Please note: Count Arganan doesn't have a first name in the Last Story game, so I just call him Lucius. Hope you don't mind! XD

2. Arganan

A groan escaped his lips as he woke up. Vision was blurry, but he was aware that he lay on his back, lying on something soft. A colourful quilt with lace frills at the edges covered his being. It was comfortable, almost, lying there. It would have been a perfect place to nap, almost.

But this was not his room.

This was very much not his room in Lazulis Castle.

Sitting up, he could not help but gaze around him. He didn't feel like he was in pain—his blurriness stopped. Looking down, he realized that he still retained his entire being, including the metal limbs. The only thing missing was his cane and eyepatch.

But...where was he?

That was when he heard a pained moan from the right. There was a tent flap (was he in a tent, then? What? How did he get in a tent of all places?) and suddenly he could hear some sort of weak chanting.

"Alleluia, Alleluia, Alleluia. Always, always Alleluia. Lace my vest and mend my soul. Allelu—"

What the hell was this person saying? Arganan had no idea at all. He slowly slid off the bed, doing his best to stand. Immediately his vision went hazy again, thoughts of the Sentinel Beast Mitra invading his mind. His stomach churned, and moments later he bent forwards and promptly vomited.

The smell of bile filled the air and Arganan shuddered, looking and stepping away from the mess he made. At least he hadn't vomited on the bed, though he'd have to clean it up later anyway.

"Hello?"

...Did that voice just come from the right? From the tent flap? His singing had stopped, replaced by a shaky male's voice.

"Hello?" The man repeated. "I-is...anyone there...?"

Arganan knew he could just turn and leave. But part of him urged him to investigate. Taking a deep breath, he spoke up in response.

"Yes. I'm here." He managed, realizing his voice was shaky. Was he still reeling from Mitra nearly sucking out his life? "Wh-who are you?"

There was a moment of silence, before there was a response.

"...They call me the Agent."

The Agent? That was a rather strange name. Arganan took a few more steps towards the tent flap, before going through.

He met the gaze of a man younger than him. He had to be in his twenties, his hair once slicked back but now all mussed up, unkept. His clothes were torn, any exposed skin showing bruises or cuts, and rope kept the poor man tied to his chair by the ankles and the upper arms.

Arganan wasn't exactly sure what to say.

"H-how did you get here...?"

The Agent winced slightly, looking to him. "I was sent here by God...to strike a negotiation. L-Lucifer decided otherwise and I've been stuck down here since." He weakly flailed in the ropes, before making eye contact with the older man, his eyes widening in surprise. "Y-your eye..."

Arganan grimaced, putting a hand up tot he left side of his face. Whoever brought him to this place had removed his eyepatch. "I got this years ago." He managed, looking to the Agent. "Nothing I can do about it."

The Agen just looked more puzzled than anything. "I'm...going to guess that you're not a carnie working around here."

A carnie? What the hell was this guy referring to? Arganan was not some fool of sorts! "No, I'm not." He responded sharply, partially glaring at him. "I need answers. What is this place exactly?"

The Agent seemed to tremble as he looked to him.

"This place is Hell."

As if one cue, Arganan heard the swish of the tent flap behind him, and he turned around to see a woman walk in. She was slender, petite, and...she looked like a porcelain doll. She really did.

Except that she was lifesized and—wait a moment, was that his eyepatch she was trying to wear over the right side of her face?

He looked her in the eyes, gazing at her quietly and backing away slightly from the Agent. "Is he yours?" He asked, gesturing from the woman to the Agent. Perhaps the woman owned this man? Why else would he be here and why else would she be here?

The woman made a noise that sounded like a scoff, before she glared at the Agent, a noticeably sharp, small dagger in a gloved hand. Ignoring Arganan, she walked straight over to the younger man, vengeance in her different-coloured eyes.

"I was following orders, June." The man whimpered, attempting to back up in his chair, but failed to, simply due to already being restrained. Arganan felt slight pity for him as he continued to protest. "D-do you really think that I wanted to…to…" He attempted to point at the cracked side of her face with his finger but couldn't quite reach high enough as his upper arms were bound to the chair, "It was part…part of the Design.."

June? Was that the woman's name? Arganan wasn't sure whether he should interrupt them or stand by and watch quietly. He then caught the Agent's look in his eyes (help me, he pleaded silently) and then the woman turned her head slightly to face Arganan, the frown on her face seemingly indicating who are you?

"I..." Arganan awkwardly looked to her, trying to meet her gaze but found a pinprick of fear forcing him not to. "My name is...Arganan. Lucius Arganan. I don't know how I got here? Who are you...?" He looked to the Agent. "He just called you June...is that your name?"

It felt weird to call himself by his first name. Everyone back at Lazulis called him by a title, or if it was Calista she'd obviously call him 'uncle.' Not Lucius.

June frowned, shaking her head, drawing a line over her neck, almost baring her teeth at him, glaring at him. Don't you dare call me by that name any longer.

He took a step back, lifting his hands slightly to show surrender. "Alright. I won't call you by that name." He looked to the Agent, then to the woman who didn't want to be called June. "I don't know what is going on between the two of you, but I have the feeling I should...just leave...don't mind me." He flashed an apologetic look to the Agent right after he said that. This situation was dangerous. An angry woman with a knife was never a good situation to be in.

He started to turn towards the tent flap to get out, but he felt a hand grab his right wrist. He turned meeting the woman's gaze, and she appeared to be smiling slightly. With her other hand, she placed the dagger into his hand. He looked down at it, and then at her, and then at the Agent, whose eyes were widening with some horror.

"D-don't, June—" The Agent started, but the woman seemingly growled at him silently, one hand coming forwards to backhand him in the face. He groaned, reeling slightly.

Arganan gripped the dagger in his hand, looking to the woman and then to the Agent, an idea of what she wanted him to do with it.

"...You want me to stab him?"

All she did was smile and nod.

"Um, where?" He suddenly felt stupid. His instincts from his old days as a soldier should tell him, but they didn't seem to be talking to him right now. And he honestly didn't wish to stab a man he barely knew, but he doubted he could back out. "Does it matter where?"

Especially once the woman took out another knife and pointed it at his head, most likely threatening to hurt him if he didn't go and stab Agent. Just do it already, her eyes seemed to speak.

He hesitated, slowly approaching the younger man, giving him an apologetic glance once again before stabbing him straight into the chest, right below his left shoulder blade. Agent gasped, groaning, shutting his eyes, and Arganan had to close his one good eye in an attempt to block out the other's face.

Opening his good eye again, he let go of the blade, leaving it in Agent's chest, before turning to the woman. "Sh-should I take it out?"

She seemed to pause, thinking, before shaking her head. There was a certain air of authority to her—it made Arganan wonder if she had some good ranking around here in Hell, if there were any ranks, but it demanded attention at all times. The older man retreated from Agent and towards her.

"Is...is that all? Can I go now?"

He saw her give a gentle half smile, before she roughly grabbed him by the scarf and pulled him close, pressing her lips to his.

No.

She tasted so sweet. Like some fruity, alcoholic drink or cotton candy or something. He wasn't quite sure what. Maybe a fruit tart...? He could feel her using a bit of tongue in an attempt to make the kiss rougher, and he did his best to comply, hoping that she wouldn't be as horrid to him as she was to Agent only moments ago if he went along with her schemes.

She then pulled away and—oh, ow. Did she bite his lip? Yes, she did.

He winced sligtly, running a finger over his now-bleeding lower lip as she smiled tenderly at him. The kiss could have gone worse, he guessed. He'd bear with the bizarre beauty in front of him. (He really did have to admit that she was beautiful in a unique way, but also bizarre—who in the world goes and wears a corset that keeps partially exposing more of one's chest than needed? Then again this place was Hell, so...)

"J-June..."

The two turned to see Agent, who looked torn. "Don't leave, please...I..." He started, but the woman frowned and grabbed Arganan by the wrist, dragging him out of the area, through the tent flap. She then covered the tent flap area with some hidden, velvet curtains (probably for blocking noise, Arganan guessed) and then turned to him, smiling.

"So..." Arganan wasn't quite sure where to start, licking up the last of blood from his lip. It would heal soon, he could sense that. The bite she'd given him wasn't too deep. "What now?"

She pulled away from him, making a motion towards the bed, patting it slightly. Come sit, her eyes said.

He eyed her carefully. "Are you trying to seduce me...?" He started. He wasn't exactly so keen on sleeping with someone he just met in that way.

She gave him a little glare telling him no, and then patted the bed again. He nodded awkwardly, walking over to the bed and sitting down beside her on it.

After he sat down (the two both trying to ignore the scent of his bile from earlier), the Doll began making gestures. She held up a finger on each hand, one pointing to the velvet curtains and the other to herself, before they joined together.

"You used to love him?"

She nodded, pushing both her fingers together as if to imitate two people kissing. She then pulled them apart, one of the fingers pushing the other down in a forceful manner.

He winced. "He betrayed you." He managed.

She nodded, her eyes darkening at once as she let her hands fall to her sides.

It made him think of his niece Calista. How he'd hurt her. Part of him regretted that now. How could he be so blind...? Was there any way to go back and see her somehow, to say 'I'm sorry' to make up for it...? To do something to give his niece any consolation?

He snapped out of his thoughts as the woman gazed straight into his good eye. He hesitated, unsure of what to say. He'd hurt people and she'd been hurt before and he wanted to make up for it somehow. If this was truly Hell, he was being punished. Perhaps his punishment was servitude to one that'd been a victim in a past? Perhaps he was to take up servitude to her. He was pretty sure that Hell came with punishments for those who ended up there.

"I won't be the same as him." He whispered, looking to the velvet curtains and then to her. It felt strange to say those words, as if he was making some vow. "I know I'm not necessarily a good person—" He laugehd slightly at himself for that, "How can I if I ended up here, for what I did? I'm not blind to concepts concerning the afterlife. But all I can do is try to make the best of it."

Great men make the best of any situation that confronts them.

That was something he remembered mentioning to the mercenaries back at Lazulis when the Gurak attacked. And he would follow through with it.

She seemed to smile in approval at him, before she removed his eyepatch from her face and placed it in his metal hand. The right side of her face looked like there were cracks, yet there was no blood. Only darkness remained where the gaps were.

He lifted his right hand slowly. "M-may I...?" He asked, gesturing to her face. She also appeared to hesitate, but then nodded.

Putting his hand to the right side of her face, he traced a few cracks and felt her tremble slightly. Perhaps Agent was the cause of it? It made Arganan a little furious that he'd actually felt bad for the man earlier. If Agent was the cause of it in any way...

He slowly lowered his hand, gazing into her eyes.

"I can protect you from him."

The words escaped him before he could stop them. He watched the woman's eyes widen slightly in surprise, before holding up her knife, as if trying to indicate that she could easily care for herself. He thought back to Agent, all tied up and beaten. Had the woman beat him up herself? Then she must be far stronger than she looked.

She then smiled, stood from the bed, and gestured him to come follow. Before he could even stand from the bed, she'd already went through another tent flap, presumably out of the tent.

He gasped, getting up and quickly tying his eyepatch back on, following her as fast as he could—limping did not help at all. "Wait, I—"

As soon as he went through the tent flap, he realized she was gone. She must walk a lot faster than he originally thought. But where did she go?

Maybe he could find someone and ask them for directions. Looking in both directions, he went to the right, hoping to find her or at least find someone who could point him in the direction she went.

The smell of popcorn alerted his attention, and there was some sort of music that echoed in the air. Music that could only belong to a carnival.

Was Hell a carnival?

That had to be the strangest thing yet.

He then heard giggling, and looked to his left to see three women standing around a booth or stand of sorts, chugging whiskey or some alcoholic drink from their glasses. They were no nobles for sure—if anything, the looked like brigands of a sort. Perhaps not the most trustworthy people, but perhaps they were people condemned to Hell like him, too. He didn't have too much to lose by trying to ask them—at least he didn't think so.

"Excuse me, ladies?" He fake-coughed to get their attention, and they all turned their heads to meet his gaze. "I'm looking for this woman—she has cracks in her face, looks a bit like a porcelain doll but about..." He tried to gesture with his metal hand. "This tall, I think. Have you seen her pass by?"

"Mmm..." One of the women looked to the other two. "I haven't. Have you two?"

"Nope." The other two chimed in.

Arganan sighed softly. So much for help. "I suppose I'll be going then. Apologies for disturbing your time." He managed, turning around with the intention to continue searching.

That was when he heard the click of a pistol behind him, and the next thing he found himself doing was lunging his entire self downwards.

A gunshot rang in the air and he scrambled to get up, his feet telling him to run run run as he heard giggling behind him.

"Ha! You're in Hell now, sir!" One of the women was heard yelling from behind. "No point of running from us!"

Oh shit.

Said women he'd just asked for help only a moment ago became hostile immediately afterwards, and most likely for sport.

Shit.

He kept running, hearing gunshots ring in the air. He felt something course into the back of his shoulder and he yelped painfully, clutching onto his shoulder with his metal hand as he tried to find a place to hide, anywhere. He had to get away from these women and find someone else for help...

That was when he noticed a sign.

Mirror Maze.

He didn't even bother to think too much before rushing inside. If it would help him lose his pursuers, that would be good already as it was.

Author note: Thank you for reading so far! XDDD Just wondering—I've had this strange idea of a ship name for Painted DollxCount Arganan. Strange ship itself, I know, but here's the name: Fallen Angel Shipping.

Here's why I want to give it this specific name:

1. The sword that Count Arganan gives to Zael, the main character, about halfway through the game is called 'Fallen Angel.'

2. Painted Doll/June was once an angel in Heaven as far as I can figure out, and then fell into Hell somehow (though I have a feeling that the Agent is partially to blame for this—apologies if I get it wrong but I have NOT seen the Devil's Carnival: Alleluia! movie so this is just my speculation speaking), therefore labeling her as a 'fallen angel' because that's what they generally call those that fell into Hell from Heaven.

3. Count Arganan and Painted Doll BOTH were in better positions in the past, with Count Arganan having implied (judging by the fact that he always carries a sword but doesn't fight in the battle scenes) to have once been a soldier while Painted Doll/June was once an angel in Heaven. June/Painted Doll got sent to Hell while Count Arganan most likely lost his limbs after a horrible time during war or something prior to the game and, before he became Count, had nothing else to give him any status.

4. Also, Count Arganan and Painted Doll have disfigurement on one side of their faces, despite the fact that Painted Doll has it on the right side of her face while Count Arganan has his on the left side of his face (and apparently in a piece of concept art Arganan has scars ALL OVER the left side of his body but I can't find it online anywhere), and before being a denizen of Hell the Painted Doll didn't have any facial scars and I'm guessing that before he lost his limbs and had his facial scars Count Arganan probably didn't have any scars on him either.

Hence, Fallen Angel Shipping.

I'd like to know what you think of it, so please tell me via reviews or PMs! Thanks! XD