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theshatteredrose · 1 year ago

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Nugatory: The Secret War (Chapter 41 - Final) - Disgaea 5 Fanfiction

AN: Man, finally, the last chapter! It’s been a long road, but I finally made it. Just in time before my operation, too. I don’t know how I will feel in the next couple of months, but do let me know if you would like to see more of Samuel. I might be able to write a few oneshots or whatever. Anyway, hope you enjoy reading~

Ao3 | Wattpad | Inkitt | FFNet

Chapter 41:

The remnants of a dream he could not remember faded as Samuel waded into wakefulness. His body felt heavy as he furrowed his brow and pressed his face into his pillow.

Pillow? When did he crawl into bed?

He laid still to allow his mind to clear and soon realised that he should not be lying in a bed, comfortable but tired. He…should be in Nugatory. He should be alone. Cold and lonely, floating through the Netherverse. As a spirit. As nothing more than a specter.

Why…?

Summoning up his energy, he opened his eyes and found himself staring at the familiar surroundings of the Nether-Hospital of the Pocket Netherworld. No, of Gorgeous Reborn.

He was back in home base.

Killia…the others…the Tree of Death…

That was not a dream?

A small face suddenly popped in his line of sight. Young, with wide green eyes. Two more youthful faces joined him. Three young boys. Children. Halfling. Kids.

His kids. From Nugatory.

Samuel’s eyes widen and he pitched up in bed, leaning up on his hands as he rested on his side. “Jeremy? Gavin? Tyler? Wh-what?”

“Sammie!”

The three kids launched themselves at them and Samuel readily opened his arms, falling back onto the bed. He wrapped his arms around the kids and hugged them tightly, pressing kisses to each of their foreheads.

He could hardly believe it. They were alive. Three of his kids were alive. He was…so glad. He thought he had lost them all.

Jeremy was a chatterbox, and would ramble incoherently at times, asking rapid-fire questions, leaving no time for answers. Gavin was a selective mute, only speaking to certain individuals, and Samuel was obviously one of those individuals. Tyler was non-verbal, so just pressed his face into his shoulder and cried.

They…must have been hiding in Nugatory the entire time.

“Samuel!”

Samuel lifted his head up, his expression instantly brightening. His bed was soon surrounded by familiar faces; Usalia, Zeroken, Christo, Red Magnus, even Seraphina.

And, of course, Killia.

Killia…

He came for him. Somehow found Nugatory. Raided it. Fought against Arch-Overlord on his own. Freed him from the Tree of Death.

Samuel remembered. He remembered watching from the tree. From the heart of the tree. Abimael wanted him to watch. Wanted him to see as Arch-Overlord killed him. So that his heart would shatter in a million different pieces. So that he would turn demonic. And destroy the three realms in their entirety.

But Samuel would not allow that. He would not allow Killia to die because of him. Especially because of him.

He loved him too much to let that happen.

Killia walked to his left side of the bed and placed his hand on his shoulder, gently looking down upon him. “How are you feeling?”

Samuel could not help but flush lightly. “I couldn’t be better.”

A movement from the corner of his eye caught his attention and he glanced over in curiosity. He did a doubletake when he realised a young woman with long blonde hair stood at the foot of his bed, hands folded neatly in front of her, waiting patiently.

Lieze…

Ah, right. He had almost forgotten. How shameful.

Lieze smiled brightly, warmly at him as she clapped her hands in front of her. “Samuel, it’s so nice to finally meet you.”

“You, too,” Samuel returned, smiling also. “It’s good to see you well. I’ve heard so much about you.”

Lieze, unexpectedly, giggled. “And you.”

Jeremy, who was hanging over Samuel’s back, waved his arm to get his attention. “This nice lady has been looking after us,” he explained.

“Ah, I see,” Samuel said as he turned back to Lieze. “Thank you for looking after my kids for me.”

“Not at all,” Lieze immediately responded. “They are an absolute delight.”

They were. And they were free.

Finally.

… … … … …

Samuel had to admit that he was surprised by the reception he received when he was released from the hospital. The prinnies that worked on the main bridge, the ones he had helped a few times and had cooked sardine curry for, had swarmed him, tearfully exclaiming how happy they were that he was back.

They were not being sarcastic, either. They were being honest, which surprised him and many others.

Many other rebels had stated that they were grateful that he had returned to them safely, too. Apparently, the Rebel Army was not the same without him.

It was humbling, to say the least. He had no idea he left such an impact on others.

Because of his return, everyone felt ready to finally celebrate the end of the war.

Everyone was in a celebratory mood.

Samuel should be, too. But…he couldn’t.

He had every reason to be. He had been rescued by the hands of Killia and his beloved allies. His kids had been freed and returned to him. Nugatory was no more. It had been destroyed. By his own hand.

He could hardly believe it. His home world, his prison – gone. Along with the Tree of Death. He was free. Truly free.

But, was he?

Samuel found himself staring out into the vast Netherverse beyond the glass panels of Gorgeous Reborn once more. He had done such a thing many times before. Yet, in the past he did so out of awe. Now, it was out of concern.

Seedlings, Snap Draingons…they still existed. Out there in the Netherverse. He could feel them. Sense them. The Tree of Death, Abimael made sure he could when he was merged with the tree. And he had taken advantage of that when he reversed the effect of Snap Draingons at the time.

But now, the Snap Draingons had returned to ‘normal’. They were still stealing energy from the Netherworlds they infested, but no longer for the Tree of Death, but for themselves.

He…had learnt quite a bit about Seedlings and Snap Draingons while merged with the Tree of Death. And everything he had learnt was alarming.

He had to do something about it.

Alone.

Samuel turned away from staring out at the Netherverse when he heard a playful laugh. He smiled when he saw that his kids were running about, carefree, playing with some of the younger members of the Rebel Army.

There were no words to describe how relieved he was that three of his kids survived. That they had listened to his words and hid when things turned, in their words, scary at Nugatory.

They were too young to properly describe what had happen at Nugatory, but what they did tell him was that the others had ‘left’ and it was just the three of them, left to fend for themselves in Nugatory for months on end.

At least they were safe now.

The kids played with a group of Slumbering Cats while Lieze watched on from a bench. And stood close to her was Killia, watching over them all like a protective guardian. A father figure, even.

Lieze was wonderful with the children. They would be better off with her. Along with Killia, they would make an adorable family. The kids would take to them quickly, he was sure.

Besides, he could not take them with him when he ventured out to destroy the Snap Draingons on his own. It would be too dangerous. And unfair on them.

It was also unfair on Killia to ask him to help him.

Samuel remembered what happened in Nugatory. When Killia freed him from being the heart of the Tree of Death. In a moment of weakness, he had…kissed him.

He flushed with shame and looked away, turning his gaze back to the Netherverse outside once more.

If nothing else, it made it perfectly clear that Killia did not feel the same. He did not kiss him back. He did not push him away, sure. He was too kind to reject him in a hostile manner. But he did not return the gesture.

A hand clasping his shoulder suddenly made Samuel jump. The hand tightened, causing him to turn his head to the side, his gaze immediately colliding with that of golden honey. The eyes of the person he both wanted and did not want to see.

“You seemed troubled by something,” Killia stated, his concern blatant.

“Oh, hey, sorry,” Samuel instinctively returned. “I guess I’m still in shock about Nugatory.”

Killia nodded his head in understanding but kept his hand on his shoulder. “Is that all?”

A part of Samuel wanted to say yes and brush it off, wanting to keep his thoughts to himself. Not wanting to bother Killia anymore than he already had. And yet, another part wanted to bare his soul to him. To at least give him the opportunity of knowing the truth.

“…No,” he admitted. “There’s something else.”

Killia squeezed his shoulder, seemingly expecting that response. “Let’s talk in private.”

Samuel nodded. Killia dropped his hand from his shoulder and they both turned, flaring their wings to fly to the walkway above the main bridge. They headed to the furthest corner platform, Killia landing first with Samuel moving to land a few feet in front of him.

“What’s wrong?” Killia immediately asked.

“I’m…not entirely sure where to start,” Samuel admitted as he turned to look out into the Netherverse once more. “I guess I’ll start from when I was merged with the Tree of Death. I had learned a bit more about Seedlings and Snap Draingons. And about me, too, I guess.”

The information he learnt about the Snap Draingons and Seedlings were true. About himself? He…did not want to think about that.

“I tried to destroy all the Snap Draingons from the Tree of Death, but there was too many of them. All I could do was instead reverse their purpose. Return the energy that the Tree of Death had stolen through the many countless years.”

“With the Tree of Death now destroyed, what will happen to these Snap Draingons and their Seedlings?” Killia asked. A reasonable question.

One that Samuel was hesitant to answer. He looked away and wrung his hands together in front of him. “…Each Snap Draingon has the potential to one day turn into a Tree of Death.”

“What?!”

Samuel sighed and rubbed the back of his neck, granting Killia a sympathetic smile. “Yeah. One consolation is that it could take many years for that to happen. It won’t happen overnight, thankfully. The tree will need to become the core of Netherworld and it will need the deaths of hundreds of thousands of demons for it to occur. There is still time to seek them out and destroy them.”

I was not going be easy, but it had to be done. Someone, namely him, had to do it.

“My war continues, it seems.”

Killia immediately stepped forward and took him by the elbow, guiding him to turn around to face him. “You won’t have to face it alone. I’ll help you.”

Samuel would like that. He would love that, but he could not accept it.

“No. This is my duty to bear.”

Killia looked genuinely confused. “What?”

Samuel reached up with his hand and gently, painfully on his part, pried Killia’s hand from his elbow. “As the last remaining defender, it falls to me to locate the rest of these Seedlings and Snap Draingons, and destroy them. Even now, as we stand here, I can sense them. Out in nearby Netherworlds. There are thousands of them, Killia.”

He was not about to demand potentially hundreds of years of Killia’s life to be dedicated to hunting down Seedlings and Snap Draingons when he clearly had better things to do.

“As the Sentient of the Tree of Death said; Demons are created to be evil. There are outliers, like you, but at their core, demons are evil. And all it will take is one demon to take one Seedling to create another Tree of Death. And it starts all over again. Another war, another evil that threatens the Netherverse. That's all it will take.”

As far as he was aware, Warden Naraka was still out there somewhere. He could be cultivating several Snap Draingons as they speak. He could even be nurturing a new Arch-Overlord. He may be more dedicated to Project: Wasteland than ever before.

Anything was possible.

“Only Halflings can use the cleansing technique,” Samuel continued. “And I refuse to allow my kids to become defenders. They're too young. They deserve to live normal lives. They deserve someone to search for their parents, and to be reunited with them. If they're still alive, of course. And future Halflings, they don't need to get involved in any of this.”

No, it was him. It was all on him. No one deserved to get involved.

No one.

Killia suddenly looked frustrated. “None of that explains why I can’t help you. None.”

Samuel shook his head, exasperated. “Wouldn’t you rather stay on Flowerful with Lieze?”

Killia fell silent and Samuel sighed. Yeah, thought so. He wanted nothing more than to stay with Killia. To spend the rest of his life with him. But he couldn’t. Not when he was with Lieze. Being forced to watch the two of them together, acting as the perfect couple? That was asking too much.

So, it was official, huh?

Samuel smiled sadly as he stepped to the side and patted Killia on the shoulder. “I’m happy for you.”

Killia suddenly snared him by the elbow and he tugged him toward him sharply, pulling him against his chest. “Samuel, listen-”

“Killia, stop it.” Something in Samuel broke as he fell into Killia’s arms once more, and though he had the physical strength to push him away, he couldn’t. He curled his hands into fists and pressed them against Killia’s chest, his head bowed forward as he could not find it in him to look him in the eyes. “Just…stop. Listen. I love you. I’ve been in love with you for a while now. That’s why.”

“And that’s why I need to stay with you.”

Samuel snapped his head up. “What?”

Killia used that opportunity to lean forward and…kissed him.

Samuel stilled, his eyes widening as he stared at Killia’s face. He was…he was actually kissing him. His lips were pressed against his. He could feel them; soft, a little chapped from the harsh conditions of the endless battles, but gentle all the same.

After a long, drawn-out moment, Killia pulled back and Samuel stared at him in a daze. He lifted a hand to lightly touch his lips with his fingertips in bewilderment. “B-but Lieze?”

Killia smiled at him as he shook his head. “Lieze gave me a heart, the Rebel Army gave me a purpose, but you gave my life meaning. Lieze is family, and she always will be. Just like the kids will always be your family. And how the others and the rebel army will always be our family.”

Y-yeah, that was true.

He…

Samuel leaned forward to thump his forehead against Killia’s shoulder, resting fully, comfortably in his arms and against his chest. “Sorry. I’m not an immune to mind games as I thought. When I was merged with the Tree of Death, it said that the Netherverse’s destruction was one heartbreak away. I know it was talking about me. I thought…”

Being alone would…protect everyone. Including his heart.

“I know,” Killia said as he wound his arms around his waist and pulled him closer. “You were being a martyr, as usual.”

Was that one of the curses of being a Halfling?

Samuel leaned back slightly, only so he could gaze upon his face. “But I could go demonic if my heart was ever broken.”

“I won’t let you,” Killia swiftly returned. “Not because of the fear of you going demonic, but because you deserve to be treasured for the rest of your life.”

“Killia…”

Samuel cupped the side of Killia’s face and gazed into his eyes lovingly, before he leaned forward, his eyelids slipping closed and pressed his lips against Killia’s. Killia’s arms tightened around him, somehow pulling him even closer without overpowering him, his touch both warm and pleasurable.

He…had never been with anyone before. Never kissed anyone. Never loved anyone so intently before in his life. He had not the faintest idea what he was doing. So, he left it up to instinct, and to Killia, to lead him and to guide him.

Neither had led him astray before, and they would not now.

… … … … …

Samuel and Killia had spent quite some time on that walkway above the main bridge getting reacquainted with each other. Only a phone call from a rather irritated Seraphina, ‘kindly’ reminding them that the Rebel Army was celebrating the end of the war and that there was to be a fireworks display prompted them to remember that they had better make an appearance before someone came looking for them.

Thankfully, they were not doing anything too outlandish. Talked, mostly. About what they were to do now that the war was over. Samuel, of course, still had his war to contend with, one that Killia still insisted on helping with him. And there was no way of talking him out of it.

Samuel was, honestly, relieved that he did not have to face it alone. The Rebel Army was to stay together for a little bit longer. They wanted, needed to restore the damage that had been done across the Netherverse. And if they happen to cross paths with some Seedlings and Snap Draingons, well of course they would deal with them, too.

Needless to say, Samuel loved his rebels.

Hand in hand, Samuel and Killia slipped from the walk way and back to the communal area with the others. Killia had to help Red Magnus with the fireworks, and Samuel wanted to have a proper word with Lieze, so they (rather reluctantly, honestly) parted ways.

“Samuel, there you are.” Christo suddenly calling out to him stopped him in his tracks. “May I have a word with you?”

“Sure, of course,” Samuel immediately replied. “What is it?”

Christo looked at him, his posture surprisingly tense and his expression serious. “I’ll get straight to the point. Arch-Overlord mentioned something about a Lady Archangel being involved. Involved in the managing of your prison. I want to promise to you that once I return to Cele-Certain Giant, I will investigate this matter thoroughly. And if true, there will be hell to pay…”

Samuel was taken aback by the revelation of an archangel being involved in the abduction and possible torture of Halflings. He, however, was soon comforted by Christo’s words and smiled at him.

“I trust you, Christo,” he said without hesitation. “And I believe in you. I know that under your watchful eye, there won’t be another Nugatory.”

Whether he found that Lady Archangel or not was irrelevant. As long as there wasn’t another prison like Netherworld that imprisoned Halflings.

With that, Samuel excused him from Christo and went in search of Lieze. He found her easily enough, sat on that same bench, keeping an ever-watchful eye over the children. Thinking of it now, she, too, would thrive in a much busier environment, filled with souls for her to fuss over.

“Lieze.”

Lieze looked up at him with an inquisitive tilt of her head. “Is everything all right?”

Ah, Killia must have told her that he was going to speak with him about something.

“Yes, it is now,” Samuel replied with a smile as he sat down on the bench next to her. “Though, I would like your help with something.”

Lieze immediately pivoted in her seat to face him. “What is it?”

Samuel motioned toward his kids with a tilt of his head. “These kids have been locked away and sheltered their whole lives. They’ve never seen the outside world. They need someone to help them to acclimatize to life within the Netherverse. Can you help me with that?”

“Me?”

“Well, you’re Killia’s family, so you’re my family, too,” Samuel explained readily. Of course, he wasn’t about to leave her out in the cold, now was he? “We’re thinking of settling on Flowerful. It’s the perfect Netherworld for Halflings to grow up on. It’s safe, peaceful. Different to the one we were imprisoned upon. And, perhaps, one day, a safe haven for other Halflings.”

Lieze smiled brightly and nodded her head eagerly. “I very much would like that, too.”

“There’s another reason I asked. I suppose Killia has told you about Seedlings?” He received a nod and he smiled apologetically. “Well, I’m afraid there are still some floating out in the Netherverse. And I’m the one only left to hunt them down. I won’t let any of my kids into that life. So, sorry, there will be times where Killia and I will need to leave Flowerful in the hunt of Seedlings and Snap Draingons. It’s my burden to bear, but Killia won’t let me shoulder the burden alone.”

Lieze placed a hand on her hip and wagged at finger at him. “And he shouldn’t.”

Samuel gave a small laugh before he paused and looked at the woman in silence for a moment. “Thank you, Lieze.”

“Hm?”

“No, it’s just with your help I get to live a life I never thought I would.”

Lieze fell silent as she gazed at him in return. She slowly folded her hands upon her lap as an expression of wistfulness appeared on her face. “…I must thank you, as well.”

Samuel tilted his head to the side. “For what?”

“For what you’ve done for Killia,” she replied. “And what you’ve done for me. I heard your voice, when I was…You were a stranger to me, but your voice was so kind and gentle. It comforted me. I immediately believed you, when you said everything was going to be all right. And you’re right. Everything is going to be all right. For us both.”

Samuel looked at her in surprise before he smiled. “Yeah, you’re right.”

“Sammie!”

Samuel sighed fondly as Jeremy rushed over to him. “Jeremy,” he said, feigning exasperation as he pinched Jeremy’s nose. “Indoor voice.”

Jeremy scrunched up his face and pouted after Samuel let go. “Sammie,” he said again, quieter than before. “Everyone’s saying you and Killia are like married, or something close, or something. Is that true?”

“…H-huh?” Samuel stuttered, blushing deeply.

Jeremy puffed out his cheeks, pouting childishly, while waiting for an answer.

Next to him, Lieze giggled, while also waiting for an answer. And it did not take Samuel long to realise that a sudden silence had fallen down around him. No ordinary silence, of course. A silence of anticipation.

Samuel flushed deeply and rubbed the back of his neck. “Y-yes, it’s true that we’re together.”

He was greatly shocked when a loud, boisterous cheer went up around him. Jeremy expression turned into that of childish disbelief while Lieze clapped her hands in front of her joyously before she scooted closer to him and hooked her arm through his.

“Congratulations!” she said in earnest. “I’m glad that the two of you worked it out finally.”

“Y-yeah,” was all Samuel could utter out.

“Hey, hey!” Red Magnus shouted suddenly. “The fireworks display is about to begin! Time to get super rowdy!”

Oh, good. Time for celebrations to really kick off.

“Jeremy, go get your siblings,” Samuel said as he and Lieze both stood up from the bench. “You don’t want to miss the fireworks display.”

“What’s fireworks?” Jeremy asked.

“You’ll see. Now, hurry.”

Jeremy turned and hurried off, doing as he was told. As he did so, he passed Killia as he walked through the masses, receiving a series of smirks, sniggers, and back pats by their fellow rebels. To say he was a tad confused was an understatement.

Lieze hid a laugh behind her hand and Samuel smiled apologetically as Killia made his way over to them.

“Everyone is acting strangely,” he simply said.

“My fault,” Samuel replied as he leaned forward and pressed himself against Killia’s chest, the other quickly slipping his arms around his waist. “Jeremy heard some gossip and I couldn’t lie to him.”

A flicker of realisation appeared in Killia’s honey gold eyes. “Ah.”

Samuel felt someone suddenly barrel into from behind, wrapping their arms around his waist and hugging him. He jumped, startled, but promptly relaxed when he realised that they were none other than Usalia.

She must be pleased as punch to have her ‘parents’ back together.

Gossip did not take long, did it?

“Grrr, what do you think you’re doing?” Seraphina asked, bristling all the while.

No, gossip did not take long at all.

“Now now,” Lieze said as she picked Tyler up into her arms and expertly balanced the small boy on her hip. “It’s time for celebration. Let’s not ruin the fireworks display with petty fights, hm?”

Christo and Zeroken soon joined them, just as the first rockets of fireworks went up just outside the windows of Gorgeous Reborn. Usalia unwound her arms from Samuel’s waist so that she, too, could gaze upon the fireworks. And Samuel shifted in Killia’s arms, moving to press against his right side, where Lieze stood to his left.

As a magnitude of colours danced and sparkled before them, they culminated into a symbol that their greatest struggles were over. There was still much work to do, but the pain and suffering that they had endured was over.

They were free.

And that including Samuel himself.

Samuel looked away from the fireworks display to gaze upon Killia for a moment, only to find himself look back at him, too. They gazed at each other silently for a moment before they both smiled and Samuel leaned his head on Killia’s shoulder, prompting him to place a kiss to the top of his head.

The Netherverse was not perfect, but it was his, and Samuel would do whatever was necessary to protect it. And those who called it home.

#disgaea #disgaea 5 #fanfiction #nugatory: the secret war #killia #killia x original character #killia x samuel

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