Title: Free From the Ties of Darkness
Contains Spoilers. Namely: The Ending of Disgaea 4, Vulcanus's Epilogue, Vulcanus's true identity (though that's a rather obvious one anyways?)
Rating: T, Dark
Contains Elements of the Ending of Disgaea 4 and the Artina Epilogue.
Characters: (focused mainly on) Vulcanus (?), Valvatorez, Nemo (but it has most of the other characters in it anyways)
Summary: Valvatorez and his allies are dragged into Fear the Great, and Artina needs a way to free them and still save the Judge. How will she handle this under the pressure of fear creeping up on her?
The malice returned. The last thing the team heard before a new crushing wave of darkness shook through them was Nemo's shrieks as his body was taken over again by the feelings he was ready to scrap. When everyone had thought it was over, they had to battle Malice one more time to free him from the clutches of Fear the Great.
The battle seemed like it would last forever. More soldiers of rage kept rising from seemingly nowhere, challenging the party. It seemed that at this rate, nobody would be leaving. Until…
"This has been enough fooling around, Fear the Great!" Valvatorez shouted amongst the chaos. The malice soldiers froze, as did his allies. He point his sword towards Fear the Great's current embodiment, the Judge. "Just release Judge Nemo this instant! Nobody here wants to deal with any of this anymore!"
Nemo's eyes looked down on the rebel. "Nobody is leaving…" his voice sounded with anger shaking through. "Everything must be destroyed. Everyone must be destroyed. I will not stop until…"
"We've heard you and a million other of your rage soldiers, or whatever, say that over and over again!" Fuka yelled back after bashing another malice unit with an axe. She turned around a glared in frustration. "Look. Clearly you're going nowhere, and I'm not gonna let you! It's my dream and I control you, so listen and just give it up already!"
Desco stepped forward next to her big sister. "Yeah! Desco won't lose to you! You might be a final boss, but Desco is THE final boss, and she will crush you!"
"Weak, impudent… demons, humans… I will be the one to crush you." He responded in the same cold and eerie tone as before.
Emizel blasted a group of malice soldiers away with a fire burst and then joined the rest of the group. "You have to let go of Nemo, now though!" he cried. "I have to protect the Netherworld from being harmed or destroyed, and that means I hafta stop you. But I also have to save Nemo so that his soul can finally be reaped! If you just let me do that none of this would have to happen!"
"Nobody can be saved. Nobody will be spared. Nobody deserves to survive… disgusting humans…" His response hardly changed from the previous one.
"This is starting to get old." Fenrich said while regrouping with the others, dragging a dying malice catsaber by the tail. "We tried convincing him out of this already, but it's no longer Nemo we're speaking to. It's the sheer malice that left his heart when he agreed to come with us. We either need to beat it out of him this time or he needs to beat it out of himself."
"Beat it out of himself? What do you mean by that, Mr. Werewolf?" Artina asked warily, being the last to catch up. "Do you think that he's still in there?"
"He could be, that, or he's gone completely. Though, say he is still there, all he needs in the right push to break himself free." Fenrich explained, but then shifted to a fighting stance. "But we haven't tried beating it out of him enough ourselves yet."
"The right push? Maybe I—what?!"
"Ms. Artina, Mr. Fenfen is right. We should try the easier method first, and Desco thinks it's easier to beat the crap out of someone than to try and find a different method of persuasion! Desco is so ready to take him down!" she agreed with Fenrich cheerfully.
"Heck yeah! It's way better to take down the head guy than all these lame back and red guys anyways." Fuka nodded. She pulled out her bat and pointed it at Nemo. "Did you hear that?! We're going to beat the life outta ya'! Even if you're already dead!"
"Ms. Fuka, that's not… please! There has to be another way out!" Artina pleaded to the team.
"Yeah. There is another way, but we're trying plan A first. Since when hasn't violence solved our problems so far?" Emizel adjusted his stance and pointed his staff at their enemy as well.
"You too…" Artina shifted her glance to Valvatorez. "I suppose you agree with them too, Mr. Vampire?"
"Arguing with my allies won't do us any good anyways. We can try a different method if this fails." He answered, preparing to fight with the rest. "At least he's been polite enough to allow us to situate ourselves." Valvatorez looked to his allies. "My plan is fairly simple. Lass—"
"I see…" Artina said quietly. I don't feel like I can fight him anymore, though. There has to be something I can do. He said he can hear me, and see me just earlier, he has to now. He just isn't in control of himself… Nemo, I swear I'll save you.
Her thoughts were broken after hearing Fuka shout charge, prompting everyone to run towards Nemo, ready to fight.
"No wait-!" Artina shouted after them, but was quickly stunned at what happened after their head-on attack.
They never even reached the Judge before what, seemed to be shadows emerged from the ground and wrapped around everyone who ran in towards him.
"Sick of the fighting… Yeah. I am. That's why I will end it. You will all be destroyed…" Nemo's voice hissed at the party. He lifted one of his arms up, and then made a gesture, as though signaling them all to come closer.
Against his will, the dark binding around his body dragged Valvatorez forward, as if he were a dog on a leash.
"One by one, you all will perish with this dreaded world…"
Valvatorez struggled. He was unable to even try to slash through the mysterious material holding him back. His arms were squeezed against his sides tightly. He had barely any room to breathe. "J-Judge Nemo! …Damn it, let us go!" he shouted.
Fear the Great stared down on Valvatorez. "It's been years since I've heard screams other than mine. I wonder what a suffering demon sounds like?"
The darkness slowly lifted Valvatorez in the air, on the same level to which Nemo was floating. The vampire continued to struggle, but to no avail. He let out a slight choking sound as the black binding suddenly tightened on him.
Artina, the only one who was still free, stood frozen. Paralyzed. Thoughts wild, eyes wide.
She slowly turned her head looking around the platform. Her allies, her friends, were helpless. They were squirming, and flailing, failing to escape. Fenrich was especially wild with rage. He screamed as loud as he could. He probably was trying to say something, or threaten the Malice, but he was incomprehensible at this point.
I don't have any more time to think. If I don't do anything, he could die. I don't want to lose anyone… She thought, drawing her gun. She pointed it at the shadow that was raised and wrapped around Valvatorez. Maybe if she provoked it, it would let him go. She aimed. Her hands were trembling.
Her gun cracked an explosion, briefly breaking the tension in the air. But then she heard a scream of pain. She looked up in horror and realized she accidentally shot the man she was trying to save.
The bullet was fired at his arm, the shock caused him to drop the sword he had tightly clenched in his fist just before. It plummeted towards the ground, ready to impale any of his teammates on the ground below.
The angel made a quick dash for it, dropping her gun and leaping off the ground and speeding to the quickest limit her wings would allow. She caught the blade as it pointed down at the werewolf below. He seemed fearful as well, but was naturally furious at Artina.
"What the hell do you think you're doing thief angel?!" He shouted. "If it weren't for the trap, I'd tear you apart with my claws for what you just did to my lord! What were you thinking?!"
She looked down, her eyes still wide, hands still trembling with the sword in her hand. "I was…" I wasn't thinking, I panicked. She looked down at the sword and then back to Fenrich. "I thought of a way to save us."
Before he could even argue back, she flew up in front of the possessed Nemo and the entangled Valvatorez. "Nemo." She said as loudly and clearly as she could.
"You aren't talking to Nemo." Malice answered, and as it did with everything in this realm, spoke in Nemo's voice. "Nemo is gone. He is no one."
Artina stayed silent for a second. "No. He is. He's said that before. You could only repeat something if you remember it."
"Artina, what are you doing?" Valvatorez asked, still sounding pained from the restriction.
She looked over at him. "Saving everyone."
"I told you, nobody will be saved. Everyone will be destroyed. Everyone must die, this world must perish. Everything with it must be—"
"Even me?" Artina interrupted. There was a brief period of silence.
"You're just… an angel. They must be destroyed. They lie. They don't protect humans at all…" The Malice answered.
"I'm Artina. Don't you remember me? You said so earlier yourself, Nemo. You said you saw me, you heard me for the first time in 400 years." She continued. "You seemed so saddened yet so happy… don't let the malice erase those emotions, Nemo. You can make it—"
"NO!" Throughout the entire core of the system, the shout echoed. It could have been due to the sheer volume, or that every other embodiment of Malice began to shout with him. "You aren't Artina! Artina isn't an angel!"
"Fine! Your Artina isn't an angel!" she shouted back. "But I am her!" She held up Valvatorez's sword.
"Is that a sword? You don't plan on fighting back, do you?" the Malice hissed.
"No." she answered. "I… Your Artina isn't an angel. How can I be your Artina again?" she uncomfortably moved the blade to the edge of her wings. "I'll cut them off if it means that I'll be the one you're looking for again."
"DON'T!" The shout echoed as loudly as before, but the tone was different. It sounded concerned.
"Artina…! What in Hades are you doing?! Put that sword down at once!" Valvatorez tried to call out to her, still slightly choked.
"Mr. Vampire…" Artina's voice shook. "He… he needs to just remember who I am. He won't destroy everything if…"
"Artina is dead! She isn't an angel. She was killed. Gone forever. She wouldn't become one of those traitors. She…" The Malice took over again, but it was faltering. It's body was taking heavy breaths, it's hands up to its face. The darkness cloaking Nemo's body was fading and thickening rapidly.
Artina glanced at Valvatorez and then to Nemo. "I'm sorry for whatever happens next, Mr. Vampire."
"Artina? What are you saying?" he asked.
"Artina is dead. You were dead. She's…"
"Fine." Artina looked at the sword in her hands. She was shaking more than before. Hesitantly, she changed the position of the blade to point at her neck. "If I were to die right here, now, would I be the Artina you're crying out for?"
"A-Artina?! Don't you dare! You just came back, I can't let you do this to yourself!" Valvatorez continued to struggle. The black binding seemed to have grown weaker.
Nemo remained silent, or at least, the Malice did.
"No a-answer?" She stuttered without realizing it. "Then… fine. I'll take that as a yes." Her voice cracked. She held the blade still. "I'm… not going to stop myself."
From below the scene above the fallen party began to shout.
"No, Ms. Artina! Don't do it! Desco's going to cry…!"
"Artina, no! You shouldn't have to die again, this is my dream! I want you to live! Don't do this!"
"How could she really kill herself after just being alive again? This is crazy…!"
"Damn it, Thief Angel! You're going to endanger all of us! Put the sword down right now!"
The blade was nearing her throat. Her hands trembling. "I'm sorry… everyone!" She shouted. But before she would thrust her neck into the blade, she felt a hand grab her wrist.
"I won't let you die again!" Nemo shouted. He grabbed the sword from her hand and then held on to her tightly. "Ms. Artina, I won't let that happen to you, never!"
It was sudden. The veil of darkness of him cleared. His eyes were as blue as they were before, and his skin was no longer discoloured. The black binding around the Hades Party suddenly disappeared and was carried off in the air. Valvatorez was freed from the ties, but began to fall.
"Oh, no!" Artina shouted. She quickly broke out of them embrace and dashed down as quickly as she could in order to catch him. Without much time to realize what was happening, Valvatorez found himself in the arms of an angel.
She landed on the stone-like ruins below a bit awkwardly, slightly losing her balance before catching herself. "Mr. Vampire, are you alright?"
He looked up at her and took a heavy breath. "I… it's going to take a lot of sardines to compensate for all this. May you put me on my feet now, Artina?"
"O-oh. Of course." She did as he asked. Before anything else was said and done she noted that her arm was covered in his blood. "…You're still injured."
"Naturally. You probably only shot me just over 10 minutes ago."
"Here, let me heal you. I'm sorry…" she reached her hand out.
He took a step back from her. "Don't worry about me, I'll be fine. I just need to—"
"Hold still for just a second, Mr. Weirdo!" She grabbed his arm a whispered in incantation for a healing spell as though it were a prayer. The wound she left began to seal itself and the bullet stuck there previously seemed to just fall out of his body.
Footsteps ran up from behind the two. Desco jumped and latched onto Artina.
"Desco thought you were about to sacrifice yourself for her! Desco was soooo scared!" she cried, tears streaming down her face.
"Seriously, Artina that was messed up! You had us all thinking you were about to die. That wasn't any cooler than Fenrich faking his death!" Emizel shouted. No matter how angry he sounded, it was clear that he was trying his best, but failing, to hold back his own tears.
"So beautifully tragic, Artina! Threatening to sacrifice yourself for the sake of everyone you love right in front of them!" Fuka added dramatically. "When I wake up, I should be a writer! I'm coming up with such fantastic things in my dream!"
Artina managed a smile and patted Desco on the head. "I'm sorry… I didn't want to scare any of you. I did that to save all of us though, and it worked, didn't it?"
"Listen here, Artina." Fenrich objected in a threatening voice. She turned around to face him. "Don't you dare try a pull another stunt like that again! I could care less if you died, but getting rid of yourself is too easy a way out, and if you ever need to die again, then it's going to be by my hands, got it?!"
" …" She sighed first, but then chuckled. "Whatever you say, Mr. Tsundere."
"He's right to be upset about what you did, though, Artina." Valvatorez added. "If things didn't go as you planned you might have actually killed yourself." He crossed his arms with an impatient stare. "I actually am starting to think you didn't have a plan in the first place. As a matter of fact… you seemed—"
"Now's not the time to talk about that, Mr. Vampire." Artina turned around. "Yet I knew you or Nemo would have done something if I did something extreme… it worked. I trusted that neither of you would let me die again." She looked up. Nemo was slowly descending to join them.
"It was all a plan to save me, huh? Do you really think I'll be able to repent, Ms. Artina?" he asked meekly.
"Of course, you will." She shot a glance at Valvatorez. "After all, you'll have the best master there is to help you repay your sins on the way there. I trust in that!"
There was a long period of silence. It wasn't quite awkward, but more so relaxing. Nemo laughed quietly and abruptly. "You two must have a lot of faith in each other…"
((Ugh. Okay. So.
This is what would have happened if I were in charge of writing the ending and blah blah. I really disliked some things about the ending, like, it could have been pulled off better. Some parts in dialogue didn't make sense (like Nemo commenting on trust between Valvatorez and Artina) and Artina mention Valvatorez being dragged into Fear the Great (something we never saw happen on screen in story!) so I decided "Hell, I'll go write it myself!"
Thus the result. Next chapter will be my spin on the Artina Epilogue. Which is more the same if anything compared to this, but it's going to have its changes in there (and plus, more after Artina says "Take my blood, my Mr. Vampire" or whatever she said, but I'm close, I'm sure.))