"Matt! Wake up! Come on... wake up!!"
 Matt slowly rolled over and opened his eyes slightly. He turned and stared up into the worried face of Mina.
 "Wha... what's going on?" stammered Matt groggily. He had been sleeping semi-peacefully until being forced awake by Mina's yelling.
 "Matt! Ami is missing! She's not in her room, and no one's seen her. You've got to get up!" Mina frantically yelled as she shook the drowsy Matt.
 Instantly, Matt was out from under the covers and sitting on the edge of his bed. He turned and stared at Mina intently.
 "What do you mean 'missing'? No one has seen her? When was the last time she was seen?" Matt questioned, fear growing in his voice. He quickly stood and reached for his shirt. Mina reached over and tossed it to him. He quickly snatched up his cloak and buttoned it. He grimaced in pain as he did, his muscles aching with movement. Matt noticed that Mina was walking again, but with a limp. Matt could tell that the medical treatment of the Iosions was much more advanced then anything he had seen. Matt made his way to the mirror in his room as he dressed and looked at himself. He ran his hand through his messy hair and began to unwrap the bandage around his head.
 "No one has any idea where she is. Rei woke up first and noticed her missing from her room. I came to get you. We're going to start searching for her." said Mina, watching Matt.
 "Does any of the people in the castle know where she is?"
 "No. Everyone we've asked says they haven't seen her. Also, we've been told that the King is still resting in his room, and that no one can tell him until he comes out. His rules."
 "Maybe it's just as well... the King Joshua I saw yesterday was definitely NOT the King Joshua that Luna described." answered Matt as he finished dressing and turned to Mina. "Ok... we'd better hurry... Ami could be in a lot of danger."
 Matt suddenly rushed toward Mina, grabbed her hand, and yanked her out the door before she could utter a sound. She just stared in wonderment at how fast Matt had taken charge of the situation.

    ****

 The shadow swooped down on her again, causing large wounds to appear as he grabbed her and began to stroke her body and face while plummeting her. She had stopped screaming awhile ago and now did nothing but whimper and reel from the blows. She had even stopped trying to put a defense. He laughed hideously when he finally had her in submission.
 "I am going to give you something you will NEVER forget... you can take this message back to rest of them. They're going to be next!" screamed the dark shadow hideously,  a strong light shining behind him, causing him to appear as nothing more then a black outline.
 "W-w-who... who are..."
 "Me? Hahahaha.... why... no one important." the shadow crackled as the light behind him disappeared. He had her pushed against a cold stone wall by her bruised arm. The pain shooting through it was unbearable. She was almost completely nude, except for a few pieces of ripped clothes that wrapped around her like her only protection from the shadow. She was cut several times from his attacks and was bleeding severely. As she struggled against his cold grip, a light came on above him. With perfect clarity his face became lighted. He wasn't a shadow being, at least not physically. Looking at his face, she pulled back severely and gasped at his face.
 "W-w-why..? No... no..."
 "Oh yes, Sailor Mercury. I guess now you finally know that something is not quite right!" laughed the figure as he suddenly grinned wickedly. "Now... enjoy the present I bestow upon you... it will be with you for a very long time..."
 His voice trailed off as he suddenly made a quick, advancing movement toward her. With lightning speed, the rips of clothing snapped as a tunnel of cold and darkness slammed into her. She screamed out loud as he entered her and began to slam her back repeatedly against the hard wall with the force of his attack. A moment later, Mercury felt a dark sensation enter her and travel upward into her body, chilling her to her soul. The tunnel of the darkness remained in her as the figure began to laugh dementedly. She knew what he was doing, but had no way to stop him.
 She just continued to scream...

    ****

 Rei suddenly staggered backwards from the blast of intense emotion that struck her. Matt caught part of it, but it wasn't much more than background noise to him.
 "Ami's in trouble!" Rei shouted, looking at the others. "I'm feeling her in an unbearable amount of pain. I can feel her presence somewhere below us."
 The group perked up and stared at Rei. Luna stepped closer.
 "Are you sure it was Ami?"
 "Yes. There's no mistakening it."
 Hearing that, Matt quickly turned to Luna.
 "Luna, you've studied the layout of this castle ... what's below here?"
 Luna thought for a moment, then suddenly recoiled in horror.
 "The lowest part of Castle Io... the dungeon."
 "I knew he couldn't be trusted... this is King Joshua's doing!" spoke Lita.
 "Rei... can you pinpoint Ami's location?" Matt asked hurriedly. Time was of the essence.
 "I'm pretty sure..." Rei spoke, barely audible to the rest of the group.
 "Then lead the way. And hurry!"

     ****

 "Is this it? Looks kindda creepy..."
 "Umm..."
 Rei squeezed her eyes in thought and scanned the area. She confirmed what she felt.
 "Yes. This is it." Rei replied.
 "Then what are we waiting for? JUPITER STAR POWER!"
 With a blast of green light, Lita instantly changed into Sailor Jupiter. Taking a step back towards the opposite wall of the hall, she took a deep breath. The group had entered a long tunnel with several steel doors lining the walls. They had made their way through the winding tunnels of  Castle Io without running into a single person. Luna had expressed her unease about that several times. It was like everyone in the castle had gone into hiding.
 "Sparkling Wide Pressure!" Sailor Jupiter shouted as she cocked back her hand and allowed a ball of energy to appear. With a shout, she tossed it at the door. The ball collided with a large blast of green energy, causing the door to warp and burn under the electricity. Matt suddenly dived on top of Mina and Rei, driving them to the ground and shielding them from the bouncing electricity. Serena was on his riding on his back, beacause she still could not walk yet, and fell along with him.
 "Thanks... couldn't you have found a better to do that?" Mina shouted toward Lita as the energy disappeared. Matt rose off of Rei and Mina, readjusted Serena on his back, and grunted as he shifted her weight.
 "I think it's time to... to start cutting back on all those snacks, Serena."
 "Oh thanks. Don't YOU pick on me too." Serena yelled into Matt's ear as he groaned. He quickly stopped and cupped his ear.
 "Oww. Sorry..." Matt whispered, his ears beginning to ring.
 "Jupiter?" questioned Luna, rising from the ground.
 Sailor Jupiter gave a sharp nod and, with a leap, kicked the warped door inward, knocking it to the ground. Slowly, the scouts peered in.
 The room was pitch dark, except for the light that streamed in from the door. As the looked in, they all noticed two things. The first was a freezing cold breeze slammed into them, causing them to shiver in unison. The second was a stone platform that stood about waist-high in the middle of the room, illuminated by the pool of light coming from the hallway. On the platform was a bloody, bruised body. The body was covered only with blood, no clothes or garments. They recognized the body instantly.
 It was Ami.

    ****

 "Oh my god..."
 Matt quickly raced through the group as Mina whispered, and ran toward the platform. He put Serena down because she could stand on her own, just not walk, and knelt down to Ami's level. He grabbed her hand and stared at her bruised and battered face.
 "Ami.... can you hear me? What did that monster do to you? Please wake up. Come on. Snap out of it!" Matt whispered as his voice began to break, and finally choked up completely.  It seemed that all the scouts went through was one diaster after another. Wasn't it bad enough the sacrifice they all made days ago? Now, without time to recover, a new situation had arisen.
 Everyone in the group looked on with tears in their eyes. Luna slowly approached the platform and moved closer to Artemis as Serena slowly bent down, showing considerable pain on her face, and touched Matt's shoulder. Matt turned to look at her, then back to the prone body of Ami. Her breathing was shallow and her body lifeless.
 "Please..." Serena whispered, all the whine from her voice gone. All that was left was a seriousness that surprised everyone watching. She looked like more like the Princess Serena Luna had spoke of then Sailor Moon.
 As if Ami had heard the words, she suddenly groaned and began to cough violently. Her eyes quickly fluttered open.
 "Ami? Are you alright? Never mind--" Matt almost yelled as Ami as she awoke. "It's me Matt. Can you hear me?"
 "M-Matt?" Ami whispered softly as she coughed. Her voice sounded raw.
 "Yes, it's me Ami. I'm here." Matt whispered as he stood and ripped off his cloak. He quickly wrapped Ami's bloody body in it as everyone gazed on with relief in their eyes. "Ami, who did this to you?"
 "..."
 Ami's eyes suddenly rolled back, then focused again.
 "J-Joshua... Derimond."
 Ami coughed again and closed her eyes in exaustion. Her breathing slowly began to return to normal as she laid there, still dazed. Matt slowly stood, helped Serena up, and clentched his hand tightly in anger. He turned toward and the rest of the group and softly spoke.
 "Joshua... I knew it. I knew he couldn't be trusted. He must have been the one who sent Luna the communication. He did to lure you, and the scouts, here." whispered Matt defiantly. "Serena, you and the cats should stay here and guard Ami. Sailor Jupiter, Rei... I think it's time we had a little talk with the 'Good King Joshua'."
 "Wait, Matt. I need to come too. Please. I need to see an end to this once and for all." Luna spoke up, the first thing she said since she entered the room. As she looked up at Matt, his face softened.
 "Ok, Luna... I'd be grateful if you came with."
 "Thank you, Matt. I need to face him one final time."
 "I know, Luna... I know." Matt whispered sympathetically. "I think we all do."
 Turning to look back at Ami, Matt reached into his shirt and removed a rose.
 "I think it's time we payed our generous host one final visit and then get out of this hellish place."

         ****

 "HALT! STOP WHERE YOU ARE!!"
 "Damn... it's those royal guards! Joshua must know we're coming!"
 The little side hall suddenly began to fill with royal guards of  Castle Io. The group was surrounded on both both sides, their exit from the small passage quickly cut off. Mars continued to swear about how they came out of nowhere. The hall was just one of the many halls in the castle that seemed to form a maze. Moogle had realized quickly that having Luna was a actually good idea, since she was the only one who truely knew her way around. Up until that point, the halls they traveled had been completely empty.
 "Now!" shouted Sailor Mars, leaping into action.
 Tuxedo Moogle sprang into the air on her command. Flying forward, he pulled a quick flick with his arm, causing several flashes of red to race out from him and strike a group of guards, dropping them all. As Tuxedo Moogle dropped, he landed directly into the center of another small group of guards. Tuxedo Moogle quickly stood, holding a long sword in his hand which appeared out of thin air. He had just figured out another facet to his powers. With an upward thrust and circle slash, Tuxedo Moogle disposed of the entire group. He amazed himself at his skill with the weapon. He was also amazed that he had called it out of thin air so easily. As he was thinking, he noticed a long wrap of somekind of thin, metal string  lying next to a fallen guard. It appearently had fallen out of his suit of armor.
 "MARS! NOW!" shouted Tuxedo Moogle as he brought the long sword he was holding to ready again. As he did, he swooped down and scooped up the large length of wrapped string, pocketing it.
 Sailor Mars stepped in front of Sailor Jupiter, who was grappling with a guard who held a spear, and took a stance. She brought her arms in front of her and shouted boldly:
 "MARS FIREBALL... IGNITE!"
 With a rush of air, a huge fireball ignited onto the tip of her fingers. Mars quickly opened her hands and launched the fireball down the hall. Before the remaining guards could act, the fireball collided with them, either killing or wounding them all. As it did, Mars, Jupiter, Luna and Tuxedo Moogle quickly broke off and ran down the hall, past the burning guards just as more began to arrive. A door rested at the end of the hall, and was, thankfully, their exit out of the crowded hall. Nearing the door, four more guards appeared from it, facing the group. Before they could run into the guards, Tuxedo Moogle, without slowly his momentum, launched four roses directly at the new group of guards. Each of the roses connected with their target, causing each one to fall. Moogle scooped up Luna and hopped over the group of fallen guards. He rushed through the doorway with Mars and Jupiter on his tail.
 "Here come more! Now where?" Jupiter yelled as looked back into the room they just ran from. She quickly slammed the door shut and locked it.
 "Uh..." Moogle spoke as he looked around the room they we're in. His eyes fell upon a window directly across the room. He realized it was their only chance.
  Tuxedo Moogle put Luna down and held out his hands for Mars and Jupiter to take. Slowly, they took ahold of them, while Luna was scooped up by Mars. They were all bewildered as to what he was going to do. Suddenly Tuxedo Moogle gave a yank, causing Jupiter and Mars to fall into his arms.
 "It worked once before..." whispered Tuxedo Moogle as he charged forward at full speed and plowed straight through the glass window, shattering it. He looked back in time to see the Royal Guards break into the room.
 Tuxedo Moogle quickly sailed out into the open air high above the ground. Even though the geroup had slept for more than seven hours, Jupiter still had not risen, causing the colonized half of Io to remain in darkness. In the distance, Matt could make out large sets of bright lights, which looked almost identical to the ones that had made up Tokyo when he saw it from a distance,  on the hill where he first awoke. It looked to be some-type of massive city, or something. Mars and Jupiter's screaming caused Tuxedo Moogle to refocus on his situation. Reaching into his lapel and throwing a rose out toward the wall, the rose caught into the side of the castle, causing a tensile string attached to it to tighten.
 It was the string Tuxedo Moogle had taken from the fallen guard. It was now saving all their lives.
  Mars and Jupiter were at a lost as to where he got the string. They suddenly stopped falling and began to swing on the string, swinging inward toward the wall of the castle. Slowly, Tuxedo Moogle kicked off the wall and began a side to side swing as Mars and Jupiter realized they were no longer falling. With a quick thrust of his leg, Tuxedo Moogle plowed into nearby window and crashed into another room.
 "WHOA! How the hell...?" Mars exclaimed as she stood up shakily.
 "Where did you get that string...?" Jupiter continued.
 "I stole it off on of the fallen guards. It had fallen out of his armor." Tuxedo Moogle responded sheepishly.
 "But you could have gotten us all killed!" Jupiter stammered as her jaw dropped open. Moogle broke out laughing at the sight of Jupiter, Mars, and Luna's surprise.
 "We made it didn't we?" Moogle answered, grinning. He began to grow serious once again as he straightened up. "Come on.. we don't have much time. We have to locate King Joshua."
 Tuxedo Moogle moved to the door of the small room, which was a guest room like the ones the group had, and stepped into hall. What greeted him caused him to stop dead in his tracks. Lining the ground were decapitated bodies of innocent citizens who got in the way of the Royal Guards. Appearently Joshua wasn't just turning on the scouts... but his own people as well. Mars, Luna and Jupiter joined him a moment later, with the same horror in their eyes as they beheld the sight.
 "Oh no..." Sailor Mars started.
 "I know... don't think about it. Stick to the task on hand. We have two roads to choose from and no idea which one to take." Moogle whispered softly.
 "Listen.. you three go to left... while I go right. I think it leads to the King's chambers. I'll check to see if he is there while you keep going to the Royal Hall. If he's not there, I'll meet up with you at the Hall!" Mars said, turning to the group. She quickly reached over and kissed Tuxedo Moogle on the cheek as she took off down the hall, shouting behind her:
 "For luck!"
 Tuxedo Moogle slowly touched the spot where she kissed him, saying nothing. As Sailor Mars disappeared around a corner, he turned back to Sailor Jupiter and Luna.
 "Let's hurry. We have an audience with the King that we shouldn't miss."

    ****

 "Go! Just keep going! I'll hold them off!" shouted Jupiter as she slammed another guard to the ground. "Get into the Royal Hall! I'll seal the way after you!"
 Tuxedo Moogle, Sailor Jupiter, and Luna had finally entered the hallway outside of the Royal Hall. As they had approached it, they were attacked by more guards who blocked the way into the Royal Hall. They ended up fighting to make progress through the hallway towards the large doors leading to the Royal Hall..
  Tuxedo Moogle carried Luna and parried a thrust by one of the guards with his sword in his free hand, when Jupiter yelled out for him to get in the room while she distracted the guards.
  "But, what about you?" yelled Matt above the noise of the fight. He managed to down another one of the guards as he spoke.
 "I'll be fine! JUST GO!!" Jupiter yelled as she summoned a lighting blast onto a clump of guards.
 She fried the entire group as Tuxedo Moogle, holding Luna, dove to the set of double doors and shoved one open. He parried a blow and impaled a guard as he stood up straight. With a lunge, he leapt into the Royal Hall with Luna holding on by digging her claws into his fore-arm. He quickly rolled to his feet and slammed the door shut behind him, condemning Jupiter to her fate. A second later, he heard the sound of lightning striking the door, sealing it by melting the metal of the door into a wax-like seal.
 "I hope she will be alright..." Tuxedo Moogle whispered.
 "She will be... she's one of the strongest. If she can't..." Luna answered, just as softly.
 "It's not her you have to worry about, my friends. It's you."  roared a voice from across the room. The voice did not sound human, it was too harsh and deep. "Welcome to Hell, Fools."
 Slowly, Moogle and Luna turned to face the source of the hideous voice. Standing on the platform in front of the throne at the other end of the hall stood Joshua, dressed completely in black. Luna hopped down from Tuxedo Moogle's arm and began to advance the throne.
 "Hello, Kitty-cat. I hope you have been enjoying your stay." called Joshua loudly, even though Tuxedo Moogle and Luna were closer to him now. His inhuman voice echoed through the chamber, only helping to enhance his loudness.
 "Why, Joshua? Why are you doing this? What's happened to you?" Luna spoke up, as she spread her legs apart and took a stronger stance.
 "Joshua? Joshua? Who is that? Oh yes! He is the fool who would not accept my offer of power! That fool meet with his fate, and now I control his kingdom... and his body."
 "Who... who are you?" Moogle called out as, he too, took a stronger stance with his sword poised.
 "My name is Traquen, Lord of Darkness. And soon to be Lord of the Everything, unless you think you can stop me, Man of Light. Your power is quite bright in my eyes, almost blinding. But... it is still shadowed by mine!"
 Tuxedo Moogle and Luna drew back defensively as the same thought crossed their minds.
 "Traquen?! You're... you're the one who sent that demon, Wicki! Sailor Moon said she heard him say that he was building a communication array for someone named Traquen!" shouted Moogle as he brought his sword up in front of him. Luna took a step back and one closer to Tuxedo Moogle as he drew his weapon. "What have you done with King Joshua, you fiend!"
 "Ah, yes! Good old Wicki... I have you to thank for his defeat, don't I? I knew it was you the moment a 'man in a tuxedo and hat' wanted to see me. I was afraid you didn't come with the others when they came here, thanks to my little 'invitation'. I realized then that you were just in disguise when I saw you in the sick room, unconcsious. See, thanks to Wicki's communication array, I was able to learn that you had surived after all these years, Luna. And I realized that you could be an obsticle in my plans if you were left to live. Since Wicki failed me, I decided to deal with you myself by luring you here to Io..." replied Traquen, his demented voice echoing through the Hall. "And as for King Joshua, I've done nothing to him yet. I am only using his body, to control the population of Io. He's still in here... somewhere. But, whether he will ever reappear or not... now that's a different story. Speaking of which... your Sailor Mercury is a different story, also... now SHE is someone I have done something with!
 "You monster... I'll make you pay for what you did to her." Tuxedo Moogle whispered as he pulled out a rose.
 "Try it! I'd like another excuse to completely destroy you right here and now, Light-man. But first, I thought I would give you a farewell present. I know this as been nagging at your mind Luna, so I'll tell you. Then I will kill you." laughed Joshua, smiling wickedly. "Haven't you ever wondered what ever happened to Joshua after he left? What happened to him after you were sent to earth by Queen Serenity after Queen Beryol's attack?"
 "How do you know about that?" Luna gasped, her eyes growing wide.
 "Don't you understand, cat, I am using Joshua. His body AND his mind! I know everything he does. I have access to all his memories he has since the time he was born. But, if you keep intrupting me, I might have to kill you before you can get a chance to find out what happened."
 "Just try it!" Tuxedo Moogle challenged.
 "Don't tempt me, Light-man!" shouted Traquen, looking down at Tuxedo Moogle. He slowly turned back to Luna. "It was when Joshua had left you to return home to answer an emergency call from Io..."

    ****

 "Sire, the fleet is prepared. We can leave again as soon as you are ready."
 "Good. I'm ready now." replied a stone-faced King Joshua. He quickly belted his sword to his waist and adjusted his dark green cloak. Pausing for a moment longer, King Joshua sighed heavily and looked around his bedroom one last time. He quickly turned to the page that had come to his room a moment before.
 "Let's go." Joshua whispered, all emotion absent from his voice. He couldn't believe how quickly the entire balance of the solar system had changed. It was only a little more than an hour ago that he had touched down on Io, in the 'Firestorm Legend', after having made an emergency trip back home to Io. The instant he got there, it seemed that all hell had broken loose. Apparently, there was no emergency on Io, nor had there ever been. But, while he had made the two day trip back home, a being of incredible dark power, leading an army of dark beings, had begun an assault on Earth's moon, Luna. Though the reports that were getting to Io were vague at best, one thing was clear.
 Someone named Queen Beryol was attacking Earth's moon.
 Joshua had figured out the instant he had learned of Queen Beryol's attack that the 'emergency call for help' from Io had been a decoy to get him and the 'Firestorm Legend' away from the moon. King Joshua realized he had been played the fool and because of it Luna, the moon and the cat, were in grave danger. Someone was going to pay for that, and that someone was going to be Queen Beryol.
 "Are the ground troops on-board and set?" Joshua questioned as he and the page left his room, heading towards the outside of the castle at a hurried pace.
 "Yes, sir. All troops are aboard their ships, and the entire fleet is in orbit, ready to go. The only ship left is your ship, which is awaiting your arrival."
 "Excellent." replied Joshua, rounding a corner in one of the numerous winding halls in Castle Io. The page had to practically run to keep up with his large stride. "I do not know how long I'll be, but you know what to do in the meantime. Hold down the fort, and prepare the citizens in case this... this Queen Beryl decides that Io will be one of her next targets. Ok?"
 The page came to a stop and watched as King Joshua rushed down the final hall to the entrance to the castle.
 "I understand, sire. But... 'hold down the fort?'" shouted the page, calling after the quickly-moving Joshua.
 "It is an Earth expression. It means make sure everything is fine while I am gone!" call Joshua in return, as he suddenly rounded the last corner in the distance and disappeared from the page's sight.
 "Oh."

    ****

 "Sir... I... I think there's something out there."
 Joshua slowly leveled his gaze towards the helmsman sitting in front of him.
 "What do you mean 'you think?' Either there is or there is not." responded Joshua, who swiveled slightly in his seat as he gazed at the forward viewscreen. He was sitting in the command center of the 'Firestorm Legend', watching as the image of the palent Mars loomed on the viewscreen.
 "That's just it, sire. Sensors are getting some ghost images of... something sitting in orbit above Mars's north pole. But I can't tell if it's just a specter or if there's really out there, thanks to Mars's polar magnetic field..." the helmsman replied, checking his instrument panel in front of him. As he did, Joshua slowly rose out of his seat and walked up to the helmsman, his eyes never leaving the image of Mars on the screen.
 "Contact the rest of fleet, find out if anyone else sees your 'specters.'" spoke Joshua, slowly, thinking about the situation. The image the helmsman was reporting might not be anything more than a computer after-image... but it could also be a a fleet of ships using Mars's magnetic field to hide itself. Joshua had 28 ships under his command, most of which were large carrier ships, dreadnoughts, and destroyers. The 'Firestorm Legend' was a super-dreadnought class ship, capable of supporting over a hundred and fifty people on-board. Unfortunately, the only thing in the fleet bigger than the 'Firestorm Legend' were the five carriers that were used for transporting ground troops and one-man starfighters. Each carrier carried about 500 people, and 35 fighters. Even though it was the most impressive fleet in the entire galaxy, a fleet twice the size of Joshua's could be lurking above Mars.
 "Sire..." spoke the helmsman again, interrupting Joshua's thoughts. "The scoutship 'Invader' wishes to know if you would like it to split off from the rest of the fleet and do a visual scan of the polar area of Mars. What should I tell it?"
 King Joshua thought for a moment, then slowly responded:
 "Tell it to swing out to within one thousand kilometers and do a sweep from there."
 "Aye, sir." replied the helmsman, lowering his head and talking into the headset on his head softly. After a moment, he picked his head up, and turned to look up at King Joshua. "They're breaking off now."
 "Put it on the viewscreen." ordered Joshua, in a hushed tone.
 A second later, the image of Mars suddenly shifted into a new one. The planet Mars was now filling up only the left-hand half of the screen. In the center, a small, gray ship was moving off towards the planet at incredible speeds. As Joshua watched the ship, he became more and more uneasy. Something was not right with this situation, and he could feel it. The farther the 'Intruder' got... the more hesitation Joshua felt.
 "Helmsman..." started Joshua, looking out at the small ship begin it's scanning sweep. "Call the 'Intruder' back to the fleet."
 "Sir?"
 "Just do it."
 "Aye, sir." replied the helmsman, turning back to his headset. "'Intruder', you are ordered to return to the fleet at once... I repeat, you--"
 The helmsman's voice suddenly trailed off as everyone in command room paused and glanced up at the viewscreen. As they did so, the image of the 'Intruder' suddenly ignited into white, seering light, which quickly filled the entire room. Shielding his eyes, Joshua watched as the blast of light faded, revealing a menacing fleet of starships hovering above the image of Mars. Joshua knew instantly who they were.
 It was a Dark Fleet of Queen Beryol's.
 "All ships!" shouted Joshua, punching the ship-to-ship communications button. "All ships! Break formation and assume battle formation! We are under attack! I repeat! We are under attack!"
 Even as he said the words, Joshua watched as the Dark Fleet suddenly began maneuvering straight for Joshua's Iosion fleet. Joshua realize that he wasn't going to get away without a fight.
 "How many ships are there?" he quickly inquired.
 "Forty-three." answered a female voice behind him.
 "My god..." spoke the helmsman, looking up at Joshua with wide eyes.
 "Do not worry about it, helmsman. Keep focused. Order the carriers to launch all fighters." spoke Joshua, consciously forcing voice to remain emotionless and calm. As the helmsman turned to comply, Joshua couldn't help but feel sorry for him. The Dark Fleet was almost two times the size of the Iosion Fleet. The odds didn't look good.
 "Fighters launching, sire." called the helmsman. As he did, the forward viewscreen suddenly began to fill with pinpoints of metal, each one signifying one of the tiny starfighters.
 "Sir, the enemy is also taking attack formation and launching fighters..." called the same female voice in the back. Without turning, Joshua gave an acknowledging nod. He had to think quick, or the situation would quickly turn grim.
 "Order the carriers to spread out and flank the main body of the fleet. Then order the destroyers to strafe down the middle of that damned crowd. Let's see if we can not thin it down a little."
 "Aye, sir." answered numerous voices around the bridge. Joshua looked around at the hurried movement around the bridge, and slowly made it back to his command seat where he promptly sat down. As he gazed up at the main viewscreen, little pinpoints began to spark in various places, indicating the destruction of one of the little fighters.
 "Helmsman... find me the closest enemy ship, and plot a direct course for it. Also... charge the forward weapons. Let's jump into this fray, shall we?"
 "Right, sir. Setting course now. Hold on everyone." the helmsman responded, the ship suddenly beginning to move forward. Joshua watched the image on the viewscreen rotate until a near-by dark dreadnought loomed in the middle of the screen.
 "In weapons range..." said a female tactical officer, behind Joshua and to his right. "...now!"
 "Fire all weapons." called Joshua loudly.
 "Firing weapons..." returned the female tac. officer. A second later, the viewscreen flared up with light as beams of reddish light lanced out from somewhere behind the viewscreen and sailed into the hull of the dark dreadnought, strafing it as it moved. Behind each of the laser-hits, a small explosion on the dark dreadnought's hull appeared. A moment later, the screen went white with light as the dreadnought exploded. Joshua smiled slightly.
 "One down..." he whispered softly, to himself. He was suddenly interrupted by his tac. officer.
 "Sir... two ships are approaching. A destroyer and a frigate. Both have weapons trained on us."
 "Damn... charge the rear weapons, and maneuver the ship straight into the heart of the Dark Fleet." Joshua said, gripping his seat tightly.
 "Sir? Are you sure? Getting that close to that many ships..."
 "I know. I am sure."
 "Aye, sir." the tac. officer replied, not furthering the argument. A moment later, the ship began to dive straight towards the main body of the Dark Fleet. "Sir... I just received report that the Iosion destroyers 'Sentinel' and 'Iron Knight'... have been destroyed."
 Joshua silently counted up the death count.
 "What is the nearest friendly ship?" called Joshua, pushing the thought of all the innocent people that just died.
 "The... the frigate 'Thunderbolt.'"
 "Tell them to break off there assault and attack the two ships following us. As soon as they do, I want you to swing us around and attack them ourselves. That sound be enough firepower to finish them." said Joshua, turning to face his tac. officer. "Meanwhile, tell the nearest wings of fighters to concentrate their attack on the nearest dreadnought. I want it disabled, but not destroyed."
 "Sir?"
 "You heard me."
 "Yes, sir."
 Joshua turned back to the viewscreen, and smiled slightly.
 He had a plan.
 "How are those carriers doing?" he called out.
 "The 'Iosion Dream' and 'Icefire' are slightly damaged, but otherwise they're fine."
 "Good. Order them to break off attack, and head for the other side of Mars."
 "What?!"
 "Do need to keep repeating myself?" shouted Joshua, angrily. "Order the carriers to disengage from the fight and swing around the to the back side of Mars, where they are to wait with weapons charged. Tell them to take any support they need to get them there safely."
 "Yes, sir." the tactical officer replied, sending the communication. After a moment, she looked back up to a waiting Joshua. "Sir, the message is out... but..."
 "What?"
 "The 'Icefire' has just been destroyed."
 Joshua slowly turned back around in his seat. He had just lost a little under five hundred people to Queen Beryol's attackers. She was slowly slaughtering everyone in the solar system, and he still had no idea for what purpose. But... he did know that her dark forces were not going to take the Iosion Fleet.
 At least, not all of it.
 "Tell the rest of the carriers to keep going. Meantime, bring the ship around on those ships following us. Tell the 'Thunderbolt' to do the same."
 Complying, the tac. officer and helmsman worked in perfect unison to effect King Joshua's orders. Within a minute, the 'Firestorm Legend' turned completely back onto the dark frigate and destroyer following them and began to attack. As they did, the 'Thunderbolt' suddenly crested into view behind the dark ships and attack from the rear. The command center of the 'Firestorm Legend' lit up brightly as the frigate exploded first, quickly followed by the larger destroyer.
 "Sir! Enemy fighter wing coming in!" shouted the tac. officer, a instant after the dark destroyer blew. "Wait... the 'Thunderbolt's' escort fighter wing is intercepting..."
 "Good, they are buying us escape time." said Joshua, swiveling his chair back to the helmsman. "Tell the 'Thunderbolt' to form on our wing, and get us out of here. Take us to where the fighters are disabling that enemy dreadnought."
 "Speaking of which, sir... I just received notice from the frigate 'Broadsword' that a dark dreadnought has been captured." called the tac. officer, a small smile appearing on her face. Slowly, her smile faded as she read her instrumentation. "But, sir... we are losing forces left and right. We just lost another scout ship, the frigate 'Defender' and the dreadnought 'Catscratch.'"
 "I understand.... but if our forces can just keep these ships occupied for a little longer, we are really going to make ourselves known to the enemy. That should get most of the dark ships off their backs, and onto ours."
 "But, sir... we can't take on the whole fleet ourselves!"
 'I don't intend to... trust me." responded Joshua, looking back at his tac. officer again.
 "Yes, sir."
 "We're here, sir." suddenly called the helmsman. Joshua turned to see a large image of a dark-colored dreadnought looming up on the viewscreen, with several pinpoints of light gray metal swarming it. "But whatever you want to do, sir... you better do it quick. I'm reading several wings of fighters, a destroyer, and two dreadnoughts approaching."
 "Ok..." spoke Joshua, rising from his seat. "I want you to take the disabled dreadnought under tow. Tell all unengaged ships here us to join us and form on our wing with the 'Thunderbolt'. Also, tell any free fighters to join us and provide protection for us... we're about to show the Dark Fleet just what Io can do."
 Instead of responding this time, the crew members around the bridge instantly busied themselves with Joshua's commands. He could help but smile as he sat back down. They were all performing their respective jobs remarkably.
 "We've taken the disabled dreadnought under tow, sire..." the helmsman said, after a minute. "Also, we've been joined by a dreadnought, two destroyers, a frigate, and several scout ships."
 "Excellent. Let's get out of here. Plot a course directly for the flagship carrier and its escorts."
 Looking at Joshua incredulously, but saying nothing, the helmsman complied. Joshua realized that if what they were about to do didn't work... the death of the Iosion fleet would not be long in coming. He gazed intently at the viewscreen as the ship moved into position directly facing the large, over-sized dark carrier and it's escort of frigates and destroyers. Every second brought the image of the group looming closer to the viewscreen.
 "Ok, this is what we're going to do..." began Joshua, rising from his seat and walking to the helmsman. He placed a reassuring hand on the helmsman's shoulder. "I want you to fly directly at Flagship until you reach point blank range. As soon as you do, I want you to bank hard, and release the towed dreadnought as you do. If all goes according to plan, the dark dreadnought's own inertia should send directly into the Dark Flagship, taking it and it's escorts out. Understand?"
 "Perfectly, sir." responded the helmsman, smiling.
 "If all goes like I hope, we should get the attention of every ship in this fight. Hopefully, we can get almost the entire Dark Fleet after us... then--"
 "Then we fly to the back side of Mars, where they are ambushed by our waiting carriers!" spoke the helmsman, cutting in. Joshua smiled in acknowledgment at the helmsman. "That's brilliant!"
 "You can thank me after we pull it off. Now, are you ready?"
 "I'm ready, sir." replied the helmsman, his eyes turning back to his station as his fingers danced over the controls. "Here we go."
 Joshua steadied himself by grabbing the back of the helmsman's chair as the ship slowly picked up speed. The next couple of seconds were going to be the worst, Joshua realized, since that he no longer had control over the ship's fate. It was all up to the rookie helmsman. Joshua looked up to the viewscreen, and saw that fate hanging directly in front of them.
 "10000 kilometers... 8000..." whispered the helmsman tauntly, as he gazed at the screen intently. Joshua took a deep breath and prepared for what was going to happen next. "5000... 3000... 1000..."
 Joshua gripped the seat he was holding onto tightly as he held his breath.
 "500 kilometers! Banking away!" shouted the helmsman, as he piloted the ship into a sharp bank to the right. Joshua could feel the floor beneath him vibrate and tilt as the image of the Dark Flagship slid out of view to the left. A moment later, the helmsman shouted out again.
 "Releasing dreadnought! Here goes nothing!!"
 Joshua turned to the young helmsman with a look of surprise, as he realized the helmsman had just used an Earth expression. It was uncommon to see the influence of another world's culture affect the people of Io, especially young ones.
 Joshua's thoughts were cut short as a tremendous flash of brilliant light appeared from the viewscreen. Joshua looked away, blinking rapidly to clear his eyes as the light died away.
 "WE GOT 'EM!!" screamed the helmsman in front of Joshua as he shook his fist in the air in defiance. Joshua stood up straight and exhaled the deep breath he had been holding for what seemed like an eternity. He smiled as cheers of triumph erupted from the crew members around the room.
 "Good job, helmsman." Joshua said, gripping the helmsman's shoulder. He received a huge grin in return. "Now... what is the status of the dark fleet?"
 The helmsman turned back to his instruments as the laughter and cheer faded away from the room. Joshua watched as the helmsman's face slowly changed from a large grin, to a dark frown.
 "The Dark Fleet's flagship and all of it's escorts have been destroyed, sir." spoke the helmsman, not looking up from his station. "That's the good news, though. The bad news is that almost 90 percent of the remaining Dark Fleet have turned their attention towards us. Sir... more than twenty ships are bearing down on us."
 Joshua could feel the entire mood of the ship change almost as dramatically as it had moments before.
 "Contact the other ships that are providing us escort, including fighters. Tell them we are getting out of here... NOW. Have them follow us, and make for the opposite side of Mars."
 "Yes, sir."
 "Also, contact the carriers behind Mars, and tell them to be ready. It looks like we are going to have to make a run for life."
 Joshua slowly made it back to his seat as the crew rushed to carry out his orders. He felt the ship begin to move once again, this time in a completely different direction. His planned had worked... he had destroyed the main part of the Dark Fleet. But, the outcome of his actions were worse than he thought. If the dark ships managed to over-take his now retreating fleet... he didn't even want to think about the possibilities.
 "Sir?"
 "Yes, helmsman?"
 "We... we are beginning to be over taken by the enemy, sir. Within seconds they will be within weapons range of our escorts."
 "I understand." replied Joshua calmly. "Just keep going."
 "Aye, sir. I--" the helmsman began, suddenly stopping as the entire ship shook violently. Joshua watched as warning lights came on all over the room.
 "They have opened fire, sir!" screamed the tac. officer from behind Joshua, as another blast rocked the ship. Joshua gripped his chair tightly as the ship bounced around underneath him. On the viewscreen, small flashes of light were fading in and out, each one the result of another ship exploding.
 "Tell the other ships to keep moving! Don't stop!" commanded Joshua as he swiveled his chair around to face his tac. officer. "How long until we reach the carriers?"
 "One minute, twenty-three seconds."
 Joshua could do nothing but nod and turn back around. He wasn't sure if the fleet would last that long.
 "Ships are going up all over! The 'Hurricane', 'Tiger Eye', and 'Avenger' have just been destroyed!" ranted the helmsman, looking back at Joshua with wild eyes. Joshua was about to reply, when another blast slammed into the ship. This time, however, the ship did more than shake. As the blast struck, several large explosions rocked the command room, coming from various control stations around the place. Joshua barely had time to look around at all the fire, smoke, and shouting that was going on, when a second blast quickly followed the first.
 As it struck, Joshua managed to turn his head in time to see the helmsman's control panel instantly explode in a fountain of fire and energy which blasted the helmsman backwards, screaming in pain, out of his chair and to the ground. Joshua was instantly out of his chair and swooping down upon the helmsman's limp body as the ship shuddered and groaned from hull damage. It only took one glance at the frozen look of terror on the helmsman's face as a large piece of shrapnel protruded from the young boy's left temple to confirm Joshua's fears.
 The helmsman was dead.
 Rising to his feet slowly, Joshua paused for a moment as he let the realization the boy's death sink in. It only took a couple seconds for the acidic smoke that had filled the room to cause Joshua to cough violently and blink rapidly. Flailing his arms in front of him, as he coughed, in a vain attempt to clear some of the smoke, Joshua stumbled forward through the grayish mist until he came upon the station where the helmsman had just been sitting at only moments before. Joshua quickly sat down and began to swiftly move his fingers over the touch-sensitive buttons on the panel in front of him, checking the ships position and status. Joshua's eyes began to water from the smoke in the air as he stared at the status screen on the console. A status report appeared on the screen, informing him that there was several breeches in the ship's hull from energy blasts. Shouts from others in the room, which he could not see, told him that at least a couple of the crew were still alive. Pushing that, and all other thoughts aside, Joshua concentrated on piloting the ship. It was impossible for him to make out the viewscreen, because of the smoke, so he was limited to the equipment that was still working even after the console had exploded. From what he could make out, the helmsman had stuck the ship on a pre-defined course that would take the ship directly to the spot Joshua had ordered before he died. The position status told him that they we're fifteen seconds from cresting the other side of Mars, and coming within weapons range of his carriers. All he needed to do was keep the ship alive for that long, and the carriers would do the rest. He realized that sounded easier than it felt.
 He slowly counted down the seconds, each tick of the clock adding more tension to his already terse body. Joshua counted downed the final seconds and quickly slammed his hand down on the communication panel and prayed that it still worked.
 "CARRIERS! OPEN FIRE!!" screamed Joshua, hoping that his message was actually reaching anyone. For a couple tense moments, Joshua wasn't sure anything was going to happen. Then, without warning, a voice suddenly crackled through the smoke-filled air.
 "'Firestorm Legend', this is the carrier 'Iosion Dream'... we're engaging the enemy now. I repeat... we are engaging the enemy now."
 Joshua slumped back in his seat, sighing deeply. A small, gratifying smile appeared on his face as he made out flashes of light coming from the veiled viewscreen. With each flash, Joshua felt that the helmsman's death, who's name Joshua didn't even know, was being revenged...
 

    ****
 

 "It turned out that only the four carriers, the 'Firestorm Legend', and three ships had managed to surive the encounter with the Dark Fleet. Limping foolishly through the solar system, he finally managed to reach the moon, but he was already to late thanks to the Dark Fleet. Besides, he could not have been any help anyways, with his fleet in the condition it was. Landing on the moon, he found nothing but ruins. He finally found Queen Serenity's body laid up against a broken column. With the help of his suriving crew members, he buried her in the almost completely destroyed gardens of the Moon Palace. Realizing that you must be dead, he left the moon... and never returned again."
 All Luna could do was stare at Traquen hopelessly as a small smile reappeared on his face.
 "So you see? He still loved you! But, it is a pity he will never be able to tell that to you again!" Traquen called, advancing a step towards Luna. Tuxedo Moogle quickly stood in front of her and held his sword outward facing Traquen.
 "Matt... remember, Joshua is in there somewhere. Don't hurt him..." Luna whispered as the tears welled in her eyes.
 "Oh yes. Please don't hurt me, Light-man! You might hurt King Joshua, too." called Traquen, roaring with laughter.
 "Don't worry, Luna. I'll just stop him."
 "With what? That toothpick of a weapon? Hahahahaha..." screamed Traquen as took another step forward. Tuxedo Moogle suddenly lunged at him with his sword poised near his head.
     "So it ends, Light-man." yelled Traquen as he brought his wrists forward, "INFERNAL DARKNESS!"
 With a flash of black, a huge beam of black energy shot out of Traquen's hands. The beam connected with Tuxedo Moogle's hands, causing his long sword to be rocketed from his hands and onto the ground. Tuxedo Moogle quickly pulled his hands into his stomach and doubled over in from the pain from them. He let loose a grunt of pain as he crumbled to his knees.
 "TUXEDO MOOGLE!" Screamed Luna as she charged toward him.
 "Fool! Get away from him, Cat! Your turn is soon in coming." said Traquen as he kicked Luna away and across the floor with all his might. He slowly turned back to face Tuxedo Moogle as Luna collapsed onto the ground, "I see you finally kneeled to me, Light-man. If it was not for your damn perception... I would have not had to remove the altered herbs from you friends. And right now, they would not be moving through my castle, defeating my guards."
 Tuxedo Moogle continued to moan in pain from his hands as Traquen advanced toward him. Traquen stopped and looked down at Tuxedo Moogle.
 "You are a weak fool, Light-man. And you will die for that. What is that old Earth saying? Survival of the fittest?"
   "No.. it's... ''Good ALWAYS triumphs over EVIL!!'" Tuxedo Moogle shouted as he suddenly stopped moaning and smiled up at the startled Traquen. "MOOGLE.. LIGHT... BEAM!!!"
 As quickly as he said it, he raised his hands and grabbed a hold of the stunned Traquen's mid-section. He smiled knowingly and shouted.
 "ENERGIZE!!!" Moogle screamed as a huge blast of fiery light exploded from his hands and slammed into Traquen's stomach and torso. With a mighty scream, Traquen launched backwards into the air and flew back into his throne. He paused for a moment, his dark eyes staring at Tuxedo moogle, then collapsed lifelessly. Tuxedo Moogle stood slowly and went to the wounded Luna.
 "Luna? Are you ok? How bad is it?" Moogle asked as he tried to stop the flow of blood gushing from her side.
 "I'll... I'll live... it was just a kick..." Luna weakly whispered as she looked up Tuxedo Moogle. "Did we.. did we do it?"
 "Yes... I think that's the end of Traquen. Let's get the others and go home. Ok?" Tuxedo Moogle whispered as he stroked her head. The wound looked severe. He would have to get her medical attention, and soon.
 "O-Ok... I.. I just wish we didn't have to..." Luna managed to get out before she blacked-out.
 Tuxedo Moogle was about to stand with Luna in his arms, when a hideous laugh filled the entire room. It bounced from wall to wall, becoming louder as it echoed. Slowly, Moogle stood up, wide-eyed, and turned to the throne.
 "Did not have to what? Kill me? Hahahaha... you think it is that easy to get rid of me?" shouted the now-standing Traquen. He had no visible wounds and appeared completely awake and well. A wicked smile curved onto his face.
 "Anymore tricks, Light-man?"

   ****

 "Feel that, Light-man? THAT'S true power!!" Traquen shouted as a beam of dark energy continued to pummel Tuxedo Moogle.
 Tuxedo Moogle was against the back wall now, high in the air. He was being pushed into it by a beam of vile energy being discharged from Traquen. The pain of the energy was unbearable, a little more and Tuxedo Moogle would slip into unconsciousness.
 "Scouts... I..errrggg... I.. failed you..." Moogle whispered as the electricity coursed through him. He knew it was the end, and that he had failed to keep his promise to the girls, to Serena. And now, so fitting and ironic, he was going to die just like Tuxedo Mask did.
 *You did not fail us Matt! We're here for you!*
 Moogle suddenly picked up his head. That voice... it didn't come from anywhere in the room. It was inside his head. It was Serena's voice.
 "S-ss-Serena? What--?"
 "VENUS CRESENT BEAM... SMASH!"
 The voice echoed through the Hall, much like Traquen's did. It didn't have a source, it just seemed to come from everywhere. Traquen looked around with a startled look on his face.
 "What? Who said that?" Traquen screamed as he looked around frantically. Suddenly, a yellow beam of light appeared in front of Tuxedo Moogle out of thin air, slicing through Traquen's dark beam,  and slammed into the hands of Traquen. He screamed in pain, and halted the beam of energy. He grabbed his hands as Tuxedo Moogle tumbled through the air to the ground and to his knees.
 "What!?" screamed Traquen, looking around wildly.
 "JUPITER THUNDER CRASH!"
 "MARS FIRE IGNITE!!"
 The two voices echoed trough the hall just as the first one had. This time, a fireball, crackling with electricity, appeared in front of Tuxedo Moogle, much like the beam of light first had, and plowed itself into the stunned Traquen. He was sent sprawling backwards from the force of the blast.
 "Who is doing that?!" he shouted, trying to stand under intense amounts of pain.
 *Matt! We give you our power! Use it! Rise again and deafeat Joshua! Please!*
 It was Serena's voice again, he had heard it clearly this time. He was still puzzled as how the scouts voices and powers made it into the room.
 "S-Serena? What? I-I don't understand!" Tuxedo Moogle spoke aloud as he gazed around, bewildered.
 *Use our power! Call it to your side and use it to defeat Joshua!*
 Tuxedo Moogle realized what the scouts were asking of him. He slowly rose to his feet and raised his hands.
 "I call upon the power of the Sailor Scouts! Lend me your power and strength, so i may beat back this evil!"
 A second later, a group of voices rang out through the room, echoing off of the walls.
 "MARS POWER!"
 "JUPITER POWER!"
 "VENUS POWER!"
 "MOON CRYSTAL POWER!!"
 Tuxedo Moogle suddenly felt his strength return. He slowly looked at Traquen, and knew what he needed to do to beat him.
 "MOOGLE... LIGHT... POWER!!!" shouted Tuxedo Moogle as he became bathed in a soft white light. He watched as the power of the Scouts slowly merged with his. His clothes suddenly changed to a pure white tuxedo and cape. His hair suddenly flashed with light and became long and silver, almost like Joshua's, only much longer. A glowing long sword appeared into his hand.
 Tuxedo Moogle looked ahead and whispered to Traquen in a hollow, unnatural voice as a aura of white energy surrounded him.
 "I am the embodiment of hope left in all here on Io..." called Tuxedo Moogle as Traquen watched, dumfounded. Tuxedo Moogle didn't even sound as if he was controling his own words. "I am the whole of the power of the Sailor Scouts... I am... Super Tuxedo Moogle!"
 "I do not care HOW much help you get!! I am going to kill you no matter what! Die, Light-man!!" screamed Traquen wildly as he charged Tuxedo Moogle, a dark-colored sword appearing in his hands. It appeared to be some type of claymore, only slightly larger.
 As he charged, Moogle pulled a white rose from his lapel and flung it at Traquen with all his might. It sank into Traquen's shoulder without slowing him. He still continued to charge at a incredible speed. Moogle had no attacks left that were fast enough to stop Traquen. He realized he might die, even though he had the scouts power with him. He had one chance... he only hoped it would work. Sailor Moon had told him about her attack that allowed her to heal people. He only hoped he had that power now, thanks to the scouts.
 "MOOGLE CELESTIAL HEALING! ENERGIZE!" shouted Moogle as he held hand outward towards Traquen. For a moment, nothing happened. Then, without warning, Tuxedo Moogle released a huge blast of sparkling light energy toward Traquen, stopping Traquen dead in his tracks.
 "WHAT?! NNNOOOOOOOOOO!!" Traquen screamed as he began to shake violently. A moment later he was enveloped in a flash of black light that caused Moogle to shield his eyes. King Joshua's body crumbled to the ground lifelessly. Standing over it was a hideous shadow, twice the size of Matt. It began to laugh dementedly.
 "Now you see my true form, Light-man! Enjoy it... because it's the last thing you're going to see!!" crackled Traquen in a voice that caused Tuxedo Moogle to cup his ears. Traquen suddenly reared back and shouted.
 "DARK INFERNO!!!"
 With the words, he slowly began to glow black. He suddenly laughed and pointed his hands at the defenseless Super Tuxedo Moogle. Just as Tuxedo Moogle thought he was beat again, a voice rang out through the hall. It was the voice he least expected.
 "MERCURY BUBBLE!!"
 Instantly, the room filled with an ice-cold mist. Traquen screamed in bewilderment as he tried to see around.
 "Who the hell was that?!"
 "Mercury? Ami?! Is that you?" shouted Tuxedo Moogle as he, too, glanced around in the fog. A new voice answered in his head.
 *Yes! It's me! Please! You have to finish him now! While he's destracted!*
 "Yes, ma'am!!" Moogle shouted out as he smiled. Just in the nick of time, he thought.
 Tuxedo Moogle closed his eyes and cocked his sword back. He stretched out with his feelings, like Rei had taught him, and found Traquen in the fog. With an incredible blast of energy, he heaved his sword directly at the blinded Traquen and shouted, in a eerie voice:
 "NIRVANA... STRIKE!!"
 The sword suddenly exploded into a flash of light and sailed into the fog, resembling a small comet. The next thing Moogle heard and saw was the sound of Taquen being impaled through the chest, and his sword exploding.
 "NNNNOOOOOOO!! This is not the end, Light-man!! I WILL BE BACK!!" Traquen shouted as the fog disappeared reveling him with a giant hole in his shadow-like chest. He looked up, screamed, and disappeared in a blast of dark energy that knocked Super Tuxedo Moogle backwards onto the ground.
 "Whoa." whispered Moogle, taking huge, quick breaths. As he did, the Royal Hall began to violently shake. He could see the various decorations and tapistries on the wall begin to vibrate and fall.
 "Uh oh... it's looks like this place is coming apart! Scouts? Can you hear me?!" Moogle shouted into space.
 *Yes we can! we are all here in the dungeon. It's not just the Royal Hall that's coming down. It's the whole castle! We're teleporting out now! Hurry and leave before the place comes down on you!*
 "Don't have to tell me twice!" Matt shouted as he rose to his feet, trying to keep his balance in the shaking room. Large chunks of the crystal ceiling began to rain down upon him. He quickly ran to Luna, scooped her up, and ran to Joshua's prone body. He wasn't about to let the innocent King die for actions that were not his own. Grabbing Joshua's prone body, Moogle flung him over his shoulder and shouted out, over the tremendous noise:
 "MOOGLE LIGHT WARP!"
 Instantly, Luna, Joshua, and he began to disappear in the teleport energy. As they did,  Joshua slowly opened his eyes. He blinked, then smiled wickedly as he teleported away with Tuxedo Moogle. His eyes were glowing.
 And they were glowing black.
 

 *** The End ***

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