A/N: Special thanks to zumby101 for their constant support in writing this chapter.

This was originally part of chapter 3. It got so long that I needed to split it into two chapters. Plus I really wanted to update the story, so win-win. I dunno how long each chapter will be, I guess it'll just vary.

Please read, review, and spread the word. Recommend this story on TV Tropes if you're feeling extra generous.

E/N: it's a real pleasure working on this, enjoy!

XxXxX

"Lincoln, what's wrong?" asked Lucy.

"I can't get through! The mirror isn't working!" Lincoln yelped back as he kept pushing harder into his mirror, but nothing happened.

"That mirror won't work, it's just a sticker on cardboard." Lincoln heard Br'er explain.

"That doesn't count?" Lincoln asked, panicking a little.

"Unfortunately no, a true mirror needs to be made out of earthly materials in order to have the power to transfer you between this world and your world."

"Dangit!" Lincoln yelled in defeat as he punched the sticker, making Lucy jump again.

"Lincoln, calm down. Freaking out isn't going to help us."

"Calm down how? Almost all the mirrors in this house are made out of cheap stuff like mine! We're trapped!"

"Lincoln, you're forgetting something. There's a mirror in the attic that's an old heirloom, it might be our best bet out of here."

Hearing this calmed Lincoln down a bit, he scratched his head in thought, "...that might work, but what about that thing in the hallway?"

"That thing in the hallway is a shadow." spoke Br'er, "A being made from the negative energy humans release into this world."

"Negative energy?" Lincoln asked as he looked at the card again.

"Many humans in your world use mirrors to release their negative energy. Be it fear, hatred, insecurity, avarice, superiority, jealousy, sorrow, or indifference. They're collected here and create shadows, reflections, and the world you see before you."

"Do you know how to get past it?"

"When you see it, call for me. I'll give that runt a whupping!"

"Lincoln? What are you thinking?" Lucy asked, snapping him out of his inner conversation.

"I got an idea Lucy, follow me."

Lincoln walked to the bedroom door and turned the knob, hoping that the shadows wouldn't surprise him. Lucy was close behind. Lincoln pulled the door open, and the shadow noticed them almost immediately. The mask it was holding changed expression from a blank stare to a devious grin, and the shadow charged right at the two.

"Lincoln!"

As the shadow crossed the hall, the card glowed in Lincoln's hand.

"Now! Quick!"

Lincoln gripped the card in his hand, and a single word flashed to the forefront of his mind. It was a familiar word, and on instinct he moved the word from his mind to his mouth.

"PERSONA!" Lincoln yelled out.

The card shattered in his hand and Br'er Rabbit appeared in front of the two, giving them a cheeky grin while carrying a bindle over his shoulder. Just as he promised, Br'er ran up to the shadow and greeted it with a sucker punch to the mask. It let out a shriek as it cracked, causing the shadow to disperse into nothingness. After the blow was dealt, Br'er vanished and his card had returned to Lincoln's hand.

Lincoln's mouth was agape as he looked at the card with a dumbfounded expression.

"Wh-what was that?" Lucy asked, her voice breaking from excitement, "Did you just yell out 'Persona'? Lincoln, what did you do?"

He shook his head and shrugged, "I don't know! This is all new to me too!"

"I am your inner strength." Br'er told him, "Your strength of heart."

"Yeah, and that explains everything..." Lincoln thought in response.

"Okay then smartass, figure it out for yourself."

"Spirits." Lucy said to her brother, snapping him out of his thinking again. Lincoln saw that her mouth had turned into an eerie grin, "Lincoln, you connected with a spirit!"she said with an unnatural amount of excitement, at least for her.

He shook his head, "No, I don't think-"

Lucy grabbed the hand Lincoln was holding his card in, "Do it again! How does it work?" she was yanking on his arm to get to the card.

"Lucy, stop!" he yelled, getting her to let go. "Look, first things first, we need to get out of this place before more of those things show up."

"But Lincoln!"

"We'll talk about it when we're safe at home, alright?"

Her smile vanished almost as quick (if not quicker) than it appeared, "Sorry, got a bit too excited there."

"It's okay...let's just head for the attic."

She agreed with a nod, and the two made their way to the middle of the hall where the entrance to the attic was. With a pull on a cord, the entrance opened and a rickety staircase came down. The two carefully climbed upwards, hearing the creeks and cracks coming from each step until they made it to the top.

The attic was dark and quiet. Creepy, cold, with no one but them. It was no wonder that Lucy loved to be here to write. Lincoln folded his arms to keep warm while Lucy didn't seem too bothered by the sudden chill.

"Do you see the mirror?" Lincoln asked, shivering a little.

"Not a sight."

"It'd be easier with the lights on..."

"The moonlight was enough for me." Lucy stated. Oddly enough, this version of their attic didn't seem to have the same solitary window that theirs had. It was completely separated from the outside, if there was an outside to this place.

Just then, a dinky light bulb lit up with neither Lincoln nor Lucy touching a thing. In the bask of the dim light was a dark silhouette, pure black on the ground before slowly rising its head. Lincoln and Lucy flinched when they caught first hints of white skin.

"Another shadow!" Lincoln exclaimed.

"No, this one is another reflection. And it's way tougher than the small fry." Br'er pointed out.

The figure slowly approached, the light flickering with every step before it stood only a hop away from them. Its head darting up, making Lucy jump as she laid eyes on herself. Her counterpart focused their hidden eyes right at her.

"Disgusting creature." it hissed, sounding so much like Lucy. "Why do you intrude my dark place?" it asked with heavy emphasis on "my" in its phrase. Lucy was at a loss for words as it inched closer. "You pathetic freak, why do you even exist?"

Lincoln stood in front of his sister, shielding her from her dark counterpart as it stared at them. "Lucy, stay calm." Lincoln tried to reassure as her reflection cocked her head to one side before it spoke again.

"Stay calm?" it repeated, the lights flickering with her words. Then suddenly, Lucy's reflection was right in front of him, making both of them jump in surprise. Lucy fell onto the attic floor while Lincoln stood still, petrified by this version of his sister. The reflection then started poking his bare chest. "Oh dear Lincoln, how can she calm down? Especially when you're standing here shirtless?"

"W-what?" he asked, a chill ran down his spine as he felt her cold, pale fingers. Lucy got up in a flash.

"No!" Lucy yelled, pushing her double back and taking her place back at Lincoln's side. "Don't touch him!"

Her reflection stared at her, oddly as her head cocked from one side to another, unnaturally so. "Feeling threatened?"

"Whatever you are, spirit, demon, whatever, you just leave my brother alone!" Lucy yelled, her monotone breaking again.

Her reflection let out a soft laugh, "I'm no superstition, I'm you. Is that why you're afraid? Are you worried I might do or say something you don't want me to?"

Lincoln notice his sister flinching at her words, "Lucy?" he asked.

"I'm not frightened, and you're not me." Lucy spat back. Her reflection cocked her head to one side again.

"Is that right, you foolish girl?" the reflection asked as a dark aura became more visible around it, "Am I really not you, or do you not want to admit it? That dark secret you shoved deep down, that secret you swear to yourself is a lie that somehow snakes its way into your brain? You make me sick."

"Lucy, what is she talking about?" Lincoln asked.

"I...I don't know!" Lucy blurted out quick as she covered her face with her hands, "It's just saying whatever it wants! Hit it with your Persona!"

"That's not a good idea." Br'er told Lincoln, "Her reflection is a part of her, and it's very vulnerable at this state. It could harm your sister if we attacked it now."

Again her reflection cocked her head from one side to the other as it fixed its gaze on Lincoln, "Poor naive Lincoln, haven't you figured it out by now?" her reflection asked with an unnerving grin, "Maybe it's hard to tell since she keeps hiding from everyone behind that mess of tar-dyed hair..."

"Shut up!" Lucy shouted at her again, but her reflection continued.

"...every verse in her poems, every little thing she does for you, always wanting to sit next to you whenever you all do something together. It couldn't be any more obvious."

The dots connected in Lincoln's head to form an impossible picture, he nervously turned towards his sister, "You can't seriously be saying..."

Lucy shook her head frantically, "No, no, no! This isn't real!"

The reflection pointed accusingly at Lucy, "This little freak, your little sister, has impure affection for you."

"That's a lie!" Lucy yelled, tears streamed down her cheeks, "You have no idea how I think, you're just an illusion! Some trick this world is playing on us! You're not me at all!"

The aura around the reflection grew darker, it's grin stretched ear to ear, "Is that right? Say it a little louder."

"You're not me!" she screamed, "You're nothing like me!"

Her shadow broke into a hard laughter, the aura now pulsing out of control as her body began to melt away. Her hair dripping down her shoulder to reveal her blank empty eyes set above a devilish smile. "So you deny me" she said, demonically as her melted hair began to expand over her body and spread. "Very well, I'll just have to show our dear brother how we really feel!" she yelled as the black ooze that was her hair had formed her arms into long black feathered wings. Her teeth began to outstretch well beyond her mouth to form a yellowing grinning beak. She cawed once as Lucy screamed before she was scooped her into her mouth.

"Lucy!" Lincoln cried out.

"Heads up!"

Lincoln braced himself as the giant black bird cawed and flapped its wings at him, lifting itself into the air. He was knocked back from the down wind as the reflection hovered above.

"I am a shadow, the true self..." it spoke, "Is she really worth saving? She's just some worthless girl who isn't fit to be your sister, a pitiful being!" it cawed as Lincoln pulled himself up with a groan.

"Ow..."

"Lincoln, your sister won't last long if we don't take this overgrown chicken to the chop! Hurry up and get me out there!"

Lincoln gripped the card again, "Right! Persona!"

Br'er appeared before Lincoln and swung at the raven. However, it didn't seem to have any effect as his hand got stuck in the feathers before Br'er vanished.

"Is that all you got?" asked Lucy's reflection, "Looks like little apples really don't fall too far from the tree, weakling!" It cawed before charging at him, Lincoln tried to flee but shoved him onto his chest. He cringed in pain when he felt a sharp scratching across his bare back. "I'll enjoy every piece of you dear brother!" she cawed again as she flew through the attic. Lincoln rubbed the marks left from the bird's talons as he pulled himself up.

"Damnit! What just happened?" Lincoln asked internally, trying to fight through the pain.

"That bird is made out of some kind of tar!" answered his Persona, "Punching it won't work!"

"Shit! What do we do now?"

"We gotta work together, lend me some of your Spirit Power and I can give her a super whooping!"

"Hold up, 'Spirit Power'? What the heck is that?"

"Do you WANT to save your spooky sister or not?"

"Okay, sure! Whatever! How do I do that?"

"Try to envision an element, one that comes natural to you, then summon me again!"

Lincoln closed his eyes and tried to focus. What did come natural for Lincoln? He wasn't really great in any particular area, though he was fluid enough to adapt to many situations. That's when the word "Aqua" came to mind, and with it the image of a torrent of water. Lincoln held out his hand again for the card and gripped it as he called for Br'er.

"Persona!"

This time, instead of punching the tar-bird, Br'er turned his bindle towards it and water shot out of the bag and drenched the dreaded bird. The water washed away the ink-like feathers, forcing the raven to land.

"No! My ink! My beautiful ink!" it cried.

Lincoln could now see that the raven was made out of paper. Paper with what he recognized as Lucy's handwriting.

"It's down! Let's hit it again before it recovers!"

"Right, let's finish this off! Persona!"

Br'er jumped out again with his bindle in hand. Aiming straight for the beak as the crazed bird looked at him. He fired his blast of water, the bird beginning to shred apart into the sheets of paper that made her up.

Soon the monster was gone, a flurry of soaked papers acting as confetti to its exit. The watery ink rested on the floor and in the place of the raven laid Lucy. Lincoln reacted quickly. "Lucy!" he yelled, running to her and dropping to a knee. She was breathing, thankfully, but she wasn't moving. Lincoln pulled her up, "Lucy, speak to me!" he pleaded.

She jutted a little, just waking up after being passed out for the past while. "Lincoln?" she coughed out.

"Lucy, please tell me you're okay." he begged. She looked as though she was going to say something, but she turned her head away. "Lucy?" he asked. She remained silent and started to shake a little. "Lucy!"

"Just leave me."

"What?" Lincoln asked, confused.

He heard a sniffle, and tears rolled down Lucy's cheeks.

"Please, just leave me here."

"Lucy, I can''t do that."

"I can't go back now." she cried out to him, "I can't go back now that you know..."

"Lucy..."

She tried to push him off, "Just leave me!" she cried again. What she said hung in silence for a moment before Lincoln pulled her in for a hug. Lucy tried to push him off again but couldn't find the strength to do so. Instead, she wrapped her arms around his back and buried her head into his bare chest as her brother let her cry. His chest started getting wet and sticky from her falling tears, but he was more concerned about comforting her.

"I'm sorry but I won't do that. I won't leave you here." Lincoln told her, now looking up and letting out a short breath when he saw Lucy's reflection again, back to looking like Lucy. It silently stared at them. He recalled Br'er's words saying that this being was a part of Lucy, made up of the negative energy she released into this world. Her reflection nudged its head towards Lucy, who was beginning to calm down. Lucy had helped him sort out his reflection, and now he needed to help her. With one loaded deep breath and a heavy heart, Lincoln asked his question, "...do you really feel that way towards me?"

The question hit her like the cold water that hit the reflection's monstrous form, her lips fidgeted and her fingers twitched on his back as she let go. Lincoln wasn't expecting a real answer, but when she lifted her head off of him, he was prepared to hear her out. "I...I don't know..." She said, her voice trailed off.

"Lucy, please be honest with me. I know you really don't want to tell me, but you have to trust me when I say it'll help."

"Lincoln, I..." she was hesitant to speak. Lincoln couldn't help but sympathize for her, but that's when he knew what he had to say.

"I promise, this will only be between you and me Luce. No one else has to know."

Another long moment went by before Lucy broke the silence again. "...okay." she said, pushing off Lincoln to sit up by herself. In the spookiest act he'd seen tonight, Lucy brushed her bangs away from her eyes to look directly at Lincoln. She was visibly shaking as she tried to keep eye contact, her eyes red with ruined mascara from the crying that only accentuated the baby blue color of her irises. "Lincoln...I'm not too sure why but for the longest time now, I've come to admire you. More than I think I should. You've always been there to support me with my poetry and whenever I needed someone to talk to...but I never thought of you as more than a brother until..." she trailed off again.

"Until?"

She looked down and blushed under her running make-up, "...a bit after I started my monthly ritual."

"Monthly...oh! Oh..." Thanks to having five older sisters, Lincoln quickly caught on what she was talking about.

Lucy kept her head down out of shame, fresh tears now starting to hit the floor, "I don't know what's wrong with me. I know it's not right. I can't help but tremble when I think of you now, and its only gotten worse when I learned you and Ronnie Anne broke up..." she covered her face, "...I don't deserve to be your sister with feelings like this. My other self was right, I was afraid you'd find out and be so disgusted that you'd hate me and-"

Before she could finish, Lincoln wrapped his arms around her again, stopping her dead in her tracks. "Lucy, I could never hate you." he told her gently, having heard enough. Lucy shook as the breath left her body and she felt the tears come again. "I don't think I can return...those feelings, but I love you. You're one of my favorite sisters and I don't want to see you hurting again."

"Lincoln..." she said with a mix of relief and sadness.

"We're going to figure this out. All of it, and I promise I'll never stop being your brother." With that, Lincoln let go and was relieved that Lucy had a small smile on her face. Her reflection was still staring at them however.

"It's still there, isn't it?" Lucy asked.

Lincoln nodded. Lucy turned to face her reflection, it only stared at her silently. Just as Lincoln had, Lucy approached her reflection.

"...sometimes, I do feel disgusted with myself. Sometimes I think that I don't deserve to be Lincoln's sister...but he still accepts me as such, and I'm happy with that." she looked down, "Maybe...maybe I do want us to be more than that, but I'll respect Lincoln's refusal. He loves me enough as it is."

Her reflection smiled for a brief moment, then vanished. It its place was a glowing card that lightly floated into Lucy's open hands. Lincoln approached her to see this new card, on it was the image of a raven perched atop a chamber door. Above the image was the number IX, and beneath the image was the name "Nevermore".

"Lucy, that's-"

Lucy yelped and nervously looked left and right, "Did you hear that too?"

"No?" Lincoln hadn't heard anything.

Lucy showed him the card, "It said its name was Nevermore, that it was my Persona..." her eyes lit up, and an excited grin stretched across her face, "Does this mean I now have the same power you have?"

Lincoln scratched his head, "I dunno, maybe?"

"She gained a facade to face life's hardships. A Persona." Br'er told him.

"So, she now has a voice in her head too?"

"What do you think?"

"Summon with the card...sounds a little too easy when you say it like that..." Lucy mumbled to herself, "Huh? Oh! Lincoln, the mirror!"

"The mirror!" Lincoln remembered why they went up into the attic, "Do you see it?"

"No, but my Persona says it's over there." Lucy pointed to the darkest part of the attic.

Lincoln eyed the darkness, "...I don't see anything."

"It's there, my Persona is helping me see it." Lucy walked into the darkness and Lincoln quickly followed behind. Soon enough, they found it, the old mirror from a previous generation.

Lincoln poked the surface and sighed with relief as it made ripples with his touch. He offered his hand to Lucy. "You ready to go home?"

She grabbed on, "Ready."

With a deep breath, the two stepped through the mirror, leaving the attic of the mirrored home.

XxXxX

Lincoln and Lucy stepped out of the mirror and found themselves in their attic. The same solitary window was there but pouring moonlight into the room. The familiar makeshift refurbishing was a welcome sight compared to the decrepit mirrored version they had just witnessed.

"We're home!" Lincoln let out, relieved with a small smile.

Lucy smiled back, which faded once she realized something, "So...what do we do with the knowledge that there's a world inside of mirrors?"

"Good question..." Lincoln answered, having no idea where to start with that.

"We'll have to go back in there" Br'er told him.

"You're still here?" Lincoln asked, surprised to still hear his Persona.

"Of course I am. As your other self, I'm always by your side."

"...I dunno whether to be flattered or creeped out."

"Is your Persona talking to you too?" Lucy asked, snapping Lincoln out of his internal conversation.

"Yeah...he said we should go back into the mirror." he admitted.

"My Persona says that going back now would be premature, and that we've been through enough for tonight."

Lincoln smiled at that, "Thank goodness, advice that makes sense."

"Hey, I wasn't telling you to go back in right now!"

"Yeah, well, you haven't been all too direct either." Lincoln retorted, Br'er seeming staying quiet either in defeat or taking that personally. Now that he was home, Lincoln couldn't fight back a yawn.

"Man..." he said, stretching out a little, "I think we've had enough excitement for the week. Goodnight Lucy." Lincoln said. As he turned to leave he felt a tug on his arm, Lucy spoke up before he could ask anything.

"Lincoln...um..."

"Something wrong?" Lincoln asked. Lucy steadied herself before speaking again.

"I don't think I'm going to get any sleep tonight. After all that's happened, I just can't stop thinking..." she said, hesitating before continuing, "...can I spend the night with you?"

"Um..." Lincoln answered awkwardly. Not that he didn't understand, it was just two people in his room didn't equal comfortable.

"I just don't want to be alone tonight."

"What about Lynn?" He casually asked.

"Then I know I'm not going to sleep tonight with her sawing logs." she said, Lincoln cracking a grin at how nonchalantly she said it. "And if shes see me in the morning like I am, she's going to ask what's the matter. And believe me, she's just as bad as Lola when she wants to know something." Lincoln could believe that, he had the bruises to prove that that was true.

"Okay you convinced me." he said with a slight giggle in his voice that Lucy found some comfort in. "You can stay the night but you got to remember there's not much room in my room."

"I can sleep on the floor." she suggested, Lincoln quick to shoot that down.

"No, don't worry Luce, I got a better idea..."

XxXxX

Lucy carefully pulled up Lincoln's covers to slip under them as Lincoln rolled out his old sleeping bag. With the light on, Lincoln pulled open his dresser drawer for a shirt, unfortunately giving Lucy a good look at the fresh marks across his back. She gasped as he casually covered them with an Ace Savvy shirt.

"Everything alright?" Lincoln asked, turning back towards her on the bed.

"What happened to your back?" she asked.

"Oh uh...I got it while I was fighting your...uh..." he stumbled on his words, knowing she'd feel bad no matter what he said.

"Oh..." Lucy looked down out of guilt, "I'm sorry you had to go through that..."

"Hey," Lincoln said as he sat on the bed with her, "don't worry about it. I'm okay, you're okay, and that's all that matters." he said, giving Lucy a light pat on the knee. "No more apologies okay?"

Lucy paused for a moment before she answered, "Can I get just one more?" she joked. Lincoln was chuckling as he nodded.

"Go ahead."

"I'm sorry."

"Apology accepted." he told her. Hopping off the bed, Lincoln turned off the lights and snuggled himself the best he could into the sleeping bag, "There, cozy as the bathtub." he said as Lucy shook her head at his silly joke and sank under the covers. At first they laid in silence, both having too much on their minds to sleep.

"Hey Lincoln..." Lucy spoke up once more, "...you won't tell anyone about...you know?"

"Wouldn't even think of it." Lincoln assured her, "Your secret's safe with me."

"Thanks." she said, happy that it was so dark in Lincoln's room. That way he couldn't see how big a smile she had along with how red her face was.

Hesitantly, Lincoln asked the same, "...you won't tell anyone about that thing with me and Ronnie Anne, right?"

"I don't really plan to. We all know you two broke up anyway."

"Yeah...but you know if everyone finds out the full details, they'll form a lynch mob, right?" Lucy giggled at that. "What?"

"Emphasis on the 'Lynn' part." she joked, Lincoln letting out a good laugh at that.

"I thought I saved Lucy, not Luan!" he proclaimed.

The two's laughter died down soon, Lincoln now starting to feel a little tired. Before sleep took him, Lucy gave him an answer.

"I won't tell anyone. I promise."

XxXxX

Elsewhere...

In a dark room illuminated solely by a dim bulb, a lone figure stood wearing a lab coat that was dirtied by some sort of black bile.

"I...I killed it! I killed it!" the figure threw up their hands, "I'M FREE! I'M FREE!" they screamed while in front of a tall mirror.

There was no reflection in the mirror.