Nihao!

	I'm back again...
	Tour de Force is a lot like 311, right down to the instruments they play. 
Their songs *are* a bit less angry.  Imagine more songs like "All Mixed Up" if
you will.
	They tend to hop around on stage a lot too...
	Don't expect any lyrics, I can't write 'em.
	This is a mangling of the manga/anime series created by Naoko Takeuchi.
	Wormwood is a demon invented by that master of religious fiction, C.S. Lewis.

	Be warned, I can get a little 'naughty' when I write, nothing overt, but
things can get a little risque here and there...

++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

	Ryu was dressed in black pants and a black tunic.  He also wore a black cloak
trimmed in silver.  His tunic had a complex Dragon pattern embroidered on it,
coiling aroung his chest and back.  He held out a silver staff as long as he
was tall, the Dragon's Eye gleaming at the top of it with a bright blue-white
light.  A blue-white sphere of energy appeared around the pieces of the Dark
Knight's armor.  The sphere, and its contents, receeded from reality at a
right angle.
	He slumped to one knee, leaning on his staff for support, as his clothes
reverted to their civilian form.  He stood up, shrank the staff lengthwise
down to the size of Usagi's old Moon Stick and stuck it into a hyperspace
pocket.
	"Good bye forever, Dark Knights..." he whispered.  He looked around the area
behind the Hikawa Shrine carefully, and didn't spot anyone.  He summoned his
bracers and the Dragon's Eye and used them together to Power Slide away
without three other Knights or even a full transformation.

	It was late evening on the island of Okinawa and the island's pride and joy,
the rock band Tour de Force, was holding its last concert on the island of a
long time.
	"On the drums its.. Colt Richards!"  A shortish young man came out from back
stage at full tilt.  He was built like the proverbial brick wall.  He grinned
a million dollar grin and took up his place behind the drums.
	The announcer kept going...  "Joseph Mauser, bass guitar!" A blond man
bounded out from behind an amplifier, waved to the crowd, blew a kiss to the
ladies in the audience, strapped on his guitar and waited.
	"Keith Magnum, guitar and vocals!" A man with an odd shade of green hair
bounded up out of the crowd, jumped up and down a few times and grabbed his
axe...
	"And of course.. our favorite lead vocalist.. the one, the only LUKE INGRAM!"
 A man with *long* green hair tied back into a pony tail walked out on stage.
	Luke pulled out a microphone and started speaking.
	"Well, folks, we're about to go off to college, and maybe a little stardom,
in Tokyo.  We've had a blast here, and it's been great getting to know you
all!"
	The crowd roared.
	"We've got a little announcement to make though...  Right now we're still
here on student visas, but now that EMI's started getting interested it looks
like we're gonna be citizens within the year..."
	The crowd roared even louder.
	"Well, well, I'm very flattered that you guys love us enough to make us stay
in Japan..."
	They went into one of their rising hits, Karate Man...  A song named in honor
of, and about, an old man that'd visited the island several years earlier...

About two hours later...

	Colt slumped down against the wall outside of the gym, looking up at his
friends.  "That...  Was absolutely draining..." he groaned.
	"mutter flub," replied Joe.
	"What he said..." Keith muttered from the bench across the sidewalk.
	"You all suprise me..." a male voice scolded from the shadows.  A large,
brown cat walked towards them, a golden crescent moon on his forehead.
	Another, identical cat followed him.
	Luke smiled in greeting.  "Prometheus, Epemetheus, what's up?"
	The twin Lunar Cats spoke at the same time.  "There's some sort of Demon
trying to blast through the psychic barrier at the castle of the Peace
King..."
	All four men growled at the thought of such a historic monument beingf
destroyed...
	"Saturn Geo Power!" Colt shouted, metallic, dark blue bracers forming on his
arms.
	"Uranus Gale Power!" Joe called out.
	"Neptune Tidal Power!" Keith barked. 
	"Pluto Nyx Power!" Luke completed.
	"TRANSFORM!"
	Their clothes seemed to ripple, and were replaced with black pants, gloves,
boots and jerkins with white tunics.  The only colors they wore besides black
and white were their planets' colors as the sashes that hid their noses and
mouths.
	The Outer Knights charged towards the ancient palace as fast as their
enhanced speed could get them there...

	"Lord Wormwood, the Black Tear isn't here," the kary reported.  Her tail
twitched nervously as she folded her six arms across her chest.
	{Oh really?} a voice asked telepathicly.
	A warhammer made of a blue metal slammed into the side of her head, sending
her to the ground.
	"I am the force of nature that crushes your bones," Saturn Knight announced.
	"I am the force of nature that dries your bones," Uranus Knight warned.
	"I am the force of nature that none can stand against," Neptune Knight
boasted.
	"I am the force of nature that claims all in the end," Pluto Knight remarked
grimly.
	"We are the Outer Star Knights and you're trespassing on our turf!" they all
shouted.
	The kary pulled six swords out of hyperspace and rushed at them, or rather,
slithered at them very quickly.
	Uranus held his hands at eye level, as if he were hiding his face behind a
basketball.  "Wind Razor!" he shouted, bringing his hands closer together and
then turning his palms to face the kary.
	A phalanx of sharpened blades of hard air whirled from his hands and slammed
into the kary, leaving myriad cuts all over her body.  The Demon's greenish
blood leaked out onto the sand, puddling here and there.  She almost whimpered
at the sudden onslaught...  She hadn't been told she might have to face
resistance like *this*!  {DAMN YOU, WORMWOOD!} she howled telepathicly as
Saturn retrieved the Atlas Hammer with a thought and aimed it at her.
	{Ta ta, Chundra...} the voice remarked.
	"Richter Crasher," he stated flatly.  He punched the ground with his fist,
sending a wave of seismic energy through the ground.  The ground exploded
under the Demon like a landmine, shredding her to pieces.
	"Crude, but *very* effective, Saturn," Uranus praised.
	"I think.. I'm gonna hurl..." Neptune said queasily.
	The remains began to give off foul-looking red smoke as they dissolved.
	"Well," Pluto remarked pragmatically as he turned to leave, "At least she
didn't leave a mess..."

	Within the confines of a comfortable office in a rather respectible section
of the city of Pandemonium sat a well-cultured man in a large, tall-backed,
leather chair.  He was a very pale skinned man, with long, well groomed black
hair.  He kept his clothes in fashion at all times and always, and I mean
*always* made sure he looked his best.
	A woman dressed in a flimsy outfit that left *nothing* to the imagination
stood next to his desk, a chain goiing from the collar around her neck to a
ring on the to of the desk.
	Wormwood turned to look at her, a cold gleam in his solid black eyes. 
"Karen, take a memo.. and maybe I won't toss you to the Overfiend for the next
few decades..."
	"Yes, Master," she groveled.
	"To Whom It May Concern:  As of this day, Juanuary 3, 1994. Mr. Wormwood of
the Aquisitions Bureau will be taking a vacation..."
	"It is as you wished it, Master..." Karen groveled.
	"Karen?"
	"Yes, Master?"
	"I lied..." the damned woman vanished with a snap of his fingers...  His old
buddy the Overfiend hadn't been getting much lately.. and he *had* to help out
old fraternity buddies during lean times, didn't he?


Starguild Productions Presents:
A New Moon Order Production

"Star Knights: Tears of Bitterness, Tears of Woe"
Written By: Berk' "REM" Watkins


	"What's your opinion on this wallpaper, Ryu?"
	"Maybe the gray would be better..." the Lunarian remarked.
	"You *would* say something like that!" his wife shouted in good humor.
	A knock sounded out at the apartment door.  Ryu walked over and opened it. 
"Makoto, how're you doing?"
	"I'm worn out...  These wierd monsters we've been taking on lately are
exhausting us all..." she said tiredly.
	"Maybe a certain brigade of chivalrous gentlemen should make an appearance?"
Psyche commented.  "*I* can't exactly come along, but I'm sure Ryu and the
boys would love a chance to crack skulls."
	"Yeah, Urban Renewal by Chinese New Year..." Ryu remarked.  "We do too much
damage to properity when we show up.  Our powers effect the surrounding area
too easily."  Ryu thought back to the one time they'd fought the Death
Busters, and nearly leveled a city block with their unified attack. 
Thereafter they'd agreed with the Senshi that they'd only show up if things
got *really* nasty...
	"You'll know if we need you, you can feel Usagi's state of mind, can't you?"
	Ryu nodded.  "I once found it wise to keep an eye on her psychicly at all
times.. old habits die hard..."
	"Good...  I've got an extremely bad feeling about all of this..." the Senshi
of Jupiter said.  She rubbed at her eyes tiredly and turned to leave.
	"Makoto..  If you think the Senshi *ever* will need our help in the immediate
future, you come find me...  By the time I get Usagi's cry for help it might
be too late," Ryu warned.
	The tall young woman gave him a thumbs up sign.  "No problem, Dracula."
	Ryu winced at the awful nickname...  His father-in-law's last name was
Pendragon, and his own name meant 'dragon'...  Dracula was a corruption of the
Slavic word for 'Son of the Dragon'...  Makoto _must_ have started using it to
irritate him...
	Makoto grinned at the successful zing and headed downstairs to her
apartment...
	"[She never said why she came...]" Psyche remarked in Gaelic.
	"[I have a pretty good idea why...]" Ryu replied.

	Makoto Kino opened the door to her apartment and looked around.  It was so
empty...  She still missed her father's laugh...  Her mother's habit of
singing while she cooked meals...  Gods, it was soooo quiet...
	She slumped down on her empty couch, in her empty apartment and tried very
hard not to let herself remember just how empty her soul felt...

	"...and the little tiger found it's way safely home..." Eiji said in a soft
voice as he tucked the last sleeping child into bed.  The Shao Lin smiled and
walked silently out of the ward.
	"Thank you for helping us out, Mr. Tanaka..." a nurse said quietly.
	"Please, call me Eiji..."
	"Alright.. Eiji...  Where do you get those stories anyway?"
	The priest from Jupiter grinned slightly and shrugged.  "They just come to
me..." he said absently.
	Minako shuffled down the hallway, a cast on her arm and a nasty bruise
developing around her left eye.  "I'm beginning to hate my job..." she
whispered.
	"Well, better to hate it than enjoy getting mauled..." Eiji said pragmaticly.
	"That's easy for you to say, you aren't out there fighting animated
minivans..."
	"I thought that VW Beetle was an interesting opponent..." he said in an
attempt to cheer her up.
	"One more 'Christine' joke and I'll probably leave you trussed up with my
chains..." she snarled as they walked out of the hospital's front door.
	Hiro suddnely dropped out of a nearby tree.  "My goodness, is my soul-sister
into S&M?" he chided with his patented ecchi grin smeared all over his face.
	Eiji and Minako both stared daggers at the Hentai Prince...
	"I think I'll be going now... Ninja Vanish!"  He vanished in a puff of orange
smoke that smelled like old gym-socks...
	"I think I'm going to follow him and make sure he doesn't peep on any
innocent girls tonight.." Eiji muttered.  "Good night, Minako..."
	"Good night, Eiji," she replied.

	The man in black armor sat on his throne of iron and began to set up his
chessboard again.  It was a triangle this time.
	White, the Senshi and the Knights.
	Black, the Death Busters and Sailor Saturn.
	Red, Wromwood and his demons.
	"Wormwood... it's so nice to see a real professional at work..." he remarked.
 He removed two of Wormwood's pawns from the game.
	"The Death Busters.. what a ship of fools..." he criticised.  He removed most
of their pawns, both rooks, a knight and a bishop.
	He regared the Senshi's forces with a critical eye.  "I'll give them this..
their Karma certainly has favored them..." he said ruefully.

THE NEXT MORNING...

	Wormwood appeared in an alley.  With frustration he realized taking a
physical form in the mortal plane would cause more of his demonic nature to
show in his appearance...  He pulled his new, bat-like wings in and covered
them with a trenchcoat.  "If it worked for that idiot Michael..." he remarked.
	The demon lord on vacation sauntered out onto the sidewalk, his solid black
eyes concealed behind sunglasses.

	Haruka Tenou glanced across the classroom in the general direction of Michiru
Kaiou.
	Several girls swooned over a chance to gaze upon the feminly handsome 'man'
they'd all developed major crushes on.
	Haruka was laughing hysterically on the inside.  As cute as some of the girls
in this class were, none of them did anything to her.  And she still thought
it was a laugh riot that about 90% of the female student body of Mugen Gakuen
thought she was a guy...
	Now speaking of Michiru and mysterious effects...
	She tossed that line of thought out of her mind once again.  She'd never be
able to fight along side of Michiru as Sailor Uranus if she kept thinking like
that...
	"Mr. Tenou!" the teacher shouted.
	D'OH!
	"I've been trying to get your attention for thew past 20 seconds!  The head
of the athletic department wants to see you."
	"I'm sorry.. my mind was billions of miles away {and a thousand years in the
past...}" she added silently.
	"He wants to see you after class."
	"Yes, ma'am..."

	Haruka knocked on the door cautiously.  She'd heard the new Director had
volantered for his job and wasn't getting paid...  She wondered what kind of
person did that?
	"Come in..." a man's voice said through the door.
	Haruka walked in, and found Jupiter Knight sitting in the chair.
	"Hello, Sailor Uranus, it's been a *very* long time..."
	"I'd guess so.." she muttered.  "I remember you vaguely..  We Outer Senshi
have *slightly* better memories of our past lives..."
	"Thanks to the meddling of Sailor Pluto, no doubt..."
	"Ahem..."
	"But that's beside the point..  If the Senshi are *ever* in over their heads
we want you to contact us."  He handed her a small quartz crystal.  "Keep this
in your storage pocket.  In a few days it will synchronise with your emotional
states and resonate with another crystal Moon Knight has with him.  We're
giving the Inner Senshi one of these as well.  Moon Knight will be able to
home in on the crystal easily, giving us a fair chance to help you."
	"Why do you want to help us?  Your powers redefine the term 'Urban Renewal.'"
	"We've got a very bad feeling about the Death Busters..." he said ominously. 
He did that sort of ominous predicting pretty well.  It must've been some sort
of talent Eastern priests had...

more to come...  this is nowhere near finished...

There are few things in this world that cannot be fixed with the 
appropriate application of High Explosives..  or duct tape, 
lots of duct tape...
     - Berk "REM" Watkins