The Sailor Knights Saga Chapter 1 Ares Rising Just a few points to make: -In terms of timeline, this story takes place at the end of the current season in North America, which corresponds with Sailormoon R in Japan. In other words, it happens after Reeny goes back to Crystal Tokyo. As well, it is based on the dub, since that's the only one I know well. -The character of Ares has nothing to do with Mars, the Scout, even though he has a lot to do with Mars, the god and the planet. (Read some myths if that just confused you.) -I've already had this checked by a few of my friends/fellow moonies, but I still need criticism. This is my first time writing a fanfic, so if I got anything wrong, don't hesitate to be really mean and break my spirit. After all, a writer needs to suffer to produce great works. (Which is probably why I'm taking AP Lit...) Any comments/suggestions/criticism can be addressed to sailor.knight@ mailexcite.com. -A quick thank you to Takeuchi Naoko-sama-sensei (rough translation: honorable teacher and master Takeuchi Naoko) for Sailor Moon itself, my friends Eleanor (who is no longer my girlfriend), Robyn, Dustin and Myron for C&C, and to Dic for bringing Sailor Moon to North America. (I know, they didn't do that good a job, but at least it's here.) -Just some legal stuff. Sailor Moon and all related characters are property of Takeuchi Naoko, Kodansha, and TOEI Animation in Japan, and Dic in North America, and not by me. These trademarks are used without permission. Just so you wonderful people all know, I have no intentions of making any money out of this. I'm just doing this out of the goodness of my heart, and the psychosis of my brain. The characters of Ares and Demonicus, however, are totally mine. Any situations depicted in this story are not meant to bear any similarities to anything in real life, except the show, and if they happen to seem similar, you might want to seek help. -You can distribute this to anyone, as long as it stays the same as I wrote it, and isn't used for profit (unless I get a cut.) And now, the story. ----------------------------------------------------------------- Blood hath been shed ere now, i' the olden time, Ere human statute purged the gentle weal; Ay, and since too, murders have been performed Too terrible for the ear... -Macbeth, Act 3, Scene 4 Threscore and ten I can remember well: Within the volume of which time I have seen Hours dreadful and things strange; but this sore night Hath trifled former knowings. -Macbeth, Act 2, Scene 4 ----------------------------------------------------------------- The Sailor Knights Saga Chapter 1 Ares Rising It was a dark night. Although the moon was full, a thick layer of dark, menacing storm clouds made it pitch black. Off in the distance, an owl hooted, its cry mocking the world. A loon, floating on a dark lake, cried its mournfull, haunting cry. The wind howled through the trees, sounding as though it carried with it the anguished noises of the dead. The great oak trees swayed in the wind, as though they were half-alive, and were reaching out for the living to make them fully alive. Through this shadow world, a small procession of men in black robes with torches slowly marched, chanting sinister chants. They headed towards a cliff face at the end of the forest, and stopped. Their leader, a small man, his back bent with age, now drew from the folds of his robe a red, glowing sword. Brandishing it with his ancient, gnarled hand, he pointed it at the cliff, and the stones moved away to show a small cave. They entered, and proceeded down deep into the earth. They finally reached a great antechamber with two huge iron doors. The leader said some unintelligible words, and the doors swung open. He then passed through the doors alone. The leader found himself in a dome-shaped room. In the center of this room was a huge glowing crystal, inside of which one could vaguely see a dark humanoid shape. It was to this crystal that the leader made his way. Arriving at the crystal, he prostrated himself and began to speak, in a crackling vioce, as ancient as the cave itself. "My lord, it is I, Demonicus, your faithful servant, "said Demonicus. "You will be pleased with the news I bring. I have finally created the sword that will release you from your prison. I have labored many centuries to create it for you. Soon you will be able to wreak your vengeance on this pitiful world. My only regret is that the Sailor Knights and Serenity are long gone. But it is no matter. You will easily be able to conquer this pitiful world. And if I am correct, then the daughter of Serenity still lives, and you will be able to wreak your vengeance upon her. All shall bow before you, my lord, and the Universe will be yours for the taking." Demonicus then rose, and drew the sword. He stood, meditating, feeding the sword, and as he did the sword glowed brighter and brighter. Demonicus yelled a horrid, beast-like cry and swung the sword. The crystal shattered with a loud explosion, and Demonicus was thrown back. When the smoke cleared, Demonicus heard a low laugh. He looked, and where the crystal once was, stood a huge Greek warrior, clothed in a suit of black armor, a black cape wrapped around his body, his face hidden by his helmet. Demonicus threw himself at the feet of the warrior. "My lord Ares! You are free!" he cried. "Yes, Demonicus. I am free," said Ares, in a deep, evil, resonating voice, "It is good to be back." Ares began to laugh, a horrible laugh, that mocked all of humanity, a laugh that ripped the soul in half. "Now it is time for revenge!" * * * Screams. All throughout it the screams. No matter what happened she could always hear the screams. An explosion. Screams. A gunshot. Screams. The sound of gas sprays. Screams. She flew through all of this, through the bombs, the guns, the mushroom clouds, the cells of the political prisoners, the gas chambers, and heard the screams. She could feel the death, like a pit of tar, black and choking. But even when the throats that made the screams were silenced, the screams never stoped. They became the screams of the tortured dead. The screams got louder and louder, until she felt as though she would go mad. And now, underneath the sounds of the screams, was a laugh, a low, mocking, evil laugh. The laugh grew and grew, and as it did, she began to see a man, dressed in armor, whose face she could not see. The man seemed to get closer and closer, and when she was almost touching him, he tore off his helmet, and showed his face. It was a skull. "NOOOOOOOOOO!", screamed Raye, jolted out of her nightmare. She clutched her head, her hair dripping with cold sweat. Rai tried to calm down. She began to breathe easier. The screams had finally stopped. She looked at her clock. Nearly 7, she thought, I think I'd better get up. She quickly dressed in her Shinto robes, went down to the Cherry Hill Temple steps, and waited. Soon, two of her friends approached. She recognized them as Amy and Lita. "Hey," she called, "is Serena late for the meeting again?" "I wouldn't blame her if she is," replied Amy, "She's probably really depressed about Reeny." Raye nodded, and remembered how broken up Serena was about Reeny leaving to go back to Crystal Tokyo in the future. Raye really felt sorry for Serena, even though she was such a clutz. Suddenly, she noticed how uneasy Lita and Amy were. "Are you two all right?" she asked. "Not really," said Amy, "I had this really strange nightmare." "Me too." said Lita. Raye sensed something strange. Quite a coincidence, she thought, that we all had nightmares at the same time. "Amy," she asked, "could you describe your dream for me?" "Well, I don't remember much," she said, aprehensively. "One thing I do remember was the screams." She shivered as she said this. "They were horrible. I could almost feel the pain they were going through. And there was this laugh, like some sick soul thought that all their pain was something funny. And then there was this man who appeared out of nowhere. His face was..." "Was what?" Amy drew in a long breath. "It was a skull." There was silence around the whole group. Unknown to them, Mina and Serena had shown up, with their cats, Luna and Artemis. They all looked at each other, at the astonished looks on their faces, and knew. Everyone was trying to decide what to say. Suddenly, everyone said it. "YOU HAD THAT DREAM TOO?" There was confusion all around the group as they all started talking. "I don't believe this." "God, he was so evil." "I have never been so scared." "Not even when we faced Beryl?" "No way!" It took Luna to sort it all out. "QUIET!!!" she snarled. Everyone shut up. "Now," she said, in an altogether quieter tone, "It seems as though something strange has happened. Despite the incredible odds against it..." "1, 754, 665, 001, 364 to one against," interjected Amy. "Yes, well..." Luna tried to find her place. "In any case, we have all had the same dream, and a very haunting one at that. Even Artemis and I have had that dream." Artemis nodded in agreement. "Now there are two very important things about this dream that I have found. The first is that I think I may recognise that man in the dream, but I'm not sure who, or what, he is. Secondly, I have been sensing some strange energy lately. It seems as though everyone has become very angry with everyone else." As if to support this, a sudden yell diverted their attention. A strange man was fighting with Chad and Raye's grandfather, who everyone called Grandpa. Raye ran over to see what was going on. "You're a thief, you midget!" yelled the man, who was now being held by Chad. "Look," said Grandpa, "that sale was over two days ago." "That doesn't change the fact that these prices are highway robbery!" "All right, what's going on?" asked Raye. "This really nasty dude came here looking for good luck charms," explained Chad. "He took one look at the price and he just lost it! Tried to knock out Grandpa. I got to him first. Now buddy, " he said, "you gonna leave quietly or am I gonna have to make you?" "All right," he said, "I'm going." He adjusted his suit and marched down the temple steps to the road below. "Those charms probably don't even work!" he yelled. A jogger bumped into him, and the two got into a loud arguement. "Look where you're going, you loser!" "You should've gotten out of the way!" Everyone just stood looking at them. Finally, Mina spoke. "Psycho. Definetly psycho." "More than that," Raye said. "What do you mean?" asked Serena. "I felt a strange evil energy around him. In fact, I can feel that energy everywhere." "Can you identify it?", asked Artemis. "No. It's not anywhere close to anything I've seen before. It's much, _much_ worse." Everyone was totally silent, but the looks on their faces told the story. They were scared. Luna cleared her throat loudly, and got everyone's attention. "Well, in that case," she said when she was sure of their attention, "we should all be on our guard. Something strange is going on, and the Scouts might be needed at any time." "Right," they all said in agreement, and left to go home. * * * Amy was confused. As she walked home from the meeting, she pondered the strange events that occured that day. The silmultaneous dreams, the unexplicable aggression of that man at Raye's temple, and Raye's sudden ominous reading. She must have been right, Amy thought, noticing that that man wasn't the only one who was abnormally angry. Everyone else she saw looked as though they were ready to fight anyone who got in their way. Many fights broke out as she made her way home, so many she had lost count. She tried to add 2 and 2, and kept getting 5. None of it made sense. How could such a great evil fall over all of Tokyo, when all their enemies had been destroyed? Queen Beryl was long dead, the Negaverse destroyed with her. Ann and Alan would not pose a problem, since the Doom Tree was healed. All the rebel factions of the future Crystal Tokyo had been eliminated. There were no enemies left. She felt that some vital piece of information was missing, and until it was found, the solution would continue to elude her. It was like a jigsaw puzzle with half the pieces missing. Ah well, she thought, trying to keep her mind off of it, it's probably all some strange coincidence. Seeing her favorite park, she decided to stop for a while. As she was entering the park, she noticed a boy with his head in his hands. As she approached him, she recognized him as Greg. Something was wrong, so she ran over to the bench. "Greg," she exclaimed, "is anything wrong?" He started and looked at her, a look of wild fear in his eyes. "Oh Amy, don't you see?" he whispered, "He's here." "What? Who are you talking about?" "It's starting all over again. The Soldier has returned. Oh God!" He embraced Amy, like a small child looking for comfort in the arms of his mother. She returned the embrace. Greg quietly cried while Amy tried to comfort him. They sat like that for quite a while until Greg released her. "Amy, I'd better explain. I've had a vision of something that happened last night. Last night, a great evil force was released. The Soldier of the Night. You see all the people, and how they're so angry with each other? That's his influence. I know you have seen him. You had a dream, the same one that the rest of the Scouts had. You saw him at the end of your dream." Amy gasped in astonishment. "Yes," she exclaimed, "you're right!" She knew that it wasn't a coincidence anymore. "Well, I know that you will soon face him. And you won't win. I have to tell you, when you face him, be ready to escape quickly with the Scouts." Amy knew better than to not listen to Greg. His psychic powers had never steered her wrong before. "I will, Greg. You can count on me." She got up to leave. "Amy..." said Greg, stopping Ami in her tracks. "What?" "No matter what happens, no matter what you go through, always remember..." He stood up and took a deep breath. "I love you, Amy." He moved closer to her, and put his arms around her waist. She lightly placed her hand upon his cheek. "I know." She drew him to her, and they kissed a long passionate kiss. * * * Serena slowly walked home. What a day, she thought to herself. Losing Reeny yesterday, combined with that dream last night had drained the usual exuberance out of her. She felt as though her soul had cracked in two. Luna, as per usual, was the constant voice of reason. "Come, now, Serena. You've really got to put it in perspective. Yes, you lost Reeny, but at least you still have Darien. This can't be as bad as when you lost Darien to the Negaverse." "No, " she said, "I don't think it was." She remembered the way she felt when Darien had been taken by the Negaverse. It was so difficult to have her one love in front of her, but to not be able to reach him. But Luna didn't understand. She was Reeny's mother, and to a mother, the loss of a child is unbearable. Well, Serena thought, at least she's trying. "Hey meatball head!" Serena turned around and saw Darien walking towards her. "Hi muffin," she quietly said. "Are you okay?" He's always concerned about me, Serena thought. "Yes, I think so. It's just that..." Tears welled up in her eyes. She fell into Darien's arms and began to cry. But it was not her usual whining cry. She cried with all the anguish of her heart. "Oh god, I miss her so much," she sobbed, "why did she have to go? Reeny, my Small Lady,... Oh God!" She buried her face in Darien's chest and cried till she had no more tears. Darien stroked her hair, and remembered his Small Lady, Reeny. In his head, he could still hear her singing, "Rain or shine, I'm happiest, when I'm with Tuxedo Mask." A tear ran down his face, in sympathy for Serena, and in memory of Reeny. Even Luna was touched. He took her face in his hand, and brushed away her tears with his finger. They kissed a single kiss, and together started to walk home. They finally stopped in front of her house. "Are you sure you're going to be all right?" Darien asked. "Yes," she replied, "I'm sure." She kissed him goodbye and walked inside, right into a fight. "You just don't appreciate me!" her mother cried. "Well, I might if you could do anything right!" her father retorted. Serena was stunned. She had never seen her parents like this before. Everyone she knew would agree, that her parents were the quintessential happy couple. Many people remarked that their picture should be in the dictionary next to "wedded bliss". Fights like this just didn't happen in their house. She walked over to Sammy, who was sitting at the dining room table. "What's going on?" she asked. "What are you, blind or just stupid? The're fighting, that's what happening." Serena was now totally shocked. Sure, Sammy was annoying, but he wasn't rude like that. She decided to leave, and hit on a brilliant idea to stop the fight. She walked to the door. "You know, I'm really not hungry. I think I'll just go," she said, loudly so they would hear her, and left. She waited outside for her parents to come out, concerned that she was sick. Nothing happened. She looked in the living room window. They were still fighting. She sat on the porch and tried to think of what to say. Finally, Luna said it for her. "You said that you weren't hungry and they didn't notice?!?" "Luna," said Serena, "something is definetly wrong." * * * As Lita and Mina walked through the mall, they too felt that something was amiss. It seemed that everywhere they looked, people were insulting each other or arguing with each other. "I know those two," said Lita. "Who, the couple by the escalator?" asked Mina. She was refering to a boy and girl who were both yelling at each other. "Yeah," Lita replied, "but I just don't get it. They were so close. I never saw them apart. And now..." She shrugged, a puzzled look on her face. "Well," she continued, "I'm really not that surprised. He was too much like my old boyfriend." Mina turned and stared at her. "What?" Lita asked, surprised by the shocked look on her friend's face. "You just said that he was like your old boyfriend as though that was a bad thing!" "Well, why wouldn't it be? He was a jerk!" Mina turned and sighed. This just wasn't like Lita. Usually, any guy she liked was "just like my old boyfriend". Well, thought Mina, maybe she's finally gotten over him. She soon forgot this thought, due to the oppressive atmosphere of anger and rage all throughout the mall. She shuddered. "You know, I'm really getting tired of shopping. Let's just go home. This place just doesn't feel right." Lita nodded. She too had felt that something was very wrong here. As they headed through the mall towards the exit, they heard a loud arguement from a small clothing shop. "Hey, I had that dress first!" yelled one woman. "Yeah, well I've got it now,"retorted the other. "That's mine, so give it back!" "Hah! I't no good for you. It's made for women who aren't fat slobs!" That was the straw that broke the proverbial camel's back. The woman's face contorted with rage, and she lashed out at the agressor, knocking her to the ground. Almost immediately, a rush of people headed to the fight and joined in. Lita and Mina rushed over to the fountain, to get away from the fight. It was now turning into a full-fledged riot. The display windows exploded in a shower of glass as a display dummy was thrown through it. And as the riot grew, so did another sound rise over the tumult, the sound of a deep, evil laugh. Lita and Mina turned around and looked at the top of the pillar set in the middle of the fountain. Standing there laughing was a huge man, clothed in a black cape and armor. "It's him!" exclaimed Lita and Mina. They knew they could waste no time. They quickly ran into an empty corridor. Lita stood guard while Mina pulled out her communicator and pressed "All Call". "Urgent message! There's a riot at the mall. And you know that guy in the dream? Well, he's here!" "We're on our way," replied the others. Mina switched off the communicator and looked at Lita. "You ready?" "I'm always ready," Lita replied, "Let's go! "JUPITER STAR POWER!" "VENUS STAR POWER!" * * * Ares laughed to himself. His plan was going perfectly. How easy it is, he thought, to release the anger of these pitiful mortals from the weak restraints of their social conditioning. "The world will know will be conquered by my hands, and they'll soon know their true leader. I will rule Earth!" cried Ares triumphantly. "That's where you're wrong, creep!" someone yelled behind him. Ares turned, and saw on the upper balcony the five Sailor Scouts, led as always by Sailor Moon. They were not happy. Ares looked at them and laughed. "You weak little girls. Do you really expect to defeat me in battle?" he said, laughing all the while. He stopped laughing and his voice became a snarl "I am battle. For I am Ares, the mighty God of War!" "Yeah, well, news flash, buddy," said Sailor Moon scornfully, "I am Sailor Moon! I fight for love and justice! And in the name of the Moon, I will punish you!" "The Moon?" asked Ares, his voice dripping with scorn. "In the name of the Moon? You foolish goody two-shoes Sailor Scouts! I did not think you were stupid enough to attack me. You should know that without the MoonSwords, you cannot defeat me!" "MOONSWORD THIS!" yelled Sailor Moon, and jumped off the upper floor, aiming a drop kick at Ares' head. Her foot connected, knocking off his helmet which clanged on the ground, and she landed on all fours. "Look!" yelled someone in the riot. The group quickly turned their attention to Ares. All was silent as they stared at Ares, astonished. Ares had no head. * * * "There's got to be something we can dig up from Moon Kingdom history that can help us with this!" said Luna, her voice saturated with anxiety. "There's nothing," replied Artemis, "Not one shred of detail. That part of history was limited only to the ranks of the Sailor Knights. All I have is his name: Ares." "That's bad enough." "I just hope Tuxedo Mask gets here." "So do I. Otherwise, the Scouts are in real trouble." * * * A dark cloud of smoke began to coalesce around Ares head. Within, the Scouts could see the dull red glow of a flame. The smoke cleared, and they could see that where a head should be, floated a skull engulfed by flames. The skull turned around to face Sailor Moon. "I told you that you cannot defeat me," Ares snarled, "Now I will have to prove it to you!" The crowd began to panic, and everyone fled for the exit. "Sailor Jupiter, Sailor Venus, take care of the crowd," yelled Sailor Moon, "I'll take care of him!" Out of nowhere, the Moon Sceptre appeared in her hand. She swung it around her, charging it with energy. "MOON... SCEPTRE... ELIMINATION!!!" she cried. A bolt of energy flew from the Sceptre towards Ares. A just the last second, he jumped out of its path. "Ah, the Moon Sceptre," he said, "Only one person could possibly wield that weapon. The daughter of Queen Serenity, Serena, Princess of the Moon! And you others..." He turned to face the other Scouts. "You must be the rest of the Imperial Court! Finally, I will have my revenge upon those who trapped me within that crystal! Now," he said, drawing a huge black sword from a sheath and turning towards Sailor Moon, "feel the wrath of Ares!" He leaped into the air towards Sailor Moon, his sword raised to strike, the skeletal mouth emmiting a fierce war-cry. Sailor Moon tried to back up, but she was trapped against the wall. All looked hopeless, until a red streak flew through the air. Ares landed and brought down his hands, but the sword was gone. He looked to his right, and there was the sword, stuck to the ground by a single red rose. He turned around, and saw Tuxedo Mask on the upper balcony. Sailor Moon looked up at him with lovestruck eyes. "My hero," she whispered. "What?" shouted Ares, "Who dares defy me?" "I'm your worst nightmare," said Tuxedo Mask. "My worst nightmare? I think you have it reversed. Unless you have the Swords of Power, I have nothing to fear from you." He reached out his hand in Serena's direction and clenched it, as though gripping something. Sailor Moon began to gasp and gag. She put her hands to her throat, but it was no use. Ares was slowly choking the life out of her. He raised his hand and Sailor Moon began to rise off the floor, her face beginning to turn blue from lack of air. "If you even attempt to attack me, I'll kill her!" "LET HER GO!" screamed Sailor Mars, leaping from the balcony to the floor below, "OR I'LL MAKE YOU PAY!" The skull turned towards her. "I'd like to see you try." Sailor Mars began to concentrate, building her energy to feed the attack she would make. "MARS CELESTIAL FIRE SURROUND!" she screamed, sending 8 flaming disks at Ares. He just stood there, seemingly absorbing the attack. He turned to Sailor Mars, releasing Sailor Moon and sending her falling to the floor, unconsious. "It seems you do not know my powers. I can absorb any energy directed at me, and use it against my opponent. Now, " Ares said, "you shall taste the grapes of my wrath!" A huge bolt of darkness shot at Sailor Mars, ripping apart the air it passed through. It slammed into Sailor Mars, sending her flying into the opposite wall. Ares emitted a triumphant cry. "Now, I will destroy you one by one!" he shouted. Another shadow beam hit Sailor Jupiter from behind, knocking her to the ground. Suddenly, a shout came from the upper balcony. "MERCURY BUBBLES BLAST!" screamed Sailor Mercury, filling the mall with thick fog, effectively making themselves invisible. She had not forgotten Greg's words. "Come on!" she exclaimed, picking up Sailor Mars, "we've got to get them out of here." She hurried out of the building, followed by Tuxedo Mask, carrying Sailor Moon, and Sailor Venus, carrying Sailor Jupiter. Inside, Ares was in a state of pure rage. "This is rediculous, you know!" he screamed, "You only know you'll find me out there, so don't try to escape!" From the shadows, a small huddled shape appeared, scurrying towards Ares. "My lord, I have noticed some strange energies coming from...", said Demonicus, slowly trailing off, a look of fear on his face. "Well, out with it!", commanded Ares, still angry at the escape of the Scouts. "The moon." "WHAT!?!?" Ares grabbed Demonicus by his cloak, lifting him into the air. "What do you mean?" "I... I believe... t-that the s-s-spirit of Queen Serenity intends t-to find the Scouts, and help them f-find the Swords." "If you are right, you know what I will do to you." "Yes, M-M-Master." Ares lowed him to the floor. "I tire of this. Let us leave this place." A dark shadow whirled around the two, covering them from view. The cloud began to shrink, and soon the mall was empty and silent once more. * * * "'Who do we have now?" "3 teenage girls, probable concussions, vital signs are weak." "Blood pressure?" "80 over 50." "Oh crap. Start artificial respiration. Any evidence of internal bleeding?" "None, thank God." "We've lost the pulse on the blond one!" "Get the defribulators! 200 joules!" "Ready." "All right everybody, clear!" Ami, Mina and Darien watched from the door as Serena's body arched with the shock of the paddles. Immediately, the heart monitors resumed their repetitive pings. They all breathed a sigh of relief. The ER doctors continued their work, returning life to Serena, Rei and Lita. Within minutes the nurse approached them with the good news. "Well, your friends have been stabilized. Their blood pressure and pulse rates are all normal, and I think they'll probably regain consiousness soon. But until they do, we're keeping them here for observation." Amy, Darien and Mina felt as though a great weight had been lifted from their shoulders. Just then, the doctors wheeled out the three girls. Darien ran along with Serena's bed, and grabbed her hand. As if from the depths of sleep, Serena slowly opened her eyes. "Darien..." she whispered. "Don't worry," he said, "I'm here." * * * "I don't believe this!" said Rei, pounding the bed, "we've never lost like that before!" She was not the only one who was angry. Everyone in the hospital room shared the agony of their last defeat. "If I could just get my hands on him, I'd make him pay," growled Lita. "We're just lucky we got out of there," said Serena, "Oh, about that..." She turned to face Amy. "Thanks." Ami smiled. "Don't thank me, thank Greg," she said, "I talked to him today, and he knew we weren't going to win." "I still don't get it!" yelled Lita. "Raye blasted him flat out, and he didn't even blink! It even made him stronger!" "You're right," said Amy, "This new enemy seems much stronger that anything we have ever seen before." "He's much more evil, too," said Artemis, who had just walked into the room with Luna. "Turn on the TV." Luna said, in the voice she always used whenever she meant business. On the TV, a newscast appeared. "In what is being called the most vicious attack by IRA extremists," the newscaster began, "20 simultaneous car bombs were detonated today, in defiance of the ceasefire treaty just recently signed. The death toll is rapidly rising, now standing at approximately 200." *Click* Luna changed the channel. "The course of civil war in Rwanda has taken an ugly turn with the sudden, unprovoked attack on a Hutu refugee camp. The camp has been totally destroyed, and no survivors are expected to be found." *Click* "Akira Takahara, a prominent Tokyo businessman, has been charged with murder for the deaths of his wife and three children. Mr. Takahara is alledged to have unexplicably killed his family with a kitchen meat cleaver while they were sleeping. According to his lawyer, he intends to plead insanity." *Click* Luna turned off the TV. "It seems you were right, Raye," said Luna, "There is an evil presence here, and it seems to have spread throughout the world. And Ares is the centre of it." "We have to stop him!" Lita said, striking her fist against her palm. "You are right. Ares must be stopped." Even though every one immediately recognized the new voice in the room, every one was shocked when they turned and saw the speaker. It was Queen Serenity. THE END I think an explanation might be in order for this. First off, I'm a major fan of Sailor Moon, and after reading quite a few fanfics, I thought about making my own based on a concept of mine. You see, while doing the Romance unit in AP Literature, I read a bit about the concept of chivalry in relation to medieval knights. Being a moonie, I had to relate it to the Sailor Scouts (or Senshi) and the causes they fight for (love, justice, the whole bit). I somehow found a connection betweeen the two, and the Sailor Knights were born. After a short period of trying to draw them, the idea got put on the back burner. Then, after reading some fanfics, along with a whole day of boredom-induced literary genius, I wrote this story. Well, that's it. I hope you enjoyed it. As said above, I'd appreciate any criticism to improve my work. So please E-mail me any criticism or praise. I hope to start on Chapter 2 soon, but don't expect it for awhile. And trust me, this one will have way more action. Sayonara! Ryan Oldford E-mail: sailor.knight@mailexcite.com Homepage: http://www.geocities.com/Tokyo/Ginza/3134/ "Whoever said,'The pen is mightier than the sword,' obviously never had to defend themselves with a ball-point in a dark alley." -InQuest