Matt awoke to the sound footsteps. He quickly bolted up into a sitting position, a cold sweat appearing on his face. Was that it? Had Traquen sent his forces to find Matt? Fearing the worst, Matt stopped his breathing and listened.
 Again, he heard the sound of footsteps approaching from down below on the street. Matt quickly jumped to his feet painfully and ran to the window of the small room he had found in one of the smaller buildings overlooking the central plaza. After the destruction of Castle Io, Matt had quickly made to the Capital City, where he had located some fairly advanced communication equipment in one of the buildings. The inside of the buildings had turned out to be just as impressive as the outside. The insides of the buildings in the city were constructed with the same clear plastic and silver metal. Even the ceiling and floors were made of the transparent plastic-like material. The beauty of the buildings aside, Matt had no use for the way the interior decoration looked. Having more important things on his mind, he had searched until he had found what he was looking for. A large communication array. Familiarizing himself with the controls, Matt had sent out a emergency signal to all the scouts communicators, explaining the current situation and asking them to come to Io as soon as possible. With that accomplished, Matt had moved from the "communication" building to a smaller one nearer to the city's plaza, where he had asked the scouts to meet him. He had entered the building, found a small room overlooking the plaza on the third floor, transformed back, and had laid down to rest and regain some of his strength for the impending battle. A short time after that, he had fallen into a light sleep, remaining undisturbed until the sound of footsteps against the stone street outside the building had awoken him.
 Matt silently moved to the window in the room and peered out into the dark street below, a rose clutched in his hand. Because the Capital City had been abandoned, though it was more like "forcefully deserted", the city's lights had not come on as "night" had came upon the moon. That left Matt only light of Jupiter to use in scanning for anyone who might be approaching. As Matt watched the plaza intently, a group of several darkened figures emerged from the end near his building and moved towards the center of the plaza, near the large fountain. The group stopped at the fountain, and began to converse softly. Matt's breath grew more shallow as he realized the group could only be one of two things. Either the group was a search party of the zombie-like Dark Guards, or possibly a group of Iosions themselves, or...
 Matt suddenly froze as he thought he caught a flash of movement from one of the members of the group. Because of the darkness, it was impossible to make out how large the group was, though Matt could see that it was fairly big. Matt squinted his eyes as he tried to make out what he had seen. As he did, he caught it for a second time. This time, his heart skipped a beat as he realized what it was.
 It was a pair of long ponytails blowing in the wind.
 It was Sailor Moon and the Sailor Scouts.
 Matt leapt to his feet instantly and ran from the room to the outside of the building. He raced up to the main doors, which slid open automatically as soon as Matt approached. Matt thought, as he ran through the doorway to the outside, that the doors in the city must have their own power generator each. That would explain why they worked, but the street lights and city lights never came on. Also, the communication array he used must have had it's own power generator. Even though it had shaped up as a mostly bad might, Matt still had some luck on his side. If ALL the power in the city had gone out, Matt probably would have had no choice but to face Traquen and "shut-down" the ship-building facility under the city all by himself. He doubted if he would even succeed at one by himself, let alone both.
 Reaching the street, Matt quickly turned and ran with great difficulty to the beginning edge of the plaza. He slowed his pace as he reached it and began to walk towards the group. Matt managed to make it about half way when the tallest figure, Matt guessed it was Sailor Jupiter, turned and spotted him approaching.
 "Look! Someone's coming!" shouted the figure, who's voice confirmed Matt's guess that it was Jupiter. The rest of the group turned to face Matt.
 "Halt you! Who are you?" shouted the figure to right of Sailor Jupiter. It was Sailor Mars.
 Matt stopped walking, and spread out his hands before him. With a sheepish grin, he called out to Mars:
 "Oh come now, Mars... surely you haven't forgotten me already! I've only been gone a couple hours."
 The entire group remained silent for a moment, causing Matt's smile to grow larger as he imagined the stunned looks on their faces. A second later, Sailor Moon raced forward.
 "MATT!" she shouted, rushing towards him. She quickly ran up to him and embraced him. As she did, Matt groaned in pain from his wounds on his ribs.
 "Oh no! Your hurt!" said Sailor Moon drawing back slightly and looking down Matt's chest, even though it was too dark to make out any details.
 "It's... it's not too bad." spoke Matt, wincing painfully. He looked up to see the rest of the group quickly approaching. Even though it was dark, Matt make out the drastic feeling of relief that appeared on each of their faces. Matt smiled again, knowing that they all had been worried about him. Coming closer, Matt could make out the faces of Sailor Venus, Sailor Mars, Sailor Mercury, Sailor Jupiter, and Philly. Luna and Artemis had apparently not come along.
 "I'm surprised they let you out of the hospital." said Matt as Philly walked up to him. Sailor Moon quickly stepped back and allowed Philly to step closer and examine Matt's wounds.
 "I'm sure they'll be surprised too... once they find out." replied Venus.
 "Somehow that doesn't surprise me." smiled Matt. He suddenly grimaced in pain as Philly touched his ribs.
 "Well, I can tell right now that you have a couple broken ribs. And that's just a pliminary guess. I'm not even sure what else you might be suffering from. We have to get you inside one of these buildings so I can wrap those. If I don't, they're only going to continue to grow worse."
 "No, it's ok. I'm fine. Really." said Matt, moving backwards slightly as he spoke. As he did, Philly suddenly shot out a finger and poked him lightly in the rib cage. Matt gasped in pain and almost doubled over.
 "Sure you are." said Philly as she moved next to him. She took a hold of his arm and laid over her shoulder. Sailor Jupiter suddenly stepped forward and followed Philly's pattern, taking the other arm. "And in this condition, you'll last all of 5 seconds against Traquen."
 "Alright... seeing as how your all against me, I'm not going argue." said Matt, looking between the scouts faces. He gradually began using some of the support Philly and Jupiter. He looked up and nodded towards the building he had come from. "Over there. That's where I was staying while I waited for you to come."
 Moving slowly, the two girls helped Matt make it to the building, while the others walked behind them. They entered the building and laid Matt down onto the ground near the front entrance, while Sailor Mercury examined the sliding door with her computer. After a moment, she knelt down next to it and opened a hidden access panel set into the wall. Scanning the access panel again, she suddenly reached in and ripped a large black cord from the wall. She then pushed it back into the panel at a different spot and worked on it for a moment.
 "Got it." Mercury said, as the embedded ceiling lights in the building suddenly came into existence, flooding the room with brightness.
 "Incredible..." spoke Venus, looking at Mercury. "How'd did you do it?"
 "I connected the power line for lights into power generator for the door." replied Mercury, rising to her feet and closing up her computer. "Unfortunately, that means we will have to pry the doors open to get out. Not only that, I don't how powerful the door generator is. We might have light for a couple hours... or a couple minutes."
 "That's alright, we will only need a couple minutes. After we bandage Matt, we'll have to shut them off for safety's sake. The lights have probably turned this building into a giant signal beacon for anyone who is looking for us." Sailor Mars said, turning to look at Matt and Philly along with the other scouts. They watched as Philly un-did Matt's dark tunic, apparently causing Matt a great amount of pain from the look on his face. With gasp of horror, Sailor Moon saw Matt's old bandages that wrapped around his mid-section were covered with blood.
 "Oh my God... you really are hurt! How bad is it, Philly?" questioned Sailor Moon, her voice shaky.
 "It's... not that bad." said Matt painfully, looking at Sailor Moon.
 "It's pretty bad." said Philly, also looking at Sailor Moon. Matt turned to her with an annoyed look on his face.
 "Thanks."
 "Your welcome." said Philly, pushing the conversation out of the way. "Listen, this might hurt a little. I am going to remove the bandages around your stomach."
 "Go head. Can't hurt much worse than your bedside manner."
 Matt regretted his words instantly as Philly began removing the wrappings forcefully. The sight under the bandages made Sailor Moon and Sailor Venus turn away in horror. Besides the broken ribs, most of Matt's stomach area had been scratched and sliced battling with the Dark Guards at Castle Io. Philly quickly put her hands on his stomach, keeping pressure on it. Matt's body was going numb as inconceivable amounts of pain washed over him.
 "Quickly. Mars, Venus, I need you to search this building for any medical kits or first-aid kits. They might look strange, because they're Iosion, so just look for anything with herbs or things in it."
 "Right." said Mars and Venus in unison, running down the hall and towards the flight of steps leading to the next floor. As soon as they were out of sight, Philly turned towards Jupiter, who had just been wondering how Philly knew so much about Iosion medicine.
 "Sailor Jupiter, I need you to come here and put your hands on Matt's stomach. We have to keep pressure on it." spoke Philly, looking from Jupiter to Matt, who was grinding his teeth in pain.
 Sailor Jupiter quickly joined Philly, kneeling down near Matt. She placed her hands next to Philly's and pushed down gently. Her gloved hands slowly became covered in blood, like Philly's.
 "Sailor Moon," Philly spoke, looking up at Sailor Moon. The look on her face caused Philly to stop in mid-sentence. She realized Sailor Moon thought that Matt was about to die on her. Philly quickly changed her mind about what she was going to say and said something else. "Why don't you find a container of some-kind and go get some water from the fountain out in the plaza?"
 Sailor Moon turned wordlessly and walked to the doors. She put her hands between the edges where the double doors met, and slowly pushed them apart. When the opening in the doors was large enough for her to fit, she slid out and ran off.
 "Whew... at least I got her out of here. She looked as if she was ready to have a nervous breakdown." whispered Philly, turning back towards Matt.
 "Can you blame her?" replied Jupiter, also whispering. "She thinks Matt is the only one she can trust in, now that Darien's dead. First it was Darien, but Matt helped get over some of the pain from that. Then it was her parents, but you helped quell that. And now, she afraid she's going to lose Matt. I'm sure she's wondering who she is going to turn to if he dies. It's almost super-human the way she has handled all of this pain in her life now, but I'm afraid one of these days, all this pain is going to be to much for her. Especially if Matt isn't there to comfort her."
 Philly remained silent as she continued to hold pressure on Matt. Sailor Pluto, the guardian of Time, might have brought her into this situation, but even Philly didn't know what was going to happen next.
 And she was afraid that no one else did.
 

          ****
 

 "Do you think they are aright?"
 Artemis turned his head from the sky towards Luna.
 "Of course. You got to remember, Luna, you trained them all well. They've been in worse situations than this. They'll be fine."
 "I wish I had your confidence." said Luna, looking back towards the night sky. The two cats were sitting out on the roof of Serena's house, gazing at the night sky. The temperature of the area had warmed up considerably as a warm front moved through. It was hard to imagine that a night like that could take place in the middle of the fall. Especially after having almost freezing temperatures a couple hours before. The weather was certainly unusual. It felt almost like the way it felt when the scouts were at the North Pole, fighting Queen Beryol for the final time.
 "You don't need my confidence, Luna. With Matt and Philly up there with the scouts, their chances are almost promising in my opinion."
 "Yes... but Matt is hurt, from what he said in his message, and we don't even know the full extent of Philly's powers. We don't even know HER that well. I mean, think about it... all we know is that she knows about Sailor Pluto, and she says she has been sent to help us. We know she can wield an powerful energy, but we don't even know just how powerful she is. For all we know, she could be a follower of Traquen, sent to betray us to him."
 "Come now, Luna... you can't possibly mean that! Not after all she has done for us. Sure, we know little about her, but what we don't know has been more than made up for the way we've seen her act. She's already saved us twice... and in my book, that puts her in my full confidence."
 "I know, I know... I'm just nervous. And worried." said Luna, turning to look at the moon. It was full that night. "The scouts are up against one of their most dangerous situations ever. What if they don't succeed? Then what?"
 "Then we won't have long to think about it. According to Matt, the Iosion Starfleet is almost done. If the scouts fail, the consequences will not be long in coming. Namely a quick end at the hands of Traquen."
 "So what are we suppose to do? Sit back and watch as the fate of Earth is decided millions of miles away?"
 "It's all we can do, Luna. That... and pray that somehow, we'll make it through this."

          ****

 "There, that's the last of the bandages." said Philly, knotting the wrap around Matt's wrist. She stood up and stepped back with the others. As she did, Sailor Moon moved in next to Matt and knelt down beside him. Matt, who was drowsy from all the pain he had suffered and the "medicine" Philly had given him, warily put his arms out to Sailor Moon. She dropped down to beside him and wrapped her arms lightly around his neck, her face almost full of as much pain as Matt's. Matt smiled slightly, wrapped his arms around Sailor Moon, and leaned his head back as Sailor Moon rested her head on his shoulder. He closed his eyes in exhaustion.
 "It's amazing..." Philly whispered to the group as they turned and walked outside the building, leaving Sailor Moon alone with Matt. "In all, he suffered three broken ribs, a sprained wrist, a couple nasty cuts, and a concussion. He also lost an incredible amount of blood from the cuts on his abdomen. And yet... he was still able to do all he did this night. From going up against Traquen, to locating and operating that communication equipment, he had managed to do all of it without faltering once. Anyone else, with those kinds of wounds and the pain they must have given him, almost assuredly would not have made it. It must have been hell for him. I'm just glad you found that medical kit, or Matt might not have been in any condition to make an assault of the ship-building plant any time soon. "
 The rest of the group nodded in silent agreement, as they looked up towards the planet Jupiter, and scanned the city.
 "So now what?" asked Sailor Venus, looking at Philly.
 "Well... he is definitely going to have to get some rest. From what he said Traquen told him, we have three days. So that's one thing on our side."
 "Ok, we should find get Matt to a bed so he can rest, then we should rest ourselves. I'm not feeling too hot myself." said Sailor Mars, rubbing her burnt shoulder. "We should each take a watch part of the night. Then tomorrow, we need search for the entrance to the ship-building facility."
 "Sounds good..." replied Sailor Jupiter, yawning. "I can't remember the last time I got any sleep. Those damn hospital beds are just too uncomfortable."
 "One more thing," said Mercury, also yawning, thanks to Sailor Jupiter. "What about Sailor Moon?"
 "We should just let her be." replied Sailor Mars, glancing back in to the building. "I'm sure she'll want to stay with Matt while he's recovering."
 "Ok, then... who's going to take first watch?" Venus said, looking at everyone.
 "I will." responded Philly, smiling slightly.
 "You sure?"
 "It's no problem. I'd like to have a look around this area anyways."
 "Alright. Good luck, then. We'll be right inside if you need us." said Jupiter, turning to Mercury, Venus, and Mars. "Why don't we go move Matt to a comfortable room, and then find a couple comfortable rooms ourselves?"
 "Ok." said Sailor Mars, walking back to the door. Mercury, Jupiter, and Venus quickly followed her. As she reached the doorway, Sailor Mars turned back towards Philly. "Next watch will be in two hours, ok?"
 "Sounds good. Good night, you guys."
 "Good night, Philly. And good luck."

          ****

 Matt awoke to the sound of light snoring, coming from someone near him. He slowly opened his eyes and stood still for a moment, reorienting himself. He remembered being bandaged, then being helped to a room with a bed on the second floor of the building. He realized he had just woken up in that bed.
 Sitting up, Matt also realized that alot of his pain had sub-sided. His muscles were still generally sore from over-use, but otherwise, he was in pretty good condition. His stomach was still a little sore and tender, but the tight bandages helped it. The advances of Iosion medicine never ceased to amaze Matt. He stretched out gingerly, and stopped to listen to the sound that had awoken him from his deep, dreamless sleep. A moment later, he heard the light snoring and knew instantly who it was. Ever since the night Matt had come to her door after his dream/vision, Matt knew that he would never forget that sound.
 It was Serena.
 As his eyes adjusted to the darkness, Matt could make out the prone figure of Serena slumped down into a chair that rested near Matt's bed.
 "Poor Serena..." thought Matt as he gazed at the sleeping Serena and listened to her cute snore. "She stayed with me while I recovered. She must have been exhausted."
 Matt slowly pulled himself out from under the blanket he was wrapped in, and swung his legs over the side of the bed, mindful of his wounds. He slowly rose, smiling gratefully as he stretched his tired, hurt muscles. He quickly turned back to his bed and snatched up the blanket from it. He moved next to Serena silently, and laid the warm cover over top of her cuddled frame. Once finished, Matt moved through the darkness until he found his cloak and boots at the end of the bed. Matt had no recollection of taking them off, but that didn't really matter. Matt didn't have much of a recollection anything after he had been bandaged by Philly.
 Quickly dressing, Matt glanced back at the still peaceful Serena, and moved to where he remembered the door to the room being. Sure enough, the sliding door opened automatically to his presence, and Matt walked out into the darkened hall beyond.
 Realizing that the scouts must have shut off the lights while he was sleeping, Matt slowly made his way to the end of the hall and the steps leading downward by feeling his way along the wall. He reached the main "foyer", where he had been bandaged, and noticed that the sliding doors were still ajar, a beautiful day lying beyond them. Stepping out gingerly, Matt fill his lungs with air as he absorbed the warmth of Jupiter. It was the first time he felt good in quite awhile. Matt smiled slightly, and looked to gaze at his surroundings. Nothing had changed from the way Matt had remembered it when he first arrived. The only thing that he wondered about now was where the rest of the group was. Matt quickly scanned the city laid out around him, and suddenly caught sight of someone standing at the fountain in the plaza. All that Matt could make out was that the person had long blonde hair, making the person either Philly or Mina. A quick mind touch confirmed that it was Mina.
 "Good morning!" shouted Matt to Mina in the distance. He slowly began walking towards the fountain, as Mina turned to his direction. As Matt got closer, he heard her call out:
 "Matt! Your finally awake!"
 As Matt approached her, he realized that she was sitting on the edge of the fountain and was wearing nothing but a towel that was tied above her chest. She had another in her hands, and was drying her hair. Matt guessed she must have just taken a bath in the fountain.
 "Yeah, and I feel great. Well, almost great." replied Matt stopping next to her. He couldn't help but notice her beautiful legs. "Say... um... where did you find the towels?"
 "They were in one of the rooms of the building. Apparently, the building was some-kind of living place. Almost all the rooms in it look like hotel rooms."
 "I noticed." replied Matt, remembering the room he had just been in. He looked at Mina again, and cleared his throat uncomfortably. "But... don't they have showering facilities? I'm sure that would be alot nicer than in the... um.. fountain."
 "I know, but the only running water in the city is coming from this fountain. Trust me, we checked all over." said Mina, wrapping the towel around her wet hair.
 "When did you find time to do all this? Didn't any of you get any sleep?" questioned Matt, his gaze never quite resting on Mina for obvious reasons. She apparently noticed Matt's uneasiness, because a small, sly smile appeared on her face. She crossed her legs slowly, causing Matt to begin to inspect the greenish-blue sky for any signs of bird life.
 "What do you mean?" asked Mina, a puzzled look appearing on her face.
 "Well... it was late when you arrived. "Planet-rise" must have not been far off. Where did you find all this time to look for water, and find towels, and such?"
 "Where did we find the time? Come on Matt, we've had a whole day... I think that would have been enough time to do those things."
 "A whole day? What?" questioned Matt, drawing back. Something was definitely not right.
 "You... you don't know, do you?" asked Mina, realization suddenly dawning on her face. "Matt, my god, you have been unconscious for over 24 hours."
 Matt's eyes suddenly grew wide. He stood in stunned silence as Mina's words replayed in his head.
 "24... hours?" spoke Matt, hesitantly. That meant that instead of sleeping a few hours like he had thought, Matt had missed an entire day. That also meant that instead of the two days Matt thought they had left, they only had...
 "DAMN! We have to get moving! We only have a couple hours before Traquen's deadline! We have to find the entrance to the ship-building plant, we have to--"
Matt was suddenly cut off Mina, who stood and took a hold of his shoulder. The sight of Mina caused Matt to shut his mouth instantly.
 "Matt, calm down! Just relax. You only awoke a little while ago... have to take it easy..."
 "Take it easy?! We're running out of time! And we still have so much to do!"
 Mina squeezed his shoulder and looked at him. Matt stopped talking and looked at her.
 "first of all, you have to relax. Your in no condition yet to be working yourself like this. You need to save your strength. And second, we have already found the entrance to the ship facility."
 Matt looked at Mina strangely for a moment, then he suddenly whispered:
 "You have?"
 "Yes..." said Mina, in a soothing tone. "We found a building on the other side of the city that has a group of Royal Guards blocking the entrance. Also, their people coming in and out of the building all the time. Iosion people."
  "Why didn't someone wake me sooner then?" said Matt, calming down as some of his worries disappeared slightly.
 "Because you needed time to rest and regain your strength."
 Even though Matt hated it, he couldn't argue with her point. He sighed and looked around.
 "Alright... where are the others now?"
 "They went to the building to scout it out. They should be back any minute."
 Matt, realizing that everything was well in hand, sighed and stepped away from Mina. He turned and began to walk back to the building.
 "Where are you going?" asked Mina, as she watched him leave.
 "Well, first I am going to get my own damn towel so I can take my own "fountain-bath". Then, we have to get ready. We have a ship-building facility to bring down."

          ****

 Matt watched intently from the fountain as a blonde-haired figure appeared from the doorway to the building that the group was using, and began looking around. Matt recognized Serena's unique hair-style instantly, and sunk down in the cold water of the fountain as far as possible. He now understood the embarrassing situations that arose when one bathed in a public area. Matt knew that Serena was searching for him, and had no choice but to call out to her.
 "Serena! Over here!"
 The figure of Serena quickly turned to face Matt. After a moment of pause, she began to slowly advance towards him, most likely noticing that he was in the fountain.
 "Matt?" called Serena as she approached. Matt knew she was wondering just what in the world he doing. He smiled as he thought of the look on her face when she finally found out.
 "I'm over here!" replied Matt, calling out to her. She slowly approached him, a quizzical look on her face. Matt couldn't help but begin laugh softly.
 "Matt? What are you doing in the fountain?" asked Serena, once she was close enough to be heard without shouting.
 Matt chuckled again.
 "I'm taking a bath."
 "Oh." said Serena. She paused for a moment and thought about what he said. Her face suddenly took on the look that Matt had been thinking about a moment before. "OH! Sorry! I-I mean, I'll..."
 Matt smiled warmly. He personally didn't mind Serena's company. Sure, he was taking a bath, but he could help but long for her company anyways.
 "No, it's ok. I was just finishing up. Don't worry about it." said Matt soothingly, trying to calm the flustered Serena.
 "Sorry... if I would have known... I mean... oh."
 "No... it's aright Serena! I don't mind." said Matt, watching the blushing Serena. "Tell you what, why don't hand me that towel over there?"
 "This one?" said Serena, pointing to a white towel that was laying near a small pile of black clothes and white bandaging.
 "Yes, that one. Could you grab it for me?" asked Matt, using the side of the fountain as a barrier for both his and Serena's sake. Serena quickly snatched up the towel and handed it to him. Matt took a breath, and threw the towel around his waist quickly as he stood, preventing both him and Serena from severe embarrassment. He fixed the towel just above his stomach tightly and stepped over and out of the fountain.
 "Maybe you should turn around while I re-bandage my wounds and get dressed. The cuts on my stomach still look pretty sickening."
 Serena complied, turning around to face the building the group was using. Once she did, Matt quickly grabbed his bandaging and sat on the edge of the fountain. He slid his towel down to his waist and began to rewrap his abdomen.
 "Can I ask you a question, Serena?" Matt inquired as he sat wrapping.
 "Ok..." Serena replied without turning around. Matt could hear the puzzlement in her voice.
 "Why did you stay with me?"
 "What do you mean?" asked Serena.
 "I mean when I was resting from my wounds. Why did you stay with me the whole time?"
 "Because..." Serena responded hesitantly "It's what you would have done for me."
 "Oh." said Matt, his voice a even tone. He finished bandaging his abdomen and moved towards his clothes. He picked up his tunic and began to put it on. He left off the bandages that were once around his head and wrist.
 Serena paused for a moment, then whispered softly.
 "And because I was worried."
 Matt stopped dressing and looked at the back of Serena as she stood with her face to the sky. Matt slowly finished putting on his tunic and walked over to Serena. He laid his hands on her shoulders, causing her to jump and turn around, a startled look in her eyes. She stared into Matt's eyes wordlessly.
 "Why?" asked Matt, his voice no more then a soft whisper. "Why would you worry about someone like me?"
 "What... what do you mean?" Serena whispered uncertainly.
 "Look at me Serena. I'm nothing more than a man who has no idea who he really is. I have no memory other than waking up on a hill in a bad storm. What kind of man is that? And now... I am caught in the middle of a situation I have no right to be a part of. It should be Tuxedo Mask here helping you, not me."
 "How... how can you say something like that?" asked Serena, her voice cracking slightly.
 "Because it is the truth. I want to tell you something that I've felt for a long time. I care for you deeply, Serena. I may not have much of a memory, but I do know that I have never met anyone like you before. I knew from the moment I saw you when I rescued your purse that you were someone special. But these feelings I have... they're wrong. I should not have them. It should be Darien standing here talking to you. But instead of the man you love eternally, I'm here. Something's not right here, Serena. I should have never gotten involve in all this, and Darien should have never died. Now instead of him, you have me. I'm just a nameless man who got into something he shouldn't have, and now you are stuck with me, instead of him."
 "No... Matt..." whispered Serena, beginning to cry. "You don't mean that..."
 "I do mean that!" said Matt, his voice growing louder and more adamant. "How can you care about someone who ruined your life, Serena? Why am I here, instead of Tuxedo Mask? Why do I now have his powers? I am not the man you love, Serena, and I am afraid sometimes you mistake me for him. I do have feelings for you, Serena. But, how can you even acknowledge my existence, Serena? If it wasn't for me, none of this might not have happened. If I hadn't interfered, you might have been spared alot of pain. But now... thanks to me..."
 Matt was suddenly cut short as Serena suddenly slapped him across the face.
 "Don't you ever say anything like that!" screamed Serena, her face red and tears in her eyes. Matt took a step back in surprise as Serena looked at him with look that could have vanquished any dark creature alive. "Don't you ever say that you are the caused of Darien's death, or anything else that happened to us! None of this was your fault! In fact, we wouldn't even be where we are today without you. In our darkest time, MY darkest times, you were always there, always supportive. You said you thought I mistaken you sometimes for Darien? Matt, if I confused you with Darien... I... I wouldn't have the feelings I have for you. I'll never forget Darien, ever... but if I had mistaken you for him... then I wouldn't feel what I feel for you now!"
 Matt's eyes suddenly grew wide, as Serena turned and raced for the building, crying. Matt watched as she disappeared in the building, and just continued to stand, staring. Slowly, he brought his hand lightly to the place Serena had struck him.
 For the second time in his life, like the time before he met Serena and the others, Matt had no idea what to do.

          ****

 Soon. So very soon.
 "Just a few more of those damn tests..." thought Traquen, as he gazed down at the assembly floor. "Just a few more, then this solar system will finally be mine!"
 Traquen laughed softly as he gazed out at the Iosion people moving about, being forced to complete the two dozen ships on the mile-wide by mile-wide assembly floor. Scattered throughout the place were huge hulking pieces of silvered-colored machines. They were made of the same metal as the city above. Racing through the top part of the assembly room was a huge network of metal catwalks which spanned the entire length of the assembly floor. On the catwalks marched a small army of the dark energy-animated Dark Guards. Each slowly patrolled the room, overseeing the completion of the New Iosion Starfleet. They were nothing more than mindless slaves, without any conscious thought, but they did their job well.
 Traquen slowly turned and walked to the other end of the large "office" he was in. The room he was in was set into the west wall, above the catwalks. A single, very long, flight of steps led to the entrance to the room. It originally had been the overseer's office back in the days of the original Iosion Starfleet. Now, Traquen had converted the large room into his own personal command center, where he personally could watch the completion of his "dark dream". Thanks to the large, already made gutted-hauls of previous ships, the huge automated machines, the Iosion people, and Zeromeus's nearly limitless Dark Army and Dark Guards, Traquen's Dark Fleet had been constructed in record time. He had started the construction way back, before the scouts first came to Io. And now, it was going through the final diagnostic tests. Soon, it would be fully operational, and Traquen would launch a strike straight into the heart of the Earth. It was indeed a glorious day for the forces of Darkness.
 Traquen slowly inspected each of the nearly half-mile long ships, examining their bristling weaponry, and admiring their menacing appearance. Traquen continued to watch from the great bank of windows that made up the wall that separated the room from the assembly floor. His eyes finally came upon his "pride and joy". It was a massive ship, nearly 10% longer than the others. Also, instead of the uniform silver that the metal of the other ships was, the haul of the ship was a solid black. It was the flagship of the New Iosion Starfleet.
 It was Traquen's ship.
 It was also the only ship that truly completed. Traquen made sure that his own personal ship had been finished first. As soon as it was finished, Traquen stopped all production and forced the Iosion people held in slavery to watch as he christened the first of the New Iosion Starfleet. Traquen had laughed dementedly after he had seen the look on the faces of the Iosions upon naming the ship.
 He had christened the ship the "Hammer of Lucifer".
 Now, Traquen waited for two things. He waited for the rest of the fleet to be completed and he waited for the infernal Sailor Scouts to make their futile move. Traquen had known about the Scouts arrival the moment they had arrived on Io. Yet, he ignored them completely. Nothing could stop his Dark Fleet from being completed, not even the damned Light-man. Traquen realized that if he just waited, the scouts would come to him, and then he could finish them once and for all.
 "Soon. So very soon."

          ****
 

 "There it is. The entrance."
 Tuxedo Moogle quickly gazed down to where Sailor Mars was pointing. Sure enough, there was a large building that had a group of Dark Guards, who Tuxedo Moogle had become so familiar with, standing front of the doors. Moogle slowly leaned back from the edge of the roof of the building they were on, and turned to the group. He slowly looked into each of the eyes of the scouts and Philly, who all held the same determined look that he knew he had himself. Finally, Tuxedo Moogle's gaze rested upon Sailor Moon's even face. She had not spoken a word to him since the incident at the fountain. When the Sailor Mercury, Sailor Mars, Sailor Jupiter, and Philly had returned, the group had gotten ready without saying more than two words between all of them. They all knew what was beginning, and no one needed to mention it. After gathering up a few last things, the entire group had transformed and left the building they had stayed in for the last time. Sailor Mars led the way to the building that held the entrance to the plant. Upon getting close to the site, the group had moved to the rooftops of the city where they could approach the building without being seen.
 "Well, it looks like this it. Is everyone ready? Once we're in, we're only going to get one shot at this." asked Tuxedo Moogle, gazing back at the entrance building.
 "We're ready. Let's do it." replied Sailor Mars, leaping into action. She jumped onto the ledge that traversed the edge of the building and looked down. A moment later, she was joined by Sailor Moon, Sailor Jupiter, Sailor Mars, Sailor Venus, and Sailor Mercury. A moment later, they all they moved to hold each other's hands. Instinctively, Philly and Tuxedo Moogle moved back out of the way and watched.
 "SAILOR PLANET POWER!!" screamed the five girls in unison. Instantly, each one flashed in a different color light, and began to glow white. Moogle and Philly shielded their eyes as they watched in awe. A second later, still in perfect unison, the five Scouts suddenly flung out their hands towards the group of Dark Guards below. A enormous shock wave of force and energy instantly exploded from the Scouts' hands and raced towards the Guards. The mindless drones looked up, hearing the low rumble of the wave, just as the shock wave slammed into them, crushing them instantly. The wave continued past the group of guards, directly into the front of the building. With a explosion loud enough to shake the entire area, the lower front of the building suddenly imploded backwards into itself, taking out the doors in the entrance way, also. The group watched for a moment as smoke and dust began to rise into the air.
 "COME ON!" shouted Tuxedo Moogle, rushing to the side of the building and leaping off. He landed on feet in front of the partially demolished building. He gave a loud groan as he landed, thanks to his wounds. Straightening up, he was joined a second later by the rest of the group. "Let's clear the way a little, shall we? MOOGLE LIGHT BEAM!"
 A beam of light lanced outward from Moogle's hand, sweeping across the rubble from the building that had fallen in front of the doorway. As the beam arced past, chunks of debris that came in contact with it exploded under the power of the attack. As Tuxedo Moogle sliced out sections of rubble, Philly slowly closed her eyes and began to glow a bluish-silver hue. The scouts watched as several of the larger rocks in front of the entrance also began glowing. A second later, they imploded into themselves as if two large hands had crushed them. Within moments, thanks to Tuxedo Moogle and Philly, the way in was revealed once again.
 Wasting no time, the group quickly rushed in and took up positions near the door and just a little farther inside. The building was completed devastated on the inside because of the shock wave. Walls were crumbling, and anything that was breakable in the building was already broken. As the group took up defensive positions in case of more guards, now that their presence was most likely known, Sailor Mercury stepped forward into the building and activated her visor.
 "Scanning for the way down to the plant..." said Mercury distractedly as she watched the readings appear on her visor. She suddenly pointed to a crumbling hall that was straight in front of the group. "There... about 50 yards down. Turn right, and there should be some-kind of large elevator-lift."
 "We'd better hurry. I doubt that we still have the element of surprise on our side. I'm sure by now, someone knows we're here. Come on!" Tuxedo Moogle said, moving into the building quickly. He looked around cautiously, then moved up next to Sailor Mercury.
 "Lead the way." he said, looking down the hall Mercury had been pointing at. There were several large doors on both sides of the hall. Some had been knocked from their frames.
 With the entire group trailing cautiously, Sailor Mercury slowly made her way around the various chunks of debris and down the hall, scanning for any signs of an ambush. About half-way down the hall, her visor flared up with a warning.
 "LOOK OUT!" shouted Mercury diving forward onto the ground. A large metal door that she had just pasted suddenly exploded outward. It slid the length of the narrow hallway, and slammed into the opposite wall, where it fell back smoking. From the room where the door exploded off of, a guard stepped out. But, instead of the normal dark gray suits of armor the Dark Guards had, this one had on a slightly different style of suit. It was a solid black, instead of dark gray. In the guard's armored hand, he held a broadsword, instead of the usual ranseur-like spear the Royal Guards used. But, all the differences in appearance aside, Tuxedo Moogle wasted no time. He instantly leap forward and dropped to his knees, sliding right up next to the Guard. As he did, his long sword appeared in his left hand with a flash of light. Before the Guard could react, Moogle suddenly lanced out and impaled the guard through the armor plate that protected it's stomach. As he did, Moogle instantly knew something was wrong. His fears were confirmed as the Guard took a step stumbling backwards and slid off the end of Moogle's sword, dropping to the ground. Tuxedo Moogle looked up at the end of his sword, and was caught by surprise.
 The end of his sword was covered in blood.
 Stunned, Tuxedo Moogle slowly rose to his feet, his eyes flicking from the end of his sword to the motionless suit of armor laying in front of him. Sailor Mercury, who had seen the whole thing from behind the Guard, rose and joined Tuxedo Moogle and the rest of the Scouts next to the body. Slowly, Tuxedo Moogle used his bloodied long sword to slice the thin tensile strings that connected the helmet of the armor to the back of the suit of armor. He then used his sword to slowly lift the helmet back and off of the Guard.
 Underneath laid the head of some-type of green reptilian creature. It was remarkably similar to the beats that Tuxedo Moogle and Sailor Mercury had encountered in the forest with Sailor Io. The only difference was, one was wolf-like and the one in front of them was more reptile-like. But, the similarities were close enough to be disturbing. It's open, unmoving eyes confirmed it was dead.
 "What... what is it?" asked Sailor Moon, moving up to behind Tuxedo Moogle.
 "I don't know what it is." said Tuxedo Moogle, his gaze shifting from the face of the creature to it's black suit of armor. "But I think I know who it is."
 "Who?"
 "It's one of Zeromeus's Dark Knights. Traquen told me that Zeromeus has a "Dark Army" of some-kind which is going to be used as pilots for the starships and as ground troops for the invasion of Earth." said Tuxedo Moogle, wiping his blade clean on the armor of the dead creature. "This creature is apparently a member of one of the races that Traquen told me Zeromeus has already conquered."
 "You explained about Zeromeus in your emergency message to us, but you never told us any of this." said Sailor Mercury. "Why?"
 "There wasn't time. I wasn't even sure if my message was going to reach you."
 The group fell silent for a moment, until Tuxedo Moogle spoke up again.
 "Come on, we still have alot to do." said Moogle, looking at Sailor Mercury standing in front of him. "Are we near the entrance, Mercury?"
 Sailor Mercury turned and scanned the hall behind her.
 "Just up ahead."
 "Then let's go." said Sailor Jupiter, starting to run again. Within moment, everyone was moving towards the elevator-lift again. Without any further interruptions, the group made it to the turn in the hall where the elevator-lift was supposed to be. Sure enough, a huge industrial lift like the kind used for moving heavy objects up and down was sitting at the end of the side hall.
 "Do you know what we are going to see when we get down there?" asked Serena, looking over to Sailor Mercury.
 "I can't get anything below the floor of this building..." replied Mercury, looking around with her visor. "There's some kind of shielding in place."
 "She's right... something's preventing me from sensing anything below this floor." Sailor Mars pitched in, her face tight with strain as she tried to probe the area with her mind.
 "Ok... since we don't know what we're getting into down there, I want you to make for the nearest cover to hide you. Alright?" Tuxedo Moogle spoke, moving to the lift. He looked at the face of each of the group, who each gave a nod, and stepped onto the lift. The rest of the group quickly followed him onto the lift and took up positions behind Tuxedo Moogle. He searched around the lift, and found a small control panel near him on the side of it. Moogle located the switch to raise and lower the lift, and looked back at the group.
 "Here we go." he said, flipping the switch. Instantly the lift grinded in motion, slowly sinking beneath the floor. The group watched as the edge of the floor rose up to greet them. A second later, the lift sank below it and revealed a truly awesome site. The elevator shaft below the floor of the building was made of completely clear plastic-like material, allowing the group a stunning view of the ship-building facility as they slowly sank to the assembly floor level.
 The first thing the group noticed was the network of catwalks that lanced across the plant. On the catwalks, the group noticed several dozen Dark Guards and Dark Knights patrolling the facility. Tensing slightly in unison, the group watched as the lift came down to the level of the catwalks, and sank below them without being spotted by the guards. As soon as they got below the obstructing metal walk-ways, the Scouts, Philly, and Tuxedo Moogle finally got their first look at the enormous ship-building plant. Dotted around the plant at various intervals were the hulking metal machines that each performed a specific job on a starship. Operating the machines, and moving around on the assembly floor itself, were the remaining people of Io. They were moving about, each doing a various job. Beyond them, however, the most eye-catching sights of the plant rested, gleaming in the light coming from the ceiling of the plant. It was the small fleet of enormous, half-mile long starships. Each stretched out above the assembly floor, supported by retractable legs, and pointed towards the east-ward wall. The Scouts gasped in awe as they scanned the length of the plant, absorbing into their minds the sight of the two dozen starships and their gleaming weapons. Realization of the situation finally hit the group like a ton of bricks.
 Traquen had constructed the most powerful force of destruction in the galaxy.
 "My..." whispered Sailor Venus.
 "...God." finished Sailor Jupiter, her mind barely believing the sight that laid out in front of her. The group was in a alot bigger situation then they had thought.
 "He has enough firepower, transportation, and forces to do it." spoke Moogle in a quiet voice. "Should he launch an attack, Traquen could easily take over Earth."
 "Look, we're coming to the ground." spoke Sailor Moon. She was pointing downward as she spoke.
 "Ok, when he reach the bottom, we need to move quickly. We need to find a hiding space where we can coordinate our attack." said Moogle, looking down at the approaching ground. "We need to find and stop Traquen, and we need to shut down this plant... somehow."
 "How are we ever going to accomplish all that?" asked Sailor Moon, spreading her hands out. "I mean... look at this place. It's huge! Not only that, Traquen could be anywhere in this place."
 "Listen, we don't have time to worry about that now... we're coming to a stop. Just be ready to run." Moogle responded, cutting off Sailor Moon. He waited until a second before the lift came to a halt, and grabbed Sailor Moon's hand. "NOW!!"
 Instantly the group burst from the lift and scattered. Tuxedo Moogle and Sailor Moon dove to the left and ran towards one of the huge machines, while Philly and the Scouts raced right, moving behind a large pile of metal beams that was near the wall. Tuxedo Moogle reached the machine quickly, with Sailor Moon right behind him, with her hand in his. He instantly pressed his back up against the wall of the machine, forcing Sailor Moon to push up against it too. He held her silently, as he listen for any sounds of shouting or such that might tell that the group had been spotted. After a minute of hearing nothing, Moogle looked to the right and saw the rest of the group behind another large object more than 70 yards away. Tuxedo Moogle, still holding Sailor Moon still, glanced around the edge of the machine to look at the area in front him. A little ways in the distance, a small group of Iosions were conversing about something as they stood near the closest ship to Tuxedo Moogle and Sailor Moon. Moogle sighed despairingly, and pulled his head back around. He slowly slid down to a sitting position, forcing the slightly stunned Sailor Moon to follow him.
 "Let me see your communicator." said Moogle, looking at Sailor Moon. She slowly pulled in out and handed it to him. Tuxedo Moogle flipped it on.
 "Are you there? Can anyone hear me?" whispered Tuxedo Moogle, trying for his voice not to be over-heard by anyone. A second later, a light burst of static came over the communicator, followed by the whispering voice of Sailor Mars.
 "We hear you, Matt. What's happening?"
 "Listen, Sailor Moon and I are stuck here. We can't make it back your way again without possibly being noticed by a Dark Guard, or an Iosion. No telling what they might do if they saw us, thanks to Traquen."
 "We understand. I-- hang on..." whisper the voice of Sailor Mars, suddenly cutting off. Tuxedo Moogle could hear some light conversation between the scouts in the background. A moment later, Sailor Mars' voice came back on.
 "Ok, Matt... two things. First, Sailor Mercury says she's located Traquen."
 "Where?"
 "At the opposite end of the plant. There's a huge room set high into the wall of the plant. Traquen's in there."
 Tuxedo Moogle quickly chanced a look around the machine he and Sailor Moon were hiding behind. He caught sight of the distant opposite wall.
 "Great. It's about a mile away." said Moogle, turning back to the communicator. For some reason, the image of Sailor Mars was not appearing, only her voice. Moogle guessed it had to do with the shield that surrounded the walls of the plant. "You said there were two things. What's the second?"
 "The second is..." began Sailor Mars, pausing slightly. After a moment, she spoke again. "Sailor Mercury just said that she's also figured out how to take care of the plant, she thinks."
 "She thinks. That's still better than nothing." Tuxedo Moogle replied as he looked up at Sailor Moon. She was peering around the corner of the machine, staring at the group of Iosions in the distance. "So how do we do it?"
 "Do you see that large cable that is connected to the back of the ship near you?"
 Moogle crawled quietly to the other side of the machine and looked around the opposite side that Sailor Moon was. Sure enough, Tuxedo Moogle saw a huge dark gray cable, which looked to be more than a foot in diameter, traveling along the ground and connecting into the tail end of the starship. He slowly made his way back to where he had been sitting.
 "Yes, I see it."
 "Well, as far as we know, all the ships in this plant have them. They're power cables. Apparently, none of the ships here are running on their own power yet. Instead, all of them are being feed off of one power source. Now, according to Mercury, if we overload that power generator..."
 "You'll overload the power in the ships." Moogle finished, realizing what Sailor Mercury had suggested. "And the overload should make the ships to overload also, causing them to blow sky high."
 "Exactly. The only problem, unfortunately, is that the power generator is on the other side of the plant."
   "Nothing is ever easy, is it?" asked Moogle. He went silent, thinking about what to do. Sailor Moon watched him intently as he slowly reached down to the communicator and began to speak again, evenly.
 "Ok... there is only one way we are going to be able to do this." said Moogle, pausing. "You four find the power generator and take it out. Afterward, I want to teleport out of here and escape from Io. Meanwhile... Sailor Moon and I will find Traquen and deal with him."
 "Matt! You can't be serious! Even if you do manage to beat Traquen, you and Sailor Moon will trapped here in the plant as it blows."
 "Don't worry about it. I have no intention of either Sailor Moon or I sticking around for the fireworks. We'll find a way out. Trust me."
 "But Matt--"
 "Please don't argue with me, Mars." said Moogle, cutting in with a fierce resolve. "Both you and I know it's the only way. All you have to worry about is getting to that power generator and getting out. Let me and Sailor Moon deal with Traquen and our escape. Now please, hurry. We are running out of time."
 Sailor Mars remained silent for a moment, then spoke again in a resigned voice.
 "All right. But, be careful. And... good luck."
 "You too. We'll see you on the other side, then. Good luck, you guys. Tuxedo Moogle out."
 Sailor Moon watched wordlessly as Tuxedo Moogle flipped off the communicator and handed it to her.
 "So now what do we do?" ask Sailor Moon, putting away the communicator. Her voice told that she was ready for anything they were about to face.
 "Well... first, we have to get to the other side of plant without being captured. Any ideas?"
 Sailor Moon thought for a moment.
 "None. I'm sorry."
 "Hmm..." Tuxedo Moogle mumbled thoughtfully. He suddenly turned and looked at Sailor Moon.
 "Do you have the Luna Pen?"
 "Of course." answered Sailor Moon. "Why?"
 "How would you like to be my prisoner?"

          ****

 "Sire?"
 "What?" replied Traquen, turning from the bank of windows to face the Iosion that had just entered the room.
 "A-uh.. a knight is here, sir. He's..." began the Iosion, who's fear of being near Traquen was evident in his voice. Traquen smiled slightly as he felt the Iosion's fear radiating from him. "He's captured an intruder, sir."
 Traquen's smile quickly vanished.
 "What did you say?"
 "He's taken an intruder prisoner... my Lord."
 Traquen turned and looked out to the assembly floor. So, the Scouts had finally made their move. Traquen chuckled softly after a moment of silence. He knew that he was finally going rid himself of the Sailor Scouts and Tuxedo Moogle.
 "Send him in."
 "Yes, sire." whispered the Iosion, turning and leaving the room as quickly as possible without looking like he was trying to leave as quick as possible. After a moment, two new figures entered the room from it's only entrance. The taller one was one of Zeromeus' Dark Knights, the other was the one that caused Traquen to smile insanely.
 The other was Sailor Moon.
 Traquen watched the Dark Knight force Sailor Moon into the room with some struggle. After a bit, he finally over-powered her and threw her to the ground before Traquen's feet. She stayed on the ground, dazed by the struggle and the impact on the ground.
 "I have brought you and intruder, my Liege. I found her wandering through the facility." said the Dark Knight, his voice an even monotone. "She matches one of the descriptions of the people you said we should watch out for."
 "Yes, she does, doesn't she?" Traquen replied, his smile demented smile growing bigger. He suddenly crouched down and looked at Sailor Moon with his version of soft eyes. He reached out and lightly touched the bottom of her chin. She instantly forced his hand off. Instead of withdrawing, he shot his hand out again, this time clamping down forcefully onto the bottom of her face and neck.
 "Come to die, Moon-child? I am delighted that you chose me to be your executioner. " Traquen whispered to Sailor Moon softly as she gazed at him with wide eyes. His smile slowly twisted into one only a truly insane person would have. "You know, any other time, I would take the time to have some fun with you. But, you know something? You have just been to much of a nuisance to let live longer than you absolutely have to. So, I think I will just kill you, and get it over with."
 Traquen slowly rose to his feet. He turned to look at the Dark Knight still standing there, motionless.
 "You may go." said Traquen. The Dark Knight paused for a moment, then turned on his heels and started to walk out. As he did, Traquen suddenly called out to him.
 "Oh! One more thing."
 The Dark Knight turned again.
 "Yes, my Lord?"
 "I just wanted to let you know," Traquen replied, a new smile appearing on his face, "That your disguise is pretty sad, even for you... Light-man."
 The Dark Knight instantly recoiled in horror. As he did, Traquen slowly raised his right hand, and pointed at the Dark Knight with two fingers. With a sharp flick of his fingers, a line of energy appeared at the bottom of the Dark Knight's helmet and began traveling up through it's middle. It arched over the top, and disappeared behind the head of the Dark Knight. A second later, the line of energy flashed and the helmet split straight down the middle into two pieces, falling away.
 Behind the helmet, was the face of Matt.
 "Nice try, Light-man. I have to give you credit." spoke Traquen, laughing wildly. "You played the fool's part with remarkable skill. Somehow, though, that does not surprise me."
 "We aim to please, Traquen." returned Matt, a sly smile of his own appearing. He was wearing neither his top hat or his face mask. "I'd put on a play for you Traquen, but right now, I think we have some unfinished business."
 Matt slowly pulled the Dark Knight broadsword hanging at his side from it's sheath. He brought it up into a fighting position.
 "I have waited a long time for this, Light-man." spoke Traquen, his black claymore appearing in his hands. "This time, there will be no chance for escape. If you flee now, both you and I know that I will have already taken over the Earth."
 "Don't worry, Traquen." called Matt, raising the sword higher. "I don't intend to leave until one of us is finally finished."
 "I am glad to see your not so certain about your victory, Light-man. It will make your death much easier for you."
 "Oh no, Traquen... I'm dead certain about my victory." replied Matt, beginning to move to the left, his eyes never leaving Traquen's. Traquen began to circle to the right at almost the same time. "I was just giving you the benefit of the doubt."
 Instead of replying, Traquen slowly drew his sword above his head. Matt did the same motion at the exact same moment as Traquen did.
 "Dark..." started Traquen.
 "Light..." shouted Matt, in unison with Traquen.
 "Energy..." screamed the duo in perfect harmony, their voices growing in intensity. Sailor Moon looked on, realizing that there was no going back now.
 "ELECTRIFY!!"
 "ENERGIZE!!"
 The duo suddenly charged each other. Sailor Moon watched as they suddenly leapt at each other with glowing blades, and swung in unison. With the sound of high-pitched humming, the two blades connected. The effect was like touch a positive charge and a negative charge.
 The two swords exploded with enough intensity to cause the plastic-like windows in the room to explode outwards.
 As they did, the world around Sailor Moon, Traquen, and Matt went white.

           ****

 "We're trapped!"
 Sailor Jupiter quickly whirled to face behind her, and saw that a patrolling guard on the catwalk above her was almost in range of spotting the group.
 "I think our cover is about to be blown..." whispered Sailor Venus, who was just to the right of Sailor Jupiter. The group was split into two section, with Sailor Venus, Jupiter, and Philly hiding under the hull of one of the starships. Sailor Mars and Mercury were hiding behind another large piece of unidentifiable machinery 20 yards to the right of the starship. The entire group was about half-way across the length of the plant. Having used starship after starship and machine after machine, the group had made it about half-way across the plant, when they suddenly were surrounded by approaching people. In front of the group, the direction they were attempting to head, a small group of Iosions were approaching slowly. While they were approaching, a Dark Guard was slowly nearing the hiding place of the group from the catwalk above. If either the Iosions or the guard spotted the Scouts, it could mean serious problems.
 "There's only one way we are going to be able to do this..." whispered Philly. "We are going to have to attack before anyone spots us. It will blow our cover, but we might have surprise on our side for a bit."
 "sounds like a lousy plan... but... it's our--" said Jupiter, who stopping stopped in mid-sentence as she though she heard a low rumble. She was about to turn to the others and ask if they heard it, when suddenly a sound pierced the air that she was sure they ALL heard.
 It was the sound of a tremendous explosion.
 Sailor Jupiter, Venus, and Philly looked out from under the starship in unison to see the windows in the far wall of the plant, where Traquen was suppose to be, explode with enough force to rock the entire plant. From inside the room, the group could see a enormous blast of black and white flashing energy. A second later, it ceased. Sailor Venus was about to say something, when the alarm klaxons in the plant suddenly roared into life, throwing not everyone into a state of mass confusion, including the mindless Dark Guards.
 "Looks like Tuxedo Moogle and Sailor Moon found Traquen! I hope they are all right!" shouted Sailor Venus over the noise of the emergency alarms.
 "We can't worry about them right now!" shouted Sailor Mars, looking around at the large mass of chaos that the plant was in. "Whether they know it or not, those two just bought us the distraction we need! COME ON!"
 The group, moving like a well-honed machine, suddenly leapt into action.
 "VENUS METEOR SHOWER!!"
 Instantly, two dozen beams of yellowish energy lanced out from the hands of Sailor Venus, and straight into various spots in the web of catwalks above. As each beam hit, a section of the catwalk exploded with sound and sparks. Several Dark Knights and Guards were either caught in the blasts, or we flung from the catwalks by the shaking.
 "JUPITER THUNDER... DRAGON!!"  screamed Sailor Jupiter at the top of her lungs. With a flash of greenish energy, a huge Chinese dragon, made of pure electrical energy, appeared in the air above the catwalks. Rising up into the air for a moment, the dragon suddenly let out a monstrous scream, and spiraled back downwards, diving straight towards the metal walk-ways. The instant it connected, the entire assembly floor flashed with a bluish energy as the dragon disappeared into the catwalk. As it did, electrical energy shot out, through the network of catwalks, using the metal the catwalk was made of as a huge conductor. Every black metal-wearing Dark Knight screamed in pain as his own suit of armor electrocuted him. The Dark Guards smoked and shook violently, then exploded with a blast of dark energy. Beneath all this, Dark Guards, Knights, and Iosions on the assembly floor were racing around in absolute panic and confusion.
 "MERCURY BUBBLE BLAST!" screamed a new voice. The group turned to see Sailor Mercury and Sailor Mars leaping from their own hiding place and attacking. A moment later, the area filled with a cold fog. Sailor Mercury and Mars joined Jupiter, Venus, and Philly at the starship they were using for cover.
 "We'd better hurry. The power generator isn't too far from here." said Sailor Mars. Before anyone could reply, however, a shout belted through the air and the form of a Dark Knight raced towards the group from the fog surrounding them. Sailor Mars was the first to react.
 "MARS FIRE IGNITE!"
 Instantly, the Dark Knight became engulfed by a blast of fire and heat from Sailor Mars. He stumbled back slightly and collapsed to the ground, withering under the burning metal of his armor.
 "We better hurry." said Philly, looking from the burning knight to the fogged view ahead of the group. "We have a power generator to find and a madman to stop, once and for all."

          ****

 Sailor Moon slowly opened her eyes. She realized she was no longer in the room off of the ship-building plant when her eyes focused and she saw a completely gray sky over-head. She slowly sat up and looked around, knowing that something very strange was going on once she was where she was.
 She was on a flat plain that stretched off as far as the eye could see in every direction. Unfortunately, her sight range was limited by a solid wall of fog about a mile off, that seemed to surround the plain she was on. The hard, barren rock ground she was sitting on was also of the same uniform gray. She couldn't explain how she got there, her last memory was of everything going white when Matt's energy came in contact with Traquen's. Something must have happened causing her to end up here, where ever here was.
 Sailor Moon quickly looked around, and saw the body of Tuxedo Moogle lying a little ways from her. He was no longer disguised as a Dark Knight, but had returned to his tuxedo and mask. As Sailor Moon watched him, he stirred slightly and moaned. He was waking up.
 "Matt! Are you alright?" asked sailor Moon as she rose to her feet, shook off her dazedness, and moved to him. She dropped to her knees and helped him sit up. He gripped his head.
 "Unh... I feel... terrible." Moogle said shakily, looking up at Sailor Moon. "What happened?"
 "I don't know, Matt. You and Traquen attacked each other, and then everything went blank. And now we are here."
 "Here?" questioned Matt, looking around for the first time. He saw that he was no longer in the ship-building facility. "Where are we?"
 "I was just about to ask you the same thing."
 Using Sailor Moon's support, Tuxedo Moogle slowly stood. He looked around again and stretched his muscles.
 "I don't think this any part of Io..." Moogle began, when he was suddenly cut off. A hideous laugher suddenly pierced the air:
 "Hahahahahaha! No, Light-man... this is definitely not Io!"
 Both Sailor Moon and Tuxedo Moogle whirled around to see Traquen standing a couple yards behind them, laughing. He had not been there a moment ago.
 "Traquen! What's going on? Where are we?"
 "Nothing's going on. Your energy, merged with mine, caused us to shift planes of existence. Welcome to Joshua Derimond's mindscape."
 "Mindscape?"
 "You truly are naive, Light-man, aren't you? The mindscape is the physical representation of the conscious and subconscious of someone's mind. To put it bluntly, you are inside Joshua Derimond's mind." answered Traquen, gazing around. "His mind is sort of barren, do you not think?"
 "Funny, Traquen. Especially from someone who does not have a mind of his own. " countered Tuxedo Moogle, steeping forward.
 "Big words, Light-man. I'm reeling from hurt over here. I am, really." growled Traquen sarcastically. As he did, his right hand flashed with a dark green light. In it appeared it Staff of Io. "Why do we not see if you have anything to back up those words of yours? As you can see, I have repaired my staff, after that moon-child destroyed it, just for this special occasion."
 "I thought you'd never ask. Shall we, Sailor Moon?" replied Tuxedo Moogle, his own sword appearing in his hand. Sailor Moon gave a nod and pulled out her Moon Scepter.
 "Well, Light-man, looks like Hell is going to have two new occupants. I almost regret the fact that you will not be around when I take over your little planet. But, as they say: 'all good things...'"
 Traquen slowly began twirling the Staff of Io in front of him. With one fluid motion, he stopped and drew back the staff into attack position. He suddenly lunged forward and attacked Tuxedo Moogle with a sideways slash, aimed for Moogle's head. Tuxedo Moogle threw up his sword and quickly blocked the crescent moon-shaped end of the staff. He pushed the staff off to his side and lunged in towards Traquen, his sword no more than a blur of speed. Traquen skillfully side-stepped the lunge attack, and brought the Staff of Io crashing down on Moogle's outstretched blade as it passed, driving it into the ground. Without hesitating, Traquen suddenly spun 360 degrees, catching Tuxedo Moogle in the shoulder with the other end of the staff. Tuxedo Moogle stumbled back and barely regained his balance as Traquen leapt towards him again. This time, Moogle leaned backwards, dodging the end of the staff as it slashed past him. The end came close enough for Tuxedo Moogle to feel the wind coming from it.
 "NOW SAILOR MOON!" screamed Tuxedo Moogle, back-handstanding out of the way. Sailor Moon suddenly raised her Moon Scepter above her head.
 "MOON... SCEPTER... ELIMINATION!"
 Traquen turned in time to see a beam of sparkling energy careening toward him. He instantly twisted his wrists, flipping his staff so that the handle was parallel to the beam of energy and deflected the beam upwards into the gray sky. As soon as the beam shot past, Traquen raised his hand and fired a beam of black energy directly into the handle of Sailor Moon's scepter, knocking from her hands. Sailor Moon gave a startled cry as Traquen turned back to Tuxedo Moogle. Again, he turned just in time to see Tuxedo Moogle attacking with an over-head swing. Traquen raised his staff horizontally, and blocked the blade of Tuxedo Moogle's with the staff's handle. He pushed upward, forcing Moogle to move backwards. As he did, Traquen suddenly slashed at a downward angle, catching Tuxedo Moogle across the chest with the metal crescent moon-ended part of the staff. Tuxedo Moogle stumbled back and looked down to see his tuxedo slashed right above his abdomen. From inside the slash in his suit, Moogle could see a line-thin cut across his chest, dripping blood. Moogle looked up at Traquen, breathing heavily, as Traquen began to laugh wildly.
 "Pitiful, Light-man." Traquen called, gesturing to Moogle's cut with the end of his staff. "That's only the beginning, Light-man."
 Tuxedo Moogle, instead of answering, suddenly leapt backwards into the air as high as he could. As he sailed back, Moogle reached into his lapel and threw, with all his might, seven red roses. One by one, each of the roses sailed into the ground next to Traquen, forming a circle around Traquen. The last rose flew between Traquen's legs and into the ground behind them, completing the circle. Tuxedo Moogle, dropping back to the ground, suddenly inverted his sword, so the blade pointed to the ground, and shouted at the top of his lungs:
 "MOOGLE LIGHT BEAM!!"
 Tuxedo Moogle plunged the end of his sword deep into the ground as the blade of it ignited into white light. The blast of light shot from his sword and raced through the ground in a line, straight towards Traquen. Before he could move, the blast of light moving through the ground reached Traquen. But, instead of hitting Traquen, the beam split as it came in contact with one of the roses. Instantly, the beam of light shot around Traquen in circle, following the path of the roses, energizing each. As soon as the beam struck the last rose, the roses exploded into pure energy and fired upwards. The beams merge into one massive blast, with Traquen directly in the heart of it. Moogle watched as Traquen screamed in pain and was blown backwards from the blast, smoke rising from him as the energy shot into the sky.
 Traquen slowly rose to his feet, using the Staff of Io for support. He rose to his full towering height and touch his lip with his hand. He looked at his hand and saw a light smear of blood on it. He instantly rose his head from his hand and looked at Tuxedo Moogle. His eyes were burning with a black fire as he growled anomalistically under his breath. His face was drawn into a look of absolute hatred as his gaze bored into Tuxedo Moogle.
 "Damn you, Light-man." whispered Traquen in a voice that shook the ground slightly. Moogle could actually feel the dark power coming from him. Above Traquen, the sky suddenly began to grow dark. "For that... I am through playing around. It is over, Light-man!"
 "Your threats don't scare me, Traquen." shouted Moogle, pulling his sword from the ground and raising it to eye-level. He stole a quick glance at the now almost black sky. Flashes of lightning were beginning to strike in the distance. The entire sky had turned into one massive storm.
 A storm made totally of dark energy.
 "You are all fools! It is not until the end that you finally see the true power of the Darkness. Revel in it, Light-man! And you too, Moon-brat, for this will be your final moment of existence!" shouted Traquen dementedly as the wind picked up into a pounding gust. Tuxedo Moogle and Sailor Moon watched in horror as dark energy began to crackle around Traquen as the storm built in intensity. "This is where it ends, Light-man! Right now! I can not say that it has been fun, but I will certainly enjoy your destruction. I hope you took my advice that I gave you, and made your peace with whatever God you believe in. Because, as of now... you just ran out of time."
 Tuxedo Moogle suddenly spread his feet apart in a fighting stance, and pointed his sword at Traquen.
 "The Light is my guardian, Traquen. And it will show me the way through the darkest times. Even yours. I am ready for the End... but are you?"
 "Oh yes, Light-man." screamed Traquen as he trusted the Staff of Io into the air. "I am ready for the End. YOUR end! DARK... INFERNAL... VORTEX!!"
 Sailor Moon and Tuxedo Moogle watched as a bolt of lightning suddenly struck the end of Staff of Io, causing it to glow a bright green. As it did, a mist began to swirl around Traquen as the wind kicked up fast enough that Sailor Moon had to hold on to Tuxedo Moogle for support. The clouds in the sky above began to flash with a sickly red energy and slowly began to swirl around in cylone-form. The entire area grew as dark as the sky.
 "LIGHT ENERGY... ENERGIZE!" screamed Tuxedo Moogle above the pounding wind as he braced himself against it's force. A white aura suddenly began to pulsate around him and Sailor Moon, as he tried to block Traquen's attack.
"MATT! The storm! It's too strong!!" screamed Sailor Moon as she clung to Tuxedo Moogle tightly. She looked at Traquen, who was standing with his hands raised, glowing, and screaming with insane, evil laughter. The entire area began to fill with dark energy and wind, which pounded away at Tuxedo Moogle's defenses.
 "HOLD ON, SAILOR MOON!" Tuxedo Moogle screamed, his voice strained to the limit. He was fighting the dark energy with all his might. Sailor Moon glanced up at him, and for the first time, saw how hard he was fighting to keep them alive. Sailor Moon suddenly realized what she had to do. She wasn't about to let Matt lose, when so many things were still un-resolved. She straightened up to a standing position, and let go of Tuxedo Moogle, who looked at her in perplexment.
 "Traquen! In the name of the moon... I WILL PUNISH YOU!" shouted Sailor Moon, suddenly taking a step forward, as if the wind wasn't there. Tuxedo Moogle looked with absolute disbelief. Sailor Moon suddenly pulled her transformation brooch from her outfit and held it out at arm's length towards Traquen, which was amazing enough get Traquen's attention.
 "What--?" shouted Traquen as he watched Sailor Moon take everything he had and still managed to continue.
 "MOON... CRYSTAL... POWER!" Sailor Moon screamed, her brooch opening up to reveal the Silver Crystal. With the sound of a sonic boom, the crystal suddenly flared in a pure white light. A second later, a huge shield of white energy exploded from the crystal and surrounded her and Tuxedo Moogle, blocking Traquen's dark energy completely.
 "Sailor Moon?" whispered Tuxedo Moogle as he ceased his defense and turned to stare at her in amazement. Traquen was also staring, a stunned look on his face.
 "Now, Silver Crystal... give me your strength! MOON HEALING ACTIVATION!" yelled Sailor Moon in a hollow, dead voice. With a flash of light bright enough to hurt Tuxedo Moogle's eyes, a beam of energy lanced out from the crystal and through the shield Sailor Moon had made. The beam sliced through the dark energy and wind as if it didn't existed. Traquen looked on in horror as he saw the beam race straight toward him.
 "NO!!!" screamed Traquen, as the beam of energy slammed into him. He shook violently for a moment, then suddenly ignited into a blast of white light. Tuxedo Moogle watched as the form of Traquen disappeared into a column of white energy. Tuxedo Moogle could still hear his screams as the energy washed over him, purifying him.
 Sailor Moon suddenly flashed with a white light and collapsed backwards. Tuxedo Moogle quickly rushed up and grabbed her as she fell to the ground unconscious. Moogle knew that if this had happened back in their own plane of reality, Sailor Moon would have completely annihilated her body with the energy that she just released. Instead, she just fell unconscious into Moogle's arms, flashed with a bright light, and disappeared. She went back to the normal plane of reality.
 She was back at the ship-building plant.
 "Thank you, Sailor Moon." whispered Moogle as he looked at the spot in his arms where she had just been. He slowly dropped his arms and rose, taking a hold of his sword as the energy shield that Sailor Moon created slowly faded into nonexistence. Now, it was his turn.
 "I call upon the power of the Light..." screamed Tuxedo Moogle into the sky above. "In the name of all Good... give me the strength to finish this Evil once and for all!!"
 Instantly, Tuxedo Moogle flared with a white light similar to the one Traquen was engulfed in. But instead of hurting him, like Traquen, the light did the exact opposite. Tuxedo Moogle watched as his tuxedo was consumed by the bright light and was replaced by an outfit identical to the one he first wore when he woke up on the hill outside the city, which was also the one he had worn when he came to Io the past time. The only difference was that this outfit was completely white, instead of black. Along with the outfit, Moogle stared in wonder as the light consumed his hair, turning it into a long mane of completely silvery-white hair. A second later, the light disappeared from Matt, dropping him to his knees. He slowly rose to his feet again, feeling an incredible power surging through him. He opened his eyes and realized with absolute certainty that it was time to finish Traquen.
 Matt suddenly snapped his fingers. Instantly, the entire area flashed with a bright light. When the light faded, instead of a pounding storm, the landscape had returned to the way it had been before. Matt had completely neutralized the dark energy storm.
 Matt turned and faced the burning pillar of energy that was surrounding Traquen. He looked on as the pillar slowly faded out. As it disappeared, not one, but two figures dropped to the ground from inside of it. Matt recognized both instantly.
 It was Sailor Io and Traquen, in his true form... that of a dark, shadow being. Matt quickly raced over to the figure of Sailor Io.
 "Joshua? Joshua! Can you hear me?" asked Matt, crouching down next to him. Sailor Io stirred slightly and opened his eyes.
 "M-Matt?" chokedly spoke Joshua, squinting at the face of Matt.
 "Yes, Joshua, it's me. What do you remember?"
 "I.. I remember... all of it." said Sailor Io strongly, as he quickly regained his strength. Matt helped him to his feet as he looked over at the prone shadow figure of Traquen. "Finally, I'm free of the Dark Man's evil presence."
 The moment he said the words, the "Dark Man" Traquen began to spasm violently. Sailor Io and Matt both took a small step back as Traquen's eyes suddenly flashed open, revealing glowing red eyes. His mouth opened as if to scream, but no sound emerged. He tried again, this time a ethereal growl emerging. Traquen slowly stopped convulsing and rose to his feet.
 "You.. you think you have won, Light-man..." called the Dark Man in a voice that no human could produce. Matt compared it to the sound of sandpaper rubbing against wood, but having the bass of that sound increased a thousand fold. Traquen looked at Matt and then to Sailor Io with nothing but pure hatred in his eyes. Matt realized something as soon as he looked into Traquen's eyes.
 Traquen was no longer sane.
 Matt knew that Traquen no longer thought about taking over the Earth, or of his mighty starfleet. Only one thing went through Traquen's mind now. It was the only clear thing he could think. The destruction of Matt and Sailor Io.
 "You think you have won, but your wrong! So, so very wrong." whispered Traquen as he straightened up. His dark claymore appeared in his hand with a black flash. "You can not win, Light-man. You will NEVER beat me. I am invincible!!"
 "No, Traquen..." spoke Sailor Io, the Staff of Io appearing in his hand, also. "Do you not see? You are ALREADY beaten. You no longer have my power to help you, your weakened and beat, and most of all... the odds are two to one. You have lost Traquen! Give up now! You will spare yourself alot of pain."
 "Never, my King!" shouted Traquen, sarcastically. "Your body, your life, and your moon will all still be mine!"
 "Then, if you will not surrender..." said Matt, taking a step forward. He was instantly joined by Sailor Io at his side. "Then we have no choice but to finish you once and for all."
 "Fine, Light-man. Finish me, if you think you can. COME ON!"
 "For all you have done to us..." began Matt.
 "For all you have done to Io..." continued Sailor Io.
 "In the name of the Light..."
 "And in the name of Io..." finished Sailor Io.
 "WE WILL PUNISH YOU!" shouted Matt and Sailor Io in perfect unison.

          ****

 Sailor Jupiter quickly pulled a leaping roundhouse kick, knocking the helmet from the Dark Knight that had attacked her. Underneath was another reptilian creature, like the one the group first saw. Jupiter suddenly swung upward and slammed the face of the creature with her fist. She dropped him instantly.
 "Hurry! I don't know how long we can hold them off!" Sailor Jupiter screamed. She turned to see Sailor Venus cleave a Dark Guard in half with an energy beam, and Philly blow apart the chest area of another one of the mindless guards.
 "I found it! It's up on that small platform!" shouted Sailor Mercury through the smoke and dust. She pointed up towards the wall at a small ledge that protruded from it. The platform was surrounded by a small guardrail. On the platform, a large control module was attached.
 "Get up there and do it! We'll hold off these guys in the meantime! But hurry!" yelled Sailor Mars catching another one of the approaching guards with a blast of flame. The group had reached the power control station, and were now slowly being surrounded by Dark Guards and Knights. The Scouts had watched in horror, as they had approached the control station, as groups of Dark Guards began killing the Iosion workers. It must have been some last order Traquen had given to his mindless slaves, should the facility ever become endangered of being destroyed or captured.
 "Right! Just hold on a little longer!" shouted Sailor Mercury, leaping with all her might. She cleared the guardrail and landed onto the platform perfectly. Turning to the control panel on the platform, she began to work at the controls. She suddenly swore, which was something rarely did, when she saw the controls. She called down to the embattled group below. "Listen! This is just going a take a little longer than i had thought. The controls are in Iosion, so I am going to have to use my computer to translate as I work!"
 "Fine, fine... just do it!" yelled Sailor Mars as she saw more guards approaching Sailor Jupiter. "Jupiter! LOOK OUT!"
 Sailor Jupiter turned just in time to see the guards approach her.
 "SPARKLING VITAL PRESSURE!!"
 Instantly, the group of guards were electrocuted by a oval shaped ball of electricity that Jupiter hurled at them with all her might. The Dark Guards collapsed and fell apart, releasing their dark energy mist.
 "Thanks, Mars."
 "No prob--"  Sailor Mars began. She was suddenly silenced by a new alarm that rang through the plant. A second later, Sailor Mercury suddenly appeared next to her. "That's it. This place is going to blow in ten minutes. But... there's a problem."
 "What?"
 "How are we going to get out of here?"
 "We're just going to tele--" stared Mars, as she thought about it. Her eyes suddenly grew wide as she realized that there was a shield around the entire plant. If it could block her mental probes, it was also most likely designed to prevent them from teleporting out. "Oh damn.."
 "There's another problem, too." chimed in Philly loudly, as she pulled a shoulder flip to one of the Dark Knights. "Were we planning on allowing all the Iosion slaves here go to their death when this place blows?"
 "What? Oh my god... your right! We can't allow them to stay here!" said Sailor Mars, pounding her head in anger. Why hadn't they planned for this? "We have to get them out as well!"
 "What are we going to do...? We have just under ten minutes." called Philly.
 "Ok... let me think..." replied Mars, looking around. Sailor Mercury was also looking around for answer. As she searched, Sailor Mars suddenly caught something that she had not seen before.
 "Mercury... why doesn't that ship over there have any power cables attached to it?"
 "Which one?"
 "The black one."
 Sailor Mercury quickly began scanning the ship with her still open Mercury computer. As she did, Sailor suddenly fired a blast of flame over her shoulder, catching a Dark Knight was was sneaking up on her.
 "According to this... that ship is running off it's own power. It's... it's completed." spoke Mercury, glancing at the ship, which was different from the rest. She looked up at Mars, who had a lopsided half-smile on her face.
 "Bingo. That's our ticket out of here. We'll get the Iosions on board, and escape on that." said Sailor Mars to Mercury. She suddenly turned to rest of the group, who were still battling Traquen's Dark Forces. "COME ON, EVERYONE! To the black ship! We're getting out of here!"
 Sailor Mars suddenly began running to the black ship in the distance. As she did, she turned to Sailor Mercury, who was running along beside her.
 "Do you think you could operate one of those things?"
 "I don't know... possibly."
 "Well, you better hope you can figure it out, because if you don't... we'll all be stuck here when this place blows."

           ****
 

 Sailor Io sprang into action instantly, throwing himself in front of the unarmed Matt, and blocking Traquen's over-head swing much the same way Traquen did with Matt's attack previously. Matt realized that not only were their powers merged when they were one, their skills were as well.
 "What... what happened to your sword? And your hair?" Sailor Io called out to Matt behind him, in a strained voice. He was locked in a power struggle with Traquen to see who would get forced away from the other.
 "I don't know about my hair... but I don't need my sword." spoke Matt quietly, watching Sailor Io and Traquen.
 "Don't -unh- don't need it?! How do you expect to fight then?"
 "Like this." replied Matt, raising his hand towards Traquen. "ETERNAL... STARLIGHT... ANNILATION!"
 Sailor Io suddenly broke off the struggle with Traquen and dove out of the way as a enormous beam of sparkling energy sliced through the air from Matt, and slammed into the chest and stomach of the Dark Man, sending him sailing through the air backwards. He landed with a loud 'thud' and rolled several times before coming to a rest. Sailor Io and Traquen rose to their feet simultaneously.
 "Damn you, Light-man..." shouted Traquen as he charged Matt again. Again, Sailor Io intervened between, blocking Traquen. After a quick flurry of exchanged blocks and strikes, the two separated, realizing they were matched perfectly even.
 "We have to finish this NOW, Matt!" screamed Sailor Io, taking a short run and planting his staff in the ground without stopping. With expert skill, Sailor Io pole-vaulted Traquen and landed on the opposite side of him, putting him between Matt and Sailor Io.
 "Impressive, Joshua. But... like I said before, all in vain! Now, see the true power of the Darkness! DARK ENERGY MULTIPLY! FILL ME WITH YOUR DARK POWER!" screamed Traquen, as he threw his arms into the air. Instantly, he flared with a black blast of dark energy, causing Matt and Joshua to shield their eyes. When the blast disappeared, they looked to see a monstrous shadow beast, over 15 feet tall standing where Traquen had been standing.
 It was Traquen's true form.
 "HAHAHAHAHAHAHA..." roared the Beast. His voice caused the ground to shake beneath Matt and Sailor Io's feet. His dark breath was powerful enough to blow back Matt's mane of now-long silver hair. "NOW, LIGHT-MAN. YOUR END HAS ARRIVED... WELCOME TO HELL!"
 Slowly, Traquen raised his shadow claw-like hands above him to the sky above. They began to crackle with black lightning as the sky grew dark once again.
 "GOOD NIGHT, LIGHT-MAN. THE ETERNAL DARKNESS HAS ARRIVED!" screamed Traquen, as he tossed his head backwards and screamed into the black, lightning filled sky. As he did, the ground began to shake slowly, growing in intensity. Matt watched as cracks began to form in the ground and red lava began to pour out.
 "We have to do it now, Sailor Io! It's only chance! He's going to destroy this whole place! We have to stop him before it's to late!" Matt shouted as he took a step away from the towering, beast-like Traquen, who was glowing with a dark energy as the ground around him began to crack and shift.
 "I'm with you, Matt! Let's do it!" shouted Sailor Io in return. He slowly raised the Staff of Io above his head and began to chant. Around him, a dark green aura formed. Io was pulsating and flashing with light.
 "Please... now is when I need you the most..." whispered Matt to himself. "... if you can hear me, lend me your strength... I need it now, more than ever."
 Matt slowly closed his eyes, and began his final attack. He slowly spread his hands out and began to glow with a white light as he concentrated on focusing all the light energy he could tap into.
 "COME ON, LIGHT-MAN! GIVE IT YOUR BEST SHOT! IT WILL DO YOU NO GOOD! NO ONE CAN STOP ME NOW!!"
 Matt slowly raised his hands above his head as the glowing around him increased. At the same time, Sailor Io began twirling the glowing Staff of Io above his head. With perfect unison, as the world around them began to fall apart onto itself, Matt and Sailor Io began their attacks.
 "UTOPIAN..." shouted Matt with all his might. He crossed his hands and slowly began to bring them down in front of him as he surged with pure energy.
 "IO..." Sailor Io screamed at the same time, raising his staff high above his head.
 "LIGHT..." continued Matt, his voice seeping with energy. His eyes suddenly flew open, as he threw his hands toward Traquen, revealing burning sockets of fiery, white energy. The energy surrounding Matt suddenly flashed out of existence. For a moment, every sound died in the entire area as Matt stood there with his hands outstretched towards the watching Traquen.
 "ELEMENT... STORM!!" Sailor Io finished, slamming the Staff of Io into the burning ground. He let go of the staff just as it vaporized into a sphere of green light, which raced through Matt, Traquen, and Sailor Io, and into the distance in every direction. The instant it disappeared into into horizon, every single object in the area flashed with the same green color. Traquen suddenly screamed in pain as the dark energy and lightning surrounding him suddenly changed into the green energy of Sailor Io and began to blast Traquen himself. Traquen howled in pain as he stumbled around slightly, reeling from the energy that was now hurting him instead of feeding him.
 Sailor Io had turned Traquen's own power against himself.
 "NOW MATT!!" Sailor Io shouted as he looked at the defenseless Traquen. All the sound in the area died.
 "...REVOLUTION!!!" screamed Matt, unconsciously bracing himself for what might happen to him when he released the kind of power he had built up directly at Traquen. He didn't have long to wait. With a sound loud enough to hurt both Sailor Io's and Matt's ears, Matt released a blast of light energy more from his whole body than just his hands, a blast greater than five meters in diameter. It took everything Matt had to stay standing as the recoil of the blast pushed into him. Traquen turned just in time to see the blast of light energy, which was traveling at lightspeed, slam into him.
 "LIGHT-MAN!!" screamed Traquen as he was instantly vaporized by the beam as it sliced through him as if he wasn't there, and continued to travel upwards into the sky. Traquen's last words echoed through both the air and Matt and Io's minds as Matt's attack ended. Matt stood for a moment, motionless.
 "Thank you." he whispered finally, as he collapsed to the ground, which was still crumbling and glowing with green energy. Sailor Io quickly ran up to Matt and knelt down to him.
 "Hold on, Matt. I still have control of this area. I am going to try to repair the damage Traquen did before it completely annihilates my physical mind. Then, we'll go home." Sailor Io whispered to the unconscious Matt. He watched as Matt's clothes turned back into the ones he wore when he came to Io and his hair changed back into his normal style and color. Sailor Io slowly rose to his feet and closed his eyes.
 He began to glow the same color as the land around him.

           ****

 "That's the last of them! Come on, let's go!" shouted Philly, watching the last of the Iosions board the half-mile long "Hammer of Lucifer" from the ventral bay doors and ramp.
 "But... what about Matt and Serena? We have to wait for them!" asked Sailor Venus, who was standing with Philly watching the Iosion get on. The rest of the group was in the command center of the ship, at the controls.
 "There's no time!" replied Philly, feeling the power build-up in the other starships begin to vibrate the ground. "We have to go now!"
 "But--!" began Venus. She stopped her sentence suddenly as a flash of purplish light appeared in front of them from the assembly floor. The duo turned slowly to look where the flash occurred. At the end of the boarding ramp, were now two figures. One was masked by the shadows of the ship, and the other was lying on the ground unconscious.
 The figure on the ground was Sailor Moon.
 "SAILOR MOON!" Sailor Venus shouted, looking at Sailor Moon lying on the ground. She quickly looked up at the figure masked by the shadows.
 "I think you misplaced this." spoke the figure quietly, in a female voice. Sailor Venus thought the voice sounded familiar, but before she could get a chance to say anything, the figure suddenly flashed with purple light and disappeared once again. She looked over to Philly, and was surprised to see a look of shock on Philly's face.
 "Do you who that was?" questioned Sailor Venus, as she ran down the ramp and scooped up Sailor Moon with Philly's help. Philly looked like she had seen a ghost. Philly looked at Sailor Venus with a strange look.
 "I... I don't know."
 "Oh well... never mind. At least they were on our side." said Venus, setting Sailor Moon down on the bay floor. She pulled out her communicator and flicked it on. "This is Sailor Venus... the last of the Iosions are on and are moving to one of the cargo bays. Also, we got Sailor Moon. Let's get out of here."
 "We hear you, Sailor Venus." spoke a male voice. It was an Iosion that was helping pilot the starship with Sailor Mercury. "Closing hatch doors and raising ramp now. Hold on, we're getting out of here."
 Sailor Venus and Philly watched as the ramp came up and the doors closed. With a lurch of movement, they felt the ship rise off the ground. Listening to the landing lags retract, Sailor Venus knew that they were finally getting out of there. Unfortunately, one question still remained.
 What happened to Matt and Traquen?

           ****

 "Now exiting the bay doors... passing through the shield..." spoke the male Iosion, as he scanned his controls and looked out the forward view screen. Sitting next to him was Sailor Mercury, who was also looking at the helm controls. The Iosion had turned out to be the one who had been in charge of the construction of all the command centers of all the ships. He had approached Sailor Mars when they were beginning to load Iosions and fighting off the Dark Army, and said that he could help get them out of the plant. Sailor Mars was now glad that she had listened to him.
 Behind the Iosion and Mercury, stood the rest of the scouts, minus Sailor Venus, who were watching the viewscreen as the ship lifted out of the ground from a large open field to the south of the city. As they lifted out, they watched as the first ship detonated from within the ship-building plant.
 "Ok... gun it. We have to get out of here fast! This whole place is going to blow!" shouted Sailor Jupiter towards the Iosion and Mercury. They quickly pointed the ship towards the sky, and brought her to full power. Sailor Mercury flipped the viewscreen to a rear shot to see the Capital City of Io appear to shrink under them as they rose. As they did, the first explosion reached the surface of the city. The entire group watched with mute silence as the whole city began to explode. After a moment, Sailor Mercury switched back to a forward shot that showed the sky of Io changing from a greenish-blue to a solid black as they left the atmosphere of Io. Finally, they made it into space, and took up orbit around Io.
 "It's over... it's finally over. We did it." whispered Sailor Mercury as she leaned back into her seat and let out a heavy breath.
 "The ship-building plant has been destroyed for good, and by my count, we saved a little over 300 Iosions." said Sailor Mars, as she too let out a heavy breath. After a moment of silence, she pulled out her communicator and flicked it on.
 "Sailor Venus? Are you there?"
 After a short blast of static, the voice of Sailor Venus came over the communicator.
 "I'm here. Did we do it?"
 "Yes, we did it." said Sailor Mars, smiling slightly. Her face slowly grew even again. "How's Sailor Moon?"
 "She's awake..." Sailor Venus said hesitantly. She paused for a moment, then spoke again, her voice no more than a whisper. "... and she wants to know where Matt is. What should I tell her?"
 Sailor Mars looked up at the group around her, looking for answers. No one had any. She swallowed hard and was about to speak again, when a voice spoke up from the back of the room.
 "You should tell her that he is right here."
 The entire group turned in unison to the new voice. Standing in the entrance-way to the room, stood Joshua Derimond.
 And he was holding a limp Matt in his arms.
 "TRAQUEN!" shouted Sailor Jupiter as she suddenly raced in front of the group and brought her hands up. "JUPITER THU--"
 "WAIT, JUPITER!" shouted Sailor Mars, taking a hold of Jupiter's wrist. Sailor Jupiter looked at her with a perplexed look. "Wait. That's not Traquen. It's... it's Joshua. I can feel it."
 "Joshua?" asked Sailor Mercury softly, rising to her feet.
 "Yes, Ami. It is me. I am back... for good this time."
 "Oh thank god!" shouted Sailor Mercury as she rushed up to him. "What happened to Traquen?"
 "He's gone for good. Thanks to Matt." replied Joshua, nodding towards the unconscious Matt he was carrying in his arms.
 "But... how did you get here?"
 "I--" started Joshua. He was cut off by the voice of Sailor Venus coming from the communicator.
 "Hello? What's going up there?"
 In all the excitement, the entire group had forgotten about the communicator. Sailor Mars was about to answer, when Joshua motioned for Sailor Mars to give him the communicator. She handed it to him quizzically. He cleared his throat and flicked it on.
 "Well, Venus... we are having a little party up here. Why do you not come on up and join us?"
 Joshua could barely contain his laughter as he listened to Sailor Venus' end of the communicator go dead for a second. She suddenly came back on in an excited voice.
 "King Joshua? Is that you?!"
 "Yes, it is me. Also... Matt is here with me."
 "REALLY?"
 Joshua chuckled softly.
 "Yes, really. Though... he has just had his own little party, so he is kind of out of it. But he should be coming around soon."
 "That's wonderful! I'll tell Serena! We'll all be right up! Venus out." spoke Sailor Venus, her end of the communicator going dead. Joshua flicked it off and handed it back to Sailor Mars. As he did, the male Iosion approached Joshua and bowed before him.
 "My Liege... it's good to have you back."
 "It is good to be back. Now, stand up and celebrate with us. We just saved Io and the solar system."
 "Yes, sir! I should tell the others! They will be thrilled." spoke the Iosion, moving toward the doors that blocked the entrance to the command center. As he moved past Joshua, Joshua suddenly motioned for him to stop. The Iosion complying, Joshua leaned over and softly spoke.
 "How many?"
 "Sire?"
 "Our people. How many are left?"
 "Sire... we managed to rescue about 300."
 Joshua just looked away, and motioned for the Iosion to continue. Slowly moving, the Iosion made his way to the doors without taking his eyes off the mute Joshua. Once the doors slid open at his presence, he quickly left. Sailor Mercury looked from the suddenly dark face of Joshua to the doors the Iosion just went out, and back to Joshua.
 "Is it that bad?" asked Mercury softly, having a good guess at what was wrong.
 "Yes... Io has certainly paid a price for all of this. Before the arrival of Traquen, Io had a population of over 1 million people. He basically committed genocide on the Iosion people in the time he was there."
 "I'm sorry. I know how hard it must be..." whispered Sailor Mercury, touching Joshua's upper arm gently. He sighed, then lifted his head towards the rest of the group.
 "But, we can not dwell on the past, can we? What is done is done. Now all we can do is look towards the future, and begin again." said Joshua, glancing at the viewscreen, which was showing a picture of Io revolving under them. Joshua was staring at the darkened spot of the moon's surface where the Capital City used to be. Joshua slowly turned to the group and changed the subject.
 "Hey... I hate to sound mean, but he is getting really heavy." said Joshua, nodding towards Matt. "Could I, perhaps, sit him down somewhere? My arms are killing me."
 "Oh! Of course! Here..." said Sailor Mars, reaching behind her and swiveling the chair Sailor Mercury had been sitting in. "Use this."
 "Thanks." replied Joshua, moving to the chair. He gently sat Matt in the chair, and laid his head on his chest. "He really gave it Traquen. I have never seen the kind of power he used. It was amazing."
 Joshua suddenly looked up to see the doors to the room slide open, revealing Sailor Venus, Philly, and a shaky Sailor Moon. Joshua turned and walked up to Sailor Moon. He took a hold of her hand gently, and kissed it lightly.
 "I wanted to thank you, Serena." whispered Joshua, causing Sailor Moon to blush. "I remember the kind of walloping you gave to Traquen. Without you... I might not be here right now. Now... I think the person your looking for is right over there."
 Joshua turned and pointed to Matt in the chair. Sailor Moon looked up to Joshua then at Matt. She glanced back at Joshua, who nodded slightly and smiled. She walked up to Matt, and knelt down in front him.
 "Matt?" she called softly, everyone in the room watching silently. "Matt? Can you hear me?"
 After a moment, Matt's head slowly lifted from his chest. He opened his eyes and focused on Sailor Moon.
 "I'm here... Serena..." said Matt harshly. His voice sounded like sandpaper. He swallowed painfully, and spoke again, slightly stronger this time.
 "Did we... I mean, Traquen. Is he?"
 Sailor Moon began to cry softly.
 "Yes, Matt. You did it. Traquen is finally gone."
 "The ship... the ship-building--?"
 "Yes, Matt. It's destroyed. We did it. We saved the Earth... you saved the Earth."
 "Serena..." Matt called again.
 "Yes, Matt?"
 "Thank you."
 "For what, Matt?"
 "Thank you... for always believing that we could it."
 "Oh... Matt..." whispered Sailor Moon. She slowly wrapped her arms around him and laid her head on his chest. Matt embraced her, and slowly closed his eyes again. Together they stayed, resting in each other's arms.
 Joshua slowly motioned to the rest of the group to leave the command center. They followed him into the lift behind the doors of the entrance-way to the room silently. Without a sound, the doors closed, leaving Sailor Moon and Matt alone.
 Together they fell asleep, each holding the other tightly as if they were afraid that if they let go, they'd lose one another.

           ****

 "Are you sure that you have thought about this completely?"
 "Yes, my Liege. We've thought about it, and have decided that we want to go back and begin to rebuild." spoke the Iosion. It was the same one that had helped pilot the ship.
 "You realize that it will not be easy..." said Joshua, looking at the Iosion. Behind him, in the cargo bay, the other Iosions had used the supplies on the ship what were for Traquen's Dark Army to make shelters and get food. Joshua admired how adaptive his people had always been.
 "Then, I think it is a wonderful idea. But, unfortunately, I will not be able to join you, just yet." spoke Joshua, a smile appearing on his face.
 "May I ask why, King Joshua?"
 "Because... we may have defeated Traquen... but we are not safe yet. When Traquen and I were one being, he shared my thoughts, but I also shared his. I don't think we will ever be safe until Zeromeus is defeated. Until then, the solar system is still in grave amount of danger."
 "I understand, my King. But one question remains now. Who will lead us in rebuilding our home while you are not there?"
 "I have already thought about that. And I have an answer. You will." Joshua replied.
 "Me, sir?"
 "Why not? You have already proven to be brave and strong. And from what I hear, you're a natural leader. So.. until my return, I am appointing you as Lord-Protector of Io. What is your name?"
 "Colm, sir."
 "Well then... I here-by appoint you, Colm, as Lord-Protector of Io. Serve her well."
 "I will, sir."
 "Good... then I will leave you with one last request."
 "Anything, my King."
 "As soon as Matt has regained his strength, we will teleport back to Earth. After we are gone, I want you to take this starship back to Io and use it as a beginning for the rebuilding of Io."
 "That sounds wonderful. Thank you, King Joshua."
 "Do not thank me, yet. You still have a massive amount of work ahead of you. It is not going to be easy."
 "We know... but we want to try anyways. Io is the only home we've ever known, and we'd like to see it prosper once again."
 "So would I... so would I." replied Joshua, as he looked that the mass of people that were 'living' in the cargo bay temporarily. He couldn't help but smile.
 "I think Io is finally in good hands." Joshua said, looking at new Lord-Protector of Io. "You should get going and inform the rest of what is happening. But... before you go. I have  one more thing to ask of you, Lord-Protector."
 "Yes, King Joshua?"
 "Could you please rename this damn ship? The "Hammer of Lucifer" just doesn't seem the most well-suited thing for the new beginning of Io."
 Colm laughed softly.
 "Of course, sir. We will, right away."
 "Good. Now, you better get back to your people, Colm. I am sure their anxious to hear what is going on."
 "Of course, sir." said Colm, turning to the rest of the cargo bay. He quickly looked over his shoulder and gave a salute with his hand. "Thank you, King Joshua."
 "No. Thank you, Colm." replied Joshua, watching the new Lord-Protector walk away. For the first time in a long time, Joshua felt hopeful.
 Io looked like it finally had a bright future.

           ****

 "So... in the end, he failed me just like always has."
 The shadow figure of Zeromeus shifted in his black throne with displeasure. He looked out through the darkness that surrounded his Royal Sanctum.
 "No matter... the fool got what he deserved. It would have happened sooner or later... considering the fact that he was planning to rebel against me." laughed Zeromeus to himself. He suddenly rose from his throne and stood, feeling his dark muscles surge with power.
 "Of course... all that aside, I will never find another person capable of replacing Traquen..." said Zeromeus, raising his "arm" towards the far wall. "So..."
 Zeromeus quickly flicked his wrist. With the sound of grinding stone, a section of the far wall slid away, revealing small, brightly lit room. In the room, a huge, human-size cylindrical tank of metal and clear plastic rested. The tank was filled with a clear-ish fluid that was filled with bubbles that were slowly rising. Zeromeus laughed inhumanly as he moved to the tank and peered inside. Inside the tank, a human-shaped body floated. The only difference was that this human-shaped body was made of dark shadowy matter instead of flesh.
 The human-shaped body was Traquen...
 Another Traquen.
 

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