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Lamington had explained that ordinarily he'd have invited them to stay in Celestia while the diplomatic discussions were being worked out, but due to the optics of the situation with Fallen Angel Flonne, it would be better for them to depart and return later after an official summons for negotiation.
Laharl grudgingly had to respect the Seraph's dedication to sneakily circumventing all but the letter of the law; and besides, he didn't really want to stay in Celestia anyway. He was tired, damn it! He was feeling raw and drained for reasons he couldn't accurately describe, even to himself, and he was more than happy to slump back to the Netherworld with Flonne and Etna.
He kept his fingers wrapped tightly around those of the new fallen angel the entire time.
Flonne's fingers were clasped tightly around Laharl's the entire trip from Celestia back to the great gate separating Celestia from the Netherworld. They passed the great gardens full of blooming flowers, including her favorite Yuie flowers, skirting angels the entire time to avoid more of an upset than they'd already caused.
She hadn't said much after that last exchange with Master Laming—well, she supposed he wasn't her master anymore, was he? That was a little sad; she'd cared for him very much. She'd been cast down out of Celestia and stripped of her angelic title. Lamington cast her down to become a Fallen Angel—a demon—under Laharl's care.
It was a punishment for harming angels, even in self defense, but she felt strange. Like she should be more upset about it than she was.
There were new feelings inside her, or maybe, old feelings that she'd been holding back. They threatened to overwhelm her every time she felt her tail flick about behind her, or her wings catch the wind.
Somehow she wasn't upset about losing her angelic nature, not when the reason she was still here was Laharl's love. Love. She'd KNOWN demons could love—and everything Lamington said when she'd been restored pointed to Laharl's love being what saved her from oblivion.
Her heart fluttered—even if she was going back to the Netherworld, or maybe especially because it—she was going to be a bridge between Celestia and the Netherworld. She was going to get to stay with Laharl, and Etna, and Jennifer and Gordon…
Laharl had managed to keep up his self important swagger all the way home and through the palace. His shoulders squared, he'd boasted to the vassals and prinneys about their victory in Celestia, and basked in their cheers and salutes.
For all of about five minutes.
He felt himself wilting slowly.
Like a flower, he thought. And the very thought chilled him to the bone.
"I'm going to bed!" he snapped. He still hadn't let go of Flonne's hand. He looked at her and Etna.
Celestia had been disgusting.
There was something about it that gave Etna the willies. Maybe it was the 'Celestial Hosts' who all talked like machines straight out of one of Flonnes' stupid comics, making Thursday seem like some kind of emotional powerhouse. Maybe it was the artfully perfect gardens and tea sets dotting a glowing white landscape. Like some kind of huge glass box of repression.
Maybe it was the fact they'd nearly lost the annoying love freak, then and there. When she'd been turned into a flower Etna felt a cold rage grow within her as she helped Laharl get a swift and brutal revenge.
She cared about the stupid fallen angel more than she'd ever admit out loud. And they'd almost lost her? And then…then that Mid-Boss showed up and talked about how Flonne and Laharl were the 'knot' that was going to bring peace between demons and angels.
Just like 'him' and Gwen had been a 'knot' with humans and demons.
It turned her fucking stomach—but selfishly (as all demons should act), she was glad it meant Flonne would stay with them in the Netherworld.
So when they returned, and Laharl got tired of his praises being sung enough he snapped that he was going to bed like he hadn't had enough damn naps in his lifetime—Etna found herself wondering if he meant alone.
Given the way he was clinging to Flonne, she imagined not.
She poured all her glorious condescension into her tone as she grinned widely. "Looking to have a little nap, Princey? Aww…is the Overlord sleeeeepy?"
Flonne's expression turned briefly surprised—maybe she expected Laharl would be more eager to flaunt his victory to the peons? Or maybe she was just snapped out of whatever had kept her so quiet on the trip back.
"Bed?? Well…it has been an awfully long day!"
Flonne's new tail flicked, Etna admitted it was pretty cute on her. But only to herself.
"Yes I am!" Laharl snapped, stamping his foot. "And I've damned well earned a nap. You can do whatever the hell you want for all I care, but I'll graciously allow you to come and play guard dog if you're worried about some other demon trying to kill me in my sleep like you did!"
Flonne gasped, her crimson, demonically slitted eyes flicking to Etna. "You tried to kill him in his sleep, Etna? That's so rude!"
Yeah well, it wasn't like the idiot was waking up when she'd tried the 'nice' methods. The guy could sleep through an explosion. Literally. Thanks to the poison at least.
Etna shrugged her shoulders casually.
"Oh, Prince, when are you going to get over that? That was soooooo last month or whatever. I was just trying to help. But…being the saint of a demon I am, I'll gladly guard you in your sleep."
Laharl snorted. "Alright, saint demon, whatever you want."
Now he snatched her arm roughly by the wrist too, and started pulling them both toward the massive door of his royal bedroom.
"And yeah, Flonne, this whole thing started when she tried to kill me while I was taking a nap!"
Etna was admittedly a little surprised, but at the same time she could kinda see what was happening here. Laharl was upset—hell, after that mess in Celestia any demon would be. He was trying to keep them both close.
She huffed as she followed. "It wasn't that bad, all I did was shoot him a little to wake him up."
"Etna!" Flonne chided with a purse of her lips as she stumbled along after Laharl—tugged just a little faster than she was walking.
Flonne looked different now—her eyes were the same deep red as a lot of demons, her teeth sharp and pointed—her tail and wings. Even the way she dressed was more provocative than that dowdy little angel trainee getup.
But she still acted like the same whiney love freak.
She listened as Flonne continued. "You can't wake people up with BULLETS, only something like a true love's kiss can do something like that!"
"I mean the bullets did wake me up, Flonne," Laharl grumbled. He manifested his wings briefly just to use them to slam the door behind them without letting go of either of their hands.
Etna's clawed fingertips brushed against his as he clung to them…and she saw Flonne squeeze his hand just the same. He was clingy—she'd seen him get like this a few times before.
"See? All's well that ends well! The bullets woke him up, he got to meet you, Flonne—and I got to loot his palace and the spoils of battle for everything worth hoarding!"
With another purse of her lips, Flonne leaned a little closer to Laharl. "I still woulda used a kiss to wake him up. It's classic."
"I guess you're still a love freak even as a fallen angel," Laharl grumbled, shuffling to his bed. "Well, you're stuck with me now, so I guess you'll have plenty of chances to see if your stupid kiss can wake me up."
Flonne was tugged along with Laharl towards his bed, feeling a heat blooming in her cheeks. It wasn't the first time she'd spent time in his room—but it always flustered her a bit.
You're stuck with me now.
As a fallen angel, she'd actually, really become one of Laharl's vassals didn't she? He'd called her one a few times before, but she'd always known she was an angel of Celestia under it all. But now she really was his.
She walked closer until she bumped her chest against his arm, hugging it tightly in hers with a nod of her head. "I'll have to practice until it works! I …I don't want you taking a really long nap like the one Etna told me about. I'm…I'm a vassal now, right? So I gotta do everything I can to help!"
Etna snorted softly through her nose as she practically dropped onto Laharl's bed without permission. "Welcome to the club, Flonne. You're 100% evil now. As opposed to whatever you were before. 70%? You always were a pretty shitty angel."
Laharl leaned his chin on Flonne's shoulder briefly, and then fell backwards onto the bed next to Etna, pulling her down right on top of him so the three of them were practically in a pile.
"Etna's not wrong for once, you were a pretty fucking piss poor angel. you;ll make a way better demon."
Etna seemed to 'begrudgingly' cuddle up to his side with a sharp snicker. "Of course I'm right. I'm the smartest person here."
Flonne flushed, her face against Laharl's warm chest—was it just her? Or were demons warmer than angels. She'd thought so since she'd come here…was she warm now too?
She nuzzled on top of him, chewing on her lip. "I wasn't that bad of an angel! I…I was pretty pious, and uhm…nice."
You'll make a way better demon. Would she? Was Laharl happy to see her as a fallen angel?
"Sure you were nice, but you weren't exactly holy, huh?" Laharl smirked, throwing a leg around Etna as he pulled Flonne against his chest. "You seemed like you were having a lot of demonic fun around here, weren't you?"
Etna snickered, and Flonne felt her leg brush against hers as she settled herself against Laharl. "I think at one time or another you've pulled at least most of the sins, little miss Fallen Angel."
Flonne flushed deeper, feeling her new tail flick behind her before it started curling against Etna's leg, her wings fluttering on her back as she nuzzled Laharl's chest again.
"I didn't do wrath! I…I think. And having fun with demons isn't…I mean…" She glanced up at Laharl with a plaintive stare. "That stuff was all out of love!"
"I didn't do wrath!" Laharl mocked, laughing. "Okay, that's one out of seven! As for being out of love, who cares? It's all the same in the end, of course miss love freak would sin out of love. Maybe even I do something like that sometimes- but don't say a word about it!"
Flonne felt herself warming inside again. And maybe that new demonic part of her felt a little sting of pride at the idea that she could—and did—sin out of love. That even in the vice-filled Netherworld, love was still present even in the most sinful of actions.
Even Laharl sinned for love. She looked up at him, studying his face. He'd tried to save her when she'd been turned into a flower. He'd lashed out at the Seraph himself in wrathful vengeance—for her.
She nodded with a small smile.
"It's our little secret, Laharl." she leaned up to plant a kiss on his neck. "...maybe I do deserve to be a fallen angel. You'll take care of me, right?"
Etna snickered as her tail brushed against Flonne's own to twine around it. "Sounds like she's willing to give herself to you, Laharl. Congrats, a trustworthy vassal who won't even kick you while you're down. Gross."
Laharl stuck out his lower lip in a massive pout, putting his arms around Flonne and pulling her closer.
"Maybe I like having at least one vassal I can actually trust for the most part!" he huffed. "And of course I'll take care of you. It's an overlord's responsibility."
The way he said it made it obvious it was more than just a responsibility to him.
She could hear the love in it, even if he refused to admit it to anyone. She felt herself flushing again, and rubbed her cheek against the crook of his neck. They were so close, separated by so little as they relaxed after one of the hardest days of their lives.
Flonne loved him. She'd known she'd loved him for a while now, ever since the first inklings of it flared within her when he'd given her pendant back after diving into lava to retrieve it. For a while she'd thought it might be unrequited—but today she'd nearly died and left him behind.
His actions spoke louder than any words. He loved her too. So now that she'd been cast out—he'd 'taken responsibility'...he'd taken her in as her Overlord. Not just as a responsibility—but clearly, obviously an act of love.
"And you're a real responsible Overlord, Laharl!" she smiled up at him "...it's not too much of a burden?"
Etna snickered softly to herself. "one vassal who he can actually trust. Hah! That's hardly demonic, prince! But still—I have to say I'm glad you're taking responsibility for the love freak demon."
Laharl smirked, toying with a lock of Flonne's hair and tugging on it. "Oh? You're glad? Now that's out of character for you, Etna."
He dodged the question of whether or not she was a burden, for now.
Flonne giggled as he teased her hair, her bow flopping against his shoulder as her lithe body brushed against his in her squirming. "I think she likes me, Laharl!"
With a sputter, Etna's tail tightened on hers, and she snorted disdainfully.
"Hardly. It's just the palace would get dull without you around being a freak." She waved her hand. "Besides. You distract Laharl, so it's easier for me to get away with stuff."
"Sure it is," Laharl drawled. "Unless she tells on you."
He laughed and Flonne was distracted enough not to notice he'd moved his hands until he was pulling her tail.
Her tail whipped around in surprise, and she felt a strange flush roll through her at the sensation. It was her tail. A tail she hadn't had before; long, red and heart shaped at the base. It curled around his arm as she squirmed all the more.
"Kyaa!! Lahaaarl! That's…that's…That's my t-tail!"
"Nooo," Etna drawled. "I thought it was mine. Still surprised, Flonne? It's a sign you're really a demon now—give it a few years and you'll be as bad as me and Laharl."
"It's true, you will be." Laharl grinned quite hugely and tugged again. "It's a cute tail. I like you better with it."
Flonne squeaked, and her tail tightened around Laharl's hands as he tugged it. In a few years, she'd probably have changed, huh? A little more selfish, a little more willing to give in to her impulses, but it wasn't as if Laharl and Etna were bad! They had love and warmth in their hearts, even if they pretended they were bad to the core!
She half sat up on Laharl, her hips settled against his lap as she looked into his eyes—had hers changed? They felt a little different to see through, but she hadn't been able to see them. They'd probably changed with the rest of her.
Etna propped herself on her elbow next to them with her usual catlike smirk. "It is pretty adorable, Flonne. It matches those little wings of yours. Of course, it's not like you've gotten a more sinfully beautiful figure, like mine. Poor thing!"
With a flush, Flonne stuck out her tongue. "As if! Geeze…you think it suits me though? I feel all..weird."
It definitely suited her in Laharl's opinion. All that fluffy angel stuff was cute and sweet enough, but the demonic wings and adorable little tail really contrasted with her sweet appearance in a distinctive way.
"I bet you feel weird! You're like a whole new Flonne." Laharl grinned. "I have a mirror around here somewhere if you want to take a look. I can put my nap off for a few minutes for the sake of your vanity. It's not like we don't spend so much fucking time on Etna's vanity."
"What's that prince?" Etna pretended not to be listening, lounging on his bed with a smirk. "I was just thinking about ordering the prinnies to put up a bunch of statues of me around the palace. What's going on?"
Flonne shimmied against him, her hips rested against his stomach as she chewed her lip with a sharply pointed little fang. "I'd kinda like to see it, Laharl…I've been thinking I look real different, you know? I…I kinda feel like a whole new Flonne. Not just on the outside."
Laharl waved his hand and slowly disentangled himself from them, sitting up. "We're playing dress-up with Flonne. She hasn't even seen herself yet."
He didn't like to admit it, but the prospect of getting Flonne a bunch of new outfits that suited her new form better was kind of enticing.
"Ooohhh…dress up, I see." Etna's smile turned wicked as she stood with a mocking bow. "I'll get the mirror, my prince. So you can indulge your perversions with the former angel."
Flonne turned brick red and sputtered as she hid her face. "Dress up??? I..w-well..I'm not really suited to dressing like an angel anymore, huh? I b-bet I look real funny."
Laharl's nose wrinkled and he crossed his arms. "You'd better respect your overlord's perversions, Etna! They're unwholesome, demonic perversions!" That didn't mean he wanted anyone hearing about them- like the incident with the photos.
He reached down and grabbed Flonne, pulling her up from the bed and against his chest again. "You look funny for an angel, but pretty good for a demon."
Etna's wicked little snicker faded for a moment as she went to go grab the mirror—but Flonne nuzzled up against him. Clingy—almost desperate, like she didn't want him to let her go. She was doing her best to hide it, but the day had left a real toll on her.
She looked up at him with her new demonic eyes and a timid smile. "Do I make a pretty demon, Laharl? Even if I don't got antennae or horns or anything like that?"
"Not all demons have horns anyway. Your wings and tail are pretty good. And your eyes are really intense now."
Laharl found that he was liking the new look for her a lot.
If only just because it symbolized the fact that he got to keep her forever now. There was no way she was going back to Celestia as a fallen angel.
Flonne was his. His fallen angel. His vassal.
Flonne's hand reached up and brushed just under her own eye.
"They are?? They're a little different to see out of…are they really so intense?" he could see her tail whipping around happily behind her.
She liked the praise. She liked being told she was a good demon. Her long, pointed fangs poked out from her familiar and sweet smile as she leaned in a little closer to him. A dozen little details jumped out from her at a mere glance as a constant reminder that Flonne would always be his.
The looming threat of the day she went 'home' had finally collapsed.
Laharl whistled. "Come on, Etna! Don't be such a slowpoke with that mirror! Let Flonne see her eyes!"
"Geeze, get your panties outta a bunch, prince." Etna griped as she leaned on the large mirror she'd set by his bed. "you were too busy looking all lovey dovey into your fallen angel's eyes you didn't even notice I'd come back. I'm almost hurt."
Flonne turned bright pink as she peeked out from behind her fingers "....I'm ready to see them…"
"Ugh, whatever." Laharl snorted, and Flonne could tell he was trying not to look embarrassed about the fact that he hadn't noticed. "Anyway, Flonne, go ahead and check yourself out!"
Flonne fidgeted—part of her was nervous to look. Sure, she could feel her wings and even see her tail, but the eyes were the window to the soul right? So…in looking into her new, changed eyes, would she see her soul as it stood now?
She leaned into Laharl before she turned towards Etna with a smile.
"I'm ready!"
She leaned in, and looked at herself in the mirror. Her reflection looked back—deep, striking red eyes with vertical slits stared back at her under long and pale lashes. Shap and demonic fangs poked out over her soft lips as she opened her mouth to bare them at herself with a tilt of her head.
Her hair was the same, she thought, though maybe her ribbon looked a little weird set in it, and she could see the jagged, crimson wings fluttering behind her back as her tail flicked back and forth, carrying it's heart-shaped tip with it.
She looked like a demon—no fluffy angel wings. No halo she sometimes wore. No pendant on her neck or subtle holy glow.
She fell into her own eyes and saw the possibility there—she'd always had urges that she'd bottled up inside her…the soul behind her eyes felt more willing to let them out.
"O…Oh!...Oh.."
Laharl stepped in behind her, and put his arms around her. She could see the overlord's jagged, fanged smile grinning at her as he rested his chin on her shoulder.
"Pretty demonic and intense, right?
She leaned back into him with a stunned look on her face. Demonic—intense…her deep ruby eyes blinked in the mirror as she nodded. She tried to smile like him. A demon with her face smiled back , her lips parted over a jagged smile of her own.
Etna purred from behind the mirror. "Be still my wicked heart, I might actually tolerate your little love speeches if you look like this."
She looked like a demon, she felt like a demon. Lambington had really stripped the holy divinity from her and sent her down into the Netherworld for real.
"Very demonic," Her own voice felt breathy and excited on her tongue. "I look like I belong down here, y-ya know? Intense…demonic…"
Laharl squeezed her tightly. "You do belong here. I'm not letting you go."
His tone was haughty, imperious, and commanding, but she could feel his fingers trembling against her as he said it.
Flonne leaned into his trembling hands, her wings trembling alongside them. The memory of smiling down at him as she accepted her punishment before the darkness took her, and the look of hurt on his face flashed in her mind again.
"Not like you can go slinking back to Lamby like that," Etna smirked as she leaned on the mirror, her fingers tightening against its frame. "Even if you tried, the Overlord here would raise holy hell."
He wasn't going to let her go again—she didn't WANT to be let go. Flonne looked again into the deep red of her eyes, seeing the soul of a newly minted demon looking back at her as she nodded.
"I'm not going anywhere, Laharl…Etna." She smiled a fang filled grin at the reflection "I'm the overlord's favorite vassal, after all!"
Her reward was Etna's sharp and shrill "HEY!"