Let's finish this prologue, shall we? Feedback is encouraged. Enjoy!
Notes: =[blank]= : A location/area.
The Disgaea Franchise is developed by Nippon Ichi Software, NIS America, and System Prisma. The publishers are on another list that you will have to google for. Buy their stuff.
I am not sponsored whatsoever.
The OC is owned by me.
STORY IMAGE IS AN EDITED PRODUCT FROM THE DISGAEA PC: DIGITAL DOOD EDITION HEADER.
Ch. 4: I Get into an Argument?!
=Forest Path No.1 = "Trees had to be cut down to make this."
The two remaining Prinnies and I rush back to the castle as quickly as we can. There was no time for mourning over our fallen brethren. If we don't make it back in time, we will be having an early reunion with our dead allies, courtesy of Lady Etna. I shudder at the thought.
I looked over at the remaining two Prinnies. One Prinny was panting hard, clearly exhausted, while the other seems to be keeping up well. Despite the nonstop trip, the fit Prinny seems to be cheering and encouraging the tired Prinny to keep up, despite the horrific events that had occurred a few hours ago.
"Come on, dood! Just a little further to go!", the fit Prinny chanted to the other Prinny.
"I-I'll do my best, dood!", panted the other Prinny.
I forgot that Prinnies are given more optimistic personalities during their reincarnation into their penguin forms. Unlike my devastated mood, their mood is brighter and unforced. With that thought in mind, I started to ponder about the Disembodied Voice's 'Divine Protection'. What sort of 'benefits' did I get? So far, the traits I noticed is my lack of optimism and the strange burst of power that I used to save Sarge.
I shook my head quickly. Now is not the time to be thinking! I need to get back to Lady Etna as quickly as I can! I called the other Prinnies to start speeding up as the castle is in sight. I hope that we are not too late!
=Throne Room= "An Overlord's Defining Room"
The three of us kneeled before Lady Etna, me closer to the front to present Lady Etna the Hero's Scarf.
"Lady Etna, we have returned from Death Mountain and retrieved the Hero's Scarf for you.", I spoke.
"Well it seems that you all are good for something after all. Gimme that!"
The demon girl swiped the Hero's Scarf out of my flippers. Geez, it's not like the scarf will run away. The original owner, Dragol, is not getting it back anytime soon.
Lady Etna inspected the scarf and wore it. After a few minutes of testing the scarf's powers, she sourly frowned. That is not a good sign.
"This scarf is useless! It does not even enhance my beauty at all!", Lady Etna roared, throwing the scarf onto the floor.
The other Prinnies and I stared at the angry display in shock. With all our efforts and even losing our precious comrades just to get that scarf, Lady Etna just threw the rare item that we had struggled to retrieve was thrown away like garbage!
The other Prinnies were staring at the floor while I was starting to seethe in anger but keeping my rage in check.
Lady Etna looked over at me.
"Chalk where are the rest of those poor excuses for Prinnies?! Did they run away?!", she yelled at me.
Before I could answer, the announcer Prinny sadly interrupted, "All of them died during the mission, dood…"
"Good! Death was a kindness for those useless penguins compared to what I was going to do to them if they were still alive!"
Lady Etna began stomping away before giving us one last look.
"You three have failed your mission, but since everyone of you made it back here, the punishment will be light. So, for the next three weeks, no sardines and no salary!"
"W-what, dood!" "No way, dood!" The two Prinnies cried but were too winded to complain any further.
I clench my right flipper in anger. Not only did she not accept the scarf and punished us for something that we had no control over, but to also insult my comrades and friends?! I had enough!
As Lady Etna angrily left the throne room through the side entrance, I quickly picked up the scarf and chased after the demon girl. The other Prinnies cried in surprise and shouted at me to come back.
=Corridor to Etna's Quarters= "You better have a good reason to be walking through here."
"Lady Etna! Please wait, dood!", I shouted, finally catching up to a glaring Lady Enta.
"Chalk! What do you want?! More punishment?", Lady Etna growled at me, her words promising pain.
I presented the scarf to her.
"Lady Etna. Please take it, dood.", I pleaded while kneeling to her once more.
Lady Etna scoffed and slapped the scarf out of my hand, I quickly caught the Hero's Scarf and presented to her all in one motion.
"You are beginning to annoy me Chalk. One more move and I will make you regret it."
Lady Etna's warning and glare is beginning to frighten me, so I decided to ask her a question.
"Then why Lady Etna?! Dood, why are you treating the Prinnies so poorly?!", I asked loudly, snapping out of my calm demeanor.
"You treat them like garbage! The rest of them DIED for you without even thinking of running away! Some of them even swore their eternal loyalty to you! Some of them even had dreams…"
I quieted down, panting from my outburst. My family did not deserve this. Especially not Sarge and P-Meister.
What felt like hours in a span of a minute, Lady Etna coldly responded, "It is because they Prinnies. They all started off as pitiful souls with no future and to redeem their souls, they work hard to reincarnate. So, what if I treat them like garbage? So, what if I was the one responsible for their deaths? If anything, they should be thankful that both the demons and the angels decided to even consider giving them a second chance."
My eyes widened at Lady Etna's revelation. Sure, some of her words are parallel to Mr. Valvatorez's, but her mistreatment of the Prinnies was not! The Masters give Prinnies purpose with love and respect, not terror and abuse!
"That is still not an excuse for the terrible things that you have done, dood! Do you even understand love, you heartless mongrel?! If you truly love and respect your subordinates, then none of this would have happened! You-"
Before I could finish my sentence, I felt immediate pain radiating at my chest and all the way through my back, as if I was part of a kebab. The foreign object pulled out as quickly as it was pushed in. I clenched my wound and fell to the ground in pain, wanting to scream but resisted the urge as I looked up at my attacker. Lady Etna was holding a spear and on her face, is a very terrifying expression.
"Don't ever mention the word, 'love' in front of me again. Not that you will last any longer.", Lady Etna finished.
Before she could walk off again, I quickly grabbed Lady Etna's knee to stop her.
"GET YOUR HANDS OFF ME PRINNY. I am not in the mood.", Etna scowled, giving her best icy glare to my face.
"My dead friends might have the heart to forgive you, but I will never forgive you for what you had done, dood! Never!", I grunted before I finally fainted on the floor.
=Isolated Hill= "The full moon glows brightly to soothe daily woes."
I opened my eyes to be immediately blinded from a bright light. Squinting my eyes, I gazed up at the full, red moon. The giant floating rock's appearance was startling. I have never seen the moon up close before, even the largest castle windows did not portray the moon at this magnitude.
"So, you have finally woken up Chalk.", a familiar voice called out in front of me.
I looked down towards the source of the soothing voice and found Big Sister Prinny sitting on the violet grass, silently gazing at the red, glowing satellite. I sat down beside her, and she turns her head to look over to me.
"What happened, dood? The last thing I remembered, I was talking to Lady Etna and then I-"
Before I could finish my sentence, my chest ached. I quickly clenched in pain but noticed that there were no signs of a wound.
"You were on the floor unconscious and needed medical attention, so I brought you here and healed you.", Big Sis Prinny responded while urging me to swallow some painkillers.
Big Sis Prinny pointed at some red flowers, some are glowing softly.
"Those are Helgrowths. They can heal almost every wound or disease as long as you are a demon or monster.", the red Prinny explained.
Wow. These flowers are really something then. I inspected a closer flower in curiosity and new-found respect.
"As amazing as these flowers are, they are not as amazing as the item you are carrying. What was preventing you from exploding and keeping you alive was the Hero's Scarf that you were clenching onto while you fainted."
"What do you mean, dood?", I asked, looking down at the red scarf which was now wrapped snuggly around my neck. I also noticed that the scarf was a lot shorter as the other half of the scarf was cut off by something sharp, leaving a rather ripped appearance.
"You see Chalk, that scarf does not 'enhance one's beauty by a thousand-fold' but rather it 'preserves one's life by a thousand-fold'. Lady Etna must have mistaken the wording because like humans, demons and angels age, albeit slowly. So, staying young for as long as possible helps her stay beautiful.", Big Sister Prinny continued.
"So, this scarf really is the rare item that Lady Etna was looking for, dood.", I concluded.
Even if my friends had died in vain, at least they got the correct item and not a dud. After a moment of silence, Big Sis Prinny moved onto another subject.
"So, Chalk. What happened between you and Lady Etna in that corridor? Judging by the state you were in, it must have been something important.", Big Sis Prinny asked.
"It was, dood. Allow me to explain.", I sighed.
I retold to Big Sister Prinny of my argument with Lady Etna in acceding anger.
"So that is why I will never forgive her for what she has done, dood!", I shouted angrily, finishing my anecdote.
The mood grew sour and Big Sister Prinny did not say a thing, yet she seems to be deep in thought. Seeing her troubled expression, I started to panic.
"I-I am sorry, dood! I did not mean to ruin the mood!", I apologized.
"It is alright Chalk. You fought for the sake of your friends but to call a demon heartless is wrong of you.", Big Sister Prinny chided.
"What do you mean, dood?! After what I have told you and you still believe that she is capable of love?!"
"Yes, I do Chalk and remember that you are not the only Prinny to have argued with me about Lady Etna's behavior. Even if she has her shortcomings, Lady Etna, like all the other demons, are capable of feeling love. Even the previous Overlord himself rescued a wandering human woman from danger close by to here a long time ago."
I looked down at my peg legs in simmering anger, calming myself down and began to tear up.
"They were my best friends. All of them. They might have been my first real family here and now all of them are gone, dood.", I lamented.
"That is where you are wrong Chalk."
"What, dood?"
I quickly looked over at Big Sis Prinny and she pointed at my scarf.
"Your friends, Sarge, and P-Meister all live on alongside you in this scarf. You are not alone and there is no one to blame, not Lady Etna or yourself. So, please continue to serve under Lady Etna and live on for your fallen friends and for the friends that you will make in the future."
Thinking clearly now, Bis Sis Prinny was right. My important friends are still with me in spirit and what has happened in the past cannot be undone. I need to accept my loss and move on from this tragedy, for myself and for those who will be counting on me. My tears well up again and Big Sis Prinny held me in her arms, singing to me one of her lovely lullabies while I bawled loudly.
After a while of crying and calming down, I finally asked Big Sis Prinny a question.
"So Big Sis Prinny, why is this spot so empty? With these Helgrowths, this field could easily become a medical hotspot, dood.", I asked Big Sis Prinny.
"This area used to be a popular healing ground before the previous Overlord's wife died to a disease that not even this field could heal. Because of that incident, the previous Overlord barred everyone from entering this place, claiming that this field is cursed."
"Wait. What, dood?!", I exclaimed.
Big Sis Prinny laughed and explained that it was a ruse to keep everyone away from here so that the previous Overlord could mourn for his dead wife alone here. I breathed a sigh of relief.
"So why do you have so much faith in the demons, dood? Surely, you must had experienced the kindness of a demon once am I right?", I asked.
"Hmmmmm I wonder~.", Big Sis Prinny mused before standing up and started to walk back to the castle.
I followed her, eager to hear her story.
"It is almost morning. You should get some more rest.", Big Sis Prinny said.
I pouted in disappointment.
She must have eyes at her back as Big Sis Prinny promised, "I promise that I will tell you the rest of my story one day."
Big Sis Prinny started walking away from me and back towards the castle.
After she left, I decided to head back to the Prinny dormitory as well. Even if my mission is finished, I continue my duties as a servant under Lady Etna 24/7. I just hope that I don't have to do another mission anytime soon.
=Black Void= "Back at Square One."
Pitch black.
Despite the amount of time that has passed, this dimension does not change much in appearance.
That is except for the multiple floating images surrounding a figure. Each image displays Chalk's time as a Prinny in perfect detail and in real-time.
From the center of the images, the figure spoke, revealing to be the disembodied voice, spoke, "It seems that you have finally moved the wheels of fate, White Prinny Chalk. What has happened tonight will surely spark the beginnings of a path towards the best future."
[END OF CHAPTER]
{Next Episode Preview}
(In a forest, seven crying Prinnies surround a sleeping Laharl who is laying down in an open casket.)
Chalk: Oh no, dood! Prince Laharl was cursed by the Evil King to fall into an eternal sleep! Is there anyone who is beautiful and awesome enough to help us?!
Etna: It is me! Beauty Princess Etna! With my kiss, the Prince will wake up from true love!
(Laharl quickly raises himself up.)
Laharl: WHAT?! There is absolutely no way I am going to wake up from 'love'! That word disgusts me!
Chalk: No Prince Laharl! You are ruining the show! Also, Princess Etna, what in the world are you holding, dood?!
Etna: Well I did say that I was going use my kiss!
Prinny A: That is a straight-up spear! Are you trying to kill him, dood?!
Laharl: As if she can kill me off with some stupid spear! Remember that I am the one who will become the next Overlord! Ahahahahahaha!
Prinny B: Aaaaaaaaaaaand now he is back to being Lord Laharl, dood.
Etna: My kiss is not some stupid spear! I will make you eat your words twerp!
Laharl: What did you call me?! How about you come a little closer so that I can teach you who you master is?!
(An intense battle occurs in the forest, burning and destroying the foliage.)
Prinny C: Oh, not again, dood!
Big Sister Prinny: Next time on Snow Red! Will Beauty Princess Etna's kiss wake up Prince Laharl from his curse?! Stay tuned!
Chalk: Being a director sucks. I quit, dood.
