Disclaimer: See the prologue
Extraneous: Also see the prologue for all of the marks that I will be using
It is the sole responsibility of the gatekeeper to retrieve the keys;
However, he need not be alone in his quest.
He shall find allies in the darkest of places, and they will aid him to the bitter end.
First, a witch renowned for her beauty,
Second, a demon renowned for her fury...
-Prophecy di luce e di ombre: Lines IV-VIII
Chapter 2: Ill tidings/New Allies
Beauty Castle: Alternate Netherworld
Saito was having trouble staying aloft after several minutes of flight. Must be from all the blood I lost, he thought, wincing at the cold air crossing the open wounds on his back and chest. He looked ahead, to see what he still needed to pass in order to enter the Cave of Ordeals. Then it hit him. Maybe it won't be such a bad idea if I stop along the way. I might actually get a chance to heal! He looked around for a place to land, and then noticed the roof of the castle below him. It certainly looks sturdy enough. "Well, here goes nothing!" He flared his wings outwards, and landed lightly on the roof. He was correct in his assumption that it was fairly sturdy. However, there was a minor problem: The glass was not very thick. CRASH! Awww shit! was the mage's last thought as he plummeted towards the unyielding floor below.
Overlord's Castle: True Netherworld
"What do you mean you messed it up AGAIN!" Laharl yelled at Gordon. Etna was standing off to her Overlord's right, shaking her head at the situation. "Go easy on him, Prince. It's not like it will take forever to fix." Laharl turned to his right, his eyes glittering dangerously. "We have already been delayed twice! I will not be delayed a third time!" At that moment, Flonne walked in, then stopped in confusion. She looked at Laharl quizzically. "What are you yelling about?"
Laharl whirled to face his chosen, a scowl forming on his face. "Gordon went and screwed up the gate again. How many times have I told him to just wait for the gate to finish forming before you come through?" He shook his head sadly. "It appears that we are facing another delay, dear." Flonne's face fell, then she remembered what she held in her right hand. "Wait! We don't need to use the gate to go see Seraph Lamington!" Laharl looked over at her, a puzzled expression on his face. "What in the heck are you talking about?" Flonne grinned widely. "All we need to do is use the key."
Everyone looked over at the fallen angel, with a she must be out of her mind look on all faces present. She smiled lightly, then explained herself. "Kurtis figured out how these keys work. All we really need is access to the gate. It doesn't need to be operational!" The Overlord looked over at his chosen, then held out his hand. Flonne reluctantly handed over the key she had found in her garden. However, as soon as the key touched Laharl's skin, it burned him. "OUCH! IT BURNS!" he yelled as he dropped the key on the floor. Flonne picked it up, then looked closely at the first English letter on the key. "Oops! Sorry Laharl," she said a little sheepishly. "The first letter is a C, meaning that the key can only lead to one place." "Celestia," came the voice of Etna's younger brother, Aramis. "Well, what are we waiting for? Let's get going!" called the Overlord as he headed towards the dimensional gate. Etna looked over at her younger brother, shrugged, then headed after Laharl.
Back to Beauty castle we go!
"Ugh... My head..." Saito sat up with a groan, then checked his watch. He had been out for an hour. Great. Just perfect, he thought sarcastically as he got up off the floor. He looked around, and immediately noticed something. "Looks like someone is a bit narcissistic," he said aloud as he found himself staring at several floor length mirrors. He heard footsteps, and immediately scrambled over to a row of columns, hiding behind one of them. "Well, well, well. It appears that our little sleeper decided to wake up." Saito instantly started to search around for the source of the voice. The words were honeyed, but they were still barbed. He snarled viciously, displaying his fangs. "Who are you calling 'little'?" he called out into the darkened corridor. "You sure are an arrogant young man. Then again, I always enjoyed beating up men like you. Are you sure you can handle me?" the woman asked as she appeared for the first time.
Saito did his best not to stare in amazement at the woman standing before him. Clad in black and gold, she stood fairly close to his own height. The witch's clothing didn't do much to conceal her curves, but then again, it was never supposed to. Her violet eyes glittered wickedly as she easily drew the staff from across her back. "You can come out from behind that column now, 'little one'," she called lightly. Saito grinned demonically, then stepped out from behind the column, letting a simple chain drop into his right hand as he did so. "Who are you calling 'little', again?" he asked as he stepped into her line of sight. So that is what Marjoly really looks like. I was always wondering if the legends were true. Now I know for myself, he thought as he slowly started to twirl the length of chain in his hands.
Marjoly's eyes widened as he came into view. My attendants told me that someone 'little' had come in. It looks like they were wrong about that. The so-called 'little' person who had unexpectedly crashed through the roof actually had a two inch height advantage over the witch. She looked him up and down, then turned away, blushing. My God! He's actually gorgeous! His blue eyes appeared as flakes of ice, and they were narrowed to slits. His hair was standing upright of its own volition, much like Laharl's antennae. She turned back just in time to see the mage plant his right leg in preparation for something. Then she noticed that there was something odd about the way he planted. Her eyes widened slightly, and then she rushed over to him.
Saito planted his right leg as he prepared to throw the chain. It was then that he felt an incredibly sharp pain right behind his shin. He looked down at his leg, and bit back several curses. There, lodged right behind his shin bone, was a razor sharp piece of glass. He stopped his throwing motion, put the chain away, and then reached down to try and remove the shard. However, he was a little unstable, and he would have fallen over if Marjoly had not rushed up to help. "Let me get that. It's the least I can do, since it was your own fault for falling through the skylight." Of all the places he chose to land, he just had to choose the weakest point of the roof, she thought to herself as she yanked the shard from the wound. Saito gasped slightly as the glass came out. He then closed his eyes and relaxed. The witch's thoughts were far from hidden. Well, if I had known that it was the weakest point, I would have avoided it entirely, he mentally "responded" to the witch's comment. Marjoly looked up in amazement. What are you?
Dimensional Gate: Overlord's Castle
"Well, let's test to see if this theory of yours is actually right, Kurtis," Laharl called, smirking at the poor Prinny. Flonne looked over at her chosen and sighed. When will he ever grow-up? she thought to herself as she inserted the key into the broken Dimensional Gate. She turned the key, and the gate started to spin, signifying that it was fully active. "Are we going or not, Laharl?" she called back sweetly as she stepped through the portal…
Sacred Altar: Celestia
…straight into the Sacred Altar, the current residence of the Seraph of all angels. She looked around, hoping to see where he was before she was spotted by anyone else. I certainly hope that the Seraph has not decided to invite any high-ranking angels here for a meeting soon, the fallen angel thought as she turned towards the portal and her emerging companions. Laharl was stunned. That key actually worked! This changes everything…
Michael Lamington, Seraph of all angels, was busy playing, of all things, Disgaea, when he heard a portal open out in the main room. He paused for a moment, then thought to himself, Who could that be? The only ones that I invited here were Flonne and her companions. That, and they were supposed to be escorted in by Raphael and Tobias. This is most interesting indeed. After saving his progress (he had just finished up with Episode 7: Of Being an Overlord), he walked out into the main room, in order to see a fairly flustered young angel. "Flonne, why was I not told of your arrival?" he asked gently. The fallen angel spun around, smiled, and then proceeded to rush over to give her mentor a hug. "I am terribly sorry, Master Lamington. We just arrived, and I wanted to speak with you about something." The Seraph smiled lightly, then bent down to speak face-to-face with the young woman. "How on Earth did you get in here without using the main gate?" he asked, still a bit confused. "Go ahead, Flonne. Show him the key, and explain exactly how it works," came the slightly exasperated voice of the Overlord. Lamington looked up and smiled. "I take it your reign has been going well since Yuki's demise?" "It's been going quite well, thank you." Flonne waited for the conversation to end, and then handed the intricate key over to her former teacher, explaining how it worked.
Michael Lamington was at a loss for words. He had only heard the legends about the dimensional keys, but he never actually believed in them. But now that one is in my possession, I guess the legends about the draconics are true, he thought as he studied the craftsmanship of the key. "If I believe correctly, this key was created by the draconic race," he said after a few moments of thinking. When all he received were blank stares, he sighed, and sat down to explain himself.
"The draconic race consists of all dragons. Now there are two particular types that you need to know of: normal, and were. Normal dragons are like the one that Flonne summoned using her charm. Weredragons, however, are an entirely different story. These can take either the traditional shape, or they can make themselves appear human. But, there is one easy way to tell. If someone appears to be normal, but you can clearly see that something is different about them, then they are most likely a weredragon. There is one exception to this rule, however. Just as all dragons are divided into two classes, the weredragons are also divided into two classes. There are the traditional weredragons, who are always easy to spot, and then there are the Kaiser breeds." Lamington took a short breather, then noticed that everyone was sitting around him, staring in awe at the knowledge he contained. The head angel smiled, then continued with his speech.
"The Kaiser breeds are unique among the dragons, due to their ability to change what type of dragon they become, according to the needs of the situation. This can be accomplished by two methods. Either the Kaiser can set his mind to the thinking patterns of the type he wishes to change into, or he can transform through the use of so-called 'genes'. These are small triangles of genetic material that, when attached to the skin, trigger a mutation. These 'genes' are unusually difficult to obtain, and so they are not widely used. However, there are a select few who no longer need to use the genes in order to transform. All they do is form the picture in their mind, and the change takes over from there. These are the rarest of the breed, and have thus gained the title of Ultima Kaisers."
Laharl abruptly stood up and asked the question that everyone else was holding in. "When are you going to get to the point, Seraph?" Lamington smiled. "Right now. Please sit down, and I will finish." Laharl grumbled something about a bathroom break, and then sat back down. The Seraph sighed, then proceeded to the point of his lecture. "The draconics are the greatest metal shapers of all time. It was said that twelve keys were forged in ancient times, each one leading to a unique location. There was also said to be one weredragon, always a Kaiser, who held the keys. Now, if I am to believe that this is one of the twelve keys, then we have a serious problem on our hands." Etna looked over at Flonne and Laharl, then looked back at the Seraph. "Exactly what do you mean by 'serious problem'?"
Author's notes: Hehehe. I LOVE doing that to people. It's always so interesting to leave a cliff-hanger on both fronts at the same time. (demonic laughter is heard in the background) Well, Saito has met one new ally, but now he needs to explain himself to her (You might want to pay attention to this, because it will be important later on). Laharl and Co. have figured out how the keys work, and Lamington is about to explain what is so dire about their situation. Anyway, PLEASE READ AND MAKE COMMENTS. Thank you.
Author's note2: I know how some people enjoy the Etna/Aramis pairings, but it's a little different in my story. You see, they are brother and sister. Aramis is about three years younger than Etna (This is in demon years, mind you. That's the equivalent of 3,000 years by human standards.). So don't try and get any ideas. I still have some introductions to get out of the way, so I'll see you all next time!
Author's note3: Crap! I almost forgot something again! The original concept of "dragon genes" and their use in transformations is © Squaresoft. Also, I apologize for the incredibly long chapter. Be forewarned that the chapters will only be getting longer from here. Thank you.