Reincarnation

Things get deep tonight. It's not all fun and games in the Netherworld.

A bright, moon filled sky lights our screen as children's voices sing a song about a Red Moon. It's hauntingly beautiful. When the song is done, Flonne wakes up to general singing and wonders who could be singing at this hour. She encounters the red Prinny, Big Sis Prinny, who reminds her of the Prinny life cycle. It's also implied that she was the one who gave Flonne the medicine when she lost her pendant. I have no idea how Flonne couldn't pick her out of a lineup as she's red and doesn't say "Dood" until Flonne points it out. Through forced doods, Big Sis Prinny reveals that Prinny atonement is at hand, and the Prinnies who have done their work are free to reincarnate. In the morning, Laharl is upset that his vassals are missing. Etna assumes they left because of the Prince's mistreatment, and he admits that 20 hours workdays with no days off may be harsh. Flonne becomes annoyed because she hates Jeff Bezos, and Laharl wonders if she knows something. Regardless, the team sets out to bring back the missing vessels because, otherwise, it'll make Laharl look bad.

The Lunar Snowfield has the best battle music in the games. I've often mentioned how much I love slow, melancholic melodies, and this piece fits that bill perfectly. Sorrowful Angels is the least battleest battle them ever, but I dig it!

Stage One sets the battle theme of everything being pretty tricky. We're on a fully affected Geo Field, and everything is an Enemy Boost X3 tile. The pumpkins guarding the way have a move similar to Zombie Twister, except they return to their starting location. It's deadlier but easier to prepare for in some ways. Ignore them, though, and definitely ignore the Cyclopes (which is not how you properly pluralize Latin, Google). The first thing we need to do is kill the Geo Crystal. It took me two turns and left my best characters away from the battle, so maybe use slightly weaker guys. The Cyclopes don't bother moving much, so just don't go near them. Hope your leftovers can handle a few rounds until you get your strong party back and Laharl and Etna can do work. Once it's down to the two Cyclopes, work on them one at a time in a long grind. They have high HP and even higher defense (700). Some of your characters may not be able to do damage, but Laharl and Maderas were! Save space for a healer; you're gonna need her! Do this twice, and you win. If you want to, throw the Defense -50% on to the field. It'll probably help you more than it'll hurt you. ..probably.
Stage Two takes place after Laharl yells at Flonne to ask if she knows anything. Flonne gets mad because he's a jerk who doesn't even use her name. She continues by saying he should let the Prinnies continue on and not chase them. Laharl turns into a drama-queen. This battle is the easiest of the night. There are three groups of enemies, and each group has six mobs whose levels range from 1-32. One will be higher level than you, one will be about the same, and the rest will die fast.
Stage Three has a similar mob focus, except with humanoid units. The first group uses swords and axes. The second group are spear welders who guard the Mages and Archers at the back. The first two groups aren't affected by the Geo Crystals, so don't worry about them yet. I had some issues because I'm starting to realize how terrible Flonne is, but I want to keep using her. Several times, a good character would have easily killed the enemy, but she failed every time. It caused a lot of pain for me. Suffer through the first two groups and change the Geo Crystals to have the Attack -50% effect. The remaining mobs are mild speed bumps to victory. Before the battle, Flonne asked Etna why Laharl is like that. Etna reveals he was raised to be a kind and loving boy by his human mother. Being a witch, she came to Hell to study something, and King K fell in love with her. Unfortunately, she died. Laharl became sick with an illness that could only be cured with the death of a loved one. Mama K sacrificed herself to save her son, and the Prince has been resentful towards love and all that jazz ever since. Etna guesses that Flonne reminds Laharl of his mom.
The Final Stage is lit up by Prinnies returning to the Red Moon. Laharl demands that they return to the palace, but Flonne and Big Sis Prinny rebuke him, but in different ways. They both say this is for the Prinnies best, but the Prince remains resolute, and a fight breaks out.

The battle consists of a Grim Reaper lookalike who's guiding the Prinnies, along with several Nightmare variants. Most of their attacks are Ice based, which aren't a big deal. My fragile backline, who gets hit, has good resistances. The guy in charge can use a Light Storm move, which is still deadly, and they all have physical attacks to worry about, too. It's oddly easy, and it's been a long time since I had this many survivors.

After the battle, Death (named Minerva for me) asks why we're interfering. Big Sis says that if Laharl cares about his vassals, he'll let them reincarnate. The combo of her and Flonne manage to buy the Prinnies time and convince Laharl, or at least stun him for a moment, and Flonne asks what BSP did to end up in Hell. She says she killed herself, but only to save the life of her son. The cogs start turning in everyone's head. Flonne wishes she could stay around longer to help her son, but that's just not possible. As her spirit exits her penguin body, we all see her human form, which Etna and Laharl know very well. She says the Prince has met a wonderful person and reincarnates. Laharl's demeanor softens, and says to Flonne, using her name, that they're all heading home.
 
The next chapter skit references Gordon, Jennifer, and their robot friend, Thursday. Etna has an English accent for some reason. If I recall correctly, it's oddly specific! Let's see if Captain Gordon is actually invincible?

Etna's diary goes into detail about her feelings toward Mama K. She hated her. She wanted the King's attention but didn't get it because of the apparent love the King had for his wife. Hate is a strong word, but jealousy is more apropos. There was also another scene where Lamington and the voice talk to each other about what's going on. Since I don't take notes as I go, I've forgotten when and the details. They seemed mildly concerned, though. Was it about the fight between Laharl and Flonne?