"Euro, milady," the woman prompted with a bow. She turned to Calli, "Luna found a scout, lucky her. I'm not sure what shook her up more; the beast or that Iansaved her from it."
Lita began leading them out of the forest, she hoped. She wanted to hear more, "Whose Ian? Is he a friend of yours?" Io laughed deep and condescending wheezes.
"No," Calli answered, "He alone now. But he's our ally and yours too, though he won't say it."
"Not since he was exiled from the Moon Kingdom," Io amended, "That was centuries ago but he still remembers it."
Lita was shocked. "He was what? How could he be exiled from the Moon Kingdom and still be alive? That was thousands of years ago, wasn't it? And why was he exiled in the first place?"
"Ian saw the Dehkira as a threat but Queen Serenity didn't," Euro began, "he tried to steal the Moon Passion Scepter, the Moon's most powerful weapon, and so was exiled. The Queen sent Jupiter's Satellites to bring him back years later, he refused, and the kingdom was destroyed when we returned."
"He would have put the Moon Kingdom in danger," Calli continued, "he was justly exiled. If he had taken it, the moon would be left defenseless all for his pointless crusade."
"It wasn't enough, Calli," Io pointed out, "The Moon Kingdom was destroyed even with it. The Negaverse beat the Dehkira too it. Queen Serenity's love wasn't enough to power the scepter." Lita could tell an old argument had been dredged up and she didn't mind. Unlike Rei and Serena, these two didn't insult each other so it was almost pleasant and very interesting.
"And Ian would use it," Calli countered, "He would have enough power to destroy galaxies with it, the curiosity to do it, and the disinterested to not care. Power should never be used without conscience."
"Power should never be restrained. Power, even in destruction, is central to the universe," Io answered, "Without an end, there is no beginning. Without death, there is no life. And even if there was yin without yang, humans wouldn't recognize either."
A black shape plummeted from the sky and sent Lita crashing into a tree. Calli rushed to her side while Euro, Io, and Gany turned to this new enemy. It had a long bullet shaped body; the front rounded off into a large mouth, its huge arms that nearly reached the ground, and massive legs held it three feet off the ground. One claw dredged up a handful of earth, the ground burst into white flame, and flung the flaming sod at the group.
"There's only one," Euro answered as she surrounded the group with a crimson shield. The flames shattered against it and the earth fell harmlessly to the ground.
"Must be a scout, eh?" Io replied as his hands burst into flames, "Gany, can you disable this one?"
"No," the young boy answered, "It doesn't have a brain big enough to trick and no happy memories either. You're on your own for this one."
"Wonderful," Io grunted as Euro's shield disappeared. He ran forward, throwing fire balls at the beast with each step. The bursts sizzled on its moist skin and the beast roared. Io rolled under its swipe, smashed his fist through the creature's teeth, and soon flames began lapping through its plates. Its massive hand grabbed Io and threw him away. Io hit the ground with a thud while the beast raised a claw above him.