor himself wouldn't bother to come all the way to Earth." Nemo explained, and after a short pause he continued. "We saw that the rebellion was severely suppressed and the war ended. The Excelion had the greatest merit in victory, and after the peace treaty was signed, the battleship was given to the reigning family – my family – and its captain and the rest of the fleet went back to their home star."

"And what happened next?" Eiko wanted to know.

"The Excelion continued to serve as a tool of intimidation." the captain replied. "The ruling house thus retained its supremacy and prevented further rebellions. Nevertheless, over time, the very need for rebellion diminished. It turned out that the human race was on the rise and began to shape its own civilizations. So the Atlanteans gave up on fighting each other and preferred to manage the humans instead... Well, apart from occasional family killings for Blue Water, of course. In any case, the dreaded Excelion was used less and less until, eventually, it was docked into the main hangar inside Blue Noah."

"And, as I mentioned before, over time the mother ship had become an integral part of the growing city of Tartessos. Parts of its upper shell were dismantled to allow interconnection with the new construction. As the years passed, the bottom sections of Blue Noah were gradually abandoned, except for the hangar where the Excelion was located, which was briefly used as a museum. However, after many burglary attempts, the Excelion and the entire hangar were closed for good and the exposition in the form of the presentation we just saw was moved here to the deep station." said the captain, pointing to where the hologram of the ship had first emerged. "At least that's what the recording says."

"But this very place also seems to have been forgotten." Nemo remarked finally. "As thousands of years passed, the underground parts of Tartessos had become a legend, and the Excelion was considered lost or even completely made-up."

"But we've found it!" Fletcher said, clenching his fist.

"Not yet, Mr. Fletcher. For now I have no idea how we'll get to it."

"We should still try, Captain." Electra spoke firmly, and finally got up. "We might have lost the Nautilus, but now it seems we've been served something much better on a silver platter."

"Carefully, officer." Replied Nemo and gave her a brief look. "This isn't exactly what I would call a silver platter. But you're right. If things really are as I understood from the recording, it would be foolish to leave the Excelion here. It is now our duty to find its exact location and put it back in service."

The depths of Tartessos, November 12, 1889, two weeks after the Battle of Kermadec Trench -

Stuck in memories of the events of the past two weeks, Elektra returned from the captain's office through the dark, cold corridors. She stopped at the dock to check on the crew that was now clearing away all the equipment. The captain had decided that this was not the way they should get to the Excelion, and he was probably right. Mining work was too dangerous in this place and they couldn't afford to lose even a single man.

After inspecting the situation, Electra nodded silently to the chief technician and turned to the elevator. The path to it was rather difficult, as the elevator exits on these floors had been barricaded by the ancient Atlanteans long ago during the total closure of the hangar. However, the elevator shaft itself remained operational, even after the Tartessos disaster. It led all the way from the deep station up to the top floors of the hangar, and so far served as the only connecting route between the two sites. And as for the deep station, here the crew had arranged their new base and facilities as they had to leave their precious Nautilus behind.

A few days back, it had taken the crew long hours of strenuous work to get out of the elevator at this point and clear their way to the dock where Excelion rested. At that time, the presence of the battleship had been far from certain. But then, suddenly, something had awakened within the dock, rumbling and vibrating, and it was clear that the source had to be something aboard the mythical battleship.

Compared to the soft gloom of the dock, the sharp light coming out of the elevator cage was very uncomfortable. After Electra got in, she had to cover her eyes for a while. Without looking, she selected the correct floor on the schematic map and exhaled with relief – after all, this day, exactly as the previous few, had been very challenging and exhausting. She then felt a gentle swing and a tickling sensation in her stomach as the elevator started its descend toward the deep station.

There was a brief, intense braking downstairs and then the door opened. Electra stepped into the illuminated, white corridor. This floor was located just above the main hall of the underground station, so just a short distance away, the corridor was, unsurprisingly, half-obstructed by the fallen service ship.

Unfortunately though, this service ship disrupted not only the corridor structure, but also another, much larger elevator shaft that had been apparently designed to carry cargo. And like this, the cargo lift was inoperable. True, until today, they hadn't had a need for it yet, even the smaller elevator was able to accommodate all the necessary machinery, bit by bit. From today on, however, it was clear that the cargo elevator would have to be put into operation, too.

Electra stopped and looked up as she walked under the belly of the ship. She smiled, held out her hand, and brushed the metal surface with her fingertips. Two birds with one stone, she thought. We'll rob you of the engines, disassemble you, and clear this elevator shaft at the same time.

She immediately opened her notebook and wrote down this idea for tomorrow's morning meeting. Then she thought again. Or will we try to rescue you as a whole? But how? Gratan would come in handy here. Mr. Hanson would be certainly full of ideas by now... Electra sighed, surprised to realize how much she missed those three strange characters – the ever so diligent Hanson and his constant flattery, the handsome but rather rude Sanson and even the jealous, overly noisy Grandis.

But suddenly, a voice brought her down to earth.

"Miss Electra!"

She looked up from her notes and saw the Doctor approaching her.

"Are you alone?" He asked a rather unnecessary question. "Where's the captain?"

"He wanted to stay there." Electra replied, lowering her gaze to her notebook again.

"Oh. And when is he going to sleep?"

Electra shrugged. "Who knows...?"

"He hasn't really rested since the last operation, haven't slept yesterday either... I don't like this." The Doctor frowned. "Did he at least wear the Blue Water?"

"What do you think?" Electra sighed briefly as she recalled the end of her previous conversation with the captain. "He didn't."

"All right." said the Doctor finally, scratching his chin, and put his other hand on his side. "You're going to sleep, aren't you?" He added after a moment.

"Yes, I intend to."

"Sure. Sorry, if I held you back." The Doctor apologized, turned around and went back to his examination room.

A moment later, Electra set out in the same direction, only a door away, into the room she shared with the Doctor's daughter Ikoline.

There were ten other small apartments in the corridor and two large, apparently conference chambers. It was possible to sleep in the smaller rooms, as most of them were equipped with functional sanitary facilities. Filtration systems worked in here the same way as in the whole station, so they had a constant supply of drinking water. However, the situation with food supplies was worse. The canned food from Nautilus would last probably only a few days more even in economy mode.

In the end, we've no other choice but to get to the surface and get some food in the surrounding forests. Elektra thought as she and Ikoline shared one of the last cans left in their reserve. But that means a waste of manpower. Moreover, we can't use rifles to hunt, somebody might notice us. We can't be sure that Gargoyle's not watching this place.

"Is it ok?" Ikoline disturbed her thoughts.

"What...?" Elektra blinked and realized how tired she was.

"The meal. Is it warm enough?" Ikoline asked again.

"Sure it is." Electra smiled feebly, wearily. "Thank you, Ikoline."

There's nothing we can do, we'll have to cut the fallen service ship into pieces. We have no way to get it out of there, Nemo decided. Let's hope it still has functional engines and usable batteries.

It was certain that if they wanted to move all the work to the upper levels of the dock, the cargo elevator would have to be put into operation. But to achieve that, they would first have to get rid of a major obstacle in the form of the stuck service ship. But if they manage to do this all and start to remove the mud above Excelion, where should they relocate all the mined material?

Well, the overall space of the hangar was huge, and if there was a place where no water or mud had leaked yet, they could use it for that purpose. Everything looked simple on the maps and drawings, but the reality will surely provide plenty of unpleasant surprises.

We'll have to sort out the food situation too, Nemo remembered suddenly, realizing it had been hours since he'd eaten or drank. The Doctor won't be happy, he thought, and tried to stretch his body carefully. But that meant to move his shoulder, and that meant terrible pain. He took a slow breath and exhaled again, closing his eyes, and tried to straighten his back. Sure, he expected the injured arm to protest, but this was too much.

No, I'm not getting up now. I'll just sit back and rest. Just for a while. He thought to himself, leaning back slowly, holding his left forearm with his right hand so that the injured arm would not move, if possible. When he finally felt the back of his chair behind him, he breathed out with relief.

I should have listened to you, he blamed himself at the memory of Electra and her request that he should get some rest, too. "You seem to be always right. Well, almost." he said aloud this time. He chuckled, realizing he could only admit this if Electra wasn't there to hear it.

When will it end, he thought when he felt pain and twitching in his injured arm. The last operation had taken place four days ago, and the Doctor had assured him that he had finally found all the fragments of the projectile. Still, another infection was probably beginning inside the wound. Blue Water had helped him get better the previous week, maybe it'll help him now, too. And maybe it won't be necessary, maybe the Doctor can do without it.

Nemo opened his eyes for a moment and looked at the small, shimmering box in the corner of the table. And as he had done a thousand times before, he wished he could become someone else. Someone whose life is not tied to the thing hidden in the golden casket.

When he opened his eyes again, everything around him was flooded with sunlight. Wisps of clouds glided silently across the azure sky, and a soft breeze flowed through the city streets, playing with the white tilts of the stalls and curtains in the windows. But it was the only perceptible movement. Otherwise there was silence everywhere – the square and the adjacent streets were empty, no one could be seen even in the windows of the houses. And it felt strange and grim, particularly on such a beautiful day.

"Where is everyone?" Nemo whispered as he looked around again.

"You do not know?" A familiar voice asked. All too familiar. Nemo felt his chest clench. He couldn't look up, he just couldn't.

But not looking was equally unbearable. In the end, he raised his head and fixed his gaze on the wide staircase rising to the main entrance of the temple. It was barely a few meters; only a few steps above him stood a tiny young woman with bronze skin and long, black hair. Her bright green eyes might seem sad, but that was just an impression. Thoughtful, that was the right word. Her forehead was decorated with a golden crown, and the tips of her white dress gently swung with the wind. His beloved Sonia, one of the most beautiful beings under the Sun. She was so close... but Nemo couldn't make a move.

"They're not coming back," his queen spoke. "Ever again." She added and smiled lightly, but her voice was sad, soft and distant.

Then Nemo saw that another person was coming down from the temple. He was tall and athletic, long black hair cascading down to his waist. His robe was also white, and a crown of shining gold rested on his head. Nemo thought for a moment that he was looking at a younger version of himself. Even the queen was still so young — it seemed as if their wedding day was happening before him again.

But as the young man descended to the queen and stood by her side, Nemo noticed that his eyes were sky blue and the features were more subtle. Even the hair shade was a little different.

"Venusis?" Nemo said barely audibly.

The young man smiled and took his mother's hand. "So you recognized me."

"How is... how is this possible?" Nemo whispered, dropping to his knees. But what was he wondering at? Whenever he saw Venusis in his dreams, he was always the same five-year-old. But thirteen years had passed since they had last seen each other. Venusis was no longer a little boy. If he was still alive, he must have grown up into a young man like this.

"Don't worry, together we will fix everything." Venusis spoke once again. "I'll help you. All I need is your Blue Water. Will you entrust it to me?"

"I - I don't know. I shouldn't." Nemo doubted, lowering his gaze to his chest. There was no necklace anywhere, the Blue Water seemed to be embedded right in his sternum. Bright rays of blue-white light emanated from it, twisting in a very strange way. But their intensity increased and part of the light arched right into Nemo's left arm, causing severe pain there.

"Please give it to me and everything will be all right again. I'll take care of everything, I just need your Blue Water. Just entrust it to me, please." Venusis asked.

"All right then." Nemo finally agreed, pulling the gem from his chest with his right hand and hissed as the pain in his left arm intensified. He couldn't move forward, so at least he got up and held out his hand, palm up, offering the Blue Water to his son. At that moment Venusis held up his hand, too, and drew the item to him just with his willpower.

And as soon as the gem touched his palm, the blue light inside turned red.

The wind grew stronger and the ground all around began to shake and burst. There was a strange rumble, and pieces of pavement and thick clouds of dust were rising from the ground and moving higher.

"What have you done?!" A desperate female voice shouted at him. Nemo turned and looked into her cold, icy blue eyes. They were full of hopelessness and rage, and filled with tears.

"Please forgive me." he asked her and put his hand on her cheek to wipe her tears away.

But Electra's gaze was still just as ruthless. "How could you...?!" She hissed angrily, and pushed his hand away. She held up a revolver with the other hand, pointed it at Nemo's forehead, and pulled the trigger.

It was only a fraction of a second later that Nemo realized he had jumped out of his chair. But now he was falling again, until he was stopped by the wall behind him, hitting it hard with his injured shoulder. He felt a rush of sickness at the sudden wave of sharp pain, tears bursting from his eyes. Slowly he slid to the ground, breathing heavily.

"What was that?" he said between his teeth, remembering his strange dream. He seemed to have all kinds of rather vivid dreams lately, but this was the first time he had dreamed about his adult son.

It had been a long time since Nemo had forbidden himself thinking of Venusis. And as the years went by, he did quite well. Mostly. But since he had met Nadia, he'd also started to think of Venusis, over and over again.

But this time, Nemo felt as if he'd been talking to his son for real, in person.

"I'm sorry, but I'm not giving the Blue Water to you." Nemo said, as if his son could still hear him. "Not willingly." he added, then breathed hard for a long while. Growing more and more desperate, he tried to seize the rising inner panic and helplessness that suddenly threatened to take over him. All the time, all these years his son had been Gargoyle's captive, and Nemo couldn't do anything about it. Now he was trying hard not to give in to the horrific thoughts of what Venusis might have been forced to live through.

Because the truth was that whether he wanted it or not, the longer they stayed in this place, the less he felt to be captain Nemo of Nautilus. And all the more often his old memories came to his mind. The past could not be erased, and in the past he had been someone else. He used to be a respected king. And a husband. And a father, too.

But now, only ruins and ashes remained of his city. His family was gone. And his queen, their people...

They're not coming back, ever again.

Eventually, he was brought back to reality by some sort of hurried and muffled screeching sounds. He opened his eyes and looked around. Only a small table lamp lit the room, so Nemo couldn't tell much from his position on the floor. After a moment of persuasion, he leaned back and rested his head against the wall behind him. But before closing his eyes again, he noticed a rapid movement along the wall. Rats. He laughed briefly, full of bitterness. One day crowds are cheering for you, he thought, and the next you crawl among the rats underground.

He recalled his wedding day once again, the day he also had become king of Tartessos. The square in front of the temple had been full, he could not even hear his own words through all the noise and cheering. And so he just held hands with his bride, the queen, and greeted their people.

The space just below the main stairway was reserved only for Atlanteans – aristocrats, members of the government and the Senate. Gargoyle himself – or Nemesis back then – also nodded in acknowledgment, smiling and clapping. At that time he was still a good friend and advisor, but there were already certain signs of problems that had to be solved, not overlooked or excused.

But beyond the gathered representatives of the city and the Atlantean nobility stood strong barriers, behind which a crowd much more numerous cheered – members of the human race. And from there came the greatest, sincere joy. Nemo looked at his queen at that time and nodded briefly toward the barriers. Sonia smiled and nodded, too. Both of them went down the stairs, and after having received all the greetings and congratulations, they refused to follow the ceremonial procession back to the palace. The reason was simple - they also wanted to greet their human friends. So they passed through the crowd of astonished nobles and senators and reached the barriers. The Queen signaled to the commanders of the Royal Guard that she wanted the barriers removed. Subsequently, several guards formed a narrow alley in the crowd to allow the royal couple to pass.

They both tried to touch every hand that reached for them, but that was almost impossible. Nevertheless, somehow, the Old Man, Nemo's mentor and teacher, came to him. He was moved and so full of emotions back then. They had embraced each other for a long time, shouting the words of congratulations and gratitude into each other's ear. People were ecstatic about the presence of the royal couple, laughing and singing, and finally chanting their names. And if a moment could be called the beginning of Gargoyle's hatred, it was probably this one.

But back then, Nemo felt that he had done the right thing, that in the end everyone would understand him and accept his motives. At that time he felt so cheerful, as if everything was possible, as if the whole world lay at his feet. But the truth was different, and by refusing to deal with the growing disputes and disagreements, Nemo just postponed the problems, but they did not disappear. The conflict was inevitable until the worst solution of all remained.

They're not coming back. Ever again.

No, they're not. They won't come back because everyone was dead. All those happy people who had at least tried to touch him back then, their loved ones and their families, their children, all were dead by his own fault.

Only a few survivors remained who were still loyal to him. Together they gave up their names and their past, built the Nautilus, and finally surrendered to the depths of the oceans. They all had abandoned their previous lives, driven only by hatred and desire for revenge.

No wonder Electra tried to kill him. Nemo caused the death of her entire family and subsequently offered her only the life of the outcast and the vision of bloody retribution. She hadn't known anything else throughout all these years — it was all there was left for her to live for.

So you see, dear Sonia, Nemo realized. We wanted to make our homeland and the world a better place for all. We thought we were the good ones. But we were just young, naive and stupid.

"Captain?" A girl's urgent voice came in all of a sudden.

Nemo exhaled and looked toward the entrance. "Miss Ikoline? What are you doing here? It is late." He spoke in a hoarse voice, his eyes narrowing at the sharp light from the flashlight Ikoline was holding in her hand.

"What am I doing here?!" The girl repeated angrily. "We're here to pick you up!" she explained as the Doctor, her father, also appeared in the doorway.

"You too, Doctor?" Nemo asked, surprised. "That wasn't necessary."

However, the Doctor and his daughter seemed to ignore Nemo's last remark and quickly approached him to check on his health.

"The fever's back again." the Doctor said. "Lin, fetch the Blue Water, now!" he called.

"Please, don't." Nemo protested.

"I know," Ikoline said softly, amiably, reaching for the golden box on the table. "I know you don't even want to see it. But it will help you... and all of us." She comforted him as she knelt down and opened the casket.

"Take it away..." Nemo pleaded as Ikoline carefully pulled the Blue Water necklace over his head.

"Don't worry, it'll be better soon." she said gently, brushing his hair from his sweaty forehead.

At that moment, however, a strong rumble vibrated through the corridors and walls. And then again. And again.

"Three signals." counted the Doctor after a silent, tense moment. "That's not a coincidence, is it?"

"No, it's not." Nemo confirmed with a sigh. The Blue Water shone brightly on his chest.

"Is it just me or does the ship want to tell you something?" Ikoline whispered urgently. "Is it possible?"

"I guess so." The captain agreed. For a while, everyone waited in silence. But the rumbling returned to its normal and the intensity of the light coming from the Blue Water decreased.

"So what's the matter here?" the Doctor asked quietly. "Is the ship really calling to us?"

"Without a doubt. I think it's trying to alert me to a problem." Nemo explained after a thoughtful moment. "There's an artificial being incorporated into the ship's system. It has access to all the controls on the ship and can make its own decisions if necessary. But after thousands of years alone, it seems to have been facing some difficulties that it can't solve on its own."

Ikoline was horrified. "Thousands of years alone? What a dreadful idea."

"There's no need for compassion." Nemo replied. "Artificial beings don't perceive time like us."

"Well, let's hope you're right."

"Anyway! Let's not get held up longer than necessary," the Doctor said nervously. "Are you able to get up, Captain?"

"Yes, probably." Nemo said, and then, with the help of his two companions, rose from the ground. The pain in his arm had weakened noticeably.

"Excellent!" The Doctor encouraged him. "Now we'll go back to the station and have some rest."


Oh how I wish

For soothing rain

All I wish is to dream again

Once and for all

And all for once

Nemo my name forevermore

Nightwish, Nemo


Author's note: The second chapter ended up being a little longer it seems ;)

And again, I dared to improvise a bit with the character names. I borrowed Mr. Fletcher from the films about the Mutiny on the Bounty (I just switched his first and last name), and as for Mr. Okazaki, I named him after the Japanese scientists who contributed significantly to the knowledge about DNA replication. I used to say this name quite often just a few years ago, so I guess it just came into my mind, no special meaning behind that choice. And the name Sonia came to me when I tried to come up with something that would sound similar to Nadia.

Regarding the former captain of the Excelion, I have a name for him too, as this was not the last time we hear about him ;) I named him after a certain Greek goddess of strife and discord and a sister of Ares, the god of war. Oh and while writing his scenes, I listened mainly to Nightwish, especially to their song "Wishmaster".

As for the Battle of Kermadec Trench, I'm not sure if it was said in the anime on which day it should have taken place, so I picked up Nemo's birthday. Yeah... I tend to be very cruel to my characters. (Well, Nemo isn't my character, of course, but you know what I mean.)

Anyway, I hope you enjoyed this chapter, and I will appreciate everything you'd like to say about it. Any comments or overall feedback are welcome!

Thank you for stopping by and see you soon!