~*To Keep A Promise*~

Part Seven: Rumor Has It

Spoilers: Um…The identity of the Archangel which may or may not count. And "Vulcanus's" true identity.

Characters: Fuka, Desco, Emizel, "Vulcanus", Valvatorez, Fenrich, Laharl, Flonne, Etna, Hanako

Summary: "Did you hear? About the Archangel and her demon lover? It goes a bit like this…" Rumors can be strange things.

Special Notes: Credit for this idea goes to Nefarious Seraph 13! Also, see if you guys can spot a character exclusive to the Disgaea light novels in here, I'll tell you who it is at the bottom.

~*X*~

Just like how humans have local hangouts and bars, so do demons, although theirs tends to be a bit more…extreme.

In one corner of a certain Netherworld, in a dark, dim alley that seemed to have never heard of natural lighting, there was a popular nighttime club that was generally packed with demons from dusk to dawn. In this shady establishment, where it was said heroes went to die, one table in particular had garnered quite a large crowd around it.

Surprisingly, they were all gathered around not even a full-grown demon, but a little one that couldn't be any older than one-thousand-two- hundred or so. Despite this, his silver eyes gleamed with a cold intensity that any older demon would be proud to have. He had a hat on with hexagonal edges all around, and black hair that curled up from underneath it.

"You serious, man?" asked a Warrior, unable to believe his ears. "There's a relationship going on between Celestia's Archangel and some demon?"

"I'm most certainly serious," said the young demon in the ever-patient tone of one explaining things to simpletons.

A Succubus leaned into the young demon's face with a hint of intimidation in the movement, her tail kinking up over her back. "You're serious, you say? I don't like to have my time wasted…"

He only smiled. "I speak the absolute truth. Now, what would I gain exactly by pulling the wool temporarily over a pack of stronger demons' eyes?"

A Zombie scratched his head with an arm that had fallen off recently. "…An ass kicking?"

"Exactly," the young demon continued in a soothing voice. "Besides, I'm only repeating what I heard."

"This is certainly news to me! Hah!" A Shaman grinned, her red eyes flashing in the gloom. "If we can find out who it is, we could slander that wretched Archangel so bad; Celestia will kick her out faster than you could say 'Fallen'!"

"Just wait until our masters hear about this," snickered a Mystical Beast, exchanging a smug look with the Beast Master next to him. Most of the demons present were vassals to more powerful Overlords or Demon Lords.

"Hey," a Dragon interrupted as the hubbub around him grew louder. "Where did that little demon go?"

"Who cares? Someone call up the Information Bureau, we've got an Archangel to snoop on!"

~*X*~

Rumors have a strange way of becoming even more convoluted as they switch from one person to the next. So in this fashion, the rumor of the Archangel being in a relationship with a demon grew vastly out of proportion.

By the time it reached Valvatorez and the rest in Hades, well, this had happened.

"Did you hear?" An Archer on duty said as she walked up and down the prison complex with her Prinny companion. "The Archangel is in a relationship with a demon, and she's been secretly passing on Celestian information this whole time!"

"Dood, what are you talking about? The Archangel's helped us pretty blatantly before, dood! Did you forget the robot?"

"No, this is supposed to be something entirely different!"

"Really, dood? What's happening?"

"Well, rumor has it that she's planning on taking over Celestia with the aid of her demon lover. It's supposed to be epic."

"Archangel Flonne, dood? Can you even imagine her doing something like that?" The Prinny was, understandably, skeptical. However, neither of these two had the benefit of actually knowing Flonne personally; they were low-level vassals of the Tyrant's.

"Hey, the best villains are the ones that hide right in plain sight! It could all be an act!"

"Dood, the rumor might have gotten confused between Tyrant Val and the Angel of Ava—gack!"

The Prinny was lifted up by none other than Fenrich as he rounded a bend in the hallway. The Werewolf glared daggers at the poor sinner, his claws squeezing his head. "Watch how you talk about Lord Val if you value your life."

"Mi-Mi-Mister Fenrich!" The Archer saluted hastily. "How…nice…to see you. Why are you strangling that poor Prinny?"

Fenrich let him go, and the Prinny hit the floor with a peg leg twitching in pain. "What are you two going on about?"

The Archer repeated the rumor she had heard, cringing back in case Fenrich decided to grab her head next.

"…Tch." Fenrich shut his eyes, grimacing. "How or why is this even important? Enough with the gossip, return to your work."

Nothing else might've happened, if a certain Prinny Girl hadn't been in the vicinity. She and Desco, who had been eavesdropping nearby, rushed off to speak with Valvatorez.

The Vampire was overseeing a squadron of Prinnies, accompanied by Artina who was filling out some complex math formula on a calculator. The sound of her wings was drowned out by Valvatorez's loud voice as he urged the Prinnies onward.

"Oh mah gawd!" Fuka said as she entered, startling Artina and causing her to sigh and restart whatever she had been doing. "Guys, guess what?" She didn't wait. "Flonne's in a relationship with a demon and she's plotting to take over Celestia!"

Artina's response was drowned out by Valvatorez's usual dramatic one. "What are you talking about? That's ridiculous!"

"Hey, don't shoot the messenger; I just heard it from an Archer."

"My Lady Archangel would never do a thing like that. The Seraph trusts her completely," Artina said, clasping her hands as if already praying to God to ask for forgiveness for such a silly notion as a treasonous Flonne.

"It's true! Desco heard it too!" Desco stood by her sister resolutely, balancing on the tail of her monster.

"I honestly can't imagine her doing anything of the sort." Valvatorez shrugged, already turning back to his Prinnies.

"Mr. Vampire, I completely agree."

Fuka clicked her tongue in annoyance, and yet again it might have just ended there, if it wasn't for Emizel's bursting into the room.

"Whoa, guys you're not going to believe this."

"What now?" Valvatorez asked in exasperation.

"The Information Bureau's just put out a huge reward for any concrete information on the relationship the Archangel has with a demon! We're talking millions of HL here! Everyone's going crazy trying to find it"

"Millions of HL?" Artina's eyes glittered.

Valvatorez coughed.

"…No, I will not do anything to go against my Lady Archangel," she hastily amended, looking guilty.

"Well, how about if we disprove it?" Fuka suggested. "Could we still get the reward then?"

Emizel shrugged. "Maybe?"

"I'll go check it out, then!" Fuka pointed at Emizel for emphasis. "You're coming with me!"

"W-W-W-Wait, what? Hang on! I never agreed to this!"

"Desco is coming too!"

"My Lady Archangel isn't in Celestia at the moment though," Artina said quickly. "She's taking a break to see some old friends…"

"I'll find her," Fuka declared with far more confidence than she probably should've had. "Come on Desco, Emizel!" She took them both by their arms and left the room, and despite his best efforts, Emizel was hauled along with her.

Fenrich walked in, stepping aside to let the Prinny Girl and her compatriots pass. "…She's gone to investigate." It wasn't a question.

"Naturally." Valvatorez looked completely unbothered. His main concern was training Prinnies, not digging up non-existent dirt on Flonne the Archangel.

~*X*~

Speaking of Flonne the Archangel…

Flonne was overjoyed that there had finally come an opportunity to take a break. She had a whole week to devote to finally seeing Sir Laharl and Miss Etna again. She had missed them dearly and was looking forward to seeing them, which was what she was on her way to doing now.

Now, when angels reached a certain power level, they could change appearances. It wasn't even that difficult for certain demons to do, though some had it naturally and others had to work to learn it. Flonne, if she was staying long in Laharl's Netherworld, always opted for either her Angel Trainee appearance or her Fallen Angel appearance—mainly because it would make her friends more comfortable around her.

After a bit of debate, she went with Angel Trainee, which required less work.

When she touched down outside of the Overlord's Castle, brushing white feathers from her descent off her arms, she was met with a startling sight.

There were demons. Lots of them. That wasn't the odd part. The odd part was that they were all trying to get inside the castle, but they didn't seem particularly aggressive, or at least not all of them. There were Ninjas trying to crawl up the wall, and the moth-looking demons that were trying to fly over, and all manner of creatures that were generally being very invasive indeed. Flonne wondered what Sir Laharl had done to make so many demons angry. His vassals were studiously repelling the snoopers without too much difficulty, at least.

Flonne walked slowly towards the main gate, wondering if she would end up shot with an arrow if she spooked anyone.

"Heeey! It's Flonne!"

She turned to see Hanako, Etna's apprentice, running towards her. She had "graduated" quite a while ago, so she was surprised to see the human-turned-demon. "Miss Hanako!" She grinned, clasping her hands together. "Not to be rude, but…What's going on?"

Hanako snorted. "Well, a bunch of Netherworlds are going crazy trying to find out information on your apparent relationship with Laharl. Anyone who remembered the Archangel as a Fallen Angel knew the rumor probably meant the Prince…" Her colder-than-they-used-to-be eyes looked the disguised Archangel up and down. "You're not dating the Prince, are you?"

"M-M-Me? Date Sir Laharl?"

"No, I thought not. That's too bad, you'd be cute together! Anyway, these demons are here to either try and force Laharl to spill about your non-existent relationship, or they're here to spy. Badly. As you can see from those brightly colored Thieves who think they can hide in the shadows."

"Why are you here?"

"Well I wanted to see if the rumor was true, and Master Etna wanted my help. They're in the castle, by the way." And with that, Demon Lord Hanako was gone again.

They…thought she…was dating…Laharl? What? Flonne was stupefied. Who had started this silly rumor anyway? Sir Laharl would never…He…Even if she had asked…Shaking her head, she hurriedly dashed into the relative safety of the castle after a Skeletal Dragon was tossed bodily from the parapets and crashed near her, groaning.

Prinnies and other vassals were sprinting everywhere, carrying healing supplies for their allies and sharp or hot things to toss at the snoopers. No one paid her any attention except for one awestruck Gargoyle who was acting like he had never seen an angel before.

Flonne bolted around a corner, heading for the throne room, a bit amazed at how much like home the Netherworld felt to her. Or, at the very least, this particular Netherworld in this particular castle…

Arriving at her destination, she excused herself past a hulking fiery demon that was reporting to the Overlord and called, "Sir Laharl!"

Laharl was pacing angrily back and forth and didn't seem to notice her until she spoke. He whipped around, red scarf flying, and stared at her. Blink blink. "…Flonne? What are you doing here?"

"I came to see you! It's—" The ground rumbled as an explosion went off. For some reason, she imagined Etna's Chaos Impact. "—pretty bad outside" she finished. "Are you all right?"

"Me? Hmph, this is nothing." Laharl waved a hand at the fire demon. "You can go." The demon harrumphed and stomped off, and Flonne skipped up the steps to the throne to stand beside Laharl. He crossed his arms and raised his eyebrows. "Trouble in paradise, Love Freak?"

"Celestia's actually doing much better, we're getting more Awe Energy and Artina's donations are a lifesaver!" She grimaced briefly. "Though…I'm not a big fan of how she does it…"

"Well I'm getting stalked, jumped, attacked, and spied on by what feels like every demon in the Netherworld!" Laharl abruptly turned and hurled a fireball through an open window, causing a shrieking Deathsaber who had been suspended from a cord to fall into the lava fields below. Facing her again, he resumed his rant, really working himself up. "Did you hear what those morons are talking about? They're saying we're dating, and you're plotting to overthrow the Seraph with my help!"

"O-O-Overthrow…? I would never! Sir Laharl, you have to believe me!"

"Of course I believe you."

"Sir Laharl…"

Laharl sighed and made a face. "That whole rumor is a complete lie. I'm going to massacre whoever it was that started spreading it!"

"But why would someone do such a thing?"

"Who knows? More importantly, who cares? You sure picked one hell of a time for a visit, Love Freak."

Flonne shook her head. "I'm glad I came. I always have a lovely time down here with you, Sir Laharl." At Laharl's wide-eyed look she quickly added, 'And Miss Etna, of course."

"…Hmph. Well, if that's the case you should visit more often. It's been a while."

Pleasantly surprised by how polite he was being—for him anyway—Flonne smiled again. "Oh! You're still wearing my pendant." It glittered on its gold chain around his neck, but it was partially obscured by his scarf.

"Of course I am." Laharl coughed for some reason and swiftly changed the subject. "Are the angels aware of this ridiculous rumor that's going around?"

"I didn't hear anything about it before I left…"

"That's a blessing for you, isn't it? Let's see if we can stop this crap in its tracks. I'll teach these idiots what it means to mess with Overlord Laharl!" He let out a bout of his signature laughter and with a flourish of his scarf, stepped down the stairs.

Flonne followed, and unfortunately, she also tripped. "Eeep!"

Laharl was fast enough to twist around but not fast enough to avoid being in her landing zone. The result was Flonne crashing into him and the two of them on the stone floor of the throne room. Flonne lifted herself up a bit and shook her head, blonde hair flying. "S-Sorry, Sir Laharl…"

The Overlord's whole face was red. Before he could probably say something like "Get off of me", an ominous sound occurred, accompanied by a white flash.

Click.

Flonne sprang up right as Laharl did, and the Overlord roared, "Etna!"

Etna was holding a camera and grinning widely, her canines flashing. "Hey, Prince! Hey, Flonne!"

"Miss Etna!" Flonne's smile disappeared as she stared at the camera in confusion. "Why did—"

"These types of things really come in handy!" She placed the camera back in one of her Prinny pouches and continued her disarming grin. "So Flonne, I heard it through the grapevine that you and the Prince…?" She trailed off suggestively.

"No, I mean, Sir Laharl and I—"

"Etna," Laharl began slowly and deliberately. "If you don't give me that camera right now—"

"I'm probably not the only one who got a picture, Prince. I'm probably the only one using a flash though."

"Wait, what?"

Flonne suddenly felt as if she was being watched.

"Everyone! Get. Out." Laharl was always a bit scary to Flonne when he went full demon-fury-mode, what with the aura of power causing his scarf and hair to lift, glowing eyes, etc. He said some more things after that, but she was too busy watching the next scene to hear.

To everyone's amazement except Etna's, a veritable swarm of demons left the throne room from a plethora of hiding places. Dragons emerged from behind statues; the statues themselves came to life and meekly exited the area, a bunch of Nekomatas and what looked like Cheerleaders and all manner of things creeped as quietly and quickly as they could away from the furious Overlord. Flonne even spotted the girl Fuka with her sister Desco and the young Grim Reaper, but she opted not to say anything in order to spare them from Laharl's wrath.

When the last flying demon had left from its hiding place in the rafters, Etna gave a cheery wave. "We'll talk later, Flonne!" She then darted nimbly out, easily dodging Laharl's ice spell as he flung it after her.

Laharl looked simultaneously stunned, exasperated, and angry. "What in the world…?"

"I'll straighten this out with Seraph Lamington before this becomes a problem in Celestia as well," Flonne vowed, looking worried.

Glancing at her, Laharl remarked sarcastically, "Do angels do this in Celestia too?"

"…The angels have started doing a lot of things they didn't use to, ever since the Awe Energy…" Flonne suddenly felt tired. Her wings drooped as she thought about all the things she'd have to confront once she got back to Celestia. She was beyond words that the Seraph trusted her enough to be Archangel, but still, she missed sometimes just being a Fallen Angel and teaching love to demons in her free time…

"…Don't worry about it." Laharl crossed his arms and closed his eyes. "If angels are anything, it's tenacious."

Flonne smiled faintly, glad that over the years Laharl had actually matured even more than when they had first met. After a moment of hesitation, she caught him in a quick, fierce hug. He made a strangled sound at first, and of course he didn't return it, but he didn't pull away either.

"…Stupid Love Freak…" Laharl muttered, but to her ears, he sounded a bit happy. "Anyway, let's go get rid of the last of these interlopers." He marched off with his purposeful stride, and Flonne fell into step beside him. "…Hey, Flonne?"

"Yes?"

He smiled, and though he wasn't looking at her, it was obviously meant for her. "Welcome home."

Author's Note: I've not beaten Disgaea: Afternoon of Darkness yet. So so sad I know, but I'm working on it I swear! I apologize for any OOC-ness...Since this was requested, I tried my best at it. Thanks for being patient. The Disgaea light novel cameo character is Kira, the young demon at the club, who is in the book Disgaea: Revelations. You can actually read that translated somewhere, I think...I hope you enjoyed it!