Hello everybody, Merry Christmas! You thought I wasn't going to post anything other than a little one-shot for this season? You wish, instead, here's a little AU-because I'm all for that stuff-based on the Loud House-because I'm all for that stuff too XD-named Lux-Umbra Magna Auguratricis!
The name's supposed to be Latin for Light-Dark Loud Magicians.
I got the idea over at the Loud House discord, and I simply had to write it one way or another. So, I guess you could consider this my Christmas gift for the discord. XD
And yes, this was inspired by Puella Magi Madoka Magica, a magical girl show... that's literally all I can say without spoiling it. Though, it's been around for so long, I'm suprised it can still be spoiled. XD
Will I expand upon this idea? Probably not, I got too much work to do, but hey, tell me what you think and I'll think about it.
But nevermind, let's get going! :)
My name is Lily Loud. I'm one of the ten daughters of the infamous Loud House. I'm best known for being the literal baby of the house, but, like my other sisters, I've also become well-known for a peculiar reason:
I'm a magical girl. A "Lux Auguratricis" to be exact. Or "Lux Aura" for short, if you want.
It all started with a meeting...
Lily woke up, or at least thought she woke up, and found herself in a blank void, devoid of any significant feature.
"Where am I?" she asked telepathically, as she couldn't speak. "What is this place?"
"Ah, looks like you're awake."
The baby flinched and turned around as a creature came into view, saying:
"Don't fear us, we won't hurt you."
And eventually, the creature's full form was revealed to the baby: They had a white body with green rings around their stomach, green tips on their paws and nose, and orange eyes that looked straight into the baby's very being.
The most interesting feature about them, however, were its ears, or the closest thing it had to ears: They looked like a pair of scales in perfect balance, both colored grey, except for the tips: White for the left, black for the right.
"Our name is Geminus Divisus," the creature answered with a double voice, though they were so similar, it sounded more like echo. "But, since that name might be a hassle to say, you can just call us Gemini."
"Well, nice to meet you, Gemini..." Lily greeted back, slightly perplexed. "Can you, uh, explain to me what happened?"
"Simply put, Royal Woods is about to change irrevocably forever, both for good, and for worse," Gemini answered with a concerned tone. "And we want to know if you could make us a promise."
"Um... sure... I guess?" the girl looked around "What do you want me to promise?"
"Right now, we're inside your mind: A mental plane where anything can happen, as long as you desire it," Gemini took a look around. "However, nothing inside this world is real, it's all imaginary. So, what we want to ask out of you is impossible, as we're nothing more than a fragment of your mind right now."
The girl tilted her head. "O... kay?"
"But don't get us wrong, we do exist," Gemini clarified. "And once we appear to you in the real world, we simply ask that you form a bond with us."
The creature's eyes shined. "A magical bond!"
"Magical bond?" Lily tilted her head. "What are you talking about?"
"It's simple: We'll give you magical powers, transformation included, absurdly long transformation time optional, and in exchange, we simply ask that you keep the world safe from the incoming threats that will signal the change of the world," Gemini explained, lowering their head as they continued. "These beasts are known as shadows, and if they were to gain control over people's bodies... then untold destruction could come to the world."
The creature looked back up to a concerned Lily and asked, "So, can you promise us that?"
The girl thought about it, and nodded.
"Excellent," Gemini smiled. "Now, we'll let you wake up in peace. Oh, and one last thing: As soon as you make the bond, don't ask questions, and just act!"
The creature walked away, and seconds later, Lily began waking up...
After that, I woke up, and found out that not only were Lincoln and Lisa missing, but they were nowhere around the house. My sisters searched for them the whole day, but they had no luck finding them.
So, they continued searching for a couple days, until eventually, the thing Gemini spoke about attacked...
A shadow.
People ran away in a panic as a large, shadowy figure wrecked the streets, with the Loud sisters and parents being among the ones to witness the destruction. Lily was being carried in Rita's arms, with the woman covering her eyes as she and the rest of the family tried to run away.
But as they ran, Lily suddenly heard somebody telepathically talking with her:
"Lily! Can you hear us?!"
The baby raised an eyebrow as her family stopped, and her eyes were uncovered, allowing her to see the family stopped because of Gemini being right in front of them, staring at the baby as they telepathically told her:
"The time has come, Lily! You remember our promise, right?! It's time to do it now!"
"What the heck is that thing?!" Lynn Sr. asked.
"I don't know, but they're cute!" Lola remarked. "Can we adopt them?!"
Lily narrowed her eyes with determination and jumped off her Mom's grasp, allowing her to essentially high-five with Gemini, causing them to be enveloped in a white aura as Lily transformed and the family covered their eyes from the shine.
First, Lily's body grew from a baby into a young girl, at around Lincoln's age. Her hair went from a tiny bit at the top, to straight and reaching her shoulder, along with two ponytails held by purple scrunchies.
Along with her body growing, her clothes also changed: Instead of a diaper, she wore a lavender, sleeveless bodysuit, with matching opera gloves and skirt in a lighter color.
Finally, the girl materialized a large mace with a circular head, looking like a buffed up version of one of her toys.
And, like she promised Gemini, Lily asked no questions and jumped straight into the battlefield, while Gemini telepathically told the rest of the family:
"We know you have a lot of questions, but right now, you just need to know this: If you want your daughter to survive the encounter with that thing, form a bond with us, and become Lux Users Magicae!"
The sisters and parents exchanged looks, not sure what to say in response, as Lily's fight with the shadow began.
She first swung her mace against the shadow's massive body, with each blow causing it to react, though the shadow's seemingly immaterial, regenerating body made it hard to know whether it reacted due to pain or surprise.
And then, it was the shadow's turn:
"Buy mY mErchandise,"
The shadow's arm morphed into a grotesque fusion of several shelves before they slammed it down at the girl, then smacking her with it hard enough to send her flying into a building.
And besides some bruises, Lily was perfectly fine as the shadow said:
"Sales After NighttIme promoTion! oh mY yeah!"
The shadow aimed its shelve-arms at the building and shot them like a projectile, with Lily narrowly dodging it and spinning around as she slammed her mace down the shadow's head, making it explode... but it could still talk:
"My mOtivatioNal spEech's Yet to start!"
As Lily wondered how could this be, the shadow morphed it's head into a fist, and spoke again:
"AND Let's brIng and reFrain expEnses!"
The shadow slammed Lily down the ground, released her, and got ready to pummel her down... until a flash of purple light dashed across the spot where Lily used to be.
The shadow's fist-head morphed back to normal and turned to look at the source of the light: Who was none other than Luna, sporting a similar outfit as Lily, only in purple.
And then, some more lights flashed across the area, each striking at the shadow as their forms were soon revealed: They were the remaining Loud sisters, each wearing the same uniform as Lily as well.
Yes, even the tomboys had skirts.
At least they had their own weapons: Leni a pair of needles, Lori a spear, Lynn a pair of gauntlets, Luan a pie, Lucy a scythe, Lola a whip, and Lana a pair of claws.
"Luna?" Lily asked, before she looked at the rest of the Loud sisters. "You guys made a magical bond too?"
"Yeah, the creature told us that if we didn't, you could get hurt, or worse," Luna answered as she put the girl down and brushed her hair. "We'll take it from here."
And with that said, Luna summoned her weapon-an axe-and jumped right into the battlefield, leaving Lily to watch the battle as Gemini appeared right next to her.
"Oh, Gemini!" Lily remarked as she noticed the creature.
"Hello, Lily," Gemini spoke as they focused on the battle. "It looks like everything is going fine, right?"
"Yeah..." Lily turned back to the fight. "I guess..."
The duo saw the fight go on for a while, watching the Loud sisters take care of the shadow as a question popped in Lily's mind:
"Of all people he could bond with, why did he choose my family? And why bond with me first?"
And much to her surprise, she asked that out loud, judging by Gemini looking at her and responding:
"Because your family, and you in particular, Lily, hold a great potential to be heroes. And truth be told, everybody has the potential to be heroes, but your potential... well, it's hard to explain, but it's definitely interesting."
Lily smiled and blushed. "Thanks, Gemini."
The creature walked up to Lily's side and rubbed their head against her side as they said, "No problem, Lily."
And then, the duo heard an explosion, prompting them to look forward and witness the shadow's defeat. The smoke cloud dissipated as the sisters landed on the ground, Lily and Gemini joined them, and the Loud parents appeared soon after.
"Mom! Dad!" Lily exclaimed as the parents reached them. "Why didn't you join the others in the fight?"
"We're afraid the magical bonding schtik only works on teenagers and kids," Gemini explained, shaking their head. "Trying to bond with adults can cause... unexpected side-effects."
"And besides, we were requested to stay at the sidelines, just in case something happened," Lynn Sr. added. "Trust us, we would've joined you if we could."
"Nah, it's okay," Lori answered as she lowered her spear. "After all, seven or six of us were literally more than enough to take care of that thing."
And speaking of the shadow, the smoke cloud from the explosion dissipated completely, revealing Flip, who ran away shortly afterwards, and a small black cube.
"Flip was the shadow all along!" Leni exclaimed as the Loud family and Gemini walked closer to the black cube. "Honestly, I'm, like, not surprised."
Lucy tilted her head and moved closer to the black cube. "What's that thing?"
"Stay away! It's a square of darkness: The very source of power for the shadows!" Gemini exclaimed as they ran up to the cube. "If a square of darkness comes into contact with someone who's made a magical bond before, it can transform them into a shadow!"
Hearing that, the family backed away as Gemini promptly disposed of the black cube... by eating it. And as they ate it, they turned to the surprised family and said:
"Now... we need to ask for your services... in keeping Royal Woods safe from the shadows. You won't fight alone, of course, you will have help from Lux Auguratrices, or Lux Auras, from all over the city. The only thing we ask in response..."
Gemini swallowed the cube before they finished:
"Is to protect the city from the shadows."
Of course, our parents were against the idea. And who could blame them?
No powers, a sudden threat from massive monsters, and the only people who can defeat them are your daughters? Anybody would have a problem with that!
But once Gemini explained the whole deal to them, how we wouldn't be the only ones to protect the city, and how they could help from the sidelines, they decided to agree to the idea.
And from that day forward, me and my sisters work as the defenders of Royal Woods from the shadows, while also working on our most important goal: Find out what happened to Lincoln and Lisa, and put an end to the shadow threat once and for all.
The next day, the baby was carried by Luan as she and Luna looked at the city on the balcony, their hair blowing in the wind as they saw a pitch black dome materializing at the city square.
"Are you ready for this, dude?" Luna asked, throwing a curious look at Luan.
"You bet I am!" Luan giggled and turned to Lily. "You ready for this, Lily?"
The baby smiled and nodded. And then, the girls looked at some white cubes on their person: Luan had it as a hair accessory, Luna had one as an earring, and Lily had hers on her sucker.
The girls took off and threw the cubes in the air, which broke and showered the girls in a white light, transforming them into their Lux Aura forms.
And in Lily's case, her grown-up form as well.
The girls then summoned their weapons, and sprung towards the dark dome, ready to take on whatever shadow was going to spring out of there.