And he spoke, "Behold one who is greater than all of you.
With my hand, I can call lightning from the heavens,
heal the sick, shake the earth, make beds arise from the ground,
create food from nothing, and turn my foes into my allies."
And they in turn replied, "Big effing deal,
you don't pay, we don't stay."
And yay, he didst facefault mightily.
- Ode To A Keeper Who Forgot To Pay His Minions
=================================
Sailor Moon Versus Dungeon Keeper
Chapter 4 - Keepers of Summer
=================================
It was difficult keeping track of certain things when one had
been blown to pieces by Sailor Moon. So, it was perfectly logical that
some things had slipped by her or weren't remembered correctly,
considering she had roughly 11,000 years to try and recall.
"I could have sworn that Jadeite would be around here
somewhere..." she murmurred to herself as she looked around the north
pole.
She frowned. It was so difficult to recall things from the time
of the Dark Kingdom's invasion.
She paused to think. Wasn't there a monster Prince Endymion had
found when he was looking for powerful allies for the Dark Kingdom?
They hadn't freed it because they'd feared that, like the corrupt water
spirit from that lake, the monster wouldn't obey.
But Endymion was a weak-minded fool who hadn't bartered with the
spirit for it's release. Ian was twice as intelligent as Endymion was
and Ian wasn't weighed down by a geas of servitude either.
Besides, now that she thought about it, even if Jadeite were
revived, the chances of him serving Ian were slim to none. That
arrogant pinhead had always acted first, then thought about what he'd
done. It was amazing that he'd even become a General. Why, if his
command of magical energies hadn't been so much greater than the
average youma, there wouldn't have been any need for him at all.
Of course, like Endymion, Jadeite and the other generals were
held back quite a bit mentally and magically because of the geas of
servitude.
Time to see if that other monster would perhaps be a greater
resource than Jadeite. After all, Ian needed all the support he could
muster and while the Daimons would eventually flesh out his army, it
was better if the monsters weren't simply posssesed objects.
Chibi-usa and Setsuna entered Hotaru's bedroom. It had been
redecorated to please a baby's mind, but not everything had changed, as
Hotaru started crying whenever they began to even talk about removing
certain things. Like the lamps. Hotaru still loved the lamps in her
room, even if she hadn't minded having all the dolls removed. Likely
because the dolls symbolized how she'd been treated in her prior life
while the lamps were presents from her father.
"So, how should we do it?" Setsuna inquired, staring down at baby
Hotaru.
"Well, I don't think leaving her out in the open to be attacked
by monsters is a good idea. So, I'll try using a telepathy trick Luna
taught me." Chibi-usa responded.
"Will that work? She's not-" Setsuna began.
"Some of her memory was lost, but she's still got all that she
needs. She's just kept it repressed until the time that she needed it
again." Chibi-usa explained.
Chibi-usa closed her eyes and a golden crescent moon tattoo
formed on her forehead. Light built up from the golden tattoo for a
few seconds, then extended to Hotaru's forehead. However, instead of a
moon tattoo, the symbol that appeared on Hotaru's forehead was a cross
between a lower-case 'h' and a lower-case 't'. The sign of Saturn.
It was like watching an age-acceleration movie. Hotaru went from
a baby to age eight in the span of thirty seconds and to the age of
fourteen in ten more seconds before the light and symbols faded.
"Setsuna? Chibi-usa?" Hotaru asked, blinking in confusion.
Chibi-usa nodded, "How do you feel?"
"Confused." Hotaru admitted.
"That's okay. It'll take a while to get used to being a teenager
again." Chibi-usa stated, helping Hotaru climb out of the crib she was
in. The strange thing was that she was wearing a purple sweater and
stonewashed jeans.
"Do you remember anything about Sailor Saturn?" Setsuna inquired.
Hotaru nodded, then a worried expression filled her face, "Haruka
and Michiru aren't going to try and kill me, are they?"
"No." Setsuna answered, then Chibi-Usa added, "And if they even
_think_ about it, I'll beat them both black and blue."
Hotaru and Setsuna sweatdropped.
Ian stared at the warehouse floor, then glanced at his aide.
"You're sure there's one here?" Ian inquired.
She answered, "Positive. She's a bit more unruly than most of
the others you've dealt with, but I think we can persuade her to join
us."
Ian was skeptical, at least until a complex magical seal appeared
on the floor, flaring with an angry red aura.
If the room hadn't been fairly quiet, neither of the two would
have heard the angry woman's voice whispering, "....freedom....."
Ian glanced at his aide again, "How do we bargain with her? I
mean, do we talk into the seal or what?"
"We talk to it like so," she smiled, before spreading her arms
wide and talking loudly, "ANCIENT SPIRIT, WE STAND BEFORE YOU WITH AN
OFFER! WE SHALL FREE YOU IN EXCHANGE FOR YOUR SERVICES!"
The other woman's voice was more audible the second time, "You
would have me trade one leash for another?"
"If you have any vendettas to clear up, you may do so at your
leisure. All I ask is your aid when I need it. In return, I offer you a haven for resting and your freedom." Ian replied.
There was a long pause before the sealed woman gave her answer,
"Very well. To whom will I pledge my loyalty to?"
"I am Dungeon Keeper Ian." Ian replied.
"Then I pledge my loyalty to you, Dungeon Keeper Ian." the woman
answered.
With that, Ian extended a hand to the seal. Multi-colored
lightning arced from his hand to the seal for several moments before
the seal vanished and the ground exploded. Out of the gaping hole in
the warehouse floor rose a woman with long blonde hair. She had two
large tattered bat wings sprouting from her back, a red mask over her
eyes and a skin-tight bodysuit that displayed her ample bosom.
Her arms and legs, starting at the elbows and knees respectively,
were much larger than they should have been, almost like Felicia's (of
Night Warriors/Darkstalkers fame) hands. However, as she stepped out
of the circle that had once bound her, her arms and legs shrank to a
more normal size.
Ian gawked for a few seconds before catching himself.
"And your name?" Ian asked.
"I am Nightshade." the demonic woman answered.
Ian nodded and the trio teleported back to Ian's dungeon.
The week seemed to drag as the senshi went about their daily lives and attempted to keep calm. But the looming presence of such a powerful enemy like the Dungeon Keeper was irritating each of them. Finally, saturday came and the entire senshi group, including Mamoru, Luna and Artemis, met at Mamoru's apartment, as the shrine was too open for them to consider using for meetings anymore.
Mamoru was a bit nervous. While the Inner senshi were common to have over, the Outers hadn't exactly been overly pleasant in the past, particularly Haruka and Michiru. But, if Usagi insisted that they were fine, he had no problem.
But, it did nothing to relieve the tension in the air. All of them seemed to have things to say, but everyone seemed to know the overall problem. Ami decided to break the ice, "He's been making steady progress. Chibi-usa was absolutely correct when she said that it would be over by August. If he continues unchecked, at this pace, he'll have the entire planet under his influence. Then he could launch attacks anywhere."
"The imps are too fast to catch by normal methods and they can teleport around when they aren't burdened by carrying someone or something, so tying them up or dropping them into a pit is worthless anyway. We need to take out the Dungeon Heart if we hope to win." Chibi-usa responded.
"I've been training with my powers when I'm alone, but that's not exactly easy to do." Minako noted, "And with finals coming up in two weeks, I doubt we'll be able to stop him effectively if he pulls a surprise attack."
"Then, I guess it's finally time for us to gather our forces in a concentrated effort." Setsuna commented, sighing deeply. She had a lot of explaining to do.
"Eh?" came the combined inquiry from everyone.
Usagi spoke up, "You mean there's other senshi?"
"Yes, but none of them have the same level of potential as us. Besides, they aren't going to be the only ones I should contact." Setsuna replied.
"So, how long were you going to keep all this a secret?" Rei inquired.
"I'd HOPED to keep it quiet indefinitely." Setsuna began, "You see, there are over a hundred senshi. And a few of them have... bad tendencies. Ones that would make them better enemies than allies, while others simply have bad reputations that are not of their own doing. Like Saturn's legacy, which got convoluted in the pages of history. She was meant to be a final weapon should a planet become overrun with evil. After Queen Majestic's rule, none of the queens ever saw a need for her talents and slowly, she became known as the Senshi of Destruction. And people always misinterpret that. Sailor Nemesis also got a similar rap, because of her name. In actuality, she was the most nurturing of the senshi and the least likely to fight."
Setsuna took a deep breath. She didn't like talking poorly about other senshi, but everyone needed to know in case they ever ran into them, "But, then there's Sailor Light. If ever there was a senshi that needed to be removed from the pages of history, it was her."
"Sailor Light? That sounds like a beer or a diet meal. Besides, what's so bad about her?" Minako asked.
Rei agreed, "You've told us her title, but not what was so bad about her."
"Trust me, there was a reason Sailor Venus was the one to kill Sailor Light." Setsuna replied.
Minako blanched.
"Sailor Light had the problem of being.... too judgemental. It started out gradually. A few overly harsh punishments for law breakers. Then it escalated. Broken ribs, shattered bones, then outright killing. Soon, it didn't matter if the person had done anything wrong. If Sailor Light didn't like how they acted or even how they looked, they died." Setsuna explained, "Eventually, word got out that Sailor Light was on a 'Cleansing Crusade', Sailor Venus and Sailor Darkness showed up to stop her. Sailor Darkness was supposed to be invulnerable to Sailor Light's magical attacks, but that didn't stop Sailor Light from breaking her neck. Sailor Venus's only option was to kill Sailor Light. And the problem occurred again and again with Sailor Light's next two successors. Finally, the powers were deemed cursed and sealed away."
Setsuna looked at the reactions on everyone's faces. Save for Chibi-Usa, just about everyone seemed a little disturbed by the story.
"The problem is that with the fall of the Silver Millenium, the seal on many of the 'bad' powers, like Sailor Light, have eroded and there's a chance that they've faded altogether, which means that they simply need a suitable host to latch onto and the right type of event to trigger their activation." Setsuna finished, "I'll prepare a list for the next meeting, so you know what names to watch out for. In the meantime, I have to do some scrying to find out where most of the other senshi are and where the rest of our allies might be, if they still exist."
Kale did _not_ like the newcomer, Nightshade. He could feel that she was oozing with the aura of "bad news". If she had her way, she would likely be the chink in the perverbial armor that would doom Keeper Ian's goal of world conquest.
His humanoid female aide, Etna, had been clever enough to think of looking into Nightshade's past, but hadn't made much headway with her research. The red-haired youma's arrow-like tail waved in either irritation or excitement and she twitched her small black bat-like wings as she double-checked that the positioning of her outfit still covered her breasts, while Kale read the first week's report. Etna's actions were mildly distracting, but Kale was more interested in the true nature of the newcomer.
"She's over six hundred years old... not bad for a demonic entity." Kale murmurred. He was over ten thousand years old, but most of that time had been spent trapped in a dimension where fresh energy had been extremely difficult to come by, whereas Nightshade had spent much of her time in a much more energy-plentiful environment. She'd only been trapped where the warehouse had been built for the last eighty-six years.
Etna had done her best to look through obscure human occult books, but unfortunately, not much more was known about her. Or at least, not much more COULD be known without contacting a similar type of demon, something that Kale was not interested in, or finding the ones responsible for sealing her away. He did NOT want to contact either groups, but Nightshade's presense irritated him greatly. So, it came down to a choice between the two.
"Sorry I couldn't get more, but humans don't seem to document their history very well, especially concerning beings like us. I mean, did you know there's not one trace of info on how the civilizations on other planets are doing? And there's absolutely no reference to the queens of the moon." Etna commented.
".... I suppose it was in effort to forget the humiliation. After all, Earth remains under magical quarantine." Kale responded, "I doubt any of the other planets are even going to consider contacting Earth until someone with great magical power takes control. Even the Senshi would be hard-pressed to get any of the other planets to listen, let alone help."
"Good news for us, at least." Etna replied.
"True, at least until we've conquered Earth." Kale noted.
"So, what about Nightshade? Should I keep looking for sources of information?" Etna inquired.
"I think there's a source that would be most reliable, but asking her for a favor would be like pulling teeth." Kale commented.
"You mean Nightshade herself?" Etna asked.
Kale snorted, "I wouldn't trust her to tell the truth, even under the bindings of the Vestial Courts."
Etna frowned. Unlike Kale and the Youma Generals, very few members of the Dark Kingdom had actually survived from the Age of the Silver Millenium. Most were essentially newborns compared to the likes of even Zoecite, the youngest of the generals, and thus, didn't know much about Earth or the Silver Millenium, save for what they were told. She'd never heard of the Vestial Courts and she wanted to ask about them, but she wanted to know who Kale was talking about first.
"No, I refer to an old clan of demon-hunters that killed a few of our operatives that we'd snuck over prior to the destruction of Queen Serenity's seal on the Dark Kingdom. I've watched them and they have more information on the demons that plagued Earth than any other source on Earth." Kale answered.
Etna frowned. Other than the Sailor Senshi, she'd never heard of any other groups battling the youma.
"But, I fear that I must at least try. After all, with the level of information we have now, who else knows what Nightshade might be capable of? I, for one, plan to be prepared in case she decides to take over our master's Dungeon Heart." Kale declared, standing up.
Setsuna tapped impatiently at the keyboard. She hated having to write things down electronically, but she couldn't pull her favorite greeting, which was appearing suddenly and startling the crap out of the person she needed to intimidate most.
The person she needed to speak with was not the sort that should be intimidated. They needed to be approached rationally and unfortunately, that meant speaking with them via the internet. Luckily, Setsuna knew her target's screen name and exactly where to find the target.
//Oh... it's you. What do you want?//
\\I need your help and the help of your students. Major incident.\\ Setsuna replied.
//Why should I help you?//
\\Because you wouldn't be alive right now. Remember that incident in Yokohama?\\
//......//
\\And how about those problems in Osaka?\\
//Okay, you've made your point. What do you want?//
\\Your aid when we need it.\\
//We?//
\\It's complicated. Too complicated to try and convey over the internet.\\
//Not to mention delicate. We'll see what we can actually do.//
\\Don't worry about that. I know you'll be of aid.\\
]]dhgrandma has logged off[[
Madoka Mano was the 107th Devil Hunter of her family line. She was over the hill, but still active as a Devil Hunter. She'd long since given up her primary duties, but that didn't mean she could give up on mentoring her granddaughter's progress as a Devil Hunter.
Technically speaking, her daughter Sayoko should have been the 108th Devil Hunter, but she'd been too eager to bed her future husband and the power to become a Devil Hunter had been lost to her. Had she been able to keep her pants on another three months, she could have gone through the transformation, inherited the power AND STILL heired the next Devil Hunter.
Luckily, her granddaughter, Yohko, had inherited the powers with no real problem. Though Yohko was much like Sayoko in the hormones department, becoming absolutely stupid about handsome boys, Madoka had confidence in her granddaughter's ability to slay demons.
"Obachan! I'm hoooome!" Yohko called out.
Madoka frowned. Yohko was SUPPOSED to be off tracking down reports of a massive demon appearing in Shibuya with Azusa. Not to mention, Madoka didn't sense the aura of the Youma Ring. And having worn the damn thing for over forty years, she KNEW it's presense quite well. Besides, the only aura she felt wasn't even human.
"Nice try." Madoka told the demon as she drew several shuriken.
'Yohko' smirked, and spoke in a voice that wasn't even female, "I should have known I couldn't fool one such as you with such a cheap disguise."
Madoka tensed. Most demons would immediately transform and attack after saying a line like that. 'Yohko' saw Madoka tense and raised her arms in a placating gesture.
"I'm not here to fight." the Yohko-imposter declared.
Madoka snorted, "Then you're here for the view?"
The fake Yohko shifted into it's original shape, that of a tall anthropromorphic wolf wearing golden armor, "Come on, even you should know that our kind don't believe in 'sight-seeing'."
Madoka knew the only reason a demon would want to enter her home, outside of wanting to kill or taunt the Mano family, was that it wanted something kept within. She had secondary barriers, ones far more powerful, to stop it from getting any closer to the Mano family vault than her computer. She'd added several more barriers ever since the time-demon Tokima had broken in a few months back. The demon would NOT get anything inside. However, the fact that it wasn't even reacting to the purifying barrier the protected the entire house was a bad sign.
Madoka sighed, "What _do_ you want?"
"Information. In return, I'll offer a blood oath that I nor any subordinate of mine will ever to attack you or your family." the demon offered.
"Interesting." Madoka replied. A demon willing to make a pact for information was a far more dangerous opponent than most of the weaklings that she and Yohko had fought. After all, the smart ones were capable of thinking around problems rather than trying to blindly charge it. Sweat formed on the aged Devil Hunter's brow as she put her weapons away, "I'll decide what I want when I find out if I can even answer your questions. First, I'd like your name."
The demon smiled, "Kale."
Madoka knew that name was not it's true name, but no demon was foolish enough to give that out to someone they'd just met. She motioned to the couches in the living room. Sayoko might bitch if Kale's armor cut into the cushions, but it was at least a better place to deal with the demon, should the conversation turn sour.
Kale sat in the middle of the far couch and Madoka sat across from him.
"I understand that your family, a few centuries ago, sealed a female demon away in what is now a warehouse." Kale began.
It took a while for Madoka to recall that particular case. Truth be told, many buildings were over ancient seals. Female demons were more rare, though, as they were so much more cunning, but usually weaker. The only other female demon Madoka knew off that had been sealed away was the Dark Queen that had possessed one of Yohko's former classmates, Reiko.
"You mean Nightshade." Madoka acknowledged.
Kale nodded, "I wish to know all I can about her, lest she become a thorn in my side."
Madoka frowned. Kale was referring to her as if she had been freed, which she likely already had been if Kale was asking about her.
"Then answer me this: how long has she been free?" Madoka inquired.
"A little over a week." Kale responded.
Madoka furrowed her brows. It was difficult to say who Nightshade might target, now that she was free. But, Madoka had to honor her deal with Kale. She knew exactly what she'd ask of him.
"Nightshade is the name she took once she became a demoness. Her original name was Catherine Webb. She appeared in our record books at the age of ten, when she came with an expedition through China back in 1266. She met with a group of Devil Hunters there and eventually became of several candidates for attaining the Seiryu and Byakko Talimans." Madoka began, "Catherine earned the Seiryu Talisman while a girl by the name of Lychee gained the Byakko talisman. Lychee had wanted her twin sister, Mon Lon, to get the other talisman and resented both the village elders for giving it to another, and Catherine. The elders believed that Lychee would eventually come to accept Catherine as her partner..."
Kale gave a wry smirk, "Let me guess, poor decision?"
"Worst decision ever made by that sect. They didn't get along at all, even after six years of working together. That final year they worked together, a large number of demons began appearing and the two were forced to work together to hunt them down and track them back to their source. The two eventually found a demon portal. No one is quite sure what happened, but Lychee returned with one of Catherine's hand, but Catherine and the talisman of Seiryu were gone." Madoka continued.
"Three years later, Catherine returned, but she was now the demoness Nightshade. She hunted down Lychee and almost killed her. The elders managed to drive Nightshade away, but they couldn't regain the talisman of Seiryu. In 1458, our ancestor, Najica, the 80th Devil Hunter of the Mano family, managed to seal Nightshade away and regain the Seiryu Talisman." Madoka finished.
Of course, what Madoka had left out was the fact that the Seiryu talisman had been been so contimated with evil energy at that point, that they'd spent the last five hundred and fifty years purifying the damn thing enough that Azusa could use it. And because the Byakko talisman's last wielder had committed such an evil act upon another Devil Hunter, it had been forcibly purified for just as long while Lychee had been banished from the village forever.
"Now, about what you want in return?" Kale asked.
Madoka struggled. There were so many things that she could ask, but so few that would fully realize the extent of the deal. And so many more that would likely enrage the demon.
Though she went on about herself being quite the demon slayer, she did not have the Youma Ring, nor did she have any weapons that could do more than scar the demon.
"Actually, I do have something in mind..." Madoka began.
Kale frowned, getting the feeling he wouldn't like what the wizened hunter was about to say.
=======================================================================
Another clue has been dropped about Ian's companion, but what
will she give him that will further bolster his forces?
The Senshi of Saturn is back.
Summer time training.
Allies are made and revived.
And where is that free nookie?
And now, to answer your not-at-all-asked questions!
Q) Why were you ragging on Sailor Uranus and Neptune?
A) Hmmm, there's a rather long answer to that question. You see,
I understand the Lone Wolf Mentality and I understand the Group
Mentality. The Inners operate with the Group mentality while the
Outers have a more Lone Wolf mentality. There are benefits to both
mentalities.
Group Mentality Pros
Pro 1. There's almost always help when you need it.
Pro 2. Training with your friends can make a more even and steady rate
of power growth.
Pro 3. Everyone can contribute something.
Pro 4. You usually always make friends with your teammates.
Pro 5. You have alibis when you need them.
Pro 6. Team plans can devastate the enemy.
Group Mentality Cons
Con 1. Those people aren't always reliable or of much aid.
Con 2. The level of increase needed might surpass what you can
manage.
Con 3. Jealousy or depression rises when someone can't contribute as much.
Con 4. You leave your normal friends feeling cut out of your "circle".
Con 5. Your stories had better not conflict.
Con 6. Unless you develop a secret code or you learn telepathy, it becomes obvious what you're going to do.
Lone Wolf Mentality Pros
Pro 1. No one else gets hurt.
Pro 2. Your power level rises at whatever rate you can manage.
Pro 3. You aren't bogged down with whiny teammates who don't have as much to contribute.
Pro 4. You don't have any secrecy rules, thus you can keep your normal
friends.
Pro 5. You come and go as you please.
Pro 6. No idiot teammates to get in your way.
Lone Wolf Mentality Cons
Con 1. You don't have help when you need it.
Con 2. No one is there to help you test how effective your power is.
Con 3. You don't have those whiny teammates when you yourself
don't have the skills necessary for a job. You have to hope that your own power and skills are sufficient for the task.
Con 4. Your normal friends who know will likely wind up getting in
the way a lot, leading to them becoming either cannon fodder or a
constant annoyance.
Con 5. You become a suspect if something weird keeps happening when you leave.
Con 6. You don't have anyone else to rescue the victim/hostage when the bad guy grabs them.
The Lone Wolf Mentality's problem is a much larger one, which is, it's impossible to be an island unto oneself, unless one is like Superman: Faster than a speeding bullet, stronger than a locomotive, able to leap tall buildings in a single bound, etc., etc.
People will always harrass you to save them instead of beating the bad guy (who could just as easily put someone else's life on the line) and the media will berate you if you don't. Even if you don't care what other people think, they'll influence the actions of the police and government and you'll wind up like Spiderman. Beloved by the people you stop to rescue and help, but hated and hunted by virtually everyone else.
The Lone Wolf is plagued by a bad reputation, while those same problems for a group are more often ignored. After all, if a GROUP of people couldn't save someone in time, then they must be battling something powerful and thus, is more understandable.
On the other hand, the Group Mentality runs into a different problem, which is the razor sharp focus that the Lone Wolf gains by being alone. A group doesn't have to be as sharp as a Lone Wolf. They unconsciously rely on everyone else in that group in order to sense any danger and to pull through for them if one of them gets knocked out.
A Lone Wolf can also act on their own intuition whenever they want, but a Group has to operate in tight formation. Solo acts are only allowed if everyone has been separated or if the rest of the team is knocked out.
As a result, a Lone Wolf is much more powerful individually than a member of a Group, but a Group can often overwhelm a Lone Wolf, as the Lone Wolf has to deal with three or more people.
It's like a sword versus a bunch of arrows. If the sword is good enough, it can break a ton of arrows. But if the arrows are too fast or there are too many, a sword will become overwhelmed.
(
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