Disclaimer: See the prologue.
Extraneous: Also see the prologue for all of the marks that I will be using
For thousnds of years, the draconics have helped to maintain the balance between Earth, Celestia, and the Netherworld.
However, there will come a day when the gatekeeper will fall, and the keys will be scattered.
In that hour, the balance will become unstable. And if it remains this way for too long, then a great disaster shall befall all worlds
-Prophecy di luce e di ombre; Lines I-III
Chapter 1: A fateful landing/Ill tidings
Baal's Tower: Alternate Netherworld
"WHOA!" Saito landed lightly on the stone floor, bending his knees to lessen the impact. He then stood up, brushed off his clothing (he's wearing a plain black shirt and knee-length khaki shorts), and looked around his new surroundings. What IS this place? he thought to himself as he wandered around the slightly confined space. He looked over to where he thought the door would be located, but saw something that he had only heard stories about. Is that...a demonic seal? He immediately walked over to it, and started to examine it. He also started to think aloud, one of his more annoying traits. "Well, I've never seen anything like this before. Wait a second...I can actually READ this!" Must be my vampiric blood kicking in, he thought to himself, not noticing the ominous shadow lengthening behind him. That was, until the shadow grabbed him roughly at the base of his neck. "What the hell...!" He was promptly tossed into the far wall. He stood up slowly and scanned the room, searching for what had thrown him. What he saw made him start. But that's...! Oh boy. I'm in for a fight this time, Saito thought as he faced the massive demon before him. "Baal..."
Overlord's Castle: True Netherworld
"Well, you certainly caused a mess this time, Slayer," Laharl snarled at Captain Gordon, former 38th Defender of Earth (now Slayer of the Netherworld). The Overlord looked at the hapless man, and then shook his head. What am I going to do with you? he thought to himself. "Well, sir, it shouldn't be too hard to fix..." Gordon stated, sheepishly rubbing the back of his head. "It will probably be only a few hours until..."
"YOU IDIOT! Those are hours that we don't have right now!" Laharl snapped. He whirled and walked away from the Dimensional gate, seeking the solitude of the room he now shared with his chosen, the fallen angel Flonne. Laharl hadn't changed much. He still wore those red bell-bottomed shorts and his trademark scarf. However, he occasionally emerged from his room without the scarf.The Overlord smiled, remembering the first time he had done that.
Begin Flashback:
"Hurry up, Prince! We don't want to be late, especially since YOU were the one who called the emergency session of the assembly," Etna called through the door. The pink-haired demon was still a little worried that Laharl was slacking off. She sighed out loud, and turned away from the door, determined to head down to face the assembly alone. She finished turning from the door, and adjusted the collar that she wore. The young demon had not changed one bit since the events involving Setsuna and Yuki had taken place. Granted, she had gained her father's weapon, and had also remembered how her father had died, but she was still the same demon girl. She descended the steps in front of the Overlord's throne, then headed out towards the main corridor. There, Etna spotted a very familiar face (and set of wings). "Hey Flonne!" The fallen angel jumped a little in surprise. She was wearing her red hair band, and that simple white dress which now bore both demonic and angelic symbols (thanks to a certain holy/unholy priest). She turned quickly, then spotted Etna coming in from the throne room. Her smile, which had disappeared when she jumped, suddenly reappeared in full force. "Yes, Etna?" she asked, her voice still fairly melodic after her recent visit to Celestia.
Etna wandered over to her blonde-haired companion. "I thought you were in Laharl's room, helping him decide what to wear to the assembly." Flonne frowned slightly, then shook her head. "He asked me to leave about a half-hour ago. I wonder what he's doing in there..." "I don't know, but I sure wish he would hurry up," Etna grumbled. He's been Overlord for what, three years now? He should know better than to delay before facing the Dark Assembly.
"Well, are we going to face those idiots, or are you just going to stand there all day?" Etna jumped slightly, then a tiny smile crept across her face. "I'll get you for that, Prince. One of these days." "Yeah, yeah, I know that already. Why don't you lead? I need to talk to Flonne about something," Laharl asked his chief vassal. Etna turned, her grin suddenly becoming predatory as she stared eye-to-eye with her Overlord. "And exactly WHAT are you planning on talking about?" she asked, a little too innocently.
"That is absolutely NONE of your business, Etna," Laharl stated truthfully. "Well, are you going to lead or not?" Etna giggled slightly, then turned back towards the main corridor. She heard Flonne's gasp, and turned back around suddenly. "What's wrong?" she asked. Then, she gasped as well at the scene before her. First off, Laharl was wearing a pair of black and gold shorts that weren't that baggy. Next was the fact that he plainly wore the Cosmic Blade he had received from his father, King Krichevskoy, at his left hip. But that was not the thing that shocked Etna the most. Rather, it was the absence of something. For once in his life, Laharl had emerged from his room without his trademark scarf. Now, Etna was able to see exactly what he had been hiding all those years.
Two, great, black-feathered wings emerged from Laharl's shoulder blades. She then remembered the events of the Pariah Tower, and how Laharl alone had opened the door. So that was one of his feathers! She looked back, remembering that Laharl's mother, Rena, had been a human witch. She smiled, turning back towards the door. As she turned away, she heard Flonne squeal out loud. "Your wings are absolutely gorgeous!"
End Flashback
Laharl grinned even wider, his red eyes glittering as he walked through his room and out onto the balcony. As he had expected, she was waiting for him. He sighed aloud, then rested his arms on the railing next to Flonne. "Well, Gordon went and screwed up the gate, so it will be a few more hours until we can go see the Seraph. Why did I ever take that man as my vassal?" Flonne looked over at him and gently smiled. "For starters, he had no way to return home without your help. Second, he refused to betray his friends. Finally, he stood up for himself, not just when he faced you, but also when he faced Kurtis too," his chosen remarked, gently leaning against him. Laharl sighed inwardly, then smiled. Life was perfect.
"Harlie! I have some good news for you! We managed to..." Jennifer stopped speaking and looked into the night sky. "What's that?" she asked no one in particular. Laharl looked up, then saw exactly what Jennifer was pointing at. A ring of twelve stars had suddenly appeared, and was revolving at a tremendous speed. It seemed to slow down for a moment, then the ring broke apart, and the twelve stars shot out across the three worlds (and one alternate world). One star was seen heading for Veyer Castle, one star landed in the small garden that Flonne had managed to cultivate, and one star shot straight at the balcony where Laharl was standing. "Look out!" Laharl dived to his left, knocking both Flonne and Jennifer out of the path of the speeding object. The projectile skipped off the stone floor in Laharl's room and wedged itself in a small crack in the wall.
The prince slowly rose, and turned to see the foreign object glittering in the wall. He walked over and pulled it out, then looked at it in surprise. "Hey Jennifer, Flonne. I think you two should see this." The two women got up slowly, brushed themselves off, then proceeded to walk over to where the Overlord was standing. Laharl was holding out the object in his right hand, and Flonne took it lightly. "I've never seen anything like this before!" she remarked as she examined the object. It was a key. However, this one was far different from any other key the trio had ever seen before. For starters, it was nearly the size of Jennifer's hand, and covered in a series of ornate runes. However, there were four very clear human letters on the base of the key: EGCS. "EGCS? What the heck does that stand for?" Laharl asked, looking at Jennifer for clarification. The tall blonde thought for a moment, then called to someone outside of the room. "Thursday! Could you come in here for a minute?" Seconds later, the robot marched into the room, followed shortly by a bright green Prinny. She then looked at Flonne. The fallen angel smiled easily and handed over the key without any questions. The 40th Defender of Earth then handed the key over to the robot. Thursday examined the key for several moments, then handed it over to the Prinny. The zombie penguin contemplated it for a few seconds, saw the letters, and spoke the first thing that came to his mind. "Grand Central Station."
"What? I don't understand what you're talking about." Jennifer looked quizically at the Prinny, waiting for an explanation. "BLIP BLIP BEEP Thursday has come to the same conclusion as Kurtis." The Prinny, who had been a human scientist seven years before, merely smiled and crossed his flippers. "Well, the first letter symbolizes which world the key leads to, and the letters that follow specify a location. It's just that simple." "Flonne, I think you should go check your garden," Laharl suddenly started to speak. "I believe another key ended up there." "All right, sweetheart," Flonne said, a smile gracing her lips as she leaned over to give Laharl a light kiss on the cheek, then left the room, her tail swishing from left to right.
Meanwhile, we rejoin Saito in Baal's Tower:
"Damn it! Why don't you ever learn!" Saito yelled as he tossed another fireball at the hulking figure of the resurrected Lord of Terror. The great demon merely smiled. "What is there to learn about you pathetic vampires?" he sneered, sending another aerial slash at the youg mage. They had been fighting for the past four hours, and Saito was looking a little worse for the wear. His shirt had been shredded shortly after the battle started, thanks to a nasty slash from Baal's right claw. His dragon orb pendant, and the thirteenth key, were still hanging from his neck. Saito suddenly grinned wickedly. "Vampire? Well, you got PART of it right! Ankare Tsunum!" With those words, he swept his right hand out towards the great demon, palm outward. The tsunum, more commonly referred to as the silver hellfires, flared out of his palm and shot towards the stunned demon. "WHAT! But that's impossible! That means that you're..." "Yes, Baal. You finally figured out. I'm part draconic, and the last of the Kaisers as well. If you don't mind, I have other places to be. See ya!" With that last yell, Saito rushed over towards the seal which covered the entrance/exit, and then did something that would be talked about for ages to come: he passed through the seal without breaking it. He breathed a short sigh of relief, then turned back towards the seal. Thank you, King Krichevskoy, he thought as he rushed out of the tower, then spread his wings. Ebony scaled with golden undersides, the weredragon's wings stretched to their fullest extent, then flapped effortlessly to lift him off the ground. Where should I go first... "YOUCH! Guess I should be a little more careful, being injured and all. But where to first?" he thought aloud as he flapped his wings, then turned towards the south. Beauty Castle, Priere Castle, or should I take a chance and try to get to the Overlord's Castle? Decisions, decisions...
Author's notes:Well, here's the first chapter. I haven't introduced all of the main players as of this point. What? I had to save SOMETHING for the next chapter. Oh, and I have yet to introduce some of Saito's more devestating attacks! I also need to put in something about both of his weapons. Ah, well. Such is life. Where is Saito headed? Stick around kids, you might learn something! So, please tell me what you think of this story so far. PLEASE READ AND REVIEW. Thank you.
And, in the immortal words of The Truman Show: "Good morning. And for those of you I won't be seeing again, good afternoon, good evening, and good night." GOOD NIGHT EVERYBODY!
PS. Whoever gives me the correct translation for the name of the prophecy will have one of my other characters named after them. GOOD LUCK!