Love Against Time

Chapter one: The Start of Strange Occurrences

Blue antenna blew in the wind as Overlord Laharl gripped his sword in the earth. Once again, Baal was being a pain in his neck, trying to take his netherworld and all. He had NO time for this idiot...Growling, he lifted his sword up and slashed at the air, releasing an enormous amount of energy. "Dimension Slash!"

Baal stepped back and fell over at impact. Clearly he was no match for Laharl at his current strength, especially when he had matured quite some time ago. Instead of giving the image of a child, he gave the image of a grown, wise Overlord. He would never be able to beat him at his current power, but he had something up his sleeve that COULD. Or at least, send him somewhere where it would be tough to get back. Pulling out an orb, he watched as Laharl stepped towards him. Perfect.

Laharl sighed in frustration and walked towards Baal, aiming his sword at his neck. "Now, are you done already? I've got some paperwork to take care of that would probably be more interesting then dealing with YOU everyday."

Baal would usually react to that insult, but right now he HAD to use his ace in the hole. Lifting up the orb he held in his hand, a bright light engulfed both him and Laharl, who was caught by surprise. "W-What the-" His complaints were cut off as his body disappeared from the area, leaving Baal behind to have the last laugh.

Baal gripped the orb tighter. "Have a great time...if you don't wipe your own existence..."

Meanwhile...

Laharl could feel himself being transported, turning into tiny particles in the tunnel. "T-This feels...just like a portal...! What's going on!" He thought to himself as he was coming to the end of the portal. As he went through, he then realized he was in the middle of mid-air, above what seemed to HIS netherworld. Spreading his unique charcoal wings, he landed in an alley nearby the town square. "This seems to be my netherworld...but something's wrong. Something's missing..."

Just as he thought that, a newspaper blew into his direction, the currents giving him time to catch it. "Okay, let's see what year this is..." Glancing at the paper, his concerns were confirmed. "...This is...almost 900 years ago! Just what the heck did Baal do?" Shaking his fists, he ripped the paper in two and slumped against the side of a building. "...If I'm really 900 years in the past...this means that I need SOME kind of disguise...I can't just be wondering around here knowing my 1321 year old self is out there somewhere...!"

Noticing a long brown cloth, he pull it over his head and wrapped it around himself to serve as a cloak. "This should do for now, but I need something better than this later." Walking out of the alleyway, he suddenly felt something hit his head, a female's voice accompanying. "Ouch!"

Stepping back as he rubbed his head, he looked ahead to see a young girl-... "Oh no." A fallen angel to be exact, sat up and looked up at him. "P-please be careful when dealing with traffic!" Laharl sighed and held out his hand towards her. "Sorry. Come on, I'll help you up." The girl gasped and took his hand, allowing her to be lifted up. "T-That's very kind of you...Thank you!" The girl gave a sweet smile, and even though she was already up, the two did not let go of each others' hand. Laharl blushed slightly and let go of her hand, turning away as he did so. "N-Now run along or something, I'm busy." Flonne was taken aback a little, but kept her composure. "What kind of busy thing do you have to do? I don't believe we've introduced each other. I should at least tell you MY name, in return of you helping me."

Laharl sighed. 'I already know your name...' He thought, but turned back towards her. "Fine. Go ahead and tell me." Flonne nodded. "My name is Fallen Angel Flonne. I preach about love here in the Netherworld!" She paused for a moment. "...And what is your name?"

Laharl gulped and sighed as he turned away. "...It's Zack. I don't really have a last name to go with it, but that's my name." He started to walk away, when Flonne poked his higher back. Turning around, once again he was face to face with...her. Flonne held out her hand and smiled once again. "It's very nice to meet you, Mr. Zack. Thank you for your kindness."

Zack(Laharl) took her hand and shook it. "Y-Yeah. N-No problem." Pulling his hand away, he nodded and walked away. Flonne watched as he left the area, then smiled. "...There really ARE wonderful people in the Netherworld...Even though I know that, I'm always really happy to witness it."

Zack sighed and relaxed. Well, he'd managed to fool Flonne. However, he STILL needed a disguise other then some old, unsanitary cloth to hide his face and clothes...Thinking it would make a bit of a difference, he fastened his jacket so it was closed and found something to tie his hair back with. It had a little change, but he needed to take care of his antenna, too..."That would actually be one of the dead giveaways..." He muttered as he browsed the shops. He needed hair gel.

Unfortunately he couldn't find it, because for some reason it was sold out. Then it dawned upon him, that his younger self would always have someone buy out the stock of hair gel in the entire area, so he'd never run out! "Ugh, why was I so obsessed with physical appearance?" He grumbled as he left the store, running into yet ANOTHER person. Looking over, he narrowed his eyes. It was Flonne. Again.

Flonne rubbed her head and got up. "O-Ouch...! Why, for the second time-" She looked up at Zack, and was startled. "O-Oh! Mr. Zack, I'm sorry for running into you again!" Zack sighed and looked towards her. "Whatever. Is your head hurting? I've been told I have tough skin." Flonne shook her head. "N-no, but thank you, anyway, Mr. Zack. You really ARE a caring person. I'm glad to have met you."

Zack gulped and stepped back. "A-anyways, why are you here of all places? Do you need something to buy?" He asked. Flonne shook her head and sighed deeply. "N-no, but...to tell the truth..." She sat down on a bench. "I'm actually lost, and I can't find the way back to the castle manually, but the Dimensional Gate is out of service. I can't open a portal right now." Zack sat down next to her. "...Seems pretty rough."

Flonne nodded. "Oh, it is! Mr. Zack, I have a request to ask of you, even though this would make it the third time you've helped me today...!" Zack sighed and stood up. "Shoot." Flonne smiled, and closed her eyes. "...I was wondering if you could maybe try to help me find my way to the castle. I'm very lost right now, and you seem to be the only one who's helped me. That's why I've come to you for help...Please?"

Zack blushed inside the cloak. Just like Flonne, to trust a stranger she's only met a couple times...However, maybe in the castle, he could snatch some hair gel and finish his disguise. '...In that case, this would actually benefit us both.' He thought a bit more about it and sighed. "...Fine, I'll try to find you a route to the castle. However, I have one condition." Flonne smiled brightly and nodded. "Yes?"

Zack held up a hand in front of her, like a wall. "I don't want you to easily trust me or think of this as anything. I'm only doing this because I actually have some business there." Flonne's eyes shook softly. "Y-Yes." She closed her eyes and smiled. "I understand. You're only doing this for yourself, right?"

Zack froze. 'If I keep the situation like this, she might compare me to my younger self...! If that does become the case, things might get dangerous.' "Y-Yeah, let's go. I don't want to waste either of our time."

Meanwhile...

"Hahahahahahahaha!" A monstrous laugh rang though the Overlord's Castle as Baal relaxed in the Throne Room. He had beaten the Overlord (or so he declared), and the Netherworld was in the palm of his hand. As he continued celebrating his victory, a sexy looking demon walked up to him. "Hey, Baal. So, what's REALLY happened to Laharl?" She questioned, silencing the large demon in front of her.

Baal stared at her. "You are Etna, that fool's vassal, are you not?" Etna whipped her tail back and forth in annoyance. "Uh, yeah. So, what's really happened to him? He won't just die by your hands or anything like that. Too stubborn to." Baal grumbled and looked her in the eye. "...Fine, he's not dead, but he is in a little...predicament."

Etna narrowed her eyes. "Oh? Too much that it'll keep him in check? Not even sexy bodies do THAT anymore." Baal snickered and held up an orb. "...Do you know what this is?" He asked, watching her expression as he asked. Etna thought for a moment. "...Isn't that..." She flew up to the orb's level to examine it farther.

Baal nodded. "Yes...It's is exactly that. I suppose you know where he is now?" Etna nodded and flew back down. "Not exactly where he is, but I might have an idea or two. " She smiled as her eyes narrowed. Turning her back to Baal, she walked out of the Throne Room.

"I just need to know exactly where he put him..."

Back in the past, Zack sighed as he and Flonne stood in front of the Castle's entrance. Flonne smiled. "You managed to get us here safely, Mr. Zack! You're amazing!" Zack gulped and walked on towards the door. "Yeah, okay. Anyways, now we just need to get inside." He put his hand on the door and took a deep breath. Flonne stepped towards him. "Mr. Zack, that door is said to have never opened to anyone in ages...! Can you really open it?"

As if it was nothing, Zack pushed the door wide open, dust flying as he pulled his hand back. Flonne was speechless, she had heard that even Laharl didn't have the strength to open the front door...And yet, Zack did it like it was nothing...She then realized that she could feel a power aura illuminating from Zack, a stronge power she'd never felt in anyone before...

"U-Um, Mr. Zack...Where do you get your strength from? That was amazing!" She ran after, as Zack walked on. "It was nothing. I can open a door." Flonne nodded and walked beside him. "Y-yes, but I feel such a powerful aura from you...It's really amazing that such a caring person would have so much power. It must be that your love is strong!" Groaning, Zack ran on, heading towards a hallway toward the Industrial District. "Let's...just keep going. You can praise me later, if you remember." Hurrying after, Flonne nodded.

The Industrial District was packed when they got there. Flonne gasped as she saw Laharl and Etna, yet in another fight. Zack groaned once again. He remembered those days of battles, which led to starvation and even close to death. "What the crap is this?" Flonne sighed sadly. "Once again, Laharl and Etna are fighting over pudding of all things again...Will those two ever be able to get along?"

Zack sighed heavily. His presence would be bad here. 'At this point, Etna is supposed to run away, and find out about her family while I sit here and regret the whole thing...' Stepping back, he felt a grip on his cloak as Flonne held on. "Please, Mr. Zack, can't you do something about Laharl and Etna? They shouldn't be fighting like this..."

'...I can't interrupt. That would change everything that's supposed to come!' Zack pulled his cloak out of her grip. "We had a deal. I'm no longer involved with you. I'm not going to stop a stupid argument just because you begged me to. Just leave things as they are." He replied.

Flonne stopped and nodded. "R-Right...but I can't just leave them like that. Someone needs to stop them...Please, Mr. Zack? Why won't you stop them?" Zack growled. Flonne continued to press on. "Please Mr. Zack!" Zack clenched his fists. He was getting to his boiling point. Flonne decided to try one more time. If he wasn't going to stop them himself, she could stop it by creating another form of attention! "Mr. Zack, I beg of you! For the sake of-"

"SHUT YOUR MOUTH!" Zack yelled, a thundering earthquake following his outburst, shaking everything out of place. Flonne's plan had worked. She managed to create a way to stop their argument. Instead, everyone's eyes were focused on Zack. It felt like a whole minute had passed before anyone said anything.

It was Laharl to break the silence. "Who the hell are you, and what are you doing, shaking up my netherworld?" Zack's eyes focused on his younger self, realizing what just happened. His outburst had affected the argument, and now...everyone was focusing on him. "...I wasn't causing a disturbance. This Fallen Angel of yours just simply annoyed me a little too much. If I ended up trashing your netherworld, I apologize. However, Overlord Laharl, I have something to talk to you about."

Laharl blinked. "Oh? Something to talk to me about? This better be something important." Zack shook his head. "It's not really important, so I'd advise you finish your argument before dealing with me. It'll mainly be a waste of your time."

Laharl narrowed his eyes. "No, I'm afraid something else has grabbed my attention. That power when you shook my entire Netherworld." Zack winced. He couldn't fix up this point. It was already unfix-able. Laharl continued. "So, where did you get that power? I'm dying to know."

Zack shrugged. "How do you actually know where you get your power? I was just born with it." Laharl stared hard into the shadow of Zack cloak. "...Why are you wearing such a dirty looking cloak? You certainly don't have the power of a commoner." He questioned.

"I'd rather not show my face to anyone. I don't want my identity known." Zack replied, pulled the cloak closer to him. This only make Laharl wonder more. "Fine then. I challenge you to a dual. If I win, you have to remove that cloak. If you win..." He paused to think.

"Then you find a way to take me home." Zack finished. Laharl thought a moment and nodded. "Fine then. Let's get started." Zack sighed and prepared himself. 'Either way, my identity could be revealed.'

Laharl pulled out his sword and prepared himself. "Get ready. Don't think I'll go easy on you. You better not, too." Zack pulled out his own sword and sighed. "I prefer to keep fights fair."

Episode 1 : The Start of Strange Occurrences - END