Love is a Most Splendored Thing

[~Flonnedre Scarlet~]

It was a quiet, peaceful afternoon in Blair Forest. Peaceful as it was, an atmosphere like this isn’t normal in the Netherworld. However, a certain Angel who was strolling around the woods was enjoying her quiet walk around the depths of the forest. The mentioned area of this forest had neither birds nor any other animals. If the forest had any dwelling creatures, they would either be Imps or Zombies.

This little Angel, who is young in appearance, has a soft long blonde hair that wafts gently as she leapt from one stone to another along the pathway. She was enjoying hopscotching on each huge rock, treating this experience more like an exciting adventure, with her as a heroine. A heroine of what? Who knows? This Angel was wearing a slim, blue ribbon right on top of her head. Her soft, silky dress was too short to provide a skirt as an undergarment. She was wearing sleeves alright - white sleeves made from silky cloth although they were detached from her clothes, therefore, it’s possible to see her…..armpits. Her miniature wings don’t seem like they could help this little Angel take flight above the ground for a very long period of time and these small wings never move while she leaps. Her round, blue eyes were as clear as a pond reflecting daylight. There was an innocent smile on her face as she was enjoying her exhilarating experience. After jumping into the last rock, she hopped down to the ground and slightly giggled to herself, bringing her arms close to her chest while enjoying a quiet laughter.

The little Angel’s name was Flonne, and she was an Angel Trainee from Celestia. But why the heck is she on the Netherworld? Just to answer things briefly, she’s staying over at Prince Laharl’s residence. She decided to stay in the Netherworld to observe if demons also had love in their hearts.

The reason Flonne visited this area of Blair Forest was because she was searching for certain flowers. She heard that these plants only grow in the Southwest region of Blair Forest. She was excited about finding them since it is rare to find flowers in the Netherworld.

Back to her adventure! Flonne raised her right hand and placed it over her eyes right below her forehead. She was panning the area, searching for any plants with flowers in sight. Her face frowned and raised an eyebrow, because there was no luck and no flowers could be found around the area. She continued to keep looking, and was determined to find any so she can show it to the Prince……obviously, the Prince has no such interest in flowers overall.

Things didn’t go quite well in the next area on her trail. The forest that was quiet didn’t go that peaceful anymore. From her trail, 3 zombies emerged from the ground, clamoring with eerie voices. As the zombies completely emerged their entire bodies from the ground, they shot their arms forward and proceeded to stagger slowly. Soft, liquid dirt were dripping all over from their rotten bodies. Spotting the Angel on their sight, they made their move and proceeded to go after Flonne - maybe because they want to eat her? No! Save yourself, Flonne!

"Eeewww! Disgusting, horrid creatures!" Flonne stepped one foot backward and raising her left arm to guard herself out of shock from witnessing such vile monsters before her. Suddenly, her mood changed and her face became serious as she stood firm. "But no matter. You demons probably do not know the meaning of love. Do you have what it takes to get educated?" Flonne spoke aloud as she raised her Kerykeion staff. Her staff glowed in pink. The zombies were blinded by the sight. Flonne held her staff close to her chest and chanted, "Lord, give me strength. May these demons before me change their ways and learn the meaning of true love." Finishing her sentence, she extended her arm forward with her staff then the entire area glowed in pink. The zombies screamed in pain as they raised their heads and covered their faces while stretching their bodies out of agony. Suddenly, the zombies became quiet.

Flonne tilted her head and looked at the monsters in front of her. "Now I wonder….did it work?", she whispered to herself. When the zombies put down their heads, they looked forward and spotted Flonne on sight. The zombies stared at Flonne for 4 seconds with their heads slowly leaning forward. All of a sudden, the zombies’ eyes turned to hearts and their faces became infatuated. Each zombies held their own hands and placed their arms on their cheeks. While shaking their heads, all 3 of them cried, "LooooOOOOOooooOOOOoovvvvee… We loooooove yoooooouuuuuu..." Flonne was completely shocked! She didn’t expect this to happen. Much to her dismay, the zombies were still walking forward but they seem to have FALLEN IN LOVE with Flonne…. Flonne was speechless. Her eyes turned to dots and huge sweat drop slowly sank downwards.

Flonne, what are you standing there for…? MAKE A RUN FOR IT!

Flonne swiftly turned around and ran as fast as she can, screaming for help. Will there be someone to save her from the pack of infatuated zombies chasing her who are hungry for love?

[Retsu]

It was far too quiet in the forest, indeed. Considering that Retsu was here simply to get stronger, this was a bad thing AND an unnatural thing. But of course, it didn't stay quiet forever. Instead, it was a rather cheery voice. It was shocked due to 'disgusting, horrid creatures' (In the Netherworld? Who knew.)

This voice then got 'serious' (still sounded cheery) and started to rant about love. This was a foreign concept to Retsu for obvious reasons, mainly because it was the Netherworld. Then it hit her: Perhaps this person...no, this person was not from the Netherworld, either a maniac from the human world (less likely) or someone from Celestia (more likely). As the girl referred to the zombies as demons, it simply confirmed that she was not from here.

The girl then cast a spell, (Retsu had been watching by now behind a tree, as this was certainly an unusual sight) and Retsu avoided it by going back behind the tree and being naturally resistant to that sort of thing. Looking back after the pink light was over, was probably the most entertaining sight she had ever seen: zombies in love with what was obviously an angel. The girl ran away, and Retsu managed to avoid bursting out laughing.

...Hey, sneak attack on love-stricken zombies. 10 points.

Retsu took the opportunity to cast 'Ice' on the zombies, attempting to get them all with one attack. If the zombies were faster, perhaps Retsu could have watched them chase her. But it was not to be. Oh well.

...Heheh, love zombies. The thought never left Retsu's mind for a second.

[arik99]

It was a quiet day in the forest. I was searching for zombies so I can sell them goods.My catalog was diverse , I had everything from swords to allkillholl.It was my first time in the forest so I inevitably got lost , the forest seemed dead with its swamp and darkish vegetation.

Arik: "I m so lost Dood"

Suddenly I heard a strange voice .It was a strange girl, she was shouting something about love.I was glad that I found someone , for it meant that she may have a clue were the nearest village may be.she was running towards me so I said to her.

Arik:"Hey Dood. Do you know were the nearest village is Dood."

The girl completely ignore me . Suddenly some zombies were running towards me , In a impulse made by panic I started running .Little did I know that there was a tree in front of me so I crashed into the tree.The zombies were ready to attack with their sharp claws.

Arik:"I m done for Dood."

Then I saw a warrior trying to fight the zombies.I thought it might be a good idea to join forces .

Arik:"Are you okay Dood? do you need help dood?"

[~Flonnedre Scarlet~]

Flonne continued running, terrified as her face was expressing a mixture of fear and disgust from the weirdest creatures that could ever chase her. She had no other idea how to get rid of those love-stricken zombies. Her only weapon was her Kerykeion staff, and the only attack she can do with it - was the result of the current predicament she got herself into. Flonne held tight on her staff as she put her other hand over her head while she ran. She was too afraid to look back - of course, who would want to witness the most disgusting yet most humiliating consequences?

The outcry of the zombies seemed to halt, so Flonne thought that the "love zombies lost sight of her. Now was her chance to turn around safely and witness why the "admirers" stopped running after her.

To her surprise, she spotted two unknown individuals were somewhat ready to engage themselves in battle to get rid of those disgusting "loverboys" for good. The two individuals got themselves into a mess for standing up against the zombies. Flonne sighed with relief. So it seems her cry for help has been heard after all…….unexpectedly? What’s important is that these people could help her take care of this mess that she started herself.

The zombies outraged – after the two warriors blocked the zombies’ path, each of the zombies yelled, “Get out of the waaaaaaaaaaaaayyyyy! We…..we...want……heeeeerrrrrrr!!” Flonne heard that from a distance, shaking from her current position. Still afraid from the zombies, she couldn’t help but scream, “Eeeeeeyyyyyyyyyyaaaaaaaaaaaaaahhh! Please……..please somebody help me…” She had to step backwards shivering from looking at the zombies, then she closed her eyes and turned away.

[Retsu]

Hmm...the angel was certainly in need. Well then, let's see...she would need about 3 reasons besides helping her. Hmm...

1. Kill zombies (more like REkill) for experience/practice
2. Have an angel owe her (HL or something)
3. Have a prinny partially owe her (Again, HL or something)
4. Kill zombies for their HL

Yep, there was reason enough, and another for kicks. In order to become stronger, one needed money. And actual experience in battle was nice too. But of course, one needed money. So there was still reason. Plus, she could ch--no, then the prinny wouldn't owe her. Bum, Retsu always wanted to throw one of those things. Ah well, that's life. Things only go your way when your strong.

In response to the prinny, Retsu thought again. She might be able to take care of the zombies if they didn't get too close...which they were probably about to do as they wanted the girl. If the prinny wanted to help, it could. But only if it thought that it HAD to.

...Was that scarf familiar? Perhaps. It certainly looked familiar, but Retsu was a little too tied up to think about it hard enough.

Now where was she? Ah yes, the Prinny behind that scarf. Retsu turned to the Prinny and spoke:

"If you think I need your help, then you might as well join in now."

And due to a lack of any other way to fight (having only her fists was a slight problem, but to save money in the long run, she was going to wait a while), she cast another ice spell at the zombies, while talking to them, simply for the HL of it. Heck, she pointed at each zombie as she spoke, changing targets as the mentioned another and blasting them with another Ice spell.

""She's not your type. Or your's. And certainly not your's."

...This vaguely reminded her of a study on humans she read during an off hour. These people resembled 'football players' (it was some sport or something) and the girl in danger resembled a 'cheerleader' (who obviously cheered them...a bit too well in fact). Odd.

[~Flonnedre Scarlet~]

Flonne was still scared from the love-stricken zombies. Those horrid beings couldn't snap out of their infatuation. However, if they did, the zombies would only attack her instead. Whatever the case, there's no way out of the situation by just running away from them. The only solution is to clean house! Oh wait......they're not inside a house.. Lame!

Flonne just realized that the other individual who happen to block the zombies' path was no human. The first one looks like a human. It was a girl to be exact. The girl Flonne saw had long bluish white hair. Flonne noticed it was a girl when that girl looked at the other being next to her. This "other being" was short, and BLUE! It has skinny legs, and from the back of this warrior's head, any smarter person could easily tell that this blue creature was a PRINNY! Surprisingly, this Prinny was wearing what seems to be a.......scarf? Wow, it resembles Prince Laharl's scarf! How the heck didn't Flonne realize earlier that it was a Prinny? Maybe because she couldn't think straight from running due to fear...or was her eyesight getting vague that she needs eyeglasses? Well no need to go that far.. Let's just ask Flonne later.

"Hey you two!! Good luck! If you need any backup, I'll be right here! .........if there was any other way I could.......help?" Flonne finished her sentence with her face getting pale. Her eyes turned to dots and left her mouth open wide. A huge sweat drop was slowly moving downwards from her head. She fears that the zombies could get worse if she would use her attack again. Now can anyone imagine what would happen if these crazy zombies became more erotic than before? The thought of it gave Flonne the chills!

[arik99]

The warrior started casting ice spells while saying something about types.Types?I wonder what she meant , I only see normal zombies. Now that the zombies were distracted , it was a perfect time for a counterattack . Unfortunately I had no weapon , so I rushed towards the zombie with all my might.

Arik":Dooooooooooood"

The attack was completely waste(it did 0 damage). I knew I should have bought a weapon.I had to think of a distraction to get rid of the zombies.I saw the girl again and had a idea.The girl had a staff so I thought she was some kind of mage.Maybe she has some spell that can save us.

Arik:"What kind of magic can you cast Dood?"

I also notice that the warrior and the girl were looking at my scarf . I hope that nobody finds out that I stole it from Laharl's closet.That would mean a death penalty.

[Retsu]

Well there was one way she could help: staying as far away from the zombies as possible. Therefore, they wouldn't eat her and she would be able to owe Retsu for the saving of her life (or something else...but what would happen in the course of THAT would probably kill her too).

"Just stay there."

The prinny then attacked...

...

Yeah, it can sit out too. More money for Retsu~

"If that's all you can do, little prinny, then you might as well sit with...whoever that girl is. Or I can throw you. The explosion might help~."

It then mentioned her looking like a mage. Heh, that's probably what caused all this in the first place, but Retsu didn't bother waiting for an answer from her. She was a little busy actually being useful. If the angel person decided to be useful all of the sudden, it would be harder to extort money or something from her. Better that she DIDN'T be useful. As she was thinking, she continued to cast Ice at the zombies. Well, it was a good thing she had a lot of magic in reserve.

...Ah, the person's name started with a 'La'. But what was the REST of the person's name? It might help, as the fact she remembered the first two letters at all was probably a good thing (for Retsu, anyway).

[arik99]

The warrior was looking at me in a odd way , then he said something about throwing me . At first I thought it was an good idea , but then I knew her intentions. She wanted to throw me so that she can get all the Hel. Just the though of me made me mad, so I decide to attack the zombies from the back.

Arik:"You wont take all the glory dood. I will take down the zombies with my next attack Dood."

I jumped towards the zombie and started attacking , this time my attack was effective ( 5 damage) ,attacking from the back was a good idea. I din't realized that the floor was slippery
, so when I tried to use my strategy again I slipped. I knew that my destiny was sealed , for the moment I touch the ground I'm going to explode.

Arik"Dooooooooooooooood"

BOOOOOOOOM!!!

[~Flonnedre Scarlet~]

The Prinny that looked at Flonne asked her a question. From a distance, she held her Kerykeion staff tightly to her chest then responded back. "Uhm, not much! I can only cast the basic magic spells, including healing magic! T..that's....all! I'm afraid my previous attack might screw up again if I use it once more..!" Flonne responded aloud so they could hear her voice. She was embarrassed that her own attack led to this ridiculous outcome.

The zombies felt the pain from the Ice attack cast off by the blue mage. Surprisingly, the zombie on the left was staggering after it was hit by Ice magic, that it slowly fell on its knees and collapsed on the ground face first. Lucky! Must be a critical hit! That one wasn't so strong at all! Must be only a level 1 zombie with -50% resistance to ice.. Score!

The Prinny launched an attack on the zombie on the right. The zombie took damage, and that zombie almost lost its balance and fell over. Unfortunately, it stepped its right foot backward to maintain its balance. And then it was angry. That zombie shouted aloud, "Guuuuuuuuuuuaaaaaaaaahhh! Get out of the way!" The heroic Prinny did another attack. Unfortunately, it slipped, and Flonne witnessed the tragic fate of the Prinny. The poor Prinny exploded on sight, and Flonne covered her eyes. She looked again but with pity on the burnt knocked-out Prinny.

The love-stricken zombie on the middle was more energetic than the other two. This zombie must be the strongest among the three. It was hit by Ice magic but it continues to step forward still extending its arms. It probably didn't realize any pain. "Looooooooooovvee..." How revolting! And to think a zombie yelling out the word 'love' out aloud, he's a real disgrace to all zombiekind! Well, it's probably because its brain was too easy to manipulate.

The middle zombie raised its head, and then it tried to.....gargle. All of a sudden, it brought its head forward and spit out weird, green slimy stuff from its mouth. It's the horrid Zombie Puke! Whatever makes up this disgusting matter is nobody's concern. The attack was aimed at the only standing warrior - the blue mage!

"Watch out!" Flonne screamed to the mage from her current position.