Disgaea: A New Overlord
And now my readers, I present to you the fourth chapter in my Director's Cut of Disgaea: A New Overlord. I've had a lot of free time to work on this project, and it feels good to bring you quality work. I hope to continue not to disappoint. Now let's not hold this up any longer!
Chapter 4: Proper Placement?
Back at the overlord's castle, Jennifer had just about finished giving Laharl the talk.
"And that's where babies come from. You understand now, Harlie?" Jennifer asked gently.
"Yes, I understand! Just don't tell me anymore! It's too much!" Laharl pleaded, having since been curled up in the fetal position.
"I know it's a lot to take in at once but, as a growing boy, you should know how to deal with these situations."
"Alright! Just don't go on with this anymore!"
"Oh Harlie, come on now. It couldn't have been that bad. Besides, there's still more to know. I mean, if you're going to ever be comfortable with this kind of thing, you should know all you possibly can. Like how to please a woman. If you want, I can tell you about that too."
"No! I'll read a book or something! Just stop talking!" Laharl yelled.
"I know more than a book does. Being a woman myself, I can tell you way more than…" Jennifer was cut short by Laharl, who had already reached his breaking point some time ago.
"I don't wanna know any of this! Especially not coming from you! It was a giant misunderstanding! Now get away from me!"
"I understand. You need time to let all of this sink in. I'll go for now. But if you have any other questions, just come find me. Okay Harlie?" Jennifer cocked her head to the side in that perky manner she had when she delivered her question.
"Yes. Whatever. Thank you. Now would you go away?" Laharl retorted; his patience and mental capacity completely exhausted.
Jennifer smiled and walked away. She stopped and turned back to look at Laharl. She smiled as she thought about all the time she had spent with him and how he acted throughout. She thought about the angry outbursts he was prone to, but deep down she believed that Laharl harbored the same kind of love for her that she harbored for him. Laharl was like Jennifer's little brother, and in her mind, nothing could change that. She chuckled to herself and left Laharl to his own devices. Laharl, after a few minutes, finally emerged from the fetal position and returned to his feet. His head still hurt from the complete overdose of information he had to suffer.
"Humans are absolutely sick. It's pure insanity!" Laharl thought aloud to himself.
Laharl dusted himself off and inhaled deeply, letting it out in one big breath. It didn't really help to restore his fried nerves, but it was enough to give him some pseudo-calm for the time being. At this moment, Flonne and Etna had entered the throne room. They approached Laharl, who remained stone faced at the sight of the two of them.
"Well, don't you have anything to say to her, Prince?" Etna asked, her eyes focused intently on Laharl.
"Not really. Why?" Laharl still refused to believe that this entire situation was his fault. He felt he had nothing to apologize for.
"Well how about an apology for starters? You did violate the poor girl." Etna replied curtly. She didn't expect Laharl to extend an apology so easily, but she was very displeased at the flippant manner he was taking to the situation.
"I didn't do it on purpose. I've been trying to explain that to you but neither of you have been giving me the chance. And besides, if there's anyone who owes anybody an apology, you two owe me one. Do you know what I had to sit through because of you?" Laharl said with disgust. The whole ordeal still sent shivers down his spine. On top of this, it was no secret that Laharl believed apologizing to a vassal was beneath and overlord. And even though Flonne wasn't his vassal per se, he still treated her as such.
"We owe you an apology?! How do you figure that?!" Etna demanded.
"I don't need to explain myself. You shouldn't even be questioning my judgment. I'm an overlord, and you're my vassal. As my vassal, it is your job to abide by my judgment and serve me loyally and without question." In truth, Laharl was dancing around having to repeat the talk with Jennifer again. He didn't want to rehash the experience, even if he were to be the one telling it. He had an air of confidence as he said it though, which showed his capability as an overlord.
"But…but…" Tears began to gather in the corner of Flonne's eyes. The tears choked the sentence in her throat. She was on the verge of crying, even though she had just only recently finished a crying fit.
Laharl took notice to this and experienced something that he rarely ever did. Regret. Indeed, the mighty overlord Laharl had felt a pang of regret gather in his stomach. Laharl swallowed his pride (which proved to be a task in and of itself) and delivered an improvised apology.
"I'm sorry. I'm sorry that I…did what I did. And I'm sorry about what I said too." Laharl delivered the line completely deadpan. He didn't even believe his own apology. But for Flonne, it was enough. She smiled meekly and opened her arms.
"Thank you, Laharl. Come here." Flonne said, her arms remaining open.
"Why? And why do you have your arms spread like that?" Laharl scratched the back of his head, confused as to how Flonne was acting. He couldn't understand her for the life of him.
"To give you a hug." Flonne said cheerily. She said it as though it were the simplest thing in the world to understand. Mainly because, well for her, it was.
"A hug? What are you talking about?" Laharl asked. He had probably been hugged a time or two in the past but couldn't remember because affection wasn't something he was used to.
"You don't know what a hug is?" Flonne asked with surprise. She drew her arms back to her sides and thought about how she would explain it. "Well you see, when people have a fight and make up, they sometimes embrace each other as a show of good will. It's a sign of affection."
Laharl stared at her for a moment. He looked her up and down before he responded.
"Affection, huh? Well, thanks but no thanks. I think I'll pass." Laharl replied.
"You mean…you don't want to hug me? Now I feel sad…" Flonne wasn't really upset this time.
She knew Laharl was going to do something like this. She expected resistance but was determined to make him show affection. She figured that the only way it would be possible is to guilt him into it. Using guilt to her advantage was something she picked up during her time in the demon world. She covered her face with her hands and made quiet sobbing noises.
"Are you crying? Again?! Why? You just stopped crying! Cut it out!" Laharl demanded. Flonne responded by sobbing louder. "It's not gonna work, Flonne. You're not going to guilt me into doing this, so you can just stop now." Laharl said coldly.
Anyone who knew her knew that Flonne wasn't the kind to give up so easily. She decided to up the ante and make herself look as sad as conceivably possible. She dropped down to her knees, placed her face on the floor, and made herself cry so that the tears could be visibly seen spreading across the floor. She figured that if this didn't get him to hug her, nothing would. Even she thought she looked pitiful right now. She felt like giving herself a hug.
"Why are you making this such a big deal? Demons don't do affection. So stop crying already." Laharl watched for a minute as Flonne continued to cry. "Flonne? I said you can stop. Really, stop. It's annoying. Come on!" Laharl shouted.
Laharl and Etna watched as Flonne still continued to make herself cry. She was about to give up since she could only fake so many tears. Her stomach was beginning to hurt from all the effort she was putting into making herself look pitiful. Etna had since become tired of the show and was annoyed with Laharl's stubborn attitude.
"For Krichevskoy's sake, Prince! Do you have to make everything so freakin' difficult?! Just hug her already and shut her up! It's like you have nothing better to do than make her cry. She's cried enough tears to require her own dam in the time that she's known you. I'm surprised she's not waterlogged already." Etna remarked with annoyance.
"Alright already! Give it a rest! I'll give you a hug!" If there was one thing that Laharl hated, it was the sound of Flonne crying.
Flonne shot up from the floor and the tears immediately stopped. She outstretched her arms and grinned widely, taking satisfaction in being the winner of this little game. Laharl approached and gave her a weak, half-hearted embrace, hoping that would be enough. Flonne drew him in and squeezed him tightly. It was then that she felt unfamiliar warmth in her chest. She had never experienced something like this before. She felt happy just to have Laharl holding her, to have his body near hers. She was always happy whenever Laharl managed to show compassion, but not like this.
"Aww, isn't the wittle pwince so cute?" Etna chimed in with condescending baby talk, totally killing the moment.
Laharl snapped out of the embrace immediately and crossed his arms in front of his chest.
"I am not cute! I did that just so she would stop crying! And who are you to speak to me like that anyway?!" Laharl demanded. Once again, his pride had gotten in the way of his softer side. Flonne remained standing there, still awestruck, trying to make sense of what it was she just felt.
"Geez, calm down Prince, I was only playing with you." Etna laughed.
"How about we focus on the matter at hand? Like the whole thing with the prinny?" Laharl snapped defensively.
"Well what do you expect me to do about it? You're the overlord. You should be the one making these decisions." Etna retorted.
"You think I don't know that?" He really didn't. "I just figured I would get your opinions about this first. Any overlord with half a brain would do the same."
"Oh yeah, you've got half a brain alright, Prince." Etna replied sarcastically.
"Thank y-HEY! That was a cheap shot!" Laharl whined.
Flonne chuckled quietly to herself at Etna's joke. It was more aimed toward Laharl's reaction than the joke itself.
"Just having a little more fun with you is all, Prince. I meant no offense…entirely." Etna smiled widely. She'd always treated Laharl like this, knowing that he wouldn't waste his most loyal vassal. At least in her mind anyway.
"You're not supposed to be having fun! You're supposed to be helping me!"
"So what exactly are you thinking about doing, anyway?" Flonne inquired. Having already used her good-idea-per-month already to guilt Laharl, her ideas from here on out were essentially useless.
"I don't even know anymore. I'm coming up blank. Any ideas, Etna?" Laharl rubbed his temples while he spoke.
"Well, we obviously can't use a prinny again. It'd probably end up making the same stupid mistake again anyway. Well…I got it!" Etna exclaimed gleefully.
"Well, spill it." Laharl demanded impatiently.
"We can use a scout! They're supposed to be good at finding stuff anyway. I wonder why we didn't do that in the first place…"
"Good idea. But just for the record, it was your idea to use the prinnies in the first place. "They need the exercise" you said. Now anyway, go assign one of the scouts to this job. As for me, I'll be in my room trying to regain my high score that someone stupidly destroyed. Let me know if you need me." Laharl clearly focused his words at Etna, and then turned on a heel and walked away.
Meanwhile, in the Human World, Miroku had started to see Chiaki's form appear before him in his mad dash to pursue her. He was already out of breath and could feel his legs throbbing just slightly from the repeated impacts on the street but he forced himself to hold it together a little longer in order to catch up to her.
"Chiaki! Wait a second! Hold on, dammit!" Miroku called out as he closed in on her.
Chiaki slowed to a stop, her back still facing Miroku. She didn't turn around while she waited for him. She didn't say or do anything, for that matter. She simply waited for him in silence. Miroku stopped alongside her and hunched over to pause for a minute and catch his breath.
"I finally caught up to you. You run pretty fast when you've got a head start." Miroku joked, trying to break the ice. The only laughter he heard was from his own nervous reaction.
"What do you want? I have nothing else to say to you. I don't want anything else to do with you." Chiaki said coldly.
"Look, I'm sorry I didn't believe you about the penguin…"
"Prinny. It's called a prinny." Chiaki interrupted.
"Alright. I'm sorry I didn't believe you about the prinny. I just find it hard to believe in stuff like that. But I am truly sorry." Miroku offered sincerely.
"And? What else are you sorry for?" Chiaki waited impatiently.
Miroku breathed a deep sigh. He couldn't believe that he expected something he saw on TV to work. He much less wanted to entertain the fact that Chiaki was going to make him verbalize what it was he did. He hung his head down and spoke indirectly to her.
"I'm really sorry…I kissed you like that. I just needed you to stop crying for two seconds. But it was my own stupidity that made me handle it like that." Miroku explained.
"I know. But I still don't think I can forgive you for that." Chiaki crossed her arms under her breasts, but underneath her stony exterior, she was starting to lower her guard.
"I didn't expect you to. I'm not even asking you to. I just wanted to apologize. I wasn't thinking." Miroku stood erect and looked at Chiaki.
"I can tell. But I guess with time I can forgive you. Under a few conditions though." Chiaki said with authority.
"Conditions? Like what?" Miroku asked, sounding a bit confused.
"First off, you can't make fun of me anymore. Secondly, you have to at least hear me out when I speak to you. Don't just assume that it's something I'm coming up with off the top of my head. And lastly, you'll have to promise that you'll at least take my feelings into consideration next time. I…sorta kinda wanted to kiss you…but not like that." Chiaki muttered the last part, so Miroku could barely hear her.
"What was that last part?"
"Oh, n-no-nothing! I just said that you have to take my feelings into consideration next time." Chiaki stammered.
Miroku didn't even have to think twice. Chiaki had been his friend since they were little kids. He'd do anything if it meant keeping her friendship. He smiled widely and extended his hand to Chiaki.
"Then I accept your conditions. I'll make sure that next time I don't act as tactless as I did just now." Miroku replied with a nervous laugh.
"Then you're forgiven."
Chiaki took Miroku's hand and gave it a firm shake as a sign of good will between them. As though it had never happened in the first place, the two friends were back on good terms with each other.
"So…where do go from here?" Miroku asked, putting his hands back in his pockets.
"Back to the Occult Zone, of course. You said you'd help me get my money back. You haven't changed your mind now, have you?"
"Nah, no way. I'll make sure you get back every penny you spent."
"Well then we'd better get moving. The store closes in another hour."
Miroku and Chiaki exchanged a quick smile and then headed off for the bus stop. As it seemed, luck was on their side as the bus showed up fairly quickly (which came as a big surprise to them both since this particular bus always ran late) and whisked them off in the direction of the mall. In a matter of moments, the pair had reached the small occult shop near the mall. It seemed so out of place. It was a small little store situated dead center between two large department stores, leaving this awkward looking gap of empty space between the buildings.
"This is the place?" Miroku asked with disbelief.
"Uh-huh. The Occult Zone has been here for like…forever. And it seems to have lasted longer than any of the other stores that end up being built on either side of it."
"You mean people actually shop here besides you? Who would wanna buy that junk?"
"Shush. Now come in and get my money back for me." Chiaki grabbed Miroku by his wrist and dragged him into the store with her.
Miroku looked around the oddly decorated shop, wondering why anyone would have the compulsion to buy some of the stuff that was being sold here. However, he also noticed the complete lack of customers, making him wonder how this place had lasted so long.
"It looks like no one's here…" Chiaki thought aloud, looking around. "Maybe the shop keeper is in the back?"
While Miroku and Chiaki pondered the location of the shop inhabitants, back in the Netherworld, Etna was briefing a scout on his newly appointed mission.
"Now then, do you have any questions or anything you need me to repeat?" Etna inquired.
"No, Ma'am!" The scout barked in military style.
"Good, because I wasn't planning on repeating myself anyway, so you'd be out of luck if you needed it. Now get moving."
The scout took a step forward, turned on a heel and saluted Etna, and then spun around once more and proceeded through the Dimension Gate where the approximate coordinates of the Mana Index had been last found. Etna exited the room and walked into the main hallway where the four wings of the Overlord's Castle met. She took a left and headed around the corner and back into the throne room where Laharl waited for her with a bored expression painting his face. Etna approached the throne and stared at Laharl for a minute, to which he responded by staring back as well.
"You know, a loyal vassal usually bows to their overlord when appearing before him." Laharl explained flatly, a hint of disdain tinting his voice.
"Yeah well, I don't feel like bowing. So it looks like you're up the creek. I didn't do it when your dad was Overlord so I don't see any reason why I should start now." Etna fired back with her trademark sass.
"And that's probably why you're so disobedient. My old man was way too lenient. How he ever became overlord is beyond me. But he's not the overlord anymore. So the next time I say bow, you will bow." Laharl insisted pompously. "Are we clear?"
"Yeah, right away, Prince. I got ya loud and clear. Now then, I just sent the scout out to the last known coordinates of the index. Seeing as how I've done my part for the day, I'm gonna go lie down now. So if you need anything…ask someone else."
"You should work on that attitude of yours while you're at it. I've killed demons for less, you know. But whatever, you can leave now." Laharl waved his hand, cueing Etna to leave.
Etna made a 180 and headed back to her room. Laharl, after watching Etna leave, hopped down off his throne and surveyed the lavish hall that was the throne room. Despite all the power and wealth, as well as the right to do as he pleased since he was the overlord, Laharl oftentimes found himself very bored in recent days. He missed the competitive rush of killing opposition to the throne. Though it was a nuisance to him at the time, Laharl came to miss the constant fighting and attempts on his life. Walking out towards his room, Laharl's footsteps came to an immediate halt when he heard a familiar voice calling out to him.
"Laharl! Wait, Laharl!" It was Flonne. She hurried her way over to him.
"Oh dear god…what could she want now?" Despite his better judgment/desire, Laharl waited for Flonne to reach him.
Flonne stopped beside Laharl and took a second to catch her breath before she stood straight and smiled cheerfully at Laharl.
"Hi, Laharl."
"Flonne…what do you want?" Laharl asked in a somewhat sing-song tone. The kind one would use when they're trying to keep from yelling.
"I just wanted to see what you were up to." Flonne replied honestly.
"Well, I'm not up to anything. I'm kinda bored, so I've got nothing better to do. I was probably just gonna go to sleep or something." Laharl's eyebrow (as well as his 'antennae') arched in suspicion. "Why do you wanna know?"
Flonne had never asked Laharl what he was up to before. So why would she choose to start now? Laharl suspected an ulterior motive. But considering it was coming from Flonne, he didn't expect much.
"Just asking. I came to the Netherworld for a visit, but Gordon is busy doing your laundry, Jennifer is out shopping, Thursday is rebooting himself, and Etna just went to go take a nap. So I've got no one to spend time with. So I was hoping that maybe we could spend some time together."
"Why would you wanna spend time with me anyway? You never wanted to before. So why start now?" Laharl crossed his arms, and his antennae sagged a little, keying his disinterest in the subject.
"Yes I did! But you always said you were busy, or you had important overlord stuff to do. But seeing as how you're not busy…"
"Who says I'm not busy? I didn't." Laharl interjected, cutting Flonne off.
"But you did. You just said you've got nothing better to do and that you were going to go to sleep. That means you're not busy." Advantage: Flonne. She had trapped Laharl right where she wanted him. He had no possible excuse not to spend time with her now.
"But I…I mean …I have to…" Laharl sputtered, realizing he had just been caught in his own lie.
"Nope. Not gonna work. It's settled. We're going to spend the day together." Flonne smiled widely, since she had never spent time with Laharl per se.
"But I never agreed to that!" Laharl exclaimed.
"But you never said no, either." Flonne answered back without missing a beat.
"Now you're just twisting the situation around!" Laharl groaned.
"Why are you fighting me so much? What is it with you today? I came all this way to see you and…and…" Flonne's voice began to crack, and her eyes got all puffy and moist with tears. Only this time, they were genuine, not improvised.
"All what way? The dimensional gate takes all of 4 seconds to work!" Laharl rationalized.
"But I just…I just…I wanted to spend time with yooooouuuu!" Flonne's sobs and heaves erupted into full blown tears.
"NO! Not this again! No more! This is too many times!" Laharl declared with frustration.
As if Laharl's embarrassment were a flame to moths, the once empty throne room was now filled with vassals who stared at the display.
"Oooh, he made her cry." A Nekotama pointed out.
"Again? That's three times already, isn't it? It hasn't even been 45 minutes since the last one." Dratti pointed out, looking at his humorously oversized watch.
"He's not too good with the ladies, is he?" Zommie observed.
Laharl looked around and noticed all his vassals scrutinizing his current predicament. As was expected, he didn't take too kindly to this.
"What the hell are you all doing STANDING AROUND?! DON'T YOU ALL HAVE JOBS YOU SHOULD BE DOING?! GET BACK TO WORK BEFORE I BEAT EACH AND EVERY LAST ONE OF YOU TO DEATH!" Laharl roared.
The vassals scattered at an incredible rate, leaving smoke trails in their wake and whipping up small tailwinds that sent tiny papers fluttering across the floor. Now, once again, the throne room was empty; save of course for the flustered Laharl and the despaired Flonne. Laharl, wanting to keep the situation more contained, grabbed Flonne by her wrist and led her into his room, where he shut and locked the door tightly.
"Now you look here! You can't start crying every time you feel sad! You just have to suck it up, stop being a wuss, and go on with your day! You can't just come around here and disturb me and my vassals on a whim!" Laharl chastised loudly. However, this really served no purpose or solution, as it only succeeded in making Flonne cry harder (which was seemingly impossible by any standards) because now she was being yelled at. Flonne sobbed deeply, and then partially dried her eyes. For the first time, there was actually hatred in her vision. And it was all directed at Laharl.
"Why are you being so cruel?! I didn't do anything to merit being treated like this! All I wanted to do was spend a little time with you because I hadn't seen you in a while! I thought you might've changed! I thought we might've been friends! But you haven't changed! You're still just a big jerk! You still hate me! Well you know what Laharl?! I hate you!" Flonne screamed. Her emotions erupted as she finally reached her breaking point and her sadness became rage.
Flonne shoved Laharl as hard as she could, knocking him off of his feet. She turned around and burst of out of his room, leaving him sitting on the floor, awestricken. Laharl had never seen Flonne that angry or hurt before. He didn't think she had it in her to yell at him like that.
"Well, at least she's outta my hair now." Laharl muttered as he stood up and dusted himself off. "She's someone else's headache now."
Laharl sat down on his couch and looked around the room for a moment, as if idly surveying the room to ascertain that he was alone. Shrugging his shoulders, Laharl reached under the couch and pulled out a small black box from underneath. Laharl kept this box as a reminder of his greatness, which really meant it was a bunch of trinkets and such he took from his dispatched opponents as war trophies. He rummaged through the small box and pulled forth a photograph that had been hidden at the bottom of the box, covered by all the smaller items within. It was a photo that he and the rest of his "friends" had taken before Flonne returned to Celestia. When Laharl gazed upon the picture, he saw something that horrified him, and at the same time, made him happy. In the photo, he realized that he was smiling. He gazed over the picture in awe, as though he hadn't looked upon it for quite some time. He almost didn't remember that he had the photo, let alone that he was smiling in it. Flonne stood beside him, hugging him tightly, with her big, overjoyed grin. Laharl, rather than fighting her, simply smiled as Flonne held onto him.
"Why…why am I smiling? What's with this stupid picture? I don't smile! Not for things like that! Damn it! Damn it all to Hell!" Laharl threw down the box and the photo and ran out of his room.
Speeding through the throne room, Laharl burst into the main hallway and took a right turn at the very end of the stairwell and hurried into the exposition lobby, which contained the hospital, dark assembly, Rosenqueen Netherworld Branch store, and the dimensional gate for the Overlord's Castle.
"I don't even know why the heck I give a damn about what she does. And yet here I am, chasing her down. I must be a fool…" Laharl approached the dimensional gatekeeper. "Did you see Flonne come through here?" Laharl demanded.
"Yes. She wanted to go to Jotunheim. She looked sad, so I let her through." The dimensional gatekeeper replied in a monotone manner.
"What in the world did you do that for?!" Laharl exclaimed, his antennae standing on end.
"It seemed important. I did not want to delay her."
"That idiot…" Laharl muttered with a clenched fist. "She's going to get herself killed. And I actually care. She's more trouble than she's worth."
Laharl pushed past the dimensional gatekeeper and was soon brought to the freezing land of Jotunheim. He looked down near his feet and saw the small dainty footprints that undoubtedly belonged to Flonne. She couldn't have been gone long if the falling snow hadn't already covered her tracks. As he was tracing the path of the footsteps, the silent sounds of snow crunching beneath his feet was interrupted by a harsh, feminine cry.
"Help! Someone, please help me!" The voice cried out urgently.
Laharl recognized the voice instantly and bolted off in the direction of the pleas for help. He had arrived just in time no less. Flonne had been cornered by a group of zombies and a Fafnir which apparently worked as the de facto leader of the motley crew. Flonne didn't have her staff, her bow, or any other weapon on her for that matter. He surmised that she must've left her things in Etna's room when she was taken there earlier. Feeling a sense of responsibility that he rarely experienced, Laharl drew his blade and announced his presence to Flonne's assailants loudly and clearly.
"Back away from the girl now, you lowlifes! This is a direct order from the current reigning overlord! Should you refuse to obey my command, you will be eradicated!" Laharl bellowed in a regal tone befitting of a true overlord.
"The current reigning overlord, eh? Well I don't care who you are. You're gonna be a pile of ash when I'm done with you." The Fafnir turned his head and spit a small ball of flame into the snow in a show of bravado. White steam rose up from the ground as the intense ball of heat collided with the freezing snow.
"You have the audacity to threaten your overlord? You'll have to be properly punished!" Laharl jumped skyward and held his blade up high.
Heaving the blade down with every ounce of strength in him, Laharl executed a Dimension Sword attack that sliced the Fafnir, and the ground it was standing on, clean in two. The remaining zombies looked at one another and then tried to flee. But as Laharl landed back on the ground, he dispatched all three of them with a single Blade Rush technique. The once proud group was dispatched in an instant, and all that remained was the gash in the ground, left by the Dimension Sword, and some haphazardly strewn about bandages that fell from the zombies when they were dealt with. Laharl banished his blade and approached Flonne.
"Laharl…" Flonne's voice uttered in a breathy whisper.
The young angel watched in awe as Laharl approached her, looking less like a demonic overlord and more like some legend inspired antihero. She remembered what had happened at the Overlord's Castle and wanted desperately to stay mad at him, but she found that she couldn't. She was too happy just to see that Laharl had come back from her. Laharl stood above her and cast his gaze downward on her as she sat in the snow. Tears of joy began to silently fall down Flonne's cheeks, and Laharl reached out his hand and wiped her cheeks gently.
"What did I tell you before? This crying stuff has to stop." Laharl said coolly as he offered Flonne his hand.
"Why did you come back for me?" Flonne inquired timidly as she warily took his hand.
"I don't know." Laharl replied simply as he pulled Flonne to her feet. "I didn't want to at first. But the next thing I know, I'm out here killing those weaklings."
"I see. So you didn't come because…"
"Because what? What were you gonna say?" Laharl insisted, wanting to know the sentence that had gone unfinished.
Flonne said nothing. She simply stared at Laharl for a moment. She hadn't actually stopped and taken notice before, but in her absence, Laharl had gotten taller. Whereas he was once the shortest in their little group, Laharl now stood a decent height above Flonne. She gazed into his eyes for a moment and saw something she thought she'd never see: she saw a glimmer of compassion in Laharl's cold eyes. Though his face said he didn't care, his eyes showed that he was genuinely concerned about Flonne. She felt a small smile creep up onto the corners of her lips. She closed her eyes and leaned forward, kissing Laharl gently on the lips.
"Never mind. It's nothing. Can you take me back now? It's cold here." Flonne responded as she pulled back from Laharl.
Laharl remained, stunned by Flonne's actions. He didn't speak. He didn't even really react. Laharl simply took Flonne's hand and led her back to the dimensional gate. The two walked in silence through the icy, barren landscape of Jotunheim. Upon arrival to the Overlord's Castle, Laharl released Flonne's hand and headed back for his room. As he was doing so, he happened to pass by Etna, who noticed the hollow look in his eyes.
"Hey Prince. Did something happen? You seem kinda…out of it."
"Could I get back to you later? I don't really feel like talking right now." Laharl replied, being uncharacteristically calm and laid back. Laharl continued past Etna and into the throne room, where he shut the doors tightly behind him.
"What's up with him? He's not normally so…subdued. Did someone break the Prince?"
Etna continued on her way to the exposition lobby. Encountering Flonne during her trip, Etna realized she was walking around in a haze of sorts. Etna approached Flonne from behind and tapped her on the shoulder in order to gain her attention.
"Hey Flonne, what's up? You seem even more lost than usual."
"Oh…Etna. I'm fine. I'm just feeling…really happy." Flonne replied with a dreamy smile. In her mind, she was playing over Laharl's valiant rescue and the kiss she shared with him.
Etna immediately correlated Flonne's behavior with the Prince's attitude, though she didn't quite know how the two interplayed. All she knew was that one had something to do with the other. This much she was certain of.
"Is it just me, or has everyone gone through a major mood swing during my nap?" Etna wondered to herself.
"Was there anything else you needed, Etna?" Flonne asked, still in her dreamy state.
"Well there is one small thing. Did something happen to the Prince while I was asleep? He seemed really lackluster, and he just went and holed up in the Throne Room."
"Really?" Flonne snapped out of her haze and focused on Etna clearly now.
"Yeah. I went to bed for a little while, and when I woke up, I passed by the Prince just now and he was looking really…blah."
"Well…" Flonne told Etna the whole story of what had happened, omitting the part about the kiss for fear of Etna's reaction. Though Etna showed little to no interest in Laharl, she was still worried that Etna might be a bit protective over him.
"Wow. So the Prince went through the all the trouble of going to save you after the two of you had an argument. That's so…not like him at all." Etna remarked with her often displayed sarcasm. "Regardless, I can't stop to worry about that right now. I have bigger fish to fry, like the scout's progress. I'll see ya later Flonne. I have some things to do. If you get a chance, try and find out what's up with the Prince and see why he's acting so weird."
Etna turned on a heel and returned to the main hallway as she made her way to the newly added communications room. The communications room was made out of the salvaged remains of EDF technology when they tried to raid the Netherworld. It actually proved to be quite useful, and also wielded great commercial value since the technology could be analyzed and mass produced. The door to the technology room slid open as Etna approached and the sounds of beeping and electronic tones could be heard emanating in steady rhythm. Donning a headset, Etna turned to frequency 141.92 and opened a communication line.
"Geo 1, do you read? Repeat, Geo 1, do you read me?"
"Coming in loud and clear, OC. Over." The scout replied back, answering Etna's hails.
"Geo 1, how is progress going on finding the Index?"
"OC, I have confirmed the location of the Index. I have found the two individuals who are carrying it and I'm in pursuit as we speak. Target number one is male, and target number two is female. They appear to be about the same age. They've entered a shop of some sort."
"Two people? The prinny said there was only one." Etna muttered under her breath.
"What was the OC? That last transmission was kind of muffled, over."
"It's nothing. Just hold your position and keep me informed." Etna ordered.
"Roger."
Back in the Human World, the scout watched silently from outside the store as Chiaki and Miroku continued looking around. Miroku turned and looked directly at the building where the scout was watching from and stared at it for a moment. Chiaki, noticing Miroku's sudden behavior, turned as well and looked at the building.
"What is it? Is something wrong?" Chiaki asked, not being able to see anything out of the ordinary.
"I don't know. I could just swear that we were being watched."
"You're probably just being paranoid. Don't worry about it and come with me." Chiaki took Miroku by the wrist and walked him to the back of the store.
"Yeah, you're probably right…" Miroku pondered for a moment longer before he finally turned his gaze away from the building.
Miroku and Chiaki continued to search the oddly proportioned shop in hopes of finding the owner. While small in appearance on the outside, the shop seemed twice as big once inside. It was what gave the building its odd atmosphere, in addition to the wares that were being sold. While investigating the interior of the building, Miroku happened across an old bell. It looked like it hadn't been used in quite some time, but he figured that nothing could hurt at this point. He picked up and bell and shook it a few times. An ill-fitting ethereal chorus permeated from the bell, and an orb of intense light floated out from the interior of the bell, summoning Chiaki's attention. She hurried to Miroku's side, curious as to what he had just done, and watched as the ball floated around in accordance with the mysterious music before finally the light slowly died down and took the form of a young woman with long blonde hair, garbed in a flowing blue dress.
"You have called for me?" The young woman asked politely.
"Yeah…I guess. You wouldn't happen to be the owner of this store by any chance, would you?" Miroku inquired, placing the bell back down on the counter beside him.
"Yes, I am. Well, I am for the time being, anyway."
"Chiaki, you told me that the owner of the store was an old woman, not this lovely young lady." Miroku remarked with a flattering charm. He smiled at the shopkeeper as he spoke.
"Put your tongue back in your head, Miroku." Chiaki scolded, rolling her eyes at her friend's behavior.
"You're quite a charmer, and very handsome too. I don't think I've ever seen you in here before. I would've remembered a face like that." The shopkeeper replied, completely ignoring Chiaki's existence as she continued her repartee with Miroku.
"Well, this is my first time in this shop."
"So what is it that you require?"
"I bought this indicator yesterday, but it doesn't work." Chiaki explained with aggravation as she pushed past Miroku. One of Chiaki's biggest pet peeves was being ignored.
"Well do you know what the problem is?" The woman questioned as she took the indicator from Chiaki and looked it over.
"If I did, I wouldn't very well be here, would I? Now, where is the previous owner of the store and who exactly are you? I didn't see you here yesterday."
"The previous owner of the store has left to travel the world in search of new valuables for the shop. She has left the store in my care while she is away. I am her daughter, Mimiru."
"Well maybe you can tell me what's wrong with this thing then."
"Hmm…" Mimiru continued to observe the device for a minute before she finally located the source of the problem. "Ah, I see."
"Well?" Chiaki asked impatiently. The only reason she was in such a mood is because as she looked back, she realized that Miroku had not taken his eyes Mimiru since she appeared before them.
"The device has no Arc Crystal. It's just like mother to forget to give you one when she sold this to you. But fear not; I believe I have a spare around here somewhere." Mimiru stated as she browsed the shelves behind her.
"An Arc Crystal? What exactly is that?"
"An Arc Crystal is an essential tool for a Netherworld item such as this to even work in the Human World. Ah!"
"You found a spare?" Chiaki asked hopefully.
"Yes but…I can't quite reach it." Mimiru replied with embarrassment. For while she had located a spare Arc Crystal, it was located on the top shelf and she wasn't tall enough to get it down on her own without assistance.
"I can get it down for you if you'd like." Miroku offered.
"Could you, please?"
Miroku nodded and stepped over to the shelf Mimiru was examining. He stood on his toes and used his long reach to pull down a black ornate box with blue gems embedded in it. All the while, Mimiru watched Miroku somewhat intensely, focused in particular on how Miroku's semi-athletic frame was highlighted when he stretched to his full height in reaching for the box.
"You could put your eyes back in your head now…" Chiaki thought cattily to herself as she watched Mimiru's unflinching gaze on Miroku.
"Is this what you were talking about?" Miroku asked as he handed the box to Mimiru.
"Yes, that's it. Thank you."
Mimiru opened the box and revealed its contents to Miroku and Chiaki. Inside, a small crystal shone with a dim fluorescent purple glow as a small amethyst colored flame swirled around inside.
"So how is this supposed to get my indicator to work?" Chiaki inquired, intrigued by the mysterious gem.
"You simply place the crystal in this chamber here and it works in a similar manner to a battery. The inherent mana power stored within is converted to a form of energy that's reminiscent of electricity in our world and it powers the device." Mimiru explained as she fitted the Mana Index with the crystal.
The indicator hummed with a low pitch as it came to life. Eventually, as the machine reached peak operating power, the humming died down and became a soft chiming noise that echoed periodically in the small store. Mimiru handed the device back to Chiaki.
"Try it now."
Chiaki, seeing now that the device was working, became a little nervous. She never stopped to consider that maybe something bad might happen since she was using a Netherworld item in the Human World. She decided she needed a guinea pig. And who better to serve as her test subject than her loyal friend Miroku?
"Seeing as how you were going to be the first one to test it out anyway, come here and try it out Miroku." Chiaki beckoned Miroku to her side, playing off her fear as simple intrigue and pseudo-generosity in giving Miroku first shot at the Index.
He walked over to her and held out his wrist knowingly. As she had done before, Chiaki fastened the device to Miroku's wrist and secured the strap. The needle rolled in a complete circle again, but rather than simply stopping like before, a small clear orb of energy sprang forth from the device and gave a numerical representation of his mana power, as well as what his most befitting placement would be in the Netherworld hierarchy. Chiaki, Mimiru, and Miroku stared in amazement at the stellar results of his scan.
"I don't believe it. This says that your inherent mana power ranks over twenty-two million. Your most fitting placement would be an overlord, the highest position of power within the Netherworld." Mimiru explained as she read off Miroku's results.
"Him? This closed-minded fool? If he's got that much mana power in him, that I should be exceptional." Chiaki voiced her inner thoughts aloud as she removed the Index from Miroku's wrist.
She took it and fastened the strap to her own wrist and waited as the needle made it's full circle and produced the luminescent orb once more. Although it seemed more like wishful thinking at the time, Chiaki was indeed exceptional. Where Miroku had stood with over twenty-two million mana points, Chiaki's results stated that she ranked well over twenty-five million. The trio's jaws all dropped in unison at the unbelievable results of Chiaki's indication.
"This is unprecedented. To have two overlords standing right beside one another within the Human World is unbelievable."
"See? I told you I'd be more powerful. You're too closed-minded, Miroku."
"Well, actually, how open or closed your mind is really has nothing to do with it. Mana power can be more accurately described not as magic, but as sheer force of will. A person's level of determination also factors out just how strong their mana can be. While a person can have an exceptional mana ranking, it is their force of will that decides whether or not they can draw out the full potential of its power." Mimiru explained, seeming more knowledgeable on the matter than she initially let on.
"I see. So even a person with a low mana ranking can have powerful mana?" Chiaki asked, removing the device and placing it within her bag once more.
"No, it doesn't work that way. Although I did say that force of will determines the strength of one's mana, the level of the power has a limit. A level cap, if you will. This 'cap' determines how powerful a person's mana can become if they are able to draw out its full potential. However, this 'cap' isn't permanent. It can go up with experience and training, as well as through the use of special items that can be found scattered throughout the Netherworld."
"I see. So barring any mistakes, Chiaki and I could very well be two of the most powerful entities in the Netherworld?" Miroku inquired, suddenly becoming very interested in this subject.
"In theory, yes. Make no mistake, there is no single Netherworld. Rather, there are a vast number of Netherworlds through the universe. In fact, you can even think of our world as an alternate Netherworld. This indicator just gives you a representation of how strong your mana would be in a place where you can expend it. Our world doesn't exactly have the right properties in order for a person to willingly use their mana. Not easily anyway. Also, there are many other overlords throughout the various Netherworlds, and they're either as strong as, or even stronger than you. Especially considering that since they've lived in an environment where they could freely use their mana, their mana may very well already be at the apex of its power for their level of experience."
"I see…"
Outside, across the way, the scout watched intently as the three inhabitants of the store conversed among each other. However, he had gotten to see the readouts that Miroku and Chiaki had acquired, and immediately following, put in a transmission to the Overlord's Castle.
"OC? This is Geo 1, over. I believe we have a big problem…"
And that's the end of chapter 4 of the Director's Cut version of Disgaea: A New Overlord. Things have been so hectic in my own life lately that I just somewhat lost the will to write. I know I promised more regular updates, and I'm sure all of you must be annoyed with all these empty promises. For this, I apologize. As a way to try and start making amends for this, I have doubled the initial length of this chapter. Hopefully, I'll be able to do this for all future chapters as my way of giving an apology for my unacceptable behavior. Hopefully, you will not hold this against me to harshly and you will continue to read my work. Thank you in advance for your consideration.