Ok guys, I might have used a character from one of my previous stories (well, maybe not "might"....more like "did")...so, if you haven’t read them, just flip back and take a quick look, and it might fill you in on the character and might not.

Disclaimer: Yes! I own Sherlock Holmes in the 22nd Century! *Sherlockian lawyers approach* Ah! How can these people be more evil than me!? NOOOOOO!!!!!! THE HORROR! THE HORROR! (I’ll never get over that quiz way back when.....) *sigh* All right....I don’t own Sherlock Holmes in the 22nd Century (but you all already knew that). I, ummmm, don’t own anything for that matter other than my original material so, please don’t take that!

Ummm, I don’t own "Heart of Darkness" either, which is where a certain part of my disclaimer came from. It is really scary how many cartoons I’ve seen that have mirrored the book that haunted me for over a semester. Just by mirroring the plot or using a particular quote. I do wonder.......

Oh yeah, one more thing, I sorta changed some ages here, so most of our characters are now teens! Oh yeah! It’ll be obvious when you read it.

A/N: I started writing this a long time ago. I wasn't even going to post this until I had completely finished it but I suppose that keeping it all to myself would be cruel and unusual. This is my Sherlockian version. This is not a severe Disney movie repeat (though I might crack some jokes on Disney so please don't take offense to it. It's all in good fun.). I'll also post an accompanying list of terms after a couple more chapters (when I start using more nautical terms heavily) so that some of the nautically-impaired can still understand what I am writing. I have lived around ships and the ocean all my life and I also understand that there are people who haven't. The story's on the next two posts. Enjoy.

BTW, Maureen, disclaimer's up there and it applies for this story that is to follow.

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Chapter One

My name is John H. Watson. To write down the story of my own life would bore even the dullest of minds. However, I have witnessed others in their lives and by not telling their stories, they would merely fade out of existence with the coming years of bygone eras and times. Time does not slow and can not stop for anyone, but a story can capture a single moment in time forever and preserve it as none other could. No, as I said before, this is not my story: but the story of my friends. And so my tale begins. Whether you wish to believe me or not is of your own decision. But listen to the tale I weave and remember always, we are but lost souls upon this sea of dreams, while our own dreams rest at the bottom.

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Rolling, wind-beaten waves plowed effortlessly above while a small figure scoured the ocean depths, searching for clues to a world just out of reach. Darting from place to place, from coral to sand, the figure continued its hunt. Suddenly the figure let out a small sigh, flicked its orange tail and darted to yet another spot, her left hand slightly touching the sand.

Another figure drifted upside down next to the first, languidly looking up from whence yellow shafts of sunlight permeated the tranquil waters through a mess of rolling waves.

"I think I might’ve found something...."

"Huh? Where?"

The first figure turned to the second and it was evident she was like none other. A mermaid. Was she a figment of a sailor’s imagination? No, she was real; as real as her long orange tail with three large splotches of white that ended with her fins becoming near transparent as she floated in the waves. She seemed almost half goldfish, just drifting there under the sea. She was eighteen years old and her dark brown hair that ended just around midback floated about her, while a single lock in her bangs changed to light brown as if in defiance of her being. Sharp, dark, yet soft blue eyes gave a feeling of strong intelligence and yet compassion as well. An aura of independence seemed to radiate out of her as she looked to her companion. Crossing her arms, she looked at him in annoyance and said, "Do you ever pay attention to anything, Josh?"

"Why, Beth? I was simply contemplating the sunlight and the world itself. Sorry if I zoned out again...." her companion, a merman of equal age replied. While she had a look of analytical intelligence, upon first glance, his pale light blue eyes gave him a look of wisdom that went far beyond his years. A tousled mess of dirty blonde hair drifted aimlessly around him like his own personality. He ended in a dark blue tail fin that would rival the deepest of oceans' depths. Smiling, he allowed her to huff over his reply before continuing, "So, how big and where is the prize this time?"

Beth had a peculiar talent for finding things in the sand. With a lot of experience, she had begun to deduce whether an object was just beneath the sand or if nothing was there at all. She was even skilled enough to tell the general shape of the object. So, even though she couldn’t see what lay under the ocean floor, she could always tell if it were there. "Right here," she said, flicking her tail to her left. "Now are you going to help me or not?" she said, frustrated, as she took off her satchel and began to clear extra room inside.

"No, I don’t think I will. There’s just too many things to think about. Unless, of course, I get to keep something for a change," he smiled hopefully at her, his pale blue eyes glinting a mischievous twinkle while searching her own.

Rolling her eyes, she gave him a look that would never need words.

"In that case, of course I will!" Josh chimed as he began to clear away the sand.

As she cleared the space in her satchel by removing their lunches, he quickly cleared away two objects that had indeed been buried just beneath the sand.

The object on top seemed to be a cube with a most peculiar platform. On the four vertical sides were engravings that gave the box itself the look of a vortex. The top surface of the box had another part that seemed to just float above the hole inside. Two humans holding each other’s hands in a rather odd pose were situated in the center of the platform while a small bent bar stuck out of the side of box itself.

"Are those...?"

"Humans...." Beth finished, looking fascinatedly at the box. Pure intrigue filled both faces as they stared at the figures upon the platform. Reaching out, Josh lightly touched the figures and they slowly moved, making a slight clicking sound.

"YOU BROKE IT!" Beth fumed as she tore his hands away from the delicate artifact and glared at him.

"Hey! No more than you cracked that last, whatchmacallit...that transparent cylinder thing...you know what I mean!" he frustrated back. "And anyways... I think it’s supposed to do that...sorta...."

Her eyebrow arched as she skeptically replied, "Sorta?"

Giving her a flat expression and gently biting his lip, "Give me a couple of hours on it and I’ll try to figure it out, ok?" he said ending with his eyes in deep thought at the prospect.

A short growl was all he got for a reply as she finished uncovering the second find of the day. This other object seemed to be long and not too shiny at all, though it did appear to have been shiny at one point in time. It looked just like an old, weathered sword. With a larger handle that’s upper corners jutted out in some fashion. The blade itself was curved and even while covered with the grime of the ocean, it still seemed remarkable in its own right.

"Wow, it’s a sword from the surface... They do make theirs from different metals." Josh said in awe as he lifted it up and twirled in slowly in the water. "Hmmmmmm, definitely for the surface. The flat blade makes it difficult to turn underwater, impeding anything you might do, heavy...."

"But the blade is much sharper on that one side," Beth added as a small amount of blood seeped from her fingertip on the blade to drift aimlessly towards the surface, ever spreading in its wake. "Not like our own, definitely."

Then, turning back towards the deeper waters, her shoulders slumped as she replied, "Guess we’d better put these up for later. Greyson will kill us both if we’re late for our shift again."

A single eyebrow arched and her counterpart replied, "You? Don’t you mean me? You get away with everything. Greyson’s too afraid of Triton to touch you...."

"And that’s the problem around here! Everyone knows me! But they don’t REALLY know me! They just know my background! I just need to get away from all of this...." Exasperated, she turned to Josh and said, "I would have left long ago if I hadn’t...."

"Gotten in with the Aquatic Guard?" Josh finished, not really even looking at her.

"Yeah. I don’t want to rule and I don’t like being around all of these people so busy trying to stay off my fins that I can’t swim. The Ship Graveyard, or even the surface, would be a welcome change," she ended wistfully.

"Well," he said looking back at her, "we could always go to the Ship Graveyard. I know the way...."

"If only...."

With that the two slipped quietly through the still waters, heading for the guard’s pavilion to receive their duties.

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A/N: Hey guys, I sort of forgot to put the chapter 1 part in the subject line until I got to this one. I feel almost scatterbrained now.....not quite, but almost.

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