Tuxedo Moogle opened his eyes, receiving incredible pain from the action.
 "I... I think I see now why I shouldn't have done this." mumbled Moogle. He was referring to the plan for him to teleport to Io and try to save King Joshua. He still was slightly amazed at the fact that he had gained enough control over his powers to make the trip to the "forgotten moon" by himself. Last time the scouts and him had come, it had first required that they pool their powers together, then he was able to make it back to Earth with the comatose Joshua only because his own powers were infused with the other's powers. Now, he had made the trip on his own strength. But he only now realized how much it would, and had, taken out of him. He also realized that he felt more alone and vulnerable then he thought he would.
 "Where... where am I?" spoke Moogle as he picked himself off the stone ground he had woken up on. He gazed around and saw that he was on a part of Io he never saw before. He realized this when he looked around and noticed that he was surrounded by large, metallic buildings.
 He was in a city.
 Tuxedo Moogle knew, from Luna's information that she learned back in the days of the Silver Millennium, that Io only had one city. Luna explained this, along with alot of facts about the environment and culture, back when Joshua was in his coma for three weeks right after the first trip to Io. Luna said she found out so much because she was on the council in the Moon Kingdom that discussed allowing Io's entrance into the Moon Kingdom. She also had said, while blushing, that she learned alot from Joshua when they were together in those past times. Tuxedo Moogle smiled again as he thought about her look when she said it. She had told him that the Kingdom of Io was made up of one large city, and the Castle Io. Tuxedo Moogle knew about the castle all too well, but he had never even seen the city before now. It was directly south of the castle, but because the group had come from the north through a blinding sandstorm, none of them had caught a glimpse of the city.
 Until now.
 To Moogle's eyes, the city was incredible. Having only memories and images of the way the buildings looked in Tokyo, Tuxedo Moogle slowly turned around, looking at the stunning buildings in awe. When he heard Luna say that Io truly was a paradise, he had been skeptical. All he had seen was a large desert and a dangerous castle. To him, that wasn't much of a paradise. But he now realized where Io had gotten the label of "paradise".
 The buildings of the city towered above him like large pillars. Each was made of some type of silverish metal, and clear plastic-like substances that looked identical to glass. What was even more impressive was that the large "skyscrapers" were almost all adorned with beautiful ivy-like vines on the outside. The huge vains of the green ivy reached up the buildings like delicate fingers slowly caressing the sides of the buildings. From the ivy, beautiful pink, red, and blue flowers blossomed. On some of the smaller buildings, the ivy managed to grow up and around the flat tops of the structures, giving them a nestled look. Above the large structures, Moogle caught sight of a clear, bluish sky with wisps of greenish color flowing through it. Taking up a good portion of the sky, was the massive body of Jupiter. Through the atmosphere's distortion though, the planet looked more like a large, distant sun than a planet. The swirling color of Jupiter could have kept a person in a state of wonder for an incredible length time. Tuxedo Moogle was reluctant to stop gazing at it's majestic sight, but his sense of duty managed to refocus him on the task at hand. He quickly gazed around again, intending to coordinate himself, when he saw another sight that made him stop. Lining the stone street he was on were gigantic trees that resembled palm trees, except that they were as tall as pine trees. They were slowly swaying in a light breeze that felt good against Moogle's tired face. A little ways in the distance, however, the road suddenly ended and opened up into a huge plaza square. Moogle couldn't make much out from his distance, but he could tell that in the center of the plaza, an enormous fountain rose up from the stone ground. Tuxedo Moogle could see the fountain spouting out huge amounts of blue water-like liquid from it's top, which came flowing down it's ornate sides. Moogle stared at it for a moment, then felt his parched, rough throat as he tried to swallow. He quickly made up his mind and began to race toward the fountain. As he reached the end of the street that opened into the plaza, Moogle realized that he was right in assuming that the large open space was, in fact, a plaza. It was a large open square, each side a football field in length. On each side of the plaza, a section of the city appeared rising up from behind it. Like the others he saw, every building had the same interesting ivy growing on it. Tuxedo Moogle quickly pushed the stray thought away as he focused his attention on the large stone fountain that was looming up in front of him as he approached. He noticed that the fountain was almost three times the size of him, making it alot larger then he had thought. Pushing that thought aside also, Moogle quickly reached the edge of the gushing fountain and looked down at the pool surrounding it. The need to relieve his throat of it's burning sensation won over common sense as Moogle trusted a hand into the cold liquid and drew some up to his mouth in a large gulp before checking if the liquid was safe. A part of him breathed a sigh of relief as he drank from his hand.
 It was water, after all.
 Tuxedo Moogle drank furiously as he knocked his top hat and mask from his head, so he could duck his head in the sweet liquid. He pulled his head from the water a moment later gasping for air as a large, satisfied smile appeared on his face. He fell backwards from his kneeling position to a sitting position and gave a sigh of relief.
 "I... I guess teleporting took... took alot out of me." breathed Tuxedo Moogle, gasping heavily. "I really needed that."
 Tuxedo Moogle sat still for another moment, catching his breath and regaining some of his strength. His wounds he received from the battle with Traquen/Joshua near the TrIRCe Bar were causing him a considerable amount of pain. Moogle realized that if he confronted Traquen, and Traquen had completely recovered, Moogle would not survive long. He hoped that Traquen was still weak, or would listen to reason. Moogle paused his thought process and considered what he had just thought. He quickly altered it. He hoped Traquen was still weak, period. Traquen being reasonable was like Serena going a day without tripping over something, or bumping into something. It just didn't happen.
 As Moogle thought to himself, he slowly looked around him toward the edges of the plaza, where the buildings of the city began. Tuxedo Moogle suddenly realized something, and turned to look the other way. His thought was quickly confirmed when he caught sight of the other side of the city. He quickly noticed, for the first time, that the City of Io was missing something after all.
 It was missing people.
 Moogle took on a perplexed look as the fact finally hit him. He had been in so much pain, and had been so focused on reaching the fountain that he failed to notice that the city was completely deserted. He saw no sign of life, person or animal, other than the green ivy on the buildings. Tuxedo Moogle closed his eyes, and relaxed his body and mind. Using the training Rei had taught him, he opened his mind up and began to feel the entire city with a sweeping mind probe. He started scanning the city in sections.
 To the east... nothing.
 To the south... nothing.
 To the west... nothing.
 To the north...
 Tuxedo Moogle was suddenly knocked from his sitting position to a laying position. Tuxedo Moogle sat up quickly, knowing what he had just felt.
 He had hit upon Traquen's dark presence, to the north.
 "Well, if he didn't know I was here already..." said Moogle, rising to his feet, conscious of his wounds. "He does now."
 Tuxedo Moogle looked around one more time and then made up his mind to start moving northward. He quickly scooped up his hat and mask. Adorning both, he slowly began to walk the way he had come.
 "I guess the mystery of the Iosion people will have to wait." spoke Tuxedo Moogle, "Besides, I already know a good place to find out an answer."
 Tuxedo Moogle began to make his way towards Castle Io.

         ****

 "Serena?"
 A moment passed, with still no answer. Philly cleared her throat, and rapped on Serena's bedroom door again.
 "Serena? Are you alright?"
 This time, Philly caught a faint answer from behind the wooden door.
 "I'm fine." croaked Serena's voice from in the room. Even through the muffling of the door, Philly was still able to pick out the depression and sorrow in Serena's voice. Philly also realized that she was crying.
 "Serena, may I come in?" asked Philly, her voice a gentle whisper. She waited a moment, but got no answer. She hoped that it meant a "yes", and decided to go in.
 She slowly opened the door and crept into the room. The only light entering the room came from Serena's window, where a full moon beamed it's light downward from a perfectly clear sky. Illuminated by the light, Philly saw the figure of Serena lying on her bed. Philly heard sounds of faint crying.
 "Serena..." gently called Philly, taking a step closer to the bed. "I know what you are going through..."
 "Oh, Philly... why did this all have to be like this?" returned Serena, with surprising strength in her voice. "First I lost my Darien... and now I'm going to lose Matt. Do you know, Philly, that all the time I've known him, he has always been at my side supporting me? He was even at my side when Darien died, and he didn't even know me yet. And now... he's..."
 "And now he's going to go find King Joshua and bring him back safely." Philly cut in, with a sharp resolve.
 "But you don't know that!" said Serena, almost screaming. "Look at what he's up against. He's one person against a possible army! And not only that, he's hurt. If he gets into a fight with Traquen he's going to lose!"
 "No, Serena... you can't look at what he is up against." replied Philly, "You have look at who he is, instead. Sure, he's one man against overwhelming odds. But... he's the only one who is strong and courageous enough to have a chance a pulling off what he's trying to do. And you have to have faith that he can do it. Because if he can't, no one else can."
 "But, why wouldn't he let us come with him? You, me, Ami and him would have a better chance at getting Joshua back than just him."
 "Because, Serena, he also knows how bad the situation is. He gave the excuse that someone needed to stay with the others as they recover, but if you think about it, you'll realize why he didn't have us come."
 Serena stayed silent for a moment, then spoke again, the realization dawning on her for the first time. Even in the almost completely dark room, Philly could see Serena's facial expression change drastically as she figured it out.
 "He... he didn't want us to come because he knew how poor his chances were... and he didn't want us to get hurt."
 "He didn't want YOU to get hurt." responded Philly softly, confirming Serena's thought.
 Serena fell silent, and turned away from Philly. She turned, and began to gaze at the moon. Philly stood, watching her quietly.
 "Do you think has a chance? I mean, really?" spoke Serena softly, after a minute.
 Philly sighed and also looked at the moon.
 "Honestly, I don't know." she said, "But, like I said before, if he can't do it... no one else could. Matt is our final hope now. The time has finally come to settle this, one way or another. Matt's plan is the beginning of Earth's final stand against Traquen and his dark forces. If he fails..."
 "Then we've lost for good." finished Serena, her voice the gravest Philly had ever heard it.

         ****

 Tuxedo Moogle watched in wonder as Jupiter suddenly lost most of its light, and slowly plunged the moon of Io in "night-time". Tuxedo Moogle continued to stare as the strange event occurred, trying to figure out what was happening. A second later, Moogle hit upon it, almost slapping himself for not noticing it earlier. Io was much too far from the sun get any significant light or heat from it. And yet, Io had daytime, and had survivable temperatures, even though they were generally a little colder than what Moogle was used to. The only way to explain why Io was like this was that, somehow, the Iosions had managed to develop a way to magnify the light that had come directly from the sun, and the sunlight that struck Jupiter. Moogle knew that it must do something with the atmosphere, in order to regulate it to produce the effect of "night" and "day". Tuxedo Moogle was truly beginning to realize just how more advanced the Iosions were from the inhabitants of Earth. He received no comfort from the thought as he shook his head softly began walking again.
 Moogle continued to look into the distance as he noticed buildings around him beginning to grow sparser and sparser. He was finally at the end of the city. Breathing a sigh of relief, he pushed on a little faster, but didn't make it very far. He took several more steps, and looked up just in time to see a enormous bolt of lightning explode from the sky and strike the ground far in the distance. The bolt itself didn't interest Moogle as much as what he saw when the bolt flared. A dark building sat almost directly ahead of him, about a kilometer away.
 It was Castle Io.
 "Looks like the time has come..." whispered Moogle aloud, looking on to Castle Io. Another bolt of lightning flashed again in the distance. A storm was approaching.
    "That thunderstorm isn't the only storm that's about to begin." Moogle thought, sizing up the situation. He realized that he was too weak to make any kind of assault on the castle. Besides, he wanted to see if he could settle this with a low amount of destruction. If Traquen decided that Tuxedo Moogle's presence bothered him, the castle might not survive the ensuing fight. Tuxedo Moogle might not either.
  Gathering himself up, Tuxedo Moogle knew that there was no turning back. He was not afraid to face his end before, and he would not be now. He knew of all that was riding on his actions, and he was not about to fail everyone. He pushed his hat onto his head farther and began to move into the increasing wind.
 "Yes," he thought, a smile appearing on his face, "There's an approaching storm... and it's name is Tuxedo Moogle."

         ****

 "Report, Traquen."
 "We are almost prepared, my Liege. Another day or so, and we will be ready move."
 "Excellent. And what of the Light-man and the moon-child? Have you dealt with them yet?"
 Traquen turned his head away from the portal floating in front of him and grinded his teeth. On the surface of the portal, the shadow "face" of Zeromeus rested. His glowing eyes seemed to bore straight through Traquen's body, causing Traquen to wonder if he was perceiving more than just Traquen's appearance.
 "The moon-brat will be no problem. She will be taken out with the rest of them." growled Traquen, as he shifted in the throne in the royal hall of Castle Io. "As for that damned Tuxedo Moogle... he's approaching the castle even as we speak. The fool must have death wish."
 "Do not underestimate him, Traquen. Need I remind you of the last you did so?" spoke Zeromeus loudly, his beast-like voice echoing through the hall. Traquen frowned and growled under his breath as Zeromeus mentioned him being defeated by Tuxedo Moogle.
 "No, my Liege. You do not." said Traquen, forcing each word out sharply. "But... may I remind you, Lord Zeromeus, that we are upon our greatest moment. Shortly, we finally dominate this solar system. Everything is falling into place perfectly."
 "Yes, it is. But... should this fail because of your incompetence, you can expect a quick and extremely painful end, Traquen. We had better succeed, or I will be most displeased. And if I am displeased, you will be dead."
 The image of Zeromeus instantly faded to complete black. A second later, the floating viewing-portal winked out of existence with a flash.  Traquen rose to his feet, and slammed in fist into the arm of the golden throne.
 "Don't worry... my 'liege.'" called Traquen into the empty air with a sarcastic tone, "As soon as the planet Earth is under my control, you'll quickly find out that I do not favor being ordered around.  And after a taste of the true power of Traquen, I'll assume the place where your dead carcass will be lying, and take control of your power. Then finally, I, Traquen, will be the true Lord of Darkness, and this galaxy will be mine! Forever!"
 Traquen continued to laugh dementedly as a large, insane smile appeared on his face.
 "Your greatest moment is now, my 'Master', but MY greatest moment is soon in coming. So very soon..."

         ****

 The castle was all but completely destroyed. Tuxedo Moogle looked up to gaze at the top of the castle. At one time, the top of the castle was made up of four towers at each corner of the castle, and a larger tower in the center of the castle, which contained all of King Joshua's personal rooms, including his bedroom, his library, and his study. Now, all that was left of the towers were the south-east one, which had alot of it's circular wall removed, and the center tower, which had no top. The other towers, including the one in which the scouts and him stayed as "guests" of King Joshua were nothing more than piles of stone lying on the ground which surrounded the castle. Also, huge sections of stone were blown away from the walls of the castle itself, and strewn around various parts of the desert the castle sat in. Windows were destroyed, corners were gone, and walls were crumbling.
 The castle looked like it had been in a war.
 Tuxedo Moogle knew otherwise, however. A war had not caused the castle's condition. He had.
 Tuxedo Moogle remembered when he defeated Traquen back when the group had first come to Io. The release of Traquen's dark energy, when Moogle had defeated him, had caused the structure of the castle to become unstable. Moogle had escaped with Joshua just as the roof to the Royal Hall had began to rain down. Apparently, no one had ever bothered to repair the castle after that incident. Moogle wondered if it would ever get done, now that the people of Io had mysteriously disappeared. Moogle had scanned the castle with his mind as he had approached it. He only felt one living thing in the castle, and he had already known who that was.
 "Hmmm... doors are still intact." noted Tuxedo Moogle, as he approached the castle and put his hand on the large metal doors of the castle. They appeared to be the only things that were not seriously damaged in the fight with Traquen.
 Tuxedo Moogle gave the right-hand door a swift kick, attempting to test the strength of the door. To his surprise, the door creaked loudly, and suddenly snapped from the hinge-like supports on the side of the door. Moogle watched, stunned, as the door, more than four times the size of him, fell inwards and crashed onto the dark hall behind the doorway. After a moment of dead silence, Moogle spoke with a dry voice.
 "Ok... so they didn't survive my fight with Traquen. I can live with that."
  Cautious of his weakened surroundings, Tuxedo Moogle slowly entered in the castle. The hall he entered was pitch dark. The only light present was the one coming from outside through the doorway. Tuxedo Moogle looked to both sides of him, attempting to see, then took a step towards the left. The instant he did, the glowing balls that lined the halls and provided light for the castle suddenly winked into existence, flooding the hall with illumination. Startled, Tuxedo Moogle whirled around.
 He was looking directly at face-mask of a royal guard.
 Moogle instantly lunged backwards using his quickened reflexes and barely avoided being cleaved in half as the guard swung his spear. Moogle shouted in pain from his wounds as he came to a stop. Through a haze of pain, Tuxedo Moogle could see the guard rushing him. Without thinking, Moogle suddenly pulled a rose from inside the lapel of his tuxedo and launched it at the guard. The rose connected with the guard, and sank deep into it's chest plate. The guard stumbled back once from the force of the rose, but suddenly began to move towards Tuxedo Moogle again, apparently unaffected by the rose itself.
 The guard's overhead swing was blocked as Moogle suddenly threw his arm out. As it moved, a long sword appeared in his hand, blocking the spear at it's long handle. Swimming in waves of pain, Moogle forced himself to concentrate on the guard and attacked him. Moogle's swing was blocked skillfully by the guard. Unfortunately for the guard, Tuxedo Moogle's plan had not been to strike him with his sword. Instead, as the guard laid defenseless on one side, Moogle shot out his hand and pushed it onto the guard's armored side.
 "MOOGLE LIGHT BEAM!" screamed Tuxedo Moogle. A beam of pure white energy ignited from the palm of his outstretched hand, and into the side of the guard. An instant later, the guard sailed from Tuxedo Moogle and onto the ground, a gaping hole in the side of his armor. Instead of going limp, however, Moogle watched in astonishment as the suit of armor fell apart at the joints, and a mist of dark energy rose into air from the armor, where it vanished like smoke. Tuxedo Moogle noticed that there was no body in the armor. Tuxedo Moogle realized that he hadn't been fighting a person, but instead the suit of armor that was energized with dark energy. That would explain why Moogle's rose barely slowed "it", and why Moogle had never sensed the guard when he scanned the castle. It also meant one more thing.
 Traquen knew he was here.
 "Well, so much for an unannounced entrance." breathed Tuxedo Moogle, nursing his sore muscles. "I better... better get moving... before more come."
 Slowly, Tuxedo Moogle began to move towards the Royal Hall.

          ****

 "How is she?"
 Philly slowly came down the rest of the steps, and put her finger to her lips.
 "She's sleeping." whispered Philly, as she moved to join Ami near the couch in Serena's living room.
 "She's taking this harder than anyone. She's so certain that she is never going to see Matt again." spoke Ami, in an equally soft voice. "And you know... I'm not so certain either. The situation looks extremely grim."
 Instead of replying, Philly just stared at Ami as if she was in a trance. Ami looked at Philly, wondering what Philly was doing. After a moment, she spoke up.
 "Philly? Are you alright?"
 Philly suddenly blinked, and looked at Ami. She began to blush slightly.
 "Sorry, I was just thinking."
 "Can I ask about what?" inquired Ami, still thinking about how Philly zoned out and began to stare at her.
 "Actually... I was thinking about Joshua."
 Ami's demeanor suddenly grew dark. Philly caught it, and realized Ami had been thinking about the same thing.
 "Your worried about him, aren't you?"
 Ami stayed silent for a moment, then spoke softly. She was trying to keep her emotion from her voice.
 "I know I should feel differently about him, after all that he did to me," Ami said, shuddering at the thought of what Traquen did to her. "But... truthfully, I care for him... deeply. I saw a side of him that I never thought existed the other night, and now... I don't know what to think."
 Philly tried to contain a smirk, as if she was laughing at something only she knew about.
 "Ami, don't worry. I'm positive that you will find your true feelings, and everything will work out from there."
 Ami was taken aback by how confidently Philly spoke. So much so, that she lost some of her worry. For the first time in quite awhile, Ami smiled. Seeing her do so caused Philly to smile also.
 "Thank you, Philly I really needed to hear that."
 "So did I."
 Though neither of them would have known, besides the difference in the hair, Ami's blue and short while Philly's was long and blonde, the pair's smiling faces were incredibly similar in appearance.
 In fact, they were almost identical.

         ****

 Tuxedo Moogle looked up to see the planet Jupiter shining down from the sky. He was on the steps that once led up to one of the now non-existant towers. He was being pushed backwards and up the flight of stone steps by a phalanx of Royal guards. He had been moving quickly through the maze-like corridors of the castle, when he had been ambushed by a small army of walking suits of armor. The sheer size of the group had forced him to retreat to the nearest place, which had turned out to be the stairs that once led up a tower. Because the tower had been destroyed, the stairs ended at a large hole in the roof of the castle.
 Seeing it as his only place to go, Tuxedo Moogle quickly ran up the steps and outside to the top of the main part of the castle. Besides the various holes in the ground/roof, the top of the castle was completely flat. Dodging and leaping some of the holes, Moogle slowly made his way toward the center of the castle. As he did, he watched with slight dread as royal "guards" began to rise out of various holes in the roof. He was slowly being surrounded.
 "MOOGLE STAR FLARE!!" screamed Tuxedo Moogle, casting his hand out and swinging his arm in a wide arc. From his hand, a blast of light, heat, fire, and energy exploded and lanced outward, cleaving and burning a half-circle of "guards" that were slowly rising and approaching him like zombies. As each guard was struck, it ignited into white flame and energy, and disappeared. Even so, the instant the guards he struck disappeared, more began appearing from the holes to take their place. Moogle quickly spun around to see a second semi-organized group of guards slinking toward him from behind.
 "MOOGLE LIGHT BEAM!" screamed Tuxedo Moogle furiously, as he began firing thin beams of energy into the crowd, picking off a guard at a time. He realized that even though he was destroying the abominations at an incredible rate, more were coming at an even quicker speed. Tuxedo Moogle was slowly being overwhelmed.
 Suddenly, Moogle heard a sound behind him. He instantly turned and swung his sword instinctively, cleaving a guard that had managed to reach him in half with his long sword. The suit of armor dropped to the ground in pieces and released a dark mist of energy into the air, where it evaporated. Tuxedo Moogle knew, as he watched the suit fall apart, that he was almost out of strength. His attacks were draining him even faster than the rate at which the guards were appearing. He knew if he didn't do something drastic, it would be all over for him. Tuxedo Moogle knew what he had to do.
 Moogle suddenly dropped his long sword onto the ground and clasped his hands together. He closed his eyes and began to concentrate as he listened for the approaching footsteps of the silent guards. He waited until sound of the footstep sounded close enough, and suddenly opened his eyes and trusted his arms into the air above him. He threw his remaining strength into one last-ditch attack.
 "Light... Energy... NOVA!!" screamed Tuxedo Moogle, his own voice so strong it hurt his throat. With a rush of air, like in a vacuum, Tuxedo Moogle watched as his body flared with energy.
 A second later, the world around him went completely white.

         ****

 Tuxedo Moogle awoke to the sound of clapping. He slowly struggled to open his eyes, his whole body completely numb. He opened them and was greeted with a completely white view, which brought excruciating pain to his head. Moogle moaned loudly and shut his eyes. After a moment, he opened them again, slower this time.
 This time the scene in front of him was a little clearer. He was able to make out fuzzy outlines of objects that, for the moment, were nothing more than white specters to Tuxedo Moogle. Blinking repeatedly, his vision slowly cleared and focused. As it did, sensation began to return to his body. From the slight feeling he had already, he knew that almost every bone and muscle in his body was screaming in pain. He almost feared regaining full sensation.
 Tuxedo Moogle looked at his surroundings, and realized he was laying on his back. He looked straight upward and saw a very familiar crystal ceiling.
 He was in the Royal Hall of Castle Io.
 Tuxedo Moogle picked up again on the sound of light clapping. He realized that the sound was coming from above his head. Turning his head to look back behind him, he saw Joshua standing over him, clapping his hands softly.
 "That was most impressive, Light-man." spoke Joshua, in Traquen's voice. He began to smile darkly. "You managed to annihilate over two hundred of my Dark Guards. That is quite an accomplishment."
 Tuxedo Moogle slowly attempted to rise, and collapsed back to the ground in pain. He tried once again, and this time he made it to his feet. Standing up caused him to reel back as waves of pain rolled of him. His head felt like it was ready to go nova itself. Tuxedo Moogle realized that he was not in good shape.
 "T-Traquen..." croaked Tuxedo Moogle, as he tried to keep his balance.
 "I see that getting blast my your own attack has not dulled any of your sharp wit, Light-man." replied Traquen, his smile growing larger.
 Tuxedo Moogle shook his head and cleared the waves of pain momentarily. He looked up at the smiling Traquen. Traquen/Joshua was wearing a completely black tunic and pants, and was being trailed by a long black cloak. Moogle looked carefully at him, as Traquen spoke again.
 "Tell me something, Light-man," he said, turning around and and walking to King Joshua's golden throne. He slowly sat and continued, "Why have you come to my moon?"
 "Your moon! Ha, don't.. don't make me laugh... it hurts to much." replied Moogle, smiling painfully and looking around the hall. Incredibly, even though it was the first place to begin to fall apart, the Royal Hall was in perfect condition. Moogle guessed that at least one thing had been repaired in the castle.
    "Yes. MY moon. My castle, my city, my moon, and soon to be my solar system." said Traquen. "All of it will soon be mine."
 "Not if I'm around, Traquen."
 "That's just it... you will not be. You will be dead soon, as will all the others. Even though you like to think differently, you really are no more important to me than anyone else. You are all just pests who have to be exterminated before the plan can be completed."
 "And what plan might that be?"
 "Come now, Light-man, why don't you have a drink with me?" replied Traquen, feinting the question. As he spoke, a decanter of some type of liquid appeared in his hand. "We can celebrate my victory."
 "You haven't won yet, Traquen." responded Tuxedo Moogle, taking a step towards the throne. "And besides, I never drink with the enemy."
 "Then why do not you join me." said Traquen distractedly, as he examined the decanter. "Your power and mine could decimate this puny solar system. Then we could move on to bigger things... like the galaxy."
 "Why don't you join me! Together, you and I could make this place safe from all evil forever." Tuxedo Moogle said, realizing that this conversation had no meaning. Both he and Traquen knew that the other was not about to switch sides.
 "Ah, Light-man... where is the fun in that?" countered Traquen, nodding in approval of the liquid in his hand. He quickly snapped his fingers, and a crystal glass appeared in his hand and Moogle's. He slowly took the stopper from the decanter, and began to pour a red liquid into his glass.
 "It's not about fun. It's about truth, and up-holding all that is Good and Light." spoke Moogle, looking at the glass that had just appeared in his hand. It was of an excellent quality.
 "Ha... do not you understand, Light-man? Justice, peace, good, etc... they mean nothing! In the end, all that matters is who holds the most power. And right now, I am holding ALL the power." Traquen said, taking sip from his glass. He smiled approvingly, and looked at Moogle holding his glass. "Join me, Light-man! Have a toast with me. It is time for a celebration!"
 Tuxedo Moogle looked at Traquen, to his glass, and back to Traquen. Without taking his eyes off of Traquen's black eyes, Moogle raised the glass he was holding out in front of him, and let go of it. Traquen watched as the intricate piece of glass fell through the air, and shattered on the carpeted floor of the Royal Hall.
 "No."
 "Ah, Light-man, you insult my hospitality! Let me tell you something." said Traquen, sitting back and folding his legs. He slowly brought the glass of liquid to eye-level and slowly turned it, staring at the liquid inside. "Back in it's prime, the moon of Io was known through-out for three things. It's wine, it's wind, and it's starfleet. Now, the wind you have already gotten a taste of. The wine, you refuse to taste. But, the starfleet... now that's an interesting story."
 Tuxedo Moogle drew a perplexed look.
 "How so?"
 "You see, the Iosions maintained an incredible, and incredibly powerful fleet of starships back in the days of the Silver Millennium. Unfortunately for me, those damn peace-loving fools dismantled everyone of their ships during the thousand years of calmness after the destruction of the Moon Kingdom. They built more of that city you walked through with the left-over material. And since then, the Iosions have never built another starship." said Traquen, shifting his gaze from his glass to Tuxedo Moogle. "That is... until now."
 Tuxedo Moogle's eyes opened a little wider as he absorbed what Traquen said.
 "What... what do you mean?"
 "Are you really that ignorant, Light-man?"  said Traquen, his eyes boring into the face of Moogle. "Have not you ever wondered just what force I might have at my disposal in order to conquer your small world?"
 Tuxedo Moogle almost gasped in surprise as it all fell in place finally.
 "Your... your going to use the Iosion starfleet to capture the Earth." spoke Moogle, almost slapping himself for not seeing it sooner. "But... who's going to rebuild the fleet?"
 "Not 'going to', Light-man, 'is'. 'Who IS building rebuilding the starfleet' is more accurate. And..." spoke Traquen, polishing off the last of his wine, "if you think about it REAL hard, I am sure you will figure it out."
 Tuxedo Moogle thought back for a moment, then suddenly knew who Traquen was talking about. The simplicity of the situation was almost overwhelming. All the questions that him and scouts had were finally receiving some answers.
 "The Iosions." said Moogle, taking another step forward and receiving pain from the action, "That's where everyone is! Their constructing the new Iosion starfleet. And as soon as they are done, your going to use the fleet to over-run the Earth."
 "Congratulations, Light-man. You've figured out the 'Master' plan. Feel proud, now you know how your going to die. You see, underneath the Capital City is a huge ship-building facility. All the people that are still alive on this moon are down there, making up the work force of the facility."
 "But... who's going to fly your new fleet?"
 Traquen rose from his throne and looked up towards the ceiling.
 "Hahahaha... unfortunately, that is the part that I require my kind-hearted Lord Zeromeus for. His Dark Army, under my command, will use the New Iosion Starfleet drive a wound straight into the heart of your precious little Earth. Once the fleet is completed, your defenses will be no match for me."
 Tuxedo Moogle was suddenly confused. This was the first time he had ever heard of a 'Lord Zeromeus' or of his 'Dark Army'. So overwhelmed with new information and answers, Tuxedo Moogle could think of nothing more articulate to say other than:
 "Zeromeus?"
 Traquen looked strangely at Moogle for second, then drew back surprised.
 "You truly are in the dark are you not? You mean you have never known of... of course not, how could you?" said Traquen, answering his own questions. "Well, I would not concern yourself with the name Zeromeus for too long. His end will quite soon after yours. But, if you must know... 'Lord' Zeromeus is the one who began this whole plan. I, though not for long, am required to take his orders until they no longer suit my purpose..."
 Hearing Traquen's words, Tuxedo Moogle's mind suddenly began repeating the words that the three Serenas had said to him in the strange dream he had the other night.
 'Traquen is but a pawn... the other is the One...'
 "...but until then, you can congratulate Lord Zeromeus for the plan to dominate your solar system. Yours will only be one in a long line of conquered star systems." finished Traquen, as he took a step down onto the platform the raised up the throne, and sat his glass onto the arm of the throne.
 "Now, my dear Light-man. If there are no more interrogations..." spoke Traquen, raising his hand. In it appeared his black claymore-like sword. "I believe you have finally over-stayed your visit."
 Tuxedo Moogle instantly snapped from his trance the moment Traquen's sword appeared. The moment Tuxedo Moogle had feared had finally come. Traquen had grown tired of his presence and was going to try to finish him for good. Unfortunately, Tuxedo Moogle was too weak and in too pain to put up much of a fight. He slowly took a step backwards, and held out his hand as his own sword appeared in it.
 "So, Light-man, it looks like you will be taking all that I have said to the grave with you." said Traquen, his eyes pulsing black. "Pity... looks like you will never get to try Io's infamous wine now."
 "Yes... such a pity." replied Tuxedo Moogle sarcastically as he looked around quickly. He wouldn't be able to defend against an attack by Traquen, not in his condition. He needed help, and quick.
 "Oh well... ashes to ashes... we all die at some point, Light-man. Except me, of course." called Traquen as he raised his sword above his head. As he did, black lightning formed around the blade of the sword. Also, a heavy wind picked up, blowing Moogle's cape back. Tuxedo Moogle knew that Traquen was about to electrocute him if he didn't do something, and quick. He looked up, and caught a glimpse of the crystal ceiling. Tuxedo Moogle suddenly knew what he had to do.
 He was only going to get one shot at it, so he had to make it count.
 "DARK ENERGY... ELECTRIFY!!" shouted Traquen, as he threw his sword forward and launched a bolt of pure dark energy towards Tuxedo Moogle from it. Instantly, Moogle closed his eyes and swung his sword out in front out him. With perfect accuracy, the beam of dark energy slammed into the blade of Moogle's long sword, and deflected upward into the crystal ceiling. As soon as the beam shot upwards, Tuxedo Moogle turned and dove to the end of the Royal Hall. Without stopping, Moogle pivoted on his heel, and leapt from the hall. Traquen looked from him to the ceiling just in time to see the dark energy surge through it, becoming magnified by the crystals.
 "DAMN YOU, LIGHT-MAN--!" screamed Traquen, his sentence cut short as the dark energy surging through the ceiling suddenly collected into one large mass through the crystals and fired back downward, it's power magnified more than a hundred times. Traquen instantly disappeared in the black energy, screaming, as the blast slammed into the ground, exploding with the force of a bomb. The dark energy quickly enveloped the rest of the Royal Hall, vaporizing everything in it's path. It slowly began to spread out through the castle, annihilating everything it touched. A moment later, the blast reached the power generator below the castle which ran all of the castle's lights and equipment. The effect of the blast coming in contact with the generator was instantaneous.
     Castle Io exploded.

         ****

 Tuxedo Moogle looked up from the sandy ground just time to see Castle Io go up in a ball of reddish-black fire. He quickly covered his head as pieces of stone rained down upon him like hail. Miraculously, the hailstorm of fire and stone ended with Tuxedo Moogle remaining untouched. Moogle slowly rose, his body hurting him more than ever, and turned to look at where Castle Io once was. All that remained was a pile of flaming rubble. Moogle watched the flames for a minute, then turned began to walk away from the rubble, without saying a word.
 "It looks like I am stuck on Io until I heal enough to teleport back to Earth..." spoke Tuxedo Moogle as he walked, looking up at the sight of Jupiter shining down. "At least I won't have to worry about--"
 Tuxedo Moogle's sentence was cut short as a sound rang through his mind.
 It was Traquen's laugh.
 *It will take more than that to stop me, Light-man!* echoed Traquen's voice through Tuxedo Moogle's mind. *Mark my words, Light-man. In three days time, the New Iosion Starfleet will rise, and then your precious Earth will be MINE! Be sure to make you peace, Light-man. You have three days until the end of it all!*
    Slowly, Traquen's voice faded out. Tuxedo Moogle stood still for a moment, realizing that it was not over for him after all. Traquen was still out there, and the Iosion starfleet was almost completed. The situation was grim. Moogle was alone, hurt, and stuck on Io. He, alone, could not possibly have a chance for stopping the entire Iosion starfleet. Not to mention dealing with Traquen. Tuxedo Moogle realized that this was no longer just his problem.
 He needed help.
 Tuxedo Moogle pulled his cape around himself tighter and began to run in the direction towards the Capital City. Somewhere in there would be what he needed to get help, he just hoped there was enough time.
 As Moogle ran, he realized that whatever happened next, this was finally it. All the pieces were set, and all the strategies played out. All that was left was for someone to be declared the winner. With grim determination as he ran, Tuxedo Moogle thought of only one thing.
   The Final Battle had begun.

         ****

 "...I repeat, Castle Io has been destroyed. The New Iosion Fleet is almost completed. We have three days left. Please, I need all of you here, on Io. We have to finally put an end to all this. We have to stop the completion of the starfleet and defeat Traquen, or all of our efforts will be in vain. I am stuck on Io, too weak to teleport home. I need your help! I will be hiding in the Capital City. Come to the center plaza, I'll find you. Please hurry. The future of the Earth depends on it. Tuxedo Moogle out."
 Luna, Artemis, Ami, Philly, and Serena continued to stare at the screen after it had gone dark. Ami was the first to speak up.
 "He must have found some communication equipment to get that message here so fast. On one of our communicators, that message would be traveling for days before anyone heard it."
 Luna quickly turned to the group.
 "Right. Listen, we don't have much time. It's looks like this is it. We need to go to the hospital and round up the others. From the way Matt sounded, this is looks to be our darkest hour. We need to get to Io and find Matt. From there, according to Matt, we need to get to the ship-building facility and stop the completion of the new Iosion fleet somehow, and stop Traquen once and for all."
 Philly, Serena, and Ami quickly nodded and split up to gather some things for the trip. While they were gone, Luna turned to Artemis.
 "If anything, at least hearing Matt's voice did Serena some good. But other than that... the situation doesn't look too good..."
 "I know, Luna, I know... like you said, this truly is our darkest hour."
 "Hopefully we can shed some light on this dark hour..."
 Artemis finished her thought for her:
 ".. or the Earth is doomed."

 *** To Be Concluded ***

continue to Story 6, part 3
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