Disgaea: Hour of Darkness

Title: Forgotten Memories

Author: The Rogue Shadow

Genre: PG-13

Rating: Drama/Humor

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Chapter 6: No Limit for the Demon

- Laharl -

I walk slowly towards the group of cowards that had surrounded Etna with my sword swinging in a lazy-like manner. I look at each one of them with seething hatred. They in turn look at me uncertainly, not knowing what to make of the one who busted the dungeon door off its hinges.

What a pathetic excuse for a bunch of demons. It only takes 6 of them to gang up on one little girl? How brave of them...

While I continue making my way toward them, I can smell the scent of blood getting stronger and stronger. I scan the room for the source and see that there's some blood dripping from one of the demon's arms.

Heh, looks like I missed out on some of the party.

I look at the blood falling to the stone floor and I suddenly feel the desire for more of it. I want it dripping off my hands and the taste of it in my mouth. As I look around, imagining their blood splattered on the walls because of what they've done, I notice some real blood on a spear that Etna's carrying.

Guess that would mean that she's the one who injured him. Who'd have thought? Someone as timid as she attacking and drawing blood from someone else. Although, she was the one who attacked me off guard before she even saw my face. Heh, guess there's hope for her after all.

However, by the time I'm done with him, he'll be wishing that was the worst that happened to him.

"Heh, heh, heh."

My chuckling snaps one of the demons out their stupor. He steps forward and points his sword at me.

"Hey brat! Just who the hell do you think you are, huh! No one threatens us like that! Do you have a death wish or something!"

I chuckle briefly before glaring at him with an intense hatred in my eyes.

"I have no need to explain myself to a worm like you. You, who would gain up on a demon girl, who's barely over 1000 years old. Don't think that I'll let you live after doing something like this within my castle!"

His eyes widen and he points his finger incredulously at me. "Your castle! You mean you're King Krichevskoy!"

I snarl at the reference and raise my sword at him. "No, you're wrong. I'm even worse than my father. I, for one, will not hesitate in making sure that your last minutes alive are full of pain and suffering! You will experience terror like never before!"

For some reason, those words I spoke stir up a memory deep within me and I find myself suddenly recalling a night long ago when I was just a kid.

- Flashback -

Young Laharl jumped on top of his mother's and father's bed late at night. The queen rubbed her eyes slowly and sat up to stare at her son, whose back was turned to her.

"Lahar, dear, why are you jumping on our bed so late at night?"

King Krichevskoy, too, sat up and grinned at his wife.

"I think he had a bad dream and wants to stay in our bed for tonight. Isn't the right my son?"

The king then put his young son in a headlock and dragged him down, falling back on the bed.

Laharl struggled and after a few minutes, managed to finally push Krichevskoy's arms off from around his neck. Turning around he glared the best a kid his age could.

"Yeah right. You wish. I just want mom to read me a bedtime story."

The king smiled, slightly amused by his son's interest in stories and tales. Usually demons wanted things like riches and dreamed of things like power, but not his son. Perhaps there was more human blood of his mother's in Laharl than his own demonic blood.

Krichevskoy smirked and crossed his arms over his chest.

"So why can't you just learn how to read? That way you can read all the stories you want, without having to wake us up every night."

"No! It wouldn't be the same if mom didn't read it."

His mother smiled and pulled Laharl so that he would lie down between herself and the king. "Okay, okay. After this though, you have to go straight to sleep. Understand?

Laharl grinned and nodded.

"So which one do you want to hear about tonight?"

The young prince jumped off the bed and ran to the bookshelf and pulled out a wornout book. Running back to his parents, he jumped on the bed and held the book in front of himself.

"This one!"

His mother picked up the book with a smile and looked at the front cover. "Again, Laharl? You really like this book don't you?"

Laharl grinned and nodded. "Yeah! It's a great book!"

The queen look over the title 'Demon Myths and Legends' and opened the book to where they left off last time. "Let's see... Tonight's story will be about Baal, the Lord of Terror."

Lahar's eyes slightly widened. "The Lord of Terror? Who's that? He sounds scary."

She smiled and patted him on the head. "Now, now. Let's wait until the story actually begins."

He gave a pout before he grinned. "Okay!"

Krichevskoy smiled and put his arm around his wife's shoulder. "If you keep this up honey, then he might very well grow up into a kind and fair demon. What wll the neighbors say?"

She slightly glared at him and lightly punched him in the arm. "Hah, hah. Now on with the story. Baal was often called the Lord of Terror due to the immense power he had. He ruled his world with an iron fist and even set out to conquer other worlds. To him, words such as mercy or love did not exist. If anyone stood in his way then he would not hesitate to destroy them."

Laharl widened his eyes. "Wow, he must be really powerful."

His mother gave a small smile and pulled him close. "Just because he had great power does not mean that he was a great ruler. Laharl, when you grow up, you will realize that a truly great Overlord is one who will look out for his subjects. One with kindness and mercy in his heart, while making the proper decisions on when to use it or not to. Okay?"

She continued the story all the way up till when Baal was finally sealed. However by then, Laharl was sound asleep with a smile on his face.

The king pulled the blankets over his wife and son. Turning to his wife, he put his arm around her shoulder. "That truly was a sad story wasn't it dear?"

"Yes. I think it would be quite lonely to lead a life of bitterness and hatred."

"And you're worried that our boy might go down that path in the future? It's no use fretting about it. We won't be around forever and we won't always be able to tell him what to do. All we can do is guide him and trust our son to follow his heart."

She reached out and stroked Laharl's hair. "Yes that's true, but for his sake, I hope he will never have to make that decision in his life. I truly hope not."

I blink, wondering where the hell that memory came from.

Is that what I'm going to end up like if continue on like this? A Lord of Terror? Someone who would only shame and disappoint my mother?

I'm about to consider just sentencing them to life of labor and servitude, before I look at Etna. Seeing all those cuts and bruises on her is enough to send any thoughts of mercy flying.

She didn't deserve any of those. They will pay dearly...

I shrug off the former feeling, uncaringly and look at the faces of every demon there; mine filled with the arrogance of knowing I'll be the one to kill them.

Grinning sadistically, I speak aloud to the demons.

"So who wants to be the first to die?"

As if those words were the gong to signify the start of the fight, they start charging at me as if their lives depended on it.

And in truth, it did.

With all my strength and thoughts of vengeance, I lift up my double-edged sword up in the air and swing it, slicing down upon the demons rushing at me.

- Etna -

I can only watch in terror as I see the battle unfold before my very eyes. The slash the prince makes slices through a spear that was meant to block it and lodges it in one of the demon's shoulders.

"Ack!" The demon stumbles back only to be smacked in the ribs with the flat side of the prince's sword and is sent flying.

I hear a sickening crunch from the impact, knowing at least a few ribs were broke.

Another demon with a spear charges at Laharl and thrusts it at him. Before I can warn the Prince though, he catches the spear by the tip and impales the charger. He doesn't even notice that his own hand is bleeding. He then lifts the gasping demon while still on the sword and swings it, throwing the guy into the wall.

Blood from the throw splatters in front of me. A small portion lands right in front of my feet, which causes me to take a few steps back.

"Why should I be afraid? This is what I wanted right? To see these bastards get what they deserve."

Then why do I want Laharl to stop this? This isn't like him at all.

I watch as one of the other demons that Sid hired charges at Laharl with the sword held right above him. I soon find out that my fear for Laharl's safety is once again unfounded as he merely grins and swipes his sword horizontally, slicing both of the guy's arms off.

While the guy is on his knees yelling in pain, Laharl lifts his bloody sword up and licks some of the blood off. He then grins and gives off a crazed laugh.

I cringe a little at his behavior.

Why would he do that? Why is he doing this? He could just as easily knock them out instead of dismembering them.

He points his sword at the remaining two goons and Sid with his immobile arm.

"Don't think I haven't forgotten about you guys yet! I plan on hurting you a thousand times worse than what you did to Etna!"

He then looks back at me with anger and a little sadness in his eyes, before turning back to the group.

"You bastards... I'm going to redefine your definition of pain over and over until you loose count!"

Is that why he's doing this? For me?

I honestly don't know what to make of this. No one has ever stood up for me before. Let alone seeking revenge for me.

I feel a warm feeling because of it, yet at the same time I'm still frightened over his behavior.

"Prince..."

I reach my arm out to him.

"That's enough. You don't have to fight anymore. You've made your point."

I take a few steps closer to him.

"Please? Let's just imprison them and go. I want to go back now..."

He looks down at his feet and then back at me.

"I'm sorry, Etna. But whatever punishment my father would decide for them, despite him being quite passionate about the rights of abused demons, such as yourself, it would still pale into comparison to what I think they deserve."

He gives a saddened grin to me.

"Don't you see Etna? I can't forgive them. I can't let them get away with what they did. The only way I would ever put down my sword is..."

He closes his eyes for a few seconds and opens them to reveal a pair of crimson feral eyes.

"Is to make sure that they can never pick up a weapon ever again!"

- Laharl -

With renewed rage, I walk slowly away from Etna and towards the group.

"You bastards have hurt someone dear to me and tortured her in many ways when she has done nothing to deserve it. She is an innocent who cannot fight back and yet you still decide to abuse her! You have no RIGHT!"

Glaring with hatred, I notice that the three remaining demons are side-by-side, the one with the wounded arm in the middle, creating the perfect target.

These bastards will know the pain Etna has felt.

With a deep breath, I focus all of my demon energy into this single attack. I clench my fists so tight that blood starts dripping from my palms. Deeply in concentration, I begin to feel my demonic aura surrounding me.

I then thrust my hands into the air and summon numerous explosive spheres.

With one look of hatred and bloodlust, I snarl at the bastards for what I'm certain will be the last time.

"Bite the dust!"

With a mighty throw, I send all of the spheres right at their little compacted group, which meets them with a grand explosion.

I can hear their screams of agony and I can't help but grin maliciously at it. Let them all feel the pain that Etna felt.

When the dust finally clears, I walk towards the charred and bruised bodies.

"Don't think I'm done with you bastards yet."

I lift my sword up and start slicing ferociously at the already downed body on the left. The only movement he makes is from the force of my sword going across his chest.

"Die!"

I wait for a minute and then move on to the body on the right. With equally as much hatred, I begin slicing at his body until I am able to reach the stone floor located underneath him.

"Die!"

I then step in front of the body in the middle, who save for the wound in his arm and the charred skin, is quite in tact.

I plan on changing that soon enough.

"Die and make amends!"

Before I can swing down however, I feel a pair of arms wrap around me and I feel the press of a body against my back. I stop for a moment in confusion, uncertain of what to make of this sudden contact, until a feel a little wetness on my bare back.

I slowly turn around and see that it was Etna, who has tears in here eyes.

"You can stop, Prince. They're dead now. They're all dead..."

My breathing starts to slow down and I feel my anger fade away. I let my bloodied sword drop to the side of me. Overcome with a sudden wave of dizziness, I feel myself fall forward and be caught by the slender arms of Etna with my head leaning against her chest.

"Looks like I used too much power in that last attack... Heh... I don't know what the hell that attack even was. Too blind with rage to know what was going on."

I look at her teary face and with what little strength I have left, I lift my right hand up and gently wipe away the tears in her eyes.

"It looks like I made you cry again, Etna."

Breathing out, I offer her a faint smile and slink to my knees on the ground while still in her arms.

"I'll have to work on that in the future..."

I can only manage a few more words before I slip into the abyss of unconsciousness.

"I'm sorry..."

And with that I close my eyes and loose myself in the darkness.

- Etna -

"Prince? Prince! Are you okay?"

I quickly wipe away the remnants of my tears and put my fingers to his neck, checking if he's still alive. Feeling a faint and steady pulse, I let out a sigh of relief and slump down to the floor with him.

"Thank god. You're only asleep. You had me worried there."

I take a look around the bloodied dungeon and the remnants of the battle that took place. Everyone, save for Sid, had been beaten and maimed.

As I start to relax, I notice a faint movement from one of the bodies. My eyes widen and I quickly grab hold of the spear near me for defense. I hear some coughing and realize that it's coming from the injured body of Sid.

He slowly rises to his feet in a lot of pain with his teeth clenched.

I gently lay the Prince on the stone floor and get up using the help of my spear. I then speak to Sid, not hiding the distaste in my voice.

"I guess rats really are a pain in the ass to kill after all."

Sid looks up to see Prince lying peacefully next to me and glares.

"Heh, you're the biggest rat here. After all your purpose is to infiltrate the castle and act as our inside man, so to speak. And what exactly did that brat mean when he called you an innocent? Please, you're anything but one!"

"Shut up!"

I point my spear at Sid with anger in my eyes.

He looks back and forth between the Prince and me before he grins.

"You mean he doesn't know?"

He laughs lightly to himself before going into a coughing fit.

"Poor Etna. Looks like you weren't being truthful with the little Prince. He doesn't know that you're nothing more than a spy and a thief, hired by Maderas."

"You bastards! You're the ones who blackmailed me into it!"

I can see Sid's struggling to even stand up straight. I could probably take him out with one more stab and put an end to all of this.

As if he realized what I was thinking, Sid talks to me aloud.

"If you want, you probably could kill me right now. However, as soon as Maderas realizes that you've betrayed us, he'll make sure your little bro will pay for it. I don't think you want that on your conscience."

I snarl at him, not lowering my spear from him.

"Tell you what. I won't tell Maderas about what you did, under one condition."

He looks at his wounded arm and then narrows his eyes at me.

"In three days, we'll meet at the abandoned graveyard just outside the castle premises. You and I will be the only living beings there, aside from Arimas. So that means no help or backup allowed. The winner will gain custody of Armias and gets to decide the fate of the loser. Make no mistake though Etna, I will get revenge for what you did to my arm... So, is it a deal?"

I lean against the wall behind me, feeling a little zapped of strength myself.

"Hmph, like I have much of a choice. You got yourself a duel. And make no mistake Sid, I will get Arimas back from you."

Sid grins and turns around to head out the gap in the wall, where the door used to be. Before leaving though, he turns around and looks at me.

"Oh and a little piece of advise, my dear Etna."

I look at him questioningly and glare.

"I highly recommend that you enjoy what you have here right now. Because once the Prince finds out what you've been doing, he'll turn his back on you just like everyone else. The King will banish you from the castle and you'll be without a single friend just like you were before."

With a final chuckle, he slowly makes his way out of the dungeon and disappears into the halls.

"Damn him... He always did have to get the last word in."

I use the spear as a crutch, still aching from being beaten just a while ago and slowly walk a few steps to where Laharl is laying down.

I sit down by him and smile at the expression on his face. He almost looks innocent, just laying there.

But he's not...

The proof is written all over the walls of the dungeon.

"You really did do all of that for me, didn't you Prince?"

I lie down next to him and put my arms around his body.

"You're the only one who ever defended me in my entire life. Someone as common and lowly as me."

I close my eyes and let myself feel the warmth of the Prince's body.

"You're the only friend I've ever had. Even... even if this can't last, I want you to know that I'm truly thankful for what you've done for me."

I hug him tightly to my body letting a tear slide down my cheek.

"Thank you..."

With those words, I fall asleep, exhausted and tired, with the Prince in my arms, not hearing the words being spoken in the shadows.

"Well, this is truly an interesting twist. Defending a common vassal just like that. I guess there really is hope for him. The missus will be glad to know that he might just turn out fine after all. Though... it's going to be hell to clean this place up. Guess that's why vassals were born."

With a final laugh, he blends into the darkness, leaving the Prince and I none the wiser.

-

A/N: It's done! It's DONE! That took freaking forever! I'm really sorry about the wait ladies and gents. I reedited the first few pages a numerous amount of times, trying to decide what the best approach for Laharl would be. Also I got into a 3D program that really hooked my interest in the hopes of creating a halfway decent version of Laharl. So far I just have the sword down… (sweatdrops) I probably should have just left it at writing problems huh?

I know I probably let some of you down and I'm sorry for that as well. A friend of mine advised not to post any deadlines but we both agreed that it would delay he process even more so, with no pressure on updating. All I can do is give you my word that I'll try to update quicker and not be too lazy about it. Am I overreacting here? I don't know…Let's just skip to the preview and end it at that!

One more thing though, how did you guys feel about the whole trip of anger, tenderness, and regret? Was it too much? Or did it mess with the story? Let me know in the reviews! Okay... Shutting up now…

Stay tuned for the next installment in Forgotten Memories, Chapter 7: No Waiting for the Assembly! Look forward to it!

- Response to the Reviews -

Bella:

Geh! Etna's only 1400! (sweatdrops) Geez, I really messed up on that one. I thought she was 14,000. Thanks for the correction. Trust me its not nitpicking when its that big of an age difference. Heh, heh. The correction will be posted in this update. The way I figure it, their human ages should've been around what their demon age if you got rid of the last two digits, but that would make her 14 years old and she really doesn't seem like it with certain parts of her being the way they are. (coughs) Don't kill me! (grins) Anyway now I figure it's their demon age divided by about 125. It comes to her being a little over 11 years old. Is that about right? In any case, I'm going to post it in the first chapter so that people can read it. Sorry bout the rant... On to the review response! Glad the whole switching of emotion scenes weren't really bothersome. Probably not even that emotional? I don't know. Anyway, don't worry, Arimas will defintely have some spotlight. In fact, he will play a great part in the battle which will start either next chapter or the one after. As for Laharl, I really needed him to be crazed because of what they did to Etna. He's starting to bond with her so it's important to see the reason behind it. Thanks for the review!

Dan heron:

Hey! Thanks for the review! I'm really glad you liked this chapter. My writting style goes around the lines of typing something out, deleting it, type, continue typing, then going on a roll, with the dialogue and actions flowing naturally. It means a lot that you really like my story as of yet. (grins) I appreciate it. No need to worry bout the Prince, he'll defintely have some sort of role in there. Can't spoil it for the others though, so I'll leave it at that. Keep up the reviews! They're quite motivating!

Kei-kun:

It's good to know that you didn't mind about the late updating. Or at the very least, are satisfied with it being posted up now. I can be very paranoid at times, such as alienating reviewers because of a simply detail, so I'm glad there's someone who can bring me down to earth once in a while. I hope you'll like what's to come in the next chapter!

Goldamon X:

It's quite the relief to know that you're still interested in the story. I thought I was loosing my original customers. (grins) I'm glad to know that you liked Laharl's attitude in this one. I was a little unsure if it didn't work out that well. Heh, heh. As for the memory part, it will be explained in the last chapter, which will be a while since I have no current plans to end this. But it would be pretty lame not explain the title of Forgotten Memories within the actual story. You're very quite close the theory of the memories. (looks nervous) I wonder if you'll be able to see the plot ahead of time and predict what'll come next, therefore loosing interest in this story as a whole. (blinks) Who knows? Keep up the reviews! Next chapter will be up within a week's time!

Cobra-100:

Yep! You can be certain that Krichevskoy will have a major roll later on in the story. But for now, let's just focus on a certain couple. (grins) Look forward to it!

MiStraLL:

Hey! It's a new reivewer! All right! Glad you like this story of mine! I'm a big fan of Etna and Laharl too, though most certainly you could already tell thatl. Heh, heh. It's really good to know that there are people as fanatic as you in the world. It makes life that much more interesting. (grins) I hope you'll continue to review! Hope you enjoy the next chapter too!