Jazzerman here, I do not own any of these characters, they are owned by their respected companies, as many as there are. You've heard this crap before. I only own my OCs.

New generation.

Part 11

Keyon walked further and further into the depths of the Den of Skulls, he still was feeling an ache in his ribs as he walked but he bit his cheek to keep him from grunting from the pain he felt in his chest. If the Minions were to know that they're master was hurt they would start complaining. Keyon did not think that he had any broken bones but the pain in his chest suggested that he had bruised or damaged his sternum; the long, flat bone in the center of his ribcage. A part of his mind told him to return to the Tower to recuperate but if he left the Druid could slip out of the cave and find a new place to hide. There was no doubt that every living thing in the cave had heard the bellows of that monstrous troll.

Despite the din he had made before with the troll, the cave was oddly quiet and devoid of life. Normally whisps, beetles, and frogs but there was nothing in sight. The Minions were more anxious for battle than curious, they were hoping there wouldn't be anymore trolls like that around here.

As they traveled deeper a single whisp flew from around a corner, headed towards the exit, but thanks to one of his more athletic Blues it was snatched from the air and about to have it's eternal life ended by the Blue's ability to strike magical creatures dead. Keyon however grabbed the whisp away from the Blue and held it close to his face, Keyon's magical gauntlet keeping the small blue fairy from escaping.

"Tell me whisp, what were you fleeing from?" Keyon asked pointedly.

"Do you promise to spare me lord?" The tiny sprite spat in a very demanding tone.

Keyon glanced toward the Blue who he had taken the diminutive fey from, who was staring at the whisp in the same regard a starving child would stare at a shiny red apple. Keyon had to admit it was one of the cutest moments he had ever seen his Minions in.

"If you give me worthwhile information. Bare in mind that I am the one holding your life literally in my hands." Keyon spoke calmly, reveling his superiority over the whisp.

The whisp's shoulders sagged in defeat, she knew that she may die either way but there was an urgency to get this over with as soon as possible. She did not what to be one of his experiments... "Evaneskel Tangle has been doing dread things here in this cavern. I was curious and so I spied on him from the socket of one of the many skulls in this cave. I witnessed him using strange magicks on the frogs and beetles that inhabit this damp place. I saws him turn them into things that look much like the creatures that stand with you."

This disturbed Keyon greatly, if someone else were to discover the ability to Minions, or something akin to Minions, it could seriously jeopardize his position as ruler of the lands. The thought of having to deal with heroes who could use life force was a scary thought. More than ever this druid needed to be slain, and slain quickly before he can muster a strong fighting force.

"I will release you whisp, but you will swear to me one service at the time of my choosing." Keyon's eyes narrowed as he spoke those cold words to the small whisp, he was impressed that what the little pest spoke her response so promptly and defiantly:

"What means do you have that I would keep a promise that was made under duress?"

Keyon grinned, he had hoped that she would say something along those lines.

"There are many ways to destroy a forest, I could burn it down, or chop it down tree by tree," Keyon brought up his axe for better effect, "or, my favorite; I could have those worthless peons in Spree dig so that the river that flows through this forest is diverted towards Heaven's peak or the Ruborian desert instead. I would enjoy watching as everything here begins to dry up and die."

For the first time in her life the mischievous little whisp held a look of pure dread on her usually calm face. "You-you wouldn't dare! You'd destroy the entire forest just because of one fey not swearing you loyalty?"

"In a heart beat." Keyon said harshly, his eyes blazing red once more. "I am not asking for eternal loyalty, I merely demand a penance paid when I choose it."

"Fine. As you wish my lord..." The whisp said in a defeated tone, who was promptly released and fluttered away as fast as she could fly. She wanted to be as far away from those blasted blue Minions and that foul man in the armor.

Keyon admitted that he had come up with the idea for diverting the river on the spot, it would make a good tactic to bleed gold out of the Elves if they should ever come up short with their tithes or start to complain about his own brand of tyranny. Continuing on towards the lower levels Keyon found himself at a crossroads, the cave had split itself into three directions. Down the left Keyon could hear the rushing flow of water, most likely a waterfall but it was much darker than the other two. The path on the right was littered with rotting bones and skulls and resounded with the echo of a few chirping frogs. It led off into a thick outcropping of large stalagmites that stretched upwards to impede one's movement, a good place to be ambushed. The center path was the most suspicious path, Keyon could see the dim flicker of far away torches or some similar form of lighting. (1)

Keyon didn't like this, no matter which way he went he could give this druid the time needed to escape. Keyon turned to his remaining Greens and ordered them to stand guard at the center of the divide in case someone came through. No sooner had the Greens huddled together their natural ability to camouflage themselves began to take effect until they disappeared from view. It is a useful skill but sadly it only works if they remain still for a spell and it does nothing for their smell.

Deciding on the center path because of the light of torches, the young overlord traveled as quietly as his steel armor and small horde of Minions would allow. The path was decorated with the ribcage of some gigantic serpent or dragon, so big in fact that the bones were embedded into the ground like pillars to help support the ceiling.

One of the Browns cried out, pointed at the waters with his axe. Keyon and the other Minions drew their attention to the spot where the Brown was pointing but saw only the dying reverberations on the surface of the water. Keyon shrugged, it probably just a frog after all the Minions had seemingly bottomless stomachs.

Just as Keyon looked away back towards the end of the passageway the Minions, all of them, began to cry out and brandish their weapons. Keyon looked back to the waters to see that fifteen small blue creatures were now staring at him with wooden clubs. They were nearly as tall as the Minions and sported blue rubbery skin, large bulbous eyes, webbed feet, small claws, and a wide mouth filled with tiny teeth.

"I see I've been discovered." Came a voice, belonging to no one else than Evan Tangle who was striding into the passage way from the far end. He was an Elf no doubt with his pale hair and pointed ears, but he was wearing a flowing green robe that was adorned with leaves and wore a wreath of leafy twigs on his head. In his left hand was a unshod staff made from a branch of an ash tree. "I was not expecting to see you again so soon."

"Retribution comes when it is called on." Keyon snarled, tightening his grip on his axe.

One of Keyon's more mouthy Browns shouted; "They ugly!"

Evan couldn't help by smile, he took great pride in his creations. "Perhaps they are, but they are so easy to make when you have the proper tools. I have had such interesting times with the spell totems that I took as spoils from your fell tower."

"So you took frogs and warped them into these inferior creatures. Not something a warrior of nature would do." Keyon said, "Aren't druids supposed to revere nature and protect it?"

"The forest occasionally needs a helping hand when it comes to defending what is hers." Evan said calmly, tapping his staff on the ground. "And when you're gone I'll turn your dark tower into a green tower to help the forest over take Spree and all those petty humans."

This elf was mad, the evil forces that permeate his tower would never bend to his methods. Would they? Keyon honestly didn't know.

"Warriors of nature, attack the infidels!" The druid shouted, slamming his staff into the hard rock floor of the cave.

The frog things dived under the water, but did not remain there for long. The little beasts erupted from the water to attack the Minions from the air. However in a show of what can only be called pure anticlimax the Brown Minions easily slew each of their foes with a single swipe of their weapons.

"Apparently all you are able to make are weak imitations." Keyon said, charging at Evan with full force. "I will show no mercy!"

Fear gripped at Evaneskel's heart as the armored Overlord rushed at him with that axe raised to bring down. It was only due to Evaneskel's Elven agility that allowed him to sidestep the downward swing which dug deeply into the rock.

Evaneskel's fear turned to nervous rage as he shoved a hand into his cloak and pulled a small whistle to his lips. "I made far more then just those! Behold!"

As Keyon struggled to pull his axe as a shrill whistle echoed throughout the cavern. Dozens upon dozens of the frog things rushed in from the path that Keyon had previously taken. Among the frog things were creatures that were obviously once beetles. They were as tall as the Minions, had large segmented eyes, large pinchers in front of a small tooth filled maul, covered in thick brown chitinous exoskeleton. In all there had to be nearly fifty of these creatures, so far Keyon's only advantage was that his Minions were armed with weapons while these twisted creatures had only their bare hands.

Keyon clenched his fist and funneled his rage as best he could, calling on one of his remaining spells; Anger. His Minions felt raw power surging throughout their bodies, causing muscles to expand slightly. With this boost in strength came a slight increase in aggressiveness, they eagerly leapt into battle against the weak mockeries that the druid created.

Fed up with his attempts to retrieve his axe from the rock Keyon resorted to hand to hand fighting against the Elf. His fists were dodged again and again by Evaneskel who laughed at the armored man resorting to such brutish tactics. His arrogance was shattered when Keyon's fist broke the druid's staff in half with a single blow. Thinking the druid weaponless Keyon attempted to attack the Elf with his armored fists. Fate seemed to enjoy proving the young Overlord wrong that day, for the moment Keyon came close enough Evan Tangle pulled a dagger from his cloak and thrust as hard as he could.

Keyon felt cold steel find its way past his armor and into his abdomen, the sensation was... strange. Perhaps it was the shock but he felt no pain, only the flowing heat caused by the blood that seeped from the wound. Around them the Minions battled the twisted creatures created by the druid. Out of the gang of Minions that Keyon brought only the Browns and Greens were left. The Reds were not capable of attacking effectively with their napalm like projectiles as Evan's creatures swarmed the Minions. The Blues did their best to keep the other Minions healthy but the battering from the beetle things quickly brought them down. The Browns were easily taking down any foe that came close enough, but at the rate the Minions were falling in battle from the swarm of pint sized monsters it was not looking good. Even with Anger cast upon them and the amount of these things they were killing they needed more Minions to survive this.

Keyon's mind reeled at the sight of the dagger in his stomach, an anger greater than he had ever known burned his mind and muscles until all that was left was a desire for death. Evan did all that he could to dodge the mad human's sudden attempts to grab at him and counterattack with his dagger but one quick movement of Keyon's hand snapped the Elf's wrist. Evan's subsequent scream of pain was a delight to Keyon. The druid was instantly overpowered by the young overlord and pinned to the ground with Keyon's knees holding Evan's arms out at his sides. The last thing that the druid saw was Keyon's searing red eyes before metal fists began to plow into Evan's face.

With the druid dead Keyon rose, surprisingly with the death of Evaneskel the warped creatures of the forest began to revert to their natural harmless forms. Frogs and small beetles scampered away from the remaining four Browns and the last Green. Keyon's rage subsided and slumped to a knee, the sensation of pain returning to his abdomen.

"Go back there and check for any spell totems, I do not want anything left behind." Keyon rasped, feeling a little blood dribbling from his mouth as he spoke. "Once you're done, return to the Tower..."

The Minions nodded as Keyon poured the remaining amount of mana into his gauntlet, activating a power that was to be used only if a situation was hopeless. Light surrounded the young Overlord as he was transported to the Dark Tower.

--

Keyon erupted from the dark pool of the Tower gate, showering the floor with the black mystic water. Keyon managed to take the three steps out of the waters before slumping to the ground letting out a dull groan of pain. Pulling off his helmet and chest plate Keyon saw that he was covered from the waist down in his own blood and yet the wound in his stomach was closing before his own eyes. Not that he was complaining, he had never known that this could happen without the use of healing potions.

"It looks like you had some trouble with the Elf sire." Gnarl said tiredly, his staff clacking on the stone floor as he walked up to his young master, quickly noting the surprised look on his face. "Something wrong my lord?"

Keyon removed his helmet to revel in the cool dry air of the Dark Tower. "The druid is dead Gnarl, I ordered my Minions to recover anything of value from the area before returning to the Tower."

"I'm afraid that's not how it works young master." Gnarl said, "To return to the Tower without the aid of a gate you must expend the life force of all the Minions you have with you. You arrived safely but there are no more Minions within the forest of Evernight."

Keyon groaned, not from his wound which had already sealed itself shut but the frustration of having to return to that cavern just to gather up his spell totems. "What of our spy?"

"Our bathed Green is doing quite well," Gnarl said. "He hasn't been discovered yet but that Bard has done nothing but drink in the tavern and seduce the waitresses."

Keyon stood, only clad in his gauntlets, greeves, sabaton, and blood covered gousset (2). The chain mail gousset that he had worn across his abdomen was made by Gibblet, he was very displeased to see the whole that had been pierced by the druid's blade. "Gnarl, I want Gibblet to make repairs to this gousset and fashion me a new weapon, after he's flogged for making inferior chain mail."

"At once sire." Gnarl snapped his fingers to summon some Browns to carry the damaged section of armor off to the armory. "Sire, there is a matter here for you to settle..."

Picking up his helmet and the back and chest plates Keyon went to sit down on his throne. With the loss of an entire troupe of well armed Minions, his axe, and if it were not for the magical properties of his tower he would have bled to death by now. "What is the problem Gnarl?"

Gnarl sighed, hobbling over to stand before the young Overlord. "The problem is with your two servants milord."

"What kind of problem?" Keyon spat, not in the mood to play any sort of guessing game.

"I apologies sire, I know you must be weary. I shall elaborate;" Gnarl cleared his throat as he began; "It seems that they've begun to argue over who will acquire the title of Mistress."

"Great... So what do you recommend Gnarl?" Keyon about ready to just have his Minion master take command of the situation.

"You could order them to be silent, of course being competitive women that will not work." Gnarl paused to laugh at his poorly constructed joke. "Ahem, you could have them put to death and harvest their life force, or you could name of them your Mistress."

"If I kill them I'd be out of servants, even killing one of them won't stop the complaining I bet... granted I could use the life force." Keyon pondered this further, why did women have be such a hassle when it came to taking over all lands? "Even throwing one of them out of the Tower wouldn't do much for me. I'd look soft if I let one of my servants go..."

"So what have you decided sir?" Gnarl asked, knowing his place was to suggest solutions and not to step beyond his station.

"The only way I see out of this Gnarl is to name one Tower mistress and either kill the other one or throw her out." Keyon gritted his teeth, he did not want anyone slowing down his quest for blood. "If I don't raise one of them to mistress then they'll just keep arguing until I go mad."

"Alright then." Gnarl smiled, he was going to enjoy watching whoever wasn't going to be picked go into a fit of tears. "Girls do come in, the master wants to have a word with you. I do hope you two haven't ripped each other to bits before he arrived."

Both of the girls walked in, each carrying a very sour look and seemed like they had both come out of a bath as their hair hung from their heads like wet peat moss. Ziva and Maya were surprised to see Keyon sitting on his throne naked from the waist up save for his gauntlets. This was the first time Maya had seen the young Overlord without his helmet and she had to admit the young man was exceptionally handsome. But with time his good looks would wither, she would have to enjoy him while he lasted. Ziva meanwhile was just glad to see him back, maybe with him back the Elf would behave herself.

"Oh master you're covered in blood!" Maya shouted, rushing over to Keyon to throw her arms around the young man's neck to express her concern. "You are not hurt are you?"

Keyon's face flushed red, he wished that Maya had chosen to wear something more appropriate for a lady of her... build. The 'servant' rags that she had changed in to barely covered her chest which had been shoved into his point of view. Much to Ziva's rage, the farm girl could see through Maya's pathetic attempt to seduce Keyon into choosing her.

Gnarl coughed, a little jealous that Keyon was getting such attention from the busty Elf. "Do not be so frightful child. Within the walls of the throne room the Overlord is healed to fighting condition thanks to the Tower Heart's magical energies."

Maya backed off from the young man, allowing him to breathe since she had nearly crushed his face. The slight tinge of red on his face was enough to make her smile victoriously.

Keyon could feel his pulse racing as he tried to maintain control, but being young and full of hormones it was a difficult few minutes before he could regain his normal scowl and a state resembling inner calm.

"If that's the case why didn't the last Overlord just stay in the throne room if it would keep healing him?" Ziva asked pointedly.

"I said it heals you," Gnarl snorted, "the Tower Heart can't do much if you have an arrow through your skull or have your head cut off. The dead are beyond help."

"If that were indeed the case then my father would be alive and well now isn't that right Gnarl?" Keyon's hot glare fell on the Minion master, who had to admit that the one thing that he wished that he had not inherited from his father was the old Overlord's evil eye.

"Well, yes... but on to the matter at hand?" Gnarl said.

Keyon folded his arms and turned his gaze to the girls, much to Gnarl's relief. "Yes, I have heard that you two have been arguing and giving Gnarl quite the headache."

"Well... yeah..." Ziva said, trying to act innocent. She had started her share of the quarreling since she had tripped Maya causing her to fall into the Minion dung pile. Something she was quite proud of. "I'm sorry Gnarl."

"I summoned you here to my throne room so that I might choose one of you as the Tower mistress." Keyon could visibly see both girls snap to attention, the look of self confidence on their faces was enough to tell him that there at had been some fierce competition. He felt a little proud to see that he was such a highly prized commodity. "But I warn you that only one of you can have this title and if I sense any discord out of the one that is not chosen I will have her put to death. Is that understood?"

Both women nodded.

Deep down Ziva didn't like this, here she was vying for the attention of the man who had slaughtered her family. She kept telling herself it was just to out do that blasted Elf but what if she won? What exactly were the mistress's duties? What where the limits of her authority? She didn't know but if Maya got that power Ziva would be living under her boot for the rest of her life.

Maya on the other hand was confident that her victory was assured. Keyon was but a boy and after all the daughter of an Elven elder was superior over a farmer's daughter. After she was selected all she would have to was offer her body to her master and she could get away with much, a human Keyon's age was nothing more than a bundle of manipulative hormones anyway. Once in charge she'd make that little brat Ziva live down in the spawning pit, right next to the dung heap.

Keyon studied both women long and hard before coming to his conclusion. "Alright... I pick-"

--

To be continued.

--

ALRIGHT! TIME TO VOTE WHO YOU WANT! The loyal Ziva or the busty Maya!

(1) I can't quite remember the map of Skull Den exactly, so bare with me.

(2) Greeves are the part of the armor that protect the legs, sabaton the feet, and gousset is the chain mail that protects the areas between the plate armor.

AN: I've just switched my computer from Windows to Linux so I'm still learning my way around it. It's very different but at least I don't have 280 bits of spyware or 20 viruses lurking in my computer anymore. That and I went to a gamer's convention called Origins for 5 days so I hardly did anything for a week.

New record! Fourteen reviews! WOOOT! You people rock!

Amorphusshadow - Eh, while that sounds reasonably cool I won't be using that. For some reason I get a Stubs the Zombie vibe from it.

spedclass - I always try to keep up good work.

blackrogue123 - Yeah it is, but the thing I see is this: It can't be easy to be the overlord. I mean you'd have to be black hearted all the time, and for a character that would be a tad boring and predictable. Besides all his training from Rose, Keyon's still young.

Warrior of Virtue - I am not taking ideas on new Minions. Be they new colors or 'evolved' forms. I don't see how adding colors or evolved forms of Minions as wise choices. It's the same with OCs, you add too many of them or make them too strong your audience will begin to loose interest.

Feneris - Maybe she does. Or maybe she's just power hungry like Velvet was she always seemed to have an ulterior motive.

FTKnight - Glad to see I'm not the only on who appreciates Gnarl's brand of humor.

BrazeRancor - Yeah, this has to be one of my favorite fics I've ever written, mostly because I'm able to write the most visceral, bloody fight scenes I want.

The Celtic Kid - Well thanks a bunch dude, that's high praise indeed. The amount of reviews I get plus the amount of fun I get to have with this fic is what help me make this story as good as it is.

almostinsane - Always great to hear praise from reviewers, to be honest I never used the greens much, I liked a brown/blue mix best. I've seen a few overlord fics here, mostly pathetic crossovers (like the naruto one) but some of the zelda crossovers are pretty good.

Black - Nice to have you back, but I'm not going to be adding new spells. As for your idea about white minions if I were to use them it would make the blues irreverent. Your spell idea just sounds like the Minions gain attributes of other Minions... no thanks. I'm not adding new Minions or new spells.

Neo-Kira - Hmm... I guess while my heroes don't really represent any of the seven deadly sins, they definitely represent one thing I truly despise; Arrogance. Overlord has a forum in the Misc games section, but so few people traffic it. As for your OC idea I'd have to see what you had in mind before I make any decisions. But I do appreciate the plug for my Overlord forum on your profile.