Disclaimer- I do not own Disgaea. If anyone even questions the veracity of this statement, Laharl's going to whale them with his Cosmic Blade. Because even though I don't own Laharl or his vassals, I do own this story. The possibilities are endless...MU WA HA HA HA HA HA!!
A/N: Just so you know, I'm throwing in a flashback. See? This is one of those possibilities I mentioned earlier. :)
Chapter Two- The Road to Hell is Paved With Good Intentions
Flonne tramped miserably through the castle. She couldn't believe that Laharl had forgotten. It had been an entire year since he had been purged from his sins and restored to his former body. And exactly a year before that, Flonne had received her punishment as well. How could something that brought them both so much happiness be forgotten so easily? How?
Closing her eyes, she can still see it all very faintly...the past two years of her life flashed before her eyes as she tried to make sense of the situation.
--
Two Years Earlier...
Everyone stared at Vulcanus, vastly hidden by the heavy folds of the fabric he had been wearing, shortly before being transformed into an ugly-looking toad. This was, the Seraph had assured them, his punishment for manipulating the humans into trying to conquer the Netherworld. And Etna, who was unable to get over the arch-angel's ridiculous predicament, had burst out laughing...that is, until she saw the look on Laharl's face.
"I can't accept it."
Flonne looked at Laharl in astonishment. Out of the corner of her eye, she could also see Etna and the Seraph eying the overlord with interest as well. From a distance, it seemed, Vulcanus the toad was croaking his lamentations, and was justly ignored by all present. But the deep-throated vibrations coming from the frog seemed to synchronize with Flonne's heartbeat--which had suddenly started to race faster at his words.
"Sin and punishment," he growled, "saying words that seem just..." He looked at Lamington-sama with obvious distaste. "Because you just wanted to save yourself, you simply stopped him from talking?"
Flonne was stunned. "Laharl-san, why would you say such..." She paused, unable to let the words out. It seemed so strange, so painful that Laharl would have doubts in her hero, the great Seraph Lamington. After all he had done in the name of love and justice...it just didn't seem right to her.
But then Laharl gave her a side-long glance, scrutinizing her face. It was as though he could see the hero-worship in her face, and didn't like it. The look in his eyes was one she knew very well. There was no denying the disapproval she saw in him.
Before she could say anything else, Laharl had looked away from her.
"From the very beginning, the one who ordered Flonne to kill my father was you, right? Weren't you the one who wanted to take over the Netherworld and control everything?"
And then the angel knew exactly what he was driving at. Hurt flashed in her crystal blue eyes as she shifted her gaze from Laharl to the Seraph, who she had always followed faithfully...perhaps blindly? She didn't know who or what to believe. The confusion hurt worse than anything else. She had always believed in Lamington-sama, but then...she had always wanted to believe in Laharl as well. And he hadn't disappointed her yet. So...what to do?
"I wanted to bring peace to the Netherworld," came his simple explanation.
"What?" Laharl growled in disbelief. It was obvious that he wasn't buying it.
"I knew that your father, King Krichevskoy, had passed away. But since then, the Netherworld surrounding the king's palace became a world of chaos with endless fighting. In order to restore the Netherworld to order, we needed the power of yours," Lamington said to Laharl, "which was sleeping because of the poison. So I sent Flonne," here he sent the angel an analytical glance, "to awaken you."
Etna made an incredulous sound. "Is that right? Flonne-chan," she sputtered, "did you know?"
Suddenly, all eyes were on the angel trainee.
"This is the first time I'm hearing it," she answered softly.
"Wait a minute!" Laharl protested. "I'm controlling the Netherworld for myself, not for you people!"
The Seraph chose to ignore this, however.
"You've done well, Flonne."
"Listen when I'm talking!!" snarled the overlord, indignantly.
"For someone to be more ignorant than His Highness," Etna commented to herself. Only Flonne had heard her, but something else troubled her at the moment. She turned her questioning eyes on the Seraph, silently imploring for permission to speak. Lamington regard the trainee with a calm smile, and Flonne took heart.
"But why was that mission given to me?"
"It was for love," Lamington replied.
"Love," Flonne repeated dumbly. She felt as though she had never truly understood the word before until it had passed the Seraph's lips. It was as though she were hearing it for the first time.
"My goal was not only to bring peace to the Netherworld, but to rule the Netherworld, Heaven, and the human world with love."
Etna cringed. "Now you've said it," she gasped. "Love freak's boss..."
"For that purpose," Lamington continued gravely, "you and Laharl-sama must learn about love."
"That's none of your concern," Laharl snapped. "Do you have any idea what we went through because of that?" Flonne realized with a jolt that he was referring to that battle on the human space station. And then it hit her once again. The memory of those angels scattering into nothingness, harmed by their own spells that rebounded off of her barrier. Her heart plummetted, just as it did the first time she realized what it would mean once she arrived in Celestia...
"Those fights weren't part of my intention, however...in the end, I hurt everyone," said the Seraph sadly. "I must pay the price for that mistake."
"Of course!" said Etna, as though it were the most obvious thing in the world. After all, what was it to her if the Seraph were to be transformed into another toad?
"But before that..." Lamington added. "Angel trainee, Flonne."
The sound of her name felt like a stone smacking her in the chest. "Yes."
"Completing your mission in the Netherworld and stopping Vulcanus's recklessness are deeds of merit. But your sin of hurting the army of angels, who are citizens of Heaven just as you are, is heavy." He opened his eyes, looking straight into hers. A beam of understanding linked their gazes together, and Flonne, though still nervous, was suddenly certain that things would somehow work out for the best. She had full trust in the Seraph.
"You must be punished for that," he said.
Flonne forced a calm, tranquil smile upon her face--after all, it certainly hadn't been a surprise. Etna, on the other hand, had let her mouth drop open in astonishment--all this time she had been agreeing with the harsh law of the angels, but now...now that it threatened to take away a close friend, she couldn't bear it. Flonne nodded at Etna in reassurance. After all, she had known this would come for a long time.
"Yes," she said quietly. "I am well prepared."
This was the truth. She was absolutely prepared for her punishment. She had been prepared for it for a long time.
No...what she wasn't prepared for was Laharl's reaction.
"Hey! What are you saying?" he demanded, moving in between Flonne and the Seraph. "Why must she be punished?"
The anger flashing in his eyes was genuine, for this too was an expression Flonne had seen several times before. But somehow this was entirely different from all of those other times. This was a righteous anger. He was trying to protect her, Flonne, the Love Freak.
"Yeah," Etna agreed, looking determined. "If you do strange things to Flonne-chan, I won't just stand by and let it happen!"
A content smile blossomed on Flonne's face. The thought of her friends so close and so protective of her made her happier than words could describe.
"It's all right," she said. "I knew it would turn out this way."
Laharl turned to her in shock, his jaw hanging open like a busted gate. Etna looked almost as shocked as the overlord. They were so frozen with this feeling that neither one had the strength to stop Flonne as she made her way past them and over to the steps leading up towards the Seraph. Laharl's expression grew increasingly more incredulous as Flonne knelt before him. Hastily, she made sure that her back was entirely facing the overlord so that she wouldn't have to see the look on his face. The fact that he cared made her deliriously happy, but it hurt too. If she even looked into his face, Flonne knew that she would start crying--and that wasn't what she wanted. She never wanted Laharl to see her cry.
So she turned her face to the Seraph instead, who's tranquility seemed to be contagious. "Lamington-sama, this is Flonne's last wish," she pleaded. "The ones here, Laharl-san and Etna-san, please forgive their sins. The two of them were only involved because of me."
"W-wait, Flonne-chan!" Etna cried.
"What are you saying?!" Laharl demanded. "You haven't done anything wrong!"
She ignored them both--though it took all of her self-control to keep her gaze fixed on the Seraph. His gaze seemed to cut through her like a knife. Then, after a tense pause, he broke the silence.
"I understand."
"Appreciated," said Flonne. It amazed even herself how easy it was to keep the sadness out of her voice. Behind her, she knew that Laharl was not taking this very well.
"Stop it!" he cried, rushing forward.
For a few moments, Flonne let that golden light bathe her as it cleansed her of her sins.
"Flonne..." she heard Laharl gasp, as though he were in great pain. And suddenly, she couldn't resist temptation anymore. She looked back towards him and saw him struggling against the light, trying to reach her, to pull her away--to stop whatever it was that was happening to her.
Understanding flared in her eyes like blue flames. Laharl wanted her to stay...with him. The smile she bestowed upon him was pure radiance.
"Laharl-san, I'm sorry," she said. "I was a servant that wasn't helpful right up to the end." Sadness strained her voice, but she never let that smile leave her face. She had to at least try to convince him that she was worthless after all. Perhaps then it wouldn't hurt him so much, and that would make this punishment much easier to bear. She forced herself to continue. "Believing in you was the only right thing I did."
Laharl gritted his teeth, whether in anger, frustration, pain, or all three Flonne never knew.
"You really are a useless idiot," he said, his crimson eyes wide, that scowl only half-real now. His expression reminded her of a child, helpless in the face of great hardship, full of awe and fear.
"You've shown me that even devils can love," Flonne continued, warmed by his concern.
"Don't say something I can't understand," he hissed angrily. He beckoned towards her, his hand outstretched to catch hers and to reel her back to him. "Now, let's go back to the Netherworld."
Pain stabbed her through the heart. If only she could. Flonne found herself clutching the pendant the Seraph gave her--the pendant that led her to Laharl in the first place--the pendant that he saved from the volcano, for her. She wondered if it would still burn him.
"Laharl-san," she murmured. "Can you take this pendant?" Innocently, she held it out towards him.
Laharl didn't protest. He reached out to take it from her, when suddenly, Etna screamed a warning at him.
"Your Highness, if you touch that again..."
But Laharl ignored her entirely. Flonne could barely contain her surprise as he continued to comply with her request. Her last request. Utter sadness permeated her, and she could no longer look at him. She knew then that if his skin even brushed against hers while she handed him the pendant, he would try to pull her away. And she also knew that if that happened, she wouldn't do anything to stop him. She wanted to badly to return with him to the Netherworld...
...but that was never to be...
Flonne let the pendant drop through her fingers. It slid out of her grasp like water and fell to the ground. Frantically, Laharl caught it in a tightly clenched fist, unwilling to let that one piece of the angel leave him--especially one that was so important to her. And it hit them both that the sudden contact of holy metal against the demon's flesh wasn't causing him any physical pain. Laharl slowly unclenched his fist, staring dumbfoundedly at the pendant. Meaning seemed to hit him with the impact of a locomotive, and his shut his eyes tight, as though trying to bar it away. However, Flonne noticed him clutching the pendant tighter in his hand.
"Your Highness," Etna murmured.
Soon, Flonne could feel him raising his eyes to her in confusion. He wanted to know why she was doing this, why she was leaving him so suddenly. But the angel trainee could give him no answer. All she knew was that this had to happen. She had no choice.
So she smiled again.
"Good-bye, Laharl-san, Etna-san. Thank you for all that you've done..."
And that was the last thing Flonne could remember clearly about that day.
--
It had truly surprised her that Laharl actually cared about what happened to her. He was even willing to sacrifice his life for hers.
Flonne thought she understood Laharl's motives in doing so. Seeing the pain etched into his face had convinced her that Laharl had fallen in love with her...or at least, he didn't despise her anymore. She was miserable without him around--it was all she could bear to keep living, knowing that it was for her own sake that Laharl had ended his life. But this loss only strengthened her belief in the power of love. It inspired her to spread the message throughout the Netherworld, and now that Etna was overlord, Flonne found herself in the position to do so.
Etna knew that Flonne was suffering, and hoped that this new job would distract her from what was so obviously missing. Through the fallen angel's guidance, hundreds of young demons came to her to learn about the power of love, and how it would keep the Netherworld safe from harm. Flonne was an excellent teacher, but there was no doubt that behind her bright smile and cheerful disposition there was emptiness in her heart. Something she needed as badly as she needed air to breathe and water to drink had been taken away forever.
But then, to everyone's surprise, Laharl had come back. Flonne could still remember the shock of seeing those crimson eyes staring out of the body of a prinny. A prinny Laharl. It was strange...and it was better than anything Flonne had expected. Suddenly, she started to live again.
Etna still refused to believe that Laharl had come back, but took a particular liking to the new prinny. She said that it reminded her of an obstinate prince she used to know. At the time, Etna had expected Flonne to wince in pain, or to look vaguely distracted at the very least. But all she could do was smile and smile. It was like Christmas came early.
It took a long time for Laharl to adjust to his life as a prinny. Though it killed him to do so, he worked night and day like those very same servants he had loathed and pushed around. Flonne would watch him sometimes and could see the empathy sinking into him--what it was like to be a servant, what it was like to be oppressed. She could see that it was making him even kinder still. It was a lesson well-learned. But all that time he absolutely refused to associate with Flonne. Every time she tried to talk to him or embrace him, he would scowl at her and put on the prinny facade.
"Sorry, dood," he growled. "I'm busy. Leave me to my work."
It had hurt Flonne at first, and she couldn't understand why Laharl was avoiding her in this new shape. But soon she began to notice how he would eye his flipper-like wings with pure venom. Sometimes he would become clumsy with his peg-legs and would stumble and fall. Flonne would try to help him up, and he would push her away, glowering at the cursed body he was trapped in. It occurred to Flonne after several months that Laharl simply couldn't bear to watch Flonne have to associate with a lowly prinny, even if he was that lowly prinny. He whole-heartedly believed that she deserved someone better--someone who could love her the way she wanted to be loved. A prinny could never keep her satisfied, or so he thought.
Flonne did everything she could to prove him wrong. She comforted him when he was sad, calmed him down when he was angry, and gave him hope that maybe things would turn out for the best. It wasn't until an entire year after he had returned to her that he allowed the fallen angel to plant a kiss on his forehead. He glowered a bit--it was his nature, after all--but he didn't push her away.
That was what finally broke the spell.
It had been a long year, one of the longest for both of them. But during that difficult time, Laharl's pride had been broken down to a more reasonable height, and the parts that been broken away were replaced with wisdom and respect. The moment Flonne's lips left his forehead, the Seraph had suddenly appeared before them both.
"Laharl," Lamington said, towering over the prinny who was staring at him with shock and--Flonne really couldn't blame him, though she certainly didn't agree with it--dislike. "For an entire year you have worked alongside the creatures you once scorned. I believe you have truly begun to learn the power of love. Do you agree?"
The prinny shot a look at Flonne, but said nothing. After a tense silence, he gave a stiff nod. "Not that it's any of your business," he added under his breath.
"Very well," the Seraph said with that calm smile of his. "I hereby cleanse you, Laharl, former King of the Netherworld, of all of your sins. I have come to restore you to your old body." He held out his hand, placed that deadly palm into the prinny's face.
Flonne started in horror. It was too similar to the way she had been punished. Laharl had finally returned to her--in mind and in spirit. Now would the Seraph take him away from her again. She darted forward, but something about the way Lamington-sama had looked at her made her freeze. Then, she remembered his words. "Y-you're going to help Laharl?" she stammered, hardly daring to believe.
Lamington nodded. She couldn't move or breathe, and finally, Laharl had to grab her hand with his wing and pull her back down in order to get her out of reach of the Seraph. He too was a bit unnerved by how similar things were. Flonne could tell that he couldn't get the memory of her punishment out of his mind.
"Whatever happens to me," said Laharl, "won't hurt Flonne?"
"No."
"Do you swear it?"
"I do."
"Good," said Laharl. "Because I swear to God--if there even is a God--that if I find that you've lied to me, or to her, I'll kill you with my own bare hands. There won't be mercy for you a second time."
"Laharl-san!" Flonne cried, looking quickly to see whether the Seraph was angry. To her relief, she could see that he was not. But she still was taken aback by the fervency of this threat. She could see murder carefully traced in those crimson eyes.
Laharl would never forgive Lamington. Flonne knew that now.
But Lamington only smiled. "You still have much left to learn, Laharl-dono. But you may resume your training as you were."
A blinding light erupted from the palm of his hand and surrounded the prinny. When it faded away, Flonne couldn't see a thing; only a huddled shape lying on the floor. But as she slowly got her senses back, she recognized the lithe, muscular body. It was Laharl.
Laharl!
"Laharl!" she cried, scrambling over to his side and turning him over. The demon's eyes were closed, but his nose scrunched up as though he had a head-ache. Slowly, his eyes eased open.
"Do you have to scream in my ear, love freak?" he asked softly. There was a faint smile on his face, only meant for her.
Feeling as though her heart would burst with emotion, Flonne wrapped her arms around him and clung to him tightly. Tears fell from her eyes and left marks on the luxurious red velvet cape. Sobbing with abandon, the fallen angel buried her face in his chest and cuddled him--she felt Laharl stiffen instinctively, then relax. Gently, he laid his hand on the back of her head.
"Could you get off?" he asked. "I have to kill the Seraph now."
From across the room, Lamington observed them with amusement in his eyes.
"L-Laharl," she sniffled. "Why would you do that? Lamington-sama just did a merciful thing just now."
This really was not something Laharl wanted to hear. Apparently the thought of being in debt to someone he so despised made him feel sick. But he sat up and pulled her into a sitting position, holding her close to steady himself.
"That bastard said that it wouldn't hurt you," he growled.
"Eh?" she murmured, not understanding.
Laharl took his gaze off of the Seraph and looked into her deep blue eyes. "He said that whatever he did to me wouldn't hurt you. And now look at you, love freak! You're a mess!"
Flonne let loose a watery chuckle as she pulled him into a hug. "I'm not a mess," she said. "I love you, Laharl-san."
Laharl winced, but tolerated it, moving his hand through her golden hair in a comforting manner. "Whatever. He still made you cry." He moved to make towards Lamington, but as they both turned to face the Seraph, they found no one there. They were the only ones left in the room.
"Dammit!" Laharl growled, slamming a fist into the floor. "Now look at what you've done, Flonne..."
She looked at him, pain fresh in her eyes again. Was he truly angry with her?
Suddenly, his face softened again. "Oh, well..." he sighed. "At least everything's back to normal. Right?"
Flonne felt as though she would never be sad again. Beaming at Laharl, she smiled through her tears. Above them, the sun emerged from behind a cloud, and the golden light spilled in through the window. The darkness was gone from both of their hearts.
--
And as soon as those words were said, hope flared in Flonne's heart. Maybe...now that he had finally accepted love in his heart...just maybe he would begin to love her, Flonne.
She knew it was crazy. Laharl was Laharl after all, even if he was kinder now.
She knew it was selfish.
But she didn't care. Flonne knew with a sudden poignancy that she had fallen in love with the Overlord, and she didn't want to let that feeling go. Which was why Flonne could not understand for the life of her why Laharl forgot the anniversay of his own restoration.
Still confused, Flonne continued on her way towards the dimension gate in the castle. But what she didn't know was that as she went off to get Laharl his breakfast, a dark shadow slithered along the wall, keeping out of sight. Unnoticed, it followed her down the hallway and through the set of doors she passed. It barely got itself through before she shut the door behind her with a decisive snap.
Darkness had sealed itself in with her--and it didn't seem to want to leave her alone.
--
A/N: Okay, that's Chapter Two. Sorry for it being so long, but it's a very important chapter. The fact that Laharl hates Lamington is a very important theme in the story. VERY IMPORTANT!! It will influence the way the story will turn out in later chapters. And that's all I have to say. RxR.