LET THE HORROR BEGIN.
It's done... the horrible "short" is done.
And now, for a little background. A long time ago, me and Hayley RPed something horrible. It was a Madoka meme, and we couldn't help ourselves. We ended up RPing Disgaea characters straight into the horrible world of Madoka Magica, complete with Mid-Boss as a magical girl.
But it didn't end here.
And so, with much lateness, I bring you another part of this Madoka/Disgaea fusion. Ladies, gentlemen...
Contract?
Warning: It is a Madoka based fic, so... Dark fic, some trigger warnings as well, mostly mentions of suicide.
The hot wind was whipping through the area, creating small sandstorms in its wake. The sand waves came and went, simultaneously digging up and covering up the various ruins poking out the sand. With the exception of the two demons covered in protective cloaks wandering around in the storm, not a single spark of life could be found.
It was the perfect dramatic entrance, if Flonne could say so herself. On the other hand, Laharl was clearly not as giddy and happy as the Fallen Angel next to him was, shrugging and looking rather disturbed by the sights.
“Laharl-san! You need to start enjoying the sights more. Don’t focus on the fact that we’re lost just-“
“We’re not lost,” Laharl interrupted, looking more serious than ever.
“But... you said we were heading into the city...” Granted, compared to the extravagantly humongous human cities, towns and cities in the Netherworld always seemed smaller and more rustic... but these were ruins.
“This was the city,” he said emotionlessly after a few moments. Both he and Flonne simply stared in a strange mix of confusion and amazement at the barren wasteland before them. There were no logical explanations for this, how could an entire city, filled with powerful demons too, be completely removed from the map in less than a week? And even if it did, it looked as if the city had been lost for centuries. Even towns raided by Baal in the past escaped better than this. It made no sense.
Or at least, it wouldn’t have been a few weeks earlier. Flonne held out her hand before her, the ring on her middle finger slowly turning into a magenta egg like jewel.
“Laharl-san, we’re surrounded by witches!”
“I could have told you that and I don’t even need one of those!” Laharl said, motioning all around him. There were at least half a dozen witch barriers in plain sight, and they both could feel even more distorted magic in the distance. Understanding the futility of her action, Flonne quickly returned her soul gem to its ring form, sighing softly.
“This... is a bit ridiculous...”
“At least you’ll get enough of these whatchamacallits to last you a lifetime.”
“True, but it doesn’t seem nice to hoard all these grief seeds to myself. What if someone else needs it really badly?”
“Tch, it’s their fault for using up all their mana like idiots!”
Flonne turned around to face Laharl with the clear intention of a good scolding and a lesson on love and helping others. However, she stopped dead in her tracks as she caught a glimpse of his face. He looked so... tired. Anyone else probably wouldn’t have noticed anything wrong with the Overlord, but she knew better. His eyes were slightly dull, as if they had lost their initial spark and were just slightly closed and unfocused.
“Oi, are we going in or what? I’m starting to get sand in my clothes and it’s getting itchy!”
That typical outburst seemed to snap her out of it. “You don’t have to come and help me Laharl-san, it’s my duty to defeat these witches, I couldn’t make you do it.”
“Who cares? Like hell I’m standing here in a sand storm while you get to go and have all the fun! Anyway, you have to be careful with your magic now, right? I’ll just do most of the dirty work and you can keep your gem thing clean for the big one. Yeesh... who thought that was a good idea.”
“Laharl...”
Geh... did she just call him...? “H-Hey! I’m not doing this for you! If you started losing because of that gem thing, I’d be in trouble!” He suddenly blurted out, badly trying to hide that faint blush on his face. Yeah, he wasn’t worried about her or anything, this was purely to relieve his own boredom and because it was also beneficial to him. Yep... the red on his face? It was just the sand being rough on his face, yep.
Flonne frowned slightly. Of course she knew that... that was the entire reason why they were here together in the first place.
****
Working as a prison guard had never been an exciting job prospect for any demon. It was an odd type of job that ranged between the two extremes. On one hand, it was extremely boring. Prisons had more seals and power limiters than Sir Sweet daily calorie intake, so most of the time, guards stood around doing nothing while the prisoners taunted and insulted them. On the other hand, if even one of these seals should break... they were nothing more than meat shields, a small diversion for the real cavalry to arrive and contain them. It was a lose-lose situation in any case.
However, these conditions were nothing compared to the current situation. Only two guards remained in the dungeons, barely being able to even glance at the one remaining prisoner in the cells. That poor Fallen Angel...
You could barely recognise Flonne anymore. She was curled up in a corner, her face half hidden behind her knees, her hands clenched on her chest, immobile. Even the most hardened demon wouldn’t be able to feel some sort of pity at the sight, especially considering that she was still her normal optimistic self with the other prisoners just a few days ago. That was... until they came.
All at once, these ‘things’ started showing up in the dungeons. Magical portals appeared and strange beings from within started attacking everyone on sight. It didn’t take long for the guards to realise that most of their efforts were futile, no matter how much energy they poured; they couldn’t harm the beasts within the portals. Some guards started disappearing into thin air, some eventually reappearing, stating that they could harm the beasts during the incident... some never making it back. But while some guards managed to defeat or at least fend them off, the others weren’t as lucky.
The seals in place blocked the prisoners. The two remaining guards were still haunted by the look in the prisoners’ eyes that night. That look of intense fear and hopelessness. They knew, they knew the moment they saw the guards fighting that they couldn’t do a thing. The King’s old vassals, Flonne, and even Etna, they couldn’t do a thing to defend themselves. At least some of them managed to survive the assault better than the guards, even if the casualties were high on both sides. But at least the danger had passed and they were safe.
Of course, right there, Murphy had to come knocking.
Some of the surviving guards simply disappeared afterwards and were never seen again. The others brushed it off as deserters, at least until they noticed how odd the prisoners were acting. Gone was the defiance and escape planning, everyone simply stayed quiet. It was unsettling to say the least, especially when the only noises they could hear were random demented little laughs or screams of release.
And one by one... they-
“Ah, I see our little angel is still resisting.”
The guard tensed up as Yasurl made her way down for her daily inspection. That woman... Laharl’s aunt, most in the castle had known that she had been trying to bump the Prince off the throne ever since her last visit with her children to the palace. However, no one ever expected her to actually grab it for herself. No one was quite sure how she managed it, but in the span of a few hours, all of the old vassals had been either eliminated, imprisoned, or pledged alliance to the new regime. All they knew was that these orders came directly from Laharl and that Yasurl personally eliminated anyone who asked about it.
“Perhaps it’s that head full of sunshine that keeps the kiss from working properly. Tell me angel, how do you feel?”
Flonne didn’t move an inch from her position and remained quiet, both frustrating yet amusing the new Queen greatly. She took a ceremonial knife out, casually cleaning her fingernails with the tip.
“Oh, we finally found were Etna turned up,” she mentioned. Finally, that seemed to cause some reaction from Flonne, who slightly raised her head. “It was quite a gruesome sight however, but it should put your mind at ease.”
“She managed to make it about two corridors down to a secluded place,” she continued casually, ignoring the two guards that were looking more and more uncomfortable by the second. “She was smiling when we found her, hanging off the doorframe. “
“Etna-san...?” Flonne finally muttered, facing Yasurl. This time, the guards could clearly notice that she still had a small mark on the side of her neck, the same mark that had appeared on most of the survivors. The witch kiss.
“Yes, she was the last one we found. Most of the other prisoners were found in the corridors leading to her. My my... I do wonder where they found all that rope though. Who could have left it all there for them to find.”
“... how... horrible...”
“Don’t you think that poor little ‘Etna-san’ could use some company?” Yasurl smirked, tossing the knife into the cell. The two guards simply stared at the scene horrified. They wouldn’t dare to raise any objections to what she was doing, after all... they knew very well that she was the one who had lured the creatures down to attack them.
But... then they felt it... something in the air, changing. Yasurl was gloating in front of the cell and it didn’t seem to faze her but Flonne... something changed. For the first time in days... her eyes narrowed and suddenly became focused.
Yasurl never noticed that the guards stepped back.
“Laharl-san...?”
“Oh? You want to see my darling little nephew? I’m sorry, but that would be impossible, he’s already far gone. Don’t hope to see him on the other side though, my dear little Kira is making sure to keep his body and original soul safe in his possession.”
Flonne’s head slumped back in her knees for a few moments before her hand finally reached for the knife, under Yasurl’s gleeful eyes. She had been waiting for this moment ever since that bitch had purified Kira’s soul and sent him into the afterlife. She wanted the other dead, but that angel? She wanted to see it, she wanted to enjoy it.
“All of this... this is too horrible. Etna-san, Laharl-san, how could you?” Something was wrong, thought Yasurl, her smirk suddenly turning into a frown. She could feel in the pit of her stomach... something wasn’t quite right anymore. “I... I couldn’t do anything for Etna-san... but I’m not letting you take Laharl away!”
The cell exploded before Yasurl could even react, the wall of bars pinning her down to the stone wall and momentarily knocking the wind out of her. Flonne flew out of the cell at top speed, holding the knife as her only means of attack. How in the Netherworlds was this even possible? These cells were completely magic proof, she couldn’t have busted out of there even if she prayed to the Seraph.
It was only as Flonne hurled herself up the stairs that she finally noticed the change. Flonne... her clothes had changed, and she caught a small shimmer on her chest, something that shouldn’t belong there. “Dammit, guards, don’t let her get away!” she shouted, realising too late that she was alone.
Well, not completely alone. Peeling the bars off of her, she spotted the traitor. Hidden in the shadows, the white, furry creature waited, his same impassible smile on his face. Before she could even think of yelling at him, he simply spoke to her.
She wanted to become a magical girl, so I granted her wish, that’s all. Yasurl, were you under the impression that I was working for you? I grant wishes to anyone who is willing to contract with me.
***
The grief seed bounced off a sand dune as the barrier started to dissipate. The two demons landed not too far away themselves, looking rather pleased. That was the third witch in about twenty minutes, if they kept up this rate, Flonne would have no problems with her soul gem for quite some time. Signaling to Laharl to follow her, she happily skipped towards their prize. It was too bad Laharl couldn’t get something out of it though, he was a big help to her while witch hunting. In fact, she started to think that he was quite enjoying himself. She couldn’t exactly blame him for that, witches were different from fighting regular demons, it probably felt like a new challenge for the young Overlord. If he didn’t need her help to enter the witch barrier, he would have probably gone off to fight them all himself.
Speaking of him, she turned around to thank him for the millionth time in two days, only to find that he hadn’t followed her. She started looking around in a panic, only to find him still at the top of the sand dune. Anyone else looking would have never believed it could have been Laharl, his figure wobbling in the wind, zoning out in the distance. Horrified, Flonne immediately dashed off towards him with a cry, dropping the seed. Shoot, they had been good about keeping this in check.
As she got closer, she could see him starting to grab his head in pain, glaring at her. While she knew what to expect, it still startled her to see such a look on him, especially when his eyes were starting to turn silver. “Kira! Get out!” she cried out, grabbing Laharl by his shoulders.
The effect was instantaneous. Laharl’s eyes snapped back to their normal colour and intensity, as they were before this entire ordeal started. He blinked a few times before realising just how close the Fallen Angel was, and jerking back away from her.
“Sorry Laharl-san, I should have been more careful.”
“Tch, nevermind, it’s fine now. The brat is gone,” he said, that dullness returning to his eyes. Dammit, he hated this. He was supposed to be the Overlord, not some damsel in distress depending on someone else for his own survival. It shouldn’t be like this. He should be the one blasting away those witches and teaching them not to mess with his kingdom, not the tagalong kid. Gah, could this day be any worse?
“Well, well, angel, I didn’t think you were into littering.”
Note to self, he thought. Shut up.
Seemingly out of nowhere, Yasurl appeared over one of the dune, picking up the grief seed as she approached them. Laharl tensed up immediately, dammit, this really wasn’t his day. Out of all people that could be here... why did it have to be HER? He was already feeling pretty useless... and both Flonne and his aunt knew what effect the latter had on him. Still, this time Yasurl had gone too far. Laharl grabbed his sword in defiance, Flonne, still transformed, following suit with her bow.
Yasurl raised an eyebrow at Laharl. Interesting... it seems like his useless nephew was finally showing some spine. This was unacceptable. “Such rebellious children,” she said, copying Flonne and transforming into her magical girl form herself. “But don’t worry, it’s my duty as your aunt to put filth back in its place.”
Sadly, any good intentions Laharl had of kicking his aunt’s ass vanished along with his confidence the second her whip snapped at his feet. At least Flonne knew it was coming, jumping in front of him and firing off a volley of arrows, forcing the woman to launch herself into the air, fire erupting from her hands towards the Fallen Angel.
Right as it was about to hit her however, the magic ricocheted and flew right back at its owner, interrupting her next spell. This wasn’t the first time this had happened, back when the two of them escaped the castle, she recalled being attacked by her own attacks a few times. How strange, she thought while dodging another volley of arrows. Well then... this was starting to get interesting.
Yasurl fired off another spell at Flonne, however this time, she flew over her, continuously firing and ignoring the multiple attacks hitting her in the meantime. Yes, there it was.
Flonne had raised her shield for the first few attacks, deflecting them away from her. The rest of the spells simply died out before even touching her. So... that was her trick... that would explain how she managed to destroy her jail cell... and how she was able to neutralise Kira’s soul. How... simplistic.
She shot another barrage of fire spells, expecting Flonne to deflect them back at her, but this time, she snapped her whip in her direction as well. The Angel never saw it coming and she couldn’t help but smile as the girl went flying off. Laharl, finally regaining some colours on his face, went to charge at his aunt, but rapidly stumbled to the ground, grabbing his head in pain. “Why, thank you Kira,” she purred as she left her possessed nephew to fight for his soul to deal with Flonne.
“Magical nullification... that might explain how you can return Laharl-chan to normal when you’re next to him, clever, if I say so myself. However, do you really think it can work all the time?” Flonne shot a glance beyond Yasurl, dammit, she was already far enough for Kira to be able to influence Laharl’s movements. She tried to make a break for it, only to be pinned back down by the whip. “Seems like it only works for magic though... and considering your current state, I’m willing to bet that this includes all magic, even healing.” Flonne bit her lip, confirming Yasurl’s hypothesis. She hadn’t had time to heal herself or clear her soul gem after the last witch, giving her an even bigger disadvantage over the woman, who just managed to figure her powers out. And with Laharl both trying to regain control over his own body, and fighting the influence his aunt had over him... This wasn’t exactly going as planned.
Strangely, Yasurl wasn’t doing anything more than simply looming over, holding up the grief seed over Flonne, taunting her. “In the end,” she said, a dark grin forming on her face. “You and I are pretty alike... I must say I’m surprised, I never expected you to be so cunning... then again, you know what they say about Fallen Angels.”
Flonne’s sudden confusion rapidly changed into an expression of horror, one that was shared by Laharl. “What are you talking about, Yasurl-san? I am nothing like you! You did all these horrible things to Laharl-san, your own family, and you’re still doing it right now!”
“But... aren’t you doing the same?” She tossed the grief seed right over Flonne’s dimmed gem, catching it at the last second. “Tell me... what do you know about the contract you performed with Kyubey? Did you know that this soul gem is now your life? I could smash it right there and you’d die before you’d even realise it. I could pick it up and toss it away... and you’d just be yet another corpse lost in this desert. And now... what about Laharl?”
Flonne opened her mouth to reply, but Yasurl simply continued on, ignoring the confusion and ignorance on her face. “See... you wished to save Laharl? How interesting... as long as he’s next to you, my dear child cannot take over his body as I wished... “ she tilted her head towards Laharl, who was staring at her, slowly realising what she was going at. “In other words, Flonne-chan... aren’t you subjecting Laharl to your own fate? Tell me... how do you like it? How do you like having him as a lap dog?”
“That’s... How... no!”
“Oh but you cannot deny it. I saw you, Flonne-chan. I saw how happy you looked having my nephew next to you, how thrilled you were when he was stuck holding your hand just so he could fully control himself. Can you deny it---“
“That’s enough Yasurl!” spat Laharl, forgetting all about Kira trying to pull his strings for the moment.
“You could have made that wish a million different ways, Flonne-chan, but you chose to save Laharl-chan this way. You became Laharl-chan’s own soul gem... utterly dependant on you, and useless. And you’re enjoying it...”
Flonne stood there, lying in the sand. No... no, that woman was wrong... she.. she wasn’t doing that to Laharl. She just wanted to help him, to save him from that terrible wish that was destroying him from the inside. Of course... she couldn’t deny that she did enjoy the fact that this brought them close but... no, this had nothing to do with it! She wasn’t like that!
“You know what they say about Fallen Angels, correct? How they tend to become succubi? I’d say you’re well on your way there. Seems like you already trapped one man into your web, congratulations!”
No, no, no, NO! It wasn’t like that at all. That’s not what she wanted. She wanted to scream, yell, anything to just make that woman stop talking. This wasn’t true at all... she could never do that! Not to Laharl, not to ANYONE.
And yet... for one second, for one moment... she glanced up at Laharl and she saw it, that blank, shocked look. For one second... Yasurl’s words hit.
“Flonne...? Did...”
And with these two words, Flonne’s world shattered. He didn’t believe her, he thought she was using him. Was she? Did she turn him into an useless prop following her? Was she perhaps... enjoying this herself. She buried her face in her hands, quietly muttering to herself, trying to convince herself... anyone...
She never noticed the wicked, insane grin forming over Yasurl’s face, nor her own gem growing darker and darker by the second. “See, Laharl-chan... seems like you keep running into the same kind of women after all. Did I leave such an impression on you?”
“No...” Flonne said, softly, her hands still on her face.
Yasurl stared down at her. What was with this girl? Even Krichevskoy had fallen after this much emotional turmoil, but that Angel? Her soul gem was nearly completely black, but it had stopped. How could she still hold on like this? She should have fallen into despair already. What was with this girl. “Even if Laharl hates me... even if he never believes me again, I’ll make sure he stays Laharl. And even it does make me like you... at least I’ll know... that I’m doing this for HIM!”
As fast as she could, she managed to summon her bow once last time, channelling her nullification powers to form an arrow. Yasurl was so absorbed in her reflexions that she never even had the time to react as the arrow fired. She went flying back, finally freeing Flonne from her presence and sealing her magic for a short time.
However, while Flonne did get the final attack in, that was all she could do. She dropped her bow, having finally exhausted herself to the point of no return. Did she do it? Did she free Laharl from his aunt? Did that redeem her?
You idiot! Get up! What’s wrong with you?”
... Laharl? Oh... right... she kept forgetting about that power of hers. It just wasn’t very natural to talk directly into someone’s head.
Laharl... she said, once again, forgetting the proper way to address him. I’m sorry I---
Dammit Love Freak... don’t listen to her... just... ignore her! This isn’t like you!
So... you don’t hate me?
Why would I hate you, you haven’t done anything wrong?
She managed to turn her head towards him and smile... that was strange... why did he look in pain too?
Laharl... thank you---
The following blast of wind hit Laharl straight on, blowing him even further away from Flonne. He felt Kira’s influence wash over him as his senses were swallowed by the darkness. And just as his consciousness finally slipped, the last thing he managed to hear was the sound of a loud, sickening crack...
OOC will be in the comments.
This entry was originally posted at http://taiga-ameca.dreamwidth.org/100025.html.
And now, for a little background. A long time ago, me and Hayley RPed something horrible. It was a Madoka meme, and we couldn't help ourselves. We ended up RPing Disgaea characters straight into the horrible world of Madoka Magica, complete with Mid-Boss as a magical girl.
But it didn't end here.
And so, with much lateness, I bring you another part of this Madoka/Disgaea fusion. Ladies, gentlemen...
Contract?
Warning: It is a Madoka based fic, so... Dark fic, some trigger warnings as well, mostly mentions of suicide.
The hot wind was whipping through the area, creating small sandstorms in its wake. The sand waves came and went, simultaneously digging up and covering up the various ruins poking out the sand. With the exception of the two demons covered in protective cloaks wandering around in the storm, not a single spark of life could be found.
It was the perfect dramatic entrance, if Flonne could say so herself. On the other hand, Laharl was clearly not as giddy and happy as the Fallen Angel next to him was, shrugging and looking rather disturbed by the sights.
“Laharl-san! You need to start enjoying the sights more. Don’t focus on the fact that we’re lost just-“
“We’re not lost,” Laharl interrupted, looking more serious than ever.
“But... you said we were heading into the city...” Granted, compared to the extravagantly humongous human cities, towns and cities in the Netherworld always seemed smaller and more rustic... but these were ruins.
“This was the city,” he said emotionlessly after a few moments. Both he and Flonne simply stared in a strange mix of confusion and amazement at the barren wasteland before them. There were no logical explanations for this, how could an entire city, filled with powerful demons too, be completely removed from the map in less than a week? And even if it did, it looked as if the city had been lost for centuries. Even towns raided by Baal in the past escaped better than this. It made no sense.
Or at least, it wouldn’t have been a few weeks earlier. Flonne held out her hand before her, the ring on her middle finger slowly turning into a magenta egg like jewel.
“Laharl-san, we’re surrounded by witches!”
“I could have told you that and I don’t even need one of those!” Laharl said, motioning all around him. There were at least half a dozen witch barriers in plain sight, and they both could feel even more distorted magic in the distance. Understanding the futility of her action, Flonne quickly returned her soul gem to its ring form, sighing softly.
“This... is a bit ridiculous...”
“At least you’ll get enough of these whatchamacallits to last you a lifetime.”
“True, but it doesn’t seem nice to hoard all these grief seeds to myself. What if someone else needs it really badly?”
“Tch, it’s their fault for using up all their mana like idiots!”
Flonne turned around to face Laharl with the clear intention of a good scolding and a lesson on love and helping others. However, she stopped dead in her tracks as she caught a glimpse of his face. He looked so... tired. Anyone else probably wouldn’t have noticed anything wrong with the Overlord, but she knew better. His eyes were slightly dull, as if they had lost their initial spark and were just slightly closed and unfocused.
“Oi, are we going in or what? I’m starting to get sand in my clothes and it’s getting itchy!”
That typical outburst seemed to snap her out of it. “You don’t have to come and help me Laharl-san, it’s my duty to defeat these witches, I couldn’t make you do it.”
“Who cares? Like hell I’m standing here in a sand storm while you get to go and have all the fun! Anyway, you have to be careful with your magic now, right? I’ll just do most of the dirty work and you can keep your gem thing clean for the big one. Yeesh... who thought that was a good idea.”
“Laharl...”
Geh... did she just call him...? “H-Hey! I’m not doing this for you! If you started losing because of that gem thing, I’d be in trouble!” He suddenly blurted out, badly trying to hide that faint blush on his face. Yeah, he wasn’t worried about her or anything, this was purely to relieve his own boredom and because it was also beneficial to him. Yep... the red on his face? It was just the sand being rough on his face, yep.
Flonne frowned slightly. Of course she knew that... that was the entire reason why they were here together in the first place.
****
Working as a prison guard had never been an exciting job prospect for any demon. It was an odd type of job that ranged between the two extremes. On one hand, it was extremely boring. Prisons had more seals and power limiters than Sir Sweet daily calorie intake, so most of the time, guards stood around doing nothing while the prisoners taunted and insulted them. On the other hand, if even one of these seals should break... they were nothing more than meat shields, a small diversion for the real cavalry to arrive and contain them. It was a lose-lose situation in any case.
However, these conditions were nothing compared to the current situation. Only two guards remained in the dungeons, barely being able to even glance at the one remaining prisoner in the cells. That poor Fallen Angel...
You could barely recognise Flonne anymore. She was curled up in a corner, her face half hidden behind her knees, her hands clenched on her chest, immobile. Even the most hardened demon wouldn’t be able to feel some sort of pity at the sight, especially considering that she was still her normal optimistic self with the other prisoners just a few days ago. That was... until they came.
All at once, these ‘things’ started showing up in the dungeons. Magical portals appeared and strange beings from within started attacking everyone on sight. It didn’t take long for the guards to realise that most of their efforts were futile, no matter how much energy they poured; they couldn’t harm the beasts within the portals. Some guards started disappearing into thin air, some eventually reappearing, stating that they could harm the beasts during the incident... some never making it back. But while some guards managed to defeat or at least fend them off, the others weren’t as lucky.
The seals in place blocked the prisoners. The two remaining guards were still haunted by the look in the prisoners’ eyes that night. That look of intense fear and hopelessness. They knew, they knew the moment they saw the guards fighting that they couldn’t do a thing. The King’s old vassals, Flonne, and even Etna, they couldn’t do a thing to defend themselves. At least some of them managed to survive the assault better than the guards, even if the casualties were high on both sides. But at least the danger had passed and they were safe.
Of course, right there, Murphy had to come knocking.
Some of the surviving guards simply disappeared afterwards and were never seen again. The others brushed it off as deserters, at least until they noticed how odd the prisoners were acting. Gone was the defiance and escape planning, everyone simply stayed quiet. It was unsettling to say the least, especially when the only noises they could hear were random demented little laughs or screams of release.
And one by one... they-
“Ah, I see our little angel is still resisting.”
The guard tensed up as Yasurl made her way down for her daily inspection. That woman... Laharl’s aunt, most in the castle had known that she had been trying to bump the Prince off the throne ever since her last visit with her children to the palace. However, no one ever expected her to actually grab it for herself. No one was quite sure how she managed it, but in the span of a few hours, all of the old vassals had been either eliminated, imprisoned, or pledged alliance to the new regime. All they knew was that these orders came directly from Laharl and that Yasurl personally eliminated anyone who asked about it.
“Perhaps it’s that head full of sunshine that keeps the kiss from working properly. Tell me angel, how do you feel?”
Flonne didn’t move an inch from her position and remained quiet, both frustrating yet amusing the new Queen greatly. She took a ceremonial knife out, casually cleaning her fingernails with the tip.
“Oh, we finally found were Etna turned up,” she mentioned. Finally, that seemed to cause some reaction from Flonne, who slightly raised her head. “It was quite a gruesome sight however, but it should put your mind at ease.”
“She managed to make it about two corridors down to a secluded place,” she continued casually, ignoring the two guards that were looking more and more uncomfortable by the second. “She was smiling when we found her, hanging off the doorframe. “
“Etna-san...?” Flonne finally muttered, facing Yasurl. This time, the guards could clearly notice that she still had a small mark on the side of her neck, the same mark that had appeared on most of the survivors. The witch kiss.
“Yes, she was the last one we found. Most of the other prisoners were found in the corridors leading to her. My my... I do wonder where they found all that rope though. Who could have left it all there for them to find.”
“... how... horrible...”
“Don’t you think that poor little ‘Etna-san’ could use some company?” Yasurl smirked, tossing the knife into the cell. The two guards simply stared at the scene horrified. They wouldn’t dare to raise any objections to what she was doing, after all... they knew very well that she was the one who had lured the creatures down to attack them.
But... then they felt it... something in the air, changing. Yasurl was gloating in front of the cell and it didn’t seem to faze her but Flonne... something changed. For the first time in days... her eyes narrowed and suddenly became focused.
Yasurl never noticed that the guards stepped back.
“Laharl-san...?”
“Oh? You want to see my darling little nephew? I’m sorry, but that would be impossible, he’s already far gone. Don’t hope to see him on the other side though, my dear little Kira is making sure to keep his body and original soul safe in his possession.”
Flonne’s head slumped back in her knees for a few moments before her hand finally reached for the knife, under Yasurl’s gleeful eyes. She had been waiting for this moment ever since that bitch had purified Kira’s soul and sent him into the afterlife. She wanted the other dead, but that angel? She wanted to see it, she wanted to enjoy it.
“All of this... this is too horrible. Etna-san, Laharl-san, how could you?” Something was wrong, thought Yasurl, her smirk suddenly turning into a frown. She could feel in the pit of her stomach... something wasn’t quite right anymore. “I... I couldn’t do anything for Etna-san... but I’m not letting you take Laharl away!”
The cell exploded before Yasurl could even react, the wall of bars pinning her down to the stone wall and momentarily knocking the wind out of her. Flonne flew out of the cell at top speed, holding the knife as her only means of attack. How in the Netherworlds was this even possible? These cells were completely magic proof, she couldn’t have busted out of there even if she prayed to the Seraph.
It was only as Flonne hurled herself up the stairs that she finally noticed the change. Flonne... her clothes had changed, and she caught a small shimmer on her chest, something that shouldn’t belong there. “Dammit, guards, don’t let her get away!” she shouted, realising too late that she was alone.
Well, not completely alone. Peeling the bars off of her, she spotted the traitor. Hidden in the shadows, the white, furry creature waited, his same impassible smile on his face. Before she could even think of yelling at him, he simply spoke to her.
She wanted to become a magical girl, so I granted her wish, that’s all. Yasurl, were you under the impression that I was working for you? I grant wishes to anyone who is willing to contract with me.
***
The grief seed bounced off a sand dune as the barrier started to dissipate. The two demons landed not too far away themselves, looking rather pleased. That was the third witch in about twenty minutes, if they kept up this rate, Flonne would have no problems with her soul gem for quite some time. Signaling to Laharl to follow her, she happily skipped towards their prize. It was too bad Laharl couldn’t get something out of it though, he was a big help to her while witch hunting. In fact, she started to think that he was quite enjoying himself. She couldn’t exactly blame him for that, witches were different from fighting regular demons, it probably felt like a new challenge for the young Overlord. If he didn’t need her help to enter the witch barrier, he would have probably gone off to fight them all himself.
Speaking of him, she turned around to thank him for the millionth time in two days, only to find that he hadn’t followed her. She started looking around in a panic, only to find him still at the top of the sand dune. Anyone else looking would have never believed it could have been Laharl, his figure wobbling in the wind, zoning out in the distance. Horrified, Flonne immediately dashed off towards him with a cry, dropping the seed. Shoot, they had been good about keeping this in check.
As she got closer, she could see him starting to grab his head in pain, glaring at her. While she knew what to expect, it still startled her to see such a look on him, especially when his eyes were starting to turn silver. “Kira! Get out!” she cried out, grabbing Laharl by his shoulders.
The effect was instantaneous. Laharl’s eyes snapped back to their normal colour and intensity, as they were before this entire ordeal started. He blinked a few times before realising just how close the Fallen Angel was, and jerking back away from her.
“Sorry Laharl-san, I should have been more careful.”
“Tch, nevermind, it’s fine now. The brat is gone,” he said, that dullness returning to his eyes. Dammit, he hated this. He was supposed to be the Overlord, not some damsel in distress depending on someone else for his own survival. It shouldn’t be like this. He should be the one blasting away those witches and teaching them not to mess with his kingdom, not the tagalong kid. Gah, could this day be any worse?
“Well, well, angel, I didn’t think you were into littering.”
Note to self, he thought. Shut up.
Seemingly out of nowhere, Yasurl appeared over one of the dune, picking up the grief seed as she approached them. Laharl tensed up immediately, dammit, this really wasn’t his day. Out of all people that could be here... why did it have to be HER? He was already feeling pretty useless... and both Flonne and his aunt knew what effect the latter had on him. Still, this time Yasurl had gone too far. Laharl grabbed his sword in defiance, Flonne, still transformed, following suit with her bow.
Yasurl raised an eyebrow at Laharl. Interesting... it seems like his useless nephew was finally showing some spine. This was unacceptable. “Such rebellious children,” she said, copying Flonne and transforming into her magical girl form herself. “But don’t worry, it’s my duty as your aunt to put filth back in its place.”
Sadly, any good intentions Laharl had of kicking his aunt’s ass vanished along with his confidence the second her whip snapped at his feet. At least Flonne knew it was coming, jumping in front of him and firing off a volley of arrows, forcing the woman to launch herself into the air, fire erupting from her hands towards the Fallen Angel.
Right as it was about to hit her however, the magic ricocheted and flew right back at its owner, interrupting her next spell. This wasn’t the first time this had happened, back when the two of them escaped the castle, she recalled being attacked by her own attacks a few times. How strange, she thought while dodging another volley of arrows. Well then... this was starting to get interesting.
Yasurl fired off another spell at Flonne, however this time, she flew over her, continuously firing and ignoring the multiple attacks hitting her in the meantime. Yes, there it was.
Flonne had raised her shield for the first few attacks, deflecting them away from her. The rest of the spells simply died out before even touching her. So... that was her trick... that would explain how she managed to destroy her jail cell... and how she was able to neutralise Kira’s soul. How... simplistic.
She shot another barrage of fire spells, expecting Flonne to deflect them back at her, but this time, she snapped her whip in her direction as well. The Angel never saw it coming and she couldn’t help but smile as the girl went flying off. Laharl, finally regaining some colours on his face, went to charge at his aunt, but rapidly stumbled to the ground, grabbing his head in pain. “Why, thank you Kira,” she purred as she left her possessed nephew to fight for his soul to deal with Flonne.
“Magical nullification... that might explain how you can return Laharl-chan to normal when you’re next to him, clever, if I say so myself. However, do you really think it can work all the time?” Flonne shot a glance beyond Yasurl, dammit, she was already far enough for Kira to be able to influence Laharl’s movements. She tried to make a break for it, only to be pinned back down by the whip. “Seems like it only works for magic though... and considering your current state, I’m willing to bet that this includes all magic, even healing.” Flonne bit her lip, confirming Yasurl’s hypothesis. She hadn’t had time to heal herself or clear her soul gem after the last witch, giving her an even bigger disadvantage over the woman, who just managed to figure her powers out. And with Laharl both trying to regain control over his own body, and fighting the influence his aunt had over him... This wasn’t exactly going as planned.
Strangely, Yasurl wasn’t doing anything more than simply looming over, holding up the grief seed over Flonne, taunting her. “In the end,” she said, a dark grin forming on her face. “You and I are pretty alike... I must say I’m surprised, I never expected you to be so cunning... then again, you know what they say about Fallen Angels.”
Flonne’s sudden confusion rapidly changed into an expression of horror, one that was shared by Laharl. “What are you talking about, Yasurl-san? I am nothing like you! You did all these horrible things to Laharl-san, your own family, and you’re still doing it right now!”
“But... aren’t you doing the same?” She tossed the grief seed right over Flonne’s dimmed gem, catching it at the last second. “Tell me... what do you know about the contract you performed with Kyubey? Did you know that this soul gem is now your life? I could smash it right there and you’d die before you’d even realise it. I could pick it up and toss it away... and you’d just be yet another corpse lost in this desert. And now... what about Laharl?”
Flonne opened her mouth to reply, but Yasurl simply continued on, ignoring the confusion and ignorance on her face. “See... you wished to save Laharl? How interesting... as long as he’s next to you, my dear child cannot take over his body as I wished... “ she tilted her head towards Laharl, who was staring at her, slowly realising what she was going at. “In other words, Flonne-chan... aren’t you subjecting Laharl to your own fate? Tell me... how do you like it? How do you like having him as a lap dog?”
“That’s... How... no!”
“Oh but you cannot deny it. I saw you, Flonne-chan. I saw how happy you looked having my nephew next to you, how thrilled you were when he was stuck holding your hand just so he could fully control himself. Can you deny it---“
“That’s enough Yasurl!” spat Laharl, forgetting all about Kira trying to pull his strings for the moment.
“You could have made that wish a million different ways, Flonne-chan, but you chose to save Laharl-chan this way. You became Laharl-chan’s own soul gem... utterly dependant on you, and useless. And you’re enjoying it...”
Flonne stood there, lying in the sand. No... no, that woman was wrong... she.. she wasn’t doing that to Laharl. She just wanted to help him, to save him from that terrible wish that was destroying him from the inside. Of course... she couldn’t deny that she did enjoy the fact that this brought them close but... no, this had nothing to do with it! She wasn’t like that!
“You know what they say about Fallen Angels, correct? How they tend to become succubi? I’d say you’re well on your way there. Seems like you already trapped one man into your web, congratulations!”
No, no, no, NO! It wasn’t like that at all. That’s not what she wanted. She wanted to scream, yell, anything to just make that woman stop talking. This wasn’t true at all... she could never do that! Not to Laharl, not to ANYONE.
And yet... for one second, for one moment... she glanced up at Laharl and she saw it, that blank, shocked look. For one second... Yasurl’s words hit.
“Flonne...? Did...”
And with these two words, Flonne’s world shattered. He didn’t believe her, he thought she was using him. Was she? Did she turn him into an useless prop following her? Was she perhaps... enjoying this herself. She buried her face in her hands, quietly muttering to herself, trying to convince herself... anyone...
She never noticed the wicked, insane grin forming over Yasurl’s face, nor her own gem growing darker and darker by the second. “See, Laharl-chan... seems like you keep running into the same kind of women after all. Did I leave such an impression on you?”
“No...” Flonne said, softly, her hands still on her face.
Yasurl stared down at her. What was with this girl? Even Krichevskoy had fallen after this much emotional turmoil, but that Angel? Her soul gem was nearly completely black, but it had stopped. How could she still hold on like this? She should have fallen into despair already. What was with this girl. “Even if Laharl hates me... even if he never believes me again, I’ll make sure he stays Laharl. And even it does make me like you... at least I’ll know... that I’m doing this for HIM!”
As fast as she could, she managed to summon her bow once last time, channelling her nullification powers to form an arrow. Yasurl was so absorbed in her reflexions that she never even had the time to react as the arrow fired. She went flying back, finally freeing Flonne from her presence and sealing her magic for a short time.
However, while Flonne did get the final attack in, that was all she could do. She dropped her bow, having finally exhausted herself to the point of no return. Did she do it? Did she free Laharl from his aunt? Did that redeem her?
You idiot! Get up! What’s wrong with you?”
... Laharl? Oh... right... she kept forgetting about that power of hers. It just wasn’t very natural to talk directly into someone’s head.
Laharl... she said, once again, forgetting the proper way to address him. I’m sorry I---
Dammit Love Freak... don’t listen to her... just... ignore her! This isn’t like you!
So... you don’t hate me?
Why would I hate you, you haven’t done anything wrong?
She managed to turn her head towards him and smile... that was strange... why did he look in pain too?
Laharl... thank you---
The following blast of wind hit Laharl straight on, blowing him even further away from Flonne. He felt Kira’s influence wash over him as his senses were swallowed by the darkness. And just as his consciousness finally slipped, the last thing he managed to hear was the sound of a loud, sickening crack...
OOC will be in the comments.
This entry was originally posted at http://taiga-ameca.dreamwidth.org/100025.html.