Her Favorite Lullaby
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Author's Note of Introduction: Hey, y'all! After years in hiatus, I'm finally back! And yes...I haven't rewritten that last story I wrote yet, I know (for those that don't remember...well, that's probably all of you, but anyway, it's "Voice from the Past," a story that was on its way to completion had my hard drive not fubared itself). I've decided to leave it as is, because my memory of how the story was supposed to go (as well as the various notes and outlines I created) were all either changed or deleted throughout the years, so until I remember or create a suitable storyline for it, I'll leave it as an unfinished project fic. But rest assured, I WILL finish this one (and in the meantime, try to wrap up the bits and pieces of the last one)! Disgaea has become one of my favorite games ever, and I'll be damned if I don't finish this one.
However, this is only a teaser chapter...I want to see if people find the content interesting enough to read. If so, I'll definitely get a move on writing the next few chapters...I've already gotten the outline and plot sequences done on it. So please R&R! I beg of you! bow
Anyway, this starting chapter takes place a couple of years after the Celestian Incident, as most Disgaean players will remember. However, the meat of the story, the next chapters, mainly, take place in Etna's past. I hope to tie in some of the serious, unanswered plot points of the story and expand them, as well as provide some more in-depth info on Etna's background...while still keeping some of the quirky humor Disgaea had. Although I doubt I'll be able to...my take on humor's very juvenile. Anyway, enough of my long-winded rantings. Enjoy!
...And if you got this far down reading my Author's Note, I thank you sincerely from the bottom of my heart. Now...onwards!
Oh...wait. By the way, if this chapter looks different, it is. Apparently, the rough, .txt draft went through instead of the final, .doc draft. Bummer. Now...onwards!
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Chapter 1: Madhouse Memorabilia
"...And so, another day begins in this madhouse. Still...I have to admit, it's pretty quiet for this time of day—"
"I'll get you, you pretzel-popping penguin, you!!"
"DOOD! IT WAS A MISTAKE, DOOD! DOOOOOD!!!!!!"
"...Hrmph. Forget I said anything. Anyway, time to save the day again, my way as usual! Heh heh heh..."
Etna finished writing the last entry of her diary and sneaked out of her secret chamber from the dark bowels of the main hallway of the Overlord's castle, only to have a frazzled Prinny collide into her head-on. Disoriented and annoyed, mostly due to the freezing stone-cold floor on her bare skin (which there was plenty of, especially with her revealing attire from Succubi Sweeties, Thankstaking Issue), Etna stood herself up and death-stared at the Prinny, who quite literally seemed to be at the point of exploding.
"Miss Etna, dood! Help me! The Prince is going nuts, dood!" the Prinny babbled, a terrified look streaking the poor penguin's face as it turned to see its raging pursuer dash ever so closer to mauling the Hell out of it.
"I TOLD YOU, STOP CALLING ME PRINCE! I'M GONNA BEAT YOU DOUBLE FOR THAT!" Prince- er, King Laharl screamed as he gained some more ground towards the Prinny, a spiked club in his hands.
"Dood!! Miss Etna, help me, dood!!! Gya, DOOOOD!!!" the Prinny screamed as Laharl caught up at last and began a swinging frenzy, missing horribly but scaring the Prinny out of its wits nonetheless. "THIS'LL TEACH YOU FOR YOUR PRETZEL-SNATCHING!"
Etna sighed. It was way too early for her to deal with this kind of a problem...the kind so stupid even she had to pause at the utter idiocy of it all. Still...she could have her fun...
"Hey, Prinny."
"Y-yeah, dood?!" the Prinny managed to say before ducking another fatal blow."Go down that corridor. You'll be able to escape there." Etna said, pointing out a dark hallway.
"But-WHOA, DOOD!" The Prinny dodged another blow. "Isn't that...DOOD...a dead-DOOD!-end, dood?" the Prinny squealed, as the Prince continued his clubbing.
"Nah. It's...a secret passage! Yeah, it only opens to Prinny Squad members! Just run towards the wall, the Prince will never be able to get you there!" Etna grinned, flashing her pearly whites, knowing full well that at the end was a concrete wall almost as hard as the Pri- er, King's head.
"Stop calling me Prince! It's KING!" Laharl yelled as he missed yet again.
"O-okay, dood! Doooood!!" the Prinny cried as it ran full on away from misery and towards impending doom.
"E-Etna! Stop helping that traitor! COME BACK HEEEEeeeerre.....!!" Laharl's voice faded as he ran after the fugitive Prinny.
Etna whistled a quirky little tune as she headed towards the Overlord's Throne Room. Fallen Angel Flonne was inside waiting for her, looking lost – well, more lost than usual.
"Etna, have you seen Laharl and a Prinny anywhere? I could swear they were here a moment ago-"
BOOM. Suddenly, the castle shook with a stomach-wrenching ferocity. From the main halls, one could hear the faint, agonized cries of two individuals being drowned out by an ear-splitting explosion.
"Flonne, after all that, do you really need to ask?" Etna grinned – her plan worked. Although Prinnies rarely exploded by merely running into an object, an excitable Prinny running faster than whatever the god intended it to would ignite like a hot Molotov over an open-fire grill. Simply put, Laharl and the Prinny were charcoal for the time being. The thought of it brought giggles to the little devil in Etna.
"Hey, another earthquake! Boy, things sure have gotten fun since those outsiders came!" Manty the Manticore grinned, walking out of the room to find the source of the commotion. Like the rest of the vassals, rare, life-threatening events like explosions, floods, earthquakes, tornadoes, invasions from little green men from the Stellar Graveyard, and etc. proved very fun to the winged lion.
Flonne sighed. "Oh...I was going to tell Laharl that I gave the last black pretzel to the Prinny, since it helped me so well with cleaning up the mess hall. There was only one pretzel in the bag, so I didn't think Laharl would mind...you don't think he got mad at the Prinny, do you?"
"Oh, I'm sure they're fiiine, just fi-," Etna paused. "Wait. You and the Prinny cleaned the mess hall? Is that even possible?" In the Netherworld, some names were taken quite literally, the mess hall being one of them. Demons, after all, weren't known for well-bred mannerisms. Not to mention the fact that the mess hall was a 24-hour dine-in.
"Yup. I just told the demons there that if they left and came back later, I'd promise to give them something good. Gee, I didn't know my love lessons were so popular!" Flonne smiled, thinking of how happy the demons would be when they received their gifts.
Etna smacked her head. Unlike most demon girls, it didn't register to Flonne that most of her success with the demons came from the fact that the Seraph had given her some very sexy (not to mention leggy, another of Flonne's physical strengths) attire when he 'banished' her to the Netherworld. Her bunny-ear style headband and robed-bikini top were the envy and talk of the Netherworld, and her legs gleamed from her robe so noticeably that even the King was wary to be too close around Flonne, lest he mysteriously weaken and cover up his midsection as if sick.
'Sick...right. Maybe that blondie Jennifer DID leave a mark on 'Harlie,' Etna smirked, referring to her buxom bosoms-with-brains comrade of years ago.
Luckily...or unluckily, if you looked at it in another light, the Seraph let her keep her sense of naivete, though Etna still wondered where he got the idea for those clothes...even she was starting to believe his stories of there being no absolute good or evil.
'The Seraph's worse than I give him credit for..." thought Etna. "Good job, Seraph. Probably part of his plan to get Flonne and the Prince to tie the knot... heh heh heh.'
Pondering this as well as other unmentionables, Etna took a seat on the throne and began whistling a tune, with Flonne knitting something on the step in front of it. After a few notes, Flonne found herself whistling the same tune as well. She turned to face Etna.
"Hey Etna? Etna?""Yeah, concubi-I mean, F-Flonne?" Etna stuttered, her mind clearly on something else.
"What's that tune you're singing?" Flonne asked, not hearing the first part of Etna's question.
"Oh, this tune? Just a lullaby," Etna said, whistling again. She hoped Flonne wouldn't dig any deeper.
"Wow, really? Where'd you get it from?" Flonne said, not taking Etna for the lullaby type.
"Long story. Don't feel like mentioning it. Don't bother asking," Etna sighed, whistling again.
She closed her eyes. Her euphoria from getting revenge on the Prince and Prinny was fading, and she didn't like remembering the story behind the song, especially when she wasn't in a happy state. Even in a positive mood, she refrained from talking or even reminiscing about the history behind that song. It was too much of a damper for a fun-loving girl like her.
Yet she couldn't help but do so. Today had stirred some more dormant memories inside her. A false crime. Pretzel-snatching. 'Helping' the Prinny. Tricking the Prince. The Manticore. Another unlikely match-up between two people of different worlds...
Etna opened her eyes, which were unusually moist. Flonne was still sitting on the step, pouting about another secret Etna kept from her. Since years back, when Flonne was 'punished' to become a Fallen Angel, she and Etna became ever-fast friends, often regarding each other as sisters, though Flonne was much more open about it than Etna would ever admit. Still, despite all the things they talked about, Etna would always hold back certain things, things that pained her heart just from the very memory of them. They hurt worse especially after Maderas' brainwashing. Still...it surely couldn't do anymore harm to her if she told someone. The god knew she'd kept it in long enough...besides, Flonne used to be an angel. She wouldn't mock her...
"...Hey. Hey Flonne...?"
And then the memories poured in. All leading to that sad little lullaby...Laharl's Hymn...
How funny that a simple little song could bring such memories back to her.
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Author's Footnote: Thanks for reading...please R&R, constructive criticism most appreciated! #bow#
Hopefully, I'll have the next chapters done week by week, should everything go to plan.
And everyone: Thank you for your reviews!