Author: Hmmm, got the lairs... got the hatchery, got the prison, 
torture chamber, combat pit, library, temple, graveyard... OH yeah, 
forgot the treasury.
[Author waves his hands and about thirty seconds later, a large chamber 
was prepared.  Another wave of his hands and a massive treasury, which 
was almost overfull, was in the chamber.]
Author: Okay, time to start it.
[SFX: *SHING*]
[Monks: {chanting} aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaahhhhh-]
[Scene: A massive hallway with a doorway filled with light.  Roughly 
five feet in front of the doorway was a head-sized gyroscope with 
twenty or so small flat square-like gems floating in the middle.  In 
front of THAT was an aged wizard, with a long white beard, a blue hat 
and blue sleeveless robes.  The wizard held a staff in his left hand 
and peered at the gems with his right.  With his right hand, he seemed 
to be trying to pick one of the gems.]
[The camera pulls back, passing through a slightly open wooden door to 
show a dwarf leaning against a stone wall, snoring.]
[Sweeping to an indistiguishable reinforced wall, the light sound of 
metal against stone is heard, followed by a slightly louder noise of 
stones moving.  Suddenly, the wall explodes open, revealing a shower of 
small yellow creatures will adorable round eyes, almost like a fusion 
between a cat and a plush toy bear, all holding pick-axes.  As the 
creatures land, all but two teleport away.]
[The dwarf awakens at the noise as a hoard of skeletons enter through 
the wall, screaming horrific battle cries.  The dwarf looks around in a 
panic, trying to tell where the intruders were.  He runs off towards 
the noise as a much larger and more recognizable monster walks into the 
dungeon.]
[The Reaper, Horny, enters with the more skeletons, snarling as he made 
his way into towards their destination.  As the skeletons are moving 
faster, Horny stands aside long enough for them to pass him by.]
[The wizard, also alerted by the sound of entering monsters, turns and 
heads towards the door just as the dwarf ran directly into Horny.  The 
dwarf looked up as the immense demon, who snarled and barred his 
impressive fangs.  The dwarf ran away, screaming his head off in 
terror.]
[The wizard reached the door to see piles of destroyed skeletons.  He 
looked around for the creature that had made the more terrifying sound 
and saw Horny as he turned the bend and started towards the wooden 
door.  The wizard backed away in fear, slamming the door shut and 
barring it.  He looked around for something that might help and caught 
sight of the gyroscope again.  There were likely traps that may be 
useful in deterring the red Reaper.]
[Just as the wizard headed towards the gyroscope, a knight leapt out in 
front of the door, spinning his blade in an impressive display.  Horny 
simply barred his teeth again and extended the blade on his scythe.  
The two warriors charged at each other.]
[The knight swung twice in an 'x' pattern, but Horny blocked the 
strikes easily.  He swung upwards in a reverse diagonal slash, forcing 
Horny backwards, before slashing at Horny's throat, missing by a 
hairsworth as Horny ducked backwards.  Horny knocked over a standing 
torch, spilling its oil as he righted himself and smiled as the flames 
coated the battleground.]
[Meanwhile, the wizard reached into the gyroscope and caught one of the 
gems, causing the other gems to vanish and stopping the gyroscope.  A 
door with a circle near the top slid down in the doorway as bracing 
boards slid to hold it in place.  The wizard held the gem up to the 
light to admire it's beauty.]
[Horny charged again, this time catching the knight's blade and moving 
it down as he slid inside the knight's defense and shoulder-slammed 
him, catapulting the knight backwards through the door to skid across 
the floor, coming to a halt near the gyroscope as Horny marched in 
through the broken door.]
[The wizard was still studying the gem in fascination, albeit behind a 
pillar, as the knight slid to a halt near him.  The wizard glanced over 
at him in surprise, then ducked before Horny's scythe could decapitate 
him.  He ran across the room as fast as he could, but the Horned Reaper 
was not deterred in the least.  The wizard turned, hoping to catch the 
Reaper off-guard with a Super Firebomb, but Horny swatted the spell 
right back at the wizard, killing him instantly and sending his corpse 
toppling to the ground.]
[Horny smiled as the wizard's hand went limp, revealing the gem.  He 
plucked it from the dead wizard's hand.  He held it up to the light 
shining through the hole in the door.]

	"Keitaro!  Why don't you find something to do instead of hanging 
around our house all day?" Keitaro's mother asked, exasperated at her 
son.  Most other children couldn't wait to leave while their parents 
didn't want to see them go.  Keitaro's mother wished her son would 
leave or at least get into a practical apprenticeship.
	"Fine!  I'll move out and find a job." Keitaro Urashima answered 
jokingly.
	"You'd do that?" Keitaro's mother inquired, excited.
	"Eh?" Keitaro asked.
	Before Keitaro could blink, he had some bags in his hands and his 
mother was hustling him out the door.  A full blink later, he was 
standing at the edge of the village with three bags full of his stuff 
and no clue as to what to do.
	He considered his options.  He had an apprenticeship in artistry, 
cleaning, and wood carving, but his masters had been killed in various 
accidents involving homicidal goblins.  He had some blacksmithing 
experience too, but he'd been fired when he'd accidentally set his 
master's hair on fire.  He'd put it out fairly fast, but the water had 
cooled and broken the sword his master had been working on.
	He supposed he could get some work as a blacksmith, though.  He'd 
been very good and it hadn't been too long since his apprenticeship.  
If it hadn't been a supremely important client's sword, he doubted he 
would've been fired.
	Suddenly, he got an idea.  There was a Keeper nearby.  If he 
could get work with anyone, it would be a Keeper.  Not only would he 
get all the food he wanted, but free lodgings and pay too.  And if any 
heroes killed the keeper, he could say he was being used against his 
will, take his accumulated pay and go home.  His mother wouldn't kick 
him out if he had a mountain of gold.
	But how did one get hired by a-
	Before Keitaro could finish that thought, he found himself in a 
pit.  He blinked.  He tossed his bags to the top and climbed out, then 
blinked yet again.  He was in a dungeon.  The kind that had the keepers 
he had wanted to get hired by.  But how had that happened?
	"Huh?  What's going on?" Keitaro inquired aloud.
	He saw a few blurs run past him.  One stopped and turned to him.  
It was a small yellow creature with adorable round eyes, cute stubby 
arms and large feet.
	The small creature chirped, smiling an adorable smile, before 
taking one of Keitaro's bags and motioning him to follow it.
	He followed it to a strange chamber, where three archways 
connected around a circular pit that had some sort of pulsating 
membrance inside.
	//SO, YOU ARE THE ONE WHO ENTERED.// came a loud and commanding 
voice inside Keitaro's head.
	"HUH?!  WHA?!  Who said that?!" Keitaro asked.
	//IT IS I, THE KEEPER OF THE DUNGEON HEART.  SPEAK, MORTAL, WHY 
DIDST THOU ENTER MINE REALM?// the voice demanded.
	"Um, I'm Keitaro Urashima... I came so I could find some work." 
Keitaro answered.
	//VERY WELL, KEITARO URASHIMA.  I SENSE THAT YOUR ABILITIES WITH 
YOUR HANDS IS QUITE ADMIRABLE.  ARE THOU A MONK?  OR PERHAPS THOU ART A 
SWORDSMAN?//
	"Um, not really, I don't like violence.  I can draw, carve wood 
and clean." Keitaro explained.
	//THOSE AREN'T EXACTLY THINGS THAT I NEED.  YOU MUST HAVE SOME 
SKILLS THAT COULD BE USEFUL, AS YOU WERE CALLED BY A PORTAL.  IF THOU 
ART NOT A FIGHTER, PERHAPS THOU ART A MAGE OR A BLACKSMITH?//
	"Actually, I'm pretty good at blacksmithing." Keitaro answered.
	//CAN THOU MAKE DOORS AND TRAPS?//
	"If I have some instructions to go by, sure." Keitaro 
acknowledged.
	//VERY WELL, THEN, KEITARO URASHIMA.  THOU ART NOW DESIGNATED AS 
A TROLL.  SORRY, BUT I HAVE TO CLASSIFY PEOPLE BY A SET PATTERN, OR 
ELSE YOU DON'T GET PAID PROPERLY.  IN ANY CASE, ONE OF THE LIDDO CAN 
SHOW YOU AN OPEN LAIR AND JUST LISTEN FOR CHICKENS IN ORDER TO FIND THE 
HATCHERY.  YOU'LL KNOW WHERE THE TREASURY IS WHEN IT'S PAYDAY.//
	"Um, can I ask a question?" Keitaro inquired.
	//GO AHEAD.//
	"Why do you alternate from Ye Olde Englishe to normal?" Keitaro 
asked.
	//................... ANYWAY, THE LIDDO WILL SHOW YOU THE WAY.  
THAT IS ALL.//
	Keitaro was about to ask for an answer when the yellow creature, 
Liddo, tugged on his arm and began pulling him towards the lairs.  He 
followed it reluctantly, still grumbling over the fact that he still 
hadn't gotten a decent answer.
	They entered a room with green carpet on the floor and four beds 
scattered about the room.  Liddo lead Keitaro to a blank spot of carpet 
and a new bed appeared.  Keitaro noticed the other four beds were gone 
and there were closets and dressers, as well as a separate room 
containing a bath.
	"What's-" Keitaro began.
	//LISTEN WELL, KEITARO.  ONCE YOU'VE CLAIM A LAIR, THE MAGICAL 
NATURE OF THE ROOM CREATES A POCKET DIMENSION THAT FILLS THE ENTIRE 
AREA THE LAIRS ORIGINALLY TOOK UP.  TO THE NORMAL WORLD, IT LOOKS LIKE 
A SIMPLE BED, BUT ONCE YOU STAND NEXT TO YOUR BED, THE LAIR WILL TAKE 
ON IT'S CURRENT APPEARANCE.  SHOULD YOU DECIDE TO LEAVE OR CHANGE THE 
LOCATION OF YOUR LAIR, YOUR BELONGINGS AND PAY WILL FOLLOW YOU UNTIL 
YOU OR I DIE.  SHOULD I DIE OR YOU LEAVE, ALL OF YOUR BELONGINGS AND 
PAY WILL APPEAR AROUND YOU.  SHOULD YOU DIE, ALL OF YOUR BELONGINGS 
WILL RETURN TO WHOMEVER YOU DICTATE AS YOUR INHERITOR.  DO NOT WORRY 
ABOUT ANYONE SEEING YOU NAKED, THE POCKET DIMENSION WILL ONLY SHOW YOU 
JUST AS YOU WERE WHEN YOU ENTERED.  TO EXIT THE POCKET DIMENSION, 
SIMPLY WALK OFF THE EDGE OF THE CARPETED AREA.//
	Keitaro nodded and set his stuff down.  He walked to the edge of 
the carpet and stepped off, blinking as the room with the beds 
reappeared, only there were now five.  He looked up, "Um, if it would 
be all right, can I go to work now?"
	//CERTAINLY.  NOW, THERE IS A UNIFORM FOR TROLLS.  AH, HERE IT 
IS.//
	Keitaro felt a draft.  He looked down and saw that he was wearing 
nothing but a belt buckle.
	"YIPE!" Keitaro yelped, covering himself.

Keitaro: AUTHOR!  I CAN'T WORK NUDE!
Motoko, Kitsune, Shinobu, Naru: YEAH!  It's distracting!
Author: Fine!
Kanako: I don't mind.
[Kanako intimidates Haruka to agree.]
Haruka: I don't mind either.
Author: Sorry, you were outvoted.

	Keitaro felt a draft.  He looked down and saw that he was wearing 
nothing but a belt buckle and a loin cloth.  In his right hand, he held 
a massive hammer.
	"YIPE!" Keitaro yelped, covering himself.
	"Doesn't this come with more?" Keitaro asked.
	//NOT REALLY.  IN FACT, I ADDED SOME CLOTH TO COVER YOUR ASS.  
TROLLS DON'T CARE ABOUT THEIR APPEARANCES.//
	"I've changed my mind!  I'll be anything that wears clothes!" 
Keitaro asked.
	//IT'S EITHER THIS OR BE A GOBLIN.  THEY DIE QUITE EASILY.  BE 
GLAD I DIDN'T MAKE YOU A BILE DEMON.  YOU HAVE TO EXPEL GAS, HIT THINGS 
WITH YOUR HEAD AND YOU'D BE WEARING LESS THAN YOU ARE NOW.  BESIDES, 
YOU'RE RESISTANT TO FIRE AND HEAT, YOU'VE GOT MORE STRENGTH THAN YOU 
NORMALLY WOULD AND YOU HAVE BETTER EYESIGHT THAN MOST OF THE PEOPLE YOU 
USED TO ENVY, SO STOP COMPLAINING.  WE HAVE A LOT OF WORK FOR YOU TO 
DO.//
	Keitaro sighed.  Maybe joining a Keeper hadn't been the best 
idea.

	It wasn't too bad once he got used to it.  In truth, it was 
always difficult to blacksmith when one had to stand as far back as one 
could from the item one was forging to prevent one's hair or clothes 
from being lit of fire from the sparks.  Keitaro found that with his 
new eyesight, his glasses were worthless.  He could see better without 
his glasses than he ever could before, with or without glasses.  And 
with his heat-resistance, he could work much more closely to what he 
was working on.
	The forge had several work areas, three furnace-forge areas, 
where one could forge items while keeping them hot enough to work with, 
and four cold forge areas where things that didn't require much/any 
heat could be made.
	The process of building traps and doors was an unusual one.  
Instead of forging said doors and traps full sized, Keitaro created 
miniatures of said items, then constructed a metal box around each one, 
then carved a special rune on the top.  Liddos came, picked up the 
boxes and dragged them to their destination, where they then channelled 
some mana into the runes, causing the miniatures to grow to full size.
	Ingenious, really.  It took less than a third of the time to 
construct them and the doors would ALWAYS fit.  The only difference 
between traps and doors was that traps would be fed mana regularly 
while the doors (save for the magic door) would not need mana to 
operate.
	Keitaro had worked for what felt like six hours when he started 
to get hungry.  He decided to grab something to eat.  Leaving his 
hammer behind, he kricked his neck and headed out of the workshop to 
look for the hatchey.
	He heard the sound of chickens buckawing as he exited the forge 
and headed towards the noise.  He found another room, perhaps larger 
than the one for the lair, with six hen houses and numerous chickens 
hopping around.  Three women were already in the room.  The first two 
looked about as tall as he was while the third one was shorter by about 
a head's height.
	The first was a short platinum-haired woman wearing blue robes.  
Her eyes seemed closed, but from the way she moved, she could see just 
fine.
	The next girl had long brown hair that reached about thigh 
height.  She had brown eyes and wore a simple black robe.
	The third and final girl was flying.  She had dark skin, blonde 
hair tied back into a short ponytail, and bright green eyes.  She wore 
a white bodysuit.
	The trio each grabbed a chicken off the ground and stuffed said 
poultry into their mouths-

Naru: [coughing up feathers] AUTHOR!  This isn't going to work!
Author: Oh, fine.  Big babies.

	The trio grabbed chickens off the ground.  The chickens 
spontaneously transformed into fried chicken.

Author: Happy?
All: Yes, quite.

	"Whoa... that's impressive..." Keitaro commented, picking up a 
chicken of his own.  It too transformed into a fully prepared and 
properly cooked chicken.
	The girls ate their chickens in varying manners.  The flying girl 
swallowed hers whole, the platinum-haired one took massive bites out of 
hers, the brown-haired girl took smaller bites from hers.
	"Are these boneless?" Keitaro inquired.
	The trio looked over at him, noticing him for the first time.
	"A new one... and he ain't half bad, appearance wise." the 
platinum-haired girl commneted, seemingly sizing Keitaro up.
	"Is he here to play?!" the flying girl inquired.
	The brown-haired girl rolled her eyes, before walking over to 
Keitaro and extending a free hand, "I'm Naru Narusegawa, a mercenary 
Monk."
	"Hello, I'm Keitaro Urashima, um... the Keeper said I was a 
Troll." Keitaro answered.
	"I was wondering who was making all those doors.  You're quite a 
craftsman." the platinum-hairled girl said, approaching and extending 
her hand to shake Keitaro's, "I'm Mitsune Konno, warlock.  Everyone 
calls me Kitsune, though."
	"Ah." Keitaro acknowledged.
	"And she's Kaolla Su, a mercenary Fairy." Naru said, motioning to 
Kaolla.
	"Pleased to meet you!" Kaolla said, before looking at Keitaro's 
chicken and drooling, "You aren't eating it, so can I have yours?"
	"Uh, sure." Keitaro said, handing the roasted chicken over to 
Kaolla, "But, I was wondering if these were boneless or not..."
	"They've got bones before you pick one up, but afterwards the 
magic that cooks them for us also makes them boneless.  Cuts down on 
the gristle too." Kitsune answered, before Kaolla swallowed the roasted 
chicken whole.
	"Not quite true.  It mostly depends on your preferences.  Guess 
you like bones, Keitaro." Kaolla corrected before spitting out the 
ribcage and thigh bones of the roasted chicken.  The bones hit the 
ground and powdered instantly, then even the powder dissolved.
	"That's some clean up." Keitaro commented.
	"Anyway, keeper-made hatcheries have that advantage.  They also 
don't leave residue or stains, so if you drop them or they fall on your 
clothes, you don't need to worry about having to clean yourself up." 
Kaolla continued.
	"Anyway, I've got to get back to researching spells.  Nice to 
meet you, Keitaro." Kitsune said, before waving goodbye and exiting the 
room.
	"Why is she researching spells?  Shouldn't she know some 
already?" Keitaro inquired.
	"Yes, but she researches them for the Keeper.  You see, the 
keeper is pretty powerful when it comes to building things, but casting 
spells is different.  I don't understand everything, but it seems to be 
about establishing patterns so that the magic will work better." Naru 
explained.
	"I'm OFF!" Kaolla said, zooming over Keitaro's head.
	"Where's she going?" Keitaro inquired.
	"She and Tama-chan the Firefly both do scouting for our keeper." 
Naru answered.
	"Ah.  And what do you do?" Keitaro asked.
	"Well.... currently, I'm the frontline fighter and healer.  When 
our keeper gets more actual fighters, I'll be more of a healer and 
exorcist against Vampires." Naru explained.
	"Ah, I see.  So, who are we fighting?" Keitaro requested, 
grabbing another chicken and beginning to feast on the already cooked 
poultry.
	"Just about everyone.  If you can't tell, we're working for a 
pretty new Keeper." Naru told him.
	"You, Kitsune and Kaolla seem to be old friends." Keitaro 
commented, dropping the already finished carcass and grabbing another 
chicken.  Something about the chicken left him feeling like he'd just 
finished a single sandwich, even though a bird that size was usually a 
meal for two people, maybe more.
	Naru nodded, "Kitsune, Kaolla and I used to work for a nice 
keeper... an old woman named Grandma Hina, but she passed away recently 
of old age."
	"GRANDMA HINA?!  HINA URASHIMA?!" Keitaro asked, dropping his 
chicken.
	"You knew her?" Naru inquired.
	"She was MY grandma!" Keitaro answered.
	"Urashima... AH!  You're her grandson?!  That makes you Haruka's 
nephew!  But you can't be much younger than her!" Naru demanded.
	Keitaro nodded assent, "Aunt Haruka is only seven years older 
than I am!"
	"EH?!" Naru exclaimed, shocked.

	Kitsune had a very difficult job.  One could say that hers 
rivaled Keitaro's in need of someone with a great deal of competency.  
Her job was also a very boring one.
	It was up to her and other magical researchers to infuse certain 
magics into the leylines of the dungeon that the Liddo created so that 
the Keeper could utilize them.
	To do so required her to scribe various runes on pillars in the 
library.  Which meant looking over her books, finding certain spells 
and transplanting them in short form onto said pillars.  An inept mage 
could take days checking and double checking runes for accuracy.
	Of course, the spells would only work for THAT particular 
dungeon.  The Keeper would have to build another library in the next 
dungeon before she/he/it could cast those spells in the other dungeon.  
Which meant waiting again until the mages finished transcribing the 
spells.  Luckily for the Keeper, Kitsune was more skilled and thus 
could finish the work in roughly half the time a lesser mage could.
	Getting the spells down was relatively easy.  However, there was 
also the job of increasing the usefulness of the spell, either by 
increasing its power, reducing it's mana cost or making it's effect 
last longer.
	That required writing the full incantation on the pillars.  And 
when spells could take two to sixteen pages, that became quite the 
hassle.
	If it weren't for the fact that being a warlock paid so well, she 
probably would have been something more interesting.
	She heard a strange noise.  It was the sound of someone entering 
through the gateway.  She hummed to herself.  Was it worth the effort 
to meet the new person?  It would get her away from the boring work for 
a while.  Besides, the keeper wasn't in a rush to conquer castles or 
anything.
	Kitsune exited the library and walked towards the Dungeon Heart, 
where the newbie was getting the lowdown on how things worked.
	Kitsune paused as she entered the Heart room, seeing a girl with 
dark brown hair tied back into a ponytail.  However, the rest of her 
hairstyle and her face reminded Kitsune of Naru.  Her chest, however, 
was more expansive than even Kitsune's.  The girl was wearing a green 
sweater with a brown skirt.  She looked rather pale, even in the light 
of the Heart.
	//AH, KITSUNE, THIS IS MUTSUMI OTOHIME.  SHE'S GOING TO BE OUR 
FIRST MISTRESS.// the Keeper told her.
	"Aaaaah...ah.  Right." Kitsune responded.
	The girl looked too kind to be a Mistress, but if that's what she 
wanted to be...
	//WHY DON'T YOU SHOW HER TO A LAIR, THEN GIVE HER A TOUR OF THE 
PLACE?//
	[What am I?  A tour guide?] Kitsune asked herself.
	//IT'LL BE GOOD EXERCISE _AND_ IT'LL EXCUSE YOU FROM DITCHING 
WORK.// the Keeper told her directly, knowing what she was thinking.
	Mutsumi smiled as Kitsune led her to the lairs.
	"He sounds like a very nice Keeper." Mutsumi commented.
	"Yeah, so long as you don't mess around too much." Kitsune 
answered.
	"Well, I don't intend to do much of that." Mutsumi responded.
	Kitsune wondered if Mutsumi had heard the Keeper's comment to her 
just as they arrived at the lair.
	"Pick a spot." Kitsune told her.
	Mutsumi entered the lair and found a spot in the middle.  A bed 
rose a few seconds later and Mutsumi disappeared.  Roughly thirty 
seconds later, Mutsumi reappeared at the lair's edge in a black latex 
bodysuit.  The back was open as well as the buttocks, but a strip 
prevented it from being too revealing.  On the right hand was a pair of 
summonable metal claws that could be summoned or sent away at a 
moment's thought.  The only thing missing was the cap that swept all of 
the Mistress' hair back into a fountaining ponytail so that no blood or 
gore could get into it easily.
	"Where to next?" Mutsumi inquired.
	"Um, I guess the room where you'll be working." Kitsune answered.
	Kitsune lead the girl done to the torture chamber, which was past 
the hatchery and library.
	Kitsune didn't particularly like the torture chamber.  She'd been 
in one shortly before Grandma Hina had sent forces to rescue her, so 
she knew exactly what happened inside some of the less sexually-
oriented ones.  By comparison, she would've preferred a more sexually 
oriented torture chamber.
	Thus, it was why she so rarely frequented the area.  Torture 
chambers were pretty much the same.  Numerous magical wooden wheels 
mounted either on the floor or the ground with either glowing embers to 
burn the enemy or water to wear away at their strength and endurance.  
Also accompanying the wheels were electric chairs and in the areas that 
were too short in width to mount another torture device had the 
implements with which a Mistress could hasten confessions or 
conversions.
	Even looking in the room gave her the willies.  She had once 
thought she could be perverse, but the mistresses who'd had her had 
proved her so very, very wrong.
	"Hmmm, not much lube.  I suppose I'll have to ask the Keeper to 
buy some..." Mutsumi commented.
	Kitsune blushed.
	Then, they heard the sound of a Liddo running in terror.  It was 
very distinguishable as it was the only time a Liddo would drag it's 
pickaxe against the ground.
	"Kitsune!  A Knight is in the Dungeon!" Naru exclaimed as she ran 
past the doorway.
	"Say what?!" Kitsune demanded, spinning and running out after 
Naru.
	Kitsune looked back to see Mutsumi and Keitaro following closely 
behind her.
	[Good.  Knights are bad enough when facing them alone, but at 
least we've got two people who might deal this one long enough for me 
to cast a Firebomb.] Kitsune thought as she ran.

	The knight had gotten in when the Liddo had finished mining a 
gold vein, which just happened to lead to a hero gate through which the 
knight had just stepped.
	The knight wore the standard shining silver armor, horned helmet 
and carried the traditional glowing sword.  From the way the knight 
moved, he was obviously no rookie.  His movements were graceful, yet 
determined.  He also wasn't laughing cockily or holding his sword in 
front of him, meaning he wasn't brash or overly nervous.
	Kitsune slowed and began chanting a fireball spell.  It probably 
wouldn't do much if the knight was exceptionally powerful, but would 
likely distract the knight long enough for them to work the two newbies 
into the battle formula.  Keitaro and Mutsumi zipped around Kitsune as 
she came to a stop.
	Naru didn't stop, but rather charged faster at the knight, 
leaping forward while spinning, before lashing out in a powerful kick.  
The knight caught the spinning jump kick, much to Naru's surprise, and 
tossed her towards the far wall.
	The knight dodged Kitsune's fireball, but not Mutsumi's 
lightning.  The knight staggered, but regained his senses and continued 
forward.  Keitaro charged and managed to slam his hammer against the 
knight's chestplate, but he found out a bit late that the knight's 
armor was magically reinforced while his hammer wasn't.  He lowered his 
hammer and tried to stop the ringing sensation running up and down his 
body.
	The knight struck Keitaro in the forehead with the butt of his 
sword, sending the boy to his back.  Naru slid in while the knight was 
distracted and slammed the knight's armor with several powerful blows, 
dealing much more damage than Keitaro's hammer strike had.  Naru jumped 
backwards just as Mutsumi cast a freeze spell, sealing the knight in a 
block of ice.
	The ice shattered abruptly and the knight whirled his blade, 
creating a localized cyclone that knocked Naru and Mutsumi off their 
feet and tossed them and Keitaro against the walls.  Unfortunately for 
the knight, Kitsune had been protected from the whirlwind by the 
corridor she was still in and she had just finished her firebomb spell 
as the cyclone died.
	The knight took the firebomb straight in the chest, and the 
explosion sent the knight catapulting back towards the hero gate he had 
come from.  Kitsune wasn't going to take any chances, though.  She 
quickly cast a follow-up fireball spell on the fallen knight as the 
Keeper healed Keitaro, Naru and Mutsumi.
	//THANK YOU FOR YOUR WORK, EVERYONE.  THE LIDDO WILL TAKE IT FROM 
HERE.// the Keeper announced.
	"We beat him?" Naru asked groggily.  The cyclone hadn't hurt 
much, but striking the wall HAD.
	//INDEED.  AND WITH MUTSUMI'S HELP, WE'LL HAVE A NEW ALLY.  IN 
THE MEANTIME, THE LIDDO WILL DESTROY THE GATE.  KEITARO, I'D LIKE YOU 
TO GET BACK TO WORK ON THE DOORS SOME MORE BEFORE YOU GO TO BED.// the 
Keeper responded.
	"Right." Keitaro answered, shuddering at the thought of taking on 
another Knight anytime soon.
	"What the- check it out!  The knight was a girl!" Kitsune stated, 
pointing at the knight, who's helmet had fallen off after the firebomb 
spell.
	"Wow... that was impressive." Keitaro commented.
	"No kidding, she tossed me like I was a wet rag!" Naru noted as 
the Liddo began dragging the fallen knight to the prison, where she 
would later be placed in the torture chamber for Mutsumi to take 
"care" of.

=======================================================================

	This is starting out a Love Hina/Dungeon Keeper 2 story, but it 
will evolve into a multi-crossover (as many of my stories do).
	Indeed, I've rarely written a story without some cameos for 
another series I like popping up.
	If anyone would like to suggest characters from other animes in 
certain roles, be my guest.  I'll accept most submissions, but be 
warned that there will be rejections of ideas.  Don't fear failure 
though, I like people who e-mail me with ideas, even if I don't use 
them.

	Current Cast

	Liddo-kun and friends as Imps
	Keitaro as a Troll
	Kitsune as a Warlock
	Kaolla as a Mercenary Fairy
	Naru as a Elite Monk
	Mutsumi as a Mistress
	Tama-chan as a Firefly
	Motoko as a converted Knight (which means very naughty things,
with mischevious results)

    Source: geocities.com/tokyo/island/3968

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