Silence.
 With every sense stretched to the limit, Sailor Io slowly turned around in a circle, looking for any sign of movement or action. The incredibly thick forest that he was in was providing excellent coverage for his pray, he thought, as he surveyed the scene around him. All around him rose enormous trees which blocked his vision to the area around him. At his feet a small brook flowed past, it's gentle waters lapping up against several rocks in the current, two of which Sailor Io had taken to standing on as his eyes flicked around, watching. He knew something was happening, even though he couldn't see it, because all noise had stopped, including the various birds that had been singing when he had first arrived.
  Gripping the Staff of Io in his hands tighter as he looked, he could feel adrenaline filling his muscles with a feeling of increased strength and power. It was helping to increase his reflexes, but it was also causing him to become giddy and jumpy. He knew that any moment, he was going to be attacked.
 As if fate had read his mind, no sooner had he managed to think the idea, then it came true. Sailor Io instantly whirled on his feet, just in time to catch the sight of a dark shadow moving through the forest near him. Before he had a chance to react fully, the shadow changed direction and leapt from the foliage, charging Sailor Io.
 The dark shadow was Tuxedo Moogle, with his sword in hand and aimed directly at Sailor Io.
 "Ha!" shouted Sailor Io, as he heaved the Staff of Io over his head vertically, blocking an over-head swing by Tuxedo Moogle with part of the staff between his hands. A fury of blows and blocks quickly followed, each one of the combatants uttering nothing other than the occasional grunt. Which every slash of Tuxedo Moogle's blade, Sailor Io blocked expertly and countered with his own sweeps, using the business end of his staff. To Sailor Io's dismay, and slight aggravation, Tuxedo Moogle also blocked every blow effortlessly, and kept Sailor Io at arm's length. After about 30 seconds of intense blocking and slashing, Sailor Io suddenly jumped backwards, away from Tuxedo Moogle, and brought his staff above his head once again. This time, however, he had plans other than just blocking.
 "IO... STORM... FLARE!" shouted Sailor Io, dropping the cresent-moon end of the Staff of Io pointing straight towards Tuxedo Moogle. From the end of the staff, a seering bolt of lightning appeared, careening towards Tuxedo Moogle at a enormous speed. Even so, Tuxedo Moogle moved quickly enough to side-step the blast of energy as it approached. Sailing past, Tuxedo Moogle listened as the bolt slammed into a tree that had been a ways behind where Moogle had been, causing a loud hissing sound as the bolt fried off a section of bark from the tree. Looking back, Moogle could see a large burn mark in the tree where the bolt had struck. He whistled slightly, and turned around to face Sailor Io again, who had lowered his staff and was trying to regain his breath.
 "That was really impressive, Joshua." Tuxedo Moogle spoke, also lowering his weapon. He slowly approached Sailor Io, who looked up at him and smiled sheepishly.
 "Thanks," heaved Sailor Io, "I have no idea where it came from... but it sure took alot out of me."
 "I know what that's like, believe me." replied Tuxedo Moogle, smiling slightly. "Your going to find out that your new power is going to allow you to focus your built up energy into various, intense forms. What you just did there is just one outlet for your energy you have at your disposal. As time goes on, I'm sure you will develop other techniques to use."
 "I do not know, Matt..." Sailor Io spoke, moving to a large rock on the edge of the brook and sitting down on it. "Are you sure letting me have access to this power is safe? I mean... what if Traquen returns and manages to take over my body again? Would not he have access to this power, too?"
 "True." said Tuxedo Moogle, moving to take a seat next to Sailor Io. Sailor Io noticed that he was barely winded. "But, hopefully the power will re-enforce your mental defenses, so you will be able to fight off any attacks Traquen might make on you."
 "I sure hope so... I might just be learning the extent of my powers... but Traquen seems to be someone who has had lots of experience with power." Sailor Io said, with grim humor. "I am sure he would have no problem using my own power against me... or you."
 "That's just one risk we are going to have to take. I wish there was a safer way, but from what I have learned about the Scouts powers, this seems to be the only solution unique to handle your... unique situation."
 "Even so..." began Sailor Io, taking a pause as he looked at Tuxedo Moogle, then away. "I know that none of you can trust me very much after what I did to all of you back on Io... especially what I did to Ami."
 "That wasn't you, though." countered Tuxedo Moogle, removing his eye-mask and turning to face Sailor Io. "You had no control over your actions, and all of us understand that. No one thinks your any fault, and no one is suspicious of you, either. The only thing that we're concerned with is the possibility that Traquen will make another appearance."
 "No... that is not the only thing, Matt, and you know it." snapped Sailor Io. "You and I both know that not all of you have forgiven me. And I am not sure I can live with knowing that she despises me so much."
 Turning away from Tuxedo Moogle, Sailor Io fell into a deep silence as he gazed at the forest. After a moment, Tuxedo Moogle took a hold of his shoulder and broke the silence.
 "I'm sure Ami will come around, Joshua..." spoke Tuxedo Moogle, his voice soft and sympathetic. "Your just going to have to give her time. Ami is a very analytical and intelligent person, Joshua. After the initial shock wears off, she'll realize that it wasn't your fault and she will forgive you. Trust me."
 Instead of replying, Sailor Io squeezed the smoothed wood of the Staff of Io in his hands tighter. He knew that Matt held no hard feelings, and neither did most of the other scouts. In fact, Matt was the closest thing Joshua ever had to a friend.  But, no matter how hard he tried, he just could not get the image of Ami's bruised and tear-filled face, as Traquen... as he had beaten her from his mind. It was something that Joshua knew that would haunt him for the rest of his life. And if he didn't do something, anything, he knew that it was going to drive him to the brink of insanity.
 And possibly straight over the edge.

     ****

 "Hello?" Matt called, pushing open the front door of Serena's house and looking in. "We're back!"
 Entering quietly, Matt, followed by Joshua, walked to the center of the foyer and stopped, listening for a reply. From in the kitchen around the corner, Mina's voice rang out.
 "Hi! How did the training go?" Mina called from around the corner. Matt, surprised that Mina was there, quickly scanned the house with his mind and found the presence of Serena, Lita, Luna, and Mina in the house.
 Matt turned to look at Joshua standing next to him, just as Joshua turned to gaze at Matt. Both were completely soaked from head to toe, and both sported large black-and-blue marks on their face and arms. Smiling sheepishly, both turned their heads back to the direction of the kitchen and call out in perfect unison:
 "Fine."
 A moment later, Mina and Lita appeared around the corner and stopped short as both caught a glimpse of the dirty and bruised Joshua and Matt standing there soaked, sporting large, foolish grins.
 "W... what happened?!" uttered Lita, the first to snap out of her initial shock. Her wide eyes scanned the duo from head to toe, growing wider with every pass.
 "Uh..." began Matt, looking at Joshua for help. He found Joshua already staring at him with a completely helpless gaze. "... well... you see..."
 "Everything was going fine..." cut in Joshua, his eyes looking around the room. "until... until I got hit by Matt's foot in the... the... uh..."
 Lita and Mina noticed Joshua turn bright red. As they realized what Joshua was trying to say, it took all their control to keep to from bursting out laughing.
 "Anyways..." continued Matt, seeing that the girls got the basic idea of what Joshua was trying to say. "After that... it... it sorta got ugly."
 "Men." sighed Lita as she rolled her eyes. Matt and Joshua just looked at each other through the corner of their eyes. "I thought you two were going to be civilized about this. Instead, you come back looking like you had tried plowing each other into the mud. Well... all I can say is that you better both get cleaned up soon. We've decided to go to the beach today, seeing as how we're having such unusually warm weather today."
 "The beach? I have never been to a beach before." spoke Joshua, his eyes looking at Lita and Mina questioning.
 "Never?" replied Mina, astonishment in her voice.
 "You have to remember, Io only had three things on it. Wind, sand, and volcanoes. There are no oceans on Io. The only reason I even know what is a beach, is the fact that I have studied so much about Earth and it's culture.
 "Well, trust me Joshua... you going to love it!" exclaimed Mina. "But, you guys are going to have to hurry... we're leaving as soon as Rei and Philly get back from getting some towels, a volleyball, and some other things at Rei's temple. We've been making a picnic lunch here while they're gone."
 "Where's Serena?" questioned Matt.
 "She's upstairs getting changed around."
 "Speaking of which..." Matt said, flashing a glance at Joshua next to him. "What are we supposed to change into? Neither of us has 'beach' clothes."
 "We've already thought of that. We got both of you a pair of Darien's shorts from his apartment, so you better hurry and get changed." Lita answered. "We also told his landlord that he... would be gone for a while."
 "I see." said Matt, feeling the entire mood of the conversation change dramatically. He quickly changed the subject. Turning to Joshua, he said:
 "C'mon, Joshua. We better do what the ladies say. You know if we don't listen, they're going to hurt us worse than we could EVER do to ourselves."
 "I am right behind you!" chuckled Joshua, turning with Matt and racing up the stairs to the second floor. Lita and Mina sighed hopelessly as they disappeared out of sight.
 "Men..." both said in unison.

       ****

 "Joshua?"
 The call came from outside of Joshua's room's door. Joshua quickly lifted his head to the door as he recognized the voice of Philly. He had only met her a little while before, but from what he had seen, and heard about, he had instantly thought of Philly as just another one of the girls... even though she had been around only a short time. He noticed that the others treated her identically. It was like they allowed a complete stranger to enter their lives so dramatically before. Joshua was at a lost to explain it.
 "Yes, Philly! I'm here." replied Joshua, calling in the direction of his shut door. He had been busy tying the string tie on the pair of shorts he had been given. Either Darien had a liking to green, or Luna tipped the girls off to Joshua's favorite color, because the shorts he had been given were a solid dark green. Joshua noticed that he had seen very little of Luna after he had arrived on Earth, even after he regained his memory. Apparently, something had happened that Joshua was unaware of. He didn't know what to do. She didn't didn't interact with him much, and she didn't bring up the past. He had decided that he wasn't going to either, at least until she did.
 Joshua looked up from his shorts to see Philly enter his room and come to a stop near the door. She was dressed in a black and blue-striped bikini, with a white towel slung over her shoulder. She looked incredibly attractive in the outfit, Joshua noticed.
 "You wanted to see me? Is something wrong?" Joshua questioned, reaching down and scooping up a black t-shirt that belonged to Darien.
 "Oh! No, nothing's wrong. I just came to tell you that we're getting ready to leave." Philly replied, watching Joshua pull his t-shirt of his head. As he finished, he looked up at her.
 "Oh, ok. I'll be down in one minute, then." said Joshua. He watched as Philly turned around and began to leave the room. As she did, he cleared his throat, catching her attention.
 "Uh... Philly? Can I ask you something?"
 "Of course! What do you want to ask me?" Philly answered, turning back to Joshua.
 "Why... why did you come looking for me that day you showed up? How did you know about me?"
 "I..." started Philly, looking away. "I can't tell you."
 "Why not?"
 "Because..." Philly said, hesitating. Joshua could see the struggling look on her face. "Because I can't. I can't tell you why... I wish I could, it would make things so much easier... but I can't! It's imperative that you not know why or how."
 "But..." Joshua stuttered, groping for answers. "You know so much about me, and I know nothing about you. Where do you come from? How do you know about Io, Traquen, and me? Why did you come? Who are you?!"
 "I... I..." recoiled Philly. Joshua could see tears welling up in her eyes, and knew he had pushed her to far. Before he could do something, though, Philly bolted from the room without a word. Joshua rushed to the door and watched as the back-side of her body disappeared down the flight of stairs. He pulled his head back in and sighed.
 "She's such a mystery! Why can't see tell who she is or where she comes from? Why is it so damn important that we not know?" spoke Joshua aloud, to himself. He sighed one more time, and scooped up his own white towel, slinging it over his shoulder. After locating and putting on his shoes, he left his room, knowing no more about Philly than he did before. He could only hope that some point, she would finally be able to tell him. There was something about her that he couldn't quite put his finger on... but he was sure that he would be able to figure out what that "something" was, given enough time.

     ****

 "Ok... my serve! Prepare to lose!"
 "Ha... losing is not my style!" returned Rei as leapt into the air, intercepting the volleyball as it streaked past the net, having just been pounded by Lita. Slamming the ball with all her might, she watched as it instantly reversed direction and recrossed the top of the net.
 "Stupid sun... I knew I should have worn my sunglasses." spoke Serena distractedly, as she held her hand up into the air to block the sight of the sun in the air.
 The move proved to be a poor one.
 With a 'smack!' loud enough to make everyone playing cringe, the ball that Rei hit connected with the distracted Serena's face. She was on her back, stunned, instantly. A moment later, she began to cry heavily.
 "Rei! You did that on purpose!!" screamed Serena as she rubbed her sore face. No one wanted to tell her that she had a large red mark from the bridge of her nose to her right cheek.
 "Serena, you ditz, why would I want to do that?" retorted Rei, placing her hands on her hips.
 "You... you don't like me!!" called Serena, crying even louder.
 "Geez, Serena..... it's your own stupid fault! If you had kept your eye on the ball, you wouldn't have gotten hit!"
 Instead of replying, Serena rose to her feet and stomped off to where the group had set up their towels. They still had not began their picnic lunch Lita and Mina made. As Serena left, the rest of the group faced each other. The two teams had been Rei and Mina and Lita, Serena, and Philly. Now, each member of the remaining group looked at each other.
 "Looks like that's the end of the game..." commented Mina, glancing at the calm ocean to her right. It was too cold to go swimming, because of the lateness of the year, but the unusually warm day had brought quite a few people to the beach. All around the group, tiny clusters of people sat, or played, each enjoying the gorgeous afternoon.
 "Does... does volleyball always end this way?" asked Philly, shyly. It turned out that before that day, she had never once played the game. Seeing it as their "grand mission" to show Philly a good time at the beach, which she had confessed to as never going to one, the girls had decided to play a game or two before they ate. Declining the game, Matt and Joshua had decided to go for a nice jog up and down the beach. Of course, you had to be blind not to see that the "nice jog" was going to turn into another one of their competitions to see who's faster, or better, or whatever. The group had decided to play until Matt and Joshua got back, then they would all sit down and eat.
 It looked like they would be sitting down early, now.
 "No, Philly..... only OUR games." replied Mina, answering Philly's question. Slowly, the group moved from the set-up net to the area to where the towels, and now Serena, were. As they reached the half-way point, Mina spotted two dark figures in the distance moving straight for the picnic site. A moment later, she realized it was Matt and Joshua. Both were racing towards the girls at an incredible pace.
 "Wow... look at them move..." spoke Lita, whistling softly.
 "My money is on Matt. He can beat Joshua easily." Rei commented, watching the two figures continuing to move towards the girls with unbelievable speed.
 "No way. Joshua can move faster than Matt. No contest." returned Mina, shielding her eyes from the blinding sun to get a better look at the approaching duo. Lita nodded in agreement to Mina's opinion. Rei thought she could detect a hint of blushing in both of them.
 After a moment of silence as the entire group watched, Philly suddenly spoke up.
 "Uh... I hate to interrupt..." Philly said, interrupting the silence. "But... does Joshua see that large beach umbrella sticking in the ground in his way?"
 The group looked in unison at the colorful umbrella in question. It was jutting up from the ground, extended, right in the middle of the path Joshua was taking. Before any of the girls could do anything, Joshua reached the umbrella and disappeared behind it without slowing down. The girls watched with horror as the figure of Joshua appeared to run straight into it. But, to their absolute shock, Joshua suddenly appeared above the umbrella, leaping into the air, and pulled a tight flip over the umbrella.
 "Holy--!" said Lita and Mina, in unison, as Joshua completed his flip, landed, and began running again without missing a beat. He had barely lost two feet's distance from Matt.
 "Now who do you think is going to win, Rei?" asked Mina, smugly. Rei replied with a small smile, and turned back to the two approaching figures.
 A minute later, Matt and Joshua reached the picnic site, neither able to get ahead of the other. To the girls' surprise, instead of stopping, Matt and Joshua pivoted on their heels in perfect unison as they passed and began to race down towards the ocean.
 "Where are you guys going?!" shouted Lita, calling after them.
 "To cool off!" replied Joshua, his voice winded. He continued to run, without stopping, to the ocean. Passing right through the volleyball area to reach it, Joshua ducked as he ran to avoid the net. The girls watched with surprise as Matt, instead ducking like Joshua, suddenly ducked into a crouch and jumped into the air. Passing over the volleyball net in a head-first dive, Matt cleared the top of the net with over a foot to spare. As he came down, he flung his hands in front of him and used them to tuck himself into a roll as he reached the ground on the other side. He instantly rose to his feet from the roll, racing after Joshua without ever stopping once.
 "Yes! Go MATT!" shouted Serena from her seat at the picnic site. The other girls glanced at her briefly, then turned back to Matt and Joshua as they reached the frigid waters of the ocean and lunged into the foaming broth without pausing. As they shouted with exhilaration in the water, the girls turned away smiling and completed their trip back to the picnic site, where they promptly got towels ready for Matt and Joshua on their return.
 Exiting the ocean quickly, Matt and Joshua moved away from the cold ocean towards their site as fast as still possible. Gratefully accepting their towels once they arrived, Matt and Joshua collapsed onto the cloth spread laid out on the ground.
 "Are you alright, Matt?" asked Serena, looking at the heavily-breathing Matt, who had closed his eyes.
 "I'm... I'm fine, Serena" replied Matt, winded. He opened his eyes and looked up at Serena on his left. "I'm... I'm just tired. We must have ran at least two miles at our fastest pace."
 "If not more than that..." added Joshua, who was breathing as heavily as Matt was. "At least it sure felt longer! I feel like I have been running forever."
 Matt chuckled softly and turned to look at Joshua lying next to him.
 "Slowing down in your old age, Joshua?"
 "Hey... I am still young enough to beat you... sonny." retorted Joshua, also smiling. He realized Matt had a point though... Joshua was already more than ten times what the normal life-span was for the average Earthling. Of course, in Iosion terms, he was in the prime of his life.
 "Ok, you two. Honestly, you two fight like children." said Rei, cutting in on Matt and Joshua's mud-slinging. Both gave her a "What? Who... Me?" look and smiled. She sighed in exasperation and continued. "Anyways... we're eating now."
  Relaxing, Matt and Joshua enjoyed the enormous picnic lunch Lita had prepared, with Mina's help. With everything from sandwiches, fruit, dessert, tea and ice tea, the group was completely stuffed by the end of the meal, with plenty of food left over. Lounging around lazily in the sun after the large lunch, Rei and Philly suggested that they started another volleyball game.
 "Sure. I'll play." said Lita, getting up to join Rei and Philly. "How about you, Matt?"
 "Well... all right. I'll play, too." said Matt, getting up and brushing off his black shorts. As he stood, Serena stood up also.
 "Can I play, too?"
 Rei about to reply, when Philly suddenly rushed over and cupped her hand over Rei's mouth.
 "Of course, Serena." said Philly, glancing at Rei quickly. She got a dirty look in return.
 "Mina? Joshua?"
 "Uh... I think I going to go work on my tan." responded Mina, putting on a pair of sunglasses. "You don't mind, do you?"
 "No, that's alright. What about you Joshua? Will you play with us?"
 "No... I think I am just going lie here and relax." Joshua said. "I never even played volleyball."
 "That's no problem, it's easy to learn. We can teach you like we taught Philly."
 "Perhaps I will take you up on that offer...but not just right now."
 "Ok... but you know where to find us if you want to play. Just come on over, ok?"
 "I will." Joshua answered, smiling. He watched as everyone left to the volleyball net except Mina, who had turned away and put on a set of headphones which were softly playing some new rock group on a CD in Mina's portable player.
 For all intents, Joshua had been left alone.
 As he sat watching the group start up the game, with Matt/Serena/Philly as a team and Lita/Rei as another, he couldn't help but let his mind wonder to the one thing that had been bugging him since he regained his memories. The one thing that was missing at the beach, besides Luna and Artemis, who opted not to come.
 Ami.
 Ever since he had transformed into Sailor Io, almost his memories had come flooding back to him. Strangely, the only thing that he was having trouble with was a period of time between the point the scouts had arrived on Io, and several months previous. It was like the section of his life was being blocked out for some reason he couldn't explain. The only hint he had to go on was that it was the time period that the appearance of Traquen in him would have occurred.
 One memory that he had managed to regain was the memory of the awful things Traquen had made him do to Ami.  She had not communicated with any of the group since they returned from Io a couple weeks previous. In the three-week coma Joshua had suffered, alot of things had changed. And she was one of them. He wanted to talk to her so bad... tell her he was sorry... that he would never hurt her. She had filled his thoughts since he had become Sailor Io a couple days before. He wanted to go see her so bad... but group wouldn't let him, telling him that it might not be such a good idea. But, they didn't know the anguish that Joshua was in, or how much the situation had affected him. Externally, he gave no signs of the tempest brewing within. He knew that he had to do something soon, or he would go mad. He couldn't go on with someone living in withdrawal and with no life thanks to him. He had to help... he had to repair the damage he did. The only thing he could think of was to sneak off in the night to Ami's and try to talk to her... try to help her. If her mother wasn't away from the country because of business, from what the scouts had told him, all hell would have broken loose with Ami's condition. But, that also meant that Ami was alone, and he could approach her and perhaps get a chance to convince her that he was not there to hurt her before she could alert anyone that he was there. If he could get a big enough window of opportunity, he might just be able to clear up the entire situation. The only problem was the time when that window was. He would have to leave when no one would know he was gone, and when Ami couldn't see him coming. The only chance he would have would be in the middle of the night, once everyone was asleep.
 Joshua realized what he was going to do. He would leave in the middle of the night and make his way to Ami's. He would go to her and attempt to show her that he was not there to hurt her. If her could do that, all the anguish that punished him would disappear. Knowing that the pain would only continue to throb and grow, he knew he needed to do it as soon as possible.
 He would do it that very night.
 

     ****
 

 In the beating of a heart, Joshua was awake and sitting.
 Knowing that time was of the essence, Joshua quickly flung off his blanket to one side and swung his feet over the bed. Connecting with the floor, he rose quickly and walked stealthily to his dresser, where he had laid out a pile of clothes. Dressing silently in a completely black outfit, Joshua glanced out the window and noticed an almost full moon gazing back at him. Joshua couldn't make out the time exactly, but he knew that it was sometime shortly before eleven. All of Serena's house had gone to bed rather early, luckily for Joshua, because of the tiring day the beach. The group had returned to their respective homes at about five o'clock. After having a small supper, which Serena made with the help of Philly, the group had retired to the living room and chatted until about nine o'clock, when Philly and Luna went to bed. Shortly afterward, Serena went up and could be heard snoring five minutes later. Joshua thought that Matt had figured out that he was up to something because he didn't go to bed with the others. But after about another five minutes, he also said good-night to Joshua and went to bed. Joshua went up shortly afterward, and fell into a light sleep until it was time to make his move. Thanks to his Iosion internal clock, he had managed to wake up almost precisely when he wanted to. He now rushed to get ready to go. He felt slightly nervous at the prospect of what he was doing. He had been through alot of things in his life, but the repercussions of his actions, physically and morally, would be with him for a long time if he didn't do this perfectly.
 Sliding into his dark green boots, Joshua quickly moved to his door and opened it slowly, without making a sound. As he opened it, he reached over onto his dresser and grabbed the Io Transformation Pen, quickly stuffing it in his pocket. With that done, he nodded to himself and left the room, closing the door slowly behind him. As soon as it clicked shut, Joshua quickly made his way to the stairway and down them, careful not to awaken anyone with his noise. Even though Matt's room, which was really Sammy's, was closest to the stairs, the one he had to worry about was Luna. Her sensitive cat hearing could be the undoing of him if he didn't stay quiet enough.
 Even though it seemed like a full-blown gauntlet of obstacles, Joshua finally found himself on the outside of the front door to the house, without being seen or heard. Taking a deep breath, he quickly broke out into jog down the road, with a brisk wind in his face. He realized that the night was certainly a lot colder then the day had been. It looked like the warm spell was over. Joshua knew that he had a slight jog ahead, according to Serena. He had hated to do it, but had he used his charm and savvy to draw the location of Ami's house out of the some-times slightly less than clear-headed Serena. Joshua knew Serena was a very pretty and a generally capable person, but her weakest point was her lack of wisdom. Even though he thought that way, he saw her as an incredibly attractive and wonderful person to be with. Joshua could see tensions between Serena and Matt on a romantic level, and understood why perfectly. Joshua wasn't even sure that he wouldn't be goggling Serena right now, if weren't for someone else that he just could not get out of his mind. When he thought about Ami, he just couldn't put into words every emotion and thought that ran through him. He wasn't even sure he knew himself. That was why he needed to speak with her, see her. Another thing also propelled him into trying to be with her, but it was one he didn't like to think about. He realized that Traquen had picked Ami for a certain reason, and Joshua was afraid that the reason might have something to do with Joshua. When the group had first come to Io, hurt badly by a windstorm, Joshua had visited each one of them while they were all unconscious in the sick rooms. Of course, he was been controlled by Traquen at that point... but he was afraid something that Traquen hadn't expected might have happened when Joshua/Traquen gazed upon the sleeping Ami. Traquen might have used that... something to damage Joshua in someway as he damaged Ami. And he'd be blind if didn't realize what that thing was... but he didn't want to think about it, or it's consequences.
 Joshua put all his thoughts aside as he noticed Ami's road approaching in the distance. With each step closer to her house, Joshua's nervousness grew. He had handled the affairs of an entire planet for over a millennium and had faced a dark force that had attempted to control him without faltering... but never had one person so affect his very being. He was dedicated in body, mind, and spirit to at least see Ami again with his own eyes. If only he could show her how much he cared for her and her well-being, he'd have no doubt that she would forgive him in an instant. The only problem was:
 How would he do that?
 He didn't have long to ponder the question, because the house that, according to Serena, was Ami's came into sight. He stopped as he approached it, and scanned the area. The house was just another small, white house in the middle of the block, which was composed mostly medium-class residents. Almost every house on the block looked virtually identical, minus the couple structural differences unique to each house. Joshua, ignorant to the concept of condominiums, figured that they were made slightly different so you could tell each one apart. Quickly approaching the house that Serena had told him was Ami's, Joshua began looking for a way to enter to house other than the front door. He slowly walked along the side of the house, over rather spongy grass, while his eyes darted across the side wall of the house. A moment later, his eyes locked on to the perfect thing. Joshua couldn't believe his luck.
 There was a balcony on the side.
 Granted, it was only big enough to two people out on it, and still have breathing room, but it was perfect for Joshua's needs. It would put him right on the second floor, and since Ami should be the only one there, all he had to do was search the second floor for her. At least, that's where he guessed her bedroom would be.
 As Joshua thought to himself, he noticed that the balcony was well beyond the range of a normal jump. Joshua could have transformed into Sailor Io, and made the jump without effort, but he did not want to take the risk of attracting attention. His only option was to focus his energy, without the help of the powers of Sailor Io, by himself, and hope it was enough to get him up there.
 Taking a slow, deep breath, he closed his eyes and relaxed. Letting all his anxiety slip away, he filled it's absence with his own energy. He filled is muscles with it, and waited until the moment felt right. An instant later, he jumped.
 The next moment Joshua perceived was slamming into the floor of the balcony on his feet, and almost stumbling back off the balcony. He quickly grabbed the guardrail and steadied himself. As he regained his balance, he looked out and began wondering why anyone would put a balcony there. Most of his view was blocked by the house next to him... and what wasn't blocked was quickly filled up by the houses around it. Joshua threw off the question, realizing he had more important things to do.
 Joshua moved to the glass sliding door and tested it. To his amazement, he found it to be unlocked. He guessed no one expected a thief to scale over 15 feet of sheer wall. Smiling to himself inwardly, he entered Ami's house. At least he wasn't a common thief.
 He couldn't believe what he saw when he entered. Through the darkness, Joshua could make out some of the features of the room he entered, which looked to be a bedroom. But, the one feature that interested him the most was the bed along the far wall in the middle of the room.
 Joshua could see someone sleeping in it.
 His curiosity overtaking him, Joshua moved from the sliding door, which he left open for noise's sake, to the side of the bed. As his eyes adjusted to the darkness, his breath caught up in his throat as he looked down upon that familiar bob of blue hair that was now spread out across a pillow like the rays of the sun.
 Joshua had found Ami.
 For awhile, Joshua did nothing but stand over her sleeping body and absorb every darkened feature of her peaceful face, so that it permanently burned into his memory. Joshua couldn't even begin to describe everything that was happening to him, but he knew that he had to stick to the task at hand. Slowly, Joshua laid his hand upon her shoulder, and shook ever so gently. The result was like electricity shooting through his veins. Instantly, Ami snapped awake and gripped his hand with an iron grip that caught Joshua off-guard.
 "Who's there?" Ami demanded, her voice like steel. Shocked, Joshua could do nothing other than stutter out a straight answer.
 "Joshua Derimond." whispered Joshua, his shock of Ami's sudden awareness wearing off. He felt his heart sink when he realized Ami had loosened her grip when he said his name. For a moment, there was absolute stillness in the room, as Joshua's name seemed to hang in the air. Then, without warning, Ami suddenly yanked away from Joshua and rolled out of her bed to her feet on the other side. Joshua realized that he was in trouble.
 With a flash, a lamp on a nightstand next to Ami came on, instantly flooding the room with illumination. Joshua finally got a good look at Ami... and did not like what he saw. Ami was staring straight at him with her feet planted into a stance. She was wearing a white night-gown which came to her knees. The night-gown highlighted the deep black-blue color of hair, which was now hanging down in front of her face wildly. Behind the strands of hair, Joshua could make a shadowed mask of absolute hatred and pain. Clutched low and tightly in both her hands in front of her, Ami held her transformation pen.
 "You..." Ami growled, her voice seething with anger and anguish. "I knew you would come back."
 "Wait, Ami..." Joshua said quickly, taking a step closer to his side of the bed. "I am not here to hurt you!"
 "You expect me to believe that? You've broken into my house... and now your telling me your not going to hurt me? After what you did to me?" spoke Ami, her voice becoming a wild shout. Joshua knew he had to calm her before all hell broke lose.
 "Ami... listen to me. I've come to talk to you! Not your hurt you!" replied Joshua, trying to calm her. "I'm not going to hurt you, I swear."
 "I knew bringing you to Earth had been a bad idea." replied Ami, cutting off the end of Joshua's sentence. "I knew you couldn't be trusted. It's looks like your going have to be defeated a second time. I believed that Matt had done it the first time... but I was wrong, wasn't I?."
 "Wait! Ami!" shouted Joshua, as he watched her raise her transformation pen over her head. "Oh, damn..."
 "MERCURY STAR POWER!!" screamed Ami, her pen releasing a blast of light-blue energy, which quickly engulfed her. Instantly, the energy faded and revealed Ami again, as Sailor Mercury. She slowly lowered her hand and pointed at Joshua.
 "This evil we believe to be defeated on Io..." called Sailor Mercury. As she spoke, Joshua slowly drew his hand behind his back and grabbed his own transformation pen. "For returning to do me and the others harm... you shall be punished in the name of the planet Mercury!"
 "Please Ami--" called Joshua, pleading. He didn't want to have to fight her.
 "SHINING... AQUA..." shouted Sailor Mercury, ignoring Joshua's plead. He realized he was all out of options.
 "IO TRANSFORMATION POWER!!" screamed Joshua, cutting off Sailor Mercury. Instantly, his pen flashed with with it's signature dark-green light from behind his back and engulfed him. Sailor Mercury faltered as she watched him disappear in the light and reappear, dressed in dark green tunic, pants, and boots. Covering the tunic was his plastic-like body armor, which was also dark green. From his shoulders, a long, dark cloak rested. Ami's gaze flashed from Joshua's body as he transformed to his right hand, where the ornate Staff of Io appeared, replacing his transformation pen. Joshua slowly looked at her, as her attack energy crackled around her, half focused into existence.
 "I am Sailor Io. I mean you no harm, Ami."
 "What...?" Sailor Mercury called weakly, just as the energy she had half-formed broke away from her faltered control and flared up wildly. Sailor Mercury barely had time to react before the energy exploded around her and engulfed her with her own energy. Sailor Io shielded his eyes with his cloak as Sailor Mercury gave one small sigh, and collapsed onto the ground. Her energy slowly dissipated into the air. As soon as her body hit the ground, Joshua was over her bed and on her in a second. He dropped his staff and cradled her into his arms.
 "Ami... Ami..." Sailor Io called softly, trying to revive her. He checked for a pulse, and found it to be strong and healthy. He let out a sigh of relief and stood up, holding her unconscious body in his arms. The backfire of her energy only knocked her out. Sailor Io expected her to regain consciousness soon, with nothing more than a pounding headache. But, until that time, Io realized he had been given a window of opportunity. Not wasting a second, Sailor Io crouched down and scooped up his staff. Pausing for a second to prepare himself, Sailor Io suddenly charged Ami's balcony, with her still in his arms. He planted one foot on the the balcony and pushed off, leaping into the night air.

          ****

 The instant he awoke, Matt knew something was wrong. As the haze of sleep evaporated, he felt more and more sure that something was wrong. Throwing off his covers, he slowly rose to his feet and moved to his door. He didn't know exactly what he was doing, or why... but he had a suspicion. He gingerly stepped out into the hall, and moved up it, passing by Serena and Luna's room... the guest room Philly had taken... and finally coming to a stop in front of Serena's parent's bedroom.
 The one Joshua was using.
 He wasn't quite sure what propelled him, but he reached down and opened the door slowly, trying not to make a sound. As soon as the door had opened wide enough for him to enter, he did. Without completely shutting the door, Matt slowly reached over and flicked on the lights for the room. The instant he did, Matt knew what he had felt wrong.
 Joshua was gone.
 "Damn... why do I have this bad feeling I know where he is going?" muttered Matt, as he flicked off the light to the room and left, this time almost running to his room. He reentered his room, and got dressed quickly. He wasn't sure what Joshua would do, but he knew had better stop in case this was not Joshua's doing, but Traquen's.
 Pulling on his boots, Matt grabbed a red rose laying on his nightstand and rushed from the room. Neglecting to close his door, Matt quickly made his way down the stairs and out of the house. Though he would never know it, Matt made the same comment about the coldness of the night that Joshua did when he first went outside.
 "Traquen..." whispered Matt, voicing his hidden fear. He slowly shook off his worry that Traquen might have returned again, and raised his rose above his head.
 "MOOGLE LIGHT TRANSFORMATION!"
 An instant later Matt, transformed into Tuxedo Moogle, was racing towards Ami's house at an incredible speed. He noticed that he was running much faster then he had been earlier that day, thanks to his transformation. It was nice to have an incredible power to help you physically, but Matt knew that he couldn't let himself go and rely solely on his power to help him. He wanted to know he had some actual strength and stamina that he could use. He had been hesitant in training Joshua, because the results could be two-folded. Even though it helped Joshua build up his defenses against Traquen, that same power could be used against him, and the others, if Traquen managed to overcome Joshua's defenses. Matt prayed that was not what had happened.
 After ten minutes of running, Tuxedo Moogle finally reached Ami's yard. He quickly moved to the front door, and was about to knock when something caught his eye. He noticed that on her side balcony, the curtains in the window were flapping in the brisk breeze, indicating that the sliding door was open. Tuxedo Moogle made his way back along the side, and caught sight of the opened door with his own eyes. Tuxedo Moogle scanned the house with his mind, seeing if he could detect any presence within. Even with his power enhancing his natural ability, he still could not detect anything.
 "This can only mean two things..." Tuxedo Moogle whispered to himself, as his long sword appeared in his hand with a white flash. "Either no one is there... or no one is alive."
 The thought of Ami being dead was strong enough to get him to move even quicker. With slight grunt, Tuxedo Moogle jumped up upward, clearing the railing of the balcony and landing on the floor. Holding his sword defensively, he slowly entered the room beyond the balcony, his eyes scanning for any signs of a surprise attack from Traquen.
 Tuxedo Moogle's senses filled with a slight tingling as he entered the room. He realized that a large discharge of energy had been released there recently. Glancing around the room, his eyes fell upon a very disheveled and very empty bed. The sight caused him to freeze and simply stare. It looked like his fears had been answered, Matt thought, as he scanned the darkened room. He noticed a lamp on a nightstand on the far side of the bed and moved to it quickly. Reaching for the switch, Tuxedo Moogle realized that there was a problem. The lightbulb was now several pieces of glass shards covering the night stand and ground near it. It look as if the bulb had exploded with incredible force. Moogle could only assume that it happened when the energy blast went off. Either way, it didn't really matter. Even without the light, Tuxedo Moogle could tell that the house was abandoned. There were no signs of Ami or Joshua's body, so he could only assume that they were together somewhere else. Now all Tuxedo Moogle had to do was find that place, before one of them did die.
 Realizing there was nothing further to help him in the house, Tuxedo Moogle left quickly the same way he came, and began running off into the night.

          ****

 Softly, Sailor Io laid the unconscious Ami upon the grassy, slightly leaf-covered ground and rose back up. He glanced around at the familiar wooded setting slowly, his eyes finally resting on Ami's transformation pen, which he clutched in his hand.
 "I think I will just hang on to this for awhile..." Joshua mumbled to himself, pocketing the transformation pen next to his. The only thing he needed was for Ami to re-transform and try to kill him again when she awoke. Joshua let the thought slip away, as he gazed towards the not-quite-full moon resting in the air far above the wooded clearing he was in. The only sound he could hear was the sound of water flowing by him in a very familiar stream to his left. Joshua did not know of many places around Tokyo, considering that he had only been on Earth for a couple weeks. And out of that, he spent more than three-fourths of it in a coma. But, Joshua wanted to bring Ami to a secluded spot where they could talk without possible interruption from her neighbors or anyone in general. Since the only secluded place Joshua really knew of was the spot were he and Matt had been training, he had brought Ami there. Now, he would just have to sit and wait until she regained consciousness.
 It turned out that he didn't have to wait long. After about another five minutes, Joshua heard sounds of life coming from Ami. He watched as she emitted a light moan and slowly picked her herself off the ground into a sitting position. He remained deadly silent as she shook off her fogginess and regained her bearings. Looking around slowly, her gaze finally came to a rest on Joshua. Because of the darkness and his distance, more than fifteen feet away, he couldn't make out her facial expression when she finally saw him, but he could guess that it was not a pleasant one.
 "Where have you brought me?" ask Ami coldly, the first words out of her mouth.
 "To a cluster of woods on the outskirts of the city. It is where Matt and I have trained." Joshua replied calmly. He wasn't about to get her fired up again.
 "Why? So you can kill me without any chance of being caught?" snapped Ami, shifting slightly. "Or... do you plan to do what you did before to me?"
 "Ami! No!" countered Joshua, slightly horrified at the idea. "I would never do that to you."
 "You already have!" shouted Ami, a mixture of hatred and pain in her voice. She was not acting like the calm, intellectual Ami everyone had told her about. Of course, she had good reason.
 "But that was not me, Ami! I had no control over my actions at the time!" Joshua said, placing a hand on his chest. "Do you think I enjoyed watching myself do that to you?"
 "I don't know... it didn't seem like morals were getting in your way when you did it." spoke Ami, her voice an angry shout. She tried to rise to her feet, only to grip her head and stumble backwards. Quickly, Joshua raced to her and grabbed her. He slowly lead her over to a large rock where he sat her down. She finally regained enough strength to fight off his help as she sat down.
 "Listen to me, Ami! I am not here to hurt you." spoke Joshua, catching Ami's eyes with his own. "I just want to talk... that's all. You give me two minutes, and then I'll take you right back home, if you want. That's all I ask. Two minutes."
 Ami stared at him for a moment, as if trying to see something she couldn't quite make out. Finally, she sighed and bent her head down, holding it.
 "Fine. Talk all you want. I don't have the strength to fight you..." Ami said, looking back up at Joshua. "But, at least answer me one question before you do."
 "Anything."
 "Sailor Io?" asked Ami, motioning to Joshua's outfit.
 "It's a long story..." Joshua replied, instinctively glancing at his outfit. He slowly moved to another large rock opposite of the one Ami was sitting on. "But I will explain it in my story."
 "Fine."
 "Ok..." Joshua said, taking a deep breath. He finally got Ami listening to him. Now, all he had to do was convince her that he was not going to hurt her. "I want to tell you that I am sorry. What I did back to you back on Io was unspeakable... and you have every right to want me dead. But, you have to understand that I could not control my actions! You know that Traquen had invaded my body..."
 Ami remained silent.
 "... and when he did, it was like I got pushed aside. I could see everything I was doing, but I could not control, or stop, any of it. Not my speech, not my actions, nothing. All I could do was sit there and watch as Traquen began to destroy my life, and the lives of every Iosion."
 Joshua paused as Ami shifted uncomfortably on her rock and rub her arms for warmth. Realizing that she must have been terribly cold, Joshua rose from his seat and removed his cloak. He handed it to Ami, who refused it sternly. Pushing it on her again, Ami finally accepted it and wrapped it around her small body. Joshua sat down, satisfied, and continued.
 "And even though that part of my memory is blank for some reason now..." Joshua said, producing a confused look from Ami. He knew that she didn't know what he was talking about, but he continued on. "... at some point, according to Luna and the others, I sent an invitation to Luna to come to Io."
 "Yes, I remember. That's why we came." Ami replied, much to the delight of Joshua. Some of the anger in her voice seemed to have disappeared. "Luna told us that she knew you and said that she needed to go to you."
 "I am glad she did. If you would not have come... I would most likely still be under Traquen's power. And I do not even want to think about what condition Io would be in. All I know is that, thanks to the scouts and Matt, I was freed from Traquen's evil influence... at least... for a while."
 "What do you mean?" asked Ami, her voice full of confusion.
 "See... because of Matt's battle with Traquen, when he escaped with me from Castle Io, I had fallen into a coma..."
 "I remember."
 "Well, it turned out I remained in that coma for over three weeks. It was only a couple days ago that I finally came out of it. Unfortunately, I came out of it with total amnesia. Now, looking back though, I realize it was a pretty ironic situation, considering Matt is suffering from the same thing. Anyways... the big part of me coming out of my coma was the fact that Traquen returned that night, apparently not destroyed but dormant in my mind as I laid in a coma, and retook my mind in it's still weakened state.
 The look on Ami's face caused Joshua to stop momentarily. He could see his words were actually creating a reaction in Ami.
 "I can not remember anything of the incident. My last memory was of going to back to bed after the scouts had retold me of some of my past. From what they told me, I attacked Serena that night. I was stopped by Matt, but ended up escaping into the city, taking an unconscious Sailor Moon with me."
 "Oh my..." whispered Ami, her eyes wide.
 "From what I am told, Matt found me near a side alley on some street in the city. He said that he and I fought, and I ended up beating him and almost killing him. If it was not for Philly showing up--"
 "Philly?" questioned Ami.
 "Oh, that is right... you do not know about Philly, do you?" Joshua said, almost slapping his forehead. "Of course... that is kind of a poor way to put it, since no one really knows who she is. Apparently, someone named Sailor Pluto sent her here."
 "Pluto?" repeated Ami, "Why?"
 "We do not know. She says she can not tell us. We are not supposed to know."
 "Hmm..."
 "Anyways... I was on the verge of killing Matt, who had slipped into unconsciousness, when Philly suddenly appeared and attacked me by throwing a dagger into my shoulder. Even though it has mostly healed over, thanks to this..." Joshua said, pointing to his Sailor Io outfit. "I still have the scar. But... that is off the subject. Anyway, Philly's attack had bought enough time for Matt to regain consciousness. Using Matt's sword, which he had dropped, Philly held me off long enough for Matt to reach the still unconscious Serena, and use her Silver Crystal to rejuvenate himself. To make a long story short, a little bit later, the scouts appeared. The Scouts', Serena's, Philly's, and Matt's power combined was enough to "heal" me from Traquen. But, because of the worry that Traquen could again come back... they decided to enhance my defenses against him, by focusing my energy into one large concentration. The result of that was Sailor Io."
 For a while Ami, said nothing. Joshua didn't know what she was thinking, but he knew his words had had a big effect on her. He wondered what she was going to do next. Finally, after what seemed like an eternity, Ami spoke.
 "I..." Ami began, her voice almost a whisper. "I... I'm not sure I understand..."
 "Then let me help you." Joshua responded, his voice a soft whisper also. "Please... I do not want to hurt you. I care for you too much..."
 "You... you care for me?" Ami said, her eyes looking into Joshua's with confusion. It was probably the only time in her whole life that Ami felt truly bewildered and unsure of herself.
 "Yes... I do. That's why I came to you. I had to risk you trying to kill me, if it gave me a chance to tell you I was sorry for what I did to you. Ami... you will never know how much of me died permanently when I had to watch myself, helplessly, do those unspeakable things to you. You will never know the kind of pain of caused me. That is why I had to find you! I could not keep on living, while I had to live with the memory that I might have destroyed your life..."
 "I.. I don't know what to say..." Ami said, hesitating. She was so confused. It had seemed, only minutes ago that he had hated the person sitting in front of her with all her being. Now... his words had caused her to rethink her whole attitude. She wasn't sure what to think now.
 "Say you will forgive me, Ami... for all those horrible things I did to you." Joshua said, his eyes gazing into Ami's soft, tear-filled eyes. He slowly reached his hand out toward her. "Say you will allow me to help you get through all the pain and confusion I have caused you. Please... let me help you."
 Ami, not knowing how to think or act, did the only thing she felt could help her to see clearly again.
 She took his hand.

          ****

 Tuxedo Moogle knew he had found Joshua the instant he entered the forest. He had tracked Joshua's presence through the city, and finally located him somewhere in the forest where they had trained. Tuxedo Moogle's guess was that Joshua had gone right to the spot where they had fought.
 Tuxedo Moogle raced through the blackened forest as fast as he could, dodging branches, trees, shrubs, and vines without even truly registering it. His mind was completely focused on reaching Joshua before he had a chance to hurt Ami again. The more Moogle had thought about the situation, the more he had become convinced that Traquen had returned again. It would have been the perfect plan if Traquen kidnapped Ami to a remote spot, so no one would be alerted to his presence. This far away from civilization, no one would hear anything, no matter how loud Ami might have screamed. And it was most likely that Joshua could have caught Ami before she could reach help if she had tried to escape. The situation was looking more and more like Traquen's doing.
 Going as fast as he possibly could in the forest, Tuxedo Moogle almost over-shot the clearing where he and Joshua had trained. A quick mental scan confirmed that Joshua was, in fact, there. Moogle could also detect Ami's presence, which meant she was still alive and he still might have a chance to save her. Looking around, Tuxedo Moogle noticed that he was standing in the foliage near the tree that Joshua, as Sailor Io, had blasted with the energy attack he had released when they had fought. Seeing it as the perfect point to launch an attack against the unsuspecting Joshua/Traquen, Moogle instantly crouched and leapt. He sailed straight on top of a large branch high in the tree. Taking hold of the tree as he landed on the branch, he noticed that he had jumped more than 30 feet straight up, and that he had a perfect view of the clearing below him. He instantly caught sight of Joshua and Ami sitting on rocks across from each other. He noticed that Ami looked like she was crying, which was something he had never seen before. The sight of her in pain, caused Tuxedo Moogle's anger to flare. His long sword appeared in his hand as he looked down and saw Joshua extend his arm out to Ami. He wasn't about to let Traquen get a hold of Ami again. Throwing caution to the wind, Matt suddenly crouched and leapt again. This time, however, he shot downward like a rocket.
 Straight towards Joshua.

         ****

 The instant Ami took a hold of Sailor Io's hand, a loud shout pierced the cool, night air. Joshua looked up in time to see a dark, tuxedo-wearing figure diving straight towards him, with a long sword aimed straight for Joshua's head.
 "Damn!" shouted Sailor Io as he instantly released Ami's hand and dove off his rock, just as Tuxedo Moogle came sailing down. As Sailor Io dove away, he caught sight of Tuxedo Moogle's sword slicing cleanly through the large rock he had been sitting on as Moogle landed, cleaving the small boulder into two parts.
 "Matt!" Ami shouted, rising from her seat in surprise, as Sailor Io scooped up his staff that he had laid down and rose to his feet, turning back towards Tuxedo Moogle. Tuxedo Moogle turned to him quickly and shouted.
 "You don't think I am going let you hurt her again, do you Traquen?"
 "What?!" yelled Sailor Io, as he pulled his staff up into a defensive position. "Matt! What are you talking about?"
 "We thought energizing your power would have helped defend against you. I guess we were wrong, Traquen..." Moogle shouted, advancing towards Sailor Io. "I guess there's no other way to stop you...other than destroying the body you inhabit too."
 "What?" screamed Sailor Io, bewildered, as Tuxedo Moogle suddenly lunged at him. Sailor Io quickly parried the attack to the side and shouted at Moogle. "Matt! It's me! Joshua!"
 "Nice try, Traquen!" replied Tuxedo Moogle, as he heaved his weight from the side Sailor Io had knocked him to, back to the other side of Sailor Io. Sailor Io ducked quickly, barely avoiding getting his head sliced off at the neck. "It's a little late for that!"
 "Matt! Stop! It is Joshua!!" Ami suddenly shouted from behind Tuxedo Moogle. He turned his head slightly back her way.
 "What?!" questioned Matt, incredulously.
 Sailor Io realized that Ami had managed to distract Moogle for a split second. Realizing it might be his only chance to stop Tuxedo Moogle, Joshua seized the moment. Before Moogle could turn back, Sailor Io heaved back the Staff of Io to his right. Swinging it forward like a baseball bat, Joshua slammed the upper part of the handle straight into Tuxedo Moogle's back, causing him to arch backwards in pain. Before Moogle could turn and recover from the attack, Sailor Io swung the staff again, from the left. This time, he caught the stunned Tuxedo Moogle directly in the face with the bottom end of the staff. Cracking it across Moogle's face as hard as he could, Sailor Io watched as Tuxedo Moogle stumbled back a step, dropped his sword, and crumbled to the ground on his back. Instantly, Sailor Io was on top of Moogle's sword, and kicked it out of Tuxedo Moogle's reach.
 "MATT! LISTEN TO ME!" shouted Sailor Io, looking down at the still slightly stunned Tuxedo Moogle, as his chest heaved up and down. "IT IS ME! JOSHUA! Not Traquen. I'm not trying to hurt Ami."
 "Listen to him, Matt! He's telling the truth!" Ami added, from her position near the rock. Both Sailor Io and Tuxedo Moogle turned and looked at her, shocked. Both couldn't believe she just stuck up for Joshua. That was all the proof Tuxedo Moogle needed.
 "All right. I believe you..." called Moogle, wincing in pain. "It's not Traquen. But, for someone who is supposed to not hate me, he sure hits hard."
 "Sorry, my friend." replied Joshua, chuckling slightly. "I had to do something... you tried to take off my head."
 Rubbing his jaw, Tuxedo Moogle slowly rose to his feet. He noticed that his hat had fallen off when he landed on his back, and reached back down to scoop it up.
 "But can you blame me?" asked Tuxedo Moogle, looking from Sailor Io in front of him, to Ami behind him. "Do you know how this looks? I was almost sure when I realized you guys were out here that Traquen had returned."
 "I know. I know. I am sorry. I should have told you what I was going to do." Sailor Io said. "But I was afraid that if I told you... you would have never let me do it."
 "Your probably right." responded Tuxedo Moogle, moving to grab his sword. "But, at least no one is hurt. That's the best part."
 "No... the best part is that Ami has forgiven me." said Joshua, lowering his staff.
 "Is that true?" Tuxedo Moogle asked, looking at Ami. "You've forgiven him?"
 Ami nodded slowly.
 "Well, at least there's some good that came out of this afterall." Tuxedo Moogle said, smiling. A moment later, he turned back to Joshua. "But... if you ever try to pull this kind of stunt again... next time, I just might take you head."
 "You do not have to tell me twice."
 "Good." Tuxedo Moogle said, gripping Sailor Io's shoulder. "Now... why don't we--"
 Moogle stopped in mid-sentence, flashing look over at a part of the woods on the other side of the small brook. There, standing in the shadows, was a dark figure.
 "What the--?" Joshua said, also looking around. Slowly, more dark figures began appearing from the woods all around the trio. As the group watched, one of the figures stepped forward into the moonlight.
  The figure was somekind of monstrous beast.
 "What is that?" shouted Sailor Io, as he took a step closer to Tuxedo Moogle. As he did, more of the dark beasts began to enter the clearing around the group. Each one stood about six and a half feet tall, and were covered in a dark brownish fur. They resembled hulking, human-like wolves.
 "Ami! Get away from the the edge of the clearing!" Tuxedo Moogle shouted, motioning for Ami to come to Sailor Io and him with his hand. Hesitating slightly as she looked at the unnatural beasts slowly approaching, she finally broke out into a mad dash towards Moogle and Io. As soon as she did, the beasts, Tuxedo Moogle counted about fifteen, suddenly lunged from the forest and began to race after Ami, bearing their enormous fangs.
 "Moogle STAR FLARE!!" screamed Tuxedo Moogle as he flung his hand out to a small group of approaching beasts. Instantly, a streaking blast of fire, light, and energy ignited from his hand and straight towards the beasts. The small group of monsters ran right into the beam, which exploded with a violent blast of light and sound, causing the beasts to fly backwards through the air. The instant they slammed into the ground, they vanished in a blast of black energy.
 "Whatever the hell they are, they weren't made by nature!" shouted Tuxedo Moogle to Sailor Io.
 "IO... STORM BLAST!!" shouted Sailor Io, pointing his staff towards another group of beasts. From the tip of the Staff of Io, a large bolt of lighting appeared, careening through the air. The bolt slammed into the group of beasts, and exploded much like the way Moogle's attack did. Also like Moogle's attack, the beasts crumbled to the ground and vanished in a flash of black energy.
 "Only six left--" Sailor Io shouted back to Tuxedo Moogle, who suddenly jumped away and slashed another lunging beast with his blade. The beast, again, disappeared in a dark flash. Sailor Io was about to say something to Tuxedo Moogle, when he glanced back at Ami. As he
did, three of the dark beasts suddenly charged her.
 "AMI! LOOK OUT!" screamed Sailor Io. Ami looked back and saw the beasts leaping at her. She instantly dove out of the way as they came down on the spot she had been standing at. They were about to turn back to her, when a thin flash of red light suddenly slammed into each one, like a laser, dropping all of them.
 Sailor Io saw a red rose protruding from each of them as they disappeared from existence.
 "Thanks Matt!" shouted Sailor Io, as he looked back over to Tuxedo Moogle, who still had his hand extended from the throw. Instead of replying, Sailor Io watched as he threw his hand out in front of him and shouted.
 "MOOGLE LIGHT BEAM!!"
 Sailor Io saw a bright flash of white energy explode from Tuxedo Moogle's hand and fly across the small clearing. The beam struck, and sliced right through the tree that Joshua had once blasted. A second later, the tree creaked slightly and toppled over, slamming down upon the last group of the wolf-like beasts. As the tree hit, the beasts disappeared in the familiar blast of dark energy.
 "You got them!" Sailor Io shouted, raising a fist in victory. He watched as Tuxedo Moogle moved up next to him.
 "Looks like that takes care of th--"
 Tuxedo Moogle suddenly froze in mid-sentence as a monstrous roar echoed through the air. The group turned just in time to see one more beast appear from the woods and leap into the air, diving straight for the defenseless Ami, who was making her way to Tuxedo Moogle and Sailor Io.
 "AMI! NOOOOO!" screamed Sailor Io, as he instantly turned to Tuxedo Moogle. Without thinking, Sailor Io ripped one of Moogle's roses from his jacket and turned back to Ami. With a mighty heave, Sailor Io flung the rose at the beast sailing in through the air. The rose connected with the beast's chest, piercing straight through it's heart. Even before the beast had hit the ground, it was gone in a blast of dark light.
 "How the--?" whispered Moogle, as his mouth dropped open. Sailor Io ignored him and rushed to help the shaky Ami. As he took a hold of her arm to support her, Tuxedo Moogle couldn't help but wonder how in the world Joshua managed to fling one of his roses. They were normal roses, in all aspects. The reason Matt could throw them so well was because his power energized them. But, for someone to take a normal rose, and throw hit hard enough, and accurate enough, to hit something flying through the air, not to mention in one of it's most weakest spots...
 Tuxedo Moogle was beginning to get an idea of how much Joshua cared for Ami. As he watched the two held and supported each other, he wondered if she had any idea how much he really did care. She must have seen at least some of it, because she had forgiven Joshua. But for him to have pulled such an incredible feat for her...
 Tuxedo Moogle wondered if there was more to Joshua then what he was seeing.

 *** The End ***

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