[Active]

[overlords_wrath]

Character(s): Laharl and this time really anyone. lol
Content: Locked in his own dungeon... but he has visitation rights, at least.
Setting: Netherworld Floor, dungeon of the Overlord's Castle
Time: Night
Warnings: Unhappy demon
Note: Multi-threaded! And derp apologies for another post already ^^;


He still couldn't believe his father had left him locked in the dungeon. He'd been here at least an hour he thought, but he wasn't really sure. It was impossible to tell the passage of time way down here. With only a few torches, the dungeon was dark, no outside light reaching it.

Laharl sat huddled in a corner at the front of the cell, looking horribly unhappy, for numerous reasons. The first was, of course, the whole reason he was down here in the first place. The whole incident replayed in his head, over and over. There wasn't really anything he could have done differently... except perhaps NOT letting on to others what he was considering. As for his dad... he wasn't really sure how to feel about his father's actions. Not to say he wasn't angry about the whole thing--he was, but... Laharl couldn't forget the apologetic and regretful look on his father's face. He hadn't really wanted to do this. His... father was trying to protect him? The whole thing was hard to digest.

The second was, despite his father having loosened his scarf so he could get eventually free, after struggling and rolling around trying to do so, he'd only managed to do the complete opposite. Frustrated and exhausted, he'd finally just given up for the time being, and huddled up where he now was.

The third thing was just simply being stuck down here alone. Sometimes he valued his alone time, but he wasn't enjoying it right now in the least. And especially not when being down here was stirring up memories of when the Organization had captured him. That was definitely not something he needed to be reminded of now.

With still no intentions of backing down, Laharl had no idea how long he'd end up stuck down here. It certainly seemed like it could be awhile, much to his chargin, as he wasn't sure how he'd even get through a night of this, much less days or longer.

Comments

[lovesamidboss]

Gwen had been on the move ever since she saw her son's journal on the network, but she knew that it was too late for her to talk to him with the device. And she knew it probably wouldn't help, either. He was more like his father than he might want to acknowledge, after all.

She left her rounds at the St. Destino camp to hightail it to the Netherworld in hopes of finding any sign, but knew where he would be: the highest floor accessible, but before she had headed off to it, she ran, quite literally, into Krichevskoy.

Now, Gwen was watching her son, just out of sight, her arms folded across her chest. Flonne was gone. Gwen still remembered that first time when she met Laharl and Flonne. At the time, she had no idea what it meant. Or would mean.

Laharl would do almost anything to get Flonne back, even...

She ducked her head down and closed her eyes.

Her family... all three of them... they were a lot alike, weren't they?

She sucked in a breath and approached Laharl's cell, looking at him with sad eyes.

[overlords_wrath]

He hadn't sensed his mother's presence at all while she was there watching him. It was unusual for him, but then he wasn't exactly paying attention, not to mention sitting behind a rather powerful seal. There was little movement on his part while she watched him, other than occasionally shifting or straining against the wrappings around him.

He wasn't exactly comfortable like this, but then again... He wouldn't want to admit it, but it was probably for the best in the end he was still bound like this. He couldn't deny thoughts of trying to break the seal had passed his mind, but stuck like this, there wasn't anything to do, where as if he'd been free, he might've been inclined to try.

Laharl's hearing, however, was still sharp and when she did finally approach, his head jerked up at the sound of her steps. As the low light revealed who it was, he found himself to really be happy to see her, but also embarrassed and even a little guilty. She probably knew... she'd probably worried.

"Mom..." he uttered, only able to look up at her a moment before diverting his gaze downwards.

[lovesamidboss]

He wouldn't look at her... it's what she expected. It meant that Krichevskoy's words were true, not that she had any doubt that he had been lying.

"Your father told me what happened," she said, her voice carefully neutral. "I understand why, of course. You're a lot like him. That doesn't make it any less reckless."

[overlords_wrath]

Bangs fell over his face, as he dipped his head lower. The fact his mother knew he was even down here was a pretty big indicator that his father had talked to her. He'd never doubted for a second that his father wouldn't have told her what had happened.

"I'm sorry."

His mother was one of the few people he'd ever apologize so sincerely to.

[lovesamidboss]

Gwen sighed. "I know you are," she replied. She stepped closer, surveying Laharl's bindings, and the cell more closely. Krichevskoy had told her that the seal on the door wouldn't hinder her, only demons. She opened the cell and stepped inside.

"We should fix this up," she said aloud, more to herself, gesturing at Laharl's scarf. When she got closer, she reached out, hesitant, looking for any signs that he was going to struggle...

[overlords_wrath]

He still couldn't find it in himself to regret his actions, however. Even despite his parent's disapproval.

Laharl blinked and snapped his head up, however, when he heard the door of the cell open. What? What about the seal?! He'd felt it. He still could feel it. How did she...? Maybe his old man's seal was only for demons? That was the only thing that made sense.

His expression was confused at first, till he realized what she was indicating. His expression quickly turned eager, although also a little embarrassed. "Dad... had made it so I could get out, but... he didn't do a very good job," he muttered, not really wanting to admit that it was more his fault than his father's that he'd been unable to free himself.

Despite knowing full well being bound up like this was keeping him out of more trouble... he was more than ready to let his mother free him, cause. Yeah. There was no sign he'd put up any kind of fight at all.

[lovesamidboss]

Unfortunately for Laharl, Gwen had no intention in the slightest to free him. She took up the ends of the scarf, noting that it had been tied once already. "I can see that," she commented. She felt bad, just a little, for what she was about to do, but... Her son's safety was at stake, and she didn't trust that if he got free of the scarf, he'd manage to break the seal.

Gwen sighed again, and very quickly tightened the scarf and knotted it once more. And then she backed away on the chance that Laharl came volatile.

"I'm sorry, Laharl, but this is really for the best."

[divine_storm]

What was it with demons and beings of darkness freaking out when something happened to a girl? Truthfully, it didn’t sound as if Laharl had been about to blow like certain people did back home, but it had been enough to make Priere snap at him. She had been just about ready to rush up the castle after him when Krichevskoy told the rest of the castle that a certain brat was grounded.

Crisis averted at least. At first, she simply thought of leaving the kid alone and simply hope he wouldn’t come back later and force her to do some actual work around the castle for once. But in the end, curiosity got the best of her and she headed down towards the jail cells, looking for her probably very pissed off “boss”.

“Huh… I guess that solves how demon kids get grounded…” she mused out loud as she finally found him. At least she would never complain again about being sent to bed without dinner by the director back when she was a kid.

[overlords_wrath]

It was a mixture of relief and dread that fell over him when he heard the familiar voice. Dread cause he wasn't sure he was at all in the mood to deal with Priere. He was feeling embarrassed enough about his current situation as it was. Who else knew he was down here, anyways?!

BUT, on the other hand, he'd realized when his mother had come to check on him, just how much he didn't want to be alone down here. It had dredged up things he hadn't really thought about in awhile. In light of that, maybe even Priere's company wouldn't be that bad.

"...What are you doing down here?" he asked, still, either way, not particularly happy she was seeing him like this.

[divine_storm]

In a rare moment of self preservation, Priere managed to restrain herself from bursting out laughing at the sight of the "Mighty Overlord" all tied up in his scarf. As hilarious the situation was, she didn't need to be reminded just yet of how he could very well defeat her once more the minute he was out of there.

"Just came down to check on you, I guess," she shrugged off, neglecting to specify that it was less about his well being and more about his temper. "Is there a problem with that?"

[overlords_wrath]

He was expecting some kind of remark--he really was, but it didn't come.

"To check on me?" he echoed, surprised at her answer. Was that really it? It seemed doubtful, but he went along with it for now. If she was going to be reasonable, he had little desire to drive company away right now. "W-well.. no, I guess not."

[divine_storm]

Priere stared at him for a few moments. Huh... he sounded a bit... 'off'. But then again, that should be expected considering his current position. No kid ever liked to be grounded after all, especially not like this.

"Well yeah... you know, just making sure you weren't trying to make the jail explode or something," she sheepishly answered. Obviously she now knew that it would have been impossible, but better safe than sorry.

She remained silent for a few seconds before finally curiosity got the better of her again. "So... if this supposed to be normal for demons or...?"

[overlords_wrath]

"I wouldn't be here if I could do anything about it," Laharl noted, looking definitely still not happy about all this, even if he did understand his parents motives. He did understand they were just trying to protect him, but he still weren't sure they still quite understood his side of things.

"Tch... No," he then replied. "This is a first, even for me." He wasn't too worried about admitting that. This was a very abnormal situation, in more ways than one. He hoped, however, this wasn't going to become normal. His parents couldn't do this to him every time he had to do something that could be dangerous.

[promisor]

Valvatorez didn't really know Laharl that well despite having had the Overlord in his party before, he'd certainly learned a lot more about him by coming here, including the fact he was Krichevskoy's son. By comparison, he actually knew Krichevskoy and Flonne better. However, everyone was in this together and that, in Valvatorez' mind, made them comrades. Comrades in arms struggling to reach a shared goal.

So, when rumors went around the Overlord's castle about what had happened and he'd confirmed that they were in fact true, Valvatorez took it upon himself to go down to the dungeon and offer some support as any comrade should.

His footsteps were silent as he descended from the stairs until he stepped down the last few steps, a deliberate decision to alert Laharl of his presence. It only took a few seconds later before Valvatorez was standing in front of Laharl's cell.

"That's quite the predicament you've gotten yourself into," Valvatorez remarked, his voice was plain and inoffensive. The entire statement said rather matter-of-factly and it matched the natural expression on his face.

[overlords_wrath]

How many knew he was down here? That was the first thought when he heard Valvatorez's announcing footsteps. Confusion filled Laharl's expression as he looked up at his new visitor. He didn't recognize the demon looking down at him at all, although it didn't seem like it was mutual, somehow.

"Who the hell are you?" Laharl predictably asked, his voice not as annoyed as his choice of words might have indicated.

[promisor]

"Ah, you don't remember? You must be from the past too then. Oh well." Reintroducing himself was hardly any trouble at all. Before he did that though, Valvatorez sat down on the floor so he was on eye-level with Laharl for a more comfortable talking experience. If Fenrich saw him like this, he'd probably pitch a fit.

"My name is Valvatorez, I'm a Prinny Instructor from Hades. Your father is a member of my party. I also know Archangel Flonne."

[overlords_wrath]

Boy, what an introduction that was. Laharl wasn't sure where to even begin with the information Valvatorez had just given him. A prinny instructor? He knew his father? And Flo--

"Wait. Did... you say Archangel, Flonne?" Laharl asked, his eyes wide.

[promisor]

It's only when Laharl questioned it that Valvatorez realized he might have said too much with just that. Although it's not like he could take it back now, so he might as well just go with it and that's what he does. After a surprised blink, he nodded in confirmation.

"Yes, Archangel. She helped us save the world, so you needn't worry about her so much."

[overlords_wrath]

Flonne... was going to become an archangel? The idea that Flonne would ever not be a fallen angel hadn't ever occurred to him. Did that mean she was going to leave his Netherworld? But... she was going to STAY with him... Why would she...

"Are you sure we're talking about the same angel?" Laharl asked, feeling confused. It was even more confusing since people had been feeling unsure if it was home they were returned to.

One Door Later

[beautifulrondo]

Much later, Krichevskoy descended into the dungeon looking a little battered, but otherwise fine. Standing by the door to the cell, he offered Laharl a small smile, only to frown a little later when he noticed the boy was still wrapped up in his scarf.

"Did I not loosen that?"

[overlords_wrath]

He'd been dosing on and off when his father returned to the dungeon. How long had he been sleeping? Unable to rub the sleep from his eyes, he peered up at his father, groggily. A moment later, his gaze was firmly on the dungeon floor. Ah... right.

"...Mom decided it was better this way," he muttered, wanting to be sore about it, but clearly not entirely.

[beautifulrondo]

Krichevskoy blinked at Laharl for a moment, only able to manage an "Oh," in response. He couldn't say he completely disagreed with Gwen, but he clearly hadn't been expecting her to go that far.

"Well... I will just have to untie it agai--is that a fish?" What happened while he was gone?

[overlords_wrath]

"...So, what are you down here for?" Laharl asked flattly, skipping answering the question about the sardine. It really wasn't important, after all. Wait. Had he started to say something about untying him? ...Why?

[beautifulrondo]

"Did I not mention I would be returning?" he asked, his smile becoming more of a smirk.

[overlords_wrath]

Laharl blinked first, then his gaze noticeably widened. Well, he was awake now. "W-what? You found the door?"

He was genuinely surprised. Considering how long it had often taken to find some of the other doors, he really hadn't expected it to be this soon--however soon 'this soon' had been.