When Laharl awoke, he felt slightly sick and he was in complete darkness. His body felt sore, his muscles tense, and his joints were stiff. It took him a moment to realize that he was in his coffin, back in his room. He frowned, had his casket always felt this cramped? He lifted the lid and tried to get his eyes accustomed to the light that leaked into his room. He stood up and stepped out of his coffin, stretching out his arms and legs as he did so. He winced slightly, his clothes felt tighter than he remembered, and they were uncomfortable to move in. he glanced around his room, it felt strangely smaller to him. Laharl shrugged, he had better things to do than contemplate a slightly smaller room, he had to go find Etna and settle the argument they were having earlier. With that thought in mind, he strode to his door, opened it and walked out of his room, closing the door behind him.

"What the hell is wrong with everyone?" Laharl thought. All the residents of the castle stared at him as he walked through the halls, looking for Etna. Everyone seemed to be in shock, enough so that no one spoke a word, they simply followed him with their eyes as he passed by them. Laharl growled, these damn morons were acting as if they were seeing him for the first time in their lives! Before Laharl could question any of the staring residents, he heard an explosion nearby, and a pathetic yelp of:

"Help us dood!"Laharl immediately went in the direction of the screams. He could deal with everyone else later; right now he had a score to settle with a certain red-haired demon lord. A sudden explosion resounded from one of the rooms, and as Laharl approached it, he caught sight of Etna beating some prinnies senseless. Before he could call out and get her attention though, Etna suddenly looked up from her workout and caught sight of him in the doorway. Her eyes immediately went wide with shock, and her mouth fell slightly open. Like all the other residents of his castle, she simply stared at him in wide-eyed disbelief. Laharl once again wondered what the hell could be wrong. Was there something wrong with the way he looked? While Laharl tried to come up with an explanation for all the wondrous gazes he was receiving, Etna finally found her voice.

"Prince? Is that…you?" She asked in a bewildered tone.

"Of course it is!" As soon as the words left his mouth, both demons fell silent. The voice that they had heard was not Laharl's. His voice was high-pitched and raspy, not yet developed, with a haughty demanding tone to it. The voice that came out of his mouth was none of that; this voice was low, and smooth, like velvet. Laharl put a hand over his mouth in shock, and he looked over at Etna to gauge her reaction. It was then he realized that he was taller than her; she was looking up at him with confusion clearly evident in her eyes.

"Prince…what the hell happened to you?" she asked him.

"I don't…know," Laharl answered removing his hand from his mouth. Not even a second passed before Laharl sprinted out the door, trying to find the closest mirror. He ignored the slight pain he felt from the tightness of his clothes as he burst through his bedroom door. He stood in front of the mirror, awestruck at the reflection that stared back at him. His azure hair had gotten longer, passing his shoulders a bit. He was definitely taller; he had a good four or five inches on Etna, at least. His ruby eyes were no longer large and child-like; instead they were narrow, which gave him a handsome devilish look. His face wasn't cute and chubby anymore; it had been replaced with a fine jaw line and straight edges that came with aging and maturity. His body was no longer thin and scrawny, it now had toned muscle to it, and his skin had become slightly tanned. His exaggerated trademark scarf, though still large, no longer engulfed him as it did before. In fact it had shrunken enough that the pendent he always secretly wore around his neck became clearly visible. Laharl moved a hand and wrapped it around the shinning pendent, watching as the reflection in the mirror did the same. It took Laharl's mind a moment to register what he was seeing.

"ETNA!" Laharl yelled running back to the room she had been training in. He threw the door open, not caring that it came off its heavy steel hinges. He looked at her his eyes glowering with anger.

"What the hell did you do to me?" He asked his voice dangerously low. Etna once again looked up at him, though this time, her eyes narrowed in suspicion.

"Are you really the Prince?" She questioned him.

"Of course I am idiot!" Laharl cried out angrily, "Are you going blind, or just stupid?" He heard Etna hum in thought.

"Gee, I don't know," She grinned evilly, "I'm gonna need some proof. If you're really the prince, then tell me, what was on that photograph that was used to blackmail you?"

"I can't believe you're making me even remember that," Laharl growled out. He walked over to Etna and whispered his response in her ear, not wanting anyone to hear what he was saying. Etna giggled wickedly as Laharl stepped away from her, turning red from the memory of the photo.

"Are you done laughing?" Laharl snapped as Etna wiped a tear from eye.

"I am never going to let that go,"Etna said in satisfaction, "What the hell happened to you, Prince?"

"That's what I want to know, what the hell did you do to me?" Etna pouted at him.

"Look, Prince, I like messing with you. Do you really think I would do something that would benefit you?"

"Benefit me?"Laharl asked in interest, "Benefit me how exactly?"

"Well you're older now, and apparently a lot stronger," Etna remarked as she glanced at the broken door behind him, "Everyone's really going to have to start listening to you now."

"I suppose that includes everyone except you?"

"Oh, Prince, you know me so well!" Laharl sighed, and began walking away from her. Etna followed him in confusion.

"Where you going, Prince?" Laharl paused in the doorway and looked at her.

"I'm going to get some better fitting clothes, of course," Laharl shrugged, "These are too damn tight!" He walked away, leaving Etna to fix the door he had broken. Laharl walked in silence, a destination already in mind. He reached a large heavily decorated wooden door and opened it, heading straight for the closet in the back of the room. He rummaged through his father's old clothes, searching for something that suited his tastes. He made a face of disdain as he looked through all the clothes. He couldn't believe what his old man used to wear was even considered clothing; each article was brighter and flashier than the last! Finally Laharl found something he deemed acceptable, and pulled it out. He removed the clothing he was currently, wearing including his scarf, golden bracelets and shoes. Although he preferred being shirtless, he had chosen a simple black jacket with gold trimmings. The cuffs were dark crimson, and the jacket itself left his chest bare. The matching black pants hung loosely around his waist, and were held up with two red belts. He slipped on a pair of fancy but comfortable black boots trimmed with red and gold. He then wrapped his trademark red scarf around his neck, completing his new ensemble. He thought a moment before reaching up and taking off the pendent the Love Freak had given him, placing it in his pocket. He didn't want anyone to think he was going soft.

Laharl studied his appearance in the mirror, finding it satisfactory. He continued to gaze at himself, trying to calculate just how much older he had become. He concluded that he was about 1700, maybe 1800 years old. That placed him at about 400 years older than he originally was. He grinned, that meant he was about 200 years older than the stupid Love Freak. It seems that the age roles had been switched on them. Now in a much better mood, Laharl decided that he might as well find out what caused his sudden growth spurt. He exited the room, heading toward the castle's nurse.

As Laharl walked through the castle's vast hallways, he saw that once again the resident's eyes were following him. However, he noticed that this time, many of the women kept their eyes on him longer than necessary. He felt their gazes linger, scanning his body from top to bottom. Though when he would turn to look at them, they would immediately avert their eyes, giggling like mad. Laharl tried to hide his face with his scarf, feeling uncomfortable. He wasn't used to all this female attention. While trying his best to keep a low profile, Laharl failed to notice someone running toward him as he turned a corner. They both fell, closing their eyes as they braced for the impact.

"I'm so sorry!" A familiar voice cried apologetically, "I was in such a rush I didn't see…you..." Ruby eyes locked onto scarlet ones as both demons opened their eyes to see who they had bumped into. Flonne, much like the other female residents, simply stared, her face gaining a pink tint to it. For some reason, Laharl didn't quite mind it as much when it was the Love Freak staring at him. In fact, it actually made him a bit proud of his new appearance.

"Who…are you?" Flonne questioned in a bit of a dazed state. Laharl arched a brow at her in slight amusement.

"Did that fall just kill the only brain cells you had left Love Freak?" He asked her, standing up and dusting himself off. At the sound of the nickname he called her; Flonne seemed to realize just who she was speaking to.

"Sir Laharl?" Flonne cried standing up as well. She looked up at him in pure disbelief and confusion.

"Yes?" he asked in a bored tone, secretly pleased that she had included the usual "Sir" in front of his name again. She seemed to have forgiven him for what he had done the other day.

"I was on my way to your room because Miss Etna told me you were sick," Flonne started, "But what on earth happened?" Laharl blinked at her in surprise. Had she been worried about him? Was that the reason she had been running frantically like that? The thought of her worried about him made him feel strangely…happy.

"Actually, I was just about to go find out myself," Laharl said, nodding his head in the direction of the castle's nurse. Without another word, he walked off with Flonne following closely at his heels. When they reached the medical center, the nurse seemed just as shocked as everyone else. She examined him, taking a blood sample for testing.

"Well, Prince Laharl," the nurse started after finishing her analysis of his blood, "The good news is that you're in perfect health. The bad news is that you have grown to be exactly 1799 years old." Lahral raised an eyebrow; his guess earlier had been spot on.

"Okay, great," Laharl said sarcastically, "But what the hell caused this?"

"Well, the cause seems to be a special potion made from the mushrooms of time," the nurse explained, "Which is strange, considering that the mushrooms of time were said to have gone extinct thousands of years ago."

"Extinct?" Flonne repeated in a worried tone. The nurse nodded in response. She turned and smiled apologetically to Laharl.

"I'm sorry, Prince, but I'm afraid there is no way to revert you back to your former self." Both the nurse and Flonne waited for Laharl's response, surprised when he suddenly grinned.

"What the hell are you being sorry for? I actually like this new body of mine."

"You do?" Flonne asked hesitantly. Laharl got up from where he had been sitting.

"Of course I do," Laharl shrugged, "I'm still me, just an older, stronger better looking me." Laharl paused in the doorway, putting up his hand in a gesture of farewell.

"See you, fools," Laharl grinned revealing his sharp fangs, "I've got a Netherworld to rule, hahahahaHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!" Flonne glanced at the nurse, then back to the now empty doorway. She sighed worriedly.

"Why do I get the feeling that people are going to get badly hurt?"

(A/N): OH MAH GOD! Laharl's all grown up now! How many saw that one coming, hmm? Anyway I'm sorry it took a while to update, school and homework and all that jazz. I'll try my best to update as early as i can, so please just be patient. Btw if you wanna see what Laharl looks like now, here's a picture: .net/t101-shig-shugo-kokawa I didn't draw it, so I give credit to whoever did. So? What do you guys think? Lookin' good huh? Leave comments, reviews, and ideas please! (Ideas especially appreciated!)