"Location: Royal Woods, The World Of Nickelodeon, November 7th 2145"
Lincoln, Lacy, Lupa, Linka, Lemy, Lizy, Lynn III, and Leif were far from Royal Woods. They were going to a mountain region where there was supposedly a single Heartless that had appeared. It was supposedly extremely dangerous, so Lincoln thought it'd be best to take his daughter and the other children with him. Lisa had been the one to get research on it and was communicating with Lincoln through his portal key as he and the others approached the entrance of a cave in the mountain.
"This Heartless is known for playing tricks on your mind. It searches deep into your heart and utilizes your own desires and secrets against you. I implore you to not let yourself be led astray. It's only seeking to prey on you." Lisa explained.
Everyone saw something different the moment they stepped inside the humid darkness of the cave.
"Hey, is that running water I hear?" Lemy asked, frowning in the darkness.
He could feel Linka next to him, clutching Peacemaker and squinting.
"How do we know what this Heartless looks like, Lisa?" Lincoln asked.
He received no response. Lincoln turned to his daughter, nieces, nephews, and Lizy, but found them vanished from sight as well.
"Guys?" Lincoln asked.
His voice felt trapped inside his head. Suddenly, in a quick flash, a beautiful woman stood before him. She was almost flawless in appearance. Lincoln thought of greeting the woman, but then remembered his younger sister's words.
"No." Lincoln whispered, shaking his head and stepping away.
Just like that, the illusion was shattered and he found himself standing on the shore of what appeared to be a lake on the mountain.
Lupa was the second Loud to pass bypass an illusion. She stepped out of the darkness and gave a small nod at her uncle, before sitting herself down on a tree stump to wait for her cousins and Lizy to finish. She hoped they would use common sense and make it through. For her, the illusion was that of her, Charon, and Ash together as a family. Lupa wiped a tear and sighed to herself. She hadn't even been gone for long, and already, she missed her boyfriend and son.
Lynn III was in heaven.
The boy was surrounded by beautiful women and food. At first, he let himself relish in the moment, as it didn't happen to him every day. However, his eyes eventually snapped open when he felt a knife dig into his side. The beautiful women that had been sitting next to him had turned nightmarish. They looked hungry and it appeared that he was their main course. Lynn III jumped up and started running.
"Why is luck always so cruel to me?" Lynn III asked with a cry, rushing towards what he thought was the nearest exit.
Lacy recognized her surroundings immediately. She was in Lincoln, Ronnie Anne, Ronaldo, Rosa, Linka, Bobby, Louis, and Lizzie's living room, which was currently empty. The white haired girl felt at home here. From the corner of her eye, she saw Loan standing in the entryway to the kitchen. The Latino girl stood with her back towards her cousin in the kitchen.
"What are you doing, Loan?" Lacy asked with confusion.
Loan didn't answer. She simply turned around and walked slowly over to Lacy. That was when the white haired girl noticed that this wasn't her cousin. She was shaking, her skin was clammy and sweaty, and her eyes were eerie and soulless. Lacy then looked down and noticed a bloody kitchen knife in her right hand. Lacy felt her heart race and she started backing away immediately, realizing where this scenario was going. She then suddenly found herself right on the shore of the lake, where her uncle stood waiting, while Lupa sat on the stump and smoked a cigarette.
"Uncle Lincoln? Lupa?" Lacy asked cautiously.
Lincoln looked up and sighed.
"Finally! I was starting to get a little worried there, Lacy." Lincoln replied.
Lacy sighed in relief.
Linka and Leif had remained together, instead of being separated like the others had been. Soon after, the two ran into Lana, who strangely insisted on trying to get Leif a bath. The boy had bolted, apologizing to Linka before leaving his cousin alone. The girl had continued on by herself.
"Why did I agree to come here?" Linka asked.
She suddenly bumped into something. She looked up and found herself staring at a mirror. She studied herself in the mirror, before she gasped in shock as it reacted by itself.
"Hey! You are not me, I'm me!" the reflection said.
Linka tried to punch it, but then felt herself be punched in return.
"Ow!" Linka cried.
She clutched to her sides painfully and started to run, with the fake Linka hot on her heels.
Lemy felt like he had been following the same path for hours and he had yet to encounter anything. The boy decided to take a break by a waterfall and helped himself to some water. As he drank, he saw something shift from the corner of his eye. The boy turned around and felt his jaw drop down to the ground. It was Lizy, who was dressed in her usual bathing suit, which was an orange and white bikini. Lizy knew her wearing it drove her boyfriend crazy, due to the outfit showing off an excessive amount of her skin, so she wore it with pride. As she stepped out of the pond, water ran from the top of her chest, and down to her toned exposed stomach and beautiful long legs, a trait she had inherited from her mother. Lemy gulped as his girlfriend stepped closer, her hips swaying seductively and a flirtatious smirk on her lips.
"You want me, don't you, Lemy? No one is around, you know." Lizy asked.
Lemy didn't say anything, but his heart raced viciously.
"Lizy... you look so..." Lemy started to reply.
Suddenly, Lizy's entire demeanor changed and her eyes turned blacker than night. She stepped away from Lemy, giggling girlishly and throwing him another coy look before disappearing away from sight. Lemy rushed after her.
"Lizy, wait!" Lemy shouted.
He ran in the dark for a while before he found himself face to face with Sam. Lemy gasped in surprise.
"Mrs. Floyd! This place really messes with your mind, mate." Lemy said.
"It does? So what exactly did you see, Lemy?" Sam asked in a monotone voice.
Lemy laughed nervously.
"Um, it was.. nothing. Have you found a way out of here? And how did you even manage to find us?" Lemy asked.
Sam remained stoic and cold.
"Did you touch her?" Sam asked quietly.
Lemy realized she was talking about Lizy and he shook his head.
"Of course not!" Lemy replied.
Sam took out a bat with nails sticking out of it.
"But you have thought about it... haven't you?" Sam asked.
Lemy didn't say anything, but frowned slightly at the rocker woman's sudden coldness. Sam had never spoken to him like this before.
"You have thought about touching my daughter, haven't you?" Sam asked more harsher.
She swung the bat at Lemy. However, the boy managed to summon Glint and block the strike, before driving the weapon into Sam's left leg, injuring it. The blonde haired woman hissed in pain and dropped to the ground. Lemy didn't stick around to see what happened next and he started to flee away towards what looked like an exit to the cave.
Lincoln, Lupa, and Lacy had made a bonfire by the time Lynn III, Linka, and Leif emerged.
"Why did you put us through that? I'm going to have nightmares for eternity now!" Leif asked.
"Your aunt said it's the only way to get close to that Heartless. This was just a diversion to keep people away." Lincoln replied.
Lemy frowned and looked back towards the cave entrance.
"What is taking Lizy so long?" Lemy asked.
Lacy put a comforting hand on her cousin's shoulder.
"From the looks of things, everyone seems to handle this differently, Lemy. She will be here soon. We just have to be patient." Lacy replied.
Lemy shook his head.
"No, something doesn't seem right. I'm going to find her." Lemy said.
He started making his way back up to the cave opening.
"You can't go back in there. You'll get yourself lost!" Leif said.
Lemy shot his cousin an apologetic look before letting darkness envelop him once more.
Lizy had found herself completely blind and unable to see upon getting separated from her boyfriend and his relatives. She had then spent the rest of the time groping around in the darkness, trying to find her way out. As she did, she started to hear harsh voices whisper into her ear. She shivered from the coldness they left. Her feet moved slowly as she blindly tried to navigate her way out. After a particular nasty one, Lizy felt her legs give out as she dropped down to her knees.
Lemy again felt like he was going in circles inside a maze. He sighed, but suddenly stopped for a moment as he heard light sniffling. Lemy closed his eyes and followed the sound, and soon enough, he found a small body curled up on the ground, crying. Lemy rushed over quickly and took the white haired girl in his arms.
"Lizy! Lizy, I'm here now. I'm..." Lemy started to say.
"I can't see. How do I know you are even real?" Lizy asked.
Lemy stroked his girlfriend's hair.
"You'll just have to trust me." Lemy replied.
He tried picking her up, but she broke away from him.
"No!" Lizy cried.
"Lizy, I'm real! I promise. I came back to get you." Lemy exclaimed.
Lizy shook her head.
"It doesn't matter. You should leave me here." Lizy said.
"What? Lizy, what is going on?" Lemy asked in shock.
"I deserve this, Lemy. I deserve to die." Lizy replied in a mumble.
Lemy cupped her face.
"No! Lizy, you need to snap out of this. Whatever you are feeling, it's not real. We have been through everything together. Whatever you think you did wrong, you can tell me." Lemy said.
He kissed her on the forehead.
"Please." Lemy whispered.
Lizy sniffed before speaking.
"But..." Lizy started to say.
Lemy put a finger over her lips.
"Nothing is your fault, okay? You are not a burden to everyone. Your parents cherish you greatly and my relatives love you. My mother really spoils you. And you've got our backs. Everyone would miss you if you we're gone. If it's anyone's fault, it's mine for letting myself get separated from you and letting you get hurt." Lemy said firmly.
Lizy shook her head and wrapped her arms around him.
"No. Lemy, you didn't do anything wrong. None of us could have known we'd get separated like that. Even if we did, Miss Lisa said that this is the only way to get close to that Heartless. You're looking out for me because you're doing what you think is best." Lizy said.
Lemy returned his girlfriend's embrace.
"And so are you with caring for me." Lemy said.
Lizy nodded, finally believing him.
"There they are!" Lynn III shouted.
He pointed to the cave entrance, where he saw his cousin and his girlfriend emerge, hand in hand. Lincoln let out a sigh of relief.
"Took you long enough. What happened?" Lincoln asked in concern.
Lemy simply wrapped his arms around a weary Lizy.
"It doesn't matter now. It's in the past." Lemy replied.