=================================== Sailor Moon Versus Dungeon Keeper Chapter 1 - The New Keeper In Tokyo =================================== Luna sighed. At last, some peace and quiet following that Witches 5 and Master Pharoah 90 business. They'd managed to go monster free for a whole month now, and though the Senshi still trained with their powers, at the request of Usagi herself no less, they were no longer forced push themselves extra hard, like they did during the Witches 5's time. Indeed, the night was lovely. The moon hung in the sky with but a few clouds surrounding it, and Usagi's bed was nice and warm. Luna had her own bed, but she preferred sleeping in a warmer spot if possible. Luna was half asleep when she thought she saw something move in the street. She perked up instantly and gazed out the window to see if she could see what it was. There was nothing. Luna frowned. Her eyesight wasn't that bad. Then again, whatever it was probably passed. Perhaps a late night jogger. People in Tokyo tended to pick up unusual habits. Then she caught sight of it again, or rather, it's shadow, thanks to the street light. The figure was small, but had a large sack and what looked like a pickax. A thief? She watched it's shadow. If it was a thief, said thief seemed to be doing some sort of victory dance that ended with stomping on the ground inbetween jigs. Then it would walk forward and begin dancing again. Luna stared in confusion. A thief that danced around happily, then stomped on the ground? Then it walked directly in front of the Tsukino family gate and Luna got a good look at it. Her eyes widened as memories came back to her. "Usagi! Usagi, wake up!" Luna hissed urgently into Usagi's ear. "What is it, Luna?" was what Usagi tried to say, but it came out, "Farm boogle, bologna?" "Usagi! There's an imp outside!" Luna hissed. "A what?" Usagi asked as she sat up and stared blearily at Luna. "An imp! It's a magical creature made to perform tasks for evil sorcerers," Luna explained, before motioning out the window, where said imp was now dancing on the walkway leading to Usagi's house, "and it's making an artificial leyline right now!" "What's a leyline?" Usagi asked. Luna tried not to scream. She had to remind herself that Usagi didn't know a lot of the terms for magic. "Imagine the world covered in a spider's web. Each of the threads represents magical energy. Near a leyline, magic is easier to use. The further one is from a leyline, the harder magic is to use. You and the other senshi don't really need to worry about that much because you've got taps to your own leylines. With an artificial one, an evil sorcerer could cast his spells much easier, even if there wasn't a leyline within miles." Luna explained. "Evil sorcerers?" Usagi inquired, dreading the fact that she would have to be fighting another dastardly opponent so soon. "Yes, evil sorcerers." Luna answered. "Well," Usagi began, grumbling a bit, "I guess I should transform and fight it." Usagi climbed out of bed and grabbed her transformation brooch. "Moon Crystal Power!" Usagi hissed out. The flare of pink energy was toned down greatly as Usagi didn't want to wake her parents or her brother. The last she wanted to deal with was her family stumbling on her secret at this time of night. Once the transformation was complete, Usagi opened the window and leapt out to land at the front of her driveway, but the imp had moved to her house doorstep. Luna still thought that it looked like it was dancing a jig. "Hold it right there, buddy!" Sailor Moon declared. The imp turned around so Usagi could get a good look at it. It was fairly short, only about two to three feet tall, with a small green body and a freakishly large head that possess two completely black eyes that took up roughly two-thirds of it's face. In one hand was a pickax and strapped to it's back was a large deflated sack. The only clothes that it wore was a loin cloth, a cross-shaped belt held the sack to it's back and a pair of cloth boots. It seemed to stare blankly at Sailor Moon, before turning around again and resuming it's dance. "I SAID, HOLD IT RIGHT THERE!" Sailor Moon growled louder. The imp again turned to face her, then cocked it's head in confusion, before turning back to the house and resuming it's dance. There was one thing that Usagi Tsukino couldn't stand. It was a monster who refused to see her as a threat. Sailor Moon marched forward and bonked the creature on the head, "Knock it off already! What are you doing here?!" The imp squealed in surprise at the attack, then ran around Usagi before she could even blink and was halfway to her gate before she could turn around. Suddenly, as the imp passed, a larger green creature fell from... air, three feet up, to land on it's back. As it stood up, Usagi noted a slight resembalance between it and the imp. The new creature was about as tall as her, with normal-sized but bulged eyes, and a wiry frame. It wore a damaged helmet and leather armor, with a cheap-looking sword in one hand. Luna arched an eyebrow, "That's a goblin..." The goblin let out an angry, yet slightly whiny, battle cry before charging Usagi. Usagi, however, was much faster than it, and counter-attacked with a dashing punch, catching the goblin flatfoot. It tumbled backwards and hit the ground hard. It groaned and forced itself upright before charging Sailor Moon again. Usagi leapt at it, and jump-kicked the foolish goblin, sending it flying backwards to hit the wall on the otherside of the street. It's helmet fell from it's head and clattered to the ground as the goblin fell limp. Usagi approached it to see if it was still alive. Suddenly, three imps appeared. One grabbed the goblin's helmet while the other two grabbed the goblin itself. Then, the imps took off down the road, moving much faster than Usagi would've thought possible. Not willing to let them go without a decent explanation as to where they came from, Usagi and Luna raced after them. Three blocks later, the imps glanced back to see Usagi and Luna still following them. The one holding the helmet let out a chitter to the sky above. Usagi was shocked at what happened next, both figuratively and literally, as a lightning bolt blasted her to the ground. Usagi didn't know how much time had passed when she finally woke up, but Ami and Makoto were already there, both transformed. "What happened?" Usagi asked. "You got zapped out of the blue." Luna explained. "Where are the imps?" Usagi inquired. "Gone. I was more worried about you." Luna answered. "Mercury, can you track them?" Usagi asked. "No, not unless I got the chance to scan one." Ami told her. "I guess it's a new Senshi meeting tomorrow." Usagi sighed. Ami and Makoto nodded. He sighed. This was supposed to be easy. Claim all of Tokyo for the launch site of his plan, but while he had gotten most of the city into his power, the imps working in the suburbs had attracted Sailor Moon. Sailor Moon. He'd heard all of the legends about her, but it was only by scrying on some of the most powerful magical events in the city that he found out about her full power. He knew exactly what she could do if she were pressed. And he had no desire to see it upclose. While Tokyo wasn't the best place for mana, it was an easy place to attract minions. For some reason, the place just harbored the energies necessary to pull creatures into his service. One thing was sure, the goblin he'd just had was done for. Even hurrying as fast as they could, the imps couldn't bring the body back to the goblin's lair fast enough, thus the healing magic in the lair was unable to bring the poor creature back to life. So, it was off to the graveyard for the goblin's lifeless body. He needed better servants and more than one capable of fighting, if he was to take on Sailor Moon, even in a delaying action. "What seems to be the problem?" came a sultry request from behind him. He glanced back at the woman who had been his master in the art of magic, and the one who had shown him where to find the last of the Dungeon Hearts, the magical device that he was utilizing to create the artificial leyline. All it really did was bring the loose threads of leylines into a more orderly position, but it allowed him to multiply his power immensely. Of course, he had been forced to save her a few years ago, so it was for mutual benefit. But, he kept getting the distinct impression that he was helping her more than she was helping him. "My imps and my only goblin had a little run in with Sailor Moon. My goblin didn't last." he explained. "Then you'll have to attract in more powerful warriors or create them. Use the prison, like I taught you." she answered. "I've thought about that. It seems like a waste to kill off people just to make a few one-shot monsters." he responded. "You wouldn't worry about killing off those humans on lower end of the moral scale, would you?" she suggested politely. He really wanted to glare at her for that, but he had to admit, he didn't care about the people who went around molesting or raping women. "But how will I get skeletons if I don't have any warriors?" he demanded. "Just use your imps to distract them. Imps _can_ fight, just not very well." she responded. "......" he answered. ======================================================================= Who is the keeper? Who is the keeper's ally? Will the new keeper scrounge the bottom of humanity's moral structure for a new army? Can Sailor Moon and company track him down before he becomes more dangerous? Find out the answers and/or clues in the next episode.